| evaluation of pathogenic serovars of leptospira interrogans in dairy cattle herds of shahrekord by pcr. | leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease caused by leptospira interrogans. leptospirosis leads to economical losses in dairy farm industry. the objective of this study was to evaluate the pathogenic serovars of leptospira interrogans in dairy cattle herds of shahrekord by pcr. | 2011 | 22347596 |
| helicobacter pylori versus the host: remodeling of the bacterial outer membrane is required for survival in the gastric mucosa. | modification of bacterial surface structures, such as the lipid a portion of lipopolysaccharide (lps), is used by many pathogenic bacteria to help evade the host innate immune response. helicobacter pylori, a gram-negative bacterium capable of chronic colonization of the human stomach, modifies its lipid a by removal of phosphate groups from the 1- and 4'-positions of the lipid a backbone. in this study, we identify the enzyme responsible for dephosphorylation of the lipid a 4'-phosphate group i ... | 2011 | 22216004 |
| detection of leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test in north-east of iran. | to detect leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test (mat) in north-east of iran. | 2011 | 23569764 |
| seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dogs in urban harare and selected rural communities in zimbabwe. | a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate seroprevalence of canine leptospirosis in urban harare and five selected rural communities in zimbabwe and to assess public awareness of the disease. sera from randomly selected dogs were tested for antibodies to the serovars canicola, grippotyphosa, icterohaemorrhagiae and pomona of leptospira interrogans using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. clinical chemistry was performed on all seropositive and selected seronegative sera to screen f ... | 2012 | 23327324 |
| immunoproteomics: the key to discovery of new vaccine antigens against bacterial respiratory infections. | the increase in antibiotic resistance and the shortage of new antimicrobials to prevent difficult bacterial infections underlines the importance of prophylactic therapies to prevent infection by bacterial pathogens. vaccination has reduced the incidence of many serious diseases, including respiratory bacterial infections. however, there are many pathogens for which no vaccine is available and some vaccines are not effective among all age groups or among immunocompromised individuals. immunoprote ... | 2012 | 23305366 |
| comparative seroprevalence of leptospira interrogans in colombian mammals along a climatic gradient. | leptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease with well-established impacts on human health in tropical and subtropical regions. although leptospira spp. are known to readily infect many wildlife species, the understanding of interspecies and climatic variability in patterns of infection in neotropical mammals is limited. to improve the understanding of this interplay, 85 mammals representing 17 species were sampled from four colombian zoos along a climatic gradient. prevalence of the 21 primar ... | 2012 | 23272343 |
| molecular and serological investigation of leptospira and leptospirosis in dogs in japan. | canine leptospirosis, which is caused by infection with pathogenic leptospira species, occurs worldwide, but information regarding the causative leptospira serotypes and genotypes and their effects on virulence in dogs remains limited. monitoring acute leptospirosis in dogs as sentinels can also aid in estimating the risk of human leptospirosis, particularly when the disease is rare, as it currently is in japan. among 283 clinically suspected cases of leptospirosis diagnosed from august 2007 to ... | 2012 | 23264455 |
| annotation of protein domains reveals remarkable conservation in the functional make up of proteomes across superkingdoms. | the functional repertoire of a cell is largely embodied in its proteome, the collection of proteins encoded in the genome of an organism. the molecular functions of proteins are the direct consequence of their structure and structure can be inferred from sequence using hidden markov models of structural recognition. here we analyze the functional annotation of protein domain structures in almost a thousand sequenced genomes, exploring the functional and structural diversity of proteomes. we find ... | 2011 | 24710297 |
| genome-wide gene order distances support clustering the gram-positive bacteria. | initially using 143 genomes, we developed a method for calculating the pair-wise distance between prokaryotic genomes using a monte carlo method to estimate the conservation of gene order. the method was based on repeatedly selecting five or six non-adjacent random orthologs from each of two genomes and determining if the chosen orthologs were in the same order. the raw distances were then corrected for gene order convergence using an adaptation of the jukes-cantor model, as well as using the co ... | 2015 | 25653643 |
| genome-wide gene order distances support clustering the gram-positive bacteria. | initially using 143 genomes, we developed a method for calculating the pair-wise distance between prokaryotic genomes using a monte carlo method to estimate the conservation of gene order. the method was based on repeatedly selecting five or six non-adjacent random orthologs from each of two genomes and determining if the chosen orthologs were in the same order. the raw distances were then corrected for gene order convergence using an adaptation of the jukes-cantor model, as well as using the co ... | 2015 | 25653643 |
| integron diversity in heavy-metal-contaminated mine tailings and inferences about integron evolution. | integrons are horizontal gene transfer (hgt) systems containing elements necessary for site-specific recombination and expression of foreign dna. the overall phylogenetic distribution of integrons and range of genes that can be transferred by integrons are unknown. this report contains an exploration of integrons in an environmental microbial community and an investigation of integron evolution. first, using culture-independent techniques, we explored the diversity of integrons and integron-tran ... | 2004 | 14766601 |
| genomic and biochemical analysis of the diaminopimelate and lysine biosynthesis pathway in verrucomicrobium spinosum: identification and partial characterization of l,l-diaminopimelate aminotransferase and udp-n-acetylmuramoylalanyl-d-glutamyl-2,6-meso-diaminopimelate ligase. | the gram-negative bacterium verrucomicrobium spinosum has attracted interest in recent years following the sequencing and annotation of its genome. comparative genomic analysis of v. spinosum using diaminopimelate/lysine metabolic genes from chlamydia trachomatis suggests that v. spinosum employs the l,l-diaminopimelate aminotransferase (dapl) pathway for diaminopimelate/lysine biosynthesis. the open reading frame corresponding to the putative dapl ortholog was cloned and the recombinant enzyme ... | 2012 | 22783236 |
