Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| anthrax as the cause of preseptal cellulitis. | anthrax is an infectious disease caused by bacillus anthracis. it is primarily a disease of domestic animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep; but humans can rarely be infected by contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. our case is a 4-year-old boy who was initially diagnosed as preseptal cellulitis, but later he showed the characteristic anthrax lesions with a black necrotic eschar. scrapings from the necrotic tissue showed gram positive rods and culture grew bacillus ant ... | 1997 | 9374261 |
| admission on gulf war vaccines spurs debate on medical records. | 1997 | 9363878 | |
| the "anthrax" of two byzantine emperors: constantine v (741-775) and leo iv (775-780). | 1997 | 9352419 | |
| cytotoxicity of anthrax lethal factor microinjected into macrophage cells through sendai virus envelopes. | lethal toxin (lt) secreted by bacillus anthracis consists of two proteins, protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf). lt causes lysis of macrophages and derived cell lines at low concentrations. pa binds to the cell surface receptors and mediates translocation of lf into cytosol of mammalian cells. internalization of lf into cytosol by osmotic lysis of pinocytic vesicles requires high concentration of lf for cell lysis. to examine the possible cell lysis by lf at low concentration, we intro ... | 1997 | 9343949 |
| targeting hiv proteins to the major histocompatibility complex class i processing pathway with a novel gp120-anthrax toxin fusion protein. | a challenge for subunit vaccines whose goal is to elicit cd8(+) cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctls) is to deliver the antigen to the cytosol of the living cell, where it can be processed for presentation by major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i molecules. several bacterial toxins have evolved to efficiently deliver catalytic protein moieties to the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. anthrax lethal toxin consists of two distinct proteins that combine to form the active toxin. protective antigen (pa ... | 1997 | 9342362 |
| animal health risks associated with ostrich products. | five diseases recorded in ostriches are regarded as posing a potential animal health threat to meat-importing countries. newcastle disease causes an atypically low mortality in ostriches: infected birds display typical nervous symptoms but no pathognomonic lesions which could be detected during post-mortem inspection. the vaccination of feedlot birds and a thorough ante-mortem examination are regarded as necessary precautions to ensure virus carriers are not among those animals destined for slau ... | 1997 | 9329111 |
| animal health risks associated with the transportation and utilisation of wildlife products. | the animal health risks associated with the movement of wildlife products are infinitely less than those associated with the movement of live animals. very few pathogens are sufficiently robust to survive the significant changes in temperature, ph, moisture content and osmolality which occur post mortem, or which are associated with preservation processes such as pickling, smoking or drying. certain pathogens, however, (e.g. foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever [hog cholera] and african ... | 1997 | 9329110 |
| diagnosis: cutaneous anthrax. | 1997 | 9314446 | |
| experimentally assessed public health risks associated with pigs from farms experiencing anthrax. | following an outbreak of anthrax in an intensive pig rearing unit in north wales in 1989 a study was initiated by the ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food to assess public health risks during such an outbreak. of 50 pigs infected by the addition of bacillus anthracis spores to their feed, two died of anthrax six and eight days later. the remainder were observed for 21 days and exhibited only mild and transient clinical signs of disease. as judged by the results of bacteriological culture ... | 1997 | 9308148 |
| delivery of antigens to the mhc class i pathway using bacterial toxins. | cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl) recognize antigens derived from endogenously expressed proteins presented on the cell surface in the context of major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i molecules. because ctl are effective in antiviral and antitumor responses, the delivery of antigens to the class i pathway has been the focus of numerous efforts. generating ctl by immunization with exogenous proteins is often ineffective because these antigens typically enter the mhc class ii pathway. this re ... | 1997 | 9297531 |
| [elucidation of functionally active domains in molecules of protective antigen bacillus anthracis's toxin]. | limited proteolysis has established that the protective antigen (pa) molecule consists of four functional-active domains. so, the shielding domain borrows an area in the linear structure of the pa molecule with nh2 of the end up to lys 166 and plays a conducting role in the proteolytic activation of pa. the associative domain, engaging in the area arg 167-met266, plays a key role in the interaction with lf or ef at self-assembly toxic complexes lt or et. the stabilizing domain borrows in the lin ... | 1997 | 9289273 |
| [molecular mechanisms underlying bacillus anthracis infection at early stages and search for novel vaccines]. | the developmental mechanisms of anthrax immunity were studied. immunization was found to generally generate specific antibodies and lysozyme. collectively, all the factors are responsible for suppressing the development of spores in the body. this proves the fact that the immunity is directed not only towards the exotoxin of b. anthracis, but it affects mainly the formation of vegetative cells. on entering the immuned body, vegetative cells may cause b. anthracis infection because antitoxic anti ... | 1997 | 9289272 |
