Isolation and characterization of Klebsiella oxytoca strain degrading crude oil from a Tunisian off-shore oil field

A facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative, mesophilic, moderately halotolerant, non-motile, and non-sporulated bacterium, designated strain BSC5 was isolated from an off-shore "Sercina" oil field, located near the Kerkennah island, Tunisia. Yeast extract was not required for growth. Phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain BSC5 revealed that it was related to members of the genus Klebsiella, being most closely related to the type strain of K. oxytoca (99% sequence similarity). Strain BSC5 was capable of using aerobically the crude oil as substrate growth. The growth of strain BSC5 on crude oil was followed by measuring the OD(600 nm) and by enumeration of viable cells at different culture's time. GC-MS analysis showed that strain BSC5 was capable of degrading a wide range of aliphatic hydrocarbons from C(13) to C(30) . The biodegradation rate for n -alkanes reached 44% and 75%, after 20 and 45 days of incubation, respectively. Addition of the synthetic surfactant, Tween 80, accelerated the crude oil degradation. The biodegradation rate for n -alkanes reached 61% and 98%, after 20 and 45 days of incubation, respectively. Moreover, three aromatic compounds, p -hydroxybenzoate, protocatechuate and gentisate, were metabolized completely by strain BSC5 after 24 h, under aerobic conditions.     

Molecular study of the perforin gene in familial hematological malignancies

Perforin gene (PRF1) mutations have been identified in some patients diagnosed with the familial form of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and in patients with lymphoma. The aim of the present study was to determine whether patients with a familial aggregation of hematological malignancies harbor germline perforin gene mutations. For this purpose, 81 unrelated families from Tunisia and France with aggregated hematological malignancies were investigated. The variants detected in the PRF1 coding region amounted to 3.7% (3/81). Two of the three variants identified were previously described: the p.Ala91Val pathogenic mutation and the p.Asn252Ser polymorphism. A new p.Ala 211Val missense substitution was identified in two related Tunisian patients. In order to assess the pathogenicity of this new variation, bioinformatic tools were used to predict its effects on the perforin protein structure and at the mRNA level. The segregation of the mutant allele was studied in the family of interest and a control population was screened. The fact that this variant was not found to occur in 200 control chromosomes suggests that it may be pathogenic. However, overexpression of mutated PRF1 in rat basophilic leukemia cells did not affect the lytic function of perforin differently from the wild type protein.     

Co-expression and impact of prostate specific membrane antigen and prostate specific antigen in prostatic pathologies

Background

The present study was undertaken to relate the co-expression of prostate-associated antigens, PSMA and PSA, with the degree of vascularization in normal and pathologic (hyperplasia and cancer) prostate tissues to elucidate their possible role in tumor progression.

Methods

The study was carried out in 6 normal, 44 benign prostatic hyperplastic and 39 cancerous human prostates. Immunohistochemical analysis were performed using the monoclonal antibody CD34 to determine the angiogenic activity, and the monoclonal antibodies 3E6 and ER-PR8 to assess PSMA and PSA expression, respectively.

Results

In our study we found that in normal prostate tissue, PSMA and PSA were equally expressed (3.7 ± 0.18 and 3.07 ± 0.11). A significant difference in their expression was see in hyperplastic and neoplastic prostates tissues (16.14 ± 0.17 and 30.72 ± 0.85, respectively) for PSMA and (34.39 ± 0.53 and 17.85 ± 1.21, respectively) for PSA. Study of prostate tumor profiles showed that the profile (PSA+, PSMA-) expression levels decreased between normal prostate, benign prostatic tissue and primary prostate cancer. In the other hand, the profile (PSA-, PSMA+) expression levels increased from normal to prostate tumor tissues. PSMA overexpression was associated with high intratumoral angiogenesis activity. By contrast, high PSA expression was associated with low angiogenesis activity.

Conclusion

These data suggest that these markers are regulated differentially and the difference in their expression showed a correlation with malignant transformation. With regard to the duality PSMA-PSA, this implies the significance of their investigation together in normal and pathologic prostate tissues.     

Torsion of otherwise healthy ovary Has a worse prognosis than torsion of pathologic ovary in children

IntroductionTo evaluate if torsion of an otherwise healthy ovary (THO) has a different prognosis than torsion with an underlying ovarian mass (TUOM) in children.Material and methodsChildren with an ovarian torsion who were treated in our department from 1997 to 2016 were studied retrospectively. Patients with prenatal ovarian torsion and isolated oviduct torsion were excluded. Trophicity of the ovary was assessed by ultrasonography at the end of follow-up.ResultsFifty-four girls were included. Twenty-seven presented a TUOM; the others had a THO. Beside the deleterious effect of late surgical management, another prognostic factor was identified. THO was more prone to an ovarian hypotrophy or atrophy than TUOM (n = 20 vs n = 5, p < 0.01). This was confirmed by logistic regression analysis (OR = 5.08, p = 0.01). To explain this finding, we further compared TUOM and THO. The diagnosis of TUOM was more frequently suspected on US at the first visit (p = 0.005). TUOM also occurred more often after puberty (> 12 years, 52.9% vs 11.1%, p < 0.001) than THO.ConclusionTHO is more frequently associated with an ovarian atrophy or hypotrophy than TUOM. A less obvious diagnosis at US and the early occurrence of THO before puberty with a less favorable hormonal climate may explain this finding.Level of evidenceIII.