| multiple single-cell genomes provide insight into functions of uncultured deltaproteobacteria in the human oral cavity. | despite a long history of investigation, many bacteria associated with the human oral cavity have yet to be cultured. studies that correlate the presence or abundance of uncultured species with oral health or disease highlight the importance of these community members. thus, we sequenced several single-cell genomic amplicons from desulfobulbus and desulfovibrio (class deltaproteobacteria) to better understand their function within the human oral community and their association with periodontitis ... | 2013 | 23555659 |
| toll-like receptors as therapeutic targets for autoimmune connective tissue diseases. | autoimmune connective tissue diseases (actds) are a family of consistent systemic autoimmune inflammatory disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus (sle), rheumatoid arthritis (ra), systemic sclerosis (ssc) and sjögren's syndrome (ss). il-1r-like receptors (tlrs) are located on various cellular membranes and sense exogenous and endogenous danger-associated molecular patterns (damps) and pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps), playing a critical role in innate immune responses. du ... | 2013 | 23531543 |
| evolutionary history of the plant pathogenic bacterium xanthomonas axonopodis. | deciphering mechanisms shaping bacterial diversity should help to build tools to predict the emergence of infectious diseases. xanthomonads are plant pathogenic bacteria found worldwide. xanthomonas axonopodis is a genetically heterogeneous species clustering, into six groups, strains that are collectively pathogenic on a large number of plants. however, each strain displays a narrow host range. we address the question of the nature of the evolutionary processes--geographical and ecological spec ... | 2013 | 23505513 |
| acute interstitial nephritis due to leptospira grippotyphosa in the absence of weil's disease. | anicteric leptospirosis is a self-limited flu-like disease, whereas the icteric form is a severe illness characterized by multiple organ involvement or even failure. a case involving a patient with rapidly progressing renal insufficiency requiring intermittent renal replacement therapy due to leptospira grippotyphosa in the absence of a weil's disease is reported. | 2013 | 24421798 |
| a case of mixed infections in a patient presenting with acute febrile illness in the tropics. | concurrent infections with more than one etiological agent can result in an illness with overlapping symptoms, resulting in a situation where the diagnosis and management of such a patient could be challenging. we report a case of vivax malaria in a patient who was also serologically positive for leptospirosis and dengue. | 2013 | 23533853 |
| protein analysis by shotgun/bottom-up proteomics. | | 2013 | 23438204 |
| the origin of 8-amino-3,8-dideoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid (kdo8n) in the lipopolysaccharide of shewanella oneidensis. | lipopolysaccharide (lps; endotoxin) is an essential component of the outer monolayer of nearly all gram-negative bacteria. lps is composed of a hydrophobic anchor, known as lipid a, an inner core oligosaccharide, and a repeating o-antigen polysaccharide. in nearly all species, the first sugar bridging the hydrophobic lipid a and the polysaccharide domain is 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid (kdo), and thus it is critically important for lps biosynthesis. modifications to lipid a have been shown t ... | 2013 | 23413030 |
| pancreatitis and myocarditis followed by pulmonary hemorrhage, a rare presentation of leptospirosis- a case report and literature survey. | leptospirosis is a potentially fatal disease which can cause multi-organ dysfunction. it can rarely present as acute pancreatitis. this is the first ever report of leptospirosis presenting with acute pancreatitis and myocarditis followed by diffuse pulmonary hemorrhages to the best of our knowledge. | 2013 | 23347428 |
| solution structure of the big domain from streptococcus pneumoniae reveals a novel ca2+-binding module. | streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogen causing acute respiratory infection, otitis media and some other severe diseases in human. in this study, the solution structure of a bacterial immunoglobulin-like (big) domain from a putative s. pneumoniae surface protein sp0498 was determined by nmr spectroscopy. sp0498 big domain adopts an eight-β-strand barrel-like fold, which is different in some aspects from the two-sheet sandwich-like fold of the canonical ig-like domains. intriguingly, we identified ... | 2013 | 23326635 |
| risk factors and predictors of severe leptospirosis in new caledonia. | leptospirosis is a major public health concern in new caledonia (nc) and in other tropical countries. severe manifestations of the disease are estimated to occur in 5-15% of all human infections worldwide and factors associated with these forms are poorly understood. our objectives were to identify risk factors and predictors of severe forms of leptospirosis in adults. | 2013 | 23326614 |
| comparative analysis of leptospira strains isolated from environmental soil and water in the philippines and japan. | there have been few reports on the epidemiological analysis of environmental leptospira isolates. this is probably because the isolation of leptospires from the environment was usually unsuccessful due to the overgrowth of contaminants and the slow growth of leptospira. in this study, we collected a total of 88 samples of soil and water from three sites: metro manila and nueva ecija, philippines (an area where leptospira is now endemic), and fukuoka, japan (an area where leptospira was once ende ... | 2013 | 23144130 |
| rapid isolation and susceptibility testing of leptospira spp. using a new solid medium, lvw agar. | pathogenic leptospira spp., the causative agents of leptospirosis, are slow-growing gram-negative spirochetes. isolation of leptospira from clinical samples and testing of antimicrobial susceptibility are difficult and time-consuming. here, we describe the development of a new solid medium that facilitates more-rapid growth of leptospira spp. and the use of this medium to evaluate the etest's performance in determining antimicrobial mics to drugs in common use for leptospirosis. the medium was d ... | 2013 | 23114772 |
| evolutionary meandering of intermolecular interactions along the drift barrier. | many cellular functions depend on highly specific intermolecular interactions, for example transcription factors and their dna binding sites, micrornas and their rna binding sites, the interfaces between heterodimeric protein molecules, the stems in rna molecules, and kinases and their response regulators in signal-transduction systems. despite the need for complementarity between interacting partners, such pairwise systems seem to be capable of high levels of evolutionary divergence, even when ... | 2014 | 25535374 |
