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Shafiei N, Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini H, Amani J, Mirhosseini SA, Jafary H. Screening and identification of DNA nucleic acid aptamers against F1 protein of Yersinia pestis using SELEX method. Mol Biol Rep 2024; 51:722. [PMID: 38829419 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-024-09561-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Yersinia pestis is a bacterium that causes the disease plague. It has caused the deaths of many people throughout history. The bacterium possesses several virulence factors (pPla, pFra, and PYV). PFra plasmid encodes fraction 1 (F1) capsular antigen. F1 protein protects the bacterium against host immune cells through phagocytosis process. This protein is specific for Y. pestis. Many diagnostic techniques are based on molecular and serological detection and quantification of F1 protein in different food and clinical samples. Aptamers are small nucleic acid sequences that can act as specific ligands for many targets.This study, aimed to isolate the high-affinity ssDNA aptamers against F1 protein. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, SELEX was used as the main strategy in screening aptamers. Moreover, enzyme-linked aptamer sorbent assay (ELASA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) were used to determine the affinity and specificity of obtained aptamers to F1 protein. The analysis showed that among the obtained aptamers, the three aptamers of Yer 21, Yer 24, and Yer 25 were selected with a KD value of 1.344E - 7, 2.004E - 8, and 1.68E - 8 M, respectively. The limit of detection (LoD) was found to be 0.05, 0.076, and 0.033 μg/ml for Yer 21, Yer 24, and Yer 25, respectively. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that the synthesized aptamers could serve as effective tools for detecting and analyzing the F1 protein, indicating their potential value in future diagnostic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nafiseh Shafiei
- Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamideh Mahmoodzadeh Hosseini
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Biomedicine Technologies Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Jafar Amani
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Biomedicine Technologies Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Ali Mirhosseini
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Biomedicine Technologies Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hanieh Jafary
- Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
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2
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Mazzanti C, Zedda N, Bramanti B. Antimicrobial therapies administrated during the Third Plague Pandemic in Europe. LE INFEZIONI IN MEDICINA 2024; 32:254-263. [PMID: 38827832 PMCID: PMC11142408 DOI: 10.53854/liim-3202-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Plague raged in Europe for over 1400 years and was responsible for three major pandemics. Today, plague still poses a serious threat to global public health and surveillance is imperative. Plague is still present in natural reservoirs on several continents, including Africa, Asia and the Americas, and sometimes causes local cases and epidemics. The Third Plague Pandemic caused millions of deaths worldwide, including in Europe. Plague arrived in Europe in the autumn of 1896 mostly through maritime trade routes, where it spread with several epidemic events until 1945, when, in the port city of Taranto, the last known outbreak was recorded. In this paper, we present an overview of the natural history and pathogenicity of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague, its spread from Asia to Europe during the Third Pandemic, and the therapies used to treat and prevent the disease in Europe, with particular focus on the case of Taranto. In Taranto, the Pasteur Institute's antiserum antimicrobial therapy, and vaccination were used to treat and stop the advance of the bacterium, with mixed results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Mazzanti
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Zedda
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
| | - Barbara Bramanti
- Department of Environmental and Prevention Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
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3
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Gupta A, Mahajan P, Bhagyawant SS, Saxena N, Johri AK, Kumar S, Verma SK. Recombinant YopE and LcrV vaccine candidates protect mice against plague and yersiniosis. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31446. [PMID: 38826713 PMCID: PMC11141369 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
No licensed vaccine exists for the lethal plague and yersiniosis. Therefore, a combination of recombinant YopE and LcrV antigens of Yersinia pestis was evaluated for its vaccine potential in a mouse model. YopE and LcrV in formulation with alum imparted a robust humoral immune response, with isotyping profiles leaning towards the IgG1 and IgG2b subclasses. It was also observed that a significantly enhanced expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-2, and IL-1β from the splenic cells of vaccinated mice, as well as YopE and LcrV-explicit IFN-γ eliciting T-cells. The cocktail of YopE + LcrV formulation conferred complete protection against 100 LD50Y. pestis infection, while individually, LcrV and YopE provided 80 % and 60 % protection, respectively. Similarly, the YopE + LcrV vaccinated animal group had significantly lower colony forming unit (CFU) counts in the spleen and blood compared to the groups administered with YopE or LcrV alone when challenged with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica. Histopathologic evidence reinforces these results, indicating the YopE + LcrV formulation provided superior protection against acute lung injury as early as day 3 post-challenge. In conclusion, the alum-adjuvanted YopE + LcrV is a promising vaccine formulation, eliciting a robust antibody response including a milieu of pro-inflammatory cytokines and T-cell effector functions that contribute to the protective immunity against Yersinia infections. YopE and LcrV, conserved across all three human-pathogenic Yersinia species, provide cross-protection. Therefore, our current vaccine (YopE + LcrV) targets all three pathogens: Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. enterocolitica. However, the efficacy should be tested in other higher mammalian models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Gupta
- Microbiology Division, Defence Research & Developmental Establishment, Jhansi Road, Gwalior, 474002, MP, India
| | - Pooja Mahajan
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Sameer S. Bhagyawant
- School of Studies in Biotechnology, Jiwaji University, Gwalior, 474011, MP, India
| | - Nandita Saxena
- Microbiology Division, Defence Research & Developmental Establishment, Jhansi Road, Gwalior, 474002, MP, India
| | - Atul Kumar Johri
- School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India
| | - Subodh Kumar
- Microbiology Division, Defence Research & Developmental Establishment, Jhansi Road, Gwalior, 474002, MP, India
| | - Shailendra Kumar Verma
- Microbiology Division, Defence Research & Developmental Establishment, Jhansi Road, Gwalior, 474002, MP, India
- Center of Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
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4
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Wang Z, Yang J, Yang L, Zhong Y, Wang P. Characteristics of a pseudolysogenic phage vB_YpM_HQ103 infecting Yersinia pestis. Virus Res 2024; 346:199395. [PMID: 38782263 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
The plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a natural focal disease and the presence of Y. pestis in the environment is a critical ecological concern worldwide. The role of Y. pestis phages in the ecological life cycle of the plague is crucial. Previously, a temperature-sensitive phage named vB_YpM_HQ103 was isolated from plague foci in Yunnan province, China. Upon infecting the EV76 strain of Y. pestis, vB_YpM_HQ103 exhibits lysogenic behavior at 21 °C and lytic behavior at 37 °C. Various methods including continuous passage lysogenic tests, in vitro lysis tests, comparative genomic assays, fluorescence quantitative PCR and receptor identification tests were employed to demonstrate that the lysogenic life cycle of this phage is applicable to wild Y. pestis strains; its lysogeny is pseudolysogenic (carrying but not integrating), allowing it to replicate and proliferate within Y. pestis. Furthermore, we have identified the outer membrane protein OmpA of Y. pestis as the receptor for phage infection. In conclusion, our research provides insight into the characteristics and receptors of a novel Y. pestis phage infection with a pseudolysogenic cycle. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of Y. pestis phages and plague microecology, offering valuable insights for future studies on the conservation and genetic evolution of Y. pestis in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijian Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, China
| | - Jiao Yang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, China
| | - Lihua Yang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, China
| | - Youhong Zhong
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Control and Prevention, Yunnan Institute for Endemic Disease Control and Prevention, Dali, 671000, China.
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Sarfraz A, Qurrat-Ul-Ain Fatima S, Shehroz M, Ahmad I, Zaman A, Nishan U, Tayyab M, Sheheryar, Moura AA, Ullah R, Ali EA, Shah M. Decrypting the multi-genome data for chimeric vaccine designing against the antibiotic resistant Yersinia pestis. Int Immunopharmacol 2024; 132:111952. [PMID: 38555818 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.111952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a gram-negative bacterium that can be fatal if not treated properly. Three types of plague are currently known: bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague, among which the fatality rate of septicemic and pneumonic plague is very high. Bubonic plague can be treated, but only if antibiotics are used at the initial stage of the infection. But unfortunately, Y. pestis has also shown resistance to certain antibiotics such as kanamycin, minocycline, tetracycline, streptomycin, sulfonamides, spectinomycin, and chloramphenicol. Despite tremendous progress in vaccine development against Y. pestis, there is no proper FDA-approved vaccine available to protect people from its infections. Therefore, effective broad-spectrum vaccine development against Y. pestis is indispensable. In this study, vaccinomics-assisted immunoinformatics techniques were used to find possible vaccine candidates by utilizing the core proteome prepared from 58 complete genomes of Y. pestis. Human non-homologous, pathogen-essential, virulent, and extracellular and membrane proteins are potential vaccine targets. Two antigenic proteins were prioritized for the prediction of lead epitopes by utilizing reverse vaccinology approaches. Four vaccine designs were formulated using the selected B- and T-cell epitopes coupled with appropriate linkers and adjuvant sequences capable of inducing potent immune responses. The HLA allele population coverage of the T-cell epitopes selected for vaccine construction was also analyzed. The V2 constructs were top-ranked and selected for further analysis on the basis of immunological, physicochemical, and immune-receptor docking interactions and scores. Docking and molecular dynamic simulations confirmed the stability of construct V2 interactions with the host immune receptors. Immune simulation analysis anticipated the strong immune profile of the prioritized construct. In silico restriction cloning ensured the feasible cloning ability of the V2 construct in the expression system of E. coli strain K12. It is anticipated that the designed vaccine construct may be safe, effective, and able to elicit strong immune responses against Y. pestis infections and may, therefore, merit investigation using in vitro and in vivo assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asifa Sarfraz
- Department of Biochemistry, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan
| | | | - Muhammad Shehroz
- Department of Bioinformatics, Kohsar University Murree, Murree 47150, Pakistan
| | - Iqra Ahmad
- Department of Biochemistry, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan
| | - Aqal Zaman
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan
| | - Umar Nishan
- Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Tayyab
- Institute of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan
| | - Sheheryar
- Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil
| | | | - Riaz Ullah
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Essam A Ali
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohibullah Shah
- Department of Biochemistry, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 66000, Pakistan.