| the aspergillus fumigatus dihydroxyacid dehydratase ilv3a/ilvc is required for full virulence. | dihydroxyacid dehydratase (dhad) is a key enzyme in the branched-chain amino acid biosynthetic pathway that exists in a variety of organisms, including fungi, plants and bacteria, but not humans. in this study we identified four putative dhad genes from the filamentous fungus aspergillus fumigatus by homology to saccharomyces cerevisiae ilv3. two of these genes, afua_2g14210 and afua_1g03550, initially designated afilv3a and afilv3b for this study, clustered in the same group as s. cerevisiae il ... | 2012 | 23028460 |
| a novel superfamily containing the beta-grasp fold involved in binding diverse soluble ligands. | domains containing the beta-grasp fold are utilized in a great diversity of physiological functions but their role, if any, in soluble or small molecule ligand recognition is poorly studied. | 2007 | 17250770 |
| the gain and loss of chromosomal integron systems in the treponema species. | integron systems are now recognized as important agents of bacterial evolution and are prevalent in most environments. one of the human pathogens known to harbor chromosomal integrons, the treponema spirochetes are the only clade among spirochete species found to carry integrons. with the recent release of many new treponema genomes, we were able to study the distribution of chromosomal integrons in this genus. | 2013 | 23339550 |
| genome signature difference between deinococcus radiodurans and thermus thermophilus. | the extremely radioresistant bacteria of the genus deinococcus and the extremely thermophilic bacteria of the genus thermus belong to a common taxonomic group. considering the distinct living environments of deinococcus and thermus, different genes would have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer after their divergence from a common ancestor. their guanine-cytosine (gc) contents are similar; however, we hypothesized that their genomic signatures would be different. our findings indicate ... | 2012 | 22500246 |
| macrolide resistance conferred by base substitutions in 23s rrna. | | 2001 | 11120937 |
| toll receptors: a central element in innate immune responses. | | 2002 | 11854180 |
| arabidopsis genes encoding mitochondrial type ii nad(p)h dehydrogenases have different evolutionary origin and show distinct responses to light. | in addition to proton-pumping complex i, plant mitochondria contain several type ii nad(p)h dehydrogenases in the electron transport chain. the extra enzymes allow the nonenergy-conserving electron transfer from cytoplasmic and matrix nad(p)h to ubiquinone. we have investigated the type ii nad(p)h dehydrogenase gene families in arabidopsis. this model plant contains two and four genes closely related to potato (solanum tuberosum) genes nda1 and ndb1, respectively. a novel homolog, termed ndc1, w ... | 2003 | 12972666 |
| receptors, mediators, and mechanisms involved in bacterial sepsis and septic shock. | bacterial sepsis and septic shock result from the overproduction of inflammatory mediators as a consequence of the interaction of the immune system with bacteria and bacterial wall constituents in the body. bacterial cell wall constituents such as lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycans, and lipoteichoic acid are particularly responsible for the deleterious effects of bacteria. these constituents interact in the body with a large number of proteins and receptors, and this interaction determines the e ... | 2003 | 12857774 |
| prediction of rna-binding proteins from primary sequence by a support vector machine approach. | elucidation of the interaction of proteins with different molecules is of significance in the understanding of cellular processes. computational methods have been developed for the prediction of protein-protein interactions. but insufficient attention has been paid to the prediction of protein-rna interactions, which play central roles in regulating gene expression and certain rna-mediated enzymatic processes. this work explored the use of a machine learning method, support vector machines (svm) ... | 2004 | 14970381 |
| comparative genomic analyses of the bacterial phosphotransferase system. | we report analyses of 202 fully sequenced genomes for homologues of known protein constituents of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (pts). these included 174 bacterial, 19 archaeal, and 9 eukaryotic genomes. homologues of pts proteins were not identified in archaea or eukaryotes, showing that the horizontal transfer of genes encoding pts proteins has not occurred between the three domains of life. of the 174 bacterial genomes (136 bacterial species) analyzed, ... | 2005 | 16339738 |
| molecular mechanisms of autoimmunity triggered by microbial infection. | autoimmunity can be triggered by microbial infection. in this context, the discovery of toll-like receptors (tlrs) provides new insights and research perspectives. tlrs induce innate and adaptive antimicrobial immune responses upon exposure to common pathogen-associated molecules, including lipopeptides, lipopolysaccharides, and nucleic acids. they also have the potential, however, to trigger autoimmune disease, as has been revealed by an increasing number of experimental reports. this review su ... | 2005 | 16207351 |
| protein subunit interfaces: heterodimers versus homodimers. | protein dimers are either homodimers (complexation of identical monomers) or heterodimers (complexation of non-identical monomers). these dimers are common in catalysis and regulation. however, the molecular principles of protein dimer interactions are difficult to understand mainly due to the geometrical and chemical characteristics of proteins. nonetheless, the principles of protein dimer interactions are often studied using a dataset of 3d structural complexes determined by x-ray crystallogra ... | 2005 | 17597849 |
| protein length in eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteomes. | we analyzed length differences of eukaryotic, bacterial and archaeal proteins in relation to function, conservation and environmental factors. comparing eukaryotes and prokaryotes, we found that the greater length of eukaryotic proteins is pervasive over all functional categories and involves the vast majority of protein families. the magnitude of these differences suggests that the evolution of eukaryotic proteins was influenced by processes of fusion of single-function proteins into extended m ... | 2005 | 15951512 |
| systematic association of genes to phenotypes by genome and literature mining. | one of the major challenges of functional genomics is to unravel the connection between genotype and phenotype. so far no global analysis has attempted to explore those connections in the light of the large phenotypic variability seen in nature. here, we use an unsupervised, systematic approach for associating genes and phenotypic characteristics that combines literature mining with comparative genome analysis. we first mine the medline literature database for terms that reflect phenotypic simil ... | 2005 | 15799710 |
