| phosphate groups of lipid a are essential for salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium virulence and affect innate and adaptive immunity. | lipid a is a key component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and stimulates proinflammatory responses via the toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4)-md2-cd14 pathway. its endotoxic activity depends on the number and length of acyl chains and its phosphorylation state. in salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium, removal of the secondary laurate or myristate chain in lipid a results in bacterial attenuation and growth defects in vitro. however, the roles of the two lipid a phosphate groups in b ... | 2012 | 22753374 |
| comparative genomics analysis of mycobacterium ulcerans for the identification of putative essential genes and therapeutic candidates. | mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of buruli ulcer, is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy. the present treatment options are limited and emergence of treatment resistant isolates represents a serious concern and a need for better therapeutics. conventional drug discovery methods are time consuming and labor-intensive. unfortunately, the slow growing nature of m. ulcerans in experimental conditions is also a barrier for drug discovery and developme ... | 2012 | 22912793 |
| extreme water-related weather events and waterborne disease. | global climate change is expected to affect the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme water-related weather events such as excessive precipitation, floods, and drought. we conducted a systematic review to examine waterborne outbreaks following such events and explored their distribution between the different types of extreme water-related weather events. four medical and meteorological databases (medline, embase, georef, pubmed) and a global electronic reporting system (promed) were searc ... | 2012 | 22877498 |
| extreme water-related weather events and waterborne disease. | global climate change is expected to affect the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme water-related weather events such as excessive precipitation, floods, and drought. we conducted a systematic review to examine waterborne outbreaks following such events and explored their distribution between the different types of extreme water-related weather events. four medical and meteorological databases (medline, embase, georef, pubmed) and a global electronic reporting system (promed) were searc ... | 2012 | 22877498 |
| expression of sialic acids and other nonulosonic acids in leptospira. | sialic acids are negatively charged nine carbon backbone sugars expressed on mammalian cell surfaces. sialic acids are part of a larger family of nonulosonic acid (nulo) molecules that includes pseudaminic and legionaminic acids. microbial expression of sialic acids and other nonulosonic acids has been shown to contribute to host-microbe interactions in a variety of contexts, including participation in colonization, immune subversion, and behaviors such as biofilm formation, autoagglutination an ... | 2012 | 22853805 |
| stable isotope peptide mass spectrometry to decipher amino acid metabolism in dehalococcoides strain cbdb1. | dehalococcoides species are key players in the anaerobic transformation of halogenated solvents at contaminated sites. here, we analyze isotopologue distributions in amino acid pools from peptides of dehalococcoides strain cbdb1 after incubation with (13)c-labeled acetate or bicarbonate as a carbon source. the resulting data were interpreted with regard to genome annotations to identify amino acid biosynthesis pathways. in addition to using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms) for analyz ... | 2012 | 22661690 |
| similarities in leptospira serogroup and species distribution in animals and humans in the indian ocean island of mayotte. | our objective was to identify local animal reservoirs of leptospirosis to explain the unusual features of leptospira strains recently described among patients on the island of mayotte. by means of a microscopic agglutination test using local clinical isolates, we found that 11.2% of black rats were seropositive to leptospira, whereas 10.2% of flying foxes, 2% of lemurs, 93.1% of domestic dogs, and 87.5% of stray dogs were seropositive. as observed in humans, mini was the main serogroup circulati ... | 2012 | 22764304 |
| the effect of iron limitation on the transcriptome and proteome of pseudomonas fluorescens pf-5. | one of the most important micronutrients for bacterial growth is iron, whose bioavailability in soil is limited. consequently, rhizospheric bacteria such as pseudomonas fluorescens employ a range of mechanisms to acquire or compete for iron. we investigated the transcriptomic and proteomic effects of iron limitation on p. fluorescens pf-5 by employing microarray and itraq techniques, respectively. analysis of this data revealed that genes encoding functions related to iron homeostasis, including ... | 2012 | 22723948 |
| improved adhesive properties of recombinant bifidobacteria expressing the bifidobacterium bifidum-specific lipoprotein bopa. | bifidobacteria belong to one of the predominant bacterial groups in the intestinal microbiota of infants and adults. several beneficial effects on the health status of their human hosts have been demonstrated making bifidobacteria interesting candidates for probiotic applications. adhesion of probiotics to the intestinal epithelium is discussed as a prerequisite for colonisation of and persistence in the gastrointestinal tract. | 2012 | 22694891 |
| abc1k atypical kinases in plants: filling the organellar kinase void. | surprisingly few protein kinases have been demonstrated in chloroplasts or mitochondria. here, we discuss the activity of bc(1) complex kinase (abc1k) protein family, which we suggest locate in mitochondria and plastids, thus filling the kinase void. the abc1ks are atypical protein kinases and their ancestral function is the regulation of quinone synthesis. abc1ks have proliferated from one or two members in non-photosynthetic organisms to more than 16 members in algae and higher plants. in this ... | 2012 | 22694836 |
| diagnosis of canine leptospirosis using an immunomagnetic separation-pcr method. | diagnosis of leptospirosis by pcr is hampered due to the presence of substances on biological fluids. here, we report an immunomagnetic separation step prior to pcr which improved the detection of leptospira spp. in blood and urine samples from dogs. it resulted in a significant improvement on sensitivity for diagnosis of canine leptospirosis. | 2012 | 24031870 |
| identification of a novel francisella tularensis factor required for intramacrophage survival and subversion of innate immune response. | francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, is one of the deadliest agents of biological warfare and bioterrorism. extremely high virulence of this bacterium is associated with its ability to dampen or subvert host innate immune response. the objectives of this study were to identify factors and understand the mechanisms of host innate immune evasion by f. tularensis. we identified and explored the pathogenic role of a mutant interrupted at gene locus ftl_0325, which encodes an omp ... | 2012 | 22654100 |
