Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| product development partnerships hit their stride: lessons from developing a meningitis vaccine for africa. | the meningitis vaccine project, a so-called product development partnership, developed a new vaccine against bacterial meningitis, an inflammation of brain tissues that causes an estimated 10,000 deaths among african children and young people each year. the vaccine--known as menafrivac and specifically targeted for use in low-income countries in africa--was designed to be made available to governments at a price of fifty cents per dose. the meningitis vaccine project is an example of how product ... | 2011 | 21653957 |
| eliminating epidemic group a meningococcal meningitis in africa through a new vaccine. | a new affordable vaccine against group a meningococcus, the most common cause of large and often fatal african epidemics of meningitis, was introduced in burkina faso, mali, and niger in 2010. widespread use of the vaccine throughout much of africa may prevent more than a million cases of meningitis over the next decade. the new vaccine is expected to be cost-saving when compared to current expenditures on these epidemics; for example, an analysis shows that introducing it in seven highly endemi ... | 2011 | 21653956 |
| neisserial omp85 protein is selectively recognized and assembled into functional complexes in the outer membrane of human mitochondria. | as a consequence of their bacterial origin, mitochondria contain β-barrel proteins in their outer membrane (omm). these proteins require the translocase of the outer membrane (tom) complex and the conserved sorting and assembly machinery (sam) complex for transport and integration into the omm. the sam complex and the β-barrel assembly machinery (bam) required for biogenesis of β-barrel proteins in bacteria are evolutionarily related. despite this homology, we show that bacterial β-barrel protei ... | 2011 | 21652692 |
| microstructured cystine dendrites-based impedimetric sensor for nucleic acid detection. | we report results of the studies relating to the fabrication and characterization of novel biosensing electrode by covalent immobilization of dna onto microstructural cystine (cys) prepared by acoustic cavitation method. the tem investigations of these structures reveal transformation of microstructured cys from nanorods to dendritic structure under optimum conditions. the cys dendrites (dencys) have been investigated by xrd, ft-ir, and sem studies. these biosensing electrodes have been fabricat ... | 2011 | 21650182 |
| structure/function analysis of neisseria meningitidis pilw, a conserved protein playing multiple roles in type iv pilus biology. | type iv pili (tfp) are widespread filamentous bacterial organelles that mediate multiple functions and play a key role in pathogenesis in several important human pathogens, including neisseria meningitidis. tfp biology remains poorly understood at a molecular level because the roles of the numerous proteins that are involved remain mostly obscure. guided by the high-resolution crystal structure we recently reported for n. meningitidis pilw - a widely conserved protein essential for tfp biogenesi ... | 2011 | 21646452 |
| expression of a clostridium perfringens type iv pilin by neisseria gonorrhoeae mediates adherence to muscle cells. | clostridium perfringens is an anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium that causes a range of diseases in humans, including lethal gas gangrene. we have recently shown that strains of c. perfringens move across the surface of agar plates using a unique type iv pili (tfp)-mediated social motility that had not been previously described. based on sequence homology to pilins in gram-negative bacteria, c. perfringens appears to have two pilin subunits, pila1 and pila2. structural prediction analysis indica ... | 2011 | 21646450 |
| enzymatic synthesis and properties of uridine-5'-o-(2-thiodiphospho)-n-acetylglucosamine. | this paper describes an enzymatic approach to obtain a thio-containing udp-glcnac analog. we use an assay based on capture of the carbohydrate and analysis by mass spectrometry to quantitatively characterize the activity of this unnatural sugar donor in a lgta-mediated glycosylation reaction. | 2011 | 21645883 |
| insufficient protection by neisseria meningitidis vaccination alone during eculizumab therapy. | 2011 | 21643943 | |
| trends in chlamydia and gonorrhea positivity among heterosexual men and men who have sex with men attending a large urban sexual health service in australia, 2002-2009. | abstract: background: to determine whether chlamydia positivity among heterosexual men (msw) and chlamydia and gonorrhea positivity among men who have sex with men (msm), are changing. methods: computerized records for men attending a large sexual health clinic between 2002 and 2009 were analyzed. chlamydia and gonorrhea positivity were calculated and logistic regression used to assess changes over time. results: 17769 msw and 8328 msm tested for chlamydia and 7133 msm tested for gonorrhea. in m ... | 2011 | 21639943 |
| mycoplasma genitalium: an emerging cause of sexually transmitted disease in women. | mycoplasma genitalium is an emerging sexually transmitted pathogen implicated in urethritis in men and several inflammatory reproductive tract syndromes in women including cervicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (pid), and infertility. this comprehensive review critically examines epidemiologic studies of m. genitalium infections in women with the goal of assessing the associations with reproductive tract disease and enhancing awareness of this emerging pathogen. over 27,000 women from 48 publis ... | 2011 | 21637847 |
| recurrent meningococcal sepsis in a presumptive immunocompetent host shown to be complement c5 deficient-a case report. | grimnes g, beckman h, lappegård kt, mollnes te, skogen v. recurrent meningococcal sepsis in a presumptive immunocompetent host shown to be complement c5 deficient-a case report. apmis 2011; 119: 479-84. invasive meningococcal disease is a world wide challenge. most cases occur in immunocompetent children and young adults, but some immunodeficiencies are linked to a greater risk of invasive neisserial infections. one of these is complement component deficiencies, particularly deficiency of proper ... | 2011 | 21635555 |
| false-negative results using neisseria gonorrhoeae pora pseudogene pcr - a clinical gonococcal isolate with an n. meningitidis pora sequence, australia, march 2011. | 2011 | 21632019 | |
| risk of coinfection with chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae in nova scotia. | the frequency of chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae coinfection can vary depending on their individual incidence and prevalence rates. | 2010 | 21629610 |
| epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the panamanian pediatric population, 1998-2008. | worldwide public health authorities report 500,000 cases of invasive meningococcal disease with 50,000 deaths per year and 10-15% of sequelae in people affected. this study describes the epidemiology, microbiology, and clinical presentation of this disease in the panamanian pediatric population. | 2011 | 21628807 |
| emergence of epidemic neisseria meningitidis serogroup x meningitis in togo and burkina faso. | serogroup x meningococci (nmx) historically have caused sporadic and clustered meningitis cases in sub-saharan africa. to study recent nmx epidemiology, we analyzed data from population-based, sentinel and passive surveillance, and outbreak investigations of bacterial meningitis in togo and burkina faso during 2006-2010. cerebrospinal fluid specimens were analyzed by pcr. in togo during 2006-2009, nmx accounted for 16% of the 702 confirmed bacterial meningitis cases. kozah district experienced a ... | 2011 | 21625480 |
| immunogenicity and safety of h influenzae type b-n meningitidis c/y conjugate vaccine in infants. | meningococcal disease incidence is highest in children younger than 2 years of age, yet there is no us-licensed vaccine for this age group. a phase iii study evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of an investigational haemophilus influenzae type b (hib)-neisseria meningitidis serogroups c and y-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (hibmency). | 2011 | 21624883 |
| response of mutz-3 dendritic cells to the different components of the haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine: towards an in vitro assay for vaccine immunogenicity. | potency testing is mandatory for vaccine registration and batch release. due to various limitations to in vivo potency testing, there is need for relevant in vitro alternatives. these alternative tests should preferably comprise cells from the target (human) species. the whole suite of immune responses to vaccination that occur in vivo in humans cannot be tested in vitro using a single cell type. even so, dendritic cells (dc) form an important candidate cell type since they are pivotal in induci ... | 2011 | 21624423 |
| neua o-acetylesterase activity is specific for cmp-activated o-acetyl sialic acid in streptococcus suis serotype 2. | several bacteria causing meningitis, such as escherichia coli k1, streptococcus suis, neisseria meningitidis, and group b streptococci (gbs), produce sialic acid (neu5ac)-containing capsular polysaccharide (cps). biosynthesis of the neu5ac-containing cps requires cmp-neu5ac as substrate, which is synthesized by cmp-neu5ac synthetase from ctp and neu5ac. in e. coli or gbs, the neua protein encoded by the neua gene has been known encoding a bifunctional enzyme that possesses both cmp-neu5ac synthe ... | 2011 | 21624352 |
| sexually transmitted infections in pakistan. | background and objectives: sexually transmitted infections (stis) represent a major global health problem leading to morbidity, mortality and stigma. prior to this study there was no information on the prevalence and knowledge of stis in faisalabad, pakistan. design and setting: prospective, cross-sectional study in patients attending sti clinics from july 2006 to september 2009. patients and methods: after obtaining consent, patients completed structured questionnaires used for behavioral surve ... | 2011 | 21623055 |
| using snps to discriminate disease associated from carried genomes of neisseria meningitidis. | neisseria meningitidis is one of the main agents of bacterial meningitis causing substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. however, most of the time n. meningitidis is carried as a commensal not associated with invasive disease. the genomic basis of the difference between disease associated versus carried isolates of n. meningitidis may provide critical insight into mechanisms of virulence, yet it has remained elusive. here, we have taken a comparative genomics approach to interrogate the d ... | 2011 | 21622743 |
| molecular typing methods for outbreak detection and surveillance of invasive disease caused by neisseria meningitidis, haemophilus influenzae and streptococcus pneumoniae, a review. | invasive disease caused by the encapsulated bacteria neisseria meningitidis, haemophilus influenzae and streptococcus pneumoniae remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite the introduction of successful conjugate polysaccharide vaccines that target disease-associated strains. in addition, resistance, or more accurately reduced susceptibility, to therapeutic antibiotics is spreading in populations of these organisms. there is therefore a continuing requirement for th ... | 2011 | 21622526 |
| fine with five? shorter antibiotic courses for childhood meningitis. | 2011 | 21620468 | |
| 5 versus 10 days of treatment with ceftriaxone for bacterial meningitis in children: a double-blind randomised equivalence study. | bacterial meningitis is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, but the duration of treatment is not well established. we aimed to compare the efficacy of 5 and 10 days of parenteral ceftriaxone for the treatment of bacterial meningitis in children. | 2011 | 21620467 |
| lipooligosaccharides of neisseria species: similarity between n. polysaccharea and n. meningitidis loss. | 2011 | 21618119 | |
| leveraging community concerns regarding meningococcal disease to address racial and socioeconomic disparities in immunization coverage. | following the death of 2 adolescents due to serogroup c invasive meningococcal disease (scimd) in april 2008, the chicago department of public health (cdph) observed a high level of concern in 2 chicago communities inferred to have low meningococcal vaccine (mcv) coverage rates. in response, cdph promptly mobilized additional resources, administering 5343 doses of mcv in 40 schools over 2 weeks and immunizing 44% of enrolled students aged 11 to 18 years. the number of eligible students vaccinate ... | 2011 | 21617399 |
| revisiting the extracellular lifestyle. | in microbiology textbooks infectious agents are traditionally classified as intracellular or extracellular pathogens depending on whether they multiply inside or outside host cells. in recent literature an increasing number of extracellular pathogens are described in close apposition with the host cell surface embedded in plasma membrane folds, making it difficult to classify them as strictly extracellular pathogens. this review further explores this emerging new lifestyle category tentatively n ... | 2011 | 21615665 |
