Publications

atxa activates the transcription of genes harbored by both bacillus anthracis virulence plasmids.	fully virulent bacillus anthracis bacilli are encapsulated and toxinogenic. these bacteria carry two plasmids, pxo1, and pxo2, encoding toxins and capsule synthetic-enzymes (capb, c, a, dep), respectively. the pxo1 plasmid strongly enhances capsule formation. this influence was studied by analysing the expression of a capb-lacz fusion in various backgrounds. the beta-galactosidase activities were similar in a delta atxa strain and a pxo1 cured strain. moreover, the capb-lacz expression level cou ...	1997	9119194
factors associated with human anthrax outbreak in the chikupo and ngandu villages of murewa district in mashonaland east province, zimbabwe.	to determine factors associated with human anthrax.	1996	9130412
preparation for emergency relief after biological warfare.	upon invitation by the world health organization during the gulf war, a task force "scorpio" independent from the nations involved in the armed conflict was formed whose task was to determine whether, which and to what extent biological warfare agents had been used. risk assessment concluded that anthrax and clostridium botulinum toxin were the major risks. the 21 civilian experts had rapidly to decide on the doctrine of operation, to assemble material which could be used and to be immunized or ...	1997	9138135
penicillin resistance in bacillus anthracis.		1997	9167471
a recombinant bacillus anthracis strain producing the clostridium perfringens ib component induces protection against iota toxins.	the bacillus anthracis toxinogenic sterne strain is currently used as a live veterinary vaccine against anthrax. the capacity of a toxin-deficient derivative strain to produce a heterologous antigen by using the strong inducible promoter of the b. anthracis pag gene was investigated. the expression of the foreign gene ibp, encoding the ib component of iota toxin from clostridium perfringens, was analyzed. a pag-ibp fusion was introduced by allelic exchange into a toxin-deficient sterne strain, t ...	1997	9169728
expression and purification of anthrax toxin protective antigen from escherichia coli.	anthrax toxin consists of three separate proteins, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef). pa binds to the receptor on mammalian cells and facilitates translocation of ef or lf into the cytosol. pa is the primary component of several anthrax vaccines. in this study we expressed and purified pa from escherichia coli. the purification of pa from e. coli was possible after transporting the protein into the periplasmic space using the outer membrane protein a signal seque ...	1996	9172780
anthrax post-vaccinal cell-mediated immunity in humans: kinetics pattern.	seven groups (2596 subjects) were vaccinated with a human live anthrax vaccine (hlav) by three different routes (scarification, subcutaneous and aerosol). the vaccinees were tested for anthrax cell-mediated immunity using the "anthraxin" skin test at 7, 15, 30, 90, 180 and 365 days following vaccination. the kinetic pattern obtained from all groups, shows a significant, five-phased curve: phase i (2-6 days post-vaccination) shows a slow increase in positive anthraxin skin reactions. phase ii (7- ...	1997	9178463
acute abdomen due to anthrax.		1997	9189095
drainage a factor in anthrax outbreak.		1997	9196812
regulation of anthrax toxin activator gene (atxa) expression in bacillus anthracis: temperature, not co2/bicarbonate, affects atxa synthesis.	anthrax toxin gene expression in bacillus anthracis is dependent on the presence of atxa, a trans-acting regulatory gene located on the resident 185-kb plasmid pxo1. in atxa+ strains, expression of the toxin genes (pag, lef, and cya) is enhanced by two physiologically significant signals: elevated co2/bicarbonate and temperature. to determine whether increased toxin gene expression in response to these signals is associated with increased atxa expression, we monitored steady-state levels of atxa ...	1997	9199422
the economic impact of a bioterrorist attack: are prevention and postattack intervention programs justifiable?	understanding and quantifying the impact of a bioterrorist attack are essential in developing public health preparedness for such an attack. we constructed a model that compares the impact of three classic agents of biologic warfare (bacillus anthracis, brucella melitensis, and francisella tularensis) when released as aerosols in the suburb of a major city. the model shows that the economic impact of a bioterrorist attack can range from an estimated $477.7 million per 100,000 persons exposed (br ...	1997	9204289
anthrax meningoencephalitis: radiologic findings.		1997	9207572
[the isolation of the surface antigen from vegetative cells of bacillus anthracis sti-1 and study of its protective properties].	the method for the extraction of native surface protein antigen with a mol. wt. of 92 kd from vegetative cells of b.anthracis sti-1 and its purification was developed. the antigen was extracted with 3% sodium lauryl sarcosylate at 4 degrees c from bacterial mass previously treated with 0.1 m tris-hcl buffer solution, ph 8.0 purification was carried out by adsorption chromatography on hydroxylapatite. the isolated protein antigen with a mol. wt. of 92 kd was electrophoretically and immunochemical ...	1997	9221667
