International Journal of Medical MicrobiologyThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

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The wall teichoic acid and lipoteichoic acid polymers of Staphylococcus aureus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Staphylococci and most other Gram-positive bacteria incorporate complex teichoic acid (TA) polymers into their cell envelopes. Several crucial roles in Staphylococcus aureus fitness and cell wall maintenance have been assigned to these polymers, which are either covalently linked to peptidoglycan (wall teichoic acid, WTA) or to the cytoplasmic membrane (lipoteichoic acid, LTA). However, the exact TA structures, functions, and biosynthetic pathways are only superficially understood. Recently, most of the enzymes mediating TA biosynthesis have been identified and mutants lacking or with defined changes in WTA or LTA have...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - November 5, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Xia G, Kohler T, Peschel A Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Interaction of staphylococci with bone.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Staphylococci, in particular Staphylococcus aureus, are the predominant cause of bone infections worldwide. These infections are painful, debilitating and with the rise in antibiotic-resistant forms, increasingly difficult to treat. The growth in the number of prosthetic joint replacement procedures also provides new opportunities for these infections to take hold. Comprehending the mechanisms by which staphylococci interact with and damage bone is critical to the development of new approaches to meet this challenge. This review summarises current understanding of the mechanisms by which staphylococci infect and damage...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - November 2, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wright JA, Nair SP Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Towards the immune proteome of Staphylococcus aureus - The anti-S. aureus antibody response.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This review provides an overview of the antibody response against Staphylococcus aureus, which challenges the adaptive immune system with a broad and highly variable antigen repertoire. The mechanisms by which antibodies shape the interaction between S. aureus and its host are introduced, and evidence for a role of adaptive immunity in the protection against S. aureus is discussed. Techniques are now available to map the core and the variable S. aureus immune proteomes, which constitute the knowledge base for the design of effective anti-S. aureus vaccine compositions. This will require coordinated approaches that matc...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - November 2, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Holtfreter S, Kolata J, Bröker BM Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Oxidative stress and metal ions regulate a ferritin-like gene, dpr, in Streptococcus pyogenes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, a perR deletion mutant was constructed by double cross-over mutagenesis. The profile of Dpr expression, performed by Western blot assay, revealed growth-phase dependency under normal culture conditions. Dpr expression decreased under iron-restricted conditions, whereas iron, zinc, nickel, and hydrogen peroxide induced its expression. The perR mutant does not induce Dpr as well when exposed to environmental signals. PerR binds the promoter region of dpr. Increased iron and hydrogen peroxide concentrations decreased PerR binding to the promoter region of dpr, suggesting that regulation of Dpr by environmental ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 28, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Tsou CC, Chiang-Ni C, Lin YS, Chuang WJ, Lin MT, Liu CC, Wu JJ Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Innate antimicrobial host defense in small intestinal Crohn's disease.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Paneth cells (PCs) are specialized epithelial cells predominantly found in the small intestinal crypts of Lieberkuehn. They produce different broad spectrum antimicrobial peptides most abundantly the alpha-defensins HD-5 and -6 (DEFA5 und DEFA6). Both these PC products show a specific reduction in small intestinal Crohn's disease (CD) - a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Their decrease is independent of current inflammation and an association with a NOD2 frameshift mutation has been demonstrated. More recently, another independent and even more frequent mechanism has been found which is linked to diminished le...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 20, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Koslowski MJ, Beisner J, Stange EF, Wehkamp J Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Genetic diversity of O157:H7 and non-O157 verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli from Argentina inferred from multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Although serotype O157:H7 has been implicated in most cases of haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS), there is growing concern about non-O157 serotypes of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC). Multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) has been focused on the specific typing of O157:H7 isolates, but recently, a generic MLVA assay for E. coli and Shigella has been developed. We performed a study of the polymorphism in 7 generic VNTR loci both in VTEC O157:H7 and non-O157 isolates from Argentina, in order to asses the ability of the method to type this group of isolates and to get insight into their ge...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 20, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Bustamante AV, Mariel Sanso A, Lucchesi PM, Parma AE Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Pathophysiology of staphylococci in the post-genomic era.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19836996 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 14, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Götz F, Hacker J, Hecker M Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Molecular crosstalk of probiotic bacteria with the intestinal immune system: Clinical relevance in the context of inflammatory bowel disease.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
It is current knowledge that the intestinal microbiota plays a major role in the development and maintenance of intestinal health. Intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) constitute the interface between the gut lumen and the innate and adaptive immune system. To maintain intestinal homeostasis, the organized and diffuse compartments of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue have to process the continuously varying information at the interface between the luminal side and the host. Dysregulated intestinal immune responses towards commensal bacteria are an important factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD)....
