Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| comparative proteome analysis of bacillus anthracis with pxo1 plasmid content. | bacillus anthracis the causative agent of anthrax, is an important pathogen among the bacillus cereus group of species because of its physiological characteristics and its importance as a biological warfare agent. tripartite anthrax toxin proteins and a poly-d-glutamic acid capsule are produced by b. anthracis vegetative cells during mammalian hosts infection and when cultured in conditions that are thought to mimic the host environment. to identify the factors regulating virulence in b. anthrac ... | 2010 | 21221933 |
| bacillus gaemokensis sp. nov., isolated from foreshore tidal flat sediment from the yellow sea. | a gram-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming organism, strain bl3-6(t), was isolated from tidal flat sediments of the yellow sea in the region of tae-an. a 16s rrna gene sequence analysis demonstrated that this isolate belongs to the bacillus cereus group, and is closely related to bacillus mycoides (99.0% similarity), bacillus thuringiensis (99.0%), bacillus weihenstephanensis (99.0%), bacillus cereus (98.9%), bacillus anthracis (98.8%), and bacillus pseudomycoides (98.1%). the phylogenetic d ... | 2010 | 21221948 |
| continuing challenge of infectious diseases in india. | in india, the range and burden of infectious diseases are enormous. the administrative responsibilities of the health system are shared between the central (federal) and state governments. control of diseases and outbreaks is the responsibility of the central ministry of health, which lacks a formal public health department for this purpose. tuberculosis, malaria, filariasis, visceral leishmaniasis, leprosy, hiv infection, and childhood cluster of vaccine-preventable diseases are given priority ... | 2011 | 21227500 |
| monoclonal antibodies directed against protective antigen of bacillus anthracis enhance lethal toxin activity in vivo. | protective antigen (pa) from bacillus anthracis binds to cellular receptors, combines with lethal factor (lf) forming lethal toxin (letx), and facilitates the translocation of lf into the cytosol. letx is cytotoxic for j774a.1 cells, a murine macrophage cell line, and causes death of fisher 344 rats when injected intravenously. pa is also the major protective component in anthrax vaccines. antibody-dependent enhancement has been reported for several viral diseases, a bacterial infection, and for ... | 2011 | 21231965 |
| evaluation of cryptococcus neoformans galactoxylomannan-protein conjugate as vaccine candidate against murine cryptococcosis. | galactoxylomannan (galxm) is a complex polysaccharide produced by the human pathogenic fungus cryptococcus neoformans that mediates profound immunological derangements in murine models. galxm is essentially non-immunogenic and produces immune paralysis in mice. previous studies have attempted to enhance immunogenicity by conjugating galxm to a protein carrier, but only transient antibody responses were elicited. here we report the generation of two galxm conjugates with bovine serum albumin (bsa ... | 2011 | 21238568 |
| screening and characterization of high-affinity ssdna aptamers against anthrax protective antigen. | the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis is a secreted protein that functions as a critical virulence factor. protective antigen has been selected as a biomarker in detecting bacterial infection. the in vitro selection method, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (selex), was used to find single-stranded dnas that were tightly bound to pa. after 8 rounds of the selex process with pa, 4 different oligonucleotides (referred to as aptamers) that contain a 30-residue ss ... | 2011 | 21245470 |
| a case of septicaemic anthrax in an intravenous drug user. | in 2000, ringertz et al described the first case of systemic anthrax caused by injecting heroin contaminated with anthrax. in 2008, there were 574 drug related deaths in scotland, of which 336 were associated with heroin and or morphine. we report a rare case of septicaemic anthrax caused by injecting heroin contaminated with anthrax in scotland. | 2011 | 21251266 |
| anthrax letters in an open office environment: effects of selected cdc response guidelines on personal exposure and building contamination. | in 2001, letters filled with a powder containing anthrax (bacillus anthracis) spores were delivered by mail to a number of governmental and media locations within the united states. in response, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) provided guidelines for office personnel who might encounter a letter containing suspicious powder. these guidelines were developed during the crisis and in the absence of experimental data from laboratory or field investigations. an obvious need ... | 2011 | 21253984 |
| the co-dependence of bxpb/exsfa and bcla for proper incorporation into the exosporium of bacillus anthracis. | the outermost layer of the bacillus anthracis spore consists of an exosporium comprised of two distinct layers, an outer hair-like nap layer and an internal basal layer. the hair-like nap is primarily comprised of the glycosylated collagen-like protein bcla. bcla is found in a trimeric form in close association with many other exosporium proteins in high-molecular weight complexes. we previously had characterized an n-terminal sequence of bcla that is sufficient for incorporation into the exospo ... | 2011 | 21255119 |
| surveillance of wildlife zoonotic diseases in the balkans region. | the countries of the balkan peninsula have become the region with frequent outbreaks of the emerging and re-emerging diseases during the last decade of the 20th and the first decade of the 21st century. the majority of outbreaks were wildlife zoonotic, and vector-borne diseases, such as brucellosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis, tularemia, q-fever, lyme disease, anthrax, rabies, viral hemorrhagic fevers, sandfly fever, tick-borne encephalitis and leishmainiasis. epidemiological factors determined ... | 2010 | 21258303 |
| mechanisms of iron import in anthrax. | during an infection, bacterial pathogens must acquire iron from the host to survive. however, free iron is sequestered in host proteins, which presents a barrier to iron-dependent bacterial replication. in response, pathogens have developed mechanisms to acquire iron from the host during infection. interestingly, a significant portion of the iron pool is sequestered within heme, which is further bound to host proteins such as hemoglobin. the copious amount of heme-iron makes hemoglobin an ideal ... | 2011 | 21258843 |
| induction of natural competence in bacillus cereus atcc14579. | natural competence is the ability of certain microbes to take up exogenous dna from the environment and integrate it in their genome. competence development has been described for a variety of bacteria, but has so far not been shown to occur in bacillus cereus. however, orthologues of most proteins involved in natural dna uptake in bacillus subtilis could be identified in b. cereus. here, we report that b. cereus atcc14579 can become naturally competent. when expressing the b. subtilis comk prot ... | 2008 | 21261842 |
