Publications

crystal structure of the oxidized form of the periplasmic mercury-binding protein merp from ralstonia metallidurans ch34.	in ralstonia metallidurans ch34, the gene merp encodes for a periplasmic mercury-binding protein which is capable of binding one mercury atom. the metal-binding site of merp consists of the highly conserved sequence gmtcxxc found in the family that includes metallochaperones and metal-transporting atpases. we purified merp from r.metallidurans ch34 and solved its crystal structure under the oxidized form at 2.0a resolution. superposition with structures of other metal-binding proteins shows that ...	2004	15123428
branching sites and morphological abnormalities behave as ectopic poles in shape-defective escherichia coli.	certain mutants in escherichia coli lacking multiple penicillin-binding proteins (pbps) produce misshapen cells containing kinks, bends and branches. these deformed regions exhibit two structural characteristics of normal cell poles: the peptidoglycan is inert to dilution by new synthesis or turnover, and a similarly stable patch of outer membrane caps the sites. to test the premise that these aberrant sites represent biochemically functional but misplaced cell poles, we assessed the intracellul ...	2004	15130123
detection of shigella by a pcr assay targeting the ipah gene suggests increased prevalence of shigellosis in nha trang, vietnam.	shigella spp. are exquisitely fastidious gram-negative organisms which frequently escape detection by traditional culture methods. to get a more complete understanding of the disease burden caused by shigella in nha trang, vietnam, real-time pcr was used to detect shigella dna. randomly selected rectal swab specimens from 60 shigella culture-positive patients and 500 shigella culture-negative patients detected by population-based surveillance of patients seeking care for diarrhea were processed ...	2004	15131166
the chromosome of shigella flexneri bacteriophage sf6: complete nucleotide sequence, genetic mosaicism, and dna packaging.	shigella flexneri temperate bacteriophage sf6 is of interest in part because its prophage expresses the oac gene that alters the antigenic properties of the surface o-antigen polysaccharide of its host bacterium. we have determined the complete sequence of its 39,044 bp genome. the sequence shows that sf6 is a member of the canonical lambdoid phage group, and like other phages of this type has a highly mosaic genome. it has chromosomal regions that encode proteins >80% identical with at least 15 ...	2004	15136040
preparation of synthetic glycoconjugates as potential vaccines against shigella flexneri serotype 2a disease.	the synthesis of three neoglycopeptides incorporating carbohydrate haptens, differing in length, covalently linked to a non natural universal t helper peptide is disclosed. they were synthesized according to a blockwise strategy based on the condensation of appropriate di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharide trichloroacetimidate donors onto an azidoethyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxybeta-d-glucopyranoside acceptor. use of thiol-maleimide coupling chemistry allowed site-selective efficient conjugation.	2004	15136809
sensitization of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria to jenseniin g by sublethal injury.	jenseniin g, a bacteriocin produced by propionibacterium thoenii p126, is active against related propionibacteria and some lactic acid bacteria and is sporostatic to botulinal spores. the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of sublethal stress on jenseniin g activity. bacillus cereus, enterococcus faecalis, escherichia coli, listeria monocytogenes, salmonella typhimurium, shigella flexneri, staphylococcus aureus, and yersinia enterocolitica were subjected to temperature, acid, an ...	2004	15151241
chromosomal and plasmid-encoded enzymes are required for assembly of the r3-type core oligosaccharide in the lipopolysaccharide of escherichia coli o157:h7.	the type r3 core oligosaccharide predominates in the lipopolysaccharides from enterohemorrhagic escherichia coli isolates including o157:h7. the r3 core biosynthesis (waa) genetic locus contains two genes, waad and waaj, that are predicted to encode glycosyltransferases involved in completion of the outer core. through determination of the structures of the lipopolysaccharide core in precise mutants and biochemical analyses of enzyme activities, waaj was shown to be a udp-glucose:(galactosyl) li ...	2004	15155763
laboratory-confirmed shigellosis in the united states, 1989-2002: epidemiologic trends and patterns.	during 1989-2002, a total of 208,368 laboratory-confirmed shigella infections were reported to the centers for disease control and prevention. shigella sonnei accounted for 71.7%, shigella flexneri accounted for 18.4%, shigella boydii accounted for 1.6%, and shigella dysenteriae accounted for 0.7% of infections; for 7.6%, no serogroup was reported. national incidence rates ranged from 7.6 cases per 100,000 persons in 1993 to 3.7 cases per 100,000 persons in 1999. incidence rates for s. boydii, s ...	2004	15156473
blockwise approach to fragments of the o-specific polysaccharide of shigella flexneri serotype 2a: convergent synthesis of a decasaccharide representative of a dimer of the branched repeating unit.	the d'a'b'(e')c'dab(e)c decasaccharide representative of a dimer of a frame-shifted pentasaccharide repeating unit of the o-specific polysaccharide of shigella flexneri 2a was synthesized as its methyl glycoside by condensing a pentasaccharide donor (d'a'b'(e')c') and a pentasaccharide acceptor (dab(e)c-ome). several convergent routes to these two building blocks, involving either the ab linkage or the bc linkage as the disconnection site, were evaluated in comparison to the linear strategy. the ...	2004	14961653
identification and functional characterization of the lactococcus lactis rfb operon, required for dtdp-rhamnose biosynthesis.	dtdp-rhamnose is an important precursor of cell wall polysaccharides and rhamnose-containing exopolysaccharides (eps) in lactococcus lactis. we cloned the rfbacbd operon from l. lactis mg1363, which comprises four genes involved in dtdp-rhamnose biosynthesis. when expressed in escherichia coli, the lactococcal rfbacbd genes could sustain heterologous production of the shigella flexneri o antigen, providing evidence of their functionality. overproduction of the rfbac proteins in l. lactis resulte ...	2004	14973085
shigella flexneri infection: pathogenesis and vaccine development.	shigella flexneri is a gram-negative bacterium which causes the most communicable of bacterial dysenteries, shigellosis. shigellosis causes 1.1 million deaths and over 164 million cases each year, with the majority of cases occurring in the children of developing nations. the pathogenesis of s. flexneri is based on the bacteria's ability to invade and replicate within the colonic epithelium, which results in severe inflammation and epithelial destruction. the molecular mechanisms used by s. flex ...	2004	14975529
