Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| the presence of peptidoglycan o-acetyltransferase in various staphylococcal species correlates with lysozyme resistance and pathogenicity. | human-pathogenic bacteria that are able to cause persistent infections must have developed mechanisms to resist the immune defense system. lysozyme, a cell wall-lytic enzyme, is one of the first defense compounds induced in serum and tissues after the onset of infection. recently, we showed that staphylococcus aureus is resistant to lysozyme by o acetylating its peptidoglycan (pg) by o-acetyltransferase (oata). we asked the question of which staphylococcal species pg is o acetylated. we applied ... | 2006 | 16861647 |
| the nitrosative stress response of staphylococcus aureus is required for resistance to innate immunity. | staphylococcus aureus is a highly virulent human pathogen with an extensive array of strategies to subvert the innate immune response. an important aspect of innate immunity is the production of the nitrogen monoxide radical (nitric oxide, no.). here we describe an adaptive response to nitrosative stress that allows s. aureus to replicate at high concentrations of no.. microarray analysis revealed 84 staphylococcal genes with significantly altered expression following no. exposure. of these, 30 ... | 2006 | 16859493 |
| isolation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from the air plume downwind of a swine confined or concentrated animal feeding operation. | in this study we evaluated the levels of antibiotic- and multidrug-resistant bacteria in bioaerosols upwind, within, and downwind at locations 25 m, 50 m, 100 m, and 150 m from a swine confined animal feeding operation. | 2006 | 16835055 |
| antimicrobial potential of four lactobacillus strains isolated from breast milk. | the antimicrobial potential of four lactobacilli (lactobacillus salivarius cect5713, lactobacillus gasseri cect5714, l. gasseri cect5715 and lactobacillus fermentum cect5716), isolated from fresh human breast milk, was evaluated in this study and compared with lactobacillus coryniformis cect5711, a reuterin-producing strain isolated from an artisan goat's cheese. | 2006 | 16834593 |
| surveillance of bacterial pathogens associated with acute diarrheal disease in the republic of korea during one year, 2003. | an epidemiological survey of human enterobacterial infections was conducted to determine the prevalence of enteropathogens in the republic of korea during one year, 2003. we tested for infectious diseases in 26,992 stool samples obtained from people who visited clinics located in six big cities and six rural provinces. from these samples, we isolated 1,291 cases of enteritis bacterial infection (4.8%). in the urban areas, 821 cases of bacterial infection (6.4%) were identified and, in the rural ... | 2006 | 16820763 |
| synthetic peptides derived from human antimicrobial peptide ubiquicidin accumulate at sites of infections and eradicate (multi-drug resistant) staphylococcus aureus in mice. | the presence and antimicrobial activity of antimicrobial peptides (amps) has been widely recognized as an evolutionary preserved part of the innate immune system. based on evidence in animal models and humans, amps are now positioned as novel anti-infective agents. the current study aimed to evaluate the potential antimicrobial activity of ubiquicidin and small synthetic fragments thereof towards methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa), as a high priority target for novel antibiotics. ... | 2006 | 16814900 |
| quinine sulfate inhibits invasion of some bacterial skin pathogens. | as some of the many patients who receive antimalarials for the treatment of noninfective inflammatory diseases (lupus erythematosus, collagen vascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and others) are also immunosuppressed because of their disease and/or treatments, and may have concomitant bacterial infections, we investigated the effect of these drugs on the growth and invasion of several bacteria that are commonly associated with skin and soft tissue infections to determine whether they could p ... | 2006 | 16796622 |
| [septic arthritis as an initial manifestation of bacterial endocarditis caused by staphylococcus aureus]. | we describe a case of staphylococcus aureus mitral valve endocarditis, in a 80-year-old man who presented with abrupt onset of septic arthritis of the glenohumeral joint, without cardiac symptomatology. fever and articular infection recovery after articular drainage and antimicrobial therapy, but worsening caused by heart failure made valve replacement surgery urgent. he died suddenly before surgery could be done. until august 2005, in medical literature (index medicus, medline, embase, excerpta ... | 2006 | 16796414 |
| surface plasmon resonance biosensors for detection of pathogenic microorganisms: strategies to secure food and environmental safety. | this review describes the exploitation of exclusively optical surface plasmon resonance (spr) biosensors for the direct and indirect detection of pathogenic microorganisms in food chains and the environment. direct detection is, in most cases, facilitated by the use of defined monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies raised against (a part of) the target pathogenic microorganisms. the antibodies were immobilized to a solid phase of the sensor to capture the microbe from the sample. alternatively, ant ... | 2006 | 16792081 |
| a staphylococcus aureus lipoteichoic acid (lta) derived structural variant with two diacylglycerol residues. | based on 1,2-o-isopropylidene-sn-glycerol five chiral building blocks containing differently modified glycerol residues were required for the synthesis of the target molecule 2. one of these building blocks is diacylglyceryl beta-gentiobioside carrying a phosphite residue at 6b-o position. ligation of these five building blocks led to the desired glycerol phosphate backbone to which d-alanyl residues were attached, thus generating after o-deprotection the target molecule 2, a bisamphiphilic stru ... | 2006 | 16782351 |
| the "hospital superbug": social representations of mrsa. | the so-called 'hospital superbug' methcillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) became a topic of media and political concern in britain from the middle of the 1990s. it was increasingly politicised in the period leading up to the british general election of 2005. this study examines the meanings of mrsa that circulate in britain by analysing newspaper coverage of the disease over the 10-year period 1995-2005. it utilises social representations theory and contextualises mrsa within existing ... | 2006 | 16782254 |
| [takotsubo cardiomyopathy thought to be induced by mrsa meningitis and cervical epidural abscess in a maintenance-hemodialysis patient: case report]. | a 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for high fever and severe left shoulder pain. he was initiated on maintenance hemodialysis for end-stage renal failure caused by diabetic nephropathy 9 years previously. on admission, the serum crp level was 29.3 mg/d/l and the white blood cell count was 29,000/mm3. bacterial examination of blood and spinal fluid revealed mrsa colonization. on the 6th hospital day, a giant negative t wave in the v2-6 leads of an electrocardiogram asymptomatically ap ... | 2004 | 16773801 |
| acute paraplegia following chiropractic therapy. | we report a 44-year-old man suffering complete paraplegia due to paraspinal and epidural abscess, following chiropractic therapy for severe back pain and whose diagnosis was delayed. he received an immediate laminectomy from t3 through t6 to decompress the full extent of the abscess and appropriate antibiotic therapy for 4 weeks postoperatively for the identified microorganism (staphylococcus aureus). after 3 months of rehabilitation, he had recovered bladder function with moderate left lower ex ... | 2006 | 16769516 |
| potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated from specific natural niches in food production and preservation. | autochthonous strains of lactic acid bacteria (lab) have been isolated from traditionally homemade cheeses collected from specific ecological localities across serbia and montenegro. genetic and biochemical analysis of this lab revealed that they produce bacteriocins, proteinases and exopolysaccharides. lab produces a variety of antimicrobial substances with potential importance for food fermentation and preservation. apart from the metabolic end products, some strains also secrete antimicrobial ... | 2006 | 16764959 |
| solution structure of the neat (near transporter) domain from isdh/hara: the human hemoglobin receptor in staphylococcus aureus. | during infections the pathogen staphylococcus aureus procures the essential nutrient iron from its host using iron-regulated surface determinant (isd) proteins, which scavenge heme bound iron from host hemoproteins. four isd proteins are displayed in the cell wall, where they function as receptors for host proteins and heme. each of the receptors contains one or more copies of a recently discovered domain called neat (near transporter) that has been shown to mediate protein binding. here we repo ... | 2006 | 16762363 |
| dna detection using recombination proteins. | dna amplification is essential to most nucleic acid testing strategies, but established techniques require sophisticated equipment or complex experimental procedures, and their uptake outside specialised laboratories has been limited. our novel approach, recombinase polymerase amplification (rpa), couples isothermal recombinase-driven primer targeting of template material with strand-displacement dna synthesis. it achieves exponential amplification with no need for pretreatment of sample dna. re ... | 2006 | 16756388 |
| efficacy of an alcohol-based healthcare hand rub containing synergistic combination of farnesol and benzethonium chloride. | healthcare workers are required to disinfect the hands several times a day using hand disinfectants, which leads to chronic hand exposure to high levels of antimicrobials contained in the disinfectants, which could compromise the skin integrity. this problem may be addressed by developing hand disinfectants containing synergistic combinations of small amounts of antimicrobials and other agents. the synergistic effect of farnesol and essential oils with several antimicrobials was studied in vitro ... | 2006 | 16750419 |
| induction of cxc chemokines in a549 airway epithelial cells by trypsin and staphylococcal proteases - a possible route for neutrophilic inflammation in chronic rhinosinusitis. | while various microorganisms have been recovered from patients with chronic rhinosinusitis, the inflammatory impact of virulence factors, in particular proteases from staphylococcus aureus and coagulase negative staphylococci on the nasal epithelium, has not yet been investigated. expression of cxc chemokines was determined in the epithelium of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis by immunohistochemistry. in a cell culture system of a549 respiratory epithelial cells, chemokine levels were quanti ... | 2006 | 16734624 |
| brevinin-1bya: a naturally occurring peptide from frog skin with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal properties. | brevinin-1bya (flpilaslaakfgpklfclvtkkc) is a cationic alpha-helical peptide containing an intramolecular disulphide bridge that is present in skin secretions of the foothill yellow-legged frog rana boylii. a synthetic replicate of the peptide showed growth inhibitory activity against a range of reference strains of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) (minimum inhibitory concentration (mic)=2.5 microm), and aga ... | 2006 | 16713189 |
| platensimycin is a selective fabf inhibitor with potent antibiotic properties. | bacterial infection remains a serious threat to human lives because of emerging resistance to existing antibiotics. although the scientific community has avidly pursued the discovery of new antibiotics that interact with new targets, these efforts have met with limited success since the early 1960s. here we report the discovery of platensimycin, a previously unknown class of antibiotics produced by streptomyces platensis. platensimycin demonstrates strong, broad-spectrum gram-positive antibacter ... | 2006 | 16710421 |
| severe community-acquired pneumonia due to staphylococcus aureus, 2003-04 influenza season. | during the 2003-04 influenza season, 17 cases of staphylococcus aureus community-acquired pneumonia (cap) were reported from 9 states; 15 (88%) were associated with methicillin-resistant s. aureus (mrsa). the median age of patients was 21 years; 5 (29%) had underlying diseases, and 4 (24%) had risk factors for mrsa. twelve (71%) had laboratory evidence of influenza virus infection. all but 1 patient, who died on arrival, were hospitalized. death occurred in 5 (4 with mrsa). s. aureus isolates we ... | 2006 | 16707043 |
| the antibacterial activity of human neutrophils and eosinophils requires proton channels but not bk channels. | electrophysiological events are of central importance during the phagocyte respiratory burst, because nadph oxidase is electrogenic and voltage sensitive. we investigated the recent suggestion that large-conductance, calcium-activated k(+) (bk) channels, rather than proton channels, play an essential role in innate immunity (ahluwalia, j., a. tinker, l.h. clapp, m.r. duchen, a.y. abramov, s. page, m. nobles, and a.w. segal. 2004. nature. 427:853-858). in pma-stimulated human neutrophils or eosin ... | 2006 | 16702353 |
| a novel antimicrobial epoxide isolated from larval galleria mellonella infected by the nematode symbiont, photorhabdus luminescens (enterobacteriaceae). | a novel antimicrobial epoxide, 2-isopropyl-5-(3-phenyl-oxiranyl)-benzene-1,3-diol (1), was identified from larval galleria mellonella infected by a symbiotically associated bacterium-nematode complex (photorhabdus luminescens c9-heterorhabditis megidis 90). its structure was determined with spectroscopic analysis and confirmed by chemical synthesis starting from a known antibiotic, 2-isopropyl-5-(2-phenylethenyl)-benzene-1,3-diol (2). epoxide 1 was active against bacillus subtilis, escherichia c ... | 2006 | 16644226 |
| antitumor and immunostimulating effects of anoectochilus formosanus hayata. | the water extract of anoectochilus formosanus hayata showed a potent tumor inhibitory activity in balb/c mice after subcutaneous transplantation of ct-26 murine colon cancer cells. the tumor-inhibition ratios of mice pre-administered with a. formosanus for 2 days before tumor transplantation, and treated further for 12 consecutive days, were 55.4% and 58.9% at the oral dose of 50 and 10 mg/mouse per day, respectively. even for the tumor-bearing mice, after oral administration of the water extrac ... | 2006 | 16635745 |
| antimicrobial activity of an abiotic host defense peptide mimic. | bacterial drug resistance is emerging as one of the most significant challenges to human health. antimicrobial peptides (amps), which are produced by many tissues and cell types of invertebrates, insects, and humans, as part of their innate immune system, have attracted considerable interest as alternative antibiotics. interest in novel mimics of amps has increased greatly over the last few years. this report details a new amp mimic, based on phenylene ethynylene, with improved antimicrobial act ... | 2006 | 16626628 |
