Gut microbiota and inflammatory mediators differentiate IgE mediated and non-IgE mediated cases of cow's milk protein at diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: Analyze fecal and blood samples at point of diagnosis in IgE mediated cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) and non-IgE mediated (NIM)-CMPA patients to look for potential new biomarkers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with IgE mediated CMPA and 13 with NIM-CMPA were recruited in three hospitals in the north of Spain, and were compared with 25 infants from a control group of the same age range. To characterize intestinal microbiota, 16S rDNA gene and internal transcribed spacer amplicons of bifidobacteria were sequenced with Illumina technology. Fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography, meanwhile intestinal inflammation markers were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a multiplex system. Immunological analysis of blood was performed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The fecal results obtained in the NIM-CMPA group stand out. Among them, a significant reduction in the abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae and Bifidobacterium sequences with respect to controls was observed. Bifidobacterial species were also different, highlighting the lower abundance of Bifidobacterium breve sequences. Fecal calprotectin levels were found to be significantly elevated in relation to IgE mediated patients. Also, a higher excretion of IL-10 and a lower excretion of IL-1ra and platelet derived growth factor-BB was found in NIM-CMPA patients. CONCLUSIONS: The differential fecal parameters found in NIM-CMPA patients could be useful in the diagnosis of NIM food allergy to CM proteins.

Morphologically defined substages of tail morphogenesis in C. elegans males.

Background: Sex-specific morphogenesis occurs in C. elegans in the vulva of the hermaphrodite and in the male tail during the last larval stage. Temporal progression of vulva morphogenesis has been described in fine detail. However, a similar precise description of male tail morphogenesis was lacking. Results: We here describe morphogenesis of the male tail at time points matching vulva development with special focus on morphogenesis of the tail tip. Using fluorescent reporters, we follow changes in cell shapes, cell fusions, nuclear migration, modifications in the basement membrane and formation of a new apical extracellular matrix at the end of the tail. Conclusion: Our analysis answers two open questions about tail tip morphogenesis (TTM) by showing that one of the four tail tip cells, hyp11, remains separate while the other cells fuse with each other and with two additional tail cells to form a ventral tail syncytium. This fusion begins early during TTM but is only completed towards the end of the process. This work provides a framework for future investigations of cell-biological factors that drive male tail morphogenesis.

Characterization of antibiotic resistance and host-microbiome interactions in the human upper respiratory tract during influenza infection.

BACKGROUND: The abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the human respiratory microbiome remain poorly characterized. In the context of influenza virus infection, interactions between the virus, the host, and resident bacteria with pathogenic potential are known to complicate and worsen disease, resulting in coinfection and increased morbidity and mortality of infected individuals. When pathogenic bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance, they are more difficult to treat and of global health concern. Characterization of ARG expression in the upper respiratory tract could help better understand the role antibiotic resistance plays in the pathogenesis of influenza-associated bacterial secondary infection. RESULTS: Thirty-seven individuals participating in the Household Influenza Transmission Study (HITS) in Managua, Nicaragua, were selected for this study. We performed metatranscriptomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses on nasal and throat swab samples, and host transcriptome profiling on blood samples. Individuals clustered into two groups based on their microbial gene expression profiles, with several microbial pathways enriched with genes differentially expressed between groups. We also analyzed antibiotic resistance gene expression and determined that approximately 25% of the sequence reads that corresponded to antibiotic resistance genes mapped to Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Following construction of an integrated network of ARG expression with host gene co-expression, we identified several host key regulators involved in the host response to influenza virus and bacterial infections, and host gene pathways associated with specific antibiotic resistance genes. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the host response to influenza infection could indirectly affect antibiotic resistance gene expression in the respiratory tract by impacting the microbial community structure and overall microbial gene expression. Interactions between the host systemic responses to influenza infection and antibiotic resistance gene expression highlight the importance of viral-bacterial co-infection in acute respiratory infections like influenza. Video abstract.

Strontium oral load test in children with idiopathic hypercalciuria.

Increased intestinal calcium absorption may play an important role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic hypercalciuria in children. Calcium absorption was assessed by an oral strontium load test in 22 prepubertal children (13 male) with idiopathic hypercalciuria, urinary calcium excretion 6.48 +/- 0.60 mg/kg per day (range 4.12-13.40 mg/kg per day), and ten healthy, young, normocalciuric controls (six male). After administration of 2.65 mg/kg of strontium chloride (SrCl(2)), the serum concentrations of strontium at 30 min, 60 min, 120 min, 240 min, and the fraction of the absorbed dose (FAD%) at 30 min, 60 min and 240 min, were similar in both groups. FAD% at 120 min was lower (P < 0.05) in hypercalciuric children than in controls (11.84 +/- 0.96% vs 15.87 +/- 1.77%). Values of the area under the curve were not different between both groups. In children with idiopathic hypercalciuria, serum basal intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) (r = -0.59, P = 0.004) and the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D/PTH ratio (r = 0.65; P = 0.001) were correlated with the serum concentration of strontium at 60 min. The study reported here provides, for the first time, the results of a strontium oral load test in children with idiopathic hypercalciuria. With this method no major alterations of intestinal calcium absorption were found in this disorder.

Emergency visits for childhood poisoning: a 2-year prospective multicenter survey in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of childhood poisoning leading to consultation to 17 pediatric emergency departments in Spain. METHODS: During a 2-year period (January 2001 to December 2002), accompanying people of 2157 children with acute intoxication who visited consecutively at the emergency room were prospectively surveyed. RESULTS: Childhood poisoning accounted for 0.28% of all emergency visits during the study period. The median (interquartile range, 25th-75th percentile) age was 24 months (22-60 months); 67% of children were younger than 4 years. Drug ingestion was involved in 54.7% of cases (paracetamol was the most frequent drug), domestic products in 28.9%, alcohol in 5.9%, carbon monoxide in 4.5%, and illicit drugs in 1.5%. A total of 61.3% of patients were admitted within 1 hour after exposure to the toxic substance, and 10.3% had been already treated before arrival; 29.1% of patients were referred for clinical manifestations which were mostly neurological symptoms. Laboratory tests and other investigations were performed in 40.7% of cases. Gastrointestinal decontamination was used in 51.7% of patients, with activated charcoal in 32.3%. Treatment varied significantly according to the individual hospitals. A total of 83.3% of patients were treated as outpatients, 15.2% were hospitalized, and 1.5% were admitted to the intensive care unit. One 11-month-old boy with carbon monoxide intoxication died. Six patients had permanent sequelae (esophageal stenosis in 5 and partial blindness in 1). CONCLUSIONS: Young children who accidentally ingested drugs and, less frequently, domestic products accounted for most cases of intoxication who presented at the pediatric emergency department.

Manifestaciones neurooftalmológicas como presentación poco usual de la enfermedad de Lyme / Neuro-ophthamologic manifestations as unusual presentation of Lyme disease

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