| anthrax. an old disease returns as a bioterrorism weapon. | | 2000 | 11011551 |
| bacillus anthracis diversity in kruger national park. | the kruger national park (knp), south africa, has a recorded history of periodic anthrax epidemics causing widespread disease among wild animals. bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax, a disease primarily affecting ungulate herbivores. worldwide there is little diversity among b. anthracis isolates, but examination of variable-number tandem repeat (vntr) loci has identified six major clones, with the most dissimilar types split into the a and b branches. both the a and b types are ... | 2000 | 11015402 |
| comparison of pcr-rflp, ribotyping and eric-pcr for typing bacillus anthracis and bacillus cereus strains. | pcr-rflp analysis of the vrra gene and cerab gene was used to investigate the genomic diversity in 21 strains of bacillus anthracis and 28 strains of bacillus cereus, and was compared with results obtained by ribotyping and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-pcr (eric-pcr) analysis. vrra-typing divided the b. anthracis into four groups. except for one pasteur vaccine strain, the vrra pcr-rflp profiles of the b. anthracis were separated into three groups, which were different from th ... | 2000 | 11021577 |
| dehydroepiandrosterone and melatonin prevent bacillus anthracis lethal toxin-induced tnf production in macrophages. | the lethal toxin of bacillus anthracis, which is composed of two separate proteinaceous exotoxins, namely protective antigen and lethal factor, is central to the pathogenesis of anthrax. low levels of this toxin are known to induce release of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf-alpha). in the present study we investigated the effect of dehydroepiandrosterone (dhea), melatonin (mlt), or dhea + mlt on production of lethal toxin-induced tnf-alpha in mouse peritoneal macrophages. we f ... | 2000 | 11032360 |
| use of anthrax toxin fusions to stimulate immune responses. | | 2000 | 11036663 |
| fears over anthrax vaccination driving away us reservists. | | 2000 | 11039953 |
| from the centers for disease control and prevention. human ingestion of bacillus anthracis-contaminated meat--minnesota, august 2000. | | 2000 | 11041741 |
| anthrax: the investigation of a deadly outbreak. | | 2000 | 11041763 |
| expression, crystallization and preliminary x-ray diffraction studies of recombinant bacillus anthracis lethal factor. | the lethal factor (lf) produced by bacillus anthracis is a zn(2+)-dependent endopeptidase which specifically cleaves the n-terminal tail of several map kinase kinases (mapkks). the recombinant expression, purification and crystallization of lf and of an inactive mutant consisting of a single amino-acid substitution in the conserved catalytic site are reported here. both proteins crystallize in the cubic space group i432. | 2000 | 11053848 |
| pcr amplification on a microarray of gel-immobilized oligonucleotides: detection of bacterial toxin- and drug-resistant genes and their mutations. | pcr amplification on a microarray of gel-immobilized primers (microchip) has been developed. one of a pair of pcr primers was immobilized inside a separate microchip polyacrylamide porous gel pad of 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.02 (or 0.04) micron in size and 0.2 (or 0.4) nl in volume. the amplification was carried out simultaneously both in solution covering the microchip array and inside gel pads. each gel pad contained the immobilized forward primers, while the fluorescently labeled reverse primers, as well ... | 2000 | 11056816 |
| molecular identification by "suicide pcr" of yersinia pestis as the agent of medieval black death. | medieval black death is believed to have killed up to one-third of the western european population during the 14th century. it was identified as plague at this time, but recently the causative organism was debated because no definitive evidence has been obtained to confirm the role of yersinia pestis as the agent of plague. we obtained the teeth of a child and two adults from a 14th century grave in france, disrupted them to obtain the pulp, and applied the new "suicide pcr" protocol in which th ... | 2000 | 11058154 |
| case definitions. anthrax. | | 2000 | 11070947 |
| injectional anthrax in a heroin skin-popper. | anthrax is rare in western europe but may arise sporadically in people exposed to animal products from endemic areas. a heroin-injecting drug user presented with a severe soft-tissue infection at the injection site, septic shock, and meningitis. a gram-positive endospore-forming aerobic rod was isolated from the soft tissue and cerebrospinal fluid; confirmation of bacillus anthracis was made by pcr. since contaminated heroin was the probable source of infection, this case is of concern and warra ... | 2000 | 11075776 |
| the flow cytometry of bacillus anthracis spores revisited. | the potential use of bacillus anthracis spores as a weapon of terror has rekindled interest in the rapid detection and identification of the spores of these bacteria. prior efforts to utilize flow cytometry (fcm) for this purpose resulted in tedious and time-consuming protocols. advances in rapid immunoassays suggest a reinvestigation of the use of fcm because this may allow for the development of a rapid and sensitive system for detection and/or identification of spores in suspect samples. | 2000 | 11084608 |
| tumor cell-selective cytotoxicity of matrix metalloproteinase-activated anthrax toxin. | matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) are overexpressed in a variety of tumor tissues and cell lines, and their expression is highly correlated to tumor invasion and metastasis. to exploit these characteristics in the design of tumor cell-selective cytotoxins, we constructed two mutated anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) proteins in which the furin protease cleavage site is replaced by sequences selectively cleaved by mmps. these mmp-targeted pa proteins were activated rapidly and selectively on t ... | 2000 | 11085528 |
