Louis M. Weiss

Chagas Disease, Adipose Tissue and the Metabolic Syndrome (2009)

Nagajyothi, Fnu, Desruisseaux, Mahalia S., Weiss, Louis M., Chua, Streamson, Albanese, Chris, Machado, Fabiana S., ...

Trypanosomacruzi   infection of the adipose tissue of mice triggers the local expression of inflammatory mediators and a reduction in the expression of the adipokine adiponectin. T. cruzi can be...

EPIC-DB: a proteomics database for studying Apicomplexan organisms (2009)

Madrid-Aliste, Carlos J, Dybas, Joseph M, Angeletti, Ruth, Weiss, Louis M, Kim, Kami, Simon, Istvan, ...

Abstract Background High throughput proteomics experiments are useful for analyzing the protein expression of an organism, identifying the correct gene structure of a genome, or locating possible...

Genomic survey of the non-cultivatable opportunistic human pathogen, Enterocytozoon bieneusi (2009)

Akiyoshi, Donna E., Morrison, Hilary G., Lei, Shi, Feng, Xiaochuan, Zhang, Quanshun, Corradi, Nicolas, ...

© 2009 The Authors. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS Pathogens 5 (2009): e1000261,...

Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Microsporidia (2009)

Kaya Ghosh, Louis M. Weiss

The Microsporidia are a ubiquitous group of eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites which were recognized over 100 years ago with the description of Nosema bombycis, a parasite of silkworms. It...

Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Microsporidia (2009)

Kaya Ghosh, Louis M. Weiss

The Microsporidia are a ubiquitous group of eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites which were recognized over 100 years ago with the description of Nosema bombycis, a parasite of silkworms. It...

Genome sequence surveys of Brachiola algerae and Edhazardia aedis reveal microsporidia with low gene densities (2008)

Williams, Bryony AP, Lee, Renny CH, Becnel, James J, Weiss, Louis M, Fast, Naomi M, Keeling, Patrick J

Abstract Background Microsporidia are well known models of extreme nuclear genome reduction and compaction. The smallest microsporidian genomes have received the most attention, but genomes of...

An Analysis of the Microsporidian Genus Brachiola, with Comparisons of Human and Insect Isolates of Brachiola algerae (2004)

ANN CALI, LOUIS M. WEISS, PETER M. TAKVORIAN

The genus Brachiola is the newest microsporidian genus established for a human infection with the type species being B. vesicularum in skeletal muscle. Subsequently, the microsporidium, Nosema...

Chagas' disease and AIDS (2004)

Vaidian, Anil K, Weiss, Louis M, Tanowitz, Herbert B

Abstract Chagas' disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is an opportunistic infection in the setting of HIV/AIDS. Some individuals with HIV and chronic T. cruzi infection may experience a reactivation,...

Antibody efficacy in murine pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans infection: a role for nitric oxide (2002)

Rivera, Johanna, Mukherjee, Jean, Weiss, Louis M., Casadevall, Arturo

We investigated the pathogenesis of pulmonary Cryptococcus neoformans infection and passive Ab efficacy in mice deficient in inducible NO synthase (NOS2(-/-)) and the parental strain. Parental mice...

Brachiola algerae Spore Membrane Systems, their Activity During Extrusion, and a New Structural Entity, the Multilayered Interlaced Network, Associated with the Polar Tube and the Sporoplasm (2002)

ANN CALI, LOUIS M. WEISS, PETER M. TAKVORIAN

The microsporidial genus, Brachiola, contains three species: the type species Brachiola vesicularum (identified from an AIDS patient) and two species transferred from the genus Nosema, becoming...

Polyamine Synthesis and Interconversion by the Microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi (2001)

CYRUS J. BACCHI, SCHENNELLA LANE, LOUIS M. WEISS, NIGEL YARLETT, PETER TAKVORIAN, MURRAY WITTNER

Polyamines are small cationic molecules necessary for growth and differentiation in all cells. Although mammalian cells have been studied extensively, particularly as targets of polyamine...

A dual-specificity aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in the deep-rooted eukaryote Giardia lamblia

Bunjun, Shipra, Stathopoulos, Constantinos, Graham, David, Min, Bokkee, Kitabatake, Makoto, Wang, Alice L., ...