identification and molecular characterization of eata, an autotransporter protein of enterotoxigenic escherichia coli.	enterotoxigenic escherichia coli (etec) strains remain a formidable cause of diarrheal disease. to identify novel surface proteins of etec, we performed tnphoa mutagenesis of prototype etec strain h10407 and discovered a secreted protein not previously recognized in etec. dna sequencing of the interrupted locus in mutant tnphoa.977 revealed a candidate 4,095-bp open reading frame without significant homology to commensal e. coli k-12 genomic dna. translation of this sequence revealed that it enc ...	2004	14977988
variability of shigella flexneri serotypes in israel during a period of two years: 2000 and 2001.	during a period of 2 years (2000 and 2001) 996 shigella flexneri strains from sporadic cases in israel were sent to the national shigella reference centre (nsrc) by hospital and outpatient clinics. the most common serotypes were 2a, 6 and 1b, accounting for 88.4% of all isolates. they were investigated according to the monthly distribution of the strains, and the age and sex of the patients. the severity of the disease was assessed by a hospital/outpatient distribution (h/od) of the isolates, ba ...	2004	14979589
role of attp in integrase-mediated integration of the shigella resistance locus pathogenicity island of shigella flexneri.	the shigella resistance locus (srl) pathogenicity island (pai) in shigella spp. mediates resistance to streptomycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. it can be excised from the chromosome via site-specific recombination mediated by the p4-related int gene. here, we show that srl pai attp is capable of reca-independent, site-specific, int-mediated integration into two bacterial trna attb sites.	2004	14982801
campylobacter jejuni infection of differentiated thp-1 macrophages results in interleukin 1 beta release and caspase-1-independent apoptosis.	apoptosis induction of host macrophages has emerged as a common virulence mechanism among bacterial pathogens. infection with campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide and is characterized by an acute inflammatory response in the small intestine. the authors used the human monocytic cell line thp-1 to examine apoptosis induction and pro-inflammatory cytokine production during c. jejuni infection. flow cytometric analysis revealed that 48 h after inoculation, a c. jejun ...	2004	14993305
occurrence of inhibitory compounds in spent growth media that interfere with acid-tolerance mechanisms of enteric pathogens.	understanding the acid-tolerance ability of enteric human pathogens is critical in determining microbial food safety and the associated risk. we have discovered naturally occurring compounds in the spent growth media, which inhibit the acid-tolerance ability of several enteric human pathogens when challenged at ph 3.0 for 2 h at 37 degrees c. the compounds were detected in the spent growth media obtained from escherichia coli o157:h7, salmonella spp., and vibrio cholera, but not from shigella fl ...	2004	14996461
neutrophil extracellular traps kill bacteria.	neutrophils engulf and kill bacteria when their antimicrobial granules fuse with the phagosome. here, we describe that, upon activation, neutrophils release granule proteins and chromatin that together form extracellular fibers that bind gram-positive and -negative bacteria. these neutrophil extracellular traps (nets) degrade virulence factors and kill bacteria. nets are abundant in vivo in experimental dysentery and spontaneous human appendicitis, two examples of acute inflammation. nets appear ...	2004	15001782
shigella interactions with the actin cytoskeleton in the absence of ena/vasp family proteins.	shigella move through the cytosol of infected cells by assembly of a propulsive actin tail at one end of the bacterium. vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (vasp), a member of the ena/vasp family of proteins, is important in cellular actin dynamics and is present on intracellular shigella. vasp binds both profilin, an actin monomer-binding protein, and vinculin, a component of intercellular contacts that also binds the shigella actin assembly protein icsa. it has been postulated that vasp migh ...	2004	15009027
neuromodulation of experimental shigella infection reduces damage to the gut mucosa.	bacillary dysentery arises when shigella invades the colonic and rectal mucosae of the human gut and elicits a strong inflammatory response, which may lead to life-threatening complications. hence, downregulation of the host inflammatory response is an appealing therapeutical alternative. the gastrointestinal tract is densely innervated, and nerve endings are often found in the vicinity of leukocytes. we have assessed the impact of experimental shigella infection on levels of neuropeptides in th ...	2004	15026012
topological analysis of glucosyltransferase gtrv of shigella flexneri by a dual reporter system and identification of a unique reentrant loop.	lipopolysaccharide, particularly the o-antigen component, is one of many virulence determinants necessary for shigella flexneri pathogenesis. o-antigen modification is mediated by glucosyltransferase genes (gtr) encoded by temperate serotype-converting bacteriophages. the gtrv gene encodes the gtrv glucosyltransferase, an integral membrane protein that catalyzes the transfer of a glucosyl residue via an alpha1,3 linkage to rhamnose ii of the o-antigen unit. this mediates conversion of s. flexner ...	2004	15028730
synthesis of some new 6-methylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-5-carbohydrazide derivatives and their antimicrobial activities.	in this study, 14 new compounds having 6-methyl-n2-(alkylidene/cycloalkylidene)imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-5-carbohydrazide (3a-g), 3-[[(6-methylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-5-yl)carbonyl]amino]-4-thiazolidinone (4a-d) and 4-[[(6-methylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-5-yl)carbonyl]amino]-1-thia-4-azaspiro[4.4]nonan/[4.5]decan-3-one (4e-g) structures were synthesized. the structures of the compounds were elucidated by uv, ir, 1h-nmr, 13c-nmr, 1h-13c-cosy, mass spectra and elemental analysis. all compounds synthesize ...	2004	15038463
the probiotic escherichia coli strain nissle 1917 interferes with invasion of human intestinal epithelial cells by different enteroinvasive bacterial pathogens.	the probiotic escherichia coli strain nissle 1917 (mutaflor) of serotype o6:k5:h1 was reported to protect gnotobiotic piglets from infection with salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium. an important virulence property of salmonella is invasion of host epithelial cells. therefore, we tested for interference of e. coli strain nissle 1917 with salmonella invasion of int407 cells. simultaneous administration of e. coli strain nissle 1917 and salmonella resulted in up to 70% reduction of salmonella ...	2004	15039098