the anthrax toxin activator gene atxa is associated with co2-enhanced non-toxin gene expression in bacillus anthracis.	the bacillus anthracis toxin genes, cya, lef, and pag, can be viewed as a regulon, in which transcription of all three genes is activated in trans by the same regulatory gene, atxa, in response to the same signal, co2. in atxa+ strains, toxin gene expression is increased 5- to 20-fold in cells grown in 5% co2 relative to cells grown in air. co2-enhanced toxin gene transcription is not observed in atx4-null mutants. here, we used two independent techniques to obtain evidence for additional co2-in ...	1997	9234759
a role for pace4 in the proteolytic activation of anthrax toxin protective antigen.	several bacterial protein toxins require activation by eukaryotic proteases. previous studies have shown that anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa), pseudomonas exotoxin a (pe), and diphtheria toxin (dt) are cleaved by furin c-terminal to the sequences rkkr, rqpr, and rvrr, respectively. because furin-deficient cells retain some sensitivity to pa and dt, it is evident that other cellular proteases can activate these toxins. whereas furin has been shown to require arginine residues at positions - ...	1997	9234799
[necrotic chin lesion in a patient with a meningeal syndrome].		1997	9235059
clinical recognition and management of patients exposed to biological warfare agents.	concern regarding the use of biological agents--bacteria, viruses, or toxins--as tools of warfare or terrorism has led to measures to deter their use or, failing that, to deal with the consequences. unlike chemical agents, which typically lead to violent disease syndromes within minutes at the site of exposure, diseases resulting from biological agents have incubation periods of days. therefore, rather than a paramedic, it will likely be a physician who is first faced with evidence of the result ...	1997	9244332
iraq's biological weapons. the past as future?	between 1985 and april 1991, iraq developed anthrax, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin for biological warfare; 200 bombs and 25 ballistic missiles laden with biological agents were deployed by the time operation desert storm occurred. although cause for concern, if used during the persian gulf war, iraq's biological warfare arsenal probably would have been militarily ineffective for 3 reasons: (1) it was small; (2) payload dispersal mechanisms were inefficient; and (3) coalition forces dominated th ...	1997	9244334
the agents of biological warfare.		1997	9244340
membrane insertion: the strategies of toxins (review).	protein toxins are soluble molecules secreted by pathogenic bacteria which act at the plasma membrane or in the cytoplasm of target cells. they must therefore interact with a membrane at some point, either to modify its permeability properties or to reach the cytoplasm. as a consequence, toxins have the built-in capacity to adopt two generally incompatible states: water-soluble and transmembrane. irrespective of their origin or function, the membrane interacting domain of most protein toxins see ...	1997	9253764
molecular biology of s-layers.	in this chapter we report on the molecular biology of crystalline surface layers of different bacterial groups. the limited information indicates that there are many variations on a common theme. sequence variety, antigenic diversity, gene expression, rearrangements, influence of environmental factors and applied aspects are addressed. there is considerable variety in the s-layer composition, which was elucidated by sequence analysis of the corresponding genes. in corynebacterium glutamicum one ...	1997	9276928
[molecular mechanisms underlying bacillus anthracis infection at early stages and search for novel vaccines].	the developmental mechanisms of anthrax immunity were studied. immunization was found to generally generate specific antibodies and lysozyme. collectively, all the factors are responsible for suppressing the development of spores in the body. this proves the fact that the immunity is directed not only towards the exotoxin of b. anthracis, but it affects mainly the formation of vegetative cells. on entering the immuned body, vegetative cells may cause b. anthracis infection because antitoxic anti ...	1997	9289272
[elucidation of functionally active domains in molecules of protective antigen bacillus anthracis's toxin].	limited proteolysis has established that the protective antigen (pa) molecule consists of four functional-active domains. so, the shielding domain borrows an area in the linear structure of the pa molecule with nh2 of the end up to lys 166 and plays a conducting role in the proteolytic activation of pa. the associative domain, engaging in the area arg 167-met266, plays a key role in the interaction with lf or ef at self-assembly toxic complexes lt or et. the stabilizing domain borrows in the lin ...	1997	9289273
delivery of antigens to the mhc class i pathway using bacterial toxins.	cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl) recognize antigens derived from endogenously expressed proteins presented on the cell surface in the context of major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i molecules. because ctl are effective in antiviral and antitumor responses, the delivery of antigens to the class i pathway has been the focus of numerous efforts. generating ctl by immunization with exogenous proteins is often ineffective because these antigens typically enter the mhc class ii pathway. this re ...	1997	9297531