Cysteinyl-tRNA (Cys-tRNA) is essential for protein synthesis. In most organisms the enzyme responsible for the formation of Cys-tRNA is cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CysRS). The only known exceptions...

Serological Evidence of Human Infection with the Protozoan Neospora caninum

Tranas, Jennifer, Heinzen, Robert A., Weiss, Louis M., McAllister, Milton M.

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is closely related to Toxoplasma gondii. Dogs are a definitive host. Prior to its discovery in 1988, N. caninum infection in animals was often mistakenly...

Infection of Endothelial Cells with Trypanosoma cruzi Activates NF-κB and Induces Vascular Adhesion Molecule Expression

Huang, Huan, Calderon, Tina M., Berman, Joan W., Braunstein, Vicki L., Weiss, Louis M., Wittner, Murray, ...

Transcriptional activation of vascular adhesion molecule expression, a major component of an inflammatory response, is regulated, in part, by the nuclear factor-κB/Rel (NF-κB) family of...

Identification of Novel Serine/Threonine Protein Phosphatases in Trypanosoma cruzi: a Potential Role in Control of Cytokinesis and Morphology

Orr, George A., Werner, Craig, Xu, Jun, Bennett, Marcia, Weiss, Louis M., Takvorkan, Peter, ...

We cloned two novel Trypanosoma cruzi proteins by using degenerate oligonucleotide primers prepared against conserved domains in mammalian serine/threonine protein phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2B. The...

Investigation into the Mechanism of Gamma Interferon-Mediated Inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii in Murine Astrocytes

Halonen, Sandra K., Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that is a common opportunistic pathogen of the central nervous system in AIDS patients. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) alone or in combination with...

Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling in Toxoplasma gondii Bradyzoite Differentiation

Kirkman, Laura A., Weiss, Louis M., Kim, Kami

The ability of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites to differentiate into latent bradyzoite forms is essential for pathogenesis of clinical disease. We examined the effects of cyclic nucleotides on T....

Initial Characterization of CST1, a Toxoplasma gondii Cyst Wall Glycoprotein

Zhang, Yi Wei, Halonen, Sandra K., Ma, Yan Fen, Wittner, Murray, Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important protozoan pathogen of humans that can cause encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals such as those with AIDS. This encephalitis is due to reactivation of latent...

Granulomatous Skin Lesions in Moray Eels Caused by a Novel Mycobacterium Species Related to Mycobacterium triplex

Herbst, Lawrence H., Costa, Sylvia F., Weiss, Louis M., Johnson, Linda K., Bartell, John, Davis, Raymond, ...

An outbreak of granulomatous dermatitis was investigated in a captive population of moray eels. The affected eels had florid skin nodules concentrated around the head and trunk. Histopathological...

Gamma Interferon-Induced Inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii in Astrocytes Is Mediated by IGTP

Halonen, Sandra K., Taylor, Gregory A., Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in the central nervous system, causing a severe and often fatal encephalitis in patients with AIDS. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) is the main cytokine...

Bradyzoite Development in Toxoplasma gondii and the hsp70 Stress Response

Weiss, Louis M., Ma, Yan Fen, Takvorian, Peter M., Tanowitz, Herbert B., Wittner, Murray

Toxoplasma gondii is a well-described ubiquitous Apicomplexan protozoan parasite that is an important opportunistic pathogen. The factors affecting the transition of tachyzoites to the latent...

Novel Synthetic Polyamines Are Effective in the Treatment of Experimental Microsporidiosis, an Opportunistic AIDS-Associated Infection

Bacchi, Cyrus J., Weiss, Louis M., Lane, Schenella, Frydman, Benjamin, Valasinas, Aldonia, Reddy, Venodhar, ...

Microsporidia are eukaryotic obligate intracellular protists that are emerging pathogens in immunocompromised hosts, such as patients with AIDS or patients who have undergone organ transplantation....

Activation of Transcription Factors AP-1 and NF-κB in Murine Chagasic Myocarditis

Huang, Huan, Petkova, Stefka B., Cohen, Alex W., Bouzahzah, Boumediene, Chan, John, Zhou, Jian-nian, ...

The myocardium of CD1 mice was examined for the activation of signal transduction pathways leading to cardiac inflammation and subsequent remodeling during Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Brazil...

