Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| from protein microarrays to diagnostic antigen discovery: a study of the pathogen francisella tularensis. | an important application of protein microarray data analysis is identifying a serodiagnostic antigen set that can reliably detect patterns and classify antigen expression profiles. this work addresses this problem using antibody responses to protein markers measured by a novel high-throughput microarray technology. the findings from this study have direct relevance to rapid, broad-based diagnostic and vaccine development. | 2007 | 17646338 |
| proteome cataloging and relative quantification of francisella tularensis tularensis strain schu4 in 2d page using preparative isoelectric focusing. | the protein complement of whole cell extract of the bacterium francisella tularensis tularensis was analyzed using two-dimensional electrophoresis with preparative isoelectric focusing in the first dimension. the format allows the quantification of relative protein abundance by linear densitometry and extends the potential dynamic range of protein detection by as much as an order of magnitude. the relative abundance and rank order of 136 unique proteins identified in f. tularensis tularensis wer ... | 2007 | 17658781 |
| activation of the inflammasome upon francisella tularensis infection: interplay of innate immune pathways and virulence factors. | tularaemia is a zoonotic disease caused by the facultative intracellular bacterium francisella tularensis. the virulence of this pathogen depends on its ability to escape into the cytosol of host cells. pathogens are detected by the innate immune system's pattern recognition receptors which are activated in response to conserved microbial molecules (pathogen-associated molecular patterns). cytosolic bacteria are sensed intracellularly, often leading to activation of the cysteine protease caspase ... | 2007 | 17662071 |
| [evaluation of immunobiological activity of francisella tularensis c-complex preparations as promising component of subunit vaccines]. | data on influence of francisella tularensis c-complex preparations on formation of immunity against tularemia are presented. study of cellular immunity characteristics as well as dynamics of antibody response was carried out on white mice and guinea pigs models. absence of toxicity, pyrogenicity, and negative effects on immunocompetent cells in combination with protective activity points to possibility of use the c-complex as a component of a subunit vaccine. | 2007 | 17672125 |
| cloning and expression of protective antigens of mycobacterium tuberculosis ag85b and esat-6 in francisella tularensis 15/10. | the possibility of expression of genes encoding mycobacterial antigens in francisella tularensis 15/10 vaccine strain cells has been shown for the first time. to obtain stable and effective expression of mycobacterial antigens in the f. tularensis cells, the plasmid vector ppmc1 and hybrid genes consisting of the leader part fl of the f. tularensis membrane protein fopa and structural moieties of the mature protein ag85b or the fused protein ag85b-esat-6 were constructed. recombinant strains f. ... | 2007 | 17680765 |
| identification of francisella tularensis himar1-based transposon mutants defective for replication in macrophages. | francisella tularensis, the etiologic agent of tularemia in humans, is a potential biological threat due to its low infectious dose and multiple routes of entry. f. tularensis replicates within several cell types, eventually causing cell death by inducing apoptosis. in this study, a modified himar1 transposon (himarft) was used to mutagenize f. tularensis lvs. approximately 7,000 km(r) clones were screened using j774a.1 macrophages for reduction in cytopathogenicity based on retention of the cel ... | 2007 | 17682043 |
| identification of lpxl, a late acyltransferase of francisella tularensis. | lipopolysaccharide (lps) is a major component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria, and the lipid a region of lps mediates stimulation of the immune system in a structure-dependent manner. unlike the lps of many other gram-negative bacteria, the lps of francisella tularensis isolated from in vitro cultures is not proinflammatory. this observed lack of proinflammatory prowess may reflect structural features of the lipid a, such as the number and length of the acyl chains and the single ... | 2007 | 17724076 |
| generation and characterization of hybridoma antibodies for immunotherapy of tularemia. | tularemia is caused by the gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium francisella tularensis, which has been classified as a category a select agent-a likely bioweapon. the high virulence of f. tularensis and the threat of engineered antibiotic resistant variants warrant the development of new therapies to combat this disease. we have characterized 14 anti-francisella hybridoma antibodies derived from mice infected with f. tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) for potential use as immunoth ... | 2007 | 17764754 |
| francisella philomiragia subsp. noatunensis subsp. nov., isolated from farmed atlantic cod (gadus morhua l.). | seven bacterial isolates from farmed atlantic cod displaying chronic granulomatous disease were characterized by phenotypic and molecular taxonomic methods. the isolates were gram-negative, facultatively intracellular, non-motile, strictly aerobic coccobacilli which produced h(2)s from cysteine-supplemented media and are therefore phenotypically consistent with members of the genus francisella. comparison of 16s rrna gene sequences and six partial housekeeping gene sequences (groel, shda, rpob, ... | 2007 | 17766855 |
| attenuation and protective efficacy of an o-antigen-deficient mutant of francisella tularensis lvs. | francisella tularensis is a zoonotic, gram-negative coccobacillus that causes tularemia in humans and animals. f. tularensis subspecies tularensis (type a) and f. tularensis subspecies holarctica (type b) are antigenically similar and more virulent than francisella novicida in humans. the genetic locus that encodes the lps o antigen was found to be substantially different between the type b live vaccine strain (lvs) and f. novicida. one lvs-specific gene with homology to a galactosyl transferase ... | 2007 | 17768257 |
| toll-like receptor 2 controls the gamma interferon response to francisella tularensis by mouse liver lymphocytes. | the production of gamma interferon (ifn-gamma) is a key step in the protective innate immune response to francisella tularensis. natural killer cells and t cells in the liver are important sources of this cytokine during primary f. tularensis infections, and interleukin-12 (il-12) appears to be an essential coactivating cytokine for hepatic ifn-gamma expression. the present study was undertaken to determine whether or not macrophages (mphi) or dendritic cells (dc) provide coactivating signals fo ... | 2007 | 17785474 |
| to activate or not to activate: distinct strategies used by helicobacter pylori and francisella tularensis to modulate the nadph oxidase and survive in human neutrophils. | neutrophils accumulate rapidly at sites of infection, and the ability of these cells to phagocytose and kill microorganisms is an essential component of the innate immune response. relatively few microbial pathogens are able to evade neutrophil killing. herein, we describe the novel strategies used by helicobacter pylori and francisella tularensis to disrupt neutrophil function, with a focus on assembly and activation of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (nadph) oxidase. | 2007 | 17850485 |