experimentally assessed public health risks associated with pigs from farms experiencing anthrax.	following an outbreak of anthrax in an intensive pig rearing unit in north wales in 1989 a study was initiated by the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food to assess public health risks during such an outbreak. of 50 pigs infected by the addition of bacillus anthracis spores to their feed, two died of anthrax six and eight days later. the remainder were observed for 21 days and exhibited only mild and transient clinical signs of disease. as judged by the results of bacteriological culture ...	1997	9308148
diagnosis: cutaneous anthrax.		1997	9314446
animal health risks associated with the transportation and utilisation of wildlife products.	the animal health risks associated with the movement of wildlife products are infinitely less than those associated with the movement of live animals. very few pathogens are sufficiently robust to survive the significant changes in temperature, ph, moisture content and osmolality which occur post mortem, or which are associated with preservation processes such as pickling, smoking or drying. certain pathogens, however, (e.g. foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever [hog cholera] and african ...	1997	9329110
animal health risks associated with ostrich products.	five diseases recorded in ostriches are regarded as posing a potential animal health threat to meat-importing countries. newcastle disease causes an atypically low mortality in ostriches: infected birds display typical nervous symptoms but no pathognomonic lesions which could be detected during post-mortem inspection. the vaccination of feedlot birds and a thorough ante-mortem examination are regarded as necessary precautions to ensure virus carriers are not among those animals destined for slau ...	1997	9329111
targeting hiv proteins to the major histocompatibility complex class i processing pathway with a novel gp120-anthrax toxin fusion protein.	a challenge for subunit vaccines whose goal is to elicit cd8(+) cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctls) is to deliver the antigen to the cytosol of the living cell, where it can be processed for presentation by major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i molecules. several bacterial toxins have evolved to efficiently deliver catalytic protein moieties to the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. anthrax lethal toxin consists of two distinct proteins that combine to form the active toxin. protective antigen (pa ...	1997	9342362
cytotoxicity of anthrax lethal factor microinjected into macrophage cells through sendai virus envelopes.	lethal toxin (lt) secreted by bacillus anthracis consists of two proteins, protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf). lt causes lysis of macrophages and derived cell lines at low concentrations. pa binds to the cell surface receptors and mediates translocation of lf into cytosol of mammalian cells. internalization of lf into cytosol by osmotic lysis of pinocytic vesicles requires high concentration of lf for cell lysis. to examine the possible cell lysis by lf at low concentration, we intro ...	1997	9343949
the "anthrax" of two byzantine emperors: constantine v (741-775) and leo iv (775-780).		1997	9352419
admission on gulf war vaccines spurs debate on medical records.		1997	9363878
anthrax as the cause of preseptal cellulitis.	anthrax is an infectious disease caused by bacillus anthracis. it is primarily a disease of domestic animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep; but humans can rarely be infected by contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. our case is a 4-year-old boy who was initially diagnosed as preseptal cellulitis, but later he showed the characteristic anthrax lesions with a black necrotic eschar. scrapings from the necrotic tissue showed gram positive rods and culture grew bacillus ant ...	1997	9374261
[vaccines against anthrax in animals, from louis pasteur to our day].	the authors outline the history of vaccination against anthrax in animals, from the end of the 19th century to the present time. the three main steps in the production of specific vaccines are described in detail: production of vaccines from live, encapsulated bacteria, followed by vaccines from live, unencapsulated bacteria and, finally, subunit vaccines. advantages and disadvantages of these three types of vaccine, some of which are still in use today, are described and discussed.	1996	9376647
intracytoplasmic delivery of listeriolysin o by a vaccinal strain of bacillus anthracis induces cd8-mediated protection against listeria monocytogenes.	the facultative intracellular pathogen listeria monocytogenes secretes a 58-kda hemolysin, listeriolysin o (llo), that allows bacteria to access the cytoplasm and to multiply inside infected cells. llo is also a protective ag required for the development of specific immunity. we studied the capacity of a new bacterial vector, derived from an attenuated strain of bacillus anthracis, to deliver in vivo llo and to induce protection against l. monocytogenes infection. the hly gene encoding llo was f ...	1997	9379042
[an outbreak of anthrax in amur province in 1954 (from experience in the diagnosis and control of anthrax)].		1995	9381857
anthrax pathogenesis and host response.		1998	9386326
passive protection by polyclonal antibodies against bacillus anthracis infection in guinea pigs.	the protective effects of polyclonal antisera produced by injecting guinea pigs with protective antigen (pa), the chemical anthrax vaccine ava, or sterne spore vaccine, as well as those of toxin-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mabs) produced against pa, lethal factor, and edema factor, were examined in animals infected with bacillus anthracis spores. only the anti-pa polyclonal serum significantly protected the guinea pigs from death, with 67% of infected animals surviving. although none of ...	1997	9393812
