| characterization of bacillus anthracis-like bacteria isolated from wild great apes from cote d'ivoire and cameroon. | we present the microbiological and molecular characterization of bacteria isolated from four chimpanzees and one gorilla thought to have died of an anthrax-like disease in côte d'ivoire and cameroon. these isolates differed significantly from classic bacillus anthracis by the following criteria: motility, resistance to the gamma phage, and, for isolates from cameroon, resistance to penicillin g. a capsule was expressed not only after induction by co(2) and bicarbonate but also under normal growt ... | 2006 | 16855222 |
| anthrax oedema toxin induces anthrax toxin receptor expression in monocyte-derived cells. | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, secretes two bipartite toxins that help the bacterium evade the immune system and contribute directly to pathogenesis. both toxin catalytic moieties, lethal factor (lf) and oedema factor (of), are internalized into the host-cell cytosol by a third factor, protective antigen (pa), which binds to cellular anthrax toxin receptors (antxrs). oedema factor is an adenylate cyclase that impairs host defences by raising cellular camp levels. here we dem ... | 2006 | 16856939 |
| anthrax: a systematic review of atypical presentations. | during the 2001 us anthrax attacks, mortality from inhalational anthrax was significantly lower than had been reported historically, which was attributed in part to early identification and timely treatment. during future attacks, clinicians will rely on published descriptions of the clinical features of inhalational anthrax to rapidly diagnose patients and institute appropriate treatment. published descriptions of typical inhalation anthrax usually include patients presenting with cough, dyspne ... | 2006 | 16857469 |
| biological weapons and bioterrorism in the first years of the twenty-first century. | this paper evaluates four recent developments in biological-weapons politics and bioterrorism. first is american opposition to finalization of a verification protocol for the biological weapons convention; second, a successful attempt at mass-casualty terrorism; third, an ongoing investigation into the bioterrorist capabilities of the al qaeda network; and, fourth, a series of fatal anthrax attacks in the united states. the first of these evaluations is informed by interviews conducted between 2 ... | 2002 | 16859345 |
| anthrax toxins: a paradigm of bacterial immune suppression. | several species of microorganism have developed immune evasion and/or immunosuppression strategies. bacillus anthracis secretes two toxins, edema toxin and lethal toxin, that enter the cytosol of almost every cell type, including the cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems, and subvert cell signaling. edema toxin causes a consistent elevation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate, whereas lethal toxin cleaves most isoforms of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases. in a concerted manner, t ... | 2006 | 16861036 |
| paired bacillus anthracis dps (mini-ferritin) have different reactivities with peroxide. | dps (dna protection during starvation) proteins, mini-ferritins in the ferritin superfamily, catalyze fe(2+)/h(2)o(2)/o(2) reactions and make minerals inside protein nanocages to minimize radical oxygen-chemistry (metal/osmotic/temperature/nutrient/oxidant) and sometimes to confer virulence. paired dps proteins in bacillus, rare in other bacteria, have 60% sequence identity. to explore functional differences in paired bacilli dps protein, we measured ferroxidase activity and dna protection (hydr ... | 2006 | 16861227 |
| bacillus anthracis spores stimulate cytokine and chemokine innate immune responses in human alveolar macrophages through multiple mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. | contact with the human alveolar macrophage plays a key role in the innate immune response to bacillus anthracis spores. because there is a significant delay between the initial contact of the spore with the host and clinical evidence of disease, there appears to be temporary containment of the pathogen by the innate immune system. therefore, the early macrophage response to bacillus anthracis exposure is important in understanding the pathogenesis of this disease. in this paper, we studied the i ... | 2006 | 16861629 |
| additional conjugation methods and immunogenicity of bacillus anthracis poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid-protein conjugates. | the capsule of bacillus anthracis, composed of poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid (gammadpga), is an essential virulence factor of b. anthracis. the capsule inhibits innate host defense through its antiphagocytic action. gammadpga is a poor immunogen, but when covalently bound to a carrier protein, it elicits serum antibodies. to identify the optimal construct for clinical use, synthetic gammadpgas of different lengths were bound to carrier proteins at different densities. the advantages of the syntheti ... | 2006 | 16861662 |
| pharmacokinetics, metabolism, excretion and plasma protein binding of 14c-levofloxacin after a single oral administration in the rhesus monkey. | levofloxacin's metabolism, excretion, and in vitro plasma protein binding, together with its pharmacokinetics, were studied in the rhesus monkey in support of an anthrax efficacy study in this species. three males and three female rhesus monkeys were dosed with a single oral dose of 14c-levofloxacin at 15 mg kg-1 (2 mbq kg-1). following dose administration, blood samples were collected up to 48 h post-dose, and urine and faeces were quantitatively collected up to 168 h post-dose. blood, plasma, ... | 2006 | 16864506 |
| preparation and evaluation of spore-specific affinity-augmented bio-imprinted beads. | a novel, affinity-augmented, bacterial spore-imprinted, bead material was synthesized, based on a procedure developed for vegetative bacteria. the imprinted beads were intended as a front-end spore capture/concentration stage of an integrated biological detection system. our approach involved embedding bead surfaces with bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (bt) spores (as a surrogate for bacillus anthracis) during synthesis. subsequent steps involved lithographic deactivation using a perfluoroether; ... | 2006 | 16865337 |
| growth characteristics of virulent bacillus anthracis and potential surrogate strains. | the objectives of this study were to compare generation and lag times of virulent bacillus anthracis strains with those of other bacillus strains, to identify possible surrogates for growth studies, and to determine if the b. cereus module of the u.s. department of agriculture pathogen modeling program (pmp) had predictive value for b. anthracis. growth characteristics of b. anthracis, b. cereus, b. mycoides, and b. subtilis strains in brain heart infusion broth at ph 6.5, 6.0, and 5.5 were dete ... | 2006 | 16865910 |
| comparison of pcr, culture and microscopy of blood smears for the diagnosis of anthrax in sheep and cattle. | to compare microscopy, culture and pcr for the diagnosis of anthrax in blood samples from sheep and cattle. | 2006 | 16869902 |
