Publications

hyperreflexia in axonal guillain-barré syndrome subsequent to campylobacter jejuni enteritis.	we describe a patient with the acute motor axonal neuropathy (aman) form of guillain-barré syndrome (gbs), who showed generalized hyperreflexia. a 24-year-old man developed acute paralysis following campylobacter jejuni enteritis. he showed exaggerated tendon reflexes with abnormal reflex spread to other segments, and was initially diagnosed as having post-infectious myelitis. nerve conduction studies showed motor axonal degeneration (the aman pattern), and increased soleus h-reflex amplitudes. ...	2002	12084449
occurrence and strain diversity of thermophilic campylobacters in cattle of different age groups in dairy herds.	to investigate the occurrence and numbers of thermophilic campylobacters excreted by cattle in dairy herds, and to assess the strain diversity within herds.	2002	12081556
[anti-gq1b igg-negative case of overlapping fisher's and gullain-barré syndromes after campylobacter jejuni (pen 19) enteritis].	we described a 70-year-old woman with overlapping fisher's syndrome (fs) and guillain-barré syndrome (gbs), from whom campylobacter jejuni had been isolated. in typical fs as well as gbs with ophthalmoplegia and acute ophthalmoparesis without ataxia, serum anti-gq1b igg antibody often is detected and ophthalmoplegia is characterized by the predominant abducens palsy. this patient, however, showed marked oculomotor nerve disturbance. serum anti-gq1b igg antibody was negative and igg antibodies ag ...	2001	12080613
homonucleotide stretches in chromosomal dna of campylobacter jejuni display high frequency polymorphism as detected by direct pcr analysis.	homopolymeric nucleotide tracts have been previously identified in the genome sequence of campylobacter jejuni 11168 [parkhill et al., nature 403 (2000) 665-668]. these tracts are believed to regulate contingency genes but as yet no phenotypic variation has been identified associated with many of these genes. to investigate homopolymeric tracts for genes for which there is no observable phenotype, a method was designed to visualise profiles of the various tract lengths directly at the genomic le ...	2002	12076791
[the current status of infectious enteritis in japan--reports of the "research group for infectious enteric diseases, japan" in the last 5 years (1996-2000)].	the patients or carriers with infectious enteritis admitted to the hospitals for infectious diseases in the last 5 years (1996-2000) were studied. the total number of cases admitted in each year were 969, 1,113, 981, 637 and 573 respectively. a total of 1,527 shigella spp. strains including 1,078 strains from overseas travelers' cases were isolated. the isolates of salmonella spp. excluding s. typhi and s. paratyphi a were 562 in number. a total of 61 vibrio cholerae o1 strains including 44 stra ...	2002	12073571
cmeabc functions as a multidrug efflux system in campylobacter jejuni.	campylobacter jejuni, a gram-negative organism causing gastroenteritis in humans, is increasingly resistant to antibiotics. however, little is known about the drug efflux mechanisms in this pathogen. here we characterized an efflux pump encoded by a three-gene operon (designated cmeabc) that contributes to multidrug resistance in c. jejuni 81-176. cmeabc shares significant sequence and structural homology with known tripartite multidrug efflux pumps in other gram-negative bacteria, and it consis ...	2002	12069964
essential role of ferritin pfr in helicobacter pylori iron metabolism and gastric colonization.	the reactivity of the essential element iron necessitates a concerted expression of ferritins, which mediate iron storage in a nonreactive state. here we have further established the role of the helicobacter pylori ferritin pfr in iron metabolism and gastric colonization. iron stored in pfr enabled h. pylori to multiply under severe iron starvation and protected the bacteria from acid-amplified iron toxicity, as inactivation of the pfr gene restricted growth of h. pylori under these conditions. ...	2002	12065536
shigella deliver an effector protein to trigger host microtubule destabilization, which promotes rac1 activity and efficient bacterial internalization.	shigella deliver a subset of effectors into the host cell via the type iii secretion system, that stimulate host cell signal pathways to modulate the actin dynamics required for invasion of epithelial cells. here we show that one of the shigella effectors, called vira, can interact with tubulin to promote microtubule (mt) destabilization, and elicit protrusions of membrane ruffling. under in vitro conditions, vira inhibited polymerization of tubulin and stimulated mt destabilization. upon microi ...	2002	12065406
rapid genetic analysis of helicobacter pylori gastric mucosal colonization in suckling mice.	previously described animal models for helicobacter pylori infection have been limited by cumbersome host requirements (e.g., germ-free conditions or unusual species) or are applicable to only special subsets of h. pylori strains (e.g., fresh clinical isolates or animal-adapted derivatives). here, we report that 5- to 6-day-old outbred cd-1 (icr) suckling mice support 24-h colonization of all h. pylori strains tested (ss1, 26695 smr-1, 43504 smr-1, and g27 smr-1), including lab-passaged strains ...	2002	12060779
dictionary-driven prokaryotic gene finding.	gene identification, also known as gene finding or gene recognition, is among the important problems of molecular biology that have been receiving increasing attention with the advent of large scale sequencing projects. previous strategies for solving this problem can be categorized into essentially two schools of thought: one school employs sequence composition statistics, whereas the other relies on database similarity searches. in this paper, we propose a new gene identification scheme that c ...	2002	12060689
microbial risk assessment of source-separated urine used in agriculture.	a screening-level quantitative microbial risk assessment (qmra) was undertaken for a urine separating sewerage system. exposures evaluated included the handling of stored and unstored urine as well as consumption of crops fertilised with urine. faecal cross-contamination was the source of risk and campylobacter jejuni, cryptosporidium parvum and rotavirus were the organisms chosen to represent different groups of enteric pathogens. accidental ingestion of unstored urine implied a high risk (pinf ...	2002	12058821
mutational and transcriptional analysis of the campylobacter jejuni flagellar biosynthesis gene flhb.	a campylobacter jejuni gene encoding a homologue of the flagellar biosynthesis gene flhb was identified downstream of the peroxide stress defence gene ahpc. insertional mutagenesis of the flhb gene rendered c. jejuni non-motile, with most cells aflagellate, although a small number expressed truncated flagella. the absence of flhb also appeared to affect cell shape, as the majority of cells were straight rather than curved rods. transcription of the flagellin gene flaa was significantly reduced i ...	2002	12055288
