Digoxin Attenuates Murine Experimental Colitis by Downregulating Th17-related Cytokines.

Background: Digoxin, a cardiac glycoside used for the treatment of heart failure, was reported to inhibit the retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) and attenuate the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and arthritis in mice. However, the effects of digoxin in a mice model of inflammatory bowel disease have not been elucidated.

Methods: Colitis was induced in severe combined immunodeficiency mice by adoptive transfer of CD45RB CD4 T cells.

M2 polarization of murine peritoneal macrophages induces regulatory cytokine production and suppresses T-cell proliferation.

Bone-marrow-derived macrophages are divided into two phenotypically and functionally distinct subsets, M1 and M2 macrophages. Recently, it was shown that adoptive transfer of M2-polarized peritoneal macrophages reduced the severity of experimental colitis in mice. However, it is still unclear whether peritoneal macrophages possess the same ability to be polarized to cells with functionally different phenotypes and cytokine production patterns as bone-marrow-derived macrophages.

[Molecular dissection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-containing phagosomes].

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an intracellular bacterium that can proliferate within phagocytosed macrophages. M. tuberculosis gains this ability by inhibiting phagolysosome biogenesis.

Autophagy adaptor protein p62/SQSTM1 and autophagy-related gene Atg5 mediate autophagosome formation in response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in dendritic cells.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen that can survive within phagocytic cells by inhibiting phagolysosome biogenesis. However, host cells can control the intracellular M. tuberculosis burden by the induction of autophagy.

Rab39a interacts with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and negatively regulates autophagy induced by lipopolysaccharide stimulation in macrophages.

Rab39a has pleiotropic functions in phagosome maturation, inflammatory activation and neuritogenesis. Here, we characterized Rab39a function in membrane trafficking of phagocytosis and autophagy induction in macrophages. Rab39a localized to the periphery of LAMP2-positive vesicles and showed the similar kinetics on the phagosome to that of LAMP1.

Genotypes of Candida albicans isolated from healthy individuals and their distribution in patients with oral candidiasis.

For the study of Candida albicans genotypes involved in development of candidiasis, Candida albicans isolates were collected from healthy volunteers and patients with oral candidiasis and genotyped on the basis of 25S rDNA and microsatellite polymorphisms. In the microsatellite analysis using two microsatellite markers (CDC3 and CAI), 63 healthy volunteer isolates were classified into 35 genotypes (allelic relations to CDC3 alleles 1:2/CAI alleles 1:2), among which genotypes II (115:119/23:23), III (115:123/18:27), and V (123:127/32:41) were found at frequencies of 12.7%, 7.

Bloodstream infection caused by Campylobacter lari.

We describe a case of bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by Campylobacter lari in a 58-year-old man diagnosed with lumbar pyogenic spondylitis. Anaerobic blood cultures, taken on the day of admission and on hospital day 4, were positive after 30 h of incubation, although no bacteria were detected by Gram staining. After subculture on 5 % sheep blood agar for 2 days at 35 °C in a 5 % CO2 environment, capnophilic, curved, gram-negative bacteria were recovered.

Bacillus cereus Bloodstream Infection in a Preterm Neonate Complicated by Late Meningitis.

Central nervous system infections caused by Bacillus cereus have rarely been reported in infants. In this paper, the case of a 2-month-old low-birth-weight female who developed meningitis 45 days after resolution of a bloodstream infection (BSI) is described. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis results revealed that the patterns of both B.

[Antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of aerobic gram-positive cocci and anaerobic bacteria in 2008].

The activity of antibacterial agents against aerobic Gram-positive cocci (25 genus or species, 1029 strains) and anaerobic bacteria (21 genus or species, 187 strains) isolated from clinical specimens in 2008 at 16 clinical facilities in Japan were studied using either broth microdilution or agar dilution method. The ratio of methicillin-resistant strains among Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis was 59.6% and 81.

Genotypes of Candida albicans involved in development of candidiasis and their distribution in oral cavity of non-candidiasis individuals.

Genotype characteristics and distribution of commensal Candida albicans should be studied to predict the development of candidiasis, however, extensive genotype analysis of commensal C. albicans has not been made. In this study, 508 C.

Bacillus cereus from blood cultures: virulence genes, antimicrobial susceptibility and risk factors for blood stream infection.

We characterized the profiles of virulence genes and antimicrobial susceptibility of Bacillus cereus isolates from blood cultures as well as the risk factors for blood stream infections (BSIs). The diversity of virulence gene patterns was found to be wide among 15 B. cereus isolates from BSIs and also among 11 isolates from contaminated blood cultures.

Microsatellite-based genotyping of Candida albicans isolated from patients with superficial candidiasis.