| selectively guanidinylated derivatives of neamine. syntheses and inhibition of anthrax lethal factor protease. | a series of mono-, di-, and tri-guanidinylated derivatives of neamine were prepared via selective guanidinylation of neamine. these molecules represent a novel scaffold as inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor zinc metalloprotease. methods for the synthesis of these compounds are described, and structure-activity relationships among the series are analyzed. in addition, initial findings regarding the mechanism of lf inhibition for these molecules are presented. | 2006 | 16870442 |
| the structure of the major cell wall polysaccharide of bacillus anthracis is species-specific. | in this report we describe the structure of the polysaccharide released from bacillus anthracis vegetative cell walls by aqueous hydrogen fluoride (hf). this hf-released polysaccharide (hf-ps) was isolated and structurally characterized from the ames, sterne, and pasteur strains of b. anthracis. the hf-pss were also isolated from the closely related bacillus cereus atcc 10987 strain, and from the b. cereus atcc 14579 type strain and compared with those of b. anthracis. the structure of the b. an ... | 2006 | 16870610 |
| cisplatin inhibition of anthrax lethal toxin. | bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) produces symptoms of anthrax in mice and induces rapid lysis of macrophages derived from certain inbred strains. lt is comprised of a receptor binding component, protective antigen (pa), which delivers the enzymatic component, lethal factor (lf), into cells. we found that mouse macrophages were protected from toxin by the antitumor drug cis-diammineplatinum (ii) dichloride (cisplatin). cisplatin was shown to inhibit lt-mediated cleavage of cellular mitogen-ac ... | 2006 | 16870755 |
| modulation of cytokine production and enhancement of cell viability by tlr7 and tlr9 ligands during anthrax infection of macrophages. | inhalation of bacillus anthracis, a bioterrorism agent, results in a high mortality rate despite appropriate antibiotic therapy. macrophages appear to be a key factor in b. anthracis pathogenesis. the burst of pro-inflammatory cytokines from macrophages could be a major cause of death in anthrax. however, preactivation of toll-like receptors (tlrs) could modify the host response. tlr ligands stimulate the release of activating cytokines but may also down-modulate the subsequent deleterious cytok ... | 2006 | 16872373 |
| production and characterization of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that recognize an epitope in domain 2 of bacillus anthracis protective antigen. | antibodies against the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis play a key role in response to infection by this important pathogen. the aim of this study was to produce and characterize monoclonal antibodies (mabs) specific for pa and to identify novel neutralizing epitopes. three murine mabs with high specificity and nanomolar affinity for b. anthracis recombinant protective antigen (rpa) were produced and characterized. western immunoblot analysis, coupled with epitope mapping using over ... | 2006 | 16872381 |
| surgical infection society guidelines for vaccination after traumatic injury. | recommendations for vaccination of injured patients against infection are evolving. newly-recognized infections, safety considerations, changing epidemiology, and redefinition of patient groups at risk are factors that may influence vaccine development priorities and recommendations for immunization. however, recommendations must often be formulated based on incomplete data, forcing reliance on expert opinion to address some crucial questions. these guidelines provide evidence-based recommendati ... | 2006 | 16875461 |
| siderophores of bacillus anthracis, bacillus cereus, and bacillus thuringiensis. | three bacillus anthracis sterne strains (usamriid, 7702, and 34f2) and bacillus cereus atcc 14579 excrete two catecholate siderophores, petrobactin (which contains 3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl moieties) and bacillibactin (which contains 2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl moieties). however, the insecticidal organism bacillus thuringiensis atcc 33679 makes only bacillibactin. analyses of siderophore production by previously isolated [cendrowski et al., mol. microbiol. 52 (2004) 407-417] b. anthracis mutant strains rev ... | 2006 | 16875672 |
| nurses' beliefs about public health emergencies: fear of abandonment. | since the events of september 11, 2001, subsequent anthrax mailings, world political events, and natural disasters such as hurricane katrina and the recent tsunami, public health emergencies including bioterrorism events are viewed as realistic possibilities. public health emergencies would stress the current health care system. | 2006 | 16877103 |
| sepsis and pathophysiology of anthrax in a nonhuman primate model. | studies that define natural responses to bacterial sepsis assumed new relevance after the lethal bioterrorist attacks with bacillus anthracis (anthrax), a spore-forming, toxigenic gram-positive bacillus. considerable effort has focused on identifying adjunctive therapeutics and vaccines to prevent future deaths, but translation of promising compounds into the clinical setting necessitates an animal model that recapitulates responses observed in humans. here we describe a nonhuman primate (papio ... | 2006 | 16877346 |
| [anthrax revisited: bacillus anthracis toxins as novel actors of immune escape?]. | the recent bioterrorist attacks have stressed the need of a better knowledge of bacillus anthracis infection pathophysiology. we present here the increasing interests of b. anthracis studies in term of bio-defense, the main pathogen characteristics, the main clinical features of inhalational anthrax (the pulmonary form of the disease), and recent aspects of its physiopathology. next, we address the main results concerning the toxin effects on immune system through impairing the dendritic cell fu ... | 2006 | 16878452 |
| ultrastable substrates for surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy: al2o3 overlayers fabricated by atomic layer deposition yield improved anthrax biomarker detection. | a new method to stabilize and functionalize surfaces for surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (sers) is demonstrated. atomic layer deposition (ald) is used to deposit a sub-1-nm alumina layer on silver film-over-nanosphere (agfon) substrates. the resulting overlayer maintains and stabilizes the sers activity of the underlying silver while presenting the surface chemistry of the alumina overlayer, a commonly used polar adsorbent in chromatographic separations. the relative affinity of analytes for ... | 2006 | 16881662 |
| cytotoxic activity of bacillus anthracis protective antigen observed in a macrophage cell line overexpressing antxr1. | anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) binds cell surface receptors (e.g. antxr1,2), forms heptameric pores, and translocates lethal factor (lf) or oedema factor (of) into the cytoplasm of mammalian cells. in the current study, we sought to determine how receptor levels influence these events, by examining pa heptamer stability and related processes in macrophages that overexpress antxr1 (raw 264.7antxr1). in these experiments, pa-oligomers demonstrated an extended half-life in raw 264.7antxr1 ma ... | 2006 | 16882031 |
