| bioengineered bugs expressing oligosaccharide receptor mimics: toxin-binding probiotics for treatment and prevention of enteric infections. | many microbial pathogens recognize oligosaccharides displayed on the surface of host cells as receptors for toxins and adhesins. these ligand-receptor interactions are critical for disease pathogenesis, making them promising targets for novel anti-infectives. one strategy with particular utility against enteric infections involves expression of molecular mimics of host oligosaccharides on the surface of harmless bacteria capable of surviving in the gut. this can be achieved in gram-negative bact ... | 2009 | 21326923 |
| bioengineered bugs expressing oligosaccharide receptor mimics: toxin-binding probiotics for treatment and prevention of enteric infections. | many microbial pathogens recognize oligosaccharides displayed on the surface of host cells as receptors for toxins and adhesins. these ligand-receptor interactions are critical for disease pathogenesis, making them promising targets for novel anti-infectives. one strategy with particular utility against enteric infections involves expression of molecular mimics of host oligosaccharides on the surface of harmless bacteria capable of surviving in the gut. this can be achieved in gram-negative bact ... | 2009 | 21326923 |
| assessing the quality of whole genome alignments in bacteria. | comparing genomes is an essential preliminary step to solve many problems in biology. matching long similar segments between two genomes is a precondition for their evolutionary, genetic, and genome rearrangement analyses. though various comparison methods have been developed in recent years, a quantitative assessment of their performance is lacking. here, we describe two families of assessment measures whose purpose is to evaluate bacteria-oriented comparison tools. the first measure is based o ... | 2009 | 20049164 |
| the expanding roles of caveolin proteins in microbial pathogenesis. | caveolin proteins have been implicated in a wide range of cellular functions including lipid raft mediated endocytosis and regulation of cell signaling cascades. recent discoveries have shown that these proteins are involved not only in regulating these homeostatic cellular functions, but also in the host response to a wide range of different infections. both caveolin-1 and 2 have been shown to play important roles in pathogen uptake. while caveolin-1 is the most well studied member of this fami ... | 2009 | 20195460 |
| dispelling myths held by parents about the influenza vaccine. | | 2009 | 21037839 |
| structural genomics and drug discovery for infectious diseases. | the application of structural genomics methods and approaches to proteins from organisms causing infectious diseases is making available the three dimensional structures of many proteins that are potential drug targets and laying the groundwork for structure aided drug discovery efforts. there are a number of structural genomics projects with a focus on pathogens that have been initiated worldwide. the center for structural genomics of infectious diseases (csgid) was recently established to appl ... | 2009 | 19860716 |
| the microenvironment in mature b-cell malignancies: a target for new treatment strategies. | despite major therapeutic advances, most mature b-cell malignancies remain incurable. compelling evidence suggests that crosstalk with accessory stromal cells in specialized tissue microenvironments, such as the bone marrow and secondary lymphoid organs, favors disease progression by promoting malignant b-cell growth and drug resistance. therefore, disrupting the crosstalk between malignant b cells and their milieu is an attractive novel strategy for treating selected mature b-cell malignancies. ... | 2009 | 19636060 |
| recent progress in chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis of carbohydrates. | the important roles that carbohydrates play in biological processes and their potential application in diagnosis, therapeutics, and vaccine development have made them attractive synthetic targets. despite ongoing challenges, tremendous progresses have been made in recent years for the synthesis of carbohydrates. the chemical glycosylation methods have become more sophisticated and the synthesis of oligosaccharides has become more predictable. simplified one-pot glycosylation strategy and automat ... | 2009 | 19833544 |
| unsupervised statistical clustering of environmental shotgun sequences. | the development of effective environmental shotgun sequence binning methods remains an ongoing challenge in algorithmic analysis of metagenomic data. while previous methods have focused primarily on supervised learning involving extrinsic data, a first-principles statistical model combined with a self-training fitting method has not yet been developed. | 2009 | 19799776 |
| inference of microbial recombination rates from metagenomic data. | metagenomic sequencing projects from environments dominated by a small number of species produce genome-wide population samples. we present a two-site composite likelihood estimator of the scaled recombination rate, rho = 2n(e)c, that operates on metagenomic assemblies in which each sequenced fragment derives from a different individual. this new estimator properly accounts for sequencing error, as quantified by per-base quality scores, and missing data, as inferred from the placement of reads i ... | 2009 | 19798447 |
| the structural biology of type iv secretion systems. | type iv secretion systems (t4sss) are versatile secretion systems that are found in both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and secrete a wide range of substrates, from single proteins to protein-protein and protein-dna complexes. they usually consist of 12 components that are organized into atp-powered, double-membrane-spanning complexes. the structures of single soluble components or domains have been solved, but an understanding of how these structures come together has only recently be ... | 2009 | 19756009 |
| guidelines for preventing infectious complications among hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients: a global perspective. | | 2009 | 19747629 |
| basic concepts of microarrays and potential applications in clinical microbiology. | the introduction of in vitro nucleic acid amplification techniques, led by real-time pcr, into the clinical microbiology laboratory has transformed the laboratory detection of viruses and select bacterial pathogens. however, the progression of the molecular diagnostic revolution currently relies on the ability to efficiently and accurately offer multiplex detection and characterization for a variety of infectious disease pathogens. microarray analysis has the capability to offer robust multiplex ... | 2009 | 19822891 |
