Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| advances in the development of next-generation anthrax vaccines. | anthrax, a disease of herbivores, only rarely infects humans. however, the threat of using bacillus anthracis, the causative agent, to intentionally produce disease has been the impetus for development of next-generation vaccines. two licensed vaccines have been available for human use for several decades. these are composed of acellular culture supernatants containing the protective antigen (pa) component of the anthrax toxins. in this review we summarize the various approaches used to develop ... | 2009 | 19837282 |
| roles of the bacillus anthracis spore protein exsk in exosporium maturation and germination. | the bacillus anthracis spore is the causative agent of the disease anthrax. the outermost structure of the b. anthracis spore, the exosporium, is a shell composed of approximately 20 proteins. the function of the exosporium remains poorly understood and is an area of active investigation. in this study, we analyzed the previously identified but uncharacterized exosporium protein exsk. we found that, in contrast to other exosporium proteins, exsk is present in at least two distinct locations, i.e ... | 2009 | 19837802 |
| pathema: a clade-specific bioinformatics resource center for pathogen research. | pathema (http://pathema.jcvi.org) is one of the eight bioinformatics resource centers (brcs) funded by the national institute of allergy and infectious disease (niaid) designed to serve as a core resource for the bio-defense and infectious disease research community. pathema strives to support basic research and accelerate scientific progress for understanding, detecting, diagnosing and treating an established set of six target niaid category a-c pathogens: category a priority pathogens; bacillu ... | 2010 | 19843611 |
| synthesis of homopolymers and copolymers containing an active ester of acrylic acid by raft: scaffolds for controlling polyvalent ligand display. | we describe the synthesis of activated homopolymers and copolymers of controlled molecular weight based on the controlled radical polymerization of n-acryloyloxysuccinimide (nas) by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (raft). we synthesized activated homopolymers in a range of molecular weights with polydispersities between 1 and 1.2. the attachment of an inhibitory peptide to the activated polymer backbone yielded a potent controlled molecular weight polyvalent inhibitor of anthrax ... | 2008 | 19855852 |
| cathepsin b-mediated autophagy flux facilitates the anthrax toxin receptor 2-mediated delivery of anthrax lethal factor into the cytoplasm. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is a virulence factor secreted by bacillus anthracis and has direct cytotoxic effects on most cells once released into the cytoplasm. the cytoplasmic delivery of the proteolytically active component of letx, lethal factor (lf), is carried out by the transporter component, protective antigen, which interacts with either of two known surface receptors known as anthrax toxin receptor (antxr) 1 and 2. we found that the cytoplasmic delivery of lf by antxr2 was mediated by ... | 2010 | 19858192 |
| pretreatment of epithelial cells with rifaximin alters bacterial attachment and internalization profiles. | rifaximin is a poorly absorbed semisynthetic antibiotic derivative of rifampin licensed for use in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea. rifaximin reduces the symptoms of enteric infection, often without pathogen eradication and with limited effects on intestinal flora. epithelial cells (hep-2 [laryngeal], hct-8 [ileocecal], a549 [lung], and hela [cervical]) were pretreated with rifaximin (or control antibiotics) prior to the addition of enteroaggregative escherichia coli (eaec). eaec adherence ... | 2010 | 19858255 |
| pharmacometrics-based dose selection of levofloxacin as a treatment for postexposure inhalational anthrax in children. | levofloxacin was recently (may 2008) approved by the u.s. food and drug administration as a treatment for children following inhalational exposure to anthrax. given that no clinical trials to assess the efficacy of a chosen dose was conducted, the basis for the dose recommendation was based upon pharmacometric analyses. the objective of this paper is to describe the basis of the chosen pediatric dose recommended for the label. pharmacokinetic (pk) data from 90 pediatric patients receiving 7 mg/k ... | 2010 | 19858256 |
| a semi-synthetic ion channel platform for detection of phosphatase and protease activity. | sensitive methods to probe the activity of enzymes are important for clinical assays and for elucidating the role of these proteins in complex biochemical networks. this paper describes a semi-synthetic ion channel platform for detecting the activity of two different classes of enzymes with high sensitivity. in the first case, this method uses single ion channel conductance measurements to follow the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of a phosphate group attached to the c-terminus of gramicidin a (ga, ... | 2009 | 19860382 |
| immunologic response of unvaccinated workers exposed to anthrax, belgium. | to determine immunologic reactivity to bacillus anthrax antigens, we conducted serologic testing of workers in a factory that performed scouring of wool and goat hair. of 66 workers, approximately 10% had circulating antibodies or t lymphocytes that reacted with anthrax protective antigen. individual immunity varied from undetectable to high. | 2009 | 19861061 |
| the immunizing power of nucleohiston and of histon. | the results obtained in the preceding experiments may be briefly summarized as follows: 1. nucleohiston does not protect against a separate and subcutaneous injection of tetanus toxin, diphtheria toxin, hog-cholera bacillus, or anthrax bacillus. 2. mixtures of nucleohiston and either tetanus toxin or diphtheria toxin lose their specific toxic action-the latter much more rapidly than the former. animals that recover after inoculation of such mixtures are not rendered immune. 3. in a mixture of nu ... | 1896 | 19866821 |
| the wide-spread distribution of diphtheroids and their occurrence in various lesions of human tissues. | it is evident from this work and from the work of others that organisms having diphtheroidal morphology are wide-spread in their distribution in the human body. they are readily isolated from miscellaneous skin lesions, probably thriving better in pathological soils as saprophytes than in normal skin, although they can be obtained quite easily from the latter. various strains can also be cultivated from the air, at least in this environment. aside from the air and superficial parts of the human ... | 1915 | 19867885 |
| resistance of bacterial spores to the triphenylmethane dyes. | 1. bacterial spores are highly resistant to the bactericidal action of the triphenylmethane dyes. many bacillus anthracis and bacillus subtilis spores resist a saturated aqueous solution of gentian violet for 24 hours at 37 degrees c. they also resist exposure to the same dye solution for 10 minutes at 80 degrees c. 2. the selective bactericidal action of these dyes applies only to the vegetative cells. spores of the gram-positive bacteria are more resistant to these dyes than the vegetative cel ... | 1925 | 19869002 |
