Cultivation-based characterization of biliary microbiota in bile samples collected during routine endoscopic retrograde cholangiography: 10 years of experience at a tertiary center.

Introduction: Bile has long been considered sterile. Recent studies show that bacteria can frequently be detected in bile and certain bacterial species are associated with bile duct-associated liver disease.

Objectives: To detect bacterial species and antibiotic resistance in bile in bile duct-associated liver disease.

Wochenende - modular and flexible alignment-based shotgun metagenome analysis.

Background: Shotgun metagenome analysis provides a robust and verifiable method for comprehensive microbiome analysis of fungal, viral, archaeal and bacterial taxonomy, particularly with regard to visualization of read mapping location, normalization options, growth dynamics and functional gene repertoires. Current read classification tools use non-standard output formats, or do not fully show information on mapping location. As reference datasets are not perfect, portrayal of mapping information is critical for judging results effectively.

Identification of Antimotilins, Novel Inhibitors of Helicobacter pylori Flagellar Motility That Inhibit Stomach Colonization in a Mouse Model.

New treatment options against the widespread cancerogenic gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori are urgently needed. We describe a novel screening procedure for inhibitors of H. pylori flagellar biosynthesis.

Epidemiology and infection control of carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae at a German university hospital: a retrospective study of 5 years (2015-2019).

Background: Carbapenem resistant (CR) Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) and Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) are emerging multidrug resistant bacteria with very limited treatment options in case of infection. Both are well-known causes of nosocomial infections and outbreaks in healthcare facilities.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of inpatients with CR Kp and CR Ab in a 1500-bed German university hospital from 2015 to 2019.

Klebsiella oxytoca causes colonization resistance against multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae in the gut via cooperative carbohydrate competition.

Gut colonization with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria enhances the risk of bloodstream infections in susceptible individuals. We demonstrate highly variable degrees of ex vivo colonization resistance against a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain in human feces samples and subsequently isolate diverse K. oxytoca strains from protected donors.

Clinical decision making is improved by BioFire Pneumonia Plus in suspected lower respiratory tract infection after lung transplantation: Results of the prospective DBATE-IT study.

Background: Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in lung transplant (LTx) recipients. Timely and precise pathogen detection is vital to successful treatment. Multiplex PCR kits with short turnover times like the BioFire Pneumonia Plus (BFPPp) (manufactured by bioMérieux) may be a valuable addition to conventional tests.

Molecular characterization and improved diagnostics of strains isolated over the last two decades at a German tertiary care center.

Nocardiosis is a rare but life-threatening infection caused by aerobic of the genus particularly affecting immunocompromised hosts. The identification of and antibiotic susceptibility testing by standard microbiological methods are incomplete and molecular techniques may improve diagnostics. We studied 39 strains isolated from 33 patients between 2000 and 2018.

Detection of Serratia marcescens in neonatal intensive care units requires a rapid and comprehensive infection control response starting with the very first case.

is a well-known and challenging pathogen in neonatal intensive care units. It is responsible for severe infections and can cause nosocomial outbreaks. We present the infection control response to a cluster which occurred in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit.

Microbiota-associated Risk Factors for Clostridioides difficile Acquisition in Hospitalized Patients: A Prospective, Multicentric Study.

Background: Asymptomatic C. difficile colonization is believed to predispose to subsequent C. difficile infection (CDI).

Prospective infection surveillance and systematic screening for vancomycin-resistant enterococci in hematologic and oncologic patients - findings of a German tertiary care center.

Introduction: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria. They can cause serious nosocomial infections, especially in immunocompromised patients.

Objectives And Methods: In this study, we aimed to determine the burden of intestinal VRE colonization and clinically relevant infection in adult hematologic and oncologic patients at a tertiary care clinic in Germany based on prospective infection surveillance and an active screening program.

BaiCD gene cluster abundance is negatively correlated with Clostridium difficile infection.

Background: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. Secondary bile acids were shown to confer resistance to colonization by C. difficile.

Nosocomial outbreaks caused by Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Results of a systematic review.

Background: Large outbreaks of infection by Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been reported. This research compares characteristics of such outbreaks.

Objectives: Determination of risk factors for the occurrence and appropriate infection control measures.

Role of hypervariable region 1 for the interplay of hepatitis C virus with entry factors and lipoproteins.

Unlabelled: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) particles associate with lipoproteins and infect cells by using at least four cell entry factors. These factors include scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), CD81, claudin 1 (CLDN1), and occludin (OCLN). Little is known about specific functions of individual host factors during HCV cell entry and viral domains that mediate interactions with these factors.

Bile acids specifically increase hepatitis C virus RNA-replication.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with high serum levels of bile acids (BAs) respond poorly to IFN therapy. BAs have been shown to increase RNA-replication of genotype 1 but not genotype 2a replicons. Since BAs modulate lipid metabolism including lipoprotein secretion and as HCV depends on lipids and lipoproteins during RNA-replication, virus production and cell entry, BAs may affect multiple steps of the HCV life cycle.

A plant-derived flavonoid inhibits entry of all HCV genotypes into human hepatocytes.

Background & Aims: Interferon-based therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are limited by side effects and incomplete response rates, particularly among transplant recipients. We screened a library of plant-derived small molecules to identify HCV inhibitors with novel mechanisms.

Methods: We isolated phenolic compounds from Marrubium peregrinum L (Lamiaceae).

Escape from a dominant HLA-B*15-restricted CD8+ T cell response against hepatitis C virus requires compensatory mutations outside the epitope.

Antiviral CD8(+) T cells are a key component of the adaptive immune system against hepatitis C virus (HCV). For the development of immune therapies, it is essential to understand how CD8(+) T cells contribute to clearance of infection and why they fail so often. A mechanism for secondary failure is mutational escape of the virus.