# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 2239 | 0 | 0.9134 | The Direct Semi-Quantitative Detection of 18 Pathogens and Simultaneous Screening for Nine Resistance Genes in Clinical Urine Samples by a High-Throughput Multiplex Genetic Detection System. BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one the most common infections. The rapid and accurate identification of uropathogens, and the determination of antimicrobial susceptibility, are essential aspects of the management of UTIs. However, existing detection methods are associated with certain limitations. In this study, a new urinary tract infection high-throughput multiplex genetic detection system (UTI-HMGS) was developed for the semi-quantitative detection of 18 pathogens and the simultaneously screening of nine resistance genes directly from the clinical urine sample within 4 hours. METHODS: We designed and optimized a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) involving fluorescent dye-labeled specific primers to detect 18 pathogens and nine resistance genes. The specificity of the UTI-HMGS was tested using standard strains or plasmids for each gene target. The sensitivity of the UTI-HMGS assay was tested by the detection of serial tenfold dilutions of plasmids or simulated positive urine samples. We also collected clinical urine samples and used these to perform urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). Finally, all urine samples were detected by UTI-HMGS and the results were compared with both urine culture and Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: UTI-HMGS showed high levels of sensitivity and specificity for the detection of uropathogens when compared with culture and sequencing. In addition, ten species of bacteria and three species of fungi were detected semi-quantitatively to allow accurate discrimination of significant bacteriuria and candiduria. The sensitivity of the UTI-HMGS for the all the target genes could reach 50 copies per reaction. In total, 531 urine samples were collected and analyzed by UTI-HMGS, which exhibited high levels of sensitivity and specificity for the detection of uropathogens and resistance genes when compared with Sanger sequencing. The results from UTI-HMGS showed that the detection rates of 15 pathogens were significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of the culture method. In addition, there were 41(7.72%, 41/531) urine samples were positive for difficult-to-culture pathogens, which were missed detected by routine culture method. CONCLUSIONS: UTI-HMGS proved to be an efficient method for the direct semi-quantitative detection of 18 uropathogens and the simultaneously screening of nine antibiotic resistance genes in urine samples. The UTI-HMGS could represent an alternative method for the clinical detection and monitoring of antibiotic resistance. | 2021 | 33912478 |
| 9083 | 1 | 0.9120 | ARGNet: using deep neural networks for robust identification and classification of antibiotic resistance genes from sequences. BACKGROUND: Emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is an important threat to global health. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are some of the key components to define bacterial resistance and their spread in different environments. Identification of ARGs, particularly from high-throughput sequencing data of the specimens, is the state-of-the-art method for comprehensively monitoring their spread and evolution. Current computational methods to identify ARGs mainly rely on alignment-based sequence similarities with known ARGs. Such approaches are limited by choice of reference databases and may potentially miss novel ARGs. The similarity thresholds are usually simple and could not accommodate variations across different gene families and regions. It is also difficult to scale up when sequence data are increasing. RESULTS: In this study, we developed ARGNet, a deep neural network that incorporates an unsupervised learning autoencoder model to identify ARGs and a multiclass classification convolutional neural network to classify ARGs that do not depend on sequence alignment. This approach enables a more efficient discovery of both known and novel ARGs. ARGNet accepts both amino acid and nucleotide sequences of variable lengths, from partial (30-50 aa; 100-150 nt) sequences to full-length protein or genes, allowing its application in both target sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. Our performance evaluation showed that ARGNet outperformed other deep learning models including DeepARG and HMD-ARG in most of the application scenarios especially quasi-negative test and the analysis of prediction consistency with phylogenetic tree. ARGNet has a reduced inference runtime by up to 57% relative to DeepARG. CONCLUSIONS: ARGNet is flexible, efficient, and accurate at predicting a broad range of ARGs from the sequencing data. ARGNet is freely available at https://github.com/id-bioinfo/ARGNet , with an online service provided at https://ARGNet.hku.hk . Video Abstract. | 2024 | 38725076 |
