Publications

vibrio vulnificus tonsillitis after swimming in the gulf of mexico.		2017	28659373
vibrio vulnificus septic shock due to a contaminated tattoo.	we present a case of vibrio vulnificus septic shock and cellulitis in a patient with chronic liver disease that occurred after obtaining a leg tattoo with subsequent seawater exposure in the gulf of mexico. initial suspicion for v. vulnificus was high and he was started on empiric doxycycline and ceftriaxone at admission. blood and wound cultures grew oxidase positive and comma-shaped gram-negative rods ultimately confirmed to be v. vulnificus. despite aggressive initial treatment, the patient d ...	2017	28551603
both polarity and aromatic ring in the side chain of tryptophan 246 are involved in binding activity of vibrio vulnificus hemolysin to target cells.	vibrio vulnificus secretes a hemolysin/cytolysin (vvh) that induces cytolysis against a variety of mammalian cells by forming pores on the cellular membrane. vvh is known to bind to the cellular membrane as a monomer, and then convert to a pore-forming oligomer. however, the structural basis for binding of this toxin to target cells remains unknown. we show here that the polarity and indole ring on the side chain of trp 246 (w246) of vvh, which sits on a bottom loop, participates in binding to c ...	2017	28546115
substrate recognition of martx ras/rap1-specific endopeptidase.	ras/rap1-specific endopeptidase (rrsp) is a cytotoxic effector domain of the multifunctional autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (martx) toxin of highly virulent strains of vibrio vulnificus. rrsp blocks ras-mapk kinase signaling by cleaving ras and rap1 within the switch i region between y32 and d33. although the rrsp processing site is highly conserved among small gtpases, only ras and rap1 have been identified as proteolytic substrates. here we report that residues y32 and d33 at the scissile bon ...	2017	28459538
biogeochemical and hydrological drivers of the dynamics of vibrio species in two patagonian estuaries.	the ecology of the most relevant vibrio species for human health and their relation to water quality and biogeochemistry were studied in two estuaries in argentinian patagonia. vibrio cholerae and vibrio parahaemolyticus were reported in >29% of cases at the río colorado and río negro estuaries. neither the pandemic serogroups of vibrio cholerae o1, vibrio cholerae o139 nor the cholera toxin gene were detected in this study. however, several strains of v. cholerae (not o1 or o139) are able to ca ...	2017	27871750
non-cholera vibrios: the microbial barometer of climate change.	there is a growing interest in the role of climate change in driving the spread of waterborne infectious diseases, such as those caused by bacterial pathogens. one particular group of pathogenic bacteria - vibrios - are a globally important cause of diseases in humans and aquatic animals. these gram-negative bacteria, including the species vibrio vulnificus, vibrio parahaemolyticus and vibrio cholerae, grow in warm, low-salinity waters, and their abundance in the natural environment mirrors ambi ...	2017	27843109
mechanisms for pseudoalteromonas piscicida-induced killing of vibrios and other bacterial pathogens.	pseudoalteromonas piscicida are gram-negative gammaproteobacteria found in the marine environment. three strains of pigmented p. piscicida were isolated from seawater and partially characterized by inhibition studies, electron microscopy, and proteolytic enzyme production. growth inhibition and death occurred around colonies of p. piscicida on lawns of the naturally-occurring marine pathogens vibrio vulnificus, v. parahaemolyticus, v. cholerae, photobacterium damselae and shewanella algae inhibi ...	2017	28363962
the membrane localization domains of two distinct bacterial toxins form a 4-helix-bundle in solution.	membrane localization domain (mld) was first proposed for a 4-helix-bundle motif in the crystal structure of the c1 domain of pasteurella multocida toxin (pmt). this structure motif is also found in the crystal structures of several clostridial glycosylating toxins (tcda, tcdb, tcsl, and tcna). the ras/rap1-specific endopeptidase (rrsp) module of the multifunctional autoprocessing repeats-in-toxins (martx) toxin produced by vibrio vulnificus has sequence homology to the c1-c2 domains of pmt, inc ...	2017	27977897
