Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis Caused by Neisseria Meningitidis, Streptococcus Pneumoniae, and Haemophilus Influenzae WHO Manual, 2Nd Edition

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis Caused by Neisseria Meningitidis, Streptococcus Pneumoniae, and Haemophilus Influenzae WHO Manual, 2Nd Edition WHO/IVB.11.09 Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae WHO MANUAL, 2ND EDITION Photo: Jon Shadid/UNICEF WHO/IVB.11.09 Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae WHO MANUAL, 2ND EDITION1 1 The first edition has the WHO reference WHO/CDS/CSR/EDC/99.7: Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/1999/WHO_CDS_CSR_EDC_99.7.pdf © World Health Organization 2011 This document is not a formal publication of the World Health Organization. All rights reserved. This document may, however, be reviewed, abstracted, reproduced and translated, in part or in whole, but not for sale or for use in conjunction with commercial purposes. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the World Health Organization to verify the information contained in this publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material lies with the reader. In no event shall the World Health Organization be liable for damages arising from its use. To ensure the highest integrity and public confidence in its activities, WHO required that all contributors of this manual (authors and reviewers) disclose any circumstances that could give rise to a potential conflict of interest related to the subject of the activity in which they were involved. All contributors have signed the WHO declaration of interest form and none of the declarations were judged to pose a conflict. Additional copies of this book can be obtained from either: WHO Press, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland tel.: +41 22 791 3264; fax: +41 22 791 4857; e-mail: [email protected]. Requests for permission to reproduce or translate WHO publications – whether for sale or for noncommercial distribution – should be addressed to WHO Press through the WHO web site http://www.who.int/about/licensing/copyright_form/en/index.html Website URL: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2011/WHO_IVB_11.09_eng.pdf Or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MVPDB/Meningitis Laboratory 1600 Clifton Road, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30329 USA tel: 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-5636) fax: 404-639-4421 e-mail: [email protected] Website URL: http://www.cdc.gov/meningitis/bacterial.html I. 2011 WHO Meningitis Manual Authors Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch Dana CASTILLO [email protected] Brian HARCOURT [email protected] Cynthia HATCHER [email protected] Michael JACKSON [email protected] Lee KATZ [email protected] Raydel MAIR [email protected] Leonard MAYER Chief, Meningitis Laboratory [email protected] Ryan NOVAK [email protected] Lila RAHALISON [email protected] Susanna SCHMINK [email protected] M. Jordan THEODORE [email protected] Jennifer THOMAS [email protected] Jeni VUONG [email protected] Xin WANG [email protected] Respiratory Diseases Branch Lesley MCGEE [email protected] Other Institutions Dominique A. CAUGANT WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci Department of Bacteriology and Immunology Norwegian Institute of Public Health [email protected] Susanne CHANTEAU Institut Pasteur Nouméa New Caledonia [email protected] Sébastien COGNAT International Health Regulations Coordination Health Security and Environment World Health Organization Lyon France [email protected] Pierre NICOLAS WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées - IMTSSA Marseille France [email protected] II. Reviewers Bernard BEALL Chief, Streptococcus Laboratory Respiratory Diseases Branch Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Thomas CLARK Epidemiology Team Lead, Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Amanda COHN Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Kimberley FOX Expanded Programme on Immunization World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office Manila Philippines [email protected] Anne von GOTTBERG Head of Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogens Reference Unit National Institute for Communicable Diseases Johannesburg South Africa [email protected] Nancy MESSONNIER Chief, Meningitis and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Rasmata OUEDRAOGO Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle Ouagadougou Burkina Faso [email protected] Fem Julia PALADIN Expanded Programme on Immunization World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Manila Philippines [email protected] Tanja POPOVIC Deputy Associate Director for Science Office of the Associate Director for Science Office of the Director Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Manju RANI Expanded Programme on Immunization World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office Manila Philippines [email protected] Aparna Singh SHAH Expanded Programme on Immunization South East Asia Regional Office World Health Organization New Delhi India [email protected] Muhamed-Kheir TAHA Head of the Unit Invasive Bacterial Infections Director of the National Reference Center for Meningococci Institut Pasteur Paris France [email protected] Cynthia WHITNEY Chief, Respiratory Diseases Branch Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] III. 2011 WHO Meningitis Manual other Contributors Mary AGOCS Expanded Programme on Immunization Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals World Health Organization Geneva Switzerland [email protected] Eric BERTHERAT Epidemic Readiness and Intervention Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response World Health Organization Geneva Switzerland [email protected] Jean Bosco NDIHOKUBWAYO Division of Health System