PMID- 20137470 OWN - NLM STAT- In-Process DA - 20100208 IS - 0253-9624 (Print) IS - 0253-9624 (Linking) VI - 43 IP - 10 DP - 2009 Oct TI - [Development of a universal primers PCR-coupled liquid bead array to detect biothreat bacteria] PG - 890-4 AB - OBJECTIVE: To develop a fast, high-throughput screening method with suspension array technique for simultaneous detection of biothreat bacteria. METHODS: 16 S rDNA universal primers for Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Yersinia pestis, Brucella spp.and Burkholderia pseudomallei were selected to amplify corresponding regions and the genus-specific or species-specific probes were designed. After amplification of chromosomal DNA by 16 S rDNA primers 341A and 519B, the PCR products were detected by suspension array technique. The sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility and detection power were also analyzed. RESULTS: After PCR amplification by 16 S rDNA primers and specific probe hybridization, the target microorganisms could be identified at genus level, cross reaction was recognized in the same genus. The detection sensitivity of the assay was 1.5 pg/microl (Burkholderia pseudomallei), 20 pg/microl (Brucella spp.), 7 pg/microl (Bacillus anthracis), 0.1 pg/microl (Francisella tularensis), and 1.1 pg/microl (Yersinia pestis), respectively. The coefficient of variation for 15 test of different probes was ranged from 5.18% to 17.88%, it showed good reproducibility. The assay could correctly identify Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis strains in simulated white powder samples. CONCLUSION: The suspension array technique could be served as an opening screening method for biothreat bacteria rapid detection. AD - Institute of Health Quarantine, China Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, China. FAU - Wen, Hai-yan AU - Wen HY FAU - Wang, Jing AU - Wang J FAU - Liu, Heng-chuan AU - Liu HC FAU - Sun, Xiao-hong AU - Sun XH FAU - Yang, Yu AU - Yang Y FAU - Hu, Kong-xin AU - Hu KX FAU - Shan, Lin-jun AU - Shan LJ LA - chi PT - English Abstract PT - Journal Article PL - China TA - Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi JT - Zhonghua yu fang yi xue za zhi [Chinese journal of preventive medicine] JID - 7904962 SB - IM EDAT- 2010/02/09 06:00 MHDA- 2010/02/09 06:00 CRDT- 2010/02/09 06:00 PST - ppublish SO - Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2009 Oct;43(10):890-4. PMID- 20119673 OWN - NLM STAT- Publisher DA - 20100201 IS - 1433-7347 (Electronic) IS - 0942-2056 (Linking) DP - 2010 Jan 30 TI - Brucella melitensis infection in total knee arthroplasty: a case report. AB - We report a case of a 63-year-old female patient who underwent a total knee arthroplasty in which the knee later became infected with Brucella melitensis. Diagnosis was made by positive culture of a sinus tract discharge. Radiological views of the knee did not show signs of implant loosening. The patient was successfully treated with rifampicin and doxycycline without surgery. AD - Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey, erdoganhaluk@hotmail.com. AU - Erdogan H AU - Cakmak G AU - Erdogan A AU - Arslan H LA - ENG PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE DEP - 20100130 TA - Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc JT - Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA JID - 9314730 EDAT- 2010/02/02 06:00 MHDA- 2010/02/02 06:00 CRDT- 2010/02/02 06:00 PHST- 2009/02/17 [received] PHST- 2010/01/07 [accepted] PHST- 2010/01/30 [aheadofprint] AID - 10.1007/s00167-010-1048-x [doi] PST - aheadofprint SO - Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2010 Jan 30. PMID- 20053863 OWN - NLM STAT- In-Process DA - 20100226 IS - 1098-660X (Electronic) IS - 0095-1137 (Linking) VI - 48 IP - 3 DP - 2010 Mar TI - Rapid identification and discrimination of Brucella isolates by use of real-time PCR and high-resolution melt analysis. PG - 697-702 AB - Definitive identification of Brucella species remains a challenge due to the high degree of genetic homology shared within the genus. We report the development of a molecular technique which utilizes real-time PCR followed by high-resolution melt (HRM) curve analysis to reliably type members of this genus. Using a panel of seven primer sets, we tested 153 Brucella spp. isolates with >99% accuracy compared to traditional techniques. This assay provides a useful diagnostic tool that can rapidly type Brucella isolates and has the potential to detect novel species. This approach may also prove helpful for clinical, epidemiological and veterinary investigations. AD - National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. jwinchell@cdc.gov FAU - Winchell, Jonas M AU - Winchell JM FAU - Wolff, Bernard J AU - Wolff BJ FAU - Tiller, Rebekah AU - Tiller R FAU - Bowen, Michael D AU - Bowen MD FAU - Hoffmaster, Alex R AU - Hoffmaster AR LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20100106 PL - United States TA - J Clin Microbiol JT - Journal of clinical microbiology JID - 7505564 SB - IM PMC - PMC2832424 OID - NLM: PMC2832424 [Available on 09/01/10] EDAT- 2010/01/08 06:00 MHDA- 2010/01/08 06:00 CRDT- 2010/01/08 06:00 PMCR- 2010/09/01 PHST- 2010/01/06 [aheadofprint] AID - JCM.02021-09 [pii] AID - 10.1128/JCM.02021-09 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Clin Microbiol. 2010 Mar;48(3):697-702. Epub 2010 Jan 6. PMID- 20032255 OWN - NLM STAT- In-Process DA - 20100226 IS - 1098-660X (Electronic) IS - 0095-1137 (Linking) VI - 48 IP - 3 DP - 2010 Mar TI - Effect of carbon dioxide on broth microdilution susceptibility testing of Brucella spp. PG - 952-6 AB - Since some strains of Brucella species may require carbon dioxide for growth, a multilaboratory study was conducted to compare broth microdilution susceptibility results using ambient air (AA) and 5% CO2 incubation conditions. Six antimicrobial agents were tested against 39 Brucella isolates. Aminoglycoside MICs tended to be 1 log2 dilution higher in CO2 than in AA; tetracycline-class MICs to be 1 log2 dilution lower in CO2. AD - Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. dul7@cdc.gov FAU - Lonsway, David R AU - Lonsway DR FAU - Jevitt, Laura A AU - Jevitt LA FAU - Uhl, James R AU - Uhl JR FAU - Cockerill, Franklin R 3rd AU - Cockerill FR 3rd FAU - Anderson, Mary E AU - Anderson ME FAU - Sullivan, Maureen M AU - Sullivan MM FAU - De, Barun K AU - De BK FAU - Edwards, Jonathan R AU - Edwards JR FAU - Patel, Jean B AU - Patel JB LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20091223 PL - United States TA - J Clin Microbiol JT - Journal of clinical microbiology JID - 7505564 SB - IM PMC - PMC2832407 OID - NLM: PMC2832407 [Available on 09/01/10] EDAT- 2009/12/25 06:00 MHDA- 2009/12/25 06:00 CRDT- 2009/12/25 06:00 PMCR- 2010/09/01 PHST- 2009/12/23 [aheadofprint] AID - JCM.01860-09 [pii] AID - 10.1128/JCM.01860-09 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Clin Microbiol. 2010 Mar;48(3):952-6. Epub 2009 Dec 23. PMID- 20036135 OWN - NLM STAT- Publisher DA - 20091228 IS - 1873-734X (Electronic) IS - 1010-7940 (Linking) DP - 2009 Dec 23 TI - Surgical approach to the management of Brucella endocarditis. AB - Objective: Brucella endocarditis is a rare complication of Brucella infection; however, it is the major cause of deaths in those infected with this disease. In this study, we aim to discuss the results of seven cases who underwent surgery for Brucella endocarditis in our clinic using the knowledge gathered through the literature. Methods: We reviewed seven patients with Brucella endocarditis, who underwent surgery in our department between October 1990 and April 2007. Brucella endocarditis was diagnosed by physical examination, laboratory findings, serological tests, blood culture, transthoracic and trans-oesophageal echocardiography. All cases underwent surgery after 4-6 weeks of medical therapy. Antimicrobial treatment was maintained for an average of 6 months after surgery. The mean follow-up was 27.4 months. Results: The mean age was 30 years (range, 5-47 years). Four of the patients were male. Of the cases, aortic valve replacement (AVR) was performed in three, mitral valve replacement (MVR) was performed in three and combined aortic and mitral valve replacement (AVR+MVR) was performed in one patient. Pericardial tube drainage was done in one patient because of pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade that developed 13 days after surgery. One (14.3%) of our patients died 15 days after surgery. The others were discharged. Conclusions: We concluded that medical and surgical treatment had to be performed simultaneously for the successful management of Brucella endocarditis, a fatal complication of Brucella infection. CI - Copyright (c) 2009 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. AD - Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Erciyes University School of Medicine, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey. AU - Tasdemir K AU - Kaya MG AU - Mavili E AU - Gunebakmaz O AU - Ozbek A AU - Sarli B AU - Yarlioglues M AU - Emirogullari N LA - ENG PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE DEP - 20091223 TA - Eur J Cardiothorac Surg JT - European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery JID - 8804069 EDAT- 2009/12/29 06:00 MHDA- 2009/12/29 06:00 CRDT- 2009/12/29 06:00 PHST- 2009/07/29 [received] PHST- 2009/11/12 [revised] PHST- 2009/11/17 [accepted] AID - S1010-7940(09)01083-5 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.ejcts.2009.11.041 [doi] PST - aheadofprint SO - Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2009 Dec 23. PMID- 20018612 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20100107 DCOM- 20100208 IS - 1550-6606 (Electronic) IS - 0022-1767 (Linking) VI - 184 IP - 2 DP - 2010 Jan 15 TI - Subversion of innate immune responses by Brucella through the targeted degradation of the TLR signaling adapter, MAL. PG - 956-64 AB - Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Brucella species cause chronic infections that can result in undulant fever, arthritis, and osteomyelitis in humans. Remarkably, Brucella sp. genomes encode a protein, named TcpB, that bears significant homology with mammalian Toll/IL-1 receptor domains and whose expression causes degradation of the phosphorylated, signal competent form of the adapter MyD88-adapter-like (MAL). This effect of TcpB is mediated through its box 1 region and has no effect on other TLR adapter proteins such as MyD88 or TIR-domain containing adapter protein-inducing IFNbeta. TcpB also does not affect a mutant, signal-incompetent form of MAL that cannot be phosphorylated. Interestingly, the presence of TcpB leads to enhanced polyubiquitination of MAL, which is likely responsible for its accelerated degradation. A Brucella abortus mutant lacking TcpB fails to reduce levels of MAL in infected macrophages. Therefore, TcpB represents a unique pathogen-derived molecule that suppresses host innate-immune responses by specifically targeting an individual adapter molecule in the TLR signaling pathway for degradation. AD - Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. FAU - Sengupta, Dola AU - Sengupta D FAU - Koblansky, Alicia AU - Koblansky A FAU - Gaines, Jennifer AU - Gaines J FAU - Brown, Tim AU - Brown T FAU - West, A Phillip AU - West AP FAU - Zhang, Dekai AU - Zhang D FAU - Nishikawa, Tak AU - Nishikawa T FAU - Park, Sung-Gyoo AU - Park SG FAU - Roop, R Martin 2nd AU - Roop RM 2nd FAU - Ghosh, Sankar AU - Ghosh S LA - eng GR - R01-AI059440/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States GR - R21-AI63373/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States GR - R37-AI33443/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural DEP - 20091214 PL - United States TA - J Immunol JT - Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) JID - 2985117R RN - 0 (Membrane Glycoproteins) RN - 0 (Receptors, Interleukin-1) RN - 0 (TIRAP protein, human) RN - 0 (TLR4 protein, human) RN - 0 (Toll-Like Receptor 4) RN - 0 (Ubiquitin) RN - 0 (Viral Proteins) SB - AIM SB - IM MH - Brucella/*pathogenicity MH - Cell Line MH - Humans MH - *Immunity, Innate MH - Membrane Glycoproteins/*metabolism MH - Phosphorylation MH - Receptors, Interleukin-1/*metabolism MH - Sequence Homology, Amino Acid MH - Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism MH - Ubiquitin MH - Viral Proteins/physiology EDAT- 2009/12/19 06:00 MHDA- 2010/02/09 06:00 CRDT- 2009/12/19 06:00 PHST- 2009/12/14 [aheadofprint] AID - jimmunol.0902008 [pii] AID - 10.4049/jimmunol.0902008 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Immunol. 2010 Jan 15;184(2):956-64. Epub 2009 Dec 14. PMID- 19854911 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20091216 DCOM- 20100105 IS - 1098-5530 (Electronic) IS - 0021-9193 (Linking) VI - 192 IP - 1 DP - 2010 Jan TI - Metabolic control of virulence genes in Brucella abortus: HutC coordinates virB expression and the histidine utilization pathway by direct binding to both promoters. PG - 217-24 AB - Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are multicomponent machineries involved in the translocation of effector molecules across the bacterial cell envelope. The virB operon of Brucella abortus codes for a T4SS that is essential for virulence and intracellular multiplication of the bacterium in the host. Previous studies showed that the virB operon of B. abortus is tightly regulated within the host cells. In order to identify factors implicated in the control of virB expression, we searched for proteins of Brucella that directly bind to the virB promoter (P(virB)). Using different procedures, we isolated a 27-kDa protein that binds specifically to P(virB). This protein was identified as HutC, the transcriptional repressor of the histidine utilization (hut) genes. Analyses of virB and hut promoter activity revealed that HutC exerts two different roles: it acts as a coactivator of transcription of the virB operon, whereas it represses the hut genes. Such activities were observed both intracellularly and in bacteria incubated under conditions that resemble the intracellular environment. Electrophoresis mobility shift assays (EMSA) and DNase I footprinting experiments revealed the structure, affinity, and localization of the HutC-binding sites and supported the regulatory role of HutC in both hut and virB promoters. Taken together, these results indicate that Brucella coopted the function of HutC to coordinate the Hut pathway with transcriptional regulation of the virB genes, probably as a way to sense its own metabolic state and develop adaptive responses to overcome intracellular host defenses. AD - Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnologicas, Universidad Nacional de General San Martin, Av. General Paz 5445, INTI, Ed. 24. San Martin 1650, Buenos Aires, Argentina. rsieira@iib.unsam.edu.ar FAU - Sieira, Rodrigo AU - Sieira R FAU - Arocena, Gaston M AU - Arocena GM FAU - Bukata, Lucas AU - Bukata L FAU - Comerci, Diego J AU - Comerci DJ FAU - Ugalde, Rodolfo A AU - Ugalde RA LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - United States TA - J Bacteriol JT - Journal of bacteriology JID - 2985120R RN - 0 (Bacterial Proteins) RN - 71-00-1 (Histidine) SB - IM MH - Bacterial Proteins/genetics/metabolism MH - Binding Sites MH - Blotting, Western MH - Brucella abortus/*genetics/metabolism/*pathogenicity MH - DNA Footprinting MH - Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay MH - *Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial MH - Histidine/*metabolism MH - Promoter Regions, Genetic/*genetics MH - Protein Binding MH - Signal Transduction/genetics/physiology MH - Virulence/genetics PMC - PMC2798258 OID - NLM: PMC2798258 [Available on 07/01/10] EDAT- 2009/10/27 06:00 MHDA- 2010/01/06 06:00 CRDT- 2009/10/27 06:00 PMCR- 2010/07/01 PHST- 2009/10/23 [aheadofprint] AID - JB.01124-09 [pii] AID - 10.1128/JB.01124-09 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Bacteriol. 