Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis caused by an epidemic metallo-β-lactamase-producing clone with a heterogeneous carbapenem resistance phenotype

AbstractAn epidemic IMP-13 metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa clone, causing infections and even large outbreaks in Italian critical care settings, was detected in a young cystic fibrosis patient. In this patient, the chronic infection was sustained by distinct clonal sub-populations of the MBL-producing P. aeruginosa clone, either susceptible or resistant to carbapenems. These findings underscore the importance of infection prevention practices in cystic fibrosis settings and pose an important diagnostic and therapeutic challenge

Proteomics boosts translational and clinical microbiology

The application of proteomics to translational and clinical microbiology is one of the most advanced frontiers in the management and control of infectious diseases and in the understanding of complex microbial systems within human fluids and districts. This new approach aims at providing, by dedicated bioinformatic pipelines, a thorough description of pathogen proteomes and their interactions within the context of human host ecosystems, revolutionizing the vision of infectious diseases in biomedicine and approaching new viewpoints in both diagnostic and clinical management of the patient.Indeed, in the last few years, many laboratories have matured a series of advanced proteomic applications, aiming at providing individual proteome charts of pathogens, with respect to their morph and/or cell life stages, antimicrobial or antimycotic resistance profiling, epidemiological dispersion. Herein, we aim at reviewing the current state-of-the-art on proteomic protocols designed and set-up for translational and diagnostic microbiological purposes, from axenic pathogens' characterization to microbiota ecosystems' full description. The final goal is to describe applications of the most common MALDI-TOF MS platforms to advanced diagnostic issues related to emerging infections, increasing of fastidious bacteria, and generation of patient-tailored phylotypes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Trends in Microbial Proteomics. © 2013 The Authors

Organization of Patient Management and Fungal Epidemiology in Cystic Fibrosis

The achievement of a better life for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients is mainly caused by a better management and infection control over the last three decades. Herein, we want to summarize the cornerstones for an effective management of CF patients and to give an overview of the knowledge about the fungal epidemiology in this clinical context in Europe. Data from a retrospective analysis encompassing 66,616 samples from 3235 CF patients followed-up in 9 CF centers from different European countries are shown

Power Test of the First Two HL-LHC Insertion Quadrupole Magnets Built at CERN

The High-Luminosity project (HL-LHC) of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), requires low β* quadrupole magnets in Nb$_3$Sn technology that will be installed on each side of the ATLAS and CMS experiments. After a successful shortmodel magnet manufacture and test campaign, the project has advanced with the production, assembly, and test of full-size 7.15- m-long magnets. In the last two years, two CERN-built prototypes (MQXFBP1 and MQXFBP2) have been tested and magnetically measured at the CERN SM18 test facility. These are the longest accelerator magnets based on Nb$_3$Sn technology built and tested to date. In this paper, we present the test and analysis results of these two magnets, with emphasis on quenches and training, voltage-current measurements and the quench localization with voltage taps and a new quench antenna

IL-1 receptor antagonist ameliorates inflammasome-dependent inflammation in murine and human cystic fibrosis

Dysregulated inflammasome activation contributes to respiratory infections and pathologic airway inflammation. Through basic and translational approaches involving murine models and human genetic epidemiology, we show here the importance of the different inflammasomes in regulating inflammatory responses in mice and humans with cystic fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening disorder of the lungs and digestive system. While both contributing to pathogen clearance, NLRP3 more than NLRC4 contributes to deleterious inflammatory responses in CF and correlates with defective NLRC4-dependent IL-1Ra production. Disease susceptibility in mice and microbial colonization in humans occurrs in conditions of genetic deficiency of NLRC4 or IL-1Ra and can be rescued by administration of the recombinant IL-1Ra, anakinra. These results indicate that pathogenic NLRP3 activity in CF could be negatively regulated by IL-1Ra and provide a proof-of-concept evidence that inflammasomes are potential targets to limit the pathological consequences of microbial colonization in CF