| clinical spectrum of pulmonary involvement in leptospirosis in a region of endemicity, with quantification of leptospiral burden. | pulmonary involvement in leptospirosis remains poorly recognized in regions where it is endemic, despite reports of recent outbreaks and epidemic disease. | 2005 | 15668855 |
| purification and proteomic analysis of outer membrane vesicles from a clinical isolate of leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni. | the severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis (spfl) is an especially serious and rapid disease process characterized by alveolar hemorrhage and acute respiratory failure. the outer membrane of leptospira facilitates direct interactions with the environs and likely contains important constituents involved during infection, transmission, survival, and adaptation to environmental conditions, including putative vaccinogen and diagnostic candidates. outer membrane vesicles (omvs) were purified by incub ... | 2005 | 15672460 |
| evaluation of lig-based conventional and real time pcr for the detection of pathogenic leptospires. | leptospirosis is globally important infectious disease affecting almost all mammals. pathogenic leptospira encodes immunoglobulin-like protein (lig) that is found to express only during infection. we report the development of conventional and real time pcr assays targeting lig genes of leptospires for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis. sensitivity of the newly designed lig1/lig2 primers for conventional pcr was compared with previously published primers lp1/lp2 and g1/g2. g1/g2 primers amplif ... | 2004 | 15680212 |
| leptospiral pneumonia. | severe leptospirosis rarely presents with primary pulmonary manifestations, without any associated jaundice or renal dysfunction. the authors report a nine-year-old boy who presented with complaints of abrupt onset of high fever; with myalgia, headache, and pain in right chest region, productive cough with hemoptysis and vomiting developing over the past 72 hours. chest radiograph showed consolidation in the right upper lobe with air bronchogram. a history of contact with sewage water and presen ... | 2005 | 15684465 |
| [advances in research on pathogenic mechanism the prospect of genus-specific genetic engineering vaccine of leptospira interrogans]. | | 2005 | 15693115 |
| [apoptosis and ultrastructural lesions in vero and j774a.1 cells induced by leptospira interrogans]. | to determine the ability of adhering and invading to host cells and the related pathologic changes of leptospira spp. with different virulence. | 2005 | 15693116 |
| [immune-functional epitopes and inflammation-inducing effects of the major outer envelope proteins of leptospira interrogans]. | to investigate the immune-functional epitopes and inflammation-inducing effects of the major outer envelope proteins of leptospira interrogans. | 2005 | 15693117 |
| [phospholipase c activity and alteration of intracellular free ca2+ levels during internalization of leptospira interrogans]. | to determine the effects of leptospiral strains with different virulence on intracellular free ca(2+)level and its relation with phospholipase c (plc) activity of l.interrogans. | 2005 | 15693118 |
| [construction and application of prokaryotic expression system of leptospira interrogans lipl32/1-lipl41/1 fusion gene]. | to construct lipl32/1-lipl41/1 fusion gene and its prokaryotic expression system and to determine frequencies of carrying and expression of lipl32 and lipl41 genes in l.interrogans wild strains and specific antibody levels in sera from leptospirosis patients. | 2005 | 15693120 |
| [eukaryotic expression of leptospira interrogans lipl32/1-ompl1/1 fusion gene encoding genus-specific protein antigens and the immunoreactivity of expression products]. | to construct the eukaryotic expression system of l.interrogans lipl32/1-ompl1/1 fusion gene and to identify the immunoreactivity of expression products. | 2005 | 15693121 |
| identification of variable-number tandem-repeat loci in leptospira interrogans sensu stricto. | leptospira interrogans sensu stricto is responsible for the most frequent and severe cases of human leptospirosis. the epidemiology and clinical features of leptospirosis are usually associated with the serovars and serogroups of leptospira. because of the difficulties associated with serological identification of leptospira strains, we evaluated a novel pcr-based method for typing l. interrogans serovars. based upon the genome sequence of l. interrogans serovar lai type strain 5660, 44 loci wer ... | 2005 | 15695642 |
| specialized microbial databases for inductive exploration of microbial genome sequences. | the enormous amount of genome sequence data asks for user-oriented databases to manage sequences and annotations. queries must include search tools permitting function identification through exploration of related objects. | 2005 | 15698474 |
| protein domains and architectural innovation in plant-associated proteobacteria. | evolution of new complex biological behaviour tends to arise by novel combinations of existing building blocks. the functional and evolutionary building blocks of the proteome are protein domains, the function of a protein being dependent on its constituent domains. we clustered completely-sequenced proteomes of prokaryotes on the basis of their protein domain content, as defined by pfam (release 16.0). this revealed that, although there was a correlation between phylogeny and domain content, ot ... | 2005 | 15715905 |
| toxin-antitoxin loci are highly abundant in free-living but lost from host-associated prokaryotes. | prokaryotic chromosomes code for toxin-antitoxin (ta) loci, often in multiple copies. in e.coli, experimental evidence indicates that ta loci are stress-response elements that help cells survive unfavorable growth conditions. the first gene in a ta operon codes for an antitoxin that combines with and neutralizes a regulatory 'toxin', encoded by the second gene. rele and mazf toxins are regulators of translation that cleave mrna and function, in interplay with tmrna, in quality control of gene ex ... | 2005 | 15718296 |
| variation in the strength of selected codon usage bias among bacteria. | among bacteria, many species have synonymous codon usage patterns that have been influenced by natural selection for those codons that are translated more accurately and/or efficiently. however, in other species selection appears to have been ineffective. here, we introduce a population genetics-based model for quantifying the extent to which selection has been effective. the approach is applied to 80 phylogenetically diverse bacterial species for which whole genome sequences are available. the ... | 2005 | 15728743 |
| experimental leptospirosis in marmoset monkeys (callithrix jacchus): a new model for studies of severe pulmonary leptospirosis. | experimental infection of marmoset monkeys (callithrix jacchus) with leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni showed microscopic patterns of tissue reactions comparable to those seen in the severe forms of human leptospirosis, including intra-alveolar hemorrhage. the most impressive microscopic changes were seen in the lung and kidney of animals killed at days 6 and 12 after inoculation. there were extensive and irregular areas of hemorrhage predominating around main bronchial branches or diff ... | 2005 | 15728860 |
