The Experts below are selected from a list of 312 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Masaaki Iwaki - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Severe Pneumonia Caused by Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans Infection, Japan
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2018Co-Authors: Ikkoh Yasuda, Hisayo Matsuyama, Tomoko Ishifuji, Yoshiro Yamashita, Masahiro Takaki, Konosuke Morimoto, Motohiro Sekino, Katsunori Yanagihara, Tatsuya Fujii, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Corynebacterium ulcerans infection was recently recognized as a zoonosis. We present 2 cases of severe pneumonia complicated by diffuse pseudomembrane formation on the bronchus caused by C. ulcerans-producing diphtheria toxin. Our purpose is to alert medical professionals to the virulence of Corynebacterium species other than C. diphtheriae.
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toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird ural owl and its feed shrew moles comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals.
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird (ural owl) and its feed (shrew-moles): comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals. Results By screening 380 birds, a single strain of toxigenic C. ulcerans was isolated from a carnivorous bird, ural owl ( Strix uralensis ). The bacterium was also isolated from two individuals of Japanese shrew-mole ( Urotrichus talpoides ), a food preference of the owl. Analysis by ribotyping showed that the owl and mole isolates were classified in a group, suggesting that C . ulcerans can be transmissible among wild birds and their prey animals. Moreover, our isolates were found to belong to a group of previously reported C. ulcerans isolates from dogs and a cat, which are known to serve as sources for human infection. Conclusion The findings suggest that the shrew-mole may be a potential reservoir of a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans .
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a novel experimental platform for toxigenic and non toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans infection in mice
Pathogens and Disease, 2016Co-Authors: Masaaki Iwaki, Keigo Shibayama, Yu Mochizuki, Honami Saeki, Hitrotaka Takagi, Hiromi Amao, Akihiko YamamotoAbstract:Corynebacterium ulcerans is a zoonotic pathogen that can produce diphtheria toxin and causes an illness categorized as diphtheria in the European Union because its clinical appearance is similar to that of diphtheria caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae . Despite the importance of the pathogen in public health, the organism's mechanism of infection has not been extensively studied, especially in experimental animal models. Therefore in the present study we constructed an intranasal infection system for mice. Mice are insensitive to diphtheria toxin and this has the advantage of excluding the cytotoxic effect of the toxin that might interfere with the analysis of the early stage of infection. Both the toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. ulcerans strains were capable of killing mice within 3 days after inoculation at 107 colony-forming units per mouse. In experimentally infected animals, C. ulcerans was detected in the respiratory tract but not in the intestinal tract. The bacterium was also detected in peripheral blood and it disseminated into the lung, kidney and spleen to produce a systemic infection. This experimental infection system provides a platform for analyzing the virulence of C. ulcerans in future studies.
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a hunting dog and its diphtheria toxin antibody titer
Microbiology and Immunology, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Kaoru Umeda, Minami Goto, Tokuma Yanai, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is a zoonotic pathogen that produces diphtheria toxin and causes a diphtheria-like illness in humans. The organism is known to infect and circulate among dogs, which can then transmit it to humans. Furthermore, previous studies have found that C. ulcerans is carried by wild animals, including game animals. In the present study, we tested hunting and companion dogs for the presence of toxigenic C. ulcerans and succeeded in isolating the bacterium from a hunting dog. Moreover, several hunting dogs had serum diphtheria antitoxin titers that were higher than the titers required for protection in humans, suggesting a history of exposure to toxigenic Corynebacterium strains. Notably, ribotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and tox gene sequencing demonstrated that the isolate from the hunting dog clustered with previously characterized C. ulcerans strains isolated from wild animals, as opposed to groups of isolates from humans and companion dogs. Interestingly, the wild animal cluster also contains an isolate from an outdoor breeding dog, which could have formed a bridge between isolates from wild animals and those from companion dogs. The results presented herein provide insight into the mechanism by which the zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild animals, hunting and companion dogs, and humans.
