Phylogenomic and genomic analysis reveals unique and shared genetic signatures of complex species.

Species belonging to the complex (MKC) are frequently isolated from humans and the environment and can cause serious diseases. The most common MKC infections are caused by the species (), leading to tuberculosis-like disease. However, a broad spectrum of virulence, antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity of these non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are observed across the MKC.

The Xpert® MTB/RIF cycle threshold value predicts M. tuberculosis transmission to close contacts in a Brazilian prospective multicenter cohort.

Background: The Xpert® MTB/RIF rapid molecular test provides a quantitative measure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DNA in the form of cycle threshold (Ct) values. This information can be translated into mycobacterial load and used as a potential risk measure of bacterial spread for tuberculosis cases, which can impact infection control. However, the role of Ct values in assessing Mtb transmission to close contacts has not yet been demonstrated.

Whole-Genome Sequences of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. Isolates from Brazil.

The Mycobacterium abscessus complex comprises multidrug-resistant, opportunistic, and rapidly growing pathogens responsible for severe infections. Here, we report the genome composition of four Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. isolates from three sources: two from the lung of a cystic fibrosis patient, one from a mammary cyst, and one from a gutter system.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of M. kansasii pulmonary infections from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 2006 and 2016.

Objective To evaluate clinical, tomographic, and microbiological characteristics of pulmonary disease caused by M. kansasii (MKPD) in patients treated at an outpatient unit from 2006-2016. Methods We studied thirty eight patients, and analyzed socio-demographic, clinical-radiological, laboratory, and therapeutic characteristics.

ATP1A3: an unusual antigen to consider in patients with subacute ataxia and vertical gaze palsy.

The anti-ATP1A3 antibody seems to be directed against a neuronal and cardiac surface protein of the proton ATPase. It was recently identified in a patient with a paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by cerebellar, neuro-ophthalmologic and other neurological symptoms. We report another patient with a similar clinical and radiological syndrome but with a different associated tumor and outcome.

Accuracy of Determine TB-LAM Ag to detect TB in HIV infected patients associated with diagnostic methods used in Brazilian public health units.

Background: Determine TB-LAM Ag (LAM) is a point of care test developed to diagnose tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LAM in people living with HIV using Brazilian public health network algorithm for TB diagnosis.

Methods And Findings: A cross-sectional study design was used to enroll 199 adult patients in two sites in Rio de Janeiro and two in São Paulo.

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of a phenanthroline-isoniazid hybrid ligand and its Ag and Mn complexes.

Hydrazide ligand, (Z)-N'-(6-oxo-1,10-phenanthrolin-5(6H)-ylidene)isonicotinohydrazide, 1 forms from a 1:1 Schiff base condensation reaction between isoniazid (INH) and 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (phendione). Ag and Mn complexes with 1:2 metal:ligand stoichiometry are prepared: [Ag(1)]NO, [Ag(1)]BF and [Mn(1)](NO). Polymeric {[Ag(1)(NO)]} has 1:1 stoichiometry and forms upon infusion of CHCl into a DMSO solution of [Ag(1)]NO.

Tetrahydropyridine derivative as efflux inhibitor in Mycobacterium abscessus.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate a tetrahydropyridine derivative (THP) as a potential inhibitor of the efflux mechanism and modulator of the high level of antimicrobial resistance usually observed in members of the Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) group.

Methods: The strain M.

Bactericidal Activity of a Cationic Peptide on Neisseria meningitidis.

Background: The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria has raised an urgent need for substitute remedies. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered promising candidates to address infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria through new mechanisms of action that require a careful evaluation of their performance.

Objective: Identification of effective AMPs against Neisseria meningitidis, which represents a pathogen of great public health importance worldwide that is intrinsically resistant to some AMPs, such as polymyxin B.

Review of 21 cases of mycetoma from 1991 to 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mycetoma is caused by the subcutaneous inoculation of filamentous fungi or aerobic filamentous bacteria that form grains in the tissue. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiologic, clinic, laboratory, and therapeutic characteristics of patients with mycetoma at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between 1991 and 2014. Twenty-one cases of mycetoma were included in the study.

Synthesis, Antitubercular and Anticancer Activities of p-nitrophenylethylenediamine-derived Schiff Bases.

Background: Schiff bases have been greatly studied in biological field due to their wide range of pharmacological activities, such as antitubercular and antitumour. In the search of novel antitubercular agents, several compounds containing pharmacophoric group of ethambutol have been synthesized and evaluated against mycobacteria species causing tuberculosis. In this work, we investigate whether ethylenediamine, Schiff base as well as nitro group together could contribute to the formation of novel molecules with dual biological activities: antitubercular and anticancer.

Synthesis and evaluation of copper(II) complexes with isoniazid-derived hydrazones as anticancer and antitubercular agents.

In this study, the N,N,O metal chelator 2-pyridinecarboxaldehydeisonicotinoyl hydrazone (HPCIH, 1) and its derivatives 2-acetylpyridine-(HAPIH 2), 2-pyridineformamide-(HPAmIH, 3) and pyrazineformamide-(HPzAmIH, 4) were employed in the synthesis of four copper(II) complexes, [Cu(HPCIH)Cl]·0.4HO (5), [Cu(HAPIH)Cl]·1.25HO (6), [Cu(HPAmIH)Cl]·HO (7) and [Cu(HPzAmIH)Cl]·1.

Synthesis and characterization of the antitubercular phenazine lapazine and development of PLGA and PCL nanoparticles for its entrapment.