| metabolic complications of bypass surgery for morbid obesity. | postoperative complications resulting from bariatric surgery can lead to severe vitamin-deficiency states. a patient who underwent bariatric bypass surgery and later developed wernicke's encephalopathy prompted us to present her interesting case history for discussion. although bariatric surgery is known to be a risk factor for wernicke's encephalopathy, this diagnosis is only rarely evoked in the postoperative course. we recommend that the occurrence of digestive, psychiatric or neurological sy ... | 2009 | 24179375 |
| asymmetrical weakness associated with central nervous system involvement in a patient with guillain-barrè syndrome. | guillain-barrè syndrome (gbs) is usually associated with symmetrical weakness, and therefore asymmetrical weakness may confuse diagnosis. we report on a patient with gbs subsequent to campylobacter jejuni enteritis who had asymmetrical weakness with cns involvement. the patient tested positive for anti-ganglioside antibodies, including anti-gm1 igm, anti-gd1b igg, and anti-gt1a igg. patients with gbs can manifest asymmetrical signs and symptoms attributable to cns involvement. prompt, accurate d ... | 2009 | 24179374 |
| gram-negative bacterial sensors for eukaryotic signal molecules. | ample evidence exists showing that eukaryotic signal molecules synthesized and released by the host can activate the virulence of opportunistic pathogens. the sensitivity of prokaryotes to host signal molecules requires the presence of bacterial sensors. these prokaryotic sensors, or receptors, have a double function: stereospecific recognition in a complex environment and transduction of the message in order to initiate bacterial physiological modifications. as messengers are generally unable t ... | 2009 | 22399982 |
| new molecular tools for enhancing methane production, explaining thermodynamically limited lifestyles and other important biotechnological issues. | | 2009 | 21255285 |
| pathogenesis and treatment of gastrointestinal disease in antibody deficiency syndromes. | primary humoral immune deficiencies are characterized by limited antibody responses secondary to either impaired b-lymphocyte development or b-cell responses to t-lymphocyte signals. given that the gastrointestinal tract is the largest lymphoid organ in the body, it is not surprising that intestinal diseases are common in immunodeficiency. these gastrointestinal diseases can be classified into one of 4 groups, infection, malignancy, inflammatory, and autoimmune, and can mimic other known disease ... | 2009 | 19665769 |
| automatic parameter learning for multiple local network alignment. | we developed graemlin 2.0, a new multiple network aligner with (1) a new multi-stage approach to local network alignment; (2) a novel scoring function that can use arbitrary features of a multiple network alignment, such as protein deletions, protein duplications, protein mutations, and interaction losses; (3) a parameter learning algorithm that uses a training set of known network alignments to learn parameters for our scoring function and thereby adapt it to any set of networks; and (4) an alg ... | 2009 | 19645599 |
| the consequences of genetic drift for bacterial genome complexity. | genetic drift, which is particularly effective within small populations, can shape the size and complexity of genomes by affecting the fixation of deleterious mutations. in bacteria, assessing the contribution of genetic drift to genome evolution is problematic because the usual methods, based on intraspecific polymorphisms, can be thwarted by difficulties in delineating species' boundaries. the increased availability of sequenced bacterial genomes allows application of an alternative estimator ... | 2009 | 19502381 |
| phage therapy and photodynamic therapy: low environmental impact approaches to inactivate microorganisms in fish farming plants. | owing to the increasing importance of aquaculture to compensate for the progressive worldwide reduction of natural fish and to the fact that several fish farming plants often suffer from heavy financial losses due to the development of infections caused by microbial pathogens, including multidrug resistant bacteria, more environmentally-friendly strategies to control fish infections are urgently needed to make the aquaculture industry more sustainable. the aim of this review is to briefly presen ... | 2009 | 19841715 |
| electroanalytical sensors and devices for multiplexed detection of foodborne pathogen microorganisms. | the detection and identification of pathogen microorganisms still rely on conventional culturing techniques, which are not suitable for on-site monitoring. therefore, a great research challenge in this field is focused on the need to develop rapid, reliable, specific, and sensitive methods to detect these bacteria at low cost. moreover, the growing interest in biochip development for large scale screening analysis implies improved miniaturization, reduction of analysis time and cost, and multi-a ... | 2009 | 22346711 |
| mass spectrometry in the analysis of n-linked and o-linked glycans. | mass spectrometry (ms) continues to play a vital role in defining the structures of n-glycans and o-glycans in glycoproteins via glycomic and glycoproteomic methodologies. the former seeks to define the total n-glycan and/or o-glycan repertoire in a biological sample whilst the latter is concerned with the analysis of glycopeptides. recent technical developments have included improvements in tandem mass spectrometry (ms/ms and ms(n)) sequencing methodologies, more sensitive methods for analysing ... | 2009 | 19577919 |
| pathogenesis and treatment of immune-mediated neuropathies. | immune-mediated neuropathies represent a heterogeneous spectrum of peripheral nerve disorders that can be classified according to time course, predominant involvement of motor/sensory fibers, distribution of deficits and paraclinical parameters such as electrophysiology and serum antibodies. in the last few years, significant advances have been achieved in elucidating underlying pathomechanisms, which made it possible to identify potential therapeutic targets. in this review, we discuss the late ... | 2009 | 21179533 |
| data correction pre-processing for electronically stored blood culture results: implications on microbial spectrum and empiric antibiotic therapy. | the outcome of patients with bacteraemia is influenced by the initial selection of adequate antimicrobial therapy. the objective of our study was to clarify the influence of different crude data correction methods on a) microbial spectrum and ranking of pathogens, and b) cumulative antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of blood culture isolates obtained from patients from intensive care units (icus) using a computer based tool, moni. | 2009 | 19500418 |
| losing your nerves? maybe it's the antibodies. | we propose that the normal immunocompetent b cell repertoire is replete with b cells making antibodies that recognize brain antigens. although b cells that are reactive with self antigen are normally silenced during b cell maturation, the blood-brain barrier (bbb) prevents many brain antigens from participating in this process. this enables the generation of a b cell repertoire that is sufficiently diverse to cope with numerous environmental challenges. it requires, however, that the integrity o ... | 2009 | 19424277 |
