Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| the ecology of bacillus anthracis. | the global distribution of anthrax is largely determined by soils with high calcium levels and a ph above 6.1, which foster spore survival. it is speculated that the spore exosporium probably plays a key part by restricting dispersal and thereby increasing the probability of a grazing animal acquiring a lethal dose. 'anthrax seasons' are characterized by hot-dry weather which stresses animals and reduces their innate resistance to infection allowing low doses of spores to be infective. necrophag ... | 2009 | 19720074 |
| reproductive toxicity of biothrax in rabbits. | an increasing number of women are being vaccinated during child-bearing years, including vaccination with biothrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed, or ava). as only a limited number of studies exist in humans that have examined the effects of ava on reproductive health, this study was conducted in order to evaluate the impact ava vaccination may have on pregnant female rabbits and their offspring. | 2009 | 19718687 |
| an extracytoplasmic function sigma factor controls beta-lactamase gene expression in bacillus anthracis and other bacillus cereus group species. | the susceptibility of most bacillus anthracis strains to beta-lactam antibiotics is intriguing considering that the closely related species bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis typically produce beta-lactamases and the b. anthracis genome harbors two beta-lactamase genes, bla1 and bla2. we show that beta-lactamase activity associated with b. anthracis is affected by two genes, sigp (ba2502) and rsip (ba2503), predicted to encode an extracytoplasmic function sigma factor and an anti-sigma f ... | 2009 | 19717606 |
| targeting nad biosynthesis in bacterial pathogens: structure-based development of inhibitors of nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase nadd. | the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens necessitates the search for new antibiotics acting on previously unexplored targets. nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase of the nadd family, an essential enzyme of nad biosynthesis in most bacteria, was selected as a target for structure-based inhibitor development. using iterative in silico and in vitro screens, we identified small molecule compounds that efficiently inhibited target enzymes from escherichia coli (ecnadd) and bacillus ant ... | 2009 | 19716475 |
| adverse events after anthrax vaccination reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system (vaers), 1990-2007 [vaccine 2009;27:290-297]. | 2009 | 19716457 | |
| [methodic approaches to testing bacillus anthracis susceptibility to antibacterials]. | susceptibility of 50 isolates of bacillus anthracis to 24 antibiotics was tested by the disk-diffusion method and the method of serial dilutions in solid media. the tests allowed to determine the boundary values of the growth inhibition zones and the minimum inhibitory concentrations of the antibiotics for susceptible and resistant strains of b. anthracis. nutrient media and reference strains for testing antibiotic susceptibility of b. anthracis are recommended. | 2009 | 19711841 |
| atp conformations and ion binding modes in the active site of anthrax edema factor: a computational analysis. | the edema factor (ef), one of the virulence factors of anthrax, is an adenylyl cyclase that promotes the overproduction of cyclic-amp (camp) from atp, and therefore perturbs cell signaling. crystallographic structures of ef bound to atp analogs and reaction products, cyclic-amp, and pyrophosphate (ppi), revealed different substrate conformations and catalytic-cation binding modes, one or two cations being observed in the active site. to shed light into the biological significance of these crysta ... | 2009 | 19705488 |
| the potential anti-herbivory role of microorganisms on plant thorns. | thorns, spines and prickles are some of the anti-herbivore defenses that plants have evolved. they were recently found to be commonly aposematic (warning coloration). however, the physical anti-herbivore defense executed by these sharp structures seems to be only the tip of the iceberg. we show that thorns of various plant species commonly harbor an array of aerobic and anaerobic pathogenic bacteria including clostridium perfringens the causative agent of the life-threatening gas gangrene, bacil ... | 2007 | 19704540 |
| radiolabeled antibodies to bacillus anthracis toxins are bactericidal and partially therapeutic in experimental murine anthrax. | bacillus anthracis is a powerful agent for use in biological warfare, and infection with the organism is associated with a high rate of mortality, underscoring the need for additional effective therapies for anthrax. radioimmunotherapy (rit) takes advantage of the specificity and affinity of the antigen-antibody interaction to deliver a microbicidal radioactive nuclide to a site of infection. rit has proven therapeutic in experimental models of viral, bacterial, and fungal infections; but it is ... | 2009 | 19704133 |
| neutralizing monoclonal antibodies directed against defined linear epitopes on domain 4 of anthrax protective antigen. | the anthrax protective antigen (pa) is the receptor-binding subunit common to lethal toxin (lt) and edema toxin (et), which are responsible for the high mortality rates associated with inhalational bacillus anthracis infection. although recombinant pa (rpa) is likely to be an important constituent of any future anthrax vaccine, evaluation of the efficacies of the various candidate rpa vaccines is currently difficult, because the specific b-cell epitopes involved in toxin neutralization have not ... | 2009 | 19703971 |
| construction of bifunctional phage display for biological analysis and immunoassay. | a phage display-based bifunctional display system was developed for simple and sensitive immunoassay. the resulting bifunctional phage could simultaneously display a few single-chain variable fragment (scfv) and many copies of the gold-binding peptide on its surface, thereby mediating antigen recognition and signal amplification. as a demonstration study, it was possible for bifunctional phage-based immunoassay to identify bacillus anthracis spores from other bacillus strains with detection sens ... | 2010 | 19699710 |
| biochemical and structural characterization of alanine racemase from bacillus anthracis (ames). | bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax and a potential bioterrorism threat. here we report the biochemical and structural characterization of b. anthracis (ames) alanine racemase (alrbax), an essential enzyme in prokaryotes and a target for antimicrobial drug development. we also compare the native alrbax structure to a recently reported structure of the same enzyme obtained through reductive lysine methylation. | 2009 | 19695097 |