| molecular analysis of the rebeccamycin l-amino acid oxidase from lechevalieria aerocolonigenes atcc 39243. | rebeccamycin, a member of the tryptophan-derived indolocarbazole family, is produced by lechevalieria aerocolonigenes atcc 39243. the biosynthetic pathway that specifies biosynthesis of this important metabolite is comprised of 11 genes spanning 18 kb of dna. a presumed early enzyme involved in elaboration of the rebeccamycin aglycone is encoded by rebo, located at the left-hand region of the reb gene cluster. the deduced protein product, rebo (51.9 kda), is an l-amino acid oxidase (l-aao) that ... | 2005 | 15743957 |
| identification of a new borrelia species among small mammals in areas of northern spain where lyme disease is endemic. | the role of small mammals as reservoir hosts for borrelia burgdorferi was investigated in several areas where lyme disease is endemic in northern spain. a low rate of infestation by ixodes ricinus nymphs was found in the small mammal populations studied that correlated with the near-absence of b. burgdorferi sensu lato in 184 animals tested and with the lack of transmission of b. burgdorferi sensu lato to i. ricinus larvae that fed on them. in contrast, questing ticks collected at the same time ... | 2005 | 15746336 |
| whole-genome analysis of leptospira interrogans to identify potential vaccine candidates against leptospirosis. | leptospirosis is an important global human and veterinary health problem. humans can be infected by exposure to chronically infected animals and their environment. an important focus of the current leptospiral research is the identification of outer membrane proteins (omps). due to their location, leptospiral omps are likely to be relevant in host-pathogen interactions, hence their potential ability to stimulate heterologous immunity. the existing whole-genome sequence of leptospira interrogans ... | 2005 | 15766783 |
| identification and classification of all potential hemolysin encoding genes and their products from leptospira interrogans serogroup icterohae-morrhagiae serovar lai. | to identify and classify all potential hemolysin candidates of leptospira interrogans serogroup icterohaemorrhagiae serovar lai. | 2005 | 15780195 |
| the thermophilic, homohexameric aminopeptidase of borrelia burgdorferi is a member of the m29 family of metallopeptidases. | proteases are implicated in several aspects of the physiology of microorganisms, as well as in host-pathogen interactions. aminopeptidases are also emerging as novel drug targets in infectious agents. in this study, we have characterized an aminopeptidase from the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme disease. the aminopeptidolytic activity was identified in cell extracts from b. burgdorferi by using the substrate leucine-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin. a protein displaying this ... | 2005 | 15784569 |
| penicillin-binding proteins in the pathogenic intestinal spirochete brachyspira pilosicoli. | penicillin-binding proteins (pbps) of slightly different molecular masses (94, 62 or 68, 42 or 50, 25, and 22 kda) were identified in one human and two porcine brachyspira pilosicoli strains. identification of pbps of b. pilosicoli provides a basis for characterization of the genes encoding these proteins among pathogenic intestinal spirochetes of humans and animals. | 2005 | 15793139 |
| leptospiral membrane proteins--variations on a theme? | | 2005 | 15802754 |
| functional insights from the distribution and role of homopeptide repeat-containing proteins. | expansion of "low complex" repeats of amino acids such as glutamine (poly-q) is associated with protein misfolding and the development of degenerative diseases such as huntington's disease. the mechanism by which such regions promote misfolding remains controversial, the function of many repeat-containing proteins (rcps) remains obscure, and the role (if any) of repeat regions remains to be determined. here, a web-accessible database of rcps is presented. the distribution and evolution of rcps t ... | 2005 | 15805494 |
| comprehensive characterization of the contribution of individual sigb-dependent general stress genes to stress resistance of bacillus subtilis. | the sigma(b)-dependent general stress regulon of bacillus subtilis comprises more than 150 members. induction of this regulon by imposition of environmental or metabolic stress confers multiple, nonspecific, and preemptive stress resistance to nongrowing, nonsporulated cells of b. subtilis. in this study we performed a regulon-wide phenotypic screening analysis to determine the stress sensitivity profiles of 94 mutants defective in candidate members of the general stress regulon that were previo ... | 2005 | 15805528 |
| enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of canine leptospira antibodies using recombinant ompl1 protein. | ompl1 is a 31-kda outer membrane protein characterized in 1993 and known to be expressed only in pathogenic leptospira spp. recombinant ompl1 (gst-rompl1) was expressed for use as an elisa antigen for the detection of anti-leptospira antibodies. in immunoblot analysis, the protein reacted with sera of dogs infected with three different serotypes of leptospira interrogans, while did not react with sera of dogs both uninfected negative controls and infected with borrelia burgdorferi, which is clos ... | 2005 | 15805726 |
| serological evidence of leptospira interrogans serovar bratislava infection and its association with abortions in cattle in northern spain. | a cross-sectional study was carried out in the basque country of spain to determine the seroprevalence of 10 leptospira serovars in a population of dairy cattle with poor fertility, and a case-control study was carried out in another northern area to investigate the role of leptospira interrogans serovar bratislava in abortions. l. bratislava was the most prevalent serovar in the cross-sectional study, with 25.4 per cent of the cows testing positive in the microagglutination test when a cut-off ... | 2005 | 15816182 |
| synthesis of autoinducer 2 by the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi. | defining the metabolic capabilities and regulatory mechanisms controlling gene expression is a valuable step in understanding the pathogenic properties of infectious agents such as borrelia burgdorferi. the present studies demonstrated that b. burgdorferi encodes functional pfs and luxs enzymes for the breakdown of toxic products of methylation reactions. consistent with those observations, b. burgdorferi was shown to synthesize the end product 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (dpd) during laborat ... | 2005 | 15838035 |