saturation-transfer difference nmr studies for the epitope mapping of a carbohydrate-mimetic peptide recognized by an anti-carbohydrate antibody.	saturation-transfer difference nmr spectroscopy (std-nmr) experiments have been performed to analyze the topography or epitope of the octapeptide mdwnmhaa recognized by the anti-carbohydrate antibody sya/j6 in solution; the antibody is directed against the shigella flexneri y o-antigen polysaccharide. the results permit a valuable comparison of solution versus crystal-structure data, and provide insight for the design of the next-generation binding ligands.	2004	14697795
survival and growth of acid-adapted and unadapted shigella flexneri in a traditional fermented ghanaian weaning food as affected by fortification with cowpea.	shigellae are among the major causes of diarrheal diseases in infants and young children in developing countries. we conducted a study to determine the effect of fermentation of corn and corn/cowpea doughs used to prepare a traditional weaning porridge on the survival and growth characteristics of acid-adapted and unadapted shigella flexneri. porridges were prepared from doughs fermented for 0, 24, and 48 h at 30 degrees c. four-strain mixtures of acid-adapted and unadapted s. flexneri cells wer ...	2004	14698100
evidence for polar positional information independent of cell division and nucleoid occlusion.	we present evidence that, in escherichia coli, polar positional information is present at midcell independent of known cell division factors. in filamented cells, icsa, which is normally polar, localizes at or near potential cell division sites. because the cell pole is derived from the septum, the sites to which icsa localizes in filaments correspond to future poles. icsa localization to these sites is independent of ftsz, mincde, septation, and nucleoid occlusion, indicating that positional in ...	2004	14715903
simultaneous detection of escherichia coli o157:h7, salmonella, and shigella in apple cider and produce by a multiplex pcr.	with three pairs of primers, a multiplex pcr assay was established for the simultaneous detection of escherichia coli 0157:h7, salmonella, and shigella. under the optimized conditions, the assay yielded a 252-bp product from e. coli o157:h7, a 429-bp product from salmonella typhimurium, and a 620-bp product from shigella flexneri, respectively. when the dna extraction of multiple target organisms was included in the same reaction, two or three corresponding amplicons of different sizes were obse ...	2004	14717347
regulation of icsp, the outer membrane protease of the shigella actin tail assembly protein icsa, by virulence plasmid regulators virf and virb.	the shigella outer membrane protease icsp removes the actin assembly protein icsa from the bacterial surface, and consequently modulates shigella actin-based motility and cell-to-cell spread. here, we demonstrate that icsp expression is undetectable in mutants lacking either of two transcriptional activators, virf and virb. in wild-type shigella spp., virb expression is entirely dependent on virf; therefore, to circumvent this regulatory cascade, we independently expressed virf or virb in shigel ...	2004	14729695
analysis of the lambdoid prophage element e14 in the e. coli k-12 genome.	many sequenced bacterial genomes harbor phage-like elements or cryptic prophages. these elements have been implicated in pathogenesis, serotype conversion and phage immunity. the e14 element is a defective lambdoid prophage element present at 25 min in the e. coli k-12 genome. this prophage encodes important functional genes such as lit (t4 exclusion), mcra (modified cytosine restriction activity) and pin (recombinase).	2004	14733619
picu, a second serine protease autotransporter of uropathogenic escherichia coli.	escherichia coli is the major aetiological agent of urinary tract infections (uti). like diarrhoeagenic strains of e. coli, uropathogenic isolates possess virulence determinants that distinguish them from commensal strains and allow them to produce the clinical manifestations associated with uti. several autotransporter proteins have been associated with the ability of e. coli, and other gram-negative bacteria, to cause disease. recently, we described the existence within uropathogenic e. coli ( ...	2004	14734168
high levels of igg class antibodies to recombinant hsp60 kda of yersinia enterocolitica in sera of patients with uveitis.	to determine the levels of igg class antibodies to recombinant heat shock protein 60 kda of yersinia enterocolitica (rhsp60ye), klebsiella pneumoniae (rhsp60kp), escherichia coli (rhsp60ec), shigella flexneri (rhsp60sf), and streptococcus pyogenes (rhsp60sp) in the serum of patients with hla-b27 associated acute anterior uveitis (hla-b27 associated aau), idiopathic acute anterior uveitis (idiopathic aau), pars planitis, vogt-koyanagi-harada (vkh), and healthy subjects.	2004	14736785
two studies evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of a live, attenuated shigella flexneri 2a vaccine (sc602) and excretion of vaccine organisms in north american volunteers.	we report the first community-based evaluation of shigella flexneri 2a strain sc602, a live, oral vaccine strain attenuated by deletion of the icsa (virg) plasmid virulence gene, given at 10(4) cfu. the primary objectives of this trial were to determine the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine and to determine the duration of colonization. four of 34 volunteers experienced transient fevers, and three reported diarrhea during the first 3 days of the study. half of the volunteers mounted a pos ...	2004	14742537
molecular epidemiology of shigella flexneri in a diarrhoea-endemic area of lima, peru.	a year-long community-based study of diarrhoeal diseases was conducted in canto grande, a periurban community in lima, peru. in 109 (34%) houses out of 323 that were visited, at least one individual was detected with shigellosis. the frequency of the 161 shigella isolates obtained was as follows: 117 s. flexneri (73%), 21 s. boydii (13%), 15 s. dysenteriae (9%), and 8 s. sonnei (5%). using a non-radioactive ipah gene probe as a molecular epidemiological tool, a total of 41 s. flexneri strains we ...	2004	15061506
a dna adenine methylase mutant of shigella flexneri shows no significant attenuation of virulence.	mutants of salmonella defective in dna adenine methylase (dam) have been reported to be attenuated for virulence and to provide protective immunity when used as vaccine strains. to determine whether these observations could be extended to shigella, a dam mutant of shigella flexneri 2a was characterized and examined for the role of dam in pathogenesis. the shigella dam mutant showed some unique characteristics; however, it retained virulence in vivo as well as in vitro. the mutant invaded culture ...	2004	15073316
the role of the shigella flexneri yihe gene in lps synthesis and virulence.	previously, the authors have shown that inactivation of shigella flexneri yihe, a gene of unknown function upstream of dsba, which encodes a periplasmic disulphide catalyst, results in a global change of gene expression. among the severely down-regulated genes are galetkm, suggesting that the yihe mutant, sh54, may inefficiently produce the udp-glucose and udp-galactose required for lps synthesis. this paper demonstrates that lps synthesis in sh54 is impaired. as a result, sh54 is unable to poly ...	2004	15073317
