| porphyromonas gingivalis periodontal infection and its putative links with alzheimer's disease. | periodontal disease (pd) and alzheimer's disease (ad) are inflammatory conditions affecting the global adult population. in the pathogenesis of pd, subgingival complex bacterial biofilm induces inflammation that leads to connective tissue degradation and alveolar bone resorption around the teeth. in health, junctional epithelium seals the gingiva to the tooth enamel, thus preventing bacteria from entering the gingivae. chronic pd involves major pathogens (porphyromonas gingivalis, treponema dent ... | 2015 | 26063967 |
| intracellular concentrations of borrelia burgdorferi cyclic di-amp are not changed by altered expression of the cdaa synthase. | the second messenger nucleotide cyclic diadenylate monophosphate (c-di-amp) has been identified in several species of gram positive bacteria and chlamydia trachomatis. this molecule has been associated with bacterial cell division, cell wall biosynthesis and phosphate metabolism, and with induction of type i interferon responses by host cells. we demonstrate that b. burgdorferi produces a c-di-amp synthase, which we designated cdaa. both cdaa and c-di-amp levels are very low in cultured b. burgd ... | 2015 | 25906393 |
| exploring the association between morgellons disease and lyme disease: identification of borrelia burgdorferi in morgellons disease patients. | morgellons disease (md) is a complex skin disorder characterized by ulcerating lesions that have protruding or embedded filaments. many clinicians refer to this condition as delusional parasitosis or delusional infestation and consider the filaments to be introduced textile fibers. in contrast, recent studies indicate that md is a true somatic illness associated with tickborne infection, that the filaments are keratin and collagen in composition and that they result from proliferation and activa ... | 2015 | 25879673 |
| current and past strategies for bacterial culture in clinical microbiology. | a pure bacterial culture remains essential for the study of its virulence, its antibiotic susceptibility, and its genome sequence in order to facilitate the understanding and treatment of caused diseases. the first culture conditions empirically varied incubation time, nutrients, atmosphere, and temperature; culture was then gradually abandoned in favor of molecular methods. the rebirth of culture in clinical microbiology was prompted by microbiologists specializing in intracellular bacteria. th ... | 2015 | 25567228 |
| a novel approach to probe host-pathogen interactions of bovine digital dermatitis, a model of a complex polymicrobial infection. | polymicrobial infections represent a great challenge for the clarification of disease etiology and the development of comprehensive diagnostic or therapeutic tools, particularly for fastidious and difficult-to-cultivate bacteria. using bovine digital dermatitis (dd) as a disease model, we introduce a novel strategy to study the pathogenesis of complex infections. | 2016 | 27908274 |
| lyme disease spirochaete borrelia burgdorferi does not require thiamin. | thiamin pyrophosphate (thdp), the active form of thiamin (vitamin b1), is believed to be an essential cofactor for all living organisms(1,2). here, we report the unprecedented result that thiamin is dispensable for the growth of the lyme disease pathogen borrelia burgdorferi (bb)(3). bb lacks genes for thiamin biosynthesis and transport as well as known thdp-dependent enzymes(4), and we were unable to detect thiamin or its derivatives in bb cells. we showed that eliminating thiamin in vitro and ... | 2016 | 27869793 |
| morgellons disease: a filamentous borrelial dermatitis. | morgellons disease (md) is a dermopathy characterized by multicolored filaments that lie under, are embedded in, or project from skin. although md was initially considered to be a delusional disorder, recent studies have demonstrated that the dermopathy is associated with tickborne infection, that the filaments are composed of keratin and collagen, and that they result from proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in epithelial tissue. culture, histopathological and molecular evidence of s ... | 2016 | 27789971 |
| motility and ultrastructure of spirochaeta thermophila. | we analyze here for the first time the swimming behavior of a thermophilic, strictly anaerobic spirochete, namely spirochaeta thermophila using high temperature light microscopy. our data show that s. thermophila very rapidly can change its morphology during swimming, resulting in cells appearing nearly linear, in cells possessing three different spiral forms, and in cells being linear at one end and spiral at the other end. in addition cells can rapidly bend by up to 180°, with their ends comin ... | 2016 | 27790206 |
| cloning, purification and characterization of the collagenase cola expressed by bacillus cereus atcc 14579. | bacterial collagenases differ considerably in their structure and functions. the collagenases colh and colg from clostridium histolyticum and cola expressed by clostridium perfringens are well-characterized collagenases that cleave triple-helical collagen, which were therefore termed as ´true´ collagenases. cola from bacillus cereus (b. cereus) has been added to the collection of true collagenases. however, the molecular characteristics of b. cereus cola are less understood. in this study, we id ... | 2016 | 27588686 |
| two different virulence-related regulatory pathways in borrelia burgdorferi are directly affected by osmotic fluxes in the blood meal of feeding ixodes ticks. | lyme disease, caused by borrelia burgdorferi, is a vector-borne illness that requires the bacteria to adapt to distinctly different environments in its tick vector and various mammalian hosts. effective colonization (acquisition phase) of a tick requires the bacteria to adapt to tick midgut physiology. successful transmission (transmission phase) to a mammal requires the bacteria to sense and respond to the midgut environmental cues and up-regulate key virulence factors before transmission to a ... | 2016 | 27525653 |
| diurnal dynamic behavior of microglia in response to infected bacteria through the udp-p2y6 receptor system. | it has long been believed that microglia morphologically transform into the activated state by retracting their long processes and consuming pathogens when bacteria infect into the brain parenchyma. in the present study, however, we showed for the first time that murine cortical microglia extend their processes towards focally injected porphyromonas gingivalis. this p. gingivalis-induced microglial process extension was significantly increased during the light (sleeping) phase than the dark (wak ... | 2016 | 27445174 |
