Letter
Immunology
Carl Boodman, Quinlan Richert, Sylvain Lother, Ken Kasper, Sergio Fanella, Philippe Lagace-Wiens, Yoav Keynan
Summary: Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a gram-negative coccobacillus, which is a Biosafety Level 3 pathogen and potential bioterrorism agent. In Manitoba, Canada, there were two cases of perigenital ulcer disease caused by Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica, leading to inadvertent exposure among laboratory personnel.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Lydia M. Roberts, Tara D. Wehrly, Ian Leighton, Patrick Hanley, Jamie Lovaglio, Brian J. Smith, Catharine M. Bosio
Summary: Pulmonary infections trigger tissue-resident and circulating T cell responses, which are crucial for vaccine development. The relative contribution of tissue-resident and circulating T cells in Francisella tularensis infection is not fully understood, hindering the design of effective vaccines. This study elucidates the role of circulating T cells in host defense using a parabiotic mouse model.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Beth A. Bachert, Joshua B. Richardson, Kevin D. Mlynek, Christopher P. Klimko, Ronald G. Toothman, David P. Fetterer, Andrea E. Luquette, Kitty Chase, Jessica L. Storrs, Ashley K. Rogers, Christopher K. Cote, David A. Rozak, Joel A. Bozue
Summary: Researchers have characterized a panel of virulent F. tularensis strains for vaccine testing, finding high genomic similarity but also unique mutations and unexpected diversity within some strains. These findings indicate the effectiveness of the strains as challenge strains for future vaccine development efforts.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Aurelie Hennebique, Julien Peyroux, Camille Brunet, Amandine Martin, Thomas Henry, Masa Knezevic, Marina Santic, Sandrine Boisset, Max Maurin
Summary: The study explored the interactions between Francisella bacteria and amoebae in aquatic environments, revealing that amoebae likely enhance the survival of these bacteria in water. The complex interactions between bacteria and amoebae depend on the specific species of Francisella considered.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lara R. Mittereder, Jonathan Swoboda, Roberto De Pascalis, Karen L. Elkins
Summary: IL-12p40 is important for the clearance of F. tularensis Live Vaccine Strain (LVS) and its role is independent of its functions as a part of the heterodimeric cytokines IL-12p70 or IL-23. The absence of IL-12p40 in infected mice leads to the development of a chronic and unresolved infection. The study also investigates potential mechanisms for IL-12p40 in F. tularensis clearance.
Article
Immunology
Rachel L. Markley, Katherine H. Restori, Bhuvana Katkere, Sarah E. Sumner, McKayla J. Nicol, Anastasia Tyryshkina, Shaneice K. Nettleford, David R. Williamson, David E. Place, Kalyan K. Dewan, Ashley E. Shay, Bradley A. Carlson, Santhosh Girirajan, K. Sandeep Prabhu, Girish S. Kirimanjeswara
Summary: This study showed that F. tularensis lacks the ability to utilize selenium effectively, while mice deficient in selenium are more susceptible to bacterial infections and have shorter survival times. Host selenoproteins found in macrophages were able to restrict bacterial replication, indicating a potential key role in combating bacterial infections.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Olivier Bahuaud, Cecile Le Brun, Adrien Lemaignen
Summary: Tularemia, caused by Francisella tularensis, presents differently in immunocompromised patients compared to immunocompetent ones, leading to delays in diagnosis. Consideration of tularemia and use of molecular techniques can improve diagnostic accuracy and speed in immunocompromised patients with pulmonary symptoms or unexplained fever.