Akihiko Yamamoto - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the first fatal case of Corynebacterium ulcerans infection in japan
JMM Case Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Ken Otsuji, Kazumasa Fukuda, Midori Ogawa, Akihiko Yamamoto, Kaoru Umeda, Takeru Endo, Satoko Shimizu, Nobuya Harayama, Toshiyuki Umata, Hiroyuki SekiAbstract:Introduction. Corynebacterium ulcerans (C. ulcerans) is a zoonotic pathogen that occasionally causes diphtheria-like symptoms in humans. Cases of C. ulcerans infection have been increasing in recent years, and C. ulcerans has been recognized as an emerging pathogen. Case presentation. Here we report a case of asphyxia death due to pseudomembrane caused by diphtheria toxin (DT)-producing C. ulcerans. This is, to our knowledge, the first fatal case of C. ulcerans infection in Japan. A strain of C. ulcerans was obtained from the patient’s pet cat and was confirmed to be identical to the patient’s isolate by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and the DT gene, by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and by ribotyping. In the same way, it was revealed that the isolate in this case belonged to the same molecular type as the C. ulcerans 0102 isolated from the first case in Japan in a distant prefecture 15 years earlier, in 2001. Conclusion. DT-producing C. ulcerans can be contracted from a companion animal and causes human death if the appropriate treatment is delayed. The finding indicates that this molecular type of virulent C. ulcerans is currently widespread in Japan.
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toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird ural owl and its feed shrew moles comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals.
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird (ural owl) and its feed (shrew-moles): comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals. Results By screening 380 birds, a single strain of toxigenic C. ulcerans was isolated from a carnivorous bird, ural owl ( Strix uralensis ). The bacterium was also isolated from two individuals of Japanese shrew-mole ( Urotrichus talpoides ), a food preference of the owl. Analysis by ribotyping showed that the owl and mole isolates were classified in a group, suggesting that C . ulcerans can be transmissible among wild birds and their prey animals. Moreover, our isolates were found to belong to a group of previously reported C. ulcerans isolates from dogs and a cat, which are known to serve as sources for human infection. Conclusion The findings suggest that the shrew-mole may be a potential reservoir of a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans .
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a novel experimental platform for toxigenic and non toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans infection in mice
Pathogens and Disease, 2016Co-Authors: Masaaki Iwaki, Keigo Shibayama, Yu Mochizuki, Honami Saeki, Hitrotaka Takagi, Hiromi Amao, Akihiko YamamotoAbstract:Corynebacterium ulcerans is a zoonotic pathogen that can produce diphtheria toxin and causes an illness categorized as diphtheria in the European Union because its clinical appearance is similar to that of diphtheria caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae . Despite the importance of the pathogen in public health, the organism's mechanism of infection has not been extensively studied, especially in experimental animal models. Therefore in the present study we constructed an intranasal infection system for mice. Mice are insensitive to diphtheria toxin and this has the advantage of excluding the cytotoxic effect of the toxin that might interfere with the analysis of the early stage of infection. Both the toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. ulcerans strains were capable of killing mice within 3 days after inoculation at 107 colony-forming units per mouse. In experimentally infected animals, C. ulcerans was detected in the respiratory tract but not in the intestinal tract. The bacterium was also detected in peripheral blood and it disseminated into the lung, kidney and spleen to produce a systemic infection. This experimental infection system provides a platform for analyzing the virulence of C. ulcerans in future studies.
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a hunting dog and its diphtheria toxin antibody titer
Microbiology and Immunology, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Kaoru Umeda, Minami Goto, Tokuma Yanai, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is a zoonotic pathogen that produces diphtheria toxin and causes a diphtheria-like illness in humans. The organism is known to infect and circulate among dogs, which can then transmit it to humans. Furthermore, previous studies have found that C. ulcerans is carried by wild animals, including game animals. In the present study, we tested hunting and companion dogs for the presence of toxigenic C. ulcerans and succeeded in isolating the bacterium from a hunting dog. Moreover, several hunting dogs had serum diphtheria antitoxin titers that were higher than the titers required for protection in humans, suggesting a history of exposure to toxigenic Corynebacterium strains. Notably, ribotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and tox gene sequencing demonstrated that the isolate from the hunting dog clustered with previously characterized C. ulcerans strains isolated from wild animals, as opposed to groups of isolates from humans and companion dogs. Interestingly, the wild animal cluster also contains an isolate from an outdoor breeding dog, which could have formed a bridge between isolates from wild animals and those from companion dogs. The results presented herein provide insight into the mechanism by which the zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild animals, hunting and companion dogs, and humans.