| biosynthesis of antitumoral and bactericidal sanguinarine. | a simple, rapid, and reliable tlc method for the separation and determination of sanguinarine has been established. this intensively studied biologically active alkaloid has a wide range of potentially useful medicinal properties, such as antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, and antitumoral activities. sanguinarine has also been incorporated into expectorant mixtures and has a strong bactericidal effect upon gram-positive bacteria, particularly bacillus anthracis and staphylococci. these medicinal p ... | 2006 | 16883053 |
| forensic application of microbiological culture analysis to identify mail intentionally contaminated with bacillus anthracis spores. | the discovery of a letter intentionally filled with dried bacillus anthracis spores in the office of a united states senator prompted the collection and quarantine of all mail in congressional buildings. this mail was subsequently searched for additional intentionally contaminated letters. a microbiological sampling strategy was used to locate heavy contamination within the 642 separate plastic bags containing the mail. swab sampling identified 20 bags for manual and visual examination. air samp ... | 2006 | 16885280 |
| diversity of bacillus anthracis strains in georgia and of vaccine strains from the former soviet union. | despite the increased number of anthrax outbreaks in georgia and the other caucasian republics of the former soviet union, no data are available on the diversity of the bacillus anthracis strains involved. there is also little data available on strains from the former soviet union, including the strains previously used for vaccine preparation. in this study we used eight-locus variable-number tandem repeat analyses to genotype 18 strains isolated from infected animals and humans at different sit ... | 2006 | 16885320 |
| symptomatic predictors of influenza virus positivity in children during the influenza season. | symptomatic predictors of the etiology of infectious diseases are necessary when quick action is required in treatment, as with cases of influenza or anthrax, or for when patient isolation is required, as with cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars). predictors of influenza virus infection during the influenza season have previously been evaluated in adult studies of the antiviral agent zanamivir; cough and temperature > or =37.8 degrees c predicted influenza virus positivity in 79% of ... | 2006 | 16886147 |
| combimatrix oligonucleotide arrays: genotyping and gene expression assays employing electrochemical detection. | electrochemical detection has been developed and assay performances studied for the combimatrix oligonucleotide microarray platform that contains 12,544 individually addressable microelectrodes (features) in a semiconductor matrix. the approach is based on the detection of redox active chemistries (such as horseradish peroxidase (hrp) and the associated substrate tmb) proximal to specific microarray electrodes. first, microarray probes are hybridized to biotin-labeled targets, second, the hrp-st ... | 2007 | 16891109 |
| new-onset rheumatoid arthritis after anthrax vaccination. | anthrax vaccine was licensed in 1970 and is used to protect individuals exposed to biological warfare and those who may come in contact with bacillus anthracis in infected animals or in laboratory settings. the current adsorbed anthrax vaccine is regarded as effective and safe. adverse effects reported include fever, chills, myalgia, arthralgia, and nausea. four cases of rheumatoid arthritis (ra) temporally related to anthrax vaccine have been reported. as the number of administered doses increa ... | 2006 | 16892791 |
| on the use of zero-inflated and hurdle models for modeling vaccine adverse event count data. | we compared several modeling strategies for vaccine adverse event count data in which the data are characterized by excess zeroes and heteroskedasticity. count data are routinely modeled using poisson and negative binomial (nb) regression but zero-inflated and hurdle models may be advantageous in this setting. here we compared the fit of the poisson, negative binomial (nb), zero-inflated poisson (zip), zero-inflated negative binomial (zinb), poisson hurdle (ph), and negative binomial hurdle (nbh ... | 2006 | 16892908 |
| submicron streptavidin patterns for protein assembly. | micron and submicron-scale features of aldehyde functionality were fabricated in polymer films by photolithography to develop a platform for protein immobilization and assembly at a biologically relevant scale. films containing the ph-reactive polymer poly(3,3'-diethoxypropyl methacrylate) and a photoacid generator (pag) were patterned from 500 nm to 40 mum by exposure to 365 nm (i-line) light. upon pag activation and hydrolysis of acetals, aldehyde groups formed. after the films were incubated ... | 2006 | 16893251 |
| discernment between deliberate and natural infectious disease outbreaks. | public health authorities should be vigilant to the potential for outbreaks deliberately caused by biological agents (bioterrorism). such events require a rapid response and incorporation of non-traditional partners for disease investigation and outbreak control. the astute application of infectious disease epidemiological principles can promote an enhanced index of suspicion for such events. we discuss epidemiological indicators that should be considered during outbreak investigations, and also ... | 2007 | 16893485 |
| development of a risk-priority score for category a bioterrorism agents as an aid for public health policy. | in developing public health policy and planning for a bioterrorist attack or vaccination of military personnel, the most common method for assigning priority is using the probability of attack with a particular agent as the single criterion. using this approach, smallpox is often dismissed as an unlikely threat. we aimed to develop an evidence-based, systematic, multifactorial method for prioritizing the level of risk of each category a bioterrorism agent. using 10 criterion, anthrax scored the ... | 2006 | 16895121 |
| anthrax in western and central african great apes. | during the period of december 2004 to january 2005, bacillus anthracis killed three wild chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) and one gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a tropical forest in cameroon. while this is the second anthrax outbreak in wild chimpanzees, this is the first case of anthrax in gorillas ever reported. the number of great apes in central africa is dramatically declining and the populations are seriously threatened by diseases, mainly ebola. nevertheless, a considerable ... | 2006 | 16900500 |
| evaluation and binding-mode prediction of thiopyrone-based inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor. | | 2006 | 16902919 |
