Effects of three strains of bifidobacteria on cholesterol

To determine the validity of the hypothesis of assimilation or precipitation of cholesterol by Bifidobacterium species, resting cell assays and cultures were undertaken in TPY medium containing oxgall. With resting cell assays (pH 5), cholesterol was precipitated and redissolved in phosphate buffer (pH 7). At the end of the cultures, only part of the removed cholesterol from the culture medium was found in the phosphate buffer, while the missing cholesterol was in cell extracts. It appeared that removal of cholesterol during culturing was not solely due to its precipitation. It is concluded that growing bifidobacteria cells are able to remove cholesterol both by precipitation and assimilation.     

Bile salt hydrolase and cholesterol removal effect by Bifidobacterium bifidum NRRL 1976

Summary Growing cells of Bifidobacterum bifidum NRRL 1976 exhibited an ability to remove cholesterol in the presence of bile salts. The cholesterol removal by Bifidobacterium bifidum was due to a co-precipitation together with unconjugated bile acids, which was linked to the bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity of the cells at pH values lower than 5.0 and the cholesterol removed was partially recovered when the cells were washed with phosphate buffer at pH 7, while the remaining cholesterol was extracted from the cells. It is concluded that the removal of cholesterol from the growth medium by Bifidobacterium bifidum strain is due to both bacterial assimilation and precipitation of cholesterol.     

Involvement of Trihydroxyconjugated Bile Salts in Cholesterol Assimilation by Bifidobacteria

To determine the conditions of cholesterol assimilation, various strains of Bifidobacterium species were cultured in the presence of cholesterol and bile salts. During culturing, Bifidobacterium breve ATCC 15700 assimilates cholesterol in the presence of oxgall at pH values lower than 6. This strain was selected to study the influence of conjugated (taurocholic acid) and deconjugated (cholic acid) bile salts on cholesterol assimilation. B. breve ATCC 15700 assimilated cholesterol (up to 51%) when cultures were undertaken in the presence of taurocholic acid, whereas less than 13% of the initial amount of cholesterol was measured in the cells in the presence of cholic acid. Cultured in the presence of six individual di- or trihydroxyconjugated bile salts, bifidobacteria strains assimilated cholesterol. This assimilation appeared to be more important in the presence of trihydroxyconjugated bile salts (tauro- and glycocholic acids). It is concluded that trihydroxyconjugated bile salts are involved in the assimilation of cholesterol by bifidobacteria. Received: 20 June 1996 / Accepted: 19 July 1996     

Purification of 120-Kilodalton Phytochrome from Oryza Sativa L

The procedures of Grimm and Rüdiger for the purification of 120 kDa phytochrome from oat seedlings were modified to isolate native phytochrome from etiolated rice (Oryza sativa L. subsp, japonica var. nongken 58) seedlings. Approximately l kg of 6d old seedlings (the first 2 days at 33℃, the last 4 days at 27 ℃ in darkness) were frozen in liquid nitrogen and then homogenized in a modified Waring blendor with an extraction buffer, at final pH 8.45 (4 ℃). After polyethylenimine precipitation, phytochrome in extract was converted to Pfr by irradiation of the resulting supernatant for 10 min with red light. The step of ammonium sulfate precipitation was followed by resuspending of resultant pellet in buffer B with the ratio of 10 ml per phytochrome unit. The pellet precipitated with ammonium sulfate at 42% saturation from combined phytochrome cont ning fractions after hydroxyapatite chromatography was washed with 10 mmol/l phosphate buffer in 0.8 ml instead of 0.65 ml per phytochrome unit. Then it was washed successively with 200 mmol/l and 100 mmol/1 phosphate buffer (0.85 ml per phytochrome unit). Native phytochrome (120 kDa) in 12% yield was dissolved in 2 mmol/l EHPES buffer (2.2 ml per phytochrome unit, pH 7.8, containing 5 mmol/l EDTA and 14 mmol/l 2-mercaptoethanol) was proved to be pure in SDS- polyacrylamide electrophoresis and showed typical absorption spectrum as that of native oat phytochrome.     

