A CYTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF REDUCTIVE SITES IN A GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIUM : Tellurite Reduction in Proteus vulgaris

In order to obtain information on the exact location of the respiratory enzyme chain in Gram-negative bacteria, an electron microscopic study was made of the sites of reducing activity of cells that had, in the living state, incorporated tellurite. In the test object Proteus vulgaris, the reduced tellurite was found to be deposited in bodies contiguous with the plasma membrane but different in structure from those described in the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis (2). In fact, the bodies proved to consist of a conglomerate of elements which contained the strongly electron-scattering reduced tellurite and a delicately granular "matrix." A limiting membrane was not observed around these complexes. In serial sections details of the complexes are illustrated. Reduced tellurite was not deposited in the plasma membrane to any important degree. Since no other sites of deposition of the reduced product were revealed, it is assumed that the complexes represent the mitochondrial equivalents in the investigated organism. In addition, the bodies might function as the basal granules of the flagella.     

Functions of cytochrome c in regulation of electron transfer and protein folding.

Cytochrome c, a "mobile electron carrier" of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, also occurs in detectable amounts in the cytosol, and can receive electrons from cytochromes present in endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membranes as well as from superoxide and ascorbate. The pigment was found to dissociate from mitochondrial membranes in liver and kidney when rats were subjected to heat exposure and starvation, respectively. Treating cytochrome c with hydroxylamine gives a partially deaminated product with altered redox properties; decreased stimulation of respiration by deficient mitochondria, increased reduction by superoxide, and complete loss of reducibility by plasma membranes. Mitochondria isolated from brown adipose tissue of cold-exposed rats are found to be sub-saturated with cytochrome c. The ability of cytochrome c to reactivate reduced ribonuclease is now reinterpreted as a molecular chaperone role for the hemoprotein.     

Blue Light-Reducible Cytochromes in Membrane Fractions from Neurospora crassa

We have assayed absorbance changes generated by blue light in plasma membranes, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondrial membranes from Neurospora crassa. Light minus dark difference spectra, obtained anaerobically in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetate, indicated that b-type cytochromes could be photoreduced in all three membranes. In plasma membranes, a b-type cytochrome with a distinct difference spectrum was photoreducible without addition of exogenous flavin. Addition of riboflavin greatly stimulated the photoreduction of cytochromes in endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial membranes. In its spectral characteristics the cytochrome on the endoplasmic reticulum resembled cytochrome b₅ or nitrate reductase, while the cytochrome in mitochondrial membranes had the same spectrum as cytochrome b of the mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Cytochromes in the three membrane fractions reacted differently to blue light in the presence of various inhibitors. Potassium azide inhibited reduction of plasma membrane cytochrome b, with 50% inhibition at 1.0 millimolar. The same concentration of azide stimulated photoreduction of cytochromes in both endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Although photoreduction of cytochromes in all three membranes was inhibited by salicylhydroxamic acid, cytochromes in plasma membranes were more sensitive to this inhibitor than those in endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Cells grown to induce nitrate reductase activity showed an elevated amount of blue light-reducible cytochrome b in the endoplasmic reticulum.

     

Identification of the initial binding sites of alphas2-casein f(183-207) and effect on bacterial membranes and cell morphology

The aim of this work was to identify the initial binding sites to the bacterial membranes of the antimicrobial peptide alphas2-casein f(183-207) and also to acquire further insight into membrane permeabilization of this peptide. Furthermore, cell morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy. In all the experiments, bovine LFcin was employed as a comparison. Results showed that initial binding sites of alphas2-casein f(183-207) peptide were lipoteichoic acid in Gram-positive bacteria and lipopolysaccharide in Gram-negative. The peptide was able to permeabilize the outer and inner membranes. Moreover, the alphas2-casein peptide f(183-207) generated pores in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and in the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria. In the Gram-negative bacteria, f(183-207) originated cytoplasm condensation, and in the Gram-positive bacteria the cytoplasmic content leaked into the extracellular medium. Furthermore, the experiments of inner and outer membrane permeabilization performed with LFcin-B showed that this peptide also has the ability to permeabilize both the inner and outer membranes.     

