Fusiform Organisms Research Articles

Shapes that Escherichia coli Cells Can Achieve, as a Paradigm for Other Bacteria

Because the sacculi of Gram-negative rod-shaped cells are so thin, it is difficult to imagine how they grow and divide and maintain a characteristic shape and size. Abnormal cell shapes can be produced, under special conditions in Escherichia coli. These findings suggest a basis for the variety of bacterial shapes in terms of the Surface Stress Theory. Some proposals are presented to understand the form and function of rods, cocci, fusiform organisms, as well as other bacteria of other shapes using the molecular biology and physiology now known for E. coli.

Bacterial morphotypes of 3-day old plaque in Chinese. A pilot study.

The aim of the this study was to estimate the % distribution of bacterial morphotypes of supragingival plaque in Chinese subjects after 3 days of no oral hygiene. 36 dental students, hygienists or dental surgery assistants (mean age: 24.3 years) were recruited. Prophylaxis and oral hygiene reinforcement were given 1 x a week for 3 weeks to obtain gingival health and a 3-day period without any plaque control started afterwards. At the end of the 3-day period, the plaque along the gingival margin of the upper right central incisor was removed and direct Gram stained smears were prepared for light microscopy. Bacteria were classified as gram-positive or gram-negative cocci, rods, filaments, fusiform organisms, spirilla or spirochetes. A differential count of 200 organisms from 3-6 microscopic fields was performed and the results expressed as a % of the organisms counted. Results from the 36 direct smears showed approximately 83% (range: 52%-96%) of the organisms to be gram-negative while gram-positive bacteria comprised only a minority of about 12% (range: 0.7%-43%). This result is remarkably different from previous reports from the West where gram-positive bacteria were the predominant bacterial types noted in early supragingival plaque. Further longitudinal studies involving both microscopy and bacteriological culture will be necessary to confirm this finding.

Reproducibility of microscopic and cultural data in repeated subgingival plaque samples.

In association studies, micro-organisms can only be recognized as suspects for playing a major rôle in the development of a pathological environment, if their destructive action goes along with a marked proportional increase of their numbers or if their first detection can be related to the clinical onset of the disease. Limitations in the reproducibility of repeated samples have to be taken into account, when changes of the microbial composition of subgingival environments are to be studied, and when local clinical changes are to be related to shifts in the composition of the pertaining microbiological compartment. To study reproducibility, a total of 109 sites was sampled repeatedly with sterile paperpoints at an interval of 7 to 10 days in 24 patients suffering from periodontal disease and 12 edentulous patients wearing successful and failing osseointegrated titanium implants. Using continuous anaerobic techniques, the samples were cultured on nonselective and selective media and were studied by darkfield microscopy. Both the intertest-agreements of frequencies of detection (kappa-statistics) as well as the discrepancies of proportions of bacterial groups and selected bacterial species were determined. The standard deviation of proportional differences between first and second samples ranged between 6.4% (fusiform organisms) and 17.2% (coccoid cells) for darkfield parameters, between 4.3% (B. melaninogenicus on ETSA/Kana.) and 14.0% (B. gingivalis on ETSA/Kana.) for selected bacterial species and between 6.9% (gram-negative anaerobic cocci) and 24.0% (gram-positive facultative cocci) for bacterial groups classified according to gram stain characteristics and atmospheric growth conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effect of streptomycin administration on association of enteric pathogens with cecal tissue of mice.

The effect of streptomycin on the ability of Shigella sonnei 3SR and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli 2SR to associate with cecal tissue of mice in vivo and in vitro was examined. After orogastric challenge, both pathogens associated in significantly greater numbers (P less than or equal to 0.05) with the cecal tissue of streptomycin-treated mice than with the tissue of untreated mice. The population levels of the pathogens were also significantly greater (P less than or equal to 0.05) in the cecal contents of streptomycin-treated mice than in untreated mice. When excised cecal tissues from the two groups of mice were exposed to the pathogens in vitro, the extent of the association of the pathogens was markedly greater with tissues from streptomycin-treated mice than with tissues from untreated mice. There was also a positive correlation between the numbers of the pathogens in the suspending fluid and the extent of the tissue associations. The population size of fusiform organisms, which are the major components of the mucus layer of the ceca of mice, was reduced 100-fold by streptomycin administration. This was determined by microscopic count. Sections of cecal tissue obtained from the mice and stained with hematoxylin and eosin demonstrated that streptomycin administration greatly decreased the number of fusiform bacteria present in the mucosal microbial layer. We speculate that the partial elimination of fusiform organisms from this layer by streptomycin administration provides available association sites for pathogens so that they can successfully colonize the mouse cecum.