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 11, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Hörmannsperger G, Haller D Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Genomic differences between the food-grade Staphylococcus carnosus and pathogenic staphylococcal species.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
By comparative analyses based on the newly sequenced genome of the meat starter bacterium Staphylococcus carnosus TM300, we observed remarkable differences in the content of mobile genetic elements between non-pathogenic and pathogenic staphylococci. While the latter reveal highly flexible genomes with various mobile elements indicating frequent exchange and rearrangement of genomic material, S. carnosus shows a conspicuous lack of those elements carrying only remnants of a prophage and a genomic island in its genome. Furthermore, the S. carnosus genome is significantly poor in repetitive sequences. Despite being known...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 6, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Rosenstein R, Götz F Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Genomic variation and evolution of Staphylococcus aureus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The evolution of new human and animal pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus has been due to the accumulation of mobile genetic elements (MGE) encoding methicillin resistance and virulence factors into successful lineages. These include epidemic methicillin-resistant S. aureus in hospitals (EMRSA), community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), fully vancomycin-resistant MRSA (VRSA) and livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA). The S. aureus population in humans is dominated by about ten S. aureus lineages while animals generally have different lineages. Individual isolates within each lineage have unique combination of MGE ofte...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 4, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Lindsay JA Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Staphylococcal lipoproteins and their role in bacterial survival in mice.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Staphylococcus aureus expresses about 50 lipoproteins (Lpp), which are lipid-anchored in the membrane. The processing of the precursor to the mature Lpp is catalyzed by the phosphatidyl glycerol diacylglyceryl transferase (Lgt) and the lipoprotein-specific type II signal peptidase (LspA) leading to diacylated Lpp. Possibly another acyltransferase attaches a third fatty acid leading to triacylated Lpp. Lpp function as binding proteins for transport of nutrients across the microbial membrane and are involved in processing of other proteins, but most Lpp remain of predicted or unknown function. The di- or triacylated lipi...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - October 2, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Schmaler M, Jann NJ, Götz F, Landmann R Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Regulation of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Staphylococcus aureus has a formidable ability to adapt to varying environmental conditions and an extraordinary capacity to rapidly become resistant to virtually all antibiotics. Resistance develops either through mutations and rearrangements within the staphylococcal genome, or by the acquisition of resistance determinants. Antibiotic resistances often impose a fitness burden on the host. Such biological costs can be reduced by tight regulation and antibiotic-inducible expression of resistance genes, or by compensatory mutations. Resistance induction by antibiotics can be mediated by dedicated, antibiotic-recognizing...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 30, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: McCallum N, Berger-Bächi B, Senn MM Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Inflammatory bowel disease, gut bacteria and probiotic therapy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and both diseases lead to high morbidity and health care costs. Complex interactions between the immune system, enteric commensal bacteria and host genotype are thought to underlie the development of IBD although the precise aetiology of this group of diseases is still unknown. The understanding of the composition and complexity of the normal gut microbiota has been greatly aided by the use of molecular methods and is likely to be further increased with the advent of metagenomics and metatranscriptomics approach...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 29, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Reiff C, Kelly D Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Immunomodulation by semi-mature dendritic cells: A novel role of Toll-like receptors and interleukin-6.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are key players in activation of the adaptive immune system by their ability of antigen presentation to and priming of T cells. An increasing body of evidence suggests that DCs may also play an important role in induction of tolerance, predominantly by induction of regulatory T cells (T(reg)). More recently, data have been published on how Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and cytokines affect DC differentiation, and how DC subsets might be involved in immunoregulation and tolerance rather than in T cell activation. The most important features of tolerance-inducing DCs appear to be their maturation...