Andreas Burkovski - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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insights into old and new foes pan genomics of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans
2020Co-Authors: Vartul Sangal, Andreas BurkovskiAbstract:Abstract Diphtheria, a toxin-mediated disease of upper respiratory tract in humans caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, has been a global healthcare challenge responsible for a significant mortality in the pre-vaccination era and more recently, in the regions with poor immunization coverage. Historically, biochemical characteristics are used for subdividing C. diphtheriae strains into four biovars, that is, mitis, gravis, intermedius, and belfanti. However, this differentiation is not useful in tracing the pathogen transmission and characterizing outbreak-associated strains. Genetic approaches, for example, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and ribotyping have been developed and used for evolutionary and epidemiological characterization until the introduction of next-generation sequencing. Pan-genomic approaches improved our understanding of evolutionary dynamics and virulence characteristics of C. diphtheriae strains, particularly in respect to the genetic factors associated with invasive infections caused by nontoxigenic strains. Corynebacterium ulcerans, a close relative of C. diphtheriae, has recently emerged as an important zoonotic pathogen that also causes diphtheria-like infections in humans. Genome-based studies also provided important knowledge of the major lineages and virulence potential of C. ulcerans.
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live cell imaging of macrophage bacterium interaction demonstrates cell lysis induced by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans
BMC Research Notes, 2019Co-Authors: Dulanthi Weerasekera, Jonas Hahn, Martin Herrmann, Andreas BurkovskiAbstract:Objectives In frame of a study to characterize the interaction of human macrophage-like cells with pathogenic corynebacteria, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans, live cell imaging experiments were carried out and time lapse fluorescence microscopy videos were generated, which are presented here.
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Live cell imaging of macrophage/bacterium interaction demonstrates cell lysis induced by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans
BMC Research Notes, 2019Co-Authors: Dulanthi Weerasekera, Jonas Hahn, Martin Herrmann, Andreas BurkovskiAbstract:Objectives In frame of a study to characterize the interaction of human macrophage-like cells with pathogenic corynebacteria, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans, live cell imaging experiments were carried out and time lapse fluorescence microscopy videos were generated, which are presented here.
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Live cell imaging of macrophage/bacterium interaction demonstrates cell lysis induced by Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans
BMC Research Notes, 2019Co-Authors: Dulanthi Weerasekera, Jonas Hahn, Martin Herrmann, Andreas BurkovskiAbstract:Objectives In frame of a study to characterize the interaction of human macrophage-like cells with pathogenic corynebacteria, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans , live cell imaging experiments were carried out and time lapse fluorescence microscopy videos were generated, which are presented here. Data description The time lapse fluorescence microscopy data revealed new insights in the interaction of corynebacteria with human macrophage-like THP-1 cells. In contrast to uninfected cells and infections with non-pathogenic C. glutamicum used as a control, pathogenic C. diphtheriae and C. ulcerans showed highly detrimental effects towards human cells and induction of cell death of macrophages.
