| immunity to distinct sand fly salivary proteins primes the anti-leishmania immune response towards protection or exacerbation of disease. | leishmania parasites are transmitted in the presence of sand fly saliva. together with the parasite, the sand fly injects biologically active salivary components that favorably change the environment at the feeding site. exposure to bites or to salivary proteins results in immunity specific to these components. mice immunized with phlebotomus papatasi salivary gland homogenate (sgh) or pre-exposed to uninfected bites were protected against leishmania major infection delivered by needle inoculati ... | 2008 | 18414648 |
| significantly improved accuracy of diagnosis of early lyme disease by peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the borreliacidal antibody epitope of borrelia burgdorferi ospc. | highly specific borreliacidal antibodies are induced by infection with borrelia burgdorferi, and the immunodominant response during early lyme disease is specific for an epitope within the 7 amino acids nearest the c terminus of ospc. we evaluated the ability of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) based on a synthetic peptide (ospc7) that matched the region to detect the response and compared the sensitivity during early lyme disease to that for an fda-approved western blot. when the op ... | 2008 | 18417666 |
| the tick salivary protein salp15 inhibits the killing of serum-sensitive borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates. | borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of lyme disease, is transmitted by ticks. during transmission from the tick to the host, spirochetes are delivered with tick saliva, which contains the salivary protein salp15. salp15 has been shown to protect spirochetes against b. burgdorferi-specific antibodies. we now show that salp15 from both ixodes ricinus and ixodes scapularis protects serum-sensitive isolates of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato against complement-mediated killing. i. ricinus salp15 showed ... | 2008 | 18426890 |
| structure, function, and evolution of biogenic amine-binding proteins in soft ticks. | two highly abundant lipocalins, monomine and monotonin, have been isolated from the salivary gland of the soft tick argas monolakensis and shown to bind histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-ht), respectively. the crystal structures of monomine and a paralog of monotonin were determined in the presence of ligands to compare the determinants of ligand binding. both the structures and binding measurements indicate that the proteins have a single binding site rather than the two sites previously des ... | 2008 | 18445596 |
| stage-specific gene expression during urediniospore germination in puccinia striiformis f. sp tritici. | puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici is an obligate biotrophic pathogen that causes leaf stripe rust on wheat. although it is critical to understand molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in the wheat stripe rust fungus for developing novel disease management strategies, little is known about its genome and gene functions due to difficulties in molecular studies with this important pathogen. to identify genes expressed during early infection stages, in this study we constructed a cdna library with ... | 2008 | 18447959 |
| lyme disease in oregon. | the incidence of lyme disease in oregon is calculated from cases reported to the oregon state health division. we reviewed the exposure history of reported cases of lyme disease and performed field surveys for infected ixodes pacificus ticks. the incidence of lyme disease correlated with the distribution of infected i. pacificus ticks. | 2008 | 18448697 |
| essential protective role attributed to the surface lipoproteins of borrelia burgdorferi against innate defences. | to initiate infection, a microbial pathogen must be able to evade innate immunity. here we show that the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi depends on its surface lipoproteins for protection against innate defences. the deficiency for ospc, an abundantly expressed surface lipoprotein during early infection, led to quick clearance of b. burgdorferi after inoculation into the skin of scid mice. increasing expression of any of the four randomly chosen surface lipoproteins, ospa, ospe, vls ... | 2008 | 18452586 |
| diagnosis and treatment of lyme disease. | lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the united states. this review details the risk factors, clinical presentation, treatment, and prophylaxis for the disease. information was obtained from a search of the pubmed and medline databases (keyword: lyme disease) for articles published from august 31, 1997, through september 1, 2007. approximately 20,000 cases of lyme disease are reported annually. residents of the coastal northeast, northwest california, and the great lakes region ... | 2008 | 18452688 |
| biology of infection with borrelia burgdorferi. | the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi is a tick-borne obligate parasite whose normal reservoir is a variety of small mammals. although infection of these natural hosts does not lead to disease, infection of humans can result in lyme disease as a consequence of the human immunopathologic response to b burgdorferi. consistent with the pathogenesis of lyme disease, bacterial products that allow b burgdorferi to replicate and survive seem to be primarily what is required for the bacterium to cause dis ... | 2008 | 18452798 |
| molecular detection of bartonella schoenbuchensis from ectoparasites of deer in massachusetts. | deer keds (lipoptena cervi) are thought to have been introduced into new england from europe during the 1800 s. we sought to determine whether l. cervi from massachusetts deer contained evidence of infection by bartonella schoenbuchensis, which appears to be maintained by l. cervi in europe. five of 6 keds were found to contain b. schoenbuchensis dna, and 2 deer ticks cofeeding on deer with such keds did as well. the detection of bartonella dna in deer ticks probably represents contamination by ... | 2008 | 18454595 |
| the propensity of different borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto genotypes to cause disseminated infections in humans. | lineages of borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes lyme disease, can be characterized by distinct alleles at the outer surface protein c (ospc) locus. the lineages marked by ospc genotypes have been shown to be differentially invasive in different species of mammals, including humans; genotypes a, b, i, and k effectively disseminate to human blood and cerebrospinal fluid. in this report, we extend the sample of genotypes isolated from human blood to include genotypes n, h, c, m, and d, ... | 2008 | 18458317 |
| verification and dissection of the ospc operator by using flab promoter as a reporter in borrelia burgdorferi. | the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi must repress expression of outer surface protein c (ospc) to effectively evade specific humoral immunity and to establish persistent infection. this ability largely relies upon a regulatory element, the only operator that has been reported in spirochetal bacteria. immediately upstream of the ospc promoter, two sets of inverted repeats (irs) constitute small and large palindromes, in which the right ir of the large palindrome contains the left ir o ... | 2008 | 18479884 |
