The adhesin pertactin (Prn) is one of the major virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis, the etiological agent of whooping cough. However, a significant prevalence of Prn-deficient (Prn(-)) B. pertussis was observed in Japan. The Prn(-) isolate was first discovered in 1997, and 33 (27%) Prn(-) isolates were identified among 121 B. pertussis isolates collected from 1990 to 2009. Sequence analy...

Scrapie is a transmissible neurodegenerative disease caused by unusual pathogens called prions. The interval between inoculation and illness for experimental mouse scrapie is dramatically influenced by an incubation time gene (Prn-i) that is linked to Prn-p, the structural gene for prion protein (PrP). Although prion proteins from mouse strains with short and long scrapie incubation times diffe...

Pathogen adaptation has been proposed to contribute to the resurgence of pertussis. A striking recent example is the emergence of isolates deficient in the vaccine component pertactin (Prn). This study explores the emergence of such Prn-deficient isolates in six European countries. During 2007 to 2009, 0/83 isolates from the Netherlands, 0/18 from the United Kingdom, 0/17 Finland, 0/23 Denmark,...

BACKGROUND A recent increase in Bordetella pertussis without the pertactin protein, an acellular vaccine immunogen, has been reported in the United States. Determining whether pertactin-deficient (PRN(-)) B. pertussis is evading vaccine-induced immunity or altering the severity of illness is needed. METHODS We retrospectively assessed for associations between pertactin production and both cli...

Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, regulates expression of its virulence factors via a two-component signal transduction system encoded by the bvg regulatory locus. It has been shown by activation kinetics that several of the virulence factors are differentially regulated. fha is transcribed at 10 min following an inducing signal, while ptx is not transcribed until 2 t...

The postemergent herbicide propanil (PRN ; also known as 3,4-dichloropropionanilide) is used on rice and wheat crops and has well-known immunotoxic effects on various compartments of the immune system, including T-helper lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and macrophages. It is unclear, however, whether PRN also adversely affects cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) , the primary (1 degrees ) effectors of c...

Four commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits were evaluated in comparison with the plaque reduction neutralization (PRN) test for detection of measles virus antibody. The EIA kits, Enzygnost (Behring), Diamedix, Vidas (bioMerieux Vitek), and Measlestat (Biowhittaker), were assessed with two PRN cutoff titers: a PRN titer of 8, the lowest detectable antibody level by the PRN test un...

P.69 pertactin (P.69 Prn), an adhesion molecule from the causative agent of pertussis, Bordetella pertussis, is present in cellular and most acellular vaccines that are currently used worldwide. Although both humoral immunity and cellular immunity directed against P.69 Prn have been implicated in protective immune mechanisms, the identities of CD4(+) T-cell epitopes on the P.69 Prn protein rema...

Pertactin (PRN) is an autotransporter protein produced by all members of the Bordetella bronchiseptica cluster, which includes B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, and B. bronchiseptica. It is a primary component of acellular pertussis vaccines, and anti-PRN antibody titers correlate with protection. In vitro studies have suggested that PRN functions as an adhesin and that an RGD motif located in th...

BACKGROUND PRN prescriptions enablehealthcare staff to respond quickly to the urgent clinical needs of the user without having to contact the responsible clinician (RC). One problem, established amongst most institutions by NICE regarding the use of PRN, is that most of these institutions struggle to keep an updated or full record on the PRN medications. Thus, the aim of this audit was to check...