| homoduplex and heteroduplex polymorphisms of the amplified ribosomal 16s-23s internal transcribed spacers describe genetic relationships in the "bacillus cereus group". | bacillus anthracis, bacillus cereus, bacillus mycoides, bacillus pseudomycoides, bacillus thuringiensis, and bacillus weihenstephanensis are closely related in phenotype and genotype, and their genetic relationship is still open to debate. the present work uses amplified 16s-23s internal transcribed spacers (its) to discriminate between the strains and species and to describe the genetic relationships within the "b. cereus group," advantage being taken of homoduplex-heteroduplex polymorphisms (h ... | 2000 | 11097928 |
| facial cutaneous anthrax in a pregnant woman: a case report. | anthrax remains an uncommon, but worldwide problem, particularly in countries in which domestic animals and processing of animal by-products are an important part of the economy. the disease has received attention recently because of its potential for use in biologic warfare. in poland during the last 10 years, several human cases of cutaneous anthrax occurred. we report here a case of a pregnant woman with this disease. the lesion was atypical and in a potentially dangerous location since it wa ... | 1998 | 11103023 |
| susceptibility of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase family members to proteolysis by anthrax lethal factor. | the lethal factor (lf) produced by toxigenic strains of bacillus anthracis is a zn(2+)-endopeptidase that cleaves the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (mapkks) mek1, mek2 and mkk3. using genetic and biochemical approaches, we have extended the study of lf proteolytic specificity to all known mapkk family members and found that lf also cleaves mkk4, mkk6 and mkk7, but not mek5. the peptide bonds hydrolysed by lf within all mapkks were identified. cleavage invariably occurs within the n-te ... | 2000 | 11104681 |
| the role of the clinical laboratory in managing chemical or biological terrorism. | domestic and international acts of terrorism using chemicals and pathogens as weapons have recently attracted much attention because of several hoaxes and real incidents. clinical laboratories, especially those affiliated with major trauma centers, should be prepared to respond rapidly by providing diagnostic tests for the detection and identification of specific agents, so that specific therapy and victim management can be initiated in a timely manner. as first-line responders, clinical laborat ... | 2000 | 11106318 |
| control of zoonoses in cyprus. | the excellent results achieved in the control of animal diseases in cyprus have allowed the veterinary services to take a leading role in the elimination, surveillance and investigation of important zoonoses. the programmes for the control of echinococcosis, brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, anthrax and taeniasis, and the measures taken to prevent the importation of rabies are described. public awareness of the risks posed by the presence of zoonoses and the efficient and effective intersectoral ... | 2000 | 11107615 |
| robert koch's debt to ferdinand cohn. | | 1999 | 11108127 |
| characterization of a plasmid region involved in bacillus anthracis toxin production and pathogenesis. | the germination of spores within the host is the initial step of anthrax infection. we have shown, using immunofluorescence staining, confocal scanning laser microscopy and image cytometry analysis, that the alveolar macrophage is the primary site of b. anthracis germination in a murine inhalation infection model. b. anthracis germinated inside macrophages, in vesicles derived from the phagosomal compartment. we have demonstrated that the toxin genes and their trans-activator, atxa, are expresse ... | 2000 | 11111904 |
| lethal factor of bacillus anthracis cleaves the n-terminus of mapkks: analysis of the intracellular consequences in macrophages. | the lethal toxin of bacillus anthracis consists of two proteins, pa and lf, which together induce lethal effects in some animal species and cause macrophage lysis. lf is a zinc-binding protein with metalloprotease activity. with a two-hybrid system approach we identified map kinase kinases (mapkks) mekl and mek2 as proteins interacting with lf. lf was shown to cleave mek1 and mek2 and an additional mapkk family member mkk3, within their n-terminal region. we examined macrophage cell lines and pr ... | 2000 | 11111921 |
| design of toxins that can be activated by cell-specific proteases and their potential use in targeted cell killing. | protein toxins designed to eliminate specific cell types, e.g. disease-associated cells, have mainly made by linking the active domain of the toxin to a protein that only binds to certain cells. a different approach for the construction of toxins capable of killing disease-associated cells is suggested here, based on the knowledge that many of these cells express specific proteases that are not expressed in normal tissue. the construction of toxins that become activated through cleavage by the p ... | 2000 | 11111928 |
| point mutations in anthrax protective antigen that block translocation. | the protective antigen (pa) moiety of anthrax toxin delivers the toxin's enzymatic moieties to the cytosol of mammalian cells by a mechanism associated with its ability to heptamerize and form a transmembrane pore. here we report that mutations in lys-397, asp-425, or phe-427 ablate killing of cho-k1 cells by a cytotoxic pa ligand. these mutations blocked pa's ability to mediate pore formation and translocation in cells but had no effect on its receptor binding, proteolytic activation, or abilit ... | 2001 | 11113126 |