Article
Microbiology
Aurelie Hennebique, Fabienne Gas, Helene Batina, Cecilia De Araujo, Karine Bizet, Max Maurin
Summary: The Biotoxis qPCR detection kit showed good performance in detecting Francisella tularensis in various biological and environmental samples, with potential crossamplification of F. tularensis subsp. novicida to be considered. This plate format assay could be useful for testing a large number of clinical or environmental specimens, especially in the context of natural or intentional tularemia outbreaks.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Saber Esmaeili, Mahdi Rohani, Ahmad Ghasemi, Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, Simin Khayatzadeh, Ahmad Mahmoudi, Hossein Ahangari Cohan, Anders Johansson, Max Maurin, Ehsan Mostafavi
Summary: Recent studies in Iran suggest tularemia could be an endemic zoonosis, with a specific outbreak in Youzband Village linked to the village's water supply. Intervention measures such as dredging and chlorination of the water tank, as well as training villagers in preventive measures and treatment, effectively controlled the infection.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yinshi Yue, Bhanwar Lal Puniya, Tomas Helikar, Benjamin Girardo, Steven H. Hinrichs, Marilynn A. Larson
Summary: Francisella tularensis, a highly infectious zoonotic pathogen causing a deadly disease, exhibits major disparities in arginine catabolism and subsequent polyamine biosynthesis among its subpopulations, leading to differences in pathogenicity.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Kendall Souder, Emma J. Beatty, Siena C. McGovern, Michael Whaby, Emily Young, Jacob Pancake, Daron Weekley, Justin Rice, Donald A. Primerano, James Denvir, Joseph Horzempa, Deanna M. Schmitt
Summary: The phenoxazine dye resazurin displays bactericidal activity against Francisella tularensis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, with one derivative significantly reducing vaginal colonization by the latter in a mouse model. Through whole genome sequencing, mutations in genes dipA and pilD were identified in resazurin-resistant F. tularensis strains. Complementation of these genes partially restored sensitivity to resazurin, indicating their novel roles in susceptibility.
Article
Immunology
Mengsu Zhao, Yanfang Zhai, Xiaodong Zai, Yunyun Mao, Enbo Hu, Zhaodong Wei, Yan Li, Kai Li, Yanhong Liu, Junjie Xu, Rui Yu, Wei Chen
Summary: No FDA-approved vaccines are available for tularemia, a highly contagious disease caused by Francisella tularensis. This study identified potential protective antigens for vaccine development, including Tul4, OmpA, FopA, and DnaK, and found that using an adenovirus vector encoding these proteins can induce protective immunity against Ft infection. Intramuscular vaccination with Ad5-Tul4 effectively eliminated Ft colonization in multiple organs and provided high levels of protection, while intranasal vaccination only protected against intranasal challenge.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Ondraya M. Frick, Virginia A. Livingston, Chris A. Whitehouse, Sarah L. Norris, Derron A. Alves, Paul R. Facemire, Douglas S. Reed, Aysegul Nalca
Summary: The study showed that cynomolgus macaques infected with aerosolized F. tularensis exhibited similar symptoms and disease progression as seen in humans, indicating that these macaques are a reliable animal model for testing medical countermeasures against aerosolized F. tularensis.
Article
Microbiology
Mateusz Markowicz, Anna-Margarita Schoetta, Freya Penatzer, Christoph Matscheko, Gerold Stanek, Hannes Stockinger, Josef Riedler
Summary: Ulceroglandular tularemia is caused by the transmission of Francisella tularensis by arthropods to a human host. This case in Austria led to abscess formation in a lymph node, requiring drainage, with the identification of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica through PCR and multilocus sequence typing.
Article
Microbiology
Caroline Ohrman, Jason W. Sahl, Andreas Sjodin, Ingrid Uneklint, Rebecca Ballard, Linda Karlsson, Ryelan F. McDonough, David Sundell, Kathleen Soria, Stina Backman, Kitty Chase, Bjorn Brindefalk, Shanmuga Sozhamannan, Adriana Vallesi, Emil Hagglund, Jose Gustavo Ramirez-Paredes, Johanna Thelaus, Duncan Colquhoun, Kerstin Myrtennas, Dawn Birdsell, Anders Johansson, David M. Wagner, Mats Forsman
Summary: An increasing diversity of species has been recognized within the family Francisellaceae, but sometimes new isolates are misnamed. Historically, detecting F. tularensis has been challenging, but restructuring data based on phylogenetic structure can help identify specific genetic regions for detection.