Background: Chlamydiae are intracellular bacteria that cause various severe diseases in humans and animals. The common treatment for chlamydia infections are antibiotics. However, when antibiotics are misused (overuse or self-medication), this may lead to resistance of a number of chlamydia species, causing a real public health problem worldwide. Materials and methods: In the present work, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Science direct and Web of Science. The primary purpose is to analyse a set of data describing the genes and mutations involved in Chlamydiae resistance to antibiotic mechanisms. In addition, we proceeded to a filtration process among 704 retrieved articles, then finished by focusing on 24 studies to extract data that met our requirements. Results: The present study revealed that Chlamydia trachomatis may develop resistance to macrolides via mutations in the 23S rRNA, rplD, rplV genes, to rifamycins via mutations in the rpoB gene, to fluoroquinolones via mutations in the gyrA, parC and ygeD genes, to tetracyclines via mutations in the rpoB gene, to fosfomycin via mutations in the murA gene, to MDQA via mutations in the secY gene. Whereas, Chlamydia pneumoniae may develop resistance to rifamycins via mutations in the rpoB gene, to fluoroquinolones via mutations in the gyrA gene. Furthermore, the extracted data revealed that Chlamydia psittaci may develop resistance to aminoglycosides via mutations in the 16S rRNA and rpoB genes, to macrolides via mutations in the 23S rRNA gene. Moreover, Chlamydia suis can become resistance to tetracyclines via mutations in the tet(C) gene. In addition, Chlamydia caviae may develop resistance to macrolides via variations in the 23S rRNA gene. The associated mechanisms of resistance are generally: the inhibition of bacteria’s protein synthesis, the inhibition of bacterial enzymes’ action and the inhibition of bacterial transcription process. Conclusion: This literature review revealed the existence of diverse mutations associated with resistance to antibiotics using molecular tools and targeting chlamydia species’ genes. Furthermore, these mutations were shown to be associated with different mechanisms that led to resistance. In that regards, more mutations and information can be shown by a deep investigation using the whole genome sequencing. Certainly, this can help improving to handle chlamydia infections and healthcare improvement by decreasing diseases complications and medical costs.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most complex, diverse and leading cause of death in women worldwide. The present investigation aims to explore genes panel associated with BC in different African regions, and compare them to those studied worldwide.We extracted relevant information from 43 studies performed in Africa using the following criteria: case-control study, association between genetic variations and BC risk. Data were provided on mutations and polymorphisms associated with BC without fixing a specific date. Case-only studies and clinical trials were excluded.Our study revealed that the majority of African BC genetic studies remain restricted to the investigation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and differences in their mutations spectrum. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage African researchers to characterize more genes involved in BC using methods generating global information such as next-generation sequencing in order to guide specific and more effective therapeutic strategies for the African community.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an intracellular bacterium responsible for respiratory diseases and is highly involved in cardiovascular disease development, mainly atherosclerosis. The main objective of our study was to evaluate C. pneumoniae prevalence in Moroccan patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases. A total of 115 patients with cardiovascular diseases were enrolled, and their clinical and behavioral information was recorded. Blood was sampled from all patients as well as the atheroma plaques from 36 patients undergoing surgery. Nested PCR was performed for C. pneumoniae DNA detection in both peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and atheroma plaques. Statistical analysis was performed using Epilnfo software. Data analysis showed cardiovascular disease dominance in men, with a sex ratio M/F of 3.4, a majority of tobacco users (52.2%), and many diabetics (44.3%). A significant difference between genders was shown for tobacco use (p <0.05). Positive cases for PBMCs and atheroma plaques were 61% and 86%, respectively, and a significant difference between PBMCs and atheroma plaque infection was identified (p = 0.02). Data analysis also showed that 12% of patients presented only C. pneumoniae infection as a risk factor. Therefore, the high prevalence of C. pneumoniae suggests its involvement in atherosclerosis, and further investigation is recommended for confirmation. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Limited on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Precision Medicine is being increasingly used in the developed world to improve health care. While several Precision Medicine (PM) initiatives have been launched worldwide, their implementations have proven to be more challenging particularly in low- and middle-income countries. To address this issue, the "Personalized Medicine in North Africa" initiative (PerMediNA) was launched in three North African countries namely Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. PerMediNA is coordinated by Institut Pasteur de Tunis together with the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, with the support of Institut Pasteur in France. The project is carried out along with Institut Pasteur d'Algérie and Institut Pasteur du Maroc in collaboration with national and international leading institutions in the field of PM including Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris. PerMediNA aims to assess the readiness level of PM implementation in North Africa, to strengthen PM infrastructure, to provide workforce training, to generate genomic data on North African populations, to implement cost effective, affordable and sustainable genetic testing for cancer patients and to inform policy makers on how to translate research knowledge into health products and services. Gender equity and involvement of young scientists in this implementation process are other key goals of the PerMediNA project. In this paper, we are describing PerMediNA as the first PM implementation initiative in North Africa. Such initiatives contribute significantly in shortening existing health disparities and inequities between developed and developing countries and accelerate access to innovative treatments for global health.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen associated with chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and atherosclerosis, and its detection in human carotid and coronary atheroma suggests some support for its involvement in atherogenesis. The main objective of our study was to evaluate the association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis in Moroccan patients through a case–control approach and detected strain genotyping. A total of 137 cases and 124 controls were enrolled, nested PCR was performed for Chlamydia pneumoniae screening of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of both cases and controls as well as atheroma plaques from 37 cases, and positive samples were subjected to sequencing for genotyping and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed 54% and 18%, respectively, for positivity in cases and control PBMCs and 86.5% in atheroma plaques, the difference being significant between the two groups (P < 0.001, OR_a = 8.580, CI, 95% [3.273–22.491]). Strain sequence analyses showed more than 98% similarity with human reference strains, and revealed various genotypes. This study supports the involvement of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerosis in the studied population and genotyping revealed that detected strains were identical to human strains circulating worldwide.