| multilocus sequence typing of pathogenic treponemes isolated from cloven-hoofed animals and comparison to treponemes isolated from humans. | treponema species are implicated in many diseases of humans and animals. digital dermatitis (dd) treponemes are reported to cause severe lesions in cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and wild elk, causing substantial global animal welfare issues and economic losses. the fastidiousness of these spirochetes has previously precluded studies investigating within-phylogroup genetic diversity. an archive of treponemes that we isolated enabled multilocus sequence typing to quantify the diversity and populatio ... | 2016 | 27208135 |
| evidence of in vivo existence of borrelia biofilm in borrelial lymphocytomas. | lyme borreliosis, caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, has grown into a major public health problem. we recently identified a novel morphological form of b. burgdorferi, called biofilm, a structure that is well known to be highly resistant to antibiotics. however, there is no evidence of the existence of borrelia biofilm in vivo; therefore, the main goal of this study was to determine the presence of borrelia biofilm in infected human skin tissues. archived skin biopsy tissu ... | 2016 | 27141311 |
| cyclic di-gmp regulates multiple cellular functions in the symbiotic alphaproteobacterium sinorhizobium meliloti. | sinorhizobium meliloti undergoes major lifestyle changes between planktonic states, biofilm formation, and symbiosis with leguminous plant hosts. in many bacteria, the second messenger 3',5'-cyclic di-gmp (c-di-gmp, or cdg) promotes a sessile lifestyle by regulating a plethora of processes involved in biofilm formation, including motility and biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides (eps). here, we systematically investigated the role of cdg in s. meliloti rm2011 encoding 22 proteins putatively associ ... | 2016 | 26574513 |
| mesaconase/fumarase fumd in escherichia coli o157:h7 and promiscuity of escherichia coli class i fumarases fuma and fumb. | mesaconase catalyzes the hydration of mesaconate (methylfumarate) to (s)-citramalate. the enzyme participates in the methylaspartate pathway of glutamate fermentation as well as in the metabolism of various c5-dicarboxylic acids such as mesaconate or l-threo-β-methylmalate. we have recently shown that burkholderia xenovorans uses a promiscuous class i fumarase to catalyze this reaction in the course of mesaconate utilization. here we show that classical escherichia coli class i fumarases a and b ... | 2015 | 26658641 |
| protease-dependent mechanisms of complement evasion by bacterial pathogens. | the human immune system has evolved a variety of mechanisms for the primary task of neutralizing and eliminating microbial intruders. as the first line of defense, the complement system is responsible for rapid recognition and opsonization of bacteria, presentation to phagocytes and bacterial cell killing by direct lysis. all successful human pathogens have mechanisms of circumventing the antibacterial activity of the complement system and escaping this stage of the immune response. one of the w ... | 2012 | 22944688 |
| periplasmic flagellar export apparatus protein, flih, is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of flab, motility and virulence of the relapsing fever spirochete borrelia hermsii. | spirochetes are bacteria characterized in part by rotating periplasmic flagella that impart their helical or flat-wave morphology and motility. while most other bacteria rely on a transcriptional cascade to regulate the expression of motility genes, spirochetes employ post-transcriptional mechanism(s) that are only partially known. in the present study, we characterize a spontaneous non-motile mutant of the relapsing fever spirochete borrelia hermsii that was straight, non-motile and deficient i ... | 2013 | 24009690 |
| eubacterial spovg homologs constitute a new family of site-specific dna-binding proteins. | a site-specific dna-binding protein was purified from borrelia burgdorferi cytoplasmic extracts, and determined to be a member of the highly conserved spovg family. this is the first time a function has been attributed to any of these ubiquitous bacterial proteins. further investigations into spovg orthologues indicated that the staphylococcus aureus protein also binds dna, but interacts preferentially with a distinct nucleic acid sequence. site-directed mutagenesis and domain swapping between t ... | 2013 | 23818957 |
| sequence divergence in the treponema denticola fhbb protein and its impact on factor h binding. | treponema denticola is an anaerobic spirochete whose abundance in the subgingival crevice correlates with the development and severity of periodontal disease. the ability of t. denticola to survive and thrive in the hostile environment of the periodontal pocket is due, at least in part, to its ability to bind factor h (fh), a negative regulator of the alternative complement pathway. the fh binding protein of t. denticola has been identified as fhbb and its atomic structure has been determined. t ... | 2013 | 23601078 |
| analysis of the complement sensitivity of oral treponemes and the potential influence of fh binding, fh cleavage and dentilisin activity on the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. | treponema denticola, a periopathogen, evades complement-mediated killing by binding the negative complement regulatory protein factor h (fh) to its surface via the fhbb protein. paradoxically, bound fh is cleaved by t. denticola's dentilisin protease, a process hypothesized to trigger localized dysregulation of complement activation in periodontal pockets. the ability of other oral treponemes to evade complement-mediated killing and bind and cleave fh has not been assessed. in this report, we de ... | 2014 | 24815960 |
| the treponema denticola fhbb protein is a dominant early antigen that elicits fhbb variant-specific antibodies that block factor h binding and cleavage by dentilisin. | the treponema denticola fhbb protein contributes to immune evasion by binding factor h (fh). cleavage of fh by the t. denticola protease, dentilisin, may contribute to the local immune dysregulation that is characteristic of periodontal disease (pd). although three fhbb phyletic types have been defined (fhbb1, fhbb2, and fhbb3), the in vivo expression patterns and antigenic heterogeneity of fhbb have not been assessed. here, we demonstrate that fhbb is a dominant early antigen that elicits fhbb ... | 2016 | 27113359 |
| porphyromonas gingivalis outer membrane vesicles mediate coaggregation and piggybacking of treponema denticola and lachnoanaerobaculum saburreum. | porphyromonas gingivalis sheds outer membrane vesicles that contain several virulence factors, including adhesins. in this study, we investigated the ability of p. gingivalis outer membrane vesicles to mediate the coaggregation and piggybacking of treponema denticola and lachnoanaerobaculum saburreum. marked coaggregation between t. denticola and l. saburreum occurred in the presence of p. gingivalis outer membrane vesicles. sucrose was an effective chemoattractant for the motile species t. dent ... | 2013 | 23365576 |
