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Query: UMLS:C0009450 (infectious diseases)
 83,438 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pathogenic bacteria of the genus Yersinia release in vitro a set of antihost proteins called Yops. Upon infection of cultured epithelial cells, extracellular Yersinia pseudotuberculosis transfers YopE across the host cell plasma membrane. To facilitate the study of this translocation process, we constructed a recombinant Yersinia enterocolitica strain producing YopE fused to a reporter enzyme. As a reporter, we selected the calmodulin-dependent adenylate cyclase of Bordetella pertussis and we monitored the accumulation of cyclic AMP (cAMP). Since bacteria do not produce calmodulin, cyclase activity marks the presence of hybrid enzyme in the cytoplasmic compartment of the eukaryotic cell. Infection of a monolayer of HeLa cells by the recombinant Y. enterocolitica strain led to a significant increase of cAMP. This phenomenon was dependent not only on the integrity of the Yop secretion pathway but also on the presence of YopB and/or YopD. It also required the presence of the adhesin YadA at the bacterial surface. In contrast, the phenomenon was not affected by cytochalasin D, indicating that internalization of the bacteria themselves was not required for the translocation process. Our results demonstrate that Y. enterocolitica is able to transfer hybrid proteins into eukaryotic cells. This system can be used not only to study the mechanism of YopE translocation but also the fate of the other Yops or even of proteins secreted by other bacterial pathogens.
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PMID:Translocation of a hybrid YopE-adenylate cyclase from Yersinia enterocolitica into HeLa cells. 788 36

Bacteriological and clinical studies in the pediatric field have been performed on biapenem (L-627), a newly-developed carbapenem antibiotic, and the following results were obtained. 1. In the pharmacokinetic study, the plasma concentration of L-627 showed dose-dependant change: Cmax was 14.6 micrograms/ml and AUC was 15.4 micrograms.hr/ml with the administration of 6 mg/kg, while Cmax was 49.2 micrograms/ml and AUC was 60.1 micrograms.hr/ml with the administration of 12 mg/kg. After the administration of 6 mg/kg, the urinary concentration reached maximum within 2 hours and the cumulative urinary excretion rate in the first 6 hours was 49.4%. 2. Antibacterial activities of L-627 against 27 strains of clinical isolates were determined. MICs of L-627 against such Gram-positive cocci as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes were sufficiently low, and those against such Gram-negative rods as Haemophilus influenzae, Escherichia coli and Bordetella pertussis were satisfactory and as low as those of imipenem or ceftazidime. 3. Clinical efficacies of L-627 were evaluated in 36 cases of bacterial infections. The overall efficacy rate was 100%, and excellent responses in 26 cases and good in 10 cases were obtained. As for bacteriological efficacies, all strains except 1 of B. pertussis were eradicated and a high eradication rate of 96.6% was obtained. 4. No side effects were observed in 37 evaluated cases. As abnormal laboratory test results, eosinophilia was noted in 2 cases (5.4%), but they returned to normal values rapidly after the drug was discontinued. From these results, it has been concluded that L-627 is a safe and effective drug to be used in treatment of pediatric infectious diseases.
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PMID:[Bacteriological and clinical studies of biapenem (L-627) in pediatrics]. 793 27

A sufficient sensitivity of PCR is a prerequisite for its use in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. We have used PCR for detecting gene elements of Borrelia burgdorferi, mycobacteria and Bordetella pertussis. With all these microbe groups, difficulties were encountered in achieving the demanded sensitivity with the primer pairs primarily selected. An extensive testing of various reaction parameters did not improve the sensitivity. Subsequently, we synthesized more primers derived from slightly different positions of the original target sequences. When the original and new primers were tested in possible combinations, some primer pairs reached 100-fold to 1000-fold higher sensitivity than the primary pairs. We conclude that in optimizing the sensitivity of PCR, more emphasis should be put on testing of several primer pairs than on the extensive screening of reaction parameters. Thus far, a trial-and-error approach has to be used, because there is no means to predict the sensitivity properties of a selected primer pair.
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PMID:Primers are decisive for sensitivity of PCR. 794 22