| 1473 | 2 | 0.9093 | Evaluation of the Unyvero i60 ITI® multiplex PCR for infected chronic leg ulcers diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: Unyvero i60 ITI multiplex PCR (mPCR) may identify a large panel of bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we compared results obtained by mPCR to standard bacteriology in chronic leg ulcer (CLU) infections. METHODS: A prospective study, part of the interventional-blinded randomized study "ulcerinfecte" (NCT02889926), was conducted at Saint Joseph Hospital in Paris. Fifty patients with a suspicion of infected CLU were included between February 2017 and September 2018. Conventional bacteriology and mPCR were performed simultaneously on deep skin biopsies. RESULTS: Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most detected pathogens. Regarding the global sensitivity, mPCR is not overcome to the standard culture. Anaerobes and slow growing bacteria were detected with a higher sensitivity rate by mPCR than standard culture. CONCLUSION: Unyvero i60 ITI multiplex PCR detected rapidly pathogenic bacteria in infected CLU especially anaerobes and slow growing bacteria and was particularly effective for patients previously treated with antibiotics. | 2020 | 31790779 |
| 5824 | 3 | 0.9090 | Evaluation of a micro/nanofluidic chip platform for the high-throughput detection of bacteria and their antibiotic resistance genes in post-neurosurgical meningitis. BACKGROUND: Post-neurosurgical meningitis (PNM) is one of the most severe hospital-acquired infections worldwide, and a large number of pathogens, especially those possessing multi-resistance genes, are related to these infections. Existing methods for detecting bacteria and measuring their response to antibiotics lack sensitivity and stability, and laboratory-based detection methods are inconvenient, requiring at least 24h to complete. Rapid identification of bacteria and the determination of their susceptibility to antibiotics are urgently needed, in order to combat the emergence of multi-resistant bacterial strains. METHODS: This study evaluated a novel, fast, and easy-to-use micro/nanofluidic chip platform (MNCP), which overcomes the difficulties of diagnosing bacterial infections in neurosurgery. This platform can identify 10 genus or species targets and 13 genetic resistance determinants within 1h, and it is very simple to operate. A total of 108 bacterium-containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures were tested using the MNCP for the identification of bacteria and determinants of genetic resistance. The results were compared to those obtained with conventional identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods. RESULTS: For the 108 CSF cultures, the concordance rate between the MNCP and the conventional identification method was 94.44%; six species attained 100% consistency. For the production of carbapenemase- and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-related antibiotic resistance genes, both the sensitivity and specificity of the MNCP tests were high (>90.0%) and could fully meet the requirements of clinical diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The MNCP is fast, accurate, and easy to use, and has great clinical potential in the treatment of post-neurosurgical meningitis. | 2018 | 29559366 |
| 5097 | 4 | 0.9087 | Comparing Graph Sample and Aggregation (SAGE) and Graph Attention Networks in the Prediction of Drug-Gene Associations of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases in Periodontal Infections and Resistance. INTRODUCTION: Gram-negative bacteria exhibit more antibiotic resistance than gram-positive bacteria due to their cell wall structure and composition differences. Porins, or protein channels in these bacteria, can allow small, hydrophilic antibiotics to diffuse, affecting their susceptibility. Mutations in porin protein genes can also impair antibiotic entry. Predicting drug-gene associations of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) is crucial as they confer resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, challenging the treatment of infections. This aids clinicians in selecting suitable treatments, optimizing drug usage, enhancing patient outcomes, and controlling antibiotic resistance in healthcare settings. Graph-based neural networks can predict drug-gene associations in periodontal infections and resistance. The aim of the study was to predict drug-gene associations of ESBLs in periodontal infections and resistance. METHODS: The study focuses on analyzing drug-gene associations using probes and drugs. The data was converted into graph language, assigning nodes and edges for drugs and genes. Graph neural networks (GNNs) and similar algorithms were implemented using Google Colab and Python. Cytoscape and CytoHubba are open-source software platforms used for network analysis and visualization. GNNs were used for tasks like node classification, link prediction, and graph-level prediction. Three graph-based models were used: graph convolutional network (GCN), Graph SAGE, and graph attention network (GAT). Each model was trained for 200 epochs using the Adam optimizer with a learning rate of 0.01 and a weight decay of 5e-4. RESULTS: The drug-gene association network has 57 nodes, 79 edges, and a 2.730 characteristic path length. Its structure, organization, and connectivity are analyzed using the GCN and Graph SAGE, which show high accuracy, precision, recall, and an F1-score of 0.94. GAT's performance metrics are lower, with an accuracy of 0.68, precision of 0.47, recall of 0.68, and F1-score of 0.56, suggesting that it may not be as effective in capturing drug-gene relationships. CONCLUSION: Compared to ESBLs, both GCN and Graph SAGE demonstrate excellent performance with accuracy, precision, recall, and an F1-score of 0.94. These results indicate that GCN and Graph SAGE are highly effective in predicting drug-gene associations related to ESBLs. GCN and Graph SAGE outperform GAT in predicting drug-gene associations for ESBLs. Improvements include data augmentation, regularization, and cross-validation. Ethical considerations, fairness, and open-source implementations are crucial for future research in precision periodontal treatment. | 2024 | 39347119 |
