The rapid emergence of drug resistant bacteria is occurring worldwide, outpacing the development of new antibiotics. It is known that some of the main sources of antibiotics are the bacteria themselves, many of which are secondary metabolites of Gram positive bacteria. Siderophores, which are secondary metabolites, function as natural chelators (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGiardiasis is one of the most common causes of diarrheal disease worldwide. Treatment is primarily with 5-nitro antimicrobials, particularly metronidazole. Resistance to metronidazole has been described, and treatment failures can occur in up to 20% of cases, making development of alternative antigiardials an important goal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGiardia lamblia is a leading protozoan cause of diarrheal disease worldwide, yet preventive medical strategies are not available. A crude veterinary vaccine has been licensed for cats and dogs, but no defined human vaccine is available. We tested the vaccine potential of three conserved antigens previously identified in human and murine giardiasis, α1-giardin, α-enolase, and ornithine carbamoyl transferase, in a murine model of G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: Giardiasis is one of the most common causes of diarrheal disease worldwide, yet existing antimicrobial therapies are not always effective and drug resistance occurs in vivo and in vitro. The review focuses on recent advances in the development of new antigiardial drug candidates.
Recent Findings: Modification of existing drug leads is a major strategy to develop new high-potency drugs.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
October 2011
Infections with the diarrheagenic protozoan pathogen Giardia lamblia are most commonly treated with metronidazole (Mz). Treatment failures with Mz occur in 10 to 20% of cases and Mz resistance develops in the laboratory, yet clinically, Mz-resistant (Mz(r)) G. lamblia has rarely been isolated from patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterleukin (IL)-15 serves as a survival factor for a broad array of cells. Renal cells express both IL-15 and its receptor (IL-15R); however, the role of IL-15 in the kidney is yet to be determined. We examined IL-15 and IL-15R levels in sepsis-related renal injury, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), and cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe possibility that islets play a role in graft rejection during islet transplantation for type-1 diabetes patients holds promise for ex vivo islet manipulation and for specific anti-rejection therapy. Interleukin (IL)-15 is a T cell growth factor and chemoattractant that is expressed by non-T cells. Intragraft expression of IL-15 is elevated during acute rejection in patients and in mice, and systemic blockade of IL-15 in mice prolongs allograft survival.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Interleukin (IL)-15 is a pleiotropic cytokine known to be involved in graft rejection and to serve as a survival factor for leukocytes and epithelial cells, including renal cells. It utilizes a heterotrimeric receptor complex that consists of the IL-2 receptor betagammac subunits (IL-2/15Rbetagammac) and a unique high-affinity alpha-chain responsible for IL-15 specificity.
Methods: The cDNA of IL-15Ralpha main mRNA product was isolated from primary human tubular epithelial cells (TEC) and sequenced.