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Biomedical subjects

E C Gotschlich

Publications and source records attributed to E C Gotschlich.

131 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Physiological effect of the alterations of plasmids derived from Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Transfer of plasmid DNA from penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae to Escherichia coli produced relatively small colonies that became pigmented in the presence of the dye, congo red. Mutations to large, non-pigmented colonies were frequent, and were the result of a variety of alterations in these plasmids. Miniplasmid formation was the major alteration that led to non-pigmented colonies. However, deletions in any of three putative replication regions resulted in non-pigmented colonies. These altered plasmids mediated significantly less beta-lactamase production than that of the parent plasmid. A new origin of replication was discovered and mapped within the miniplasmid. This origin was responsible for: 1) high plasmid copy number, 2) stability of inheritance, and 3) the majority of beta-lactamase produced in culture. The evolution of gonococcal plasmids may be followed in E. coli, since less defective plasmids produce nonpigmented colonies on congo red agar medium.

Congo Red↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The status of vaccines to meningococcal and gonococcal disease.

Human beings are subject to infection by two species of Neisseria the meningococcus and the gonococcus. Vaccines effective against meningococcal infection are available and have been widely employed. Their effectiveness rests on the ability to induce antibodies which prevent invasion of the blood stream, but they have only minor effect on the mucosal infection in the nasopharynx, namely the carrier state. With the gonococcus it is the mucosal infection of the genitourinary tract which is, in fact, the disease, and hence a successful gonococcal vaccine must be able to prevent this infection as well as its local extension to the adnexa. The surface antigens of the meningococcus and gonococcus have been found to be remarkably homologous, and their biological properties are becoming clearer. The prospects for a gonorrhoea vaccine will be discussed.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Thoughts on the evolution of strategies used by bacteria for evasion of host defenses.

The detailed study of the molecular biology of the mechanisms that pathogenic organisms employ to successfully parasitize their hosts has been very productive. An important part of the microbe's armamentarium is the ability to partially or totally evade one or more of the normal defenses of the host. While it is obvious that the molecular entities that produce these effects have an evolutionary history, as yet little attention has been devoted to this aspect. The study of the selective conditions that have given rise to a particular pathogenic property affords important perspectives on the process of mutual adaptation of the host and the parasite.

Antigens, Bacterial↗