Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| respiratory tract infection caused by bacteria (non-mycobacterium) and their antibiogram in hiv-positive patients. | abstract. this study was undertaken from 1995-2000 to investigate the cause of respiratory tract infection among 481 patients with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) at siriraj hospital, bangkok, thailand. the positive rate of bacterial pathogens was 38.46%. pseudomonas aeruginosa appeared to be the most common pathogen (32.97%), followed by staphylococcus aureus (18.92%), klebsiella pneumoniae (10.81 %), haemophilus influenzae (7.57%), and acinetobacter baumannii (5.95%). p. aeruginosa was sens ... | 2005 | 16124443 |
| thrombosis and thrombophilebitis of the internal jugular vein as a very rare complication of the ventriculoatrial shunt. | a 21-year-old man presented with a sausage shaped mass lesion, located in the right anterolateral region of the neck. he had been operated on for hydrocephalus and thoraco-lumbar myelomeningocele at the age of 10 days and 2 months, respectively. although he was asymptomatic at the age of 10 years, ventriculoatrial (va) shunt was considered non-functional. doppler ultrasound showed thrombosis of the right internal jugular vein. cervical magnetic resonance imaging displayed thrombosis and thrombop ... | 2005 | 15708232 |
| bacteria induce expression of apoptosis in human spermatozoa. | an increased number of sperm undergoing apoptosis has been observed during inflammatory processes in the male genital tract, which might be associated with elevated reactive oxygen species (ros) levels. however, another factor to stimulate apoptosis could be the direct contact with bacteria or its products, even in the absence of ros. the aim of this study was to investigate whether bacteria can directly initiate apoptosis in human spermatozoa. human spermatozoa selected by density gradient cent ... | 2005 | 15711926 |
| enterotoxins and toxic shock syndrome toxin in staphylococcus aureus recovered from human nasal carriers and manually handled foods: epidemiological and genetic findings. | a set of 269 staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from nasal carriers and manually handled foods in a region of spain was analyzed for pyrogenic toxin production and toxin genes. fifty-seven isolates producing at least one of four enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec, sed), 10 isolates producing only toxic shock syndrome toxin (tsst-1), and 10 isolates producing both toxin types were found. the 77 toxigenic isolates were discriminated into 36 smai genomic and 13 ecori plasmid profiles. a strong relat ... | 2005 | 15715991 |
| sphingosine kinase 1 (sk1) is recruited to nascent phagosomes in human macrophages: inhibition of sk1 translocation by mycobacterium tuberculosis. | mycobacterium tuberculosis (m.tb) is a leading cause of global infectious mortality. the pathogenesis of tuberculosis involves inhibition of phagosome maturation, leading to survival of m.tb within human macrophages. a key determinant is m.tb-induced inhibition of macrophage sphingosine kinase (sk) activity, which normally induces ca2+ signaling and phagosome maturation. our objective was to determine the spatial localization of sk during phagocytosis and its inhibition by m.tb. stimulation of s ... | 2005 | 15749892 |
| augmentation of the bactericidal activities of human cathelicidin cap18/ll-37-derived antimicrobial peptides by amino acid substitutions. | mammalian myeloid and epithelial cells express various peptide antibiotics (such as defensins and cathelicidins) that contribute to the innate host defense against invading micro-organisms. among these, human cathelicidin cap18/ll-37 (l1-s37) possesses potent antibacterial activities against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. in this study, to develop peptide derivatives with improved bactericidal actions, we utilized the amphipathic 18-mer peptide (k15-v32) of ll-37 as a template, and ev ... | 2005 | 15750713 |
| specific inhibitory action of anisodamine against a staphylococcal superantigenic toxin, toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tsst-1), leading to down-regulation of cytokine production and blocking of tsst-1 toxicity in mice. | toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tsst-1), produced by staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant s. aureus), is a superantigenic toxin responsible for toxic shock syndrome as well as neonatal tss-like exanthematous disease. tsst-1 exhibits its deleterious effects by leading to the abnormal proliferation of, e.g., vbeta2+ t cells and overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines. in the present study we examined the inhibitory effect of a chinese herbal extract, anisodamine, on tsst-1 usin ... | 2005 | 15753253 |
| high efficiency transduction of dendritic cells by adenoviral vectors targeted to dc-sign. | dendritic cells (dcs) are a central element in the development of antigen-specific immune responses. the lack of a specific and efficient technique for the in vivo delivery of antigens to dcs remains a major obstacle limiting a vaccine's ability to induce an effective immune response. the efficacy of adenoviral (ad) vectors in this regard can be enhanced through alterations in vector tropism such that dc-targeted transduction is achieved. here, the efficiency of dc transduction by ad vectors ret ... | 2005 | 15753654 |
| methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in horses and horse personnel, 2000-2002. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) infection was identified in 2 horses treated at a veterinary hospital in 2000, prompting a study of colonization rates of horses and associated persons. seventy-nine horses and 27 persons colonized or infected with mrsa were identified from october 2000 to november 2002; most isolations occurred in a 3-month period in 2002. twenty-seven (34%) of the equine isolates were from the veterinary hospital, while 41 (51%) were from 1 thoroughbred farm i ... | 2005 | 15757559 |
| chlorine covers on living bacteria: the initial step in antimicrobial action of active chlorine compounds. | although active chlorine compounds are well-known antimicrobial agents in human medicine, their initial steps of action have not been completely clarified. using n-chlorotaurine (nct), an endogenous mild representative, we observed persisting oxidation capacity affixed to bacteria. it was the aim of this study to investigate this 'chlorine cover'. | 2005 | 15761074 |
| superantigen genes encoded by the egc cluster and sapibov are predominant among staphylococcus aureus isolates from cows, goats, sheep, rabbits and poultry. | in recent years several new staphylococcal enterotoxins (ses) have been described, which currently have largely unknown frequencies of occurrence and roles in human or animal disease. one hundred and ninety-one staphylococcus aureus isolates from cows (99), goats (39), sheep (23), rabbits (15), chickens (15) and a cat (1) were screened for se genes sea-see, seg-seo and seq and for the tst gene encoding staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 using multiplex pcrs and individual pcrs for the s ... | 2005 | 15770028 |
| mixture of honey, beeswax and olive oil inhibits growth of staphylococcus aureus and candida albicans. | honey, beeswax and olive oil mixture (1:1:1, v/v) is useful in the treatment of diaper dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema. the study was designed to investigate effects of honey, olive oil, and beeswax and the mixture on growth of staphylococcus aureus and candida albicans isolated from human specimens. | 2005 | 15777988 |
