Publications

a leptospira interrogans enzyme with similarity to yeast ste14p that methylates the 1-phosphate group of lipid a.	distinct from other spirochetes, cells of leptospira interrogans contain orthologues of all the escherichia coli lpx genes required for lipid a biosynthesis, but they synthesize a modified form of lipopolysaccharide that supposedly activates toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) instead of tlr4. the recent determination of the l. interrogans lipid a structure revealed an unprecedented o-methylation of its 1-phosphate group (que-gewirth, n. l. s., ribeiro, a. a., kalb, s. r., cotter, r. j., bulach, d. m., ...	2005	15994324
specific control of endogenous ccf10 pheromone by a conserved domain of the pcf10-encoded regulatory protein prgy in enterococcus faecalis.	conjugative transfer of enterococcus faecalis plasmid pcf10 is induced by the heptapeptide pheromone ccf10. ccf10 produced by plasmid-free recipient cells is detected by pcf10-containing donor cells, which respond by induction of plasmid-encoded transfer functions. the pcf10-encoded membrane protein prgy is essential to prevent donor cells from responding to endogenously produced pheromone while maintaining the ability to respond to pheromone from an exogenous source; this function has not been ...	2005	15995198
[evaluation of an homologous bacterin against bovine leptospirosis].	48 adult bovine females dividided into 6 groups were used aimed at characterizing the immune response induced in breastfeeeding cows by an homologous bacterin formulated with different adjuvants. they were intramuscularly administered 2 milliliters of a bacterin formulated with leptospira interrogans serovars uam, wolffi, hardjo, bratislava, grippotyphosa and panama added with different adjuvants, such as aluminum hydroxide, freud's complete adjuvant, freud's incomplete adjuvant, liposoluble vit ...	2005	17966474
[evaluation of the transcription of locus rfb for the biosynthesis of lps in leptospira interrogans subtype hardjoprajitno].	plasmid pgl4w15-96 was constructed from the pgl4w74 vector without promoter for kanamycin and a sequence of 480pb containing the supposed j15 promoter with the objective of confirming the role of j15 sequence as a promoter for leptospira, which restored the transcription of the gene of resistance to kanamycin in escherichia coli and leptospira biflexa, corroborating this way the function of the insertion as a promoter for both organisms.	2005	17966475
[solubilization of components of outer membrane of leptospira interrogans serovar mozdok by sodium desoxycholate and triton x-100 and evaluation of their immunogenic capacity and homologous and heterologous protection induced in hamsters].	two detergents (triton x-100 and sodium desoxycholate) were evaluated as solubilizing agents of the components of the outer membrane of leptospira pomona serovar mozdok. it was obtained a greater yielding of proteins on applying the treatment with triton x-100. the variants formulated starting from the extracts obtained showed a high immunogenicity and capacity of homologous protection against the challenge in hamster.	2005	17966480
[evaluation of the vaccine potentiality of 2 strains from leptospira interrogans serogroup ballum].	two vacine candidate strains from ballum serogroup were characterized and their immunogenicity and protective power were studied in hamster. the monovalent vaccine formulations obtained showed a high immunogenicity and capacity of homologous protection and, in a lesser degree, of cross protection.	2005	17966485
[use of diafiltration in the lavage of cultures of leptospira interrogans canicola canicola for the production of vaccine vax-spiral].	it was proposed to substitute the present technology of the lavage operation for a tangential microfiltration system at the lavage stages of the culture of leptospira interrogans canicola canicola. it was proved that this system may be applied, since no cellular affectation was observed and high pollutant elimination levels were obtained.	2005	17966488
[scale-up of the fermentation of leptospira interrogans canicola canicola for the production of vax-spiral vaccine].	the operational conditions for the production of vaccine vax-spiral were established at the scale of 100 l. it was concluded that it should be carried out with an air flow of 10 l/min (0.1 vvm) and without mechanical agitation.	2005	17966489
exposure of free-ranging maned wolves (chrysocyon brachyurus) to infectious and parasitic disease agents in the noël kempff mercado national park, bolivia.	maned wolves (chrysocyon brachyurus) are neotropic mammals, listed as a cites appendix ii species, with a distribution south of the amazon forest from bolivia, through northern argentina and paraguay and into eastern brazil and northern uruguay. primary threats to the survival of free-ranging maned wolves include habitat loss, road kills, and shooting by farmers. an additional threat to the conservation of maned wolves is the risk of morbidity and mortality due to infectious and parasitic diseas ...	2005	17323558
survey of leptospirosis of small mammals in thailand.	during 1999-2000, kidney tissues of approximately 15% of 1310 rodents trapped from northeastern provinces of thailand were tested for the presence of leptospires. our direct immunofluorescent assay (dfa) for detection of leptospires showed 100% sensitivity and 94% specificity with the culture data. both methods identified r. norvegicus as the highest source of infection. among isolated leptospira, 137 were serotyped by cross agglutinin absorption and/or a microscopic agglutination, and gave some ...	2005	16610655
lfha, a novel factor h-binding protein of leptospira interrogans.	the early phase of leptospiral infection is characterized by the presence of live organisms in the blood. pathogenic leptospira interrogans is resistant to the alternative pathway of complement mediated-killing, while nonpathogenic members of the genus are not. consistent with that observation, only pathogenic leptospires bound factor h, a host fluid-phase regulator of the alternative complement pathway. ligand affinity blot analyses revealed that pathogenic l. interrogans produces at least two ...	2006	16622202
use of a multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis method for molecular subtyping and phylogenetic analysis of neisseria meningitidis isolates.	the multilocus variable-number tandem repeat (vntr) analysis (mlva) technique has been developed for fine typing of many bacterial species. the genomic sequences of neisseria meningitidis strains z2491, mc58 and fam18 have been available for searching potential vntr loci by computer software. in this study, we developed and evaluated a mlva method for molecular subtyping and phylogenetic analysis of n. meningitidis strains.	2006	16686962
the epidemiology of leptospirosis and the emergence of leptospira borgpetersenii serovar arborea in queensland, australia, 1998-2004.	leptospirosis is one of the most commonly encountered zoonoses in both australia and the rest of the world. the incidence of leptospirosis in queensland over the 7-year study period (1998-2004) was 3.1/100000 population. enhanced surveillance questionnaires were used to collect patient data and facilitate an epidemiological investigation of leptospirosis in queensland. farming occupations comprised the majority of occupational exposure cases, however, recreational exposure accounted for 18% of t ...	2006	16690001