| principles and clinical implications of the brain-gut-enteric microbiota axis. | while bidirectional brain-gut interactions are well known mechanisms for the regulation of gut function in both healthy and diseased states, a role of the enteric flora--including both commensal and pathogenic organisms--in these interactions has only been recognized in the past few years. the brain can influence commensal organisms (enteric microbiota) indirectly, via changes in gastrointestinal motility and secretion, and intestinal permeability, or directly, via signaling molecules released i ... | 2009 | 19404271 |
| regulation of intestinal electroneutral sodium absorption and the brush border na+/h+ exchanger by intracellular calcium. | the intestinal electroneutral na(+) absorptive processes account for most small intestinal na(+) absorption in the period between meals and also for the great majority of the increase in ileal na(+) absorption that occurs postprandially. in most diarrheal diseases, there is inhibition of neutral nacl absorption. elevated levels of intracellular calcium ([ca(2+)](i)) are known to inhibit nacl absorption and involve multiple components of the ca(2+) signaling pathway. the bb na(+)/h(+) exchanger n ... | 2009 | 19538312 |
| sustainable control of water-related infectious diseases: a review and proposal for interdisciplinary health-based systems research. | even when initially successful, many interventions aimed at reducing the toll of water-related infectious disease have not been sustainable over longer periods of time. here we review historical practices in water-related infectious disease research and propose an interdisciplinary public health oriented systems approach to research and intervention design. | 2009 | 19654908 |
| this is not your mother's repressor: the complex role of fur in pathogenesis. | | 2009 | 19364842 |
| guillain-barré syndrome following hepatitis e. | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) is often triggered by a preceding bacterial or viral infection. occasionally, it has been observed in association with acute hepatitis a, b and c, and three cases have been previously described in india in which gbs was associated with acute hepatitis e. a molecular mimicry mechanism is supposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of gbs triggered by infectious agents, although the nature of the shared epitopes has not been characterized in most instances, including ... | 2009 | 19340910 |
| analysis of lectin binding to glycolipid complexes using combinatorial glycoarrays. | glycolipids are major components of the plasma membrane, interacting with themselves, other lipids, and proteins to form an array of heterogeneous domains with diverse biological properties. considerable effort has been focused on identifying protein binding partners for glycolipids and the glycan specificity for these interactions, largely achieved through assessing interactions between proteins and homogenous, single species glycolipid preparations. this approach risks overlooking both the enh ... | 2009 | 19349623 |
| structure and synthesis of polyisoprenoids used in n-glycosylation across the three domains of life. | n-linked protein glycosylation was originally thought to be specific to eukaryotes, but evidence of this post-translational modification has now been discovered across all domains of life: eucarya, bacteria, and archaea. in all cases, the glycans are first assembled in a step-wise manner on a polyisoprenoid carrier lipid. at some stage of lipid-linked oligosaccharide synthesis, the glycan is flipped across a membrane. subsequently, the completed glycan is transferred to specific asparagine resid ... | 2009 | 19348869 |
| guillain-barré syndrome and postbariatric surgery polyneuropathies. | postbariatric surgery poly-neuropathies (bsp) are infrequent events. however, with the number of gastric bypasses performed each year increasing, the incidence of bsp is expected to increase as well. the long-term sequelae of bsp worsen with delays in diagnoses. therefore, early evaluation, recognition, and treatment are important in minimizing morbidity and mortality. | 2009 | 19660227 |
| pathogen recognition and inflammatory signaling in innate immune defenses. | the innate immune system constitutes the first line of defense against invading microbial pathogens and relies on a large family of pattern recognition receptors (prrs), which detect distinct evolutionarily conserved structures on pathogens, termed pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps). among the prrs, the toll-like receptors have been studied most extensively. upon pamp engagement, prrs trigger intracellular signaling cascades ultimately culminating in the expression of a variety of pr ... | 2009 | 19366914 |
| structural and functional studies of qdtc: an n-acetyltransferase required for the biosynthesis of dtdp-3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-alpha-d-glucose. | 3-acetamido-3,6-dideoxy-alpha-d-glucose or quip3nac is an unusual dideoxy sugar found in the o-antigens of various gram-negative bacteria and in the s-layer glycoprotein glycans of some gram-positive bacteria. it is produced in these organisms as a dtdp-linked sugar, with five enzymes ultimately required for its biosynthesis. the focus of this investigation is on the enzyme qdtc, a coa-dependent n-acetyltransferase that catalyzes the last step in the quip3nac biosynthetic pathway. for this analy ... | 2009 | 19191736 |
| diagnostic value of anti-gq1b antibodies in a patient with relapsing dysarthria and ataxia. | serum antibodies to the ganglioside gq1b are associated with immune-mediated ophthalmoplegia and ataxia in patients with miller-fisher syndrome (mfs) and guillain-barré syndrome. a patient with two clinically similar episodes of progressive bulbar signs, ophthalmoplegia and ataxia is reported here. during both episodes the patient required artificial ventilation. serum anti-gq1b antibodies were detected during the first episode compatible with mfs, but were absent during the second. neuroradiolo ... | 2009 | 21686634 |
| uv light inactivation of bacterial biothreat agents. | seven species of bacterial biothreat agents were tested for susceptibility to uv light (254 nm). all gram-negative organisms tested required <12 mj/cm(2) for a 4-log(10) reduction in viability (inactivation). tailing off of the b. anthracis spore inactivation curves began close to the 2-log(10) inactivation point, with a fluence of approximately 40 mj/cm(2), and 3-log(10) inactivation still was not achieved with a fluence of 120 mj/cm(2). | 2009 | 19270145 |