| structural, bioinformatic, and in vivo analyses of two treponema pallidum lipoproteins reveal a unique trap transporter. | treponema pallidum, the bacterial agent of syphilis, is predicted to encode one tripartite atp-independent periplasmic transporter (trap-t). trap-ts typically employ a periplasmic substrate-binding protein (sbp) to deliver the cognate ligand to the transmembrane symporter. herein, we demonstrate that the genes encoding the putative trap-t components from t. pallidum, tp0957 (the sbp), and tp0958 (the symporter), are in an operon with an uncharacterized third gene, tp0956. we determined the cryst ... | 2012 | 22306465 |
| molecular and biotechnological aspects of microbial proteases. | proteases represent the class of enzymes which occupy a pivotal position with respect to their physiological roles as well as their commercial applications. they perform both degradative and synthetic functions. since they are physiologically necessary for living organisms, proteases occur ubiquitously in a wide diversity of sources such as plants, animals, and microorganisms. microbes are an attractive source of proteases owing to the limited space required for their cultivation and their ready ... | 1998 | 9729602 |
| oral microbial ecology and the role of salivary immunoglobulin a. | in the oral cavity, indigenous bacteria are often associated with two major oral diseases, caries and periodontal diseases. these diseases seem to appear following an imbalance in the oral resident microbiota, leading to the emergence of potentially pathogenic bacteria. to define the process involved in caries and periodontal diseases, it is necessary to understand the ecology of the oral cavity and to identify the factors responsible for the transition of the oral microbiota from a commensal to ... | 1998 | 9529888 |
| design and evaluation of useful bacterium-specific pcr primers that amplify genes coding for bacterial 16s rrna. | we report the design and evaluation of pcr primers 63f and 1387r for amplification of 16s rrna genes from bacteria. their specificity and efficacy were tested systematically with a bacterial species and environmental samples. they were found to be more useful for 16s rrna gene amplification in ecological and systematic studies than pcr amplimers that are currently more generally used. | 1998 | 9464425 |
| c-telopeptide pyridinoline cross-links. sensitive indicators of periodontal tissue destruction. | c-telopeptides and related pyridinoline cross-links of bone type i collagen are sensitive markers of bone resorption in osteolytic diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. we have studied the release of c-telopeptide pyridinoline crosslinks of type i collagen as measures of bone destruction in periodontal disease. studies in preclinical animal models and humans have demonstrated the relationship between radiographic bone loss and crevicular fluid c-telopeptide levels. we have recently f ... | 1999 | 10415744 |
| systemic diseases caused by oral infection. | recently, it has been recognized that oral infection, especially periodontitis, may affect the course and pathogenesis of a number of systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, bacterial pneumonia, diabetes mellitus, and low birth weight. the purpose of this review is to evaluate the current status of oral infections, especially periodontitis, as a causal factor for systemic diseases. three mechanisms or pathways linking oral infections to secondary systemic effects have been proposed: ( ... | 2000 | 11023956 |
| electrophoretic mobility distributions of single-strain microbial populations. | | 2001 | 11157207 |
| transient state kinetic investigation of 5-aminolevulinate synthase reaction mechanism. | 5-aminolevulinate synthase (alas), a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme, catalyzes the first, and regulatory, step of the heme biosynthetic pathway in nonplant eukaryotes and some bacteria. 5-aminolevulinate synthase is a dimeric protein having an ordered kinetic mechanism with glycine binding before succinyl-coa and with aminolevulinate release after coa and carbon dioxide. rapid scanning stopped-flow absorption spectrophotometry in conjunction with multiple turnover chemical quenched-flow ... | 2002 | 12191993 |
| the effect of apically repositioned flap surgery on clinical parameters and the composition of the subgingival microbiota: 12-month data. | the purpose of this investigation was to examine the clinical and microbiologic effects of apically repositioned flap surgery. eighteen patients with chronic periodontitis received initial preparation (ip) including scaling and root planing, followed at 3 months by apically repositioned flap surgery at sites with pocket depth > 4 mm. subjects were monitored clinically and microbiologically at baseline, 3 months after ip, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postsurgery. clinical assessments of plaque a ... | 2002 | 12186343 |
| a genomic overview of pyridoxal-phosphate-dependent enzymes. | enzymes that use the cofactor pyridoxal phosphate (plp) constitute a ubiquitous class of biocatalysts. here, we analyse their variety and genomic distribution as an example of the current opportunities and challenges for the study of protein families. in many free-living prokaryotes, almost 1.5% of all genes code for plp-dependent enzymes, but in higher eukaryotes the percentage is substantially lower, consistent with these catalysts being involved mainly in basic metabolism. assigning the funct ... | 2003 | 12949584 |
| bugging the bugs. genomics and proteomics may provide new ways of making the lives of bacteria more miserable. | | 2003 | 12671675 |
| tmrdb (tmrna database). | maintained at the university of texas health science center at tyler, texas, the tmrna database (tmrdb) is accessible at the url http://psyche.uthct.edu/dbs/tmrdb/tmrdb.html with mirror sites located at auburn university, auburn, alabama (http://www.ag.auburn.edu/mirror/tmrdb/) and the bioinformatics research center, aarhus, denmark (http://www.bioinf.au.dk/tmrdb/). the tmrdb collects and distributes information relevant to the study of tmrna. in trans-translation, this molecule combines propert ... | 2003 | 12520048 |
| biofilms 2003: emerging themes and challenges in studies of surface-associated microbial life. | | 2004 | 15231774 |
| in vitro activities of iodonium salts against oral and dental anaerobes. | the comparative in vitro activities of 11 iodonium salt compounds, 0.12% chlorhexidine, and four antimicrobial agents against 322 anaerobic and fastidious potential dental and periodontal bacterial pathogens were studied. iodonium salts 3, 4, 5, 9, and 10 had in vitro activities comparable to that of chlorhexidine against most isolates. these compounds may be suitable for incorporation into an oral mouthwash. | 2004 | 15215147 |