structure and interaction of pa63 and ef (edema toxin) of bacillus anthracis with lipid membrane.	the secondary structures of the two components of the bacillus anthracis edema toxin, protective antigen (pa63) and edema factor (ef), as well as the two ef mutants: cya30 (containing the n-terminal pa63-binding domain) and cya62 (containing the c-terminal catalytic domain) were investigated as a function of ph in the absence and in the presence of phospholipid vesicles using attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. secondary structures were independent of ph, whereas ...	1997	9398214
[a case of cutaneous anthrax in the lomza district].	a case of anthrax is reported in 46 year old man. cases of anthrax in animals and human beings are rare in poland and therefore the diagnosis of the disease can be difficult.	1997	9411503
expression of cereolysine ab genes in bacillus anthracis vaccine strain ensures protection against experimental hemolytic anthrax infection.	the cereolysin ab genes from bacillus cereus vkm-b164 have been expressed in bacillus anthracis strains: virulent h-7 (pxo1, pxo2), vaccine sti-1 (pxo1), 221 (without its own plasmids). expression was achieved by cloning the genes in a high copy number plasmid pe194. this construct was integrated with host genomes in amplified form. gold hamsters were vaccinated with parental and recombinant b. anthracis sti-1 and 221 strains and challenged with virulent ones subcutaneously. gold hamsters vaccin ...	1997	9413092
the capsule and s-layer: two independent and yet compatible macromolecular structures in bacillus anthracis.	bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. fully virulent bacilli are toxinogenic and capsulated. two abundant surface proteins, including the major antigen, are components of the b. anthracis surface layer (s-layer). the b. anthracis paracrystalline s-layer has previously only been found in noncapsulated vegetative cells. here we report that the s-layer proteins are also synthesized under conditions where the poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid caps ...	1998	9422592
anthrax lethal toxin-induced mitogenic response of human t-cells.	bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (palf) stimulated the proliferation of human peripheral blood t-cells in vitro. activation of t-lymphocytes by palf required the presence of monocytes and did not result from a collaborative effect between t-cells and b-cells. palf acted directly on monocytes and independently of t-cells. the monocytes contributed to the proliferation of t-cells by secretion of mediator(s). the mitogenic activity of the lethal toxin was dependent on its metalloprotease activity.	1997	9435110
pcr analysis of tissue samples from the 1979 sverdlovsk anthrax victims: the presence of multiple bacillus anthracis strains in different victims.	an outbreak of human anthrax occurred in sverdlovsk, union of soviet socialists republic (now ekaterinburg, russia) in april 1979. officials attributed this to consumption of contaminated meat, but western governments believed it resulted from inhalation of spores accidentally released from a nearby military research facility. tissue samples from 11 victims were obtained and methods of efficiently extracting high-quality total dna from these samples were developed. extracted dna was analyzed by ...	1998	9448313
site directed mutagenesis of histidine residues in anthrax toxin lethal factor binding domain reduces toxicity.	anthrax lethal toxin is a mixture of protective antigen (pa, 735 aa) and lethal factor (lf, 776 aa). earlier studies have shown that 254 residues of lethal factor are sufficient for pa binding to cause internalization (arora n and leppla sh, j biol chem 268: 3334-3342, 1993). the present study was undertaken to determine residues which are important for binding of lf to pa. lf modification with diethyl pyrocarbonate (depc, modifies histidine residue primarily) results in the loss of binding and ...	1997	9450639
military stays in bosnia; vaccinates for anthrax.		1998	9450696
ventricular shunt infection and meningitis due to bacillus cereus.	non-anthrax bacillus species are usually considered to be contaminants if found in clinical specimens. only a few patients with systemic infections due to bacillus cereus are reported. we present the case of a 18-month old boy with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pnet) in the brainstem and obstructive hydrocephalus that required an outlying and subsequently a ventriculoperitoneal drain. following contamination at the site of entry of the external drain, shunt infection and meningitis with bac ...	1997	9453032
anthrax toxin-mediated delivery in vivo and in vitro of a cytotoxic t-lymphocyte epitope from ovalbumin.	we reported earlier that a nontoxic form of anthrax toxin was capable of delivering a cytotoxic t-lymphocyte (ctl) epitope in vivo, such that a specific ctl response was primed against the epitope. the epitope, of bacterial origin, was fused to an n-terminal fragment (lfn) from the lethal-factor component of the toxin, and the fusion protein was injected, together with the protective antigen (pa) component, into balb/c mice. here we report that pa plus lfn is capable of delivering a different ep ...	1998	9453617
