Lactobacillus species constitute one of the dominant and beneficial bacteria in our body and are used in developed countries as a microbial adjuvant. Identification of these probiotic bacteria is traditionally performed by culture-based techniques. However, such methods are very time-consuming and can give inaccurate results, especially when Lactobacillus is present in mixed bacterial complex communities. Our s...
Phages are recognized as the most abundant and diverse entities on the planet. Their diversity is predominantly determined by their dynamic adaptation capacities, when confronted with different selective pressures in an endless cycle of co-evolution with a widespread group of bacterial hosts. At the end of the infection cycle, progeny virions are confronted with a rigid cell wall that hinders their release into...
Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal infection occurring in women of reproductive age. It is widely accepted that the microbial switch from normal microflora to BV is characterized by a decrease in vaginal colonization by Lactobacillus species together with an increase of Gardnerella vaginalis and other anaerobes. Our goal was to develop and optimize a novel Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) Fluore...
We developed a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method for the rapid detection of Proteus spp. in urine, using a novel peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe. Testing on 137 urine samples from patients with urinary tract infections has shown specificity and sensitivity values of 98 % (95 % CI, 93.2–99.7) and 100 % (95 % CI, 80,8–100), respectively, when compared with CHROMagar Orientation medium. Results ind...
Certain anaerobic bacterial species tend to predominate the vaginal flora during bacterial vaginosis (BV), with Gardnerella vaginalis being the most common. However, the exact role of G. vaginalis in BV has not yet been determined. The main goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that G. vaginalis is an early colonizer, paving the way for intermediate (e.g., Fusobacterium nucleatum) and late colonizers (e...
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder in women of child-bearing age. It is widely accepted that the microbial switch from normal microflora to the flora commonly associated with BV is characterized by a decrease in vaginal colonization by specific Lactobacillus species together with an increase of G. vaginalis and other anaerobes. However, the order of events leading to the development of...
Bacterial vaginosis is the leading vaginal disorder but the transition from health to this dysbiotic condition remains poorly characterized. Our goal was to quantify the ability of BV-associated anaerobes to adhere to epithelial cells in the presence of lactobacilli. Gardnerella vaginalis outcompeted Lactobacillus crispatus and Lactobacillus iners actually enhanced its adherence.
Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem in Staphylococcus epidermidis infections as many clinical isolates of this organism are resistant to up to eight different antibiotics. The increased resistance to conventional antibiotic therapy has lead to the search for new antimicrobial therapeutic agents. Farnesol, an essential oil found in many plants, has been shown to be active against S. epidermidis. Using a t...
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common infections in women of reproductive age. Clinical studies have shown an association among BV and abnormal pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease and increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. This disorder was first described in 1914 by Curtis as a “white discharge” syndrome and despite the decades of research we have only limited, and cl...
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