| safety of fluralaner chewable tablets (bravecto), a novel systemic antiparasitic drug, in dogs after oral administration. | fluralaner is a novel systemic insecticide and acaricide that provides long acting efficacy in dogs after a single oral treatment. this study investigated the safety of oral administration of fluralaner in chewable tablets to dogs at the highest recommended treatment dose and at multiples of this dose. | 2014 | 24606886 |
| structural insights into e. coli porphobilinogen deaminase during synthesis and exit of 1-hydroxymethylbilane. | porphobilinogen deaminase (pbgd) catalyzes the formation of 1-hydroxymethylbilane (hmb), a crucial intermediate in tetrapyrrole biosynthesis, through a step-wise polymerization of four molecules of porphobilinogen (pbg), using a unique dipyrromethane (dpm) cofactor. structural and biochemical studies have suggested residues with catalytic importance, but their specific role in the mechanism and the dynamic behavior of the protein with respect to the growing pyrrole chain remains unknown. molecul ... | 2014 | 24603363 |
| vaccine-associated leptospira antibodies in client-owned dogs. | long-term microscopic agglutination test (mat) results after vaccination with 4-serovar leptospira vaccines are not available for all vaccines used in client-owned dogs. | 2014 | 24597674 |
| regional and temporal variations of leptospira seropositivity in dogs in the united states, 2000-2010. | previous studies have reported a seasonal increased risk for leptospirosis, but there is no consistent seasonality reported across regions in the united states. | 2014 | 24597659 |
| diagnostic efficacy of lsa63 antigen for human leptospirosis. | timely diagnosis of leptospirosis is essential for early and effective treatment, for there are many differential diagnoses for it.. leptospiral researchers have an increasing interest in developing new serological methods with recombinant antigens to improve the leptospirosis diagnosis. several serological tests have been developed for the proper diagnosis of leptospirosis. | 2014 | 24829775 |
| purification and biophysical characterization of the capa membrane protein ftt0807 from francisella tularensis. | the capa gene (ftt0807) from francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis schu s4 encodes a 44.4 kda integral membrane protein composed of 403 amino acid residues that is part of an apparent operon that encodes at least two other membrane proteins, capb, and capc, which together play a critical role in the virulence and pathogenesis of this bacterium. the capa gene was overexpressed in escherichia coli as a c-terminal his6-tagged fusion with a folding reporter green fluorescent protein (frgfp). puri ... | 2014 | 24593131 |
| loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rickettsia typhi (the causal agent of murine typhus): problems with diagnosis at the limit of detection. | murine typhus is a flea-borne disease of worldwide distribution caused by rickettsia typhi. although treatment with tetracycline antibiotics is effective, treatment is often misguided or delayed due to diagnostic difficulties. as the gold standard immunofluorescence assay is imperfect, we aimed to develop and evaluate a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (lamp) assay. lamp assays have the potential to fulfill the who assured criteria (affordable, sensitive, specific, user friendly, robust an ... | 2014 | 24371248 |
| detection of leptospira spp. in wildlife reservoir hosts in ontario through comparison of immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction genotyping methods. | a total of 460 kidney samples from wildlife (beavers, coyotes, deer, foxes, opossums, otters, raccoons, skunks) were obtained from road-kill and hunter/trapper donations in ontario between january 2010 and november 2012. the objectives of the study were to detect leptospira spp. by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (pcr), to map presence of leptospires in wildlife relative to livestock and human populations, and to characterize positive samples by sequencing and comparison to le ... | 2014 | 24587507 |
| diagnosis of canine leptospirosis by a highly sensitive fret-pcr targeting the lig genes. | canine leptospirosis is underdiagnosed due to its wide spectrum of clinical presentations and the lack of a rapid and sensitive test for the accurate diagnosis of acute and chronic infections. in this study, we developed a highly sensitive and specific fluorescence resonance energy transfer (fret)-pcr to detect common pathogenic leptospires in dogs, including leptospira interrogans serovars autumnalis, canicola, copenhageni (icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup) and pomona, and leptospira kirschneri se ... | 2014 | 24586833 |
| haemophilus ducreyi hfq contributes to virulence gene regulation as cells enter stationary phase. | to adapt to stresses encountered in stationary phase, gram-negative bacteria utilize the alternative sigma factor rpos. however, some species lack rpos; thus, it is unclear how stationary-phase adaptation is regulated in these organisms. here we defined the growth-phase-dependent transcriptomes of haemophilus ducreyi, which lacks an rpos homolog. compared to mid-log-phase organisms, cells harvested from the stationary phase upregulated genes encoding several virulence determinants and a homolog ... | 2014 | 24520065 |
| genotypes of pathogenic leptospira spp isolated from rodents in argentina. | leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis in the world and significant efforts have been made to determine and classify pathogenic leptospira strains. this zoonosis is maintained in nature through chronic renal infections of carrier animals, with rodents and other small mammals serving as the most important reservoirs. additionally, domestic animals, such as livestock and dogs, are significant sources of human infection. in this study, a multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis ... | 2014 | 24676656 |
| sero-prevalence and risk factors for leptospirosis in abattoir workers in new zealand. | leptospirosis is an important occupational disease in new zealand. the objectives of this study were to determine risk factors for sero-prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in abattoir workers. sera were collected from 567 abattoir workers and tested by microscopic agglutination for leptospira interrogans sv. pomona and leptospira borgpetersenii sv. hardjobovis. association between prevalence and risk factors were determined by species specific multivariable analysis. eleven percent of workers h ... | 2014 | 24503973 |
| seroprevalence of leptospira hardjo in cattle and african buffalos in southwestern uganda. | leptospirosis, caused by the spirochete bacterium leptospira spp. is a zoonosis, distributed worldwide and classified as an emerging infectious disease. fatal outcomes to leptospiral infection do occur and the disease can cause abortion and other reproductive problems in cattle, goats, and pigs. in humans the symptoms range from subclinical infection to acute febrile illness, pulmonary hemorrhage and renal failure. leptospirosis has never been officially reported to the world health organization ... | 2014 | 24323512 |