| tickborne meningoencephalitis, first case after 19 years in northeastern germany. | | 2005 | 15834983 |
| coverage of whole proteome by structural genomics observed through protein homology modeling database. | we have been developing famsbase, a protein homology-modeling database of whole orfs predicted from genome sequences. the latest update of famsbase ( http://daisy.nagahama-i-bio.ac.jp/famsbase/ ), which is based on the protein three-dimensional (3d) structures released by november 2003, contains modeled 3d structures for 368,724 open reading frames (orfs) derived from genomes of 276 species, namely 17 archaebacterial, 130 eubacterial, 18 eukaryotic and 111 phage genomes. those 276 genomes are pr ... | 2006 | 17146617 |
| comparative genomics and evolution of the hsp90 family of genes across all kingdoms of organisms. | hsp90 proteins are essential molecular chaperones involved in signal transduction, cell cycle control, stress management, and folding, degradation, and transport of proteins. hsp90 proteins have been found in a variety of organisms suggesting that they are ancient and conserved. in this study we investigate the nuclear genomes of 32 species across all kingdoms of organisms, and all sequences available in genbank, and address the diversity, evolution, gene structure, conservation and nomenclature ... | 2006 | 16780600 |
| a database of bacterial lipoproteins (dolop) with functional assignments to predicted lipoproteins. | lipid modification of the n-terminal cys residue (n-acyl-s-diacylglyceryl-cys) has been found to be an essential, ubiquitous, and unique bacterial posttranslational modification. such a modification allows anchoring of even highly hydrophilic proteins to the membrane which carry out a variety of functions important for bacteria, including pathogenesis. hence, being able to identify such proteins is of great value. to this end, we have created a comprehensive database of bacterial lipoproteins, c ... | 2006 | 16585737 |
| assessing the evolutionary rate of positional orthologous genes in prokaryotes using synteny data. | comparison of completely sequenced microbial genomes has revealed how fluid these genomes are. detecting synteny blocks requires reliable methods to determining the orthologs among the whole set of homologs detected by exhaustive comparisons between each pair of completely sequenced genomes. this is a complex and difficult problem in the field of comparative genomics but will help to better understand the way prokaryotic genomes are evolving. | 2007 | 18047665 |
| transcriptional regulatory network discovery via multiple method integration: application to e. coli k12. | transcriptional regulatory network (trn) discovery from one method (e.g. microarray analysis, gene ontology, phylogenic similarity) does not seem feasible due to lack of sufficient information, resulting in the construction of spurious or incomplete trns. we develop a methodology, trnd, that integrates a preliminary trn, microarray data, gene ontology and phylogenic similarity to accurately discover trns and apply the method to e. coli k12. the approach can easily be extended to include other me ... | 2007 | 17397539 |
| minimum contradiction matrices in whole genome phylogenies. | minimum contradiction matrices are a useful complement to distance-based phylogenies. a minimum contradiction matrix represents phylogenetic information under the form of an ordered distance matrix y(i) (,) (j) (n). a matrix element corresponds to the distance from a reference vertex n to the path (i, j). for an x-tree or a split network, the minimum contradiction matrix is a robinson matrix. it therefore fulfills all the inequalities defining perfect order: y(i) (,) (j) (n) >or= y(i) (,) (k) (n ... | 2008 | 19204821 |
| how can infectious diseases be prioritized in public health? a standardized prioritization scheme for discussion. | | 2008 | 18578019 |
| rapid universal identification of bacterial pathogens from clinical cultures by using a novel sloppy molecular beacon melting temperature signature technique. | a real-time pcr assay with the ability to rapidly identify all pathogenic bacteria would have widespread medical utility. current real-time pcr technologies cannot accomplish this task due to severe limitations in multiplexing ability. to this end, we developed a new assay system which supports very high degrees of multiplexing. we developed a new class of mismatch-tolerant "sloppy" molecular beacons, modified them to provide an extended hybridization range, and developed a multiprobe, multimelt ... | 2009 | 19923485 |
| rapid universal identification of bacterial pathogens from clinical cultures by using a novel sloppy molecular beacon melting temperature signature technique. | a real-time pcr assay with the ability to rapidly identify all pathogenic bacteria would have widespread medical utility. current real-time pcr technologies cannot accomplish this task due to severe limitations in multiplexing ability. to this end, we developed a new assay system which supports very high degrees of multiplexing. we developed a new class of mismatch-tolerant "sloppy" molecular beacons, modified them to provide an extended hybridization range, and developed a multiprobe, multimelt ... | 2009 | 19923485 |
| lateral transfer of genes and gene fragments in prokaryotes. | lateral genetic transfer (lgt) involves the movement of genetic material from one lineage into another and its subsequent incorporation into the new host genome via genetic recombination. studies in individual taxa have indicated lateral origins for stretches of dna of greatly varying length, from a few nucleotides to chromosome size. here we analyze 1,462 sets of single-copy, putatively orthologous genes from 144 fully sequenced prokaryote genomes, asking to what extent complete genes and fragm ... | 2009 | 20333212 |
| infectious causes of stillbirth: a clinical perspective. | untreated infection may cause stillbirth by several mechanisms, including direct fetal infection, placental damage, and severe maternal illness. many bacteria, viruses, and protozoa have been associated with stillbirth. in developed countries, up to 24% of stillbirths have been attributed to infection, although with increased availability of sophisticated diagnostics and rigorous screening, it appears likely that higher numbers may actually be associated with infection. in developed countries, a ... | 2010 | 20661048 |
| complement control protein factor h: the good, the bad, and the inadequate. | the complement system is an essential component of the innate immune system that participates in elimination of pathogens and altered host cells and comprises an essential link between the innate and adaptive immune system. soluble and membrane-bound complement regulators protect cells and tissues from unintended complement-mediated injury. complement factor h is a soluble complement regulator essential for controlling the alternative pathway in blood and on cell surfaces. normal recognition of ... | 2010 | 20580090 |
