Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| antimicrobial activities of human beta-defensins against bacillus species. | natural defences in the human body function to protect us from numerous environmental toxins and exposure to potential harmful biological agents. an important frontline defence is antimicrobial peptides. these peptides occur at environmental interfaces and serve to limit bacterial invasion. there has been little work comparing specific peptides as potential antimicrobial compounds. in this study, we evaluated the antimicrobial activity of peptides from the human beta-defensin (hbd) family agains ... | 2006 | 16797165 |
| immunogenicity and tolerance of ascending doses of a recombinant protective antigen (rpa102) anthrax vaccine: a randomized, double-blinded, controlled, multicenter trial. | we report the results of a phase i dose escalation, safety and immunogenicity trial of a new recombinant protective antigen (rpa102) anthrax vaccine. | 2006 | 16797805 |
| expression and purification of functional human anthrax toxin receptor (atr/tem8) binding domain from escherichia coli. | anthrax is caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, bacillus anthracis. anthrax receptors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the anthrax disease. anthrax toxin receptor atr/tem8 vwa domain is responsible for the binding of protective antigen (pa) of b. anthracis, and thus an attractive target for structure-based drug therapies. however, the production of soluble and functional atr/tem8 vwa domain currently requires the use of mammalian expression systems. in this work, we ex ... | 2006 | 16798009 |
| proteolytic degradation of human antimicrobial peptide ll-37 by bacillus anthracis may contribute to virulence. | in this paper we report on the susceptibilities of a range of bacillus species to the human antimicrobial peptide ll-37. b. subtilis showed a low level of resistance to killing by ll-37 (50% growth-inhibitory concentration [gi50], 1 microg/ml). b. cereus and b. thuringiensis showed intermediate levels of resistance to killing (gi50s, 33 microg/ml and 37 microg/ml, respectively). b. anthracis showed the highest level of resistance (gi50s, 40 to 66 microg/ml). the degradation of ll-37 by b. anthra ... | 2006 | 16801407 |
| evaluation of an online bioterrorism continuing medical education course. | much of the international community has an increased awareness of potential biologic, chemical, and nuclear threats and the need for physicians to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills in order to protect the public's health. the present study evaluated the educational effectiveness of an online bioterrorism continuing medical education (cme) activity designed to address clinical issues involving suspected bioterrorism and reporting procedures in the united states. | 2006 | 16802314 |
| anthrax in animals and a farmer in alto adige, italy. | 2006 | 16804212 | |
| treatment and prophylaxis of anthrax by new neurosecretory cytokines. | in 1881, louis pasteur described the bacillus anthracis vaccine, which plays an important role for the treatment and prophylaxis of anthrax. currently, treatment for anthrax infection involves the use of several different antibiotics, used in combination with vaccines, which possess potential virulence in white mice and guinea pigs. we discovered several new immunomodulators cytokines (polypeptides) produced by the neurosecretory cells of hypothalamus, some of which can be used as drugs for the ... | 2006 | 16804761 |
| multiple vaccine and pyridostigmine interactions: effects on cognition, muscle function and health outcomes in marmosets. | following active service during the 1990/1991 gulf conflict, a number of uk and us veterans presented with a diverse range of symptoms, collectively known as gulf veterans illnesses (gvi). the administration of vaccines and/or the pretreatment against possible nerve agent poisoning, pyridostigmine bromide (pb), given to armed forces personnel during the gulf conflict has been implicated as a possible factor in the aetiology of these illnesses. the possibility that long-term health effects may re ... | 2006 | 16806443 |
| [diagnosis image (260). a woman with a black crust on the face]. | 2006 | 16808376 | |
| clinical and pathologic differential diagnosis of selected potential bioterrorism agents of interest to pediatric health care providers. | the early recognition of potential bioterrorism agents has been of increasing concern in recent years. the centers for disease control and prevention has categorized and listed biological terrorism agents. although any or all of the highest risk biological agents (including inhalation anthrax, pneumonic plague, smallpox, tularemia, botulism, and viral hemorrhagic fevers) can be seen in the pediatric patient, several agents might closely resemble--at least in their initial stages-some of the more ... | 2006 | 16815456 |
| engineered chloroplasts as vaccine factories to combat bioterrorism. | bacillus anthracis is ideal for making biological weapons, but the licensed anthrax vaccine is unsuitable for widespread public administration. recombinant subunit-vaccine candidates offer potential alternatives, and plant-based production systems facilitate the inexpensive bulking of target antigens. a recent report demonstrates expression of anthrax protective antigen in tobacco chloroplasts--this material is immunogenic and protective when injected into mice. provided an economic purification ... | 2006 | 16815579 |
| mixed-type noncompetitive inhibition of anthrax lethal factor protease by aminoglycosides. | we report a detailed kinetic investigation of the aminoglycosides neomycin b and neamine as inhibitors of the lethal factor protease from bacillus anthracis. both inhibitors display a mixed-type, noncompetitive kinetic pattern, which suggests the existence of multiple enzyme-inhibitor binding sites or the involvement of multiple structural binding modes at the same site. quantitative analysis of the ionic strength effects by using the debye-hückel model revealed that the average interionic dista ... | 2006 | 16817854 |
| rabies virus glycoprotein as a carrier for anthrax protective antigen. | live viral vectors expressing foreign antigens have shown great promise as vaccines against viral diseases. however, safety concerns remain a major problem regarding the use of even highly attenuated viral vectors. using the rabies virus (rv) envelope protein as a carrier molecule, we show here that inactivated rv particles can be utilized to present bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) domain-4 in the viral membrane. in addition to the rv glycoprotein (g) transmembrane and cytoplasmic dom ... | 2006 | 16820183 |
| sequence diversity of the bacillus thuringiensis and b. cereus sensu lato flagellin (h antigen) protein: comparison with h serotype diversity. | we set out to analyze the sequence diversity of the bacillus thuringiensis flagellin (h antigen [hag]) protein and compare it with h serotype diversity. some other bacillus cereus sensu lato species and strains were added for comparison. the internal sequences of the flagellin (hag) alleles from 80 bacillus thuringiensis strains and 16 strains from the b. cereus sensu lato group were amplified and cloned, and their nucleotide sequences were determined and translated into amino acids. the flagell ... | 2006 | 16820457 |
