The oral microbiota can be influenced by multiple factors, but only a few studies have focused on the role of glycemic control in determining early alterations of oral microbiota and their association with pathogenesis of both periodontitis and caries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the interplay between bacteria composition, oral hygiene, and glycemic control in a cohort of children with T1D. A total of 89 T1D children were enrolled (62% males, mean age: 12.6 ± 2.2 years). Physical and clinical characteristics, glucometabolic parameters, insulin treatment, and oral hygiene habits data were collected. Microbiological analysis was performed from saliva samples. A high prevalence of cariogenic and periodontopathogens bacteria in our cohort was detected. In particular, in all subjects Actinomyces spp., Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella intermedia, and Lactobacillus spp. were isolated. S. mutans was found in about half of the analyzed sample (49.4%), in particular in patients with imbalance values of glycemic control. Moreover, a higher presence of both S. mutans and Veillonella spp. was detected in subjects with poorer glycemic control, in terms of HbA1c, %TIR and %TAR, even adjusting for age, sex, and hygiene habits as covariates. Virtuous oral hygiene habits, such as frequency of toothbrush changes and professional oral hygiene, negatively correlated with the simultaneous presence of Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, and Porphyromonas gingivalis, red complex bacteria. Our study shows it is crucial to pay attention to glycemic control and regular oral hygiene to prevent the establishment of an oral microbiota predisposing to dental and periodontal pathology in subjects with T1D since childhood.

This observational study aimed to: (i) assess the presence of periodontal disease among patients requiring aortic valve replacement; (ii) investigate the presence of oral pathogens in aortic valve specimens and compare them with the microorganisms detected in the oral cavity. Twenty-six patients (15 men and 11 women) were scheduled to be visited the day before the cardiac surgery: periodontal conditions were accurately registered through clinical and radiographic examinations; dental plaque or salivary samples were collected. Valve specimens were collected during surgical aortic valve replacement and analyzed for pathogens detection through microbiological 16SrRna gene sequencing. Bacteria found in plaque samples and valve specimens were assessed according to oral and periodontal conditions. A qualitative comparison between oral and cardiac profiles of the microorganisms detected was performed. The overall number of patients examined for soft tissues conditions was 19, as 7 patients were edentulous. Twelve and three individuals, respectively, presented moderate and severe periodontitis. Nine valves were found to be positive for the presence of oral and periodontopathic bacterial DNA. The microbial species found in valve samples of patients with periodontitis suggest that the presence of these microorganisms in valvular tissue seems to be not coincidental.

Achromobacter spp. can establish occasional or chronic lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Chronic colonization has been associated with worse prognosis highlighting the need to identify markers of bacterial persistence. To this purpose, we analyzed phenotypic features of 95 Achromobacter spp. isolates from 38 patients presenting chronic or occasional infection. Virulence was tested in Galleria mellonella larvae, cytotoxicity was tested in human bronchial epithelial cells, biofilm production in static conditions was measured by crystal violet staining and susceptibility to selected antibiotics was tested by the disk diffusion method. The presence of genetic loci associated to the analyzed phenotypic features was evaluated by a genome-wide association study. Isolates from occasional infection induced significantly higher mortality of G. mellonella larvae and showed a trend for lower cytotoxicity than chronic infection isolates. No significant difference was observed in biofilm production among the two groups. Additionally, antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that isolates from chronically-infected patients were significantly more resistant to sulfonamides and meropenem than occasional isolates. Candidate genetic biomarkers associated with antibiotic resistance or sensitivity were identified. Achromobacter spp. strains isolated from people with chronic and occasional lung infection exhibit different virulence and antibiotic susceptibility features, which could be linked to persistence in CF lungs. This underlines the possibility of identifying predictive biomarkers of persistence that could be useful for clinical purposes.

