A review of Group B Streptococcus maternal-fetal infection

For a long time, infectious diseases have been a major public health problem, mainly maternal fetal infections linked to neonate’s mortality. Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) infection is one of the main infections, which threat mother-infant health. One of the major challenges that remains to be addressed is therapeutic care strategy, further, the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria which constitute a major challenge for clinicians. Concerning GBS an antibiotic prophylaxis regimen is adopted to reduce the vertical transmission of bacteria from mother to neonate and avoid the appearance of complications related to GBS infection such as early onset disease and late onset disease that can lead to stillbirths. Like most bacteria, GBS is susceptible to first-line antibiotics, and in case of resistance, therapy is based on second and third-line antibiotics. The drug susceptibility testing of microorganisms is therefore essential in the therapeutic strategy, because it not only facilitates the orientation of treatment but also help to set up a system supervising the expansion of resistant strains. This present paper constitutes a literature review on Streptococcus agalactiae maternal-fetal infection and summarizes some epidemiological studies on the emergence of this bacterium as well as it provides the prevalence of its resistance to antibiotics and outlines some vaccine development strategies

Antimycobacterial natural products from Moroccan medicinal plants: Chemical composition, bacteriostatic and bactericidal profile of Thymus satureioides and Mentha pulegium essential oils

Objective: To evaluate the susceptibility of Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis in vitro to the essential oils obtained from two medicinal plants: Thymus satureioides (T. satureioides) and Mentha pulegium (M. pulegium), and to study their chemical composition. Methods: The aerial parts of T. satureioides and M. pulegium (leaves and stems) were hydro-distillated using a Clevenger-type apparatus and essential oils were analyzed and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Antimycobacterial screening of essential oils was performed on the basis of the inhibition zone diameter by disc diffusion method against two mycobacterial strains whereas the minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration were determined by using the micro-dilution method. Results: Chemical analysis of their aerial part's essential oils gave as major compounds, borneol (34.26%), carvacrol (31.21%) and thymol (3.71%) for T. satureioides and R(+)-pulegone (75.48%), carvone (6.66%) and dihydrocarvone (4.64%) for M. pulegium. Thereafter their antimycobacterial effect evaluation, using the micro-dilution method, indicated that minimal inhibitory concentration values of T. satureioides essential oil ranged from 0.062% to 0.015% (v/v) and from 0.125% to 0.031% (v/v) for M. pulegium respectively against Mycobacterium aurum and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Conclusions: It is clearly evident from the results obtained that the Moroccan medicinal plants have great potential to be used as anti-tuberculosis agents. These findings may help scientists to undertake several research projects to discover useful natural product as new anti-tuberculosis drug

Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 1 Promoter Gene Polymorphisms (-580 A/G and -609 G/T) and TNFR1 Serum Levels with the Susceptibility to Gastric Precancerous Lesions and Gastric Cancer Related to H. pylori Infection in a Moroccan Population

Chronic inflammation due to H. pylori infection is the risk factor of gastric cancer (GC). Through its receptor (TNFR1), TNF-α plays a fundamental role in inflammatory, infectious, and tumor processes. Dysregulation of TNFR1 gene expression could impact many biological processes that can lead to cancer. This study is aimed at evaluating the association of TNFR1 promoter gene polymorphisms (-580 A/G and -609 G/T) and TNFR1 serum levels with GC and precancerous lesion susceptibility. Patients suffering from gastric lesions (65 chronic gastritis, 50 precancerous lesions, and 40 GC) related to H. pylori infection and 63 healthy controls (HC) were involved in this study. Individuals are genotyped by TNFR1 gene promoter sequencing, and TNFR1 serum levels were measured by the ELISA quantitative method. Concerning TNFR1 -609 G/T locus, we noticed that the T allele was associated with an attenuated susceptibility to GC (OR=0.4; p value = 0.02). At the genotypic level and under the recessive model, the TNFR1 -609 TT genotype showed a decreased risk of GC (OR=0.3, p value = 0.03) compared to the combined (GG/GT) genotypes. TNFR1 serum levels have been increased together with gastric lesion severity (p value < 0.05). The TNFR1 -609 TT genotype seemed linked to a low level of sTNFR1 compared to GT and GG genotypes (p value = 0.07). Concerning TNFR1 -580 A/G locus, no significant relation was noticed between this polymorphism and GC susceptibility, as well as with the TNFR1 serum level. Our results suggest that the TNFR1 -609 T allele appears to have a protective effect against GC. High levels of TNFR1 serum levels seemed to be associated with the aggressiveness of gastric lesions. Therefore, our results suggest that TNFR1 -609 T/G polymorphism and the TNFR1 serum levels may be related to GC susceptibility

