Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| the contribution of arsb to arsenic resistance in campylobacter jejuni. | arsenic, a toxic metalloid, exists in the natural environment and its organic form is approved for use as a feed additive for animal production. as a major foodborne pathogen of animal origin, campylobacter is exposed to arsenic selection pressure in the food animal production environments. previous studies showed that campylobacter isolates from poultry were highly resistant to arsenic compounds and a 4-gene operon (containing arsp, arsr, arsc, and acr3) was associated with arsenic resistance i ... | 2013 | 23554953 |
| iron homeostasis in the rhodobacter genus. | metals are utilized for a variety of critical cellular functions and are essential for survival. however cells are faced with the conundrum of needing metals coupled with e fact that some metals, iron in particular are toxic if present in excess. maintaining metal homeostasis is therefore of critical importance to cells. in this review we have systematically analyzed sequenced genomes of three members of the rhodobacter genus, r. capsulatus sb1003, r. sphaeroides 2.4.1 and r. ferroxidans sw2 to ... | 2013 | 24382933 |
| intestinal microbiota, probiotics and mental health: from metchnikoff to modern advances: part ii - contemporary contextual research. | in recent years there has been a renewed interest concerning the ways in which the gastrointestinal tract - its functional integrity and microbial residents - might influence human mood (e.g. depression) and behavioral disorders. once a hotbed of scientific interest in the early 20th century, this area lay dormant for decades, in part due to its association with the controversial term 'autointoxication'. here we review contemporary findings related to intestinal permeability, small intestinal ba ... | 2013 | 23497633 |
| mass spectrometry of membrane proteins: a focus on aquaporins. | membrane proteins are abundant, critically important biomolecules that conduct essential functions in all cells and are the targets of a significant number of therapeutic drugs. however, the analysis of their expression, modification, protein-protein interactions, and structure by mass spectrometry has lagged behind similar studies of soluble proteins. here we review the limitations to analysis of integral membrane and membrane-associated proteins and highlight advances in sample preparation and ... | 2013 | 23394619 |
| can microbiota transplantation abrogate murine colonization resistance against campylobacter jejuni? | enterocolitis caused by campylobacter jejuni represents an important socioeconomic burden worldwide. the host-specific intestinal microbiota is essential for maintaining colonization resistance (cr) against c. jejuni in conventional mice. notably, cr is abrogated by shifts of the intestinal microbiota towards overgrowth with commensal e. coli during acute ileitis. thus, we investigated whether oral transplantation (tx) of ileal microbiota derived from c. jejuni susceptible mice with acute ileiti ... | 2013 | 24265916 |
| diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in patients with primary immunodeficiency. | gastrointestinal disorders such as chronic or acute diarrhea, malabsorption, abdominal pain, and inflammatory bowel diseases can indicate immune deficiency. the gastrointestinal tract is the largest lymphoid organ in the body, so it is not surprising that intestinal diseases are common among immunodeficient patients. gastroenterologists therefore must be able to diagnose and treat patients with primary immunodeficiency. immune-related gastrointestinal diseases can be classified as those that dev ... | 2013 | 23501398 |
| molecular identification of giardia and cryptosporidium from dogs and cats. | the aim of the present study was to diagnose the presence of giardia cysts and cryptosporidium oocysts in household animals using nested polymerase chain reaction (pcr) and sequence analysis. one hundred faecal samples obtained from 81 dogs and 19 cats were investigated. the cryptosporidium genotypes were determined by sequencing a fragment of the small subunit (ssu) rrna gene, while the giardia assemblages were determined through analysis of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) locus. isolates fro ... | 2013 | 23477297 |
| the microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the biscuit study. | children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; helicobacter and campylobacter are previously implicated in ibd pathogenesis. we set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric ibd. | 2013 | 23554935 |
| the multifaceted roles of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in nature. | antibiotics are chemotherapeutic agents, which have been a very powerful tool in the clinical management of bacterial diseases since the 1940s. however, benefits offered by these magic bullets have been substantially lost in subsequent days following the widespread emergence and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant strains. while it is obvious that excessive and imprudent use of antibiotics significantly contributes to the emergence of resistant strains, antibiotic resistance is also observed i ... | 2013 | 23487476 |
| rapid pcr detection of mycoplasma hominis, ureaplasma urealyticum, and ureaplasma parvum. | objective. we compared laboratory developed real-time pcr assays for detection of mycoplasma hominis and for detection and differentiation of ureaplasma urealyticum and parvum to culture using genitourinary specimens submitted for m. hominis and ureaplasma culture. methods. 283 genitourinary specimens received in the clinical bacteriology laboratory for m. hominis and ureaplasma species culture were evaluated. nucleic acids were extracted using the total nucleic acid kit on the magna pure 2.0. 5 ... | 2013 | 26904723 |
| pinworm infestation mimicking crohns' disease. | we here report a case of a young man who presented to his general practitioner with diarrhea. inflammatory bowel disease was suspected and a colonoscopy showed aphthous lesions suggestive of crohns' disease but biopsies revealed eggs of enterobius vermicularis. when treated for this parasite, his symptoms were alleviated and a followup colonoscopy revealed a normal colon and distal ileum. enterobius vermicularis is the most common parasite worldwide and has been attributed with many different pr ... | 2013 | 23555063 |
| edge-pro: estimated degree of gene expression in prokaryotic genomes. | the expression levels of bacterial genes can be measured directly using next-generation sequencing (ngs) methods, offering much greater sensitivity and accuracy than earlier, microarray-based methods. most bioinformatics software for estimating levels of gene expression from ngs data has been designed for eukaryotic genomes, with algorithms focusing particularly on detection of splicing patterns. these methods do not perform well on bacterial genomes. | 2013 | 23531787 |