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genome sequence of a pathogenic Corynebacterium ulcerans strain isolated from a wild boar with necrotizing lymphadenitis
BMC Research Notes, 2019Co-Authors: Anne Busch, Andreas Burkovski, Jens Moller, Helmut HotzelAbstract:Corynebacterium ulcerans can colonize a wide variety of animals and also humans are infected, typically by zoonotic transmission. Symptoms range from skin ulcers or systemic infections to diphtheria-like illness. In contrast, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is widely distributed among herds of sheep, goats and other farm animals, where it causes high economic losses due to caseous lymphadenitis. Here we describe the genome sequence of an atypical C. ulcerans strain isolated from a wild boar with necrotizing lymphadenitis. This strain has similarities to C. pseudotuberculosis. Genome sequence data of C. ulcerans isolate W25 were generated, analyzed and taxonomical relationship to other Corynebacterium species as well as growth properties of the isolate were characterized. The genome of C. ulcerans W25 comprises 2,550,924 bp with a G+C content of 54.41% and a total of 2376 genes.
Takako Komiya - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird ural owl and its feed shrew moles comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals.
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a wild bird (ural owl) and its feed (shrew-moles): comparison of molecular types with human isolates
BMC Research Notes, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Masaaki Iwaki, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Kaoru Umeda, Ikuko Inamori, Yuka Kosono, Tomokazu Tanigawa, Susumu NakatsuAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans is a pathogen causing diphtheria-like illness to humans. In contrast to diphtheria by Corynebacterium diphtheriae circulating mostly among humans, C. ulcerans infection is zoonotic. The present study aimed to clarify how a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild birds and animals. Results By screening 380 birds, a single strain of toxigenic C. ulcerans was isolated from a carnivorous bird, ural owl ( Strix uralensis ). The bacterium was also isolated from two individuals of Japanese shrew-mole ( Urotrichus talpoides ), a food preference of the owl. Analysis by ribotyping showed that the owl and mole isolates were classified in a group, suggesting that C . ulcerans can be transmissible among wild birds and their prey animals. Moreover, our isolates were found to belong to a group of previously reported C. ulcerans isolates from dogs and a cat, which are known to serve as sources for human infection. Conclusion The findings suggest that the shrew-mole may be a potential reservoir of a zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans .
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Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans isolated from a hunting dog and its diphtheria toxin antibody titer
Microbiology and Immunology, 2016Co-Authors: Chihiro Katsukawa, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Kaoru Umeda, Minami Goto, Tokuma Yanai, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is a zoonotic pathogen that produces diphtheria toxin and causes a diphtheria-like illness in humans. The organism is known to infect and circulate among dogs, which can then transmit it to humans. Furthermore, previous studies have found that C. ulcerans is carried by wild animals, including game animals. In the present study, we tested hunting and companion dogs for the presence of toxigenic C. ulcerans and succeeded in isolating the bacterium from a hunting dog. Moreover, several hunting dogs had serum diphtheria antitoxin titers that were higher than the titers required for protection in humans, suggesting a history of exposure to toxigenic Corynebacterium strains. Notably, ribotyping, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and tox gene sequencing demonstrated that the isolate from the hunting dog clustered with previously characterized C. ulcerans strains isolated from wild animals, as opposed to groups of isolates from humans and companion dogs. Interestingly, the wild animal cluster also contains an isolate from an outdoor breeding dog, which could have formed a bridge between isolates from wild animals and those from companion dogs. The results presented herein provide insight into the mechanism by which the zoonotic pathogen C. ulcerans circulates among wild animals, hunting and companion dogs, and humans.
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Corynebacterium ulcerans 0102 carries the gene encoding diphtheria toxin on a prophage different from the c diphtheriae nctc 13129 prophage
BMC Microbiology, 2012Co-Authors: Tsuyoshi Sekizuka, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Tsuyoshi Kenri, Fumihiko Takeuchi, Keigo Shibayama, Makoto Kuroda, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans can cause a diphtheria-like illness, especially when the bacterium is lysogenized with a tox gene-carrying bacteriophage that produces diphtheria toxin. Acquisition of toxigenicity upon phage lysogenization is a common feature of C. ulcerans and C. diphtheriae. However, because of a lack of C. ulcerans genome information, a detailed comparison of prophages has not been possible between these two clinically important and closely related bacterial species.