| aerosolized bacillus anthracis infection in new zealand white rabbits: natural history and intravenous levofloxacin treatment. | the natural history for inhalational bacillus anthracis (ames strain) exposure in new zealand white rabbits was investigated to better identify potential, early biomarkers of anthrax. twelve spf bordetella-free rabbits were exposed to 150 ld(50) aerosolized b. anthracis spores, and clinical signs, body temperature, complete blood count, bacteremia, and presence of protective antigen in the blood (that is, antigenemia) were examined. the development of antigenemia and bacteremia coincided and pre ... | 2010 | 21262133 |
| interactions of anthrax lethal factor with protective antigen defined by site-directed spin labeling. | the protective antigen (pa) moiety of anthrax toxin forms oligomeric pores that translocate the enzymatic moieties of the toxin--lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef)--across the endosomal membrane of mammalian cells. here we describe site-directed spin-labeling studies that identify interactions of lf with the prepore and pore conformations of pa. our results reveal a direct interaction between the extreme n terminus of lf (residues 2-5) and the f-clamp, a structure within the lumen of the p ... | 2011 | 21262847 |
| antibiotics cure anthrax in animal models. | respiratory anthrax, in the absence of early antibiotic treatment, is a fatal disease. this study aimed to test the efficiency of antibiotic therapy in curing infected animals and those sick with anthrax. postexposure prophylaxis (24 h postinfection [p.i.]) of guinea pigs infected intranasally with bacillus anthracis vollum spores with doxycycline, ofloxacin, imipenem, and gentamicin conferred protection. however, upon termination of treatment, the animals died from respiratory anthrax. combined ... | 2011 | 21263056 |
| a non-glycosylated, plant-produced human monoclonal antibody against anthrax protective antigen protects mice and non-human primates from b. anthracis spore challenge. | the health and economic burden of infectious diseases in general and bioterrorism in particular necessitate the development of medical countermeasures. one proven approach to reduce the disease burden and spread of pathogen is treatment with monoclonal antibodies (mab). mabs can prevent or reduce severity of the disease by variety of mechanisms, including neutralizing pathogen growth, limiting its spread from infected to adjacent cells, or by inhibiting biological activity of toxins, such as ant ... | 2011 | 21270531 |
| mlva and snp analysis identified a unique genetic cluster in bulgarian bacillus anthracis strains. | a collection of 40 bacillus anthracis strains mostly isolated from soil in bulgaria between 1960 and 1980 were investigated. all strains were proven to be b. anthracis by culture and amplification of a b. anthracis-specific chromosomal marker. pcr demonstrated that in nine strains both virulence plasmids (px01+/px02+) and in four strains only one plasmid (px02+) were present, whereas the majority of strains (n = 27) lacked both plasmids (px01-/px02-). multi-locus-variable number of tandem repeat ... | 2011 | 21279731 |
| optimizing the response to surveillance alerts in automated surveillance systems. | although much research effort has been directed toward refining algorithms for disease outbreak alerting, considerably less attention has been given to the response to alerts generated from statistical detection algorithms. given the inherent inaccuracy in alerting, it is imperative to develop methods that help public health personnel identify optimal policies in response to alerts. this study evaluates the application of dynamic decision making models to the problem of responding to outbreak de ... | 2011 | 21290402 |
| modeling the host response to inhalation anthrax. | inhalation anthrax, an often fatal infection, is initiated by endospores of the bacterium bacillus anthracis, which are introduced into the lung. to better understand the pathogenesis of an inhalation anthrax infection, we propose a two-compartment mathematical model that takes into account the documented early events of such an infection. anthrax spores, once inhaled, are readily taken up by alveolar phagocytes, which then migrate rather quickly out of the lung and into the thoracic/mediastinal ... | 2011 | 21295589 |
| parameters affecting spore recovery from wipes used in biological surface sampling. | the need for the precise and reliable collection of potential biothreat contaminants has motivated research in developing a better understanding of the variability in biological surface sampling methods. in this context, the objective of this work was to determine parameters affecting the efficiency of extracting bacillus anthracis sterne spores from commonly used wipe sampling materials and to describe performance using the interfacial energy concept. in addition, surface thermodynamics was app ... | 2011 | 21296945 |
| autoregulatory characteristics of a bacillus anthracis serine/threonine kinase. | ba-stk1 is a serine/threonine kinase (stk) expressed by bacillus anthracis. in previous studies, we found that ba-stk1 activity is modulated through dephosphorylation by a partner phosphatase, ba-stp1. in this study, we identified critical phosphorylation regions of ba-stk1 and determined the contributions of these phosphodomains to autophosphorylation and substrate phosphorylation. the data indicate that ba-stk1 undergoes trans-autophosphorylation within a regulatory domain, referred to as the ... | 2011 | 21296958 |
| room temperature stabilization of oral, live attenuated salmonella enterica serovar typhi-vectored vaccines. | foam drying, a modified freeze drying process, was utilized to produce a heat-stable, live attenuated salmonella typhi 'ty21a' bacterial vaccine. ty21a vaccine was formulated with pharmaceutically approved stabilizers, including sugars, plasticizers, amino acids, and proteins. growth media and harvesting conditions of the bacteria were also studied to enhance resistance to desiccation stress encountered during processing as well as subsequent storage at elevated temperatures. the optimized ty21a ... | 2011 | 21300096 |
| structure-based design of a heptavalent anthrax toxin inhibitor. | the design of polyvalent molecules, consisting of multiple copies of a biospecific ligand attached to a suitable scaffold, represents a promising approach to inhibit pathogens and oligomeric microbial toxins. despite the increasing interest in structure-based drug design, few polyvalent inhibitors based on this approach have shown efficacy in vivo. here we demonstrate the structure-based design of potent biospecific heptavalent inhibitors of anthrax lethal toxin. specifically, we illustrate the ... | 2011 | 21302959 |