| rapid diagnosis and quantification of francisella tularensis in organs of naturally infected common squirrel monkeys (saimiri sciureus). | francisella tularensis, a small gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium, is the causative agent of tularaemia, a severe zoonotic disease transmitted to humans mostly by vectors such as ticks, flies and mosquitoes. the disease is endemic in many parts of the northern hemisphere. among animals, the most affected species belong to rodents and lagomorphs, in particular hares. however, in the recent years, many cases of tularaemia among small monkeys in zoos were reported. we have developed ... | 2008 | 17875369 |
| seroprevalence of zoonoses in a cree community (canada). | cree trappers and hunters are at risk for contracting infectious diseases conveyed by wildlife. we performed a study in a cree community (canada) to determine the seroprevalence of 8 zoonotic infections among hunters and trappers for evidence of exposure to trichinella sp., toxoplasma gondii, toxocara canis, echinococcus granulosus, leptospira sp., coxiella burnetii, francisella tularensis, and sin nombre virus. a total of 50 participants (28 women and 22 men) were included in this study. result ... | 2007 | 17878068 |
| tularaemia in an emergent area in sweden: an analysis of 234 cases in five years. | a retrospective study of clinical tularaemia in an emergent area in sweden is presented. 234 patients seen during the y 2000-2004 were studied, using case files and a questionnaire. there was a predominance of ulceroglandular tularaemia (89%), occurring in late summer and early autumn, reflecting the dominance of mosquito-borne transmission. the incubation period varied from a few hours to 11 d, with a median of 3 d. cutaneous manifestations of tularaemia, apart from primary lesions, were noted ... | 2007 | 17886125 |
| genomic deletion marking an emerging subclone of francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica in france and the iberian peninsula. | francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica is widely disseminated in north america and the boreal and temperate regions of the eurasian continent. comparative genomic analyses identified a 1.59-kb genomic deletion specific to f. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from spain and france. phylogenetic analysis of strains carrying this deletion by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis showed that the strains comprise a highly related set of genotypes, implying that these strains wer ... | 2007 | 17890329 |
| a 55 kda hypothetical membrane protein is an iron-regulated virulence factor of francisella tularensis subsp. novicida u112. | iron is an important nutritional requirement for bacteria due to its conserved role in many essential metabolic processes. as a consequence of the lack of freely available iron in the mammalian host, bacteria upregulate a range of virulence factors during infection. transcriptional analysis of francisella tularensis subsp. novicida u112 grown in iron-deficient medium identified 21 genes upregulated in response to this condition, four of which were attributed to a siderophore operon. in addition, ... | 2007 | 17893160 |
| complete genomic characterization of a pathogenic a.ii strain of francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis. | francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia, which is a highly lethal disease from nature and potentially from a biological weapon. this species contains four recognized subspecies including the north american endemic f. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type a), whose genetic diversity is correlated with its geographic distribution including a major population subdivision referred to as a.i and a.ii. the biological significance of the a.i - a.ii genetic differentiation is unknown, th ... | 2007 | 17895988 |
| protection afforded against aerosol challenge by systemic immunisation with inactivated francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs). | balb/c mice were immunised with inactivated francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) and the level of protection afforded against aerosol challenge with virulent strains of f. tularensis ascertained. intramuscular (im) injection of inactivated lvs with an aluminium-hydroxide-based adjuvant-stimulated igg1-biased lvs-specific antibody responses and afforded no protection against aerosol challenge with subspecies holarctica (strain hn63). conversely, im injection of inactivated lvs adjuvan ... | 2008 | 17904793 |
| new protein fold revealed by a 1.65 a resolution crystal structure of francisella tularensis pathogenicity island protein iglc. | francisella tularensis is a highly infectious gram-negative intracellular pathogen that causes the fulminating disease tularemia and is considered to be a potential bioweapon. f. tularensis pathogenicity island proteins play a key role in modulating phagosome biogenesis and subsequent bacterial escape into the cytoplasm of macrophages. the 23 kda pathogenicity island protein iglc is essential for the survival and proliferation of f. tularensis in macrophages. seeking to gain some insight into it ... | 2007 | 17905833 |
| [investigation of tularemia seroprevalence in the rural area of thrace region in turkey]. | the first published tularemia epidemic in turkey had been reported in 1936 from luleburgaz (located in european part-thrace region-of turkey), and the second was in 1945 again in the same province. following a long period of time without any tularemia report from thrace region, in 2005 another epidemic occurred in a village of edirne, another province located in the same region. since there is presumptive evidence of circulation of the infectious agent, francisella tularensis in thrace region of ... | 2007 | 17933252 |
| [viable but non-culturable form of bacteria]. | viable but non-culturable (vbnc) bacteria concept has been defined in 1982 when it has been shown that there exists bacteria whose metabolic activity continue and which can have the ability to reproduce in suitable conditions although they have lost their capability to reproduce in culture. recent studies have shown that most of the human pathogens (campylobacter spp., escherichia coli, francisella tularensis, helicobacter pylori, legionella pneumophila, listeria monocytogenes, mycobacterium tub ... | 2007 | 17933263 |
| immunization with heat-killed francisella tularensis lvs elicits protective antibody-mediated immunity. | francisella tularensis (ft) has been classified by the cdc as a category a pathogen because of its high virulence and the high mortality rate associated with infection via the aerosol route. because there is no licensed vaccine available for ft, development of prophylactic and therapeutic regimens for the prevention/treatment of infection is a high priority. in this report, heat-killed ft live vaccine strain (hklvs) was employed as a vaccine immunogen, either alone or in combination with an adju ... | 2007 | 17960662 |
| biohealthbase: informatics support in the elucidation of influenza virus host pathogen interactions and virulence. | the biohealthbase bioinformatics resource center (brc) (http://www.biohealthbase.org) is a public bioinformatics database and analysis resource for the study of specific biodefense and public health pathogens-influenza virus, francisella tularensis, mycobacterium tuberculosis, microsporidia species and ricin toxin. the biohealthbase serves as an extensive integrated repository of data imported from public databases, data derived from various computational algorithms and information curated from ... | 2008 | 17965094 |
