Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal Infections

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 3280

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Guest Editor
Head of Gastroenterology Department, Federal State Budget Scientific Institution Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center” of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Institute of Medical Problems of the North, 660022 Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Interests: gastritis; gastric cancer; Helicobacter pylori; gut microbiome; chronic hepatitis; cholelithiasis; GERD; IBS; colorectal cancer; opisthorchiasis; COVID-19

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The modern history of studying the role of infectious agents in the etiology of gastroenterological diseases looks very impressive. Since the Sydney classification of gastritis was published in 1990 and the Nobel Prize award was given to R. Warren and B. Marshall in 2005, there are no one doubts that Helicobacter pylori is the most important factor in causing gastric pathology. The 1994 Los Angeles classification of hepatitis was also a milestone that eventually led to revolutionary progress in the treatment of viral hepatitis C. The main causes of death in the population are cardiovascular and oncological diseases. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimates that approximately 18% of cancers around the world are associated with infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. In recent times, studies on the impact of microbiome disorders in the gastrointestinal tract on diseases of various organs and systems have became more popular. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the impact of infection on human health is still very significant and needs to be comprehensively studied.

In this regard, I invite you to publish original studies and review articles in the Diagnostics Special Issue, titled «Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal Infections», that consider modern diagnostic methods, new pathogenetic concepts, treatment regimens, and ways of preventing gastroenterological diseases caused by various infectious agents.

