To our knowledge, no studies have previously been carried out on the heterogeneity and intrafamily colonization of impetigo Staphylococcus aureus strains obtained by powerful discriminating methods such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). To explore this topic, macrorestriction patterns of S. aureus strains were analyzed after SmaI and SgrAI digestion. The two enzymes provided superimposable results. A total of ninety-seven S. aureus strains was found in the 26 families whose lesions and nasal and pharyngeal samples were examined. There were 39 strains which were different by PFGE, and of these, 24 were found in the lesions. Although 85% of impetigo patients showed nasal colonization and 58% showed pharyngeal colonization, only 54% of the patients had the same PFGE strain in the lesion and in the nose, and 35% in the lesion and the pharynx. In half of the 26 families, at least one member (mother, father, or relative) presented a S. aureus strain identical, by PFGE, to strains isolated in patients' lesions. Nineteen percent of mothers, 15% of fathers, and 19% of the other relatives presented nasal colonization with strains identical to those isolated in the children's lesions. Lesional strains showed higher antimicrobial resistance than nonlesional isolates.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Anti-intercellular substance antibody log titres are correlated with serum concentrations of interleukin-6, interleukin-15 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in patients with Pemphigus vulgaris relationships with peripheral blood neutrophil counts, disease severity and duration and patients' age.

Pemphigus vulgaris is a rare dermatosis of autoimmune origin, characterized by autoantibodies directed against intercellular substance (AICS) and presenting with intra-epidermal blisters and/or erosions of the skin and mucous membranes. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationships between serum AICS titers (after log transformation) and: patients' age, disease duration and disease activity; serum cytokine (IL-6, IL-7, IL-15 and TNF-alpha) concentrations and peripheral blood cell counts (namely neutrophils, lymphocytes and natural killer cells). Fifteen consecutive subjects affected with PV were enrolled. Diagnosis was supported by histological examination as well as by direct and indirect immunofluorescence tests. Cytokine determinations were made by means of commercially available ELISA kits. This study shows for the first time that AICS titers have a significant correlation with age of PV patients (R=0.57, p=0.031) and with the disease duration (R=0.73, p=0.002). A correlation between blood neutrophils count and log (AICS) titres was observed (R=0.6, p=0.021). Furthermore, significant correlations were observed between log (AICS) titres and serum IL-15 (R=0.54, p=0.048), serum IL-6 (R=0.53, p=0.05) or serum TNF-alpha concentrations (R=0.53, p=0.05). These data, taken together, show that there are several connections between the log (AICS) titres, some proinflammatory cytokines, peripheral blood neutrophil counts and the numbers of individuals' lesions, suggesting a relationship between AICS production and lesion development.

Adult↗