| rnase/anti-rnase activities of the bacterial pard toxin-antitoxin system. | the bacterial pard toxin-antitoxin system of plasmid r1 encodes two proteins, the kid toxin and its cognate antitoxin, kis. kid cleaves rna and inhibits protein synthesis and cell growth in escherichia coli. here, we show that kid promotes rna degradation and inhibition of protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. these new activities of the kid toxin were counteracted by the kis antitoxin and were not displayed by the kidr85w variant, which is nontoxic in e. coli. moreover, while kid cl ... | 2005 | 15838042 |
| the genome of s-pm2, a "photosynthetic" t4-type bacteriophage that infects marine synechococcus strains. | bacteriophage s-pm2 infects several strains of the abundant and ecologically important marine cyanobacterium synechococcus. a large lytic phage with an isometric icosahedral head, s-pm2 has a contractile tail and by this criterion is classified as a myovirus (1). the linear, circularly permuted, 196,280-bp double-stranded dna genome of s-pm2 contains 37.8% g+c residues. it encodes 239 open reading frames (orfs) and 25 trnas. of these orfs, 19 appear to encode proteins associated with the cell en ... | 2005 | 15838046 |
| isolation and characterization of feca- and feob-mediated iron acquisition systems of the spirochete leptospira biflexa by random insertional mutagenesis. | the specific mechanisms by which leptospira spp. acquire iron from their ecological niches are unknown. a major factor contributing to our ignorance of spirochetal biology is the lack of methods for genetic analysis of these organisms. in this study, we have developed a system for random transposon mutagenesis of leptospira biflexa using a mariner transposon, himar1. to demonstrate the validity of himar1 in vivo transposon mutagenesis in l. biflexa, a screen of mutants for clones impaired in ami ... | 2005 | 15838052 |
| random insertional mutagenesis of leptospira interrogans, the agent of leptospirosis, using a mariner transposon. | the recent availability of the complete genome sequences of leptospira interrogans, the agent of leptospirosis, has allowed the identification of several putative virulence factors. however, to our knowledge, attempts to carry out gene transfer in pathogenic leptospira spp. have failed so far. in this study, we show that the himar1 mariner transposon permits random mutagenesis in the pathogen l. interrogans. we have identified genes that have been interrupted by himar1 insertion in 35 l. interro ... | 2005 | 15838053 |
| seroepidemiology of leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and leishmaniosis among dogs in ankara, turkey. | seroprevalence of five different leptospira interrogans serovars, toxoplasma gondii and leishmania infantum in stray dogs in ankara was investigated. a total of 116 dog sera collected from apparently healthy stray dogs were tested for l. interrogans serovars by microscopic agglutination test (mat), for t. gondii antibodies by sabin-feldman dye test (sfdt), and for l. infantum antibodies by indirect fluorescence antibody test (ifat). of the 116 dogs, 51 (43.96%) were seropositive for leptospirosi ... | 2005 | 15845273 |
| a monoclonal antibody that conveys in vitro killing and partial protection in experimental syphilis binds a phosphorylcholine surface epitope of treponema pallidum. | immunization with purified treponema pallidum outer membrane vesicles (omv) has previously resulted in high-titer complement-dependent serum bactericidal activity. in this study, omv immunization resulted in the isolation of a monoclonal antibody, m131, with complement-dependent killing activity. passive immunization of rabbits with m131 administered intravenously conferred significant immunity demonstrated by the failure of syphilitic lesions to appear at 29% of intradermal challenge sites (7/2 ... | 2005 | 15845516 |
| [growth, virulence and antigenecity of leptospira interrogans serovar mozdok in modified emjh medium]. | the effect of higher tween 80 concentrations in emjh synthetic medium on the growth, virulence and antigenecity of leptospira interrogans serovar mozdok was evaluated for increasing the performances and making a full use of the detoxifying capacity of bovine serum albumin. the growth was spectrophotographically evaluated by the analysis of the bacterial growth kinetics; the obtained biomass performance and the consumption of the carbon source. the virulence was estimated in syrian hamster model ... | 2002 | 15846938 |
| leptospiral antibodies in captive lion tamarins (leontopithecus sp) in brazil. | serum samples from 73 lion tamarins of three species living at the centro de primatologia do rio de janeiro were tested for antibodies against serovars of leptospira interrogans by microscopic agglutination test. antibodies were detected in serum samples of 15% of tested samples. seroreactivity prevalence was lower than that described in other non-human primates and could be explained by the arboreal behaviour of these animals. icterohaemorrhagiae was the most common serogroup. | 2005 | 15848790 |
| [microbiological characterization of candidate vaccine strains of ballum serogroup leptospira interrogans]. | two candidate vaccines of ballum serogroup leptospira interrogans were microbiologically characterized as part of the work directed to the obtention of new antileptospirosis vaccine formulations for human use. the growth kynetics of both strains was evaluated in emjh protein medium and in 3 protein free media. the virulence was estimated in hamsters by the calculation of the mean lethal dose. the cellular and extracellular antigenic profiles were analyzed by unidimensional sds-page and compared ... | 2003 | 15849918 |
| an adenylyl cyclase, cyab, acts as an osmosensor in myxococcus xanthus. | we have previously reported that a receptor-type adenylyl cyclase (cyaa) of myxococcus xanthus undergoes an osmosensor mainly during spore germination (y. kimura et al., j. bacteriol. 184:3578-3585, 2002). in the present study, we cloned another receptor-type adenylyl cyclase gene (cyab) and characterized the function of the cyab-encoded protein. disruption of cyab generates a mutant that showed growth retardation at high ionic (nacl) or high nonionic (sucrose) osmolarity. when vegetative cells ... | 2005 | 15866951 |
| suppressive subtractive hybridization of and differences in gene expression content of calcifying and noncalcifying cultures of emiliania huxleyi strain 1516. | the marine coccolithophorid emiliania huxleyi is a cosmopolitan alga intensely studied in relation to global carbon cycling, biogeochemistry, marine ecology, and biomineralization processes. the biomineralization capabilities of coccolithophorids have attracted the attention of scientists interested in exploiting this ability for the development of materials science and biomedical and biotechnological applications. although it has been well documented that biomineralization in e. huxleyi is prom ... | 2005 | 15870347 |