structure of spa15, a type iii secretion chaperone from shigella flexneri with broad specificity.	type iii secretion (tts) systems are used by many gram-negative pathogens to inject virulence proteins into the cells of their hosts. several of these virulence effectors require tts chaperones that maintain them in a secretion-competent state. whereas most chaperones bind only one effector, spa15 from the human pathogen shigella flexneri and homologous chaperones bind several seemingly unrelated effectors, and were proposed to form a special subgroup. its 1.8 a crystal structure confirms this s ...	2004	15088068
trends in population-based active surveillance for shigellosis and demographic variability in foodnet sites, 1996-1999.	shigella is a common cause of diarrhea in the united states, and accurate surveillance is needed to determine the burden of illness that they cause. active surveillance for culture-confirmed shigella infection was done as part of the foodborne diseases active surveillance network (foodnet). a total of 4317 cases of shigellosis were reported during 1996-1999 in the original foodnet surveillance areas. the average annual incidence was 7.4 cases/100,000 population. the incidence was similar during ...	2004	15095187
screening and identification of shigella flexneri 2a virulence-related genes induced after invasion of epithelial cells.	an in vivo expression technology (ivet) was applied to screen s. flexneri 2a genes induced after invasion of epithelial cells, and virulence-related genes were further identified by mutational analysis. thirteen intracellular induced genes were identified with a hela cell infection model. of these, two were identified as alkylation-related genes; one was related to metabolism; one encoded a transcriptional regulator; three were identified as insertion elements; three appeared to be antisense to ...	2004	15620105
multiple roles of clan (caspase-associated recruitment domain, leucine-rich repeat, and naip ciia het-e, and tp1-containing protein) in the mammalian innate immune response.	naip ciia het-e and tp1 (nacht) family proteins are involved in sensing intracellular pathogens or pathogen-derived molecules, triggering host defense responses resulting in caspase-mediated processing of proinflammatory cytokines and nf-kappab activation. caspase-associated recruitment domain, leucine-rich repeat, and nacht-containing protein (clan), also known as ice protease-activating factor, belongs to a branch of the nacht family that contains proteins carrying caspase-associated recruitme ...	2004	15528373
identification of escherichia coli o157 : h7 genes influencing colonization of the bovine gastrointestinal tract using signature-tagged mutagenesis.	enterohaemorrhagic escherichia coli (ehec) cause acute gastroenteritis in humans that may be complicated by life-threatening systemic sequelae. the predominant ehec serotype affecting humans in the uk and north america is o157 : h7 and infections are frequently associated with contact with ruminant faeces. strategies to reduce the carriage of ehec in ruminants are expected to lower the incidence of human ehec infections; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying persistence of ehec in ruminan ...	2004	15528651
bacteria as dna vaccine carriers for genetic immunization.	genetic immunization with plasmid dna vaccines has proven to be a promising tool in conferring protective immunity in various experimental animal models of infectious diseases or tumors. recent research focuses on the use of bacteria, in particular enteroinvasive species, as effective carriers for dna vaccines. attenuated strains of shigella flexneri, salmonella spp., yersinia enterocolitica or listeria monocytogenes have shown to be attractive candidates to target dna vaccines to immunological ...	2004	15532991
cloning, sequencing and partial characterisation of sorbitol transporter (srlt) gene encoding phosphotransferase system, glucitol/sorbitol-specific iibc components of erwinia herbicola atcc 21998.	a dna fragment of approximately 1500 bp, harbouring the sorbitol transport gene (srlt), was amplified from the chromosomal dna of erwinia herbicola atcc 21998 by pcr and cloned in escherichia coli jm109. degenerate oligonucleotide primers used were designed based on the conserved regions in the gene sequences within the gut operon of e. coli (gene bank accession no. j02708) and the srl operon of erwinia amylovora (gene bank accession no. y14603). the cloned dna fragment was sequenced and found t ...	2004	15560368
escape of intracellular shigella from autophagy.	the degradation of undesirable cellular components or organelles, including invading microbes, by autophagy is crucial for cell survival. here, shigella, an invasive bacteria, was found to be able to escape autophagy by secreting icsb by means of the type iii secretion system. mutant bacteria lacking icsb were trapped by autophagy during multiplication within the host cells. icsb did not directly inhibit autophagy. rather, shigella virg, a protein required for intracellular actin-based motility, ...	2004	15576571
experimental study on the antibacterial effect of origanum volatile oil on dysentery bacilli in vivo and in vitro.	to observe the germistatic and germicidal effects of origanum volatile oil (ovi) on the dysentery bacteria, the abdominal cavity of mice was infected with shigella sonne (sh. sonnei) and shigella flexneri (sh. flexneri) f2a. after ovi was given to the mice via gastric lavage, the effects of ovi on the infected mice were observed. the minimal inhibitory concentration (mic) and minimal bactericidal concentration (mbc) for dysentery bacteria were determined in vitro. the results showed that origanu ...	2004	15587409
isatin-derived antibacterial and antifungal compounds and their transition metal complexes.	a series of isatins incorporating thiazole, thiadiazole, benzothiazole and p-toluene sulfonyl hydrazide moieties, along with their cobalt(ii), copper(ii), nickel(ii) and zinc(ii) metal complexes have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductances, magnetic moments, ir, nmr and electronic spectral data. these compounds have been screened for antibacterial activity against escherichia coli, bacillus subtillis, shigella flexneri, staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas aeru ...	2004	15648656
regulated site-specific recombination of the she pathogenicity island of shigella flexneri.	the she pathogenicity island (pai) is a chromosomal, laterally acquired, integrative element of shigella flexneri that carries genes with established or putative roles in virulence. we demonstrate that spontaneous, precise excision of the element from its integration site in the 3' terminus of the phev trna gene is mediated by an integrase gene (int) and a gene designated rox (regulator of excision), both of which are carried on the she pai. integrase-mediated excision occurs via recombination b ...	2004	15165236
