Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1981 Nov, 250(4), 497 - 505 Effect of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide on phytohaemagglutinin induced lymphocyte transformation; Gallyas A et al.; Examination of the mitogenic response of lymphocytes in 50 blood samples from 17 patients suffering from Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and on 5 occasions from 5 healthy persons revealed that a Pseudomonas lipopolysaccharide unfamiliar to the lymphocytes decreased, whereas the purified O-antigen of the infection causing Pseudomonas serogroup increased the effect of phytohaemagglutinin on parallel lymphocyte cultures prepared from the same blood samples during the whole infectious process . After complete recovery, however, the lipopolysaccharide of the infection causing P . aeruginosa strain inhibited again the phytohaemagglutinin response as if the lymphocytes had never met it . The model seems to offer a possibility to follow up in vivo the signs of the changes in the cellular background during the reaction given on Pseudomonas lipopolysaccharides. Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Nov-Dec, 50(6), 1002 - 7 {Characteristics of the key enzyme regulation of peripheral p-xylene metabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa}; Gorlatova NV et al.; The regulation of p-xylene methylhydroxylase, metapyrocatechase, pyrocatechase and protocatechoate-3,4-dioxygenase was studied in Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2x . Methylhydroxylase, the first enzyme of p-xylene oxidation, was shown to be synthesized in the strain in a constitutive manner and to be regulated at the level of the enzyme activity . Metapyrocatechase, protocatechase and pyrocatechase are inducible enzymes; these are repressed to a different extent by the end products of p-xylene oxidation . Metapyrocatechase has a broader substrate specificity as compared to pyrocatechase and is induced by a greater number of substrates, the affinity for different substrates depending on the structure of an inductor . Presumably, two isofunctional metapyrocatechases exist in P . aeruginosa 2 x. J Virol, 1981 Nov, 40(2), 411 - 20 Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophage phi PLS27-lipopolysaccharide interactions; Jarrell KF et al.; We investigated the phi PLS27 receptor in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by analyzing a resistant mutant . This mutant, which was designated AK1282, had the most defective LPS yet reported for a P . aeruginosa rough mutant; this LPS contained only lipid A, 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, heptose, and alanine as major components . In addition, this LPS lacked galactosamine, which is present in the inner core of the LPS of other rough mutants . The loss of galactosamine but only a small decrease in the alanine content indicated that the core of strain PAO LPS differed from the core structure which has been suggested for the LPS of other well-characterized P . aeruginosa strains . Our analysis also indicated that galactosamine residues may be crucial for phi PLS27 receptor activity of the LPS . Electrodialysis of LPS and conversion to salt forms (sodium or triethylamine) influenced the phage-inactivating capacity of the LPS, as did the medium in which the inactivation occurred; experiments performed in 1/10-strength broth resulted in much lower PhI50 (concentration of LPS causing a 50% decrease in the titer of phage during 1 h of incubation at 37 degrees C) values than experiments performed in regular-strength broth . Sonication of the LPS also increased the phage-inactivating capacities of the LPS preparations. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Nov, 20(5), 595 - 9 Penetration of ocular tissues and fluids by moxalactam in rabbits with staphylococcal endophthalmitis; Kane A et al.; Moxalactam was administered subconjunctivally in 100-mg doses to rabbits with infected eyes (Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis) . High concentrations of drug were detected in the sclera, cornea, and choroid; much lower levels were found in the retina, whereas peak concentrations in the vitreous were about 6 microgram/ml . Repeated intramuscular injections of 50 mg/kg every 4 h produced peak serum levels of about 100 microgram/ml . A gradient between the choroid and the retina was again evident, and peak vitreous levels were about 6 microgram/ml after six injections . These data are consistent with the concept of a blood-retina barrier analogous to the blood-brain barrier . Moxalactam appears to penetrate the eye somewhat better than do other beta-lactams; however, the peak levels produced in the vitreous humor in this animal model were below the level required to inhibit most strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mikrobiologiia, 1981 Nov-Dec, 50(6), 996 - 1001 {Exogenous orthophosphate regulation of the phosphohydrolase activities of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas maltophilia}; Treshchanina NA et al.; The activity of several phosphohydrolases, viz . alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1), acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2), ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3), tripolyphosphatase (EC 3.6.1.2) and polyphosphatase (EC 3.6.1.11), was studied in Pseudomonas aeruginosa VKM B-889 and Pseudomonas maltophilia VKM B-591 . In the absence of orthophosphate in the medium when alkaline phosphatase was derepressed, its activity in P . aeruginosa rose in parallel with that of acid phosphatase, tripolyphosphatase and polyphosphatase . The maximal activity of alkaline phosphatase was detected in the cultural broth while that of the remaining enzymes was found in the soluble fraction of the cells . In P . maltophilia, the activity of phosphohydrolases was not regulated with orthophosphate; even when the cells were grown in its presence, the activity was much higher than that of acid phosphatase, ATPase and tripolyphosphatase of the derepressed cells of P . aeruginosa . In P . maltophilia, the maximal activity of the enzymes, just as that of alkaline phosphatase, was detected in the fraction of cellular membranes. J Bacteriol, 1981 Nov, 148(2), 487 - 97 Lipid alterations in cell envelopes of polymyxin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates; Conrad RS et al.; The lipid composition of cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains resistant to polymyxin was compared with the lipid composition of cells of polymyxin-sensitive strains as to their content of readily extractable lipids (RELs), acid-extractable lipids, the fatty acid composition of RELs, and the contents of various phospholipids in the REL fraction . The polymyxin-resistant strains had an increased content of RELs, but a decreased phospholipid content . The REL fraction from the polymyxin-resistant strains had an increased content of unsaturated fatty acids accompanied by a decreased content of cyclopropane fatty acids as compared with the fatty acid composition of RELs from polymyxin-sensitive strains . The phosphatidylethanolamine content was greatly reduced in the polymyxin-resistant strains, whereas the content of an unidentified lipid, thought to be a neutral lipid lacking either a phosphate, free amino, or choline moiety, was greatly increased . Cell envelopes of the polymyxin-resistant strains contained reduced concentrations of Mg2+ and Ca2+ as compared with the cell envelopes of polymyxin-sensitive strains . It appears that polymyxin resistance in these strains is associated with a significant alteration in the lipid composition and divalent cation content of the cell envelope. Infect Immun, 1981 Nov, 34(2), 461 - 8 High-molecular-weight polysaccharide antigen from Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 2; Pier GB et al.; Previously, we isolated a high-molecular-weight immunogenic polysaccharide (designated PS) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotype 1 (IT-1) . The method which we used was modified to permit the isolation of a similar PS from P . aeruginosa IT-2 . This antigen was composed primarily of carbohydrate, had a complex monosaccharide composition, including sugars not found in the lipopolysaccharide, and was nonpyrogenic in rabbits and nontoxic in mice at high doses . This material protected mice from challenges with live homologous cells . P . aeruginosa IT-2 PS gave a line of identity with the O side chain of the lipopolysaccharide, but different from this polysaccharide in molecular weight, chemical composition, and ability to immunize mice actively . Lipopolysaccharide from P . aeruginosa IT-2 contained an immunological determinant not found on P . aeruginosa IT-2 PS, which was detected due to its stability during treatment with dilute alkali . Thus, we recovered a high-molecular-weight PS antigen from P . aeruginosa IT-2, which was serologically identical to the lipopolysaccharide O side chain but was chemically and physically distinct . Also, like P . aeruginosa IT-1 strains, P . aeruginosa IT-2 contains an alkali-stable immunodeterminant on the lipopolysaccharide that may represent a core-like antigen. Biochem J, 1981 Oct 15, 200(1), 69 - 75 Difluoromethylornithine irreversibly inactivates ornithine decarboxylase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but does not inhibit the enzymes of Escherichia coli; Kallio A et al.; DL-alpha-Difluoromethylornithine, an enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of eukaryotic ornithine decarboxylase and consequently of putrescine biosynthesis, inhibited ornithine decarboxylase in enzyme extracts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a time-dependent manner t1/2 1 min, and also effectively blocked the enzyme activity in situ in the cell . Difluoromethylornithine, however, had no effect on the activity of ornithine decarboxylase assayed in enzyme extracts from either Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae . However, the presence of the inhibitor in cell cultures did partially lower ornithine decarboxylase activity intracellularly in E . coli . Any decrease in the intracellular ornithine decarboxylase activity observed in E . coli and Pseudomonas was accompanied by a concomitant increase in arginine decarboxylase activity, arguing for a co-ordinated control of putrescine biosynthesis in these cells. Nouv Presse Med, 1981 Oct 3, 10(35), 2881 - 2 {Cefsulodine concentrations in cerebral ventricles during parenteral treatment of ventriculitis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (author's transl)}; Veyssier P et al.; Cefsulodine, a new B-lactamase-resistant cephalosporin, was used parenterally in combination with systemic and topical tobramycin to treat a patient with meningitis and ventriculitis due to Os, aeruginosa . Cefsulodine concentrations were measured simultaneously in serum and in cerebral ventricles . With doses of 500 mg four times a day, diffusion of the drug into meningeal spaces was rather poor, but with doses of 2 grams 8-hourly (100 mg/Kg/day cefsulodine concentrations in the ventricles were equal or superior to the average MICs against most Pseudomonas species . However, concurrent systemic and local administration of an aminoglycoside is required to ensure full bactericidal effect. Aust Vet J, 1981 Oct, 57(10), 450 - 4 The ovipositional response of the Australian sheep blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, to fleece-rot odours; Watts JE et al.; The ovipositional response of Lucilia cuprina flies to odours emanating from fleece-rot lesions of greasy wool in which Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria proliferated, was studied . Fractionation of the fleece-rot odours was carried out by bubbling the volatile components through hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide solutions to remove basic odours and acidic odours respectively . It was found that the acidic/neutral odours of fleece-rot wool, when perfused into wet, greasy wool stimulated L . cuprina to oviposit . On the other hand, the basic/neutral odours of fleece-rot wool were virtually unattractive to the gravid fly . Similarly, the acidic/neutral odours emanating from fleece-rot lesions of clean wool from which the non-fibre components, wax, suint and epithelial debris, had been removed by scouring, were found to be unattractive to the gravid fly in choice tests. Monatsschr Kinderheilkd, 1981 Oct, 129(10), 578 - 80 {Nosocomial infections in a children's hospital . Results of a prospective study covering 3 1/2 years (author's transl)}; Daschner F et al.; The average nosocomial infection rate of 2,950 patients of a University Childrens Hospital (among them 672 patients of a newborn intensive care unit) was 16.4% . The most common infections were: of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (42%), upper respiratory tract infections (21.1%) gastrointestinal infections (12.6%) wound infections (6.8%), septicemia (5.6%) and pneumonia (3.3%) . Bacterial species most commonly isolated were Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The prevention and control of hospital acquired infection is of utmost importance for the care of children in hospitals. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Oct, (10), 95 - 8 {Results of a study of the safety, reactogenicity and immunologic effectiveness of pyoimmunogen in the immunization of volunteer donors}; Krokhina MA et al.; The preliminary study of the safety, reactogenicity and immunological effectiveness of polyvalent vaccine prepared from Pseudomonas aeruginosa protective antigens was carried out . In this study the vaccine was used for the immunization of volunteer donors . No postvaccinal complications were revealed . After the immunization with pyoimmunogen the titer of antibodies to P . aeruginosa increased 2-fold in comparison with their initial level. Infect Immun, 1981 Oct, 34(1), 1 - 5 Genetic studies of the murine corneal response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Berk RS et al.; The murine genetic control of resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa eye infection previously has been demonstrated to be regulated by two complementing dominant genes, PsCR1 and PsCR2 . The PsCR1 locus apparently is not associated with the H-2 complex, whereas the PsCR2 locus could not definitively be associated with H-2 . In this study we attempted to demonstrate a possible H-2 linkage of the PsCR2 locus . A panel of inbred congenic strains varying with either the H-2 haplotype or genetic background from inbred partners of C57BL/10, C3H, A, and BALB/c strains were characterized for their P . aeruginosa infectivity phenotypes . These studies indicated that the PsCR2 locus is not associated with the H-2 locus . Furthermore, variations of the H-2 haplotype did not change the resistance patterns observed in these strains . However, BALB.B and BALB.K congenic lines were resistant to P . aeruginosa eye infection, whereas BALB/cJ mice were susceptible . Examination of hybrids (BALB.K X BALB/cJ)F1 and (BALB.B X BALB/cJ)F1 demonstrated that an autosomal dominant gene(s), PsCR, confers resistance . Segregation analysis for the H-2 haplotype and the PsCR gene in offspring of backcross matings with the BALB/cJ parental strain suggested that this PsCR gene is not linked to the H-2 complex and has an inheritance pattern of a single locus or several tightly linked loci. Am J Med, 1981 Oct, 71(4), 603 - 14 Invasive external otitis . Report of 21 cases and review of the literature; Doroghazi RM et al.; We report 21 cases of invasive external otitis and review 130 cases from the English literature . Invasive external otitis is the term that most appropriately describes the locally invasive Pseudomonas infections that begins in the external ear canal, breaches the epithelial barrier and results in signs of local subcutaneous tissue invasion . Nineteen patients were diabetic . FIfteen of these 19 had preexistent, long-standing diabetes (average 15.8 years) and 10 had microvascular disease . Studies of the skin of the temporal bone in two patients provided evidence of diabetic microangiopathy of the dermal capillaries . Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from the involved area in all cases . All patients without neurologic deficits survived, compared with six of nine with deficits of the central nervous system . All 13 patients in whom initial therapy was successful received a combination of an aminoglycoside and a semisynthetic penicillin, whereas all six episodes of recurrent disease occurred when only one antibiotic was used . The overall mortality was 15 percent (three of 20 in whom the long-term outcome is known) . We propose that diabetic microangiopathy of the skin of the temporal bone results in poor local perfusion and creates an environment well suited for invasion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . There is a good correlation between the extent of disease clinically and prognosis . Effective treatment requires early diagnosis and combination therapy with an aminoglycoside and a semisynthetic penicillin. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Oct, (10), 74 - 80 {Production and experimental testing of the polyvalency of corpuscular vaccine for the prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections II . Experimental testing of the immunogenicity of polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine}; Moroz AF et al.; Newly developed P . aeruginosa vaccine has been shown to be safe and apyrogenic for experimental animals . Immunization with the vaccine in a single injection of 0.5 ml has been found to ensure the protection of 80--98% of mice from lethal infection caused by virulent vaccine strains, with the exception of P . aeruginosa strain No . 1311, for 9 weeks . Immunity to P . aeruginosa strain No . 1311 develops only by day 56 after vaccination . No sharp correlation between the specific agglutinin level and the degree of protective effect induced by the immunization of animals with the polyvalent vaccine has been established . The vaccine has been shown to possess high immunogenicity in respect to clinical P . aeruginosa strains belonging to different serotypes (homo- and heterological vaccine strains). J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Oct, 34(10), 1234 - 40 Effects of inducible beta-lactamase and antimicrobial resistance upon the activity of newer beta-lactam antibiotics against Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Hoffman TA et al.; The activity of carbenicillin, ticarcillin, piperacillin, cefotaxime, moxalactam, and N-formimidoyl thienamycin was evaluated against 262 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa . There were 242 (92%) of the isolates that were susceptible to carbenicillin or ticarcillin by an agar dilution method . Against this population of susceptible isolates, the median MICs were 1.56 microgram/ml of N-formimidoyl thienamycin, 3.13 microgram/ml of piperacillin, 25 microgram/ml of ticarcillin, 25 microgram/ml of cefotaxime, 50 microgram/ml of carbenicillin and 50 microgram/ml of moxalactam . N-Formimidoyl thienamycin was the only beta-lactam antibiotic not affected by an inducible beta-lactamase detected in 24 randomly selected susceptible isolates by a disk approximation assay, while cefotaxime was inactivated to a greater extent than any of the other beta-lactam antibiotics . Resistance to carbenicillin and ticarcillin was noted in 20 isolates (8%); these were susceptible to N-formimidoyl thienamycin, but cross-resistance with piperacillin, cefotaxime, and moxalactam was frequent . Only four of these resistant isolates were found to have a constitutive beta-lactamase . Gentamicin resistance occurred in 51 isolates (19%) and was an independent variable of resistance to the beta-lactam drugs. J Lab Clin Med, 1981 Oct, 98(4), 511 - 8 Susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to serum bactericidal activity . A comparison of three methods with clinical correlations; DeMatteo CS et al.; Twenty-nine blood culture isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested by three established methods to determine the effect of in vitro conditions on the survival of this organism in human serum . Clinical correlations were made to determine the relationship of serum resistance as defined by each method to clinical outcome . Major differences of bacterial survival in the presence of pooled normal human serum and in classification of isolates (sensitive, intermediate, resistant) were observed among the three methods . Isolates grown in broth for preparation of inocula demonstrated significantly greater sensitivity to serum bactericidal activity than those grown on agar . The use of organisms in early logarithmic growth phase or increased concentrations of serum augmented the serum sensitivity of these isolates . No correlation was observed between serum bactericidal activity and antibiotic susceptibility, pyocine type, patient mortality, or underlying disease . All strains of serotype 6 or 11 (immunotype 1 or 2) were serum-sensitive by one of the three methods . This study indicates that by testing isolates of P . aeruginosa under a variety of in vitro conditions, it is possible to identify a few isolates that are highly sensitive or resistant to serum under all conditions . The survival of the majority of strains of P . aeruginosa in human serum is highly dependent on in vitro conditions . Conclusions regarding the role of serum bactericidal activity in host defense must be drawn cautiously when based solely on in vitro tests. J Clin Invest, 1981 Oct, 68(4), 899 - 914 Cystic fibrosis pseudomonas opsonins . Inhibitory nature in an in vitro phagocytic assay; Fick RB Jr et al.; Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection plays a primary pathogenetic role in the chronic respiratory tract disease of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients . Despite pronounced humoral immune responses, reflected by high levels of antibodies against Pseudomonas in serum and in sputum, the antibodies do not eliminate this bacterium . In the present study we have used affinity chromatography with a lipopolysaccharide substituted immunoadsorbent gel to isolate high titers (meanCF = 1:256) of immunotype specific Pseudomonas IgG antibodies from the sera of nine CF subjects, and have evaluated the functional ability of these antibodies to promote phagocytosis and intracellular killing of P . aeruginosa in an in vitro human alveolar macrophage culture system . The phagocytic and intracellular bactericidal kinetics revealed that CF IgG antibodies function in an inhibitory fashion . Both the rate of phagocytosis (rateCF = 204 cpm/unit time) and absolute bacterial uptakes maximal at 120 min (uptakeCF = 18 x 10(3) 14C cpm) were inhibited compared with appropriate positive controls (hyperimmune serum, HIS; {rateHIS = 399; uptakeHIS = 29 x 10(3), P less than 0.005}) . The ability of such CF-derived opsonins to potentiate macrophage intracellular bactericidal processes was mildly impaired (bacterial survivalCF = 15 x 10(3) colony forming units (CFU)/min, survivalHIS = 9 x 10(3)) . Further characterization of this defect, assessed with functional studies of the Fab and Fc portions of the immunoglobulin molecule, revealed an impairment in the attachment of these specific antibodies to the alveolar macrophage membrane Fc gamma receptors . Preliminary studies of the physical-chemical properties of these immunoglobulins were normal . The expression of this inhibitory activity in vivo may facilitate Pseudomonas colonization and the subsequent established infections in the respiratory tracts of CF subjects. Infect Immun, 1981 Oct, 34(1), 147 - 53 Production of exoenzyme S by clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Sokol PA et al.; Exoenzyme S differs from toxin A and diphtheria toxin in that it does not adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosylate elongation factor-2, but rather catalyzes the transfer of the ADP-ribose moiety of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide to a number of different proteins in extracts of eucaryotic cells . Polyoma-transformed BHK-21 cells were isolated which were resistant to diphtheria toxin and toxin A . Extracts from these cells are ADP-ribosylated by exoenzyme S but not toxin A or diphtheria toxin, providing an assay which distinguishes between S and A activities . A total of 124 clinical isolates of P . aeruginosa were analyzed for production of toxin A and exoenzyme S . Exoenzyme S production was detected in 38% of the strains, whereas 80% of the strains produced toxin A. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Oct, 20(4), 525 - 9 Cefsulodin: antibacterial activity and tentative interpretive zone standards for the disk susceptibility test; Barry AL et al.; Cefsulodin (SCE-129) is a cephalosporin with a spectrum of antibacterial activity largely limited to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus . Cefsulodin was compared with carbenicillin, ticarcillin, mezlocillin, and piperacillin against 779 nonenteric gram-negative bacilli and staphylococci collected from five geographically separate institutions . Against P . aeruginosa, cefsulodin was somewhat more active than piperacillin and much more active than other penicillins . In addition, cefsulodin was active against penicillinase-producing strains of S . aureus . Collaborative efforts in three laboratories led to the following tentative zone size breakpoints for 30-micrograms cefsulodin disks: susceptible greater than or equal to 18 mm (minimal inhibitory concentration) {MIC} less than or equal to 16 micrograms/ml) and resistant less than or equal to 14 mm (MIC greater than or equal to 64 micrograms/ml) . These zone standards are still tentative since the dosage schedule has not yet been defined and sufficient clinical experience has not yet been gathered to support the validity of these MIC breakpoints. Med J Aust, 1981 Sep 19, 2(6), 283 - 6,287 Plasmid-determined tobramycin and gentamicin resistance in strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from two Sydney hospitals; Sinclair MI et al.; Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to gentamicin, tobramycin, streptomycin, and sulphonamide have been isolated from patients at two Sydney hospitals . The multiple resistance of all these strains was due to a transmissible plasmid . The significance of the identification of this plasmid, in this variety of strains and at two hospitals, for the treatment of Ps . aeruginosa infections is discussed. Jpn J Antibiot, 1981 Sep, 34(9), 1244 - 54 {Clinical studies on tobramycin by intravenous drip infusion for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in chronic respiratory diseases (author's transl)}; Hiraga Y et al.; Tobramycin (TOB) was administrated by intravenous drip infusion for 1 hour, to 15 patients with intractable chronic respiratory tract infections due to P . aeruginosa, and the following results were obtained . 1 . Criteria of clinical effects We have made new criteria for the evaluation of the therapeutic effects on respiratory tract infections (Tables 1, 2) . Clinical items were divided into 4 grades and radiographic ones into 6 to 11 grades . Each item was separately scored as followed; excellent was scored as 1 point when 3 or more grade upward-shifts were seen after treatment, good as 2 points in case of 2 grade upward-shifts, fair as 3 points in case of 1 grade upward-shift, unchanged as 4 points in case of no shift, impairment as 5 points in case of downward-shift . The integrated evaluation of the items was made according to the average points for the evaluated items; overall excellent was 1.9 or less, overall good 2.0 to 2.9, overall fair 3.0 to 3.5 and overall poor as 3.6 or more . 