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Microbes Infect 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute and School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address:

Plasmin(ogen) acquisition is critical for invasive disease initiation by Streptococcus pyogenes (GAS). Host urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) plays a role in mediating plasminogen activation for GAS dissemination, however the contribution of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) to GAS virulence is unknown. Using novel tPA-deficient ALBPLG1 mice, our study revealed no difference in mouse survival, bacterial dissemination or the pathology of GAS infection in the absence of tPA in AlbPLG1/tPA mice compared to AlbPLG1 mice. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

CIRI, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Université de Lyon; Inserm U1111; Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon; Université Lyon ; CNRS, UMR; Hospices Civils de Lyon ; Lyon, France.

Background: Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (NSTIs) caused by group A Streptococcus (GAS) and occasionally by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) frequently involve the deep fascia and often lead to muscle necrosis.

Methods: To assess the pathogenicity of GAS and SA for muscles in comparison to keratinocytes, adhesion and invasion of NSTI-GAS and NSTI-SA isolates were assessed on these cells, Bloodstream infections (BSI-SA) and non-invasive coagulase negative Staphylococci (CNS) isolates were used as controls.

Results: NSTI-SA and BSI-SA exhibited stronger internalization into human keratinocytes and myoblasts than NSTI-GAS or CNS. Read More

Iran J Microbiol 2019 Feb;11(1):13-18

Department of Microbiology, Deendayalupadhyay Hospital, New Delhi, India.

Background And Objectives: is recognized as an important pathogen of respiratory tract infections. The rapidly, emerging problem of antibiotic resistant is a major issue nowadays. The present study aimed to evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility of isolated from upper respiratory tract infections in tertiary care hospital of south Karnataka. Read More

Biosci Trends 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Pharmacognosy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University.

Streptococcus pyogenes causes several infectious diseases such as tonsillitis, cellulitis, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. As antibiotics are used for the general treatment of S. pyogenes infection, cases of treatment failure due to drug-resistant bacteria have increased. Read More

Cont Lens Anterior Eye 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address:

Purpose: To characterize the risk factors, clinical presentations, management, outcomes, and microbiological properties of Streptococcus pyogenes keratitis.

Methods: Eight culture-proven cases (eight eyes) of S. pyogenes keratitis were diagnosed and treated between 2008 and 2018 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Read More

Nucleic Acids Res 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Synthetic Biology Group, Institute for Pharmacy and Biotechnology (IPMB) and Center for Quantitative Analysis of Molecular and Cellular Biosystems (BioQuant), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg 69120, Germany.

The rapid development of CRISPR-Cas technologies brought a personalized and targeted treatment of genetic disorders into closer reach. To render CRISPR-based therapies precise and safe, strategies to confine the activity of Cas(9) to selected cells and tissues are highly desired. Here, we developed a cell type-specific Cas-ON switch based on miRNA-regulated expression of anti-CRISPR (Acr) proteins. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China

Many genes in the bacterial pathogen , the causative agent of three plague pandemics, remain uncharacterized, greatly hampering the development of measures for plague prevention and control. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) has been shown to be an effective tool for gene knockdown in model bacteria. In this system, a catalytically-dead Cas9 (dCas9) and a small guide RNA (sgRNA) form a complex, binding to the specific DNA target through base pairing, thereby impeding RNA polymerase binding and causing target gene repression. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2019 03;7(2)

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Miami, FL 33125.

Streptococci carrying serogroup C and G antigens, and in particular, subsp. (SDSE), are emerging human pathogens that are increasingly isolated from patients with a myriad of infections that range from mundane to life-threatening. SDSE is microbiologically similar to . Read More

Open Forum Infect Dis 2019 Apr 15;6(4):ofz081. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Division of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Epidemiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, Toronto, Canada.

Background: There exists a knowledge gap in identifying the spectrum of infectious pathogens and syndromes that lead to fulminant decline and death. The aim of this study was to better characterize patient-, pathogen-, and disease-related factors in the phenomenon of unexpected infectious deaths.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study of all community-based, unexpected infectious deaths in Ontario, Canada between January 2016 and December 2017. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Toho University School of Medicine, Japan.