characterization of the chey genes from leptospira interrogans and their effects on the behavior of escherichia coli.	the motility and chemotaxis system are critical for the virulence of pathogenic leptospire, which enable them to penetrate host tissue barriers during infection. the completed genome sequence of a representative virulent serovar type strain (lai) of leptospira interrogans serogroups icterohaemorrhagiae (l. interrogans strain lai) suggested that there were multiple copies of putative chemotaxis homologues located at its large chromosome. in order to verify the function of these proteins, the puta ...	2006	16701553
production of reactive oxygen species and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in rat isolated kupffer cells stimulated by leptospira interrogans and borrelia burgdorferi.	to evaluate the production of reactive oxygen species (ros) and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos) in rat isolated kupffer cells (kcs) stimulated by leptospira interrogans and borrelia burgdorferi.	2006	16718791
efficacy of macrolides and telithromycin against leptospirosis in a hamster model.	human studies support the use of beta-lactams and tetracyclines in the treatment of leptospirosis. additional agents from these and other classes of antimicrobials also have in vitro activity against leptospira species, though corroborating in vivo data are limited or lacking. we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of azithromycin, clarithromycin, and telithromycin in a lethal hamster model of leptospirosis using leptospira interrogans serogroup canicola serovar portlandvere. a range of dosages f ...	2006	16723556
an outbreak of leptospirosis in seals (phoca vitulina) in captivity.	an outbreak of leptospirosis in seals (phoca vitulina) in captivity is described. in a zoo in the netherlands 5 adult seals died within 12 days. at necropsy all animals showed signs of acute septicaemia, consistent with acute leptospirosis. serological examination of one animal was positive for antibodies against leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae and the serologically closely related serovar copenhageni. polymerase chain reaction was positive in one other animal. 8 nutria (myoca ...	2006	16605159
short report: dual infections with puumala virus and leptospira interrogans serovar lora in a bank vole (clethrionomys glareolus).	leptospirosis and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome are public health problems in croatia. diagnosis and epidemiology of these diseases are complicated because these two diseases are sympatric in certain areas. we describe a natural dual infection of puumala virus and a leptospire in a bank vole (clethrionomys glareolus).	2006	16606994
role of toll-like receptors in health and diseases of gastrointestinal tract.	the human gastrointestinal (gi) tract is colonized by non-pathogenic commensal microflora and frequently exposed to many pathogenic organisms. for the maintenance of gi homeostasis, the host must discriminate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms and initiate effective and appropriate immune and inflammatory responses. mammalian toll-like receptors (tlrs) are members of the pattern-recognition receptor (prr) family that plays a central role in the initiation of innate cellular immune r ...	2006	16610014
the reach of the genome signature in prokaryotes.	with the increased availability of sequenced genomes there have been several initiatives to infer evolutionary relationships by whole genome characteristics. one of these studies suggested good congruence between genome synteny, shared gene content, 16s ribosomal dna identity, codon usage and the genome signature in prokaryotes. here we rigorously test the phylogenetic signal of the genome signature, which consists of the genome-specific relative frequencies of dinucleotides, on 334 sequenced pr ...	2006	17040564
prevalence of brucella abortus antibodies in equines of a tropical region of mexico.	a cross-sectional study was conducted to determinate the seroprevalence rate of equine brucellosis in the state of tamaulipas, mexico. serum samples from 420 equines were analyzed with the rose bengal test at cell concentrations of 3% (rbt-3%) and 8% (rbt-8%), and positive results were confirmed with the rivanol test (rt). risk factors were determined with the prevalence ratio (pr) and the use of variables generated from a questionnaire administered to the animals' owners. serum from 1 stallion ...	2006	17042384
an inventory of yeast proteins associated with nucleolar and ribosomal components.	although baker's yeast is a primary model organism for research on eukaryotic ribosome assembly and nucleoli, the list of its proteins that are functionally associated with nucleoli or ribosomes is still incomplete. we trained a naïve bayesian classifier to predict novel proteins that are associated with yeast nucleoli or ribosomes based on parts lists of nucleoli in model organisms and large-scale protein interaction data sets. phylogenetic profiling and gene expression analysis were carried ou ...	2006	17067374
identification of pathogenic leptospira species by conventional or real-time pcr and sequencing of the dna gyrase subunit b encoding gene.	leptospira is the causative genus of the disease, leptospirosis. species identification of pathogenic leptospira in the past was generally performed by either dna-dna hybridisation or 16s rrna gene sequencing. both methods have inherent disadvantages such as the need for radio-labelled isotopes or significant homology between species. a conventional and real-time pcr amplification and sequencing method was developed for an alternate gene target: dna gyrase subunit b (gyrb). phylogenetic comparis ...	2006	17067399
bacterial programmed cell death and multicellular behavior in bacteria.	traditionally, programmed cell death (pcd) is associated with eukaryotic multicellular organisms. however, recently, pcd systems have also been observed in bacteria. here we review recent research on two kinds of genetic programs that promote bacterial cell death. the first is mediated by mazef, a toxin-antitoxin module found in the chromosomes of many kinds of bacteria, and mainly studied in escherichia coli. the second program is found in bacillus subtilis, in which the skf and sdp operons med ...	2006	17069462
transformation of anaplasma phagocytophilum.	tick-borne pathogens cause emerging zoonoses, and include fastidious organisms such as anaplasma phagocytophilum. because of their obligate intracellular nature, methods for mutagenesis and transformation have not been available.	2006	17076894
application of multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis for molecular typing of the agent of leptospirosis.	leptospirosis is a worldwide-distributed zoonosis, endemic in tropical areas. epidemiologic investigations of leptospirosis still rely on tedious serological identification tests. recently, molecular typing systems based on variable-number tandem-repeat (vntr) analysis have been described and have been used to identify leptospira interrogans strains. although l. interrogans is the most common leptospira species encountered in human infections around the world, other pathogenic species, such as l ...	2006	17088367
