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Review Article
- Contemporary Insights into Non-typhoidal Salmonella: Understanding the Pathogenicity, Infection Mechanisms, and Strategies for Prevention and Control
- Minho Lee
- Salmonella is a foodborne zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal disease in humans through the consumption of contaminated water, animal products, or plant-based …
- Salmonella is a foodborne zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal disease in humans through the consumption of contaminated water, animal products, or plant-based foods. This bacterium infects a diverse range of hosts, including birds, reptiles, and mammals (including humans) and ranks as the third leading cause of death from diarrheal diseases globally. Salmonellosis, caused by Salmonella, remains a serious public health concern, requiring integrated interventions to control its spread. Despite extensive research on the pathogenicity and mechanisms of infection of Salmo5270nella, salmonellosis outbreaks remain a global threat. This review provides an overview of Salmonella pathogenicity, infection mechanisms, and prevention and control strategies. - COLLAPSE
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Review Article
- Mycobacterium paragordonae: Insights into its Research Progress and Potential Applications
- Hyejun Seo, Ju-Young Lee, Bum-Joon Kim
- Mycobacterium paragordonae (Mpg), a species first identified in 2014, has gained increasing attention due to its unique characteristics and potential applications. This …
- Mycobacterium paragordonae (Mpg), a species first identified in 2014, has gained increasing attention due to its unique characteristics and potential applications. This comprehensive review summarizes current research on Mpg, focusing on its discovery, pathogenicity, antibiotic susceptibility, vaccine potential, and environmental adaptability. Mpg has shown significant promise as a vaccine candidate, demonstrating strong immune responses and safety in mouse models. It retains the RD1 region, absent in BCG, enhancing its vaccine potential against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, compared to BCG. Mpg also exhibits heterologous immunity and can serve as a recombinant vaccine vector, potentially offering a platform for various diseases, including tuberculosis and cancer. Additionally, the environmental adaptability of Mpg, particularly in aquatic systems, and its clinical implications are discussed. Although Mpg infections in humans are rare, documented cases emphasize the need for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This review highlights Mpg’s versatility and potential as a significant tool in vaccine development and immunotherapy, warranting further research and clinical trials. - COLLAPSE
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Review Article
- Innate Lymphoid Cells in COVID-19: Bystanders or Active Contributors?
- Minhyeok Kang, Soyeon Kwon, Seungwon Ryu
- The COVID-19 pandemic that was caused by SARS-CoV-2 prompted extensive investigation into the immune mechanisms that drive SARS-CoV-2 clearance and pathogenesis. Of …
- The COVID-19 pandemic that was caused by SARS-CoV-2 prompted extensive investigation into the immune mechanisms that drive SARS-CoV-2 clearance and pathogenesis. Of particular interest is the innate immune system, which appears to play a critical role in early defense against SARS-CoV-2, particularly at the mucosal interfaces where it first enters the body. The innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) may be key cellular players in this immune response. These cells comprise the helper ILCs and natural killer (NK) cells and are often referred to as the innate counterparts of T cells. They function as important coordinators of protective immune responses during the early stages of virus infections in general but can sometimes also mediate their pathogenicity. This review discusses the current understanding of how ILCs may contribute to both protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection and the pathological inflammation this virus induces. We address the question: are ILCs mere bystanders or are they active contributors to the immune response? - COLLAPSE
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Review Article
- Transcription Profiling Signatures Distinguishing RSV Infection in Humans
- Se Sil Noh, Hye Jin Shin
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major global health threat, causing severe respiratory illness in young children, the elderly, and individuals with …
