Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| [production and characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to the diphtheria toxin]. | monoclonal antibodies to the diphtheria toxin were produced without cross reactivity with the thermolabile toxin (lt) from escherichia coli; ricin; choleraic toxin; the sea, seb, see, sei, and seg toxins of staphylococcus; the lethal factor of the anthrax toxin; and the protective antigen of the anthrax toxin. a pair of antibodies for the quantitative determination of the diphtheria toxin in the sandwich variation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was chosen. the determination limit o ... | 2009 | 19915639 |
| phylogenetic typing of bacillus anthracis isolated in japan by multiple locus variable-number tandem repeats and the comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphism. | twelve strains of bacillus anthracis isolated in japan were subjected to multiple locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis using 25 marker loci (mlva25). the results showed that japanese strains could be divided into two distinct genetic clusters, a3a and a3b. by using newly devised comprehensive single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) analysis, japanese strains were also divided into two groups. the results obtained by the mlva25 and plasmids snp analysis well coincided, indicating that bot ... | 2010 | 19915334 |
| regulatory interactions of a virulence-associated serine/threonine phosphatase-kinase pair in bacillus anthracis. | in the current study, we examined the regulatory interactions of a serine/threonine phosphatase (ba-stp1), serine/threonine kinase (ba-stk1) pair in bacillus anthracis. b. anthracis stpk101, a null mutant lacking ba-stp1 and ba-stk1, was impaired in its ability to survive within macrophages, and this correlated with an observed reduction in virulence in a mouse model of pulmonary anthrax. biochemical analyses confirmed that ba-stp1 is a pp2c phosphatase and dephosphorylates phosphoserine and pho ... | 2010 | 19915022 |
| synthesis of a hydrolytically stable, fluorescent-labeled atp analog as a tool for probing adenylyl cyclases. | (2r,3s,4r,5r)-5-(6-amino-9h-purin-9-yl)-3-hydroxy-4-[2-(methylamino)benzamido]tetrahydrofuran-2-yl-methoxy[(hydroxy)phosphoryloxy][(hydroxy)phosphoryl]dichloromethylphosphonic acid was synthesized as a chemically and metabolically stable analog of atp substituted with a fluorescent methylanthranoyl (mant) residue. the compound is intended for studying the binding site and function of adenylyl cyclases (acs), which was exemplified by studying its interaction with bacillus anthracis edema factor ( ... | 2010 | 19914832 |
| mucosal delivery of antigens using adsorption to bacterial spores. | the development of new-generation vaccines has followed a number of strategic avenues including the use of live recombinant bacteria. of these, the use of genetically engineered bacterial spores has been shown to offer promise as both a mucosal as well as a heat-stable vaccine delivery system. spores of the genus bacillus are currently in widespread use as probiotics enabling a case to be made for their safety. in this work we have discovered that the negatively charged and hydrophobic surface l ... | 2010 | 19914191 |
| selective interactions of sugar-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes with bacillus spores. | it was reported previously that monosaccharide-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (swnts) could interact with bacillus anthracis (sterne) spores with the mediation of a divalent cation such as ca(2+) to result in significant spore aggregation and reduction in colony forming units. in this work a more systematic investigation was performed on interactions of the swnts functionalized with individual mannose and galactose moieties and their various dendritic configurations with b. anthra ... | 2009 | 19911831 |
| three related cases of cutaneous anthrax in france: clinical and laboratory aspects. | anthrax is an acute bacterial infection caused by bacillus anthracis. the infection is cutaneous in about 95% of human cases and respiratory in about 5%. approximately 2000 cases of cutaneous anthrax are reported annually worldwide. this disease became exceptional in europe thanks to strict veterinarian monitoring. the last human cases of anthrax indicated in france were in 1997. we report 3 new related cases of naturally acquired cutaneous anthrax that occurred in france in 2008. the unique fea ... | 2009 | 19910752 |
| liver abscess and sepsis with bacillus pantothenticus in an immunocompetent patient: a first case report. | bacillus species are aerobic, gram-positive, spore forming rods that are usually found in the soil, dust, streams, and other environmental sources. except for bacillus. anthracis (b. anthracis), most species display low virulence, and only rarely cause infections in hosts with weak or damaged immune systems. there are two case reports of b. cereus as a potentially serious bacterial pathogen causing a liver abscess in an immunologically competent patient. we herein report a case of liver abscess ... | 2009 | 19908347 |
| bsla, the s-layer adhesin of b. anthracis, is a virulence factor for anthrax pathogenesis. | microbial pathogens use adhesive surface proteins to bind to and interact with host tissues, events that are universal for the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. a surface adhesin of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, required to mediate these steps has not been discovered. previous work identified bsla, an s-layer protein, to be necessary and sufficient for adhesion of the anthrax vaccine strain, bacillus anthracis sterne, to host cells. here we asked whether encapsulated bac ... | 2010 | 19906175 |
| anthrax toxin receptor 2 is expressed in murine and tumor vasculature and functions in endothelial proliferation and morphogenesis. | the capillary morphogenesis gene 2 (cmg2) gene encodes an anthrax toxin receptor (antxr2), but the normal physiological function is not known. antxr2/cmg2 was originally identified as a result of up-regulation during capillary morphogenesis of endothelial cells (ecs) cultured in vitro. we explored the hypothesis that key steps of the angiogenic process are either dependent or are influenced by antxr2/cmg2 activity. we describe the expression pattern of antxr2/cmg2 in several murine tissues and i ... | 2010 | 19901963 |
| structural studies of pterin-based inhibitors of dihydropteroate synthase. | dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) is a key enzyme in bacterial folate synthesis and the target of the sulfonamide class of antibacterials. resistance and toxicities associated with sulfonamides have led to a decrease in their clinical use. compounds that bind to the pterin binding site of dhps, as opposed to the p-amino benzoic acid (paba) binding site targeted by the sulfonamide agents, are anticipated to bypass sulfonamide resistance. to identify such inhibitors and map the pterin binding pocket ... | 2010 | 19899766 |
| comparative performance of a licensed anthrax vaccine versus electroporation based delivery of a pa encoding dna vaccine in rhesus macaques. | dna vaccination is a promising immunization strategy that could be applied in the development of vaccines for a variety of prophylactic and therapeutic indications. utilizing anthrax protective antigen as a model antigen, we demonstrate that electroporation mediated delivery enhanced the immunogenicity of dna vaccines in nonhuman primates over 100-fold as compared to conventional intramuscular injection. two administrations of a dna vaccine with electroporation elicited anthrax toxin neutralizin ... | 2010 | 19896452 |