| cloning, purification and crystallization of bacillus anthracis class c acid phosphatase. | cloning, expression, purification and crystallization studies of a recombinant class c acid phosphatase from the category a pathogen bacillus anthracis are reported. large diffraction-quality crystals were grown in the presence of hepes and jeffamine ed-2001 at ph 7.0. the crystals belong to space group p2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 53.4, b = 90.1, c = 104.2 angstroms. the asymmetric unit is predicted to contain two protein molecules with a solvent content of 38%. two native data ... | 2006 | 16820700 |
| chemical or biological terrorist attacks: an analysis of the preparedness of hospitals for managing victims affected by chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction. | the possibility of a terrorist attack employing the use of chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction (wmd) on american soil is no longer an empty threat, it has become a reality. a wmd is defined as any weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction on such a massive scale that its very presence in the hands of hostile forces is a grievous threat. events of the past few years including the bombing of the world trade center in 1993, the murrah federal building in oklahoma city ... | 2006 | 16823078 |
| bacillus anthracis virulent plasmid px02 genes found in large plasmids of two other bacillus species. | in order to cause the disease anthrax, bacillus anthracis requires two plasmids, px01 and px02, which carry toxin and capsule genes, respectively, that are used as genetic targets in the laboratory detection of the bacterium. clinical, forensic, and environmental samples that test positive by pcr protocols established by the centers for disease control and prevention for b. anthracis are considered to be potentially b. anthracis until confirmed by culture and a secondary battery of tests. we rep ... | 2006 | 16825351 |
| synthesis of polyvalent inhibitors of controlled molecular weight: structure-activity relationship for inhibitors of anthrax toxin. | we describe a novel method to synthesize activated polymers of controlled molecular weight and apply this method to investigate the relationship between the structure and activity of polyvalent inhibitors of anthrax toxin. in particular, we observe an initial sharp increase in potency with increasing ligand density, followed by a plateau where potency is independent of ligand density. our simple strategy for designing polyvalent inhibitors of controlled molecular weight and ligand density will b ... | 2006 | 16827573 |
| cpg oligonucleotides accelerate and boost the immune response elicited by ava, the licensed anthrax vaccine. | synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (odn) containing unmethylated cpg motifs act as immune adjuvants, improving the immune response elicited by coadministered vaccines. combining cpg odn with anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava), the licensed human vaccine, can increase the speed, magnitude and avidity of the resultant anti-anthrax response in mice, rhesus macaques and humans. adsorbing the cpg odn onto cationic poly(actide-coglycolides) microparticles further boosts immunity to coadministered ava. the an ... | 2006 | 16827620 |
| multiple vaccine and pyridostigmine interactions: effects on eeg and sleep in the common marmoset. | following active service during the 1990/1991 gulf conflict, a number of uk and us veterans presented with a diverse range of symptoms, collectively known as gulf veterans' illnesses (gvi). the administration of vaccines and/or the pretreatment against possible nerve agent poisoning, pyridostigmine bromide (pb), given to armed forces personnel during the gulf conflict has been implicated as a possible factor in the aetiology of these illnesses. the possibility that long-term health effects may r ... | 2006 | 16828151 |
| quantitative analysis of the effect of cell type and cellular differentiation on protective antigen binding to human target cells. | we quantitatively measured protective antigen (pa) binding to human cells targeted by anthrax lethal toxin (lt). affinities were less than 50 nm for all cells, but differentiated cells (macrophages and neutrophils) had significantly increased pa binding and endothelial cells demonstrated the most binding. combined with the function of such cells, this suggests that pa receptors interact with the extracellular matrix and that differentiation increases the number of pa-specific receptors, which su ... | 2006 | 16828760 |
| multiagent vaccines vectored by venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon elicits immune responses to marburg virus and protection against anthrax and botulinum neurotoxin in mice. | the development of multiagent vaccines offers the advantage of eliciting protection against multiple diseases with minimal inoculations over a shorter time span. we report here the results of using formulations of individual venezuelan equine encephalitis (vee) virus replicon-vectored vaccines against a bacterial disease, anthrax; a viral disease, marburg fever; and against a toxin-mediated disease, botulism. the individual vee replicon particles (vrp) expressed mature 83-kda protective antigen ... | 2006 | 16828936 |
| nasal immunization with a dual antigen anthrax vaccine induced strong mucosal and systemic immune responses against toxins and bacilli. | anthrax-vaccine-adsorbed (ava), the only anthrax vaccine licensed in the u.s., suffers from many major drawbacks. therefore, there is a need to develop new generation anthrax vaccines that can be easily administered and induce strong immune responses not only against the anthrax toxins, but also against the toxin-producing vegetative anthrax bacilli. in the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of inducing strong mucosal and systemic immune responses against both anthrax toxins and bacilli ... | 2006 | 16828937 |
| [induction of bacillus anthracis hemolytic activity with the use of myxococcus xanthus]. | the development of a new method for the induction of the b. anthracis hemolytic activity with the use of m. xanthus and the differentiation of pure cultures of the causative agent of anthrax from those contaminated with myxobacteria is presented. to demonstrate the induction of the hemolytic acivity of b. anthracis with the use of m. xanthus, conditions for the symbiosis of b. anthracis cells sti, exhibiting no hemolytic activity, with m. xanthus non-hemolytic cells were created by mixing them a ... | 2006 | 16830581 |
| evaluation of the protective effects of quinacrine against bacillus anthracis ames. | bacillus anthracis has gained notoriety as a dangerous biological weapon because of its virulence and ability to produce highly resistant spores. in addition, the ability of this organism to produce plasmid-encoded edema toxin (edtx) and lethal toxin (letx) plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. in this study, the efficacy of quinacrine was evaluated against the effects of anthrax toxins in vitro and its ability to provide protection against challenge with b. anthracis ames strain ... | 2006 | 16840255 |