| fangia hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel gammaproteobacterium of the order thiotrichales isolated from coastal seawater of hong kong. | a gram-negative, coccobacillus-shaped, aerobic bacterium, designated strain ust040201-002t, was isolated in february 2004 from seawater at the outlet of a sandfilter in port shelter, hong kong sar, china. this strain possessed ubiquinone-8; its 16s rrna gene sequence shared only 91% similarity with the sequence from caedibacter taeniospiralis and 89-90% similarity with sequences from francisella tularensis, francisella novicida, francisella philomiragia and wolbachia persica. 16s rrna gene seque ... | 2007 | 17978237 |
| outbreak of tularemia: a case-control study and environmental investigation in turkey. | the aim of this study was to identify the potential factors associated with infection sources and modes of transmission during a recent outbreak (october 2004) of tularemia in suluova, turkey. | 2008 | 17983789 |
| [mission oriented diagnostic real-time pcr]. | in out of area military missions soldiers are potentially exposed to bacteria that are endemic in tropical areas and can be used as biological agents. it can be difficult to culture these bacteria due to sample contamination, low number of bacteria or pretreatment with antibiotics. commercial biochemical identification systems are not optimized for these agents which can result in misidentification. immunological assays are often not commercially available or not specific. real-time pcr assays a ... | 2007 | 17987355 |
| a bioinformatic filter for improved base-call accuracy and polymorphism detection using the affymetrix genechip whole-genome resequencing platform. | dna resequencing arrays enable rapid acquisition of high-quality sequence data. this technology represents a promising platform for rapid high-resolution genotyping of microorganisms. traditional array-based resequencing methods have relied on the use of specific pcr-amplified fragments from the query samples as hybridization targets. while this specificity in the target dna population reduces the potential for artifacts caused by cross-hybridization, the subsampling of the query genome limits t ... | 2007 | 18006572 |
| tularemia vaccines - an overview. | f tularensis is among of the most virulent pathogens known, yet it remains poorly understood. correlates of protection involve robust cd4+ and cd8+ t cell responses, and the production of ifn-gamma, tnf-alpha, and il-12. novel approaches may be required to develop a safe vaccine that achieves these correlates. in contrast to other types of vaccines, epitope-based vaccines combine targeted biologic activity with the practical advantages of platform independence, scalable synthesis and manufacturi ... | 2007 | 18019188 |
| construction of targeted insertion mutations in francisella tularensis subsp. novicida. | francisella tularensis is one of the most deadly bacterial agents, yet most of the genetic determinants of pathogenesis are still unknown. we have developed an efficient targeted mutagenesis strategy in the model organism f. tularensis subsp. novicida by utilizing universal priming of optimized antibiotic resistance cassettes and splicing by overlap extension (soe). this process enables fast and efficient construction of targeted insertion mutations in f. tularensis subsp. novicida that have cha ... | 2007 | 18019340 |
| genetic elements for selection, deletion mutagenesis and complementation in francisella spp. | francisella novicida is a gram-negative pathogen that can induce disease in mice that mimics human tularemia, and is nearly identical to francisella tularensis at the genomic level. in this work a number of antibiotic marker cassettes that incorporate a strong f. novicida promoter is constructed, which greatly enhances selection in f. novicida and f. tularensis. two low-copy plasmid vectors based on a broad-host-range plasmid, and an integrating vector have also been made, and these can be used ... | 2008 | 18021237 |
| an immunoaffinity tandem mass spectrometry (imaldi) assay for detection of francisella tularensis. | francisella tularensis (f. tularensis) has been designated by the cdc as 1 of the 10 organisms most likely to be engineered for bioterrorism. symptoms of tularemia in humans are non-specific, thus making the disease difficult to diagnose. if not quickly diagnosed and treated, the disease has a high mortality rate--thus methods for early and specific diagnosis are of critical importance. this immunoaffinity maldi ms/ms (imaldi) assay provides unambiguous detection of f. tularensis peptides at att ... | 2007 | 18022413 |
| molecular analysis of francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis and holarctica. | rapid methods are needed for public health and military applications to specifically identify francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia in humans. a comparative analysis of the capabilities of multiple technologies was performed using a well-defined set of organisms to determine which approach would provide the most information in the shortest time. high-resolution molecular techniques, including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, amplified fragment length polymorphism, and ribotyp ... | 2007 | 18024317 |
| genomic markers for differentiation of francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis a.i and a.ii strains. | tularemia is caused by two subspecies of francisella tularensis, f. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type a) and f. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type b). f. tularensis subsp. tularensis is further subdivided into two genetically distinct populations (a.i and a.ii) that differ with respect to geographical location, anatomical source of recovered isolates, and disease outcome. using two human clinical isolates, suppression subtractive hybridization was performed to identify 13 genomic regions of dif ... | 2008 | 18024683 |
| identification of immunologic and pathologic parameters of death versus survival in respiratory tularemia. | francisella tularensis can cause severe disseminated disease after respiratory infection. the identification of factors involved in mortality or recovery following induction of tularemia in the mouse will improve our understanding of the natural history of this disease and facilitate future evaluation of vaccine candidate preparations. balb/c mice were infected intranasally with the live vaccine strain (lvs) of f. tularensis subsp. holarctica and euthanized at different stages of disease to anal ... | 2008 | 18025095 |
| differential requirements by cd4+ and cd8+ t cells for soluble and membrane tnf in control of francisella tularensis live vaccine strain intramacrophage growth. | during primary infection with intracellular bacteria, the membrane-associated form of tnf provides some tnf functions, but the relative contributions during memory responses are not well-characterized. in this study, we determined the role of t cell-derived secreted and membrane-bound tnf (memtnf) during adaptive immunity to francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs). although transgenic mice expressing only the memtnf were more susceptible to primary lvs infection than wild-type (wt) mice ... | 2007 | 18025217 |