| leptospirosis in pregnancy with pathological fetal cardiotocography changes. | we report the case of a 33-year-old primigravida who presented at 37 weeks of gestation with symptoms suggestive of acute fatty liver of pregnancy, but was later diagnosed with leptospirosis (i.e. weil’s disease or syndrome) on serological testing. cardiotocography showed fetal distress, and an emergency caesarean section was performed. a healthy neonate with no evidence of congenital leptospirosis was delivered. the patient was treated with intravenous ceftriaxone and discharged well 13 days af ... | 2014 | 24712035 |
| identification of a proton-chloride antiporter (eric) by himar1 transposon mutagenesis in lactobacillus reuteri and its role in histamine production. | the gut microbiome may modulate intestinal immunity by luminal conversion of dietary amino acids to biologically active signals. the model probiotic organism lactobacillus reuteri atcc pta 6475 is indigenous to the human microbiome, and converts the amino acid l-histidine to the biogenic amine, histamine. histamine suppresses tumor necrosis factor (tnf) production by human myeloid cells and is a product of l-histidine decarboxylation, which is a proton-facilitated reaction. a transposon mutagene ... | 2014 | 24488273 |
| role of 72 kda protein of leptospira interrogans as a diagnostic marker in acute leptospirosis. | leptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease and a public health problem, particularly in tropical and subtropical countries. varied clinical manifestations of the disease frequently lead to misdiagnosis resulting in life-threatening multi-organ complications. therefore, early laboratory investigation using an appropriate diagnostic approach is crucial. in the present study, a potential protein marker was identified and evaluated for its usefulness in the serodiagnosis of acute leptospirosis. | 2014 | 24718408 |
| tropical fevers: management guidelines. | tropical fevers were defined as infections that are prevalent in, or are unique to tropical and subtropical regions. some of these occur throughout the year and some especially in rainy and post-rainy season. concerned about high prevalence and morbidity and mortality caused by these infections, and overlapping clinical presentations, difficulties in arriving at specific diagnoses and need for early empiric treatment, indian society of critical care medicine (isccm) constituted an expert committ ... | 2014 | 24678147 |
| bacteria isolated from conspecific bite wounds in norway and black rats: implications for rat bite-associated infections in people. | bites associated with wild and domestic norway and black rats (rattus norvegicus and rattus rattus) may have a variety of health consequences in people. bite-related infections are among the most significant of these consequences; however, there is little data on the infectious agents that can be transmitted from rats to people through biting. this is problematic because without an accurate understanding of bite-related infection risks, it is difficult for health professionals to evaluate the ad ... | 2014 | 24528094 |
| factors associated with thrombocytopenia in severe leptospirosis (weil's disease). | this study was conducted to investigate factors associated with thrombocytopenia in a large cohort of patients with leptospirosis in an endemic area. | 2014 | 24519201 |
| high-resolution typing of leptospira interrogans strains by multispacer sequence typing. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis which is responsible for the typical form of weil's disease. the epidemiological surveillance of the leptospira species agent is important for host prevalence control. although the genotyping methods have progressed, the identification of some serovars remains ambiguous. we investigated the multispacer sequence typing (mst) method for genotyping strains belonging to the species leptospira interrogans, which is the main agent of leptospirosis worldwide. a tot ... | 2014 | 24478489 |
| carriage of clostridium difficile by wild urban norway rats (rattus norvegicus) and black rats (rattus rattus). | clostridium difficile is an important cause of enteric infections in humans. recently, concerns have been raised regarding whether animals could be a source of c. difficile spores. although colonization has been identified in a number of domestic species, the ability of commensal pests to serve as a reservoir for c. difficile has not been well investigated. the objective of this study was to determine whether urban rats (rattus spp.) from vancouver, canada, carry c. difficile. clostridium diffic ... | 2014 | 24317079 |
| comprehensive absolute quantification of the cytosolic proteome of bacillus subtilis by data independent, parallel fragmentation in liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (lc/ms(e)). | in the growing field of systems biology, the knowledge of protein concentrations is highly required to truly understand metabolic and adaptational networks within the cells. therefore we established a workflow relying on long chromatographic separation and mass spectrometric analysis by data independent, parallel fragmentation of all precursor ions at the same time (lc/ms(e)). by prevention of discrimination of co-eluting low and high abundant peptides a high average sequence coverage of 40% cou ... | 2014 | 24696501 |
| leptospira interrogans binds to cadherins. | leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic species of leptospira, is the most widespread zoonosis and has emerged as a major public health problem worldwide. the adhesion of pathogenic leptospira to host cells, and to extracellular matrix (ecm) components, is likely to be necessary for the ability of leptospires to penetrate, disseminate and persist in mammalian host tissues. previous work demonstrated that pathogenic l. interrogans binds to host cells more efficiently than to ecm. using two independen ... | 2014 | 24498454 |
| leptospira interrogans induces fibrosis in the mouse kidney through inos-dependent, tlr- and nlr-independent signaling pathways. | leptospira (l.) interrogans are bacteria responsible for a worldwide reemerging zoonosis. rodents carry l. interrogans asymptomatically in their kidneys and excrete bacteria in the urine, contaminating the environment. humans get infected through skin contact and develop a mild or severe leptospirosis that may lead to renal failure and fibrosis. l. interrogans provoke an interstitial nephritis, but the induction of fibrosis caused by l. interrogans has not been studied in murine models. innate i ... | 2014 | 24498450 |
| central cavity of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and the evolution of amp/fructose 2,6-bisphosphate synergism in eukaryotic organisms. | the effects of amp and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (fru-2,6-p2) on porcine fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (pfbpase) and escherichia coli fbpase (efbpase) differ in three respects. amp/fru-2,6-p2 synergism in pfbpase is absent in efbpase. fru-2,6-p2 induces a 13° subunit pair rotation in pfbpase but no rotation in efbpase. hydrophilic side chains in efbpase occupy what otherwise would be a central aqueous cavity observed in pfbpase. explored here is the linkage of amp/fru-2,6-p2 synergism to the centr ... | 2014 | 24436333 |