comparison of 23s polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and amplified fragment length polymorphism techniques as typing systems for thermophilic campylobacters.	in this study, we evaluated the combination of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (pcr-rflp) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp) molecular typing techniques for the analysis of thermophilic campylobacter species isolated from clinical and poultry samples. 23s pcr-rflp analysis performed to fingerprint 69 strains exhibited an excellent level of typability. eleven different types were defined at 100% linkage level following numerical analysis of band p ...	2002	12052557
evolution of gene fusions: horizontal transfer versus independent events.	gene fusions can be used as tools for functional prediction and also as evolutionary markers. fused genes often show a scattered phyletic distribution, which suggests a role for processes other than vertical inheritance in their evolution.	2002	12049665
[typings of campylobacter jejuni isolated from patients of 2 outbreak cases by genotypic and phenotypic methods].	we compared campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from the patient stools associated with two food-borne diarrheal outbreak cases by the serotypic methods (lior and penner systems) and the genotypic methods (restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) of flaa gene and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge)). fla-rflp was based on the digestion of 410 bp dna fragment by mboi restriction enzyme amplified from a 5' portion of c. jejuni flaa gene. six distinctive fla-rflp patterns were identifi ...	2002	12048887
lipopolysaccharide endotoxins.	bacterial lipopolysaccharides (lps) typically consist of a hydrophobic domain known as lipid a (or endotoxin), a nonrepeating "core" oligosaccharide, and a distal polysaccharide (or o-antigen). recent genomic data have facilitated study of lps assembly in diverse gram-negative bacteria, many of which are human or plant pathogens, and have established the importance of lateral gene transfer in generating structural diversity of o-antigens. many enzymes of lipid a biosynthesis like lpxc have been ...	2002	12045108
lipopolysaccharide endotoxins.	bacterial lipopolysaccharides (lps) typically consist of a hydrophobic domain known as lipid a (or endotoxin), a nonrepeating "core" oligosaccharide, and a distal polysaccharide (or o-antigen). recent genomic data have facilitated study of lps assembly in diverse gram-negative bacteria, many of which are human or plant pathogens, and have established the importance of lateral gene transfer in generating structural diversity of o-antigens. many enzymes of lipid a biosynthesis like lpxc have been ...	2002	12045108
walkerton, 2 years later: "memory fades very quickly".		2002	12041857
development of a procedure for discriminating among escherichia coli isolates from animal and human sources.	counts of escherichia coli cells in water indicate the potential presence of pathogenic microbes of intestinal origin but give no indication of the sources of the microbial pollution. the objective of this research was to evaluate methods for differentiating e. coli isolates of livestock, wildlife, or human origin that might be used to predict the sources of fecal pollution of water. a collection of 319 e. coli isolates from the feces of cattle, poultry, swine, deer, goose, and moose, as well as ...	2002	12039721
prevalence and numbers of salmonella and campylobacter spp. on raw, whole chickens in relation to sampling methods.	salmonella and campylobacter continue to be major foodborne pathogens and raw poultry is considered to be an important source of these bacteria. in this study, the prevalence and numbers of salmonella and campylobacter spp. in relation to isolation/sampling methods were determined in 241 whole raw chickens purchased from retail outlets in england during the winters of 1998/1999 (101 chickens) and 1999/2000 (140 chickens). the packaging of the 140 chickens was also examined for the presence of th ...	2002	12038572
comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and amplified fragment length polymorphism techniques for investigating outbreaks of enteritis due to campylobacters.	campylobacters are the most commonly reported cause of acute bacterial enteritis in the united kingdom and united states, with poultry, milk, and water implicated as sources or vehicles of infection. the majority of campylobacter infections are sporadic, although outbreaks may occur, and these provide an opportunity to evaluate genotypic fingerprinting techniques. in this study, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) was compared with single-enzyme-amplified fragment length polymorphism (saflp) ...	2002	12037105
disease reporting from an automated laboratory-based reporting system to a state health department via local county health departments.	the authors assessed the completeness of disease reporting from a managed care organization's automated laboratory-based reporting system to the california department of health services (cdhs) via local public health departments.	2001	12034915
evidence for strong selective constraint acting on the nucleotide composition of 16s ribosomal rna genes.	previous studies have shown that the guanine plus cytosine (g+c) content of ribosomal rnas (rrnas) is highly correlated with bacterial growth temperatures. this correlation is strongest in the double-stranded stem regions of the rrna, a fact that can be explained by selection for increased structural stability at high growth temperatures. in this study, we examined the single-stranded regions of 16s rrnas. we reasoned that, since these regions of the molecule are subject to less structural const ...	2002	12034839
the c-terminal region of escherichia coli uvrc contributes to the flexibility of the uvrabc nucleotide excision repair system.	nucleotide excision repair in escherichia coli involves formation of the uvrb-dna complex and subsequent dna incisions on either site of the damage by uvrc. in this paper, we studied the incision of substrates with different damages in varying sequence contexts. we show that there is not always a correlation between the incision efficiency and the stability of the uvrb-dna complex. both stable and unstable uvrb-dna complexes can be efficiently incised. however some lesions that give rise to stab ...	2002	12034838
phenotypic and genotypic variation in methylases involved in type ii restriction-modification systems in helicobacter pylori.	to determine relationships between helicobacter pylori geographical origin and type ii methylase activity, we examined 122 strains from various locations around the world for methylase expression. most geographic regions possessed at least one strain resistant to digestion by each of 14 restriction endonucleases studied. across all of the strains studied, the average number of active methylases was 8.2 +/- 1.9 with no significant variation between the major geographic regions. although seven pai ...	2002	12034832
