Heike Claus

Genetics of capsule O-acetylation in serogroup C, W-135 and Y meningococci (2004)

Claus,Heike, Borrow,Ray, Achtman,Mark, Morelli,Giovanna, Kantelberg,Carmen, Longworth,Emma, ...

Capsular polysaccharides of serogroup C, W-135 and Y meningococci were previously reported to be O-acetylated at the sialic acid residues. There is evidence that O-acetylation affects the...

Genetic Diversity of Neisseria lactamica Strains from Epidemiologically Defined Carriers

Alber, Dirk, Oberkötter, Mark, Suerbaum, Sebastian, Claus, Heike, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

We assessed the genetic diversity of 26 Neisseria lactamica strains from epidemiologically related sources, i.e., groups of kindergartens and primary schools in three Bavarian towns, by the partial...

Differential Distribution of Novel Restriction-Modification Systems in Clonal Lineages of Neisseria meningitidis

Claus, Heike, Friedrich, Alexander, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Using representational difference analysis, we isolated novel meningococcal restriction-modification (R-M) systems. NmeBI, which is a homologue of the R-M system HgaI of Pasteurella volantium, was...

Role of Lipopolysaccharide Sialylation in Serum Resistance of Serogroup B and C Meningococcal Disease Isolates

Vogel, Ulrich, Claus, Heike, Heinze, Gabriele, Frosch, Matthias

α-2,3-Sialyltransferase mutants of three genetically and phenotypically diverse Neisseria meningitidis strains were compared with regard to resistance to human serum and systemic spread in the...

Necessity of Molecular Techniques To Distinguish between Neisseria meningitidis Strains Isolated from Patients with Meningococcal Disease and from Their Healthy Contacts

Vogel, Ulrich, Morelli, Giovanna, Zurth, Kerstin, Claus, Heike, Kriener, Eugen, Achtman, Mark, ...

Serogroup C strains of Neisseria meningitidis were isolated from a Germany patient with severe meningococcal disease after a trip to the Czech Republic. These strains (case isolates) were...

Identification of the Hypervirulent Lineages of Neisseria meningitidis, the ST-8 and ST-11 Complexes, by Using Monoclonal Antibodies Specific to NmeDI

Claus, Heike, Weinand, Hanne, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Most cases of serogroup C meningococcal disease are caused by the clonal lineages ST-8 and ST-11. The gene encoding the putative restriction-modification system NmeDI is specific to these lineages....

Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a University Hospital Setting by Using Novel Software for spa Repeat Determination and Database Management

Harmsen, Dag, Claus, Heike, Witte, Wolfgang, Rothgänger, Jörg, Claus, Hermann, Turnwald, Doris, ...

The spa gene of Staphylococcus aureus encodes protein A and is used for typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We used sequence typing of the spa gene repeat region to study...

Bacteremia in an Immunocompromised Patient Caused by a Commensal Neisseria meningitidis Strain Harboring the Capsule Null Locus (cnl)

Vogel, Ulrich, Claus, Heike, Von Müller, Lutz, Bunjes, Donald, Elias, Johannes, Frosch, Matthias

We recently described the capsule null locus (cnl) of constitutively unencapsulated Neisseria meningitidis clonal lineages. cnl meningococci were recovered from healthy carriers at high frequency. We...

Genetic Diversity of Neisseria lactamica Strains from Epidemiologically Defined Carriers

Alber, Dirk, Oberkötter, Mark, Suerbaum, Sebastian, Claus, Heike, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

We assessed the genetic diversity of 26 Neisseria lactamica strains from epidemiologically related sources, i.e., groups of kindergartens and primary schools in three Bavarian towns, by the partial...

Differential Distribution of Novel Restriction-Modification Systems in Clonal Lineages of Neisseria meningitidis

Claus, Heike, Friedrich, Alexander, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Using representational difference analysis, we isolated novel meningococcal restriction-modification (R-M) systems. NmeBI, which is a homologue of the R-M system HgaI of Pasteurella volantium, was...

