| selection and optimization of bacillus atrophaeus inoculum medium and its effect on spore yield and thermal resistance. | bacillus atrophaeus's spores are used as biological indicators to monitor sterilization processes and as a bacillus anthracis surrogate in the development and validation of biosafety methods. the regular use of biological indicators to evaluate the efficiency of sterilization processes is a legal requirement for health services. however, its high cost hinders its widespread use. aiming at developing a cost-effective inoculum medium, soybean molasses and nutrient-supplemented vinasse were evaluat ... | 2008 | 18427737 |
| liberty to decide on dual use biomedical research: an acknowledged necessity. | humanity entered the twenty-first century with revolutionary achievements in biomedical research. at the same time multiple "dual-use" results have been published. the battle against infectious diseases is meeting new challenges, with newly emerging and re-emerging infections. both natural disaster epidemics, such as sars, avian influenza, haemorrhagic fevers, xdr and mdr tuberculosis and many others, and the possibility of intentional mis-use, such as letters containing anthrax spores in usa, 2 ... | 2010 | 18427955 |
| substrate specificity of the anthrax lethal factor. | | 2008 | 18429598 |
| human alpha-defensins inhibit clostridium difficile toxin b. | clostridium difficile toxins a and b are major virulence factors implicated in pseudomembranous colitis and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. the toxins are glucosyltransferases, which inactivate rho proteins involved in cellular signaling. human alpha-defensins as part of the innate immune system inactivate various microbial pathogens as well as specific bacterial exotoxins. here, we studied the effects of alpha-defensins human neutrophil protein (hnp)-1, hnp-3, and enteric human defensin (hd)-5 ... | 2008 | 18435932 |
| selective killing of hiv-1-positive macrophages and t cells by the rev-dependent lentivirus carrying anthrolysin o from bacillus anthracis. | the ability of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) to persist in the body has proven to be a long-standing challenge to virus eradication. current antiretroviral therapy cannot selectively destroy infected cells; it only halts active viral replication. with therapeutic cessation or interruption, viral rebound occurs, and invariably, viral loads return to pre-treatment levels. the natural reservoirs harboring replication-competent hiv-1 include cd4 t cells and macrophages. in particular, cells fro ... | 2008 | 18439272 |
| the bacillus cereus containing sub-branch most closely related to bacillus anthracis, have single amino acid substitutions in small acid-soluble proteins, while remaining sub-branches are more variable. | hoffmaster et al. [hoffmaster ar, ravel j, rasko da, chapman gd, chute md, marston ck, et al. identification of anthrax toxin genes in bacillus cereus associated with illness resembling inhalation anthrax. proc natl acad sci u s a 2004;101:8449-54; hoffmaster ar, hill kk, gee je, marston ck, de bk, popovic t, et al. characterization of bacillus cereus isolates associated with fatal pneumonias: strains are closely related to bacillus anthracis and harbor b. anthracis virulence genes. j clin micro ... | 2008 | 18439962 |
| human serum contains a protease that protects against cytotoxic activity of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin in vitro. | the role of innate immunity in the host response to bacillus anthracis is poorly understood. we found that normal human serum contains an antitoxin mechanism that is capable of protecting macrophages in vitro from b. anthracis lethal toxin-mediated killing. this protective activity was limited to defined amounts of toxin and was lost by heat treatment or serum dilution. some person-to-person variation in the protective activity of serum was noted, especially with higher concentrations of lethal ... | 2008 | 18448623 |
| the role of a purine-specific nucleoside hydrolase in spore germination of bacillus thuringiensis. | a homologous gene (iunh) of a putative nucleoside hydrolase (nh), which had been identified from the exosporia of bacillus cereus and bacillus anthracis spores, was cloned from bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki. disruption of iunh did not affect the vegetative growth and sporulation of bacillus thuringiensis, but promoted both inosine- and adenosine-induced spore germination. the inosine- or adenosine-induced germination rate decreased when the wild-type iunh gene was overexpressed in bacil ... | 2008 | 18451042 |
| structures of an alanine racemase from bacillus anthracis (ba0252) in the presence and absence of (r)-1-aminoethylphosphonic acid (l-ala-p). | bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, has been targeted by the oxford protein production facility to validate high-throughput protocols within the structural proteomics in europe project. as part of this work, the structures of an alanine racemase (ba0252) in the presence and absence of the inhibitor (r)-1-aminoethylphosphonic acid (l-ala-p) have determined by x-ray crystallography to resolutions of 2.1 and 1.47 a, respectively. difficulties in crystallizing this protein were overc ... | 2008 | 18453697 |
| alpha-enolase binds to human plasminogen on the surface of bacillus anthracis. | alpha-enolase of bacillus anthracis has recently been classified as an immunodominant antigen and a potent virulence factor determinant. alpha-enolase (2-phospho-d-glycerate hydrolase (ec 4.2.1.11), a key glycolytic metalloenzyme catalyzes the dehydration of d-(+)-2-phosphoglyceric acid to phosphoenolpyruvate. interaction of surface bound alpha-enolase with plasminogen has been incriminated in tissue invasion for pathogenesis. b. anthracis alpha-enolase was expressed in escherichia coli and the ... | 2008 | 18456007 |
| cortex peptidoglycan lytic activity in germinating bacillus anthracis spores. | bacterial endospore dormancy and resistance properties depend on the relative dehydration of the spore core, which is maintained by the spore membrane and its surrounding cortex peptidoglycan wall. during spore germination, the cortex peptidoglycan is rapidly hydrolyzed by lytic enzymes packaged into the dormant spore. the peptidoglycan structures in both dormant and germinating bacillus anthracis sterne spores were analyzed. the b. anthracis dormant spore peptidoglycan was similar to that found ... | 2008 | 18456807 |
| use of an in vitro pharmacodynamic model to derive a linezolid regimen that optimizes bacterial kill and prevents emergence of resistance in bacillus anthracis. | simulating the average non-protein-bound (free) human serum drug concentration-time profiles for linezolid in an in vitro pharmacodynamic model, we characterized the pharmacodynamic parameter(s) of linezolid predictive of kill and for prevention of resistance in bacillus anthracis. in 10-day dose-ranging studies, the average exposure for > or =700 mg of linezolid given once daily (qd) resulted in >3-log cfu/ml declines in b. anthracis without resistance selection. linezolid at < or =600 mg qd am ... | 2008 | 18458134 |
