| recommended modifications and applications of the hospital emergency incident command system for hospital emergency management. | the hospital emergency incident command system (heics), now in its third edition, has emerged as a popular incident command system model for hospital emergency response in the united states and other countries. since the inception of the heics in 1991, several events have transformed the requirements of hospital emergency management, including the 1995 tokyo subway sarin attack, the 2001 us anthrax letter attacks, and the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) outbreaks in eastern asia an ... | 2005 | 16295165 |
| [bioterrorism]. | biological terrorism is intentionally to use infectious substances for developing diseases or death in animals or humans, leading to disaster and panic in our community. bioterrorism-associated diseases are mostly rare or eradicated infectious diseases, and recently, we do not have experience to make a clinical and laboratory diagnosis. in particular, these infectious diseases have incubation periods from infection to development of the disease. the staff working at public health institutions, i ... | 2005 | 16296383 |
| plant-based vaccine: mice immunized with chloroplast-derived anthrax protective antigen survive anthrax lethal toxin challenge. | the currently available human vaccine for anthrax, derived from the culture supernatant of bacillus anthracis, contains the protective antigen (pa) and traces of the lethal and edema factors, which may contribute to adverse side effects associated with this vaccine. therefore, an effective expression system that can provide a clean, safe, and efficacious vaccine is required. in an effort to produce anthrax vaccine in large quantities and free of extraneous bacterial contaminants, pa was expresse ... | 2005 | 16299323 |
| direct inhibition of t-lymphocyte activation by anthrax toxins in vivo. | the causative agent of anthrax, bacillus anthracis, produces two toxins that contribute in part to its virulence. lethal toxin is a metalloprotease that cleaves upstream mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases. edema toxin is a calmodulin-dependent adenylate cyclase. previous studies demonstrated that the anthrax toxins are important immunomodulators that promote immune evasion of the bacterium by suppressing activation of macrophages and dendritic cells. here we showed that injection of sublet ... | 2005 | 16299324 |
| passive protection against anthrax by using a high-affinity antitoxin antibody fragment lacking an fc region. | passive immunization has been successfully employed for protection against bacterial and viral infections for over 100 years. immunoglobulin fc regions play a critical role in the clearance of bacterial pathogens by mediating antibody-dependent and complement-dependent cytotoxicity. here we show that antibody fragments engineered to recognize the protective antigen component of the b. anthracis exotoxin with high affinity and conjugated to polyethylene glycol (peg) for prolonged circulation half ... | 2005 | 16299334 |
| thermal resistance of spores from virulent strains of bacillus anthracis and potential surrogates. | the objective of this study was to determine the thermal resistance of spores of bacillus anthracis and potential surrogates. the heat resistance of spores suspended in buffer (ph 7.0 or 4.5), milk, or orange juice was determined at 70, 80, and 90 degrees c. d-values for b. anthracis strains sterne, vollum, and pasteur ranged from < 1 min at 90 degrees c to approximately 200 min at 70 degrees c and were lower under acidic than under neutral conditions. the d-values for b. anthracis spores fell w ... | 2005 | 16300074 |
| analysis of anthrax and plague biowarfare vaccine interactions with human monocyte-derived dendritic cells. | the anti-biowarfare anthrax and plague vaccines require repeated dosing to achieve adequate protection. to test the hypothesis that this limited immunogenicity results from the nature of vaccine interactions with the host innate immune system, we investigated molecular and cellular interactions between vaccines, dendritic cells (dcs), and t cells and explored the potential for adjuvants (pertussis) to boost induction of host immunity. human monocyte-derived dcs were matured in the presence of va ... | 2005 | 16301628 |
| effective antimicrobial regimens for use in humans for therapy of bacillus anthracis infections and postexposure prophylaxis. | expanded options for treatments directed against pathogens that can be used for bioterrorism are urgently needed. treatment regimens directed against such pathogens can be identified only by using data derived from in vitro and animal studies. it is crucial that these studies reliably predict the efficacy of proposed treatments in humans. the objective of this study was to identify a levofloxacin treatment regimen that will serve as an effective therapy for bacillus anthracis infections and post ... | 2005 | 16304178 |
| computational identification of strain-, species- and genus-specific proteins. | the identification of unique proteins at different taxonomic levels has both scientific and practical value. strain-, species- and genus-specific proteins can provide insight into the criteria that define an organism and its relationship with close relatives. such proteins can also serve as taxon-specific diagnostic targets. | 2005 | 16305751 |
| emerging and reemerging infectious diseases: the perpetual challenge. | public health officials once suggested that it might someday be possible to "close the book" on the study and treatment of infectious diseases. however, it is now clear that endemic diseases as well as newly emerging ones (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome [sars]), reemerging ones (e.g., west nile virus), and even deliberately disseminated infectious diseases (e.g., anthrax from bioterrorism) continue to pose a substantial threat throughout the world. over the past several decades, the glo ... | 2005 | 16306276 |
| anthrax scare 2005, washington, dc: operational issues in chemoprophylaxis. | | 2005 | 16308077 |
| a pseudoknot in the 3' non-core region of the glms ribozyme enhances self-cleavage activity. | the recently described glms ribozyme is a self-cleaving rna sequence found in the 5' noncoding region of the transcript of the gene for glucosamine-6-phosphate (glcn6p) synthase in many gram-positive bacteria. this ribozyme is associated with the glcn6p riboswitch, and ribozyme activity in response to binding of the metabolite, glcn6p, is proposed to effect levels of gene expression. the previously defined core sequence of the glcn6p-dependent ribozyme contained fewer than 80 nt of contiguous se ... | 2005 | 16314452 |
