Immunological heterogeneity has long been the major challenge in developing broadly effective vaccines to protect humans and animals against bacterial and viral infections. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains, the leading bacterial cause of diarrhea in humans, express at least 23 immunologically different colonization factor antigens (CFAs) and two distinct enterotoxins [heat-labile...

In two studies, involving 75 and 72 workers, potential exposure to 3-chloro-4-fluoroaniline (CFA) was biologically monitored by determination of its main urinary metabolite 2-amino-4-chloro-5-fluorophenol sulfate (CFA-S). As this method only allows the detection of recent exposure, analysis of CFA adducts bound to hemoglobin (Hb) was investigated as a method that allows biological monitoring of...

Air pollution is a risk factor for respiratory infections, and one of its main components is particulate matter (PM), which is comprised of a number of particles that contain iron, such as coal fly ash (CFA). Since free iron concentrations are extremely low in airway surface liquid (ASL), we hypothesize that CFA impairs antimicrobial peptides (AMP) function and can be a source of iron to bacter...

In 2003, Lautsch and von Eye edited a special issue of this journal, in which the past development of Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA; Lienert, 1969; Lienert & Krauth, 1975; von Eye, 2002; Lautsch & von Weber, 1995) was described, and current trends of development were charted. Only two years have past, and the development of CFA is proceeding at a rapid pace. In the preface to the 2003 spec...

BACKGROUND We conducted a nested case-control study in 397 rural Egyptian children <36 months of age to assess the correlation between serum levels of antibodies against toxin and colonization factors (CFs) and the risk of homologous enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) diarrhea. METHODS Active case detection was performed via semiweekly home visits, and blood was obtained at 3-month inter...

The effect of the single European currency on African economies is uncertain. Many agree that the euro, which will become the sole legal tender in 11 European countries (euroland) after June 30, 2002, will have an economic effect on the 14 African countries that use the CFA franc as their currency, but the direction of that effect is unknown. Currently, euroland and the CFA countries have clo...

Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to a pilus colonization factor (colonization factor antigen III [CFA/III]) of human enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) were developed and characterized. All of the MAbs isolated belonged to the immunoglobulin G2a subclass. The specificity of these MAbs for CFA/III pili was demonstrated by the immunogold-labeling technique. The presence of more than one ep...

Cyclopropane fatty acids (CFAs) are generally synthesized as bacterial cultures enter stationary phase. In Escherichia coli, the onset of CFA synthesis results from increased transcription of cfa, the gene encoding CFA synthase. However, the increased level of CFA synthase activity is transient; the activity quickly declines to the basal level. We report that the loss of CFA activity is due to ...