| risk of importing zoonotic diseases through wildlife trade, united states. | the united states is the world's largest wildlife importer, and imported wild animals represent a potential source of zoonotic pathogens. using data on mammals imported during 2000-2005, we assessed their potential to host 27 selected risk zoonoses and created a risk assessment that could inform policy making for wildlife importation and zoonotic disease surveillance. a total of 246,772 mammals in 190 genera (68 families) were imported. the most widespread agents of risk zoonoses were rabies vir ... | 2009 | 19891857 |
| measuring the effect of commuting on the performance of the bayesian aerosol release detector. | early detection of outdoor aerosol releases of anthrax is an important problem. the bayesian aerosol release detector (bard) is a system for detecting releases of aerosolized anthrax and characterizing them in terms of location, time and quantity. modelling a population's exposure to aerosolized anthrax poses a number of challenges. a major difficulty is to accurately estimate the exposure level--the number of inhaled anthrax spores--of each individual in the exposed region. partly, this difficu ... | 2009 | 19891801 |
| onsite infectious agents and toxins monitoring in 12 may sichuan earthquake affected areas. | at 14:28 on 12 may 2008, sichuan province of china suffered a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the richter scale with more than 80 000 human lives lost and millions displaced. with inadequate shelter, poor access to health services, and disrupted ecology, the survivors were at enormous risk of infectious disease outbreaks. this work, believed to be unprecedented, was carried out to contain a possible outbreak through onsite monitoring of airborne biological agents in the high-risk areas. ... | 2009 | 19890556 |
| an antimicrobial guanidine-bearing sesterterpene from the cultured cyanobacterium scytonema sp. | scytoscalarol (1), a antimicrobial sesterterpene bearing a guanidino group, was isolated from the cultured cyanobacterium scytonema sp. (utex 1163) by bioassay-guided fractionation. the chemical structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis including ms and 1d and 2d nmr. scytoscalarol (1) showed antimicrobial activities against bacillus anthracis, staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, candida albicans, and mycobacterium tuberculosis with mic values in the range from 2 to 110 microm. | 2009 | 19888742 |
| differential staining of bacteria: endospore stain. | endospore production is a very important characteristic of some bacteria, allowing them to resist adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, chemical exposure, extreme heat, radiation, etc. the identification of endospores is also very important for the clinical microbiologist who is analyzing a patient's body fluid or tissue-there are not that many spore-forming genera. in fact, there are two major pathogenic spore-forming genera, bacillus and clostridium, together causing a number o ... | 2009 | 19885937 |
| a new generation of stable, nonantibiotic, low-copy-number plasmids improves immune responses to foreign antigens in salmonella enterica serovar typhi live vectors. | we hypothesized that adequately engineered attenuated salmonella enterica serovar typhi strains can serve as multivalent mucosal live vector vaccines to immunize against unrelated human pathogens. toward this ultimate goal, we have developed a novel genetic stabilization system for antigen-expressing plasmids, engineered to encode the single-stranded binding protein (ssb), an essential protein involved in dna metabolism which was deleted from the live vector chromosome. we utilized full-length p ... | 2010 | 19884333 |
| procurement of spore-free bacillus anthracis for molecular typing outside of bsl3 environment. | to (i) develop a protocol that would eliminate or greatly reduce sporulation within bacillus anthracis vegetative cells, and (ii) harvest an adequate number of cells and sufficient dna suitable for molecular methods including riboprint analysis and pulse field gel electrophoresis (pfge). | 2010 | 19878524 |
| studies on natural immunity to pneumococcus type iii : ii. certain distinguishing properties of two strains of pneumococcus type iii varying in their virulence for rabbits, and the reappearance of these properties following r-->s reconversion of their respective rough derivatives. | the results which have been presented show that under the conditions of artificial cultivation at 37 degrees c. definite differences exist between two smooth strains of pneumococcus type iii both of which are highly virulent for mice by the intraperitoneal route, but which may be sharply distinguished in their virulence for rabbits. these differences consist in the size of the fully developed intact capsule and the interval of time required for its loss. the somewhat smaller capsule of the aviru ... | 1936 | 19870536 |
| a serological study of the polysaccharides of meningococcus, b. anthracis, b. proteus, b. subtilis and b. mesentericus. | 1. the meningococcus polysaccharide reacts with a broad precipitable carbohydrate antibody in common with those of b. anthracis, b. subtilis, b. proteus and b. mesentericus. 2. the anthrax and proteus polysaccharides are specific in the higher dilutions of serum. 3. antianthrax serum contains two different polysaccharide precipitable antibodies, one specific and the other non-specific. 4. agglutinins have no relation to the carbohydrate precipitable substance, specific or non-specific. 5. an imm ... | 1931 | 19869953 |
| resistance of bacterial spores to the triphenylmethane dyes. | 1. bacterial spores are highly resistant to the bactericidal action of the triphenylmethane dyes. many bacillus anthracis and bacillus subtilis spores resist a saturated aqueous solution of gentian violet for 24 hours at 37 degrees c. they also resist exposure to the same dye solution for 10 minutes at 80 degrees c. 2. the selective bactericidal action of these dyes applies only to the vegetative cells. spores of the gram-positive bacteria are more resistant to these dyes than the vegetative cel ... | 1925 | 19869002 |
| the wide-spread distribution of diphtheroids and their occurrence in various lesions of human tissues. | it is evident from this work and from the work of others that organisms having diphtheroidal morphology are wide-spread in their distribution in the human body. they are readily isolated from miscellaneous skin lesions, probably thriving better in pathological soils as saprophytes than in normal skin, although they can be obtained quite easily from the latter. various strains can also be cultivated from the air, at least in this environment. aside from the air and superficial parts of the human ... | 1915 | 19867885 |
| the immunizing power of nucleohiston and of histon. | the results obtained in the preceding experiments may be briefly summarized as follows: 1. nucleohiston does not protect against a separate and subcutaneous injection of tetanus toxin, diphtheria toxin, hog-cholera bacillus, or anthrax bacillus. 2. mixtures of nucleohiston and either tetanus toxin or diphtheria toxin lose their specific toxic action-the latter much more rapidly than the former. animals that recover after inoculation of such mixtures are not rendered immune. 3. in a mixture of nu ... | 1896 | 19866821 |