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 22, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Frick JS, Grünebach F, Autenrieth IB Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Role of NF-kappaB activation in intestinal immune homeostasis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterised by a disturbance of intestinal immune homeostasis, either caused by or followed by inappropriate responses to the resident commensal bacteria. Although the transcription factor NF-kappaB actively participates in the excessive inflammatory response observed in IBD, recent studies with mice defective in NF-kappaB activation have revealed that NF-kappaB also serves an essential protective function in the intestinal immune system. The enormous amount of commensal bacteria in the intestine might play a role in the distinct functions of NF-kappaB in the intestine, as they c...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 22, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wullaert A Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Staphylococcus aureus host cell invasion and post-invasion events.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Staphylococcus aureus is now recognized as a facultative intracellular pathogen. The aim of this review is to discuss novel data regarding the invasion mechanism and post-invasion events with a focus on the fate of the infected phagosome in non-professional phagocytes and the role of S. aureus alpha-toxin. PMID: 19781990 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 22, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Sinha B, Fraunholz M Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

T cells, dendritic cells and epithelial cells in intestinal homeostasis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The mucosal immune system of the intestinal tract is continuously exposed to both potential pathogens and beneficial commensal microorganism. A variety of mechanisms contribute to the ability of the gut to either react or remain tolerant to antigen present in the intestinal lumen. Antigens of the gut commensals are not simply ignored, but rather trigger an active immunosuppressive process, which prevents the outcome of immunopathology. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the mechanism of intestinal homeostasis, with particular focus on the complex crosstalk between T cells, dendritic cells and intestinal ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 22, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Westendorf AM, Fleissner D, Hansen W, Buer J Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Mechanisms of probiotic actions - A review.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Probiotics are gaining more and more interest as alternatives for antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs. However, their mode of action is poorly understood. This review will present examples of probiotic actions from three general modes of actions into which probiotic effects can be classified. Probiotics might modulate the host's immune system, affect other microorganisms directly or act on microbial products, host products or food components. What kind of effect(s) a certain probiotic executes depends on its metabolic properties, the molecules presented at its surface or on the components secreted. Even integral par...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Oelschlaeger TA Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

The synthesis and function of the alarmone (p)ppGpp in firmicutes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In most bacteria, nutrient limitations provoke the stringent control by the rapid synthesis of the alarmones pppGpp and ppGpp. The most prominent and highly conserved reaction is the repression of rRNA synthesis. Additionally, (p)ppGpp synthesis is also linked to many other physiological changes involving gene activation/repression but also protein translation, enzyme activation and replication. Whereas much of the basic research was performed with Escherichia coli there is now growing evidence that in gram-positive bacteria there are fundamental differences in (p)ppGpp synthesis, regulation and molecular function. Her...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wolz C, Geiger T, Goerke C Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

The role of innate signaling in the homeostasis of tolerance and immunity in the intestine.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In the intestine innate recognition of microbes is achieved through pattern recognition receptor (PRR) families expressed in immune cells and different cell lineages of the intestinal epithelium. Toll-like receptor (TLR) and nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor (NLR) families are emerging as key mediators of immunity through their role as maturation factors of immune cells and triggers for the production of cytokines and chemokines and antimicrobial factors. At the mucosal surface chronic activation of the immune system is avoided through the epithelial production of a glycocalyx, steady-state pr...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wells JM, Loonen LM, Karczewski JM Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Microbe-host interaction in chronic diseases.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
PMID: 19783477 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Haller D, Autenrieth IB Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Recent developments and perspectives in the investigation of probiotic effects.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The quest for a better understanding of how probiotics work has boosted an enormous interest in the molecular processes underlying host-microbe interactions. This review covers recent developments and perspectives in the study of probiotic mechanisms. PMID: 19783478 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Wohlgemuth S, Loh G, Blaut M Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

