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We studied antimicrobial activity of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a green tea polyphenolic catechin, and its combined use with ceftazidime (CAZ) against bacterial strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae. EGCG exhibited no activity against strains of K. pneumoniae with a different sensitivity to CAZ. However, for a "sensitive" strain, a decrease in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CAZ (from 0.064 to 0.023 mg/liter) was revealed when CAZ was co-administered with EGCG. For a "resistant" stain, MIC of CAZ remained high, but activation of EGCG at its high concentrations was observed. Indirect evidence of antimicrobial effect of EGCG co-administered with CAZ on Klebsiella was obtained., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

A cultural microbiological study of the vaginal microbiota of patients of reproductive age was carried out to isolate the species Lactobacillus iners with subsequent study of phenotypic features. The presence of two phenotypically different species variants was found in patients with bacterial vaginosis., (© 2024. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

A new method for selection of bacterium antibiotic resistance genes is proposed and tested for solving the problems related to selection of primers for PCR assay. The method implies clustering of similar nucleotide sequences and selection of group primers for all genes of each cluster. Clustering of resistance genes for six groups of antibiotics (aminoglycosides, β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, glycopeptides, macrolides and lincosamides, and fusidic acid) was performed. The method was tested for 81 strains of bacteria of different genera isolated from patients (K. pneumoniae, Staphylococcus spp., S. agalactiae, E. faecalis, E. coli, and G. vaginalis). The results obtained by us are comparable to those in the selection of individual genes; this allows reducing the number of primers necessary for maximum coverage of the known antibiotic resistance genes during PCR analysis.

We analyzed sensitivity of 123 vaginal lactobacillus strains to antibacterial substances. All lactobacillus strains were sensitive to ampicillin, cefazolin, cefotaxime, and vancomycin, and insensitive to metronidazole, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and levofloxacin. Lactobacillus strains demonstrated different sensitivity to gentamycin, clindamycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline. The phenomenon of preferential selective influence of antibacterial drugs on the composition of lactobacilli of the vaginal microbiota, in which some lactobacilli survive as part of the vaginal microbiota and have a selective advantage over other types of lactobacilli, should be taken into account during treatment of vaginal infections and dysbiosis.

We applied complex genetic analysis for evaluation of tetracycline-resistance markers in 129 clinical strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from Central, Privolzhskii, and Siberian regions. For detection of mutations in rpsJ gene and MtrRCDE locus we first used minisequence reaction followed by identification of products by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The incidence of detection of resistance markers among the analyzed strains were: tetM--3.1%, mutations in genes rpsJ--82.2%, penB--62.8%, and mtrR--54.3%. The analyzed genetic markers were not detected in 17.5% strains. tetM gene was detected in only 12.5% strains from the Central Region. No differences were revealed in regional distribution of other genotypes. Genotypes tetM(pres), rpsJ(mut), mtrR(mut), and rpsJ(mut), penB(mut), mtrR(mut) reliably predict tetracycline resistance. Microbiological and genetic testing of tetracycline resistance yielded similar results.

We carried out complex genetic analysis of clinical samples containing N. gonorrhoeae DNA, the genotype and profile of drug resistance of this agent were evaluated. Changes in genes responsible for the formation of N. gonorrhoeae resistance to penicillins, fluoroquinolones, and spectinomycin were detected during minisequencing with subsequent MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The sensitivity of gonococcus was evaluated directly in the clinical sample without culturing.

A complex method for detection of genetic markers of N. gonorrhoeae resistance to penicillin was developed. Mutations in penA and ponA genes were detected by minisequencing reaction with subsequent detection of reaction products by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. This approach was tested on 31 clinical strains of N. gonorrhoeae with minimum inhibitory concentration of penicillin from 0.03 to 8 microg/ml and higher. Mutations in penA and ponA genes in moderately resistant strains were shown (minimum inhibitory concentration up to 0.5 microg/ml) and mutations in penA, ponA, and penB genes in resistant strains (minimum inhibitory concentration more than 1.0 microg/ml). beta-Lactamase genes were detected in 4 strains with high resistance (minimum inhibitory concentration 4-8 and more microg/ml). Correlation between microbiological resistance and presence of respective mutations in the studied locuses was detected.