Profile of bacterial pneumonia during Hajj.

This study was aimed to determine the most common causes of bacterial pneumonia during the 2005 Hajj season and to relate the findings with clinical conditions. Methods : A total of 141 patients with suspected pneumonia from the three main tertiary care hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, were investigated during Hajj season, 2005. Sputum and serum samples were collected and investigated for the possible presence of typical or atypical causative agents. Results : Of the 141 clinically suspected pneumonia cases, 76 (53.9%) were confirmed positive by microbiological tests. More than 94 per cent of the confirmed cases were in the age group >50 yr, and 56.6 per cent of the cases were men. The most frequent isolates were Candida albicans (28.7%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.8%), followed by...

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Detection of microorganisms in exhaled breath condensate during acute exacerbations of COPD

Conclusions: Bacterial nucleic acids can be identified in EBCs of COPD patients with exacerbations. The results obtained from EBC and sputum did not correlate well. (Source: Respirology)

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Biologists discover new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection

Purdue University biologists identified a new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection, which could provide a target for new antibiotics.

Zhao-Qing Luo, the associate professor of biological sciences who led the study, said the team discovered a new enzyme used by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila - which causes Legionnaires' disease - to control its host cell in order to take up residence.

"Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia, and this finding could lead to the design of a new therapy that saves lives," Luo said. "At the same time it also provides great insight into a general mechanism of both bacterial infection and cell signaling events in higher organisms including humans."

Successful infection by Legionella pneumophila requires the delivery of hundreds of proteins into the host cells that alter various functions to turn the naturally hostile environment into one tailor-made for bacterial replication. These proteins tap into existing communication processes within the cells in which an external signal, such as a hormone, triggers a cascade of slight modifications to proteins that eventually turns on a gene that changes the cell's behavior, he said.

"Pathogens are successful because they know how information in our cells is relayed and they amplify some signals and block others in order to evade the immune system and keep the cell from defending itself," Luo said. "Despite our understanding of this, we do not know much about how the proteins delivered by the bacteria accomplish this - how they work. This time we were able to pinpoint an enzyme and see how it disrupted and manipulated a specific signaling pathway in order to create a better environment for itself."

The signaling pathway involved was only recently identified, and the discovery by Luo and graduate student Yunhao Tan also provides a key insight into its process. A paper detailing their National Institutes of Health-funded work is published online in the current issue of the journal Nature.

The signaling pathway involves a new form of protein modification called AMPylation in order to relay instructions to change cell behavior and has been found to be used by almost all organisms, Luo said.

The bacterial enzyme discovered by the Purdue team, named SidD, reverses or stops the AMPylation process, he said.

"It had not been known before if the AMPylation signaling process was reversible or if it was regulated by specific enzymes," Luo said. "Now we know that it is, and we have a more complete picture that will allow us to use it as a scientific tool to learn more about complex cellular processes. By being able to turn the signaling on and off, we can control different activities and detect mechanisms we wouldn't see under normal physiological conditions."

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Detection of microorganisms in exhaled breath condensate during acute exacerbations of COPD

Detection of microorganisms in exhaled breath condensate during acute exacerbations of COPD - Zakharkina - Respirology - Wiley Online LibrarySkip to Main Content

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PUBLICATIONSBROWSE BY SUBJECTRESOURCESABOUT US LOGIN Enter e-mail address Enter password REMEMBER ME NOT REGISTERED ?FORGOTTEN PASSWORD ?INSTITUTIONAL LOGIN > Home > Respiratory Medicine > Respiratory Medicine > Journal Home > Accepted Articles > Abstract JOURNAL TOOLS Get New Content Alerts Get RSS feed Save to My Profile Get Sample Copy Recommend to Your Librarian JOURNAL MENU Journal Home FIND ISSUES Current IssueAll IssuesVirtual Issues FIND ARTICLES Accepted Articles GET ACCESS Subscribe / Renew FOR CONTRIBUTORS Author GuidelinesSubmit an Article ABOUT THIS JOURNAL OverviewNewsEditorial BoardContactSociety InformationAdvertisePermissions Detection of microorganisms in exhaled breath condensate during acute exacerbations of COPDTetyana Zakharkina1,2,†, A.-Rembert Koczulla1,†, Olga Mardanova1, Akira Hattesohl1, Robert Bals1,2,*DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2011.01977.x

© 2011 The Authors. Respirology © 2011 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology

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RespirologyAccepted Article (Accepted, unedited articles published online for future issues)

Additional Information

Author Information1

Department of Internal Medicine, Division for Pulmonary Diseases, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, D-35043 Marburg, Germany

2

Department of Internal Medicine V -Pulmonology, Respiratory Intensive Care Medicine, Allergology, D-66421 Homburg, Germany

*Correspondence: Robert Bals,

*Correspondence: Prof. Dr. Dr. Robert Bals ?Department of Internal Medicine V -Pulmonology, Respiratory Intensive Care Medicine, Allergology ?D-66421 Homburg, Germany ?Tel: +49 (0)6841 16 23601 Fax: +49 (0) 6841 16 23602 ?E-mail: robert.bals@uks.eu

†

both authors contributed equally

This is an Accepted Article that has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication in the Respirology, but has yet to undergo copy-editing and proof correction. Please cite this article as an “Accepted Article”; doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2011.01977.x

Publication HistoryAccepted manuscript online: 7 APR 2011 01:59AM ESTAccepted 21 February 2011 SEARCH Search Scope All contentPublication titlesIn this journalIn this issue Search String Advanced >Saved Searches > SEARCH BY CITATION Volume: Issue: Page: ARTICLE TOOLSGet PDF (194K)Save to My ProfileE-mail Link to this ArticleExport Citation for this ArticleGet Citation AlertsRequest Permissions AbstractCited By Get PDF (194K) Keywords:COPD;exacerbation;exhaled breath condensate;sputum;bacteria;virusesSummary at a Glance

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a noninvasive method to assess airway biology. The aim of the present study was to evaluate EBC for the detection of microbial nucleic acids during acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Bacterial nucleic acids can be identified in EBCs of COPD patients with exacerbations, however, the results differed significantly from those of sputum.

ABSTRACT

Background and objective: One hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is colonization and infection of the lung. Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are acute deteriorations of the chronic disease and are associated with a change of the pulmonary microbial balance. The collection of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) can be used to noninvasively determine markers of lung disease. The aim of the present study was to compare the results of assays based on the detection of microbial nucleic acids from exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and from spontaneous sputum in patients with AECOPD.

Methods: EBCs and sputa of 29 adults with AECOPD were obtained. Isolated DNA or RNA were used as starting material for the PCR assays to detect Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila,Mycoplasma pneumoniae,Chlamydia pneumoniae, influenza viruses (AH 1, AH 3) and respiratory syncytial virus.

Results: Bacterial or viral nucleic acids were identified in 14 EBCs and 21 sputa from 29 patients. Results from EBC did not correlate well with those from sputum. Viral and S. pneumoniae nucleic acids were detected only in sputum, whereas L. pneumophila DNA was only found in EBC. In 3 EBCs and 10 sputa nucleic acids of more than one microorganism was detected.

Conclusions: Bacterial nucleic acids can be identified in EBCs of COPD patients with exacerbations. The results obtained from EBC and sputum did not correlate well.

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