scholarly journals Group B Streptococcus serotypes Ia and V induce differential vaginal immune responses that may contribute to long term colonization of the female reproductive tract

2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma L. Sweeney ◽  
Stephanie Gardiner ◽  
Jacob Tickner ◽  
Logan Trim ◽  
Kenneth W. Beagley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Group B

scholarly journals Downregulation of Ribosomal Contents and Kinase Activities Is Associated with the Inhibitive Effect on the Growth of Group B Streptococcus Induced by Placental Extracellular Vesicles

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 664
Author(s):  
Jing Gao ◽  
Yunhui Tang ◽  
Xinyi Sun ◽  
Qiujing Chen ◽  
Yiqian Peng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Vesicles ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Resistance To Antibiotics ◽  
Cell Energy ◽  
Group B ◽  
Cellular Components

Background: Like many other cell types, the human placenta produces large amounts of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Increasing evidence has shown that placental EVs contribute to the regulation of maternal immune and vascular systems during pregnancy via the transfer of their cargos. In this study, we investigated the effect of placental EVs on the growth of opportunistic pathogens that commonly colonise the female reproductive tract. Methods: Gram-positive bacterium Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) were treated with placental EVs that were collected from placental explant cultures, and the growth, susceptibility, and resistance to antibiotics of the bacteria were measured. In addition, comparative proteomics analysis was also performed for the GBS with or without exposure to placental EVs. Results: When treated with placental micro-EVs or nano-EVs, the GBS growth curve entered the stationary phase earlier, compared to untreated GBS. Treatment with placental EVs also inhibited the growth of GBS on solid medium, compared to untreated GBS. However, these biological activities were not seen in E. coli. This attenuative effect required interaction of placental EVs with GBS but not phagocytosis. In addition, the susceptibility or resistance to antibiotics of GBS or E. coli was not directly affected by treatment with placental EVs. The proteomic and Western blotting analysis of GBS that had been treated with placental EVs suggested that the downregulation of cellular components and proteins associated with phosphorylation and cell energy in GBS may contribute to these attenuative effects. Conclusion: We demonstrated the attenuative effect of the growth of GBS treated with placental EVs. Downregulation of cellular components and proteins associated with phosphorylation and cell energy may contribute to the physiological changes in GBS treated with placental EVs.

A bait-delivered immunocontraceptive vaccine for the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes) by the year 2002?

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Bradley ◽  
Lyn A. Hinds ◽  
Peter H. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Oral Delivery ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Vaccine Delivery ◽  
Mucosal Immune Response ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Mucosal Antibody ◽  
Sperm Antigens ◽  
Immunocontraceptive Vaccine

An orally-delivered immunocontraceptive vaccine is being developed for the control of fox populations. A number of genes (PH-20, LDH-C4, ZP3) encoding gamete proteins have been cloned, produced in recombinant expression systems and used in fertility trials to test the efficacy of these antigens. As the immunocontraceptive vaccine will be delivered in a bait, there is a requirement for a greater understanding of the immune responses of the reproductive mucosa in canids, and the assessment of the best vaccine delivery system that will evoke a mucosal antibody response. Several vaccine delivery systems including microencapsulated antigens, and both vaccinia virus and bacterial vectors are being investigated. Oral administration of Salmonella typhimurium recombinants expressing different fox sperm antigens stimulates both systemic IgG responses to the antigen and a mucosal immune response within the female reproductive tract in the fox, indicating that salmonella may have potential with respect to the oral delivery of antigen. The enhancement of mucosal immune responses to orally-delivered vaccines is also being examined, research focussing on the possible use of fox-specific cytokines or the β-subunit of cholera toxin in forming part of the vaccine construct.

scholarly journals GBS type III oligosaccharides containing a minimal protective epitope can be turned into effective vaccines by multivalent presentation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Carboni ◽  
F Angiolini ◽  
M Fabbrini ◽  
B Brogioni ◽  
A Corrado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Native Structure ◽  
Protective Response ◽  
Type Iii ◽  
Protective Epitope ◽  
Glycoconjugate Vaccines ◽  
Synthetic Oligosaccharides ◽  
Group B