| molecular characterization of a saposin-like protein family member isolated from bovine lymphocytes. | human and porcine t lymphocytes and natural killer (nk) cells produce antibacterial proteins that belong to the saposin-like family of proteins (saplip). the objective of this study was to determine if a bovine homolog of saplip exists in lymphocytes that exhibit antibacterial activity. following stimulation with il-2, bactericidal activity against staphylococcus aureus was detected to some extent in most major subpopulations of t lymphocytes including cd4+, cd8+, cd3+, and wc1+ gammadelta t lym ... | 2005 | 15778306 |
| role of srap, a serine-rich surface protein of staphylococcus aureus, in binding to human platelets. | the binding of bacteria to platelets is a postulated central event in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis. platelet binding by streptococcus gordonii is mediated in large part by gspb, a high-molecular-mass cell wall glycoprotein. although staphylococcus aureus has a gspb homolog (srap), little is known about its function. srap has a calculated molecular mass of 227 kda and, like gspb, is predicted to contain an atypical n-terminal signal sequence, two serine-rich repeat regions (srr1 and ... | 2005 | 15784571 |
| synthesis and evaluation of the antibacterial and antitubercular activity of some n1-aral-n4-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)thiosemicarbazones and their copper(i) complexes. | new n1-aral-n4- (3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)thiosemicarbazones (2a-h) and their cu(i) complexes (3a-h) have been prepared and characterized by elemental analysis and spectral methods (ir and 1h-nmr). thiosemicarbazones 2a-h bind to copper(i) as bidentate ligand via nitrogen and thione sulphur centers to afford 3a-h. both ligands and their complexes are screened against escherichia coli (national collection of type culture 10418) and staphylococcus aureus (national collection of type culture 5571) t ... | 2005 | 15787278 |
| anti-opsonic properties of staphylokinase. | recently we described a novel bacteriophage-encoded pathogenicity island in staphylococcus aureus that harbors a number of virulence factors that are all involved in the evasion of innate immunity. here we describe a mechanism by which staphylokinase (sak), frequently present on this pathogenicity island, interferes with innate immune defenses: sak is anti-opsonic. by activating human plasminogen (plg) into plasmin (pl) at the bacterial surface, it creates bacterium-bound serine protease activit ... | 2005 | 15792635 |
| effect of albumin on the photodynamic inactivation of microorganisms by a cationic porphyrin. | photodynamic inactivation (pdi) employs visible light and a photosensitizer to inactivate cells. the technique is currently clinically used for the treatment of several malignancies. however, the pdi of microorganisms still remains in the research phase. | 2005 | 15792879 |
| glycerol monolaurate inhibits virulence factor production in bacillus anthracis. | anthrax, caused by bacillus anthracis, has been brought to the public's attention because of the 2001 bioterrorism attacks. however, anthrax is a disease that poses agricultural threats in the united states as well as human populations in europe, china, africa, and australia. glycerol monolaurate (gml) is a compound that has been shown to inhibit exotoxin production by staphylococcus aureus and other gram-positive bacteria. here, we study the effects of gml on growth and toxin production in b. a ... | 2005 | 15793101 |
| photodynamic effects of novel xf porphyrin derivatives on prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. | the worldwide rise in the rates of antibiotic resistance of bacteria underlines the need for alternative antibacterial agents. a promising approach to the killing of gram-positive antibiotic-resistant bacteria of the skin uses light in combination with a photosensitizer to induce a phototoxic reaction. different concentrations (0 to 100 microm) of porphyrin-based photosensitizers (ctp1, xf70, and xf73) and different incubation times (5 min, 1 h, and 4 h) were used to determine phototoxicity agai ... | 2005 | 15793136 |
| cefdinir: an oral alternative to parenteral cephems. | cost savings are possible if oral cephems of equivalent efficacy can be substituted for parenteral cephems. an in vitro study was performed to compare the activity of cefdinir, cefoxitin, cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefepime against 243 clinical isolates of human pathogens. activities were determined by national committee for clinical laboratory standards microbroth dilution methodology using an inoculum of approximately 5 x 10(5) cfu/ml. cefdinir was the single or equally most pote ... | 2005 | 15808317 |
| ccl1-ccr8 interactions: an axis mediating the recruitment of t cells and langerhans-type dendritic cells to sites of atopic skin inflammation. | atopic dermatitis represents a chronically relapsing skin disease with a steadily increasing prevalence of 10-20% in children. skin-infiltrating t cells, dendritic cells (dc), and mast cells are thought to play a crucial role in its pathogenesis. we report that the expression of the cc chemokine ccl1 (i-309) is significantly and selectively up-regulated in atopic dermatitis in comparison to psoriasis, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, or normal skin. ccl1 serum levels of atopic dermatitis patients ... | 2005 | 15814739 |
| reducing the risk of health care-associated infections by complying with cdc hand hygiene guidelines. | the joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organizations has made the reduction of health care-associated infections one of its national patient safety goals for 2005. | 2005 | 15828601 |
| epidemiology and microbiology of subclinical mastitis among hiv-infected women in malawi. | the epidemiology and microbiology of subclinical mastitis, a risk factor for perinatal hiv transmission, have not been well characterized. in all, 250 hiv-infected women were followed from two weeks to 12 months postpartum in blantyre, malawi, and subclinical mastitis was assessed by breast milk leukocyte counts. the point prevalence of subclinical mastitis at 2, 4, 6, 10, and 14 weeks, and 6, 9, and 12 months was 12.2%, 7.8%, 6.8%, 3.7%, 10.6%, 5.1%, 4.9%, and 1.9%, respectively (p = 0.002), an ... | 2005 | 15829023 |
| lack of wall teichoic acids in staphylococcus aureus leads to reduced interactions with endothelial cells and to attenuated virulence in a rabbit model of endocarditis. | wall teichoic acids (wtas) are major surface components of gram-positive bacteria that have recently been shown to play a key role in nasal colonization by staphylococcus aureus. in the present study, we assessed the impact that wtas have on endovascular infections by using a wta-deficient s. aureus mutant ( delta tago). there were no significant differences detected between the isogenic parental strain (sa113) and the delta tago mutant in polymorphonuclear leukocyte-mediated opsonophagocytosis; ... | 2005 | 15838806 |
| blastomycosis-like pyoderma: successful treatment with low-dose acitretin. | blastomycosis-like pyoderma typically presents as verrucous plaque(s) with a purulent discharge through multiple sinuses. two patients with blastomycosis-like pyoderma developing on significantly sun-damaged skin are presented: an 84-year-old man with multiple painful nodules and plaques, and a 92-year-old woman with a solitary plaque on the left calf. histopathology showed pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia with dermal foci of suppuration. staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a biopsy specime ... | 2005 | 15842403 |