The effect of experimental Salmonella infection on chicken lymphoid organs, immune responses, and fecal shedding of salmonellae were assessed following oral inoculation of 1-day-old chicks or intra-air-sac infection of 4-week-old chickens with virulent S. typhimurium wild-type chi 3761 or avirulent S. typhimurium delta cya delta crp vaccine strain chi 3985. Some 4-week-old chickens infected intra-air-sac with chi 3761 or chi 3985 were challenged with Bordetella avium to determine the effect of Salmonella infection on secondary infection by B. avium. S. typhimurium chi 3761 caused lymphocyte depletion, atrophy of lymphoid organs, and immunosuppression 2 days after infection in 1-day-old chicks and 4-week-old chickens. The observed lymphocyte depletion or atrophy of lymphoid organs was transient and dose dependent. Lymphocyte depletion and immunosuppression were associated with prolonged fecal shedding of S. typhimurium chi 3761. No lymphocyte depletion, immunosuppression, or prolonged Salmonella shedding was observed in groups of chickens infected orally or intra-air-sac with chi 3985. Infection of chickens with salmonellae before challenge with B. avium did not suppress the specific antibody response to B. avium. However, B. avium isolation was higher in visceral organs of chickens infected with chi 3761 and challenged with B. avium than in chickens infected with B. avium only. Infection of chickens with chi 3985 reduced B. avium colonization. We report a new factor in Salmonella pathogenesis and reveal a phenomenon which may play a critical role in the development of Salmonella carrier status in chickens. We also showed that 10(8) CFU of chi 3985, which is our established oral vaccination dose for chickens, did not cause immunosuppression or enhance the development of Salmonella carrier status in chickens.
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PMID:Virulent Salmonella typhimurium-induced lymphocyte depletion and immunosuppression in chickens. 816 69

In 1985 it was estimated that 17 million people, mainly children under 5, died from infectious disease in developing countries where poverty, malnutrition, food contamination, poor sanitation, and inadequate health, care are rampant. Over 4 million children die every year from diarrhea. Over 2.5 million children die annually from vaccine-preventable diseases. Malnutrition reduces the ability to resist infections which in turn inhibit food absorption. Dysentery causes direct loss of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Good hygiene, including food hygiene, reduces the contact with pathogens and the risk of infection. Continued breast feeding and avoidance of poor quality gruels is needed. Immunization has subdued measles, polio, and whooping cough in developed countries. Immunizations coverage in developing countries increased from under 20% to over 80% in the 1980s. However, fewer than 40% of pregnant women in these countries are immunized against tetanus. Expanded immunization programs also deliver vitamin A, iodine, and iron. Dietary intervention, by providing nutritious diets, strengthens the immune system and its ability to fight infections. Exclusive breast feeding during the first 4-6 months cuts down on the risk of diarrhea and respiratory infections. Weaning poses a risk of infection, because semi-solids fed to infants often lack energy requirements and are prepared using poor hygienic practices.
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PMID:Food, health, a better life. 843 67

Household contacts of primary pertussis cases were evaluated. Infection was determined by culture, direct fluorescent antibody assay, and serological criteria. Agglutinin titers and values of ELISA IgG and IgA antibodies to lymphocytosis-promoting factor, filamentous hemagglutinin, and pertactin were determined. In 39 households 255 subjects were exposed; 114 remained well (group 1), 53 had mild illness (group 2), and 88 had pertussis (group 3). The infection rates were 46% (group 1), 43% (group 2), and 80% (group 3). In a subgroup of subjects seen within 14-28 days of exposure, it was found that none with clinical pertussis had a value of IgG antibody to pertactin in acute-phase sera of > or = 50 ELISA units (EU) per mL or an agglutinin titer of > 256. Of the primary cases, 53% were > or = 13 years of age. These data point out the importance of Bordetella pertussis infections in adolescents and adults as a source of infection in young children. Our subgroup data suggest that high values of antibody to pertactin and high agglutinin titers may be predictive of protection against clinical pertussis.
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PMID:Household contact study of Bordetella pertussis infections. 858 45