Characterization of Mycobacterium montefiorense sp. nov., a Novel Pathogenic Mycobacterium from Moray Eels That Is Related to Mycobacterium triplex

Levi, Michael H., Bartell, John, Gandolfo, Leanne, Smole, Sandra C., Costa, Sylvia F., Weiss, Louis M., ...

The characterization of a novel Mycobacterium sp. isolated from granulomatous skin lesions of moray eels is reported. Analysis of the hsp65 gene, small-subunit rRNA gene, rRNA spacer region, and...

Chagas' disease and AIDS

Vaidian, Anil K, Weiss, Louis M, Tanowitz, Herbert B

Chagas' disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is an opportunistic infection in the setting of HIV/AIDS. Some individuals with HIV and chronic T. cruzi infection may experience a reactivation, which is...

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Activates Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in Cultured Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells

Mukherjee, Shankar, Huang, Huan, Petkova, Stefka B., Albanese, Chris, Pestell, Richard G., Braunstein, Vicki L., ...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes cardiomyopathy and vasculopathy. We examined the consequence of this infection for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, which regulate cell...

Glycosylation of the Major Polar Tube Protein of Encephalitozoon hellem, a Microsporidian Parasite That Infects Humans

Xu, Yanji, Takvorian, Peter M., Cali, Ann, Orr, George, Weiss, Louis M.

The microsporidia are ubiquitous, obligate intracellular eukaryotic spore-forming parasites infecting a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans. The defining structure of...

Role of Endothelin 1 in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Chagasic Heart Disease

Tanowitz, Herbert B., Huang, Huan, Jelicks, Linda A., Chandra, Madhulika, Loredo, Maria L., Weiss, Louis M., ...

On the basis of previous observations, endothelin 1 (ET-1) has been suggested as contributing to the pathogenesis of Chagasic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, ET-1flox/flox;α-MHC-Cre(+) mice in which the...

Identification of a New Spore Wall Protein from Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Xu, Yanji, Takvorian, Peter, Cali, Ann, Wang, Fang, Zhang, Hong, Orr, George, ...

Microsporidia form environmentally resistant spores that are critical for their host-to-host transmission and persistence in the environment. The spore walls of these organisms are composed of two...

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Induces Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Hassan, Ghada S., Mukherjee, Shankar, Nagajyothi, Fnu, Weiss, Louis M., Petkova, Stefka B., De Almeida, Cecilia J., ...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes cardiomyopathy and vasculopathy. Previous studies have demonstrated that infection of human umbilical vein endothelial and smooth muscle cells resulted in...

A dual-specificity aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in the deep-rooted eukaryote Giardia lamblia

Bunjun, Shipra, Stathopoulos, Constantinos, Graham, David, Min, Bokkee, Kitabatake, Makoto, Wang, Alice L., ...

Cysteinyl-tRNA (Cys-tRNA) is essential for protein synthesis. In most organisms the enzyme responsible for the formation of Cys-tRNA is cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CysRS). The only known exceptions...

Serological Evidence of Human Infection with the Protozoan Neospora caninum

Tranas, Jennifer, Heinzen, Robert A., Weiss, Louis M., McAllister, Milton M.

Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite that is closely related to Toxoplasma gondii. Dogs are a definitive host. Prior to its discovery in 1988, N. caninum infection in animals was often mistakenly...

Infection of Endothelial Cells with Trypanosoma cruzi Activates NF-κB and Induces Vascular Adhesion Molecule Expression

Huang, Huan, Calderon, Tina M., Berman, Joan W., Braunstein, Vicki L., Weiss, Louis M., Wittner, Murray, ...

Transcriptional activation of vascular adhesion molecule expression, a major component of an inflammatory response, is regulated, in part, by the nuclear factor-κB/Rel (NF-κB) family of...

Identification of Novel Serine/Threonine Protein Phosphatases in Trypanosoma cruzi: a Potential Role in Control of Cytokinesis and Morphology

Orr, George A., Werner, Craig, Xu, Jun, Bennett, Marcia, Weiss, Louis M., Takvorkan, Peter, ...

We cloned two novel Trypanosoma cruzi proteins by using degenerate oligonucleotide primers prepared against conserved domains in mammalian serine/threonine protein phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2B. The...

Investigation into the Mechanism of Gamma Interferon-Mediated Inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii in Murine Astrocytes

Halonen, Sandra K., Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that is a common opportunistic pathogen of the central nervous system in AIDS patients. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) alone or in combination with...

Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling in Toxoplasma gondii Bradyzoite Differentiation

Kirkman, Laura A., Weiss, Louis M., Kim, Kami

The ability of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites to differentiate into latent bradyzoite forms is essential for pathogenesis of clinical disease. We examined the effects of cyclic nucleotides on T....

Initial Characterization of CST1, a Toxoplasma gondii Cyst Wall Glycoprotein

Zhang, Yi Wei, Halonen, Sandra K., Ma, Yan Fen, Wittner, Murray, Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important protozoan pathogen of humans that can cause encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals such as those with AIDS. This encephalitis is due to reactivation of latent...

Granulomatous Skin Lesions in Moray Eels Caused by a Novel Mycobacterium Species Related to Mycobacterium triplex

Herbst, Lawrence H., Costa, Sylvia F., Weiss, Louis M., Johnson, Linda K., Bartell, John, Davis, Raymond, ...

An outbreak of granulomatous dermatitis was investigated in a captive population of moray eels. The affected eels had florid skin nodules concentrated around the head and trunk. Histopathological...

Gamma Interferon-Induced Inhibition of Toxoplasma gondii in Astrocytes Is Mediated by IGTP

Halonen, Sandra K., Taylor, Gregory A., Weiss, Louis M.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in the central nervous system, causing a severe and often fatal encephalitis in patients with AIDS. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) is the main cytokine...

Bradyzoite Development in Toxoplasma gondii and the hsp70 Stress Response

Weiss, Louis M., Ma, Yan Fen, Takvorian, Peter M., Tanowitz, Herbert B., Wittner, Murray

Toxoplasma gondii is a well-described ubiquitous Apicomplexan protozoan parasite that is an important opportunistic pathogen. The factors affecting the transition of tachyzoites to the latent...

Novel Synthetic Polyamines Are Effective in the Treatment of Experimental Microsporidiosis, an Opportunistic AIDS-Associated Infection

Bacchi, Cyrus J., Weiss, Louis M., Lane, Schenella, Frydman, Benjamin, Valasinas, Aldonia, Reddy, Venodhar, ...

Microsporidia are eukaryotic obligate intracellular protists that are emerging pathogens in immunocompromised hosts, such as patients with AIDS or patients who have undergone organ transplantation....

Activation of Transcription Factors AP-1 and NF-κB in Murine Chagasic Myocarditis

Huang, Huan, Petkova, Stefka B., Cohen, Alex W., Bouzahzah, Boumediene, Chan, John, Zhou, Jian-nian, ...

The myocardium of CD1 mice was examined for the activation of signal transduction pathways leading to cardiac inflammation and subsequent remodeling during Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Brazil...

Characterization of Mycobacterium montefiorense sp. nov., a Novel Pathogenic Mycobacterium from Moray Eels That Is Related to Mycobacterium triplex

Levi, Michael H., Bartell, John, Gandolfo, Leanne, Smole, Sandra C., Costa, Sylvia F., Weiss, Louis M., ...

The characterization of a novel Mycobacterium sp. isolated from granulomatous skin lesions of moray eels is reported. Analysis of the hsp65 gene, small-subunit rRNA gene, rRNA spacer region, and...

Chagas' disease and AIDS

Vaidian, Anil K, Weiss, Louis M, Tanowitz, Herbert B

Chagas' disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is an opportunistic infection in the setting of HIV/AIDS. Some individuals with HIV and chronic T. cruzi infection may experience a reactivation, which is...

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Activates Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in Cultured Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells

Mukherjee, Shankar, Huang, Huan, Petkova, Stefka B., Albanese, Chris, Pestell, Richard G., Braunstein, Vicki L., ...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes cardiomyopathy and vasculopathy. We examined the consequence of this infection for the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, which regulate cell...

Glycosylation of the Major Polar Tube Protein of Encephalitozoon hellem, a Microsporidian Parasite That Infects Humans

Xu, Yanji, Takvorian, Peter M., Cali, Ann, Orr, George, Weiss, Louis M.

The microsporidia are ubiquitous, obligate intracellular eukaryotic spore-forming parasites infecting a wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates, including humans. The defining structure of...

Role of Endothelin 1 in the Pathogenesis of Chronic Chagasic Heart Disease

Tanowitz, Herbert B., Huang, Huan, Jelicks, Linda A., Chandra, Madhulika, Loredo, Maria L., Weiss, Louis M., ...

