Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology
Volume:12 Issue: 9, Sep 2019

 As a neglected disease, cutaneous leishmaniasis renders considerable incidence rates. Eastern Mediterranean countries such as Iran are endemic for this infection.

 Herein, we determined the species/strains of the causative agents of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Dasht-e-Azadegan, Khuzestan, Iran, using PCR-RFLP in 2016.

 We microscopically examined 80 smear slides from suspected patients referring to health centers of the city. After DNA extraction from slide materials, the amplification of the ITS1 fragment was done using the LITSR and L5.8S primer pair for Leishmania molecular detection. Subsequently, HaeIII (species level), TaqI (strain level), DpnI, and HpaII (mutation analysis) digestion was exerted based on the RFLP method.

 Microscopic examination revealed the amastigote forms of Leishmania in all 80 samples. A 350 bp band was amplified by ITS1-PCR, which confirmed the infection at the molecular level. Following HaeIII digestion, 150 and 200 bp fragments were produced indicating Leishmania major. Also, TaqI digestion rendered 130 and 200 bp bands suggesting the A1 strain. Moreover, no mutations were detected in the genome of the identified L. major A1 strains by DpnI (140 and 200 bp bands) and HpaII (no digestion) digestion.

 The genotypic heterogeneity of Leishmania species is of utmost importance for better treatment choices, appropriate diagnosis, and preventive measures. Future work in the area should address the parasite strains in alternative vector/reservoir hosts.
 

 The eradication of multidrug-resistant Helicobacter pylori has become a major problem for medical care.

 In this study, the probiotics supernatant against drug-resistant H. pylori has been investigated.

 First, the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the six H. pylori isolated from patients were determined by E-test. Second, Lactobacillus isolates with anti-H. pylori were activity isolated from healthy baby feces in order to inhibit the growth of H. pylori HP3. Furthermore, physical and chemical properties of antimicrobial fraction S18 and the viability of Lactobacillus reuteri S18 were investigated in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid.

 Multidrug-resistant H. pylori HP3 isolates showing four typical antibiotic resistances were selected for further study in which Lactobacillus isolates inhibited the growth of the H. pylori HP3 by producing lactate and acetic acid, and its anti-H. pylori activity disappeared after the neutralization of pH. Lactobacillus reuteri S18 with an inhibitory value (∼75%) were selected as a fighter against H. pylori HP3. Antimicrobial fraction S18 from L. reuteri S18 is stable in pepsin and is inactivated by trypsin, lysozyme and protease K. In the end, it was observed that the growth of H. pylori HP3 was completely suppressed by the antimicrobial fraction S18 at a working time of 8 h. Moreover, the cell viability of L. reuteri S18 was decreased by 20.8% and 62.5% after treatment in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid, respectively. Lactobacillus reuteri S18 can survive in the stomach (acidic environment) fighting for the H. pylori HP3, which can be suppressed in the intestine subsequently.

 Lactobacillus reuteri S18 holds the potential to be applied to medical care against multidrug-resistant H. pylori.

 Today, most patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis are treated with drugs such as glucantime; however, severe drug resistance to these drugs is found, in addition to recurrence, extensive drug complications, and secondary infections in many patients.

 Therefore, due to the lack of sufficient information on this subject, this study was undertaken for the first time to investigate the antimicrobial activity of multifunctional lactoferrin as one of the most important bioactive compounds on amastigotes and promastigotes forms of Leishmania major in vitro.

 In this study, six concentrations of lactoferrin (2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 µg/mL) were added to parasite cultures at specified times. The MTT was done. Leishmania major promastigotes were incorporated to J774 cells and then incubated for 72 hours. The results were compared with the results of glucantime, as a standard. In the end, flow cytometry was performed to investigate apoptosis.

 After 24, 48, and 72 hours of incubation in the presence of various concentrations of lactoferrin, the number of amastigotes and promastigote parasites increased over time without any significant difference compared to the control group (P > 0.05), but it was significant compared to glucantime at the 80 µg/mL concentration (P < 0.05). Besides, lactoferrin showed very low toxicity effects on macrophages and stimulated the growth of both forms of L. major parasite.

 Our findings indicated that lactoferrin could not induce early and late apoptosis in both forms of L. major.

Helicobacter pylori is one of the most widely distributed and most common bacteria in the world. There is a discrepancy in the H. pylori infection rate among different regions and countries that may be due to many factors.

The study aimed to determine the current status of H. pylori infection in the Tianjin Binhai area, China, and evaluate the factors related to H. pylori infection.

We recruited a sample of 2235 cases and conducted the 14C or 13C breath tests and questionnaire surveys. The factors affecting H. pylori infection were analyzed using the chi-square test and multiple logistic regression.

The overall H. pylori infection rate was 45.6%, with the highest rate among male and married population and the lowest rate in the 11 - 20-year-old group. Moreover, populations with a high degree of culture or income had lower infection rates (P < 0.05). Populations who were smoking, drinking, eating seafood, or had more salt intake had higher infection rates (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the infection rate was higher in the population who had hypertension (P = 0.001) or dyspeptic symptoms (P < 0.05) in the last year. It was revealed that taking a previous H. pylori examination and education level were negatively correlated with H. pylori infection, and marital status was an important influential factor for H. pylori infection.