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6
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Wood JP. Review of techniques for the in-situ sterilization of soil contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores or other pathogens. Res Microbiol 2024; 175:104175. [PMID: 38141796 DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
This review summarizes the literature on efficacy of techniques to sterilize soil. Soil may need to be sterilized if contaminated with pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis. Sterilizing soil in-situ minimizes spread of the bio-contaminant. Soil is difficult to sterilize, with efficacy generally diminishing with depth. Methyl bromide, formaldehyde, and glutaraldehyde are the only soil treatment options that have been demonstrated at full-scale to effectively inactivate Bacillus spores. Soil sterilization modalities with high efficacy at bench-scale include wet and dry heat, metam sodium, chlorine dioxide gas, and activated sodium persulfate. Simple oxidants such as chlorine bleach are ineffective in sterilizing soil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P Wood
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Homeland Security Research Program, 109 T.W. Alexander Dr., P.O. Box 12055, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
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7
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Zhao Y, Yan Z, Song K, Li Y, Shen L, Cui Y, Du Z, Yang R, Song Y, Jing L, Zhao Y. Development and evaluation of a multi-target droplet digital PCR assay for highly sensitive and specific detection of Yersinia pestis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012167. [PMID: 38701065 PMCID: PMC11095742 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease that poses considerable threats to human health. Nucleic acid tests are crucial for plague surveillance and the rapid detection of Y. pestis. However, inhibitors in complex samples such as soil and animal tissues often hamper nucleic acid detection, leading to a reduced rate of identifying low concentrations of Y. pestis. To address this challenge, we developed a sensitive and specific droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and animal tissue samples. METHODS Three genes (ypo2088, caf1, and pla) from Y. pestis were used to develop a multi-target ddPCR assay. The limits of detection (LoD), reproducibility, and specificity were assessed for bacterial genomic DNA samples. The ability of the assay to detect low concentrations of Y. pestis DNA from simulated soil and mouse liver tissue samples was respectively evaluated and compared with that of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). RESULTS The results showed that the ddPCR LoDs ranged from 6.2 to 15.4 copies/reaction for the target genes, with good reproducibility and high specificity for Y. pestis. By testing 130 soil and mouse liver tissue samples spiked with Y. pestis, the ddPCR assay exhibited a better sensitivity than that of the qPCR assay used in the study, with LoDs of 102 colony forming units (CFU)/100 mg soil and 103 CFU/20 mg liver. Moreover, the assay presented good quantitative linearity (R2 = 0.99) for Y. pestis at 103-106 CFU/sample for soil and liver samples. CONCLUSION The ddPCR assay presented good performance for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and mouse tissue samples, showing great potential for improving the detection rate of low concentrations of Y. pestis in plague surveillance and facilitating the early diagnosis of plague cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanting Zhao
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Ziheng Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yanbing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Leiming Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yiming Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Zongmin Du
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Lan Jing
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Yong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
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8
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Vasseur L, Barbault F, Monari A. Interaction between Yersinia pestis Ail Outer Membrane Protein and the C-Terminal Domain of Human Vitronectin. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:3929-3936. [PMID: 38619541 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.4c00965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is capable of evading the human immune system response by recruiting the plasma circulating vitronectin proteins, which act as a shield and avoid its lysis. Vitronectin recruitment is mediated by its interaction with the bacterial transmembrane protein Ail, protruding from the Y. pestis outer membrane. By using all-atom long-scale molecular dynamic simulations of Ail embedded in a realistic model of the bacterial membrane, we have shown that vitronectin forms a stable complex, mediated by interactions between the disordered moieties of the two proteins. The main amino acids driving the complexation have also been evidenced, thus favoring the possible rational design of specific peptides which, by inhibiting vitronectin recruitment, could act as original antibacterial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurine Vasseur
- Université Paris Cité and CNRS, ITODYS, F-75006 Paris, France
| | | | - Antonio Monari
- Université Paris Cité and CNRS, ITODYS, F-75006 Paris, France
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9
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Majumder S, Das S, Li P, Yang N, Dellario H, Sui H, Guan Z, Sun W. Pneumonic Plague Protection Induced by a Monophosphoryl Lipid A Decorated Yersinia Outer-Membrane-Vesicle Vaccine. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2307066. [PMID: 38009518 PMCID: PMC11009084 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202307066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
A new Yersinia pseudotuberculosis mutant strain, YptbS46, carrying the lpxE insertion and pmrF-J deletion is constructed and shown to exclusively produce monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) having adjuvant properties. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) isolated from YptbS46 harboring an lcrV expression plasmid, pSMV13, are designated OMV46-LcrV, which contained MPLA and high amounts of LcrV (Low Calcium response V) and displayed low activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Intramuscular prime-boost immunization with 30 µg of of OMV46-LcrV exhibited substantially reduced reactogenicity than the parent OMV44-LcrV and conferred complete protection to mice against a high-dose of respiratory Y. pestis challenge. OMV46-LcrV immunization induced robust adaptive responses in both lung mucosal and systemic compartments and orchestrated innate immunity in the lung, which are correlated with rapid bacterial clearance and unremarkable lung damage during Y. pestis challenge. Additionally, OMV46-LcrV immunization conferred long-term protection. Moreover, immunization with reduced doses of OMV46-LcrV exhibited further lower reactogenicity and still provided great protection against pneumonic plague. The studies strongly demonstrate the feasibility of OMV46-LcrV as a new type of plague vaccine candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saugata Majumder
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Shreya Das
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Peng Li
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Nicole Yang
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Hazel Dellario
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, 12237, USA
| | - Haixin Sui
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, 12237, USA
| | - Ziqiang Guan
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Wei Sun
- Department of Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
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Rocha IV, Bezerra MF, Sobreira M, Leal NC, de Almeida AMP. Lyophilization for bacteria preservation: a promising approach for Yersinia pestis strains from an unique collection in Brazil (Fiocruz-CYP). Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2024; 117:61. [PMID: 38520511 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-024-01949-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly virulent bacterium that poses a significant threat to human health. Preserving this bacterium in a viable state is crucial for research and diagnostic purposes. This paper presents and evaluates a simple lyophilization protocol for the long-term storage of Y. pestis strains from Fiocruz-CYP, aiming to explore its impact on viability and long-term stability, while replacing the currently used methodologies. The lyophilization tests were conducted using the non-virulent Y. pestis strain EV76, subjected to the lyophilization process under vacuum conditions. Viability assessment was performed to evaluate the effects of lyophilization and storage conditions on Y. pestis under multiple temperature conditions (- 80 °C, - 20 °C, 4-8 °C and room temperature). The lyophilization protocol employed in this study consistently demonstrated its efficacy in maintaining high viability rates for Y. pestis samples in a up to one year follow-up. The storage temperature that consistently exhibited the highest recovery rates was - 80 °C, followed by - 20 °C and 4-8 °C. Microscopic analysis of the post-lyophilized cultures revealed preserved morphological features, consistent with viable bacteria. The high viability rates observed in the preserved samples indicate the successful preservation of Y. pestis using this protocol. Overall, the presented lyophilization protocol provides a valuable tool for the long-term storage of Y. pestis, offering stability, viability, and functionality. By refining the currently used methods of lyophilization, this protocol can improve long-term preservation for Y. pestis strains collections, facilitating research efforts, diagnostic procedures, and the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies against plague.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Vasconcelos Rocha
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - IAM, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz-PE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
| | - Matheus Filgueira Bezerra
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - IAM, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz-PE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Marise Sobreira
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - IAM, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz-PE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Nilma Cintra Leal
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - IAM, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz-PE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Alzira Maria Paiva de Almeida
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - IAM, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - Fiocruz-PE, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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11
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Guo X, Xin Y, Tong Z, Cao S, Zhang Y, Wu G, Chen H, Wang T, Song Y, Zhang Q, Yang R, Du Z. A novel sORF gene mutant strain of Yersinia pestis vaccine EV76 offers enhanced safety and improved protection against plague. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012129. [PMID: 38547321 PMCID: PMC11020802 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
We recently identified two virulence-associated small open reading frames (sORF) of Yersinia pestis, named yp1 and yp2, and null mutants of each individual genes were highly attenuated in virulence. Plague vaccine strain EV76 is known for strong reactogenicity, making it not suitable for use in humans. To improve the immune safety of EV76, three mutant strains of EV76, Δyp1, Δyp2, and Δyp1&yp2 were constructed and their virulence attenuation, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy in mice were evaluated. All mutant strains were attenuated by the subcutaneous (s.c.) route and exhibited more rapid clearance in tissues than the parental strain EV76. Under iron overload conditions, only the mice infected with EV76Δyp1 survived, accompanied by less draining lymph nodes damage than those infected by EV76. Analysis of cytokines secreted by splenocytes of immunized mice found that EV76Δyp2 induced higher secretion of multiple cytokines including TNF-α, IL-2, and IL-12p70 than EV76. On day 42, EV76Δyp2 or EV76Δyp1&yp2 immunized mice exhibited similar protective efficacy as EV76 when exposed to Y. pestis 201, both via s.c. or intranasal (i.n.) routes of administration. Moreover, when exposed to 200-400 LD50 Y. pestis strain 201Δcaf1 (non-encapsulated Y. pestis), EV76Δyp2 or EV76Δyp1&yp2 are able to afford about 50% protection to i.n. challenges, significantly better than the protection afforded by EV76. On 120 day, mice immunized with EV76Δyp2 or EV76Δyp1&yp2 cleared the i.n. challenge of Y. pestis 201-lux as quickly as those immunized with EV76, demonstrating 90-100% protection. Our results demonstrated that deletion of the yp2 gene is an effective strategy to attenuate virulence of Y. pestis EV76 while improving immunogenicity. Furthermore, EV76Δyp2 is a promising candidate for conferring protection against the pneumonic and bubonic forms of plague.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Youquan Xin
- Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
| | - Zehui Tong
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University Hefei, China