| comparison of whole genome amplification methods for detecting pathogenic bacterial genomic dna using microarray. | the genetic diagnosis of pathogenic agents using microarrays has the advantage of high-throughput detection, but a relatively large amount of dna sample is required. to obtain a sufficient amount of dna for molecular diagnoses, several whole genome amplification (wga) methods have been proposed. in this study, using francisella tularensis and escherichia coli as models, we compared four wga methods in terms of their efficiency of amplification of whole genomic dna in order to identify the most s ... | 2007 | 18032834 |
| piezoelectric immunosensor for the direct and rapid detection of francisella tularensis. | a novel immunosensing device based on a piezoelectric sensor for direct detection of the biological warfare agent francisella tularensis was developed. this sensor includes mouse polyclonal antibody immobilized in a layer of protein a covalently linked to the gold electrode of the sensor. the immunosensor is able to detect f. tularensis with the limit of detection 10(5) cfu/ml with a typical measuring cycle > 5 min. the sensor was successfully evaluated for rapid detection of f. tularensis spike ... | 2007 | 18062180 |
| persistence of category a select agents in the environment. | 2008 | 18065629 | |
| detection of alpha and gamma-proteobacteria in amblyomma triste (acari: ixodidae) from uruguay. | amblyomma triste is the most prevalent tick species reported in human tick bites in uruguay and has been found to be infected with rickettsia parkeri, but no other microorganisms have been reported from this tick. a sample of 254 adults of a. triste was collected by flagging on vegetation in suburban areas in southern uruguay. pools of five ticks were assembled and a screening for the dna from the resulting 51 pools was realized by pcr assays using primers for amplifying a fragment of 16s rrna g ... | 2008 | 18071910 |
| identification of francisella tularensis lipoproteins that stimulate the toll-like receptor (tlr) 2/tlr1 heterodimer. | the innate immune response to francisella tularensis is primarily mediated by tlr2, though the bacterial products that stimulate this receptor remain unknown. here we report the identification of two francisella lipoproteins, tul4 and ftt1103, which activate tlr2. we demonstrate that tul4 and ftt1103 stimulate chemokine production in human and mouse cells in a tlr2-dependent way. using an assay that relies on chimeric tlr proteins, we show that tul4 and ftt1103 stimulate exclusively the tlr2/tlr ... | 2008 | 18079113 |
| the presence of infectious extracellular francisella tularensis subsp. novicida in murine plasma after pulmonary challenge. | 2008 | 18087734 | |
| francisella philomiragia adenitis and pulmonary nodules in a child with chronic granulomatous disease. | francisella philomiragia is a rare and opportunistic pathogen capable of producing invasive infection in patients with compromised neutrophil function and in patients that have survived a near-drowning. a case of f philomiragia adenitis and lung nodules, refractory to cephalosporin therapy, is reported in a 10-year-old boy with chronic granulomatous disease following a facial abrasion from a saltwater crab. to the authors' knowledge, this is the first canadian clinical isolate to be reported. ge ... | 2005 | 18159552 |
| [francisella tularensis and tularemia in turkey]. | francisella tularensis is a small gram-negative aerobic bacillus which was named after edward francis and the location (tulare county, california) where the organism was discovered. f. tularensis includes four [corrected] subspecies known as tularensis (type a biovar), holarctica (type b biovar) and mediasiatica and novicida [corrected] tularemia (rabbit fever) is a rare and primarily rural disease which may be transmitted by ingestion, inhalation, or by direct skin contact with rabbits, other r ... | 2007 | 18173084 |
| the acrab rnd efflux system from the live vaccine strain of francisella tularensis is a multiple drug efflux system that is required for virulence in mice. | the ability of bacterial pathogens to infect and cause disease is dependent upon their ability to resist antimicrobial components produced by their host, such as bile acids, fatty acids and other detergent-like molecules, and products of the innate immune system (e.g. cationic antimicrobial peptides). bacterial resistance to the antimicrobial effects of such compounds is often mediated by active efflux systems belonging to the resistance-nodulation-division (rnd) family of transporters. rnd effl ... | 2008 | 18179581 |
| a functional genomic yeast screen to identify pathogenic bacterial proteins. | many bacterial pathogens promote infection and cause disease by directly injecting into host cells proteins that manipulate eukaryotic cellular processes. identification of these translocated proteins is essential to understanding pathogenesis. yet, their identification remains limited. this, in part, is due to their general sequence uniqueness, which confounds homology-based identification by comparative genomic methods. in addition, their absence often does not result in phenotypes in virulenc ... | 2008 | 18208325 |
| canonical insertion-deletion markers for rapid dna typing of francisella tularensis. | to develop effective and accurate typing of strains of francisella tularensis, a potent human pathogen and a putative bioterrorist agent, we combined analysis of insertion-deletion (indel) markers with multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (mlva). from 5 representative f. tularensis genome sequences, 38 indel markers with canonical properties, i.e., capable of sorting strains into major genetic groups, were selected. to avoid markers with a propensity for homoplasy, we used only ... | 2007 | 18217558 |
| [indication of extremely dangerous infectious pathogens using immunochromatography and digital video analysis]. | the use of immunochromatographic indicatory elements based on antibody conjugates and colloidal gold was suggested to detect cells and the antigens of extremely dangerous infectious pathogens. the specificity and specific activity (sensitivity) of the mentioned elements were studied on vaccinal strains of plague, anthrax, and tularemia pathogens. the researchers studied a possibility to increase the sensitivity of immunochromatographic analysis using computed scanning and reflecom, a specialized ... | 2007 | 18225501 |
| nk cells and gamma interferon coordinate the formation and function of hepatic granulomas in mice infected with the francisella tularensis live vaccine strain. | host innate immune responses to many intracellular pathogens include the formation of inflammatory granulomas that are thought to provide a physical barrier between the microbe and host. because two common features of infections with the live vaccine strain (lvs) of francisella tularensis within the mouse liver are the formation of granulomas and the production of gamma interferon (ifn-gamma), we have asked what role ifn-gamma plays in hepatic granuloma formation and function. francisella antige ... | 2008 | 18227174 |