| identification and quantitation of bacillus globigii using metal enhanced electrochemical detection and capillary biosensor. | presented herein are two detection strategies for the identification and quantification of bacillus globigii, a spore forming nonpathogenic simulant of bacillus anthracis. the first strategy involves a label-free, metal-enhanced electrochemical immunosensor for the quantitative detection of bacillus globigii (atrophaeus). the immunosensor comprises of antibacillus globigii (bg) antibody self-assembled onto a gold quartz crystal electrode via cystamine bond. a solid-phase monolayer of silver unde ... | 2009 | 19689112 |
| impact of spore biology on the rate of kill and suppression of resistance in bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is complex because of its spore form. the spore is invulnerable to antibiotic action. it also has an impact on the emergence of resistance. we employed the hollow-fiber infection model to study the impacts of different doses and schedules of moxifloxacin on the total-organism population, the spore population, and the subpopulations of vegetative- and spore-phase organisms that were resistant to moxifloxacin. we then generated a mathematical model of the impact of moxifloxacin, ... | 2009 | 19687233 |
| galactoxylomannan-mediated immunological paralysis results from specific b cell depletion in the context of widespread immune system damage. | the mechanisms responsible for polysaccharide-induced immunological paralysis have remained unexplained almost a century after this phenomenon was first described. cryptococcus neoformans capsular polysaccharides glucuronoxylomannan and galactoxylomannan (galxm) elicit little or no ab responses. this study investigates the immunological and biological effects of galxm in mice. galxm immunization elicits a state of immunological paralysis in mice characterized by the disappearance of ab-producing ... | 2009 | 19684080 |
| the bacillus anthracis spore. | in response to starvation, bacillus anthracis can form a specialized cell type called the spore, which is the infectious particle for the disease anthrax. the spore is largely metabolically inactive and can resist a wide range of stresses found in nature. in spite of its dormancy, the spore can sense the presence of nutrient and rapidly return to vegetative growth. these properties help the spore to persist for long periods of time in the environment, survive host defenses after entering the bod ... | 2009 | 19683018 |
| insights into the mode of action of the two-peptide lantibiotic haloduracin. | haloduracin, a recently discovered two-peptide lantibiotic composed of the post-translationally modified peptides halalpha and halbeta, is shown to have high potency against a range of gram-positive bacteria and to inhibit spore outgrowth of bacillus anthracis. the two peptides display optimal activity in a 1:1 stoichiometry and have efficacy similar to that of the commercially used lantibiotic nisin. however, haloduracin is more stable at ph 7 than nisin. despite significant structural differen ... | 2009 | 19678697 |
| the secret life of the anthrax agent bacillus anthracis: bacteriophage-mediated ecological adaptations. | ecological and genetic factors that govern the occurrence and persistence of anthrax reservoirs in the environment are obscure. a central tenet, based on limited and often conflicting studies, has long held that growing or vegetative forms of bacillus anthracis survive poorly outside the mammalian host and must sporulate to survive in the environment. here, we present evidence of a more dynamic lifecycle, whereby interactions with bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, elicit phenotypic alteratio ... | 2009 | 19672290 |
| cd14-mac-1 interactions in bacillus anthracis spore internalization by macrophages. | anthrax, a potentially lethal disease of animals and humans, is caused by the gram-positive spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. the outermost exosporium layer of b. anthracis spores contains an external hair-like nap formed by the glycoprotein bcla. recognition of bcla by the integrin mac-1 promotes spore uptake by professional phagocytes, resulting in the carriage of spores to sites of spore germination and bacterial growth in distant lymphoid organs. we show that cd14 binds to rhamnose ... | 2009 | 19666536 |
| animal models of human anthrax: the quest for the holy grail. | anthrax is rare among humans, few data can be collected from infected individuals and they provide a fragmentary view of the dynamics of infection and human host-pathogen interactions. therefore, the development of animal models is necessary. anthrax has the particularity of being a toxi-infection, a combination of infection and toxemia. the ideal animal model would explore these two different facets and mimic human disease as much as possible. in the past decades, the main effort has been focus ... | 2009 | 19665473 |
| the anthrax lethal factor and its mapk kinase-specific metalloprotease activity. | the anthrax lethal factor is a multi-domain protein toxin released by bacillus anthracis which enters cells in a process mediated by the protective antigen and specific cell receptors. in the cytosol, the lethal factor cleaves the n-terminal tail of many mapk kinases, thus deranging a major cell signaling pathway. the structural features at the basis of these activities of lf are reviewed here with particular attention to the proteolytic activity and to the identification of specific inhibitors. ... | 2009 | 19665472 |
| bacterial inactivation by solar ultraviolet radiation compared with sensitivity to 254 nm radiation. | our goal was to derive a quantitative factor that would allow us to predict the solar sensitivity of vegetative bacterial cells to natural solar radiation from the wealth of data collected for cells exposed to uvc (254 nm) radiation. we constructed a solar effectiveness spectrum for inactivation of vegetative bacterial cells by combining the available action spectra for vegetative cell killing in the solar range with the natural sunlight spectrum that reaches the ground. we then analyzed previou ... | 2009 | 19659922 |
| analysis of the fc gamma receptor-dependent component of neutralization measured by anthrax toxin neutralization assays. | anthrax toxin neutralization assays are used to measure functional antibody levels elicited by anthrax vaccines in both preclinical and clinical studies. in this study, we investigated the magnitude and molecular nature of fc gamma (fcgamma) receptor-dependent toxin neutralization observed in commonly used forms of the anthrax toxin neutralization assay. significantly more fcgamma receptor-dependent neutralization was observed in the j774a.1 cell-based assay than in the raw 264.7 cell-based assa ... | 2009 | 19656993 |
