Natural and innate immunity

Author(s):  
Mark Harrison

This chapter describes the microbiology of natural and innate immunity as it applies to Emergency Medicine, and in particular the Primary FRCEM examination. The chapter outlines the key details of barriers to infection, normal bacterial flora, and phagocytes and complement. This chapter is laid out exactly following the RCEM syllabus, to allow easy reference and consolidation of learning.

Author(s):  
Dr Mark Harrison

1.1 Barriers to infection, 151 1.2 Normal bacterial flora, 152 1.3 Phagocytes and complement, 152 • Anatomical barrier physically preventing invasion of microorganisms. • Chemical barrier providing unfavourable conditions for most organisms to survive due to: ▪ Free fatty acids produced by the sebaceous glands and skin flora...


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 714-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin A. Clothier ◽  
Simone Stoute ◽  
Andrea Torain ◽  
Beate Crossley

Avibacterium paragallinarum is the causative agent of infectious coryza, a highly contagious respiratory disease in chickens. Given its fastidious nature, this bacterium is difficult to recover and identify, particularly from locations colonized by normal bacterial flora. Standard PCR methods have been utilized for detection but are labor-intensive and not feasible for high-throughput testing. We evaluated a real-time PCR (rtPCR) method targeting the HPG-2 region of A. paragallinarum, and validated a high-throughput extraction for this assay. Using single-tube extraction, the rtPCR detected 4 A. paragallinarum (ATCC 29545T and 3 clinical) isolates with a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 cfu/mL and a PCR efficiency of 89–111%. Cross-reaction was not detected with 33 non– A. paragallinarum, all close relatives from the family Pasteurellaceae. Real-time PCR testing on extracts of 66 clinical samples (choana, sinus, or trachea) yielded 98.2% (35 of 36 on positives, 30 of 30 on negatives) agreement with conventional PCR. Duplicate samples tested in a 96-well format extraction in parallel with the single-tube method produced equivalent LOD on all A. paragallinarum isolates, and 96.8% agreement on 93 additional clinical samples extracted with both procedures. This A. paragallinarum rtPCR can be utilized for outbreak investigations and routine monitoring of susceptible flocks.


1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (4) ◽  
pp. C1160-C1167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana D. Savkovic ◽  
Athanasia Koutsouris ◽  
Gail Hecht

The initial response to infection is recruitment of acute inflammatory cells to the involved site. Interleukin (IL)-8 is the prototypical effector molecule for this process. Transcription of the IL-8 gene is primarily governed by the nuclear transcription factor (NF)-κB. Intestinal epithelial cells produce IL-8 in response to infection by enteric pathogens yet remain quiescent in a milieu where they are literally bathed in normal bacterial flora. We therefore sought to investigate NF-κB activation in response to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), nonpathogenic E. coli, and bacterial lipopolysaccharide in an intestinal epithelial cell (T84) model and to determine whether EPEC-induced activation of NF-κB factor is causally linked to IL-8 production. We report herein that NF-κB is activated by EPEC, yet such a response is not extended to nonpathogenic organisms or purified E. coli lipopolysaccharide. Transcription factor decoys significantly diminished IL-8 production in response to EPEC, demonstrating a causal relationship. Furthermore, deletion of specific EPEC virulence genes abrogates the NF-κB-activating property of this pathogen, suggesting that specific bacterial factors are crucial for inducing this response. These studies show for the first time that infection of intestinal epithelial cells with EPEC activates NF-κB, which in turn initiates IL-8 transcription, and highlight the differential response of these cells to bacterial pathogens vs. nonpathogens.


2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Karimsab ◽  
SK Razak

Introduction: Normal bacterial flora may be altered by a variety of factors. Objective: To study the aerobic bacterial conjunctival flora in patients with diabetes mellitus and to find its clinical significance by comparing the results to the conjunctival flora of non-diabetic subjects. Materials and methods: A total of 75 diabetic patients were included as cases and 25 nondiabetics as controls to compare the results. Specimens for the study of conjunctival flora were taken by rubbing sterile cotton-tipped swabs to the inferior palbebral conjunctiva. The conjunctival culture report of the patients with diabetic mellitus was compared to that of nondiabetic subjects. Results: Positive conjunctival cultures were seen in a higher percentage of patients with diabetes (unilateral and bilateral positive conjunctival cultures 34.66 % and 58.66 % respectively) compared to that in non-diabetic controls (unilateral and bilateral positive conjunctival cultures 24 % and 16 % respectively). Diabetics showed a higher proportion of coagulase negative staphylococci (45.33 %), compared to the non-diabetic group (16 %). Among the diabetic patients, positive conjunctival cultures were detected more frequently in those with diabetic retinopathy compared to those without retinopathy. A higher proportions of bilateral positive conjunctival cultures were seen in cases with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (38.63 %) in comparison to patients with no retinopathy and different stages of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Conclusion: The conjunctival floral pattern with increased bacteria in diabetics is a predominant cause of many diabetes-related ocular infections. The presence of diabetic retinopathy is an indicator for increased colonization of conjunctiva, and its severity correlates with the severity of diabetic retinopathy. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2013; 5(9):28-32 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v5i1.7818


