Development of a specific real-time PCR assay for simultaneous detection and differentiation of Coxiella burnetii strains from environmental soil samples.

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a small, coccoid, Gram-negative strict intracellular pathogen. One of the most common ways of acquiring Q fever is through inhalation of aerosols containing the bacteria. Because C.

Development of anti-membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase nanobodies as immunoPET probes for triple negative breast cancer imaging.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by aggressiveness and high rates of metastasis. The identification of relevant biomarkers is crucial to improve outcomes for TNBC patients. Membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) could be a good candidate because its expression has been reported to correlate with tumor malignancy, progression and metastasis.

OmpU as a biomarker for rapid discrimination between toxigenic and epidemic Vibrio cholerae O1/O139 and non-epidemic Vibrio cholerae in a modified MALDI-TOF MS assay.

Background: Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae. Outbreaks are caused by a genetically homogenous group of strains from serogroup O1 or O139 that are able to produce the cholera toxin. Rapid detection and identification of these epidemic strains is essential for an effective response to cholera outbreaks.

Phenotypic and genetic analyses of 111 clinical and environmental O1, O139, and non-O1/O139 Vibrio cholerae strains from different geographical areas.

A total of 111 clinical and environmental O1, O139 and non-O1/O139 Vibrio cholerae strains isolated between 1978 and 2008 from different geographical areas were typed using a combination of methods: antibiotic susceptibility, biochemical test, serogroup, serotype, biotype, sequences containing variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTRs) and virulence genes ctxA and tcpA amplification. As a result of the performed typing work, the strains were organized into four clusters: cluster A1 included clinical O1 Ogawa and O139 serogroup strains (ctxA(+) and tcpA(+)); cluster A2 included clinical non-O1/O139 strains (ctxA(-) and tcpA(-)), as well as environmental O1 Inaba and non-O1/O139 strains (ctxA(-) and tcpA(-)/tcpA(+)); cluster B1 contained two clinical O1 strains and environmental non-O1/O139 strains (ctxA(-) and tcpA(+)/tcpA(-)); cluster B2 contained clinical O1 Inaba and Ogawa strains (ctxA(+) and tcpA(+)). The results of this work illustrate the advantage of combining several typing methods to discriminate between clinical and environmental V.

Recovery of Francisella tularensis from soil samples by filtration and detection by real-time PCR and cELISA.

The aim of this study was to develop a specific and highly sensitive method able to detect very low concentrations of Francisella tularensis in soil samples by real-time PCR (qPCR) with SYBR Green I. tul4 gene, which encodes the 17-kDa protein (TUL4) in F. tularensis strains, was amplified using a LightCycler (LC) device.