expression and purification of the recombinant lethal factor of bacillus anthracis.	the structural gene for the 90-kda lethal factor (lf) isolated from bacillus anthracis was expressed as a fusion protein with six histidine residues in escherichia coli. expression of lf in e. coli under the transcriptional regulation of the t5 promoter yielded a soluble cytosolic protein with an apparent molecular mass of 90 kda, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. recombinant lf reacted with anti-lf antibodies. the protein was purified to homogeneity by ...	1998	9453657
cutaneous manifestations of anthrax in rural haiti.	in industrialized countries, the zoonotic disease anthrax has been virtually eradicated because of effective public health measures including animal vaccination and quality control of animal products. in developing parts of the world, however, anthrax remains an occupational hazard of herdsmen and workers who have direct contact with infected animals or who process animal hides, hair, bone and bone products, and wool. for clinicians unfamiliar with this interesting infectious disease, the major ...	1998	9455516
fatal meningoencephalitis due to bacillus anthracis.	we report the first case of fatal anthrax meningoencephalitis in hong kong over the past 60 years. a 13 year-old boy presented with right lower quadrant pain, diarrhoea and progressive headache. lumbar puncture yielded gram positive bacilli initially thought to be bacillus cereus, a contaminant. he was treated with ampicillin and cefotaxime, but died 3 days after hospitalization. the organism isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid was later identified as bacillus anthracis.	1997	9484689
production and purification of recombinant protective antigen and protective efficacy against bacillus anthracis.	recombinant protective antigen (rpa), expressed by bacillus subtilis wb600 (ppa 101), has been purified to homogeneity and the protective efficacy against a bacillus anthracis challenge has been investigated. rpa was fractionated from culture supernatant fluid by ammonium sulphate, followed by anion exchange chromatography using deae streamline, anion-exchange chromatography on fplc monoq hr 10/10 and finally, gel filtration chromatography on fplc superose 12 hr 10/30, to yield 7 mg rpa per litr ...	1998	9489035
interaction with a lipid membrane: a key step in bacterial toxins virulence.	bacterial toxins are secreted as soluble proteins. however, they have to interact with a cell lipid membrane either to permeabilize the cells (pore forming toxins) or to enter into the cytosol to express their enzymatic activity (translocation toxins). the aim of this review is to suggest that the strategies developed by toxins to insert in a lipid membrane is mediated by their structure. two categories, which contains both pore forming and translocation toxins, are emerging: alpha helical prote ...	1997	9493052
us anthrax-vaccine producer saved for now.		1998	9500344
fermentation, purification, and characterization of protective antigen from a recombinant, avirulent strain of bacillus anthracis.	bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent for anthrax, produces two bipartite, ab-type exotoxins, edema toxin and lethal toxin. the b subunit of both exotoxins is an m(r) 83,000 protein termed protective antigen (pa). the human anthrax vaccine currently licensed for use in the united states consists primarily of this protein adsorbed onto aluminum oxyhydroxide. this report describes the production of pa from a recombinant, asporogenic, nontoxigenic, and nonencapsulated host strain of b. anthracis ...	1998	9501438
anthrax as a potential biological warfare agent.	anthrax is a zoonotic illness recognized since antiquity. today, human anthrax has been all but eradicated from the industrialized world, with the vast majority of practitioners in the united states unlikely to have seen a case. unfortunately, the disease remains endemic in many areas of the world, and anthrax poses a threat as a mass casualty-producing weapon if used in a biological warfare capacity.	1998	9508220
internalization of a bacillus anthracis protective antigen-c-myc fusion protein mediated by cell surface anti-c-myc antibodies.	anthrax toxin, secreted by bacillus anthracis, consists of protective antigen (pa) and either lethal factor (lf) or edema factor (ef). pa, the receptor-binding component of the toxin, translocates lf or ef into the cytosol, where the latter proteins exert their toxic effects. we hypothesized that anthrax toxin fusion proteins could be used to kill virus-infected cells and tumor cells, if pa could be redirected to unique receptors found only on these cells.	1998	9508786
[current status of anthrax or black fever].	although anthrax is one of the oldest recognized infectious diseases in the world, it remains widespread particularly in tropical zones such as africa. the impact of this major zoonoses is further enhanced by the fact that the pulmonary form can be used for biological warfare. recently there has been a revival of interest in anthrax and research has benefited greatly from advances in molecular biology. the main factors accounting for the virulence of bacillus anthracis have been elucidated. the ...	1997	9513179
re: multiple vaccination.		1997	9519681