| petrobactin is produced by both pathogenic and non-pathogenic isolates of the bacillus cereus group of bacteria. | petrobactin is the primary siderophore synthesized by bacillus anthracis str sterne and is required for virulence of this organism in a mouse model. the siderophore's biosynthetic machinery was recently defined and gene homologues of this operon exist in several other bacillus strains known to be mammalian pathogens, but are absent in several known to be harmless such as b. subtilis and b. lichenformis. thus, a common hypothesis regarding siderophore production in bacillus species is that petrob ... | 2008 | 18459058 |
| extraction and detection of dna from bacillus anthracis spores and the vegetative cells within 1 min. | the use of a combination of low-cost technologies to both extract and detect anthrax dna from spores and vegetative cells in two steps within 1 min is described. in a cavity, microwave energy is highly focused using thin-film aluminum "bow-tie" structures, to extract dna from whole spores within 20 s. the detection of the released dna, from less than 1000 vegetative cells, without additional preprocessing steps is accomplished in an additional 30 s by employing the microwave-accelerated metal-en ... | 2008 | 18459738 |
| experimental respiratory anthrax infection in the common marmoset (callithrix jacchus). | inhalational anthrax is a rare but potentially fatal infection in man. the common marmoset (callithrix jacchus) was evaluated as a small non-human primate (nhp) model of inhalational anthrax infection, as an alternative to larger nhp species. the marmoset was found to be susceptible to inhalational exposure to bacillus anthracis ames strain. the pathophysiology of infection following inhalational exposure was similar to that previously reported in the rhesus and cynomolgus macaque and humans. th ... | 2008 | 18460069 |
| superficial exudates of neutrophils prevent invasion of bacillus anthracis bacilli into abraded skin of resistant mice. | skin window procedures in humans have shown rapid accumulation of neutrophils into the exuded fluids above abraded skin. the present study was undertaken to determine if similar epicutaneous neutrophil accumulation might explain the extreme resistance of hrs/j mice, both hairless (hr/hr) and haired (hr/+), to experimental cutaneous bacillus anthracis sterne infections on abraded skin. in this study, very early (6 h) biopsies demonstrated a lack of bacilli in skin from the hrs/j hr/hr mice, indic ... | 2008 | 18460070 |
| potentiation of an anthrax dna vaccine with electroporation. | dna vaccines are a promising method of immunization against biothreats and emerging infections because they are relatively easy to design, manufacture, store and distribute. however, immunization with dna vaccines using conventional delivery methods often fails to induce consistent, robust immune responses, especially in species larger than the mouse. intramuscular (i.m.) delivery of a plasmid encoding anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) using electroporation (ep), a potent dna delivery method ... | 2008 | 18462850 |
| early interactions between fully virulent bacillus anthracis and macrophages that influence the balance between spore clearance and development of a lethal infection. | the role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of anthrax is unresolved. macrophages are believed to support the initiation of infection by bacillus anthracis spores, yet are also sporicidal. furthermore, it is believed that the anthrax toxins suppress normal macrophage function. however, the significance of toxin effects on macrophages has not been addressed in an in vivo infection model. we used mutant derivatives of murine macrophage raw264.7 cells that are toxin receptor-negative (r3d) to test ... | 2008 | 18467145 |
| bacillus anthracis spores influence atp synthase activity in murine macrophages. | anthrax is an infectious disease caused by toxigenic strains of the gram-positive bacterium bacillus anthracis. to identify the mitochondrial proteins that are expressed differently in murine macrophages infected with spores of b. anthracis sterne, proteomic and maldi-tof/ms analyses of uninfected and infected macrophages were conducted. as a result, 13 mitochondrial proteins with different expression patterns were discovered in the infected murine macrophages, and some were identified as atp5b, ... | 2008 | 18467876 |
| cutaneous anthrax in eastern turkey: a review of 85 cases. | anthrax is a zoonotic disease diminishing worldwide. although a very rare disease in developed countries, anthrax is still endemic in developing countries. | 2008 | 18477006 |
| [bacterial spore--a new vaccine vehicle--a review]. | bacterial spores are robust and dormant life forms with formidable resistance properties. spores of the genus bacillus have been used for a long time as probiotics for oral bacteriotherapy both in humans and animals. recently, genetically modified b. subtilis spores and b. anthracis spores have been used as indestructible delivery vehicles for vaccine antigens. they were used as vaccine vehicles or spore vaccine for oral immunization against tetanus and anthrax, and the results were very excitin ... | 2008 | 18479073 |
| immunogenicity of bacillus anthracis protective antigen domains and efficacy of elicited antibody responses depend on host genetic background. | neutralizing antibodies to bacillus anthracis protective antigen (pa), a component of anthrax toxin, mediate protection against anthrax. pa is antigenically complex and can elicit protective and nonprotective antibodies. furthermore, vaccinated individuals demonstrate considerable variability in their antibody responses to pa. to explore the relationship between pa structure and antigenicity, we produced escherichia coli strains expressing full-length pa (pa1-4), domains 2 to 4 (pa2-4), domain 1 ... | 2008 | 18480236 |
| cytotoxicity of the matrix metalloproteinase-activated anthrax lethal toxin is dependent on gelatinase expression and b-raf status in human melanoma cells. | anthrax lethal toxin (letx) shows potent mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibition and apoptosis in melanoma cells that harbor the activating v600e b-raf mutation. letx is composed of two proteins, protective antigen and lethal factor. uptake of the toxin into cells is dependent on proteolytic activation of protective antigen by the ubiquitously expressed furin or furin-like proteases. to circumvent nonspecific letx activation, a substrate preferably cleaved by gelatinases was substitu ... | 2008 | 18483309 |
| occurrence and genetic diversity of bacillus anthracis strains isolated in an active wool-cleaning factory. | culturable microorganisms from various samples taken at an active factory performing wool and goat hair cleaning were isolated and analyzed. bacillus anthracis was found in air filter dust, wastewater, and goat hairs, where it accounted for approximately 1% of the total counts of viable bacteria. consistent with the countries of origin of the processed material (south caucasian and middle eastern), all b. anthracis isolates belonged to the same phylogenetic cluster, as determined by variable-num ... | 2008 | 18487406 |