| the roles of tlrs, rlrs and nlrs in pathogen recognition. | the mammalian innate immune system detects the presence of microbial infection through germ line-encoded pattern recognition receptors (prrs). toll-like receptors, retinoic acid-inducible gene-i-like receptors and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors serve as prrs that recognize different but overlapping microbial components. they are expressed in different cellular compartments such as the cell surface, endosome, lysosome or cytoplasm and activate specific signaling pathways ... | 2009 | 19246554 |
| probiotics and gastrointestinal infections. | gastrointestinal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. the use of probiotics to prevent and treat a variety of diarrheal diseases has gained favor in recent years. examples where probiotics have positively impacted gastroenteritis will be highlighted. however, the overall efficacy of these treatments and the mechanisms by which probiotics ameliorate gastrointestinal infections are mostly unknown. we will discuss possible mechanis ... | 2009 | 19277100 |
| probiotics and gastrointestinal infections. | gastrointestinal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in developing countries. the use of probiotics to prevent and treat a variety of diarrheal diseases has gained favor in recent years. examples where probiotics have positively impacted gastroenteritis will be highlighted. however, the overall efficacy of these treatments and the mechanisms by which probiotics ameliorate gastrointestinal infections are mostly unknown. we will discuss possible mechanis ... | 2009 | 19277100 |
| the epidemiology and pathogenesis of neoplasia in the small intestine. | the mucosa of the small intestine encompasses about 90% of the luminal surface area of the digestive system, but only 2% of the total annual gastrointestinal cancer incidence in the united states. | 2009 | 19064190 |
| function of nod-like receptors in microbial recognition and host defense. | nucleotide oligomerization domain (nod)-like receptors (nlrs) are a specialized group of intracellular proteins that play a critical role in the regulation of the host innate immune response. nlrs act as scaffolding proteins that assemble signaling platforms that trigger nuclear factor-kappab and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and control the activation of inflammatory caspases. importantly, mutations in several members of the nlr family have been linked to a variety of infl ... | 2009 | 19120480 |
| metallic copper as an antimicrobial surface. | bacteria, yeasts, and viruses are rapidly killed on metallic copper surfaces, and the term "contact killing" has been coined for this process. while the phenomenon was already known in ancient times, it is currently receiving renewed attention. this is due to the potential use of copper as an antibacterial material in health care settings. contact killing was observed to take place at a rate of at least 7 to 8 logs per hour, and no live microorganisms were generally recovered from copper surface ... | 2010 | 21193661 |
| metallic copper as an antimicrobial surface. | bacteria, yeasts, and viruses are rapidly killed on metallic copper surfaces, and the term "contact killing" has been coined for this process. while the phenomenon was already known in ancient times, it is currently receiving renewed attention. this is due to the potential use of copper as an antibacterial material in health care settings. contact killing was observed to take place at a rate of at least 7 to 8 logs per hour, and no live microorganisms were generally recovered from copper surface ... | 2010 | 21193661 |
| has the microbiota played a critical role in the evolution of the adaptive immune system? | although microbes have been classically viewed as pathogens, it is now well established that the majority of host-bacterial interactions are symbiotic. during development and into adulthood, gut bacteria shape the tissues, cells, and molecular profile of our gastrointestinal immune system. this partnership, forged over many millennia of coevolution, is based on a molecular exchange involving bacterial signals that are recognized by host receptors to mediate beneficial outcomes for both microbes ... | 2010 | 21205662 |
| bacteria in beach sands: an emerging challenge in protecting coastal water quality and bather health. | to protect bather health at recreational beaches, fecal indicator bacterial standards are used to monitor water quality, and waters exceeding the standards are subsequently closed to bathers. however beachgoers are also in contact with beach sands, the sanitary quality of which is not included within beach monitoring programs. in fact, sands and sediments provide habitat where fecal bacterial populations may persist, and in some cases grow, in the coastal zone. specific pathogens are less well s ... | 2010 | 21162561 |
| bacteria in beach sands: an emerging challenge in protecting coastal water quality and bather health. | to protect bather health at recreational beaches, fecal indicator bacterial standards are used to monitor water quality, and waters exceeding the standards are subsequently closed to bathers. however beachgoers are also in contact with beach sands, the sanitary quality of which is not included within beach monitoring programs. in fact, sands and sediments provide habitat where fecal bacterial populations may persist, and in some cases grow, in the coastal zone. specific pathogens are less well s ... | 2010 | 21162561 |
| trends in water- and foodborne disease outbreaks in korea, 2007-2009. | in korea, every outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in two or more patients who are epidemiologically related is investigated by local public health centres to determine causative agents and control the outbreak with the support of the korean centers for disease control and prevention. the findings and conclusions of each outbreak investigation have been summarized annually since 2007 to make reports and statistics of water- and foodborne disease outbreaks. | 2010 | 24159440 |
| guillain-barré syndrome during active brucellosis. | it has been reported that approximately two thirds of patients diagnosed with guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) have had a prodromal illness within a four-week period preceding the onset of gbs. this prodromal illness is most commonly an upper respiratory tract illness or, secondly, gastroenteritis. however, specific infectious agents, such as mycoplasma, cytomegalovirus, ebstein-barr virus, vaccinia, variola, campylobacter, varicella-zoster, measles, mumps, hepatitis a and b viruses, rubella, influ ... | 2010 | 25610149 |
| antimicrobial peptides in gastrointestinal inflammation. | acute and chronic inflammations of mucosal surfaces are complex events in which the effector mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune systems interact with pathogenic and commensal bacteria. the role of constitutive and inducible antimicrobial peptides in intestinal inflammation has been investigated thoroughly over the recent years, and their involvement in various disease states is expanded ever more. especially in the intestines, a critical balance between luminal bacteria and the antimicrobi ... | 2010 | 21151692 |