Pharmacology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 98-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuaki Dan ◽  
Naohiro Katoh ◽  
Takaaki Matsuoka ◽  
Katsuyuki Fujinami

Background: Historical evidence has verified the multifaceted antiviral efficacy of polyoxometalates (PMs). Methods: We carried out a study to investigate the antimicrobial effects of each of the 5 substances comprising virus block (VB): 3 PMs that have antibacterial and antiviral activity, an antibiotic agent, and an antibacterial agent. We also investigated the effectiveness of the addition of VB to moist hand towels in a study involving 120 volunteers. The time-dependent changes in metal ion concentrations in aqueous VB solution were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Results: The metal elements in the aqueous VB solution remained stable for 12 weeks without undergoing time-dependent changes. Discussion: Further investigations were performed to study hand hygiene using moist hand towels in daily life settings. To this end, 120 volunteers provided 240 specimens that were used to investigate the presence of antibacterial compounds on the volunteers’ hands before and after hand towel use. An aliquot of each specimen was suspended in phosphate-buffered saline and plated on agar media, and the number of colonies formed was counted. Normal bacterial flora found on the hands of the volunteers was investigated before and after the use of 4 different moist hand towels. Conclusions: The effects of VB and PMs were superior to those of commercial moist hand towels, indicating that effective data were obtained that may be useful for the practical application of the tested items.


The Lancet ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 343 (8895) ◽  
pp. 444-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.A. Wetter ◽  
R.M. Hamadeh ◽  
J. McL Griffis ◽  
A. Oesterie ◽  
B. Aagaard ◽  
...  

1967 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 305-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene W. Ronald ◽  
R. L. Morris

Summary Levels of copper toxicity have been established in distilled water using the distilled water suitability test. It is shown that levels of copper, toxic by the distilled water suitability test, are not toxic to the test organism, Aerobacter aerogenes, in sterile milk or to the normal bacterial flora of a raw milk sample. It is the contention of this paper that the distilled water suitability test is an unrealistically severe yardstick of distilled water quality for use in routine milk and water laboratories.


1985 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen M. Coppola ◽  
Geoffrey Furness

Tween purple agar containing 1% fructose (TFP agar) differentiated Corynebacterium genitalium from C. pseudogenitalium, which respectively formed colorless and yellow colonies after 72 h incubation at 37 °C aerobically or in 5–10% CO2 in air. Thus TFP agar is a differential medium. Corynebacteria-like colonies grown on nonspecific urethritis (NSU) chocolate agar from urogenital material were identified as C. genitalium, C. pseudogenitalium, or commensals when subcultured on TPF agar. TFP agar was unsuitable for their primary isolation since the commensals turned the medium yellow with 24 h incubation. Gentamicin cannot be employed as a selective agent in medium for the isolation of these corynebacteria. TFP agar containing 10 μg/mL gentamicin inhibited most strains of C. pseudogenitalium and C. genitalium isolated from urogenital infections. It did not inhibit isolates of these corynebacteria from cancer patients or suppress the normal bacterial flora of the urogenital tract. Evidence that gentamicin-resistant strains are characteristic of nosocomial infections is presented.


Author(s):  
Katharina Schuetz ◽  
Julia Kontsendorn ◽  
Nils Janzen ◽  
Jan Fuge ◽  
Simon Grewendorf ◽  
...  

Background: Newborn screening (NBS) has been shown to improve CF disease course and has been widely implemented worldwide. This monocentric study compared children diagnosed by NBS vs. a cohort preceding the implementation of NBS in Germany in 2016 to evaluate ascribed benefits of NBS. Methods: We compared all children with confirmed CF diagnosis (n=19, “NBS group”) out of all children presenting with positive NBS at our center after implementation of NBS (n=100) to children diagnosed with CF at our center within 4 years before NBS implementation (n=29, “pre-NBS group”) for outcomes of anthropometry, gastrointestinal and pulmonary disease manifestations and respiratory microbiology. Results: Children diagnosed by NBS had a lower incidence of initial feeding problems (15% vs. 41%), had a higher BMI z-score at diagnosis and higher mean z-scores for BMI, weight and length during the study period. Children in the pre-NBS group displayed higher proportions of oxygen-dependent pulmonary exacerbations (10% vs. 0%), a significantly lower amount of normal bacterial flora (p=0.005) along with a significantly higher number of throat swab cultures positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (p=0.0154) in the first year of life. Yet, pulmonary imaging did not reveal less pulmonary morbidity in the NBS compared to the pre-NBS group. Conclusions: Our results confirm that NBS for CF leads to earlier diagnosis and improves nutritional outcomes in early childhood. Although trajectories of structural lung damage at early age were unaffected by NBS, NBS positive CF patients at preschool age displayed less severe pulmonary exacerbations and pathological bacteria in throat swabs.


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