| brief report: recent progress in biodefense countermeasure development. | 2006 | 16841397 | |
| microwave-assisted tissue processing for same-day em-diagnosis of potential bioterrorism and clinical samples. | the purpose of this study was to explore the turnaround times, section and image quality of a number of more "difficult" specimens destined for rapid diagnostic electron microscopy (em) after microwave-assisted processing. the results were assessed and compared with those of conventionally processed samples. a variety of infectious agents, some with a potential for bioterrorism, and liver biopsies serving as an example for routine histopathology samples were studied. the samples represented viru ... | 2006 | 16843832 |
| neurologists and the threat of bioterrorism. | neurologists are most likely to become involved in primarily diagnosing those bioterrorist attacks utilising botulinum toxin. oral ingestion, or possibly inhalation, are likely routes of delivery. the characteristic descending paralysis starts in the extraocular and bulbar muscles, with associated autonomic features. repetitive nerve stimulation usually shows an incremental muscle response. treatment is supportive. the differential diagnosis is from naturally occurring paralysing illnesses such ... | 2006 | 16844143 |
| murine macrophage transcriptional and functional responses to bacillus anthracis edema toxin. | edema toxin (edtx), which is a combination of edema factor and a binding moiety (protective antigen), is produced by bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax. edtx is an adenylyl cyclase enzyme that converts adenosine triphosphate to adenosine-3',5'-monophosphate, resulting in interstitial edema seen in anthrax patients. we used genechip analysis to examine global transcriptional profiles of edtx-treated raw 264.7 murine macrophage-like cells and identified 71 and 259 genes whose exp ... | 2006 | 16846716 |
| antibacterial activity of the soy isoflavone genistein. | genistein, a radioprotective soy isoflavone and protein kinase inhibitor, blocks the invasion of pathogenic bacteria in mammalian epithelial cells. the purpose of this study was to evaluate the direct effect of genistein on the survival and growth of the probiotic lactobacillus reuteri and selected opportunistic bacteria in vitro as a prelude to in vivo use for managing postirradiation sepsis. we evaluated the opportunistic bacterial enteropathogens escherichia coli, shigella sonnei, and staphyl ... | 2006 | 16847837 |
| self-assembled "dock and lock" system for linking payloads to targeting proteins. | random conjugation of therapeutic or diagnostic payloads to targeting proteins generates functionally heterogeneous products. conjugation of payloads to an adapter that binds to a peptide tag engineered into a targeting protein provides an alternative strategy. to progress into clinical development, an adapter/docking tag system should include humanized components and be stable in circulation. we describe here an adapter/docking tag system based on mutated fragments of human rnase i that spontan ... | 2006 | 16848397 |
| training needs of pediatricians facing the environmental health and bioterrorism consequences of september 11th. | the september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been called "the worst environmental disaster in the history of new york city." as a result of the extensive nature of the destruction, our objective as pediatricians was to determine the experience and training needs of tri-state child health professionals in responding to the environmental health and bioterrorism-related demands placed on their practices. | 2006 | 17285216 |
| [development of a model for the diagnosis and risk classification on anthrax through artificial neural network]. | based on data through clinical and epidemiological studies, a model regarding the diagnosis and risk classification on anthrax was developed by artificial neural network (ann). the model could integrally diagnose anthrax cases, judge the risk tendency in time, and increase the ability of recognizing the anthrax accidents. | 2006 | 17343182 |
| deciphering the complexity of acute inflammation using mathematical models. | various stresses elicit an acute, complex inflammatory response, leading to healing but sometimes also to organ dysfunction and death. we constructed both equation-based models (ebm) and agent-based models (abm) of various degrees of granularity--which encompass the dynamics of relevant cells, cytokines, and the resulting global tissue dysfunction--in order to begin to unravel these inflammatory interactions. the ebms describe and predict various features of septic shock and trauma/hemorrhage (i ... | 2006 | 17337784 |
| new fda test detects fake bioterror agents. | some people have made phony terrorist threats involving bioterror agents such as anthrax (bacillus anthracis). but the agents really turn out to be harmless substances. these actions have resulted in considerable economic loss and social anxiety. in a bid to alleviate the problem, researchers at the food and drug administration's national center for toxicological research (nctr) are developing a quick, cost-effective way to distinguish fake materials from authentic bioterror agents. | 2006 | 17333564 |
| evaluating detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak. | timely detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak is critical for clinical and public health management. syndromic surveillance has received considerable investment, but little is known about how it will perform relative to routine clinical case finding for detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak. we conducted a simulation study to compare clinical case finding with syndromic surveillance for detection of an outbreak of inhalational anthrax. after simulated release of 1 kg of anthrax sp ... | 2006 | 17326949 |
| [improvement of a procedure for detection and identification of bacillus anthracis by means of dry nutrient media]. | 2006 | 17315676 | |
| [screening and real-time quantitative detection for genomic signatures of bacillus anthracis]. | a total amount of 117 candidate chromosomal sequences were screened for the genomic signatures of bacillus anthracis by a 2-step approach. out of them, 19 genomic signatures sequences were selected, among which, 6 genomic signatures were competent as the target sequence of taqman real-time pcr method. with the most significant alignment and specificity, fragment c04, together with paga gene and capb gene from virulence plasmids px01 and px02, was selected to establish a taqman real-time pcr assa ... | 2006 | 17302151 |
