New immune cell with 'Jekyll and Hyde properties' identified

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have identified a rare, new cell in the immune system with "Jekyll and Hyde properties". These cells play a key protective role in immunity to infection but - if unregulated - also mediate tissue damage in autoimmune disorders.

The findings should help us design more effective vaccines to prevent infections such as MRSA, and may also assist help us develop of new therapies for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.

The immune system functions to control infection, utilizing various immune cells, such as T cells to respond to and control invading microbes. However, if these immune cells are not highly regulated, they can attack and damage body tissues, leading to the development of autoimmune diseases.

Molecules called T cell receptors (TCRs) allow T cells to recognize components of infectious agents with exquisite specificity. The TCRs enable T cells to respond to and eventually eliminate the infectious agent.

Professor Kingston Mills said:   Until now scientists thought that there were two discrete populations of T cells, expressing either 'αβ' or 'γδ' TCRs. The αβs are the most common T cells in the body. They play a key role in remembering prior infection or immunization and thereby help protect us against re-infection and mediate vaccine-induced protective immunity. The γδs are more prevalent at mucosal surfaces, such as the lung or gut, and provide an immediate first line of defense against pathogens that invade through these routes."

We have discovered a new cell type that expresses both αβ and γδ TCRs. This rare population of chimeric or hybrid αβ-γδ T cells has properties of both αβ and γδ T cells. Importantly, they are normally highly activated and poised to act as first responders to control bacterial infection. However, given this high level of activation, they are effectively 'Jekyll and Hyde cells' because in certain contexts they can also precipitate autoimmune responses."

Using a model of Staphylococcus aureus infection, Professor Mills and his team found that these cells are rapidly mobilized during infection and play a key role in quickly eliminating the microbes from the body.

The induction of these hybrid αβ-γδ T cells may thus represent a novel approach in the design of more effective vaccines against Staph aureus and other infectious diseases, while advancing our ability to control their response may yield additional therapeutic options.

Professor Mills added:   In a model of autoimmune disease, we found that the hybrid T cells can also trigger the inflammatory cascade that mediates tissue damage in autoimmunity. Therefore, approaches for inhibiting these highly activated immune cells in susceptible individuals may open up new approaches for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis."

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Researchers discover antibiotics with unique approach to attacking bacteria

A new group of antibiotics with a unique approach to attacking bacteria has been discovered, making it a promising clinical candidate in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

The newly-found corbomycin and the lesser-known complestatin have a never-before-seen way to kill bacteria, which is achieved by blocking the function of the bacterial cell wall. The discovery comes from a family of antibiotics called glycopeptides that are producedM by soil bacteria.

The researchers also demonstrated in mice that these new antibiotics can block infections caused by the drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus which is a group of bacteria that can cause many serious infections.

The findings were published in Nature today.

Bacteria have a wall around the outside of their cells that gives them shape and is a source of strength.

Antibiotics like penicillin kill bacteria by preventing building of the wall, but the antibiotics that we found actually work by doing the opposite – they prevent the wall from being broken down. This is critical for cell to divide.

 In order for a cell to grow, it has to divide and expand. If you completely block the breakdown of the wall, it is like it is trapped in a prison, and can't expand or grow."    Beth Culp, study's first author, PhD candidate in biochemistry and biomedical sciences at McMaster

Looking at the family tree of known members of the glycopeptides, researchers studied the genes of those lacking known resistance mechanisms, with the idea they might be an antibiotic demonstrating a different way to attack bacteria.

"We hypothesized that if the genes that made these antibiotics were different, maybe the way they killed the bacteria was also different," said Culp.

The group confirmed that the bacterial wall was the site of action of these new antibiotics using cell imaging techniques in collaboration with Yves Brun and his team from the Université de Montréal.

Culp said: "This approach can be applied to other antibiotics and help us discover new ones with different mechanisms of action. We found one completely new antibiotic in this study, but since then, we've found a few others in the same family that have this same new mechanism."

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Bacterial Cross-Contamination: All You Need to Know

Each year, an estimated 600 million people worldwide experience a food-borne illness .

While there are many causes, a major and preventable one is cross-contamination.

This article explains all you need to know about cross-contamination, including how to avoid it.