NONDROPLET ULTRASTRUCTURAL DEMONSTRATION OF CYTOCHROME OXIDASE ACTIVITY WITH A POLYMERIZING OSMIOPHILIC REAGENT, DIAMINOBENZIDINE (DAB)

A new method for demonstrating cytochrome oxidase activity, based upon the oxidative polymerization of 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) to an osmiophilic reaction product, has improved the localization of this enzyme over methods based upon the Nadi reaction, in both the light and electron microscopes. The reaction product occurs in nondroplet form, which more accurately delineates the localization of cytochrome oxidase in mitochondria of heart, liver, and kidney. In electron microscopic preparations the excess reaction product is found to overflow into the intracristate spaces and into the outer compartment between inner and outer limiting mitochondrial membranes. This finding suggests that the enzymatic activity of cytochrome c is located on the inner surface of the intracristate space which is the outer surface of the inner mitochondrial membrane. Succinic dehydrogenase activity has also been located at this site by using an osmiophilic ditetrazolium salt, TC-NBT. Considered together, the sites of reactivity of both parts of the respiratory chain have implications for the chemiosomotic hypothesis of Mitchell who suggests a mechanism of energy conservation during electron transport in the respiratory chain of the mitochondrion.     

The reduction of Alamar Blue by peripheral blood lymphocytes and isolated mitochondria

Alamar Blue is a widely used nontoxic indicator of cell proliferative activity, which penetrates quickly through the biological membranes and can be easily reduced by intracellular enzymes. Accumulation of reduced fluorescent form of Alamar Blue during short-term culture of human peripheral blood lymphocytes may be used as a cell viability test since it was prevented by disruption of plasma membrane by digitonin. The inhibition of Alamar Blue reduction by NaN3 indicates that its metabolism is associated with mitochondrial activity. A compaative study of Alamar Blue reduction and oxygen consumption on isolated rat liver mitochondria shows, that the Alamar Blue reduction is not associated with the activity of specific complex of respiratory chain and it seems to be an integral indicator of oxidation-reduction activity of respiratory chain components.     

Identification of the initial binding sites of αs2-casein f(183-207) and effect on bacterial membranes and cell morphology

The aim of this work was to identify the initial binding sites to the bacterial membranes of the antimicrobial peptide α_s2-casein f(183-207) and also to acquire further insight into membrane permeabilization of this peptide. Furthermore, cell morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy. In all the experiments, bovine LFcin was employed as a comparison. Results showed that initial binding sites of α_s2-casein f(183-207) peptide were lipoteichoic acid in Gram-positive bacteria and lipopolysaccharide in Gram-negative. The peptide was able to permeabilize the outer and inner membranes. Moreover, the α_s2-casein peptide f(183-207) generated pores in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and in the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria. In the Gram-negative bacteria, f(183-207) originated cytoplasm condensation, and in the Gram-positive bacteria the cytoplasmic content leaked into the extracellular medium. Furthermore, the experiments of inner and outer membrane permeabilization performed with LFcin-B showed that this peptide also has the ability to permeabilize both the inner and outer membranes.     

Mitochondria recycle nitrite back to the bioregulator nitric monoxide

Nitric monoxide (NO) exerts a great variety of physiological functions. L-Arginine supplies amino groups which are transformed to NO in various NO-synthase-active isoenzyme complexes. NO-synthesis is stimulated under various conditions increasing the tissue of stable NO-metabolites. The major oxidation product found is nitrite. Elevated nitrite levels were reported to exist in a variety of diseases including HIV, reperfusion injury and hypovolemic shock. Denitrifying bacteria such as Paracoccus denitrificans have a membrane bound set of cytochromes (cyt cd1, cyt bc) which were shown to be involved in nitrite reduction activities. Mammalian mitochondria have similar cytochromes which form part of the respiratory chain. Like in bacteria quinols are used as reductants of these types of cytochromes. The observation of one-e- divergence from this redox-couple to external dioxygen made us to study whether this site of the respiratory chain may also recycle nitrite back to its bioactive form NO. Thus, the aim of the present study was therefore to confirm the existence of a reductive pathway which reestablishes the existence of the bioregulator NO from its main metabolite NO2-. Our results show that respiring mitochondria readily reduce added nitrite to NO which was made visible by nitrosylation of deoxyhemoglobin. The adduct gives characteristic triplet-ESR-signals. Using inhibitors of the respiratory chain for chemical sequestration of respiratory segments we were able to identify the site where nitrite is reduced. The results confirm the ubiquinone/cyt be1 couple as the reductant site where nitrite is recycled. The high affinity of NO to the heme-iron of cytochrome oxidase will result in an impairment of mitochondrial energy-production. "Nitrite tolerance" of angina pectoris patients using NO-donors may be explained in that way.     