Abstract Recent structural studies demonstrated that the epitope recognized by a monoclonal antibody representative of the protective response against the type III Group B Streptococcus polysaccharide was comprised within two of the repeating units that constitute the full-length native structure. Here we took advantage of this discovery to design a novel vaccine based on multivalent presentation of the identified minimal epitope on a carrier protein. We show that highly glycosylated short oligosaccharide conjugates elicit functional immune responses comparable to the full-length native polysaccharide. The obtained results pave the way to the design of well-defined glycoconjugate vaccines based on short synthetic oligosaccharides.

scholarly journals Immune responses in the human female reproductive tract

Immunology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Monin ◽  
Emily M. Whettlock ◽  
Victoria Male
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Human Female

scholarly journals Measles-based Zika vaccine induces long-term immunity and requires NS1 antibodies to protect the female reproductive tract.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Schnell ◽  
Drishya Kurup ◽  
Christoph Wirblich
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Viral Clearance ◽  
Measles Vaccine ◽  
Fetal Protection ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Asian Strain ◽  
African Strain ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) can cause devastating effects in the unborn fetus of pregnant women. To develop a candidate vaccine that can protect human fetuses, we generated a panel of live measles vaccine (MV) vectors expressing ZIKV-E and -NS1. Our MV-based ZIKV-E vaccine, MV-E2, protected mice from the non-lethal Zika Asian strain (PRVABC59) and the lethal African strain (MR766) challenge. Despite 100% survival of the MV-E2 mice, however, complete viral clearance was not achieved in the brain and reproductive tract of the lethally challenged mice. We then tested a combination of two MV-based vaccines, the MV-E2 and a vaccine expressing NS1 (MV-NS1[2]), and we observed durable plasma cell responses, complete clearance of ZIKV from the female reproductive tract, and complete fetal protection in the lethal African challenge model. Our findings suggest that NS1 antibodies are required to enhance the protection achieved by ZIKV-E antibodies in the female reproductive tract.

scholarly journals Patient-derived endometrial organoids from MRKH patients: Insight in disease causing pathways

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Y. Brucker ◽  
Thomas Hentrich ◽  
Julia M. Schulze-Hentrich ◽  
Martin Pietzsch ◽  
Noel Wajngarten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Ovarian Function ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Mrkh Syndrome ◽  
Powerful Research Tool ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Organoid Cultures ◽  
Holding Back

The uterus is responsible for the nourishment and mechanical protection of the developing embryo and fetus and is an essential part in mammalian reproduction. The Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuester-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is characterized by agenesis of the uterus and upper part of the vagina in females with normal ovarian function. Although heavily studied, the cause of the disease is still enigmatic. Current research in the field of MRKH mainly focusses on DNA-sequencing efforts and, so far, failed to decipher the nature and heterogeneity of the disease, thereby holding back scientific and clinical progress. Here, we developed long-term expandable organoid cultures from endometrium found in uterine rudiment horns of MRKH patients. Phenotypically, they share great similarity with healthy control organoids and are surprisingly fully hormone responsive. Transcriptome analyses, however, identified an array of dysregulated genes that point at potentially disease-causing pathways altered during the development of the female reproductive tract. We consider the endometrial organoid cultures to be a powerful research tool that promise to enable an array of studies into the pathogenic origins of MRKH syndrome and possible treatment opportunities to improve patient quality of life.

Long-Term Outcome of Group B Streptococcal Meningitis

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen R. Wald ◽  
Ira Bergman ◽  
H. Gerry Taylor ◽  
Darleen Chiponis ◽  
Carol Porter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Neurologic Sequelae ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Streptococcal Meningitis ◽  
Group B ◽  
Lost To Follow Up

Group B Streptococcus is a common cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the neurologic, psychologic, and academic status of children who had group B streptococcal meningitis and to compare these children with their siblings. Seventy-four children who acquired group B streptococcal meningitis between one day and 6 months of life formed the study population. Survivors were 3 to 18 years. old at the time of their follow-up evaluations. Twenty children (27%) died, two were institutionalized, one severely affected child died at age 2 years, 15 were assessed by phone interview, and two were lost to follow-up. Thirty-four children and 21 siblings were comprehensively evaluated with physical and neurologic examinations, hearing tests, and tests of intellectual, perceptual-motor, and behavioral-adaptive functions. Of the total population, nine children (12%) had major neurologic sequelae (spastic quadraplegia, profound mental retardation, hemiparesis, deafness, or blindness). Six children had acute hydrocephalus; two were doing well after shunt placement. In general, those children surviving group B streptococcal meningitis without major sequelae appeared to be functioning normally or comparably to their sibling in intellectual, social, and academic matters.