The rate of H. pylori infection was lower in the Tianjin Binhai area than in the whole country, which may be related to socioeconomic status and marital status. Furthermore, it is also probably related to gender and hypertension.

 Malaria is the parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium infection, and is transmitted to humans through the bite of female anopheles. At present, malaria remains the most important cause of disease and death among children and adults. Approximately 214 million people are infected with malaria worldwide.

 This study aimed to analyze the distribution level and compare procalcitonin and C-reactive protein (CRP) in malaria patients before and after treatment, with focus on discussing the prognostic value of procalcitonin recovery level for recrudescence within two weeks of antimalarial treatment.

 A retrospective analysis was adopted. We measured the procalcitonin and CRP inflammatory markers of 22 imported malaria patients, who were hospitalized in our hospital from January 2014 to February 2018. The trends of procalcitonin and CRP levels in three malaria patients before and after antimalarial treatment and during recrudescence were applied.

 The procalcitonin level was significantly elevated before antimalarial treatment in 95% (21/22) of the patients, but sharply declined within two weeks after treatment. The procalcitonin levels of 59% (13/22) and 23% (5/22) of the patients were < 0.5 ng/mL and 0.5 - 0.8 ng/mL, respectively. The difference in the procalcitonin level before and after treatment was statistically significant (Z = 4.074, P < 0.05), and the difference in the CRP level before treatment (99.63 ± 51.63 mg/L) and after treatment (20.08 ± 13.45 mg/L) was statistically significant (t = 8.167, P < 0.05). Three patients suffered from recrudescence. The procalcitonin levels of two patients were > 1.0 ng/mL and failed to recover to the normal level within two weeks after antimalarial treatment while the procalcitonin level of one patient was 0.89 ng/mL. The dynamic observation showed that the procalcitonin level progressively increased and the procalcitonin level was 0.89 ng/mL when Plasmodium was found in the blood smear.

 The procalcitonin and CRP serum levels were significantly elevated among malaria patients. The majority of the patients recovered to the normal level within two weeks after effective antimalarial treatment and no longer suffered from recrudescence. However, the procalcitonin recovery level within two weeks after antimalarial treatment remained > 0.8 ng/mL. Hence, heightened alertness should be given to recrudescence.
 

Bactenecin is one of the smallest cationic eukaryotic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with a length of 12 residues and a beta-turn structure originated from bovine neutrophil cells. Previous studies reported poor capability of this peptide against Gram-negative bacteria.

The present study aimed at investigating the bactenecin bactericidal activity and determining the effect of increasing the positive charge of amine and carboxyl terminus and increasing the hydrophobicity of the central part of the antimicrobial peptide.

Similar to the native peptide, three designed variants were employed named BM1, BM2, and BM3 that had increased positive charges, hydrophobicity, and a combination of both, respectively. Conditions for purifying and assaying their antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria were predicted and optimized by APD3 and ExPASy servers. The cloned and expressed peptides in Pichia pastoris GS115 were partially purified by anion and cation exchange chromatography. The final purification rate of AMPs by HPLC was reported to be 70% and peptides were further characterized by LC-mass analysis. Finally, a minimum inhibitory concentration test was conducted.

The results implied the more significant effect of positive charges on the performance of these peptides against Escherichia coli.

 Some evidence indicates that there is a potential linkage between ciprofloxacin resistance and the prevalence of virulence factors in pathogenic Escherichia coli strains.

 The study was conducted to evaluate the association of eight putative adhesin-encoding genes and 12 O-serotypes among ciprofloxacin susceptible/resistant in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolates.

 A total of 100 E. coli isolates collected from symptomatic patients with urinary tract infection were surveyed for antimicrobial susceptibility test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to find the presence of eight putative adhesin-encoding genes and 12 O-serotype and their association with ciprofloxacin susceptibility and resistance.

 The highest and the lowest resistance rates were obtained against ampicillin (92%) and gentamycin (19%), respectively. However, the resistance rate to ciprofloxacin was detected in 43% of E. coli isolates. PCR results revealed the frequency of eight putative adhesin markers ranged from 4 to 95%. The presence of 2 genes (fimH and sfa) was >76% among all screened isolates. Of 100 UPEC isolates, 73 were positive for one of the tested O-serotypes. The most common types of O-serotype were O2 (16%), O6 (16%), and O18 (14%). The fimH, sfa, and papC were the most prevalent pattern in the ciprofloxacin-susceptible isolates (31 vs. 17). There was no significant correlation between the presence of O-serotype, adhesin-encoding genes and susceptibility/resistance to ciprofloxacin.

 The results revealed that UPEC isolates of different geographical regions might have various properties. It is worthwhile to elucidate the differences that might result in producing valuable evidence based on clinical guidelines for the management of urinary tract infection.