Effect of esterastin, an acid lipase inhibitor, on the free and esterified cholesterol contents of cultured aortic smooth muscle cells treated with LDL and cholesterol ester liquid crystals

The effects of esterastin, an acid lipase inhibitor, on the free and esterified cholesterol contents of cultured smooth muscle cells from pig aorta were examined. The post-nuclear supernatant fraction of the cell homogenate showed maximum acid cholesterol esterase activity at pH 4.5, and 50% of this activity was inhibited by 0.31 microM esterastin. During a 48 h incubation with esterastin, the esterified cholesterol content of the cells increased to about 13 times that of control cells in the presence of low density lipoprotein and to 7 times that of control cells in the presence of cholesterol oleate liquid crystals. The ratio of esterified to free cholesterol also increased to about 5 times the control value in both conditions.     

Influence of pH and length of post-treatment incubation on bleomycin-induced DNA damage

The dependence of the extent of DNA damage by anticancer bleomycin on pH and length of post-treatment incubation was studied in yeast. Bleomycin was always removed from cells after 20-min exposures, and cells were washed prior to incubation in non-nutrient buffer. Following exposures of late stationary-phase cells to the very low dose of only 3 micrograms/ml, 1.5 h incubation in non-nutrient buffer, pH 5, had hardly any effect on profiles derived from alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation of nucleic acids released from spheroplasts. In contrast, after incubation of cells for 1.5 h in buffer, pH 7, DNA was all low molecular weight. Thus, even after extensive washing of cells, pH strongly influences the drug's action on DNA. At pH 5, washed cells were increasingly susceptible to DNA damage up to 26 h in non-nutrient buffer.     

The assumed assimilation of cholesterol by Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium bifidum is due to their bile salt-deconjugating activity.

To study the mechanism of the propsed assimilation of cholesterol, we cultured various strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and a Bifidobacterium sp. in the presence of cholesterol and oxgall. During culturing, both cholesterol and bile salts were precipitated. Because of bacterial bile salt deconjugation, no conjugated bile salts were observed in either the culture fluids or the pellets. During incubation, the cell count and optical density decreased. The degree of precipitation of bile salts and of cholesterol was dependent on the culture conditions. If L. acidophilus RP32 was cultured under acidifying conditions, the degree of precipitation of deconjugated bile salts was higher than if the pH was maintained at 6.0. Under acidifying conditions, cholesterol was coprecipitated with the bile salts, whereas in pH-controlled cultures, no coprecipitation of cholesterol was observed. From control experiments with different mixtures of bile salts, it appeared that coprecipitation of cholesterol during culturing was a result of formation of deconjugated bile salts, which have a decreased solubility at pH values lower than 6.0. It is concluded that the removal of cholesterol from the culture medium by L. acidophilus RP32 and other species is not due to bacterial uptake of cholesterol, but results from bacterial bile salt-deconjugating activity.     

Effects of Lactobacillus amylovorus and Bifidobacterium breve on cholesterol

To determine the validity of the hypothesis of assimilation and/or precipitation of cholesterol by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, culture were undertaken in TPY medium containing oxgall or taurocholic acid. In the case of growing cells, both strains were able to remove cholesterol in the presence of bile salts. Nevertheless, the behaviour was different according to the kind of bile salt. In the presence of taurocholic acid, the removal of cholesterol was due to both bacterial uptake and precipitation. In the presence of Oxgall, bacterial uptake and precipitation were observed for Lactobacillus but only precipitation occurred for Bifidobacterium.     

Effect of potassium ions on the attachment of polyribosomes to the membranes in lysates of exponential-phase cells of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens

1. The distribution of ribosomal components between the soluble and membrane fractions of a preparation of exponential-phase cells of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens lysed with lysozyme in 0.05m-tris buffer, pH7.6, containing 0.01m-Mg(2+), was strongly influenced by the addition of K(+) to the buffer, in the range 0-0.1m. 2. In the absence of K(+), 37% of the ribosomal material was bound to the membrane and was not removed by repeated washing with the lysing buffer. The amount of bound material was progressively decreased on increasing the K(+) concentration to 0.1m, when only 5% of ribosomal components remained attached to the membrane. 3. About 87% of the material that remained bound to the washed membranes prepared in the absence of added K(+) was removed on suspension of the membranes in a buffer containing 0.1m-potassium chloride. 4. In the absence of K(+), washed membranes, containing no detectable ribosomal material, were able to re-attach no more than half as much material as was found associated with membranes in the same buffer immediately after lysis. 5. There was no evidence of binding of specific components to the membrane. 6. In the presence of 0.05m-tris buffer, pH7.6, maximum incorporation of amino acids into protein by B. amyloliquefaciens polyribosomes is effected in the presence of 0.01m-Mg(2+) and 0.07-0.1m-K(+), under which conditions less than 10% of the ribosomal material of a cell lysate would be membrane-bound.     