| biosynthetic assembly of the bacteroides fragilis capsular polysaccharide a precursor bactoprenyl diphosphate-linked acetamido-4-amino-6-deoxygalactopyranose. | the sugar capsule capsular polysaccharide a (cpsa), which coats the surface of the mammalian symbiont bacteroides fragilis, is a key mediator of mammalian immune system development. in addition, this sugar polymer has shown therapeutic potential in animal models of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders. the structure of the cpsa polymer includes a rare stereoconfiguration sugar acetamido-4-amino-6-deoxygalactopyranose (aadgal) that we propose is the first sugar linked to a bactopreny ... | 2013 | 23458065 |
| norovirus gastroenteritis in immunocompromised patients. | 2013 | 23465122 | |
| one-pot multi-enzyme (opme) chemoenzymatic synthesis of sialyl-tn-muc1 and sialyl-t-muc1 glycopeptides containing natural or non-natural sialic acid. | a series of stn-muc1 and st-muc1 glycopeptides containing naturally occurring and non-natural sialic acids have been chemoenzymatically synthesized from tn-muc1 glycopeptide using one-pot multienzyme (opme) approaches. in situ generation of the sialyltransferase donor cytidine 5'-monophosphate-sialic acid (cmp-sia) using a cmp-sialic acid synthetase in the presence of an extra amount of cytidine 5'-triphosphate (ctp) and removal of cmp from the reaction mixture by flash c18 cartridge purificatio ... | 2013 | 23535562 |
| comparative genomics of defense systems in archaea and bacteria. | our knowledge of prokaryotic defense systems has vastly expanded as the result of comparative genomic analysis, followed by experimental validation. this expansion is both quantitative, including the discovery of diverse new examples of known types of defense systems, such as restriction-modification or toxin-antitoxin systems, and qualitative, including the discovery of fundamentally new defense mechanisms, such as the crispr-cas immunity system. large-scale statistical analysis reveals that th ... | 2013 | 23470997 |
| determination of the structure of the catabolic n-succinylornithine transaminase (astc) from escherichia coli. | escherichia coli possesses two acyl ornithine aminotransferases, one catabolic (astc) and the other anabolic (argd), that participate in l-arginine metabolism. although only 58% identical, the enzymes have been shown to be functionally interchangeable. here we have purified astc and have obtained x-ray crystal structures of apo and holo-astc and of the enzyme complexed with its physiological substrate, succinylornithine. we compare the structures obtained in this study with those of argd from sa ... | 2013 | 23484010 |
| capsaicin-sensitive vagal afferent neurons contribute to the detection of pathogenic bacterial colonization in the gut. | vagal activation can reduce inflammation and disease activity in various animal models of intestinal inflammation via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. in the current model of this pathway, activation of descending vagal efferents is dependent on a signal initiated by stimulation of vagal afferents. however, little is known about how vagal afferents are activated, especially in the context of subclinical or clinical pathogenic bacterial infection. to address this question, we first dete ... | 2013 | 23481698 |
| in vitro activity of neisseria meningitidis pgll o-oligosaccharyltransferase with diverse synthetic lipid donors and a udp-activated sugar. | oligosaccharyltransferases (otases) are enzymes that catalyze the transfer of an oligosaccharide from a lipid carrier to an acceptor molecule, commonly a protein. otases are classified as n-otases and o-otases, depending on the nature of the glycosylation reaction. the n-otases catalyze the glycan transfer to amide groups in asparagines in a reaction named n-linked glycosylation. the o-otases are responsible for protein o-linked glycosylation, which involves the attachment of glycans to hydroxyl ... | 2013 | 23460642 |
| role of antidiarrhoeal drugs as adjunctive therapies for acute diarrhoea in children. | acute diarrhoea is a leading cause of child mortality in developing countries. principal pathogens include escherichia coli, rotaviruses, and noroviruses. 90% of diarrhoeal deaths are attributable to inadequate sanitation. acute diarrhoea is the second leading cause of overall childhood mortality and accounts for 18% of deaths among children under five. in 2004 an estimated 1.5 million children died from diarrhoea, with 80% of deaths occurring before the age of two. treatment goals are to preven ... | 2013 | 23533446 |
| shallow breathing: bacterial life at low o(2). | competition for molecular oxygen (o(2)) among respiratory microorganisms is intense because o(2) is a potent electron acceptor. this competition leads to the formation of microoxic environments wherever microorganisms congregate in aquatic, terrestrial and host-associated communities. bacteria can harvest o(2) present at low, even nanomolar, concentrations using high-affinity terminal oxidases. here, we report the results of surveys searching for high-affinity terminal oxidase genes in sequenced ... | 2013 | 23411864 |
| postinfectious functional gastrointestinal disorders: a focus on epidemiology and research agendas. | epidemiologic research is fundamental and complementary to our understanding of disease and development of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions. to put the current evidence into context and identify gaps and research priorities in the areas of disease attribution, burden of disease, clinical characterization, and management of postinfectious functional gastrointestinal disorders (pi-fgds), we took a multidisciplinary approach from the domains of infectious disease, gastroenterology, ep ... | 2013 | 23961264 |
| asellus aquaticus as a potential carrier of escherichia coli and other coliform bacteria into drinking water distribution systems. | individuals of the water louse, asellus aquaticus, enter drinking water distribution systems in temperate parts of the world, where they establish breeding populations. we analysed populations of surface water a. aquaticus from two ponds for associated faecal indicator bacteria and assessed the risk of a. aquaticus transporting bacteria into distribution systems. concentrations of up to two e. coli and five total coliforms·ml-1 were measured in the water and 200 e. coli and >240 total coliforms· ... | 2013 | 23455399 |
| antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use associated with laboratory-confirmed cases of campylobacter infection in two health units in ontario. | a population-based study was conducted over a two-year period in the perth district (pd) and wellington-dufferin-guelph (wdg) health units in ontario to document antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use associated with clinical cases of laboratory-confirmed campylobacteriosis. | 2013 | 24421795 |
| unique gangliosides synthesized in vitro by sialyltransferases from marine bacteria and their characterization: ganglioside synthesis by bacterial sialyltransferases. | on the basis of the results outlined in our previous report, bacterial sialyltransferases (st) from marine sources were further characterized using glycosphingolipids (gsl), especially ganglio-series gsls, based on the enzymatic characteristics and kinetic parameters obtained by line weaver-burk plots. among them, ga1 and ga2 were found to be good substrates for these unique sts. thus, new gangliosides synthesized by α2-3 and α2-6sts were structurally characterized by several analytical procedur ... | 2013 | 23220479 |