| characterization of the opsonic and protective activity against staphylococcus aureus of fully human monoclonal antibodies specific for the bacterial surface polysaccharide poly-n-acetylglucosamine. | carbohydrate antigens are important targets of the immune system in clearing bacterial pathogens. although the immune system almost exclusively uses antibodies in response to foreign carbohydrates, there is still much to learn about the role of different epitopes on the carbohydrate as targets of protective immunity. we examined the role of acetyl group-dependent and -independent epitopes on the staphylococcal surface of polysaccharide poly-n-acetylated glucosamine (pnag) by use of human monoclo ... | 2006 | 16622211 |
| piperacillin/tazobactam-induced paresthesiae. | to describe a case of a delayed-type hypersensitivity (dth) reaction to piperacillin/tazobactam in which painful paresthesiae were a predominant feature. | 2006 | 16622157 |
| differential effect of dhea on mitogen-induced proliferation of t and b lymphocytes. | dehydroepiandrosterone (dhea) is the predominant steroid hormone secreted by adrenal gland, and it has been proposed in recent years that dhea has significant effects on immune function. we investigated the effect of dhea (1 x 10(-5) - 1 x 10(-8)m) on proliferation of human t cells and b cells and on immunoglobulin production, a representative function of b cells. high doses of dhea (1 x 10(-5)) significantly inhibited proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) and t cells induc ... | 2006 | 16621519 |
| antimicrobial peptides from diverse families isolated from the skin of the asian frog, rana grahami. | seven peptides with antimicrobial activity were isolated in pure form from an extract of the skin of the yunnanfu kunming frog rana grahami boulenger, 1917. the peptides were identified as belonging to the nigrocin-2 (three peptides), brevinin-1 (one peptide), brevinin-2 (three peptides), and esculentin-1 (one peptide) families. nigrocin-2grb (glfgkilgvgkkvlcglsgmc) containing three lysine residues, represented the peptide with highest potency against microorganisms (mic = 3 microm against esche ... | 2006 | 16621155 |
| mesenchymal stem cells are susceptible to human herpesviruses, but viral dna cannot be detected in the healthy seropositive individual. | allogeneic stem cell transplantation is often complicated by reactivation of herpesviruses. mesenchymal stem cells (msc) are immunomodulatory and may be used to treat graft-versus-host disease. we investigated if herpesviruses infect and can be transmitted by msc, and if msc suppress immune responses to various infectious agents. mesenchymal stem cells from healthy seropositive donors were evaluated with polymerase chain reaction for the most common herpesviruses: cytomegalovirus (cmv), herpes s ... | 2006 | 16604097 |
| peptidoglycan hydrolase fusions maintain their parental specificities. | the increased incidence of bacterial antibiotic resistance has led to a renewed search for novel antimicrobials. avoiding the use of broad-range antimicrobials through the use of specific peptidoglycan hydrolases (endolysins) might reduce the incidence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens worldwide. staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus agalactiae are human pathogens and also cause mastitis in dairy cattle. the ultimate goal of this work is to create transgenic cattle that are resistant to mastit ... | 2006 | 16598006 |
| effect of d-alanylation of (lipo)teichoic acids of staphylococcus aureus on host secretory phospholipase a2 action before and after phagocytosis by human neutrophils. | invading bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus induce mobilization of professional phagocytes (e.g., neutrophils) and extracellular antibacterial proteins (e.g., group iia phospholipase a2 (giia pla2)). accumulation of giia pla2 in inflammatory fluids confers potent extracellular antistaphylococcal activity and at lower concentrations promotes bacterial phospholipid degradation during phagocytosis of s. aureus by human neutrophils. d-alanylation of (lipo) teichoic acids of s. aureus increases b ... | 2006 | 16585595 |
| suppression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by extracellular adherence protein of staphylococcus aureus. | multiple sclerosis (ms) is a devastating inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (cns). a major hallmark of ms is the infiltration of t cells reactive against myelin components. t cell infiltration is mediated by the interaction of integrins of the beta1 and beta2 family expressed by lymphocytes with their endothelial counter-receptors, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule (icam)-1, respectively. we have reported previously that extracellular adherenc ... | 2006 | 16585266 |
| staphylococcus aureus operates protein-tyrosine phosphorylation through a specific mechanism. | protein phosphorylation on tyrosine has been originally characterized in animal systems and has been shown to be involved in several fundamental processes including signal transduction, growth control, and malignancy. it has been later demonstrated to occur also in a number of bacteria, and recent data suggest that it may participate in the control of bacterial pathogenicity. in this work, we provide evidence that the gram-positive human pathogen staphylococcus aureus harbors a protein-tyrosine ... | 2006 | 16565080 |
| cytotoxic and antimicrobial benzophenones from the leaves of tovomita longifolia. | bioassay-guided fractionation of the chloroform and ethanol extracts of tovomita longifolia leaves using cytotoxic and antimicrobial assays resulted in the isolation of four new benzophenones, (e)-3-(2-hydroxy-7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-enyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone (1), (e)-3-(6-hydroxy-3,7-dimethylocta-2,7-dienyl)-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone (2), 8-benzoyl-2-(4-methylpenten-3-yl)chromane-3,5,7-triol (3), and 5-benzoyl-1,1,4a-trimethyl-2,3,4,4a,9,9a-hexahydro-1h-xanthene-6,8-diol (4), and ... | 2006 | 16562847 |
| use of the clumping factor reaction for the identification of encapsulated strains of staphylococcus aureus from human sources. | using the clumping factor test on 815 strains of staphylococcus aureus, 775 positive strains were of compact morphology. of 40 negative strains, 39 were diffuse in serum-soft agar. the test may be used to detect capsulated s. aureus strains. | 1971 | 16558041 |
| biological and immunological properties of encapsulated strains of staphylococcus aureus from human sources. | of 875 strains of staphylococcus aureus isolated from human source clinical specimens, 37 (4.2%) were encapsulated strains. these were all negative for clumping factor and could not be typed with bacteriophages or by serology. twenty-one of these did not produce any hemolysins, 15 produced alpha hemolysin, 1 produced beta hemolysin, and 1 produced both beta and delta hemolysins. after one or two subcultures, 27 of the encapsulated strains converted to the compact variant form, all became positiv ... | 1970 | 16557873 |
| heparin prevents programmed cell death in human trophoblast. | heparin is used clinically for the prevention of pregnancy complications associated with prothrombotic disorders, especially antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. recent studies have suggested that heparin may exert direct effects on placental trophoblast, independently of its anticoagulant activity. we now demonstrate that heparin abrogates apoptosis of primary first trimester villous trophoblast in response to treatment with the pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon (ifn)-gamma and tumour necros ... | 2006 | 16556679 |