| comparison of maldi-tof-ms and hplc-esi-ms/ms for endopeptidase activity-based quantification of anthrax lethal factor in serum. | diagnosing and treating anthrax at the earliest stage of disease is critical. we developed a method to diagnose anthrax at early stages of infection by detecting anthrax lethal factor (lf) at the attomol/ml level in plasma or serum. this method uses antibody capture and quantification of lf endoproteinase activity by isotope dilution matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization (maldi) time-of-flight (tof) mass spectrometry (ms). many public health laboratories do not use maldi-tof-ms; thus, we h ... | 2011 | 21302970 |
| mysterious mortality in camels (camelus dromedarius) in borana, ethiopia: evidence of its association with reproductive age groups. | in may and june of 2007, sudden death was observed in camels in southern pastoral areas of oromia, ethiopia. it significantly (p < 0.001) affected reproductive age groups of both male and female camels (in females and males, 63.9% and 10.8% of those in reproductive age groups were affected, respectively). pregnant females (37.6%) were affected significantly more often (p < 0.001) than non-pregnant females. absence of rigor mortis and absence of blood clotting, together with the death of pregnant ... | 2010 | 21309459 |
| the adenylate cyclase toxin of bacillus anthracis is a potent promoter of t(h)17 cell development. | 2011 | 21310477 | |
| dna probe functionalized qcm biosensor based on gold nanoparticle amplification for bacillus anthracis detection. | the rapid detection of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax disease, has gained much attention since the anthrax spore bioterrorism attacks in the united states in 2001. in this work, a dna probe functionalized quartz crystal microbalance (qcm) biosensor was developed to detect b. anthracis based on the recognition of its specific dna sequences, i.e., the 168 bp fragment of the ba813 gene in chromosomes and the 340 bp fragment of the pag gene in plasmid pxo1. a thiol dna probe was ... | 2011 | 21315574 |
| extended and global phylogenetic view of the bacillus cereus group population by combination of mlst, aflp, and mlee genotyping data. | the bacillus cereus group of bacteria includes species that can cause food-poisoning or spoilage, such as b. cereus, as well as bacillus anthracis, the cause of anthrax. in the present report we have conducted a multi-datatype analysis using tools from the hypercat database (http://mlstoslo.uio.no/) that we recently developed, combining data from multilocus sequence typing (tourasse et al., 2010), amplified fragment length polymorphism, and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis typing techniques. we ... | 2010 | 21315979 |
| analysis of bacillus anthracis nucleoside hydrolase via in silico docking with inhibitors and molecular dynamics simulation. | as the enzyme nucleoside hydrolase (nh) is widely found in nature but has not yet been detected in mammals, it is considered an ideal target in the development of chemotherapy against parasitic diseases and bacterial infections like anthrax. considering the risk that this biological warfare agent represents nowadays, the search for new drugs and new molecular targets in the development of chemotherapy against anthrax is imperative. on this basis, we performed docking studies of six known nh inhi ... | 2011 | 21318235 |
| evaluation of the effect of syringe surfaces on protein formulations. | packaging of drugs in prefillable syringes offers considerable advantages over conventional vials. almost all major biotech molecules are available on the market today in prefilled syringes, and are safe and efficacious. newer high-concentration liquid formulations, especially fusion proteins, however, can suffer from instability in prefilled syringes due to syringe components like silicone oil. to assess the effect of siliconized and modified syringe surfaces on protein formulations, the stabil ... | 2011 | 21319164 |
| [species-specific sera against surface antigens of bacillus anthracis strains]. | the species-related specificity of sera against 94-kd proteins isolated from culture filtrates of b. anthracis strains with different levels of virulence plasmids was studied to determine whether they might be used to identify the pathogen of anthrax. sera against fractions 1 of culture filtrates of b. anthracis strains cti (pxo1+ pxo2-), 81/1tr (pxo1- pxo2-), davies (pxo1- pxo) separated by gel chromatography on sephacryl s-300 were examined. in the gel immunodiffusion test with growing culture ... | 2010 | 21319392 |
| isolation, kinetic analysis, and structural characterization of an antibody targeting the bacillus anthracis major spore surface protein bcla. | one method of laboratory- or field-based testing for anthrax is detection of bacillus anthracis spores by high-affinity, high specificity binding reagents. from a pool of monoclonal antibodies, we selected one such candidate (a4d11) with high affinity for tbcla, a truncated version of the b. anthracis exosporium protein bcla. kinetic analysis utilising both standard and kinetic titration on a biacore biosensor indicated antibody affinities in the 300 pm range for recombinant tbcla, and the a4d11 ... | 2011 | 21322055 |
| adulterants in illicit drugs: a review of empirical evidence. | widespread public perception is that illicit drugs contain substances that are a serious risk to health, even though adulterants are often not considered in clinical or forensic toxicology. this review attempts to present an evidence-based overview of adulterants in illicit drugs, and their associated toxicity. adulterants are deliberately added to increase bulk, enhance or mimic a pharmacological effect, or to facilitate drug delivery. those present unintentionally are as a result of poor manuf ... | 2010 | 21322119 |
| a tracing tool portfolio to detect bacillus anthracis, clostridium botulinum and noroviruses: bioterrorism is a food safety and security issue. | 2010 | 21324542 | |
| risk factors for contracting anthrax in kuwirirana ward, gokwe north, zimbabwe. | a report of an anthrax outbreak was received at gokwe district hospital from the veterinary department on the 23(rd) january 2007. this study was therefore conducted to determine risk factors for contracting anthrax amongst residents of kuwirirana ward. | 2010 | 21326969 |
| receptor mimicry as novel therapeutic treatment for biothreat agents. | the specter of intentional release of pathogenic microbes and their toxins is a real threat. this article reviews the literature on adhesins of biothreat agents, their interactions with oligosaccharides and the potential for anti-adhesion compounds as an alternative to conventional therapeutics. the minimal binding structure of ricin has been well characterised and offers the best candidate for successful anti-adhesion therapy based on the galβ1-4glcnac structure. the botulinum toxin serotypes a ... | 2010 | 21327124 |
