Diversity profiling of xenic cultures of Dientamoeba fragilis following systematic antibiotic treatment and prospects for genome sequencing

Parasitology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38
Author(s):  
Rory Gough ◽  
Joel Barratt ◽  
Damien Stark ◽  
John Ellis

AbstractThe presence of bacterial DNA in Dientamoeba fragilis DNA extracts from culture poses a substantial challenge to sequencing the D. fragilis genome. However, elimination of bacteria from D. fragilis cultures has proven difficult in the past, presumably due to its dependence on some unknown prokaryote/s. This study explored options for removal of bacteria from D. fragilis cultures and for the generation of genome sequence data from D. fragilis. DNA was extracted from human faecal samples and xenic D. fragilis cultures. Extracts were subjected to 16S ribosomal DNA bacterial diversity profiling. Xenic D. fragilis cultures were then subject to antibiotic treatment regimens that systematically removed bacterial species depending on their membrane structure (Gram-positive or Gram-negative) and aerobic requirements. The impact of these treatments on cultures was assessed by 16S amplicon sequencing. Prior to antibiotic treatment, the cultures were dominated by Gram-negative bacteria. Addition of meropenem to cultures eliminated anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria, but it also led to protozoan death after 5 days incubation. The seeding of meropenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain KPC-2 into cultures before treatment by meropenem prevented death of D. fragilis cells beyond this 5 day period, suggesting that one or more species of Gram-negative bacteria may be an essential nutritional requirement for D. fragilis. Gram-positive cells were completely eliminated using vancomycin without affecting trophozoite growth. Finally, this study shows that genome sequencing of D. fragilis is feasible following bacterial elimination from cultures as the result of the major advances occurring in bioinformatics. We provide evidence on this fact by successfully sequencing the D. fragilis 28S large ribosomal DNA subunit gene using culture-derived DNA.

Author(s):  
Yali Yu ◽  
Yiyi Kong ◽  
Jing Ye ◽  
Aiguo Wang ◽  
Wenteng Si

Introduction. Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication after arthroplasty, which results in high morbidity, prolonged treatment and considerable healthcare expenses in the absence of accurate diagnosis. In China, microbiological data on PJIs are still scarce. Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The incidence of PJI is increasing year by year, and the proportion of drug-resistant bacteria infection is nicreasing, which brings severe challenges to the treatment of infection. Aim. This study aimed to identify the pathogens in PJIs, multi-drug resistance, and evaluate the effect of the treatment regimen in patients with PJI. Methodology. A total of 366 consecutive cases of PJI in the hip or knee joint were admitted at the Orthopedic Surgery Center in Zhengzhou, China from January 2012 to December 2018. Infections were confirmed in accordance with the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria. Concurrently, patient demographic data, incidence and antibiotic resistance were investigated. Statistical differences were analysed using Fisher’s exact test or chi-square test. Results. Altogether, 318 PJI cases satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this study, including 148 with hip PJIs and 170 with knee PJIs. The average age of patients with hip PJIs was lesser than that of patients with knee PJIs (56.4 vs. 68.6 years). Meanwhile, coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS, n=81, 25.5 %) was the predominant causative pathogen, followed by Staphylococcus aureus (n=67, 21.1 %). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) was identified in 28.9 % of PJI patients. In addition, fungus accounted for 4.8 % (n=15), non-tuberculosis mycobacterium accounted for 1.6 % (n=5), polymicrobial pathogens accounted for 21.7 % (n=69), and Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 7.9 % (n=25) of the total infections. The results of antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that gentamicin and clindamycin β-lactam antibiotics were poorly susceptible to Gram-positive isolates, but they were sensitive to rifampicin, linezolid and vancomycin. While antibiotics such as amikacin and imipenem were effective against Gram-negative bacteria, there was a high resistance rate of other pathogens to gentamicin, clindamycin and some quinolone antibacterial drugs. Empirical antibiotic treatment should combine vancomycin and cephalosporin, levofloxacin or clindamycin. When the pathogen is confirmed, the treatment should be individualized. Conclusions. The prevalence of culture-negative PJIs is still very high. Gram-positive bacteria are still the main type of pathogens that cause PJIs. Attention should be paid to the high incidence of MRS, such as MRSA and MR-CNS, among PJI patients. Empirical antibiotic treatment should cover Gram-positive isolates, especially Staphylococcus .