| 1480 | 5 | 0.9082 | Prospective observational pilot study of the T2Resistance panel in the T2Dx system for detection of resistance genes in bacterial bloodstream infections. Early initiation of antimicrobial therapy targeting resistant bacterial pathogens causing sepsis and bloodstream infections (BSIs) is critical for a successful outcome. The T2Resistance Panel (T2R) detects the following resistance genes within organisms that commonly cause BSIs directly from patient blood samples: bla(KPC), bla(CTXM-14/15), bla(NDM)/bla(/IMP)/bla(VIM), bla(AmpC), bla(OXA), vanA, vanB, and mecA/mecC. We conducted a prospective study in two major medical centers for the detection of circulating resistance genes by T2R in patients with BSIs. T2R reports were compared to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), phenotypic identification, and standard molecular detection assays. Among 59 enrolled patients, 25 resistance genes were identified: bla(KPC) (n = 10), bla(NDM)/bla(/IMP)/bla(VIM) (n = 5), bla(CTXM-14/15) (n = 4), bla(AmpC) (n = 2), and mecA/mecC (n = 4). Median time-to-positive-T2R in both hospitals was 4.4 hours [interquartile range (IQR): 3.65-4.97 hours] in comparison to that for positive blood cultures with final reporting of AST of 58.34 h (IQR: 45.51-111.2 hours; P < 0.0001). The sensitivity of T2R to detect the following genes in comparison to AST was 100% for bla(CTXM-14/15), bla(NDM)/bla(/)(IMP)/bla(VIM), bla(AmpC), mecA/mecC and 87.5% for bla(KPC). When monitored for the impact of significant antimicrobial changes, there were 32 events of discontinuation of unnecessary antibiotics and 17 events of escalation of antibiotics, including initiation of ceftazidime/avibactam in six patients in response to positive T2R results for bla(KPC). In summary, T2R markers were highly sensitive for the detection of drug resistance genes in patients with bacterial BSIs, when compared with standard molecular resistance detection systems and phenotypic identification assays while significantly reducing by approximately 90% the time to detection of resistance compared to standard methodology and impacting clinical decisions for antimicrobial therapy. IMPORTANCE: This is the first reported study to our knowledge to identify key bacterial resistance genes directly from the bloodstream within 3 to 5 hours in patients with bloodstream infections and sepsis. The study further demonstrated a direct effect in modifying initial empirical antibacterial therapy in response to T2R signal to treat resistant bacteria causing bloodstream infections and sepsis. | 2024 | 38456690 |
| 5194 | 6 | 0.9081 | Evaluation of the CosmosID Bioinformatics Platform for Prosthetic Joint-Associated Sonicate Fluid Shotgun Metagenomic Data Analysis. We previously demonstrated that shotgun metagenomic sequencing can detect bacteria in sonicate fluid, providing a diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection (PJI). A limitation of the approach that we used is that data analysis was time-consuming and specialized bioinformatics expertise was required, both of which are barriers to routine clinical use. Fortunately, automated commercial analytic platforms that can interpret shotgun metagenomic data are emerging. In this study, we evaluated the CosmosID bioinformatics platform using shotgun metagenomic sequencing data derived from 408 sonicate fluid samples from our prior study with the goal of evaluating the platform vis-à-vis bacterial detection and antibiotic resistance gene detection for predicting staphylococcal antibacterial susceptibility. Samples were divided into a derivation set and a validation set, each consisting of 204 samples; results from the derivation set were used to establish cutoffs, which were then tested in the validation set for identifying pathogens and predicting staphylococcal antibacterial resistance. Metagenomic analysis detected bacteria in 94.8% (109/115) of sonicate fluid culture-positive PJIs and 37.8% (37/98) of sonicate fluid culture-negative PJIs. Metagenomic analysis showed sensitivities ranging from 65.7 to 85.0% for predicting staphylococcal antibacterial resistance. In conclusion, the CosmosID platform has the potential to provide fast, reliable bacterial detection and identification from metagenomic shotgun sequencing data derived from sonicate fluid for the diagnosis of PJI. Strategies for metagenomic detection of antibiotic resistance genes for predicting staphylococcal antibacterial resistance need further development. | 2019 | 30429253 |
