Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| the surgical management of injectional anthrax. | 2011 | 20615773 | |
| molecular analysis of carbohydrate-antibody interactions: case study using a bacillus anthracis tetrasaccharide. | the process for selecting potent and effective carbohydrate antigens is not well-established. a combination of synthetic glycan microarray screening, surface plasmon resonance analysis, and saturation transfer difference nmr spectroscopy was used to dissect the antibody-binding surface of a carbohydrate antigen, revealing crucial binding elements with atomic-level detail. this analysis takes the first step toward uncovering the rules for structure-based design of carbohydrate antigens. | 2010 | 20614885 |
| [the return of anthrax. from bioterrorism to the zoonotic cluster of sciacca district]. | anthrax is a disease caused by bacillus anthracis which affects herbivorous animals. humans acquire the disease incidentally by exposure to infected animals, animal products or spores on soil. the infection is still endemic in many regions in developing countries. in italy animal clusters are very rare and human cases are exceptional. bacillus anthrax is also a potential source for acts of bioterrorism. in the natural human infection, cutaneous anthrax is the most widespread, while the other two ... | 2010 | 20610930 |
| anthrax: public health risk in india and socio-environmental determinants. | 2010 | 20606952 | |
| inhibition of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus aureus by the broad-spectrum dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor rab1. | the bacterial burden on human health is quickly outweighing available therapeutics. our long-term goal is the development of antimicrobials with the potential for broad-spectrum activity. we previously reported phthalazine-based inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) with potent activity against bacillus anthracis, a major component of project bioshield. the most active molecule, named rab1, performs well in vitro and, in a cocrystal structure, was found deep within the active site of b. a ... | 2010 | 20606069 |
| bacillus anthracis surface-layer proteins assemble by binding to the secondary cell wall polysaccharide in a manner that requires csab and tago. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, requires surface (s)-layer proteins for the pathogenesis of infection. previous work characterized s-layer protein binding via the surface layer homology domain to a pyruvylated carbohydrate in the envelope of vegetative forms. the molecular identity of this carbohydrate and the mechanism of its display in the bacterial envelope are still unknown. analyzing acid-solubilized, purified carbohydrates by mass spectrometry and nmr spectroscopy, we i ... | 2010 | 20603129 |
| the structure of yersinia pestis caf1 polymer in free and adjuvant bound states. | caf1 of the plague bacterium, yersinia pestis is a polymeric virulence factor and vaccine component, formed from monomers by a donor strand exchange (dse) mechanism. here, em images of caf1 reveal flexible polymers up to 1.5 microm long (4mda). the bead-like structures along the polymer are 5.8 + or - 1 nm long and correspond to single caf1 proteins. short polymers often form circles, presumably by dse. we also provide the first images of proteins bound to alhydrogel adjuvant. caf1, hemocyanin a ... | 2010 | 20600492 |
| high abundance and diversity of bacillus anthracis plasmid pxo1-like replicons in municipal wastewater. | water from the influent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant as well as soil samples collected from the shoreline of 10 lakes were screened for the presence of the bacillus anthracis pxo1-like plasmid replicon repx using a pcr assay. specific pcr products were retrieved from all samples, indicating a widespread presence of pxo1-like plasmid replicons in various environmental settings. initial screening by restriction enzyme analysis revealed at least two forms of the repx gene in the wastew ... | 2010 | 20597981 |
| proteasome inhibitors prevent caspase-1-mediated disease in rodents challenged with anthrax lethal toxin. | nod-like receptors (nlrs) and caspase-1 are critical components of innate immunity, yet their over-activation has been linked to a long list of microbial and inflammatory diseases, including anthrax. the bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) has been shown to activate the nlr nalp1b and caspase-1 and to induce many symptoms of the anthrax disease in susceptible murine strains. in this study we tested whether it is possible to prevent lt-mediated disease by pharmacological inhibition of caspase-1. ... | 2010 | 20595632 |
| [toxicological effects of weapons of mass destruction and noxious agents in modern warfare and terrorism]. | weapons of mass destruction (wmd) best portray the twisted use of technological achievements against the human species. despite arm control efforts, wmd threat continues to exist and even proliferate. this in turn calls for improvement in defensive measures against this threat. the modern soldier is exposed to a number of chemical, biological, and radiological agents in military and peace operations, while civilians are mainly exposed to terrorist attacks. regardless of origin or mode of action, ... | 2010 | 20587400 |
| a femtomol range fret biosensor reports exceedingly low levels of cell surface furin: implications for the processing of anthrax protective antigen. | furin, a specialized endoproteinase, transforms proproteins into biologically active proteins. furin function is important for normal cells and also in multiple pathologies including malignancy and anthrax. furin is believed to cycle between the golgi compartment and the cell surface. processing of anthrax protective antigen-83 (pa83) by the cells is considered thus far as evidence for the presence of substantial levels of cell-surface furin. to monitor furin, we designed a cleavage-activated fr ... | 2010 | 20585585 |
| the structure of tumor endothelial marker 8 (tem8) extracellular domain and implications for its receptor function for recognizing anthrax toxin. | anthrax toxin, which is released from the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis, is composed of three proteins: protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef). pa binds a receptor on the surface of the target cell and further assembles into a homo-heptameric pore through which ef and lf translocate into the cytosol. two distinct cellular receptors for anthrax toxin, tem8/antxr1 and cmg2/antxr2, have been identified, and it is known that their extracellular domains bind p ... | 2010 | 20585457 |
