Introduction: GBS (group B streptococcus) is an opportunistic pathogen that can colonize healthy individuals but presents significant challenges in clinical obstetrics and gynecology, as it can cause miscarriage, preterm birth, and invasive infections in newborns. To develop specific and personalized preventative strategies, a better understanding of the epidemiological characteristics and pathogenic features of GBS is essential.Methods: We conducted a comprehensive strain-level genomic analysis of GBS, examining serotype and genotype distributions, as well as the composition and correlations of virulence genes using the blastn-short mode of the BLAST program(v2.10.0+), mlstsoftware (https://github.com/tseemann/mlst), Snippy (v4.6.0), FastTree (v2.1.11) and iTOL. The coding sequence region of virulence factors was annotated by Prodigal (v2.6.3) and Glimmer(v3.02b). We further identified host protein interacting with Srr2 by mass spectrometry analysis.Results: While certain genotypes showed strong serotype consistency, there was no significant association between overall serotypes and genotypes. However, the composition of virulence genes was more closely related to the phylogeny of GBS, among which simultaneous presence of Srr2 and HygA exhibit significant association with hypervirulence. Tubulin emerged as the most distinct and abundant hit. The specific interaction of Tubulin with Srr2-BR, rather than Srr1-BR, was further confirmed by immunoblotting.Discussion: Considering the impact of cytoskeleton rearrangement on GBS pathogenesis, this observation offers a plausible explanation for the hypervirulence triggered by Srr2. Collectively, our findings indicate that in the future clinical practice, virulence gene detection should be given more attention to achieve precise GBS surveillance and disease prevention.

A microfluidic-chip system is developed using LAMP for fast and simultaneous detection of Trichomonas vaginalis and high-risk human papillomavirus, and it is promisingly applicable in various fields, particularly in co-infection diagnosis.

Background: Vaginitis is a common infection in women, with approximately 75% of women experiencing at least one episode during their lifetime. Although antimicrobial agents are widely used to treat vaginitis, recurrent vaginitis occurs in some patients. Resistance to these agents is the major cause of recurrent vaginitis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop novel drugs.Methods: We investigated the efficacy of a new biological bacteriostatic agent (BBA), composed of lysozyme, phytoalexin, chitosan oligosaccharide, sinensetin, 18β/20α-glycyrrhizin, and betaine, against vaginitis using in vitro and in vivo studies. First, we evaluated the antibacterial effects of BBA against 13 microbial strains commonly present in aerobic vaginitis, bacterial vaginosis, vulvovaginal candidiasis, and healthy vaginas. Second, we assessed the safety of various doses of BBA administered orally for 4 weeks in female mice. Third, we examined the in vivo anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of BBA in Candida albicans-, Candida glabrata-, and Gardnerella-induced vaginitis models. Finally, we evaluated the anti-vaginitis effect of a BBA gel prepared with 0.5% (w/v) ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp copolymer.Results: BBA effectively suppressed the growth of the main causative pathogens of vaginitis in vitro. BBA, either undiluted or diluted two-fold, inhibited all microorganisms cultured for 8 h. No obvious organ damage was detected when BBA was administered to mice. Both BBA alone and 70% BBA in a gel formulation effectively inhibited the proliferation of C. albicans, C. glabrata, and Gardnerella in vaginal lavage samples and alleviated tissue inflammation in mice with vaginitis. The 70% BBA gel performed better than BBA alone at treating vaginitis in mice infected with Gardnerella vaginalis.Conclusion: BBA alone and a 70% BBA gel inhibited the growth of pathogens and effectively alleviated inflammation caused by C. albicans, C. glabrata, and G. vaginalis.

Rapid identification of Candida species is significant for the diagnosis of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). An integrated and multi-target system for the rapid, high-specificity, and high-sensitivity detection of four Candida species was developed. The system consists of a rapid sample processing cassette and a rapid nucleic acid analysis device. The cassette could process the Candida species to release nucleic acids in 15 min. The released nucleic acids were analyzed by the device as fast as within 30 min, using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification method. The four Candida species could be simultaneously identified, with each reaction using only 1.41 µL of reaction mixture, which was low cost. The RPT (rapid sample processing and testing) system could detect the four Candida species with high sensitivity (90 days, and the system could also be used for the detection of bacteria.

Objective: Prenatal depression is a prevalent mental health challenge encountered during pregnancy and is notably associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. This study aimed to elucidate the likelihood and determinants of depressive symptoms among pregnant individuals in Beijing, thereby laying a foundational framework for the theoretical underpinning of prenatal screening and preemptive interventions for mental disorders.Methods: The study dataset was derived from 4,564 pregnant individuals in Beijing utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology. Data collection focused primarily on the personal and obstetric information of the participants. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was employed as the primary screening tool to identify depressive symptoms.Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among the included pregnant individuals was 4.1%. The univariate analysis results revealed statistically significant differences in the incidence of depressive symptoms in women with different parities, numbers of births, medication use, numbers of abortions, prepregnancy weights, and body mass indices (BMIs) (the χ² values were 61.130, 52.008, 23.291, 5.293, and 12.681, respectively; P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the incidence of depressive symptoms among women with different occupation types (χ² = 30.263, P<0.01). The multivariate logistic regression analysis results revealed that a greater number of pregnancies, number of births, and BMI were risk factors for prenatal depression, whereas the commercial and service worker occupation types were protective factors against prenatal depression.Conclusion: Future directives should emphasize the enhancement of screening for depressive symptoms among pregnant individuals with greater parity and BMIs, alongside encouraging continued employment and flexible job selection. It is imperative to implement suitable intervention strategies for pregnant individuals exhibiting depressive symptoms to mitigate the incidence of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.