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1.
Virology ; 485: 297-304, 2015 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26319211

ABSTRACT

Exposure to bovine viral diarrhea viruses (BVDV) results in acute and persistent infections. Persistent infections result from in utero exposure during the first trimester of gestation. Clinical presentation, in persistently infected cattle (PI), is highly variable. The reasons for this variation is largely unknown. The BVDV circulating in PI exist as quasispecies (swarms of individual viruses). An outbreak resulting in 34 PI cattle presented an opportunity to compare a large number of PI׳s. Methods were developed to compare the circulating viral populations within PI animals. It was found that PI animals generated in the same outbreak carry circulating viral populations that differ widely in size and diversity. Further, it was demonstrated that variation in PI viral populations could be used as a quantifiable phenotype. This observation makes it possible to test the correlation of this phenotype to other phenotypes such as growth rate, congenital defects, viral shed and cytokine expression.


Subject(s)
Bovine Virus Diarrhea-Mucosal Disease/epidemiology , Bovine Virus Diarrhea-Mucosal Disease/virology , Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral/classification , Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral/genetics , Disease Outbreaks , 5' Untranslated Regions , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Cattle , Consensus Sequence , Genetic Variation , Genotype , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Reassortant Viruses/genetics , Sequence Alignment , Viral Proteins/genetics
2.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci ; 369(1645): 20130437, 2014.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-24821923

ABSTRACT

The global health community has set itself the task of eliminating tuberculosis (TB) as a public health problem by 2050. Although progress has been made in global TB control, the current decline in incidence of 2% yr(-1) is far from the rate needed to achieve this. If we are to succeed in this endeavour, new strategies to reduce the reservoir of latently infected persons (from which new cases arise) would be advantageous. However, ascertainment of the extent and risk posed by this group is poor. The current diagnostics tests (tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assays) poorly predict who will develop active disease and the therapeutic options available are not optimal for the scale of the intervention that may be required. In this article, we outline a basis for our current understanding of latent TB and highlight areas where innovation leading to development of novel diagnostic tests, drug regimens and vaccines may assist progress. We argue that the pool of individuals at high risk of progression may be significantly smaller than the 2.33 billion thought to be immune sensitized by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and that identifying and targeting this group will be an important strategy in the road to elimination.


Subject(s)
Disease Eradication/methods , Global Health/trends , Latent Tuberculosis/diagnosis , Latent Tuberculosis/drug therapy , Latent Tuberculosis/epidemiology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/physiology , Adaptation, Physiological/physiology , Disease Eradication/statistics & numerical data , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Risk Factors , Tuberculin Test/history
4.
Eval Program Plann ; 31(3): 247-58, 2008 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18513798

ABSTRACT

Evaluation reports increasingly document the degree of program implementation, particularly the extent to which programs adhere to prescribed steps and procedures. Many reports are cursory, however, and few, if any, fully portray the long and winding path taken when developing evaluation instruments, particularly observation instruments. In this article, we describe the development of an observational method for evaluating the degree to which K-12 inquiry science programs are implemented, including the many steps and decisions that occurred during the development, and present evidence for the reliability and validity of the data that we collected with the instrument. The article introduces a method for measuring the adherence of inquiry science implementation and gives evaluators a full picture of what they might expect when developing observation instruments for assessing the degree of program implementation.


Subject(s)
Forms and Records Control , Observation , Program Evaluation/standards , Science/education , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Schools , United States
5.
Vet Rec ; 161(23): 782-6, 2007 Dec 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18065813

ABSTRACT

In 2002, the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (tb) among 500 cattle on Holeta Farm, near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was 48 per cent, and the farm was divided into positive and negative herds. After three consecutive rounds of skin testing and segregation of skin test-positive and -negative animals, the prevalence of bovine tb was reduced from 14 per cent to 1 per cent in the negative herd in a year. Spoligotyping of 41 isolates from 17 cows gave an identical and unique spoligotype pattern, which can be represented as the binary number 1100000101111110111111100010000000000100000, where 1 indicates the presence of a spacer and 0 represents a loss. This spoligotype pattern had not previously been reported on the Mycobacterium bovis spoligotype database, and it was therefore designated SB1176, Ethiopian M bovis strain 1 (EMbs1). The variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) profile of the strain was 5254(*)33.1, which differed from the VNTR profile of strains reported in Great Britain.