Dual Electron Microscopic Localization of Mitochondrial Creatine Kinase in Brain Mitochondria

Mitochondrial creatine kinase in brain mitochondria appears to be located at two different intramitochondrial sites. By using immunogold-labeling techniques, a peripheral immunoreactivity was localized between the two boundary membranes, while an additional, central immunoreactivity was found at the crista surface. The peripheral enzyme was accessible to the antibodies after treatment of the brain mitochondria with 100-300 μg digitonin/mg mitochondrial protein, which left 75% of the activity bound to the membranes. Electron microscopic analyses revealed that 43% of the labeled, peripheral creatine kinase was bound at those places where outer membrane vesicles remained attached to the inner envelope membrane, suggesting that the enzyme is in involved in contact formation between outer and inner mitochondrial membranes. Postembedding staining of mitochondria on thin sections of brain tissue or in the isolated state led to the observation of a second location of creatine kinase inside the mitochondria, along the cristae, which was not accessible to the antibodies in isolated, digitonin-treated mitochondria.     

A Product of Heme Catabolism Modulates Bacterial Function and Survival

Bilirubin is the terminal metabolite in heme catabolism in mammals. After deposition into bile, bilirubin is released in large quantities into the mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We hypothesized that intestinal bilirubin may modulate the function of enteric bacteria. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of bilirubin on two enteric pathogens; enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), a Gram-negative that causes life-threatening intestinal infections, and E. faecalis, a Gram-positive human commensal bacterium known to be an opportunistic pathogen with broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance. We demonstrate that bilirubin can protect EHEC from exogenous and host-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) through the absorption of free radicals. In contrast, E. faecalis was highly susceptible to bilirubin, which causes significant membrane disruption and uncoupling of respiratory metabolism in this bacterium. Interestingly, similar results were observed for other Gram-positive bacteria, including B. cereus and S. aureus. A model is proposed whereby bilirubin places distinct selective pressure on enteric bacteria, with Gram-negative bacteria being protected from ROS (positive outcome) and Gram-positive bacteria being susceptible to membrane disruption (negative outcome). This work suggests bilirubin has differential but biologically relevant effects on bacteria and justifies additional efforts to determine the role of this neglected waste catabolite in disease processes, including animal models.     

Biochemical and ultrastructural properties of osmotically lysed rat-liver mitochondria

Isolated rat-liver mitochondria were osmotically lysed by suspension and washing 3 times in cold, distilled water. Pellets obtained by centrifugation at 105,000 g for 30 min were resuspended, fixed with glutaraldehyde and OsO₄, and embedded in Epon 812. Thin sections show the presence of two distinct membranous populations, each of which is relatively homogeneous in size and appearance. Swollen mitochondria (∼1.5 µ in diameter), which have been stripped of their outer membranes, are largely devoid of matrix and normal matrix granules and are referred to as "ghosts." The smaller (0.2 to 0.4 µ in diameter), empty appearing, vesicular elements, derived primarily from the outer mitochondrial membrane, can be differentiated from the ghosts on the basis of their smaller size and complete absence of internal structures, especially cristae. Each membranous element is enclosed by a single, continuous membrane; the "double membrane" organization typical of intact mitochondria is not observed. These findings indicate that the outer membrane of rat-liver mitochondria is spatially dissociated from the inner mitochondrial membrane by osmotic lysis of the mitochondria in distilled water. Three parameters of structural and functional significance in freshly isolated rat-liver mitochondria have been correlated with the structural alterations observed: (a) chemical composition (total protein, lipid phosphate and total phosphate), (b) specific and total activities of marker enzymes for mitochondrial matrix and membranes (malate dehydrogenase (MDH), D-β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH) and cytochromes), and (c) integrated multienzyme functions (respiration, phosphorylation, and contraction). The data presented indicate that all mitochondrial membranes are completely conserved in the crude ghost preparation and that, in addition, about ⅓ of the matrix proteins (estimated by assays for MDH activity and protein) are retained. The study of integrated mitochondrial functions shows that a number of physiologically important multienzyme activities also are preserved in the water-washed preparation. The respiratory rate of ghosts per milligram of protein is 1.5 to 2.0 times that of intact mitochondria, which shows that the respiratory chain in the ghosts is functionally intact. The rate of phosphorylation is reduced, however, to about 25% of that measured in freshly isolated mitochondria and accounts for lowered P:O ratios using succinate as substrate (P:O ranges from 0.4 to 0.9). The phosphorylation of ADP to ATP is the only biochemical function, so far investigated, that is greatly affected by osmotic lysis. In addition, two lines of evidence suggest that the ghosts undergo an energy-dependent transformation resulting in contraction: (a) suspensions of the crude ghost preparation in 0.02 M Tris-0.125 M KCl medium show a marked increase in optical density upon the addition of ATP, and (b) ghost preparations incubated in ion-uptake medium in the absence of added calcium but in the presence of added ATP contain a large number of highly condensed ghosts (about 50% of the total profiles) when viewed as thin sections in the electron microscope. The correlated biochemical and morphological study presented here shows that the outer membrane of rat-liver mitochondria can be removed by controlled osmotic lysis without greatly impairing a number of integrated biochemical functions associated with the inner membrane.     

