Oroya fever and verruga peruana: bartonelloses unique to South America.

Bartonella bacilliformis is the bacterial agent of Carrión's disease and is presumed to be transmitted between humans by phlebotomine sand flies. Carrión's disease is endemic to high-altitude valleys of the South American Andes, and the first reported outbreak (1871) resulted in over 4,000 casualties. Since then, numerous outbreaks have been documented in endemic regions, and over the last two decades, outbreaks have occurred at atypical elevations, strongly suggesting that the area of endemicity is expanding.

Studies on the antimicrobial properties of N-acylated ciprofloxacins.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been a mainstay in the treatment of bacterial diseases. The most notable representative, ciprofloxacin, possesses potent antimicrobial activity; however, a rise in resistance to this agent necessitates development of novel derivatives to prolong the clinical lifespan of these antibiotics. Herein we have synthesized and analyzed the antimicrobial properties of a library of N-acylated ciprofloxacin analogues.

Plasmid-based system for high-level gene expression and antisense gene knockdown in Bartonella henselae.

Six broad-host-range plasmid vectors were developed to study gene expression in Bartonella henselae. The vectors were used to express a beta-galactosidase reporter gene in B. henselae and to generate antisense RNA for gene knockdown.

Generation and characterization of an attenuated mutant in a response regulator gene of Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS).

Francisella tularensis is a zoonotic bacterium that must exist in diverse environments ranging from arthropod vectors to mammalian hosts. To better understand how virulence genes are regulated in these different environments, a transcriptional response regulator gene (genome locus FTL0552) was deleted in F. tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS).

Bartonella-induced endothelial cell proliferation is mediated by release of calcium from intracellular stores.

The facultative intracellular bacterium Bartonella henselae induces unique angiogenic lesions in immunocompromised hosts. To determine the role of intracellular calcium pools in B. henselae-induced endothelial cell proliferation, we generated B.

Autocrine role for interleukin-8 in Bartonella henselae-induced angiogenesis.

The gram-negative bacterium Bartonella henselae is capable of causing angiogenic lesions as a result of infection. Previously, it has been shown that B. henselae infection can result in production of the chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8).

Interaction of Bartonella henselae with endothelial cells promotes monocyte/macrophage chemoattractant protein 1 gene expression and protein production and triggers monocyte migration.

Bacillary angiomatosis (BA), one of the many clinical manifestations resulting from infection with the facultative intracellular bacterium Bartonella henselae, is characterized by angiogenic lesions. Macrophages have been identified as important effector cells contributing to the angiogenic process during B. henselae infection by infiltrating BA lesions and secreting vascular endothelial growth factor.

The role of the host immune response in pathogenesis of Bartonella henselae.

Bartonella henselae can infect humans resulting in a wide range of disease syndromes including cat-scratch disease, fever with bacteremia, endocarditis, bacillary angiomatosis, and bacillary peliosis hepatis, among others. The nature and severity of the clinical presentation correlates well with the status of the hosts' immune system. Individuals with impaired immune function, including HIV infection, progress to systemic infections more often.

Induction of a potential paracrine angiogenic loop between human THP-1 macrophages and human microvascular endothelial cells during Bartonella henselae infection.

Bartonella henselae is responsible for various disease syndromes that loosely correlate with the immune status of the host. In the immunocompromised individual, B. henselae-induced angiogenesis, or bacillary angiomatosis, is characterized by vascular proliferative lesions similar to those in Kaposi's sarcoma.