| a cysteine protease is critical for babesia spp. transmission in haemaphysalis ticks. | vector ticks possess a unique system that enables them to digest large amounts of host blood and to transmit various animal and human pathogens, suggesting the existence of evolutionally acquired proteolytic mechanisms. we report here the molecular and reverse genetic characterization of a multifunctional cysteine protease, longipain, from the babesial parasite vector tick haemaphysalis longicornis. longipain shares structural similarity with papain-family cysteine proteases obtained from invert ... | 2008 | 18483546 |
| bioinformatic analysis suggests that the orbivirus vp6 cistron encodes an overlapping gene. | the genus orbivirus includes several species that infect livestock - including bluetongue virus (btv) and african horse sickness virus (ahsv). these viruses have linear dsrna genomes divided into ten segments, all of which have previously been assumed to be monocistronic. | 2008 | 18489030 |
| insight into the sialome of the castor bean tick, ixodes ricinus. | in recent years, there have been several sialome projects revealing transcripts expressed in the salivary glands of ticks, which are important vectors of several human diseases. here, we focused on the sialome of the european vector of lyme disease, ixodes ricinus. | 2008 | 18489795 |
| neuropeptide discovery in ixodoidea: an in silico investigation using publicly accessible expressed sequence tags. | the ixodoidea (ticks) are important vectors in the transmission of many human diseases; for example, the blacklegged tick ixodes scapularis is the major vector in the transmission of lyme disease, the most frequently reported vector-borne illness in the united states. the development of expressed sequence tags (ests) for ixodoidean cdna libraries, and their public deposition, has generated a rich resource for protein discovery in members of this taxon, thereby providing an opportunity for better ... | 2008 | 18495123 |
| risk maps for range expansion of the lyme disease vector, ixodes scapularis, in canada now and with climate change. | lyme disease is the commonest vector-borne zoonosis in the temperate world, and an emerging infectious disease in canada due to expansion of the geographic range of the tick vector ixodes scapularis. studies suggest that climate change will accelerate lyme disease emergence by enhancing climatic suitability for i. scapularis. risk maps will help to meet the public health challenge of lyme disease by allowing targeting of surveillance and intervention activities. | 2008 | 18498647 |
| molecular evolution of cide family proteins: novel domain formation in early vertebrates and the subsequent divergence. | cide family proteins including cidea, cideb and cidec/fsp27, contain an n-terminal cide-n domain that shares sequence similarity to the n-terminal cad domain (ncd) of dna fragmentation factors dffa/dff45/icad and dffb/dff40/cad, and a unique c-terminal cide-c domain. we have previously shown that cide proteins are newly emerged regulators closely associated with the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and liver steatosis. they modulate many metabolic processes such as lip ... | 2008 | 18500987 |
| assessment of decorin-binding protein a to the infectivity of borrelia burgdorferi in the murine models of needle and tick infection. | decorin-binding proteins (dbps) a and b of borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of lyme disease, are surface-exposed lipoproteins that presumably bind to the extracellular matrix proteoglycan, decorin. b. burgdorferi infects various tissues including the bladder, heart, joints, skin and the central nervous system, and the ability of b. burgdorferi to bind decorin has been hypothesized to be important for this disseminatory pathogenic strategy. | 2008 | 18507835 |
| gene silencing in phlebotomine sand flies: xanthine dehydrogenase knock down by dsrna microinjections. | lutzomyia longipalpis are vectors of medically important visceral leishmaniasis in south america. blood-fed adult females digest large amounts of protein, and xanthine dehydrogenase is thought to be a key enzyme involved in protein catabolism through the production of urate. large amounts of heme are also released during digestion with potentially damaging consequences, as heme can generate oxygen radicals that damage lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. however, urate is an antioxidant that may ... | 2008 | 18510977 |
| pattern of proinflammatory cytokine induction in raw264.7 mouse macrophages is identical for virulent and attenuated borrelia burgdorferi. | lyme disease pathogenesis results from a complex interaction between borrelia burgdorferi and the host immune system. the intensity and nature of the inflammatory response of host immune cells to b. burgdorferi may be a determining factor in disease progression. gene array analysis was used to examine the expression of genes encoding cytokines, chemokines, and related factors in the joint tissue of infected c3h/hej mice and in a murine macrophage-like cell line in response to a disseminating or ... | 2008 | 18523297 |
| intracellular infection of tick cell lines by the entomopathogenic fungus metarhizium anisopliae. | several fungal pathogens are able to enter and persist within eukaryotic cells as part of their infectious life cycle. metarhizium anisopliae is a saprophytic entomopathogenic fungus virulent towards numerous tick species, including those within the genera ixodes and amblyomma. infection of the target organism by this fungus proceeds via several steps, including adhesion and penetration of the host cuticle, proliferation within tissues and the haemolymph, and eventual eruption through the host c ... | 2008 | 18524924 |
| estimating populations of adult ixodes scapularis in mississippi using a sequential bayesian algorithm. | a sequential bayesian algorithm and accompanying computer program were developed and validated to estimate population numbers of adult blacklegged tick, ixodes scapularis say, using mark-release-recapture methodology in field plots in central mississippi. in fieldwork, data taken in february 2005 in a 1-ha plot yielded an estimate of 317 adult i. scapularis per ha data from another field plot in 2006, 3 km away, yielded an estimate of 280 adult i. scapularis per ha the number of ticks collected ... | 2008 | 18533452 |
| borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is clonal in patients with early lyme borreliosis. | lyme borreliosis, the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in north america, is caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi. given the extensive genetic polymorphism of b. burgdorferi, elucidation of the population genetic structure of the bacterium in clinical samples may be relevant for understanding disease pathogenesis and may have applicability for the development of diagnostic tests and vaccine preparations. in this investigation, the genetic polymorphism of the 16s-23s rrna (rrs- ... | 2008 | 18539816 |
| essential role of the response regulator rrp2 in the infectious cycle of borrelia burgdorferi. | alteration of surface lipoprotein profiles is a key strategy that the lyme disease pathogen, borrelia burgdorferi, has evolved to be maintained within its enzootic cycle between arthropods and mammals. accumulated evidence indicates that the central regulatory pathway controlling differential gene expression by b. burgdorferi is the rpon-rpos pathway (the sigma(54)-sigma(s) sigma factor cascade). it was previously shown that activation of the rpon-rpos pathway is controlled by rrp2, a two-compon ... | 2008 | 18573895 |