| the prokaryotic selenoproteome. | in the genetic code, the uga codon has a dual function as it encodes selenocysteine (sec) and serves as a stop signal. however, only the translation terminator function is used in gene annotation programs, resulting in misannotation of selenoprotein genes. here, we applied two independent bioinformatics approaches to characterize a selenoprotein set in prokaryotic genomes. one method searched for selenoprotein genes by identifying rna stem-loop structures, selenocysteine insertion sequence eleme ... | 2004 | 15105824 |
| effect of systemic matrix metalloproteinase inhibition on periodontal wound repair: a proof of concept trial. | the adjunctive use of matrix metalloproteinase (mmp) inhibitors with scaling and root planing (srp) promotes new attachment in patients with periodontal disease. this pilot study was designed to examine aspects of the biological response brought about by the mmp inhibitor low dose doxycycline (ldd) combined with access flap surgery (afs) on the modulation of periodontal wound repair in patients with severe chronic periodontitis. | 2004 | 15088883 |
| the 2-hydroxycarboxylate transporter family: physiology, structure, and mechanism. | the 2-hydroxycarboxylate transporter family is a family of secondary transporters found exclusively in the bacterial kingdom. they function in the metabolism of the di- and tricarboxylates malate and citrate, mostly in fermentative pathways involving decarboxylation of malate or oxaloacetate. these pathways are found in the class bacillales of the low-cg gram-positive bacteria and in the gamma subdivision of the proteobacteria. the pathways have evolved into a remarkable diversity in terms of th ... | 2005 | 16339740 |
| a computational method to predict genetically encoded rare amino acids in proteins. | in several natural settings, the standard genetic code is expanded to incorporate two additional amino acids with distinct functionality, selenocysteine and pyrrolysine. these rare amino acids can be overlooked inadvertently, however, as they arise by recoding at certain stop codons. we report a method for such recoding prediction from genomic data, using read-through similarity evaluation. a survey across a set of microbial genomes identifies almost all the known cases as well as a number of no ... | 2005 | 16168086 |
| statistical analyses of complex denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles. | studies using molecular techniques have demonstrated that a culture-based approach can severely underestimate the bacterial diversity in most environments. one of the molecular techniques that has been applied in microbial ecology is denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (dgge). the purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the microbiota of plaque, using a number of analysis techniques, from children without gingivitis (n = 30) and from those with gingivitis (n = 30). extracted ... | 2005 | 16081938 |
| evolution of selenium utilization traits. | the essential trace element selenium is used in a wide variety of biological processes. selenocysteine (sec), the 21st amino acid, is co-translationally incorporated into a restricted set of proteins. it is encoded by an uga codon with the help of trnasec (selc), sec-specific elongation factor (selb) and a cis-acting mrna structure (secis element). in addition, sec synthase (sela) and selenophosphate synthetase (seld) are involved in the biosynthesis of sec on the trnasec. selenium is also found ... | 2005 | 16086848 |
| diagnostic biomarkers for oral and periodontal diseases. | this article provides an overview of periodontal disease diagnosis that uses clinical parameters and biomarkers of the disease process.this article discusses the use of biomarkers of disease that can be identified at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels and that are measurable in oral fluids such as saliva and gingival crevicular fluid. biomarkers identified from these biologic fluids include microbial, host response, and connective tissue-related molecules that can target specific pathway ... | 2005 | 15978241 |
| antimicrobial peptides in the oral environment: expression and function in health and disease. | the oral cavity is a unique environment in which antimicrobial peptides play a key role in maintaining health and may have future therapeutic applications. present evidence suggests that alpha-defensins, beta-defensins, ll-37, histatin, and other antimicrobial peptides and proteins have distinct but overlapping roles in maintaining oral health and preventing bacterial, fungal, and viral adherence and infection. the expression of the inducible hbd-2 in normal oral epithelium, in contrast to other ... | 2005 | 16053246 |
| periodontal microbiota and carotid intima-media thickness: the oral infections and vascular disease epidemiology study (invest). | chronic infections, including periodontal infections, may predispose to cardiovascular disease. we investigated the relationship between periodontal microbiota and subclinical atherosclerosis. | 2005 | 15699278 |
| how phosphotransferase system-related protein phosphorylation regulates carbohydrate metabolism in bacteria. | the phosphoenolpyruvate(pep):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (pts) is found only in bacteria, where it catalyzes the transport and phosphorylation of numerous monosaccharides, disaccharides, amino sugars, polyols, and other sugar derivatives. to carry out its catalytic function in sugar transport and phosphorylation, the pts uses pep as an energy source and phosphoryl donor. the phosphoryl group of pep is usually transferred via four distinct proteins (domains) to the transported sugar bo ... | 2006 | 17158705 |
| dynamic evolution of selenocysteine utilization in bacteria: a balance between selenoprotein loss and evolution of selenocysteine from redox active cysteine residues. | selenocysteine (sec) is co-translationally inserted into protein in response to uga codons. it occurs in oxidoreductase active sites and often is catalytically superior to cysteine (cys). however, sec is used very selectively in proteins and organisms. the wide distribution of sec and its restricted use have not been explained. | 2006 | 17054778 |
| oral malodour (halitosis). | | 2006 | 16990322 |
| periodontal disease and systemic conditions: a bidirectional relationship. | for decades, physicians and dentists have paid close attention to their own respective fields, specializing in medicine pertaining to the body and the oral cavity, respectively. however, recent findings have strongly suggested that oral health may be indicative of systemic health. currently, this gap between allopathic medicine and dental medicine is quickly closing, due to significant findings supporting the association between periodontal disease and systemic conditions such as cardiovascular ... | 2006 | 16998613 |