| meningoencephalitis due to anthrax: ct and mr findings. | anthrax is primarily a disease of herbivores, but it also causes cutaneous, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections in humans. bacillus anthracis is an uncommon cause of meningitis and generally produces a haemorrhagic meningoencephalitis. we present the ct and mr findings of anthrax meningoencephalitis due to the cutaneous form of anthrax in a 12-year-old boy. they showed focal intracerebral haemorrhage with leptomeningeal enhancement. | 2006 | 16906391 |
| past, imminent and future human medical countermeasures for anthrax. | anthrax is caused by the bacterium bacillus anthracis. although primarily a disease of animals, it can also infect man, sometimes with fatal consequences. as a result of concerns over the illicit use of this organism, considerable effort is focussed on the development of therapies capable of conferring protection against anthrax. this brief review will describe the efforts being made to address these issues. | 2006 | 16907809 |
| examining the cdcynergy event assessment tool: an investigation of the anthrax crisis in boca raton, florida. | this paper examines the dependability of the event assessment tool over time. the latter is part of a cd-rom--emergency risk communication cdcynergy--distributed primarily to public information officers in the united states by the centers for disease control and prevention. the event assessment tool is designed to aid emergency professionals in identifying the magnitude of a crisis event and to suggest appropriate actions to confront such a situation. applied twice during the 2001 anthrax bioter ... | 2006 | 16911433 |
| emission wavelength dependence of fluorescence lifetimes of bacteriological spores and pollens. | concern about biological terrorism has greatly increased in the 21st century, and correspondingly, so has the need for accurate detection and identification of biological hazards, such as bacillus anthracis. optical techniques have been shown to be useful for this purpose. use of fluorescence lifetimes as a function of emission wavelength for different materials using point- detection methods appears to be an additional viable option. although the lifetimes range only between 2 and 6 ns, most bi ... | 2006 | 16912807 |
| novel small-molecule inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified by high-throughput screening. | anthrax lethal factor (lf) is a key virulence factor of anthrax lethal toxin. we screened a chemolibrary of 10,000 drug-like molecules for their ability to inhibit lf and identified 18 novel small molecules with potent lf inhibitory activity. three additional lf inhibitors were identified through further structure-activity relationship (sar) analysis. all 21 compounds inhibited lf with an ic50 range of 0.8 to 11 mum, utilizing mixed-mode competitive inhibition. an evaluation of inhibitory activi ... | 2006 | 16913712 |
| anti-carbohydrate antibodies for the detection of anthrax spores. | | 2006 | 16917815 |
| cpg 7909: pf 3512676, pf-3512676. | cpg 7909 [pf-3512676] is an immunomodulating synthetic oligonucleotide designed to specifically agonise the toll-like receptor 9 (tlr9). it is being developed for the treatment of cancer [promune] as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, and it is also under development as an adjuvant [vaximmune] for vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases. cpg 7909, acting through the tlr9 receptor present in b cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells, stimulates human b-cell prol ... | 2006 | 16922592 |
| toxin-deficient mutants of bacillus anthracis are lethal in a murine model for pulmonary anthrax. | bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of anthrax, produces at least three primary virulence factors: lethal toxin, edema toxin, and a capsule. the capsule is absolutely required for dissemination and lethality in a murine model of inhalation anthrax, yet the roles for the toxins during infection are ill-defined. we show in a murine model that when spores of specific toxin-null mutants are introduced into the lung, dissemination and lethality are comparable to those of the parent strain. mutant ... | 2006 | 16923785 |
| transcriptional profiling of the bacillus anthracis life cycle in vitro and an implied model for regulation of spore formation. | the life cycle of bacillus anthracis includes both vegetative and endospore morphologies which alternate based on nutrient availability, and there is considerable evidence indicating that the ability of this organism to cause anthrax depends on its ability to progress through this life cycle in a regulated manner. here we report the use of a custom b. anthracis genechip in defining the gene expression patterns that occur throughout the entire life cycle in vitro. nearly 5,000 genes were expresse ... | 2006 | 16923876 |
| sensor domains encoded in bacillus anthracis virulence plasmids prevent sporulation by hijacking a sporulation sensor histidine kinase. | anthrax toxin and capsule, determinants for successful infection by bacillus anthracis, are encoded on the virulence plasmids pxo1 and pxo2, respectively. each of these plasmids also encodes proteins that are highly homologous to the signal sensor domain of a chromosomally encoded major sporulation sensor histidine kinase (ba2291) in this organism. b. anthracis sterne overexpressing the plasmid pxo2-61-encoded signal sensor domain exhibited a significant decrease in sporulation that was suppress ... | 2006 | 16923903 |
| factors influencing laboratory workers' decisions to accept or decline anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava): results of a decision-making study in cdc's anthrax vaccination program. | laboratory technicians, laboratory supervisors, decontamination/remediation workers, and environmental investigators are at increased risk for repeated occupational exposure to bacillus anthracis. in 2002, the advisory committee on immunization practices (acip) recommended pre-exposure vaccination for these occupational groups. | 2006 | 16924600 |
| a selective chromogenic agar that distinguishes bacillus anthracis from bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis. | a selective and differential plating medium, r & f anthracis chromogenic agar (aca), has been developed for isolating and identifying presumptive colonies of bacillus anthracis. aca contains the chromogenic substrate 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indoxyl-choline phosphate that upon hydrolysis yields teal (blue green) colonies indicating the presence of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase c (pc-plc) activity. among seven bacillus species tested on aca, only members of the bacillus cereus group (b. an ... | 2006 | 16924932 |
| development of size-selective sampling of bacillus anthracis surrogate spores from simulated building air intake mixtures for analysis via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. | size-selective sampling of bacillus anthracis surrogate spores from realistic, common aerosol mixtures was developed for analysis by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (libs). a two-stage impactor was found to be the preferential sampling technique for libs analysis because it was able to concentrate the spores in the mixtures while decreasing the collection of potentially interfering aerosols. three common spore/aerosol scenarios were evaluated, diesel truck exhaust (to simulate a truck runni ... | 2006 | 16925921 |