| 2268 | 7 | 0.9080 | Profile of Bacteria with ARGs Among Real-World Samples from ICU Admission Patients with Pulmonary Infection Revealed by Metagenomic NGS. BACKGROUND: Treatment of pulmonary infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) represents a great challenge, especially infections caused by antibiotic resistance pathogens. A thorough and up-to-date knowledge of the local spectrum of antibiotic resistant bacteria can improve the antibiotic treatment efficiency. In this study, we aimed to reveal the profile of bacteria with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in real-world samples from ICU admission patients with pulmonary infection in Mainland, China, by metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). METHODS: A total of 504 different types of clinical samples from 452 ICU admission patients with pulmonary infection were detected by mNGS analysis. RESULTS: A total of 485 samples from 434 patients got successful mNGS results. Among 434 patients, one or more bacteria with ARGs were detected in 192 patients (44.24%, 192/434), and ≥2 bacteria with ARGs were detected in 85 (19.59%, 85/434) patients. The predominant detected bacteria were Corynebacterium striatum (C. striatum) (11.76%, 51/434), Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) (11.52%, 50/434) and Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) (8.99%, 39/434). ermX conferred resistance to MSL(B) and cmx to phenicol were the only two ARGs detected in C. striatum; in A. baumannii, most of ARGs were resistance-nodulation-division (RND)-type efflux pumps genes, which conferred resistance to multi-drug; ermB conferred resistance to MSL(B) and efmA to multi-drug were the predominant ARGs in E. faecium. Bacteria with ARGs were detected in 50% (140/280) bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and 50.5% (48/95) sputum samples, which were significantly higher than in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. CONCLUSION: High level of bacteria with ARGs was observed in clinical samples, especially BALF and sputum samples from ICU admission patients with pulmonary infection in Mainland, China. And C. striatum resistant to MSL(B) and/or phenicol, multi-drug resistance A. baumannii and E. faecium were the lead bacteria. | 2021 | 34866919 |
| 1475 | 8 | 0.9080 | Evaluation of the FilmArray(®) Pneumonia Plus Panel for Rapid Diagnosis of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Intensive Care Unit Patients. The FilmArray(®) Pneumonia plus Panel (FAPP) is a new multiplex molecular test for hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), which can rapidly detect 18 bacteria, 9 viruses, and 7 resistance genes. We aimed to compare the diagnosis performance of FAPP with conventional testing in 100 intensive care unit (ICU) patients who required mechanical ventilation, with clinically suspected HAP. A total of 237 samples [76 bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL(DS)) and 82 endotracheal aspirates (ETA(DS)) obtained at HAP diagnosis, and 79 ETA obtained during follow-up (ETA(TT))], were analyzed independently by routine microbiology testing and FAPP. 58 patients had paired BAL(DS) and ETA(DS). The positivity thresholds of semi-quantified bacteria were 10(3)-10(4) CFUs/mL or 10(4) copies/mL for BAL, and 10(5) CFUs/mL or copies/mL for ETA. Respiratory commensals (H. influenzae, S. aureus, E. coli, S. pneumoniae) were the most common pathogens. Discordant results for bacterial identification were observed in 33/76 (43.4%) BAL(DS) and 36/82 (43.9%) ETA(DS), and in most cases, FAPP identified one supplemental bacteria (23/33 BAL(DS) and 21/36 ETA(DS)). An absence of growth, or polybacterial cultures, explained almost equally the majority of the non-detections in culture. No linear relationship was observed between bin and CFUs/mL variables. Concordant results between paired BAL(DS) and ETA(DS) were obtained in 46/58 (79.3%) patients with FAPP. One of the 17 resistance genes detected with FAPP (mecA/C and MREJ) was not confirmed by conventional testing. Overall, FAPP enhanced the positivity rate of diagnostic testing, with increased recognition of coinfections. Implementing this strategy may allow clinicians to make more timely and informed decisions. | 2020 | 32983057 |
| 2477 | 9 | 0.9079 | Evaluation of targeted next-generation sequencing for microbiological diagnosis of acute lower respiratory infection. PURPOSE: To evaluate the performance of targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) in pathogen detection in acute lower respiratory infection. METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted between July 2023 and May 2024 at the Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital. Patients with acute lower respiratory infections were included. Qualified sputum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were collected for tNGS and conventional microbiological tests(CMTs), including culture, staining, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). The time required and cost were counted. RESULTS: A total of 968 patients were enrolled. Study analysis discovered 1,019 strains of bacteria, 259 strains of fungi, 302 strains of viruses, 76 strains of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and two strains of Chlamydia psittaci using tNGS. In addition, tNGS also identified 39 mecA, four KPC, 19 NDM, and two OXA-48 genes. The positive rates for bacteria, fungi, viruses, mycoplasma, and chlamydia obtained using tNGS were significantly higher than those determined using traditional methods. Among them, tNGS showed high consistence with mycobacterium DNA test, influenza A (H1N1) virus nucleic acid test and COVID-19 nucleic acid test. Poor consistency between drug resistance genes and bacterial resistance phenotypes was found. In addition, tNGS also had advantages over traditional methods in terms of detection time and cost. CONCLUSION: Compared to traditional methods, tNGS had higher sensitivity in detecting bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other pathogens in acute lower respiratory infection, and also had the advantages of timeliness and cost-effectiveness, making it a promising method for guiding clinical diagnosis. | 2025 | 40901079 |