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 622-628
Author(s):  
Fitri Arum Sasi ◽  
Hermin Pancasakti Kusumaningrum ◽  
Anto Budiharjo

Indigenous bacteria are able to remove the metals contamination in environment. This study aimed to assess the resistance of bacterial species to Zinc (Zn) in Banger River, Pekalongan City. The bacteria from three different parts of Banger River were isolated and inoculated in Zn-selective medium. Then, molecular identification to determine the bacteria species was conducted using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by applying forward-reverse 16SrRNA gene primers. The sequences analysis was conducted using MUSCLE and MEGA6. There were seven dominant species that possibly resistant to Zn. Approximately, every isolate could reach more than 95 % from 2000 ppm of Zn in the medium. The higher absorption of Zn was found in Z5 isolate. The seven bacteria species were clustered into nine genera i.e. Klebsiela, Xenorhabdus, Cronobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Shigella and Sporomusa known as Gram Negative bacteria and Clostridium and Bacillus as Gram Positive bacteria. In Gram Positive bacteria, especially Bacillus sp, carboxyl group in peptidoglycan play a role as metal binder. In Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) which is highly anionic component on the outer membrane, able to catch the Zn. Besides that, Enterobacter activates endogen antioxidants such as glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The research found there was possible seven novel indigenous bacteria species in Banger that able to remove Zn from the sediment extremely. This finding can be developed as an eco-friendly approach to reduce metals pollution using local microorganisms.


2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 3705-3714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel F. Epand ◽  
Guangshun Wang ◽  
Bob Berno ◽  
Richard M. Epand

ABSTRACT The only human cathelicidin, the 37-residue peptide LL-37, exhibits antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. We studied the ability of several fragments of LL-37, exhibiting different antimicrobial activities, to interact with membranes whose compositions mimic the cytoplasmic membranes of gram-positive or of gram-negative bacteria. These fragments are as follows: KR-12, the smallest active segment of LL-37, with the sequence KRIVQRIKDFLR, which exhibits antimicrobial activity only against gram-negative bacteria; a slightly smaller peptide, RI-10, missing the two cationic residues at the N and C termini of KR-12, which has been shown not to have any antimicrobial activity; a longer peptide, GF-17, which shows antimicrobial activity against gram-positive as well as gram-negative bacteria; and GF-17D3, with 3 d-amino-acid residues, which is also selective only for gram-negative bacteria. Those fragments with the capacity to cluster anionic lipids away from zwitterionic lipids in a membrane exhibit selective toxicity toward bacteria containing zwitterionic as well as anionic lipids in their cytoplasmic membranes but not toward bacteria with only anionic lipids. This finding allows for the prediction of the bacterial-species selectivity of certain agents and paves the way for designing new antimicrobials targeted specifically toward gram-negative bacteria.


2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 3581-3586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Hessle ◽  
Bengt Andersson ◽  
Agnes E. Wold

ABSTRACT Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-12 are two cytokines secreted by monocytes/macrophages in response to bacterial products which have largely opposite effects on the immune system. IL-12 activates cytotoxicity and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) secretion by T cells and NK cells, whereas IL-10 inhibits these functions. In the present study, the capacities of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to induce IL-10 and IL-12 were compared. Monocytes from blood donors were stimulated with UV-killed bacteria from each of seven gram-positive and seven gram-negative bacterial species representing both aerobic and anaerobic commensals and pathogens. Gram-positive bacteria induced much more IL-12 than did gram-negative bacteria (median, 3,500 versus 120 pg/ml at an optimal dose of 25 bacteria/cell; P < 0.001), whereas gram-negative bacteria preferentially stimulated secretion of IL-10 (650 versus 200 pg/ml; P < 0.001). Gram-positive species also induced stronger major histocompatibility complex class II-restricted IFN-γ production in unfractionated blood mononuclear cells than did gram-negative species (12,000 versus 3,600 pg/ml; P < 0.001). The poor IL-12-inducing capacity of gram-negative bacteria was not remediated by addition of blocking anti-IL-10 antibodies to the cultures. No isolated bacterial component could be identified that mimicked the potent induction of IL-12 by whole gram-positive bacteria, whereas purified LPS induced IL-10. The results suggest that gram-positive bacteria induce a cytokine pattern that promotes Th1 effector functions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Audy ◽  
O. Mathieu ◽  
J. Belvis ◽  
T.A. Tompkins