| activation of nf-κb by neisseria gonorrhoeae is associated with microcolony formation and type iv pilus retraction. | the early stage of infection with neisseria gonorrhoeae (ngo), the causative agent of gonorrhoea, is marked by type iv pilus (tfp)-mediated attachment and the formation of bacterial microcolonies on epithelial cells. retraction of the ngo tfp generates substantial force on its substrate which can elicit host cell signalling. here, we observed that this retraction force could also activate nuclear factor (nf)-κb, the central signalling cascade of innate immunity. using a p65-gfp-expressing epithe ... | 2011 | 21615661 |
| neurointensive care of patients with severe community-acquired meningitis. | background: reports about neurointensive care of severe community-acquired meningitis are few. the aims of this retrospective study were to review the acute clinical course, management and outcome in a series of bacterial meningitis patients receiving neurointensive care. methods: thirty patients (median age 51, range 1-81) admitted from a population of 2 million people during 7 years were studied. the neurointensive care protocol included escalated stepwise treatment with mild hyperventilation, ... | 2011 | 21615347 |
| recombinant protein meningococcal serogroup b vaccine combined with outer membrane vesicles. | introduction: meningococcal infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. infection with neisseria meningitidis is most common in young children, teenagers and people with certain medical conditions. effective polysaccharide and glycoconjugate vaccines for serogroups a, c, w135 and y have been developed. a similar capsular polysaccharide approach for serogroup b (menb) has by most been judged as unsuitable, hence, no broad coverage vaccine has been licensed to date. the novel ... | 2011 | 21615224 |
| neisseria meningitidis serogroup b meningitis relapse after five days of cefotaxime treatment: what went wrong? | abstract the authors describe a case of relapse of neisseria meningitidis serogroup b meningitis in a 21-y-old male, 48 h after a 5-day treatment with cefotaxime 215 mg/kg per day. brain magnetic resonance imaging (mri) excluded the hypothesis of cerebral abscess or central venous septic thrombosis, and transthoracic echocardiography excluded bacterial endocarditis. complement, properdin, and protein electrophoresis were normal. the plausible explanations for this relapse and the implications fo ... | 2011 | 21612559 |
| bacterial meningitis in the united states, 1998-2007. | the rate of bacterial meningitis declined by 55% in the united states in the early 1990s, when the haemophilus influenzae type b (hib) conjugate vaccine for infants was introduced. more recent prevention measures such as the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and universal screening of pregnant women for group b streptococcus (gbs) have further changed the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis. | 2011 | 21612470 |
| diversion of the immune response to neisseria gonorrhoeae from th17 to th1/th2 by treatment with anti-transforming growth factor {beta} antibody generates immunological memory and protective immunity. | abstract the immune response to neisseria gonorrhoeae is poorly understood, but its extensive antigenic variability and resistance to complement are thought to allow it to evade destruction by the host's immune defenses. we propose that n. gonorrhoeae also avoids inducing protective immune responses in the first place. we previously found that n. gonorrhoeae induces interleukin-17 (il-17)-dependent innate responses in mice and suppresses th1/th2-dependent adaptive responses in murine cells in vi ... | 2011 | 21610119 |
| evidence for the assembly of a bacterial tripartite multidrug pump with a stoichiometry of 3:6:3. | the neisseria gonorrhoeae mtrcde multidrug-pump is assembled from the inner and outer membrane-proteins mtrd and mtre, respectively, and the periplasmic membrane-fusion-protein mtrc. previously we established that while there is a weak interaction of mtrd and mtre, mtrc binds with relatively high affinity to both mtrd and mtre, suggesting that these proteins form a tripartite complex in which mtrc bridges mtrd and mtre. furthermore, mtrc interacts with an intraprotomer-groove on the surface of m ... | 2011 | 21610073 |
| induction of protection against vaginal shedding and infertility by a recombinant chlamydia vaccine. | a vaccine formulated with the chlamydia muridarum recombinant major outer membrane protein, plus the adjuvants cpg and montanide, was tested for its ability to protect balb/c mice against a vaginal challenge. mice were immunized by mucosal [intravaginal (i.vag.) plus colonic (col.), or intranasal (i.n.) plus sublingual (s.l.)], or systemic [intramuscular (i.m.) plus subcutaneous (s.c.)] routes, and a combination of mucosal priming and systemic boosting routes. a negative control group was vaccin ... | 2011 | 21609745 |
| neutralization of neisseria meningitidis outer membrane vesicles. | introduction: we aimed to determine the neutralization of neisseria meningitidis outer membrane vesicles (blebs) by humoral and cellular elements of whole blood. methods: the interaction of fitc-labeled blebs with monocytes was studied by spectrofluorometry. blebs are able to induce an oxidative burst in neutrophils, and we evaluated the inhibitory effect of plasma on this process. results: human plasma reduced the priming activity of blebs containing 1-3 ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (lps) by 50-60% ... | 2011 | 21607761 |
| genetic and molecular analyses reveal an evolutionary trajectory for glycan synthesis in a bacterial protein glycosylation system. | although protein glycosylation systems are becoming widely recognized in bacteria, little is known about the mechanisms and evolutionary forces shaping glycan composition. species within the genus neisseria display remarkable glycoform variability associated with their o-linked protein glycosylation (pgl) systems and provide a well developed model system to study these phenomena. by examining the potential influence of two orfs linked to the core pgl gene locus, we discovered that one of these, ... | 2011 | 21606362 |
| emergence of quinolone-resistance and cephalosporin mic creep in neisseria gonorrhoeae in a cohort of young men in kisumu, kenya: 2002 - 2009. | introduction: we evaluated antimicrobial resistance in neisseria gonorrhoeae (ng) isolated from men enrolled in a randomized trial of male circumcision to prevent hiv. methods: urethral specimens from men with discharge were cultured for ng. minimum inhibitory concentrations (mics) were determined by agar dilution. clinical laboratory standards institute criteria defined resistance: mic≥2.0 μg/ml for penicillin, tetracycline, and azithromycin; ciprofloxacin mic≥1.0 μg/ml; spectinomycin mic≥128.0 ... | 2011 | 21606224 |