and Services Development World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa Brazzaville Republic of Congo [email protected] Fatima SERHAN Expanded Programme on Immunization Department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals World Health Organization Geneva Switzerland [email protected] Stephanie SCHWARTZ Division of Bacterial Diseases National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [email protected] Acknowledgements The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) express their gratitude to those who have contributed their time and experience to this 2nd edition of the "Laboratory Methods for the Diagnosis of Meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae". Special thanks should be given to Dr. Leonard Mayer, CDC, Atlanta, USA, WHO Collaborating Center for Meningitis, for taking the lead in the process of developing as well as compiling and editing this manual. WHO manual – Foreword Tanja Popovic, MD, PhD, Deputy Associate Director for Science, CDC Microbiology and microbiologists have made extraordinary contributions to humanity saving hundreds of millions of lives over the past few centuries. These contributions span from developing and improving diagnostic assays and procedures to identify the causative agents, to discovering antimicrobial agents for treatment and manufacturing of vaccines for disease prevention. The first observations of living organisms were made in 1683 by Anthony von Leeuwenhoek. In 1876, almost 200 years later, Robert Koch provided the first proof linking a specific disease (anthrax) to a specific microorganism. From then on, a succession of subsequent discoveries followed, three of which are the focus of this manual: in 1884, pneumococcus by Albert Fraenkel; in 1887, meningococcus by Anton Weichselbaum; in 1892, Haemophilus influenzae by Johannes Pfeiffer. Almost 15 years ago, when we started working on developing the 1st edition of this manual, there was an extraordinary amount of excitement about the work. We realized how important it was to provide microbiologists, worldwide,
Recommended publications
  • An Evaluation of 2.0 Mcfarland Etest Method for Detection of Heterogeneous Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus Aureus
    10.2478/abm-2010-0016 Asian Biomedicine Vol. 4 No. 1 February 2010; 141-145 Brief communication (Original) An evaluation of 2.0 McFarland Etest method for detection of heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus Montri Pongkumpaia, Suwanna Trakulsomboonb, Chusana Suankrataya aDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330; bDivision of Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand Background: Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin or heterogeneous vancomycin- intermediate S. aureus (hVISA) have become increasingly reported from various parts of the world. hVISA cannot be detected by routine test for minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) for vancomycin. The gold standard method for detection, population analysis profiles (PAP) method, is complicated, time-consuming, expensive, and needs well-trained microbiologists. Objective: Evaluate of 2.0 McFarland Etest method, in comparison with the PAP method, for detection of hVISA in clinical specimens. Methods: All methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains from clinical specimens isolated from consecutive patients attended at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok between 2006 and 2007 were studied. 1 hundred nineteen specimens were obtained. The PAP method detected six hVISA strains 5 from blood and from cultures) from four patients at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, accounting for a prevalence of 6.35%. The MIC determined by agar dilution method was in the range of 2-3 μg/mL. Results: 2.0 McFarland Etest method detected no false positive and five false negatives (42%), and gave a sensitivity and a specificity of 16.7% and 100%, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • 422.Full.Pdf
    Downloaded from genome.cshlp.org on September 29, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press Research Dioxin receptor and SLUG transcription factors regulate the insulator activity of B1 SINE retrotransposons via an RNA polymerase switch Angel Carlos Roma´n,1 Francisco J. Gonza´lez-Rico,1 Eduardo Molto´,2,3 Henar Hernando,4 Ana Neto,5 Cristina Vicente-Garcia,2,3 Esteban Ballestar,4 Jose´ L. Go´mez-Skarmeta,5 Jana Vavrova-Anderson,6 Robert J. White,6,7 Lluı´s Montoliu,2,3 and Pedro M. Ferna´ndez-Salguero1,8 1Departamento de Bioquı´mica y Biologı´a Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Extremadura, 06071 Badajoz, Spain; 2Centro Nacional de Biotecnologı´a (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas (CSIC), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Campus de Cantoblanco, C/Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain; 3Centro de Investigacio´n Biome´dica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain; 4Chromatin and Disease Group, Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Programme, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona 08907, Spain; 5Centro Andaluz de Biologı´a del Desarrollo, CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013 Sevilla, Spain; 6College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom; 7Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, G61 1BD, United Kingdom Complex genomes utilize insulators and boundary elements to help define spatial and temporal gene expression patterns. We report that a genome-wide B1 SINE (Short Interspersed Nuclear Element) retrotransposon (B1-X35S) has potent in- trinsic insulator activity in cultured cells and live animals. This insulation is mediated by binding of the transcription factors dioxin receptor (AHR) and SLUG (SNAI2) to consensus elements present in the SINE.