dynamic state of dna topology is essential for genome condensation in bacteria.	in bacteria, dps is one of the critical proteins to build up a condensed nucleoid in response to the environmental stresses. in this study, we found that the expression of dps and the nucleoid condensation was not simply correlated in escherichia coli, and that fis, which is an e. coli (gamma-proteobacteria)-specific nucleoid protein, interfered with the dps-dependent nucleoid condensation. atomic force microscopy and northern blot analyses indicated that the inhibitory effect of fis was due to ...	2006	17093499
comparison of culture and a novel 5' taq nuclease assay for direct detection of campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis in clinical specimens from cattle.	a campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis-specific 5' taq nuclease pcr assay using a 3' minor groove binder-dna probe (taqman mgb) was developed based on a subspecies-specific fragment of unknown identity (s. hum, k. quinn, j. brunner, and s. l. on, aust. vet. j. 75:827-831, 1997). the assay specifically detected four c. fetus subsp. venerealis strains with no observed cross-reaction with c. fetus subsp. fetus-related campylobacter species or other bovine venereal microflora. the 5' taq nuclease a ...	2006	16517880
prognostic factors associated with severe leptospirosis.	leptospirosis is an anthropozoonosis caused by leptospira interrogans. it occurs worldwide and is endemic in french polynesia. leptospirosis is associated with a large variety of clinical symptoms. most infections caused by leptospires are either sub-clinical or of very mild severity, but 5-10% of infections result in multiple organ damage, including kidney, liver and lung lesions. among 71 patients hospitalised in papeete for severe leptospirosis during a period of 2 years, the main risk-factor ...	2006	16524404
in silico and microarray-based genomic approaches to identifying potential vaccine candidates against leptospira interrogans.	currently available vaccines against leptospirosis are of low efficacy, have an unacceptable side-effect profile, do not induce long-term protection, and provide no cross-protection against the different serovars of pathogenic leptospira. the current major focus in leptospirosis research is to discover conserved protective antigens that may elicit longer-term protection against a broad range of leptospira. there is a need to screen vaccine candidate genes in the genome of leptospira interrogans.	2006	17109759
a histopathological study of hearts and spleens of hamsters (mesocricetus auratus) infected with leptospira interrogans, serovar pyrogenes.	the effects of leptospira interrogans on the heart and spleen of hamsters were studied histopathologically. infected hamsters were sacrificed at 1 hour, 6 hours and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 after inoculation with leptospira interrogans serovar pyrogenes. the heart and spleen of each of the sacrificed animals were removed and processed for routine conventional light microscopy. infected hearts showed degenerative change of the cardiac muscle cells composed of cellular swelling, condensation of ...	2006	17121298
multilocus sequence typing method for identification and genotypic classification of pathogenic leptospira species.	leptospira are the parasitic bacterial organisms associated with a broad range of mammalian hosts and are responsible for severe cases of human leptospirosis. the epidemiology of leptospirosis is complex and dynamic. multiple serovars have been identified, each adapted to one or more animal hosts. adaptation is a dynamic process that changes the spatial and temporal distribution of serovars and clinical manifestations in different hosts. serotyping based on repertoire of surface antigens is an a ...	2006	17121682
purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic studies on 2-dehydro-3-deoxygalactarate aldolase from leptospira interrogans.	2-dehydro-3-deoxygalactarate (ddg) aldolase is a member of the class ii aldolase family and plays an important role in the pyruvate-metabolism pathway, catalyzing the reversible aldol cleavage of ddg to pyruvate and tartronic semialdehyde. as it is a potential novel antibiotic target, it is necessary to elucidate the catalytic mechanism of ddg aldolase. to determine the crystal structure, crystals of ddg aldolase from leptospira interrogans were obtained by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion meth ...	2006	17142914
substrate recognition by the hetero-octameric atp phosphoribosyltransferase from lactococcus lactis.	two families of atp phosphoribosyl transferases (atp-prt) join atp and 5-phosphoribosyl-1 pyrophosphate (prpp) in the first reaction of histidine biosynthesis. these consist of a homohexameric form found in all three kingdoms and a hetero-octameric form largely restricted to bacteria. hetero-octameric atp-prts consist of four hisgs catalytic subunits related to periplasmic binding proteins and four hisz regulatory subunits that resemble histidyl-trna synthetases. to clarify the relationship betw ...	2006	17154531
lipl46 is a novel surface-exposed lipoprotein expressed during leptospiral dissemination in the mammalian host.	leptospirosis is a widespread zoonosis caused by invasive spirochaetes belonging to the genus leptospira. pathogenic leptospires disseminate via the bloodstream to colonize the renal tubules of reservoir hosts. little is known about leptospiral outer-membrane proteins expressed during the dissemination stage of infection. in this study, a novel surface-exposed lipoprotein is described; it has been designated lipl46 to distinguish it from a previously described 31 kda peripheral membrane protein, ...	2006	17159228
immunoreactive outer membrane proteins of leptospira interrogans serovar canicola strain hond utrecht iv.	leptospirosis is a severe and complex zoonotic disease prevalent in many countries including india. current leptospiral research is focussed on the identification of the outer membrane proteins (omps) of the organism that could be used in developing diagnostic assays for leptospirosis.	2006	17213526
neospora caninum and leptospira serovar serostatus in dairy cattle in ontario.	no significant association existed between neospora caninum titer and serostatus to leptospira serovar hardjo, icterohaemorrhagiae, or pomona in cattle on 78 dairy herds in ontario. leptospira titer increased with parity. amongst herds not vaccinated against leptospira, the proportions of herds with > or = 1 animal seropositive to serovar hardjo, icterohaemorrhagiae, or pomona were 45%, 42%, and 58%, respectively.	2006	16734373
crystal structure of neurotropism-associated variable surface protein 1 (vsp1) of borrelia turicatae.	vsp surface lipoproteins are serotype-defining antigens of relapsing fever spirochetes that undergo multiphasic antigenic variation to allow bacterial persistence in spite of an immune response. two isogenic serotypes of borrelia turicatae strain oz1 differ in their vsp sequences and in disease manifestations in infected mice: vsp1 is associated with the selection of a neurological niche, while vsp2 is associated with blood and skin infection. we report here crystal structures of the vsp1 dimer ...	2006	16740958