| novel peptide marker corresponding to salivary protein gsg6 potentially identifies exposure to anopheles bites. | in order to improve malaria control, and under the aegis of who recommendations, many efforts are being devoted to developing new tools for identifying geographic areas with high risk of parasite transmission. evaluation of the human antibody response to arthropod salivary proteins could be an epidemiological indicator of exposure to vector bites, and therefore to risk of pathogen transmission. in the case of malaria, which is transmitted only by anopheline mosquitoes, maximal specificity could ... | 2008 | 18575604 |
| comparison of the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi s. l. isolated from the tick ixodes scapularis in southeastern and northeastern united states. | thirty-five strains of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (b. burgdorferi s. l.) were isolated from the blacklegged tick vector ixodes scapularis in south carolina, georgia, florida, and rhode island. they were characterized by pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer amplicons. pcr-rflp analysis indicated that the strains represented at least 3 genospecies (including a possible novel genospecies) and 4 differen ... | 2008 | 18576863 |
| expressed sequence tags from peromyscus testis and placenta tissue: analysis, annotation, and utility for mapping. | mice of the genus peromyscus are found in nearly every habitat from alaska to central america and from the atlantic to the pacific. they provide an evolutionary outgroup to the mus/rattus lineage and serve as an intermediary between that lineage and humans. although peromyscus has been studied extensively under both field and laboratory conditions, research has been limited by the lack of molecular resources. genes associated with reproduction typically evolve rapidly and thus are excellent sour ... | 2008 | 18577228 |
| transmission of bartonella henselae by ixodes ricinus. | bartonella spp. are facultative intracellular bacteria associated with several emerging diseases in humans and animals. b. henselae causes cat-scratch disease and is increasingly associated with several other syndromes, particularly ocular infections and endocarditis. cats are the main reservoir for b. henselae and the bacteria are transmitted to cats by cat fleas. however, new potential vectors are suspected of transmitting b. henselae, in particular, ixodes ricinus, the most abundant ixodid ti ... | 2008 | 18598628 |
| wide distribution of a high-virulence borrelia burgdorferi clone in europe and north america. | the a and b clones of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, distinguished by outer surface protein c (ospc) gene sequences, are commonly associated with disseminated lyme disease. to resolve phylogenetic relationships among isolates, we sequenced 68 isolates from europe and north america at 1 chromosomal locus (16s-23s ribosomal rna spacer) and 3 plasmid loci (ospc,dbpa, and bbd14). the ospc-a clone appeared to be highly prevalent on both continents, and isolates of this clone were uniform in dna ... | 2008 | 18598631 |
| growth of tick-borne encephalitis virus (european subtype) in cell lines from vector and non-vector ticks. | we undertook a comparative study of the susceptibility of different tick cell lines to infection with the european subtype of tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev), prototype strain neudoerfl. the growth of tbev was investigated in lines derived from vector ixodes ricinus l. ticks (ire/ctvm18, 19, and 20), as well as non-vector ticks, namely ixodes scapularis say (ide2), boophilus microplus canestrini (bme/ctvm2), hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum koch (hae/ctvm9), rhipicephalus appendiculatus neuma ... | 2008 | 18602711 |
| a survey for infection with dirofilaria immitis, ehrlichia canis, borrelia burgdorferi, and babesia canis in feral and client-owned dogs in the turks and caicos islands, british west indies. | the frequency of infection with dirofilaria immitis and babesia canis and seropositivity to ehrlichia canis and borrelia burgdorferi in feral and client-owned dogs was determined. feral dogs were 14.8 and 11.2 times more likely to be seropositive to d. immitis and e. canis, respectively, than were client-owned dogs. none of the dogs tested positive for b. burgdorferi or b. canis. | 2008 | 18624070 |
| suppression of cell proliferation and cytokine expression by hl-p36, a tick salivary gland-derived protein of haemaphysalis longicornis. | previously, a putative immunosuppressant-coding gene was identified from a complementary dna library derived from the salivary glands of partially-fed haemaphysalis longicornis. using real-time polymerase chain reaction, the gene was shown to be predominantly expressed during blood feeding with the site of expression being mainly in the salivary glands; this was confirmed by western blotting analysis. to investigate the function of this novel protein, in this study, we examined the proliferative ... | 2009 | 18624730 |
| bartonella sp. bacteremia in patients with neurological and neurocognitive dysfunction. | we detected infection with a bartonella species (b. henselae or b. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii) in blood samples from six immunocompetent patients who presented with a chronic neurological or neurocognitive syndrome including seizures, ataxia, memory loss, and/or tremors. each of these patients had substantial animal contact or recent arthropod exposure as a potential risk factor for bartonella infection. additional studies should be performed to clarify the potential role of bartonella spp. as a ... | 2008 | 18632903 |
| oral immunization with recombinant lactobacillus plantarum induces a protective immune response in mice with lyme disease. | mucosal immunization is advantageous over other routes of antigen delivery because it can induce both mucosal and systemic immune responses. our goal was to develop a mucosal delivery vehicle based on bacteria generally regarded as safe, such as lactobacillus spp. in this study, we used the lyme disease mouse model as a proof of concept. we demonstrate that an oral vaccine based on live recombinant lactobacillus plantarum protects mice from tick-transmitted borrelia burgdorferi infection. our me ... | 2008 | 18632920 |
| projected effects of climate change on tick phenology and fitness of pathogens transmitted by the north american tick ixodes scapularis. | ixodes scapularis is the principal tick vector of the lyme borreliosis agent borrelia burgdorferi and other tick-borne zoonoses in northeastern north america. the degree of seasonal synchrony of nymphal and larval ticks may be important in influencing the basic reproductive number of the pathogens transmitted by i. scapularis. because the seasonal phenology of tick vectors is partly controlled by ambient temperature, climate and climate change could shape the population biology of tick-borne pat ... | 2008 | 18634803 |
| relapsing fever spirochetes retain infectivity after prolonged in vitro cultivation. | borrelia hermsii and borrelia burgdorferi, two closely related spirochetes, are the etiological agents of tick-borne relapsing fever and lyme disease, respectively. previous studies have shown the loss of infectivity of b. burgdorferi is associated with in vitro cultivation. this diminished infectivity of b. burgdorferi has occurred as early as three in vitro passages, and the loss of plasmids have been observed with these less virulent to noninfective cultures. the effects of long-term in vitro ... | 2008 | 18637723 |
| north american encephalitic arboviruses. | arboviruses continue to be a major cause of encephalitis in north america, and west nile virus neuroinvasive disease is now the dominant cause of encephalitis. transmission to humans of north american arboviruses occurs by infected mosquitoes or ticks. most infections are asymptomatic or produce a flulike illness. rapid serum or cerebrospinal fluid igm antibody capture elisa assays are available to diagnosis the acute infection for all north american arboviruses. unfortunately, no antiviral drug ... | 2008 | 18657724 |
