Volume: 3 Table of Contents: I. LYMENET: Lyme Disease Newsgroup Proposal Ready for Discussion II. Q&A: Experience with timentin or cefpodoxime in LD? (Q) III. J INFECT DIS: Cultivation and phylogenetic characterization of a newly recognized human pathogenic protozoan IV. FEMS MICROBIOL LETT: Relationship between infectivity and OspC expression in Lyme disease Borrelia V. MICROBIOL IMMUNOL: Polymerase chain reaction analysis of Borrelia species isolated in Japan VI. About The LymeNet Newsletter Newsletter: *********************************************************************** * The National Lyme Disease Network * * LymeNet Newsletter * *********************************************************************** IDX# Volume 3 - Number 04 - 3/20/95 IDX# INDEX IDX# IDX# I. LYMENET: Lyme Disease Newsgroup Proposal Ready for IDX# Discussion IDX# II. Q&A: Experience with timentin or cefpodoxime in LD? (Q) IDX# III. J INFECT DIS: Cultivation and phylogenetic characterization IDX# of a newly recognized human pathogenic protozoan IDX# IV. FEMS MICROBIOL LETT: Relationship between infectivity IDX# and OspC expression in Lyme disease Borrelia IDX# V. MICROBIOL IMMUNOL: Polymerase chain reaction analysis of IDX# Borrelia species isolated in Japan IDX# VI. About The LymeNet Newsletter IDX# I. LYMENET: Lyme Disease Newsgroup Proposal Ready for Discussion ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sender: Linda Palund <[email protected]> A proposal has been made to the Usenet Newsgroups for the creation of a Lyme Disease newsgroup. The proposed discussion group would be intended as an open forum on the many aspects of Lyme Disease as experienced by everyone involved or interested in the disease. This newsgroup will give everyone an opportunity to interact with other people affected by Lyme disease and to share what knowledge and information they might be able to contribute. For many Lyme Disease patients, unable to participate in an established support group because of the debilitating effects of the disease, this discussion group will enable them to communicate with other sufferers from all over the world. The RFD (Request for Discussion) was submitted March 7th to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, alt.med.fibromyalgia, alt.support.arthritis, misc.health.arthritis, sci.med, & sci.med.immunology. Please take a look at it and feel free to e-mail its proponent, Linda Palund at [email protected] . ----- II. Q&A: Experience with timentin or cefpodoxime in LD? (Q) ------------------------------------------------------------ Sender: Clyde Smith-Stubbs <[email protected]> Does anyone have any experience with the use of these antibiotics in treating Lyme Disease? 1) cefpodoxime proxetil (3rd generation oral cephalosporin) 2) timentin (ticacillin + clavulanic acid) ----- III. J INFECT DIS: Cultivation and phylogenetic characterization of a newly recognized human pathogenic protozoan ----------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHORS: Thomford JW, Conrad PA, Telford SR 3rd, Mathiesen D, Bowman BH, Spielman A, Eberhard ML, Herwaldt BL, Quick RE, Persing DH ORGANIZATION: Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis REFERENCE: Journal of Infectious Diseases. 169(5):1050-6, 1994 ABSTRACT: An intraerythrocytic protozoan (WAl) recently isolated from a patient in Washington State was shown to be morphologically identical to Babesia microti but biologically and genetically distinct. Continuous growth of WAl was established in stationary erythrocyte cultures. Hybridization of a chemiluminescent Babesia-specific DNA probe to Southern blots of restriction enzyme-digested genomic DNA showed that WAl could be distinguished from other Babesia species that were antigenically cross-reactive (Babesia gibsoni and babesial parasites from desert bighorn sheep, ovis canadensis nelsoni) or known to infect humans (B. microti, Babesia divergens, and Babesia equi), or both. A 1436-bp portion of the nuclear small subunit RRNA gene of WAI was sequenced and analyzed. Genetic distance analysis showed that WAl is most closely related to the canine pathogen B. gibsoni and lies within a phylogenetic cluster with Theileria species and B. equi. The methodology described will be useful for improved diagnosis and identification of human protozoal pathogens. ----- IV. FEMS MICROBIOL LETT: Relationship between infectivity and OspC expression in Lyme disease Borrelia ----------------------------------------------------------- AUTHORS: Masuzawa T, Kurita T, Kawabata H, Yanagihara Y ORGANIZATION: Department of Microbiology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan REFERENCE: FEMS Microbiol Lett 1994 Nov 1;123(3):319-24 ABSTRACT: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strain 297 and B. garinii strains HP1 and 12-92 were serially subcultured for 36-50 passages in vitro for 1 year. All low-passage strains showed abundant expression of outer surface protein C (OspC) in the 22-23-kDa range, but the high-passage strains lost or showed reduced expression of OspC in comparison with the low-passage strains. The low-passage strains efficiently infected outbred ddY mice when inoculated into the hind footpad or peritoneal cavity. In contrast, the incidence of infection with the high-passage strains was low. Isolates from the bladders of mice inoculated with the high-passage strains expressed large amounts of OspC in comparison with those originally inoculated. These results indicate that OspC expression is related to the infectivity of Lyme disease borreliae. ----- V. MICROBIOL IMMUNOL: Polymerase chain reaction analysis of Borrelia species isolated in Japan -------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHORS: Kawabata H, Tashibu H, Yamada K, Masuzawa T, Yanagihara Y ORGANIZATION: Department of Microbiology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan REFERENCE: Microbiol Immunol 1994;38(8):591-8 ABSTRACT: Primer reactivities of 25 Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato isolates from the ticks, Ixodes persulcatus and I. ovatus, in Japan and 10 isolates in Europe and North America were investigated. The methods used in this study were the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on the flagellin structural gene (fla), the outer surface protein A gene (osp A) and the outer surface protein B gene (osp B), and the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of PCR products from osp A and osp B. The flagellin PCR primer set reacted with all the Borrelia strains tested. Four genospecies, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, B. afzelii and B. japonica, were differentiated by PCR using osp A and osp B primers combined with RFLP analysis. Some Japanese isolates from I. persulcatus were identified as B. garinii or B. afzelii. The other isolates from I. persulcatus did not fit in any of the 4 genospecies. These results suggested that Japanese isolates from I. persulcatus are highly heterogeneous in their osp A and osp B structures. Furthermore, PCR primers targeting fla are applicable to the gene diagnosis for Lyme disease in Japan, and osp A and osp B primers can be used to classify B. burgdorferi sensu lato isolates into genospecies by PCR and RFLP analyses. ----- VI. ABOUT THE LYMENET NEWSLETTER ----------------------------------- For the most current information on LymeNet subscriptions, contributions, and other sources of information on Lyme disease, please request the LymeNet Resource Guide. To obtain the Guide, send a blank message to: [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The LymeNet Resource Guide is in Revision: 1.10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LymeNet - The Internet Lyme Disease Information Source ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor-in-Chief: Marc C. Gabriel <[email protected]> FAX: 908-789-0028 Contributing Editors: Carl Brenner <[email protected]> John Setel O'Donnell <[email protected]> Frank Demarest <[email protected]> Advisors: Carol-Jane Stolow, Director <[email protected]> William S. Stolow, President <[email protected]> The Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey (908-390-5027) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WHEN COMMENTS ARE PRESENTED WITH AN ATTRIBUTION, THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OPINIONS/ANALYSES OF THE EDITORS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS NEWSLETTER MAY BE REPRODUCED AND/OR POSTED ON BULLETIN BOARDS FREELY AS LONG AS IT IS NOT MODIFIED OR ABRIDGED IN ANY WAY. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SEND ALL BUG REPORTS TO [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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