Is a galU mutant of Francisella tularensis attenuated for virulence in a murine pulmonary model of tularemia?
Disruption of the galU gene of FTLVS has little (if any) effect on in vivo infectivity, replication, or dissemination characteristics, but is highly attenuating for virulence. The attenuated phenotype of this mutant strain of FT appears to be related to its increased ability to induce innate inflammatory responsiveness, resulting in more rapid recruitment of neutrophils to the lungs following pneumonic infection, and/or to its ability to kill infected cells in an accelerated fashion. These results have identified two potentially important virulence mechanisms used by FT. These findings could also have implications for design of a live attenuated vaccine strain of FT because sublethal infection of mice with the galU mutant strain of FTLVS promoted development of protective immunity to WT FTLVS.
The expression of S100P in human gastric cancer tissues was upregulated in comparison with normal controls. By establishing an association between S100P expression and shortened OS, increase in proliferation and drug resistance, this study indicates that S100P may be a useful prognostic marker for gastric cancer patients.