| leptospirosis in american samoa--estimating and mapping risk using environmental data. | the recent emergence of leptospirosis has been linked to many environmental drivers of disease transmission. accurate epidemiological data are lacking because of under-diagnosis, poor laboratory capacity, and inadequate surveillance. predictive risk maps have been produced for many diseases to identify high-risk areas for infection and guide allocation of public health resources, and are particularly useful where disease surveillance is poor. to date, no predictive risk maps have been produced f ... | 2012 | 22666516 |
| activity and crystal structure of arabidopsis thaliana udp-n-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase. | the udp-n-acetylglucosamine (udp-glcnac) acyltransferase, encoded by lpxa, catalyzes the first step of lipid a biosynthesis in gram-negative bacteria, the (r)-3-hydroxyacyl-acp-dependent acylation of the 3-oh group of udp-glcnac. recently, we demonstrated that the arabidopsis thaliana orthologs of six enzymes of the bacterial lipid a pathway produce lipid a precursors with structures similar to those of escherichia coli lipid a precursors [li, c., et al. (2011) proc. natl. acad. sci. u.s.a. 108, ... | 2012 | 22545860 |
| structure, function and inhibition of the two- and three-domain 4fe-4s ispg proteins. | ispg is a 4fe4s protein involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis. most bacterial ispgs contain two domains: a tim barrel (a) and a 4fe4s domain (b), but in plants and malaria parasites, there is a large insert domain (a*) whose structure and function are unknown. we show that bacterial ispgs function in solution as (ab)(2) dimers and that mutations in either both a or both b domains block activity. chimeras harboring an a-mutation in one chain and a b-mutation in the other have 50% of the activity se ... | 2012 | 22586085 |
| the major facilitator superfamily (mfs) revisited. | the major facilitator superfamily (mfs) is the largest known superfamily of secondary carriers found in the biosphere. it is ubiquitously distributed throughout virtually all currently recognized organismal phyla. this superfamily currently (2012) consists of 74 families, each of which is usually concerned with the transport of a certain type of substrate. many of these families, defined phylogenetically, do not include even a single member that is functionally characterized. in this article, we ... | 2012 | 22458847 |
| commentary. | | 2012 | 22865993 |
| protection against lethal leptospirosis after vaccination with lipl32 coupled or coadministered with the b subunit of escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin. | leptospirosis, a worldwide zoonosis, lacks an effective, safe, and cross-protective vaccine. lipl32, the most abundant, immunogenic, and conserved surface lipoprotein present in all pathogenic species of leptospira, is a promising antigen candidate for a recombinant vaccine. however, several studies have reported a lack of protection when this protein is used as a subunit vaccine. in an attempt to enhance the immune response, we used lipl32 coupled to or coadministered with the b subunit of the ... | 2012 | 22379066 |
| seroprevalence of leptospira hardjo in the irish suckler cattle population. | prior to the present study, the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in irish suckler herds was unknown. in this study, we describe the herd and animal-level prevalence of leptospira hardjo infection in the irish suckler cattle population. for the purposes of the study, the 26 counties of the republic of ireland were divided into 6 regions from which a representative number of herds were selected. a herd was considered eligible for sampling if it was not vaccinating against leptospirosis and if it co ... | 2012 | 22546216 |
| predicting the outer membrane proteome of pasteurella multocida based on consensus prediction enhanced by results integration and manual confirmation. | outer membrane proteins (omps) of pasteurella multocida have various functions related to virulence and pathogenesis and represent important targets for vaccine development. various bioinformatic algorithms can predict outer membrane localization and discriminate omps by structure or function. the designation of a confident prediction framework by integrating different predictors followed by consensus prediction, results integration and manual confirmation will improve the prediction of the oute ... | 2012 | 22540951 |
| group a streptococcus secreted esterase hydrolyzes platelet-activating factor to impede neutrophil recruitment and facilitate innate immune evasion. | the innate immune system is the first line of host defense against invading organisms. thus, pathogens have developed virulence mechanisms to evade the innate immune system. here, we report a novel means for inhibition of neutrophil recruitment by group a streptococcus (gas). deletion of the secreted esterase gene (designated sse) in m1t1 gas strains with (mgas5005) and without (mgas2221) a null covs mutation enhances neutrophil ingress to infection sites in the skin of mice. in trans expression ... | 2012 | 22496650 |
| using irt, a normalized retention time for more targeted measurement of peptides. | multiple reaction monitoring (mrm) has recently become the method of choice for targeted quantitative measurement of proteins using mass spectrometry. the method, however, is limited in the number of peptides that can be measured in one run. this number can be markedly increased by scheduling the acquisition if the accurate retention time (rt) of each peptide is known. here we present irt, an empirically derived dimensionless peptide-specific value that allows for highly accurate rt prediction. ... | 2012 | 22577012 |
| an assessment of current bioinformatic solutions for analyzing lc-ms data acquired by selected reaction monitoring technology. | selected reaction monitoring (srm) is an accurate quantitative technique, typically used for small-molecule mass spectrometry (ms). srm has emerged as an important technique for targeted and hypothesis-driven proteomic research, and is becoming the reference method for protein quantification in complex biological samples. srm offers high selectivity, a lower limit of detection and improved reproducibility, compared to conventional shot-gun-based tandem ms (lc-ms/ms) methods. unlike lc-ms/ms, whi ... | 2012 | 22577019 |
| analysis of multiple leptospira interrogans serovar canicola vaccine proteomes and identification of lipl32 as a biomarker for potency. | the current batch potency test for leptospira interrogans serovar canicola vaccines requires the use of a large number of hamsters and has severe effects (i.e., hepatic and renal failure resulting in death); while this vaccine is effective, a safer, cheaper, more ethical replacement is desired. the aim of this study was to analyze vaccine proteomes and identify target molecules common to all l. interrogans serovar canicola vaccines which could be used to design an in vitro potency test. initial ... | 2012 | 22323560 |
| herd-level risk factors associated with leptospira hardjo seroprevalence in beef/suckler herds in the republic of ireland. | the aim of the present study was to investigate risk factors for herd seropositivity to leptospira hardjo in irish suckler herds. herds were considered eligible for the study if they were unvaccinated and contained ≥ 9 breeding animals of beef breed which were ≥ 12 months of age. the country was divided into six regions using county boundaries. herd and individual animal prevalence data were available from the results of a concurrent seroprevalence study. herds were classified as either "free fr ... | 2012 | 22449264 |