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major global health threat, causing severe respiratory illness in young children, the elderly, and individuals with chronic lung conditions. Despite its high morbidity and mortality, effective treatments remain lacking. RSV infection initiates in the respiratory tract, primarily targeting airway epithelial cells (AECs), which act as the first line of defense against pathogens. Upon entering the nasal passages, the virus spreads to the lower respiratory tract, where it replicates, leading to inflammation and epithelial damage, including cell shedding, mucus overproduction, and impaired ciliary function. RSV replication in both upper and lower airway epithelial cells exacerbates disease severity. A better understanding of AECs’ role during viral infection is crucial for advancing RSV research, especially given their function as a barrier to severe disease progression. Studies using upper and lower airway epithelial cell systems have revealed key insights into antiviral mechanisms. Moreover, systems biology approaches, such as transcriptional profiling, provide valuable insights into virus-specific molecular pathways and immune responses to RSV infection. In particular, the transcriptional analysis of age-specific patient samples is increasingly recognized as essential for understanding the pathogenesis of RSV, as gene expression and signaling responses can differ across age groups. Here, we present a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge regarding the available publicly accessible data from transcriptional profiling studies related to RSV infection, aiming to better understand the transcriptional changes and cellular responses triggered by RSV infection. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Riboflavin as an Anti-Virulence Agent Against Staphylococcus aureus
- Eunhwan Bae, Donggyu Kim, Younghoon Kim, Minhye Shin
- In modern medicine, the discovery of antibiotics has been critical for the treatment of pathogenic infections. However, their overuse and misuse have …
- In modern medicine, the discovery of antibiotics has been critical for the treatment of pathogenic infections. However, their overuse and misuse have led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, causing a global public health crisis with significant morbidity and mortality. Notably, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major opportunistic pathogen in hospital-acquired infections, highlighting the urgent need for new antimicrobial agents or vaccines. This study proposes a strategy for discovering novel anti-virulence agents by targeting SaeS, a key histidine kinase in the SaeRS two-component system in S. aureus, which plays a key role in regulating virulence factors. We applied in silico molecular docking predictions to screen potential SaeS inhibitors among natural small compounds based on their binding scores with SaeS. The selected candidate compounds were subsequently analyzed for their effects on bacterial growth and staphyloxanthin production, a major virulence regulon of the SaeRS system. Our results showed that riboflavin (vitamin B2) inhibited staphyloxanthin production depending on the presence of SaeS and its concentration. These results suggest that virtual screening of molecules can be an effective strategy for the discovery of new anti-virulence agents targeting bacterial infections. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Identification of Probiotic Strains with Anti-Tuberculosis Activity and Their Characterization as Potential Therapeutic Agents
- Mohammed Solayman Hossain, Hoonhee Seo, Md Abdur Rahim, Md Sarower Hossen Shuvo, Indrajeet Barman, Hokyoung Kim, Jinhyeon An, Sukyung Kim, Ho-Yeon Song
- Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health crisis, with the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Approximately one-fourth …
- Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health crisis, with the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Approximately one-fourth of the world’s population, or 2 billion people, are infected with latent TB. The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and totally drug-resistant (TDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) poses a significant threat, reducing the effectiveness of conventional treatments. The limitations of current antibiotic regimens underscore the urgent need for alternative approaches. This highlights the urgent need for new anti-tuberculosis drugs. Probiotics, known for their health benefits against various infections, may offer a promising alternative in combating antibiotic-resistant TB. This study aimed to identify novel probiotic strains with anti-tuberculosis potential. Seven probiotic strains were selected by screening with the GFP-TB in vitro model. Treatment with probiotic extracts significantly reduced the TB burden inside macrophage cells analyzed by confocal microscopy, ranging from 51% to 76%. The anti-tuberculosis efficacy of these candidate strains was further evaluated using CFU and resazurin assays, where treatment with probiotics resulted in up to a 1.25 log reduction of viable TB in the CFU assay. To ensure the probiotic strains were safe for therapeutic application, comprehensive safety assessments were conducted, including evaluations of cytotoxicity, antibiotic susceptibility test, hemolysis, bile