a constitutively expressed, truncated umudc operon regulates the reca-dependent dna damage induction of a gene in acinetobacter baylyi strain adp1.	in response to environmentally caused dna damage, sos genes are up-regulated due to reca-mediated relief of lexa repression. in escherichia coli, the sos umudc operon is required for dna damage checkpoint functions and for replicating damaged dna in the error-prone process called sos mutagenesis. in the model soil bacterium acinetobacter baylyi strain adp1, however, the content, regulation, and function of the umudc operon are unusual. the umuc gene is incomplete, and a remnant of an isehe3-like ...	2006	16751513
competitive metagenomic dna hybridization identifies host-specific microbial genetic markers in cow fecal samples.	several pcr methods have recently been developed to identify fecal contamination in surface waters. in all cases, researchers have relied on one gene or one microorganism for selection of host-specific markers. here we describe the application of a genome fragment enrichment (gfe) method to identify host-specific genetic markers from fecal microbial community dna. as a proof of concept, bovine fecal dna was challenged against a porcine fecal dna background to select for bovine-specific dna seque ...	2006	16751515
simple sequence proteins in prokaryotic proteomes.	the structural and functional features associated with simple sequence proteins (ssps) are non-globularity, disease states, signaling and post-translational modification. ssps are also an important source of genetic and possibly phenotypic variation. analysis of 249 prokaryotic proteomes offers a new opportunity to examine the genomic properties of ssps.	2006	16762057
genome-wide transcriptional analysis of temperature shift in l. interrogans serovar lai strain 56601.	leptospira interrogans is an important mammalian pathogen. transmission from an environmental source requires adaptation to a range of new environmental conditions in the organs and tissues of the infected host. several studies have shown that a shift in culture temperature from 28 degrees c to 37 degrees c, similar to that encountered during infection of a host from an environmental source, is associated with differential synthesis of several proteins of the outer membrane, periplasm and cytopl ...	2006	16762078
prrc-anticodon nuclease: functional organization of a prototypical bacterial restriction rnase.	the trna(lys) anticodon nuclease prrc is associated in latent form with the type ic dna restriction endonuclease ecoprri and activated by a phage t4-encoded inhibitor of ecoprri. the activation also requires the hydrolysis of gtp and presence of dttp and is inhibited by atp. the n-proximal ntpase domain of prrc has been implicated in relaying the activating signal to a c-proximal anticodon nuclease site by interacting with the requisite nucleotide cofactors [amitsur et al. (2003) mol. microbiol. ...	2006	16790566
proinflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokine mrna time course profiles in hamsters infected with a virulent variant of leptospira interrogans.	in order to quantify in vivo the mrnas of cytokines which play important roles in leptospirosis, we have developed quantitative real-time pcr assays for interleukin-2 (il-2), il-4, il-10, il-12p40, tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf-alpha), gamma interferon (ifn-gamma), transforming growth factor beta, and two housekeeping genes (encoding beta-actin and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase). we used a lethal hamster model reflecting severe leptospirosis in humans. the lightcycler system was used ...	2006	16790792
crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction studies of ferredoxin reductase from leptospira interrogans.	ferredoxin-nadp+ reductase (fnr) is an fad-containing enzyme that catalyzes electron transfer between nadp(h) and ferredoxin. here, results are reported of the recombinant expression, purification and crystallization of fnr from leptospira interrogans, a parasitic bacterium of animals and humans. the l. interrogans fnr crystals belong to a primitive monoclinic space group and diffract to 2.4 angstroms resolution at a synchrotron source.	2006	16820688
detection of brucella canis and leptospira interrogans in canine semen by multiplex nested pcr.	brucella canis and leptospira interrogans are pathogenic bacteria that cause brucellosis and leptospirosis in dogs around the world. both diseases can be diagnosed serologically, but the direct detection of these organisms in canine semen is needed when it is used for artificial reproduction. we have been attempting the artificial reproduction of guide dogs for greater breeding efficiency and for this purpose have developed a multiplex nested pcr technique for the detection of b. canis and l. in ...	2006	16820720
spatial hierarchical variances and age covariances for seroprevalence to leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo, bohv-1 and bvdv for cattle in the state of paraíba, brazil.	we estimated spatial hierarchal variances and age-group covariances for seroprevalence to leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo (leptoh), bovine viral-diarrhea virus (bvdv) and bovine herpesvirus type 1 (bohv-1) among 2343 cattle from 72 properties sampled in the state of paraíba, brazil in 2000. from each property, eight animals in each of the four age categories were evaluated. the age categories studied were: pre-weaned (0-6 months), young (7-18 months), replacement (19-30 months) and mature ...	2006	16828906
rooting the tree of life by transition analyses.	despite great advances in clarifying the family tree of life, it is still not agreed where its root is or what properties the most ancient cells possessed--the most difficult problems in phylogeny. protein paralogue trees can theoretically place the root, but are contradictory because of tree-reconstruction artefacts or poor resolution; ribosome-related and dna-handling enzymes suggested one between neomura (eukaryotes plus archaebacteria) and eubacteria, whereas metabolic enzymes often place it ...	2006	16834776
leptospirosis in squirrels imported from united states to japan.	we diagnosed leptospirosis in 2 patients exposed to southern flying squirrels imported from the united states to japan. patients worked with exotic animals in their company. leptospira isolates from 1 patient and 5 of 10 squirrels at the company were genetically and serologically identical and were identified as leptospira kirschneri.	2006	16836840
hemin-dependent modulation of the lipid a structure of porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide.	porphyromonas gingivalis is a periopathogen strongly associated with the development of adult-type periodontitis. both the virulence characteristics of periopathogens and host-related factors are believed to contribute to periodontitis. p. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (lps) displays a significant amount of lipid a structural heterogeneity, containing both penta- and tetra-acylated lipid a structures. however, little is known concerning how the lipid a structural content of p. gingivalis is regu ...	2006	16861633