| complete sequence of three plasmids from bacillus thuringiensis inta-fr7-4 environmental isolate and comparison with related plasmids from the bacillus cereus group. | bacillus thuringiensis is an insect pathogen used worldwide as a bioinsecticide. it belongs to the bacillus cereus sensu lato group as well as bacillus anthracis and b. cereus. plasmids from this group of organisms have been implicated in pathogenicity as they carry the genes responsible for different types of diseases that affect mammals and insects. some plasmids, like paw63 and pbt9727, encode a functional conjugation machinery allowing them to be transferred to a recipient cell. they also sh ... | 2009 | 19654019 |
| bacillus anthracis physiology and genetics. | bacillus anthracis is a member of the bacillus cereus group species (also known as the "group 1 bacilli"), a collection of gram-positive spore-forming soil bacteria that are non-fastidious facultative anaerobes with very similar growth characteristics and natural genetic exchange systems. despite their close physiology and genetics, the b. cereus group species exhibit certain species-specific phenotypes, some of which are related to pathogenicity. b. anthracis is the etiologic agent of anthrax. ... | 2009 | 19654018 |
| expression of nlrp1b inflammasome components in human fibroblasts confers susceptibility to anthrax lethal toxin. | anthrax lethal toxin causes macrophages and dendritic cells from some mouse strains to undergo caspase-1-dependent cell death. central to this process is the nod-like receptor nlrp1b (nalp1b), which detects intoxication and then self-associates to form a complex, termed an inflammasome, that is capable of activating the procaspase-1 zymogen. the nature of the signal detected directly by nlrp1b is not known, and the mechanisms of inflammasome assembly are poorly understood. here, we demonstrate t ... | 2009 | 19651869 |
| the global regulator cody regulates toxin gene expression in bacillus anthracis and is required for full virulence. | in gram-positive bacteria, cody is an important regulator of genes whose expression changes upon nutrient limitation and acts as a repressor of virulence gene expression in some pathogenic species. here, we report the role of cody in bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax. disruption of cody completely abolished virulence in a toxinogenic, noncapsulated strain, indicating that the activity of cody is required for full virulence of b. anthracis. global transcriptome analysis of a cody ... | 2009 | 19651859 |
| the case for developing consensus standards for research in microbial pathogenesis: bacillus anthracis toxins as an example. | 2009 | 19651858 | |
| potent neutralization of anthrax edema toxin by a humanized monoclonal antibody that competes with calmodulin for edema factor binding. | this study describes the isolation and characterization of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mab) against anthrax edema factor, ef13d. ef13d neutralized edema toxin (et)-mediated cyclic amp (camp) responses in cells and protected mice from both et-induced footpad edema and systemic et-mediated lethality. the antibody epitope was mapped to domain iv of ef. the mab was able to compete with calmodulin (cam) for ef binding and displaced cam from ef-cam complexes. ef-mab binding affinity (0.05-0.12 ... | 2009 | 19651602 |
| biofilm formation and cell surface properties among pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of the bacillus cereus group. | biofilm formation by 102 bacillus cereus and b. thuringiensis strains was determined. strains isolated from soil or involved in digestive tract infections were efficient biofilm formers, whereas strains isolated from other diseases were poor biofilm formers. cell surface hydrophobicity, the presence of an s layer, and adhesion to epithelial cells were also examined. | 2009 | 19648377 |
| novel and unique diagnostic biomarkers for bacillus anthracis infection. | a search for bacterium-specific biomarkers in peripheral blood following infection with bacillus anthracis was carried out with rabbits, using a battery of specific antibodies generated by dna vaccination against 10 preselected highly immunogenic bacterial antigens which were identified previously by a genomic/proteomic/serologic screen of the b. anthracis secretome. detection of infection biomarkers in the circulation of infected rabbits could be achieved only after removal of highly abundant s ... | 2009 | 19648366 |
| implications of limits of detection of various methods for bacillus anthracis in computing risks to human health. | used for decades for biological warfare, bacillus anthracis (category a agent) has proven to be highly stable and lethal. quantitative risk assessment modeling requires descriptive statistics of the limit of detection to assist in defining the exposure. furthermore, the sensitivities of various detection methods in environmental matrices are vital information for first responders. a literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles related to methods for detection of b. anthracis was undertake ... | 2009 | 19648357 |
| efficient methods for large-area surface sampling of sites contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms and other hazardous agents: current state, needs, and perspectives. | the recovery operations following the 2001 attacks with bacillus anthracis spores were complicated due to the unprecedented need for large-area surface sampling and decontamination protocols. since this event, multiple reports have been published describing recovery efficiencies of several surface sampling materials. these materials include fibrous swabs of various compositions, cloth wipes, vacuum socks, and adhesive tapes. these materials have reported recovery efficiencies ranging from approx ... | 2009 | 19644689 |
| through the looking glass, mechanistic insights from enantiomeric human defensins. | despite the small size and conserved tertiary structure of defensins, little is known at a molecular level about the basis of their functional versatility. for insight into the mechanism(s) of defensin function, we prepared enantiomeric pairs of four human defensins, hnp1, hnp4, hd5, and hbd2, and studied their killing of bacteria, inhibition of anthrax lethal factor, and binding to hiv-1 gp120. unstructured hnp1, hd5, and hbd3 and several other human alpha- and beta-defensins were also examined ... | 2009 | 19640840 |
| retroviruses and other latent viruses: the deadliest of pathogens are not necessarily the best candidates for bioterrorism. | hiv-1 (and other viral causes of latent, chronic infections) is not a likely candidate for bioterrorism. scenarios resulting in the introduction of retroviral infections into a large population generally seem impractical and unpredictable as bioterrorist plots, especially relative to the frightening simplicity of deadly anthrax spores or smallpox virions. as evidenced in the above discussion, contaminating the blood supply would require a highly sophisticated plan resulting in effects of rather ... | 2009 | 19639767 |