| genomic diversity in campylobacter jejuni: identification of c. jejuni 81-176-specific genes. | since the publication of the complete genomic sequence of campylobacter jejuni nctc 11168 in february 2000, evidence has been compiling that suggests c. jejuni strains exhibit high genomic diversity. in order to investigate this diversity, the unique genomic dna sequences from a nonsequenced campylobacter strain, c. jejuni 81-176, were identified by comparison with c. jejuni nctc 11168 by using a shotgun dna microarray approach. up to 63 kb of new chromosomal dna sequences unique to this pathoge ... | 2005 | 15872262 |
| a multidomain fusion protein in listeria monocytogenes catalyzes the two primary activities for glutathione biosynthesis. | glutathione is the predominant low-molecular-weight peptide thiol present in living organisms and plays a key role in protecting cells against oxygen toxicity. until now, glutathione synthesis was thought to occur solely through the consecutive action of two physically separate enzymes, gamma-glutamylcysteine ligase and glutathione synthetase. in this report we demonstrate that listeria monocytogenes contains a novel multidomain protein (termed gshf) that carries out complete synthesis of glutat ... | 2005 | 15901709 |
| changes in lipopolysaccharide o antigen distinguish acute versus chronic leptospira interrogans infections. | leptospirosis is the most geographically widespread zoonotic disease in the world. a severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis (spfl) is being recognized with increased frequency. we have reported that human spfl isolates of leptospira cause acute lethal infection with prominent pulmonary hemorrhage in guinea pigs. we have found that the same spfl strains cause asymptomatic infection and chronic renal shedding in rats, where infection is restricted to the renal tubules. to address the antigenic com ... | 2005 | 15908349 |
| fatal septicemic melioidosis in a young military person possibly co-infected with leptospira interrogans and orientia tsutsugamushi. | concurrent melioidosis, leptospirosis, and scrub typhus after rural activities is rarely reported. a 19-year-old previously healthy man had fever onset after 2 weeks of military training. pneumonia became evident on the fifth day of fever under intravenous penicillin and oral minocycline therapy. acute respiratory failure developed the next day with shock and acute renal and liver function deterioration, which resulted in death. blood cultures on the third and fifth days grew burkholderia pseudo ... | 2005 | 15909673 |
| prevention of renal infection and urinary shedding in dogs by a leptospira vaccination. | prevention of urinary shedding of leptospira interrogans spp. by chronically infected dogs remains a key objective of the vaccination in dogs against leptospirosis which is a zoonotic disease. an inactivated bivalent vaccine composed of leptospira interrogans serovars icterohaemorrhagiae [l. icterohaemorrhagiae] and canicola [l. canicola] bacterins was tested for its ability to protect puppies against a challenge exposure with l. icterohaemorrhagiae. the vaccine was administered twice at a 3-wee ... | 2005 | 15917139 |
| leptospira interrogans activation of peripheral blood monocyte glycolipoprotein demonstrated in whole blood by the release of il-6. | glycolipoprotein (glp) from pathogenic serovars of leptospira has been implicated in the pathogenesis of leptospirosis by its presence in tissues of experimental animals with leptospirosis, the inhibition of the na,k-atpase pump activity, and induced production of cytokines. the aims of the present study were to investigate the induction of il-6 by glp in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) and to demonstrate monocyte stimulation at the cellular level in whole blood from healthy volunteers ... | 2005 | 15933785 |
| evaluation of pcr-based assay for diagnosis of spotted fever group rickettsiosis in human serum samples. | a nested pcr assay was developed for the detection of spotted fever group (sfg) rickettsiae in serum samples. the assay was based on specific primers derived from the rickettsial outer membrane protein b gene (rompb) of rickettsia conorii. an sfg rickettsia-specific signal is obtained from r. akari, r. japonica, r. sibirica, and r. conorii. other bacterial species tested did not generate any signal, attesting to the specificity of the assay. as few as seven copies of the rompb gene of r. conorii ... | 2005 | 15939751 |
| interruptions in gene expression drive highly expressed operons to the leading strand of dna replication. | in bacteria, most genes are on the leading strand of replication, a phenomenon attributed to collisions between the dna and rna polymerases. in escherichia coli, these collisions slow the movement of the replication fork through actively transcribed genes only if they are coded on the lagging strand. for genes on both strands, however, these collisions sever nascent transcripts and interrupt gene expression. based on these observations, we propose a new theory to explain strand bias: genes whose ... | 2005 | 15942025 |
| the tetr family of transcriptional repressors. | we have developed a general profile for the proteins of the tetr family of repressors. the stretch that best defines the profile of this family is made up of 47 amino acid residues that correspond to the helix-turn-helix dna binding motif and adjacent regions in the three-dimensional structures of tetr, qacr, cprb, and ethr, four family members for which the function and three-dimensional structure are known. we have detected a set of 2,353 nonredundant proteins belonging to this family by scree ... | 2005 | 15944459 |
| evaluation of the recombinant lipl32 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the serodiagnosis of bovine leptospirosis. | the recombinant leptospiral protein lipl32 was evaluated for use in the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (rlipl32 igg elisa). the microscopic agglutination test (mat) of 150 serum samples from cattle suspected of leptospirosis showed that 125 (83.3%) samples had positive reciprocal agglutination titres, which ranged from 100 to 1600. the highest titres were observed for the serovars hardjoprajitno and bratislava. in the rlipl32 igg elisa, 83.3% of the sample ... | 2005 | 15950404 |
| a census of membrane-bound and intracellular signal transduction proteins in bacteria: bacterial iq, extroverts and introverts. | analysis of complete microbial genomes showed that intracellular parasites and other microorganisms that inhabit stable ecological niches encode relatively primitive signaling systems, whereas environmental microorganisms typically have sophisticated systems of environmental sensing and signal transduction. | 2005 | 15955239 |
| signature proteins that are distinctive of alpha proteobacteria. | the alpha (alpha) proteobacteria, a very large and diverse group, are presently characterized solely on the basis of 16s rrna trees, with no known molecular characteristic that is unique to this group. the genomes of three alpha-proteobacteria, rickettsia prowazekii (rp), caulobacter crescentus (cc) and bartonella quintana (bq), were analyzed in order to search for proteins that are unique to this group. | 2005 | 15960851 |