The susceptibilities of clinical isolates to fluoroquinolones and other antimicrobial agents were surveyed to obtain an accurate understanding of trends in incidence and antimicrobial resistance. The samples were collected from across Japan, biennially or triennially, between 1994 and 2016 and a defined level of resistance to fluoroquinolone was determined. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Haemophilus influenzae exhibited stable and high rates of susceptibility to fluoroquinolones over the period examined. Read More

Infection 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Orthopedics, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

We report a rare case of post-traumatic cutaneous diphtheria in a patient referred from a hospital in rural India. The diagnosis of cutaneous diphtheria was confirmed by the isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae cultured from the ulcer of the leg, along with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum. The patient was kept on isolation and treated with erythromycin for 14 days without antitoxin. Read More

Curr Drug Targets 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, and Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong. Australia.

Background: It has been proposed that GAS may be able to exist as biofilms. Biofilms are microbial communities that aggregate on a surface, and exist within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. Biofilms offer bacteria an increased survival advantage, in which bacteria persist, and resist host immunity and antimicrobial treatment. Read More

Nat Chem Biol 2019 May 1;15(5):463-471. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

Cell wall glycopolymers on the surface of Gram-positive bacteria are fundamental to bacterial physiology and infection biology. Here we identify gacH, a gene in the Streptococcus pyogenes group A carbohydrate (GAC) biosynthetic cluster, in two independent transposon library screens for its ability to confer resistance to zinc and susceptibility to the bactericidal enzyme human group IIA-secreted phospholipase A. Subsequent structural and phylogenetic analysis of the GacH extracellular domain revealed that GacH represents an alternative class of glycerol phosphate transferase. Read More

Infect Immun 2019 Apr 1. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Biology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana 47809

Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a recently discovered second messenger in bacteria. The cellular level of c-di-AMP in is predicted to be controlled by the synthase DacA and two putative phosphodiesterases, GdpP and Pde2. To investigate the role of c-di-AMP in , we generated null mutants in each of these proteins by gene deletion. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Mar 29;9(1):5371. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection is associated with a variety of human diseases. Previous studies indicate GAS infection leads to RAW264.7 cell death, but the mechanism is unclear. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Apr 27;63(4). Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Department of Biology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA

is a leading cause of infection in the United States, and due to the rapid development of resistance, new antibiotics are constantly needed. -Translation is a particularly promising antibiotic target because it is conserved in many bacterial species, is critical for bacterial survival, and is unique among prokaryotes. We have investigated the potential of KKL-40, a small-molecule inhibitor of -translation, and find that it inhibits both methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant strains of KKL-40 is also effective against Gram-positive pathogens, including a vancomycin-resistant strain of , , and , although its performance with Gram-negative pathogens is mixed. Read More

Pol Merkur Lekarski 2019 Mar;46(273):115-121

Medical University of Warsaw: Department of Pediatrics and Nephrology.

Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is a complication of infection with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus. The disease manifests as microscopic/gross hematuria, arterial hypertension, edema, and acute kidney injury and has most commonly self-limiting course.

Aim: The aim of study was the analysis of clinical course of APSGN in period of increased incidence in the first half of 2018. Read More

Molecules 2019 Mar 24;24(6). Epub 2019 Mar 24.

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.

There is a growing interest in medicinal plants which have been traditionally used for the treatment of human infections. This study assessed 14 ethanol extracts (EEs) on bacterial growth and biofilm formation of . Constituent major phytochemicals in the extracts were identified using ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Read More

BMC Genomics 2019 Mar 22;20(1):236. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Ecology and Evolution of Resistance to Antibiotics, Institut Pasteur-APHP-Université Paris Saclay, UMR3525 CNRS, Paris, France.

Background: The human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A Streptococcus, is responsible for mild infections to life-threatening diseases. To facilitate the characterization of regulatory networks involved in the adaptation of this pathogen to its different environments and their evolution, we have determined the primary transcriptome of a serotype M1 S. pyogenes strain at single-nucleotide resolution and compared it with that of Streptococcus agalactiae, also from the pyogenic group of streptococci. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2019 7;2019:1797930. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Pharmacognosy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, 3-1 Tanabe-Dori, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Japan.