| evolutionary meandering of intermolecular interactions along the drift barrier. | many cellular functions depend on highly specific intermolecular interactions, for example transcription factors and their dna binding sites, micrornas and their rna binding sites, the interfaces between heterodimeric protein molecules, the stems in rna molecules, and kinases and their response regulators in signal-transduction systems. despite the need for complementarity between interacting partners, such pairwise systems seem to be capable of high levels of evolutionary divergence, even when ... | 2014 | 25535374 |
| recombinant antigens rlipl21, rloa22, rlipl32 and rligacon4-8 for serological diagnosis of leptospirosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in dogs. | animal leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the united states and around the world. in a previous study, we applied four recombinant antigens, rlipl21, rloa22, rlipl32 and rligacon4-8 of leptospira interrogans (l. interrogans) for the serological diagnosis of equine leptospirosis (ye et al, serodiagnosis of equine leptospirosis by elisa using four recombinant protein markers, clin. vaccine. immunol. 21:478-483). in this study, the same four recombinant antigens were evalu ... | 2014 | 25526513 |
| rapid and sensitive detection of bartonella bacilliformis in experimentally infected sand flies by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) of the pap31 gene. | carrion' disease, caused by bartonella bacilliformis, remains truly neglected due to its focal geographical nature. a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including asymptomatic bacteremia, and lack of a sensitive diagnostic test can potentially lead to a spread of the disease into non-endemic regions where competent sand fly vectors may be present. a reliable test capable of detecting b. bacilliformis is urgently needed. our objective is to develop a loop-mediated isothermal amplification ... | 2014 | 25522230 |
| dimeric structure of the bacterial extracellular foldase prsa. | secretion of proteins into the membrane-cell wall space is essential for cell wall biosynthesis and pathogenicity in gram-positive bacteria. folding and maturation of many secreted proteins depend on a single extracellular foldase, the prsa protein. prsa is a 30-kda protein, lipid anchored to the outer leaflet of the cell membrane. the crystal structure of bacillus subtilis prsa reveals a central catalytic parvulin-type prolyl isomerase domain, which is inserted into a larger composite nc domain ... | 2014 | 25525259 |
| dimeric structure of the bacterial extracellular foldase prsa. | secretion of proteins into the membrane-cell wall space is essential for cell wall biosynthesis and pathogenicity in gram-positive bacteria. folding and maturation of many secreted proteins depend on a single extracellular foldase, the prsa protein. prsa is a 30-kda protein, lipid anchored to the outer leaflet of the cell membrane. the crystal structure of bacillus subtilis prsa reveals a central catalytic parvulin-type prolyl isomerase domain, which is inserted into a larger composite nc domain ... | 2014 | 25525259 |
| update on refseq microbial genomes resources. | ncbi refseq genome collection http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome represents all three major domains of life: eukarya, bacteria and archaea as well as viruses. prokaryotic genome sequences are the most rapidly growing part of the collection. during the year of 2014 more than 10,000 microbial genome assemblies have been publicly released bringing the total number of prokaryotic genomes close to 30,000. we continue to improve the quality and usability of the microbial genome resources by providing ... | 2014 | 25510495 |
| update on refseq microbial genomes resources. | ncbi refseq genome collection http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome represents all three major domains of life: eukarya, bacteria and archaea as well as viruses. prokaryotic genome sequences are the most rapidly growing part of the collection. during the year of 2014 more than 10,000 microbial genome assemblies have been publicly released bringing the total number of prokaryotic genomes close to 30,000. we continue to improve the quality and usability of the microbial genome resources by providing ... | 2014 | 25510495 |
| a facile and sensitive method for quantification of cyclic nucleotide monophosphates in mammalian organs: basal levels of eight cnmps and identification of 2',3'-cimp. | a sensitive, versatile and economical method to extract and quantify cyclic nucleotide monophosphates (cnmps) using lc-ms/ms, including both 3',5'-cnmps and 2',3'-cnmps, in mammalian tissues and cellular systems has been developed. problems, such as matrix effects from complex biological samples, are addressed and have been optimized. this protocol allows for comparison of multiple cnmps in the same system and was used to examine the relationship between tissue levels of cnmps in a panel of rat ... | 2014 | 25513747 |
| how water molecules affect the catalytic activity of hydrolases--a xanes study of the local structures of peptide deformylase. | peptide deformylase (pdf) is a prokaryotic enzyme that catalyzes the deformylation of nascent peptides generated during protein synthesis and water molecules play a key role in these hydrolases. using x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (xanes) and ab initio calculations we accurately probe the local atomic environment of the metal ion binding in the active site of pdf at different ph values and with different metal ions. this new approach is an effective way to monitor existing correlations ... | 2014 | 25503313 |
| live imaging of bioluminescent leptospira interrogans in mice reveals renal colonization as a stealth escape from the blood defenses and antibiotics. | leptospira (l.) interrogans are bacteria responsible for a worldwide reemerging zoonosis. some animals asymptomatically carry l. interrogans in their kidneys and excrete bacteria in their urine, which contaminates the environment. humans are infected through skin contact with leptospires and develop mild to severe leptospirosis. previous attempts to construct fluorescent or bioluminescent leptospires, which would permit in vivo visualization and investigation of host defense mechanisms during in ... | 2014 | 25474719 |
| identification of immunodominant antigens in canine leptospirosis by multi-antigen print immunoassay (mapia). | the microscopic agglutination test (mat), the standard method for serological diagnosis of leptospirosis, may present limitations regarding its sensitivity. current studies suggest that leptospira immunoglobulin-like (lig) proteins and lipl32 are of particular interest as serodiagnostic markers since they are present only in pathogenic species of the leptospira genus. the purpose of this study was to identify leptospiral immunodominant proteins that are recognized by canine sera from diseased do ... | 2014 | 25466383 |
| leptospira mayottensis sp. nov., a pathogenic species of the genus leptospira isolated from humans. | a group of strains representing species of the genus leptospira, isolated from patients with leptospirosis in mayotte (indian ocean), were previously found to be considerably divergent from other known species of the genus leptospira. this was inferred from sequence analysis of rrs (16s rrna) and other genetic loci and suggests that they belong to a novel species. two strains from each serogroup currently identified within this novel species were studied. spirochaete, aerobic, motile, helix-shap ... | 2014 | 25249563 |
