A Western blot (immunoblot) assay (WBA) for the detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies to Shiga toxins Stx2 and Stx1 in sera from 110 patients with enteropathic hemolytic-uremic syndrome (53 culture confirmed to have Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli [STEC] infection) and 110 age-matched controls was established by using a chemiluminescence detection system. Thirty-nine (74%) of the 53 c...

Optical maps for five representative clinical, food-borne and bovine-derived isolates from the 2006 Escherichia coli O157 : H7 outbreak linked to fresh spinach in the United States showed a common set of 14 distinct chromosomal markers that define the outbreak strain. Partial 454 DNA sequencing was used to characterize the optically mapped chromosomal markers. The markers included insertions, d...

Infection with Shiga toxin- (Stx-) producing E. coli causes life threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a leading cause of acute renal failure in children. Of the two antigenically distinct toxins, Stx1 and Stx2, Stx2 is more firmly linked with the development of HUS. In the present study, selective evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) was used in an attempt to identify ...

Shiga toxin (Stx), the main virulence factor of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli, is a major public health threat, causing hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Currently, there are no approved therapeutics for these infections; however manganese has been reported to provide protection from the Stx1 variant isolated from Shigella dysenteriae (Stx1-S) both in vitro and in vivo...

Faecal samples from 230 diarrhoeic and healthy calves aged 0–6 weeks, from 100 farms in Austria, were examined between October 2004 and February 2005 for the presence of bacteria, especially Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), viruses and parasites. Escherichia coli was detected in 17% of all the faecal samples and was more prevalent in healthy calves. However, E. coli F5 was identif...

Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 is a major cause of food poisoning that can result in severe diarrhea and, in some cases, renal failure. The pathogenesis of E. coli O157:H7 is in large part due to the production of Shiga toxin (Stx), an AB(5) toxin that consists of a ribosomal RNA-cleaving A-subunit surrounded by a pentamer of receptor-binding B subunits. There are two major isoforms, Stx1 and ...

Purified Shiga toxin (Stx) alone is capable of producing systemic complications, including hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), in animal models of disease. Stx includes two major antigenic forms (Stx1 and Stx2), with minor variants of Stx2 (Stx2a to -h). Stx2a is more potent than Stx1. Epidemiologic studies suggest that Stx2 subtypes also differ in potency, but these differences have not been well...

Shiga toxins 1 and 2 (Stx1 and Stx2) from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria were simultaneously detected with a newly developed, high-throughput antibody microarray platform. The proteinaceous toxins were immobilized and sandwiched between biorecognition elements (monoclonal antibodies) and pooled horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated monoclonal antibodies. Following the reaction ...

Following the recent outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O104:H4 infection in Germany, the demand for fast detection of STEC has again increased. Various real-time PCR-based methods enabling detection of Shiga toxin genes (stx) have been developed and can be used for applications in food microbiology. The present study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of seven com...

Synaptic vesicles undergo sequential steps in preparation for neurotransmitter release. Individual SNARE proteins and the SNARE complex itself have been implicated in these processes. However, discrete effects of SNARE proteins on synaptic function have been difficult to assess using complete loss-of-function approaches. We therefore used a genetic titration technique in cultured mouse hippocam...