A LYMPHOCYTOPENIA PRODUCING FACTOR FROM NOCARDIA

1956 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Margaret Charles Johnson ◽  
Joan de Vries ◽  
J. W. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Chromatographic Analysis ◽  
Reducing Sugars ◽  
Chemical Nature ◽  
Active Principle ◽  
High Potency ◽  
Biochemical Tests ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Haematological Response ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Onic Acid

Nine strains of bacteria, isolated from the soil and provisionally classified as Nocardia, have been found to elicit a profound lymphocytopenia upon injection in heavy suspension into rabbits. Isolation of the haematologically active principle has been achieved by the tryptic digestion of whole cells, followed by centrifugation and prolonged dialysis of the supernatant fluid. The isolated material is of high potency, 1 mgm. producing in the rabbit a haematological response qualitatively identical to that obtained with whole cells and only slightly less in degree than that obtained with 100 mgm. of the lyophilized intact cells. On the basis of qualitative biochemical tests and paper chromatographic analysis, the active principle is believed to be a polysaccharide and was found to consist of reducing sugars and a non-reducing fraction, a "uronic" or "onic" acid, which gave the reactions characteristic of a sugar acid. The haematological activity and the chemical nature of the material suggests that this compound belongs to the large group of "pyrogenic" polysaccharides.

Characterization of squalene epoxidase activity from the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum and its inhibition by terbinafine and other antimycotic agents.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Favre ◽  
N S Ryder
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Trichophyton Rubrum ◽  
Side Chain ◽  
Ergosterol Biosynthesis ◽  
Squalene Epoxidase ◽  
High Potency ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Absolute Requirement ◽  
Tertiary Amino

Squalene epoxidase (SE) is the primary target of the allylamine antimycotic agents terbinafine and naftifine and also of the thiocarbamates. Although all of these drugs are employed primarily in dermatological therapy, SE from dermatophyte fungi has not been previously investigated. We report here the biochemical characterization of SE activity from Trichophyton rubrum and the effects of terbinafine and other inhibitors. Microsomal SE activity from T. rubrum was not dependent on soluble cytoplasmic factors but had an absolute requirement for NADPH or NADH and was stimulated by flavin adenine dinucleotide. Kinetic analyses revealed that under optimal conditions the Km for squalene was 13 microM and its Vmax was 0.71 nmol/h/mg of protein. Terbinafine was the most potent inhibitor tested, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15.8 nM. This inhibition was noncompetitive with regard to the substrate squalene. A structure-activity relationship study with some analogs of terbinafine indicated that the tertiary amino structure of terbinafine was crucial for its high potency, as well as the tert-alkyl side chain. Naftifine had a lower potency (IC50, 114.6 nM) than terbinafine. Inhibition was also demonstrated by the thiocarbamates tolciclate (IC50, 28.0 nM) and tolnaftate (IC50, 51.5 nM). Interestingly, the morpholine amorolfine also displayed a weak but significant effect (IC50, 30 microM). T. rubrum SE was only slightly more sensitive (approximately twofold) to terbinafine inhibition than was the Candida albicans enzyme. Therefore, this difference cannot fully explain the much higher susceptibility (> or = 100-fold) of dermatophytes than of yeasts to this drug. The sensitivity to terbinafine of ergosterol biosynthesis in whole cells of T. rubrum (IC50, 1.5 nM) is 10-fold higher than that of SE activity, suggesting that the drug accumulates in the fungus.

scholarly journals In Vitro and In Vivo Neutralization of the Relapsing Fever Agent Borrelia hermsii with Serotype-Specific Immunoglobulin M Antibodies

2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 1009-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Barbour ◽  
Virgilio Bundoc
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Antibody Response ◽  
Immunoglobulin M ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Relapsing Fever ◽  
Borrelia Hermsii ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Whole Cells

ABSTRACT The antigenic variation of the relapsing fever agent Borrelia hermsii is associated with changes in the expression of the Vlp and Vsp outer membrane lipoproteins. To investigate whether these serotype-defining proteins are the target of a neutralizing and protective antibody response, monoclonal antibodies were produced from spleens of infected mice just after clearance of serotype 7 cells from the blood. Two immunoglobulin M monoclonal antibodies, H7-7 and H7-12, were studied in detail. Both antibodies specifically agglutinated serotype 7 cells and inhibited their growth in vitro. Administered to mice before or after infection, both antibodies provided protection against infection or substantially reduced the number of spirochetes in the blood of mice after infection. Whereas antibody H7-12 bound to Vlp7 in Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunoprecipitation assays, as well as to whole cells in other immunoassays, antibody H7-7 only bound to wet, intact cells of serotype 7. Antibody H7-7 selected against cells expressing Vlp7 in vitro and in vivo, an indication that Vlp7 was a conformation-sensitive antigen for the antibody. Vaccination of mice with recombinant Vlp7 with adjuvant elicited antibodies that bound to fixed whole cells of serotype 7 and to Vlp7 in Western blots, but these antibodies did not inhibit the growth of serotype 7 in vitro and did not provide protection against an infectious challenge with serotype 7. The study established that a Vlp protein was the target of a neutralizing antibody response, and it also indicated that the conformation and/or the native topology of Vlp were important for eliciting that immunity.

