Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor-1 (CNF1) does not promote E. coli infection in a murine model of ascending pyelonephritis.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common and costly infections in both hospitalized and ambulatory patients. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) represent the majority of UTI isolates and are a diverse group of bacteria that utilize a variety of virulence factors to establish infection of the genitourinary tract.

Triple-acting Lytic Enzyme Treatment of Drug-Resistant and Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus.

Multi-drug resistant bacteria are a persistent problem in modern health care, food safety and animal health. There is a need for new antimicrobials to replace over used conventional antibiotics. Here we describe engineered triple-acting staphylolytic peptidoglycan hydrolases wherein three unique antimicrobial activities from two parental proteins are combined into a single fusion protein.

Chimeric Ply187 endolysin kills Staphylococcus aureus more effectively than the parental enzyme.

Peptidoglycan hydrolases are an effective new source of antimicrobials. A chimeric fusion protein of the Ply187 endopeptidase domain and LysK SH3b cell wall-binding domain is a potent agent against Staphylococcus aureus in four functional assays.

Antibodies to a streptococcal antigen in gingival capillary and crevicular fluid washings, collected from man and non-human primates.

The local gingival antibody response was examined in actively-immunized rhesus monkeys and in human natural immunization to the cell-surface streptococcal antigen (SA I/II). A technique was developed to collect gingival capillary and crevicular fluid washings (GCCFW) from monkeys and human subjects with clinically normal gingiva. The thin crevicular epithelium and the adjacent capillary plexus are pierced with a probe and the resulting mixture of capillary blood, tissue fluid and crevicular fluid are collected by repeated washing of the gingival crevice.