Genetic Study Of Pocket A And B Domain Of RB1 Gene Among Malaysian Children With Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common intraocular tumor mainly affecting children under four years of age, with a prevalence of 1 in 15 000 to 20 000 live births. Retinoblastoma (RB) adalah sejenis kanser mata yang sering terjadi di kalangan kanakkanak yang berumur empat tahun dan ke bawah dengan kekerapan seorang pesakit di kalangan 15,000 hingga 20,000 kelahiran

Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding folate intake among female students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan

Background: Knowledge regarding folate intake plays important role in public health especially for women in the reproductive age, since lacking of folate intake may cause neural tube defects in baby during pregnancy. However, the level of knowledge regarding folate of women in the reproductive age in many parts of the world are of concern. The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of folate intake among female undergraduate students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan campus. Besides that, this study also aims to assess the relationship between the KAP regarding folate among female IIUM Kuantan undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study whereby 111 female undergraduate students had completed an online survey questionnaire using Google Docs. The questionnaire consists of 71 questions which were divided into four parts (social-demographic characteristic, knowledge and attitude regarding folate and practice of folate intake). The data was analysed by descriptive frequency and Pearson correlation test to find the association between KAP of folate among female IIUM Kuantan undergraduate students. Result: Overall, 91% of the respondents ever heard about folate. All respondents have a very good attitude regarding folate however only 8% were assessed with good practice of folate intake. Significant correlation was observed between knowledge and attitude regarding folate but not for other factors. Conclusion: This study indicates that the respondents have a good knowledge and attitude towards folate intake, but not portrayed in their daily practice. This could be due to their marital status where all of them are single, still in study period and yet to pregnant, thus folate intake is not necessary at the current time

Inhibition of Streptococcus pneumoniae hyaluronidase by honeys of Malaysian origins

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major human pathogen causing meningitis, pneumonia and bacteraemia produces hyaluronidase as its virulence factor. This enzyme increases the bacterial permeability to the host tissue by degrading hyaluronic acids that maintain the viscosity of connective tissues. Limited hyaluronidase inhibitors are available at the moment, thus leading us to identify potential hyaluronidase inhibitors from local products such as honeys. Three local honeys (Tualang, Kelulut and Gelam) have been selected and undergo hyaluronidase inhibition test through hyaluronic acids turbidity reduction assay. Honey that shows the highest and lowest anti-hyaluronidase was analysed for flavonoid and phenolic content, to identify association between the contents and hyaluronidase inhibition rate. All honeys showed various degrees of inhibition against hyaluronidase of S. pneumoniae where honey with the highest antihyaluronidase activity is Kelulut with 18% inhibition, while honey with the lowest antihyaluronidase activity is Gelam with 2% inhibition. Kelulut also demonstrated highest phenolic content, where significant association was found between the inhibition and the content. Therefore, this study supported the claim that higher phenolic contents indicate greater inhibitory activity on hyaluronidase enzyme. The findings suggest that local Malaysian honey have potential as hyaluronidase inhibitor which could be beneficial for future treatment against S. pneumoniae infections

Antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus epidermidis among undergraduate students in Malaysia Public University Health Campus

Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis) has become one of the major concerns in the hospital setting due to its ability to cause hospital-acquired infection particularly from medical device contamination. The management of S. epidermidis infections become more challenging with the increase of antimicrobial resistance cases over the past years. Limited reports on S. epidermidis antibiotic resistance among healthy people leave uncertainty about the magnitude of antimicrobial resistance spreads among the community. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of S. epidermidis isolated from healthy undergraduate students in one of Malaysia public universities-health campuses. Ninety-six hand palm swab samples were collected and undergo several tests, including microscopic, biochemical identification tests and antibiotic susceptibility test for erythromycin, oxacillin, gentamicin, penicillin and tetracycline following Kirby-Bauer test. A total of 43 samples showed the presence of S. epidermidis (44.8%), where 72.1% of the isolates showed resistance towards at least one type of antibiotic. The highest and lowest resistance was observed for penicillin and gentamycin, respectively. Although there is no significant difference of antibiotic susceptibility pattern was observed between genders, the presence of high antibiotic resistance in S. epidermidis among these healthy communities should warrant further investigation since the spreading of the resistant strain could occur in the wider community population without notice

Hyaluronatelyase production by Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from patients and carriers

Hyaluronatelyase produced by various microorganisms are capable of degrading hyaluronic acid in connective tissues and initiating the spread of infection by opening an access for the pathogen into host tissues. The present study attempts to determine the distribution of hyaluronatelyase-producing Streptococcus pneumoniae among invasive, non invasive and carriage isolates, and correlate it with the clinical sources, year of isolation, colonial morphology and their serotypes. A total of 100 isolates from various clinical samples were selected and screened for hyaluronatelyase production and presence of the encoding SpnHyl gene. All isolates possessed SpnHyl gene. Ninety-six isolates including 34 carriage isolates were positive for production of hyaluronatelyase. Four hyaluronatelyase-negative isolates were from blood (2 isolates) and sputum (2 isolates). No significant association was detected among hyaluronatelyase production and bacterial characteristics except for colonial morphology (p = 0.040). High percentages of hyaluronatelyase production in these isolates suggest their possible role as human pathogens