| possibilities, intentions and threats: dual use in the life sciences reconsidered. | due to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the anthrax letters of a few weeks later, the concept of dual use has spread widely in the life sciences during the past decade. this article is aimed at a clarification of the dual use concept and its scope of application for the life sciences. such a clarification would greatly facilitate the work of policymakers seeking to ensure security while avoiding undesirable interventions of government in the conduct of science. the article starts with an overvi ... | 2011 | 21327859 |
| hyaline fibromatosis syndrome inducing mutations in the ectodomain of anthrax toxin receptor 2 can be rescued by proteasome inhibitors. | hyaline fibromatosis syndrome (hfs) is a human genetic disease caused by mutations in the anthrax toxin receptor 2 (or cmg2) gene, which encodes a membrane protein thought to be involved in the homeostasis of the extracellular matrix. little is known about the structure and function of the protein or the genotype–phenotype relationship of the disease. through the analysis of four patients, we identify three novel mutants and determine their effects at the cellular level. altogether, we show that ... | 2011 | 21328543 |
| anthrax investigation. science in ivins case not ironclad, nrc says. | 2011 | 21330501 | |
| efficacy of liquid spray decontaminants for inactivation of bacillus anthracis spores on building and outdoor materials. | to obtain data on the efficacy of various liquid and foam decontamination technologies to inactivate bacillus anthracis ames and bacillus subtilis spores on building and outdoor materials. | 2011 | 21332900 |
| antidotes to anthrax lethal factor intoxication. part 2: structural modifications leading to improved in vivo efficacy. | new anthrax lethal factor inhibitors (lfis) were designed based upon previously identified potent inhibitors 1a and 2. combining the new core structures with modifications to the c2-side chain yielded analogs with improved efficacy in the rat lethal toxin model. | 2011 | 21334206 |
| delayed treatment with w1-mab, a chimpanzee-derived monoclonal antibody against protective antigen, reduces mortality from challenges with anthrax edema or lethal toxin in rats and with anthrax spores in mice. | w1-mab is a chimpanzee-derived monoclonal antibody to protective antigen that improved survival when administered before anthrax lethal toxin challenge in rats. to better define w1-mab's efficacy for anthrax, we administered it after initiation of 24-hr infusions of edema toxin and lethal toxin either alone or together in rats or following anthrax spore challenge in mice. | 2011 | 21336113 |
| modeling of the structure and interactions of the b. anthracis antitoxin, moxx: deletion mutant studies highlight its modular structure and repressor function. | our previous report on bacillus anthracis toxin-antitoxin module (moxxt) identified it to be a two component system wherein, pemk-like toxin (moxt) functions as a ribonuclease (agarwal s et al. jbc 285:7254-7270, 2010). the labile antitoxin (moxx) can bind to/neutralize the action of the toxin and is also a dna-binding protein mediating autoregulation. in this study, molecular modeling of moxx in its biologically active dimeric form was done. it was found that it contains a conserved ribbon-heli ... | 2011 | 21336656 |
| current physical and sds extraction methods do not efficiently remove exosporium proteins from bacillus anthracis spores. | biochemical studies of the outermost spore layers of the bacillus cereus family are hindered by difficulties in efficient dispersal of the external spore layers and difficulties in dissociating protein complexes that comprise the exosporium layer. detergent and physical methods have been utilized to disrupt the exosporium layer. herein we compare commonly used sds extraction buffers used to extract spore proteins and demonstrate the incomplete extractability of the exosporium layer by these meth ... | 2011 | 21338631 |
| the assembly state between magnetic nanosensors and their targets orchestrates their magnetic relaxation response. | the target-induced clustering of magnetic nanoparticles is typically used for the identification of clinically relevant targets and events. a decrease in the water proton transverse nmr relaxation time, or t(2), is observed upon clustering, allowing the sensitive and accurate detection of target molecules. we have discovered a new mechanistically unique nanoparticle-target interaction resulting in a t(2) increase and demonstrate herein that this increase, and its associated r(2) relaxivity decre ... | 2011 | 21341659 |
| investigation and analysis of a human orf outbreak among people living on the same farm. | human orf is a viral zoonotic infection caused by parapoxvirus. the skin lesions of human orf can be misdiagnosed as cutaneous anthrax leading to overtreatment and also fear. this study was conducted to analyze an outbreak which led to deaths among kids and lambs in the same flock, and skin lesions in some persons who were living on the same farm that were initially diagnosed as cutaneous anthrax by a practitioner. eight patients with skin lesions and eleven persons who had no skin lesion were c ... | 2011 | 21344145 |
| comparison of air sampling methods for aerosolized spores of b. anthracis sterne. | bacillus anthracis sterne spores were aerosolized within a chamber at concentrations ranging from 1 x 10³ to 1.7 x 104 spores per cubic meter of air (particles (p)/m³) to compare three different sampling methods: andersen samplers, gelatin filters, and polytetrafluoroethylene (ptfe) membrane filters. three samples of each type were collected during each of 19 chamber runs. chamber concentration was determined by an aerodynamic particle sizer (aps) for the size range of 1.114-1.596 µm. runs were ... | 2011 | 21347959 |
| function-specific accelerations in rates of sequence evolution suggest predictable epistatic responses to reduced effective population size. | changes in effective population size impinge on patterns of molecular evolution. notably, slightly deleterious mutations are more likely to drift to fixation in smaller populations, which should typically also lead to an overall acceleration in the rates of evolution. this prediction has been validated empirically for several endosymbiont and island taxa. here, we first show that rate accelerations are also evident in bacterial pathogens whose recent shifts in virulence make them prime candidate ... | 2011 | 21349981 |
| high-level production of a single chain antibody against anthrax toxin in escherichia coli by high cell density cultivation. | previously, we isolated the m18 scfv, which is an affinity matured antibody against the anthrax toxin pa, and observed that its single chain antibody (scab) form (m18 scab) exhibited superior stability compared to the scfv. here, we report high cell density cultivations for preparative scale production of m18 scab in a 3.5 l fermenter. briefly, a ph-stat feeding strategy was employed in fed-batch cultivation, and four different cell densities (od(600) of 40, 80, 120, and 150) were examined for t ... | 2011 | 21350955 |