Mechanisms of epigenetic remodelling during preimplantation development

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Juan Ross ◽  
Sebastian Canovas
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Preimplantation Embryos ◽  
Epigenetic Information ◽  
Health And Disease

Epigenetics involves mechanisms independent of modifications in the DNA sequence that result in changes in gene expression and are maintained through cell divisions. Because all cells in the organism contain the same genetic blueprint, epigenetics allows for cells to assume different phenotypes and maintain them upon cell replication. As such, during the life cycle, there are moments in which the epigenetic information needs to be reset for the initiation of a new organism. In mammals, the resetting of epigenetic marks occurs at two different moments, which both happen to be during gestation, and include primordial germ cells (PGCs) and early preimplantation embryos. Because epigenetic information is reversible and sensitive to environmental changes, it is probably no coincidence that both these extensive periods of epigenetic remodelling happen in the female reproductive tract, under a finely controlled maternal environment. It is becoming evident that perturbations during the extensive epigenetic remodelling in PGCs and embryos can lead to permanent and inheritable changes to the epigenome that can result in long-term changes to the offspring derived from them, as indicated by the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis and recent demonstration of inter- and trans-generational epigenetic alterations. In this context, an understanding of the mechanisms of epigenetic remodelling during early embryo development is important to assess the potential for gametic epigenetic mutations to contribute to the offspring and for new epimutations to be established during embryo manipulations that could affect a large number of cells in the offspring. It is of particular interest to understand whether and how epigenetic information can be passed on from the gametes to the embryo or offspring, and whether abnormalities in this process could lead to transgenerationally inheritable phenotypes. The aim of this review is to highlight recent progress made in understanding the nature and mechanisms of epigenetic remodelling that ensue after fertilisation.

scholarly journals The antimicrobial activity of zinc against group B Streptococcus is strain-dependent across diverse sequence types, capsular serotypes, and invasive versus colonizing isolates

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamisha D. Francis ◽  
Miriam A. Guevara ◽  
Jacky Lu ◽  
Shabir A. Madhi ◽  
Gaurav Kwatra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Antimicrobial Properties ◽  
Zinc Toxicity ◽  
Capsular Type ◽  
Zinc Stress ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Invasive Infections ◽  
Group B ◽  
Sequence Types

Abstract Background Streptococcus agalactiae or Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an encapsulated gram-positive bacterial pathobiont that commonly colonizes the lower gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract of human hosts. This bacterium can infect the gravid reproductive tract and cause invasive infections of pregnant patients and neonates. Upon colonizing the reproductive tract, the bacterial cell is presented with numerous nutritional challenges imposed by the host. One strategy employed by the host innate immune system is intoxication of bacterial invaders with certain transition metals such as zinc. Methodology Previous work has demonstrated that GBS must employ elegant strategies to circumnavigate zinc stress in order to survive in the vertebrate host. We assessed 30 strains of GBS from diverse isolation sources, capsular serotypes, and sequence types for susceptibility or resistance to zinc intoxication. Results Invasive strains, such as those isolated from early onset disease manifestations of GBS infection were significantly less susceptible to zinc toxicity than colonizing strains isolated from rectovaginal swabs of pregnant patients. Additionally, capsular type III (cpsIII) strains and the ST-17 and ST-19 strains exhibited the greatest resilience to zinc stress, whereas ST-1 and ST-12 strains as well as those possessing capsular type Ib (cpsIb) were more sensitive to zinc intoxication. Thus, this study demonstrates that the transition metal zinc possesses antimicrobial properties against a wide range of GBS strains, with isolation source, capsular serotype, and sequence type contributing to susceptibility or resistance to zinc stress.

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