| predictive models for escherichia coli concentrations at inland lake beaches and relationship of model variables to pathogen detection. | predictive models, based on environmental and water quality variables, have been used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality assessments, but their effectiveness has not been studied in inland waters. sampling at eight inland recreational lakes in ohio was done in order to investigate using predictive models for escherichia coli and to understand the links between e. coli concentrations, predictive variables, and pathogens. based upon results from 21 beach sites, mo ... | 2013 | 23291550 |
| the k1 capsular polysaccharide from acinetobacter baumannii is a potential therapeutic target via passive immunization. | the emergence of extremely resistant and panresistant gram-negative bacilli, such as acinetobacter baumannii, requires consideration of nonantimicrobial therapeutic approaches. the goal of this report was to evaluate the k1 capsular polysaccharide from a. baumannii as a passive immunization target. its structure was determined by a combination of mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) techniques. molecular mimics that might raise the concern for autoimmune disease were not ident ... | 2013 | 23297385 |
| the polysaccharide capsule of campylobacter jejuni modulates the host immune response. | campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial diarrheal disease worldwide. the organism is characterized by a diversity of polysaccharide structures, including a polysaccharide capsule. most c. jejuni capsules are known to be decorated nonstoichiometrically with methyl phosphoramidate (meopn). the capsule of c. jejuni 81-176 has been shown to be required for serum resistance, but here we show that an encapsulated mutant lacking the meopn modification, an mpnc mutant, was equally as sensitiv ... | 2013 | 23250948 |
| prokaryotic nucleotide excision repair. | nucleotide excision repair (ner) has allowed bacteria to flourish in many different niches around the globe that inflict harsh environmental damage to their genetic material. ner is remarkable because of its diverse substrate repertoire, which differs greatly in chemical composition and structure. recent advances in structural biology and single-molecule studies have given great insight into the structure and function of ner components. this ensemble of proteins orchestrates faithful removal of ... | 2013 | 23457260 |
| prevalence and antibiotic resistance patterns of diarrheagenic escherichia coli isolated from adolescents and adults in hamedan, western iran. | pathogenic strains of escherichia coli are a common cause of acute infectious diarrhea. the aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, virulence markers and antibiotic resistance patterns of diarrheagenic e. coli (dec) isolated from adolescents and adults in hamadan, west of iran. | 2013 | 23466523 |
| the poultry-associated microbiome: network analysis and farm-to-fork characterizations. | microbial communities associated with agricultural animals are important for animal health, food safety, and public health. here we combine high-throughput sequencing (hts), quantitative-pcr assays, and network analysis to profile the poultry-associated microbiome and important pathogens at various stages of commercial poultry production from the farm to the consumer. analysis of longitudinal data following two flocks from the farm through processing showed a core microbiome containing multiple ... | 2013 | 23468931 |
| symptoms and clinical course of ehec o104 infection in hospitalized patients: a prospective single center study. | shiga-toxin producing o157:h7 entero haemorrhagic e. coli (stec/ehec) is one of the most common causes of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (hus) related to infectious haemorrhagic colitis. nearly all recommendations on clinical management of ehec infections refer to this strain. the 2011 outbreak in northern europe was the first to be caused by the serotype o104:h4. this ehec strain was found to carry genetic features of entero aggregative e. coli (eaec) and extended spectrum β lactamase (esbl). we r ... | 2013 | 23460784 |
| the variability of the 16s rrna gene in bacterial genomes and its consequences for bacterial community analyses. | 16s ribosomal rna currently represents the most important target of study in bacterial ecology. its use for the description of bacterial diversity is, however, limited by the presence of variable copy numbers in bacterial genomes and sequence variation within closely related taxa or within a genome. here we use the information from sequenced bacterial genomes to explore the variability of 16s rrna sequences and copy numbers at various taxonomic levels and apply it to estimate bacterial genome an ... | 2013 | 23460914 |
| mlst genotypes and antibiotic resistance of campylobacter spp. isolated from poultry in grenada. | this study determined whether multilocus sequence types (mlst) of campylobacter from poultry in 2 farms in grenada, west indies, differed by farm, antimicrobial resistance and farm antibiotic use. farm a used fluoroquinolones in the water and farm b used tetracyclines. the e-test was used to determine resistance of isolates to seven antibiotics. pcr of the ipxa gene confirmed species and mlst was used to characterize 38 isolates. all isolates were either c. jejuni or c. coli. farm antibiotic use ... | 2013 | 23555097 |
| pseudomonas fluorescens-like bacteria from the stomach: a microbiological and molecular study. | to characterize oxidase- and urease-producing bacterial isolates, grown aerobically, that originated from antral biopsies of patients suffering from acid peptic diseases. | 2013 | 23466902 |
| detection of genetic diversity in campylobacter jejuni isolated from a commercial turkey flock using flaa typing, mlst analysis and microarray assay. | campylobacter is genetically highly diverse and undergoes frequent intraspecific recombination. turkeys have been identified as an important reservoir for campylobacter jejuni which is of public health significance. the assessment of the genetic diversity among campylobacter population is critical for our understanding of the epidemiology of this bacterium. the genetic profiles were different according to the molecular typing methods used. the performance of established flaa genotyping, multiloc ... | 2013 | 23437035 |
| effects of lipooligosaccharide inner core truncation on bile resistance and chick colonization by campylobacter jejuni. | campylobacter jejuni is the most common bacterium that causes diarrhea worldwide, and chickens are considered the main reservoir of this pathogen. this study investigated the effects of serial truncation of lipooligosaccharide (los), a major component of the outer membrane of c. jejuni, on its bile resistance and intestinal colonization ability in chickens. genes encoding manno-heptose synthetases or glycosyltransferases were inactivated to generate isogenic mutants. serial truncation of the los ... | 2013 | 23437265 |