| induction of nod1 and nod2 intracellular pattern recognition receptors in murine osteoblasts following bacterial challenge. | osteoblasts produce an array of immune molecules following bacterial challenge that could recruit leukocytes to sites of infection and promote inflammation during bone diseases, such as osteomyelitis. recent studies from our laboratory have shed light on the mechanisms by which this cell type can perceive and respond to bacteria by demonstrating the functional expression of members of the toll-like family of cell surface pattern recognition receptors by osteoblasts. however, we have shown that b ... | 2005 | 15845503 |
| primerselect: a transcriptome-wide oligonucleotide primer pair design program for kinetic rt-pcr-based transcript profiling. | we describe primerselect, a program capable of transcriptome-wide design of primer pairs for optimal performance in kinetic reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr). for the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae, primerselect designs primer pairs for 86% of genomic open reading frames (orfs) using design criteria we previously established to be optimal for kinetic rt-pcr (krt-pcr)-based transcript quantitation. primer pairs designed by primerselect for 230 yeast orfs were evaluated for ... | 2005 | 15865983 |
| methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus: an emerging pathogen in small animals. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) is an important nosocomial pathogen in humans and is increasingly implicated in community-associated infections in people. in household pets, mrsa infections are uncommon but are on the rise, possibly because of the increased prevalence of human mrsa in the community. clinical mrsa infections in some animals can be life threatening and difficult to treat; however, other animals may develop mild disease or only become colonized. veterinarians sho ... | 2005 | 15870248 |
| staphylococcal skin infections in children: rational drug therapy recommendations. | staphylococcus aureus remains one of the most common and troublesome of bacteria causing disease in humans, despite the development of effective antibacterials and improvement in hygiene. the organism is responsible for over 70% of all skin and soft tissue infections in children and accounts for up to one-fifth of all visits to pediatric clinics. skin and soft tissue infections that are predominantly caused by s. aureus include bullous and non-bullous impetigo, folliculitis, furunculosis, carbun ... | 2005 | 15871629 |
| role of lipoteichoic acid in the phagocyte response to group b streptococcus. | group b streptococcus (gbs) cell walls potently activate phagocytes by a largely tlr2-independent mechanism. in contrast, the cell wall component lipoteichoic acid (lta) from diverse gram-positive bacterial species has been shown to engage tlr2. in this study we examined the role of lta from gbs in phagocyte activation and the requirements for tlr-lta interaction. using cells from knockout mice and genetic complementation in epithelial cells we found that highly pure lta from both gbs and staphy ... | 2005 | 15879147 |
| staphylococcus aureus siderophore-mediated iron-acquisition system plays a dominant and essential role in the utilization of transferrin-bound iron. | staphylococcus aureus is known to be capable of utilizing transferrin-bound iron, via both siderophore- and transferrin-binding protein (named isda)-mediated iron-acquisition systems. this study was designed in order to determine which iron-acquisition system plays the essential or dominant role with respect to the acquisition of iron from human transferrin, in the growth of s. aureus. holotransferrin (ht) and partially iron-saturated transferrin (pt), but not apotransferrin (at), were found to ... | 2005 | 15880095 |
| infective dermatitis associated with the human t cell lymphotropic virus type i in salvador, bahia, brazil. | infective dermatitis associated with human t cell lymphotropic virus type i (htlv-i) infection is a chronic, relapsing eczema of childhood. | 2005 | 15889351 |
| a national survey of severe influenza-associated complications among children and adults, 2003-2004. | this report summarizes findings of a national survey conducted among infectious diseases consultants to assess complications associated with influenza during the 2003-2004 influenza season. the survey identified severe complications, including secondary infection with staphylococcus aureus and deaths among children and adults, as well as perceived shortages in rapid diagnostic tests and influenza vaccine. | 2005 | 15889371 |
| clonal comparison of staphylococcus aureus isolates from healthy pig farmers, human controls, and pigs. | pig farming is a risk factor for increased nasal staphylococcus aureus colonization. using sequence typing and phylogenetic comparisons, we showed that overcolonization of farmers was caused by a few bacterial strains that were not present in nonfarmers but often caused swine infections. this finding suggests a high rate of strain exchange between pigs and farmers. | 2005 | 15890125 |
| retropharyngeal abscess due to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in a case of acute myeloid leukemia. | we describe a case of acute myeloid leukemia (aml) complicated with retropharyngeal abscess (rpa) due to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) in a 56-year-old man. after administration of vancomycin and lavage of the retropharyngeal space with gentamicin, complete resolution of the rpa was observed. despite their lower frequency, deep neck infections are associated with high mortality rates. the possibility of rpa should be considered in patients who present with fever, dysphagia a ... | 2005 | 15897650 |
| comprehensive analysis of classical and newly described staphylococcal superantigenic toxin genes in staphylococcus aureus isolates. | we describe a comprehensive detection system for 18 kinds of classical and newly described staphylococcal superantigenic toxin genes using four sets of multiplex pcr. superantigenic toxin genotyping of staphylococcus aureus for 69 food poisoning isolates and 97 healthy human nasal swab isolates revealed 32 superantigenic toxin genotypes and showed that many s. aureus isolates harbored multiple toxin genes. analysis of the relationship between toxin genotypes and toxin genes encoding profiles of ... | 2005 | 15899405 |
| staphylococcus aureus strains that express serotype 5 or serotype 8 capsular polysaccharides differ in virulence. | most isolates of staphylococcus aureus produce a serotype 5 (cp5) or 8 (cp8) capsular polysaccharide. to investigate whether cp5 and cp8 differ in their biological properties, we created isogenic mutants of s. aureus reynolds that expressed cp5, cp8, or no capsule. biochemical analyses of cp5 and cp8 purified from the isogenic s. aureus strains were consistent with published structures. the degree of o acetylation of each polysaccharide was similar, but cp5 showed a greater degree of n acetylati ... | 2005 | 15908379 |
| genome comparison without alignment using shortest unique substrings. | sequence comparison by alignment is a fundamental tool of molecular biology. in this paper we show how a number of sequence comparison tasks, including the detection of unique genomic regions, can be accomplished efficiently without an alignment step. our procedure for nucleotide sequence comparison is based on shortest unique substrings. these are substrings which occur only once within the sequence or set of sequences analysed and which cannot be further reduced in length without losing the pr ... | 2005 | 15910684 |
