Rapid prototyping vaccine approach in mice against multi-drug resistant Gram-negative organisms from clinical isolates based on outer membrane vesicles.

Hospital-acquired infections due to multi-drug resistant Gram-negative organisms (MDRGNO) pose a major threat to global health. A vaccine preventing colonization and consecutive infection with MDRGNO could be particularly valuable, as therapeutic options become increasingly limited. Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) of Escherichia coli strain CFT073 as well as three MDRGNO strains that had caused severe infections in humans were administered intranasally to mice, with and without cholera toxin as an adjuvant. The humoral immune responses were comparatively matched with the sera of patients, who had suffered an infection caused by the respective bacterium. Additionally, systemic and local toxicity was evaluated. Intranasal vaccination with OMV could elicit solid humoral immune responses (total IgM and IgG), specific for the respective MDRGNO in mice; decoration of vital bacterial membranes with antibodies was comparable to patients who had survived systemic infection with the respective bacterial isolate. After intranasal vaccination of mice with OMV no signs of local or systemic toxicity were observed. Intranasal vaccination with OMV may open up a rapid vaccine approach to prevent colonization and/or infection with pathogenic MDRGNOs, especially in an outbreak setting within a hospital. It may also be an option for patients who have to undergo elective interventions in centers with a high risk of infection for certain common MDRGNO. Future studies need to include challenge experiments as well as phase I trials in humans.

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of CTX-M type extended-spectrum ß-lactamases among clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli in Jimma, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) have been reported in clinical isolates obtained from various hospitals in Ethiopia. However, there is no data on the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of CTX-M type ESBL produced by Gram-negative bacilli. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of the blaCTX-M genes and the susceptibility patterns in ESBL producing clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacilli in Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH), southwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A total of 224 non-duplicate and pure isolates obtained from clinically apparent infections, were included in the study. Identification of the isolates was performed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Susceptibility testing and ESBL detection was performed using VITEK® 2, according to EUCAST v4.0 guidelines. Genotypic analysis was performed using Check-MDR CT103 Microarrays. RESULTS: Of the total 112 (50.0%) isolates screen positive for ESBLs, 63.4% (71/112) tested positive for ESBL encoding genes by Check-MDR array, which corresponds to 91.8% (67/73) of the total Enterobacteriaceae and 10.3% (4/39) of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli. Among the total ESBL gene positive isolates, 95.8% (68/71) carried blaCTX-M genes with CTX-M group 1 type15 being predominant (66/68; 97.1% of CTX-M genes). The blaCTX-M carrying Enterobacteriaceae (n = 64) isolates showed no resistance against imipenem and meropenem and a moderate resistance rate against tigecycline (14.1%), fosfomycin (10.9%) and amikacin (1.6%) suggesting the effectiveness of these antibiotics against most isolates. On the other hand, all the blaCTX-M positive Enterobacteriaceae showed a multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype with remarkable co-resistances (non-susceptibility rates) to aminoglycosides (92.2%), fluoroquinolones (78.1%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazol (92.2%). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a remarkably high prevalence of blaCTX-M genes among ESBL-producing isolates. The high level of resistance to ß-lactam and non-ß-lactam antibiotics as well as the trend to a MDR profile associated with the blaCTX-M genes are alarming and emphasize the need for routine diagnostic antimicrobial susceptibility testing for appropriate choice of antimicrobial therapy.

First report on bla NDM-1-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in three clinical isolates from Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections are recognized as one of the major threats to global health. In this study, we describe for the first time bla NDM-1 gene carrying organisms from Ethiopia consisting of three Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from patients in Jimma. METHODS: Besides phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing, molecular strain typing and sequencing was performed to describe the phylogenetic relation of the Ethiopian isolates in detail in relation to published isolates from all over the globe. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Three multi-resistant, bla NDM-1-positive Acinetobacter baumannii isolates, most likely a local clonal diffusion, were isolated. Two of the three isolates described within this study were untreatable with the locally available antimicrobials and were only susceptible to polymyxin B and amikacin. The genome sequences confirmed the isolates to be distinct from the outbreak strains reported from Kenya, the only other characterized bla NDM-1 positive Acinetobacter baumannii strains in East Africa so far. Up to date, no other bacterial species were found to harbour the gene cassette in Jimma and conjugation to E. coli was not successful under laboratory conditions. However, natural transmission to other bacteria seems likely, given the evident lack of hygienic precautions due to limited resource settings. CONCLUSIONS: The detected isolates could solely be the tip of the iceberg regarding the presence of NDM-1 producing organisms in the region, as only a limited number of bacterial isolates were evaluated so far and until recently, susceptibility testing and isolation of bacteria could hardly be performed in clinical patient care. These multi-drug resistant organisms pose a serious threat to antimicrobial treatments in Jimma, Ethiopia.

Comparison of Intranasal Outer Membrane Vesicles with Cholera Toxin and Injected MF59C.1 as Adjuvants for Malaria Transmission Blocking Antigens AnAPN1 and Pfs48/45.

Purified protein vaccines often require adjuvants for efficient stimulation of immune responses. There is no licensed mucosal adjuvant on the market to adequately boost the immune response to purified antigens for intranasal applications in humans. Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMV) are attractive candidates potentially combining antigenic and adjuvant properties in one substance. To more precisely characterize the potential of Escherichia coli OMV for intranasal vaccination with heterologous antigens, immune responses for AnAPN1 and Pfs48/45 as well as ovalbumin as a reference antigen were assessed in mice. The intranasal adjuvant cholera toxin (CT) and parenteral adjuvant MF59C.1 were used in comparison. Vaccinations were administered intranasally or subcutaneously. Antibodies (total IgG and IgM as well as subclasses IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3) were measured by ELISA. T cell responses (cytotoxic T cells, Th1, Th17, and regulatory T cells) were determined by flow cytometry. When OMV were used as adjuvant for intranasal immunization, antibody and cellular responses against all three antigens could be induced, comparable to cholera toxin and MF59C.1. Antigen-specific IgG titres above 1 : 10(5) could be detected in all groups. This study provides the rationale for further development of OMV as a vaccination strategy in malaria and other diseases.

Efficient quantification and characterization of bacterial outer membrane derived nano-particles with flow cytometric analysis.

There currently exists no efficient and easy method for size profiling and counting of membranous nano-scale particles, such as bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We present here a cost-effective and fast method capable of profiling and counting small sample volumes of nano-scale membranous vesicles with standard laboratory equipment without the need for any washing steps. OMV populations of different bacterial species are compared and even subpopulations of OMVs can be identified after a simple labelling procedure. Counting is possible over three orders of magnitude without any changes to the protocol. Protein contaminations do not alter the described measurements.