Subject(s)
Mycobacterium bovis/classification , Mycobacterium bovis/genetics , Tuberculin Test/veterinary , Tuberculosis, Bovine/epidemiology , Tuberculosis, Bovine/prevention & control , Animals , Bacterial Typing Techniques/methods , Bacterial Typing Techniques/veterinary , Cattle , Ethiopia/epidemiology , Female , Incidence , Lung/pathology , Lymph Nodes/pathology , Minisatellite Repeats/genetics , Mycobacterium bovis/isolation & purification , Prevalence , Tuberculosis, Bovine/microbiology
6.
Int J Tuberc Lung Dis ; 10(7): 802-7, 2006 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-16848344

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of pyrazinamide (PZA) resistance in isolates from previously treated patients from the Western Cape, South Africa. DESIGN: Drug-resistant isolates, isolates resistant to one or more drugs other than PZA (PZA resistance is not routinely determined) (n = 127), and drug-susceptible (n = 47) clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from previously treated patients from the Western Cape were phenotypically (BACTEC MGIT 960) and genotypically (pncA gene sequencing) analysed for PZA resistance. RESULTS: MGIT analysis found that 68 of the 127 drug-resistant isolates were PZA-resistant. Nearly all (63/68) PZA-resistant isolates had diverse nucleotide changes scattered throughout the pncA gene, and five PZA-resistant isolates had no pncA mutations. Of the 47 phenotypically susceptible isolates, 46 were susceptible to PZA, while one isolate was PZA-monoresistant (OR = 53.0, 95% CI = 7.1-396.5). A pncA polymorphism (Thr114Met) that did not confer PZA resistance was also identified. PZA resistance was strongly associated with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). CONCLUSION: An alarmingly high proportion of South African drug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates are PZA-resistant, indicating that PZA should not be relied upon in managing patients with MDR-TB in the Western Cape. A method for the rapid detection of PZA resistance would be beneficial in managing patients with suspected drug resistance.


Subject(s)
Antitubercular Agents/therapeutic use , Drug Resistance, Microbial , Pyrazinamide/therapeutic use , Tuberculosis/drug therapy , Antitubercular Agents/pharmacology , Base Sequence , DNA Primers , Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics , Humans , Mutation , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/drug effects , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Pyrazinamide/pharmacology
7.
Prosthet Orthot Int ; 28(1): 37-43, 2004 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-15171576

ABSTRACT

The medical records of 186 patients seeking treatment for landmine injuries in the authors' region between 1993 and 2001 were evaluated. Of these patients 13 died of accompanying complications. Ten (10) patients with general body trauma and upper limb trauma were excluded from the study. Of 163 patients with lower-limb injuries included in the study, 21 with traumatic amputation underwent surgical amputation at different levels. Patients without traumatic amputation were divided into 2 groups. There were 41 patients (29%) in Group I who were treated by limb salvage procedures. Treatments used in Group I including wound debridement, tendon repair, skin approximation, minimal osteosynthesis, external fixation of long bones and secondary wound coverage. In Group II, there were 101 patients (71%) with primary amputation. Trans-tibial amputation was performed in 52 cases (51.4%), ankle disarticulation in 24 (23.7%), trans-femoral amputation in 9 (8.9%), partial foot amputation in 8 (7.9%), knee disarticulation in 7 (6.9%) and hip disarticulation in 1 case. In Group I, there was infection in 21 patients (51.2%), revision in 27 (65.8%), and amputation in 15 (36.5%). In Group II, there was infection in 28 patients (27.7%), revision in 17 (16.8%), and amputation at a higher level in 8 (7%). In crush injuries such as those resulting from landmines, soft tissue, vascular, and neurological assessment must be performed with utmost care. Even so, the desired success in interventions intended to save a limb is complicated by a high infection rate, soft tissue complications, and high revision amputation rates. Therefore, a decision to amputate in the early term based on an accurate preoperative assessment is crucial.