| a piscirickettsiosis-like syndrome in cultured nile tilapia in latin america with francisella spp. as the pathogenic agent. | in 2004, cultured nile tilapia oreochromis niloticus in several latin america farms began to succumb to a disease similar to the piscirickettsiosis-like syndrome previously reported in tilapia in taiwan and the united states. mortality increased during 2005; reductions in tilapia biomass ranged from 5% to 80% in individual ponds and averaged 50% overall. all ages of fish have been involved. clinical signs include lethargy, loss of appetite, petechia, exophthalmia, and abnormal swimming behavior. ... | 2007 | 18236629 |
| characterization and application of a glucose-repressible promoter in francisella tularensis. | francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, is a category a biodefense agent. the examination of gene function in this organism is limited due to the lack of available controllable promoters. here, we identify a promoter element of f. tularensis lvs that is repressed by glucose (termed the francisella glucose-repressible promoter, or fgrp), allowing the management of downstream gene expression. in bacteria cultured in medium lacking glucose, this promoter induced the expression of ... | 2008 | 18245238 |
| drosophila melanogaster as a model for elucidating the pathogenicity of francisella tularensis. | drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism for research on innate immunity and serves as an experimental model for infectious diseases. the aetiological agent of the zoonotic disease tularaemia, francisella tularensis, can be transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes and drosophila might be a useful, genetically amenable model host to elucidate the interactions between the bacterium and its arthropod vectors. we found that the live vaccine strain of f. tularensis was phagocytosed by droso ... | 2008 | 18248629 |
| a francisella mutant in lipid a carbohydrate modification elicits protective immunity. | francisella tularensis (ft) is a highly infectious gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of the human disease tularemia. ft is designated a class a select agent by the centers for disease control and prevention. human clinical isolates of ft produce lipid a of similar structure to ft subspecies novicida (fn), a pathogen of mice. we identified three enzymes required for fn lipid a carbohydrate modifications, specifically the presence of mannose (flmf1), galactosamine (flmf2), or both ca ... | 2008 | 18266468 |
| bifunctional nmn adenylyltransferase/adp-ribose pyrophosphatase: structure and function in bacterial nad metabolism. | bacterial nadm-nudix is a bifunctional enzyme containing a nicotinamide mononucleotide (nmn) adenylyltransferase and an adp-ribose (adpr) pyrophosphatase domain. while most members of this enzyme family, such as that from a model cyanobacterium synechocystis sp., are involved primarily in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (nad) salvage/recycling pathways, its close homolog in a category-a biodefense pathogen, francisella tularensis, likely plays a central role in a recently discovered novel path ... | 2008 | 18275811 |
| the heat-shock protein clpb of francisella tularensis is involved in stress tolerance and is required for multiplication in target organs of infected mice. | intracellular bacterial pathogens generally express chaperones such as hsp100s during multiplication in host cells, allowing them to survive potentially hostile conditions. francisella tularensis is a highly infectious bacterium causing the zoonotic disease tularaemia. the ability of f. tularensis to multiply and survive in macrophages is considered essential for its virulence. although previous mutant screens in francisella have identified the hsp100 chaperone clpb as important for intracellula ... | 2008 | 18284578 |
| intracellular localization of brucella abortus and francisella tularensis in primary murine macrophages. | intracellular bacterial pathogens have evolved sophisticated strategies to survive and proliferate within cells of their hosts. studying their intracellular life cycle is key to understanding virulence and requires methodologies that can identify the compartments in which they localize and characterize the replicative niche they generate. here, we describe immunofluorescence-based microscopy techniques applied to the intracellular pathogens brucella abortus and francisella tularensis during thei ... | 2008 | 18287753 |
| the tyrosine kinase syk promotes phagocytosis of francisella through the activation of erk. | francisella tularensis is a highly infectious, gram-negative intra-cellular pathogen that can cause the zoonotic disease tularemia. although the receptors critical for internalization of francisella by macrophages are beginning to be defined, the identity of the downstream signaling pathways essential for the engulfment are not yet identified. in this study we have tested the role of syk in the phagocytosis of francisella. we report that syk is activated during francisella infection and is criti ... | 2008 | 18295889 |
| a conserved and immunodominant lipoprotein of francisella tularensis is proinflammatory but not essential for virulence. | francisella tularensis is a highly virulent bacterium that causes tularemia, a disease that is often fatal if untreated. a live vaccine strain (lvs) of this bacterium is attenuated for virulence in humans but produces lethal disease in mice. f. tularensis has been classified as a category a agent of bioterrorism. despite this categorization, little is known about the components of the organism that are responsible for causing disease in its hosts. here, we report the deletion of a well-character ... | 2008 | 18304778 |
| inhibition of airway eosinophilia and pulmonary pathology in a mouse model of allergic asthma by the live vaccine strain of francisella tularensis. | it has been suggested that exposure to certain microbes and their products, particularly during neonatal and early childhood periods, may shift the immune response towards a t-helper cell (th) 1 phenotype and thereby prevent the development of and/or alleviate the clinical symptoms of allergic airway diseases. | 2008 | 18307525 |
| an improved francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) is well tolerated and highly immunogenic when administered to rabbits in escalating doses using various immunization routes. | tularemia is a severe disease for which there is no licensed vaccine. an attenuated f. tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) was protective when administered to humans but safety concerns precluded its licensure and use in large-scale immunization. an improved f. tularensis lvs preparation was produced under current good manufacturing practice (cgmp) guidelines for evaluation in clinical trials. preclinical safety, tolerability and immunogenicity were investigated in rabbits that received lvs in ... | 2008 | 18308432 |
| targeted inactivation of francisella tularensis genes by group ii introns. | studies of the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, have been hampered by a lack of genetic techniques for rapid targeted gene disruption in the most virulent subspecies. here we describe efficient targeted gene disruption in f. tularensis utilizing mobile group ii introns (targetrons) specifically optimized for f. tularensis. utilizing a targetron targeted to blab, which encodes ampicillin resistance, we showed that the system works a ... | 2008 | 18310413 |