identification of residues lining the anthrax protective antigen channel.	in its activated 63 kda form, the protective antigen (pa) component of anthrax toxin forms a heptameric prepore, which converts to a pore (channel) in endosomal membranes at low ph and mediates translocation of the toxin's enzymic moieties to the cytosol. it has been proposed that the prepore-to-pore conversion involves a conformational rearrangement of a disordered amphipathic loop (d2l2; residues 302-325), in which loops from the 7 protomers combine to form a transmembrane 14-stranded beta bar ...	1998	9521715
anthrax.		1998	9526481
all troops sent to gulf should be randomised to receive anthrax vaccination or placebo.		1998	9554917
proteolytic inactivation of map-kinase-kinase by anthrax lethal factor.	anthrax lethal toxin, produced by the bacterium bacillus anthracis, is the major cause of death in animals infected with anthrax. one component of this toxin, lethal factor (lf), is suspected to be a metalloprotease, but no physiological substrates have been identified. here it is shown that lf is a protease that cleaves the amino terminus of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases 1 and 2 (mapkk1 and mapkk2) and that this cleavage inactivates mapkk1 and inhibits the mapk signal transduction pa ...	1998	9563949
lethal factor active-site mutations affect catalytic activity in vitro.	the lethal factor (lf) protein of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin contains the thermolysin-like active-site and zinc-binding consensus motif hexxh (k. r. klimpel, n. arora, and s. h. leppla, mol. microbiol. 13:1093-1100, 1994). lf is hypothesized to act as a zn2+ metalloprotease in the cytoplasm of macrophages, but no proteolytic activities have been previously shown on any target substrate. here, synthetic peptides are hydrolyzed by lf in vitro. mass spectroscopy and peptide sequencing of isola ...	1998	9573135
new clue to how anthrax kills.		1998	9599144
anthrax vaccine.		1998	9599595
carbon dioxide as a regulator of gene expression in microorganisms.	co2 regulates gene expression across a diverse group of microorganisms including fungi, and both photosynthetic and non photosynthetic bacteria. the processes that co2 regulates are diverse. several co2-responsive random promoter lacz fusions of unknown function have been isolated from a marine synechococcus and a pseudoalteromonas sp., highlighting the wide effect of co2 control in these organisms. regulatory proteins have been described that mediate the co2 response at transcription level in b ...	1998	9602281
cyclosporine induced autoimmunity in newborns prevented by early immunization.	it has been shown in animal toxicity models that administration of cyclosporine, csa, to a pregnant mouse greatly increases the risk that the offspring will develop autoimmunity. immunization starting at birth has been shown to prevent autoimmunity in other animal models of autoimmunity and early immunization is associated with the prevention of diabetes in humans. experiments were performed to see if early immunization could also prevent csa induced autoimmunity. mice were injected with csa dur ...	1998	9609130
construction of phylogenetic tree based on g + c contents in dna and 16s rrna sequences: example for group 1 of genus bacillus.	the applicability of the g + c content in dna in the construction of phylogenetic tree was studied. the group 1 of the genus bacillus was selected as an object for study. statistically reliable correlation between evolutionary distances of 16s rrna sequences (ei) and parameter pi named as "gc evolutionary distance" was shown. the value of pi is the difference between the g + c content in dna of two species branching from one phylogenetic line. the coefficient of correlation between ei and pi equ ...	1998	9621692
protective efficacy of a recombinant protective antigen against bacillus anthracis challenge and assessment of immunological markers.	the efficacy of recombinant bacillus anthracis protective antigen (rpa) produced in bacillus subtilis and formulated in alhydrogel or mpl-tdm-cws (ribi adjuvant) has been tested and compared to the licensed uk human vaccine in guinea pigs challenged by the aerosol route with the ames strain of b. anthracis. rpa combined with the ribi adjuvant was found to be the only formulation to provide 100% protection from challenge. analysis of immunological parameters in the individual animals revealed sig ...	1998	9627938
a heat-inducible bacillus subtilis bacteriophage phi 105 expression system for the production of the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis.	the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis is the major protective immunogen in the current human vaccine. a heat-inducible protective antigen expression system was constructed based on a derivative of bacillus subtilis phage phi 105. the recombinant protein produced by this system protected immunised animals against challenge with spores of b. anthracis. gene instability and protease activity of the host strain contributed to the low level of recoverable protein in culture supernatant (approx ...	1998	9631544
study of immunization against anthrax with the purified recombinant protective antigen of bacillus anthracis.	protective antigen (pa) of anthrax toxin is the major component of human anthrax vaccine. currently available human vaccines in the united states and europe consist of alum-precipitated supernatant material from cultures of toxigenic, nonencapsulated strains of bacillus anthracis. immunization with these vaccines requires several boosters and occasionally causes local pain and edema. we previously described the biological activity of a nontoxic mutant of pa expressed in bacillus subtilis. in the ...	1998	9632621
