-
Toxins Jan 2021is a ubiquitous soil bacterium responsible for two types of food-associated gastrointestinal diseases. While the emetic type, a food intoxication, manifests in nausea... (Review)
Review
is a ubiquitous soil bacterium responsible for two types of food-associated gastrointestinal diseases. While the emetic type, a food intoxication, manifests in nausea and vomiting, food infections with enteropathogenic strains cause diarrhea and abdominal pain. Causative toxins are the cyclic dodecadepsipeptide cereulide, and the proteinaceous enterotoxins hemolysin BL (Hbl), nonhemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe) and cytotoxin K (CytK), respectively. This review covers the current knowledge on distribution and genetic organization of the toxin genes, as well as mechanisms of enterotoxin gene regulation and toxin secretion. In this context, the exceptionally high variability of toxin production between single strains is highlighted. In addition, the mode of action of the pore-forming enterotoxins and their effect on target cells is described in detail. The main focus of this review are the two tripartite enterotoxin complexes Hbl and Nhe, but the latest findings on cereulide and CytK are also presented, as well as methods for toxin detection, and the contribution of further putative virulence factors to the diarrheal disease.
Topics: Animals; Bacillus cereus; Bacterial Proteins; Depsipeptides; Diarrhea; Enterotoxins; Foodborne Diseases; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Hemolysin Proteins; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Virulence; Vomiting
PubMed: 33525722
DOI: 10.3390/toxins13020098 -
Toxins Apr 2021is an important pathogen causing food poisoning, as well as extraintestinal diseases [...].
is an important pathogen causing food poisoning, as well as extraintestinal diseases [...].
Topics: Bacillus cereus; Enterotoxins; Foodborne Diseases; Humans
PubMed: 33919248
DOI: 10.3390/toxins13050295 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2022Anthrax has been feared for its high mortality in animals and humans for centuries. The etiologic agent is considered a potentially devastating bioweapon, and since...
Anthrax has been feared for its high mortality in animals and humans for centuries. The etiologic agent is considered a potentially devastating bioweapon, and since 1876-when Robert Koch demonstrated that Bacillus anthracis caused anthrax-it has been considered the sole cause of the disease. Anthrax is, however, a toxin-mediated disease. The toxins edema toxin and lethal toxin are formed from protein components encoded for by the pXO1 virulence plasmid present in pathogenic strains. However, other members of the group, to which belongs, have recently been shown to harbor the pXO1 plasmid and produce anthrax toxins. Infection with these group organisms produces a disease clinically similar to anthrax. This suggests that anthrax should be defined by the exotoxins encoded for by the pXO1 plasmid rather than the bacterial species it has historically been associated with, and that the definition of anthrax should be expanded to include disease caused by any member of the group containing the toxin-producing pXO1 plasmid or anthrax toxin genes specifically.
PubMed: 35745544
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11060690 -
Neurology India 2023
Topics: Humans; Bacillus cereus; Meningoencephalitis
PubMed: 37635561
DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.383861 -
Experimental Eye Research Apr 2020Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) endophthalmitis is a devastating intraocular infection primarily associated with post-traumatic injuries. The majority of these infections... (Review)
Review
Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) endophthalmitis is a devastating intraocular infection primarily associated with post-traumatic injuries. The majority of these infections result in substantial vision loss, if not loss of the eye itself, within 12-48 h. Multifactorial mechanisms that lead to the innate intraocular inflammatory response during this disease include the combination of robust bacterial replication, migration of the organism throughout the eye, and toxin production by the organism. Therefore, the window of therapeutic intervention in B. cereus endophthalmitis is quite narrow compared to that of other pathogens which cause this disease. Understanding the interaction of bacterial and host factors is critical in understanding the disease and formulating more rational therapeutics for salvaging vision. In this review, we will discuss clinical and research findings related to B. cereus endophthalmitis in terms of the organism's virulence and inflammogenic potential, and strategies for improving of current therapeutic regimens for this blinding disease.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacillus cereus; Endophthalmitis; Eye Infections, Bacterial; Humans
PubMed: 32032628
DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2020.107959 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Oct 2022Bacillus anthracis, present as a very durable endospore in soil, causes zoonotic illness which is mainly associated with herbivores and domestic animals. Human cases are... (Review)
Review
Bacillus anthracis, present as a very durable endospore in soil, causes zoonotic illness which is mainly associated with herbivores and domestic animals. Human cases are scarce and often involve populations close to infected livestock. If anthrax is no longer of public health concern in developed countries, B. anthracis is one of the top-tier biological weapon agents. It is classified by the CDC as a category A agent. Since 1994, emerging strains of Bacillus cereus have been associated with anthrax-like disease in mammals. Some clinical strains of B. cereus harbor anthrax-like plasmid genes (pXO1 and pXO2) associated with non-human primate and human infections, with the same clinical presentation of inhalation anthrax and mortality rates. Although currently restricted to certain limited areas of circulation, the emergence of these new strains of B. cereus extends the list of potential agents possibly usable for bioterrorism or as a biological weapon. It is therefore important to improve our knowledge of the phylogeny within the B. cereus sensu lato group to better understand the origin of these strains. We can then more efficiently monitor the emergence of new strains to better control the risk of infection and limit potentially malicious uses.