| a simulation model of waterborne gastro-intestinal disease outbreaks: description and initial evaluation. | we present an agent-based simulation model for generating realistic multivariable outbreak signals. the model defines a synthetic population and simulates the dissemination of pathogenic organisms through a municipal water distribution system, the mobility of individuals between geographic locations, their exposure to pathogens through water consumption, and disease progression in infected individuals. we present the results of an initial evaluation of the model - a simulation study replicating ... | 2010 | 21347040 |
| variant abo blood group alleles, secretor status, and risk of pancreatic cancer: results from the pancreatic cancer cohort consortium. | subjects with non-o abo blood group alleles have increased risk of pancreatic cancer. glycosyltransferase activity is greater for the a(1) versus a(2) variant, whereas o01 and o02 variants are nonfunctioning. we hypothesized: 1) a(1) allele would confer greater risk than a(2) allele, 2) protective effect of the o allele would be equivalent for o01 and o02 variants, 3) secretor phenotype would modify the association with risk. | 2010 | 20971884 |
| irefweb: interactive analysis of consolidated protein interaction data and their supporting evidence. | we present irefweb, a web interface to protein interaction data consolidated from 10 public databases: bind, biogrid, corum, dip, intact, hprd, mint, mpact, mppi and ophid. irefweb enables users to examine aggregated interactions for a protein of interest, and presents various statistical summaries of the data across databases, such as the number of organism-specific interactions, proteins and cited publications. through links to source databases and supporting evidence, researchers may gauge th ... | 2010 | 20940177 |
| hyperreflexic guillain-barré syndrome. | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) is an acquired acute autoimmune polyradiculoneuropathy. the 2 features considered essential for the diagnosis of gbs are progressive motor weakness and areflexia. there have been several descriptions of reflex preservation and hyperreflexia in axonal variant of gbs in chinese, japanese, and european populations but it is not common in the indian subcontinent. we report 2 such cases discussing the pathophysiology and management aspects. this case report is to impress ... | 2010 | 21264143 |
| transient immunosuppression: a bridge between infection and the atypical autoimmunity of guillain-barré syndrome? | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) is an acute, usually monophasic, disorder of the peripheral nervous system that is assumed to be of immune-mediated pathogenesis. however, several clinical features and experimental findings of gbs are uncharacteristic for an immune-mediated disorder and set this condition apart from other disorders with a putative immune-mediated pathogenesis. these features include, among others, the monophasic nature of gbs, the lack of response to immunosuppressive (unlike immun ... | 2010 | 20735441 |
| defining established and emerging microbial risks in the aquatic environment: current knowledge, implications, and outlooks. | this timely review primarily addresses important but presently undefined microbial risks to public health and to the natural environment. it specifically focuses on current knowledge, future outlooks and offers some potential alleviation strategies that may reduce or eliminate the risk of problematic microbes in their viable but nonculturable (vbnc) state and cryptosporidium oocysts in the aquatic environment. as emphasis is placed on water quality, particularly surrounding efficacy of decontami ... | 2010 | 20976256 |
| defining established and emerging microbial risks in the aquatic environment: current knowledge, implications, and outlooks. | this timely review primarily addresses important but presently undefined microbial risks to public health and to the natural environment. it specifically focuses on current knowledge, future outlooks and offers some potential alleviation strategies that may reduce or eliminate the risk of problematic microbes in their viable but nonculturable (vbnc) state and cryptosporidium oocysts in the aquatic environment. as emphasis is placed on water quality, particularly surrounding efficacy of decontami ... | 2010 | 20976256 |
| biosynthetic enzymes of unusual microbial sugars. | the biological importance of proteins and nucleic acids in the natural world is undeniable, and research efforts on these macromolecules have often overshadowed those directed at carbohydrates. it is now known, however, that carbohydrates not only play roles in energy storage and plant cell wall structure, but are also intimately involved in such processes as fertilization, the immune response, and cell adhesion. indeed, recent years have seen an explosion in research efforts directed at uncover ... | 2010 | 20832292 |
| drosophila vitelline membrane assembly: a critical role for an evolutionarily conserved cysteine in the "vm domain" of sv23. | the vitelline membrane (vm), the oocyte proximal layer of the drosophila eggshell, contains four major proteins (vmps) that possess a highly conserved "vm domain" which includes three precisely spaced, evolutionarily conserved, cysteines (cx⁷cx⁸c). focusing on sv23, this study showed that the three cysteines are not functionally equivalent. while substitution mutations at the first (c123s) or third (c140s) cysteines were tolerated, females with a substitution at the second position (c131s) were ... | 2010 | 20832396 |
| chev: chew-like coupling proteins at the core of the chemotaxis signaling network. | microbes have chemotactic signaling systems that enable them to detect and follow chemical gradients in their environments. the core of these sensory systems consists of chemoreceptor proteins coupled to the chea kinase via the scaffold or coupler protein chew. some bacterial chemotaxis systems replace or augment chew with a related protein, chev, which is less well understood. chev consists of a chew domain fused to a receiver domain that is capable of being phosphorylated. our review of the li ... | 2010 | 20832320 |
| a score of the ability of a three-dimensional protein model to retrieve its own sequence as a quantitative measure of its quality and appropriateness. | despite the remarkable progress of bioinformatics, how the primary structure of a protein leads to a three-dimensional fold, and in turn determines its function remains an elusive question. alignments of sequences with known function can be used to identify proteins with the same or similar function with high success. however, identification of function-related and structure-related amino acid positions is only possible after a detailed study of every protein. folding pattern diversity seems to ... | 2010 | 20830209 |