peptide deformylase is a potential target for anti-helicobacter pylori drugs: reverse docking, enzymatic assay, and x-ray crystallography validation.	colonization of human stomach by the bacterium helicobacter pylori is a major causative factor for gastrointestinal illnesses and gastric cancer. however, the discovery of anti-h. pylori agents is a difficult task due to lack of mature protein targets. therefore, identifying new molecular targets for developing new drugs against h. pylori is obviously necessary. in this study, the in-house potential drug target database (pdtd, http://www.dddc.ac.cn/tarfisdock/) was searched by the reverse dockin ...	2006	16882991
serotype 1-specific monoclonal antibody-based antigen capture immunoassay for detection of circulating nonstructural protein ns1: implications for early diagnosis and serotyping of dengue virus infections.	rapid diagnosis and serotyping of dengue virus (dv) infections are important for timely clinical management and epidemiological control in areas where multiple flaviviruses are endemic. however, the speed and accuracy of diagnosis must be balanced against test cost and availability, especially in developing countries. we developed a specific antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for early detection and serotyping of dv serotype 1 (dv1) by using well-characterized monoclonal a ...	2006	16891505
treatment of presumptive idiopathic immune-mediated anemia in a holstein heifer, using blood transfusions and corticotherapy.	an idiopathic immune-mediated anemia was diagnosed in a 1-year-old holstein heifer. the diagnostic procedures, blood transfusions, use of an immunosuppressive dosage of dexamethasone, and favorable outcome are described, and idiopathic immune-mediated anemia in mammals is briefly reviewed.	2006	16898112
[presence of igm antibodies for leptospira interrogans in wild animals from tocantins state, 2002].	four hundred and twenty-seven serum samples of wild animals were tested against 18 serovars of leptospira interrogans. of 286 samples of cebus apella, 46 (16.1%) were positive for the serovars pomona, brasiliensis, mini, swajizak, grippotyphosa, sarmin, fluminense, autumnalis, hebdomadis, guaratuba, javanica and icterohaemorrhagiae. of 82 samples of alouatta caraya, 2 (2.4%) were positive for the serovars mangus and fluminense. of 31 samples of nasua nasua, 4 (12.9%) were positive for the serova ...	2006	16906258
autogenous and nonautogenous control of response in a genetic network.	feedback-based control methods determine the behavior of cellular systems, an example being autogenous control, the regulation of production of a protein by itself. this control strategy was theoretically shown to be superior to an equivalent but nonautogenously regulated system when based on a repressor. although some of its advantages were later confirmed with isolated synthetic circuits, the superiority of autogenous control in natural networks remains untested. here, we use the sos dna repai ...	2006	16908855
molecular epidemiology of leptospirosis in the amazon.		2006	16933961
determining risk for severe leptospirosis by molecular analysis of environmental surface waters for pathogenic leptospira.	although previous data indicate that the overall incidence of human leptospirosis in the peruvian amazon is similar in urban and rural sites, severe leptospirosis has been observed only in the urban context. as a potential explanation for this epidemiological observation, we tested the hypothesis that concentrations of more virulent leptospira would be higher in urban than in rural environmental surface waters.	2006	16933963
diagnosis of gastric syphilis by direct immunofluorescence staining and real-time pcr testing.	we report on a case of gastric syphilis in a patient with chronic dyspepsia. the diagnosis was established by serology and the demonstration of spirochetes in diffusely inflammed gastric mucosa by staining with a fluorescent monoclonal antibody specific for pathogenic treponemes and by the detection of specific treponemal dna sequences by a real-time pcr.	2006	16954299
a newly identified leptospiral adhesin mediates attachment to laminin.	pathogenic leptospires have the ability to survive and disseminate to multiple organs after penetrating the host. several pathogens, including spirochetes, have been shown to express surface proteins that interact with the extracellular matrix (ecm). this adhesin-mediated binding process seems to be a crucial step in the colonization of host tissues. this study examined the interaction of putative leptospiral outer membrane proteins with laminin, collagen type i, collagen type iv, cellular fibro ...	2006	16954400
genome reduction in leptospira borgpetersenii reflects limited transmission potential.	leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world, resulting in high morbidity and mortality in humans and affecting global livestock production. most infections are caused by either leptospira borgpetersenii or leptospira interrogans, bacteria that vary in their distribution in nature and rely on different modes of transmission. we report the complete genomic sequences of two strains of l. borgpetersenii serovar hardjo that have distinct phenotypes and virulence. these two ...	2006	16973745
partial rpob gene sequencing for identification of leptospira species.	the usual target for sequence-based identification of leptospira species is the 16s rrna gene. however, because the 16s rrna gene is not polymorphic enough, it is necessary to sequence a 1500 bp segment of this gene for accurate identification. based on the alignment of previously determined rpob of three leptospira strains, we designed and tested a primer pair that enabled us to amplify and sequence a 600 bp segment of leptospira rpob. this segment was species-specific for the 16 species tested ...	2006	16978348
evaluation of a recombinant lipl41 antigen of leptospira interrogans serovar canicola in elisa for serodiagnosis of bovine leptospirosis.	the efficacy of a recombinant leptospiral lipoprotein lipl41 as an antigen for conducting enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis was evaluated. using known positive and known negative cattle sera the recombinant antigen was found to be highly reactive in the concentration of 100 ng/well. using a total of 321 field cattle sera the sensitivity of elisa as compared to microscopic agglutination test (mat) was calculated to be 100% whereas the specificity was ...	2006	16979238
comparative and functional genomic analyses of iron transport and regulation in leptospira spp.	the spirochetes of the leptospira genus contain saprophytic and pathogenic members, the latter being responsible for leptospirosis. despite the recent sequencing of the genome of the pathogen l. interrogans, the slow growth of these bacteria, their virulence in humans, and a lack of genetic tools make it difficult to work with these pathogens. in contrast, the development of numerous genetic tools for the saprophyte l. biflexa enables its use as a model bacterium. leptospira spp. require iron fo ...	2006	16980464