| bacillus anthracis: interactions with the host and establishment of inhalational anthrax. | due to its potential as a bioweapon, bacillus anthracis has received a great deal of attention in recent years, and a significant effort has been devoted to understanding how this organism causes anthrax. there has been a particular focus on the inhalational form of the disease, and studies over the past several years have painted an increasingly complex picture of how b. anthracis enters the mammalian host, survives the host's defense mechanisms, disseminates throughout the body and causes deat ... | 2006 | 17661631 |
| [molecular characterisation of the haemolytic isolates of bacillus anthracis originated in poland]. | bacillus anthracis is generally considered non-haemolytic, when cultured on the solid media. however, strains capable to lyse sheep erythrocytes have been reported. anthrolysin o, an orthologue of cereolysin was proposed as a putative haemolysin of b. anthracis. | 2006 | 17642311 |
| [valuation for usefulness of selected chromosomal markers for bacillus anthracis identification. i. valuation for markers sg-749, sg-450 and sg-300]. | the article presents results of valuation for b. anthracis-specificity and usefulness for its identification obtained for different chromosomal markers. in the first part of the study markers sg-749, sg-300 and sg-450 were analyzed. for the investigation rflp-pcr and msscp techniques were used and different electrophoresis methods were tested. the results gave an information not only about specificity of tested markers but also about the possibility of shorten time necessary to obtain results of ... | 2006 | 17642312 |
| [valuation for usefulness of selected chromosomal markers for bacillus anthracis identification. ii. valuation for markers ssh and rpob]. | the article presents results of valuation for b. anthracis-specificity and usefulness for its identification obtained for different chromosomal markers. in the second part of the study markers ssh241, ssh196, ssh163, ssh133 as well as a fragment of the house-keeping gene rpob were analyzed. for the investigation msscp and multiplex-pcr assays were used. there were also tested different techniques of electrophoresis. the results gave an information about specificity of tested markers and their us ... | 2006 | 17642313 |
| pediatric anthrax: implications for bioterrorism preparedness. | to systematically review the literature about children with anthrax to describe their clinical course, treatment responses, and the predictors of disease progression and mortality. | 2006 | 17764208 |
| nesting biology of four tetrapedia species in trap-nests (hymenoptera: apidae: tetrapediini). | the nests used in this study were obtained from trap-nests (tubes of cardboard and cut bamboo stems) placed on santa carlota farm (itaoca section-is, santana section-ss and cerrado-ce), cajuru, sp, brazil. the number of nests and corresponding species obtained were as follows: 516 nests of t. curvitarsis, 104 of t. rugulosa, 399 of t. diversipes and 98 of t. gamfaloi. the most abundant species from ss and ce was t. curvitarsis, and from is it was t. diversipes. in general, most nests were collec ... | 2005 | 17354430 |
| nanoparticle-mirror sandwich substrates for surface-enhanced raman scattering. | sandwich surface-enhanced raman scattering (sers) substrates (3s) utilizing coupling between continuous metal films and plasmonic particles were fabricated using silver mirrors, electrochemically roughened films, and various sizes of silver nanoparticles. the effect of excitation wavelength and nanoparticle size on sers spectra of poly(vinylpyridine), selected as a model compound, was studied to determine the optimum conditions for the strongest sers signal. the raman enhancement resulted from t ... | 2005 | 16853302 |
| [sporicidal activity of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid against bacillus anthracis spores]. | the aim of the presented study was determined the effectiveness of sporicidal activity the peracetic acid and the hydrogen peroxide against b. anthracis spores. in the investigations was used b. anthracis stain "sterne" 34f2. as inactivators were applied 0,5 % natriumthiosulphate and catalase. the obtained results show that the sporicidal effect of studied substances depends from their concentration and operates time. 5% water solution of peracetic acid shows the full sporicidal activity after o ... | 2005 | 16773838 |
| media, law, and the public's health. | 2005 | 16689163 | |
| investigation in a model system of the effects of combinations of anthrax and pertussis vaccines administered to service personnel in the 1991 gulf war. | the toxicity and immunogenicity of the anthrax and pertussis vaccine combinations used in the 1991 gulf war was assessed in nih, a/j and balb/c mice. inoculation of pertussis vaccines, vaccine combinations, or aluminium salt caused illness, splenomegaly and significant weight loss. although some animals recovered eventually, a lethal form of ascites developed in some nih mice and body weights of a/j and balb/c mice remained below normal levels. inoculation of anthrax vaccine produced little effe ... | 2005 | 17012879 |
| anthrax countermeasures: current status and future needs. | the u.s. government does not yet have the range of medical countermeasures needed to protect its citizens from anthrax and other potential bioweapons. in the event of an anthrax attack, treatment interventions in addition to antibiotics would be needed so that very ill patients can be treated and clean-up crews can be better protected, especially if an engineered strain is used. this article describes specific anthrax countermeasures that are in development, barriers to development, and potentia ... | 2005 | 16000041 |
| remediation of bacillus anthracis contamination in the u.s. department of justice mail facility. | the u.s. department of justice (doj) mail facility in landover, maryland, was contaminated with bacillus anthracis spores as a result of the 2001 anthrax bioterrorism attacks through the u.s. postal system. surface environmental sampling within the facility indicated that the contamination was due to receipt of mail that had come in contact with bacillus anthracis spores from the source letters at the brentwood postal facility in washington, dc. the doj adopted a two-pronged approach for remedia ... | 2005 | 16000043 |
| molecular diversity of bacillus anthracis in italy. | we used multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (mlva) to type 64 bacillus anthracis isolates from outbreaks that have occurred during the past 40 years in italy. mlva of the 64 isolates revealed 10 unique genotypes; 9 of these genotypes and the majority of isolates (63/64) belonged to the previously described genetic cluster a1.a. within the a1.a isolates, two previously described genotypes (g1 and g3), which differ by a single mutation in the px01 locus, account for the majority ... | 2005 | 16000465 |
| imaging and analysis of bacillus anthracis spore germination. | external and internal changes occurring during the process of germination of bacillus anthracis spores were observed through atomic force microscopy (afm) and transmission electron microscopy (tem), respectively. afm studies showed that in response to l-alanine (4 mm), as a germinant, the spore germinates into a vegetative cell in 3 hours. the temporal size changes occurring during the germination were gradual but the major change in size was observed between the second and third hour. tem of sp ... | 2005 | 16003786 |