| a review of management practices for the control of anthrax in animals: the 2005 anthrax epizootic in north dakota--case study. | outbreaks of anthrax have diverse consequences on society. establishing the appropriate control strategies is very important and crucial in reducing the socio-economic impact of the disease. control measures are aimed at breaking the cycle of infection, and their implementation must be adhered to rigorously. the objectives of this paper were: (i) to review the control strategies currently used in management of anthrax in animals and (ii) to describe management strategies used by producers in nor ... | 2008 | 18489538 |
| defensive and simultaneous actions of glycoconjugates during spore decontamination. | an estimated $1 billion was lost in decontaminating areas exposed to anthrax in the 2001 attacks. to counter the threat of biological attacks, an effective 'green' decontaminant is vital to minimize the consequences of such attacks. the objective of our research was to study the ability of glycoconjugate ligands to decontaminate bacillus cereus spores on hard surfaces. polyvalent glycoconjugates (also known as neoglycoconjugates) were tested during decontamination of b. cereus spores. resulting ... | 2008 | 18490004 |
| anthrax lethal toxin enhances tnf-induced endothelial vcam-1 expression via an ifn regulatory factor-1-dependent mechanism. | impaired host defenses and vascular dysfunction are hallmarks of the late, antibiotic-refractory stages of systemic anthrax infection. anthrax lethal toxin (lt), a key virulence factor of bacillus anthracis, was previously shown to enhance vcam-1 expression on primary human endothelial cells suggesting a causative link between dysregulated adhesion molecule expression and the poor immune response and vasculitis associated with anthrax. in this study, we report that lt amplification of tnf-induce ... | 2008 | 18490752 |
| planning the bioterrorism response supply chain: learn and live. | responses to bioterrorism require rapid procurement and distribution of medical and pharmaceutical supplies, trained personnel, and information. thus, they present significant logistical challenges. on the basis of a review of the manufacturing and service supply chain literature, the authors identified five supply chain strategies that can potentially increase the speed of response to a bioterrorism attack, reduce inventories, and save money: effective supply chain network design; effective inv ... | 2007 | 18491839 |
| bacillus anthracis spores and lethal toxin induce il-1beta via functionally distinct signaling pathways. | previous reports suggested that lethal toxin (lt)-induced caspase-1 activity and/or il-1beta accounted for bacillus anthracis (ba) infection lethality. in contrast, we now report that caspase-1-mediated il-1beta expression in response to ba spores is required for anti-ba host defenses. caspase-1(-/-) and il-1beta(-/-) mice are more susceptible than wild-type (wt) mice to lethal ba infection, are less able to kill ba both in vivo and in vitro, and addition of ril-1beta to macrophages from these m ... | 2008 | 18493980 |
| in vivo efficacy of a phosphodiester tlr-9 aptamer and its beneficial effect in a pulmonary anthrax infection model. | immunostimulatory oligonucleotide (iss-odn) used as adjuvants are commonly modified with phosphorothioate (ps). the ps backbone prevents nuclease degradation, but confers undesired side effects, including systemic cytokine release. previously, r10-60, a phosphodiester (po) iss-odn, was structurally optimized as an intracellular toll-like receptor-9 agonist. here intravenous, intradermal and intranasal administration of po r10-60 elicit local or adaptive immune responses with minimal systemic eff ... | 2008 | 18495099 |
| first things first: a practice-academic collaboration to develop and deliver a competency-based series of applied epidemiology trainings. | the florida center for public health preparedness in the university of south florida college of public health and the florida department of health (fdoh) collaborated to design, develop, and deliver two competency-based epidemiology training programs aimed at increasing the epidemiologic preparedness and response capability of the fdoh workforce. they were also designed to meet the requirements of the national incident management system and recommendations or needs identified in national studies ... | 2008 | 18497019 |
| design and synthesis of 2-pyridones as novel inhibitors of the bacillus anthracis enoyl-acp reductase. | enoyl-acp reductase (enr), the product of the fabi gene, from bacillus anthracis (baenr) is responsible for catalyzing the final step of bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis. a number of novel 2-pyridone derivatives were synthesized and shown to be potent inhibitors of baenr. | 2008 | 18499454 |
| adrenal gland hemorrhage in patients with fatal bacterial infections. | a wide spectrum of adrenal gland pathology is seen during bacterial infections. hemorrhage is particularly associated with meningococcemia, while abscesses have been described with several neonatal infections. we studied adrenal gland histopathology of 65 patients with bacterial infections documented in a variety of tissues by using immunohistochemistry. the infections diagnosed included neisseria meningitidies, group a streptococcus, rickettsia rickettsii, streptococcus pneumoniae, staphylococc ... | 2008 | 18500257 |
| substrate cleavage analysis of furin and related proprotein convertases. a comparative study. | we present the data and the technology, a combination of which allows us to determine the identity of proprotein convertases (pcs) related to the processing of specific protein targets including viral and bacterial pathogens. our results, which support and extend the data of other laboratories, are required for the design of effective inhibitors of pcs because, in general, an inhibitor design starts with a specific substrate. seven proteinases of the human pc family cleave the multibasic motifs ... | 2008 | 18505722 |
| anthrax-associated shock. | recent events have brought attention to the potential of bacillus anthracis as an agent of bioterrorism. the shock like state of anthrax is invariably associated with high mortality, despite anti-microbial and supportive therapy. multi-system dysfunction is typical, including: enhanced vascular permeability, hemorrhage and inflammation. important questions concerning the pathophysiology of anthrax-associated shock remain unanswered, including the effects of b. anthracis infection on cardiac func ... | 2008 | 18508494 |
| a nod2-nalp1 complex mediates caspase-1-dependent il-1beta secretion in response to bacillus anthracis infection and muramyl dipeptide. | nod2, a nod-like receptor (nlr), is an intracellular sensor of bacterial muramyl dipeptide (mdp) that was suggested to promote secretion of the proinflammatory cytokine il-1beta. yet, the molecular mechanism by which nod2 can stimulate il-1beta secretion, and its biological significance were heretofore unknown. we found that nod2 through its n-terminal caspase recruitment domain directly binds and activates caspase-1 to trigger il-1beta processing and secretion in mdp-stimulated macrophages, whe ... | 2008 | 18511561 |