| differential expression of a putative card-like transcriptional regulator, ltpa, in borrelia burgdorferi. | the availability of microbial genome information has provided a fruitful opportunity for studying regulatory networks in a variety of pathogenic bacteria. in an initial effort to elucidate regulatory networks potentially involved in differential gene expression by the lyme disease pathogen borrelia burgdorferi, we have been investigating the functions and regulation of putative transcriptional regulatory factors predicted to be encoded within the b. burgdorferi genome. herein we report the regul ... | 2008 | 18663002 |
| whole genome transcription profiling of anaplasma phagocytophilum in human and tick host cells by tiling array analysis. | anaplasma phagocytophilum (ap) is an obligate intracellular bacterium and the agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, an emerging tick-borne disease. ap alternately infects ticks and mammals and a variety of cell types within each. understanding the biology behind such versatile cellular parasitism may be derived through the use of tiling microarrays to establish high resolution, genome-wide transcription profiles of the organism as it infects cell lines representative of its life cycle (tick; ... | 2008 | 18671858 |
| evidence of the role of tick subolesin in gene expression. | subolesin is an evolutionary conserved protein that was discovered recently in ixodes scapularis as a tick protective antigen and has a role in tick blood digestion, reproduction and development. in other organisms, subolesin orthologs may be involved in the control of developmental processes. because of the profound effect of subolesin knockdown in ticks and other organisms, we hypothesized that subolesin plays a role in gene expression, and therefore affects multiple cellular processes. the ob ... | 2008 | 18673577 |
| a novel clade of cysteinyl leukotriene scavengers in soft ticks. | inflammation is an important vertebrate defense mechanism against ecto-parasites for which ticks have evolved numerous mechanisms of modulation. am-33 and tsgp4, related lipocalins from the soft ticks argas monolakensis and ornithodoros savignyi bind cysteinyl leukotrienes with high affinity as measured by isothermal titration calorimetry. this was confirmed in a smooth muscle bioassay that measured contraction of guinea pig ileum induced by leukotriene c4 where both proteins inhibited contracti ... | 2008 | 18675910 |
| identification of residual blood proteins in ticks by mass spectrometry proteomics. | mass spectrometry-based proteomics of individual ticks demonstrated persistence of mammalian host blood components, including alpha- and beta-globin chains, histones, and mitochondrial enzymes, in ixodes scapularis and amblyomma americanum ticks for months after molting. residual host proteins may identify sources of infection for ticks. | 2008 | 18680654 |
| function, mechanism and evolution of the moubatin-clade of soft tick lipocalins. | the "moubatin-clade" of soft tick lipocalins, although monophyletic, shows clear signs of paralogy as indicated by the various functions associated with this protein family. this includes anti-platelet (moubatin), anti-complement (omci) and toxic (tsgp2) activities in the vertebrate host. in order to understand the evolution of function and how it relates to the various paralogs in this clade, we characterized a number of different proteins in regard to undefined function and mechanism. by utili ... | 2008 | 18694828 |
| rapid introduction of lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, in ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) established at turkey point provincial park, ontario, canada. | borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) was isolated from questing adult ixodes scapularis say ticks collected from turkey point provincial park (tppp), ontario, canada during 2005-2006. dna from ten (67%) of 15 pools of ticks was confirmed positive for b. burgdorferi s.s. using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) by targeting the rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer region and ospa genes. this significant infection rate indicates an accelerated development of b. burgdorferi s.s. in tppp, because ... | 2008 | 18697308 |
| total, membrane, and immunogenic proteomes of macrophage- and tick cell-derived ehrlichia chaffeensis evaluated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and maldi-tof methods. | ehrlichia chaffeensis, a tick-transmitted rickettsial, is the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis. to examine protein expression patterns, we analyzed total, membrane, and immunogenic proteomes of e. chaffeensis originating from macrophage and tick cell cultures. total proteins resolved by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and subjected to liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry allowed identification of 134 and 116 proteins from macrophage- and tic ... | 2008 | 18710870 |
| borrelia burgdorferi complement regulator-acquiring surface protein 2 does not contribute to complement resistance or host infectivity. | borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen of lyme disease, cycles in nature through ixodes ticks and mammalian hosts. at least five complement regulator-acquiring surface proteins (bbcrasps) are produced by b. burgdorferi, which are thought to assist spirochetes in host immune evasion. recent studies established that bbcrasp-2 is preferentially expressed in mammals, and elicits robust antibody response in infected hosts, including humans. we show that bbcrasp-2 is ubiquitously expressed in diverse muri ... | 2008 | 18714378 |
| evidence of the importance of host habitat use in predicting the dilution effect of wild boar for deer exposure to anaplasma spp. | foci of tick-borne pathogens occur at fine spatial scales, and depend upon a complex arrangement of factors involving climate, host abundance and landscape composition. it has been proposed that the presence of hosts that support tick feeding but not pathogen multiplication may dilute the transmission of the pathogen. however, models need to consider the spatial component to adequately explain how hosts, ticks and pathogens are distributed into the landscape. in this study, a novel, lattice-deri ... | 2008 | 18714379 |
| prolonged efficacy of ir3535 repellents against mosquitoes and blacklegged ticks in north america. | here i report the first findings of consistently high, long-duration efficacy of ir3535 (ethyl butyl acetyl aminopropionate) formulations in the united states. i tested novel, controlled-release formulations of ir3535, at 10% in lotion and at 20% in pump spray and aerosol, against mosquitoes in the field and blacklegged ticks in the laboratory. these were also the first studies to be conducted under the authority of the u.s. environmental protection agency's human studies rule of 2006, and the p ... | 2008 | 18714871 |
| transmission dynamics of borrelia burgdorferi s.s. during the key third day of feeding by nymphal ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae). | nymphal ixodes scapularis say are the principal vectors of lyme disease spirochetes (borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto) in the eastern united states. physicians frequently face the decision of whether or not to administer prophylactic antibiotics to human tick bite victims in lyme disease endemic regions, based on the overall probability that such bites will result in infection with b. burgdorferi s.s. we evaluated the transmission dynamics of b. burgdorferi s.s. during the key third day of nym ... | 2008 | 18714875 |