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize nanoparticles as carriers of lapazine, a phenazine derived from β-lapachone; its antimycobacterial activity is described for the first time as a potential treatment for tuberculosis. The lapazine was synthesized, and by using gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector, it was possible to evaluate its purity degree of almost 100%. For better elucidation of the molecular structure, mass spectroscopy and 1H NMR were carried out and compared to the literature values.

Synthesis, characterization, cytotoxic and antitubercular activities of new gold(I) and gold(III) complexes containing ligands derived from carbohydrates.

Novel gold(I) and gold(III) complexes containing derivatives of D-galactose, D-ribose and D-glucono-1,5-lactone as ligands were synthesized and characterized by IR, (1)H, and (13)C NMR, high resolution mass spectra and cyclic voltammetry. The compounds were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity against three types of tumor cells: cervical carcinoma (HeLa) breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and glioblastoma (MO59J) and one non-tumor cell line: human lung fibroblasts (GM07492A). Their antitubercular activity was evaluated as well expressed as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC90) in μg/mL.

Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Alkylated Diamines and Amphiphilic Amides of Quinic Acid Derivatives.

Different series of N-alkylated diamines and their derivatives condensed to quinic acid were synthesized and tested for antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The lipophilic chain and carbohydrate moiety modulate the antibacterial activity and the compounds showed a structure-activity relationship. Overall, 11 compounds displayed better activity than chloramphenicol against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Multidrug-resistant nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from cystic fibrosis patients.

Worldwide, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have become emergent pathogens of pulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, with an estimated prevalence ranging from 5 to 20%. This work investigated the presence of NTM in sputum samples of 129 CF patients (2 to 18 years old) submitted to longitudinal clinical supervision at a regional reference center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From June 2009 to March 2012, 36 NTM isolates recovered from 10 (7.

Use of amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis direct test in respiratory samples from HIV-infected patients in Brazil.

Objective: To compare the accuracy of the amplified Mycobacterium tuberculosis direct (AMTD) test with reference methods for the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients.

Methods: This was a study of diagnostic accuracy comparing AMTD test results with those obtained by culture on Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium and by the BACTEC Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube 960 (BACTEC MGIT 960) system in respiratory samples analyzed at the Bioassay and Bacteriology Laboratory of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Evandro Chagas Clinical Research Institute in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Results: We analyzed respiratory samples collected from 118 patients, of whom 88 (74.

Anti-tuberculosis evaluation and conformational study of N-acylhydrazones containing the thiophene nucleus.

A series of N-acylhydrazonyl-thienyl derivatives (compounds 2 and 3), mainly of the type 2-(aryl-CH=N-NHCOCH2 )-thiene (2: aryl = substituted-phenyl; 3: aryl = heteroaryl) were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Particularly active compound was 3 (heteroaryl = 5-nitrothien-2-yl or 5-nitrofuran-2-yl) with MIC values of 8.5 and 9.

Evaluation of two line probe assays for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance, and non-TB Mycobacteria in HIV-infected individuals with suspected TB.

Limited performance data from line probe assays (LPAs), nucleic acid tests used for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance are available for HIV-infected individuals, in whom paucibacillary TB is common. In this study, the strategy of testing sputum with GenoType MTBDRplus (MTBDR-Plus) and GenoType Direct LPA (Direct LPA) was compared to a gold standard of one mycobacterial growth indicator tube (MGIT) liquid culture. HIV-positive (HIV(+)) individuals with suspected TB from southern Africa and South America with <7 days of TB treatment had 1 sputum specimen tested with Direct LPA, MTBDR-Plus LPA, smear microscopy, MGIT, biochemical identification of mycobacterial species, and culture-based drug-susceptibility testing (DST).

Syntheses and antimycobacterial activities of [(2S,3R)-2-(amino)-4-(arenesulfonamido)-3-hydroxy-1-phenylbutane derivatives.

The syntheses of hydroxyethylsulfonamides, (2S,3R)-tert-butyl N-[4-(N-benzyl-4-R-phenylsulfonamido)-3- hydroxy-1-phenylbutan-2-yl]carbamates and (5) (2S,3R)-2-amino-4-[N-benzyl-4-R-benzenesulfonamido]-3-hydroxy-1- phenylbutane hydrochlorides (6), derived from (2S,3S)-Boc-phenylalanine epoxide, are reported. None of the compounds, containing the Boc group, showed activity against M. tuberculosis ATTC 27294, while compounds 6 did, with the most active compounds having R = p-Cl, p-Br and p-Me.

Experimental and theoretical NMR determination of isoniazid and sodium p-sulfonatocalix[n]arenes inclusion complexes.

In this work the inclusion complex formation of isoniazid with sodium p-sulfonatocalix[n]arenes is reported aiming to improve the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of isoniazid a first line antibuberculosis drug. The architectures of the complexes were proposed according to NMR data Job plot indicating details on the insertion of the isoniazid in the calix[n]arenes cavities. DFT theoretical NMR calculations were also performed for sodium p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene complex with isoniazid, with various modes of complexation being considered, to provide support for the experimental proposal.

Tuberculosis: finding a new potential antimycobacterium derivative in a aldehyde-arylhydrazone-oxoquinoline series.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which remains a serious public health problem. The emergence of resistant bacterial strains has continuously increased and new treatment options are currently in need. In this work, we identified a new potential aldehyde-arylhydrazone-oxoquinoline derivative (4e) with interesting chemical structural features that may be important for designing new anti-TB agents.