INACTIVATION AND DEGRADATION OF PORCINE CALCITONIN BY RAT LIVER, AND RELATIVE STABILITY OF SALMON CALCITONIN

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. de LUISE ◽  
T. J. MARTIN ◽  
R. A. MELICK
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Rat Liver ◽  
Salmon Calcitonin ◽  
Trichloroacetic Acid ◽  
Maximal Activity ◽  
Active Principle ◽  
Rat Tissues ◽  
Prolonged Action ◽  
High Potency ◽  
Dose Dependent

SUMMARY Slices and homogenates of a number of rat tissues inactivated porcine calcitonin labelled with 125I; the most active tissue was the liver. Maximal activity was found in rat liver supernatant. The reaction was pH- and dose-dependent, the active principle was non-diffusible, inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate and EDTA, and destroyed by heat. Biological activity of calcitonin was lost parallel with the breakdown of the labelled calcitonin (as measured by loss of trichloroacetic acid precipitability). Salmon ultimobranchial calcitonin was much less susceptible to inactivation by rat liver supernatant than the porcine hormone, which may explain the high potency and prolonged action of the salmon hormone in the rat.

scholarly journals Granzyme B Short-Circuits the Need for Caspase 8 Activity during Granule-Mediated Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Killing by Directly Cleaving Bid

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 3781-3794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Barry ◽  
Jeffrey A. Heibein ◽  
Michael J. Pinkoski ◽  
Siow-Fong Lee ◽  
Richard W. Moyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fragmentation ◽  
Caspase 3 ◽  
Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte ◽  
Granzyme B ◽  
Serine Proteinase ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Caspase 8 ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Whole Cells

ABSTRACT Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can trigger an apoptotic signal through the Fas receptor or by the exocytosis of granzyme B and perforin. Caspase activation is an important component of both pathways. Granzyme B, a serine proteinase contained in granules, has been shown to proteolytically process and activate members of the caspase family in vitro. In order to gain an understanding of the contributions of caspases 8 and 3 during granule-induced apoptosis in intact cells, we have used target cells that either stably express the rabbitpox virus-encoded caspase inhibitor SPI-2 or are devoid of caspase 3. The overexpression of SPI-2 in target cells significantly inhibited DNA fragmentation, phosphatidylserine externalization, and mitochondrial disruption during Fas-mediated cell death. In contrast, SPI-2 expression in target cells provided no protection against granzyme-mediated apoptosis, mitochondrial collapse, or cytolysis, leading us to conclude that SPI-2-inhibited caspases are not an essential requirement for the granzyme pathway. Caspase 3-deficient MCF-7 cells were found to be resistant to CTL-mediated DNA fragmentation but not to CTL-mediated cytolysis and loss of the mitochondrial inner membrane potential. Furthermore, we demonstrate that granzyme B directly cleaves the proapoptotic molecule Bid, bypassing the need for caspase 8 activation of Bid. These results provide evidence for a two-pronged strategy for mediating target cell destruction and provide evidence of a direct link between granzyme B activity, Bid cleavage, and caspase 3 activation in whole cells.

Control of the beat cycle of respiratory tract cilia by Ca2+ and cAMP

1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (2) ◽  
pp. L232-L242 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. B. Lansley ◽  
M. J. Sanderson ◽  
E. R. Dirksen
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Beat Frequency ◽  
Ciliary Beat Frequency ◽  
Ciliated Cells ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Permeabilized Cells ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Phase Reduction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ciliary Beat

Beat frequency and the duration of the constituent recovery, effective, and rest phases of the beat cycle of respiratory tract cilia were measured photoelectronically before and after manipulation with ionomycin or isoproterenol. Both ionomycin, acting by increasing intracellular Ca2+, and isoproterenol, acting by elevating intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP), increased beat frequency by reducing the duration of the three phases of the ciliary beat cycle in a similar manner. The addition of increasing concentrations of ATP to ciliated cells permeabilized by exposure to saponin caused a pattern of phase reduction indistinguishable from that observed in whole cells. The beat frequency of permeabilized cells was slower than that of whole cells and insensitive to changes in Ca2+ and cAMP. Ca2+ and cAMP may regulate ciliary beat frequency by acting at a common site within intact cells, possibly regulating the rate at which the axoneme can use ATP or the availability of ATP to the axoneme.