Electron Microscopy of Peripheral Nerves and Neuromuscular Junctions in the Wasp Leg

The peripheral nerve branch innervating the femoral muscles of the common yellow jacket (Vespula carolina) has been found to possess a thick lemnoblast basement membrane and a complex mesaxon. The term "tunicated nerve" is proposed to designate the type of peripheral nerve in which one or several axons are loosely mantled by meandering, cytoplasm-enclosing membranes of the lemnoblast. The peripheral axon courses longitudinally in a groove in the muscle fiber between the plasma membrane of the muscle fiber and a cap formed by lemnoblast and tracheoblast. The junction is characterized by apposition of plasma membranes of axon and muscle fiber, abundant mitochondria, and synaptic vesicles in the axon, and aggregates of "aposynaptic granules" plus mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum on the muscle side of the synapse. Unlike the vertebrate striated muscle fiber, no complex infolding of the synapsing plasma membrane of the muscle fiber occurs. The "connecting tissue" of the insect is formed by tracheoblasts, their basement membranes, and the basement membranes of other cells. Further mechanical support is given by the ramifying tracheoles. The physiologic roles of the specialized structures are considered.     

Bacteria May Cope Differently from Similar Membrane Damage Caused by the Australian Tree Frog Antimicrobial Peptide Maculatin 1.1

Maculatin 1.1 (Mac1) is an antimicrobial peptide from the skin of Australian tree frogs and is known to possess selectivity toward Gram-positive bacteria. Although Mac1 has membrane disrupting activity, it is not known how Mac1 selectively targets Gram-positive over Gram-negative bacteria. The interaction of Mac1 with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and human red blood cells (hRBC) and with their mimetic model membranes is here reported. The peptide showed a 16-fold greater growth inhibition activity against S. aureus (4 μm) than against E. coli (64 μm) and an intermediate cytotoxicity against hRBC (30 μm). Surprisingly, Sytox Green uptake monitored by flow cytometry showed that Mac1 compromised both bacterial membranes with similar efficiency at ∼20-fold lower concentration than the reported minimum inhibition concentration against S. aureus. Mac1 also reduced the negative potential of S. aureus and E. coli membrane with similar efficacy. Furthermore, liposomes mimicking the cell membrane of S. aureus (POPG/TOCL) and E. coli (POPE/POPG) were lysed at similar concentrations, whereas hRBC-like vesicles (POPC/SM/Chol) remained mostly intact in the presence of Mac1. Remarkably, when POPG/TOCL and POPE/POPG liposomes were co-incubated, Mac1 did not induce leakage from POPE/POPG liposomes, suggesting a preference toward POPG/TOCL membranes that was supported by surface plasma resonance assays. Interestingly, circular dichroism spectroscopy showed a similar helical conformation in the presence of the anionic liposomes but not the hRBC mimics. Overall, the study showed that Mac1 disrupts bacterial membranes in a similar fashion before cell death events and would preferentially target S. aureus over E. coli or hRBC membranes.     

