Publications

host cell heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans are ligands for ospf-related proteins of the lyme disease spirochete.	borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of lyme disease, spreads from the site of the tick bite to tissues such as heart, joints and the nervous tissues. host glycosaminoglycans, highly modified repeating disaccharides that are present on cell surfaces and in extracellular matrix, are common targets of microbial pathogens during tissue colonization. while several dermatan sulfate-binding b. burgdorferi adhesins have been identified, b. burgdorferi adhesins documented to promote spirochetal binding to he ...	2015	25864455
the response of cd1d-restricted invariant nkt cells to microbial pathogens and their products.	invariant natural killer t (inkt) cells become activated during a wide variety of infections. this includes organisms lacking cognate cd1d-binding glycolipid antigens recognized by the semi-invariant t cell receptor of inkt cells. additional studies have shown that inkt cells also become activated in vivo in response to microbial products such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide, a potent inducer of cytokine production in antigen-presenting cells (apcs). other studies have shown that inkt cells are ...	2015	26029211
mutations in the borrelia burgdorferi flagellar type iii secretion system genes flih and flii profoundly affect spirochete flagellar assembly, morphology, motility, structure, and cell division.	the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi migrates to distant sites in the tick vectors and mammalian hosts through robust motility and chemotaxis activities. flih and flii are two cytoplasmic proteins that play important roles in the type iii secretion system (t3ss)-mediated export and assembly of flagellar structural proteins. however, detailed analyses of the roles of flih and flii in b. burgdorferi have not been reported. in this study, flih and flii transposon mutants were utilized t ...	2015	25968649
the human antimicrobial protein calgranulin c participates in control of helicobacter pylori growth and regulation of virulence.	during infectious processes, antimicrobial proteins are produced by both epithelial cells and innate immune cells. some of these antimicrobial molecules function by targeting transition metals and sequestering these metals in a process referred to as "nutritional immunity." this chelation strategy ultimately starves invading pathogens, limiting their growth within the vertebrate host. recent evidence suggests that these metal-binding antimicrobial molecules have the capacity to affect bacterial ...	2015	25964473
a case of radiation-induced generalized morphea with prominent mucin deposition and tenderness.	radiation-induced morphea is a rare complication of radiation therapy. the affected areas are generally restricted to the radiation field or to the nearby surrounding area.	2015	25958415
neglected bacterial zoonoses.	bacterial zoonoses comprise a group of diseases in humans or animals acquired by direct contact with or by oral consumption of contaminated animal materials, or via arthropod vectors. among neglected infections, bacterial zoonoses are among the most neglected given emerging data on incidence and prevalence as causes of acute febrile illness, even in areas where recognized neglected tropical diseases occur frequently. although many other bacterial infections could also be considered in this negle ...	2015	25964152
babesia spp. and other pathogens in ticks recovered from domestic dogs in denmark.	newly recognized endemic foci for human babesiosis include europe, where ixodes ricinus, a vector for several species of babesia, is the most commonly identified tick. vector-based surveillance provides an early warning system for the emergence of human babesiosis, which is likely to be under-reported at emerging sites. in the present study, we set out to screen i. ricinus collected from danish domestic dogs for babesia, in order to identify whether humans in denmark are exposed to the parasite.	2015	25951937
conserved amblyomma americanum tick serpin19, an inhibitor of blood clotting factors xa and xia, trypsin and plasmin, has anti-haemostatic functions.	tick saliva serine protease inhibitors (serpins) facilitate tick blood meal feeding through inhibition of protease mediators of host defense pathways. we previously identified a highly conserved amblyomma americanum serpin 19 that is characterised by its reactive center loop being 100% conserved in ixodid ticks. in this study, biochemical characterisation reveals that the ubiquitously transcribed a. americanum serpin 19 is an anti-coagulant protein, inhibiting the activity of five of the eight s ...	2015	25957161
infection of interleukin 17 receptor a-deficient c3h mice with borrelia burgdorferi does not affect their development of lyme arthritis and carditis.	recently, a number of studies have reported the presence of interleukin 17 (il-17) in patients with lyme disease, and several murine studies have suggested a role for this cytokine in the development of lyme arthritis. however, the role of il-17 has not been studied using the experimental lyme borreliosis model of infection of c3h mice with borrelia burgdorferi. in the current study, we investigated the role of il-17 in the development of experimental lyme borreliosis by infecting c3h mice devoi ...	2015	25939508
mutational analysis of the chlamydia muridarum plasticity zone.	pathogenically diverse chlamydia spp. can have surprisingly similar genomes. chlamydia trachomatis isolates that cause trachoma, sexually transmitted genital tract infections (chlamydia), and invasive lymphogranuloma venereum (lgv) and the murine strain chlamydia muridarum share 99% of their gene content. a region of high genomic diversity between chlamydia spp. termed the plasticity zone (pz) may encode niche-specific virulence determinants that dictate pathogenic diversity. we hypothesized tha ...	2015	25939505
cd40 ligand deficient c57bl/6 mouse is a potential surrogate model of human x-linked hyper igm (x-higm) syndrome for characterizing immune responses against pathogens.	individuals with x-higm syndrome fail to express functional cd40 ligand; consequently they cannot mount effective protective antibody responses against pathogenic bacteria. we evaluated, compared, and characterized the humoral immune response of wild type (wt) and c57-cd40l deficient (c57-cd40l(-/-)) mice infected with citrobacter rodentium. basal serum isotype levels were similar for igm and igg3 among mice, while total igg and igg2b concentrations were significantly lower in c57-cd40l(-/-) mic ...	2015	26064940
