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Community-acquired pneumonia may present with similar clinical symptoms, regardless of viral or bacterial cause. Diagnostic assays are needed to rapidly discriminate between causes, because this will guide decisions on appropriate treatment. Therefore, a quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay with duplex reactions targeting eight bacteria and six viruses was developed. Technical performance was examined with linear plasmids. Upper and Lower respiratory tract specimens were used to compare the qPCR assay with standard microbiological methods. The limit of detection was 5 to 20 DNA template copies with approximately 1000-fold differences in concentrations of the two competing templates. SDs for positive controls were <5%. The use of the qPCR assay resulted in 113 positive identifications in 94 respiratory specimens compared with 38 by using standard diagnostics. Diagnostic accuracy of the qPCR assay varied between 60% positive agreement with standard tests for Streptococcus pneumoniae and 100% for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Staphylococcus aureus. Negative percentage of agreement was >95% for M. pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza A virus; whereas it was only 56% for Haemophilus influenzae. Multiple microbial agents were identified in 19 of 44 sputum and 19 of 50 nasopharynx specimens. We conclude that in parallel qPCR detection of the targeted respiratory bacteria and viruses is feasible. The results indicate good technical performance of the assay in clinical specimens.

Enzymatically released cells from neonatal mouse calvarial bones are frequently used as primary mouse osteoblasts for in vitro studies. We, here, report that although these cells lack mRNA expression of the osteoclastic genes Calcr, Acp5 and Mmp-9 at early time points after their isolation, these transcripts are gradually upregulated when the calvarial osteoblast cultures are differentiated to more mature osteoblasts in long term cultures. Similarly, Calcr, Acp5, Mmp-9, as well as Rank and Nfatc1 mRNA expressions are robustly increased when the osteoblast cultures were induced to differentiate by treatment with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2). The increased Calcr mRNA resulted in functionally active calcitonin receptors. Enhanced osteoblastic differentiation was associated with increased Rankl mRNA expression and decreased Opg and Cfs1 mRNA expression. Treatment of the osteoblastic cells with BMP-2 or RANKL, either on plastic dishes or bone slices, resulted in the formation of multinucleated tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positive cells, which were able to excavate resorption pits and release CTX from the bones. In contrast, increased osteoblastic differentiation induced by BMP-2 in the mouse calvarial osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 was not associated with increased mRNA expression of Calcr, Acp5, Rank, c-Fms or Oscar. Interestingly, Ctsk mRNA was increased during osteoblastic differentiation in both mouse calvarial osteoblast cultures and in MC3T3-E1 cultures. Also osteoblasts isolated from mouse long bones by outgrowth from explant cultures were contaminated with osteoclast progenitors able to differentiate into bone resorbing osteoclasts. These data indicate that mouse calvarial osteoblast cultures contain osteoclast progenitor cells, which will be differentiated along the osteoclastic lineage during osteoblastic differentiation. Moreover, the data show that BMP-2 not only stimulates osteoblastic differentiation but can also induce osteoclastogenesis through increased RANKL.

Calcitonin receptor-stimulating peptide (CRSP) and intermedin (IMD) are two recently discovered peptides in the calcitonin (CT) family of peptides. CRSP and IMD, similar to CT, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and amylin (AMY), but in contrast to adrenomedullin (ADM), inhibited bone resorption in mouse calvarial bones. CRSP and IMD, similar to CT, CGRP, AMY, but in contrast to ADM, decreased formation of osteoclasts and number of pits in bone marrow macrophage cultures stimulated by M-CSF and RANKL, with no effect on the expression of a number of genes associated with osteoclast progenitor cell differentiation. CRSP and IMD inhibited osteoclastogenesis at a late stage but had no effect on DC-STAMP mRNA. IMD, similar to CGRP, AMY and ADM stimulated cyclic AMP formation in M-CSF expanded osteoclast progenitor cells lacking CT receptors. RANKL induced CT receptors and a cyclic AMP response also to CT and CRSP, and increased the cyclic AMP response to CGRP, AMY and IMD but decreased the response to ADM. Our data demonstrate that CRSP and IMD share several functional properties of peptides in the CT family of peptides, including inhibition of bone resorption and osteoclast formation. The data also show that the reason why ADM does not inhibit osteoclast activity or formation is related to the fact that RANKL decreases ADM receptor signalling through the adenylate cyclase-cyclic AMP pathway. Finally, the findings indicate that activation by CGRP, AMY and IMD may include activation of both CT and CT receptor-like receptors. J. Cell. Biochem. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

With focus on environmental dissemination of antibiotic resistance among clinically relevant bacteria, such as the rising ESBL type of resistance among Escherichia coli, we investigated antibiotic resistance levels in wild birds in the Commander Islands and Kamchatka, Russia. Despite overall low resistance levels in randomly selected E. coli (one from each sample), we found multi-resistant ESBL-producing E. coli harbouring bla(CTX-M-14) and bla(CTX-M-15) using selective screening. Among these multi-resistant ESBL-producing E. coli we found one bla(CTX-M-15) harbouring strain belonging to the O25b-ST131 clone, recognized for its clonal disseminated worldwide as a human pathogen. The potential in acquiring resistant bacteria of human origin, especially highly pathogenic clones, as well as downstream consequences of that, should not be underestimated but further investigated.

