Carbapenem-resistant among hospitalized patients in Cape Town, South Africa: molecular epidemiology and characterization.

Background: The molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in Cape Town remains largely unknown.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the molecular epidemiology, resistome, virulome and mobilome of carbapenem-resistant (CRKP) within Cape Town to guide therapy, antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention and control practices.

Methods: Eighty-five CRKP isolates from hospitalized patients underwent WGS as part of a prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional study, conducted between 1 November 2020 and 30 November 2022, across public-sector and private-sector hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa.

Profiling the autoantibody repertoire reveals autoantibodies associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Background: Dementia is a debilitating neurological disease affecting millions of people worldwide. The exact mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of the disease remain to be fully defined. There is an increasing body of evidence for the role of immune dysregulation in the pathogenesis of dementia, where blood-borne autoimmune antibodies have been studied as potential markers associated with pathological mechanisms of dementia.

The genomic characterization of carbapenem-resistant at a tertiary hospital in South Africa.

Background: Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen, and recent reports have highlighted the rapid increase in multidrug resistance in this organism. There is a paucity in genomic data for carbapenem-resistant (CRSM).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study describing laboratory-confirmed CRSM from a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, for the period 2015-20, was performed.

Systems Analysis Reveals Contraceptive-Induced Alteration of Cervicovaginal Gene Expression in a Randomized Trial.

Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) are vital in managing the reproductive health of women. However, HC usage has been linked to perturbations in cervicovaginal immunity and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections. Here, we evaluated the impact of three HCs on the cervicovaginal environment using high-throughput transcriptomics.

Strongylopus grayii tadpole blastema extract exerts cytotoxic effects on embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cells.

Amphibians have regenerative capacity and are resistant to developing cancer. This suggests that the developing blastema, located at the tissue regeneration site, may secrete anti-cancer factors. Here, we investigate the anti-cancer potential of tadpole tail blastema extracts (TAD) from the stream frog, Strongylopus grayii, in embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) cells.

A citywide, clonal outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background: Outbreaks of community-acquired Pseudomonas aeruginosa are typically small and localized. We investigated an increase in community-acquired infections with P. aeruginosa in Cape Town, South Africa.

Stereotypic Expansion of T Regulatory and Th17 Cells during Infancy Is Disrupted by HIV Exposure and Gut Epithelial Damage.

Few studies have investigated immune cell ontogeny throughout the neonatal and early pediatric period, when there is often increased vulnerability to infections. In this study, we evaluated the dynamics of two critical T cell populations, T regulatory (Treg) cells and Th17 cells, over the first 36 wk of human life. First, we observed distinct CD4 T cells phenotypes between cord blood and peripheral blood, collected within 12 h of birth, showing that cord blood is not a surrogate for newborn blood.

Using a multiple-delivery-mode training approach to develop local capacity and infrastructure for advanced bioinformatics in Africa.

With more microbiome studies being conducted by African-based research groups, there is an increasing demand for knowledge and skills in the design and analysis of microbiome studies and data. However, high-quality bioinformatics courses are often impeded by differences in computational environments, complicated software stacks, numerous dependencies, and versions of bioinformatics tools along with a lack of local computational infrastructure and expertise. To address this, H3ABioNet developed a 16S rRNA Microbiome Intermediate Bioinformatics Training course, extending its remote classroom model.

Hormonal contraception alters vaginal microbiota and cytokines in South African adolescents in a randomized trial.

Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionally affected by HIV infection and unintended pregnancies. However, hormonal contraceptive (HC) use may influence HIV risk through changes in genital tract microbiota and inflammatory cytokines. To investigate this, 130 HIV negative adolescent females aged 15-19 years were enrolled into a substudy of UChoose, an open-label randomized crossover study (NCT02404038), comparing acceptability and contraceptive product preference as a proxy for HIV prevention delivery methods.

Hormonal contraception and risk of STIs and bacterial vaginosis in South African adolescents: secondary analysis of a randomised trial.

Objectives: Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of STIs and unintended pregnancies, yet hormonal contraceptive (HC) use may affect STI risk. We compared the influence of three HCs on the incidence and prevalence of STIs and bacterial vaginosis (BV) in South African adolescents.

Methods: One hundred and thirty adolescents between 15 and 19 years were randomised to the injectable norethisterone enanthate (Net-En), combined oral contraceptives (COC) (Triphasil or Nordette) or a combined contraceptive vaginal ring (CCVR; NuvaRing) for 16 weeks (clinicaltrials.

Relationship between the Oral and Vaginal Microbiota of South African Adolescents with High Prevalence of Bacterial Vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) and periodontal disease (PD) are characterised as bacterial dysbioses. Both are associated with an increased risk of poor pregnancy outcomes, yet it is unknown whether PD and BV are related. We characterised the oral microbiota of young South African females with a high prevalence of BV and investigated the association between oral communities and vaginal microbiota.

Defining characteristics of genital health in South African adolescent girls and young women at high risk for HIV infection.

The genital tract of African women has been shown to differ from what is currently accepted as 'normal', defined by a pH≤4.5 and lactobacilli-dominated microbiota. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) from sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk for HIV, and we hypothesized that specific biological factors are likely to be influential.

Endocervical and vaginal microbiota in South African adolescents with asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

Adolescent girls and young women represent a key risk group for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The vaginal microbiota is thought to play an important role in susceptibility to STIs such as Chlamydia trachomatis. We compared the microbiota of the lateral vaginal wall and endocervix, and assessed associations with C.

Inflammatory cytokine biomarkers of asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections and vaginal dysbiosis: a multicentre validation study.

Objectives: Vaginal dysbiosis and STIs are important drivers of the HIV epidemic and reproductive complications. These conditions remain prevalent, partly because most cases are asymptomatic. We have shown that inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β and interferon-γ-induced protein (IP)-10 are biomarkers for detecting asymptomatic STIs and vaginal dysbiosis (bacterial vaginosis (BV) or intermediate microbiota).

Disruption of maternal gut microbiota during gestation alters offspring microbiota and immunity.

Background: Early life microbiota is an important determinant of immune and metabolic development and may have lasting consequences. The maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy or breastfeeding is important for defining infant gut microbiota. We hypothesized that maternal gut microbiota during pregnancy and breastfeeding is a critical determinant of infant immunity.

Feeding-Related Gut Microbial Composition Associates With Peripheral T-Cell Activation and Mucosal Gene Expression in African Infants.

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding reduces the rate of postnatal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission compared to nonexclusive breastfeeding; however, the mechanisms of this protection are unknown. Our study aimed to interrogate the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding.

Methods: We performed a prospective, longitudinal study of infants from a high-HIV-prevalence, low-income setting in South Africa.

Microbial Composition Predicts Genital Tract Inflammation and Persistent Bacterial Vaginosis in South African Adolescent Females.

Young African females are at an increased risk of HIV acquisition, and genital inflammation or the vaginal microbiome may contribute to this risk. We studied these factors in 168 HIV-negative South African adolescent females aged 16 to 22 years. Unsupervised clustering of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed three clusters (subtypes), one of which was strongly associated with genital inflammation.

Bacterially-Associated Transcriptional Remodelling in a Distinct Genomic Subtype of Colorectal Cancer Provides a Plausible Molecular Basis for Disease Development.

The relevance of specific microbial colonisation to colorectal cancer (CRC) disease pathogenesis is increasingly recognised, but our understanding of possible underlying molecular mechanisms that may link colonisation to disease in vivo remains limited. Here, we investigate the relationships between the most commonly studied CRC-associated bacteria (Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis, pks+ Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium spp., afaC+ E.