| molecular biology of s-layers. | in this chapter we report on the molecular biology of crystalline surface layers of different bacterial groups. the limited information indicates that there are many variations on a common theme. sequence variety, antigenic diversity, gene expression, rearrangements, influence of environmental factors and applied aspects are addressed. there is considerable variety in the s-layer composition, which was elucidated by sequence analysis of the corresponding genes. in corynebacterium glutamicum one ... | 1997 | 9276928 |
| membrane insertion: the strategies of toxins (review). | protein toxins are soluble molecules secreted by pathogenic bacteria which act at the plasma membrane or in the cytoplasm of target cells. they must therefore interact with a membrane at some point, either to modify its permeability properties or to reach the cytoplasm. as a consequence, toxins have the built-in capacity to adopt two generally incompatible states: water-soluble and transmembrane. irrespective of their origin or function, the membrane interacting domain of most protein toxins see ... | 1997 | 9253764 |
| the agents of biological warfare. | 1997 | 9244340 | |
| iraq's biological weapons. the past as future? | between 1985 and april 1991, iraq developed anthrax, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin for biological warfare; 200 bombs and 25 ballistic missiles laden with biological agents were deployed by the time operation desert storm occurred. although cause for concern, if used during the persian gulf war, iraq's biological warfare arsenal probably would have been militarily ineffective for 3 reasons: (1) it was small; (2) payload dispersal mechanisms were inefficient; and (3) coalition forces dominated th ... | 1997 | 9244334 |
| clinical recognition and management of patients exposed to biological warfare agents. | concern regarding the use of biological agents--bacteria, viruses, or toxins--as tools of warfare or terrorism has led to measures to deter their use or, failing that, to deal with the consequences. unlike chemical agents, which typically lead to violent disease syndromes within minutes at the site of exposure, diseases resulting from biological agents have incubation periods of days. therefore, rather than a paramedic, it will likely be a physician who is first faced with evidence of the result ... | 1997 | 9244332 |
| [necrotic chin lesion in a patient with a meningeal syndrome]. | 1997 | 9235059 | |
| a role for pace4 in the proteolytic activation of anthrax toxin protective antigen. | several bacterial protein toxins require activation by eukaryotic proteases. previous studies have shown that anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa), pseudomonas exotoxin a (pe), and diphtheria toxin (dt) are cleaved by furin c-terminal to the sequences rkkr, rqpr, and rvrr, respectively. because furin-deficient cells retain some sensitivity to pa and dt, it is evident that other cellular proteases can activate these toxins. whereas furin has been shown to require arginine residues at positions - ... | 1997 | 9234799 |
| the anthrax toxin activator gene atxa is associated with co2-enhanced non-toxin gene expression in bacillus anthracis. | the bacillus anthracis toxin genes, cya, lef, and pag, can be viewed as a regulon, in which transcription of all three genes is activated in trans by the same regulatory gene, atxa, in response to the same signal, co2. in atxa+ strains, toxin gene expression is increased 5- to 20-fold in cells grown in 5% co2 relative to cells grown in air. co2-enhanced toxin gene transcription is not observed in atx4-null mutants. here, we used two independent techniques to obtain evidence for additional co2-in ... | 1997 | 9234759 |
| [the isolation of the surface antigen from vegetative cells of bacillus anthracis sti-1 and study of its protective properties]. | the method for the extraction of native surface protein antigen with a mol. wt. of 92 kd from vegetative cells of b.anthracis sti-1 and its purification was developed. the antigen was extracted with 3% sodium lauryl sarcosylate at 4 degrees c from bacterial mass previously treated with 0.1 m tris-hcl buffer solution, ph 8.0 purification was carried out by adsorption chromatography on hydroxylapatite. the isolated protein antigen with a mol. wt. of 92 kd was electrophoretically and immunochemical ... | 1997 | 9221667 |
| anthrax meningoencephalitis: radiologic findings. | 1997 | 9207572 | |
| the economic impact of a bioterrorist attack: are prevention and postattack intervention programs justifiable? | understanding and quantifying the impact of a bioterrorist attack are essential in developing public health preparedness for such an attack. we constructed a model that compares the impact of three classic agents of biologic warfare (bacillus anthracis, brucella melitensis, and francisella tularensis) when released as aerosols in the suburb of a major city. the model shows that the economic impact of a bioterrorist attack can range from an estimated $477.7 million per 100,000 persons exposed (br ... | 1997 | 9204289 |
| regulation of anthrax toxin activator gene (atxa) expression in bacillus anthracis: temperature, not co2/bicarbonate, affects atxa synthesis. | anthrax toxin gene expression in bacillus anthracis is dependent on the presence of atxa, a trans-acting regulatory gene located on the resident 185-kb plasmid pxo1. in atxa+ strains, expression of the toxin genes (pag, lef, and cya) is enhanced by two physiologically significant signals: elevated co2/bicarbonate and temperature. to determine whether increased toxin gene expression in response to these signals is associated with increased atxa expression, we monitored steady-state levels of atxa ... | 1997 | 9199422 |
| drainage a factor in anthrax outbreak. | 1997 | 9196812 | |
| acute abdomen due to anthrax. | 1997 | 9189095 | |