| a serological study of the polysaccharides of meningococcus, b. anthracis, b. proteus, b. subtilis and b. mesentericus. | 1. the meningococcus polysaccharide reacts with a broad precipitable carbohydrate antibody in common with those of b. anthracis, b. subtilis, b. proteus and b. mesentericus. 2. the anthrax and proteus polysaccharides are specific in the higher dilutions of serum. 3. antianthrax serum contains two different polysaccharide precipitable antibodies, one specific and the other non-specific. 4. agglutinins have no relation to the carbohydrate precipitable substance, specific or non-specific. 5. an imm ... | 1931 | 19869953 |
| studies on natural immunity to pneumococcus type iii : ii. certain distinguishing properties of two strains of pneumococcus type iii varying in their virulence for rabbits, and the reappearance of these properties following r-->s reconversion of their respective rough derivatives. | the results which have been presented show that under the conditions of artificial cultivation at 37 degrees c. definite differences exist between two smooth strains of pneumococcus type iii both of which are highly virulent for mice by the intraperitoneal route, but which may be sharply distinguished in their virulence for rabbits. these differences consist in the size of the fully developed intact capsule and the interval of time required for its loss. the somewhat smaller capsule of the aviru ... | 1936 | 19870536 |
| procurement of spore-free bacillus anthracis for molecular typing outside of bsl3 environment. | to (i) develop a protocol that would eliminate or greatly reduce sporulation within bacillus anthracis vegetative cells, and (ii) harvest an adequate number of cells and sufficient dna suitable for molecular methods including riboprint analysis and pulse field gel electrophoresis (pfge). | 2010 | 19878524 |
| a new generation of stable, nonantibiotic, low-copy-number plasmids improves immune responses to foreign antigens in salmonella enterica serovar typhi live vectors. | we hypothesized that adequately engineered attenuated salmonella enterica serovar typhi strains can serve as multivalent mucosal live vector vaccines to immunize against unrelated human pathogens. toward this ultimate goal, we have developed a novel genetic stabilization system for antigen-expressing plasmids, engineered to encode the single-stranded binding protein (ssb), an essential protein involved in dna metabolism which was deleted from the live vector chromosome. we utilized full-length p ... | 2010 | 19884333 |
| differential staining of bacteria: endospore stain. | endospore production is a very important characteristic of some bacteria, allowing them to resist adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, chemical exposure, extreme heat, radiation, etc. the identification of endospores is also very important for the clinical microbiologist who is analyzing a patient's body fluid or tissue-there are not that many spore-forming genera. in fact, there are two major pathogenic spore-forming genera, bacillus and clostridium, together causing a number o ... | 2009 | 19885937 |
| an antimicrobial guanidine-bearing sesterterpene from the cultured cyanobacterium scytonema sp. | scytoscalarol (1), a antimicrobial sesterterpene bearing a guanidino group, was isolated from the cultured cyanobacterium scytonema sp. (utex 1163) by bioassay-guided fractionation. the chemical structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis including ms and 1d and 2d nmr. scytoscalarol (1) showed antimicrobial activities against bacillus anthracis, staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, candida albicans, and mycobacterium tuberculosis with mic values in the range from 2 to 110 microm. | 2009 | 19888742 |
| onsite infectious agents and toxins monitoring in 12 may sichuan earthquake affected areas. | at 14:28 on 12 may 2008, sichuan province of china suffered a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the richter scale with more than 80 000 human lives lost and millions displaced. with inadequate shelter, poor access to health services, and disrupted ecology, the survivors were at enormous risk of infectious disease outbreaks. this work, believed to be unprecedented, was carried out to contain a possible outbreak through onsite monitoring of airborne biological agents in the high-risk areas. ... | 2009 | 19890556 |
| measuring the effect of commuting on the performance of the bayesian aerosol release detector. | early detection of outdoor aerosol releases of anthrax is an important problem. the bayesian aerosol release detector (bard) is a system for detecting releases of aerosolized anthrax and characterizing them in terms of location, time and quantity. modelling a population's exposure to aerosolized anthrax poses a number of challenges. a major difficulty is to accurately estimate the exposure level--the number of inhaled anthrax spores--of each individual in the exposed region. partly, this difficu ... | 2009 | 19891801 |
| risk of importing zoonotic diseases through wildlife trade, united states. | the united states is the world's largest wildlife importer, and imported wild animals represent a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. using data on mammals imported during 2000-2005, we assessed their potential to host 27 selected risk zoonoses and created a risk assessment that could inform policy making for wildlife importation and zoonotic disease surveillance. a total of 246,772 mammals in 190 genera (68 families) were imported. the most widespread agents of risk zoonoses were rabies vir ... | 2009 | 19891857 |
| comparative performance of a licensed anthrax vaccine versus electroporation based delivery of a pa encoding dna vaccine in rhesus macaques. | dna vaccination is a promising immunization strategy that could be applied in the development of vaccines for a variety of prophylactic and therapeutic indications. utilizing anthrax protective antigen as a model antigen, we demonstrate that electroporation mediated delivery enhanced the immunogenicity of dna vaccines in nonhuman primates over 100-fold as compared to conventional intramuscular injection. two administrations of a dna vaccine with electroporation elicited anthrax toxin neutralizin ... | 2010 | 19896452 |
| structural studies of pterin-based inhibitors of dihydropteroate synthase. | dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) is a key enzyme in bacterial folate synthesis and the target of the sulfonamide class of antibacterials. resistance and toxicities associated with sulfonamides have led to a decrease in their clinical use. compounds that bind to the pterin binding site of dhps, as opposed to the p-amino benzoic acid (paba) binding site targeted by the sulfonamide agents, are anticipated to bypass sulfonamide resistance. to identify such inhibitors and map the pterin binding pocket ... | 2010 | 19899766 |