| protection against leptospira interrogans sensu lato challenge by dna immunization with the gene encoding hemolysin-associated protein 1. | the use of dna constructs encoding leptospiral proteins is a promising new approach for vaccination against leptospirosis. in previous work we determined that immunization with hemolysis-associated protein 1 (hap1) (lipl32) expressed by adenovirus induced significant protection against a virulent leptospira challenge in gerbils. to avoid the use of the adenovirus vector, we checked for clinical protection against lethal challenge by dna vaccination. a dna vaccine expressing hap1 was designed to ... | 2005 | 15972494 |
| characterization of is1501 mutants of leptospira interrogans serovar pomona. | leptospira interrogans is a diverse species in which individual serovars have distinctive restriction fragment length polymorphisms that are useful in strain identification. many of these polymorphisms can be detected using hybridization probes derived from insertion sequences; an observation that suggests these is elements are active and can transpose in l. interrogans. two spontaneous mutants of l. interrogans serovar pomona strain rz11 were isolated by immune selection and characterized. chan ... | 2005 | 15979822 |
| differential gene expression in benznidazole-resistant trypanosoma cruzi parasites. | we analyzed the differential gene expression among representative trypanosoma cruzi stocks in relation to benznidazole exposures using a random differentially expressed sequences (rades) technique. studies were carried out with drug pressure both at the natural susceptibility level of the wild-type parasite (50% inhibitory concentration for the wild type) and at different resistance levels. the pattern of differential gene expression performed with resistant stocks was compared to the population ... | 2005 | 15980339 |
| the genome sequence of rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. | we sequenced the genome of rickettsia felis, a flea-associated obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacterium causing spotted fever in humans. besides a circular chromosome of 1,485,148 bp, r. felis exhibits the first putative conjugative plasmid identified among obligate intracellular bacteria. this plasmid is found in a short (39,263 bp) and a long (62,829 bp) form. r. felis contrasts with previously sequenced rickettsia in terms of many other features, including a number of transposases, severa ... | 2005 | 15984913 |
| development of a multiple-locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (mlva) for leptospira interrogans and its application to leptospira interrogans serovar australis isolates from far north queensland, australia. | leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the genus, leptospira. leptospira interrogans is the most common genomospecies implicated in the disease. epidemiological investigations are needed to distinguish outbreak situations or to trace reservoirs of the organisms. current methodologies used for typing leptospira have significant drawbacks. the development of an easy to perform yet high resolution method is needed for this organism. | 2005 | 15987533 |
| expression and characterization of hlyx hemolysin from leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni: potentiation of hemolytic activity by lipl32. | the hlyx, a putative hemolysin identified from the leptospira genomes, was cloned, expressed in escherichia coli, purified, and its hemolytic activity was confirmed. mouse polyclonal antiserum against the recombinant hlyx recognized hlyx-related antigens in a panel of leptospira species extracts and it was also able to abolish the hemolytic activity of hlyx. a mixture of hlyx and lipl32, a known hemolysin from leptospira, induced hemolysis in a synergistic way that was fully inhibited by antiser ... | 2005 | 15990088 |
| [acute leptospirosis in children in reunion island: a retrospective review of 16 cases]. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by pathogenic species of the genus leptospira. this infectious disease known with a high incidence in reunion island (french overseas territories in indian ocean) is in state of endemia especially during rains season. | 2005 | 15994067 |
| a leptospira interrogans enzyme with similarity to yeast ste14p that methylates the 1-phosphate group of lipid a. | distinct from other spirochetes, cells of leptospira interrogans contain orthologues of all the escherichia coli lpx genes required for lipid a biosynthesis, but they synthesize a modified form of lipopolysaccharide that supposedly activates toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) instead of tlr4. the recent determination of the l. interrogans lipid a structure revealed an unprecedented o-methylation of its 1-phosphate group (que-gewirth, n. l. s., ribeiro, a. a., kalb, s. r., cotter, r. j., bulach, d. m., ... | 2005 | 15994324 |
| specific control of endogenous ccf10 pheromone by a conserved domain of the pcf10-encoded regulatory protein prgy in enterococcus faecalis. | conjugative transfer of enterococcus faecalis plasmid pcf10 is induced by the heptapeptide pheromone ccf10. ccf10 produced by plasmid-free recipient cells is detected by pcf10-containing donor cells, which respond by induction of plasmid-encoded transfer functions. the pcf10-encoded membrane protein prgy is essential to prevent donor cells from responding to endogenously produced pheromone while maintaining the ability to respond to pheromone from an exogenous source; this function has not been ... | 2005 | 15995198 |
| three cases of anicteric leptospirosis from turkey: mild to severe complications. | leptospirosis is an acute generalized infectious disease, caused by spirochaetes, leptospira interrogans. the severity of the disease ranges from an asymptomatic subclinical course to a fatal outcome. the three cases presented here were diagnosed serologically and had thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure as complication of anicteric leptospirosis. our first case admitted with clinical presentation of pneumonia but clinical progress and laboratory findings made us to consider leptospirosis. t ... | 2006 | 15996738 |
| leptospirosis in germany, 1962-2003. | epidemiologic trends of human leptospirosis in germany were investigated by analyzing national surveillance data from 1962 to 2003 and by conducting a questionnaire-based survey from 1997 to 2000. after a steady decrease of leptospirosis incidence from 1962 to 1997, surveillance data indicate an increase in disease incidence to 0.06 per 100,000 (1998-2003). of 102 laboratory-confirmed cases in humans from 1997 to 2000, 30% were related to occupational exposures. recreational exposures were repor ... | 2005 | 16022779 |
| identification of a novel gene encoding a flavin-dependent trna:m5u methyltransferase in bacteria--evolutionary implications. | formation of 5-methyluridine (ribothymidine) at position 54 of the t-psi loop of trna is catalyzed by site-specific trna methyltransferases (trna:m(5)u-54 mtase). in all eukarya and many gram-negative bacteria, the methyl donor for this reaction is s-adenosyl-l-methionine (s-adomet), while in several gram-positive bacteria, the source of carbon is n(5), n(10)-methylenetetrahydrofolate (ch(2)h(4)folate). we have identified the gene for bacillus subtilis trna:m(5)u-54 mtase. the encoded recombinan ... | 2005 | 16027442 |