    [Show full text]
  • Bacterial Profile of Urinary Tract Infection and Antimicrobial
    Journal name: Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management Article Designation: Original Research Year: 2016 Volume: 12 Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management Dovepress Running head verso: Derese et al Running head recto: Bacterial profile of UTI and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern open access to scientific and medical research DOI: 99831 Open Access Full Text Article ORIGINAL RESEARCH Bacterial profile of urinary tract infection and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern among pregnant women attending at Antenatal Clinic in Dil Chora Referral Hospital, Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia Behailu Derese1 Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the bacterial profile of urinary tract infection Haji Kedir2 (UTI) and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern among pregnant women attending at antenatal Zelalem Teklemariam3 clinic in Dil Chora Referral Hospital, Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. Fitsum Weldegebreal3 Patients and methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from Senthilkumar Balakrishnan4 February 18, 2015 to March 25, 2015. Clean-catch midstream urine specimens were collected from 186 pregnant women using sterile containers. Then, culture and antimicrobial susceptibility 1Department of Medical Laboratory, tests were performed by standard disk diffusion method. Patient information was obtained using Dil Chora Referral Hospital, Dire Dawa, 2Department of Public Health, pretested structured questionnaire. Data were entered and cleaned using EpiData Version 3 and 3Department of Medical Laboratory then exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (Version 16) for further analysis. Sciences, 4Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Health Results: The prevalence of significant bacteriuria was 14%. Gram-negative bacteria were and Medical Sciences, Haramaya more prevalent (73%). Escherichia coli (34.6%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (19.2%), University, Harar, Ethiopia Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15.4%), and Klebsiella spp.
    [Show full text]
  • Rapid NH System Rapid Spot Indole Reagent (R8309002, Supplied Separately) • When Using the 1-Hour Procedure, Only Selective Notes: (15 Ml/Bottle) Agars Can Be Used
    n,n-Dimethyl-1-naphthylamine ..................................... 6.0 g Selective Media: Thayer-Martin Agar; Martin-Lewis 6. Return the panel to a level position. If necessary, gently Glacial Acetic Acid ................................................... 280.0 ml Agar; New York City Agar. tap the panel on the bench top to remove any air Demineralized Water ............................................... 720.0 ml Notes: trapped in the cavities. RapID NH System RapID Spot Indole Reagent (R8309002, supplied separately) • When using the 1-hour procedure, only selective Notes: (15 ml/Bottle) agars can be used. • Examine the test cavities which should appear R8311001 .................................................20 Tests/Kit ρ-Dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde .............................. 10.0 g • Cultures used for inoculum preparation should bubble-free and uniformly filled. Slight irregularities 1. INTENDED USE Hydrochloric Acid .................................................... 100.0 ml preferably be 18-24 hours old. Slow-growing isolates in test cavity fills are acceptable and will not affect Remel RapID™ NH System is a qualitative micromethod Demineralized Water ............................................... 900.0 ml may be tested using 48-hour cultures. test performance. If the panel is grossly misfilled, employing conventional and chromogenic substrates for the *Adjusted as required to meet performance standards. a new panel should be inoculated and the misfilled • The use of media other than those recommended panel discarded. identification of medically important species of Neisseria, 5. PRECAUTIONS may compromise test performance. Haemophilus, and other bacteria isolated from human • Complete the inoculation of each panel receiving in vitro clinical specimens. A complete listing of the organisms This product is for diagnostic use and should be used 3. Using a cotton swab or inoculating loop, suspend inoculation fluid before inoculating additional addressed by RapID NH System is provided in the RapID NH by properly trained individuals.
