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Query: UMLS:C0023241 (Legionella)
 6,990 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To learn the role of Legionella pneumophila, the agent of Legionnaires' disease, in childhood illness, a prospective study was conducted among 52 children younger than four years of age with acute disease of the lower respiratory tract. Viral, mycoplasmal, and bacterial cultures and acute- and convalescent-phase sera were obtained during 64 episodes of acute illness; additional sera were drawn annually for three to five years. On the basis of serologic evidence, none of the acute episodes appeared to be due to L. pneumophila serogroup 1 or 2. However, examination of annual serum specimens showed that 27 (52%) of the children had rises in titer of indirect immunofluorescent antibody (a fourfold or greater rise to a reciprocal titer of greater than or equal to 128). Most rises in titer were in response to the serogroup 2 antigen. These results suggest that L. pneumophila is not a common cause of acute respiratory disease in early childhood in the study area but that children are frequently exposed to the organism. Alternatively, the serologic responses might be to unrelated cross-reacting microorganisms.
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PMID:Infections with Legionella pneumophila in children. 722 38

Infection of BALB/c mice with a sublethal concentration of Legionella pneumophila causes an acute disease that is resolved by innate immune responses. The infection also initiates the development of adaptive Th1 responses that protect the mice from challenge infections. To study the early responses, cytokines induced during the first 24 h after infection were examined. In the serum, interleukin-12 (IL-12) was detectable by 3 h and peaked at 10 h, while gamma interferon was discernible by 5 h and peaked at 8 h. Similar patterns were observed in ex vivo cultures of splenocytes. A transient IL-4 response was also detected by 3 h postinfection in ex vivo cultures. BALB/c IL-4-deficient mice were more susceptible to L. pneumophila infection than were wild-type mice. The infection induced higher serum levels of acute-phase cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-alpha], IL-1beta, and IL-6), and reducing TNF-alpha levels with antibodies protected the mice from death. Moreover, the addition of IL-4 to L. pneumophila-infected macrophage cultures suppressed the production of these cytokines. Thus, the lack of IL-4 in the deficient mice resulted in unchecked TNF-alpha production, which appeared to cause the mortality. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a chemokine that is induced by IL-4 during Listeria monocytogenes infection, was detected at between 2 and 30 h after infection. However, MCP-1 did not appear to be induced by IL-4 or to be required for the TNF-alpha regulation by IL-4. The data suggest that the early increase in IL-4 serves to regulate the mobilization of acute phase cytokines and thus controls the potential harmful effects of these cytokines.
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PMID:Induction of interleukin-4 (IL-4) by legionella pneumophila infection in BALB/c mice and regulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-6, and IL-1beta. 1094 49

Legionella pneumophila is the etiological agent of Legionnaires' disease and of the less acute disease Pontiac fever. It is a Gram-negative bacterium present in fresh and artificial water environments that replicates in protozoan hosts and is also found in biofilms. Replication within protozoa is essential for the survival of the bacterium. The last years have seen a giant step forward in the genomics of L. pneumophila. The establishment and publication of the complete genome sequences of three clinical L. pneumophila isolates in 2004 and a fourth in 2007 has paved the way for major breakthroughs in understanding the biology of L. pneumophila in particular and Legionella in general. Sequence analysis identified several specific features of Legionella: (i) an extraordinary genetic diversity among the different isolates and (ii) the presence of an unexpected high number and variety of eukaryotic-like proteins, predicted to be involved in the exploitation of the host cellular processes by mimicking specific eukaryotic functions. In this chapter, we will first discuss the insights gained from genomics by highlighting the characteristic features and common traits of the four L. pneumophila genomes obtained through genome analysis and comparison and then we will focus on the newest results obtained by functional analysis of different eukaryotic-like proteins and describe their involvementin the pathogenicity of L. pneumophila.
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PMID:Legionella pneumophila - Host Interactions: Insights Gained from Comparative Genomics and Cell Biology. 1969 1