synthesis and immunochemical characterization of protein conjugates of carbohydrate and carbohydrate-mimetic peptides as experimental vaccines.	the peptides drpvpy and mdwnmhaa, which were identified as mimics of the cell-surface polysaccharides of streptococcus group a and shigella flexneri y, respectively, were used in this study to develop experimental vaccines directed against these two bacteria. both oligopeptides were synthesized employing the fmoc solid-phase strategy and linked via the amino end to a bifunctional linker, diethylsquarate. these adducts were then conjugated to the two carrier proteins, bovine serum albumin (bsa) a ...	2004	15186860
prevalence of the sat, set and sen genes among diverse serotypes of shigella flexneri strains isolated from patients with acute diarrhoea.	new virulence factors associated with the genus shigella have been described recently. these comprise enterotoxins shet-1 and shet-2, encoded by the set and sen genes, respectively, and the secreted autotransporter toxin sat, encoded by the sat gene. the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of genes encoding these toxins among a collection of shigella flexneri clinical isolates belonging to different serotypes. while the set gene was detected only in s. flexneri serotypes 2a and 2b, t ...	2004	15191388
[antibiotic resistance and molecular epidemiology of shigella spp. in northeastern argentina].	to evaluate the antibiotic resistance of strains of shigella spp. isolated from feces samples from northeastern argentina and to characterize the strains in terms of their molecular epidemiology.	2004	15193176
a study on detecting and identifying enteric pathogens with pcr.	to develop a rapid and definite diagnostic test of bacterial enteritis caused by pathogenic enterobacteria, the most frequent etiologic agent of infectious enteritis in the world.	2004	15202870
regulation of the ysa type iii secretion system of yersinia enterocolitica by ysae/sycb and ysrs/ysrr.	yersinia enterocolitica biovar 1b contains two type iii secretion systems (ttsss), the plasmid-encoded ysc-yop system and the chromosomally encoded ysa-ysp system. proteins secreted from the ysa ttss (ysps) have only been detected in vitro when cells are cultured at 26 degrees c in a high-nacl medium. however, the exact role of the ysa ttss is unclear. thus, investigations into the regulation of this system may help elucidate the role of the ysps during the life cycle of y. enterocolitica. here ...	2004	15205407
short report: high incidence of shigellosis among peruvian soldiers deployed in the amazon river basin.	we investigated the etiology of acute diarrhea among peruvian military recruits undergoing three months of basic combat training near the amazonian city of iquitos. from january through september 2002, 307 of 967 recruits were seen at the health post for diarrhea (attack rate [ar] = 31.8%, incidence = 1.28 95% confidence interval [ci] = 1.14-1.43] episodes/person-year). shigella spp. were the most common bacterial pathogen recovered from recruits experiencing diarrhea episodes. these bacteria we ...	2004	15211010
[dysentery in poland in 2002].	the notified number of dysentery cases was still very low, but a little higher than in 2001. only 220 cases were notified in the year 2002 (incidence 0.58/100,000 population) while 128 cases were notified in 2001 (incidence 0.33/100,000). no one death case was notified. four outbreaks of dysentery were observed: among them one foodborne infection due to s. sonnei involving 109 participants of a summer holiday camp for children from the poor families and one due to s. flexneri 2a involving 16 pat ...	2004	15218646
lactoferrin disruption of bacterial type iii secretion systems.	many gram-negative bacteria share a closely related mechanism for secretion of virulence proteins. this complex machine, the type iii secretion system, secretes virulence proteins in response to sensing the presence of target mammalian cells. we have found that recombinant human lactoferrin impairs the function of this system in two model organisms: shigella and enteropathogenic e. coli (epec). in the case of shigella, there is loss and degradation of two proteins secreted by the type iii mechan ...	2004	15222474
in vitro antimicrobial activity of essential oils from aromatic plants against selected foodborne pathogens.	the purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected essential oils for the control of growth and survival of pathogenic microorganisms of significant importance in food hygiene and to determine whether the antimicrobial effect was due to the major compounds of the oils. mic and mbc were determined by the tube dilution method. essential oils from thymus vulgaris from spain and france, salvia sclarea, salvia officinalis, salvia lavandulifolia, lavandula latifolia, lavandula angu ...	2004	15222560
mauve: multiple alignment of conserved genomic sequence with rearrangements.	as genomes evolve, they undergo large-scale evolutionary processes that present a challenge to sequence comparison not posed by short sequences. recombination causes frequent genome rearrangements, horizontal transfer introduces new sequences into bacterial chromosomes, and deletions remove segments of the genome. consequently, each genome is a mosaic of unique lineage-specific segments, regions shared with a subset of other genomes and segments conserved among all the genomes under consideratio ...	2004	15231754
mucosal immunization with attenuated shigella flexneri harboring an influenza hemagglutinin dna vaccine protects mice against a lethal influenza challenge.	mucosal surfaces are important for the induction of immunity against influenza virus. in a murine intranasal immunization model, we demonstrated that the attenuated shigella flexneri deltaasd strain 15d, carrying a dna construct encoding the influenza virus hemagglutinin (ha), induces protective immunity against a lethal respiratory challenge with influenza a/wsn/33. influenza virus-specific ifn-gamma t cells were detected among splenocytes, and anti-ha igg was detected in serum post-immunizatio ...	2004	15246259
identification of novel immunogenic proteins of shigella flexneri 2a by proteomic methodologies.	shigella spp. are one of the most important etiological factors for people who are living in developing countries and travelers to tropical countries. high priority has been given by the world health organization to the development of vaccines to control shigellosis caused by these bacteria. however, information regarding to profile of immunogenic proteins of shigella is not available now. in the present study, sub-immunoproteomics was applied to screen novel immunogenic proteins which could be ...	2004	15246607
improved methods for producing outer membrane vesicles in gram-negative bacteria.	outer membrane vesicle formation occurs during gram-negative bacterial growth. however, natural production of large amounts of outer membrane vesicles has only been described in a few bacterial genera. the purified vesicles of some bacterial pathogens have shown potential applications in vaccinology and in antibiotic therapy. this study focused on the development of a gene expression system able to induce production of large amounts of outer membrane vesicles. the tol-pal system of escherichia c ...	2004	15249060
