MELANIE T. CUSHION

Comparative Genomics of Pneumocystis carinii with Other Protists: Implications for Life Style1 (2004)

MELANIE T. CUSHION

Three protistan genomes were analyzed for differential genetic traits that may be associated with biological adaptations to their unique life styles. The microsporidian, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, an...

Latent Pneumocystis carinii Infection in Commercial Rat Colonies: Comparison of Inductive Immunosuppressants plus Histopathology, PCR, and Serology as Detection Methods

Weisbroth, Steven H., Geistfeld, James, Weisbroth, Stephanie P., Williams, Bruce, Feldman, Sanford H., Linke, Michael J., ...

Histopathologic evaluation combined with a period of immunosuppression has been the standard procedure for detection of Pneumocystis carinii in commercial rat colonies. Variation in induction...

Widespread Occurrence of Pneumocystis carinii in Commercial Rat Colonies Detected Using Targeted PCR and Oral Swabs

Icenhour, Crystal R., Rebholz, Sandra L., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

The genus Pneumocystis contains a family of fungal organisms that infect a wide variety of mammalian species. Although it is a cause of pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts, recent evidence suggests...

Rapid PCR–Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism Method To Differentiate and Estimate Relative Abundance of Pneumocystis carinii Special Forms Infecting Rats

Nahimana, Aimable, Cushion, Melanie T., Blanc, Dominique S., Hauser, Philippe M.

A rapid method that uses PCR–single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the intron of the nuclear 26S rRNA gene was shown to differentiate the two Pneumocystis carinii special forms that...

Effects of Atovaquone and Diospyrin-Based Drugs on the Cellular ATP of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii

Cushion, Melanie T., Collins, Margaret, Hazra, Banasri, Kaneshiro, Edna S.

Atovaquone (also called Mepron, or 566C80) is a napthoquinone used for the treatment of infections caused by pathogens such as Plasmodium spp. and Pneumocystis carinii. The mechanism of action...

Inhibitors of Sterol Biosynthesis and Amphotericin B Reduce the Viability of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii

Kaneshiro, Edna S., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

Pneumocystis carinii synthesizes sterols with a double bond at C-7 of the sterol nucleus and an alkyl group with one or two carbons at C-24 of the side chain. Also, some human-derived Pneumocystis...

In Vitro and In Vivo Effects of Quinupristin-Dalfopristin against Pneumocystis carinii

Walzer, Peter D., Ashbaugh, Alan, Collins, Margaret, Cushion, Melanie T.

Quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q-D), which is active against bacteria and Toxoplasma gondii, was examined for its activity against Pneumocystis carinii. After 72 h of incubation with rat P. carinii in an...

Time between Inoculations and Karyotype Forms of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii Influence Outcome of Experimental Coinfections in Rats

Cushion, Melanie T., Orr, Sally, Keely, Scott P., Stringer, James R.

The prevalence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in humans caused by more than a single genotype has been reported to range from 10 to 67%, depending on the method used for detection (3, 19)....

Early Acquisition of Pneumocystis carinii in Neonatal Rats as Evidenced by PCR and Oral Swabs

Icenhour, Crystal R., Rebholz, Sandra L., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

The complete life cycle of Pneumocystis carinii has not been defined, but accumulating evidence suggests that the mammalian host may acquire this organism early in life. In the present study, the...

Diversity at the Locus Associated with Transcription of a Variable Surface Antigen of Pneumocystis carinii as an Index of Population Structure and Dynamics in Infected Rats

Keely, Scott P., Cushion, Melanie T., Stringer, James R.

Pneumocystis carinii expresses a surface glycoprotein called MSG. Different isoforms of MSG are encoded by a gene family spread over at least 15 telomeric sites. Only one locus, called UCS, supports...

Highly Active Anti-Pneumocystis carinii Compounds in a Library of Novel Piperazine-Linked Bisbenzamidines and Related Compounds

Cushion, Melanie T., Walzer, Peter D., Collins, Margaret S., Rebholz, Sandra, Vanden Eynde, Jean Jacques, Mayence, Annie, ...

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine isethionate have been used extensively for the prophylaxis and therapy of pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii. Problems associated with toxicity...

Gene Arrays at Pneumocystis carinii Telomeres

Keely, Scott P., Renauld, Hubert, Wakefield, Ann E., Cushion, Melanie T., Smulian, A. George, Fosker, Nigel, ...

In the fungus Pneumocystis carinii, at least three gene families (PRT1, MSR, and MSG) have the potential to generate high-frequency antigenic variation, which is likely to be a strategy by which this...

Mapping by sequencing the Pneumocystis genome using the ordering DNA sequences V3 tool.

Xu, Zheng, Lance, Britton, Vargas, Claudia, Arpinar, Budak, Bhandarkar, Suchendra, Kraemer, Eileen, ...

A bioinformatics tool called ODS3 has been created for mapping by sequencing. The tool allows the creation of integrated genomic maps from genetic, physical mapping, and sequencing data and permits...

In Vitro Selection and In Vivo Efficacy of Piperazine- and Alkanediamide-Linked Bisbenzamidines against Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Mice

Cushion, Melanie T., Walzer, Peter D., Ashbaugh, Alan, Rebholz, Sandra, Brubaker, Ronald, Vanden Eynde, Jean Jacques, ...

Bisbenzamidines, such as pentamidine isethionate, are aromatic dicationic compounds that are active against Pneumocystis and other microbes but are oftentimes toxic to the host. To identify potential...