2 . Clinical effects Overall clinical effects were evaluated as good in 7 cases, fair in 4 and poor in 4 out of 15 patients, and rate of good score was 46.7% . According to the dosage groups, rate of good score was 50% in the dose of 60 mg three times a day, 0% in the dose of 90 mg twice a day and 62.5% in the dose of 120 mg twice a day . Eradication rate of P . aeruginosa was 33.3% . Neither adverse side effects nor abnormal laboratory findings were observed. Arch Dis Child, 1981 Sep, 56(9), 692 - 8 Cerebrospinal fluid lactic acidosis in bacterial meningitis; Eross J et al.; A rapid, microenzymatic method was used to measure cerebrospinal fluid lactate levels in 205 children with suspected bacterial meningitis . Fifty children with normal CSF containing fewer than 0.005 X 10(9)/l WBC, no segmented neutrophils, glucose 3.4 +/- 0.8 mmol/l (61.2 +/- 14.4 mg/100 ml), and a protein of less than 0.30 g/l had CSF lactate levels below 2.0 mmol/l (18 mg/100 ml) (mean and standard deviation 1.3 +/- 0.3 mmol/l (11.8 +/- 2.7 mg/100 ml)) . In 31 cases of proved viral meningitis as with 58 cases of clinically diagnosed viral meningitis, levels were below 3.8 mmol/l (34.5 mg/100 ml), being 2.3 +/- 0.6 mmol/l (20.9 +/- 5.4 mg/100 ml), and 2.1 +/- 0.7 mmol/l (19.1 +/- 6.4 mg/100 ml) respectively . Sixty-six cases of bacterial meningitis had CSF lactate levels ranging from 3.9 mmol/l (35.4 mg/100 ml) to greater than 10.0 mmol/l (90.0 mg/100 ml) . Longitudinal studies in 7 children with bacterial meningitis showed that cerebrospinal fluid lactate levels differentiated bacterial from viral meningitis up to 4 days after starting treatment with antibiotics . Use of CSF lactate measurement for monitoring the efficacy of treatment is illustrated in a case of bacterial meningitis due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The origin of the cerebrospinal fluid lactate acidosis and the role of lactate in the pathophysiological cycle leading to intensification of brain tissue hypoxia and cellular damage is discussed with respect to the short-term prognosis and the long-term neurological sequelae. J Trauma, 1981 Sep, 21(9), 753 - 6 Burn wound infection; McManus WF et al.; Ninety-seven of 763 patients admitted to a burn center during a 3-year period had histologically confirmed bacterial or fungal burn wound invasion . Nine of these 97 patients survived and 88 died . Burn wound infection was the principal cause of death in 57 patients and was diagnosed perimortem in an additional 31 patients but was not judged to be the primary cause of death . Pseudomonas aeruginosa continues as the most frequent offending organism . The variety of mycotic and bacterial organisms identified, however, suggests that the compromise of the host is the critical factor, and not any particular microorganism . A variety of combinations of treatments are described: the selection of treatment depends upon the type and extent of infection. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Sep, 34(9), 1164 - 70 Purification and properties of cephalosporinase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Murata T et al.; Cephalosporin beat-lactamase (cephalosporinase, CSase) was purified from a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics . The purified enzyme preparation gave a single protein band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and its molecular weight was about 34,000 . The specific activity was 49.7 mumoles/minute/mg of protein of the purified enzyme for the hydrolysis of cephaloridine . The optimal pH and optimal temperature were about 8.0 and 40 degrees C, respectively . Its isoelectric point was 8.7 . The enzyme activity was inhibited by iodine, some divalent ions, and some semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics, including cephamycin derivatives such as moxalactam and YM09330 . Mouse antiserum obtained against the purified enzyme showed no cross-reaction with other types of beta-lactamase in neutralization test. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Sep, 34(9), 1157 - 63 Protection of hydroxyl in the synthesis of semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics; Woo PW; The 2-methoxypropan-2-yl group fulfills the need of a hydroxyl protecting group generally suitable for the synthesis of beta-lactam antibiotics, satisfying the criteria of low-cost, convenience and selectivity in formation, and, above all, ease of deprotection under conditions compatible to the highly sensitive beta-lactam function and without contamination of the final products . The use of this protecting group has enabled the successful attachment of 6-{4-(N-acetyl-4-hydroxyl-L-prolylamino)phenyl}-1,2-dihydro - 2 - oxo - 3 - pyridinecarboxyl group, through an amide linkage, to amoxicillin, cephaloglycin, and the 3{{(1-carboxymethyl)-1-H-tetrazol-5-yl}thio}methyl analogue of the latter, yielding broad-spectrum antibiotics with notably good activities against strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Ann Microbiol (Paris), 1981 Sep-Oct, 132B(2), 215 - 24 {Ticarcillin activity in immunodepressed mice infected with "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" (author's transl)}; Fauchere JL et al.; Ticarcillin (TCL) activity was studied in vivo in mice immunodepressed by either cyclophosphamide (CY) or methylprednisolone (Mpd) . Each type of immunodepression was evaluated by polymorphonuclear enumeration and carbon black blood clearance . Mice were infected intraperitoneally with 3 LD50 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and then 1,000 or 1,600 mg/kg of TCL was given by subcutaneous route . Mice were treated after 15 min and 3, 18, 24 and 36 h following infection . With 1,000 mg/kg of TCL, non-immunodepressed mice were cured . Mpd-treated mice were cured by 1,600 mg/kg of TCL, while CY-treated mice were not cured by the same dose of TCL. Acta Paediatr Scand, 1981 Sep, 70(5), 623 - 8 Respiratory infections in cystic fibrosis patients caused by virus, chlamydia and mycoplasma--possible synergism with Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Petersen NT et al.; 116 cystic fibrosis patients were observed, by monthly examinations over an eight-month period, to investigate the importance of non-bacterial respiratory infections (NBI) in exacerbations of the respiratory disease . Sputum was examined for bacteria, and serum investigated for antibody response against virus, mycoplasma and chlamydia and for antibodies against Pseudomonas aeruginosa . During this period each patient had, on an average, 2.9 exacerbations of which 76% were associated with bacteria, most frequently P . aeruginosa (51%), and 20% with NBI, although bacteria were also present in most of these cases . No etiology was established in 18% of the exacerbations . The NBI were caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (9%), parainfluenza virus (5%), influenza virus (3.6%), adenovirus (2.4%), mycoplasma (0.6%) and chlamydia (0.6%) . The incidence of exacerbations was higher in patients with chronic P . aeruginosa infections . RSV infections were more common in patients who developed chronic P . aeruginosa infection during the study period, and RSV infections were frequently associated with a rise of P . aeruginosa antibodies in patients who harboured these bacteria . The important role of NBI as mediators of onset of chronic P . aeruginosa infections in cystic fibrosis patients is suggested. Infect Immun, 1981 Sep, 33(3), 788 - 94 Polysaccharide of the slime glycolipoprotein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Koepp LH et al.; The polysaccharide moiety was isolated by mild acid hydrolysis from the slime glycolipoprotein of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain BI . After gel filtration, the polysaccharide obtained from the Carbohydrate peak fractions was found to be lipid- and protein-free . Analyses indicated that the polysaccharide contained the carbohydrate components of the parent glycolipoprotein . Molecular size of the polysaccharide was estimated by gel filtration as 70,000 to 100,000 . The polysaccharide showed no indications of toxicity in mice at doses far in excess of the lethal dose for the parent glycolipoprotein, nor did the mice develop the leukopenia that characteristically follows intraperitoneal injection of glycolipoprotein . The polysaccharide acted as an inhibitor of indirect hemagglutination of glycolipoprotein-coated erythrocytes in the presence of anti-glycolipoprotein serum; however, it was not antigenic itself in rabbits . Coupled with methylated bovine serum albumin, the polysaccharide continued to lack the leukopenic and toxic properties of the parent glycolipoprotein, but the coupled polysaccharide was capable of stimulating indirect hemagglutinating antibody against both the polysaccharide and the glycolipoprotein coating erythrocytes . Moreover, the antibody to the coupled polysaccharide protected mice against challenge with lethal doses of viable P . aeruginosa with the same effectiveness as anti-glycolipoprotein serum. Arch Ophthalmol, 1981 Sep, 99(9), 1614 - 7 Increased susceptibility to infection in experimental xerophthalmia; DeCarlo JD et al.; Vitamin A-deficient rabbits were used to evaluate the role of secondary bacterial infection in the development of keratomalacia and to describe the resultant clinical and morphologic alterations . The conjunctival sacs of vitamin A-deficient rabbits at different stages of corneal involvement were inoculated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa topically . Approximately two weeks after inoculation, corneal ulceration with stromal melting developed in one of three eyes with severe punctate keratitis and in four of seven eyes with xerosis . Ulceration did not develop in any of the eight eyes with early epithelial graying or mild punctate keratitis . Inflammatory cells (primarily polymorphonuclear leukocytes) infiltrated the anterior corneal stroma of infected corneas . Liquefaction of collagen was observed in association with bacteria alone, as well as in association with polymorphonuclear leukocytes . No signs of infection were observed after conjunctival inoculation of Pseudomonas in the eyes of nine control rabbits. J Infect Dis, 1981 Sep, 144(3), 263 - 9 Regrowth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other bacteria after the bactericidal action of carbenicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics; Gwynn MN et al.; Exposure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus to bactericidal concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics in broth culture resulted in a decrease in viability over the first 6--8 hr, followed by regrowth which was not due to the selection of resistant variants or loss of antibiotic potency . During incubation, bacteria adhered to the surface of the culture vessel and multiplied despite the presence of bactericidal concentrations of antibiotic in the medium . It is concluded that the phenomenon of "regrowth" results from such adhesion and the subsequent dispersal of some of these cells into the culture medium . The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the treatment of infection, the determination of minimal bactericidal concentrations, and the phenomena of tolerance and persisters. J Bacteriol, 1981 Sep, 147(3), 1008 - 14 Analysis of flagellar genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by use of Rfla plasmids and conjugations; Tsuda M et al.; Over 300 flagellar mutants were isolated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO . R-prime plasmids carrying segments of bacterial chromosome which can complement the mutant phenotypes were isolated by means of plasmid R68.45 . Among the R-prime plasmids, pMT6 complemented 167 out of 307 mutants examined, and pMT19 complemented the remaining 140 mutants . We found no mutant which was complemented by both of these plasmids . Hence, the flagellar genes were divided into two clusters by these two plasmids, namely, region I on pMT19 and region II on pMT6 . By FP5- and R68.45-mediated conjugation, these two regions were located on the P . aeruginosa PAO chromosome with an order of puuF--region I--region II--oru-325. Surgery, 1981 Sep, 90(3), 473 - 81 Neutrophil-mediated lung localization of bacteria: a mechanism for pulmonary injury; Lanser ME et al.; The reticuloendothelial system (RES) is thought to ensure organ integrity following trauma, burn, and sepsis by removing potentially embolic particulate matter and blood-borne bacteria from the circulation . Blockade of the RES with foreign colloids is known to result in a consumptive depletion of opsonic fibronectin, which modulates reticuloendothelial function, and an increase in lung localization of test particles . We investigated the role of neutrophils as a contributing factor in the increased localization of blood-borne bacteria in the lung after blockade . RE blockade induced by gelatin-coated colloid particle injection resulted in an acute (15-minute) increase in the number of 51Cr-labeled neutrophils localized in the lung, with return to control levels at 60 minutes after blockade . Fibronectin administration following blockade resulted in a significant (P less than 0.05) prolonged retention of neutrophils in the lung up to 2 hours after blockade . A parallel increase (P less than 0.05) in lung localization of heat-killed 14C-labeled Pseudomonas aeruginosa following colloid-induced RE blockade was observed, and fibronectin further increased the number of bacteria localized in the lung . Experimentally induced neutropenia abrogated the effect of colloid injection on lung localization of bacteria . It is concluded that a particulate load results in simultaneous RE blockade and neutrophil margination in the lung, both of which contribute to the increase in lung localization of bacteria . A mechanism for neutrophil-mediated pulmonary injury related to RE dysfunction following trauma is proposed. Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg {A}, 1981 Sep, 250(3), 312 - 21 Evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of ureidopenicillins in comparison to sisomicin and cephalotin in experimental infections of rabbits; Dzierzanowska D et al.; The therapeutic efficacy of azlocillin, mezlocillin, cephalotin, and sisomicin was evaluated by experimental infection in rabbits . After one hour following infection with Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, antibiotics were applied intramuscularly . Colony-forming units were counted before the infection and every day thereafter . Leukocytosis was determined before infection and 3 and 7 days after initiation of therapy . Therapy with antibiotics was continued for seven days, rabbits sacrificed and CFU/g tissue determined . It was shown that in experimental infection caused by E . coli or K . pneumoniae in rabbits, sisomicin was most effective, followed by mezlocillin, azlocillin, and cephalotin . Efficacy of therapy against P . aeruginosa was as follows: sisomicin, azlocillin, mezlocillin. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1981 Aug 20, 646(2), 298 - 308 Properties of the large ion-permeable pores formed from protein F of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in lipid bilayer membranes; Benz R et al.; The incorporation of porin protein F from the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa into artificial lipid bilayers results in an increase of the membrane conductance by many orders of magnitude . The membrane conductance is caused by the formation of large ion-permeable channels with a single-channel conductance in the order of 5 nS for 1 M alkali chlorides . The conductance has an ohmic current vs . voltage relationship . Further information on the structure of the pore formed by protein F was obtained by determining the single-channel conductance for various species differing in charge and size, and from zero-current potential measurements . The channel was found to be permeable for large organic ions (Tris+, N(C2H5)4+, Hepes-) and a channel diameter of 2.2 nm could be estimated from the conductance data (pore length of 7.5 nm) . At neutral pH the pore is about two times more permeable for cations than for anions, possibly caused by negative charges in the pore . The consistent observation of large water filled pores formed by porin protein F in model membrane systems is discussed in the light of the known low permeability of the Ps . aeruginosa outer membrane towards antibiotics . It is suggested that this results from a relatively low proportion of open functional porin protein F pores in vivo. Lancet, 1981 Aug 15, 2(8242), 332 - 4 An antibody against revertant forms of cell-wall deficient bacterial variant in sera from patients with Crohn's disease; Shafii A et al.; Sera from patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and from controls were examined by indirect immunofluorescence for antibody against two strains of pseudomonas-like cell-wall-defective bacterial variants . Serum samples from 22 of 25 patients with Crohn's disease produced fluorescence of both revertant cell-wall-defective bacterial strains . Intensity of fluorescence correlated positively with the degree of disease activity . Sera from 23 patients with ulcerative colitis and from 15 control subjects did not produce any significant staining of either of the two revertant cell-wall-defective bacterial strains . Absorption of sera with Escherichia coli, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not alter the intensity of fluorescence in patients with Crohn's disease, whereas similar absorption of sera from patients with ulcerative colitis and controls abolished the slight staining of cell-wall-defective strains produced by 29% of unabsorbed serum samples. J Pediatr, 1981 Aug, 99(2), 307 - 14 A double-blind controlled trial of anti-Pseudomonas chemotherapy of acute respiratory exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis; Hyatt AC et al.; A double-blind controlled trail of anti-Pseudomonas chemotherapy was carried out in 24 exacerbations of pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis . Fifteen exacerbations were treated with oxacillin plus sisomicin and carbenicillin (treatment group); nine were treated with oxacillin alone (control group) . The planned length of treatment was 14 days . The difference between the failure rate in the treatment group (3/15) and the control group (7/9) was statistically significant (P less than 0.015) . The difference in improvement of forced expiratory volume in 1 second was also significant (P less than 0.025) . At the end of the study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was still present in the sputum of all nine patients in the control group, but was not isolated from six of the 15 patients in the treatment group . The data suggest a beneficial role for anti-Pseudomonas chemotherapy in the treatment of acute pulmonary exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis. Anaesth Intensive Care, 1981 Aug, 9(3), 260 - 5 Epidemiology and prevention of pseudomonas aeruginosa chest infection in an intensive care unit; Seal DV et al.; An epidemiological investigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an Intensive Care Neurosurgical Unit has shown that there were epidemic, endemic and endogenous types present simultaneously . These pseudomonads were cultured from purulent sputa postoperatively and sometimes caused systemic disease . The epidemic type was traced to a ventilator and a nebulizer whilst the endemic and endogenous types were not found in environmental sites . Effective decontamination of equipment and the use of bacterial filters where possible are essential in preventing the spread of infection . Staff hygiene remains important, particularly hand washing with antiseptic soap preparations. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {C}, 1981 Aug, 89(4), 217 - 21 Antibiotics and granulocytes . Direct and indirect effects on granulocyte chemotaxis; Belsheim JA et al.; Twelve antibiotics were investigated regarding both their direct in vitro influence on granulocyte chemotaxis, and their indirect effect on the production of chemotactic factors from cultures of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . None of the beta-lactam antibiotics studied caused significant alterations of granulocyte migratory response when incubated with the cells at concentrations of up to 128 microgram/ml . The two aminoglycoside preparations, and the two tetracycline preparations caused significant depressions of the migration response . Production of chemotactic factors was stimulated from growing cultures of E . coli by sub-minimal inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics and from Ps . aeruginosa by the cephalosporin derivatives only . The differences observed were most probably due to the mode of action at the bacterial cell wall level. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1981 Aug, 78(8), 4897 - 901 ampC cephalosporinase of Escherichia coli K-12 has a different evolutionary origin from that of beta-lactamases of the penicillinase type; Jaurin B et al.; A 1536-nucleotide-long sequence that carries the ampC beta-lactamase gene of the Escherichia coli K-12 chromosome has been determined . This gene codes for a protein of 377 amino acids, of which the first 19 amino acids form a signal peptide . The molecular weight of the mature enzyme was determined to be 39,600 . The ampC beta-lactamase with a substrate specificity for cephalosporins showed no significant sequence homologies with beta-lactamases of the penicillinase type or with D-alanine carboxypeptidases . However, because the region around serine-80 of the ampC beta-lactamase has extensive homology with an active-site fragment of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa cephalosporinase, we suggest that the ampC cephalosporinase as well as related cephalosporinases form a distinct group of serine beta-lactamases that have an evolutionary origin different from that of the serine penicillinases and thus constitute a new class of beta-lactamases. Infect Immun, 1981 Aug, 33(2), 527 - 32 Antibodies to cell envelope proteins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients; Fernandes PB et al.; Many vaccines containing somatic and secreted antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been reported . The vaccines containing lipopolysaccharide have been found to provide type-specific protection, but the endotoxin content of these vaccines does not make it feasible to use them in patients who are already debilitated . Outer membrane proteins could be effective as vaccines, as they can be purified free of lipopolysaccharide, and also because they are common to all serotypes of P . aeruginosa . To be effective as a vaccine, such proteins must be immunogenic and accessible from the outside of the intact bacterial cell . In this study, we showed that systemic antibodies were produced frequently to two cell envelope proteins with masses of 58,500 and 37,500 daltons and occasionally to 34,000-dalton protein of P . aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic lung infections . In rabbits immunized with whole, fixed cells of P . aeruginosa, antibodies were also produced against the 58,500-dalton proteins . Thus, the 58,500-dalton cell envelope protein of P . aeruginosa was the only immunogenic protein that was accessible to the immune system when whole, fixed cells were used for immunization . These serum antibodies did not protect the cystic fibrosis patients against further lung infection with P . aeruginosa. Infect Immun, 1981 Aug, 33(2), 512 - 8 Serum bactericidal effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients; Thomassen MJ et al.; The bactericidal activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from cystic fibrosis patients was determined in a 10% concentration of normal serum or autologous cystic fibrosis serum . Of the 167 strains tested, 77 (46%) were sensitive (greater than 95% killed) in normal serum . Mucoid strains were more frequently sensitive than nonmucoid strains . Twenty-three sensitive strains tested in ethyleneglycoltetraacetic acid-chelated serum were resistant (less than 10% killed), suggesting only classical pathway activation . Absorption of cystic fibrosis serum with the autologous P . aeruginosa strain resulted in decreased killing by that serum . All sera, including the chelated and absorbed sera, had comparable total hemolytic complement levels . Patients in poor clinical condition (5 out of 12), in contrast to patients in good or moderate condition(1 out of 30), were more likely to have P . aeruginosa strains that were serum resistant in autologous serum but sensitive in normal serum . Sera from these five patients in poor clinical condition were capable of killing heterologous P . aeruginosa strains . These results suggest the presence of a protective or "blocking" activity in serum from some patients in poor clinical conditions . This association of a blocking activity with clinical condition may signal a transition point in the progression of cystic fibrosis lung disease and thus may be another contributory factor in the failure of the cystic fibrosis host to control infection. Zentralbl Bakteriol A, 1981 Aug, 249(3), 413 - 7 Comparison of the effects of a multi-component vaccine and a formalin-killed cell vaccine on protection against enzootic of hemorrhagic pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mink; Abe C et al.; Effectiveness of a multi-component vaccine consisting of the common antigen (OEP) derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain N 10 (serotype E) and toxoids of protease and elastase was compared with that of formalin-killed cells of strain N 10 on protection against enzootic of hemorrhagic pneumonia due to P . aeruginosa in mink . One administration of the multi-component vaccine (100 microgram each of OEP, protease toxoid and elastase toxoid) clearly prevented enzootic of hemorrhagic pneumonia due to P . aeruginosa (serotype G) in mink, while a vaccination of formalin-killed cells was much less effective in preventing an epidemic . The difference in mortality rates between two vaccines was remarkable. J Med Microbiol, 1981 Aug, 14(3), 261 - 70 A comparison of flagellar typing and phage typing as means of subdividing the O groups of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pitt TL; Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from hospitals were typed by O and H serology and bacteriophage typing . The H sera were prepared against purified flagella of six type strains . The most common O serogroups were O6, O11, O16 and O10, and together these groups represented more than half of the total number of strains . O subgrouping proved useful for the further division of groups O2 and O6 . Percentage H typability was high, and many H patterns were found . Comparison of H typing and phage typing as a means of making subdivisions within O groups showed that, although the general discriminatory power of the two methods was similar, H typing performed better than phage-typing in the more common O serogroups. J Med Microbiol, 1981 Aug, 14(3), 251 - 60 Preparation of agglutinating antisera specific for the flagellar antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pitt TL; H-specific agglutinating sera to Pseudomonas aeruginosa were prepared by immunisation with partially purified flagella . The results of agglutination and immobilisation tests with rabbit sera prepared against the flagella of six H-type strains showed that the sera had high titres and were H specific . Cross-absorption tests revealed that one strain (H-3) possessed a distinct antigen not present in any of the others . Two groups of strains (H-1, H-2 and H-5; H-4 and H-6) each possessed a distinct major antigen . Members of these two groups could be distinguished by their minor antigens. J Bacteriol, 1981 Aug, 147(2), 675 - 8 A Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutant non-derepressible for orthophosphate-regulated proteins; Gray GL et al.; Using a rapid screening assay based on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine, we isolated several mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa deficient in the production of phospholipase C . One, designated strain A50N, was also markedly deficient in the synthesis of alkaline phosphatase and several unidentified extracellular proteins . Because strain A50N produces these proteins under conditions of derepression at levels equal to those produced by the parental strain PAO1 grown in medium containing excess phosphate, it appears to have a mutation in a genetic element involved in the derepression of phosphate-repressible proteins. J Bacteriol, 1981 Aug, 147(2), 275 - 81 Isolation and genetic characterization of toxin-deficient mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO; Gray GL et al.; Two independently derived, exotoxin A-deficient (Tox- phenotype), nitroso-guanidine-induced mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 were isolated by using sensitive immunological assays . One mutant, designated PAOT10, was detected as a colony which failed to produce a halo of immunoprecipitation in an antiserum-agar assay . The other mutant (PAOT20) was independently