One way to mitigate the ongoing antimicrobial resistance crisis is to discover and develop new classes of antibiotics. As all antibiotics at some point need to either cross or just interact with the bacterial membrane, there is a need for representative models of bacterial membranes and efficient methods to characterize the interactions with novel molecules -both to generate new knowledge and to ...

Introduction: Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are the most prevalent pathogens in nosocomial infections and may serve as a reservoir of mobile genetic elements such as the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) encoding methicillin resistance. Molecular characterization of SCCmec types combined with advanced molecular typing techniques may provide essential information for ...

<p><i>Staphylococcus haemolyticus</i> is a skin commensal emerging as an opportunistic pathogen. Nosocomial isolates of <i>S. haemolyticus</i> are the most antibiotic resistant members of the coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), but information about other <i>S. haemolyticus</i> virulence factors is scarce. Bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) are one mediator of virulence by enabling secretion and ...

<p><i>Background - </i>Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection causes impairment of the gastrointestinal barrier, with substantial depletion of CD4⁺ T cells in the gut. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) restores CD4⁺ counts and may have beneficial effects on gut microbiota in adults. Little is known about effect of long-term ART on gut microbiome in HIV-infected children. We ...

Background - Gestational age (GA) and associated level of gastrointestinal tract maturation are major factors driving the initial gut microbiota composition in preterm infants. Besides, compared to term infants, premature infants often receive antibiotics to treat infections and probiotics to restore optimal gut microbiota. How GA, antibiotics, and probiotics modulate the microbiota’s core ...

<i>Objectives</i>: In 2014 probiotic supplementation (<i>Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis;</i> Infloran®) was introduced as standard of care to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in extremely preterm infants in Norway. We aimed to evaluate the influence of probiotics and antibiotic therapy on the developing gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome in ...

Efficient, simple antibacterial materials to combat implant-associated infections are much in demand. Herein, the development of polyurethanes, both cross-linked thermoset and flexible and versatile thermoplastic, suitable for “click on demand” attachment of antibacterial compounds enabled via incorporation of an alkyne-containing diol monomer in the polymer backbone, is described. By employing ...

Objectives: Chronic wounds are characterised by prolonged inflammation, low mitogenic activity, high protease/low inhibitor activity, microbiota changes and biofilm formation, combined with the aetiology of the original insult. One strategy to promote healing is to terminate the parasitism-like relationship between the biofilm-growing pathogen and host response. Antimicrobial peptide AMC-109 is a ...

<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> produces membrane-derived vesicles (MVs), which share functional properties to outer membrane vesicles. Atomic force microscopy revealed that <i>S. aureus</i>-derived MVs are associated with the bacterial surface or released into the surrounding environment depending on bacterial growth conditions. By using a comparative proteomic approach, a total of 131 and 617 proteins ...

When analysing a large cohort of <i>Staphylococcus haemolyticus</i>, using whole-genome sequencing, five human isolates (four from the skin and one from a blood culture) with aberrant phenotypic and genotypic traits were identified. They were phenotypically similar with yellow colonies, nearly identical 16S rRNA gene sequences and initially speciated as <i>S. haemolyticus</i> based on 16S rRNA gene ...