| detection of nine microorganisms from the initial carious root lesions using a taqman-based real-time pcr. | oral diseases (2011) objective: the purpose of this study was to quantify nine selected cariogenic bacteria in plaque from sound root surfaces and initial carious root lesions using taqman pcr and to analyse a putative dependence on the kind of initial periodontal treatment. material and methods: fifty-four subjects with generalized chronic periodontitis were randomly allocated to one of the following initial periodontal therapies: full-mouth disinfection, full-mouth scaling and root planing o ... | 2011 | 21605286 |
| long-term protection after immunization with protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines in infancy. | the polysaccharide-encapsulated bacteria, haemophilus influenzae type b, neisseria meningitidis and streptococcus pneumoniae are important causes of invasive bacterial infection in childhood, accounting for most of the cases of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis worldwide. protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines have been developed over the last 20 years and have proven very effective in controlling these infections. although studies have consistently shown that herd immunity is critical for p ... | 2011 | 21604987 |
| new frontiers in meningococcal vaccines. | challenges remain in developing effective meningococcal vaccines and vaccination programs in both the industrialized and developing worlds. vaccination programs should ideally provide broad coverage of disease-causing strains to prevent disease and also promote the herd immunity important for extending protection to the at-risk unvaccinated population. the success of meningococcal serogroup c conjugate vaccination programs during the last 10 years demonstrates the tremendous positive impact on h ... | 2011 | 21604983 |
| a combination recombinant protein and outer membrane vesicle vaccine against serogroup b meningococcal disease. | although meningococcal disease caused by serogroup b remains an important public health concern, a licensed vaccine providing broad protection against this pathogen is not yet available. advances in genomics have paved the way for the discovery of new vaccine candidates for inclusion into a multicomponent serogroup b vaccine. in this article, we will review recent advances in the development of these vaccines, focussing particularly on one of the 'next generation' menb vaccines, 4cmenb. | 2011 | 21604979 |
| meningococcal serogroup b vaccines: will they live up to expectations? | 2011 | 21604975 | |
| meningococcal disease: shifting epidemiology and genetic mechanisms that may contribute to serogroup c virulence. | during the past decade, monovalent serogroup c and quadrivalent (serogroups a, c, w135, y) meningococcal vaccination programs have been introduced in multiple industrialized countries. many of these programs have been successful in reducing the burden of disease due to vaccine-preventable serogroups of neisseria meningitidis in target age groups. as a result, disease burden in these countries has decreased and is primarily serogroup b, which is not vaccine preventable. despite the success of the ... | 2011 | 21603878 |
| identification of the in vitro target of an iron-responsive arac like protein from meningococcus that is in a regulatory cascade with fur. | in this study we characterized a genetic locus that is predicted to encode one of the three arac-like regulators of neisseria meningitidis, a homologue of mper of gonococcus which is specific to the pathogneic neisseria spp. previous microarray studies suggest that this gene is a member of the fur regulon. in strain mc58, this is a pseudogene (annotated as two orfs nmb1879-nmb1878) containing a frameshift mutation which we show is common to all strains tested belonging to the st-32 hypervirulent ... | 2011 | 21602219 |
| [genetic characteristics of neisseria meningitidis strains obtained from healthy carriers during meningococcal infection outbreaks]. | genetic and antigenic characterization of neisseria meningitidis strains isolated during meningococcal infection outbreaks from individuals in contact with patients with generalized form of meningococcal infection. | 2011 | 21598611 |
| structure of the pilm-piln inner membrane type iv pilus biogenesis complex from thermus thermophilus. | type iv pili are surface-exposed filaments which extend from a variety of bacterial pathogens and play a major role in pathogenesis, motility and dna uptake. here we present the crystal structure of a complex between a cytoplasmic component of the type iv pilus biogenesis system from thermus thermophilus, pilm, in complex with a peptide derived from the cytoplasmic portion of the inner membrane protein piln. pilm also binds atp, and its structure is most similar to the actin-like protein ftsa. p ... | 2011 | 21596754 |
| antibody persistence following menzb vaccination of adults and children and response to a fourth dose in toddlers. | background a new zealand serogroup b meningococcal epidemic prompted trials of a strain-specific (b:4:p1.7-2,4) outer membrane vesicle vaccine (menzb). methods adults, school children, and infants provided serum after three menzb doses to evaluate antibody persistence via serum bactericidal assay. toddler (16-24 months) non-responders and responders received a fourth menzb dose 11 and 17 months after dose three respectively. response was a ≥4-fold rise in bactericidal titre to a titre of ≥8. res ... | 2011 | 21596727 |
| kinetics of immune responses to nasal challenge with meningococcal polysaccharide one year after serogroup-c glycoconjugate vaccination. | background. recipients of serogroup-c glycoconjugate meningococcal vaccine (mcc) exhibit waning of serum bactericidal antibody (sba) titers, but the rate of decline and the speed of their immunological memory in response to new meningococcal nasopharyngeal colonization are unknown. methods. in a prospective challenge study, we measured persistence of sba and anti-neisseria meningitidis serogroup-c (menc) immunoglobulin (ig) g and iga in adults aged 18-39, 28 days and 12 months after receiving mc ... | 2011 | 21596673 |
| measurement of functional anti-meningococcal serogroup a activity using strain 3125 as the target strain for serum bactericidal assay. | functional anti-mena activity in human serum is detected by serum bactericidal assay (sba), using either rabbit (rsba) or human (hsba) complement, with f8238 as the recommended mena sba target strain. however, the f8238 strain may not be optimal for this purpose because, as we show here, it expresses the l11 immunotype whereas most mena invasive strains express the l(3,7)9 or l10 immunotypes. moreover, sba results may be strain dependent because immunotypes differ in their sensitivity to complem ... | 2011 | 21593240 |
