Motility of Campylobacter concisus isolated from saliva,feces, and gut mucosal biopsies

Campylobacter concisus is an emerging pathogen associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as gastroenteritis and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), but the species is also found in healthy subjects. The heterogeneous genome of C. concisus increases the likelihood of varying virulence between strains. Flagella motility is a crucial virulence factor for the well‐recognized Campylobacter jejuni; therefore, this study aimed to analyze the motility of C. concisus isolated from saliva, gut biopsies, and feces of patients with IBD, gastroenteritis, and healthy subjects. The motility zones of 63 isolates from 52 patients were measured after microaerobic growth in soft‐agar plates for 72 hours. The motility of C. concisus was significantly lower than that of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus. The motility of C. concisus varied between isolates (4–22 mm), but there was no statistical significant difference between isolates from IBD patients and healthy subjects (p = 0.14). A tendency of a larger motility zones was observed for IBD gut mucosa isolates, although it did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.13), and no difference was found between oral or fecal isolates between groups. In conclusion, the varying motility of C. concisus could not be related to disease outcome or colonization sites.     

Motility and biofilm formation of the emerging gastrointestinal pathogen Campylobacter concisus differs under microaerophilic and anaerobic environments

Campylobacter concisus has been isolated from patients with gastroenteritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as well as healthy subjects. While strain differences may plausibly explain virulence differentials, an alternative hypothesis posits that the pathogenic potential of this species may depend on altered ecosystem conditions in the inflamed gut. One potential difference is oxygen availability, which is frequently increased under conditions of inflammation and is known to regulate bacterial virulence. Hence, we hypothesized that oxygen influences C. concisus physiology. We therefore characterized the effect of microaerophilic or anaerobic environments on C. concisus motility and biofilm formation, two important determinants of host colonization and dissemination. C. concisus isolates (n = 46) sourced from saliva, gut mucosal biopsies and feces of patients with IBD (n = 23), gastroenteritis (n = 8) and healthy subjects (n = 13), were used for this study. Capacity to form biofilms was determined using crystal violet assay, while assessment of dispersion through soft agar permitted motility to be assessed. No association existed between GI disease and either motility or biofilm forming capacity. Oral isolates exhibited significantly greater capacity for biofilm formation compared to fecal isolates (p<0.03), and showed a strong negative correlation between motility and biofilm formation (r = -0.7; p = 0.01). Motility significantly increased when strains were cultured under microaerophilic compared to anaerobic conditions (p<0.001). Increased biofilm formation under microaerophillic conditions was also observed for a subset of isolates. Hence, differences in oxygen availability appear to influence key physiological aspects of the opportunistic gastrointestinal pathogen C. concisus.     

Veal Calves Produce Less Antibodies against C. Perfringens Alpha Toxin Compared to Beef Calves

Enterotoxaemia is a disease with a high associated mortality rate, affecting beef and veal calves worldwide, caused by C. perfringens alpha toxin and perfringolysin. A longitudinal study was conducted to determine the dynamics of antibodies against these toxins in 528 calves on 4 beef and 15 veal farms. The second study aimed to determine the effect of solid feed intake on the production of antibodies against alpha toxin and perfringolysin. The control group only received milk replacer, whereas in the test group solid feed was provided. Maternal antibodies for alpha toxin were present in 45% of the veal calves and 66% of the beef calves. In beef calves a fluent transition from maternal to active immunity was observed for alpha toxin, whereas almost no veal calves developed active immunity. Perfringolysin antibodies significantly declined both in veal and beef calves. In the second study all calves were seropositive for alpha toxin throughout the experiment and solid feed intake did not alter the dynamics of alpha and perfringolysin antibodies. In conclusion, the present study showed that veal calves on a traditional milk replacer diet had significantly lower alpha toxin antibodies compared to beef calves in the risk period for enterotoxaemia, whereas no differences were noticed for perfringolysin.     

Influence of steroid hormones on the incorporation of amino acids in uterine and cervical tissue of pregnant women

The influence of steroids on protein synthesis in cervical and uterine tissue obtained from early and term pregnant women was studied by measuring the incorporation of labelled amino acids into total protein. It was found that oestradiol-17 beta and progesterone significantly reduced the incorporation of [3H]proline. Androstenedione and cortisol had no significant effect on the incorporation of [3H]proline even at high concentrations. The protein synthesis inhibitors puromycin and cycloheximide blocked the incorporation of [3H]proline to 80-85%. However, there was no further reduction in the incorporation in the presence of oestradiol. Oestradiol was found to reduce the incorporation of [14C]glycine but not that of [3H]serine. The results indicate that oestradiol and progesterone reduce protein synthesis in human cervical and uterine tissue and that this reduction, at least partially, involves collagen synthesis. Oestradiol and progesterone were equipotent under in vitro experimental conditions. The tissue concentration of progesterone in the pregnant uterus is, however, much higher than that of oestradiol. It seems therefore probable that progesterone rather than oestradiol restricts unopposed synthesis of proteins, presumably mainly collagen.     

Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis

Despite wide use in clinical practice, acupuncture remains a controversial treatment for chronic pain. Our objective was to update an individual patient data meta-analysis to determine the effect size of acupuncture for 4 chronic pain conditions. We searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials randomized trials published up until December 31, 2015. We included randomized trials of acupuncture needling versus either sham acupuncture or no acupuncture control for nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis, chronic headache, or shoulder pain. Trials were only included if allocation concealment was unambiguously determined to be adequate. Raw data were obtained from study authors and entered into an individual patient data meta-analysis. The main outcome measures were pain and function. An additional 13 trials were identified, with data received for a total of 20,827 patients from 39 trials. Acupuncture was superior to sham as well as no acupuncture control for each pain condition (all P?<?.001) with differences between groups close to .5 SDs compared with no acupuncture control and close to .2 SDs compared with sham. We also found clear evidence that the effects of acupuncture persist over time with only a small decrease, approximately 15%, in treatment effect at 1 year. In secondary analyses, we found no obvious association between trial outcome and characteristics of acupuncture treatment, but effect sizes of acupuncture were associated with the type of control group, with smaller effects sizes for sham controlled trials that used a penetrating needle for sham, and for trials that had high intensity of intervention in the control arm. We conclude that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain, with treatment effects persisting over time. Although factors in addition to the specific effects of needling at correct acupuncture point locations are important contributors to the treatment effect, decreases in pain after acupuncture cannot be explained solely in terms of placebo effects. Variations in the effect size of acupuncture in different trials are driven predominantly by differences in treatments received by the control group rather than by differences in the characteristics of acupuncture treatment.