Bovine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) cDNAs were generated by reverse transcription and then by PCR amplification from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated alveolar macrophage RNA. The amplified cDNAs were cloned into pPow and expressed in Escherichia coli DH5 alpha. The expressed proteins were confirmed as TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta by Western blot (immu...

Primary pneumonic plague is transmitted easily, progresses rapidly, and causes high mortality, but the mechanisms by which Yersinia pestis overwhelms the lungs are largely unknown. We show that the plasminogen activator Pla is essential for Y. pestis to cause primary pneumonic plague but is less important for dissemination during pneumonic plague than during bubonic plague. Experiments manipula...

Yersinia pestis causes the fatal respiratory disease pneumonic plague. Y. pestis recently evolved from the gastrointestinal pathogen Y. pseudotuberculosis; however, it is not known at what point Y. pestis gained the ability to induce a fulminant pneumonia. Here we show that the acquisition of a single gene encoding the protease Pla was sufficient for the most ancestral, deeply rooted strains of...

The public and clinicians have long-held beliefs that pneumonic plague is highly contagious; inappropriate alarm and panic have occurred during outbreaks. We investigated communicability in a naturally occurring pneumonic plague cluster. We defined a probable pneumonic plague case as an acute-onset respiratory illness with bloody sputum during December 2004 in Kango Subcounty, Uganda. A definit...

The susceptibility of homozygous BSVS mice to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADE) has been found to be nutritionally dependent. On a laboratory stock regimen of commercial fox chow pellets, whole wheat bread, and milk this genotype is 100 per cent susceptible to the disease. On a "synthetic" diet, containing a minimal list of vitamins adequate for growth and maintenance, susceptibility w...

The immunoglobulin G (IgG) response to whole-cell and lipooligosaccharide (LOS) antigens of Pasteurella pneumotropica was evaluated in mice with latent pasteurellosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblots. Antibodies to cell wall proteins of P. pneumotropica also reacted with several protein antigens from isolates of Actinobacillus spp. and other pasteurellae. Conversely,...

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received: 2 May 2014 Accepted: 12 August 2014 Available online: 1 December 2014 Pasteurella multocida is known as one of the main organisms causing pneumonia in sheep. As immunity in pasteurellosis is serogroup specific, identification of prevalent capsular group among endemic areas is essential. The aim of this study was to molecular identification and de...

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received: 2 May 2014 Accepted: 12 August 2014 Available online: 1 December 2014 Pasteurella multocida is known as one of the main organisms causing pneumonia in sheep. As immunity in pasteurellosis is serogroup specific, identification of prevalent capsular group among endemic areas is essential. The aim of this study was to molecular identification and de...