The impact of serine/threonine phosphorylation in Staphylococcus aureus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In prokaryotes and eukaryotes, phosphotransfer represents a common mechanism to regulate cellular functions. Recent work revealed that modulation of cellular processes by eukaryote-like serine/threonine kinases (STKs) and phosphatases (STPs) are widespread in bacteria. During the last two years, first evidence on the role of Ser/Thr phosphorylation/dephosphorylation in Staphylococcus aureus has emerged leading to the identification of a functional STK and corresponding STP. Due to homology to known STKs/STPs in other bacterial species the kinase was designated PknB or alternatively Stk/Stk1, and the phosphatase Stp. Th...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - September 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ohlsen K, Donat S Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Campylobacter jejuni: A brief overview on pathogenicity-associated factors and disease-mediating mechanisms.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Campylobacter jejuni has long been recognized as a cause of bacterial food-borne illness, and surprisingly, it remains the most prevalent bacterial food-borne pathogen in the industrial world to date. Natural reservoirs for this Gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacterium are wild birds, whose intestines offer a suitable biological niche for the survival and dissemination of C. jejuni Chickens become colonized shortly after birth and are the most important source for human infection. In the last decade, effective intervention strategies to limit infections caused by this elusive pathogen were hindered mainly because of a pa...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - August 6, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Dasti JI, Tareen AM, Lugert R, Zautner AE, Groß U Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Transposon insertion in a serine-specific minor tRNA coding sequence affects intraperitoneal survival of Haemophilus influenzae in the infant rat model.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Due to its lifestyle as a commensal and occasional pathogen in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of humans, Haemophilus influenzae needs to protect itself from endogenously and exogenously generated reactive oxygen species. To better understand the oxygen radical resistance and to investigate a correlation with virulence, randomly generated paraquat-sensitive H. influenzae transposon mutants were analyzed in an infant rat model of infection. Among 25 different paraquat-sensitive mutants only one mutant harbouring a Tn-insertion within the tRNA-Ser1 gene specific for the rare serine codon UCC, was highly attenuated...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - August 6, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Gerlach G, Anthony M, Deadman M, Schoen C, Hood D, Reidl J Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Growth phase-dependent regulation of the global virulence regulator Rot in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Current models for global virulence regulation in Staphylococcus aureus are mainly based on studies performed with only a limited number of laboratory strains derived from NCTC8325. In these strains the small regulatory RNA, RNAIII, has a central role in virulence gene regulation. Recently, RNAIII was suggested to control transcription of target genes partly by inhibiting translation of the transcriptional regulator Rot. The present study was undertaken to examine if the model for RNAIII/Rot-dependent virulence regulation is conserved among clinical strains. To this end, we used Rot antibodies to directly assess the am...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - August 6, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jelsbak L, Hemmingsen L, Donat S, Ohlsen K, Boye K, Westh H, Ingmer H, Frees D Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Rolling circle amplification and multiplex allele-specific PCR for rapid detection of katG and inhA gene mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The aim of the study was to compare a novel, rolling circle amplification (RCA) assay for detection of common isoniazid (INH) resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with a multiplex allele-specific PCR (MAS-PCR) and sequencing of katG and the fabG1-inhA promoter region. One or more mutations were identified by RCA, MAS-PCR, and sequencing in 21 (68%), 22 (71%), and 23 (74%), respectively, of 31 epidemiologically unrelated INH-resistant isolates, and in none of 8 INH-susceptible isolates. The RCA assay is a rapid, inexpensive, and practical screening method for INH resistance in M. tuberculosis in countries ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - July 12, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Cai L, Kong F, Jelfs P, Gilbert GL, Sintchenko V Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Regional differences in serotype distribution, pneumococcal vaccine coverage, and antimicrobial resistance of invasive pneumococcal disease among German federal states.