| [treatment of late stages of anthracic infection]. | ways for increasing the anthrax treatment efficacy by combined use of antibiotics, toxin neutralizing, immunomodulating, symptomatic and pathogenetic agents are considered. the dynamics of the infection development was studied on rabbits by the microbiological, cytochemical, biochemical and cytomorphologic criteria. the efficacy of monoantibacterial and complex schemes of the etiopathogenetic therapy of the disease at the early and late stages (phases) of the infection generalization was estimat ... | 2007 | 20583468 |
| complexes of bacterial nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase with inhibitors: implication for structure-based drug design and improvement. | bacterial nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase encoded by the essential gene nadd plays a central role in the synthesis of the redox cofactor nad(+). the nadd enzyme is conserved in the majority of bacterial species and has been recognized as a novel target for developing new and potentially broad-spectrum antibacterial therapeutics. here we report the crystal structures of bacillus anthracis nadd in complex with three nadd inhibitors, including two analogues synthesized in the present ... | 2010 | 20578699 |
| essentiality and functional analysis of type i and type iii pantothenate kinases of mycobacterium tuberculosis. | pantothenate kinase, an essential enzyme in bacteria and eukaryotes, is involved in catalysing the first step of conversion of pantothenate to coenzyme a (coa). three isoforms (type i, ii and iii) of this enzyme have been reported from various organisms, which can be differentiated from each other on the basis of their biochemical and structural characteristics. though most bacteria carry only one of the isoforms of pantothenate kinases, some of them possess two isoforms. the physiological relev ... | 2010 | 20576686 |
| a novel pharmacophore model for the design of anthrax lethal factor inhibitors. | this study aims at the identification of novel structural features on the surface of the zn-dependent metalloprotease lethal factor (lf) from anthrax onto which to design novel and selective inhibitors. we report that by targeting an unexplored region of lf that exhibits ligand-induced conformational changes, we could obtain inhibitors with at least 30-fold lf selectivity compared to two other most related human metalloproteases, mmp-2 and mmp-9. based on these results, we propose a novel pharma ... | 2010 | 20572812 |
| adverse events following smallpox vaccination with acam2000 in a military population. | generalized vaccinia and benign exanthems are 2 adverse events that have been associated with the smallpox vaccination. accurate incidence and prevalence rates of each are not readily available, but these events are thought to be uncommon. to our knowledge, this is the first case series to provide clinical as well as pathologic descriptions of multiple papulovesicular eruptions occurring after receiving the second-generation smallpox vaccine, acam2000 (acambis, canton, massachusetts), among a va ... | 2010 | 20566929 |
| oligochlorophens are potent inhibitors of bacillus anthracis. | bacterial cytoskeletal proteins are an emerging set of targets for antibiotic development. this paper describes oligochlorophen analogs based on the monomer 4-chloro-2,6-dimethylphenol as antimicrobial agents against bacillus anthracis. the most potent analogs have a mic of 160 to 320 nm against b. anthracis and may target the cytoskeletal protein ftsz. b. anthracis develops resistance to the oligochlorophens at a rate of 4.34 x 10(-10) per generation, which is approximately 10-fold lower than t ... | 2010 | 20566769 |
| genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism typing method for identification of bacillus anthracis species and strains among b. cereus group species. | as an issue of biosecurity, species-specific genetic markers have been well characterized. however, bacillus anthracis strain-specific information is currently not sufficient for traceability to identify the origin of the strain. by using genome-wide screening using short read mapping, we identified strain-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) among b. anthracis strains including japanese isolates, and we further developed a simplified 80-tag snp typing method for the primary investiga ... | 2010 | 20554827 |
| membrane chromatography: protein purification from e. coli lysate using newly designed and commercial anion-exchange stationary phases. | this contribution describes the purification of anthrax protective antigen (pa) protein from escherichia coli lysate using bind-and-elute chromatography with newly designed weak anion-exchange membranes. protein separation performance of the new aex membrane adsorber was compared with the commercial sartobind d membrane adsorber and hitrap deae ff resin column under preparative scale conditions. dynamic protein binding capacities of all three stationary phases were determined using breakthrough ... | 2010 | 20554285 |
| key roles of dendritic cells in lung infection and improving anthrax vaccines. | lung immune responses control pathogens while avoiding detrimental inflammation. the dynamics of lung homeostasis are not fully understood. primary antimicrobial defenses are orchestrated by epithelial cells (ecs), interacting in close association with dendritic cells (dcs) and other innate immune cells. however, microbes, such as bacillus anthracis use host cellular machinery, including dc-migratory capacity to reach the draining lymph nodes where they germinate and produce toxins that disrupt ... | 2010 | 20554248 |
| detection of low numbers of bacillus anthracis spores in three soils using five commercial dna extraction methods with and without an enrichment step. | to (i) compare the limits of detection of bacillus anthracis spores in three soils (one florida, one texas, and one a commercial garden product) by pcr using dna extracted with five commercial extraction kits and (ii) examine if removing organic acids or adding an enrichment step utilizing a growth medium will improve the detection limits. | 2010 | 20553343 |
