Campylobacter species, especially Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli, are a major cause of human bacterial enteritis. Current detection in stools is done essentially by culture on selective and nonselective media with filtration. These methods were compared to 2 molecular biology methods, an in-house real-time PCR and a multiplex PCR named Seeplex Diarrhea ACE Detection, and 3 immunoenzymatic methods, Premier Campy, RidaScreen Campylobacter, and ImmunoCard Stat!Campy. Out of 242 stool specimens tested, 23 (9.5%) fulfilled the positivity criteria, i.e., they were positive by one or both culture methods or, in case of a negative culture, by a positive molecular method and a positive immunoenzymatic method. The striking feature of this study is the low sensitivity of culture, in the range of 60%, in contrast to immunoenzymatic and molecular tests.The incidence of Campylobacter-associated food poisoning has gradually increased, and the organism is now considered to be the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide (4). These infections can also lead to extraintestinal diseases and severe long-term complications (9). Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are the most frequently isolated species in this context and in our experience account for 80% and 16%, respectively, of all the isolates received in our laboratory every year (2a). Campylobacter species are bacteria with a special culture requirement, i.e., a microaerobic environment. During stool processing, the bacteria may have long contact with a normal atmosphere, and in addition, the progressive decrease in oxygen tension when gas-generating kits are used may not favor adequate growth. Furthermore, selective media are commonly used, and the antibiotics incorporated may inhibit certain Campylobacter strains. Anecdotal data have shown that spiral or curved bacteria are sometimes observed on stool smears while Campylobacter growth does not occur. In a recent study, DNA sequences of the Campylobacter genome were detected by a metagenomic analysis, while the standard culture methods were negative (5). In a pilot study using real-time PCR as a diagnostic tool, we also detected more campylobacters than with culture, but without being able to confirm that true positives were detected, since, at that time, we did not use multiple detection methods to establish positivity when culture was negative. Some immunoenzymatic tests have already been commercialized for several years, such as the ProSpecT Campylobacter Microplate Assay (Remel) (8) and the RidaScreen Campylobacter (R-Biopharm, Darmstadt, Germany) evaluated in our study. In this study, we took advantage of the availability of several kits to compare Campylobacter detection by molecular methods (2 PCRs) and by 3 immunoenzymatic methods to the standard culture methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials.From 15 June to 30 October 2009, every stool specimen obtained from a symptomatic patient, i.e., a patient with a gastrointestinal illness, who was hospitalized for less than 48 h at Pellegrin H...

Gastric carcinomas (GC) are heterogeneous tumors, composed of a subpopulation of cluster of differentiation‐44 (CD44)+ tumorigenic and chemoresistant cancer stem cells (CSC). YAP1 and TAZ oncoproteins (Y/T) interact with TEA domain family member 1 (TEAD) transcription factors to promote cell survival and proliferation in multiple tissues. Their activity and role in GC remain unclear. This work aimed to analyze Y/T‐TEAD activity and molecular signature in gastric CSC, and to assess the effect of verteporfin, a Food and Drug Administration‐approved drug preventing Y/T‐TEAD interaction, on gastric CSC tumorigenic properties. Y/T‐TEAD molecular signature was investigated using bioinformatical (KmPlot database), transcriptomic and immunostaining analyses in patient‐derived GC and cell lines. Verteporfin effects on Y/T‐TEAD transcriptional activity, CSC proliferation and tumorigenic properties were evaluated using in vitro tumorsphere assays and mouse models of patient‐derived GC xenografts. High expressions of YAP1, TAZ, TEAD1, TEAD4 and their target genes were associated with low overall survival in nonmetastatic human GC patients (n = 444). This Y/T‐TEAD molecular signature was enriched in CD44+ patient‐derived GC cells and in cells resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Verteporfin treatment inhibited Y/T‐TEAD transcriptional activity, cell proliferation and CD44 expression, and decreased the pool of tumorsphere‐forming CD44+/aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH)high gastric CSC. Finally, verteporfin treatment inhibited GC tumor growth in vivo; the residual tumor cells exhibited reduced expressions of CD44 and ALDH1, and more importantly, they were unable to initiate new tumorspheres in vitro. All these data demonstrate that Y/T‐TEAD activity controls gastric CSC tumorigenic properties. The repositioning of verteporfin targeting YAP1/TAZ‐TEAD activity could be a promising CSC‐based strategy for the treatment of GC.

A large survey of antimicrobial resistance of Helicobacter pylori was performed in France in 2014: 984 patients were enrolled by 75 gastroenterologists all over the country. Among the 783 patients who had never received eradication treatment before, 266 (33.9%) were H. pylori positive. The strains showed a high rate of clarithromycin resistance (22.2%), moderate rate of resistance to levofloxacin (15.4%) and high rate of resistance to metronidazole (45.9%). In all, 187 patients had received previous treatment, of which 115 were H. pylori positive with very high resistance to clarithromycin (73.9%) and metronidazole (78.3%). None of the patients receiving PYLERA (Bismuth salt-Tetracycline HCl-Metronidazole) proton-pump inhibitor developed resistance to tetracycline. A real-time PCR applied to gastric biopsy specimens detected all the cases that were positive by culture as well as 30 additional cases. A good correlation was found between the clarithromycin resistance detected by phenotypic methods and the associated mutations for clarithromycin resistance, which has continued to increase in the last decade but at a lower rate than previously observed.