Reproduction of bovine keratoconjunctivitis with a purified haemolytic and cytotoxic fraction of Moraxella bovis.

Evidence that the beta-haemolysin produced in vitro by Moraxella bovis is an important virulence determinant in vivo was strengthened by studies using a haemolytic preparation of greater purity than previously available. A concentrated haemolytic fraction containing outer-membrane bound vesicles was separated from the cell-free filtrate of a bacterial culture using a process comprising tangential flow ultrafiltration, ion-exchange and gel-filtration high-performance liquid chromatography and centrifugal-driven filtration. The cytotoxicity of haemolytic fractions for calf-corneal epithelial cells in vitro was investigated at progressive stages of this attempted haemolysin purification procedure and the results demonstrated a positive correlation for the levels of haemolytic and cytotoxic activity throughout. Further support for the role of the haemolysin was obtained in vivo following the intra-corneal injection of calves with a crude or a purified haemolytic fraction. The ocular damage caused by both preparations, together with the healing processes and microscopic pathology of the experimentally induced damage closely resembled published descriptions of naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis. No effect was obtained in vitro or in vivo from equivalent fractions prepared from a non-haemolytic strain of M. bovis.

Q pili enhance the attachment of Moraxella bovis to bovine corneas in vitro.

Moraxella bovis, the causative agent of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, exhibits several virulence factors, including pili, haemolysin, leukotoxin, and proteases. The pili are filamentous appendages which mediate bacterial adherence. Prior studies have shown that Q-piliated M. bovis Epp63 are more infectious and more pathogenic than I-piliated and non-piliated isogenic variants, suggesting that Q pili per se, or traits associated with Q-pilin expression, promote the early association of Q-piliated bacteria with bovine corneal tissue. In order to better evaluate the role of Q pili in M. bovis attachment, several M. bovis strains and a recombinant P. aeruginosa strain which elaborates M. bovis Q pili but not P. aeruginosa PAK pili, were evaluated using an in vitro corneal attachment assay. For each strain tested, piliated organisms attached better than non-piliated bacteria. M. bovis Epp63 Q-piliated bacteria adhered better than either the I-piliated or non-piliated isogenic variants. Finally, recombinant P. aeruginosa organisms elaborating M. bovis Q pili adhered better than the parent P. aeruginosa strain which did not produce M. bovis pili. These results indicate that the presence of pili, especially Q pili, enhances the attachment of bacteria to bovine cornea in vitro.

Atrophic vaginitis. Can it be prevented as well as treated?

Atrophic vaginitis is not only treatable but preventable. Because the vagina is an estrogen-dependent organ, the mainstay of management is estrogen replacement therapy, which should be initiated with the onset of ovarian decline at menopause or when a woman presents with symptoms of atrophic vaginitis. Lubricants and vaginal moisturizers may be useful adjuncts. Regular sexual activity is also helpful in maintaining a healthy, functional vagina.

Morphogenetic expression of Moraxella bovis fimbriae (pili) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Type 4 fimbriae (pili) are found in a wide variety of gram-negative bacteria and are composed of small structural subunits which share significant sequence homology among different species, especially at their amino-terminal ends. Previous studies demonstrating morphogenetic expression of Bacteroides nodosus fimbriae from cloned subunit genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa suggested that there is a common mechanism for type 4 fimbriae assembly and that the structural subunits are interchangeable (J. S. Mattick et al., J. Bacteriol. 169:33-41, 1987). Here we have examined the expression of Moraxella bovis fimbrial subunits in P. aeruginosa. M. bovis subunits were assembled into extracellular fimbriae in this host, in some cases as a homopolymer but in others as a mosaic with the indigenous subunit, indicating structural equivalence. This result contrasts with other studies in which recombinant P. aeruginosa expressing different subunits produced fimbriae composed almost exclusively of one subunit or the other (T. C. Elleman and J. E. Peterson, Mol. Microbiol. 1:377-380, 1987). Both observations can be explained by reversibility of subunit-subunit interactions at the site of assembly, with the forward equilibrium favoring chain extension between compatible subunits.

Libido, menopause, and estrogen replacement therapy.

Patients may be embarrassed to communicate their concerns regarding a decrease in sexual desire to their physician, let alone request treatment. Drs Beard and Curtis recommend that patients be asked specific questions to elicit symptoms of sexual dysfunction. They outline a program of hormone replacement therapy for women who have sexual dysfunction secondary to genitourinary atrophy and for those whose loss of libido is secondary to declining levels of estrogen.