| law in the time of anthrax: biosecurity lessons from the united states. | in 2009, under the national health security act 2007 (cth), the australian government began introducing biosecurity regulations for laboratory research and other work involving certain pathogenic micro-organisms. the security-sensitive biological agents (ssba) scheme is virtually unprecedented in australia but is similar to the biological select agents and toxins (bsats) scheme which has existed in the united states since the mid-1990s. this article examines recent united states experience in us ... | 2010 | 20552938 |
| a novel spore protein, exsm, regulates formation of the exosporium in bacillus cereus and bacillus anthracis and affects spore size and shape. | bacillus cereus spores are assembled with a series of concentric layers that protect them from a wide range of environmental stresses. the outermost layer, or exosporium, is a bag-like structure that interacts with the environment and is composed of more than 20 proteins and glycoproteins. here, we identified a new spore protein, exsm, from a beta-mercaptoethanol extract of b. cereus atcc 4342 spores. subcellular localization of an exsm-green fluorescent protein (gfp) protein revealed a dynamic ... | 2010 | 20543075 |
| validation of a nylon-flocked-swab protocol for efficient recovery of bacterial spores from smooth and rough surfaces. | in order to meet planetary-protection requirements, culturable bacterial spore loads are measured representatively for the total microbial contamination of spacecraft. however, the national aeronautics and space administration's (nasa's) cotton swab protocols for spore load determination have not changed for decades. to determine whether a more efficient alternative was available, a novel swab was evaluated for recovery of different bacillus atrophaeus spore concentrations on stainless steel and ... | 2010 | 20543054 |
| activation of nf-κb pathway and tnf-α are involved in the cytotoxicity of anthrax lethal toxin in bovine bomac macrophages. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is an important virulence factor of bacillus anthracis and causes illness and lethality for both animals and humans. because species demonstrate varied sensitivity to anthrax intoxication, we investigated signaling pathways involved in anthrax letx cytotoxicity using a bovine macrophage cell line (bomac). we found that bovine macrophages are sensitive to letx as displayed by a concentration-dependent increase in cell death. letx induced the degradation of i-κb and inc ... | 2010 | 20537817 |
| subunit and small-molecule interaction of ribonucleotide reductases via surface plasmon resonance biosensor analyses. | ribonucleotide reductase (rnr) synthesizes deoxyribonucleotides for dna replication and repair and is controlled by sophisticated allosteric regulation involving differential affinity of nucleotides for regulatory sites. we have developed a robust and sensitive method for coupling biotinylated rnrs to surface plasmon resonance streptavidin biosensor chips via a 30.5 a linker. in comprehensive studies on three rnrs effector nucleotides strengthened holoenzyme interactions, whereas substrate had n ... | 2010 | 20534631 |
| use of allostery to identify inhibitors of calmodulin-induced activation of bacillus anthracis edema factor. | allostery plays a key role in the regulation of the activity and function of many biomolecules. and although many ligands act through allostery, no systematic use is made of it in drug design strategies. here we describe a procedure for identifying the regions of a protein that can be used to control its activity through allostery. this procedure is based on the construction of a plausible conformational path, which describes protein transition between known active and inactive conformations. th ... | 2010 | 20534570 |
| select human anthrax protective antigen epitope-specific antibodies provide protection from lethal toxin challenge. | bacillus anthracis remains a serious bioterrorism concern, and the currently licensed vaccine remains an incomplete solution for population protection from inhalation anthrax and has been associated with concerns regarding efficacy and safety. thus, understanding how to generate long-lasting protective immunity with reduced immunizations or provide protection through postexposure immunotherapeutics are long-sought goals. through evaluation of a large military cohort, we characterized the levels ... | 2010 | 20533877 |
| biosynthesis of a new udp-sugar, udp-2-acetamido-2-deoxyxylose, in the human pathogen bacillus cereus subspecies cytotoxis nvh 391-98. | we have identified an operon and characterized the functions of two genes from the severe food-poisoning bacterium, bacillus cereus subsp. cytotoxis nvh 391-98, that are involved in the synthesis of a unique udp-sugar, udp-2-acetamido-2-deoxyxylose (udp-n-acetyl-xylosamine, udp-xylnac). uglcnacdh encodes a udp-n-acetyl-glucosamine 6-dehydrogenase, converting udp-n-acetylglucosamine (udp-glcnac) to udp-n-acetyl-glucosaminuronic acid (udp-glcnaca). the second gene in the operon, uxnacs, encodes a ... | 2010 | 20529859 |
| [henry toussaint and louis pasteur. rivalry over a vaccine]. | henry toussaint (1847-1890) is a veterinary who studied in veterinary school of lyon with his great master auguste chauveau the famous physiologist. this place is the first school founded in europe at the end of the xviiith century and has opened a way of thinking. his carrer brilliant and rich begins first in lyon and then when he is named professor of anatomy and physiology at the veterinary school of toulouse. doctor of science and doctor of medecine toussaint applies "the experimental method ... | 2010 | 20527335 |
| [treatment of the patient with anthrax complicated with gastric bleeding]. | 2010 | 20524239 | |
| inter-α inhibitor proteins: a novel therapeutic strategy for experimental anthrax infection. | human inter-α inhibitor proteins are endogenous human plasma proteins that function as serine protease inhibitors. inter-α inhibitor proteins can block the systemic release of proteases in sepsis and block furin-mediated assembly of protective antigen, an essential stop in the intracellular delivery of the anthrax exotoxins, lethal toxin and edema toxin. inter-α inhibitor proteins administered on hour or up to 24 h after spore challenge with bacillus anthracis sterne strain protected mice from l ... | 2011 | 20523269 |