target activation by regulatory rnas in bacteria.	bacterial small regulatory rnas (srnas) are commonly known to repress gene expression by base pairing to target mrnas. in many cases, srnas base pair with and sequester mrna ribosome-binding sites, resulting in translational repression and accelerated transcript decay. in contrast, a growing number of examples of translational activation and mrna stabilization by srnas have now been documented. a given srna often employs a conserved region to interact with and regulate both repressed and activat ...	2015	25934124
bullous and hemorrhagic lichen sclerosus--case report.	lichen sclerosus is a chronic inflammatory disease, usually located in the genital area. the etiology of lichen sclerosus is multifactorial, with participation of genetic, autoimmune, infectious and hormonal factors. bullous clinical form stems from hydropic degeneration of the basal membrane, constituting a less frequent variant of the disease. in this work, we report the case of a female patient, 55 years old, who in the last three years presented whitish plaques, with horny spikes, located on ...	2015	26312692
possibly drug-induced palpable migratory arciform erythema.	palpable migratory arciform erythema is an entity of unknown etiology, with few published cases in the literature. the clinical and histopathological features of this disease are difficult to be distinguished from those of jessner's lymphocytic infiltration of the skin, lupus erythematous tumidus and the deep erythema annulare centrifugum. we describe here the first two brazilian cases of palpable migratory arciform erythema. the patients presented with infiltrated annular plaques and erythemato ...	2015	26312680
lyme disease: knowledge and practices of family practitioners in southern quebec.	public health authorities in quebec have responded to the progressive emergence of lyme disease (ld) with surveillance activities and education for family physicians (fps) who are key actors in both vigilance and case management.	2015	26236357
borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection pressure shapes innate immune gene evolution in natural rodent populations across europe.	although parasite-mediated selection is assumed to be the main driver of immune gene evolution, empirical evidence that parasites induce allele frequency changes at host immune genes in time and/or space remains scarce. here, i show that the frequency of a protective gene variant of the innate immune receptor toll-like receptor 2 in natural bank vole (myodes glareolus) populations is positively associated with the strength of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection risk across the european con ...	2015	26018834
asymptomatic papules over central and pericentral areas of the face.	we report the case of a 24-year-old college girl, presenting with numerous acneiform papular eruptions over the central part of the face.	2015	26009717
inflammation in the pathogenesis of lyme neuroborreliosis.	lyme neuroborreliosis, caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi, affects both peripheral and central nervous systems. we assessed a causal role for inflammation in lyme neuroborreliosis pathogenesis by evaluating the induced inflammatory changes in the central nervous system, spinal nerves, and dorsal root ganglia (drg) of rhesus macaques that were inoculated intrathecally with live b. burgdorferi and either treated with dexamethasone or meloxicam (anti-inflammatory drugs) or left untreated ...	2015	25892509
recent us case of variant creutzfeldt-jakob disease-global implications.	variant creutzfeldt-jakob disease (vcjd) is a rare, fatal prion disease resulting from transmission to humans of the infectious agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. we describe the clinical presentation of a recent case of vcjd in the united states and provide an update on diagnostic testing. the location of this patient's exposure is less clear than those in the 3 previously reported us cases, but strong evidence indicates that exposure to contaminated beef occurred outside the united sta ...	2015	25897712
passive surveillance for ticks on horses in saskatchewan.	passive surveillance of ticks on horses in saskatchewan revealed that the horses were parasitized by 3 species, dermacentor albipictus, d. andersoni, and d. variabilis. the nymphs and adults of d. albipictus occurred on horses earlier in the year than did adults of the 2 other species.	2015	25969582
porphyromonas gingivalis periodontal infection and its putative links with alzheimer's disease.	periodontal disease (pd) and alzheimer's disease (ad) are inflammatory conditions affecting the global adult population. in the pathogenesis of pd, subgingival complex bacterial biofilm induces inflammation that leads to connective tissue degradation and alveolar bone resorption around the teeth. in health, junctional epithelium seals the gingiva to the tooth enamel, thus preventing bacteria from entering the gingivae. chronic pd involves major pathogens (porphyromonas gingivalis, treponema dent ...	2015	26063967
broad diversity of host responses of the white-footed mouse peromyscus leucopus to borrelia infection and antigens.	peromyscus leucopus, the white-footed mouse, is one of the more abundant mammals of north america and is a major reservoir host for at least five tickborne diseases of humans, including lyme disease and a newly-recognized form of relapsing fever. in comparison to mus musculus, which is not a natural reservoir for any of these infections, there has been little research on experimental infections in p. leucopus. with the aim of further characterizing the diversity of phenotypes of host responses, ...	2015	26005106
lyme disease bacterium does not affect attraction to rodent odour in the tick vector.	vector-borne pathogens experience a conflict of interest when the arthropod vector chooses a vertebrate host that is incompetent for pathogen transmission. the qualitative manipulation hypothesis suggests that vector-borne pathogens can resolve this conflict in their favour by manipulating the host choice behaviour of the arthropod vector.	2015	25928557
on-off kinetics of engagement of fni modules of soluble fibronectin by β-strand addition.	intrinsically disordered sequences within bacterial adhesins bind to e-strands in the β-sheets of multiple fni modules of fibronectin (fn) by anti-parallel β-strand addition, also called tandem β-zipper formation. the fud segment of sfbi of streptococcus pyogenes and bbk32 segment of bbk32 of borrelia burgdorferi, despite being imbedded in different adhesins from different bacteria, target the same 2-5,8-9 fni modules, 2-5,8-9 fni, in the n-terminal 70-kda region (fn70k) of fn. to facilitate fur ...	2015	25919138