campylobacter isolation trends of cage versus floor broiler chickens: a one-year study.	an experiment was carried out over a 1-yr period with broiler chickens to assess the influence of cage and floor rearing environments on the isolation trends of campylobacter jejuni. the study used 36 7-wk-old broiler chickens that were raised in floor pens and naturally infected with or exposed to c. jejuni during the growout period. these broilers were then leg-banded and split into two groups with 18 per group. the groups were placed in wire cages or in a floor pen with unused litter in separ ...	2002	12033411
in vitro study on the effect of organic acids on campylobacter jejuni/coli populations in mixtures of water and feed.	gastroenteritis caused by campylobacter spp. infection has been recognized as one of the important public health problems in the developed countries. outbreaks mostly originate from the consumption of contaminated poultry or infected water. the aim of this study was to determine the bactericidal activity on campylobacter spp. of organic acids individually and in combinations at different ph levels and times and to compare bactericidal activities with activities of commercially available products ...	2002	12033410
detection of campylobacter jejuni and campylobacter coli in foods by enrichment culture and polymerase chain reaction enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.	a polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assay based on a solution hybridization format with colorimetric end-point detection (pcr elisa) was investigated for the specific detection of campylobacter jejuni and campylobacter coli in food samples following enrichment culture. one hundred fifteen samples of raw meat and offal (poultry, porcine, ovine, and bovine), raw shellfish, and artificially contaminated milk were enriched in blood-free campylobacter enrichment broth for 48 h. enrichment cultures were ...	2002	12030285
regulation of the bacillus subtilis fur and perr genes by perr: not all members of the perr regulon are peroxide inducible.	perr is a ferric uptake repressor (fur) homolog that functions as the central regulator of the inducible peroxide stress response in bacillus subtilis. perr has been previously demonstrated to regulate the mrga, kata, ahpcf, hemaxcdbl, and zosa genes. we now demonstrate that perr also mediates both the repression of its own gene and that of fur. whereas perr-mediated repression of most target genes can be elicited by either manganese or iron, repression of perr and fur is selective for manganese ...	2002	12029044
anti-gt1a igg in guillain-barré syndrome.	to investigate the presence of serum anti-gt1a igg in guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) and its relation to clinical manifestations.	2002	12023422
detection of campylobacter antibodies in sheep sera by a dot-elisa using acid extracts from c. fetus ssp. fetus and c. jejuni strains and comparison with a complement fixation test.	in this study, a dot-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-elisa) was evaluated in comparison with a complement fixation test (cft) for the detection of campylobacter antibodies in sheep sera. acid glycine extracts (age) of both campylobacter fetus ssp. fetus and campylobacter jejuni strains that had been isolated from the gall-bladder of slaughtered sheep was used as antigen in both tests. a total of 153 sheep sera from aborted (74) and slaughtered (79) sheep were examined by both dot-elisa an ...	2002	12019946
the relationship of campylobacter jejuni infection and the development of guillain-barré syndrome.	campylobacter jejuni is recognized as the most common infectious agent associated with the development of guillain-barré syndrome. available information on the complete genome sequence of c. jejuni nctc 11168 has helped researchers to identify polysaccharide capsules as well as genetic mechanisms in the synthesis of ganglioside-like cell surface molecules in this bacteria. toxins may contribute to the host's inflammatory response seen in guillain-barré syndrome.	2002	12015454
neck stiffness in two children with guillain-barré syndrome after campylobacter jejuni infection.		2001	12013593
apoptosis in acute shigellosis is associated with increased production of fas/fas ligand, perforin, caspase-1, and caspase-3 but reduced production of bcl-2 and interleukin-2.	shigella dysenteriae type 1-induced apoptotic cell death in rectal tissues from patients infected with shigella dysenteriae type 1 was studied by the terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dutp-biotin nick end labeling (tunel) technique and annexin v staining. expression of proteins and cytokines participating in the apoptotic process (caspase-1, caspase-3, fas [cd95], fas ligand [fas-l], perforin, granzyme a, bax, waf-1, bcl-2, interleukin-2 [il-2], il-18, and granulocyte-macrophage colo ...	2002	12011015
molecular cloning of the fur gene from actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.	in several bacterial species, iron availability in host tissues is coordinated with the expression of virulence determinants through the fur gene product. initial experiments showed that a cloned escherichia coli fur gene probe hybridized to southern blots of actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strain jp2 (serotype b) chromosomal dna. the a. actinomycetemcomitans fur gene was then cloned utilizing partial functional complementation of the fur mutant in e. coli strain h1780. analysis of the clon ...	2002	12011012
uptake of aspergillus fumigatus conidia by phagocytic and nonphagocytic cells in vitro: quantitation using strains expressing green fluorescent protein.	several pathogenic fungal organisms enter eukaryotic cells and manipulate the host cell environment to favor their own growth and survival. aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus that causes invasive lung disease in the immunocompromised host. to determine whether a. fumigatus could enter eukaryotic cells, we studied the uptake of two different gfp-expressing a. fumigatus strains into a549 lung epithelial cells, human umbilical vein endothelial (huve) cells, and j774 murine macrophages in ...	2002	12011010
lsaa, an antigen involved in cell attachment and invasion, is expressed by lawsonia intracellularis during infection in vitro and in vivo.	lawsonia intracellularis has been identified recently as the etiological agent of proliferative enteropathies, which are characterized by intestinal epithelial hyperplasia and associated moderate immune responses. this disease complex has been reported in a broad range of animals, prevalently in pigs, and l. intracellularis has been linked with ulcerative colitis in humans. l. intracellularis is an obligate intracellular bacterium, and the pathogenic mechanisms used to cause disease are unknown. ...	2002	12010978
identification of novel adhesins from group b streptococci by use of phage display reveals that c5a peptidase mediates fibronectin binding.	group b streptococci (gbs) are a major cause of pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in newborns and infants. gbs initiate infection of the lung by colonizing mucosal surfaces of the respiratory tract; adherence of the bacteria to host cells is presumed to be the initial step in and prerequisite for successful colonization (g. s. tamura, j. m. kuypers, s. smith, h. raff, and c. e. rubens, infect. immun. 62:2450-2458, 1994). we have performed a genome-wide screen to identify novel genes of gbs that ...	2002	12010974
antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of campylobacter jejuni strains isolated from hospitalized children in athens, greece.	the antimicrobial susceptibility of 129 campylobacter jejuni strains, isolated from hospitalized children with gastroenteritis, to five antimicrobials, including nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, ampicillin and co-amoxiclav, was determined. isolates belonged to two time periods: group a contained strains isolated in 1987-1988; and group b 1998-2000. antimicrobial susceptibility patterns differed significantly between the two groups with respect to quinolones, with an increase in the p ...	2002	12003974
an iron-binding protein, dpr, from streptococcus mutans prevents iron-dependent hydroxyl radical formation in vitro.	the dpr gene is an antioxidant gene which was isolated from the streptococcus mutans chromosome by its ability to complement an alkyl hydroperoxide reductase-deficient mutant of escherichia coli, and it was proven to play an indispensable role in oxygen tolerance in s. mutans. here, we purified the 20-kda dpr gene product, dpr, from a crude extract of s. mutans as an iron-binding protein and found that dpr formed a spherical oligomer about 9 nm in diameter. molecular weight determinations of dpr ...	2002	12003933
public health implications of campylobacter outbreaks in england and wales, 1995-9: epidemiological and microbiological investigations.	although campylobacter has been the most commonly recognized bacterial cause of gastrointestinal infection in england and wales since 1981, there are few reported campylobacter outbreaks. of the 2374 general outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease reported to cdsc between 1995 and 1999, for which an aetiological agent was identified, campylobacter accounted for only 50 (2%). foodborne transmission was identified in 35 outbreaks and the majority took place in commercial catering establishments ...	2002	12002527
functional characterisation of mycobacterial dna gyrase: an efficient decatenase.	a rapid single step immunoaffinity purification procedure is described for mycobacterium smegmatis dna gyrase. the mycobacterial enzyme is a 340 kda heterotetrameric protein comprising two subunits each of gyra and gyrb, exhibiting subtle differences and similarities to the well-characterised escherichia coli gyrase. in contrast to e.coli gyrase, the m.smegmatis enzyme exhibits strong decatenase activity at physiological mg2+ concentrations. further, the enzymes exhibited marked differences in a ...	2002	12000834
[mixed infections of rotaviruses and campylobacter jejuni in caco-2 cells].	a mixed infection with rotavirus and 3 different campylobacter jejuni strains was analysed in caco-2 cells, a cell line highly susceptible to these pathogens. the results obtained showed no influence of the virus preinfection on the campylobacter jejuni adhesion or internalisation in caco-2 cells. confocal laser scanning microscopy of mixed infected cells confirmed these results. the data from the present study indicate that specific rather than nonspecific mechanisms are involved in the interac ...	2002	11998368
[colonisation studies using campylobacter jejuni in chicks].	white leghorn chicks used in this study were hatched from specific pathogen-free eggs. the colonizing capability of campylobacter (c.) jejuni strains was investigated in 6 experiments. the formation of specific antibodies associated to colonization was also detected. in each experiment, day of hatch chicks were randomly separated into three groups of 24 birds each: two groups colonized experimentally and one control group. chicks were reared on the floor in three separated, adjacent rooms with s ...	2002	11998367
protein coding palindromes are a unique but recurrent feature in rickettsia.	rickettsia are unique in inserting in-frame a number of palindromic sequences within protein coding regions. in this study, we extensively analyzed repeated sequences in the genome of rickettsia conorii and examined their locations in regard to coding versus noncoding regions. we identified 656 interspersed repeated sequences classified into 10 distinct families. of the 10 families, three palindromic sequence families showed clear cases of insertions into open reading frames (orfs). the location ...	2002	11997347
a complete sequence of the t. tengcongensis genome.	thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis is a rod-shaped, gram-negative, anaerobic eubacterium that was isolated from a freshwater hot spring in tengchong, china. using a whole-genome-shotgun method, we sequenced its 2,689,445-bp genome from an isolate, mb4(t) (genbank accession no. ae008691). the genome encodes 2588 predicted coding sequences (cds). among them, 1764 (68.2%) are classified according to homology to other documented proteins, and the rest, 824 cds (31.8%), are functionally unknown. one of ...	2002	11997336
[spontaneous peritonitis induced by campylobacter spp in patients with liver cirrhosis. report of 2 cases and review of the literature].	campylobacter spp is not usual as the aetiology agent for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. we report two cases of spontaneous peritonitis due to campylobacter jejuni diagnosed in our hospital and review the literature trough medline data base. we found 13 cases of spontaneous peritonitis in which campylobacter sp was isolated from ascitic fluid. the main characteristics of these cases were: the existence of an evolved alcoholic cirrhosis, a high positivity of blood cultures as well as a high r ...	2002	11989076
excess infections due to antimicrobial resistance: the "attributable fraction".	antimicrobial use causes a transient decrease in an individual's resistance to colonization by noncommensal bacteria ("competitive effect") and increases the likelihood of infection upon exposure to a foodborne pathogen. the additional "selective effect" of antimicrobial resistance results in a >3-fold increase in vulnerability to infection by an antimicrobial-resistant pathogen among individuals receiving antimicrobial therapy for unrelated reasons. combining the increase in vulnerability to in ...	2002	11988883
human diseases caused by foodborne pathogens of animal origin.	many lines of evidence link antimicrobial-resistant human infections to foodborne pathogens of animal origin. types of evidence reviewed include: (1) direct epidemiologic studies; (2) temporal evidence; (3) additional circumstantial evidence; (4) trends in antimicrobial resistance among salmonella isolates; and (5) trends in antimicrobial resistance among other pathogens, such as campylobacter jejuni. commensal microorganisms in animals and humans may contribute to antimicrobial resistance among ...	2002	11988881
quorum sensing in campylobacter jejuni: detection of a luxs encoded signalling molecule.	the expression of a wide variety of physiological functions in many bacterial species is modulated by quorum sensing, a population-dependent signalling mechanism that involves the production and detection of extracellular signalling molecules. the genome sequence of campylobacter jejuni nctc 11168 contains a gene encoding an orthologue of luxs, which is required for autoinducer-2 (ai-2) production in other bacterial species, but does not contain genes predicted to encode any known acyl-homoserin ...	2002	11988522