What is cross-contamination?

Bacterial cross-contamination is defined as the transfer of bacteria or other microorganisms from one substance to another.

Other types of cross-contamination include the transfer of food allergens, chemicals, or toxins — though these are not the focus of this article .

Many people assume that food-borne illness is mostly caused by eating at restaurants, but there are many ways in which cross-contamination can occur, including:

    primary food production — from plants and animals on farms
    during harvest or slaughter
    secondary food production — including food processing and manufacturing
    transportation of food
    storage of food
    distribution of food — grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and more
    food preparation and serving — at home, restaurants, and other food-service operations

Given that there are many points at which cross-contamination can occur, it’s important to learn about the different types and how you can prevent it.

    summary

    Cross-contamination is defined as the transfer of bacteria or other microorganisms from one substance to another. It can happen during any stage of food production.

Types of cross-contamination

There are three main types of cross-contamination: food-to-food, equipment-to-food, and people-to-food.
Food-to-food

Adding contaminated foods to non-contaminated foods results in food-to-food cross-contamination. This allows harmful bacteria to spread and populate .

Raw, undercooked, or improperly washed food can harbor large amounts of bacteria, such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes — all of which can harm your health if consumed .

Foods that pose the highest risk of bacterial contamination include leafy greens, bean sprouts, leftover rice, unpasteurized milk, soft cheeses, and deli meats, as well as raw eggs, poultry, meat, and seafood.

For example, adding unwashed, contaminated lettuce to a fresh salad can contaminate the other ingredients. This was the case in a 2006 E. Coli outbreak that affected 71 Taco Bell customers .

What’s more, leftovers kept in the fridge too long can result in bacterial overgrowth. Therefore, eat leftovers within 3–4 days and cook them to proper temperatures. If you plan to mix leftovers with other foods, the new meal should not be stored again as leftovers.

Equipment-to-food

Equipment-to-food is one of the most common yet unrecognized types of cross-contamination.

Bacteria can survive for long periods on surfaces like countertops, utensils, cutting boards, storage containers, and food manufacturing equipment .

When equipment is not washed properly or unknowingly contaminated with bacteria, it can transfer large volumes of harmful bacteria to food. This can happen at any point during food production — both at home and in food manufacturing .

For example, a 2008 incident at a Canadian-based sliced meat company resulted in the death of 22 customers due to listeria-contaminated meat slicers .

A common example of this occurring at home is using the same cutting board and knife to cut raw meat and vegetables, which can be harmful if the vegetables are then consumed raw.

One study found that older participants were less likely to use soap and water to clean their cutting boards after working with raw meat, while younger people weren’t aware of the risks of cross-contamination. Thus, more food safety education seems to be needed across all age groups.

Finally, improper food preservation techniques can lead to cross-contamination. In 2015, home-canned potatoes used in a potato salad made 22 potluck attendees sick with botulism due to improper canning practices.

People-to-food

Humans can easily transfer bacteria from their bodies or clothes to food during many steps of food preparation.

For example, a person may cough into their hand or touch raw poultry and continue to prepare a meal without washing their hands in between.

In a 2019 study in 190 adults, only 58% of participants reported washing their hands before cooking or preparing food, while only 48% said they washed their hands after sneezing or coughing.

Other common examples include using a cellphone that’s loaded with bacteria while cooking or wiping your hands with a dirty apron or towel. These practices may contaminate your hands and spread bacteria to food or equipment.

Although this poses a concern, a 2015 meta-analysis found that food safety education both in the home and at work can significantly lower the risk of cross-contamination and unsafe food practices.

By far, the most effective way to reduce the risk of cross-contamination is to properly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

    summary

    There are three main types of cross-contamination: food-to-food, equipment-to-food, and people-to-food. In each type, bacteria are transferred from a contaminated source to uncontaminated food.

Side effects

The side effects of cross-contamination can be mild to severe.

Minor side effects include upset stomach, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, and diarrhea. Usually, these side effects present within 24 hours, although they can appear weeks after exposure, making it difficult to determine the specific cause.

In cases involving vomiting or diarrhea, it’s important to rehydrate properly — for example with a sports beverage — to restore hydration, blood sugar, and electrolyte levels.