| the expression and functions of toll-like receptors in atherosclerosis. | inflammation drives atherosclerosis. both immune and resident vascular cell types are involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. the phenotype and function of these cells are key in determining the development of lesions. toll-like receptors are the most characterised innate immune receptors and are responsible for the recognition of exogenous conserved motifs on pathogens, and, potentially, some endogenous molecules. both endogenous and exogenous tlr agonists may be present in athe ... | 2010 | 20652007 |
| infection-related stillbirths. | infection is an important cause of stillbirths worldwide: in low-income and middle-income countries, 50% of stillbirths or more are probably caused by infection. by contrast, in high-income countries only 10-25% of stillbirths are caused by infection. syphilis, where prevalent, causes most infectious stillbirths, and is the infection most amenable to screening and treatment. ascending bacterial infection is a common cause of stillbirths, but prevention has proven elusive. many viral infections c ... | 2010 | 20223514 |
| interaction of human complement factor h variants tyr⁴⁰² and his⁴⁰² with leptospira spp. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by pathogenic bacteria from the genus leptospira. the disease represents a serious public health problem in underdeveloped tropical countries. leptospires infect hosts through small abrasions in the skin or mucous membranes and they rapidly disseminate to target organs. the capacity of some pathogenic leptospiral strains to acquire the negative complement regulators factor h (fh) and c4b binding protein correlates with their ability to survive in human serum. i ... | 2011 | 22566834 |
| a computational study of elongation factor g (efg) duplicated genes: diverged nature underlying the innovation on the same structural template. | elongation factor g (efg) is a core translational protein that catalyzes the elongation and recycling phases of translation. a more complex picture of efg's evolution and function than previously accepted is emerging from analyzes of heterogeneous efg family members. whereas the gene duplication is postulated to be a prominent factor creating functional novelty, the striking divergence between efg paralogs can be interpreted in terms of innovation in gene function. | 2011 | 21829651 |
| chemotactic behavior of pathogenic and nonpathogenic leptospira species. | we have developed a capillary tube assay in combination with real-time pcr to quantitate the number of chemoattracted leptospira cells. we identified tween 80, glucose, sucrose, and pyruvate as attractants for leptospira cells; amino acids and vitamin b(12) were found to be nonchemotactic or weakly chemotactic. this assay has the general applicability to further our understanding of leptospiral chemotaxis. | 2012 | 23001652 |
| unexpected diversity of signal peptides in prokaryotes. | signal peptides are a cornerstone mechanism for cellular protein localization, yet until now experimental determination of signal peptides has come from only a narrow taxonomic sampling. as a result, the dominant view is that sec-cleaved signal peptides in prokaryotes are defined by a canonical axa motif. although other residues are permitted in the motif, alanine is by far the most common. here we broadly examine proteomics data to reveal the signal peptide sequences for 32 bacterial and archae ... | 2012 | 23169999 |
| leptospira interrogans catalase is required for resistance to h2o2 and for virulence. | pathogenic leptospira spp. are likely to encounter higher concentrations of reactive oxygen species induced by the host innate immune response. in this study, we characterized leptospira interrogans catalase (kate), the only annotated catalase found within pathogenic leptospira species, by assessing its role in resistance to h(2)o(2)-induced oxidative stress and during infection in hamsters. pathogenic l. interrogans bacteria had a 50-fold-higher survival rate under h(2)o(2)-induced oxidative st ... | 2012 | 22927050 |
| bacterial plasminogen receptors: mediators of a multifaceted relationship. | multiple species of bacteria are able to sequester the host zymogen plasminogen to the cell surface. once localised to the bacterial surface, plasminogen can act as a cofactor in adhesion, or, following activation to plasmin, provide a source of potent proteolytic activity. numerous bacterial plasminogen receptors have been identified, and the mechanisms by which they interact with plasminogen are diverse. here we provide an overview of bacterial plasminogen receptors and discuss the diverse rol ... | 2012 | 23118502 |
| transforming clinical microbiology with bacterial genome sequencing. | whole-genome sequencing of bacteria has recently emerged as a cost-effective and convenient approach for addressing many microbiological questions. here, we review the current status of clinical microbiology and how it has already begun to be transformed by using next-generation sequencing. we focus on three essential tasks: identifying the species of an isolate, testing its properties, such as resistance to antibiotics and virulence, and monitoring the emergence and spread of bacterial pathogen ... | 2012 | 22868263 |
| meta-analysis of general bacterial subclades in whole-genome phylogenies using tree topology profiling. | in the last two decades, a large number of whole-genome phylogenies have been inferred to reconstruct the tree of life (tol). underlying data models range from gene or functionality content in species to phylogenetic gene family trees and multiple sequence alignments of concatenated protein sequences. diversity in data models together with the use of different tree reconstruction techniques, disruptive biological effects and the steadily increasing number of genomes have led to a huge diversity ... | 2012 | 22915837 |
| flaa proteins in leptospira interrogans are essential for motility and virulence but are not required for formation of the flagellum sheath. | spirochetes have periplasmic flagella composed of a core surrounded by a sheath. the pathogen leptospira interrogans has four flab (proposed core subunit) and two flaa (proposed sheath subunit) genes. the flaa genes are organized in a locus with flaa2 immediately upstream of flaa1. in this study, flaa1 and flaa2 mutants were constructed by transposon mutagenesis. both mutants still produced periplasmic flagella. the flaa1 mutant did not produce flaa1 but continued to produce flaa2 and retained n ... | 2012 | 22451522 |
| predicting antigenicity of proteins in a bacterial proteome; a protein microarray and naïve bayes classification approach. | discovery of novel antigens associated with infectious diseases is fundamental to the development of serodiagnostic tests and protein subunit vaccines against existing and emerging pathogens. efforts to predict antigenicity have relied on a few computational algorithms predicting signal peptide sequences (signalp), transmembrane domains, or subcellular localization (psort). an empirical protein microarray approach was developed to scan the entire proteome of any infectious microorganism and empi ... | 2012 | 22589097 |
