Displaying publications 141 - 160 of 339 in total

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  1. CRISPR/Cas9 in Stem Cell Research: Current Application and Future Perspective
    Patmanathan SN, Gnanasegaran N, Lim MN, Husaini R, Fakiruddin KS, Zakaria Z
    Curr Stem Cell Res Ther, 2018;13(8):632-644.
    PMID: 29895256 DOI: 10.2174/1574888X13666180613081443
    The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 or CRISPR/Cas9 system is one of the hottest topics discussed lately due to its robustness and effectiveness in genome editing. The technology has been widely used in life science research including microbial, plant, animal, and human cell studies. Combined with the pluripotency of stem cells, the technology represents a powerful tool to generate various cell types for disease modeling, drug screening, toxicology, and targeted therapies. Generally, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been applied in genetic modification of pluripotent or multipotent stem cells, after which the cells are differentiated into specific cell types and used for functional analysis or even clinical transplantation. Recent advancement in CRISPR/Cas9 technology has widened the scope of stem cell research and its therapeutic application. This review provides an overview of the current application and the prospect of CRISPR/Cas9 technology, particularly in stem cell research and therapy.
  2. Fulltext Evaluation of six decontamination procedures for isolation of Mycobacterium avium complex from avian feces
    Sattar A, Zakaria Z, Abu J, Aziz SA, Gabriel RP
    PLoS One, 2018;13(8):e0202034.
    PMID: 30096205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202034
    Culture is considered the gold standard for definitive diagnosis of mycobacterial infections. However, consensus about the most suitable culture procedure for isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria is lacking. The study compared the recoveries of mycobacteria after decontamination of spiked and fresh avian feces with 4% sodium hydroxide (NaOH), 12% sulfuric acid (H2SO4), or 1% cetylperidinium chloride (CPC), with and without mixture of three antibiotics, namely vancomycin (VAN, 100 μg/ml), nalidixic acid (NAL, 100 μg/ml), and amphotericin B (AMB, 100 μg/ml). The antibiotic mixture was referred to as VNA. Decontamination procedures were evaluated using two (n = 2) avian fecal samples spiked with 106, 104, and 102 CFU/ml of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (ATCC 15769) and fresh avian feces (n = 42). M. avium subsp. avium was detected on the culture media from spiked samples (106 and 104 CFU/ml) decontaminated with NaOH, NaOH-VNA, H2SO4, and H2SO4 -VNA for 2-6 weeks. These bacteria were detected in 2-4 weeks when using CPC and CPC-VNA. M. avium subsp. avium cannot be isolated on culture media from spiked samples (102 CFU/ml) decontaminated with any decontaminating agent. Two mycobacterial isolates, namely, Mycobacterium terrae and M. engbaekii, were isolated from field samples decontaminated with NaOH and CPC-VNA. With regard to the contamination rate, the use of CPC-VNA showed lower contamination rates (5.5% and 19.0%) from spiked and field samples than those of the other methods (NaOH: 22.2% and 59.5%, NaOH-VNA: 16.7% and 21.4%, H2SO4: 11.1% and 40.5%, H2SO4-VNA: 5.5% and 21.4%, and CPC: 66.7% and 50%). In conclusion, the decontamination of fecal samples following a two-step procedure with 1% CPC and VNA can ensure high recovery rate of many mycobacteria with the lowest contamination in cultures.
  3. Fulltext Snakehead Consumption Enhances Wound Healing? From Tradition to Modern Clinical Practice: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial
    Sahid NA, Hayati F, Rao CV, Ramely R, Sani I, Dzulkarnaen A, et al.
    Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2018;2018:3032790.
    PMID: 30538757 DOI: 10.1155/2018/3032790
    BACKGROUND: Snakehead fish (Channa striatus) is a fresh water fish indigenous to many Asia countries and believed to have medical value. Studies showed that it contains all the essential amino acids and fatty acids able to accelerate wound healing and it has antinociceptive effect. However, little human study has been done to assess the effectiveness of Channa striatus in wound healing. A prospective RCT has been conducted on the effect of Channa striatus spray versus placebo on clean wound to assess its pain control effect and cosmetic outcome.

    METHODOLOGY: One hundred and two patients (102) underwent clean elective surgery; postoperatively they were randomized into two group. One group received Channa striatus extract spray (n=51) another group received placebo (n=51) on daily basis for 2 weeks. They were followed up on 2nd, 4th, and 6th weeks. Pain control effect was assessed based on Visual Analog Pain Score (VAPS) and cosmetic outcome based on Visual Analog Cosmetic Scale (VACS), Wound Evaluation Scale (WES), and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS).

