To estimate the diversity of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Brazil, 18 strains from different species of the family Enterobacteriaceae exhibiting a positive double-disk synergy test were collected by a clinical laboratory from several hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1996 and 1997. Four strains (Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Citrobacter amalon...

Gliomas are rarely curable malignant brain tumors arising from normal glial cells. The scorpion-derived small peptide, chlorotoxin (CTX), can selectively bind malignant gliomas. In the present study, a CTX-conjugated onconase (Onc), a small cytotoxic ribonuclease, was prepared as a potential anti-glioma drug. In this conjugate, recombinant CTX was covalently linked with recombinant Onc by rever...

OBJECTIVES We characterized two new CTX-M-type extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) variants in Escherichia coli isolates from stool samples of two elderly patients admitted at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel. Both patients underwent treatment with cephalosporins prior to isolation of the E. coli strains. METHODS ESBLs were detected by the double-disk synergy test and PCR-sequenc...

A study was designed to describe the molecular epidemiology of CTX-M-producing Escherichia coli over a 6-year period (2000 to 2005) in a large well-defined Canadian region with a centralized laboratory system. Molecular characterization was done by isoelectric focusing, PCR, and automated sequencing, while genetic relatedness was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with XbaI. Of the ...

OBJECTIVES To characterize a novel CTX-M chimera, CTX-M-137, from Escherichia coli clinical isolates in China. METHODS Isolates were collected from five hospitals between 22 February 2009 and 20 December 2011. Resistance genes were investigated by PCR. blaCTX-M-137 was cloned and purified for kinetic measurements. Conjugation experiments, S1-PFGE and Southern blotting were performed to study ...

INTRODUCTION Despite declining risk of vertical HIV transmission, prophylactic cotrimoxazole (CTX) remains widely used to reduce morbidity and mortality in the event of HIV infection among exposed infants, with an inherent risk of conferring commensal antimicrobial resistance. Using data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of infant CTX prophylaxis, we sought to quantify emergence of an...

Resistance of mouse M5076 (M5) ovarian reticular cell sarcoma to cyclophosphamide (CTX) was obtained in vivo by repeated drug treatment followed by transplantation of the regrowing tumor. After 16 passages, we obtained an M5 subline resistant to CTX (M5-CTX-16R). Median survival times were approximately 29 and 39 days for M5 and M5-CTX-16R, respectively. Survival of M5-bearing mice given a sing...

The conotoxin-like (ctx) gene encodes a small cysteine-rich polypeptide in various baculoviruses. Previous research has demonstrated that the product of the ctx gene could be purified from insect cells infected by Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV), but its function was unknown. In this paper, we compared the conserved cysteine motif structure (CX3GX2CX5CCX3CX6C) of the ...

Background: A novel drug delivery system using poly (ε-caprolactone) - poly (ethylene glycol) -poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL) was established in this study. Methods: Ceftriaxone (CTX) was encapsulated within PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles by a double emulsion technique (w/o/w), leading to creation of ceftriaxone-loaded PCL-PEG-PCL (CTX/PCL-PEG-PCL) polymersomes. The resulting polymersomes...