| anthrax toxin receptor 2 is expressed in murine and tumor vasculature and functions in endothelial proliferation and morphogenesis. | the capillary morphogenesis gene 2 (cmg2) gene encodes an anthrax toxin receptor (antxr2), but the normal physiological function is not known. antxr2/cmg2 was originally identified as a result of up-regulation during capillary morphogenesis of endothelial cells (ecs) cultured in vitro. we explored the hypothesis that key steps of the angiogenic process are either dependent or are influenced by antxr2/cmg2 activity. we describe the expression pattern of antxr2/cmg2 in several murine tissues and i ... | 2010 | 19901963 |
| bsla, the s-layer adhesin of b. anthracis, is a virulence factor for anthrax pathogenesis. | microbial pathogens use adhesive surface proteins to bind to and interact with host tissues, events that are universal for the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. a surface adhesin of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, required to mediate these steps has not been discovered. previous work identified bsla, an s-layer protein, to be necessary and sufficient for adhesion of the anthrax vaccine strain, bacillus anthracis sterne, to host cells. here we asked whether encapsulated bac ... | 2010 | 19906175 |
| liver abscess and sepsis with bacillus pantothenticus in an immunocompetent patient: a first case report. | bacillus species are aerobic, gram-positive, spore forming rods that are usually found in the soil, dust, streams, and other environmental sources. except for bacillus. anthracis (b. anthracis), most species display low virulence, and only rarely cause infections in hosts with weak or damaged immune systems. there are two case reports of b. cereus as a potentially serious bacterial pathogen causing a liver abscess in an immunologically competent patient. we herein report a case of liver abscess ... | 2009 | 19908347 |
| three related cases of cutaneous anthrax in france: clinical and laboratory aspects. | anthrax is an acute bacterial infection caused by bacillus anthracis. the infection is cutaneous in about 95% of human cases and respiratory in about 5%. approximately 2000 cases of cutaneous anthrax are reported annually worldwide. this disease became exceptional in europe thanks to strict veterinarian monitoring. the last human cases of anthrax indicated in france were in 1997. we report 3 new related cases of naturally acquired cutaneous anthrax that occurred in france in 2008. the unique fea ... | 2009 | 19910752 |
| selective interactions of sugar-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes with bacillus spores. | it was reported previously that monosaccharide-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (swnts) could interact with bacillus anthracis (sterne) spores with the mediation of a divalent cation such as ca(2+) to result in significant spore aggregation and reduction in colony forming units. in this work a more systematic investigation was performed on interactions of the swnts functionalized with individual mannose and galactose moieties and their various dendritic configurations with b. anthra ... | 2009 | 19911831 |
| mucosal delivery of antigens using adsorption to bacterial spores. | the development of new-generation vaccines has followed a number of strategic avenues including the use of live recombinant bacteria. of these, the use of genetically engineered bacterial spores has been shown to offer promise as both a mucosal as well as a heat-stable vaccine delivery system. spores of the genus bacillus are currently in widespread use as probiotics enabling a case to be made for their safety. in this work we have discovered that the negatively charged and hydrophobic surface l ... | 2010 | 19914191 |
| synthesis of a hydrolytically stable, fluorescent-labeled atp analog as a tool for probing adenylyl cyclases. | (2r,3s,4r,5r)-5-(6-amino-9h-purin-9-yl)-3-hydroxy-4-[2-(methylamino)benzamido]tetrahydrofuran-2-yl-methoxy[(hydroxy)phosphoryloxy][(hydroxy)phosphoryl]dichloromethylphosphonic acid was synthesized as a chemically and metabolically stable analog of atp substituted with a fluorescent methylanthranoyl (mant) residue. the compound is intended for studying the binding site and function of adenylyl cyclases (acs), which was exemplified by studying its interaction with bacillus anthracis edema factor ( ... | 2010 | 19914832 |
| regulatory interactions of a virulence-associated serine/threonine phosphatase-kinase pair in bacillus anthracis. | in the current study, we examined the regulatory interactions of a serine/threonine phosphatase (ba-stp1), serine/threonine kinase (ba-stk1) pair in bacillus anthracis. b. anthracis stpk101, a null mutant lacking ba-stp1 and ba-stk1, was impaired in its ability to survive within macrophages, and this correlated with an observed reduction in virulence in a mouse model of pulmonary anthrax. biochemical analyses confirmed that ba-stp1 is a pp2c phosphatase and dephosphorylates phosphoserine and pho ... | 2010 | 19915022 |
| phylogenetic typing of bacillus anthracis isolated in japan by multiple locus variable-number tandem repeats and the comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphism. | twelve strains of bacillus anthracis isolated in japan were subjected to multiple locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis using 25 marker loci (mlva25). the results showed that japanese strains could be divided into two distinct genetic clusters, a3a and a3b. by using newly devised comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) analysis, japanese strains were also divided into two groups. the results obtained by the mlva25 and plasmids snp analysis well coincided, indicating that bot ... | 2010 | 19915334 |
| [production and characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to the diphtheria toxin]. | monoclonal antibodies to the diphtheria toxin were produced without cross reactivity with the thermolabile toxin (lt) from escherichia coli; ricin; choleraic toxin; the sea, seb, see, sei, and seg toxins of staphylococcus; the lethal factor of the anthrax toxin; and the protective antigen of the anthrax toxin. a pair of antibodies for the quantitative determination of the diphtheria toxin in the sandwich variation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was chosen. the determination limit o ... | 2009 | 19915639 |
| detection of b. anthracis spores and vegetative cells with the same monoclonal antibodies. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax disease, could be used as a biothreat reagent. it is vital to develop a rapid, convenient method to detect b. anthracis. in the current study, three high affinity and specificity monoclonal antibodies (mabs, designated 8g3, 10c6 and 12f6) have been obtained using fully washed b. anthracis spores as an immunogen. these mabs, confirmed to direct against ea1 protein, can recognize the surface of b. anthracis spores and intact vegetative cells with ... | 2009 | 19915677 |
| anthrax letters: personal exposure, building contamination, and effectiveness of immediate mitigation measures. | this report is the first detailed and quantitative study of potential mitigation procedures intended to deal with anthrax letters using a simulated anthrax letter release within an actual office building. spore aerosols were created by opening letters containing 0.1 g of dry powdered bacillus atrophaeus spores. culturable aerosol samples were collected using slit-to-agar and filter-based samplers. five test scenarios were designed to determine whether simple mitigation procedures or activities c ... | 2010 | 19916102 |