escherichia coli yqja, a member of the conserved deda/tvp38 membrane protein family, is a putative osmosensing transporter required for growth at alkaline ph.	the ability to persist and grow under alkaline conditions is an important characteristic of many bacteria. in order to survive at alkaline ph, escherichia coli must maintain a stable cytoplasmic ph of about 7.6. membrane cation/proton antiporters play a major role in alkaline ph homeostasis by catalyzing active inward proton transport. the deda/tvp38 family is a highly conserved membrane protein family of unknown function present in most sequenced genomes. yqja and yghb are members of the e. col ...	2015	25917916
tick microbiome: the force within.	ticks are obligate blood-feeders and serve as vectors of human and livestock pathogens worldwide. defining the tick microbiome and deciphering the interactions between the tick and its symbiotic bacteria in the context of tick development and pathogen transmission will likely reveal new insights and spawn new paradigms to control tick-borne diseases. descriptive observations on the tick microbiome that began almost a century ago serve as forerunners to the gathering momentum to define the tick m ...	2015	25936226
the development and evaluation of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for the rapid detection of salmonella enterica serovar typhi.	typhoid fever remains a public health threat in many countries. a positive result in traditional culture is a gold-standard for typhoid diagnosis, but this method is time consuming and not sensitive enough for detection of samples containing a low copy number of the target organism. the availability of the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) assay, which offers high speed and simplicity in detection of specific targets, has vastly improved the diagnosis of numerous infectious diseases. ...	2015	25910059
intracellular concentrations of borrelia burgdorferi cyclic di-amp are not changed by altered expression of the cdaa synthase.	the second messenger nucleotide cyclic diadenylate monophosphate (c-di-amp) has been identified in several species of gram positive bacteria and chlamydia trachomatis. this molecule has been associated with bacterial cell division, cell wall biosynthesis and phosphate metabolism, and with induction of type i interferon responses by host cells. we demonstrate that b. burgdorferi produces a c-di-amp synthase, which we designated cdaa. both cdaa and c-di-amp levels are very low in cultured b. burgd ...	2015	25906393
potential role of masting by introduced bamboos in deer mice (peromyscus maniculatus) population irruptions holds public health consequences.	we hypothesized that the ongoing naturalization of frost/shade tolerant asian bamboos in north america could cause environmental consequences involving introduced bamboos, native rodents and ultimately humans. more specifically, we asked whether the eventual masting by an abundant leptomorphic ("running") bamboo within pacific northwest coniferous forests could produce a temporary surfeit of food capable of driving a population irruption of a common native seed predator, the deer mouse (peromysc ...	2015	25898267
the lyme law.		2015	25897168
evaluation of the importance of vlse antigenic variation for the enzootic cycle of borrelia burgdorferi.	efficient acquisition and transmission of borrelia burgdorferi by the tick vector, and the ability to persistently infect both vector and host, are important elements for the life cycle of the lyme disease pathogen. previous work has provided strong evidence implicating the significance of the vls locus for b. burgdorferi persistence. however, studies involving vls mutant clones have thus far only utilized in vitro-grown or host-adapted spirochetes and laboratory strains of mice. additionally, t ...	2015	25893989
parsonage-turner syndrome.	to describe the clinical, electrophysiological and imaging findings from parsonage-turner syndrome and evaluate the results from conservative treatment.	2015	26229940
editorial commentary: life after lyme disease.		2015	25888673
tick bite with target lesion complicating routine cast immobilization.		2015	25987946
historic evidence to support a causal relationship between spirochetal infections and alzheimer's disease.	following previous observations a statistically significant association between various types of spirochetes and alzheimer's disease (ad) fulfilled hill's criteria in favor of a causal relationship. if spirochetal infections can indeed cause ad, the pathological and biological hallmarks of ad should also occur in syphilitic dementia. to answer this question, observations and illustrations on the detection of spirochetes in the atrophic form of general paresis, which is known to be associated wit ...	2015	25932012
vector potential and population dynamics for amblyomma inornatum.	we studied the natural life cycle of amblyomma inornatum and its vector potential in south texas. this tick is distributed throughout south texas and most of central america. a. inornatum represented 1.91% of the ticks collected by carbon dioxide traps during a study of free-living ticks in the tamaulipan biotic province in south texas. the life cycle of a. inornatum in south texas showed a clear seasonal pattern consistent with one generation per year. nymphs emerged in the spring with a peak i ...	2015	25881916
phylogenomic identification of regulatory sequences in bacteria: an analysis of statistical power and an application to borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.	phylogenomic footprinting is an approach for ab initio identification of genome-wide regulatory elements in bacterial species based on sequence conservation. the statistical power of the phylogenomic approach depends on the degree of sequence conservation, the length of regulatory elements, and the level of phylogenetic divergence among genomes. building on an earlier model, we propose a binomial model that uses synonymous tree lengths as neutral expectations for determining the statistical sign ...	2015	25873371
extensive infectious myelitis post bariatric surgery.	inflammatory myelopathy is an inflammatory neurological disorder of the spinal cord (myelopathy). it occurs in 1 (severe) to 8 (mild) cases/million per year. it is often referred to in the literature as "transverse myelitis" or "acute transverse myelitis". myelopathy and by extension myelitis, can present as pyramidal (motor), sensory, and/or autonomic dysfunction to varying degrees. symptoms typically develop over hours to days and worsen over days to weeks. sensory symptoms usually present as ...	2015	25879204
