Discriminating Bacterial and Viral Infection Using a Rapid Host Gene Expression Test.

Objectives: Host gene expression signatures discriminate bacterial and viral infection but have not been translated to a clinical test platform. This study enrolled an independent cohort of patients to describe and validate a first-in-class host response bacterial/viral test.

Design: Subjects were recruited from 2006 to 2016.

Multiplex PCR testing for nine different sexually transmitted infections.

Current sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing is not optimal due to delays in reporting or missed diagnoses due to a lack of comprehensive testing. The FilmArray® (BioFire Diagnostics, LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah) is a user-friendly, fully automated, multiplex PCR system that is being developed for rapid point-of-care use. A research-use-only STI panel including multiple PCR primer sets for each organism was designed to detect Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Treponema pallidum, Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Haemophilus ducreyi, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2.

Detection of Dengue Virus in Mosquito Extracts and Human Clinical Samples Using a Field Expedient Molecular Platform.

Dengue fever occurs in localized outbreaks and can significantly erode troop strength and mission readiness. Timely identification of dengue virus (DENV) provides for rapid and appropriate patient management decisions, such as medical evacuation and supportive therapies, as well as help to promote Force Health Protection through vector control and personal protective measures. The "Ruggedized" Advanced Pathogen Identification Device is a field-friendly PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) platform that can be used to facilitate early identification of DENV.

RAZOR EX anthrax air detection system.

The RAZOR EX Anthrax Air Detection System, developed by Idaho Technology, Inc. (ITI), is a qualitative method for the detection of Bacillus anthracis spores collected by air collection devices. This system comprises a DNA extraction kit, a freeze-dried PCR reagent pouch, and the RAZOR EX real-time PCR instrument.

Iron-dependent metabolic remodeling in S. cerevisiae.

All eukaryotes require iron although iron is not readily bioavailable. Organisms expend much effort in acquiring iron and in response have evolved multiple mechanisms to acquire iron. Because iron is essential, organisms prioritize the iron use when iron is limiting; iron-sparing enzymes or metabolic pathways are utilized at the expense of iron-rich enzymes.

Recruitment of Tup1p and Cti6p regulates heme-deficient expression of Aft1p target genes.

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, transcription of genes encoding for the high-affinity iron (FET3, FTR1) and copper (CTR1) transporters does not occur in the absence of heme. We show that the Aft1p binding region of the FET3 promoter or the Mac1p binding region of the CTR1 promoter is necessary and sufficient to mediate heme-deficient repression. Transcription is repressed in the absence of heme, and a genetic screen identified Tup1p and Hda1p as being required for transcriptional repression.

Transcription of the yeast iron regulon does not respond directly to iron but rather to iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae responds to iron deprivation by increased transcription of the iron regulon, including the high affinity cell-surface transport system encoded by FET3 and FTR1. Here we demonstrate that transcription of these genes does not respond directly to cytosolic iron but rather to the mitochondrial utilization of iron for the synthesis of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters. We took advantage of a mutant form of an iron-dependent enzyme in the sterol pathway (Erg25-2p) to assess cytosolic iron levels.

Inhibition of heme biosynthesis prevents transcription of iron uptake genes in yeast.

Yeast are capable of modifying their metabolism in response to environmental changes. We investigated the activity of the oxygen-dependent high-affinity iron uptake system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under conditions of heme depletion. We found that the absence of heme, due to a deletion in the gene that encodes delta-aminolevulinic acid synthase (HEM1), resulted in decreased transcription of genes belonging to both the iron and copper regulons, but not the zinc regulon.

Protease nexin 1 is a potent urinary plasminogen activator inhibitor in the presence of collagen type IV.

Protease nexin 1 (PN1) in solution forms inhibitory complexes with thrombin or urokinase, which have opposing effects on the blood coagulation cascade. An initial report provided data supporting the idea that PN1 target protease specificity is under the influence of collagen type IV (1). Although collagen type IV demonstrated no effect on the association rate between PN1 and thrombin, the study reported that the association rate between PN1 and urokinase was allosterically reduced 10-fold.