| bacillus cereus strains fall into two clusters (one closely and one more distantly related) to bacillus anthracis according to amino acid substitutions in small acid-soluble proteins as determined by tandem mass spectrometry. | small acid-soluble proteins (sasps) are located in the core region of bacillus spores and have been previously demonstrated as reliable biomarkers for differentiating bacillus anthracis and bacillus cereus. using ms and ms-ms analysis of sasps further phylogenetic correlations among b. anthracis and b. cereus strains are described here. esi was demonstrated to be a more comprehensive method, allowing for the analysis of intact proteins in both ms and ms-ms mode, thus providing molecular weight ( ... | 2007 | 17197155 |
| molecular study of genes involved in virulence regulatory pathways in bacillus anthracis vaccine strain "carbosap". | this study investigated the genetic bases of attenuation in the bacillus anthracis vaccine strain "carbosap" used in italy against anthrax in cattle and sheep. twelve genes involved in virulence regulatory pathways underwent sequence analysis in comparison with a b. anthracis virulent strain. | 2006 | 17201098 |
| oligonucleotide microarray identification of bacillus anthracis strains using support vector machines. | the capability of a custom microarray to discriminate between closely related dna samples is demonstrated using a set of bacillus anthracis strains. the microarray was developed as a universal fingerprint device consisting of 390 genome-independent 9mer probes. the genomes of b. anthracis strains are monomorphic and therefore, typically difficult to distinguish using conventional molecular biology tools or microarray data clustering techniques. using support vector machines (svms) as a supervise ... | 2007 | 17204462 |
| fatal pneumonia among metalworkers due to inhalation exposure to bacillus cereus containing bacillus anthracis toxin genes. | bacillus cereus pneumonia is unusual in nonimmunocompromised hosts. we describe fatal cases in 2 metalworkers and the associated investigation. anthrax toxin genes were identified in b. cereus isolates from both patients using polymerase chain reaction. finding anthrax toxin genes in non-bacillus anthracis isolates has, to our knowledge, only been reported once previously. | 2007 | 17205450 |
| photogenerated glycan arrays identify immunogenic sugar moieties of bacillus anthracis exosporium. | using photogenerated glycan arrays, we characterized a large panel of synthetic carbohydrates for their antigenic reactivities with pathogen-specific antibodies. we discovered that rabbit igg antibodies elicited by bacillus anthracis spores specifically recognize a tetrasaccharide chain that decorates the outermost surfaces of the b. anthracis exosporium. since this sugar moiety is highly specific for the spores of b. anthracis, it appears to be a key biomarker for detection of b. anthracis spor ... | 2007 | 17205603 |
| indirect detection of bacillus anthracis using real-time pcr to detect amplified gamma phage dna. | typical real-time pcr methods used to identify bacillus anthracis do not distinguish between viable and non-viable spores, which would be critical in any first response and remediation scenarios. this study combined both real-time pcr, using primers specifically designed for gamma phage, with the highly specific gamma phage amplification into one simple assay to indirectly detect bacillus anthracis. since the amplification of gamma phage only occurs in the presence of a suitable host, the detect ... | 2007 | 17208322 |
| selection of human antibodies against cell surface-associated oligomeric anthrax protective antigen. | the protective antigen (pa(83)) of bacillus anthracis is the dominant antigen in natural and vaccine-induced immunity to anthrax infection. three human single-chain variable fragments (scfvs) against cell bound pa were isolated from an antibody phage display library. specifically, the antibodies were evaluated for their ability to bind to cell bound heptameric pa and ultimately protect against the cytotoxicity of lethal toxin. in total, all three scfvs possessed neutralizing activity against the ... | 2007 | 17210180 |
| cutaneous anthrax in a remote tribal area--araku valley, visakhapatnam district, andhra pradesh, southern india. | | 2007 | 17214721 |
| thymidyl biosynthesis enzymes as antibiotic targets. | the two long-known "classical" enzymes of uridyl-5-methylation, thymidylate synthase and ribothymidyl synthase, have been joined by two alternative methylation enzymes, flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase and folate-dependent ribothymidyl synthase. these two newly discovered enzymes have much in common: both contain flavin cofactors, utilize methylenetetrahydrofolate as a source of methyl group, and perform thymidylate synthesis via chemical pathways distinct from those of their classic counte ... | 2007 | 17216455 |
| training for terrorism-related conditions in hospitals: united states, 2003-04. | this study estimates baseline data to determine which hospital characteristics are associated with providing terrorism preparedness training to clinical staff. | 2006 | 17217184 |
| mutagenesis and repair in bacillus anthracis: the effect of mutators. | we have generated mutator strains of bacillus anthracis sterne by using directed gene knockouts to investigate the effect of deleting genes involved in mismatch repair, oxidative repair, and maintaining triphosphate pools. the single-knockout strains are deleted for muts, muty, mutm, or ndk. we also made double-knockout strains that are muts ndk or muty mutm. we have measured the levels of mutations in the rpob gene that lead to the rif(r) phenotype and have examined the mutational specificity. ... | 2007 | 17220233 |
| contribution of toxins to the pathogenesis of inhalational anthrax. | inhalational anthrax is a life-threatening infectious disease of considerable concern, especially as a potential bioterrorism agent. progress is gradually being made towards understanding the mechanisms used by bacillus anthracis to escape the immune system and to induce severe septicaemia associated with toxaemia and leading to death. recent advances in fundamental research have revealed previously unsuspected roles for toxins in various cell types. we summarize here pathological data for anima ... | 2007 | 17223930 |
| gorse gj, et al. "immunogenicity and tolerance of ascending doses of a recombinant protective antigen (rpa102) anthrax vaccine: a randomized, double-blinded, controlled, multicenter trial" [vaccine 24 (2006) 5950-5959]. | in the study reported by gorse et al. a unique, educational opportunity was lost. the vaccine and biodefense communities almost experienced the rare chance in a phase i study to scientifically compare head-to-head an early-stage, investigational recombinant anthrax vaccine (rpa102) with the safe, effective and already fda-licensed anthrax vaccine, ava (biothrax). the authors take a stab at making safety and immunogenicity comparisons between the candidate vaccine and ava (biothrax) but the study ... | 2007 | 17224206 |