Prof. Dr. Vladislav Vladimirovich Tsukanov
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1249 KiB  
Article
Use of Deep-Amplicon Sequencing (DAS), Real-Time PCR and In Situ Hybridization to Detect H. pylori and Other Pathogenic Helicobacter Species in Feces from Children
by Yolanda Moreno Trigos, Miguel Tortajada-Girbés, Raquel Simó-Jordá, Manuel Hernández Pérez, Irene Hortelano, Miguel García-Ferrús and María Antonia Ferrús Pérez
Diagnostics 2024, 14(12), 1216; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14121216 - 8 Jun 2024
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Abstract
Background: Detecting Helicobacter pylori in fecal samples is easier and more comfortable than invasive techniques, especially in children. Thus, the objective of the present work was to detect H. pylori in feces from children by molecular methods as an alternative for diagnostic and [...] Read more.
Background: Detecting Helicobacter pylori in fecal samples is easier and more comfortable than invasive techniques, especially in children. Thus, the objective of the present work was to detect H. pylori in feces from children by molecular methods as an alternative for diagnostic and epidemiological studies. Methods: Forty-five fecal samples were taken from pediatric patients who presented symptoms compatible with H. pylori infection. HpSA test, culture, real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), direct viable count associated with FISH (DVC-FISH), and Illumina-based deep-amplicon sequencing (DAS) were applied. Results: No H. pylori colonies were isolated from the samples. qPCR analysis detected H. pylori in the feces of 24.4% of the patients. In comparison, DVC-FISH analysis showed the presence of viable H. pylori cells in 53.3% of the samples, 37% of which carried 23S rRNA mutations that confer resistance to clarithromycin. After DAS, H. pylori-specific 16S rDNA sequences were detected in 26 samples. In addition, DNA from H. hepaticus was identified in 10 samples, and H. pullorum DNA was detected in one sample. Conclusion: The results of this study show the presence of H. pylori, H. hepaticus, and H. pullorum in children’s stools, demonstrating the coexistence of more than one Helicobacter species in the same patient. The DVC-FISH method showed the presence of viable, potentially infective H. pylori cells in a high percentage of the children’s stools. These results support the idea that fecal–oral transmission is probably a common route for H. pylori and suggest possible fecal–oral transmission of other pathogenic Helicobacter species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal Infections)
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14 pages, 2564 KiB  
Article
Association of Blood NK Cell Phenotype with the Severity of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Viral Hepatitis C with Genotype 1 or 3
by Vladislav Vladimirovich Tsukanov, Andrei Anatolyevich Savchenko, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Cherepnin, Eduard Vilyamovich Kasparov, Elena Petrovna Tikhonova, Alexander Viktorovich Vasyutin, Julia Leongardovna Tonkikh, Anna Alexandrovna Anisimova, Vasily Dmitrievich Belenyuk and Alexandr Gennadyevich Borisov
Diagnostics 2024, 14(5), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14050472 - 21 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Background: NK cells phenotype and functional state in different genotypes of chronic viral hepatitis C (CVHC), depending on liver fibrosis severity, have not been sufficiently studied, which limits the possibilities for the development of pathology therapy. Methods: The CVHC diagnosis was based on [...] Read more.
Background: NK cells phenotype and functional state in different genotypes of chronic viral hepatitis C (CVHC), depending on liver fibrosis severity, have not been sufficiently studied, which limits the possibilities for the development of pathology therapy. Methods: The CVHC diagnosis was based on the EASL recommendations (2018). Clinical examination with liver elastometry was performed in 297 patients with genotype 1 and in 231 patients with genotype 3 CVHC. The blood NK cells phenotype was determined by flow cytometry in 74 individuals with genotype 1 and in 69 individuals with genotype 3 CVHC. Results: The frequency of METAVIR liver fibrosis stages F3–F4 was 32.5% in individuals with genotype 3, and 20.5% in individuals with genotype 1 CVHC (p = 0.003). In patients with both genotype 1 and genotype 3 CVHC, a decrease in the total number of blood NK cells, CD56brightCD16+ NK cells and an increase in the proportion of CD56dimCD16+ NK cells, CD94+ and CD38 + CD73+ NK cells were registered in patients with fibrosis stage F3–F4 by METAVIR in comparison with persons with METAVIR fibrosis stage F0–F1. Conclusions: In patients with both genotype 1 and genotype 3 CVHC, an imbalance in the ratio between cytokine-producing and cytotoxic NK cells and an increase in the content of NK cells that express inhibitory molecules were determined in patients with severe liver fibrosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal Infections)
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13 pages, 288 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Use of Singleplex and Duplex CerTest VIASURE Real-Time PCR Assays to Detect Common Intestinal Protist Parasites
by Alejandro Dashti, Henar Alonso, Cristina Escolar-Miñana, Pamela C. Köster, Begoña Bailo, David Carmena and David González-Barrio
Diagnostics 2024, 14(3), 319; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14030319 - 1 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Entamoeba histolytica are species of protozoa- causing diarrhoea that are common worldwide, while Entamoeba dispar, Dientamoeba fragilis and Blastocystis sp. appear to be commensal parasites whose role in pathogenicity remains controversial. We conducted the clinical evaluation of [...] Read more.
Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis and Entamoeba histolytica are species of protozoa- causing diarrhoea that are common worldwide, while Entamoeba dispar, Dientamoeba fragilis and Blastocystis sp. appear to be commensal parasites whose role in pathogenicity remains controversial. We conducted the clinical evaluation of five singleplex and one duplex CerTest VIASURE Real-Time PCR Assays against a large panel of positive DNA samples (n = 358), and specifically to Cryptosporidium spp. (n = 96), G. duodenalis (n = 115), E. histolytica (n = 25) E. dispar (n = 11), Blastocystis sp. (n = 42), D. fragilis (n = 37), and related parasitic phylum species such as Apicomplexa, Euglenozoa, Microsporidia and Nematoda. DNA samples were obtained from clinical stool specimens or cultured isolates in a national reference centre. Estimated diagnostic sensitivity and specificity values were 0.94–1 for Cryptosporidium spp., 0.96–0.99 for G. duodenalis, 0.96–1 for E. histolytica, 1–1 for E. dispar, and 1–0.99 for D. fragilis in the evaluated singleplex assays. In the duplex assay for the simultaneous detection of Blastocystis sp. and D. fragilis these values were 1–0.98 and 1–0.99, respectively. Measures of diagnostic precision for repeatability and reproducibility were found to be under acceptable ranges. The assays identified six Cryptosporidium species (C. hominis, C. parvum, C. canis, C. felis, C. scrofarum, and C. ryanae), four G. duodenalis assemblages (A, B, C, and F), and six Blastocystis subtypes (ST1-ST5, and ST8). The evaluated singleplex and duplex VIASURE Real-Time PCR assays provide sensitive, practical, and cost-effective choices to the molecular diagnosis of the main diarrhoea-causing intestinal protists in clinical microbiology and research laboratories. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnosis and Management of Gastrointestinal Infections)
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