| natural hla-b*2705 protein ligands with glutamine as anchor motif: implications for hla-b27 association with spondyloarthropathy. | the presentation of short viral peptide antigens by human leukocyte antigen (hla) class i molecules on cell surfaces is a key step in the activation of cytotoxic t lymphocytes, which mediate the killing of pathogen-infected cells or initiate autoimmune tissue damage. hla-b27 is a well known class i molecule that is used to study both facets of the cellular immune response. using mass spectrometry analysis of complex hla-bound peptide pools isolated from large amounts of hla-b*2705(+) cells, we i ... | 2013 | 23430249 |
| cell wall elongation mode in gram-negative bacteria is determined by peptidoglycan architecture. | cellular integrity and morphology of most bacteria is maintained by cell wall peptidoglycan, the target of antibiotics essential in modern healthcare. it consists of glycan strands, cross-linked by peptides, whose arrangement determines cell shape, prevents lysis due to turgor pressure and yet remains dynamic to allow insertion of new material, and hence growth. the cellular architecture and insertion pattern of peptidoglycan have remained elusive. here we determine the peptidoglycan architectur ... | 2013 | 23422664 |
| the nose knows not: poor predictive value of stool sample odor for detection of clostridium difficile. | 2013 | 23166192 | |
| development and validation of a novel diagnostic test for human brucellosis using a glyco-engineered antigen coupled to magnetic beads. | brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis and still a major human health problem in endemic areas of the world. although several diagnostic tools are available, most of them are difficult to implement especially in developing countries where complex health facilities are limited. taking advantage of the identical structure and composition of the brucella spp. and yersinia enterocolitica o:9 o-polysaccharide, we explored the application of a recombinant y. enterocolitica o:9-polysaccharide-prot ... | 2013 | 23459192 |
| immune evasion, immunopathology and the regulation of the immune system. | costs and benefits of the immune response have attracted considerable attention in the last years among evolutionary biologists. given the cost of parasitism, natural selection should favor individuals with the most effective immune defenses. nevertheless, there exists huge variation in the expression of immune effectors among individuals. to explain this apparent paradox, it has been suggested that an over-reactive immune system might be too costly, both in terms of metabolic resources and risk ... | 2013 | 25436882 |
| resistance mechanisms in campylobacter jejuni. | campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of food-borne gastroenteritis worldwide. while mortality is low, morbidity imparted by post-infectious sequelae such as guillain-barré syndrome, reiter syndrome/reactive arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome is significant. in addition, the economic cost is high due to lost productivity. food animals, particularly poultry, are the main reservoirs of c. jejuni. the over-use of antibiotics in the human population and in animal husbandry has led to an increase ... | 2013 | 23406779 |
| a novel synthetic receptor-based immunoassay for influenza vaccine quantification. | vaccination is the most effective prophylactic method for preventing influenza. quantification of influenza vaccine antigens is critically important before the vaccine is used for human immunization. currently the vaccine antigen quantification relies on hemagglutinin content quantification, the key antigenic component, by single radial immunodiffusion (srid) assay. due to the inherent disadvantages associated with the traditional srid; i.e. low sensitivity, low throughput and need for annual re ... | 2013 | 23424631 |
| increased levels of igg antibodies against human hsp60 in patients with spondyloarthritis. | spondyloarthritis (spa) comprises a heterogeneous group of inflammatory diseases, with strong association to human leukocyte antigen (hla)-b27. a triggering bacterial infection has been considered as the cause of spa, and bacterial heat shock protein (hsp) seems to be a strong t cell antigen. since bacterial and human hsp60, also named hspd1, are highly homologous, cross-reactivity has been suggested in disease initiation. in this study, levels of antibodies against bacterial and human hsp60 wer ... | 2013 | 23424650 |
| identification of autoantigens recognized by the 2f5 and 4e10 broadly neutralizing hiv-1 antibodies. | many human monoclonal antibodies that neutralize multiple clades of hiv-1 are polyreactive and bind avidly to mammalian autoantigens. indeed, the generation of neutralizing antibodies to the 2f5 and 4e10 epitopes of hiv-1 gp41 in man may be proscribed by immune tolerance because mice expressing the v(h) and v(l) regions of 2f5 have a block in b cell development that is characteristic of central tolerance. this developmental blockade implies the presence of tolerizing autoantigens that are mimick ... | 2013 | 23359068 |
| deletion of pic results in decreased virulence for a clinical isolate of shigella flexneri 2a from china. | shigella is a major pathogen responsible for bacillary dysentery, a severe form of shigellosis. severity of the disease depends on the virulence of the infecting strain. shigella pathogenicity is a multi-gene phenomenon, involving the participation of genes on an unstable large virulence plasmid and chromosomal pathogenicity islands. | 2013 | 23391153 |
| practicalities of using non-local or non-recent multilocus sequence typing data for source attribution in space and time of human campylobacteriosis. | in this study, 1208 campylobacter jejuni and c. coli isolates from humans and 400 isolates from chicken, collected in two separate periods over 12 years in the netherlands, were typed using multilocus sequence typing (mlst). statistical evidence was found for a shift of st frequencies in human isolates over time. the human mlst data were also compared to published data from other countries to determine geographical variation. because only mlst typed data from chicken, taken from the same time po ... | 2013 | 23405107 |
| rnd multidrug efflux pumps: what are they good for? | multidrug efflux pumps are chromosomally encoded genetic elements capable of mediating resistance to toxic compounds in several life forms. in bacteria, these elements are involved in intrinsic and acquired resistance to antibiotics. unlike other well-known horizontally acquired antibiotic resistance determinants, genes encoding for multidrug efflux pumps belong to the core of bacterial genomes and thus have evolved over millions of years. the selective pressure stemming from the use of antibiot ... | 2013 | 23386844 |
| mechanism of bacterial oligosaccharyltransferase: in vitro quantification of sequon binding and catalysis. | n-linked glycosylation is an essential post-translational protein modification in the eukaryotic cell. the initial transfer of an oligosaccharide from a lipid carrier onto asparagine residues within a consensus sequon is catalyzed by oligosaccharyltransferase (ost). the first x-ray structure of a complete bacterial ost enzyme, campylobacter lari pglb, was recently determined. to understand the mechanism of pglb, we have quantified sequon binding and glycosylation turnover in vitro using purified ... | 2013 | 23382388 |