| urine as a specimen to diagnose infections in twenty-first century: focus on analytical accuracy. | urine as a clinical specimen to diagnose infections has been used since ancient times. many rapid technologies to assist diagnosis of infections are currently in use. alongside traditional enzyme immunoassays (eia), new technologies have emerged. molecular analysis of transrenal dna to diagnose infections is also a rapidly growing field. the majority of eias utilize the detection of excreted sugar compounds of the outer microbial cell-wall shed into the bloodstream and excreted into the urine. t ... | 2012 | 22566927 |
| evaluation and comparison of native and recombinant lipl21 protein-based elisas for diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis. | a 21-kda leptospiral lipoprotein (lipl21) was evaluated for its diagnostic potential to detect bovine leptospirosis by elisa. both native lipl21 (nlipl21) and recombinant lipl21 (rlipl21) proteins were tested and compared regarding diagnostic efficiency, and no statistically significant difference was observed. the sensitivity of rlipl21 elisa for 62 microscopic agglutination test (mat) positive sera was 100% and the specificity with 378 mat negative sera was 97.09%. thus, rlipl21 protein-based ... | 2012 | 22437542 |
| functional epitope core motif of the anaplasma marginale major surface protein 1a and its incorporation onto bioelectrodes for antibody detection. | anaplasmosis, a persistent intraerythrocytic infection of cattle by anaplasma marginale, causes severe anemia and a higher rate of abortion, resulting in significant loss to both dairy and beef industries. clinical diagnosis is based on symptoms and confirmatory laboratory tests are required. currently, all the diagnostic assays have been developed with whole antigens with indirect elisa based on multiple epitopes. in a pioneer investigation we demonstrated the use of critical motifs of an epito ... | 2012 | 22427942 |
| high-throughput subtomogram alignment and classification by fourier space constrained fast volumetric matching. | cryo-electron tomography allows the visualization of macromolecular complexes in their cellular environments in close-to-live conditions. the nominal resolution of subtomograms can be significantly increased when individual subtomograms of the same kind are aligned and averaged. a vital step for such a procedure are algorithms that speedup subtomogram alignment and improve its accuracy to allow reference-free subtomogram classifications. such methods will facilitate automation of tomography anal ... | 2012 | 22420977 |
| antibodies to a novel leptospiral protein, lruc, in the eye fluids and sera of horses with leptospira-associated uveitis. | screening of an expression library of leptospira interrogans with eye fluids from uveitic horses resulted in identification of a novel protein, lruc. lruc is located in the inner leaflet of the leptospiral outer membrane, and an lruc gene was detected in all tested pathogenic l. interrogans strains. lruc-specific antibody levels were significantly higher in eye fluids and sera of uveitic horses than healthy horses. these findings suggest that lruc may play a role in equine leptospiral uveitis. | 2012 | 22237897 |
| detection and quantification of leptospira interrogans in hamster and rat kidney samples: immunofluorescent imprints versus real-time pcr. | a major limitation in the clinical management and experimental research of leptospirosis is the poor performance of the available methods for the direct detection of leptospires. in this study, we compared real-time pcr (qpcr), targeting the lipl32 gene, with the immunofluorescent imprint method (im) for the detection and quantification of leptospires in kidney samples from the rat and hamster experimental models of leptospirosis. using a virulent strain of leptospira interrogans serovar copenha ... | 2012 | 22393440 |
| utility of quantitative polymerase chain reaction in leptospirosis diagnosis: association of level of leptospiremia and clinical manifestations in sri lanka. | quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qpcr), despite cost and logistical challenges, has the potential to provide accurate and timely diagnosis for leptospirosis at the point-of-care in endemic areas. we studied optimal sample types for qpcr, timing of sampling, and clinical manifestations in relation to quantitative leptospiremia. | 2012 | 22354922 |
| in silico analysis of a therapeutic target in leishmania infantum: the guanosine-diphospho-d-mannose pyrophosphorylase. | leishmaniases are tropical and sub-tropical diseases for which classical drugs (i.e. antimonials) exhibit toxicity and drug resistance. such a situation requires to find new chemical series with antileishmanial activity. this work consists in analyzing the structure of a validated target in leishmania: the gdp-mannose pyrophosphorylase (gdp-mp), an enzyme involved in glycosylation and essential for amastigote survival. by comparing both human and l. infantum gdp-mp 3d homology models, we identif ... | 2012 | 22314241 |
| antigen-specific t cells and cytokines detection as useful tool for understanding immunity against zoonotic infections. | zoonoses include a broad range of diseases, that are becoming of great interest, due to the climate changing, that cause the adaptation of vectors to new niches and environments. host immune responses play a crucial role in determining the outcome of infections, as documented by expansion of antigen-specific t cells during several zoonotic infections. thus, understanding of the contribution of antigen-specific t-cell subsets in the host immune response is a powerful tool to evaluate the differen ... | 2012 | 22400039 |
| leptospirosis in american samoa 2010: epidemiology, environmental drivers, and the management of emergence. | leptospirosis has recently been reported as an emerging disease worldwide, and a seroprevalence study was undertaken in american samoa to better understand the drivers of transmission. antibodies indicative of previous exposure to leptospirosis were found in 15.5% of 807 participants, predominantly against three serovars that were not previously known to occur in american samoa. questionnaires and geographic information systems data were used to assess behavioral factors and environmental determ ... | 2012 | 22302868 |
| the role of nuclear technologies in the diagnosis and control of livestock diseases--a review. | nuclear and nuclear-related technologies have played an important role in animal health, particularly in relation to disease diagnosis and characterization of pathogenic organisms. this review focuses primarily on how and where nuclear technologies, both non-isotopic and isotopic methods, have made their impact in the past and where it might be expected they could have an impact in the future. the review outlines the extensive use of radiation attenuation in attempts to create vaccines for a mul ... | 2012 | 22286376 |