| immunologic response of unvaccinated workers exposed to anthrax, belgium. | to determine immunologic reactivity to bacillus anthrax antigens, we conducted serologic testing of workers in a factory that performed scouring of wool and goat hair. of 66 workers, approximately 10% had circulating antibodies or t lymphocytes that reacted with anthrax protective antigen. individual immunity varied from undetectable to high. | 2009 | 19861061 |
| a semi-synthetic ion channel platform for detection of phosphatase and protease activity. | sensitive methods to probe the activity of enzymes are important for clinical assays and for elucidating the role of these proteins in complex biochemical networks. this paper describes a semi-synthetic ion channel platform for detecting the activity of two different classes of enzymes with high sensitivity. in the first case, this method uses single ion channel conductance measurements to follow the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of a phosphate group attached to the c-terminus of gramicidin a (ga, ... | 2009 | 19860382 |
| pharmacometrics-based dose selection of levofloxacin as a treatment for postexposure inhalational anthrax in children. | levofloxacin was recently (may 2008) approved by the u.s. food and drug administration as a treatment for children following inhalational exposure to anthrax. given that no clinical trials to assess the efficacy of a chosen dose was conducted, the basis for the dose recommendation was based upon pharmacometric analyses. the objective of this paper is to describe the basis of the chosen pediatric dose recommended for the label. pharmacokinetic (pk) data from 90 pediatric patients receiving 7 mg/k ... | 2010 | 19858256 |
| pretreatment of epithelial cells with rifaximin alters bacterial attachment and internalization profiles. | rifaximin is a poorly absorbed semisynthetic antibiotic derivative of rifampin licensed for use in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea. rifaximin reduces the symptoms of enteric infection, often without pathogen eradication and with limited effects on intestinal flora. epithelial cells (hep-2 [laryngeal], hct-8 [ileocecal], a549 [lung], and hela [cervical]) were pretreated with rifaximin (or control antibiotics) prior to the addition of enteroaggregative escherichia coli (eaec). eaec adherence ... | 2010 | 19858255 |
| cathepsin b-mediated autophagy flux facilitates the anthrax toxin receptor 2-mediated delivery of anthrax lethal factor into the cytoplasm. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is a virulence factor secreted by bacillus anthracis and has direct cytotoxic effects on most cells once released into the cytoplasm. the cytoplasmic delivery of the proteolytically active component of letx, lethal factor (lf), is carried out by the transporter component, protective antigen, which interacts with either of two known surface receptors known as anthrax toxin receptor (antxr) 1 and 2. we found that the cytoplasmic delivery of lf by antxr2 was mediated by ... | 2010 | 19858192 |
| synthesis of homopolymers and copolymers containing an active ester of acrylic acid by raft: scaffolds for controlling polyvalent ligand display. | we describe the synthesis of activated homopolymers and copolymers of controlled molecular weight based on the controlled radical polymerization of n-acryloyloxysuccinimide (nas) by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (raft). we synthesized activated homopolymers in a range of molecular weights with polydispersities between 1 and 1.2. the attachment of an inhibitory peptide to the activated polymer backbone yielded a potent controlled molecular weight polyvalent inhibitor of anthrax ... | 2008 | 19855852 |
| pathema: a clade-specific bioinformatics resource center for pathogen research. | pathema (http://pathema.jcvi.org) is one of the eight bioinformatics resource centers (brcs) funded by the national institute of allergy and infectious disease (niaid) designed to serve as a core resource for the bio-defense and infectious disease research community. pathema strives to support basic research and accelerate scientific progress for understanding, detecting, diagnosing and treating an established set of six target niaid category a-c pathogens: category a priority pathogens; bacillu ... | 2010 | 19843611 |
| roles of the bacillus anthracis spore protein exsk in exosporium maturation and germination. | the bacillus anthracis spore is the causative agent of the disease anthrax. the outermost structure of the b. anthracis spore, the exosporium, is a shell composed of approximately 20 proteins. the function of the exosporium remains poorly understood and is an area of active investigation. in this study, we analyzed the previously identified but uncharacterized exosporium protein exsk. we found that, in contrast to other exosporium proteins, exsk is present in at least two distinct locations, i.e ... | 2009 | 19837802 |
| advances in the development of next-generation anthrax vaccines. | anthrax, a disease of herbivores, only rarely infects humans. however, the threat of using bacillus anthracis, the causative agent, to intentionally produce disease has been the impetus for development of next-generation vaccines. two licensed vaccines have been available for human use for several decades. these are composed of acellular culture supernatants containing the protective antigen (pa) component of the anthrax toxins. in this review we summarize the various approaches used to develop ... | 2009 | 19837282 |
| identification of the channel-forming domain of clostridium perfringens epsilon-toxin (etx). | epsilon-toxin (etx) is a potent toxin produced by clostridium perfringens strains b and d. the bacteria are important pathogens in domestic animals and cause edema mediated by etx. this toxin acts most likely by heptamer formation and rapid permeabilization of target cell membranes for monovalent anions and cations followed by a later entry of calcium. in this study, we compared the primary structure of etx with that of the channel-forming stretches of a variety of binding components of a-b-type ... | 2009 | 19835840 |
| processing, assembly and localization of a bacillus anthracis spore protein. | all bacillus spores are encased in macromolecular shells. one of these is a proteinacious shell called the coat that, in bacillus subtilis, provides critical protective functions. the bacillus anthracis spore is the infectious particle for the disease anthrax. therefore, the coat is of particular interest because it may provide essential protective functions required for the appearance of anthrax. here, we analyse a protein component of the spore outer layers that was previously designated bxpa. ... | 2010 | 19833771 |
| a continuous-flow polymerase chain reaction microchip with regional velocity control. | this paper presents a continuous-flow polymerase chain reaction (pcr) microchip with a serpentine microchannel of varying width for "regional velocity control." varying the channel width by incorporating expanding and contracting conduits made it possible to control dna sample velocities for the optimization of the exposure times of the sample to each temperature phase while minimizing the transitional periods during temperature transitions. a finite element analysis (fea) and semi-analytical he ... | 2006 | 19829760 |