| anthrax vaccine powder formulations for nasal mucosal delivery. | anthrax remains a serious threat worldwide as a bioterror agent. a second-generation anthrax vaccine currently under clinical evaluation consists of a recombinant protective antigen (rpa) of bacillus anthracis. we have previously demonstrated that complete protection against inhalational anthrax can be achieved in a rabbit model, by intranasal delivery of a powder rpa formulation. here we describe the preformulation and formulation development of such powder formulations. the physical stability ... | 2006 | 16315230 |
| in vitro binding of anthrax protective antigen on bacteriophage t4 capsid surface through hoc-capsid interactions: a strategy for efficient display of large full-length proteins. | an in vitro binding system is described to display large full-length proteins on bacteriophage t4 capsid surface at high density. the phage t4 icosahedral capsid features 155 copies of a nonessential highly antigenic outer capsid protein, hoc, at the center of each major capsid protein hexon. gene fusions were engineered to express the 83-kda protective antigen (pa) from bacillus anthracis fused to the n-terminus of hoc and the 130-kda pa-hoc protein was expressed in escherichia coli and purifie ... | 2006 | 16316672 |
| pyrosequencing bacillus anthracis. | pyrosequencing technology is a sequencing method that screens dna nucleotide incorporation in real time. a set of coupled enzymatic reactions, together with bioluminescence, detects incorporated nucleotides in the form of light pulses, which produces a profile of characteristic peaks in a pyrogram. we used this technology to identify the warfare agent bacillus anthracis by sequencing 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) in the rpob gene as chromosomal markers for b. anthracis. in addition, 1 ... | 2005 | 16318691 |
| strong mucosal and systemic immunities induced by nasal immunization with anthrax protective antigen protein incorporated in liposome-protamine-dna particles. | the very lengthy and complicated dosing schedule of the current anthrax vaccine adsorbed, which was licensed in the usa for the prevention of cutaneous anthrax infection, calls for the development of an efficacious and easily administrable vaccine to prevent against the most lethal form of anthrax infection, the inhalation anthrax. we propose to develop a nasal anthrax vaccine using anthrax protective antigen (pa) protein carried by liposome-protamine-dna (lpd) particles. | 2006 | 16319999 |
| efficient growth inhibition of bacillus anthracis by knocking out the ribonucleotide reductase tyrosyl radical. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a worldwide problem because of the need for effective treatment of respiratory infections shortly after exposure. one potential key enzyme of b. anthracis to be targeted by antiproliferative drugs is ribonucleotide reductase. it provides deoxyribonucleotides for dna synthesis needed for spore germination and growth of the pathogen. we have cloned, purified, and characterized the tyrosyl radical-carrying nrdf component of b. anthracis class i ... | 2005 | 16322104 |
| severe bacterial infections of the skin: uncommon presentations. | although most bacterial infections of the skin prove to be minor in nature, a few such dermatologic entities are significant, to the point of even being fatal. their course can be extremely rapid and can lead to dreadful complications. the mortality rate is usually up to 30% to 50% and depends upon the type of infection, underlying disease, and immune status. patients suffering them usually need to be hospitalized, sometimes in intensive care or burn units. they should be treated systemically wi ... | 2005 | 16325071 |
| effects of long-term storage on plasmid stability in bacillus anthracis. | the plasmid profiles of 619 cultures of bacillus anthracis which had been isolated and stored between 1954 and 1989 were analyzed using the laboratory response network real-time pcr assay targeting a chromosomal marker and both virulence plasmids (pxo1 and pxo2). the cultures were stored at ambient temperature on tryptic soy agar slants overlaid with mineral oil. when data were stratified by decade, there was a decreasing linear trend in the proportion of strains containing both plasmids with in ... | 2005 | 16332750 |
| [anthrax: early steps of the intracellular stage of infection development]. | it was shown that spore germination of different bacillus anthracis strains in macrophage-like cells j774a.1 depended on the genotype of the strains. the virulent b. anthracis strains contain plasmids pxo1 and px02 responsible for the synthesis of a toxin and a capsule, respectively. the loss of one of the plasmids results in the reduction of strain virulence. it was shown that effective survival of germinating spores in macrophages occurred in the presence of plasmid pxo1 only. the spores of th ... | 2005 | 16334217 |
| appropriation and commercialization of the pasteur anthrax vaccine. | whereas pasteur patented the biotechnological processes that he invented between 1857 and 1873 in the agro-food domain, he did not file any patents on the artificial vaccine preparation processes that he subsequently developed. this absence of patents can probably be explained by the 1844 patent law in france that established the non-patentable status of pharmaceutical preparations and remedies, including those for use in veterinary medicine. despite the absence of patents, the commercial exploi ... | 2005 | 16337558 |
| the discovery of a potent and selective lethal factor inhibitor for adjunct therapy of anthrax infection. | a potent and selective anthrax lf inhibitor 40, (2r)-2-[(4-fluoro-3-methylphenyl)sulfonylamino]-n-hydroxy-2-(tetrahydro-2h-pyran-4-yl)acetamide, was identified through sar study of a high throughput screen lead. it has an ic50 of 54 nm in the enzyme assay and an ic50 of 210 nm in the macrophage cytotoxicity assay. compound 40 is also effective in vivo in several animal model studies. | 2006 | 16338135 |
| robert koch, the nobel prize, and the ongoing threat of tuberculosis. | | 2005 | 16339091 |
| human and animal health: strengthening the link: politics and economics inhibited control of anthrax last century. | | 2005 | 16339257 |
| protein translocation through the anthrax toxin transmembrane pore is driven by a proton gradient. | protective antigen (pa) from anthrax toxin assembles into a homoheptamer on cell surfaces and forms complexes with the enzymatic components: lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef). endocytic vesicles containing these complexes are acidified, causing the heptamer to transform into a transmembrane pore that chaperones the passage of unfolded lf and ef into the cytosol. we show in planar lipid bilayers that a physiologically relevant proton gradient (deltaph, where the endosome is acidified relat ... | 2006 | 16343527 |
| crystal structure of bacillus anthracis thii, a trna-modifying enzyme containing the predicted rna-binding thump domain. | thii is an enzyme responsible for the formation of the modified base s(4)u (4-thiouridine) found at position 8 in some prokaryotic trnas. this base acts as a sensitive trigger for the response mechanism to uv exposure, providing protection against its damaging effects. we present the crystal structure of bacillus anthracis thii in complex with amp, revealing an extended tripartite architecture in which an n-terminal ferredoxin-like domain (nfld) connects the c-terminal catalytic pp-loop pyrophos ... | 2006 | 16343540 |
