The Kolumbo submarine volcano of Santorini island is a large pool of bacterial strains with antimicrobial activity

Microbes in hydrothermal vents with their unique secondary metabolism may represent an untapped potential source of new natural products. In this study, samples were collected from the hydrothermal field of Kolumbo submarine volcano in the Aegean Sea, in order to isolate bacteria with antimicrobial activity. Eight hundred and thirty-two aerobic heterotrophic bacteria were isolated and then differentiated through BOX-PCR analysis at the strain level into 230 genomic fingerprints, which were screened against 13 different type strains (pathogenic and nonpathogenic) of Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Forty-two out of 176 bioactive-producing genotypes (76 %) exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least four different type strains and were selected for 16S rDNA sequencing and screening for nonribosomal peptide (NRPS) and polyketide (PKS) synthases genes. The isolates were assigned to genus Bacillus and Proteobacteria, and 20 strains harbored either NRPS, PKS type I or both genes. This is the first report on the diversity of culturable mesophilic bacteria associated with antimicrobial activity from Kolumbo area; the extremely high proportion of antimicrobial-producing strains suggested that this unique environment may represent a potential reservoir of novel bioactive compounds

Impact of stable versus unstable coronary artery disease on 1-year outcome in elective patients undergoing multivessel revascularization with sirolimus-eluting stents - A subanalysis of the ARTS II trial

ObjectivesWe sought to evaluate the impact of unstable coronary artery disease (CAD) on short- and mid-term outcomes in patients with multivessel disease treated by multiple sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) as part of ARTS II (Arterial Revascularization Therapies Study Part II).BackgroundThe differential safety/efficacy profile of SES when implanted in patients with unstable angina (UA) in comparison with stable angina (SA) undergoing multivessel intervention is largely unknown.MethodsBetween February 2003 and November 2003, 607 patients at 45 participating centers were treated; 221 of them (36%) presented with UA.ResultsAt 30 days, the cumulative rate of death, myocardial infarction—defined as any creatine kinase (CK)/CK-myocardial band elevation beyond the upper limit of normal—cerebrovascular accident, and repeat revascularization (i.e., major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events [MACCEs]) was 19.9% in both groups. Angiographic subacute stent occlusion was documented in 1 (0.5%) and 4 (1%) patients in the UA and SA groups, respectively. At 1 year, the cumulative incidence of MACCEs was 27.1% in the UA and 24.9% in the SA group (p = 0.56). Two late occlusions occurred, both in the SA group. After adjustment for baseline and procedural characteristics, the presence of UA was not identified as an independent predictor of MACCE (hazard ratio 0.94; 95% confidence interval 0.41 to 2.12; p = 0.88). These findings remained consistent after increasing the CK/CK-myocardial band threshold to define periprocedural myocardial infarction up to at least 3 or 5 times the upper limit of normal.ConclusionsIn ARTS II, an unstable clinical presentation did not exert a negative impact on short- and mid-term outcome after SES implantation for multivessel disease. (ARTS II Trial; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00235170?order=1; NCT00235170)