| using a top predator as a sentinel for environmental contamination with pathogenic bacteria: the iberian wolf and leptospires. | the iberian wolf (canis lupus) is the top predator in the iberian environments in which it lives, feeding on a wide range of species, thus encountering a wide range of disease agents. therefore, the wolf can serve as sentinel of environmental contamination with pathogens. we investigated the exposure of free-living wolves to 14 serovars of leptospira interrogans sensu lato. kidney samples from 49 wolves collected from 2010-2013 in northwestern spain were analysed by culture, direct immunofluores ... | 2014 | 25494467 |
| maintenance of leptospira species in leptospira vanaporn wuthiekanun agar. | the maintenance of leptospira species in liquid or semisolid medium is time-consuming and at risk of contamination due to the needs of routine subculture and dark field microscopy. using leptospira vanaporn wuthiekanun (lvw) agar, we maintained 100 pathogenic leptospira isolates for 12 months without the need for subculture and confirmed the viability of all isolates by the naked eye. | 2014 | 25253789 |
| kinetics of leptospira interrogans infection in hamsters after intradermal and subcutaneous challenge. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by highly motile, helically shaped bacteria that penetrate the skin and mucous membranes through lesions or abrasions, and rapidly disseminate throughout the body. although the intraperitoneal route of infection is widely used to experimentally inoculate hamsters, this challenge route does not represent a natural route of infection. | 2014 | 25411782 |
| staphylococcus aureus manganese transport protein c (mntc) is an extracellular matrix- and plasminogen-binding protein. | infections caused by staphylococcus aureus--particularly nosocomial infections--represent a great concern. usually, the early stage of pathogenesis consists on asymptomatic nasopharynx colonization, which could result in dissemination to other mucosal niches or invasion of sterile sites, such as blood. this pathogenic route depends on scavenging of nutrients as well as binding to and disrupting extracellular matrix (ecm). manganese transport protein c (mntc), a conserved manganese-binding protei ... | 2014 | 25409527 |
| direct detection and differentiation of pathogenic leptospira species using a multi-gene targeted real time pcr approach. | leptospirosis is a growing public and veterinary health concern caused by pathogenic species of leptospira. rapid and reliable laboratory tests for the direct detection of leptospiral infections in animals are in high demand not only to improve diagnosis but also for understanding the epidemiology of the disease. in this work we describe a novel and simple taqman-based multi-gene targeted real-time pcr approach able to detect and differentiate leptospira interrogans, l. kirschneri, l. borgpetere ... | 2014 | 25398140 |
| association between footwear use and neglected tropical diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. | the control of neglected tropical diseases (ntds) has primarily focused on preventive chemotherapy and case management. less attention has been placed on the role of ensuring access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene and personal preventive measures in reducing exposure to infection. our aim was to assess whether footwear use was associated with a lower risk of selected ntds. | 2014 | 25393620 |
| viability of leptospira isolates from a human outbreak in thailand in various water types, ph, and temperature conditions. | leptospira spp. isolated from patients during a multiyear outbreak in thailand were genotyped using multilocus sequence typing and a majority were identified as st34, especially in earlier years. we tested whether st34 isolates were better adapted to survive in various ph levels, temperatures, and water sources. motility and growth were monitored over a 12-week period. early year st34 isolates did not appear to have a significant fitness advantage over non-st34, however, this may have been becau ... | 2014 | 25200260 |
| serological and molecular survey of leptospira spp. among cart horses from an endemic area of human leptospirosis in curitiba, southern brazil. | cart horses are a re-emerging population employed to carry recyclable material in cities. | 2014 | 25351539 |
| leptospirosis: the microscopic danger in paradise. | leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection endemic in hawai'i. this review discusses the incidence of documented human cases in hawai'i and current recommendations for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of leptospirosis. | 2014 | 25478298 |
| proteomic features predict seroreactivity against leptospiral antigens in leptospirosis patients. | with increasing efficiency, accuracy, and speed we can access complete genome sequences from thousands of infectious microorganisms; however, the ability to predict antigenic targets of the immune system based on amino acid sequence alone is still needed. here we use a leptospira interrogans microarray expressing 91% (3359) of all leptospiral predicted orfs (3667) and make an empirical accounting of all antibody reactive antigens recognized in sera from naturally infected humans; 191 antigens el ... | 2014 | 25358092 |
| proteomic features predict seroreactivity against leptospiral antigens in leptospirosis patients. | with increasing efficiency, accuracy, and speed we can access complete genome sequences from thousands of infectious microorganisms; however, the ability to predict antigenic targets of the immune system based on amino acid sequence alone is still needed. here we use a leptospira interrogans microarray expressing 91% (3359) of all leptospiral predicted orfs (3667) and make an empirical accounting of all antibody reactive antigens recognized in sera from naturally infected humans; 191 antigens el ... | 2014 | 25358092 |
| detection of zoonotic pathogens and characterization of novel viruses carried by commensal rattus norvegicus in new york city. | norway rats (rattus norvegicus) are globally distributed and concentrate in urban environments, where they live and feed in closer proximity to human populations than most other mammals. despite the potential role of rats as reservoirs of zoonotic diseases, the microbial diversity present in urban rat populations remains unexplored. in this study, we used targeted molecular assays to detect known bacterial, viral, and protozoan human pathogens and unbiased high-throughput sequencing to identify ... | 2014 | 25316698 |
| cross-protection between experimental anti-leptospirosis bacterins. | we investigated the existence of cross-protection between two anti-leptospirosis monovalent experimental bacterins produced with two strains of leptospira serogroup pomona: fromm strain of serovar kennewicky, isolated from pigs in the united states, and strain gr6 of serovar pomona isolated from pigs in brazil. both were added of aluminum hydroxide as an adjuvant. experimental bacterins were tested with the hamster potency test in order to assess protection provided against the disease and again ... | 2014 | 25477946 |