Latent Pneumocystis carinii Infection in Commercial Rat Colonies: Comparison of Inductive Immunosuppressants plus Histopathology, PCR, and Serology as Detection Methods

Weisbroth, Steven H., Geistfeld, James, Weisbroth, Stephanie P., Williams, Bruce, Feldman, Sanford H., Linke, Michael J., ...

Histopathologic evaluation combined with a period of immunosuppression has been the standard procedure for detection of Pneumocystis carinii in commercial rat colonies. Variation in induction...

Widespread Occurrence of Pneumocystis carinii in Commercial Rat Colonies Detected Using Targeted PCR and Oral Swabs

Icenhour, Crystal R., Rebholz, Sandra L., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

The genus Pneumocystis contains a family of fungal organisms that infect a wide variety of mammalian species. Although it is a cause of pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts, recent evidence suggests...

Rapid PCR–Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism Method To Differentiate and Estimate Relative Abundance of Pneumocystis carinii Special Forms Infecting Rats

Nahimana, Aimable, Cushion, Melanie T., Blanc, Dominique S., Hauser, Philippe M.

A rapid method that uses PCR–single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of the intron of the nuclear 26S rRNA gene was shown to differentiate the two Pneumocystis carinii special forms that...

Effects of Atovaquone and Diospyrin-Based Drugs on the Cellular ATP of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii

Cushion, Melanie T., Collins, Margaret, Hazra, Banasri, Kaneshiro, Edna S.

Atovaquone (also called Mepron, or 566C80) is a napthoquinone used for the treatment of infections caused by pathogens such as Plasmodium spp. and Pneumocystis carinii. The mechanism of action...

Inhibitors of Sterol Biosynthesis and Amphotericin B Reduce the Viability of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii

Kaneshiro, Edna S., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

Pneumocystis carinii synthesizes sterols with a double bond at C-7 of the sterol nucleus and an alkyl group with one or two carbons at C-24 of the side chain. Also, some human-derived Pneumocystis...

In Vitro and In Vivo Effects of Quinupristin-Dalfopristin against Pneumocystis carinii

Walzer, Peter D., Ashbaugh, Alan, Collins, Margaret, Cushion, Melanie T.

Quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q-D), which is active against bacteria and Toxoplasma gondii, was examined for its activity against Pneumocystis carinii. After 72 h of incubation with rat P. carinii in an...

Time between Inoculations and Karyotype Forms of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. carinii Influence Outcome of Experimental Coinfections in Rats

Cushion, Melanie T., Orr, Sally, Keely, Scott P., Stringer, James R.

The prevalence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in humans caused by more than a single genotype has been reported to range from 10 to 67%, depending on the method used for detection (3, 19)....

Early Acquisition of Pneumocystis carinii in Neonatal Rats as Evidenced by PCR and Oral Swabs

Icenhour, Crystal R., Rebholz, Sandra L., Collins, Margaret S., Cushion, Melanie T.

The complete life cycle of Pneumocystis carinii has not been defined, but accumulating evidence suggests that the mammalian host may acquire this organism early in life. In the present study, the...

Diversity at the Locus Associated with Transcription of a Variable Surface Antigen of Pneumocystis carinii as an Index of Population Structure and Dynamics in Infected Rats

Keely, Scott P., Cushion, Melanie T., Stringer, James R.

Pneumocystis carinii expresses a surface glycoprotein called MSG. Different isoforms of MSG are encoded by a gene family spread over at least 15 telomeric sites. Only one locus, called UCS, supports...

Highly Active Anti-Pneumocystis carinii Compounds in a Library of Novel Piperazine-Linked Bisbenzamidines and Related Compounds

Cushion, Melanie T., Walzer, Peter D., Collins, Margaret S., Rebholz, Sandra, Vanden Eynde, Jean Jacques, Mayence, Annie, ...

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and pentamidine isethionate have been used extensively for the prophylaxis and therapy of pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii. Problems associated with toxicity...

Gene Arrays at Pneumocystis carinii Telomeres

Keely, Scott P., Renauld, Hubert, Wakefield, Ann E., Cushion, Melanie T., Smulian, A. George, Fosker, Nigel, ...

In the fungus Pneumocystis carinii, at least three gene families (PRT1, MSR, and MSG) have the potential to generate high-frequency antigenic variation, which is likely to be a strategy by which this...

Mapping by sequencing the Pneumocystis genome using the ordering DNA sequences V3 tool.

Xu, Zheng, Lance, Britton, Vargas, Claudia, Arpinar, Budak, Bhandarkar, Suchendra, Kraemer, Eileen, ...

A bioinformatics tool called ODS3 has been created for mapping by sequencing. The tool allows the creation of integrated genomic maps from genetic, physical mapping, and sequencing data and permits...

In Vitro Selection and In Vivo Efficacy of Piperazine- and Alkanediamide-Linked Bisbenzamidines against Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Mice

Cushion, Melanie T., Walzer, Peter D., Ashbaugh, Alan, Rebholz, Sandra, Brubaker, Ronald, Vanden Eynde, Jean Jacques, ...

Bisbenzamidines, such as pentamidine isethionate, are aromatic dicationic compounds that are active against Pneumocystis and other microbes but are oftentimes toxic to the host. To identify potential...

Transcriptome of Pneumocystis carinii during Fulminate Infection: Carbohydrate Metabolism and the Concept of a Compatible Parasite

Cushion, Melanie T., Smulian, A. George, Slaven, Bradley E., Sesterhenn, Tom, Arnold, Jonathan, Staben, Chuck, ...

Members of the genus Pneumocystis are fungal pathogens that cause pneumonia in a wide variety of mammals with debilitated immune systems. Little is known about their basic biological functions,...