| anthrax post-vaccinal cell-mediated immunity in humans: kinetics pattern. | seven groups (2596 subjects) were vaccinated with a human live anthrax vaccine (hlav) by three different routes (scarification, subcutaneous and aerosol). the vaccinees were tested for anthrax cell-mediated immunity using the "anthraxin" skin test at 7, 15, 30, 90, 180 and 365 days following vaccination. the kinetic pattern obtained from all groups, shows a significant, five-phased curve: phase i (2-6 days post-vaccination) shows a slow increase in positive anthraxin skin reactions. phase ii (7- ... | 1997 | 9178463 |
| expression and purification of anthrax toxin protective antigen from escherichia coli. | anthrax toxin consists of three separate proteins, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef). pa binds to the receptor on mammalian cells and facilitates translocation of ef or lf into the cytosol. pa is the primary component of several anthrax vaccines. in this study we expressed and purified pa from escherichia coli. the purification of pa from e. coli was possible after transporting the protein into the periplasmic space using the outer membrane protein a signal seque ... | 1996 | 9172780 |
| a recombinant bacillus anthracis strain producing the clostridium perfringens ib component induces protection against iota toxins. | the bacillus anthracis toxinogenic sterne strain is currently used as a live veterinary vaccine against anthrax. the capacity of a toxin-deficient derivative strain to produce a heterologous antigen by using the strong inducible promoter of the b. anthracis pag gene was investigated. the expression of the foreign gene ibp, encoding the ib component of iota toxin from clostridium perfringens, was analyzed. a pag-ibp fusion was introduced by allelic exchange into a toxin-deficient sterne strain, t ... | 1997 | 9169728 |
| penicillin resistance in bacillus anthracis. | 1997 | 9167471 | |
| preparation for emergency relief after biological warfare. | upon invitation by the world health organization during the gulf war, a task force "scorpio" independent from the nations involved in the armed conflict was formed whose task was to determine whether, which and to what extent biological warfare agents had been used. risk assessment concluded that anthrax and clostridium botulinum toxin were the major risks. the 21 civilian experts had rapidly to decide on the doctrine of operation, to assemble material which could be used and to be immunized or ... | 1997 | 9138135 |
| factors associated with human anthrax outbreak in the chikupo and ngandu villages of murewa district in mashonaland east province, zimbabwe. | to determine factors associated with human anthrax. | 1996 | 9130412 |
| atxa activates the transcription of genes harbored by both bacillus anthracis virulence plasmids. | fully virulent bacillus anthracis bacilli are encapsulated and toxinogenic. these bacteria carry two plasmids, pxo1, and pxo2, encoding toxins and capsule synthetic-enzymes (capb, c, a, dep), respectively. the pxo1 plasmid strongly enhances capsule formation. this influence was studied by analysing the expression of a capb-lacz fusion in various backgrounds. the beta-galactosidase activities were similar in a delta atxa strain and a pxo1 cured strain. moreover, the capb-lacz expression level cou ... | 1997 | 9119194 |
| anthrax in northern alberta. | 1996 | 9111698 | |
| bovine anthrax in eastern ontario. | 1996 | 9111696 | |
| cross-talk to the genes for bacillus anthracis capsule synthesis by atxa, the gene encoding the trans-activator of anthrax toxin synthesis. | the two major virulence factors of bacillus anthracis are the tripartite toxin and the polyglutamate capsule, which are encoded by genes on the large plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2, respectively. the genes atxa, located on pxo1, and acpa, located on pxo2, encode positive trans-acting proteins that are involved in bicarbonate-mediated regulation of toxin and capsule production, respectively. a derivative strain cured of pxo1 produced less capsular substance than the parent strain harbouring both pxo1 an ... | 1997 | 9106214 |
| molecular characterization of the bacillus anthracis main s-layer component: evidence that it is the major cell-associated antigen. | bacillus anthracis, the aetiological agent of anthrax, is a gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. the cell wall of vegetative cells of b. anthracis is surrounded by an s-layer. an array remained when sap, a gene described as encoding an s-layer component, was deleted. the remaining s-layer component, termed ea1, is chromosomally encoded. the gene encoding ea1 (eag) was obtained on two overlapping fragments in escherichia coli and shown to be continuous to the sap gene. the ea1 amino acid sequen ... | 1997 | 9106206 |
| characterization of the variable-number tandem repeats in vrra from different bacillus anthracis isolates. | pcr analysis of 198 bacillus anthracis isolates revealed a variable region of dna sequence differing in length among the isolates. five polymorphisms differed by the presence of two to six copies of the 12-bp tandem repeat 5'-caatatcaacaa-3'. this variable-number tandem repeat (vntr) region is located within a larger sequence containing one complete open reading frame that encodes a putative 30-kda protein. length variation did not change the reading frame of the encoded protein and only changed ... | 1997 | 9097438 |
| anthrax pneumonia. | inhalation anthrax is a rare and almost uniformly fatal form of human anthrax caused by the inhalation of spores of bacillus anthracis. a clue to the diagnosis is provided by taking a work history which will disclose patient exposure to contaminated animal products, most often animal hair and wool used in the textile industry. it is an illness with a biphasic course marked by the presence of a widened mediastinum on chest radiograph and often accompanied by hemorrhagic meningitis. the pathogenes ... | 1997 | 9097373 |
| more than one way to make a hole. | 1997 | 9095187 | |