| an anthrax lethal factor mutant that is defective at causing pyroptosis retains proapoptotic activity. | anthrax lethal toxin triggers death in some cell types, such as macrophages, and causes a variety of cellular dysfunctions in others. collectively, these effects dampen the innate and adaptive immune systems to allow bacillus anthracis to survive and proliferate in the mammalian host. the diverse effects caused by the toxin have in part been attributed to its interference with signaling pathways in target cells. lethal factor (lf) is the proteolytic component of the toxin, and cleaves six member ... | 2010 | 19922472 |
| anthrax lethal toxin induced lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cytosolic cathepsin release is nlrp1b/nalp1b-dependent. | nod-like receptors (nlrs) are a group of cytoplasmic molecules that recognize microbial invasion or 'danger signals'. activation of nlrs can induce rapid caspase-1 dependent cell death termed pyroptosis, or a caspase-1 independent cell death termed pyronecrosis. bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt), is recognized by a subset of alleles of the nlr protein nlrp1b, resulting in pyroptotic cell death of macrophages and dendritic cells. here we show that lt induces lysosomal membrane permeabilization ... | 2009 | 19924255 |
| crystal structure of the transcriptional repressor pagr of bacillus anthracis. | pagr is a transcriptional repressor in bacillus anthracis that controls the chromosomal s-layer genes eag and sap, and downregulates the protective antigen paga gene by direct binding to their promoter regions. the pagr protein sequence is similar to those of members of the arsr repressor family involved in the repression of arsenate-resistance genes in numerous bacteria. the crystal structure of pagr was solved using multi-wavelength anomalous diffraction (mad) techniques and was refined with 1 ... | 2010 | 19926656 |
| lethal factor unfolding is the most force-dependent step of anthrax toxin translocation. | cellular compartmentalization requires machinery capable of translocating polypeptides across membranes. in many cases, transported proteins must first be unfolded by means of the proton motive force and/or atp hydrolysis. anthrax toxin, which is composed of a channel-forming protein and two substrate proteins, is an attractive model system to study translocation-coupled unfolding, because the applied driving force can be externally controlled and translocation can be monitored directly by using ... | 2009 | 19926859 |
| diagnosis and management of palpebral anthrax. | anthrax is an infectious disease that is not well known by ophthalmologists. in its cutaneous form, it may produce lesions of the eyelids. we report eight cases of palpebral anthrax. all patients presented with a black necrotic eschar and a tegumentary edema, with a history of contact with sick animals. the curative treatment was based on intravenous penicillin g in four cases and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in the four other cases. the palpebral lesions resolved, leaving no clinical evidence of ... | 2009 | 19927487 |
| identification of novel non-hydroxamate anthrax toxin lethal factor inhibitors by topomeric searching, docking and scoring, and in vitro screening. | anthrax is an infectious disease caused by bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic bacterium. the lethal factor (lf) enzyme is secreted by b. anthracis as part of a tripartite exotoxin and is chiefly responsible for anthrax-related cytotoxicity. as lf can remain in the system long after antibiotics have eradicated b. anthracis from the body, the preferred therapeutic modality would be the administration of antibiotics together with an effective lf inhibitor. although lf has ga ... | 2009 | 19928768 |
| surface-enhanced raman spectroscopic detection of a bacteria biomarker using gold nanoparticle immobilized substrates. | the development of ultrasensitive and rapid methods for the detection of dipicolinic acid (dpa), a biomarker for bacterial spores including bacillus anthracis, is increasingly important. this paper reports the results of an investigation of surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (sers) based ultrasensitive detection of dpa using a gold nanoparticle/polyvinylpyrrolidone/gold substrate (aunps/pvp/au). the strong sers effect of this substrate exploits the particle-particle and particle-substrate plasm ... | 2009 | 19928907 |
| discrimination and phylogenomic classification of bacillus anthracis-cereus-thuringiensis strains based on lc-ms/ms analysis of whole cell protein digests. | modern taxonomy, diagnostics, and forensics of bacteria benefit from technologies that provide data for genome-based classification and identification of strains; however, full genome sequencing is still costly, lengthy, and labor intensive. therefore, other methods are needed to estimate genomic relatedness among strains in an economical and timely manner. although dna-dna hybridization and techniques based on genome fingerprinting or sequencing selected genes like 16s rdna, gyrb, or rpob are f ... | 2010 | 19938824 |
| dna vaccines for biodefense. | an ideal biodefense vaccine platform would allow for the quick formulation of novel vaccines in response to emerging or engineered pathogens. the resultant vaccine should elicit protective immune responses in one to three doses and be unaffected by pre-existing immunity to vaccine components. in addition, it should be amenable to combination and multi-agent formulation, and should be safe for all populations and the environment. dna vaccines can potentially meet all of these requirements; thus, ... | 2009 | 19943766 |
| the role of bacillus anthracis germinant receptors in germination and virulence. | nutrient-dependent germination of bacillus anthracis spores is stimulated when receptors located in the inner membrane detect combinations of amino acid and purine nucleoside germinants. b. anthracis produces five distinct germinant receptors, gerh, gerk, gerl, gers and gerx. otherwise isogenic mutant strains expressing only one of these receptors were created and tested for germination and virulence. the gerh receptor was necessary and sufficient for wild-type levels of germination with inosine ... | 2010 | 19943909 |
| crystal structure of prolyl 4-hydroxylase from bacillus anthracis. | prolyl 4-hydroxylases (p4h) catalyze the post-translational hydroxylation of proline residues and play a role in collagen production, hypoxia response, and cell wall development. p4hs belong to the group of fe(ii)/alphakg oxygenases and require fe(ii), alpha-ketoglutarate (alphakg), and o(2) for activity. we report the 1.40 a structure of a p4h from bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, whose immunodominant exosporium protein bcla contains collagen-like repeat sequences. the struct ... | 2010 | 19947658 |