() causes several infectious diseases such as tonsillitis, cellulitis, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. The general treatment of infection is by using -lactam antibiotics; however, the cases of treatment failure were increasing as serious problems. var. Read More

Arch Argent Pediatr 2019 Apr;117(2):e167-e169

Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Juan Ramón Jiménez, Huelva, España.

Acute pyomyositis is a suppurative infection of the skeletal muscle. Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequent etiological agent. Cases produced by Streptococcus pyogenes are uncommon. Read More

Epidemiol Infect 2019 Jan;147:e79

School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia,Crawley, WA,Australia.

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF), an auto-immune response to a group A Streptococcus infection and precursor to rheumatic heart disease (RHD), remains endemic in many socio-economically disadvantaged settings. A Global Resolution on ARF and RHD was recently adopted at the 71st World Health Assembly where governments committed to improving efforts to prevent and control ARF and RHD. To inform these efforts, the objectives of this study were to examine associations between childhood ARF in the UK between 1958 and 1969 and a range of environmental and social factors. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 26;10:326. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Center for Biological Research, Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain.

The ubiquitous and highly abundant glycolytic enzyme D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is pivotal for the energy and carbon metabolism of most organisms, including human pathogenic bacteria. For bacteria that depend mostly on glycolysis for survival, GAPDH is an attractive target for inhibitor discovery. The availability of high-resolution structures of GAPDH from various pathogenic bacteria is central to the discovery of new antibacterial compounds. Read More

Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2019 Mar 11:1-10. Epub 2019 Mar 11.

Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary , Aberdeen , UK.

Introduction: Necrotising fasciitis is a life-threatening rapidly progressing bacterial infection of the skin requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment. Optimum care warrants a combination of surgical debridement, antibiotics and intensive care support. All cases of necrotising fasciitis in 10 years in the North East of Scotland were reviewed to investigate and improve patient care. Read More

N Engl J Med 2019 Mar;380(10):e11

University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.

Front Immunol 2019 21;10:198. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.

is a major human pathogen causing a variety of diseases ranging from common pharyngitis to life-threatening soft tissue infections and sepsis. Microbial nucleic acids, especially bacterial RNA, have recently been recognized as a major group of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) involved in the detection of via endosomal Toll-like receptors (TLRs) . However, the individual contribution and cooperation between TLRs as well as cell-type and strain specific differences in dependency on nucleic acid detection during infection have not been clarified in detail. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 19;10:265. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.

Group A streptococcus (GAS) infection causes a strong inflammatory response associated with cytokine storms, leading to multiorgan failure, which is characterized as streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. However, little is known about GAS subcutaneous infection-mediated brain inflammation. Therefore, we used a bioluminescent GAS strain and reporter mice carrying firefly luciferase under transcriptional control of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) promoter to concurrently monitor the host immune response and bacterial burden in a single mouse. Read More

An Pediatr (Barc) 2019 Mar 2. Epub 2019 Mar 2.

Sección de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, España; Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España.

Introduction: Invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGASD) is a serious infection in children. Several studies have shown an increased incidence in the past years.

Objective: To evaluate the characteristics and outcome of iGASD in children, and to determine changes in incidence or severity. Read More

J Glob Antimicrob Resist 2019 Feb 27. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

JMI Laboratories, North Liberty, IA, United States.

Objectives: Omadacycline is an aminomethylcycline antibacterial (oral and intravenous once-daily formulation) that recently (October 2018) received FDA approval for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSIs) and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) against selected organism groups. In this study, omadacycline and comparators were tested against 14000 non-duplicate bacterial isolates collected prospectively during 2017 from medical centres in Europe (EUR; 7000 isolates) and the United States (USA; 7000 isolates).

Methods: Omadacycline was tested by broth microdilution following CLSI M07-A11 (2018) methods. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2019 03;7(2)

Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110.

(group A streptococcus) is remarkable in terms of the large number of diseases it can cause in humans and for the large number of streptococcal factors that have been identified as potential virulence determinants for these diseases. A challenge is to link the function of potential virulence factors to the pathogenesis of specific diseases. An exciting advance has been the development of sophisticated genetic systems for the construction of loss-of-function, conditional, hypomorphic, and gain-of-function mutations in targeted genes that can be used to test specific hypotheses regarding these genes in pathogenesis. Read More

Nat Genet 2019 03 18;51(3):548-559. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research, Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute and Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.

