Publications by authors named "Mariko Hakamata"
Article Synopsis
- Aspergillus-specific antibodies are used to diagnose allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but tests for these were not commonly used in Japan.
- A study evaluated 64 patients with suspected ABPA and CPA using two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to measure serum Aspergillus IgG levels.
- Results showed that both the Bordier and Bio-Rad kits had high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing CPA and ABPA, making them good alternatives to the discontinued precipitin test in clinical settings in Japan.
Article Synopsis
- * The study investigated producing Mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP1) using two methods, recombinant proteins from E. coli and Mycolicibacterium smegmatis, to test their ability to boost the immune response in BCG-vaccinated individuals.
- * Results indicated that mMDP1, derived from the avirulent Mycolicibacterium smegmatis, was most effective in stimulating IFN-gamma production when combined with a novel CpG DNA called G9.1
Article Synopsis
- Mycobacteria can enter a dormant state that makes them major human pathogens, and a protein called MDP1 is key in inducing this dormancy by compacting DNA and suppressing growth.
- The intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of MDP1 plays a crucial role in DNA compaction, even though its disordered nature complicates understanding its molecular mechanisms.
- Research using high-speed atomic force microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that MDP1’s IDR acts like double-sided tape, cross-linking DNA duplexes to induce a dormant state in mycobacteria, effectively halting their growth.
Article Synopsis
- The study explores the connection between iron metabolism and infectious diseases, particularly in adult patients with bloodstream infections, to improve diagnosis and treatment amid rising antibiotic resistance.
- It analyzed blood samples from 48 patients, noting that during acute infections, levels of hepcidin and lipocalin-2 (LCN2) surged, while iron levels dropped significantly in 95.8% of cases.
- Findings revealed that elevated hepcidin contributes to low iron availability, potentially hindering pathogens' ability to acquire iron, while LCN2 also plays a role in blocking this process during the acute phase of sepsis.
Survival of the live attenuated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine amidst harsh host environments is key for BCG effectiveness as it allows continuous immune response induction and protection against tuberculosis. Mycobacterial DNA binding protein 1 (MDP1), a nucleoid associated protein, is essential in BCG. However, there is limited knowledge on the extent of MDP1 gene regulation and how this influences BCG survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. There is an urgent need to develop new antituberculosis drugs with novel modes of action to cure drug-resistant tuberculosis and shorten the chemotherapy period by sterilizing tissues infected with dormant bacteria. Lysocin E is an antibiotic that showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus by binding to its menaquinone (commonly known as vitamin K).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: This study aimed to examine the factors associated with cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia and the time of onset of CMV antigenemia among patients with rheumatic diseases.
Methods: A single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted in our institution from January 2009 to December 2017. This study included patients with rheumatic diseases who had at least one CMV antigen measurement.
Isoprenoids with reduced Z,E-mixed prenyl groups are found in various organisms. To date, only polyprenol reductases (PR-Dol) involved in dolichol biosynthesis have been identified as enzymes capable of reducing Z,E-mixed prenyl groups. Although C -isoprenoids with reduced Z,E-mixed prenyl groups are found in mycobacteria, Z,E-mixed heptaprenyl reductase (HepR) remains unidentified.
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- Different (1→3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) measurement kits have unique methods and cut-off values, and there's a need to compare their effectiveness in diagnosing invasive fungal infections (IFIs).
- The study evaluated BDG levels from clinical samples using five different kits, including a new ecologically friendly Wako-Eu kit.
- The results revealed that while most kits had high specificity and similar performance, the Wako and Wako-Eu kits had fewer false positives, making them preferable for positive predictive value in diagnosing IFIs.
DNA is basically an intracellular molecule that stores genetic information and carries instructions for growth and reproduction in all cellular organisms. However, in some bacteria, DNA has additional roles outside the cells as extracellular DNA (eDNA), which is an essential component of biofilm formation and hence antibiotic tolerance. Mycobacteria include life-threating human pathogens, most of which are slow growers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 31-year-old woman who was clinically diagnosed with Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) in childhood was admitted with complaints of dyspnea. She had hypercapnic respiratory failure accompanied by nocturnal hypoventilation. Computed tomography revealed systemic muscle atrophy and superior mesenteric artery syndrome; however, the bilateral lung fields were normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains of Beijing lineage have caused great concern because of their rapid emergence of drug resistance and worldwide spread. DNA mutation rates that reflect evolutional adaptation to host responses and the appearance of drug resistance have not been elucidated in human-infected Beijing strains. We tracked and obtained an original Mtb isolate of Beijing lineage from the 1999 tuberculosis outbreak in Japan, as well as five other isolates that spread in humans, and two isolates from the patient caused recurrence.
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