Inhibition of Anthranilate Synthase Component II, a Novel Protein of S. pneumoniae as a Potential Target for Therapy

Streptococcus pneumoniae infects the human body primarily through the respiratory tract; however, no evident inflammatory responses are observed upon infection. Even though the inflammatory response is the body's primary immune response, the latency of the inflammatory responses may be attributable to the presence of an anthranilate derivative, quinolone, an isostere of salicylic acid, which acts to suppress inflammation. The reduced immune response promotes the formation of the S. pneumoniae biofilm and increases virulence via quinolone and the derivative, fenamic acid, to elicit different responses. It was found in this study that coumarin binds with good affinity to the binding site of anthranilate synthase component II and also confers a good heme-protectant property. The enzyme anthranilate synthase is a virulent factor of S. pneumoniae and influences the inflammatory response signaling pathways. Inhibition of the anthranilate synthase pathway terminates the virulence of S. pneumoniae and helps prevent the impending severe pathogenesis of infection.

Mechanistic Understanding of Candida albicans Biofilm Formation and Approaches for Its Inhibition

In recent years, the demand for novel antifungal therapies has increased several- folds due to its potential to treat severe biofilm-associated infections. Biofilms are made by the sessile microorganisms attached to the abiotic or biotic surfaces, enclosed in a matrix of exopolymeric substances. This results in new phenotypic characteristics and intrinsic resistance from both host immune response and antimicrobial drugs. Candida albicans biofilm is a complex association of hyphal cells that are associated with both abiotic and animal tissues. It is an invasive fungal infection and acts as an important virulent factor. The challenges linked with biofilm-associated diseases have urged scientists to uncover the factors responsible for the formation and maturation of biofilm. Several strategies have been developed that could be adopted to eradicate biofilm-associated infections. This article presents an overview of the role of C. albicans biofilm in its pathogenicity, challenges it poses and threats associated with its formation. Further, it discusses strategies that are currently available or under development targeting prostaglandins, quorum-sensing, changing surface properties of biomedical devices, natural scaffolds, and small molecule-based chemical approaches to combat the threat of C. albicans biofilm. This review also highlights the recent developments in finding ways to increase the penetration of drugs into the extracellular matrix of biofilm using different nanomaterials against C. albicans.

Microbiological Quality of Slovak Traditional Cheese

The aim of this study was to investigate the micro-biological quality of traditional Slovak “bryndza” cheese made in Slovakia. Besides the common pathogenic bacteria, we focused on the analyses of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), the occurrence of which has been analysed only occasionally in a few products. As we chose food of the highest risk which contained raw milk, we expected several positive findings. The presence of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. was not confirmed. The enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus was more successful. In the case of VTEC stx and eae screening, the presence of genes producing verocytotoxins vtx1, vtx2 and the gene encoding virulent factor intimin—eae in nine samples by molecular-biological methods were revealed. Only one isolate, which carried genes vtx1 a vtx2 and did not belong to these serogroups: O157, O111, O26, O103, O145, or O104, was detected by confirmation assays.

High Occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Fitness Equipment from Selected Gymnasiums

Introduction. Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of cutaneous bacterial infection involving community. Methods. In this study, a total of 42 swab samples were collected from the surface of various fitness equipment such as back machines, exercise mats, dip stations, dumbbells, and treadmills. Identification of the bacterial isolates was conducted using biochemical tests and further analysed molecularly using the PCR method targeting nuc gene (270 bp). The nuc gene encodes for the thermonuclease enzyme, a virulent factor of S. aureus. Results. The findings showed 31 out of 42 swab samples (73.81%) were positive with S. aureus. Conclusion. This study showed that gymnasium equipment is a potential reservoir for S. aureus and might play an important role in transmitting the pathogen to humans. Objective. This study was undertaken to assess the presence of S. aureus on the surface of fitness equipment from selected gymnasiums in Kuching and Kota Samarahan, Sarawak (Malaysia).

A highly versatile convergent/divergent “onion peel” synthetic strategy toward potent multivalent glycodendrimers

Both convergent and divergent strategies for the synthesis of “onion peel” glycodendrimers are reported which resulted in one of the best multivalent ligands known against the virulent factor from a bacterial lectin isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Molecular analysis of enterolysin a and entL gene cluster from natural isolate Enterococcus faecalis BGPT1-10P

Strain Enterococcus faecalis BGPT1-10P was isolated from artisanal semi-hard homemade cheese from Stara Planina, Serbia. Results showed that BGPT1-10P synthesized a heat labile bacteriocin with a broad spectrum of activity, including Listeria and Candida species. Further analysis revealed that synthesized bacteriocin is enterolysin A. Moreover, the entL gene encoding enterolysin A was found to be located on the chromosome. The entL gene was cloned and sequenced. Analysis of nucleotide sequence showed that the entL gene in natural isolate En. faecalis BGPT1-10P is identical to that of the entL gene described previously in En. faecalis LMG 2333. Within the cloned DNA fragment containing the entL gene, four ORFs were detected. One of them was identified as the scpE gene, which encodes a virulent factor staphopain peptidase. Functional analysis of the entL gene showed that the complete genetic information necessary for the synthesis of enterolysin A were directly linked solely to it. Strain BGPT1-10P also synthesized gelatinase and citolysin, and contained a set of virulent factors. In addition, BGPT1-10P carries the ermB and tetM genes conferring the resistance to erythromycin and tetracycline, respectively.