This study aimed to examine the genotype distribution of Candida albicans and the major genotypes involved in superficial candidiasis. The genotypes of C. albicans isolated from the infection sites of patients with superficial candidiasis (referred to as infection isolates) were analyzed by fragment analysis using 4 microsatellite markers (HIS3, CDC3, CAI and CAIII).

Population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis of linezolid and a hematologic side effect, thrombocytopenia, in Japanese patients.

Linezolid is an antimicrobial agent to treat infections by Gram-positive pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). While effective, linezolid treatment frequently is associated with hematological side effects, especially thrombocytopenia. However, little is known about the mechanism of this side effect and the exposure-response relationship.

Blood stream infections caused by Acinetobacter ursingii in an obstetrics ward.

The genus Acinetobacter is an important causative pathogen of nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. The objectives of this study were to determine the species of causative pathogens and the sources of Acinetobacter blood stream infections that occurred in 2 immunocompetent pregnant women admitted to an obstetrics ward within a 2-month period. Phenotypic identification of the two isolates from blood stream infections was inconsistent among the ID test, the MicroScan WalkAway and the Vitek2 systems.

Detection of carbapenem resistance in clinical mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.

Of 19 isolates of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 2 isolates showed imipenem resistance conferred by reduced OprD production. Imipenem resistance was detected by the MicroScan broth microdilution and Etest methods, but minimum inhibitory concentrations could not be determined by the Vitek system for an isolate. In cases where susceptibility cannot be determined by the broth microdilution methods, Etest results would be valuable for effective treatment.

BK virus nephropathy: clinical experience in a university hospital in Japan.

Objectives: To review the medical records of patients with BK virus nephropathy (BKVN) following kidney transplantation in our institution.

Methods: We screened patients for decoy cells using urine cytology, assessed serum creatinine levels, and conducted a graft biopsy, as well as assessed the presence of plasma BK virus DNA by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The treatment of BKVN was based on the decreased use of immunosuppressants.

Effect of the inoculum size on carbapenem susceptibilities of beta-lactamase-negative, ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae.

A higher inoculum size of beta-lactamase-positive Haemophilus influenzae is reported to increase minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for beta-lactams. However, the effect of inoculum size of beta-lactamase-negative, ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae (BLNAR) on MICs for carbapenems has not been investigated.

Fluoroquinolone resistance in clinical isolates of Klebsiella oxytoca.

Background: Prevalence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Klebsiella oxytoca has been reported worldwide.

Methods: We recovered ten clinical K. oxytoca isolates from patients with acute cystitis, asymptomatic bacteriuria or acute bacillary diarrhea in Japan.

[Nationwide surveillance of parenteral antibiotics containing meropenem activities against clinically isolated strains in 2006].

The antibacterial activity of meropenem (MEPM) and other parenteral antibiotics against clinical isolates of 876 strains of Gram-positive bacteria, 1764 strains of Gram-negative bacteria, and 198 strains of anaerobic bacteria obtained from 30 medical institutions during 2006 was measured. The results were as follows; 1. MEPM was more active than the other carbapenem antibiotics tested against Gram-negative bacteria, especially against enterobacteriaceae and Haemophilus influenzae.

[Comparison of susceptibilities for fosfomycin determined by various methods in clinical isolates in 2003 -2004].

Antimicrobial susceptibilities for fosfomycin (FOM), cephalexin, cefpodoxime, cefdinir, cefditren, ampicillin, sulbactam/ampicillin, imipenem (IPM), panipenem, meropenem (MEPM), biapenem, levofloxacin (LVFX), gatifloxacin, pazufloxacin, prulifloxacin and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim were determined by an agar dilution method using Mueller-Hinton agar (MHA) in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Serratia marcescens, Citrobacter spp., Enterobacter spp.

BK virus subtype IV nephropathy occurring 5 years after kidney transplantation.

We report on a BK virus-associated nephropathy in a 28-year-old man. His symptoms occurred 5 years after he had received a kidney transplantation. He was treated with tacrolimus, azathioprine, and prednisolone.

[In-vitro susceptibilites to levofloxacin and various antibacterial agents of 18,639 clinical isolates obtained from 77 centers in 2004].

A total of 18,639 clinical isolates in 19 species collected from 77 centers during 2004 in Japan were tested for their susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (FQs) and other selected antibiotics. The common respiratory pathogens, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae showed a high susceptible rate against FQs. The isolation rate of beta lactamase non-producing ampicillin-resistant H.

Molecular characterization of 8-methoxyfluoroquinolone resistance in a clinical isolate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Activity of gatifloxacin against clinical isolates of fluoroquinolone-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is more potent than that of other fluoroquinolones such as norfloxacin and levofloxacin. To date, few reports have described high-level resistance to gatifloxacin in clinical isolates of S. aureus, although in vitro studies have shown that mutations in both DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV were required for gatifloxacin resistance in S.