| the risk of patient cross-contamination from venturi-principle atomizers. | otolaryngology clinicians care for numerous immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients with transmissible bacterial, viral and fungal infections, including serious pathogens, such as methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa), tuberculosis (tb), and human immunodeficiency virus (hiv). in addition, otolaryngology clinicians commonly use a device to deliver topical anesthetics and decongestants to the nose and throat with a known potential to cross-contaminate patients, the air-driven d ... | 2005 | 15916354 |
| effects of acyl versus aminoacyl conjugation on the properties of antimicrobial peptides. | to investigate the importance of increased hydrophobicity at the amino end of antimicrobial peptides, a dermaseptin derivative was used as a template for a systematic acylation study. through a gradual increase of the acyl moiety chain length, hydrophobicity was monitored and further modulated by acyl conversion to aminoacyl. the chain lengths of the acyl derivatives correlated with a gradual increase in the peptide's global hydrophobicity and stabilization of its helical structure. the effect o ... | 2005 | 15917541 |
| [multiclonality of methicilin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in a university hospital]. | the methicillin resistance of staphylococcus aureus mrsa is a major problem for human infections. the authors present a genotypic study of these bacteria to understand the spreading of these strains in a university hospital. | 2005 | 15922531 |
| recognizing the pseudogenes in bacterial genomes. | pseudogenes are now known to be a regular feature of bacterial genomes and are found in particularly high numbers within the genomes of recently emerged bacterial pathogens. as most pseudogenes are recognized by sequence alignments, we use newly available genomic sequences to identify the pseudogenes in 11 genomes from 4 bacterial genera, each of which contains at least 1 human pathogen. the numbers of pseudogenes range from 27 in staphylococcus aureus mw2 to 337 in yersinia pestis co92 (e.g. 1- ... | 2005 | 15933207 |
| fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping of human and animal staphylococcus aureus isolates from dairy farms with manual milking. | fluorescence amplified fragment length polymorphism (faflp) was used to assess the genetic relatedness of 40 staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from human and animal skin samples in seven dairy farms with manual milking. s. aureus was isolated from 11 out of 30 (36%) human skin samples and from 29 out of 100 (29%) teat skin samples from apparently healthy cows. genomic dna from each isolate was double-digested with ecori and msei and complementary oligonucleotide adaptors were ligated to the ... | 2005 | 15951141 |
| coating of a surface with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (mpc) co-polymer significantly reduces retention of human pathogenic microorganisms. | the present study compares the retention of four species that are often isolated in association with biomedical device-related infections - staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus mutans, pseudomonas aeruginosa, and candida albicans - to three different surfaces. all four bacterial species were found to bind significantly less well to mpc-coated surfaces than to non-coated surfaces. we attribute this effect to the "superhydrophilicity" of mpc-coated surfaces, whereas hydrophobic surfaces are well k ... | 2005 | 15953697 |
| human peptidoglycan recognition protein s is an effector of neutrophil-mediated innate immunity. | innate immune responses to bacteria require cooperative interactions between host recognition molecules and phagocytes. the peptidoglycan recognition proteins (pgrps) are a large group of proteins found in insects and mammals that bind to bacterial peptidoglycan (pgn). pgrp-s is located with other antimicrobial proteins, such as lysozyme, in the granules of human neutrophils. whereas both pgrp-s and lysozyme recognize pgn, the exact binding specificity of human pgrp-s, its functional activity, a ... | 2005 | 15956276 |
| dual effects of extracellular adherence protein from staphylococcus aureus on peripheral blood mononuclear cells. | extracellular adherence protein (eap) has been suggested as an important virulence factor of staphylococcus aureus because it enhances bacterial adherence and internalization into eukaryotic cells, interference with t cells, and neutrophil adherence to endothelial cells. we demonstrate that eap has dual effects on peripheral blood mononuclear cells, depending on its concentration. at low concentrations (up to 9 microg/ml), eap induces a proliferative response; at higher concentrations, it causes ... | 2005 | 15962215 |
| global spread of vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecium from distinct nosocomial genetic complex. | vancomycin-resistant enterococci (vre) have caused hospital outbreaks worldwide, and the vancomycin-resistance gene (vana) has crossed genus boundaries to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. spread of vre, therefore, represents an immediate threat for patient care and creates a reservoir of mobile resistance genes for other, more virulent pathogens. evolutionary genetics, population structure, and geographic distribution of 411 vre and vancomycin-susceptible enterococcus faecium isolate ... | 2005 | 15963275 |
| host- and tissue-specific pathogenic traits of staphylococcus aureus. | comparative genomics were used to assess genetic differences between staphylococcus aureus strains derived from infected animals versus colonized or infected humans. a total of 77 veterinary isolates were genetically characterized by high-throughput amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp). bacterial genotypes were introduced in a large aflp database containing similar information for 1,056 human s. aureus strains. all s. aureus strains isolated from animals in close contact with humans (e. ... | 2005 | 15968069 |
| new sesquiterpenes from sonchus transcaspicus. | four new eudesmanolides were isolated from the whole plant of sonchus transcaspicus and their structures were elucidated by means of spectroscopic methods, including 2d-nmr (1h-1h cosy, hmqc, hmbc and noesy) and noeds (noe difference spectra) as 1beta-o-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-5alpha,6beta h-eudesma-3-en-12,6alpha-olide (1), 1beta-o-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-15-o-( p-hydroxyphenylacetyl)-5alpha,6beta h-eudesma-3,11(13)-dien-12,6alpha-olide (2), 1beta-o-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(6'-o-p-hydroxyphenyl aceta ... | 2005 | 15971126 |
| short-course gentamicin in combination with daptomycin or vancomycin against staphylococcus aureus in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model with simulated endocardial vegetations. | the ability to maximize bactericidal activity while minimizing toxicity is a therapeutic goal in the treatment of infective endocarditis. we evaluated the impact of administering short-course regimens of gentamicin in combination with daptomycin or vancomycin against one methicillin-susceptible (mssa 1199) and one methicillin-resistant (mrsa 494) staphylococcus aureus isolate using an in vitro pharmacodynamic model with simulated endocardial vegetations over 96 h. human therapeutic dosing regime ... | 2005 | 15980344 |
| antimicrobial and chemoattractant activity, lipopolysaccharide neutralization, cytotoxicity, and inhibition by serum of analogs of human cathelicidin ll-37. | antimicrobial peptides have been evaluated in vitro and in vivo as alternatives to conventional antibiotics. apart from being antimicrobial, the native human cathelicidin-derived peptide ll-37 (amino acids [aa] 104 to 140 of the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide) also binds and neutralizes bacterial lipopolysaccharide (lps) and might therefore have beneficial effects in the treatment of septic shock. however, clinical trials have been hampered by indications of toxic effects of ll-37 on m ... | 2005 | 15980359 |