| establishment of a large semi-field system for experimental study of african malaria vector ecology and control in tanzania. | medical entomologists increasingly recognize that the ability to make inferences between laboratory experiments of vector biology and epidemiological trends observed in the field is hindered by a conceptual and methodological gap occurring between these approaches which prevents hypothesis-driven empirical research from being conducted on relatively large and environmentally realistic scales. the development of semi-field systems (sfs) has been proposed as the best mechanism for bridging this ga ... | 2008 | 18715508 |
| serum antibodies to west nile virus in naturally exposed and vaccinated horses. | a polyvalent elisa and plaque reduction neutralization tests (prnts) were used to measure serum antibodies to west nile virus (wnv) in horses naturally exposed to or vaccinated against this flavivirus in connecticut and new york state, usa. relying on a prnt as a 'gold standard', the main objective was to validate a modified elisa containing a recombinant wnv envelope protein antigen. it was also important to assess specificity by testing sera from horses that had other, undiagnosed illnesses. s ... | 2008 | 18719177 |
| transgene expression and silencing in a tick cell line: a model system for functional tick genomics. | the genome project of the black legged tick, ixodes scapularis, provides sequence data for testing gene function and regulation in this important pathogen vector. we tested sleeping beauty (sb), a tc1/mariner group transposable element, and cationic lipid-based transfection reagents for delivery and genomic integration of transgenes into i. scapularis cell line ise6. plasmid dna and dsrna were effectively transfected into ise6 cells and they were successfully transformed to express a red fluores ... | 2008 | 18722527 |
| transcriptional up-regulation of disk abalone selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase by h(2)o(2) oxidative stress and vibrio alginolyticus bacterial infection. | selenium dependent glutathione peroxidase (se-gpx) belongs to the family of selenoprotein, which acts mainly as an antioxidant in the cellular defence system. we have identified se-gpx full length cdna from disk abalone (haliotis discus discus) designated as abse-gpx. it has a characteristic codon at (223)tga(225) that corresponds to selenocysteine (sec) amino acid as u(75). the full length cdna consists of 675 bp, an open reading frame encoding 225 amino acids. sequence characterization reveale ... | 2008 | 18722791 |
| multiple causes of variable tick burdens on small-mammal hosts. | blood meals by blacklegged ticks (ixodes scapularis) on vertebrate hosts serve to transmit the agents of several zoonotic diseases, including lyme disease, human babesiosis, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis, between host and tick. if ticks are aggregated on hosts, a small proportion of hosts may be responsible for most transmission events. therefore, a key element in understanding and controlling the transmission of these pathogens is identifying the group(s) or individuals feeding a dispropo ... | 2008 | 18724736 |
| effect of borrelia burgdorferi genotype on the sensitivity of c6 and 2-tier testing in north american patients with culture-confirmed lyme disease. | a potential concern with any serologic test to detect antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi is whether the epitopes incorporated in the test provide sufficient cross-reactivity to detect infection with all of the pathogenic strains of the species. this is a particular concern for the c6 test, which is based on reactivity to a single peptide. | 2008 | 18724824 |
| borrelia burgdorferi lipoprotein bmpa activates pro-inflammatory responses in human synovial cells through a protein moiety. | borrelia burgdorferi invasion of mammalian joints results in genesis of lyme arthritis. other than spirochete lipids, existence of protein antigens, which are abundant in joints and participate in b. burgdorferi-induced host inflammatory response, is unknown. here, we report that major products of the b. burgdorferi basic membrane protein (bmp) a/b operon that are induced in murine and human joints, possess inflammatory properties. compared to the wild type b. burgdorferi, an isogenic bmpa/b mut ... | 2008 | 18725314 |
| an insight into the salivary transcriptome and proteome of the soft tick and vector of epizootic bovine abortion, ornithodoros coriaceus. | the salivary glands of blood-sucking arthropods contain a redundant 'magic potion' that counteracts their vertebrate host's hemostasis, inflammation, and immunity. we here describe the salivary transcriptome and proteomics (sialome) of the soft tick ornithodoros coriaceus. the resulting analysis helps to consolidate the classification of common proteins found in both soft and hard ticks, such as the lipocalins, kunitz, cystatin, basic tail, hebraein, defensin, til domain, metalloprotease, 5'-nuc ... | 2008 | 18725333 |
| preferential protection of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto by a salp15 homologue in ixodes ricinus saliva. | ixodes ticks are the main vectors for borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. in the united states, b. burgdorferi is the sole causative agent of lyme borreliosis and is transmitted by ixodes scapularis. in europe, 3 borrelia species-b. burgdorferi, b. garinii, and b. afzelii-are prevalent, which are transmitted by ixodes ricinus. the i. scapularis salivary protein salp15 has been shown to bind to b. burgdorferi outer surface protein (osp) c, protecting the spirochete from antibody-mediated killing. | 2008 | 18752445 |
| tick-borne relapsing fever. | each year, many residents of and visitors to endemic regions of the western united states are exposed to the tick vectors of tick-borne relapsing fever (tbrf), ornithodoros hermsi, ornithodoros turicata, or ornithodoros parkeri. this disease is remarkable because the human host is unaware of the tick bite, usually becomes very ill, may experience an exacerbation of symptoms rather than improvement shortly after beginning appropriate treatment, and, despite often high numbers of the etiologic org ... | 2008 | 18755384 |
| human babesiosis. | human babesiosis is an emerging intraerythrocytic infection caused by protozoal parasites transmitted by ixodid ticks. babesiosis is endemic in the northeastern and upper midwestern regions of the united states and is found sporadically in other parts of the united states, europe, asia, africa, and south america. babesial infections range from asymptomatic to severe and occasionally are fatal. specific laboratory diagnosis of babesial infection is made by morphologic examination of giemsa-staine ... | 2008 | 18755385 |
| tularemia in a park, philadelphia, pennsylvania. | | 2008 | 18760026 |
| laboratory maintenance of ehrlichia chaffeensis and ehrlichia canis and recovery of organisms for molecular biology and proteomics studies. | tick-borne illnesses are emerging as a major concern for human health in recent years. these include the human monocytic ehrlichiosis caused by the amblyomma americanum tick-transmitted bacterium, ehrlichia chaffeensis; human ewingii ehrlichiosis caused by ehrlichia ewingii (also transmitted by a. americanum ticks); and human granulocytic anaplasmosis caused by the ixodes scapularis tick-transmitted pathogen, anaplasma phagocytophilum. likewise, tick-borne rickettsial pathogens are also a major ... | 2008 | 18770537 |