| substrate-mediated stabilization of a tetrameric drug target reveals achilles heel in anthrax. | bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium that causes anthrax. with the increased threat of anthrax in biowarfare, there is an urgent need to characterize new antimicrobial targets from b. anthracis. one such target is dihydrodipicolinate synthase (dhdps), which catalyzes the committed step in the pathway yielding meso-diaminopimelate and lysine. in this study, we employed cd spectroscopy to demonstrate that the thermostability of dhdps from b. anthracis (ba-dhdps) is signifi ... | 2010 | 19948665 |
| conjugative transfer of insecticidal plasmid pht73 from bacillus thuringiensis to b. anthracis and compatibility of this plasmid with pxo1 and pxo2. | bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, is genetically close to and commonly shares a giant gene pool with b. cereus and b. thuringiensis. in view of the human pathogenicity and the long persistence in the environment of b. anthracis, there is growing concern about the effects of genetic exchange with b. anthracis on public health. in this work, we demonstrate that an insecticidal plasmid, pht73, from b. thuringiensis strain kt0 could be efficiently transferred into two attenuated b. ... | 2010 | 19948871 |
| cutting edge: resistance to bacillus anthracis infection mediated by a lethal toxin sensitive allele of nalp1b/nlrp1b. | pathogenesis of bacillus anthracis is associated with the production of lethal toxin (lt), which activates the murine nalp1b/nlrp1b inflammasome and induces caspase-1-dependent pyroptotic death in macrophages and dendritic cells. in this study, we investigated the effect of allelic variation of nlrp1b on the outcome of lt challenge and infection by b. anthracis spores. nlrp1b allelic variation did not alter the kinetics or pathology of end-stage disease induced by purified lt, suggesting that, i ... | 2010 | 19949100 |
| examination of anthrax lethal factor inhibition by siderophores, small hydroxamates, and protamine. | based on their ability to chelate metals, hydroxamate molecules and siderophores have been successfully used as metalloenzyme inhibitors. as the anthrax toxin lethal factor (lf) is a zinc (zn)-metallopeptidase, an investigation of the ability of some small non-siderophore hydroxamate compounds, 5 hydroxamate-containing siderophores, and 1 catecholate siderophore was undertaken to determine whether these compounds would inhibit lf. in addition, salmon sperm protamine and ethylenediaminetetraaceti ... | 2009 | 19949750 |
| characterization of a bacillus subtilis transporter for petrobactin, an anthrax stealth siderophore. | iron deprivation activates the expression of components of the siderophore-mediated iron acquisition systems in bacillus subtilis, including not only the synthesis and uptake of its siderophore bacillibactin but also expression of multiple abc transporters for iron scavenging using xenosiderophores. the yclnopq operon is shown to encode the complete transporter for petrobactin (pb), a photoreactive 3,4-catecholate siderophore produced by many members of the b. cereus group, including b. anthraci ... | 2009 | 19955416 |
| anthrax toxin uptake by primary immune cells as determined with a lethal factor-beta-lactamase fusion protein. | to initiate infection, bacillus anthracis needs to overcome the host innate immune system. anthrax toxin, a major virulence factor of b. anthracis, impairs both the innate and adaptive immune systems and is important in the establishment of anthrax infections. | 2009 | 19956758 |
| anthrax lethal toxin down-regulates type-iia secreted phospholipase a(2) expression through mapk/nf-kappab inactivation. | bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, produces lethal toxin (lt) that displays a metallo-proteolytic activity toward the n-terminus of the mapk-kinases. we have previously shown that secreted type-iia phospholipase a(2) (spla(2)-iia) exhibits potent anthracidal activity. in vitro expression of spla(2)-iia in guinea pig alveolar macrophages (ams), the major source of this enzyme in lung tissues, is inhibited by lt. here, we examined the mechanisms involved in spla(2)-iia inhibitio ... | 2010 | 19962969 |
| quantum dots in molecular detection of disease. | the unique photophysical properties of semiconductor quantum dots (qds) have made them ideal for use as spectral labels and luminescent probes. in this review, applications are presented in which qds function as active participants in nanoscale biosensor assemblies, where replacing traditional molecular fluorophores results in improved assay performance. specific focus is on disease detection with applications including multiplexed target detection, mutation detection by coincidence analysis and ... | 2009 | 19965019 |
| integrated microfluidic enzyme reactor mass spectrometry platform for detection of anthrax lethal factor. | in this work, we have developed a coupled microfluidic enzyme reactor mass spectrometry platform for the detection of protein toxins such as anthrax lethal factor. the lethal toxin produced during bacillus anthracis infection is a complex protective antigen, which localizes the toxin to the cell receptor and lethal factor (lf). we have demonstrated, in this work, the applicability of a microfluidic reactor for the capture and concentration of enzyme reaction solid-phase. the reaction solid-phase ... | 2009 | 19965140 |
| haploid genetic screens in human cells identify host factors used by pathogens. | loss-of-function genetic screens in model organisms have elucidated numerous biological processes, but the diploid genome of mammalian cells has precluded large-scale gene disruption. we used insertional mutagenesis to develop a screening method to generate null alleles in a human cell line haploid for all chromosomes except chromosome 8. using this approach, we identified host factors essential for infection with influenza and genes encoding important elements of the biosynthetic pathway of dip ... | 2009 | 19965467 |
| contributions of four cortex lytic enzymes to germination of bacillus anthracis spores. | bacterial spores remain dormant and highly resistant to environmental stress until they germinate. completion of germination requires the degradation of spore cortex peptidoglycan by germination-specific lytic enzymes (gsles). bacillus anthracis has four gsles: cwlj1, cwlj2, sleb, and slel. in this study, the cooperative action of all four gsles in vivo was investigated by combining in-frame deletion mutations to generate all possible double, triple, and quadruple gsle mutant strains. analyses o ... | 2010 | 19966006 |
| anthrax in the woollen industry, with special reference to bradford. | 1913 | 19977235 | |
| case of shaving-brush anthrax of face; recovery. | 1920 | 19980954 | |
| the eradication of glanders and anthrax in man and animals. | 1923 | 19983044 | |
| president's address: the old and the new of veterinary science and practice. | the paper recalls how matters veterinary were regarded forty-six years ago, what has been achieved since, and future progress is reflected.the paper is divided into parts relating respectively to: (a) medicine; (b) surgery (c) teaching and research; (d) administration.formerly, glanders and farcy, and rabies, though acknowledged as contagious and specific, were also believed to be of spontaneous origin. experiences with regard to these two diseases, and the mallein test for glanders, are related ... | 1928 | 19986709 |
