-
Clinical and Experimental Reproductive... Jun 2021Bacteriospermia and urogenital infections are common problems in male infertility. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of bacteriospermia on sperm parameters and...
OBJECTIVE
Bacteriospermia and urogenital infections are common problems in male infertility. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of bacteriospermia on sperm parameters and clinical outcomes in semen samples infected with two common bacteria (Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Escherichia coli) in northern Iran.
METHODS
Microbiological tests were performed to isolate and identify organisms from 435 semen samples from infertile couples. Semen samples were assessed according to the World Health Organization criteria. The protamine status, chromatin structure, chromatin condensation, and acrosome reaction of sperm and assisted reproductive outcomes were determined in couples with different male infertility factors.
RESULTS
Among the total cases, the two most prevalent pathogens were considered: S. saprophyticus (38.2%) and E. coli (52.9%). In the semen samples infected with E. coli, the spontaneous acrosome reaction and abnormal chromatin condensation were more common (p<0.05). Significant increases in abnormal chromatin condensation and deprotamination were seen in the presence of S. saprophyticus. In washed semen, tight adhesion between the sperm midpiece and S. saprophyticus was observed. There was also a significant decrease in the fertilization rate using semen samples infected with S. saprophyticus and E. coli during in vitro fertilization cycles (p<0.001). In addition, the presence of S. saprophyticus and E. coli in semen samples was associated with a lower likelihood of clinical pregnancy in couples with various factors of male infertility.
CONCLUSION
Poor results of assisted reproductive techniques may be correlated with semen samples infected with two common bacteria in northern Iran.
PubMed: 34078007
DOI: 10.5653/cerm.2020.04203 -
Emerging Infectious Diseases Mar 2021Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a primary cause of community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) in young women. S. saprophyticus colonizes humans and animals but...
Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a primary cause of community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTIs) in young women. S. saprophyticus colonizes humans and animals but basic features of its molecular epidemiology are undetermined. We conducted a phylogenomic analysis of 321 S. saprophyticus isolates collected from human UTIs worldwide during 1997-2017 and 232 isolates from human UTIs and the pig-processing chain in a confined region during 2016-2017. We found epidemiologic and genomic evidence that the meat-production chain is a major source of S. saprophyticus causing human UTIs; human microbiota is another possible origin. Pathogenic S. saprophyticus belonged to 2 lineages with distinctive genetic features that are globally and locally disseminated. Pangenome-wide approaches identified a strong association between pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance, phages, platelet binding proteins, and an increased recombination rate. Our study provides insight into the origin, transmission, and population structure of pathogenic S. saprophyticus and identifies putative new virulence factors.
Topics: Animals; Community-Acquired Infections; Humans; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcus saprophyticus; Swine; Urinary Tract Infections; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 33622483
DOI: 10.3201/eid2703.200852 -
Vaccines Jul 2022Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a Gram-positive coccus responsible for the occurrence of cystitis in sexually active, young females. While effective antibiotics against...
Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a Gram-positive coccus responsible for the occurrence of cystitis in sexually active, young females. While effective antibiotics against this organism exist, resistant strains are on the rise. Therefore, prevention via vaccines appears to be a viable solution to address this problem. In comparison to traditional techniques of vaccine design, computationally aided vaccine development demonstrates marked specificity, efficiency, stability, and safety. In the present study, a novel, multi-epitope vaccine construct was developed against S. saprophyticus by targeting fully sequenced proteomes of its five different strains, which were examined using a pangenome and subtractive proteomic strategy to characterize prospective vaccination targets. The three immunogenic vaccine targets which were utilized to map the probable immune epitopes were verified by annotating the entire proteome. The predicted epitopes were further screened on the basis of antigenicity, allergenicity, water solubility, toxicity, virulence, and binding affinity towards the DRB*0101 allele, resulting in 11 potential epitopes, i.e., DLKKQKEKL, NKDLKKQKE, QDKLKDKSD, NVMDNKDLE, TSGTPDSQA, NANSDGSSS, GSDSSSSNN, DSSSSNNDS, DSSSSDRNN, SSSDRNNGD, and SSDDKSKDS. All these epitopes have the efficacy to cover 99.74% of populations globally. Finally, shortlisted epitopes were joined together with linkers and three different adjuvants to find the most stable and immunogenic vaccine construct. The top-ranked vaccine construct was further scrutinized on the basis of its physicochemical characterization and immunological profile. The non-allergenic and antigenic features of modeled vaccine constructs were initially validated and then subjected to docking with immune receptor major histocompatibility complex I and II (MHC-I and II), resulting in strong contact. In silico cloning validations yielded a codon adaptation index (CAI) value of 1 and an ideal percentage of GC contents (46.717%), indicating a putative expression of the vaccine in E. coli. Furthermore, immune simulation demonstrated that, after injecting the proposed MEVC, powerful antibodies were produced, resulting in the sharpest peaks of IgM + IgG formation (>11,500) within 5 to 15 days. Experimental testing against S. saprophyticus can evaluate the safety and efficacy of these prophylactic vaccination designs.
