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Query: UMLS:C0032285 (pneumonia)
 54,520 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

From July to September 1993 in the intensive care unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital there were 10 cases of pneumonia associated with sputum culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The isolates had an identical biotype and pyocine typing profile. The same strain of P. aeruginosa was recovered from the sink plug-hole in two rooms, and the tap handles and ventilator tubing in a third room. All strains were retrospectively typed by the random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method using a 26-mer oligonucleotide primer, and were identical in profile. Recommendations to medical and nursing staff included secretion isolation precautions, terminal disinfection after patient discharge, use of disposable vinyl gloves by hospital staff for all body substance contacts, thorough handwashing with 4% chlorhexidine gluconate before and after dealing with all patient contacts, and prompt, appropriate antibiotic treatment for P. aeruginosa pneumonia. RAPD is a simple and effective method to determine the relatedness of P. aeruginosa isolates, and typing results are available within a single working day; thus dramatically increasing its clinical relevance over existing molecular methods.
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PMID:Investigation of a nosocomial outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia in an intensive care unit by random amplification of polymorphic DNA assay. 767 85

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay based on the amplification of pneumolysin gene fragments in patient sera was developed for the etiologic diagnosis of acute pneumococcal pneumonia. Two pairs of oligonucleotide primers were designed to amplify a 348-bp and a 208-bp fragment of the pneumolysin gene. Amplified products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and hybridization using a 24-mer probe internal to the amplified DNA. The nested PCR could detect 10 organisms as determined by serial dilutions of DNA from Streptococcus pneumoniae. All 20 serum samples from patients with acute pneumococcal pneumonia (confirmed by blood culture) were positive. Among 100 serum samples from healthy elderly controls, 94 were negative and 6 were positive by PCR. Thus, PCR may be a novel diagnostic method for pneumococcal pneumonia.
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PMID:Diagnosis of bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia by amplification of pneumolysin gene fragment in serum. 784 95

Ps. aeruginosa is a frequent and prominent cause of nosocomial pneumonia especially in persons on assisted ventilation in the intensive care units. In a year long surveillance of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) we isolated 42 strains from broncho alveolar lavage samples collected and processed from 102 patients. By pyocin typing 40 of the 42 strains could be typed into 39 types but this designation changed each time the test was repeated. SDS-PAGE analysis of the whole cell proteins grouped the 42 strains of Ps. aeruginosa into 20 groups. After ribotyping, using an 18 mer DIG labelled oligonucleotide to the conserved region of 16S rRNA gene, the strains were designated into 18 types. The major type contained 8 isolates, but there was no clustering of isolates, indicating that each infecting strain was acquired separately and not from a common source. It would, therefore, appear that cross infection with a single clone was not the predominant mode of Ps. aeruginosa infection causing VAP in our ICU.
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PMID:Study of Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing ventilator associated pneumonia. 954 Feb 79

Mushroom worker's lung (MWL) is a hypersensitivity pneumonitis or allergic alveolitis caused by a type III IgG-mediated immunopathogenic inflammatory reaction in the host due to the inhalation of several thermophilic organisms, including Thermoactinomyces spp. It is difficult to distinguish phenotypically the eight species of this genus; therefore, this study sought to develop an improved molecular means of identifying Thermoactinomyces spp. associated with MWL by partial 16S rDNA PCR amplification and direct sequencing. Hypervariable regions within the 16S rRNA gene, which could be employed as signature sequences of the eight individual species, were identified and employed with highly conserved flanking primers to allow initial PCR amplification, before direct DNA sequencing of the 16S rDNA amplicons. A novel 24-mer 16S rDNA oligonucleotide upstream primer was designed from in silico alignments of all Thermoactinomyces spp. and was employed in combination with downstream (reverse) 16S rDNA primers. This permitted the successful identification of all four isolates associated with mushroom workers' lung. The method may be useful in the identification of Thermoactinomyces spp. associated with allergic alveolitis or pneumonitis associated with occupational exposure in agricultural and horticultural environments.
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PMID:Improved molecular identification of Thermoactinomyces spp. associated with mushroom worker's lung by 16S rDNA sequence typing. 1246 12

