Effect of alkylresorcin on biological membranes during activation of lipid peroxidation

The effect of alkyl resorcin isolated from the cells of Azotobacter chroococcum and of its structural analog devoid of the alkyl chain (resorcin) on liver microsomes and brain synaptosomes of the rat as well as on rabbit skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments during activation of lipid peroxidation was studied. Alkyl resorcin was shown to produce a much more potent antioxidant effect as compared with resorcin, since it inhibited lipid peroxidation in all the three types of membranes under study at much lower concentrations. Both alkyl resorcin and resorcin which inhibit lipid peroxidation prevented lipid peroxidation-induced structural-functional damages of synaptosomal and sarcoplasmic reticulum fragment membranes. Unlike resorcin, alkyl resorcin exerted an additional effect on brain synaptosomal membranes which consisted in the stabilization of barrier functions of membranes during incomplete inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The cumulative data suggest that stabilization necessitates the presence of both resorcin radical and alkyl chain in the alkyl resorcin molecule.     

A new role for PGRP-S (Tag7) in immune defense: lymphocyte migration is induced by a chemoattractant complex of Tag7 with Mts1

PGRP-S (Tag7) is an innate immunity protein involved in the antimicrobial defense systems, both in insects and in mammals. We have previously shown that Tag7 specifically interacts with several proteins, including Hsp70 and the calcium binding protein S100A4 (Mts1), providing a number of novel cellular functions. Here we show that Tag7–Mts1 complex causes chemotactic migration of lymphocytes, with NK cells being a preferred target. Cells of either innate immunity (neutrophils and monocytes) or acquired immunity (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes) can produce this complex, which confirms the close connection between components of the 2 branches of immune response.     

Interaction of ATP with sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase; effect on the conformational state of the enzyme

It was studied how temperature influences the NBD-Cl inactivation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase and the protective effect of ATP under conditions preventing ATP hydrolysis. Two types of ATP-binding sites with Kd equal to 30 and 220 microM at 37 degrees C were found. ADP interacts with these sites with the (K'd = 20 and 200 microM). The temperature decrease from 25 degrees to 5 degrees C induces the abrupt increase in the Kd for the low affinity site. The possible reasons for heterogeneity of ATP-binding sites are discussed. The conclusion is made that interaction of monomers in oligomeric complex of Ca2+-ATPase induces heterogeneity of ATP-binding sites.     

S-nitrosoglutathione-induced toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster: Delayed pupation and induced mild oxidative/nitrosative stress in eclosed flies

The toxicity of the nitric oxide donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was tested on the Drosophila melanogaster model system. Fly larvae were raised on food supplemented with GSNO at concentrations of 1.0, 1.5 or 4.0 mM. Food supplementation with GSNO caused a developmental delay in the flies. Biochemical analyses of oxidative stress markers and activities of antioxidant and associated enzymes were carried out on 2-day-old flies that emerged from control larvae and larvae fed on food supplemented with GSNO. Larval exposure to GSNO resulted in lower activities of aconitase in both sexes and also lower activities of catalase and isocitrate dehydrogenase in adult males relative to the control cohort. Larval treatment with GSNO resulted in higher carbonyl protein content and higher activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in males and higher activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione-S-transferase in both sexes. Among the parameters tested, aconitase activity and developmental end points may be useful early indicators of toxicity caused by GSNO.     

OXIDIZED LIPIDS DID NOT REDUCE LIFESPAN IN THE FRUIT FLY,Drosophila melanogaster

Aging is often associated with accumulation of oxidative damage in proteins and lipids. However, some studies do not support this view, raising the question of whether high levels of oxidative damage are associated with lifespan. In the current investigation, Drosophila melanogaster flies were kept on diets with 2 or 10% of either glucose or fructose. The lifespan, fecundity, and feeding as well as amounts of protein carbonyls (PC) and lipid peroxides (LOOH), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase activity of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) were measured in “young” (10‐day old) and “aged” (50‐day old) flies. Flies maintained on diets with 10% carbohydrate lived longer than those on the 2% diets. However, neither lifespan nor fecundity was affected by the type of carbohydrate. The amount of PC was unaffected by diet and age, whereas flies fed on diets with 10% carbohydrate had about fivefold higher amounts of LOOH compared to flies maintained on the 2% carbohydrate diets. Catalase activity was significantly lower in flies fed on diets with 10% carbohydrates compared to flies on 2% carbohydrate diets. The activities of SOD, GST, and TrxR were not affected by the diet or age of the flies. The higher levels of LOOH in flies maintained on 10% carbohydrate did not reduce their lifespan, from which we infer that oxidative damage to only one class of biomolecules, particularly lipids, is not sufficient to influence lifespan.     