| structural classification of bacterial response regulators: diversity of output domains and domain combinations. | chey-like phosphoacceptor (or receiver [rec]) domain is a common module in a variety of response regulators of the bacterial signal transduction systems. in this work, 4,610 response regulators, encoded in complete genomes of 200 bacterial and archaeal species, were identified and classified by their domain architectures. previously uncharacterized output domains were analyzed and, in some cases, assigned to known domain families. transcriptional regulators of the ompr, narl, and ntrc families w ... | 2006 | 16740923 |
| clinical review: molecular mechanisms underlying the role of antithrombin in sepsis. | in disseminated intravascular coagulation (dic) there is extensive crosstalk between activation of inflammation and coagulation. endogenous anticoagulatory pathways are downregulated by inflammation, thus decreasing the natural anti-inflammatory mechanisms that these pathways possess. supportive strategies aimed at inhibiting activation of coagulation and inflammation may theoretically be justified and have been found to be beneficial in experimental and initial clinical studies. this review ass ... | 2006 | 16542481 |
| on the acquisition of periodontopathic bacteria by children from mothers: a randomized double-masked placebo-controlled trial in bauru, brazil. | objective: the purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical modalities treatments on periodontal clinical and microbiological parameters of mothers; and 2) to determine the subsequent colonization of periodontal pathogens in tongue samples from their infants. design: a total of 168 mothers met inclusion criteria to participate in a randomized double-masked placebo-controlled clinical trial. of those, 121 mothers (and their infants) of 158 seen at bas ... | 2006 | 22267892 |
| periodontal therapy alters gene expression of peripheral blood monocytes. | we investigated the effects of periodontal therapy on gene expression of peripheral blood monocytes. | 2007 | 17716309 |
| hydrogen production by termite gut protists: characterization of iron hydrogenases of parabasalian symbionts of the termite coptotermes formosanus. | cellulolytic flagellated protists in the guts of termites produce molecular hydrogen (h(2)) that is emitted by the termites; however, little is known about the physiology and biochemistry of h(2) production from cellulose in the gut symbiotic protists due to their formidable unculturability. in order to understand the molecular basis for h(2) production, we here identified two genes encoding proteins homologous to iron-only hydrogenases (fe hydrogenases) in pseudotrichonympha grassii, a large ce ... | 2007 | 17766465 |
| high content of proteins containing 21st and 22nd amino acids, selenocysteine and pyrrolysine, in a symbiotic deltaproteobacterium of gutless worm olavius algarvensis. | selenocysteine (sec) and pyrrolysine (pyl) are rare amino acids that are cotranslationally inserted into proteins and known as the 21st and 22nd amino acids in the genetic code. sec and pyl are encoded by uga and uag codons, respectively, which normally serve as stop signals. herein, we report on unusually large selenoproteomes and pyrroproteomes in a symbiont metagenomic dataset of a marine gutless worm, olavius algarvensis. we identified 99 selenoprotein genes that clustered into 30 families, ... | 2007 | 17626042 |
| small but versatile: the extraordinary functional and structural diversity of the beta-grasp fold. | the beta-grasp fold (beta-gf), prototyped by ubiquitin (ub), has been recruited for a strikingly diverse range of biochemical functions. these functions include providing a scaffold for different enzymatic active sites (e.g. nudix phosphohydrolases) and iron-sulfur clusters, rna-soluble-ligand and co-factor-binding, sulfur transfer, adaptor functions in signaling, assembly of macromolecular complexes and post-translational protein modification. to understand the basis for the functional versatil ... | 2007 | 17605815 |
| mining prokaryotic genomes for unknown amino acids: a stop-codon-based approach. | selenocysteine and pyrrolysine are the 21st and 22nd amino acids, which are genetically encoded by stop codons. since a number of microbial genomes have been completely sequenced to date, it is tempting to ask whether the 23rd amino acid is left undiscovered in these genomes. recently, a computational study addressed this question and reported that no trna gene for unknown amino acid was found in genome sequences available. however, performance of the trna prediction program on an unknown trna f ... | 2007 | 17597547 |
| maternal oral health status and preterm low birth weight at muhimbili national hospital, tanzania: a case-control study. | the study examined the relationship between oral health status (periodontal disease and carious pulpal exposure (cpe)) and preterm low-birth-weight (ptlbw) infant deliveries among tanzanian-african mothers at muhimbili national hospital (mnh), tanzania. | 2007 | 17594498 |
| an in vitro biofilm model of subgingival plaque. | numerous biofilm models have been described for the study of bacteria associated with the supragingival plaque. however, there are fewer models available for the study of subgingival plaque. the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a model that closely mimicked the composition of the subgingival flora. | 2007 | 17488440 |
| the crisprdb database and tools to display crisprs and to generate dictionaries of spacers and repeats. | in archeae and bacteria, the repeated elements called crisprs for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" are believed to participate in the defence against viruses. short sequences called spacers are stored in-between repeated elements. in the current model, motifs comprising spacers and repeats may target an invading dna and lead to its degradation through a proposed mechanism similar to rna interference. analysis of intra-species polymorphism shows that new motifs (one spa ... | 2007 | 17521438 |
| oral fluid-based biomarkers of alveolar bone loss in periodontitis. | periodontal disease is a bacteria-induced chronic inflammatory disease affecting the soft and hard supporting structures encompassing the teeth. when left untreated, the ultimate outcome is alveolar bone loss and exfoliation of the involved teeth. traditional periodontal diagnostic methods include assessment of clinical parameters and radiographs. though efficient, these conventional techniques are inherently limited in that only a historical perspective, not current appraisal, of disease status ... | 2007 | 17435132 |