| cellular and systemic effects of anthrax lethal toxin and edema toxin. | anthrax lethal toxin (lt) and edema toxin (et) are the major virulence factors of anthrax and can replicate the lethality and symptoms associated with the disease. this review provides an overview of our current understanding of anthrax toxin effects in animal models and the cytotoxicity (necrosis and apoptosis) induced by lt in different cells. a brief reexamination of early historic findings on toxin in vivo effects in the context of our current knowledge is also presented. | 2009 | 19638283 |
| bacillus cereus spores release alanine that synergizes with inosine to promote germination. | the first step of the bacterial lifecycle is the germination of bacterial spores into their vegetative form, which requires the presence of specific nutrients. in contrast to closely related bacillus anthracis spores, bacillus cereus spores germinate in the presence of a single germinant, inosine, yet with a significant lag period. | 2009 | 19636427 |
| novel broad-spectrum bis-(imidazolinylindole) derivatives with potent antibacterial activities against antibiotic-resistant strains. | given the limited number of structural classes of clinically available antimicrobial drugs, the discovery of antibacterials with novel chemical scaffolds is an important strategy in the development of effective therapeutics for both naturally occurring and engineered resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. in this study, several diarylamidine derivatives were evaluated for their ability to protect macrophages from cell death following infection with bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive spore-fo ... | 2009 | 19635954 |
| ca-074me protection against anthrax lethal toxin. | anthrax lethal toxin (lt) activates the nlrp1b (nalp1b) inflammasome and caspase-1 in macrophages from certain inbred mouse strains, but the mechanism by which this occurs is poorly understood. we report here that similar to several nlrp3 (nalp3, cryopyrin)-activating stimuli, lt activation of the nlrp1b inflammasome involves lysosomal membrane permeabilization (lmp) and subsequent cytoplasmic cathepsin b activity. ca-074me, a potent cathepsin b inhibitor, protects lt-sensitive macrophages from ... | 2009 | 19635822 |
| protection against anthrax and plague by a combined vaccine in mice and rabbits. | the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis and the fraction 1 capsular antigen (f1 antigen), v antigen of yersinia pestis have been demonstrated to be potential immunogens and candidate vaccine sub-units against anthrax and plague respectively. in this study, the authors have investigated the antibody responses and the protective efficacy when the antigens were administered separately or in combination intramuscularly formulation adsorbed to an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. results show th ... | 2009 | 19635609 |
| healthcare coalitions: the new foundation for national healthcare preparedness and response for catastrophic health emergencies. | after 9/11 and the 2001 anthrax letters, it was evident that our nation's healthcare system was largely underprepared to handle the unique needs and large volumes of people who would seek medical care following catastrophic health events. in response, in 2002 congress established the hospital preparedness program (hpp) in the u.s. department of health and human services (hhs) to strengthen the ability of u.s. hospitals to prepare for and respond to bioterrorism and naturally occurring epidemics ... | 2009 | 19635000 |
| isolation and chimerization of a highly neutralizing antibody conferring passive protection against lethal bacillus anthracis infection. | several studies have demonstrated that the passive transfer of protective antigen (pa)-neutralizing antibodies can protect animals against bacillus anthracis infection. the standard protocol for the isolation of pa-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies is based upon a primary selection of the highest pa-binders by elisa, and usually yields only few candidates antibodies. we demonstrated that by applying a pa-neutralization functionality-based screen as the primary criterion for positive clones, it ... | 2009 | 19629185 |
| the protective antigen component of anthrax toxin forms functional octameric complexes. | the assembly of bacterial toxins and virulence factors is critical to their function, but the regulation of assembly during infection has not been studied. we begin to address this question using anthrax toxin as a model. the protective antigen (pa) component of the toxin assembles into ring-shaped homooligomers that bind the two other enzyme components of the toxin, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef), to form toxic complexes. to disrupt the host, these toxic complexes are endocytosed, suc ... | 2009 | 19627991 |
| gamma-phage lysin plyg sequence-based synthetic peptides coupled with qdot-nanocrystals are useful for developing detection methods for bacillus anthracis by using its surrogates, b. anthracis-sterne and b. cereus-4342. | previous reports of site-directed deletion analysis on gamma (gamma)-phage lysin protein (plyg) have demonstrated that removal of a short amino acid sequence in the c-terminal region encompassing a 10-amino acid motif (190lkmtadfilq199) abrogates its binding activity specific to the cell wall of bacillus anthracis. whether short synthetic peptides representing the10-amino acid plyg putative binding motif flanked by surrounding n- and c-terminal residues also selectively bind to the bacterial cel ... | 2009 | 19624851 |
| host-derived tumor endothelial marker 8 promotes the growth of melanoma. | tumor endothelial marker 8 (tem8) was initially identified as a gene overexpressed in the vasculature of human tumors and was subsequently identified as an anthrax toxin receptor. to assess the functional role of tem8, we disrupted the tem8 gene in mice by targeted homologous recombination. tem8(-/-) mice were viable and reached adulthood without defects in physiologic angiogenesis. however, histopathologic analysis revealed an excess of extracellular matrix in several tissues, including the ova ... | 2009 | 19622764 |
| [improvement of methods for identification of atypical anthrax strains and their differentiation from closely related bacilli]. | to study biologic characteristics of atypical strains of anthrax agent in order to improve methods of identification and differentiation from closely related bacilli. | 2009 | 19621825 |
| [new immunoglobulin for treatment of anthrax]. | to experimentally assess activity and safety of anti-anthrax intravenous immunoglobulin manufactured on standard technology. | 2009 | 19621821 |