| cloning and development of synthetic internal amplification control for bacillus anthracis real-time polymerase chain reaction assays. | an internal amplification control (iac) was developed for bacillus anthracis rpob gene detection using taqman assay. synthetic iac oligonucleotides were subcloned using vector pdg1730 for ectopic integration into host bacillus subtilis strain 1a772 genome. differentially labeled target and iac probes were used in real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assays. there was no nonspecific cross-detection in single-well reactions. limit of detection for both target and iac dna was 5 fg correspondin ... | 2008 | 18513914 |
| gamma irradiation can be used to inactivate bacillus anthracis spores without compromising the sensitivity of diagnostic assays. | the use of bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon in 2001 heightened awareness of the need for validated methods for the inactivation of b. anthracis spores. this study determined the gamma irradiation dose for inactivating virulent b. anthracis spores in suspension and its effects on real-time pcr and antigen detection assays. strains representing eight genetic groups of b. anthracis were exposed to gamma radiation, and it was found that subjecting spores at a concentration of 10(7) cfu/ml t ... | 2008 | 18515484 |
| recent insights into the biology and biomedical applications of flock house virus. | flock house virus (fhv) is a nonenveloped, icosahedral insect virus whose genome consists of two molecules of single-stranded, positive-sense rna. fhv is a highly tractable system for studies on a variety of basic aspects of rna virology. in this review, recent studies on the replication of fhv genomic and subgenomic rna are discussed, including a landmark study on the ultrastructure and molecular organization of fhv replication complexes. in addition, we show how research on fhv b2, a potent su ... | 2008 | 18516498 |
| survey of nursing knowledge on bioterrorism. | with the aim of identifying intervention programmes within the framework of basic and permanent nursing training, we evaluated the knowledge of 187 nurses and nursing students concerning biological emergencies. a questionnaire was used to identify their knowledge of the pathogens that may be used in a terrorist attack and measures for containing them, and their perception of the danger to public health. analysis of the responses showed that the undergraduates studying for the triennial degree we ... | 2008 | 18519061 |
| an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: improving communication to reduce mortality during bioterrorism responses. | to identify communication needs and evaluate the effectiveness of alternative communication strategies for bioterrorism responses. | 2008 | 18522248 |
| characterization of bacillus anthracis arginase: effects of ph, temperature, and cell viability on metal preference. | arginase (rocf) hydrolyzes l-arginine to l-ornithine and urea. while previously characterized arginases have an alkaline ph optimum and require activation with manganese, arginase from helicobacter pylori is optimally active with cobalt at ph 6. the arginase from bacillus anthracis is not well characterized; therefore, this arginase was investigated by a variety of strategies and the enzyme was purified. | 2008 | 18522738 |
| mechanisms of substrate selectivity for bacillus anthracis thymidylate kinase. | bacillus anthracis is well known in connection with biological warfare. the search for new drug targets and antibiotics is highly motivated because of upcoming multiresistant strains. thymidylate kinase is an ideal target since this enzyme is at the junction of the de novo and salvage synthesis of dttp, an essential precursor for dna synthesis. here the expression and characterization of thymidylate kinase from b. anthracis (ba-tmpk) is presented. the enzyme phosphorylated deoxythymidine-5'-mono ... | 2008 | 18523102 |
| unsymmetric aryl-alkyl disulfide growth inhibitors of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and bacillus anthracis. | this study describes the antibacterial properties of synthetically produced mixed aryl-alkyl disulfide compounds as a means to control the growth of staphylococcus aureus and bacillus anthracis. some of these compounds exerted strong in vitro bioactivity. our results indicate that among the 12 different aryl substituents examined, nitrophenyl derivatives provide the strongest antibiotic activities. this may be the result of electronic activation of the arylthio moiety as a leaving group for nucl ... | 2008 | 18524602 |
| unexplained deaths in connecticut, 2002-2003: failure to consider category a bioterrorism agents in differential diagnoses. | recognition of bioterrorism-related infections by hospital and emergency department clinicians may be the first line of defense in a bioterrorist attack. | 2008 | 18525371 |
| genetic medicine strategies to protect against bioterrorism. | | 2006 | 18528482 |
| dna microarrays in the clinic: infectious diseases. | we argue that the most-promising area of clinical application of microarrays in the foreseeable future is the diagnostics and monitoring of infectious diseases. microarrays for the detection and characterization of human pathogens have already found their way into clinical practice in some countries. after discussing the persistent, yet often underestimated, importance of infectious diseases for public health, we consider the technologies that are best suited for the detection and clinical inves ... | 2008 | 18536036 |
| detection of agar, by analysis of sugar markers, associated with bacillus anthracis spores, after culture. | detection of small quantities of agar associated with spores of bacillus anthracis could provide key information regarding its source or growth characteristics. agar, widely used in growth of bacteria on solid surfaces, consists primarily of repeating polysaccharide units of 3,6-anhydro-l-galactose (agal) and galactose (gal) with sulfated and o-methylated galactoses present as minor constituents. two variants of the alditol acetate procedure were evaluated for detection of potential agar markers ... | 2008 | 18538426 |
| nosocomial infection of serratia marcescens may induce a protective effect in monkeys exposed to bacillus anthracis. | this study was originally designed to collect data on the natural history of inhalational anthrax in a new nonhuman primate model. an uncontrollable event created a new experimental condition which allowed us to retrospectively evaluate the power of the innate immune system to protect from an aerosol exposure of b. anthracis. five african green monkeys (agms) had intravenous catheters implanted. one catheter was accidentally pulled out, leaving four agms with catheters and one without. all were ... | 2008 | 18538851 |