a tfpi-1 peptide that induces degradation of bacterial nucleic acids, and inhibits bacterial and viral infection in half-smooth tongue sole, cynoglossus semilaevis.	tissue factor pathway inhibitor 1 (tfpi-1) is a serine protease inhibitor that inhibits tissue factor (tf)-mediated coagulation. the c-terminal region of tfpi-1 could be cleaved off and proved to be antimicrobial against a broad-spectrum of microorganism. in a previous study, a c-terminal peptide, tc24 (with 24 amino acids), derived from tongue sole (cynoglossus semilaevis) tfpi-1, was synthesized and found antibacterial against micrococcus luteus. in the present study, the antibacterial spectru ...	2017	27840169
occurrence and virulence properties of vibrio and salinivibrio isolates from tropical lagoons of the southern caribbean sea.	the vibrionaceae are gram-negative bacteria present in marine and estuarine environments worldwide, including several species known as important pathogens to humans and aquatic organisms. the aim of this research was to investigate the occurrence and virulence properties of vibrio and salinivibrio isolated from lagoons at cuare wildlife refuge and margarita island in the southern caribbean sea. water, plankton and oyster samples were collected during october 2011 and march 2012 and examined by s ...	2017	28324231
two new benzoate derivatives and one new phenylacetate derivative from a marine-derived fungus engyodontium album.	two new benzoate derivatives, ethyl 3,5-dimethoxy-2-propionylbenzoate (1) and ethyl 3,5-dihydroxy-2-propionylbenzoate (2), and one new phenylacetate derivative, ethyl 3,5-dimethoxy-2-propionylphenylacetate (3), together with 9 known compounds, were isolated from the fermentation of engyodontium album derived from deep sea sediment. their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques, such as nmr, ir and hresims. compound 3 exhibited inhibitory activities against methicillin-resistant st ...	2017	27750436
responses of mytilus galloprovincialis hemocytes to environmental strains of vibrio parahaemolyticus, vibrio alginolyticus, vibrio vulnificus.	marine bivalves are exposed to different types of bacteria in the surrounding waters, in particular of the vibrio genus. in the hemocytes of the mussel mytilus spp. immune responses to different vibrios have been largely characterized. however, little information is available on the hemocyte responses to human pathogenic vibrios commonly detected in coastal waters and bivalve tissues that are involved in seafood-borne diseases.	2017	28390964
season-specific occurrence of potentially pathogenic vibrio spp. on the southern coast of south korea.	vibrio species are widely distributed in warm estuarine and coastal environments, and they can infect humans through the consumption of raw and mishandled contaminated seafood. in this study, we aimed to isolate and observe the distribution of enteropathogenic vibrio spp. from environments of the southern coast of south korea over a season cycle. a total of 10,983 isolates of vibrio spp. were obtained from tidal water and mud samples over a 1-year period from five sampling sites along the southw ...	2017	27836844
biotreatment of petrochemical wastewater: a case study from northern tunisia.	a full-scale study has been conducted to assess the bioaugmentation efficiency of trickling filter process to treat petrochemical wastewater from a lubricant industry recycling waste oils. during 45 weeks, the organic loading rate (olr) in the trickling filter was increased stepwise from 0.9 to 4 kg of chemical oxygen demand (cod)/(m3·day) at the end of the upgrading period as the flow rate (fr) reached the value of 30 m3/day. the removal, obtained in terms of percentage, for cod ranged from 60 ...	2017	27094680
mechanism of anti-vibrio activity of marine probiotic strain bacillus pumilus h2, and characterization of the active substance.	vibriosis is a major epizootic disease that impacts free-living and farmed fish species worldwide. use of probiotics is a promising approach for prevention of vibrio infections in aquaculture. a probiotic anti-vibrio strain, bacillus pumilus h2, was characterized, and the mechanism of its effect was investigated. all 29 vibrio strains tested were growth-inhibited by h2. the anti-vibrio substance present in cell-free supernatant of h2 was purified and characterized by reversed-phase hplc. minimum ...	2017	28097594