    [Show full text]
  • The Genus Staphylococcus 19 171
    43038_CH19_0171.qxd 1/3/07 3:53 PM Page 171 THE GENUS STAPHYLOCOCCUS 19 171 The Genus 19 Staphylococcus embers of the genus Staphylococcus are gram-positive spherical organisms about 1 micrometer in diameter. They M occur singly, in pairs, and in irregular clusters, and form yel- low, orange, or white colonies on agar media. They are salt tolerant and grow on ordinary bacteriological media as well as on the selective media used in this exercise. Up to three species of Staphylococcus are studied in this exercise. Cer- tain strains of Staphylococcus aureus are the cause of food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. They also are the cause of boils and carbuncles. A second species, S. epidermidis, usually is a saprobe of the skin that is rarely involved in human infection. The third species, S. saprophyticus, is an opportunistic species that may cause urinary tract infections in women of childbearing years. In this exercise, staphylococcal species will be isolated from the body’s environment and their properties examined. A. Isolation of Staphylococci Species of Staphylococcus are tolerant to salt and, therefore, they can be PURPOSE: to isolate and selected out from a mixture of bacteria in a high-salt medium. In addition, identify staphylococcal species from the nasal cavity S. aureus ferments mannitol, an alcoholic derivative of the hexose mannose, and other environments. while S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus do not. Therefore, if the differential medium contains mannitol, the two species may be differentiated from one another. In this section, we will use mannitol salt agar, a medium that is both selective and differential.
    [Show full text]
  • Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology: Discovering the Unseen World Through Hands-On Investigation
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Open Educational Resources Queensborough Community College 2016 Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology: Discovering the Unseen World Through Hands-On Investigation Joan Petersen CUNY Queensborough Community College Susan McLaughlin CUNY Queensborough Community College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/qb_oers/16 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology: Discovering the Unseen World through Hands-On Investigation By Dr. Susan McLaughlin & Dr. Joan Petersen Queensborough Community College Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology: Discovering the Unseen World through Hands-On Investigation Table of Contents Preface………………………………………………………………………………………i Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………..ii Microbiology Lab Safety Instructions…………………………………………………...... iii Lab 1. Introduction to Microscopy and Diversity of Cell Types……………………......... 1 Lab 2. Introduction to Aseptic Techniques and Growth Media………………………...... 19 Lab 3. Preparation of Bacterial Smears and Introduction to Staining…………………...... 37 Lab 4. Acid fast and Endospore Staining……………………………………………......... 49 Lab 5. Metabolic Activities of Bacteria…………………………………………….…....... 59 Lab 6. Dichotomous Keys……………………………………………………………......... 77 Lab 7. The Effect of Physical Factors on Microbial Growth……………………………... 85 Lab 8. Chemical Control of Microbial Growth—Disinfectants and Antibiotics…………. 99 Lab 9. The Microbiology of Milk and Food………………………………………………. 111 Lab 10. The Eukaryotes………………………………………………………………........ 123 Lab 11. Clinical Microbiology I; Anaerobic pathogens; Vectors of Infectious Disease….. 141 Lab 12. Clinical Microbiology II—Immunology and the Biolog System………………… 153 Lab 13. Putting it all Together: Case Studies in Microbiology…………………………… 163 Appendix I.