pH-dependency of Escherichia coli catalase activity under modified culture conditions

In the previous work we have found two peaks of catalase activity at acid and neutral pH in partially destroyed bacteria E. coli K12 KS400. The present study indicates that catalase activity with two pH-optimums is sensitive to pH of cultivation medium. The relative catalase activity of frozen-thawed bacteria preparations measured at pH 3.5 increased two-fold and activity measured at pH 7.0 didn't change by shift of medium pH from value 5.5 to 7.0. In analogical preparations of bacteria grown in slightly alkaline media activity with acid maximum was not observed, but activity with neutral maximum rose to 130% in comparison with the intact cells was revealed. Two peaks of activity differed in their sensitivity to bacteria destruction, heating, inhibition by NaN3 and AMT, oxidative stress. The analysis of recent literature information and experimental data leads us to conclude that the activity with neutral pH-optimum consists of two known catalase forms HPI and HPII in E. coli. The ratio of HPI and HPII is 70 and 30%, respectively what was concluded from inhibition of catalase activity with neutral pH-optimum by AMT. Properties of catalase activity with acid pH-optimum didn't corresponding to any known enzyme forms. It is suggested the activity measured at pH 3.5 is results of some unstable activator which acts in acid pH range. It is possible that the described activity with acid pH-optimum is specific for the used E. coli strain. Investigation of another strain of E. coli K12 AB1157 confirmed this idea where the activity peak with acid pH-optimum was not detected.     

Oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses in goldfish Carassius auratus during anoxia and reoxygenation

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the response of the antioxidant system of goldfish Carassius auratus during anoxia and reoxygenation. The exposure of goldfish to 8 h of anoxia induced a 14% decrease in total glutathione levels in the kidney, although the liver, brain, and muscle were unaffected. Anoxia also resulted in increases in the activities of liver catalase, brain glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and brain glutathione peroxidase (by 38, 26, and 79%, respectively) and a decrease in kidney catalase activity (by 17.5%). After 14 h of reoxygenation, liver catalase and brain glutathione peroxidase activities remained higher than controls and several other tissue-specific changes occurred in enzyme activities. Superoxide dismutase activity was unaffected by anoxia and reoxygenation. The levels of conjugated dienes, as indicators of lipid peroxidation, increased by 114% in liver after 1 h of reoxygenation and by 75% in brain after 14 h of reoxygenation. Lipid peroxidation was unaffected in kidney and depressed during anoxia and reoxygenation (by 44-61%) in muscle. Regulation of the goldfish antioxidant system during anoxia may constitute a biochemical mechanism that minimizes oxidative stress following reoxygenation.     

Ciona intestinalis NADH dehydrogenase NDX confers stress-resistance and extended lifespan on Drosophila

An assembled cDNA coding for the putative single-subunit NADH dehydrogenase (NDX) of Ciona intestinalis was introduced into Drosophila melanogaster. The encoded protein was found to localize to mitochondria and to confer rotenone-insensitive substrate oxidation in organello. Transgenic flies exhibited increased resistance to menadione, starvation and temperature stress, and manifested a sex and diet-dependent increase in mean lifespan of 20–50%. However, NDX was able only weakly to complement the phenotypes produced by the knockdown of complex I subunits.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis> inhibits <Emphasis Type="Italic">in-vitro Candida</Emphasis> biofilm development

Background  

Elucidation of the communal behavior of microbes in mixed species biofilms may have a major impact on understanding infectious diseases and for the therapeutics. Although, the structure and the properties of monospecies biofilms and their role in disease have been extensively studied during the last decade, the interactions within mixed biofilms consisting of bacteria and fungi such as Candida spp. have not been illustrated in depth. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the interspecies interactions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and six different species of Candida comprising C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. dubliniensis in dual species biofilm development.