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Biomedical subjects

C Godard

Publications and source records attributed to C Godard.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Differentiation between high and low virulence Staphylococcus aureus strains from rabbits by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis.

Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) typing was performed on 53 rabbit Staphylococcus aureus strains. Twenty-three strains isolated in 13 different rabbitries with chronic problems of staphylococcosis, showed the same RAPD banding pattern. Twenty of these strains belonged to the 'mixed CV-C' biotype and to the phage-type 3A/3C/55/71, previously described to be highly virulent in rabbits, and three strains belonged to other biotypes or phage-types. None of the strains isolated from rabbitries without chronic problems of staphylococcosis showed this specific RAPD pattern. RAPD analysis can be used as a rapid and reliable test method to differentiate between the characteristic genotype corresponding to high virulence and other S. aureus strains from rabbits. This is useful for the diagnosis and prevention of the introduction of these highly virulent strains in industrial rabbitries.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Colonization of rabbits with Staphylococcus aureus in flocks with and without chronic staphylococcosis.

Rabbits of 19 rabbitries were examined for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus in nine different body sites. Seven rabbitries experienced epidemically spreading signs of staphylococcosis while the other 12 rabbitries did not. S. aureus was isolated in all seven flocks that suffered from chronic problems of staphylococcosis and in 11 of the 12 clinically healthy flocks. The mean percentage of infected animals in these two groups was 90 and 43.3%, respectively. S. aureus was isolated from all body sites examined, but the ear and the perineum were often more intensely colonized. The number of animals colonized with S. aureus and the mean number of positive body sites in S. aureus positive rabbits were significantly higher in rabbitries with chronic staphylococcosis. This indicates that colonization capacity of S. aureus plays a role in epidemically spreading disease in rabbits. S. aureus isolates belonged to five different biotypes and 23 different phage types. Several different types simultaneously circulated in contaminated rabbitries and even simultaneously infected individual rabbits. Strains that belonged to the biotype-phage type combination mixed CV-C, 3A/3C/55/71 only occurred in rabbitries chronically dealing with signs of staphylococcosis. This may indicate a relationship between phenotypic strain properties and virulence of S. aureus.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cloning of a long HIV-1 readthrough transcript and detection of an increased level of early growth response protein-1 (Egr-1) mRNA in chronically infected U937 cells.

To identify the pathways involved in HIV-1 modification of cellular gene expression, chronically infected U937 cells were screened by mRNA differential display. A chimeric transcript consisting of the 3' end of the LTR of a HIV-1 provirus, followed by 3.7 kb of cellular RNA was identified suggesting that long readthrough transcription might be one of the mechanisms by which gene expression could be modified in individual infected cells. Such a phenomenon may also be the first step towards the potential transduction of cellular sequences. Furthermore, the mRNA encoding for the transcription factor Egr-1 was detected as an over-represented transcript in infected cells. Northern blot analysis confirmed the increase of Egr-1 mRNA content in both HIV-1 infected promonocytic U937 cells and T cell lines such as Jurkat and CEM. Interestingly a similar increase of Egr-1 mRNA has previously been reported to occur in HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infected T cell lines. Despite the consistent increase in the level of Egr-1 mRNA, the amount of the encoded protein did not appear to be modified in HIV-1 infected cells, suggesting an increased turn over of the protein in chronically infected cells.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1998

[Extracorporeal circulation for warming in severe accidental hypothermia. 3 cases].

BACKGROUND: Severe accidental hypothermia with central temperature below 28 degrees C can result from prolonged cold exposure and lead to a fatal outcome by spontaneous or provoked ventricular fibrillation. CASE REPORT: Three patients were referred for central temperature below 24 degrees C. At admission, the patients had major ventricular rythm disorders (two were in a state of circulatory arrest and the third had auricular fibrillation and circulatory collapse). Emergency care associated internal warning using extracorporeal circulation via the femoro-femoral route with a centrifuge pump. Outcome was favorable in 2 cases. DISCUSSION: Prognosis is very poor in patients who experience severe accidental hypothermia (< 28 degrees C) with circulatory collapse. Death often results from major rhythm disorders. Optimal emergency rewarming and oxygenation using extracorporeal circulatory assistance can be successful.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Use of steroids to monitor alterations in the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Testosterone (a strongly hydrophobic steroid) and testosterone hemisuccinate (a negatively charged derivative) were used as probes to investigate alterations in the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Diffusion rates of the steroids across the lipid bilayer were measured by coupling the influx of these compounds to their subsequent oxidation by an intracellular delta1-dehydrogenase enzyme. Wild-type cells of P. aeruginosa (strain PAO1) were found to be 25 times more permeable to testosterone than to testosterone hemisuccinate. The uptake of the latter compound appeared to be partially dependent on the external pH, thus suggesting a preferential diffusion of the uncharged protonated form across the cell envelope. Using various PAO mutants, we showed that the permeation of steroids was not affected by overexpression of active efflux systems but was increased up to 5.5-fold when the outer membrane contained defective lipopolysaccharides or lacked the major porin OprF. Such alterations in the hydrophobic uptake pathway were not, however, associated with an enhanced permeability of the mutants to the small hydrophilic molecule N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylene diamine. Thirty-six agents were also assayed for their ability to damage the cell surface of strain PAO1, using testosterone as a probe. Polymyxins, rBPI23, chlorhexidine, and dibromopropamidine demonstrated the strongest permeabilizing activities on a molar basis in the presence of 1 mM MgCl2. These amphiphilic polycations increased the transmembrane diffusion of testosterone up to 50-fold and sensitized the PAO1 cells to hydrophobic antibiotics. All together, these data indicated that the steroid uptake assay provides a direct and accurate measurement of the hydrophobic uptake pathway in P. aeruginosa.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1997

