Yoshiro Sawae

Analysis of the expression of CagA and VacA and the vacuolating activity in 167 isolates from patients with either peptic ulcers or non-ulcer dyspepsia

Objectives:The goals of this study were: 1) to examine the prevalence of cytotoxin-associated protein (CagA), vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), and the vacuolating cytotoxin activity (VCA) in vitro of infecting Helicobacter pylori isolates and 2) to clarify the relation between the expression of these virulence factors and the occurrence of peptic ulceration.Methods:One hundred sixty-seven clinical isolates of H. pylori from patients with peptic ulcer disease (gastric ulcer, 62 cases; duodenal ulcer, 48 cases) and nonulcer dyspepsia (57 cases) were studied regarding their genetic and phenotypic properties.Results:Type 1 bacteria, which had both CagA and VCA, and type 2 bacteria, which did not express either CagA or VCA, represented 62.9% and 7.8%, respectively; the remaining 29.4% had an intermediate phenotype, expressing either CagA independent of the presence of VCA (CagA+VCA−) or vice versa (CagA−VCA+). CagA+VCA− and CagA−VCA+ bacteria represented 17.4% and 12.0%, respectively, both of which were more numerous than the type 2 category. The proportion of the CagA-positive isolates was significantly higher in both the duodenal ulcer (97.9%) and gastric ulcer (83.9%) patients than in the non-ulcer dyspepsia patients (61.4%) (p < 0.01). On the other hand, the proportion of VacA/VCA-positive isolates was not significantly different between peptic ulcer disease and non-ulcer dyspepsia.Conclusions:The currently used classification of this bacterium based on the concomitant expression of CagA and VacA/VCA into the two major types is not adequate. The CagA-positive phenotype thus may be important as a virulence marker for peptic ulcer disease independent of the presence of VacA/VCA.

Chronic Prototheca Meningitis

A case of chronic meningitis caused by the achloric alga Prototheca wickerhamii is described, which has persisted for more than 6 years despite treatment with various antifungal agents. For the last year no treatment has been given, but the patient has no complaints.

The Purification of a GroEL-Like Stress Protein from Aerobically Adapted Campylobacter jejuni

From plate cultures of Campylobacter jejuni grown in room air a particulate protein of 62 kDa was isolated by ion‐exchange chromatography. The protein had a square shape from the side view but when viewed from the top it had a star‐shaped structure. The molecular size of the whole particle determined by gel filtration was 850 kDa which suggested the presence of 14 subunits of 62 kDa in each particle. The N‐terminal 37 amino residues showed more than 80% homology with the sequence of these heat shock protein (HSP) 60 homologs of Chlamydia trachomatis, Helicobacter pylori, and Escherichia coli (GroEL). This protein is immunologically cross‐reactive with the antiserum for the 60‐kDa HSP of Yersinia enterocolitica. Production of the 62‐kDa protein increased under heat stress and growth in an aerobic atmospheric environment. From these observations we concluded that the 62‐kDa protein is a Campylobacter stress protein (Cj62) which belongs to the HSP 60 family.

A Comparative Study of Ofloxacin Twice and Three Times Daily in the Treatment of Respiratory Tract Infections

~-Streptococci 2 4 Staphylococcus 6 2 aureus Haemophilus 2 5 influenzae Pseudomonas 2 3 aeruginosa Other 4 5 Normal flora 12 11 a Mean ± standard deviation. Abbreviations: BID = twice daily; TID = three times daily. In Japan, ofloxacin 100 to 200mg three times daily is the usual dosage regimen in the treatment of RTIs, while in Europe 200mg twice daily is the usual regimen, based on its elimination half-life of about 4 hours. We performed a study comparing ofloxacin 200mg twice daily (BID group) vs 200mg three times daily (TID group), in the treatment of RTIs.