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Corynebacterium ulcerans 0102 carries the gene encoding diphtheria toxin on a prophage different from the C. diphtheriae NCTC 13129 prophage
BMC Microbiology, 2012Co-Authors: Tsuyoshi Sekizuka, Akihiko Yamamoto, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Tsuyoshi Kenri, Fumihiko Takeuchi, Keigo Shibayama, Makoto Kuroda, Masaaki IwakiAbstract:Background Corynebacterium ulcerans can cause a diphtheria-like illness, especially when the bacterium is lysogenized with a tox gene-carrying bacteriophage that produces diphtheria toxin. Acquisition of toxigenicity upon phage lysogenization is a common feature of C. ulcerans and C. diphtheriae . However, because of a lack of C. ulcerans genome information, a detailed comparison of prophages has not been possible between these two clinically important and closely related bacterial species. Results We determined the whole genome sequence of the toxigenic C. ulcerans 0102 isolated in Japan. The genomic sequence showed a striking similarity with that of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and, to a lesser extent, with that of C. diphtheriae . The 0102 genome contained three distinct prophages. One of these, ΦCULC0102-I, was a tox -positive prophage containing genes in the same structural order as for tox -positive C. diphtheriae prophages. However, the primary structures of the individual genes involved in the phage machinery showed little homology between the two counterparts. Conclusion Taken together, these results suggest that the tox -positive prophage in this strain of C. ulcerans has a distinct origin from that of C. diphtheriae NCTC 13129.
Andreas Sing - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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possible human to human transmission of toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans
Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2015Co-Authors: R Konrad, S Hormansdorfer, Andreas SingAbstract:Abstract Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is an emerging cause of diphtheria. In contrast to the classical diphtheria pathogen C. diphtheriae, human-to-human transmission of this primarily zoonotic pathogen has not been clearly documented. Here we report on a two-person cluster suggesting an initial zoonotic and a subsequent human-to-human transmission event.
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next generation sequencing analysis of nine Corynebacterium ulcerans isolates reveals zoonotic transmission and a novel putative diphtheria toxin encoding pathogenicity island
Genome Medicine, 2014Co-Authors: Dominik M Meinel, Gabriele Margos, Regina Konrad, Stefan Krebs, Helmut Blum, Andreas SingAbstract:Background Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans can cause a diphtheria-like illness in humans and have been found in domestic animals, which were suspected to serve as reservoirs for a zoonotic transmission. Additionally, toxigenic C. ulcerans were reported to take over the leading role in causing diphtheria in the last years in many industrialized countries.
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nontoxigenic tox bearing Corynebacterium ulcerans infection among game animals germany
Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2014Co-Authors: Tobias Eisenberg, Martin Peters, Peter Kutzer, Andreas Sing, Matthias ContzenAbstract:Corynebacterium ulcerans may cause diphtheria in humans and caseous lymphadenitis in animals. We isolated nontoxigenic tox-bearing C. ulcerans from 13 game animals in Germany. Our results indicate a role for game animals as reservoirs for zoonotic C. ulcerans.
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detection of toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans strains by a novel real time pcr
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2008Co-Authors: Regina Schuhegger, Marion Lindermayer, Rudolf Kugler, Jurgen Heesemann, Ulrich Busch, Andreas SingAbstract:Diphtheria is caused by both toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans strains harboring lysogenic, tox -bearing beta-corynephages. While C. diphtheriae has caused most diphtheria cases for decades, the emerging pathogen C. ulcerans is becoming the major cause for diphtheria
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detection of differences in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of diphtheria toxin from Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans causing extrapharyngeal infections
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2003Co-Authors: Andreas Sing, Michael Hogardt, Suse Bierschenk, Jurgen HeesemannAbstract:While Corynebacterium ulcerans can mimic classical diphtheria, extrapharyngeal infections are extremely rare. Sequencing of the diphtheria toxin (DT)-encoding tox gene of two C. ulcerans isolates from extrapharyngeal infections revealed differences from C. diphtheriae DT sequences, mainly in the translocation and receptor-binding domains. C. ulcerans supernatants were much less potent than supernatant from C. diphtheriae. A C. ulcerans DT-specific PCR is described below.
