Result of our study showed that prevalence of P. jirovecii colonization is particularly high in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, and nPCR was a good assay for evaluation of the colonization of P. jirovecii.
Sulfonamide group drugs and their antimetabolite combinations are the most preferred drugs in the treatment and prophylaxis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP). Especially with the long-term use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and dapsone, certain point mutations in the Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) gene are known to play an important role in the development of resistance. In the present study, we investigated the 165th and 171st nucleotide mutations in the DHPS gene in the P. jirovecii isolates from immunosuppressed and immunocompetent cases. P. jirovecii isolates from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples of 31 hospitalized cases and lung tissue samples of 37 autopsy cases were included in the study. For the analysis of wild-type and mutant genotypes, after the touchdown-PCR amplification method, the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method was used. In this study, P. jirovecii DHPS gene was amplified in 28 of 68 (41%) of the samples. The RFLP method revealed that all the isolates in which the DHPS gene was amplified were considered as wild-type genotypes. To our knowledge, this present study is the first study in Turkey investigating P. jirovecii DHPS gene mutations associated with the sulfonamide resistance. All the isolates showed a wild-type pattern indicating that the occurrence of P. jirovecii DHPS mutations in Turkey is very low or absent.
Objectives:To investigate Microsporidia spp. parasite, hepatitis A virus (HAV), and norovirus (NoV) contamination in mussels collected from 8 stations in the inner, middle, and outer regions of the Gulf of Izmir.Methods:In this cross-sectional study carried out between August 2009 and September 2010 in the Gulf of Izmir, Turkey, 15 mussels collected from each of the stations each season were pooled and homogenized to create a single representative sample. Thirty representative samples were available for analysis. Direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR), RT-nested PCR, and RT-booster PCR were used to investigate the pathogens.Results:The mussels were negative for Microsporidia spp., but 8 (26.7%) samples analyzed were positive for HAV and 9 (30%) were positive for NoV. Excluding Foca and Gediz, viral contamination was detected in all of the stations sampled.Conclusion:Our results suggest that viral contamination is present in mussels in the Gulf of Izmir and may pose a potential threat to human health in the region. Necessary measures should be taken to prevent future illness due to these pathogens.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.