THE INVERTASE OF THE CORN RADICLE AND ITS ACTIVITY IN SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF GROWTH

1962 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Hellebust ◽  
D. F. Forward
Keyword(s):  
Reducing Sugars ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Kinetic Studies ◽  
Invertase Activity ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
Ph Optimum ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Stages Of Growth ◽  
Growing Cell

Segments of the first 10 millimeters of corn radicle tips have been analyzed in terms of invertase activity, cell number, fresh and dry weights, and sugar content. Invertase activity per cell increased 40-fold as the meristematic cell advanced to the stage of most rapid elongation, and again subsided as the cell ceased to elongate and entered the stage of maturation. In the growing cell, the concentration of sucrose remained low while that of reducing sugars increased fivefold.The corn radicle invertase was found to be a β-fructofuranosidase with a Km of 0.006 M and a pH optimum of 4.6. Kinetic studies indicate that there is no change in the nature of the corn radicle invertase during cell growth. Equivalent activities of intact cells or segments and homogenates is consistent with the assumption that the enzyme is located outside the permeability barrier of the cells.

scholarly journals Knockdown of the Type 3 Iodothyronine Deiodinase (D3) Interacting Protein Peroxiredoxin 3 Decreases D3-Mediated Deiodination in Intact Cells

Endocrinology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (11) ◽  
pp. 5171-5180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goele Aerts ◽  
Rafael Arrojo e Drigo ◽  
Stijn L. J. Van Herck ◽  
Eva Sammels ◽  
Delphine Mirebeau-Prunier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Yellow Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Resonance Energy ◽  
Iodothyronine Deiodinase ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Hek 293 ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Type 3 ◽  
Peroxiredoxin 3

The type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase (D3) is the primary deiodinase that inactivates thyroid hormone. Immunoprecipitation of D3, followed by fluorescent two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, identified peroxiredoxin 3 (Prx3) as a D3-associated protein. This interaction was confirmed using reverse coimmunoprecipitation, in which pull-down of Prx3 resulted in D3 isolation, and by fluorescence resonance energy transfer between cyan fluorescent protein-D3 and yellow fluorescent protein-Prx3. Prx3 overexpression did not change D3 activity in transfected HEK 293 cells; however, Prx3 knockdown resulted in a 50% decrease in D3-mediated whole-cell deiodination. Notably, D3 activity of cell lysates with dithiothreitol as an exogenous reducing factor and D3 protein levels were not decreased with Prx3 knockdown, indicating that the observed reduction in whole-cell deiodination was not simply due to a decrease in D3 enzyme levels. Prx3 knockdown did not change D3’s affinity for T3 because saturation of D3-mediated whole-cell deiodination occurred between 20 and 200 nm T3 both with and without Prx3. Furthermore, the decrease in D3 activity in whole cells was not attributable to nonspecific oxidative stress because pretreatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine did not reverse the effects of Prx3 knockdown. Thioredoxin, the cofactor needed for Prx3 regeneration, supported D3 microsomal activity; however, Prx3 knockdown did not change D3 activity in this system. In conclusion, knockdown of Prx3 decreases D3 activity in whole cells, whereas absolute levels of D3 are unchanged, consistent with Prx3 playing a rate-limiting role in the regeneration of the D3 enzyme.

scholarly journals The effects of Ca2+ and Sr2+ on Ca2+-sensitive biochemical changes in human erythrocytes and their membranes

1981 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Allan ◽  
P Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Human Erythrocytes ◽  
Biochemical Changes ◽  
Intracellular Concentration ◽  
Ionophore A23187 ◽  
Erythrocyte Ghosts ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Whole Cells

1. The Ca2+-dependency of K+ efflux, microvesiculation and breakdown of polyphosphoinositides and of ankyrin have been measured in intact human erythrocytes exposed to ionophore A23187 and HEDTA [N'-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine NNN'-triacetate]-Ca2+ buffers. Half-maximal responses were observed at pCa values of 6.4, 4.1, 5.0 and 4.8 respectively. 2. The Ca2+ dependencies of K+ efflux and breakdown of polyphosphoinositides and ankyrin measured in erythrocyte ghosts without addition of ionophore showed almost identical values with those seen in whole cells treated with ionophore. 3. We conclude that ionophore A23187 is able to cause rapid equilibration of extracellular and intracellular [Ca2+] in intact cells and that in the presence of a suitable Ca2+ buffer, ionophore A23187 can be used to precisely fix the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ in erythrocytes. 4. The relatively high concentration of Ca2+ required to produce microvesiculation in intact cells may indicate that microvesiculation could be at least partly dependent on a direct interaction of Ca2+ with phospholipid. 5. Results obtained with Sr2+ paralleled those with Ca2+, although higher Sr2+ concentrations were required to achieve the same effects as Ca2+. Mg2+ produced none of the changes seen with Ca2+ or Sr2+.

scholarly journals Deuterium Solid State NMR Studies of Intact Bacteria Treated With Antimicrobial Peptides

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Booth
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Solid State Nmr ◽  
Model Membranes ◽  
Nmr Studies ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
H Nmr ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Lipid Mixtures

Solid state NMR has been tremendously useful in characterizing the structure and dynamics of model membranes composed of simple lipid mixtures. Model lipid studies employing solid state NMR have included important work revealing how membrane bilayer structure and dynamics are affected by molecules such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, solid state NMR need not be applied only to model membranes, but can also be used with living, intact cells. NMR of whole cells holds promise for helping resolve some unsolved mysteries about how bacteria interact with AMPs. This mini-review will focus on recent studies using 2H NMR to study how treatment with AMPs affect membranes in intact bacteria.

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