| crystal structure and substrate specificity of the beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase iii (fabh) from staphylococcus aureus. | beta-ketoacyl-acp synthase iii (fabh), an essential enzyme for bacterial viability, catalyzes the initiation of fatty acid elongation by condensing malonyl-acp with acetyl-coa. we have determined the crystal structure of fabh from staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive human pathogen, to 2 a resolution. although the overall structure of s. aureus fabh is similar to that of escherichia coli fabh, the primer binding pocket in s. aureus fabh is significantly larger than that present in e. coli fabh ... | 2005 | 15987898 |
| cutaneous community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection in participants of athletic activities. | cutaneous community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (camrsa) has been identified in otherwise healthy individuals either with or without methicillin-resistant s. aureus (mrsa)-associated risk factors who participate in athletic activities. the purpose of this study was to describe the clinical features of camrsa skin infection that occurred in university student athletes, evaluate the potential mechanisms for the transmission of mrsa infection of the skin in participants of ... | 2005 | 16004165 |
| multiple virulence factors are required for staphylococcus aureus-induced apoptosis in endothelial cells. | staphylococcus aureus infections can result in sepsis and septic shock associated with vascular damage and multiple organ failure. apoptosis appears to play a key role during sepsis, and the ability of s. aureus to induce apoptosis in endothelial cells might contribute to metastatic infection. in contrast to leukocytes, in human umbilical vein endothelial cells and two endothelial cell lines neither purified alpha-toxin nor staphylococcal supernatants were sufficient to induce apoptosis. apoptos ... | 2005 | 16008576 |
| post-viral influenza streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia in an intravenous drug abuser. | viral influenza is a seasonal cause of community-acquired pneumonia (cap). viral influenza may be caused by influenza a or b and affect any age group. viral influenza a is usually more severe than influenza b in adults. viral influenza may present as 3 clinical scenarios: viral influenza alone, viral influenza followed in 1 to 3 days by staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, or viral influenza followed in 1 to 3 weeks by pneumonia caused by streptococcus pneumoniae or haemophilus influenzae. intraveno ... | 2005 | 16015228 |
| staphylococcus aureus isdg and isdi, heme-degrading enzymes with structural similarity to monooxygenases. | heme-degrading enzymes are involved in human diseases ranging from stroke, cancer, and multiple sclerosis to infectious diseases such as malaria, diphtheria, and meningitis. all mammalian and microbial enzymes identified to date are members of the heme oxygenase superfamily and assume similar monomeric structures with an all alpha-helical fold. here we describe the crystal structures of isdg and isdi, two heme-degrading enzymes from staphylococcus aureus. the structures of both enzymes resemble ... | 2005 | 15520015 |
| expression and secretion of cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides in murine mammary glands and human milk. | mammalian milk possesses inherent antimicrobial properties that have been attributed to several diverse molecules. recently, antimicrobial peptides that belong to the cathelicidin gene family have been found to be important to the mammalian immune response. this antimicrobial is expressed in several tissues and increased in neonatal skin, possibly to compensate for an immature adaptive immune response. we hypothesized that the mammary gland could produce and secrete cathelicidin onto the epithel ... | 2005 | 15531744 |
| residues 10-18 within the c5a receptor n terminus compose a binding domain for chemotaxis inhibitory protein of staphylococcus aureus. | chemotaxis inhibitory protein of staphylococcus aureus (chips) is excreted by the majority of s. aureus strains and is a potent inhibitor of c5a- and formylated peptide-mediated chemotaxis of neutrophils and monocytes. recently, we reported that chips binds to the c5a receptor (c5ar) and the formylated peptide receptor, thereby blocking activation by c5a and formylated peptides, respectively. the anaphylatoxin c5a plays an important role in host immunity and pathological inflammatory processes. ... | 2005 | 15542591 |
| epidemiology of capsular and surface polysaccharide in staphylococcus aureus infections complicated by bacteraemia. | staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of serious hospital- and community-acquired infections. the discovery of serologically distinct capsular polysaccharides on the surface of clinical isolates has allowed the development of vaccines and passive protective immunity. we have studied patient characteristics, infection characteristics and the surface and capsular polysaccharide serotype distribution in patients with s. aureus infections complicated by bacteraemia admitted to va hospitals in mar ... | 2005 | 15571850 |
| endovascular stent-grafting for infected iliac artery pseudoaneurysms. | we report two cases of acutely infected pseudoaneurysms of the iliac arteries, successfully treated with endovascular stent-grafting. two patients underwent stent-graft treatment for erosive rupture of the iliac artery caused by surrounding infection. the first case is that of a 61-year-old man who had undergone miles' operation for an advanced rectal cancer. postoperatively, he developed intrapelvic abscess formation, from which methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus was cultured, followed ... | 2005 | 15602635 |
| de novo generation of cationic antimicrobial peptides: influence of length and tryptophan substitution on antimicrobial activity. | comparison of human immunodeficiency virus lentiviral lytic peptide 1 with other host-derived peptides indicates that antimicrobial properties of membrane-active peptides are markedly influenced by their cationic, hydrophobic, and amphipathic properties. many common themes, such as arg composition of the cationic face of an amphipathic helix and the importance of maintaining the hydrophobic face, have been deduced from these observations. these studies suggest that a peptide with these structura ... | 2005 | 15616311 |
| clinical isolates of staphylococcus aureus vary in ability to stimulate cytokine expression in human endothelial cells. | human umbilical vein endothelial cells (huvec) were infected for 24 h with 18 well-characterized staphylococcus aureus isolates, and the supernatants from infected huvec were analysed for interleukin (il)-1beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, il-6, il-8, il-10, il-12p70, growth-related oncogene (gro)-alpha, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (gm-csf) and regulated upon activation, normal t cell expressed and secreted (rantes) by immunoassay. all staphylococcal isolates induced the e ... | 2005 | 15644123 |
| deficiency of the mannan-binding lectin pathway of complement and poor outcome in cystic fibrosis: bacterial colonization may be decisive for a relationship. | in cystic fibrosis (cf) prognosis concerning lung damage development is highly variable and difficult to predict. mannan-binding lectin (mbl) deficiency has been reported to be associated with poor outcome in cf lung disease. mbl is a recognition molecule of the mbl pathway of the complement system and is encoded by a gene characterized by a high degree of polymorphism. some genotypes result in low serum concentrations of mbl. mbl-associated serine protease 2 (masp-2) is another protein belongin ... | 2005 | 15654829 |