abstracts from the 38th annual meeting of the society of general internal medicine.		2015	25869016
beyond iron: non-classical biological functions of bacterial siderophores.	bacteria secrete small molecules known as siderophores to acquire iron from their surroundings. for over 60 years, investigations into the bioinorganic chemistry of these molecules, including fundamental coordination chemistry studies, have provided insight into the crucial role that siderophores play in bacterial iron homeostasis. the importance of understanding the fundamental chemistry underlying bacterial life has been highlighted evermore in recent years because of the emergence of antibiot ...	2015	25764171
procoagulant microparticles in dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia.	studies of some human prothrombotic diseases suggest that phosphatidylserine-positive (ps+) and tissue factor-positive (tf+) microparticles (mps) might play a role in the pathogenesis of thrombosis or serve as biomarkers of thrombotic risk.	2015	25871966
macrophage polarization during murine lyme borreliosis.	infection of c3h mice with borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme disease, reliably produces an infectious arthritis and carditis that peak around 3 weeks postinfection and then spontaneously resolve. macrophage polarization has been suggested to drive inflammation, the clearance of bacteria, and tissue repair and resolution in a variety of infectious disease models. during lyme disease it is clear that macrophages are capable of clearing borrelia spirochetes and exhausted neutrophils ...	2015	25870230
the role of cd1d-restricted nkt cells in the clearance of pseudomonas aeruginosa from the lung is dependent on the host genetic background.	pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important human opportunistic pathogen, accounting for a significant fraction of hospital-acquired lung infections. cd1d-restricted nkt cells comprise an unusual innate-like t cell subset that plays important roles in both bacterial and viral infections. previous reports have differed in their conclusions regarding the role of nkt cells in clearance of p. aeruginosa from the lung. since there is significant strain-dependent variation in nkt cell number and function a ...	2015	25870224
hypercholesterolemia and apoe deficiency result in severe infection with lyme disease and relapsing-fever borrelia.	the lyme disease (borrelia burgdorferi) and relapsing-fever (borrelia hispanica) agents have distinct infection courses, but both require cholesterol for growth. they acquire cholesterol from the environment and process it to form cholesterol glycolipids that are incorporated onto their membranes. to determine whether higher levels of serum cholesterol could enhance the organ burdens of b. burgdorferi and the spirochetemia of b. hispanica in laboratory mice, apolipoprotein e (apoe)-deficient and ...	2015	25870274
raft-like membrane domains in pathogenic microorganisms.	the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane is thought to be compartmentalized by the presence of lipid-protein microdomains. in eukaryotic cells, microdomains composed of sterols and sphingolipids, commonly known as lipid rafts, are believed to exist, and reports on the presence of sterol- or protein-mediated microdomains in bacterial cell membranes are also appearing. despite increasing attention, little is known about microdomains in the plasma membrane of pathogenic microorganisms. this review ...	2015	26015285
new insights into the epidemiology of non-hodgkin lymphoma and implications for therapy.	non-hodgkin lymphoma (nhl) comprises numerous biologically and clinically heterogeneous subtypes, with limited data examining the risk factors for these distinct disease entities. many limitations exist when studying lymphoma epidemiology; therefore, until recently, little was known regarding the etiology of nhl subtypes. this review highlights the results of recent pooled analyses examining the risk factors for nhl subtypes. we outline the heterogeneity and commonality among the risk factors fo ...	2015	25864967
post-lyme disease syndrome.	about 10% of patients with lyme disease continue to experience musculoskeletal pain and cognitive dysfunction after recommended antibiotic treatment. this condition is called post-lyme disease syndrome (plds) or post-treatment lyme disease syndrome. these two terms are used interchangeably. the pathogenesis of plds has been controversial. the hypothesis that patients with plds may harbor hidden reservoirs of borrelia burgdorferi after their initial antibiotic treatment is difficult to accept. th ...	2015	27407225
anti-neural antibody response in patients with post-treatment lyme disease symptoms versus those with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.		2015	25866194
a replicative plasmid vector allows efficient complementation of pathogenic leptospira strains.	leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease, remains poorly understood because of a lack of genetic manipulation tools available for pathogenic leptospires. current genetic manipulation techniques include insertion of dna by random transposon mutagenesis and homologous recombination via suicide vectors. this study describes the construction of a shuttle vector, pmaori, that replicates within saprophytic, intermediate, and pathogenic leptospires. the shuttle vector was constructed by the insertio ...	2015	25724960
presence of zoonotic agents in engorged ticks and hedgehog faeces from erinaceus europaeus in (sub) urban areas.	european hedgehogs (erinaceus europaeus) are hosts for ixodes hexagonus and i. ricinus ticks, which are vectors for zoonotic microorganisms. in addition, hedgehogs may carry several enteric zoonoses as well. it is unclear to what extent a presence of pathogens in hedgehogs poses a risk to public health, as information on the presence of zoonotic agents in hedgehogs in urban areas is relatively scarce.	2015	25885888
case report: a retrospective serological analysis indicating human exposure to tick-borne relapsing fever spirochetes in texas.		2015	25856342
making water-soluble integral membrane proteins in vivo using an amphipathic protein fusion strategy.	integral membrane proteins (imps) play crucial roles in all cells and represent attractive pharmacological targets. however, functional and structural studies of imps are hindered by their hydrophobic nature and the fact that they are generally unstable following extraction from their native membrane environment using detergents. here we devise a general strategy for in vivo solubilization of imps in structurally relevant conformations without the need for detergents or mutations to the imp itse ...	2015	25851941