Contribution of a typing method based on IS256 probing of SmaI-digested cellular DNA to discrimination of European phage type 77 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains.

The incidence of infections with phage type 77 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains increased in France in 1987. These strains are widespread in numerous European hospitals. The SmaI restriction profiles of total DNA extracted from 74 phage type 77 MRSA strains isolated from 1987 to 1994 in 10 hospitals in eight European cities (in France, Belgium, and Spain) were analyzed. Hybridization with a probe containing a 468-bp DNA fragment from within the transposase gene of the insertion sequence IS256 was also examined. Forty-three SmaI profiles were detected. Twenty major genotypes were identified, and each genotype contained strains with the same profile or profiles which differed by no more than three bands. Strains isolated in different countries and at several-year intervals were often grouped within the same genotype. A larger number of genotypes could be discriminated by analysis of the patterns of hybridization with the IS256 probe. SmaI restriction fragments with the same apparent electrophoretic mobility could, in some cases, be distinguished by the presence or the absence of nucleotide sequences hybridizing with IS256. The strains that grouped within the same genotype after hybridization with IS256 were mostly those isolated in the same hospital and at less than 12-month intervals. Consequently, the IS256 probe that we used improved restriction profile analysis for discrimination between the intrahospital, outbreak-related phage type 77 MRSA strains and the endemic strains disseminated in various cities and countries.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed1997

[Cancer incidence among active female workers at Electricité de France-Gaz de France].

Our aim was to draw up a first general view of cancer pathology among the EDF-GDF women thanks to the cancer register among active employees created by the social security department of the French national electric and gas company EDF-GDF. Between 1978 and 1992, 764 cases of cancer were diagnosed. Breast cancer was the most common (52.4%), followed by gynaecological cancers: uterus (8.6%) and ovary (6.2%), and colon and rectum cancers (5.4%). The age-standardized breast cancer incidence using the 1978-1982 period as a basis increased over time. A higher incidence for breast cancer and a lower incidence for uterus cancer were observed among the EDF-GDF women during the 1978-1982 and 1983-1987 periods, compared to French women of same age. The study of the relationship between breast cancer risk and socioeconomic status, by means of indirect standardization, showed that the breast cancer risk increased with increasing socioeconomic status. Thus manual workers had a lower breast cancer risk than the EDF-GDF woman cohort (SIR = 0.72), foremen had the same risk (SIR = 1.05) and managers had a significantly higher risk (SIR = 1.64). Moreover a case-control study showed that the change in socioeconomic status between the beginning (20 years old) and the middle of a career (35 years old) was important but it was essentially the socioeconomic status at the beginning which determined the breast cancer risk. The results support the hypothesis of a "social class" effect through risk factors during the first part of the life.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Changes in major populations of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Belgium.

A total of 102 epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates collected in 13 Belgian hospitals during two periods (1981-1985 and 1991-1992) were tested for phage-type, for the presence of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AME), and examined by arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR). All isolates, but five, belonged to a few distinct phage-types of group III. Most isolates expressed a combination of AAC(6')-APH(2") with APH(3')III, and ANT(4',4") or both. Both phage-typing and AME suggested a change in the MRSA population between the two periods but the AP-PCR method revealed only slight differences.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1996

A new pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus type in commercial rabbits.

Heavy losses in commercial rabbitries with mainly cutaneous infections were found to be caused by a special Staphylococcus aureus type. This type differs from the previously known rabbit and hare pathogenic strains causing similar infections, mainly in its unique phage type.

Abscess↗
PubMed1996

[Cancer incidence among active male workers at Electricite de France-Gaz de France].

