Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-116).

Thesis (Ph. D., Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry)--University of Idaho, August 2009. / Major professor: Carolyn H. Bohach. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 180 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-146).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--Carleton University, 1997. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Washington State University, December 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-76).

Binding of K88ab pili by brush border membrane and mucus from pig small intestine was characterized by inhibition assay and Western blot. In Western blot, K88ab pili were bound by two major brush border membrane polypeptides with molecular weight of 61,500 and 57,000 in addition to numerous minor polypeptides and a major mucus polypeptide with molecular weight of 27,500. The results from Western blot assays with periodate oxidized and carbamylated brush border membrane and inhibition assay with brush border membrane glycopeptide suggest that amino groups (rather than carbohydrate) present on the protein moiety are a part of the recognition site for K88ab pili of receptor polypeptides in brush border membrane. Differences were obtained in the binding patterns of K88ab pili when brush border membranes were prepared from small intestines obtained from 2-, 21-, and 42-day-old piglets as well as adult hogs. Binding of K88ab pili by mucus polypeptides was greater when prepared from small intestines obtained from 2-day-old piglets than from piglets of other ages and adult hogs. In inhibition assay, most fractions from sow milk and colostrum inhibited binding of K88ab pili. After gel filtration of colostral whey, fractions which contained IgG, IgA, and IgM produced the strongest inhibition of K88ab binding. Among fractions prepared from cow milk, casein and skim milk significantly inhibited binding of K88ab pili. In Western blot, α_s1-casein, immunoglobulin chains, and MFGM polypeptides in sow milk and colostrum were shown to be able to bind K88ab pili. Additionally, α_s1-casein was the major protein in bovine milk responsible for binding K88ab pili. In dot blot assay, IgG as well as brush border membrane could strongly bind K88ab pili. However, bovine α_s1-casein showed only weak binding of K88ab pili. Binding of K88ab pili to these proteins and brush border membrane was inhibited by carbamylation and by addition of 100 mM D-galactosamine. The results suggest that the K88ab-binding proteins in milk and colostrum compete to bind K88ab pili with the receptors in the brush border membrane and that mechanisms involved in binding of K88ab pili by these proteins is similar to that by brush border membrane. / Ph. D.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

theresa.j.ochoa@uth.tmc.edu / Article / BACKGROUND: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains are pediatric pathogens commonly isolated from both healthy and sick children with diarrhea in areas of endemicity. The aim of this study was to compare the bacterial load of EPEC isolated from stool samples from children with and without diarrhea to determine whether bacterial load might be a useful tool for further study of this phenomenon. METHODS: EPEC was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of colonies isolated on MacConkey plates from 53 diarrheal and 90 healthy children aged <2 years. DNA was isolated from stool samples by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide extraction. To standardize quantification by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), the correlation between fluorescence threshold cycle and copy number of the intimin gene of EPEC E2348/69 was determined. RESULTS: The detection limit of qRT-PCR was 5 bacteria/mg stool. The geometric mean load in diarrhea was 299 bacteria/mg (95% confidence interval [CI], 77-1164 bacteria/mg), compared with 29 bacteria/mg (95% CI, 10-87 bacteria/mg) in control subjects (P = .016). Bacterial load was significantly higher in children with diarrhea than in control subjects among children <12 months of age (178 vs 5 bacteria/mg; P = .006) and among children with EPEC as the sole pathogen (463 vs 24 bacteria/mg; P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: EPEC load measured by qRT-PCR is higher in diarrheal than in healthy children. qRT-PCR may be useful to study the relationship between disease and colonization in settings of endemicity.

Bibliography: leaves 144-174. / ix, 176, [66] leaves, [22] leaves of plates : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Isolates Escherichia coli from Adelaide children and screens for the presence of Shiga-like toxins genes using the polymerase chain reaction and by hybridization with specific DNA and oligodeoxynucleotide probes. Four SLT-producing strains were isolated. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, 1994