Treatment of recurrent periodontal disease by root planing and Ornidazole (Tiberal). Clinical and microbiological findings.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of Ornidazole as an adjunct to root planing in the therapy of patients suffering from recurrent periodontal disease. In 10 individuals who had previously been treated with scaling, root planing and periodontal surgery and who had followed a regular maintenance program including recall visits every 3-5 months for 1-7 years, 2 sites with recurrent periodontitis and 1 shallow site were selected. Reinfected sites had a record of losing clinical attachment of more than 3 mm since the completion of initial therapy, were bleeding upon probing and had a mean pocket probing depth of 7.85 +/- 1.31 mm. They had been reinstrumented several times by a registered dental hygienist, when clinical signs of recurrence of disease had appeared and the root surfaces were judged to be smooth and free of deposits. Clinical parameters were recorded and microbial samples were collected twice prior to retreatment. Then, 500 mg Ornidazole, to be taken twice a day for 10 days, was administered, and the whole dentition was thoroughly scaled and root planed. At day 10 as well as 2, 5, 8 and 11 months thereafter, samples were again obtained. At baseline, reinfected sites showed over 20% spirochetes, over 20% motile rods and over 9% fusiform organisms in darkfield preparations of subgingival plaque samples. Culturally, over 1/10 of organisms were identified as black pigmenting Bacteroides and in 18% of all baseline samples collected, B. gingivalis was found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

'Normalization' of germfree mice with anaerobically cultured caecal flora of 'normal' mice.

Germfree (GF) mice were inoculated with a cultured flora from 10(-1), 10(-3), 10(-5), and 10(-7) dilutions of caecal contents from a 'normal' mouse. GF mice associated with a flora of a 'normal' mouse served as controls. The following intestinal parameters were determined: Colonization resistance (CR), Relative caecal weight (RCW), villus:crypt ratio (jejunum and ileum), IgA-producing cells (jejunum and ileum), beta-aspartyl glycine (faeces), volatile and non-volatile fatty acids (caecum) and bile acids (faeces). Only the 10(-1) culture was able to induce similar changes in the GF mice to a 'normal' flora. The GF + 10(-5) and GF + 10(-7) groups deviated markedly from the controls while the GF + 10(-3) group showed in general intermediate values between GF + SPF and GF + 10(-1) on the one hand and GF + 10(-5) and GF + 10(-7) on the other hand. beta-aspartyl glycine was present only in the GF + 10(-7) group. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of ileal contents revealed segmented filamentous organisms in the ileum of controls and the GF + 10(-1) group. The faecal flora consisted mainly of fusiform organisms. In the faeces of the 10(-5) and 10(-7) groups increasing amounts of non-bacterial matter were found, while in the faeces of the other groups virtually only bacteria were seen.

A Selective Medium for Counting Fusiform Organisms in Dental Specimens

A Selective Medium for Counting Fusiform Organisms in Dental Specimens

TREATMENT OF VINCENT'S ANGINA OF THE TONSIL

The great number of methods and combinations of drugs used by various clinicians in treatment of Vincent's angina indicates that none of them have proved entirely satisfactory. It is a common experience, whether infection is present in the gums or in the pharynx, to have these patients returning frequently over a long period of time. An apparent cure within a period of ten days is usually considered quite satisfactory, and even then, owing to frequent recurrences, the wise clinician avoids assuring his patient that he is completely cured. The fusiform organisms and spirochetes of Vincent's angina have many of the characteristics of a secondary invader. It is commonly believed that these organisms enter only into tissues weakened by some other cause. What this cause is has not definitely been determined, but there is some evidence that nutritive factors play a part. It is also possible that some associated infection may

Fusiform Organisms in the Mouth

Fusiform Organisms in the Mouth

Morphology and Growth of Fusiform Organisms

Morphology and Growth of Fusiform Organisms

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CRYPT CONTENT OF TONSILS OF MAN, PIG AND COW

In the crypts of the human tonsil, characteristic bodies, commonly called actinomyces-like granules, often occur. They are found, roughly, in about 30 per cent. of extirpated tonsils, and they probably appear at times in the crypts of all tonsils. They are small, nonadherent, grayish yellow, somewhat brittle, and foul smelling, and are often multiple and bilateral. On section they reveal a raylike arrangement of filaments, with peculiar brushlike structures at the margins. Smears indicate that they are made up of several varieties of organisms, the most conspicuous of which are coarse, unbranched filaments, coccal forms, fusiform organisms and many large spirochetes. Since descriptions of these bodies have already been published,1further details need not be given here. These bodies, because of their raylike character, have been mistaken for trueActinomyces. Their structure, however, is very different from the latter, and they are easily differentiated from it. In an examination