| | - Shiyang Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Gengshan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Hongyan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Tong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Zongmin Du
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University Hefei, China
- Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
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12
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Bennasar-Figueras A. The Natural and Clinical History of Plague: From the Ancient Pandemics to Modern Insights. Microorganisms 2024; 12:146. [PMID: 38257973 PMCID: PMC10818976 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The human pathogen Yersinia pestis is responsible for bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic plague. A deeply comprehensive overview of its historical context, bacteriological characteristics, genomic analysis based on ancient DNA (aDNA) and modern strains, and its impact on historical and actual human populations, is explored. The results from multiple studies have been synthesized to investigate the origins of plague, its transmission, and effects on different populations. Additionally, molecular interactions of Y. pestis, from its evolutionary origins to its adaptation to flea-born transmission, and its impact on human and wild populations are considered. The characteristic combinations of aDNA patterns, which plays a decisive role in the reconstruction and analysis of ancient genomes, are reviewed. Bioinformatics is fundamental in identifying specific Y. pestis lineages, and automated pipelines are among the valuable tools in implementing such studies. Plague, which remains among human history's most lethal infectious diseases, but also other zoonotic diseases, requires the continuous investigation of plague topics. This can be achieved by improving molecular and genetic screening of animal populations, identifying ecological and social determinants of outbreaks, increasing interdisciplinary collaborations among scientists and public healthcare providers, and continued research into the characterization, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoni Bennasar-Figueras
- Microbiologia—Departament de Biologia, Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Campus UIB, Carretera de Valldemossa, Km 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain; ; Tel.: +34-971172778
- Facultat de Medicina, Hospital Universitari Son Espases (HUSE), Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Carretera de Valldemossa, 79, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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13
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Djenane D, Aider M. The one-humped camel: The animal of future, potential alternative red meat, technological suitability and future perspectives. F1000Res 2024; 11:1085. [PMID: 38798303 PMCID: PMC11128057 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.125246.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The 2020 world population data sheet indicates that world population is projected to increase from 7.8 billion in 2020 to 9.9 billion by 2050 (Increase of more than 25%). Due to the expected growth in human population, the demand for meats that could improve health status and provide therapeutic benefits is also projected to rise. The dromedary also known as the Arabian camel, or one-humped camel ( Camelus dromedarius), a pseudo ruminant adapted to arid climates, has physiological, biological and metabolic characteristics which give it a legendary reputation for surviving in the extreme conditions of desert environments considered restrictive for other ruminants. Camel meat is an ethnic food consumed across the arid regions of Middle East, North-East Africa, Australia and China. For these medicinal and nutritional benefits, camel meat can be a great option for sustainable meat worldwide supply. A considerable amount of literature has been published on technological aspects and quality properties of beef, lamb and pork but the information available on the technological aspects of the meat of the one humped camel is very limited. Camels are usually raised in less developed countries and their meat is as nutritionally good as any other traditional meat source. Its quality also depends on the breed, sex, age, breeding conditions and type of muscle consumed. A compilation of existing literature related to new technological advances in packaging, shelf-life and quality of camel meat has not been reviewed to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, this review attempts to explore the nutritional composition, health benefits of camel meat, as well as various technological and processing interventions to improve its quality and consumer acceptance. This review will be helpful for camel sector and highlight the potential for global marketability of camel meat and to generate value added products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Djamel Djenane
- Laboratory of Food Quality and Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology., University of Mouloud MAMMERI, Tizi-Ouzou, 15000, Algeria
| | - Mohammed Aider
- Department of Soil Sciences and Agri-Food Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF), Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
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14
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Lu S, Andersen JF, Bosio CF, Hinnebusch BJ, Ribeiro JM. Acid phosphatase-like proteins, a biogenic amine and leukotriene-binding salivary protein family from the flea Xenopsylla cheopis. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1280. [PMID: 38110569 PMCID: PMC10728186 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05679-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The salivary glands of hematophagous arthropods contain pharmacologically active molecules that interfere with host hemostasis and immune responses, favoring blood acquisition and pathogen transmission. Exploration of the salivary gland composition of the rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, revealed several abundant acid phosphatase-like proteins whose sequences lacked one or two of their presumed catalytic residues. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive characterization of the tree most abundant X. cheopis salivary acid phosphatase-like proteins. Our findings indicate that the three recombinant proteins lacked the anticipated catalytic activity and instead, displayed the ability to bind different biogenic amines and leukotrienes with high affinity. Moreover, X-ray crystallography data from the XcAP-1 complexed with serotonin revealed insights into their binding mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Lu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - John F Andersen
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christopher F Bosio
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - B Joseph Hinnebusch
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - José M Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA
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15
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Xiao L, Jin J, Song K, Qian X, Wu Y, Sun Z, Xiong Z, Li Y, Zhao Y, Shen L, Cui Y, Yao W, Cui Y, Song Y. Regulatory Functions of PurR in Yersinia pestis: Orchestrating Diverse Biological Activities. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2801. [PMID: 38004812 PMCID: PMC10673613 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The bacterium Yersinia pestis has developed various strategies to sense and respond to the complex stresses encountered during its transmission and pathogenic processes. PurR is a common transcriptional regulator of purine biosynthesis among microorganisms, and it modulates the transcription level of the pur operon to suppress the production of hypoxanthine nucleotide (IMP). This study aims to understand the functions and regulatory mechanisms of purR in Y. pestis. Firstly, we constructed a purR knockout mutant of Y. pestis strain 201 and compared certain phenotypes of the null mutant (201-ΔpurR) and the wild-type strain (201-WT). The results show that deleting purR has no significant impact on the biofilm formation, growth rate, or viability of Y. pestis under different stress conditions (heat and cold shock, high salinity, and hyperosmotic pressure). Although the cytotoxicity of the purR knockout mutant on HeLa and 293 cells is reduced, the animal-challenging test found no difference of the virulence in mice between 201-ΔpurR and 201-WT. Furthermore, RNA-seq and EMSA analyses demonstrate that PurR binds to the promoter regions of at least 15 genes in Y. pestis strain 201, primarily involved in purine biosynthesis, along with others not previously observed in other bacteria. Additionally, RNA-seq results suggest the presence of 11 potential operons, including a newly identified co-transcriptional T6SS cluster. Thus, aside from its role as a regulator of purine biosynthesis, purR in Y. pestis may have additional regulatory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liting Xiao
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; (L.X.); (X.Q.)
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Junyan Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Kai Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Xiuwei Qian
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; (L.X.); (X.Q.)
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yarong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Zhulin Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Ziyao Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yanbing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yanting Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Leiming Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yiming Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Wenwu Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yujun Cui
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; (L.X.); (X.Q.)
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
| | - Yajun Song
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; (L.X.); (X.Q.)
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China; (J.J.); (Y.W.); (Z.S.); (Z.X.); (Y.L.); (Y.Z.); (L.S.); (Y.C.); (W.Y.)
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16
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Butler T. Plague Gives Surprises in the Second Decade of the Twenty-First Century. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2023; 109:985-988. [PMID: 37748767 PMCID: PMC10622459 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
From 2010 through 2019, the six leading countries by numbers of human plague cases reported to the WHO were, in order from highest to lowest, Madagascar, Congo, Uganda, Peru, Tanzania, and the United States. From these countries, there was a total of 4,547 cases, of whom 786 (17%) died. Top plague events were four outbreaks of primary pneumonic plague in Madagascar that affected 1,936 persons, including index cases, of whom 137 died. One of the outbreaks was caused by a streptomycin-resistant strain of Yersinia pestis. Person-to-person transmission occurred in a taxi, in households with family caregivers, at burial ceremonies and wakes for victims, and at a hospital where cases were treated. Unique clinical presentations in the United States included a dog owner who acquired pneumonic plague from his sick dog, a boy with septicemic plague who developed complications of osteomyelitis and arthritis that required surgery for bone removal and bone grafting, and a prairie dog handler who acquired bubonic plague from a bite by a sick prairie dog. Efficacy of antibiotics in a model of pneumonic plague in African green monkeys for use in bioterrorism revealed the most effective drugs to be gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin. A recombinant vaccine containing Fraction 1 antigen and V antigen of Y. pestis designed for first responders during a bioterrorism attack and military personnel was tested for safety and immunogenicity but was not licensed for use by the end of the decade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Butler
- Ross University School of Medicine, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies, Retired
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17
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Hartley L, Harold S, Hawe E. The efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of plague vaccines: A systematic literature review. CURRENT RESEARCH IN IMMUNOLOGY 2023; 4:100072. [PMID: 37954941 PMCID: PMC10637890 DOI: 10.1016/j.crimmu.2023.100072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague remains endemic in many parts of the world, and despite efforts, no preventative vaccine is available. We performed a systemic review of available randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of live, attenuated, or killed plague vaccines vs. placebo, no intervention, or other plague vaccine to evaluate their efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity. Data sources included MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library; clinical trial registers; and reference lists of included studies. Primary outcomes were efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaborations tool. Only 2 RCTs, both on subunit vaccines, were included out of the 75 screened articles. The 2 trials included 240 participants with a follow-up of 3 months and 60 participants with a follow-up of 13 months, respectively. Safety evidence was limited, but both vaccines were well tolerated, with only mild to moderate adverse events. Both vaccines were immunogenic in a dose-dependent manner. However, given the limited data identified in this systematic review, we are unable to quantify the efficacy of vaccines to prevent plague, as well as their long-term safety and immunogenicity. More trials of plague vaccines are needed to generate additional evidence of their long-term effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Hartley