Streptococcus pyogenes causes 700 million human infections annually worldwide, yet, despite a century of intensive effort, there is no licensed vaccine against this bacterium. Although a number of large-scale genomic studies of bacterial pathogens have been published, the relationships among the genome, transcriptome, and virulence in large bacterial populations remain poorly understood. We sequenced the genomes of 2,101 emm28 S. Read More

Microbiologyopen 2019 Feb 17:e814. Epub 2019 Feb 17.

Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Synthetic 1,3-bis(aryloxy)propan-2-amines have been shown in previous studies to possess several biological activities, such as antifungal and antiprotozoal. In the present study, we describe the antibacterial activity of new synthetic 1,3-bis(aryloxy)propan-2-amines against Gram-positive pathogens (Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus) including Methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2019 01;7(1)

Department of Pathology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH 43210.

In the past decade, the field of the cellular microbiology of group A () infection has made tremendous advances and touched upon several important aspects of pathogenesis, including receptor biology, invasive and evasive phenomena, inflammasome activation, strain-specific autophagic bacterial killing, and virulence factor-mediated programmed cell death. The noteworthy aspect of -mediated cell signaling is the recognition of the role of M protein in a variety of signaling events, starting with the targeting of specific receptors on the cell surface and on through the induction and evasion of NETosis, inflammasome, and autophagy/xenophagy to pyroptosis and apoptosis. Variations in reports on -mediated signaling events highlight the complex mechanism of pathogenesis and underscore the importance of the host cell and strain specificity, as well as / experimental parameters. Read More

Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Mar 15;276(3):879-887. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Medical Sciences, Surgical and Advanced Technologies, GF Ingrassia, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.

Purpose: Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS) causes a recurrent acute pharyngotonsillitis (RAPT) in children. Moreover, the repeated use of antibiotics contributes to its resistance. However, S. Read More

mSphere 2019 02 13;4(1). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Tropical Diseases, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Group A (GAS) is a major cause of global infection-related morbidity and mortality. A modern controlled human infection model (CHIM) of GAS pharyngitis can accelerate vaccine development and pathogenesis research. A robust rationale for strain selection is central to meeting ethical, scientific, and regulatory requirements. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 27;5(12):000987. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Serviço de Cardiologia, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.

Acute non-rheumatic streptococcal myopericarditis (ANRSM) is a rare complication of an upper airway infection by streptococcus group A in developed countries. Cardiac involvement in bacterial infections must be adequately treated because it can lead to long-term complications. This case report describes recurrent ANRSM in an 18-year-old man, which illustrates how difficult and challenging the diagnosis of this disease can be. Read More

J Bacteriol 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Here we introduce plasmids for xylose-regulated expression and repression of genes in The xylose-inducible expression vector allows for ∼100-fold induction of an reporter gene. Induction is titratable and uniform from cell-to-cell. The gene repression plasmid is a CRISPR-interference (CRISPRi) system based on a nuclease-defective, codon-optimized allele of the Cas9 protein () that is targeted to a gene of interest by a constitutively-expressed single guide RNA (sgRNA). Read More

J Orthop Case Rep 2018 Sep-Oct;8(5):57-60

Department of Orthopedics and Trauma, Carlos E. Ottolenghi, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Juan D. PeronStreet 4190, C1181ACH, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Introduction: Fasciitis of the limb and toxic-shock syndrome due to Streptococcus Pyogenes infection is considered a surgical emergency. This condition may occur in previously healthy patients. It is a life-threatening condition with high morbidity rates when treatment is delayed due to poor diagnosis and non-surgical intervention. Read More

Microbiol Spectr 2019 01;7(1)

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.

(i.e., the group A ) is a human-restricted and versatile bacterial pathogen that produces an impressive arsenal of both surface-expressed and secreted virulence factors. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019 Mar 6;510(4):539-544. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, Fujian, China. Electronic address:

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) has caused a wide variety of human diseases. Its multifunctional surface dehydrogenase (SDH) is crucial for GAS life cycle. Furthermore, GAS infection into human pharyngeal cells has been previously shown to be mediated by the interaction between SDH and host urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR). Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2018;63(9):574-578

Samara State Medical University, 43099, Samara, Russia.