Severe side effects include diarrhea for more than 3 days, bloody stools, fever, dehydration, organ failure, and even death .

Seek immediate medical attention if your side effects worsen or last longer than 1–2 days, as well as if you’re considered to be in an at-risk population.

    summary
    Side effects of cross-contamination range from stomach upset to more severe aftereffects, including dehydration, organ failure, and even death.

Who is at risk?

Everyone is at risk of becoming sick from cross-contamination .

However, certain groups are at a much higher risk, including:

    pregnant women
    children under the age of 5
    adults over the age of 65
    those with weakened immune systems — for example, people with HIV/AIDS, uncontrolled diabetes, or cancer

Considering these groups make up a large segment of the population, it’s crucial to practice safe food handling when at home or working in a food service establishment .

    summary

    Anyone is at risk of becoming sick from cross-contamination. However, certain groups, including pregnant women, children, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems, are at the highest risk.

How to avoid cross-contamination

There are many ways to avoid cross-contamination.
Food purchasing and storage

    Avoid purchasing food close to its expiration date, unless you intend to eat it right away.
    Store raw meat in a sealed container or plastic bag on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to prevent juices from leaking onto other foods.
    Use separate grocery bags for raw meat and eggs.
    Use refrigerated leftover food within 2–3 days and cook it to proper temperatures.

Food preparation

    Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after touching raw meat, petting an animal, using the washroom, coughing or sneezing, using your phone, or related instances.
    Wash your utensils, countertops, cutting boards, and other surfaces with soap and warm water, especially when handling raw meat.
    Use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables.
    Use clean sponges and dishcloths.
    Cook foods to their proper temperatures by using a food thermometer.

Finally, be sure to stay up to date with food recalls by visiting the website of your country’s food and disease control board, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States.

    summary

    Proper food safety practices can significantly reduce your risk of cross-contamination. Thoroughly wash your hands and surfaces, properly store foods, and stay up to date with food recalls.

The bottom line

Bacterial cross-contamination can have serious and even fatal consequences, but thankfully, it’s easy to prevent.

Practice good hygiene, wash and sanitize your equipment, and properly store and serve food to prevent cross-contamination. Plus, it’s a good idea to stay up to date with food recalls, which are available online.

By practicing safe food handling, you can protect yourself and others from getting sick.
 

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Here’s what parents can do to protect their newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit

A team of researchers has reported the development of a new strategy for reducing the chances of protection of babies from parental infections. 

The study was published in the journal of the American Medical Association. One of the most deadly microbial scourges present in the hospitals is Staphylococcus aureus. 

“Traditional procedures for preventing hospital-acquired Staph infections in the NICU have primarily focused on keeping staff and facilities as sterile as possible. Our study is among the first to focus on parents as a source of the bacteria and then test the effectiveness of an intervention to combat the problem,” said Aaron Milstone who led the research.

In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of hospitals, infections caused by S. aureus do not only threaten the survival of a sick or premature infant but also threatens their neurological development.
The researchers used a simple regimen for parents of infants to follow during the period when their children were at intensive care for reducing the spread of S. aureus.

The preventive measure included of application of an antibiotic ointment into the nose and skin cleansing through a wipe containing 2 per cent chlorhexidine gluconate which is an antiseptic used for removing surfaced bacteria around the site of surgery from patient’s skin before the operation.

“These results from our preliminary trial indicate that treatment with intranasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine wipes may significantly reduce the number of infants in the NICU who will get S. aureus from contact with a parent,” said Milstone.

“It is our hope that one day this technique can be combined with personal cleanliness for medical staff and environmental safety protocols for facilities to provide a stronger defense against NICU-acquired infections,” Milstone added.

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Antibiotic-resistance- Key source is infected medical devices finds CDC report

Infections related to medical devices are a key source of antibiotic resistance than infections associated with surgical procedures.

According to a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistance is more prevalent in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) related to the use of medical devices than in HAI associated with surgical procedures. The report is published in the journal- Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

Also, HAIs acquired in long-term acute care facilities are more likely to be antibiotic-resistant than those in short-stay acute care hospitals, while data from a separate report indicates that antibiotic resistance is more prevalent in adult HAIs than it is pediatric hospital infections.