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, 3724 isolates were included. A total of 2065 isolates were obtained from children under 16 years of age from 1997 to 2006, and 1659 isolates were obtained from adults aged 16 years and older between 2002 and 2006. Results were classified to federal states, and supra-regional trends were illustrated by classifying the federal states into the regions 'North-West', 'North-East' and 'South'. Among childhood isolates, the most common serotypes were 14 (26.4%), 6B (7.7%), 23F (7.4%), 19F (7.1%), 1 (7.0%), 18C (6.2%), and 7F (5.6%). Serotype coverage for the 7-valent conjugate vaccine was 62.3%. For the 10-valent a...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - July 12, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Imöhl M, Reinert RR, van der Linden M Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia genomes: A start-up comparison.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The whole DNA sequences of 2 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains isolated from the blood of a cancer patient (K279a) and the poplar Populus trichocarpa (R551-3) have been compared. The 2 chromosomes exhibit extensive synteny, but each is punctuated by about 40 genomic islands (GEIs), which vary in size from 3 to 70kb, and may encode up to about 50 proteins. A large set of smaller DNA sequences, encoding strain-specific 'solo' orfs, contributes to genetic heterogeneity in a significant manner. S. maltophilia GEIs potentially encode several proteins mediating interactions with the environment such as transmembrane prote...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - June 29, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Rocco F, De Gregorio E, Colonna B, Di Nocera PP Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Development of a PCR assay for typing and subtyping of Brucella species.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In the course of this study, examinations were carried out to develop a PCR-based test which allows discrimination of Brucella species and biovars not targeted by the currently established gel-based PCR assays. Appropriate primers were designed based on specific deletions and insertions in the different Brucella genomes as determined by RAPD-PCR and whole-genome comparisons. After testing the specificity of the primers with a set of 22 Brucella reference strains of all species and biovars, they were used to supplement the existing PCR assays resulting in a 19-primer multiplex PCR. In addition to the commonly used PCR a...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - June 25, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Huber B, Scholz HC, Lucero N, Busse HJ Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Modelling the black death. A historical case study and implications for the epidemiology of bubonic plague.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We analysed a plague outbreak in the mining town of Freiberg in Saxony which started in May 1613 and ended in February 1614. This epidemic was selected for study because of the high quality of contemporary sources. It was possible to identify 1400 individual victims meaning that more than 10% of the population of the city perished. The outbreak was modelled by 9 differential equations describing flea, rat, and human populations. This resulted in a close fit to the historical records of this outbreak. An interesting implication of the model is that the introduction of even a small number of immune rats into an otherwise...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - June 25, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Monecke S, Monecke H, Monecke J Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Identification of active variants of PARF in human pathogenic group C and group G streptococci leads to an amended description of its consensus motif.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Certain streptococcal M proteins bind collagen via an octapeptide motif that is located in their hypervariable N-terminal region. The interaction with this extracellular matrix protein enhances adhesion to the host tissue and thereby facilitates infection. Moreover, it has the side effect of eliciting collagen autoimmune responses, a phenomenon which is also observed in patients with acute rheumatic fever. Therefore, the octapeptide motif was named peptide associated with rheumatic fever (PARF). Only a comprehensive characterization of the collagen-binding M proteins and their collagen-binding motifs will allow the inv...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - June 9, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Barroso V, Rohde M, Davies MR, Gillen CM, Nitsche-Schmitz DP, Dinkla K, Chhatwal GS Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Severe human infection with Rickettsia felis associated with hepatitis in Yucatan, Mexico.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Rickettsia felis infection usually is a mild-to-moderate illness characterized by general signs and symptoms. Generally, patients do not require hospitalization. However, we detected 2 severe infections with R. felis. Our findings support the importance of R. felis infection as a potentially severe illness in humans. PMID: 19481502 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 27, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Zavala-Castro J, Zavala-Velázquez J, Walker D, Pérez-Osorio J, Peniche-Lara G Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Proteomic analysis of Legionella-containing phagosomes isolated from Dictyostelium.