| translational research in infectious disease: current paradigms and challenges ahead. | in recent years, the biomedical community has witnessed a rapid scientific and technologic evolution after the development and refinement of high-throughput methodologies. concurrently and consequentially, the scientific perspective has changed from the reductionist approach of meticulously analyzing the fine details of a single component of biology to the "holistic" approach of broadmindedly examining the globally interacting elements of biological systems. the emergence of this new way of thin ... | 2012 | 22633095 |
| a survey of zoonotic diseases in trade cattle slaughtered at tanga city abattoir: a cause of public health concern. | to estimate the prevalence of hydatidosis, cysticercosis, tuberculosis, leptospirosis, brucellosis and toxoplasmosis in slaughtered bovine stock (aged ±3 years) at tanga city abattoir, tanzania. | 2012 | 23569835 |
| factors associated with probable cluster of leptospirosis among kennel workers in abuja, nigeria. | between february and october 2009 an increase in morbidity and mortality in dogs in a national kennel in abuja, nigeria, was observed with signs indicative of leptospirosis. concurrent illness was observed in some kennel workers which had high titres of leptospira antibodies. | 2013 | 24711882 |
| leptospirosis: a silent epidemic disease. | this special issue of international journal of environmental research and public health is dedicated to leptospirosis, an endemic zoonotic disease that is a cause of many acute undifferentiated fevers, especially in tropical countries. while it can be debated whether leptospirosis is an emerging disease, it is evident that it is becoming an emerging public health problem. it is recognized as a disease of epidemic potential that has a significant health impact in many parts of the world. | 2013 | 24351743 |
| veillonella, firmicutes: microbes disguised as gram negatives. | the firmicutes represent a major component of the intestinal microflora. the intestinal firmicutes are a large, diverse group of organisms, many of which are poorly characterized due to their anaerobic growth requirements. although most firmicutes are gram positive, members of the class negativicutes, including the genus veillonella, stain gram negative. veillonella are among the most abundant organisms of the oral and intestinal microflora of animals and humans, in spite of being strict anaerob ... | 2013 | 24976898 |
| lipl41, a hemin binding protein from leptospira santarosai serovar shermani. | leptospirosis is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases in the world. it is caused by the pathogen leptospira that results in multiple-organ failure, in particular of the kidney. outer membrane lipoprotein is the suspected virulence factor of leptospira. in leptospira spp lipl41 is one major lipoprotein and is highly conserved. previous study suggests that lipl41 bears hemin-binding ability and might play a possible role in iron regulation and storage. however, the characterization of hemi ... | 2013 | 24349474 |
| metaid: a novel method for identification and quantification of metagenomic samples. | advances in next-generation sequencing (ngs) technology has provided us with an opportunity to analyze and evaluate the rich microbial communities present in all natural environments. the shorter reads obtained from the shortgun technology has paved the way for determining the taxonomic profile of a community by simply aligning the reads against the available reference genomes. while several computational methods are available for taxonomic profiling at the genus- and species-level, none of thes ... | 2013 | 24564518 |
| refseq microbial genomes database: new representation and annotation strategy. | the source of the microbial genomic sequences in the refseq collection is the set of primary sequence records submitted to the international nucleotide sequence database public archives. these can be accessed through the entrez search and retrieval system at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome. next-generation sequencing has enabled researchers to perform genomic sequencing at rates that were unimaginable in the past. microbial genomes can now be sequenced in a matter of hours, which has led to a ... | 2013 | 24316578 |
| refseq microbial genomes database: new representation and annotation strategy. | the source of the microbial genomic sequences in the refseq collection is the set of primary sequence records submitted to the international nucleotide sequence database public archives. these can be accessed through the entrez search and retrieval system at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome. next-generation sequencing has enabled researchers to perform genomic sequencing at rates that were unimaginable in the past. microbial genomes can now be sequenced in a matter of hours, which has led to a ... | 2013 | 24316578 |
| urban leptospirosis in africa: a cross-sectional survey of leptospira infection in rodents in the kibera urban settlement, nairobi, kenya. | leptospirosis is a widespread but under-reported cause of morbidity and mortality. global re-emergence of leptospirosis has been associated with the growth of informal urban settlements in which rodents are thought to be important reservoir hosts. understanding the multi-host epidemiology of leptospirosis is essential to control and prevent disease. a cross-sectional survey of rodents in the kibera settlement in nairobi, kenya was conducted in september-october 2008 to demonstrate the presence o ... | 2013 | 24080637 |
| eco-genetic structure of bacillus cereus sensu lato populations from different environments in northeastern poland. | the bacillus cereus group, which includes entomopathogens and etiologic agents of foodborne illness or anthrax, persists in various environments. the basis of their ecological diversification remains largely undescribed. here we present the genetic structure and phylogeny of 273 soil b. cereus s.l. isolates from diverse habitats in northeastern poland, with samplings acquired from the last european natural forest (białowieża national park), the largest marshes in europe (biebrza national park), ... | 2013 | 24312460 |
| assessment of persistence of bartonella henselae in ctenocephalides felis. | bartonella henselae (rhizobiales: bartonellaceae) is a gram-negative fastidious bacterium of veterinary and zoonotic importance. the cat flea ctenocephalides felis (siphonaptera: pulicidae) is the main recognized vector of b. henselae, and transmission among cats and humans occurs mainly through infected flea feces. the present study documents the use of a quantitative molecular approach to follow the daily kinetics of b. henselae within the cat flea and its excreted feces after exposure to infe ... | 2013 | 24056468 |
| species loss on spatial patterns and composition of zoonotic parasites. | species loss can result in the subsequent loss of affiliate species. though largely ignored to date, these coextinctions can pose threats to human health by altering the composition, quantity and distribution of zoonotic parasites. we simulated host extinctions from more than 1300 host-parasite associations for 29 north american carnivores to investigate changes in parasite composition and species richness. we also explored the geography of zoonotic parasite richness under three carnivore compos ... | 2013 | 24068356 |