| computer-aided diagnosis with potential application to rapid detection of disease outbreaks. | our objectives are to quickly interpret symptoms of emergency patients to identify likely syndromes and to improve population-wide disease outbreak detection. we constructed a database of 248 syndromes, each syndrome having an estimated probability of producing any of 85 symptoms, with some two-way, three-way, and five-way probabilities reflecting correlations among symptoms. using these multi-way probabilities in conjunction with an iterative proportional fitting algorithm allows estimation of ... | 2007 | 17225213 |
| method modification (2004.08) to field testing of visible powders on a variety of nonporous environmental surfaces: field study. | the ramp anthrax test cartridge for detecting bacillus anthracis was validated for use in the field for detection of b. anthracis spores in visible powder residues on 7 nonporous environmental surfaces. six teams of trained first responders and civil support personnel in class c personal protective equipment sampled visible powder residues on plastic, stainless steel, ceramic tile, wood, rubber, sealed concrete, and food-grade painted wood and analyzed the samples on the ramp anthrax test system ... | 2006 | 17225611 |
| committee on microbiology and extraneous materials. | | 2006 | 17225618 |
| inactivation and purification of cowpea mosaic virus-like particles displaying peptide antigens from bacillus anthracis. | chimeric cowpea mosaic virus (cpmv) particles displaying foreign peptide antigens on the particle surface are suitable for development of peptide-based vaccines. however, commonly used peg precipitation-based purification methods are not sufficient for production of high quality vaccine candidates because they do not allow for separation of chimeric particles from cleaved contaminating species. moreover, the purified particles remain infectious to plants. to advance the cpmv technology further, ... | 2007 | 17227681 |
| effect of nuclear motion on the absorption spectrum of dipicolinic acid. | using semiclassical electron-radiation-ion dynamics, the authors have examined the effect of nuclear motion, resulting from both finite temperature and the response to a radiation field, on the line broadening of the excitation profile of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (dipicolinic acid). with nuclei fixed, there is a relatively small broadening associated with the finite time duration of an applied laser pulse. when the nuclei are allowed to move, the excitation spectrum exhibits a much larger b ... | 2007 | 17228958 |
| analysis of anti-protective antigen igg subclass distribution in recipients of anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava) and patients with cutaneous and inhalation anthrax. | the anti-pa igg1, igg2, igg3, and igg4 subclass responses to clinical anthrax and to different numbers of anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava, biothrax) injections were determined in a cross-sectional study of sera from 63 vaccinees and 13 clinical anthrax patients. the data show that both vaccination with three ava injections and clinical anthrax elicit anti-pa igg1, igg2, and igg3 subclass responses. an anti-pa igg4 response was detected in ava recipients after the fourth injection. the anthrax leth ... | 2007 | 17229495 |
| anthrax: from antiquity to answers. | | 2007 | 17230405 |
| bacillus anthracis edema and lethal toxin have different hemodynamic effects but function together to worsen shock and outcome in a rat model. | to better define the contribution of edema toxins (etx) and lethal toxins (letx) to shock with bacillus anthracis, recombinant preparations of each were investigated alone or together in rats. | 2007 | 17230417 |
| results of a safety and immunogenicity study of an early-stage investigational rpa102 vaccine as compared to the fda licensed anthrax vaccine (anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava. biothrax)). | | 2007 | 17234308 |
| timeliness study of radiology and microbiology reports in a healthcare system for biosurveillance. | we developed a framework to measure the timeliness of two data types--radiology and microbiology reports--for detection of diseases such as inhalational anthrax (ia) in a healthcare system. we measured the timeliness of a data type as the delay between patient registration in an emergency department (ed) and receipt of data type by a biosurveillance system. we also determined the lower and upper bounds of median delay time (lmdt and umdt) for the two data types to be available for detection of a ... | 2006 | 17238687 |
| effect of aluminum hydroxide adjuvant and formaldehyde in the formulation of rpa anthrax vaccine. | the serological response and efficacy of bacillus anthracis recombinant protective antigen (rpa) vaccines formulated with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant, either with or without formaldehyde, were evaluated in rabbits. rabbits that had been injected with a single dose of 25 microg of rpa adsorbed to 500 microg of aluminum in aluminum hydroxide gel (alhydrogel) had a significantly higher quantitative anti-rpa igg elisa titers (p<0.0001) and toxin neutralizing antibody (tna) assay titers (p<0.0001) th ... | 2007 | 17240008 |
| development of a method for bacteria and virus recovery from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (hvac) filters. | the aim of the work presented here is to study the effectiveness of building air handling units (ahus) in serving as high volume sampling devices for airborne bacteria and viruses. an hvac test facility constructed according to ashrae standard 52.2-1999 was used for the controlled loading of hvac filter media with aerosolized bacteria and virus. nonpathogenic bacillus subtilis var. niger was chosen as a surrogate for bacillus anthracis. three animal viruses; transmissible gastroenteritis virus ( ... | 2006 | 17240906 |
| difference between the spore sizes of bacillus anthracis and other bacillus species. | to determine the size distribution of the spores of bacillus anthracis, and compare its size with other bacillus species grown and sporulated under similar conditions. | 2007 | 17241334 |
| murine innate immune response to virulent toxigenic and nontoxigenic bacillus anthracis strains. | effective treatment of anthrax is hampered by our limited understanding of the pathophysiology of bacillus anthracis infection. we used a genetically complete (pxo1(+) pxo2(+)) virulent b. anthracis strain and four isogenic toxin-null mutants to determine the effects of the anthrax edema toxin (et; edema factor [ef] plus protective antigen [pa]) and lethal toxin (lt; lethal factor [lf] plus pa) on the host innate response during systemic infection. using the spleen as an indicator for host respo ... | 2007 | 17242059 |
