Signature-tagged mutagenesis and co-infection studies demonstrate the importance of P fimbriae in a murine model of urinary tract infection.

Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs), one of the most common infections in humans. P fimbria was arguably the first proposed virulence factor for uropathogenic E. coli, based on the capacity of E.

Identification of speckle-type POZ protein somatic mutations in African American prostate cancer.

The speckle-type POZ protein (SPOP) is a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer (PCa). SPOP somatic mutations have been reported in up to 15% of PCa of those of European descent. However, the genetic roles of SPOP in African American (AA)-PCa are currently unknown.

Aberrant DNA methylation and prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent cancer, a significant contributor to morbidity and a leading cause of cancer-related death in men in Western industrialized countries. In contrast to genetic changes that vary among individual cases, somatic epigenetic alterations are early and highly consistent events. Epigenetics encompasses several different phenomena, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, RNA interference, and genomic imprinting.

Role of the K2 capsule in Escherichia coli urinary tract infection and serum resistance.

Background: Capsule expression may be important during ascending Escherichia coli urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Methods: An isogenic ksl(k2)ABCDE mutant of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strain CFT073 that could not synthesize the K2 capsule was compared with wild-type CFT073, to determine virulence in a murine model of ascending UTI and in vitro killing assays.

Analysis of antibody response in humans to the type A OspC loop 5 domain and assessment of the potential utility of the loop 5 epitope in Lyme disease vaccine development.

The OspC protein of Borrelia burgdorferi is an immunodominant antigen. Here we demonstrate that the loop 5 domain of type A OspC is surface exposed, elicits bactericidal antibody in mice, and is antigenic in humans. The data suggest that loop 5 may be suitable for inclusion in a polyvalent, chimeric OspC vaccinogen.

Development of an OspC-based tetravalent, recombinant, chimeric vaccinogen that elicits bactericidal antibody against diverse Lyme disease spirochete strains.

Lyme disease is the most common arthropod-borne disease in North America and Europe. At present, there is no commercially available vaccine for use in humans. Outer surface protein C (OspC) has antigenic and expression characteristics that make it an attractive vaccine candidate; however, sequence heterogeneity has impeded its use as a vaccinogen.

Selective binding of Borrelia burgdorferi OspE paralogs to factor H and serum proteins from diverse animals: possible expansion of the role of OspE in Lyme disease pathogenesis.

The binding of Borrelia burgdorferi OspE, OspF, and family 163 (Elp) proteins to factor H/factor H-like protein 1 (FHL-1) and other serum proteins from different animals was assessed. OspE paralogs bound factor H and unidentified serum proteins from a subset of animals, while OspF and Elp proteins did not. These data advance our understanding of factor H binding, the host range of the Lyme spirochetes, and the expanding role of OspE in pathogenesis.

PhoU enhances the ability of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073 to colonize the murine urinary tract.

The phoU gene is the last cistron in the pstSCAB-phoU operon and functions as a negative regulator of the Pho regulon. The authors previously identified a phoU mutant of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073 and demonstrated that this mutant was attenuated for survival in the murine model of ascending urinary tract infection. It is hypothesized that the PhoU protein might serve as a urovirulence factor by indirectly affecting the expression of virulence-related genes.

Demonstration of OspC type diversity in invasive human lyme disease isolates and identification of previously uncharacterized epitopes that define the specificity of the OspC murine antibody response.

Outer surface protein C (OspC) of the Lyme disease spirochetes is an important virulence factor that has potential utility for vaccine development. Of the 21 OspC types that have been identified, it has been postulated that types A, B, I, and K are specifically associated with invasive infections. Through an analysis of isolates collected from patients in Maryland we found that OspC types C, D, and N are also associated with invasive infections.

Transcriptome of uropathogenic Escherichia coli during urinary tract infection.

A uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073-specific DNA microarray that includes each open reading frame was used to analyze the transcriptome of CFT073 bacteria isolated directly from the urine of infected CBA/J mice. The in vivo expression profiles were compared to that of E. coli CFT073 grown statically to exponential phase in rich medium, revealing the strategies this pathogen uses in vivo for colonization, growth, and survival in the urinary tract environment.

Identification and characterization of a novel uropathogenic Escherichia coli-associated fimbrial gene cluster.

Recently, we identified a fimbrial usher gene in uropathogenic Escherichia coli strain CFT073 that is absent from an E. coli laboratory strain. Analysis of the CFT073 genome indicates that this fimbrial usher gene is part of a novel fimbrial gene cluster, aufABCDEFG.

Type 1 fimbriae and extracellular polysaccharides are preeminent uropathogenic Escherichia coli virulence determinants in the murine urinary tract.

Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Despite the association of numerous bacterial factors with uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), few such factors have been proved to be required for UTI in animal models.