| effects of periodic presumptive treatment on three bacterial sexually transmissible infections and hiv among female sex workers in port moresby, papua new guinea. | background sexually transmissible infections (sti) are common in female sex workers (fsw). aim: to determine if 3-monthly periodic presumptive treatments (ppt) would reduce the prevalence of sti in fsw. methods: in a cohort study conducted between november 2003 and september 2004, fsw were enrolled, counselled and interviewed. informed consent was obtained. testing by using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for chlamydia trachomatis (ct), neisseria gonorrhoeae (ng) and trichomonas vaginalis (tv), ... | 2011 | 21592437 |
| a survey of primary care physician practices in antibiotic prescribing for the treatment of uncomplicated male gonoccocal urethritis. | abstract: background: the development of resistance to antimicrobial therapy by neisseria gonorrhoeae causes on-going problems for individual case management of gonorrhoea. surveillance data about n. gonorrhoeae have indicated an increase in the incidence of gonorrhoea in france in 2006. as a consequence of the development of antibiotic resistance in n. gonorrhoeae, french guidelines excluded fluoroquinolones as a standard treatment for n. gonorrhoeae. ceftriaxone became the recommended treatmen ... | 2011 | 21592343 |
| transcriptome analysis of neisseria meningitidis in human whole blood and mutagenesis studies identify virulence factors involved in blood survival. | during infection neisseria meningitidis (nm) encounters multiple environments within the host, which makes rapid adaptation a crucial factor for meningococcal survival. despite the importance of invasion into the bloodstream in the meningococcal disease process, little is known about how nm adapts to permit survival and growth in blood. to address this, we performed a time-course transcriptome analysis using an ex vivo model of human whole blood infection. we observed that nm alters the expressi ... | 2011 | 21589640 |
| is neisseria gonorrhoeae initiating a future era of untreatable gonorrhea? detailed characterization of the first high-level ceftriaxone resistant strain. | recently, the first neisseria gonorrhoeae strain (h041) that is highly resistant to the extended-spectrum cephalosporin (esc) ceftriaxone, the last remaining option for empirical first-line treatment, was isolated. we performed a detailed characterization of h041, phenotypically and genetically, to confirm the finding, examine its antimicrobial resistance (amr) and elucidate the resistance mechanisms. h041 was examined using seven species-confirmatory tests, antibiograms (30 antimicrobials), por ... | 2011 | 21576437 |
| sodc-based real-time pcr for detection of neisseria meningitidis. | real-time pcr (rt-pcr) is a widely used molecular method for detection of neisseria meningitidis (nm). several rt-pcr assays for nm target the capsule transport gene, ctra. however, over 16% of meningococcal carriage isolates lack ctra, rendering this target gene ineffective at identification of this sub-population of meningococcal isolates. the cu-zn superoxide dismutase gene, sodc, is found in nm but not in other neisseria species. to better identify nm, regardless of capsule genotype or expre ... | 2011 | 21573213 |
| risk of sexually transmitted infections and violence among indoor-working female sex workers in london: the effect of migration from eastern europe. | objectives to examine risk factors associated with hiv and sexually transmitted infections (stis) and experience of physical and sexual violence among sex workers in london, with a particular focus on differences in risk between migrants from eastern europe (ee) or the former soviet union (fsu) and uk-born sex workers. methods the authors conducted a cross-sectional survey of sex workers born in the uk, ee or fsu (n=268), collecting behavioural data, testing for antibodies to hiv and treponema p ... | 2011 | 21572111 |
| cefixime-resistant neisseria gonorrhoeae in the uk: a time to reflect on practice and recommendations. | a 40-year-old man who has sex with men (msm) with urethral gonorrhoea failed to respond to treatment with 400 mg cefixime orally. laboratory isolation of the post-treatment strain showed a minimum inhibitory concentration of ≥0.25 mg/l, which is a level of tolerance to cefixime that has not been previously documented in the uk. this case illustrates the importance of assessing all patients after treatment for gonorrhoea so that treatment failure and antibiotic resistance can be identified. it is ... | 2011 | 21571983 |
| the contribution of oral sex to male urethral neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in tel-aviv district, israel. | the incidence of neisseria gonorrhoeae (ng) in tel-aviv district, israel has increased since the mid-1990s. this study aimed to address behavioural attributes and identify the sources of ng infection. of 1234 ng cases in men reported between 2000 and 2004, 379 (31%) were interviewed. most were single, heterosexual and israeli-born. insertive oral sex (os) was reported by 77% patients and vaginal intercourse by 69%, where condoms were used by 4% and 40% for these practices, respectively. unprotec ... | 2011 | 21571972 |
| post-injury treatment with lipopolysaccharide or lipooligosaccharide protects rat neuronal and glial cell cultures. | traumatic brain injury (tbi) is a major cause of disability in civilians and military personnel worldwide that is caused by the acceleration force of a primary shockwave, blast wind or the force of a direct contact. following the primary injury, secondary injury is caused by activation of the immune response due to an influx of neuro-inflammatory cells, increased production of inflammatory cytokines, and edema. in ischemia models pre-conditioning with lipopolysaccharide (lps) has been shown to b ... | 2011 | 21571046 |
| prevalence and genetic diversity of candidate vaccine antigens among invasive neisseria meningitidis isolates in the united states. | neisseria meningitidis (nm) serogroups b, c and y are the major causes of meningococcal diseases in the united states. nmb accounts for ∼1/3 of the disease but no licensed vaccine is yet available. two candidate vaccines are being developed specifically to target nmb, but may also provide protection against other serogroups. to assess the potential impact of these vaccines on nmb and other serogroups causing disease in the us, we determined the prevalence, genetic diversity and epidemiological c ... | 2011 | 21571026 |