| [preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to the cholera toxin]. | monoclonal antibodies to cholera toxin were obtained. they do not cross-react with the termolabile toxin (lt) of escherichia coli, ricin, diphtherial toxin, staphylococcus enterotoxins of sea, seb, sei, seg, or the lethal factor and protective antigen of the anthrax toxin. pairs of antibodies for the quantitative measurement of the cholera toxin in sandwich enzyme immunoassay (eia) were selected. the detection limit of the toxin is 0.2 ng/ml for plate eia and 0.44 ng/ml for microchip eia. the pr ... | 2009 | 19621051 |
| anthrax lethal toxin enhances ikappab kinase activation and differentially regulates pro-inflammatory genes in human endothelium. | anthrax lethal toxin (lt) was previously shown to enhance transcriptional activity of nf-kappab in tumor necrosis factor-alpha-activated primary human endothelial cells. here we show that this lt-mediated increase in nf-kappab activation is associated with the enhanced degradation of the inhibitory proteins ikappabalpha and ikappabbeta but not ikappabepsilon. moreover, this was accompanied by enhanced activation of the ikappab kinase complex (ikk), which is responsible for targeting ikappab prot ... | 2009 | 19620708 |
| nod1/nod2-mediated recognition plays a critical role in induction of adaptive immunity to anthrax after aerosol exposure. | toll-like receptors and nod-like receptors (nlr) play an important role in sensing invading microorganisms for pathogen clearance and eliciting adaptive immunity for protection against rechallenge. nod1 and nod2, members of the nlr family, are capable of detecting bacterial peptidoglycan motifs in the host cytosol for triggering proinflammatory cytokine production. in the current study, we sought to determine if nod1/nod2 are involved in sensing bacillus anthracis infection and eliciting protect ... | 2009 | 19620350 |
| investigation of new dominant-negative inhibitors of anthrax protective antigen mutants for use in therapy and vaccination. | the lethal toxin (letx) of bacillus anthracis plays a key role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. the protective antigen (pa) is a primary part of the anthrax toxin and forms letx by combination with lethal factor (lf). phenylalanine-427 (f427) is crucial for pa function. this study was designed to discover potential novel therapeutic agents and vaccines for anthrax. this was done by screening pa mutants that were mutated at the f427 residue for a dominant-negative inhibitory (dni) phenotype which ... | 2009 | 19620345 |
| preparedness for an anthrax attack. | bacillus anthracis is a long-known bacterial organism with a uniquely stable spore stage. its stability and the lethal disease which results when the spore is inhaled made it a favorite of state-sponsored biological weapons programs throughout the cold war era. it is also believed to be high on the list of candidate microbial agents which could be used by terrorist groups or lone actors. its unique characteristics make protection of humans, especially civilians, from an intentional biological at ... | 2009 | 19619577 |
| the physiologic responses of dutch belted rabbits infected with inhalational anthrax. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a category a priority pathogen that causes extensive damage in humans. for this reason, b. anthracis has been the focus of numerous studies using various animal models. in this study, we explored physiologic parameters in dutch belted rabbits with inhalation anthrax to characterize the disease progression in this model. to this end, we infected dutch belted rabbits with 100 ld(50) b. anthracis ames spores by nasal instillation and continuous ... | 2009 | 19619416 |
| identification of linear epitopes in bacillus anthracis protective antigen bound by neutralizing antibodies. | protective antigen (pa), the binding subunit of anthrax toxin, is the major component in the current anthrax vaccine, but the fine antigenic structure of pa is not well defined. to identify linear neutralizing epitopes of pa, 145 overlapping peptides covering the entire sequence of the protein were synthesized. six monoclonal antibodies (mabs) and antisera from mice specific for pa were tested for their reactivity to the peptides by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. three major linear immunodo ... | 2009 | 19617628 |
| predicting hospital surge after a large-scale anthrax attack: a model-based analysis of cdc's cities readiness initiative prophylaxis recommendations. | background: a cri-compliant prophylaxis campaign starting 2 days after exposure would protect from 86% to 87% of exposed individuals from illness (assuming, in the base case, 90% antibiotic effectiveness and a 95% attack rate). each additional day needed to complete the campaign would result in, on average, 2.4% to 2.9% more hospitalizations in the exposed population; each additional day's delay to initiating prophylaxis beyond 2 days would result in 5.2% to 6.5% additional hospitalizations. the ... | 2009 | 19617582 |
| capillary morphogenesis protein-2 is the major receptor mediating lethality of anthrax toxin in vivo. | anthrax toxin, a major virulence factor of bacillus anthracis, gains entry into target cells by binding to either of 2 von willebrand factor a domain-containing proteins, tumor endothelium marker-8 (tem8) and capillary morphogenesis protein-2 (cmg2). the wide tissue expression of tem8 and cmg2 suggest that both receptors could play a role in anthrax pathogenesis. to explore the roles of tem8 and cmg2 in normal physiology, as well as in anthrax pathogenesis, we generated tem8- and cmg2-null mice ... | 2009 | 19617532 |
| the small acid soluble proteins (sasp alpha and sasp beta) of bacillus weihenstephanensis and bacillus mycoides group 2 are the most distinct among the bacillus cereus group. | the bacillus cereus group includes bacillus anthracis, b. cereus, bacillus thuringiensis, bacillus mycoides and bacillus weihenstephanensis. the small acid soluble spore protein (sasp) beta has been previously demonstrated to be among the biomarkers differentiating b. anthracis and b. cereus; sasp beta of b. cereus most commonly exhibits one or two amino acid substitutions when compared to b. anthracis. sasp alpha is conserved in sequence among these two species. neither sasp alpha nor beta for ... | 2009 | 19616612 |
| solubilization and characterization of the anthrax toxin pore in detergent micelles. | proteolytically activated protective antigen (pa) moiety of anthrax toxin self-associates to form a heptameric ring-shaped oligomer (the prepore). acidic ph within the endosome converts the prepore to a pore that serves as a passageway for the toxin's enzymatic moieties to cross the endosomal membrane. prepore is stable in solution under mildly basic conditions, and lowering the ph promotes a conformational transition to an insoluble pore-like state. n-tetradecylphosphocholine (fos14) was the on ... | 2009 | 19609933 |