| type iv secretion systems: versatility and diversity in function. | type iv secretion systems (t4sss) are large protein complexes which traverse the cell envelope of many bacteria. they contain a channel through which proteins or protein-dna complexes can be translocated. this translocation is driven by a number of cytoplasmic atpases which might energize large conformational changes in the translocation complex. the family of t4sss is very versatile, shown by the great variety of functions among family members. some t4sss are used by pathogenic gram-negative ba ... | 2010 | 20642798 |
| origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance. | antibiotics have always been considered one of the wonder discoveries of the 20th century. this is true, but the real wonder is the rise of antibiotic resistance in hospitals, communities, and the environment concomitant with their use. the extraordinary genetic capacities of microbes have benefitted from man's overuse of antibiotics to exploit every source of resistance genes and every means of horizontal gene transmission to develop multiple mechanisms of resistance for each and every antibiot ... | 2010 | 20805405 |
| microbe hunting. | platforms for pathogen discovery have improved since the days of koch and pasteur; nonetheless, the challenges of proving causation are at least as daunting as they were in the late 1800 s. although we will almost certainly continue to accumulate low-hanging fruit, where simple relationships will be found between the presence of a cultivatable agent and a disease, these successes will be increasingly infrequent. the future of the field rests instead in our ability to follow footprints of infecti ... | 2010 | 20805403 |
| new concepts of microbial translocation in the neonatal intestine: mechanisms and prevention. | bacterial translocation from the gastrointestinal tract is an important pathway initiating late-onset sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis in very low-birth-weight infants. the emerging intestinal microbiota, nascent intestinal epithelia, naive immunity, and suboptimal nutrition (lack of breast milk) have roles in facilitating bacterial translocation. feeding lactoferrin, probiotics, or prebiotics has presented exciting possibilities to prevent bacterial translocation in preterm infants, and cli ... | 2010 | 20813271 |
| preparing the "new" biologist of the future: student research at the interface of mathematics and biology. | we describe a unique research experience for undergraduates and research experience for veterinary students summer program at the national institute for mathematical and biological synthesis on the campus of the university of tennessee, knoxville. the program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics. participants were selected to work on projects with a biology mentor and a mathematics mentor in an environment that promoted collaboration outside of the st ... | 2010 | 20810963 |
| leukocyte oxygen radical production determines disease severity in the recurrent guillain-barré syndrome. | the recurrent guillain-barré syndrome (rgbs) is characterized by at least two gbs episodes with intervening remission. in a previous study of monophasic gbs, we reported that the magnitude of oxygen radical production ("respiratory burst") in peripheral blood leukocytes was inversely correlated to disease severity. the present study sought to establish a similar correlation in patients with rgbs. | 2010 | 20691112 |
| probiotics and the gut microbiota in intestinal health and disease. | the use of probiotics is increasing in popularity for both the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases. while a growing number of well-conducted, prospective, randomized, controlled, clinical trials are emerging and investigations of underlying mechanisms of action are being undertaken, questions remain with respect to the specific immune and physiological effects of probiotics in health and disease. this review considers recent advances in clinical trials of probiotics for intestinal ... | 2010 | 20664519 |
| long-term prognosis of postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (gut 2010;59:605-611). | | 2010 | 20680178 |
| a hard microflow cytometer using groove-generated sheath flow for multiplexed bead and cell assays. | with a view toward developing a rugged microflow cytometer, a sheath flow system was micromachined in hard plastic (polymethylmethacrylate) for analysis of particles and cells using optical detection. six optical fibers were incorporated into the interrogation region of the chip, in which hydrodynamic focusing narrowed the core stream to ~35 μm × 40 μm. the use of a relatively large channel at the inlet as well as in the interrogation region (375 μm × 125 μm) successfully minimized the risk of c ... | 2010 | 20658281 |
| the blessings and curses of intestinal inflammation. | the intestinal immune system has to strike a delicate balance between initiating inflammatory responses against invading bacterial pathogens and avoiding their induction against microbiota colonizing the lumen. adequate inflammatory responses against bacterial invasion result in the lumenal secretion of antimicrobial peptides, as well as the release of cytokines in tissue that recruit and activate phagocytes. however, pathogens have evolved to utilize these environmental changes in the inflamed ... | 2010 | 20638640 |
| small intestinal cancer: a population-based study of incidence and survival patterns in the united states, 1992 to 2006. | the etiology of cancers of the small intestine is largely unknown. to gain insight into these rare malignancies, we evaluated contemporaneous incidence and survival patterns. | 2010 | 20647399 |
| guillain-barré syndrome, tuberculosis and inflammatory bowel disease: a multiple association. | guillain-barré syndrome (gbs) has been associated with both infective or non-infective aetiologies. gbs is usually preceded by acute respiratory or gastrointestinal infection but its association with tuberculosis has been exceptionally reported. inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) is associated with clinical manifestations involving the neurological system, peripheral neuropathy is known to be related to ibd and, either demyelinating or axonal involvement of peripheral nerves have been described. w ... | 2010 | 20637069 |
| mechanisms underlying autoimmune synaptic encephalitis leading to disorders of memory, behavior and cognition: insights from molecular, cellular and synaptic studies. | recently, several novel, potentially lethal and treatment-responsive syndromes that affect hippocampal and cortical function have been shown to be associated with auto-antibodies against synaptic antigens, notably glutamate or gaba-b receptors. patients with these auto-antibodies, sometimes associated with teratomas and other neoplasms, present with psychiatric symptoms, seizures, memory deficits and decreased levels of consciousness. these symptoms often improve dramatically after immunotherapy ... | 2010 | 20646055 |
