Dynamics of PCR-based diagnosis in patients with invasive meningococcal disease

ABSTRACTInvasive meningococcal disease continues to be a life-threatening condition and rapid diagnosis is important for the administration of appropriate treatment. This study focused on the use of PCR for the diagnosis of meningococcal aetiology and the dynamics of PCR-based diagnosis over time in various biological samples. Sixty cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and 144 serum samples collected during the first week of hospitalisation from 37 patients with laboratory-confirmed invasive meningococcal disease were investigated. Overall, 91.9% of CSF samples and 45.9% of serum samples were PCR-positive, while culture of CSF and blood was positive for only 35% and 39% samples, respectively. Positive PCR results were obtained until day 7 with CSF and until day 5 with serum. It is therefore recommended that samples for molecular diagnosis should be collected early in the course of suspected invasive meningococcal disease

Kaempferol modulates pro-inflammatory NF-κB activation by suppressing advanced glycation endproducts-induced NADPH oxidase

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGE) are oxidative products formed from the reaction between carbohydrates and a free amino group of proteins that are provoked by reactive species (RS). It is also known that AGE enhance the generation of RS and that the binding of AGE to a specific AGE receptor (RAGE) induces the activation of the redox-sensitive, pro-inflammatory transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-ĸB). In this current study, we investigated the anti-oxidative effects of short-term kaempferol supplementation on the age-related formation of AGE and the binding activity of RAGE in aged rat kidney. We further investigated the suppressive action of kaempferol against AGE's ability to stimulate activation of pro-inflammatory NF-ĸB and its molecular mechanisms. For this study, we utilized young (6 months old), old (24 months old), and kaempferol-fed (2 and 4 mg/kg/day for 10 days) old rats. In addition, for the molecular work, the rat endothelial cell line, YPEN-1 was used. The results show that AGE and RAGE were increased during aging and that these increases were blunted by kaempferol. In addition, dietary kaempferol reduced age-related increases in NF-κB activity and NF-ĸB-dependant pro-inflammatory gene activity. The most significant new finding from this study is that kaempferol supplementation prevented age-related NF-κB activation by suppressing AGE-induced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NADPH oxidase). Taken together, our results demonstrated that dietary kaempferol exerts its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory actions by modulating the age-related NF-κB signaling cascade and its pro-inflammatory genes by suppressing AGE-induced NADPH oxidase activation. Based on these data, dietary kaempferol is proposed as a possible anti-AGE agent that may have the potential for use in anti-inflammation therapies