| functions of phenylalanine residues within the beta-barrel stem of the anthrax toxin pore. | a key step of anthrax toxin action involves the formation of a protein-translocating pore within the endosomal membrane by the protective antigen (pa) moiety. formation of this transmembrane pore by pa involves interaction of the seven 2beta2-2beta3 loops of the heptameric precursor to generate a 14-strand transmembrane beta barrel. | 2009 | 19609431 |
| synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and antibacterial activity of new cobalt(ii) complexes of unsymmetrical tetradentate (osn2) schiff base ligands. | cobalt ion complexes with the schiff bases, (4-x-2-{[2-(2-pyridine-2-yl-ethylsulfanyl)ethylimino]methyl}phenol (x=methoxy (ome), phenylazo (n(2)ph), bromo (br), nitro (no(2))),were synthesized and investigated by several techniques using elemental analysis (c, h, n), ftir, electronic spectra and molar conductivity. the thermal stability of free ligands and related cobalt complexes were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (dsc) and thermogravimetric analyses (tga). cyclic voltammet ... | 2009 | 19608303 |
| the surface of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is a gram positive organism possessing a complex parietal structure. an s-layer, a bi-dimensional crystalline layer, and a peptidic capsule surround the thick peptidoglycan of bacilli harvested during infection. a review of the current literature indicates that elements from each of these three structures, as well as membrane components, have been studied. so-called cell-wall secondary polymers, be they attached to the cell-wall or to the membrane play important functions, eit ... | 2009 | 19607856 |
| bioaerosol analysis with raman chemical imaging microspectroscopy. | raman chemical imaging microspectroscopy is evaluated as a technology for waterborne pathogen and bioaerosol detection. raman imaging produces a three-dimensional data cube consisting of a raman spectrum at every pixel in a microscope field of view. binary and ternary mixtures including combinations of polystyrene beads, gram-positive bacillus anthracis, b. thuringiensis, and b. atrophaeus spores, and b. cereus vegetative cells were investigated by raman imaging for differentiation and character ... | 2009 | 19601631 |
| anthrax: the effect of tanneries in spreading the disease. | 1898 | 19600848 | |
| anthrax in london. | 1896 | 19600733 | |
| report on malignant anthrax in herds and malignant pustule in man, (on the wadsworth estate). | 1875 | 19599924 | |
| characterisation of dihydrodipicolinate synthase (dhdps) from bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium that is the causative agent of anthrax disease. the use of anthrax as a bioweapon has increased pressure for the development of an effective treatment. dihydrodipicolinate synthase (dhdps) catalyses the first committed step in the biosynthetic pathway yielding two essential bacterial metabolites, meso-diaminopimelate (dap) and (s)-lysine. dhdps is therefore a potential antibiotic target, as microbes require either lysine or dap as a c ... | 2009 | 19595801 |
| the crystal structure of a family gh25 lysozyme from bacillus anthracis implies a neighboring-group catalytic mechanism with retention of anomeric configuration. | lysozymes are found in many of the sequence-based families of glycoside hydrolases (www.cazy.org) where they show considerable structural and mechanistic diversity. lysozymes from glycoside hydrolase family gh25 adopt a (alpha/beta)(5)(beta)(3)-barrel-like fold with a proposal in the literature that these enzymes act with inversion of anomeric configuration; the lack of a suitable substrate, however, means that no group has successfully demonstrated the configuration of the product. here we repo ... | 2009 | 19595298 |
| an evaluation of suspicious powder screening tools for first responders. | field screening tools are required which would allow first responders to quickly ascertain if a suspicious powder poses a potential threat necessitating additional testing for biological pathogens such as bacillus anthracis. in this study, three commercially available generic screening technologies were evaluated for the effectiveness to accurately differentiate between a hoax powder and a true biological threat. the biocheck kit was able to detect the following biological agents 1 x 10(8)cfu of ... | 2009 | 19592160 |
| immunizations against bioterrorism: smallpox and anthrax. | 2009 | 19589771 | |
| differential binding of co(ii) and zn(ii) to metallo-beta-lactamase bla2 from bacillus anthracis. | in an effort to probe the structure, mechanism, and biochemical properties of metallo-beta-lactamase bla2 from bacillus anthracis, the enzyme was overexpressed, purified, and characterized. metal analyses demonstrated that recombinant bla2 tightly binds 1 equiv of zn(ii). steady-state kinetic studies showed that mono-zn(ii) bla2 (1zn-bla2) is active, while di-zn(ii) bla2 (znzn-bla2) was unstable. catalytically, 1zn-bla2 behaves like the related enzymes ccra and l1. in contrast, di-co(ii) bla2 (c ... | 2009 | 19588962 |
| comparative antimicrobial activity of granulysin against bacterial biothreat agents. | granulysin is a cationic protein produced by human t cells and natural killer cells that can kill bacterial pathogens through disruption of microbial membrane integrity. herein we demonstrate antimicrobial activity of the granulysin peptide derived from the active site against bacillus anthracis, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis, and burkholderia mallei, and show pathogen-specific differences in granulysin peptide effects. the susceptibility of y. pestis to granulysin is temperature depen ... | 2009 | 19587798 |
| protecting against future shock--inhalational anthrax. | 2009 | 19587345 | |
| images in clinical medicine. cutaneous anthrax. | 2009 | 19587343 | |
| raxibacumab for the treatment of inhalational anthrax. | inhalational anthrax caused by bacillus anthracis is associated with high mortality primarily due to toxin-mediated injury. raxibacumab is a human igg1lambda monoclonal antibody directed against protective antigen, a component of the anthrax toxin. | 2009 | 19587338 |
| insights into the anthrax lethal factor-substrate interaction and selectivity using docking and molecular dynamics simulations. | the anthrax toxin of the bacterium bacillus anthracis consists of three distinct proteins, one of which is the anthrax lethal factor (lf). lf is a gluzincin zn-dependent, highly specific metalloprotease with a molecular mass of approximately 90 kda that cleaves most isoforms of the family of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (meks/mkks) close to their amino termini, resulting in the inhibition of one or more signaling pathways. previous studies on the crystal structures of uncomplexed lf ... | 2009 | 19585464 |