| propagation of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus due to the overloading of medical nurses in intensive care units. | morbidity and mortality due to nosocomial infections are on the increase. the effectiveness of infection control has become an important indicator of the quality of hospital work, as well as contributing towards cost reduction. the aim of this three-year prospective study was to investigate the daily workload of medical nurses to see if there was a correlation with the spread of infections caused by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) in a surgical intensive care unit (sicu) using ... | 2006 | 16554108 |
| staphylococcal enterotoxin b initiates protein kinase c translocation and eicosanoid metabolism while inhibiting thrombin-induced aggregation in human platelets. | staphylococcal enterotoxin (se) b, a heat-stable toxin secreted by staphylococcus aureus, has been implicated in the pathogenesis and exacerbation of several critical illnesses. it has been hypothesized that enterotoxins may interact with blood products such as platelets, in addition to t-lymphocytes and renal proximal tubule cells. the aim of this present study was to elucidate whether seb directly alters human platelet function. human platelet rich plasma (prp) was pre-incubated with sea, seb, ... | 2006 | 16550298 |
| synthesis, crystal structure and anticancer activity of novel derivatives of ethyl 1-(4-oxo-8-aryl-4,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-c][1,2,4]triazin-3-yl)formate. | synthesis and anticancer activity of ethyl 1-(4-oxo-8-aryl-4,6,7,8-tetrahydroimidazo[2,1-c][1,2,4]triazin-3-yl)formates (7-12) are presented. the title compounds were obtained by two independent synthesis methods from 1-aryl-2-hydrazono-imidazolidines (1-aryl-2-hydrazino-imidazolines) (1-6) by cyclocondensation reaction with diethyl 2-(hydroxyimino)malonate (a) and diethyl 2-oxomalonate (b). molecular structure of synthesized compounds was confirmed by ir, (1)h nmr, ei-ms spectra, elemental anal ... | 2006 | 16545495 |
| cloning and expression analysis of an o-methyltransferase (omt) gene from chinese shrimp, fenneropenaeus chinensis. | o-methyltransferase (omt) is ubiquitously present in diverse organisms and plays an important regulatory role in plant and animal growth, development, reproduction and defence and has also been implicated in human emotion and disease. a putative o-methyltransferase (omt) gene has been cloned from the haemocytes of bacteria-infected chinese shrimp (fenneropenaeus chinensis) by suppression subtractive hybridisation (ssh) coupled with the smart cdna method. the isolated 944 bp full-length cdna cont ... | 2006 | 16530427 |
| natural human isolates of staphylococcus aureus selected for high production of proteases and alpha-hemolysin are sigmab deficient. | it has been reported that high production of proteases and alpha-hemolysin in the prototype staphylococcus aureus strain 8325-4 was associated with its sigmab deficiency. here we analyzed one fresh clinical isolate (ks26) and two ancient human isolates (wood46 and v8) selected for high production of proteases and alpha-hemolysin. all three strains lacked yellow pigment and showed a low level of expression of sigb-dependent promoters, indicating sigmab deficiency. nucleotide sequencing of the sig ... | 2006 | 16530010 |
| potent antibacterial lysine-peptoid hybrids identified from a positional scanning combinatorial library. | in this paper, we describe the synthesis and screening of a biased positional scanning library made up of peptoids (n-alkylglycines) and lysines. the library consisted of 100 mixtures divided into four sub-libraries; oxxxkkk, xoxxkkk, xxoxkkk, and xxxokkk, o being a defined peptoid building block and x a mixture of 25 peptoid building blocks. a theoretical number of 390,625 compounds were synthesized. the compound mixtures were screened against the american type culture collection (atcc) staphyl ... | 2006 | 16524733 |
| spectrum of spine infections in patients with hiv: a case report and review of the literature. | because of the increase in patients with human immunodeficiency virus, practitioners are likely to see a concordant increase of infections. spontaneous spinal infections can result from a variety of organisms. a common pathogen is staphylococcus aureus, which is the most frequent cause of pyogenic spinal infection in patients who test positive for the human immunodeficiency virus. human immunodeficiency virus has caused a resurgence of spinal tuberculosis and other infections. the pandemic of hu ... | 2006 | 16523131 |
| structures of s. aureus thymidylate kinase reveal an atypical active site configuration and an intermediate conformational state upon substrate binding. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) poses a major threat to human health, particularly through hospital acquired infection. the spread of mrsa means that novel targets are required to develop potential inhibitors to combat infections caused by such drug-resistant bacteria. thymidylate kinase (tmk) is attractive as an antibacterial target as it is essential for providing components for dna synthesis. here, we report crystal structures of unliganded and thymidylate-bound forms of s. ... | 2006 | 16522804 |
| the influence of adhesive and invasive properties of staphylococcus aureus defective in fibronectin-binding proteins on secretion of interleukin-6 by human endothelial cells. | fibronectin-binding proteins (fnbp) are surface adhesins of staphylococcus aureus documented to be virulence attributes in, for example, endovascular infections. by using mutants of s. aureus defective in the fnbpa and b genes we have investigated whether these adhesins affect cytokine expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (huvec). s. aureus expressing fnbpa and b adhered to and were internalized into huvec to a greater extent compared to mutants defective in expression of fnbp. p ... | 2006 | 16519747 |
| contribution of immunocompetence to the antibacterial activities of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model. | traditional in vitro models used to simulate human pharmacokinetics and to characterize the pharmacodynamics of antibacterial agents represent a totally immunosuppressed condition. however, host defense mechanisms contribute to the elimination of the pathogen from the infectious site in most of the patients suffering from infectious diseases. therefore, the attempt was made to introduce immunocompetence into an in vitro pharmacodynamic model. immunocompetence was added either by using j774 macro ... | 2005 | 16518711 |
| complete genome sequence of usa300, an epidemic clone of community-acquired meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. | usa300, a clone of meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a major source of community-acquired infections in the usa, canada, and europe. our aim was to sequence its genome and compare it with those of other strains of s aureus to try to identify genes responsible for its distinctive epidemiological and virulence properties. | 2006 | 16517273 |
| influenza: incidence, symptoms and treatment. | influenza is a common respiratory condition that has a history of developing into epidemics and pandemics. individuals at risk of influenza and related complications include older people, young children and individuals with chronic renal, cardiac and respiratory diseases. influenza can begin suddenly and is accompanied by fever, chills, aches, pains, headaches, fatigue, cough and generalized weakness that can last up to 14 days. complications of influenza include secondary bacterial pneumonia, p ... | 2005 | 16509437 |
| [disturbances of antimicrobial lipids in atopic dermatitis]. | patients with atopic dermatitis exhibit an increased susceptibility to cutaneous infections, especially to pathological colonization with superantigen-secreting staphylococcus aureus. recent attention has been focused on antimicrobial peptides, especially on cathelicidin and human beta-defensin-2, which are under-expressed in atopic skin. antimicrobial lipids from the stratum corneum are also major contributors to cutaneous antimicrobial defense. current aspects of biochemistry and function of a ... | 2006 | 16503938 |