| chemical dissection of protein translocation through the anthrax toxin pore. | 2011 | 21351339 | |
| re-assessment of mitigation strategies for deliberate releases of anthrax using a real-time outbreak characterization tool. | responding rapidly and appropriately to a covert anthrax release is an important public health challenge. a methodology to assist the geographical targeting of such a response has recently been published; as have a number of independent studies that investigate mitigation strategies. here, we review and combine some of these published techniques to more realistically assess how key aspects of the public health response might impact on the outcomes of a bioterrorist attack. we combine a within-ho ... | 2010 | 21352789 |
| bacillus anthracis spore interactions with mammalian cells: relationship between germination state and the outcome of in vitro. | during inhalational anthrax, internalization of bacillus anthracis spores by host cells within the lung is believed to be a key step for initiating the transition from the localized to disseminated stages of infection. despite compelling in vivo evidence that spores remain dormant within the bronchioalveolar spaces of the lungs, and germinate only after uptake into host cells, most in vitro studies of infection have been conducted under conditions that promote rapid germination of spores within ... | 2011 | 21356113 |
| cutting edge: primary innate immune cells respond efficiently to polymeric peptidoglycan, but not to peptidoglycan monomers. | the cell wall of bacteria induces proinflammatory cytokines in monocytes and neutrophils in human blood. the nature of the stimulating component of bacterial cell walls is not well understood. we have previously shown polymeric peptidoglycan (pgn) has this activity, and the cytokine response requires pgn internalization and trafficking to lysosomes. in this study, we demonstrate that peptidoglycan monomers such as muramyl dipeptide and soluble peptidoglycan fail to induce robust cytokine product ... | 2011 | 21357534 |
| subcutaneous anthrax in three intravenous drug users: a new clinical diagnosis. | anthrax is extremely rare in the western world but is endemic to areas of south and central asia. in early 2010 an outbreak was identified in heroin-injecting intravenous drug users in the united kingdom and europe. afghanistan is currently the principal source of heroin which reaches the united kingdom. when anthrax occurs, cutaneous disease accounts for over 95% of cases. at least 47 cases with 13 deaths have been confirmed so far. we present three cases presenting during this time with marked ... | 2011 | 21357967 |
| [tobacco--a highly efficient producer of vaccines]. | along with the depreciation of tobacco as a source of nicotine-containing commercial products, the increase of its appreciation as a potential producer of recombinant therapeutical proteins can be observed. two species of tobacco--nicotiana tabacum l. and n. benthamiana are easily grown by well established methods of field or green-house cultivation or cell culture, yield high biomass and soluble protein content, can be easily transformed by several methods and are not food for humans or feed fo ... | 2010 | 21360963 |
| mek2 is sufficient but not necessary for proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of sk-mel-28 melanoma cells. | mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (mkk or mek) 1 and 2 are usually treated as redundant kinases. however, in assessing their relative contribution towards erk-mediated biologic response investigators have relied on tests of necessity, not sufficiency. in response we developed a novel experimental model using lethal toxin (letx), an anthrax toxin-derived pan-mkk protease, and genetically engineered protease resistant mkk mutants (mkkcr) to test the sufficiency of mek signaling in melanoma ... | 2011 | 21365009 |
| the role of hla-dr-dq haplotypes in variable antibody responses to anthrax vaccine adsorbed. | host genetic variation, particularly within the human leukocyte antigen (hla) loci, reportedly mediates heterogeneity in immune response to certain vaccines; however, no large study of genetic determinants of anthrax vaccine response has been described. we searched for associations between the immunoglobulin g antibody to protective antigen (abpa) response to anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava) in humans, and polymorphisms at hla class i (hla-a, -b, and -c) and class ii (hla-drb1, -dqa1, -dqb1, -dpb1 ... | 2011 | 21368772 |
| purification development and characterization of the zinc-dependent metallo-ß-lactamase from bacillus anthracis. | metallo-ß-lactamase from bacillus anthracis (bla2) catalyzes the hydrolysis of ß-lactam antibiotics which are commonly prescribed to combat bacterial infections. bla2 contributes to the antibiotic resistance of this bacterium. an understanding of it is necessary to design potential inhibitors that can be introduced with current antibiotics for effective eradication of anthrax infections. we have purified bla2 using ni(2+)-affinity chromatography with over 140-fold increase in activity with a yie ... | 2011 | 21369909 |
| peptide-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer protease substrates for the detection and diagnosis of bacillus species. | we describe the development of a highly specific enzyme-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (fret) assay for easy and rapid detection both in vitro and in vivo of bacillus spp., among which are the members of the b. cereus group. synthetic substrates for b. anthracis proteases were designed and exposed to secreted enzymes of a broad spectrum of bacterial species. the rational design of the substrates was based on the fact that the presence of d-amino acids in the target is highly specif ... | 2011 | 21370823 |
| two capsular polysaccharides enable bacillus cereus g9241 to cause anthrax-like disease. | bacillus cereus g9241 causes an anthrax-like respiratory illness in humans; however, the molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis are not known. genome sequencing identified two putative virulence plasmids proposed to provide for anthrax toxin (pbcxo1) and/or capsule expression (pbc218). we report here that b. cereus g9241 causes anthrax-like disease in immune-competent mice, which is dependent on each of the two virulence plasmids. pbcxo1 encodes paga1, the homologue of anthrax protective a ... | 2011 | 21371137 |
