scholarly journals Superoxide Dismutase: A Key Enzyme for the Survival of Intracellular Pathogens in Host

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radheshyam Maurya ◽  
Madhulika Namdeo

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a crucial enzyme required to maintain the redox potential of the cells. It plays a vital role in protecting normal cells from reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during many intracellular pathogens infections. SOD removes excess superoxide radicals (O2−) by converting them to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and molecular oxygen (O2). Several superoxide dismutase enzymes have been identified based on the metal ion as a cofactor. Human SOD differs from the intracellular pathogens in having Cu/Zn and Mn as metal cofactors. However, SOD of intracellular pathogens such as Trypanosoma, Leishmania, Plasmodium, and Mycobacterium have iron (Fe) as metal cofactors. Iron Superoxide Dismutase (FeSOD) is an essential enzyme in these pathogens that neutralizes the free radical of oxygen (O−) and prevents the formation of Peroxynitrite anion (ONOO−), helping the pathogens escape from redox-based cytotoxic killing. Moreover, most intracellular bacteria hold MnSOD or FeSOD in their cytoplasm such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus, whereas periplasm of some pathogenic bacteria and fungi are also cofactors with Cu/Zn and identified as CuZnSOD. This chapter will review the various types SOD present in intracellular pathogens and their role in the survival of these pathogens inside their host niche.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-162
Author(s):  
Shveta Acharya ◽  
Arun Kumar Sharma

Background: The metal ions play a vital role in a large number of widely differing biological processes. Some of these processes are quite specific in their metal ion requirements. In that only certain metal ions, in specific oxidation states, can full fill the necessary catalytic or structural requirement, while other processes are much less specific. Objective: In this paper we report the binding of Mn (II), Ni (II) and Co (II) with albumin are reported employing spectrophotometric and pH metric method. In order to distinguish between ionic and colloidal linking, the binding of metal by using pH metric and viscometric methods and the result are discussed in terms of electrovalent and coordinate bonding. Methods: The binding of Ni+2, Co+2 and Mn+2 ions have been studied with egg protein at different pH values and temperatures by the spectrometric technique. Results: The binding data were found to be pH and temperature dependent. The intrinsic association constants (k) and the number of binding sites (n) were calculated from Scatchard plots and found to be at the maximum at lower pH and at lower temperatures. Therefore, a lower temperature and lower pH offered more sites in the protein molecule for interaction with these metal ions. Statistical effects seem to be more significant at lower Ni+2, Co+2 and Mn+2 ions concentrations, while at higher concentrations electrostatic effects and heterogeneity of sites are more significant. Conclusion: The pH metric as well as viscometric data provided sufficient evidence about the linking of cobalt, nickel and manganese ions with the nitrogen groups of albumin. From the nature and height of curves in the three cases it may be concluded that nickel ions bound strongly while the cobalt ions bound weakly.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 809
Author(s):  
Sen Wang ◽  
Wanyu Liu ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Haotian Sun ◽  
Yali Qian ◽  
...  

Microorganisms existing in airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have key implications in biogeochemical cycling and human health. In this study, PM2.5 samples, collected in the typical basin cities of Xi’an and Linfen, China, were analyzed through high-throughput sequencing to understand microbial seasonal variation characteristics and ecological functions. For bacteria, the highest richness and diversity were identified in autumn. The bacterial phyla were dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. Metabolism was the most abundant pathway, with the highest relative abundance found in autumn. Pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Serratia, and Delftia) were positively correlated with most disease-related pathways. Besides, C cycling dominated in spring and summer, while N cycling dominated in autumn and winter. The relative abundance of S cycling was highest during winter in Linfen. For fungi, the highest richness was found in summer. Basidiomycota and Ascomycota mainly constituted the fungal phyla. Moreover, temperature (T) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Xi’an, and T, SO2, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Linfen were the key factors affecting microbial community structures, which were associated with different pollution characteristics in Xi’an and Linfen. Overall, these results provide an important reference for the research into airborne microbial seasonal variations, along with their ecological functions and health impacts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Yitayal S. Anteneh ◽  
Qi Yang ◽  
Melissa H. Brown ◽  
Christopher M. M. Franco

The misuse and overuse of antibiotics have led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms, which decreases the chance of treating those infected with existing antibiotics. This resistance calls for the search of new antimicrobials from prolific producers of novel natural products including marine sponges. Many of the novel active compounds reported from sponges have originated from their microbial symbionts. Therefore, this study aims to screen for bioactive metabolites from bacteria isolated from sponges. Twelve sponge samples were collected from South Australian marine environments and grown on seven isolation media under four incubation conditions; a total of 1234 bacterial isolates were obtained. Of these, 169 bacteria were tested in media optimized for production of antimicrobial metabolites and screened against eleven human pathogens. Seventy bacteria were found to be active against at least one test bacterial or fungal pathogen, while 37% of the tested bacteria showed activity against Staphylococcus aureus including methicillin-resistant strains and antifungal activity was produced by 21% the isolates. A potential novel active compound was purified possessing inhibitory activity against S. aureus. Using 16S rRNA, the strain was identified as Streptomyces sp. Our study highlights that the marine sponges of South Australia are a rich source of abundant and diverse bacteria producing metabolites with antimicrobial activities against human pathogenic bacteria and fungi.


Author(s):  
Revathi Nagarajan ◽  
Karthe Ponnuraj

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is an essential enzyme involved in glycolysis. Despite lacking the secretory signal sequence, this cytosolic enzyme has been found localized at the surface of several bacteria and fungi. As a surface protein, GAPDH exhibits various adhesive functions, thereby facilitating colonization and invasion of host tissues.Streptococcus agalactiae, also known as group B streptococcus (GBS), binds onto the host using its surface adhesins and causes sepsis and pneumonia in neonates. GAPDH is one of the surface adhesins of GBS binding to human plasminogen and is a virulent factor associated with host colonization. Although the surface-associated GAPDH has been shown to bind to a variety of host extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in various bacteria, the molecular mechanism underlying their interaction is not fully understood. To investigate this, structural studies on GAPDH ofS. agalactiaewere initiated. ThegapCgene ofS. agalactiaeNEM316 encoding GAPDH protein was cloned into pET-28a vector, overexpressed inEscherichia coliBL21(DE3) cells and purified to homogeneity. The purified protein was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The GAPDH crystals obtained in two different crystallization conditions diffracted to 2.8 and 2.6 Å resolution, belonging to two different space groupsP21andP212121, respectively. The structure was solved by molecular replacement and structure refinement is now in progress.


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