Subject(s)
Blast Injuries/surgery , Leg Injuries/surgery , Multiple Trauma/surgery , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Amputation, Surgical , Amputation, Traumatic/epidemiology , Amputation, Traumatic/surgery , Blast Injuries/pathology , Child , Child, Preschool , Debridement , Female , Foot Injuries/surgery , Humans , Leg Injuries/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Multiple Trauma/etiology , Multiple Trauma/pathology , Necrosis
8.
Microbiology (Reading) ; 149(Pt 11): 3213-3220, 2003 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-14600233

ABSTRACT

Using molecular methods the authors have studied mycobacterial DNA taken from a 19th century victim of tuberculosis. This was the case from which Robert Koch first isolated and cultured the organism responsible for tuberculosis. The mycobacteria were preserved within five glass culture tubes as abundant bacterial colonies on slopes of a gelatinous culture medium of unknown composition. Originally presented by Koch to surgical laryngologist Walter Jobson Horne in London in 1901, the relic has, since 1983, been in the care of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Light and electron microscopy established the presence of acid-fast mycobacteria but showed that morphological preservation was generally poor. Eleven different genomic loci were successfully amplified by PCR. This series of experiments confirmed that the organisms were indeed Mycobacterium tuberculosis and further showed that the original strain was in evolutionary terms similar to 'modern' isolates, having undergone the TB D1 deletion. Attempts to determine the genotypic group of the isolate were only partially successful, due in part to the degraded nature of the DNA and possibly also to a truncation in the katG gene, which formed part of the classification scheme. Spoligotyping resulted in amplification of DR spacers consistent with M. tuberculosis but with discrepancies between independent extracts, stressing the limitations of this typing method when applied to poorly preserved material.


Subject(s)
Bacteriology/history , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Bacteriology/trends , Base Sequence , DNA Primers , DNA, Bacterial/isolation & purification , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/ultrastructure , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Tuberculosis/history
9.
Tuberculosis (Edinb) ; 83(5): 299-309, 2003.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-12972343

ABSTRACT

SETTING: The success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a human pathogen depends on its ability to tolerate and perhaps manipulate host defense mechanisms. OBJECTIVE: To determine the induction of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), a central mediator of immunity, by human monocytes infected with virulent M. tuberculosis, M. leprae and attenuated M. bovis BCG. DESIGN: Mycobacteria-induced cellular activation pathways of TNF alpha production was investigated using an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase (PTKs) and an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. RESULTS: TNF alpha production was significantly lower during infection with virulent M. tuberculosis than with BCG and this differential response was independent of mycobacterial viability. TNF alpha production involved the PTK and MAP kinase pathways. Reduced TNF alpha induction by M. tuberculosis was associated with a reduction in the extent and duration of phosphorylation of extracellular-signal regulated kinases (ERK 1/2). Infection with M. leprae triggered low and transient ERK 1/2 activation as well as low TNF alpha production. CONCLUSION: Maintenance of the differential response in both live and heat-killed preparations suggests that the reduced TNF alpha response associated with virulent mycobacteria is due to differences in the presence of components capable of triggering host pattern recognition receptors, rather than events associated with phagosome trafficking or the active release of intracellular modulators.