| secreted neutral metalloproteases of bacillus anthracis as candidate pathogenic factors. | to evaluate the pathogenic potential of bacillus anthracis-secreted proteases distinct from lethal toxin, two neutral zinc metalloproteases were purified to apparent homogeneity from the culture supernatant of a non-virulent delta ames strain (pxo1-, pxo2-). the first (designated npr599) is a thermolysin-like enzyme highly homologous to bacillolysins from other bacillus species. the second (designated inha) is a homolog of the bacillus thuringiensis immune inhibitor a. these proteases belong to ... | 2006 | 16926147 |
| anthrax lethal toxin impairs innate immune functions of alveolar macrophages and facilitates bacillus anthracis survival. | alveolar macrophages (am) are very important for pulmonary innate immune responses against invading inhaled pathogens because they directly kill the organisms and initiate a cascade of innate and adaptive immune responses. although several factors contribute to inhalational anthrax, we hypothesized that unimpeded infection of bacillus anthracis is directly linked to disabling the innate immune functions contributed by am. here, we investigated the effects of lethal toxin (lt), one of the binary ... | 2006 | 16926394 |
| early events of bacillus anthracis germination identified by time-course quantitative proteomics. | germination of bacillus anthracis spores involves rehydration of the spore interior and rapid degradation of several of the protective layers, including the spore coat. here, we examine the temporal changes that occur during b. anthracis spore germination using an isobaric tagging system. over the course of 17 min from the onset of germination, the levels of at least 19 spore proteins significantly decrease. included are acid-soluble proteins, several known and predicted coat proteins, and prote ... | 2006 | 16927434 |
| [isolation and identification of bacillus anthracis in an accidental case]. | during june to july 2005, a few farmers in chengde county of hebei province were got ill after eating beef of sick cattle. the cattle could be infected with bacillus anthracis. one beef sample and one soil sample contaminated with cattle blood were collected and used for pathogen isolation and identification in laboratory. two bacteria strains were isolated from beef and soil sample, respectively, and showed typical morphology of bacillus anthracis on blood agar and under microscope with gram st ... | 2006 | 16933621 |
| the exsy protein is required for complete formation of the exosporium of bacillus anthracis. | the outermost layer of the bacillus anthracis spore is the exosporium, which is composed of a paracrystalline basal layer and an external hair-like nap. the filaments of the nap are formed by a collagen-like glycoprotein called bcla, while the basal layer contains several different proteins. one of the putative basal layer proteins is exsy. in this study, we constructed a deltaexsy mutant of b. anthracis, which is devoid of exsy, and examined the assembly of the exosporium on spores produced by ... | 2006 | 16936017 |
| polyvalent inhibitors of anthrax toxin that target host receptors. | resistance of pathogens to antimicrobial therapeutics has become a widespread problem. resistance can emerge naturally, but it can also be engineered intentionally, which is an important consideration in designing therapeutics for bioterrorism agents. blocking host receptors used by pathogens represents a powerful strategy to overcome this problem, because extensive alterations to the pathogen may be required to enable it to switch to a new receptor that can still support pathogenesis. here, we ... | 2006 | 16938891 |
| images in clinical medicine. anthrax of the cecum. | | 2006 | 16943406 |
| model of the toxic complex of anthrax: responsive conformational changes in both the lethal factor and the protective antigen heptamer. | the toxic complex of anthrax is formed when the monomeric protective antigen (pa) (83 kda), while bound to its cell-surface receptor, is first converted to pa63 heptamers (pa63h) following n-terminal proteolytic cleavage, and then lethal (lf) (90 kda) or edema factor (ef) binds to the heptamer. we report a "pseudoatomic" model for the complex of pa63h and full-length lf determined by applying the normal-mode flexible fitting procedure to a approximately 18 a cryo-electron microscopy (em) density ... | 2006 | 16943448 |
| a case of human cutaneous anthrax. | | 2006 | 16948627 |
| mechanistic differences between in vitro assays for hydrazone-based small molecule inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor. | a systematically generated series of hydrazones were analyzed as potential inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor. the hydrazones were screened using one uv-based and two fluorescence-based in vitro assays. the study identified several inhibitors with ic50 values in the micromolar range, and importantly, significant differences in the types of inhibition were observed with the different assays. | 2007 | 16949126 |
| intra-endosomal membrane traffic. | following endocytosis, ubiquitinated signaling receptors are incorporated within intraluminal vesicles of forming multivesicular endosomes. these vesicles then follow the pathway from early to late endosomes, remaining within the endosomal lumen, and are eventually delivered to lysosomes, where they are degraded together with their protein cargo. however, intraluminal vesicles do not always end up in lysosomes for degradation; they can also fuse back with the limiting membrane of late endosomes. ... | 2006 | 16949287 |
| immunohistochemical evidence of clostridium sp, staphylococcus aureus, and group a streptococcus in severe soft tissue infections related to injection drug use. | severe soft tissue infections are caused by either single or multiple microorganisms. we performed a retrospective immunohistochemical (ihc) study on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded soft tissue samples from 20 injection drug users who were part of a cluster of severe illness and death after skin and soft tissue infections in scotland and ireland in 2000. the ihc assays used antibodies against clostridium sp, staphylococcus aureus, group a streptococci, and bacillus anthracis. intact bacilli an ... | 2006 | 16949918 |
| proteomic analyses of murine macrophages treated with bacillus anthracis lethal toxin. | bacillus anthracis is the etiological agent of anthrax and the bacterium produces a tripartite anthrax toxin composed of protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef). pa represents the binding domain of the toxin and acts in concert with either lf, a metalloprotease, or ef, an adenylate cyclase, to form lethal toxin (letx) or edema toxin (edtx), respectively. we analyzed the proteomics response of two murine macrophage cell lines (j774.1a and raw264.7) following b. anthracis ... | 2006 | 16950595 |
| the use of systemic fluoroquinolones. | the only indications for which a fluoroquinolone (ie, ciprofloxacin) is licensed by the us food and drug administration for use in patients younger than 18 years are complicated urinary tract infections, pyelonephritis, and postexposure treatment for inhalation anthrax. nonetheless, approximately 520,000 prescriptions for fluoroquinolones were written in the united states for patients younger than 18 years in 2002; 13,800 were written for infants and children 2 to 6 years of age, and 2750 were w ... | 2006 | 16951028 |
