[Canlyme note: Although Borrelia are not known to secrete toxins, this type of research may be beneficial for chemical constituents such as borrelia lipoproteins and lipopolysaccharides.]
November 4th, 2014 Published online
Engineered liposomes sequester bacterial exotoxins and protect from severe invasive infections in mice
Abstract
Gram-positive bacterial pathogens that secrete cytotoxic pore-forming toxins, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, cause a substantial burden of disease. Inspired by the principles that govern natural toxin-host interactions, we have engineered artificial liposomes that are tailored to effectively compete with host cells for toxin binding. Liposome-bound toxins are unable to lyse mammalian cells in vitro. We use these artificial liposomes as decoy targets to sequester bacterial toxins that are produced during active infection in vivo. Administration of artificial liposomes within 10 h after infection rescues mice from septicemia caused by S. aureusand S. pneumoniae, whereas untreated mice die within 24–33 h. Furthermore, liposomes protect mice against invasive pneumococcal pneumonia. Composed exclusively of naturally occurring lipids, tailored liposomes are not bactericidal and could be used therapeutically either alone or in conjunction with antibiotics to combat bacterial infections and to minimize toxin-induced tissue damage that occurs during bacterial clearance.
In 17 patients with Lyme disease, synovial specimens, obtained by synovectomy or needle biopsy, showed non-specific villous hypertrophy, synovial cell hyperplasia, prominent microvasculature, lymphoplasmacellular infiltration, and sometimes lymphoid follicles. The larger surgically obtained specimens also showed striking deposition of fibrin in synovial stroma and a form of endarteritis obliterans. In 2 patients, siprochetes were seen…
IN FRANCE – 300 people with Lyme disease will file criminal complaints in early January 2018 against the State, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) and the National Reference Center (CNR) in Strasbourg for influence peddling, abuse of company or government assets, concealment of abuse of government or company…
Abstract Residents of remote and Indigenous communities might experience higher exposure to some zoonotic parasites than the general North American population. Human sero-surveillance conducted in two Saulteaux communities found 113 volunteers exposed as follows: Trichinella (2.7%), Toxocara canis (4.4%), Echinococcus (4.4%), and Toxoplasma gondii (1.8%). In dogs, 41% of 51 fecal samples were positive for at…
CBC TV Ottawa … Lyme disease ticks likely breeding in Ottawa Ticks carrying Lyme disease are likely breeding in Ottawa, leading to an increase in reported cases, according to a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). Lyme disease is a bacterial infection often transmitted by an infected tick and causing muscle pain,…
Abstract Background: Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a potentially severe tick-borne infection caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum) of the genus Rickettsia. Here, we describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of an unusual cluster of HGA cases detected in the Estrie region in Québec, Canada, during the 2021 transmission season. Methods: Confirmed cases…
By Pamela Weintraub “Many physicians who treat tick-borne diseases now combine conventional medicine with gentler integrative strategies — and more long-term patients are getting well. In the summer of 1997, Jennifer Crystal discovered a red, splotchy rash on her arm. A 19-year-old counselor at a camp in Maine at the time, Crystal had grown up…
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