isolated and was detected by a negative reaction in a staphylococcal coagglutination assay with protein A-containing staphylococci and affinity-purified antibodies . Both mutants produced parental levels of extracellular protein . However, whereas the qualitative and quantitative compositions of proteins produced by PAOT20 were indistinguishable from those of the parental strain as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and measurement of extracellular protease, there were marked differences between PAOT10 and the parental strain . The mutation in PAOT10 (tox-1) as mapped by linkage analysis was located between trp-6 and proA . In contrast, linkage analysis and cotransduction placed the mutation in PAOT20 (tox-2), very near trp-6 . Data are presented which suggest that tox-1 and tox-2 are regulatory loci. Arch Ophthalmol, 1981 Aug, 99(8), 1420 - 3 Route of antibiotic administration in bacterial keratitis; Leibowitz HM et al.; The in vivo antibacterial effectiveness in the rabbit cornea of several antibiotics delivered by topical application, by periocular injection, and by intravenous (IV) inoculation was determined against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Topical instillation of antibiotic was highly effective in eliminating these organisms from the cornea . In contrast, despite a considerable increase in the quantity of antibiotic administered, we could demonstrate no statistically significant reduction in the number of viable staphylococcal or Pseudomonas organisms in the cornea when the antibiotic was given by periocular or by IV injection. J Biol Chem, 1981 Jul 25, 256(14), 7305 - 10 Preparation and characterization of detoxified lipopolysaccharide-protein conjugates; Seid RC Jr et al.; Alkaline treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa type 5 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in reduced toxicity as measured by both the Limulus amoebocyte assay and the rabbit pyrogenicity test . Chemical analysis of the deacylated LPS (D-LPS) revealed that ester-linked fatty acids were removed while the amide-linked fatty acids remained intact . The neutral and amino sugar compositions for native LPS and D-LPS were identical within experimental error . Antigenic determinants for complement-dependent human opsonic antibody were retained under these deacylation conditions . To enhance its immunogenicity, D-LPS was covalently coupled to Pseudomonas pili and the 1,4-diaminobutyl derivatives of Pseudomonas exotoxin A and tetanus toxoid . Quantitative amino sugar analyses revealed that 2.6 and 3.2 mol of D-LPS were covalently bound to aminobutyl Pseudomonas exotoxin A and aminobutyl tetanus toxoid, respectively . Gel electrophoresis data indicated at least 1 mol of D-LPS covalently bound per pilus subunit protein . Initial immunologic data indicated that antibody against D-LPS could be induced when the D-LPS is covalently attached to protein carriers. Rev Infect Dis, 1981 Jul-Aug, 3(4), 728 - 33 Control of infection in the hospital: problems in surgery and the management of burns; Lowbury EJ; Three aspects of hospital infection control are discussed: disinfection of skin, antimicrobial prophylaxis of burns, and methods of preventing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria . The relative values and limitations of alternative methods of reducing resident and transient skin flora are evaluated on the basis of laboratory studies of volunteers; the special value of alcohol, rubbed to dryness, against both resident and transient flora is illustrated . In prophylaxis against infection of burns, first-and second-line defenses, i.e., against contamination of the burn wound and against invasion from the colonized burn wound, respectively, are illustrated by results of controlled trials of various topical preparations of antimicrobial agents and of a pseudomonas vaccine . Ways of preventing the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and of eliminating them from wards in which they have become endemic are illustrated . Methods effective in dealing with resistance to one antibiotic or group of antibiotics do not necessarily have similar value for resistance to other antibiotics; e.g., in a burns unit, Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistant to carbenicillin due to a plasmid determining resistance to five antibiotics was eliminated by withdrawal of all five of these antibiotics, but in the same unit gentamicin-resistant P . aeruginosa was eliminated only when all patients with P . aeruginosa were segregated in one ward to which no new patients were admitted until those whose burns had carried gentamicin-resistant P . aeruginosa had been discharged. J Antibiot (Tokyo), 1981 Jul, 34(7), 892 - 7 Effects of habekacin, a novel aminoglycoside antibiotic, on experimental corneal ulceration due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Tanaka Y; The effects of habekacin on corneal ulceration, caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa IFO 3455, were studied in mice, in comparison with gentamicin and tobramycin . The minimal inhibitory concentrations of the antibiotics for the organism were: habekacin 2 microgram/ml, gentamicin 2 microgram/ml, and tobramycin 1 microgram/ml . Habekacin showed protective and therapeutic effects on Pseudomonas keratitis . The 50% effective dose was approximately 1 microgram per mouse, when the drug was topically applied three hours after the infection, and about 0.2 mg per mouse, when the antibiotic was intramuscularly injected one hour after the bacterial challenge to the cornea . Significant therapeutic and protective activities of habekacin were observed even by starting the topical and/or intramuscular treatment after the corneal ulcers were formed: i.e . 15 hours after the bacterial infection . Complete cure of Pseudomonas keratitis was found within a week in a number of the infected mice by both topical and systemic administrations of the drug . The protective and therapeutic effects of habekacin were comparable to those of gentamicin and tobramycin. Infect Immun, 1981 Jul, 33(1), 90 - 4 Age-related susceptibility of mice to ocular challenge with Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A; Berk RS et al.; We studied the responses of mice to ocular challenge with purified exotoxin A from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 5-, 10-, 16-, 21-, and 30-day-old animals . In the absence of trauma, injection of 3 to 6 microgram of exotoxin per mouse beneath the fused eyelids of 5-day-old Swiss-Webster mice resulted in death of all animals within 24 h . Administration of 1.5, 0.75, and 0.375 microgram of exotoxin per mouse resulted in 24-h mortality rates of 50, 22, and 20%, respectively . Additional deaths were recorded throughout the next 4 days . Similar lethality results were obtained with 10-day-old animals that received equivalent amounts of exotoxin beneath the fused eyelid and in these experiments, the 72-h 50% lethal dose was 0.49 microgram of exotoxin per mouse . Mice that were 16 and 21 days old, whose eyelids were open, each received from 0.375 to 15 microgram of exotoxin topically applied to the surface of a wounded cornea . Cataracts were observed within 1 week in both groups, and none of the animals that received the higher concentrations of toxin died . Young adult (30-day-old) animals also received from 1.8 to 15 microgram of exotoxin topically on the surfaces of wounded corneas . Corneal swelling and slight opacity were observed at 24 h and within 1 month; 80% of these mice had cataracts of the ocular lens. J Gen Microbiol, 1981 Jul, 125(Pt 1), 1 - 10 Properties and localization of N-acetylglutamate deacetylase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Fruh H et al.; The N-acetylglutamate deacetylase (EC 3.5.1.-) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, strain PAO1, was purified 15,000-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity . The enzyme was distinct from acetylornithinase and formylglutamate hydrolase . Its molecular weight was estimated to be 90,000 by gel filtration and by sedimentation in sucrose gradients . Electrophoresis in sodium-dodecyl sulphate gels gave a single band corresponding to a molecular weight of 44,000 . N-Acetylglutamate deacetylase was L-specific and showed no peptidase activity . Among 17 N-acetyl-L-amino acids tested as substrates, N-acetyl-L-glutamine, N-acetyl-L-methionine and N-acetylglycine were hydrolysed at 20% of the rate of N-acetyl-L-glutamate whereas other N-acetyl-L-amino acids were deacetylated at a rate of less than 10% . The catalytic activity depended on Co2+ . The Km of the enzyme with respect to N-acetylglutamate was 1.43 mM . Preparation of spheroplasts with lysozyme in the presence of 0.2 M-MgCl2 led to the release of 80% of the enzyme activity from the cells, indicating the periplasmic localization of N-acetylglutamate deacetylase . Its localization in the periplasmic space explains the inability of P . aeruginosa argA mutants to grow on N-acetylglutamate, which is utilized by the wild-type as a carbon and nitrogen source. Int Surg, 1981 Jul-Sep, 66(3), 237 - 40 Endogenous and exogenous infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a burns unit; Chitkara YK et al.; Twenty patients who were admitted to the Burns Unit from December, 1969 through October, 1970 were studies to determine the sources of infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . The pyocine typing method was employed for finger printing of 383 isolates recovered from wounds and 67 isolates from environmental cultures of nurses' hands, sinks, floors, bed rails, walls and baths . In addition, cultures of moist rectal swabs were carried out daily for the first six days of hospitalization to assess the importance of endogenous infection . In six patients, the rectum was identified as the source of infection . However, in these patients, pyocine types of Ps . aeruginosa which were not obtained from rectal cultures, were also recovered . Pyocine types 1b, 10 and 31 were isolated more frequently than others . Clustering of common pyocine types suggests cross-contamination . Sinks were found to be consistently contaminated with Ps . aeruginosa . Amongst the environmental sources, positive cultures were occasionally obtained from floors, bed rails and nurses' hands . It is suggested that sinks are probably the most important reservoir of Pseudomonas infection in burns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1981 Jul, 78(7), 4256 - 60 Pyochelin: novel structure of an iron-chelating growth promoter for Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Cox CD et al.; Pyochelin, an endogenous growth promoter that solubilizes ferric iron, has been isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, including clinical strains . The structure of pyochelin has been assigned as 2-(2-o-hydroxyphenyl-2-thiazolin-4-yl)-3-methylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid and is of a different type from those previously assigned to siderophores (siderochromes) from bacteria . The assignment rests on 1H and 13C NMR data, high-resolution (including field desorption) mass spectrometry, and spectroscopic properties of synthetic model compounds . Pyochelin is presumed to be biosynthesized from salicylic acid and two moles of cysteine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Jul, 20(1), 33 - 7 Synergistic activities of fortimicin A and beta-lactam antibiotics against Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Yamashita K et al.; The inhibitory and bactericidal activities of fortimicin A (FTM-A) alone against Pseudomonas aeruginosa were compared with those of FTM-A in combination with beta-lactam antibiotics . As tested by the checkerboard method, most beta-lactam antibiotics tested had synergistic effects on the inhibitory activity of FTM-A against one strain of P . aeruginosa . Addition of a sublethal concentration of carbenicillin resulted in a significant increase in the rate of bacterial killing of FTM-A against P . aeruginosa . The antibacterial activity of FTM-A against 50 gentamicin-susceptible and 50 gentamicin-resistant clinical isolates of P . aeruginosa was clearly enhanced by addition of a subinhibitory concentration of carbenicillin or piperacillin. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Jul, (7), 49 - 53 {Structural elements of Pseudomonas aeruginosa based on electron microscopy findings}; Litovchenko PP et al.; The study of negatively contrasted preparations was made with the aim of of finding out the possibility of identifying Ps . aeruginosa by the number and location of flagella . 