| a case of human anthrax in victoria. | a human case of anthrax was identified through surveillance of knackery workers who had been exposed to infected cattle. the outbreak in cattle has affected 38 herds in the stanhope/tatura area of central northern victoria. the human case, a 39 year old male, was treated in hospital and is recovering. surveillance of other knackery workers has now been completed, and no other cases were found. public health measures are in place to prevent further human cases. | 1997 | 9079594 |
| pyrolysis mass spectrometry studies on bacillus anthracis, bacillus cereus and their close relatives. | pyrolysis mass spectrometry was used to examine strains of b. anthracis, of b. cereus, of b.cereus either proven to cause emetic illness or connected with outbreaks of emetic food poisoning and of b.thuringiensis. analysis of the data-set for all strains allowed differentiation between b.anthracis, the emetic b.cereus and b.thuringiensis but b.cereus strains could not be clearly discriminated. removal of data for the b.thuringiensis and the emetic b.cereus strains, followed by re-analysis, allow ... | 1997 | 9060166 |
| recent advances in capillary electrophoresis of dna fragments and pcr products. | 1997 | 9056882 | |
| extraordinary case report: cutaneous anthrax. | anthrax is a very rare disease in the united kingdom. it is caused by the spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. humans become infected when they come into contact with infected animals or their products. cutaneous anthrax, the most common form of the disease, accounts for 95% of cases, and the disease usually developing on exposed sites. we present a patient who developed cutaneous disease after exposure to untreated leather. owing to the initial clinical information, the biopsy specimen w ... | 1997 | 9056659 |
| [the biological penetration of an intestinal wound]. | 1995 | 9053150 | |
| crystal structure of the anthrax toxin protective antigen. | protective antigen (pa) is the central component of the three-part protein toxin secreted by bacillus anthracis, the organism responsible for anthrax. after proteolytic activation on the host cell surface, pa forms a membrane-inserting heptamer that translocates the toxic enzymes, oedema factor and lethal factor, into the cytosol. pa, which has a relative molecular mass of 83,000 (m(r) 83k), can also translocate heterologous proteins, and is being evaluated for use as a general protein delivery ... | 1997 | 9039918 |
| the timing of immunization affects the development of diabetes in rodents. | insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (iddm) is an autoimmune disease that can be altered by immune modulation. nod mice and bb rats have been used as models of spontaneous iddm. the development of diabetes in these animals has been altered by several different immune modulators using relatively high doses for the size of the animal. the effect of pharmaceutical doses of vaccines on the development of diabetes in these rodents has not been adequately studied. | 1996 | 9020406 |
| molecular evolution and diversity in bacillus anthracis as detected by amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. | bacillus anthracis causes anthrax and represents one of the most molecularly monomorphic bacteria known. we have used aflp (amplified fragment length polymorphism) dna markers to analyze 78 b. anthracis isolates and six related bacillus species for molecular variation. aflp markers are extremely sensitive to even small sequence variation, using pcr and high-resolution electrophoresis to examine restriction fragments. using this approach, we examined ca. 6.3% of the bacillus genome for length mut ... | 1997 | 9006038 |
| anthrax: memorandum from a who meeting. | the risk of anthrax can be reduced through international collaboration in health education and training, promotion of research, and provision of scientific and technical advice. these issues were discussed by a who working group on anthrax in september 1995, and this memorandum presents their priority concerns and recommendations in several areas: surveillance, epidemiology, diagnosis in humans and in animals, prevention and control, and international cooperation. | 1996 | 9002326 |
| [detection of the functionally active domains in the molecule of the lethal factor of the anthrax exotoxin]. | three functional domains were revealed in the molecule of the lethal factor of b. anthracis. they are located in the linear structure of the molecula as follows: the associative domain occupies the area from lys39 to met242, the stabilizing domain from leu517 to lys614, and the effector domain still further to the cooh-terminal lys mino acid. | 1996 | 8999313 |
| [detection of the functionally active domains in the molecule of protective antigen of the anthrax exotoxin]. | using the limited proteolysis method, we established that the protective antigen (pa) molecule consists of four functionally active domains. the shielding domain occupies an area in the linear structure of the molecule pa with nh4-terminal up to lys166 and plays an important role in the proteolytic activation of pa. the associative domain situated in the arg167-met266 region is responsible for interactions with either lethal or edematous factors in self-assembly of the toxic complexes of the let ... | 1996 | 8999312 |
| immunological and functional comparison between clostridium perfringens iota toxin, c. spiroforme toxin, and anthrax toxins. | clostridium perfringens iota and c. spiroforme toxins consist of two separate proteins. one is the binding component and the other the enzymatic component. the two toxins secreted by bacillus anthracis are composed of binary combinations of three proteins: protective antigen, lethal factor, and edema factor. as shown by western blotting and elisa, the binding component of anthrax toxin shares common epitopes with that of iota toxin and c. spiroforme toxin which are closely related immunologicall ... | 1997 | 8997715 |