| synthesis and screening of small molecule inhibitors of anthrax edema factor. | the synthesis and development of a novel class of molecules that inhibit anthrax edema factor, an adenylyl cyclase, is reported. these molecules are derived from the initial discovery that histidine and imidazole adducts of the prostaglandin pge(2) reduce the net secretory response of cholera toxin-challenged mice and act directly on the action of anthrax edema factor, a calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase. the simple enones examined in this letter were prepared by palladium-catalyzed suzuki r ... | 2008 | 18539457 |
| virulence gene expression is independent of resde-regulated respiration control in bacillus anthracis. | the resde two-component system regulates the synthesis of several components of the aerobic and anaerobic respiratory pathways in bacilli. the resd response regulator transcription factor has been implicated in the regulation of virulence factors in a number of gram-positive species, including bacillus anthracis. the precise deletions of resd and rese in b. anthracis that retained the classical respiratory phenotypes did not affect the expression of the gene for the protective antigen of the ant ... | 2008 | 18539743 |
| u.s. military service members' perceptions of the anthrax vaccine immunization program. | this research identifies the perceptions of u.s. military service members regarding the department of defense anthrax vaccine immunization program (avip). the service members' perceptions were addressed in the dimensions of ethics, effectiveness, and safety, as well as the overall perceptions of the avip. the study, conducted in october 2004, randomly selected active duty service members from the uniformed services assigned to a caribbean military base who participated in the avip during the per ... | 2008 | 18543562 |
| a bacillus thuringiensis strain producing a polyglutamate capsule resembling that of bacillus anthracis. | bacillus thuringiensis serovar monterrey strain bgsc 4aj1 produced a microscopically visible capsule that reacted with a fluorescent antibody specific for the poly-gamma-d-glutamic acid (pga) capsule of bacillus anthracis. pga capsule biosynthesis genes with 75%, 81%, 72%, 65% and 63% similarity, respectively, to those of the b. anthracis capbcade cluster were present on a plasmid (paj1-1). strain bgsc 4aj1, together with five strains of bacillus cereus that hybridized to a pga cap gene probe, w ... | 2008 | 18549401 |
| cutaneous anthrax associated with drum making using goat hides from west africa--connecticut, 2007. | on august 29, 2007, the connecticut department of public health was notified by a physician of suspect cutaneous anthrax involving a drum maker and one of his three children. the drum maker had been working with untreated goat hides from guinea in west africa. this report summarizes results of the joint epidemiologic and environmental investigation conducted by public health officials, environmental agencies, and law enforcement authorities. the investigation revealed that the drum maker was exp ... | 2008 | 18551098 |
| progressive and destructive hair follicle infections in a murine cutaneous anthrax model. | hair follicles may allow pathogen entry because they represent potential barrier defects and because there is immunological privilege within actively growing follicles. experimental cutaneous bacillus anthracis infections in mice have previously shown prominent organism invasion and proliferation within hair follicles. for the present study, c57bl/6 mice were inoculated with b. anthracis (sterne) spores onto abraded skin with either anagen (actively growing) or telogen (inactive) hair follicles; ... | 2008 | 18551767 |
| high-throughput, single-cell analysis of macrophage interactions with fluorescently labeled bacillus anthracis spores. | the engulfment of bacillus anthracis spores by macrophages is an important step in the pathogenesis of inhalational anthrax. however, from a quantitative standpoint, the magnitude to which macrophages interact with and engulf spores remains poorly understood, in part due to inherent limitations associated with commonly used assays. to analyze phagocytosis of spores by raw264.7 macrophage-like cells in a high-throughput, nonsubjective manner, we labeled b. anthracis sterne 7702 spores prior to in ... | 2008 | 18552183 |
| evaluation of two selective media for the isolation of bacillus anthracis. | to evaluate two selective media, polymyxin, lysozyme, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, thallium acetate (plet) agar and r&f anthracis chromogenic agar (chra), for the isolation and selection of bacillus anthracis. | 2008 | 18554264 |
| dose-response models for inhalation of bacillus anthracis spores: interspecies comparisons. | because experiments with bacillus anthracis are costly and dangerous, the scientific, public health, and engineering communities are served by thorough collation and analysis of experiments reported in the open literature. this study identifies available dose-response data from the open literature for inhalation exposure to b. anthracis and, via dose-response modeling, characterizes the response of nonhuman animal models to challenges. two studies involving four data sets amenable to dose-respon ... | 2008 | 18554269 |
| modeling the incubation period of inhalational anthrax. | ever since the pioneering work of philip sartwell, the incubation period distribution for infectious diseases is most often modeled using a lognormal distribution. theoretical models based on underlying disease mechanisms in the host are less well developed. this article modifies a theoretical model originally developed by brookmeyer and others for the inhalational anthrax incubation period distribution in humans by using a more accurate distribution to represent the in vivo bacterial growth pha ... | 2008 | 18556642 |
| application of carbohydrate microarray technology for the detection of burkholderia pseudomallei, bacillus anthracis and francisella tularensis antibodies. | we developed a microarray platform by immobilizing bacterial 'signature' carbohydrates onto epoxide modified glass slides. the carbohydrate microarray platform was probed with sera from non-melioidosis and melioidosis (burkholderia pseudomallei) individuals. the platform was also probed with sera from rabbits vaccinated with bacillus anthracis spores and francisella tularensis bacteria. by employing this microarray platform, we were able to detect and differentiate b. pseudomallei, b. anthracis ... | 2008 | 18558401 |
| pyridopyrimidine derivatives as inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide synthesis: application for treatment of diarrhea. | acute secretory diarrhea induced by infection with enterotoxigenic strains of escherichia coli involves binding of stable toxin (sta) to its receptor on the intestinal brush border, guanylyl cyclase type c (gc-c). intracellular cgmp is elevated, inducing increase in chloride efflux and subsequent accumulation of fluid in the intestinal lumen. we have screened a library of compounds and identified a pyridopyrimidine derivatives {5-(3-bromophenyl)-1,3-dimethyl-5,11-dihydro-1h-indeno[2',1':5,6]pyri ... | 2008 | 18559851 |