Subject(s)
MAP Kinase Signaling System/physiology , Monocytes/immunology , Mycobacterium/pathogenicity , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/biosynthesis , BCG Vaccine/immunology , Cells, Cultured , Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology , Flavonoids/pharmacology , Genistein/pharmacology , Humans , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism , Monocytes/microbiology , Mycobacterium/immunology , Phosphorylation , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors , Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism , Virulence
11.
J Clin Microbiol ; 39(12): 4558-62, 2001 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11724883

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium bovis has the broadest host range of species in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and is responsible for disease in humans and diverse animal species. We report on genotypic differences at multiple loci among 13 isolates derived from a range of human and animal infections. All isolates were classified as M. bovis by phenotypic analysis but could be subdivided into five distinct genotypes based on polymorphisms at the pncA and oxyR loci, the status of the RD5 deletion region, and the spoligotype pattern. These findings suggest the existence of a spectrum of strains with genotypic characteristics between those of M. tuberculosis and M. bovis.


Subject(s)
Genetic Variation , Mycobacterium bovis/classification , Mycobacterium bovis/isolation & purification , Tuberculosis/microbiology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Amidohydrolases/genetics , Animals , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Cats , Cattle , Female , Genotype , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium bovis/genetics , Oligonucleotides/analysis , Phenotype , Tuberculosis/veterinary
13.
Am J Hypertens ; 14(9 Pt 1): 879-86, 2001 Sep.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11587153

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Previously, we reported that elevated extracellular potassium concentration in vitro inhibited proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, formation of free radical compounds by macrophages, and reduced platelet sensitivity to agonists. More recently, we described a reduction in neointimal proliferation after balloon angioplasty injury in the carotid arteries of rats associated with an elevation of dietary potassium intake during a 4-week experiment. In the present study we conducted a similar investigation in the swine coronary artery balloon angioplasty model. PROCEDURES: Two groups of seven castrated male swine were studied; for 28 days the normal potassium group consumed a diet containing 0.25% potassium and the high potassium group ate diet containing 2.0% potassium. After 14 days on the diet, balloon angioplasty was performed. After an additional 14 days on the same diets the hearts were removed, and normal and lesioned sections of the artery were analyzed histologically. RESULTS: The neointimal area was markedly less in the high potassium group than in the normal potassium group, 0.33+/-0.04 mm2 v 0.74+/-0.10 mm2 (P < .004). Neointimal area-to-total wall area ratio in the normal potassium group averaged 0.199+/-0.018, significantly greater than the ratio computed for the elevated potassium group, 0.120+/-0.015 (P < .006). CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis that a high level of dietary potassium intake inhibits neointimal proliferation after balloon angioplasty in the swine coronary artery.


Subject(s)
Coronary Vessels/cytology , Potassium, Dietary/administration & dosage , Potassium, Dietary/pharmacology , Tunica Intima/cytology , Aldosterone/blood , Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/adverse effects , Animals , Cell Division/drug effects , Coronary Stenosis/blood , Coronary Stenosis/complications , Coronary Stenosis/therapy , Coronary Thrombosis/etiology , Coronary Vessels/drug effects , Coronary Vessels/surgery , Disease Models, Animal , Male , Mississippi , Models, Cardiovascular , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/drug effects , Potassium/blood , Potassium, Dietary/metabolism , Renin/blood , Swine , Tunica Intima/drug effects , Tunica Intima/surgery
14.
Infect Immun ; 69(11): 6676-82, 2001 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11598037

ABSTRACT

With a view to exploring the role of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) during mycobacterial infection, recombinant clones of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were engineered to express the natural antagonist of TGF-beta, latency-activated peptide (LAP). Induction of TGF-beta activity was reduced when macrophages were infected with BCG expressing the LAP construct (LAP-BCG). There was a significant reduction in the growth of LAP-BCG in comparison to that of control BCG following intravenous infection in a mouse model. The enhanced control of mycobacterial replication was associated with an increase in the production of gamma interferon by splenocytes challenged during the acute stage of infection but with a diminished recall response assessed after 13 weeks. Organ weight and hydroxyproline content, representing tissue pathology, were also lower in mice infected with LAP-BCG. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that TGF-beta has a detrimental effect on mycobacterial immunity. While a reduction in TGF-beta activity augments the initial response to BCG vaccination, early bacterial clearance may adversely affect the induction of a long-term memory response by LAP-BCG.


