agar and Lung-Diseases

North American ginseng is known to have immunomodulatory and antipseudomonal properties in vitro. In this study we investigated the effects of aqueous ginseng extract, either alone or in a combination with the antibiotic tobramycin, in an animal model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection. The lungs of male rats (n = 5) were infected with P. aeruginosa (2 × 10(8) cfu/mL) in agar-beads by intratracheal instillation. Starting on day 7 post-infection, animals were treated daily for 3 consecutive days with saline, tobramycin (300 μg/kg body mass, intratracheal), and (or) ginseng (100 mg/kg body mass, subcutaneous); animals were sacrificed 24 h after the third drug treatment. Lung bacteria counts, cytokine levels in sera, and lung histopathology were examined. The treatment of infected animals with tobramycin [6.6 × 10(4) colony forming units (cfu)], ginseng (5.3 × 10(4) cfu), or tobramycin plus ginseng (2.0 × 10(3) cfu) lessened the lung infection compared with the control group (saline treated) (6.0 × 10(6) cfu). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-12p70, IFN-γ, GM-CSF, TNF-α) in infected animals were significantly increased with co-treatment of ginseng plus tobramycin. These data suggest that co-administration of aqueous ginseng extract and tobramycin stimulated the pro-inflammatory response and promoted the killing of P. aeruginosa.

Topics: Agar; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Load; Body Weight; Chemokines; Culture Media; Cytokines; Inflammation; Lung; Lung Diseases; Male; Organ Size; Panax; Plant Extracts; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas Infections; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tobramycin

Burkholderia cenocepacia is an opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. To understand the contribution of B. cenocepacia flagella to infection, a strain mutated in the major flagellin subunit, fliCII, was constructed in B. cenocepacia K56-2 and tested in a murine agar bead model of lung infection. C57/BL6 mice infected with approximately 10(8) wild-type K56-2 bacteria exhibited 40% mortality after 3 days, whereas no mortality was noted in mice infected with the fliCII mutant. Among the mice surviving the infection with either strain, there was no significant difference in the bacterial loads in the lungs and spleen, bacteremia, weight loss, or infiltration of immune effector cells at 3 days postinfection. Similar results were observed at 24 h, prior to expression of the lethality phenotype. KC, a murine interleukin-8 (IL-8) homolog, was elevated in both the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and serum of mice infected with the wild type compared to the fliCII mutant at 24 h, suggesting that flagella stimulated host cells. To demonstrate that flagella contributed to these responses, the interaction between B. cenocepacia and Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) was investigated. Infection of HEK293 cells with heat-killed wild-type K56-2, but not infection with the fliCII mutant, resulted in both NF-kappaB activation and IL-8 secretion that was dependent upon expression of TLR5. Together, these results demonstrate that B. cenocepacia flagella contribute to virulence in an in vivo infection model, and that induction of host immune responses through interaction with TLR5 may contribute to its overall pathogenic potential.

Topics: Agar; Animals; Burkholderia cepacia; Burkholderia Infections; Cell Line; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Flagella; Flagellin; Humans; Inflammation; Interleukin-8; Lung Diseases; Membrane Glycoproteins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microspheres; Mutation; Receptors, Cell Surface; Toll-Like Receptor 5; Toll-Like Receptors; Virulence

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common pathogen infecting the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Improved antimicrobial chemotherapy has significantly increased the life expectancy of these patients. However, accurate susceptibility testing of P. aeruginosa isolates from CF sputum may be difficult because the organisms are often mucoid and slow growing. This study of 597 CF isolates of P. aeruginosa examined the correlation of disk diffusion and Etest (AB BIODISK, Solna, Sweden) results with a reference broth microdilution method. The rates of interpretive errors for 12 commonly used antipseudomonal antimicrobials were determined. The disk diffusion method correlated well (zone diameter versus MIC) for all of the agents tested. However, for mucoid isolates, correlation coefficients (r values) for piperacillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, and meropenem were <0.80. The Etest correlation with reference broth microdilution results (MIC versus MIC) was acceptable for all of the agents tested, for both mucoid and nonmucoid isolates. Category interpretation errors were similar for the disk diffusion and Etest methods with 0.4 and 0.1%, respectively, very major errors (false susceptibility) and 1.1 and 2.2% major errors (false resistance). Overall, both agar diffusion methods appear to be broadly acceptable for routine clinical use in susceptibility testing of CF isolates of P. aeruginosa.

Topics: Agar; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Child; Cystic Fibrosis; Humans; Lung; Lung Diseases; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas Infections; Reproducibility of Results; Sputum

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of two kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs, Isatis tinctoria L (ITL) and Daphne giraldii Nitsche (DGN), on a rat model of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection mimicking cystic fibrosis (CF). Compared to the control group, both drugs were able to reduce the incidence of lung abscess (p < 0.05) and to decrease the severity of the macroscopic pathology in lungs (p < 0.05). In the great majority of the rats, the herbs altered the inflammatory response in the lungs from an acute type inflammation, dominated by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), to a chronic type inflammation, dominated by mononuclear leukocytes (MN). DGN also improved the clearance of P. aeruginosa from the lungs (p < 0.03) compared with the control group. There were no significant differences between the control group and the two herbal groups with regard to serum IgG and IgA anti-P. aeruginosa sonicate antibodies. However, the IgM concentration in the ITL group was significantly lower than in the control group (p < 0.03). These results suggest that the two medicinal herbs might be helpful to CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection, DGN being the most favorable.

Topics: Agar; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Chronic Disease; Culture Media; Cystic Fibrosis; Disease Models, Animal; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Lung Diseases; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas Infections; Rats; Rats, Inbred Lew

Topics: Agar; Alanine; Alkaline Phosphatase; Aminopeptidases; Clinical Enzyme Tests; Diagnosis, Differential; Electrophoresis; Electrophoresis, Disc; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Gallbladder Diseases; Heart Diseases; Humans; Isoenzymes; Liver Diseases; Lung Diseases; Methods; Pancreatic Diseases

Topics: Agar; Bacteria; Bacteriological Techniques; Blood; Bronchi; Bronchoscopy; Chronic Disease; Cough; Culture Media; Female; Humans; Lung Diseases; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Prospective Studies; Sex Factors; Smoking; Sputum

Topics: Agar; Aspergillosis; Asthma; Celiac Disease; Eczema; Food Hypersensitivity; gamma-Globulins; Hemosiderosis; Humans; Immunodiffusion; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Larva Migrans, Visceral; Liver Cirrhosis; Lung Diseases; Methods; Multiple Myeloma; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal

Topics: Agar; Bacteriological Techniques; Chronic Disease; Culture Media; Culture Techniques; Enterobacteriaceae; Humans; Lung Diseases; Methods; Neisseria; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Sputum; Staphylococcus; Streptococcus

Topics: Adult; Agar; Bronchial Diseases; Chronic Disease; Electrophoresis; Female; Gels; Humans; Lung Diseases; Male; Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Middle Aged; Pulmonary Emphysema; Respiratory Insufficiency; Trypsin Inhibitors

Topics: Agar; Biliary Tract Diseases; Blood Protein Electrophoresis; Electrophoresis; gamma-Globulins; Heart Diseases; Humans; Immunodiffusion; Immunoelectrophoresis; Liver Diseases; Lung Diseases; Methods; Neoplasms; Paper

Topics: Agar; Histological Techniques; Humans; Lung Abscess; Lung Diseases; Lung Neoplasms