PCR-based construction and transformation of CodY gene deletion construct in streptococcus pneumoniae

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a gram-positive diplococci belonging to the genus Streptococcus and it is a well-studied pathogenic bacterium. Pneumococcal diseases such as otitis media, pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis caused by pathogenic strains of S. pneumoniae still brought significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. The pathogenicity of S. pneumoniae is exerted by various virulence factors and one of it is the enzyme hyaluronate lyase. Hyaluronate lyase plays a major role in the invasive capability of S. pneumoniae. Its mechanism of action and crystallographic structure have been determinedbut its regulatory mechanism is still poorly understood. Drawing connections between the nutritional behaviour and invasive property of S. pneumoniae, CodY regulator is hypothesized as a potential hyaluronate lyase regulator. This work was aimed to construct CodY deficient mutant of S. pneumoniae to form foundational work for the study of CodY regulatory effect on hyaluronate lyase. Materials and method: A single gene-deletion method was chosen to create CodY mutant construct containing aphA-3 gene (encoding kanamycin resistance protein) replacement cassette by employing recombinant fusion PCR method. A single band DNA product at the expected size of 2,563 bp after recombinant fusion PCR was visualized on agarose gel electrophoresis. This indicated that the linear recombinant amplicon has been successfully constructed. The recombinant amplicon was transformed into S. pneumoniae cells of Malaysian local clinical isolate by employing the competence stimulating peptide (CSP-1) to enhance and induce natural competence. Results: No viable CodY mutant was evident post-transformation. The negative transformation result was postulated to be due to the essential nature of CodY regulator. Conclusion: This work can provide basis for recombinant fusion PCR method in designing and constructing single gene deletion construct. However, further work is needed to identify the regulatory agent of hyaluronate lyas

Antibiotic susceptibility study Of metal-gentamicin complexes against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Introduction: Dental plaque is a structurally and functionally organized biofilm. Modern molecular biological techniques have identified about 1000 different bacterial species in the dental biofilm, twice as many as can be cultured. Inherent resistance of biofilm bacteria to conventional antibiotics is alarming. It induces antibiotic resistance to an order of three or more in magnitude greater than those displayed by planktonic bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus is the most dominant bacterial species isolated from the saliva and dental plaques. One of the reasons for its pathogenicity is its ability to form biofilms. In this study, the resistance of S. aureus biofilms against a eries of metal-antibiotics, an alternative to the conventional antibiotics, was investigated. Materials and Methods: A series of metal-antibiotic complexes derived from gentamicin was synthesized to give metal-gentamicin complexes. The metal contents of all the compounds were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Antibiotic susceptibility testing of the gentamicin-antibiotic complexes against several strains of S. aureus biofilms was conducted using broth microdilution assay. Results: The results showed that S. aureus is susceptible against Co(II) and Fe(II) gentamicin complexes; all were tested at 0.25 to 1 mmol concentrations. Conclusion(s): Co(II) and Fe(II)-gentamicin complexes demonstrated antimicrobial activity

Antibiotic susceptibility study of metal-gentamicin complexes against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

Introduction: Inherent resistance of biofilm bacteria to conventional antibiotics is alarming because biofilms induce antibiotic resistance to an order of three or more in magnitude greater than those displayed by planktonic bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an infectious organism that causes the hallmark of chronic infections including hospital acquired infections that leads to high morbidity and mortality. One of the reasons for the occurrence of resistance is its ability to form biofilms. In this study, the resistance of P. aeruginosa biofilms against a series of metal-antibiotics, an alternative to the conventional antibiotics, was investigated. Methods: A series of metal-antibiotic complexes derived from gentamicin was synthesized to give metal-gentamicin complexes. The metal contents of all the compounds were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Antibiotic susceptibility testing of the gentamicin-antibiotic complexes against the biofilms was conducted using broth microdilution assay. Results: The results showed that P. aeruginosa is susceptible against all the metal-gentamicin complexes, which include, Ni(II), Fe(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Co(II) complexes; all were tested at 0.25 to 1 mmol concentrations. Conclusions: The results show that all metal-gentamicin complexes have higher antimicrobial activity than gentamicin (0.25 to 1 mmol) on its own. Finally, mechanisms of P. aeruginosa biofilms resistance to these metal-antibiotics are also proposed

Hyaluronate lyase activity in Malaysian Isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important pathogen cause various severe illness in human particularly pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. One of its virulence factors is hyaluronate lyase, an enzyme which degrades hyaluronic acid (HA), a major component in extracellular matrix of human connective tissues. Degradation of HA decrease host tissue viscosity and eventually increase tissue permeability to allow migration of pneumococcus or its product into human tissues. The study attempted to screen production of hyaluronate lyase in 100 isolates of S. pneumoniae from various sites and year of isolation, and other bacterial characteristics. Ninety-six isolates (96%) showed positive hyaluronate lyase through hyaluronic acid diffusion agar method. Few positive hyaluronate lyase isolates were selected and proceed to enzymatic activity determination through hyaluronic acid turbidity reduction assay. The study found that non-vaccine serotypes and carriage isolates showed high hyaluronate lyase activity than invasive isolates. This finding suggest that hyaluronate lyase in S. pneumoniae might play more important role in pneumococcal colonization than invasion