| cross-sectional survey of anthrax vaccine coverage and kap among deployed us military. | the recently refocused effort on anthrax (ava) vaccination has been the source of much ethical and legal deliberation. however, the factors affecting one's decision to receive any or all of the vaccine doses are poorly understood. using a self-administered questionnaire, we sought to evaluate ava coverage among a cross-section of deployed active duty us military personnel and identify factors associated with receipt of the vaccine. a questionnaire was distributed to u.s. military personnel deplo ... | 2009 | 19829070 |
| [the time course of changes in cell immunological parameters during administration of live dry plague vaccine]. | the study of the time course of changes in cell immunological parameters by a magnetic separation technique in human beings during the administration of plague vaccine in relation to the immunological load revealed the higher blood levels of all t lymphocyte subpopulations on day 14 after vaccination. these changes are most typical of a primary vaccinated cohort. the increased frequency of plague vaccine administration and multiple immunizations with live plague, anthrax, and tularemia vaccines ... | 2009 | 19827193 |
| bacillus anthracis, francisella tularensis and yersinia pestis. the most important bacterial warfare agents - review. | there are three most important bacterial causative agents of serious infections that could be misused for warfare purposes: bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of anthrax) is the most frequently mentioned one; however, fracisella tularensis (causing tularemia) and yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) are further bacterial agents enlisted by centers for disease control and prevention into the category a of potential biological weapons. this review intends to summarize basic informa ... | 2009 | 19826916 |
| proteomic studies of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium representing the etiological cause of anthrax, a rare lethal disease of animals and humans. development of anthrax countermeasures has gained increasing attention owing to the potential use of b. anthracis spores as a bioterror weapon. the various forms of infection by b. anthracis are characterized both by toxemia and septicemia, both of which are the result of spore entry into the host followed by their germination into rapidly mul ... | 2009 | 19824790 |
| humans and evolutionary and ecological forces shaped the phylogeography of recently emerged diseases. | the development of human civilizations and global commerce has led to the emergence and worldwide circulation of many infectious diseases. anthrax, plague and tularaemia are three zoonotic diseases that have been intensely studied through genome characterization of the causative species and phylogeographical analyses. a few highly fit genotypes in each species represent the causative agents for most of the observed disease cases. together, mutational and selective forces create highly adapted pa ... | 2009 | 19820723 |
| penetration of the blood-brain barrier by bacillus anthracis requires the pxo1-encoded bsla protein. | anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-positive spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. human infection occurs after the ingestion, inhalation, or cutaneous inoculation of b. anthracis spores. the subsequent progression of the disease is largely mediated by two native virulence plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2, and is characterized by septicemia, toxemia, and meningitis. in order to produce meningitis, blood-borne bacteria must interact with and breach the blood-brain barrier (bbb) that is ... | 2009 | 19820089 |
| direct interaction between anthrax toxin receptor 1 and the actin cytoskeleton. | the protective antigen component of anthrax toxin binds the i domain of the anthrax toxin receptors, antxr1 and antxr2, in a manner akin to how integrins bind their ligands. the i domains of integrins and antxr1 both have high- and low-affinity conformations, and the cytosolic tails of these receptors associate with the actin cytoskeleton. the association of antxr1 with the cytoskeleton correlates with weakened binding to pa, although a mechanistic explanation for this observation is lacking. he ... | 2009 | 19817382 |
| temporal production of the two bacillus anthracis siderophores, petrobactin and bacillibactin. | bacillus anthracis secretes two siderophores, petrobactin (pb) and bacillibactin (bb). these siderophores were temporally produced during germination and outgrowth of spores (the usual infectious form of b. anthracis) in low-iron medium. the siderophore pb was made first while bb secretion began several hours later. spore outgrowth early in an infection may require pb, whereas delayed bb production suggests a role for bb in the later stages of the infection. incubation of cultures (inoculated as ... | 2010 | 19816776 |
| hospital staff goes into overdrive during anthrax scare. | 2009 | 19813584 | |
| resistance of human alveolar macrophages to bacillus anthracis lethal toxin. | the etiologic agent of inhalational anthrax, bacillus anthracis, produces virulence toxins that are important in the disease pathogenesis. current studies suggest that mouse and human macrophages are susceptible to immunosuppressive effects of one of the virulence toxins, lethal toxin (lt). thus a paradigm has emerged that holds that the alveolar macrophage (am) does not play a significant role in the innate immune response to b. anthracis or defend against the pathogen as it is disabled by lt. ... | 2009 | 19812208 |
| staphylococcus aureus synthesizes adenosine to escape host immune responses. | staphylococcus aureus infects hospitalized or healthy individuals and represents the most frequent cause of bacteremia, treatment of which is complicated by the emergence of methicillin-resistant s. aureus. we examined the ability of s. aureus to escape phagocytic clearance in blood and identified adenosine synthase a (adsa), a cell wall-anchored enzyme that converts adenosine monophosphate to adenosine, as a critical virulence factor. staphylococcal synthesis of adenosine in blood, escape from ... | 2009 | 19808256 |
| improvement of a selective media for the isolation of b. anthracis from soils. | to prove linkage between an environmental sample and an anthrax case, there must be isolates obtained from both that can be compared. although bacillus anthracis is easily isolated from powder samples, isolating it from soil is difficult because of the high bacterial count in it. formulations of plet were prepared, inoculated with b. anthracis, b. cereus and b. thuringiensis and examined for growth. two hundred eighty-three isolates including 23 b. anthracis were placed onto one formulation whil ... | 2009 | 19808058 |
| a heterologous helper t-cell epitope enhances the immunogenicity of a multiple-antigenic-peptide vaccine targeting the cryptic loop-neutralizing determinant of bacillus anthracis protective antigen. | we previously showed that a multiple antigenic peptide (map) displaying amino acids (aa) 305 to 319 from the 2beta2-2beta3 loop of protective antigen (pa) can elicit high-titered antibody that neutralizes lethal toxin (letx) in vitro and that this loop-neutralizing determinant (lnd) specificity is absent in pa-immune rabbits. some immune rabbits were, however, nonresponders to the map. we hypothesized that the immunogen elicited suboptimal major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class ii-restrict ... | 2009 | 19805525 |
