A low level of CD4+ lymphocyte cells makes end-stage HIV/AIDS patients highly susceptible to microbial infections. We have adopted the next generation sequencing method to identify the spectrum of bacterial plasma and viral elements that might be present in these patients. The HIV/AIDS plasma microbiome was dominated by bacterial elements in the taxonomical order Pseudomonadales, while healthy people carried fewer bacterial DNA in the plasma. We have found that many of the bacterial elements in HIV/AIDS plasma are similar to those of the microbes found in the human gut, suggesting potential acquisition of microbial elements from the gut. The HIV/AIDS and normal plasma DNA virome shared some similarities in the presence of common ubiquitous eukaryotic viruses. The normal DNA virome was mainly composed of viruses from Anelloviridae. In contrast, the HIV/AIDS DNA virome contained a large proportion of bacteriophages, endogenous retroviruses and a non-human virus. In addition, several sequences, which might belong to novel bacteria or endogenous retroviruses, were identified. Taken together, the use of high-throughput sequencing technology in unveiling microbial metagenomics may facilitate future research in combating HIV/AIDS and its associated microbial complications.
Carbapenem-resistant
Klebsiella pneumoniae
(CRKP) poses a significant clinical problem given the lack of therapeutic options available. Alternative antibacterial agents, such as bacteriophages, can be used as a valuable tool to treat the infections caused by these highly resistant bacteria. In this study, we isolated 54 phages from medical and domestic sewage wastewater between July and September 2019 and determined their host ranges against 54 clinical CRKP isolates, collected from a tertiary hospital in eastern China. The 54 CRKP isolates were from 7 sequence types (STs) and belonged to 9 capsular K locus types, harboring
bla
KPC–
2
(
n
= 49),
bla
NDM–
1
(
n
= 5), and
bla
IMP–
4
(
n
= 3). Among them, the epidemic KPC-2-producing ST11 strains were most predominant (88.9%). The 54 phages showed different host ranges from 7 to 52 CRKP isolates. The total host ranges of three phages can potentially cover all 54 CRKP isolates. Among the 54 phages, phage P545, classified as a member of Myoviridaes, order Caudovirales, had a relatively wide host range (96.3%), a short latent period of 20 min, and a medium burst size of 82 PFU/cell and was stably maintained at different pH values (4–10) and temperatures (up to 60°C). P545 showed the ability to inhibit biofilm formation and to degrade the mature biofilms. Taken together, the results of our study showed that the newly isolated phage P545 had a relatively wide host range, excellent properties, and antibacterial activity as well as antibiofilm activity against a clinical CRKP ST11 isolate, providing a promising candidate for future phage therapy applications.
BackgroundPertussis (whooping cough) caused by Bordetella pertussis
(B.p), continues to be a serious public health threat.
Vaccination is the most economical and effective strategy for preventing and
controlling pertussis. However, few systematic investigations of actual
human immune responses to pertussis vaccines have been performed. Therefore,
we utilized a combination of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE),
immunoblotting, and mass spectrometry to reveal the entire antigenic
proteome of whole-cell pertussis vaccine (WCV) targeted by the human immune
system as a first step toward evaluating the repertoire of human humoral
immune responses against WCV.Methodology/Principal FindingsImmunoproteomic profiling of total membrane enriched proteins and
extracellular proteins of Chinese WCV strain 58003 identified a total of 30
immunoreactive proteins. Seven are known pertussis antigens including
Pertactin, Serum resistance protein, chaperonin GroEL and two OMP porins.
Sixteen have been documented to be immunogenic in other pathogens but not in
B.p, and the immunogenicity of the last seven proteins
was found for the first time. Furthermore, by comparison of the human and
murine immunoproteomes of B.p, with the exception of four
human immunoreactive proteins that were also reactive with mouse immune
sera, a unique group of antigens including more than 20 novel immunoreactive
proteins that uniquely reacted with human immune serum was confirmed.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study is the first time that the repertoire of human serum antibody
responses against WCV was comprehensively investigated, and a small number
of previously unidentified antigens of WCV were also found by means of the
classic immunoproteomic strategy. Further research on these newly identified
predominant antigens of B.p exclusively against humans will
not only remarkably accelerate the development of diagnostic biomarkers and
subunit vaccines but also provide detailed insight into human immunity
mechanisms against WCV. In particular, this work highlights the
heterogeneity of the B.p immunoreactivity patterns of the
mouse model and the human host.
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