cloning and expression of a helicobacter bilis immunoreactive protein.	in an effort to identify immunoreactive helicobacter bilis antigens with potential for serodiagnosis, sera from mice experimentally infected with h. bilis were used to screen an h. bilis genomic dna expression library. among 17 immunoreactive clones, several contained sequences that encoded a predicted 167-kda protein (p167). five overlapping p167 peptides (p167a to p167e) of approximately 40 kda each were generated and tested. immune sera reacted with fragments p167c and p167d at dilutions of 1 ...	2002	11986271
identification of n-acetylgalactosamine-containing glycoproteins peb3 and cgpa in campylobacter jejuni.	it was demonstrated recently that there is a system of general protein glycosylation in the human enteropathogen campylobacter jejuni. to characterize such glycoproteins, we identified a lectin, soybean agglutinin (sba), which binds to multiple c. jejuni proteins on western blots. binding of lectin sba was disrupted by mutagenesis of genes within the previously identified protein glycosylation locus. this lectin was used to purify putative glycoproteins selectively and, after sodium dodecyl sulp ...	2002	11985725
mutator clones of neisseria meningitidis in epidemic serogroup a disease.	serogroup a neisseria meningitidis has repeatedly caused widespread epidemics of meningitis and septicemia throughout the 20th century. recently, in a limited collection of strains, epidemic serogroup a isolates were found to have elevated mutation rates that was caused by defects in mismatch repair pathways. to ascertain the role of these mutators in the epidemic spread of this serogroup, the prevalence of hypermutability in a collection of 95 serogroup a n. meningitidis invasive isolates was d ...	2002	11983903
the identification of functional modules from the genomic association of genes.	by combining the pairwise interactions between proteins, as predicted by the conserved co-occurrence of their genes in operons, we obtain protein interaction networks. here we study the properties of such networks to identify functional modules: sets of proteins that together are involved in a biological process. the complete network contains 3,033 orthologous groups of proteins in 38 genomes. it consists of one giant component, containing 1,611 orthologous groups, and of 516 small disjointed cl ...	2002	11983890
antibiotics in agriculture: when is it time to close the barn door?		2002	11983874
antibody reactivity of a standardized human serum protein solution against a spectrum of microbial pathogens and toxins: comparison with fresh frozen plasma.	in this study, we compared a standardized solution of human serum protein (hsp) and fresh frozen plasma (ffp) with regard to the antibody specificity against a number of microbial pathogens and some important pathogenicity factors of bacterial pathogens. due to the clinical use of hsp and ffp for therapeutical plasma exchange, we have chosen a spectrum of microbial pathogens for serological analysis that is critical in clinical settings. with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique, we c ...	2002	11982956
the physiology of campylobacter species and its relevance to their role as foodborne pathogens.	campylobacter jejuni and c. coli are recognised as the leading causes of bacterial foodborne diarrhoeal disease throughout the development world. while most foodborne bacterial pathogens are considered to be relatively robust organisms, as a consequence of the necessity to survive the inimical conditions imposed by food processing and preservation, campylobacter species have uniquely fastidious growth requirements and an unusual sensitivity to environmental stress. campylobacters also lack many ...	2002	11981968
development and application of a new scheme for typing campylobacter jejuni and campylobacter coli by pcr-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.	a molecular typing approach for campylobacter jejuni and campylobacter coli was developed with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a 9.6-kb pcr-amplified portion of the lipopolysaccharide gene cluster. sixty-one penner serotype reference strains were analyzed with this new genotyping scheme, and 32 genogroups were found. eleven additional genogroups were obtained from 87 clinical c. jejuni strains tested. this molecular typing method shows a correlation with the penner heat-stab ...	2002	11980961
multilocus sequence typing for characterization of clinical and environmental salmonella strains.	multilocus sequence typing (mlst) based on the 16s rna, pduf, glna, and manb genes was developed for salmonella, and its discriminatory ability was compared to those of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) and serotyping. pfge differentiated several strains undifferentiable by serotyping, and 78 distinct pfge types were identified among 231 salmonella isolates grouped into 22 serotypes and 12 strains of undetermined serotype. the strains of several pfge types were further differentiated by ml ...	2002	11980932
the sece gene of helicobacter pylori.	despite extensive annotation by two independent teams, the helicobacter pylori genome appeared to lack a complete secretion machinery. the use of clinical isolates to substantiate in silico annotation is used here to identify the missing sece component of the major secretion machinery of helicobacter pylori.	2002	11976315
molecular genetics of bacteria and phages, 2001.		2002	11976284
high-density microarray of small-subunit ribosomal dna probes.	ribosomal dna sequence analysis, originally conceived as a way to provide a universal phylogeny for life forms, has proven useful in many areas of biological research. some of the most promising applications of this approach are presently limited by the rate at which sequences can be analyzed. as a step toward overcoming this limitation, we have investigated the use of photolithography chip technology to perform sequence analyses on amplified small-subunit rrna genes. the genechip (affymetrix co ...	2002	11976131
generation of campylobacter jejuni genetic diversity in vivo.	molecular epidemiology studies suggest that horizontal genetic exchange is a major cause of pathogen biodiversity. we tested this concept for the bacterial enteropathogen campylobacter jejuni by seeking direct in vivo evidence for the exchange of genetic material among campylobacter strains. for this purpose, two antibiotic resistance markers were inserted into the hipo or htra gene of genetically distinct and naturally transformable c. jejuni strains. genetic exchange of the resistance markers ...	2002	11972775
abdominal infections in patients with acute leukaemia: a prospective study applying ultrasonography and microbiology.	a prospective study of 62 chemotherapy-induced neutropenic episodes in patients with acute leukaemia was conducted to determine the incidence and causes of abdominal infections, and to assess the diagnostic value of the combined use of ultrasonography (us) and microbiology. each patient underwent us of liver, gallbladder and complete bowel before chemotherapy, on days 2-4 after the end of chemotherapy and in cases of fever, diarrhoea or abdominal pain. us was combined with a standardized clinica ...	2002	11972517