| nursing home-associated pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia: the contribution of dental biofilms and periodontal inflammation. | | 2007 | 17474932 |
| detection of multiple pathogenic species in saliva is associated with periodontal infection in adults. | we investigated whether certain bacterial species and their combinations in saliva can be used as markers for periodontitis. in 1,198 subjects, the detection of multiple species, rather than the presence of a certain pathogen, in saliva was associated with periodontitis as determined by the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets. | 2008 | 19020069 |
| detection of multiple pathogenic species in saliva is associated with periodontal infection in adults. | we investigated whether certain bacterial species and their combinations in saliva can be used as markers for periodontitis. in 1,198 subjects, the detection of multiple species, rather than the presence of a certain pathogen, in saliva was associated with periodontitis as determined by the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets. | 2008 | 19020069 |
| a comparative study of antimicrobial activity of proroot mta, root mta, and portland cement on actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. | the purpose of our study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of proroot mta (prmta), root mta (rmta) and portland cement (pc) at their clinical concentration (70 mg/25 µl) against actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (aa) one of the prominent periodontal (pocket) microorganisms. | 2008 | 24082905 |
| host defense peptides in the oral cavity and the lung: similarities and differences. | peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity are found in the mucosal surfaces at many sites in the body, including the airway, the oral cavity, and the digestive tract. based on their in vitro antimicrobial and other immunomodulatory activities, these host defense peptides have been proposed to play an important role in the innate defense against pathogenic microbial colonization. the genes that encode these peptides are up-regulated by pathogens, further supporting their role in innate ... | 2008 | 18809744 |
| inflammation as a potential mediator for the association between periodontal disease and alzheimer's disease. | periodontal disease (pdd) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and mortality in many studies, while other studies have begun to suggest an association of pdd with alzheimer's disease (ad). this paper discusses how infectious pathogens and systemic infection may play a role in ad. the roles of infection and inflammation are addressed specifically with regard to known ad pathologic lesions including senile plaques, neuron death, neurofibrillary tang ... | 2008 | 19183779 |
| periodontal profile and presence of periodontal pathogens in young african-americans from salvador, ba, brazil. | this cross-sectional study evaluated the periodontal status and the presence of periodontopathogens in 132 young, black ethnic subjects who live in salvador/bahia-brazil and have never smoked. periodontal probing depth (ppd), clinical attachment level (cal), plaque index (pi) and gingival index (gi) were measured and analyzed by anova and wilcoxon tests (p<0.05) according to gender and age. the presence of a.actinomycetemcomitans, p.gingivalis, e.corrodens and f.nucleatum was determined by pcr a ... | 2008 | 24031206 |
| a review of the relationship between tooth loss, periodontal disease, and cancer. | recent studies have investigated the association between periodontal disease, tooth loss, and several systemic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and preterm birth. periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory condition, is highly prevalent in adult populations around the world, and may be preventable. estimates of prevalence vary between races and geographic regions, with a marked increase in the occurrence of periodontal disease with advancing age. worldwide estimates for the pr ... | 2008 | 18478344 |
| energy metabolism among eukaryotic anaerobes in light of proterozoic ocean chemistry. | recent years have witnessed major upheavals in views about early eukaryotic evolution. one very significant finding was that mitochondria, including hydrogenosomes and the newly discovered mitosomes, are just as ubiquitous and defining among eukaryotes as the nucleus itself. a second important advance concerns the readjustment, still in progress, about phylogenetic relationships among eukaryotic groups and the roughly six new eukaryotic supergroups that are currently at the focus of much attenti ... | 2008 | 18468979 |
| kindler syndrome and periodontal disease: review of the literature and a 12-year follow-up case. | the association of aggressive periodontitis with kindler syndrome was based on a single case in 1996 and later confirmed with a larger population. since then, significant research has greatly increased our understanding of the molecular pathology of this disorder. we review recent advances in the molecular mechanisms of the syndrome and present a maintenance case report of a patient who has been followed in our clinic. | 2008 | 18454678 |
| beyond good and evil in the oral cavity: insights into host-microbe relationships derived from transcriptional profiling of gingival cells. | in many instances, the encounter between host and microbial cells, through a long-standing evolutionary association, can be a balanced interaction whereby both cell types co-exist and inflict a minimal degree of harm on each other. in the oral cavity, despite the presence of large numbers of diverse organisms, health is the most frequent status. disease will ensue only when the host-microbe balance is disrupted on a cellular and molecular level. with the advent of microarrays, it is now possible ... | 2008 | 18296603 |
| a scenario on the stepwise evolution of the genetic code. | it is believed that in the rna world the operational (ribozymes) and the informational (riboscripts) rna molecules were created with only three (adenosine, uridine, and guanosine) and two (adenosine and uridine) nucleosides, respectively, so that the genetic code started uncomplicated. ribozymes subsequently evolved to be able to cut and paste themselves and riboscripts were acceptive to rigorous editing (adenosine to inosine); the intensive diversification of rna molecules shaped novel cellular ... | 2008 | 18267295 |
| a scenario on the stepwise evolution of the genetic code. | it is believed that in the rna world the operational (ribozymes) and the informational (riboscripts) rna molecules were created with only three (adenosine, uridine, and guanosine) and two (adenosine and uridine) nucleosides, respectively, so that the genetic code started uncomplicated. ribozymes subsequently evolved to be able to cut and paste themselves and riboscripts were acceptive to rigorous editing (adenosine to inosine); the intensive diversification of rna molecules shaped novel cellular ... | 2008 | 18267295 |