| bacillus anthracis oedema toxin as a cause of tissue necrosis and cell type-specific cytotoxicity. | oedema factor (of) and protective antigen (pa) are secreted by bacillus anthracis, and their binary combination yields oedema toxin (ot). following pa-mediated delivery to the cytosol, of functions as an adenylate cyclase generating high levels of camp. to assess ot as a possible cause of tissue damage and cell death, a novel approach was developed, which utilized a developing zebrafish embryo model to study toxin activity. zebrafish embryos incubated with ot exhibited marked necrosis of the liv ... | 2005 | 16008581 |
| anthrax toxin receptor 2 mediates bacillus anthracis killing of macrophages following spore challenge. | initiation of inhalation anthrax is believed to involve phagocytosis of bacillus anthracis spores by alveolar macrophages, followed by spore germination within the phagolysosome. in order to establish a systemic infection, it is predicted that bacilli then escape from the macrophage and replicate extracellularly. mechanisms utilized by b. anthracis to escape from the macrophage are not well characterized, but a role for anthrax toxin has been proposed. here we report the isolation of an anthrax ... | 2005 | 16008584 |
| expression and secretion of the protective antigen of bacillus anthracis in bacillus brevis. | we used the bacillus brevis-pnu212 system to develop a mass production system for the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis. a moderately efficient expression-secretion system for pa was constructed by fusing the pa gene from b. anthracis with the b. brevis cell-wall protein signal-peptide encoding region of pnu212, and by introducing the recombinant plasmid, pnu212-mpa, into b. brevis 47-5q. the clone producing pa secreted about 300 microg of recombinant pa (rpa) per ml of 5py-erythromy ... | 2005 | 16009541 |
| minimum inhibitory concentrations of herbal essential oils and monolaurin for gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. | new, safe antimicrobial agents are needed to prevent and overcome severe bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. based on our previous experience and that of others, we postulated that herbal essential oils, such as those of origanum, and monolaurin offer such possibilities. we examined in vitro the cidal and/or static effects of oil of origanum, several other essential oils, and monolaurin on staphylococcus aureus, bacillus anthracis sterne, escherichia coli, klebsiella pneumoniae, helicobacte ... | 2005 | 16010969 |
| [expression and bioactive characterization of bacteriophage lysin gene of bacillus anthracis in escherichia coli]. | the lysin gene of bacillus anthracis-diagnosing bacteriophage, obtained by pcr amplification,was cloned into the escherichia coli exepression vector pet22b which has been cleaved by ecor i and nde i. the recombinant vector pet22b-gamma lysin was verified to be correctly constructed by pcr, sequencing and enzyme digestion, and highly expressed in e. coli bl21 (de3), which accounted for about 40 percent of total protein in e. coli bl21 (de3), while in the 5l fermentor the expression level reached ... | 2005 | 16013478 |
| forensic dentistry in a terrorist world. | while body identification by dental means has not changed substantially since 9/11, or even since the bombing of the murrah federal building in oklahoma city in 1995, the conditions and potential risks of a bioterrorism action to the dental personnel is new. the purpose of this article is to review general forensic dentistry disaster responses and to address the impact a bioterrorism action might have on primary, secondary and tertiary dental responders. it will also examine the triage role that ... | 2005 | 16013679 |
| chimeric influenza virus hemagglutinin proteins containing large domains of the bacillus anthracis protective antigen: protein characterization, incorporation into infectious influenza viruses, and antigenicity. | large polypeptides of the bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) were inserted into an influenza a virus hemagglutinin glycoprotein (ha), and the chimeric proteins were functionally characterized and incorporated into infectious influenza viruses. pa domain 1', the region responsible for binding to the other toxin components, the lethal factor and edema factor, and domain 4, the receptor binding domain (rbd), were inserted at the c-terminal flank of the ha signal peptide and incorporated int ... | 2005 | 16014960 |
| efficacy of non-toxic deletion mutants of protective antigen from bacillus anthracis. | current human anthrax vaccines available in the united states and europe consist of alum-precipitated supernatant material from cultures of a toxigenic, nonencapsulated strain of bacillus anthracis. the major component of human anthrax vaccine that confers protection is protective antigen (pa). a second-generation human vaccine using the recombinant pa (rpa) is being developed. in this study, to prevent the toxicity and the degradation of the native rpa by proteases, we constructed two pa varian ... | 2005 | 16019195 |
| addressing residual risk issues at anthrax cleanups: how clean is safe? | since the 2001 attacks in which bacillus anthracisspores were mailed to various media offices and two u.s. senators, considerable interest has focused on developing estimates of the risk of contracting inhalational anthrax from exposure to such spores. credible risk estimates would have significant utility in establishing future cleanup goals for contaminated sites. to perform a meaningful risk assessment, one needs sufficient data to identify the hazards, conduct dose-response assessment, and a ... | 2005 | 16020189 |
| anthrax at the hospital: the tip of the iceberg. | 2005 | 16021294 | |
| [multiplex amplification test system for the identification and differentiation of bacillus anthracis]. | the multiplex amplification test system for the identification of bacillus anthracis with primers to plasmid cya (px01), capc (px02) genes and chromosomal sap gene were developed. the primers to sap gene were selected by the authors and, after being tested on 72 microbial strains of the genus bacillus, proposed as more specific in comparison with the known primers to chromosomal locus ba 813. the proposed test system permitted the simultaneous identification of b. anthracis of all plasmid varian ... | 2005 | 16028518 |
| transformation of an edible crop with the paga gene of bacillus anthracis. | vaccination against anthrax is the most important strategy to combat the disease. this study describes a generation of edible transgenic crop expressing, functional protective antigen (pa). in vitro studies showed that the plant-expressed antigen is qualitatively similar to recombinant pa. immunization studies in mouse animal models indicated the generation of pa-specific neutralizing antibodies and stressed the need for improving expression levels to generate higher antibody titers. genetic eng ... | 2005 | 16030177 |