| serologic and urinary pcr survey of leptospirosis in healthy cats and in cats with kidney disease. | although there is serologic evidence of exposure of cats to leptospira spp., clinical disease is rarely reported in cats. | 2014 | 24417764 |
| human leptospirosis on reunion island: past and current burden. | since 1953, leptospirosis has been recognized as a public health problem on reunion island. in 2004, was implemented a specific surveillance system that included systematic reporting and the realization of environmental investigations around hospitalized cases. here, we present the synthesis of historical data and the assessment of 9 years of leptospirosis surveillance. from 2004 to 2012, 414 hospitalized cases were reported. cases of leptospirosis occurred mostly during the rainy season from de ... | 2014 | 24434593 |
| identification and characterization of a putative chemotaxis protein, chey, from the oral pathogen campylobacter rectus. | campylobacter rectus is an understudied oral bacterium that contributes to periodontitis. processes that contribute to the disease-causing capabilities of pathogens, such as chemotaxis, are largely unknown in c. rectus. the aim of this study was to better understand c. rectus chemotaxis, by examining the c. rectus genome for the presence of a chey gene. chey proteins play a part in chemotaxis by acting as two-component response regulators. significantly, chey proteins from several pathogens, inc ... | 2014 | 25598863 |
| infections by leptospira interrogans, seoul virus, and bartonella spp. among norway rats (rattus norvegicus) from the urban slum environment in brazil. | norway rats (rattus norvegicus) are reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens that cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans. studies evaluating the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in tropical norway rat populations are rare, and data on co-infection with multiple pathogens are nonexistent. herein, we describe the prevalence of leptospiral carriage, seoul virus (seov), and bartonella spp. infection independently, in addition to the rates of co-infection among urban, slum-dwelling norway ... | 2014 | 24359425 |
| first overall report of leptospira infections in wild boars in poland. | recently an increase in the population of wild boars (sus scrofa) in europe has been observed. this is important from a zoonotic perspective because it influences directly on the spread of many diseases. for the first time, an extensive survey on the prevalence of leptospira infections in polish wild boars was performed. during the hunting season 2012-2014, 3621 blood samples from wild boars were collected. the animals originated from different geographical areas across poland. serum samples wer ... | 2015 | 26754249 |
| first overall report of leptospira infections in wild boars in poland. | recently an increase in the population of wild boars (sus scrofa) in europe has been observed. this is important from a zoonotic perspective because it influences directly on the spread of many diseases. for the first time, an extensive survey on the prevalence of leptospira infections in polish wild boars was performed. during the hunting season 2012-2014, 3621 blood samples from wild boars were collected. the animals originated from different geographical areas across poland. serum samples wer ... | 2015 | 26754249 |
| are pathogenic leptospira species agents of community-acquired pneumonia? case reports of leptospirosis presenting as pneumonia. | we report four indonesian cases meeting the clinical and radiological criteria for community-acquired pneumonia and other findings suggestive of leptospirosis. quantitative pcr (qpcr) analyses of serum and urine samples and serology confirmed the diagnosis of leptospirosis in each. results of qpcr analysis of throat swabs were concordant with those obtained with acute-phase serum samples, which suggests its potential for use as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for leptospirosis. | 2015 | 26511741 |
| are pathogenic leptospira species agents of community-acquired pneumonia? case reports of leptospirosis presenting as pneumonia. | we report four indonesian cases meeting the clinical and radiological criteria for community-acquired pneumonia and other findings suggestive of leptospirosis. quantitative pcr (qpcr) analyses of serum and urine samples and serology confirmed the diagnosis of leptospirosis in each. results of qpcr analysis of throat swabs were concordant with those obtained with acute-phase serum samples, which suggests its potential for use as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for leptospirosis. | 2015 | 26511741 |
| differential toll-like receptor-signalling of burkholderia pseudomallei lipopolysaccharide in murine and human models. | the gram-negative bacterium burkholderia pseudomallei causes melioidosis and is a cdc category b bioterrorism agent. toll-like receptor (tlr)-2 impairs host defense during pulmonary b.pseudomallei infection while tlr4 only has limited impact. we investigated the role of tlrs in b.pseudomallei-lipopolysaccharide (lps) induced inflammation. purified b.pseudomallei-lps activated only tlr2-transfected-hek-cells during short stimulation but both hek-tlr2 and hek-tlr4-cells after 24 h. in human blood, ... | 2015 | 26689559 |
| seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in feline population in urban and dairy cattle herds in mashhad, iran. | the importance of cats in the leptospira epidemiology is due to the possibility of transferring leptospirosis to wild and domesticated animals. the purpose of this survey was to determine the prevalence of leptospira infection in shorthair cats in different location of mashhad, iran. totally, 147 blood samples were taken from 42 (28.57%), 52 (35.37%) and 53 (36.05%) households, stray and cats which lived in industrial dairy cattle herds of mashhad, iran, respectively. sera were tested with seven ... | 2015 | 26973765 |
| trnas taking charge. | most bacterial toxins derived from chromosomally encoded toxin-antitoxin (ta) systems that have been studied to date appear to protect cells from relatively short pulses of stress by triggering a reversible state of growth arrest. in contrast to many bacterial toxins that are produced as defense mechanisms and secreted from their hosts, ta toxins exert their protective effect from within the cell that produces them. ta toxin-mediated growth arrest is most frequently achieved through their abilit ... | 2015 | 26657107 |
| trnas taking charge. | most bacterial toxins derived from chromosomally encoded toxin-antitoxin (ta) systems that have been studied to date appear to protect cells from relatively short pulses of stress by triggering a reversible state of growth arrest. in contrast to many bacterial toxins that are produced as defense mechanisms and secreted from their hosts, ta toxins exert their protective effect from within the cell that produces them. ta toxin-mediated growth arrest is most frequently achieved through their abilit ... | 2015 | 26657107 |
| correction: fine mapping of the interaction between c4b-binding protein and outer membrane proteins liga and ligb of pathogenic leptospira interrogans. | | 2015 | 26636670 |