2010 Jan;192(1):217-24. Epub . PMID- 19830453 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20100129 DCOM- 20100408 IS - 1432-1831 (Electronic) IS - 0300-8584 (Linking) VI - 198 IP - 4 DP - 2009 Nov TI - Survival of the fittest: how Brucella strains adapt to their intracellular niche in the host. PG - 221-38 AB - Brucella strains produce abortion and infertility in their natural hosts and a zoonotic disease in humans known as undulant fever. These bacteria do not produce classical virulence factors, and their capacity to successfully survive and replicate within a variety of host cells underlies their pathogenicity. Extensive replication of the brucellae in placental trophoblasts is associated with reproductive tract pathology in natural hosts, and prolonged persistence in macrophages leads to the chronic infections that are a hallmark of brucellosis in both natural hosts and humans. This review describes how Brucella strains have efficiently adapted to their intracellular lifestyle in the host. AD - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA. roopr@ecu.edu FAU - Roop, R Martin 2nd AU - Roop RM 2nd FAU - Gaines, Jennifer M AU - Gaines JM FAU - Anderson, Eric S AU - Anderson ES FAU - Caswell, Clayton C AU - Caswell CC FAU - Martin, Daniel W AU - Martin DW LA - eng GR - AI48499/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States GR - AI63516/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural PT - Review DEP - 20090922 PL - Germany TA - Med Microbiol Immunol JT - Medical microbiology and immunology JID - 0314524 RN - 0 (Phosphatidylcholines) RN - 0 (Reactive Oxygen Species) RN - 10102-43-9 (Nitric Oxide) SB - IM MH - *Adaptation, Physiological MH - Animals MH - Brucella/genetics/immunology/metabolism/*pathogenicity MH - Dendritic Cells/immunology/microbiology MH - Epithelial Cells/immunology/microbiology MH - Flagella/immunology/microbiology MH - Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial MH - Humans MH - Hydrogen-Ion Concentration MH - Macrophages/immunology/microbiology MH - Nitric Oxide/metabolism MH - Oxidative Stress MH - Phosphatidylcholines/metabolism MH - Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism MH - Trophoblasts/immunology/microbiology RF - 198 EDAT- 2009/10/16 06:00 MHDA- 2010/04/09 06:00 CRDT- 2009/10/16 06:00 PHST- 2009/08/20 [received] PHST- 2009/09/22 [aheadofprint] AID - 10.1007/s00430-009-0123-8 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Med Microbiol Immunol. 2009 Nov;198(4):221-38. Epub 2009 Sep 22. PMID- 19797836 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20091002 DCOM- 20091229 IS - 1349-7235 (Electronic) IS - 0918-2918 (Linking) VI - 48 IP - 19 DP - 2009 TI - A rare complication of Brucella infection: myocarditis and heart failure. PG - 1773-4 AB - Cardiac complications from brucellosis are unusual and usually manifest as endocarditis. The other possible complication is myocardial involvement. Brucella myocarditis and development of heart failure is a very rare complication of brucellosis. We present a patient with new onset heart failure due to brucella myocarditis treated with favorable antibiotic therapy. AD - Department of Internal Medicine, Numune Education and Training Hospital. drcumi21@hotmail.com FAU - Efe, Cumali AU - Efe C FAU - Can, Tuba AU - Can T FAU - Ince, Munevver AU - Ince M FAU - Tunca, Hasan AU - Tunca H FAU - Yildiz, Fatih AU - Yildiz F FAU - Sennaroglu, Engin AU - Sennaroglu E LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article DEP - 20091001 PL - Japan TA - Intern Med JT - Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) JID - 9204241 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use MH - Brucellosis/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy MH - Female MH - Heart Failure/drug therapy/*etiology MH - Humans MH - Middle Aged MH - Myocarditis/drug therapy/*etiology MH - Zoonoses/etiology EDAT- 2009/10/03 06:00 MHDA- 2009/12/30 06:00 CRDT- 2009/10/03 06:00 PHST- 2009/10/01 [epublish] AID - JST.JSTAGE/internalmedicine/48.2385 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Intern Med. 2009;48(19):1773-4. Epub 2009 Oct 1. PMID- 19747534 OWN - NLM STAT- In-Process DA - 20091116 IS - 1096-1208 (Electronic) IS - 0882-4010 (Linking) VI - 47 IP - 6 DP - 2009 Dec TI - Brucella abortus induces Irgm3 and Irga6 expression via type-I IFN by a MyD88-dependent pathway, without the requirement of TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR9. PG - 299-304 AB - The innate immune system senses bacterial pathogens by pattern recognition receptors, such as the well-characterised Toll-like Receptors (TLR). The activation of TLR signalling cascades depends on several adaptor proteins, among which MyD88 plays a key role in triggering innate immune responses. Here, we show in murine macrophages that Brucella abortus triggers expression of the interferon-inducible resistance proteins (IRGs, p47 GTPases) via type-I IFN secretion at late time points, when Brucella has reached its replication niche. This induction requires the adaptor molecule MyD88 but does not involve the TLRs normally implicated in sensing Gram-negative bacteria, namely TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR9. Brucella mutants lacking the functional VirB type-IV secretion system were not capable of inducing Irgm3 and Irga6 expression, suggesting that the type-IV secretion system is part of the triggering of the activation process. Our data suggest that Brucella is recognized intracellularly by an unknown receptor, different from the conventional ones used for Gram-negative sensing, but one that nevertheless signals through MyD88. AD - Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Inststut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, Universite de la Mediterranee, France. nl255@cam.ac.uk FAU - Lapaque, Nicolas AU - Lapaque N FAU - Muller, Alexandre AU - Muller A FAU - Alexopoulou, Lena AU - Alexopoulou L FAU - Howard, Jonathan C AU - Howard JC FAU - Gorvel, Jean-Pierre AU - Gorvel JP LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20090909 PL - England TA - Microb Pathog JT - Microbial pathogenesis JID - 8606191 SB - IM EDAT- 2009/09/15 06:00 MHDA- 2009/09/15 06:00 CRDT- 2009/09/15 06:00 PHST- 2009/07/12 [received] PHST- 2009/09/01 [revised] PHST- 2009/09/02 [accepted] PHST- 2009/09/09 [aheadofprint] AID - S0882-4010(09)00140-5 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.micpath.2009.09.005 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Microb Pathog. 2009 Dec;47(6):299-304. Epub 2009 Sep 9. PMID- 19653929 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20091217 DCOM- 20100120 IS - 1469-4409 (Electronic) IS - 0950-2688 (Linking) VI - 138 IP - 2 DP - 2010 Feb TI - Human Brucella canis outbreak linked to infection in dogs. PG - 280-5 AB - The zoonotic risk of Brucella canis has been considered fairly high for persons who handle breeding dogs in kennels or are exposed to infected animals. Transmission to humans in other circumstances has been thought to be rare. We describe an uncommon outbreak of brucellosis caused by B. canis which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first reported in the literature. This outbreak involved six persons (three children and three adults), a bitch and three puppies which had close daily contact with the family. The clinical symptoms of the index case led to an erroneous diagnosis and the infection would have gone undiagnosed if culture had not been positive. This report aims to increase awareness of medical personnel of the need to order screening tests for children, immunodeficient persons or pregnant women presenting with fever of unknown origin, unexplained spleen or liver enlargement or other systemic signs. The emerging zoonotic potential of this disease in urban areas and the need to coordinate canine brucellosis surveillance systems should be evaluated. AD - Brucellosis Service, National Laboratories and Institutes of Health Administration (ANLIS) Dr. C. G. Malbran, Buenos Aires, Argentina. nidia@elsitio.net FAU - Lucero, N E AU - Lucero NE FAU - Corazza, R AU - Corazza R FAU - Almuzara, M N AU - Almuzara MN FAU - Reynes, E AU - Reynes E FAU - Escobar, G I AU - Escobar GI FAU - Boeri, E AU - Boeri E FAU - Ayala, S M AU - Ayala SM LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article DEP - 20090805 PL - England TA - Epidemiol Infect JT - Epidemiology and infection JID - 8703737 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) RN - 8064-90-2 (Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination) SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Animals MH - Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/blood MH - *Brucella canis/immunology MH - Brucellosis/microbiology/*transmission MH - Child, Preschool MH - Dog Diseases/microbiology/*transmission MH - Dogs MH - Family MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Infant MH - Male MH - Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination/therapeutic use MH - *Zoonoses/transmission EDAT- 2009/08/06 09:00 MHDA- 2010/01/21 06:00 CRDT- 2009/08/06 09:00 PHST- 2009/08/05 [aheadofprint] AID - S0950268809990525 [pii] AID - 10.1017/S0950268809990525 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Epidemiol Infect. 2010 Feb;138(2):280-5. Epub 2009 Aug 5. PMID- 19628564 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20090929 DCOM- 20091214 IS - 1350-0872 (Print) IS - 1350-0872 (Linking) VI - 155 IP - Pt 10 DP - 2009 Oct TI - Cytotoxicity of Brucella smooth strains for macrophages is mediated by increased secretion of the type IV secretion system. PG - 3392-402 AB - Some Brucella rough mutants cause cytotoxicity that resembles oncosis and necrosis in macrophages. This cytotoxicity requires the type IV secretion system (T4SS). In rough mutants, the cell-surface O antigen is shortened and the T4SS structure is thus exposed on the surface. Cytotoxicity effector proteins can therefore be more easily secreted. This enhanced secretion of effector proteins might cause the increased levels of cytotoxicity observed. However, whether this cytotoxicity is unique to the rough mutant and is mediated by overexpression of the T4SS has not been definitively determined. To test this, in the present study, a virB inactivation mutant (BMDeltavirB) and an overexpression strain (BM-VIR) of a smooth Brucella melitensis strain (BM) were constructed and their cytotoxicity for macrophages and intracellular survival capability were analysed and compared. Cytotoxicity was detected in macrophages infected with higher concentrations of strains BM or BM-VIR, but not in those infected with BMDeltavirB. The quorum sensing signal molecule N-dodecanoyl-dl-homoserine lactone (C(12)-HSL), a molecule that can inhibit expression of virB, inhibited the cytotoxicity of BM and BM-VIR, but not of BMDeltavirB. These results indicated that overexpression of virB is responsible for Brucella cytotoxicity in macrophages. Transcription analysis showed that virB is regulated in a cell-density-dependent manner both in in vitro culture and during macrophage infection. When compared with BM, BM-VIR showed a reduced survival capacity in macrophages and mice, but both strains demonstrated similar resistance to in vitro stress conditions designed to simulate intracellular environments. Taken together, the cytotoxicity of Brucella for macrophages is probably mediated by increased secretion of effector proteins that results from overexpression of virB or an increase in the number of bacterial cells. The observation that both inactivation and overexpression of virB are detrimental for Brucella intracellular survival also indicated that the expression of virB is tightly regulated in a cell-density-dependent manner. AD - College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, PR China. FAU - Zhong, Zhijun AU - Zhong Z FAU - Wang, Yufei AU - Wang Y FAU - Qiao, Feng AU - Qiao F FAU - Wang, Zhoujia AU - Wang Z FAU - Du, Xinying AU - Du X FAU - Xu, Jie AU - Xu J FAU - Zhao, Jin AU - Zhao J FAU - Qu, Qing AU - Qu Q FAU - Dong, Shicun AU - Dong S FAU - Sun, Yansong AU - Sun Y FAU - Huang, Liuyu AU - Huang L FAU - Huang, Kehe AU - Huang K FAU - Chen, Zeliang AU - Chen Z LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20090723 PL - England TA - Microbiology JT - Microbiology (Reading, England) JID - 9430468 RN - 0 (Virulence Factors) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella melitensis/*metabolism/*pathogenicity MH - Cell Survival MH - Female MH - Gene Deletion MH - Gene Expression MH - Gene Expression Profiling MH - Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial MH - Macrophages/*microbiology MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred BALB C MH - Microbial Viability MH - Quorum Sensing MH - Virulence Factors/genetics/*metabolism EDAT- 2009/07/25 09:00 MHDA- 2009/12/16 06:00 CRDT- 2009/07/25 09:00 PHST- 2009/07/23 [aheadofprint] AID - mic.0.030619-0 [pii] AID - 10.1099/mic.0.030619-0 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Microbiology. 2009 Oct;155(Pt 10):3392-402. Epub 2009 Jul 23. PMID- 19537042 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20090619 DCOM- 20090724 IS - 0341-6593 (Print) IS - 0341-6593 (Linking) VI - 116 IP - 6 DP - 2009 Jun TI - First evidence of Brucella ovis infection in Republic of Croatia. PG - 209-13 AB - We researched the spread of Brucella ovis (B. ovis) infection in sheep during 2002 and 2003 in Croatia. A total of 30,635 sheep blood samples were examined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In 2002, 1014 out of 14,404 examined sheep blood samples (7%) from six counties gave positive reactions while 2060 (14.3%) were found suspicious. In 2003, 638 out of 16,221 examined sheep blood samples in nine counties (3.9%) tested positive while 1083 (6.7%) were suspicious. In rams and sheep that were serologically positive specific pathological changes were found in 68 (43.6%) out of 156 examined rams and in 5 (3.8%) out of 133 examined sheep. B. ovis was isolated from ram tissues from three counties and identified with classical microbiological procedures and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This research proves that Brucella ovis is present in sheep flocks in Croatia which is also the first proof of its existence in the country. AD - Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Bacteriology, Croatian Veterinary institute, Zagreb, Croatia. spicic@veinst.hr FAU - Spicic, Silvio AU - Spicic S FAU - Marjanovic, Sanja AU - Marjanovic S FAU - Zdelar-Tuk, Maja AU - Zdelar-Tuk M FAU - Cvetnic, Zeljko AU - Cvetnic Z LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - Germany TA - Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr JT - DTW. Deutsche tierarztliche Wochenschrift JID - 7706565 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/*blood MH - *Brucella ovis/immunology/isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis/epidemiology/pathology/*veterinary MH - Croatia/epidemiology MH - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary MH - Female MH - Male MH - Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary MH - Risk Factors MH - Seroepidemiologic Studies MH - Sheep MH - Sheep Diseases/*epidemiology/pathology EDAT- 2009/06/20 09:00 MHDA- 2009/07/25 09:00 CRDT- 2009/06/20 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr. 2009 Jun;116(6):209-13. PMID- 19448960 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20090518 DCOM- 20090728 IS - 1130-1473 (Print) IS - 1130-1473 (Linking) VI - 20 IP - 2 DP - 2009 Apr TI - Lumbar epidural abscess caused by brucella species: report of two cases. PG - 159-62 AB - Spinal epidural abscess due to Brucella species is usually associated with spondylodiscitis. Urgent surgical decompression should be performed in cases with moderate to severe neurological deficits particularly if progressive. We report clinical features of two cases operated for lumbar epidural abscess caused by Brucella species. Early surgical decompression combined with medical treatment could decrease progression of neurological findings or the severity of complications. Iatrogenic dural tear at the operation should be repaired immediately with fine sutures and fibrin tissue glue to prevent further innoculation into the cerebrospinal axis. These cases should be cautiously followed for any recurrence or neurobrucellosis. AD - Neurosurgery clinics, Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. FAU - Daglioglu, Ergun AU - Daglioglu E FAU - Bayazit, N AU - Bayazit N FAU - Okay, O AU - Okay O FAU - Dalgic, A AU - Dalgic A FAU - Hatipoglu, H G AU - Hatipoglu HG FAU - Ergungor, F AU - Ergungor F LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PL - Spain TA - Neurocirugia (Astur) JT - Neurocirugia (Asturias, Spain) JID - 9425251 SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Brucella/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/*complications/pathology MH - Decompression, Surgical MH - Discitis/etiology/microbiology MH - *Epidural Abscess/etiology/microbiology MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Lumbar Vertebrae/*pathology MH - Male MH - Middle Aged EDAT- 2009/05/19 09:00 MHDA- 2009/07/29 09:00 CRDT- 2009/05/19 09:00 AID - 8 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Neurocirugia (Astur). 