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Infections caused by Campylobacter jejuni are rarely associated with extraintestinal complications. C. jejuni bacteremia is difficult to detect in patients with hematological malignancies undergoing chemotherapy where the choice of appropriate antibiotic treatment is extremely important. We report two cases of C. jejuni bacteremia in Italian pediatric patients affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Agreeing with the most recent epidemiological data, both clinical isolates showed a typical phenotypic antimicrobial resistance patterns with combined resistance to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. jejuni isolation from the blood of ALL pediatric patients in Italy, and it provides important epidemiological information on this rare infection.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a human pathogen that infects epithelial cells. The cutaneous lesions, caused by the virus, spread to the nervous system creating several complications. Fusion of host membranes with the viral envelope is mandatory and mediated by a group of glycoproteins conserved in all Herpesviridae subfamilies, such as the glycoproteins B (gB), H (gH), L (gL) and D (gD). We investigated the inhibitory activity mediated by synthetic overlapping peptides spanning the entire ectodomains of gH and gL glycoproteins. We have performed a brute analysis of the complete gH/gL heterodimer in order to explore the inhibitory activity of peptides modelled on these glycoproteins against HSV‐1 infection. Twenty‐four of the gH peptides at a concentration of 150 μM reached the 50% of inhibition cut‐off. Interestingly, they are mainly located in the gH carboxy‐terminal domain. None of the gL peptides had a clear inhibiting effect. No peptide toxicity was observed by lactate dehydrogenase assay at the concentrations used in our experimental conditions. HSV‐1 therapy is based on acyclovir treatment, but some resistant strains are emerging. In this scenario, innovative approaches for HSV‐1 treatment are necessary. Our data support the direct involvement of the described domains in the process of virus penetration; therefore, these results are of relevance to the potential development of novel therapeutic compounds to prevent HSV‐1 infections. Copyright © 2017 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., In vitro screening of overlapping synthetic peptides derived from HSV‐1 glycoproteins for virus inhibition.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that causes nosocomial and community-acquired infections. The spread of resistant strains of K. pneumoniae represents a growing threat to human health, due to the exhaustion of effective treatments. K. pneumoniae releases outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). OMVs are a vehicle for the transport of virulence factors to host cells, causing cell injury. Previous studies have shown changes of gene expression in human bronchial epithelial cells after treatment with K. pneumoniae OMVs. These variations in gene expression could be regulated through microRNAs (miRNAs), which participate in several biological mechanisms. Thereafter, miRNA expression profiles in human bronchial epithelial cells were evaluated during infection with standard and clinical K. pneumoniae strains. Microarray analysis and RT-qPCR identified the dysregulation of miR-223, hsa-miR-21, hsa-miR-25 and hsa-let-7g miRNA sequences. Target gene prediction revealed the essential role of these miRNAs in the regulation of host immune responses involving NF-ĸB (miR-223), TLR4 (hsa-miR-21), cytokine (hsa-miR-25) and IL-6 (hsa-let-7g miRNA) signalling pathways. The current study provides the first large scale expression profile of miRNAs from lung cells and predicted gene targets, following exposure to K. pneumoniae OMVs. Our results suggest the importance of OMVs in the inflammatory response.

Aims: The objective of this work was to study the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and subtypes from 2010 to 2015 in 1,221 anti-HCV/HCV-RNA-positive specimens from patients living in the metropolitan area of Naples, since HCV genotypes and subtypes remain cornerstones in the management of chronic HCV infection even in the directly acting antivirals era. Methods: The study was carried out on 1,221 anti-HCV/HCV-RNA-positive plasma samples collected between April 2010 and December 2015. Results: Of the 1,221 patients enrolled, 633 (51.9%) were males and 588 (48.1%) were females, with a mean age of 60 ± 13 (SD) years. The most frequent HCV genotype observed was genotype 1 (68.1%; 1b in 55.3% and 1a in 9.5%); HCV genotype 2 was found in 289 samples (23.67%), genotype 3 in 6.47%, genotype 4 in only 19 samples, and only 2 samples were classified as genotype 5. The mean age of the patients with genotype 1a or 3 was lower (51 ± 12 and 49 ± 12 years, respectively) than those with genotype 1b (62 ± 11, p < 0.0001 for both) or 2 (62 ± 14, p < 0.0001 for both). Conclusions: The data from the present study suggest that HCV genotype 1b remains the most prevalent in this area, followed by genotype 2, 1a, and 3a.