| functional characterization and novel rickettsiostatic effects of a kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor from the tick dermacentor variabilis. | here we report the novel bacteriostatic function of a five-domain kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor (kpi) from the tick dermacentor variabilis. as ticks feed, they release anticoagulants, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive molecules that mediate the formation of the feeding lesion on the mammalian host. a number of kpis have been isolated and characterized from tick salivary gland extracts. interestingly, we observe little d. variabilis kpi gene expression in the salivary gland and abun ... | 2008 | 18779339 |
| outer surface protein a protects lyme disease spirochetes from acquired host immunity in the tick vector. | the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi alters the expression of outer surface protein (osp) genes as the bacterium cycles between ticks and mammals. ospa is produced as borreliae enter the tick vector and remains a major surface antigen during midgut colonization. to elucidate the role of ospa in the vector, we created an insertional deletion of ospa in strain b31-a3. the ospa mutant infects mice when it is injected intradermally and is acquired by larval ticks fed on these mice, where ... | 2008 | 18779341 |
| borrelia burgdorferi genotype predicts the capacity for hematogenous dissemination during early lyme disease. | lyme disease, the most common tickborne disease in the united states, is caused exclusively by borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto in north america. the present study evaluated the genotypes of >400 clinical isolates of b. burgdorferi recovered from patients from suburban new york city with early lyme disease associated with erythema migrans; it is the largest number of borrelial strains from north america ever to be investigated. | 2008 | 18781866 |
| spatial dynamics of lyme disease: a review. | lyme disease (ld), the most frequently reported vector-borne disease in the united states, requires that humans, infected vector ticks, and infected hosts all occur in close spatial proximity. understanding the spatial dynamics of ld requires an understanding of the spatial determinants of each of these organisms. we review the literature on spatial patterns and environmental correlates of human cases of ld and the vector ticks, ixodes scapularis in the northeastern and midwestern united states ... | 2008 | 18787920 |
| in vitro isolation of ehrlichia ruminantium from ovine blood into ixodes scapularis (ide8) cell cultures. | four stocks of ehrlichia ruminantium (welgevonden, ball3, nonile and blaauwkrans), the causative agent of heartwater in domestic ruminants, were isolated into ixodes scapularis (ide8) tick cells using the leukocyte fraction of the blood of infected sheep. organisms of two of the e. ruminantium stocks (welgevonden and blaauwkrans) propagated in ide8 cells were also successfully used to infect bovine endothelial cells. all stocks were successfully propagated in ide8 cells using dulbecco's modified ... | 2008 | 18788205 |
| production of outer surface protein a by borrelia burgdorferi during transmission from infected mammals to feeding ticks is insufficient to trigger ospa seroconversion. | the lyme disease spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi, produces two outer surface lipoproteins, ospa and ospb, that are essential for colonization of tick vectors. both proteins are highly expressed during transmission from infected mammals to feeding ticks and during colonization of tick midguts, but are repressed when bacteria are transmitted from ticks to mammals. humans and other infected mammals generally do not produce antibodies against either protein, although some lyme disease patients do s ... | 2008 | 18793197 |
| rhipicephalus appendiculatus: characterization of a testis-associated protein. | a novel gene coding for rhipicephalus appendiculatus male-specific protein (ramp) was identified in a cdna library constructed from the testis/vas deferens of r. appendiculatus ticks. this gene encodes a secreted protein exclusively expressed in the testis/vas deferens. the putative ramp amino acid sequence contains a signal peptide and has 29% amino acid identity with male-specific is5 gene of ixodes scapularis. gene expression studies revealed that ramp mrna was up-regulated in male ticks duri ... | 2008 | 18796305 |
| detection of tick-borne pathogens by masstag polymerase chain reaction. | masstag polymerase chain reaction (pcr) is a platform that enables microbe detection using primers labeled through a photocleavable link with tags that vary in molecular weight. after multiplex pcr, tags are released by ultraviolet irradiation and analyzed by mass spectroscopy. the identification of a microbe in a sample is determined by its cognate tags. here we describe establishment and implementation of a masstag pcr panel for surveillance of microbes implicated in tick-vectored infectious d ... | 2009 | 18800864 |
| rapid identification of known and new rna viruses from animal tissues. | viral surveillance programs or diagnostic labs occasionally obtain infectious samples that fail to be typed by available cell culture, serological, or nucleic acid tests. five such samples, originating from insect pools, skunk brain, human feces and sewer effluent, collected between 1955 and 1980, resulted in pathology when inoculated into suckling mice. in this study, sequence-independent amplification of partially purified viral nucleic acids and small scale shotgun sequencing was used on mous ... | 2008 | 18818738 |
| relative importance of ixodes ricinus and ixodes trianguliceps as vectors for anaplasma phagocytophilum and babesia microti in field vole (microtus agrestis) populations. | the importance of ixodes ricinus in the transmission of tick-borne pathogens is well recognized in the united kingdom and across europe. however, the role of coexisting ixodes species, such as the widely distributed species ixodes trianguliceps, as alternative vectors for these pathogens has received little attention. this study aimed to assess the relative importance of i. ricinus and i. trianguliceps in the transmission of anaplasma phagocytophilum and babesia microti among united kingdom fiel ... | 2008 | 18820068 |
| identification of genetic determinants of a tick-borne flavivirus associated with host-specific adaptation and pathogenicity. | tick-borne flaviviruses are maintained in nature in an enzootic cycle involving a tick vector and a vertebrate host. thus, the virus replicates in two disparate hosts, each providing selective pressures that can influence virus replication and pathogenicity. to identify viral determinants associated with replication in the individual hosts, plaque purified langat virus (tp21pp) was adapted to growth in mouse or tick cell lines to generate two virus variants, mnbp20 and isep20, respectively. viru ... | 2008 | 18823640 |
| ability of 4-poster passive topical treatment devices for deer to sustain low population levels of ixodes scapularis (acari: ixodidae) after integrated tick management in a residential landscape. | in a recent study, the combined use of 4-posters and maxforce tms bait boxes along with a barrier application of deltamethrin resulted in accelerated control of ixodes scapularis say by sequentially attacking each postembryonic life stage. we report the results of a follow-up study to test the ability of 4-posters used alone to sustain the high levels of control achieved through the integrated tick management (itm) approach after withdrawal of the bait boxes. in the first year after withdrawal, ... | 2008 | 18826033 |