The production of extracellular thermostable neutral proteinase and α-amylase byBacillus stearothermophilus

Summary Extracellular thermostable neutral proteinase was produced byBacillus stearothermophilus strains NCIB 8924 and NRRL B-3880 growing at 55°C. The formation and stabilization of this proteinase was found to be dependent on the concentration of free calcium ions. Therefore, procedures that removed free calcium ions from the medium, such as the use of phosphate buffer, resulted in a lower production of proteinase. The calcium-deficient proteinase was denaturated or adsorbed by calcium phosphate compounds. During the sterilization procedure of the culture medium, the CaCO₃ precipitation, caused by the removal of CO₂, influenced the amount of proteinase produced in a phosphate buffered medium made with tap water. An improved medium without phosphate buffer was used for 10 and 300 l batch cultivations and the calcium requirement for proteinase formation by the two strains was determined.     

Suitability of the enzyme treatment and ammonium sulfate precipitation method for detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin from different foods

Summary An enzyme treatment and ammonium sulfate precipitation procedure was adapted to the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin from high-protein foods. The enterotoxin is extracted from food with distilled water, after which soluble proteins are acid-precipitated (pH 4.5) and the supernatant washed with chloroform (pH 7.5). The extract is then treated with trypsin andPseudomonas peptidase for 2 h at +37°C. Residual unhydrolyzed material is precipitated with 60% ammonium sulfate for 15 min at +4°C. The precipitate is redissolved in phosphate buffer and concentrated by dialysis against polyethyleneglycol. The concentrate is washed with chloroform and lyophilized. The dry material is dissolved in 0.2 ml distilled water and enterotoxin detected by the micro-slide method with 24 h incubation at +37°C. Using this method, it has been possible within three days to detect 0.2–1.0 g staphylococcal enterotoxin A added to minced meat, dry sausage, smoked fish, cheese and milk.     

Rapid Method for Direct Extraction of mRNA from Seeded Soils

A protocol for direct extraction of mRNA from soil samples was developed. Soil samples (10 g) were washed twice with 120 mM phosphate buffer (pH 5.2). The lysis of cells, fixation of RNA, and hydrolysis of DNA were achieved by vigorously shaking the washed soil in a 4 M guanidine thiocyanate solution containing 25 mM sodium citrate, 0.5% sarcosyl, and 0.1 M 2-mercaptoethanol. The pH of the homogenized mixture was adjusted with 2 M sodium acetate (pH 4.0); the mRNA was then extracted with phenol and chloroform. Total RNA was precipitated with isopropanol. This method extracts up to 17 μg of total RNA per g (wet weight) of soil containing 8.0 × 10⁸ cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PU21, and mRNA has been detected in 160-ng total RNA fractions. This method has been used for the detection of mRNA transcribed from specific biodegradative genes, including the nah and mer operons, in contaminated soils. This extraction method can be completed within a few hours and has tremendous potential for ecological studies of in situ gene expression among soil microbiotas.     

The stoicheiometry of the absorption of protons with phosphate and L-glutamate by yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces.