| characteristics of cutaneous anthrax in turkey. | incidence of anthrax is diminishing in developed countries; however, it remains a public health problem in developing countries, especially those whose main source of income is farming. | 2009 | 19801802 |
| comparative analysis of the virulence of invertebrate and mammalian pathogenic bacteria in the oral insect infection model galleria mellonella. | infection of galleria mellonella by feeding a mixture of bacillus thuringiensis spores or vegetative bacteria in association with the toxin cry1c results in high levels of larval mortality. under these conditions the toxin or bacteria have minimal effects on the larva when inoculated separately. in order to evaluate whether g. mellonella can function as an oral infection model for human and entomo-bacterial pathogens, we tested strains of bacillus cereus, bacillus anthracis, enterococcus faecali ... | 2010 | 19800349 |
| uncertainty and operational considerations in mass prophylaxis workforce planning. | the public health response to an influenza pandemic or other large-scale health emergency may include mass prophylaxis using multiple points of dispensing (pods) to deliver countermeasures rapidly to affected populations. computer models created to date to determine "optimal" staffing levels at pods typically assume stable patient demand for service. the authors investigated pod function under dynamic and uncertain operational environments. | 2009 | 19797960 |
| production of recombinant anthrax toxin receptor (atr/cmg2) fused with human fc in planta. | mass vaccination against anthrax with existing vaccines is costly and unsafe due to potential side effects. for post-infection treatment, passive immunotherapy measures are currently available, most based on anthrax protective antigen (pa)-specific therapeutic antibodies. efficient against wild-type strains, these treatment(s) might fail to protect against infections caused by genetically engineered bacillus anthracis strains. a recent discovery revealed that the von willebrand factor a (vwa) do ... | 2010 | 19796689 |
| booming biosafety labs probed. | 2009 | 19794463 | |
| unanswered questions and ethical issues concerning us biodefence research. | unanswered questions and ethical issues associated with us biodefence medical research over the past five decades are discussed. objective scientific standards are essential for making policy decisions that can stand the test of time. for decades, scholars have reported that the human anthrax vaccine field trials conducted in the 1950s by brachman and his colleagues were single-blind rather than double-blind. nevertheless, in march 2005, dr philip s brachman reported in a letter to the us food a ... | 2009 | 19793937 |
| development of antibodies against anthrose tetrasaccharide for specific detection of bacillus anthracis spores. | methods for the immunological detection of bacillus anthracis in various environmental samples and the discrimination of b. anthracis from other members of the b. cereus group are not yet well established. to generate specific discriminating antibodies, we immunized rabbits, mice, and chickens with inactivated b. anthracis spores and, additionally, immunized rabbits and mice with the tetrasaccharide beta-ant-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhap-(1-->3)-alpha-l-rhap-(1-->2)-l-rhap. it is a constituent of the exo ... | 2009 | 19793896 |
| clinical and pathologic features of cynomolgus macaques (macaca fascicularis) infected with aerosolized yersinia pestis. | since the anthrax attacks of 2001, the emphasis on developing animal models of aerosolized select agent pathogens has increased. many scientists believe that nonhuman primate models are the most appropriate to evaluate pulmonary response to, vaccines for, and treatments for select agents such as yersinia pestis (y. pestis), the causative agent of plague. a recent symposium concluded that the cynomolgus macaque (macaca fascicularis) plague model should be characterized more fully. to date, a well ... | 2008 | 19793459 |
| detection of known mutations for medical diagnostics by fret spectroscopy. | a rapid, simple and low-cost method for the detection of known mutations in dna oligonucleotide in a biothreat agent, bacillus anthracis, has been reported. the technique is based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (fret), that utilizes a cationic conjugated polymer and a pna probe labeled with fluorescein dye (pnac*). when the pna probe is hybridized with a complementary target ssdna and its mutated sequences separately, the energy transfer from polymer to pnac*/ssdna complex decreases w ... | 2009 | 19793441 |
| correlation of nosocomial bloodstream infection incidences: an ecological study. | this study aimed to correlate nosocomial bloodstream infections (nbis) across time against the ecological effect of infection control activities. all patients hospitalised >or=48h in the haematology and intensive care departments of a university hospital and discharged between 1 january 2004 and 30 june 2006 were prospectively included. the case definition of nbi infection was: (1) at least one positive blood culture justified by clinical signs, or (2) at least two positive blood cultures when t ... | 2009 | 19788948 |
| is new always better than old?: the development of human vaccines for anthrax. | anthrax is caused by a gram-positive aerobic spore-forming bacillus called bacillus anthracis. although primarily a disease of animals, it can also infect man, sometimes with fatal consequences. as a result of concerns over the illicit use of this organism, considerable effort is focused on the development of therapies capable of conferring protection against anthrax. while effective concerns over the toxicity of the current vaccines have driven the development of second-generation products. rec ... | 2009 | 19786839 |
| encapsulated bacillus anthracis interacts closely with liver endothelium. | the bacillus anthracis poly-gamma-d-glutamate capsule is essential for virulence. it impedes phagocytosis and protects bacilli from the immune system, thus promoting systemic dissemination. | 2009 | 19785525 |
| natural product leads for drug discovery: isolation, synthesis and biological evaluation of 6-cyano-5-methoxyindolo[2,3-a]carbazole based ligands as antibacterial agents. | indolo[2,3-a]carbazole based inhibitors were synthesized from readily available indigo via a seven-step linear synthetic sequence with a moderate overall yield. the inhibitors were selectively and readily functionalized at the nitrogen on the indole portion of the carbazole unit. the synthesized analogs displayed moderate inhibitory activities toward bacillus anthracis and mycobacterium tuberculosis, indicating that indolo[2,3-a]carbazoles could serve as promising leads in the development of new ... | 2009 | 19783449 |
| discovery and structure-activity relationship analysis of staphylococcus aureus sortase a inhibitors. | methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) is a major health problem that has created a pressing need for new antibiotics. compounds that inhibit the s. aureus srta sortase may function as potent anti-infective agents as this enzyme attaches virulence factors to the cell wall. using high-throughput screening, we have identified several compounds that inhibit the enzymatic activity of the srta. a structure-activity relationship (sar) analysis led to the identification of several pyridazin ... | 2009 | 19781950 |