    [Show full text]
  • Abscesses Are a Serious Problem for People Who Shoot Drugs
    Where to Get Your Abscess Seen Abscesses are a serious problem for people who shoot drugs. But what the hell are they and where can you go for care? What are abscesses? Abscesses are pockets of bacteria and pus underneath you skin and occasionally in your muscle. Your body creates a wall around the bacteria in order to keep the bacteria from infecting your whole body. Another name for an abscess is a “soft tissues infection”. What are bacteria? Bacteria are microscopic organisms. Bacteria are everywhere in our environment and a few kinds cause infections and disease. The main bacteria that cause abscesses are: staphylococcus (staff-lo-coc-us) aureus (or-e-us). How can you tell when you have an abscess? Because they are pockets of infection abscesses cause swollen lumps under the skin which are often red (or in darker skinned people darker than the surrounding skin) warm to the touch and painful (often VERY painful). What is the worst thing that can happen? The worst thing that can happen with abscesses is that they can burst under your skin and cause a general infection of your whole body or blood. An all over bacterial infection can kill you. Another super bad thing that can happen is a endocarditis, which is an infection of the lining of your heart, and “septic embolism”, which means that a lump of the contaminates in your abscess get loose in your body and lodge in your lungs or brain. Why do abscesses happen? Abscesses are caused when bad bacteria come in to contact with healthy flesh.
    [Show full text]
  • (IQC) Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests Using Disk Diffusion
    Internal Quality Control (IQC) Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests Using Disk Diffusion National AMR Surveillance Network, NCDC National Programme on Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi April 2019 CONTENTS I. Scope .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 II. Selection of Strains for Quality Control ..................................................................................................... 2 III. Maintenance and Testing of QC Strains..................................................................................................... 3 Figure 1: Flow Chart: Maintenance of QC strains in a bacteriology lab......................................................... 4 IV. Quality Control (QC) Results—Documentation - Zone Diameter ............................................................. 5 V. QC Conversion Plan ................................................................................................................................... 5 1. The 20- or 30-Day Plan .......................................................................................................................... 5 2. The 15-Replicate (3× 5 Day) Plan ......................................................................................................... 5 3. Implementing Weekly Quality Control Testing ..................................................................................... 6 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Cellulitis (You Say, Sell-You-Ly-Tis)
    Cellulitis (you say, sell-you-ly-tis) Any area of skin can become infected with cellulitis if the skin is broken, for example from a sore, insect bite, boil, rash, cut, burn or graze. Cellulitis can also infect the flesh under the skin if it is damaged or bruised or if there is poor circulation. Signs your child has cellulitis: The skin will look red, and feel warm and painful to touch. There may be pus or fluid leaking from the skin. The skin may start swelling. The red area keeps growing. Gently mark the edge of the infected red area How is with a pen to see if the red area grows bigger. cellulitis spread? Red lines may appear in the skin spreading out from the centre of the infection. Bad bacteria (germs) gets into broken skin such as a cut or insect bite. What to do Wash your hands before and Cellulitis is a serious infection that needs to after touching the infected area. be treated with antibiotics. Keep your child’s nails short and Go to the doctor if the infected area is clean. painful or bigger than a 10 cent piece. Don’t let your child share Go to the doctor immediately if cellulitis is bath water, towels, sheets and near an eye as this can be very serious. clothes. Make sure your child takes the antibiotics Make sure your child rests every day until they are finished, even if and eats plenty of fruit and the infection seems to have cleared up. The vegetables and drinks plenty of antibiotics need to keep killing the infection water.