| hematogenous infection of the human temporomandibular joint. | objective this study was designed to discover the relationship between bacteremia and the presence of specific bacterial species in the synovial fluid of the human temporomandibular joint (tmj). study design sixteen volunteers (female to male, 1:2.2; average age, 30.00 +/- 9.93 years) who received operations via intraoral incision participated in this study. samples from the blood and tmj synovial fluid of the patients were taken preoperatively and postoperatively and analyzed by pcr assays with ... | 2005 | 15660076 |
| effect of capsulation of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria on binding of the pattern recognition molecules mannan-binding lectin, l-ficolin, and h-ficolin. | mannan-binding lectin (mbl), l-ficolin, and h-ficolin are pattern recognition molecules of the innate immune system. we investigated their ability to bind to different serotypes and noncapsulated variants of two gram-positive bacterial species, streptococcus pneumoniae and staphylococcus aureus. mbl did not bind to capsulated s. aureus or capsulated s. pneumoniae but did bind to a noncapsulated s. aureus variant (wood). l-ficolin bound to some capsulated s. aureus serotypes (serotypes 1, 8, 9, 1 ... | 2005 | 15664949 |
| plant models for animal pathogenesis. | several bacteria that are pathogenic to animals also infect plants. mechanistic studies have proven that some human/animal pathogenic bacteria employ a similar subset of virulence determinants to elicit disease in animals, invertebrates and plants. therefore, the results of plant infection studies are relevant to animal pathogenesis. this discovery has resulted in the development of convenient, cost-effective, and reliable plant infection models to study the molecular basis of infection by anima ... | 2005 | 15679835 |
| the cd19 molecule is crucial for mid-dependent activation of tonsillar b cells from children. | the moraxella immunoglobulin (ig) d-binding protein (mid) induces a strong proliferative response in human peripheral blood igd+ b cells from adults isolated by positive selection using anti-cd19-conjugated microbeads. here, we show that tonsillar b cells from children isolated with positive selection are unable to respond to mid stimulation. the proliferative response was very low or absent at various concentrations of mid tested and at different time points analysed, whereas the mid response o ... | 2005 | 15683453 |
| serotype-specific modulation of human monocyte functions by glycopeptidolipid (gpl) isolated from mycobacterium avium complex. | immunomodulating activity of glycopeptidolipids (gpl), separated from different serovars of mycobacterium avium complex (mac), on macrophage functions was compared. when peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc), from healthy donors showing strongly positive reactions to mycobacterial purified protein derivatives (ppd), were incubated with heat-killed staphylococcus aureus coated with gpl serovar 4, phagocytosis of monocytes increased in dose-dependent manner. however, coating with gpl serovar 9 ... | 2005 | 15684494 |
| molecular characterization of the transmission between the colonization of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus to human and environmental contamination in geriatric long-term care wards. | transmission between human and environmental contamination from colonized methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) remains a controversial issue. we, therefore, investigated the differences between mrsa types which colonize in humans and in the environment. | 2005 | 15704661 |
| contribution of immunocompetence to the antibacterial activities of ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model. | traditional in vitro models used to simulate human pharmacokinetics and to characterize the pharmacodynamics of antibacterial agents represent a totally immunosuppressed condition. however, host defense mechanisms contribute to the elimination of the pathogen from the infectious site in most of the patients suffering from infectious diseases. therefore, the attempt was made to introduce immunocompetence into an in vitro pharmacodynamic model. immunocompetence was added either by using j774 macro ... | 2005 | 16518711 |
| antimicrobial susceptibility of environmental staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from a pigeon slaughterhouse in italy. | no information is available concerning the antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcus aureus isolated from pigeon slaughterhouses. in the present study, 59 staphylococcal strains isolated from a pigeon slaughterhouse in central italy were compared according to their antibiotic resistance. on the basis of cultural and biochemical properties, all isolates could be identified as s. aureus. the strains were checked for the productions of enterotoxins a, b, c, d by reversed passive latex agglutin ... | 2005 | 16463981 |
| influenza: incidence, symptoms and treatment. | influenza is a common respiratory condition that has a history of developing into epidemics and pandemics. individuals at risk of influenza and related complications include older people, young children and individuals with chronic renal, cardiac and respiratory diseases. influenza can begin suddenly and is accompanied by fever, chills, aches, pains, headaches, fatigue, cough and generalized weakness that can last up to 14 days. complications of influenza include secondary bacterial pneumonia, p ... | 2005 | 16509437 |
| [evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of immune sera]. | the inhibiting activity of blood sera obtained from 20 volunteers immunized with the multi-component vaccine "pyopol", 25 nonimmune donors and 7 lots of human antistaphylococcal immunoglobulin with respect to staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, proteus vulgaris and pseudomonas aeruginosa has been studied in the liquid nutrient medium with the use an automated microbiological analyzer. the sera of donors immunized with the vaccine "pyopol" have been found to possess high antimicrobial activi ... | 2005 | 16438372 |
| use of antimicrobial agents for upper respiratory tract infections in taiwanese children. | upper respiratory tract infections (urtis) are mostly caused by viruses. antibiotic misuse for viral urtis in children is a serious problem that not only results in selection of resistant strains of bacteria but also wastes millions of dollars each year in taiwan. antibiotic resistance among common respiratory bacterial pathogens such as streptococcus pneumoniae, haemophilus influenzae, staphylococcus aureus, and moraxella catarrhalis has become a major issue for public health. the common cold, ... | 2005 | 16422181 |
| [case of congestive heart failure associated with hypereosinophilia developed during antibiotics treatment]. | a 92-year-old man with a history of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis received antibiotics for sepsis by methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant enterococcus gallinarum. during the antibiotics treatment, skin eruptions, liver dysfunction, and hypereosinophilia developed, followed by dyspnea, congestive heart failure, electrocardiographic abnormalities, and diffuse mild myocardial hypokinesis. after the discontinuation of the antibiotics and the administration of ... | 2005 | 16407668 |