| immunogenicity of a meningococcal native outer membrane vesicle vaccine with attenuated endotoxin and over-expressed factor h binding protein in infant rhesus monkeys. | we previously investigated immunogenicity of meningococcal native outer membrane vesicle (nomv) vaccines prepared from recombinant strains with attenuated endotoxin (δlpxl1) and over-expressed factor h binding protein (fhbp) in a mouse model. the vaccines elicited broad serum bactericidal antibody responses. while human toll-like receptor 4 (tlr-4) is mainly stimulated by wildtype meningococcal endotoxin, mouse tlr-4 is stimulated by both the wildtype and mutant endotoxin. an adjuvant effect in ... | 2011 | 21571025 |
| multiple strategies to improve sensitivity, speed and robustness of isothermal nucleic acid amplification for rapid pathogen detection. | abstract: | 2011 | 21569347 |
| hiv, sti prevalence and risk behaviours among women selling sex in lahore, pakistan. | abstract: background: more than 340 million cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (stis) were estimated to have occurred worldwide in 1995. previous studies have shown that the presence of other concomitant stis increases the likelihood of hiv transmission. the first national study of stis conducted in pakistan in 2004 revealed a high burden of stis among women selling sex. the hiv epidemic in pakistan has thus far followed the "asian epidemic model". earlier studies among women selli ... | 2011 | 21569319 |
| cefpodoxime 10 μg disc screening test for detection of neisseria gonorrhoeae with mosaic pbp2 and decreased susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins for public health purposes. | limnios a, tapsall j, kahlmeter j, hogan t, ray s, lam a, unemo m. cefpodoxime 10 μg disc screening test for detection of neisseria gonorrhoeae with mosaic pbp2 and decreased susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins for public health purposes. apmis 2011; 119: 356-63. antimicrobial resistance (amr) in neisseria gonorrhoeae remains a global public health problem. susceptibility to first-line treatment extended-spectrum cephalosporins (escs) is decreasing worldwide resulting in therapeut ... | 2011 | 21569093 |
| neisseria gonorrhoeae with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin --- san diego county, california, 2009. | a single 2 g dose of azithromycin effectively treats genitourinary infections caused by susceptible neisseria gonorrhoeae and has been used to treat uncomplicated gonorrhea in persons with cephalosporin allergy. however, azithromycin is not recommended as monotherapy because of concern over the emergence of resistance. instead, a 1 g dose of azithromycin is recommended as a component of dual therapy for gonorrhea, in conjunction with a cephalosporin (i.e., 250 mg of ceftriaxone or 400 mg of cefi ... | 2011 | 21566558 |
| in brief: a booster does of meninfococcal vaccine for adolescents. | 2011 | 21566543 | |
| cortisol kinetics in cerebrospinal fluid during bacterial meningitis. | bacterial meningitis (bm) remains an infectious disease with a significant morbidity and mortality. the aim of this study was to describe the kinetics of cerebrospinal fluid (csf) cortisol levels during bm and to assess its relationship to disease severity and etiology. a total of 55 patients with bm were enrolled in the study. elevated csf cortisol upon admission and its rapid decrease after starting therapy were associated with increased bm severity as assessed by the acute physiology and chro ... | 2011 | 21565504 |
| protein folding in bacterial adhesion: secretion and folding of classical monomeric autotransporters. | bacterial adhesins mediate the attachment of bacteria to their niches, such as the tissue of an infected host. adhesins have to be transported across the cell envelope to become active and during this secretion process they fold into their final conformation. this chapter focuses on the biogenesis of the classical monomeric autotransporter proteins, which are the most ubiquitous class of secreted proteins in gram-negative bacteria. they may function as adhesins, but other functions are also know ... | 2011 | 21557061 |
| [bacterial strains isolated from systemic infections and reported for evaluation and antibiotic resistance surveillance by the "dr. victor babeş" clinical hospital for infectious and tropical diseases, bucharest]. | testing antibiotic resistance of bacterial strains (compulsor, reported for earss surveillance) isolated from patients hospitalised for systemic infection in the "dr. v. babe" hospital for infectious and tropical diseases during 01.01.2005-11.11.2009, for a dynamic evaluation and for the surveillance of resistance emergence for certain classes of antibiotics. | 2010 | 21553481 |
| world health day 2011: combating antimicrobial resistance. | 2011 | 21552781 | |
| slow initial β-lactam infusion and oral paracetamol to treat childhood bacterial meningitis: a randomised, controlled trial. | background: new antimicrobials or adjunctive treatments have not substantially reduced mortality from acute childhood bacterial meningitis. paracetamol seems to have beneficial effects in bacteraemic adults and some experts recommend initial slow β-lactam infusion. we investigated whether these treatments had benefits in children with bacterial meningitis. methods: we did a prospective, double-blind, single-centre study with a two-by-two factorial design in luanda, angola. 723 participants aged ... | 2011 | 21550313 |
| comparative effects of carrier proteins on vaccine-induced immune response. | the efficacy of vaccines against major encapsulated bacterial pathogens -neisseria meningitidis, streptococcus pneumoniae, and haemophilus influenzae type b (hib) - has been significantly enhanced by conjugating the respective polysaccharides with different carrier proteins: diphtheria toxoid; non-toxic cross-reactive material of diphtheria toxin(197), tetanus toxoid, n. meningitidis outer membrane protein, and non-typeable h. influenzae-derived protein d. hib, meningococcal, and pneumococcal co ... | 2011 | 21549783 |
| structure of the uncomplexed neisseria meningitidis factor h-binding protein fhbp (rlp2086). | fhbp, a highly immunogenic outer membrane protein of neisseria meningitidis, is responsible for binding to human factor h, a multi-domain protein which is the central regulator of the alternative complement pathway. here, the crystal structure of mature fhbp determined at 2 å resolution is presented and is compared with the structure of the same protein in complex with factor h domains 6 and 7 recently solved using x-ray techniques. while the overall protein fold is well conserved, modifications ... | 2011 | 21543855 |