| pharmacodynamic evaluation of the intracellular activities of antibiotics against staphylococcus aureus in a model of thp-1 macrophages. | the pharmacodynamic properties governing the activities of antibiotics against intracellular staphylococcus aureus are still largely undetermined. sixteen antibiotics of seven different pharmacological classes (azithromycin and telithromycin [macrolides]; gentamicin [an aminoglycoside]; linezolid [an oxazolidinone]; penicillin v, nafcillin, ampicillin, and oxacillin [beta-lactams]; teicoplanin, vancomycin, and oritavancin [glycopeptides]; rifampin [an ansamycin]; and ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ... | 2006 | 16495241 |
| downregulation by a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist and corticosteroid of staphylococcus aureus-induced airway epithelial inflammatory mediator production. | although staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of pulmonary infection, the role played by this bacterium in the induction of inflammation of human airway epithelial cells (haec) is poorly understood. in this study, we investigated the inflammatory response of haec to s. aureus soluble virulence factors and demonstrate that the combination of a long-acting beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist (salmeterol) with a glucocorticoid (fluticasone propionate) has an anti-inflammatory effect on haec. first, ... | 2006 | 16489115 |
| synthesis and biological activity of new 2-amino-8-chloro-5,5-dioxo[1,2,4]triazolo[2,3-b][1,4,2]benzodithiazines. | two series of 1-(6-chloro-1,1-dioxo-1,4,2-benzodithiazin-3-yl)-4-arylsemicarbazides 6-17 and 2-arylamino-8-chloro-5,5-dioxo[1,2,4]triazolo[2,3-b][1,4,2]benzodithiazines 18-26 were prepared in order to evaluate their biological activity. compounds 6 and 18-26 were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic potency against 12 human cancer cell lines. the compounds 6 and 19 were inactive, whereas triazolobenzodithiazines 18, 20-26 possess tumor growth inhibitory properties. the prominent methyl 8-chloro-2 ... | 2006 | 16488515 |
| molecular and phenotypic typing of staphylococcus aureus isolates from rabbit meat. | twenty-six staphylococcus aureus isolates were recovered from rabbit carcasses and cuts during a period of seven months. samples from 51 different animals, flocks and farms were obtained from five establishments in four spanish provinces. to determine their diversity and possible origin, isolates were typed by three molecular and three phenotypic methods. pfge, with the highest discrimination index (d=0.966), identified 19 patterns (more than one band difference) and 10 types (more than three ba ... | 2006 | 16487685 |
| improvement of the therapeutic index of anticancer drugs by the superoxide dismutase mimic mangafodipir. | anticancer drugs act by increasing intracellular hydrogen peroxide levels. mangafodipir, a superoxide dismutase (sod) mimic with catalase and glutathione reductase activities, protects normal cells from apoptosis induced by h2o2. we investigated its and other oxidative stress modulators' effects on anticancer drug activity in vitro and in vivo. | 2006 | 16478742 |
| identification and molecular characterization of mannitol salt positive, coagulase-negative staphylococci from nasal samples of medical personnel and students. | the identification of mannitol salt positive, coagulase-negative staphylococci (cns) is often disregarded when staphylococcus aureus is screened in clinical samples using mannitol salt agar. however, the emergence of cns as important human pathogens has indicated that reliable methods for the identification of clinically significant cns are of great importance in understanding the epidemiology of infections caused by them. the identification and molecular characterization of mannitol salt positi ... | 2006 | 16476796 |
| fluorescently labeled collagen binding proteins allow specific visualization of collagen in tissues and live cell culture. | visualization of the formation and orientation of collagen fibers in tissue engineering experiments is crucial for understanding the factors that determine the mechanical properties of tissues. in this study, collagen-specific fluorescent probes were developed using a new approach that takes advantage of the inherent specificity of collagen binding protein domains present in bacterial adhesion proteins (cna35) and integrins (gst-alpha1i). both collagen binding domains were obtained as fusion pro ... | 2006 | 16476406 |
| influenza a viruses upregulate neutrophil toll-like receptor 2 expression and function. | neutrophils are involved in the initial host response to influenza a virus (iav) infection and exhibit both activation and depressed function after exposure to the virus. we demonstrate that iav causes rapid upregulation of toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) expression on neutrophils. the neutrophil agonists, formyl-methylpleucyl-alanine (fmlp), c5a and lipopolysaccharide did not alter neutrophil tlr2 expression, whereas pma and the microbial tlr2 ligands, peptidoglycan (pgn) and zymosan, reduced it. t ... | 2006 | 16476006 |
| antimicrobial susceptibility of environmental staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from a pigeon slaughterhouse in italy. | no information is available concerning the antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcus aureus isolated from pigeon slaughterhouses. in the present study, 59 staphylococcal strains isolated from a pigeon slaughterhouse in central italy were compared according to their antibiotic resistance. on the basis of cultural and biochemical properties, all isolates could be identified as s. aureus. the strains were checked for the productions of enterotoxins a, b, c, d by reversed passive latex agglutin ... | 2005 | 16463981 |
| methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus isolated from a veterinary surgeon and five dogs in one practice. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) was isolated from five dogs with wound discharges after surgical procedures at a veterinary practice, and mrsa with similar molecular and phenotypic characteristics was isolated from the nares of one veterinary surgeon in the practice. the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of all the isolates were indistinguishable from each other and from the most common human isolates of mrsa in ireland. | 2006 | 16461622 |
| partial nucleotide sequencing of the meca genes of staphylococcus aureus isolates from cats and dogs. | methicillin-resistant staphylococci (mrs) pose a challenge to clinicians and health administrators in human medicine, but mrs infections in cats and dogs are not perceived as a problem in veterinary medicine. ten methicillin-resistant staphylococcal isolates obtained from healthy and diseased cats and dogs were subjected to partial dna sequencing of the meca gene. sequence analysis shows that mrs isolates from both healthy and diseased cats and dogs can harbor the meca gene. the meca genes of an ... | 2006 | 16455893 |
| understanding the rise of the superbug: investigation of the evolution and genomic variation of staphylococcus aureus. | the bacterium staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of human infection, and it is becoming increasingly virulent and resistant to antibiotics. our understanding of the evolution of this species has been greatly enhanced by the recent sequencing of the genomes of seven strains of s. aureus. comparative genomic analysis allows us to identify variation in the chromosomes and understand the mechanisms by which this versatile bacterium has accumulated diversity within its genome structure. | 2006 | 16453141 |
