BACKGROUND Adherence of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria to lung cells is a first step in the progression from asymptomatic carriage to pneumonia. Adherence abilities vary widely among S. pneumoniae patient isolates. In this study, the binding properties of S. pneumoniae isolates and the effects of binding on activation of the Nuclear Factor-Kappa-B (NFkappaB) pathway and cytokine secretion by...

Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae strains vary considerably in their ability to cause invasive disease in humans, which is at least in part determined by the capsular serotype. Platelets have been implicated as sentinel cells in the circulation for host defence. One of their utensils for this function is the expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs). We here aimed to investigate platelet response to...

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a multiple-antibiotic-resistant opportunistic pathogen that is being isolated with increasing frequency from patients with health-care-associated infections and especially from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). While clinicians feel compelled to treat infections involving this organism, its potential for virulence is not well established. We evaluated the immun...

Introduction: Aloe Vera compounds have inhibitory activity on fungi, bacteria, and viruses. This study examines the antibacterial activity of A. Vera purified extracts including gel, boiled skin, boiled gel, and distilled extract against pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were elucidated. Method: Th...

Correlations between semiquantitative amounts of Pneumoc s carinui (PC), the degree of inflammation, and the severity of pneumonia were analyzed in 58 patients with PC pneumonia (PCP). Material from both transbronchial biopsies (TBBs; n 39) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF; n = 57) was examined. In the TBB the amount of PC correlated strongly with overall inflammation in the interstitium ...

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a penicillin-sensitive bacterium, is recognized as a major cause of pneumonia and is treated clinically with penicillin-based antibiotics. The rapid increase in resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics affects 450 million people globally and results in 4 million deaths every year. To unveil the mechanism of resistance of S. pneumoniae is thus an important issue t...

Necrotizing pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus strains carrying the Panton-Valentin leukocidin gene is a newly described disease entity. We report a new fatal case of necrotizing pneumonia. An S. aureus strain with an agr1 allele and of a new sequence type 377 was recovered, representing a new, emerging, community-acquired methicillin-resistant clone.

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant cause of hospital and community acquired pneumonia and causes secondary infection after influenza A. Recently, patients with hyper-IgE syndrome, who often present with S. aureus infections of the lung and skin, were found to have mutations in STAT3, required for Th17 immunity, suggesting a potential critical role for Th17 cells in S. aureus pneumonia. Inde...