| [personal experience with use of the antimicrobial agent, neloren r, in maxillofacial surgery]. | during the treatment of sick as well as injured and operated patients it was used the therapy according to the clinical experience of doctors and possibility of the choice of some antibiotic. it was used the therapy according to antibiogram whenever it was possible. in the study the results of using of neloren-antibiotic, linkomicin, produced in "bosnalijek" sarajevo, were followed up comparing to the other antibiotics. neloren effects on streptococcus pyogenes, streptococcus penumoniae, s. viri ... | 2000 | 11117015 |
| cytosolic delivery and characterization of the tcdb glucosylating domain by using a heterologous protein fusion. | tcdb from clostridium difficile glucosylates small gtpases (rho, rac, and cdc42) and is an important virulence factor in the human disease pseudomembranous colitis. in these experiments, in-frame genetic fusions between the genes for the 255 amino-terminal residues of anthrax toxin lethal factor (lfn) and the tcdb(1-556) coding region were constructed, expressed, and purified from escherichia coli. lfntcdb(1-556) was enzymatically active and glucosylated recombinant rhoa, rac, cdc42, and substra ... | 2001 | 11119561 |
| anthrax in pondicherry, south india. | | 2000 | 11129726 |
| adverse reactions to anthrax immunisation in a military field hospital. | to determine the outcome of anthrax immunisation. | 2000 | 11143687 |
| use of anthrax vaccine in the united states. | these recommendations concern the use of aluminum hydroxide adsorbed cell-free anthrax vaccine (anthrax vaccine adsorbed [ava], bioport corporation, lansing, mi) in the united states for protection against disease caused by bacillus anthracis. in addition, information is included regarding the use of chemoprophylaxis against b. anthracis. | 2000 | 11145529 |
| macrophage-derived cell lines do not express proinflammatory cytokines after exposure to bacillus anthracis lethal toxin. | we present evidence that bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (lt) suppresses rather than induces proinflammatory cytokine production in macrophages. suppression is observed with extremely low levels of lt and involves inhibition of transcription of cytokine messenger rna. thus, lt may contribute to anthrax pathogenesis by suppressing the inflammatory response. | 2001 | 11160016 |
| the mammalian safety of bacillus thuringiensis-based insecticides. | the united states environmental protection agency between the years 1961 and 1995 registered 177 products containing viable bacillus thuringiensis (bt). numerous laboratory studies have demonstrated that bt and bt products are noninfectious and are toxic to mammals only at a dose > or =10(8) colony forming units (cfu) per mouse (a human equivalent based on the weight of >10(11) cfu). in contrast, as few as three vegetative cells of bacillus anthracis can kill mice (a human equivalent of >10(3) c ... | 2001 | 11161988 |
| involvement of residues 147vyyeigk153 in binding of lethal factor to protective antigen of bacillus anthracis. | anthrax toxin is a complex of protective antigen (pa, 735 aa), lethal factor (lf, 776 aa), and edema factor (ef, 767 aa). pa binds to cell surface receptors and is cleaved by cell surface proteases into pa63, while lf and ef compete for binding to pa63. the pa63-lf/ef complex is internalized into the cytosol and causes different pathogenic responses in animals and cultured cells. 1-300 amino acid residues of lf have been viewed as the region responsible for the high affinity binding of lf to pa. ... | 2001 | 11162493 |
| use of live bacterial vaccine vectors for antigen delivery: potential and limitations. | most infectious agents are restricted to the mucosal membranes or their transit through the mucosa constitutes a critical step in the infection process. therefore, the elicitation of an efficient immune response, not only at systemic, but also at mucosal level, after vaccination is highly desirable, representing a significant advantage in order to prevent infection. this goal can be only achieved, when the vaccine formulation is administered by the mucosal route. however, soluble antigens given ... | 2001 | 11166877 |
| risks and prevention of nosocomial transmission of rare zoonotic diseases. | americans are increasingly exposed to exotic zoonotic diseases through travel, contact with exotic pets, occupational exposure, and leisure pursuits. appropriate isolation precautions are required to prevent nosocomial transmission of rare zoonotic diseases for which person-to-person transmission has been documented. this minireview provides guidelines for the isolation of patients and management of staff exposed to the following infectious diseases with documented person-to-person transmission: ... | 2001 | 11170953 |
| bacillus anthracis, a bug with attitude! | the sequencing of the bacillus anthracis genome and virulence plasmids represents the greatest advance in anthrax research in the past 100 years. the data will provide the foundation of all future work on this organism and will be invaluable to researchers in their battle to understand the basis of the host-microbe interaction. | 2001 | 11173038 |
| trp 346 and leu 352 residues in protective antigen are required for the expression of anthrax lethal toxin activity. | the three separate proteins that make up anthrax toxin-protective antigen (pa), edema factor (ef) and lethal factor (lf) act in binary combinations to produce two distinct reactions in experimental animals: edema (pa+ef) and death (pa+lf). pa is believed to interact with a membrane receptor and, after proteolytic processing, to mediate endocytosis and subsequent translocation of ef or lf into the cytosol. residues w346, m350, and l352 in loop 3 of domain 2 have been implicated to induce a confor ... | 2001 | 11178978 |
| biological consequences of multiple vaccine and pyridostigmine pretreatment in the guinea pig. | an investigation of the possible interactions between combinations of vaccines and pyridostigmine bromide (pb) has been undertaken in the guinea pig. this study is part of a research programme funded by the uk government to determine any effects of the pretreatment regimes given to uk forces during the persian gulf conflict of 1990-1991. the study was designed to simulate pb administration and to model multiple vaccination protocols that were experienced by uk forces, modelling a "worst case" si ... | 2001 | 11180281 |
