Papers by Ekaterine Zhgenti
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Feb 1, 2019
Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) is the most common parasitic infection among nonviral, sexua... more Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) is the most common parasitic infection among nonviral, sexually transmitted diseases in the urogenital system. The incidence of the disease can vary according to the socioeconomic status of the societies or different social groups. This research was performed on women who had vaginal complaints and who applied to Eskisehir Cancer Research Early Diagnosis and Screening Center (KETEM) and Eskisehir State Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics. Methods & Materials: T. vaginalis was investigated by stained and unstained direct microscopic examination, culture and Real Time PCR methods, in a total of 406 female vaginal swabs taken from women applied to these two hospitals for control examination. During the collection of samples, an information form was applied to patients, in order to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of T. vaginalis and some social parameters. Results: T. vaginalis was detected by at least one of the methods in 35 (8.6%) of 406 swab samples. The distribution of 35 cases of T. vaginalis was; Twenty-eight (6.9%) were identified by direct microscopy and 27 (6.7%) by Giemsa staining and 31 (7.6%) by culture method and 35 (8.6%) by Real-Time PCR. In addition, direct microscopic examination, gram staining and routine culture methods were performed in all samples for other microorganisms that are likely to cause vaginal discharge. In 85 (20%) of all samples Candida spp., in 9 (2.2%) T. vaginalis and Candida spp. coexistence, in 25 (6.2%) Gardnerella vaginalis, in 11 (2.7%) G. vaginalis and Candida spp. coexistence was detected. There was no statistically significant relationship between the prevalence of T. vaginalis and social variables. Conclusion: When the sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic methods are compared with their determined performance, it was suggested that the use of PCR method in addition to direct and stained microscopic examination and culture method in trichomoniasis would increase the sensitivity and would be helpful in accurate diagnosis of the agent.
NATO science for peace and security series, 2010
ABSTRACT Over the last few years several molecular methods for rapid identification and fingerpri... more ABSTRACT Over the last few years several molecular methods for rapid identification and fingerprinting of different pathogens have been applied at the National Center for Disease Control and Public health of Georgia (NCDC). These modern techniques strengthen the NCDC Georgia laboratory’s capabilities to rapidly respond to urgent public health threats and assist in the detection and tracking of these diseases. Application of genotyping techniques for investigation of NCDC Live Culture Collections enables Georgian public health scientists to determine the extent of strain variability as well as define the ability of new molecular techniques to characterize potential biothreat organisms circulating in the wild. Molecular methods, such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), IS (insertion sequence) element fingerprinting, multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) have been applied at NCDC in order to characterize bacterial isolates of Yersinis pestis and Francisella tularensis obtained from a variety of different foci. Such characterization has helped close a significant gap in our knowledge of strains present in this geographical region.
Archives of Microbiology, Jul 4, 2018
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a recently evolved clone of the enteropathogen... more Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a recently evolved clone of the enteropathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Y. pestis has been extensively studied for decades; however, there are insufficient data about the intra-species diversity of this microorganism in certain parts of the world, including the Caucasus region. Using a high-density singlenucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray, we genotyped a total of 46 Y. pestis isolates from two plague foci in Georgia and neighboring Caucasus countries together with 12 Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates from Georgia. The genotyping microarray captured a total of 13,525 SNP positions across the Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis genomes and plasmids with highthroughput capability and superior reproducibility. From this analysis, we confirmed the presence of two independent and relatively distant phylogenetic groups of Y. pestis in the Caucasus region. The signature SNP patterns identified from this study will allow assay development for plague surveillance and pseudotuberculosis diagnostics.
a<p>Melt-MAMA, melt-mismatch amplification mutation assay; SNP, single nucleotide polymorph... more a<p>Melt-MAMA, melt-mismatch amplification mutation assay; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism; con, concentration.</p>b<p>Ames Ancestor reference genome (NC_006570).</p>c<p>SNP states are presented according to the top strand in the Ames ancestor AE017334 D: Derived SNP state; A: Ancestral SNP state.</p>d<p>Melt-mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA), A: Ancestral; D: Derived; C: Common. Primer tails and antepenultimate or penultimate mismatch bases are in lower case.</p>e<p>Final concentratinon of each primer in Melt-MAMA genotyping assays.</p
American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 1990
In 22 healthy volunteers distal duodenal fluid absorption was related to the interdigestive motil... more In 22 healthy volunteers distal duodenal fluid absorption was related to the interdigestive motility cycle. Fluid absorption was measured with a triple-lumen perfusion technique, and motility was registered with a low-compliance pneumohydraulic system. Pancreatic and biliary secretions were estimated by measurement of bilirubin and amylase release into the duodenal segment. Duodenal fluid absorption rate changed during the interdigestive motility cycle; the highest absorption rate was registered during phase I (low-motor activity) and absorption rate then decreased in parallel with increasing motor activity during phase II (r = -0.69, P less than 0.001). In late phase II a net fluid secretion was frequently registered, together with an increased release of bilirubin into the duodenal lumen. This pattern was seen during perfusion with both glucose-containing (30 mM) and glucose-free solutions. The results show that duodenal fluid absorption rate changes markedly during the interdiges...