| strategy for identification & characterization of bartonella henselae with conventional & molecular methods. | bartonella henselae is a fastidious gram-negative bacterium usually causing self limiting infections in immunocompetent individuals but often causes potentially life threatening infection, such as bacillary angiomatosis in immunocompromised patients. both diagnosis of infections and research into molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis have been hindered by lack of appropriate and reliable diagnostic techniques. we undertook this study to standardize methods to characterize b. henselae in clinical ... | 2013 | 23563383 |
| cell sorting enriches escherichia coli mutants that rely on peptidoglycan endopeptidases to suppress highly aberrant morphologies. | bacterial morphology imparts physiological advantages to cells in different environments and, judging by the fidelity with which shape is passed to daughter cells, is a tightly regulated characteristic. surprisingly, only in the past 10 to 15 years has significant headway been made in identifying the mechanisms by which cells create and maintain particular shapes. one reason for this is that the relevant discoveries have relied heavily on the arduous, somewhat subjective process of manual micros ... | 2013 | 23243305 |
| macrolide- and rifampin-resistant rhodococcus equi on a horse breeding farm, kentucky, usa. | macrolide and rifampin resistance developed on a horse breeding farm after widespread use was instituted for treatment of subclinical pulmonary lesions in foals. resistance occurred in 6 (24%) of 25 pretreatment and 8 (62%) of 13 (62%) posttreatment isolates from affected foals. drug-resistant isolates formed 2 distinct genotypic clusters. | 2013 | 23347878 |
| hypothesis: bacteria control host appetites. | to help investigate the relationship between inflammatory and other diseases and the composition of the gut microbiota, we propose that a positive-feedback loop exists between the preferences of the host for a particular dietary regimen, the composition of the gut microbiota that depends on this regimen, and the preferences of the host as influenced by the gut microbiota. we cite evidence in support of this hypothesis and make testable predictions. | 2013 | 23144247 |
| intracellularly induced cyclophilins play an important role in stress adaptation and virulence of brucella abortus. | brucella is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes the worldwide zoonotic disease brucellosis. brucella virulence relies on its ability to transition to an intracellular lifestyle within host cells. thus, this pathogen must sense its intracellular localization and then reprogram gene expression for survival within the host cell. a comparative proteomic investigation was performed to identify differentially expressed proteins potentially relevant for brucella intracellular adaptation. tw ... | 2013 | 23230297 |
| eptc of campylobacter jejuni mediates phenotypes involved in host interactions and virulence. | campylobacter jejuni is a natural commensal of the avian intestinal tract. however, the bacterium is also the leading cause of acute bacterial diarrhea worldwide and is implicated in development of guillain-barré syndrome. like many bacterial pathogens, c. jejuni assembles complex surface structures that interface with the surrounding environment and are involved in pathogenesis. recent work in c. jejuni identified a gene encoding a novel phosphoethanolamine (petn) transferase, eptc (cj0256), th ... | 2013 | 23184526 |
| carbon storage regulator a contributes to the virulence of haemophilus ducreyi in humans by multiple mechanisms. | the carbon storage regulator a (csra) controls a wide variety of bacterial processes, including metabolism, adherence, stress responses, and virulence. haemophilus ducreyi, the causative agent of chancroid, harbors a homolog of csra. here, we generated an unmarked, in-frame deletion mutant of csra to assess its contribution to h. ducreyi pathogenesis. in human inoculation experiments, the csra mutant was partially attenuated for pustule formation compared to its parent. deletion of csra resulted ... | 2013 | 23230298 |
| general aspects and recent advances on bacterial protein toxins. | bacterial pathogens produce protein toxins to influence host-pathogen interactions and tip the outcome of these encounters toward the benefit of the pathogen. protein toxins modify host-specific targets through posttranslational modifications (ptms) or noncovalent interactions that may inhibit or activate host cell physiology to benefit the pathogen. recent advances have identified new ptms and host targets for toxin action. understanding the mechanisms of toxin action provides a basis to develo ... | 2013 | 23378599 |
| do globins in microaerophilic campylobacter jejuni confer nitrosative stress tolerance under oxygen limitation? | the microaerophilic pathogen campylobacter jejuni possesses inducible systems for resisting no. two globins--cgb (a single-domain globin) and ctb (a truncated globin)--are up-regulated in response to no via the positively acting transcription factor nssr. our aims were to determine whether these oxygen-binding globins also function in severely oxygen-limited environments, as in the host. at growth-limiting oxygen transfer rates, bacteria were more s-nitrosoglutathione (gsno) sensitive, irrespect ... | 2013 | 22816769 |
| functional dissection of the multi-domain di-heme cytochrome c(550) from thermus thermophilus. | in bacteria, oxidation of sulfite to sulfate, the most common strategy for sulfite detoxification, is mainly accomplished by the molybdenum-containing sulfite:acceptor oxidoreductases (sors). bacterial sors are very diverse proteins; they can exist as monomers or homodimers of their core subunit, as well as heterodimers with an additional cytochrome c subunit. we have previously described the homodimeric sor from thermus thermophilus hb8 (sor(tthb8)), identified its physiological electron accept ... | 2013 | 23383080 |
| staphylococcus aureus α-toxin-dependent induction of host cell death by membrane-derived vesicles. | staphylococcus aureus causes a wide spectrum of infections in humans, ranging from superficial cutaneous infections, infections in the circum-oral region, to life-threatening bacteremia. it was recently demonstrated that gram-positive organisms such as s. aureus liberate membrane-derived vesicles (mvs), which analogously to outer membrane vesicles (omvs) of gram-negative bacteria can play a role in delivering virulence factors to host cells. in the present study we have shown that cholesterol-de ... | 2013 | 23382935 |
| acta promotes listeria monocytogenes aggregation, intestinal colonization and carriage. | listeria monocytogenes (lm) is a ubiquitous bacterium able to survive and thrive within the environment and readily colonizes a wide range of substrates, often as a biofilm. it is also a facultative intracellular pathogen, which actively invades diverse hosts and induces listeriosis. so far, these two complementary facets of lm biology have been studied independently. here we demonstrate that the major lm virulence determinant acta, a prfa-regulated gene product enabling actin polymerization and ... | 2013 | 23382675 |