parasite prevalence corresponds to host life history in a diverse assemblage of afrotropical birds and haemosporidian parasites.	avian host life history traits have been hypothesized to predict rates of infection by haemosporidian parasites. using molecular techniques, we tested this hypothesis for parasites from three haemosporidian genera (plasmodium, haemoproteus, and leucocytozoon) collected from a diverse sampling of birds in northern malawi. we found that host life history traits were significantly associated with parasitism rates by all three parasite genera. nest type and nest location predicted infection probabil ...	2015	25853491
genome-wide dna methylation analysis of haloferax volcanii h26 and identification of dna methyltransferase related pd-(d/e)xk nuclease family protein hvo_a0006.	restriction-modification (rm) systems have evolved to protect the cell from invading dnas and are composed of two enzymes: a dna methyltransferase and a restriction endonuclease. although rm systems are present in both archaeal and bacterial genomes, dna methylation in archaea has not been well defined. in order to characterize the function of rm systems in archaeal species, we have made use of the model haloarchaeon haloferax volcanii. a genomic dna methylation analysis of h. volcanii strain h2 ...	2015	25904898
the resolution code of acute inflammation: novel pro-resolving lipid mediators in resolution.	studies into the mechanisms in resolution of self-limited inflammation and acute reperfusion injury have uncovered a new genus of pro-resolving lipid mediators coined specialized pro-resolving mediators (spm) including lipoxins, resolvins, protectins and maresins that are each temporally produced by resolving-exudates with distinct actions for return to homeostasis. spm evoke potent anti-inflammatory and novel pro-resolving mechanisms as well as enhance microbial clearance. while born in inflamm ...	2015	25857211
unorthodox alternative therapies marketed to treat lyme disease.	some patients with medically unexplained symptoms or alternative medical diagnoses suspect that they chronically suffer from the tick-borne infection lyme disease. these patients are commonly targeted by providers of alternative therapies. this study was designed to identify and characterize the range of unorthodox alternative therapies advertised to patients with a diagnosis of lyme disease.	2015	25852124
climate change and ixodes tick-borne diseases of humans.	the evidence that climate warming is changing the distribution of ixodes ticks and the pathogens they transmit is reviewed and evaluated. the primary approaches are either phenomenological, which typically assume that climate alone limits current and future distributions, or mechanistic, asking which tick-demographic parameters are affected by specific abiotic conditions. both approaches have promise but are severely limited when applied separately. for instance, phenomenological approaches (e.g ...	2015	25688022
accelerated phenology of blacklegged ticks under climate warming.	the phenology of tick emergence has important implications for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. a long lag between the emergence of tick nymphs in spring and larvae in summer should increase transmission of persistent pathogens by allowing infected nymphs to inoculate the population of naive hosts that can subsequently transmit the pathogen to larvae to complete the transmission cycle. in contrast, greater synchrony between nymphs and larvae should facilitate transmission of pathogens t ...	2015	25688016
isolation and characterization of borrelia burgdorferi strains from ixodes ricinus ticks in the southern england.	lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the spiral-shaped bacterium borrelia burgdorferi. we investigated the presence and prevalence of borrelia species in ticks from the southern england.	2015	26191500
efficacy of a fixed combination of permethrin 54.5% and fipronil 6.1% (effitix) in dogs experimentally infested with ixodes ricinus.	ticks are the most important vectors of disease-causing pathogens in domestic animals and are considered to be second worldwide to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases. in europe, ixodes ricinus, the sheep tick, plays an important role as companion animal parasite but is also the primary vector of medically important diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis and lyme borreliosis. the present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy under laboratory conditions of a new fixed spot-on combinat ...	2015	25884999
the growing spectrum of antibody-associated inflammatory brain diseases in children.	to describe the clinical spectrum, diagnostic evaluation, current management, and neurologic outcome of pediatric antibody-associated inflammatory brain diseases (ab-associated ibraind).	2015	25909091
medplot: a web application for dynamic summary and analysis of longitudinal medical data based on r.	in biomedical studies the patients are often evaluated numerous times and a large number of variables are recorded at each time-point. data entry and manipulation of longitudinal data can be performed using spreadsheet programs, which usually include some data plotting and analysis capabilities and are straightforward to use, but are not designed for the analyses of complex longitudinal data. specialized statistical software offers more flexibility and capabilities, but first time users with bio ...	2015	25837352
new-onset panic, depression with suicidal thoughts, and somatic symptoms in a patient with a history of lyme disease.	lyme disease, or lyme borreliosis, caused by borrelia burgdorferi and spread by ticks, is mainly known to cause arthritis and neurological disorders but can also cause psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety. we present a case of a 37-year-old man with no known psychiatric history who developed panic attacks, severe depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, and neuromuscular complaints including back spasms, joint pain, myalgias, and neuropathic pain. these symptoms began 2 years af ...	2015	25922779
molecular pathogenesis of malt lymphoma.	approximately 8% of all non-hodgkin lymphomas are extranodal marginal zone b cell lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (malt), also known as malt lymphoma, which was first described in 1983 by isaacson and wright. malt lymphomas arise at a wide range of different extranodal sites, with the highest frequency in the stomach, followed by lung, ocular adnexa, and thyroid, and with a low percentage in the small intestine. interestingly, at least 3 different, apparently site-specific, chromos ...	2015	25922601