    RESULT: The patient treated with Channa striatus spray displayed a better outcome in terms of pain control compared to placebo. During analysis using repeated measure ANOVA, there was significant difference of patient's pain score based on VAPS between Channa striatus spray and placebo (F-stat (df) = 4.80 (2), p-value = 0.010). For cosmetic outcome it showed a better result in Channa striatus spray group for all the 3-scoring system, VACS, (F-stat (df) = 2.68 (2) , p-value <0.001), WES (F-stat (df) = 3.09 (2), p-value = 0.048), and VSS (F-stat (df) = 1.72 (2) , p-value = 0.011).

    CONCLUSION: Our study suggest that application of Channa striatus extract spray on clean wound has shown a significant better pain score result and cosmetic outcome on week 2, week 4, and week 6 comparatively with placebo.

  4. Fulltext Characterization of Musty Odor-Producing Actinomycetes from Tropics and Effects of Temperature on the Production of Musty Odor Compounds
    Anuar NSS, Kassim AA, Utsumi M, Iwamoto K, Goto M, Shimizu K, et al.
    Microbes Environ, 2017 Dec 27;32(4):352-357.
    PMID: 29093279 DOI: 10.1264/jsme2.ME17109
    Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) outbreaks in tropical water bodies, such as Southeast Asia, by actinomycetes have not yet been elucidated in detail. Six Streptomyces isolates from lowland environments in Malaysia were selected and evaluated for their odor production under different temperatures. The gene responsible for the production of geosmin, geoA, was detected in all isolates, while only two isolates harbored tpc, which is responsible for 2-MIB production. This result suggested that geosmin and 2-MIB synthesis pathway genes already existed in the environment in the Tropics of Southeast Asia. Furthermore, our isolates produced musty odor compounds at 30°C, and differences were observed in musty odor production between various temperatures. This result indicated the potential for odor episodes in water bodies of the tropical countries of Southeast Asia throughout the year due to the mean annual ambient temperature of 27°C in the lowlands.
  5. Fulltext Circulating cytokines and small molecules follow distinct expression patterns in acute myeloid leukaemia
    Islam M, Mohamed EH, Esa E, Kamaluddin NR, Zain SM, Yusoff YM, et al.
    Br. J. Cancer, 2017 Nov 07;117(10):1551-1556.
    PMID: 28898234 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2017.316
    BACKGROUND: Although aberrant expression of cytokines and small molecules (analytes) is well documented in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), their co-expression patterns are not yet identified. In addition, plasma baselines for some analytes that are biomarkers for other cancers have not been previously reported in AML.

    METHODS: We used multiplex array technology to simultaneously detect and quantify 32 plasma analyte (22 reported analytes and 10 novel analytes) levels in 38 patients.

    RESULTS: In our study, 16 analytes are found to be significantly deregulated (13 higher, 3 lower, Mann-Whitney U-test, P-value <0.005), where 5 of them have never been reported before in AML. We predicted a seven-analyte-containing multiplex panel for diagnosis of AML and, among them, MIF could be a possible therapeutic target. In addition, we observed that circulating analytes show five co-expression signatures.

    CONCLUSIONS: Circulating analyte expression in AML significantly differs from normal, and follow distinct expression patterns.