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we have developed a protocol for the isolation of Legionella-containing phagosomes from Dictyostelium discoideum. Cell fractionation, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF MS combined with genomic data identified 157 phagosome host proteins. In addition to proteins with an evident role in phagosome maturation, we identified proteins for which a function remains to be elucidated. Possible interactions of coronin with cytosolic NADPH oxidase components and protein kinase C inhibitors which together may lead to an inhibition of phagosomal superoxide generation are discussed. Comparative proteomics o...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 22, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Shevchuk O, Batzilla C, Hägele S, Kusch H, Engelmann S, Hecker M, Haas A, Heuner K, Glöckner G, Steinert M Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Effects of bacterial N-acyl homoserine lactones on human Jurkat T lymphocytes-OdDHL induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Diverse Gram-negative bacteria communicate with each other by using diffusible N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signaling molecules to coordinate gene expression with cell population density. This mechanism termed 'quorum sensing' is involved in the regulation of physiological functions as well as multiple virulence determinants. It becomes more and more evident, that bacteria communicate not only with each other but also with their host. Up to now, little is known about this interkingdom communication. The AHL quorum sensing molecule N-3-(oxododecanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (OdDHL) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 21, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Jacobi CA, Schiffner F, Henkel M, Waibel M, Stork B, Daubrawa M, Eberl L, Gregor M, Wesselborg S Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Split immune response after oral vaccination of mice with recombinant Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 expressing fimbrial adhesin K88.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are a leading cause of diarrhoea in piglets and newborn calves. Massive efforts have therefore been made to develop a vaccine for the induction of protective mucosal immunity against ETEC. Since it has been shown that the probiotic strain E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) can serve as a safe carrier for targeted delivery of recombinant molecules to the intestinal mucosa, we constructed the recombinant strain EcN pMut2-kanK88 (EcN-K88) stably expressing the determinant for the K88 fimbrial adhesin of ETEC on the bacterial surface. After oral application of EcN-K88 to mice for one week, Ec...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Remer KA, Bartrow M, Roeger B, Moll H, Sonnenborn U, Oelschlaeger TA Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

The inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha and nitric oxide production by Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin and its relation to alpha-toxin-induced intracellular ceramide generation.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The effect of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin on production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and nitric oxide (NO) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells was studied. The pretreatment of wild type alpha-toxin, but not the inactive mutant, significantly decreased LPS-induced TNF-alpha and NO production. alpha-Toxin inhibited the expression of TNF-alpha and an inducible type of NO synthase protein and mRNA. Furthermore, it inhibited the phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha and p65 NF-kappaB subunit, and the NF-kappaB luciferase reporter gene activity in LPS-stimulated cells. The pretreatment of alpha-...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Tumurkhuu G, Koide N, Dagvadorj J, Shadat Mohammod Noman A, Iftekar-E-Khuda I, Naiki Y, Komatsu T, Yoshida T, Oda M, Nagahama M, Sakurai J, Yokochi T Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

The heme-binding protein (HbpA) of Haemophilus influenzae as a virulence determinant.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In conclusion, HbpA is important for heme utilization by multiple H. influenzae strains and is a virulence determinant in a model of H. influenzae invasive disease. PMID: 19451029 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 16, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Morton DJ, Seale TW, Bakaletz LO, Jurcisek JA, Smith A, Vanwagoner TM, Whitby PW, Stull TL Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Semi-automated rep-PCR for rapid differentiation of major clonal groups of Escherichia coli meningitis strains.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DiversiLab, a semi-automated repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) device, is a highly integrated platform designed for rapid bacterial genotyping. Here, we evaluated the capacity of the DiversiLab system to determine the genetic relatedness of Escherichia coli neonatal meningitis (ECNM) strains and to identify clonal groups. We analyzed 80 isolates representative of the diversity of ECNM strains in Europe and North America and 52 E. coli reference (ECOR) strains belonging to phylogenetic groups A, D, and B2. All the strains had previously been characterized by means of multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The DiversiL...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 16, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Bonacorsi S, Bidet P, Mahjoub F, Mariani-Kurkdjian P, Ait-Ifrane S, Courroux C, Bingen E Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Adjuvant modulation of the immune response of mice against the LcrE protein of Chlamydophila pneumoniae.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