| saccharides cross-reactive with bacillus anthracis spore glycoprotein as an anthrax vaccine component. | bacillus anthracis is a spore-forming bacterium that causes anthrax in humans and in other mammals. the glycoprotein bcla (bacillus collagen-like protein of anthracis) is a major constituent of the exosporium, the outermost surface of b. anthracis spores. the glycosyl part of bcla is an oligosaccharide composed of 2-o-methyl-4-(3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanamido)-4,6-dideoxy-d-glucose, referred to as anthrose, and three rhamnose residues. a structure similar to anthrose, 4-(3-hydroxy-3-methylbutanamid ... | 2008 | 18562275 |
| the bioterrorism threat and dual-use biotechnological research: an israeli perspective. | israel has a long history of concern with chemical and biological threats, since several hostile states in the middle east are likely to possess such weapons. the twin-tower terrorist attacks and anthrax envelope scares of 2001 were a watershed for public perceptions of the threat of unconventional terror in general and of biological terror in particular. new advances in biotechnology will only increase the ability of terrorists to exploit the burgeoning availability of related information to de ... | 2010 | 18563629 |
| chemical synthesis and immunological properties of oligosaccharides derived from the vegetative cell wall of bacillus anthracis. | | 2008 | 18563773 |
| the effect of salt and phage concentrations on the binding sensitivity of magnetoelastic biosensors for bacillus anthracis detection. | this article presents an investigation of the effect of salt and phage concentrations on the binding affinity of magnetoelastic (me) biosensors. the sensors were fabricated by immobilizing filamentous phage on the me platform surface for the detection of bacillus anthracis spores. in response to the binding of spores to the phage on the me biosensor, a corresponding decrease occurs in resonance frequency. transmission electron microscopy (tem) was used to verify the structure of phage under diff ... | 2008 | 18563848 |
| de novo asymmetric synthesis of anthrax tetrasaccharide and related tetrasaccharide. | a de novo asymmetric approach to the natural product anthrax tetrasaccharide 1 and an analogue 2 with an anomeric hexyl azide group has been developed from acetylfuran. the construction of the tetrasaccharide was achieved by a traditional [3 + 1] glycosylation strategy. an iterative diastereoselective palladium-catalyzed glycosylation, luche reduction, diastereoselective dihydroxylation, and regioselective acylation were employed for the assembly of the l-rhamno-trisaccharide building block. the ... | 2008 | 18563936 |
| domain specificity of the human antibody response to bacillus anthracis protective antigen. | protective antigen (pa) is the cell surface recognition moiety of the bacillus anthracis a-b toxin system, and the active immunogenic component in the currently licensed human anthrax vaccine (biothrax, or ava). the serum antibody response to the pa protein is polyclonal and complex both in terms of the antibody combining sites utilized to bind pa and the pa-associated epitopes recognized. we have cloned, sequenced, and expressed a large panel of pa-specific human monoclonal antibodies from seve ... | 2008 | 18565627 |
| multiplex pathogen detection based on spatially addressable microarrays of barcoded resins. | suspension microsphere immunoassays are rapidly gaining recognition in antigen identification and infectious disease biodetection due to their simplicity, versatility and high-throughput multiplex screening. we demonstrate a multiplex assay based on antibody-functionalized barcoded resins (bcrs) to identify pathogen antigens in complex biological fluids. the binding event of a particular antibody on given bead (fluorescence) and the identification of the specific pathogen agent (vibrational fing ... | 2008 | 18566958 |
| groel as a molecular scaffold for structural analysis of the anthrax toxin pore. | we analyzed the 440-kda transmembrane pore formed by the protective antigen (pa) moiety of anthrax toxin in the presence of groel by negative-stain electron microscopy. groel binds both the heptameric pa prepore and the pa pore. the latter interaction retards aggregation of the pore, prolonging its insertion-competent state. two populations of unaggregated pores were visible: groel-bound pores and unbound pores. this allowed two virtually identical structures to be reconstructed, at 25-a and 28- ... | 2008 | 18568038 |
| properties and applications of antimicrobial peptides in biodefense against biological warfare threat agents. | recent advances in knowledge of the properties of antimicrobial peptides (amps) are reviewed. amps are typically small, positively charged, amphipathic peptides that interact electrostatically and non-stereospecifically with the bacterial cell membrane, resulting in its permeabilization and cell death. classes of amps, their mechanisms of action, hemolytic activity, and cytotoxicity towards host cells are discussed. a particular focus is amps with potential for use in defense against biological ... | 2008 | 18568863 |
| analysis of suspicious powders following the post 9/11 anthrax scare. | following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, set environmental, inc., a chicago-based environmental and hazardous materials management company received a large number of suspicious powders for analysis. | 2008 | 18570168 |
| [phage lytic enzymes--new hope in battle against bacterial infections]. | bacteriophage lytic enzymes are produced during phage replication cycle in bacterial cells. lysis of bacterial cell wall enables release of virus particles. bakteriophage enzymes activity are highly specific, therefore they are able to destroy selected bacterial species, also resistant to antibiotics. this creates new possibilities in therapy of bacterial infections. | 2007 | 18572503 |
| imported tropical infectious ulcers in travelers. | skin ulcers are a commonly encountered problem at departments of tropical dermatology in the western world. furthermore, the general dermatologist is likely to be consulted more often for imported chronic skin ulcers because of the ever-increasing travel to and from tropical countries. the most common cause of chronic ulceration throughout the world is probably pyoderma. however, in some parts of the world, cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most prevalent causes. mycobacterium ulcerans is an ... | 2008 | 18572973 |
| [zoonoses with wildlife reservoirs: a threat to public health and the economy]. | the world is experiencing an increase in emergent infections as a result of anthropogenic changes of the biosphere and globalization. global warming unrestricted exploitation of natural resources such as forests and fisheries, urbanization, human migration, and industrialization of animal husbandry cause environmental destruction and fragmentation. these changes of the biosphere favor local emergence of zoonoses from their natural biotopes and their interaction with domestic animals and human po ... | 2008 | 18575667 |