airborne movement of anthrax spores from carcass sites in the etosha national park, namibia.	tests for airborne movement of anthrax spores downwind from three heavily contaminated carcass sites were carried out under a range of wind conditions. anthrax spores were detected in just three of 43 cyclone or gelatin filter air samples taken at distances of 6, 12 and 18 m from the sites. in addition, nine positives resulted during sampling sessions in which the site was mechanically disturbed, with a further five positives being found in sessions subsequent to those in which the site had been ...	1998	9633664
the public science of louis pasteur: the experiment on anthrax vaccine in the popular press of the time.	the paper focuses on pasteur's public experimentation of the anthrax vaccine (pouilly-le-fort, 1881) as portrayed in the english and french popular press of the time. it is argued that this 'popular' level of representation did not merely provide additional publicity for pasteur's ideas. rather, the nature and meaning of the experiment itself and of the related controversy on immunisation were substantially negotiated and shaped within the public arena. the multifold consequences of this framing ...	1997	9646725
a plague upon your cattle.		1998	9654895
deadly relic of the great war.		1998	9655389
how anthrax kills.		1998	9660700
[cutaneous anthrax in a child].		1998	9662859
the expression of the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis in bacillus subtilis.	the expression of bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) in b. subtilis from the pag gene in ppa101-1 was explored in different genetic backgrounds in an attempt to identify opportunities to maximize expression. introduction of atxa, which positively regulates pa expression in b. anthracis did not improve expression levels in the protease-deficient strain wb600. plasmid ppa101-1 was found to carry a deletion which created a new fusion point between vector and insert sequence, and which remov ...	1998	9674126
anthrax: a disease from antiquity visits the modern world.		1998	9676107
thucydides' syndrome.		1998	9679482
the effectiveness and safety of vaccines against human anthrax: a systematic review.	we report on the results of a systematic review of existing controlled clinical trials undertaken to assess the effectiveness and safety of vaccines against human anthrax in relation to disease incidence and side-effects. two articles retrieved by electronic and hand search fulfilling some of the inclusion criteria underwent a quality assessment by a group of reviewers. data synthesized from the two trials showed that estimates of overall effectiveness and safety favour treatment (overall odds r ...	1998	9682332
comparative efficacy of experimental anthrax vaccine candidates against inhalation anthrax in rhesus macaques.	the authors examined the efficacy of bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) combined with adjuvants as vaccines against an aerosol challenge of virulent anthrax spores in rhesus macaques. adjuvants tested included i) aluminum hydroxide (alhydrogel), ii) saponin qs-21 and iii) monophosphoryl lipid a (mpl) in squalene/lecithin/tween 80 emulsion (slt). animals were immunized once with either 50 micrograms of recombinant pa plus adjuvant, or with anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava), the licensed huma ...	1998	9682372
anthrax lethal factor cleaves the n-terminus of mapkks and induces tyrosine/threonine phosphorylation of mapks in cultured macrophages.	lethal factor (lf) is the major virulence factor produced by bacillus anthracis. lf is sufficient to cause death in laboratory animals and cytolysis of peritoneal macrophages and macrophage cell lines. lf contains the characteristic zinc binding motif of metalloproteases and indirect evidence suggest that this hydrolytic activity is essential for its cytotoxicity. to identify the substrate(s) of lf, we have used the yeast two-hybrid system, employing a lf inactive mutant as bait. this approach h ...	1998	9703991
biological warfare.		1998	9708788
bioterrorism as a public health threat.	the threat of bioterrorism, long ignored and denied, has heightened over the past few years. recent events in iraq, japan, and russia cast an ominous shadow. two candidate agents are of special concern--smallpox and anthrax. the magnitude of the problems and the gravity of the scenarios associated with release of these organisms have been vividly portrayed by two epidemics of smallpox in europe during the 1970s and by an accidental release of aerosolized anthrax from a russian bioweapons facilit ...	1998	9716981
ltx1, a mouse locus that influences the susceptibility of macrophages to cytolysis caused by intoxication with bacillus anthracis lethal factor, maps to chromosome 11.	the lethal factor (lf) toxin that is produced by bacillus anthracis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. lf has mononuclear phagocyte-specific intoxicating effects that are not well understood. we have identified genetic differences in inbred mouse strains that determine whether their cultured macrophages are susceptible to the cytolytic effect of lf intoxication. our identification of resistant and susceptible mouse strains enabled us to analyse crosses between these strains ...	1998	9720874