| lessons learned from clinical anthrax drills: evaluation of knowledge and preparedness for a bioterrorist threat in israeli emergency departments. | emergency department (ed) physicians and nurses are considered critical sentinels of a bioterrorist attack. we designed a special hospital drill to test eds' response to inhalational anthrax and assess the level of preparedness for anthrax bioterrorism. we hypothesized that the occurrence of such a drill in an ed would improve the knowledge of its physicians, even those who had not actually participated in the drill. | 2006 | 16953532 |
| anthrax edema factor, voltage-dependent binding to the protective antigen ion channel and comparison to lf binding. | anthrax toxin complex consists of three different molecules, the binding component protective antigen (pa, 83 kda), and the enzymatic components lethal factor (lf, 90 kda) and edema factor (ef, 89 kda). the 63-kda n-terminal part of pa, pa(63), forms a heptameric channel that inserts at low ph in endosomal membranes and that is necessary to translocate ef and lf in the cytosol of the target cells. ef is an intracellular active enzyme, which is a calmodulin-dependent adenylate cyclase (89 kda) th ... | 2006 | 16954207 |
| the actin cross-linking domain of the vibrio cholerae rtx toxin directly catalyzes the covalent cross-linking of actin. | vibrio cholerae is a gram-negative bacterial pathogen that exports enterotoxins to alter host cells and to elicit diarrheal disease. among the secreted toxins is the multifunctional rtx toxin, which causes cell rounding and actin depolymerization by covalently cross-linking actin monomers into dimers, trimers, and higher multimers. the region of the toxin responsible for cross-linking activity is the actin cross-linking domain (acd). in this study, we further investigated the role of the acd in ... | 2006 | 16954226 |
| characterization of bacillus cereus isolates associated with fatal pneumonias: strains are closely related to bacillus anthracis and harbor b. anthracis virulence genes. | bacillus cereus is ubiquitous in nature, and while most isolates appear to be harmless, some are associated with food-borne illnesses, periodontal diseases, and other more serious infections. in one such infection, b. cereus g9241 was identified as the causative agent of a severe pneumonia in a louisiana welder in 1994. this isolate was found to harbor most of the b. anthracis virulence plasmid pxo1 (13). here we report the characterization of two clinical and one environmental b. cereus isolate ... | 2006 | 16954272 |
| antibiotic susceptibility and molecular diversity of bacillus anthracis strains in chad: detection of a new phylogenetic subgroup. | we genotyped 15 bacillus anthracis isolates from chad, africa, using multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis and three additional direct-repeat markers. we identified two unique genotypes that represent a novel genetic lineage in the a cluster. chadian isolates were susceptible to 11 antibiotics and free of 94 antibiotic resistance genes. | 2006 | 16954291 |
| mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses a functional enzyme for the synthesis of vitamin c, l-gulono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase. | the last step of the biosynthesis of l-ascorbic acid (vitamin c) in plants and animals is catalyzed by l-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidoreductases, which use both l-gulono-1,4-lactone and l-galactono-1,4-lactone as substrates. l-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase is missing in scurvy-prone, vitamin c-deficient animals, such as humans and guinea pigs, which are also highly susceptible to tuberculosis. a blast search using the rat l-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase sequence revealed the presence of closely related ort ... | 2006 | 16956367 |
| proteomic profiling and identification of immunodominant spore antigens of bacillus anthracis, bacillus cereus, and bacillus thuringiensis. | differentially expressed and immunogenic spore proteins of the bacillus cereus group of bacteria, which includes bacillus anthracis, bacillus cereus, and bacillus thuringiensis, were identified. comparative proteomic profiling of their spore proteins distinguished the three species from each other as well as the virulent from the avirulent strains. a total of 458 proteins encoded by 232 open reading frames were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectro ... | 2006 | 16957262 |
| chloroquine prevents t lymphocyte suppression induced by anthrax lethal toxin. | lysosomal processing of lethal toxin (ltx) is a key event in the pathogenesis of anthrax. this study investigated the ability of chloroquine (cq) to interfere with this processing and thereby to reduce suppression of t lymphocytes. t lymphocytes isolated from blood were activated, by cross-linking of cd3, in both the absence and presence of ltx and cq and then were assayed by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. ltx was found to disrupt intracellular signaling, and it down-regulated t lymphocyte f ... | 2006 | 16960789 |
| anthrax vaccines: pasteur to the present. | anthrax has been a major cause of death in grazing animals and an occasional cause of death in humans for thousands of years. since the late 1800s there has been an exceptional international history of anthrax vaccine development. due to animal vaccinations, the rate of infection has dropped dramatically. anthrax vaccines have progressed from uncharacterized whole-cell vaccines in 1881, to pxo2-negative spores in the 1930s, to culture filtrates absorbed to aluminum hydroxide in 1970, and likely ... | 2006 | 16964578 |
| development of a matrix to evaluate the threat of biological agents used for bioterrorism. | adequate public health preparedness for bioterrorism includes the elaboration of an agreed list of biological and chemical agents that might be used in an attack or as threats of deliberate release. in the absence of counterterrorism intelligence information, public health authorities can also base their preparedness on the agents for which the national health structures would be most vulnerable. this article aims to describe a logical method and the characteristics of the variables to be brough ... | 2006 | 16964580 |
| bioterrorism: management of major biological agents. | bioterrorism is defined by the intentional or threatened of microorganisms or toxins derived from living organisms to cause death or diseases in humans, animals or plants on which we depend. the other major point is to generate fear in the population. more than 180 pathogens have been reported to be potential agents for bioterrorism. the following is an overview of several agents that could be involved in a biological attack. | 2006 | 16964582 |
| order out of chaos: the self-organization of communication following the anthrax attacks. | this article describes 5 communication challenges faced by the author as she managed the communication response by the centers for disease control and prevention to the anthrax attacks of 2001: communicating uncertainty, selecting credible spokespersons, collaborating with other organizations, satisfying a competitive 24/7 media, and speed. the lessons learned in responding to these challenges led to profound changes in the way communication was organized in the agency. these changes are describ ... | 2006 | 16965251 |