| prevention of leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection in cattle. | a commercial hardjo-pomona vaccine which has previously been shown to be effective against hardjo infection was tested against pomona. following challenge all 11 six-month-old non-vaccinated calves seroconverted and pomona was isolated from blood or urine on at least one occasion from nine of them. pomona was isolated once only, on the third day after challenge, from the blood of one of 11 vaccinated calves. | 1982 | 16030839 |
| an unusual serological response in cattle after use of a commercial leptospiral combined hardjo-pomona vaccine. | vaccination of four calves with leptavoid (wellcome new zealand limited) gave rise to leptospira interrogans serovars hardjo and pomona microscopic agglutination test titres that could not he distinguished in magnitude from post-infection titres. vaccination of four calves with lepto-3 (ici tasman limited) gave rise to much lower titres. revaccination of cows with leptavoid caused a rise in hardjo titres which was significantly greater than after use of lepto-3. the possibility that titres were ... | 1982 | 16030890 |
| leptospirosis: i. clinical investigation of the infection in dairy cattle in the waikato district of new zealand. | an investigation was made into the prevalence of leptospiral infection in cattle. an area 50 km radius was selected in a region where leptospirosis was reputedly common. farmers volunteered 250 herds with 39 500 cows for testing and 7 500 animals were selected and sampled. twenty-nine cows (0.4%) on 14 (5.6%) of the farms had leptospiruria at the first examination. leptospirae were cultured from the urines of nine of these animals and all were leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo. serologically ... | 1982 | 16030893 |
| leptospirosis: ii. investigation of clinical disease in dairy cattle in the waikato district of new zealand. | investigations were carried out in 1975, 1976 and 1977 in 16 dairy herds where leptospiral abortions were suspected and in five other herds where clinical disease was not present. both leptospira interrogans serovars pomona and hardjo were isolated from cattle in herds with leptospirosis, but only pomona was recovered from those that had aborted. there was no evidence that hardjo caused clinical disease in dairy cattle in the waikato district. it was found that 73% of the cows that aborted and 1 ... | 1982 | 16030901 |
| leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo: an abortifacient in new zealand? a review of the literature. | from experimental and clinical evidence, leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo has been suspected as an abortifacient in cattle overseas. early reports from north america and australia described clinical disease with abortions occurring up to 12 weeks later associated with hardjo infections. recent studies in the united kingdom have found hardjo infections in nearly 69 percent of aborted foetuses from problem farms, and a prospective epidemiological study determined a relationship between hardjo ... | 1983 | 16030976 |
| leptospira interrogans infection in domestic and wild animals in fiji. | clinical and serological evidence has indicated that human leptospirosis in fiji is an important disease, and the prevalence of antibody is exceptionally high. a serological survey of the rural population showed that only 12% of the people studied did not have complement fixing (cf) leptospiral antibody. as the origin of this infection could not be explained by the known distribution of leptospiral infection in domestic and wild animals, a serological survey using the complement fixation test (c ... | 1984 | 16031033 |
| leptospirosis associated with serovars hardjo and pomona in red deer calves (cervus elaphus). | four red deer calves (cervus elaphus) died with severe nephritis apparently associated with infection by leptospira interrogans serovar pomona. the sera of 12 in-contact red deer calves were examined for leptospiral agglutinins and nine showed titres to pomona consistent with recent infection. two also showed titres of 1:100 to serovar hardjo. the urine of five of these in-contact calves was examined periodically over a period of nine months. all were initially leptospiruric, four being infected ... | 1984 | 16031052 |
| serological responses of farmed red deer to a vaccine against leptospira interrogans serovars hardjo and pomona. | six adult, female, red deer were vaccinated with a hardjo-pomona vaccine followed by a second vaccination four weeks later and thereafter, at yearly intervals for two years. serological responses were determined at intervals using a standard microscopic agglutination test. increased responses to hardjo were observed in two deer which were seropositive to this serovar before vaccination compared to those which were initially seronegative. some initially seronegative deer developed titres to hardj ... | 1984 | 16031070 |
| a serological study of bovine leptospirosis in the district of taranaki. | a cross-sectional serological survey of dairy cattle in taranaki in 1979-80 indicated that 62% (551/891) of the animals had evidence of leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo infection as disclosed by the microscopic agglutination test. titres to leptospira interrogans serovar pomona were demonstrated in only 4% (23/591) of the animals examined. the high prevalence of hardjo infection is suggestive of an endemic infection whilst the low level to pomona is indicative of sporadic infection. in a de ... | 1984 | 16031079 |
| dual infections of red deer (cervus elaphus) by leptospira interrogans serovars copenhageni and hardjo. | on a property in the nelson district, blood and urine samples were taken from red deer (cervus elaphus) from which low (<1:100) antibody titres to serovar copenhageni and suspected leptospiral abortions had previously been reported. a total of 27 hinds were sampled. microscopic agglutination test (mat) titres in sera ranging from 1:32 to 1:128 were found in six animals. thirteen leptospiral isolations were made from nine of the 27 urine samples. four of these were typed as copenhageni and nine a ... | 1986 | 16031274 |
| haemolytic disease associated with leptospira interrogans serovar pomona in red deer calves (cervus elaphus). | three red deer calves (cervus elaphus) died with a haemolytic disease associated with infection by leptospira interrogans serovar pomona. infection within the herd was more prevalent than disease. sera from 16 herd mates were tested by the microscopic agglutination test (mat) and 12 had leptospiral titres, the majority to serovar pomona. a few calves had titres to balcunica and hardjo. urine was obtained for culture from six of these calves and serovar pomona was isolated from five with titres t ... | 1986 | 16031298 |
| serological reactions against leptospira interrogans serovars in new zealand horses. | | 1990 | 16031597 |