| cutaneous infection due to bacillus pumilus: report of 3 cases. | human infection due to bacillus pumilus is exceptional. we report 3 cases of cutaneous infection caused by b. pumilus that occurred in 3 shepherds, 2 of whom were members of the same family. the lesions appeared to have a morphology similar to that of cutaneous anthrax lesions. two patients were cured after treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate, and the third patient was cured after prolonged treatment with ciprofloxacin. to our knowledge, primary cutaneous infection due to b. pumilus has not b ... | 2007 | 17243047 |
| label-free optical detection of anthrax-causing spores. | | 2007 | 17243788 |
| experimental cutaneous bacillus anthracis infections in hairless hrs/j mice. | previous studies of experimental bacillus anthracis cutaneous infections in mice have implicated hair follicles as a likely entry site. hairless hrs/j mice were used to investigate this possibility because of their non-functional hair follicles that lack penetrating hair shafts. these mice also have diminished macrophage function, increased susceptibility to listeria, and enhanced neutrophil responses. hrs/j and balb/c mice were found to be resistant to epicutaneous inoculation with bacillus ant ... | 2007 | 17244341 |
| short-term reactogenicity and gender effect of anthrax vaccine: analysis of a 1967-1972 study and review of the 1955-2005 medical literature. | in the 1960s, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) held the investigational new drug (ind) application for the anthrax vaccine and collected short-term safety data from approximately 16,000 doses administered to almost 7000 individuals. while some recent anthrax vaccine safety studies have suggested that women experience more injection site reactions (isrs), to our knowledge the ind safety data were not previously examined for a gender-specific difference. | 2007 | 17245803 |
| selection of anthrax toxin protective antigen variants that discriminate between the cellular receptors tem8 and cmg2 and achieve targeting of tumor cells. | anthrax toxin, a three-component protein toxin secreted by bacillus anthracis, assembles into toxic complexes at the surface of receptor-bearing eukaryotic cells. the protective antigen (pa) protein binds to receptors, either tumor endothelial cell marker 8 (tem8) or cmg2 (capillary morphogenesis protein 2), and orchestrates the delivery of the lethal and edema factors into the cytosol. tem8 is reported to be overexpressed during tumor angiogenesis, whereas cmg2 is more widely expressed in norma ... | 2007 | 17251181 |
| dna-oligonucleotide encapsulating liposomes as a secondary signal amplification means. | a novel liposome-based signal amplification system was developed by encapsulating dna oligonucleotides within antibody-tagged liposomes and subsequently detecting the oligonucleotide with dye-encapsulating liposomes for double signal enhancement. in this sandwich immunoassay, the model analyte, protective antigen protein from b. anthracis, was captured by one set of antibodies immobilized in microtiter plate wells and detected using a second antibody conjugated to oligonucleotide-encapsulating l ... | 2007 | 17253656 |
| n-thiolated beta-lactams: studies on the mode of action and identification of a primary cellular target in staphylococcus aureus. | this study focuses on the mechanism of action of n-alkylthio beta-lactams, a new family of antibacterial compounds that show promising activity against staphylococcus and bacillus microbes. previous investigations have determined that these compounds are highly selective towards these bacteria, and possess completely unprecedented structure-activity profiles for a beta-lactam antibiotic. unlike penicillin, which inhibits cell wall crosslinking proteins and affords a broad spectrum of bacteriocid ... | 2007 | 17258460 |
| a comparative assessment of immunization records in the defense medical surveillance system and the vaccine adverse event reporting system. | we compared immunization data in the defense medical surveillance system (dmss) and immunization data for service members with an anthrax vaccine-associated adverse event reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system (vaers) during january 1998 through december 2004. our main measure of agreement was sensitivity of the dmss conditional on an immunization record(s) occurring in vaers. the sensitivity of dmss was 73% for all vaccines and 74% for the anthrax vaccine on the vaers index immu ... | 2007 | 17258846 |
| plga-dendron nanoparticles enhance immunogenicity but not lethal antibody production of a dna vaccine against anthrax in mice. | dendriplexes, complexes of dendrons and condensed plasmids containing the gene for protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis, were encapsulated in poly-lactide-co-glycolide (plga) particles using the double emulsion method. the two dendrons employed are a dendron with three c(18) chains (c(18) dendron) and one with no attached hydrocarbon chains (the c(0) dendron). three types of particles were examined, namely plga-c(18) dendriplexes, plga-c(0) dendriplexes and the control plga-naked dna sy ... | 2007 | 17258876 |
| negative regulation of bacillus anthracis sporulation by the spo0e family of phosphatases. | the initiation of sporulation in bacillus species is controlled by the phosphorelay signal transduction system. multiple regulatory elements act on the phosphorelay to modulate the level of protein phosphorylation in response to cellular, environmental, and metabolic signals. in bacillus anthracis nine possible histidine sensor kinases can positively activate the system, while two response regulator aspartyl phosphate phosphatases of the rap family negatively impact the pathway by dephosphorylat ... | 2007 | 17259308 |
| massive outbreak of anthrax in wildlife in the malilangwe wildlife reserve, zimbabwe. | a massive outbreak of anthrax in the wildlife of the malilangwe wildlife reserve in zimbabwe between august and november 2004 resulted in the death of almost all the reserve's estimated 500 kudu (tragelaphus strepsiceros). other species badly affected were nyala (tragelaphus angasi), bushbuck (tragelaphus scriptus), waterbuck (kobus ellipsiprymnus) and roan antelope (hippotragus equinus), which suffered losses of approximately 68 per cent, 48 per cent, 44 per cent and 42 per cent of their popula ... | 2007 | 17259452 |
| of spore opsonization and passive protection against anthrax. | | 2007 | 17259600 |
