Search results for "actin"

Performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus for detection of latent tuberculosis infection in pregnant women living in a tuberculosis- and HIV-endemic se…

2017

We evaluated the performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), which includes two Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen formulations (TB1 and TB2), for detection of latent tuberculosis infection during pregnancy. Eight-hundred-twenty-nine Ethiopian pregnant women (5.9% HIV-positive) were tested with QFT-Plus, with bacteriological sputum analysis performed for women with clinically suspected tuberculosis and HIV-positive women irrespective of clinical presentation. QFT-Plus read-out was categorized according to the conventional cut-off (0.35 IU/ml) for both antigen formulations. In addition, we analysed the distribution of QFT-Plus results within a borderline zone (0.20–0.70 IU/ml), and i…

Reference set of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical strains: A tool for research and product development

2018

TheMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex (MTBC) causes tuberculosis (TB) in humans and various other mammals. The human-adapted members of the MTBC comprise seven phylogenetic lineages that differ in their geographical distribution. There is growing evidence that this phylogenetic diversity modulates the outcome of TB infection and disease. For decades, TB research and development has focused on the two canonical MTBC reference strains H37Rv and Erdman, both of which belong to Lineage 4. Relying on only a few laboratory-adapted strains can be misleading as study results might not be directly transferrable to clinical settings where patients are infected with a diverse array of strains, includin…

Small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho- and Ras-subfamilies are not involved in the actin rearrangements induced by attaching and effacingEscherichia …

1998

Attaching and effacing Escherichia coli (AEEC) are extracellular pathogens that induce the formation of actin-rich structures at their sites of attachment to eukaryotic host cells. We analysed whether small GTP-binding proteins of the Rho- and Ras-subfamilies, which control the cellular actin system, are essential for these bacterial-induced microfilament reorganizations. For this purpose we specifically inactivated them using the Clostridium difficile toxins TcdB-10463 and TcdB-1470. Such treatment led to a dramatic breakdown of the normal actin cytoskeleton, but did not abrogate the bacterial-induced actin rearrangements. Our data therefore indicate that the microfilament reorganizations …

Clostridium difficile Toxins Disrupt Epithelial Barrier Function by Altering Membrane Microdomain Localization of Tight Junction Proteins

2001

ABSTRACT The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium difficile is the etiologic agent of pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile toxins TcdA and TcdB are UDP-glucosyltransferases that monoglucosylate and thereby inactivate the Rho family of GTPases (W. P. Ciesla, Jr., and D. A. Bobak, J. Biol. Chem. 273:16021–16026, 1998). We utilized purified reference toxins of C. difficile , TcdA-10463 (TcdA) and TcdB-10463 (TcdB), and a model intestinal epithelial cell line to characterize their influence on tight-junction (TJ) organization and hence to analyze the mechanisms by which they contribute to the enhanced paracellular permeability and disease pathophysiology of pseudomembranous colitis. The increase i…

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) on Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) Tissue Sections

2011

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) is a powerful technique for localizing specific DNA targets directly in the fixed tissue or cells. Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) as well as commercial probes, which could be supplied ready for use or concentrated and must be diluted following the manufacturers instructions, can be used. The technique requires 2 days, as an overnight incubation of the FISH probes is needed for optimal hybridization. The critical steps include deparaffinization of tissue sections, optimal pretreatment (target retrieval and protein digestion), and probe hybridization. In this chapter, the described FISH protocol provides a methodology for analyzing the cytogene…

Polyelectrolyte properties of filamentous biopolymers and their consequences in biological fluids.

2014

Anionic polyelectrolyte filaments are common in biological cells. DNA, RNA, the cytoskeletal filaments F-actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, and polysaccharides such as hyaluronan that form the pericellular matrix all have large net negative charge densities distributed over their surfaces. Several filamentous viruses with diameters and stiffnesses similar to those of cytoskeletal polymers also have similar negative charge densities. Extracellular protein filaments such collagen, fibrin and elastin, in contrast, have notably smaller charge densities and do not behave as highly charged polyelectrolytes in solution. This review summarizes data that demonstrate generic counterion-…

Human Dietary Intake of Organochlorines from Baltic Herring: Implications of Individual Fish Variability and Fisheries Management

2007

This study examines the extent to which Finnish human dietary intake of organochlorines (PCDD/Fs and PCBs) originating from Northern Baltic herring can be influenced by fisheries management. This was investigated by estimation of human intake using versatile modeling tools (e.g., a herring population model and a bioenergetics model). We used a probabilistic approach to account for the variation in human intake of organochlorines originating from the variation among herring individuals. Our estimates were compared with present precautionary limits and recommendation for use. The results show that present consumption levels and frequencies of herring give a high probability of exceeding recom…

First Experimental Determination of the Ionization Potentials of Berkelium and Californium

1996

Evidence for shifts in the structure and abundance of the microbial community in a long-term PCB-contaminated soil under bioremediation.

2011

International audience; Although the impact of bioremediation of PCB-contaminated sites on the indigenous microbial community is a key question for soil restoration, it remains poorly understood. Therefore, a small-scale bioremediation assay made of (a) a biostimulation treatment with carvone, soya lecithin and xylose and (b) two bioaugmentation treatments, one with a TSZ7 mixed culture and another with a Rhodococcus sp. Z6 pure strain was set up. Changes in the structure of the global soil microbial community and in the abundances of different taxonomic phyla were monitored using ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA) and real-time PCR. After an 18-month treatment, the structure of th…

Management of Arfak Rainbow Fish Based on Bioecologycal Aspect (Case in Some River in Manokwari)

2018

The aim of this research is to study the bioecological aspect of Arfak Rainbowfish, distribution long-wieght frequency and management of endemic arfak rainbow fish in Manokwari. This study conducted for five months from 7 September 2015 to 9 Januari 2016. Fish sample were collected from Prafi river, Nimbai river and Aimasi river and brought to fisheries laboratory. The method of this research is descriptive methode with field observation. The result of water quality parameters are temperature average 30.01oC±1,06oC, flow rate is slow 0.92±0,12, the pH 7,80±0,12, oxygen solute 5,38±0,24, average biological oxygen demand for Prafi river 4 mg/L, Nimbai river 3.1 mg/L, Aimasi river 5.2 mg/L and…