Extended Spectrum beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae started to appear in the 1980s, and have since emerged as some of the most significant hospital-acquired infections with Escherichia coli and Klebsiella being main players. More than 100 different ESBL types have been described, the most widespread being the CTX-M beta-lactamase enzymes (bla(CTX-M) genes). This study focuses on the zoonotic dissemination of ESBL bacteria, mainly CTX-M type, in the southern coastal region of France. We found that the level of general antibiotic resistance in single randomly selected E. coli isolates from wild Yellow-legged Gulls in France was high. Nearly half the isolates (47.1%) carried resistance to one or more antibiotics (in a panel of six antibiotics), and resistance to tetracycline, ampicillin and streptomycin was most widespread. In an ESBL selective screen, 9.4% of the gulls carried ESBL producing bacteria and notably, 6% of the gulls carried bacteria harboring CTX-M-1 group of ESBL enzymes, a recently introduced and yet the most common clinical CTX-M group in France. Multi locus sequence type and phylogenetic group designations were established for the ESBL isolates, revealing that birds and humans share E. coli populations. Several ESBL producing E. coli isolated from birds were identical to or clustered with isolates with human origin. Hence, wild birds pick up E. coli of human origin, and with human resistance traits, and may accordingly also act as an environmental reservoir and melting pot of bacterial resistance with a potential to re-infect human populations.

Whether vitamin A promotes skeletal fragility, has no effect on fracture rate, or protects against bone loss is unclear. In the present study, effects of retinoids on osteoclast differentiation in cultured mouse bone marrow cells (BMCs), bone marrow macrophages (BMMs), spleen cells, and RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by analyzing osteoclast formation and expression of genes important in signal transduction and osteoclast function. All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) did not stimulate osteoclastogenesis in BMCs, but inhibited hormone and RANKL-induced gene expression and formation of osteoclasts. In BMMs, spleen cells, and RAW264.7 cells, osteoclast differentiation and formation stimulated by M-CSF/RANKL were inhibited (IC(50) = 0.3 nM) by ATRA. The effect was exerted at an early step of RANKL-induced differentiation. ATRA also abolished increases of the transcription factors c-Fos and NFAT2 stimulated by RANKL and suppressed down-regulation of the antiosteoclastogenic transcription factor MafB. By comparing effects of several compounds structurally related to ATRA, as well as by using receptor antagonists, evaluation pointed to inhibition being mediated by RARalpha, with no involvement of PPARbeta/delta. The results suggest that activation of RARalpha by retinoids in myeloid hematopoietic precursor cells decreases osteoclast formation by altering expression of the transcription factors c-Fos, NFAT2, and MafB.

The effects of calcitonin (CT) on osteoclast formation and gene expression have been studied in cultured mouse spleen cells and mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMMs). CT inhibited the formation of multinucleated osteoclasts and resorption pits in spleen cell cultures and BMM as well as in CD115(+) CD3(-) CD45R(-)sorted BMM cultures, incubated in the presence of macrophage colony-stimulating factor and receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL). No effect on apoptosis by CT was observed. CT did not affect the mRNA expressions of RANK and c-Fms, or the mRNA expressions of a wide variety of transcription factors and genes important for osteoclast differentiation and activity. CT induced inhibition of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), positive multinucleated osteoclast formation was not associated with any decrease of total TRAP activity, resulting in a large number of TRAP(+) mononucleated cells in CT-treated cultures. CT did not affect the mRNA expression of dendritic cell-specific transmembrane protein, d2 isoform of vacuolar (H(+)) ATPase v(o) domain, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain 8 (ADAM8), ADAM12, DNAX-activating protein or Fc receptor common gamma chain suggested to be involved in fusion of mononucleated osteoclast progenitor cells. The inhibitory effect by CT was mimicked not only by compounds activating cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA) but also by a cAMP analogue activating the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) pathway. It is concluded that CT, through cAMP/PKA/Epac cascades, inhibits osteoclast formation and that this effect is not associated with decreased transcription of genes known to be important for osteoclast progenitor cell differentiation, fusion or function.