| diversity and evolution of blaz from staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci. | to elucidate the diversity and evolutionary history of plasmid- and chromosomally-located blaz, to detect indications of frequent exchange of blaz between human and bovine staphylococci and to estimate the frequency of transfer of blaz between coagulase-negative staphylococci (cons) and staphylococcus aureus of bovine origin. | 2006 | 16449305 |
| [evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of immune sera]. | the inhibiting activity of blood sera obtained from 20 volunteers immunized with the multi-component vaccine "pyopol", 25 nonimmune donors and 7 lots of human antistaphylococcal immunoglobulin with respect to staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, proteus vulgaris and pseudomonas aeruginosa has been studied in the liquid nutrient medium with the use an automated microbiological analyzer. the sera of donors immunized with the vaccine "pyopol" have been found to possess high antimicrobial activi ... | 2005 | 16438372 |
| dose-dependent influence of barbiturates but not of propofol on human leukocyte phagocytosis of viable staphylococcus aureus. | deep sedation with barbiturates or propofol is a standard therapy for patients with critically elevated intracranial pressure. such patients are prone to infectious complications, especially to pneumonias, which are most commonly caused by staphylococcus aureus. although various immunomodulatory effects of barbiturates have been described in vitro, their influence on the phagocytosis of viable s. aureus has yet to be investigated. therefore, we examined the effects of thiopentone, methohexitone, ... | 2006 | 16424731 |
| use of antimicrobial agents for upper respiratory tract infections in taiwanese children. | upper respiratory tract infections (urtis) are mostly caused by viruses. antibiotic misuse for viral urtis in children is a serious problem that not only results in selection of resistant strains of bacteria but also wastes millions of dollars each year in taiwan. antibiotic resistance among common respiratory bacterial pathogens such as streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilus influenzae, staphylococcus aureus, and moraxella catarrhalis has become a major issue for public health. the common cold, ... | 2005 | 16422181 |
| molecular characterization of the capsule locus from non-typeable staphylococcus aureus. | most staphylococcus aureus express a serotype 5 or 8 capsular polysaccharide (cp). however, 20-25% of human isolates and up to 86% of bovine strains of s. aureus are non-typeable (nt), i.e. non-reactive with antibodies to cp types 1, 2, 5 or 8. a vaccine that targets the s. aureus cp would not protect against nt strains. the aim of this study was to characterize nt s. aureus isolates at the molecular level to explain their lack of type 5 or 8 capsule production. the cap5(8) locus was present in ... | 2006 | 16420363 |
| intracellular staphylococcus aureus and antibiotic resistance: implications for treatment of staphylococcal osteomyelitis. | staphylococcus aureus is responsible for 80% of human osteomyelitis. it can invade and persist within osteoblasts. antibiotic resistant strains of s. aureus make successful treatment of osteomyelitis difficult. null hypothesis: antibiotic sensitivities of s. aureus do not change after exposure to the osteoblast intracellular environment. human and mouse osteoblast cultures were infected and s. aureus cells were allowed to invade. following times 0, 12, 24, and 48 h ( +/- the addition of erythrom ... | 2006 | 16419973 |
| isolation and biochemical characterization of mutacin vsm43 isolated from human oral streptococcus mutans vsm43. | bacteriocins produced by mutans streptococci are known as mutacins. streptococcus mutans vsm43 isolated from human clinical oral cavity was screened for the production of mutacin. it can inhibit the growth of other mutans streptococci, many other gram-positives and some gram-negative bacteria. average size of the inhibitory zone ranged between 12-20mm. the inhibitory activity could not be related to organic acids, bacteriophages and hydrogen peroxide. mutacin vsm43 was protease sensitive, remain ... | 2003 | 16414575 |
| successful surgical treatment of a mycotic right coronary artery aneurysm complicated by a fistula to the right atrium. | we reported successful surgical treatment of a mycotic right coronary artery aneurysm complicated by a fistula to the right atrium in a 60-year-old man admitted to hospital because of acute worsening of renal function and erythroderma. after admission, he suffered from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus septicemia. despite administration of vancomycin hydrochloride, a low-grade fever persisted. subacute cardiac tamponade occurred three months after admission, and acute inferior wall myo ... | 2005 | 16408475 |
| [case of congestive heart failure associated with hypereosinophilia developed during antibiotics treatment]. | a 92-year-old man with a history of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis received antibiotics for sepsis by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant enterococcus gallinarum. during the antibiotics treatment, skin eruptions, liver dysfunction, and hypereosinophilia developed, followed by dyspnea, congestive heart failure, electrocardiographic abnormalities, and diffuse mild myocardial hypokinesis. after the discontinuation of the antibiotics and the administration of ... | 2005 | 16407668 |
| molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus strains from pet animals and their relationship to human isolates. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) isolates from pet animals were characterized and compared with human isolates from clonal complexes most prevalent in central europe. | 2006 | 16387748 |
| transmission of community-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus from breast milk in the neonatal intensive care unit. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) has become increasingly common in neonatal intensive care units and can lead to severe outcomes. baby c, of a set of quadruplets, died of mrsa sepsis. the surviving siblings were colonized with mrsa. expressed breast milk was fed to all infants; tested breast milk samples were all mrsa-positive. pulsed field gel electrophoresis results of isolates from the infants and breast milk were indistinguishable. | 2005 | 16371885 |
| transcriptional activation of the staphylococcus aureus putp gene by low-proline-high osmotic conditions and during infection of murine and human tissues. | staphylococcus aureus can grow virtually anywhere in the human body but needs to import proline through low- and high-affinity proline transporters to survive. this study examined the regulation of the s. aureus putp gene, which encodes a high-affinity proline permease. putp::lacz and putp::lux transcriptional fusions were constructed and integrated into the genomes of several s. aureus strains. enzyme activity was measured after growth in media with various osmolyte concentrations. as osmolarit ... | 2006 | 16368996 |
| wbn/kob-ht rats spontaneously develop dermatitis under conventional conditions: another possible model for atopic dermatitis. | wbn/kob-ht rats (ht-rats) raised under conventional conditions spontaneously developed dermatitis. in this study, we carried out histopathological analysis to elucidate the pathological features of the dermatitis in ht-rats. we then tried to detect staphylococcus species recovered from the skin lesions of ht-rats. we also measured the serum levels of total ige, il-4 and ifn-gamma in these rats. the histopathological data indicated that inflammatory cells had infiltrated the skin lesions. staphyl ... | 2005 | 16365525 |