- RTI Health Solutions, The Pavilion, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LS, UK
| | - Sydney Harold
- RTI Health Solutions, The Pavilion, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LS, UK
| | - Emma Hawe
- RTI Health Solutions, The Pavilion, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LS, UK
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18
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Gamble A, Olarte-Castillo XA, Whittaker GR. Backyard zoonoses: The roles of companion animals and peri-domestic wildlife. Sci Transl Med 2023; 15:eadj0037. [PMID: 37851821 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adj0037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
The spillover of human infectious diseases from animal reservoirs is now well appreciated. However, societal and climate-related changes are affecting the dynamics of such interfaces. In addition to the disruption of traditional wildlife habitats, in part because of climate change and human demographics and behavior, there is an increasing zoonotic disease risk from companion animals. This includes such factors as the awareness of animals kept as domestic pets and increasing populations of free-ranging animals in peri-domestic environments. This review presents background and commentary focusing on companion and peri-domestic animals as disease risk for humans, taking into account the human-animal interface and population dynamics between the animals themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandine Gamble
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Ximena A Olarte-Castillo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Gary R Whittaker
- Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
- Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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19
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Qian X, Wu Y, Zuo X, Peng X, Guo Y, Yang R, Zhang X, Cui Y. mStrain: strain-level identification of Yersinia pestis using metagenomic data. BIOINFORMATICS ADVANCES 2023; 3:vbad115. [PMID: 37745000 PMCID: PMC10516513 DOI: 10.1093/bioadv/vbad115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Motivation High-resolution target pathogen detection using metagenomic sequencing data represents a major challenge due to the low concentration of target pathogens in samples. We introduced mStrain, a novel Yesinia pestis strain/lineage-level identification tool that utilizes metagenomic data. mStrain successfully identified Y. pestis at the strain/lineage level by extracting sufficient information regarding single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which can therefore be an effective tool for identification and source tracking of Y. pestis based on metagenomic data during a plague outbreak. Definition . Strain-level identification Assigning the reads in the metagenomic sequencing data to an exactly known or most closely representative Y. pestis strain. Lineage-level identification Assigning the reads in the metagenomic sequencing data to a specific lineage on the phylogenetic tree. canoSNPs The unique and typical SNPs present in all representative strains. Ancestor/derived state An SNP is defined as the ancestor state when consistent with the allele of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain IP32953; otherwise, the SNP is defined as the derived state. Availability and implementation The code for running mStrain, the test dataset, and instructions for running the code can be found at the following GitHub repository: https://github.com/xwqian1123/mStrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiuwei Qian
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yarong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Xiujuan Zuo
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Xin Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Xianglilan Zhang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China
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20
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Deng YP, Fu YT, Yao C, Shao R, Zhang XL, Duan DY, Liu GH. Emerging bacterial infectious diseases/pathogens vectored by human lice. Travel Med Infect Dis 2023; 55:102630. [PMID: 37567429 DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Human lice have always been a major public health concern due to their vector capacity for louse-borne infectious diseases, like trench fever, louse-borne relapsing fever, and epidemic fever, which are caused by Bartonella quintana, Borrelia recurrentis, and Rickettsia prowazekii, respectively. Those diseases are currently re-emerging in the regions of poor hygiene, social poverty, or wars with life-threatening consequences. These louse-borne diseases have also caused outbreaks among populations in jails and refugee camps. In addition, antibodies and DNAs to those pathogens have been steadily detected in homeless populations. Importantly, more bacterial pathogens have been detected in human lice, and some have been transmitted by human lice in laboratories. Here, we provide a comprehensive review and update on louse-borne infectious diseases/bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Ping Deng
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yi-Tian Fu
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Department of Parasitology, Xiangya School of Basic Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Chaoqun Yao
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and One Health Center for Zoonoses and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
| | - Renfu Shao
- Centre for Bioinnovation, School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia
| | - Xue-Ling Zhang
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - De-Yong Duan
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Guo-Hua Liu
- Research Center for Parasites & Vectors, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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21
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Majumder S, Das S, Li P, Yang N, Dellario H, Sui H, Guan Z, Sun W. Pneumonic plague protection induced by a monophosphoryl lipid A decorated Yersinia outer-membrane-vesicle vaccine. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.17.553697. [PMID: 37645871 PMCID: PMC10462118 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.17.553697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
A newly constructed Yersinia pseudotuberculosis mutant (YptbS46) carrying the lpxE insertion and pmrF-J deletion exclusively synthesized an adjuvant form of lipid A, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA). Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) isolated from YptbS46 harboring an lcrV expression plasmid, pSMV13, were designated OMV 46 -LcrV, which contained MPLA and high amounts of LcrV and displayed low activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Similar to the previous OMV 44 -LcrV, intramuscular prime-boost immunization with 30 µg of OMV 46 -LcrV exhibited substantially reduced reactogenicity and conferred complete protection to mice against a high-dose of respiratory Y. pestis challenge. OMV 46 -LcrV immunization induced robust adaptive responses in both lung mucosal and systemic compartments and orchestrated innate immunity in the lung, which were correlated with rapid bacterial clearance and unremarkable lung damage during Y. pestis challenge. Additionally, OMV 46 -LcrV immunization conferred long-term protection. Moreover, immunization with reduced doses of OMV 46 -LcrV exhibited further lower reactogenicity and still provided great protection against pneumonic plague. Our studies strongly demonstrate the feasibility of OMV 46 -LcrV as a new type of plague vaccine candidate.
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22
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Guo N, Song Y, Yan J, Jiang M, Xu Y, Li Z, Wei Q. The Effect of Cryopreservation on the Survival of Nocardia farcinica and Yersinia pestis vaccine strains. Biopreserv Biobank 2023; 21:397-406. [PMID: 36126300 DOI: 10.1089/bio.2022.0049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathogenic microorganisms are valuable biological resources, closely related to biosecurity, human health, environmental protection, and renewable energy. It is very important to properly preserve the microbial resources by methods to maintain the purity, viability, and integrity, and to avoid prolonged degradation. The present work aims to explore the cryopreservation technology of Nocardia farcinica (Gram-positive bacteria) and Yersinia pestis vaccine strains (Gram-negative bacteria). The effects of cryoprotectants (CPAs), freezing temperature, and freeze-thaw cycles on the two bacteria in the cryopreservation process were studied. The results showed that the addition of CPAs (glycerol, propylene glycol, sucrose, glucose, l-carnitine, l-proline, and skim milk) significantly enhanced the survival rates of the N. farcinica and Y. pestis vaccine strains. However, high concentrations of CPAs can produce biochemical toxicity in the two pathogens. The utilization of composite CPAs not only reduced the toxicity but also improved the survival rates of samples during cryopreservation. The optimal composite CPA for N. farcinica is 0.292 M sucrose, 0.62 M l-carnitine, and 2.82 M glycerol. The optimal composite CPA for Y. pestis is 0.62 M l-carnitine, 8.46 M glycerin, and 0.292 M sucrose. The results showed that the quality of the strains stored at -80°C and -196°C was better. For the case of freeze-thaw cycles, the two pathogens have different degrees of reduction, and the survival rate of Y. pestis decreased more than that of N. farcinica. The uniform distribution of bacteria in CPAs can form uniform nucleation sites in the solution system, which is beneficial to the cryopreservation of strains, as can be seen from the experimental results from a differential scanning calorimeter. This study may provide a reference for better preservation of precious natural biological resources of pathogenic microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Guo
- Institute of Biothermal Science & Technology, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Song
- National Pathogen Resource Center (NPRC), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Jianing Yan
- Institute of Biothermal Science & Technology, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengnan Jiang
- National Pathogen Resource Center (NPRC), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Xu
- Institute of Biothermal Science & Technology, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhenjun Li
- National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Wei
- National Pathogen Resource Center (NPRC), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
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Pitta JLDLP, Bezerra MF, Fernandes DLRDS, de Block T, Novaes ADS, de Almeida AMP, Rezende AM. Genomic Analysis of Yersinia pestis Strains from Brazil: Search for Virulence Factors and Association with Epidemiological Data. Pathogens 2023; 12:991. [PMID: 37623951 PMCID: PMC10459997 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12080991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of the plague, is considered a genetically homogeneous species. Brazil is currently in a period of epidemiological silence but plague antibodies are still detected in sentinel animals, suggesting disease activity in the sylvatic cycle. The present study deployed an in silico approach to analyze virulence factors among 407 Brazilian genomes of Y. pestis belonging to the Fiocruz Collection (1966-1997). The pangenome analysis associated several known virulence factors of Y. pestis in clades according to the presence or absence of genes. Four main strain clades (C, E, G, and H) exhibited the absence of various virulence genes. Notably, clade G displayed the highest number of absent genes, while clade E showed a significant absence of genes related to the T6SS secretion system and clade H predominantly demonstrated the absence of plasmid-related genes. These results suggest attenuation of virulence in these strains over time. The cgMLST analysis associated genomic and epidemiological data highlighting evolutionary patterns related to the isolation years and outbreaks of Y. pestis in Brazil. Thus, the results contribute to the understanding of the genetic diversity and virulence within Y. pestis and the potential for utilizing genomic data in epidemiological investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Luiz de Lemos Padilha Pitta
- Microbiology Department of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil; (M.F.B.); (D.L.R.d.S.F.); (A.M.P.d.A.)
- Bioinformatics Platform of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil
| | - Matheus Filgueira Bezerra
- Microbiology Department of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil; (M.F.B.); (D.L.R.d.S.F.); (A.M.P.d.A.)
| | | | - Tessa de Block
- Department of Clinical Sciences—Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium;
| | - Ane de Souza Novaes
- Department of Biological Sciences—Federal University of Vale do São Francisco—UNIVASF, Petrolina 56300-000, PE, Brazil;
| | - Alzira Maria Paiva de Almeida
- Microbiology Department of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil; (M.F.B.); (D.L.R.d.S.F.); (A.M.P.d.A.)
| | - Antonio Mauro Rezende
- Microbiology Department of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil; (M.F.B.); (D.L.R.d.S.F.); (A.M.P.d.A.)