| dna prime-protein boost based vaccination with a conserved region of leptospiral immunoglobulin-like a and b proteins enhances protection against leptospirosis. | leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the leptospira genus. vaccination with bacterins has severe limitations. here, we evaluated the n-terminal region of the leptospiral immunoglobulin-like b protein (ligbrep) as a vaccine candidate against leptospirosis using immunisation strategies based on dna prime-protein boost, dna vaccine, and subunit vaccine. upon challenge with a virulent strain ofleptospira interrogans, the prime-boost and dna vaccine approaches induc ... | 2015 | 26676320 |
| heterogenic colonization patterns by leptospira interrogans in rattus norvegicus from urban slums. | we evaluated the renal colonization by leptospira interrogans in rattus norvegicus (rats), as it is the major natural reservoir of urban leptospirosis. we caught 72 r. norvegicus, out of which 32 were found to be positive for l. interrogans by immunofluorescence assay. from these rats, we selected 17 and divided them into six groups based on the mass-age/sex. we performed the immunohistochemistry test against l. interrogans in the kidney sections of the rats and systematically counted the coloni ... | 2015 | 26691476 |
| factors associated with severe leptospirosis, martinique, 2010-2013. | to identify factors associated with disease severity, we examined 102 patients with quantitative pcr-confirmed leptospirosis in martinique during 2010-2013. associated factors were hypotension, chest auscultation abnormalities, icterus, oligo/anuria, thrombocytopenia, prothrombin time <68%, high levels of leptospiremia, and infection with l. interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae/copenhageni. | 2015 | 26583702 |
| a systematic review of changes in marine mammal health in north america, 1972-2012: the need for a novel integrated approach. | marine mammals are often cited as "sentinels of ocean health" yet accessible, synthesized data on their health changes that could effectively warn of ocean health changes are rare. the objectives of this study were to 1) perform a systematic review of published cases of marine mammal disease to determine spatial and temporal trends in disease from 1972-2012, including changes in regions and taxa affected and specific causes; and 2) compare numbers of published cases of neoplasia with known, hosp ... | 2015 | 26579715 |
| leptospira and bats: story of an emerging friendship. | | 2015 | 26562435 |
| distribution of plasmids in distinct leptospira pathogenic species. | leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic leptospira, is a worldwide zoonotic infection. the genus leptospira includes at least 21 species clustered into three groups--pathogens, non-pathogens, and intermediates--based on 16s rrna phylogeny. research on leptospira is difficult due to slow growth and poor transformability of the pathogens. recent identification of extrachromosomal elements besides the two chromosomes in l. interrogans has provided new insight into genome complexity of the genus leptosp ... | 2015 | 26555137 |
| an o-methyltransferase is required for infection of tick cells by anaplasma phagocytophilum. | anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (hga), is an obligately intracellular α-proteobacterium that is transmitted by ixodes spp ticks. however, the pathogen is not transovarially transmitted between tick generations and therefore needs to survive in both a mammalian host and the arthropod vector to complete its life cycle. to adapt to different environments, pathogens rely on differential gene expression as well as the modification of proteins and othe ... | 2015 | 26544981 |
| whole-genome sequence of leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo subtype hardjoprajitno strain norma, isolated from cattle in a leptospirosis outbreak in brazil. | leptospirosis is caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus leptospira spp. this neglected re-emergent disease has global distribution and relevance in veterinary production. here, we report the whole-genome sequence and annotation of leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo subtype hardjoprajitno strain norma, isolated from cattle in a livestock leptospirosis outbreak in brazil. | 2015 | 26543126 |
| lipid a as a drug target and therapeutic molecule. | in this review, lipid a, from its discovery to recent findings, is presented as a drug target and therapeutic molecule. first, the biosynthetic pathway for lipid a, the raetz pathway, serves as a good drug target for antibiotic development. several assay methods used to screen for inhibitors of lipid a synthesis will be presented, and some of the promising lead compounds will be described. second, utilization of lipid a biosynthetic pathways by various bacterial species can generate modified lip ... | 2015 | 26535075 |
| comparative analysis of lipopolysaccharides of pathogenic and intermediately pathogenic leptospira species. | lipopolysaccharides (lps) are complex, amphipathic biomolecules that constitute the major surface component of gram-negative bacteria. leptospira, unlike other human-pathogenic spirochetes, produce lps, which is fundamental to the taxonomy of the genus, involved in host-adaption and also the target of diagnostic antibodies. despite its significance, little is known of leptospira lps composition and carbohydrate structure among different serovars. | 2015 | 26518696 |
| fine mapping of the interaction between c4b-binding protein and outer membrane proteins liga and ligb of pathogenic leptospira interrogans. | the complement system consists of more than 40 proteins that participate in the inflammatory response and in pathogen killing. complement inhibitors are necessary to avoid the excessive consumption and activation of this system on host cells. leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by spirochetes from the genus leptospira. pathogenic leptospires are able to escape from complement activation by binding to host complement inhibitors factor h [fh] and c4b-binding protein (c4bp) while non-patho ... | 2015 | 26517116 |
| characterization of leptospira interrogans serovars by polymorphism variable number tandem repeat analysis. | leptospirosis is recognized as a re-emerging infectious disease; therefore, understanding the epidemiology of the disease is vital for designing intervention programs and diminishing its transmission. recently, multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (mlva) is used for segregating and identifying leptospira serovars. the method has potential application in investigating the molecular epidemiology of leptospira. | 2015 | 26568805 |
| distribution of leptospira interrogans by multispacer sequence typing in urban norway rats (rattus norvegicus): a survey in france in 2011-2013. | urban leptospirosis has increasingly been reported in both developing and developed countries. the control of the disease is limited because our understanding of basic aspects of the epidemiology, including the transmission routes of leptospires among rat populations, remains incomplete. through the ability to distinguish among leptospira strains in rats, multispacer sequence typing (mst) could provide a modern understanding of leptospira epidemiology; however, to our knowledge, the distribution ... | 2015 | 26447693 |