| comparing the similarity of different groups of bacteria to the human proteome. | numerous aspects of the relationship between bacteria and human have been investigated. one aspect that has recently received attention is sequence overlap at the proteomic level. however, there has not yet been a study that comprehensively characterizes the level of sequence overlap between bacteria and human, especially as it relates to bacterial characteristics like pathogenicity, g-c content, and proteome size. in this study, we began by performing a general characterization of the range of ... | 2012 | 22558081 |
| identification of novel dna-binding proteins using dna-affinity chromatography/pull down. | this units presents methods through which one may isolate and identify novel bacterial dna-binding proteins. briefly, the dna sequence of interest is affixed to beads, and then incubated with bacterial cytoplasmic extract. washes with buffers containing nonspecific dna and low-salt concentrations will remove non-adhering and low-specificity dna-binding proteins, while subsequent washes with higher salt concentrations will elute more specific dna-binding proteins. eluted proteins may then be iden ... | 2012 | 22307548 |
| serum antibodies to whole-cell and recombinant antigens of borrelia burgdorferi in cottontail rabbits. | archived serum samples, from 95 eastern cottontail rabbits (sylvilagus floridanus) captured in new york, new york, usa and millbrook, new york, usa, during 1985-86, were analyzed in solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (elisa) for total and class-specific immunoglobulin (ig) m antibodies to whole-cell or recombinant antigens of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. using a polyvalent conjugate, rabbit sera contained antibodies to whole-cell and recombinant antigens (protein [p]35, p37, o ... | 2012 | 22247369 |
| impact of crispr immunity on the emergence and virulence of bacterial pathogens. | crispr-cas systems protect prokaryotes from viruses and plasmids and function primarily as an adaptive immune system in these organisms. recent discoveries, however, revealed unexpected roles for crispr loci as barriers to horizontal gene transfer and as modulators of gene expression. we review how both of these functions of crispr-cas systems can affect the emergence and virulence of human bacterial pathogens. | 2013 | 24581697 |
| impact of crispr immunity on the emergence and virulence of bacterial pathogens. | crispr-cas systems protect prokaryotes from viruses and plasmids and function primarily as an adaptive immune system in these organisms. recent discoveries, however, revealed unexpected roles for crispr loci as barriers to horizontal gene transfer and as modulators of gene expression. we review how both of these functions of crispr-cas systems can affect the emergence and virulence of human bacterial pathogens. | 2013 | 24581697 |
| a multi-part matching strategy for mapping loinc with laboratory terminologies. | to address the problem of mapping local laboratory terminologies to logical observation identifiers names and codes (loinc). to study different ontology matching algorithms and investigate how the probability of term combinations in loinc helps to increase match quality and reduce manual effort. | 2013 | 24363318 |
| a multi-part matching strategy for mapping loinc with laboratory terminologies. | to address the problem of mapping local laboratory terminologies to logical observation identifiers names and codes (loinc). to study different ontology matching algorithms and investigate how the probability of term combinations in loinc helps to increase match quality and reduce manual effort. | 2013 | 24363318 |
| role for cis-acting rna sequences in the temperature-dependent expression of the multiadhesive lig proteins in leptospira interrogans. | the spirochete leptospira interrogans causes a systemic infection that provokes a febrile illness. the putative lipoproteins liga and ligb promote adhesion of leptospira to host proteins, interfere with coagulation, and capture complement regulators. in this study, we demonstrate that the expression level of the liga and ligb proteins was substantially higher when l. interrogans proliferated at 37°c instead of the standard culture temperature of 30°c. the rna comprising the 175-nucleotide 5' unt ... | 2013 | 24013626 |
| leptospira interrogans enolase is secreted extracellularly and interacts with plasminogen. | leptospira interrogans is the agent for leptospirosis, an important zoonosis in humans and animals across the globe. surface proteins of invading pathogens, such as l. interrogans, are thought to be responsible for successful microbial persistence in vivo via interaction with specific host components. in particular, a number of invasive infectious agents exploit host proteolytic pathways, such as one involving plasminogen (pg), which aid in efficient pathogen dissemination within the host. here ... | 2013 | 24205133 |
| leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni harbors two lexa genes involved in sos response. | bacteria activate a regulatory network in response to the challenges imposed by dna damage to genetic material, known as the sos response. this system is regulated by the reca recombinase and by the transcriptional repressor lexa. leptospira interrogans is a pathogen capable of surviving in the environment for weeks, being exposed to a great variety of stress agents and yet retaining its ability to infect the host. this study aims to investigate the behavior of l. interrogans serovar copenhageni ... | 2013 | 24098496 |
| diagnostic ophthalmology. anterior uveitis of the right eye. | | 2013 | 24155500 |
| cell extract-containing medium for culture of intracellular fastidious bacteria. | the culture of fastidious microorganisms is a critical step in infectious disease studies. as a proof-of-concept experiment, we evaluated an empirical medium containing eukaryotic cell extracts for its ability to support the growth of coxiella burnetii. here, we demonstrate the exponential growth of several bacterial strains, including the c. burnetii nine mile phase i and phase ii strains, and c. burnetii isolates from humans and animals. low-oxygen-tension conditions and the presence of small ... | 2013 | 23740722 |
| leptospiral outer membrane protein lipl41 is not essential for acute leptospirosis but requires a small chaperone protein, lep, for stable expression. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by pathogenic leptospira spp., but knowledge of leptospiral pathogenesis remains limited. however, the development of mutagenesis systems has allowed the investigation of putative virulence factors and their involvement in leptospirosis. lipl41 is the third most abundant lipoprotein found in the outer membranes of pathogenic leptospires and has been considered a putative virulence factor. lipl41 is encoded on the large chromosome 28 bp upstream of a s ... | 2013 | 23690405 |
