Nitric oxide (NO) contributes to mammalian host defense by direct microbicidal activity and as a signaling molecule of innate immune responses. Macrophages produce NO via the inducible NO synthase (iNOS). The genome of Neisseria meningitidis includes two genes, norB (encoding nitric oxide reductase) and cycP (encoding cytochrome c'), both of which detoxify NO in pure cultures of N. meningitidis...

Neisseria meningitidis (Nme) asymptomatically colonizes the human nasopharynx, yet can initiate rapidly-progressing sepsis and meningitis in rare instances. Understanding the meningococcal lifestyle within the nasopharyngeal mucosa, a phase of infection that is prerequisite for disease, has been hampered by the lack of animal models. Herein, we compare mice expressing the four different human c...

Identical beta-lactamase-encoding (TEM-1) plasmids were found in two different clinical Neisseria meningitidis strains. They were completely sequenced (5,597 bp) and designated pAB6. The plasmid is almost identical to Neisseria gonorrhoeae plasmid pJD5 (5,599 kb) and may have been picked up from a gonococcus in vivo.

Ninety-eight per cent of laboratory isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from a veneral disease clinic gave positive reactions with a gonococcal coagglutination test. The prototype reagent, however, was poor at distinguishing between different species of the genus Neisseria: 75% of strains of Neisseria meningitidis and 40% of other Neisseria species tested gave positive reactions. None of the orig...

background and objectives: neisseria meningitidis is transmitted from person-to-person. thus, close contact with a healthy carrier can facilitate the spread of the bacteria and lead to life-threatening meningococcal disease. the aim of this study was to identify oropharyngeal carriers of n. meningitidis in volunteers preparing for military service before vaccination. materials and methods: in a...

A radiometric procedure was compared with the Minitek and Cystine Trypticase Agar sugar degradation methods for identification of 113 Neisseria species (58 Neisseria meningitidis, 51 Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 2 Neisseria lactamica, 2 Neisseria sicca). Identification of meningococci and gonococci was confirmed by agglutination and fluorescent antibody techniques, respectively. The Minitek method id...

background: neisseria meninigitidis is one of the most frequently encountered microorganisms associated with central nervous system infections. the aim of this study was to evaluate a pcr-based assay for specific and rapid detection of n. meninigitidis in csf specimens.   methods : since april 2002 to july 2006, 130 csf specimens were collected from patients suspected of having bacterial mening...

A full-length heme oxygenase gene from the gram-negative pathogen Neisseria meningitidis was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Expression of the enzyme yielded soluble catalytically active protein and caused accumulation of biliverdin within the E. coli cells. The purified HemO forms a 1:1 complex with heme and has a heme protein spectrum similar to that previously reported for the puri...

adenoid cystic carcinoma (adcc) is a malignant neoplasm, which accounts for 5-10% of all salivary gland tumors (1). about 50% of these tumors originate from intraoral minor salivary glands usually in the hard palate (1). three clinically obvious characteristics of adcc include slow growth rate, perineural invasion and high incidence of distant metastasis (1). the most commonly-affected sites of...