1. A study was made of the pH changes occurring when 0.1-4 mumol of glutamate, phosphate and certain phosphate esters was added at about pH 4.8 to washed cell preparations (50 mg dry wt.) of strains of Saccharomyces. The system also contained deoxyglucose and antimycin to inhibit energy metabolism and so prevent proton ejection from the yeast. 2. A strain of Sacc. carlsbergensis was grown in a chemostat with a limiting supply of phosphate in order to enhance the subsequent rate of phosphate transfer into the yeast. These preparations absorbed 0.2 mumol of phosphate with about 3 equiv. of protons/mol of phosphate. The charge balance was maintained by the efflux of 2 equiv. of K-+ from the yeast. 3. Larger amounts of phosphate were absorbed with fewer proton equivalents. 4. Arsenate and phosphate caused similar pH changes. 5. Glucose 6-phosphate, ATP and certain order phosphate esters each initiated a rise in pH, possibly because hydrolytic extracellular enzymes released phosphate that was subsequently absorbed. 6. Four strains of yeast were grown with glutamate as principal source of nitrogen. Each absorbed extra protons in the presence of L-glutamate. 7. One of them, a strain of Sacc. cerevisiae, absorbed 0.2 mumol of glutamate with 3equiv. of protons/mol of glutamate, and in these circumstances 1-2 equiv. of K-+ left the yeast cells. 8. The role of ionic gradients in the transport of these anions is discussed.     

The capacity of growing algal cells to affect the pH and the buffering properties of the medium

Supernatants from cultures of green high-temperature algae,Chlorella 7-11-05 and Stichococcus 6-17-35, were used to obtaintitration curves and to calculate buffer indexes (ß).It was generally observed that the peak of buffering activityin growing cultures shifted to the pH characteristic of thepK of the newly generated buffer(s). Depending on the experimentalconditions and the age of the culture, the buffering capacityat its peak increased up to 4–5 times of the value forthe original medium. Buffering capacity of algal cells was demonstratedfor both strains grown in the media originally buffered eitherwith phosphate or with Tris and for cultures of different agesincluding those of the young synchronized cells. The capacityof growing cells to drastically affect the pH and/or the bufferingcharacteristics of the medium indicates that the role of thebuffer originally employed in a particular medium may oftenextend for a relatively short period of time after which thebuffer system(s) produced by the cells play a more importantpart. (Received May 18, 1971; )     

Anaerobic 109Cd accumulation by cadmium-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus aureus

Washed cells of the cadmium-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus 17810S accumulated 109Cd under anaerobic conditions via the Mn2+ porter down delta psi in 1 or 100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7; in washed cells of the cadmium-resistant S. aureus 17810R 109Cd accumulation was highly reduced. Nigericin did not stimulate anaerobic Cd2+ accumulation by strain 17810R in 100 mM phosphate buffer, suggesting that delta psi could energize Cd2+ efflux. In 1 mM phosphate buffer nigericin restored Cd2+ accumulation via the Mn2+ porter down delta psi in strain 17810R, indicating involvement of delta pH in Cd2+ extrusion. Increase of phosphate buffer concentration from 1 to 100 mM and addition of energy source at steady-state caused delta psi-dependent Cd2+ efflux from the nigericin-pretreated cells of strain 17810R. This suggests that the Cd2+ efflux system in S. aureus may require energy of both ATP and delta mu H+.     

The effects of Lactobacillus-fermented milk on lipid metabolism in hamsters fed on high-cholesterol diet

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of local Lactobacillus strains (NTU 101 and 102) on cholesterol-lowering effects in vivo. Thirty male hamsters were housed, divided into five groups, and fed on a cholesterol diet (5 g/kg diet) to induce hypercholesterolemia. Milk fermented by Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei NTU 101, Lactobacillus plantarum NTU 102, and Lactobacillus acidophilus BCRC 17010 was administrated for this study. After treatment with different fermented milk, blood was taken and liver was removed for the determination of lipoproteins, including total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride. Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria decreased (10⁵) in the control group; when hamsters were fed on fermented milk, the number of lactobacilli (10⁷–10⁸) and bifidobacteria (10⁵–10⁷) was increased. Serum and liver total cholesterol levels were significantly reduced by about 26.4, 23.5, and 30.1% and by about 17.7, 15.9, and 13.4% when hamsters were given fermented milk. However, serum HDL-C and LDL-C were also reduced. The results of this study showed that the hypocholesterolemic effect of local Lactobacillus strains was attributed to its ability to lower serum and liver total cholesterol levels. Thus, local Lactobacillus strains could significantly increase probiotic count.     

