Molecular epidemiology and drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital in northeastern Mexico.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a re-emerging disease considered a public health concern. In the present study, we analyzed the epidemiology and drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from patients with pulmonary TB.

Methodology: Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates (n = 190) were obtained from patients with pulmonary TB admitted to Dr.

LL-37_Renalexin hybrid peptide exhibits antimicrobial activity at lower MICs than its counterpart single peptides.

An alarming global public health and economic peril has been the emergence of antibiotic resistance resulting from clinically relevant bacteria pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species constantly exhibiting intrinsic and extrinsic resistance mechanisms against last-resort antibiotics like gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, colistin, and standard ampicillin prescription in clinical practices. The discovery and applications of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antibacterial properties have been considered and proven as alternative antimicrobial agents to antibiotics. In this study, we have designed, produced, and purified a recombinant novel multifunctional hybrid antimicrobial peptide LL-37_Renalexin for the first time via the application of newly designed flexible GS peptide linker coupled with the use of our previously characterized small metal-binding proteins SmbP and CusF3H+ as carrier proteins that allow for an enhanced bacterial expression, using BL21(DE3) and SHuffle T7(DE3) Escherichia coli strains, and purification of the hybrid peptide via immobilized metal affinity chromatography.

Sexually Transmitted Infections in Male Patients with Urethritis.

(1) Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in men are a significant public health problem due to the consequences they can have, such as chronic diseases, infertility, cancer, and even death. This study aimed to determine the frequency of microorganisms associated with STIs in men with urethritis attending urology consultations, and to explore their clinical correlations. (2) Methods: A population that attended the urology consultation of the University Hospital "Dr.

Case Report: Molecular Characterization of Bloodstream Infections due to Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: A Pediatric Case Series.

Acinetobacter baumannii poses a significant threat to public health due to the high rate of multidrug-resistant strains. However, information on the molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) bloodstream infections in children is scarce. This study aimed to describe the molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant A.

Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Infection in Children From a Third-Level Hospital in Mexico: Clinical Characteristics and Molecular Epidemiology.

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a threat to public health due to the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant isolates. Information regarding the clinical and molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) infections in children is scarce.

The Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP Improves the Expression and Purification of the Recombinant Antitumor-Analgesic Peptide from the Chinese Scorpion Karsch in .

We have recently shown that SmbP, the small metal-binding protein of , can be employed as a fusion protein to express and purify recombinant proteins and peptides in . SmbP increases solubility, allows simple, one-step purification through affinity chromatography, and provides superior final yields due to its low molecular weight. In this work, we report for the first time the use of SmbP to produce a recombinant peptide with anticancer activity: the antitumor-analgesic peptide (BmK-AGAP), a neurotoxin isolated from the venom of the Chinese scorpion Karsch.

The Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP Simplifies the Recombinant Expression and Purification of the Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37.

(1) Background: The cathelicidin peptide LL-37 is a prominent molecule with many biological activities, including antimicrobial. Due to its importance, here, we describe the production of LL-37 tagged with SmbP, a relatively new carrier protein that improves the production of recombinant proteins and peptides in . We present an alternative method for the rapid expression, purification, and antimicrobial evaluation of LL-37, that involves only one purification step.

[Meta-analysis of diagnostic tests for the detection of COVID-19].

Background: COVID-19 disease emerged at the end of 2019 and it started to be considered a pandemic at the beginning of 2020. The reference methodology for the COVID-19 diagnosis is the RT-qPCR.

Objective: It was assessed the sensitivity and specificity of molecular test kits found on the list of tests of the Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos (InDRE, Institute for Epidemiologic Diagnosis and Reference).

Expression and purification of the antimicrobial peptide Bin1b in Escherichia coli tagged with the fusion proteins CusF3H+ and SmbP.

We have previously shown that the small metal-binding proteins CusF3H+ and SmbP can be used as fusion proteins for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Because of their small size, both around 10 kDa, they are suitable for the production of peptides to avoid meager yields after the final purification step of tag removal. Bin1b is a beta-defensin found in the epididymis of rats that has shown to have antimicrobial activity.