| cytidylyl and uridylyl cyclase activity of bacillus anthracis edema factor and bordetella pertussis cyaa. | cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (camp) and cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cgmp) are second messengers for numerous mammalian cell functions. the natural occurrence and synthesis of a third cyclic nucleotide (cnmp), cyclic cytidine 3',5'-monophosphate (ccmp), is a matter of controversy, and almost nothing is known about cyclic uridine 3',5'-monophosphate (cump). bacillus anthracis and bordetella pertussis secrete the adenylyl cyclase (ac) toxins edema factor (ef) and cyaa, respectivel ... | 2010 | 20521845 |
| communicable diseases report, nsw, january and february 2010. | 2010 | 20513312 | |
| multigeneration cross contamination of mail with bacillus species spores by tumbling. | in 2001, envelopes loaded with bacillus anthracis spores were mailed to senators daschle and leahy as well as to the new york post and nbc news buildings. additional letters may have been mailed to other news agencies because there was confirmed anthrax infection of employees at these locations. these events heightened the awareness of the lack of understanding of the mechanism(s) by which objects contaminated with a biological agent might spread disease. this understanding is crucial for the es ... | 2010 | 20511424 |
| hydrophobic properties and extraction of bacillus anthracis spores from liquid foods. | the objectives of this study were to characterize the hydrophobic properties of three strains of bacillus anthracis using the microbial adherence to hydrocarbons (math) assay and determine the recovery of spores by hexadecane extraction from water, milk and orange juice using a modified version of this assay. in water mixtures, the hydrophobicity of b. anthracis spores ranged from 5 to 80% as the concentration of hexadecane and the mixing time increased. two of the three strains showed significa ... | 2010 | 20510785 |
| induction of neutralizing antibody responses to anthrax protective antigen by using influenza virus vectors: implications for disparate immune system priming pathways. | viral vectors based on influenza virus, rabies virus (rv), and vaccinia virus (vv) were used to express large polypeptide segments derived from the bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa). for the infectious influenza virus vector and recombinant vv constructs, the receptor binding domain (rbd or domain 4) or the lethal and edema factor binding domain (lef or domain 1') were engineered into functional chimeric hemagglutinin (ha) glycoproteins. in the case of the rv vector, the viral glycoprot ... | 2010 | 20504926 |
| susceptibility to anthrax lethal toxin-induced rat death is controlled by a single chromosome 10 locus that includes rnlrp1. | anthrax lethal toxin (lt) is a bipartite protease-containing toxin and a key virulence determinant of bacillus anthracis. in mice, lt causes the rapid lysis of macrophages isolated from certain inbred strains, but the correlation between murine macrophage sensitivity and mouse strain susceptibility to toxin challenge is poor. in rats, lt induces a rapid death in as little as 37 minutes through unknown mechanisms. we used a recombinant inbred (ri) rat panel of 19 strains generated from lt-sensiti ... | 2010 | 20502689 |
| environmental factors determining the epidemiology and population genetic structure of the bacillus cereus group in the field. | bacillus thuringiensis (bt) and its insecticidal toxins are widely exploited in microbial biopesticides and genetically modified crops. its population biology is, however, poorly understood. important issues for the safe, sustainable exploitation of bt include understanding how selection maintains expression of insecticidal toxins in nature, whether entomopathogenic bt is ecologically distinct from related human pathogens in the bacillus cereus group, and how the use of microbial pesticides alte ... | 2010 | 20502683 |
| recent advances in rapid and ultrasensitive biosensors for infectious agents: lesson from bacillus anthracis diagnostic sensors. | here, we review the cumulative efforts to develop rapid and ultrasensitive diagnostic systems, especially for the infectious agent, bacillus anthracis, as a model system. this minireview focuses on demonstrating the features of various probes for target molecule detection and recent methods of signal generation within the biosensors. also, we discuss the possibility of using peptides as next-generation probe molecules. | 2010 | 20498871 |
| lmbe proteins from bacillus cereus are de-n-acetylases with broad substrate specificity and are highly similar to proteins in bacillus anthracis. | the genomes of bacillus cereus and its closest relative bacillus anthracis each contain two lmbe protein family homologs: bc1534 (ba1557) and bc3461 (ba3524). only a few members of this family have been biochemically characterized including n-acetylglucosaminylphosphatidyl inositol (glcnac-pi), 1-d-myo-inosityl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-d-glucopyranoside (glcnac-ins), n,n'-diacetylchitobiose (glcnac(2)) and lipoglycopeptide antibiotic de-n-acetylases. all these enzymes share a common feature in ... | 2010 | 20491912 |
| the sortase a enzyme that attaches proteins to the cell wall of bacillus anthracis contains an unusual active site architecture. | the pathogen bacillus anthracis uses the sortase a (srta) enzyme to anchor proteins to its cell wall envelope during vegetative growth. to gain insight into the mechanism of protein attachment to the cell wall in b. anthracis we investigated the structure, backbone dynamics, and function of srta. the nmr structure of srta has been determined with a backbone coordinate precision of 0.40 +/- 0.07 a. srta possesses several novel features not previously observed in sortase enzymes including the pres ... | 2010 | 20489200 |
| genetic analysis of petrobactin transport in bacillus anthracis. | 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 b. anthracis iron acquisition and pathogenesis. markerless deletion mutants were created using allelic exchange. ... | 2010 | 20487286 |
| b cell development in galt: role of bacterial superantigen-like molecules. | intestinal bacteria drive the formation of lymphoid tissues, and in rabbit, bacteria also promote development of the preimmune ab repertoire and positive selection of b cells in galt. previous studies indicated that bacillus subtilis promotes b cell follicle formation in galt, and we investigated the mechanism by which b. subtilis stimulates b cells. we found that spores of b. subtilis and other bacillus species, including bacillus anthracis, bound rabbit igm through an unconventional, superanti ... | 2010 | 20483765 |