| a phylogenomic and molecular signature based approach for characterization of the phylum spirochaetes and its major clades: proposal for a taxonomic revision of the phylum. | the spirochaetes species cause many important diseases including syphilis and lyme disease. except for their containing a distinctive endoflagella, no other molecular or biochemical characteristics are presently known that are specific for either all spirochaetes or its different families. we report detailed comparative and phylogenomic analyses of protein sequences from spirochaetes genomes to understand their evolutionary relationships and to identify molecular signatures for this group. these ... | 2013 | 23908650 |
| identification of novel adhesins of m. tuberculosis h37rv using integrated approach of multiple computational algorithms and experimental analysis. | pathogenic bacteria interacting with eukaryotic host express adhesins on their surface. these adhesins aid in bacterial attachment to the host cell receptors during colonization. a few adhesins such as heparin binding hemagglutinin adhesin (hbha), apa, malate synthase of m. tuberculosis have been identified using specific experimental interaction models based on the biological knowledge of the pathogen. in the present work, we carried out computational screening for adhesins of m. tuberculosis. ... | 2013 | 23922800 |
| bba70 of borrelia burgdorferi is a novel plasminogen-binding protein. | the lyme disease spirochete borrelia burgdorferi lacks endogenous, surface-exposed proteases. in order to efficiently disseminate throughout the host and penetrate tissue barriers, borreliae rely on recruitment of host proteases, such as plasmin(ogen). here we report the identification of a novel plasminogen-binding protein, bba70. binding of plasminogen is dose-dependent and is affected by ionic strength. the bba70-plasminogen interaction is mediated by lysine residues, primarily located in a p ... | 2013 | 23861404 |
| aggregate-reactivation activity of the molecular chaperone clpb from ehrlichia chaffeensis. | rickettsiale diseases, including human monocytic ehrlichiosis caused by ehrlichia chaffeensis, are the second leading cause of the tick-borne infections in the usa and a growing health concern. little is known about how e. chaffeensis survives the host-induced stress in vertebrate and tick hosts. a molecular chaperone clpb from several microorganisms has been reported to reactivate aggregated proteins in cooperation with the co-chaperones dnak/dnaj/grpe (kje). in this study, we performed the fir ... | 2013 | 23667479 |
| interaction of leptospira interrogans with human proteolytic systems enhances dissemination through endothelial cells and protease levels. | we have recently reported the ability of leptospira to capture plasminogen (plg) and generate plasmin (pla) bound on the microbial surface in the presence of exogenous activators. in this work, we examined the effects of leptospiral plg binding for active penetration through the endothelial cell barrier and activation. the results indicate that leptospires with plg association or pla activation have enhanced migration activity through human umbilical vein endothelial cell (huvec) monolayers comp ... | 2013 | 23478319 |
| development of immunochromatography-based methods for detection of leptospiral lipopolysaccharide antigen in urine. | leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by the spirochete bacteria leptospira spp. and is commonly found throughout the world. diagnosis of leptospirosis performed by culture and microscopic agglutination tests is laborious and time-consuming. therefore, we aimed to develop a novel immunochromatography (icg)-based method for detecting leptospira antigen in the urine of patients and animals. we used the 1h6 monoclonal antibody (mab), which is specific to the lipopolysaccharide (lps) that is ... | 2013 | 23467776 |
| the htra protease of borrelia burgdorferi degrades outer membrane protein bmpd and chemotaxis phosphatase chex. | borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochaetal agent of lyme disease, codes for a single htra protein, htrabb (bb0104) that is homologous to degp of escherichia coli (41% amino acid identity). htrabb shows physical and biochemical similarities to degp in that it has the trimer as its fundamental unit and can degrade casein via its catalytic serine. recombinant htrabb exhibits proteolytic activity in vitro, while a mutant (htrabbs198a) does not. however, htrabb and degp have some important differences as ... | 2013 | 23565798 |
| structure and activity of the flagellar rotor protein fliy: a member of the chec phosphatase family. | fliy is a flagellar rotor protein of the chec phosphatase family. | 2013 | 23532838 |
| lipl32 is a subsurface lipoprotein of leptospira interrogans: presentation of new data and reevaluation of previous studies. | the agents of leptospirosis, a zoonosis with worldwide distribution, are pathogenic spirochetes belonging to the genus leptospira. the leptospiral life cycle involves transmission via fresh water and colonization of the renal tubules of their reservoir hosts. infection of accidental hosts, including humans, may result in life-threatening sequelae. bacterial outer membrane proteins (omps), particularly those with surface-exposed regions, play crucial roles in pathogen virulence mechanisms and ada ... | 2013 | 23323152 |
| assessment of real-time pcr assay for detection of rickettsia spp. and rickettsia rickettsii in banked clinical samples. | two novel real-time pcr assays were developed for the detection of rickettsia spp. one assay detects all tested rickettsia spp.; the other is specific for rickettsia rickettsii. evaluation using dna from human blood and tissue samples showed both assays to be more sensitive than nested pcr assays currently in use at the cdc. | 2013 | 23135935 |
| pathogenic leptospira species acquire factor h and vitronectin via the surface protein lcpa. | upon infection, pathogenic leptospira species bind several complement regulators in order to overcome host innate immunity. we previously characterized a 20-kda leptospiral surface protein which interacts with c4b binding protein (c4bp): leptospiral complement regulator-acquiring protein a (lcpa). here we show that lcpa also interacts with human factor h (fh), which remains functionally active once bound to the protein. antibodies directed against short consensus repeat 20 (scr20) inhibited bind ... | 2014 | 25534939 |
| pathogenic leptospira species acquire factor h and vitronectin via the surface protein lcpa. | upon infection, pathogenic leptospira species bind several complement regulators in order to overcome host innate immunity. we previously characterized a 20-kda leptospiral surface protein which interacts with c4b binding protein (c4bp): leptospiral complement regulator-acquiring protein a (lcpa). here we show that lcpa also interacts with human factor h (fh), which remains functionally active once bound to the protein. antibodies directed against short consensus repeat 20 (scr20) inhibited bind ... | 2014 | 25534939 |