| surveillance for lyme disease--united states, 1992-2006. | lyme disease is a multisystem disease that occurs in north america, europe, and asia. in the united states, the etiologic agent is borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, a spirochete transmitted to humans by infected ixodes scapularis and i. pacificus ticks. the majority of patients with lyme disease develop a characteristic rash, erythema migrans (em), accompanied by symptoms of fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, myalgia, or arthralgia. other manifestations of infection can include arthritis, card ... | 2008 | 18830214 |
| interaction of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi with brain parenchyma elicits inflammatory mediators from glial cells as well as glial and neuronal apoptosis. | lyme neuroborreliosis, caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi, often manifests by causing neurocognitive deficits. as a possible mechanism for lyme neuroborreliosis, we hypothesized that b. burgdorferi induces the production of inflammatory mediators in the central nervous system with concomitant neuronal and/or glial apoptosis. to test our hypothesis, we constructed an ex vivo model that consisted of freshly collected slices from brain cortex of a rhesus macaque and allowed live b. burgd ... | 2008 | 18832582 |
| cutting edge: immunity against a "silent" salivary antigen of the lyme vector ixodes scapularis impairs its ability to feed. | ixodes scapularis ticks transmit the lyme disease agent in the united states. although strong antitick immunity mediates tick rejection by certain vertebrates, only a few ags have been molecularly characterized. we show that guinea pig vaccination against a secreted tick salivary immunomodulator, sialostatin l2, can lead to decreased feeding ability of i. scapularis nymphs. increased rejection rate, prolonged feeding time, and apparent signs of inflammation were observed for nymphs attached to v ... | 2008 | 18832673 |
| identifying the reservoir hosts of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi in california: the role of the western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus). | we investigated the role of the western gray squirrel (sciurus griseus) as a reservoir host of the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi. a survey of 222 western gray squirrels in california showed an overall prevalence of b. burgdorferi infection of 30%, although at a county level, prevalence of infection ranged from 0% to 50% by polymerase chain reaction. laboratory trials with wild-caught western gray squirrels indicated that squirrels were competent reservoir hosts of the lyme disease ... | 2008 | 18840740 |
| tick-borne flaviviruses: dissecting host immune responses and virus countermeasures. | the tick-borne encephalitis (tbe) serocomplex of viruses, genus flavivirus, includes a number of important human pathogens that cause serious neurological illnesses and hemorrhagic fevers. these viruses pose a significant public health problem due to high rates of morbidity and mortality, their emergence to new geographic areas, and the recent rise in the incidence of human infections. the most notable member of the tbe serocomplex is tick-borne encephalitis virus (tbev), a neurotropic flaviviru ... | 2009 | 18841330 |
| evaluation of the recombinant vlse-based liaison chemiluminescence immunoassay for detection of borrelia burgdorferi and diagnosis of lyme disease. | recent efforts to improve the serologic diagnosis of lyme disease have included the use of a synthetic peptide (c6) that reproduces the sequence of invariable region 6 of vlse, the variable surface antigen of borrelia burgdorferi. in the present study, the diagnostic performance of diasorin's recombinant vlse-based chemiluminescence immunoassay in 1,947 human serum samples was evaluated. sensitivity was determined using two serum panels from the cdc. for panel i, we observed sensitivities of 68. ... | 2008 | 18945880 |
| four virb6 paralogs and virb9 are expressed and interact in ehrlichia chaffeensis-containing vacuoles. | the type iv secretion system is an important virulence factor in several host cell-associated pathogens, as it delivers various bacterial macromolecules to target eukaryotic cells. genes homologous to several virb genes and vird4 of agrobacterium tumefaciens are found in an intravacuolar pathogen ehrlichia chaffeensis, the tick-borne causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis. in particular, despite its small genome size, e. chaffeensis has four tandem virb6 paralogs (virb6-1, -2, -3, and - ... | 2009 | 18952796 |
| host surveys, ixodid tick biology and transmission scenarios as related to the tick-borne pathogen, ehrlichia canis. | the ehrlichioses have been subject to increasing interest from veterinary and public health perspectives, but experimental studies of these diseases and their etiologic agents can be challenging. ehrlichia canis, the primary etiologic agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, is relatively well characterized and offers unique advantages and opportunities to study interactions between a monocytotropic pathogen and both its vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. historically, advances in tick-borne dise ... | 2008 | 18963493 |
| inoculation of white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) with ap-v1 or ny-18 strains of anaplasma phagocytophilum and microscopic demonstration of ap-v1 in ixodes scapularis adults that acquired infection from deer as nymphs. | four white-tailed deer were inoculated with either the ap-v1 or ny-18 strain of anaplasma phagocytophilum. ixodes scapularis nymphs were then allowed to acquistion feed on the inoculated deer and molt to adults. only an ap-v1 infected deer was infected persistently and able to infect nymphal ixodes scapularis. molted adult ticks maintained ap-v1 infection as demonstrated by pcr and microscopy. we report, for the first time, a morphologic description of a. phagocytophilum in i. scapularis. | 2009 | 18973438 |
| fever of unknown origin (fuo) due to babesiosis in a immunocompetent host. | fevers of unknown origin (fuos) are defined as prolonged fevers of 101 degrees f or greater lasting 3 or more weeks that remain undiagnosed after comprehensive inpatient/outpatient laboratory testing. tick-borne infections are uncommon causes of fuos. any infectious disease accompanied by prolonged fevers can present as an fuo if the diagnosis is not suspected or if specific laboratory testing is not done to confirm the diagnosis. babesiosis is transmitted by the ixodes scapularis ticks endemic ... | 2008 | 18992633 |
| innate signaling by the c-type lectin dc-sign dictates immune responses. | effective immune responses depend on the recognition of pathogens by dendritic cells (dcs) through pattern recognition receptors (prrs). these receptors induce specific signaling pathways that lead to the induction of immune responses against the pathogens. it is becoming evident that c-type lectins are also important prrs. in particular, the c-type lectin dc-sign has emerged as a key player in the induction of immune responses against numerous pathogens by modulating tlr-induced activation. rec ... | 2009 | 18998127 |
| effect of climate change on lyme disease risk in north america. | an understanding of the influence of climate change on ixodes scapularis, the main vector of lyme disease in north america, is a fundamental component in assessing changes in the spatial distribution of human risk for the disease. we used a climate suitability model of i. scapularis to examine the potential effects of global climate change on future lyme disease risk in north america. a climate-based logistic model was first used to explain the current distribution of i. scapularis in north amer ... | 2005 | 19008966 |