LcrE protein is a TTSS component of Chlamydophila pneumoniae. The immunogenicity and protective effect of recombinant LcrE protein combined either with Freund's or Alum adjuvant were investigated in mice. The immunization with both protocols resulted in a significant reduction of the number of viable C. pneumoniae in the lungs after challenge. Lower IgG2a/IgG1 ratio in Alum-immunized mice suggested a shift towards Th2 type immune response, but the presence of LcrE-specific IFN-gamma-producing cells in LcrE+Alum-immunized mice also indicates Th1 type response. LcrE-specific IgA level was higher in both the sera and the ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 16, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Faludi I, Burian K, Csanadi A, Miczak A, Lu X, Kakkar VV, Gonczol E, Endresz V Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Microbial changes in periodontitis successfully treated by mechanical plaque removal and systemic amoxicillin and metronidazole.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Scaling and root planing in conjunction with systemic administration of antibiotics is used for treatment of aggressive periodontitis. The study investigated the changes of the subgingival microbiota in a homogeneous cohort of 12 female Caucasian patients. Plaque samples were obtained from 4 defined deep lesions per patient at baseline and 2, 6, and 12 months after therapy (mechanical plaque removal, oral administration of amoxicillin and metronidazole). Amplification of the 16S rRNA gene, cloning, and sequencing were applied to identify microbial species. Porphyromonas gingivalis strains were typed by multilocus seque...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - May 14, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Valenza G, Veihelmann S, Peplies J, Tichy D, Del Carmen Roldan-Pareja M, Schlagenhauf U, Vogel U Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Rapid identification of beta-hemolytic streptococci by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Rapid identification of pathogenic, beta-hemolytic streptococci is important for treatment decisions. We evaluated fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for this purpose using 23 reference strains, 157 clinical isolates, and 80 blood cultures showing streptococci in the Gram stain. With a sensitivity and specificity in excess of 99%, FISH proved to be suitable for rapid identification of beta-hemolytic streptococci in a diagnostic laboratory. PMID: 19345144 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology)
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - April 1, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Poppert S, Nickel D, Berger A, Yildiz T, Kaestner N, Mauerer S, Spellerberg B Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Impact of O-glycosylation on the molecular and cellular adhesion properties of the Escherichia coli autotransporter protein Ag43.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Antigen 43 (Ag43) represents an entire family of closely related autotransporter proteins in Escherichia coli and has been described to confer aggregation and fluffing of cells, to promote biofilm formation, uptake and survival in macrophages as well as long-term persistence of uropathogenic E. coli in the murine urinary tract. Furthermore, it has been reported that glycosylation of the Ag43 passenger domain (alpha(43)) stabilizes its conformation and increases adhesion to Hep-2 cells. We characterized the role of Ag43 as an adhesin and the impact of O-glycosylation on the function of Ag43. To analyze whether structura...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - February 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Reidl S, Lehmann A, Schiller R, Salam Khan A, Dobrindt U Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Role of trehalose-6P phosphatase (TPS2) in stress tolerance and resistance to macrophage killing in Candida albicans.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Disruption of the TPS2 gene encoding the only trehalose-6P phosphatase activity in Candida albicans caused a pleiotropic defective phenotype, maintaining the cell wall integrity and the ability to form chlamydospores. A homozygous tps2Delta/tps2Delta showed reduced growth at high temperatures and a marked sensitivity to heat shock (42 degrees C) and severe oxidative exposure (50mM H(2)O(2)). Reintroduction of the TPS2 gene reversed these alterations. A more detailed study of the antioxidant response showed that exponential tps2Delta null cells displayed an adaptive response to oxidative stress as well as cross-toleranc...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - February 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Martínez-Esparza M, Martínez-Vicente E, González-Párraga P, Ros JM, García-Peñarrubia P, Argüelles JC Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