| contributions of histamine, prostanoids, and neurokinins to edema elicited by edema toxin from bacillus anthracis. | bacillus anthracis edema toxin (et), composed of protective antigen and an adenylate cyclase edema factor (ef), elicits edema in host tissues, but the target cells and events leading from ef-mediated cyclic-amp production to edema are unknown. we evaluated the direct effect of et on several cell types in vitro and tested the possibility that mediators of vascular leakage, such as histamine, contribute to edema in rabbits given intradermal et. et increased the transendothelial electrical resistan ... | 2007 | 17261611 |
| method of measuring bacillus anthracis spores in the presence of copious amounts of bacillus thuringiensis and bacillus cereus. | a sensitive and reliable method for the detection of bacillus anthracis (ba; sterne strain 7702) spores in presence of large amounts of bacillus thuringiensis (bt) and bacillus cereus (bc) is presented based on a novel pzt-anchored piezoelectric excited millimeter-sized cantilever (papemc) sensor with a sensing area of 1.5 mm2. antibody (anti-ba) specific to ba spores was immobilized on the sensing area and exposed to various samples of ba, bt, and bc containing the same concentration of ba at 3 ... | 2007 | 17263347 |
| methyl bromide fumigant lethal to bacillus anthracis spores. | methyl bromide (mb), an agricultural fumigant used in the united states, is capable of reducing or eliminating bacillis anthracis spores. in the event of a bioterrorist attack, mb might serve as an excellent decontaminating agent because it leaves no residue and does not damage furnishings and commodities. | 2007 | 17265727 |
| tracing isolates of bacterial species by multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (mlva). | all bacterial genomes contain multiple loci of repetitive dna. repeat unit sizes and repeat sequences may vary when multiple loci are considered for different isolates of an individual microbial species. moreover, it has been documented on many occasions that the number of repeat units per locus is a strain-defining parameter. consequently, there is isolate-specificity in the number of repeats per locus when different strains of a given bacterial species are compared. the experimental assessment ... | 2007 | 17266711 |
| large scale genotype-phenotype correlation analysis based on phylogenetic trees. | we provide two methods for identifying changes in genotype that are correlated with changes in a phenotype implied by phylogenetic trees. the first method, venn, works when the number of branches over which the change occurred are modest. venn looks for genetic changes that are completely penetrant with phenotype changes on a tree. the second method, cctsweep, allows for a partial matching between changes in phenotypes and genotypes and provides a score for each change using maddison's concentra ... | 2007 | 17267431 |
| microarray analysis of transposon insertion mutations in bacillus anthracis: global identification of genes required for sporulation and germination. | a transposon site hybridization (trash) assay was developed for functional analysis of the bacillus anthracis genome using a mini-tn10 transposon which permitted analysis of 82% of this pathogen's genes. the system, used to identify genes required for generation of infectious anthrax spores, spore germination, and optimal growth on rich medium, was predictive of the contributions of two conserved hypothetical genes for the phenotypes examined. | 2007 | 17277068 |
| universal sample preparation method for characterization of bacteria by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. | mass spectrometry has been a very useful method to rapidly identify microorganisms associated with infectious diseases, detect bioterrorism threats, and discriminate among different subtypes of a pathogen. in this study, we developed a universal method for bacterial identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. the effects on the mass spectrum of different experimental conditions, including the amount of bacterial cells used and treatment procedu ... | 2007 | 17277202 |
| immunogenicity of a subunit vaccine against bacillus anthracis. | the current approved vaccine against anthrax is based on protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis, requires six injections over an 18-month period and has a known history of side effects. therefore, there is significant effort towards developing an improved vaccine against b. anthracis. here we separately engineered and expressed domain 4 of pa (pad4) and domain 1 of lethal factor (lfd1) as fusions to lichenase (lickm), a thermostable enzyme from clostridium thermocellum, and transiently ex ... | 2007 | 17280756 |
| anthrax toxin receptors and infantile systemic hyalinosis. | | 2007 | 17280935 |
| antigen-specific cd4+ t cells recognize epitopes of protective antigen following vaccination with an anthrax vaccine. | detection of antigen-specific cd4+ t cells is facilitated by the use of fluorescently labeled soluble peptide-major histocompatibility complex (mhc) multimers which mirror the antigen specificity of t-cell receptor recognition. we have used soluble peptide-mhc class ii tetramers containing peptides from the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis to detect circulating t cells in peripheral blood of subjects vaccinated with an anthrax vaccine. pa-specific hla class ii-restricted t lymphocyt ... | 2007 | 17283103 |
| prophylaxis and treatment of pregnant women for emerging infections and bioterrorism emergencies. | emerging infectious disease outbreaks and bioterrorism attacks warrant urgent public health and medical responses. response plans for these events may include use of medications and vaccines for which the effects on pregnant women and fetuses are unknown. healthcare providers must be able to discuss the benefits and risks of these interventions with their pregnant patients. recent experiences with outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome, monkeypox, and anthrax, as well as response plannin ... | 2006 | 17283610 |
| jnk1 contributes to metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent long-term depression and short-term synaptic plasticity in the mice area hippocampal ca1. | several recent reports implicate an important role played by c-jun n-terminal kinases (jnks) in long-term potentiation (ltp). however, little is known about how the isoforms of jnks participate in synaptic plasticity. here we showed that short-term synaptic plasticity was impaired in the hippocampal area ca1 of jnk1-deficient (jnk1-/-) mice; these mice showed normal ltp in response to a strong tetanus and no alteration of n-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-dependent long-term depression (ltd) in the ... | 2007 | 17284179 |