| statistical approach to protein quantification. | a major goal in proteomics is the comprehensive and accurate description of a proteome. this task includes not only the identification of proteins in a sample, but also the accurate quantification of their abundance. although mass spectrometry typically provides information on peptide identity and abundance in a sample, it does not directly measure the concentration of the corresponding proteins. specifically, most mass-spectrometry-based approaches (e.g. shotgun proteomics or selected reaction ... | 2013 | 24255132 |
| statistical approach to protein quantification. | a major goal in proteomics is the comprehensive and accurate description of a proteome. this task includes not only the identification of proteins in a sample, but also the accurate quantification of their abundance. although mass spectrometry typically provides information on peptide identity and abundance in a sample, it does not directly measure the concentration of the corresponding proteins. specifically, most mass-spectrometry-based approaches (e.g. shotgun proteomics or selected reaction ... | 2013 | 24255132 |
| targeting toll-like receptors: promising therapeutic strategies for the management of sepsis-associated pathology and infectious diseases. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) are pattern recognition receptors playing a fundamental role in sensing microbial invasion and initiating innate and adaptive immune responses. tlrs are also triggered by danger signals released by injured or stressed cells during sepsis. here we focus on studies developing tlr agonists and antagonists for the treatment of infectious diseases and sepsis. positioned at the cell surface, tlr4 is essential for sensing lipopolysaccharide of gram-negative bacteria, tlr2 is ... | 2013 | 24302927 |
| ceg: a database of essential gene clusters. | essential genes are indispensable for the survival of living entities. they are the cornerstones of synthetic biology, and are potential candidate targets for antimicrobial and vaccine design. | 2013 | 24209780 |
| cloning and sequence analysis of lipl32, a surface-exposed lipoprotein of pathogenic leptospira spp. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by pathogenic leptospira species. a major challenge of this disease is the application of basic research to improve diagnostic methods and related vaccine development. outer membrane proteins of leptospira are potential candidates that may be useful as diagnostic or immunogenic factors in treatment and analysis of the disease. | 2013 | 24719688 |
| identification of seroreactive proteins of leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni using a high-density protein microarray approach. | leptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease worldwide. the lack of an adequate laboratory test is a major barrier for diagnosis, especially during the early stages of illness, when antibiotic therapy is most effective. therefore, there is a critical need for an efficient diagnostic test for this life threatening disease. | 2013 | 24147173 |
| discovery of a camp deaminase that quenches cyclic amp-dependent regulation. | an enzyme of unknown function within the amidohydrolase superfamily was discovered to catalyze the hydrolysis of the universal second messenger, cyclic-3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (camp). the enzyme, which we have named cadd, is encoded by the human pathogenic bacterium leptospira interrogans. although cadd is annotated as an adenosine deaminase, the protein specifically deaminates camp to cyclic-3',5'-inosine monophosphate (cimp) with a kcat/km of 2.7 ± 0.4 × 10(5) m(-1) s(-1) and has no acti ... | 2013 | 24074367 |
| identification of leptospira interrogans phospholipase c as a novel virulence factor responsible for intracellular free calcium ion elevation during macrophage death. | leptospira-induced macrophage death has been confirmed to play a crucial role in pathogenesis of leptospirosis, a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease. intracellular free ca(2+) concentration ([ca(2+)]i) elevation induced by infection can cause cell death, but [ca(2+)]i changes and high [ca(2+)]i-induced death of macrophages due to infection of leptospira have not been previously reported. | 2013 | 24124502 |
| androgenic anabolic steroid, cocaine and amphetamine abuse and adverse cardiovascular effects. | anabolic-androgenic steroids (aas), a synthetic derivate of testosterone, have become a popular drug among athletes and bodybuilders to enhance muscle mass and improve the athletic performance. many pathological effects such as hepatic and endocrine dysfunction, behavioural changes and cardiovascular complications have been reported. | 2013 | 24719633 |
| leptospiral lrua is required for virulence and modulates an interaction with mammalian apolipoprotein ai. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by spirochetes of the genus leptospira. while understanding of pathogenesis remains limited, the development of mutagenesis in leptospira has provided a powerful tool for identifying novel virulence factors. lrua is a lipoprotein that has been implicated in leptospiral uveitis as a target of the immune response. in this study, two lrua mutants, m754 and m765, generated by transposon mutagenesis from leptospira interrogans serovar manilae, were charact ... | 2013 | 23918777 |
| extracellular proteome analysis of leptospira interrogans serovar lai. | abstract leptospirosis is one of the most important zoonoses. leptospira interrogans serovar lai is a pathogenic spirochete that is responsible for leptospirosis. extracellular proteins play an important role in the pathogenicity of this bacterium. in this study, l. interrogans serovar lai was grown in protein-free medium; the supernatant was collected and subsequently analyzed as the extracellular proteome. a total of 66 proteins with more than two unique peptides were detected by ms/ms, and 33 ... | 2013 | 23895271 |
| a 26-year-old man with a blind spot in his left eye. | | 2013 | 24453936 |
| cytokine response signatures in disease progression and development of severe clinical outcomes for leptospirosis. | the role of the immune response in influencing leptospirosis clinical outcomes is not yet well understood. we hypothesized that acute-phase serum cytokine responses may play a role in disease progression, risk for death, and severe pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome (sphs). | 2013 | 24069500 |
| haemorrhagic pneumonia in sled dogs caused by streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus - one fatality and two full recoveries: a case report. | in spite of yearly vaccination, outbreaks of canine infectious respiratory disease are periodically seen amongst domestic dogs. these infections compromise host defense mechanisms, and, when combined with other stressful events, allow opportunistic pathogens like streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus to create serious disease. early recognition and treatment are tremendously important for a successful outcome in these cases. a polyvalent vaccine was given to 22 racing dogs three days after a c ... | 2013 | 24020788 |