| how i treat common variable immune deficiency. | common variable immunodeficiency is a rare immune deficiency, characterized by low levels of serum immunoglobulin g, a, and/or m with loss of antibody production. the diagnosis is most commonly made in adults between the ages of 20 and 40 years, but both children and older adults can be found to have this immune defect. the range of clinical manifestations is broad, including acute and chronic infections, inflammatory and autoimmune disease, and an increased incidence of cancer and lymphoma. for ... | 2010 | 20332369 |
| prospects of nanotechnology in clinical immunodiagnostics. | nanostructured materials are promising compounds that offer new opportunities as sensing platforms for the detection of biomolecules. having micrometer-scale length and nanometer-scale diameters, nanomaterials can be manipulated with current nanofabrication methods, as well as self-assembly techniques, to fabricate nanoscale bio-sensing devices. nanostructured materials possess extraordinary physical, mechanical, electrical, thermal and multifunctional properties. such unique properties advocate ... | 2010 | 22163566 |
| my favorite pyruvate carboxylase. | | 2010 | 20552640 |
| genome (re-)annotation and open-source annotation pipelines. | | 2010 | 21255336 |
| evolution of substrate specificity within a diverse family of beta/alpha-barrel-fold basic amino acid decarboxylases: x-ray structure determination of enzymes with specificity for l-arginine and carboxynorspermidine. | pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (plp)-dependent basic amino acid decarboxylases from the beta/alpha-barrel-fold class (group iv) exist in most organisms and catalyze the decarboxylation of diverse substrates, essential for polyamine and lysine biosynthesis. herein we describe the first x-ray structure determination of bacterial biosynthetic arginine decarboxylase (adc) and carboxynorspermidine decarboxylase (cansdc) to 2.3- and 2.0-a resolution, solved as product complexes with agmatine and norspermidine ... | 2010 | 20534592 |
| effect of refrigeration and frozen storage on the campylobacter jejuni recovery from naturally contaminated broiler carcasses. | campylobacter jejuni is the most common thermophilic campylobacter associated with human enteritis in many countries. broilers and their by-products are the main sources for human enteritis. refrigeration and freezing are used to control bacterial growth in foods. the effect of these interventions on survival of campylobacter jejuni is yet not quite understood. this study evaluated the effect of storage temperature on the survival of c. jejuni in chicken meat stored for seven days at 4°c and for ... | 2010 | 24031523 |
| clinical and pharmacological aspects of inflammatory demyelinating diseases in childhood: an update. | inflammatory demyelinating diseases comprise a spectrum of disorders affecting the myelin of the central and peripheral nervous system. these diseases can usually be differentiated on the basis of clinical, radiological, laboratory and pathological findings. recent studies have contributed to current awareness that inflammatory demyelinating diseases are not restricted to the adult age group, but are more common in pediatric age than previously believed. some of pediatric inflammatory demyelinat ... | 2010 | 21119885 |
| oncogenic activation of nf-kappab. | recent genetic evidence has established a pathogenetic role for nf-kappab signaling in cancer. nf-kappab signaling is engaged transiently when normal b lymphocytes respond to antigens, but lymphomas derived from these cells accumulate genetic lesions that constitutively activate nf-kappab signaling. many genetic aberrations in lymphomas alter card11, malt1, or bcl10, which constitute a signaling complex that is intermediate between the b-cell receptor and ikappab kinase. the activated b-cell-lik ... | 2010 | 20516126 |
| plants versus pathogens: an evolutionary arms race. | the analysis of plant-pathogen interactions is a rapidly moving research field and one that is very important for productive agricultural systems. the focus of this review is on the evolution of plant defence responses and the coevolution of their pathogens, primarily from a molecular-genetic perspective. it explores the evolution of the major types of plant defence responses including pathogen associated molecular patterns and effector triggered immunity as well as the forces driving pathogen e ... | 2010 | 21743794 |
| impact of recombination on bacterial evolution. | genetic exchange plays a defining role in the evolution of many bacteria. the recent accumulation of nucleotide sequence data from multiple members of diverse bacterial genera has facilitated comparative studies that have revealed many features of this process. here we focus on genetic exchange that has involved homologous recombination and illustrate how nucleotide sequence data have furthered our understanding of: (i) the frequency of recombination; (ii) the impact of recombination in differen ... | 2010 | 20452218 |
| role of anti-gq1b antibody in differential diagnosis of acute ophthalmoparesis. | miller fisher syndrome (mfs) is a triad of total external ophthalmoplegia, ataxia, and areflexia, while botulism has the usual clinical presentation of involvement of cranial muscles and palsies with blurred vision, diplopia, ptosis, dilated pupils, and facial paralysis, caused by a bacterial neurotoxin which attacks proteins involved in presynaptic vesicle release. in this report, we needed to make the differential diagnosis between mfs and botulism in a patient who presented with acute ophthal ... | 2010 | 20505843 |
| macrophage migration inhibitory factor (mif): a promising biomarker. | macrophage migration inhibitory factor (mif) is an immunoregulatory cytokine, the effect of which on arresting random immune cell movement was recognized several decades ago. despite its historic name, mif also has a direct chemokine-like function and promotes cell recruitment. multiple clinical studies have indicated the utility of mif as a biomarker for different diseases that have an inflammatory component; these include systemic infections and sepsis, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and metabol ... | 2010 | 20520854 |
| oleuropein in olive and its pharmacological effects. | olive from olea europaea is native to the mediterranean region and, both the oil and the fruit are some of the main components of the mediterranean diet. the main active constituents of olive oil include oleic acid, phenolic constituents, and squalene. the main phenolic compounds, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein, give extra-virgin olive oil its bitter, pungent taste. the present review focuses on recent works that have analyzed the relationship between the major phenolic compound oleuropein and it ... | 2010 | 21179340 |