PubMed: 36016080
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10081192 -
Cell Host & Microbe Oct 2022Caenorhabditis elegans do not grow on either Staphylococcus saprophyticus or heat-killed Escherichia coli, but do so when exposed to both. In this issue of Cell Host &...
Caenorhabditis elegans do not grow on either Staphylococcus saprophyticus or heat-killed Escherichia coli, but do so when exposed to both. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Geng and colleagues have identified E. coli-derived signals as well as the host's neural and innate immunity pathways that promote digestion of S. saprophyticus.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Immunity, Innate
PubMed: 36228580
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.09.005 -
Current Opinion in Microbiology Jun 2020Bacteria use two-component systems (TCSs) to sense and respond to their environments. Free-living bacteria usually contain dozens of TCSs, each of them responsible for... (Review)
Review
Bacteria use two-component systems (TCSs) to sense and respond to their environments. Free-living bacteria usually contain dozens of TCSs, each of them responsible for sensing and responding to a different range of signals. Differences in the content of two-component systems are related with the capacity of the bacteria to colonize different niches or improve the efficiency to grow under the conditions of the existing niche. This review highlights differences in the TCS content between Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus saprophyticus as a case study to exemplify how the ability to sense and respond to the environment is relevant for bacterial capacity to colonize and survive in/on different body surfaces.
Topics: Animals; Bacterial Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genes, Bacterial; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Signal Transduction; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus saprophyticus; Virulence
PubMed: 32199334
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2020.02.004 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Antibiotics play a vital role in saving millions of lives from fatal infections; however, the inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence and propagation... (Review)
Review
Antibiotics play a vital role in saving millions of lives from fatal infections; however, the inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence and propagation of drug resistance worldwide. Multidrug-resistant bacteria represent a significant challenge to treating infections due to the limitation of available antibiotics, necessitating the investigation of alternative treatments for combating these superbugs. Under such circumstances, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including human-derived AMPs and bacteria-derived AMPs (so-called bacteriocins), are considered potential therapeutic drugs owing to their high efficacy against infectious bacteria and the poor ability of these microorganisms to develop resistance to them. Several staphylococcal species including , , , and are commensal bacteria and known to cause many opportunistic infectious diseases. Methicillin-resistant , especially methicillin-resistant (MRSA), are of particular concern among the critical multidrug-resistant infectious Gram-positive pathogens. Within the past decade, studies have reported promising AMPs that are effective against MRSA and other methicillin-resistant . This review discusses the sources and mechanisms of AMPs against staphylococcal species, as well as their potential to become chemotherapies for clinical infections caused by multidrug-resistant staphylococci.
PubMed: 35756032
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.930629 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2022Saeu-jeotgal, a Korean fermented shrimp food, is commonly used as an ingredient for making kimchi and other side dishes. The high salinity of the jeotgal contributes to...
Saeu-jeotgal, a Korean fermented shrimp food, is commonly used as an ingredient for making kimchi and other side dishes. The high salinity of the jeotgal contributes to its flavor and inhibits the growth of food spoilage microorganisms. Interestingly, was discovered to be capable of growth even after treatment with 20% NaCl. To elucidate the tolerance mechanism, a genome-wide gene expression of against 0%, 10%, and 20% NaCl was investigated by RNA sequencing. A total of 831, 1314, and 1028 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the 0% vs. 10%, 0% vs. 20%, and 10% vs. 20% NaCl comparisons, respectively. The Clusters of Orthologous Groups analysis revealed that the DEGs were involved in amino acid transport and metabolism, transcription, and inorganic ion transport and metabolism. The functional enrichment analysis showed that the expression of the genes encoding mechanosensitive ion channels, sodium/proton antiporters, and betaine/carnitine/choline transporter family proteins was downregulated, whereas the expression of the genes encoding universal stress proteins and enzymes for glutamate, glycine, and alanine synthesis was upregulated. Therefore, these findings suggest that the isolated from the saeu-jeotgal utilizes different molecular strategies for halotolerance, with glutamate as the key molecule.