| ifngamma enhances il-23 production during francisella infection of human monocytes. | we previously demonstrated that monocytes produce il-23 during francisella infection, and that il-23 induces ifngamma from nk cells. here, we demonstrate that ifngamma-priming of monocytes enhances il-23 production during francisella infection. this effect was seen on the il12/23 p40 subunit. induction of il-12/23 p40 is reported to be enhanced by irf-1 and irf-8. consistently, microarray analysis of ifngamma-treated monocytes revealed a significant induction of the irfs. interestingly, ifngamma ... | 2008 | 18319062 |
| use of cethromycin, a new ketolide, for treatment of community-acquired respiratory infections. | the ketolides are a subclass of macrolides, which were designed specifically to overcome macrolide-resistant respiratory pathogens. ketolides lack the cladinose sugar, which is replaced with a 3-ketone group. ketolides bind to a secondary region on domain ii of the 23s rrna subunit. telithromycin was the first ketolide to be approved by the fda in 2004 for treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (cap), acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (aecb) and sinusitis. however, in 2006, after repo ... | 2008 | 18321237 |
| molecular immunology of experimental primary tularemia in mice infected by respiratory or intradermal routes with type a francisella tularensis. | the type a subspecies of francisella tularensis is a highly virulent facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, and a potential biological weapon. recently, there has been renewed interest in developing new vaccines and therapeutics against this bacterium. natural cases of disease, tularemia, caused by the type a subspecies are very rare. therefore, the united states food and drug administration will rely on the so-called animal rule for efficacy testing of anti-francisella medicines. this re ... | 2008 | 18321578 |
| identification of differentially regulated francisella tularensis genes by use of a newly developed tn5-based transposon delivery system. | francisella tularensis is the etiologic agent of an intracellular systemic infection of the lymphatic system in humans called tularemia. the organism has become the subject of considerable research interest due to its classification as a category a select agent by the cdc. to aid genetic analysis of this pathogen, we have constructed a temperature-sensitive tn5-based transposon delivery system that is capable of generating chromosomal reporter fusions with lacz or luxcdabe, enabling us to monito ... | 2008 | 18344342 |
| the inflammasome: a key player in the inflammation triggered in response to bacterial pathogens. | 2008 | 18354318 | |
| using 2d-lc-ms/ms to identify francisella tularensis peptides in extracts from an infected mouse macrophage cell line. | two dimensional nano-high-performance liquid chromatography (nanohplc) coupled directly to a high-resolution tandem mass spectrometer (2d-nlc-ms/ms) is an excellent method for analyzing very complex peptide mixtures, especially when the quantity of sample available for analysis is severely limited. we describe here a relatively simple 2d-nlc-ms/ms approach that we often use to characterize complex peptide mixtures, such as those produced by the proteolytic digestion of protein extracts. a peptid ... | 2008 | 18370109 |
| rapid polymerase chain reaction-based screening assay for bacterial biothreat agents. | to design and evaluate a rapid polymerase chain reaction (pcr)-based assay for detecting eubacteria and performing early screening for selected class a biothreat bacterial pathogens. | 2008 | 18370996 |
| determination and comparison of the francisella tularensis subsp.novicida u112 proteome to other bacterial proteomes. | the proteins expressed by francisella tularensis subsp. novicida u112 grown to midexponential phase were surveyed by nanolc-tandem mass spectrometry (lc-ms/ms). to improve annotation of the genome and develop a technology to provide high-throughput analysis of the francisella proteome in multiple conditions, we sought to establish a fast and simple analysis that would reduce as much as possible the false discovery rate. our survey detected expression of 63.0% of the predicted proteome from the s ... | 2008 | 18380474 |
| tularemia: current diagnosis and treatment options. | tularemia is an infection caused by francisella tularensis with a worldwide distribution and diverse clinical manifestations. limitations in both culture and serologic testing have led to substantial research into new diagnostic techniques and their clinical application, with pcr testing as the best example. this review focuses on the utility of culture, pcr and serologic testing for tularemia. in addition, we also review the evidence to support different therapeutic options for tularemia, highl ... | 2008 | 18380605 |
| ecoepidemiology of tularemia in the southcentral united states. | we combined county-based data for tularemia incidence from 1990 to 2003 for a nine-state region (arkansas, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, missouri, nebraska, oklahoma, and tennessee) in the southcentral united states with geographic information system (gis)-based environmental data to determine associations between coverage by different habitats (especially dry forest representing suitable tick habitat) and tularemia incidence. high-risk counties (> 1 case per 100,000 person-years) cluster ... | 2008 | 18385353 |
| bioterrorism: class a agents and their potential presentations in immunocompromised patients. | a bioterrorism attack would be particularly challenging for medical professionals caring for patients with cancer who often have weakened immune systems. knowledge of the class a agents and the potential variable presentations in immunocompromised patients is key to early recognition of an outbreak and prompt reporting. the purpose of this article is to present the class a agents: bacillus anthracis (anthrax), botulinum toxin (botulism), variola virus (smallpox), yersinia pestis (pneumonic plagu ... | 2008 | 18390465 |
| utilization of fc receptors as a mucosal vaccine strategy against an intracellular bacterium, francisella tularensis. | numerous studies have demonstrated that targeting ag to fc receptors (fcr) on apcs can enhance humoral and cellular immunity. however, studies are lacking that examine both the use of fcr-targeting in generating immune protection against infectious agents and the use of fcrs in the induction of mucosal immunity. francisella tularensis is a category a intracellular mucosal pathogen. thus, intense efforts are underway to develop a vaccine against this organism. we hypothesized that protection agai ... | 2008 | 18390739 |
| acquisition of the vacuolar atpase proton pump and phagosome acidification are essential for escape of francisella tularensis into the macrophage cytosol. | the francisella tularensis-containing phagosome (fcp) matures to a late-endosome-like phagosome prior to bacterial escape into the cytosols of macrophages, where bacterial proliferation occurs. our data show that within the first 15 min after infection of primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (hmdms), approximately 90% of the fcps acquire the proton vacuolar atpase (vatpase) pump and the lysomotropic dye lysotracker, which concentrates in acidic compartments, similar to phagosomes harboring ... | 2008 | 18390995 |