| biochemical characterization of the o-linked glycosylation pathway in neisseria gonorrhoeae responsible for biosynthesis of protein glycans containing n,n'-diacetylbacillosamine. | the o-linked protein glycosylation pathway in neisseria gonorrhoeae is responsible for the synthesis of a complex oligosaccharide on undecaprenyl diphosphate and subsequent en bloc transfer of the glycan to serine residues of select periplasmic proteins. protein glycosylation (pgl) genes have been annotated on the basis of bioinformatics and top-down mass spectrometry analysis of protein modifications in pgl-null strains [aas, f. e., et al. (2007) mol. microbiol. 65, 607-624; vik, a., et al. (20 ... | 2011 | 21542610 |
| virulence evolution of the human pathogen neisseria meningitidis by recombination in the core and accessory genome. | neisseria meningitidis is a naturally transformable, facultative pathogen colonizing the human nasopharynx. here, we analyze on a genome-wide level the impact of recombination on gene-complement diversity and virulence evolution in n. meningitidis. we combined comparative genome hybridization using microarrays (mcgh) and multilocus sequence typing (mlst) of 29 meningococcal isolates with computational comparison of a subset of seven meningococcal genome sequences. | 2011 | 21541312 |
| physical determinants of β-barrel membrane protein folding in lipid vesicles. | the spontaneous folding of two neisseria outer membrane proteins, opacity-associated (opa)(60) and opa(50) into lipid vesicles was investigated by systematically varying bulk and membrane properties. centrifugal fractionation coupled with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis mobility assays enabled the discrimination of aggregate, unfolded membrane-associated, and folded membrane-inserted protein states as well as the influence of ph, ionic strength, membrane surface potenti ... | 2011 | 21539780 |
| "remarkable improvement": sulfa drugs and pediatric meningococcal meningitis, 1937-1949. | 2011 | 21536616 | |
| ophthalmia neonatorum: what kind of prophylaxis? | objective. conjunctivitis during neonatal period occurs in 1-12% of all babies. ophthalmia neonatorum is an acute muco-purulent conjunctivitis occurring in the first month of birth. it is essentially an infection acquired during vaginal delivery. the most frequent infectious agents involved in ophthalmia neonatorum are chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae. methods. topical ocular prophylaxis must be instituted early after birth. recommended prophylactic regimen are: 1% nitrate solutio ... | 2011 | 21534852 |
| sequence-based predictions of lipooligosaccharide diversity in the neisseriaceae and their implication in pathogenicity. | endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (lps)/lipooligosaccharide (los)] is an important virulence determinant in gram negative bacteria. while the genetic basis of endotoxin production and its role in disease in the pathogenic neisseria has been extensively studied, little research has focused on the genetic basis of los biosynthesis in commensal neisseria. we determined the genomic sequences of a variety of commensal neisseria strains, and compared these sequences, along with other genomic sequences ava ... | 2011 | 21533118 |
| characterization of crga, a new partner of the mycobacterium tuberculosis peptidoglycan polymerization complexes. | the role(s) in cell division of the mycobacterium tuberculosis rv0011c gene product, a homolog of the streptomyces crga protein that is responsible for coordinating growth and cytokinesis in sporogenic aerial hyphae, is largely unknown. we show that an ecfp-crga(tb) fusion protein is localized to the cell membrane, midcell and cell pole regions in m. smegmatis. furthermore, the ecfp-crga(tb) fusion protein co-localized with ftsz-eyfp in m. smegmatis. bacterial two-hybrid assays indicated strong ... | 2011 | 21531798 |
| molecular characterization of the interaction between sialylated neisseria gonorrhoeae and factor h. | human factor h (hufh), a key inhibitor of the alternative pathway of complement, binds to neisseria gonorrhoeae and constitutes an important mechanism of human-specific complement evasion. the c-terminal domain 20 of hufh contains the binding site for sialylated gonococci. we exploited differences in amino acid sequences between human and non-binding chimpanzee fh domain 20 to create cross-species mutations to define amino acids important for binding to sialylated gonococci. we used fh/fc fusion ... | 2011 | 21531728 |
| meningococcal septic shock: is insulin lifesaving in children? | 2011 | 21530349 | |
| bacterial pathogenesis. neisseria meningitidis: hit and run. | 2011 | 21526512 | |
| differential response of primary and immortalized cd4 t cells to neisseria gonorrhoeae-induced cytokines determines the effect on hiv-1 replication. | to compare the effect of gonococcal co-infection on immortalized versus primary cd4(+) t cells the jurkat cell line or freshly isolated human cd4(+) t cells were infected with the hiv-1 x4 strain nl4-3. these cells were exposed to whole gonococci, supernatants from gonococcal-infected pbmcs, or n. gonorrhoeae-induced cytokines at varying levels. supernatants from gonococcal-infected pbmcs stimulated hiv-1 replication in jurkat cells while effectively inhibiting hiv-1 replication in primary cd4(+ ... | 2011 | 21526113 |
| characterization of a novel {beta}-lactamase-producing plasmid in neisseria gonorrhoeae: sequence analysis and molecular typing of host gonococci. | objectives to determine the complete nucleotide sequence of the novel johannesburg β-lactamase-encoding gonococcal plasmid (pem1) and to determine the strain relatedness of johannesburg plasmid-containing penicillinase-producing neisseria gonorrhoeae (ppng) by molecular typing. methods eleven ppng isolates containing the johannesburg β-lactamase-encoding plasmid were previously identified among gonococci isolated from men with urethral discharge attending a clinic in alexandra (johannesburg) usi ... | 2011 | 21525021 |
| [β(2) adrenergic receptor and b-arrestins: the meningococcal instruments to breach meninges]. | 2011 | 21524400 | |
| diagnostic relevance of simultaneous testing for chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhoeae. | background: the prevalence of chlamydia trachomatis (ct) and neisseria gonorrhoeae (ng) infection in a swiss cohort among individuals consulting for screening or symptomatic reasons is not very well known. methods: between january 2009 and january 2010, diagnostic samples referred to us to test for either ct or ng or both were simultaneously analysed for both infections. testing was performed using the commercial m2000sp and m2000rt devices from abbott diagnostics involving automated dna extract ... | 2011 | 21523404 |