effects of temperature on gene expression patterns in leptospira interrogans serovar lai as assessed by whole-genome microarrays.	leptospirosis is an important zoonosis of worldwide distribution. humans become infected via exposure to pathogenic leptospira spp. from infected animals or contaminated water or soil. the availability of genome sequences for leptospira interrogans, serovars lai and copenhageni, has opened up opportunities to examine global transcription profiles using microarray technology. temperature is a key environmental factor known to affect leptospiral protein expression. leptospira spp. can grow in arti ...	2006	16988264
[leptospirosis].	leptospirosis is the most common zoonosis worldwide, although most cases occur in tropical countries. leptospira interrogans, a spirochete, is the causative agent. rats are the main reservoir. most patients present a mild clinical form of the disease, which consists of a self-limited febrile process, without jaundice. nevertheless, about 10% of patients suffer severe infections, with intense jaundice. typically the disease manifests in two phases: acute or leptospiremic and immune or leptospiuri ...	2006	16999233
identification of a novel, invasive, not-yet-cultivated treponema sp. in the large intestine of pigs by pcr amplification of the 16s rrna gene.	laser capture microdissection in combination with fluorescent in situ hybridization was used to identify an unknown species of spirochetes from the pig colonic mucosa. the 16s rrna gene was pcr amplified, and the closest related type strain was treponema bryantiit (90.1%). the spirochete, here named "candidatus treponema suis," was associated with colitis, including invasion of the surface epithelium as well as superficial parts of the mucosa.	2006	17005743
intrinsic and selected resistance to antibiotics binding the ribosome: analyses of brucella 23s rrn, l4, l22, ef-tu1, ef-tu2, efflux and phylogenetic implications.	brucella spp. are highly similar, having identical 16s rna. however, they have important phenotypic differences such as differential susceptibility to antibiotics binding the ribosome. neither the differential susceptibility nor its basis has been rigorously studied. differences found among other conserved ribosomal loci could further define the relationships among the classical brucella spp.	2006	17014718
identification of potential virulence determinants by himar1 transposition of infectious borrelia burgdorferi b31.	lyme disease borrelia organisms are highly invasive spirochetes that alternate between vertebrate and arthropod hosts and that establish chronic infections and elicit inflammatory reactions in mammals. although progress has been made in the targeted mutagenesis of individual genes in infectious borrelia burgdorferi, the roles of the vast majority of gene products in pathogenesis remain unresolved. in this study, we examined the feasibility of using transposon mutagenesis to identify infectivity- ...	2006	17015459
development of species-specific pcr primer sets for the detection of leptospira.	spirochetes of the genus leptospira infect animals and humans and are the causative agents for the emerging infectious disease leptospirosis. rapid and simple assays for the identification of individual leptospira species are currently not available. for identification of individual leptospira species, pcr primers that detect the ompl1 gene sequence for the majority of pathogenic leptospires were developed in this study. the primer pairs detect leptospira interrogans, leptospira borgpetersenii, ...	2006	17020546
species-specific identification of leptospiraceae by 16s rrna gene sequencing.	the genus leptospira is classified into 13 named species and 4 genomospecies based upon dna-dna reassociation studies. phenotypic tests are unable to distinguish between species of leptospira, and there is a need for a simplified molecular approach to the identification of leptospires. 16s rrna gene sequences are potentially useful for species identification of leptospira, but there are a large number of sequences of various lengths and quality in the public databases. 16s rrna gene sequences of ...	2006	17021075
an improved multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis for leptospira interrogans serovar australis: a comparison with fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis and its use to redefine the molecular epidemiology of this serovar in queensland, australia.	in this study, an improved multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (mlva) method based upon a previously published method is described. improvements to the method included redesigned primers and pcr conditions, combined with pooled capillary electrophoresis using multicolored dyes. allele sizes were converted into an allele string, and each unique allele string was assigned a numerical mlva type (mvt). the improved mlva method was then applied to 96 previously characterized lep ...	2006	17030915
[modified emjh medium for cultivation of leptospira interrogans serogroup ballum].	strains within the ballum serogroup of spirochete leptospira show fastidious growth with more exigent nutritional requirements than those of other leptospira pathogenic strains. the influence of 37 nutritional compounds on the growth of leptospira interrogans serogroup ballum was investigated employing the synthetic emjh medium as the base for the study. microbial growth was estimated spectrophotometrically and direct counts were performed with a petroff-hausser counting chamber. virulence stabi ...	2006	17037250
tasa-tasb, a new putative toxin-antitoxin (ta) system from bacillus thuringiensis pgi1 plasmid is a widely distributed composite maze-doc ta system.	post-segregational killing systems are present in a large variety of microorganisms. when found on plasmids, they are described as addiction systems that act to maintain the plasmid during the partitioning of the cell. the plasmid to be maintained through the generations harbours a group of two genes, one coding for a stable toxin and the other coding for an unstable antitoxin that inhibits the effects of the toxin. if, during cell division, the plasmid is lost, the toxin and antitoxin proteins ...	2006	17038198
high precision multi-genome scale reannotation of enzyme function by eficaz.	the functional annotation of most genes in newly sequenced genomes is inferred from similarity to previously characterized sequences, an annotation strategy that often leads to erroneous assignments. we have performed a reannotation of 245 genomes using an updated version of eficaz, a highly precise method for enzyme function prediction.	2006	17166279
iron limitation and expression of immunoreactive outer membrane proteins in leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae strain lai.		2006	17185872
evaluation of recombinant leptospira interrogans serovar canicola outer membrane proteins as diagnostic antigen.		2006	17185875
[study on the immunogenicity of major leptospiral genus-specific protein antigens and the distribution of antigens in different serogroups of leptospira interrogans].	the determination of antigenicity and immunogenicity of leptospira interrogans genus-specific outer envelope proteins (oeps) will offer evidence for developing universal leptospiral genetic engineering vaccine and detection kit.	2006	17415989