| recent advances in bacteriophage based biosensors for food-borne pathogen detection. | foodborne diseases are a major health concern that can have severe impact on society and can add tremendous financial burden to our health care systems. rapid early detection of food contamination is therefore relevant for the containment of food-borne pathogens. conventional pathogen detection methods, such as microbiological and biochemical identification are time-consuming and laborious, while immunological or nucleic acid-based techniques require extensive sample preparation and are not amen ... | 2013 | 23364199 |
| weakness and the inability to ambulate in a 14-month-old female: a case report and concise review of guillain-barre syndrome. | guillain-barre syndrome (gbs) is an acquired disease of the peripheral nervous system which causes demyelination and leads to weakness, ataxia, and areflexia. there are a variety of forms of the syndrome, and although it is found in all age groups, it is rare in children less than two years of age. the present complaint of weakness, ataxia, or lower extremity pain in the pediatric population should cause the practitioner to consider gbs in the differential. we describe a case of a 14-month-old g ... | 2013 | 23431480 |
| chemoreceptors of escherichia coli cft073 play redundant roles in chemotaxis toward urine. | community-acquired urinary tract infections (utis) are commonly caused by uropathogenic escherichia coli (upec). we hypothesize that chemotaxis toward ligands present in urine could direct upec into and up the urinary tract. wild-type e. coli cft073 and chemoreceptor mutants with tsr, tar, or aer deletions were tested for chemotaxis toward human urine in the capillary tube assay. wild-type cft073 was attracted toward urine, and tsr and tar were the chemoreceptors mainly responsible for mediating ... | 2013 | 23382874 |
| altered responses to homeostatic cytokines in patients with idiopathic cd4 lymphocytopenia. | idiopathic cd4 lymphocytopenia (icl) is a rare immune deficiency characterized by a protracted cd4(+) t cell loss of unknown etiology and by the occurrence of opportunistic infections similar to those seen in aids. we investigated whether a defect in responses to cytokines that control cd4(+) t cell homeostasis could play a role in icl. immunophenotype and signaling responses to interleukin-7 (il-7), il-2, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (tslp) were analyzed by flow cytometry in cd4(+) t cells ... | 2013 | 23383227 |
| phospholipids in milk fat: composition, biological and technological significance, and analytical strategies. | glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids are quantitatively the most important phospholipids (pls) in milk. they are located on the milk fat globule membrane (mfgm) and in other membranous material of the skim milk phase. they include principally phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine, while sphingomyelin is the dominant species of sphingolipids there is considerable evidence that pls have beneficial health effects, such as regulation of the infl ... | 2013 | 23434649 |
| basolateral invasion and trafficking of campylobacter jejuni in polarized epithelial cells. | campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial diarrheal disease. most enteropathogenic bacteria including c. jejuni can invade cultured eukaryotic cells via an actin- and/or microtubule-dependent and an energy-consuming uptake process. recently, we identified a novel highly efficient c. jejuni invasion pathway that involves bacterial migration into the subcellular space of non-polarized epithelial cells (termed subvasion) followed by invasion from the cell basis. here we report cellular req ... | 2013 | 23382959 |
| enhanced surveillance for detection and management of infectious diseases: regional collaboration in the middle east. | formed before international negotiations of the revised international health regulations (ihr), the middle east consortium for infectious disease surveillance (mecids) is a regional collaboration aimed at facilitating implementation of the revised ihr and, more broadly, improving the detection and control of infectious disease outbreaks among neighboring countries in an area of continuous dispute. initially focused on enhancing foodborne disease surveillance, mecids has expanded the scope of its ... | 2013 | 23362413 |
| persistent digestive disorders in the tropics: causative infectious pathogens and reference diagnostic tests. | persistent digestive disorders account for considerable disease burden in the tropics. despite advances in understanding acute gastrointestinal infections, important issues concerning epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and control of most persistent digestive symptomatologies remain to be elucidated. helminths and intestinal protozoa are considered to play major roles, but the full extent of the aetiologic spectrum is still unclear. we provide an overview of pathogens causing digestive disorders ... | 2013 | 23347408 |
| a "successful allele" at campylobacter jejuni contingency locus cj0170 regulates motility; "successful alleles" at locus cj0045 are strongly associated with mouse colonization. | campylobacter jejuni is an important foodborne pathogen of humans and its primary reservoir is the gastrointestinal (gi) tract of chickens. our previous studies demonstrated that phase variation to specific "successful alleles" at c. jejuni contingency loci cj0045 (successful alleles carry 9g or 10g homopolymeric tracts) and cj0170 (successful allele carries a 10g homopolymeric tract) in c. jejuni populations is strongly associated with colonization and enteritis in c57bl/6 il-10 deficient mice. ... | 2013 | 23541212 |
| distinct distal gut microbiome diversity and composition in healthy children from bangladesh and the united states. | our current understanding of the composition and stability of the human distal gut microbiota is based largely on studies of infants and adults living in developed countries. in contrast, little is known about the gut microbiota and its variation over time in older children and adolescents, especially in developing countries. | 2013 | 23349750 |
| cloning, annotation and developmental expression of the chicken intestinal muc2 gene. | intestinal mucin 2 (muc2) encodes a heavily glycosylated, gel-forming mucin, which creates an important protective mucosal layer along the gastrointestinal tract in humans and other species. this first line of defense guards against attacks from microorganisms and is integral to the innate immune system. as a first step towards characterizing the innate immune response of muc2 in different species, we report the cloning of a full-length, 11,359 bp chicken muc2 cdna, and describe the genomic orga ... | 2013 | 23349743 |
| reconstruction of phyletic trees by global alignment of multiple metabolic networks. | in the last decade, a considerable amount of research has been devoted to investigating the phylogenetic properties of organisms from a systems-level perspective. most studies have focused on the classification of organisms based on structural comparison and local alignment of metabolic pathways. in contrast, global alignment of multiple metabolic networks complements sequence-based phylogenetic analyses and provides more comprehensive information. | 2013 | 23368411 |