BMC Microbiology, 2011
Background Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, displays subspecies-specific... more Background Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, displays subspecies-specific differences in virulence, geographic distribution, and genetic diversity. F. tularensis subsp. holarctica is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In Europe, F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates have largely been assigned to two phylogenetic groups that have specific geographic distributions. Most isolates from Western Europe are assigned to the B.Br.FTNF002-00 group, whereas most isolates from Eastern Europe are assigned to numerous lineages within the B.Br.013 group. The eastern geographic extent of the B.Br.013 group is currently unknown due to a lack of phylogenetic knowledge about populations at the European/Asian juncture and in Asia. In this study, we address this knowledge gap by describing the phylogenetic structure of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from the country of Georgia, and by placing these isolates into a global phylogeographic context. R...
Background: Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, displays subspecies-specifi... more Background: Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, displays subspecies-specific differences in virulence, geographic distribution, and genetic diversity. F. tularensis subsp. holarctica is widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In Europe, F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates have largely been assigned to two phylogenetic groups that have specific geographic distributions. Most isolates from Western Europe are assigned to the B.Br.FTNF002-00 group, whereas most isolates from Eastern Europe are assigned to numerous lineages within the B.Br.013 group. The eastern geographic extent of the B.Br.013 group is currently unknown due to a lack of phylogenetic knowledge about populations at the European/Asian juncture and in Asia. In this study, we address this knowledge gap by describing the phylogenetic structure of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from the country of Georgia, and by placing these isolates into a global phylogeographic context. ...
Pathogens, 2021
Yersinia enterocolitica culture-positive rodents and shrews were reported in different territorie... more Yersinia enterocolitica culture-positive rodents and shrews were reported in different territories across Georgia during 14 of 17 years of investigations conducted for the period of 1981–1997. In total, Y. enterocolitica was isolated from 2052 rodents (15 species) and 33 shrews. Most isolates were obtained from Microtus arvalis, Rattus norvegicus, Mus musculus, and Apodemus spp. During the prospective study (2017−2019), isolates of Yersinia-like bacteria were cultured from 53 rodents collected in four parts of Georgia. All the Yersinia-like isolates were confirmed as Y. enterocolitica based on the API 20E and the BD Phenix50 tests. Whole-genome (WG) sequencing of five rodents and one shrew strain of Y. enterocolitica revealed that they possessed a set of virulence genes characteristic of the potentially pathogenic strains of biogroup 1A. All isolates lacked distinguished virulence determinants for YstA, Ail, TccC, VirF, and virulence plasmid pYV but carried the genes for YstB, YmoA,...
Multiple factors help shape the infant intestinal microbiota early in life. Environmental conditi... more Multiple factors help shape the infant intestinal microbiota early in life. Environmental conditions such as the presence of bioactive molecules from breast milk dictate gut microbial growth and survival. Infants also receive distinct, personalized, bacterial exposures leading to differential colonization. Microbial exposures and gut environmental conditions differ between infants in different locations, as does the typical microbial community structure in an infant's gut. Here we evaluate potential influences on the infant gut microbiota through a longitudinal study on cohorts of breast-fed infants from the neighboring countries of Armenia and Georgia, an area of the world for which the infant microbiome has not been previously investigated. Marker gene sequencing of 16S ribosomal genes revealed that the gut microbial communities of infants from these countries were dominated by bifidobacteria, were different from each other, and were marginally influenced by their mother's secretor status. Species-level differences in the bifidobacterial communities of each country and birth method were also observed. These community differences suggest that environmental variation between individuals in different locations may influence the gut microbiota of infants. The time period directly following birth is a critical developmental window where there is a need to both protect the vulnerable infant from disease, and to educate the neonatal immune system 1-3. Dysbiosis, an imbalanced pattern of microbiota composition or colonization during early development, is associated with a number of disease states including obesity, metabolic syndrome, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, atherosclerosis, type 1 diabetes, allergy, asthma, celiac disease, kwashiorkor, autism, atopy, and other autoimmune diseases (reviewed in refs 4 and 5). The structure of an infant's intestinal microbiome is influenced both by the selective environmental conditions in the gut such as carbohydrate availability, pH, activity of the immune system and the arrival of bacteria into the ecosystem due to the sources of microbes to which an infant is exposed. A mechanism by which a mother could beneficially influence the microbiota of her infant via manipulation of the environmental conditions in the gut or the control of microbial exposures may help prevent dysbiosis, and thus be evolutionarily advantageous 5. Breast milk has been shaped over mammalian evolution to promote the growth and development of infants. Non-digestible sugars in breast milk, known as human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), are beneficial to the infant in a number of ways, such as providing protection from pathogens 6-8. HMOs can be bound to other compounds in milk as glycoconjugates, which are known as human milk glycans (HMGs) 7. HMGs may play a similar role to free HMOs 9. These maternally-provided glycans are hypothesized to guide the assembly of the microbial community in the gut due to the ability of only select microbial species to metabolize them 7,10. Bifidobacteria are often the major HMG-consuming constituent of the gut microbiota in breast-fed infants 11-16 , and may provide unique benefits to the newborn, including reducing inflammation, improving gut permeability, and improving responses to both oral and parenteral vaccines 17-22. Specific analysis of infant-borne bifidobacteria clearly demonstrate that
Brucellosis, an ancient worldwide zoonosis and significant economic and public health problem in ... more Brucellosis, an ancient worldwide zoonosis and significant economic and public health problem in Georgia, is caused by Brucella, a genus with Category B agents because of their high infectivity in mammals. Biotyping Brucella by microbiological methods alone has limitations, so molecular typing was implemented in this study to confirm species. Isolates from human blood and ruminant milk or blood were identified by a bacteriological algorithm and confirmed by real-time PCR (Brucella T1, Idaho Technology). Isolates were then typed using AMOS PCR, which differentiates four human pathogenic species but cannot recognize certain Brucella biovars. This gap was addressed by using more universal species-specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) assays. 86 strains (48 human, 38 animal isolates) obtained 2009-2011 were confirmed as Brucella by real-time PCR. AMOS PCR supported biochemical test results for 53 Brucella melitensis and four Brucella abortus strains, but not for 29 suspected B. ...
