Panton valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a pore forming exotoxin that is expressed by some Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains and is thought to add to its virulence. The prevalence of PVL in carriage and disease ca...Panton valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a pore forming exotoxin that is expressed by some Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains and is thought to add to its virulence. The prevalence of PVL in carriage and disease causing strains varies considerably from region to region. This study compared the prevalence of the PVL gene in S. aureus isolates obtained from healthcare workers and from patients seen at the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi (AKUHN). S. aureus isolates obtained from healthcare workers and patients attended to at AKUHN between July 2010 and March 2011 were used for this study. Forty five S. aureus isolates from healthcare workers and 63 from clinical specimens obtained from 59 patients were analysed for the PVL gene. The prevalence of PVL in isolates from healthcare workers was 24.4% compared to 39.7% in the isolates causing infection (P = 0.098). PVL prevalence was 58.8% in S. aureus isolates obtained from skin and soft tissue infections (SSIs) compared to 25.0% in carriage isolates (P = 0.002, OR 4.29). Prevalence in isolates from invasive infections was 11.1%. Patients with PVL positive S. aureus were younger than those with PVL negative isolates (P = 0.082). The high prevalence of PVL is comparable with that reported in other African countries. The significance of the high prevalence of PVL in S.aureus isolates carried by health care workers at AKUHN is unclear at the moment. PVL prevalence is significantly higher in S. aureus isolates causing SSIs compared to carriage and invasive isolates.展开更多
We previously observed the elicitation of a significant delayed-type hypersensitivity response to the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) LukS-PV subunit following subcutaneous immunization (Brown et al., Clinical Micro...We previously observed the elicitation of a significant delayed-type hypersensitivity response to the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) LukS-PV subunit following subcutaneous immunization (Brown et al., Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2009, 156: 156-164). A LukS-PV-specific cell line (LST) was screened for proliferative responses against a panel of 25 amino acid-long peptides spanning the length of LukS-PV (amino acids 29-312). This analysis demonstrated that stimulation of LST with LukS-PV resulted in significant proliferative responses and adoptive transfer of LST into na?ve mice conferred a LukS-PV-specific DTH response following challenge. Challenge of mice adoptively transferred with LST with peptides 7 (149-173), 8 (169-193) and 14 (289-312) also elicited a measurable DTH response suggesting that these peptides contained T cell epitopes.展开更多
Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is one of the toxins responsible for increased virulence of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>. In school settings where children are in close contact with each other, <em&...Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is one of the toxins responsible for increased virulence of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>. In school settings where children are in close contact with each other, <em>S. aureus</em> strains, including those that may produce PVL, can be transmitted and spread in the community. Twenty-two multi-drug resistant MRSA nasal isolates from children enrolled in five schools in the town of Mariental and the multi-drug resistant American Type Culture Collection MRSA reference strain <em>S. aureus</em> ATCC 33591 (PVL-negative control) were used for molecular assays. Plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of isolates was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified PCR products were electrophoresed on a 2.5% (w/v) agarose gel containing 12 μl 0.5 μg/ml ethidium bromide and 1× TAE (Tris-acetate-EDTA) buffer at 90 volts for 50 minutes. The developed gel was viewed for the PVL-associated <em>lukS</em> and <em>lukF</em> genes that amplified at 151 bp and 406 bp, respectively. Our results indicated that seven nasal isolates had PVL toxin gene(s). From the seven isolates, three were tested positive for both <em>lukS</em> and<em> lukF</em>genes, one tested positive for only<em> lukS</em>, and three tested positive for only <em>lukF</em>. Two of the isolates harbouring both<em> lukS</em> and <em>lukF</em> genes shared the same antibiotic resistance pattern and one of them could also produce enterotoxin A. One of the isolates with only <em>lukF </em>gene could produce enterotoxins B and C. These toxin-producing isolates can be expected to be more virulent than non-producers. Children should be educated on the importance of regular handwashing with soap and water to prevent the spread of potentially virulent staphylococci amongst them and the wider community. This work warrants a larger study to be carried out to investigate PVL toxin and its associated infections in <em>Staphylococcus</em> from school children in Namibia.展开更多