| successful surgical treatment of a mycotic right coronary artery aneurysm complicated by a fistula to the right atrium. | we reported successful surgical treatment of a mycotic right coronary artery aneurysm complicated by a fistula to the right atrium in a 60-year-old man admitted to hospital because of acute worsening of renal function and erythroderma. after admission, he suffered from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus septicemia. despite administration of vancomycin hydrochloride, a low-grade fever persisted. subacute cardiac tamponade occurred three months after admission, and acute inferior wall myo ... | 2005 | 16408475 |
| transmission of community-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus from breast milk in the neonatal intensive care unit. | methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) has become increasingly common in neonatal intensive care units and can lead to severe outcomes. baby c, of a set of quadruplets, died of mrsa sepsis. the surviving siblings were colonized with mrsa. expressed breast milk was fed to all infants; tested breast milk samples were all mrsa-positive. pulsed field gel electrophoresis results of isolates from the infants and breast milk were indistinguishable. | 2005 | 16371885 |
| pyogenic spondylitis presenting with skip lesions. | we report on a 65-year-old man who presented with a 1-month history of aggravating backache and low-grade fever. he suddenly became paraplegic (frankel b). muscle power was grade 0 approximately 1 over the bilateral lower limbs. x-ray films showed disc space narrowing and end-plate blurring at the t9 approximately t11 and l4 approximately l5 levels. magnetic resonance imaging showed an infectious lesion at t9 approximately t11 and another at l4 approximately l5. an emergent operation was perform ... | 2005 | 16323557 |
| fatal ascending aorta-to-right ventricle fistula formation after staphylococcus aureus endocarditis of bicuspid aortic valve. | we present a case of a 46-year-old man with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and congenitally bicuspid aortic valve endocarditis caused by methicillin- and gentamicin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. endocarditis led to root abscess formation, a complete heart block, and fistulous tract formation between the ascending aorta and the right ventricle. although perivalvular abscess is not an unusual complication of native valve endocarditis, a fatal fistulous communication between the asc ... | 2005 | 16324963 |
| [chronic tuberculous methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) empyema with bronchopleural fistulae treated by open window thoracostomy followed by thoracoplasty and latissimus dorsi muscle transposition]. | we describe a case of chronic tuberculous methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) empyema with bronchopleural fistulae successfully treated by open window thoracostomy followed by thoracoplasty and transposition of the latissimus dorsi muscle. a 69-year old man with a history of artificial pneumothorax for pulmonary tuberculosis was referred to our hospital with fever and purulent bloody sputum. he was diagnosed as having right chronic tuberculous empyema with bronchopleural fistulae. ... | 2005 | 16359009 |
| wbn/kob-ht rats spontaneously develop dermatitis under conventional conditions: another possible model for atopic dermatitis. | wbn/kob-ht rats (ht-rats) raised under conventional conditions spontaneously developed dermatitis. in this study, we carried out histopathological analysis to elucidate the pathological features of the dermatitis in ht-rats. we then tried to detect staphylococcus species recovered from the skin lesions of ht-rats. we also measured the serum levels of total ige, il-4 and ifn-gamma in these rats. the histopathological data indicated that inflammatory cells had infiltrated the skin lesions. staphyl ... | 2005 | 16365525 |
| ability of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 to participate in bacterial translocation across the intestinal epithelial barrier. | although hundreds of microbial species reside in the human intestinal tract, comparatively few (e.g., escherichia coli and other enterobacteria, enterococcus faecalis, etc.) are typically associated with systemic infection in postsurgical, shock, and trauma patients. syndecan-1 is the predominant cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan expressed on epithelia, and there is substantial evidence that heparan sulfate participates in interactions of a variety of frankly pathogenic microbes with mam ... | 2005 | 16317389 |
| purification of enterocytozoon bieneusi from stools and production of specific antibodies. | enterocytozoon bieneusi is clinically the most significant of the microsporidia in humans, causing chronic diarrhea wasting and cholangitis in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection and aids. little progress on this infection has been made because of the inability to propagate e. bieneusi in vitro and in vivo, which limits the source of parasite spores to the stools of infected human patients. given the size and shape of the e. bieneusi spores (1.1 to 1.6 by 0.7 to 1.0 microm) a ... | 2005 | 15634999 |
| differential activity of a lectin from solieria filiformis against human pathogenic bacteria. | a lectin isolated from the red alga solieria filiformis was evaluated for its effect on the growth of 8 gram-negative and 3 gram-positive bacteria cultivated in liquid medium (three independent experiments/bacterium). the lectin (500 microg/ml) stimulated the growth of the gram-positive species bacillus cereus and inhibited the growth of the gram-negative species serratia marcescens, salmonella typhi, klebsiella pneumoniae, enterobacter aerogenes, proteus sp, and pseudomonas aeruginosa at 1000 m ... | 2005 | 16302091 |
| the role of nasal carriage in staphylococcus aureus infections. | staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of infections in both the community and hospital. worldwide, the increasing resistance of this pathogen to various antibiotics complicates treatment of s aureus infections. effective measures to prevent s aureus infections are therefore urgently needed. it has been shown that nasal carriers of s aureus have an increased risk of acquiring an infection with this pathogen. the nose is the main ecological niche where s aureus resides in human beings, but the ... | 2005 | 16310147 |
| in vivo comparative pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of moxifloxacin and levofloxacin in human neutrophils. | most of the newer fluoroquinolones are active against bacteria such as streptococcus pneumoniae and staphylococcus aureus, which are able to multiply inside polymorphonuclear leukocytes (pmns). the aim of this study was to determine moxifloxacin and levofloxacin intracellular behaviour with their usual dosage regimen. | 2005 | 17532709 |
| enhancement of antimicrobial effects by glucocorticoids. | in the past few years a body of evidence has accumulated showing that stimulation of human astrocytes and microvascular endothelial cells with ifn-gamma induces a potent antibacterial and anti-parasitic effect. we have found that the ifn-gamma-mediated activation of the tryptophan-degrading enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (ido) is, at least in part, responsible for this antimicrobial activity. glucocorticoids are frequently used in inflammatory central nervous system diseases to reduce the in ... | 2005 | 14624357 |