Pneumocystis carinii is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes pneumonia in the immunocompromised host. A protective monoclonal antibody (MAb) termed 4F11 generated against mouse-derived P. carinii was shown by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) to bind surface antigens of P. carinii derived from multiple host species, including humans. We have identified multiple epitopes recognized by MAb 4F11 in two recombinant mouse P. carinii antigens. The epitopes mapped have similar proline content and positive charge distribution. The consensus 8-mer epitope recognized by MAb 4F11 is K/RPA/RPK/QPA/TP. Immune sera raised against intact mouse P. carinii recognized native antigens affinity purified with MAb 4F11 and a recombinant antigen reactive with MAb 4F11. Database searches for short, nearly exact matches to the mapped MAb 4F11 epitopes identified a bacterial surface antigen, Streptococcus pneumoniae PspA, with a similar proline-rich region. In an IFA, MAb 4F11 detected antigens on the S. pneumoniae surface, and Western blotting identified a protein in S. pneumoniae lysates consistent with the M(r) of PspA. A fragment of the S. pneumoniae PspA gene was cloned and sequenced, and the deduced amino acid sequence contained a region with strong similarity to the MAb 4F11 epitopes identified in P. carinii. The PspA recombinant polypeptide was recognized by MAb 4F11 in a Western blot. The ability of MAb 4F11 to recognize similar proline-rich epitopes may explain its ability to recognize P. carinii derived from multiple hosts and will permit testing of the epitopes recognized by this antibody in immunization against P. carinii.
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PMID:Epitope mapping of a protective monoclonal antibody against Pneumocystis carinii with shared reactivity to Streptococcus pneumoniae surface antigen PspA. 1497 61

There has been increasing interest and efforts devoted to developing biosensor technologies for identifying pathogens, particularly in the biothreat area. In this study, a universal set of short 12- and 13-mer oligonucleotide probes was derived independently of a priori genomic sequence information and used to generate unique species-dependent genomic hybridization signatures. The probe set sequences were algorithmically generated to be maximally distant in sequence space and not dependent on the sequence of any particular genome. The probe set is universally applicable because it is unbiased and independent of hybridization predictions based upon simplified assumptions regarding probe-target duplex formation from linear sequence analysis. Tests were conducted on microarrays containing 14,283 unique probes synthesized using an in situ light-directed synthesis methodology. The genomic DNA hybridization intensity patterns reproducibly differentiated various organisms (Bacillus subtilis, Yersinia pestis, Streptococcus pneumonia, Bacillus anthracis, and Homo sapiens), including the correct identification of a blinded "unknown" sample. Applications of this method include not only pathological and forensic genome identification in medicine and basic science, but also potentially a novel method for the discovery of unknown targets and associations inherent in dynamic nucleic acid populations such as represented by differential gene expression.
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PMID:Organism identification using a genome sequence-independent universal microarray probe set. 1551 77

Mannheimia haemolytica serotype 1 (S1) is the most common bacterial isolate found in shipping fever pneumonia in beef cattle. Currently used vaccines against M. haemolytica do not provide complete protection against the disease. Research with M. haemolytica outer membrane proteins (OMPs) has shown that antibodies to one particular OMP from S1, PlpE, may be important in immunity. In a recently published work, members of our laboratory showed that recombinant PlpE (rPlpE) is highly immunogenic when injected subcutaneously into cattle and that the acquired immunity markedly enhanced resistance to experimental challenge (A. W. Confer, S. Ayalew, R. J. Panciera, M. Montelongo, L. C. Whitworth, and J. D. Hammer, Vaccine 21:2821-2829, 2003). The objective of this work was to identify epitopes of PlpE that are responsible for inducing the immune response. Western blot analysis of a series of rPlpE with nested deletions on both termini with bovine anti-PlpE hyperimmune sera showed that the immunodominant region is located close to the N terminus of PlpE. Fine epitope mapping, in which an array of overlapping 13-mer synthetic peptides attached to a derivatized cellulose membrane was probed with various affinity-purified anti-PlpE antibodies, identified eight highly reactive regions, of which region 2 (R2) was identified as the specific epitope. The R2 region is comprised of eight imperfect repeats of a hexapeptide (QAQNAP) and is located between residues 26 and 76. Complement-mediated bactericidal activity of affinity-purified anti-PlpE bovine antibodies confirmed that antibodies directed against the R2 region are effective in killing M. haemolytica.
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PMID:Characterization of immunodominant and potentially protective epitopes of Mannheimia haemolytica serotype 1 outer membrane lipoprotein PlpE. 1555 52