detection of approximately 10(3) copies of dna by an electrochemical enzyme-amplified sandwich assay with ambient o(2) as the substrate.	the electrochemical sandwich-type, enzyme-amplified assay of zhang, kim, and heller (anal. chem. 2003, 75, 3267-3269) was simplified by replacing the amplifying horseradish peroxidase with bilirubin oxidase (bod). bod catalyzes the reduction of ambient o(2) to water and obviates the need for adding h(2)o(2). femtomolar (10(-)(15) m) concentrations of dna were detected at a 10-microm-diameter tip of a carbon fiber electrode. correspondingly, a few thousand copies of dna were detected in approxima ...	2004	15253647
a probabilistic measure for alignment-free sequence comparison.	alignment-free sequence comparison methods are still in the early stages of development compared to those of alignment-based sequence analysis. in this paper, we introduce a probabilistic measure of similarity between two biological sequences without alignment. the method is based on the concept of comparing the similarity/dissimilarity between two constructed markov models.	2004	15271780
excision of the shigella resistance locus pathogenicity island in shigella flexneri is stimulated by a member of a new subgroup of recombination directionality factors.	pathogenicity islands are capable of excision and insertion within bacterial chromosomes. we describe a protein, rox, that stimulates excision of the shigella resistance locus pathogenicity island in shigella flexneri. sequence analysis suggests that rox belongs to a new subfamily of recombination directionality factors, which includes proteins from p4, enterohemorrhagic escherichia coli, and yersinia pestis.	2004	15292162
the omptin family of enterobacterial surface proteases/adhesins: from housekeeping in escherichia coli to systemic spread of yersinia pestis.	the omptins are a family of enterobacterial surface proteases/adhesins that share high sequence identity and a conserved beta-barrel fold in the outer membrane. the omptins are multifunctional, and the individual omptins exhibit differing virulence-associated functions. the pla plasminogen activator of yersinia pestis contributes by several mechanisms to bacterial invasiveness and the systemic, uncontrolled proteolysis in plague. pla proteolytically activates the human proenzyme plasminogen and ...	2004	15293449
expression of his-tagged shigella ipac in arabidopsis.	although the expression of histidine (his)-tagged proteins in bacteria is routine, few his-tagged proteins have been expressed in plants, and no his-tagged proteins from bacterial pathogens have been expressed in plants, to our knowledge. here, we demonstrate expression of the shigella flexneri invasion plasmid antigen, ipac, in arabidopsis thaliana. s. flexneri is the causitive trigger for bacillary dysentery, and ipac is essential for bacterial entry into epithelial cells. ipac, attached to a ...	2004	15313002
validation of a pcr for diagnosis of typhoid fever and salmonellosis by amplification of the hila gene in clinical samples from colombian patients.	validation of a pcr test to detect hila gene sequences of salmonella spp. was performed in blood and faeces samples from typhoid fever and salmonellosis patients. sensitivity (s), specificity (sp), positive predictive value (ppv) and negative predictive value (npv) of the pcr in blood samples were performed by testing: 37 patients with clinical diagnosis of typhoid fever, 34 of them confirmed by isolation of s. typhi from blood cultures; 35 patients infected with other pathogens corroborated by ...	2004	15314194
growth inhibition of enteric pathogens by zinc sulfate: an in vitro study.	to determine the inhibition effect of zinc sulfate on isolates of enteric bacteria.	2004	15316263
the salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium divalent cation transport systems mnth and sitabcd are essential for virulence in an nramp1g169 murine typhoid model.	nramp1 is a transporter that pumps divalent cations from the vacuoles of phagocytic cells and is associated with the innate resistance of mice to diverse intracellular pathogens. we demonstrate that sita and mnth, genes encoding high-affinity metal ion uptake systems in salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium, are upregulated when salmonella is internalized by nramp1-expressing macrophages and play an essential role in systemic infection of congenic nramp1-expressing mice.	2004	15322058
il-8 is a key chemokine regulating neutrophil recruitment in a new mouse model of shigella-induced colitis.	the lack of a mouse model of acute rectocolitis mimicking human bacillary dysentery in the presence of invasive shigella is a major handicap to study the pathogenesis of the disease and to develop a shigella vaccine. the inability of the mouse intestinal mucosa to elicit an inflammatory infiltrate composed primarily of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (pmn) may be due to a defect in epithelial invasion, in the sensing of invading bacteria, or in the effector mechanisms that recruit the pmn infiltrat ...	2004	15356171
rafts can trigger contact-mediated secretion of bacterial effectors via a lipid-based mechanism.	infection by the gram-negative bacterial pathogen shigella flexneri depends on its ability to invade host cells. bacterial engulfment requires a functional type iii secretion system (ttss) allowing the translocation into host cells of bacterial effectors that activate cell-signaling cascades. we demonstrated previously that specialized lipid membrane domains enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids (rafts) are involved during early steps of invasion, namely in binding and host cell entry. in th ...	2004	15364928
diarrhea in elderly patients due to clostridium difficile associated with salmonella and shigella infection.	clostridium difficile is the main cause of nosocomial diarrhea mainly in elderly hospitalized patients and in nursing homes, but less common in the community. we report three elderly patients living in the community, one frail and two in reasonable good health who recently developed diarrhea due to c. difficile associated with salmonella group c in two cases and shigella flexneri in the other. the association with shigella has not previously been reported and there have only been a few cases wit ...	2004	15381346
antibacterial and antifugal mono- and di-substituted symmetrical and unsymmetrical triazine-derived schiff-bases and their transition metal complexes.	a new series of antibacterial and antifungal triazine-derived mono- and di-substituted (symmetrical and unsymmetrical) schiff-bases and their cobalt(ii), copper(ii), nickel(ii) and zinc(ii) metal complexes have been synthesized and characterized by their elemental analyses, molar conductances, magnetic moments and ir and electronic spectral measurements. ir spectra indicated the ligands to act as tridentate towards divalent metal ions via a trazine-n, the azomethine-n and, indole-nh and deproton ...	2004	15449731