PubMed: 35206000
DOI: 10.3390/foods11040524 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jan 2021This article presents a critical review of the peer-reviewed literature related to bioaerosol generation from activated sludge basins. Characterization techniques... (Review)
Review
This article presents a critical review of the peer-reviewed literature related to bioaerosol generation from activated sludge basins. Characterization techniques include a variety of culture- and nonculture-based techniques, each with unique features. Bioaerosols contain a variety of clinical pathogens including Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Clostridium perfringens, and Salmonella enteritidis; exposure to these microorganisms increases human health risks. Release mechanisms involve splashing and bubble burst dynamics. Larger bubbles emit more aerosol particles than smaller ones. Attenuation strategies include covering sources with lids, adjusting the method and intensity of aeration, and using free-floating carrier media. Future studies should combine culture and non-culture based methods, and expand chemical databases and spectral libraries in order to realize the full power of real-time online monitoring.
Topics: Aerosols; Air Microbiology; Humans; Sewage
PubMed: 32891995
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141852 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2020The skin colonizing coagulase-negative causes nosocomial infections and is an important opportunistic and highly adaptable pathogen. To gain more insight into this...
The skin colonizing coagulase-negative causes nosocomial infections and is an important opportunistic and highly adaptable pathogen. To gain more insight into this species, we sequenced the genome of the biofilm positive, methicillin susceptible O47 strain (hereafter O47). This strain belongs to the most frequently isolated sequence type 2. In comparison to the RP62A strain, O47 can be transformed, which makes it a preferred strain for molecular studies. O47's genome has a single chromosome of about 2.5 million base pairs and no plasmid. Its sequence has the same directionality as RP62A, , , and is inverted in comparison to and ATCC 12228. A phylogenetic analysis based on all genomes currently available at GenBank revealed that O47 is closest related to DAR1907. The genome of O47 contains genes for the typical global regulatory systems known in staphylococci. In addition, it contains most of the genes encoding for the typical virulence factors for but not for with the exception of a putative hemolysin III. O47 has the typical genetic islands and several mobile genetic elements, which include staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) of about 54 kb length and two prophages φO47A and φO47B. However, its genome has no transposons and the smallest number of insertion sequence (IS) elements compared to the other known genomes. By sequencing and analyzing the genome of O47, we provide the basis for its utilization in genetic and molecular studies of biofilm formation.
PubMed: 32983045
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02061 -
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... Mar 2022The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a serious threat to human and animal health. Recent studies have shown that synanthropic animals can...
The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a serious threat to human and animal health. Recent studies have shown that synanthropic animals can act as reservoirs and disseminators of pathogens and resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency, distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcal species and Clostridioides difficile isolated from the feces of free-living rodents and marsupials from two urban parks in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. During a 12-month period, fecal samples from 159 free-living animals, including 136 rodents and 23 marsupials, were collected from two urban parks in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Staphylococcus spp. were more likely to be isolated from rodents than marsupials (p = 0.0164). Eight different staphylococcal species were isolated from 36 (26.5%) rodents and one marsupial (4.3%). S. saprophyticus (48.6%) was the most frequently isolated species, and almost a quarter of the isolates (24.3%) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent, four (10.8%) of which were multi-drug resistant (MDR). Two (5.4%) strains were resistant to cefoxitin and were then classified as methicillin-resistant staphylococci, and one also tested positive for the mecA gene. C. difficile was isolated from two rodents (1.5%), and one strain was toxigenic and classified as ribotype 064. One isolate was resistant to rifampicin, but both strains were susceptible to all other antimicrobials tested, including metronidazole and vancomycin. All C. difficile isolates and all staphylococcal strains resistant to antimicrobials were recovered from the same park. The present study suggests that free-living rodents in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) are mainly colonized by S. saprophyticus and may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus spp. and C. difficile strains. This is the first study to evaluate the presence of staphylococci and C. difficile from free-living opossums and suggest a low fecal shedding of these organisms by these mammals.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Brazil; Clostridioides; Clostridioides difficile; Marsupialia; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Rodentia; Staphylococcus
PubMed: 34761356
DOI: 10.1007/s42770-021-00640-x