a novel dipstick developed for rapid bet v 1-specific ige detection: recombinant allergen immobilized via a monoclonal antibody to crystalline bacterial cell-surface layers.	the incidence of allergy to airborne proteins derived from tree and grass pollen, feces of mites, spores of molds, and pet dander has been increasing over the last decades. since precise diagnosis is a prerequisite for successful immunotherapy, there is a rising demand for rapid, reliable, and inexpensive screening methods such as dipstick assays. with the purified recombinant major birch-pollen allergen rbet v 1a as model protein, crystalline bacterial cell-surface layers (s-layers) were tested ...	1998	9722228
use of a photoactivatable lipid to probe the topology of pa63 of bacillus anthracis in lipid membranes.	the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis is a key protein that promotes the translocation of the enzymatic moieties of the two toxins of b. anthracis into the cell cytoplasm. the membrane topology of the active form of the protective antigen (pa63) was investigated by proteolysis of pa63 inserted into liposomes containing a photoactivatable, radioactive lipid, and characterization of the n-terminal moiety of the deeply-inserted (and therefore radiolabeled) peptides. a single sequence startin ...	1998	9746362
anthrax toxin as a molecular tool for stimulation of cytotoxic t lymphocytes: disulfide-linked epitopes, multiple injections, and role of cd4(+) cells.	we have previously demonstrated that anthrax toxin-derived proteins, protective antigen (pa) and the amino-terminal portion of lethal factor (lfn), can be used in combination to deliver heterologous molecules to the cytosol of mammalian cells. in this study we examined the ability of an lfn-peptide disulfide-linked heterodimer to prime cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl) in the presence of pa. a mutant of lfn that contains a carboxy-terminal reactive cysteine was generated. this form of lfn could be o ...	1998	9746566
first shots fired in biological warfare.		1998	9751039
[anthrax toxins].	bacillus anthracis, a gram positive bacterium, is the causative agent of anthrax. this organism is capsulogen and toxinogenic. it secretes two toxins which are composed of three proteins: the protective antigen (pa), the lethal factor (lf) and the edema factor (ef). the lethal toxin (pa + lf) provokes a subite death in animals, the edema toxin (pa + ef) induces edema. the edema and the lethal factors are internalised into the target cells via the protective antigen. ef and lf exert an adenylate ...	1998	9759382
[implications of bacterial protein toxins in infectious and food-borne diseases].	among the 315 protein toxins elicited by gram positive and gram negative bacteria so far characterized, about 50 toxins are currently considered as totally or partially, responsible of the pathological manifestations and/or lethality resulting from host infection or intoxication (contaminated food) by relevant toxinogenic bacteria. a certain number of criteria are required for the assessment of indisputable involvement of a toxin or an array of toxins (from the same bacteria) in infectious disea ...	1998	9759385
rapid pathogen detection using a microchip pcr array instrument.	an array of pcr microchips for rapid, parallel testing of samples for pathogenic microbes is described. the instrument, called the advanced nucleic acid analyzer (anaa), utilizes 10 silicon reaction chambers with thin-film resistive heaters and solid-state optics. features of the system include efficient heating and real-time monitoring, low power requirements for battery operation, and no moving parts for reliability and ruggedness. we analyzed cultures of erwinia herbicola vegetative cells, ba ...	1998	9761255
practicalities of warfare required service personnel to be vaccinated against anthrax.		1998	9774304
molecular characterization of bacillus strains involved in outbreaks of anthrax in france in 1997.	outbreaks of anthrax zoonose occurred in two regions of france in 1997. ninety-four animals died, and there were three nonfatal cases in humans. the diagnosis of anthrax was rapidly confirmed by bacteriological and molecular biological methods. the strains of bacillus anthracis in animal and soil samples were identified by a multiplex pcr assay. they all belonged to the variable-number tandem repeat (vntr) group (vntr)3. a penicillin-resistant strain was detected. nonvirulent bacilli related to ...	1998	9774609
sporadic human anthrax in urban brisbane.		1998	9775523
the medical threat of biological weapons.	there is a heightened threat of biological weapons being used for biological warfare or bioterrorism. many of the microorganisms and toxins that may be used as such biological weapons can easily be acquired and mass produced. dissemination of aerosols of these biological agents can produce mass casualties. if used by a terrorist they may overwhelm our current public health system. some biological agents, such as bacillus anthracis (anthrax) and botulinum toxin, are considered far more likely tha ...	1998	9800098
[scientific language in the general communication media].		1998	9803582
exoy, an adenylate cyclase secreted by the pseudomonas aeruginosa type iii system.	the exoenzyme s regulon is a set of coordinately regulated virulence genes of pseudomonas aeruginosa. proteins encoded by the regulon include a type iii secretion and translocation apparatus, regulators of gene expression, and effector proteins. the effector proteins include two enzymes with adp-ribosyltransferase activity (exos and exot) and an acute cytotoxin (exou). in this study, we identified exoy as a fourth effector protein of the regulon. exoy is homologous to the extracellular adenylate ...	1998	9811898