invasive characteristics of apathogenic shigella flexneri 5a2c mutant obtained under the effect of furazolidone.	apathogenic shigella flexneri 5a2c mutant treated with furazolidone can infect eucaryotic cells. these bacteria contain no virulence genes responsible for sh. flexneri invasion, which seems to be the cause of their apathogenicity. the capacity of bacteria to penetrate into eucaryotic cells correlates with the appearance of ecp 32 protease specifically cleaving actin.	2004	15455123
psi-phi: exploring the outer limits of bacterial pseudogenes.	because bacterial chromosomes are tightly packed with genes and were traditionally viewed as being optimized for size and replication speed, it was not surprising that the early annotations of sequenced bacterial genomes reported few, if any, pseudogenes. but because pseudogenes are generally recognized by comparisons with their functional counterparts, as more genome sequences accumulated, many bacterial pathogens were found to harbor large numbers of truncated, inactivated, and degraded genes. ...	2004	15479949
mutants of agrobacterium tumefaciens virg gene that activate transcription of vir promoter in escherichia coli.	the vira and virg two-component regulatory system is essential for transcriptional activation of virulence (vir) genes in agrobacterium tumefaciens in the presence of inducer molecules. the vira/virg mediated vir gene transcription depends on a specific interaction between the c-terminal domain of the alpha subunit (rpoa) of a. tumefaciens rna polymerase (rnap) and n-terminal domain of the virg. however, such interaction does not occur between rnap of e. coli and the virg, thus vir gene activati ...	2004	15486707
[identification of a protein interacting with shigella flexneri ipac invasin by yeast two-hybrid system].	two-hybrid system was applied to screen proteins interacting with ipac in the host cell. by using two-hybrid system, the bait plasmid containing ipac gene was constructed and designated pgbkt-ipac. a human hela cdna library was screened to isolate protein factors that might interact with ipac. among the 2 x 10(6) clones screened, 22 positive clones were picked out. sequence analysis revealed that two of them contained cdna fragments from collagenase. subsequently the domain of ipac interacting w ...	2004	15487505
osa protein constitutes a strong oncogenic suppression system that can block vir-dependent transfer of incq plasmids between agrobacterium cells and the establishment of incq plasmids in plant cells.	the osa (oncogenic suppressive activity) gene of the incw group plasmid psa is sufficient to suppress tumorigenesis by agrobacterium tumefaciens. osa confers oncogenic suppression by inhibiting vire2 protein export. this result is similar, but not identical, to that of oncogenic suppression by the incq plasmid rsf1010. we conducted a series of experiments to compare oncogenic suppression by these two systems. agrobacterium strains harboring plasmids containing osa are more able to effect oncogen ...	2004	15489437
shiga toxin-encoding bacteriophages--genomes in motion.	shiga toxins (stx) represent a group of bacterial toxins that are involved in human and animal disease. stx are mainly produced by escherichia coli isolated from human and non-human sources, shigella dysenteriae type 1, and sporadically, by citrobacter freundii, enterobacter cloacae and shigella flexneri. the genes encoding stx are encoded in the genome of heterogeneous lambdoid prophages (stx-converting bacteriophages; stx-phages). they are located in a similar position in the late region of th ...	2004	15493821
deletion in the shigella enterotoxin genes further attenuates shigella flexneri 2a bearing guanine auxotrophy in a phase 1 trial of cvd 1204 and cvd 1208.	we created a live, attenuated, oral shigella vaccine by constructing a lineage of guanine auxotrophs and conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to ascertain (1) the attenuation profile of delta guaba shigella flexneri 2a, which harbors deletions in the guanine nucleotide synthesis pathway (cvd 1204); (2) additional attenuation conferred by deletions in set and sen genes encoding shigella enterotoxins (shets) 1 and 2, respectively (cvd 1208); and (3) the relative immunogenicity of the ...	2004	15499528
complex multiple antibiotic and mercury resistance region derived from the r-det of nr1 (r100).	the sequence of the 45.2-kb multidrug and mercury resistance region of prmh760, a large plasmid from a clinical isolate of klebsiella pneumoniae collected in 1997 in australia, was completed. most of the modules found in the resistance determinant (r-det), or tn2670, region of nr1 (also known as r100), isolated from a shigella flexneri strain in japan in the late 1950s, were present in prmh760 but in a different configuration. the location was also different, with the tn2670-derived region flank ...	2004	15504849
traditional medicine in sakarya province (turkey) and antimicrobial activities of selected species.	traditional medicine in north-west of turkey (sakarya province) were studied during a 2 months field study by interviewing local informants from several villages. plant species used to treat infections were tested for antimicrobial activity. information was collected for 46 plant species from 30 families and for 5 animal species. twenty four of the plant species were cultivated. most used families were asteraceae, cucurbitaceae, lamiaceae and rosaceae and the most used plants were artemisia absi ...	2004	15507351
single-molecule approach to bacterial genomic comparisons via optical mapping.	modern comparative genomics has been established, in part, by the sequencing and annotation of a broad range of microbial species. to gain further insights, new sequencing efforts are now dealing with the variety of strains or isolates that gives a species definition and range; however, this number vastly outstrips our ability to sequence them. given the availability of a large number of microbial species, new whole genome approaches must be developed to fully leverage this information at the le ...	2004	15516592
direct and indirect transcriptional activation of virulence genes by an arac-like protein, pera from enteropathogenic escherichia coli.	the plasmid-encoded per regulatory locus of enteropathogenic escherichia coli (epec) is generally considered to consist of three genes, pera, perb and perc. pera, a member of the arac-like family of transcriptional regulators, is known to be an activator of its own promoter (autoactivation) as well as of the plasmid-located bfp operon encoding bundle-forming pili, but its role in activation of the chromosomal locus of enterocyte effacement (lee) pathogenicity island, which confers the property o ...	2004	15522091
antimicrobial resistance of shigella flexneri serotypes in israel during a period of three years: 2000-2002.	this is a surveillance study of the antimicrobial resistance of the s. flexneri group in the context of its serotype diversity. it includes 1422 isolates, which were sent to the national shigella reference centre (nsrc) by hospitals and outpatient clinics in israel during a 3-year period (2000-2002). the strains were identified and classified according to the prevalence and antigenic structure of their serotypes. all samples were checked for resistance to ampicillin (amp), trimethoprim-sulphamet ...	2004	15635961