| bioengineered probiotics, a strategic approach to control enteric infections. | enteric infections account for high morbidity and mortality and are considered to be the fifth leading cause of death at all ages worldwide. seventy percent of all enteric infections are foodborne. thus significant efforts have been directed toward the detection, control and prevention of foodborne diseases. many antimicrobials including antibiotics have been used for their control and prevention. however, probiotics offer a potential alternative intervention strategy owing to their general heal ... | 2013 | 23327986 |
| effectiveness of the wc/rbs oral cholera vaccine in the prevention of traveler's diarrhea: a prospective cohort study. | traveler's diarrhea (td) is the most frequent disease among people from industrialized countries who travel to less developed ones, especially sub-saharan africa, southern asia and south america. the most common bacteria causing td is enterotoxigenic escherichia coli (etec). the wc/rbs cholera vaccine (dukoral) has been shown to induce cross-protection against etec by means of the b subunit of the cholera toxin. the aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the wc/rbs cholera vaccine ... | 2013 | 23324573 |
| transfer of multidrug-resistant bacteria between intermingled ecological niches: the interface between humans, animals and the environment. | the use of antimicrobial agents has been claimed to be the driving force for the emergence and spread of microbial resistance. however, several studies have reported the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in populations exposed to low levels of antimicrobial drugs or even never exposed. for many pathogens, especially those organisms for which asymptomatic colonization typically precedes infection (e.g., enterococcus spp. and escherichia coli), the selective effects of antimicrobial use can ... | 2013 | 23343983 |
| significant variation in transformation frequency in streptococcus pneumoniae. | the naturally transformable bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae is able to take up extracellular dna and incorporate it into its genome. maintaining natural transformation within a species requires that the benefits of transformation outweigh its costs. although much is known about the distribution of natural transformation among bacterial species, little is known about the degree to which transformation frequencies vary within species. here we find that there is significant variation in transfor ... | 2013 | 23303370 |
| cellular interactions of the cytolethal distending toxins from escherichia coli and haemophilus ducreyi. | the cytolethal distending toxins (cdts) compose a subclass of intracellularly acting genotoxins produced by many gram-negative pathogenic bacteria that disrupt the normal progression of the eukaryotic cell cycle. here, the intoxication mechanisms of cdts from escherichia coli (ec-cdt) and haemophilus ducreyi (hd-cdt), which share limited amino acid sequence homology, were directly compared. ec-cdt and hd-cdt shared comparable in vitro dnase activities of the cdtb subunits, saturable cell surface ... | 2013 | 23306199 |
| role of endogenous microbiota, probiotics and their biological products in human health. | although gut diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, mucositis and the alimentary cancers share similar pathogenetic features, further investigation is required into new treatment modalities. an imbalance in the gut microbiota, breached gut integrity, bacterial invasion, increased cell apoptosis to proliferation ratio, inflammation and impaired immunity may all contribute to their pathogenesis. probiotics are defined as live bacteria, which when administered in sufficient amounts, exert ben ... | 2013 | 23306189 |
| the immunomodulatory effect of plant lectins: a review with emphasis on artinm properties. | advances in the glycobiology and immunology fields have provided many insights into the role of carbohydrate-protein interactions in the immune system. we aim to present a comprehensive review of the effects that some plant lectins exert as immunomodulatory agents, showing that they are able to positively modify the immune response to certain pathological conditions, such as cancer and infections. the present review comprises four main themes: (1) an overview of plant lectins that exert immunomo ... | 2013 | 23299509 |
| live-cell video microscopy of fungal pathogen phagocytosis. | phagocytic clearance of fungal pathogens, and microorganisms more generally, may be considered to consist of four distinct stages: (i) migration of phagocytes to the site where pathogens are located; (ii) recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps) through pattern recognition receptors (prrs); (iii) engulfment of microorganisms bound to the phagocyte cell membrane, and (iv) processing of engulfed cells within maturing phagosomes and digestion of the ingested particle. studies t ... | 2013 | 23329139 |
| paediatric t-cell lymphoma of the appendix: a case report. | a 7-year-old boy with no history of malnutrition or diarrhoea complained of acute abdominal pain, was diagnosed with acute appendicitis, and underwent appendectomy. histologically, a diffuse infiltrate of large atypical lymphoid cells was found in the entire appendiceal wall. immunohistochemical examination revealed that the tumour cells expressed t-cell receptor (tcr)-βf1, cd3, cd4, cd25, cytotoxic-related protein tia1 and granzyme-b, but were negative for cd8, foxp3, cd20, cd30 and cd56. polym ... | 2013 | 23302373 |
| gene function hypotheses for the campylobacter jejuni glycome generated by a logic-based approach. | increasingly, experimental data on biological systems are obtained from several sources and computational approaches are required to integrate this information and derive models for the function of the system. here, we demonstrate the power of a logic-based machine learning approach to propose hypotheses for gene function integrating information from two diverse experimental approaches. specifically, we use inductive logic programming that automatically proposes hypotheses explaining the empiric ... | 2013 | 23103756 |
| orthopaedic manifestations and diagnostic clues in children with guillain-barré syndrome. | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy characterized by symmetric limb weakness. children with gbs sometimes consult the orthopaedists because of limb pain and gait disturbance. the orthopaedists, however, are unfamiliar with gbs, since it has rarely been delineated in detail in the orthopaedic literature. in the present study, we specifically describe orthopaedic manifestations and diagnostic clues in pediatric gbs. | 2013 | 23755090 |
| broad conditions favor the evolution of phase-variable loci. | simple sequence repeat (ssr) tracts produce stochastic on-off switching, or phase variation, in the expression of a panoply of surface molecules in many bacterial commensals and pathogens. a change to the number of repeats in a tract may alter the phase of the translational reading frame, which toggles the on-off state of the switch. here, we construct an in silico ssr locus with mutational dynamics calibrated to those of the haemophilus influenzae mod locus. we simulate its evolution in a regim ... | 2013 | 23300246 |