Purification and properties of Streptococcus lactis beta-galactosidase

beta-Galactosidase of Streptococcus lactis 7962 was partially purified, and its properties were studied. Enzyme from only this strain of numerous lactic streptococci tested was stable in cell exudates prepared by various means. Cell-free extracts of the 7962 strain were prepared by sonic treatment of washed cells previously grown in presence of lactose to fully induce enzyme synthesis. Protamine sulfate precipitation of the nucleic acids and ammonium sulfate precipitation of protein were used for partial purification of the enzyme. The resulting enzyme, when resuspended in cold (5 C) phosphate buffer, was extremely labile. However, ammonium sulfate in high concentrations (0.85 m) stabilized and stimulated beta-galactosidase activity. Sephadex G-200 gel filtration was used to achieve further purification and to monitor homogeneity of the enzyme. Separation of the beta-galactosidase in buffer at 5 C yielded an enzyme elution pattern showing two peaks of activity. However, addition of the enzyme solution in 0.85 m ammonium sulfate to the column equilibrated with the same salt concentration yielded only one peak of enzyme activity. The data suggested that the native enzyme was dissociating into active subunits which were stabilized in the presence of the ammonium sulfate.     

Dissection and Bulk Staining of Wool Follicles from Biopsies of Sheep Skin

Skin biopsies from sheep were fixed 2 hr in Carnoy's fluid, washed well in absolute alcohol and brought to distilled water through descending grades of alcohol. The specimens were then soaked 0.5 hr in M/15 phosphate buffer, pH 7.3, and digested at 33° C, first about 18 hr in 0.15% collagenase dissolved in pH 7.3 phosphate buffer, then washed, and finally in an equal-parts mixture of crude saliva and phosphate buffer (pH 7.3) to which 1 mg/ml ribonuclease was added. Enzymes were obtained from L. Light and Company. Staining of the washed, enzyme-treated tissue in bulk by the periodic acid-Schiff method gave differential staining of the wool follicle papilla, and separation of indvidual follicles by dissection was readily accomplished. Routine handling of large numbers of intact wool follicles is facilitated by this method.     

Sterilization of soybean cotyledons by boiling in lactic acid solution

F. RUÍZ-TERÁN AND J.D. OWENS. 1996. The effect of pH on the heat resistance of Bacillus stearothermophilus spores at 100°C in the presence of 0.11 mol 1^-1 lactic acid and 0.2 mol 1^-1 sodium phosphate buffer was examined. At pH values of 7.0 and 6.0 spores survived 60 min exposure unharmed but at pH 4.3 and 3.0 they died with decimal reduction times (DRTs) of 27 min and 2.8 min, respectively. Death rates were similar in the presence or absence of hydrated soybean cotyledons. In the presence of phosphate buffer and cotyledons at mean pH 3.6 the DRT was 118 min but in the presence, in addition, of lactic acid it was 11 min. It is suggested that the enhanced death rate was due to toxic effects of undissociated lactic acid. Rhizopus oligosporus NRRL 2710 grew well on cotyledons, having pH values from 7.0 to 3.7, prepared by boiling for 60 min in the presence of 0.11 mol 1^-1 lactic acid and 0.2 mol 1^-1 phosphate buffer.     

Extracellular phosphate requirement for insulin action on isolated rat hepatocytes

Isolated rat hepatocytes were prepared in KHB buffer, pH 7.4; were centrifuged and washed twice in KHB buffer containing various amounts of phosphate and calcium; and were incubated at 30 degrees in the presence of tracer [2,3-14C]succinate and a 0.5 mM concentration of each of the 20 natural amino acids. Hepatocytes washed and incubated in KHB buffer containing less than 0.1 mM phosphate failed to show any insulin stimulation of [2,3-14C]succinate oxidation or protein incorporation of tracer carbons. The absence or presence of extracellular phosphate did not alter the specific activity of 32P-adenine nucleotides; they remained the same in the presence or absence of insulin. The maximal insulin stimulatory effect on succinate oxidation and tracer incorporation into protein was observed in the presence of 1.18 mM phosphate and 1.9 mM calcium ion. The lack of external phosphate did not prevent the stimulation of succinate oxidation by either glucagon on epinephrine, whereas removal of calcium from the medium abolished their hormonal effects. The lack of medium calcium also prevented the insulin stimulation of succinate oxidation and protein synthesis. Our data indicate that a diminished insulin responsiveness in hypophosphatemic patients may be due to the insensitivity of mitochondria to insulin in the hypophosphatemic state.