modeling of phosphomethyl pyrimidine kinase from leptospira interrogans serovar lai strain 56601.	many microorganisms, as well as plants and fungi, synthesize thiamin, but vertebrates do not produce it. phosphomethyl pyrimidine kinase is an enzyme involved in an intermediary step of thiamin biosynthesis from purine molecules. this enzyme is absent in humans. thus, it is a potential chemotherapeutic target for antileptospiral treatment. structure of this enzyme from leptospira interrogans serovar lai strain 56601 has not yet been elucidated. we used the structural template of phosphomethyl py ...	2006	17597880
three cases of anicteric leptospirosis from turkey: mild to severe complications.	leptospirosis is an acute generalized infectious disease, caused by spirochaetes, leptospira interrogans. the severity of the disease ranges from an asymptomatic subclinical course to a fatal outcome. the three cases presented here were diagnosed serologically and had thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure as complication of anicteric leptospirosis. our first case admitted with clinical presentation of pneumonia but clinical progress and laboratory findings made us to consider leptospirosis. t ...	2006	15996738
expression, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of sufe (xac2355) from xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri.	xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (xac) sufe (xac2355) is a member of a family of bacterial proteins that are conserved in several pathogens and phytopathogens. the escherichia coli suf operon is involved in iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis under iron-limitation and stress conditions. it has recently been demonstrated that sufe and sufs form a novel two-component cysteine desulfarase in which sufs catalyses the conversion of l-cysteine to l-alanine, forming a protein-bound persulfide intermediate ...	2006	16511319
immunoprotection of recombinant leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein a against leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection.	we previously reported the cloning and characterization of leptospiral immunoglobulin-like proteins liga and ligb of leptospira interrogans. liga and ligb are conserved at the amino-terminal region but are variable at the carboxyl-terminal region. here, we evaluate the potential of recombinant liga (rliga) as a vaccine candidate against infection by l. interrogans serovar pomona in a hamster model. rliga was truncated into conserved (rligacon) and variable (rligavar) regions and expressed in esc ...	2006	16495547
expression cloning and periplasmic orientation of the francisella novicida lipid a 4'-phosphatase lpxf.	francisella tularensis and related intracellular pathogens synthesize lipid a molecules that differ from their escherichia coli counterparts. although a functional orthologue of lpxk, the gene encoding the lipid a 4'-kinase, is present in francisella, no 4'-phosphate moiety is attached to francisella lipid a. we now demonstrate that a membrane-bound phosphatase present in francisella novicida u112 selectively removes the 4'-phosphate residue from tetra- and pentaacylated lipid a molecules. a clo ...	2006	16467300
the probiotic bacterium lactobacillus casei induces activation of the gut mucosal immune system through innate immunity.	the mechanisms by which probiotic bacteria affect the immune system are unknown yet, but many of them are attributed to an increase in the innate or in the acquired immune response. to study the influence of the probiotic bacterium lactobacillus casei in the expression of receptors involved in the innate immune response, this bacterium was orally administered to balb/c mice. after, they were sacrificed; the small intestine and intestinal fluids were collected to measure secretory immunoglobulin ...	2006	16467329
brief report: leptospirosis after flooding of a university campus--hawaii, 2004.	on november 19, 2004, the hawaii department of health (hdoh) received a report that a university of hawaii professor aged 56 years had been hospitalized with suspected leptospirosis after cleaning his flooded laboratory. on october 31, heavy rains had caused an adjacent stream to overflow its banks and flood the campus. persons exposed to fresh water or mud contaminated by the urine of animals infected with the spirochete leptospira interrogans can have systemic illness if the leptospires enter ...	2006	16467778
seroprevalence of leptospirosis among high-risk population of andaman islands, india.	leptospirosis is a severe spirochetal zoonosis in the world. it is considered an occupational disease of persons engaged in agriculture, sewage works, forestry, and animal slaughtering. a study was conducted with an objective of assessing the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the high-risk groups of andaman islands. a total of 611 sera samples from different high-risk populations were collected and tested by microscopic agglutination test (mat). genetic characterization of the isolate was do ...	2006	16474084
characterization of chew genes of leptospira interrogans and their effects in escherichia coli.	the motility and chemotaxis systems are critical for the virulence of leptospires. in this study, the phylogenetic profiles method was used to predict the interaction of chemotaxis proteins. it was shown that chew1 links to chea1, chey, cheb and chew2; chew3 links to chea2, mcp (la2426), cheb3 and ched1; and chew2 links only to chew1. the similarity analysis demonstrated that chew2 of leptospira interrogans strain lai had poor homology with chew of escherichia coli in the region of residues 30-5 ...	2006	16474898
borrelia burgdorferi ftsz plays a role in cell division.	ftsz is essential for cell division in many microorganisms. in escherichia coli and bacillus subtilis, ftsz plays a role in ring formation at the leading edge of the cell division septum. an ftsz homologue is present in the borrelia burgdorferi genome (ftsz(bbu)). its gene product (ftsz(bbu)) is strongly homologous to other bacterial ftsz proteins, but its function has not been established. because loss-of-function mutants of ftsz(bbu) might be lethal, the tetr/teto system was adapted for regula ...	2006	16484209
an outbreak of leptospirosis among israeli troops near the jordan river.	an outbreak of leptospirosis that involved 7 of a team of 27 israeli troops occurred following a military exercise in northern israel near the jordan river. the organism implicated in the outbreak was leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo. the clinical course was uncomplicated and all patients fully recovered. there were no cases of asymptomatic infection. military personnel should be recognized as having an occupational risk for contracting leptospirosis, especially when military activity takes ...	2006	16407357