  6. Fulltext Complete Genome Sequence of Pasteurella multocida Serotype A Strain PMTB2.1 Isolated from Buffaloes That Died of Septicemia in Malaysia
    Jabeen S, Yong YH, Abdullah FJF, Zakaria Z, Mat Isa N, Tan YC, et al.
    Genome Announc, 2017 Nov 02;5(44).
    PMID: 29097462 DOI: 10.1128/genomeA.01190-17
    Pasteurella multocida causes pneumonic pasteurellosis and hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) in large ruminants. In this study, we determined the complete genome sequence of P. multocida strain PMTB2.1 capsular serotype A isolated from buffaloes that died of septicemia.
  7. Changes in blood pressure, vascular reactivity and inflammatory biomarkers following consumption of heated corn oil
    Das S, Hamsi MA, Kamisah Y, Qodriyah HMS, Othman F, Emran A, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2017 Sep;30(5):1609-1615.
    PMID: 29084680
    Consumption of corn oil for cooking purpose is gaining popularity. The present study examined the effect of heated corn oil on blood pressure and its possible mechanism in experimental rats. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups and were fed with the following diets, Group I was fed with basal diet only; whereas group II,III,IV and V were fed with basal diet fortified with 15% (w/w) either fresh, once-heated, five-times-heated or ten-times-heated corn oil, respectively for 16 weeks. Body weight, blood pressure were measured at baseline and weekly interval for 16 weeks. Inflammatory biomarkers which included soluble intracellular adhesion molecules (sICAM), soluble vascular adhesion molecules (sVCAM) and C reactive protein (CRP), were measured at baseline and the end of 16 weeks. The rats were sacrificed and thoracic aorta was taken for measurement of vascular reactivity. There was significant increase in the blood pressure in the groups fed with heated once, five-times (5HCO) and ten-times-heated corn oil (10-HCO) compared to the control. The increase in the blood pressure was associated with an increase in CRP, sICAM and sVCAM, reduction in vasodilatation response to acetylcholine and greater vasoconstriction response to phenylephrine. The results suggest that repeatedly heated corn oil causes elevation in blood pressure, vascular inflammation which impairs vascular reactivity thereby predisposing to hypertension. There is a need to educate people not to consume corn oil in a heated state.
  8. Recombinant protein expression of Moringa oleifera lectin in methylotrophic yeast as active coagulant for sustainable high turbid water treatment
    Abd Wahid MA, Megat Mohd Noor MJ, Goto M, Sugiura N, Othman N, Zakaria Z, et al.
    Biosci Biotechnol Biochem, 2017 Aug;81(8):1642-1649.
    PMID: 28585494 DOI: 10.1080/09168451.2017.1329617
    The natural coagulant Moringa oleifera lectin (MoL) as cationic protein is a promising candidate in coagulation process of water treatment plant. Introducing the gene encoding MoL into a host, Pichia pastoris, to secrete soluble recombinant protein is assessed in this study. Initial screening using PCR confirmed the insertion of MoL gene, and SDS-PAGE analysis detected the MoL protein at 8 kDa. Cultured optimization showed the highest MoL protein at 520 mg/L was observed at 28 °C for 144 h of culturing by induction in 1% methanol. Approximately, 0.40 mg/mL of recombinant MoL protein showed 95 ± 2% turbidity removal of 1% kaolin suspension. In 0.1% kaolin suspension, the concentration of MoL at 10 μg/mL exhibits the highest turbidity reduction at 68 ± 1%. Thus, recombinant MoL protein from P. pastoris is an effective coagulant for water treatment.
  9. Fulltext Molecular analysis of fragile X syndrome (FXS) among Malaysian patients with developmental disability
    Ali EZ, Yakob Y, Md Desa N, Ishak T, Zakaria Z, Ngu LK, et al.
    Malays J Pathol, 2017 08;39(2):99-106.
    PMID: 28866690 MyJurnal
    Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder commonly found worldwide, caused by the silencing of fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene on the X-chromosome. Most of the patients lost FMR1 function due to an expansion of cytosine-guanine-guanine (CGG) repeat at the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of the gene. The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of FXS and characterize the FMR1 gene CGG repeats distribution among children with developmental disability in Malaysia. Genomic DNA of 2201 samples from different ethnicities (Malays, Chinese, Indian and others) of both genders were PCR-amplified from peripheral blood leukocytes based on specific primers at 5'UTR of FMR1 gene. Full mutations and mosaics were successfully identified by triple methylation specific PCR (ms-PCR) and subsequently verified with FragilEase kit. The findings revealed for the first time the prevalence of FXS full mutation in children with developmental disability in Malaysia was 3.5%, a slightly higher figure as compared to other countries. Molecular investigation also identified 0.2% and 0.4% probands have permutation and intermediate alleles, respectively. The CGG repeats length observation showed 95% of patients had normal alleles within 11 to 44 CGG repeats; with 29 repeats found most common among Malays and Indians while 28 repeats were most common among Chinese. In conclusion, this is the first report of prevalence and characterisation of CGG repeats that reflects genetic variability among Malaysian ethnic grouping.
  10. Fulltext Transplantation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells reduces liver fibrosis more effectively than Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells
    Rengasamy M, Singh G, Fakharuzi NA, Siddikuzzaman, Balasubramanian S, Swamynathan P, et al.
    Stem Cell Res Ther, 2017 06 13;8(1):143.
    PMID: 28610623 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-017-0595-1
    BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from various tissues have shown moderate therapeutic efficacy in reversing liver fibrosis in preclinical models. Here, we compared the relative therapeutic potential of pooled, adult human bone marrow (BM)- and neonatal Wharton's jelly (WJ)-derived MSCs to treat CCl4-induced liver fibrosis in rats.

    METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with CCl4 for 8 weeks to induce irreversible liver fibrosis. Ex-vivo expanded, pooled human MSCs obtained from BM and WJ were intravenously administered into rats with liver fibrosis at a dose of 10 × 106 cells/animal. Sham control and vehicle-treated animals served as negative and disease controls, respectively. The animals were sacrificed at 30 and 70 days after cell transplantation and hepatic-hydroxyproline content, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analyses were performed.

    RESULTS: BM-MSCs treatment showed a marked reduction in liver fibrosis as determined by Masson's trichrome and Sirius red staining as compared to those treated with the vehicle. Furthermore, hepatic-hydroxyproline content and percentage collagen proportionate area were found to be significantly lower in the BM-MSCs-treated group. In contrast, WJ-MSCs treatment showed less reduction of fibrosis at both time points. Immunohistochemical analysis of BM-MSCs-treated liver samples showed a reduction in α-SMA+ myofibroblasts and increased number of EpCAM+ hepatic progenitor cells, along with Ki-67+ and human matrix metalloprotease-1+ (MMP-1+) cells as compared to WJ-MSCs-treated rat livers.

    CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that BM-MSCs are more effective than WJ-MSCs in treating liver fibrosis in a CCl4-induced model in rats. The superior therapeutic activity of BM-MSCs may be attributed to their expression of certain MMPs and angiogenic factors.