The aim of our research was to evaluate the structure and the determination of the phenotypes of antibiotic resistance of microflora isolated from patients' blood in a multidisciplinary hospital during the period from 2013 to 2017. The material was taken into BacT / ALERT bottles containing nutrient media, followed by incubation of blood. In case of a positive result, the material from the vials was dispersed into dense nutrient media. Read More

Cell Host Microbe 2019 Feb 29;25(2):242-249.e3. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address:

CRISPR-Cas systems provide acquired immunity in prokaryotes. Upon infection, short sequences from the phage genome, known as spacers, are inserted between the CRISPR repeats. Spacers are transcribed into small RNA molecules that guide nucleases to their targets. Read More

PLoS One 2019 1;14(2):e0211712. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

ACTIV, Association Clinique et Thérapeutique Infantile du Val-de-Marne, Saint Maur-des-Fossés, France.

After pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) implementation, the number of acute otitis media (AOM) episodes has decreased, but AOM still remains among the most common diagnoses in childhood. From 2% to 17% of cases of AOM feature spontaneous perforation of the tympanic membrane (SPTM). The aim of this study was to describe the bacteriological causes of SPTM 5 to 8 years years after PCV13 implementation, in 2010. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Jan 31;19(1):102. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Okinawa Prefectural Nanbu Medical Center & Children's Medical Center, Department of General Pediatrics, Okinawa, Japan.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is defined as endocarditis caused by microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) involving either the heart or great vessels. The clinical course of IE can be complicated by cardiac dysfunction and bacterial embolization to virtually any organ. Staphylococcus aureus and viridans group streptococci are the most common causative organisms, whereas group A Streptococcus (GAS) is less common. Read More

PLoS One 2019 31;14(1):e0211074. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Rostock University Medical Centre; Institute of Medical Microbiology, Virology, and Hygiene, Rostock, Germany.

5'-nucleotidases are widespread among all domains of life. The enzymes hydrolyze phosphate residues from nucleotides and nucleotide derivatives. In some pathobiontic bacteria, 5'-nucleotidases contribute to immune evasion by dephosphorylating adenosine mono-, di-, or tri-phosphates, thereby either decreasing the concentration of pro-inflammatory ATP or increasing the concentration of anti-inflammatory adenosine, both acting on purinergic receptors of phagocytic cells. Read More

APMIS 2019 Feb;127(2):87-92

Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is primarily caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, but it may also be caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE). The analyses of S. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2019 Jan 28;19(1):25. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Aichi Medical University Hospital, 1-1 Yazakokarimata, Nagakute, 480-1195, Aichi, Japan.

Background: Any immunological mechanisms induced by influenza virus could cause severe secondary bacterial superinfection such as those by Streptococcus pyogenes [group A streptococcus (GAS)], Streptococcus pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus. Over recent years, the frequency of pleural empyema has increased in children with influenza infection. We present a severe case of acute empyema caused by S. Read More

Pharmacology 2019 28;103(5-6):221-227. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Department of Microbiology, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan,

Background: In traditional Chinese medicine, Panax notoginseng is used to treat inflammation and bleeding but has not been shown to affect bacterial pathogens.

Objectives: Our aim was to assess the antibacterial potential of Panax notoginseng extract (PNE) against bacterial pathogens.

Methods: PNE was dissolved in autoclaved distilled water. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2019 Apr 23;81:52-56. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Queen Fabiola Children University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for International Child Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address:

Objectives: The aim was to characterize the clinical features, outcomes, and strain diversity of laboratory-confirmed Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) infections among inpatients hospitalized at a tertiary level hospital in Brussels, Belgium, according to the patients' housing status (homeless vs. not homeless).

Methods: Between August 2016 and January 2018, all patients hospitalized with a laboratory-confirmed GAS infection were prospectively enrolled and risk factors were recorded. Read More

Acta Med Port 2018 Dec 28;31(12):774-777. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Serviço de Medicina Intensiva 1. Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve. Unidade de Faro. Faro. Portugal.

Primary peritonitis usually occurs in patients with comorbidities previously diagnosed with ascites. However, a primary peritoneal infection in previously healthy patients may also ensue. There has been an increase in reported cases of primary peritonitis due to Streptococcus pyogenes affecting mostly women. Read More