| analogues of peptide smap-29 with comparable antimicrobial potency and reduced cytotoxicity. | smap-29 (sheep myeloid antimicrobial peptide-29) is a peptide with potent antibacterial properties. however, it is also highly cytotoxic both to human red blood cells (hrbcs) and human embryonic kidney (hek) cells. in this study, some of the amino acids of smap-29 were changed in an attempt to reduce haemolytic activity whilst maintaining high antibacterial efficacy. these analogues, plus other analogues described in the literature with potent antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteri ... | 2011 | 21377841 |
| bacillus anthracis comparative genome analysis in support of the amerithrax investigation. | before the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, the developing field of microbial forensics relied on microbial genotyping schemes based on a small portion of a genome sequence. amerithrax, the investigation into the anthrax letter attacks, applied high-resolution whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics to identify key genetic features of the letters' bacillus anthracis ames strain. during systematic microbiological analysis of the spore material from the letters, we identified a number of m ... | 2011 | 21383169 |
| [current situation of the most frequent zoonosis in the world]. | zoonoses are at the present time more important than ever due to their magnitude and impact. the international trade in animals, products and sub products, as well as the intense travel of people around the world, represent risks of dissemination of infectious diseases, and are the reason for a new age of emerging and reemerging zoonotic diseases. under these conditions, public health and animal health authorities are obliged to work together in order to get more efficient control programs. in t ... | 2010 | 21384639 |
| antibody responses to a spore carbohydrate antigen as a marker of nonfatal inhalation anthrax in rhesus macaques. | the bacillus anthracis exosporium protein bcla contains an o-linked antigenic tetrasaccharide whose terminal sugar is known as anthrose (j. m. daubenspeck et al., j. biol. chem. 279:30945-30953, 2004). we hypothesized that serologic responses to anthrose may have diagnostic value in confirming exposure to aerosolized b. anthracis. we evaluated the serologic responses to a synthetic anthrose-containing trisaccharide (ats) in a group of five rhesus macaques that survived inhalation anthrax followi ... | 2011 | 21389148 |
| serologic surveillance of anthrax in the serengeti ecosystem, tanzania, 1996-2009. | bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, is responsible for varying death rates among animal species. difficulties in case detection, hazardous or inaccessible carcasses, and misdiagnosis hinder surveillance. using case reports and a new serologic assay that enables multispecies comparisons, we examined exposure to and illness caused by b. anthracis in different species in the serengeti ecosystem in tanzania during 1996-2009 and the utility of serosurveillance. high seroprevalence ... | 2011 | 21392428 |
| nature of allosteric inhibition in glutamate racemase: discovery and characterization of a cryptic inhibitory pocket using atomistic md simulations and pka calculations. | enzyme inhibition via allostery, in which the ligand binds remotely from the active site, is a poorly understood phenomenon and represents a significant challenge to structure-based drug design. dipicolinic acid (dpa), a major component of bacillus spores, is shown to inhibit glutamate racemase from bacillus anthracis , a monosubstrate/monoproduct enzyme, in a novel allosteric fashion. glutamate racemase has long been considered an important drug target for its integral role in bacterial cell wa ... | 2011 | 21395329 |
| secreted bacillus anthracis proteases target the host fibrinolytic system. | the fibrinolytic system is often the target for pathogenic bacteria, resulting in increased fibrinolysis, bacterial dissemination, and inflammation. the purpose of this study was to explore whether proteases nprb and inha secreted by bacillus anthracis could activate the host's fibrinolytic system. nprb efficiently activated human pro-urokinase plasminogen activator (pro-upa), a key protein in the fibrinolytic cascade. conversely, inha had little effect on pro-upa. plasminogen activator inhibito ... | 2011 | 21395696 |
| the effect of growth medium on b. anthracis sterne spore carbohydrate content. | the expressed characteristics of biothreat agents may be impacted by variations in the culture environment, including growth medium formulation. the carbohydrate composition of b. anthracis spores has been well studied, particularly for the exosporium, which is the outermost spore structure. the carbohydrate composition of the exosporium has been demonstrated to be distinct from the vegetative form containing unique monosaccharides. we have investigated the carbohydrate composition of b. anthrac ... | 2011 | 21396405 |
| subsite specificity of anthrax lethal factor and its implications for inhibitor development. | the lethal factor of bacillus anthracis is a major factor for lethality of anthrax infection by this bacterium. with the aid of the protective antigen, lethal factor gains excess to the cell cytosol where it manifests toxicity as a metalloprotease. for better understanding of its specificity, we have determined its residue preferences of 19 amino acids in six subsites (from p3 to p3') as relative k(cat)/k(m) values (specificity constants). these results showed that lethal factor has a broad spec ... | 2011 | 21396916 |
| passive vaccination with a human monoclonal antibody: generation of antibodies and studies for efficacy in bacillus anthracis infections. | a major difficulty in creating human monoclonal antibodies is the lack of a suitable myeloma cell line to be used for fusion experiments. in order to create fully human monoclonal antibodies for passive immunization, the human mouse heteromyeloma cell line cb-f7 was evaluated. using this cell line, we generated human monoclonal antibodies against bacillus anthracis toxin components. antibodies against protective antigen (pa) and against lethal factor (lf) were obtained using peripheral blood lym ... | 2010 | 21397977 |
| the early humoral immune response to bacillus anthracis toxins in patients infected with cutaneous anthrax. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, produces a tripartite toxin composed of two enzymatically active subunits, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef), which, when associated with a cell-binding component, protective antigen (pa), form lethal toxin and edema toxin, respectively. in this preliminary study, we characterized the toxin-specific antibody responses observed in 17 individuals infected with cutaneous anthrax. the majority of the toxin-specific antibody responses observe ... | 2011 | 21401726 |
| the anthrax toxin channel: a barrel of lfs. | 2011 | 21402885 | |