cmc stabilized nano silver synthesis, characterization and its antibacterial and synergistic effect with broad spectrum antibiotics.	in the present study silver nanoparticles were synthesized by reduction of agno3 using aqueous cmc solution, which acts as both reducing and capping agent. the formation of agno3 nanoparticles was observed visually by color change and these nanoparticles were characterized through uv-vis spectroscopy, ftir, xrd, sem, eds and afm. the ftir peaks observed to be ranging from 3300 to 605cm(-1). the afm image clearly showed the surface morphology of well dispersed nanoparticles. sem image illustrates ...	2017	28024537
raw ready-to-eat seafood safety: microbiological quality of the various seafood species available in fishery, hyper and online markets.	microbiological quality of 206 raw ready-to-eat seafood samples was investigated according to species (gizzard shad, halibut, rockfish, tuna, oyster and squid) and distribution channels (fishery, hyper and online market). enumeration of aerobic plate count and total coliforms (tc) and pathogenic bacteria (bacillus cereus, staphylococcus aureus and vibrio parahaemolyticus) was performed, and level of microbiological quality was classified into four groups: satisfactory, acceptable, unsatisfactory ...	2017	27747902
edwardsiella tarda bacteremia. a rare but fatal water- and foodborne infection: review of the literature and clinical cases from a single centre.	edwardsiella tarda bacteremia (etb) can be a fatal disease in humans.	2017	26744588
expression, purification and enzymatic characterization of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate phosphatase from vibrio vulnificus.	undecaprenyl pyrophosphate phosphatase (uppp), a cell membrane integral enzyme, catalyzes the dephosphorylation of undecaprenyl pyrophosphate to undecaprenyl phosphate, which is an essential carrier lipid in bacterial cell wall synthesis. we previously purified e. coli uppp and concluded that its catalytic site is likely located in the periplasm. to search for additional natural uppp homologs to elucidate what constitutes a common catalytic mechanism and to gain a better chance of obtaining high ...	2017	28302513
plesiomonas shigelloides periprosthetic knee infection after consumption of raw oysters.	periprosthetic infections are a leading cause of morbidity after total joint arthroplasty. common pathogens include staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus, enterococcus, escherichia coli, and pseudomonas aeruginosa. however, there are many cases in which rare bacteria are isolated. this case report describes a periprosthetic knee infection caused by plesiomonas shigelloides. in the united states, p shigelloides and 2 other vibrionaceae family members, vibrio vulnificus and vibrio parahaemolyticus, ...	2017	28235124
development of a regulatable expression system for the functional study of vibrio vulnificus essential genes.	we developed a regulatable gene expression system for vibrio vulnificus, which contains a laciq-ptrc cassette. monomeric red fluorescence protein (mrfp) was used as a reporter to test this system. the results showed that this system tightly controlled the expression of mrfp without leaky expression and was suitable for the controlled expression of genes encoding recombinant proteins in v. vulnificus. to demonstrate the utility of this system, a dominant negative form of v. vulnificus vvmo6_rs049 ...	2017	28044234
tc38, a teleost tfpi-2 peptide that kills bacteria via penetration of the cell membrane and interaction with nucleic acids.	tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (tfpi-2) is an analog of tfpi-1 and a potent endogenous inhibitor of tissue factor (tf)-mediated blood coagulation. recent reports have proven that the c-terminal of tfpi-2 peptides in humans and several other vertebrates possesses antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. in our previous study, we reported that the tfpi-2 peptide, tc38 in tongue sole (cynoglossus semilaevis) was active against micrococcus luteus. in this study, we ...	2017	28263880
