The potential role of upregulated PARP-1/RIPK1 expressions in amikacin-induced oxidative damage and nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats.

This study aimed to investigate the gene expression levels associated with nephrotoxic action of amikacin, as well as the post-treatment effect of diuretics on its nephrotoxic effects. Sixty male rats were divided equally into six groups, including the control group receiving saline intra-peritoneally (ip), and the five treated groups including therapeutic and double therapeutic dose groups, injected ip (15 and 30 mg/kg b.wt./day) respectively for seven days, and another two rat groups treated as therapeutic and double therapeutic dose groups then administered the diuretic orally for seven days and the last group received amikacin ip at a rate of 15 mg/kg/day for seven days, then given free access to water without diuretics for another seven days and was kept as a self-recovery group. Amikacin caused kidney injury, which was exacerbated by the double therapeutic dose, as evidenced by abnormal serum renal injury biomarkers, elevated renal MDA levels, inhibition of renal catalase and SOD enzyme activities, with renal degenerative and necrotic changes. Moreover, comet assays also revealed renal DNA damage. Interestingly, amikacin administration markedly elevated expression levels of the PARP-1, RIP1, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and iNOS genes as compared to the control group. However, compared to the self-recovery group, post-amikacin diuretic treatment modulates amikacin-induced altered findings and alleviates amikacin nephrotoxic effects more efficiently. Our findings suggested the potential role of PARP-1 and RIPK1 expressions that influence the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1ß and TNF-α by exaggerating oxidative stress which may contribute to the pathogenesis of amikacin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Comparative Evaluation of Five Assays for Detection of Carbapenemases with a Proposed Scheme for Their Precise Application.

The escalating problem of the dissemination of carbapenemase-producing bacteria (CPB) has gained worldwide attention. The prompt diagnosis of CPB and precise identification of carbapenemases are imperative to enable specific antibiotic therapy and control the spread of these bacteria. The present study was designed to assess the performance of five important assays for the detection of carbapenemases. The modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM), CARBA-5, GeneXpert Carba-R, BD MAX Check-Points CPO, and GeneFields CPE assays were evaluated with an international collection of 159 bacterial isolates, including 93 CPB and 66 non-CPB isolates. The overall accuracy/sensitivity/specificity for carbapenemase detection were 100% (95% CI, 97.7%-100%)/100% (95% CI, 96.1%-100%)/100% (95% CI, 94.6%-100%) for mCIM, 98.7% (95% CI, 95.5%-99.9%)/97.9% (95% CI, 92.5%-99.7%)/100% (95% CI, 94.6%-100%) for CARBA-5, 96.9% (95% CI, 92.8%-99%)/95.7% (95% CI, 89.4%-98.8%)/98.5% (95% CI, 91.8%-99.9%) for GeneXpert Carba-R, 94.3% (95% CI, 89.5%-97.4%)/90.3% (95% CI, 82.4%-95.5%)/100% (95% CI, 94.6%-100%) for BD MAX Check-Points CPO, and 86.2% (95% CI, 79.8%-91.1%)/77.4% (95% CI, 67.6%-85.5%)/98.5% (95% CI, 91.8%-100%) for GeneFields CPE. Interestingly, mCIM and CARBA-5 assays showed 100% accuracy/sensitivity/specificity for detection of the target genes. Furthermore, all the other assays showed comparable high accuracy (96.9% to 100%), sensitivity (100%), and specificity (96.4% to 100%) for the detection of the target genes. On the basis of these results, a new scheme was proposed for their efficient application. These results confirmed the high sensitivity of the evaluated assays, and the proposed scheme is reliable and improves the overall sensitivity and specificity of the assays.

The anticoccidial activity of the fluoroquinolone lomefloxacin against experimental Eimeria tenella infection in broiler chickens.

Coccidiosis is a crucial parasitic disease of the poultry industry. As a result of the enormous global economic losses and the increased resistance to the conventional anticoccidial agents, there is a continuous need to find new anticoccidials. Here, the anticoccidial effect of the fluoroquinolone lomefloxacin versus diclazuril in experimentally infected broilers was tested for the treatment of Eimeria tenella infection. Ninety 14-day-old Cobb strain broiler chickens were allocated into five groups, each with 18 chicks. Group 1 (G1) was separated as an uninfected negative control and received no treatment; group 2 (G2), infected untreated (positive control); group 3 (G3), infected and treated with lomefloxacin at a dose rate of 100 ppm in drinking water; group 4 (G4), infected and treated with diclazuril at a dose rate of 2.5 ppm in drinking water; group 5 (G5), infected and treated with lomefloxacin at a dose rate of 100 ppm plus diclazuril at dose rate of 2.5 ppm in drinking water. Clinical signs, mortality rates, number of oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG), growth performance parameters (weight gain: WG and feed conversion ratio: FCR), lesion scoring, haematological and serum biochemical analyses, antioxidant biomarkers and histopathologic inspection of the caeca were used as evaluation criteria for the anticoccidial efficacy of both lomefloxacin and diclazuril. The findings herein showed that administration of lomefloxacin and/or diclazuril improved growth performance parameters (WG, FCR) and significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced OPG, and diminished the severity of bloody diarrhoea and mortalities. Additionally, haematological indices and serum biochemical parameters such as ALT, AST, ALP, creatinine, uric acid, total proteins, albumin and globulin were improved. Finally, a significant elevation in the levels of the antioxidant biomarkers was observed in the chicks of G3, G4 and G5 as compared with those of G2.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in milk and dairy products in Egypt.

Food contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) represents a hazardous public health problem worldwide. Therefore, the present study was performed to elucidate the virulent and antimicrobial resistance characteristics of STEC isolated from milk and dairy products marketed in Egypt. A total of 125 samples (raw market milk, bulk tank milk, Kareish cheese, white soft cheese, and small scale-produced ice cream, 25 each) were collected for determination the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiling of STEC. Thirty-six STEC isolates were recovered from milk and dairy products. Serological analysis illustrated that three isolates were E. coli O157:H7 and 33 isolates belonged to different serotypes. Molecular examination indicated that all isolates harboured stx1 and/or stx2 genes, 14 isolates expressed eaeA gene and 3 isolates possessed rfbE gene. Antimicrobial resistance profiling of the isolates was both phenotypically and genetically examined. Interestingly, 31 out of 36 (86.11%) isolates were multidrug-resistant and harboured the extended-spectrum ß-lactamase encoding genes, namely, blaCTX-M-15, blaSHV-12 and blaCTX-M-14. Moreover, 12 isolates (33.33%) harboured plasmid-mediated quinolone resistant gene, qnrS. The overall conclusion of the current investigation indicated insufficient hygienic measures adopted during milking, handling, and processing leading to development of pathogenic and multidrug-resistant STEC.