- Bioinformatics Platform of Aggeu Magalhães Institute—FIOCRUZ PE, Recife 50740-465, PE, Brazil
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Erly B, Fleck-Derderian S, Cooley KM, Meyer-Lee K, House J, VinHatton E, Nelson CA. A Perilous Combination: Streptococcus Coinfection with Human Plague-Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature, 1937-2022. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2023; 23:371-377. [PMID: 37352427 PMCID: PMC10512700 DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2022.0084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Plague in humans and animals is caused by Yersinia pestis, a zoonotic gram-negative bacterium endemic in certain regions of Asia, Africa, and the United States. Coinfection with both Y. pestis and Streptococci species has been anecdotally reported in humans and associated with severe and rapidly fatal disease. Methods: This report presents two cases of patients who died following Y. pestis and Streptococcus coinfection. Additional cases of previously published Y. pestis-Streptococcus coinfection were identified and reviewed using a search of electronic databases. Results: The first case patient developed cough and dyspnea following 4 days of fever, malaise, and back pain and died before receiving medical care. Postmortem blood cultures were positive for Y. pestis, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Streptococcus dysgalactiae. The second case patient was hospitalized with fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and dyspnea and died of sepsis and respiratory failure on the day of admission. Y. pestis and Streptococcus pneumoniae were isolated from blood cultures drawn on admission. Seven additional cases of Y. pestis and Streptococcus coinfection were identified, dating between 1948 and 2009. These patients were healthy overall before their illness, with ages ranging from 9 to 60 years. The majority of patients had primary bubonic plague with associated pneumonia or septicemia. None of the patients who died received timely antimicrobial therapy directed against gram-negative pathogens. In every case but one, an occupational or environmental risk factor for plague was later identified. Conclusion: Y. pestis infection begins with a pre-inflammatory phase, during which Y. pestis and other pathogens can rapidly proliferate. Streptococci, which are frequently asymptomatic colonizers, may become invasive in this environment, leading to coinfection. The challenges of diagnosing Y. pestis in the context of coinfection may delay effective treatment. This case series and literature review illustrate the importance of clinicians remaining alert to environmental and occupational exposures in patients presenting with an infectious syndrome, especially in those who have an unexpectedly severe clinical presentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Erly
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Shannon Fleck-Derderian
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Katharine M. Cooley
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kim Meyer-Lee
- Larimer County Department of Health and Environment, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Jennifer House
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | | | - Christina A. Nelson
- Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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25
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Vassallo A, Modi A, Quagliariello A, Bacci G, Faddetta T, Gallo M, Provenzano A, La Barbera A, Lombardo G, Maggini V, Firenzuoli F, Zaccaroni M, Gallo G, Caramelli D, Aleo Nero C, Baldi F, Fani R, Palumbo Piccionello A, Pucciarelli S, Puglia AM, Sineo L. Novel Sources of Biodiversity and Biomolecules from Bacteria Isolated from a High Middle Ages Soil Sample in Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0437422. [PMID: 37071008 PMCID: PMC10269861 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04374-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The urban plan of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) has evolved throughout Punic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Norman ages until it stabilized within the borders that correspond to the current historic center. During the 2012 to 2013 excavation campaign, new remains of the Arab settlement, directly implanted above the structures of the Roman age, were found. The materials investigated in this study derived from the so-called Survey No 3, which consists of a rock cavity of subcylindrical shape covered with calcarenite blocks: it was probably used to dispose of garbage during the Arabic age and its content, derived from daily activities, included grape seeds, scales and bones of fish, small animal bones, and charcoals. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the medieval origin of this site. The composition of the bacterial community was characterized through a culture-dependent and a culture-independent approach. Culturable bacteria were isolated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and the total bacterial community was characterized through metagenomic sequencing. Bacterial isolates were tested for the production of compounds with antibiotic activity: a Streptomyces strain, whose genome was sequenced, was of particular interest because of its inhibitory activity, which was due to the Type I polyketide aureothin. Moreover, all strains were tested for the production of secreted proteases, with those belonging to the genus Nocardioides having the most active enzymes. Finally, protocols commonly used for ancient DNA studies were applied to evaluate the antiquity of isolated bacterial strains. Altogether these results show how paleomicrobiology might represent an innovative and unexplored source of novel biodiversity and new biotechnological tools. IMPORTANCE One of the goals of paleomicrobiology is the characterization of the microbial community present in archaeological sites. These analyses can usually provide valuable information about past events, such as occurrence of human and animal infectious diseases, ancient human activities, and environmental changes. However, in this work, investigations about the composition of the bacterial community of an ancient soil sample (harvested in Palermo, Italy) were carried out aiming to screen ancient culturable strains with biotechnological potential, such as the ability to produce bioactive molecules and secreted hydrolytic enzymes. Besides showing the biotechnological relevance of paleomicrobiology, this work reports a case of germination of putatively ancient bacterial spores recovered from soil rather than extreme environments. Moreover, in the case of spore-forming species, these results raise questions about the accuracy of techniques usually applied to estimate antiquity of DNA, as they could lead to its underestimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Vassallo
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino (MC), Italy
| | - Alessandra Modi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Andrea Quagliariello
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy
| | - Giovanni Bacci
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Teresa Faddetta
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Michele Gallo
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venezia Mestre (VE), Italy
| | - Aldesia Provenzano
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Biomedical Sciences “Mario Serio,” University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Andrea La Barbera
- Unit of Medical Genetics, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa (GE), Italy
| | - Giovanna Lombardo
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Valentina Maggini
- Research and Innovation Center in Phytotherapy and Integrated Medicine, Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Fabio Firenzuoli
- Research and Innovation Center in Phytotherapy and Integrated Medicine, Tuscany Region, Careggi University Hospital, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Marco Zaccaroni
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Giuseppe Gallo
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - David Caramelli
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Carla Aleo Nero
- Soprintendenza ai Beni culturali e ambientali di Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Franco Baldi
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venezia Mestre (VE), Italy
| | - Renato Fani
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence (FI), Italy
| | - Antonio Palumbo Piccionello
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Sandra Pucciarelli
- School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino (MC), Italy
| | - Anna Maria Puglia
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
| | - Luca Sineo
- Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo (PA), Italy
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26
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Xiao L, Qi Z, Song K, Lv R, Chen R, Zhao H, Wu H, Li C, Xin Y, Jin Y, Li X, Xu X, Tan Y, Du Z, Cui Y, Zhang X, Yang R, Zhao X, Song Y. Interplays of mutations in waaA, cmk, and ail contribute to phage resistance in Yersinia pestis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1174510. [PMID: 37305418 PMCID: PMC10254400 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1174510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Plague caused by Yersinia pestis remains a public health threat worldwide. Because multidrug-resistant Y. pestis strains have been found in both humans and animals, phage therapy has attracted increasing attention as an alternative strategy against plague. However, phage resistance is a potential drawback of phage therapies, and the mechanism of phage resistance in Y. pestis is yet to be investigated. In this study, we obtained a bacteriophage-resistant strain of Y. pestis (S56) by continuously challenging Y. pestis 614F with the bacteriophage Yep-phi. Genome analysis identified three mutations in strain S56: waaA* (9-bp in-frame deletion 249GTCATCGTG257), cmk* (10-bp frameshift deletion 15CCGGTGATAA24), and ail* (1-bp frameshift deletion A538). WaaA (3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid transferase) is a key enzyme in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. The waaA* mutation leads to decreased phage adsorption because of the failure to synthesize the lipopolysaccharide core. The mutation in cmk (encoding cytidine monophosphate kinase) increased phage resistance, independent of phage adsorption, and caused in vitro growth defects in Y. pestis. The mutation in ail inhibited phage adsorption while restoring the growth of the waaA null mutant and accelerating the growth of the cmk null mutant. Our results confirmed that mutations in the WaaA-Cmk-Ail cascade in Y. pestis contribute to resistance against bacteriophage. Our findings help in understanding the interactions between Y. pestis and its phages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisheng Xiao
- Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- School of Basic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
| | - Zhizhen Qi
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Kai Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
| | - Ruichen Lv
- Hua Dong Research Institute for Medicine and Biotechniques, Nanjing, China
| | - Rong Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Medical Center of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Haihong Zhao
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Hailian Wu
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Cunxiang Li
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Youquan Xin
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Yong Jin
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Xiang Li
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Yafang Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
| | - Zongmin Du
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
| | - Yujun Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
| | - Xuefei Zhang
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
| | - Xilin Zhao
- Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Yajun Song
- School of Basic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS), Beijing, China
- National Health Commission - Qinghai Co-construction Key Laboratory for Plague Control, Xining, China
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27
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Clavel P, Louis L, Sarkissian CD, Thèves C, Gillet C, Chauvey L, Tressières G, Schiavinato S, Calvière-Tonasso L, Telmon N, Clavel B, Jonvel R, Tzortzis S, Bouniol L, Fémolant JM, Klunk J, Poinar H, Signoli M, Costedoat C, Spyrou MA, Seguin-Orlando A, Orlando L. Improving the extraction of ancient Yersinia pestis genomes from the dental pulp. iScience 2023; 26:106787. [PMID: 37250315 PMCID: PMC10214834 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient DNA preserved in the dental pulp offers the opportunity to characterize the genome of some of the deadliest pathogens in human history. However, while DNA capture technologies help, focus sequencing efforts, and therefore, reduce experimental costs, the recovery of ancient pathogen DNA remains challenging. Here, we tracked the kinetics of ancient Yersinia pestis DNA release in solution during a pre-digestion of the dental pulp. We found that most of the ancient Y. pestis DNA is released within 60 min at 37°C in our experimental conditions. We recommend a simple pre-digestion as an economical procedure to obtain extracts enriched in ancient pathogen DNA, as longer digestion times release other types of templates, including host DNA. Combining this procedure with DNA capture, we characterized the genome sequences of 12 ancient Y. pestis bacteria from France dating to the second pandemic outbreaks of the 17th and 18th centuries Common Era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Clavel
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Lexane Louis
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Clio Der Sarkissian
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Catherine Thèves
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Claudia Gillet
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Lorelei Chauvey
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Gaétan Tressières
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Stéphanie Schiavinato
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Laure Calvière-Tonasso
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Norbert Telmon
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Benoît Clavel
- Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique: Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE), CNRS-UMR7209, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, 55 Rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Richard Jonvel
- Amiens Métropole Service Archéologie Préventive, 2 rue Colbert, 80000 Amiens, France
| | - Stéfan Tzortzis
- Service Régional de l’Archéologie, 21 allée Claude Forbin, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Laetitia Bouniol
- Service archéologique de la ville de Beauvais, 1 rue Desgroux, 60021 Beauvais, France
| | - Jean-Marc Fémolant
- Service archéologique de la ville de Beauvais, 1 rue Desgroux, 60021 Beauvais, France
| | | | - Hendrik Poinar
- McMaster Ancient DNA Centre, Departments of Anthropology, Biology and Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9, Canada
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute of Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S, 4L9, Canada
- Humans and the Microbiome Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Michel Signoli
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, EFS, ADES, 13005 Marseille, France
| | | | - Maria A. Spyrou
- Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andaine Seguin-Orlando
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
| | - Ludovic Orlando