| probable human anthrax death in scotland. | | 2006 | 16966782 |
| differential identification of bacillus anthracis from environmental bacillus species using microarray analysis. | to determine whether microarray analysis could be employed for the differential identification of a range of environmental bacillus sp. from four strains of bacillus anthracis. | 2006 | 16968287 |
| concentration of bacillus spores by using silica magnetic particles. | silica particles are mainly used for the concentration of nucleic acid for diagnostic purposes. this is usually done under acidic or chaotropic conditions that will demolish most of the living organisms and prevent the application of other diagnostic tests. here we describe the development of a method for the capturing and concentration of bacillus spores using silica magnetic particles to enable fast and sensitive detection. we have shown that capturing various bacilli spores via silica magneti ... | 2006 | 16970351 |
| increased potency of biothrax anthrax vaccine with the addition of the c-class cpg oligonucleotide adjuvant cpg 10109. | the inclusion of an adjuvant, in addition to the existing aluminum hydroxide, in the formulation of the licensed anthrax vaccine biothrax may have the potential to positively modify immune responses. some potential desirable outcomes from the inclusion of an additional adjuvant include increased immune response kinetics, increased response rates, more prolonged antibody decay rates, and the ability to use less antigen per dose or fewer doses to achieve immunity. one promising group of adjuvants ... | 2007 | 16973247 |
| murine splenocytes produce inflammatory cytokines in a myd88-dependent response to bacillus anthracis spores. | bacillus anthracis is a sporulating gram-positive bacterium that causes the disease anthrax. the highly stable spore is the infectious form of the bacterium that first interacts with the prospective host, and thus the interaction between the host and spore is vital to the development of disease. we focused our study on the response of murine splenocytes to the b. anthracis spore by using paraformaldehyde-inactivated spores (fis), a treatment that prevents germination and production of products a ... | 2007 | 16978234 |
| detection and phylogenic analysis of one anthrax virulence plasmid pxo1 conservative open reading frame ubiquitous presented within bacillus cereus group strains. | the presence of one of the anthrax virulence plasmid pxo1 conserved fragments was analyzed in 24 bacillus cereus and b. thuringiensis strains, including 6 b. thuringiensis subspecies, by polymerase chain reactions. twelve out of 24 strains showed pcr-positive for an orf101 homologous sequence. two pxo1-orf101-like fragments from a b. cereus b-4ac and a commercial b. thuringiensis kurstaki hd1 were cloned, sequenced and expressed in escherichia coli. toxicity assays revealed that the product enco ... | 2006 | 16978581 |
| plcr papr-independent expression of anthrolysin o by bacillus anthracis. | cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (cdcs) are secreted, pore-forming toxins that are associated with pathogenesis in a variety of gram-positive bacteria. bacillus anthracis produces anthrolysin o (alo), a cdc that is largely responsible for the hemolytic activity of culture supernates when the bacterium is cultured in appropriate conditions. b. cereus and b. thuringiensis, species closely related to b. anthracis, produce cdcs with significant amino acid sequence homology to alo. transcription of t ... | 2006 | 16980467 |
| bacteriophage t4 capsid: a unique platform for efficient surface assembly of macromolecular complexes. | we report the first description of a macromolecular complex display system using bacteriophage t4. decorated with two dispensable outer capsid proteins, hoc (155 copies) and soc (810 copies), the 120 nm x 86 nm t4 capsid particle offers a unique binding site-rich platform for surface assembly of hetero-oligomeric complexes. to display the 710 kda anthrax toxin complex, two bipartite functional fusion proteins, lf-hoc and lfn-soc, were constructed. using a defined in vitro binding system, sequent ... | 2006 | 16982068 |
| search for cyclodextrin-based inhibitors of anthrax toxins: synthesis, structural features, and relative activities. | recently, using structure-inspired drug design, we demonstrated that aminoalkyl derivatives of beta-cyclodextrin inhibited anthrax lethal toxin action by blocking the transmembrane pore formed by the protective antigen (pa) subunit of the toxin. in the present study, we evaluate a series of new beta-cyclodextrin derivatives with the goal of identifying potent inhibitors of anthrax toxins. newly synthesized hepta-6-thioaminoalkyl and hepta-6-thioguanidinoalkyl derivatives of beta-cyclodextrin wit ... | 2006 | 16982795 |
| synthesis of potent inhibitors of anthrax toxin based on poly-l-glutamic acid. | we report the synthesis of biodegradable polyvalent inhibitors of anthrax toxin based on poly-l-glutamic acid (plga). these biocompatible polyvalent inhibitors are at least 4 orders of magnitude more potent than the corresponding monovalent peptides in vitro and are comparable in potency to polyacrylamide-based inhibitors of anthrax toxin assembly. we have elucidated the influence of peptide density on inhibitory potency and demonstrated that these inhibitory potencies are limited by kinetics, w ... | 2006 | 16984137 |
| inactivation of bacillus anthracis spores in murine primary macrophages. | the current model for pathogenesis of inhalation anthrax indicates that the uptake and fate of bacillus anthracis spores in alveolar macrophages are critical to the infection process. we have employed primary macrophages, which are more efficient for spore uptake than the macrophage-like cell line raw264.7, to investigate spore uptake and survival. we found that at a multiplicity of infection (moi) of 5, greater than 80% of the spores of the sterne strain containing only the pxo1 plasmid were in ... | 2006 | 16984418 |
| phylogenetic analysis of bacillus cereus isolates from severe systemic infections using multilocus sequence typing scheme. | bacillus cereus strains from cases of severe or lethal systemic infections, including respiratory symptoms cases, were analyzed using multilocus sequence typing scheme of b. cereus mlst database. the isolates were evenly distributed between the two main clades, and 60% of them had allele profiles new to the database. half of the collection's strains clustered in a lineage neighboring bacillus anthracis phylogenetic origin. strains from lethal cases with respiratory symptoms were allocated in bot ... | 2006 | 16985296 |