2009 Apr;20(2):159-62. PMID- 18569340 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080623 DCOM- 20080908 IS - 1475-6374 (Electronic) IS - 1475-6366 (Linking) VI - 23 IP - 3 DP - 2008 Jun TI - Brucella suis histidinol dehydrogenase: synthesis and inhibition studies of substituted N-L-histidinylphenylsulfonyl hydrazide. PG - 357-61 AB - Histidinol dehydrogenase (HDH, EC EC1.1.1.23) catalyses the final step in the biosynthesis of histidine and constitutes an attractive novel target for the development of new agents against the pathogenous, bacteria Brucella suis. A small library of new HDH inhibitors based on the L-histidinylphenylsulfonyl hydrazide scaffold has been synthesized and their inhibitory activity investigated. The obtained results demonstrate that modification of the group between the histidinyl moiety and the phenyl ring constitutes an important structural factor for the design of effective HDH inhibitors. AD - Institut des Biomolecules Max Mousseron (IBMM) UMR 5247 CNRS-UM1-UM2 Batiment de Recherche Max Mousseron, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Montpellier, 8 rue de l'Ecole Normale, 34296 Montpellier Cedex, France. FAU - Abdo, Marie-Rose AU - Abdo MR FAU - Joseph, Pascale AU - Joseph P FAU - Boigegrain, Rose-Anne AU - Boigegrain RA FAU - Montero, Jean-Louis AU - Montero JL FAU - Kohler, Stephan AU - Kohler S FAU - Winum, Jean-Yves AU - Winum JY LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - England TA - J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem JT - Journal of enzyme inhibition and medicinal chemistry JID - 101150203 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) RN - 0 (Azides) RN - 0 (Enzyme Inhibitors) RN - 0 (Sulfones) RN - 71-00-1 (Histidine) RN - EC 1.1.- (Alcohol Oxidoreductases) RN - EC 1.1.1.23 (histidinol dehydrogenase) SB - IM MH - Alcohol Oxidoreductases/*antagonists & inhibitors MH - Anti-Bacterial Agents/*chemistry/pharmacology MH - Azides MH - Brucella suis/*enzymology MH - Enzyme Inhibitors/*chemistry/pharmacology MH - Histidine/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology MH - Structure-Activity Relationship MH - Sulfones EDAT- 2008/06/24 09:00 MHDA- 2008/09/09 09:00 CRDT- 2008/06/24 09:00 AID - 791127413 [pii] AID - 10.1080/14756360701617107 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem. 2008 Jun;23(3):357-61. PMID- 18514443 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080922 DCOM- 20090106 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 132 IP - 1-2 DP - 2008 Nov 25 TI - Identification of novel DNA fragments and partial sequence of a genomic island specific of Brucella pinnipedialis. PG - 181-9 AB - Since the 1990s, Brucella strains have been isolated from a wide variety of marine mammals and were recently recognized as two different species, i.e. Brucella pinnipedialis for pinniped isolates and Brucella ceti for cetacean isolates. The aim of this study was to identify specific DNA fragments of marine mammal Brucella strains using a previously described infrequent restriction site-PCR (IRS-PCR) method but with three new couples of restriction enzymes applied on a larger panel of marine mammal Brucella isolates (n=74) and one human isolate from New Zealand likely from marine mammal origin. This study revealed five DNA fragments specific of Brucella strains isolated from marine mammals. Among them two new DNA fragments were specific of B. pinnipedialis but were not detected in hooded seal isolates. DNA fragment I identified in the previous IRS-PCR study and fragment VI of this study were located on a cloned and sequenced 6kb SacI fragment. Its nucleotide sequence revealed that it is likely part of a putative genomic island. Sequence analysis showed that it carries four ORFs coding for putative metabolic functions. Although hooded seal isolates are classified within B. pinnipedialis it was shown in this study that they do not carry this genomic island and this raises the question about their evolutionary history within B. pinnipedialis. AD - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, UR1282, Infectiologie Animale et Sante Publique, Nouzilly, France. FAU - Maquart, Marianne AU - Maquart M FAU - Fardini, Yann AU - Fardini Y FAU - Zygmunt, Michel S AU - Zygmunt MS FAU - Cloeckaert, Axel AU - Cloeckaert A LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20080602 PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (DNA, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella/*classification/*genetics MH - Cetacea/microbiology MH - DNA, Bacterial/genetics/*isolation & purification MH - Evolution, Molecular MH - Genomic Islands/*genetics MH - Pinnipedia/microbiology MH - Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary EDAT- 2008/06/03 09:00 MHDA- 2009/01/07 09:00 CRDT- 2008/06/03 09:00 PHST- 2008/03/05 [received] PHST- 2008/03/21 [revised] PHST- 2008/04/10 [accepted] PHST- 2008/06/02 [aheadofprint] AID - S0378-1135(08)00150-8 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2008.04.015 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2008 Nov 25;132(1-2):181-9. Epub 2008 Jun 2. PMID- 18501554 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080721 DCOM- 20081105 IS - 0882-4010 (Print) IS - 0882-4010 (Linking) VI - 45 IP - 2 DP - 2008 Aug TI - Expression of heme oxygenase-1 is associated with abortion caused by Brucella abortus infection in pregnant mice. PG - 105-9 AB - Brucella abortus is a facultative intracellular pathogen that can survive inside macrophages and trophoblast giant (TG) cells, and the causative agent of brucellosis. In the present study, we found that expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in TG cells is correlated with abortion induced by B. abortus infection in pregnant mice. Expression of HO-1 in the placenta was decreased by B. abortus infection and treatment with cobalt-protoporphyrin (Co-PP), which is known to up-regulate HO-1 expression, inhibited abortion due to the bacterial infection. In TG cells, treatment with Co-PP was shown to up-regulate HO-1, whereas its expression was decreased by B. abortus infection. Such down-regulation of HO-1 in the TG cells was enhanced by IFN-gamma treatment. HO-1 down-regulation in TG cells due to knockdown or IFN-gamma treatment served to induce cell death caused by B. abortus infection. These results suggest that down-regulation of HO-1 in TG cells due to B. abortus infection is an important event in infectious abortion. AD - Department of Applied Veterinary Science, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro-shi, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan. FAU - Tachibana, Masato AU - Tachibana M FAU - Watanabe, Kenta AU - Watanabe K FAU - Yamasaki, Yuki AU - Yamasaki Y FAU - Suzuki, Hiroshi AU - Suzuki H FAU - Watarai, Masahisa AU - Watarai M LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20080416 PL - England TA - Microb Pathog JT - Microbial pathogenesis JID - 8606191 RN - EC 1.14.99.3 (Heme Oxygenase-1) SB - IM MH - Abortion, Spontaneous/*etiology/microbiology MH - Animals MH - Brucella abortus/*enzymology/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/*complications/veterinary MH - Down-Regulation/physiology MH - Female MH - Heme Oxygenase-1/metabolism/*physiology MH - Macrophages/microbiology MH - Mice MH - Pregnancy MH - Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/*enzymology/physiopathology EDAT- 2008/05/27 09:00 MHDA- 2008/11/06 09:00 CRDT- 2008/05/27 09:00 PHST- 2007/12/17 [received] PHST- 2008/03/04 [revised] PHST- 2008/04/03 [accepted] PHST- 2008/04/16 [aheadofprint] AID - S0882-4010(08)00039-9 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.micpath.2008.04.002 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Microb Pathog. 2008 Aug;45(2):105-9. Epub 2008 Apr 16. PMID- 18457975 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080602 DCOM- 20080826 LR - 20091118 IS - 1286-4579 (Print) IS - 1286-4579 (Linking) VI - 10 IP - 6 DP - 2008 May TI - Evidence of Brucella abortus OPS dictating uptake and restricting NF-kappaB activation in murine macrophages. PG - 582-90 AB - Smooth Brucella abortus S2308 is virulent while rough derivatives are attenuated. Intracellular killing is often blamed for these differences. In the studies described, uptake kinetics and interaction of S2308 and S2308 manBA::Tn5 (CA180) rough mutants with macrophages were investigated. The results revealed that smooth B. abortus was rapidly internalized, achieving a maximum level in less than 5 min without additional uptake over the next 30 min. In contrast, continued uptake of the rough mutant was observed and only achieves a maximum level after 30 min. The results were confirmed by the differences in F-actin polymerization, lipid raft staining, early endosome colocalization and electron microscopic observations after smooth and rough Brucella infection. We also demonstrated for the first time that uptake of S2308, but not rough mutant CA180 was PI3-kinase and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) dependent. Differences in uptake were associated with differences in macrophage activation with regard to NF-kappaB translocation and cytokine production. These results provide evidence that the presence of B. abortus OPS dictates the interactions between Brucella and specific cell surface receptors minimizing macrophage activation and enhancing Brucella survival and/or persistence. AD - Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, TX 77843-4467, USA. FAU - Pei, Jianwu AU - Pei J FAU - Turse, Joshua E AU - Turse JE FAU - Ficht, Thomas A AU - Ficht TA LA - eng GR - AI48496/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States GR - R01 AI048496-01A1/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. DEP - 20080120 PL - France TA - Microbes Infect JT - Microbes and infection / Institut Pasteur JID - 100883508 RN - 0 (NF-kappa B) RN - 0 (Receptors, Cell Surface) RN - 0 (Toll-Like Receptor 4) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella abortus/immunology/pathogenicity/*physiology MH - Brucellosis/*immunology/microbiology MH - Cell Line MH - Macrophage Activation MH - Macrophages/immunology/*microbiology/physiology MH - Mice MH - NF-kappa B/*metabolism MH - Receptors, Cell Surface/*metabolism MH - Toll-Like Receptor 4/metabolism PMC - PMC2752336 MID - NIHMS55806 OID - NLM: NIHMS55806 OID - NLM: PMC2752336 EDAT- 2008/05/07 09:00 MHDA- 2008/08/30 09:00 CRDT- 2008/05/07 09:00 PHST- 2007/08/31 [received] PHST- 2007/12/08 [revised] PHST- 2008/01/11 [accepted] PHST- 2008/01/20 [aheadofprint] AID - S1286-4579(08)00015-4 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.micinf.2008.01.005 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Microbes Infect. 2008 May;10(6):582-90. Epub 2008 Jan 20. PMID- 18436657 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080425 DCOM- 20080708 IS - 0090-3558 (Print) IS - 0090-3558 (Linking) VI - 44 IP - 2 DP - 2008 Apr TI - Isolation and characterization of Brucella from the lungworms of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). PG - 237-46 AB - Adult female nematodes identified as Pseudalius inflexus were collected from the lungs of a juvenile male harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) found dead on a beach in Cornwall, UK. Classic and molecular typing methods, immunologic and electron microscopy immunolabeling techniques, provided evidence of Brucella sp. infection within the uterine tissue of nematodes of this marine mammal. This finding presents further evidence to suggest parasites should be considered as a potential means of transfer of bacterial infection in marine mammals and highlights the zoonotic implications for humans exposed to marine mammals through occupation or leisure. AD - Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, United Kingdom. c.e.dawson@vla.defra.gsi.gov.uk FAU - Dawson, C E AU - Dawson CE FAU - Perrett, L L AU - Perrett LL FAU - Stubberfield, E J AU - Stubberfield EJ FAU - Stack, J A AU - Stack JA FAU - Farrelly, S S J AU - Farrelly SS FAU - Cooley, W A AU - Cooley WA FAU - Davison, N J AU - Davison NJ FAU - Quinney, S AU - Quinney S LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - United States TA - J Wildl Dis JT - Journal of wildlife diseases JID - 0244160 RN - 0 (DNA, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella/*isolation & purification/pathogenicity MH - DNA Fingerprinting MH - DNA, Bacterial/analysis MH - Fatal Outcome MH - Female MH - Lung/parasitology MH - Male MH - Microscopy, Electron, Transmission/methods/veterinary MH - Nematoda/*microbiology/ultrastructure MH - Porpoises/*parasitology EDAT- 2008/04/26 09:00 MHDA- 2008/07/09 09:00 CRDT- 2008/04/26 09:00 AID - 44/2/237 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - J Wildl Dis. 2008 Apr;44(2):237-46. PMID- 18322554 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080306 DCOM- 20080612 LR - 20091111 IS - 0048-0169 (Print) IS - 0048-0169 (Linking) VI - 56 IP - 1 DP - 2008 Feb TI - Infection trials in pigs with a human isolate of Brucella ( isolate 02/611 'marine mammal type' ). PG - 10-4 AB - AIM: To determine if pigs could support infection of a human Brucella isolate (Brucella 02/611) from New Zealand, and to study seroconversion to this isolate using a competitive ELISA. METHODS: Ten weaner piglets were challenged with 4.8 x 10(8) cfu of organisms by the oral and ocular routes. Culture was attempted on blood samples taken prior to challenge, and 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 21 and 28 days post-challenge, and on tissue samples taken at the termination of the trial, 1 month after challenge. Sera were analysed for antibody using an ELISA. For reference comparison, similar trials were conducted in two pigs using an isolate of Brucella suis biovar 1, and two pigs using an isolate of B. suis biovar 3. RESULTS: Brucella 02/611 organisms were re-isolated from one lymph node each from three pigs; all other samples were negative. Low and transient antibody titres were detected using a competitive ELISA in three pigs, two of which were culture negative. Organisms of B. suis reference strains were re-isolated from multiple samples from each of the four animals. CONCLUSION: Brucella 02/611 does not seem to replicate readily in pigs. It is unlikely that pigs were the original maintenance hosts for Brucella 02/611. AD - CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Private Bag 24, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia. john.bingham@csiro.au FAU - Bingham, J AU - Bingham J FAU - Taylor, T K AU - Taylor TK FAU - Swingler, J E AU - Swingler JE FAU - Meehan, G AU - Meehan G FAU - Middleton, D J AU - Middleton DJ FAU - Mackereth, G F AU - Mackereth GF FAU - O'Keefe, J S AU - O'Keefe JS FAU - Daniels, P W AU - Daniels PW LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - New Zealand TA - N Z Vet J JT - New Zealand veterinary journal JID - 0021406 