| serological reactions against leptospira interrogans serovars in alpacas after vaccination. | | 1991 | 16031613 |
| antibodies in dogs against leptospira interrogans serovars copenhageni, ballum and canicola. | in a nationwide survey carried out during 1990-91 of more than 5800 dogs to detect antibodies against leptospira interrogans serovars copenhageni, ballum and canicola, only one weak reactor against serovar canicola was found. reactors of varying titre were found against serovar ballum in 0.7% of dogs tested, indicating sporadic infection with this serovar. reactors (0.9%) to serovar copenhageni came mainly from the waikato, northland and the auckland region. this was in agreement with the report ... | 1992 | 16031675 |
| observations on three outbreaks of leptospira interrogans serovar pomona infection in lambs. | sickness and deaths associated with leptospirosis were reported in three lamb flocks in the manawatu region. the clinical, pathological and serological features of leptospiru interrogans serovar pomona infection are described. the mucous membranes of affected animals were pale and jaundiced. haemoglobinuria, haemoglobinaemia and centrilobular hepatocellular necrosis were also consistent findings. all clinically sick lambs had very high titres in the microscopic agglutination test for l. pomona. ... | 1994 | 16031763 |
| the epidemiology of leptospira interrogans serovar pomona in grower pig herds. | an epidemiological study on four farms showed that leptospiral infection became apparent in piglets from 12 weeks of age. the intensity of leptospiruria was greatest in the first 3-4 weeks of infection and from then on declined and became intermittent. factors affecting the cultural and serological prevalence of infection of the piglets were found to be the standard of hygiene and variations in the titre of the dam. dams with high titres gave better protection to their young than did those with ... | 1995 | 16031793 |
| the efficacy of a leptospira interrogans serovars pomona and copenhageni and l. borgpetersenii serovar hardjo vaccine in cattle. | an experimental, trivalent, bovine, leptospiral vaccine, containing inactivated leptospira interrogans serovars pomona and copenhageni and l. borgpetersenii serovar hardjo hardjobovis, was developed. the experimental vaccine was shown to protect hamsters against virulent challenge with each of the component serovars. in a serological efficacy test in cattle, the experimental vaccine was compared for bioequivalence with a similar product, registered in new zealand for veterinary use. the experime ... | 1996 | 16031896 |
| effects of experimental infection with leptospira interrogans serovar balcanica on the health of brushtail possums (trichosurus vulpecula). | data on changes in the condition and feeding behaviour of captive brushtail possums (trichosurus vulpecula) following an experimental infection with leptospira interrogans serovar balcanica are presented. the daily food intake of nine experimentally infected possums was recorded for 47 days before and 24 days after balcanica inoculation (0.5 ml intraperitoneally containing about 10(8) organisms). body weight was recorded seven times between 42 days before and 96 days after inoculation. the mean ... | 1997 | 16031939 |
| observations of leptospirosis in farmed deer. | slaughterhouse and on-farm surveys were undertaken to investigate some aspects of leptospirosis (leptospira interrogans) in farmed deer in the lower north island of new zealand. | 1998 | 16032037 |
| a clone of leptospira interrogans sensu stricto is the major cause of leptospirosis in the archipelago of andaman and nicobar islands, india. | andaman and nicobar islands in india has a century long history of human leptospirosis. several isolates have been recovered over the years from different locations. the present study was undertaken to understand the clonal relationship between all these pathogenic leptospires recovered from these islands. | 2005 | 16033518 |
| the vitamin k-dependent carboxylase has been acquired by leptospira pathogens and shows altered activity that suggests a role other than protein carboxylation. | leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease whose pathology includes a hemorrhagic response, and sequencing of the leptospira interrogans genome revealed an ortholog of the vitamin k-dependent (vkd) carboxylase as one of several hemostatic proteins present in the bacterium. until now, the vkd carboxylase was known to be present only in the animal kingdom (i.e. metazoans that include mammals, fish, snails, and insects), and this restricted distribution and high sequence similarity between met ... | 2005 | 16061481 |
| the leptospira interrogans lexa gene is not autoregulated. | footprinting and mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that leptospira interrogans lexa binds the palindrome tttgn(5)caaa found in the reca promoter but not in the lexa promoter. in silico analysis revealed that none of the other canonical sos genes is under direct control of lexa, making the leptospiral lexa gene the first described which is not autoregulated. | 2005 | 16077133 |
| leptospirosis in northern elephant seals (mirounga angustirostris) stranded along the california coast. | leptospirosis was identified in six northern elephant seals (mirounga angustirostris) that were stranded in 1995 along the coast of california (usa). histologic lesions in all seals included tubulointerstitial nephritis with tubular degeneration and necrosis. infection was confirmed through identification of spirochetes using an immunohistochemical stain for leptospira sp. antigens. one affected seal had an elevated titer to leptospira interrogans serovar pomona. four of the six seals developed ... | 2005 | 16107678 |
| identification of genes of vsh-1, a prophage-like gene transfer agent of brachyspira hyodysenteriae. | vsh-1 is a mitomycin c-inducible prophage of the anaerobic spirochete brachyspira hyodysenteriae. purified vsh-1 virions are noninfectious, contain random 7.5-kb fragments of the bacterial genome, and mediate generalized transduction of b. hyodysenteriae cells. in order to identify and sequence genes of this novel gene transfer agent (gta), proteins associated either with vsh-1 capsids or with tails were purified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. the n-terminal amino ... | 2005 | 16109929 |
| bacteroides fragilis-derived lipopolysaccharide produces cell activation and lethal toxicity via toll-like receptor 4. | bacteroides fragilis, which is part of the normal intestinal flora, is a frequent cause of serious disease, especially in diabetic and surgical patients. in these conditions, b. fragilis lipopolysaccharide (lps) is likely to play a major pathophysiologic role. b. fragilis lps is structurally different from classical enterobacterial lps, whose biological activities are mediated by toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) activation. the ability of b. fragilis lps to activate tlr4 and tlr2 was investigated her ... | 2005 | 16113279 |