| prophylaxis and therapy of inhalational anthrax by a novel monoclonal antibody to protective antigen that mimics vaccine-induced immunity. | the neutralizing antibody response to the protective antigen (pa) component of anthrax toxin elicited by approved anthrax vaccines is an accepted correlate for vaccine-mediated protection against anthrax. we reasoned that a human anti-pa monoclonal antibody (mab) selected on the basis of superior toxin neutralization activity might provide potent protection against anthrax. the fully human mab (also referred to as mdx-1303 or valortim) was chosen from a large panel of anti-pa human mabs generate ... | 2006 | 16988263 |
| protective antigen as a correlative marker for anthrax in animal models. | the most aggressive form of anthrax results from inhalation of airborne spores of bacillus anthracis and usually progresses unnoticed in the early stages because of unspecific symptoms. the only reliable marker of anthrax is development of bacteremia, which increases with disease progress. rapid diagnosis of anthrax is imperative for efficient treatment and cure. herein we demonstrate that the presence and level of a bacterial antigen, the protective antigen (pa), a component of b. anthracis tox ... | 2006 | 16988266 |
| mass vaccination: solutions in the skin. | the skin is populated with langerhans cells, thought to be efficient, potent antigen-presenting cells, that are capable of inducing protective immunity by targeting antigen delivery to the skin. delivery to the skin may be accomplished by active delivery such as intradermal injection, use of patches or a combination of a universal adjuvant patch with injections. the robust immunity induced by skin targeting can lead to dose sparing, novel vaccines and immune enhancement in populations with poorl ... | 2006 | 16989274 |
| recombinant protective antigen 102 (rpa102): profile of a second-generation anthrax vaccine. | recent terrorist attacks involving the use of bacillus anthracis spores have stimulated interest in the development of new vaccines for anthrax prevention. studies of the pathogenesis of anthrax and of the immune responses following infection and immunization underscore the pivotal role that antibodies to the protective antigen play in protection. the most promising vaccine candidates contain purified recombinant protective antigen. clinical trials of one of these, recombinant protective antigen ... | 2006 | 16989623 |
| on the changes in the number and character of the wandering cells of the frog induced by the presence of urari or of bacillus anthracis. | | 1893 | 16992099 |
| plasmid exchanges among members of the bacillus cereus group in foodstuffs. | the bacillus cereus sensu lato group is genetically very close and possesses a remarkable plasmid gene pool that encodes a variety of functions such as virulence and self-transfer capabilities. the potential for horizontal transfer among the various subspecies of this group, which includes the human opportunistic pathogens b. cereus sensu stricto and b. anthracis as well as the biopesticide b. thuringiensis, has led to growing concerns regarding food safety and public health. in this study, the ... | 2007 | 16996631 |
| reducing mortality from anthrax bioterrorism: strategies for stockpiling and dispensing medical and pharmaceutical supplies. | a critical question in planning a response to bioterrorism is how antibiotics and medical supplies should be stockpiled and dispensed. the objective of this work was to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative strategies for maintaining and dispensing local and regional inventories of antibiotics and medical supplies for responses to anthrax bioterrorism. we modeled the regional and local supply chain for antibiotics and medical supplies as well as local dispensing capacity. we found that ... | 2006 | 16999586 |
| use of the internet to enhance infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigation. | modernization of electronic communication systems to facilitate infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigation became a priority after the 2001 anthrax attacks. however, the extent to which communicable disease investigators are using web-based information resources, e-mail notifications, or secure information exchange systems to facilitate surveillance is unknown. to address this question, we conducted a survey in 2004 of state and local communicable disease investigators responsibl ... | 2006 | 16999590 |
| the crystal structure of the e. coli stress protein ycif. | ycif is a protein that is up-regulated when bacteria experience stress conditions, and is highly conserved in a range of bacterial species. ycif has no known structure or biochemical function. to learn more about its potential molecular function and its role in the bacterial stress response, we solved the crystal structure of ycif at 2.0 angstrom resolution by the multiple wavelength anomalous diffraction (mad) technique. ycif is a dimer in solution, and forms a homodimer in the crystal asymmetr ... | 2006 | 17001035 |
| structural characterization of spo0e-like protein-aspartic acid phosphatases that regulate sporulation in bacilli. | spore formation is an extreme response of many bacterial species to starvation. in the case of pathogenic species of bacillus and clostridium, it is also a component of disease transmission. entry into the pathway of sporulation in bacillus subtilis and its relatives is controlled by an expanded two-component system in which starvation signals lead to the activation of sensor kinases and phosphorylation of the master sporulation response regulator spo0a. accumulation of threshold concentrations ... | 2006 | 17001075 |
| application of high-throughput technologies to a structural proteomics-type analysis of bacillus anthracis. | a collaborative project between two structural proteomics in europe (spine) partner laboratories, york and oxford, aimed at high-throughput (htp) structure determination of proteins from bacillus anthracis, the aetiological agent of anthrax and a biomedically important target, is described. based upon a target-selection strategy combining ;low-hanging fruit' and more challenging targets, this work has contributed to the body of knowledge of b. anthracis, established and developed htp cloning and ... | 2006 | 17001104 |
| production of biopharmaceuticals and vaccines in plants via the chloroplast genome. | transgenic plants offer many advantages, including low cost of production (by elimination of fermenters), storage and transportation; heat stability; and absence of human pathogens. when therapeutic proteins are orally delivered, plant cells protect antigens in the stomach through bioencapsulation and eliminate the need for expensive purification and sterile injections, in addition to development of both systemic and mucosal immunity. chloroplast genetic engineering offers several advantages, in ... | 2006 | 17004305 |
| characterization of cidr-mediated regulation in bacillus anthracis reveals a previously undetected role of s-layer proteins as murein hydrolases. | recent studies have shown that the staphylococcus aureus cidabc and lrgab operons are involved in the regulation of cell death and lysis. the transcription of cidabc and lrgab was shown to be induced by acetic acid and was dependent on the cidr gene encoding a new member of the lysr-type transcription regulator (lttr) family of proteins. in the study presented here, we examined the phenotypic and regulatory effects of disrupting a cidr homologue in bacillus anthracis. as in s. aureus, the cidr m ... | 2006 | 17005012 |