| abrogation of ospab constitutively activates the rrp2-rpon-rpos pathway (sigman-sigmas cascade) in borrelia burgdorferi. | molecular mechanisms underlying the reciprocal regulation of the two major surface lipoproteins and virulence factors of borrelia burgdorferi, ospa and ospc, are not fully understood. herein, we report that inactivation of the ospab operon resulted in overproduction of ospc and many other lipoproteins via the constitutive activation of the rrp2-rpon-rpos pathway. complementing the ospab mutant with a wild-type copy of ospa, but not an ospa variant that lacks the lipoprotein signal sequence, rest ... | 2008 | 19019147 |
| borrelia carolinensis sp. nov., a new (14th) member of the borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex from the southeastern region of the united states. | approximately 118 borrelia isolates were cultured from a variety of rodents, birds, and ticks collected in the southern united states. in addition to a highly diverse group of borrelia bissettii strains and a homogenous group of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains, a group of 16 isolates with unusual characteristics was found. the isolates were cultured from ear biopsy samples of the rodents peromyscus gossypinus and neotoma floridana trapped at five localities in south carolina. a multil ... | 2009 | 19020062 |
| exploring the mialome of ticks: an annotated catalogue of midgut transcripts from the hard tick, dermacentor variabilis (acari: ixodidae). | ticks are obligate blood feeders. the midgut is the first major region of the body where blood and microbes ingested with the blood meal come in contact with the tick's internal tissues. little is known about protein expression in the digestive tract of ticks. in this study, for analysis of global gene expression during tick attachment and feeding, we generated and sequenced 1,679 random transcripts (ests) from cdna libraries from the midguts of female ticks at varying stages of feeding. | 2008 | 19021911 |
| vectorbase: a data resource for invertebrate vector genomics. | vectorbase (http://www.vectorbase.org) is an niaid-funded bioinformatic resource center focused on invertebrate vectors of human pathogens. vectorbase annotates and curates vector genomes providing a web accessible integrated resource for the research community. currently, vectorbase contains genome information for three mosquito species: aedes aegypti, anopheles gambiae and culex quinquefasciatus, a body louse pediculus humanus and a tick species ixodes scapularis. since our last report vectorb ... | 2009 | 19028744 |
| development of an immunoglobulin m capture-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of acute infections with bartonella henselae. | we describe the development of an immunoglobulin m-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of an early antibody response to bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, and endocarditis. this assay discriminates between b. henselae-positive and -negative patient samples with sensitivity and specificity values of 100% and 97.1%, respectively. | 2009 | 19052161 |
| bacterin that induces anti-ospa and anti-ospc borreliacidal antibodies provides a high level of protection against canine lyme disease. | groups of 15 laboratory-bred beagles were vaccinated and boosted with either a placebo or adjuvanted bivalent bacterin comprised of a traditional borrelia burgdorferi strain and a unique ospa- and ospb-negative b. burgdorferi strain that expressed high levels of ospc and then challenged with b. burgdorferi-infected ixodes scapularis ticks. the vaccinated dogs produced high titers of anti-ospa and anti-ospc borreliacidal antibodies, including borreliacidal antibodies specific for an epitope withi ... | 2009 | 19052162 |
| stable prevalence of powassan virus in ixodes scapularis in a northern wisconsin focus. | deer tick virus (dtv), a variant of powassan virus (powv), appears to be maintained in nature in an enzootic cycle between ixodes scapularis ticks and small mammals. although powv infection of human beings is rare, a recent report suggests increasing incidence and the possibility that powv may be an emerging tick-borne zoonosis. therefore, we assessed the long-term stability of the powv transmission cycle in northwestern wisconsin. adult i. scapularis and dermacentor variabilis were collected fr ... | 2008 | 19052313 |
| nkt cells prevent chronic joint inflammation after infection with borrelia burgdorferi. | borrelia burgdorferi is the etiologic agent of lyme disease, a multisystem inflammatory disorder that principally targets the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system. the role of t lymphocytes in the development of chronic inflammation resulting from b. burgdorferi infection has been controversial. we previously showed that natural killer t (nkt) cells with an invariant (i) tcr alpha chain (inkt cells) recognize glycolipids from b. burgdorferi, but did not establish an in vivo role for inkt cell ... | 2008 | 19060201 |
| superoxide dismutase from the eukaryotic thermophile alvinella pompejana: structures, stability, mechanism, and insights into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. | prokaryotic thermophiles supply stable human protein homologs for structural biology; yet, eukaryotic thermophiles would provide more similar macromolecules plus those missing in microbes. alvinella pompejana is a deep-sea hydrothermal-vent worm that has been found in temperatures averaging as high as 68 degrees c, with spikes up to 84 degrees c. here, we used cu,zn superoxide dismutase (sod) to test if this eukaryotic thermophile can provide insights into macromolecular mechanisms and stability ... | 2009 | 19063897 |
| allatostatin c and its paralog allatostatin double c: the arthropod somatostatins. | arthropods do not have one, but two genes encoding an allatostatin c-like peptide. the newly discovered paralog gene was called ast-cc, and the peptide which it is predicted to make was called allatostatin double c (astcc). genes for both allatostatin c (astc) and its paralog were found in the tick ixodes scapularis as well as dipteran, lepidopteran, coleopteran, aphidoidean and phthirapteran insect species. in addition partial or complete cdnas derived from ast-ccs were found in a number of spe ... | 2009 | 19063967 |
| acinetobacter baumannii invades epithelial cells and outer membrane protein a mediates interactions with epithelial cells. | acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial pathogen of increasing importance, but the pathogenic mechanism of this microorganism has not been fully explored. this study investigated the potential of a. baumannii to invade epithelial cells and determined the role of a. baumannii outer membrane protein a (abompa) in interactions with epithelial cells. | 2008 | 19068136 |
| identification of a complex peptidergic neuroendocrine network in the hard tick, rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | neuropeptides are crucial regulators of development and various physiological functions but little is known about their identity, expression and function in vectors of pathogens causing serious diseases, such as ticks. therefore, we have used antibodies against multiple insect and crustacean neuropeptides to reveal the presence of these bioactive molecules in peptidergic neurons and cells of the ixodid tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus. these antibodies have detected 15 different immunoreactive ... | 2009 | 19082627 |
| ir-lbp, an ixodes ricinus tick salivary ltb4-binding lipocalin, interferes with host neutrophil function. | during their blood meal, ticks secrete a wide variety of proteins that can interfere with their host's defense mechanisms. among these proteins, lipocalins play a major role in the modulation of the inflammatory response. | 2008 | 19096526 |