| disulfide bonds in the ectodomain of anthrax toxin receptor 2 are required for the receptor-bound protective-antigen pore to function. | cell-surface receptors play essential roles in anthrax toxin action by providing the toxin with a high-affinity anchor and self-assembly site on the plasma membrane, mediating the toxin entry into cells through endocytosis, and shifting the ph threshold for prepore-to-pore conversion of anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) to a more acidic ph, thereby inhibiting premature pore formation. each of the two known anthrax toxin receptors, antxr1 and antxr2, has an ectodomain comprised of an n-termin ... | 2010 | 20479891 |
| mucosal adjuvant activity of cholera toxin requires th17 cells and protects against inhalation anthrax. | cholera toxin (ct) elicits a mucosal immune response in mice when used as a vaccine adjuvant. the mechanisms by which ct exerts its adjuvant effects are incompletely understood. we show that protection against inhalation anthrax by an irradiated spore vaccine depends on ct-mediated induction of il-17-producing cd4 th17 cells. furthermore, il-17 is involved in the induction of serum and mucosal antibody responses by ct. th17 cells induced by ct have a unique cytokine profile compared with those i ... | 2010 | 20479237 |
| a case of anthrax meningitis. | 1939 | 20476232 | |
| the influence of temperature and humidity on spore formation and germination in bacillus anthracis. | 1960 | 20475844 | |
| studies on a lysogenic bacillus strain: i. a bacteriophage specific for bacillus anthracis. | 1951 | 20475833 | |
| anthrax in mink (mustela vison). | 1939 | 20475478 | |
| the disinfection of anthrax-infected dried hides in the dry condition by means of hydrogen sulphide. | 1932 | 20475143 | |
| the detection of anthrax spores in east india wool and in yarn manufactured therefrom. | 1914 | 20474546 | |
| the detection of anthrax spores in industrial material. | 1912 | 20474493 | |
| the influence of the culture medium on the germination of anthrax spores: with special reference to disinfection experiments. | 1911 | 20474468 | |
| british industrial anthrax: part ii. | 1909 | 20474403 | |
| british industrial anthrax. | 1909 | 20474400 | |
| siderophore-mediated iron acquisition in bacillus anthracis and related strains. | recent observations have shed light on some of the endogenous iron-acquisition mechanisms of members of the bacillus cereus sensu lato group. in particular, pathogens in the b. cereus group use siderophores with both unique chemical structures and biological roles. this review will focus on recent discoveries in siderophore biosynthesis and biology in this group, which contains numerous human pathogens, most notably the causative agent of anthrax, bacillus anthracis. | 2010 | 20466767 |
| bioterrorism: what might be walking into the ed? | 2010 | 20466236 | |
| an investigation of the quality of meat sold in lesotho. | since the closure of the lesotho abattoir in 2003, only imported meat can be legally sold. however, it was estimated in 2007 that 80% of the meat sold at butcheries comes from informal slaughter. the aim of this study was to investigate the situation. the number and location of informal butcheries in lesotho (n = 143) were recorded and mapped using geographical information systems. observations (photographs) of informal slaughter indicated a lack of hygiene, unskilled slaughtermen and illegal di ... | 2009 | 20458865 |
| effects of the usa patriot act and the 2002 bioterrorism preparedness act on select agent research in the united states. | a bibliometric analysis of the bacillus anthracis and ebola virus archival literature was conducted to determine whether negative consequences of the uniting and strengthening america by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism" (usa patriot) act and the 2002 bioterrorism preparedness act on us select agent research could be discerned. indicators of the health of the field, such as number of papers published per year, number of researchers authoring papers, and in ... | 2010 | 20457912 |
| detection limit of negative staining electron microscopy for the diagnosis of bioterrorism-related micro-organisms. | to determine the detection limit of diagnostic negative staining electron microscopy for the diagnosis of pathogens that could be used for bioterrorism. | 2010 | 20456527 |
| raxibacumab for inhalational anthrax: an effective specific therapeutic approach? | inhalational anthrax is a disease with a high lethality potential and current therapeutic interventions with antibiotics to manage the bacteraemia might not always be fully effective. blocking the activity of the toxins with raxibacumab, a fully-human mab directed against the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis, may serve as an adjunct treatment. the existing ones are aimed at preventing post-exposure bacteraemia but might not be always fully protective. therefore, more specific 'therapies' ... | 2010 | 20450444 |
| regulation and isoform function of the v-atpases. | the vacuolar (h(+))-atpases are atp-dependent proton pumps that acidify intracellular compartments and, in some cases, transport protons across the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells. intracellular v-atpases play an important role in normal physiological processes such as receptor-mediated endocytosis, intracellular membrane trafficking, pro-hormone processing, protein degradation, and the coupled uptake of small molecules, such as neurotransmitters. they also function in the entry of various p ... | 2010 | 20450191 |
| recent case developments in health law. rempfer v. sharfstein. | 2010 | 20449938 | |
| exsb, an unusually highly phosphorylated protein required for the stable attachment of the exosporium of bacillus anthracis. | the outermost layer of the bacillus anthracis spore, the exosporium, is composed of a paracrystalline basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the nap is formed from a single collagen-like glycoprotein, while the basal layer contains many different proteins, including a 186-amino acid protein called exsb. in this study, we discovered that exsb is unusually highly phosphorylated, with at least 14 of its 19 threonine residues modified. the phosphorylated threonines are included in seven contiguo ... | 2010 | 20444088 |
