Latest Articles
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIn Silico Modeling of Biofilm Formation by Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae In VivoMultiple respiratory illnesses are associated with formation of biofilms within the human airway by NTHI. However, a substantial amount of our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie NTHI biofilm formation is obtained from in vitro studies. Our in silico model that describes biofilm formation by NTHI within the middle ears of Chinchilla lanigera...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceEnterococcus faecalis CRISPR-Cas Is a Robust Barrier to Conjugative Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination in the Murine IntestineCRISPR-Cas is a type of immune system in bacteria that is hypothesized to be a natural impediment to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we directly assessed the impact of CRISPR-Cas on antibiotic resistance dissemination in the mammalian intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed a robust effect of CRISPR-Cas on in vivo but not in vitro dissemination of antibiotic...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionTreatment of Virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV Coinfected Macrophages with Gallium Nanoparticles Inhibits Pathogen Growth and Modulates Macrophage Cytokine ProductionGaNP interrupts iron-mediated enzymatic reactions, leading to growth inhibition of virulent HIV-M. tuberculosis coinfection in macrophages, and also modulates release of cytokines that may contribute to HIV-TB pathogenesis. Macrophage-targeting GaNP are a promising therapeutic approach to provide sustained antimicrobial activity against HIV-...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and Physiology(p)ppGpp and CodY Promote Enterococcus faecalis Virulence in a Murine Model of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract InfectionCatheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are one of the most frequent types of infection found in the hospital setting that can develop into serious and potentially fatal bloodstream infections. One of the infectious agents that frequently causes complicated CAUTI is the bacterium Enterococcus faecalis, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections that...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyGenotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Antimicrobial Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: a Cross-Sectional Study of Isolates Recovered from Routine Urine Cultures in a High-Incidence SettingNeisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea, which is most commonly diagnosed using a DNA-based detection method that does not require growth and isolation of N. gonorrhoeae in the laboratory. This is problematic because the rates of antibiotic resistance in...
Observation | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyRectal Swabs from Critically Ill Patients Provide Discordant Representations of the Gut Microbiome Compared to Stool SamplesRectal swabs have been proposed as potential alternatives to stool samples for gut microbiome profiling in outpatients or healthy adults, but their reliability in assessment of critically ill patients has not been defined. Because stool sampling is not practical and often not feasible in the intensive care unit, we performed a detailed comparison of gut microbial sequencing profiles between rectal swabs and stool samples in a...
Author Reply | Host-Microbe BiologyReply to Hasenkrug et al., “Different Biological Activities of Specific Interferon Alpha Subtypes”
Letter to the Editor | Host-Microbe BiologyDifferent Biological Activities of Specific Interferon Alpha Subtypes
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: Stromal Regulation of Epithelium Containing Viral OncogenesJason Bodily works in the field of tumor virology. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how “Inactivation of Rb in stromal fibroblasts promotes epithelial cell invasion” by Adam Pickard et al. (EMBO J 31:3092–3103, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1038/emboj.2012.153) has impacted his work by making him think about the role of stromal cells in human papillomavirus infections...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyObservations of Shear Stress Effects on Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm FormationIt is well known that flow plays an important role in the formation, transportation, and dispersion of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. What was heretofore not known was that the formation of tower structures in these biofilms is strongly shear stress dependent; there is, in fact, a narrow range of shear stresses in which the phenomenon occurs. This work quantifies the...