[choice of informative characteristics for the characterization of the adaptive process in the population of rod-shaped bacteria].	different data characterizing the growth and development of rod-shaped bacterial cells (shigella flexneri strains s and rd) at the initial stage of the formation of their populations on a solid culture medium were analyzed with a view to the evaluation of the adaptive process. the study revealed that lo and lk (initial and end of bacterial lenght) and tau (generation time) of cells were the optimal informative characteristics. the determination of these characteristics on the cell population lev ...	2004	15636132
[construction of sw480 cell model identifying shigella virulent genes].	signature-tagged mutagenesis (stm) is a novel technology with high throughput screening ability to identify virulent genes of pathogen in vivo. an appropriate animal or cell line model is one of prerequisites by exploiting this technique. in order to apply stm to shigella flexneri, rc426 was constructed as an attenuated mutant with chloramphenicol resistance and aroa and virg genes inactivated by homologous recombination; another attenuated strain t32 was used as an oral s. flexneri 2a vaccine d ...	2004	15640048
clustering of database sequences for fast homology search using upper bounds on alignment score.	homology data are among the most important information used to predict the functions of unknown proteins and thus fast and accurate methods are needed. in this paper, we propose a new approach for fast and accurate homology search using pre-computed all-against-all similarity scores in a target database. we previously developed a method for derivation of an upper bound of the smith-waterman score (sw-score) between a query and a homolog candidate sequence using the sw-score between the candidate ...	2004	15712113
shigella flexneri strains produce bacteriocins active against members of the human microbial intestinal flora.	the principal aim of this work was to detect the bacteriocinogenic capacity of s. flexneri strains on members of the human intestinal flora. a total of 49 bacteriocinogenic s. flexneri strains were isolated from individuals of both sexes and different ages. the bacteriocins were detected by means of the drop method using e. coli and b. fragilis as target strains. the serotypes of the s. flexneri were determined. the producer capacity of bacteriocins was analysed in 10 different colonies of the s ...	2004	17061528
prevalence and antibiotic resistant shigellae among primary school children in urban calabar, nigeria.	in a recent study, involving the examination of 593 stool samples obtained from randomly selected children from three primary schools in calabar, shigella spp. were isolated from 123 (20.7%) of the samples. the infection rate was highest among the younger children with (64.2%) 79/123 of the isolates coming from children under 10 years of age. infection rate was comparable among boys and girls (p = 0.1). only two species of shigella were isolated viz: shigella flexneri 12.0% (71/593) and shigella ...	2004	18839866
[methods of dosed pressure in the complex treatment of cicatricial deformities of the face following burns].		2004	524169
acute viral respiratory infections in children.		2004	506792
[long-term results following breast reconstruction].	a ten-year experience of breast reconstruction (br) at the gustave-roussy institute (paris) provides material for a long-term analysis of carcinologic and cosmetic results. carcinologic results have been studied in a group of 120 breast reconstructions which was matched to a group of 120 mastectomies without br. no statistical difference was observed both for the overall survival and the disease-free survival in both groups. the percentage of local recurrences in the reconstructed breast was inf ...	2004	2666356
history of the use and toxicity of thorotrast.		2004	387405
non-union of carpal scaphoid fractures in children.	fracture of the carpal scaphoid is uncommon in children, but does occur and may fail to unite. eight patients with established non-union have been reiewed, with an average follow-up of almost four years. all non-unions were grafted with autogenous bone. excellent clinical and radiological results have been obtained. it is concluded that non-union in children is best managed by bone grafting through the anterior approach. possible aetiological factors concerned in non-union of scaphoid fractures ...	2004	321463
[scleroderma in plaques. immunological and visceral disturbances (author's transl)].		2004	305741
pocket calculator program low cost implementation of an epidemic model.		2004	535361
electroconvulsive therapy: an overview.	modifications in technique, including the use of anesthesia and muscle-relaxing drugs, make electroconvulsive therapy safe and easy to administer. there are few contraindications, complications are rare, and efficacy is well-documented.	2004	441398
miliary tuberculosis involving the brain: mr findings.		2004	1414778
[the effect of blood-filled meshwork of arachnoid villi in connection with posttraumatic brain edema (author's transl)].	based on the kellie-munro doctrine according to which the intracranial compartments--blood, brain, and csf--are in a state of pressure and volume equilibrium, we examined if traumatic lesions of the liquor absorption passages could change the intracranial pressure (icp). therefore, we reviewed the arachnoid villi and granulations of patients which died as a result of head injuries. in cases of traumatic subarachnoidal hemorrhages the meshwork of arachnoid villi are filled throughout with blood. ...	2004	419940
normothermic coronary perfusion during aortic valve replacement.		2004	305765
[outpatient care in uric acid disorders].	in 35 patients with uricopathy (arthritis urica, essential hyperuricaemia) the serum uric acid values, consumption of alcohol, overweight, hypertension and liver enzyma under dietary and medicamentous therapy (allopurinol) were investigated. here during an observation lasting 12--48 months allopurinol proved as a well tolerable uricostatic drug which was sufficiently effective also with a considerable exogenic purine application. we only insufficiently succeeded in influencing overweight and alc ...	2004	539007
[therapeutic endoscopy in the gastrointestinal tract].	in selected chapters of the therapeutic endoscopy we tried to represent secure knowledge, actual tendencies and partly future prognoses. hereby completeness cannot be expected. however, it became clear that numerous physical principles became useful for the therapy with the endoscope. chemical techniques, such as the litholysis of gall-stones are only at present used in our field. with all scepticism against the own field of interest one may say that the operative therapeutic endoscopy, as it is ...	2004	539002