| transcriptional analysis of the bacillus anthracis capsule regulators. | the poly-d-glutamic acid capsule of bacillus anthracis is essential for virulence. control of capsule synthesis occurs at the level of transcription and involves positive regulation of the capsule biosynthetic operon capbcad by a co2/bicarbonate signal and three plasmid-borne regulators: atxa, acpa, and acpb. although the molecular mechanism for control of cap transcription is unknown, atxa affects cap expression via positive control of acpa and acpb, two genes with partial functional similarity ... | 2005 | 16030203 |
| contribution of exsfa and exsfb proteins to the localization of bcla on the spore surface and to the stability of the bacillus anthracis exosporium. | spores of bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, and the closely related species bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis, possess an exosporium, which is the outermost structure surrounding the mature spore. it consists of a paracrystalline basal layer and a hair-like outer layer. to date, the structural contribution of only one exosporium component, the collagen-like glycoprotein bcla, has been described. it is the structural component of the hair-like filaments. here, we desc ... | 2005 | 16030205 |
| orientation within the exosporium and structural stability of the collagen-like glycoprotein bcla of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis spores, which cause anthrax, are enclosed by an exosporium consisting of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the filaments of the nap are composed of bcla, a glycoprotein containing distinct n-terminal (ntd) and c-terminal (ctd) domains separated by an extended collagen-like central region. in this study, we used immunogold electron microscopy to show that the ctd of bcla forms the distal end of each filament of the hair-like nap, indicating that the ntd is attached t ... | 2005 | 16030225 |
| efficacious, nontoxigenic bacillus anthracis spore vaccines based on strains expressing mutant variants of lethal toxin components. | we reported previously on the development of a bacillus anthracis vaccine strain expressing high levels of recombinant protective antigen (rpa) [cohen et al., infec immun 2000;68(8):4549-58]. to further explore the potential of the b. anthracis platform, we generated several attenuated strains expressing lethal toxin components pa and lf, which are biologically inactive, yet retain their antigenic properties. a single injection of 5 x 10(7) spores of one of these strains, carrying pa mutation at ... | 2005 | 16039760 |
| inter-alpha-inhibitor proteins are endogenous furin inhibitors and provide protection against experimental anthrax intoxication. | inter-alpha-inhibitor protein (ialphaip) functions as an endogenous serine protease inhibitor in human plasma, and ialphaip levels diminish rapidly during acute inflammatory states. one potential target for ialphaip is furin, a cell-associated serine endopeptidase essential for the activation of protective antigen and the formation of anthrax lethal toxin (lt). ialphaip blocks furin activity in vitro and provides significant protection against cytotoxicity for murine peritoneal macrophages expos ... | 2005 | 16041026 |
| importance of srta and srtb for growth of bacillus anthracis in macrophages. | we examined the effect of mutation of two sortase genes of bacillus anthracis, srta and srtb, on the ability of the bacterium to grow in j774a.1 cells, a mouse macrophage-like cell line. while disruption of either srta or srtb had no effect on the ability of the bacteria to grow in rich culture media, mutations in each of these genes dramatically attenuated growth of the bacterium in j774a.1 cells. complementation of the mutation restored the ability of bacteria to grow in the cells. since the i ... | 2005 | 16041044 |
| conjugative plasmid paw63 brings new insights into the genesis of the bacillus anthracis virulence plasmid pxo2 and of the bacillus thuringiensis plasmid pbt9727. | bacillus cereus, bacillus anthracis and bacillus thuringiensis belong to the genetically close-knit bacillus cereus sensu lato group, a family of rod-shaped gram-positive bacteria. paw63 is the first conjugative plasmid from the b. cereus group to be completely sequenced. | 2005 | 16042811 |
| bacillus anthracis capd, belonging to the gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase family, is required for the covalent anchoring of capsule to peptidoglycan. | several examples of bacterial surface-structure anchoring have been described, but they do not include polyglutamate capsule. bacillus anthracis capsule, which is composed only of poly-gamma- d-glutamate, is one of the two major virulence factors of the bacterium. we analysed its anchoring. we report that the polyglutamate is anchored directly to the peptidoglycan and that the bond is covalent. we constructed a capd mutant strain, capd being the fourth gene of the capsule biosynthetic operon. th ... | 2005 | 16045616 |
| asymmetric hydrogenation of n-sulfonylated-alpha-dehydroamino acids: toward the synthesis of an anthrax lethal factor inhibitor. | a novel and highly enantioselective ru-catalyzed hydrogenation of n-sulfonylated-alpha-dehydroamino acids has been discovered and demonstrated in the synthesis of an anthrax lethal factor inhibitor (lfi). herein, this methodology is used to prepare n-sulfonylated amino acids in up to 98% ee. this unprecedented hydrogenation uses a chiral ru catalyst rather than rh as typical for acylated dehydroamino acids and esters, and this work reports the first asymmetric hydrogenation of a tetrasubstituted ... | 2005 | 16048303 |
| selection of a macaque fab with framework regions like those in humans, high affinity, and ability to neutralize the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis by binding to the segment of pa between residues 686 and 694. | human anthrax infection cannot always be treated successfully by antibiotics, as highlighted by recent bioterrorist attacks; thus, adjunct therapies are clearly needed for the future. there is a particular need to further develop adjunct therapies that can neutralize secreted toxins, such as antibodies directed towards the 83-kda protective antigen (pa(83)). in the absence of human donors, we immunized a macaque (macaca fascicularis) with pa(83) to obtain such antibodies suitable as an adjunct t ... | 2005 | 16048955 |
| microbiology. translocation of anthrax toxin: lord of the rings. | 2005 | 16051774 | |
| a phenylalanine clamp catalyzes protein translocation through the anthrax toxin pore. | the protective antigen component of anthrax toxin forms a homoheptameric pore in the endosomal membrane, creating a narrow passageway for the enzymatic components of the toxin to enter the cytosol. we found that, during conversion of the heptameric precursor to the pore, the seven phenylalanine-427 residues converged within the lumen, generating a radially symmetric heptad of solvent-exposed aromatic rings. this "phi-clamp" structure was required for protein translocation and comprised the major ... | 2005 | 16051798 |