[a case of guillain-barré syndrome after campylobacter jejuni enterocolitis: anti-ganglioside antibody levels with or without guillain-barré syndrome].	a 38-year old man developed enterocolitis one day after he had ingested raw chicken. nine days later, his grip strength weakened. eleven days later, he was admitted to our hospital with weakness of four limbs, dysphagia and dysarthria. serum anti-campylobacter jejuni antibody and anti-ganglioside antibodies (gm1, gd1a, gd1b, galnac-gd1a) were positive, and motor action potentials were not evoked at all extremities. he was diagnosed as having guillain-barré syndrome. after receiving immune absorp ...	2001	11968750
molecular evolution of human immunodeficiency virus env in humans and monkeys: similar patterns occur during natural disease progression or rapid virus passage.	neonatal rhesus macaque 95-3 was inoculated with nonpassaged simian-human immunodeficiency virus strain shiv-vpu(+), which encodes env of the laboratory-adapted human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) strain iiib and is considered nonpathogenic. cd4(+) t-cell counts dropped to <200 cells/microl within 4.6 years, and monkey 95-3 died with opportunistic infections 5.9 years postinoculation. transfer of blood from 95-3 to two naive adult macaques resulted in high peak viral loads and rapid, persistent t ...	2002	11967343
caveolar endocytosis of simian virus 40 is followed by brefeldin a-sensitive transport to the endoplasmic reticulum, where the virus disassembles.	simian virus 40 (sv40) enters cells by atypical endocytosis mediated by caveolae that transports the virus to the endoplasmic reticulum (er) instead of to the endosomal-lysosomal compartment, which is the usual destination for viruses and other cargo that enter by endocytosis. we show here that sv4o is transported to the er via an intermediate compartment that contains beta-cop, which is best known as a component of the copi coatamer complexes that are required for the retrograde retrieval pathw ...	2002	11967331
pcr/restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) typing of human and poultry campylobacter jejuni strains.	the pcr/rflp typing of 156 isolates campylobacter jejuni originating from poultry and humans was performed (101 human and 55 poultry strains).	2002	11967058
comparison of rheumatological and gastrointestinal symptoms after infection with campylobacter jejuni/coli and enterotoxigenic escherichia coli.	to estimate the incidence of postinfectious joint complaints after campylobacter jejuni/coli enteritis compared with enteritis caused by enterotoxigenic e coli (etec). to compare gastrointestinal symptoms, antibiotic treatment, and antibody levels among patients with and without joint symptoms.	2002	11959770
sialosyl-galactose: a common denominator of guillain-barré and related disorders?	the immune reactivity implicated in the pathogenesis of guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) and related diseases, which occur following infection with specific strains of campylobacter jejuni bearing sialylated lipopolysaccharide structures that cross-react with specific gangliosides, is consistent with provocation of inflammation via molecular mimicry. in this review, we have focused upon microbial characteristics and structures, the fine structure of the essential carbohydrate determinants, and the ...	2002	11959149
investigations of waterborne pathogens in eurasian beaver (castor fiber) from telemark county, southeast norway.		2001	11957376
studies on enteric campylobacteriosis in tikur anbessa and ethio-swedish children's hospital, addis ababa, ethiopia.	between february 1992 and january 1993 different campylobacter spp. were isolated from 86 (13.7%) of 630 patients with diarrhoea at tikur anbessa and ethio-swedish children's hospital, addis ababa, ethiopia. in the same study population, shigella spp. were found in 11.7% and salmonella spp. in 3.8%. campylobacter spp. were found in all age groups, but the majority were isolated from children less than five years of age (68.6%). only 2 (0.9%) of 220 controls had campylobacter in their stools. of ...	1999	11957308
a helicobacter pylori restriction endonuclease-replacing gene, hrga, is associated with gastric cancer in asian strains.	the sensitivity of helicobacter pylori chromosomal dna to mboi digestion was investigated in 208 strains from several continents. only 11 (5%) of strains were sensitive to mboi, and it was hypothesized that hpyiii, a type ii restriction/modification enzyme with sequence homology to mboi, mediated the protection. this was confirmed by pcr analysis of the gene locus of hpyiii, normally composed of hpyiiir and hpyiiim. in all but one strain sensitive to mboi, no pcr product of hpyiiir was obtained. ...	2002	11956101
benign intracranial hypertension: atypical presentation of miller fisher syndrome?	acute ocular paresis, nausea, vomiting, and headaches associated with high intracranial pressure without obvious intracranial pathology are typical features of benign intracranial hypertension. we describe two young children whose presentation, initially suggestive of idiopathic or benign intracranial hypertension, evolved to comprise ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia. this triad characterizes miller fisher syndrome, a clinical variant of guillain-barré syndrome that occurs rarely among chi ...	2002	11955933
comparative and genetic analyses of the putative vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharide core oligosaccharide biosynthesis (wav) gene cluster.	we identified five different putative wav gene cluster types, which are responsible for the synthesis of the core oligosaccharide (os) region of vibrio cholerae lipopolysaccharide. preliminary evidence that the genes encoded by this cluster are involved in core os biosynthesis came from analysis of the recently released o1 el tor v. cholerae genome sequence and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of o1 el tor mutant strains defective in three genes (waaf, waal, and ...	2002	11953379
novel aeromonas hydrophila ppd134/91 genes involved in o-antigen and capsule biosynthesis.	the sequences of the o-antigen and capsule gene clusters of the virulent aeromonas hydrophila strain ppd134/91 were determined. the o-antigen gene cluster is 17,296 bp long and comprises 17 genes. seven pathway genes for the synthesis of rhamnose and mannose, six transferase genes, one o unit flippase gene, and one o-antigen chain length determinant gene were identified by amino acid sequence similarity. pcr and southern blot analysis were performed to survey the distribution of these 17 genes a ...	2002	11953367
functional substitution of the tibc protein of enterotoxigenic escherichia coli strains for the autotransporter adhesin heptosyltransferase of the aida system.	the plasmid-encoded aida (adhesin involved in diffuse adherence) autotransporter protein derived from diffuse-adhering clinical escherichia coli isolate 2787 and the tiba (enterotoxigenic invasion locus b) protein encoded by the chromosomal tib locus of enterotoxigenic e. coli (etec) strain h10407 are posttranslationally modified by carbohydrate substituents. analysis of the aida-i adhesin showed that the modification involved heptose residues. aida-i is modified by the heptosyltransferase activ ...	2002	11953358