| [study of the virulence of a recombinant strain of bacillus anthracis, obtained as a result of transductive transfer of chromosomal genes from a strain of bacillus cereus]. | auxotrophic markers of b. anthracis strains differing them from other bacillus representatives have been determined. chromosome genes from prototrophic b. cereus strain were transduced into auxotrophic b. anthracis strain. the properties of transductants were studied in order to establish common transfer of chromosomal determinants responsible for realization of various signs. transduction mating between species resulted in construction of prototroph b. anthracis strains (px01- px02+), whose der ... | 2000 | 11186451 |
| the bubonic man. lessons from a bioterrorism incident. | | 2000 | 11186485 |
| [bioterrorism--a public and health threat]. | in recent years the fear of bioterrorism, of secret modernization and dissemination of biological weapons is increasing. facts detected recently in iran, japan and the former soviet union provide evidence that there are countries and dissident groups which have access to modern technology of cultivation of dangerous pathogens as well as motivation for their use in acts of terrorism or war. the menace of biological terrorism is nowadays, as compared with the past, much greater. the most feared ca ... | 2000 | 11188765 |
| [brief review of the history of zoonoses]. | by studying the surviving documents describing surveillance and methods of control of zoonoses in the distant past, the history of the fight against these diseases can be retraced. prior to the 20th century, the best known zoonoses were, amongst others, rabies, anthrax, glanders, tuberculosis, plague, yellow fever, influenza, and certain zoonotic parasitic diseases. an analysis of historical events yields a number of lessons as to the positive and negative influences of past theories regarding t ... | 2000 | 11189711 |
| rapid recovery and identification of anthrax bacteria from the environment. | bacillus anthracis has been recognized as a highly likely biological warfare or terrorist agent. we have designed culture techniques to rapidly isolate and identify "live" anthrax from suspected environmental release. a special medium (3at medium) allows for discrimination between closely related bacilli and non-pathogenic strains. nitrate was found to be a primary factor influencing spore formation in bacillus anthracis. nitrate reduction in anthrax is not an adaptation to saprophytic environme ... | 2000 | 11193628 |
| emergency: bioterrorism. | | 2000 | 11202782 |
| proteolytic activation of receptor-bound anthrax protective antigen on macrophages promotes its internalization. | immunofluorescence and other methods have been used to probe the self-assembly and internalization of the binary toxin, anthrax lethal toxin (letx), in primary murine macrophages. proteolytic activation of protective antigen (pa; 83 kda, the b moiety of the toxin) by furin was the rate-limiting step in internalization of letx and promoted clearance of pa from the cell surface. a furin-resistant form of pa remained at the cell surface for at least 90 min. oligomerization of receptor-bound pa63, t ... | 2000 | 11207581 |
| translocation of bacillus anthracis lethal and oedema factors across endosome membranes. | the two exotoxins of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, are the oedema toxin (pa-ef) and the lethal toxin (pa-lf). they exert their catalytic activities within the cytosol. the internalization process requires receptor-mediated endocytosis and passage through acidic vesicles. we investigated the translocation of ef and lf enzymatic moieties across the target cell membrane. by selective permeabilization of the plasma membrane with clostridium perfringens delta-toxin, we observed ... | 2000 | 11207582 |
| early bacillus anthracis-macrophage interactions: intracellular survival survival and escape. | this study describes early intracellular events occurring during the establishment phase of bacillus anthracis infections. anthrax infections are initiated by dormant endospores gaining access to the mammalian host and becoming engulfed by regional macrophages (mphi). during systemic anthrax, late stage events include vegetative growth in the blood to very high titres and the synthesis of the anthrax exotoxin complex, which causes disease symptoms and death. experiments focus on the early events ... | 2000 | 11207600 |
| citywide pharmaceutical preparation for bioterrorism. | one community's efforts to become pharmaceutically prepared for an attack with biological agents is described. in response to recent bioterrorist activities, including a local scare in 1999 involving anthrax, the pharmacy department at deaconess medical center in spokane, washington, was asked to develop a plan for bioterrorism preparedness. a literature search was conducted, and resources, such as the centers for disease control and prevention, were contacted. for each biological agent, informa ... | 2001 | 11217178 |
| bioterrorism. | | 2000 | 11219298 |
| involvement of domain 3 in oligomerization by the protective antigen moiety of anthrax toxin. | protective antigen (pa), a component of anthrax toxin, binds receptors on mammalian cells and is activated by a cell surface protease. the resulting active fragment, pa(63), forms ring-shaped heptamers, binds the enzymic moieties of the toxin, and translocates them to the cytosol. of the four crystallographic domains of pa, domain 1 has been implicated in binding the enzymic moieties; domain 2 is involved in membrane insertion and oligomerization; and domain 4 binds receptor. to determine the fu ... | 2001 | 11222612 |