regulation of bacterial virulence by csr (rsm) systems.	most bacterial pathogens have the remarkable ability to flourish in the external environment and in specialized host niches. this ability requires their metabolism, physiology, and virulence factors to be responsive to changes in their surroundings. it is no surprise that the underlying genetic circuitry that supports this adaptability is multilayered and exceedingly complex. studies over the past 2 decades have established that the csra/rsma proteins, global regulators of posttranscriptional ge ...	2015	25833324
international union of basic and clinical pharmacology. xcvi. pattern recognition receptors in health and disease.	since the discovery of toll, in the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster, as the first described pattern recognition receptor (prr) in 1996, many families of these receptors have been discovered and characterized. prrs play critically important roles in pathogen recognition to initiate innate immune responses that ultimately link to the generation of adaptive immunity. activation of prrs leads to the induction of immune and inflammatory genes, including proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. it ...	2015	25829385
oral manifestations of parry-romberg syndrome: a review of literature.	parry-romberg syndrome (prs) or progressive facial hemiatrophy is a developmental craniofacial disorder of unknown etiology characterized by a slowly progressive unilateral facial atrophy. it is associated with different systemic manifestations particularly, maxillofacial, neurologic and ophthalmologic abnormalities. dentists must be aware of prs to identify this invalidating disorder. in this article, we review the etiology, clinical features (especially craniofacial and dental manifestations) ...	2015	25878963
progressive hemifacial atrophy: a review.	progressive hemifacial atrophy (pha) is an acquired, typically unilateral, facial distortion with unknown etiology. the true incidence of this disorder has not been reported, but it is often regarded as a subtype of localized scleroderma. historically, a debate existed whether pha is a form of linear scleroderma, called morphea en coup de sabre (ecds), or whether these conditions are inherently different processes or appear on a spectrum (; adv exp med biol 455:101-4, 1999; j eur acad dermatol v ...	2015	25881068
effects of land use on plague (yersinia pestis) activity in rodents in tanzania.	understanding the effects of land-use change on zoonotic disease risk is a pressing global health concern. here, we compare prevalence of yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, in rodents across two land-use types-agricultural and conserved-in northern tanzania. estimated abundance of seropositive rodents nearly doubled in agricultural sites compared with conserved sites. this relationship between land-use type and abundance of seropositive rodents is likely mediated by changes in roden ...	2015	25711606
lyme disease: recent advances and perspectives.		2015	25883907
correction: characterization of the relbbu regulon in borrelia burgdorferi reveals modulation of glycerol metabolism by (p)ppgpp.		2015	25822173
ectoparasite loads in sympatric urban populations of the northern white-breasted and the european hedgehog.	we investigated abundance and prevalence of ticks and fleas infesting urban populations of two species of hedgehogs: the northern white-breasted hedgehog (erinaceus roumanicus) and the european hedgehog (erinaceus europaeus). the hedgehogs were captured in the city of poznań (western poland) over the period of 4 years. both species of hedgehogs were infested with the castor bean tick (ixodes ricinus), the hedgehog tick (ixodes hexagonus), and the hedgehog flea (archeopsylla erinacei). the northe ...	2015	25820646
identification of 24h ixodes scapularis immunogenic tick saliva proteins.	ixodes scapularis is arguably the most medically important tick species in the united states. this tick transmits 5 of the 14 human tick-borne disease (tbd) agents in the usa: borrelia burgdorferi, anaplasma phagocytophilum, b. miyamotoi, babesia microti, and powassan virus disease. except for the powassan virus disease, i. scapularis-vectored tbd agents require more than 24h post attachment to be transmitted. this study describes identification of 24h immunogenic i. scapularis tick saliva prote ...	2015	25825233
unusual cause of recurrent fever after travel in south america.	fever in returning travelers is a common problem and usually the diagnosis is made within a few days or the traveler recovers. we present two travelers who presented with fever two weeks after returning from a six week vacation in south america. over the following 18 months they presented with short attacks of fever, elevated crp and leukocytosis and the program for investigation became more and more elaborate. a curious and key feature was, that they were completely synchronous both developing ...	2015	26793454
inflammatory mediator release from primary rhesus microglia in response to borrelia burgdorferi results from the activation of several receptors and pathways.	in previous studies, neurons were documented to undergo apoptosis in the presence of microglia and live borrelia burgdorferi, but not with either agent alone. microscopy showed that several toll-like receptors (tlrs) were upregulated in microglia upon b. burgdorferi exposure. it was hypothesized that the inflammatory milieu generated by microglia in the presence of b. burgdorferi results in neuronal apoptosis and that this inflammation was likely generated through tlr pathways.	2015	25889406
decorin binding proteins of borrelia burgdorferi promote arthritis development and joint specific post-treatment dna persistence in mice.	decorin binding proteins a and b (dbpa and b) of borrelia burgdorferi are of critical importance for the virulence of the spirochete. the objective of the present study was to further clarify the contribution of dbpa and b to development of arthritis and persistence of b. burgdorferi after antibiotic treatment in a murine model of lyme borreliosis. with that goal, mice were infected with b. burgdorferi strains expressing either dbpa or dbpb, or both dbpa and b, or with a strain lacking the adhes ...	2015	25816291
