Simonsiella filaments isolated from erosive lesions of the human oral cavity

Oral lichen planus: a microbiologist point of view

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic disease of uncertain etiology, although it is generally considered as an immune-mediated disease that affects the mucous membranes and even the skin and nails. Over the years, this disease was attributed to a variety of causes, including different types of microorganisms. This review analyzes the present state of the art of the disease, from a microbiological point of view, while considering whether or not the possibility of a microbial origin for the disease can be supported. From the evidence presented here, OLP should be considered an immunological disease, as it was initially proposed, as opposed to an illness of microbiological origin. The different microorganisms so far described as putative disease-causing agents do not fulfill Koch’s postulates; they are, actually, not the cause, but a result of the disease that provides the right circumstances for microbial colonization. This means that, at this stage, and unless new data becomes available, no microorganism can be envisaged as the causative agent of lichen planus.

Impact of saline irrigation and topical corticosteroids on the postsurgical sinonasal microbiota

BACKGROUND

Topical treatments with nasal saline irrigation, topical steroid sprays, or corticosteroid rinses can improve sinonasal symptoms in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). However, the impact of these therapies on commensals (Corynebacterium) and on biofilm pathogens associated with CRS (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas) is not well characterized.

METHODS

Paired nasal and sinus swabs were collected endoscopically from 28 controls and 14 CRS patients with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) who had not received systemic antibiotics or corticosteroids in the previous 8 weeks. Total DNA from swab eluents were extracted and analyzed by 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing. A total of 359,077 reads were obtained and classified taxonomically. The association of use of topical therapies with sinonasal microbiota composition was assessed by factor/vector-fitting. The proportional abundances of sinonasal bacteria between topical therapy users and nonusers were further compared by 2-tailed Kolmogorov-Smirnov test among controls and among CRSwNP participants.

RESULTS

Nasal saline irrigation, with or without added budesonide, was not associated with significantly distinct sinonasal microbiota composition or significantly decreased Pseudomonas or S. aureus abundances among either controls or CRSwNP participants. Corynebacterium was slightly lower in controls that reported using saline irrigation than those who did not. No significant association was found between nasal saline irrigation and the proportional abundances of Pseudomonas, S. aureus, and Corynebacterium in CRSwNP participants. However, male CRSwNP patients were noted to have significantly higher Corynebacterium proportional abundances than their female counterparts. The use of topical steroid sprays was associated with a distinct microbiota in control subjects, characterized by higher proportional abundances of Dolosigranulum and Simonsiella and a lower proportional abundance of Campylobacter.

CONCLUSION

Nasal saline irrigation is not associated with a distinct alteration in the proportional abundance of commensal bacteria or biofilm-forming pathogens in CRSwNP patients. However, use of topical intranasal corticosteroid sprays in control subjects is associated with a distinct sinonasal microbiota.

Prospective comparison of microbial culture and polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of corneal ulcer

PURPOSE

To compare polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to microbial culture for the detection and identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens in microbial keratitis.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

METHODS

A total of 108 consecutive corneal ulcers were cultured and analyzed by PCR using pan-bacterial and pan-fungal primers. PCR products were cloned, sequenced, and compared to culture results using standard bioinformatics tools.

RESULTS

Of the 108 samples, 56 were culture-positive, 25 for bacteria and 31 for fungi; 52 were culture-negative. After eliminating false-positive PCR products, 94 of 108 were positive by PCR, 37 for bacteria and 57 for fungi. Nineteen of 25 bacterial culture-positive samples were positive by PCR, and 29 of 31 samples culture-positive for fungi were positive by PCR. The majority of sequenced PCR products matched the positive culture results. Of the 52 culture-negative samples, 46 (88%) yielded pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) PCR products, 18 bacterial and 28 fungal. These represented a variety of species, including at least three novel previously uncultured microbes.

CONCLUSIONS

PCR detects microbial DNA in the majority of bacterial and fungal corneal ulcers, and identifies potentially pathogenic organisms in a high proportion of culture-negative cases. Yield and concordance with culture are higher for fungal than bacterial ulcers. Practical use of the technique is limited by artefactual amplification of nonpathogenic organisms. PCR may be used as an adjunct to culture to identify potential pathogens in microbial keratitis.

Practical cytology for inflammatory skin diseases

Cytology is the most common and immediately informative diagnostic tool in the practice of dermatology. It is simple to perform and requires equipment usually already present in most practices such as a microscope and slides, cotton-tipped applicators and stains. Cytology interpretation is also easily self taught. With little practice the practitioner can easily become familiar with sample interpretation from inflammatory lesions; including recognition of bacteria, yeast, dermatophyte spores and hyphae, deeper fungal elements and parasites. Additionally, the practitioner should become familiar with the variety of inflammatory cells seen with these conditions, as well as keratinocyte morphology. This article provides an overview and the initial steps on how to become a more proficient cytologist in practice.

Differentiation of selected members of the family Neisseriaceae (Alysiella, Eikenella, Kingella, Simonsiella and CDC groups EF-4 and M-5) by carbohydrate fingerprints and selected phenotypic features

On the basis of nucleic acid relationships, the family Neisseriaceae consists of the genera Neisseria, Kingella, Simonsiella and of Alysiella filiformis, Eikenella corrodens, and the CDC groups EF-4 and M-5. Differentiation, especially of the new members of the family, by conventional phenotypic characteristics is difficult and in some cases leads to doubtful results. On the other hand, cellular components proved to be suitable for the characterization of bacterial taxa. We investigated the cellular carbohydrates derived from whole cell hydrolysates of the above mentioned taxa with the exception of Neisseria by gas chromatography/mass-spectrometry. The analysis revealed characteristic patterns for all taxa considered, although with some species of which only few strains were investigated so far only preliminary results could be established. With the method used, the carbohydrate analysis could be completed within six hours starting from a pure culture. All strains investigated exhibited a common pattern with ribose, arabinose, glucose, and galactose. Qualitative and quantitative differences in contents of fucose, sorbose, rhamnose, threose, heptose, galactosamine and an amino sugar similar to glucosamine discriminated members of the taxa investigated. To achieve a taxonomically precise differentiation of the species investigated by conventional phenotypic features as available in commercial rapid test kits, these tests should be completed by the carbohydrate analysis technique presented.

Isolation of Simonsiella sp. from a neonate

A member of the genus Simonsiella, presumptively identified as S. muelleri, was isolated from a gastric aspirate taken from a neonate 15 min postpartum. The neonate showed a dental cyst and early eruption of teeth, confirmed by mandibular X ray. The morphological features, cultural characteristics, and antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolate are presented.