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Lee OYC, Wu HHT, Besra GS, Minnikin DE, Jaeger HY, Maixner F, Zink A, Gasparik M, Pap I, Bereczki Z, Pálfi G. Sensitive lipid biomarker detection for tuberculosis in late Neanderthal skeletons from Subalyuk Cave, Hungary. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102420. [PMID: 38012927 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Skeletal remains of two Neanderthal individuals, a 25-35 year-old woman and a 3-4 year-old child, were discovered in a Subalyuk Cave in North-Eastern Hungary. Radiocarbon dating of the female and child remains revealed an age of 39,732-39,076 and 36,117-35,387 cal BP, respectively. Paleopathological studies of these Neanderthal remains revealed probable evidence of skeletal mycobacterial infection, including in the sacrum of the adult specimen and the endocranial surface of the child's skull. Application of PCR amplification to the juvenile cranium and a vertebra gave a positive result (IS6110) for tuberculosis, backed up by spoligotyping. Lipid biomarker analyses of the same two specimens revealed definitive signals for C32 mycoserosates, a very characteristic component of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). A vertebra from the adult provided weak evidence for mycocerosate biomarkers. The correlation of probable skeletal lesions with characteristic amplified DNA fragments and a proven lipid biomarker points to the presence of tuberculosis in these Neanderthals. In particular, the closely similar biomarker profiles, for two distinct juvenile cranial and vertebral bones, strengthen this diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oona Y-C Lee
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Houdini H T Wu
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Gurdyal S Besra
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK.
| | - David E Minnikin
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK
| | - Heidi Y Jaeger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Mihály Gasparik
- Department of Palaeontology and Geology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - Zsolt Bereczki
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Szeged, Hungary
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Váradi OA, Marcsik A, Masson M, Molnár E, Pap I, Spekker O, Szekeres A, Pálfi G. In gratitude for the collaborative partnership with David E. Minnikin. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102364. [PMID: 38012937 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Anna Váradi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Antónia Marcsik
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Muriel Masson
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Erika Molnár
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Ludovika Tér 2-6, H-1083, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Olga Spekker
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Ancient and Modern Human Genomics Competence Centre, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum Körút 4/B, H-1088, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - András Szekeres
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
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Lee OYC, Wu HHT, Besra GS. Professor David Minnikin Memorial Lecture: An era of the mycobacterial cell wall lipid biomarkers. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102415. [PMID: 38012929 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor David Ernest Minnikin (1939-2021). David was one of the key scientists who pioneered the field of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell envelope research for over half a century. From the classification, identification, and extraction of the unusual lipids of the mycobacterial cell wall, to exploiting them as characteristic lipid biomarkers for sensitive detection, his ideas enlightened a whole world of possibilities within the tuberculosis (TB) field. In addition, his definition of the intricate models now forms a key milestone in our understanding of the M. tuberculosis cell envelope and has resolved many unanswered questions on the evolution of M. tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oona Y-C Lee
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Coventry Road Medical Centre, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 0UG, United Kingdom
| | - Houdini H T Wu
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Coventry Road Medical Centre, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 0UG, United Kingdom; UK Health Security Agency, Public Health Laboratory, Birmingham, B5 9SS, United Kingdom
| | - Gurdyal S Besra
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
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Zink A, Maixner F, Jäger HY, Szikossy I, Pálfi G, Pap I. Tuberculosis in mummies - New findings, perspectives and limitations. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2023; 143S:102371. [PMID: 38012931 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2023.102371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The molecular analysis of ancient pathogen DNA represents a unique opportunity for the study of infectious diseases in ancient human remains. Among other diseases, paleogenetic studies have been successful in detecting tuberculous DNA in ancient human remains. In the beginning of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, the presence of tuberculosis (TB) DNA was assessed using a PCR-based assay targeting specific regions of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex, such as the repetitive element IS6110. The advent of high-throughput sequencing has enabled the reconstruction of full ancient TB genomes in the field of paleomicrobiology. However, despite the numerous paleopathological and PCR-based studies on the presence of tuberculosis in historic human remains, full genome wide reconstructions are still limited to well-preserved specimens with low environmental contamination and connected with extensive screening efforts. This has led to some controversies regarding the evolutionary history of its causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this context, mummies have been shown to be a good source for the detection of MTB complex DNA due to a low exposure to environmental influences and the overall good state of preservation of hard and soft tissues in the human remains. Here, we present the major findings on the presence of TB infections in the 18th century naturally mummified human remains from Vác, Hungary and the current status of the detection of MTB complex DNA in mummified human remains. The future perspectives of detecting tuberculosis in mummies will be discussed in the light of methodological aspects, as well as ethical and curational challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy
| | | | - Ildikó Szikossy
- Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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Wood PL, Erol E. Construction of a Bacterial Lipidomics Analytical Platform: Pilot Validation with Bovine Paratuberculosis Serum. Metabolites 2023; 13:809. [PMID: 37512516 PMCID: PMC10383236 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13070809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Lipidomics analyses of bacteria offer the potential to detect and monitor infections in a host since many bacterial lipids are not present in mammals. To evaluate this omics approach, we first built a database of bacterial lipids for representative Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Our lipidomics analysis of the reference bacteria involved high-resolution mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization with less than a 1.0 ppm mass error. The lipidomics profiles of bacterial cultures clearly distinguished between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In the case of bovine paratuberculosis (PTB) serum, we monitored two unique bacterial lipids that we also monitored in Mycobacterium avian subspecies PTB. These were PDIM-B C82, a phthiodiolone dimycocerosate, and the trehalose monomycolate hTMM 28:1, constituents of the bacterial cell envelope in mycolic-containing bacteria. The next step will be to determine if lipidomics can detect subclinical PTB infections which can last 2-to-4 years in bovine PTB. Our data further suggest that it will be worthwhile to continue building our bacterial lipidomics database and investigate the further utility of this approach in other infections of veterinary and human clinical interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul L Wood
- Metabolomics Unit, College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, 6965 Cumberland Gap Pkwy, Harrogate, TN 37752, USA
| | - Erdal Erol
- Department of Veterinary Science, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA
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Jäger HY, Maixner F, Pap I, Szikossy I, Pálfi G, Zink AR. Metagenomic analysis reveals mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a 18th century Hungarian midwife. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2022; 137:102181. [PMID: 35210171 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2022.102181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The Vác Mummy Collection comprises 265 well documented mummified individuals from the late 16th to the early 18th century that were discovered in 1994 inside a crypt in Vác, Hungary. This collection offers a unique opportunity to study the relationship between humans and pathogens in the pre-antibiotic era, as previous studies have shown a high proportion of tuberculosis (TB) infections among the individuals. In this study, we recovered ancient DNA with shotgun sequencing from a rib bone sample of a 18th century midwife. This individual is part of the collection and shows clear skeletal changes that are associated with tuberculosis and syphilis. To provide molecular proof, we applied a metagenomic approach to screen for ancient pathogen DNA. While we were unsuccessful to recover any ancient Treponema pallidum DNA, we retrieved high coverage ancient TB DNA and identified a mixed infection with two distinct TB strains by detailed single-nucleotide polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis. Thereby, we have obtained comprehensive results demonstrating the long-time prevalence of mixed infections with the sublineages L4.1.2.1/Haarlem and L4.10/PGG3 within the local community in preindustrial Hungary and put them in context of sociohistorical factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Y Jäger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Ildikó Pap
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1083, Budapest, Ludovika tér 2-6, Hungary; Department of Biological Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Science, 1117, Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, Hungary.
| | - Ildikó Szikossy
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary; Department of Anthropology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, 1083, Budapest, Ludovika tér 2-6, Hungary.
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6726, Szeged, Közép Fasor 52, Hungary.
| | - Albert R Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso, 1, 39100, Bolzano, Italy.
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Spekker O, Váradi OA, Szekeres A, Jäger HY, Zink A, Berner M, Pany-Kucera D, Strondl L, Klostermann P, Samu L, Király K, Bereczki Z, Molnár E, Pálfi G, Tihanyi B. A rare case of calvarial tuberculosis from the Avar Age (8th century CE) cemetery of Kaba-Bitózug (Hajdú-Bihar county, Hungary) - Pathogenesis and differential diagnostic aspects. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2022; 135:102226. [PMID: 35759869 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2022.102226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The aim of our paper is to present and discuss in detail the bony changes indicative of tuberculosis (TB) that were identified in a skeleton (KB67), unearthed from grave 67 of the 8th-century-CE cemetery of Kaba-Bitózug (Hungary). Furthermore, to provide the differential diagnoses of the observed alterations, with special attention to the cranial osteolytic lesions. During the macro- and micromorphological examinations of KB67, the skull revealed three small, well-circumscribed, punched-out osteolytic lesions accompanied by endocranial granular impressions, abnormal blood vessel impressions, periosteal appositions, and cortical erosion. The postcranial skeleton exhibited osteolytic lesions, cortical remodelling and erosion, and signs of hypervascularisation in the spine. Based on the differential diagnosis of the cranial osteolytic lesions and their co-occurrence with endocranial and vertebral bony changes indicative of TB, they most likely resulted from tuberculous involvement of the frontal and left parietal bones. The morphologically established diagnosis was confirmed by a PCR analysis that provided evidence for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in KB67. KB67, the first reported archaeological case with calvarial TB from the present-day territory of Hungary, gives us a unique insight into the occurrence of a rare manifestation of TB in the Avar Age of the Great Plain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Spekker
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum körút 4/B, H-1088, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Orsolya Anna Váradi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Archaeogenetics, Institute of Hungarian Research, Úri utca 54-56, H-1014, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - András Szekeres
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Heidi Yoko Jäger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, I-39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, I-39100, Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Margit Berner
- Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Doris Pany-Kucera
- Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Liesa Strondl
- Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Paul Klostermann
- Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Levente Samu
- Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum körút 4/B, H-1088, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Kitty Király
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Zsolt Bereczki
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Erika Molnár
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - György Pálfi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary.
| | - Balázs Tihanyi
- Department of Biological Anthropology, Institute of Biology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726, Szeged, Hungary; Department of Archaeogenetics, Institute of Hungarian Research, Úri utca 54-56, H-1014, Budapest, Hungary.
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