| leptospirosis from water sources. | leptospirosis outbreaks have been associated with many common water events including water consumption, water sports, environmental disasters, and occupational exposure. the ability of leptospires to survive in moist environments makes them a high-risk agent for infection following contact with any contaminated water source. water treatment processes reduce the likelihood of leptospirosis or other microbial agents causing infection provided that they do not malfunction and the distribution netwo ... | 2014 | 25348115 |
| distribution of leptospira serogroups in cattle herds and dogs in france. | a retrospective study was conducted to identify and describe the distribution pattern of leptospira serogroups in domestic animals in france. the population consisted of cattle herds and dogs with clinically suspected leptospirosis that were tested at the "laboratoire des leptospires" between 2008 and 2011. the laboratory database was queried for records of cattle and dogs in which seroreactivity in leptospira microagglutination tests was consistent with a recent or current infection, excluding ... | 2014 | 25092816 |
| l,l-diaminopimelate aminotransferase (dapl): a putative target for the development of narrow-spectrum antibacterial compounds. | despite the urgent need for sustained development of novel antibacterial compounds to combat the drastic rise in antibiotic resistant and emerging bacterial infections, only a few clinically relevant antibacterial drugs have been recently developed. one of the bottlenecks impeding the development of novel antibacterial compounds is the identification of new enzymatic targets. the nutritionally essential amino acid anabolic pathways, for example lysine biosynthesis, provide an opportunity to expl ... | 2014 | 25309529 |
| structure of homoserine o-acetyltransferase from staphylococcus aureus: the first gram-positive ortholog structure. | homoserine o-acetyltransferase (hta) catalyzes the formation of l-o-acetyl-homoserine from l-homoserine through the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl-coa. this is the first committed step required for the biosynthesis of methionine in many fungi, gram-positive bacteria and some gram-negative bacteria. the structure of hta from staphylococcus aureus (sahta) has been determined to a resolution of 2.45 å. the structure belongs to the α/β-hydrolase superfamily, consisting of two distinct domai ... | 2014 | 25286936 |
| how to find rna thermometers. | temperature is one of the decisive signals that a mammalian pathogen has entered its warm-blooded host. among the many ways to register temperature changes, bacteria often use temperature-modulated structures in the untranslated region of mrnas. in this article, we describe how such rna thermometers (rnats) have been discovered one by one upstream of heat shock and virulence genes in the past, and how next-generation sequencing approaches are able to reveal novel temperature-responsive rna struc ... | 2014 | 25279353 |
| severe leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae infection with hepato-renal-pulmonary involvement treated with corticosteroids. | the traditional concept of immediate antibiotic treatment in suspected leptospirosis seems to be especially important for patients up to day 4 of clinical illness. as immune mechanisms probably play a crucial role in advanced leptospirosis with presumed pulmonary hemorrhages, patients might benefit from corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive agents beside antibiotics. | 2014 | 25614810 |
| sage: string-overlap assembly of genomes. | de novo genome assembly of next-generation sequencing data is one of the most important current problems in bioinformatics, essential in many biological applications. in spite of significant amount of work in this area, better solutions are still very much needed. | 2014 | 25225118 |
| apoptosis in hep-2 cells infected with ureaplasma diversum. | bacterial pathogens have many strategies for infecting and persisting in host cells. adhesion, invasion and intracellular life are important features in the biology of mollicutes. the intracellular location of ureaplasma diversum may trigger disturbances in the host cell. this includes activation or inhibition of pro and anti-apoptotic factors, which facilitate the development of host damage. the aim of the present study was to associate u. diversum infection in hep-2 cells and apoptosis inducti ... | 2014 | 25299837 |
| molecular detection of leptospira spp. in the urine of cattle in northern iran. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution, caused by leptospira interrogans and is considered as an emerging global public health problem. transmission usually results from direct or indirect exposure to the urine or other body fluids of leptospiruric animals which may become a source of infection for human or other animals. having a humid climate with plenty of annual rainfall, guilan province is a suitable environment for maintaining leptospira spp. hence, early detection of leptos ... | 2014 | 27175139 |
| mammalian gut immunity. | the mammalian intestinal tract is the largest immune organ in the body and comprises cells from non-hemopoietic (epithelia, paneth cells, goblet cells) and hemopoietic (macrophages, dendritic cells, t-cells) origin, and is also a dwelling for trillions of microbes collectively known as the microbiota. the homeostasis of this large microbial biomass is prerequisite to maintain host health by maximizing beneficial symbiotic relationships and minimizing the risks of living in such close proximity. ... | 2014 | 25163502 |
| rat sightings in new york city are associated with neighborhood sociodemographics, housing characteristics, and proximity to open public space. | rats are ubiquitous in urban environments and, as established reservoirs for infectious pathogens, present a control priority for public health agencies. new york city (nyc) harbors one of the largest rat populations in the united states, but surprising little study has been undertaken to define rat ecology across varied features of this urban landscape. more importantly, factors that may contribute to increased encounters between rats and humans have rarely been explored. using city-wide record ... | 2014 | 25237595 |
| isolation and characterization of two novel plasmids from pathogenic leptospira interrogans serogroup canicola serovar canicola strain gui44. | previous genomic analysis of pathogenic leptospira has identified two circular chromosomes but no plasmid. this study aims to investigate potential extrachromosomal elements of l.interrogans serovar canicola strain gui44. | 2014 | 25144555 |
| human leptospirosis trends: northeast thailand, 2001-2012. | the objective of this study was to determine the changing trend of leptospirosis over time in thailand using two prospective hospital-based studies conducted amongst adult patients with acute undifferentiated fever (aufi) admitted to maharat nakhon ratchasima hospital, nakhon ratchasima province, thailand between july 2001 to december 2002 and between july 2011 to december 2012. during the first period, leptospirosis (98 patients, 40%) and scrub typhus (59 patients, 24.1%) were the two major cau ... | 2014 | 25141000 |
