Previously common in Brazil, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains of serogroups O55, O111, and O119 are now rare, while enteroadherent strains other than EPEC, belonging to serogroups such as O125, were prevalent among 126 diarrheic infants less than 1 year old who were surveyed. None of these strains had the EPEC bundle-forming pilus (bfpA) gene.A number of organisms, including viral, protozoan, and bacterial agents, are associated with the etiology of infantile infectious diarrhea, a leading cause of infantile mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although representing a common species of the human intestinal microbiota, Escherichia coli is also considered an important bacterial agent of infantile infectious diarrhea, an association first described in the report of John Bray (2), when enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) was found as the cause of a diarrhea outbreak originating from a pediatric nursery in London, United Kingdom, in 1945. In addition to EPEC, five other diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) pathotypes were later described: enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enteroinvasive (EIEC), enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), enteroaggregative (EAEC), and diffusely adhering (DAEC) E. coli. ETEC, EAEC, and EHEC are toxin producers; EPEC, EAEC, and DAEC express characteristic adhesion patterns (localized, aggregative, and diffuse, respectively) to epithelial cells and are thus referred to as enteroadherent E. coli; EIEC is distinguished by the capacity to invade epithelial cells and the inability to produce toxins. Serotyping, screening for pathogenicity factors, and adherence to cultured epithelial cells comprise the main laboratorial diagnosis tools for diarrhea caused by DEC. For a detailed review of DEC, see reference 12.In a recent survey carried out to investigate DEC prevalence in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil, a region where some of the first epidemiological studies of enteropathogenic enterobacteria in Brazil were conducted (10), EAEC and rotavirus were found to be dominant, while traditional (EPEC, ETEC, EIEC, and EHEC) DEC pathotypes were absent from the stools of diarrheic children less than 13 years old (14). In order to better assess the role of EAEC in diarrhea and confirm the absence of EPEC in this population, we carried out the present study, restricting the survey to patients less than 1 year old, an age group more susceptible than others to EPEC-related diarrhea. The patient group consisted of 126 infants who attended the UNESP Hospital and the Medical Training Center of Botucatu between 1997 and 2000, with a record of at least two daily episodes of fluid stool evacuations, associated or not with vomiting, for 3 days or more. A total of 39 age-and geographically matched controls, randomly chosen at the same time among healthy volunteers in the community, were also surveyed. The stool collection was performed with the consent of the infant's family and the approval of the Hospital Committee on Ethics in Research. According to conventional bacteriological procedures, one to three out of five colonies randomly pi...

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This work suggests that CDH1 gene methylation and H. pylori infection are frequent events in samples from Brazilian patients with chronic gastritis and reinforces the correlation between H. pylori infection and CDH1 inactivation in early steps of gastric tumorigenesis.

Background: The rates of Helicobacter pylori infection are very high worldwide, but only a minority of infected patients develop gastric carcinoma. This might be related, among several factors, to the colonization of the human stomach by pathogenic Helicobacter pylori strains. Objective: To investigate the distribution of cagA and vacA genotypes of Helicobacter pylori in paraffin-embedded gastric samples from patients with gastric cancer. Material and methods: Paraffin-embedded samples from 42 patients with gastric cancer were histologically examined and evaluated by PCR for H. pylori cagA and vacA (s and m regions) genotypes. Results: Histological analysis allowed direct visualization of H. pylori in 85.7% of cases and PCR for urease C gene detected H. pylori in 95% of cases. The presence of cagA gene was detected in 23 (54.7%) patients with gastric cancer. The s1 allele from vacA gene was found in samples from 24 (57.1%) patients and the m1 allele in 26 (61.9 %). The s1m1 genotype was detected in 24 (57.1%) patients with gastric cancer. The s2 allele was found in samples from four patients (9.5%) and the m2 allele in three (7.1%) patients. The distribution of H. pylori genotypes was similar in both intestinal and diffuse types of gastric carcinoma. Conclusion: Our results confirm the relevance of the pathogenic cagA and vacA H. pylori genotypes for significant organic lesions, such as gastric cancer, suggesting a possible role for H. pylori in the pathogenesis of gastric carcinoma. Helicobacter pylori Gastric cancer cagA vacA J Bras Patol Med Lab • v. 42 • n. 1 • p. 25-30 • fevereiro 2006 ARTIgO ORIgINAL ORIgInal papER Primeira submissão em 29/09/05 Última submissão em 21/12/05 Aceito para publicação em 11/01/06