| the malaria vaccine: seventy years of the great immune hope. | the cluster of seminal microbiological discoveries at the end of the 19th century through to the first quarter of the 20th century gave rise to the expectation that the control of malaria would be by scientific technology (as opposed to the 'brute force' of bonification/massive engeneering works) and that technology would be immunization by a malaria vaccine. immunology's foundation was in microbiology and the two related disciplines matured concurrently. immunization with dead or inactivated mi ... | 2000 | 11234327 |
| rapid identification of pathogenic bacteria by single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. | despite major progress in their treatment and prevention, bacterial infections remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. in responding to a disease outbreak, rapid and accurate identification of the bacterial species involved is of paramount importance. strain level discrimination is desirable to allow selection of treatment modalities, and in the case of a deliberate release, for identification of the source. single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism (se-aflp) ... | 2001 | 11248519 |
| rapid identification of bacillus cereus based on the detection of a 28.5-kilodalton cell surface antigen. | conventional procedures for the identification of suspect bacillus cereus isolated on mannitol-egg yolk-polymyxin (myp) agar may need several days. to facilitate the identification of the bacterium, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) was developed. the assay was based on the detection of a 28.5-kda cell surface antigen of b. cereus. bacterial colonies grown on myp agar or nutrient agar were suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (ph 7.2) containing 0.1% teepol. the cell suspensions wer ... | 2001 | 11252478 |
| are saudi arabian hospitals prepared for the threat of biological weapons? | the use of biological weapons has been recorded repeatedly in history. until recently, biological terrorism had been little discussed or written about. however, events over the past 12 to 18 months have made it clear that likely perpetrators already envisage every possible scenario. nations and dissident groups exist that have both the motivation and access to utilize biological weapons. in april 1994, a russian biological weapons expert presented the conclusions of the russian experts as to the ... | 2001 | 11255601 |
| suppression of ras-mediated transformation and inhibition of tumor growth and angiogenesis by anthrax lethal factor, a proteolytic inhibitor of multiple mek pathways. | lethal factor is a protease, one component of bacillus anthracis exotoxin, which cleaves many of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (meks). given the importance of mek signaling in tumorigenesis, we assessed the effects of anthrax lethal toxin (letx) on tumor cells. letx was very effective in inhibiting mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in v12 h-ras-transformed nih 3t3 cells. in vitro, treatment of transformed cells with letx caused them to revert to a nontransformed morpholo ... | 2001 | 11259649 |
| multiplexing for the detection of multiple biowarfare agents shows promise in the field. | standard amplification of nucleic acids, or polymerase chain reaction (pcr), is replacing the more traditional microbiological assays in the detection of biological agents. however, standard pcr is designed as a one program-to-one agent amplification method, and not knowing what agents to test for makes this approach time consuming. during a field training exercise to detect four biowarfare agents using the standard pcr method, we conducted an additional experiment that reduced the diagnostic ti ... | 2001 | 11263027 |
| molecular characterization of bacillus anthracis using multiplex pcr, eric-pcr and rapd. | to investigate the molecular characterization of bacillus anthracis strains by multiplex pcr, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-pcr (eric-pcr) and random amplification of polymorphic dna (rapd). | 2001 | 11264741 |
| bacillus cereus meningitis complicating cerebrospinal fluid fistula repair and spinal drainage. | non-anthrax bacillus species are rare, but serious causes of bacterial meningitis in those either immunocompromised or treated with csf diversion. although resistant to first-line antibiotics, they usually respond to chloramphenicol. we report a case of fulminant bacillus cereus meningitis that complicated lumbar spinal drainage which proved resistant to all first-line antibiotics including chloramphenicol. | 2000 | 11272043 |
| anthrax-toxin-mediated delivery of a 19 kda antigen of mycobacterium tuberculosis into the cytosol of mammalian cells. | pa63, the proteolytically activated 63 kda fragment of protective antigen (pa, 83 kda), mediates translocation of lethal factor (lf) and oedema factor into the cytosol. the n-terminal 254 amino acids of lf (lfn) are required for binding to pa63 and mediating translocation of active ligands fused to either the n- or c-terminus. here we report translocation of a 19 kda antigen of mycobacterium tuberculosis into the cytosol of mammalian cells when fused to the c-terminus of lfn (lfn-19kda). the fus ... | 2001 | 11277858 |
| a dominant negative mutant of bacillus anthracis protective antigen inhibits anthrax toxin action in vivo. | pa63, a proteolytically activated 63-kda form of anthrax protective antigen (pa), forms heptameric oligomers and has the ability to bind and translocate the catalytic moieties, lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef) into the cytosol of mammalian cells. acidic ph triggers oligomerization and membrane insertion by pa63. a disordered amphipathic loop in domain ii of pa (2beta2-2beta3 loop) is involved in membrane insertion by pa63. because conditions required for membrane insertion coincide with ... | 2001 | 11278644 |