The report underscores the importance of tracking antimicrobial resistance, particularly in vulnerable populations such as long term acute-care hospitals and intensive care units.

These data show that the threat of exposure to bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics extends across the nation. The data also serves as an urgent call for healthcare facilities and public health agencies to intensify their efforts to prevent the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, said an epidemiologist at the CDC.

The study aimed to describe common pathogens and antimicrobial resistance patterns for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that occurred during 2015-2017 and were reported to the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).

The study involved data from more than 5,600 hospitals in the CDC's NHSN. The data cover central-line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated events and surgical-site infections reported to the NHSN by 5,626 acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities from 2015 through 2017. The report is the 4th summary of NHSN pathogen and antibiotic susceptibility data, and the CDC's most detailed HAI surveillance effort to date.

The data can be used to help hospitals improve control and prevention strategies and provide direction for new drug development.

In their analysis, CDC researchers identified the most commonly reported pathogens associated with these infections, and for each HAI type and each location, calculated the percentage of pathogens with non-susceptibility to selected antibiotics. Device-associated HAIs and the pathogens connected with them were stratified by hospital ward.

Key findings of the study include-
Germs in adult and pediatric facilities varied by infection type and care location.
The most common HAI bacteria among adult patients were E coli (18%). Staphylococcus aureus (12%) and Klebsiella ( (9%).

A companion report on pediatric health-care-associated infections, with data from 2,454 facilities, found the most prevalent pathogens among pediatric patients were Staphylococcus aureus (15%), E Coli (12%) and coagulate-negative-staphylococci (12%).

The Dr. said the increasing availability of clinical and laboratory data in electronic form provides new opportunities to quickly identify resistance to antibiotic therapies and to inform antibiotic stewardship programs. Appropriate resources should be allocated to ensure proper infection prevention methods of devices and the environment across the healthcare continuum.

The study " Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens associated with adult healthcare-associated infection:  Summary of data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network, 2015-2017, is published in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

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Read more at Speciality Medical Dialogues: Antibiotic-resistance- Key source is infected medical devices finds CDC report https://speciality.medicaldialogues.in/antibiotic-resistance-key-source-is-infected-medical-devices-finds-cdc-report/

Pain sensing nerves help fight skin infection

A recent discovery revealed that pain-sensing nerves help fight skin infections and prevent its spread, suggesting a new type of immunity. "These pain-sensing nerves can detect pathogens, and for the first time, we've shown that they activate an immune response and also signal protective immunity in sites adjacent to the infection. This demonstrates that the immune and nervous systems work synergistically for host defence. These findings also could have important implications for developing more specific therapies for autoimmune skin diseases like psoriasis," said the senior author of the study.

Until about a decade ago, the pain was thought to have evolved as a way for your body to tell you to stay away from a particular stimulus or to signal a problem with its function, like an injury. More recently, however, researchers have shown that it may play an important role in immunity against some pathogens.

In the study, the first author collaborated with neurobiology professors and pain experts, to develop an optogenetic mouse model where pain-sensing neurons in the skin could be activated by shining blue light.

They first showed that just activating these neurons released a small protein called CGRP, which recruited different types of immune cells to the site. This suggested that neurons detecting skin pathogens on their own kickstart an immune response even before sentry immune cells could.

Then in the same mouse model, they infected the animals with either Candida albicans, a fungus that causes candidiasis, commonly known as thrush, or Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacterium that can turn deadly under certain conditions.

Using optogenetics and chemical nerve blockers, the researchers showed through a series of elegant experiments that when the fungus infected the skin at one location, the nerves not only detected and initiated an immune response to fight the infection but also sent a signal toward the spinal cord.
The researchers called this new nerve-driven protective mechanism "anticipatory immunity."

"The advantage of involving the nervous system is that it can communicate information across space in a span of milliseconds, compared to hours or days for the immune cells to do the same function. It's the difference between sending Paul Revere to warn of the British advance and sending a telegram to do the same," said the first author of the study.

He said that while it remains to be seen how the findings translate to humans, they have interesting implications for autoimmune diseases of barrier tissues like the skin or gut.

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