LL-37_Renalexin hybrid peptide exhibits antimicrobial activity at lower MICs than its counterpart single peptides

An alarming global public health and economic peril has been the emergence of antibiotic resistance resulting from clinically relevant bacteria pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species constantly exhibiting intrinsic and extrinsic resistance mechanisms against last-resort antibiotics like gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, colistin, and standard ampicillin prescription in clinical practices. The discovery and applications of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antibacterial properties have been considered and proven as alternative antimicrobial agents to antibiotics. In this study, we have designed, produced, and purified a recombinant novel multifunctional hybrid antimicrobial peptide LL-37_Renalexin for the first time via the application of newly designed flexible GS peptide linker coupled with the use of our previously characterized small metal-binding proteins SmbP and CusF3H+ as carrier proteins that allow for an enhanced bacterial expression, using BL21(DE3) and SHuffle T7(DE3) Escherichia coli strains, and purification of the hybrid peptide via immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The purified tag-free LL-37_Renalexin hybrid peptide exhibited above 85% reduction in bacteria colony-forming units and broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria clinical isolates at a lower minimum inhibition concentration level (10-33 μM) as compared to its counterpart single-AMPs LL-37 and Renalexin (50-100 μM). KEY POINTS: • The hybrid antimicrobial peptide LL-37_Renalexin has been designed using a GS linker. • The peptide was expressed with the carrier proteins SmbP and CusF3H+. • The hybrid peptide shows antibacterial potency against clinical bacterial isolates.

Taenia hydatigena in goat and sheep in Ghana: a cross-sectional abattoir survey in Northern and Upper West Regions

Parasitic infections are a major setback to livestock production in Ghana but the disease situation in many localities is poorly understood. A study to determine the prevalence and distribution of Taenia hydatigena in goats and sheep was carried out in two major municipal abattoirs in Tamale and Wa. A total of 538 goats and 256 sheep were screened for cysts during a cross-sectional survey which revealed a prevalence of 22.34% and 33.96% in goats from Tamale and Wa, respectively, and 22.66% in sheep from Tamale. Infection was common in male and female, young and old animals alike. Animals considered in the study originated from various localities within Northern and Upper West Regions and T. hydatigena infection was thought to be autochthonous, depicting a wide distribution of the cestode infection in small ruminants. Our data represent the importance of T. hydatigena infection in goat and sheep production and provide a base for subsequent epidemiological studies in Ghana.

Dicrocoelium spp. in cattle from Wa, Ghana: prevalence and phylogeny based on 28S rRNA

Dicrocoeliosis is a trematode infection in cattle, sheep and goats caused by the small liver fluke, Dicrocoelium spp. Though endemic in Ghana, its disease situation is poorly understood. In the present study, the prevalence, distribution and worm load of Dicrocoelium spp. in cattle at slaughter in Wa were determined. A total of 389 cattle were screened during meat inspection for liver flukes, and polymerase chain reaction accompanied by DNA sequencing of the 28S rRNA gene was used to identify Dicrocoelium spp. Generally, prevalence of bovine dicrocoeliosis (small liver fluke) stood at 19.54 % with prevalence in males and females being 17.62 % and 21.43 %, respectively. Animals under 2 years suffered more infection than older ones (23.08 % vs. 16.80 %). Dicrocoelium infection was recorded in animals from all the communities where slaughtered cattle came from. On average, 31 flukes per infected animal were recorded. A molecular confirmatory test on seven flukes identified them as D. hospes. This preliminary study highlights the importance of bovine dicrocoeliosis in Ghana and has identified D. hospes as a causal agent. The data provides basis for further studies to appraise the trematode disease situation in animals and phylogeny of Dicrocoelium spp. circulating in Ghana.