Plague Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Plague, including details on bubonic plague, yersinia pestis, infection, types, treatment. | ||||||
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Neutrophils are important in early control of lung infection by Yersinia pestis.Laws TR, Davey MS, Titball RW, Lukaszewski R Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 OJQ, UK. In this paper we evaluate the role of neutrophils in pneumonic plague. Splenic neutrophils from naïve BALB/c mice were found to reduce numbers of culturable Yersinia pestis strain GB in suspension. A murine, BALB/C, intranasal model of pneumonic plague was used in conjunction with in vivo neutrophil ablation, using the GR-1 antibody. This treatment reduced neutrophil numbers without affecting other leukocyte numbers. Neutrophil ablated mice exhibited increased bacterial colonisation of the lung 24h post infection. Furthermore, exposure of Y. pestis to human neutrophils resulted in a 5-fold reduction in the number of viable bacterial cells, whereas, PBMCs had no effect. Published 8 February 2010 in Microbes Infect. Articles on Plague published 5 February 2010: Rapid Field Detection Assays for Bacillus anthracis, Brucella spp., Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis. Clin Microbiol Infect. Abstract Rapid detection is essential for timely initiation of medical post-exposure prophylactic measures in the event of intentional release of biological threat agents. We compared real-time PCR assay performance between the Applied Biosystems' 7300/7500, and the RAZOR instruments for specific detection of the causative agents of anthrax, brucellosis, tularemia and plague. Furthermore, an assay detecting Bacillus thuringiensis, a Bacillus anthracis surrogate, was developed for field-training ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Plague published 4 February 2010: Amino acid and structural variability of Yersinia pestis LcrV protein. Infect Genet Evol, 10(1): 137-145. The LcrV protein is a multifunctional virulence factor and protective antigen of the plague bacterium and is generally conserved between the epidemic strains of Yersinia pestis. We investigated the diversity in the LcrV sequences among non-epidemic Y. pestis strains which have a limited virulence in selected animal models and for humans. Sequencing of lcrV genes from 19 Y. pestis strains belonging to different phylogenetic groups (subspecies) showed that the LcrV proteins possess four major ... [Abstract] [Full-text] The effects of plague on the distribution of property: Ivrea, Northern Italy 1630. Popul Stud (Camb). The demographic effects of the epidemics of plague in Early Modern Europe and their economic consequences illuminate the evolution of property structures and of wealth distribution during and after a mortality crisis. An analysis of the high-quality data available for the Italian city of Ivrea at the time of the 1630 plague shows the exceptional resilience of property structures. Like the social structures of the period, property structures were able to recover quickly, informed as they were by ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Comparative Proteomic Analysis between Normal Skin and Keloid Scar. Br J Dermatol. Abstract Keloids are pathological scars and despite numerous available treatment modalities, continue to plague physicians and patients. Identification of molecular mediators that contribute to this fibrotic phenotype thus remains a top priority. In this study, 2D-GE, MALDI-TOF, mascot online database searching algorithm and melanine gel analysis software were employed for comparative proteomic analysis between normal skin(NS) and keloid scar(KS) tissue extracts. Eighty-six proteins spots ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Plague published 1 February 2010: Trans-complementation of polyhedrin by a stably transformed Sf9 insect cell line allows occ- baculovirus occlusion and larval per os infectivity. J Biotechnol, 145(2): 199-205. Oral infection of insect larvae with baculovirus is an advantageous methodology for producing high levels of recombinant proteins and for achieving plague control. However, many recombinant baculoviruses express a foreign protein in lieu of the polyhedrin and hence do not form occlusion bodies (occ-), resulting in extremely reduced per os infectivity in larvae. To overcome this limitation, stably transformed insect cell lines expressing polyhedrin capable of occluding occ- recombinant ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Quantitative anti-F1 and anti-V IgG ELISAs as serological correlates of protection against plague in female Swiss Webster mice. Vaccine, 28(4): 934-9. A recombinant fusion protein composed of Yersinia pestis fraction 1 capsule (F1) and virulence-associated V antigen (V) (F1-V) has been developed as the next-generation vaccine against plague. In this study, female Swiss Webster mice received a single intramuscular vaccination with one of eight doses of the F1-V vaccine and exposed 4 weeks later to either Y. pestis CO92 or C12 organisms by the subcutaneous or aerosol routes of infection. Quantitative anti-F1 and anti-V immunoglobulin G (IgG) ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Contemporary reconstruction of the mandible. Oral Oncol, 46(2): 71-6. Reconstruction of the mandible has evolved significantly over the last 40years. Early attempts were often disfiguring and wrought with complications but with the introduction of free tissue transfer of well vascularized bone in the 1970's there was a significant improvement in outcomes. In recent years the harvest, inset, and microvascular anatomosis have been refined to the point that success rates are reported as high as 99% throughout the literature. Focus has now shifted to optimizing ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Proteomic analysis of iron acquisition, metabolic and regulatory responses of Yersinia pestis to iron starvation. BMC Microbiol, 10(1): 30. ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the bubonic plague. Efficient iron acquisition systems are critical to the ability of Y. pestis to infect, spread and grow in mammalian hosts, because iron is sequestered and is considered part of the innate host immune defence against invading pathogens. We used a proteomic approach to determine expression changes of iron uptake systems and intracellular consequences of iron deficiency in the Y. pestis ... [Abstract] [Full-text] © 2005-2010 Plague Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
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