| targeting of tumor cells by cell surface urokinase plasminogen activator-dependent anthrax toxin. | urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (upar) binds pro-urokinase plasminogen activator (pro-upa) and thereby localizes it near plasminogen, causing the generation of active upa and plasmin on the cell surface. upar and upa are overexpressed in a variety of human tumors and tumor cell lines, and expression of upar and upa is highly correlated to tumor invasion and metastasis. to exploit these characteristics in the design of tumor cell-selective cytotoxins, we constructed mutated anthrax toxin ... | 2001 | 11278833 |
| anthrax as the cause of preseptal cellulitis and cicatricial ectropion. | a 54-year-old female farmer with anthrax infection of the eyelids is presented. she was initially managed with high dose intravenous penicillin g treatment. following complete healing of the eyelid lesions, significant cicatricial ectropion resulted. her right lower eyelid ectropion was corrected by surgical reconstruction using full thickness skin graft after a period of 6 months during which the cicatrization process stabilized. satisfactory cosmetic and functional improvement was achieved. an ... | 2001 | 11284766 |
| [survival of bacillus anthracis spores in various tannery baths]. | the influence of tannery baths: liming, deliming, bating, pickling, tanning, retannage on the survival and on the germination dynamism of b. anthracis spores (sterne strain) was investigated. the periods and the conditions of this influence were established according to technological process of cow hide tannage. practically after every bath some part of the spores remained vital. the most effective killing of spores occurred after pickling, liming and deliming. inversely, the most viable spores ... | 2000 | 11286180 |
| the science of louis pasteur: a reconsideration. | | 2001 | 11291570 |
| search for correlates of protective immunity conferred by anthrax vaccine. | vaccination by anthrax protective antigen (pa)-based vaccines requires multiple immunization, underlying the need to develop more efficacious vaccines or alternative vaccination regimens. in spite of the vast use of pa-based vaccines, the definition of a marker for protective immunity is still lacking. here we describe studies designed to help define such markers. to this end we have immunized guinea pigs by different methods and monitored the immune response and the corresponding extent of prot ... | 2001 | 11292703 |
| role of furin in delivery of a ctl epitope of an anthrax toxin-fusion protein. | anthrax toxin lethal factor (lf) in combination with anthrax toxin protective antigen (pa) was endocytosed and translocated to the cytosol of mammalian cells. residues 1-255 of anthrax toxin lethal factor (lfn) was fused to a cytotoxic t lymphocyte (ctl) epitope of an influenza virus. for processing the toxins, pa must be cleaved into a 63-kda fragment (pa63) by furin, which is a subtilisin-like processing endo-protease expressed by many eukaryotic cells. to test the ability of cells treated wit ... | 2001 | 11293477 |
| bioterrorism. | | 2001 | 11294966 |
| a tandem repeats database for bacterial genomes: application to the genotyping of yersinia pestis and bacillus anthracis. | some pathogenic bacteria are genetically very homogeneous, making strain discrimination difficult. in the last few years, tandem repeats have been increasingly recognized as markers of choice for genotyping a number of pathogens. the rapid evolution of these structures appears to contribute to the phenotypic flexibility of pathogens. the availability of whole-genome sequences has opened the way to the systematic evaluation of tandem repeats diversity and application to epidemiological studies. | 2001 | 11299044 |
| efficacy of a human anthrax vaccine in guinea pigs, rabbits, and rhesus macaques against challenge by bacillus anthracis isolates of diverse geographical origin. | the efficacy of a licensed human anthrax vaccine (anthrax vaccine adsorbed (ava)) was tested in guinea pigs, rabbits, and rhesus macaques against spore challenge by bacillus anthracis isolates of diverse geographical origin. initially, groups of hartley guinea pigs were vaccinated at 0 and 4 weeks with ava, then challenged intramuscularly at 10 weeks with spores from 33 isolates of b. anthracis. survival among the vaccinated groups varied from 6 to 100%, although there were no differences in mea ... | 2001 | 11312020 |
| genetic, physical, and transcript map of the ltxs1 region of mouse chromosome 11. | lethal factor (lf) is a toxin secreted by bacillus anthracis that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of anthrax. intoxication with lf results in a macrophage-specific cytolysis that is not well understood. interestingly, inbred mouse strains exhibit dramatic differences in the susceptibility of their cultured macrophages to killing by lf, and a gene that influences this phenotype, called ltxs1, has been mapped to mouse chromosome 11. here we report a high-resolution genetic map that con ... | 2001 | 11318612 |
| a general strategy for identification of s-layer genes in the bacillus cereus group: molecular characterization of such a gene in bacillus thuringiensis subsp. galleriae nrrl 4045. | despite its possible role in virulence, there has been little molecular characterization of members of the s-layer protein family of the bacillus cereus group. it is hypothesized that the components of the s-layers are likely to display similar anchoring structures in bacillus thuringiensis and bacillus anthracis. based on inferred sequence similarities, a dna fragment encoding the cell-wall-anchoring domain of an s-layer component of bac: thuringiensis subsp. galleriae nrrl 4045 was isolated. t ... | 2001 | 11320137 |
| cutaneous anthrax of the eyelid. | | 2001 | 11324894 |
| dominant-negative mutants of a toxin subunit: an approach to therapy of anthrax. | the protective antigen moiety of anthrax toxin translocates the toxin's enzymic moieties to the cytosol of mammalian cells by a mechanism that depends on its ability to heptamerize and insert into membranes. we identified dominant-negative mutants of protective antigen that co-assemble with the wild-type protein and block its ability to translocate the enzymic moieties across membranes. these mutants strongly inhibited toxin action in cell culture and in an animal intoxication model, suggesting ... | 2001 | 11326092 |