salt deconjugation, and D-lactate assay. Following the safety confirmation, we investigated the underlying mechanisms by which these probiotic strains enhance immunity and facilitate the clearance of TB within macrophage cells in vitro. This involved assessing autophagy gene expression and nitrite reduction, which are established methods for studying anti-tuberculosis effects. The results of these mechanistic studies align with the CFU and confocal microscopy findings, indicating that at least three of the probiotic strains have the potential to mitigate tuberculosis infection significantly. This research provides a foundation for further exploration of these probiotic strains as potential biotherapeutics in tuberculosis treatment. However, further studies on toxicity, mechanism of action, and efficacy in animals, followed by clinical trials, are necessary. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Effects of Temperature, pH, and Salinity on Pseudomonas Species from Household Water Supplies and their Multidrug Resistance Profiles
- Anika Tabassum
- Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in household water sources pose a considerable public health threat, especially in urban areas such as Dhaka, Bangladesh. This …
- Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in household water sources pose a considerable public health threat, especially in urban areas such as Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study aimed to characterize multidrug resistance among Pseudomonas species in Dhaka household water and evaluate their responses to various temperatures and NaCl concentrations. The major Pseudomonas species identified were P. syringae, P. aeruginosa, P. mendocina, P. oleovorans, P. guguanensis, P. viridiflava, P. fluorescens, and P. protegens. These species showed diverse patterns of growth responses to different temperatures, pH, and NaCl concentrations, indicating their species-specific pH and temperature preferences as well as divergent salt tolerance and adaptation methods. Antibiotic susceptibility tests conducted on the various Pseudomonas species showed a wide range of MDR profiles, with widespread resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as rifampicin, penicillin, and vancomycin. The species-specific preferences of temperature, pH, and salt concentration demonstrate that environmental conditions significantly influence the antibiotic resistance profiles of Pseudomonas species. Moreover, species that have evolved to withstand severe temperature, salinity, or pH levels showed distinct resistance patterns. These environmental parameters probably influence each species’ metabolic processes and increase their antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Understanding the associations between environmental conditions and antibiotic resistance is crucial for drug efficacy and emphasizes the importance of considering environmental factors when dealing with antibiotic resistance in clinical and environmental contexts. Our results indicate that our approach can help improve Pseudomonas infection management and update drug development plans. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage in Healthy Companion Animals in Al-Nasiriyah, Iraq
- Muslim Dhahir Musa
- This study investigated the nasal carriage of S. aureus and explored the carriage-associated risk factors in companion animals in Al-Nasiriyah City, Iraq. …
- This study investigated the nasal carriage of S. aureus and explored the carriage-associated risk factors in companion animals in Al-Nasiriyah City, Iraq. The nasal swabs and data regarding age, sex, and breed were collected from 287 cats and dogs in companion animal shops. S. aureus was identified based on traditional bacteriological methods and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specie-specific primer targeting the 16S rRNA. Virulence genes (mecA, pvl, and tsst-1) were screened by PCR. Risk factors (age, sex, and breed) were analyzed using univariate analysis. The prevalence of S. aureus was 13.2% (13.8% in cats and 9.8% in dogs), and the overall prevalence of MRSA was 6.6% (7.3% in cats and 5.6% in dogs). No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found between cats and dogs. Screening for virulence factors revealed that mecA, pvl, and tsst-1 genes were detected in 50%, 47.36%, and 23.68% of the isolates. The S. aureus strains were assigned to five genotypes based on different combinations of virulence genes. The most prevalent genotype was the non-pathogenic (mecA-, pvl-, tsst-1-) 18/38 (47.3%), while the most virulent genotype (mecA+, pvl+, tsst-1+) represented 23.68% of the isolates. Risk factor analysis revealed that only age (> one-year-old) was significantly associated with S. aureus nasal carriage. In conclusion, pets may represent an important source of pathogenic S. aureus, constituting a probable threat to public health, and the companion animals’ shops may represent epicenters for spreading MRSA and should be included in MRSA control and prevention programs. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Differential Effects of Western and High-fat Diets on the Acceleration of Psoriatic Inflammation