| role of toll-like receptors in helicobacter pylori infection and immunity. | the gram-negative bacterium helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) infects the stomachs of approximately half of the world's population. although infection induces an immune response that contributes to chronic gastric inflammation, the response is not sufficient to eliminate the bacterium. h. pylori infection causes peptic ulcers, gastric cancer and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. disease outcome is linked to the severity of the host inflammatory response. gastric epithelial cells represen ... | 2014 | 25133016 |
| murine lung injury caused by leptospira interrogans glycolipoprotein, a specific na/k-atpase inhibitor. | leptospiral glycolipoprotein (glp) is a potent and specific na/k-atpase inhibitor. severe pulmonary form of leptospirosis is characterized by edema, inflammation and intra-alveolar hemorrhage having a dismal prognosis. resolution of edema and inflammation determines the outcome of lung injury. na/k-atpase activity is responsible for edema clearance. this enzyme works as a cell receptor that triggers activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (mapk) intracellular signaling pathway. therefore, ... | 2014 | 25265888 |
| toll-like receptors in the pathogenesis of human b cell malignancies. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) are important players in b-cell activation, maturation and memory and may be involved in the pathogenesis of b-cell lymphomas. accumulating studies show differential expression in this heterogeneous group of cancers. stimulation with tlr specific ligands, or agonists of their ligands, leads to aberrant responses in the malignant b-cells. according to current data, tlrs can be implicated in malignant transformation, tumor progression and immune evasion processes. most o ... | 2014 | 25112836 |
| molecular detection of leptospiral dna in environmental water on st. kitts. | leptospirosis is an important waterborne zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic leptospira. the pathogen is maintained in a population due to chronic colonization and shedding from renal tubules of domestic and wild animals. humans and other animals become infected when they come in contact with urine from infected animals, either directly or through urine-contaminated surface water. in this study, we screened environmental water on the island of st. kitts by using a taqman based real time quanti ... | 2014 | 25105546 |
| sensitivity of real-time pcr performed on dried sera spotted on filter paper for diagnosis of leptospirosis. | in remote countries, leptospirosis confirmation is difficult because it requires the shipment of frozen samples to reference laboratories. the sensitivity of leptospirosis real-time pcr performed on filter paper-dried serum samples stored at ambient temperature was evaluated at 2 × 10(2) equivalent leptospires/ml (eqleptospires/ml). this easy alternative procedure can be used to enhance the surveillance of leptospirosis. | 2014 | 24899024 |
| recognition of lps by tlr4: potential for anti-inflammatory therapies. | lps molecules of marine bacteria show structures distinct from terrestrial bacteria, due to the different environment that marine bacteria live in. because of these different structures, lipid a molecules from marine bacteria are most often poor stimulators of the toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) pathway. due to their low stimulatory potential, these lipid a molecules are suggested to be applicable as antagonists of tlr4 signaling in sepsis patients, where this immune response is amplified and unregu ... | 2014 | 25056632 |
| vapc from the leptospiral vapbc toxin-antitoxin module displays ribonuclease activity on the initiator trna. | the prokaryotic ubiquitous toxin-antitoxin (ta) operons encode a stable toxin and an unstable antitoxin. the most accepted hypothesis of the physiological function of the ta system is the reversible cessation of cellular growth under stress conditions. the major ta family, vapbc is present in the spirochaete leptospira interrogans. vapbc modules are classified based on the presence of a predicted ribonucleasic pin domain in the vapc toxin. the expression of the leptospiral vapc in e. coli promot ... | 2014 | 25047537 |
| decay-accelerating factor 1 deficiency exacerbates leptospiral-induced murine chronic nephritis and renal fibrosis. | leptospirosis is a global zoonosis caused by pathogenic leptospira, which can colonize the proximal renal tubules and persist for long periods in the kidneys of infected hosts. here, we characterized the infection of c57bl/6j wild-type and daf1-/- mice, which have an enhanced host response, with a virulent leptospira interrogans strain at 14 days post-infection, its persistence in the kidney, and its link to kidney fibrosis at 90 days post-infection. we found that leptospira interrogans can indu ... | 2014 | 25032961 |
| increasing incidence of canine leptospirosis in switzerland. | a marked increase in canine leptospirosis was observed in switzerland over 10 years with a peak incidence of 28.1 diagnosed cases/100,000 dogs/year in the most affected canton. with 95% affected dogs living at altitudes <800 m, the disease presented a seasonal pattern associated with temperature (r2 0.73) and rainfall (r2 0.39), >90% cases being diagnosed between may and october. the increasing yearly incidence however was only weakly correlated with climatic data including number of summer (r2 ... | 2014 | 25032740 |
| a questionnaire-based survey on the uptake and use of cattle vaccines in the uk. | vaccination is a widely used strategy for disease control in cattle in the uk and abroad. however, there has been limited research describing the uptake and use of cattle vaccines on uk farms. | 2014 | 26392877 |
| an ortholog of the leptospira interrogans lipoprotein lipl32 aids in the colonization of pseudoalteromonas tunicata to host surfaces. | the bacterium pseudoalteromonas tunicata is a common surface colonizer of marine eukaryotes, including the macroalga ulva australis.genomic analysis of p. tunicata identified genes potentially involved in surface colonization, including genes with homology to bacterial virulence factors that mediate attachment. of particular interest is the presence of a gene, designated ptll32, encoding an ortholog to the leptospira lipoprotein lipl32, which has been shown to facilitate the interaction of lepto ... | 2014 | 25071736 |
| strengthening public health laboratory capacity in thailand for international health regulations (ihr) (2005). | thailand conducted a national laboratory assessment of core capacities related to the international health regulations (ihr) (2005), and thereby established a baseline to measure future progress. the assessment was limited to public laboratories found within the thai bureau of quality and safety of food, national institute of health and regional medical science centres. | 2014 | 26693144 |
