Project description:Preterm birth is currently the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Genetic, immunological and infectious causes are suspected. Preterm infants have a higher risk of severe bacterial neonatal infections, most of which are caused by Escherichia coli an in particular E. coli K1strains. Women with history of preterm delivery have a high risk of recurrence and therefore constitute a target population for the development of vaccine against E. coli neonatal infections. Here, we characterized the immunological, microbiological and protective properties of a live attenuated vaccine candidate in adult female mice and their pups against after a challenge by K1 and non-K1 strains of E. coli. Our results show that the E. coli K1 E11 aroA vaccine induces strong immunity, driven by polyclonal bactericidal antibodies. In our model of meningitis, pups born to mothers immunized before mating were well protected against various K1 and non-K1 strains of E. coli. Given the very high mortality rate and the neurological sequalae associated with neonatal E. coli K1 meningitis, our results constitute preclinical proof of concept for the development of a live attenuated vaccine against severe E. coli infections in women at risk of preterm delivery.
Project description:In this study, we performed label-free based CSF quantitative proteomics to identify and analyze the differentially expressed proteins among bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis and hospital controls (children with benign intracranial hypertension). Compared with viral meningitis and hospital controls, we screened 135 differentially expressed proteins to distinguish bacterial meningitis from viral meningitis and controls. Among of them, 69 proteins as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, including both novel and previously reported candidate protein markers.
Project description:Purpose: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized systems-based analysis of transfected NC K1 cells and transfected si-NEAT1_2 K1 cells. The goals of this study are to analysis the different mRNA expression between transfected NC K1 cells and transfected si-NEAT1_2 K1 cells. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) methods and to evaluate protocols for optimal high-throughput data analysis. We performed mRNA-seq in the NEAT1_2 knockdown group and NC group in the K1 cell line. We found that after knockdown of NEAT1_2, 615 mRNAs were upregulated and 2364 mRNAs were downregulated.
Project description:Meningitis is a complex disease which can be caused by infection with either viral or bacterial pathogens. Viral meningitis is usually a sterile self-limiting disease with a good clinical prognosis, while bacterial meningitis is a potentially more serious disease with a higher mortality rate. Early diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is of paramount importance, as intervention with antimicrobial therapy increases the likelihood of a favourable clinical outcome. Routine diagnosis in many laboratories is still dependent to some degree on traditional methods e.g. culture, though molecular methods have been developed which can give a shorter time to diagnosis. However, there is not as yet a single test format that can detect all bacterial pathogens capable of causing meningitis. In addition, many tests e.g. real-time PCR have a finite limit for multiplexing and do not provide additional information such as strain or serogroup which is useful during outbreaks and for retrospective epidemiological surveillance. To this end we have developed a microarray probe set for detection of meningitis-associated bacterial pathogens including those in the N. meningitidis serogroups. Here we demonstrate utility of this array in specific detection of represented bacterial species and strains and in detection of pathogen signals in cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with suspected bacterial meningitis. This method shows promise for development as a diagnostic tool; however, we discuss the technical issues encountered and suggest mechanisms to improve resolution of pathogen-specific signals in complex clinical samples.
Project description:Meningitis is a complex disease which can be caused by infection with either viral or bacterial pathogens. Viral meningitis is usually a sterile self-limiting disease with a good clinical prognosis, while bacterial meningitis is a potentially more serious disease with a higher mortality rate. Early diagnosis of bacterial meningitis is of paramount importance, as intervention with antimicrobial therapy increases the likelihood of a favourable clinical outcome. Routine diagnosis in many laboratories is still dependent to some degree on traditional methods e.g. culture, though molecular methods have been developed which can give a shorter time to diagnosis. However, there is not as yet a single test format that can detect all bacterial pathogens capable of causing meningitis. In addition, many tests e.g. real-time PCR have a finite limit for multiplexing and do not provide additional information such as strain or serogroup which is useful during outbreaks and for retrospective epidemiological surveillance. To this end we have developed a microarray probe set for detection of meningitis-associated bacterial pathogens including those in the N. meningitidis serogroups. Here we demonstrate utility of this array in specific detection of represented bacterial species and strains and in detection of pathogen signals in cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with suspected bacterial meningitis. This method shows promise for development as a diagnostic tool; however, we discuss the technical issues encountered and suggest mechanisms to improve resolution of pathogen-specific signals in complex clinical samples. We designed as part of a larger pan-pathogen microarray a sub-set of probes to meningitis-associated bacterial pathogens. We present here data confirming the pathogen-specificity of many of these probes and their potential use in clinical diagnosis through testing on a small number of patient clinical samples using human DNA and no added nucleic acid controls. These data are from single channel Cy3-labelled nucleic acids. Four technical replicates for each feature are included on the array.
Project description:High-throughput data analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed circRNAs in K1 control cell and AhR antagonist treated K1 cells. In total, 45 differentially expressed circRNAs were found.
Project description:Background: Meningitis can be caused by several viruses and bacteria. Identifying the causative pathogen as quickly as possible is crucial to initiate the most optimal therapy, as acute bacterial meningitis is associated with a significant morbidity and mortality. Bacterial meningitis requires antibiotics, as opposed to enteroviral meningitis, which only requires supportive therapy. Clinical presentation is usually not sufficient to differentiate between viral and bacterial meningitis, thereby necessitating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis by PCR and/or time-consuming bacterial cultures. However, collecting CSF in children is not always feasible and a rather invasive procedure. Methods: In 12 Belgian hospitals, we obtained acute blood samples from children with signs of meningitis (49 viral and 7 bacterial cases). (aged between 3 months and 16 years). After pathogen confirmation on CSF, the patient was asked to give a convalescent sample after recovery. 3’mRNA sequencing was performed to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to create a host transcriptomic profile. Results: Enteroviral meningitis cases displayed the largest upregulated fold change enrichment in type I interferon production, response and signaling pathways. Patients with bacterial meningitis showed a significant upregulation of genes related to macrophage and neutrophil activation. We found several significantly DEGs between enteroviral and bacterial meningitis. Random forest classification showed that we were able to differentiate enteroviral from bacterial meningitis with an AUC of 0.982 on held-out samples. Conclusions: Enteroviral meningitis has an innate immunity signature with type 1 interferons as key players. Our classifier, based on blood host transcriptomic profiles of different meningitis cases, is a possible strong alternative for diagnosing enteroviral meningitis.