Subject(s)
Mycobacterium bovis/immunology , Peptide Fragments/immunology , Protein Precursors/immunology , Transforming Growth Factor beta/antagonists & inhibitors , Tuberculosis/immunology , Animals , Cell Line , Disease Models, Animal , Humans , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mycobacterium bovis/genetics , Mycobacterium bovis/pathogenicity , Peptide Fragments/genetics , Protein Precursors/genetics , Recombination, Genetic , Transforming Growth Factor beta1
15.
Scand J Infect Dis ; 33(6): 403-4, 2001.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11450856

ABSTRACT

Effective global control of tuberculosis is likely to require intervention at multiple points in the course of infection. In addition to existing approaches based on treatment of active disease and preventive vaccination of unexposed individuals, current research on the biology of mycobacterial persistence suggests the potential for the development of novel disease-control strategies targeted at infected asymptomatic populations.


Subject(s)
BCG Vaccine/therapeutic use , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/metabolism , Tuberculosis/prevention & control , Animals , Humans , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology , Tuberculosis/microbiology
16.
J Am Chem Soc ; 123(19): 4446-50, 2001 May 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11457229

ABSTRACT

To assess stereoelectronic effects in the cleavage of tetrahedral intermediates, a series of five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic guanidinium salts was synthesized. If stereoelectronic control by antiperiplanar lone pairs is operative, these are expected to hydrolyze with endocyclic C-N cleavage to acyclic ureas. However, hydrolysis in basic media produces mixtures of cyclic and acyclic products, as determined by 1H NMR analysis. The results show that in the six-membered ring antiperiplanar lone pairs provide a weak acceleration of the breakdown of the tetrahedral intermediate, but in five- and seven-membered rings there is no evidence for such acceleration, which instead can be provided by syn lone pairs.


Subject(s)
Guanidine/chemistry , Hydrolysis , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Stereoisomerism , Urea/chemistry
17.
J Am Chem Soc ; 123(19): 4451-8, 2001 May 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11457230

ABSTRACT

Nucleophilic addition to 1,3-dimethyl-5-phenyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidinium ion provides a quantitative measure of stereoelectronic control. This amidinium ion presents the nucleophile with two distinct paths for attack. Axial attack is favored by interaction between the orbital of the developing bond and antiperiplanar lone pairs on the nitrogens. Reaction of the amidinium salt with diverse nucleophiles (D(-), H3C(-), n-Bu(-), PhCH2(-), allyl(-), Ph(-), C5F6(-), CH2=CH(-), HC triple bond C(-), PhC triple bond C(-), CN(-)) produces mixtures of cis and trans stereoisomers. Both kinetic and thermodynamic product distributions were measured by 1H NMR, before and after acid-catalyzed equilibration. The values provide insight into the roles of steric and stereoelectronic forces at the transition state and in products. Stereoelectronic effects on reactivity are found to be weak (ca. 1 kcal/mol).


Subject(s)
Amides/chemistry , Catalysis , Ions , Kinetics , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Stereoisomerism , Thermodynamics
18.
Nat Med ; 7(6): 732-7, 2001 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11385512

ABSTRACT

Elevated expression of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) can benefit a microbial pathogen struggling to penetrate host defenses during infection, but at the same time might provide a crucial signal alerting the host immune system to its presence. To determine which of these effects predominate, we constructed a mutant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that constitutively overexpresses Hsp70 proteins. Although the mutant was fully virulent in the initial stage of infection, it was significantly impaired in its ability to persist during the subsequent chronic phase. Induction of microbial genes encoding HSPs might provide a novel strategy to boost the immune response of individuals with latent tuberculosis infection.