| bacillus anthracis endospores regulate ornithine decarboxylase and inducible nitric oxide synthase through erk1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases. | interactions between bacillus anthracis (b. anthracis) and host cells are of particular interest given the implications of anthrax as a biological weapon. inhaled b. anthracis endospores encounter alveolar macrophages as the first line of defense in the innate immune response. yet, the consequences of this interaction remain unclear. we have demonstrated that b. anthracis uses arginase, inherent in the endospores, to reduce the ability of macrophages to produce nitric oxide ((•)no) from inducibl ... | 2010 | 20440620 |
| a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test for bacillus anthracis. | an effective public health response to a deliberate release of bacillus anthracis will require a rapid distribution of antimicrobial agents for postexposure prophylaxis and treatment. however, conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing for b. anthracis requires a 16- to 20-h incubation period. to reduce this time, we have combined a modified broth microdilution (bmd) susceptibility testing method with real-time quantitative pcr (qpcr). the growth or inhibition of growth of b. anthracis ce ... | 2010 | 20439614 |
| purification and biophysical characterization of the core protease domain of anthrax lethal factor. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) stands for the major virulence factor of the anthrax disease. it comprises a 90kda highly specific metalloprotease, the anthrax lethal factor (lf). lf possesses a catalytic zn(2+) binding site and is highly specific against mapk kinases, thus representing the most potent native biomolecule to alter and inactivate mkk [mapk (mitogen-activated protein kinase) kinases] signalling pathways. given the importance of the interaction between lf and substrate for the developme ... | 2010 | 20438702 |
| bacillus anthracis genome organization in light of whole transcriptome sequencing. | emerging knowledge of whole prokaryotic transcriptomes could validate a number of theoretical concepts introduced in the early days of genomics. what are the rules connecting gene expression levels with sequence determinants such as quantitative scores of promoters and terminators? are translation efficiency measures, e.g. codon adaptation index and rbs score related to gene expression? we used the whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing of a bacterial pathogen bacillus anthracis to assess correl ... | 2010 | 20438648 |
| imaging the cell entry of the anthrax oedema and lethal toxins with fluorescent protein chimeras. | to investigate the cell entry and intracellular trafficking of anthrax oedema factor (ef) and lethal factor (lf), they were c-terminally fused to the enhanced green fluorescent protein (egfp) and monomeric cherry (mcherry) fluorescent proteins. both chimeras bound to the surface of bhk cells treated with protective antigen (pa) in a patchy mode. binding was followed by rapid internalization, and the two anthrax factors were found to traffic along the same endocytic route and with identical kinet ... | 2010 | 20438574 |
| a bacillus anthracis s-layer homology protein that binds heme and mediates heme delivery to isdc. | the sequestration of iron by mammalian hosts represents a significant obstacle to the establishment of a bacterial infection. in response, pathogenic bacteria have evolved mechanisms to acquire iron from host heme. bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, utilizes secreted hemophores to scavenge heme from host hemoglobin, thereby facilitating iron acquisition from extracellular heme pools and delivery to iron-regulated surface determinant (isd) proteins covalently attached to the cell ... | 2010 | 20435727 |
| role of the protective antigen octamer in the molecular mechanism of anthrax lethal toxin stabilization in plasma. | anthrax is caused by strains of bacillus anthracis that produce two key virulence factors, anthrax toxin (atx) and a poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid capsule. atx is comprised of three proteins: protective antigen (pa) and two enzymes, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef). to disrupt cell function, these components must assemble into holotoxin complexes, which contain either a ring-shaped homooctameric or homoheptameric pa oligomer bound to multiple copies of lf and/or ef, producing lethal toxin ( ... | 2010 | 20433851 |
| investigating factors associated with reporting concerns towards malaria prophylaxis, and the content of concerns amongst uk service personnel deployed to the iraq conflict between 2003-2006: a mixed methods study. | there was a significant risk of malaria in the area to which military personnel were deployed during the iraq war. in this paper we investigated attitudes towards anti malarial tablets, health and the reporting of military hazards during deployment. | 2010 | 20433102 |
| selection of full-length iggs by tandem display on filamentous phage particles and escherichia coli fluorescence-activated cell sorting screening. | phage display of antibody libraries is a powerful tool for antibody discovery and evolution. recombinant antibodies have been displayed on phage particles as scfvs or fabs, and more recently as bivalent f(ab')(2). we recently developed a technology (e-clonal) for screening of combinatorial igg libraries using bacterial periplasmic display and selection by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (facs) [mazor y et al. (2007) nat biotechnol 25, 563-565]. although, as a single-cell analysis technique, ... | 2010 | 20423457 |
| a personal history of veterinary public health in the pan american health organization. | the introduction of disease into the new world changed both flora and fauna. the need for coordinated veterinary public health activities was highlighted when anthrax and encephalitis were reported in native populations. the pan american health organization has been a proponent of public health and animal health since its inception. neither discipline can be successful without the other. | 2007 | 20422557 |