| 2267 | 10 | 0.9079 | MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION AND DETECTION OF MULTIDRUGRESISTANT GENE IN BACTERIAL ISOLATES CAUSING LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS (LRTI) AMONG HIV/AIDS PATIENTS ON HIGHLY ACTIVE ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY (HAART) IN UYO, SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA. BACKGROUND: Antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) pose a significant challenge in modern medicine, rendering infections increasingly difficult to treat as bacteria acquire mechanisms to resist antibiotics. Addressing ARGs necessitates a multifaceted approach, encompassing surveillance efforts to monitor their presence and the development of strategies aimed at managing and curbing the spread of antibiotic resistance. Hence, this study characterized the genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance among isolates responsible for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTIs) in People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Uyo. METHODS: Sputum samples were collected from 61 LRTI suspects, with bacterial isolates identified using VITEK-2 technology. Polymerase chain reaction assays were employed to detect resistance genes within the isolates. RESULTS: Results revealed a bacterial etiology in 39.3% of the samples, with a majority (79.2%) originating from St. Luke Hospital, Anua (SLHA), and the remainder (20.8%) from the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH). Staphylococcus aureus emerged as the predominant isolate (46.6%), while resistance was notably high against Gentamicin and Sulphamethazole/Trimethoprim. Conversely, Azithromycin, imipenem, clindamycin, erythromycin, and ceftriaxone displayed relatively lower resistance levels across all isolates. Notably, four resistance genes CTX-M, Aac, KPC, and MecA were identified, with CTX-M detected in all multidrug-resistant isolates. This underscores the predominantly community-acquired nature of resistance as conferred by CTX-M. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study underscores the critical importance of continued vigilance and proactive measures in combating antibiotic resistance, particularly within vulnerable populations such as PLWHA. By elucidating the genetic mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance, informed targeted interventions can be mitigated to curb threats posed by multidrug-resistant bacteria in clinical settings. | 2024 | 40385712 |
| 5164 | 11 | 0.9076 | Genome sequencing analysis of the pncA, rpsA and panD genes responsible for pyrazinamide resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Indonesian isolates. BACKGROUND: Developing the most suitable treatment against tuberculosis based on resistance profiles is imperative to effectively cure tuberculosis patients. Whole-genome sequencing is a molecular method that allows for the rapid and cost-effective detection of mutations in multiple genes associated with anti-tuberculosis drug resistance. This sequencing approach addresses the limitations of culture-based methods, which may not apply to certain anti-TB drugs, such as pyrazinamide, because of their specific culture medium requirements, potentially leading to biased resistance culture results. METHODS: Thirty-four M. tuberculosis isolates were subcultured on a Lowenstein-Jensen medium. The genome of these bacteria was subsequently isolated using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Genome sequencing was performed with Novaseq Illumina 6000 (Illumina), and the data were analysed using the GenTB and Mykrobe applications. We also conducted a de novo analysis to compare the two methods and performed mutation analysis of other genes encoding pyrazinamide resistance, namely rpsA and panD. RESULTS: The results revealed mutations in the pncA gene, which were identified based on the databases accessed through GenTB and Mykrobe. Two discrepancies between the drug susceptibility testing and sequencing results may suggest potential instability in the drug susceptibility testing culture, specifically concerning PZA. Meanwhile, the results of the de novo analysis showed the same result of pncA mutation to the GenTB or Mykrobe; meanwhile, there were silent mutations in rpsA in several isolates and a point mutation; no mutations were found in the panD gene. However, the mutations in the genes encoding pyrazinamide require further and in-depth study to understand their relationship to the phenotypic profile. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the conventional culture method, the whole-genome sequencing method has advantages in determining anti-tuberculosis resistance profiles, especially in reduced time and bias. | 2024 | 39397216 |