| prevalence of antibodies against leptospira sp. in snakes, lizards and turtles in slovenia. | leptospiral infections in poikilothermic (cold blooded) animals have received very little attention and the literature concerning natural infections of these animals is limited. the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in reptiles, imported into slovenia and intended to be pets in close contact with humans. a total of 297 reptiles (22 snakes, 210 lizards and 65 turtles) were tested for specific antibodies against serovars of leptospira interrogans sensu str ... | 2013 | 24020619 |
| use of staged molecular analysis to determine causes of unexplained central nervous system infections. | no agent is implicated in most central nervous system (cns) infections. to investigate cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with cns infections of unknown cause in 1 hospital in taiwan, we used a staged molecular approach, incorporating techniques including multiplex masstag pcr, 16s rrna pcr, dna microarray, and high-throughput pyrosequencing. we determined the infectious agent for 31 (24%) of 131 previously negative samples. candidate pathogens were identified for 25 (27%) of 94 unexplain ... | 2013 | 23965845 |
| characterization of streptococcal platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase variants that are involved in innate immune evasion. | human pathogen group a streptococcus (gas) has developed mechanisms to subvert innate immunity. we recently reported that the secreted esterase produced by serotype m1 gas (sse(m1)) reduces neutrophil recruitment by targeting platelet-activating factor (paf). sse(m1) and sse produced by serotype m28 gas (sse(m28)) have a 37% sequence difference. this study aims at determining whether sse(m28) is also a paf acetylhydrolase and participates in innate immune evasion. we also examined whether sse ev ... | 2013 | 23774595 |
| bench-to-bedside review: platelets and active immune functions - new clues for immunopathology? | platelets display a number of properties besides the crucial function of repairing damaged vascular endothelium and stopping bleeding; these are exploited to benefit patients receiving platelet component transfusions, which might categorize them as innate immune cells. for example, platelets specialize in pro-inflammatory activities, and can secrete a large number of molecules, many of which display biological response modifier functions. platelets also express receptors for non-self-infectious ... | 2013 | 23998653 |
| transcriptional profiling of staphylococcus aureus during growth in 2 m nacl leads to clarification of physiological roles for kdp and ktr k+ uptake systems. | staphylococcus aureus exhibits an unusually high level of osmotolerance and na(+) tolerance, properties that support survival in various host niches and in preserved foods. the genetic basis of these traits is not well understood. we compared the transcriptional profiles of s. aureus grown in complex medium with and without 2 m nacl. the stimulon for growth in high-osmolality media and na(+) included genes involved in uptake of k(+), other compatible solutes, sialic acid, and sugars; capsule bio ... | 2013 | 23963175 |
| sphingomyelinase activity of trichomonas vaginalis extract and subfractions. | trichomoniasis is one of the most common acute sexually transmitted curable diseases, and it is disseminated worldwide generating more than 170 million cases annually. trichomonas vaginalis is the parasite that causes trichomoniasis and has the ability to destroy cell monolayers of the vaginal mucosa in vitro. sphingomyelinases (smase) are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin into ceramide and phosphorylcholine. ceramide appears to be a second messenger lipid in programmed apopt ... | 2013 | 24024206 |
| human hemorrhagic pulmonary leptospirosis: pathological findings and pathophysiological correlations. | leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonosis with protean clinical manifestations. recently, the importance of pulmonary hemorrhage as a lethal complication of this disease has been recognized. in the present study, five human necropsies of leptospirosis (weil's syndrome) with extensive pulmonary manifestations were analysed, and the antibodies expressed in blood vessels and cells involved in ion and water transport were used, seeking to better understand the pathophysiology of the lung injury associ ... | 2013 | 23951234 |
| complement-mediated opsonization of invasive group a streptococcus pyogenes strain ap53 is regulated by the bacterial two-component cluster of virulence responder/sensor (covrs) system. | group a streptococcus pyogenes (gas) strain ap53 is a primary isolate from a patient with necrotizing fasciitis. these ap53 cells contain an inactivating mutation in the sensor component of the cluster of virulence (cov) responder (r)/sensor (s) two-component gene regulatory system (covrs), which enhances the virulence of the primary strain, ap53/covr(+)s(-). however, specific mechanisms by which the covrs system regulates the survival of gas in humans are incomplete. here, we show a key role fo ... | 2013 | 23928307 |
| cryo-electron tomography: the challenge of doing structural biology in situ. | electron microscopy played a key role in establishing cell biology as a discipline, by producing fundamental insights into cellular organization and ultrastructure. many seminal discoveries were made possible by the development of new sample preparation methods and imaging modalities. recent technical advances include sample vitrification that faithfully preserves molecular structures, three-dimensional imaging by electron tomography, and improved image-processing methods. these new techniques h ... | 2013 | 23918936 |
| monocyte human leukocyte antigen-dr expression-a tool to distinguish intestinal bacterial infections from inflammatory bowel disease? | we sought to determine the quantitative expression of human leukocyte antigen-dr (hla-dr) on monocytes in patients with acute intestinal bacterial infections and inflammatory bowel disease (ibd). | 2013 | 23860582 |
| prozone effects in microscopic agglutination tests for leptospirosis in the sera of mice infected with the pathogenic leptospira interrogans serovar canicola. | mice experimentally infected with a pathogenic strain of leptospira interrogans serovar canicola produced false negative results (prozone effect) in a microscopic agglutination test (mat). this prozone effect occurred in several serum samples collected at different post-infection times, but it was more prominent in samples collected from seven-42 days post-infection and for 1:50 and 1:100 sample dilutions. this phenomenon was correlated with increased antibody titres in the early post-infection ... | 2013 | 23903987 |
| development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a recombinant liga fragment comprising repeat domains 4 to 7.5 as an antigen for diagnosis of equine leptospirosis. | leptospira immunoglobulin (ig)-like (lig) proteins are a novel family of surface-associated proteins in which the n-terminal 630 amino acids are conserved. in this study, we truncated the liga conserved region into 7 fragments comprising the 1st to 3rd (ligacon1-3), 4th to 7.5th (ligacon4-7.5), 4th (ligacon4), 4.5th to 5.5th (ligacon4.5-5.5), 5.5th to 6.5th (ligacon5.5-6.5), 4th to 5th (ligacon4-5), and 6th to 7.5th (ligacon6-7.5) repeat domains. all 7 recombinant lig proteins were screened usin ... | 2013 | 23720368 |