| a mini-outbreak of cutaneous anthrax in vizianagaram district, andhra pradesh, india. | 2009 | 19584478 | |
| development of a pcr assay for identification of the bacillus cereus group species. | a pcr technique was developed as a reliable and rapid identification method for the bacillus cereus group species, based on a unique conserved sequence of the motb gene (encoding flagellar motor protein) from b. cereus, bacillus thuringiensis and bacillus anthracis. | 2010 | 19583794 |
| mechanisms of dna binding and regulation of bacillus anthracis dna primase. | dna primases are pivotal enzymes in chromosomal dna replication in all organisms. in this article, we report unique mechanistic characteristics of recombinant dna primase from bacillus anthracis. the mechanism of action of b. anthracis dna primase (dnag(ba)) may be described in several distinct steps as follows. its mechanism of action is initiated when it binds to single-stranded dna (ssdna) in the form of a trimer. although dnag(ba) binds to different dna sequences with moderate affinity (as e ... | 2009 | 19583259 |
| preparative optical chromatography with external collection and analysis. | optical chromatography, used for particle separation, involves loosely focusing a laser into a fluid flowing opposite the direction of laser propagation. when microscopic particles in the flow path encounter this beam they are trapped axially along the beam and are pushed upstream from the laser focal point to rest at a point where the optical and fluid forces on the particle balance. because optical and fluid forces are sensitive to differences in the physical and chemical properties of a parti ... | 2008 | 19581966 |
| multifunctional nanoarchitectures from dna-based abc monomers. | the ability to attach different functional moieties to a molecular building block could lead to applications in nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, intelligent sensing and drug delivery. the building unit needs to be both multivalent and anisotropic, and although many anisotropic building blocks have been created, these have not been universally applicable. recently, dna has been used to generate various nanostructures or hybrid systems, and as a generic building block for various applications. here ... | 2009 | 19581895 |
| carbohydrate metabolism differences between subgroup a1 and b2 strains of bacillus anthracis as assessed by comparative genomics and functional genetics. | in france, bacillus anthracis subgroup b2 strains do not metabolize starch or glycogen but can use gluconate, whereas subgroup a1 strains show the inverse pattern. functional genetic analysis revealed that mutations in the amys and gntk genes encoding an alpha-amylase and a gluconate kinase, respectively, were responsible for these phenotypes. | 2009 | 19581471 |
| human alpha-defensins inhibit hemolysis mediated by cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. | many pathogenic gram-positive bacteria release exotoxins that belong to the family of cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. here, we report that human alpha-defensins hnp-1 to hnp-3 acted in a concentration-dependent manner to protect human red blood cells from the lytic effects of three of these exotoxins: anthrolysin o (alo), listeriolysin o, and pneumolysin. hd-5 was very effective against listeriolysin o but less effective against the other toxins. human alpha-defensins hnp-4 and hd-6 and human ... | 2009 | 19581399 |
| the germination-specific lytic enzymes sleb, cwlj1, and cwlj2 each contribute to bacillus anthracis spore germination and virulence. | the bacterial spore cortex is critical for spore stability and dormancy and must be hydrolyzed by germination-specific lytic enzymes (gsles), which allows complete germination and vegetative cell outgrowth. we created in-frame deletions of three genes that encode gsles that have been shown to be active in bacillus anthracis germination: sleb, cwlj1, and cwlj2. phenotypic analysis of individual null mutations showed that the removal of any one of these genes was not sufficient to disrupt spore ge ... | 2009 | 19581364 |
| dr. jekyll and mr. hyde: a short history of anthrax. | the anthrax letters crisis, following the discovery of a major bacterial warfare program in the ussr and the realization that irak had been on the verge of using anthrax as a weapon during the first gulf war, had the consequence of putting anthrax back on the agenda of scientists. fortunately, although it was mostly unknown by the public before these events, it was far from unknown by microbiologists. already mentioned in the bible as a disease of herbivores, it remained a major cause of death f ... | 2009 | 19577591 |
| participatory appraisal of foot and mouth disease in the afar pastoral area, northeast ethiopia: implications for understanding disease ecology and control strategy. | foot and mouth disease (fmd) is the most economically important disease of livestock that still affects extensive areas of the world. this study described the use of participatory appraisal tools such as pair-wise ranking, matrix scoring and proportional piling to assess the perception of livestock keepers about the clinical signs and epidemiological features of cattle diseases with particular emphasis on fmd. strong agreement among informant groups (w = 0.710; p = 0.000) in pair wise ranking in ... | 2010 | 19575306 |
| crystallization and initial crystallographic analysis of phosphoglucosamine mutase from bacillus anthracis. | the enzyme phosphoglucosamine mutase catalyzes the conversion of glucosamine 6-phosphate to glucosamine 1-phosphate, an early step in the formation of the nucleotide sugar udp-n-acetylglucosamine, which is involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. these enzymes are part of the large alpha-d-phosphohexomutase enzyme superfamily, but no proteins from the phosphoglucosamine mutase subgroup have been structurally characterized to date. here, the crystallization of phosphoglucosamine mutase from bacill ... | 2009 | 19574653 |
| human naive and memory cd4+ t cell repertoires specific for naturally processed antigens analyzed using libraries of amplified t cells. | the enormous diversity of the naive t cell repertoire is instrumental in generating an immune response to virtually any foreign antigen that can be processed into peptides that bind to mhc molecules. the low frequency of antigen-specific naive t cells, their high activation threshold, and the constrains of antigen-processing and presentation have hampered analysis of naive repertoires to complex protein antigens. in this study, libraries of polyclonally expanded naive t cells were used to determ ... | 2009 | 19564353 |