| towards preserving the immunogenicity of protein antigens carried by nanoparticles while avoiding the cold chain. | nanoparticles are an attractive vaccine carrier with potent adjuvant activity. data from our previous studies showed that immunization of mice with lecithin/glyceryl monostearate-based nanoparticles with protein antigens conjugated onto their surface induced a strong, quick, and long-lasting antigen-specific immune response. in the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of preserving the immunogenicity of protein antigens carried by nanoparticles without refrigeration using these antigen-co ... | 2010 | 20416366 |
| robert koch and the 'golden age' of bacteriology. | robert koch's discovery of the anthrax bacillus in 1876 launched the field of medical bacteriology. a 'golden age' of scientific discovery ensued. a century after koch's death, we remember his life and work. | 2010 | 20413340 |
| historical distribution and molecular diversity of bacillus anthracis, kazakhstan. | to map the distribution of anthrax outbreaks and strain subtypes in kazakhstan during 1937-2005, we combined geographic information system technology and genetic analysis by using archived cultures and data. biochemical and genetic tests confirmed the identity of 93 archived cultures in the kazakhstan national culture collection as bacillus anthracis. multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis genotyping identified 12 genotypes. cluster analysis comparing these genotypes with previously p ... | 2010 | 20409368 |
| severe anthrax outbreaks in italy in 2004: considerations on factors involved in the spread of infection. | anthrax is a disease of humans and animals caused by the encapsulated, spore-forming bacillus anthracis. in italy, anthrax is normally a sporadic disease. during the summer 2004, anthrax broke out in the basilicata, in southern italy, a region with a low prevalence of anthrax in which vaccination had been suspended since 1998. the disease involved several animals in few weeks and in a large area. over 41 days, 81 cattle died, as well as 15 sheep, 9 goats, 11 horses and 8 deer. the multiple-locus ... | 2010 | 20402418 |
| an epitope of bacillus anthracis protective antigen that is cryptic in rabbits may be immunodominant in humans. | 2010 | 20400683 | |
| [molecular and immunological detection of bacteria applied to bio-terrorism]. | following the episode of letters containing anthrax in the usa in 2001, the fight against bio-terrorism became a priority for many countries (including france). the detection of bacteria in bio-terrorism settings is a major component of this fight. indeed, the early detection of these bio-terrorism agents leads to an appropriate treatment and to a reduced transmission of the disease. bacteria are important bio-terrorism agents, and the techniques used for their detection are constantly evolving. ... | 2010 | 20400254 |
| anthrax infection in drug users. | 2010 | 20399978 | |
| detection technologies for bacillus anthracis: prospects and challenges. | bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium representing the etiological agent of acute infectious disease anthrax, a lethal but rare disease of animals and humans in nature. with recent use of anthrax as a bioweapon, a number of techniques have been recently developed and evaluated to facilitate its rapid detection of b. anthracis in the environment as well as in point-of-care settings for humans suspected of exposure to the pathogen. complex laboratory methods for b. anthrac ... | 2010 | 20399814 |
| anthrax lfn-pa hybrid antigens: biochemistry, immunogenicity, and protection against lethal ames spore challenge in rabbits. | we describe a novel hybrid anthrax toxin approach that incorporates multiple components into a single vaccine product. the key domains of protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf) that may be critical for inducing protective immunity are combined into one recombinant molecule. two lf n-terminal domain-pa hybrids, one with wild-type pa and another with furin cleavage-minus pa, were expressed in e. coli and purified in a native form. both the hybrids bind to the extracellular domain of the ho ... | 2009 | 20390054 |
| bacillus marcorestinctum sp. nov., a novel soil acylhomoserine lactone quorum-sensing signal quenching bacterium. | a gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming and rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from soil samples and designated strain lqq. this organism strongly quenches the acylhomoserine lactone quorum-sensing signal. the lqq strain exhibits phenotypic characteristics consistent with its classification in the genus bacillus. it is positive in catalase and no special growth factor is needed. it uses glucose as sole carbon source. the dna g + c content is 39.8 mol %. the closest relatives b ... | 2010 | 20386651 |
| genomewide screening for novel genetic variations associated with ciprofloxacin resistance in bacillus anthracis. | fluoroquinolone (fq) resistance of bacillus anthracis is a serious concern in the fields of biodefense and bioterrorism since fqs are very effective antibiotics and are recommended as first-line treatment against this lethal bacterium. in this study, we obtained 2 strains of b. anthracis showing resistance or intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin (cip) by a stepwise selection procedure with increasing cip concentrations. fifteen genetic variations were identified between the parental and cip- ... | 2010 | 20385868 |
| neutralizing monoclonal antibody to edema toxin and its effect on murine anthrax. | edema factor (ef) is a component of an anthrax toxin that functions as an adenylate cyclase. numerous monoclonal antibodies (mabs) have been reported for the other bacillus anthracis toxin components, but relatively few to ef have been studied. we report the generation of six murine hybridoma lines producing two igm and four igg1 mabs to ef. of the six mabs, only one igm neutralized ef, as assayed by an increase in cyclic amp (camp) production by chinese hamster ovary (cho) cells. analysis of th ... | 2010 | 20385755 |
| endosomal recycling regulates anthrax toxin receptor 1/tumor endothelial marker 8-dependent cell spreading. | mechanisms for receptor-mediated anthrax toxin internalization and delivery to the cytosol are well understood. however, far less is known about the fate followed by anthrax toxin receptors prior and after cell exposure to the toxin. we report that anthrax toxin receptor 1/tumor endothelial marker 8 (tem8) localized at steady state in rab11a-positive and transferrin receptor-containing recycling endosomes. tem8 followed a slow constitutive recycling route of approximately 30min as determined by ... | 2010 | 20382142 |
