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Biomedical subjects

M M Carruthers

Publications and source records attributed to M M Carruthers.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Detection of antibody to staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid with a microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Sera from individuals with Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis and osteomyelitis and from some individuals with other forms of gram-positive endocarditis yielded higher readings in a microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against lipoteichoic acid from S. aureus than did sera from individuals with other types of serious staphylococcal infection or non-staphylococcal osteomyelitis, or from unselected inpatients.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1983

Mediation of staphylococcal adherence to mucosal cells by lipoteichoic acid.

Staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid markedly reduced adherence by Staphylococcus aureus to buccal cells in vitro, suggesting that lipoteichoic acid mediates adherence by that bacterium. Adherence inhibition by lipoteichoic acid was lost after deacylation of the preparation, suggesting that fatty acids on the molecule are essential to binding.

Adhesiveness↗
PubMed1979

Inhibition by polyanions of adherence by Kanagawa-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus: a physicochemical effect.

Rapid adherence of Kanagawa-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus to human fetal intestinal cells has been demonstrated in monolayer cultures. In this study, polyanionic carbohydrates and glycoproteins of various biochemical compositions, structural configurations, and molecular weights were found to inhibit this adherence. Mono- and disaccharide components of inhibitory compounds did not themselves inhibit adherence. Levels of Ca++ in the test mixture were similar in both the presence and the absence of chondroitin sulfate, a potent inhibitor of adherence by V. parahaemolyticus. These results, which demonstrate a major effect of surface charge in this model of bacterial adherence, suggest that differences in surface charge may contribute to the varying degrees of adherence by different strains of V. parahaemolyticus. This striking effect of surface charge on adherence by V. parahaemolyticus underscores the importance of experimental conditions and of substances that affect the surface potential of the cell in the interpretation of findings in models of bacterial adherence.

Adhesiveness↗
PubMed1978

A practical method of antimicrobial surveillance.

This antimicrobial surveillance program clearly relates inpatient antimicrobial usage to therapeutic or prophylactic indications. One nurse-epidemiologist gathers data for a medium-sized Veterans Administration hospital, in addition to carrying out infection surveillance and educational responsibilities, and reviews the data weekly with an infectious disease physician. Usage of antimicrobials for surgical prophylaxis is the area where violations of generally accepted criteria for usage can be most readily documented. Only 31% of usages were deemed appropriate. A similar percentage (about 65%) of antimicrobial usages were judged "appropriate" on the medical and surgical services in treatment of wound and urinary tract infection. Treatment of respiratory tract infection and sepsis was judge "appropriate" in over 85% of instances on the medical service. These categories contained too few cases to summarize on the surgical service.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed1977

In vitro adherence of Kanagawa-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus to epithelial cells.

Kanagawa-positive Vibrio parahaemolyticus adhered rapidly to suspension-grown HeLa cells and to human fetal intestinal (HFI) cells in monolayer. Kanagawa-negative V. parahaemolyticus did not adhere to HeLa cells and adhered to HFI cells at a much slower rate than Kanagawa-positive bacteria. In the HFI cell system, adherence was dependent on the presence of calcium in the incubation mixture. It was unaffected by pretreatment of the HFI cell monolayer with neuraminidase or potassium periodate. Adherence was unaffected by neuraminidase or ultraviolet irradiation of bacteria but was decreased by heat, ethanol, or periodate pretreatment. These results suggest that adherence of Kanagawa-positive V. parahaemolyticus to epithelial cells in vitro depends on interaction between the cell surface of the bacteria and the epithelial cell and that a carbohydrate on the outer membrane of the bacterial cell wall is necessary for this interaction.

Cytotoxicity, Immunologic↗
PubMed1976

Isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from fecal specimens on mannitol salt agar.

Unless laboratories use an inhibitory medium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus will be unrecognizable in fecal specimens. The use of a medium exclusively for vibrio isolation, such as thiosulfate-citrate-bile salts-sucrose agar (TCBS), however, may not be considered economically justified in the United States. The isolation and recognition of V. parahaemolyticus is reported on mannitol salt agar (MS), a medium which is used for fecal specimens here. Eight Kanagawa-positive and two of three Kanagawa-negative strains of V. parahaemolyticus grew as well on MS as on TCBS and better than on a representative enteric medium, Hektoen enteric agar (HE). Twenty-two fecal specimens from 16 noninfected individuals were inoculated with known quantities of V. parahaemolyticus, and recovery of these vibrios was assessed on TCBS, MS, and HE. Recovery of vibrios from MS and TCBS was similar when inoculum size was 10(3) colony-forming units/ml or greater. Recovery of vibrios from mixed culture was distinctly lower on HE. The colonial morphology of V. parahaemolyticus and several other bacteria on MS is illustrated.

Agar↗
PubMed1975

Cytotoxicity of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in HeLa cell culture.

In an investigation of the effect of Vibrio parahaemolyticus on epithelial cells in vitro, HeLa cells in slide culture chambers were inoculated with washed bacteria and several bacterial preparations. Preparations tested included live and heat-killed whole cells, unconcentrated culture filtrates, whole-cell lysates and their supernatant fluids, and supernatant fluids taken from HeLa cell monolayers previously inoculated with live bacteria. Slide cultures were evaluated at 3 and 5 hr by light microscopy and, in a few instances, by electron microscopy (live preparations) or at 24 hr by light microscopy (nonviable preparations). Live V. parahaemolyticus had a rapid cytotoxic effect that did not appear to be due to cellular invasion. The nonviable preparations had no effect on HeLa cells. The results demonstrate that V. parahaemolyticus is rapidly cytotoxic to epithelial cells in vitro and suggest that the presence of live organisms may be required for its enteropathogenicity.

Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic↗
PubMed1973

Effect of pneumococcal neuraminidase on canine cerebral cortex in experimental meningitis.

We examined the effect of experimental meningeal infection with a neuraminidase-producing strain of Diplococcus pneumoniae on the N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) content of canine cerebral cortical gray matter. The Warren thiobarbituric acid assay for NANA was used. There was no significant difference between the free and bound NANA levels of the tissue from control animals and from those with meningitis. This finding suggests that the neurological impairment so frequent in clinical pneumococcal meningitis is not a result of the activity of this bacterial enzyme upon cortical glycolipids.

Animals↗