structure-function dissection of myxococcus xanthus card n-terminal domain, a defining member of the card_cdnl_trcf family of rna polymerase interacting proteins.	two prototypes of the large card_cdnl_trcf family of bacterial rna polymerase (rnap)-binding proteins, myxococcus xanthus card and cdnl, have distinct functions whose molecular basis remain elusive. card, a global regulator linked to the action of several extracytoplasmic function (ecf) σ-factors, binds to the rnap β subunit (rnap-β) and to protein carg via an n-terminal domain, cardnt, and to dna via an intrinsically unfolded c-terminal domain resembling eukaryotic high-mobility-group a (hmga) ...	2015	25811865
using sterol substitution to probe the role of membrane domains in membrane functions.	ordered membrane lipid domains rich in sphingolipids and sterols ("lipid rafts") are thought to be important in many biological processes. however, it is often difficult to distinguish domain-dependent biological functions from ones that have a specific dependence on sterol, e.g. are dependent upon a protein with a function that is dependent upon its binding to sterol. removing cholesterol and replacing it with various sterols with varying abilities to form membrane domains or otherwise alter ...	2015	25804641
drug combinations against borrelia burgdorferi persisters in vitro: eradication achieved by using daptomycin, cefoperazone and doxycycline.	although most lyme disease patients can be cured with antibiotics doxycycline or amoxicillin using 2-4 week treatment durations, some patients suffer from persistent arthritis or post-treatment lyme disease syndrome. why these phenomena occur is unclear, but possibilities include host responses, antigenic debris, or b. burgdorferi organisms remaining despite antibiotic therapy. in vitro, b. burgdorferi developed increasing antibiotic tolerance as morphology changed from typical spirochetal form ...	2015	25806811
assessing the performance of the oxford nanopore technologies minion.	the oxford nanopore technologies (ont) minion is a new sequencing technology that potentially offers read lengths of tens of kilobases (kb) limited only by the length of dna molecules presented to it. the device has a low capital cost, is by far the most portable dna sequencer available, and can produce data in real-time. it has numerous prospective applications including improving genome sequence assemblies and resolution of repeat-rich regions. before such a technology is widely adopted, it is ...	2015	26753127
glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases iii: manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies.	manganese (mn) is an often overlooked but important nutrient, required in small amounts for multiple essential functions in the body. a recent study on cows fed genetically modified roundup(®)-ready feed revealed a severe depletion of serum mn. glyphosate, the active ingredient in roundup(®), has also been shown to severely deplete mn levels in plants. here, we investigate the impact of mn on physiology, and its association with gut dysbiosis as well as neuropathologies such as autism, alzheimer ...	2015	25883837
characterization of the β-barrel assembly machine accessory lipoproteins from borrelia burgdorferi.	like all diderm bacteria studied to date, borrelia burgdorferi possesses a β-barrel assembly machine (bam) complex. the bacterial bam complexes characterized thus far consist of an essential integral outer membrane protein designated bama and one or more accessory proteins. the accessory proteins are typically lipid-modified proteins anchored to the inner leaflet of the outer membrane through their lipid moieties. we previously identified and characterized the b. burgdorferi bama protein in deta ...	2015	25887384
development of dirofilaria immitis within the mosquito aedes (finlaya) koreicus, a new invasive species for europe.	over the recent decades, container-breeding mosquito species belonging to the genus aedes have frequently been recorded far from their place of origin. aedes koreicus was first reported in north-eastern italy in 2011, in a region endemic for dirofilaria immitis, the agent of canine heartworm disease. the vector competence of ae. koreicus for d. immitis was here tested under laboratory conditions, by infecting mosquitoes with a local strain of d. immitis.	2015	25884876
bacterial and protozoal agents of canine vector-borne diseases in the blood of domestic and stray dogs from southern portugal.	the so-called canine vector-borne diseases (cvbd) are caused by a wide range of pathogens transmitted by arthropods. in addition to their veterinary importance, many of these canine vector-borne pathogens can also affect the human population due to their zoonotic potential, a situation that requires a one health approach. as the prevalence of vector-borne pathogens in cats from southern portugal has been recently evaluated, the aim of the present study was to assess if the same agents were prese ...	2015	25886525
canine vector-borne infections in mauritius.	canine vector-borne diseases have a worldwide distribution, but to the best of our knowledge, no research has been carried out to evaluate their presence on the indian ocean island of mauritius. an investigation into canine vector-borne infections was conducted in dogs (n = 78) resident at an animal shelter in port louis, mauritius using a combination of traditional microscopy and serological methods.	2015	25889893
a case of subacute ataxia in the summertime: tick paralysis.	tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin secreted in the saliva of a gravid female tick, and manifests with ataxia, areflexia, ascending paralysis, bulbar palsy, and ophthalmoparesis. an 84-year-old man presented in june in coastal mississippi with several days of subacute ataxia, bulbar palsy, unilateral weakness, and absent deep tendon reflexes. mri/mra and extensive serum and cerebrospinal fluid investigations were unrevealing. his symptoms progressed over several days, until his nurse discov ...	2015	25794538
vertical transmission of bartonella schoenbuchensis in lipoptena cervi.	lipoptena cervi (diptera: hippoboscidae) is a hematophagous ectoparasite of cervids, which is considered to transmit pathogens between animals and occasionally to humans. the principal life stage that is able to parasitize new hosts is a winged ked that just emerged from a pupa. to facilitate efficient transmission of pathogens between hosts, vertical transmission from female deer keds to their offspring is necessary. we investigated vertical transmission of several vector-borne pathogens associ ...	2015	25889985
lyme carditis--diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.	there are 60,000 to 100,000 new cases of borreliosis in germany each year. this infectious disease most commonly affects the skin, joints, and nervous system. lyme carditis is a rare manifestation with potentially lethal complications.	2015	25838022