| thermostabilization of protective antigen--the binding component of anthrax lethal toxin. | protective antigen (pa) is the binding component of anthrax lethal toxin produced by bacillus anthracis, and constitutes a major ingredient of the vaccine against anthrax. pa and lethal factor when added together are cytolytic to mouse macrophages and j774g8 macrophage cell line. this in vitro lethal toxicity assay is very useful in understanding the molecular mechanism of action of lethal toxin. effective utilization of pa is, however, hampered due to its thermolability. on prolonged storage at ... | 1996 | 8987626 |
| zoonoses control 1995. | 1996 | 8987421 | |
| the cytotoxic activity of bacillus anthracis lethal factor is inhibited by leukotriene a4 hydrolase and metallopeptidase inhibitors. | the lethal factor of bacillus anthracis is central to the pathogenesis of anthrax. its mechanism of action is still unknown. recently, on the basis of sequence similarities, we suggested that lethal factor might act similarly to leukotriene a4 hydrolase (lta4), a bifunctional enzyme also endowed with a metallopeptidase activity. here we show that some inhibitors of the lta4 hydrolase and metallopeptidase activities of lta4 hydrolase also affect the cytotoxicity of the anthrax lethal factor on ma ... | 1996 | 8973585 |
| assay development for a portable fiberoptic biosensor. | the fiberoptic biosensor with tapered optical probes has been developed to perform rapid and sensitive fluoroimmunoassays. a number of assays for biologic analytes were developed using a laboratory breadboard device that employed a large, 514 nm argon ion laser. these assays, with limits of detection of 5-50 ng/ml for protein antigens, showed promise for clinical use because of their demonstrated lack of matrix effects from plasma, seru, or blood. however, such a large device was impractical for ... | 1996 | 8959266 |
| differential influence of the two bacillus anthracis plasmids on regulation of virulence gene expression. | fully virulent bacillus anthracis bacilli are encapsulated and toxinogenic. these bacteria contain two plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2, carrying genes coding for toxins (pag, lef, and cya) and for capsule synthetic enzymes (capb, capc, capa, and dep), respectively. a transcriptional fusion between the capb regulatory region and the lacz reporter gene was constructed to study the regulation of capsule synthesis. a single copy of this fusion was inserted into the cap region of pxo2. the influence of envir ... | 1996 | 8945528 |
| secondary structure of anthrax lethal toxin proteins and their interaction with large unilamellar vesicles: a fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy approach. | attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to study the secondary structure of anthrax lethal toxin proteins: protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf), as a function of ph in the absence and in the presence of phospholipid vesicles. we first characterized the binding of lf and pa to the lipid membrane and demonstrated the strong ph dependence of the association of pa and lf to the lipid bilayer as well as the effect of ph neutralization on this bindin ... | 1996 | 8942659 |
| anthrax in cattle in southern western australia. | 1996 | 8941423 | |
| identification and characterization of bacillus anthracis by multiplex pcr analysis of sequences on plasmids pxo1 and pxo2 and chromosomal dna. | bacillus anthracis can be identified on the basis of the detection of virulence factor genes located on two plasmids, pxo1 and pxo2. thus isolates lacking both pxo1 and pxo2 are indistinguishable from closely related b. cereus group bacteria. we developed a multiplex pcr assay for characterization of b. anthracis isolates, and simultaneous confirmation of the species identity independent of plasmid content. the assay amplifies lef, cya, pag (pxo1) and cap (pxo2) genes, and a b. anthracis specifi ... | 1996 | 8931320 |
| [delayed hypersensitivity in man after booster anthrax vaccination]. | the purpose of this study was to ascertain the need for boosters after administration of sti anthrax vaccine. postvaccination dynamics was assessed by observing the intradermic reaction of anthraxine. the study included 138 subjects vaccinated 15 months earlier by subcutaneous injection or 128 subjects vaccinated 24 months earlier by aerosol inhalation. subjects were tested using the anthraxine test in separate groups on d2, d7, d15, d90, d180, and d365 after administration of the booster via th ... | 1996 | 8926874 |
| emerging & re-emerging bacterial pathogens in india. | in spite of major successes against infectious diseases in the 20th century, new infectious diseases have emerged and old ones re-emerged in recent decades in different parts of the world. a brief survey of emerging and re-emerging bacterial diseases of public health importance in india is presented in this paper. plague re-appeared in two outbreaks in maharashtra and gujarat in 1994, indicating a breakdown of the public health measures that had prevented its occurrence for several decades. lept ... | 1996 | 8926026 |
| the specter of biological weapons. | 1996 | 8923762 | |
| anthraxin skin testing: an alternative method for anthrax vaccine and post-vaccinal immunity assessment. | 1996 | 8921737 | |
| isolation of a specific chromosomic dna sequence of bacillus anthracis and its possible use in diagnosis. | a 277-bp long dna fragment, ba813, was isolated from an avirulent bacillus anthracis strain 7700 genomic library. two oligonucleotides derived from the ba813 sequence were used as primers in polymerase chain reaction tests on genomic dna from 28 bacillus anthracis and from 33 heterologous bacteria strains. a specific, 152-bp long dna fragment was amplified only when bacillus anthracis dna was used as the target. the amplified product was analysed by non-radioactive sandwich hybridisation in micr ... | 1996 | 8908483 |