| medical countermeasures to protect humans from anthrax bioterrorism. | the deliberate dissemination of bacillus anthracis spores via the us mail system in 2001 confirmed their potential use as a biological weapon for mass human casualties. this dramatically highlighted the need for specific medical countermeasures to enable the authorities to protect individuals from a future bioterrorism attack. although vaccination appears to be the most effective and economical form of mass protection, current vaccines have significant drawbacks that justify the immense research ... | 2009 | 19781945 |
| sympatric soil communities of bacillus cereus sensu lato: population structure and potential plasmid dynamics of pxo1- and pxo2-like elements. | eighty soil-borne bacillus cereus group isolates were collected from two neighbouring geographical sites in belgium. their genetic relationships and population structure were assessed using multilocus sequence typing analysis of five chromosomal genes, while the contribution of extrachromosomal elements to the population dynamics was gauged by the presence, diversity and transfer capacity of pxo1- and pxo2-like plasmids. globally, the bacterial population displayed a broad diversity, including a ... | 2009 | 19780824 |
| systems integration of biodefense omics data for analysis of pathogen-host interactions and identification of potential targets. | the niaid (national institute for allergy and infectious diseases) biodefense proteomics program aims to identify targets for potential vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for agents of concern in bioterrorism, including bacterial, parasitic, and viral pathogens. the program includes seven proteomics research centers, generating diverse types of pathogen-host data, including mass spectrometry, microarray transcriptional profiles, protein interactions, protein structures and biological reagen ... | 2009 | 19779614 |
| bacillus anthracis lethal toxin disrupts tcr signaling in cd1d-restricted nkt cells leading to functional anergy. | exogenous cd1d-binding glycolipid (alpha-galactosylceramide, alpha-gc) stimulates tcr signaling and activation of type-1 natural killer-like t (nkt) cells. activated nkt cells play a central role in the regulation of adaptive and protective immune responses against pathogens and tumors. in the present study, we tested the effect of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) on nkt cells both in vivo and in vitro. lt is a binary toxin known to suppress host immune responses during anthrax disease and i ... | 2009 | 19779559 |
| identification of a polymorphic collagen-like protein in the crustacean bacteria pasteuria ramosa. | pasteuria ramosa is a spore-forming bacterium that infects daphnia species. previous results demonstrated a high specificity of host clone/parasite genotype interactions. surface proteins of bacteria often play an important role in attachment to host cells prior to infection. we analyzed surface proteins of p. ramosa spores by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. for the first time, we prove that two isolates selected for their differences in infectivity reveal few but clear-cut differences in p ... | 2009 | 19770039 |
| anthrax prevention and treatment: utility of therapy combining antibiotic plus vaccine. | the intentional release of anthrax spores in 2001 confirmed this pathogen's ability to cause widespread panic, morbidity and mortality. while individuals exposed to anthrax can be successfully treated with antibiotics, pre-exposure vaccination can reduce susceptibility to infection-induced illness. concern over the safety and immunogenicity of the licensed us vaccine (anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava)) has fueled research into alternatives. second-generation anthrax vaccines based on purified recom ... | 2009 | 19769541 |
| microneedle-based vaccines. | the threat of pandemic influenza and other public health needs motivate the development of better vaccine delivery systems. to address this need, microneedles have been developed as micron-scale needles fabricated using low-cost manufacturing methods that administer vaccine into the skin using a simple device that may be suitable for self-administration. delivery using solid or hollow microneedles can be accomplished by (1) piercing the skin and then applying a vaccine formulation or patch onto ... | 2009 | 19768415 |
| transcriptional profiling of bacillus anthracis sterne (34f2) during iron starvation. | lack of available iron is one of many environmental challenges that a bacterium encounters during infection and adaptation to iron starvation is important for the pathogen to efficiently replicate within the host. here we define the transcriptional response of b. anthracis sterne (34f(2)) to iron depleted conditions. genome-wide transcript analysis showed that b. anthracis undergoes considerable changes in gene expression during growth in iron-depleted media, including the regulation of known an ... | 2009 | 19768119 |
| identification of bacillus anthracis by using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry and artificial neural networks. | this report demonstrates the applicability of a combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (maldi-tof) mass spectrometry (ms) and chemometrics for rapid and reliable identification of vegetative cells of the causative agent of anthrax, bacillus anthracis. bacillus cultures were prepared under standardized conditions and inactivated according to a recently developed ms-compatible inactivation protocol for highly pathogenic microorganisms. maldi-tof ms was then emplo ... | 2009 | 19767470 |
| identification and classification of bcl genes and proteins of bacillus cereus group organisms and their application in bacillus anthracis detection and fingerprinting. | the bacillus cereus group includes three closely related species, b. anthracis, b. cereus, and b. thuringiensis, which form a highly homogeneous subdivision of the genus bacillus. one of these species, b. anthracis, has been identified as one of the most probable bacterial biowarfare agents. here, we evaluate the sequence and length polymorphisms of the bacillus collagen-like protein bcl genes as a basis for b. anthracis detection and fingerprinting. five genes, designated bcla to bcle, are pres ... | 2009 | 19767469 |
| nucleoside triphosphate mimicry: a sugar triazolyl nucleoside as an atp-competitive inhibitor of b. anthracis pantothenate kinase. | the synthesis of a library of nucleoside triphosphate mimetics is described where the mg(2+) chelated triphosphate sidechain is replaced by an uncharged methylene-triazole linked monosaccharide sidechain. the compounds have been evaluated as inhibitors of bacillus anthracis pantothenate kinase and a competitive inhibitor has been identified with a k(i) that is 3-fold lower than the k(m) value of atp. | 2009 | 19763307 |
| high temperature unfolding of bacillus anthracis amidase-03 by molecular dynamics simulations. | the stability of amidase-03 structure (a cell wall hydrolase protein) from bacillus anthracis was studied using classical molecular dynamics (md) simulation. this protein (genbank accession number: np_844822) contains an amidase-03 domain which is known to exhibit the catalytic activity of n-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidase (digesting murnac-lalanine linkage of bacterial cell wall). the amidase-03 enzyme has stability at high temperature due to the core formed by the combination of several secon ... | 2009 | 19759865 |