| drinking habits are associated with changes in the dental plaque microbial community. | caries and gingivitis are the most prevalent oral infectious diseases of humans and are due to the accumulation of dental plaque (a microbial biofilm) on the tooth surface and at the gingival margin, respectively. several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that many natural components of foods and beverages inhibit the adhesion of and/or exert activity against oral bacteria. these biological activities have mainly been attributed to the polyphenol fraction. in order to explore the possibili ... | 2009 | 19955272 |
| drinking habits are associated with changes in the dental plaque microbial community. | caries and gingivitis are the most prevalent oral infectious diseases of humans and are due to the accumulation of dental plaque (a microbial biofilm) on the tooth surface and at the gingival margin, respectively. several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that many natural components of foods and beverages inhibit the adhesion of and/or exert activity against oral bacteria. these biological activities have mainly been attributed to the polyphenol fraction. in order to explore the possibili ... | 2009 | 19955272 |
| association of systemic oxidative stress with suppressed serum igg to commensal oral biofilm and modulation by periodontal infection. | to assess the impact of systemic oxidative stress on humoral immune responses, we examined the relation between levels of serum 8-isoprostane and serum igg antibodies against 17 microorganisms in the commensal oral biofilm among the aric population of community-dwelling adults (n = 4,717). bivariately, serum 8-isoprostane was associated with age, race/center, education, smoking, serum triglycerides, and the extent of periodontal disease severity. total igg antibody directed to the oral biofilm w ... | 2009 | 19496702 |
| tnf-alpha and antibodies to periodontal bacteria discriminate between alzheimer's disease patients and normal subjects. | the associations of inflammation/immune responses with clinical presentations of alzheimer's disease (ad) remain unclear. we hypothesized that tnf-alpha and elevated antibodies to periodontal bacteria would be greater in ad compared to normal controls (nl) and their combination would aid clinical diagnosis of ad. plasma tnf-alpha and antibodies against periodontal bacteria were elevated in ad patients compared with nl and independently associated with ad. the number of positive igg to periodonta ... | 2009 | 19767111 |
| pathophysiology of age-related diseases. | a symposium regarding the pathophysiology of successful and unsuccessful ageing was held in palermo, italy on 7-8 april 2009. three lectures from that symposium by g. campisi, l. ginaldi and f. licastro are here summarized. ageing is a complex process which negatively impacts on the development of various bodily systems and its ability to function. a long life in a healthy, vigorous, youthful body has always been one of humanity's greatest dreams. thus, a better understanding of the pathophysiol ... | 2009 | 19737378 |
| clinical and microbiological benefits of strict supragingival plaque control as part of the active phase of periodontal therapy. | to compare the clinical and microbiological effects of scaling and root planing (srp) alone or combined with mechanical [professional plaque control (ppc)] or chemical [chlorhexidine rinsing (chx)] control of supragingival plaque in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. | 2009 | 19703236 |
| prevalence of periodontal pathogens in coronary atherosclerotic plaque of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. | chronic bacterial infections have been associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. the ability of oral pathogens to colonize in coronary atheromatous plaque is well known. the aim of our study was to detect the presence of four common periodontal pathogens in coronary plaques. we detected the presence of 16s rrna of treponema denticola, eikenella corrodens, porphyromonas gingivalis and campylobacter rectus in subgingival and atherosclerotic plaques of cabg ... | 2009 | 23139486 |
| distinctive features of the microbiota associated with different forms of apical periodontitis. | microorganisms infecting the dental root canal system play an unequivocal role as causative agents of apical periodontitis. although fungi, archaea, and viruses have been found in association with some forms of apical periodontitis, bacteria are the main microbial etiologic agents of this disease. bacteria colonizing the root canal are usually organized in communities similar to biofilm structures. culture and molecular biology technologies have demonstrated that the endodontic bacterial communi ... | 2009 | 21523208 |
| the oral microbiota: living with a permanent guest. | the oral cavity of healthy individuals contains hundreds of different bacterial, viral, and fungal species. many of these can associate to form biofilms, which are resistant to mechanical stress or antibiotic treatment. most are also commensal species, but they can become pathogenic in responses to changes in the environment or other triggers in the oral cavity, including the quality of an individual's personal hygiene. the complexity of the oral microbiome is being characterized through the new ... | 2009 | 19485767 |
| periodontitis in pregnancy: clinical and serum antibody observations from a baboon model of ligature-induced disease. | chronic oral infections that elicit host responses leading to periodontal disease are linked with various sequelae of systemic diseases. this report provides seminal information on the clinical and adaptive immunologic characteristics of a baboon model of ligature-induced periodontitis during pregnancy. | 2009 | 19563297 |
| oral microbiology: past, present and future. | since the initial observations of oral bacteria within dental plaque by van leeuwenhoek using his primitive microscopes in 1680, an event that is generally recognized as the advent of oral microbiological investigation, oral microbiology has gone through phases of "reductionism" and "holism". from the small beginnings of the miller and black period, in which microbiologists followed koch's postulates, took the reductionist approach to try to study the complex oral microbial community by analyzin ... | 2009 | 20687296 |