PubMed: 36297243
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11101186 -
WMJ : Official Publication of the State... Jul 2021has been found within the gastrointestinal flora. Due to its ubiquity, is usually considered a contaminant. However, it can cause serious infections in certain...
INTRODUCTION
has been found within the gastrointestinal flora. Due to its ubiquity, is usually considered a contaminant. However, it can cause serious infections in certain populations.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 39-year-old woman with refractory gastroparesis requiring gastric pacemaker with a jejunostomy tube and cervical cancer status post chemotherapy presented with fever and fatigue. Initial and repeat blood cultures (from peripheral and port-a-cath access) grew and the port-a-cath was removed. She was treated with appropriate antibiotics and bacteremia resolved.
DISCUSSION
is often associated with toxin-mediated emetic or diarrheal gastroenteritis. However, in patients with prosthetic devices or intravenous (IV) drug users, can cause serious infection. Biofilms produced by B cereus attach to indwelling catheters, allowing persistent infection until catheter removal.
CONCLUSION
In patients with prosthetic devices or IV drug use, should be treated with appropriated antibiotics and any indwelling catheters should be removed.
Topics: Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacillus cereus; Bacteremia; Female; Gastroenteritis; Humans
PubMed: 34255956
DOI: No ID Found -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2021Rice is a very popular food throughout the world and the basis of the diet of the citizens of many countries. It is used as a raw material for the preparation of many... (Review)
Review
Rice is a very popular food throughout the world and the basis of the diet of the citizens of many countries. It is used as a raw material for the preparation of many complex dishes in which different ingredients are involved. Rice, as a consequence of their cultivation, harvesting, and handling, is often contaminated with spores of , a ubiquitous microorganism found mainly in the soil. can multiply under temperature conditions as low as 4 °C in foods that contain rice and have been cooked or subjected to treatments that do not produce commercial sterility. produces diarrhoeal or emetic foodborne toxin when the consumer eats food in which a sufficient number of cells have grown. These circumstances mean that every year many outbreaks of intoxication or intestinal problems related to this microorganism are reported. This work is a review from the perspective of risk assessment of the risk posed by to the health of consumers and of some control measures that can be used to mitigate such a risk.
PubMed: 33540849
DOI: 10.3390/foods10020302 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022Spore-forming is a common contaminant of dairy products. As the microorganism is widespread in the environment, it can contaminate milk at the time of milking, but it... (Review)
Review
Spore-forming is a common contaminant of dairy products. As the microorganism is widespread in the environment, it can contaminate milk at the time of milking, but it can also reach the dairy products in each phase of production, storage and ripening. Milk pasteurization treatment is not effective in reducing contamination and can instead act as an activator of spore germination, and a potential associated risk still exists with the consumption of some processed foods. Prevalences and concentrations of in milk and dairy products are extremely variable worldwide: in pasteurized milk, prevalences from 2% to 65.3% were reported, with concentrations of up to 3 × 10 cfu/g, whereas prevalences in cheeses ranged from 0 to 95%, with concentrations of up to 4.2 × 10 cfu/g. is also well known to produce biofilms, a serious concern for the dairy industry, with up to 90% of spores that are resistant to cleaning and are easily transferred. As the contamination of raw materials is not completely avoidable, and the application of decontamination treatments is only possible for some ingredients and is limited by both commercial and regulatory reasons, it is clear that the correct application of hygienic procedures is extremely important in order to avoid and manage the circulation of along the dairy supply chain. Future developments in interventions must consider the synergic application of different mild technologies to prevent biofilm formation and to remove or inactivate the microorganism on the equipment.
PubMed: 36076758
DOI: 10.3390/foods11172572