19th.century Glasgow was an overcrowded city containing some of the worst housing conditions in the UK. Conditions were ripe for epidemics of infectious diseases and they came in waves causing high mortality particularly among the young. Diagnostic difficulties and ineffective therapy meant that little impact was made on these diseases during the first half of the period. Smallpox was the exception-vaccination of children reduced the incidence and mortality early in the century but subsequent public complacency caused it to return within a few years. Measles and whooping cough surpassed smallpox as the major causes of infectious disease mortality as early as 1810. Epidemics were less common after the three-quarter century mark due to improved living conditions for the poor but also as a result of the assiduos application of Public Health principles.
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PMID:Epidemic disease in Glasgow during the 19th century. 865 20

The only successful strategy for large-scale eradication of an infectious disease from whole populations has been through immunization. In societies fortunate enough to have a healthcare infrastructure that allows mass vaccination, diseases such as poliomyelitis, whooping cough and diphtheria have been virtually eliminated. But what about infection with Helicobacter pylori, which has now been proved to be a major worldwide pathogen? Infection by H. pylori is lifelong, despite a vigorous immune response. How, then, could immunization be feasible? Recent investigations using a mouse model of H. pylori infection have shown that protective immunity can indeed be induced with an oral vaccine. Furthermore, protection was lifelong in the animal model. Also, more importantly, the vaccine actually cured existing infection, raising the exciting possibility of therapeutic immunization. Stimulated by the medical need, the race is now on to produce the first vaccine. However, many critical questions remain to be answered before the first patients are immunized with the complete vaccine. For example, what is the best antigen to target? Urease is currently the favourite antigen, but others will be tested. What about the adjuvant? LT, the heat labile enterotoxin of diarrhoeaogenic strains of Escherichia coli, is the most likely candidate, but we need to examine alternatives. Is there any risk of immunopotentiation? The answer is probably no, but this has to be proved. A vaccine against H. pylori will be developed, and infection with H. pylori will be prevented--the question remains 'how long will it take'?
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PMID:Prevention of Helicobacter pylori infection. 872 77

Whooping cough, an infectious disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis, is a life-threatening disease that cannot be controlled by antibiotic treatment or other procedures of modern medicine. Immunization, using a vaccine made of heat-killed bacteria, has been the only way to prevent the disease and keep the infection under control. However, the high reactogenicity of the whole-cell vaccine available so far has made vaccination very controversial, and vaccine use has been restricted to the minimum doses strictly necessary to protect infants during the first few years of life, when the disease is most dangerous. This policy left unsolved the problem of controlling the circulation of the pathogens that are still spreading undisturbed in the population, even after decades of vaccine use. Today, the introduction of acellular vaccines that are efficacious and virtually free of side effects suggests that the new vaccines can be used safely to immunize not only infants, toddlers, and preschool children, but also adolescents and adults, making possible the complete control of the disease and infection, so that policies addressing the eradication of the disease become feasible. The absence of constraints for the use of pertussis vaccine will allow the rational design of the optimal combinations of vaccines for each age.
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PMID:Acellular pertussis vaccines: a turning point in infant and adolescent vaccination. 878 96

Sheep respiratory infections appear as differing clinical syndromes. Mild, acute infections are usually due to parainfluenza 3 (PI3) virus. A mild but chronic respiratory problem in lambs under 1 year old is thought to be caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae probably in association with Pasteurella and PI3. Acute bacterial pneumonia usually results from infection with Pasteurella of biotype A. Infection with PI3 can initiate invasion by Pasteurella. Bordetella parapertussis infection has also been implicated. Serotypes of biotype T P. haemolytica cause an acute septicaemia. Stressful management practices may be a predisposing factor. Chronic proliferative pneumonia results from infection by retroviruses of pulmonary adenomatosis or maedi-visna. Both infections have incubation periods extending into years. The former produces fatal tumorous masses in the lungs. Diagnostic tests are being actively sought. Maedi-visna can present as several clinical problems, frequently as an insidious but fatal proliferative pneumonia.
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PMID:Respiratory infections of sheep. 880 May 42


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