| membrane translocation by anthrax toxin. | much attention has been focused on anthrax toxin recently, both because of its central role in the pathogenesis of bacillus anthracis and because it has proven to be one of the most tractable toxins for studying how enzymic moieties of intracellularly acting toxins traverse membranes. the protective antigen (pa) moiety of the toxin, after being proteolytically activated at the cell surface, self-associates to form a heptameric pore precursor (prepore). the prepore binds up to three molecules of ... | 2009 | 19563824 |
| synthesis and assembly of a full-length human monoclonal antibody in algal chloroplasts. | monoclonal antibodies can be effective therapeutics against a variety of human diseases, but currently marketed antibody-based drugs are very expensive compared to other therapeutic options. here, we show that the eukaryotic green algae chlamydomonas reinhardtii is capable of synthesizing and assembling a full-length igg1 human monoclonal antibody (mab) in transgenic chloroplasts. this antibody, 83k7c, is derived from a human igg1 directed against anthrax protective antigen 83 (pa83), and has be ... | 2009 | 19562731 |
| anthrax toxins: a weapon to systematically dismantle the host immune defenses. | successful colonization of the host by bacterial pathogens relies on their capacity to evade the complex and powerful defenses opposed by the host immune system, at least in the initial phases of infection. the two toxins of bacillus anthracis, lethal toxin and edema toxin, appear to have been shaped by evolution to assist the microorganism in this crucial function, in addition to act as general toxins acting on almost all cell types. edema toxin causes a consistent elevation of camp, an importa ... | 2009 | 19560486 |
| the adenylyl cyclase activity of anthrax edema factor. | bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent for anthrax, secretes edema factor (ef) to disrupt intracellular signaling pathways. upon translocation into host cells and association with a calcium sensor, calmodulin (cam), ef becomes a highly active adenylyl cyclase (ac) that raises the intracellular concentration of cyclic amp (camp). growing evidence shows that ef plays a key role in anthrax pathogenesis by affecting cellular functions vital for host defense. this strategy is also used by bordetella ... | 2009 | 19560485 |
| critical challenges ahead in bioterrorism preparedness training for clinicians. | a survey was distributed to determine physicians' confidence levels in recognizing potential category-a bioterrorism disease threats (e.g., smallpox, anthrax), preferred means of obtaining continuing medical education (cme) credits, and their knowledge of the connecticut department of public health's (dph) disease reporting requirements. | 2009 | 19557957 |
| simultaneous detection of five biothreat agents in powder samples by a multiplexed suspension array. | a suspension array-based multiplexed immunoassay was developed for rapid, sensitive, specific, and simultaneous detection of multiple biothreat-associated agents in powder samples. the 5-plexed immunoassays using sets of 9-plexed coupled fluorescent beads were employed to simultaneously detect five representative biothreat agents, including b. anthracis spore, y. pestis, sars-cov, staphylococcal enterotoxin b (seb) and ricin from a single powder sample and the feasibility for field samples was d ... | 2009 | 19555207 |
| a dna microarray facilitates the diagnosis of bacillus anthracis in environmental samples. | in order to improve the diagnosis of bacillus anthracis in environmental samples, we established a dna microarray based on the arraytube technology of clondiag. | 2009 | 19552771 |
| injection of staphylococcus aureus edin by the bacillus anthracis protective antigen machinery induces vascular permeability. | systemic injection of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) produces vascular leakage and animal death. recent studies suggest that lt triggers direct endothelial cell cytotoxicity that is responsible for the vascular leakage. lt is composed of heptamers of protective antigen (pa), which drives the endocytosis and translocation into host cells of the lethal factor (lf), a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase protease. here we investigated the consequences of injection of an endothelium-permeab ... | 2009 | 19546197 |
| real-time public health surveillance for emergency preparedness. | 2009 | 19542047 | |
| quantitative high-throughput screening identifies inhibitors of anthrax-induced cell death. | here, we report the results of a quantitative high-throughput screen (qhts) measuring the endocytosis and translocation of a beta-lactamase-fused-lethal factor and the identification of small molecules capable of obstructing the process of anthrax toxin internalization. several small molecules protect raw264.7 macrophages and cho cells from anthrax lethal toxin and protected cells from an lf-pseudomonas exotoxin fusion protein and diphtheria toxin. further efforts demonstrated that these compoun ... | 2009 | 19540764 |
| [molecular cloning, expression, and characterization of human mini-antibodies against enterotoxin c1 of staphylococcus aureus]. | we describe here the cloning, expression, and production of specific single-chain antibodies (scfv) against the recombinant enterotoxin c1 of staphylococcus aureus. high-affinity scfv were selected from the phage library of human mini antibodies; afterwards, the cells of e. coli trxa gor double mutant were infected with a product obtained by fusion of dna encoding of these mini antibodies with the trxa gene to induce soluble scfv synthesis in cell cytoplasm. the scfv obtained displayed high ente ... | 2009 | 19537170 |
| crystal structure of bacillus anthracis transpeptidase enzyme capd. | bacillus anthracis elaborates a poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid capsule that protects bacilli from phagocytic killing during infection. the enzyme capd generates amide bonds with peptidoglycan cross-bridges to anchor capsular material within the cell wall envelope of b. anthracis. the capsular biosynthetic pathway is essential for virulence during anthrax infections and can be targeted for anti-infective inhibition with small molecules. here, we present the crystal structures of the gamma-glutamyltra ... | 2009 | 19535342 |
| sample concentration using optical chromatography. | optical chromatography is a technique for the separation of particles that capitalizes on the balance between optic and fluidic forces. when microscopic particles in a fluid flow encounter a laser beam propagating in the opposite direction, they are trapped axially along the beam. they are then optically pushed upstream from the laser focal point to rest at a point where the optic and fluidic forces on the particle balance. because optical and fluid forces are sensitive to differences in the phy ... | 2007 | 19532509 |