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Invasive, [beta]-hemolytic Streptococcus disease is associated with high rates of illness and death and substantial financial cost (1-3). Human pathogenic [beta]-hemolytic Streptococcus include Lancefield groups A (GAS, Streptococcus pyogenes), B [...]

This article discusses a case of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in a 65-year-old man of Indonesian ethnicity with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The patient initially presented with fevers and diabetic ketoacidosis and was treated for urosepsis. However, he later developed severe emphysematous cystitis, left-sided pyelonephritis, and prostatic abscess. The article highlights the devastating consequences of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae infection and emphasizes the importance of early identification and appropriate antimicrobial treatment. It also notes that while the infection is primarily endemic in Asia, its global prevalence is increasing, and clinicians should be aware of this life-threatening infection, particularly in multi-ethnic populations like Australia. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: To examine the utility and efficacy of a multifaceted protocol for the administration of intravesical bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) for non‐muscle‐invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Subjects and methods: A multicenter retrospective review was conducted among 83 patients undergoing Fremantle protocol intravesical BCG for NMIBC within 4 major hospitals in Western Australia between January 2016 and December 2018. The Fremantle protocol consists of weekly BCG instillations for 6 weeks during the induction phase, followed by monthly BCG instillations for 10 months during the maintenance phase with integrated clearance‐to‐proceed algorithms for urine MSU checks, flexible cystoscopies performed at 3 monthly intervals during maintenance BCG, and repeat GA cystoscopies with four quadrant bladder biopsies routinely obtained following the completion of induction and maintenance treatment. Results: For patients undergoing Fremantle protocol BCG, 98.8% (82/83) and 75.9% (63/83) of patients completed their induction and maintenance courses of BCG, respectively. Induction BCG was delivered over a median duration of 35 days (range 34–84 days), and maintenance BCG was delivered over a median duration of 266 days (range 1–682 days). The tumor recurrence rate was 10.8% (9/83) at the time of post‐induction biopsies, 2.4% (2/83) during maintenance treatment, 0% (0/60) at the time of post‐maintenance biopsies, and 8.8% (5/57) after a median further follow‐up of 16 months (range 0–51 months). Conclusion: The Fremantle protocol appears to be a safe and effective BCG regimen with several advantages over other BCG protocols, including high completion rates, low recurrence rates, and being highly pragmatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION (NLA) protein is a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays an essential role in the regulation of nitrogen and phosphate homeostasis. NLA is localized to two different subcellular sites (the plasma membrane and the nucleus), and contains four distinct domains: (i) a RING domain that mediates degradation of phosphate transporters at the plasma membrane; (ii) an SPX domain that facilitates NLA's interaction with the phosphate transporters, and also exists in other proteins that regulate the nuclear transcription factors that control the phosphate starvation response pathway; (iii) a linker domain that lies between the RING and SPX domains; and (iv) a C-terminal domain, which, like the linker region, is of unknown function. Here we carried out a mutational analysis of NLA, which indicated that all the domains are not only essential for proper functioning of the protein, but also mediate its localization to the plasma membrane and (or) nucleus, as well as to different subdomains within the nucleus. Overall, the results provide new insights to the distinct protein motifs within NLA and the role(s) that this protein serves at different subcellular sites with respect to the regulation of nitrogen-dependent phosphate homeostasis as well as other possible physiological functions. Keywords: nitrate-dependent phosphate homeostasis, NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION, subcellular protein localization, RING domain, SPX domain. La proteine NLA (acronyme de << NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION >>) est une ubiquitine ligase E3 a domaine RING qui joue un role essentiel dans la regulation de l'homeostasie de l'azote et du phosphate. La NLA se localise dans deux sites subcellulaires differents (la membrane plasmique et le noyau), et elle comprend quatre domaines distincts: (i) un domaine RING qui intervient dans la degradation des transporteurs de phosphate a la membrane plasmique; (ii) un domaine SPX, qui facilite l'interaction de la NLA avec les transporteurs de phosphate, et qui existe aussi a l'interieur d'autres proteines qui regulent les facteurs de transcription nucleaires controlant la voie de reponse a la privation en phosphate; (iii) un domaine linker qui se trouve entre les domaines RING et SPX et (iv) un domaine C-terminal qui, comme la region linker, est de fonction inconnue. Les auteurs ont realise une analyse mutationnelle de la NLA qui indiquait que les quatre domaines sont non seulement essentiels au fonctionnement adequat de la proteine, mais qu'ils interviennent aussi dans sa localisation a la membrane plasmique et/ou dans le noyau, de meme que dans differents sous-domaines a l'interieur du noyau. Dans l'ensemble, les resultats apportent un eclairage nouveau sur les motifs proteiques distincts a l'interieur de la NLA et sur les roles que joue cette proteine dans differents sites subcellulaires quant a la regulation de l'homeostasie du phosphate dependante de l'azote, de meme que sur d'autres fonctions physiologiques possibles. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: homeostasie de phosphate dependante du nitrate, NLA (<< NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION >>), localisation subcellulaire de la proteine, domaine RING, domaine SPX., Introduction As a major component of most cellular macromolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll, nitrogen is essential for plant growth and development (Hawkesford et al. 2012). Consequently, plants subjected [...]