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/*blood MH - Brucella/immunology/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/microbiology/*veterinary MH - Colony Count, Microbial/veterinary MH - Disease Reservoirs/veterinary MH - Disease Susceptibility/veterinary MH - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods/veterinary MH - Humans MH - Lymph Nodes/microbiology/pathology MH - Swine MH - Swine Diseases/*microbiology MH - Weaning EDAT- 2008/03/07 09:00 MHDA- 2008/06/13 09:00 CRDT- 2008/03/07 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - N Z Vet J. 2008 Feb;56(1):10-4. PMID- 18266913 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080414 DCOM- 20080716 IS - 1600-0854 (Electronic) IS - 1398-9219 (Linking) VI - 9 IP - 5 DP - 2008 May TI - Brucella intracellular replication requires trafficking through the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment. PG - 678-94 AB - Upon entry into mammalian cells, the intracellular pathogen Brucella abortus resides within a membrane-bound compartment, the Brucella-containing vacuole (BCV), the maturation of which is controlled by the bacterium to generate a replicative organelle derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Prior to reaching the ER, Brucella is believed to ensure its intracellular survival by inhibiting fusion of the intermediate BCV with late endosomes and lysosomes, although such BCVs are acidic and accumulate the lysosomal-associated membrane protein (LAMP-1). Here, we have further examined the nature of intermediate BCVs using confocal microscopy and live cell imaging. We show that BCVs rapidly acquire several late endocytic markers, including the guanosine triphosphatase Rab7 and its effector Rab-interacting lysosomal protein (RILP), and are accessible to fluid-phase markers either delivered to the whole endocytic pathway or preloaded to lysosomes, indicating that BCVs interact with late endosomes and lysosomes. Consistently, intermediate BCVs are acidic and display proteolytic activity up to 12 h post-infection. Expression of dominant-negative Rab7 or overexpression of RILP significantly impaired the ability of bacteria to convert their vacuole into an ER-derived organelle and replicate, indicating that BCV maturation requires interactions with functional late endosomal/lysosomal compartments. In cells expressing dominant-negative Rab7[T22N], BCVs remained acidic, yet displayed decreased fusion with lysosomes. Taken together, these results demonstrate that BCVs traffic along the endocytic pathway and fuse with lysosomes, and such fusion events are required for further maturation of BCVs into an ER-derived replicative organelle. AD - Laboratory of Intracellular Parasites, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. FAU - Starr, Tregei AU - Starr T FAU - Ng, Tony W AU - Ng TW FAU - Wehrly, Tara D AU - Wehrly TD FAU - Knodler, Leigh A AU - Knodler LA FAU - Celli, Jean AU - Celli J LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural DEP - 20080204 PL - Denmark TA - Traffic JT - Traffic (Copenhagen, Denmark) JID - 100939340 RN - 0 (Biological Markers) RN - 0 (Fluorescent Dyes) RN - 152989-05-4 (rab7 protein) RN - EC 3.6.1.- (rab GTP-Binding Proteins) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Biological Markers/metabolism MH - Biological Transport/physiology MH - *Brucella abortus/pathogenicity/physiology MH - Brucellosis MH - Endocytosis/physiology MH - Endoplasmic Reticulum/metabolism/ultrastructure MH - Endosomes/*metabolism MH - Female MH - Fluorescent Dyes/metabolism MH - Hela Cells MH - Humans MH - Hydrogen-Ion Concentration MH - Lysosomes/*metabolism MH - Membrane Fusion/physiology MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred C57BL MH - Vacuoles/*metabolism MH - rab GTP-Binding Proteins/genetics/metabolism EDAT- 2008/02/13 09:00 MHDA- 2008/07/17 09:00 CRDT- 2008/02/13 09:00 PHST- 2008/02/04 [aheadofprint] AID - TRA718 [pii] AID - 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2008.00718.x [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Traffic. 2008 May;9(5):678-94. Epub 2008 Feb 4. PMID- 18266466 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080422 DCOM- 20080613 LR - 20091118 IS - 1553-7374 (Electronic) VI - 4 IP - 2 DP - 2008 Feb 8 TI - Brucella control of dendritic cell maturation is dependent on the TIR-containing protein Btp1. PG - e21 AB - Brucella is an intracellular pathogen able to persist for long periods of time within the host and establish a chronic disease. We show that soon after Brucella inoculation in intestinal loops, dendritic cells from ileal Peyer's patches become infected and constitute a cell target for this pathogen. In vitro, we found that Brucella replicates within dendritic cells and hinders their functional activation. In addition, we identified a new Brucella protein Btp1, which down-modulates maturation of infected dendritic cells by interfering with the TLR2 signaling pathway. These results show that intracellular Brucella is able to control dendritic cell function, which may have important consequences in the development of chronic brucellosis. AD - Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Aix Marseille Universite, Faculte de Sciences de Luminy, Marseille, France. FAU - Salcedo, Suzana P AU - Salcedo SP FAU - Marchesini, Maria Ines AU - Marchesini MI FAU - Lelouard, Hugues AU - Lelouard H FAU - Fugier, Emilie AU - Fugier E FAU - Jolly, Gilles AU - Jolly G FAU - Balor, Stephanie AU - Balor S FAU - Muller, Alexandre AU - Muller A FAU - Lapaque, Nicolas AU - Lapaque N FAU - Demaria, Olivier AU - Demaria O FAU - Alexopoulou, Lena AU - Alexopoulou L FAU - Comerci, Diego J AU - Comerci DJ FAU - Ugalde, Rodolfo A AU - Ugalde RA FAU - Pierre, Philippe AU - Pierre P FAU - Gorvel, Jean-Pierre AU - Gorvel JP LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - United States TA - PLoS Pathog JT - PLoS pathogens JID - 101238921 RN - 0 (Cytokines) RN - 0 (TLR2 protein, human) RN - 0 (Toll-Like Receptor 2) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella abortus/growth & development/immunology/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/immunology/*microbiology/pathology MH - Cell Survival MH - Cells, Cultured MH - Cytokines/metabolism MH - Dendritic Cells/immunology/metabolism/*microbiology MH - Disease Models, Animal MH - Down-Regulation MH - *Host-Pathogen Interactions MH - Ileum/microbiology MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred BALB C MH - Mice, Inbred C57BL MH - Peyer's Patches/microbiology MH - Toll-Like Receptor 2/*metabolism PMC - PMC2233671 OID - NLM: PMC2233671 EDAT- 2008/02/13 09:00 MHDA- 2008/06/14 09:00 CRDT- 2008/02/13 09:00 PHST- 2007/08/10 [received] PHST- 2007/12/20 [accepted] AID - 07-PLPA-RA-0538 [pii] AID - 10.1371/journal.ppat.0040021 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - PLoS Pathog. 2008 Feb 8;4(2):e21. PMID- 18226477 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20080418 DCOM- 20081030 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 129 IP - 1-2 DP - 2008 May 25 TI - Brucella: a pathogen without classic virulence genes. PG - 1-14 AB - The first species of Brucella was isolated and characterized almost 120 years ago and recently the complete nucleotide sequences of the genomes of a number of well-characterized Brucella strains have been determined. However, compared to other bacterial pathogens relatively little is known about the factors contributing to its persistence in the host and multiplication within phagocytic cells. Also, many aspects of interaction between Brucella and their host remain unclear. Molecular characterization of intracellular survival process of Brucella is important as it will provide guidance for prevention and control. One of the features that distinguish Brucella is that they do not express classical virulence factors. Thus identification of virulence factors has been elusive and some of the identifications are putative. Disruption of putative virulence genes and studying their effect on attenuation in cell lines or mouse models is a widely used method. However, in most cases it is not apparent whether the mutated genes encode virulence factors or merely affect metabolic pathways of the pathogen. In addition, some mutations in Brucella can be compensated by redundancy or backup mechanisms. This review will examine known virulence genes (real and putative) identified to date and the mechanisms that contribute to the intracellular survival of Brucella and its ability to establish chronic infection. AD - Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science, Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, VA 24061, United States. FAU - Seleem, Mohamed N AU - Seleem MN FAU - Boyle, Stephen M AU - Boyle SM FAU - Sriranganathan, Nammalwar AU - Sriranganathan N LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review DEP - 20071129 PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (Virulence Factors) SB - IM MH - Brucella/*genetics/*pathogenicity MH - Virulence MH - Virulence Factors/*genetics RF - 155 EDAT- 2008/01/30 09:00 MHDA- 2008/10/31 09:00 CRDT- 2008/01/30 09:00 PHST- 2006/07/02 [received] PHST- 2007/11/19 [revised] PHST- 2007/11/22 [accepted] PHST- 2007/11/29 [aheadofprint] AID - S0378-1135(07)00581-0 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2007.11.023 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2008 May 25;129(1-2):1-14. Epub 2007 Nov 29. PMID- 17685262 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070809 DCOM- 20070926 IS - 0001-5458 (Print) IS - 0001-5458 (Linking) VI - 107 IP - 3 DP - 2007 Jun TI - An unusual bilateral mastitis in a postmenopausal woman caused by brucellosis. PG - 320-2 AB - Breast involvement of brucella can be frequently detected in animals, however, it is extremely rare in humans. Clinical findings and complications may cause difficulties in diagnosis. We report the case of a 52-year old woman with bilateral brucella mastitis, which is difficult to differentiate from inflammatory breast carcinoma. AD - Department of Radiology, University of Dicle Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. hozturkmen@dicle.edu.tr FAU - Akay, H AU - Akay H FAU - Girgin, S AU - Girgin S FAU - Ozmen, C A AU - Ozmen CA FAU - Kilic, I AU - Kilic I FAU - Sakarya, H AU - Sakarya H LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PL - Belgium TA - Acta Chir Belg JT - Acta chirurgica Belgica JID - 0370571 RN - 13292-46-1 (Rifampin) RN - 564-25-0 (Doxycycline) SB - IM MH - Brucellosis/*radiography MH - Diagnosis, Differential MH - Doxycycline/therapeutic use MH - Drug Therapy, Combination MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Mammography MH - Mastitis/*radiography MH - Middle Aged MH - Rifampin/therapeutic use EDAT- 2007/08/10 09:00 MHDA- 2007/09/27 09:00 CRDT- 2007/08/10 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - Acta Chir Belg. 2007 Jun;107(3):320-2. PMID- 17642530 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070723 DCOM- 20071102 LR - 20080118 IS - 1344-6304 (Print) IS - 1344-6304 (Linking) VI - 60 IP - 4 DP - 2007 Jul TI - Fc gamma receptor IIa polymorphism in patients with brucellosis. PG - 196-7 AB - Recent evidence suggests that certain Fc gamma receptor alleles are genetic risk factors for infectious diseases. In this study, we evaluated Fc gamma RIIa polymorphism in patients with brucellosis. In a case-control study, the frequency of two alleles and three genotypes for Fc gamma RIIa were measured by PCR in 150 patients with brucellosis and 125 healthy controls. The H131 and R131 alleles were found in 133 (44.3%) and 167 patients (47.6%), respectively. The frequencies for the three genotypes (a/a, a/r, r/r) were 10 (6.7%), 113 (75.3%) and 27 (18%), respectively. There was no significant difference in the distribution of Fc gamma RIIa genotypes and the two allelic forms between the patients and controls. Our study indicates that Fc gamma RIIa polymorphism is not decisive for the acquisition of brucellosis. AD - Department of Infectious Diseases, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran. shahashemi@yahoo.com FAU - Hashemi, Sayyed Hamid AU - Hashemi SH FAU - Hajilooi, Mehrdad AU - Hajilooi M FAU - Mamani, Mojan AU - Mamani M FAU - Jamal-Omidi, Shirin AU - Jamal-Omidi S LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - Japan TA - Jpn J Infect Dis JT - Japanese journal of infectious diseases JID - 100893704 RN - 0 (Antigens, CD) RN - 0 (Fc gamma receptor IIA) RN - 0 (Receptors, IgG) SB - IM MH - Alleles MH - Animals MH - Antigens, CD/*genetics MH - Brucella/isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis/*genetics/immunology/microbiology MH - Case-Control Studies MH - Female MH - Genetic Predisposition to Disease MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Polymorphism, Genetic MH - Receptors, IgG/*genetics EDAT- 2007/07/24 09:00 MHDA- 2007/11/06 09:00 CRDT- 2007/07/24 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - Jpn J Infect Dis. 2007 Jul;60(4):196-7. PMID- 17597440 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070731 DCOM- 20071108 IS - 0735-1631 (Print) IS - 0735-1631 (Linking) VI - 24 IP - 7 DP - 2007 Aug TI - Congenital brucellosis: a rare cause of respiratory distress in neonates. PG - 409-12 AB - Brucellosis represents a rare cause of neonatal infection. In this article we report a very unusual case of congenital infection due to BRUCELLA MELITENSIS in a term neonate presenting after birth with severe respiratory distress and radiological manifestations (lobar consolidation and diffuse interstitial infiltrations) compatible with pulmonary involvement. The neonate was successfully treated with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, rifampicin, and gentamicin. AD - 1st Department of Neonatology, Aristotle University, Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. FAU - Sarafidis, Kosmas AU - Sarafidis K FAU - Agakidis, Charalambos AU - Agakidis C FAU - Diamanti, Elisavet AU - Diamanti E FAU - Karantaglis, Nikolaos AU - Karantaglis N FAU - Roilides, Emmanuel AU - Roilides E LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article DEP - 20070627 PL - United States TA - Am J Perinatol JT - American journal of perinatology JID - 8405212 RN - 0 (Anti-Infective Agents) RN - 0 (Gentamicins) RN - 13292-46-1 (Rifampin) RN - 8064-90-2 (Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination) SB - IM MH - Agriculture MH - Anti-Infective Agents/therapeutic use MH - Brucellosis/*congenital/*diagnosis/drug therapy MH - Drug Therapy, Combination MH - Female MH - Gentamicins/therapeutic use MH - Humans MH - Infant, Newborn MH - Lung/radiography MH - Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/drug therapy/*microbiology MH - Rifampin/therapeutic use MH - Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination/therapeutic use EDAT- 2007/06/29 09:00 MHDA- 2007/11/09 09:00 CRDT- 2007/06/29 09:00 PHST- 2007/06/27 [aheadofprint] AID - 10.1055/s-2007-984407 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Am J Perinatol. 