| 5167 | 12 | 0.9075 | Decreased Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Richness Following Fecal Microbiota, Live-jslm (REBYOTA®) Administration: Post Hoc Analysis of PUNCH CD3. BACKGROUND: The human gastrointestinal microbiome helps maintain vital functions related to overall health, including resistance to pathogen colonization. Disruption of the microbiome, leading to loss of colonization resistance, can be caused by multiple factors, including antimicrobial use. The loss of colonization resistance may lead to establishment or proliferation of opportunistic bacteria that carry genes associated with antimicrobial resistance, potentially increasing the risk of infection by such antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. A potential approach to mitigating this risk involves restoration of healthier microbiota and pathogen colonization resistance. METHODS: A metagenomic sequencing method was used to conduct a post hoc analysis of antibiotic resistance gene richness among fecal samples from participants administered fecal microbiota, live-jslm (REBYOTA; abbreviated as RBL) or placebo in the PUNCH CD3 study (NCT03244644) for the prevention of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection. RESULTS: At baseline, participants had higher antibiotic resistance gene richness than a representative healthy cohort. Over time, RBL responders had lower antibiotic resistance gene richness at the class, group, and mechanism levels as compared with placebo responders. These differences were evident as early as 1 week after administration and sustained for at least 6 months. RBL responders also had decreased richness of antibiotic resistance genes deemed high risk based on designated bacterial public health threats. CONCLUSIONS: These data support a model in which microbiota-based products, including RBL, may reduce antibiotic resistance gene richness, thereby possibly reducing the risk of antimicrobial-resistant organism infection. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03244644 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03244644; 9 August 2017). | 2025 | 40672762 |
| 5122 | 13 | 0.9075 | Clinical long-read metagenomic sequencing of culture-negative infective endocarditis reveals genomic features and antimicrobial resistance. BACKGROUND: Infective endocarditis (IE) poses significant diagnostic challenges, particularly in blood culture-negative cases where fastidious bacteria evade detection. Metagenomic-based nanopore sequencing enables rapid pathogen detection and provides a new approach for the diagnosis of IE. METHOD: Two cases of blood culture-negative infective endocarditis (IE) were analyzed using nanopore sequencing with an in silico host-depletion approach. Complete genome reconstruction and antimicrobial resistance gene annotation were successfully performed. RESULTS: Within an hour of sequencing, EPI2ME classified nanopore reads, identifying Corynebacterium striatum in IE patient 1 and Granulicatella adiacens in IE patient 2. After 18 h, long-read sequencing successfully reconstructed a single circular genome of C. striatum in IE patient 1, whereas short-read sequencing was used to compare but produced fragmented assemblies. Based on these results, long-read sequencing was exclusively used for IE patient 2, allowing for the complete and accurate assembly of G. adiacens, confirming the presence of these bacteria in the clinical samples. In addition to pathogen identification, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes were detected in both genomes. Notably, in C. striatum, regions containing a class 1 integron and multiple novel mobile genetic elements (ISCost1, ISCost2, Tn7838 and Tn7839) were identified, collectively harbouring six AMR genes. This is the first report of such elements in C. striatum, highlighting the potential of nanopore long-read sequencing for comprehensive pathogen characterization in IE cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the effectiveness of host-depleted, long-read nanopore metagenomics for direct pathogen identification and accurate genome reconstruction, including antimicrobial resistance gene detection. The approach enables same-day diagnostic reporting within a matter of hours. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-025-11741-5. | 2025 | 41087996 |
| 2998 | 14 | 0.9073 | Membrane vesicles derived from Enterococcus faecalis promote the co-transfer of important antibiotic resistance genes located on both plasmids and chromosomes. BACKGROUND: Bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) are novel vehicles of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) transfer in Gram-negative bacteria, but their role in the spread of ARGs in Gram-positive bacteria has not been defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of MVs in the transmission of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-positive bacteria. METHODS: A linezolid-resistant Enterococcus faecalis CQ20 of swine origin was selected as the donor strain. Linezolid-susceptible E. faecalis SC032 of human origin, Enterococcus faecium BM4105 and Escherichia coli were selected as recipient strains. The presence of plasmids (pCQ20-1 and pCQ20-2) and an optrA-carrying transposon Tn6674 in CQ20, MVs and vesiculants was verified by WGS or PCR. MVs were isolated with density gradient centrifugation, and MV-mediated transformation was performed to assess the horizontal transferability of MVs. The MICs for CQ20 and its vesiculants were determined by the broth microdilution method. RESULTS: CQ20-derived MVs (CQ20-MV) were isolated, and PCR identified the presence of two plasmids and the optrA gene in the CQ20-MVs. MV-mediated transformation to E. faecalis SC032 and E. faecium BM4105 was successfully performed, and the WGS data also showed that both plasmids pCQ20-1 and pCQ20-2 and optrA-carrying transposon Tn6674 were transferred to E. faecalis SC032 and E. faecium BM4105, but failed for E. coli. Additionally, vesiculants that had acquired ARGs still had the ability to spread these genes via MVs. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of MV-mediated co-transfer of ARG-carrying plasmids and transposons in the Gram-positive bacterium E. faecium. | 2024 | 38109479 |