| anthrax toxin-mediated delivery of a cytotoxic t-cell epitope in vivo. | the protective antigen (pa) component of anthrax toxin mediates entry of the toxin's lethal factor (lf) and edema factor into the cytosolic compartment of mammalian cells. the amino-terminal domain of lf (lfn; 255 amino acids) binds lf to pa, and when fused to heterologous proteins, the lfn domain delivers such proteins to the cytoplasm in the presence of pa. in the current study, we fused a 9-amino acid cytotoxic t-lymphocyte (ctl) epitope (llo91-99) from an intracellular pathogen, listeria mon ... | 1996 | 8901616 |
| exotoxin a production in pseudomonas aeruginosa requires the iron-regulated pvds gene encoding an alternative sigma factor. | exotoxin a (eta) is secreted by pseudomonas aeruginosa under iron-limiting growth conditions. the eta structural gene, toxa, is regulated at the transcriptional level by the gene products of the regab operon. the expression of both toxa and regab is repressed under iron-replete conditions, suggesting a role for the ferric uptake regulator (fur) in regulation of eta synthesis; however, the fur protein does not interact directly with the toxa or the regab promoters. evidence is presented that the ... | 1996 | 8885271 |
| characterization of lethal factor binding and cell receptor binding domains of protective antigen of bacillus anthracis using monoclonal antibodies. | lethal toxin from bacillus anthracis is composed of protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf). anti-pa mabs that neutralized lethal toxin activity, either in vivo or in vitro, identified three non-overlapping antigenic regions on pa. two distinct antigenic regions were recognized by the four mabs that neutralized lethal toxin activity by inhibiting the binding of 125i-lf to cell-bound pa. mapping showed that one mab, 1g3pa63, recognized an epitope on a 17 kda fragment located between amino ... | 1996 | 8868446 |
| phi 20, a temperate bacteriophage isolated from bacillus anthracis exists as a plasmidial prophage. | this study describes the isolation of temperate b. anthracis phages, from 4 out of 20 b. anthracis strains screened, by use of the inducing agents mitomycin c and uv light. phage phi 20 isolated from b. anthracis sterne 34f2 (pxo1+ pxo2-) was shown to have double-stranded dna of size 48756 bp and a restriction site map showing nine sites for enzymes bamhi, bglii, and ssti is included. the phi 20 genome was found to exist as a plasmidial prophage and the phage itself to have a polyhedral head of ... | 1996 | 8867457 |
| strategies for the prevention of a successful biological warfare aerosol attack. | biological warfare (bw) aerosol attacks are different from chemical attacks in that they may provide no warning/all clear signals that allow the soldier to put on or remove his m17/m40 protective mask. methods are now being perfected to detect a bw aerosol cloud using an airborne (helicopter) pulsed laser system to scan the lower altitudes upwind from a troop concentration of corps size, and to sample and analyze the nature of the aerosol within a brief time interval. this system has certain lim ... | 1996 | 8855053 |
| [the pathogenesis of bacillus anthracis]. | 1996 | 8840814 | |
| cytotoxic effects of anthrax lethal toxin on macrophage-like cell line j774a.1. | the cytotoxic effects of anthrax lethal toxin purified from an avirulent strain were examined on mouse macrophage-like j774a.1 cells. cell death induced by high concentration of purified lethal toxin had the characteristics of necrosis. at lower concentrations, the toxin caused no morphological change and most of the cells were viable. interestingly, apoptotic cells were observed when the cells were preincubated with a serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin a, and then exposed to a to ... | 1996 | 8824167 |
| the plague in penrith, cumbria, 1597/8: its causes, biology and consequences. | using a family reconstitution study the biology of the plague in penrith, cumbria in 1597/8 is described in detail; it was an explosive epidemic that spread rapidly within families and 606 individuals died of the plague, some 40% of the population. the age-specific mortality corresponded with the calculated age structure of the population and infection appeared to be random. the sex ratio of victims was 1.37 females to 1 male. the plague spread from the northeast via richmond and then exploded i ... | 1996 | 8815782 |
| differentiation of thermolysins and serralysins by monoclonal antibodies. | two monoclonal antibodies (mabs) to a 36-kda extracellular metalloprotease (pscp) from burkholderia (pseudomonas) cepacia were found to react with thermolysin, pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase, alkaline protease (apr) and lasa, serratia marcescens protease (smp), aeromonas hydrophila protease (ahp), and both the lethal factor (lf) and protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis on immunoblots. the mabs were capable of neutralising the proteolytic activity of thermolysin, p. aeruginosa elastase ... | 1996 | 8810950 |
| role of macrophage oxidative burst in the action of anthrax lethal toxin. | major symptoms and death from systemic bacillus anthracis infections are mediated by the action of the pathogen's lethal toxin on host macrophages. high levels of the toxin are cytolytic to macrophages, whereas low levels stimulate these cells to produce cytokines (interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha), which induce systemic shock and death. | 1994 | 8790597 |
| detection of pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. | the proteins isolated from the whole cells of bacterial pathogens and related non-pathogenic simulants were analyzed directly, with minimal sample preparation by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (maldi) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. inspection of mass spectrometric profiles obtained from direct maldi-ms analysis of the protein extracts revealed specific biomarkers for individual bacterial cells. the observed biomarkers enabled us not only to detect pathogenic bacteria (bacillus an ... | 1996 | 8777320 |
