Gardnerella vaginalis bacteremia associated with severe acute encephalopathy in a young female patient.

Gardnerella vaginalis is a facultative anaerobic bacterium that inhabits the genitourinary tract of both healthy women and those with bacterial vaginosis. We report a case of G. vaginalis bacteremia associated with severe toxic encephalopathy in a young woman.

New broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies against hepatitis B virus surface antigen.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) is considered to be the most important target for the diagnosis and immune prophylaxis of HBV infection. HBsAg-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are extensively used for studying the complex structure of the HBsAg, mapping the neutralizing epitopes and development of HBV diagnostic tests. However, the efficiency of anti-HBV binding strongly depends on the epitope structure and MAb capability to recognize different HBV variants.

The cytolytic activity of vaginolysin strictly depends on cholesterol and is potentiated by human CD59.

Gardnerella vaginalis produces cytolysin vaginolysin (VLY), which has been suggested to be a contributor to bacterial vaginosis pathogenesis. VLY along with intermedilysin (ILY) from Streptococcus intermedius have been attributed to a group of cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) whose pore-forming activity depends on human CD59 (hCD59). Here, we show that different types of cells lacking hCD59 are susceptible to VLY-mediated lysis, albeit to different extents.

Monoclonal antibodies raised against 167-180 aa sequence of human carbonic anhydrase XII inhibit its enzymatic activity.

Abstract Human carbonic anhydrase XII (CA XII) is a single-pass transmembrane protein with an extracellular catalytic domain. This enzyme is being recognized as a potential biomarker for different tumours. The current study was aimed to generate monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) neutralizing the enzymatic activity of CA XII.

Insights into the CRISPR/Cas system of Gardnerella vaginalis.

Background: Gardnerella vaginalis is identified as the predominant colonist of the vaginal tracts of women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis (BV). G. vaginalis can be isolated from healthy women, and an asymptomatic BV state is also recognised.