Norovirus Is the Most Frequent Cause of Diarrhea in Hospitalized Patients in Monterrey, Mexico.

Little information is available regarding the pathogens that cause diarrhea in hospitalized patients who also have various clinical problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of pathogens in fecal samples of hospitalized patients all suffering diarrhea in addition to other problems in Mexico. Diarrheic stools from 240 patients were obtained in a third-level hospital in Monterrey, Mexico.

Expression and Purification of the VpDef Defensin in using the Small Metal-Binding Proteins CusF3H+ and SmbP.

Background: The heterologous production of antimicrobial peptides in bacterial models can produce insoluble proteins due to the lack of proper folding. Fusion proteins have been used to increase the expression and solubility of these types of proteins with varying degrees of success.

Objectives: Here, we demonstrate the use of the small metal-binding proteins CusF3H+ (9.

Bacteremia due to Weeksella virosa in a pediatric patient with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.

Background: Weeksella virosa is one of the two species of the genus Weeksella. Clinical disease due to this bacterium in humans is rare, for which only nine cases have been reported in the literature.

Case Report: A 4-year-old male patient was diagnosed with a left orbit rhabdomyosarcoma Stage III and was admitted to a northeast third level referral center in Mexico.

[Serological screening in donors in Mexico: advances and technology].

The residual risk of transfusion-related infections has decreased dramatically in countries that have routinely implemented serological screening. Most of the donation in Mexico is from replacement practice, a risk factor for positive serology. In Mexico, the altruistic donation is only 2.

Optimizing Periplasmic Expression in Escherichia coli for the Production of Recombinant Proteins Tagged with the Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP.

We have previously shown that the small metal-binding protein (SmbP) extracted from the gram-negative bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea can be employed as a fusion protein for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. With the goal of increasing the amounts of SmbP-tagged proteins produced in the E. coli periplasm, we replaced the native SmbP signal peptide with three different signal sequences: two were from the proteins CusF and PelB, for transport via the Sec pathway, and one was the signal peptide from TorA, for transport via the Tat pathway.

[Microbiology of genus Raoultella, clinical features and difficulties in its diagnosis].

The genus Raoultella, which belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family, encompasses gramnegative, oxidase-negative, aerobic, encapsulated and motionless bacilli. Currently, four species of this genus have been described: Raoultella terrigena (R. terrigena), Raoultella planticola (R.

Frequency and genotypes of Chlamydia trachomatis in patients attending the obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Jalisco, Mexico and correlation with sociodemographic, behavioral, and biological factors.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis is the causative agent of the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and genotypes of C. trachomatis in patients attending an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Jalisco, Mexico and correlates them with sociodemographic, behavioral, and biological factors.

Sexually transmitted pathogens, coinfections and risk factors in patients attending obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Jalisco, Mexico.

Objective: To determine the frequency of nine sexually transmitted pathogens, coinfections and risk factors in patients attending obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Jalisco, Mexico.

Materials And Methods: Samples from 662 patients attending obstetrics and gynecology clinics were analyzed. Treponema pallidum, HIV, and HCV were detected by serology.

Antibiotic Susceptibility of Biofilm Cells and Molecular Characterisation of Staphylococcus hominis Isolates from Blood.

Objectives: We aimed to characterise the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type, genetic relatedness, biofilm formation and composition, icaADBC genes detection, icaD expression, and antibiotic susceptibility of planktonic and biofilm cells of Staphylococcus hominis isolates from blood.

Methods: The study included 67 S. hominis blood isolates.

Molecular typing of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex from Northeast Mexico.

Cryptococcosis is caused by members of the Cryptococcus neoformans/Cryptococcus gattii species complex. Based on molecular identification, these two species have been further differentiated into molecular types. The aim of this work was to characterize clinical cryptococcal isolates recovered from six hospitals in Northeast Mexico from 1995 to 2011.