Differences in proteolytic activity and gene profiles of fungal strains isolated from the total parenteral nutrition patients

Fungal infections constitute a serious clinical problem in the group of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition. The majority of species isolated from infections of the total parenteral nutrition patients belong to Candida genus. The most important factors of Candida spp. virulence are the phenomenon of “phenotypic switching,” adhesins, dimorphism of fungal cells and the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes such as proteinases and lipases, including aspartyl proteinases. We determined the proteolytic activity of yeast-like fungal strains cultured from the clinical materials of patients receiving total parenteral nutrition and detected genes encoding aspartyl proteinases in predominant species Candida glabrata—YPS2, YPS4, and YPS6, and Candida albicans—SAP1–3, SAP4, SAP5, and SAP6. C. albicans released proteinases on the various activity levels. All C. glabrata strains obtained from the clinical materials of examined and control groups exhibited secretion of the proteinases. All 13 isolates of C. albicans possessed genes SAP1–3. Gene SAP4 was detected in genome of 11 C. albicans strains, SAP5 in 6, and SAP6 in 11. Twenty-six among 31 of C. glabrata isolates contained YPS2 gene, 21 the YPS4 gene, and 28 the YPS6 gene. We observed that clinical isolates of C. albicans and C. glabrata differed in SAPs and YPSs gene profiles, respectively, and displayed differentiated proteolytic activity. We suppose that different sets of aspartyl proteinases genes as well as various proteinase-activity levels would have the influence on strains virulence

Circulating Microbial Products and Acute Phase Proteins as Markers of Pathogenesis in Lymphatic Filarial Disease

Lymphatic filariasis can be associated with development of serious pathology in the form of lymphedema, hydrocele, and elephantiasis in a subset of infected patients. Dysregulated host inflammatory responses leading to systemic immune activation are thought to play a central role in filarial disease pathogenesis. We measured the plasma levels of microbial translocation markers, acute phase proteins, and inflammatory cytokines in individuals with chronic filarial pathology with (CP Ag+) or without (CP Ag−) active infection; with clinically asymptomatic infections (INF); and in those without infection (endemic normal [EN]). Comparisons between the two actively infected groups (CP Ag+ compared to INF) and those without active infection (CP Ag− compared to EN) were used preliminarily to identify markers of pathogenesis. Thereafter, we tested for group effects among all the four groups using linear models on the log transformed responses of the markers. Our data suggest that circulating levels of microbial translocation products (lipopolysaccharide and LPS-binding protein), acute phase proteins (haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein-A), and inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-12, and TNF-α) are associated with pathogenesis of disease in lymphatic filarial infection and implicate an important role for circulating microbial products and acute phase proteins

Skin bacterial flora as a potential risk factor predisposing to late bacterial infection after cross-linked hyaluronic acid gel augmentation

Irina Netsvyetayeva,1 Wojciech Marusza,2 Romuald Olszanski,3 Kamila Szyller,2 Aneta Krolak-Ulinska,2 Ewa Swoboda-Kopec,1 Janusz Sierdzinski,4 Zachary Szymonski,5 Grazyna Mlynarczyk1 1Department of Microbiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland; 2Academy of Face Sculpturing, Warsaw, Poland; 3Military Institute of Health Services, Warsaw, Poland; 4Department of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland; 5Department of Zoology, Magdalen College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Introduction: Cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA) gel is widely used in esthetic medicine. Late bacterial infection (LBI) is a rare, but severe complication after HA augmentation. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients who underwent the HA injection procedure and developed LBI had qualitatively different bacterial flora on the skin compared to patients who underwent the procedure without any complications. Methods: The study group comprised 10 previously healthy women with recently diagnosed, untreated LBI after HA augmentation. The control group comprised 17 healthy women who had a similar amount of HA injected with no complications. To assess the difference between the two groups, their skin flora was cultured from nasal swabs, both before and after antibiotic treatment in the study group. Results: A significant increase in the incidence of Staphylococcus epidermidis was detected in the control group (P=0.000) compared to the study group. The study group showed a significantly higher incidence of Staphylococcus aureus (P=0.005), Klebsiella pneumoniae (P=0.006), Klebsiella oxytoca (P=0.048), and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (P=0.048) compared to the control group. Conclusion: The bacterial flora on the skin differed in patients with LBI from the control group. The control group’s bacterial skin flora was dominated by S. epidermidis. Patients with LBI had a bacterial skin flora dominated by potentially pathogenic bacteria. Keywords: hyaluronic acid, late bacterial infection, bacterial biofilm, skin bacterial flora, S. epidermidis, S. aureus, Klebsiella spp