| scrub typhus with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome. | scrub typhus is a major infectious threat in the asia-pacific region. we report an unusual case of scrub typhus in a patient in singapore who presented with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome but lacked the pathognomonic eschar. the patient recovered after appropriate diagnosis and doxycycline treatment. rickettsial diseases should be included in the differential diagnosis of febrile illnesses in regions where the diseases are endemic, and absence of eschar should not be the criterio ... | 2013 | 23761149 |
| precipitation of iron on the surface of leptospira interrogans is associated with mutation of the stress response metalloprotease htpx. | high concentrations of free metal ions in the environment can be detrimental to bacterial survival. however, bacteria utilize strategies, including the activation of stress response pathways and immobilizing chemical elements on their surface, to limit this toxicity. in this study, we characterized la4131, the htpx-like m48 metalloprotease from leptospira interrogans, with a putative role in bacterial stress response and membrane homeostasis. growth of the la4131 transposon mutant strain (l522) ... | 2013 | 23709510 |
| bridging the gap between systems biology and synthetic biology. | systems biology is an inter-disciplinary science that studies the complex interactions and the collective behavior of a cell or an organism. synthetic biology, as a technological subject, combines biological science and engineering, allowing the design and manipulation of a system for certain applications. both systems and synthetic biology have played important roles in the recent development of microbial platforms for energy, materials, and environmental applications. more importantly, systems ... | 2013 | 23898328 |
| seroprevalence of leptospiral antibodies in canine population in and around namakkal. | leptospirosis is a reemerging and a complex zoonotic bacterial disease, caused by pathogenic serovars of leptospira interrogans. a total of 124 sera samples of dogs belonging to different categories like vaccinated, unvaccinated-semiowned, and stray dogs were subjected to sampling. microscopic agglutination test (mat) was conducted by using leptospira culture. out of 42 vaccinated dogs, 24 (57%) were positive to one or more serovars. of the 24, 22 (52.3%), 11 (26.19%), 4 (9.5%), 1 (3%), and 2 (4 ... | 2013 | 26464917 |
| toll-like receptors in atherosclerosis. | atherosclerosis, the leading cause of cardiovascular disease (cvd), is driven by inflammation. increasing evidence suggests that toll-like receptors (tlrs) are key orchestrators of the atherosclerotic disease process. interestingly, a distinct picture is being revealed for individual receptors in atherosclerosis. tlrs exhibit a complex nature enabling the detection of multiple motifs named danger-associated molecular patterns (damps) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps). activation ... | 2013 | 23880853 |
| leptospirosis in the republic of korea: historical perspectives, current status and future challenges. | leptospirosis is an important public health problem in the republic of korea (rok), occurring sporadically or in outbreaks during the autumn season. wild rodents, apodemus agrarius, have been mainly involved in human leptospirosis. the majority of carrier animals are infected with leptospira interrogans serovar lai. the characteristic pulmonary involvement or hemorrhage may increase the clinical severity or result in fatal outcomes, and these aspects continue to be a threat to people in endemic ... | 2013 | 24265962 |
| ecology of leptospira interrogans in norway rats (rattus norvegicus) in an inner-city neighborhood of vancouver, canada. | leptospira interrogans is a bacterial zoonosis with a worldwide distribution for which rats (rattus spp.) are the primary reservoir in urban settings. in order to assess, monitor, and mitigate the risk to humans, it is important to understand the ecology of this pathogen in rats. the objective of this study was to characterize the ecology of l. interrogans in norway rats (rattus norvegicus) in an impoverished inner-city neighborhood of vancouver, canada. | 2013 | 23818996 |
| automated target segmentation and real space fast alignment methods for high-throughput classification and averaging of crowded cryo-electron subtomograms. | cryo-electron tomography allows the imaging of macromolecular complexes in near living conditions. to enhance the nominal resolution of a structure it is necessary to align and average individual subtomograms each containing identical complexes. however, if the sample of complexes is heterogeneous, it is necessary to first classify subtomograms into groups of identical complexes. this task becomes challenging when tomograms contain mixtures of unknown complexes extracted from a crowded environme ... | 2013 | 23812994 |
| ionic imbalance and lack of effect of adjuvant treatment with methylene blue in the hamster model of leptospirosis. | leptospirosis in humans usually involves hypokalaemia and hypomagnesaemia and the putative mechanism underlying such ionic imbalances may be related to nitric oxide (no) production. we previously demonstrated the correlation between serum levels of no and the severity of renal disease in patients with severe leptospirosis. methylene blue inhibits soluble guanylyl cyclase (downstream of the action of any no synthase isoforms) and was recently reported to have beneficial effects on clinical and ex ... | 2013 | 23827990 |
| acyltransferases in bacteria. | long-chain-length hydrophobic acyl residues play a vital role in a multitude of essential biological structures and processes. they build the inner hydrophobic layers of biological membranes, are converted to intracellular storage compounds, and are used to modify protein properties or function as membrane anchors, to name only a few functions. acyl thioesters are transferred by acyltransferases or transacylases to a variety of different substrates or are polymerized to lipophilic storage compou ... | 2013 | 23699259 |
| the mtb proteome library: a resource of assays to quantify the complete proteome of mycobacterium tuberculosis. | research advancing our understanding of mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtb) biology and complex host-mtb interactions requires consistent and precise quantitative measurements of mtb proteins. we describe the generation and validation of a compendium of assays to quantify 97% of the 4,012 annotated mtb proteins by the targeted mass spectrometric method selected reaction monitoring (srm). furthermore, we estimate the absolute abundance for 55% of all mtb proteins, revealing a dynamic range within th ... | 2013 | 23684311 |
| characterization of a virulent leptospira interrogans strain isolated from an abandoned swimming pool. | pathogenic leptospira spp. are the etiological agents of leptospirosis, an important disease of both humans and animals. in urban settings, l. interrogans serovars are the predominant cause of disease in humans. the purpose of this study was to characterize a novel leptospira isolate recovered from an abandoned swimming pool. molecular characterization through sequencing of the rpob gene revealed 100% identity with l. interrogans and variable-number tandem-repeat (vntr) analysis resulted in a ba ... | 2013 | 24159300 |