| trapping a translocating protein within the anthrax toxin channel: implications for the secondary structure of permeating proteins. | anthrax toxin consists of three proteins: lethal factor (lf), edema factor (ef), and protective antigen (pa). this last forms a heptameric channel, (pa(63))(7), in the host cell's endosomal membrane, allowing the former two (which are enzymes) to be translocated into the cytosol. (pa(63))(7) incorporated into planar bilayer membranes forms a channel that translocates lf and ef, with the n terminus leading the way. the channel is mushroom-shaped with a cap containing the binding sites for ef and ... | 2011 | 21402886 |
| quantitative mass spectrometry for bacterial protein toxins--a sensitive, specific, high-throughput tool for detection and diagnosis. | matrix-assisted laser-desorption time-of-flight (maldi-tof) mass spectrometry (ms) is a valuable high-throughput tool for peptide analysis. liquid chromatography electrospray ionization (lc-esi) tandem-ms provides sensitive and specific quantification of small molecules and peptides. the high analytic power of ms coupled with high-specificity substrates is ideally suited for detection and quantification of bacterial enzymatic activities. as specific examples of the ms applications in disease dia ... | 2011 | 21403598 |
| scratching the surface: the history of skin, its diseases and their treatment--history of medicine unit, university of birmingham, october 29-30, 2010. | 2011 | 21409964 | |
| medical microbiology | bacillus species are aerobic, sporulating, rod-shaped bacteria that are ubiquitous in nature. bacillus anthracis, the agent of anthrax, is the only obligate bacillus pathogen in vertebrates. bacillus larvae, b lentimorbus, b popilliae, b sphaericus, and b thuringiensis are pathogens of specific groups of insects. a number of other species, in particular b cereus, are occasional pathogens of humans and livestock, but the large majority of bacillus species are harmless saprophytes. anthrax has aff ... | 1996 | 21413260 |
| medical microbiology | all bacteria, both pathogenic and saprophytic, are unicellular organisms that reproduce by binary fission. most bacteria are capable of independent metabolic existence and growth, but species of chlamydia and rickettsia are obligately intracellular organisms. bacterial cells are extremely small and are most conveniently measured in microns (10-6 m). they range in size from large cells such as ... | 1996 | 21413343 |
| a new peptide motif present in the protective antigen of anthrax toxin exerts its efficiency on the cellular uptake of liposomes and applications for a dual-ligand system. | protective antigen (pa) is a nontoxic protein present in anthrax toxin. domain 4 of pa (pa-d4) acts as a receptor binding site for tumor endothelial marker 8 (tem8). in this study, kynd motif from pa-d4 was utilized as a ligand against tem8. the efficiency of kynd motif on cellular association was assessed by evaluating the cellular uptake of pegylated liposomes (peg-lps) in tem8 positive and negative cells. the peptide was attached on the top of the peg of peg-lp. compared to peg-lp, kynd modif ... | 2011 | 21414394 |
| a practical liquid plug flow-through polymerase chain-reaction system based on a heat-resistant resin chip. | flow-through polymerase chain reaction (pcr) microfluidic systems for fast, small-volume dna amplification on a single chip are significantly impacting medical and bioanalytical research. we have fabricated an improved, practical flow-through pcr chip by weighting a pressure-sensitive polyolefin (psp) film onto a cyclo-olefin polymer (cop) substrate. the substrate was cut so as to produce microchannels, and was used to amplify dna using a small moving liquid plug, in contrast to conventional con ... | 2011 | 21415501 |
| defense and death responses to pore forming toxins. | pore forming toxins (pft) are important virulence factors produced by bacteria to kill eukaryotic cells by forming holes in the cellular membrane. they represent a diverse group of proteins with a wide range of target cells. although the amino acid sequence is not conserved among the different pft, many of them share some aspects of their mechanism of action. in general, the mode of action of pft involves receptor recognition, activation by proteases, and aggregation into oligomeric-structures t ... | 2010 | 21415876 |
| anthrax vaccination induced anti-lethal factor igg: fine specificity and neutralizing capacity. | the efficacy biomarker of the currently licensed anthrax vaccine (ava) is based on quantity and neutralizing capacity of anti-protective antigen (anti-pa) antibodies. however, animal studies have demonstrated that antibodies to lethal factor (lf) can provide protection against in vivo bacterial spore challenges. improved understanding of the fine specificities of humoral immune responses that provide optimum neutralization capacity may enhance the efficacy of future passive immune globulin prepa ... | 2011 | 21420416 |
| therapeutic recommendations for the management of patients exposed to bacillus anthracis in natural settings. | 2011 | 21420809 | |
| secondary cell wall polysaccharides from bacillus cereus strains g9241, 03bb87 and 03bb102 causing fatal pneumonia share similar glycosyl structures with the polysaccharides from bacillus anthracis. | secondary cell wall polysaccharides (scwps) are important structural components of the bacillus cell wall and contribute to the array of antigens presented by these organisms in both spore and vegetative forms. we previously found that antisera raised to bacillus anthracis spore preparations cross-reacted with scwps isolated from several strains of pathogenic b. cereus, but did not react with other phylogenetically related but nonpathogenic bacilli, suggesting that the scwp from b. anthracis and ... | 2011 | 21421577 |
| anthrax lethal factor activates k(+) channels to induce il-1ß secretion in macrophages. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is a virulence factor of bacilillus anthracis that is a bivalent toxin, containing lethal factor (lf) and protective ag proteins, which causes cytotoxicity and altered macrophage function. letx exposure results in early k(+) efflux from macrophages associated with caspase-1 activation and increased il-1ß release. the mechanism of this toxin-induced k(+) efflux is unknown. the goals of the current study were to determine whether letx-induced k(+) efflux from macrophage ... | 2011 | 21421849 |
| mechanism of reactant and product dissociation from the anthrax edema factor: a locally enhanced sampling and steered molecular dynamics study. | the anthrax edema factor is a toxin overproducing damaging levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (camp) and pyrophosphate (ppi) from atp. here, mechanisms of dissociation of atp and products (camp, ppi) from the active site are studied using locally enhanced sampling (les) and steered molecular dynamics simulations. various substrate conformations and ionic binding modes found in crystallographic structures are considered. les simulations show that ppi and camp dissociate through different so ... | 2011 | 21425348 |