| respiratory francisella tularensis live vaccine strain infection induces th17 cells and prostaglandin e2, which inhibits generation of gamma interferon-positive t cells. | two key routes of francisella tularensis infection are through the skin and airway. we wished to understand how the route of inoculation influenced the primary acute adaptive immune response. we show that an intranasal inoculation of the f. tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) with a 1,000-fold-smaller dose than an intradermal dose results in similar growth kinetics and peak bacterial burdens. in spite of similar bacterial burdens, we demonstrate a difference in the quality, magnitude, and kinet ... | 2008 | 18391003 |
| recovery of francisella tularensis from soil samples by filtration and detection by real-time pcr and celisa. | the aim of this study was to develop a specific and highly sensitive method able to detect very low concentrations of francisella tularensis in soil samples by real-time pcr (qpcr) with sybr green i. tul4 gene, which encodes the 17-kda protein (tul4) in f. tularensis strains, was amplified using a lightcycler (lc) device. we achieved a detection limit of 0.69 fg of genomic dna from f. tularensis subp. holarctica live vaccine strain (lvs), corresponding to a value less than 3.4 genome equivalents ... | 2008 | 18392279 |
| susceptibility of 71 french isolates of francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica to eight antibiotics and accuracy of the etest method. | 2008 | 18397924 | |
| respiratory infection with francisella novicida induces rapid dystrophic cardiac calcinosis (dcc). | francisella tularensis causes pulmonary tularemia and death in humans when left untreated. here, using a novel aerosol infection model, we show that acute pulmonary francisella novicida infection not only causes pneumonia and liver damage, but also induces dystrophic cardiac calcinosis (dcc) in balb/c mice. c57bl/6 mice also develop pneumonia and hepatic damage, but fail to develop dcc. development of dcc in balb/c mice is associated with significant induction of rankl but not osteopontin in the ... | 2008 | 18400010 |
| a high-throughput pipeline for designing microarray-based pathogen diagnostic assays. | we present a methodology for high-throughput design of oligonucleotide fingerprints for microarray-based pathogen diagnostic assays. the oligonucleotide fingerprints, or dna microarray probes, are designed for identifying target organisms in environmental or clinical samples. the design process is implemented in a high-performance computing software pipeline that incorporates major algorithmic improvements over a previous version to both reduce computation time and improve specificity assessment ... | 2008 | 18402679 |
| rapid comparative genomic analysis for clinical microbiology: the francisella tularensis paradigm. | it is critical to avoid delays in detecting strain manipulations, such as the addition/deletion of a gene or modification of genes for increased virulence or antibiotic resistance, using genome analysis during an epidemic outbreak or a bioterrorist attack. our objective was to evaluate the efficiency of genome analysis in such an emergency context by using contigs produced by pyrosequencing without time-consuming finishing processes and comparing them to available genomes for the same species. f ... | 2008 | 18407970 |
| initial delay in the immune response to francisella tularensis is followed by hypercytokinemia characteristic of severe sepsis and correlating with upregulation and release of damage-associated molecular patterns. | "francisella tularensis subsp. novicida" intranasal infection causes a rapid pneumonia in mice with mortality at 4 to 6 days with a low dose of bacteria (10(2) bacteria). the short time to death suggests that there is a failure of the innate immune response. as the neutrophil is often the first cell type to infiltrate sites of infection, we focused on the emigration of neutrophils in this infection, as well as cytokines involved in their recruitment. the results indicated that there was a signif ... | 2008 | 18411294 |
| in vitro susceptibility of isolates of francisella tularensis types a and b from north america. | due to concern that francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, may be used as a bioterrorist weapon, the clinical and laboratory standards institute recently provided a susceptibility testing method with breakpoints. here, 169 isolates (92 type a and 77 type b) from north america were tested against seven antimicrobial agents (streptomycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and chloramphenicol) used for the treatment of tularemia. the mics for all ... | 2008 | 18411318 |
| francisella tularensis invasion of lung epithelial cells. | francisella tularensis, a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, causes disseminating infections in humans and other mammalian hosts. macrophages and other monocytes have long been considered the primary site of f. tularensis replication in infected animals. however, recently it was reported that f. tularensis also invades and replicates within alveolar epithelial cells following inhalation in a mouse model of tularemia. tc-1 cells, a mouse lung epithelial cell line, were us ... | 2008 | 18426871 |
| type iv pili in francisella tularensis: roles of pilf and pilt in fiber assembly, host cell adherence, and virulence. | francisella tularensis, a highly virulent facultative intracellular bacterium, is the causative agent of tularemia. genome sequencing of all f. tularensis subspecies revealed the presence of genes that could encode type iv pili (tfp). the live vaccine strain (lvs) expresses surface fibers resembling tfp, but it was not established whether these fibers were indeed tfp encoded by the pil genes. we show here that deletion of the pilf putative tfp assembly atpase in the lvs resulted in a complete lo ... | 2008 | 18426883 |
| cd4+ t cells are required during priming but not the effector phase of antibody-mediated ifn-gamma-dependent protective immunity against pulmonary francisella novicida infection. | we have previously demonstrated the protective efficacy of intranasal vaccination with a defined francisella tularensis subsp. novicida deltaiglc mutant (kkf24) against pulmonary f. novicida u112 challenge. in this study, we further characterized the mechanisms of kkf24-induced immunity. intranasally vaccinated kkf24 c57bl/6 major histocompatibility class (mhc) class ii-/- mice produced minimal antigen-specific interferon (ifn)-gamma and serum antibodies and were highly susceptible (0% survival) ... | 2008 | 18427567 |
| subversion of complement activation at the bacterial surface promotes serum resistance and opsonophagocytosis of francisella tularensis. | francisella tularensis (ft) is resistant to serum but requires complement factor c3-derived opsonins for uptake by phagocytic cells and subsequent intracellular growth. in this study, we show that c3 fragments, deposited on ft, are detected by anti-c3d and -ic3b mab and that the classical and the alternative pathways are involved in this event. this was demonstrated using c2-depleted sera and specific inhibitors of the classical-versus-alternative pathways of complement activation. further, we d ... | 2008 | 18430786 |
| [a small water-borne tularemia outbreak]. | the aim of this study was to investigate a small tularemia outbreak in a village of karamürsel county of kocaeli province (located in north-west part of turkey), between 22 january - 8 march 2005 and to present the anti-epidemic measures implemented. following diagnosis of oropharyngeal tularemia in two patients living in the same village, a field investigation was performed at this region. all patients have undergone physical examination. blood samples and if possible throat swabs and lymph nod ... | 2008 | 18444562 |