| mouse model for sublethal leptospira interrogans infection. | although leptospira can infect a wide range of mammalian species, most studies have been conducted in golden syrian hamsters, a species particularly sensitive to acute disease. chronic disease has been well characterized in the rat, one of the natural reservoir hosts. studies in another asymptomatic reservoir host, the mouse, have occasionally been done and have limited infection to mice younger than 6 weeks of age. we analyzed the outcome of sublethal infection of c3h/hej mice older than age 10 ... | 2015 | 26416909 |
| evaluation of truncated lipl32 expressed by escherichia coli and pichia pastoris for serodiagnosis of leptospira infection in rodents. | the applicability of the recombinant lipl32 for serodiagnosis of leptospiral infection in field rodents was assessed in this study. an immunodominant region of lipl32 was determined by monoclonal antibodies, and then, truncated lipl32 (tlipl32) was designed to contain the region (87-188th amino acid). the tlipl32 was compared between two recombinant expression hosts escherichia coli and pichia pastoris in elisa. with field rat sera, tlipl32 expressed by p. pastoris (tlipl32p) had high antigenici ... | 2015 | 26412049 |
| evaluation of truncated lipl32 expressed by escherichia coli and pichia pastoris for serodiagnosis of leptospira infection in rodents. | the applicability of the recombinant lipl32 for serodiagnosis of leptospiral infection in field rodents was assessed in this study. an immunodominant region of lipl32 was determined by monoclonal antibodies, and then, truncated lipl32 (tlipl32) was designed to contain the region (87-188th amino acid). the tlipl32 was compared between two recombinant expression hosts escherichia coli and pichia pastoris in elisa. with field rat sera, tlipl32 expressed by p. pastoris (tlipl32p) had high antigenici ... | 2015 | 26412049 |
| next-generation sequencing (ngs) for assessment of microbial water quality: current progress, challenges, and future opportunities. | water quality is an emergent property of a complex system comprised of interacting microbial populations and introduced microbial and chemical contaminants. studies leveraging next-generation sequencing (ngs) technologies are providing new insights into the ecology of microbially mediated processes that influence fresh water quality such as algal blooms, contaminant biodegradation, and pathogen dissemination. in addition, sequencing methods targeting small subunit (ssu) rrna hypervariable region ... | 2015 | 26441948 |
| a novel adhesive factor contributing to the virulence of vibrio parahaemolyticus. | bacterial adhesins play a pivotal role in the tight bacteria-host cells attachment to initiate the downstream processes and bacterial infection of hosts. in this study, we identified a novel adhesin, vpadf in v. parahaemolyticus. deletion of vpadf in v. parahaemolyticus markedly impaired its attachment and cytotoxicity to epithelial cells, as well as attenuated the virulence in murine model. biochemical studies revealed that vpadf recognized both fibronectin and fibrinogen. the binding of vpadf ... | 2015 | 26399174 |
| leptospirosis infection in a homeless patient in december in tokyo: a case report. | we report a case of severe leptospirosis that occurred during winter in tokyo, the capital of japan. leptospirosis is endemic in tropical regions and extremely rare in the urban areas of japan. only six new cases were reported in tokyo in 2014. most leptospirosis cases reported in urban areas of japan were a result of occupational hazards, and there is no previous report of leptospirosis in a homeless patient in tokyo. we believe this report could provide a widened perspective about the clinical ... | 2015 | 26373626 |
| molecular characterization of a catalase-negative staphylococcus aureus blood culture isolate. | here we report a catalase-negative methicillin-sensitive staphylococcus aureus isolate collected from a blood culture. sequencing through the gene encoding catalase, kata, demonstrated a 2-bp insertion. the resulting frameshift mutation generates a protein that has lost 26 amino acids (aa) at its c-terminal domain. | 2015 | 26354811 |
| simultaneous host-pathogen transcriptome analysis during granulibacter bethesdensis infection of neutrophils from healthy subjects and patients with chronic granulomatous disease. | polymorphonuclear leukocytes (pmn) from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (cgd) fail to produce microbicidal concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ros) due to mutations in nox2. patients with cgd suffer from severe, life-threatening infections and inflammatory complications. granulibacter bethesdensis is an emerging gram-negative pathogen in cgd that resists killing by pmn of cgd patients (cgd pmn) and inhibits pmn apoptosis through unknown mechanisms. microarray analysis was used ... | 2015 | 26283340 |
| identification and characterization of the chromosomal yefm-yoeb toxin-antitoxin system of streptococcus suis. | toxin-antitoxin (ta) systems are widely prevalent in the genomes of bacteria and archaea. these modules have been identified in escherichia coli and various other bacteria. however, their presence in the genome of streptococcus suis, an important zoonotic pathogen, has received little attention. in this study, we describe the identification and characterization of a type ii ta system, comprising the chromosomal yefm-yoeb locus of s. suis. the yefm-yoeb locus is present in the genome of most sero ... | 2015 | 26272287 |
| complete genome sequences of low-passage virulent and high-passage avirulent variants of pathogenic leptospira interrogans serovar manilae strain up-mmc-niid, originally isolated from a patient with severe leptospirosis, determined using pacbio single-molecule real-time technology. | here, we report the complete genome sequences of low-passage virulent and high-passage avirulent variants of pathogenic leptospira interrogans serovar manilae strain up-mmc-niid, a major causative agent of leptospirosis. while there were no major differences between the genome sequences, the levels of base modifications were higher in the avirulent variant. | 2015 | 26272567 |
| antimicrobial disk susceptibility testing of leptospira spp. using leptospira vanaporn wuthiekanun (lvw) agar. | leptospira vanaporn wuthiekanun (lvw) agar was used to develop a disk diffusion assay for leptospira spp. ten pathogenic leptospira isolates were tested, all of which were susceptible to 17 antimicrobial agents (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, doripenem, doxycycline, gentamicin, linezolid, nitrofurantoin, penicillin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and tetracycline). all 10 isolates had no zone of ... | 2015 | 26055750 |