| real-time pcr assay for the detection of tanapox virus and yaba-like disease virus. | the yatapoxvirus genus contains three members: tanapox virus (tpv), yaba-like disease virus (yldv) and yaba monkey tumor virus (ymtv), two of which (tpv and yldv) may infect humans. however, only a very small number of patients have been diagnosed with tpv outside africa. given the increased international travel and the similarity of clinical signs during the early stages of a tpv/yldv infection as compared to diseases caused by agents of potential biological warfare, such as smallpox, monkeypox ... | 2005 | 16054706 |
| phylogenetic analysis of pasteuria penetrans by use of multiple genetic loci. | pasteuria penetrans is a gram-positive, endospore-forming eubacterium that apparently is a member of the bacillus-clostridium clade. it is an obligate parasite of root knot nematodes (meloidogyne spp.) and preferentially grows on the developing ovaries, inhibiting reproduction. root knot nematodes are devastating root pests of economically important crop plants and are difficult to control. consequently, p. penetrans has long been recognized as a potential biocontrol agent for root knot nematode ... | 2005 | 16077116 |
| comparison of the bacterial enhancin-like proteins from yersinia and bacillus spp. with a baculovirus enhancin. | enhancins are a class of metalloproteases found in some baculoviruses that enhance viral infection by degrading the peritrophic membrane (pm) of the insect midgut. however, sequencing has revealed enhancin-like genes with 24-25% homology to viral enhancins, in the genomes of yersinia pestis and bacillus anthracis. acmnpv does not encode enhancin therefore recombinant acmnpv budded viruses (bvs) and polyhedra inclusion bodies (pibs) were generated expressing the bacterial enhancins. bacterial enh ... | 2005 | 16081094 |
| concerns of capitol hill staff workers after bioterrorism: focus group discussions of authorities' response. | systematic studies of mental health effects of bioterrorism on exposed populations have not been carried out. exploratory focus groups were conducted with an exposed population to provide qualitative data and inform empirical research. five focus groups of 28 political worker volunteers were conducted 3 months after the october 15, 2001, anthrax attack on capitol hill. more than 2000 transcribed focus group passages were categorized using qualitative software. the category with the most items wa ... | 2005 | 16082296 |
| gateways to clinical trials. | gateways to clinical trials is a guide to the most recent clinical trials in current literature and congresses. the data in the following tables have been retrieved from the clinical trials knowledge area of prous science integrity, the drug discovery and development portal, http://integrity.prous.com. this issue focuses on the following selection of drugs: 3-ap, adalimumab, adefovir dipivoxil, aerodose albuterol inhaler, agalsidase alfa, alemtuzumab, aminolevulinic acid methyl ester, anidulafun ... | 2005 | 16082427 |
| molecular characterization of korean bacillus anthracis isolates by amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis and multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis. | we analyzed the genetic relationships and molecular characteristics of 34 bacillus anthracis isolates from soil and clinical samples in various regions of korea and 17 related bacillus species, using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp) and multilocus variable-number tandem repeat (mlva) approaches. triplicate aflp profiles of these strains showed high reproducibility and identified 376 polymorphisms. aflp phylogenetic analysis of b. anthracis isolates showed a high level of similar ... | 2005 | 16085861 |
| [efficient killing of anthrax spores using aqueous and alcoholic peracetic acid solutions]. | we analysed the sporicidal effect of different concentrations of aqueous and alcoholic peracetic acid (paa) solutions on anthrax spores in suspension and germ carrier tests. in activation of anthrax spores in suspension assays was achieved in less than 2 min using 1% paa solution and in less than 3 min using 0.5% paa solution, respectively. in contrast, in germ carrier as says, a test under practical conditions, spores on 38% of the germ carriers survived treatment with 1% paa solution for 15 mi ... | 2005 | 16086206 |
| anthrax biosensor, protective antigen ion channel asymmetric blockade. | the significant threat posed by biological agents (e.g. anthrax, tetanus, botulinum, and diphtheria toxins) (inglesby, t. v., o'toole, t., henderson, d. a., bartlett, j. g., ascher, m. s., eitzen, e., friedlander, a. m., gerberding, j., hauer, j., hughes, j., mcdade, j., osterholm, m. t., parker, g., perl, t. m., russell, p. k., and tonat, k. (2002) j. am. med. assoc. 287, 2236-2252) requires innovative technologies and approaches to understand the mechanisms of toxin action and to develop bette ... | 2005 | 16087661 |
| anthrax lethal toxin paralyzes neutrophil actin-based motility. | bacillus anthracis causes high-level bacteremia, strongly suggesting paralysis of the innate immune system. we have examined the effects of anthrax lethal toxin (lt) on human neutrophil chemotaxis, a process that requires actin filament assembly. polymorphonuclear neutrophils (pmns) treated with a sublethal concentration of lt (50 ng/ml) for 2 h demonstrated insignificant apoptosis or necrosis. however, this same concentration slowed human pmn formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (fmlp)-stimulated ... | 2005 | 16088833 |
| functional antibody immobilization on 3-dimensional polymeric surfaces generated by reactive ion etching. | reactive ion etching (rie) was used to pattern antibodies onto the surfaces of polymer substrates. a low pressure, inductively coupled oxygen plasma was used to anisotropically etch 25-30 mum deep features into poly(methyl methacrylate) (pmma), zeonex, and polycarbonate (pc). scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements show that the resulting surfaces exhibit significant microroughness and enhanced hydrophilicity. fourier transform infrared spectroscopy suggests that, in addition ... | 2005 | 16089360 |
| analysis of epidermal entry in experimental cutaneous bacillus anthracis infections in mice. | cutaneous infection is the most common form of human anthrax, but little is known of bacillus anthracis-epidermal interactions. to study the latter, we used experimental inoculations of b. anthracis sterne spores onto mouse flank skin. in dba/2 mice (a sensitive strain) 10(7) spores injected intradermally or applied under occlusive dressings to abraded skin produced ipsilateral inguinal edema and rapid death. epicutaneous application to shaved-only skin produced edema and death in most animals, ... | 2005 | 16099239 |
| anthrax edema factor potency depends on mode of cell entry. | anthrax edema factor (ef) is a highly active calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase toxin that can potently raise intracellular camp levels causing a broad range of tissue damage. ef needs anthrax protective antigen (pa) to enter into the host cell and together they form edema toxin. here, we examine factors that are critical for edema toxin cell entry and potency. in y1, 293t and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells, ef causes cell rounding, aggregation, and sometimes detachment via protein kinase a ... | 2005 | 16099427 |