- Centre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CAGT), CNRS UMR5288, Université Paul Sabatier, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France
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28
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Fell HG, Jones M, Atkinson S, Stenseth NC, Algar AC. The role of reservoir species in mediating plague's dynamic response to climate. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230021. [PMID: 37206964 PMCID: PMC10189594 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The distribution and transmission of Yersinia pestis, the bacterial agent of plague, responds dynamically to climate, both within wildlife reservoirs and human populations. The exact mechanisms mediating plague's response to climate are still poorly understood, particularly across large environmentally heterogeneous regions encompassing several reservoir species. A heterogeneous response to precipitation was observed in plague intensity across northern and southern China during the Third Pandemic. This has been attributed to the response of reservoir species in each region. We use environmental niche modelling and hindcasting methods to test the response of a broad range of reservoir species to precipitation. We find little support for the hypothesis that the response of reservoir species to precipitation mediated the impact of precipitation on plague intensity. We instead observed that precipitation variables were of limited importance in defining species niches and rarely showed the expected response to precipitation across northern and southern China. These findings do not suggest that precipitation-reservoir species dynamics never influence plague intensity but that instead, the response of reservoir species to precipitation across a single biome cannot be assumed and that limited numbers of reservoir species may have a disproportional impact upon plague intensity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew Jones
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Steve Atkinson
- Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, Nottingham University, Nottingham NG7 2JE, UK
| | - Nils Christian Stenseth
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
- Department of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Adam C. Algar
- Department of Biology, Lakehead University, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
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Wang LKP. War on Rats: the architecture of the bubonic plague in Galveston. Proc AMIA Symp 2023; 36:534-538. [PMID: 37334092 PMCID: PMC10269426 DOI: 10.1080/08998280.2023.2204289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Galveston, Texas is one of the oldest seaport cities in the Gulf of Mexico west of New Orleans, making it a historically prime location for disease outbreaks. The bubonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, likely spread to Galveston via infected rats and fleas on steamboats. Known as the Black Death, the bubonic plague infected 17 Galvestonians from 1920 to 1921. This article examines the "War on Rats," the public health response to the Galveston bubonic plague outbreak in the 1920s. As part of public health practices at the time, the rat-proofing of buildings provides a glimpse into the intersection of public health and architecture. This exploration of the war on rats in Galveston offers insights into 20th-century examples of cross-disciplinary collaboration to promote human health in urban contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonard Kuan-Pei Wang
- John Sealy School of Medicine, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
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30
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Hamlili FZ, Bérenger JM, Parola P. Cimicids of Medical and Veterinary Importance. INSECTS 2023; 14:392. [PMID: 37103207 PMCID: PMC10146278 DOI: 10.3390/insects14040392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Members of the Cimicidae family are significant pests for mammals and birds, and they have attracted medical and veterinary interest. A number of recent studies have investigated bed bugs, due to their dramatic resurgence all over the world. Indeed, bed bugs are of significant public health and socioeconomic importance since they lead to financial burdens and dermatological complications and may have mental and psychological consequences. It is important to note that certain cimicids with a preference for specific hosts (birds and bats) use humans as an alternative host, and some cimicids have been reported to willingly feed on human blood. In addition, members of the Cimicidae family can lead to economic burdens and certain species are the vectors for pathogens responsible for diseases. Therefore, in this review, we aim to provide an update on the species within the Cimicidae family that have varying medical and veterinary impacts, including their distribution and their associated microorganisms. Various microbes have been documented in bed bugs and certain important pathogens have been experimentally documented to be passively transmitted by bed bugs, although no conclusive evidence has yet associated them with epidemiological outbreaks. Additionally, among the studied cimicids (bat bugs, chicken bugs, and swallow bugs), only the American swallow bug has been considered to be a vector of several arboviruses, although there is no proven evidence of transmission to humans or animals. Further studies are needed to elucidate the reason that certain species in the Cimicidae family cannot be biologically involved in transmission to humans or animals. Additional investigations are also required to better understand the roles of Cimicidae family members in the transmission of human pathogens in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatima Zohra Hamlili
- IHU-Méditerranée Infection, 19–21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
- Department of VITROME, Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, SSA, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Jean Michel Bérenger
- IHU-Méditerranée Infection, 19–21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
- Department of VITROME, Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, SSA, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Philippe Parola
- IHU-Méditerranée Infection, 19–21 Boulevard Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
- Department of VITROME, Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, AP-HM Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Marseille, SSA, 13005 Marseille, France
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Liu L, Liu W, He Y, Liu Y, Wu H, Zhang Y, Zhang Q. Transcriptional Regulation of hmsB, A Temperature-Dependent Small RNA, by RovM in Yersinia pestis Biovar Microtus. Curr Microbiol 2023; 80:182. [PMID: 37046126 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-023-03293-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
HmsB, a temperature-dependent sRNA, promotes biofilm formation by Yersinia pestis, but whether its own expression is regulated by other regulators is still poorly understood. RovM is a global regulator that activates biofilm formation but represses the virulence of Y. pestis. In this work, the results of primer extension, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and LacZ fusion demonstrated that RovM was able to activate hmsB expression. However, the results of electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) showed that His-RovM did not bind to the upstream DNA region of hmsB. Thus, RovM may exert its regulatory action on hmsB expression in an indirect manner. The data presented here enriched the content of the regulatory circuits that control gene expression in Y. pestis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Liu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Wanbing Liu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yingyu He
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan, 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Haisheng Wu
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, 811602, China
| | - Yiquan Zhang
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, 811602, China.
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Nantong Hospital 3 of Nantong University, Nantong, 226006, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Qinwen Zhang
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control, Xining, 811602, China.
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Rocha IV, Andrade CAN, Sobreira M, Leal NC, Almeida AMP, Bezerra MF. CYP broth: a tool for Yersinia pestis isolation in ancient culture collections and field samples. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:2653-2660. [PMID: 36897342 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12452-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
We developed a simple new selective LB-based medium, named CYP broth, suitable for recovering long-term stored Y. pestis subcultures and for isolation of Y. pestis strains from field-caught samples for the Plague surveillance. It aimed to inhibit the growth contaminating microorganisms and enrich Y. pestis growth through iron supplementation. The performance of CYP broth on microbial growth from different gram-negative and gram-positive strains from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC®) and other clinical isolates, field-caught rodent samples, and more importantly, on several vials of ancient Y. pestis subcultures was evaluated. Additionally, other pathogenic Yersinia species such as Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica were also successfully isolated with CYP broth. Selectivity tests and bacterial growth performance on CYP broth (LB broth supplemented with Cefsulodine, Irgasan, Novobiocin, nystatin and ferrioxamine E) were evaluated in comparison with LB broth without additive; LB broth/CIN, LB broth/nystatin and with traditional agar media including LB agar without additive, and LB agar and Cefsulodin-Irgasan-Novobiocin Agar (CIN agar) supplemented with 50 µg/mL of nystatin. Of note, the CYP broth had a recovery twofold higher than those of the CIN supplemented media or other regular media. Additionally, selectivity tests and bacterial growth performance were also evaluated on CYP broth in the absence of ferrioxamine E. The cultures were incubated at 28 °C and visually inspected for microbiological growth analysis and O.D.625 nm measurement between 0 and 120 h. The presence and purity of Y. pestis growth were confirmed by bacteriophage and multiplex PCR tests. Altogether, CYP broth provides an enhanced growth of Y. pestis at 28 °C, while inhibiting contaminant microorganisms. The media is a simple, but powerful tool to improve the reactivation and decontamination of ancient Y. pestis culture collections and for the isolation of Y. pestis strains for the Plague surveillance from various backgrounds. KEY POINTS: • The newly described CYP broth improves the recuperation of ancient/contaminated Yersinia pestis culture collections • CYP broth was also efficient in reducing environmental contamination in field-capture samples, improving Y. pestis isolation • CYP broth can also be used for the isolation of Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Vasconcelos Rocha
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - FIOCRUZ PE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Carlos Alberto Neves Andrade
- Department of Bacteriology, Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - HC-UFPE, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Marise Sobreira
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - FIOCRUZ PE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Nilma Cintra Leal
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - FIOCRUZ PE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Alzira Maria Paiva Almeida
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - FIOCRUZ PE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Matheus Filgueira Bezerra
- Department of Microbiology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute - FIOCRUZ PE, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, S/N Cidade Universitária, Recife, PE, Brazil.
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Kon E, Levy Y, Elia U, Cohen H, Hazan-Halevy I, Aftalion M, Ezra A, Bar-Haim E, Naidu GS, Diesendruck Y, Rotem S, Ad-El N, Goldsmith M, Mamroud E, Peer D, Cohen O. A single-dose F1-based mRNA-LNP vaccine provides protection against the lethal plague bacterium. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg1036. [PMID: 36888708 PMCID: PMC9995031 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg1036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Messenger RNA (mRNA) lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccines have emerged as an effective vaccination strategy. Although currently applied toward viral pathogens, data concerning the platform's effectiveness against bacterial pathogens are limited. Here, we developed an effective mRNA-LNP vaccine against a lethal bacterial pathogen by optimizing mRNA payload guanine and cytosine content and antigen design. We designed a nucleoside-modified mRNA-LNP vaccine based on the bacterial F1 capsule antigen, a major protective component of Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of plague. Plague is a rapidly deteriorating contagious disease that has killed millions of people during the history of humankind. Now, the disease is treated effectively with antibiotics; however, in the case of a multiple-antibiotic-resistant strain outbreak, alternative countermeasures are required. Our mRNA-LNP vaccine elicited humoral and cellular immunological responses in C57BL/6 mice and conferred rapid, full protection against lethal Y. pestis infection after a single dose. These data open avenues for urgently needed effective antibacterial vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edo Kon
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Yinon Levy
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Uri Elia
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Hila Cohen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Inbal Hazan-Halevy
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Moshe Aftalion
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Assaf Ezra
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Erez Bar-Haim
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Gonna Somu Naidu
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Yael Diesendruck
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Shahar Rotem
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Nitay Ad-El
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Meir Goldsmith
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Emanuelle Mamroud
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
| | - Dan Peer
- Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Shmunis School for Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Ofer Cohen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 76100, Israel
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Update on Novel Taxa and Revised Taxonomic Status of Bacteria Isolated from Nondomestic Animals Described in 2018 to 2021. J Clin Microbiol 2023; 61:e0142522. [PMID: 36533958 PMCID: PMC9945507 DOI: 10.1128/jcm.01425-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Revisions and new additions to bacterial taxonomy can have a significant widespread impact on clinical practice, infectious disease epidemiology, veterinary microbiology laboratory operations, and wildlife conservation efforts. The expansion of genome sequencing technologies has revolutionized our knowledge of the microbiota of humans, animals, and insects. Here, we address novel taxonomy and nomenclature revisions of veterinary significance that impact bacteria isolated from nondomestic wildlife, with emphasis being placed on bacteria that are associated with disease in their hosts or were isolated from host animal species that are culturally significant, are a target of conservation efforts, or serve as reservoirs for human pathogens.