| phylogeny of the vitamin k 2,3-epoxide reductase (vkor) family and evolutionary relationship to the disulfide bond formation protein b (dsbb) family. | in humans and other vertebrate animals, vitamin k 2,3-epoxide reductase (vkor) family enzymes are the gatekeepers between nutritionally acquired k vitamins and the vitamin k cycle responsible for posttranslational modifications that confer biological activity upon vitamin k-dependent proteins with crucial roles in hemostasis, bone development and homeostasis, hormonal carbohydrate regulation and fertility. we report a phylogenetic analysis of the vkor family that identifies five major clades. co ... | 2015 | 26230708 |
| protective immunity and reduced renal colonization induced by vaccines containing recombinant leptospira interrogans outer membrane proteins and flagellin adjuvant. | leptospirosis is a global zoonotic disease caused by different leptospira species, such as leptospira interrogans, that colonize the renal tubules of wild and domestic animals. thus far, attempts to develop effective leptospirosis vaccines, both for humans and animals, have failed to induce immune responses capable of conferring protection and simultaneously preventing renal colonization. in this study, we evaluated the protective immunity induced by subunit vaccines containing seven different r ... | 2015 | 26108285 |
| tissue apoptosis in mice infected with leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae. | this investigation aimed to evaluate the occurrence of some apoptotic features induced by leptospira interrogans serovar icterohaemorrhagiae infection in young balb/c mice during 2, 4, 7, 10, 14 and 21 days post-infection (dpi). | 2015 | 26221123 |
| 'spotted nanoflowers': gold-seeded zinc oxide nanohybrid for selective bio-capture. | hybrid gold nanostructures seeded into nanotextured zinc oxide (zno) nanoflowers (nfs) were created for novel biosensing applications. the selected 'spotted nfs' had a 30-nm-thick gold nanoparticle (aunp) layer, chosen from a range of aunp thicknesses, sputtered onto the surface. the generated nanohybrids, characterized by morphological, physical and structural analyses, were uniformly aunp-seeded onto the zno nfs with an average length of 2-3 μm. selective capture of molecular probes onto the s ... | 2015 | 26178973 |
| reducing the risk of pet-associated zoonotic infections. | | 2015 | 25897046 |
| growth-regulating mycobacterium tuberculosis vapc-mt4 toxin is an isoacceptor-specific trnase. | toxin-antitoxin (ta) systems are implicated in the downregulation of bacterial cell growth associated with stress survival and latent tuberculosis infection, yet the activities and intracellular targets of these ta toxins are largely uncharacterized. here, we use a specialized rna-seq approach to identify targets of a mycobacterium tuberculosis vapc ta toxin, vapc-mt4 (also known as vapc4), which have eluded detection using conventional approaches. distinct from the one other characterized vapc ... | 2015 | 26158745 |
| use of a new high resolution melting method for genotyping pathogenic leptospira spp. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis that is endemic in tropical areas, such as reunion island. the species leptospira interrogans is the primary agent in human infections, but other pathogenic species, such as l. kirschner and l. borgpetersenii, are also associated with human leptospirosis. | 2015 | 26154161 |
| comparison of bacterial burden and cytokine gene expression in golden hamsters in early phase of infection with two different strains of leptospira interrogans. | leptospirosis, a zoonotic infection with worldwide prevalence, is caused by pathogenic spirochaetes of leptospira spp., and exhibits an extremely broad clinical spectrum in human patients. although previous studies indicated that specific serovars or genotypes of leptospira spp. were associated with severe leptospirosis or its outbreak, the mechanism underlying the difference in virulence of the various leptospira serotypes or genotypes remains unclear. the present study addresses this question ... | 2015 | 26146835 |
| therapeutic developments targeting toll-like receptor-4-mediated neuroinflammation. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) have been shown to play an important role in the immune system, which warrants study of their remarkable potential as pharmacological targets. activation of tlrs requires participation from specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps) and accessory proteins such as myeloid differentiation protein 2 (md2), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (lbp), and cluster differentiation antigen 14 (cd14). assembly of the tlr4-md2-lps complex is essential in tlr4 activati ... | 2015 | 26136385 |
| therapeutic developments targeting toll-like receptor-4-mediated neuroinflammation. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) have been shown to play an important role in the immune system, which warrants study of their remarkable potential as pharmacological targets. activation of tlrs requires participation from specific pathogen-associated molecular patterns (pamps) and accessory proteins such as myeloid differentiation protein 2 (md2), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (lbp), and cluster differentiation antigen 14 (cd14). assembly of the tlr4-md2-lps complex is essential in tlr4 activati ... | 2015 | 26136385 |
| towards high-throughput immunomics for infectious diseases: use of next-generation peptide microarrays for rapid discovery and mapping of antigenic determinants. | complete characterization of antibody specificities associated to natural infections is expected to provide a rich source of serologic biomarkers with potential applications in molecular diagnosis, follow-up of chemotherapeutic treatments, and prioritization of targets for vaccine development. here, we developed a highly-multiplexed platform based on next-generation high-density peptide microarrays to map these specificities in chagas disease, an exemplar of a human infectious disease caused by ... | 2015 | 25922409 |
| complete genome sequence of leptospira interrogans serovar bratislava, strain pigk151. | leptospira interrogans serovar bratislava infection occurs in multiple domestic and wildlife species and is associated with poor reproductive performance in swine and horses. we present the complete genome assembly of strain pigk151 comprising two chromosomes, ci (4.457 mbp) and cii (358 kbp). | 2015 | 26112787 |
| acquired fanconi syndrome in a dog exposed to jerky treats in japan. | a 6-year-old spayed female jack russell terrier presented with a 1-month history of lethargy, anorexia, vomiting and weight loss. the dog was fed beef and chicken jerky treats daily in addition to a commercial diet. laboratory tests revealed azotemia, hypokalemia, hyperchloremia, metabolic acidosis and glucosuria with normoglycemia. urine amino acid analysis showed significant amino acid loss into the urine. thus, fanconi syndrome was diagnosed, and based on the case history and extensive diagno ... | 2015 | 26062568 |
| patterns in leptospira shedding in norway rats (rattus norvegicus) from brazilian slum communities at high risk of disease transmission. | we address some critical but unknown parameters of individuals and populations of norway rats (rattus norvegicus) that influence leptospiral infection, maintenance and spirochetal loads shed in urine, which contaminates the environment ultimately leading to human infection. | 2015 | 26047009 |