| training needs of pediatricians facing the environmental health and bioterrorism consequences of september 11th. | the september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been called "the worst environmental disaster in the history of new york city." as a result of the extensive nature of the destruction, our objective as pediatricians was to determine the experience and training needs of tri-state child health professionals in responding to the environmental health and bioterrorism-related demands placed on their practices. | 2006 | 17285216 |
| monitoring of elisa-reactive antibodies against anthrax protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and toxin-neutralising antibodies in serum of individuals vaccinated against anthrax with the pa-based uk anthrax vaccine. | the human anthrax vaccines currently licensed contain the protective antigen (pa) of bacillus anthracis as main antigen together with traces of some other bacillus components, e.g. lethal factor (lf). the present study aimed at monitoring the course of specific antibody titres against pa and lf by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (elisa), as well as the levels of toxin-neutralising antibodies, in 11 volunteers vaccinated with the human anthrax vaccine uk. after an initial seroconversion in all ... | 2007 | 17287051 |
| turning biodefense dollars into products. | five years after the us anthrax attacks, and more than two years after bioshield legislation was ratified, a survey reveals that biodefense funding has thus far produced only a handful of products for clinical development. | 2007 | 17287749 |
| structural studies of thymidine kinases from bacillus anthracis and bacillus cereus provide insights into quaternary structure and conformational changes upon substrate binding. | thymidine kinase (tk) is the key enzyme in salvaging thymidine to produce thymidine monophosphate. owing to its ability to phosphorylate nucleoside analogue prodrugs, tk has gained attention as a rate-limiting drug activator. we describe the structures of two bacterial tks, one from the pathogen bacillus anthracis in complex with the substrate dt, and the second from the food-poison-associated bacillus cereus in complex with the feedback inhibitor dttp. interestingly, in contrast with previous s ... | 2007 | 17288553 |
| protection against anthrax by needle-free mucosal immunization with human anthrax vaccine. | human vaccination with biothrax requires six injections followed by annual boosters. this makes it difficult for the compliance of the immunization program and underscores the need for development of a new and optimized vaccination protocol. current research aims to demonstrate the proof of concept to develop a needle-free mucosal immunization protocol using a murine anthrax model. a/j mice were immunized with biothrax via an intranasal route. sera, saliva, vaginal, and nasal washes were evaluat ... | 2007 | 17293013 |
| reaerosolization of fluidized spores in ventilation systems. | this project examined dry, fluidized spore reaerosolization in a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning duct system. experiments using spores of bacillus atrophaeus, a nonpathogenic surrogate for bacillus anthracis, were conducted to delineate the extent of spore reaerosolization behavior under normal indoor airflow conditions. short-term (five air-volume exchanges), long-term (up to 21,000 air-volume exchanges), and cycled (on-off) reaerosolization tests were conducted using two common duct ... | 2007 | 17293522 |
| simultaneous real-time pcr detection of bacillus anthracis, francisella tularensis and yersinia pestis. | this report describes the development of in-house real-time pcr assays using minor groove binding probes for simultaneous detection of the bacillus anthracis pag and cap genes, the francisella tularensis 23 kda gene, as well as the yersinia pestis pla gene. the sensitivities of these assays were at least 1 fg, except for the assay targeting the bacillus anthracis cap gene, which showed a sensitivity of 10 fg when total dna was used as a template in a serial dilution. the clinical value of the ba ... | 2007 | 17294160 |
| identification of an in vivo inhibitor of bacillus anthracis spore germination. | germination of bacillus anthracis spores into the vegetative form is an essential step in anthrax pathogenicity. this process can be triggered in vitro by the common germinants inosine and alanine. kinetic analysis of b. anthracis spore germination revealed synergy and a sequential mechanism between inosine and alanine binding to their cognate receptors. because inosine is a critical germinant in vitro, we screened inosine analogs for the ability to block in vitro germination of b. anthracis spo ... | 2007 | 17296608 |
| discriminating inhalational anthrax from community-acquired pneumonia using chest radiograph findings and a clinical algorithm. | limiting the effects of a large-scale bioterrorist anthrax attack will require rapid and accurate detection of the earliest victims. we undertook this study to improve physicians' ability to rapidly detect inhalational anthrax victims. | 2007 | 17296652 |
| determination of antibiotic efficacy against bacillus anthracis in a mouse aerosol challenge model. | an anthrax spore aerosol infection mouse model was developed as a first test of in vivo efficacy of antibiotics identified as active against bacillus anthracis. whole-body, 50% lethal dose (ld50) aerosol challenge doses in a range of 1.9x10(3) to 3.4x10(4) cfu with spores of the fully virulent ames strain were established for three inbred and one outbred mouse strain (a/j, balb/c, c57bl, and swiss webster). the balb/c strain was further developed as a model for antibiotic efficacy. time course m ... | 2007 | 17296745 |
| infrared temperature control system for a completely noncontact polymerase chain reaction in microfluidic chips. | a completely noncontact temperature system is described for amplification of dna via the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) in glass microfluidic chips. an infrared (ir)-sensitive pyrometer was calibrated against a thermocouple inserted into a 550-nl pcr chamber and used to monitor the temperature of the glass surface above the pcr chamber during heating and cooling induced by a tungsten lamp and convective air source, respectively. a time lag of less than 1 s was observed between maximum heating r ... | 2007 | 17297927 |
| characteristics of spore germination in a mouse model of cutaneous anthrax. | cutaneous infection is the most common form of human anthrax, but little is known about bacillus anthracis spore germination in these infections. | 2007 | 17299720 |