  11. Fulltext Effectiveness of imatinib mesylate over etoposide in the treatment of sensitive and resistant chronic myeloid leukaemia cells in vitro
    Husaini R, Ahmad M, Zakaria Z
    Exp Ther Med, 2017 Jun;13(6):3209-3216.
    PMID: 28587395 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2017.4443
    Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a form of leukaemia derived from the myeloid cell lineage. Imatinib mesylate, the breakpoint cluster region-abelson murine leukeamia kinase inhibitor, is a specific reagent used in the clinical treatment of CML. The DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor, etoposide, is also employed as a therapeutic, though it is used to a lesser extent. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of CML-targeted therapy, utilising imatinib mesylate and etoposide in the in vitro treatment of parental sensitive and adriamycin-resistant CML in the K562 and K562/ADM cell lines, respectively. Preliminary work involved the screening of multidrug resistant (MDR) gene expression, including MDR1, MRP1 and B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) at the mRNA levels. The sensitive and resistant CML cell lines expressed the MRP1 gene, though the sensitive K562 cells expressed low, almost undetectable levels of MDR1 and BCL-2 genes relative to the K562/ADM cells. Following treatment with imatinib mesylate or etoposide, the IC50 for imatinib mesylate did not differ between the sensitive and resistant cell lines (0.492±0.024 and 0.378±0.029, respectively), indicating that imatinib mesylate is effective in the treatment of CML regardless of cell chemosensitivity. However, the IC50 for etoposide in sensitive K562 cells was markedly lower than that of K562/ADM cells (50.6±16.5 and 194±8.46 µM, respectively), suggesting that the higher expression levels of MDR1 and/or BCL-2 mRNA in resistant cells may be partially responsible for this effect. This is supported by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling data, whereby a higher percentage of apoptotic cells were found in the sensitive and resistant K562 cells treated with imatinib mesylate (29.3±0.2 and 31.9±16.7%, respectively), whereas etoposide caused significant apoptosis of sensitive K562 cells (18.3±8.35%) relative to K562/ADM cells (5.17±3.3%). In addition, the MDR genes in K562/ADM cells were knocked down by short interfering RNAs. The percentage knockdowns were 15.4% for MRP1, 17.8% for MDR and 30.7% for BCL-2, which resulted in a non-significant difference in the half maximal inhibitory concentration value of K562/ADM cells relative to K562 cells upon treatment with etoposide.
  12. Fulltext Retrospective Study of Leptospirosis in Malaysia
    Garba B, Bahaman AR, Khairani-Bejo S, Zakaria Z, Mutalib AR
    Ecohealth, 2017 Jun;14(2):389-398.
    PMID: 28405850 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-017-1234-0
    Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease transmitted to humans and animals by direct or indirect contact with urine or body fluids from infected animals especially rodents. Infection can be associated with wide clinical spectrum varying from asymptomatic to severe multi-organ syndrome with life-threatening consequences. We conducted a review of published studies on incidences, case reports, sero-epidemiological surveys from year 2000 to 2015 using different electronic data bases. Our study revealed that majority of the studies were conducted in Peninsular Malaysia and predominantly among high-risk human groups. Most of the studies on domestic animals were conducted in the 1980s; hence, the current status of leptospirosis among domestic animal population remains largely unknown. There tend to be a sharp rise in incidence rate among human population in the year 2014 which was attributed to flooding and heavy rainfall experienced as well as recreational activities. Several gaps in epidemiological knowledge were also disclosed.
  13. Duplication 17p11.2 (Potocki-Lupski Syndrome) in a child with developmental delay
    Shuib S, Saaid NN, Zakaria Z, Ismail J, Abdul Latiff Z
    Malays J Pathol, 2017 Apr;39(1):77-81.
    PMID: 28413209 MyJurnal
    Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS), also known as duplication 17p11.2 syndrome, trisomy 17p11.2 or dup(17)(p11.2p11.2) syndrome, is a developmental disorder and a rare contiguous gene syndrome affecting 1 in 20,000 live births. Among the key features of such patients are autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, developmental delay, attention-deficit disorder, infantile hypotonia and cardiovascular abnormalities. Previous studies using microarray identified variations in the size and extent of the duplicated region of chromosome 17p11.2. However, there are a few genes which are considered as candidates for PTLS which include RAI1, SREBF1, DRG2, LLGL1, SHMT1 and ZFP179. In this report, we investigated a case of a 3-year-old girl who has developmental delay. Her chromosome analysis showed a normal karyotype (46,XX). Analysis using array CGH (4X44 K, Agilent USA) identified an ~4.2 Mb de novo duplication in chromosome 17p11.2. The result was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using probes in the critical PTLS region. This report demonstrates the importance of microarray and FISH in the diagnosis of PTLS.
  14. Whole-Exome Sequencing of ETV6/RUNX1 in Four Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Cases
    Zakaria Z, Othman N, Ismail A, Kamaluddin NR, Esa E, Abdul Rahman EJ, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2017 04 01;18(4):1169-1175.
    PMID: 28548470
    Background: ETV6/RUNX1 gene fusion is the most frequently seen chromosomal abnormality in childhood acute
    lymphobastic leukamia (ALL). However, additional genetic changes are known to be required for the development of
    this type of leukaemia. Therefore, we here aimed to assess the somatic mutational profile of four ALL cases carrying the
    ETV6/RUNX1 fusion gene using whole-exome sequencing. Methods: DNA was isolated from bone marrow samples