The social security department of the French national electric and gas company has established a cancer register among a population of about 150,000 active employees based on sick leaves of both short and long duration as well as deaths recorded along with their medical cause. A first study conducted in male workers, aged 20-59, during the 1978-1989 period showed a lower cancer incidence for almost every site of cancer except for leukaemias and others reticuloses tumors of lymphoid and histiocyte tissues, compared with the French general population (SIR = 148 and 218 resp.). Between the 1978-1982 and 1983-1989 periods, a marked decrease (statistically significant) was observed in the incidence of larynx cancer and cancers of all sites usually related with excessive alcohol consumption. During the same period the incidence of pancreatic cancer has almost doubled. Large variations according to socio-economic status were observed for cancers of the lung, the pharynx, the oral cavity and the oesophagus and, also, to a lesser degree, for tumours of the testis and the bladder and leukaemias. The results suggest further studies of occupational factors. Interest and limits of such a compagny register are discussed.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1994

Typing of hospital strains of Xanthomonas maltophilia by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

We report the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to characterize Xanthomonas maltophilia isolates from an incident of hospital-acquired infection over a 12-day period in a haematological unit. Ten isolates from five patients (from throat, urine, stool and blood) and two isolates from environmental sites in the unit were compared with 10 epidemiologically unrelated clinical strains, isolated over a 3-month period from several units in two hospitals, by PFGE of DraI digests of chromosomal DNA. The profiles obtained were stable, reproducible and discriminatory. The 10 unrelated strains had different DNA profiles. Each of the five patients in the unit was colonized by a different strain and the isolates from a water faucet and a shower pommel had the same DNA profile as the strains of two patients who had used these fittings. A case-controlled study showed that the only factor that correlated with colonization was the origin of the patient from another unit (P = 0.0122). We conclude that PFGE is a rapid and discriminatory technique for the typing of X. maltophilia where a common origin of infection is suspected.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Detection by polymerase chain reaction of genes encoding aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates of epidemic phage types. Belgian Study Group of Hospital Infections (GDEPIH/GOSPIZ).

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify the aacA-aphD, aphA3 and aadC genes, encoding the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes AAC(6')-APH(2"), APH(3')III and ANT(4'4"), respectively, and the methicillin resistance determinant mecA, in epidemic aminoglycoside and methicillin-resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. In total, 37 isolates collected in the period 1980-1985 and 81 isolates from the period 1991-1992 were obtained from 10 different Belgian hospitals. Epidemic isolates from the earlier period were characterised by phage type C (6/47/54/75) of phage group III, whereas two other epidemic phage types of group III-types A (77) and B (47/54/75/77/84/85)--were commonest in isolates from the second period. The bifunctional AAC(6')-APH(2") was the enzyme encountered most frequently. The prevalence of APH(3')III decreased significantly in the 1991-1992 period, while ANT(4',4") was found solely in isolates from this period. Resistance mechanisms were more complex in isolates from the 1991-1992 period and the mecA gene was detected in all isolates. The PCR results corresponded well with those obtained in the radiochemical phosphocellulose paper binding assay. Isolates from the 1991-1992 period were shown to express significantly higher levels of acetyltransferase activity than isolates from the 1980s.

Acetylation↗
PubMed1994

Pseudomonas aeruginosa serotype O12 outbreak studied by arbitrary primer PCR.

A total of 16 colonizing and infecting ofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains and two strains isolated from ventilation equipment fluids, all with similar colonial morphologies and with minor but distinct susceptibility differences, were suspected of belonging to a single outbreak and were studied by arbitrary primer (AP) PCR. Thirteen nonrelated strains were included to evaluate the discriminatory capacity of the technique. AP PCR fingerprinting was compared with serotyping, phage typing, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. AP PCR was performed independently with three different primers. The different AP PCR typing systems yielded almost identical patterns for the epidemic strains and enabled us to differentiate most of the nonrelated strains from each other and from the outbreak strains. The combination of AP PCR typing and the phenotyping techniques that we used enabled us to conclude that an outbreak was occurring. In general, the typeability of AP PCR was greater than those of phage typing and serotyping, while the discriminatory powers of the three methods were comparable.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed1993

Serotypes and extended spectrum beta-lactam resistance in aminoglycoside resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from two Belgian general hospitals: a seven year study.

A total of 1896 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to aminoglycosides and isolated during the period 1983-1989 in two Belgian general hospitals were included in this study. The most frequently encountered O serotypes were O4, O11, O12 and non-typable isolates. The majority of the isolates showed resistance to extended spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics (cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and cefepime). However, a low degree of resistance was found for ceftazidime. By contrast, amikacin and isepamicin, remained active on a significant number of aminoglycoside resistant isolates. In both hospitals, impermeability and AAC(3)II enzyme production were the most prevalent aminoglycoside resistance mechanisms. There were marked differences between the two hospitals with regard to the distribution of the O-serotypes and resistance profiles.

Amikacin↗