• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.48-52
• /
• 2015

Streptococcus pneumoniae associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (SpHUS) is one of the causes of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, and increasingly reported. They are more severe and leave more long-term sequelae than more prevalent, typical hemolytic uremic syndrome. But it is not so easy to diagnose SpHUS for several reasons (below), and there was no diagnostic criteria of consensus. A 18 month-old-girl with sudden onset of oliguria and generalized edema was admitted through the emergency room. She had pneumonia with pleural effusion and laboratory findings of HUS, DIC, and positive direct Coombs' test. As DIC or SpHUS was suspected, we started to treat her with broad spectrum antibiotics, transfusion of washed RBC and replacement of antithrombin III. On the $3^{rd}$ day, due to severe hyperkalemia and metabolic acidosis, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) was started. She showed gradual improvement in 4 days on CRRT and discharged in 16 days of hospital care. At the follow up to one year, she has maintained normal renal function without proteinuria and hypertension. We report this case with review of articles including recently suggested diagnostic criteria of SpHUS.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.19 no.11
• /
• pp.1374-1378
• /
• 2009

Response surface methodology (RSM) examining the effects of five-level-three-factors and their mutual interactions was utilized to optimize the fermentation conditions to enhance capsular polysaccharide (CPS) production of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3. Twenty experiments conducted in an 8-l lab-scale fermentor were designed to assess fermentation pH, supplemented glucose concentration, and stirring rate. The predicted highest CPS production by the obtained optimization model equation was 256.14 mg/l at optimal conditions [pH 7.5, stirring rate 180 rpm, and supplemented glucose concentration 1% (w/v)]. The validity of the response model was confirmed by the good agreement between the predicted and experimental results. The maximum amount of CPS obtained was $255.03\pm2.23$ mg/l.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.109-115
• /
• 2000

FtsH is a membrane-bound, ATP-dependent metalloprotease that is involved in a variety of cellular functions including the regulation of responses to heat and stress shock. Previously, we had cloned and sequenced pneumococcal ftsH gene whose deduced amino acid sequence was very similar to those of several gram-positive bacteria and Escherichia coli, except for the N-terminal domain that was responsible for membrane anchoring. In order to better understand the role of Streptococcus pneumoniae FtsH, we expressed pneumococcal ftsH gene in Escherichia coli. When it was expressed from a strong promoter, $P_{tac}$, a considerable amount of the recombinant FtsH was produced, although the prolonged induction resulted in not only accumulation of breakdown products but also ceasing of the further growth of E. coli host. This indicated that the expression of the exogenous ftsH gene was tightly regulated since the excessive FtsH appeared detrimental to bacterial cells. In Western blotting, the pneumococcal FtsH protein, whether native or recombinant, was reactive to anti-E. coli FtsH serum. The observation that FtsH proteins were well conserved throughout the bacterial kingdom and its expression level was fine-tuned suggests an important role for this protein in the stress adaptation which may be related to infecting process by pneumococci.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.398-405
• /
• 2005

Polyamines such as putrescine are small, ubiquitous polycationic molecules that are required for optimal growth of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. These molecules have diverse effects on cell physiology and their intracellular content is regulated by de novo synthesis and uptake from the environment. The studies presented here examined the structure of a putative polyamine transporter (Pot) operon in Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) and growth of pneumococci in medium containing putrescine substituted for choline. RT-PCR experiments demonstrated that the four genes encoding the Pot system are co-transcribed with murB, a gene involved in an intermediary step of peptidoglycan synthesis. Pneumococci grown in chemically-defined media (CDM) containing putrescine without choline enter logarithmic phase growth after 36-48 hs. However, culture density at stationary phase eventually reaches that of choline-containing medium. Cells grown in CDM-putrescine formed abnormally elongated chains in which the daughter cells failed to separate and the choline-binding protein PspA was no longer cell-associated. Experiments with CDM containing radiolabeled putrescine demonstrated that pneumococci concentrate this polyamine in cell walls. These data suggest that pneumococci can replicate without choline if putrescine is available and this polyamine may substitute for aminoalcohols in the cell wall teichoic acids.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.55-63
• /
• 2021

Objectives: Cefotaxime is an antibiotic used to treat several bacterial infections. Specifically, it is used to treat pelvic inflammatory disease, meningitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and sepsis. It is given by injection into either a vein or muscle. Antibacterial polymers prepared by chemical bonding and simple blending of antibacterials into polymers has attracted much interest because of their long-lasting antibacterial activity. This study attempted to review the possibility of hydrogel films as functional antibacterial materials by antimicrobial activity. Methods: In this study, CTX-PAA was synthesized by the chemical reaction of polyacrylic acid with cefotaxime by N,N'-Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) method. Synthetic antibacterial hydrogel films were then prepared with PVA and CTX-PAA for functional application. Results: The increase in the cefotaxime content of the hydrogel films showed a similar decrease in tensile strength and elongation. The values of films impregnated with chemically bonded cefotaxime showed no significant difference. Antibacterial susceptibility was determined against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli using a standardized disc test. Conclusion: The synthetic antibacterial hydrogel films exhibited broad susceptibility against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Notably, the antibacterial effect of antibacterial hydrogel films against Grampositive (Streptococcus pneumoniae) was superior to that against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.10
• /
• pp.1730-1735
• /
• 2018

