Live-attenuated bacterial vectors for antigens delivery have aroused growing interest in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Their potency to stimulate innate immunity and to promote intracellular antigen delivery into antigen-presenting cells could be exploited to elicit a strong and specific cellular immune response against tumor cells. We previously described genetically-modified and attenuat...

Regulation of gene expression plays a key role in bacterial adaptability to changes in the environment. An integral part of this gene regulatory network is achieved via quorum sensing (QS) systems that coordinate bacterial responses under high cellular densities. In the nosocomial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the 2-alkyl-4-quinolone (pqs) signaling pathway is crucial for bacterial survival ...

Strategies to sensitize human tumors that are resistant to apoptosis have been clinically unsuccessful. We demonstrate that a structurally modified chimeric Pseudomonas exotoxin, PEdelta53L/TGF-alpha/KDEL, with binding specificity for the epidermal growth factor receptor, markedly enhances sensitivity of human xenografts to radiation killing. Exposure to PEdelta53L/TGF-alpha/KDEL decreases the ...

PURPOSE To determine the effects of exoproducts from the corneal pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa on corneal proteinases and proteins. METHODS Whole rabbit corneas were cultured in the presence or absence of broths conditioned with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, elastase, alkaline protease, and exotoxin A. Protein synthesis was assayed by adding 35S-methionine during the last 6 hours of culture. Case...

Diphtheria toxin (DT) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A have the same molecular mechanism of toxicity; both toxins ADP-ribosylate a modified histidine residue in elongation factor 2. To help identify amino acids involved in this reaction, sequences in DT that share homology with P. aeruginosa exotoxin A were synthesized and examined for a role in the ADP-ribosyltransferase reaction. By usin...