| antibacterial activity of labdane diterpenoids from stemodia foliosa. | as part of a continuing interest in exploring the chemistry of brazilian medicinal plants, three new labdane diterpenoids, 6alpha-acetoxymanoyl oxide (1), 6alpha-malonyloxymanoyl oxide (2), and 6alpha-malonyloxy-n-butyl ester manoyl oxide (3), together with the known betulinic acid, lupeol, sitosterol, and stigmasterol, were isolated from the aerial parts of stemodia foliosa. the structures of 1-3 were established on the basis of interpretation of spectroscopic data, including hresims, and 1d an ... | 2008 | 18582112 |
| biosynthesis of the 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate moieties of petrobactin by bacillus anthracis. | the biosynthesis of the 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate moieties of the siderophore petrobactin, produced by b. anthracis str. sterne, was probed by isotopic feeding experiments in iron-deficient media with a mixture of unlabeled and d-[(13)c6]glucose at a ratio of 5:1 (w/w). after isolation of the labeled siderophore, analysis of the isotopomers was conducted via one-dimensional (1)h and (13)c nmr spectroscopy, as well as (13)c-(13)c dqfcosy spectroscopy. isotopic enrichment and (13)c-(13)c coupling cons ... | 2008 | 18582113 |
| inhalation anthrax: dose response and risk analysis. | the notion that inhalation of a single bacillus anthracis spore is fatal has become entrenched nearly to the point of urban legend, in part because of incomplete articulation of the scientific basis for microbial risk assessment, particularly dose-response assessment. risk analysis (ie, risk assessment, risk communication, risk management) necessitates transparency: distinguishing scientific facts, hypotheses, judgments, biases in interpretations, and potential misinformation. the difficulty in ... | 2008 | 18582166 |
| protein-protein docking and analysis reveal that two homologous bacterial adenylyl cyclase toxins interact with calmodulin differently. | calmodulin (cam), a eukaryotic calcium sensor that regulates diverse biological activities, consists of n- and c-terminal globular domains (n-cam and c-cam, respectively). cam serves as the activator of cyaa, a 188-kda adenylyl cyclase toxin secreted by bordetella pertussis, which is the etiologic agent for whooping cough. upon insertion of the n-terminal adenylyl cyclase domain (acd) of cyaa to its targeted eukaryotic cells, cam binds to this domain tightly ( approximately 200 pm affinity). thi ... | 2008 | 18583346 |
| an in vivo passive protection assay for the evaluation of immunity in ava-vaccinated individuals. | samples of human plasma from anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava, biothrax)-vaccinated individuals were used to demonstrate passive protection of a/j mice from a lethal challenge with the sterne strain of anthrax bacteria. the maximum concentration of human anti-protective antigen igg in mouse sera 24 h after injection of 260 microg of anti-pa igg was 134 microg/ml, declining to 91 microg/ml at 72 h (half-life=101.7 h). mice showed significant survival (p<or=0.001) after injection of serial dilutions ... | 2008 | 18586363 |
| identification and characterization of bacillus anthracis spores by multiparameter flow cytometry. | in response to the need for methods that can rapidly detect potentially virulent bacillus anthracis spores, we developed a two-color flow cytometric assay capable of simultaneously identifying b. anthracis spores and the presence of spore-associated protective antigen, a virulence marker for strains harboring the pxo1 plasmid. | 2008 | 18586967 |
| assessment of acute injuries, exposure to environmental toxins, and five-year health surveillance of new york police department working dogs following the september 11, 2001, world trade center terrorist attack. | to determine deployment logistics of new york police department (nypd) working dogs that assisted in relief efforts at the world trade center (wtc) site following the september 11, 2001, terrorist attack; establish types and rates of related acute injuries and illnesses; identify environmental toxin exposures; and determine long-term (ie, 5-year) health effects of deployment. | 2008 | 18593312 |
| zoonosis update. anthrax. | | 2008 | 18593313 |
| toxicity of anthrax toxin is influenced by receptor expression. | anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) binds to its cellular receptor, and seven subunits self-associate to form a heptameric ring that mediates the cytoplasmic entry of lethal factor or edema factor. the influence of receptor type on susceptibility to anthrax toxin components was examined using chinese hamster ovary (cho) cells expressing the human form of one of two pa receptors: tem8 or cmg2. unexpectedly, pa alone, previously believed to only mediate entry of lethal factor or edema factor, wa ... | 2008 | 18596206 |
| zoonoses-with friends like this, who needs enemies? | zoonoses are infections that are spread from animals to humans. most often, humans are "dead-end" hosts, meaning that there is no subsequent human-to-human transmission. if one considers most of the emerging infections that were recognized at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, they would fall into the category of zoonoses. one of the most important common traits exhibited by infections that have been or can be eliminated from the face of the earth (e.g. smallpox, meas ... | 2008 | 18596867 |
| genotyping of bacillus cereus strains by microarray-based resequencing. | the ability to distinguish microbial pathogens from closely related but nonpathogenic strains is key to understanding the population biology of these organisms. in this regard, bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes inhalational anthrax, is of interest because it is closely related and often difficult to distinguish from other members of the b. cereus group that can cause diverse diseases. we employed custom-designed resequencing arrays (ras) based on the genome sequence of bacillus anthr ... | 2008 | 18596941 |
| birth defects among infants born to women who received anthrax vaccine in pregnancy. | in response to bioterrorism threats, anthrax vaccine has been used by the us military and considered for civilian use. concerns exist about the potential for adverse reproductive health effects among vaccine recipients. this retrospective cohort evaluated birth defects, in relation to maternal anthrax vaccination, among all infants born to us military service women between 1998 and 2004. department of defense databases defined maternal vaccination and infant diagnoses; multivariable regression m ... | 2008 | 18599489 |
| the vaccines development forum. | | 2008 | 18600591 |
| a fluorimetric assay for real-time monitoring of adenylyl cyclase activity based on terbium norfloxacin. | adenylyl cyclases catalyze the production of the second messenger cyclic amp from atp. until now, there has been no fluorescent adenylyl cyclase assay known that is applicable to high-throughput screening and kinetic determinations that can directly monitor the turnover of the unmodified substrate atp. in this study, a fluorescence-based assay is described using the ca(ii)- and calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase edema factor (ef) from bacillus anthracis and tb(iii)-norfloxacin as probe for th ... | 2008 | 18601890 |
