Dina Moustafa

Emory University | EU · Department of Pediatrics

There are currently no approved vaccines against the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among vaccine targets, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen of P. aeruginosa is the most immunodominant protective candidate. There are twenty different O antigens composed of different repeat sugars structures conferring serogroup specificity, and...

The ability to switch between different lifestyles allows bacterial pathogens to thrive in diverse ecological niches1,2. However, a molecular understanding of their lifestyle changes within the human host is lacking. Here, by directly examining bacterial gene expression in human-derived samples, we discover a gene that orchestrates the transition b...

Laboratory models are critical to basic and translational microbiology research. Models serve multiple purposes, from providing tractable systems to study cell biology to allowing the investigation of inaccessible clinical and environmental ecosystems. Although there is a recognized need for improved model systems, there is a gap in rational approa...

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes antibiotic-resistant, nosocomial infections in immuno-compromised individuals and is a high priority for antimicrobial development. Key to pathogenicity in P. aeruginosa are biofilm formation and virulence factor production. Both traits are controlled by the cell-to-cell communication process...

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes antibiotic resistant, nosocomial infections in immuno-compromised individuals, and is a high priority for antimicrobial development. Key to pathogenicity in P. aeruginosa are biofilm formation and virulence factor production. Both traits are controlled by the cell-to-cell communication proces...

Lung infections caused by Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and co-infections caused by S. aureus and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa are challenging to treat, especially with the rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant strains of these pathogens. Bacteriophage (phage) are bacteria-specific viruses that can infect and lyse bacteria, provi...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a wide-spread γ-proteobacterium that produces the biosurfactant rhamnolipid that has a great commercial value due to excellent properties of low toxicity and high biodegradability. However, this bacterium is an opportunist pathogen that constitutes an important health hazard due to its production of virulence-associated tr...

Most antimicrobials currently in the clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are considered short-term solutions due to the emergence of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents a major challenge for new antimicrobial drug discovery due to its versatile lifestyle, ability to develop resistance to most antibio...

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To survive in both the environment and in the host, P. aeruginosa must cope with redox stress. In P. aeruginosa , a primary mechanism for protection from redox stress is the antioxidant glutathione (GSH). GSH is a low molecular weight thiol-co...

Significance The human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and, moreover, is resistant to commonly used antibiotics. P. aeruginosa uses the cell-to-cell communication process called quorum sensing (QS) to control virulence. QS relies on production and response to extracellular signaling molecules cal...

Author summary Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication process that bacteria use to coordinate group behaviors. QS is essential for virulence and biofilm formation in many bacteria including the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa has high clinical relevance because it has acquired resistance to commonly used antibiotic...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a highly virulent, multidrug-resistant pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients and is particularly devastating in patients with cystic fibrosis. Increasing antibiotic resistance coupled with decreasing numbers of antibiotics in the developmental pipeline demands novel antibacterial...

Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei are the etiologic agents of melioidosis and glanders, respectively. These bacteria are highly infectious via the respiratory route and can cause severe and often fatal diseases in humans and animals. Both species are considered potential agents of biological warfare; they are classified as category...

Human brucellosis, a zoonotic disease of major public health concern in several developing countries, is primarily caused by Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, and Brucella suis. No brucellosis vaccine is available for human use. The aim of this study was to determine if Brucella neotomae, a bacterium not known to cause disease in any host, can...

Brucella neotomae is not known to be associated with clinical disease in any host species. Previous research suggested that B. neotomae might not express detectable levels of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD), a periplasmic enzyme known to be involved in protecting Brucella from oxidative bactericidal effects of host phagocytes. This study was under...

This report describes the resistance of 537 Salmonella typhi isolates identified in Egypt between 1990-1994. Results indicated a high isolation rate for multiple resistant S. typhi (> 71% of isolates collected in 1992-93), particularly to the three standard drug regimens of the clinically relevant antibiotics; ampicillin, chloramphenicol and trimet...

Members of genus Brucella are the causative agent of brucellosis, one of the major public health concerns in several developing countries. The disease has been described as one of the world’s most widespread zoonotic infections. There are six well-recognized and four recently identified species in Brucella genus. B. melitensis , B. suis and B. abor...