| development of a differential scanning fluorimetry based high throughput screening assay for the discovery of affinity binders against an anthrax protein. | the anthrax protein protective antigen (pa) is responsible for cell-surface recognition and aids the delivery of the toxic anthrax enzymes into host cells. by targeting pa and preventing it from binding to host cells, it is hoped that the delivery of toxins into the cell will be inhibited. the current assay reported for pa is a low throughput functional assay. here, the high throughput screening method using differential scanning fluorimetry (dsf) was developed and optimized to screen a number o ... | 2010 | 20376913 |
| clpx contributes to innate defense peptide resistance and virulence phenotypes of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is a national institute of allergy and infectious diseases category a priority pathogen and the causative agent of the deadly disease anthrax. we applied a transposon mutagenesis system to screen for novel chromosomally encoded b. anthracis virulence factors. this approach identified clpx, the regulatory atpase subunit of the clpxp protease, as essential for both the hemolytic and proteolytic phenotypes surrounding colonies of b. anthracis grown on blood or casein agar media, ... | 2009 | 20375606 |
| bacillus cereus, a volatile human pathogen. | bacillus cereus is a gram-positive aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, motile, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium that is widely distributed environmentally. while b. cereus is associated mainly with food poisoning, it is being increasingly reported to be a cause of serious and potentially fatal non-gastrointestinal-tract infections. the pathogenicity of b. cereus, whether intestinal or nonintestinal, is intimately associated with the production of tissue-destructive exoenzymes. among these sec ... | 2010 | 20375358 |
| comparison of three anthrax toxin neutralization assays. | different types of anthrax toxin neutralization assays have been utilized to measure the antibody levels elicited by anthrax vaccines in both nonclinical and clinical studies. in the present study, we sought to determine whether three commonly used toxin neutralization assays-j774a.1 cell-, raw 264.7 cell-, and cho cell-based assays-yield comparable estimates of neutralization activities for sera obtained after vaccination with anthrax vaccines composed of recombinant protective antigen (rpa). i ... | 2010 | 20375243 |
| being alert to anthrax. | nurses need to be aware that heroin contaminated with anthrax is in circulation. | 2010 | 20373622 |
| proteomics for the development of vaccines and therapeutics. | proteomics permits the large-scale and high-throughput analysis of proteins and has become a powerful tool with which to study the pathogenic mechanisms of bacteria. it not only provides a metabolic snapshot at a particular moment in the life of a pathogen, but can also determine where a protein resides, its function, whether it is secreted, and its interactions with other proteins, including those of the host. comparative proteomics can yield important information on the differences between att ... | 2010 | 20370632 |
| environmental decontamination following a large-scale bioterrorism attack: federal progress and remaining gaps. | the process of environmental decontamination is a key step in a successful response to a large-scale attack involving a biological agent. costs for the decontamination response following the 2001 anthrax attacks were estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and some facilities could not be reopened for more than 2 years. however, a large-scale biological attack would likely result in an even greater amount of contamination, more areas that need to be cleaned and made safe, and a much gr ... | 2010 | 20367575 |
| development and validation of a multiplex real-time pcr for detection of clostridium chauvoei and clostridium septicum. | clostridium chauvoei is the causative agent of blackleg in cattle and sheep. the clinical symptoms of this severe disease are very similar to that of malignant edema (clostridium septicum), infections of other clostridium species belonging to the gas edema complex, and anthrax (bacillus anthracis). c. chauvoei and c. septicum are closely related taxa and share many phenotypic properties hampering diagnosis by using traditional microbiological methods. thus, there is a need for a fast and reliabl ... | 2010 | 20362050 |
| susceptibility to antibiotics of bacillus anthracis strains isolated in romania. | a number of 21 b. anthracis strains isolated from 16 pustules, 2 blood cultures and 3 cerebrospinal fluids during 2000-2004 were studied for their susceptibility to antibiotics. the antibiosusceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion method, on mueller-hinton agar medium. two of the studied strains exhibited resistance to penicillins, considered until not long ago as antimicrobial agents of choice for the treatment of anthrax infection. the penicillin resistance explained the difficult ... | 2009 | 20361530 |
| the role of nf-kappab and h3k27me3 demethylase, jmjd3, on the anthrax lethal toxin tolerance of raw 264.7 cells. | in bacillus anthracis, lethal toxin (letx) is a critical virulence factor that causes immune suppression and toxic shock in the infected host. nf-kappab is a key mediator of the inflammatory response and is crucial for the plasticity of first level immune cells such as macrophages, monocytes and neutrophils. in macrophages, this inflammatory response, mediated by nf-kappab, can regulate host defense against invading pathogens. a jumonji c family histone 3 lysine-27 (h3k27) demethylase, jmjd3, pl ... | 2010 | 20360974 |
| full expression of bacillus anthracis toxin gene in the presence of bicarbonate requires a 2.7-kb-long atxa mrna that contains a terminator structure. | bacillus anthracis toxin gene expression requires atxa, a virulence regulator that also activates capsule gene transcription and controls expression of more than a hundred genes. here we report that atxa mrna is 2.7-kb-long and ends, after a 500 nt-long 3' untranslated region, with a stem loop structure followed by a run of u's. the presence of this structure stabilizes atxa mrna and is necessary for atxa maximal accumulation, full expression of the pa toxin gene, paga and optimal pa accumulatio ... | 2010 | 20359529 |