| quantitative assessment of protection in experimental syphilis. | protection in experimental rabbit syphilis has been previously assessed by lesion development following intradermal challenge with treponema pallidum. we have recently reported that passive immunization using monoclonal antibody m131 conveys partial protection as evidenced by significant lesion delays following intradermal challenge. to determine whether such delays in time to lesion appearance corresponded to decreases in the numbers of spirochetes, we used real-time pcr to quantitate t. pallid ... | 2005 | 16113312 |
| horizontally acquired genes for purine salvage in borrelia spp. causing relapsing fever. | unlike borrelia burgdorferi, the relapsing fever agent borrelia hermsii and the related borrelia miyamotoi had pura and purb genes of the purine salvage pathway. these were located among the rrna genes. phylogenetic analysis indicated that these genes had a different evolutionary history than those of orthologs in other spirochetes. | 2005 | 16113341 |
| leptospirosis. | leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonotic disease, has been recognized as an important emerging infectious disease in the last 10 years. this review addresses the issues in the epidemiology, diagnosis and clinical management which confront public health responses, and highlights the progress made towards understanding the leptospira genome, biology and pathogenesis. | 2005 | 16148523 |
| diversity in domain architectures of ser/thr kinases and their homologues in prokaryotes. | ser/thr/tyr kinases (styks) commonly found in eukaryotes have been recently reported in many bacterial species. recent studies elucidating their cellular functions have established their roles in bacterial growth and development. however functions of a large number of bacterial styks still remain elusive. the organisation of domains in a large dataset of bacterial styks has been investigated here in order to recognise variety in domain combinations which determine functions of bacterial styks. | 2005 | 16171520 |
| serological evidence of the persistence of infection with leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo in cattle in mongolia. | serum samples were collected randomly from mongol breed cattle in three geographically distinct provinces of mongolia. antibodies specific to leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo were detected by microscopic agglutination test (mat) at titres of 100 or more in 80.4% (86/107) of the samples from dornod province, but in only 28.9% (13/45) in arkhangai and 23.5% (12/51) in khuvsgul provinces, respectively. treatment of 9 serum samples from dornod, positive to serovar hardjo in mat and negative in ... | 2005 | 16172542 |
| successful selection of cross-protective vaccine candidates for ornithobacterium rhinotracheale infection. | ornithobacterium rhinotracheale is a bacterial pathogen known for causing respiratory disease in poultry. in this study, we demonstrate for the first time that cross-protective immunity against different o. rhinotracheale serotypes can be induced by live vaccination. sera from these live-vaccinated and cross-protected birds were used to identify new vaccine targets by screening an o. rhinotracheale expression library. out of 20,000 screened plaques, a total of 30 cross-reactive clones were selec ... | 2005 | 16177359 |
| lethal infection of c3h/hej and c3h/scid mice with an isolate of leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni. | leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni strain rj16441, a blood isolate from humans with the severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis, has previously been shown to cause fatal pulmonary hemorrhage in guinea pigs and asymptomatic chronic renal tubular colonization with urinary shedding in rats. in this study, rj16441 caused lethal infection of both c3h/hej and c3h/scid mice, but no hemorrhagic phenomena were observed. | 2005 | 16177383 |
| mathematical design of prokaryotic clone-based microarrays. | clone-based microarrays, on which each spot represents a random genomic fragment, are a good alternative to open reading frame-based microarrays, especially for microorganisms for which the complete genome sequence is not available. since the generation of a genomic dna library is a random process, it is beforehand uncertain which genes are represented. nevertheless, the genome coverage of such an array, which depends on different variables like the insert size and the number of clones in the li ... | 2005 | 16191193 |
| the crystal structure of mitochondrial (type 1a) peptide deformylase provides clear guidelines for the design of inhibitors specific for the bacterial forms. | peptide deformylase (pdf) inhibitors have a strong potential to be used as a new class of antibiotics. however, recent studies have shown that the mitochondria of most eukaryotes, including humans, contain an essential pdf, pdf1a. the crystal structure of the arabidopsis thaliana pdf1a (atpdf1a), considered representative of pdf1as in general, has been determined. this structure displays several similarities to that of known bacterial pdfs. atpdf1a behaves as a dimer, with the c-terminal residue ... | 2005 | 16192279 |
| intracellular screen to identify metagenomic clones that induce or inhibit a quorum-sensing biosensor. | the goal of this study was to design and evaluate a rapid screen to identify metagenomic clones that produce biologically active small molecules. we built metagenomic libraries with dna from soil on the floodplain of the tanana river in alaska. we extracted dna directly from the soil and cloned it into fosmid and bacterial artificial chromosome vectors, constructing eight metagenomic libraries that contain 53,000 clones with inserts ranging from 1 to 190 kb. to identify clones of interest, we de ... | 2005 | 16204555 |
| expression and comparative analysis of genes encoding outer membrane proteins lipl21, lipl32 and ompl1 in epidemic leptospires. | leptospiral outer membrane proteins (omps) are highly conserved in different species, and play an essential role in the development of new immunoprotection and serodiagnosis strategies. the genes encoding lipl21, lipl32 and ompl1 were cloned from the complete genome sequence of leptospira interrogans serovar lai strain lai and expressed in vitro. sequence comparison analysis revealed that the three genes were highly conserved among distinct epidemic leptospires, including three major epidemic sp ... | 2005 | 16215631 |
| effects of static magnetic field on growth of leptospire, leptospira interrogans serovar canicola: immunoreactivity and cell division. | the effects of the exposure of the bacterium, leptospira interrogans serovar canicola to a constant magnetic field with magnetic flux density from a permanent ferrite magnet=140+/-5 mt were studied. changes in leptospira cells after their exposure to the field were determined on the basis of changes in their growth behavior and agglutination immunoreactivity with a homologous antiserum using dark-field microscopy together with visual imaging. the data showed that the exposed leptospira cells hav ... | 2004 | 16233687 |