| formaldehyde solution effectively inactivates spores of bacillus anthracis on the scottish island of gruinard. | gruinard island was heavily contaminated with the spores of virulent bacillus anthracis during biological weapons trials in world war ii. however, an extensive survey in 1979 showed that most of the island was not contaminated. in the early 1980s, a more intensive survey revealed that the contamination was largely confined to the top 8 cm of the soil in a 2.6-ha area of the 211-ha island. small-scale tests showed that the spores could be inactivated by drenching the soil with fluid biocides. a s ... | 1994 | 16349444 |
| postexposure management and treatment of anthrax in dogs--executive councils of the american academy of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics and the american college of veterinary clinical pharmacology. | dogs are generally at low risk of developing disease following exposure to anthrax. when disease does occur, it appears associated with oral exposure to the bacteria leading to massive swelling of the head, neck, and mediastinal regions. death is due to toxemia and shock. for animals at high risk, such as search and rescue dogs with a known exposure, doxycycline at 5 mg/kg orally once daily for 45 to 60 days is suggested as a prophylactic treatment. additional information on the diagnosis, preve ... | 2005 | 16353908 |
| epitope mapping of the protective antigen of b. anthracis by using nanoclusters presenting conformational peptide epitopes. | | 2006 | 16355420 |
| mitochondrial impairment is a critical event in anthrax lethal toxin-induced cytolysis of murine macrophages. | numerous early events in anthrax lethal toxin (lt)-mediated cell killing have been described, including uptake of lt and mapkk cleavage. however, critical downstream events in lt killing remain to be identified. in this study we present evidence that lt causes mitochondrial dysfunction in murine j774a.1 macrophages, as indicated by a continuous drop in both mitochondrial membrane potential and sdh activity. this was further supported by ultrastructural analysis revealing lt-induced swelling of m ... | 2006 | 16357526 |
| evaluation of public health interventions for anthrax: a report to the secretary's council on public health preparedness. | to aid in understanding how best to respond to a bioterror anthrax attack, we analyze a system of differential equations that includes a disease progression model, a set of spatially distributed queues for distributing antibiotics, and vaccination (pre-event and/or post-event). we derive approximate expressions for the number of casualties as a function of key parameters and management levers, including the time at which the attack is detected, the number of days to distribute antibiotics, the a ... | 2005 | 16366844 |
| inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling by bacillus anthracis lethal toxin causes destabilization of interleukin-8 mrna. | bacillus anthracis must overcome host innate immune defences to establish a systemic anthrax infection. this is facilitated in part by lethal toxin (lt), a secreted virulence factor that consists of a cell-binding moiety, protective antigen (pa), and an enzymatic moiety, lethal factor (lf). pa binds cells through protein receptors and mediates the delivery of lf to the cytosol. lf is a protease that cleaves amino-terminal fragments from mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (mapkks), preventi ... | 2006 | 16367872 |
| immunological correlates for protection against intranasal challenge of bacillus anthracis spores conferred by a protective antigen-based vaccine in rabbits. | correlates between immunological parameters and protection against bacillus anthracis infection in animals vaccinated with protective antigen (pa)-based vaccines could provide surrogate markers to evaluate the putative protective efficiency of immunization in humans. in previous studies we demonstrated that neutralizing antibody levels serve as correlates for protection in guinea pigs (s. reuveny et al., infect. immun. 69:2888-2893, 2001; h. marcus et al., infect. immun. 72:3471-3477, 2004). in ... | 2006 | 16368995 |
| roles of macrophages and neutrophils in the early host response to bacillus anthracis spores in a mouse model of infection. | the development of new approaches to combat anthrax requires that the pathogenesis and host response to bacillus anthracis spores be better understood. we investigated the roles that macrophages and neutrophils play in the progression of infection by b. anthracis in a mouse model. mice were treated with a macrophage depletion agent (liposome-encapsulated clodronate) or with a neutrophil depletion agent (cyclophosphamide or the rat anti-mouse granulocyte monoclonal antibody rb6-8c5), and the anim ... | 2006 | 16369003 |
| genome engineering in bacillus anthracis using cre recombinase. | genome engineering is a powerful method for the study of bacterial virulence. with the availability of the complete genomic sequence of bacillus anthracis, it is now possible to inactivate or delete selected genes of interest. however, many current methods for disrupting or deleting more than one gene require use of multiple antibiotic resistance determinants. in this report we used an approach that temporarily inserts an antibiotic resistance marker into a selected region of the genome and subs ... | 2006 | 16369025 |
| correlation between lethal toxin-neutralizing antibody titers and protection from intranasal challenge with bacillus anthracis ames strain spores in mice after transcutaneous immunization with recombinant anthrax protective antigen. | transcutaneous immunization of mice with recombinant protective antigen (rpa) of bacillus anthracis resulted in significantly higher lethal toxin-neutralizing antibody titers than did intramuscular injection of alum-adsorbed rpa. immunized mice were partially protected against intranasal challenge with 235,000 (10 50% lethal doses) ames strain b. anthracis spores. a highly significant correlation was observed between toxin-neutralizing antibody titer and survival after challenge. future experime ... | 2006 | 16369043 |
| unexpected similarity between the cytosolic west nile virus ns3 and the secretory furin-like serine proteinases. | many viral proteins undergo proteolytic processing events that are required for virus infection and virion assembly. in this issue of biochemical journal, strongin and co-workers report that the ns3 protease from west nile virus unexpectedly cleaves certain substrates at pairs of basic residues, a specificity that resembles that of the furin-like pcs (proprotein convertases). this led to the demonstration that furin/pc inhibitors containing poly(d-arginine) are also potent inhibitors of ns3, and ... | 2006 | 16371006 |