- Minji Park, Kyudo Park, YunJae Jung
- Diet-induced metabolic changes can aggravate psoriatic inflammation. This study investigated the distinct inflammatory effects induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and Western …
- Diet-induced metabolic changes can aggravate psoriatic inflammation. This study investigated the distinct inflammatory effects induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and Western diet (WD) in mice by inducing psoriatic inflammation using topical imiquimod following 12 weeks on either diet. Both diets resulted in increased body weight and perigonadal fat mass compared to a chow diet, with HFD-fed mice gaining more weight. Fasting glucose levels were significantly elevated only in the HFD group. During psoriatic inflammation, WD-fed mice exhibited more pronounced weight loss and aggravated clinical signs of psoriasis. Systemic inflammatory responses, indicated by spleen weight and soluble CD14 serum levels, were increased in both HFD- and WD-fed mice compared to the chow-fed group, with no significant difference between the two diet groups. However, localized inflammatory responses in skin lesions were more pronounced in WD-fed mice, with increased expression of inflammatory mediators. The intestinal immune environment and microbiome composition showed no significant differences between the diet groups. Transcriptomic analysis of skin lesions identified differentially expressed genes, with WD-fed mice enriched in gene sets related to inflammation, keratinization, and cornified envelope formation. In contrast, HFD-fed mice were enriched in genes related to tissue microenvironment remodeling. These findings suggest that WD exacerbates psoriatic skin inflammation more than HFD by promoting inflammatory responses in the skin, highlighting diet-specific impacts on localized inflammation. - COLLAPSE
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Original Article
- Genetic Analysis of Clinical and Environmental Vibrio vulnificus Isolates from Jeollanam-do, South Korea
- Hae Young Na, Yeon Hee Yoon, Won Kim, Hyung Woo Lim, Eunbyeul Go, Hyeon Ji Kim, Hye Lin Yang, Sook Park
- Vibrio vulnificus is an opportunistic human pathogen with a mortality rate exceeding 50%. Human infection can occur through the consumption of raw …
- Vibrio vulnificus is an opportunistic human pathogen with a mortality rate exceeding 50%. Human infection can occur through the consumption of raw seafood or the exposure of open wounds to contaminated water. This study aims to characterize the epidemic and virulence potentials of V. vulnificus isolates from clinical and environmental samples. We collected 35 clinical isolates between 2014 and 2022 and 42 environmental isolates between 2020 and 2022 from Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Genotyping was conducted using PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene (rrn) and virulence-correlated gene (vcg). Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed by amplifying internal fragments of 10 house-keeping genes and concatenated sequences of 10 genes were used for phylogenetic analysis. The majority of both clinical (80%) and environmental (81%) isolates were of the C-genotype (rrnB/vcgC). MLST analysis revealed high clonal diversity, with 59 distinct sequence types (STs) identified among 77 isolates. The most prevalent ST, ST629 (n=10), was found exclusively in environmental isolates collected at low temperature (3.7~16.6℃). Phylogenetic analysis identified two arbitrarily lineages, with most isolates (70 of 77) belonging to lineage C. Clinical and environmental isolates from the warm season were dispersed across both lineages, whereas all isolates from the cold season belonged to lineage C. Given the high genetic diversity across isolate sources and genotypes, MLST-based phylogenetic analysis is challenging for predicting the pathogenic potential of V. vulnificus. This highlights the need for new genetic markers with epidemiological relevance to identify high-risk strains for public health and environmental risk management. - COLLAPSE
Journal Informaiton
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY AND VIROLOGY
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY AND VIROLOGY
The Korean Society for Microbiology and The Korean Society of Virology
대한미생물학회‧대한바이러스학회
Hall 1, Rm. 1103, Korea Science and Technology Center, 22 Teheran-ro 7-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, S.Korea
Tel: +82-02-887-3062 / Fax: +82-02-887-3063 / E-mail: ksm@ksmkorea.org Copyright© The Korean Society for Microbiology and The Korean Society of Virology. Powered by APUB
Tel: +82-02-887-3062 / Fax: +82-02-887-3063 / E-mail: ksm@ksmkorea.org Copyright© The Korean Society for Microbiology and The Korean Society of Virology. Powered by APUB