Role of Lipopolysaccharide Sialylation in Serum Resistance of Serogroup B and C Meningococcal Disease Isolates

Vogel, Ulrich, Claus, Heike, Heinze, Gabriele, Frosch, Matthias

α-2,3-Sialyltransferase mutants of three genetically and phenotypically diverse Neisseria meningitidis strains were compared with regard to resistance to human serum and systemic spread in the...

Necessity of Molecular Techniques To Distinguish between Neisseria meningitidis Strains Isolated from Patients with Meningococcal Disease and from Their Healthy Contacts

Vogel, Ulrich, Morelli, Giovanna, Zurth, Kerstin, Claus, Heike, Kriener, Eugen, Achtman, Mark, ...

Serogroup C strains of Neisseria meningitidis were isolated from a Germany patient with severe meningococcal disease after a trip to the Czech Republic. These strains (case isolates) were...

Identification of the Hypervirulent Lineages of Neisseria meningitidis, the ST-8 and ST-11 Complexes, by Using Monoclonal Antibodies Specific to NmeDI

Claus, Heike, Weinand, Hanne, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Most cases of serogroup C meningococcal disease are caused by the clonal lineages ST-8 and ST-11. The gene encoding the putative restriction-modification system NmeDI is specific to these lineages....

Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a University Hospital Setting by Using Novel Software for spa Repeat Determination and Database Management

Harmsen, Dag, Claus, Heike, Witte, Wolfgang, Rothgänger, Jörg, Claus, Hermann, Turnwald, Doris, ...

The spa gene of Staphylococcus aureus encodes protein A and is used for typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We used sequence typing of the spa gene repeat region to study...

Bacteremia in an Immunocompromised Patient Caused by a Commensal Neisseria meningitidis Strain Harboring the Capsule Null Locus (cnl)

Vogel, Ulrich, Claus, Heike, Von Müller, Lutz, Bunjes, Donald, Elias, Johannes, Frosch, Matthias

We recently described the capsule null locus (cnl) of constitutively unencapsulated Neisseria meningitidis clonal lineages. cnl meningococci were recovered from healthy carriers at high frequency. We...

Evidence for Indirect Nosocomial Transmission of Neisseria meningitidis Resulting in Two Cases of Invasive Meningococcal Disease▿

Elias, Johannes, Claus, Heike, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Nosocomial transmission of Neisseria meningitidis has only rarely been reported. Here, we present a significant spatiotemporal association of two cases of invasive meningococcal disease identified by...

Molecular Epidemiology of Hospital-Acquired Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci▿

Abele-Horn, Marianne, Vogel, Ulrich, Klare, Ingo, Konstabel, Carola, Trabold, Rene, Kurihara, Risa, ...

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium strains are a significant cause of nosocomial infections in predisposed patients. Multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) has been...

Deletion of the Meningococcal fetA Gene Used for Antigen Sequence Typing of Invasive and Commensal Isolates from Germany: Frequencies and Mechanisms▿

Claus, Heike, Elias, Johannes, Meinhardt, Christine, Frosch, Matthias, Vogel, Ulrich

Antigen sequence typing (ST) of FetA is part of the molecular typing scheme of Neisseria meningitidis. Among invasive meningococcal isolates from 2,201 patients in Germany, we identified 11 strains...

Biochemical characterization of a Neisseria meningitidis polysialyltransferase reveals novel functional motifs in bacterial sialyltransferases

Freiberger, Friedrich, Claus, Heike, Günzel, Almut, Oltmann-Norden, Imke, Vionnet, Justine, Mühlenhoff, Martina, ...

The extracellular polysaccharide capsule is an essential virulence factor of Neisseria meningitidis, a leading cause of severe bacterial meningitis and sepsis. Serogroup B strains, the primary...

Whole-genome comparison of disease and carriage strains provides insights into virulence evolution in Neisseria meningitidis

Schoen, Christoph, Blom, Jochen, Claus, Heike, Schramm-Glück, Anja, Brandt, Petra, Müller, Tobias, ...

Neisseria meningitidis is a leading cause of infectious childhood mortality worldwide. Most research efforts have hitherto focused on disease isolates belonging to only a few hypervirulent clonal...