| real-time pcr system targeting a chromosomal marker specific for bacillus anthracis. | specific identification of bacillus anthracis and differentiation from closely related bacillus cereus and bacillus thuringiensis strains is still a major diagnostic problem. commercially available diagnostic kits targeting plasmid-markers cannot differentiate between b. anthracis, non-anthracis bacillus species harbouring anthrax-specific virulence plasmids, and plasmidless b. anthracis strains. a taqman pcr assay was designed targeting sequences of gene locus ba_5345 of the b. anthracis strain ... | 2008 | 18602986 |
| efficacy of oritavancin in a murine model of bacillus anthracis spore inhalation anthrax. | the inhaled form of bacillus anthracis infection may be fatal to humans. the current standard of care for inhalational anthrax postexposure prophylaxis is ciprofloxacin therapy twice daily for 60 days. the potent in vitro activity of oritavancin, a semisynthetic lipoglycopeptide, against b. anthracis (mic against ames strain, 0.015 microg/ml) prompted us to test its efficacy in a mouse aerosol-anthrax model. in postexposure prophylaxis dose-ranging studies, a single intravenous (i.v.) dose of or ... | 2008 | 18606841 |
| microbial forensics: dna fingerprinting of bacillus anthracis (anthrax). | | 2008 | 18609763 |
| combating the threat of anthrax: a quantitative structure-activity relationship approach. | bacterial agents or products more likely to be used as biological weapons of mass destruction are bacillus anthracis, francisella tularensis, yersinia pestis, and the neurotoxin of clostridium botulinum. anthrax is an acute infectious disease with a high mortality rate caused by bacillus anthracis, reinforcing the need for better adjunctive therapy and prevention strategies. in this paper, we developed 7 qsar models on penicillin-based inhibitors of the class a and b beta-lactamases from b. anth ... | 2008 | 18611038 |
| [vaccines, biotechnology and their connection with induced abortion]. | diploid cells (wi-38, mrc-5) vaccines have their origin in induced abortions. among these vaccines we fi nd the following: rubella, measles, mumps, rabies, polio, smallpox, hepatitis a, chickenpox, and herpes zoster. nowadays, other abortion tainted vaccines cultivated on transformed cells (293, per.c6) are in the pipeline: flu, respiratory syncytial and parainfluenza viruses, hiv, west nile virus, ebola, marburg and lassa, hepatitis b and c, foot and mouth disease, japanese encephalitis, dengue ... | 2008 | 18611078 |
| novel inhibitors of anthrax edema factor. | several pathogenic bacteria produce adenylyl cyclase toxins, such as the edema factor (ef) of bacillus anthracis. these disturb cellular metabolism by catalyzing production of excessive amounts of the regulatory molecule camp. here, a structure-based method, where a 3d-pharmacophore that fit the active site of ef was constructed from fragments, was used to identify non-nucleotide inhibitors of ef. a library of small molecule fragments was docked to the ef-active site in existing crystal structur ... | 2008 | 18620864 |
| amide bonds assemble pili on the surface of bacilli. | pilin precursors are the building blocks of pili on the surface of gram-positive bacteria; however, the assembly mechanisms of these adhesive fibers are unknown. here, we describe the chemical bonds that assemble bcpa pilin subunits on the surface of bacillus cereus. sortase d cleaves bcpa precursor between the threonine (t) and the glycine (g) residues of its lpxtg sorting signal and catalyzes formation of an amide bond between threonine (t) of the sorting signal and lysine (k) in the ypkn moti ... | 2008 | 18621716 |
| anthrax lethal toxin suppresses chemokine production in human neutrophil nb-4 cells. | microarray analysis was used to investigate the effects of bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) on human neutrophil-like nb-4 cells to identify markers of intoxication. genes down-regulated after a 2h lt exposure included those encoding chemokines and transcription factors. significant decreases in the mrna of interleukin-8, ccl20, ccl3 and ccl4, which are important chemoattractants for immune cells, were observed using real-time pcr (12.3, 4.0, 4.1 and 2.2-fold (p<0.05), respectively). the decr ... | 2008 | 18625197 |
| the crystal structure of ump kinase from bacillus anthracis (ba1797) reveals an allosteric nucleotide-binding site. | uridine monophosphate (ump) kinase is a conserved enzyme that catalyzes the atp-driven conversion of uridylate monophosphate into uridylate diphosphate, an essential metabolic step. in prokaryotes, the enzyme exists as a homohexamer that is regulated by various metabolites. whereas the enzymatic mechanism of ump kinase (uk) is well-characterized, the molecular basis of its regulation remains poorly understood. here we report the crystal structure of uk from bacillus anthracis (ba1797) in complex ... | 2008 | 18625239 |
| in vivo demonstration and quantification of intracellular bacillus anthracis in lung epithelial cells. | inhalational anthrax is initiated by the entry of bacillus anthracis spores into the lung. a critical early event in the establishment of an infection is the dissemination of spores from the lung. using in vitro cell culture assays, we previously demonstrated that b. anthracis spores are capable of entering into epithelial cells of the lung and crossing a barrier of lung epithelial cells without apparent disruption of the barrier integrity, suggesting a novel portal for spores to disseminate fro ... | 2008 | 18625737 |
| overview of the inactivation by 254 nm ultraviolet radiation of bacteria with particular relevance to biodefense. | our goal was to ultimately predict the sensitivity of untested bacteria (including those of biodefense interest) to ultraviolet (uv) radiation. in this study, we present an overview and analysis of the relevant 254 nm data previously reported and available in the literature. the amount of variability in this data prevented us from determining an "average" response for any bacterium. therefore, we developed particular selection criteria to include the data in our analysis and suggested future gui ... | 2008 | 18627518 |
| controlled plasmonic nanostructures for surface-enhanced spectroscopy and sensing. | after its discovery more than 30 years ago, surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (sers) was expected to have major impact as a sensitive analytical technique and tool for fundamental studies of surface species. unfortunately, the lack of reliable and reproducible fabrication methods limited its applicability. in recent years, sers has enjoyed a renaissance, and there is renewed interest in both the fundamentals and applications of sers. new techniques for nanofabrication, the design of substrates ... | 2008 | 18630932 |