| [screening and real-time quantitative detection for genomic signatures of bacillus anthracis]. | a total amount of 117 candidate chromosomal sequences were screened for the genomic signatures of bacillus anthracis by a 2-step approach. out of them, 19 genomic signatures sequences were selected, among which, 6 genomic signatures were competent as the target sequence of taqman real-time pcr method. with the most significant alignment and specificity, fragment c04, together with paga gene and capb gene from virulence plasmids px01 and px02, was selected to establish a taqman real-time pcr assa ... | 2006 | 17302151 |
| regulation of virulence in bacillus anthracis: the phosphotransferase system transmits the signals. | bacillus anthracis causes host damage by producing two toxins, the lethal factor and the oedema factor. their production and that of other virulence factors depend on the activity of the atxa transcription factor. the mechanisms that control atxa activity are reported in this issue of molecular microbiology. the protein can be phosphorylated at two distinct sites by components of the phosphotransferase system (pts). one phosphorylation event stimulates transcription activation by atxa, whereas t ... | 2007 | 17302796 |
| opposing effects of histidine phosphorylation regulate the atxa virulence transcription factor in bacillus anthracis. | expression of genes for bacillus anthracis toxin and capsule virulence factors are dependent upon the atxa transcription factor. the mechanism by which atxa regulates the transcription of its target genes is unknown. here we report that bioinformatic analyses suggested the presence in atxa of two pts (phosphenolpyruvate : sugar phosphotransferase system) regulation domains (prd) generally regulated by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation at conserved histidine residues. by means of amino acid subst ... | 2007 | 17302798 |
| ligand binding and gene control characteristics of tandem riboswitches in bacillus anthracis. | most riboswitches are composed of a single metabolite-binding aptamer and a single expression platform that function together to regulate genes in response to changing metabolite concentrations. in rare instances, two aptamers or sometimes two complete riboswitches reside adjacent to each other in untranslated regions (utrs) of mrnas. we have examined an example of a tandem riboswitch in the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis that includes two complete riboswitches for thiamine pyrophosp ... | 2007 | 17307816 |
| suitability of partial 16s ribosomal rna gene sequence analysis for the identification of dangerous bacterial pathogens. | in a bioterrorism event a rapid tool is needed to identify relevant dangerous bacteria. the aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of partial 16s rrna gene sequence analysis and the suitability of diverse databases for identifying dangerous bacterial pathogens. | 2007 | 17309636 |
| sensitive detection of bacillus anthracis using a binding protein originating from gamma-phage. | detection of biological weapons is a primary concern in force protection, treaty verification, and safeguarding civilian populations against domestic terrorism. one great concern is the detection of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. therefore, there is a pressing need to develop novel methods for rapid, simple, and precise detection of b. anthracis. here, we report that the c-terminal region of gamma-phage lysin protein (plyg) binds specifically to the cell wall of b. anthracis ... | 2007 | 17310083 |
| raftlike polyvalent inhibitors of the anthrax toxin: modulating inhibitory potency by formation of lipid microdomains. | | 2007 | 17310484 |
| northwest territories. an outbreak of anthrax (bacillus anthracis) in free-roaming bison in the northwest territories, june-july 2006. | | 2007 | 17310621 |
| accounting for ligand-bound metal ions in docking small molecules on adenylyl cyclase toxins. | the adenylyl cyclase toxins produced by bacteria (such as the edema factor (ef) of bacillus anthracis and cyaa of bordetella pertussis) are important virulence factors in anthrax and whooping cough. co-crystal structures of these proteins differ in the number and positioning of metal ions in the active site. metal ions bound only to the ligands in the crystal structures are not included during the docking. to determine what effect these "missing" metals have on docking results, the autodock, lig ... | 2007 | 17311351 |
| communicable disease and health protection quarterly review: july to september 2006. from the health protection agency. | | 2007 | 17311831 |
| cutting edge: ifn-gamma-producing cd4 t lymphocytes mediate spore-induced immunity to capsulated bacillus anthracis. | virulent strains of bacillus anthracis produce immunomodulating toxins and an antiphagocytic capsule. the toxin component-protective ag is a key target of the antianthrax immune response that induces production of toxin-neutralizing abs. coimmunization with spores enhances the antitoxin vaccine, and inactivated spores alone confer measurable protection. we aimed to identify the mechanisms of protection induced in inactivated-spore immunized mice that function independently of the toxin/antitoxin ... | 2007 | 17312104 |
| manipulation of host signalling pathways by anthrax toxins. | infectious microbes face an unwelcoming environment in their mammalian hosts, which have evolved elaborate multicelluar systems for recognition and elimination of invading pathogens. a common strategy used by pathogenic bacteria to establish infection is to secrete protein factors that block intracellular signalling pathways essential for host defence. some of these proteins also act as toxins, directly causing pathology associated with disease. bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anth ... | 2007 | 17313374 |
| [improvement of a procedure for detection and identification of bacillus anthracis by means of dry nutrient media]. | | 2006 | 17315676 |
| identification of inhibitors using a cell-based assay for monitoring golgi-resident protease activity. | noninvasive real-time quantification of cellular protease activity allows monitoring of enzymatic activity and identification of activity modulators within the protease's natural milieu. we developed a protease activity assay based on differential localization of a recombinant reporter consisting of a golgi retention signal and a protease cleavage sequence fused to alkaline phosphatase (ap). when expressed in mammalian cells, this protein localizes to golgi bodies and, on protease-mediated cleav ... | 2007 | 17316541 |
| microresonator mass sensors for detection of bacillus anthracis sterne spores in air and water. | towards the goal of developing a real-time monitoring device for microorganisms, we demonstrate the use of microcantilevers as resonant mass sensors for detection of bacillus anthracis sterne spores in air and liquid. the detection scheme was based on measuring resonant frequency decrease driven by thermally induced oscillations, as a result of the added mass of the spores with the use of a laser doppler vibrometer (ldv). viscous effects were investigated by comparing measurements in air and dei ... | 2007 | 17317142 |
