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Biomedical subjects

M G Broster

Publications and source records attributed to M G Broster.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Antibodies to anthrax toxin in humans and guinea pigs and their relevance to protective immunity.

A forerunning study on the relationship between antibodies to the protective antigen (PA) and lethal factor (LF) components of anthrax toxin and protective immunity has been expanded and extended to include the third toxin component, the edema factor (EF). It was found that protection against the "vaccine resistant" Ames strain was possible in the absence of detectable anti-LF and anti-EF antibodies. Evidence is given that PA may be the essential anthrax-derived antigen for protection, but that equally essential is that it be presented to the host's immune system in such a manner as to provide stimulation of more than just production of antibody to PA. Titers to the three components in sera of individuals with histories of clinically diagnosed anthrax as well as from human vaccinees are included in the report.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Development of antibodies to protective antigen and lethal factor components of anthrax toxin in humans and guinea pigs and their relevance to protective immunity.

A competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect antibodies in serum to the protective antigen (PA) and lethal factor (LF) components of anthrax toxin. Current human vaccination schedules with an acellular vaccine induce predictable and lasting antibody titers to PA and, when present in the vaccine, to LF. Live spore vaccine administered to guinea pigs in a single dose conferred significantly better protection than the human vaccines (P less than 0.001), although they elicited significantly lower (P less than 0.0005) anti-PA and anti-LF titers at time of challenge with virulent Bacillus anthracis. Substantial anti-PA and anti-LF titers may not, therefore, indicate solid protective immunity against anthrax infection. The ELISA system was also shown to be capable of detecting anti-PA and anti-LF antibodies in the sera of individuals with histories of clinical anthrax. The advantage of ELISA over the Ouchterlony gel diffusion test and indirect microhemagglutination assay are demonstrated. There was a highly significant degree of correlation between ELISA and the indirect microhemagglutination assay (P less than 0.0005); but ELISA was markedly superior in terms of reproducibility, reliability, specificity, and simplicity in performance and stability of the bound antigen.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Survival of virulent Legionella pneumophila in aerosols.

Aqueous suspensions of virulent Legionella pneumophila grown on solid medium retained virulence and aerosol survival characteristics for several months. Significant numbers of viable organisms were recovered from aerosols held at various relative humidities (r.h.) for up to 2 h. The organisms survived best at 65% r.h. and were least stable at 55% r.h. Exponential phase broth-grown organisms survived poorly in aerosols in comparison with stationary phase broth cultures or organisms grown on solid medium, suggesting that the metabolic status of Legionella pneumophila organisms may be an important factor affecting their ability to survive in aerosols and cause respiratory disease.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1983

Differentiation between spores of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus by a quantitative immunofluorescence technique.

A quantitative immunofluorescence assay based on fiber optic microscopy was used to measure the reaction of formalized spores of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus cereus isolates with fluorescein conjugates prepared by hyperimmunization with B. anthracis Vollum spores. The spores of 11 of the 20 B. cereus strains reacted with the anti-anthrax conjugate to such an extent that they were indistinguishable from the spores of the several B. anthracis isolates tested. However, absorption of the conjugate with spores of B. cereus NCTC 8035 and B. cereus NCTC 10320 greatly reduced the cross-reaction with the B. cereus preparations so that the mean specific fluorescence of samples of B. cereus spores was in no case higher than 14% of the fluorescence of a reference B. anthracis Vollum preparation.

Absorption↗
PubMed1982

Anthrax island.

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Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Decontamination of Bacillus anthracis on Gruinard Island?

In experiments on Gruinard Island 40 years ago small bombs containing spores of Bacillus anthracis were suspended from a gantry and detonated, producing widespread contamination of the island's surface. Recently, analysis of soil samples has shown that the area where the spores can now be detected is small enough to be considered for decontamination. We investigated the effect of treating the soil with sporicidal chemicals, namely, potassium permanganate, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, Cidex ('activated' glutaraldehyde, Surgikos), dodecylamine and peracetic acid.

Bacillus anthracis↗