| an adult case of fisher syndrome subsequent to mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. | reported herein is an adult case of fisher syndrome (fs) that occurred as a complication during the course of community-acquired pneumonia caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae. a 38-yr-old man who had been treated with antibiotics for serologically proven m. pneumoniae pneumonia presented with a sudden onset of diplopia, ataxic gait, and areflexia. a thorough evaluation including brain imaging, cerebrospinal fluid examination, a nerve conduction study, and detection of serum anti-ganglioside gq1b ant ... | 2013 | 23341726 |
| cardiovascular disease after escherichia coli o157:h7 gastroenteritis. | escherichia coli o157:h7 is one cause of acute bacterial gastroenteritis, which can be devastating in outbreak situations. we studied the risk of cardiovascular disease following such an outbreak in walkerton, ontario, in may 2000. | 2013 | 23166291 |
| innate immune recognition of flagellin limits systemic persistence of brucella. | brucella are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause chronic infections by limiting innate immune recognition. it is currently unknown whether brucella flic flagellin, the monomeric subunit of flagellar filament, is sensed by the host during infection. here, we used two mutants of brucella melitensis, either lacking or overexpressing flagellin, to show that flic hinders bacterial replication in vivo. the use of cells and mice genetically deficient for different components of inflammasomes ... | 2013 | 23227931 |
| decoding system for the aua codon by trnaile with the uau anticodon in mycoplasma mobile. | deciphering the genetic code is a fundamental process in all living organisms. in many bacteria, aua codons are deciphered by trna(ile2) bearing lysidine (l) at the wobble position. l is a modified cytidine introduced post-transcriptionally by trna(ile)-lysidine synthetase (tils). some bacteria, including mycoplasma mobile, do not carry the tils gene, indicating that they have established a different system to decode aua codons. in this study, trna(ile2) has been isolated from m. mobile and was ... | 2013 | 23295668 |
| genomic analysis of melioribacter roseus, facultatively anaerobic organotrophic bacterium representing a novel deep lineage within bacteriodetes/chlorobi group. | melioribacter roseus is a moderately thermophilic facultatively anaerobic organotrophic bacterium representing a novel deep branch within bacteriodetes/chlorobi group. to better understand the metabolic capabilities and possible ecological functions of m. roseus and get insights into the evolutionary history of this bacterial lineage, we sequenced the genome of the type strain p3m-2(t). a total of 2838 open reading frames was predicted from its 3.30 mb genome. the whole proteome analysis support ... | 2013 | 23301019 |
| brain-reactive antibodies and disease. | autoimmune diseases currently affect 5-7% of the world's population; in most diseases there are circulating autoantibodies. brain-reactive antibodies are present in approximately 2-3% of the general population but do not usually contribute to brain pathology. these antibodies penetrate brain tissue only early in development or under pathologic conditions. this restriction on their pathogenicity and the lack of correlation between serum titers and brain pathology have, no doubt, contributed to a ... | 2013 | 23516983 |
| regulation of bacterial pathogenesis by intestinal short-chain fatty acids. | the human gut microbiota is inextricably linked to health and disease. one important function of the commensal organisms living in the intestine is to provide colonization resistance against invading enteric pathogens. because of the complex nature of the interaction between the microbiota and its host, multiple mechanisms likely contribute to resistance. in this review, we dissect the biological role of short-chain fatty acids (scfa), which are fermentation end products of the intestinal microb ... | 2013 | 23942149 |
| identifying and testing candidate genetic polymorphisms in irritable bowel syndrome: association with tnfsf15 and tumor necrosis factor-α | 2013 | 24714487 | |
| eosinophils in infection and intestinal immunity. | inflammatory bowel diseases (ibds, e.g., crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) are thought to be a consequence of an uncontrolled inflammatory response against luminal antigens, including commensal bacteria. the observed link between eosinophil levels and severity and remission rates in ibd has led to speculation that eosinophils may contribute to the antimicrobial inflammatory response in ibd. | 2013 | 23132211 |
| guillain-barré syndrome in pregnancy: an unusual case. | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) is rare in pregnancy with an estimated incidence between 1.2 and 1.9 cases per 100,000 people annually, and it carries a high maternal risk. we report a 29-year-old primigravida who had pain and progressive heaviness of both lower limbs in her third trimester of pregnancy. the attending gynecologist ascribed these symptoms to ongoing pregnancy. the intrapartum period (lower segment caesarian section) passed uneventfully. on third postpartum day, the patient develope ... | 2013 | 24479054 |
| increased guillain-barre syndrome admissions in shiraz, southern iran. | guillain-barre syndrome (gbs) is an acute immune-mediated peripheral neuropathy usually after an incident. this study was performed to investigate the basic epidemiologic features of gbs in south of iran. | 2013 | 24250891 |
| in vitro susceptibility of campylobacter jejuni from kuwait to tigecycline & other antimicrobial agents. | there is an increasing frequency of resistance of campylobacter jejuni to antimicrobial agents making treatment difficult. in this study, the in vitro susceptibility of c. jejuni isolates collected over an eight year period was tested against tigecycline, a glycylcycline, the previously tested antimicrobial agents in kuwait, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and tetracycline, and other antimicrobial agents not previously tested in kuwait, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, gentamicin, imipenem and meropenem ... | 2013 | 23481071 |
| phytochemical analysis and antibacterial evaluation of the ethyl acetate extract of the stem bark of bridelia micrantha. | plant cells fundamentally are chemical factories containing a rich supply of therapeutically useful phytocompounds that have the potential of being developed into potent antimicrobial agents. | 2013 | 23661993 |
| mechanism of tetracycline resistance by ribosomal protection protein tet(o). | tetracycline resistance protein tet(o), which protects the bacterial ribosome from binding the antibiotic tetracycline, is a translational gtpase with significant similarity in both sequence and structure to the elongation factor ef-g. here, we present an atomic model of the tet(o)-bound 70s ribosome based on our cryo-electron microscopic reconstruction at 9.6-å resolution. this atomic model allowed us to identify the tet(o)-ribosome binding sites, which involve three characteristic loops in dom ... | 2013 | 23403578 |