| anthrax in southern india. | 1996 | 8757176 | |
| [behavior of heterologous recombinant plasmid pcet in cells of bacillus anthracis]. | recombinant plasmid pcet was constructed in vivo in cells of enteric and hay bacillus, on the basis of plasmids pc194, and pbc16. plasmid pcet inherits marker genes of antibiotic resistance from parental plasmids. anthrax cells were transformed by the recombinant plasmid developed. the behavior of this plasmid was studied in vegetative bacillus anthracis cells, which did not pass through the sporulation stage and were cultivated at temperatures permissive for the replicon of plasmid pe194. under ... | 1996 | 8754064 |
| evaluation of the anthraxin skin test for diagnosis of acute and past human anthrax. | a skin test for the diagnosis of human anthrax was evaluated as an alternative to bacteriological confirmation of human anthrax, which is possible in 10-40% of cases within the first three weeks of the disease only. the anthraxin skin test, which detects anthrax cell-mediated immunity, was positive in 81.8% of cases in the first three days of the disease, and in 97-99% of cases in the next two to three weeks. the positivity rate was 98.5% in the first 1.5 months of convalescence, 92.8% in the ne ... | 1996 | 8740861 |
| quantitation of polymerase chain reaction-amplified dna fragments by capillary electrophoresis and laser-induced fluorescence detection. | quantitation of dna fragments amplified by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) is needed for the determination of target dna in molecular biology. capillary electrophoresis in entangled polymer solution coupled to laser-induced fluorescence detection was assessed as an alternative technique to conventional slab gel methods to monitor competitive pcr, which consists of amplifying an internal standard fragment under the same conditions as the target fragment. the fluorescence signal was generated eith ... | 1996 | 8740170 |
| a rapid approach for the detection of dipicolinic acid in bacterial spores using pyrolysis/mass spectrometry. | curie-point pyrolysis/triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and micro-tube furnace pyrolysis/quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry have been used to detect dipicolinic acid (dpa) in sporulated whole bacteria. dpa in whole cells of sporulated bacillus anthracis reacted in situ during pyrolysis with tetramethylammonium hydroxide to form the dimethyl ester derivative of dpa, dimethyl-2,6-dipicolinate (mdpa). the mdpa was identified by its positive-ion electron ionization fragmentation pattern and con ... | 1996 | 8721041 |
| protective immunity induced by bacillus anthracis toxin mutant strains. | 1996 | 8718584 | |
| development of novel vaccines against anthrax in man. | it has been shown that antianthrax immunity induced by the novel vaccine proposed has not only antitoxic, but also antispore character. the whole complex of antigens, namely surface spore antigens, surface antigens of cell wall and toxin components is required for the induction of strong and stable immunity against anthrax. the sti-1 vaccine strain with introduced resistance to several antibiotics seems to be promising for prophylaxis and treatment of anthrax in case of emergency, especially if ... | 1996 | 8717399 |
| fused polycationic peptide mediates delivery of diphtheria toxin a chain to the cytosol in the presence of anthrax protective antigen. | the lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef) of anthrax toxin bind by means of their amino-terminal domains to protective antigen (pa) on the surface of toxin-sensitive cells and are translocated to the cytosol, where they act on intracellular targets. genetically fusing the amino-terminal domain of lf (lfn; residues 1-255) to certain heterologous proteins has been shown to potentiate these proteins for pa-dependent delivery to the cytosol. we report here that short tracts of lysine, arginine, o ... | 1996 | 8710889 |
| bacterial toxins deliver the goods. | 1996 | 8710839 | |
| [the characteristics of the interaction of bacillus anthracis with host phagocytes in relation to the plasmid spectrum of the causative agent]. | the study revealed that after the intraperitoneal inoculation of spores of b. anthracis strains with different plasmid composition into guinea pigs the active germination of the spores both outside and inside the cells of the host occurred as early as on hour 2 of their interaction with the macroorganism. the further fate of the infective agent and the character of its interaction with peritoneal exudate cells depended on the plasmid composition of the bacilli. thus, the presence of toxin-format ... | 1996 | 8701646 |
| experimental anthrax vaccines: efficacy of adjuvants combined with protective antigen against an aerosol bacillus anthracis spore challenge in guinea pigs. | the efficacy of several human anthrax vaccine candidates comprised of different adjuvants together with bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) was evaluated in guinea pigs challenged by an aerosol of virulent b. anthracis spores. the most efficacious vaccines tested were formulated with pa plus monophosphoryl lipid a (mpl) in a squalene/lecithin/tween 80 emulsion (slt) and pa plus the saponin qs-21. the pa+mpl in slt vaccine, which was lyophilized and then reconstituted before use, demonstra ... | 1995 | 8701593 |
| enhancing immunoelectrochemiluminescence (iecl) for sensitive bacterial detection. | immunoelectrochemiluminescence (iecl) as an alternative method versus immunochemiluminescent and immunofluorescent methods can be used for versatile applications in biological agent detection. although iecl offered high reproducibility and sensitive detection capability for soluble antigens and nucleic acids in aqueous phase, the iecl assays are not optimal and many factors which can affect the iecl performance still remain unclear. further iecl kinetic studies, improvement of antibody biotinyla ... | 1996 | 8699023 |