| the influence of industry on public health. | recognized specific risks of industry considered.under section 73, factory and workshop act, certain diseases contracted in a factory or workshop are notifiable by medical practitioners to the chief inspector of factories.lead poisoning, epitheliomatous and chrome ulceration and anthrax-considered in detail.effects of inhalation of dust in the causation of silicosis and asbestosis. relation of these diseases to tuberculosis. reason to believe that a large number of dusts of different characters ... | 1933 | 19989374 |
| anthrax lethal toxin promotes dephosphorylation of ttp and formation of processing bodies. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is composed of protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf) - pa is the receptor-binding moiety and lf is a protease that cleaves mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (mapkks). letx subverts the immune response to bacillus anthracis in several ways, such as downregulating interleukin-8 (il-8) by increasing the rate of il-8 mrna degradation. many transcripts are regulated through cis-acting elements that bind proteins that either impede or promote degradation. so ... | 2010 | 19995385 |
| detection of virulence-associated genes in clinical isolates of bacillus anthracis by multiplex pcr and dna probes. | anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by bacillus anthracis, and well recognized as a potential agent for bioterrorism. b. anthracis can be identified by detecting the virulence factors genes located on two plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2. the aim of the present study was to determine the presence of virulence genes in 27 isolates of b. anthracis isolated from clinical and environmental samples. for this purpose, multiplex pcr and dna probes were designed to detect protective antigen ( pag), edema factor ... | 2009 | 19996704 |
| quantitative multiplex detection of pathogen biomarkers on multichannel waveguides. | no single biomarker can accurately predict disease. an ideal biodetection technology should be capable of the quantitative, reproducible, and sensitive detection of a limited suite of such molecules. to this end, we have developed a multiplex biomarker assay for protective antigen and lethal factor of the bacillus anthracis lethal toxin using semiconductor quantum dots as the fluorescence reporters on our waveguide-based biosensor platform. the platform is extendable to a wide array of biomarker ... | 2010 | 20000585 |
| prediction of calcium-binding sites by combining loop-modeling with machine learning. | protein ligand-binding sites in the apo state exhibit structural flexibility. this flexibility often frustrates methods for structure-based recognition of these sites because it leads to the absence of electron density for these critical regions, particularly when they are in surface loops. methods for recognizing functional sites in these missing loops would be useful for recovering additional functional information. | 2009 | 20003365 |
| a rapid multiplex assay for nucleic acid-based diagnostics. | we have developed a rapid (under 4 hours), multiplex, nucleic acid assay, adapted to a microsphere array detection platform. we call this assay multiplex oligonucleotide ligation-pcr (mol-pcr). unlike other ligation-based assays that require multiple steps, our protocol consists of a single tube reaction, followed by hybridization to a luminex microsphere array for detection. we demonstrate the ability of this assay to simultaneously detect diverse nucleic acid signatures (e.g., unique sequences ... | 2010 | 20006656 |
| animal research. rejection of anthrax study kicks up a dust storm in oklahoma. | 2009 | 20007868 | |
| lysogeny and sporulation in bacillus isolates from the gulf of mexico. | eleven bacillus isolates from the surface and subsurface waters of the gulf of mexico were examined for their capacity to sporulate and harbor prophages. occurrence of sporulation in each isolate was assessed through decoyinine induction, and putative lysogens were identified by prophage induction by mitomycin c treatment. no obvious correlation between ability to sporulate and prophage induction was found. four strains that contained inducible virus-like particles (vlps) were shown to sporulate ... | 2010 | 20008174 |
| a slippery slope. | 2009 | 20010640 | |
| primate study halted by us university. | 2009 | 20010657 | |
| dry thermal resistance of bacillus anthracis (sterne) spores and spores of other bacillus species: implications for biological agent destruction via waste incineration. | to obtain needed data on the dry thermal resistance of bacillus anthracis spores and other bacillus species for waste incinerator applications. | 2010 | 20015207 |
| [genotyping of the bacillus anthracis vaccine strains using the multiloci vntr-analysis]. | the genotyping variety of 5 known anthracis vaccine strains using 18 variable loci of the chromosomal localization taken from a microbe culture collection of 48 research institute of ministry of defense was revealed in the research. the stability of the vntr-loci was shown to be inherited from the b. anthracis strains with common origin and an opportunity of their gene-identification application. the gene profile of each analyzed vaccine strain using every 18 polymorphic loci was determined and ... | 2009 | 20017359 |
| bioterrorism - health emergency preparedness and response. | health emergency planning for preparedness and response against acts of terrorism, including the malfeasant threat or actual release of biological agents designed to harm others, has assumed a higher level of concern for most western nations, including canada, following the explosive attacks in the united states on september 11, 2001. these terrorist attacks were followed by an outbreak of anthrax infections. the bacillus anthracis spores in these attacks were dispersed by using regular postal s ... | 2003 | 20019925 |
| pemk toxin of bacillus anthracis is a ribonuclease: an insight into its active site, structure, and function. | bacillus anthracis genome harbors a toxin-antitoxin (ta) module encoding pemi (antitoxin) and pemk (toxin). this study describes the rpemk as a potent ribonuclease with a preference for pyrimidines (c/u), which is consistent with our previous study that demonstrated it as a translational attenuator. the in silico structural modeling of the pemk in conjunction with the site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the role of his-59 and glu-78 as an acid-base couple in mediating the ribonuclease activity. ... | 2010 | 20022964 |
| sensitive and specific enzyme immunoassays for antigenic trisaccharide from bacillus anthracis spores. | a straightforward synthesis of an anthrose-containing trisaccharide derived from bacillus anthracis was achieved. antibodies raised against this hapten provide a highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay with a detection limit of 8.5 pmol ml(-1). by investigating the specificity of the antibodies obtained using different mono-, di- and trisaccharide synthetic analogues, we demonstrated that the epitope was mainly made up of the methyl group at c-5, the butamido group at c-4 and the hydroxyl at c-3 of ... | 2009 | 20024115 |