| comparing the different morphotypes of a fish pathogen--implications for key virulence factors in flavobacterium columnare. | flavobacterium columnare (bacteroidetes) is the causative agent of columnaris disease in farmed freshwater fish around the world. the bacterium forms three colony morphotypes (rhizoid, rough and soft), but the differences of the morphotypes are poorly known. we studied the virulence of the morphotypes produced by f. columnare strain b067 in rainbow trout (onconrhynchus mykiss) and used high-resolution scanning electron microscopy to identify the fine structures of the cells grown in liquid and o ... | 2014 | 24964840 |
| leptospirosis in vellore: a clinical and serological study. | leptospirosis is a severe spirochetal zoonosis in the world. it is considered an occupational disease of persons engaged in agriculture, sewage works, forestry, and animal slaughtering. a study was conducted with an objective of assessing the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in and around vellore district, tamil nadu. the study was based on the signs and symptoms of the patients reporting fever in vellore municipal clinic (urban malarial scheme). blood samples were collected from 129 patients. an ... | 2014 | 25050124 |
| 'black sheep' that don't leave the double-stranded rna-binding domain fold. | the canonical double-stranded rna (dsrna)-binding domain (dsrbd) is composed of an α1-β1-β2-β3-α2 secondary structure that folds in three dimensions to recognize dsrna. recently, structural and functional studies of divergent dsrbds revealed adaptations that include intra- and/or intermolecular protein interactions, sometimes in the absence of detectable dsrna-binding ability. we describe here how discrete dsrbd components can accommodate pronounced amino-acid sequence changes while maintaining ... | 2014 | 24954387 |
| using peptideatlas, srmatlas, and passel: comprehensive resources for discovery and targeted proteomics. | peptideatlas, srmatlas, and passel are web-accessible resources to support discovery and targeted proteomics research. peptideatlas is a multi-species compendium of shotgun proteomic data provided by the scientific community; srmatlas is a resource of high-quality, complete proteome srm assays generated in a consistent manner for the targeted identification and quantification of proteins; and passel is a repository that compiles and represents selected reaction monitoring data, all in an easy-to ... | 2014 | 24939129 |
| approach to clinical syndrome of jaundice and encephalopathy in tropics. | a large number of patients present with jaundice and encephalopathy in tropical country like india and acute liver failure is the usual cause. clinical presentation like alf is also a complication of many tropical infections, and these conditions may mimic alf but may have subtle differences from alf. moreover, what hepatologists see as acute liver failure in tropics is different from what is commonly described in western textbooks. paracetamol overdose, which is possibly the commonest cause of ... | 2014 | 26041951 |
| approach to clinical syndrome of jaundice and encephalopathy in tropics. | a large number of patients present with jaundice and encephalopathy in tropical country like india and acute liver failure is the usual cause. clinical presentation like alf is also a complication of many tropical infections, and these conditions may mimic alf but may have subtle differences from alf. moreover, what hepatologists see as acute liver failure in tropics is different from what is commonly described in western textbooks. paracetamol overdose, which is possibly the commonest cause of ... | 2014 | 26041951 |
| modelling the efficiency of codon-trna interactions based on codon usage bias. | the trna adaptation index (tai) is a widely used measure of the efficiency by which a coding sequence is recognized by the intra-cellular trna pool. this index includes among others weights that represent wobble interactions between codons and trna molecules. currently, these weights are based only on the gene expression in saccharomyces cerevisiae. however, the efficiencies of the different codon-trna interactions are expected to vary among different organisms. in this study, we suggest a new a ... | 2014 | 24906480 |
| a cross sectional observational study to estimate herd level risk factors for leptospira spp. serovars in small holder dairy cattle farms in southern chile. | the south of chile constitutes the main cattle milk producing area of the country. regarding leptospirosis control in chile, there is neither an official program nor an epidemiological characterization of smallholder dairy farms. this study was carried out to determine leptospira seroprevalence and to evaluate risk factors associated with seropositivity at herd level in smallholder bovine dairy herds in southern chile.a cross-sectional study was conducted, and a convenient sample of 1,537 appare ... | 2014 | 24906684 |
| epidemiology of leptospira transmitted by rodents in southeast asia. | leptospirosis is the most common bacterial zoonoses and has been identified as an important emerging global public health problem in southeast asia. rodents are important reservoirs for human leptospirosis, but epidemiological data is lacking. | 2014 | 24901706 |
| ameboma: an unusual cause of gastrointestinal bleeding during severe leptospirosis. | severe leptospirosis occurs mainly in a tropical environment and includes icterus, acute renal failure and hemorrhages. these bleedings, which are mainly a consequence of acute homeostatic disturbances, can also reveal simultaneous diseases. coinfections with other tropical diseases have been previously reported during leptospirosis. to our knowledge, invasive amebiasis, which can induce gastrointestinal bleedings, has never been described in the course of severe leptospirosis. | 2014 | 24894109 |
| evaluation of new elisa based on rlsa63 - rlipl32 antigens for serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis. | timely diagnosis of leptospirosis is essential for an effective treatment. large diversity of clinical symptoms has led leptospirosis diagnosis difficult. researchers have conducted many tests with wide-range of sensitivity and specificity to achieve novel diagnostic procedures which have higher sensitivity and specificity compared with previous tests and which are more reliable and available to public laboratories. this study aimed to introduce lsa63 and lipl32 proteins-based elisa tests with m ... | 2014 | 25870752 |
| anaplasma platys in bone marrow megakaryocytes of young dogs. | anaplasma platys is an obligate intracellular rickettsial pathogen that infects platelets of dogs, forming basophilic intracellular morulae. in the present report, cellular inclusions were documented in bone marrow thrombocyte precursors of two young naturally infected dogs, indicating that a. platys can infect megakaryocytes and promegakaryocytes. | 2014 | 24622106 |
| highly precise quantification of protein molecules per cell during stress and starvation responses in bacillus subtilis. | systems biology based on high quality absolute quantification data, which are mandatory for the simulation of biological processes, successively becomes important for life sciences. we provide protein concentrations on the level of molecules per cell for more than 700 cytosolic proteins of the gram-positive model bacterium bacillus subtilis during adaptation to changing growth conditions. as glucose starvation and heat stress are typical challenges in b. subtilis' natural environment and induce ... | 2014 | 24878497 |
