Publications by authors named "Kate J Howell"

is one of the most important zoonotic bacterial pathogens of pigs, causing significant economic losses to the global swine industry. is also a very successful colonizer of mucosal surfaces, and commensal strains can be found in almost all pig populations worldwide, making detection of the species in asymptomatic carrier herds of little practical value in predicting the likelihood of future clinical relevance. The value of future molecular tools for surveillance and preventative health management lies in the detection of strains that genetically have increased potential to cause disease in presently healthy animals.

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Objective: Human intestinal epithelial organoids (IEOs) are increasingly being recognised as a highly promising translational research tool. However, our understanding of their epigenetic molecular characteristics and behaviour in culture remains limited.

Design: We performed genome-wide DNA methylation and transcriptomic profiling of human IEOs derived from paediatric/adult and fetal small and large bowel as well as matching purified human gut epithelium.

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Background & Aims: We analyzed DNA methylation patterns and transcriptomes of primary intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) of children newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to learn more about pathogenesis.

Methods: We obtained mucosal biopsies (N = 236) collected from terminal ileum and ascending and sigmoid colons of children (median age 13 years) newly diagnosed with IBD (43 with Crohn's disease [CD], 23 with ulcerative colitis [UC]), and 30 children without IBD (controls). Patients were recruited and managed at a hospital in the United Kingdom from 2013 through 2016.

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The embryonic mouse lung is a widely used substitute for human lung development. For example, attempts to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells to lung epithelium rely on passing through progenitor states that have only been described in mouse. The tip epithelium of the branching mouse lung is a multipotent progenitor pool that self-renews and produces differentiating descendants.

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is a diverse bacterial species that is found in the upper respiratory tracts of pigs and can also cause Glässer's disease and pneumonia. A previous pangenome study of identified 48 genes that were associated with clinical disease. Here, we describe the development of a generalized linear model (termed a pathotyping model) to predict the potential virulence of isolates of based on a subset of 10 genes from the pangenome.

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Streptococcus suis is a major porcine and zoonotic pathogen responsible for significant economic losses in the pig industry and an increasing number of human cases. Multiple isolates of S. suis show marked genomic diversity.

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Haemophilus parasuis causes Glässer's disease and pneumonia in pigs. Indirect hemagglutination (IHA) is typically used to serotype this bacterium, distinguishing 15 serovars with some nontypeable isolates. The capsule loci of the 15 reference strains have been annotated, and significant genetic variation was identified between serovars, with the exception of serovars 5 and 12.

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Haemophilus parasuis is a common inhabitant of the upper respiratory tract of pigs, and the causative agent of Glässer's disease. This disease is characterized by polyserositis and arthritis, produced by the severe inflammation caused by the systemic spread of the bacterium. After an initial colonization of the upper respiratory tract, H.

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Streptococcus suis causes disease in pigs worldwide and is increasingly implicated in zoonotic disease in East and South-East Asia. To understand the genetic basis of disease in S. suis, we study the genomes of 375 isolates with detailed clinical phenotypes from pigs and humans from the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

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Background: Haemophilus parasuis is the etiologic agent of Glässer's disease in pigs and causes devastating losses to the farming industry. Whilst some hyper-virulent isolates have been described, the relationship between genetics and disease outcome has been only partially established. In particular, there is weak correlation between serovar and disease phenotype.

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Haemophilus parasuis is a commensal bacterium of the upper respiratory tract of healthy pigs. It is also the etiological agent of Glässer's disease, a systemic disease characterized by polyarthritis, fibrinous polyserositis and meningitis, which causes high morbidity and mortality in piglets. The aim of this study was to evaluate biofilm formation by well-characterized virulent and non-virulent strains of H.

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Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of Glässer's disease, a systemic disease of pigs, and is also associated with pneumonia. H. parasuis can be classified into 15 different serovars.

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