Coxsackievirus B4 (CVB4) can cause a broad range of diseases such as aseptic meningitis, meningoencephalitis, myocarditis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, gastroenteritis, necrotizing enterocolitis, pneumonia and sudden death in the neonates. CVB4 has also been implicated as a possible etiological agent for type 1 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). In this study, the possibility of RNA interference (RNAi) as a potential therapeutic approach to treat CVB4 infection was explored. The results showed that the Rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells treated with 19-mer siRNAs displayed high specificity against CVB4 replication without displaying any sign of target effects. The siRNA targeting the 3C(pro) region of CVB4 genome was also established to be the most effective in inhibition of CVB4 replication in RD cell line in a dosage dependent manner, indicating its potential to be developed as an antiviral strategy against CVB4.
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PMID:Development of potential antiviral strategy against coxsackievirus B4. 2021 33

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) isolates are widespread in many countries, with varying distribution and epidemiology. The aim of this study was to collect and characterise the CA-MRSA isolates circulating in Italy, since only some case reports have been published. Eighteen Panton-Valentine-positive CA-MRSA isolates were collected from different Italian hospitals during the period 2005-2009 from severe infections (skin and soft tissue infections, n = 10; necrotising pneumonia, n = 7; and sepsis, n = 1). Accessory gene regulator (agr) typing, staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec typing, spa typing, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and DNA microarray were applied to categorise isolates into clones and to compare the relevant genetic features of each clone. Six different clones were identified, the most common (7 out of 18 isolates, 38.8%) being agrI/ST8/SCCmecIV, corresponding to the USA300 clone. Six out of the seven USA300 isolates did not harbour the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). Four strains (22.2%) were agrIII/ST80/SCCmecIV, corresponding to the European clone. Two of the other clones, namely, agrIII/ST88/SCCmecV and agrIII/ST772/SCCmecV, corresponded to CA-MRSA clones rarely found in other countries and probably originating from Africa or the Indian subcontinent. The results of microarray hybridisations showed that the distribution of resistance genes and other virulence factors was specific to each clone. Some characteristics could be exploited as specific markers for a clone or a group of isolates, e.g. the mer operon, recovered only in ACME-negative USA300 strains. DNA microarray contributed to a more complete description of the variety of different CA-MRSA clones circulating in Italy.
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PMID:DNA microarray-based characterisation of Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Italy. 2149 56

Enhancement of cell death is a distinguishing feature of H1N1 influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 protein PB1-F2. Comparing the sequences (amino acids [aa] 61 to 87 using PB1-F2 amino acid numbering) of the PB1-F2-derived C-terminal peptides from influenza A viruses inducing high or low levels of cell death, we identified a unique I68, L69, and V70 motif in A/Puerto Rico/8/34 PB1-F2 responsible for promotion of the peptide's cytotoxicity and permeabilization of the mitochondrial membrane. When administered to mice, a 27-mer PB1-F2-derived C-terminal peptide with this amino acid motif caused significantly greater weight loss and pulmonary inflammation than the peptide without it (due to I68T, L69Q, and V70G mutations). Similar to the wild-type peptide, A/Puerto Rico/8/34 elicited significantly higher levels of macrophages, neutrophils, and cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of mice than its mutant counterpart 7 days after infection. Additionally, infection of mice with A/Puerto Rico/8/34 significantly enhanced the levels of morphologically transformed epithelial and immune mononuclear cells recruited in the airways compared with the mutant virus. In the mouse bacterial superinfection model, both peptide and virus with the I68, L69, and V70 sequence accelerated development of pneumococcal pneumonia, as reflected by increased levels of viral and bacterial lung titers and by greater mortality. Here we provide evidence suggesting that the newly identified cytotoxic sequence I68, L69, and V70 of A/Puerto Rico/8/34 PB1-F2 contributes to the pathogenesis of both primary viral and secondary bacterial infections.
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PMID:A novel cytotoxic sequence contributes to influenza A viral protein PB1-F2 pathogenicity and predisposition to secondary bacterial infection. 2417 20


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