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“BACKGROUND

Isolates

of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) belonging to a single lineage are often indistinguishable by means of current typing techniques. Whole-genome sequencing may provide improved resolution to define transmission pathways and characterize outbreaks.

METHODS

We investigated a putative MRSA outbreak in a neonatal intensive care unit. By using rapid high-throughput sequencing technology with a clinically relevant turnaround time, we retrospectively sequenced the DNA from seven isolates associated with the outbreak and another seven MRSA isolates associated with carriage of MRSA or bacteremia in the same hospital.

RESULTS

We constructed a phylogenetic tree by comparing single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the core genome to a reference genome (an epidemic

MRSA clone, EMRSA-15 [sequence type 22]). This revealed a distinct cluster buy MK-0518 of outbreak isolates and clear separation between these and the nonoutbreak isolates. A previously missed transmission event was detected between two patients with bacteremia who were not part of the outbreak. We created an artificial “”resistome”" of antibiotic-resistance genes and demonstrated concordance between it and the results of phenotypic susceptibility testing; we also created a “”toxome”" consisting of toxin genes. One see more outbreak isolate had a hypermutator phenotype with a higher number of SNPs than the other outbreak isolates, highlighting the difficulty of imposing a simple threshold for the number of SNPs between isolates to decide whether they are part of a recent transmission chain.

CONCLUSIONS

Whole-genome

sequencing can provide clinically relevant data within a time frame that can influence patient care. The need for automated data interpretation and the provision of clinically meaningful reports represent hurdles to clinical implementation. (Funded by the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration Translational Infection YAP-TEAD Inhibitor 1 mouse Research Initiative and others.)”
“Neurocysticercosis (NC) invokes formidable neurological problems worldwide. Previous proteomic analyses revealed most of the low-molecular-weight proteins might derive from two macromolecules of 120 kDa (consisting of 14-38 kDa subunits) and 150 kDa (7-15 kDa subunits) of Taenia solium metacestode (TsM) cyst fluid (CF). We characterized serological properties of these two proteins and established an inimunopotent chimera. The 120 and 150 kDa proteins harbored 54-81 and 94-98% of the antibody-binding activity of the crude CF with minimal antigenic cross-reactivity to each other. The expression and immune recognition of the 150 kDa subunits were relatively constant, regardless of the different geographical origins of the CF collected, while those of the 120 kDa subunits varied by their origins (Asia vs. America).