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Burnetii Infection (burnetii + infection)
Selected AbstractsGenome-wide profiling of humoral immune response to Coxiella burnetii infection by protein microarrayPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 12 2010Adam Vigil Abstract Comprehensive evaluation of the humoral immune response to Coxiella burnetii may identify highly needed diagnostic antigens and potential subunit vaccine candidates. Here we report the construction of a protein microarray containing 1901 C. burnetii ORFs (84% of the entire proteome). This array was probed with Q-fever patient sera and naïve controls in order to discover C. burnetii -specific seroreactive antigens. Among the 21 seroreactive antigens identified, 13 were significantly more reactive in Q-fever cases than naïve controls. The remaining eight antigens were cross-reactive in both C. burnetii infected and naïve patient sera. An additional 64 antigens displayed variable seroreactivity in Q-fever patients, and underscore the diversity of the humoral immune response to C. burnetii. Nine of the differentially reactive antigens were validated on an alternative immunostrip platform, demonstrating proof-of-concept development of a consistent, safe, and inexpensive diagnostic assay alternative. Furthermore, we report here the identification of several new diagnostic antigens and potential subunit vaccine candidates for the highly infectious category B alphaproteobacteria, C. burnetii. [source] A serosurvey of Coxiella burnetii infection in children and young adults in South West QueenslandAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 1 2010Neil Parker Abstract Objective: To describe the seroepidemiology of Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, in those under 25 years of age in South West Queensland. Methods: A convenience sample of residual sera from a diagnostic laboratory was tested for C. burnetii antibodies by immunofluorescence at 1:10 dilution. Prevalence and annual incidence were calculated from the results. Results: Twenty-nine of 447 (6.5%, 95% CI 4.5%-9.2%) samples were positive. Seropositivity increased from 2.5% in those <15 (95% CI 1.0%-5.5%) to 11.0% in those 15-24 years old (95% CI 7.4%-16.0%). The estimated annual incidence for the latter age group was 7.7 per 1,000. Conclusions: Q fever is a relatively common infection in South West Queensland, even in those aged <15 years for whom the vaccine is not recommended. Implications: Vaccination programs, such as the federally funded National Q fever Management Program, are needed in this and similar high risk rural areas. [source] Coxiella burnetii inhabits a cholesterol-rich vacuole and influences cellular cholesterol metabolismCELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Dale Howe Summary Coxiella burnetii directs the synthesis of a large parasitophorous vacuole (PV) required for replication. While some lysosomal characteristics of the PV have been described, the origin and composition of the PV membrane is largely undefined. Cholesterol is an essential component of mammalian cell membranes where it plays important regulatory and structural roles. Here we investigated the role of host cholesterol in biogenesis and maintenance of the C. burnetii PV in Vero cells. The C. burnetii PV membrane stained with filipin and was positive for the lipid raft protein flotillin-1, suggesting PV membranes are enriched in cholesterol and contain lipid raft microdomains. C. burnetii infection increased host cell cholesterol content by 1.75-fold with a coincident upregulation of host genes involved in cholesterol metabolism. Treatment with U18666A, lovastatin, or 25-hydroxycholesterol, pharmacological agents that inhibit cholesterol uptake and/or biosynthesis, altered PV morphology and partially inhibited C. burnetii replication. Complete inhibition of C. burnetii PV development and replication was observed when infected cells were treated with imipramine or ketoconazole, inhibitors of cholesterol uptake and biosynthesis respectively. We conclude that C. burnetii infection perturbs host cell cholesterol metabolism and that free access to host cholesterol stores is required for optimal C. burnetii replication. [source] Role of specific antibodies in Coxiella burnetii infection of macrophagesCLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION, Issue 2009B. Desnues No abstract is available for this article. [source] | ||||||||||