Estudaram-se as alterações anatômicas em folhas e caules de ramos de cafeeiros infectados com X. fastidiosa visando compreender as causas dos seus distúrbios fisiológicos. Analisaram-se amostras dos cultivares comerciais de Coffea arabica L. - Catuaí Vermelho IAC H 2077-25-81 e Mundo Novo 515-20 enxertados sobre a progênie IAC 2258 de C. canephora - e de Catuaí Vermelho IAC H 2077-25-81 sem enxertia (pé franco). As amostras foram coletadas no campo, no Núcleo Experimental de Campinas, IAC, em cafezais onde foi detectada a presença da bactéria. Analisou-se também a estrutura da folha e do caule de ramos com e sem sintomas visuais da bactéria, sendo estimada a porcentagem de obstrução dos vasos do xilema do caule. Os ramos infectados apresentaram um encurtamento dos entrenós e, com o agravamento da doença, senescência foliar precoce na sua base, resultando em pequeno número de folhas no ápice. O número e a posição dos ramos por indivíduo com tais sintomas variaram entre as plantas, sendo mais freqüentes na região basal. Esses ramos também mostraram pecíolos e área foliar reduzidos e frutos menores e agrupados, em vista de um encurtamento dos pedicelos e dos entrenós, além de uma deposição de "goma" nos vasos do xilema do caule, pecíolo e folha, assim como divisões celulares anormais no xilema, floema e córtex daquelas partes. As células do mesofilo das folhas afetadas apresentaram número reduzido de cloroplastos, associado a maior concentração de cristais de oxalato de cálcio. Sugere-se que a presença da bactéria esteja induzindo a senescência foliar que se relaciona a um ou mais fatores de estresse.

Achromobacter spp. lung infection in cystic fibrosis has been associated with inflammation, increased frequency of exacerbations, and decline of respiratory function. We aimed to evaluate in vivo the inflammatory effects of clinical isolates exhibiting different pathogenic characteristics. Eight clinical isolates were selected based on different pathogenic characteristics previously assessed: virulence in Galleria mellonella larvae, cytotoxicity in human bronchial epithelial cells, and biofilm formation. Acute lung infection was established by intratracheal instillation with 10.5 × 10⁸ bacterial cells in wild-type and CFTR-knockout (KO) mice expressing a luciferase gene under control of interleukin-8 promoter. Lung inflammation was monitored by in vivo bioluminescence imaging up to 48 h after infection, and mortality was recorded up to 96 h. Lung bacterial load was evaluated by CFU count. Virulent isolates caused higher lung inflammation and mice mortality, especially in KO animals. Isolates both virulent and cytotoxic showed higher persistence in mice lungs, while biofilm formation was not associated with lung inflammation, mice mortality, or bacterial persistence. A positive correlation between virulence and lung inflammation was observed. These results indicate that Achromobacter spp. pathogenic characteristics such as virulence and cytotoxicity may be associated with clinically relevant effects and highlight the importance of elucidating their mechanisms.

Background: The presence of carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB) in animal hosts and along the food chain may result in the development of reservoirs for human infections. Several CPB strains isolated from animals have been reported, suggesting that transmission and dissemination of the corresponding genes between humans and animals may occur. Animal and food samples have complex backgrounds that hinder the detection of CPB present in low concentrations by standard detection procedures. Methods: We evaluated the possibility of detecting bla_KPC, bla_VIM, and bla_OXA-48-like carbapenemases in 286 animal and food samples (faeces from farm and companion animals, raw meat, bivalve molluscs) by culture-based and standard molecular methods and by ddPCR. Results: The proposed ddPCR managed to detect the target genes, also in samples resulting negative to standard methods. While the presence of bla_KPC and bla_VIM was detected in few samples (~3%), one third of the samples (n = 94/283) carried different variants of bla_OXA-48-like genes. Conclusion: A specific and sensitive method such as ddPCR could be suitable to evaluate the current veterinarian and environmental situation and to assess the dynamic transmission and persistence of CPB between animals and humans and vice versa.