Publications by authors named "Maria Militsopoulou"

Acid-fast bacteria can be implicated in skin and soft tissue infections. Diagnostic identification can be challenging or not feasible by routine laboratory techniques, especially if there is no access to the Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technology. Here, we present two cases of skin and soft tissue infections caused by two different acid-fast bacteria, Nocardia brasiliensis and Mycobacterium marinum.

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Treatment of infections comprises of sulfamethoxazole/tripethoprim (SXT) or fluoroquinolones. We investigated antimicrobial resistance, presence of resistance genes (, ) and clonal dissemination in from a university hospital. Among 62 isolates, 45 (73%) represented infection.

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Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen causing hospital acquired infections (HAIs) in neonates. In this study, the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) colonization and infections in a 30-bed, level III university-affiliated neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) located in a children's hospital was retrospectively investigated for the period 2014-2018.

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Background: Staphylococcus aureus causes various infections, including skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). In this study, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) from SSTIs among patients in three tertiary-care hospitals in Greece were studied in terms of antimicrobial resistance, clonal distribution, toxin and adhesin genes carriage.

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Article Synopsis
  • There has been a notable rise in cases of staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) since 2015, with 31 cases recorded between 2014 and 2017.
  • Investigations revealed a new strain of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus, resistant to mupirocin and fusidic acid, linked to the ST121 complex and possessing harmful epidermolysin genes.
  • This emerging strain of S. aureus is causing more severe cases of SSSS than the more common skin infection impetigo, highlighting the need for physicians to be cautious about potential SSSS outbreaks associated with these resistant strains.
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Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by mupirocin-resistant strains have recently increased in number in our settings. We sought to evaluate the characteristics of these cases over a 43-month period. Data for all community-acquired staphylococcal infections caused by mupirocin-resistant strains were retrospectively reviewed.

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This report describes a new formulation of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of fluorophore-labeled saccharides (PAGEFS) for the analysis of hyaluronan (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) Delta-disaccharides. PAGEFS relies on derivatization of reducing ends of HA- and the variously sulfated CS-derived Delta-disaccharides with 2-aminoacridone (AMAC), followed by electrophoresis under optimized buffer conditions (Tris-borate and Tris-HCl) and on polyacrylamide gels (25% T/3.75% C).

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Heparan sulfate (HS) and heparin bind to various growth factors and modulate their activities. Interactions of heparin and HS with members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family are prerequisites for binding of FGFs to their high affinity cell receptors. The sulfation patterns of distinct oligosaccharide domains within heparin and HS chains determine their high affinity binding with basic FGF (bFGF).

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In quest for high sensitivities necessary for determining the disaccharide composition of heparin/heparan sulfate present in trace amounts in biologic samples, an ultrahighly sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was developed. Heparin/heparan sulfate-derived Delta-disaccharides were derivatized with the fluorophore 2-aminoacridone and resolved by a reversed-polarity CE method. Estimation of the limit of detection in concentration term and limit of quantitation showed that LIF detection of AMAC-derivatives of Delta-disaccharides resulted in 27-744 times higher sensitivity as compared to those detected by UV at 255 nm.

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In quest for high sensitivities, we developed an ultrahigh capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for the structural analysis of heparin and heparan sulfate (HS) in biologic samples. Heparin and HS were digested with an equi-unit mixture of heparin lyases I, II and III and the obtained Delta-disaccharides were derivatized with the fluorophore 2-aminoacridone. All known twelve non-, mono-, di- and trisulfated Delta-disaccharides were completely resolved in a single run, using 50 mM phosphate buffer, pH 3.

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