[Evaluation of the quality of drinking water in Senigallia (Italy), including the presence of asbestos fibres, and of morbidity and mortality due to gastrointestinal tumours].

The aim was to evaluate the organoleptic quality of drinking water conducted in asbestos cement piping, in eleven towns in the Marche region (Italy) and the presence of asbestos fibres. A descriptive survey was also conducted to assess possible health effects in the population, in particular morbidity and mortality due to gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. Study results show a very low concentration of free asbestos fibres in water samples examined.

Detection of free-living and plankton-bound vibrios in coastal waters of the Adriatic Sea (Italy) and study of their pathogenicity-associated properties.

Culturable vibrios were isolated from water and plankton fractions collected during an 18-month sampling study performed along the north-central coast of the Adriatic Sea (Italy). Unculturable Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus were detected in plankton fractions by polymerase chain reaction amplification of DNA sequences for cytotoxin-haemolysin and thermolabile haemolysin respectively.

Vibrio cholerae persistence in aquatic environments and colonization of intestinal cells: involvement of a common adhesion mechanism.

Forty-one Tnpho A mutants of Vibrio cholerae O1 classical strain CD81 were analyzed for their ability to interact with chitin particles, Tigriopus fulvus copepods and the Intestine 407 cell line compared to the parent strain. Thirteen mutants were less adhesive than CD81; in particular, T21, T33 and T87 were less adhesive towards all substrates and insensitive to inhibition by N-acetyl glucosamine (GlcNAc). By SDS-PAGE analysis of sarkosyl-insoluble membrane proteins (siMPs) isolated from mutants and parent, it was found that a 53 kDa siMP is missing in T21, T33 and T87 mutants.

Persistence of adhesive properties in Vibrio cholerae after long-term exposure to sea water.

The effect of exposure to artificial sea water (ASW) on the ability of classical Vibrio cholerae O1 cells to interact with chitin-containing substrates and human intestinal cells was studied. Incubation of vibrios in ASW at 5 degrees C and 18 degrees C resulted in two kinds of cell responses: the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state (i.e.

Role for mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin in promoting interactions between Vibrio cholerae El Tor and mussel hemolymph.

The role of mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin (MSHA) in Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor interactions with hemolymph of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was studied. Bacterial adherence to and association with hemocytes were evaluated at 4 and 18 degrees C, respectively. In hemolymph serum, the wild-type strain N16961 adhered to and associated with hemocytes about twofold more efficiently than its mutant lacking MSHA.