    using a QIAmp DNA Blood Mini kit and subsequently sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq system. Results: We
    identified 12,960 to17,601 mutations in each sample, with a total of 16,466 somatic mutations in total. Some 15,533
    variants were single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 129 were substitutions, 415 were insertions and 389 were
    deletions. When taking into account the coding region and protein impact, 1,875 variants were synonymous and 1,956
    were non-synonymous SNPs. Among non-synonymous SNPs, 1,862 were missense, 13 nonsense, 35 frameshifts, 11
    nonstop, 3 misstart, 15 splices disrupt and 17 in-frame indels. A total of 86 variants were located in leukaemia-related
    genes of which 32 variants were located in the coding regions of GLI2, SP140, GATA2, SMAD5, KMT2C, CDH17,
    CDX2, FLT3, PML and MOV10L1. Conclusions: Detection and identification of secondary genetic alterations are
    important in identifying new therapeutic targets and developing rationally designed treatment regimens with less
    toxicity in ALL patients.
  15. Fulltext A blood-based gene expression and signaling pathway analysis to differentiate between high and low grade gliomas
    Ponnampalam SN, Kamaluddin NR, Zakaria Z, Matheneswaran V, Ganesan D, Haspani MS, et al.
    Oncol Rep, 2017 Jan;37(1):10-22.
    PMID: 28004117 DOI: 10.3892/or.2016.5285
    The aims of the present study were to undertake gene expression profiling of the blood of glioma patients to determine key genetic components of signaling pathways and to develop a panel of genes that could be used as a potential blood-based biomarker to differentiate between high and low grade gliomas, non-gliomas and control samples. In this study, blood samples were obtained from glioma patients, non-glioma and control subjects. Ten samples each were obtained from patients with high and low grade tumours, respectively, ten samples from non-glioma patients and twenty samples from control subjects. Total RNA was isolated from each sample after which first and second strand synthesis was performed. The resulting cRNA was then hybridized with the Agilent Whole Human Genome (4x44K) microarray chip according to the manufacturer's instructions. Universal Human Reference RNA and samples were labeled with Cy3 CTP and Cy5 CTP, respectively. Microarray data were analyzed by the Agilent Gene Spring 12.1V software using stringent criteria which included at least a 2-fold difference in gene expression between samples. Statistical analysis was performed using the unpaired Student's t-test with a p<0.01. Pathway enrichment was also performed, with key genes selected for validation using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR). The gene expression profiling indicated that were a substantial number of genes that were differentially expressed with more than a 2-fold change (p<0.01) between each of the four different conditions. We selected key genes within significant pathways that were analyzed through pathway enrichment. These key genes included regulators of cell proliferation, transcription factors, cytokines and tumour suppressor genes. In the present study, we showed that key genes involved in significant and well established pathways, could possibly be used as a potential blood-based biomarker to differentiate between high and low grade gliomas, non-gliomas and control samples.
  16. Fulltext MicroRNA expression patterns and target prediction in multiple myeloma development and malignancy
    Bong IPN, Ng CC, Baharuddin P, Zakaria Z
    Genes Genomics, 2017;39(5):533-540.
    PMID: 28458781 DOI: 10.1007/s13258-017-0518-7
    Epigenetic changes have emerged as key causes in the development and progression of multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, global microRNA (miRNA) expression profiling were performed for 27 MM (19 specimens and 8 cell lines) and 3 normal controls by microarray. miRNA-targets were identified by integrating the miRNA expression profiles with mRNA expression profiles of the matched samples (unpublished data). Two miRNAs were selected for verification by RT-qPCR (miR-150-5p and miR-4430). A total of 1791 and 8 miRNAs were over-expressed and under-expressed, respectively in MM compared to the controls (fold change ≥2.0; p 
  17. Fulltext Determination of predominate Leptospira serovars circulating among rat populations in Kuala Lumpur
    Bahaman, A.R., Kattan, G, Khairani- Bejo, S., Mutalib, A.R., Zakaria, Z.
    Jurnal Veterinar Malaysia, 2017;29(2):1-4.
    MyJurnal
    Leptospirosis is re-emerging in Malaysia and many other tropical countries. Its infection of human and animal’s worldwide. The study was carried out to identify predominate Leptospira serovars within rat populations in Kuala Lumpur (KL) by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). As well to investigate the frequency of infection by polymerase chain reaction assays (PCR). The isolated cultures that obtained from culturing kidney tissue of 112 trapped rats from four sites in KL, were identified by MAT using panel of 16 standard hyper immune anti-sera. Besides, identification of Leptospira strains by PCR amplification with G1/G2 and ompL1 Borgpetersenii genes. Results from typing by MAT revealed that 8/57 (7.1%) of cultured isolates reacted against; hyper-immune antisera of serogroup Javanica and 13/57 (22.8%) against serogroup Bataviae. Whereas, the rest of isolates recorded across reactivity 1/20 against serogroups; Icterohaemorrhagiae 2/57, Canicola 1/57, Australis 2/57. From PCR-G1/G2; 50/112 (50.9%) cultures were positive included (40/57 cultures positive to isolation and 10/55 cultures negative to isolation). While, from PCR-ompL1 Borgpetersenii gene; 21/112 (18.7%) cultures positive included (17/57 cultures positive to isolation and 4/55 cultures were negative to isolation). It is obvious from this study that serogroups Javanica and Bataviae were the predominant among rat populations in KL. Also it revealed the high frequency of pathogenic strains among rat populations and their potential risk of humans and animals contracting infection.