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Sun L, He Q, Teng Y, Zhao Q, Yan X, Wang X. A complex network-based vaccination strategy for infectious diseases. Appl Soft Comput 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.asoc.2023.110081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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Lu S, Danchenko M, Macaluso KR, Ribeiro JMC. Revisiting the sialome of the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279070. [PMID: 36649293 PMCID: PMC9844850 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The hematophagous behaviour emerged independently in several instances during arthropod evolution. Survey of salivary gland and saliva composition and its pharmacological activity led to the conclusion that blood-feeding arthropods evolved a distinct salivary mixture that can interfere with host defensive response, thus facilitating blood acquisition and pathogen transmission. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the major vector of several pathogens, including Rickettsia typhi, Rickettsia felis and Bartonella spp. and therefore, represents an important insect species from the medical and veterinary perspectives. Previously, a Sanger-based sialome of adult C. felis female salivary glands was published and reported 1,840 expressing sequence tags (ESTs) which were assembled into 896 contigs. Here, we provide a deeper insight into C. felis salivary gland composition using an Illumina-based sequencing approach. In the current dataset, we report 8,892 coding sequences (CDS) classified into 27 functional classes, which were assembled from 42,754,615 reads. Moreover, we paired our RNAseq data with a mass spectrometry analysis using the translated transcripts as a reference, confirming the presence of several putative secreted protein families in the cat flea salivary gland homogenates. Both transcriptomic and proteomic approaches confirmed that FS-H-like proteins and acid phosphatases lacking their putative catalytic residues are the two most abundant salivary proteins families of C. felis and are potentially related to blood acquisition. We also report several novel sequences similar to apyrases, odorant binding proteins, antigen 5, cholinesterases, proteases, and proteases inhibitors, in addition to putative novel sequences that presented low or no sequence identity to previously deposited sequences. Together, the data represents an extended reference for the identification and characterization of the pharmacological activity present in C. felis salivary glands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Lu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Monika Danchenko
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - Kevin R. Macaluso
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America
| | - José M. C. Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
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Epidemiological Characteristics of Human and Animal Plague in Yunnan Province, China, 1950 to 2020. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0166222. [PMID: 36219109 PMCID: PMC9784778 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01662-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This study analyzed the epidemiological characteristics of 3,464 human plague cases and the distribution pattern of 4,968 Yersinia pestis isolates from humans, hosts, and vector insects from 1950 to 2020 among two natural plague foci in Yunnan Province, China. These foci include the Rattus flavipectus plague focus of the Yunnan, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces and the Apodemus chevrieri-Eothenomys miletus plague focus of the highlands of northwestern Yunnan Province. The case fatality rate for plague in humans was 18.39% (637/3,464), and the total isolation rate of Y. pestis was 0.17% (4,968/2,975,288). Despite that the frequency of human cases declined rapidly, the animal plague fluctuated greatly, alternating between activity and inactivity in these foci. The tendency among human cases can be divided into 4 stages, 1950 to 1955, 1956 to 1989, 1990 to 2005, and 2006 to 2020. Bubonic plague accounted for the majority of cases in Yunnan, where pneumonic and septicemic plague rarely occurred. The natural plague foci have been in a relatively active state due to the stability of local ecology. Dense human population and frequent contact with host animals contribute to the high risk of human infection. This study systematically analyzed the epidemic pattern of human plague and the distribution characteristics of Y. pestis in the natural plague foci in Yunnan, providing a scientific basis for further development and adjustment of plague prevention and control strategies. IMPORTANCE Yunnan is the origin of the third plague pandemic. The analysis of human and animal plague characteristics of plague foci in Yunnan enlightens the prevention and control of the next plague pandemics. The plague characteristics of Yunnan show that human plague occurred when animal plague reached a certain scale, and strengthened surveillance of animal plague and reducing the density of host animals and transmission vectors contribute to the prevention and control of human plague outbreaks. The phenomenon of alternation between the resting period and active period of plague foci in Yunnan further proves the endogenous preservation mechanism of plague.
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Abstract
Since the identification of sickle cell trait as a heritable form of resistance to malaria, candidate gene studies, linkage analysis paired with sequencing, and genome-wide association (GWA) studies have revealed many examples of genetic resistance and susceptibility to infectious diseases. GWA studies enabled the identification of many common variants associated with small shifts in susceptibility to infectious diseases. This is exemplified by multiple loci associated with leprosy, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which illuminate genetic architecture and implicate pathways underlying pathophysiology. Despite these successes, most of the heritability of infectious diseases remains to be explained. As the field advances, current limitations may be overcome by applying methodological innovations such as cellular GWA studies and phenome-wide association (PheWA) studies as well as by improving methodological rigor with more precise case definitions, deeper phenotyping, increased cohort diversity, and functional validation of candidate loci in the laboratory or human challenge studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle D Gibbs
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA;
| | - Benjamin H Schott
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA; .,Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Dennis C Ko
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA; .,Duke University Program in Genetics and Genomics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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39
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Weston KM, Polkinghorne A, Branley JM. Psittacosis contagion in 1930: an old story in a new era of zoonotic disease. Microbes Infect 2022; 25:105076. [PMID: 36372317 PMCID: PMC9650517 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2022.105076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the importance of zoonotic diseases. Psittacosis, a human disease resulting from infection spill-over from Chlamydia psittaci-infected birds, is a lesser-known example of a zoonosis. Psittacosis was responsible for numerous outbreaks in the 1930s, characterised by significant human mortality and disruption to the global trade in parrots. This paper describes the epidemiological and clinical details of one family group impacted by the purchase of an infected, imported parrot. Findings are discussed in the context of a growing awareness of the health risks of global disease outbreaks, as well as social and economic impacts. Health information recorded for cases of psittacosis associated with the 1930s cluster was reviewed using contemporary knowledge of disease symptoms and epidemiology. Case details and autopsy reports were examined. Public health investigation deduced that the cluster of infections was chronologically and physically connected to the purchase and subsequent death of an imported parrot. Disease symptoms were consistent with C. psittaci infection. Epidemiological data supported the diagnoses and causes of death, despite the presenting symptoms sharing significant overlap with other common respiratory diseases. There is growing awareness of the risks of epidemiological bridges in transmitting animal diseases to humans. Historical cases are a strong reminder of the fundamental role of scientific and public health responses in the face of such contagion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M Weston
- Graduate School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2522, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Adam Polkinghorne
- New South Wales Health Pathology Nepean, Kingswood, 2747, New South Wales, Australia; Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Kingswood, 2747, New South Wales, Australia
| | - James M Branley
- New South Wales Health Pathology Nepean, Kingswood, 2747, New South Wales, Australia; Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Kingswood, 2747, New South Wales, Australia
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Exploring and Mitigating Plague for One Health Purposes. CURRENT TROPICAL MEDICINE REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s40475-022-00265-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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41
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History of the plague of 1720-1722, in Marseille. Presse Med 2022; 51:104138. [PMID: 36116732 DOI: 10.1016/j.lpm.2022.104138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The plague epidemic of 1720-1722 had a profound effect on the history of the city of Marseille. A subject of numerous scientific studies and a source of inspiration for novels, one of the last great European epidemics is well-documented. In this article, we have sought to draw on the numerous documents left by the administrative services of the time or by the writings of survivors recounting their vision of the situation. We have completed this historical approach by referring to the study of mass graves of plague victims and will show how the simultaneous reading of two types of archives (historical and biological) can provide better anthropological knowledge of epidemic phenomena. The perspectives of interdisciplinary approaches to past infectious diseases are numerous, notably with the contributions of paleomicrobiology and genomics, and are particularly relevant today's health context.
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Sah R, Reda A, Mehta R, Mohapatra RK, Dhama K. A situation analysis of the current plague outbreak in the Demographic Republic of Congo and counteracting strategies - Correspondence. Int J Surg 2022; 105:106885. [PMID: 36084808 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2022.106885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ranjit Sah
- Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Abdullah Reda
- Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11651, Egypt
| | - Rachana Mehta
- National Public Health Laboratory, Kathmandu, 44600, Nepal
| | - Ranjan K Mohapatra
- Department of Chemistry, Government College of Engineering, Keonjhar, 758002, Odisha, India
| | - Kuldeep Dhama
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, 243122, India
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Dimka J, van Doren TP, Battles HT. Pandemics, past and present: The role of biological anthropology in interdisciplinary pandemic studies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [PMCID: PMC9082061 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Biological anthropologists are ideally suited for the study of pandemics given their strengths in human biology, health, culture, and behavior, yet pandemics have historically not been a major focus of research. The COVID‐19 pandemic has reinforced the need to understand pandemic causes and unequal consequences at multiple levels. Insights from past pandemics can strengthen the knowledge base and inform the study of current and future pandemics through an anthropological lens. In this paper, we discuss the distinctive social and epidemiological features of pandemics, as well as the ways in which biological anthropologists have previously studied infectious diseases, epidemics, and pandemics. We then review interdisciplinary research on three pandemics–1918 influenza, 2009 influenza, and COVID‐19–focusing on persistent social inequalities in morbidity and mortality related to sex and gender; race, ethnicity, and Indigeneity; and pre‐existing health and disability. Following this review of the current state of pandemic research on these topics, we conclude with a discussion of ways biological anthropologists can contribute to this field moving forward. Biological anthropologists can add rich historical and cross‐cultural depth to the study of pandemics, provide insights into the biosocial complexities of pandemics using the theory of syndemics, investigate the social and health impacts of stress and stigma, and address important methodological and ethical issues. As COVID‐19 is unlikely to be the last global pandemic, stronger involvement of biological anthropology in pandemic studies and public health policy and research is vital.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Dimka
- Centre for Research on Pandemics and Society Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Norway
| | | | - Heather T. Battles
- Anthropology, School of Social Sciences The University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
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Liu L, Liu W, He Y, Liu Y, Zhang Y. The cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) controls expression of the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) in Yersinia pestis. Can J Microbiol 2022; 68:501-506. [PMID: 35801716 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2021-0314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is one of the most dangerous pathogens in the world. Both the cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) and ferric uptake regulator (Fur) are global regulators that control the expression of a great deal of genes involved in a variety of cellular functions in Y. pestis. In this work, two CRP box-like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences were detected in the upstream DNA region of fur, suggesting that the transcription of fur might be directly regulated by CRP in Y. pestis. Thus, transcriptional regulation of fur by CRP was investigated by primer extension, quantitative real-time PCR, LacZ fusion, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The results demonstrated that CRP was able to bind the regulatory DNA region of fur to activate its transcription. The data presented here not only suggested that the CRP and Fur regulons were bridged together via the direct regulation of fur by CRP, but also provided us a deeper understanding of the transcriptional regulation of fur in Y. pestis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Liu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China.,The First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China
| | - Wanbing Liu
- Department of Transfusion Medicine, General Hospital of Central Theater Command of the PLA, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China
| | - Yingyu He
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan Liu
- The First School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, Guangdong, China
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45
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Fan Q, Zuo J, Wang H, Grenier D, Yi L, Wang Y. Contribution of quorum sensing to virulence and antibiotic resistance in zoonotic bacteria. Biotechnol Adv 2022; 59:107965. [PMID: 35487393 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2022.107965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Quorum sensing (QS), which is a key part of cell/cell communication, is widely distributed in microorganisms, especially in bacteria. Bacteria can produce and detect the presence of QS signal molecule, perceive the composition and density of microorganisms in their complex habitat, and then dynamically regulate their own gene expression to adapt to their environment. Among the many traits controlled by QS in pathogenic bacteria is the expression of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance. Many pathogenic bacteria rely on QS to govern the production of virulence factors and express drug-resistance, especially in zoonotic bacteria. The threat of antibiotic resistant zoonotic bacteria has called for alternative antimicrobial strategies that would mitigate the increase of classical resistance mechanism. Targeting QS has proven to be a promising alternative to conventional antibiotic for controlling infections. Here we review the QS systems in common zoonotic pathogenic bacteria and outline how QS may control the virulence and antibiotic resistance of zoonotic bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingying Fan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathogen and Immunology of Animal of Luoyang, Luoyang, China
| | - Jing Zuo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathogen and Immunology of Animal of Luoyang, Luoyang, China
| | - Haikun Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathogen and Immunology of Animal of Luoyang, Luoyang, China
| | - Daniel Grenier
- Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Buccale (GREB), Faculté de Médecine Dentaire, Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
| | - Li Yi
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathogen and Immunology of Animal of Luoyang, Luoyang, China; College of Life Science, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang, China.
| | - Yang Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Pathogen and Immunology of Animal of Luoyang, Luoyang, China.