    [Show full text]
  • Chromatin Insulators and Topological Domains: Adding New Dimensions to 3D Genome Architecture
    Genes 2015, 6, 790-811; doi:10.3390/genes6030790 OPEN ACCESS genes ISSN 2073-4425 www.mdpi.com/journal/genes Review Chromatin Insulators and Topological Domains: Adding New Dimensions to 3D Genome Architecture Navneet K. Matharu 1,* and Sajad H. Ahanger 2,* 1 Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Lab for Retinal Cell Biology, University of Zurich, Wagistrasse 14, Zurich 8952, Switzerland * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails: [email protected] (N.K.M.); [email protected] (S.H.A.). Academic Editor: Jessica Tyler Received: 8 June 2015 / Accepted: 20 August 2015 / Published: 1 September 2015 Abstract: The spatial organization of metazoan genomes has a direct influence on fundamental nuclear processes that include transcription, replication, and DNA repair. It is imperative to understand the mechanisms that shape the 3D organization of the eukaryotic genomes. Chromatin insulators have emerged as one of the central components of the genome organization tool-kit across species. Recent advancements in chromatin conformation capture technologies have provided important insights into the architectural role of insulators in genomic structuring. Insulators are involved in 3D genome organization at multiple spatial scales and are important for dynamic reorganization of chromatin structure during reprogramming and differentiation. In this review, we will discuss the classical view and our renewed understanding of insulators as global genome organizers. We will also discuss the plasticity of chromatin structure and its re-organization during pluripotency and differentiation and in situations of cellular stress.
    [Show full text]
  • Identification by 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene Sequencing of Arcobacter
    182 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Identification by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of Mol Path: first published as 10.1136/mp.55.3.182 on 1 June 2002. Downloaded from Arcobacter butzleri bacteraemia in a patient with acute gangrenous appendicitis SKPLau,PCYWoo,JLLTeng, K W Leung, K Y Yuen ............................................................................................................................. J Clin Pathol: Mol Pathol 2002;55:182–185 Aims: To identify a strain of Gram negative facultative anaerobic curved bacillus, concomitantly iso- lated with Escherichia coli and Streptococcus milleri, from the blood culture of a 69 year old woman with acute gangrenous appendicitis. The literature on arcobacter bacteraemia and arcobacter infections associated with appendicitis was reviewed. Methods: The isolate was phenotypically investigated by standard biochemical methods using conventional biochemical tests. Genotypically, the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene of the bacterium was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. The sequence of the PCR prod- uct was compared with known 16S rRNA gene sequences in the GenBank by multiple sequence align- ment. Literature review was performed by MEDLINE search (1966–2000). Results: The bacterium grew on blood agar, chocolate agar, and MacConkey agar to sizes of 1 mm in diameter after 24 hours of incubation at 37°C in 5% CO2. It grew at 15°C, 25°C, and 37°C; it also grew in a microaerophilic environment, and was cytochrome oxidase positive and motile, typically a member of the genus arcobacter. Furthermore, phenotypic testing showed that the biochemical profile See end of article for of the isolate did not fit into the pattern of any of the known arcobacter species.
    [Show full text]
  • Molecular Basis of the Function of Transcriptional Enhancers
    cells Review Molecular Basis of the Function of Transcriptional Enhancers 1,2, 1, 1,3, Airat N. Ibragimov y, Oleg V. Bylino y and Yulii V. Shidlovskii * 1 Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation in Development, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov St., 119334 Moscow, Russia; [email protected] (A.N.I.); [email protected] (O.V.B.) 2 Center for Precision Genome Editing and Genetic Technologies for Biomedicine, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/5 Vavilov St., 119334 Moscow, Russia 3 I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 8, bldg. 2 Trubetskaya St., 119048 Moscow, Russia * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +7-4991354096 These authors contributed equally to this study. y Received: 30 May 2020; Accepted: 3 July 2020; Published: 5 July 2020 Abstract: Transcriptional enhancers are major genomic elements that control gene activity in eukaryotes. Recent studies provided deeper insight into the temporal and spatial organization of transcription in the nucleus, the role of non-coding RNAs in the process, and the epigenetic control of gene expression. Thus, multiple molecular details of enhancer functioning were revealed. Here, we describe the recent data and models of molecular organization of enhancer-driven transcription. Keywords: enhancer; promoter; chromatin; transcriptional bursting; transcription factories; enhancer RNA; epigenetic marks 1. Introduction Gene transcription is precisely organized in time and space. The process requires the participation of hundreds of molecules, which form an extensive interaction network. Substantial progress was achieved recently in our understanding of the molecular processes that take place in the cell nucleus (e.g., see [1–9]).
    [Show full text]