4,800 bacteria were studied by means of an electron microscopy, type JEM-100; of these, 2,443 bacterium had a single polar flagellum, 414 bacteria had 2 and 138 bacteria had 3 polar flagella, while 1,805 cells had no flagella . The presence of bipolar flagella and pili, as well as nonflagellate Ps . aeruginosa cultures, was revealed . The possibility of the existence of noncapsular and capsular forms in one and the same Ps . aeruginosa strain was shown . The use of these data in the systematics of Ps . aeruginosa is anticipated. J Clin Microbiol, 1981 Jul, 14(1), 55 - 60 Pseudomonas aeruginosa enzyme profiling: predictor of potential invasiveness and use as an epidemiological tool; Janda JM et al.; The enzymatic potential of 54 clinical and 22 environmental isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from soil and water were evaluated by substrate plate assays . Clinical isolates produced substantial levels of 9 of the 11 enzymes assayed, whereas strains recovered from soil or water were relatively inert enzymatically . Elastase, deoxyribonuclease, and elevated protease activities were associated preferentially with clinical isolates of systemic origin; these activities were found twice as frequently in clinical isolates as in strains derived from sputum or the urogenital tract . Our data suggest that these factors may play an important role in the dissemination of P . aeruginosa from local or superficial sites . A comparison of the enzyme profiles of the environmental and clinical isolates indicated that colonization or infection by environmental strains of P . aeruginosa is a rare event and that environmental and clinical strains comprise separate biovars . Epidemiologically, enzyme profiles permitted the fingerprinting and differentiation of clinical strains from various sources. Infect Immun, 1981 Jul, 33(1), 142 - 8 Genetic mapping of chromosomal determinants for the production of the exopolysaccharide alginate in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa cystic fibrosis isolate; Ohman DE et al.; Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain FRD, a sputum isolate from a cystic fibrosis patient, was used to develop a genetic system . The mucoid appearance is due to the biosynthesis of the exopolysaccharide alginate and is a potential virulence factor of the organism . The sex factor plasmid FP2 was used for uninterrupted genetic exchange to investigate the nature of spontaneous mutations which produce frequent alginate-negative (Alg-) derivatives . Crosses between Alg+ donors and Alg- recipients demonstrated linkage between alginate genes and chromosomal markers . Crosses between an Alg- donor and Alg- recipients produced Alg+ recombinants at frequencies that varied, depending on the recipient strains used . This indicated that more than one genetic locus was associated with spontaneous mutation leading to loss of the mucoid character . Three classes of Alg- mutants were identified . Genetic exchange experiments showed that the loci of the alginate (alg) mutations of the three mutant classes are in the same region of the chromosome . The sex factor plasmid R68.45 was used for nonpolarized chromosome transfer and demonstrated close linkage between chromosomal markers (his-1, met-1) and alg markers . This was consistent with the data obtained in FP2-mediated crosses . Thus, the evidence obtained indicated that the alg genes which undergo frequent mutation are chromosomal, that several loci are involved, and that these alg loci are apparently clustered on the chromosome. Arch Surg, 1981 Jul, 116(7), 854 - 7 Sulfadiazine silver-resistant Pseudomonas in Burns . New topical agents; Modak SM et al.; Sulfadiazine silver-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from burned patients from several countries are sensitive to sulfadiazine silver in vitro, but in burned mice and rats resist topical therapy with sulfadiazine silver . In searching for an effective topical agent against these resistant organisms, we found that FPQC (1-ethyl-6-fluoro-1,4-dihydro-4-oxo-7{1-piperazinyl}-quinoline-carboxylic acid) and its silver salt are effective both in vitro and in vivo . In vitro, their minimal inhibitory concentrations are ten to 20 times lower than that of sulfadiazine silver . In burned mice infected with resistant Pseudomonas strains, mortality in groups receiving topical therapy with FPQC or FPQC silver is 0%, but 80% to 100% with sulfadiazine silver and 100% without treatment . Similar results were obtained in burned rats . The efficacy of FPQC and FPQC silver in vivo may represent discovery of new agents of known low toxicity that are useful in topical burn therapy. Clin Pharmacol Ther, 1981 Jul, 30(1), 86 - 94 Steady-state moxalactam kinetics: comparisons with other cephalosporins; Garzone P et al.; Moxalactam is a new beta-lactam antimicrobial with an extended spectrum . Serum concentrations were determined in 14 patients at steady state using bioassay and high-pressure liquid chromatography methods . Mean peak and trough serum concentrations were 195 and 29.5 micrograms/ml for the 20-gm dose and 214 and 28.8 micrograms/ml for the 3-gm dose . Peak and trough levels exceeded the minimum inhibitory concentration of the infecting bacteria in 100% and 67% of the patients . The 3-gm dose is recommended for infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other organisms with higher minimum inhibitory concentrations . Half-lifes ranged from 1.7 to 5.7 hr and reflected the varying renal functions of the patients . A relationship (r = 0.878, p less than 0.001) between creatinine clearance and elimination rate constant was established by bivariant linear regression analysis. J Bacteriol, 1981 Jul, 147(1), 193 - 7 Growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants lacking glutamate synthase activity; Brown PR et al.; Mutant strains SU1, SU4, and US1 lacking glutamate synthase (GOGAT) activity were isolated from strains of P . aeruginosa for which histidine is a growth rate-limiting source of nitrogen . Strains SU1 and SU4 were unable to grow when a low concentration of ammonia and a variety of compounds, including histidine, were supplied as sole sources of nitrogen . A revertant of strain SU1, strain 39, produced no GOGAT but high levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase and had restored ability to grow on a limited number of nitrogen sources . Strain US1 grew at the same rate in histidine medium as did its parent; it was derepressed for glutamine synthase synthesis, and histidase was less sensitive to repression by ammonia than in the parent strain . We conclude that GOGAT is not essential for growth on histidine but high levels of glutamine synthase are required nd high levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase can sustain growth at low concentrations of ammonia in the absence of GOGAT. N Engl J Med, 1981 Jun 11, 304(24), 1445 - 9 Mucoid Escherichia coli in cystic fibrosis; Macone AB et al.; Patients with cystic fibrosis commonly harbor in their lungs strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that have a mucoid coating considered virtually pathognomonic for the disease . We found that strains of Escherichia coli with a morphologically similar mucoid coating were present in the respiratory tracts of eight (11.8 per cent) of 68 patients with cystic fibrosis whose sputum cultures yielded Esch . coli, as compared with none of 89 patients without cystic fibrosis who had Esch . coli in sputum . Mucoid strains of Esch . coli were also recovered from the stools of five (11.1 per cent) of 45 patients with cystic fibrosis, as compared with one (0.7 per cent) of 150 patients without cystic fibrosis . The mucoid substances purified from Esch . coli were biochemically and antigenically distinct from those of P . aeruginosa . We conclude that the respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis offers an environment conducive to the production of a mucoid coating not only by P . aeruginosa but by other gram-negative bacilli as well. Cutis, 1981 Jun, 27(6), 601 - 2 Pseudomonas chromonychia; Chapel TA et al.; The patient reported on herein presented with a greenish black great toenail . The discoloration was due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa . This report should alert the practitioner to the fact that Pseudomonas chromonychia may occasionally be mistaken for color changes produced by subungual hematomas, nevi, or malignant melanomas. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1981 Jun, 62(6), 283 - 5 Hydrotherapy: an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infections related to Hubbard tank treatments; McGuckin MB et al.; During a 2-week period, Pseudomonas aeruginosa wound infections developed in 11 patients, 10 of whom had had hydrotherapy in Hubbard tanks before isolation of the organism from their wounds . All 10 patients had clinical evidence of disease including a temperature of greater than 100.4F, purulent wound drainage and positive culture for P . aeruginosa . These 10 patients comprised almost 60% of all patients who had received hydrotherapy during these 2 weeks . The index case had extensive cellulitis of the leg and positive wound cultures for P . aeruginosa throughout the epidemic period . Investigation revealed that the outbreak had begun coincident with the discontinuation of the use of sodium hypochlorite as a tank disinfectant and had stopped when its use had been resumed . The temporal association between the start and end of the epidemic and the use of sodium hypochlorite indicates that this agent may prevent cross-contamination and infection among patients receiving hydrotherapy. Mol Cell Biol, 1981 Jun, 1(6), 552 - 9 Enhancement of cytotoxicities of ricin and Pseudomonas toxin in Chinese hamster ovary cells by nigericin; Ray B et al.; Nigericin and monensin, ionophores for Na+ and K+, have been found to enhance the cytotoxicities of abrin, ricin, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells . They do not affect the cytotoxicity of diphtheria toxin in the same cell line . Maximal sensitization of the CHO cells toward ricin and Pseudomonas toxin requires preculture of CHO cells in the presence of nigericin . Inhibition of protein synthesis in CHO cells by ricin or Pseudomonas toxin is also enhanced by preculture of CHO cells in the presence of nigericin . These results suggest a common step in the intoxication process of ricin and Pseudomonas toxin, the rate of which is facilitated by pretreatment with nigericin . This step is, however, not shared by the intoxication of CHO cells with diphtheria toxin. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand {C}, 1981 Jun, 89(3), 185 - 92 Quantitative studies on immunologically specific and non-specific absorption of Pseudomonas aeruginosa antibodies in serum from cystic fibrosis patients; Hoiby N et al.; A quantitative determination of anti-Pseudomonas immunoglobulins was carried out by means of rocket-line immunoelectrophoresis in the serum from 19 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with chronic P . aeruginosa infection and with many precipitins against these bacteria (CF + P) . from six CF patients without P . aeruginosa infection (CF-P) and from nine normal persons . On an average P . aeruginosa antigens could absorb 7.7% of IgG, 8.4% of IgA and 29% of IgM from CF + P sera, whereas no detectable IgG and IgA and only 14.6% IgM were absorbed from normal sera and only 1.2% of IgG, 3.8% of IgA, but 29% of IgM was absorbed from CF-P sera . The results show that most, if not all, of the P . aeruginosa precipitins belong to the IgG and IgA classes, but that these precipitins can account only for part of the increased levels of immunoglobulins in CF-P patients . Staphylococcus aureus containing protein A (strain Cowan 1) could absorb 95% of the precipitating antibodies against P . aeruginosa and 92% of IgG, 27% of IgA and 34% of IgM in CF-P patients . The absorption of P . aeruginosa precipitins by protein A points to a possible synergism between S . aureus and P . aeruginosa infections in the lungs of CF patients, since S . aureus may interfere with antibody-mediated immune elimination of P . aeruginosa . Such a mechanism may also facilitate infections with other microorganisms in these patients. Jpn J Exp Med, 1981 Jun, 51(3), 165 - 70 Development of antibodies to OEP, exotoxin A and exoenzymes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in man; Shinozaki T et al.; Antibody titers to OEP, exotoxin A and exoenzymes (protease and elastase) in normal sera of 256 specimens of cord blood, children and adults were measured by passive hemagglutination test . Serum antibody to exotoxin A was detected in cord blood samples . The level of mean antibody titers dropped during the first year of age, then rose and reached a plateau at the age of 2 to 5 years and dropped thereafter . Mean antibody titers to OEP by age groups were similar to those of exotoxin A . Antibodies to exoenzymes were not detectable initially, but the level rose during the second year of age and reached a plateau during childhood . Positive antibody titers (1:20) to exotoxin A and OEP were found in all sera belonging to some age groups between 11 to 30 years . The rate of acquisition of antibodies to exoenzymes was low . As for the antibodies to exotoxin A, the disappearance of detectable antibody by treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol was observed during the age of 1 to 4 years . Initial pseudomonas colonization may be common and asymptomatic in infants and young children. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Jun, (6), 27 - 32 {Transfer to Escherichia coli of the mercury markers of new Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmids}; Domaradskii IV et al.; A total of 5 new conjugative plasmids pLD can be transferred from one Ps . aeruginosa strain to other strains of this species, but not to E . coli . Only the markers of resistance to mercury can be transferred to E . coli by means of plasmids Inc P-1 . The present work contains the data confirming that the mercury markers of 2 plasmids pLD 1017 and pLD 1051 behave similarly to transposons. J Biochem (Tokyo), 1981 Jun, 89(6), 1721 - 36 Comparative study of F-type pyocins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Kuroda K et al.; Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAF41 was found to produce a new F-type pyocin, pyocin F3, the action spectrum of which was different from those of previously reported pyocins F1 and F2 . These three F-type pyocins were compared with respect to their structure and biological properties . These pyocins were almost the same with regard to the structure and the dimensions, and have similar amino acid compositions and S values . The particle weights of these pyocins were also suggested to be similar . Analyses of subunit proteins by SDS-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis showed that these pyocins were composed of 5 major (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6) and 2 minor (bands 5 and 7) subunit proteins and that no difference in the mobilities of these subunit proteins could be detected among the pyocins except that of the second major subunit protein (band 4), which did differ . Pyocins F1, F2, and F3 were immunologically cross-reactive, and carried common antigens as well as specific ones . It was shown that band 6 was a common antigen among the three pyocins and that band 4 was antigenically different in pyocins F1 and F3 by immunological reaction after protein blotting . Electron microscopic observation of pyocin particles treated with anti-sera revealed that the common antigens were located on the rod part and the specific ones were on the fiber part . Pyocin F3 was neutralized by both anti-F3 and anti-F1 sera showing apparent first order rate kinetics, whereas the neutralization for pyocin F1 by these sera did not show such kinetics, but a considerable increment of pyocin F1 activity was observed when small amounts of the sera were added . The increment seemed to be due to the antibodies common to pyocins F1, F2, and F3 . A phage, which had a flexuous rod-like tail, was found to be immunologically cross-reactive with the three pyocins and was named KF1. Biull Eksp Biol Med, 1981 Jun, 91(6), 663 - 6 {Role of conditionally pathogenic microbes in the development of experimental destructive pneumonia}; Zolotovskii BB et al.; Experiments on 32 puppies with a preliminary decrease of immunologic resistance have demonstrated the possibility of the development of purulent destructive pneumonia under the effect of opportunistic microorganisms, such as Proteins, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Histoenzymatic studies of a pathologically changed lung tissue have disclosed appreciable microcirculatory disorders and destruction of the bronchioli and thus promoted the unraveling of the pathogenesis of pulmonary destructive foci. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Jun, 19(6), 987 - 92 Effect of ionized calcium and soluble magnesium on the predictability of the performance of Mueller-Hinton agar susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with gentamicin; Casillas E et al.; The soluble and ionized calcium and magnesium contents of 18 lots of Mueller-Hinton agar medium from three different manufacturers were analyzed, and the results were correlated with medium performance . A standardized disk diffusion test, with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and a 10-microgram gentamicin disk, served as an indicator of medium performance . Zone diameters correlated well with the ionized calcium values and the sum of the ionized calcium and soluble magnesium values in the different lots (r = -0.88 for both) . Zone diameters correlated poorly with ionized magnesium values (r = -0.57), which were best described by a curvilinear relationship . Supplementation of lots of Mueller-Hinton agar medium with equivalent amounts of calcium and magnesium as the chloride, gluconate, or glycerophosphate salts produced identical decreases in zone sizes . Adjustment of deficient lots of Mueller-Hinton agar medium with ionized calcium or soluble magnesium or both (as the gluconate salts), to match the concentrations in lots that provided satisfactory zone sizes (17 to 19 mm), resulted in performance comparable to that of the control lots . Sixteen strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ranging from resistant to susceptible, responded to cation adjustment in the same manner as the ATCC quality control strain . Satisfactory medium performance can obviously be assured by biological means in aminoglycoside susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on Mueller-Hinton medium; however, cation adjustment of medium to predetermined levels of ionized calcium and soluble magnesium can now also provide desirable performance levels for P . aeruginosa on Mueller-Hinton medium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Jun, 19(6), 958 - 64 Aminoglycoside-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa deficient in cytochrome d, nitrite reductase, and aerobic transport; Bryan LE et al.; Two gentamicin-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO 503 were selected after ethyl methane sulfonate mutagenesis . Mutant PAO 2403 had significantly increased resistance to aminoglycoside but not to other antibiotics . Mutant PAO 2402 showed a similar spectrum of resistance but of lower magnitude . Both mutants showed no detectable cytochrome d and had a high frequency of reversion to a fully wild-type phenotype . PAO 2403 had a marked decrease and PAO 2402 had a moderate decrease in nitrite reductase activity . Both mutants had reduced uptake of gentamicin and dihydrostreptomycin . Mutant PAO 2403 showed a general decrease in transport rate of cationic compounds, whereas mutant PAO 2402 had only deficient glucose transport . Both mutants showed enhanced rates of glutamine transport and no change in glutamic acid transport . Other components of electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation were normal . These mutants involve ferrocytochrome C551 oxidoreductase formed only on anaerobic growth but illustrate transport defects in aerobically grown cells. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 Jun, 19(6), 1056 - 63 Heterogeneity of antibiotic resistance in mucoid isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa obtained from cystic fibrosis patients: role of outer membrane proteins; Irvin RT et al.; Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from cystic fibrosis patients are very heterogeneous and include a class which is hypersusceptible to carbenicillin (minimum inhibitory concentration, less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml) . Hypersusceptible mucoid P . aeruginosa isolates were found in 12 of 22 cystic fibrosis patients examined . In cystic fibrosis patients having both resistant and hypersusceptible mucoid strains, 24 of 54 mucoid colonies obtained from a sputum sample were found to belong to the hypersusceptible class . In most instances, hypersusceptible and resistant strains isolated from the same sputum sample were indistinguishable, aside from their antibiotic susceptibilities, by classical methods . A particular pair of mucoid isolates (one hypersusceptible and one resistant) was chosen for further study . The hypersusceptibility was not limited to carbenicillin but was found to extend to other penicillins, tetracycline, and trimethoprim but not to the aminoglycosides gentamicin and tobramycin . The hypersusceptibility of the mucoid strain was found to be unrelated to amount or ability to synthesize alginate . The hypersusceptible strain was found to have two additional outer membrane proteins (32,000 and 25,000 daltons) as compared with the resistant strain . The 32,000-dalton protein, termed protein N1, was found to be correlated to the hypersusceptibility phenotype, as all spontaneous mutants of the hypersusceptible mucoid strain which were capable of growing in the presence of 50 microgram of carbenicillin per ml had lost the 32,000-dalton outer membrane protein . The possible origins of the hypersusceptibility phenotype and the implications of the heterogeneity of mucoid P . aeruginosa in the pathogenesis of P . aeruginosa are discussed. Antibiotiki, 1981 Jun, 26(6), 450 - 6 {Characteristics of the resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmids}; Anisimova LA et al.; A total of 503 clinical strains of Ps . aeruginosa isolated in hospitals of 4 towns in 1976 - 1978 were studied . It was shown that a significant number of the isolates were resistant to high concentrations of streptomycin (83.3 per cent), kanamycin (71 per cent), sulfanilamide (70.2 per cent) and mercuric chloride (61.6 per cent) . Strains resistant to gentamicin (29.8 per cent) and carbenicillin (20.2 per cent) occurred comparatively rare . Resistance to polymyxin and rifampicin was recorded in 2 and 4 per cent f the isolates respectively . It was found that 77 per cent of the isolates could transfer on conjugation the resistance determinants to the polyauxotrophic strains of Ps . aeruginosa ML 4262 (PAO) . 83 conjugative plasmids controlling resistance to streptomycin (85.5 per cent), tetracycline (20.5 per cent), chloramphenicol (30.1 per cent), gentamicin (18.0 per cent), kanamycin (7.2 per cent), carbenicillin (13.7 per cent), sulfanilamides (125.3 per cent), organic and inorganic mercury compounds, hydroxyanions of chromium, tellurium and boron and UV radiation were isolated . The frequency of the plasmid transfer ranged from 10(-1) to 10(-6) (per donor cell) . 4 nonconjugative plasmids were isolated . 2 of them determined resistance to streptomycin and sulfanilamide and 2 resistance to streptomycin, sulfanilamide and carbenicillin . The molecular mass of the plasmids was within 5.5 to 280 Md . The majority of the conjugative plasmids were classified as belonging to the incompatibility group P-2, the others belonged to groups P-1, P-3, P-5 and P-7 . The nonconjugatiplasmids belonged to the incompatibility group P-4. Am J Clin Pathol, 1981 Jun, 75(6), 830 - 3 Performance of a commercial microdilution minimal inhibitory concentration procedure for aminoglycoside susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Etowski DC et al.; The accuracy of quantitative aminoglycoside minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determinations was evaluated with the Micro-Media Systems microdilution MIC panel and Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Without Mg++ and Ca++ supplementation, very major interpretive discrepancies occurred . A simple, in-expensive cation supplementation procedure was evaluated to correct the discrepancies . The necessity of cation supplementation for susceptibility testing of P . aeruginosa when employing MIC procedures is stressed. J Infect Dis, 1981 Jun, 143(6), 784 - 90 Role of fibronectin in the prevention of adherence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to buccal cells; Woods DE et al.; Recent evidence suggests that colonization of the upper respiratory tract by gram-negative bacilli is mediated by adherence to regional epithelial cells . Buccal epithelial cells were obtained for study from 12 seriously ill patients, all of whom were colonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa . In comparison to cells from uncolonized controls, cells obtained from these patients attached significantly more P . aeruginosa organisms during incubation in vitro . Although the sialic acid content of colonized patients' cells was less than that of controls' cells, removal of sialic acid from normal cells with neuraminidase did not increase bacillary adherence . Trypsinization of normal cells increased bacillary adherence and significantly reduced the amount of fibronectin on the cell surface . Both trypsinized normal cells and cells recovered from seriously ill colonized patients attached large numbers of P . aeruginosa organisms in vitro and demonstrated decreased fibronectin on the cell surface by immunofluorescent staining . These findings suggest that the host alteration associated with increased susceptibility to adherence by P . aeruginosa is the loss of fibronectin from the cell surface. Am J Ophthalmol, 1981 Jun, 91(6), 706 - 10 Pseudomonas aeruginosa scleritis; Codere F et al.; In two patients Pseudomonas aeruginosa scleral infection led to ocular perforation . In one patient, a scleral abscess was identified anteriorly . A scleral perforation occurred at a more posterior focus, but the eye was salvaged with minimal residual visual function . In the other patient, perforation at the corneoscleral limbus occurred after initial corneal improvement with antibiotic therapy; histopathologic examination of the enucleated globe disclosed an abscess extending from the corneoscleral limbus to the equator superiorly. J Hyg (Lond), 1981 Jun, 86(3), 357 - 62 An outbreak of otitis externa in competitive swimmers due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Reid TM et al.; Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from the ears of 18 of the 25 members of a team of competitive swimmers who complained of painful discharging ears . This group of swimmers trained twice daily in the pool, in the early morning and late afternoon . In contrast swabbing of the ears of a similar group of 54 competitive swimmers who used the pool only in the afternoon revealed only one swimmer with P . aeruginosa . Investigation of the swimming pool revealed that chlorination was often inadequate when the first group of swimmers were training in the early morning . Strains of P . aeruginosa were isolated from various sites around the pool and from the bag of a vacuum used to clean the pool . Pyocin typing, serotyping and phage typing were performed on all isolates . The dominant strain recovered from the swimmers' ears was found to be almost identical to that from the vacuum bag and belonged to serotype 0--11 which has been particularly associated with outbreaks of P . aeruginosa infection in whirlpools in the United States . These results support the hypothesis that there is a direct correlation between the development of otitis externa and swimming in water contaminated with P . aeruginosa. Appl Environ Microbiol, 1981 Jun, 41(6), 1348 - 54 Transient loss of plasmid-mediated mercuric ion resistance after stress in Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Calcott PH; After freezing and thawing, Pseudomonas aeruginosa harboring a drug resistance plasmid (Hg2+r, Strr), became acutely sensitive to mercuric ions but not to streptomycin in the plating medium, whereas its sensitivity to both agents became more pronounced indicating a synergistic effect . This freeze-thaw-induced sensitivity was transient and capable of being repaired to a simple salts medium . Transient outer and cytoplasmic membrane damage was also observed in frozen and thawed preparations . From kinetics studies, repair of cytoplasmic membrane damage superseded repair of outer membrane damage and damage measured by mercuric ions and mercuric ions plus streptomycin . Osmotically shocked cells were also sensitive to mercuric ions, mercuric ions plus streptomycin, and sodium lauryl sulfate, but not to sodium chloride or streptomycin alone . This sensitivity was again transient and capable of repair in the same simple salts medium . Active transport of a non-metabolizable amino acid, alpha-amino isobutyric acid, was sensitive to mercuric ions and became more so after freezing and thawing . A freeze-thaw-resistant mercuric ion-dependent reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidoreductase was localized in the cytoplasm of this organism . This enzyme and an intact outer membrane appear to be required for mercuric ion resistance in this strain. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 Jun, (6), 85 - 9 {Natural antibodies against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in human gamma globulin preparations}; Chekan LV et al.; A total of 191 batches of commercial human gamma globulin were studied with the aim of detecting natural antibodies by means of cross and countercurrent electrophoresis, immunodiffusion in agar gel and the passive hemagglutination test . Commercial human gamma globulin preparations were found to contain, to a greater or lesser extent, natural antibodies to the cell-wall O-antigen of Ps . aeruginosa and the antigens of its extracellular slime (capsule); the titers of these antibodies were 1 : 64 to 1 : 256 in 75-85% of cases, 1 : 512 and greater in 10-11% of cases . Commercial gamma globulin preparations also contained antibodies protecting mice from experimental Pseudomonas infection . No correlation was detected between the degree of serological activity and the protective activity of gamma globulin preparations. Med J Aust, 1981 May 30, 1(11), 573 - 5 Survey of bacteria in private swimming pools; Millis NF et al.; In a survey of the bacteria in swimming pools treated with either chlorine or Baquacil in private gardens in Melbourne, the water was frequently found to be at the incorrect pH and to contain biocides at suboptimal concentrations . The general bacterial flora count was commonly greater than 200 per mL; only 14% of chlorine-treated pools and 27% of Baquacil-treated pools consistently gave counts of less than 200 per mL . Coliforms were detected in 66% of chlorine-treated pools and in 22% of Baquacil-treated pools . Escherichia coli was detected in 32% of chlorine-treated pools and 8% of Baquacil-treated pools . Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 36% of chlorine-treated pools and in 8% of Baquacil-treated pools . Pseudomonas aeruginosa was detected in 7% of chlorine-treated pools, but not at all in Baquacil-treated pools . When the biocides were maintained at the correct concentration, the indicator organisms were well controlled by both biocides . This survey indicates that owners of pools need to be made aware that their pools can harbour potentially pathogenic bacteria unless biocides are constantly maintained at the correct concentration . Baquacil generally remains above the minimum recommended concentration for approximately 14 days between routine additions, whereas chlorine can dissipate from the pool within hours of addition on hot sunny days . This probably contributed to the superior over-all performance of Baquacil in this survey. Biochemistry, 1981 May 26, 20(11), 3163 - 8 DL-alpha-(Difluoromethyl)arginine: a potent enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of bacterial decarboxylases; Kallio A et al.; DL-alpha-(Difluoromethyl)arginine (RMI 71 897) is an irreversible inhibitor of both the biosynthetic and biodegradative arginine decarboxylases of Escherichia coli and of the biosynthetic arginine decarboxylases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae . The Ki is close to 800 muM for the biosynthetic decarboxylase of E . coli and 140 muM for the biodegradative enzyme while the respective half-lives (t1/2) calculated for an infinite concentration of inhibitor are 1.0 and 2.1 min . The inhibitor also blocks the arginine decarboxylase activity of E . coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vivo, indicating that the compound is transported into the cell . DL-alpha-Methylarginine (RMI 71 699) was found to be a competitive inhibitor of both arginine decarboxylases from E . coli . These results suggest that it may be possible to use an arginine decarboxylase inhibitor in conjunction with known inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase to block all putrescine biosynthesis in prokaryotic cells and thus to study the effects of such inhibition in these organisms. Exp Hematol, 1981 May, 9(5), 505 - 12 Experimental bacterial keratitis: a quantitative model of leukocyte migration following transfusion; Chusid MJ et al.; A model for the study of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) migration after transfusion employing induction of keratitis in guinea pigs was developed . Initial studies demonstrated that compared with other agents, intracorneal injection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa following in vivo labelling of PMN by administration of 3H-thymidine produced the greatest influx of radiolabelled PMN into corneas . In subsequent studies, donor peritoneal PMN were radio-labelled by injection of donors with 3H-thymidine . Neutropenia was induced in recipients by whole body irradiation, and they were infected intracorneally with Pseudomonas prior to transfusion . Corneal radioactivity was assayed 24 h after induction of keratitis and the number of donor PMN in corneas was calculated . Half-life of transfused PMN in non-neutropenic recipients was 1.9 h . Arrival of labelled PMN at infected corneas in recipient animals ranged between 0.1-1.0% of transfused cells . Exposure of donor PMN to sonication or to 45 degrees C for 20 min reduced the proportion of PMN arriving at infected corneas (P less than 0.001) . Storage of PMN for 24 h at 4 degrees C led to a greater ingress of donor PMN compared with storage at 37 degrees C (P less than 0.01) . This model allows quantitation of in vivo PMN function after transfusion and should allow assessment of the effects of most aspects of PMN transfusion technique upon such function. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther Toxicol, 1981 May, 19(5), 220 - 2 Further studies on the immunosuppressive effects of indomethacin; Rojo JM et al.; Oral administration of indomethacin inhibited immune response to sheep red blood cells in mice as assessed by direct plaque-forming cells . Serum titers, subsequent to immunization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide, were also diminished in the indomethacin-treated mice . These effects were independent of both the antigen used as well as the magnitude of the primary immune response obtained . Prostaglandins are suggested to play a positive role in in vivo B cell proliferation and function. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 May, 19(5), 777 - 85 Involvement of the outer membrane in gentamicin and streptomycin uptake and killing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Hancock RE et al.; Induction of a major outer membrane protein, H1, in Pseudomonas aeruginosa resulted in decreased susceptibility to gentamicin and streptomycin . Mutants which overproduce protein H1 and cells in which H1 is induced in response to growth conditions had altered kinetics of uptake and killing . It was further demonstrated that gentamicin and streptomycin interact with the outer membrane to permeabilize it to lysozyme and to increase the permeation of a chromogenic beta-lactam, nitrocefin . Experiments with inhibitors of aminoglycoside uptake showed that uptake was not required to increase permeability . Mg2+ at 1 mM totally inhibited aminoglycoside-mediated outer membrane permeabilization . We propose that the uptake and killing by these aminoglycosides requires interaction with an Mg2+ binding site at the outer membrane, permitting aminoglycoside uptake into the periplasm. Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1981 May, 19(5), 687 - 95 Insensitivity of peptidoglycan biosynthetic reactions to beta-lactam antibiotics in a clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Mirelman D et al.; The enzymatic reactions (transpeptidases/ that catalyze the attachment of newly synthesized peptidoglycan to the preexisting cell wall sacculus of both Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been shown to be very sensitive to most beta-lactam antibiotics . Biosynthetic studies carried out with a clinical isolate of P . aeruginosa resistant to carbenicillin and cefsulodin showed that the in vitro reactions were also insensitive to most beta-lactam antibiotics (up to 50 micrograms/ml) and only cefotaxime or its tetrazolyl analog, compound LY 97962, had an inhibitory effect at 0.01 microgram/ml . The pattern of beta-lactam binding proteins obtained upon exposure of intact or presonicated cells to radioactively labeled compound LY 97962 or penicillin G indicates that: (i) intact cells of the clinical isolate are 10 to 50 times less permeable to the antibiotics than is the wild-type strain X-48; (ii) beta-lactam binding proteins Ia, Ib, and III of the clinical isolate showed poor affinity for penicillin G and cefsulodin, but were similar to the wild type in their affinity for cefotaxime and compound LY 979062 . The two strains also differed in several of their outer membrane components . These results suggest that the insusceptibility of this clinical isolate is due to a combination of outer membrane impermeability and intrinsic insensitivity to most of the beta-lactams on the part of the enzymes which catalyze expansion and growth of peptidoglycan. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 May, (5), 78 - 84 {Morphologic, cultural, and biochemical properties of cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from patients, animals, and the environment}; Litovchenko PP et al.; The properties of 279 Ps . aeruginosa strains were studied in 70 tests . The use of a synthetic peptone-free mineral medium for the determination of sugar oxidation was shown to have advantages over the use of liquid Giess' media . Ps . aeruginosa cultures isolated from human patients, animals, soil and water were characterized by a number of common signs, irrespective of their origin . The strains isolated from human patients were resistant practically to all antibiotics widely used in clinical practice; the cultures isolated from soil and water retained their sensitivity to antibiotics; the strains isolated from animals retained sensitivity to some antibiotics . To identify Ps . aeruginosa in practical bacteriological laboratories, the following parameters should be determined: mobility; the character of growth in Levine's and Ploskirev's media; ability to grow at 42 degrees C and 4 degrees C; the fermentation of carbohydrates in Olkenitsky's medium and their oxidation in a mineral medium; indole and hydroxide sulfide production; the methyl red and Voges--Proskauer reaction; the presence of pigments, oxidase, catalase, gelatinase, nitrate reductase and arginine dehydrolase, urease; resistance to antibiotics. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol, 1981 May, (5), 73 - 6 {Pathogenicity factors of melanin-forming strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa}; Tydel'skaia IL et al.; The data on the capacity of 50 melanogenic and 50 amelanogenic P . aeruginosa strains to produce hemolysins, gelatinase, caseinase, DNAase, RNAase, lecithinase, elastase, neuraminidase and to form extracellular slime, obtained in the comparative study of these strains in vitro, are presented . Melanogenic P . aeruginosa cultures were found to have a higher lecithinase and neuraminidase activity . The strains incapable of melanogenesis formed slime more frequently . The properties of the strains in respect to other pathogenicity characteristics under study were identical. Can J Biochem, 1981 May, 59(5), 315 - 20 A new mitogenic D-galactosephilic lectin isolated from seeds of the coral-tree Erythrina corallodendron . Comparison with Glycine max (soybean) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectins; Gilboa-Garber N et al.; The lectin of Erythrina corallodendron (Caesalpiniaceae) seeds was purified by heating, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and affinity chromatography on acid-treated Sepharose . The purified lectin is similar to the soybean lectin in being a glycoprotein of molecular weight around 110 000 - 120 000 and having D-galactosephilic activity . This lectin, like the soybean and Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectins, binds to D-galactosamine, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, alpha- and beta-galactosides as well as to D-galactose . Like these lectins it absorbs onto either untreated or enzyme (papain or neuraminidase) treated human red blood cells, but exhibits a considerable mitogenic activity towards human lymphocytes (predominantly T cells) only after their treatment with neuraminidase . This mitogenic stimulation of lymphocytes is inhibited by D-galactose and its derivatives . Despite the great similarity between them, the E . corallodendron, soybean, and Pseudomonas lectins differ in regard to the intensity of their agglutinating activity towards erythrocytes obtained from different animals and human donors of diverse ABO blood groups . This phenomenon may be attributed to the difference in the affinities of the three lectins to the various D-galactose derivatives and to their molecular properties. Infect Immun, 1981 May, 32(2), 681 - 9 Protection against experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in mice by active immunization with exotoxin A toxoids; Pavlovskis OR et al.; The immunoprophylactic effect of chemically inactivated Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A in experimental pseudomonas infections was studied . Exotoxin A toxoids were prepared by Formalin (f-TXD) or glutaraldehyde (g-TXD) treatment . Immunization of mice with three or four doses (10 micrograms each) of f-TXD and the synthetic adjuvant N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (50 micrograms) induced high levels of antiexotoxin A antibodies as measured by passive hemagglutination assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay . Immunization with toxoid alone did not elicit antitoxin . A significant increase in survival time and survival rate (P less than 0.01) was seen in immunized (f-TXD) and in burned and infected mice (50 to 85%) as compared with control mice immunized with formalinized bovine serum albumin (6 to 20%) . Virtually 100% survival was obtained when preinfection immunization weas combined with single-dose gentamicin treatment within 24 h of infection . Immunization with g-TXD increased survival time (P less than 0.01) but did not consistently increase survival rate, and the results were not as satisfactory as those with formalinized exotoxin . The data presented indicate that active immunization with formalinized exotoxin A toxoid and adjuvant induced protective immunity to various degrees against infections in mice and could be potentially useful in prophylaxis of P . aeruginosa infections. J Virol, 1981 May, 38(2), 529 - 38 Isolation and characterization of a