| characterisation of the proteome of leptospira interrogans serovar canicola as a resource for the identification of common serovar immunogenic proteins. | over 230 serovars of leptospira interrogans have been identified; however few have been completely characterised. the aim of this study was to characterise the proteome of serovar canicola and to compare this against the serovars of copenhageni and pomona. 2d-lc/ms analysis identified 1653 leptospira proteins in serovar canicola; 60 of these proteins were common to copenhageni and pomona, 16 of which are known to be immunogenic. this study provides the first reported proteome for serovar canicol ... | 2014 | 24987528 |
| identification of leptospiral 3-hydroxyacyl-coa dehydrogenase released in the urine of infected hamsters. | leptospirosis is a global zoonosis caused by pathogenic leptospira. the non-specific clinical signs and symptoms of leptospirosis lead to its misdiagnosis. to date, there is still no reliable rapid test kit that can accurately diagnose leptospirosis at bedside or in field. in this research, with the ultimate goal of formulating a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool for leptospirosis, we aimed to identify leptospiral proteins excreted in urine of infected hamsters, which are thought to mimic weil' ... | 2014 | 24884439 |
| the relationship between socioeconomic indices and potentially zoonotic pathogens carried by wild norway rats: a survey in rhône, france (2010-2012). | leptospira interrogans, hantaviruses (particularly seoul virus), hepatitis e virus (hev), and toxoplasma gondii are rat-associated zoonoses that are responsible for human morbidity and mortality worldwide. this study aimed to describe the infection patterns of these four pathogens in wild rats (rattus norvegicus) across socioeconomic levels in neighbourhoods in lyon, france. the infection or exposure status was determined using polymerase chain reaction or serology for 178 wild rats captured in ... | 2014 | 24838220 |
| the relationship between socioeconomic indices and potentially zoonotic pathogens carried by wild norway rats: a survey in rhône, france (2010-2012). | leptospira interrogans, hantaviruses (particularly seoul virus), hepatitis e virus (hev), and toxoplasma gondii are rat-associated zoonoses that are responsible for human morbidity and mortality worldwide. this study aimed to describe the infection patterns of these four pathogens in wild rats (rattus norvegicus) across socioeconomic levels in neighbourhoods in lyon, france. the infection or exposure status was determined using polymerase chain reaction or serology for 178 wild rats captured in ... | 2014 | 24838220 |
| kdo2 -lipid a: structural diversity and impact on immunopharmacology. | 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid-lipid a (kdo2 -lipid a) is the essential component of lipopolysaccharide in most gram-negative bacteria and the minimal structural component to sustain bacterial viability. it serves as the active component of lipopolysaccharide to stimulate potent host immune responses through the complex of toll-like-receptor 4 (tlr4) and myeloid differentiation protein 2. the entire biosynthetic pathway of escherichia coli kdo2 -lipid a has been elucidated and the nine enzymes ... | 2014 | 24838025 |
| kdo2 -lipid a: structural diversity and impact on immunopharmacology. | 3-deoxy-d-manno-octulosonic acid-lipid a (kdo2 -lipid a) is the essential component of lipopolysaccharide in most gram-negative bacteria and the minimal structural component to sustain bacterial viability. it serves as the active component of lipopolysaccharide to stimulate potent host immune responses through the complex of toll-like-receptor 4 (tlr4) and myeloid differentiation protein 2. the entire biosynthetic pathway of escherichia coli kdo2 -lipid a has been elucidated and the nine enzymes ... | 2014 | 24838025 |
| myocarditis, pancreatitis, polyarthritis, mononeuritis multiplex and vasculitis with symmetrical peripheral gangrene of the lower extremities as a rare presentation of leptospirosis: a case report and review of the literature. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by the spirochete, leptospira interrogans. while most cases of leptospirosis are mild to moderate, the course may be complicated by multiorgan dysfunction. we present a rare case of leptospirosis with acute myocarditis, pancreatitis, polyarthritis, mononeuritis multiplex and severe vasculitis with necrosis of the extremities. | 2014 | 24885926 |
| renal failure, hepatitis and myocarditis in a previously healthy man. | | 2014 | 25285107 |
| differences among children, adolescents and adults with severe leptospirosis: a comparative analysis. | leptospirosis is a zoonosis of global importance caused by leptospira interrogans. the aim of this study was to compare the data between children, adolescents and adults with leptospirosis. this is a retrospective study including a total of 373 consecutive patients with leptospirosis, admitted to tertiary hospitals in northeast of brazil, from may 1985 to august 2010. the patients were divided into two groups (age ≤21 years and >21 years). the adults were 304 (81.5%) of the population, with a me ... | 2014 | 25120294 |
| a rare case of weil's disease with alveolar haemorrhage. | leptospirosis, a disease of protean manifestations occurs sporadically throughout the year with a peak seasonal incidence during the rainy season mimicking other febrile viral illness. in the rare case, the disease leads to renal and hepatic involvement with hemorrhage which may be associated with multisystem organ dysfunction in form of pulmonary, cardiac and central nervous system, when it is known as weil's disease. rarely haemorrhagic manifestations are assosciated. early diagnosis is import ... | 2014 | 25183149 |
| cardiolipin synthetase is involved in antagonistic interaction (reverse camp phenomenon) of mycoplasma species with staphylococcus aureus beta-hemolysis. | mycoplasma hyorhinis has been implicated in a variety of swine diseases. however, little is known about the hemolytic capabilities of mycoplasma species in general or m. hyorhinis in particular. in this study, we show that m. hyorhinis possesses beta-hemolytic activity which may be involved in the invasion process. m. hyorhinis also possesses antagonistic cooperativity (reverse camp phenomenon) with staphylococcus aureus beta-hemolysis, resulting in the protection of erythrocytes from the beta-h ... | 2014 | 24599982 |
| seroprevalence of bovine leptospiral antibodies by microscopic agglutination test in southeast of iran. | to evaluate serological findings of bovine leptospirosis which is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution caused by leptospira interrogans. | 2014 | 25182718 |
| gram-negative marine bacteria: structural features of lipopolysaccharides and their relevance for economically important diseases. | gram-negative marine bacteria can thrive in harsh oceanic conditions, partly because of the structural diversity of the cell wall and its components, particularly lipopolysaccharide (lps). lps is composed of three main parts, an o-antigen, lipid a, and a core region, all of which display immense structural variations among different bacterial species. these components not only provide cell integrity but also elicit an immune response in the host, which ranges from other marine organisms to human ... | 2014 | 24796306 |