management of patients with non-hodgkin's lymphoma: focus on adoptive t-cell therapy.	non-hodgkin's lymphoma (nhl) represents a heterogeneous group of malignancies with high diversity in terms of biology, clinical responses, and prognosis. standard therapy regimens produce a 5-year relative survival rate of only 69%, with the critical need to increase the treatment-success rate of this patient population presenting at diagnosis with a median age of 66 years and many comorbidities. the evidence that an impaired immune system favors the development of nhl has opened the stage for n ...	2015	27471712
the use of cerebrospinal fluid and neuropathologic studies in neuropsychiatry practice and research.	the gold standard for diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases (ie, alzheimer disease, frontotemporal dementia, parkinson disease, dementia with lewy bodies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is neuropathologic examination at autopsy. as such, laboratory studies play a central role in antemortem diagnosis of these conditions and their differentiation from the neuroinflammatory, infectious, toxic, and other nondegenerative etiologies (eg, rapidly progressive dementias) that are encountered in neurops ...	2015	25998118
the challenge of efflux-mediated antibiotic resistance in gram-negative bacteria.	the global emergence of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria is a growing threat to antibiotic therapy. the chromosomally encoded drug efflux mechanisms that are ubiquitous in these bacteria greatly contribute to antibiotic resistance and present a major challenge for antibiotic development. multidrug pumps, particularly those represented by the clinically relevant acrab-tolc and mex pumps of the resistance-nodulation-division (rnd) superfamily, not only mediate intrinsic and acquired mult ...	2015	25788514
borrelia burgdorferi not confirmed in human-biting amblyomma americanum ticks from the southeastern united states.	the predominant human-biting tick throughout the southeastern united states is amblyomma americanum. its ability to transmit pathogens causing lyme disease-like illnesses is a subject of ongoing controversy. results of previous testing by the department of defense human tick test kit program and other laboratories indicated that it is highly unlikely that a. americanum transmits any pathogen that causes lyme disease. in contrast, a recent publication by clark and colleagues (k. l. clark, b. leyd ...	2015	25788545
molecular dissection of a borrelia burgdorferi in vivo essential purine transport system.	the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi is dependent on purine salvage from the host environment for survival. the genes bbb22 and bbb23 encode purine permeases that are essential for b. burgdorferi mouse infectivity. we now demonstrate the unique contributions of each of these genes to purine transport and murine infection. the affinities of spirochetes carrying bbb22 alone for hypoxanthine and adenine were similar to those of spirochetes carrying both genes. spirochetes carrying bbb22 ...	2015	25776752
new insights into lyme disease.	lyme borreliosis is transmitted through the bite of a tick that is infected by the bacterial spirochete borrelia burgdorferi. clinical manifestation of the disease can lead to heart conditions, neurological disorders, and inflammatory disorders. oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases. the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of oxidative stress and intracellular communication in lyme borreliosis patients. mitochondrial superoxide and cytoso ...	2015	25838067
physician reported incidence of early and late lyme borreliosis.	lyme borreliosis is the most common vector-borne disease in europe and north america. the objective of this study is to estimate the incidence of tick bites and lyme borreliosis, representative of our entire country, including erythema migrans, disseminated lyme borreliosis and persisting symptoms attributed to lyme borreliosis.	2015	25889086
rna-seq-based analysis of changes in borrelia burgdorferi gene expression linked to pathogenicity.	lyme disease is a global public health problem caused by the spirochaete borrelia burgdorferi. our previous studies found differences in disease severity between b. burgdorferi b31- and b. garinii sz-infected mice. we hypothesized that genes that are differentially expressed between borrelia isolates encode bacterial factors that contribute to disease diversity.	2015	25886272
human milk blocks dc-sign-pathogen interaction via muc1.	beneficial effects of breastfeeding are well-recognized and include both immediate neonatal protection against pathogens and long-term protection against allergies and autoimmune diseases. although several proteins have been identified to have anti-viral or anti-bacterial effects like secretory iga or lactoferrin, the mechanisms of immune modulation are not fully understood. recent studies identified important beneficial effects of glycans in human milk, such as those expressed in oligosaccharid ...	2015	25821450
tick-borne infections in human and animal population worldwide.	the abundance and activity of ectoparasites and its hosts are affected by various abiotic factors, such as climate and other organisms (predators, pathogens and competitors) presenting thus multiples forms of association (obligate to facultative, permanent to intermittent and superficial to subcutaneous) developed during long co-evolving processes. ticks are ectoparasites widespread globally and its eco epidemiology are closely related to the environmental conditions. they are obligatory hematop ...	2015	27047089
development of a metabolic biosignature for detection of early lyme disease.	early lyme disease patients often present to the clinic prior to developing a detectable antibody response to borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent. thus, existing 2-tier serology-based assays yield low sensitivities (29%-40%) for early infection. the lack of an accurate laboratory test for early lyme disease contributes to misconceptions about diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the need for new diagnostic approaches.	2015	25761869
fever in a visitor to canada: a case of mistaken identity.	we report a case of babesiosis in a traveler from india who was diagnosed with malaria on the basis of blood smears. pan-plasmodium pcr was positive, though species-specific assays were negative. reexamination of blood smears and babesia-specific pcr confirmed babesiosis. we highlight the overlapping clinical and diagnostic features of malaria and babesiosis and the potential cross-reactivity of plasmodium primers in cases of babesiosis.	2015	25762775