functional studies of the recombinant subunits of a cytolethal distending holotoxin.	cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) is a multicomponent bacterial holotoxin that targets most eukarytotic cells causing distension and cell cycle arrest. a number of diverse pathogenic bacterial species associated with diarrhoea, chancroid, chronic hepatitis and periodontal disease produce a cdt. synthesis of the holotoxin is directed by the expression of three genes, cdta, cdtb and cdtc. although the product of the cdtb gene was previously identified as a type i deoxyribonuclease, the functions o ...	2002	11952641
campylobacter jejuni infection during pregnancy: long-term consequences of associated bacteremia, guillain-barré syndrome, and reactive arthritist.	campylobacter jejuni infections are the main cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in the united states and other developed countries. generally, c. jejuni infections are self-limiting and treatment is not necessary; however, infections caused by this organism can lead to potentially dangerous long-term consequences for some individuals. bacteremia, guillain-barré syndrome (gbs; an acute flaccid paralytic disease), and reactive arthritis (rea) are the most serious of the long-term consequences of c ...	2002	11952223
association of antigen specificity and migratory capacity of memory t cells in rheumatoid arthritis.	among the t cell pool of multiple specificities in the rheumatoid synovial tissues (st) we have previously shown a lack of proliferative response of t cells to acanthamoeba polyphaga [1]. in contrast, peripheral blood (pb) derived t cells proliferate to the antigen. the aim of the present study was to establish whether there is a preferential migration of some t cell specificities to the joint in rheumatoid arthritis (ra) patients dependent on the chemokine system, and to identify which chemokin ...	2002	11940234
emergence of cotrimoxazole- and quinolone-resistant campylobacter infections in bone marrow transplant recipients.	clinical and microbiological data were collected prospectively from 704 patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation (bmt) during an 11-year period (1991-2001), and the first two cases of campylobacter infection occurring in bmt recipients in the pre-engraftment period were identified. the two cases occurred on days 2 and 3 post-bmt, respectively. both patients had campylobacter jejuni enteritis, and one case was complicated by bacteraemia. in both cases the presenting symptoms were indist ...	2002	11939393
identification of genetic differences between two campylobacter jejuni strains with different colonization potentials.	the consumption of poultry meat contaminated with campylobacter jejuni is considered to be a risk factor for human campylobacteriosis. the development of targeted strategies to control campylobacters in broilers would benefit from knowledge of those bacterial factors important in colonization of the avian gut. during preliminary studies it was noted that c. jejuni nctc 11168 was a poorer colonizer of chickens than strain 81116. this poor colonization could not be fully restored by in vivo passag ...	2002	11932464
chronic effects of campylobacter infection.	campylobacter jejuni is one of the most common causes of bacterial gastroenteritis and chronic sequelae, such as reactive arthritis and guillain-barré syndrome (gbs), are known to follow uncomplicated infections. while little is known about reactive arthritis following campylobacter infection, our knowledge on the pathogenesis of campylobacter-induced gbs is expanding rapidly and is summarized in this review.	2002	11932190
selenoprotein r is a zinc-containing stereo-specific methionine sulfoxide reductase.	selenoprotein r (selr) is a mammalian selenocysteine-containing protein with no known function. here we report that cysteine homologs of selr are present in all organisms except certain parasites and hyperthermophiles, and this pattern of occurrence closely matches that of only one protein, peptide methionine sulfoxide reductase (msra). moreover, in several genomes, selr and msra genes are fused or clustered, and their expression patterns suggest a role of both proteins in protection against oxi ...	2002	11929995
human campylobacteriosis in developing countries.	campylobacteriosis is a collective description for infectious diseases caused by members of the bacterial genus campylobacter. the only form of campylobacteriosis of major public health importance is campylobacter enteritis due to c. jejuni and c. coli. research and control efforts on the disease have been conducted more often in developed countries than developing countries. however, because of the increasing incidence, expanding spectrum of infections, potential of hiv-related deaths due to ca ...	2002	11927019
detection of mycoplasma pneumoniae in spiked clinical samples by nucleic acid sequence-based amplification.	isothermal nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (nasba) was applied to the detection of mycoplasma pneumoniae. m. pneumoniae rna prepared from a plasmid construct was used to assess the sensitivity of the assay, and an internal control for the detection of inhibitors was constructed. the sensitivity of the nasba assay was 10 molecules of wild-type m. pneumoniae rna generated in vitro and 5 color-changing units (ccu) of m. pneumoniae. an appropriate specimen preparation procedure was develop ...	2002	11923354
usefulness of multilocus sequence typing for characterization of clinical isolates of candida albicans.	molecular characterization of candida albicans isolates is essential for understanding the epidemiology of nosocomial infections caused by this yeast. here, we investigated the potential value of multilocus sequence typing (mlst) for characterizing epidemiologically related or unrelated c. albicans strains of various clinical origins. accordingly, we sequenced the internal regions (loci) of six selected housekeeping genes of 40 c. albicans clinical isolates and 2 reference strains. in all, 68 po ...	2002	11923347
ciprofloxacin resistance in campylobacter jejuni evolves rapidly in chickens treated with fluoroquinolones.	fluoroquinolones are commonly used to treat gastroenteritis caused by campylobacter species. domestically acquired fluoroquinolone-resistant campylobacter infection has been documented recently in the united states. it has been proposed that the increase in resistance is due, in part, to the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry. in separate experiments, the effects of sarafloxacin and enrofloxacin treatment of campylobacter jejuni-infected chickens on the development of ciprofloxacin resistance we ...	2002	11920303