ResumoExtrato de Matricaria recutita associado com norloxacina e cefalexina aumenta a atividade antimicrobiana destes medicamentos contra Staphylococcus aureus. O surgimento de infecções bacterianas, incluindo aquelas associadas com Staphylococcus aureus, traz à tona uma necessidade de buscar novas estratégias mais eicazes para tratamento clínico. O uso de plantas medicinais associados com os antibióticos convencionais pode ser uma opção terapêutica. Atualmente, estudos evidenciam o efeito sinérgico alcançado através da combinação de extratos vegetais com antibióticos. Nosso objetivo foi avaliar a atividade antimicrobiana e cinética bacteriana in vitro do extrato de Matricaria recutita (camomila) e sua associação com cefalexina e norloxacin sobre isolados clínicos de S. aureus de origem bovina, caracterizada como resistente. Os ensaios foram realizados pelo método da diluição em meio sólido para a determinação da Concentração Inibitória foi observada CIM na diluição 1:64 o que correspondeu a 8μg/mL dos antibióticos e 13.43 μg/mL do extrato.A associação Cefalexina com extrato de camomila produziu um efeito sinérgico em 75% das amostras na sua CIM. A combinação com produtos naturais frequentemente utilizados pela população e os antibióticos aqui ensaiados, poderiam representar uma opção terapêutica para o tratamento de infecções causadas por S. aureus, como também para prevenção do desenvolvimento crescente de resistência. Palavras-chave: Antibióticos; Camomila; Microrganismos resistentes; Produtos naturais AbstractThe emergence of bacterial infections, including those related to Staphylococcus aureus, has resulted in the need to search for new and more effective clinical treatment strategies. The use of medicinal plants associated with conventional antibiotics may be a therapeutic option. Currently, studies have shown the synergistic effect of combining plant extracts with antibiotics. The present study evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial activity and bactericidal kinetics of a Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract, in association with cephalexin and norloxacin, on clinical isolates of S. aureus of bovine origin, which is characterized as resistant. The tests were performed by dilution in a solid medium to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). For both combinations of the M. recutita extract, with the norloxacin and cephalexin antibiotics, we observed an MIC at a 1:64 dilution, corresponding to 8μg/mL of the antibiotic and 13.43 μg/mL of the extract. When evaluating the MIC, cephalexin associated with the chamomile extract produced a synergistic effect in 75% of the samples. The combination of natural products frequently used by the population with the antibiotics tested in this study could be a therapeutic option for the treatment of infections caused by S. aureus, as well as prevent an increase in resistance.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women worldwide. Considering the limitations of the current treatments available, we analyzed the in vitro cytotoxic potential of ((4-Fluoro-phenyl)-{2-[(1-phenyl-9H-β-carboline-3-carbonyl)-amino]-ethylamino}-methyl)-phosphonic acid dibutyl ester (BCP-1) in breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and in a non-tumor breast cell line (MCF-10A). BCP-1 has an α-aminophosphonate unit linked to the β-carboline nucleus, and the literature indicates that compounds of these classes have high biological potential. In the present study, the mechanism of action of BCP-1 was investigated through methods of spectrofluorimetry, flow cytometry, and protein expression analysis. It was found that BCP-1 inhibited the proliferation of both cancer cell lines. Furthermore, it induced oxidative stress and cell cycle arrest in G2/M. Upregulation of apoptosis-related proteins such as Bax, cytochrome C, and caspases, as well as a decrease in the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, indicated potential induction of apoptosis in the MDA-MB-231 cells. While in MCF-7 cells, BCP-1 activated the autophagic death pathway, which was demonstrated by an increase in autophagic vacuoles and acidic organelles, in addition to increased expression of LC3I/LC3II and reduced SQSTM1/p62 expression. Further, BCP-1 demonstrated antimetastatic potential by reducing MMP-9 expression and cell migration in both breast cancer cell lines. In conclusion, BCP-1 is a promising candidate for breast cancer chemotherapy.