2007 Aug;24(7):409-12. Epub 2007 Jun 27. PMID- 17590540 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20071001 DCOM- 20071213 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 125 IP - 1-2 DP - 2007 Nov 15 TI - Evaluation of three serological tests for brucellosis in naturally infected cattle using latent class analysis. PG - 187-92 AB - Serological methods are traditionally used in diagnosis of brucellosis. However, the comparative performance of these tests and their accuracy under the local environment in Zambia has not been assessed. Thus, the objective of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of three serological tests for brucellosis; Rose Bengal Test (RBT), competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) and Fluorescence Polarisation Assay (FPA) in naturally infected cattle in Zambia without an appropriate reference test to classify animals into truly infected and non-infected. Serological test results from a study to determine sero-prevalence were used to compare the performance of RBT, c-ELISA and FPA in diagnosing brucellosis in traditional cattle. Since none of the tests can be seen as a perfect reference test or gold standard, their performance in a population of naturally infected cattle was evaluated using latent class analysis which allows the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) to be estimated in the absence of a gold standard. The highest Se was achieved by the c-ELISA (97%; Credible Posterior Interval (CPI)=93-100%) and the highest Sp by the FPA (93%; CPI=85-99%), conversely these tests also had the lowest Sp and Se, respectively, with the RBT performing well in both the Se (93%; CPI=84-98%) and Sp (81%; CPI=61-97). AD - Department of Disease Control, University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia. FAU - Muma, J B AU - Muma JB FAU - Toft, N AU - Toft N FAU - Oloya, J AU - Oloya J FAU - Lund, A AU - Lund A FAU - Nielsen, K AU - Nielsen K FAU - Samui, K AU - Samui K FAU - Skjerve, E AU - Skjerve E LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Evaluation Studies PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20070521 PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) RN - 11121-48-5 (Rose Bengal) SB - IM MH - Agglutination Tests/*veterinary MH - Animals MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/blood MH - Bayes Theorem MH - Brucella/*isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis, Bovine/blood/*microbiology MH - Cattle MH - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/*veterinary MH - Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay/*veterinary MH - Rose Bengal/metabolism MH - Sensitivity and Specificity EDAT- 2007/06/26 09:00 MHDA- 2007/12/14 09:00 CRDT- 2007/06/26 09:00 PHST- 2006/04/10 [received] PHST- 2007/05/02 [revised] PHST- 2007/05/10 [accepted] PHST- 2007/05/21 [aheadofprint] AID - S0378-1135(07)00261-1 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2007.05.012 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2007 Nov 15;125(1-2):187-92. Epub 2007 May 21. PMID- 17547552 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070605 DCOM- 20070717 IS - 0025-729X (Print) IS - 0025-729X (Linking) VI - 186 IP - 11 DP - 2007 Jun 4 TI - Brucellosis mimicking Henoch-Schonlein purpura. PG - 602-3 AB - A young male immigrant from Syria with a vasculitic-appearing leg rash, asymmetrical polyarthritis, microscopic haematuria, and raised inflammatory markers was provisionally diagnosed with Henoch-Schonlein purpura. Skin biopsy showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Low-grade fevers persisted despite non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy, and Brucella sp. was subsequently grown from both blood and synovial fluid aspirates. Further tests gave positive results for B. abortus, and triple antibiotic therapy produced a rapid clinical response. Cutaneous vasculitis has rarely been described in brucellosis, and this is the first report in the English medical literature of brucellosis mimicking Henoch-Schonlein purpura. AD - Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, NSW. david.massasso@dr.nswama.com.au FAU - Massasso, David AU - Massasso D FAU - Gibson, Kathryn AU - Gibson K LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PL - Australia TA - Med J Aust JT - The Medical journal of Australia JID - 0400714 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage/therapeutic use MH - Brucella MH - Brucellosis/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology MH - Cheese MH - Diagnosis, Differential MH - Fever/etiology MH - Food Microbiology MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch/diagnosis EDAT- 2007/06/06 09:00 MHDA- 2007/07/18 09:00 CRDT- 2007/06/06 09:00 PHST- 2007/02/13 [received] PHST- 2007/04/17 [accepted] AID - mas10186_fm [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Med J Aust. 2007 Jun 4;186(11):602-3. PMID- 17481753 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070601 DCOM- 20071016 IS - 0167-5877 (Print) IS - 0167-5877 (Linking) VI - 80 IP - 4 DP - 2007 Aug 16 TI - Risk factors for brucellosis in indigenous cattle reared in livestock-wildlife interface areas of Zambia. PG - 306-17 AB - We conducted this cross-sectional study to investigate risk factors of Brucella seropositivity in cattle herds reared in livestock-wildlife interface areas of Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar National Parks in Zambia between August 2003 and September 2004. Sera were collected from cattle aged > or =2 years from 124 herds. Data on husbandry practices, grazing strategies, and herd structure (sex and age composition) were also collected. Sera were screened for anti-Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal test (RBT) as a presumptive test and a competitive-ELISA (c-ELISA) as a confirmatory test. A herd was classified as Brucella seropositive if at least one animal tested positive on both RBT and c-ELISA in series testing. Risk factors for herd-level brucellosis seropositivity were tested using multivariable logistic regression; risk factors for increases in the within-herd counts of seropositive cattle were analyzed using the negative binomial regression model with the number of seropositive animals as outcome and total number of cattle tested in a herd as the population at risk (exposure). Of the 110 herds tested, 68 (62; 95% CI: 53, 71% after adjusting for clustering by area) tested seropositive for exposure to Brucella spp. The final logistic-regression model identified geographical area, with Lochinvar (OR=3.4; CI: 0.97, 12) and Kazungula (OR=4.3; CI: 0.91, 20) recording higher odds of Brucella infections compared to Blue Lagoon. Herds coming in contact with wildlife had higher odds compared to those without contact (OR=3.4; CI: 1, 11). Similarly, the odds of Brucella infection were progressively higher in the larger herd categories (26-40 cattle, OR=2.6; CI: 0.70, 10; 41-82 cattle, OR=4.9; CI: 0.93, 26; >82 cattle, OR=9.4; CI: 1.7-51) compared to the smallest herd category (10-25). The negative binomial regression model identified geographical area, contact with wildlife, and herd size as having significant effect on counts of seropositive cattle in a herd. AD - Department of Disease Control, University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia. FAU - Muma, J B AU - Muma JB FAU - Samui, K L AU - Samui KL FAU - Oloya, J AU - Oloya J FAU - Munyeme, M AU - Munyeme M FAU - Skjerve, E AU - Skjerve E LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20070503 PL - Netherlands TA - Prev Vet Med JT - Preventive veterinary medicine JID - 8217463 SB - IM MH - Animal Husbandry MH - Animals MH - Brucellosis, Bovine/*epidemiology MH - Cattle MH - Cross-Sectional Studies MH - Risk Factors MH - Seroepidemiologic Studies MH - Zambia/epidemiology EDAT- 2007/05/08 09:00 MHDA- 2007/10/17 09:00 CRDT- 2007/05/08 09:00 PHST- 2006/04/11 [received] PHST- 2007/03/21 [revised] PHST- 2007/03/22 [accepted] PHST- 2007/05/03 [aheadofprint] AID - S0167-5877(07)00068-2 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2007.03.003 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Prev Vet Med. 2007 Aug 16;80(4):306-17. Epub 2007 May 3. PMID- 17389022 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070328 DCOM- 20070626 LR - 20081121 IS - 0001-2815 (Print) IS - 0001-2815 (Linking) VI - 69 IP - 4 DP - 2007 Apr TI - Polymorphism of the transmembrane region of the MICA gene and human brucellosis. PG - 358-60 AB - We investigated the polymorphism of the transmembrane region of the MICA gene (major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A) in relation to susceptibility to human brucellosis. We typed 114 patients with brucellosis and 121 healthy controls for MICA transmembrane polymorphism with polymerase chain reaction methods combined with fluorescent technology. We found a significant decrease in the frequency of the MICA-A4 allele in the patients with brucellosis compared with the controls (4.4% vs 10.3%, Pc = 0.03). The frequency of the MICA-A5 allele was increased in the group of patients with focal complications (15% vs 38%, Pc = 0.004). Our data suggest the MICA-A4 allele shows a tendency to be protective against infection by Brucella melitensis. Furthermore, the MICA-A5 allele appears to confer susceptibility to focal forms in patients with brucellosis. AD - Immunology Service, Carlos Haya University Hospital, Malaga, Spain. FAU - Bravo, M J AU - Bravo MJ FAU - Colmenero, J D AU - Colmenero JD FAU - Martin, J AU - Martin J FAU - Alonso, A AU - Alonso A FAU - Caballero, A AU - Caballero A LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - Denmark TA - Tissue Antigens JT - Tissue antigens JID - 0331072 RN - 0 (Cytokines) RN - 0 (DNA Primers) RN - 0 (Histocompatibility Antigens Class I) RN - 0 (MHC class I-related chain A) SB - IM MH - Alleles MH - Brucella melitensis/*metabolism MH - Brucellosis/*genetics MH - Case-Control Studies MH - Cell Membrane/*metabolism MH - Cytokines/metabolism MH - DNA Primers/chemistry MH - Female MH - *Genetic Predisposition to Disease MH - Genetic Variation MH - Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/*genetics MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Microsatellite Repeats MH - *Polymorphism, Genetic EDAT- 2007/03/29 09:00 MHDA- 2007/06/27 09:00 CRDT- 2007/03/29 09:00 AID - TAN823 [pii] AID - 10.1111/j.1399-0039.2007.00823.x [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Tissue Antigens. 2007 Apr;69(4):358-60. PMID- 17241808 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20070703 DCOM- 20071106 IS - 1201-9712 (Print) IS - 1201-9712 (Linking) VI - 11 IP - 4 DP - 2007 Jul TI - Brucellosis in 418 patients from the Balkan Peninsula: exposure-related differences in clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, and therapy outcome. PG - 342-7 AB - OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe some demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics, and to evaluate the outcome, in patients with brucellosis in an endemic area in the Balkan Peninsula, and to reveal the differences between patients with and without occupational exposure. METHODS: The study was carried out at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje over a period of seven years. Four hundred and eighteen patients with brucellosis were enrolled and classified into two groups: patients with (251) and without (167) occupational exposure. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-eight (54.5%) of the patients had a positive family history. The most common clinical manifestations were arthralgia (81.8%), sweating (71.5%), localized disease (67.7%) and subjective fever (68.4%), whereas elevated values of C-reactive protein (78.9%) and circulating immune complexes (75.8%) were the most frequent laboratory abnormalities. Relapses and therapeutic failure were registered in 16.2% and 10.4%, respectively. Male gender, positive family history and arthralgia were more prevalent in those with occupational exposure, while pediatric age, fever and anemia were inversely correlated with occupational exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Human brucellosis is a serious problem in the Republic of Macedonia presenting with a high percentage of localized forms, relapses and therapeutic failures. The risk factor for acquiring the disease had no influence on the outcome. AD - Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions, Department for Zoonoses, Medical Faculty Skopje, Vodnjanska 17, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. mbosilkovski@yahoo.com FAU - Bosilkovski, Mile AU - Bosilkovski M FAU - Krteva, Ljiljana AU - Krteva L FAU - Dimzova, Marija AU - Dimzova M FAU - Kondova, Irena AU - Kondova I LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20070122 PL - Canada TA - Int J Infect Dis JT - International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases JID - 9610933 SB - IM MH - Adolescent MH - Adult MH - Aged MH - Aged, 80 and over MH - Animals MH - Brucella/*growth & development MH - Brucellosis/drug therapy/*epidemiology/microbiology MH - Cheese/microbiology MH - Child MH - Child, Preschool MH - Endemic Diseases MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Infant MH - Macedonia (Republic)/epidemiology MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Milk/microbiology MH - Occupational Exposure MH - Treatment Outcome MH - Zoonoses/microbiology/transmission EDAT- 2007/01/24 09:00 MHDA- 2007/11/07 09:00 CRDT- 2007/01/24 09:00 PHST- 2006/06/03 [received] PHST- 2006/09/25 [revised] PHST- 2006/10/06 [accepted] PHST- 2007/01/22 [aheadofprint] AID - S1201-9712(06)00189-5 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.ijid.2006.10.002 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Int J Infect Dis. 2007 Jul;11(4):342-7. Epub 2007 Jan 22. PMID- 17148075 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20061206 DCOM- 20070130 LR - 20081121 IS - 0036-5548 (Print) IS - 0036-5548 (Linking) VI - 38 IP - 11-12 DP - 2006 TI - Association of susceptibility to brucellosis and interleukin-4 promoter polymorphism. PG - 1045-9 AB - A C-T substitution at position 590 in the interleukin-4 (IL-4) gene is associated with increased production of IL-4. We sought to determine the associations between this polymorphism and susceptibility to brucellosis. DNA was extracted from the whole blood of 163 control individuals and 282 patients with brucellosis. A polymorphism in the IL-4 gene at position 590 from the promoter site was determined using an allele-specific PCR method. The prevalence of the T allele of IL-4 polymorphism was significantly higher in the patients group than in controls (28.9% vs 11.4%, p<0.004). Patients with brucellosis had a higher frequency of intermediate producer genotype (CT) (53.5% vs 22.7%, p<0.001) while low producer genotype (CC) was higher in the control group (77.3% vs 44.4%). Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that patients who were heterozygous (CT) for interleukin-4 promoter polymorphism had a significantly higher risk for brucellosis with an odds ratio of 4.2 (95% CI 2.7-6.6, p<0.0001). Our findings demonstrate for the first time an association between IL-4 590 promoter polymorphism and contracting brucellosis in the Iranian population. AD - Department of Internal Medicine, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran. FAU - Rezazadeh, Mehdi AU - Rezazadeh M FAU - Hajilooi, Mehrdad AU - Hajilooi M FAU - Haidari, Mehran AU - Haidari M FAU - Rafiei, Alireza AU - Rafiei A FAU - Alavi, Seyed Ahmad AU - Alavi SA FAU - Keramat, Fariba AU - Keramat F LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - Sweden TA - Scand J Infect Dis JT - Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases JID - 0215333 RN - 0 (IL4 protein, human) RN - 207137-56-2 (Interleukin-4) SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Brucella/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/genetics/*immunology MH - Case-Control Studies MH - Female MH - *Genetic Predisposition to Disease MH - Genotype MH - Humans MH - Interleukin-4/*genetics MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Odds Ratio MH - Polymorphism, Genetic/*genetics/immunology MH - Promoter Regions, Genetic/*genetics/immunology EDAT- 2006/12/07 09:00 MHDA- 2007/01/31 09:00 CRDT- 2006/12/07 09:00 AID - W8218622G2677678 [pii] AID - 10.1080/00365540600786473 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Scand J Infect Dis. 2006;38(11-12):1045-9. PMID- 17100758 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20061114 DCOM- 20070220 LR - 20091118 IS - 0009-9104 (Print) IS - 0009-9104 (Linking) VI - 146 IP - 3 DP - 2006 Dec TI - CD80/CD28 co-stimulation in human brucellosis. PG - 400-8 AB - Despite treatment, 10-30% of brucellosis patients develop chronic disease, characterized by atypical clinical picture and/or relapses. A defective T helper 1 (Th1) response and a low [corrected] percentage of CD4(+)/CD25(+) cells have been described in chronic brucellosis patients. CD80/CD28 co-stimulation is critical for an efficient Th1 response and has not been studied previously in human brucellosis. In order to investigate the role of CD80/CD28 co-stimulation, 13 acute brucellosis patients (AB), 22 chronic brucellosis patients (CB, 12/22 relapsing type-CB1 and 10/22 atypical type-CB2), 11 'cured' subjects and 15 healthy volunteers (controls) were studied. The percentage of CD4(+)/CD28(+) T lymphocytes and CD14(+)/CD80(+) monocytes were analysed by flow cytometry both ex vivo and after phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulation with or without heat-killed Brucella abortus (HkBA). Ex vivo analysis showed no differences between all groups studied. PHA stimulation up-regulated the percentage of CD80(+) monocytes in AB compared to 'cured' subjects and controls (P < 0.001), although the proportion of CD4(+)/CD28(+) cells did not alter. A higher percentage of CD80(+) monocytes was observed in the CB1 subgroup, compared to AB, 'cured' subjects and controls (P = 0.042, < 0.001 and < 0.001, respectively). CB2 was characterized by a lower percentage of CD80(+) monocytes in comparison to CB1 (P = 0.020). HkBA in PHA cultures down-regulated the percentage of CD80(+) monocytes compared to PHA alone in all groups, especially in AB and CB patients (P < 0.001 and P = 0.007, respectively). In conclusion, the diminished percentage of CD4(+)/CD25(+) T cells in CB is not associated with inadequate CD80/CD28 co-stimulation. We speculate that differential frequency of CD80(+) monocytes after PHA stimulation could serve as a qualitative parameter of disease status, related to the different clinical forms of chronic brucellosis. AD - Clinical Immunology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. FAU - Skendros, P AU - Skendros P FAU - Boura, P AU - Boura P FAU - Kamaria, F AU - Kamaria F FAU - Raptopoulou-Gigi, M AU - Raptopoulou-Gigi M LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - England TA - Clin Exp Immunol JT - Clinical and experimental immunology JID - 0057202 RN - 0 (Antigens, CD28) RN - 0 (Antigens, CD80) RN - 0 (Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit) RN - 0 (Phytohemagglutinins) SB - IM EIN - Clin Exp Immunol. 2007 Jan;147(1):197 MH - Acute Disease MH - Adult MH - Antigens, CD28/blood/*immunology MH - Antigens, CD80/blood/*immunology MH - Brucellosis/*immunology MH - CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology MH - Cells, Cultured MH - Chronic Disease MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit/blood MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Monocytes/immunology MH - Phytohemagglutinins/immunology MH - T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology PMC - PMC1810400 OID - NLM: PMC1810400 EDAT- 2006/11/15 09:00 MHDA- 2007/02/21 09:00 CRDT- 2006/11/15 09:00 AID - CEI3223 [pii] AID - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2006.03223.x [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Clin Exp Immunol. 2006 Dec;146(3):400-8. PMID- 16984280 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20060920 DCOM- 20061128 LR - 20091103 IS - 1744-3121 (Print) VI - 33 IP - 5 DP - 2006 Oct TI - Th-1 cytokines gene polymorphism in human brucellosis. PG - 355-9 AB - Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis. Infection with Brucella species results in the activation of cell-mediated immune response. The interaction between Th1and Th2 cytokines determines the outcome of disease. Production of each cytokine is in turn affected by genetic factors. In this study, we investigated the possible association between Th1 cytokines gene polymorphism and brucellosis. Different genotypes of TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-2 were determined by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primer in 47 patients with brucellosis and in 166 healthy controls. Allele frequencies of these genotypes were compared using the chi2 test. The results showed a significant difference in the TNF-alpha genotype GG/GG in patients in comparison with controls (76.7% vs. 21%) (P = 0.001, OR = 12.42, 95%CI 5.7-27.7). There was no significant difference in the frequency distribution of the IFN-gamma genotypes between two groups. IL-2 GG genotype at position -330 was about two times more common in cases than in controls, but the difference was not significant (10.6 vs. 4.6 P value = 0.09). This study shows that genetically low producers of TNF-alpha are possibly susceptible to brucellosis and raise doubt about the role of gene polymorphism of INF-gamma in brucellosis which was demonstrated in previous studies. It seems that patients with brucellosis did not have a defect in producing IL-2 with even a trend towards producing higher amounts of this cytokine. AD - Department of Infectious Diseases, Imam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. FAU - Davoudi, S AU - Davoudi S FAU - Amirzargar, A A AU - Amirzargar AA FAU - Hajiabdolbaghi, M AU - Hajiabdolbaghi M FAU - Rasoolinejad, M AU - Rasoolinejad M FAU - Soodbakhsh, A AU - Soodbakhsh A FAU - Jafari, S AU - Jafari S FAU - Piri, H AU - Piri H FAU - Maleknejad, P AU - Maleknejad P FAU - Bagherian, H AU - Bagherian H FAU - Madadi, N AU - Madadi N FAU - Nikbin, B AU - Nikbin B LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - England TA - Int J Immunogenet JT - International journal of immunogenetics JID - 101232337 RN - 0 (Cytokines) RN - 0 (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha) RN - 82115-62-6 (Interferon-gamma) SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Aged MH - Brucellosis/*immunology MH - Cytokines/*genetics MH - Down-Regulation MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Interferon-gamma/genetics MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - *Polymorphism, Genetic MH - Th1 Cells/*immunology MH - Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*genetics EDAT- 2006/09/21 09:00 MHDA- 2006/12/09 09:00 CRDT- 2006/09/21 09:00 AID - EJI626 [pii] AID - 10.1111/j.1744-313X.2006.00626.x [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Int J Immunogenet. 2006 Oct;33(5):355-9. PMID- 16642758 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20060428 DCOM- 20060622 LR - 20061115 IS - 0253-1933 (Print) IS - 0253-1933 (Linking) VI - 24 IP - 3 DP - 2005 Dec TI - A study on the epidemiology of brucellosis in Punjab (India) using Survey Toolbox. PG - 879-85 AB - A random survey was conducted to study the epidemiology of brucellosis in Punjab (India), using the 'Survey Toolbox' sampling software. A two-stage sampling procedure was adopted: in the first stage, villages were selected, and in the second the selection of animals was made. In all, 52 villages were selected randomly from a sampling frame of all the villages of Punjab. The total number of animals in these villages was 18,644, out of which 973 animals (approximately 5%) belonging to various owners were randomly selected. Serum samples collected from the animals were screened for Brucella antibodies by an avidinbiotin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which showed the apparent overall prevalence of brucellosis to be 12.09% (true prevalence, 11.23%). The prevalence varied from a low of 0% to a high of 24.3% in various districts. Higher variance (0.08) was noted within villages than between different villages (0.03). The prevalence rates among buffaloes and cattle were 13.4% and 9.9%, respectively. The seroprevalence of brucellosis was found to be significantly higher (chi square = 24.50, p < 0.001) in animals with a history of abortion (33.87%) than in those without such a history (11.63%). AD - Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India. FAU - Dhand, N K AU - Dhand NK FAU - Gumber, S AU - Gumber S FAU - Singh, B B AU - Singh BB AU - Aradhana FAU - Bali, M S AU - Bali MS FAU - Kumar, H AU - Kumar H FAU - Sharma, D R AU - Sharma DR FAU - Singh, J AU - Singh J FAU - Sandhu, K S AU - Sandhu KS LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - France TA - Rev Sci Tech JT - Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics) JID - 8712301 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Abortion, Veterinary/*microbiology MH - Animals MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/*blood MH - Brucellosis, Bovine/*epidemiology MH - Cattle MH - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods/veterinary MH - Female MH - India/epidemiology MH - Male MH - Pregnancy MH - Seroepidemiologic Studies MH - *Software EDAT- 2006/04/29 09:00 MHDA- 2006/06/23 09:00 CRDT- 2006/04/29 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - Rev Sci Tech. 2005 Dec;24(3):879-85. PMID- 16354469 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20051215 DCOM- 20060203 LR - 20091103 IS - 0049-4755 (Print) IS - 0049-4755 (Linking) VI - 35 IP - 4 DP - 2005 Oct TI - Comparison of three different combination therapies in the treatment of human brucellosis. PG - 210-2 AB - The efficacy and tolerability of three different combination treatment regimens in human brucellosis were compared in 118 uncomplicated patients enrolled in a prospective study between May 1997 and December 2002. Brucellosis was diagnosed using standard clinical and microbiological findings. Patients with central nervous system involvement, spondylitis, endocarditis or children under 16 years of age were excluded from the study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 400 mg of ofloxacin plus 600 mg of rifampicin (OR, n = 41), 200 mg of doxycycline plus 600 mg of rifampicin (DR, n = 45) or 1g intramuscularly streptomycin (administered for three weeks) plus 200 mg doxycycline (DS, n = 32) daily for 6 weeks. All patients were followed up at least 6 months after cessation of therapy. There was no statistical difference between the groups on relapse rates and clinical response to the treatment (P>0.05). Five patients in OR (12.8%), six patients in DR (14.3%) and three patients in DS groups (9.7%) suffered relapse. The side-effects were seen in eight (19.5%), 21 (46.7%) and eight (25.0%) patients of OR, DR and DS groups, respectively. The use of combination therapy of ofloxacin plus rifampicin for 6 weeks was found to be as effective as DR and DS. The side-effects of therapy in OR and DS groups was less severe than in the DR group. AD - Department of Infectious Diseases & Clinical Microbiology, Inonu University, Turgut Ozal Medical Centre, 44280 Malatya, Turkey. yersoy@inonu.edu.tr FAU - Ersoy, Yasemin AU - Ersoy Y FAU - Sonmez, Emine AU - Sonmez E FAU - Tevfik, Mehmet R AU - Tevfik MR FAU - But, Aype Dinc AU - But AD LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Journal Article PT - Randomized Controlled Trial PL - England TA - Trop Doct JT - Tropical doctor JID - 1301706 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) RN - 13292-46-1 (Rifampin) RN - 564-25-0 (Doxycycline) RN - 57-92-1 (Streptomycin) RN - 82419-36-1 (Ofloxacin) SB - IM EIN - Trop Doct. 2006 Apr;36(2):128 MH - Adolescent MH - Adult MH - Aged MH - *Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage/adverse effects/therapeutic use MH - Brucella/drug effects/isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis/*drug therapy/microbiology MH - *Doxycycline/administration & dosage/adverse effects/therapeutic use MH - Drug Therapy, Combination MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - *Ofloxacin/administration & dosage/adverse effects/therapeutic use MH - *Rifampin/administration & dosage/adverse effects/therapeutic use MH - *Streptomycin/administration & dosage/adverse effects/therapeutic use MH - Treatment Outcome EDAT- 2005/12/16 09:00 MHDA- 2006/02/04 09:00 CRDT- 2005/12/16 09:00 AID - 10.1258/004947505774938765 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Trop Doct. 2005 Oct;35(4):210-2. PMID- 16317444 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20051130 DCOM- 20060227 LR - 20091111 IS - 0048-0169 (Print) IS - 0048-0169 (Linking) VI - 53 IP - 6 DP - 2005 Dec TI - Serological survey of pre-weaned New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) for brucellosis and leptospirosis. PG - 428-32 AB - AIM: To conduct a longitudinal serological survey for evidence of Brucella spp and Leptospira spp infection of pre-weaned New Zealand fur seals in a colony on the Otago Peninsula. METHODS: Seal pups were repeatedly captured on a monthly basis from February through to July 2001. Pups were tagged at first capture and a blood sample was taken at each capture event. A total of 163 sera were collected from 118 seal pups. Where sufficient volume was collected, the sera were tested for leptospirosis using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and for brucellosis using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for Brucella abortus. RESULTS: None of 128 sera from 101 seals tested positive to the ELISA for B. abortus. All tests for Leptospira interrogans serovars Grippotyphosa, Copenhageni, Bratislava and Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Ballum were negative at a cut-off of <1/100 dilution. Positive or suspicious titres were found to L. interrogans serovars Canicola and Pomona and L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo. The highest titres (12,800) were found to serovar Pomona. The titre to serovar Pomona in one seal rose from <1/50 in March to 12,800 in April and was <1/50 when re-sampled in July. The titre to serovar Pomona in another seal dropped from 12,800 in May to <1/50 in June. These seals also had titres to serovar Hardjo, which rose or fell in the same manner. All suspicious or positive titres occurred in late April and early May, when the pups were approximately 4-5 months old. In June and July, all seals tested were negative. CONCLUSIONS: There was no serological evidence of Brucella infection in the pre-weaned fur seals at the colony. Positive titres to serovars Pomona, Hardjo, or Canicola suggest that a Leptospira species was present at the colony, however isolation or visualisation of the organism is required to confirm this. Care should be exercised when handling New Zealand fur seals to prevent human infection or inadvertent transfer of leptospirosis to another marine mammal species. AD - Investigation and Diagnostic Centre Wallaceville, PO Box 40742, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. Mackerethg@MAF.govt.nz FAU - Mackereth, G F AU - Mackereth GF FAU - Webb, K M AU - Webb KM FAU - O'keefe, J S AU - O'keefe JS FAU - Duignan, P J AU - Duignan PJ FAU - Kittelberger, R AU - Kittelberger R LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - New Zealand TA - N Z Vet J JT - New Zealand veterinary journal JID - 0021406 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Age Factors MH - Animals MH - Animals, Suckling MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/*blood MH - Brucella abortus/*immunology MH - Brucellosis/epidemiology/*veterinary MH - Female MH - Fur Seals/*microbiology MH - Leptospira/immunology MH - Leptospirosis/epidemiology/*veterinary MH - Male MH - New Zealand/epidemiology MH - Seasons MH - Seroepidemiologic Studies EDAT- 2005/12/01 09:00 MHDA- 2006/02/28 09:00 CRDT- 2005/12/01 09:00 PST - ppublish SO - N Z Vet J. 2005 Dec;53(6):428-32. PMID- 15519485 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20041102 DCOM- 20050214 LR - 20071115 IS - 0924-8579 (Print) IS - 0924-8579 (Linking) VI - 24 IP - 5 DP - 2004 Nov TI - Treatment of brucella spondylitis: lessons from an impossible meta-analysis and initial report of efficacy of a fluoroquinolone-containing regimen. PG - 502-7 AB - Although spondylitis is the most common of the complications of brucellosis, and is often debilitating and difficult to treat, there is no consensus on the preferred combination of antibiotics used. We attempted to perform a meta-analysis based on series on brucellar spondylitis published in the last 22 years. Meta-analysis was aborted largely due to insufficient data recorded in most series. However, useful conclusions could be drawn, such as the importance of prolonged treatment, usually more than 12 weeks. No antibiotic combination was proven to be