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Gahlot DK, Wai SN, Erickson DL, Francis MS. Cpx-signalling facilitates Hms-dependent biofilm formation by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2022; 8:13. [PMID: 35351893 PMCID: PMC8964730 DOI: 10.1038/s41522-022-00281-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteria often reside in sessile communities called biofilms, where they adhere to a variety of surfaces and exist as aggregates in a viscous polymeric matrix. Biofilms are resistant to antimicrobial treatments, and are a major contributor to the persistence and chronicity of many bacterial infections. Herein, we determined that the CpxA-CpxR two-component system influenced the ability of enteropathogenic Yersinia pseudotuberculosis to develop biofilms. Mutant bacteria that accumulated the active CpxR~P isoform failed to form biofilms on plastic or on the surface of the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode. A failure to form biofilms on the worm surface prompted their survival when grown on the lawns of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Exopolysaccharide production by the hms loci is the major driver of biofilms formed by Yersinia. We used a number of molecular genetic approaches to demonstrate that active CpxR~P binds directly to the promoter regulatory elements of the hms loci to activate the repressors of hms expression and to repress the activators of hms expression. Consequently, active Cpx-signalling culminated in a loss of exopolysaccharide production. Hence, the development of Y. pseudotuberculosis biofilms on multiple surfaces is controlled by the Cpx-signalling, and at least in part this occurs through repressive effects on the Hms-dependent exopolysaccharide production.
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Lu S, Andersen JF, Bosio CF, Hinnebusch BJ, Ribeiro JMC. Integrated analysis of the sialotranscriptome and sialoproteome of the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis. J Proteomics 2022; 254:104476. [PMID: 34990822 PMCID: PMC8883501 DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2021.104476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Over the last 20 years, advances in sequencing technologies paired with biochemical and structural studies have shed light on the unique pharmacological arsenal produced by the salivary glands of hematophagous arthropods that can target host hemostasis and immune response, favoring blood acquisition and, in several cases, enhancing pathogen transmission. Here we provide a deeper insight into Xenopsylla cheopis salivary gland contents pairing transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. Sequencing of 99 pairs of salivary glands from adult female X. cheopis yielded a total of 7432 coding sequences functionally classified into 25 classes, of which the secreted protein class was the largest. The translated transcripts also served as a reference database for the proteomic study, which identified peptides from 610 different proteins. Both approaches revealed that the acid phosphatase family is the most abundant salivary protein group from X. cheopis. Additionally, we report here novel sequences similar to the FS-H family, apyrases, odorant and hormone-binding proteins, antigen 5-like proteins, adenosine deaminases, peptidase inhibitors from different subfamilies, proteins rich in Glu, Gly, and Pro residues, and several potential secreted proteins with unknown function. SIGNIFICANCE: The rat flea X. cheopis is the main vector of Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of the bubonic plague responsible for three major pandemics that marked human history and remains a burden to human health. In addition to Y. pestis fleas can also transmit other medically relevant pathogens including Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. The studies of salivary proteins from other hematophagous vectors highlighted the importance of such molecules for blood acquisition and pathogen transmission. However, despite the historical and clinical importance of X. cheopis little is known regarding their salivary gland contents and potential activities. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of X. cheopis salivary composition using next generation sequencing methods paired with LC-MS/MS analysis, revealing its unique composition compared to the sialomes of other blood-feeding arthropods, and highlighting the different pathways taken during the evolution of salivary gland concoctions. In the absence of the X. cheopis genome sequence, this work serves as an extended reference for the identification of potential pharmacological proteins and peptides present in flea saliva.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Lu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - John F Andersen
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Christopher F Bosio
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - B Joseph Hinnebusch
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, MT, USA
| | - José M C Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Zhang W, Song X, Zhai L, Guo J, Zheng X, Zhang L, Lv M, Hu L, Zhou D, Xiong X, Yang W. Complete Protection Against Yersinia pestis in BALB/c Mouse Model Elicited by Immunization With Inhalable Formulations of rF1-V10 Fusion Protein via Aerosolized Intratracheal Inoculation. Front Immunol 2022; 13:793382. [PMID: 35154110 PMCID: PMC8825376 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.793382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Pneumonic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is an infectious disease with high mortality rates unless treated early with antibiotics. Currently, no FDA-approved vaccine against plague is available for human use. The capsular antigen F1, the low-calcium-response V antigen (LcrV), and the recombinant fusion protein (rF1-LcrV) of Y. pestis are leading subunit vaccine candidates under intense investigation; however, the inability of recombinant antigens to provide complete protection against pneumonic plague in animal models remains a significant concern. In this study, we compared immunoprotection against pneumonic plague provided by rF1, rV10 (a truncation of LcrV), and rF1-V10, and vaccinations delivered via aerosolized intratracheal (i.t.) inoculation or subcutaneous (s.c.) injection. We further considered three vaccine formulations: conventional liquid, dry powder produced by spray freeze drying, or dry powder reconstituted in PBS. The main findings are: (i) rF1-V10 immunization with any formulation via i.t. or s.c. routes conferred 100% protection against Y. pestis i.t. infection; (ii) rF1 or rV10 immunization using i.t. delivery provided significantly stronger protection than rF1 or rV10 immunization via s.c. delivery; and (iii) powder formulations of subunit vaccines induced immune responses and provided protection equivalent to those elicited by unprocessed liquid formulations of vaccines. Our data indicate that immunization with a powder formulation of rF1-V10 vaccines via an i.t. route may be a promising vaccination strategy for providing protective immunity against pneumonic plague.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolin Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Lina Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Jianshu Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xinying Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Lili Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Lingfei Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Dongsheng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaolu Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Wenhui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
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Malyarchuk AB, Andreeva TV, Kuznetsova IL, Kunizheva SS, Protasova MS, Uralsky LI, Tyazhelova TV, Gusev FE, Manakhov AD, Rogaev EI. Genomics of Ancient Pathogens: First Advances and Prospects. BIOCHEMISTRY (MOSCOW) 2022; 87:242-258. [PMID: 35526849 PMCID: PMC8916790 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297922030051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Paleogenomics is one of the urgent and promising areas of interdisciplinary research in the today’s world science. New genomic methods of ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, such as next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, make it possible not only to obtain detailed genetic information about historical and prehistoric human populations, but also to study individual microbial and viral pathogens and microbiomes from different ancient and historical objects. Studies of aDNA of pathogens by reconstructing their genomes have so far yielded complete sequences of the ancient pathogens that played significant role in the history of the world: Yersiniapestis (plague), Variola virus (smallpox), Vibriocholerae (cholera), HBV (hepatitis B virus), as well as the equally important endemic human infectious agents: Mycobacteriumtuberculosis (tuberculosis), Mycobacteriumleprae (leprosy), and Treponemapallidum (syphilis). Genomic data from these pathogens complemented the information previously obtained by paleopathologists and allowed not only to identify pathogens from the past pandemics, but also to recognize the pathogen lineages that are now extinct, to refine chronology of the pathogen appearance in human populations, and to reconstruct evolutionary history of the pathogens that are still relevant to public health today. In this review, we describe state-of-the-art genomic research of the origins and evolution of many ancient pathogens and viruses and examine mechanisms of the emergence and spread of the ancient infections in the mankind history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra B Malyarchuk
- Center for Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia.
| | - Tatiana V Andreeva
- Center for Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119234, Russia
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Irina L Kuznetsova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Svetlana S Kunizheva
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Maria S Protasova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Lev I Uralsky
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Tatiana V Tyazhelova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Fedor E Gusev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
| | - Andrey D Manakhov
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
| | - Evgeny I Rogaev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russia.
- Center for Genetics and Life Science, Sirius University of Science and Technology, Sochi, 354340, Russia
- Department of Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, USA
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Ramasindrazana B, Parany MNJ, Rasoamalala F, Rasoanoro M, Rahajandraibe S, Vogler AJ, Sahl JW, Andrianaivoarimanana V, Rajerison M, Wagner DM. Local-scale diversity of Yersinia pestis: A case study from Ambohitromby, Ankazobe District, Madagascar. Zoonoses Public Health 2022; 69:61-70. [PMID: 34480413 DOI: 10.1111/zph.12892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Plague is a re-emerging zoonotic disease and a major public health concern in several portions of the world, especially in Madagascar. We report on the presence of different subtypes of Yersinia pestis co-occurring in the same locality. After confirmation of a human plague case in Ambohitromby Commune (Ankazobe District) via isolation of Y. pestis, we undertook small mammal trapping to identify the circulation of Y. pestis amongst rodents in this locality; blood samples were collected from rodents for seroprevalence analysis. Of the 60 individuals of Rattus rattus captured, one yielded an isolate of Y. pestis, 13 others were positive for F1 antigen of Y. pestis using a rapid diagnostic test, and 4 were PCR positive targeting the caf1 and pla genes; 28/60 (46.7%) of the captured R. rattus were seropositive for Y. pestis. Whole-genome SNP analyses revealed that the two isolates obtained from the human case, and the R. rattus belonged to two different subtypes of Y. pestis (s05 and s13, respectively) that were circulating concurrently in Ambohitromby in 2016. Three Y. pestis subtypes (s03, s05 and s13) have now been isolated from Ambohitromby. Subtype s05 had been persisting there for >10 years but one or both of the other subtypes may have been introduced from the Central Highlands region as they were not observed in previous years (s13) or only observed once previously (s03). High seroprevalence against Y. pestis in R. rattus suggests that a portion of the local murine population may have acquired resistance to Y. pestis. Future research should focus on genomically characterizing Y. pestis strains circulating in Ankazobe District and other plague-endemic regions of Madagascar to better understand the overall phylogeography of Y. pestis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beza Ramasindrazana
- Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Domaine Sciences et Technologies, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Mamionah N J Parany
- Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Domaine Sciences et Technologies, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Fanohinjanaharinirina Rasoamalala
- Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Domaine Sciences et Technologies, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Mercia Rasoanoro
- Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Domaine Sciences et Technologies, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
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