| novel synthetic molecules targeting the bacterial rna polymerase assembly. | despite extensive functional screening of the bacterial rna polymerase (rnap) over the past years, very few novel inhibitors have been reported. we have, therefore, decided to screen with a radically different, non-enzymic, protein-protein interaction assay. our target is the highly conserved rnap-sigma interaction that is essential for transcription. | 2006 | 16373430 |
| diversity and function of adaptive immune receptors in a jawless vertebrate. | instead of the immunoglobulin-type antigen receptors of jawed vertebrates, jawless fish have variable lymphocyte receptors (vlrs), which consist of leucine-rich repeat (lrr) modules. somatic diversification of the vlr gene is shown here to occur through a multistep assembly of lrr modules randomly selected from a large bank of flanking cassettes. the predicted concave surface of the vlr is lined with hypervariable positively selected residues, and computational analysis suggests a repertoire of ... | 2005 | 16373579 |
| atomic force microscopy of bacillus spore surface morphology. | bacillus spore surface morphology was imaged with atomic force microscopy (afm) to determine if characteristic surface features could be used to distinguish between four closely related species; bacillus anthracis sterne strain, bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, bacillus cereus strain 569, and bacillus globigii var. niger. afm surface height images showed an irregular topography across the curved upper surface of the spores. phase images showed a superficial grain structure with different le ... | 2006 | 16376084 |
| rapid chemical digestion of small acid-soluble spore proteins for analysis of bacillus spores. | a method for the rapid identification of bacillus spores is proposed, based on the selective release and chemical digestion of small, acid-soluble spore proteins (sasps). microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of sasps from b. anthracis str. sterne and b. subtilis str. 168 was accomplished in a single step requiring only 90 s of heating. the peptide products of the chemical digestion were identified by postsource decay sequencing with a maldi-tof-ms equipped with a curved-field reflectron. the speci ... | 2006 | 16383326 |
| both pa63 and pa83 are endocytosed within an anthrax protective antigen mixed heptamer: a putative mechanism to overcome a furin deficiency. | anthrax toxin consists of protective antigen (pa), and lethal (lf) and edema (ef) factors. a 83 kda pa monomer (pa83) precursor binds to the cell receptor. furin-like proprotein convertases (pcs) cleave pa83 to generate cell-bound 63 kda protein (pa63). pa63 oligomerizes to form a ring-shaped heptamer that binds lf-ef and facilitates their entry into the cells. several additional pcs, as opposed to furin alone, are capable of processing pa83. following the incomplete processing of the available ... | 2006 | 16384550 |
| rap phosphatase of virulence plasmid pxo1 inhibits bacillus anthracis sporulation. | this study shows that the bacillus anthracis pxo1 virulence plasmid carries a rap-phr system, bxa0205, which regulates sporulation initiation in this organism. the bxa0205rap protein was shown to dephosphorylate the spo0f response regulator intermediate of the phosphorelay signal transduction system that regulates the initiation of the developmental pathway in response to environmental, metabolic, and cell cycle signals. the activity of the rap protein was shown to be inhibited by the carboxy-te ... | 2006 | 16385039 |
| kinetic characterization and ligand binding studies of his351 mutants of bacillus anthracis adenylate cyclase. | edema factor is a calmodulin dependent adenylyl cyclase secreted as one of the primary exotoxins by bacillus anthracis. a histidine residue at position 351 located in its active site has been implicated in catalysis but direct evidence of its functional role is still lacking. in the present study, we introduced mutations in full-length edema factor (ef) to generate alanine (h351a), asparagine (h351n), and phenylalanine (h351f) variants. spectral analysis of these variants displayed no gross stru ... | 2006 | 16386701 |
| guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives as anthrax lethal factor inhibitors. | anthrax lethal factor is a zn(2+)-dependent metalloprotease and the key virulence factor of tripartite anthrax toxin secreted by bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. a series of guanidinylated 2,5-dideoxystreptamine derivatives were designed and synthesized as inhibitors of lethal factor, some of which show strong inhibitory activity against lethal factor in an in vitro fret assay. preparation and structure-activity relationships of these compounds are presented. | 2006 | 16386899 |
| petrobactin is the primary siderophore synthesized by bacillus anthracis str. sterne under conditions of iron starvation. | the siderophores of bacillus anthracis are critical for the pathogen's proliferation and may be necessary for its virulence. bacillus anthracis str. sterne cells were cultured in iron free media and the siderophores produced were isolated and purified using a combination of xad-2 resin, reverse-phase fplc, and size exclusion chromatography. a combination of 1h and 13c nmr spectroscopy, uv spectroscopy and esi-ms/ms fragmentation were used to identify the primary siderophore as petrobactin, a cat ... | 2005 | 16388397 |
| a bacillus thuringiensis s-layer protein involved in toxicity against epilachna varivestis (coleoptera: coccinellidae). | the use of bacillus thuringiensis as a biopesticide is a viable alternative for insect control since the insecticidal cry proteins produced by these bacteria are highly specific; harmless to humans, vertebrates, and plants; and completely biodegradable. in addition to cry proteins, b. thuringiensis produces a number of extracellular compounds, including s-layer proteins (slp), that contribute to virulence. the s layer is an ordered structure representing a proteinaceous paracrystalline array whi ... | 2006 | 16391064 |
| detection of biological threat agents by real-time pcr: comparison of assay performance on the r.a.p.i.d., the lightcycler, and the smart cycler platforms. | rapid detection of biological threat agents is critical for timely therapeutic administration. fluorogenic pcr provides a rapid, sensitive, and specific tool for molecular identification of these agents. we compared the performance of assays for 7 biological threat agents on the idaho technology, inc. r.a.p.i.d., the roche lightcycler, and the cepheid smart cycler. | 2006 | 16391330 |
| protecting public health in the age of bioterrorism surveillance: is the price right? | millions of dollars have been spent improving the bioterrorism surveillance capabilities of the public health system. yet relatively little attention has been paid to the benefits that such expenditures yield. to assess the impact of an aerosol release of bacillus anthracis, this article collects the available evidence on the potential benefits of environmental detection relative to the costs of a bioterrorist attack like the one in 2001, which occurred in the absence of any such detection. the ... | 2005 | 16392626 |