| thermal control of virulence factors in bacteria: a hot topic. | pathogenic bacteria sense environmental cues, including the local temperature, to control the production of key virulence factors. thermal regulation can be achieved at the level of dna, rna or protein and although many virulence factors are subject to thermal regulation, the exact mechanisms of control are yet to be elucidated in many instances. understanding how virulence factors are regulated by temperature presents a significant challenge, as gene expression and protein production are often ... | 2014 | 25494856 |
| chagas' disease: an emergent urban zoonosis. the caracas valley (venezuela) as an epidemiological model. | the unprecedented emergence of important public health and veterinary zoonoses is usually a result of exponential population growth and globalization of human activities. i characterized chagas' disease as an emergent zoonosis in the caracas valley (venezuela) due to the following findings: the presence of reservoirs (didelphis marsupialis, rattus rattus) and vectors (panstrongylus geniculatus, panstrongylus rufotuberculatus) infected with trypanosoma cruzi in urbanized or marginalized areas; th ... | 2014 | 25520950 |
| pathogenic landscape of transboundary zoonotic diseases in the mexico-us border along the rio grande. | transboundary zoonotic diseases, several of which are vector borne, can maintain a dynamic focus and have pathogens circulating in geographic regions encircling multiple geopolitical boundaries. global change is intensifying transboundary problems, including the spatial variation of the risk and incidence of zoonotic diseases. the complexity of these challenges can be greater in areas where rivers delineate international boundaries and encompass transitions between ecozones. the rio grande serve ... | 2014 | 25453027 |
| sensitive real-time pcr detection of pathogenic leptospira spp. and a comparison of nucleic acid amplification methods for the diagnosis of leptospirosis. | bacteria of the genus leptospira, the causative agents of leptospirosis, are categorized into pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. however, the benefit of using a clinical diagnostic that is specific for pathogenic species remains unclear. in this study, we present the development of a real-time pcr (rtpcr) for the detection of pathogenic leptospira (the pathogenic rtpcr), and we perform a comparison of the pathogenic rtpcr with a published assay that detects all leptospira species [the undiff ... | 2014 | 25379890 |
| pasteurella pneumotropica evades the human complement system by acquisition of the complement regulators factor h and c4bp. | pasteurella pneumotropica is an opportunist gram negative bacterium responsible for rodent pasteurellosis that affects upper respiratory, reproductive and digestive tracts of mammals. in animal care facilities the presence of p. pneumotropica causes severe to lethal infection in immunodeficient mice, being also a potential source for human contamination. indeed, occupational exposure is one of the main causes of human infection by p. pneumotropica. the clinical presentation of the disease includ ... | 2014 | 25347183 |
| a strange lupus-like malar rash with renal involvement: an angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma - a case report. | cutaneous malar rash and kidney involvement has not previously been reported as presenting symptoms of an angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma (aitl). we report a case of a woman with erythematous rash. a pet-ct revealed a lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. an inguinal lymph node biopsy showed an aitl. there was clinical improvement after prednisone. | 2014 | 25678974 |
| a strange lupus-like malar rash with renal involvement: an angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma - a case report. | cutaneous malar rash and kidney involvement has not previously been reported as presenting symptoms of an angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma (aitl). we report a case of a woman with erythematous rash. a pet-ct revealed a lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. an inguinal lymph node biopsy showed an aitl. there was clinical improvement after prednisone. | 2014 | 25678974 |
| identification of cell-binding adhesins of leptospira interrogans. | leptospirosis is a globally distributed bacterial infectious disease caused by pathogenic members of the genus leptospira. infection can lead to illness ranging from mild and non-specific to severe, with jaundice, kidney and liver dysfunction, and widespread endothelial damage. the adhesion of pathogenic leptospira species (spp.), the causative agent of leptospirosis, to host tissue components is necessary for infection and pathogenesis. while it is well-established that extracellular matrix (ec ... | 2014 | 25275630 |
| liver involvement in systemic infection. | the liver is often involved in systemic infections, resulting in various types of abnormal liver function test results. in particular, hyperbilirubinemia in the range of 2-10 mg/dl is often seen in patients with sepsis, and several mechanisms for this phenomenon have been proposed. in this review, we summarize how the liver is involved in various systemic infections that are not considered to be primarily hepatotropic. in most patients with systemic infections, treatment for the invading microbe ... | 2014 | 25276279 |
| evolution of the f0f1 atp synthase complex in light of the patchy distribution of different bioenergetic pathways across prokaryotes. | bacteria and archaea are characterized by an amazing metabolic diversity, which allows them to persist in diverse and often extreme habitats. apart from oxygenic photosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation, well-studied processes from chloroplasts and mitochondria of plants and animals, prokaryotes utilize various chemo- or lithotrophic modes, such as anoxygenic photosynthesis, iron oxidation and reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. most bioenergetic pathways have a similar general ... | 2014 | 25188293 |
| microbe-specific unconventional t cells induce human neutrophil differentiation into antigen cross-presenting cells. | the early immune response to microbes is dominated by the recruitment of neutrophils whose primary function is to clear invading pathogens. however, there is emerging evidence that neutrophils play additional effector and regulatory roles. the present study demonstrates that human neutrophils assume ag cross-presenting functions and suggests a plausible scenario for the local generation of apc-like neutrophils through the mobilization of unconventional t cells in response to microbial metabolite ... | 2014 | 25165152 |
| the cross-talk between spirochetal lipoproteins and immunity. | spirochetal diseases such as syphilis, lyme disease, and leptospirosis are major threats to public health. however, the immunopathogenesis of these diseases has not been fully elucidated. spirochetes interact with the host through various structural components such as lipopolysaccharides (lps), surface lipoproteins, and glycolipids. although spirochetal antigens such as lps and glycolipids may contribute to the inflammatory response during spirochetal infections, spirochetes such as treponema pa ... | 2014 | 25071771 |
