Search

Background and Objectives: Multi-drug-resistant pathogens pose a significant threat as they can rapidly spread, leading to severe healthcare-associated invasive infections. In developing countries, diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) is a major bacterial pathogen responsible for causing diarrhea. However, the outbreak of resistant strains has made the treatment of DEC infections much more challenging. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between antibiotic resistance genes and other virulence categories in E. coli strains that cause diarrhea, particularly DEC. Materials and Methods: The phylogenetic grouping was defined using PCR and multi-locus sequence type (MLST) methods. Results: Among the isolates analyzed, 14 were identified as resistant and were classified into eight distinct sequence types: ST3, ST53, ST77, ST483, ST512, ST636, ST833, and ST774, indicating genetic diversity among the resistant strains. Certain sequence types, notably ST512 and ST636, were found to be associated with multiple antibiotic resistance in DEC. Regarding antibiotic susceptibility, strains showed the highest resistance to amoxicillin, suggesting that this antibiotic may not be effective in treating DEC infections. On the other hand, the isolates demonstrated susceptibility to amikacin and chloramphenicol, implying that these antibiotics could be more suitable treatment options for DEC infections. Conclusion: The findings underscore the importance of promptly identifying antibiotic resistance patterns and their correlation with specific pathogenic virulence categories, as this knowledge can aid in selecting the most appropriate antibiotics for treating DEC infections. Considering the antibiotic resistance profiles and associated resistance genes is crucial in managing and containing diarrheal outbreaks and in selecting effective antibiotic therapies for DEC infections.

Abstract Background In Iran, the delay in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer results in low survival rates. Aim It is essential to characterize new therapeutic targets and prognostic breast cancer biomarkers. The rising evidence suggested that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) expression levels are deregulated in human cancers and can use as biomarkers for the rapid diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods In the present study, a quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) technique was used to measure 20 oncogenic and tumor suppressor lncRNAs expression levels in whole blood samples of female breast cancer patients and healthy women. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to assess the diagnostic value of each selected lncRNA as a biomarker. Results The results revealed that some circulating lncRNAs (MEG3, NBAT1, NKILA, GAS5, EPB41L4A‐AS2, Z38, and BC040587) were significantly down‐regulated in breast cancer patients compared to healthy women. In contrast, other circulating lncRNAs (H19, SPRY4‐IT1, XIST, UCA1, AC026904.1, CCAT1, CCAT2, ITGB2‐AS, and AK058003) were significantly up‐regulated in breast cancer patients compared to controls. It was shown that the expression levels of NKILA, and NBAT1 lncRNAs were related to tumor size, and BC040587 expression level related to age, node metastasis, tumor size, and grade (p

Objective(s): This study considered the combination of chitosan nanoparticles with antioxidant-antibacterial fraction extracted from Lactobacillus casei and investigation of possible increasing of antibacterial activity of the fraction in hybrid nanoparticle and the effect of the fraction on the stability of chitosan nanoparticles. Methods: Extraction of Antioxidant antibacterial material from Lactobacillus casei supernatant was done by thin layer chromatography fractionation. For determination of antioxidant and antibacterial activity of fraction, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay and Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) by micro-well dilution method was used, respectively. For chitosan nanoparticles (Cs NPs) formation, the ionic gelation method was used and the ratio of Tripolyphosphate pentasodium (TPP): chitosan was optimized. For Antioxidant fraction loaded chitosan nanoparticles, the fraction is physically incorporated into the chitosan nanoparticles. Particle morphology was monitored by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Results: One polar fraction by Rf = 0.03 has a strong antibacterial activity that shows terpenoids characterization. Chitosan nanoparticle loaded antioxidant-antibacterial material has longer life span while compare to Cs-NPs alone. The antioxidant-antibacterial material was released relatively slowly from the CS NPs. the antibacterial trait of the fraction was increased about 8-16 times after combination with Cs NPs. Conclusions: Combination of Cs NPs with antioxidant-antibacterail fraction isolated from Lactobacillus casei increase the Cs NPs stability and antibacterial activity of the fraction was enhanced considerably, also.

Background: It has been proven that probiotic Lactobacillus bacteria have inhibitory effects on human cancer cell lines. The aim of this study is to isolate and characterize the antioxidant probiotic Lactobacillus and determine the possible anticancer activities of the selected strain. Methods: One of the Lactobacillus strain isolated from camel doogh sample showed the high antioxidant activity by using of different methods such as resistance to hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical and superoxide anions. The antioxidant strain was characterized by sequencing of 16S rRNA V2-V3 regions and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer (ITS). The methanol extract of this strain supernatant was fractionated using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and antioxidant activity of fractions was detected by 0.1% of DPPH through TLC-DPPH bioautography. In vitro anticancer activity of each fraction was investigated by using MTT and flow cytometry methods. Results: According to the phylogenetic results, the antioxidant Lactobacillus strain was closely related to Lactobacillus hilgardii strain E91 (Accession No. EF536365). After fractionation and anti-proliferation assessments of Lactobacillus hilgardii strain AG12a extracellular materials, one of the antioxidant fraction (F4) showed maximum DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50of 535.27 μg/mL). MTT assay of the F4 fraction demonstrated cytotoxic activity against Caco-2 with the IC50 value of 299.05 μg/mL. The cell death activity of the fraction was confirmed by flow cytometry with 30.925. Conclusions: In this study, the anticancer and apoptotic properties of Lactobacillus hilgardii against Caco-2 cell line was reported for the first time. The isolated bioactive fraction from the extracellular methanol extract needs to be further investigated in human studies of cancer therapy.