Co-culture of Helicobacter pylori with oral microorganisms in human saliva.

Objective: Helicobacter pylori is known for colonizing the gastric mucosa and instigating severe upper gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcers, and gastric cancer. To date, there is no data available on the oral cavity as transmission site, whether H. pylori can survive in the oral cavity or in human saliva.

Multiple "spaces": Using wildlife surveillance, climatic variables, and spatial statistics to identify and map a climatic niche for endemic plague in California, U.S.A.

Regional climatic features in endemic areas can help inform surveillance for plague, a bacterial disease typically transmitted by fleas and maintained in mammals. We use 7,954 coyotes (Canis latrans), a sentinel species for plague, screened for plague exposure by the California Department of Public Health - Vector-Borne Disease Section (CDPH-VBDS; 1983-2015) to identify and map plague-suitable local climates within California to empirically inform ongoing sampling and surveillance plans. Using spatial point processes, we compare the distributions of seropositive and seronegative coyotes within the "space" defined by the first two principal components of PRISM Climate Group 30-year average climate variables (primarily temperature and moisture).

Gram-negative bloodstream infections in six German university hospitals, 2016-2020: clinical and microbiological features.

Purpose: To analyze the longitudinal epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of Gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI) in Germany.

Methods: Post-hoc analysis of prospectively documented BSI due to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp.

Enhancing ascitic fungal infection diagnosis through next-generation sequencing: a pilot study in surgical ICU patients.

Objectives: Ascites, often associated with critical pathologies such as liver cirrhosis or bowel perforation, can be complicated by fungal infection, increasing mortality especially in intensive care settings and demanding rapid diagnosis and adequate treatment. Traditional microbiological diagnostic methods have limited sensitivity in accurately identifying fungal pathogens in ascitic fluid. Alternative diagnostic methods may offer important insights to enable guiding of antifungal therapy and refining empirical treatment strategies.

Contribution of A1 to macrophage survival in cooperation with MCL-1 and BCL-X in a murine cell model of myeloid differentiation.

Myeloid cells are the first line of defence against pathogens. Mitochondrial apoptosis signalling is a crucial regulator of myeloid cell lifespan and modulates the function of myeloid cells. The anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2-family protein BCL2A1/A1/BFL-1 is strongly upregulated in inflammation in macrophages.

in pigs: intriguing bacteria associated with sub-clinical carriage and clinical disease, and with zoonotic potential.

are bacteria that are intriguing and important at the same time. The genus encompasses many species of obligate intracellular organisms: they can multiply only inside the cells of their host organism. Many, perhaps most animals have their own specifically adapted chlamydial species.

Social inequity in ageing in place among older adults in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries: a mixed studies systematic review.

Background: Most older adults wish to remain in their homes and communities as they age. Despite this widespread preference, disparities in health outcomes and access to healthcare and social support may create inequities in the ability to age in place. Our objectives were to synthesise evidence of social inequity in ageing in place among older adults using an intersectional lens and to evaluate the methods used to define and measure inequities.

The caspase-activated DNase promotes cellular senescence.

Cellular senescence is a response to many stressful insults. DNA damage is a consistent feature of senescent cells, but in many cases its source remains unknown. Here, we identify the cellular endonuclease caspase-activated DNase (CAD) as a critical factor in the initiation of senescence.

Comparison of the diversity of anaerobic-cultured gut bacterial communities on different culture media using 16S rDNA sequencing.

The gut microbiome is a dense and diverse community of different microorganisms that deeply influence human physiology and that have important interactions with pathogens. For the correct antibiotic treatment of infections, with its twin goals of effective inhibition of the pathogen and limitation of collateral damage to the microbiome, the identification of infectious organisms is key. Microbiological culturing is still the mainstay of pathogen identification, and anaerobic species are among the most demanding bacterial communities to culture.

Occurrence and trends of Clostridioides difficile infections in hospitalized patients: a prospective multi-centre cohort study in six German university hospitals, 2016-2020.

Background: For Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) in Germany no longitudinal multi-centre studies with standardized protocols for diagnosing CDI are available. Recent evaluations of general surveillance databases in Germany indicate a downward trend in CDI rates. We aimed to describe the actual burden and trends of CDI in German university hospitals from 2016 to 2020.

Considering inequities in national dementia strategies: breadth, depth, and scope.