| delayed life-threatening reaction to anthrax vaccine. | background: anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis. due to the current world threat of unpredictable biological terrorism, the department of defense has mandated the systematic vaccination of all us military personnel against this warfare agent. many may experience al mild flu-like illness and soreness at the injection site, but systemic reactions are rare. case report: we report a delayed and potentially serious life-threatening adverse r ... | 2001 | 11327232 |
| use of anthrax vaccine in the united states: recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices. | these recommendations concern the use of aluminum hydroxide adsorbed cell-free anthrax vaccine (anthrax vaccine adsorbed [ava], bioport corporation, lansing, mi) in the united states for protection against disease caused by bacillus anthracis. in addition, information is included regarding the use of chemoprophylaxis against b. anthracis. | 2001 | 11327233 |
| constitutive expression of protective antigen gene of bacillus anthracis in escherichia coli. | the fatal bacterial infection caused by inhalation of the bacillus anthracis spores results from the synthesis of protein toxins-protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef)--by the bacterium. pa is the target-cell binding protein and is common to the two effector molecules, lf and ef, which exert their toxic effects once they are translocated to the cytosol by pa. pa is the major component of vaccines against anthrax since it confers protective immunity. the large-scale pr ... | 2001 | 11327699 |
| microbiology. fighting anthrax with a mutant toxin. | | 2001 | 11330322 |
| hospital preparedness for victims of chemical or biological terrorism. | this study examined hospital preparedness for incidents involving chemical or biological weapons. | 2001 | 11344876 |
| mowed, a computer program to rapidly deconvolute low resolution electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry runs to determine component molecular weights. | a computer program is described that can rapidly process low-resolution electrospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (lc/ms) for peptides and proteins and assign molecular weights for observed components. the program first analyzes individual scans using a deconvolution algorithm similar to that previously described by zhang and marshall. results for the entire run are then sorted by mass and those values found in adjacent scans are grouped together. the list of found components can also ... | 2001 | 11349958 |
| quantitative pathology of inhalational anthrax i: quantitative microscopic findings. | forty-one cases of documented inhalational anthrax from the sverdlovsk epidemic of 1979 traced to release of aerosols of bacillus anthracis at a secret biologic-agent production facility were evaluated by semiquantitative histopathologic analysis of tissue concentrations of organisms, inflammation, hemorrhage, and other lesions in the mediastinum, mediastinal lymph nodes, bronchi, lungs, heart, spleen, liver, intestines, kidneys, adrenal glands, and central nervous system. these data were correl ... | 2001 | 11353060 |
| role of residues constituting the 2beta1 strand of domain ii in the biological activity of anthrax protective antigen. | anthrax toxin consists of three proteins, protective antigen, lethal factor and oedema factor. a proteolytically activated 63-kda fragment of protective antigen binds lethal factor/oedema factor and translocates them into the cytosol. domain ii of protective antigen has been implicated in membrane insertion and channel formation. in the present study, alanine substitutions in 14 consecutive residues of the 2beta1 strand that are highly homologous to the putative membrane interacting segment of c ... | 2001 | 11356563 |
| toxemic shock, hematuria, hypokalemia, and hypoproteinemia in a case of cutaneous anthrax. | a 20-year-old woman who had daily contact with domestic herbivores presented with a painless and pruritic lesion in her neck; the lesion ulcerated to a black necrotic eschar from which bacillus anthracis grew. rapidly expanding edema at the site of the ulcer was followed by shock, hematuria, hypokalemia, and hypoproteinemia. the latter symptoms - unusual for cutaneous anthrax - responded to intravenous penicillin therapy. | 2001 | 11373695 |
| when anthrax was a delaware valley disease: dr. herman gold's experience with cutaneous anthrax. | | 2001 | 11381482 |
| pulmonary manifestations of bioterrorism. | along with smallpox, inhalation anthrax and pneumonic plague are among the diseases most likely to be spread by biowarfare, either from a rogue nation or terrorist group. neither anthrax nor plague has been seen by many pulmonary (or any other) physicians in the united states. this article summarizes these two diseases as pulmonary manifestations of bioterrorism and discusses the possibility of avian influenza as a potential respiratory pathogen in biowarfare. it is hoped that phyisicians will n ... | 2001 | 11384555 |
| a dominant-negative therapy for anthrax. | | 2001 | 11385497 |
| the role of antibodies to bacillus anthracis and anthrax toxin components in inhibiting the early stages of infection by anthrax spores. | vaccines which are efficacious against anthrax, such as the human vaccine, anthrax vaccine absorbed (ava), contain the protective antigen (pa) component of the anthrax toxins as the major protective immunogen. although ava protects against inhalational anthrax, the immune responses to and role in protection of pa and possibly other antigens have yet to be fully elucidated. sera from animals immunized with a toxin-producing, unencapsulated live vaccine strain of bacillus anthracis have been repor ... | 2001 | 11390699 |