| anthrax lethal factor protease inhibitors: synthesis, sar, and structure-based 3d qsar studies. | we have recently identified a series of compounds that efficiently inhibit anthrax lethal factor (lf) metallo-protease. here we present further structure-activity relationship and comfa (comparative molecular field analysis) studies on newly derived inhibitors. the obtained 3d qsar model was subsequently compared with the x-ray structure of the complex between lf and a representative compound. our studies form the basis for the rational design of additional compounds with improved activity and s ... | 2006 | 16392787 |
| cutaneous reactions in nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. | nuclear, biological and chemical warfare have in recent times been responsible for an increasing number of otherwise rare dermatoses. many nations are now maintaining overt and clandestine stockpiles of such arsenal. with increasing terrorist threats, these agents of mass destruction pose a risk to the civilian population. nuclear and chemical attacks manifest immediately while biological attacks manifest later. chemical and biological attacks pose a significant risk to the attending medical per ... | 2005 | 16394378 |
| an outbreak of cutaneous anthrax in a non-endemic district--visakhapatnam in andhra pradesh. | anthrax is a disease of herbivorous animals, and humans incidentally acquire the disease by handling infected dead animals and their products. sporadic cases of human anthrax have been reported from southern india. | 2005 | 16394383 |
| stable peptide inhibitors prevent binding of lethal and oedema factors to protective antigen and neutralize anthrax toxin in vivo. | the lethal and oedema toxins produced by bacillus anthracis, the aetiological agent of anthrax, are made by association of protective antigen with lethal and oedema factors and play a major role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. in the present paper, we describe the production of peptide-based specific inhibitors in branched form which inhibit the interaction of protective antigen with lethal and oedema factors and neutralize anthrax toxins in vitro and in vivo. anti-protective antigen peptides we ... | 2006 | 16398644 |
| receptor palmitoylation and ubiquitination regulate anthrax toxin endocytosis. | the anthrax toxin is composed of three independent polypeptide chains. successful intoxication only occurs when heptamerization of the receptor-binding polypeptide, the protective antigen (pa), allows binding of the two enzymatic subunits before endocytosis. we show that this tailored behavior is caused by two counteracting posttranslational modifications in the cytoplasmic tail of pa receptors. the receptor is palmitoylated, and this unexpectedly prevents its association with lipid rafts and, t ... | 2006 | 16401723 |
| [the discovery of the tubercle bacillus by robert koch: a milestone for 123 years]. | the discovery of the tubercle bacillus and its causal relationship to tuberculosis by the general practitioner robert koch (1843-1910) in 1882 was truly a revolutionary discovery by a pioneer. this discovery was very well-documented, making use of optical equipment that had just appeared on the market, and was accomplished in his own home without outside support. in spite of the publication of the discovery in a german medical periodical with only local circulation, the entire scientific world q ... | 2005 | 16402521 |
| rains fail to bring relief in zimbabwe. | | 2006 | 16410580 |
| dna examination of ancient dental pulp incriminates typhoid fever as a probable cause of the plague of athens. | until now, in the absence of direct microbiological evidence, the cause of the plague of athens has remained a matter of debate among scientists who have relied exclusively on thucydides' narrations to introduce several possible diagnoses. a mass burial pit, unearthed in the kerameikos ancient cemetery of athens and dated back to the time of the plague outbreak (around 430 bc), has provided the required skeletal material for the investigation of ancient microbial dna. | 2006 | 16412683 |
| differences in individual-level terrorism preparedness in los angeles county. | increasing individual preparedness for disasters, including large-scale terrorist attacks, is a significant concern of public health planners. as with natural disasters, individuals can help protect their health and safety by preparing for the emergency situation that may follow a terrorist event. our study describes variations in preparedness among the population of los angeles county after the september 11, 2001 and subsequent anthrax attacks. | 2006 | 16414417 |
| duration of protection of rabbits after vaccination with bacillus anthracis recombinant protective antigen vaccine. | long-term protection of rabbits that had been vaccinated with two doses of a recombinant protective antigen (rpa) vaccine was examined against an aerosol spore challenge with the ames isolate of bacillus anthracis at 6 and 12 months. at 6 months after the primary injection, survival was 74.1% (20/27) with quantitative elisa titer of 22.3 microg of anti-rpa igg per millilitre and toxin neutralizing antibody (tna) assay titer of 332. at 12 months after the primary injection, only 37.5% (9/24) of t ... | 2006 | 16417950 |
| [bioterrorism agents: getting ready for the unthinkable]. | the september 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the u.s.a. demonstrated our vulnerability to terrorist raids. furthermore, in the same year inhalational anthrax cases in humans caused by the intentional [corrected] release of bacillus anthracis spores via the u.s.a. postal system inflicted a lot of panic and terror over the civilian population. the succeeding terrorist events scattered in several other countries are continuous reminders of our frailness [corrected] and of the risk that terrorists at ... | 2005 | 16419465 |
| newly developed colorimetric drug screening assay for bacillus anthracis. | | 2006 | 16423510 |
| detection of bacillus anthracis spores and a model protein using pemc sensors in a flow cell at 1 ml/min. | piezoelectric-excited millimeter-sized cantilever (pemc) sensors of 4mm(2) sensing area were immobilized with antibody specific to bacillus anthracis (anti-ba) spores or bovine serum albumin (anti-bsa). detection of pathogen (bacillus anthracis (ba) at 300 spores/ml) and bsa (1 mg/ml) were investigated under both stagnant and flow conditions. two flow cell designs were evaluated by characterizing flow-induced resonant frequency shifts. one of the flow cells labeled sfc-2 (hold-up volume of 0.3 m ... | 2006 | 16423521 |