  18. Fulltext Microwave bio-sensor based on symmetrical split ring resonator with spurline filters for therapeutic goods detection
    Alahnomi RA, Zakaria Z, Ruslan E, Ab Rashid SR, Mohd Bahar AA, Shaaban A
    PLoS One, 2017;12(9):e0185122.
    PMID: 28934301 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185122
    A novel symmetrical split ring resonator (SSRR) based microwave sensor with spurline filters for detecting and characterizing the properties of solid materials has been developed. Due to the weak perturbation in the interaction of material under test (MUT) and planar microwave sensor, spurline filters were embedded to the SSRR microwave sensor which effectively enhanced Q-factor with suppressing the undesired harmonic frequency. The spurline filter structures force the presented sensor to resonate at a fundamental frequency of 2.2 GHz with the capabilities of suppressing rejected harmonic frequency and miniaturization in circuit size. A wide bandwidth rejection is achieved by using double spurlines filters with high Q-factor achievement (up to 652.94) compared to single spurline filter. The new SSRR sensor with spurline filters displayed desired properties such as high sensitivity, accuracy, and performance with a 1.3% typical percentage error in the measurement results. Furthermore, the sensor has been successfully applied for detecting and characterizing solid materials (such as Roger 5880, Roger 4350, and FR4) and evidently demonstrated that it can suppress the harmonic frequency effectively. This novel design with harmonic suppression is useful for various applications such as food industry (meat, fruit, vegetables), biological medicine (derived from proteins and other substances produced by the body), and Therapeutic goods (antiseptics, vitamins, anti-psychotics, and other medicines).
  19. Fulltext Prevalence, Virulence Genes and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Salmonella Serovars from Retail Beef in Selangor, Malaysia
    Thung TY, Radu S, Mahyudin NA, Rukayadi Y, Zakaria Z, Mazlan N, et al.
    Front Microbiol, 2017;8:2697.
    PMID: 29379488 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.02697
    The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella spp., Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium in retail beef from different retail markets of Selangor area, as well as, to assess their pathogenic potential and antimicrobial resistance. A total of 240 retail beef meat samples (chuck = 60; rib = 60; round = 60; sirloin = 60) were randomly collected. The multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) in combination with the most probable number (MPN) method was employed to detect Salmonella spp., S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium in the meat samples. The prevalence of Salmonella spp., S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium in 240 beef meat samples were 7.50, 1.25, and 0.83%, respectively. The microbial loads of total Salmonella was found in the range of <3 to 15 MPN/g. Eight different serovars of Salmonella were identified among the 23 isolates, and S. Agona was the predominant serovar (26.09%). Interestingly, all the Salmonella isolates were resistant to penicillin, erythromycin and vancomycin, but the sensitivity was observed for tetracycline, gentamicin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. All 23 isolates were resistant to at least three antibiotics. Two S. Typhimurium isolates (8.70%) exhibited the highest multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index value of 0.56 which shown resistance to nine antibiotics. PCR analysis of virulence genes showed that all Salmonella isolates (100%) were positive for the invA gene. Meanwhile, pefA was only identified in S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium. The findings in this study indicate that retail beef products tested were widely contaminated with multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella and various virulence genes are present among the isolated Salmonella serovars.
  20. Phenotypic and genetic characterization of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the tropics of Southeast Asia
    Zulkeflle SNM, Yusaimi YA, Sugiura N, Iwamoto K, Goto M, Utsumi M, et al.
    Microbiology (Reading), 2016 12;162(12):2064-2074.
    PMID: 27902427 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000392
    Antibiotic resistance has become a major public health problem throughout the world. The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in hospital wastewater is a cause for great concern today. In this study, 276 Staph. aureus isolates were recovered from hospital wastewater samples in Malaysia. All of the isolates were screened for susceptibility to nine different classes of antibiotics: ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, erythromycin, vancomycin, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, tetracycline and nalidixic acid. Screening tests showed that 100 % of Staph.aureus isolates exhibited resistance against kanamycin, vancomycin, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole and nalidixic acid. Additionally, 91, 87, 50, 43, 11 and 8.7 % of isolates showed resistance against erythromycin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline, respectively. Based on these results, 100 % of isolates demonstrated multidrug-resistant (MDR) characteristics, displaying resistance against more than three classes of antibiotics. Of 276 isolates, nine exhibited resistance to more than nine classes of tested antibiotics; these were selected for antibiotic susceptibility testing and examined for the presence of conserved ARGs. Interestingly, a high percentage of the selected MDR Staph.aureus isolates did not contain conserved ARGs. These results indicate that non-conserved MDR gene elements may have already spread into the environment in the tropics of Southeast Asia, and unique resistance mechanisms against several antibiotics may have evolved due to stable, moderate temperatures that support growth of bacteria throughout the year.
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