| effect of ph on stability of anthrax lethal factor: correlation between denaturation and activity. | anthrax is caused by gram positive bacterium bacillus anthracis. pathogenesis is result of production of three protein components, protective antigen (pa), lethal factor (lf), and edema factor (ef). pa in combination with lf (lethal toxin) is lethal to animals, while pa in combination with ef (edema toxin), causes edema. pa, lf, and ef are very thermolabile. differential scanning calorimetry (dsc) was used to unravel the energetics of lf denaturation as a function of ph ranging from 7.8 to 5.5. ... | 2001 | 11396937 |
| protection against anthrax lethal toxin challenge by genetic immunization with a plasmid encoding the lethal factor protein. | the ability of genetic vaccination to protect against a lethal challenge of anthrax toxin was evaluated. balb/c mice were immunized via gene gun inoculation with eucaryotic expression vector plasmids encoding either a fragment of the protective antigen (pa) or a fragment of lethal factor (lf). plasmid pclf4 contains the n-terminal region (amino acids [aa] 10 to 254) of bacillus anthracis lf cloned into the pci expression plasmid. plasmid pcpa contains a biologically active portion (aa 175 to 764 ... | 2001 | 11401993 |
| application of recovery tests in the validation of immunoassays for assessing the immunogenicity of b. anthracis pa vaccine. | in the quantitative assessment of polyclonal serum antibodies, the complex composition and characteristics of the analyte population (serum antibodies) restricts the capability of constructing appropriately defined calibration standards. this fact limits the application of the conservative recovery tests to the validation of immunoassays aimed at determining serum antibody levels. the present report describes a modification of recovery tests that overcomes this impediment. the modified approach ... | 2001 | 11417105 |
| cutaneous anthrax in eastern turkey. | anthrax, caused by the spore-forming bacterium bacillus anthracis, is rarely seen in industrial nations but is common in developing countries. cutaneous anthrax (ca), the most common form of the disease, accounts for 95% of cases and usually develops on exposed sites. this study reviews the clinical and laboratory findings of 21 patients diagnosed with ca during 2 separate epidemics in the van region of turkey. all patients had a history of direct contact with infected cattle. the patients, aged ... | 2001 | 11419020 |
| anthrax: an overview within the indian subcontinent. | | 2001 | 11422531 |
| use of long-range repetitive element polymorphism-pcr to differentiate bacillus anthracis strains. | the genome of bacillus anthracis is extremely monomorphic, and thus individual strains have often proven to be recalcitrant to differentiation at the molecular level. long-range repetitive element polymorphism-pcr (lr rep-pcr) was used to differentiate various b. anthracis strains. a single pcr primer derived from a repetitive dna element was able to amplify variable segments of a bacterial genome as large as 10 kb. we were able to characterize five genetically distinct groups by examining 105 b ... | 2001 | 11425716 |
| cutaneous anthrax in two siblings. | | 2001 | 11450393 |
| cowpox virus in a 12-year-old boy: rapid identification by an orthopoxvirus-specific polymerase chain reaction. | although smallpox was eradicated 20 years ago, other members of the genus orthopoxvirus (opv), such as cowpox virus (cpxv) or monkeypox virus, are still a threat to humans. because human cpxv infection is rare, it is seldom suspected on clinical grounds only. we report a boy who presented with two necrotic ulcers with surrounding erythema. infection with opv was suspected, as antibiotic treatment had not produced improvement and smears were negative for anthrax. an opv was isolated and an opv-sp ... | 2001 | 11453925 |
| palbebral anthrax. | anthrax is a rare infection transmitted to humans from animals or animal products. in cutaneous anthrax it may produce lesions of the eyelids which can lead to cicatricial ectropion. | 2001 | 11456020 |
| detection of anthrax vaccine virulence factors by polymerase chain reaction. | in italy, an attenuated bacillus anthracis strain, named 'carbosap', is used for immunization against ovine and bovine anthrax. analysis on 'carbosap', sterne vaccine strain f34 and pasteur vaccine strain ss104, were performed using primers specific for the sequences, encoding the toxic factors, located on plasmids pxo1 and pxo2 and primers specific for the chromosome. the results obtained from polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assay revealed the presence of both plasmids pxo1 and pxo2 in 'carbosa ... | 2001 | 11457547 |
| anthrax in an infant. | | 2001 | 11463966 |
| enhanced expression of the recombinant lethal factor of bacillus anthracis by fed-batch culture. | high cell density cultivation has been one of the most effective ways to increase cell as well as the product yields. the structural gene for the 90-kda lethal factor (lf) isolated from bacillus anthracis was expressed as fusion protein with 6x histidine residues under the transcriptional regulation of the t5 promoter in escherichia coli. various strategies were tried to scale up the expression of the recombinant lethal factor by bioprocess optimization using fed batch culture technique in a 14 ... | 2001 | 11467855 |
| evaluation of spore extraction and purification methods for selective recovery of viable bacillus anthracis spores. | to investigate methods of improving anthrax spore detection with plet. | 2001 | 11472515 |
| bacillus spore inactivation methods affect detection assays. | detection of biological weapons is a primary concern in force protection, treaty verification, and safeguarding civilian populations against domestic terrorism. one great concern is the detection of bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. assays for detection in the laboratory often employ inactivated preparations of spores or nonpathogenic simulants. this study uses several common biodetection platforms to detect b. anthracis spores that have been inactivated by two methods and comp ... | 2001 | 11472945 |