Bacterial pneumonia is one of the most common causes of mortality in Korea. In 2016, the mortality rate from pneumonia was 16,476 deaths per 100,000, which was an 11% increase from the previous year. The aim of our study was to determine the distribution of the bacterial pathogens causing respiratory symptoms in different age groups over a 10-year period. Between January 2008 and September 2017, 1,861 specimens from 1,664 patients admitted to Dankook University Hospital with respiratory symptoms were examined. We used multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect six bacterial pneumonia pathogens: Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. We detected bacterial pneumonia pathogens in 1,281 (68.83%) specimens. Of the 1,709 pathogens detected, S. pneumoniae was the most common (48.57%; n = 830) followed by H. influenzae (40.08%; n = 685). Most infections were found among children younger than 10 years (92.69%; n = 1,584). Although S. pneumoniae was the most common pathogen detected in all age groups, M. pneumoniae infection increased in prevalence with age (p < 0.05). The rate of co-infection was also high among these patients (31.1%; n = 399), which peaked in 2015 (54.55%; n = 42/77). The prevalence of bacterial pneumonia in Cheonan, along with the proportion of co-infections among patients increased over the 10-year study period. The findings will aid the development of treatment and prevention guidelines.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.325-329
• /
• 2004

The composition of essential oil from O. javanica was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Using the broth dilution method and disk diffusion test, anti-microbial activities of the oil fraction and its main components were evaluated against various antibiotic-susceptible and resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms. As a result of GC-MS analysis, 57 compounds, including ${\alpha}-terpinolene$ (28.1%), dl-limonene (16.0%), ${\gamma}-terpinene$ (10.3%), ${\beta}-pinene$ (9.7%) and ${\alpha}-pinene$ (6.0%) were identified in the essential oil fraction. The essential oil fraction of O. javanica and its main components exhibited significant inhibitory activities, particularly against Candida albicans (antibiotic-susceptible strains) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (antibiotic- susceptible and resistant strains). The main components of the O. javanica oil fraction displayed different patterns of activity against the three tested Candida species as exemplified by the differential minimum inhibiting concentration (MIC) values. The disk diffusion test showed that the activities were dose dependent.

• Proceedings of the PSK Conference
• /
• 2002.10a
• /
• pp.336.1-336.1
• /
• 2002

HSP100/Clp family functions as molecular chaperone and ATP dependent protease. The Streptococcus pneumoniae ClpL. a homologue of bacterial ClpB and yeast cytosolic HSP 104. is one of major heat shock proteins but its biochemical properties are unknown. In this study. ClpL in Streptococcus pneumoniaewas characterized using histidine tagged recombinant ClpL. When ATP hydrolysis activity was compared in the presence or absence of a variety of nucleotides or divalent ions. either ATP or Mn$2^＋$ ion was found to increase significantly the rate of ATP hydrolysis. Furthermore. glutaraldehyde cross-linking and subsequent native-PAGE analfysis showed that ClpL forms dimer. but in the presence of 4 mM concentration of $Mn^{2＋}$ion as a cofactor for ATP hydrolysis and oligormerization in vitro.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.369-373
• /
• 2004

We previously reported that Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule attached to the surface protein (JY-Pol) was protective to systemic pneumococcal infection. The JY -Pol antigen induced IgM, IgG, and IgA in mice and provoked cell-mediated immunity. In this current study, we investigated the effect of anti JY-Pol antiserun and monoclonal antibody C2 (Mab C2) specific for the JY-Pol antigen against the pneumococcal disease. Mice that were given the antiserum survived longer than mice that received antiserum pre-absorbed with S.pneumoniae cells or DPBS as a negative control. Heat-treated anti JY-Pol antiserum resulted in survival rates similar to intact fresh JY-Pol antiserum. Mab C2 isolated from JY-Pol-immunized mice also enhanced resistance of naive mice against the pneumococcal diseaser. This protection by Mab C2 appeared to be mediated by opsonization as determined in a RAW 264.7 monocyte/macrophage cell line. Epitope analysis showed that Mab C2 epitope consisted of glucuronic acid and glucose that blocked the interaction of JY-Pol to the C2. Taken together, these data indicate that the antiserum induced by the JY-Pol, a naturally pneumococcal conjugate formula, mediated the protection by passive transfer, which was confirmed by protective effect of Mab C2.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.82-88
• /
• 2006

The global pattern of growth-dependent gene expression in Streptococcus pneumoniae strains was evaluated using a high-density DNA microarray. Total RNAs obtained from an avirulent S. pneumoniae strain R6 and a virulent strain AMC96-6 were used to compare the expression patterns at seven time points (2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, and 8.0 h). The expression profile of strain R6 changed between log and stationary growth (the Log-Stat switch). There were clear differences between the growth-dependent gene expression profiles of the virulent and avirulent pneumococcal strains in 367 of 1,112 genes. Transcripts of genes associated with bacterial competence and capsular polysaccharide formation, as well as clpP and cbpA, were higher in the virulent strain. Our data suggest that late log or early stationary phase may be the most virulent phase of S. pneumoniae.