: A case of brucellosis endocarditis, a rare complication of brucellosis, was detected as part of... more : A case of brucellosis endocarditis, a rare complication of brucellosis, was detected as part of an undifferentiated febrile illness surveillance study conducted in Georgia. The case was further superinfected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the hospital stay. To our knowledge, this is one of only a few reports of brucellosis endocarditis cases with MRSA superinfection.
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
Archives of microbiology, 2018
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a recently evolved clone of the enteropathogen... more Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a recently evolved clone of the enteropathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Y. pestis has been extensively studied for decades; however, there are insufficient data about the intra-species diversity of this microorganism in certain parts of the world, including the Caucasus region. Using a high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray, we genotyped a total of 46 Y. pestis isolates from two plague foci in Georgia and neighboring Caucasus countries together with 12 Y. pseudotuberculosis isolates from Georgia. The genotyping microarray captured a total of 13,525 SNP positions across the Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis genomes and plasmids with high-throughput capability and superior reproducibility. From this analysis, we confirmed the presence of two independent and relatively distant phylogenetic groups of Y. pestis in the Caucasus region. The signature SNP patterns identified from this study will allow...
Genome announcements, Jan 9, 2017
Brucellosis, which is among the most widespread global zoonotic diseases, is endemic in the natio... more Brucellosis, which is among the most widespread global zoonotic diseases, is endemic in the nation of Georgia and causes substantial human morbidity and economic loss. Here, we report whole-genome sequences of three Brucella melitensis and seven Brucella abortus isolates from cattle, sheep, and humans that represent genetic groups discovered in Georgia.
Scientific reports, Feb 2, 2017
Multiple factors help shape the infant intestinal microbiota early in life. Environmental conditi... more Multiple factors help shape the infant intestinal microbiota early in life. Environmental conditions such as the presence of bioactive molecules from breast milk dictate gut microbial growth and survival. Infants also receive distinct, personalized, bacterial exposures leading to differential colonization. Microbial exposures and gut environmental conditions differ between infants in different locations, as does the typical microbial community structure in an infant's gut. Here we evaluate potential influences on the infant gut microbiota through a longitudinal study on cohorts of breast-fed infants from the neighboring countries of Armenia and Georgia, an area of the world for which the infant microbiome has not been previously investigated. Marker gene sequencing of 16S ribosomal genes revealed that the gut microbial communities of infants from these countries were dominated by bifidobacteria, were different from each other, and were marginally influenced by their mother's...
Microorganisms
Yersinia entercolitica is a bacterial species within the genus Yersinia, mostly known as a human ... more Yersinia entercolitica is a bacterial species within the genus Yersinia, mostly known as a human enteric pathogen, but also recognized as a zoonotic agent widespread in domestic pigs. Findings of this bacterium in wild animals are very limited. The current report presents results of the identification of cultures of Y. entercolitica from dead bats after a massive bat die-off in a cave in western Georgia. The growth of bacterial colonies morphologically suspected as Yersinia was observed from three intestine tissues of 11 bats belonging to the Miniopterus schreibersii species. These three isolates were identified as Y. enterocolitica based on the API29 assay. No growth of Brucella or Francisella bacteria was observed from tissues of dead bats. Full genomes (a size between 4.6–4.7 Mbp) of the Yersinia strains isolated from bats were analyzed. The phylogenetic sequence analyses of the genomes demonstrated that all strains were nearly identical and formed a distinct cluster with the clo...
PLoS ONE, 2014
Sequence analyses and subtyping of Bacillus anthracis strains from Georgia reveal a single distin... more Sequence analyses and subtyping of Bacillus anthracis strains from Georgia reveal a single distinct lineage (Aust94) that is ecologically established. Phylogeographic analysis and comparisons to a global collection reveals a clade that is mostly restricted to Georgia. Within this clade, many groups are found around the country, however at least one subclade is only found in the eastern part. This pattern suggests that dispersal into and out of Georgia has been rare and despite historical dispersion within the country, for at least for one lineage, current spread is limited.
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Papers by Ekaterine Zhgenti