| 1. |
- Lindh, Ingrid, et al.
(författare)
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Feeding of mice with Arabidopsis thaliana expressing the HIV-1 subtype C p24 antigen gives rise to systemic immune responses
- 2008
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Ingår i: Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica (APMIS). - Oxford : Blackwell. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463 .- 0903-465X .- 1600-5503. ; 116:11, s. 985-994
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Development of transgenic edible plants, to be used as production, storage and delivery systems for recombinant vaccine antigens, is a promising strategy to obtain cost effective vaccines against infectious diseases, not the least for use in developing countries. Therefore, we used Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer to introduce the p24 gag gene encoding the nucleocapsid protein from HIV-1 subtype C into the Arabidopsis thaliana plant genome. Eighteen plant lines were confirmed positive for the p24 gene by PCR, four of these lines showed an apparent homozygous phenotype when grown on selective medium and these lines also showed transcription of the p24 gene into its corresponding mRNA. The mRNA in all four cases generated the p24 protein in plants, as verified by western blot analysis. The plants were shown to contain between 0.2 µg and 0.5 µg p24 protein per g of fresh tissue. Analysis of the localisation of the p24 protein showed that stem tissue contained the largest amount of protein, more than twice as much as leaf tissue, whereas no p24 protein was detected in roots. By using Southern blotting, we found that 4, 2-3, 2 and 1 T-DNA insertion events took place in the four lines 1, 2, 7, and 10, respectively. The genetic insertions of line 1 were stable from the T1 to the T4 generation and gave rise to the p24 protein in all cases, as verified by western blotting. In mice fed with fresh transgenic A. thaliana (line 10), anti-gag IgG was obtained in serum after a booster injection with recombinant p37Gag. No immune response was observed after equal booster injection of untreated mice or mice fed with A. thaliana WT plants.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ericsson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Subtyping of a frequent phagovar of Listeria monocytogenes in Sweden by use of restriction endonuclease analysis
- 1993
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Ingår i: APMIS. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0903-465X .- 1600-5503 .- 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 101:7-12, s. 971-974
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sweden, many Listeria monocytogenes strains belonging to serovar 4b and isolated during the last five years from different sources share the same phagovar - 2389:2425:3274:2671:47:108:340. The object of the present study was to investigate if 31 L. monocytogenes serovar 4b strains belonging to this particular phagovar could be differentiated by use of a simple restriction endonuclease analysis (REA). Among the enzymes tested, Xho I was found to be the most useful, since this enzyme could divide the 31 strains into five groups. The profiles of all human clinical isolates were indistinguishable from each other, which indicates that these strains may represent a single clone. The food isolates and the strains of human origin did not share the same profile. This further characterization may be of epidemiological importance as this phagovar of L. monocytogenes has been associated with at least two outbreaks of human listeriosis in Europe.
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| 4. |
- Hallander, Hans O., et al.
(författare)
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Should fimbriae be included in pertussis vaccines? Studies on ELISA IgG anti-Fim2/3 antibodies after vaccination and infection
- 2009
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Ingår i: APMIS. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0903-465X .- 1600-5503 .- 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 117:9, s. 660-671
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The anti-Fim response and long-term persistence after vaccination and infection may be of importance in understanding population immunity. Longitudinal serum samples (n = 1330) from 542 non-infected children related to a Swedish vaccine trial showed that the post vaccination (DTPa5) antibody decay curve for pertussis ELISA IgG anti-fimbriae2/3 (anti-Fim2/3) was bi-phasic. A slower one followed an initial rapid decay approximately 5-6 months after the third dose at 12 months of age. After 71 months, however, 60% still had concentrations above > or =5 EU/ml, a level that had been shown to correlate with decreased risk of disease. Booster responses after re-vaccination with DTPa5 at 4, 5 and 6 years of age were strong and appeared within 1 week after vaccination, indicating immune memory. Ninety-six young children with verified pertussis infection, for whom we had serum samples both before, during and after the infection, showed a high response if they had been primed with fimbriae (either DTPa5 or DTPwc). In contrast, 76% of infected children not primed with fimbriae (a DTPa2 or DT group) only had concentrations below the minimum level of detection in all samples taken during and after the infection. In two Swedish seroepidemiological surveys, one from 1997 just after reintroduction of universal childhood vaccination against pertussis and one from 2007, the proportion of children 2-3 years with anti-Fim2/3 concentrations <5 EU/ml was similar and above 90%. This reflects that the two- or three-component pertussis vaccines (DTPa2 and DTPa3) that were introduced in Sweden in 1996 do not induce anti-Fim2/3 antibodies. In previous studies it was shown in multivariate analyses that levels of IgG anti-Fim2/3 > or =5 EU/ml reduced short-term risk of pertussis in small children. As the antibody response to Fim2/3 after infection is poor in children who have not been primed earlier in life, inclusion of immunogenic Fim2/3 in future pertussis vaccines should be considered.
