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- Demuth, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Pathogenomics: An updated European Research Agenda
- 2008
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Ingår i: Infection, Genetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1567-7257 .- 1567-1348. ; 8:3, s. 386-393
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The emerging genomic technologies and bioinformatics provide novel opportunities for studying life-threatening human pathogens and to develop new applications for the improvement of human and animal health and the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of infections. Based on the ecology and population biology of pathogens and related organisms and their connection to epidemiology, more accurate typing technologies and approaches will lead to better means of disease control. The analysis of the genome plasticity and gene pools of pathogenic bacteria including antigenic diversity and antigenic variation results in more effective vaccines and vaccine implementation programs. The study of newly identified and uncultivated microorganisms enables the identification of new threats. The scrutiny of the metabolism of the pathogen in the host allows the identification of new targets for anti-infectives and therapeutic approaches. The development of modulators of host responses and mediators of host damage will be facilitated by the research on interactions of microbes and hosts, including mechanisms of host damage, acute and chronic relationships as well as commensalisms. The study of multiple pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes interacting in the host will improve the management of multiple infections and will allow probiotic and prebiotic interventions. Needless to iterate, the application of the results of improved prevention and treatment of infections into clinical tests will have a positive impact on the management of human and animal disease. The Pathogenomics Research Agenda draws on discussions with experts of the Network of Excellence "EuroPathoGenomics" at the management board meeting of the project held during 18-21 April 2007, in the Villa Vigoni, Menaggio, Italy. Based on a proposed European Research Agenda in the field of pathogenomics by the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics the meeting's participants updated the established list of topics as the research agenda for the future.
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- Mabbett, Amanda N., et al.
(författare)
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Virulence properties of asymptomatic bacteriuria Escherichia coli
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Medical Microbiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1618-0607 .- 1438-4221. ; 299:1, s. 53-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU), bacteria colonize the urinary tract without provoking symptoms. Here, we compared the virulence properties of a collection of ABU Escherichia coli strains to cystitis and pyelonephritis strains. Specific urinary tract infection (UTI)-associated virulence genes, hemagglutination characteristics, siderophore production, hemolysis, biofilm formation, and the ability of strains to adhere to and induce cytokine responses in epithelial cells were analyzed. ABU strains were phylogenetically related to strains that cause symptomatic UTI. However, the virulence properties of the ABU strains were variable and dependent on a combination of genotypic and phenotypic factors. Most ABU strains adhered poorly to epithelial cells; however, we also identified a subgroup of strongly adherent strains that were unable to stimulate an epithelial cell IL-6 cytokine response. Poor immune activation may represent one mechanism whereby ABU E coli evade immune detection after the establishment of bacteriuria. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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- Pettersson, Jenny, et al.
(författare)
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alpha-Lactalbumin, Engineered to be Non-native and Inactive, Kills Tumor Cells when in Complex with Oleic Acid: A new biological function resulting from partial unfolding.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Molecular Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1089-8638 .- 0022-2836. ; 394:5, s. 994-1010
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) is a tumoricidal complex consisting of partially unfolded protein and fatty acid, and was first identified in casein fractions of human breast milk. The complex can be produced from its pure components through a modified chromatographic procedure where pre-applied oleic acid binds with partially-unfolded alpha-lactalbumin on the stationary phase in situ. Because native alpha-lactalbumin itself cannot trigger cell death, HAMLET's remarkable tumor-selective cytotoxicity has been strongly correlated with the conformational change of the protein upon forming the complex, but whether a recovery to the native state subsequently occurs upon entering the tumor cell is yet unclear. To this end, we utilize a recombinant variant of human alpha-lactalbumin in which all eight cysteine residues are substituted for alanines (rHLA(all-Ala)), rendering the protein non-native and biologically inactive under all conditions. The HAMLET analogue formed from the complex of rHLA(all-Ala) and oleic acid (rHLA(all-Ala)-OA) exhibited equivalent strong tumoricidal activity against lymphoma and carcinoma cell lines, and was shown to accumulate within the nuclei of tumor cells, thus reproducing the cellular trafficking pattern of HAMLET. In contrast, the fatty acid-free rHLA(all-Ala) protein associated with the tumor cell surface but was not internalized and lacked any cytotoxic activity. Structurally, whereas HAMLET exhibited some residual native character in terms of NMR chemical shift dispersion, rHLA(all-Ala)-OA showed significant differences to HAMLET, and in fact was found to be devoid of any tertiary packing. The results identify alpha-lactalbumin as a protein with strikingly different functions in the native and partially unfolded states. We posit that partial unfolding offers another significant route of functional diversification for proteins within the cell.
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