On the basis of previous observations, endothelin 1 (ET-1) has been suggested as contributing to the pathogenesis of Chagasic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, ET-1flox/flox;α-MHC-Cre(+) mice in which the...

Identification of a New Spore Wall Protein from Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Xu, Yanji, Takvorian, Peter, Cali, Ann, Wang, Fang, Zhang, Hong, Orr, George, ...

Microsporidia form environmentally resistant spores that are critical for their host-to-host transmission and persistence in the environment. The spore walls of these organisms are composed of two...

Trypanosoma cruzi Infection Induces Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Hassan, Ghada S., Mukherjee, Shankar, Nagajyothi, Fnu, Weiss, Louis M., Petkova, Stefka B., De Almeida, Cecilia J., ...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection causes cardiomyopathy and vasculopathy. Previous studies have demonstrated that infection of human umbilical vein endothelial and smooth muscle cells resulted in...

System for Expression of Microsporidian Methionine Amino Peptidase Type 2 (MetAP2) in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae▿

Upadhya, Rajendra, Zhang, Hong Shan, Weiss, Louis M.

Microsporidia are parasitic protists of all classes of vertebrates and most invertebrates. They recently emerged as important infections in various immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patient...

Fas–FasL interaction modulates nitric oxide production in Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice

MARTINS, GISLâINE A, PETKOVA, STEFKA B, MACHADO, FABIANA S, KITSIS, RICHARD N, WEISS, LOUIS M, WITTNER, MURRAY, ...

During acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mice, many leucocytes undergo apoptosis. Although apoptosis has been ascribed to increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) and Fas–FasL interaction, the...

Caveolin-1/3 Double-Knockout Mice Are Viable, but Lack Both Muscle and Non-Muscle Caveolae, and Develop a Severe Cardiomyopathic Phenotype

Park, David S., Woodman, Scott E., Schubert, William, Cohen, Alex W., Frank, Philippe G., Chandra, Madhulika, ...

The caveolin gene family consists of caveolins 1, 2, and 3. Caveolins 1 and 2 are co-expressed in many cell types, such as endothelial cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells and adipocytes, where...

Thromboxane A2 is a key regulator of pathogenesis during Trypanosoma cruzi infection

Ashton, Anthony W., Mukherjee, Shankar, Nagajyothi, FNU, Huang, Huan, Braunstein, Vicki L., Desruisseaux, Mahalia S., ...

Chagas' disease is caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. We report that infected, but not uninfected, human endothelial cells (ECs) released thromboxane A2 (TXA2). Physical...

Coinfection with Heligmosomoides polygyrus Fails To Establish CD8+ T-Cell Immunity against Toxoplasma gondii▿

Khan, Imtiaz A., Hakak, Rubeena, Eberle, Karen, Sayles, Peter, Weiss, Louis M., Urban, Joseph F.

CD8+ T-cell immunity is important for long-term protection against Toxoplasma gondii infection. However, a Th1 cytokine environment, especially the presence of gamma interferon (IFN-γ), is essential...

Genomic Survey of the Non-Cultivatable Opportunistic Human Pathogen, Enterocytozoon bieneusi

Akiyoshi, Donna E., Morrison, Hilary G., Lei, Shi, Feng, Xiaochuan, Zhang, Quanshun, Corradi, Nicolas, ...

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the most common microsporidian associated with human disease, particularly in the immunocompromised population. In the setting of HIV infection, it is associated with...

Role of Protein Kinase A in Trypanosoma cruzi▿ †

Bao, Yi, Weiss, Louis M., Braunstein, Vicki L., Huang, Huan

Protein kinase A (PKA) is an important mediator of many signal transduction pathways that occur in eukaryotic cells, and it has been implicated as a regulator of stage differentiation in Trypanosoma...

Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Microsporidia

Ghosh, Kaya, Weiss, Louis M.

The Microsporidia are a ubiquitous group of eukaryotic obligate intracellular parasites which were recognized over 100 years ago with the description of Nosema bombycis, a parasite of silkworms. It...

Generation of genetic diversity in microsporidia via sexual reproduction and horizontal gene transfer

Lee, Soo Chan, Weiss, Louis M, Heitman, Joseph

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens mainly infecting both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. The group comprises approximately 150 genera with 1,200 species. Due to sequence divergence...