| a high-throughput screening approach to anthrax lethal factor inhibition. | a high-throughput screening approach was used to identify new inhibitors of the metallo-protease lethal factor from bacillus anthracis. a library of approximately 14,000 compounds was screened using a fluorescence-based in vitro assay and hits were further characterized enzymatically via measurements of ic50 and ki values against a small panel of metallo-proteases. this study led to the identification of new scaffolds that inhibit lf and the botulinum neurotoxin type a in the low micromolar rang ... | 2007 | 17320146 |
| nanowire labeled direct-charge transfer biosensor for detecting bacillus species. | a direct-charge transfer (dct) biosensor was developed for the detection of the foodborne pathogen, bacillus cereus. the biosensor was fabricated using antibodies as the sensing element and polyaniline nanowire as the molecular electrical transducer. the sensor design consisted of four membrane pads, namely, sample application, conjugate, capture and absorption pads. two sets of polyclonal antibodies, secondary antibodies conjugated with polyaniline nanowires and capture antibodies were applied ... | 2007 | 17320373 |
| mkk signaling and vascularization. | in 1998, george vande woude's lab discovered that anthrax lethal factor (lf), the principal virulence component of anthrax toxin, was a zinc-metalloprotease that cleaved and inactivated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (mkk). it was perhaps not surprising, given the known roles of mkk1 and 2 in cell proliferation, that lf was subsequently found to dramatically inhibit tumor growth in vivo. what was not anticipated, however, was that the tumors treated with lf would have a substantially r ... | 2007 | 17322914 |
| structure of the type iii pantothenate kinase from bacillus anthracis at 2.0 a resolution: implications for coenzyme a-dependent redox biology. | coenzyme a (coash) is the major low-molecular weight thiol in staphylococcus aureus and a number of other bacteria; the crystal structure of the s. aureus coenzyme a-disulfide reductase (coadr), which maintains the reduced intracellular state of coash, has recently been reported [mallett, t.c., wallen, j.r., karplus, p.a., sakai, h., tsukihara, t., and claiborne, a. (2006) biochemistry 45, 11278-89]. in this report we demonstrate that coash is the major thiol in bacillus anthracis; a bioinformat ... | 2007 | 17323930 |
| cethromycin: a-195773, a-195773-0, a-1957730, abbott-195773, abt 773. | cethromycin [abt 773, a-195773, abbott-195773, a-1957730, a-195773-0] is a once-daily ketolide antibiotic that originated from abbott laboratories' research into next-generation compounds to the macrolide antibacterial, clarithromycin. the aim of the research programme was to maintain the positive attributes of clarithromycin and to add the property of efficacy against macrolide-resistant organisms. cethromycin acts by binding to the 23s molecule of the 50s ribosomal subunit. advanced life scien ... | 2007 | 17324007 |
| technological advancements for the detection of and protection against biological and chemical warfare agents. | there is a growing need for technological advancements to combat agents of chemical and biological warfare, particularly in the context of the deliberate use of a chemical and/or biological warfare agent by a terrorist organization. in this tutorial review, we describe methods that have been developed both for the specific detection of biological and chemical warfare agents in a field setting, as well as potential therapeutic approaches for treating exposure to these toxic species. in particular ... | 2007 | 17325785 |
| evaluating detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak. | timely detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak is critical for clinical and public health management. syndromic surveillance has received considerable investment, but little is known about how it will perform relative to routine clinical case finding for detection of an inhalational anthrax outbreak. we conducted a simulation study to compare clinical case finding with syndromic surveillance for detection of an outbreak of inhalational anthrax. after simulated release of 1 kg of anthrax sp ... | 2006 | 17326949 |
| structure of 5-formyltetrahydrofolate cyclo-ligase from bacillus anthracis (ba4489). | bacillus anthracis is a spore-forming bacterium and the causative agent of the disease anthrax. the oxford protein production facility has been targeting proteins from b. anthracis in order to develop high-throughput technologies within the structural proteomics in europe project. as part of this work, the structure of 5-formyltetrahydrofolate cyclo-ligase (ba4489) has been determined by x-ray crystallography to 1.6 a resolution. the structure, solved in complex with magnesium-ion-bound adp and ... | 2007 | 17329806 |
| amoxicillin pharmacokinetics in pregnant women: modeling and simulations of dosage strategies. | amoxicillin is recommended for anthrax prevention in pregnancy. the objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin during pregnancy and postpartum (pp). sixteen women received amoxicillin during gestation (18-22 weeks (t2) and 30-34 weeks (t3)) as well as 3 months postpartum (pp) to evaluate single-dose pharmacokinetics. amoxicillin compartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were used to simulate amoxicillin concentration-time profiles following different dosage strate ... | 2007 | 17329990 |
| collision-activated dissociation, infrared multiphoton dissociation, and electron capture dissociation of the bacillus anthracis siderophore petrobactin and its metal ion complexes. | siderophores are high-affinity iron-chelating ligands produced by microorganisms to scavenge vital fe(3+) from the environment. thus, siderophores constitute potential therapeutic targets and their structural determination is important for exploiting their therapeutic value. here, the virulence-associated siderophore petrobactin from bacillus anthracis was characterized with electron capture dissociation (ecd). fragmentation of doubly protonated petrobactin was investigated and compared to susta ... | 2007 | 17331739 |
| new fda test detects fake bioterror agents. | some people have made phony terrorist threats involving bioterror agents such as anthrax (bacillus anthracis). but the agents really turn out to be harmless substances. these actions have resulted in considerable economic loss and social anxiety. in a bid to alleviate the problem, researchers at the food and drug administration's national center for toxicological research (nctr) are developing a quick, cost-effective way to distinguish fake materials from authentic bioterror agents. | 2006 | 17333564 |