| uncovering metabolic pathways relevant to phenotypic traits of microbial genomes. | identifying the biochemical basis of microbial phenotypes is a main objective of comparative genomics. here we present a novel method using multivariate machine learning techniques for comparing automatically derived metabolic reconstructions of sequenced genomes on a large scale. applying our method to 266 genomes directly led to testable hypotheses such as the link between the potential of microorganisms to cause periodontal disease and their ability to degrade histidine, a link also supported ... | 2009 | 19284550 |
| principles and applications of polymerase chain reaction in medical diagnostic fields: a review. | recent developments in molecular methods have revolutionized the detection and characterization of microorganisms in a broad range of medical diagnostic fields, including virology, mycology, parasitology, microbiology and dentistry. among these methods, polymerase chain reaction (pcr) has generated great benefits and allowed scientific advancements. pcr is an excellent technique for the rapid detection of pathogens, including those difficult to culture. along with conventional pcr techniques, re ... | 2009 | 24031310 |
| probing the macromolecular organization of cells by electron tomography. | a major goal in cell biology is to understand the functional organization of macromolecular complexes in vivo. electron microscopy is helping cell biologists to achieve this goal, thanks to its ability to resolve structural details in the nanometer range. while issues related to specimen preparation, imaging, and image interpretation make this approach to cell architecture difficult, recent improvements in methods, equipment, and software have facilitated the study of both important macromolecul ... | 2009 | 19185480 |
| molecular microbial diagnosis. | | 2009 | 19878468 |
| vaccines and photodynamic therapies for oral microbial-related diseases. | the mouth is a favorable habitat for a great variety of bacteria. microbial composition of dental plaque is the usual cause of various oral diseases in humans, including dental caries, periodontal disease and halitosis. in general, oral antibacterial agents such as antibiotics are commonly used to treat oral bacterial infection. traditional periodontal surgery is painful and time-consuming. in addition, bacterial resistance and toxicity of antibiotics have become a global pandemic and unavoidabl ... | 2009 | 19149517 |
| toll gates to periodontal host modulation and vaccine therapy. | | 2009 | 19878475 |
| the effect of locally delivered doxycycline in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. a clinical and microbiological cohort study. | to evaluate the efficacy of locally delivered doxycycline as an adjunct to non-surgical treatment with the use of an ultrasonic device compared to scaling and root planing using hand instruments, by means of clinical and microbiological criteria. | 2010 | 24421978 |
| the effect of locally delivered doxycycline in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. a clinical and microbiological cohort study. | to evaluate the efficacy of locally delivered doxycycline as an adjunct to non-surgical treatment with the use of an ultrasonic device compared to scaling and root planing using hand instruments, by means of clinical and microbiological criteria. | 2010 | 24421978 |
| cardiovascular disease and the role of oral bacteria. | in terms of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (cvd) the focus has traditionally been on dyslipidemia. over the decades our understanding of the pathogenesis of cvd has increased, and infections, including those caused by oral bacteria, are more likely involved in cvd progression than previously thought. while many studies have now shown an association between periodontal disease and cvd, the mechanisms underpinning this relationship remain unclear. this review gives a brief overview of ... | 2010 | 21523220 |
| diabetes, periodontitis, and the subgingival microbiota. | both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have been associated with increased severity of periodontal disease for many years. more recently, the impact of periodontal disease on glycaemic control has been investigated. the role of the oral microbiota in this two-way relationship is at this stage unknown. further studies, of a longitudinal nature and investigating a wider array of bacterial species, are required in order to conclusively determine if there is a difference in the oral microbiota of diabetics ... | 2010 | 21523215 |
| microbiota associated with chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws. | chronic osteomyelitis of maxilla and mandible is rare in industrialized countries and its occurrence in developing countries is associated with trauma and surgery, and its microbial etiology has not been studied thoroughly. the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the microbiota associated with osteomyelitis of mandible or maxilla from some brazilian patients. after clinical and radiographic evaluation, samples of bone sequestra, purulent secretion, and biopsies of granulomatous tissues fro ... | 2010 | 24031586 |
| non-surgical instrumentation associated with povidone-iodine in the treatment of interproximal furcation involvements. | the aim of this controlled clinical trial was to evaluate the effect of topically applied povidone-iodine (pvp-i) used as an adjunct to non-surgical treatment of interproximal class ii furcation involvements. | 2010 | 21308291 |
| evolutionary divergence of chloroplast fad synthetase proteins. | flavin adenine dinucleotide synthetases (fadss) - a group of bifunctional enzymes that carry out the dual functions of riboflavin phosphorylation to produce flavin mononucleotide (fmn) and its subsequent adenylation to generate fad in most prokaryotes - were studied in plants in terms of sequence, structure and evolutionary history. | 2010 | 20955574 |
| endodontic microbiology. | root canal therapy has been practiced ever since 1928 and the success rate has tremendously increased over the years owing to various advancements in the field. one main reason is the complete understanding of the microbiology involved in the endodontic pathology. this has helped us to modify the conventional treatment plans and effectively combat the microorganisms. now, studies are aiming to explore the characteristics of the "most" resistant organism and the methods to eliminate them. this ar ... | 2010 | 21217951 |
| a nested leucine rich repeat (lrr) domain: the precursor of lrrs is a ten or eleven residue motif. | leucine rich repeats (lrrs) are present in over 60,000 proteins that have been identified in viruses, bacteria, archae, and eukaryotes. all known structures of repeated lrrs adopt an arc shape. most lrrs are 20-30 residues long. all lrrs contain lxxlxlxxnxl, in which "l" is leu, ile, val, or phe and "n" is asn, thr, ser, or cys and "x" is any amino acid. seven classes of lrrs have been identified. however, other lrr classes remains to be characterized. the evolution of lrrs is not well understoo ... | 2010 | 20825685 |