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| 5. |
- Hogevik, Harriet, et al.
(författare)
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Virulence factors of Staphylococcus aureus strains causing infective endocarditis--a comparison with strains from skin infections.
- 1998
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Ingår i: APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 0903-4641 .- 0903-465X .- 1600-5503 .- 1600-0463. ; 106:9, s. 901-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective was to study potential bacterial virulence factors in S. aureus endocarditis. S. aureus strains isolated from patients with well-classified episodes of infective endocarditis (IE) (n=26) were compared with control S. aureus strains from consecutive patients with skin infections (n=30). The potential virulence factors studied were Staphylococcal enterotoxin A-D (SEA, SEB, SEC, SED) and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) production and binding capacity to the extracellular matrix proteins: fibronectin, collagen type I, collagen type II and bone sialoprotein (BSP). None of the potential virulence factors studied was more prevalent among the IE strains. BSP binding was more often found in the control group with skin infections. Endocarditis patients with previous damage of the heart valves were more often infected by strains not producing any enterotoxin. No correlation was found between the potential bacterial virulence factors studied and IE. Concerning the toxins known to act as superantigens (SEA-E and TSST-1), the tendencies in this and other studies indicate that a larger study group might identify them as pathogenic factors in a subgroup of staphylococcal endocarditis.
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| 6. |
- Stark, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Staphylococcus aureus isolates from blood and anterior nares induce similar innate immune responses in endothelial cells
- 2009
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Ingår i: APMIS. - : Wiley. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463 .- 0903-465X .- 1600-5503. ; 117:11, s. 814-824
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To evaluate the possibility to distinguish virulent from non-virulent isolates, gene expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) induced by invasive and colonizing isolates of Staphylococcus aureus was compared. Gene expression in HUVEC was analyzed by microarray analysis after 4 h of infection with Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from healthy nasal carriers (n = 5) and from blood of septic patients (n = 5), to explore possible differences between the groups of bacteria in interaction with HUVEC. All isolates were spa-typed to disclose strain relatedness. Moreover, the isolates were characterized with DNA microarray to determine the presence of virulence genes and to investigate the potential genes of importance in HUVEC interaction. The expression of 41 genes was up-regulated, and four were down-regulated in HUVEC by all isolates. Most of the up-regulated genes encode cytokines, chemokines, interferon-induced proteins, proteins regulating apoptosis and cell proliferation. There was no difference in the gene expression pattern between HUVEC infected with invasive or colonizing isolates. Furthermore, there was no difference in the presence of bacterial virulence genes between the two groups. In conclusion, our data indicate that S. aureus isolates induce comparable expression patterns in HUVEC, irrespective of invasiveness or presence of virulence genes.
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| 7. |
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| 9. |
- Karpman, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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The contact/kinin and complement systems in vasculitis.
- 2009
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Ingår i: APMIS Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica. Supplementum. - : Wiley. - 0903-465X. ; 117, s. 48-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vasculitides are a group of conditions with marked inflammation in and around vessel walls and vascular leakage. These conditions may involve the presence of auto-antibodies such as ANCA or may be mediated by other autoimmune or pathogenic mechanisms. Regardless of the primary trigger, vasculitides entail activation of the complement system as well as the contact/kinin system. In vivo and in vitro data support the involvement of these systems showing activation of the alternative, classical and lectin complement pathways as well as release of bradykinin at sites of vascular inflammation. This short review will summarize some of the data regarding the participation of these systems and the interplay between the complement and kinin systems as well as their interaction with the endothelium and neutrophils. Although these systems do not play a primary role in induction of vasculitis, the peptides released contribute to inflammation and vascular leakage and may thus be identified as potential therapeutic targets.
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| 10. |
- Kühme, Tobias, et al.
(författare)
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Wound contamination in cardiac surgery
- 2007
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Ingår i: APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1600-0463. ; 115:9, s. 1001-1007
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To investigate the degree of bacterial contamination in the sternal wound during cardiac surgery and the sternal skin flora after operation in order to increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of sternal wound infections. Design: Prospective study where cultures were taken peri- and postoperatively from sternal wounds and skin. Setting: University Hospital. Patients: 201 cardiac surgery patients. Results: 89% of the patients grew bacteria from the subcutaneous sternal tissue. 98% of the patients showed bacterial growth on the surrounding skin at the end of the operation. We found both commensal and nosocomial bacteria in the sternal wound. These bacteria had different temporal distribution patterns. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and Propionibacterium acnes (PA) were by far the most prevalent bacteria during and after the operation. Furthermore, 41% of patients had more than 10 000 CFU/pad CoNS on the skin. There was no correlation between length of operation and number of bacteria. Men displayed higher bacterial counts than women on the skin. Conclusion: Skin preparation with ethanol/chlorhexidine is unable to suppress the physiological skin flora for the duration of a heart operation. A decrease of CoNS and PA postoperatively can be caused by competitive recolonisation of commensal and nosocomial bacteria.
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