| francisella tularensis strain lvs resides in mhc ii-positive autophagic vacuoles in macrophages. | the francisella tularensis strain lvs phagosome disintegrates during the first few hours after bacterial entry and microbes are released to the cytosol. within 12 h both rapid multiplication of microbes and a steep increase of apoptosis of infected macrophages occur. we searched for signals involved in the death of macrophages and detected molecules associated with the autophagy machinery cathepsin d, pten, p53 and lc3, whose levels or modification were influenced by ongoing in vitro tularemic i ... | 2007 | 18450226 |
| antimicrobial activity of human beta-defensins and induction by francisella. | the ability of human beta-defensins hbd-1, hbd-2, and hbd-3 to exert direct in vitro antimicrobial effects was evaluated using francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs) and francisella novicida. while hbd-2 showed some antimicrobial activity in these assays, only hbd-3 demonstrated significant potency against francisella. francisella tularensis lvs infection induced elevated levels of hbd-2 mrna in human airway epithelial (a549) cells, while having no significant impact on the levels of h ... | 2008 | 18452706 |
| macrophage proinflammatory response to francisella tularensis live vaccine strain requires coordination of multiple signaling pathways. | the macrophage proinflammatory response to francisella tularensis (ft) live vaccine strain (lvs) was shown previously to be tlr2 dependent. the observation that intracellular ft lvs colocalizes with tlr2 and myd88 inside macrophages suggested that ft lvs might signal from within the phagosome. macrophages infected with lvsdeltaiglc, a ft lvs mutant that fails to escape from the phagosome, displayed greatly increased expression of a subset of tlr2-dependent, proinflammatory genes (e.g., tnf) but ... | 2008 | 18453609 |
| francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis schu s4 disulfide bond formation protein b, but not an rnd-type efflux pump, is required for virulence. | francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis is a highly virulent bacterium that is a cdc select agent. despite advancements in the understanding of its biology, details pertaining to virulence are poorly understood. in previous work, we identified a transposon insertion mutant in the ftt0107c locus that was defective in intracellular survival in hepg2 and j77a.1 cells. here, we report that this mutant was also highly attenuated in vivo. the ftt0107c locus is predicted to encode an ortholog of the d ... | 2008 | 18458069 |
| seroprevalence study of francisella tularensis among hunters in germany. | in 2005 and 2006, francisella tularensis unexpectedly reemerged in western germany, when several semi-free-living marmosets (callithrix jacchus) in a research facility died from tularemia and a group of hare hunters became infected. it is believed that hunters may have an elevated risk to be exposed to zoonotic pathogens, including f. tularensis. a previous cross-sectional study of the german population (n=6883) revealed a prevalence of 0.2%. here, we investigated 286 sera from individuals mainl ... | 2008 | 18462387 |
| the francisella pathogenicity island protein pdpd is required for full virulence and associates with homologues of the type vi secretion system. | francisella tularensis is a highly infectious, facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen that is the causative agent of tularemia. nearly a century ago, researchers observed that tularemia was often fatal in north america but almost never fatal in europe and asia. the chromosomes of f. tularensis strains carry two identical copies of the francisella pathogenicity island (fpi), and the fpis of north america-specific biotypes contain two genes, anmk and pdpd, that are not found in biotypes that ... | 2008 | 18469101 |
| mgla and igl proteins contribute to the modulation of francisella tularensis live vaccine strain-containing phagosomes in murine macrophages. | the francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs), in contrast to its iglc mutant, replicates in the cytoplasm of macrophages. we studied the outcome of infection of the murine macrophagelike cell line j774a.1 with lvs and with iglc, igld, and mgla mutants, the latter of which is deficient in a global regulator. compared to lvs, all of the mutants showed impaired intracellular replication up to 72 h, and the number of the mgla mutant bacteria even decreased. colocalization with lamp-1 was sig ... | 2008 | 18474647 |
| occurrence of francisella piscicida in farmed and wild atlantic cod, gadus morhua l., in norway. | francisellosis, caused by the bacterium francisella piscicida, has become one of the most serious diseases in atlantic cod production in norway. the major aim of this study was to determine the distribution of f. piscicida in farmed and wild fish in areas with cod farming along the norwegian coast, and its occurrence in cod from areas without cod farming. two real-time pcr assays, targeting the 16s rrna gene and the fopa gene of f. piscicida, were developed since sensitive and specific diagnosti ... | 2008 | 18482383 |
| combined deletion of four francisella novicida acid phosphatases attenuates virulence and macrophage vacuolar escape. | francisella tularensis is a facultative intracellular pathogen and the etiologic agent of tularemia. it is capable of escape from macrophage phagosomes and replicates in the host cell cytosol. bacterial acid phosphatases are thought to play a major role in the virulence and intracellular survival of a number of intracellular pathogens. the goal of this study was to delete the four primary acid phosphatases (acps) from francisella novicida and examine the interactions of mutant strains with macro ... | 2008 | 18490464 |
| administration of a synthetic tlr4 agonist protects mice from pneumonic tularemia. | francisella tularensis is a gram-negative intracellular pathogen that causes the zoonosis tularemia. because f. tularensis lps causes weak tlr4 activation, we hypothesized that administration of a synthetic tlr4 agonist, aminoalkyl glucosaminide phosphate (agp), would boost the innate immune system and compensate for reduced tlr4 stimulation. intranasal administration of agps induced intrapulmonary production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. mice treated with agps before and after in ... | 2008 | 18490759 |
| [bubonic tularemia: diagnosis and therapy]. | 2008 | 18491581 | |
| tularemia with vesicular skin lesions may be mistaken for infection with herpes viruses. | the original reports of human infection with francisella tularensis noted vesicular skin rash as a manifestation. we present 2 cases of tularemia initially diagnosed as herpes simplex or varicella zoster infection. clinicians must recognize the cutaneous manifestations of tularemia and be able to distinguish these from lesions seen with herpes viruses. | 2008 | 18491968 |
| isolation and characterization of a novel francisella sp. from human cerebrospinal fluid and blood. | we describe the isolation of a francisella sp. from normally sterile sites in acutely ill patients in two different states within 2 years. microbiologic and molecular analyses indicate that this organism represents a novel francisella sp. clinicians and microbiologists should be aware of this new potential pathogen, as infection may be more common than recognized. | 2008 | 18495864 |