Search

Alarin is an alternative-splicing form of GALP (galanin-like peptide). It shares only 5 conserved amino acids at the N-terminal region with GALP which is involved in a diverse range of normal brain functions. This study seeks to investigate whether alarin has additional functions due to its differences from GALP. Here, we have shown using a radial diffusion assay that alarin but not GALP inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli (strain ML-35). The conserved N-terminal region, however, remained essential for the antimicrobial activity of alarin as truncated peptides showed reduced killing effect. Moreover, alarin inhibited the growth of E. coli in a similar potency as human cathelicidin LL-37, a well-studied antimicrobial peptide. Electron microscopy further showed that alarin induced bacterial membrane blebbing but unlike LL-37, it did not cause hemolysis of erythrocytes. In addition, alarin is only active against the gram-negative bacteria, E. coli but not the gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, these data suggest that alarin has potentials as an antimicrobial and should be considered for the development in human therapeutics., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The study evaluated the antibiotic resistance patterns of Helicobacter pylori strains against metronidazole and clarithromycin in a hospital in Havana, Cuba. Eighty-five percent, 22.5%, and 10% of 40 H. pylori strains investigated were resistant to metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, and clarithromycin respectively but all were susceptible to amoxicillin and tetracycline. RdxA truncation was found only in metronidazole-resistant strains. In such strains, reported are eight and two novel mutations in the rdxA and frxA genes respectively. Two-point mutations in the 23S rRNA genes of clarithromycin-resistant strains were detected. A high prevalence of metronidazole resistance was found in Cuban H. pylori strains. Mutations in the rdxA gene may contribute more significantly than frxA gene to the high level of resistance to metronidazole. This study supports the need to continue monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility in H. pylori in Cuba to guide the treatment of such infection.

A method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration for leptospiras was developed, since there is not a standard method to measure it at the international level. Reference strains from the pathogenic complex L. interrogans and L. biflexa were used against penicillin, cyprofloxacine, chloramphenicol, rifampicine and tetracycline. The minimum inhibitory concentration was defined as the lowest concentration of antibiotic where it was observed the inhibition of the bacterial mobility by direct examination in dark field. Ranges for penicillin were from 0.095 to 152 microg/mL, for tetracycline from 0.156 to 3.13 microg/mL, for chloramphenicol, from 0.08 to 12.52 microg/mL, for rifampicine from 0.08 to 1.56 microg/mL, and for cyprofloxacine from 0.15 to 2.4 microg/mL. The antibiotics that showed the lowest values were cyprofloxacine, rifampicine and tetracycline, whereas the most elevated value was obtained against chloramphenicol and penicillin. The strains from the serogroups circulating more frequently in Cuba were used in this research. This study will allow in a near future to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility in autochthonous strains isolated from patients with Leptospirosis at the national level.

Background: In many regions the susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates to antimicrobial agents is rarely tested. The Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (GASP) in Cuba was established as part of a larger regional GASP program to facilitate the collection and reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility data for N gonorrhoeae isolates., Goal: The goal was to retrospectively determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular epidemiology of 91 isolates of N gonorrhoeae isolated from 11 centers in Cuba., Study Design: Isolates of N gonorrhoeae were collected and presumptively identified from 11 Cuban provincial health centers. They were then forwarded to the National Laboratory of Pathogenic Neisseria Havana for confirmatory identification and were subsequently analyzed at the Center for GASP in Ottawa. Isolates were tested for susceptibility to penicillin, tetracycline, spectinomycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin by the agar dilution method. To establish baseline data for molecular epidemiologic profiles, the auxotype (A), serovar (S), plasmid content (P), and TetM type of the isolates were determined. Certain A/S/P classes were further analyzed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)., Results: High percentages of the 91 N gonorrhoeae isolates were resistant to penicillin (68%) and tetracycline (83.5%), with 56% being penicillinase-producing (PPNG) and 64% carrying plasmid-mediated tetracycline resistance (TRNG; 50% were PP/TRNG). An additional 14% of the isolates carried chromosomal resistance (CMRNG) to either tetracycline or penicillin or both antibiotics. All isolates were susceptible to spectinomycin, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin. However, nine isolates were resistant to azithromycin (MIC, > or = 1.0 microgram/ml), and 43 other isolates displayed reduced susceptibility to this antibiotic (MIC, 0.25-0.5 microgram/ml). Although a total of 21 different A/S classes were identified, most of the isolates (61) belonged to three A/S classes: NR/IA-6 (35 isolates), NR/IB-1 (15 isolates), and P/IA-6 (11 isolates). Thirty-two of 45 PP/TRNG were A/S class NR/IA-6, and nine of the P/IA-6 isolates were TRNG. By contrast, most of A/S class NR/IB-1 (8) were CMRNG. PFGE analysis following digestion with NheI or SpeI further clustered the isolates into separate groups., Conclusions: This study demonstrates high percentages of N gonorrhoeae isolates with penicillin and tetracycline resistance in Cuba. As has been noted in other studies in the Caribbean region and Latin America, resistance and reduced susceptibility to azithromycin are developing as emerging problems. Since penicillin and tetracycline continue to be widely used for the treatment of gonococcal infections in Cuba, this study indicates the importance of antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance so that effective antibiotics may be recommended for treatment of gonococcal infections.

Background: Antibiotic-resistant strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, especially those resistant to penicillin and tetracycline, have spread with remarkable rapidity in many Caribbean countries., Goal: The goal of the study was to survey the antibiotic susceptibilities of N gonorrhoeae strains isolated from 1995 to 1999 in Cuba and to discuss the impact of antimicrobial resistance on the management of gonorrhea in the country., Study Design: Susceptibility of the strains to penicillin, tetracycline, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin, and azithromycin were determined by an agar dilution method., Results: Penicillin and tetracycline resistance was noted in 60.8% and 54.2%, respectively, of the N gonorrhoeae strains tested. A total of 63.35 (76/120) of the N gonorrhoeae strains exhibited plasmid-mediated resistance to penicillin, tetracycline, or both. Strains with chromosomally mediated resistance to these antibiotics accounted for 10% (12/120) of the strains. The strains were susceptible to ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, spectinomycin, and ciprofloxacin. One strain's ciprofloxacin MIC was 0.125 mircog/ml. Of the 52 strains tested, 23.1% displayed intermediate resistance to azithromycin., Conclusions: N gonorrhoeae strains exhibited a high frequency of resistance and multiresistance to penicillin and tetracycline. Therefore, these antibiotics should no longer be used to treat gonococcal infections in Cuba and should be substituted with effective drugs such as third-generation cephalosporins, spectinomycin, and fluoroquinolones. The detection of intermediate resistance to azithromycin and ciprofloxacin underlines the importance of periodic surveillance for susceptibility of N gonorrhoeae strains to antimicrobials agents used as primary therapy for gonorrhea.