| synthesis, characterization and immunological properties of escherichia coli 0157:h7 lipopolysaccharide- diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine. | escherichia coli o157:h7, an emerging pathogen, causes severe enteritis and the extraintestinal complication of hemolytic-uremic syndrome. the goal of this study was to evaluate the conjugate of e. coli o157: h7 lipopolysaccharide (lps) with diphtheria toxoid (dt) as a candidate vaccine in mice model. | 2015 | 26668702 |
| environmental factors influencing white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) exposure to livestock pathogens in wisconsin. | white-tailed deer (odocoileus virginianus) are commonly exposed to disease agents that affect livestock but environmental factors that predispose deer to exposure are unknown for many pathogens. we trapped deer during winter months on two study areas (northern forest and eastern farmland) in wisconsin from 2010 to 2013. deer were tested for exposure to six serovars of leptospira interrogans (grippotyphosa, icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, bratislava, pomona, and hardjo), bovine viral diarrhea viru ... | 2015 | 26030150 |
| the characterization of feces and urine: a review of the literature to inform advanced treatment technology. | the safe disposal of human excreta is of paramount importance for the health and welfare of populations living in low income countries as well as the prevention of pollution to the surrounding environment. on-site sanitation (oss) systems are the most numerous means of treating excreta in low income countries, these facilities aim at treating human waste at source and can provide a hygienic and affordable method of waste disposal. however, current oss systems need improvement and require further ... | 2015 | 26246784 |
| immunogenicity of a novel enhanced consensus dna vaccine encoding the leptospiral protein lipl45. | leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by an infection with a spirochete belonging to the genus leptospira. in animals, leptospirosis displays a wide range of pathologies, including fever, abortion, icterus, and uveitis. conversely, infection in humans is associated with multi-organ injury, resulting in an increased rate of fatalities. pathogenic leptospires are able to translocate through cell monolayers at a rate significantly greater than that of non-pathogenic leptospires. thus ... | 2015 | 26020621 |
| a 2-d guinea pig lung proteome map. | guinea pigs represent an important model for a number of infectious and non-infectious pulmonary diseases. the guinea pig genome has recently been sequenced to full coverage, opening up new research avenues using genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics techniques in this species. in order to further annotate the guinea pig genome and to facilitate future pulmonary proteomics in this species we constructed a 2-d guinea pig proteome map including 486 protein identifications and post translational ... | 2015 | 26217778 |
| structure and biophysical characterization of the s-adenosylmethionine-dependent o-methyltransferase pamth1, a putative enzyme accumulating during senescence of podospora anserina. | low levels of reactive oxygen species (ros) act as important signaling molecules, but in excess they can damage biomolecules. ros regulation is therefore of key importance. several polyphenols in general and flavonoids in particular have the potential to generate hydroxyl radicals, the most hazardous among all ros. however, the generation of a hydroxyl radical and subsequent ros formation can be prevented by methylation of the hydroxyl group of the flavonoids. o-methylation is performed by o-met ... | 2015 | 25979334 |
| cytochromes c in archaea: distribution, maturation, cell architecture, and the special case of ignicoccus hospitalis. | cytochromes c (cytc) are widespread electron transfer proteins and important enzymes in the global nitrogen and sulfur cycles. the distribution of cytc in more than 300 archaeal proteomes deduced from sequence was analyzed with computational methods including pattern and similarity searches, secondary and tertiary structure prediction. two hundred and fifty-eight predicted cytc (with single, double, or multiple heme c attachment sites) were found in some but not all species of the desulfurococca ... | 2015 | 26029183 |
| dot-elisa rapid test using recombinant 56-kda protein antigens for serodiagnosis of scrub typhus. | we developed a rapid dot-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot-elisa) using the combination of recombinant 56-kda protein antigens that exhibited broad reactivity with serum antibodies against the four most prevalent strains (karp, kato, gilliam, and ta763) of orientia tsutsugamushi. the assay is rapid (30 minutes), and can be done at room temperature, and results can be read by the naked eye. only a simple shaker is required to wash the membrane. sera from 338 patients suspected of being ill w ... | 2015 | 25802430 |
| prevalence of endemic pig-associated zoonoses in southeast asia: a review of findings from the lao people's democratic republic. | the increasing intensification of pork production in southeast asia necessitates an urgent requirement to better understand the dual impact of pig-associated zoonotic disease on both pig production and human health in the region. sharing porous borders with five countries and representing many regional ethnicities and agricultural practices, the lao people's democratic republic (lao pdr) appears well placed to gauge the levels of pig-associated zoonoses circulating in the wider region. despite t ... | 2015 | 25802431 |
| structures of bacteroides fragilis uridine 5'-diphosphate-n-acetylglucosamine (udp-glcnac) acyltransferase (bflpxa). | uridine 5'-diphosphate-n-acetylglucosamine (udp-glcnac) acyltransferase (lpxa) catalyzes a reversible reaction for adding an o-acyl group to the glcnac in udp-glcnac in the first step of lipid a biosynthesis. lipid a constitutes a major component of lipopolysaccharides, also referred to as endotoxins, which form the outer monolayer of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. ligand-free and udp-glcnac-bound crystal structures of lpxa from bacteroides fragilis nctc 9343, the most common path ... | 2015 | 25945572 |
| evaluation of cell binding activities of leptospira ecm adhesins. | pathogenic spirochetes of the genus leptospira are the causative agents of leptospirosis, a zoonotic infection that occurs globally. the bacteria colonize the renal proximal tubules of many animals and are shed in the urine. contact with the urine, or with water contaminated with the urine of infected animals can cause infection of new host animals, including humans. mechanisms of colonization of the proximal tubule and other tissues are not known, but specific interactions between bacterial adh ... | 2015 | 25875373 |
| predominant leptospiral serogroups circulating among humans, livestock and wildlife in katavi-rukwa ecosystem, tanzania. | leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease and a serious, under-reported public health problem, particularly in rural areas of tanzania. in the katavi-rukwa ecosystem, humans, livestock and wildlife live in close proximity, which exposes them to the risk of a number of zoonotic infectious diseases, including leptospirosis. | 2015 | 25806825 |