| a new prior for bayesian anomaly detection: application to biosurveillance. | bayesian anomaly detection computes posterior probabilities of anomalous events by combining prior beliefs and evidence from data. however, the specification of prior probabilities can be challenging. this paper describes a bayesian prior in the context of disease outbreak detection. the goal is to provide a meaningful, easy-to-use prior that yields a posterior probability of an outbreak that performs at least as well as a standard frequentist approach. if this goal is achieved, the resulting po ... | 2010 | 20027381 |
| exposure to bioterrorism and mental health response among staff on capitol hill. | the october 2001 anthrax attacks heralded a new era of bioterrorism threat in the u.s. at the time, little systematic data on mental health effects were available to guide authorities' response. for this study, which was conducted 7 months after the anthrax attacks, structured diagnostic interviews were conducted with 137 capitol hill staff workers, including 56 who had been directly exposed to areas independently determined to have been contaminated. postdisaster psychopathology was associated ... | 2009 | 20028246 |
| the four faces of microbial forensics. | the emerging field of microbial forensics played a major role in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings and has been closely associated with the process of attribution, or identifying the perpetrator of a biological attack for purposes of criminal prosecution or military retaliation. nevertheless, microbial forensics has other potential applications in intelligence, nonproliferation, and verification. this article describes the relevance of microbial forensics for a variety of law enforc ... | 2009 | 20028247 |
| source reduction in an anthrax-contaminated mail facility. | following the 2001 bioterrorist attacks using letters containing bacillus anthracis spores, a number of sites had to be decontaminated. source reduction-the process of reducing biocontamination levels prior to the main decontamination treatment-is a critical step in decontaminating buildings. such activities include the removal of items from a facility either for off-site treatment and reuse or ultimate disposal, as well as the pretreatment of certain surfaces in the facility. in addition, waste ... | 2009 | 20028249 |
| a new model of bioterrorism risk assessment. | there has been an abundance of different bioterrorist attack scenarios and consequently an unclear biodefense strategy so far. we present a framework for bioterrorism risk assessment that we believe would be useful for policymakers and understandable without needing to be an expert in this field. we retrieved the medline database via pubmed (from january 1987 to january 2009) and cross-referenced and reviewed the terms biological weapons, biological attacks, bioterror, bio(defense), bio(strategy ... | 2009 | 20028253 |
| antibacterial activity of radical scavengers against class ib ribonucleotide reductase from bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is a severe mammalian pathogen. the deoxyribonucleotides necessary for dna replication and repair are provided via the ribonucleotide reductase (rnr) enzyme. rnr is also important for spore germination and cell proliferation upon infection. we show that the expression of b. anthracis class ib rnr responds to the environment that the pathogen encounters upon infection. we also show that several anti-proliferative agents (radical scavengers) specifically inhibit the b. anthracis ... | 2010 | 20030587 |
| expression and regulation of antxr1 in the chick embryo. | anthrax toxin receptor 1 (antxr1; also known as tumor endothelial marker 8, tem8) is one of several genes that was recently found to be up-regulated in tumor-associated endothelial cells. in vitro, the protein can link extracellular matrix components with the actin cytoskeleton to promote cell adhesion and cell spreading. both, antxr1 and the closely related antxr2 can bind anthrax toxin and interact with lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 and 6, which also work as coreceptors in the wnt sig ... | 2010 | 20034073 |
| high-throughput multiplex flow cytometry screening for botulinum neurotoxin type a light chain protease inhibitors. | given their medical importance, proteases have been studied by diverse approaches and screened for small molecule protease inhibitors. here, we present a multiplexed microsphere-based protease assay that uses high-throughput flow cytometry to screen for inhibitors of the light chain protease of botulinum neurotoxin type a (bontalc). our assay uses a full-length substrate and several deletion mutants screened in parallel to identify small molecule inhibitors. the use of multiplex flow cytometry h ... | 2010 | 20035615 |
| [recombinant antibodies against bioweapons]. | the threat posed by bioweapons (bw) could lead to the re-emergence of such deadly diseases as plague or smallpox, now eradicated from industrialized countries. the development of recombinant antibodies allows tackling this risk because these recombinant molecules are generally well tolerated in human medicine, may be utilized for prophylaxis and treatment, and because antibodies neutralize many bw. recombinant antibodies neutralizing the lethal toxin of anthrax, botulinum toxins and the smallpox ... | 2009 | 20035695 |
| sequence motifs and proteolytic cleavage of the collagen-like glycoprotein bcla required for its attachment to the exosporium of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis spores are enclosed by an exosporium comprised of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the filaments of the nap are composed of trimers of the collagen-like glycoprotein bcla. the attachment of essentially all bcla trimers to the exosporium requires the basal layer protein bxpb, and both proteins are included in stable high-molecular-mass exosporium complexes. bcla contains a proteolytically processed 38-residue amino-terminal domain (ntd) that is essential for basal-l ... | 2010 | 20038593 |
| anthrax edema toxin inhibits nox1-mediated formation of reactive oxygen species by colon epithelial cells. | one major route of intoxication by bacillus anthracis (anthrax) spores is via their ingestion and subsequent uptake by the intestinal epithelium. anthrax edema toxin (etx) is an adenylate cyclase that causes persistent elevation of camp in intoxicated cells. nadph oxidase enzymes (nox1-nox5, duox1 and 2) generate reactive oxygen species (ros) as components of the host innate immune response to bacteria, including nox1 in gastrointestinal epithelial tissues. we show that etx effectively inhibits ... | 2009 | 20046221 |
| activity of dalbavancin against bacillus anthracis in vitro and in a mouse inhalation anthrax model. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, can produce fatal disease when it is inhaled or ingested by humans. dalbavancin, a novel, semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide, has potent activity, greater than that of vancomycin, against gram-positive bacteria and a half-life in humans that supports once-weekly dosing. dalbavancin demonstrated potent in vitro activity against b. anthracis (mic range, < or =0.03 to 0.5 mg/liter; mic(50) and mic(90), 0.06 and 0.25 mg/liter, respectively), which led ... | 2010 | 20047912 |
