This study prospectively analyzed the efficacy of very prolonged courses of pegylated Escherichia coli asparaginase (PEGasparaginase) and Erwinia asparaginase in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. Patients received 15 PEGasparaginase infusions (2500 IU/m(2) every 2 weeks) in intensification after receiving native E coli asparaginase in induction. In case of allergy to or sil...

Asparaginase is an expensive drug, but important in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In order to compare costs of PEGasparaginase, Erwinia asparaginase and native E. coli asparaginase, we performed a cost-analysis in the Dutch Childhood Oncology Group ALL-10 medium-risk group intensification protocol. Treatment costs were calculated based on patient level data of 84 subjects, and were re...

The lipopolysaccharide of Erwinia carotovora was analyzed by quantitative sugar analysis, methylation analysis, and chromic oxide oxidation. This led to the following structure of the core oligosaccharide: (Formula; see text).

The bacteriophage-encoded polysaccharide depolymerase produced in Erwinia amylovora has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The bacteriophage ERA103 genome was observed to consist of five EcoRI fragments, labeled as follows: A, 7.5 kilobases (kb); B, 5.0 kb; C, 2.7 kb; D, 2.1 kb; and E, 1.8 kb. A restriction map for ERA103 was also prepared. Each of the fragments were cloned into the...

Recent examination of the relationships of the dry necrosis-inducing (necrogenic) erwinias using 16S rDNA sequences demonstrated that these bacteria comprise a polyphyletic group and, therefore, have been subdivided into three distinct genera, Erwinia, Brenneria and Pectobacterium, with the classical 'amylovora' group species now being distributed nearly evenly among the first two. To further a...

The physicochemical properties of the antileukemic Lasparaginase from Erwinia carotovora have been studied and compared with those of the corresponding clinically effective enzyme from Escherichia coli B. Although both enzymes are tetramers with similar molecular weight, the amino acid compositions are distinctly different and the Erwinia enzyme is more basic as judged by polyacrylamide electro...

BACKGROUND Erwinia asparaginase is antigenically distinct from E.coli-derived asparaginase and may be used after E.coli-derived asparaginase hypersensitivity. In a single-arm, multicenter study, we evaluated nadir serum asparaginase activity (NSAA) and toxicity with intravenously administered asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi (IV-Erwinia) in children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leu...

Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease of apples and pears, is one of the most important plant bacterial pathogens with worldwide economic significance. Recent reports on the complete or draft genome sequences of four species in the genus Erwinia, including E. amylovora, E. pyrifoliae, E. tasmaniensis, and E. billingiae, have provided us near complete genetic information abo...

Spontaneous and Tn9-induced mutants of Erwinia chrysanthemi were isolated which affect the degradative pathway of galacturonate and ketodeoxygluconate. The mutations were characterized both biochemically and functionally by complementation analysis and localized in the E. chrysanthemi chromosome. The kdgK gene mapped very close to ile, the kdgA gene was between trp and his, and the exuT-uxaC-ux...

The temperate phage 59 from Erwinia carotovora and its DNA were studied. The phage particles have an icosahedral head and a long noncontractile tail with a base plate. The virus DNA makes up 50% of the total virus and exists as a linear molecule (molecular weight, 2.6 X 10(7)). A model of virus structural organization is presented.