Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prevention: Perception and willingness of expectant parents in the Netherlands.

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of infant respiratory disease. Recent approval of preventive measures like a long-acting monoclonal antibody and a maternal vaccine signals a potential shift in early-life RSV infection control. However, success hinges on acceptance.

Diagnostic value of maternal, cord blood and neonatal biomarkers for early-onset sepsis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: An accurate diagnosis of early-onset sepsis (EOS) is challenging because of subtle symptoms and the lack of a good diagnostic tool, resulting in considerable antibiotic overtreatment. A biomarker, discriminating between infected and non-infected newborns at an early stage of the disease, could improve EOS prediction. Numerous biomarkers have been tested, but have never been compared directly.

Group B Early-Onset Disease: New Preventive and Diagnostic Tools to Decrease the Burden of Antibiotic Use.

The difficulty in recognizing early-onset neonatal sepsis (EONS) in a timely manner due to non-specific symptoms and the limitations of diagnostic tests, combined with the risk of serious consequences if EONS is not treated in a timely manner, has resulted in a low threshold for starting empirical antibiotic treatment. New guideline strategies, such as the neonatal sepsis calculator, have been proven to reduce the antibiotic burden related to EONS, but lack sensitivity for detecting EONS. In this review, the potential of novel, targeted preventive and diagnostic methods for EONS is discussed from three different perspectives: maternal, umbilical cord and newborn perspectives.

EspH is a hypervirulence factor for Mycobacterium marinum and essential for the secretion of the ESX-1 substrates EspE and EspF.

The pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis employs a range of ESX-1 substrates to manipulate the host and build a successful infection. Although the importance of ESX-1 secretion in virulence is well established, the characterization of its individual components and the role of individual substrates is far from complete. Here, we describe the functional characterization of the Mycobacterium marinum accessory ESX-1 proteins EccA1, EspG1 and EspH, i.

Mycobacteria employ two different mechanisms to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Central nervous system (CNS) infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most devastating complications of tuberculosis, in particular in early childhood. In order to induce CNS infection, M. tuberculosis needs to cross specialised barriers protecting the brain.

A transgenic zebrafish model for the study of the blood and choroid plexus brain barriers using .

The central nervous system (CNS) has specific barriers that protect the brain from potential threats and tightly regulate molecular transport. Despite the critical functions of the CNS barriers, the mechanisms underlying their development and function are not well understood, and there are very limited experimental models for their study. Claudin 5 is a tight junction protein required for blood brain barrier (BBB) and, probably, choroid plexus (CP) structure and function in vertebrates.

Inorganic Phosphate Limitation Modulates Capsular Polysaccharide Composition in Mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is protected by an unusual and highly impermeable cell envelope that is critically important for the successful colonization of the host. The outermost surface of this cell envelope is formed by capsular polysaccharides that play an important role in modulating the initial interactions once the bacillus enters the body. Although the bioenzymatic steps involved in the production of the capsular polysaccharides are emerging, information regarding the ability of the bacterium to modulate the composition of the capsule is still unknown.

Animal models of tuberculosis: zebrafish.

Over the past decade the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become an attractive new vertebrate model organism for studying mycobacterial pathogenesis. The combination of medium-throughput screening and real-time in vivo visualization has allowed new ways to dissect host pathogenic interaction in a vertebrate host. Furthermore, genetic screens on the host and bacterial sides have elucidated new mechanisms involved in the initiation of granuloma formation and the importance of a balanced immune response for control of mycobacterial pathogens.

Modeling tuberculous meningitis in zebrafish using Mycobacterium marinum.

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is one of the most severe extrapulmonary manifestations of tuberculosis, with a high morbidity and mortality. Characteristic pathological features of TBM are Rich foci, i.e.

Mannan core branching of lipo(arabino)mannan is required for mycobacterial virulence in the context of innate immunity.

The causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains an important worldwide health threat. Although TB is one of the oldest infectious diseases of man, a detailed understanding of the mycobacterial mechanisms underlying pathogenesis remains elusive. Here, we studied the role of the α(1→2) mannosyltransferase MptC in mycobacterial virulence, using the Mycobacterium marinum zebrafish infection model.