superior, but 14 different regimens were used in the series studied. The authors propose the use of a combination of doxycycline and ciprofloxacin for a period of 3 months, and report the successful use of such a combination in five patients with brucellosis and spondylitis. AD - Internal Medicine Department, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece. gpele@otenet.gr FAU - Pappas, Georgios AU - Pappas G FAU - Seitaridis, Savvas AU - Seitaridis S FAU - Akritidis, Nikolaos AU - Akritidis N FAU - Tsianos, Epaminondas AU - Tsianos E LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review PL - Netherlands TA - Int J Antimicrob Agents JT - International journal of antimicrobial agents JID - 9111860 RN - 0 (Anti-Bacterial Agents) RN - 0 (Fluoroquinolones) RN - 564-25-0 (Doxycycline) SB - IM MH - Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use MH - Brucella/*pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/*drug therapy/microbiology/pathology MH - Doxycycline/administration & dosage/therapeutic use MH - Drug Therapy, Combination MH - Fluoroquinolones/pharmacology/*therapeutic use MH - Meta-Analysis as Topic MH - Spondylitis/*drug therapy/microbiology/pathology RF - 53 EDAT- 2004/11/03 09:00 MHDA- 2005/02/16 09:00 CRDT- 2004/11/03 09:00 PHST- 2004/02/16 [received] PHST- 2004/05/12 [accepted] AID - S092485790400216X [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2004.05.003 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2004 Nov;24(5):502-7. PMID- 15381265 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20040921 DCOM- 20041202 LR - 20061115 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 103 IP - 1-2 DP - 2004 Oct 5 TI - Phenotypic characterization of Brucella strains isolated from livestock in Nigeria. PG - 47-53 AB - Isolation of brucellae from aborted fetuses, hygroma fluids, milk and vaginal swabs obtained from aborting cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses in Nigeria was carried out. A total of 25 isolates, obtained mainly from cattle, sheep and horses, were biotyped. All strains belonged to one species, Brucella abortus biovar 1. The epidemiological significance of this finding is discussed. Some preliminary observations on the zoonotic and public health implications of Brucella infection in Nigerian livestock are presented. A control programme involving improved management, animal movement restrictions, public health education and mass vaccination of animals is suggested. AD - Bacterial Research Department, Brucellosis Research Unit, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria. ocholir@afrione.com FAU - Ocholi, R A AU - Ocholi RA FAU - Kwaga, J K P AU - Kwaga JK FAU - Ajogi, I AU - Ajogi I FAU - Bale, J O O AU - Bale JO LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 SB - IM EIN - Vet Microbiol. 2004 Dec 9;104(3-4):229-30 MH - Abortion, Veterinary/epidemiology/*microbiology MH - Animals MH - Bacterial Typing Techniques/veterinary MH - Brucella/*classification/growth & development/isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary MH - Cattle MH - Cattle Diseases/epidemiology/*microbiology MH - Female MH - Horse Diseases/epidemiology/*microbiology MH - Horses MH - Nigeria/epidemiology MH - Pregnancy MH - Sheep MH - Sheep Diseases/epidemiology/*microbiology EDAT- 2004/09/24 05:00 MHDA- 2004/12/16 09:00 CRDT- 2004/09/24 05:00 PHST- 2003/12/23 [received] PHST- 2004/06/14 [revised] PHST- 2004/06/22 [accepted] AID - 10.1016/j.vetmic.2004.06.012 [doi] AID - S0378-1135(04)00235-4 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2004 Oct 5;103(1-2):47-53. PMID- 15385478 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20040923 DCOM- 20041025 LR - 20091118 IS - 0019-9567 (Print) IS - 0019-9567 (Linking) VI - 72 IP - 10 DP - 2004 Oct TI - The Ton system, an ABC transporter, and a universally conserved GTPase are involved in iron utilization by Brucella melitensis 16M. PG - 5783-90 AB - Brucella spp. are gram-negative intracellular facultative pathogens that are known to produce 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHBA), a catechol siderophore that is essential for full virulence in the natural host. The mechanism of DHBA entry into Brucella and other gram-negative bacteria is poorly understood. Using mini-Tn5Kmcat mutagenesis, we created a transposon library of Brucella melitensis 16M and isolated 32 mutants with a defect in iron acquisition or assimilation. Three of these transposon mutants are deficient in utilization of DHBA. Analysis of these three mutants indicated that the ExbB, DstC, and DugA proteins are required for optimal assimilation of DHBA and/or citrate. ExbB is part of the Ton complex, and DstC is a permease homologue of an iron(III) ABC transporter; in gram-negative bacteria these two complexes are involved in the uptake of iron through the outer and inner membranes, respectively. DugA is a new partner in iron utilization that exhibits homology with the bacterial conserved GTPase YchF. Based on this homology, DugA could have a putative regulatory function in iron assimilation in Brucella. None of the three mutants was attenuated in cellular models or in the mouse model of infection, which is consistent with the previous suggestion that DHBA utilization is not required in these models. AD - Unite de Recherche en Biologie Moleculaire, University of Namur, Belgium. Isabelle.Danese@fundp.ac.be FAU - Danese, Isabelle AU - Danese I FAU - Haine, Valerie AU - Haine V FAU - Delrue, Rose-May AU - Delrue RM FAU - Tibor, Anne AU - Tibor A FAU - Lestrate, Pascal AU - Lestrate P FAU - Stevaux, Olivier AU - Stevaux O FAU - Mertens, Pascal AU - Mertens P FAU - Paquet, Jean-Yves AU - Paquet JY FAU - Godfroid, Jacques AU - Godfroid J FAU - De Bolle, Xavier AU - De Bolle X FAU - Letesson, Jean-Jacques AU - Letesson JJ LA - eng SI - GENBANK/AF325201 SI - GENBANK/AF358662 SI - GENBANK/AY028973 PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PL - United States TA - Infect Immun JT - Infection and immunity JID - 0246127 RN - 0 (2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid) RN - 0 (ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters) RN - 0 (Bacterial Proteins) RN - 0 (Catechols) RN - 0 (Iron Chelating Agents) RN - 0 (Siderophores) RN - 7439-89-6 (Iron) RN - EC 3.6.1.- (GTP Phosphohydrolases) SB - IM MH - ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/genetics/*metabolism MH - Amino Acid Sequence MH - Animals MH - Bacterial Proteins/chemistry/genetics/*metabolism MH - Brucella melitensis/*classification/drug effects/genetics/*metabolism MH - Brucellosis/microbiology MH - Catechols/metabolism/pharmacology MH - Cattle MH - Colony Count, Microbial MH - GTP Phosphohydrolases/chemistry/genetics/*metabolism MH - Genes, Bacterial/genetics MH - Hela Cells MH - Humans MH - Iron/antagonists & inhibitors/*metabolism MH - Iron Chelating Agents/pharmacology MH - Macrophages/microbiology MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred BALB C MH - Molecular Sequence Data MH - Mutation/genetics MH - Siderophores/metabolism/pharmacology PMC - PMC517599 OID - NLM: PMC517599 EDAT- 2004/09/24 05:00 MHDA- 2004/10/27 09:00 CRDT- 2004/09/24 05:00 AID - 10.1128/IAI.72.10.5783-5790.2004 [doi] AID - 72/10/5783 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Infect Immun. 2004 Oct;72(10):5783-90. PMID- 15296202 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20040805 DCOM- 20040824 LR - 20091118 IS - 1541-5457 (Print) IS - 1541-5457 (Linking) VI - 24 DP - 2004 TI - Brucella osteomyelitis of the proximal tibia: a case report. PG - 30-2 AB - Brucellosis is a disease of domestic and wild animals that is transmittable to humans. Although endemic in some parts of the world, brucellosis is an uncommon human pathogen in the United States. The clinical presentation of brucellosis is nonspecific, and brucella osteomyelitis can produce lytic lesions on radiographs that resemble neoplasm. Diagnosis can therefore be difficult unless a high index of suspicion is maintained. We present a case of brucella osteomyelitis of the proximal tibia that demonstrates these features. AD - University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Orthopaedics, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA. timothy-fowler@uiowa.edu FAU - Fowler, Timothy P AU - Fowler TP FAU - Keener, Jay AU - Keener J FAU - Buckwalter, Joseph A AU - Buckwalter JA LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PL - United States TA - Iowa Orthop J JT - The Iowa orthopaedic journal JID - 8908272 SB - IM MH - Aged MH - Agricultural Workers' Diseases/*microbiology MH - Arthralgia/microbiology MH - *Brucella suis MH - Brucellosis/*diagnosis MH - Humans MH - Knee Joint/microbiology MH - Male MH - Osteomyelitis/diagnosis/*microbiology MH - Tibia/*microbiology PMC - PMC1888417 OID - NLM: PMC1888417 EDAT- 2004/08/07 05:00 MHDA- 2004/08/25 05:00 CRDT- 2004/08/07 05:00 PST - ppublish SO - Iowa Orthop J. 2004;24:30-2. PMID- 15137489 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20040512 DCOM- 20040930 IS - 0090-3558 (Print) IS - 0090-3558 (Linking) VI - 40 IP - 1 DP - 2004 Jan TI - Experimental Brucella abortus infection in wolves. PG - 60-5 AB - Four juvenile male wolves (Canis lupus) each received an oral dose of 1.6-1.7 x 10(12) colony-forming units of Brucella abortus biovar 1 isolated from a bison (Bison bison) in Wood Buffalo National Park (Canada), and two others served as negative controls. Infected wolves did not show clinical signs of disease but did develop high Brucella antibody titers. Small numbers of B. abortus were excreted sporadically in feces until day 50 postinoculation (PI). Very small numbers of the bacterium were isolated from urine of only one wolf late on the same day that it was infected, and very small numbers of colonies of B. abortus were obtained from buccal swabs of three wolves for up to 48 hr PI. Two infected wolves euthanized 6 mo after the start of the experiment had no lesions, and colonies of B. abortus were isolated from thymus and most major lymph nodes. The other two infected wolves euthanized 12 mo after the start of the experiment had no lesions, and smaller numbers of brucellae were recovered from fewer lymph nodes compared with the wolves killed 6 mo earlier. The sporadic excretion of very small numbers of brucellae by the wolves was insignificant when compared with the infective dose for cattle. Brucella abortus, brucellosis, Canis lupus, pathogenesis, serology, wolf. AD - Lethbridge Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, PO Box 640, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 3Z4, Canada. tessaros@inspection.gc.ca FAU - Tessaro, S V AU - Tessaro SV FAU - Forbes, L B AU - Forbes LB LA - eng PT - Journal Article PL - United States TA - J Wildl Dis JT - Journal of wildlife diseases JID - 0244160 RN - 0 (Antibodies, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Antibodies, Bacterial/blood MH - Bison/microbiology MH - *Brucella abortus/isolation & purification/pathogenicity MH - Brucellosis/epidemiology/pathology/transmission/*veterinary MH - Feces/microbiology MH - Lymph Nodes/microbiology/pathology MH - Male MH - Random Allocation MH - Saskatchewan MH - Time Factors MH - *Wolves EDAT- 2004/05/13 05:00 MHDA- 2004/10/01 05:00 CRDT- 2004/05/13 05:00 PST - ppublish SO - J Wildl Dis. 2004 Jan;40(1):60-5. PMID- 15101970 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20040422 DCOM- 20040811 LR - 20071114 IS - 0950-382X (Print) IS - 0950-382X (Linking) VI - 52 IP - 3 DP - 2004 May TI - Adaptation of the Brucellae to their intracellular niche. PG - 621-30 AB - Members of the bacterial genus Brucella are facultative intracellular pathogens that reside predominantly within membrane-bound compartments within two host cell types, macrophages and placental trophoblasts. Within macrophages, the brucellae route themselves to an intracellular compartment that is favourable for survival and replication, and they also appear to be well-adapted from a physiological standpoint to withstand the environmental conditions encountered during prolonged residence in this intracellular niche. Much less is known about the interactions of the Brucella with placental trophoblasts, but experimental evidence suggests that these bacteria use an iron acquisition system to support extensive intracellular replication within these host cells that is not required for survival and replication in host macrophages. Thus, it appears that the brucellae rely upon the products of distinct subsets of genes to adapt successfully to the environmental conditions encountered within the two cell types within which they reside in their mammalian hosts. AD - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, East Carolina University School of Medicine, 600 Moye Boulevard, Greenville, NC 27858-4354, USA. roopr@mail.ecu.edu FAU - Roop, R Martin 2nd AU - Roop RM 2nd FAU - Bellaire, Bryan H AU - Bellaire BH FAU - Valderas, Michelle Wright AU - Valderas MW FAU - Cardelli, James A AU - Cardelli JA LA - eng GR - AI48499/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. PT - Review PL - England TA - Mol Microbiol JT - Molecular microbiology JID - 8712028 RN - 0 (Hydroxybenzoic Acids) RN - 0 (Lipopolysaccharides) RN - 303-38-8 (2-pyrocatechuic acid) RN - 7439-89-6 (Iron) SB - IM MH - *Adaptation, Biological MH - Animals MH - Brucellaceae/cytology/genetics/*physiology MH - Female MH - Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial MH - Humans MH - Hydroxybenzoic Acids/metabolism MH - Iron/metabolism MH - Lipopolysaccharides/metabolism MH - Macrophages/cytology/metabolism/*microbiology MH - Phagosomes/microbiology MH - Pregnancy MH - Trophoblasts/cytology/metabolism/*microbiology RF - 74 EDAT- 2004/04/23 05:00 MHDA- 2004/08/12 05:00 CRDT- 2004/04/23 05:00 AID - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2004.04017.x [doi] AID - MMI4017 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Mol Microbiol. 