Molecular docking of a set of flavonoid compounds with Helicobacter pylori virulence factors CagA and VacA

Introduction: Cytotoxin associated gene A (CagA) and vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA) proteins are the main Helicobacter pylori virulence factors. These toxins are associated with severe gastric diseases. Flavonoids are plant secondary metabolites that have shown great antibacterial effects. This work aimed to study the interaction of a set of flavonoid compounds with CagA and VacA proteins using molecular docking. Methods: A set of 54 flavonoid compounds were used in this study, and 36 of which passed the Lipinski rules of 5. The 3D structures of CagA and VacA proteins were obtained from the Protein Data Bank. The molecular docking was performed using AutoDock Vina software and the results were expressed in terms of binding energies (kcal/mol). Protein-ligand interactions were analyzed using PyMOL software. Results: For the CagA protein, the licochalcone A molecule showed the highest binding affinity (-8 kcal/mol). For the VacA protein, the galangin, luteolin, and apigenin molecules showed the highest binding affinity (-8.9, -8.5, and -8.2 kcal/mol, respectively). Interactions of the licochalcone A, galangin, luteolin, and apigenin with CagA and VacA proteins involved their hydroxyl groups and/or their carbonyl groups. Conclusion: Our study showed that these compounds might have the potential for their development into drugs for controlling H. pylori pathogenicity

Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors Associated with Adherence to Mediterranean Diet in Representative Adult Population in Casablanca City, Morocco: A Cross-Sectional Study

Several studies had revealed that following the Mediterranean diet (MD) contributes to beneficial health status and a decreased risk of many chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to assess adherence to MD in Casablanca City and to identify the relationship between MD adherence and sociodemographic and lifestyle parameters. This cross-sectional study concerned 719 subjects with complete dietary data. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire including sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. The dietary intake was assessed with the use of a food-frequency questionnaire. The compliance with MD was evaluated with a simplified MD score. Our study showed that high adherence to the MD was characterized by high intakes of vegetables, fruits, pulses, fish, cereals, olive oil, and low meat and dairy consumption according to the Simplified MD score. As regard to the multivariate logistic, being a man, being married, persons with a level of education >6 years, luxurious housing, and consumption of alcohol were associated with a higher adherence to MD, while, the overweight was negatively associated with a higher adherence to MD. Maintaining the traditional MD pattern is crucial for public health; in this way, more research is needed in this area in order to precisely measure these associations

Association des polymorphismes -238(G/A) et -308(G/A) du promoteur du TNF alpha et des taux sériques de TNF alpha avec la susceptibilité aux lésions précancéreuses et cancéreuses gastriques associées à l'infection par Helicobacter pylori dans la population Marocaine.

International audienceObjective: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) induces the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which is closely related to a gastric epithelial injury. TNF-α gene polymorphism and TNF-α serum levels are associated with various malignant conditions. Identification of the ideal marker for gastric cancer (GC) is still the leading aim of several trials. Physio-pathological considerations of GC led us to investigate the association of two TNF-α promoter polymorphisms (-308G>A and -238G>A), and TNF-α serum levels with the susceptibility to gastric precancerous (PL) and GC.Methods: Patients suffering from gastric lesions (65 chronic gastritis, 50 PL, 40 GC) related to H. pylori ‎infection , and 63 healthy controls (HC) were involved in this study. Individuals are genotyped by TNF-α gene promoter sequencing and TNF-α serum levels are measured by ELISA quantitative method.Results: Regarding TNF-α-308 G/A locus, we noticed higher risk for GC (OR=4.3, CI 1.5-11.9, p-value=0.005) and PL (OR=3.4, CI 1.2-9.2, p-value=0.01) for individuals with AA/GA genotypes compared to GG genotype. Concerning TNF-α-238 G/A locus, we noticed higher risk for GC (OR=5.9, CI 1.2-27.5, p-value=0.01) and PL (OR=4.8, CI 1.3-18, p-value=0.01) for individuals with GG genotype compared to AA/GA genotypes. We noticed that TNF-α serum levels have been increased together with gastric lesions severity. Moreover, TNF-α-308 and TNF-α-238 A alleles seemed to, respectively, upregulate and downregulate TNF-α serum levels.Conclusion: The TNF-α -308 A allele has a promotive effect for GC progression, whereas the TNF-α -238 A allele has a protective function against GC progression. High levels of TNF-α seemed to be associated with the aggressiveness of gastric lesions. TNF-α gene polymorphisms and TNF-α serum levels might be helpful to select those patients who are at high risk for GC