| recombinant sindbis virus vectors designed to express protective antigen of bacillus anthracis protect animals from anthrax and display synergy with ciprofloxacin. | recombinant sindbis viruses were engineered to express alternative forms of the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis. the recombinant viruses induced pa-specific immunoglobulin g and neutralizing antibodies in swiss webster mice. vaccination with the recombinant viruses induced immunity that offered some protection from a lethal ames strain spore challenge and synergized the protective effects of ciprofloxacin. | 2009 | 19759250 |
| heme transfer to the bacterial cell envelope occurs via a secreted hemophore in the gram-positive pathogen bacillus anthracis. | to initiate and sustain an infection in mammals, bacterial pathogens must acquire host iron. however, the host's compartmentalization of large amounts of iron in heme, which is bound primarily by hemoglobin in red blood cells, acts as a barrier to bacterial iron assimilation. bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of the disease anthrax, secretes two neat (near iron transporter) proteins, isdx1 and isdx2, which scavenge heme from host hemoglobin and promote growth under low iron conditions. the ... | 2009 | 19759022 |
| bacillus anthracis cell wall produces injurious inflammation but paradoxically decreases the lethality of anthrax lethal toxin in a rat model. | the in vivo inflammatory effects of the bacillus anthracis cell wall are unknown. we therefore investigated these effects in rats and, for comparison, those of known inflammatory stimulants, staphylococcus aureus cell wall or lipopolysaccharide (lps). | 2010 | 19756496 |
| perturbation of mouse retinal vascular morphogenesis by anthrax lethal toxin. | lethal factor, the enzymatic moiety of anthrax lethal toxin (letx) is a protease that inactivates mitogen activated protein kinase kinases (mek or mkk). in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate letx targets endothelial cells. however, the effects of letx on endothelial cells are incompletely characterized. to gain insight into this process we used a developmental model of vascularization in the murine retina. we hypothesized that application of letx would disrupt normal retinal vascularization, ... | 2009 | 19750016 |
| identification of the udp-n-acetylglucosamine 4-epimerase involved in exosporium protein glycosylation in bacillus anthracis. | spores of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, are enclosed by a loosely fitting exosporium composed of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the filaments of the nap are formed by trimers of the collagen-like glycoprotein bcla. the side chains of bcla include multiple copies of two linear rhamnose-containing oligosaccharides, a trisaccharide and a pentasaccharide. the pentasaccharide terminates with the unusual deoxyamino sugar anthrose. both oligosaccharide side chains ar ... | 2009 | 19749053 |
| anthrax undervalued zoonosis. | anthrax is a non-contagious disease, known since ancient times. however, it became a matter of global public interest after the bioterrorist attacks in the u.s.a. during the autumn of 2001. the concern of politicians and civil authorities everywhere towards this emergency necessitated a significant research effort and the prevention of new bioterrorist acts. anthrax is primarily a disease that affects livestock and wildlife; its distribution is worldwide; and it can represent a danger to humans ... | 2010 | 19747785 |
| endogenous nitric oxide protects bacteria against a wide spectrum of antibiotics. | bacterial nitric oxide synthases (bnos) are present in many gram-positive species and have been demonstrated to synthesize no from arginine in vitro and in vivo. however, the physiological role of bnos remains largely unknown. we show that no generated by bnos increases the resistance of bacteria to a broad spectrum of antibiotics, enabling the bacteria to survive and share habitats with antibiotic-producing microorganisms. no-mediated resistance is achieved through both the chemical modificatio ... | 2009 | 19745150 |
| gene expression profiling of human alveolar macrophages infected by b. anthracis spores demonstrates tnf-alpha and nf-kappab are key components of the innate immune response to the pathogen. | bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, has recently been used as an agent of bioterrorism. the innate immune system initially appears to contain the pathogen at the site of entry. because the human alveolar macrophage (ham) plays a key role in lung innate immune responses, studying the ham response to b. anthracis is important in understanding the pathogenesis of the pulmonary form of this disease. | 2009 | 19744333 |
| g-rich sequence-functionalized polystyrene microsphere-based instantaneous derivatization for the chemiluminescent amplified detection of dna. | herein, we develop a novel chemiluminescence (cl) approach with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity, by taking advantage of magnetic beads as preconcentration carriers and polystyrene microspheres as an amplification platform. briefly, a 'sandwich-type' detection strategy is employed in our design, which involves capture probe dna immobilized on the surface of carboxyl-terminated magnetic beads and multiple biotinylated reporter dna self-assembled on the surface of streptavidin-modified p ... | 2010 | 19743522 |
| aluminum hydroxide injections lead to motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration. | gulf war syndrome is a multi-system disorder afflicting many veterans of western armies in the 1990-1991 gulf war. a number of those afflicted may show neurological deficits including various cognitive dysfunctions and motor neuron disease, the latter expression virtually indistinguishable from classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (als) except for the age of onset. this als "cluster" represents the second such als cluster described in the literature to date. possible causes of gws include sev ... | 2009 | 19740540 |
| web-based training on weapons of mass destruction response for emergency medical services personnel. | to develop, implement, and assess a web-based simulation training program for emergency medical services (ems) personnel on recognition and treatment of ocular injuries resulting from weapons of mass destruction (wmd) attacks. | 2009 | 19739458 |
| bacillus anthracis capsule activates caspase-1 and induces interleukin-1beta release from differentiated thp-1 and human monocyte-derived dendritic cells. | the poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid (pga) capsule is one of the major virulence factors of bacillus anthracis, which causes a highly lethal infection. the antiphagocytic pga capsule disguises the bacilli from immune surveillance and allows unimpeded growth of bacilli in the host. recently, efforts have been made to include pga as a component of anthrax vaccine; however, the innate immune response of pga itself has been poorly investigated. in this study, we characterized the innate immune response el ... | 2010 | 19737897 |