A comparison of two PCR-based typing methods with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Two novel molecular typing methods, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) and multiple amplification of phage loci typing (MAPLT), were compared with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for the discrimination of 128 Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) isolates. Selected epidemiologically unrelated isolates represented a cross-section of phage types routinely isolated in Australia and included 28 isolates that could not be assigned a phage type. Targeting 5 previously described loci, MLVA generated 61 different profiles with a Simpson index of diversity of DI=0.968...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - February 11, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ross IL, Heuzenroeder MW Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Escherichia coli encoding Shiga toxin 2f as an emerging human pathogen.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Escherichia coli harbouring the stx2f gene have been previously reported in pigeons. Here we demonstrate the presence of this allele in human diarrhoeagenic E. coli strains originally classified as atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (aEPEC). Thirty-two stx2f-positive E. coli serotyped as O63:H6, O128:H2, O132:H34, O145:H34, and O178:H7 were found to belong to a large number of clonal groups due to their different MLST-, PFGE- and virulence patterns. The appearance of various stx2f-positive clonal lineages among E. coli reveals emerging clinical significance. Therefore, it seems to be prudent to include stx2f into the di...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - January 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Prager R, Fruth A, Siewert U, Strutz U, Tschäpe H Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Induction of a protective response with an IgA monoclonal antibody against Mycobacterium tuberculosis 16kDa protein in a model of progressive pulmonary infection.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a facultative intracellular pathogen for which cell-mediated immunity is considered the major component of the immune response. For many decades, the prevailing scientific view has been the antibodies have little or no role in modifying the course of M. tuberculosis infection. In recent years, several studies have challenged this dogma, and there is a body of evidence that supports a role of antibodies against M. tuberculosis. In the present work, we evaluated the protective activity of two monoclonal antibodies (TBA61 and TBA84). Here, we chose the intratracheal model of pulmonary infecti...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - January 19, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: López Y, Yero D, Falero-Diaz G, Olivares N, Sarmiento ME, Sifontes S, Solis RL, Barrios JA, Aguilar D, Hernández R, Acosta A Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Tick saliva affects both proliferation and distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes in mouse organs and increases transmission of spirochetes to ticks.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Ixodes ricinus tick saliva-activated transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto spirochetes was studied on the C3H/HeN mouse model. The influence of the feeding of uninfected nymphs on the proliferation and distribution of intradermally inoculated spirochetes was compared with the effect of co-inoculated saliva or salivary gland extract (SGE), respectively. Spirochete loads in murine tissues were evaluated using real-time q-PCR. SGE induced significantly increased spirochete numbers in the skin on the days 4 and 6 post-infection (p.i.). On the other hand, decreased bacterial load in the heart of SGE-treated mic...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - January 13, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Horká H, Cerná-Kýčková K, Skallová A, Kopecký J Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Antibody responses to borrelia IR(6) peptide variants and the C6 peptide in Swedish patients with erythema migrans.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibody responses to different VlsE protein IR(6) peptide variants and the synthetic C6 peptide in acute and convalescent (2-3 and 6 months) serum samples from Swedish patients with clinical erythema migrans (EM). Serum samples were prospectively collected from 148 patients with EM and compared to serum samples obtained from 200 healthy blood donors. The IgG responses to 3 IR(6) peptide variants originating from Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) sensu stricto, B. garinii, and B. afzelii were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and compared to a commerci...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - January 8, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Tjernberg I, Sillanpää H, Seppälä I, Eliasson I, Forsberg P, Lahdenne P Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals

Mutational analyses of the BbCRASP-1 protein of Borrelia burgdorferi identify residues relevant for the architecture and binding of host complement regulators FHL-1 and factor H.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Borrelia burgdorferi exploits multiple strategies to evade host immune responses. One central immune escape mechanism is the inactivation of the host complement attack by acquisition host complement regulators FHL-1 and factor H via complement regulator-acquiring surface proteins (BbCRASPs). The BbCRASP-1 protein is the first bacterial factor H/FHL-1-binding protein for which the atomic structure has been solved. Previously, 3 regions including the C terminus were identified as putative contact sites for the two complement regulators by the pepspot analysis. Based on the crystallographic structure an in vitro mutagenes...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - January 8, 2009 Category: Microbiology Authors: Kraiczy P, Hanssen-Hübner C, Kitiratschky V, Brenner C, Besier S, Brade V, Simon MM, Skerka C, Roversi P, Lea SM, Stevenson B, Wallich R, Zipfel PF Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: journals