Suchergebnisse

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of most common vaginal infections. However, its diagnosis by classical methods reveals low specificity. Our goal was to evaluate the accuracy diagnosis of 150 vaginal samples with research gold standard methods and our Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) probes by Fluorescence in situHybridization (FISH) methodology. Also, we described the first PNA-FISH methodology for BV diagnosis, which provides results in approximately 3 h. The results showed a sensitivity of 84.6% (95% confidence interval (CI), from 64.3 to 95.0%) and a specificity of 97.6% (95% CI [92.699.4%]), demonstrating the higher specificity of the PNA-FISH method and showing false positive results in BV diagnosis commonly obtained by the classical methods. This methodology combines the specificity of PNA probes for Lactobacillus species and G. vaginalis visualization and the calculation of the microscopic field by Nugent score, allowing a trustful evaluation of the bacteria present in vaginal microflora and avoiding the occurrence of misleading diagnostics. Therefore, the PNA-FISH methodology represents a valuable alternative for BV diagnosis. ; This work was supported by European Union funds (FEDER/COMPETE) and by national funds (FCT) under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008991 (PTDC/BIA-MIC/098228/2008). Antonio Machado was funded by the FCT individual fellowship SFRH/BD/62375/2009. Other fundings came from the FCT Strategic Project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, the Project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027, co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2-O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER, and the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008991 (RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012). Nuno Cerca is an Investigador FCT (Portuguese national funds). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the ...

Despite the worldwide prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV), its etiology is still unknown. Although BV has been associated with the presence of biofilm, the ability of BV-associated bacteria to form biofilms is still largely unknown. Here, we isolated 30 BV-associated species and characterized their virulence, using an in vitro biofilm formation model. Our data suggests that Gardnerella vaginalis had the highest virulence potential, as defined by higher initial adhesion and cytotoxicity of epithelial cells, as well as the greater propensity to form a biofilm. Interestingly, we also demonstrated that most of the BV-associated bacteria had a tendency to grow as biofilms. ; This work was supported by the European Union (FEDER/COMPETE funds) and the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (reference FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008991 [PTDC/BIA-MIC/098228/2008] and RECI/EBB-EBI/0179/2012 ...

Gardnerella vaginalis is the most common species found in bacterial vaginosis (BV). However, it is also present in a significant proportion of healthy women and G. vaginalis vaginal colonization does not always lead to BV. In an effort to better understand the differences between G. vaginalis isolated from women with a positive (BV) versus a negative (non-BV) diagnosis of BV, we compared the virulence potential of 7 BV and 7 non-BV G. vaginalis isolates and assessed the virulence factors related to biofilm formation, namely: initial adhesion and cytotoxic effect, biofilm accumulation, susceptibility to antibiotics, and transcript levels of the known vaginolysin, and sialidase genes. Furthermore, we also determined the ability of G. vaginalis to displace lactobacilli previously adhered to HeLa cells. Our results showed that non-BV strains were less virulent than BV strains, as suggested by the lower cytotoxicity and initial adhesion to Hela cells. Significant differences in expression of known virulence genes were also detected, further suggesting a higher virulence potential of the BV associated G. vaginalis. Importantly, we demonstrated that BV associated G. vaginalis were able to displace pre-coated vaginal protective lactobacilli and we hypothesize this to be a trigger for BV development. ; European Union funds (FEDER/COMPETE) and by national funds (FCT) under the project with reference FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008991 (PTDC/BIA-MIC/098228/2008). FCT Strategic Project of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit the project NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027, co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte(ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER, and the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462). FCT individual fellowship ...