| what is the best way to use conjugate vaccines? | the present review discusses recent advances, challenges and opportunities for the best use of conjugate vaccines now and in the future. | 2011 | 21522065 |
| taking the gonococcus-human relationship to a whole new level: implications for the coevolution of microbes and humans. | abstract while horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently among bacterial species, evidence for the transfer of dna from host to microbe is exceptionally rare. however, the recent report by anderson and seifert [mbio 2(1):e00005-11, 2011] provides evidence for such an event with the finding that 11% of neisseria gonorrhoeae strains harbor a 685-bp sequence that is 98 to 100% identical to the human long interspersed nuclear element l1. while the function of this element in gonococci remains uncle ... | 2011 | 21521723 |
| the relative contribution of viral and bacterial sexually transmitted infections on hiv acquisition in southern african women in the methods for improving reproductive health in africa study. | we assess the relative contribution of viral and bacterial sexually transmitted infections (stis) on hiv acquisition among southern african women in a nested case-control study within the methods for improving reproductive health in africa (mira) trial. cases were women with incident hiv infection; controls were hiv-uninfected at the time of case seroconversion selected in a 1 to 3 case to control ratio (risk-set sampling), matched on study site and time of follow-up. conditional logistic regres ... | 2011 | 21515755 |
| severity of bacterial vaginosis and the risk of sexually transmitted infection. | objective: the purpose of this study was to determine whether the association between bacterial vaginosis (bv) and incident sexually transmitted infection (sti) varies with more extreme bv scores. study design: we analyzed the data from 535 women who were enrolled in a randomized trial to promote dual method contraceptive use. incident sti was defined as any case of chlamydia trachomatis, neisseria gonorrhoeae, trichomonas vaginalis, or pelvic inflammatory disease. bv was defined by gram stain ( ... | 2011 | 21514555 |
| sequence analysis of serotype-specific synthesis regions ii of haemophilus influenzae serotypes c and d: evidence for common ancestry of capsule synthesis in pasteurellaceae and neisseria meningitidis. | sequencing of yet unknown haemophilus influenzae serotype c (hic) and d (hid) capsule synthesis regions ii revealed four (ccs1-4) and five (dcs1-5) open reading frames, respectively. the inferred gene functions were in line with capsular polysaccharide structures. one or more proteins encoded by the hic capsule synthesis region ii showed similarity to actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 and actinobacillus suis k1 enzymes. orthologues to the complete operon were observed in actinobacillus ... | 2011 | 21513796 |
| are saharan dust intrusions increasing the risk of meningococcal meningitis? | 2011 | 21511508 | |
| characterization of neisseria meningitidis isolates that do not express the virulence factor and vaccine antigen factor h binding protein. | neisseria meningitidis remains a leading cause of bacterial sepsis and meningitis. complement is a key component of natural immunity against this important human pathogen, which has evolved multiple mechanisms to evade complement-mediated lysis. one approach adopted by the meningococcus is to recruit a human negative regulator of the complement system, factor h (fh), to its surface via a lipoprotein, factor h binding protein (fhbp). additionally, fhbp is a key antigen in vaccines currently being ... | 2011 | 21508163 |
| [invasive meningococcal disease due to neisseria meningitidis serogroup y.] | 2011 | 21507532 | |
| dissemination of neisseria meningitidis. | 2011 | 21506747 | |
| hospital costs, length of stay and mortality associated with childhood, adolescent and young adult meningococcal disease in the us. | assessments of vaccination programmes should account for several important factors, including efficacy, safety and costs of preventing and treating the disease. because patients with invasive meningococcal disease (imd) are managed primarily in an inpatient setting, hospital costs and outcomes are central endpoints in health economic evaluations of imd. | 2011 | 21506625 |
| fatal meningococcal meningitis in a hiv-infected patient caused by serogroup c neisseria meningitidis belonging to the non-hypervirulent clonal complex st-60 (cc60). | meningococcal strains belonging to clonal complex cc60 are not associated with hypervirulent lineages and were never reported as causing disease in latin american countries. this is the first report of a fatal meningitis case caused by a cc60 clonal complex meningococcus in brazil. despite the immune-compromised state of the patient, the fatal outcome here described shows the potential pathogenic behavior of strains belonging to this clonal complex and how compromised hosts can be susceptible to ... | 2011 | 21503409 |
| filamentous bacteriophage: biology, phage display and nanotechnology applications. | filamentous bacteriophage, long and thin filaments that are secreted from the host cells without killing them, have been an antithesis to the standard view of head-and-tail bacterial killing machines. episomally replicating filamentous phage ff of escherichia coli provide the majority of information about the principles and mechanisms of filamentous phage infection, episomal replication and assembly. chromosomally- integrated "temperate" filamentous phage have complex replication and integration ... | 2011 | 21502666 |
| site-specific enzymatic polysialylation of therapeutic proteins using bacterial enzymes. | the posttranslational modification of therapeutic proteins with terminal sialic acids is one means of improving their circulating half-life, thereby improving their efficiency. we have developed a two-step in vitro enzymatic modification of glycoproteins, which has previously only been achieved by chemical means [gregoriadis g, jain s, papaioannou i, laing p (2005) int j pharm 300:125-130). this two-step procedure uses the campylobacter jejuni cst-ii α2,8-sialyltransferase to provide a primer on ... | 2011 | 21502532 |
| an evaluation of emerging vaccines for childhood meningococcal disease. | meningococcal meningitis is a major cause of disease worldwide, with frequent epidemics particularly affecting an area of sub-saharan africa known as the "meningitis belt". neisseria meningitidis group a (mena) is responsible for major epidemics in africa. recently w-135 has emerged as an important pathogen. currently, the strategy for control of such outbreaks is emergency use of meningococcal (mc) polysaccharide vaccines, but these have a limited ability to induce herd immunity and elicit an a ... | 2011 | 21501447 |