In order to understand the appropriate use of potentially probiotic Gram-positive microbes through their introduction in the gut microbiome, it is necessary to understand the influence of individual bacteria on the host-response system at a cellular level. In the present study, we have shown that lipopolysaccharides, flagellated Gram-negative bacteria, potentially probiotic Gram-positive bacteria and yeast interact differently with human intestinal epithelial cells with a custom-designed expression microarray evaluating 17 specific host-response pathways. Only lipopolysaccharides and flagellated Gram-negative bacteria induced inflammatory response, while a subset of Gram-positive microbes had anti-inflammatory potential. The main outcome from the study was the differential regulation of the central mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathway by these Gram-positive microbes versus commensal/pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. The microarray was efficient to highlight the impact of individual bacteria on the response of intestinal epithelial cells, but quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction validation demonstrated some underestimation for down-regulated genes by the microarray. This immune array will allow us to better understand the mechanisms underlying microbe-induced host immune responses.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Romano Perinelli ◽  
Dezemona Petrelli ◽  
Luca Agostino Vitali ◽  
Giulia Bonacucina ◽  
Marco Cespi ◽  
...  

Quaternary ammonium amphiphiles are a class of compounds with a wide range of commercial and industrial uses. In the pharmaceutical field, the most common quaternary ammonium surfactant is benzalkonium chloride (BAC), which is employed as a preservative in several topical formulations for ocular, skin, or nasal application. Despite the broad antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as fungi and small enveloped viruses, safety concerns regarding its irritant and cytotoxic effect on epithelial cells still remain. In this work, quaternary ammonium derivatives of leucine esters (C10, C12 and C14) were synthesised as BAC analogues. These cationic surfactants were characterised in terms of critical micelle concentration (CMC, by tensiometry), cytotoxicity (MTS and LDH assays on the Caco-2 and Calu-3 cell lines) and antimicrobial activity on the bacterial species Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis among the Gram-positives, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa among the Gram-negatives and the yeast Candida albicans. They showed satisfactory surface-active properties, and a cytotoxic effect that was dependent on the length of the hydrophobic chain. Lower minimum inhibiting concentration (MIC) values were calculated for C14-derivatives, which were comparable to those calculated for BAC toward Gram-positive bacteria and slightly higher for Gram-negative bacteria and C. albicans. Thus, the synthesised leucine-based quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants can potentially find application as promising surface-active compounds with antimicrobial activity.


Folia Medica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-528
Author(s):  
Stela K. Peycheva ◽  
Elisaveta G. Apostolova ◽  
Zhivko L. Peychev ◽  
Petya A. Gardjeva ◽  
Mihaela S. Shishmanova-Doseva ◽  
...  

Introduction: In children and adolescents, the most common periodontal disease is the plaque-induced gingivitis.Aim: The aim of this study was to reveal the bacterial species associated with supragingival plaque of Bulgarian adolescents diagnosed with plaque-induced gingivitis.Materials and methods: Supragingival plaque samples from 70 healthy subjects with moderate plaque-induced gingivitis (37 females and 33 males), aged 12-18 years, were obtained and examined microbiologically.Results: A total of 224 microorganisms were isolated. Gram-negative bacteria were predominant compared to Gram-positive [132 (59%) vs. 92 (41%), p<0.001]. Aerobic microorganisms were detected more often than anaerobic (151; 67.5% vs. 73; 32.5%, p<0.001). The Streptococcus mutans group and Neisseria spp. were isolated from all adolescents. The frequency of isolation of C. albicans was relatively lower &ndash; 11 (15.7%). The anaerobes showed much greater microbial diversity (12 pathogen groups were isolated). Gram-negative rods were isolated from 57 of the adolescents (isolation frequency 81.4%). F. varium, P. melaninogenica, P. intermedia and P. assacharolyticus were detected respectively in 12 (16%), 9 (12%), 8 (11%) and 7 (10%) samples. The less frequently isolated anaerobes were Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative cocci, Bacteroides uniformis and Bifidobacterium spp. together.Conclusion: The most frequently isolated microbiota in our study is part of the normal oral bacterial flora. The presence of anaerobes such as Prevotella, Fusobacterium, Bacteroides and Porphyromonas reflects the gradual change of the flora to more complex one. The results of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the plaque of adolescents with moderate plaque-induced gingivitis may contribute to the selection of the prevention and treatment of this disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Li ◽  
Manuel Montalban-Lopez ◽  
Oscar P. Kuipers

ABSTRACTLantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified antimicrobial compounds containing lanthionine and methyl-lanthionine residues. Nisin, one of the most extensively studied and used lantibiotics, has been shown to display very potent activity against Gram-positive bacteria, and stable resistance is rarely observed. By binding to lipid II and forming pores in the membrane, nisin can cause the efflux of cellular constituents and inhibit cell wall biosynthesis. However, the activity of nisin against Gram-negative bacteria is much lower than that against Gram-positive bacteria, mainly because lipid II is located at the inner membrane, and the rather impermeable outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria prevents nisin from reaching lipid II. Thus, if the outer membrane-traversing efficiency of nisin could be increased, the activity against Gram-negative bacteria could, in principle, be enhanced. In this work, several relatively short peptides with activity against Gram-negative bacteria were selected from literature data to be fused as tails to the C terminus of either full or truncated nisin species. Among these, we found that one of three tails (tail 2 [T2; DKYLPRPRPV], T6 [NGVQPKY], and T8 [KIAKVALKAL]) attached to a part of nisin displayed improved activity against Gram-negative microorganisms. Next, we rationally designed and reengineered the most promising fusion peptides. Several mutants whose activity significantly outperformed that of nisin against Gram-negative pathogens were obtained. The activity of the tail 16 mutant 2 (T16m2) construct against several important Gram-negative pathogens (i.e.,Escherichia coli,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Acinetobacter baumannii,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Enterobacter aerogenes) was increased 4- to 12-fold compared to that of nisin. This study indicates that the rational design of nisin can selectively and significantly improve its outer membrane-permeating capacity as well as its activity against Gram-negative pathogens.IMPORTANCELantibiotics are antimicrobial peptides that are highly active against Gram-positive bacteria but that have relatively poor activity against most Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we modified the model lantibiotic nisin by fusing parts of it to antimicrobial peptides with known activity against Gram-negative bacteria. The appropriate selection of peptidic moieties that could be attached to (parts of) nisin could lead to a significant increase in its inhibitory activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Using this strategy, hybrids that outperformed nisin by displaying 4- to 12-fold higher levels of activity against relevant Gram-negative bacterial species were produced. This study shows the power of modified peptide engineering to alter target specificity in a desired direction.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Thaden ◽  
Lawrence P. Park ◽  
Stacey A. Maskarinec ◽  
Felicia Ruffin ◽  
Vance G. Fowler ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The impact of bacterial species on outcome in bloodstream infections (BSI) is incompletely understood. We evaluated the impact of bacterial species on BSI mortality, with adjustment for patient, bacterial, and treatment factors. From 2002 to 2015, all adult inpatients with monomicrobial BSI caused by Staphylococcus aureus or Gram-negative bacteria at Duke University Medical Center were prospectively enrolled. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariable Cox regression with propensity score models were used to examine species-specific bacterial BSI mortality. Of the 2,659 enrolled patients, 999 (38%) were infected with S. aureus, and 1,660 (62%) were infected with Gram-negative bacteria. Among patients with Gram-negative BSI, Enterobacteriaceae (81% [1,343/1,660]) were most commonly isolated, followed by non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria (16% [262/1,660]). Of the 999 S. aureus BSI isolates, 507 (51%) were methicillin resistant. Of the 1,660 Gram-negative BSI isolates, 500 (30%) were multidrug resistant. The unadjusted time-to-mortality among patients with Gram-negative BSI was shorter than that of patients with S. aureus BSI (P = 0.003), due to increased mortality in patients with non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative BSI generally (P < 0.0001) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa BSI (n = 158) in particular (P < 0.0001). After adjustment for patient demographics, medical comorbidities, bacterial antibiotic resistance, timing of appropriate antibiotic therapy, and source control in patients with line-associated BSI, P. aeruginosa BSI remained significantly associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio = 1.435; 95% confidence interval = 1.043 to 1.933; P = 0.02). P. aeruginosa BSI was associated with increased mortality relative to S. aureus or other Gram-negative BSI. This effect persisted after adjustment for patient, bacterial, and treatment factors.


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