| [chronic tuberculous methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) empyema with bronchopleural fistulae treated by open window thoracostomy followed by thoracoplasty and latissimus dorsi muscle transposition]. | we describe a case of chronic tuberculous methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) empyema with bronchopleural fistulae successfully treated by open window thoracostomy followed by thoracoplasty and transposition of the latissimus dorsi muscle. a 69-year old man with a history of artificial pneumothorax for pulmonary tuberculosis was referred to our hospital with fever and purulent bloody sputum. he was diagnosed as having right chronic tuberculous empyema with bronchopleural fistulae. ... | 2005 | 16359009 |
| biological evaluation of isothiazoloquinolones containing aromatic heterocycles at the 7-position: in vitro activity of a series of potent antibacterial agents that are effective against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. | we synthesized a diverse series of 9h-isothiazolo[5,4-b]quinoline-3,4-diones containing heteroaromatic groups at the 7-position via palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling. many of these compounds demonstrated potent antistaphylococcal activity (mics 2 microg/ml) against a multi-drug-resistant strain (atcc 700699) and low cytotoxic activity (cc(50)>100 microm) against the human cell line hep2 (laryngeal carcinoma). | 2006 | 16337789 |
| a new method of age estimation based on the changes in human non-collagenous proteins from dentin. | the new method exploits the characteristic of staphylococcal protease v8, which specifically splits peptide bonds where l-glutamic or l-aspartic acid participate. those peptide bonds where d-aspartic acid is present remain unsplit because of the stereospecifity of enzymes. in accordance with expectations, fewer peptide bonds are split by this protease at more advanced ages and larger peptide fragments are thus formed due to the higher content of d-amino acid residues in the proteins of older peo ... | 2006 | 16325361 |
| fatal ascending aorta-to-right ventricle fistula formation after staphylococcus aureus endocarditis of bicuspid aortic valve. | we present a case of a 46-year-old man with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and congenitally bicuspid aortic valve endocarditis caused by methicillin- and gentamicin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. endocarditis led to root abscess formation, a complete heart block, and fistulous tract formation between the ascending aorta and the right ventricle. although perivalvular abscess is not an unusual complication of native valve endocarditis, a fatal fistulous communication between the asc ... | 2005 | 16324963 |
| pyogenic spondylitis presenting with skip lesions. | we report on a 65-year-old man who presented with a 1-month history of aggravating backache and low-grade fever. he suddenly became paraplegic (frankel b). muscle power was grade 0 approximately 1 over the bilateral lower limbs. x-ray films showed disc space narrowing and end-plate blurring at the t9 approximately t11 and l4 approximately l5 levels. magnetic resonance imaging showed an infectious lesion at t9 approximately t11 and another at l4 approximately l5. an emergent operation was perform ... | 2005 | 16323557 |
| is/are pattern recognition receptor(s) for staphylococcus aureus defective in atopic dermatitis? | it is known that staphylococcus aureus induces the expression of human beta-defensin-2 (hbd-2), a well-characterized antimicrobial peptide, in keratinocytes. however, in spite of heavy colonization of atopic dermatitis (ad) skin lesions by s. aureus, these lesions have consistently been shown to contain low expression of hbd-2. the current article discusses various possible mechanisms for the low expression of hbd-2 in ad and raises the question whether the innate recognition of s. aureus by ker ... | 2006 | 16319468 |
| ability of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 to participate in bacterial translocation across the intestinal epithelial barrier. | although hundreds of microbial species reside in the human intestinal tract, comparatively few (e.g., escherichia coli and other enterobacteria, enterococcus faecalis, etc.) are typically associated with systemic infection in postsurgical, shock, and trauma patients. syndecan-1 is the predominant cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan expressed on epithelia, and there is substantial evidence that heparan sulfate participates in interactions of a variety of frankly pathogenic microbes with mam ... | 2005 | 16317389 |
| the extracellular adherence protein (eap) of staphylococcus aureus inhibits wound healing by interfering with host defense and repair mechanisms. | staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen interfering with host-cell functions. impaired wound healing is often observed in s aureus-infected wounds, yet, the underlying mechanisms are poorly defined. here, we identify the extracellular adherence protein (eap) of s aureus to be responsible for impaired wound healing. in a mouse wound-healing model wound closure was inhibited in the presence of wild-type s aureus and this effect was reversible when the wounds were incubated with an isogenic ... | 2006 | 16317095 |
| evaluation of molecular methods to determine enterotoxigenic status and molecular genotype of bovine, ovine, human and food isolates of staphylococcus aureus. | this study evaluated the use of pfge and single enzyme aflp techniques for the determination of the genetic relationships between staphyloccocus aureus isolates from human, bovine, ovine and food related sources and reports the prevalence of 'classic' (sea to see) and 'new' (seg, seh, sei, sej, sem, sen and seo) staphylococcal enterotoxin (se) genes in 92 s. aureus strains. a sub-set of the se genotyping results was confirmed by elisa and the presence of se toxin determined in isolates from diff ... | 2006 | 16310270 |
| the role of nasal carriage in staphylococcus aureus infections. | staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of infections in both the community and hospital. worldwide, the increasing resistance of this pathogen to various antibiotics complicates treatment of s aureus infections. effective measures to prevent s aureus infections are therefore urgently needed. it has been shown that nasal carriers of s aureus have an increased risk of acquiring an infection with this pathogen. the nose is the main ecological niche where s aureus resides in human beings, but the ... | 2005 | 16310147 |
| differential activity of a lectin from solieria filiformis against human pathogenic bacteria. | a lectin isolated from the red alga solieria filiformis was evaluated for its effect on the growth of 8 gram-negative and 3 gram-positive bacteria cultivated in liquid medium (three independent experiments/bacterium). the lectin (500 microg/ml) stimulated the growth of the gram-positive species bacillus cereus and inhibited the growth of the gram-negative species serratia marcescens, salmonella typhi, klebsiella pneumoniae, enterobacter aerogenes, proteus sp, and pseudomonas aeruginosa at 1000 m ... | 2005 | 16302091 |
| abnormalities in the pulmonary innate immune system in cystic fibrosis. | pulmonary infection is the dominant clinical feature of cystic fibrosis (cf), but the basis for this susceptibility remains incompletely understood. one hypothesis is that cf airway surface liquid (asl) is abnormal and interferes with neutrophil function. to study this possibility, we developed an in vitro system in which we collected asl from primary cultures of normal and cf airway epithelial cells. microbial killing was less efficient when bacteria were incubated with neutrophils in the prese ... | 2006 | 16293782 |
