Search results for "Micro"
showing 10 items of 23412 documents
Co-existence of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance in new Klebsiella pneumoniae clones emerging in south of Italy
2018
Abstract Background Endemic presence of Klebsiella pneumoniae resistant to carbapenem in Italy has been due principally to the clonal expansion of CC258 isolates; however, recent studies suggest an ongoing epidemiological change in this geographical area. Methods 50 K. pneumoniae strains, 25 carbapenem-resistant (CR-Kp) and 25 susceptible (CS-Kp), collected from march 2014 to march 2016 at the Laboratory of Bacteriology of the Paolo Giaccone Polyclinic University hospital of Palermo, Italy, were characterized for antibiotic susceptibility and fully sequenced by next generation sequencing (NGS) for the in silico analysis of resistome, virulome, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and core sin…
Sex- and age patterns in incidence of infectious diseases in Germany: analyses of surveillance records over a 13-year period (2001–2013)
2018
AbstractSex differences in the incidence of infections may indicate different risk factors and behaviour but have not been analysed across pathogens. Based on 3.96 million records of 33 pathogens in Germany, notified from 2001 to 2013, we applied Poisson regression to generate age-standardised incidence rate ratios and assessed their distribution across age and sex. The following trends became apparent: (a) pathogens with male incidence preponderance at infant and child age (meningococcal disease (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.19, 95% CI 1.03–1.38, age = 0–4); influenza (IRR = 1.09, 95% CI 1.06–1.13, age = 0–4)), (b) pathogens with sex-switch in incidence preponderance at puberty (e.g. nor…
Detection of circulating miRNAs: comparative analysis of extracellular vesicle-incorporated miRNAs and cell-free miRNAs in whole plasma of prostate c…
2017
Abstract Background Circulating cell-free miRNAs have emerged as promising minimally-invasive biomarkers for early detection, prognosis and monitoring of cancer. They can exist in the bloodstream incorporated into extracellular vesicles (EVs) and ribonucleoprotein complexes. However, it is still debated if EVs contain biologically meaningful amounts of miRNAs and may provide a better source of miRNA biomarkers than whole plasma. The aim of this study was to systematically compare the diagnostic potential of prostate cancer-associated miRNAs in whole plasma and in plasma EVs. Methods RNA was isolated from whole plasma and plasma EV samples from a well characterised cohort of 50 patient with …
Rescuing Over-activated Microglia Restores Cognitive Performance in Juvenile Animals of the Dp(16) Mouse Model of Down Syndrome.
2020
Microglia are brain-resident immune cells and regulate mechanisms essential for cognitive functions. Down syndrome (DS), the most frequent cause of genetic intellectual disability, is caused by a supernumerary chromosome 21, containing also genes related to the immune system. In the hippocampus of the Dp(16) mouse model of DS and DS individuals, we found activated microglia, as assessed by their morphology; activation markers; and, for DS mice, electrophysiological profile. Accordingly, we found increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and altered interferon signaling in Dp(16) hippocampi. DS mice also showed decreased spine density and activity of hippocampal neurons and hippocampus-depe…
Dynamics of Torque Teno virus plasma DNAemia in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients
2017
Abstract Background Torque Teno virus (TTV) plasma DNA load directly correlate with the level of immunosuppresion in different clinical settings. It is uncertain whether this may be the case in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients (allo-HSCT). Objectives We characterized the dynamics of TTV DNAemia in patients undergoing T-cell replete allo-SCT. Study design Retrospective single-center observational study including 72 allo-HSCT patients. Plasma TTV DNA loads were quantified before initiating the conditioning regimen and at different time-points after transplant by real-time PCR. White blood cells (WBC) and absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC) were measured by flow cytometry.…
Microbial Activation of Wooden Vats Used for Traditional Cheese Production and Evolution of Neoformed Biofilms.
2016
ABSTRACT Three Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains were used to develop ad hoc biofilms on the surfaces of virgin wooden vats used for cheese production. Two vats (TZ) were tested under controlled conditions (pilot plant), and two vats (TA) were tested under uncontrolled conditions (industrial plant). In each plant, one vat (TA1 and TZ1) was used for the control, traditional production of PDO Vastedda della Valle del Belìce (Vastedda) cheese, and one (TA2 and TZ2) was used for experimental production performed after lactococcal biofilm activation and the daily addition of a natural whey starter culture (NWSC). Microbiological and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed differenc…
Novel KIAA1033/WASHC4 mutations in three patients with syndromic intellectual disability and a review of the literature.
2019
In 2011, KIAA1033/WASHC4 was associated with autosomal recessive intellectual disability (ARID) in a large consanguineous family comprising seven affected individuals with moderate ID and short stature. Since then, no other cases of KIAA1033 variants have been reported. Here we describe three additional patients (from two unrelated families) with syndromic ID due to compound heterozygous KIAA1033 variants ascertained by exome sequencing (ES). Two sisters, aged 4 and 5.5 years, had a stop-gain and a missense variants, each inherited from one parent (p.(Gln442*) and p.(Asp1048Gly)). Both had learning disabilities, macrocephaly, dysmorphic features, skeletal anomalies, and subependymal heterot…
Fungal DNA is present in tissue specimens of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.
2004
Background It has been postulated that fungal organisms might represent the immunologic target initiating and maintaining the disease process in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The presence of fungi in nasal mucus has been established by different groups, but so far it has not been shown how the immune system could even recognize such extramucosal—extracorporal—fungal targets. The aim of this study was to determine whether fungal DNA is present in tissue specimens taken from patients with polypoid CRS. Methods Twenty-seven surgical specimens were collected from patients suffering from CRS. Fifteen surgical specimens from healthy ethmoidal mucosa served as controls. A second set …
Cancer-associated circulating large extracellular vesicles in cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.
2017
Background & Aims Large extracellular vesicles, specifically AnnexinV + EpCAM + CD147 + tumour-associated microparticles (taMPs), facilitate the detection of colorectal carcinoma (CRC), non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) as well as pancreas carcinoma (PaCa). Here we assess the diagnostic value of taMPs for detection and monitoring of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Specifically, the aim of this study was to differentiate liver taMPs from other cancer taMPs, such as CRC and NSCLC. Methods Fluorescence-activated cell scanning (FACS) was applied to detect various taMP populations in patients' sera that were associated with the presence of a tumour (AnnexinV + Ep…
Endothelial cell damage is the central part of COVID-19 and a mouse model induced by injection of the S1 subunit of the spike protein☆
2021
Neurologic complications of symptomatic COVID-19 are common. Brain tissues from 13 autopsies of people who died of COVID-19 were examined. Cultured endothelial and neuronal cells were incubated with and wild type mice were injected IV with different spike subunits. In situ analyses were used to detect SARS-CoV-2 proteins and the host response. In 13/13 brains from fatal COVID-19, pseudovirions (spike, envelope, and membrane proteins without viral RNA) were present in the endothelia of microvessels ranging from 0 to 14 positive cells/200× field (mean 4.3). The pseudovirions strongly co-localized with caspase-3, ACE2, IL6, TNFα, and C5b-9. The surrounding neurons demonstrated increased NMDAR2…