疾病及处理

A riboregulated network, in which small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate the stability and thus translation of transcripts (mRNA), has only recently been discovered in prokaryotes. Yet, during the last 5 years, hundreds of sRNAs have been identified in various bacterial species by using a wide variety of ...

The human-restricted pathogens Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are naturally competent for DNA uptake. This trait has been exploited extensively for genetic manipulation of these bacteria in the laboratory. Most transformation protocols were developed ...

Rapid clinical and laboratory diagnoses are the foundation for a successful management of serious infections with Neisseria meningitidis. A species-specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with fluidic microarrays using microbeads (the Luminex xMAP™ Te ...

The clinical symptoms induced by Neisseria meningitidis reflect compartmentalized intravascular and intracranial bacterial growth and inflammation. In this chapter, we describe a classification system for meningococcal disease based on the nature of the clinical sympto ...

DNA-based vaccines are currently being developed for treating a diversity of human diseases including cancers, autoimmune conditions, allergies, and microbial infections. In this chapter, we present a general protocol that can be used as a starting point for developing DNA vaccines to p ...

Most of the vaccines available today, albeit very effective, have been developed using traditional “old-style” methodologies. Technologies developed in recent years have opened up new perspectives in the field of vaccinology and novel strategies are now being used to design improved ...

The availability of Neisseria genome sequences together with improvements in proteomic technologies provide the opportunity to study at high resolution the immune response to Neisseria meningitidis. In this chapter, we describe a protocol that combines two-dimensional (2D) SD ...

Neisseria meningitidis (the meningococcus) causes significant morbidity and mortality in children and young adults worldwide through epidemic or sporadic meningitis and/or septicemia. In this review, we describe the biology, microbiology, and epidemiology of this exclusi ...

The process of cellular apoptosis is mediated by a number of microbial pathogens to modulate host defense mechanisms. Inhibition of apoptosis is thought to favor microbial survival, replication or immune evasion, while induction of apoptosis is likely to promote escape of the organisms ...

The pan-Neisseria microarray was the first bacterial microarray to address multiple strains and species, and is a tool specifically developed for the performance of comparative studies within and between species. To achieve this, its design was based upon a detailed comparison of multi ...

The innate immune system utilises a set of receptors, called pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), in order to recognise specific molecular patterns or motifs called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) on invading pathogens. The toll-like receptor (TLR) family of pro ...

A method for exploring protein–protein interactions using hydrogen/deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry is described. The method monitors the exchange of backbone (amide) hydrogens in solutions of deuterated water that primarily occur on portions of the protein exp ...

Dendritic cells (DC) play a key role in the development of natural immunity to microbes. The DC form a bridge between the innate and adaptive immune system by providing key instructions particularly to antigen na�ve T-cells. The interaction of DC with T lymphocytes involves three signals: (1) ant ...

The importance of physical forces in biology is becoming more appreciated. Neisseria gonorrhoeaehas become a paradigm for the study of physical forces in the bacterial world. Cycles of elongations and retractions of Type IV pili enables N. gonorrhoeaebacteria to exert forces on its envi ...

Shear stress levels generated by circulating blood have a strong impact on biological processes taking place in the vasculature. It is therefore important to take them into account when studying infectious agents targeting the endothelium. Here we describe a protocol using disposable ...

Neisseria meningitidisis an organism whose environmental niche is limited to the human host. It can frequently colonize the human nasopharynx and has the ability to cause severe systemic infections. These infections can be sporadic, endemic or occur in outbreaks associated with more v ...

Neisseria meningitidis is a human specific organism that causes severe sepsis and/or meningitis with high mortality. The disease scenario is rapid and much remains unknown about the disease process and host–pathogen interaction. In this chapter, we describe a protocol for generating a ...

Herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV) cause diseases that are usually self-limiting in the immunocompetent host. However, HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, and CMV are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised p ...

Expression of herpes simplex virus (HSV) polypeptides in bacterial expression systems has provided a useful tool for the generation of large quantities of specific viral proteins for use in both biochemical and functional analysis, and as immunogens for antisera production. Protei ...

Gold particles in colloidal suspension are particularly well suited as markers for immune electron microscopy. Their extreme electron opacity ensures that they are detected with accuracy even at particle sizes of less than 3 nm. Gold spheres can be made easily and inexpensively by reducti ...