Staphylococcus simulans endocarditis of native aortic and mitral valves. Case report and literature review

Bioprospecting the Skin Microbiome: Advances in Therapeutics and Personal Care Products

Bioprospecting is the discovery and exploration of biological diversity found within organisms, genetic elements or produced compounds with prospective commercial or therapeutic applications. The human skin is an ecological niche which harbours a rich and compositional diversity microbiome stemming from the multifactorial interactions between the host and microbiota facilitated by exploitable effector compounds. Advances in the understanding of microbial colonisation mechanisms alongside species and strain interactions have revealed a novel chemical and biological understanding which displays applicative potential. Studies elucidating the organismal interfaces and concomitant understanding of the central processes of skin biology have begun to unravel a potential wealth of molecules which can exploited for their proposed functions. A variety of skin-microbiome-derived compounds display prospective therapeutic applications, ranging from antioncogenic agents relevant in skin cancer therapy to treatment strategies for antimicrobial-resistant bacterial and fungal infections. Considerable opportunities have emerged for the translation to personal care products, such as topical agents to mitigate various skin conditions such as acne and eczema. Adjacent compound developments have focused on cosmetic applications such as reducing skin ageing and its associated changes to skin properties and the microbiome. The skin microbiome contains a wealth of prospective compounds with therapeutic and commercial applications; however, considerable work is required for the translation of in vitro findings to relevant in vivo models to ensure translatability.

Increasing clinical impact and microbiological difficulties in diagnosing coagulase-negative staphylococci in infective endocarditis - a review starting from a series of cases

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are an emergent aetiology of infective endocarditis (IE) on native valves in previously healthy individuals, its presence is associated with prosthetic valves or with other cardiac implants. The identification of CoNS in cultures was customarily seen as contamination, but more recent epidemiological studies have revealed an increasing number of causative and virulent new CoNS species. Starting from two clinical cases of community-acquired CoNS IE on native valves, the review debates the difficulties in identifying CoNS as the causal pathogens, comprising differentiation of contamination from infection in IE, alongside the challenges raised by antibiotic resistance. Even if the risk of CoNS IE is more increased in subjects with prosthetic materials or other foreign devices and immunodeficiencies, native valve infections with these staphylococci are increasing and should be considered important pathogens in IE. Despite the lack of sensitive and specific tools to correctly differentiate contamination from infection in CoNS endocarditis, a comprehensive evaluation with clinical and paraclinical data accurately succeeds in establishing the diagnosis. The genetic profile of CoNS predisposes to antibiotic multi-resistance, making the treatment of IE challenging; the rapid identification of antibiotic susceptibility is essential to prescribe the appropriate therapy and improve outcomes.