| pancytopenia due to proguanil toxicity in a returning traveller with fever. | a patient known to have renal insufficiency was admitted to the hospital with fever and pancytopenia after returning from a trip to mali. pancytopenia was not caused by a tropical infection but was a side effect of atovaquone/proguanil used as malaria chemoprophylaxis. high and prolonged detectable proguanil serum levels can result in bone marrow suppression in patients with renal insufficiency. this should be taken into account in a returning traveller with fever and pancytopenia. | 2010 | 20407763 |
| intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in multifocal motor neuropathy. | multifocal motor neuropathy (mmn) is characterized by asymmetric weakness of limbs and the electrophysiological finding of conduction block in motor nerves. conduction block is the inability of nerves to propagate action potentials and is probably caused by immune-mediated dysfunction of the axon at the nodes of ranvier or the myelin sheath. mmn immune pathogenesis has not been elucidated. | 2010 | 20405181 |
| toll-like receptors in inflammatory bowel diseases: a decade later. | differential alteration of toll-like receptor (tlr) expression in inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) was first described 10 years ago. since then, studies from many groups have led to the current concept that tlrs represent key mediators of innate host defense in the intestine, involved in maintaining mucosal as well as commensal homeostasis. recent findings in diverse murine models of colitis have helped to reveal the mechanistic importance of tlr dysfunction in ibd pathogenesis. it has become ev ... | 2010 | 20803699 |
| a niche for infectious disease in environmental health: rethinking the toxicological paradigm. | in this review we highlight the need to expand the scope of environmental health research, which now focuses largely on the study of toxicants, to incorporate infectious agents. we provide evidence that environmental health research would be strengthened through finding common ground with the tools and approaches of infectious disease research. | 2010 | 20385515 |
| campylobacterjejuni cholecystitis: a rare but significant clinical entity. | cholecystitis caused by campylobacter is rare with only 14 cases found in the literature. this case describes a 71-year-old man who presented with right hypochondrial abdominal pain due to a gangrenous gallbladder identified at laparotomy. culture of a bile sample identified a slow-growing gram-negative bacterium identified as campylobacter jejuni. after a poor clinical response, this identification allowed targeted antibiotic treatment resulting in a slow but successful recovery and discharge 1 ... | 2010 | 22485123 |
| ecological basis for rational phage therapy. | understanding the mutual interactions of bacterial and phage populations in the environment of a human or animal body is essential in any attempt to influence these complex processes, particularly for rational phage therapy. current knowledge on the impact of naturally occurring bacteriophages on the populations of their host bacteria, and their role in the homeostasis maintenance of a macro host, is still sketchy. the existing data suggest that different mechanisms stabilize phage-bacteria coex ... | 2010 | 22649629 |
| pan-genome analysis provides much higher strain typing resolution than multi-locus sequence typing. | the most widely used dna-based method for bacterial strain typing, multi-locus sequence typing (mlst), lacks sufficient resolution to distinguish among many bacterial strains within a species. here, we show that strain typing based on the presence or absence of distributed genes is able to resolve all completely sequenced genomes of six bacterial species. this was accomplished by the development of a clustering method, neighbour grouping, which is completely consistent with the lower-resolution ... | 2010 | 20019077 |
| ileal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (malt) lymphoma with a large-cell component that regressed spontaneously. | reported herein is a case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (malt) lymphoma of the terminal ileum with a large-cell component, which regressed spontaneously. to the best of our knowledge, only five cases of spontaneously regressing malt lymphoma have been reported in the english-language literature, and all of these cases were low-grade lymphomas. spontaneous regression of a malt lymphoma with a high-grade component is very rare. the present case suggests that malt lymphoma cells have a rever ... | 2010 | 20479924 |
| bacteria in cancer therapy: a novel experimental strategy. | resistance to conventional anticancer therapies in patients with advanced solid tumors has prompted the need of alternative cancer therapies. moreover, the success of novel cancer therapies depends on their selectivity for cancer cells with limited toxicity to normal tissues. several decades after coley's work a variety of natural and genetically modified non-pathogenic bacterial species are being explored as potential antitumor agents, either to provide direct tumoricidal effects or to deliver ... | 2010 | 20331869 |
| a 60-year meta-analysis of tick paralysis in the united states: a predictable, preventable, and often misdiagnosed poisoning. | tick paralysis (tp) is a neurotoxic poisoning primarily afflicting young girls in endemic regions. recent case series of tp have described increasing misdiagnoses of tp as the guillain-barré syndrome (gbs). a meta-analysis of the scientific literature was conducted using internet search engines to assess the evolving epidemiology of tp. fifty well-documented cases of tp were analyzed over the period 1946-2006. cases were stratified by demographics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes. misdiagn ... | 2010 | 20186584 |
| primary immunodeficiencies of the b lymphocyte. | the immune response consists of two main components: humoral immunity represented by b lymphocytes and cellular immunity maintained by the t lymphocytes. immunoglobulins, produced by b-lymphocytes, are the main mediators of humoral immunity, and deficiencies at this level affect the body's response to infection. plasmocytes produce nine antibody izotypes: immunoglobulins g (igg1, igg2, igg3, igg4), immunoglobulins m (igm), immunoglobulins a (iga1, iga2), immunoglobulins d (igd) and immunoglobuli ... | 2010 | 20302197 |
| coping with antibiotic resistance: contributions from genomics. | antibiotic resistance is a public health issue of global dimensions with a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and healthcare-associated costs. the problem has recently been worsened by the steady increase in multiresistant strains and by the restriction of antibiotic discovery and development programs. recent advances in the field of bacterial genomics will further current knowledge on antibiotic resistance and help to tackle the problem. bacterial genomics and transcriptomics can inform ... | 2010 | 20236502 |