文摘Panton valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a pore forming exotoxin that is expressed by some Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) strains and is thought to add to its virulence. The prevalence of PVL in carriage and disease causing strains varies considerably from region to region. This study compared the prevalence of the PVL gene in S. aureus isolates obtained from healthcare workers and from patients seen at the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi (AKUHN). S. aureus isolates obtained from healthcare workers and patients attended to at AKUHN between July 2010 and March 2011 were used for this study. Forty five S. aureus isolates from healthcare workers and 63 from clinical specimens obtained from 59 patients were analysed for the PVL gene. The prevalence of PVL in isolates from healthcare workers was 24.4% compared to 39.7% in the isolates causing infection (P = 0.098). PVL prevalence was 58.8% in S. aureus isolates obtained from skin and soft tissue infections (SSIs) compared to 25.0% in carriage isolates (P = 0.002, OR 4.29). Prevalence in isolates from invasive infections was 11.1%. Patients with PVL positive S. aureus were younger than those with PVL negative isolates (P = 0.082). The high prevalence of PVL is comparable with that reported in other African countries. The significance of the high prevalence of PVL in S.aureus isolates carried by health care workers at AKUHN is unclear at the moment. PVL prevalence is significantly higher in S. aureus isolates causing SSIs compared to carriage and invasive isolates.
文摘We previously observed the elicitation of a significant delayed-type hypersensitivity response to the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) LukS-PV subunit following subcutaneous immunization (Brown et al., Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2009, 156: 156-164). A LukS-PV-specific cell line (LST) was screened for proliferative responses against a panel of 25 amino acid-long peptides spanning the length of LukS-PV (amino acids 29-312). This analysis demonstrated that stimulation of LST with LukS-PV resulted in significant proliferative responses and adoptive transfer of LST into na?ve mice conferred a LukS-PV-specific DTH response following challenge. Challenge of mice adoptively transferred with LST with peptides 7 (149-173), 8 (169-193) and 14 (289-312) also elicited a measurable DTH response suggesting that these peptides contained T cell epitopes.
文摘Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is one of the toxins responsible for increased virulence of <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em>. In school settings where children are in close contact with each other, <em>S. aureus</em> strains, including those that may produce PVL, can be transmitted and spread in the community. Twenty-two multi-drug resistant MRSA nasal isolates from children enrolled in five schools in the town of Mariental and the multi-drug resistant American Type Culture Collection MRSA reference strain <em>S. aureus</em> ATCC 33591 (PVL-negative control) were used for molecular assays. Plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of isolates was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified PCR products were electrophoresed on a 2.5% (w/v) agarose gel containing 12 μl 0.5 μg/ml ethidium bromide and 1× TAE (Tris-acetate-EDTA) buffer at 90 volts for 50 minutes. The developed gel was viewed for the PVL-associated <em>lukS</em> and <em>lukF</em> genes that amplified at 151 bp and 406 bp, respectively. Our results indicated that seven nasal isolates had PVL toxin gene(s). From the seven isolates, three were tested positive for both <em>lukS</em> and<em> lukF</em>genes, one tested positive for only<em> lukS</em>, and three tested positive for only <em>lukF</em>. Two of the isolates harbouring both<em> lukS</em> and <em>lukF</em> genes shared the same antibiotic resistance pattern and one of them could also produce enterotoxin A. One of the isolates with only <em>lukF </em>gene could produce enterotoxins B and C. These toxin-producing isolates can be expected to be more virulent than non-producers. Children should be educated on the importance of regular handwashing with soap and water to prevent the spread of potentially virulent staphylococci amongst them and the wider community. This work warrants a larger study to be carried out to investigate PVL toxin and its associated infections in <em>Staphylococcus</em> from school children in Namibia.
