Medical Microbiology and Immunology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Discovery of B-cell epitopes for development of dengue vaccines and antibody therapeutics
AbstractDengue is one of the most frequently transmitted viral infections globally which creates a serious burden to the healthcare system in many countries in the tropical and subtropical regions. To date, no vaccine has demonstrated balanced protection against the four dengue serotypes. Dengvaxia as the only vaccine that has been licensed for use in endemic areas has shown an increased risk in dengue-na ïve vaccines to develop severe dengue. A crucial element in protection from dengue infection is the neutralizing antibody responses. Therefore, the identification of protective linear B-cell epitopes can guide vaccine de...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - January 21, 2022 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Persistently elevated complement alternative pathway biomarkers in COVID-19 correlate with hypoxemia and predict in-hospital mortality
AbstractMechanisms underlying the SARS-CoV-2-triggered hyperacute thrombo-inflammatory response that causes multi-organ damage in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are poorly understood. Several lines of evidence implicate overactivation of complement. To delineate the involvement of complement in COVID-19, we prospectively studied 25 ICU-hospitalized patients for up to 21  days. Complement biomarkers in patient sera and healthy controls were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Correlations with respiratory function and mortality were analyzed. Activation of complement via the classical/lectin pathways was...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - January 16, 2022 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Cellular metabolic basis of altered immunity in the lungs of patients with COVID-19
In conclusion, this preliminary study revealed a possible cellular metabolic basis for the altered innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and niche cell function in the lung after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, patients with COVID-19 may benefit from therapeutic strategies targeting cellular metabolism in future. (Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - January 13, 2022 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Detection of Epstein-Barr virus in gastric adenocarcinoma: qPCR and FISH comparison
AbstractEBV-associated gastric cancer accounts for about 10% of all gastric carcinomas worldwide. We aimed to verify the prevalence of EBV in gastric adenocarcinoma samples using FISH and qPCR and comparing the results obtained by both techniques. Gastric cancer samples from 191 cases were analyzed. The FISH assay was performed to detect small EBV RNAs (EBER1) and qPCR was performed to detect the EBV-EBNA-1 gene region. Cohen ’s kappa index and the chi-square test were used to compare the methodologies and investigate correlations with the clinical-pathological data of the gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Most of the pat...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - December 3, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Profiles of CD4+, CD8+, and regulatory T cells and circulating cytokines in hookworm-infected children in southern Thailand
This study showed that hookworm-infected schoolchildren had significantly different immune responses than healthy controls, including an increase in the CD4+ T cell number, a significant induction of Tregs and significantly elevated circulating IL-10 levels. These alterations could be the mechanism underlying the immunomodulation that alleviates allergic diseases among hookworm-infected individuals. (Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - December 2, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Influenza and RSV incidence during COVID-19 pandemic —an observational study from in-hospital point-of-care testing
AbstractThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has forced the implementation of unprecedented public health measures strategies which might also have a significant impact on the spreading of other viral pathogens such as influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) . The present study compares the incidences of the most relevant respiratory viruses before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in emergency room patients. We analyzed the results of in total 14,946 polymerase chain reaction point-of-care tests (POCT-PCR) for Influenza A, Influenza B, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 in an adult and a pedi...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - December 1, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Human cytomegalovirus multiple-strain infections and viral population diversity in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients analysed by high-throughput sequencing
In conclusion, despite relatively low viral plasma loads, a high frequency of multiple-strain HCMV infection and a high strain complexity were demonstrated in systematically collected clinical samples from this cohort early after HSCT. However, robust evaluation of the pathogenic role of intrahost viral diversity and multiple-strain infection will require studies enrolling larger numbers of recipients. (Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - October 6, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Influenza and RSV incidence during COVID-19 pandemic —an observational study from in-hospital point-of-care testing
AbstractThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has forced the implementation of unprecedented public health measures strategies which might also have a significant impact on the spreading of other viral pathogens such as influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) . The present study compares the incidences of the most relevant respiratory viruses before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in emergency room patients. We analyzed the results of in total 14,946 polymerase chain reaction point-of-care tests (POCT-PCR) for Influenza A, Influenza B, RSV and SARS-CoV-2 in an adult and a pedi...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - October 4, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Serological assay for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies improves sensitivity of diagnosis of COVID-19 patients
In this study, we aimed to investigate serological patterns of SARS-CoV-2 specific IgM, and IgG in 111 hospitalized, and 34 recovered COVID-19 patients and 311 prepandemic normal serum specimens by ELISA. The validity of the ELISA kits was evaluated using samples from normal and recovered cases. This showed that 98.1%, and 98.4% of prepandemic normal samples were negative for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM, and IgG, respectively. Assessment of 34 COVID-19 confirmed recovered patients showed a test sensitivity of 76.5%, and 94.1% for IgM, and IgG, respectively. In COVID-19 hospitalized patients, 42.3%, and 51.4% were positive for IgM ...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - September 25, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Comparison of four commercial, automated antigen tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
In this study cohort of hospitalized patients, the clinical sensitivities of tests were low, ranging from 17.76 to 52.34%, and analytical sensitivities ranged from 420,000 to 25,000,000 Geq/ml. In comparison, the detection limit of the Roche Rapid Ag Test (RAT) was 9,300,000 Geq/ml, detecting 23.58% of respiratory samples. Receiver-operating-characteristics (ROCs) and Youden ’s index analyses were performed to further characterize the assays’ overall performance and determine optimal assay cutoffs for sensitivity and specificity. VOCs carrying up to four amino acid mutations in nucleocapsid were detected by all five as...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - August 20, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Effectiveness of experimental and commercial pertussis vaccines in the elimination of Bordetella pertussis isolates with different genetic profiles in murine model
AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare the elimination ofBordetella pertussis clinical isolates, representing different genotypes in relation to alleles encoding virulence factors (MLST —multi-locus antigen sequence typing), MLVA type (multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis) and PFGE group (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) from the lungs of naive mice or mice were immunised with the commercial whole-cell pertussis vaccine, the acellular pertussis vaccine and the ex perimental whole-cell pertussis vaccine. Molecular data indicate that the resurgence of pertussis in populations with high vaccine cover...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - August 2, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

The human symbiont Mucispirillum schaedleri: causality in health and disease
AbstractTrillions of bacteria inhabit the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. In the majority of hosts, these symbionts contribute largely to beneficial functions promoting microbe-host homeostasis. However, an increasing number of human diseases is associated with altered microbiota composition and enrichment of certain bacterial species. A well-known example of this isMucispirillum schaedleri, which has been associated with inflammatory conditions in the intestine.Mucispirillum spp. belong to the phylum Deferribacteres and are prevalent but low abundant members of the rodent, pig and human microbiota. Recently,M. schaedler...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - July 17, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Clinical utility of sonication for diagnosing infection and colonization of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices
AbstractOur study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of the sonication tool for the microbiological diagnosis of cardiovascular implantable electronic device infections (CIEDIs). The extracted cardiac implants of 52 patients were assessed: 19 with CIEDI and 33 with elective generator replacement or revision without clinical infection. Sonication fluid culture of explanted CIEDs yielded higher numbers of microorganisms than pocket tissue or swab cultures. The sensitivity of sonication fluid culture was significantly higher than that of pocket swab and tissue culture for microbiological diagnosis of CIEDI. The microorganisms ...
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - July 12, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Effects of cigarette smoke extract on bronchial epithelial cells stimulated with Cryptococcus neoformans
In conclusion, the association of CSE andC. neoformans induced an anti-inflammatory effect in bronchial epithelial cells, which might favour the development ofC. neoformans infection in the airways. (Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - July 6, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research

Evaluation of stability and inactivation methods of SARS-CoV-2 in context of laboratory settings
In conclusion, careful evaluation of the used inactivation methods is required especially for non-denaturing buffers. Additional inactivation steps might be necessary before removal of lysed viral samples from BSL-3. (Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology)
Source: Medical Microbiology and Immunology - July 1, 2021 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research