bioinformatic analysis of an unusual gene-enzyme relationship in the arginine biosynthetic pathway among marine gamma proteobacteria: implications concerning the formation of n-acetylated intermediates in prokaryotes.	the n-acetylation of l-glutamate is regarded as a universal metabolic strategy to commit glutamate towards arginine biosynthesis. until recently, this reaction was thought to be catalyzed by either of two enzymes: (i) the classical n-acetylglutamate synthase (nags, gene arga) first characterized in escherichia coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa several decades ago and also present in vertebrates, or (ii) the bifunctional version of ornithine acetyltransferase (oat, gene argj) present in bacteria, a ...	2006	16409639
improvement in motion efficiency of the spirochete brachyspira pilosicoli in viscous environments.	spirochetes are unique among swimming bacteria in terms of their lack of external flagella. they actively move in viscous environments, and, surprisingly, the swimming speed of the spirochete leptospira interrogans has been reported to increase with viscosity in methylcellulose solutions. many researchers consider that the presence of a loose, quasi-rigid network formed by linear polymer molecules is related to this strange phenomenon. one of the authors has proposed a theory that expresses this ...	2006	16415052
function and evolution of plasmid-borne genes for pyrimidine biosynthesis in borrelia spp.	the thyx gene for thymidylate synthase of the lyme borreliosis (lb) agent borrelia burgdorferi is located in a 54-kb linear plasmid. in the present study, we identified an orthologous thymidylate synthase gene in the relapsing fever (rf) agent borrelia hermsii, located it in a 180-kb linear plasmid, and demonstrated its expression. the functions of the b. hermsii and b. burgdorferi thyx gene products were evaluated both in vivo, by complementation of a thymidylate synthase-deficient escherichia ...	2006	16428394
toll-like receptor 4 protects against lethal leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae infection and contributes to in vivo control of leptospiral burden.	the roles of innate immune responses in protection from or pathogenesis of severe leptospirosis remain unclear. we examined the role of toll-like receptors (tlrs) in mouse infection and macrophage responses to leptospira. c3h/hej mice (tlr4 deficient) and c3h/hej-scid mice, but not c3h/ouj mice (tlr4 intact), died after intraperitoneal infection with leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae. death in both c3h/hej mouse strains was associated with jaundice and pulmonary hemorrhage, simi ...	2006	16428731
leptospirosis in the tropics and in travelers.	leptospirosis, caused by spirochetes of the genus leptospira, has increasingly been recognized to affect travelers and residents in tropical settings. a zoonotic disease, leptospirosis is transmitted to humans through environmental surface waters contaminated by the urine of chronically infected mammals. outcome of infection varies, ranging from acute febrile illness (including self-resolving undifferentiated fever) to aseptic meningitis to a fulminant syndrome of jaundice, oliguric renal failur ...	2006	16448601
thrombocytopenia in the experimental leptospirosis of guinea pig is not related to disseminated intravascular coagulation.	thrombocytopenia is commonly observed in severe leptospirosis. however, previous studies on coagulation alterations during leptospirosis resulted in inconsistent conclusions. some findings showed that the prominent levels of thrombocytopenia observed in severe leptospirosis did not reflect the occurrence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (dic) syndrome, while the others reached the conclusion that the hemorrhages observed in leptospirosis were due to dic. the aim of this study is to eluc ...	2006	16451735
the scc spirochetal coiled-coil protein forms helix-like filaments and binds to nucleic acids generating nucleoprotein structures.	the analysis of the genome of leptospira spp., a group of bacteria of the phylum of spirochetes with several unique evolutionary and morphological features, has allowed the identification of a gene encoding a coiled-coil protein, called scc, which is completely unrelated to any other eukaryotic or prokaryotic protein. since coiled-coil proteins are often key elements of the cytoskeleton, we analyzed the protein scc, which is a 24-kda protein composed of a n-terminal coiled-coil domain, a proline ...	2006	16385037
lipoprotein computational prediction in spirochaetal genomes.	lipoproteins are of great interest in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of spirochaetes. because spirochaete lipobox sequences exhibit more plasticity than those of other bacteria, application of existing prediction algorithms to emerging sequence data has been problematic. in this paper a novel lipoprotein prediction algorithm is described, designated splip, constructed as a hybrid of a lipobox weight matrix approach supplemented by a set of lipoprotein signal peptide rules allowing for ...	2006	16385121
how phosphotransferase system-related protein phosphorylation regulates carbohydrate metabolism in bacteria.	the phosphoenolpyruvate(pep):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (pts) is found only in bacteria, where it catalyzes the transport and phosphorylation of numerous monosaccharides, disaccharides, amino sugars, polyols, and other sugar derivatives. to carry out its catalytic function in sugar transport and phosphorylation, the pts uses pep as an energy source and phosphoryl donor. the phosphoryl group of pep is usually transferred via four distinct proteins (domains) to the transported sugar bo ...	2006	17158705
structural classification of bacterial response regulators: diversity of output domains and domain combinations.	chey-like phosphoacceptor (or receiver [rec]) domain is a common module in a variety of response regulators of the bacterial signal transduction systems. in this work, 4,610 response regulators, encoded in complete genomes of 200 bacterial and archaeal species, were identified and classified by their domain architectures. previously uncharacterized output domains were analyzed and, in some cases, assigned to known domain families. transcriptional regulators of the ompr, narl, and ntrc families w ...	2006	16740923
coverage of whole proteome by structural genomics observed through protein homology modeling database.	we have been developing famsbase, a protein homology-modeling database of whole orfs predicted from genome sequences. the latest update of famsbase ( http://daisy.nagahama-i-bio.ac.jp/famsbase/ ), which is based on the protein three-dimensional (3d) structures released by november 2003, contains modeled 3d structures for 368,724 open reading frames (orfs) derived from genomes of 276 species, namely 17 archaebacterial, 130 eubacterial, 18 eukaryotic and 111 phage genomes. those 276 genomes are pr ...	2006	17146617
comparative genomics and evolution of the hsp90 family of genes across all kingdoms of organisms.	hsp90 proteins are essential molecular chaperones involved in signal transduction, cell cycle control, stress management, and folding, degradation, and transport of proteins. hsp90 proteins have been found in a variety of organisms suggesting that they are ancient and conserved. in this study we investigate the nuclear genomes of 32 species across all kingdoms of organisms, and all sequences available in genbank, and address the diversity, evolution, gene structure, conservation and nomenclature ...	2006	16780600