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Objective: Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes, and is a significant health concern because of high hospitalization and mortality rates. This study reports seven cases of pregnancy‐associated listeriosis diagnosed with matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight (MALDI‐TOF) mass spectrometry performed on infection‐positive blood culture. Methods: Blood culture‐positive samples of seven patients whose pregnancy was complicated by Listeria infection and treated at Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between January 2016 and December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Strains identified by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry were compared with colony identification results. Identification accuracy and consistency were assessed. Results: A total of seven strains of Listeria were collected from seven pregnant women presented with fever (37.6–39.9°C). Clinical abnormalities included abnormal liver function, emaciation, hypoalbuminemia, hypocalcemia, hypokalemia, hyponatremia, ketosis, mild to moderate anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Compared with the traditional culture method, MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry led to much earlier identification (4–6 h vs. 3–4 days) with 100% identification accuracy. Of the seven pregnancies complicated by Listeria, only two led to live births. Of the five fetal deaths, three occurred in the second trimester. Conclusion: In this series of pregnancy‐associated listeriosis cases, the fetal mortality rate was 71%. MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry is a valuable method that can identify Listeria from blood culture rapidly and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with high prevalence, long duration and poor prognosis. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physiologic barrier in the central nervous system, which hinders the entry of most drugs into the brain from the blood, thus affecting the efficacy of drugs for AD. Natural products are recognized as one of the promising and unique therapeutic approaches to treat AD. To improve the efficiency and therapeutic effect of the drug across the BBB, a natural polyphenolic compound, procyanidin C-1 (C1) was encapsulated in glucose-functionalized bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles to construct Glu-BSA/C1 NPs in our study. Glu-BSA/C1 NPs exhibited good stability, slow release, biocompatibility and antioxidant properties. In addition, Glu-BSA/C1 NPs penetrated the BBB, accumulated in the brain by targeting Glut1, and maintained the BBB integrity both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, Glu-BSA/C1 NPs alleviated memory impairment of 5 × FAD mice by reducing Aβ deposition and Tau phosphorylation and promoting neurogenesis. Mechanistically, Glu-BSA/C1 NPs significantly activated the PI3K/AKT pathway and inhibited the NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1β pathway thereby suppressing neuroinflammation. Taken together, Glu-BSA/C1 NPs could penetrate the BBB and mitigate neuroinflammation in AD, which provides a new therapeutic approach targeting AD. Schematic illustration of the synthesis and application of Glu-BSA/C1 NPs in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]