pathogenic mechanisms of actin cross-linking toxins: peeling away the layers.	actin cross-linking toxins are produced by gram-negative bacteria from vibrio and aeromonas genera. the toxins were named actin cross-linking domains (acd), since the first and most of the subsequently discovered acds were found as effector domains in larger martx and vgrg toxins. among recognized human pathogens, acd is produced by vibrio cholerae, vibrio vulnificus, and aeromonas hydrophila. upon delivery to the cytoplasm of a host cell, acd covalently cross-links actin monomers into non-polym ...	2017	27858184
o-heterocyclic derivatives with antibacterial properties from marine bacterium bacillus subtilis associated with seaweed, sargassum myriocystum.	the brown seaweed, sargassum myriocystum associated with heterotrophic bacterium, bacillus subtilis mtcc 10407 (jf834075) exhibited broad-spectra of potent antibacterial activities against pathogenic bacteria aeromonas hydrophila, vibrio vulnificus, and vibrio parahaemolyticus. b. subtilis mtcc 10407 was found to be positive for polyketide synthetase (pks) gene, and therefore, was considered to characterize secondary metabolites bearing polyketide backbone. using bioassay-guided fractionation, t ...	2017	27624095
emerging causes of superficial and invasive infections following marine injuries and exposures.	soft tissue bacterial infections following aquatic animal bites, stings, and minor injuries occur commonly and usually on the extremities in fishermen and beachgoers worldwide after freshwater and saltwater exposures. louisiana has more tidal, saltwater, and brackish water shorelines (more than 7,000 miles) than any other state, including alaska and hawaii. as a result, louisiana residents are often exposed to marine pathogens when fishing or working offshore or when enjoying louisiana's miles o ...	2017	25075726
direct detection of vibrio vulnificus, vibrio parahaemolyticus, and vibrio alginolyticus from clinical and environmental samples by a multiplex touchdown polymerase chain reaction assay.	vibrio vulnificus, v. alginolyticus, and v. parahaemolyticus are commonly and opportunistically pathogenic to humans.	2018	29173069
to17: a teleost antimicrobial peptide that induces degradation of bacterial nucleic acids and inhibits bacterial infection in red drum, sciaenops ocellatus.	tissue factor pathway inhibitor (tfpi)-1 is well known for its role as an inhibitor of blood coagulation. several studies have demonstrated that the c-terminal peptides of tfpi-1 are active against a broad spectrum of microorganisms. in a previous study, we found that to17 (with 17 amino acids), a tfpi-1 c-terminal peptide from red drum (sciaenops ocellatus), was active against edwardsiella tarda. in the present study, we investigated further the antimicrobial spectrum, action mode, as well as t ...	2018	29183811
crystal structure of peroxiredoxin 3 from vibrio vulnificus and its implications for scavenging peroxides and nitric oxide.	peroxiredoxins (prxs) are ubiquitous cysteine-based peroxidase enzymes. recently, a new type of prx, vvprx3, was identified in the pathogenic bacterium vibrio vulnificus as being important for survival in macrophages. it employs only one catalytic cysteine residue to decompose peroxides. here, crystal structures of vvprx3 representing its reduced and oxidized states have been determined, together with an h2o2-bound structure, at high resolution. the crystal structure representing the reduced prx ...	2018	29354274
correction: functional implications of hexameric assembly of rraa proteins from vibrio vulnificus.	[this corrects the article doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190064.].	2018	29352305
melatonin inhibits apoptotic cell death induced by vibrio vulnificus vvha via melatonin receptor 2 coupling with ncf-1.	melatonin, an endogenous hormone molecule, has a variety of biological functions, but a functional role of melatonin in the infection of gram-negative bacterium vibrio vulnificus has yet to be described. in this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of melatonin in the apoptosis of human intestinal epithelial (hct116) cells induced by the hemolysin (vvha) produced by v. vulnificus. melatonin (1 μm) significantly inhibited apoptosis induced by the recombinant protein (r) vvha, which had ...	2018	29352110