| the vacuolar atpase proton pump is required for the cytotoxicity of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin. | the nature of the cytopathic effect exerted by the lethal factor toxin (lf) of bacillus anthracis on sensitive cells is unknown. the toxin requires the passage through acidic vesicles in order to exert its effect within the cytosol. here, we show that bafilomycins and concanamycin a, selective inhibitors of the vacuolar atpase proton pump, are the most powerful known inhibitors of lf macrophage toxicity. these inhibitors are fully active long after lf addition to macrophages, suggesting that lf ... | 1996 | 8647272 |
| fulminant meningitis due to bacillus anthracis in 11-year-old girl during ramadan. | 1996 | 8622353 | |
| [technology of the production of antigens against soil-borne diseases in madagascar]. | there are two important soilborne diseases in madagascar: anthrax and blackleg. the history of vaccine production is described, which is especially marked by the success since the introduction of biofermenter technology. | 1996 | 8593157 |
| alert: a clinical case simulator program for serious, communicable, and rare diseases. | alert is an intelligent tutoring system (its) based on clinical case simulation. its purpose is to assist in the training of general practitioners regarding the diagnosis and the control of serious, communicable, and rare diseases, such as anthrax, plague, and smallpox. alert provides both monitoring techniques and treatment protocols and is structured into two independent sections: one devoted to the simulation of the clinical case and the other to detailed description of disease. | 1995 | 8591406 |
| [the isolation and purification of the protective antigen and the edema factor from the culture filtrate of bacillus anthracis sti-1]. | a rapid method for producing a protective antigen (pa) and edema factor (ef), components of anthrax toxin, is described. the specific features of the method are as follows: addition of a mixture of protease inhibitors to the culture fluid; simultaneous concentration on a fiber filter and adsorption on hydroxylapatite, followed by non-linear gradient a phosphate concentration; purification of elution of a phosphate concentration; purification of eluates from salts via electrodialysis. resultant f ... | 1995 | 8587516 |
| molecular tools for the study of transcriptional regulation in bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis produces two toxins composed of three proteins. genetic tools were constructed to study the regulation of toxin synthesis. they included transcriptional fusions with various reporter genes, in replicative and integrative vectors. the reporter gene xyle, encoding catechol 2,3-dioxygenase, may be valuable for screening of strong promoters, as expression of the gene can be visualized directly and the studies of regulation in b. anthracis. therefore, transcriptional fusions betwee ... | 1995 | 8584795 |
| rapid bioassay for detection of bacillus anthracis in mice. | a rapid-bioassay method (rba) of diagnosing anthrax was developed in mice. a standard rba consisted of intraperitoneal inoculation of a suspected culture or of a suspension of raw infected animal tissues in four pairs of mice. at 60, 120 and 180 min after inoculation, two mice were killed and smears and impression smears were made from the peritoneal fluid, heart blood, spleen, liver, and kidneys, and then fixed, stained and microscopically examined. encapsulated rods seen in microscopy confirme ... | 1995 | 8578916 |
| the atxa gene product activates transcription of the anthrax toxin genes and is essential for virulence. | bacillus anthracis plasmid pxo1 carries the structural genes for the three anthrax toxin proteins, cya (edema factor), lef (lethal factor), and pag (protective antigen). expression of the toxin genes by b. anthracis is enhanced during growth under elevated levels of co2. this co2 effect is observed only in the presence of another pxo1 gene, atxa, which encodes a transactivator of anthrax toxin synthesis. here we show that transcription of atxa does not appear to differ in cells grown in 5% co2 c ... | 1995 | 8577251 |
| [errors in the diagnosis of anthrax]. | 1995 | 8577111 | |
| a case of cutaneous anthrax. | a 63-year-old man developed black crusts on the parietal scalp that showed mixed infections of dermatophytes and bacillus anthracis on culture. the lesions improved with bifonazole, griseofulvin and bacampicillin hydrochloride. although cutaneous anthrax is now a very rare disease, the mortality is high in untreated cases. if a patient has black crusts, anthrax should be differentiated firstly. | 1995 | 8553357 |
| identification of a region of genetic variability among bacillus anthracis strains and related species. | the identification of a region of sequence variability among individual isolates of bacillus anthracis as well as the two closely related species, bacillus cereus and bacillus mycoides, has made a sequence-based approach for the rapid differentiation among members of this group possible. we have identified this region of sequence divergence by comparison of arbitrarily primed (ap)-pcr "fingerprints" generated by an m13 bacteriophage-derived primer and sequencing the respective forms of the only ... | 1996 | 8550456 |
| investigation, control and epizootiology of anthrax in a geographically isolated, free-roaming bison population in northern canada. | in july 1993 anthrax caused significant mortality in an isolated, free-ranging population of bison (bos bison athabascae) west of great slave lake in the northwest territories. there was no previous record of anthrax in this area. an emergency response was undertaken to reduce the scale of environmental contamination and dissemination of anthrax spores and hence to reduce the likelihood of future outbreaks. one-hundred-and-seventy-two bison, 3 moose (alces alces), and 3 black bear (ursus america ... | 1995 | 8548686 |