Background: Considering that dementia is an international public health priority, several countries have developed national dementia strategies outlining initiatives to address challenges posed by the disease. These strategies aim to improve the care, support, and resources available to meet the needs of persons living with dementia and their care partners and communities. Despite the known impact of social determinants of health on dementia risk, care, and outcomes, it is unclear whether dementia strategies adequately address related inequities.

Lipocalin-2 expression identifies an intestinal regulatory neutrophil population during acute graft-versus-host disease.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), for which therapeutic options are limited. Strategies to promote intestinal tissue tolerance during aGVHD may improve patient outcomes. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we identified a lipocalin-2 (LCN2)-expressing neutrophil population in mice with intestinal aGVHD.

Longitudinal dynamics of gut bacteriome and mycobiome interactions pre- and post-visceral surgery in Crohn's disease.

Introduction: Alterations of the gut microbiome are involved in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). The role of fungi in this context is unclear. This study aimed to determine postoperative changes in the bacterial and fungal gut communities of CD patients undergoing intestinal resection, and to evaluate interactions between the bacteriome and mycobiome and their impact on the patients' outcome.

ROCK1/2 signaling contributes to corticosteroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease.

Patients with corticosteroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have a low one-year survival rate. Identification and validation of novel targetable kinases in patients who experience corticosteroid-refractory-aGVHD may help improve outcomes. Kinase-specific proteomics of leukocytes from patients with corticosteroid-refractory-GVHD identified rho kinase type 1 (ROCK1) as the most significantly upregulated kinase.

Corrigendum: Do common infections trigger disease-onset or -severity in CTLA-4 insufficiency?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.

Increasing numbers and complexity of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection-14 years of prospective evaluation at a German tertiary care centre with multi-centre validation of findings.

Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (SAB) is a common and severe infection. This study aims to describe temporal trends in numbers, epidemiological characteristics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes of SAB.

Methods: We performed a post-hoc analysis of three prospective SAB cohorts at the University Medical Centre Freiburg between 2006 and 2019.

An appeal for strengthening genomic pathogen surveillance to improve pandemic preparedness and infection prevention: the German perspective.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of viable infection surveillance and the relevant infrastructure. From a German perspective, an integral part of this infrastructure, genomic pathogen sequencing, was at best fragmentary and stretched to its limits due to the lack or inefficient use of equipment, human resources, data management and coordination. The experience in other countries has shown that the rate of sequenced positive samples and linkage of genomic and epidemiological data (person, place, time) represent important factors for a successful application of genomic pathogen surveillance.

Apoptotic cell death in disease-Current understanding of the NCCD 2023.

Apoptosis is a form of regulated cell death (RCD) that involves proteases of the caspase family. Pharmacological and genetic strategies that experimentally inhibit or delay apoptosis in mammalian systems have elucidated the key contribution of this process not only to (post-)embryonic development and adult tissue homeostasis, but also to the etiology of multiple human disorders. Consistent with this notion, while defects in the molecular machinery for apoptotic cell death impair organismal development and promote oncogenesis, the unwarranted activation of apoptosis promotes cell loss and tissue damage in the context of various neurological, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, infectious, neoplastic and inflammatory conditions.

Role of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization during bacterial infection.

Beyond the initial 'powerhouse' view, mitochondria have numerous functions in their mammalian cell and contribute to many physiological processes, and many of these we understand only partially. The control of apoptosis by mitochondria is firmly established. Many questions remain however how this function is embedded into physiology, and how other signaling pathways regulate mitochondrial apoptosis; the interplay of bacteria with the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway is one such example.

[Establishment of genomic pathogen surveillance to strengthen pandemic preparedness and infection prevention in Germany].

The SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic has shown a deficit of essential epidemiological infrastructure, especially with regard to genomic pathogen surveillance in Germany. In order to prepare for future pandemics, the authors consider it urgently necessary to remedy this existing deficit by establishing an efficient infrastructure for genomic pathogen surveillance. Such a network can build on structures, processes, and interactions that have already been initiated regionally and further optimize them.

Resolving colistin resistance and heteroresistance in Enterobacter species.

Species within the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) include globally important nosocomial pathogens. A three-year study of ECC in Germany identified Enterobacter xiangfangensis as the most common species (65.5%) detected, a result replicated by examining a global pool of 3246 isolates.