| acute undifferentiated febrile illness in rural cambodia: a 3-year prospective observational study. | in the past decade, malaria control has been successfully implemented in cambodia, leading to a substantial decrease in reported cases. wide-spread use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (rdts) has revealed a large burden of malaria-negative fever cases, for which no clinical management guidelines exist at peripheral level health facilities. as a first step towards developing such guidelines, a 3-year cross-sectional prospective observational study was designed to investigate the causes of acute ... | 2014 | 24755844 |
| epidemiological investigation of a human leptospirosis case reported in a suburban area near marseille. | leptospirosis has been re-emerging in both developed and developing countries, including in europe, where the phenomenon has notably been associated with urban transmission. in this work, we describe an epidemiological investigation that demonstrated a case of human infection due to peri-urban transmission of leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae in southeastern france. | 2014 | 25356349 |
| structural basis for the recognition of peptide rjpxd33 by acyltransferases in lipid a biosynthesis. | udp-n-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase (lpxa) and udp-3-o-(acyl)-glucosamine acyltransferase (lpxd) constitute the essential, early acyltransferases of lipid a biosynthesis. recently, an antimicrobial peptide inhibitor, rjpxd33, was identified with dual affinity for lpxa and lpxd. to gain a fundamental understanding of the molecular basis of inhibitor binding, we determined the crystal structure of lpxa from escherichia coli in complex with rjpxd33 at 1.9 å resolutions. our results suggest that ... | 2014 | 24742680 |
| mechanistic and bioinformatic investigation of a conserved active site helix in α-isopropylmalate synthase from mycobacterium tuberculosis, a member of the dre-tim metallolyase superfamily. | the characterization of functionally diverse enzyme superfamilies provides the opportunity to identify evolutionarily conserved catalytic strategies, as well as amino acid substitutions responsible for the evolution of new functions or specificities. isopropylmalate synthase (ipms) belongs to the dre-tim metallolyase superfamily. members of this superfamily share common active site elements, including a conserved active site helix and an hxh divalent metal binding motif, associated with stabiliz ... | 2014 | 24720347 |
| oxidative stress markers correlate with renal dysfunction and thrombocytopenia in severe leptospirosis. | leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that causes severe manifestations such as weil's disease and pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome. the aim of this study was to evaluate whether reactive oxygen species (ros) production and antioxidant reduced glutathione (gsh) levels are related to complications in patients hospitalized with leptospirosis. the ros production and gsh levels were measured in blood samples of 12 patients and nine healthy controls using chemiluminescence and absorbance assays. we found ... | 2014 | 24493675 |
| a brief review: the z-curve theory and its application in genome analysis. | in theoretical physics, there exist two basic mathematical approaches, algebraic and geometrical methods, which, in most cases, are complementary. in the area of genome sequence analysis, however, algebraic approaches have been widely used, while geometrical approaches have been less explored for a long time. the z-curve theory is a geometrical approach to genome analysis. the z-curve is a three-dimensional curve that represents a given dna sequence in the sense that each can be uniquely reconst ... | 2014 | 24822026 |
| vaccination with leptospiral outer membrane lipoprotein lipl32 reduces kidney invasion of leptospira interrogans serovar canicola in hamsters. | the leptospira interrogans vaccines currently available are serovar specific and require regular booster immunizations to maintain protection of the host. in addition, a hamster challenge batch potency test is necessary to evaluate these vaccines prior to market release, requiring the use of a large number of animals, which is ethically and financially undesirable. our previous work showed that the n terminus of the outer membrane protein lipl32 was altered in leptospira interrogans serovar cani ... | 2014 | 24521782 |
| epstein-barr virus infection with acute acalculous cholecystitis. | acute acalculous cholecystitis (aac) is an inflammation of the gallbladder in the absence of demonstrated stones. aac is frequently associated with severe systemic inflammation. however, the exact etiology and pathogenesis of aac still remain unclear. acute infection with epstein barr virus (ebv) in childhood is usually aymptomatic, whereas it often presents as typical infectious mononucleosis symptoms such as fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, and hepatosplenomegaly. aac may occur during the cour ... | 2014 | 24749090 |
| the characteristics of wild rat (rattus spp.) populations from an inner-city neighborhood with a focus on factors critical to the understanding of rat-associated zoonoses. | norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus) are among the most ubiquitous urban wildlife species and are the source of a number of zoonotic diseases responsible for significant human morbidity and mortality in cities around the world. rodent ecology is a primary determinant of the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in rodent populations and the risk of pathogen transmission to people, yet many studies of rat-associated zoonoses do not account for the ecological characteristics of urb ... | 2014 | 24646877 |
| identification of sphingomyelinase on the surface of chlamydia pneumoniae: possible role in the entry into its host cells. | we have recently suggested a novel mechanism, autoendocytosis, for the entry of certain microbes into their hosts, with a key role played by the sphingomyelinase-catalyzed topical conversion of sphingomyelin to ceramide, the differences in the biophysical properties of these two lipids providing the driving force. the only requirement for such microbes to utilize this mechanism is that they should have a catalytically active smase on their outer surface while the target cells should expose sphin ... | 2014 | 24757444 |
| structural characterization of mepb from staphylococcus aureus reveals homology to endonucleases. | the meprab operon in staphylococcus aureus has been identified to play a role in drug resistance. although the functions of mepa and mepr are known, little information is available on the function of mepb. here we report the x-ray structure of mepb to 2.1 å revealing its structural similarity to the pd-(d/e)xk family of endonucleases. we further show that mepb binds dna and rna, with a higher affinity towards rna and single stranded dna than towards double stranded dna. notably, the pd-(d/e)xk c ... | 2014 | 24501097 |