| innate immune response during yersinia infection: critical modulation of cell death mechanisms through phagocyte activation. | yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of plague, is one of the most deadly pathogens on our planet. this organism shares important attributes with its ancestral progenitor, yersinia pseudotuberculosis, including a 70-kb virulence plasmid, lymphotropism during growth in the mammalian host, and killing of host macrophages. infections with both organisms are biphasic, where bacterial replication occurs initially with little inflammation, followed by phagocyte influx, inflammatory cytokine producti ... | 2009 | 19734471 |
| editorial. | 2009 | 19733583 | |
| receptors of anthrax toxin and cell entry. | anthrax toxin-receptor interactions are critical for toxin delivery to the host cell cytoplasm. this review summarizes what is known about the molecular details of the protective antigen (pa) toxin subunit interaction with either the antxr1 and antxr2 cellular receptors, and how receptor-type can dictate the low ph threshold of pa pore formation. the roles played by cellular factors in regulating the endocytosis of toxin-receptor complexes is also discussed. | 2009 | 19732789 |
| poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid and protective antigen conjugate vaccines induce functional antibodies against the protective antigen and capsule of bacillus anthracis in guinea-pigs and rabbits. | anthrax is a lethal infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacillus anthracis. the two major virulence factors of b. anthracis are exotoxin and the poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid (pga) capsule. the three components of the exotoxin, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor and edema factor act in a binary combination, which results in massive edema and organ failure in the progress of anthrax disease. the antiphagocytic pga capsule disguises the bacilli from immune surveillance and allows unimp ... | 2009 | 19732139 |
| square wave voltammetric detection of anthrax utilizing a peptide for selective recognition of a protein biomarker. | a short chain peptide (16mer) has been successfully utilized for the selective electrochemical detection of the protein biomarker, protective antigen (pa), for the diagnosis of anthrax. the major motivation of using a peptide instead of an antibody for the development of a biosensor is that there are advantages associated with the smaller size, better biological stability and easy synthesizability of a peptide. pa-selective peptide was synthesized and conjugated on a binding layer previously imm ... | 2009 | 19729294 |
| strong antibody responses induced by protein antigens conjugated onto the surface of lecithin-based nanoparticles. | an accumulation of research over the years has demonstrated the utility of nanoparticles as antigen carriers with adjuvant activity. herein we defined the adjuvanticity of a novel lecithin-based nanoparticle engineered from emulsions. the nanoparticles were spheres of around 200nm. model protein antigens, bovine serum albumin (bsa) or bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) protein, were covalently conjugated onto the nanoparticles. mice immunized with the bsa-conjugated nanoparticles develop ... | 2010 | 19729045 |
| anthrax vaccination strategies. | the biological attack conducted through the us postal system in 2001 broadened the threat posed by anthrax from one pertinent mainly to soldiers on the battlefield to one understood to exist throughout our society. the expansion of the threatened population placed greater emphasis on the reexamination of how we vaccinate against bacillus anthracis. the currently-licensed anthrax vaccine, adsorbed (ava) and anthrax vaccine, precipitated (avp) are capable of generating a protective immune response ... | 2009 | 19729034 |
| the genome and variation of bacillus anthracis. | the bacillus anthracis genome reflects its close genetic ties to bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis but has been shaped by its own unique biology and evolutionary forces. the genome is comprised of a chromosome and two large virulence plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2. the chromosome is mostly co-linear among b. anthracis strains and even with the closest near neighbor strains. an exception to this pattern has been observed in a large inversion in an attenuated strain suggesting that chromosome co ... | 2009 | 19729033 |
| crystal structure and catalytic properties of bacillus anthracis coadr-rhd: implications for flavin-linked sulfur trafficking. | rhodanese homology domains (rhds) play important roles in sulfur trafficking mechanisms essential to the biosynthesis of sulfur-containing cofactors and nucleosides. we have now determined the crystal structure at 2.10 a resolution for the bacillus anthracis coenzyme a-disulfide reductase isoform (bacoadr-rhd) containing a c-terminal rhd domain; this is the first structural representative of the multidomain proteins class of the rhodanese superfamily. the catalytic cys44 of the coadr module is s ... | 2009 | 19725515 |
| anthrax in animals. | anthrax is the archetype zoonosis; no other infectious disease affects such a wide range of species, including humans, although most susceptible are herbivorous mammals. although the disease appears to have been recognized for centuries, it has yet to be established scientifically how animals contract it. while primarily a disease of warmer regions, it has long been spread to cooler zones through the trade of infected animals or contaminated animal products. today it is still endemic in many cou ... | 2009 | 19723532 |
| domain 4 of the anthrax protective antigen maintains structure and binding to the host receptor cmg2 at low ph. | domain 4 of the anthrax protective antigen (pa) plays a key role in cellular receptor recognition as well as in ph-dependent pore formation. we present here the 1.95 a crystal structure of domain 4, which adopts a fold that is identical to that observed in the full-length protein. we have also investigated the structural properties of the isolated domain 4 as a function of ph, as well as the ph-dependence on binding to the von willebrand factor a domain of capillary morphogenesis protein 2 (cmg2 ... | 2009 | 19722284 |
| the major neutralizing antibody responses to recombinant anthrax lethal and edema factors are directed to non-cross-reactive epitopes. | anthrax lethal and edema toxins (letx and edtx, respectively) form by binding of lethal factor (lf) or edema factor (ef) to the pore-forming moiety protective antigen (pa). immunity to lf and ef protects animals from anthrax spore challenge and neutralizes anthrax toxins. the goal of the present study is to identify linear b-cell epitopes of ef and to determine the relative contributions of cross-reactive antibodies of ef and lf to letx and edtx neutralization. a/j mice were immunized with recom ... | 2009 | 19720758 |
| bacillus anthracis lethal toxin attenuates lipoteichoic acid-induced maturation and activation of dendritic cells through a unique mechanism. | lethal toxin (lt), produced by the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis, was identified as a major etiologic agent causing anthrax due to its strong immunotoxicity. gram-positive bacteria express lipoteichoic acid (lta), which is considered as a counterpart to lipopolysaccharide (lps) of gram-negative bacteria, but differs from lps in the structure and function. since dendritic cells (dcs) are essential for the appropriate initiation of immune response, we investigated the effect of lt on ... | 2009 | 19720398 |