comparative genomics and evolution of proteins involved in rna metabolism.	rna metabolism, broadly defined as the compendium of all processes that involve rna, including transcription, processing and modification of transcripts, translation, rna degradation and its regulation, is the central and most evolutionarily conserved part of cell physiology. a comprehensive, genome-wide census of all enzymatic and non-enzymatic protein domains involved in rna metabolism was conducted by using sequence profile analysis and structural comparisons. proteins related to rna metaboli ...	2002	11917006
desulfovibrio sp. genes involved in the respiration of sulfate during metabolism of hydrogen and lactate.	to develop a better understanding of respiration by sulfate-reducing bacteria, we examined transcriptional control of respiratory genes during growth with lactate or hydrogen as an electron donor. rna extracts of desulfovibrio desulfuricans subsp. aestuarii were analyzed by using random arbitrarily primed pcr. rna was reverse transcribed under low-stringency conditions with a set of random primers, and candidate cdnas were cloned, sequenced, and characterized by blast analysis. putative differen ...	2002	11916715
identification of listeria monocytogenes genes expressed in response to growth at low temperature.	listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne bacterial pathogen that is able to grow at refrigeration temperatures. to investigate microbial gene expression associated with cold acclimation, we used a differential cdna cloning procedure known as selective capture of transcribed sequences (scots) to identify bacterial rnas that were expressed at elevated levels in bacteria grown at 10 degrees c compared to those grown at 37 degrees c. a total of 24 different cdna clones corresponding to open reading fr ...	2002	11916687
evolutionary analysis by whole-genome comparisons.	a total of 37 complete genome sequences of bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes were compared. the percentage of orthologous genes of each species contained within any of the other 36 genomes was established. in addition, the mean identity of the orthologs was calculated. several conclusions result: (i) a greater absolute number of orthologs of a given species is found in larger species than in smaller ones; (ii) a greater percentage of the orthologous genes of smaller genomes is contained in other ...	2002	11914358
roles of the c-terminal end of secy in protein translocation and viability of escherichia coli.	secy, a central component of the membrane-embedded sector of protein translocase, contains six cytosolic domains. here, we examined the importance of the c-terminal cytosolic region of secy by systematically shortening the c-terminal end and examining the functional consequences of these mutations in vivo and in vitro. it was indicated that the c-terminal five residues are dispensable without any appreciable functional defects in secy. mutants missing the c-terminal six to seven residues were pa ...	2002	11914356
characterization of the campylobacter jejuni heptosyltransferase ii gene, waaf, provides genetic evidence that extracellular polysaccharide is lipid a core independent.	campylobacter jejuni produces both lipooligosaccharide (los) and a higher-molecular-weight polysaccharide that is believed to form a capsule. the role of these surface polysaccharides in c. jejuni-mediated enteric disease is unclear; however, epitopes associated with the los are linked to the development of neurological complications. in escherichia coli and salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium the waaf gene encodes a heptosyltransferase, which catalyzes the transfer of the second l-glycero-d ...	2002	11914340
inferring genome trees by using a filter to eliminate phylogenetically discordant sequences and a distance matrix based on mean normalized blastp scores.	darwin's paradigm holds that the diversity of present-day organisms has arisen via a process of genetic descent with modification, as on a bifurcating tree. evidence is accumulating that genes are sometimes transferred not along lineages but rather across lineages. to the extent that this is so, darwin's paradigm can apply only imperfectly to genomes, potentially complicating or perhaps undermining attempts to reconstruct historical relationships among genomes (i.e., a genome tree). whether most ...	2002	11914337
exploiting genome sequence: predictions for mechanisms of campylobacter chemotaxis.	the genome sequence of campylobacter jejuni nctc 11168 reveals the presence of orthologues of the chemotaxis genes chea, chew, chev, chey, cher and cheb, ten chemoreceptor genes and two aerotaxis genes. the presence of chev and a response regulator domain in chea, combined with the absence of a chez gene and the lack of a response regulator domain in cheb, reveals significant differences in the c. jejuni chemotaxis system compared with that found in other bacteria.	2002	11912013
acute small fibre sensory neuropathy: another variant of guillain-barré syndrome?	six patients who presented with acute sensory neuropathy were studied. all patients underwent detailed clinical assessment along with electrophysiological tests and relevant laboratory investigations. all patients had acute onset numbness, reaching the peak deficit within 4 weeks. four of them had associated burning dysaesthesia. an antecedent illness was reported in four; diarrhoea in three, and urinary tract infection in one. the neurological examination disclosed normal muscle strength, symme ...	2002	11909922
antibodies against gangliosides: a link between preceding infection and immunopathogenesis of guillain-barré syndrome.	autoantibodies against gangliosides gm1 and gq1b, characteristic cell surface glycolipids of the nervous system, are present in specific clinical types of guillainbarré syndrome (gbs). close associations of anti-gm1 with acute motor axonal neuropathy, and of anti-gq1b with miller fisher syndrome, strongly suggest that these antibodies contribute to neuropathy pathogenesis. immune responses against gangliosides are suspected to originate as a result of molecular mimicry between gangliosides and l ...	2002	11909748
current status of antimicrobial resistance in taiwan.	while some trends in antimicrobial resistance rates are universal, others appear to be unique for specific regions. in taiwan, the strikingly high prevalence of resistance to macrolides and streptogramin in clinical isolates of gram-positive bacteria correlates with the widespread use of these agents in the medical and farming communities, respectively. the relatively low rate of enterococci that are resistant to glycopeptide does not parallel the high use of glycopeptides and extended-spectrum ...	2002	11897063
traditional and molecular techniques for the study of emerging bacterial diseases: one laboratory's perspective.	identification of emerging bacterial pathogens generally results from a chain of events involving microscopy, serology, molecular tools, and culture. because of the spectacular molecular techniques developed in the last decades, some authors think that these techniques will shortly supplant culture. the key steps that led to the discovery of emerging bacteria have been reviewed to determine the real contribution of each technique. historically, microscopy has played a major role. serology provid ...	2002	11897062