Drug resistance mutations and susceptibility phenotypes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neisseria gonorrhoeae</Emphasis> isolates in Russia

Steady growth in the degree of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae calls for the control of the spreading of resistance mutations. Here we present the data describing drug resistance mutations, the results of antimicrobial susceptibility tests, and molecular genotypes of 128 recent N. gonorrhoeae isolates collected across 9 regions of the Russian Federation. The mutations in chromosome genes penA, ponA, rpsJ, gyrA, parC, which determine the susceptibility of N. gonorrhoeae to penicillins, tetracyclines, and fluoroquinolones were detected by multiplex amplification followed by hybridization on a hydrogel microarray. The most frequent mutation was an insertion of an aspartate at position 345 of penA gene (76.6%), whereas mutations Leu421Pro in ponA gene, Val57Met in rpsJ gene, Ser91Phe in gyrA gene, Asp95Gly in gyrA gene, and Ser87Arg in parC gene were detected in 32.8–36.7% of strains. One third of studied N. gonorrhoeae isolates harbored multiple drug resistance mutations in bacterial chromosome, resulting in the bimodal distribution of mutation profiles and related patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility. The spread of multiple resistance could be explained by the vertical transfer of the mutations resulting in the clonality of the N. gonorrhoeae population.     

Recombinant Fragment of the Extracellular Domain of Human Desmoglein 3 Fused with the Fc-Fragment of Human IgG1 Selectively Adsorbs Autoreactive Antibodies from the Sera of Pemphigus Patients

Doklady Biochemistry and Biophysics - Using the recombinant second fragment of the extracellular domain (EC2) of human desmoglein type 3 (Dsg3) as an affinity ligand, an immunosorbent was obtained...     

Evaluation of<Emphasis Type="Italic">in Vitro</Emphasis> antifungal activity of<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Benzylsalicylamide derivatives

A series of 65 derivatives of N-benzylsalicylamide was tested against eight potentially human pathogenic fungi by microdilution broth method modified according to M27-A standard. The majority of these compounds showed only weak in vitro antifungal activity. The most significant effect was observed against filamentous fungi Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Absidia corymbifera, and Aspergillus fumigatus while yeasts, in general, were less susceptible. N-(4'-Chlorobenzyl) salicylamides, N-(3',4'-dichlorobenzyl)-salicylamides, and partially N-benzylsalicylamides exhibited relatively high in vitro antifungal activity. The most efficient derivatives had MIC < or = 7.8 mumol/L against T. mentagrophytes. Regression analysis suggested an indirect relationship between MIC values and lipophilicity (log P).     

Synthesis and structure-antifungal activity relationships of 3-aryl-5-alkyl-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-ones and their carbanalogues: further refinement of tentative pharmacophore group

Two series of 3-(substituted phenyl)-5-alkyl-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-ones related to a natural product, (-)incrustoporine, were synthesized and their in vitro antifungal activity evaluated. The compounds with halogen substituents on the phenyl ring exhibited selective antifungal activity against the filamentous strains of Absidia corymbifera and Aspergillus fumigatus. On the other hand, the influence of the length of the alkyl chain at C(5) was marginal. The antifungal effect of the most active compound against the above strains was higher than that of ketoconazole, and close to that of amphotericin B. In order to verify the hypothesis about a possible relationship between the Michael-accepting ability of the compounds and their antifungal activity, a series of simple carbanalogues, 2-(substituted phenyl)cyclopent-2-enones, was prepared and subjected to antifungal activity assay as well.     

In vitro antifungal activity of 3-phenyl-2H-benzoxazine-2,4(3H)-diones

A series of 81 3-phenyl-2H-benzoxazine-2,4(3H)-diones with substitution at C(₆) on the benzoxazine ring and on the phenyl moiety was synthesized; the compounds were evaluated for antifungal activity against five strains of potentially pathogenic fungi (Absidia corymbifera, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Microsporum gypseum andTrichophyton mentagrophytes). Structure-activity relationships againstT. mentagrophytes andM. gypseum were determined using the Free-Wilson method, which was further combined with the approach of Hansch.In vitro antifungal activity becomes higher with increasing electron-accepting ability of the substituents on the phenyl ring, and with increasing lipophilicity. Dedicated to Prof. RNDr. Bolumil Sikyta, DrSc., on the occasion of his 70th birthday