| the biocompatibility of crosslinkable copolymer coatings containing sulfobetaines and phosphobetaines. | the comparison of copolymers containing sulfobetaine or phosphobetaine moieties for use as potential biocompatible coatings has been investigated. two statistical copolymers were produced by a free radical polymerisation technique, one based on a sulfobetaine and the other on a phosphobetaine, both with a silyl group component to allow thermal crosslinking after coating. pmma and glass discs were dip-coated with the polymers and their properties were compared to the uncoated controls. bacterial ... | 2004 | 14643593 |
| enzymatic and molecular characteristics of the efficiency and specificity of exfoliative toxin cleavage of desmoglein 1. | exfoliative toxins (ets) from staphylococcus aureus blister the superficial epidermis by hydrolyzing a single peptide bond, glu381-gly382, located between extracellular domains 3 and 4 of desmoglein 1 (dsg1). enzyme activity is dependent on the calcium-stabilized structure of dsg1. here we further define the characteristics of this cleavage. kinetic studies monitoring the cleavage of dsg1 by eta, etb, and etd demonstrated kcat/km values of 2-6 x 10(4) m(-1) s(-1), suggesting very efficient prote ... | 2004 | 14630910 |
| cell entry and antimicrobial properties of eukaryotic cell-penetrating peptides. | antimicrobial drug action is limited by both microbial and host cell membranes. microbes stringently exclude the entry of most drugs, and mammalian membranes limit drug distribution and access to intracellular pathogens. recently, cell-penetrating peptides (cpps) have been developed as carriers to improve mammalian cell uptake. given that cpps are cationic and often amphipathic, similar to membrane active antimicrobial peptides, it may be possible to use cpp activity to improve drug delivery to ... | 2004 | 14656995 |
| role of siderophore biosynthesis in virulence of staphylococcus aureus: identification and characterization of genes involved in production of a siderophore. | molecular determinants underlying the production of siderophores in the human and animal pathogen staphylococcus aureus and the contribution of siderophore production to the virulence of this bacterium have, until now, remained undefined. here, we show that s. aureus strains rn6390 and newman produce siderophore when the cells are starved for iron. we further identified and characterized a nine-gene, iron-regulated operon, designated sbn and situated between sirabc and gale on the s. aureus chro ... | 2004 | 14688077 |
| human corneal stromal tissue concentration after consecutive doses of topically applied 3.3% vancomycin. | to evaluate vancomycin penetration into human corneal stromal tissue in patients treated with topical vancomycin eyedrops before penetrating keratoplasty (pkp). | 2004 | 14693765 |
| nadph oxidase is not required for spontaneous and staphylococcus aureus-induced apoptosis of monocytes. | reactive oxygen intermediates (roi) generated in the respiratory burst reaction are crucial for the killing of bacteria and fungi in phagocytes. the key enzyme for the respiratory burst reaction is the nadph oxidase. reactive oxygen intermediates have additionally been proposed to be of general importance for the expression of fas and soluble fas ligand (sfasl) and the subsequent induction of apoptosis. this conclusion has been drawn from the observation that neutrophils with an inborn lack of t ... | 2004 | 14730390 |
| mechanisms for impaired effector function in alveolar macrophages from marijuana and cocaine smokers. | lung macrophages provide a first line of host defense against inhaled pathogens and their function is impaired in the lungs of inhaled substance abusers. in order to investigate the mechanism for this impairment, alveolar macrophages (am) were recovered from nonsmokers (ns), regular tobacco smokers (ts), marijuana smokers (ms), or crack cocaine smokers (cs), and evaluated for their production of nitric oxide (no) and the role of no as an antimicrobial effector molecule. am from ns and ts efficie ... | 2004 | 14741433 |
| role of teichoic acids in staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization, a major risk factor in nosocomial infections. | colonization of the anterior nares in approximately 37% of the population is a major risk factor for severe staphylococcus aureus infections. here we show that wall teichoic acid (wta), a surface-exposed staphylococcal polymer, is essential for nasal colonization and mediates interaction with human nasal epithelial cells. wta-deficient mutants were impaired in their adherence to nasal cells, and were completely unable to colonize cotton rat nares. this study describes the first essential factor ... | 2004 | 14758355 |
| differences in potency of intravenous polyspecific immunoglobulin g against streptococcal and staphylococcal superantigens: implications for therapy of toxic shock syndrome. | administration of intravenous polyspecific immunoglobulin g (ivig) has been proposed as adjunctive therapy for toxic shock syndrome caused by streptococcus pyogenes or staphylococcus aureus. we investigated whether superantigen-containing culture supernatants prepared from streptococcal isolates (n=21) and staphylococcal isolates (n=20) from cases of severe sepsis were inhibited to an equal extent by ivig in proliferation experiments that used human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. all 3 ivig ... | 2004 | 14999628 |
| [antistaphylococcal activity of the complex of natural cytokines]. | the in vitro study of the action of the complex of natural cytokines (cnc), or preparation superlymph, on different microbial test strains (staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, yeast-like fungi of the genus candida) was carried out. cnc suppressed the growth of s. aureus test culture, depending on the concentration of the preparation. the inhibiting effect was observed in the presence of ca and mg bivalent cations in the medium. under the chosen conditions of the experiment cnc did not inhib ... | 2004 | 15024983 |
| effects of the macrolide antibiotic, midecamycin, on staphylococcus aureus product-induced th2 cytokine response in patients with atopic dermatitis. | in the present study, the effects of the macrolide antibiotic, midecamycin (mdm), on the th2 cytokine response induced by the staphylococcus aureus products, staphylococcal enterotoxin b (seb), lipoteichoic acid (lta), and peptidoglycan (peg), was investigated in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) from patients with atopic dermatitis (ad). mdm inhibited seb-induced mrna expression of the th2 cytokines interleukin-4 (il-4) and il-5 in pbmcs from patients with ad. furthermore, mdm al ... | 2004 | 15035853 |
| inhibitory effects of caesalpinia sappan on growth and invasion of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. | in the present study, we investigated antimicrobial activity of caesalpinia sappan against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) and effect of caesalpinia sappan extract on the invasion of mrsa to human mucosal fibroblasts (hmfs). chloroform, n-butanol, methanol, and aqueous extracts of the caesalpinia sappan showed antimicrobial activity against standard methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus (mssa) as well as mrsa. methanol extract of caesalpinia sappan d ... | 2004 | 15036473 |
| potent and selective inhibitors of bacterial methionyl trna synthetase derived from an oxazolone-dipeptide scaffold. | the preparation and structure-activity relationships (sars) of potent and selective small molecule inhibitors of bacterial methionyl-trna synthetase (metrs) derived from an oxazolone-dipeptide scaffold are described. examples combine staphylococcus aureus metrs (sametrs) potency with selectivity over human metrs. as a result of the sar expansion compound 14a was identified, as a potent sametrs inhibitor (ic(50)=18 nm) having moderate inhibition of metrs derived from enterococci faecalis (ic(50)= ... | 2004 | 15050625 |