| preparedness for terrorism: managing nuclear, biological and chemical threats. | the management of nuclear, biological and chemical (nbc) terrorism events is critical to reducing morbidity and mortality in the next decade; however, initial patient care considerations and protective actions for staff are unfamiliar to most front-line clinicians. high explosive events (bomb and blast) remain the most common type of terrorism and are easy to detect. conversely, some types of terrorist attacks are more likely to be unsuspected or covert. this paper explains the current threat of ... | 2009 | 20052435 |
| inhibition of tumor angiogenesis by the matrix metalloproteinase-activated anthrax lethal toxin in an orthotopic model of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. | patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (atc) typically succumb to their disease months after diagnosis despite aggressive therapy. a large percentage of atcs have been shown to harbor the v600e b-raf point mutation, leading to the constitutive activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. atc invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis are in part dependent on the gelatinase class of matrix metalloproteinases (mmp). the explicit targeting of these two tumor markers may provide a nov ... | 2010 | 20053778 |
| structure of dihydrodipicolinate synthase from methanocaldococcus jannaschii. | in bacteria and plants, dihydrodipicolinate synthase (dhdps) plays a key role in the (s)-lysine biosynthesis pathway. dhdps catalyzes the first step of the condensation of (s)-aspartate-beta-semialdehyde and pyruvate to form an unstable compound, (4s)-4-hydroxy-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(2s)-dipicolinic acid. the activity of dhdps is allosterically regulated by (s)-lysine, a feedback inhibitor. the crystal structure of dhdps from methanocaldococcus jannaschii (mjdhdps) was solved by the molecular-repla ... | 2009 | 20054116 |
| crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction analysis of diaminopimelate epimerase from escherichia coli. | diaminopimelate (dap) epimerase (ec 5.1.1.7) catalyzes the penultimate step of lysine biosynthesis in bacteria and plants, converting l,l-diaminopimelate to meso-diaminopimelate. here, the cloning, expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction analysis of dap epimerase from escherichia coli are presented. crystals were obtained in space group p4(1)2(1)2 and diffracted to 2.0 a resolution, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 89.4, c = 179.6 a. molecular replacement was ... | 2010 | 20057066 |
| array lead zirconate titanate/glass piezoelectric microcantilevers for real-time detection of bacillus anthracis with 10 spores/ml sensitivity and 1/1000 selectivity in bacterial mixtures. | an array of three identical piezoelectric microcantilever sensors (pemss) consisting of a lead zirconate titanate layer bonded to a glass layer was fabricated and examined for simultaneous, in situ, real-time, all-electrical detection of bacillus anthracis (ba) spores in an aqueous suspension using the first longitudinal extension mode of resonance. with anti-ba antibody immobilized on the sensor surfaces all three pems exhibited identical ba detection resonance frequency shifts at all tested co ... | 2009 | 20059167 |
| genetic analysis of petrobactin transport in bacillus anthracis. | summary iron acquisition mechanisms play an important role in the pathogenesis of many infectious microbes. in bacillus anthracis, the siderophore petrobactin is required for both growth in iron depleted conditions and for full virulence of the bacterium. here we demonstrate the roles of two putative petrobactin binding proteins fatb and fpua (encoded by gbaa5330 and gbaa4766, respectively) in bacillus anthracis iron acquisition and pathogenesis. markerless deletion mutants were created using al ... | 2010 | 20059694 |
| analysis of the sporicidal activity of chlorine dioxide disinfectant against bacillus anthracis (sterne strain). | routine surface decontamination is an essential hospital and laboratory procedure, but the list of effective, noncorrosive disinfectants that kill spores is limited. we investigated the sporicidal potential of an aqueous chlorine dioxide solution and encountered some unanticipated problems. quantitative bacteriological culture methods were used to determine the log(10) reduction of bacillus anthracis (sterne strain) spores following 3min exposure to various concentrations of aqueous chlorine dio ... | 2010 | 20061062 |
| effects of introducing a single charged residue into the phenylalanine clamp of multimeric anthrax protective antigen. | multimeric pores formed in the endosomal membrane by the protective antigen moiety of anthrax toxin translocate the enzymatic moieties of the toxin to the cytosolic compartment of mammalian cells. there is evidence that the side chains of the phe(427) residues come into close proximity with one another in the lumen of the pore and form a structure, termed the phe clamp, that catalyzes the translocation process. in this report we describe the effects of replacing phe(427) in a single subunit of t ... | 2010 | 20061382 |
| microbial threat lists: obstacles in the quest for biosecurity? | anxiety about threats from the microbial world and about the deliberate misuse of microorganisms has led to efforts to define and control these dangers using lists and regulations. one list with tremendous legal implications and a potentially huge impact on research is the select agents and toxins list, which was created by the us government to limit the possession of and access to particular microorganisms and toxins. in this article, in addition to highlighting general problems with taxonomy-b ... | 2010 | 20065941 |
| raxibacumab. | raxibacumab (abthrax) is a human igg1 monoclonal antibody against bacillus anthracis protective antigen. hgs is currently providing stockpiles of the agent to the us government for use in the prevention and treatment of inhalation anthrax. as of may 2009, the candidate was undergoing review by the us food and drug administration. the availability of bioterrorism countermeasures has become more important since the september 2001 anthrax attacks, and development of raxibacumab is a significant adv ... | 2009 | 20068396 |
| statistical assessment of dna extraction reagent lot variability in real-time quantitative pcr. | the aim of this study was to evaluate the variability in lots of a dna extraction kit using real-time pcr assays for bacillus anthracis, francisella tularensis and vibrio cholerae. | 2010 | 20070509 |
| a "dock and lock" approach to preparation of targeted liposomes. | we developed a strategy for covalent coupling of targeting proteins to liposomes decorated with a standard adapter protein. this strategy is based on "dock and lock" the interactions between two mutated fragments of human rnase i, a 1-15-aa fragment with the r4c amino acid substitution, (cys-tag), and a 21-127-aa fragment with the v118c substitution, (ad-c). upon binding to each other, cys-tag and ad-c spontaneously form a disulfide bond between the complimentary 4c and 118c residues. therefore, ... | 2010 | 20072886 |