| bacterial transfer rnas. | transfer rna is an essential adapter molecule that is found across all three domains of life. the primary role of transfer rna resides in its critical involvement in the accurate translation of messenger rna codons during protein synthesis and, therefore, ultimately in the determination of cellular gene expression. this review aims to bring together the results of intensive investigations into the synthesis, maturation, modification, aminoacylation, editing and recycling of bacterial transfer rn ... | 2015 | 25796611 |
| proteomic analysis of urine exosomes reveals renal tubule response to leptospiral colonization in experimentally infected rats. | infectious leptospira colonize the kidneys of reservoir (e.g. rats) and accidental hosts such as humans. the renal response to persistent leptospiral colonization, as measured by urinary protein biosignatures, has not been systematically studied. urinary exosomes--bioactive membrane-bound nanovesicles--contain cell-state specific cargo that additively reflect formation all along the nephron. we hypothesized that leptospira-infection will alter the content of urine exosomes, and further, that the ... | 2015 | 25793258 |
| isolation of leptospira interrogans serovar hardjoprajitno from a calf with clinical leptospirosis in chile. | although leptospira isolation has been reported in chilean cattle, only serological evidence of serovar hardjo bovis infection has been routinely reported. the present report provides characterization of the pathological presentation and etiology of a clinical case of leptospirosis in a calf from the los rios region in chile. | 2015 | 25888965 |
| novel type ii and monomeric nad+ specific isocitrate dehydrogenases: phylogenetic affinity, enzymatic characterization, and evolutionary implication. | nad(+) use is an ancestral trait of isocitrate dehydrogenase (idh), and the nadp(+) phenotype arose through evolution as an ancient adaptation event. however, no nad(+)-specific idhs have been found among type ii idhs and monomeric idhs. in this study, novel type ii homodimeric nad-idhs from ostreococcus lucimarinus cce9901 idh (olidh) and micromonas sp. rcc299 (miidh), and novel monomeric nad-idhs from campylobacter sp. fobrc14 idh (caidh) and campylobacter curvus (ccidh) were reported for the ... | 2015 | 25775177 |
| making proteomics data accessible and reusable: current state of proteomics databases and repositories. | compared to other data-intensive disciplines such as genomics, public deposition and storage of ms-based proteomics, data are still less developed due to, among other reasons, the inherent complexity of the data and the variety of data types and experimental workflows. in order to address this need, several public repositories for ms proteomics experiments have been developed, each with different purposes in mind. the most established resources are the global proteome machine database (gpmdb), p ... | 2015 | 25158685 |
| novel adenovirus detected in captive bottlenose dolphins (tursiops truncatus) suffering from self-limiting gastroenteritis. | adenoviruses are common pathogens in vertebrates, including humans. in marine mammals, adenovirus has been associated with fatal hepatitis in sea lions. however, only in rare cases have adenoviruses been detected in cetaceans, where no clear correlation was found between presence of the virus and disease status. | 2015 | 25888777 |
| cultural drivers and health-seeking behaviours that impact on the transmission of pig-associated zoonoses in lao people's democratic republic. | pig rearing is an important income source in the lao people's democratic republic (pdr), with many smallholder farmers using traditional free-range pig production systems. despite the potentially significant health risks posed by pig production regarding pig-associated zoonoses, information on the sociocultural drivers of these zoonoses is significantly lacking. this review summarises the existing sociocultural knowledge on eight pig-associated zoonoses suspected to be endemic in southeast asia: ... | 2015 | 25973203 |
| isolation and molecular identification of mycoplasma equigenitalium from equine genital tracts in northern india. | although mycoplasma equigenitalium has been implicated in equine reproductive problems, its prevalence is largely unexplored due to the lack of specific diagnostic tests. to address this limitation, the authors developed and optimized species-specific primer pairs that target m. eguigenitalium rpob (rna polymerase b subunit) gene sequences. the specificity of the pcr assay developed in this study was determined using 12 field isolates including the type strain of m. equigenitalium and other myco ... | 2015 | 27175172 |
| new wildlife hosts of leptospira interrogans in campeche, mexico. | leptospira interrogans has been identified to cause leptospirosis, a widespread zoonotic disease that has been identified in domestic and wild animals. this work analyzed kidneys from two species of wild rodents from the state of campeche, mexico. analyses were made by pcr using specific primers for detection of leptospira interrogans dna. the rodent species that tested positive were heteromys gaumeri and ototylomys phyllotis, both of which are new hosts for the bacteria in southeastern mexico. ... | 2015 | 25923901 |
| aluminium in allergies and allergen immunotherapy. | aluminium is a hot topic in the current debate. exposure occurs due to environmental, dietary and intentional exposure to aluminium, such as in vaccines where it was introduced in 1926. in spite of the fact that it is a typical th2 adjuvant, aluminium redirects the immune response in systemic allergen immunotherapy (sit) upon prolonged immunization. sit in the us, and slit in general, are at present non-adjuvanted therapies, but in europe aluminium is used as adjuvant in most sit preparations. i ... | 2015 | 25780491 |
| analysis of paracoccidioides secreted proteins reveals fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase as a plasminogen-binding protein. | despite being important thermal dimorphic fungi causing paracoccidioidomycosis, the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie the genus paracoccidioides remain largely unknown. microbial pathogens express molecules that can interact with human plasminogen, a protein from blood plasma, which presents fibrinolytic activity when activated into plasmin. additionally, plasmin exhibits the ability of degrading extracellular matrix components, favoring the pathogen spread to deeper tissues. previous work fro ... | 2015 | 25888027 |
| neutrophils in host defense: new insights from zebrafish. | neutrophils are highly motile phagocytic cells that play a critical role in the immune response to infection. zebrafish (danio rerio) are increasingly used to study neutrophil function and host-pathogen interactions. the generation of transgenic zebrafish lines with fluorescently labeled leukocytes has made it possible to visualize the neutrophil response to infection in real time by use of optically transparent zebrafish larvae. in addition, the genetic tractability of zebrafish has allowed for ... | 2015 | 25717145 |