| incidence of leptospirosis infection in the east zone of sao paulo city, brazil. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis which is spread through contamined running water. this contaminations is seriously affected by the flooding which occurs in the area surrounding the aricanduva river. the transmission of the disease results mainly from the contact of water with soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals. we aimed to conduct an epidemiological survey on leptospirosis cases in sao paulo east zone area. | 2013 | 23672682 |
| a chimeric udp-glucose pyrophosphorylase produced by protein engineering exhibits sensitivity to allosteric regulators. | in bacteria, glycogen or oligosaccharide accumulation involves glucose-1-phosphate partitioning into either adp-glucose (adp-glc) or udp-glc. their respective synthesis is catalyzed by allosterically regulated adp-glc pyrophosphorylase (ec 2.7.7.27, adp-glc ppase) or unregulated udp-glc ppase (ec 2.7.7.9). in this work, we characterized the udp-glc ppase from streptococcus mutans. in addition, we constructed a chimeric protein by cutting the c-terminal domain of the adp-glc ppase from escherichi ... | 2013 | 23648478 |
| climate variability and outbreaks of infectious diseases in europe. | several studies provide evidence of a link between vector-borne disease outbreaks and el niño driven climate anomalies. less investigated are the effects of the north atlantic oscillation (nao). here, we test its impact on outbreak occurrences of 13 infectious diseases over europe during the last fifty years, controlling for potential bias due to increased surveillance and detection. nao variation statistically influenced the outbreak occurrence of eleven of the infectious diseases. seven diseas ... | 2013 | 23639950 |
| a conserved region of leptospiral immunoglobulin-like a and b proteins as a dna vaccine elicits a prophylactic immune response against leptospirosis. | the leptospiral immunoglobulin-like (lig) proteins liga and ligb possess immunoglobulin-like domains with 90-amino-acid repeats and are adhesion molecules involved in pathogenicity. they are conserved in pathogenic leptospira spp. and thus are of interest for use as serodiagnostic antigens and in recombinant vaccine formulations. the n-terminal amino acid sequences of the liga and ligb proteins are identical, but the c-terminal sequences vary. in this study, we evaluated the protective potential ... | 2013 | 23486420 |
| feline leptospirosis serosurvey from a quebec referral hospital. | epidemiologic studies have linked interactions with cats as a risk factor for human leptospirosis, but serosurveys of feline leptospira spp. infection are scarce in the veterinary literature. the objective of this study was to conduct a serosurvey of leptospira spp. infection in cats presenting to an eastern canadian veterinary teaching hospital (vth). all serum samples collected from cats presented to the vth were tested by the microscopic agglutination test (mat) for the leptospira serovars ca ... | 2013 | 24155435 |
| sex bias in infectious disease epidemiology: patterns and processes. | infectious disease incidence is often male-biased. two main hypotheses have been proposed to explain this observation. the physiological hypothesis (ph) emphasizes differences in sex hormones and genetic architecture, while the behavioral hypothesis (bh) stresses gender-related differences in exposure. surprisingly, the population-level predictions of these hypotheses are yet to be thoroughly tested in humans. | 2013 | 23638062 |
| a ubiquitous method for street scale spatial data collection and analysis in challenging urban environments: mapping health risks using spatial video in haiti. | fine-scale and longitudinal geospatial analysis of health risks in challenging urban areas is often limited by the lack of other spatial layers even if case data are available. underlying population counts, residential context, and associated causative factors such as standing water or trash locations are often missing unless collected through logistically difficult, and often expensive, surveys. the lack of spatial context also hinders the interpretation of results and designing intervention st ... | 2013 | 23587358 |
| a method for molecular analysis of catalase gene diversity in seawater. | catalase plays an important role in the metabolism of marine bacteria and has potential impact on the marine environment. four pcr primers were designed to amplify the catalase gene fragments in marine bacteria by applying metagenomic dna from yellow sea surface water as the template. of the four reproducible target pcr products, the longest one with 900 bp were chosen for catalase gene library construction by the t-vector and the white escherichia coli colonies in the library was screened throu ... | 2013 | 24426153 |
| isolation and molecular characterization of leptospira interrogans and leptospira borgpetersenii isolates from the urban rat populations of kuala lumpur, malaysia. | rats are considered the principal maintenance hosts of leptospira. the objectives of this study were isolation and identification of leptospira serovars circulating among urban rat populations in kuala lumpur. three hundred urban rats (73% rattus rattus and 27% r. norvegicus) from three different sites were trapped. twenty cultures were positive for leptospira using dark-field microscopy. r. rattus was the dominant carrier (70%). polymerase chain reaction (pcr) confirmed that all isolates were p ... | 2013 | 23358635 |
| detection of lipl32-specific igm by elisa in sera of patients with a clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis. | successful treatment of leptospirosis is heavily dependent on early diagnosis and prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy. an elisa test to detect specific igm antibodies against lipl32 for early diagnosis of leptospirosis is described and evaluated here. one thousand one hundred and eighty sera from clinically suspected leptospirosis cases were enrolled together with 109 healthy volunteers selected from an endemic area between october 2007 and january 2010. patients were categorized based on th ... | 2013 | 23683367 |
| serosurvey of dogs for human, livestock, and wildlife pathogens, uganda. | | 2013 | 23750507 |
| crystallographic study to determine the substrate specificity of an l-serine-acetylating enzyme found in the d-cycloserine biosynthetic pathway. | dcse, one of the enzymes found in the d-cycloserine biosynthetic pathway, displays a high sequence homology to l-homoserine o-acetyltransferase (hat), but it prefers l-serine over l-homoserine as the substrate. to clarify the substrate specificity, in the present study we determined the crystal structure of dcse at a 1.81-å resolution, showing that the overall structure of dcse is similar to that of hat, whereas a turn region to form an oxyanion hole is obviously different between dcse and hat: ... | 2013 | 23396912 |
| leptospirosis risk increases with changes in species composition of rat populations. | rats are major reservoirs of leptospirosis and considered as a main threat to biodiversity. a recent introduction of rattus rattus to the island of futuna (western polynesia) provided the opportunity to test if a possible change in species composition of rat populations would increase the risk of leptospirosis to humans. we trapped rodents on wallis and futuna and assessed leptospira carriage in 357 rodents (rattus norvegicus, r. rattus, rattus exulans, and mus domesticus) from 2008 to 2012. whi ... | 2013 | 23535996 |