Subject(s)
Bacterial Proteins , HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics , HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/physiology , Tuberculosis/microbiology , Animals , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Gene Expression , Heat-Shock Proteins/genetics , Humans , Interferon-gamma/metabolism , Lung/microbiology , Lung/pathology , Macrophages/metabolism , Macrophages/microbiology , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mutation , Mycobacterium bovis/genetics , Mycobacterium bovis/physiology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/pathogenicity , Repressor Proteins/genetics , Spleen/immunology , Spleen/metabolism , Temperature , Tuberculosis/immunology , Tuberculosis/pathology
19.
Immunology ; 102(4): 441-9, 2001 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11328378

ABSTRACT

The potential for development of mycobacteria as T helper type 1 (Th1) vaccines capable of induction of Th1 responses to recombinant antigens was explored in a model system based on an immunodominant peptide from house dust mite. Different recombinant mycobacterial preparations were compared for their ability to induce a Th1 response to the peptidea. It was found that mycobacterial viability was not a prerequisite for Th1 immunogenicity. A dominant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) response to peptide was observed in splenocytes from C57BL/6J mice immunized with live or heat-killed preparations of recombinant Mycobacterium vaccae or with live attenuated bacillus Calmette-Guèrin (BCG) vaccine expressing the antigen. Interleukin-5 (IL-5), a marker of a Th2 response, was detected only in mice receiving live M. vaccae. A similar pattern was observed in BALB/b mice, although the magnitude of the IFN-gamma response was much lower. Control and immunized mice were subsequently exposed to allergen using a Th2-inducing challenge protocol. A significant shift from a Th2 to a Th1 response was observed in immunized mice, as judged by cytokine expression by splenocytes and by subclass of circulating antibody. The effect was seen in three inbred mouse strains differing in their innate bias towards Th1 or Th2 responses. It was dependent on the presence of specific antigen in the mycobacterial preparation and, under the immunization conditions tested, was more pronounced with dead M. vaccae than with live BCG as carrier vaccine. The results demonstrate the potency of killed mycobacteria as Th1 adjuvants and suggest a potential application for recombinant mycobacteria in antigen-specific immune modulation.


Subject(s)
Allergens/immunology , Bacterial Vaccines/immunology , Glycoproteins/immunology , Mycobacterium/immunology , Th1 Cells/immunology , Adjuvants, Immunologic , Animals , Antigens, Dermatophagoides , Female , Immunoglobulin G/biosynthesis , Interferon-gamma/biosynthesis , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mites/immunology , Mycobacterium bovis/immunology , Species Specificity , Spleen/immunology , Th2 Cells/immunology , Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
20.
Am J Phys Anthropol ; 114(4): 298-311, 2001 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11275959

ABSTRACT

Nine human skeletons of medieval date from a rural English burial site show signs of skeletal tuberculosis. They were subject to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays aimed at detecting traces of DNA from infecting mycobacteria, with the purpose both of confirming the paleopathological diagnosis of tuberculosis and determining in individual cases whether disease was due to M. tuberculosis or M. bovis. In all nine cases, evidence for M. tuberculosis complex DNA was found, and in all instances it appeared that disease was due to M. tuberculosis rather than M. bovis. The significance of the findings for understanding tuberculous infection in rural agrarian communities in medieval England is discussed.


Subject(s)
DNA-Binding Proteins , Paleopathology , Tuberculosis/history , Type C Phospholipases , Adult , Amidohydrolases/chemistry , Amidohydrolases/genetics , Bacterial Proteins/chemistry , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Bone and Bones/chemistry , Bone and Bones/microbiology , Bone and Bones/ultrastructure , DNA, Bacterial , England , Female , History, Medieval , Housing/history , Humans , Male , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Middle Aged , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Repressor Proteins/chemistry , Repressor Proteins/genetics , Transcription Factors/chemistry , Transcription Factors/genetics , Tuberculosis/microbiology
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