Search results for "Infectious"
showing 10 items of 2953 documents
Novel aspect of amphotericin B action: accumulation in human monocytes potentiates killing of phagocytosed Candida albicans.
1994
The influence of low doses of amphotericin B on the capacity of human monocytes to kill Candida albicans was investigated. Killing rates were quantified by a novel flow cytometric assay and were found to be 37% +/- 3% (standard error of the mean) after 3 h. Preincubation of monocytes for 6 to 20 h with low concentrations of amphotericin B (0.2 microgram/ml) resulted in a markedly augmented fungicidal capacity. Enhancement of killing was 80% +/- 11% (standard error of the mean) over that by the controls. This effect did not appear to be due to amphotericin B-dependent monocyte activation; the respiratory burst and expression of human leukocyte antigen-DR were unaltered, and no stimulation of…
Novel pathogenic mechanism of microbial metalloproteinases: liberation of membrane-anchored molecules in biologically active form exemplified by stud…
1996
Certain membrane-anchored proteins, including several cytokines and cytokine receptors, can be released into cell supernatants through the action of endogenous membrane-bound metalloproteinases. The shed molecules are then able to fulfill various biological functions; for example, soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R) can bind to bystander cells, rendering these cells sensitive to the action of IL-6. Using IL-6R as a model substrate, we report that the metalloproteinase from Serratia marcescens mimics the action of the endogenous shedding proteinase. Treatment of human monocytes with the bacterial protease led to a rapid release of sIL-6R into the supernatant. This effect was inhibitable …
Selective killing of human monocytes and cytokine release provoked by sphingomyelinase (beta-toxin) of Staphylococcus aureus.
1996
The best-known activity of Staphylococcus aureus sphingomyelinase C, alias beta-toxin, is as a hemolysin that provokes hot-cold lysis of erythrocytes which contain substantial amounts of sphingomyelin in the plasma membrane. Sheep erythrocytes are most susceptible, and we found that one hemolytic unit, representing the toxin concentration that elicits 50% hemolysis of 2.5 X 10(8) erythrocytes per ml, corresponds to 0.05 enzyme units or to approximately 0.25 microg of sphingomyelinase per ml. The cytotoxic action of beta-toxin on nucleated cells has not been described in any detail before, and the present investigation was undertaken to fill this information gap. We now identify beta-toxin a…
4-Diazopyrazole Derivatives as Potential New Antibiofilm Agents
2008
<i>Background:</i> The recognition that chronic infections and infections associated with medical devices are biofilm related has been the impulse for investigating the antibiofilm properties of some diazopyrazoles biologically active as antimicrobials. <i>Methods:</i> The susceptibility of staphylococcal biofilms was determined at concentrations ranging from 25 to 1.5 µg/ml using crystal violet and methylthiazotetrazolium (MTT) staining. In the case of <i>Candida albicans,</i> we first assessed the anti-germ tube formation effect of 4-NO<sub>2</sub> (compound 1c) and then we evaluated its antibiofilm activity at concentrations ranging from 10…
Subcytocidal attack by staphylococcal alpha-toxin activates NF-kappaB and induces interleukin-8 production.
2001
ABSTRACTFormation of transmembrane pores by staphylococcal alpha-toxin can provoke a spectrum of events depending on target cell species and toxin dose, and in certain cases, repair of the lesions has been observed. Here, we report that transcriptional processes are activated as a response of cells to low toxin doses. Exposure of monocytic (THP-1) or epithelial (ECV304) cells to 40 to 160 ng/ml alpha-toxin provoked a drop in cellular ATP level that was followed by secretion of substantial amounts of interleukin-8 (IL-8). Cells transfected with constructs comprising the proximal IL-8 promoter fused to luciferase or to green fluorescent protein cDNA exhibited enhanced reporter gene expression…
The hemagglutinin of Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a major adhesin for uroepithelial cells.
1996
The 160-kDa hemagglutinin of Staphylococcus saprophyticus also serves as a fibronectin-binding protein, and the two activities may be present on different parts of the molecule. Bacteria expressing the 160-kDa hemagglutinin bound in large numbers to histological sections of human ureters, whereas nonhemagglutinating bacteria did not bind. Binding was decreased by an antiserum to the 160-kDa protein and by a preparation of sheep erythrocyte membranes. Fibronectin had no effect. We therefore conclude that binding of S. saprophyticus to uroepithelial cells is mediated by the hemagglutinating activity of the 160-kDa surface protein.
Prospective analysis of infectious disease surveillance data using syndromic information.
2014
In this paper, we describe a Bayesian hierarchical Poisson model for the prospective analysis of data for infectious diseases. The proposed model consists of two components. The first component describes the behavior of disease during nonepidemic periods and the second component represents the increase in disease counts due to the presence of an epidemic. A novelty of our model formulation is that the parameters describing the spread of epidemics are allowed to vary in both space and time. We also show how syndromic information can be incorporated into the model to provide a better description of the data and more accurate one-step-ahead forecasts. These real-time forecasts can be used to …
First morphogenetic analysis of parasite eggs from Schistosomiasis haematobium infected sub-Saharan migrants in Spain and proposal for a new standard…
2021
International audience; Schistosomiasis is a Neglected Tropical Disease caused by trematode species of the genus Schistosoma. Both, autochthonous and imported cases of urogenital schistosomiasis have been described in Europe. The present study focuses on eggs, considered pure S. haematobium by genetic characterisation (intergenic ITS region of the rDNA and cox1 mtDNA). A phenotypic characterisation of S. haematobium eggs was made by morphometric comparison with experimental populations of S. bovis and S. mansoni, to help in the diagnosis of S. haematobium populations infecting sub-Saharan migrants in Spain. Analyses were made by Computer Image Analysis System (CIAS) applied on the basis of …
Clinical Assessment of Nasal Airway Obstruction
2019
For the evaluation of nasal airway obstruction physical examination, anterior rhinoscopy, laboratory workup, imaging studies, and rhinomanometric studies may be required. Laboratory workup may consist of counts of neutrophil investigating infectious diseases, eosinophil for allergy-related disorders, and mast cell in food allergy. Imaging workup contains computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging. Physically based studies involve rhinomanometry and acoustic rhinometry techniques. Nasal resistance is responsible for more than 50% of the resistance of the total airway. Nasal resistance is made up of two layers: the deeper layer consists of underlying bone, cartilage, and muscle, …
Surgeons' fear of getting infected by COVID19: A global survey
2020
During the last three months, COVID- 19 pandemic had led to a serious backlog of operations globally, and plans for restarting operation are imperative. Recommendations for surgical activities were studied, aiming to protect the surgical staff from being infected. In the meantime, it is also important to give attention to the surgeon’s personal feeling during work. We conducted a survey to investigate global surgi- cal practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the surgeon’s personal feeling was also investigated in the sur- vey. In this special letter, we performed multivariate analysis to explore factors that associated with surgeon’s fear of getting infected by COVID-19.