repression of vvpm protease expression by quorum sensing and the camp-crp complex in vibrio vulnificus.	septicemia-causing vibrio vulnificus produces at least three exoproteases, vvpe, vvps and vvpm, all of which participate in interactions with human cells. expression of vvpe and vvps is induced in the stationary phase by multiple transcription factors including sigma s, smcr, and camp-crp complex. distinct roles of vvpm, such as induction of apoptosis, lead us to hypothesize vvpm expression is different from that of the other exoproteases. its transcription, which was found to be independent of ...	2018	29339417
role of heat shock proteases in quorum-sensing-mediated regulation of biofilm formation by vibrio species.	capsular polysaccharide (cps) is essential for the dispersal of biofilms formed by the pathogenic bacterium vibrio vulnificus cps production is induced by the quorum-sensing (qs) master regulator smcr when biofilms mature. however, v. vulnificus biofilms formed under heat shock conditions did not exhibit the dispersion stage. transcripts of the cps gene cluster were at basal levels in the heat-exposed cell owing to reduced cellular levels of smcr. at least two proteases induced by heat shock, cl ...	2018	29295912
vibrio parahaemolyticus and vibrio vulnificus recovered from oysters during an oyster relay study.	vibrio parahaemolyticus and vibrio vulnificus are naturally occurring estuarine bacteria and are the leading causes of seafood-associated infections and mortality in the united states. though multiple-antibiotic-resistant v. parahaemolyticus and v. vulnificus strains have been reported, resistance patterns in vibrios are not as well documented as those of other foodborne bacterial pathogens. salinity relaying (sr) is a postharvest processing (php) treatment to reduce the abundances of these path ...	2018	29150510
immunogenicity and protective efficacy of vibrio vulnificus flagellin protein flab in a wound infection model.	vibrio vulnificus is known as an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes primary septicemia and wound infection in humans. recently, the incidence of wound infection by v. vulnificus is increasing in warm countries. in this study, we examined a vaccine antigen against v. vulnificus in mice. flab, a component protein of the v. vulnificus flagellum, was expressed as a recombinant protein, named rflab. after immunization of mice with rflab, the mice were challenged by subcutaneous inoculation ...	2018	29142160
vibrio vulnificus infection induces the maturation and activation of dendritic cells with inflammatory th17-polarizing ability.	vibrio vulnificus (v. vulnificus) is a gram-negative bacterium, which causes life-threatening septicemia and gastroenteritis through the consumption of contaminated seafood or wound infection. in addition, v. vulnificus infection is known to stimulate the production of several pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are associated with inflammatory responses mediated predominantly by dendritic cells (dcs), functioning as antigen-presenting cells. the present study aimed to investigate whether v. vulni ...	2018	29115398
antimicrobial activity of a newly identified kazal-type serine proteinase inhibitor, cckpi1, from the jellyfish cyanea capillata.	in this study, we reported a jellyfish-derived kazal-type serine protease inhibitor, named cckpi1, from cyanea capillata. cckpi1 has a calculated molecular mass of 19.02kda and contains three typical kazal domains. soluble recombinant cckpi1 (rcckpi1) was successfully expressed and purified. rcckpi1 exhibited significant inhibitory activities against elastase, subtilisin a and proteinase k, but not against trypsin or chymotrypsin. kinetic studies showed that all of the inhibitory effects of rcck ...	2018	29054522
transcriptome data of epinephelus fuscoguttatus infected by vibrio vulnificus.	vibriosis disease by vibrio spp. greatly reduced productivity of aquaculture, such as brown-marbled grouper (epinephelus fuscoguttatus), which is an economically important fish species in malaysia. preventive measures and immediate treatment are critical to reduce the mortality of e. fuscoguttatus from vibriosis. to investigate the molecular mechanisms associated with immune response and host-bacteria interaction, a transcriptomic analysis was performed to compare between healthy and vibrio-infe ...	2018	29255779