| cys-cys cross-linking shows contact between the n-terminus of lethal factor and phe427 of the anthrax toxin pore. | electrophysiological studies of wild-type and mutated forms of anthrax protective antigen (pa) suggest that the phe clamp, a structure formed by the phe427 residues within the lumen of the oligomeric pa pore, binds the unstructured n-terminus of the lethal factor and the edema factor during initiation of translocation. we now show by electrophysiological measurements and gel shift assays that a single cys introduced into the phe clamp can form a disulfide bond with a cys placed at the n-terminus ... | 2011 | 21425869 |
| detection of ascitic fluid infections in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites. | ascitic fluid infections (afis) are the frequent complications of advanced liver disease. bacterial translocation is considered a key step in the pathogenesis of gut-derived bacterial infections; mainly spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (sbp) in cirrhotic patients. bacterial dna (bactdna) in ascitic fluid and serum has been suggested as a surrogate marker for bacterial translocation. we attempted at the isolation and identification of bacteria in ascitic fluid in cirrhotic patients and the asses ... | 2011 | 21429450 |
| investigation of antimicrobial and protease-inhibitory activity from cultured cyanobacteria. | a culture collection of cyanobacteria has been established at the university of illinois at chicago. this collection includes marine, terrestrial, and freshwater strains and contains representatives of the five orders of cyanobacteria: chroococcales, pleurocapsales, oscillatoriales, nostocales, and stigonematales. in this study, extracts from a subset of 61 strains, 16 marine and 45 freshwater/terrestrial, were evaluated against three current protease targets, i.e. 20s proteasome and two sars vi ... | 2009 | 21430788 |
| the prophylaxis of experimental anthrax infection with various hormone preparations. | 1939 | 21433823 | |
| bacillus anthracis protease inha increases blood-brain barrier permeability and contributes to cerebral hemorrhages. | hemorrhagic meningitis is a fatal complication of anthrax, but its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. the present study examined the role of b. anthracis-secreted metalloprotease inha on monolayer integrity and permeability of human brain microvasculature endothelial cells (hbmecs) which constitute the blood-brain barrier (bbb). treatment of hbmecs with purified inha resulted in a time-dependent decrease in trans-endothelial electrical resistance (teer) accompanied by zonula occluden-1 (zo- ... | 2011 | 21437287 |
| the unfolding story of anthrax toxin translocation. | the essential cellular functions of secretion and protein degradation require a molecular machine to unfold and translocate proteins either across a membrane or into a proteolytic complex. protein translocation is also critical for microbial pathogenesis, namely bacteria can use translocase channels to deliver toxic proteins into a target cell. anthrax toxin (atx), a key virulence factor secreted by bacillus anthracis, provides a robust biophysical model to characterize transmembrane protein tra ... | 2011 | 21443527 |
| [immunogenicity of protective antigen extracted from asporogenic recombinant strain bacillus anthracis]. | to study the ability of recombinant protective antigen (pa) to stimulate adaptive immune response in laboratory animals. | 2011 | 21446166 |
| investigating the genome diversity of b. cereus and evolutionary aspects of b. anthracis emergence. | here we report the use of a multi-genome dna microarray to investigate the genome diversity of bacillus cereus group members and elucidate the events associated with the emergence of bacillus anthracis the causative agent of anthrax-a lethal zoonotic disease. we initially performed directed genome sequencing of seven diverse b. cereus strains to identify novel sequences encoded in those genomes. the novel genes identified, combined with those publicly available, allowed the design of a "species" ... | 2011 | 21447378 |
| anthrax investigation. army missed warning signs about alleged anthrax mailer. | 2011 | 21454766 | |
| antimicrobial activity of copper and silver nanofilms on nosocomial bacterial species. | contaminated surfaces are possible vehicles in infection transmission. it is known that both copper (cu) and silver (ag) efficiently inactivate microbes by direct contact. aiming at using these metals for benefitting from their antimicrobial effect, but to avoid subsequent toxic effects, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of nanometric thin silver and copper films covering less expensive materials. using a modified version of the japan industrial standard jis z 2801:2000, we demonstrated th ... | 2010 | 21462835 |
| bacillus anthracis interacts with plasmin(ogen) to evade c3b-dependent innate immunity. | the causative agent of anthrax, bacillus anthracis, is capable of circumventing the humoral and innate immune defense of the host and modulating the blood chemistry in circulation to initiate a productive infection. it has been shown that the pathogen employs a number of strategies against immune cells using secreted pathogenic factors such as toxins. however, interference of b. anthracis with the innate immune system through specific interaction of the spore surface with host proteins such as t ... | 2011 | 21464960 |
| the forgotten giants behind louis pasteur: contributions by the veterinarians toussaint and galtier. | 2010 | 21466009 | |
| a tpo receptor agonist, alxn4100tpo, mitigates radiation-induced lethality and stimulates hematopoiesis in cd2f1 mice. | abstract thrombopoietin (tpo) receptor agonists lacking sequence homology to tpo were designed by grafting a known peptide sequence into the hinge and/or kappa constant regions of a human anti-anthrax antibody. some of these proteins were equipotent to tpo in stimulating cmpl-r activity in vitro and in increasing platelet levels in vivo. alxn4100tpo (4100tpo), the best agonist in this series with a k(d) of 30 nm for cmpl-r, exhibited potent activity as a radiation countermeasure in cd2f1 mice ex ... | 2011 | 21476857 |
| a new approach to in silico snp detection and some new snps in the bacillus anthracis genome. | abstract: | 2011 | 21477306 |
| adenomatous polyposis coli protein associates with c/ebp {beta} and increases bacillus anthracis edema toxin-stimulated gene expression in macrophages. | the production of camp from bacillus anthracis edema toxin (et) activates gene expression in macrophages through a complex array of signaling pathways, most of which remain poorly defined. in this study, the tumor suppressor protein adenomatous polyposis coli (apc) was found to be important for the up-regulation of previously defined et-stimulated genes (vegfa, ptgs2, arg2, cxcl2, sdc1, and cebpb). a reduction in the expression of these genes after et exposure was observed when apc was disrupted ... | 2011 | 21487015 |