2004 May;52(3):621-30. PMID- 14652892 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20031203 DCOM- 20040204 LR - 20041117 IS - 0353-9504 (Print) IS - 0353-9504 (Linking) VI - 44 IP - 6 DP - 2003 Dec TI - Neglected case of osteoarticular Brucella infection of the knee. PG - 761-3 AB - A 49-year-old farmer had a history of recurrent knee effusion for 20 years. He did not report undergoing any diagnostic or therapeutic procedures apart from repeated aspirations of the joint fluid. After the isolation of Brucella melitensis from the joint fluid, computed tomography-guided bone biopsy was performed and histopathologic examination of the biopsy sample confirmed the diagnosis of chronic Brucella osteomyelitis. Arthroscopic synovectomy combined with antimicrobial therapy with doxycyclin, rifampicin, and ciprofloxacin for six months resulted in clinical recovery. This case indicates that brucellosis should be suspected in patients with non-specific and chronic osteoarticular symptoms, especially in endemic regions. AD - Department of Orthopedics, Suleyman Demirel University School of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey. huseyin@med.sdu.edu.tr FAU - Yorgancigil, Huseyin AU - Yorgancigil H FAU - Yayli, Guler AU - Yayli G FAU - Oyar, Orhan AU - Oyar O LA - eng PT - Case Reports PT - Journal Article PL - Croatia TA - Croat Med J JT - Croatian medical journal JID - 9424324 SB - IM MH - Bone Diseases, Infectious/*diagnosis/microbiology/therapy MH - *Brucella melitensis MH - Brucellosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/surgery MH - Exudates and Transudates/microbiology MH - Humans MH - Knee Joint/*microbiology MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Recurrence EDAT- 2003/12/04 05:00 MHDA- 2004/02/05 05:00 CRDT- 2003/12/04 05:00 PST - ppublish SO - Croat Med J. 2003 Dec;44(6):761-3. PMID- 12944013 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20030828 DCOM- 20031023 LR - 20091103 IS - 0732-8893 (Print) IS - 0732-8893 (Linking) VI - 46 IP - 4 DP - 2003 Aug TI - The sensitivity and specificity of Brucella agglutination tests. PG - 241-3 AB - Brucellosis is a systemic infectious disease caused by Gram-negative bacilli, the genus Brucella, and clinical features are diverse. Therefore, several infectious and non-infectious diseases are considered in its differential diagnosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the positivity rate of Brucella agglutination tests in the culture-positive brucellosis and in diseases mimicking brucellosis clinically.Thirty patients with culture-positive brucellosis, and 280 patients with the diseases mimicking brucellosis clinically (20 with miliary tuberculosis, 33 with malaria, 20 with typhoid fever, 20 with adult-onset Still's disease, 47 with systemic lupus erythematosus, 50 with rheumatoid arthritis, 27 with sarcoidosis, and 63 with active lymphoma) were included in the study. Brucella agglutination tests (Rose-Bengal and Wright) were studied in serum samples of these 310 patients. Both Rose-Bengal and Wright tests (the latter in a titer of 1/160 or higher) were positive in all patients with brucellosis. For the other diseases, the test was slightly positive (1/40) in one patient with malaria and another with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and weakly positive (1/20) in a patient with typhoid fever. It remained negative in the remaining. In conclusion, agglutination tests currently used in the diagnosis of brucellosis are very sensitive and specific. Brucellosis can be effectively excluded from the diseases having similar clinical features by the use of agglutination tests. AD - Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. doktoralimert@yahoo.com FAU - Mert, Ali AU - Mert A FAU - Ozaras, Resat AU - Ozaras R FAU - Tabak, Fehmi AU - Tabak F FAU - Bilir, Muammer AU - Bilir M FAU - Yilmaz, Mesut AU - Yilmaz M FAU - Kurt, Celali AU - Kurt C FAU - Ongoren, Seniz AU - Ongoren S FAU - Tanriverdi, Melike AU - Tanriverdi M FAU - Ozturk, Recep AU - Ozturk R LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Journal Article PL - United States TA - Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis JT - Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease JID - 8305899 SB - IM MH - Agglutination Tests/*methods MH - Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnosis MH - Brucella/*isolation & purification MH - Brucellosis/*diagnosis MH - Cohort Studies MH - Diagnosis, Differential MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Lupus Vulgaris/diagnosis MH - Malaria/diagnosis MH - Male MH - Prospective Studies MH - Sarcoidosis/diagnosis MH - Sensitivity and Specificity MH - Still's Disease, Adult-Onset/diagnosis MH - Tuberculosis, Miliary/diagnosis MH - Typhoid Fever/diagnosis EDAT- 2003/08/29 05:00 MHDA- 2003/10/24 05:00 CRDT- 2003/08/29 05:00 AID - S0732889303000816 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2003 Aug;46(4):241-3. PMID- 12414174 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20021104 DCOM- 20030303 LR - 20061115 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 90 IP - 1-4 DP - 2002 Dec 20 TI - The genome of Brucella melitensis. PG - 587-92 AB - The genome of Brucella melitensis strain 16M was sequenced and contained 3,294,931 bp distributed over two circular chromosomes. Chromosome I was composed of 2,117,144 bp and chromosome II has 1,177,787 bp. A total of 3,198 ORFs were predicted. The origins of replication of the chromosomes are similar to each other and to those of other alpha-proteobacteria. Housekeeping genes such as those that encode for DNA replication, protein synthesis, core metabolism, and cell-wall biosynthesis were found on both chromosomes. Genes encoding adhesins, invasins, and hemolysins were also identified. AD - Institute of Molecular Biology and Medicine, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510, USA. vimbm@aol.com FAU - DelVecchio, Vito G AU - DelVecchio VG FAU - Kapatral, Vinayak AU - Kapatral V FAU - Elzer, Philip AU - Elzer P FAU - Patra, Guy AU - Patra G FAU - Mujer, Cesar V AU - Mujer CV LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. PT - Review PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (Bacterial Proteins) RN - 0 (Heat-Shock Proteins) SB - IM MH - Bacterial Proteins/genetics MH - Base Sequence MH - Brucella melitensis/*genetics MH - *Genome, Bacterial MH - Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics MH - Open Reading Frames RF - 20 EDAT- 2002/11/05 04:00 MHDA- 2003/03/04 04:00 CRDT- 2002/11/05 04:00 AID - S0378113502002389 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2002 Dec 20;90(1-4):587-92. PMID- 12414158 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20021104 DCOM- 20030303 LR - 20081121 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 90 IP - 1-4 DP - 2002 Dec 20 TI - The innate immune response against Brucella in humans. PG - 383-94 AB - Pathogens have developed different strategies to survive and multiply within their host. Among them is the ability to control phagocyte apoptosis while another is to affect the expression of cytokines which is necessary for a normal protective function of the immune response. To establish themselves and cause chronic disease in humans and animals, Brucella spp. invade and proliferate within monocytic phagocytes. We have established that in humans, Brucella suis impairs the apoptosis of monocytes and macrophages, thus preventing its host cell elimination. In mice, which are not naturally colonized by the bacteria, Brucella infection results in Type1 (Th1) cellular immune response which promotes a clearance of the bacterial organism. The development of this response is under the control of major cytokines like TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma and IL-12 produced at the onset of infection. We have observed that in humans, B. suis-infected macrophages which produce IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and several chemokines including IL-8, do not secrete TNF-alpha. By constructing null mutants, we demonstrated that this inhibition involves the outer membrane protein Omp25 of Brucella, however the mechanism regulating the inhibition has not yet been clearly defined. It is likely that the Omp25-induced effect on TNF-alpha production assists bacterial evasion of antimicrobial defences at different levels. Firstly, by preventing the autocrine activation of macrophages thus inhibiting innate immunity and secondly by impairing the production of IL-12 and the development of a Th1 type specific immunity. In addition to the central role of the macrophage in Brucella infection, others cells of the innate immune response are recruited and influenced by the interactions between bacteria and host. For instance, human Vgamma9Vdelta2 T-cells play an important role in the early response to infection with intracellular pathogens. Evidence has been presented that their number dramatically increased in the peripheral blood of patients with acute brucellosis. We have shown that human Vgamma9Vdelta2 T-cells can be specifically activated by non-peptidic low molecular weight compound(s) from B. suis lysate or by soluble factors produced by B. suis-infected macrophages. Under these conditions, they produce TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma and reduce the bacterial multiplication inside infected autologous macrophages. This impairment of B. suis multiplication is due to both soluble factors released from activated gammadeltaT-cells (including TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma) and to a contact-dependent cytotoxicity directed against the infected cells. The interactions between the bacteria and these cells can counteract the intramacrophagic development of the bacteria and finally influence the further development of the host defense. We hypothesize that the chronicity or the elimination of the infection will depend on the balance between contradictory effects induced by the bacteria which favor either the host or the pathogen. Moreover, the interrelationship between the different cells must be taken into account in the analysis of the virulence of the bacteria and in the development of in vitro models of human macrophage infection. CI - Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. AD - INSERM U-431, Universite Montpellier II, Place E Bataillon, Montpellier 34095, France. FAU - Dornand, Jacques AU - Dornand J FAU - Gross, Antoine AU - Gross A FAU - Lafont, Virgine AU - Lafont V FAU - Liautard, Janny AU - Liautard J FAU - Oliaro, Jane AU - Oliaro J FAU - Liautard, Jean-Pierre AU - Liautard JP LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PT - Review PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Apoptosis MH - Brucella/growth & development/*immunology/pathogenicity MH - Brucella suis/immunology MH - Brucellosis/*immunology MH - Humans MH - *Immunity, Innate MH - Macrophages/immunology/pathology MH - Mice MH - Monocytes/immunology MH - T-Lymphocytes/immunology MH - Virulence RF - 41 EDAT- 2002/11/05 04:00 MHDA- 2003/03/04 04:00 CRDT- 2002/11/05 04:00 AID - S0378113502002237 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2002 Dec 20;90(1-4):383-94. PMID- 12414147 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20021104 DCOM- 20030303 LR - 20061115 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 90 IP - 1-4 DP - 2002 Dec 20 TI - Sugar metabolism by Brucellae. PG - 249-61 AB - The metabolic capabilities of the species of Brucella were originally of interest as a means of distinguishing them from each other and from other genera. Certain unusual characteristics, especially erythritol utilization, were studied in the hopes they would shed light on the pathogenicity. With the advent of modern genetic methods and genomic sequencing, it is now possible to get a good idea of the total capabilities of the organism and to do tests to confirm these deductions. Brucella appears to be a fairly normal member of the alpha-proteobacteria, but with some differences. A few questions remain, such as whether Brucella uses the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. Some of the genes in carbohydrate utilization have been shown to be important in virulence. CI - Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. AD - Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 246 Noble Research Center, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. ressenberg@biochem.okstate.edu FAU - Essenberg, Richard C AU - Essenberg RC FAU - Seshadri, Rekha AU - Seshadri R FAU - Nelson, Karen AU - Nelson K FAU - Paulsen, Ian AU - Paulsen I LA - eng PT - Comparative Study PT - Journal Article PT - Review PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (Lipopolysaccharides) RN - 149-32-6 (Erythritol) RN - EC 2.7.1.2 (Glucokinase) SB - IM MH - Brucella/genetics/*metabolism/pathogenicity/physiology MH - *Carbohydrate Metabolism MH - Cloning, Molecular MH - Erythritol/metabolism MH - Escherichia coli/genetics MH - Glucokinase/genetics MH - Lipopolysaccharides/biosynthesis MH - Virulence RF - 54 EDAT- 2002/11/05 04:00 MHDA- 2003/03/04 04:00 CRDT- 2002/11/05 04:00 AID - S0378113502002122 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2002 Dec 20;90(1-4):249-61. PMID- 12414145 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20021104 DCOM- 20030303 LR - 20061115 IS - 0378-1135 (Print) IS - 0378-1135 (Linking) VI - 90 IP - 1-4 DP - 2002 Dec 20 TI - Brucella evolution and taxonomy. PG - 209-27 AB - The genus Brucella contains alpha-Proteobacteria adapted to intracellular life within cells of a variety of mammals. Controversy has arisen concerning Brucella internal taxonomy, and it has been proposed that the DNA-DNA hybridization-based genomospecies concept be applied to the genus. According to this view, only one species, Brucella melitensis, should be recognized, and the classical species should be considered as biovars (B. melitensis biovar melitensis; B. melitensis biovar abortus; etc.). However, a critical reappraisal of the species concept, a review of the population structure of bacteria and the analysis of Brucella genetic diversity by methods other than DNA-DNA hybridization show that there are no scientific grounds to apply the genomospecies concept to this genus. On the other hand, an enlarged biological species concept allows the definition of Brucella species that are consistent with molecular analyses and support the taxonomical standing of most classical species. Both the host range as a long-recognized biological criterion and the presence of species-specific markers in outer membrane protein genes and in other genes show that B. melitensis, B. abortus, B. ovis, B. canis and B. neotomae are not mere pathovars (or nomenspecies) but biologically meaningful species. The status of B. suis is, however, less clear. These approaches should be useful to define species for the marine mammal Brucella isolates, as illustrated by the grouping of the isolates from pinnipeds or from cetaceans by omp2 gene analysis. It is shown that a correct Brucella species definition is important to understand the evolution of the genus. CI - Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. AD - Tropical Disease Research Program, Veterinary School, National University, Apartado 304-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica. FAU - Moreno, Edgardo AU - Moreno E FAU - Cloeckaert, Axel AU - Cloeckaert A FAU - Moriyon, Ignacio AU - Moriyon I LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't PT - Review PL - Netherlands TA - Vet Microbiol JT - Veterinary microbiology JID - 7705469 RN - 0 (DNA, Bacterial) SB - IM MH - Brucella/*classification/*genetics MH - Brucella melitensis/classification/genetics MH - Classification MH - DNA, Bacterial/genetics MH - *Evolution MH - *Phylogeny MH - Species Specificity RF - 98 EDAT- 2002/11/05 04:00 MHDA- 2003/03/04 04:00 CRDT- 2002/11/05 04:00 AID - S0378113502002109 [pii] PST - ppublish SO - Vet Microbiol. 2002 Dec 20;90(1-4):209-27. PMID- 11500472 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DA - 20010813 DCOM- 20010913 LR - 20091118 IS - 0019-9567 (Print) IS - 0019-9567 (Linking) VI - 69 IP - 9 DP - 2001 Sep TI - Brucella abortus HtrA functions as an authentic stress response protease but is not required for wild-type virulence in BALB/c mice. PG - 5911-3 AB - A second mutation has recently been identified in the previously described Brucella abortus htrA mutant PHE1. As a result of this finding, a new B. abortus htrA mutant, designated RWP11, was constructed to evaluate the biological function of the Brucella HtrA protease. RWP11 is more sensitive to oxidative killing in vitro and less resistant to killing by cultured murine neutrophils and macrophages than the virulent parental strain 2308 but is not attenuated in BALB/c mice through 4 weeks postinfection. The in vitro phenotype of B. abortus RWP11 is consistent with the proposed function of bacterial HtrA proteases as components of a secondary line of defense against oxidative damage. The in vivo phenotype of this mutant, however, indicates that, unlike the corresponding Salmonella and Yersinia proteins, Brucella HtrA does not play a critical role in virulence in the mouse model. AD - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana 71130-3932, USA. FAU - Phillips, R W AU - Phillips RW FAU - Roop, R M 2nd AU - Roop RM 2nd LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. PL - United States TA - Infect Immun JT - Infection and immunity JID - 0246127 RN - 0 (Heat-Shock Proteins) RN - 0 (Periplasmic Proteins) RN - EC 3.4.21.- (DegP protease) RN - EC 3.4.21.- (Serine Endopeptidases) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Brucella abortus/genetics/*pathogenicity/*physiology MH - Brucellosis/microbiology MH - *Heat-Shock Proteins MH - Macrophages/microbiology MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred BALB C MH - *Mutation MH - *Periplasmic Proteins MH - Serine Endopeptidases/*genetics/*metabolism MH - Spleen/microbiology MH - Virulence PMC - PMC98712 OID - NLM: PMC98712 EDAT- 2001/08/14 10:00 MHDA- 2001/09/14 10:01 CRDT- 2001/08/14 10:00 PST - ppublish SO - Infect Immun. 2001 Sep;69(9):5911-3.