| comparative genome analysis of bacillus cereus group genomes with bacillus subtilis. | genome features of the bacillus cereus group genomes (representative strains of bacillus cereus, bacillus anthracis and bacillus thuringiensis sub spp. israelensis) were analyzed and compared with the bacillus subtilis genome. a core set of 1381 protein families among the four bacillus genomes, with an additional set of 933 families common to the b. cereus group, was identified. differences in signal transduction pathways, membrane transporters, cell surface structures, cell wall, and s-layer pr ... | 2005 | 16099605 |
| dna assays for detection, identification, and individualization of select agent microorganisms. | the purpose of this article is to review the status of dna assays used for the detection, identification, and individualization of bacillus anthracis, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis, burkholderia mallei, and brucella abortus. these select agent microorganisms are historically significant as they have either been used or experimented with as a bioweapon or as a terrorist agent and are the subject of intense research in the areas of biodefense and bioforensics. if the presence of a biolog ... | 2005 | 16100754 |
| staphylococcus aureus sortase transpeptidase srta: insight into the kinetic mechanism and evidence for a reverse protonation catalytic mechanism. | the staphylococcus aureus transpeptidase srta catalyzes the covalent attachment of lpxtg-containing virulence and colonization-associated proteins to cell-wall peptidoglycan in gram-positive bacteria. recent structural characterizations of staphylococcal srta, and related transpeptidases srtb from s. aureus and bacillus anthracis, provide many details regarding the active site environment, yet raise questions with regard to the nature of catalysis and active site cysteine thiol activation. here ... | 2005 | 16101303 |
| structure and lytic activity of a bacillus anthracis prophage endolysin. | we report a structural and functional analysis of the lambda prophage ba02 endolysin (plyl) encoded by the bacillus anthracis genome. we show that plyl comprises two autonomously folded domains, an n-terminal catalytic domain and a c-terminal cell wall-binding domain. we determined the crystal structure of the catalytic domain; its three-dimensional fold is related to that of the cell wall amidase, t7 lysozyme, and contains a conserved zinc coordination site and other components of the catalytic ... | 2005 | 16103125 |
| terrorism and the pregnant woman. | pregnant women and their infants are vulnerable, during and following a terrorist event. the threat poses a dual challenge: assessment and treatment of the trauma patient, and assessment and treatment of the pregnant woman. some injuries in the pregnant woman are obvious; some injuries may not be easily observable. obtaining an obstetric history coupled with careful nursing assessments ensure prompt and appropriate emergency treatment. obstetricians, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners ... | 2005 | 16106230 |
| a soluble receptor decoy protects rats against anthrax lethal toxin challenge. | successful postexposure treatment for inhalation anthrax is thought to include neutralization of anthrax toxin. the soluble anthrax toxin receptor/tumor endothelial marker 8 and capillary morphogenesis protein 2 (satr/tem8 and scmg2, respectively) receptor decoys bind to anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) and compete with cellular receptors for binding. here, we show that, in a tissue-culture model of intoxication, scmg2 is a 11.4-fold more potent antitoxin than satr/tem8 and that this increa ... | 2005 | 16107958 |
| bacillus anthracis, a story of nature subverted by man. | bacillus anthracis is a pathogen of animals which rarely infects humans. its use as a bioweapon has stimulated efforts to develop genetic typing methods and therapeutics to respond to an attack. of particular concern is the transfer of virulence genes from b. anthracis to other closely related strains of bacillus. | 2005 | 16108911 |
| characterization of the exosporium basal layer protein bxpb of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis spores, the cause of anthrax, are enclosed by a prominent loose-fitting structure called the exosporium. the exosporium is composed of a basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the filaments of the hair-like nap are apparently formed by a single collagen-like glycoprotein called bcla, whereas several different proteins form or are tightly associated with the basal layer. in this study, we used immunogold electron microscopy to demonstrate that bxpb (also called exsf) is a c ... | 2005 | 16109927 |
| particulate delivery systems for biodefense subunit vaccines. | expanding identification of potentially protective subunit antigens and correlates of protection has provided a basis for the introduction of safer vaccines. despite encouraging results in animal models, the significant potential of particulate delivery systems in vaccine design has not yet translated into effective vaccines available for use in humans. this review article will focus on the current status of the development of particulate vaccines, mainly liposomes and bio-degradable polymers, a ... | 2005 | 15935873 |
| molecular basis for improved anthrax vaccines. | the current vaccine for anthrax has been licensed since 1970 and was developed based on the outcome of human trials conducted in the 1950s. this vaccine, known as anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava), consists of a culture filtrate from an attenuated strain of bacillus anthracis adsorbed to aluminum salts as an adjuvant. this vaccine is considered safe and effective, but is difficult to produce and is associated with complaints about reactogenicity among users of the vaccine. much of the work in the p ... | 2005 | 15935874 |
| commensal bacteria as a novel delivery system for subunit vaccines directed against agents of bioterrorism. | following the anthrax attacks of 2001 and the recent sars outbreak, concerns about emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases have catalyzed a renewed interest in developing new vaccination strategies that provide rapid and flexible response options to future threats. because the probability of encountering one of these exotic agents is unknown, it is essential that new vaccine formulations employ methods that provide effective protection and extremely good safety profiles if they are to be us ... | 2005 | 15935879 |
| a phase 1 study of pamab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against bacillus anthracis protective antigen, in healthy volunteers. | inhibition of the binding of bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa) to its cellular receptor can abrogate the downstream toxin-mediated deleterious effects of the anthrax toxin. a fully human monoclonal antibody against b. anthracis pa, pamab, was previously shown to provide a survival advantage in rabbit and monkey models of inhalational anthrax. | 2005 | 15937757 |