| 1476 | 15 | 0.9073 | Evaluation of the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel for rapid detection of respiratory bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in sputum and endotracheal aspirate specimens. OBJECTIVES: The performance of the investigational-use-only version of the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia Panel (FA-Pneumo), a high-order nested multiplex PCR, was evaluated for the detection of typical respiratory bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in sputa and endotracheal aspirate (ETA) specimens. METHODS: Thirty-one sputa and 69 ETA specimens were analyzed. The diagnostic performance of FA-Pneumo was assessed using routine microbiological methods as the reference standard. RESULTS: Overall sensitivity and specificity for organism detection using FA-Pneumo were 98.5% and 76.5%, respectively. The sensitivity for each pathogen was 100%, except for Klebsiella aerogenes, and the range of specificity was 83.3-99.0%. FA-Pneumo detected antimicrobial resistance genes in 17 out of 18 specimens (94.4%) that were resistant by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. FA-Pneumo additionally detected 25 resistance genes in 22 specimens, and sequencing for the presence of resistance genes confirmed the majority of these results (20/25, 80%). Semi-quantitative analysis of bacterial nucleic acid amounts by FA-Pneumo revealed that 88.2% of the identified bacteria (67/76) with ≥10(6) copies/ml also gave culture-positive results with significant amounts of bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: FA-Pneumo is a rapid test with high sensitivity for the detection of bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes in sputum and ETA specimens and could aid in determining antibiotic therapy. | 2020 | 32179139 |
| 1400 | 16 | 0.9072 | Comparative genomic analysis of Escherichia coli strains obtained from continuous imipenem stress evolution. The carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli has aroused increasing attention worldwide, especially in terms of imipenem (IMP) resistance. The molecular mechanism of IMP resistance remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the resistance mechanisms of IMP in E. coli. Susceptible Sx181-0-1 strain was induced into resistance strains by adaptive laboratory evolution. The drug resistance spectrum was measured using the disk diffusion and microbroth dilution methods. Whole-genome sequencing and resequencing were used to analyze the nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) between the primary susceptible strain and resistant strains. The expression levels of these genes with nsSNPs were identified by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Resistance phenotype appeared in the induced 15th generation (induction time = 183 h). Sx181-32 and Sx181-256, which had the minimum inhibitory concentrations of IMP of 8 and 64 µg ml-1, were isolated during continuous subculture exposed to increasing concentrations of IMP, respectively. A total of 19 nsSNPs were observed both in Sx181-32 and Sx181-256, distributed in rpsU, sdaC, zwf, ttuC, araJ, dacC, mrdA, secF, dacD, lpxD, mrcB, ftsI, envZ, and two unknown function genes (orf01892 and orf01933). Among these 15 genes, five genes (dacC, mrdA, lpxD, mrcB, and ftsI) were mainly involved in cell wall synthesis. The mrdA (V338A, L378P, and M574I) and mrcB (P784L, A736V, and T708A) had three amino acid substitutions, respectively. The expression levels of rpsU, ttuC, and orf01933 were elevated in both Sx181-32 and Sx181-256 compared to Sx181-0-1. The expression levels of these genes were elevated in Sx181-256, except for araJ. Bacteria developed resistance to antimicrobials by regulating various biological processes, among which the most involved is the cell wall synthesis (dacC, mrdA, lpxD, mrcB, and ftsI). The combination mutations of mrdA, envZ, and ftsI genes may increase the resistance to IMP. Our study could improve the understanding of the molecular mechanism of IMP resistance in E. coli. | 2022 | 35147175 |
| 2233 | 17 | 0.9072 | Assessment of the multiplex PCR-based assay Unyvero pneumonia application for detection of bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in children and neonates. BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a major healthcare problem. Rapid pathogen identification is critical, but often delayed due to the duration of culturing. Early, broad antibacterial therapy might lead to false-negative culture findings and eventually to the development of antibiotic resistances. We aimed to assess the accuracy of the new application Unyvero P50 based on multiplex PCR to detect bacterial pathogens in respiratory specimens from children and neonates. METHODS: In this prospective study, bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, tracheal aspirates, or pleural fluids from neonates and children were analyzed