| a competitive mechanism for staphylococcal toxin ssl7 inhibiting the leukocyte iga receptor, fc alphari, is revealed by ssl7 binding at the c alpha2/c alpha3 interface of iga. | leukocyte recruitment and effector functions like phagocytosis and respiratory burst are key elements of immunity to infection. pathogen survival is dependent upon the ability to overwhelm, evade or inhibit the immune system. pathogenic group a and group b streptococci are well known to produce virulence factors that block the binding of iga to the leukocyte iga receptor, fc alphari, thereby inhibiting iga-mediated immunity. recently we found staphylococcus aureus also interferes with iga-mediat ... | 2006 | 16293625 |
| t cell chemotaxis and chemokine release after staphylococcus aureus interaction with polarized airway epithelium. | in response to bacterial infection, airway epithelium releases inflammatory mediators including cytokines and chemokines that lead to immune cell efflux and could stimulate the adaptive t cell immune response. the aim of our study was to analyze, in a double chamber culture, the chemokine changes in response to staphylococcus aureus and their consequences for t cells. our data show that s. aureus stimulates basolateral and apical release of il-8 and eotaxin by airway epithelial cells. we also ob ... | 2006 | 16284362 |
| detection and characterization of tet(m) in tetracycline-resistant listeria strains from human and food-processing origins in belgium and france. | in the present study, three listeria monocytogenes strains and one listeria innocua strain out of a collection of 241 listeria isolates from human and food-processing sources were found to display resistance to tetracycline (tc) due to the presence of the tet(m) gene. through sequence analysis, it was shown that tet(m) genes in two of the isolates belong to sequence homology group (shg) ii, a group comprising chromosomally encoded tet(m) genes previously found in staphylococcus aureus and in lac ... | 2005 | 16278428 |
| recognition and management of staphylococcus aureus toxin-mediated disease. | the ubiquitous human pathogen staphylococcus aureus is capable of producing a formidable range of extracellular toxins that can have significant deleterious effects on the host. toxic shock syndrome (tss) results from infection or colonization with a strain of s. aureus that produces staphylococcal enterotoxin(s). the key features of tss are widespread erythroderma occurring in association with profound hypotension and multiple organ dysfunction. as morbidity and mortality from tss are appreciab ... | 2005 | 16271055 |
| design, validation, and application of a seven-strain staphylococcus aureus pcr product microarray for comparative genomics. | bacterial comparative genomics has been revolutionized by microarrays, but the power of any microarray is dependent on the number and diversity of gene reporters it contains. staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen causing a wide range of invasive and toxin-mediated diseases, and more than 20% of the genome of any isolate consists of variable genes. seven whole-genome sequences of s. aureus are available, and we exploited this rare opportunity to design, build, and validate a compre ... | 2005 | 16269792 |
| roles of group iia phospholipase a2 and complement in killing of bacteria by acute phase serum. | the complement system is regarded as an important component of the innate defence system against invading bacteria. however, synergistic actions between the complement and the other components of innate immunity are incompletely known. human group iia phospholipase a(2) (hgiia pla(2)) is an effective antibacterial enzyme in serum of patients with severe bacterial infections. our aim was to investigate the significance of complement and hgiia pla(2) in acute phase serum. serum samples were collec ... | 2005 | 16253130 |
| why is the arg5-glu13 salt bridge conserved in mammalian alpha-defensins? | mammalian alpha-defensins, expressed primarily in leukocytes and epithelia, kill a broad range of microbes, constituting one of the first lines of innate immune defense against infection. nine amino acid residues, including six cysteines, one glycine, and a pair of oppositely charged residues arg/glu, are conserved in the otherwise diverse sequences of all known mammalian alpha-defensins. structural analysis indicates that the two charged residues form a salt bridge, likely stabilizing a protrud ... | 2005 | 16246847 |
| serum complement factor i decreases staphylococcus aureus phagocytosis. | complement-mediated opsonization of staphylococcus aureus is a critical host defense in animal models. specifically, c3b and cd35 play important roles in effective opsonophagocytosis of s. aureus. we have shown that complement control protein factor i mediates cleavage of the complement opsonin c3b bound to the s. aureus surface. in this study, we examined the physiologic relevance of this observation by determining whether factor i-mediated cleavage of s. aureus-bound c3b decreased phagocytosis ... | 2005 | 16242527 |
| toll-like receptor 2-mediated expression of beta-defensin-2 in human corneal epithelial cells. | we previously showed that human corneal epithelial cells (hcecs) express toll-like receptors (tlrs), which recognize gram-positive bacteria and respond to staphylococcus aureus infection by the expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and beta-defensin-2 (hbd2). in this study, we further elucidated the underlying mechanisms regulating hbd-2 expression and its role in innate defense in hcecs in response to s. aureus challenge. exposure of hucl cells, a telomerase-immortalized hcec li ... | 2006 | 16242370 |
| peptidoglycan of staphylococcus aureus upregulates monocyte expression of cd14, toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2), and tlr4 in human blood: possible implications for priming of lipopolysaccharide signaling. | previous studies have indicated that peptidoglycan (pepg) from gram-positive bacteria can exert a priming effect on the innate immune response to lipopolysaccharide (lps) from gram-negative bacteria. here, we hypothesized that this priming effect may be preceded by enhanced expression of monocyte cd14, toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2), and tlr4. in an ex vivo whole human blood model, we observed a substantial synergy between lps and pepg in the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 ... | 2005 | 16239565 |
| marco is the major binding receptor for unopsonized particles and bacteria on human alveolar macrophages. | alveolar macrophages (ams) avidly bind and ingest inhaled environmental particles and bacteria. to identify the particle binding receptor(s) on human ams, we used functional screening of anti-human am hybridomas and isolated a mab, plk-1, which inhibits am binding of unopsonized particles (e.g., tio2, latex beads; 63 +/- 5 and 67 +/- 4% inhibition, respectively, measured by flow cytometry; n = 11) and unopsonized bacteria ( approximately 84 and 41% inhibition of escherichia coli and staphylococc ... | 2005 | 16237101 |
| whole-genome sequencing of staphylococcus haemolyticus uncovers the extreme plasticity of its genome and the evolution of human-colonizing staphylococcal species. | staphylococcus haemolyticus is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that colonizes human skin and is remarkable for its highly antibiotic-resistant phenotype. we determined the complete genome sequence of s.haemolyticus to better understand its pathogenicity and evolutionary relatedness to the other staphylococcal species. a large proportion of the open reading frames in the genomes of s.haemolyticus, staphylococcus aureus, and staphylococcus epidermidis were conserved in their sequence and order ... | 2005 | 16237012 |