| adult-onset still's disease presenting as myopericarditis. | a 24-year-old man presented to the emergency department with fever, maculopapular rash, myalgia and polyarthralgia, thoracic pain and dry cough, which had been present for 24 h. at the time of observation he had high fever (39°c), maculopapular rash on the torso, arms and legs proximally, axillary adenopathies and pharyngitis. laboratorial data showed elevated inflammation markers (leukocytosis, c reactive protein of 44 mg/dl, erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 120 mm), elevated transaminases, la ... | 2014 | 24898998 |
| a putative regulatory genetic locus modulates virulence in the pathogen leptospira interrogans. | limited research has been conducted on the role of transcriptional regulators in relation to virulence in leptospira interrogans, the etiological agent of leptospirosis. here, we identify an l. interrogans locus that encodes a sensor protein, an anti-sigma factor antagonist, and two genes encoding proteins of unknown function. transposon insertion into the gene encoding the sensor protein led to dampened transcription of the other 3 genes in this locus. this lb139 insertion mutant (the lb139(-) ... | 2014 | 24686063 |
| development of a recombinase polymerase amplification assay for the detection of pathogenic leptospira. | detection of leptospires based on dna amplification techniques is essential for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis when anti-leptospira antibodies are below the detection limit of most serological tests. in middle and low income countries where leptospirosis is endemic, routine implementation of real-time pcr is financially and technically challenging due to the requirement of expensive thermocycler equipment. in this study we report the development and evaluation of a novel isothermal recombi ... | 2014 | 24814943 |
| abstracts from the 37th annual meeting of the society of general internal medicine, 2014, san diego, ca, usa. | | 2014 | 24737224 |
| molecular architecture of the bacterial flagellar motor in cells. | the flagellum is one of the most sophisticated self-assembling molecular machines in bacteria. powered by the proton-motive force, the flagellum rapidly rotates in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction, which ultimately controls bacterial motility and behavior. escherichia coli and salmonella enterica have served as important model systems for extensive genetic, biochemical, and structural analysis of the flagellum, providing unparalleled insights into its structure, function, and gen ... | 2014 | 24697492 |
| a model system for studying the transcriptomic and physiological changes associated with mammalian host-adaptation by leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni. | leptospirosis, an emerging zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, is caused by spirochetes belonging to the genus leptospira. more than 500,000 cases of severe leptospirosis are reported annually, with >10% of these being fatal. leptospires can survive for weeks in suitably moist conditions before encountering a new host. reservoir hosts, typically rodents, exhibit little to no signs of disease but shed large numbers of organisms in their urine. transmission occurs when mucosal surfaces o ... | 2014 | 24626166 |
| b-cell-specific peptides of leptospira interrogans liga for diagnosis of patients with acute leptospirosis. | leptospirosis is a reemerging infectious disease that is underdiagnosed and under-recognized due to low-sensitivity and cumbersome serological tests. rapid reliable alternative tests are needed for early diagnosis of the disease. considering the importance of the pathogenesis-associated leptospiral liga protein expressed in vivo, we have evaluated its application in the diagnosis of the acute form of leptospirosis. the c-terminal coding sequence of liga (liga-c) was cloned into pet15b and expres ... | 2014 | 24403522 |
| identification of borrelia species after creation of an in-house maldi-tof ms database. | lyme borreliosis (lb) is a multisystemic disease caused by borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) complex transmitted to humans by ixodes ticks. b. burgdorferi sl complex, currently comprising at least 19 genospecies, includes the main pathogenic species responsible for human disease in europe: b. burgdorferi sensu stricto (ss), b. afzelii, and b. garinii. in this study, for the first time, maldi-tof ms was applied to borrelia spp., supplementing the existing database, limited to the species b. bu ... | 2014 | 24533160 |
| oral immunization with escherichia coli expressing a lipidated form of liga protects hamsters against challenge with leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni. | leptospirosis is a potentially fatal zoonosis transmitted by reservoir host animals that harbor leptospires in their renal tubules and shed the bacteria in their urine. leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni transmitted from rattus norvegicus to humans is the most prevalent cause of urban leptospirosis. we examined l. interrogans liga, domains 7 to 13 (liga7-13), as an oral vaccine delivered by escherichia coli as a lipidated, membrane-associated protein. the efficacy of the vaccine was eval ... | 2014 | 24478102 |
| the multifunctional role of the pallilysin-associated treponema pallidum protein, tp0750, in promoting fibrinolysis and extracellular matrix component degradation. | the mechanisms that facilitate dissemination of the highly invasive spirochaete, treponema pallidum, are incompletely understood. previous studies showed the treponemal metalloprotease pallilysin (tp0751) possesses fibrin clot degradation capability, suggesting a role in treponemal dissemination. in the current study we report characterization of the functionally linked protein tp0750. structural modelling predicts tp0750 contains a von willebrand factor type a (vwfa) domain, a protein-protein i ... | 2014 | 24303899 |
| pyruvate protects pathogenic spirochetes from h2o2 killing. | pathogenic spirochetes cause clinically relevant diseases in humans and animals, such as lyme disease and leptospirosis. the causative agent of lyme disease, borrelia burgdorferi, and the causative agent of leptospirosis, leptospria interrogans, encounter reactive oxygen species (ros) during their enzootic cycles. this report demonstrated that physiologically relevant concentrations of pyruvate, a potent h2o2 scavenger, and provided passive protection to b. burgdorferi and l. interrogans against ... | 2014 | 24392147 |
| evaluation of the leptospira interrogans outer membrane protein ompl37 as a vaccine candidate. | the identification of potential vaccine candidates against leptospirosis remains a challenge. however, one such candidate is ompl37, a potentially surface-exposed antigen that has the highest elastin-binding ability described to date, suggesting that it plays an important role in host colonization. in order to evaluate ompl37's ability to induce a protective immune response, prime-boost, dna and subunit vaccine strategies were tested in the hamster model of lethal leptospirosis. the humoral immu ... | 2015 | 26588685 |