by both traditional culture methods and Unyvero multiplex PCR. RESULTS: We analyzed specimens from 79 patients with a median age of 1.8 (range 0.01-20.1). Overall, Unyvero yielded a sensitivity of 73.1% and a specificity of 97.9% compared to culture methods. Best results were observed for non-fermenting bacteria, for which sensitivity of Unyvero was 90% and specificity 97.3%, while rates were lower for Gram-positive bacteria (46.2 and 93.9%, respectively). For resistance genes, we observed a concordance with antibiogram of 75% for those specimens in which there was a cultural correlate. CONCLUSIONS: Unyvero is a fast and easy-to-use tool that might provide additional information for clinical decision making, especially in neonates and in the setting of nosocomial pneumonia. Sensitivity of the PCR for Gram-positive bacteria and important resistance genes must be improved before this application can be widely recommended. | 2018 | 29086343 |
| 5069 | 18 | 0.9071 | MC-PRPA-HLFIA Cascade Detection System for Point-of-Care Testing Pan-Drug-Resistant Genes in Urinary Tract Infection Samples. Recently, urinary tract infection (UTI) triggered by bacteria carrying pan-drug-resistant genes, including carbapenem resistance gene bla(NDM) and bla(KPC), colistin resistance gene mcr-1, and tet(X) for tigecycline resistance, have been reported, posing a serious challenge to the treatment of clinical UTI. Therefore, point-of-care (POC) detection of these genes in UTI samples without the need for pre-culturing is urgently needed. Based on PEG 200-enhanced recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and a refined Chelex-100 lysis method with HRP-catalyzed lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), we developed an MCL-PRPA-HLFIA cascade assay system for detecting these genes in UTI samples. The refined Chelex-100 lysis method extracts target DNA from UTI samples in 20 min without high-speed centrifugation or pre-incubation of urine samples. Following optimization, the cascade detection system achieved an LOD of 10(2) CFU/mL with satisfactory specificity and could detect these genes in both simulated and actual UTI samples. It takes less than an hour to complete the process without the use of high-speed centrifuges or other specialized equipment, such as PCR amplifiers. The MCL-PRPA-HLFIA cascade assay system provides new ideas for the construction of rapid detection methods for pan-drug-resistant genes in clinical UTI samples and provides the necessary medication guidance for UTI treatment. | 2023 | 37047757 |
| 5825 | 19 | 0.9071 | Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Profiling of Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) Pathogenic Bacteria in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients. Introduction Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health concern, exacerbated by the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This study employs advanced molecular techniques, specifically polymerase chain reaction (PCR) profiling, to comprehensively characterize the genetic landscape of XDR pathogenic bacteria in patients diagnosed with pulmonary TB. The objective of the study is to elucidate the genes that are associated with drug resistance in pulmonary TB strains through the application of PCR and analyze specific genetic loci that contribute to the development of resistance against multiple drugs. Materials and methods A total of 116 clinical samples suspected of TB were collected from the tertiary healthcare setting of Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals for the identification of MTB, which includes sputum (n = 35), nasal swabs (n = 17), blood (n = 44), and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) (n = 20). The collected specimens were processed and subjected to DNA extraction. As per the protocol, reconstitution of the DNA pellet was carried out. The reconstituted DNA was stored at -20 °C for the PCR assay. From the obtained positive sample specimens, XDR pulmonary TB specimens were focused on the targeted genes, specifically the rpoB gene for rifampicin resistance, inhA, and katG gene for thepromoter region for isoniazid resistance. Results Out of a total of 116 samples obtained, 53 tested positive for pulmonary TB, indicative of a mycobacterial infection. Among these positive cases, 43 patients underwent treatment at a tertiary healthcare facility. Subsequently, a PCR assay was performed with the extracted DNA for the target genes rpoB, inhA, and katG. Specifically, 22 sputum samples exhibited gene expression for rpoB, inhA, and katG, while nine nasal swabs showed expression of the rpoB and inhA genes. Additionally, rpoB gene expression was detected in seven blood specimens, and both rpoB and inhA genes were expressed in five BAL samples. Conclusion The swift diagnosis and efficient treatment of XDR-TB can be facilitated by employing advanced and rapid molecular tests and oral medication regimens. Utilizing both newly developed and repurposed anti-TB drugs like pretomanid, bedaquiline, linezolid, and ethionamide. Adhering to these current recommendations holds promise for managing XDR-TB effectively. Nevertheless, it is significant to conduct well-designed clinical trials and studies to further evaluate the efficacy of new agents and shorter treatment regimens, thus ensuring continuous improvement in the management of this challenging condition. | 2024 | 38953074 |