| growth characteristics of bacillus anthracis compared to other bacillus spp. on the selective nutrient media anthrax blood agar and cereus ident agar. | anthrax blood agar (aba) and cereus ident agar (cei) were evaluated as selective growth media for the isolation of bacillus anthracis using 92 b. anthracis and 132 other bacillus strains from 30 species. the positive predictive values for the identification of b. anthracis on aba, cei, and the combination of both were 72%, 71%, and 90%, respectively. thus, less than 10% of all species were misidentified using both nutrient media. species which might be misidentified as b. anthracis were b. cereu ... | 2006 | 16423652 |
| bacillus anthracis edema toxin acts as an adjuvant for mucosal immune responses to nasally administered vaccine antigens. | anthrax edema toxin (edtx) is an ab-type toxin that binds to anthrax toxin receptors on target cells via the binding subunit, protective ag (pa). edema factor, the enzymatic a subunit of edtx, is an adenylate cyclase. we found that nasal delivery of edtx enhanced systemic immunity to nasally coadministered ova and resulted in high ova-specific plasma iga and igg (mainly igg1 and igg2b). the edema factor also enhanced immunity to the binding pa subunit itself and promoted high levels of plasma ig ... | 2006 | 16424208 |
| proteomics and bioinformatics strategies to design countermeasures against infectious threat agents. | the potential devastation resulting from an intentional outbreak caused by biological warfare agents such as brucella abortus and bacillus anthracis underscores the need for next generation vaccines. proteomics, genomics, and systems biology approaches coupled with the bacterial ghost (bg) vaccine delivery strategy offer an ideal approach for developing safer, cost-effective, and efficacious vaccines for human use in a relatively rapid time frame. critical to any subunit vaccine development stra ... | 2006 | 16426046 |
| bacillus anthracis isdg, a heme-degrading monooxygenase. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, utilizes hemin and hemoglobin for growth in culture, suggesting that these host molecules serve as sources for the nutrient iron during bacterial infection. bioinformatic analyses of the b. anthracis genome revealed genes with similarity to the iron-regulated surface determinant (isd) system responsible for heme uptake in staphylococcus aureus. we show that the protein product of one of these genes, isdg, binds hemin in a manner resembling the ... | 2006 | 16428411 |
| cytokine response and survival of mice immunized with an adenovirus expressing bacillus anthracis protective antigen domain 4. | adenovirus vectors are promising for use in vaccinating against potential agents of bioterrorism and emerging infections because of their proven safety in humans and their ability to elicit rapid immune responses. here, we describe the construction and evaluation of an adenovirus vaccine expressing domain 4 of bacillus anthracis protective antigen, ad.d4. ad.d4 elicited antibodies to protective antigen 14 days after a single intramuscular injection, which were further increased upon boosting. fu ... | 2006 | 16428747 |
| human monoclonal anti-protective antigen antibody completely protects rabbits and is synergistic with ciprofloxacin in protecting mice and guinea pigs against inhalation anthrax. | prevention of inhalation anthrax requires early and extended antibiotic therapy, and therefore, alternative treatment strategies are needed. we investigated whether a human monoclonal antibody (avp-21d9) to protective antigen (pa) would protect mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits against anthrax. control animals challenged with bacillus anthracis ames spores by the intranasal route died within 3 to 7 days. avp-21d9 alone provided minimal protection against anthrax in the murine model, but its efficac ... | 2006 | 16428748 |
| anthrax lethal toxin induces ketotifen-sensitive intradermal vascular leakage in certain inbred mice. | bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) is a bipartite toxin composed of protective antigen (pa) and lethal factor (lf). injection of lt produces clinical signs characteristic of anthrax infection, including pleural edema and vascular collapse in various animal models. we utilized the classic miles leakage assay to quantify vascular leakage in mice. lt injected intradermally induced leakage as early as 15 to 25 min in some inbred mouse strains, but not in others, whereas pa or lf individually did n ... | 2006 | 16428776 |
| nalp1b controls mouse macrophage susceptibility to anthrax lethal toxin. | the pathogenesis of bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, depends on secretion of three factors that combine to form two bipartite toxins. edema toxin, consisting of protective antigen (pa) and edema factor (ef), causes the edema associated with cutaneous anthrax infections, whereas lethal toxin (letx), consisting of pa and lethal factor (lf), is believed to be responsible for causing death in systemic anthrax infections. ef and lf can be transported by pa into the cytosol of ma ... | 2006 | 16429160 |
| antitumor efficacy of a urokinase activation-dependent anthrax toxin. | previously, we have generated a potent prodrug consisting of modified anthrax toxins that is activated by urokinase plasminogen activator (upa). the cytotoxicity of the drug, prag-u2 + fp59, is dependent on the presence of receptor-associated upa activity. local intradermal administration of prag-u2 + fp59 adjacent to the tumor nodules in mice with transplanted solid tumors had a potent antitumor effect. in succession of these experiments, we have now investigated the systemic antitumor efficacy ... | 2006 | 16432166 |
| multiplexed detection of anthrax-related toxin genes. | simultaneous analysis of three targets in three colors on any real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) instrument would increase the flexibility of real-time pcr. for the detection of bacillus strains that can cause inhalation anthrax-related illness, this ability would be valuable because two plasmids confer virulence, and internal positive controls are needed to monitor the testing in cases lacking target-specific signals. using a real-time pcr platform called multicode-rtx, multiple assays w ... | 2006 | 16436639 |
| orf virus infection in humans--new york, illinois, california, and tennessee, 2004-2005. | orf virus is a zoonotic parapoxvirus endemic to most countries in the world and is principally associated with small ruminants (e.g., sheep and goats). human orf infections appear as ulcerative skin lesions after contact with an infected animal or contaminated fomite. this report summarizes the epidemiologic and laboratory investigations of four sporadic cases of human orf infection, emphasizing the temporal association between human lesions and skin trauma or recent flock vaccination with live ... | 2006 | 16437055 |
| surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy biosensors: excitation spectroscopy for optimisation of substrates fabricated by nanosphere lithography. | in the 28 years since its discovery, surface-enhanced raman scattering (sers) has progressed from model system studies of pyridine on a roughened silver electrode to state-of-the-art surface science studies and real-world sensing applications. each year, the number of sers publications increases as nanoscale material design techniques advance and the importance of trace analyte detection increases. to achieve the lowest limits of detection, both the relationship between surface nanostructure and ... | 2005 | 16441180 |
| three rare cases of anthrax arising from the same source. | anthrax is an acute bacterial infection caused by bacillus anthracis. humans become infected under natural conditions by contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. about 95% of human anthrax is cutaneous and 5% respiratory. gastrointestinal anthrax is very rare, and has been reported in less than 1% of all cases. anthrax meningitis is a rare complication of any of the other three forms of disease. we report three rare cases of anthrax (gastrointestinal, oropharyngeal and meni ... | 2006 | 16442628 |
| origin of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. | | 2006 | 16443031 |
| anthrax target in macrophages unveiled. | | 2006 | 16444249 |
| development of the vaccine analytic unit's research agenda for investigating potential adverse events associated with anthrax vaccine adsorbed. | in 2002, the centers for disease control and prevention established the vaccine analytic unit (vau) in collaboration with the department of defense (dod). the focus of this report is to describe the process by which the vau's anthrax vaccine safety research plan was developed following a comprehensive review of these topics. | 2007 | 16444796 |
| the dltabcd operon of bacillus anthracis sterne is required for virulence and resistance to peptide, enzymatic, and cellular mediators of innate immunity. | in the environment, the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis persists as a metabolically dormant endospore. upon inoculation into the host the endospores germinate and outgrow into vegetative bacilli able to cause disease. the dramatic morphogenic changes to the bacterium during germination and outgrowth are numerous and include major rearrangement of and modifications to the bacterial surface. such modifications occur during a time in the b. anthracis infectious cycle when the bacterium m ... | 2006 | 16452412 |
| efficient neutralization of anthrax toxin by chimpanzee monoclonal antibodies against protective antigen. | four single-chain variable fragments (scfvs) against protective antigen (pa) and 2 scfvs against lethal factor (lf) of anthrax were isolated from a phage display library generated from immunized chimpanzees. only 2 scfvs recognizing pa (w1 and w2) neutralized the cytotoxicity of lethal toxin in a macrophage lysis assay. full-length immunoglobulin g (igg) of w1 and w2 efficiently protected rats from anthrax toxin challenge. the epitope recognized by w1 and w2 was conformational and was formed by ... | 2006 | 16453257 |
| a workflow spatial scan statistic. | we propose a modification of the spatial scan statistic that takes account of workflow, which is the movement of individuals between home and work. the objective is to detect clusters of disease in situations where exposure occurs in the workplace, but only home address is available for analysis. in these situations, application of the usual spatial scan statistic does not account for possible differences between home and work address, thereby reducing the power of detection. we describe an exte ... | 2006 | 16453371 |
| evaluating spatial surveillance: detection of known outbreaks in real data. | since the anthrax attacks of october 2001 and the sars outbreaks of recent years, there has been an increasing interest in developing surveillance systems to aid in the early detection of such illness. systems have been established which do this is by monitoring primary health-care visits, pharmacy sales, absenteeism records, and other non-traditional sources of data. while many resources have been invested in establishing such systems, relatively little effort has as yet been expended in evalua ... | 2006 | 16453375 |
| anthrax lethal factor and edema factor act on conserved targets in drosophila. | many bacterial toxins act on conserved components of essential host-signaling pathways. one consequence of this conservation is that genetic model organisms such as drosophila melanogaster can be used for analyzing the mechanism of toxin action. in this study, we characterize the activities of two anthrax virulence factors, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor, in transgenic drosophila. lf is a zinc metalloprotease that cleaves and inactivates most human mitogen-activated protein kinase (mapk) ki ... | 2006 | 16455799 |
| [scientific progress and new biological weapons]. | the biological weapons are different from conventional weapons, because living germs hold an extraordinary and predictable potential for multiplication, propagation and genetic variation during their dissemination in a susceptible population. only natural pathogens (1rst generation weapons) have been used in the past (smallpox virus, plague, anthrax, toxins...). however, new threats are emerging, due to the rapid progress of scientific knowledge and its exponential worldwide diffusion. it is pos ... | 2006 | 16457765 |
| the 2beta2-2beta3 loop of anthrax protective antigen contains a dominant neutralizing epitope. | anthrax toxin consists of three proteins, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor, and edema factor. pa is the major component in the current anthrax vaccine, but the antigenic epitopes on it are not well-defined. we generated a pool of toxin-neutralizing anti-pa monoclonal antibodies (mabs) to analyze the neutralizing epitopes of pa. nine toxin-neutralizing mabs obtained were found bound to three different domains of pa respectively, among which three mabs with the strongest toxin-neutralizing a ... | 2006 | 16460675 |
| strategy for identification of bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis strains closely related to bacillus anthracis. | bacillus cereus strains that are genetically closely related to b. anthracis can display anthrax-like virulence traits (a. r. hoffmaster et al., proc. natl. acad. sci. usa 101:8449-8454, 2004). hence, approaches that rapidly identify these "near neighbors" are of great interest for the study of b. anthracis virulence mechanisms, as well as to prevent the use of such strains for b. anthracis-based bioweapon development. here, a strategy is proposed for the identification of near neighbors of b. a ... | 2006 | 16461679 |
| acceleration of epithelial cell syndecan-1 shedding by anthrax hemolytic virulence factors. | it has been recently reported that major pathogens staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa accelerate a normal process of cell surface syndecan-1 (synd1) ectodomain shedding as a mechanism of host damage due to the production of shedding-inducing virulence factors. we tested if acceleration of synd1 shedding takes place in vitro upon treatment of epithelial cells with b. anthracis hemolysins, as well as in vivo during anthrax infection in mice. | 2006 | 16464252 |