| lrp5 and lrp6 are not required for protective antigen-mediated internalization or lethality of anthrax lethal toxin. | anthrax toxin (antx) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. antx is composed of three proteins: protective antigen (pa), edema factor, and lethal factor (lf). pa is not toxic but serves to bind cells and translocate the toxic edema factor or lf moieties to the cytosol. recently, the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein lrp6 has been reported to mediate internalization and lethality of antx. based on its similarity to lrp6, we hypothesized that lrp5 may also play a role in c ... | 2007 | 17335347 |
| anthrax toxin: receptor binding, internalization, pore formation, and translocation. | anthrax toxin consists of three nontoxic proteins that self-assemble at the surface of receptor-bearing mammalian cells or in solution, yielding a series of toxic complexes. two of the proteins, called lethal factor (lf) and edema factor (ef), are enzymes that act on cytosolic substrates. the third, termed protective antigen (pa), is a multifunctional protein that binds to receptors, orchestrates the assembly and internalization of the complexes, and delivers them to the endosome. there, the pa ... | 2007 | 17335404 |
| [biodefense: a new challenge for microbiology and public health]. | bioterrorism and the potential use of biological weapons has become an important concern of governments and responsible authorities. an example of this threat occurred in 2001 in the usa, when letters were sent containing spores of the agent that produces anthrax; this resulted in some deaths, and caused panic and negative effects on the world economy. if this small-scale event was able to cause such a huge impact, the repercussions of a massive attack could be catastrophic. in many countries, t ... | 2007 | 17335699 |
| deciphering the complexity of acute inflammation using mathematical models. | various stresses elicit an acute, complex inflammatory response, leading to healing but sometimes also to organ dysfunction and death. we constructed both equation-based models (ebm) and agent-based models (abm) of various degrees of granularity--which encompass the dynamics of relevant cells, cytokines, and the resulting global tissue dysfunction--in order to begin to unravel these inflammatory interactions. the ebms describe and predict various features of septic shock and trauma/hemorrhage (i ... | 2006 | 17337784 |
| raman chemical imaging spectroscopy reagentless detection and identification of pathogens: signature development and evaluation. | an optical detection method, raman chemical imaging spectroscopy (rcis), is reported, which combines raman spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and digital imaging. using this method, trace levels of biothreat organisms are detected in the presence of complex environmental backgrounds without the use of amplification or enhancement techniques. rcis is reliant upon the use of raman signatures and automated recognition algorithms to perform species-level identification. the rationale and steps ... | 2007 | 17338507 |
| anthrax edema toxin sensitizes dba/2j mice to lethal toxin. | anthrax toxin is made up of three separate protein components: the receptor-binding protective antigen (pa), the adenylyl cyclase edema factor (ef), and the metalloproteinase lethal factor (lf). ef and pa constitute edema toxin (et), which causes edema when injected subcutaneously. at higher doses, et causes severe pathologies and death in balb/cj mice (a. m. firoved et al., am. j. pathol. 167:1309-1320, 2005). a striking effect of et at lethal doses is adrenal necrosis. here we show that low do ... | 2007 | 17339348 |
| role of bacillus anthracis spore structures in macrophage cytokine responses. | the innate immune response of macrophages (mphi) to spores, the environmentally acquired form of bacillus anthracis, is poorly characterized. we therefore examined the early mphi cytokine response to b. anthracis spores, before germination. mphi were exposed to bacilli and spores of sterne strain 34f2 and its congenic nongerminating mutant (deltagerh), and cytokine expression was measured by real-time pcr and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. the exosporium spore layer was retained (exo+) or ... | 2007 | 17339355 |
| evaluation of the mets and murb loci for antibiotic discovery using targeted antisense rna expression analysis in bacillus anthracis. | the biowarfare-relevant bacterial pathogen bacillus anthracis contains two paralogs each of the mets and murb genes, which encode the important antibiotic target functions methionyl-trna synthetase and udp-n-acetylenolpyruvoylglucosamine reductase, respectively. empirical screens were conducted to detect and characterize gene fragments of each of these four genes that could cause growth reduction of b. anthracis when inducibly expressed from a plasmid-borne promoter. numerous such gene fragments ... | 2007 | 17339372 |
| a case of naturally acquired inhalation anthrax: clinical care and analyses of anti-protective antigen immunoglobulin g and lethal factor. | this report describes the first case of naturally acquired inhalation anthrax in the united states since 1976. the patient's clinical course included adjunctive treatment with human anthrax immunoglobulin. clinical correlation of serologic assays for the lethal factor component of lethal toxin and anti-protective antigen immunoglobulin g are also presented. | 2007 | 17342650 |
| [development of a model for the diagnosis and risk classification on anthrax through artificial neural network]. | based on data through clinical and epidemiological studies, a model regarding the diagnosis and risk classification on anthrax was developed by artificial neural network (ann). the model could integrally diagnose anthrax cases, judge the risk tendency in time, and increase the ability of recognizing the anthrax accidents. | 2006 | 17343182 |
| characterization and analysis of early enzymes for petrobactin biosynthesis in bacillus anthracis. | recently, iron acquisition and, more specifically, enzymes involved in siderophore biosynthesis have become attractive targets for discovery of new antibiotics. accordingly, targeted inhibition of the biosynthesis of petrobactin, a virulence-associated siderophore encoded by the asb locus in bacillus anthracis, may hold promise as a potential therapy against anthrax. this study describes the biochemical characterization of asbc, the first reported 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid-amp ligase, and a key ... | 2007 | 17346033 |