| n-thiolated 2-oxazolidinones: a new family of antibacterial agents for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and bacillus anthracis. | in this report, we describe a new family of n-thiolated 2-oxazolidinones having antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and bacillus anthracis. the effect of ring substituents and stereochemistry on antibacterial activity of these oxazolidinones closely parallels that previously reported for n-thiolated beta-lactam antibiotics. | 2006 | 16464583 |
| neutralizing antibodies and persistence of immunity following anthrax vaccination. | anthrax toxin consists of protective antigen (pa) and two toxic components, lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef). pa binds to mammalian cellular receptors and delivers the toxic components to the cytoplasm. pa is the primary antigenic component of the current anthrax vaccine. immunity is due to the generation of antibodies that prevent the pa-mediated internalization of lf and ef. in this study, we characterized sera obtained from vaccinated military personnel. anthrax vaccine is administere ... | 2006 | 16467327 |
| n-thiolated beta-lactams: a new family of anti-bacillus agents. | this report describes the evaluation of n-thiolated beta-lactam antibiotics as potential anti-bacillus agents. n-thiolated beta-lactams are a new family of antibacterials that previously have been found to selectively inhibit the growth of staphylococcus bacteria over many other genera of microbes. from the data presented herein, these lactams similarly inhibit a variety of bacillus species, including bacillus anthracis. the preliminary structure-activity studies suggest that there is a need to ... | 2006 | 16473509 |
| onset of anthrax toxin pore formation. | protective antigen (pa) is the anthrax toxin protein recognized by capillary morphogenesis gene 2 (cmg2), a transmembrane cellular receptor. upon activation, seven ligand-receptor units self-assemble into a heptameric ring-like complex that becomes endocytozed by the host cell. a critical step in the subsequent intoxication process is the formation and insertion of a pore into the endosome membrane by pa. the pore conversion requires a change in binding between pa and its receptor in the acidifi ... | 2006 | 16473908 |
| assembly and disassembly kinetics of anthrax toxin complexes. | proteolytic activation of the protective antigen (pa) component of anthrax toxin allows it to self-associate into a ring-shaped homoheptamer, [pa(63)](7), which can bind the enzymatic components lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef). [pa(63)](7) is a pore-precursor (prepore), and under the low-ph conditions of the endosome, it forms a transmembrane pore that allows lf and ef to enter the cytosol. pa was labeled with donor and acceptor fluorescent dyes, and förster resonance energy transfer wa ... | 2006 | 16475827 |
| glycerol monolaurate inhibits the effects of gram-positive select agents on eukaryotic cells. | many exotoxins of gram-positive bacteria, such as superantigens [staphylococcal enterotoxins, toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (tsst-1), and streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxins] and anthrax toxin are bioterrorism agents that cause diseases by immunostimulation or cytotoxicity. glycerol monolaurate (gml), a fatty acid monoester found naturally in humans, has been reported to prevent synthesis of gram-positive bacterial exotoxins. this study explored the ability of gml to inhibit the effects of exotoxin ... | 2006 | 16475828 |
| construction of single chain variable fragment (scfv) and biscfv-alkaline phosphatase fusion protein for detection of bacillus anthracis. | this paper describes an attempt for convenient and sensitive detection of bacillus anthracis with single chain variable fragment (scfv)-based protein chip. phage display technology was employed to generate scfv by using the protective antigen (pa) of b. anthracis for immunization. v(h) and v(l) genes of the scfv were amplified separately by reverse transcriptase-pcr from mrna of immunized mice and then assembled into scfv gene with a linker dna sequence. the scfv gene was inserted into a phagemi ... | 2006 | 16478089 |
| fiber-optic microsphere-based arrays for multiplexed biological warfare agent detection. | we report a multiplexed high-density dna array capable of rapid, sensitive, and reliable identification of potential biological warfare agents. an optical fiber bundle containing 6000 individual 3.1-mum-diameter fibers was chemically etched to yield microwells and used as the substrate for the array. eighteen different 50-mer single-stranded dna probes were covalently attached to 3.1-mum microspheres. probe sequences were designed for bacillus anthracis, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis, ... | 2006 | 16478092 |
| sublethal doses of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin inhibit inflammation with lipopolysaccharide and escherichia coli challenge but have opposite effects on survival. | on the basis of the findings of previous in vitro studies, we hypothesized that anthrax lethal toxin (letx) would have anti-inflammatory effects in vivo. | 2006 | 16479518 |
| a cluster of anthrax cases including meningitis. | we report a common-source outbreak of anthrax. the source of infection was the carcass of a cow. three patients developed anthrax, which affects meninx, skin and larynx. the patient with meningitis died. in all, 20 people who contacted or ate the cooked meat of the dead cow were given prophylactic tetracycline and remained well. this small outbreak calls for the increased awareness of physicians to this clinical entity in locations in which anthrax is endemic and for health education. | 2006 | 16483440 |
| anthrax in eastern turkey, 1992-2004. | we investigated animal and human anthrax cases during a 13-year period in eastern turkey. from 1992 to 2004, a total of 464 animal and 503 human anthrax cases were detected. most cases occurred in summer. anthrax remains a health problem in eastern turkey, and preventive measures should be taken. | 2005 | 16485484 |
| systematic review: a century of inhalational anthrax cases from 1900 to 2005. | mortality from inhalational anthrax during the 2001 u.s. attack was substantially lower than that reported historically. | 2006 | 16490913 |
| determination of benzethonium chloride in anthrax vaccine adsorbed by hplc. | a novel and sensitive hplc method for the determination of benzethonium chloride (bzc) in anthrax vaccine was developed. adjuvant alhydrogel was removed by syringe filter after a simple sample pretreatment - acidification prior to injection. chromatography was performed by isocratic reverse phase separation with methanol/262 mm ammonium acetate (80/20, v/v) on an endcapped c18 column with diode array detector (dad). the method showed excellent recovery (100+/-1.5%). the results indicated that th ... | 2006 | 16492397 |