Oligopolyphenylenevinylene-Conjugated Oligoelectrolyte Membrane Insertion Molecules Selectively Disrupt Cell Envelopes of Gram-Positive Bacteria

The modification of microbial membranes to achieve biotechnological strain improvement with exogenous small molecules, such as oligopolyphenylenevinylene-conjugated oligoelectrolyte (OPV-COE) membrane insertion molecules (MIMs), is an emerging biotechnological field. Little is known about the interactions of OPV-COEs with their target, the bacterial envelope. We studied the toxicity of three previously reported OPV-COEs with a selection of Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms and demonstrated that Gram-positive bacteria are more sensitive to OPV-COEs than Gram-negative bacteria. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that these MIMs disrupt microbial membranes and that this occurred to a much greater degree in Gram-positive organisms. We used a number of mutants to probe the nature of MIM interactions with the microbial envelope but were unable to align the membrane perturbation effects of these compounds to previously reported membrane disruption mechanisms of, for example, cationic antimicrobial peptides. Instead, the data support the notion that OPV-COEs disrupt microbial membranes through a suspected interaction with diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), a major component of Gram-positive membranes. The integrity of model membranes containing elevated amounts of DPG was disrupted to a greater extent by MIMs than those prepared from Escherichia coli total lipid extracts alone.     

In vitro antibacterial activity and antifungal mode of action of flocculosin, a membrane-active cellobiose lipid

Aims:  To investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity and antifungal mode of action of flocculosin, a cellobiose lipid produced by Pseudozyma flocculosa .
Methods and Results:  When tested against clinical bacterial isolates, the compound was particularly active against Gram-positive bacteria and its effect was not mitigated against isolates known as resistant to other antibiotics. The antifungal activity of flocculosin was found to be rapid and concentration-dependent. At lethal concentrations against Candida albicans , flocculosin caused a rapid leakage of intracellular potassium and inhibited acidification of the medium by plasma membrane ATPases suggesting a physical rather than a biochemical effect. TEM observations of cells exposed 6 h to flocculosin revealed disrupted membranes and disorganized mitochondria.
Conclusions:  Data obtained in this study confirm that flocculosin acts by disrupting the membrane surface of sensitive micro-organisms.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  The elucidation of an antifungal mode of action of flocculosin can be exploited in furthering its antimicrobial potential against fungi and bacteria whose cell membranes are particularly sensitive to the action of the molecule.     

Aminoglycoside binding sites in the cochlea as revealed by neomycin-gold labelling

Summary Neomycin/bovine serum albumin/gold was used as a probe to detect the binding sites of aminoglycosides on the thin sections of the cochlea embedded in Spurr. The binding sites were mainly located on the stereocilia, the cuticular plate of hair cells, the head plates of Deiters' cells, fibrous structures in pillar cells, in the spiral limbus and tectorial membrane and basilar membrane, plasma membranes, mitochondria and the chromatin of various kinds of cells. Triphosphoinositide, acidic glycosaminoglycans, and RNA were considered to be responsible for the binding activity.     

Aminoglycoside binding sites in the cochlea as revealed by neomycin-gold labelling

Neomycin/bovine serum albumin/gold was used as a probe to detect the binding sites of aminoglycosides on the thin sections of the cochlea embedded in Spurr. The binding sites were mainly located on the stereocilia, the cuticular plate of hair cells, the head plates of Deiters' cells, fibrous structures in pillar cells, in the spiral limbus and tectorial membrane and basilar membrane, plasma membranes, mitochondria and the chromatin of various kinds of cells. Triphosphoinositide, acidic glycosaminoglycans, and RNA were considered to be responsible for the binding activity.     

Membrane protein degradation by AAA proteases in mitochondria

The inner membrane of mitochondria is one of the protein's richest cellular membranes. The biogenesis of the respiratory chain and ATP-synthase complexes present in this membrane is an intricate process requiring the coordinated function of various membrane-bound proteins including protein translocases and assembly factors. It is therefore not surprising that a distinct quality control system is present in this membrane that selectively removes nonassembled polypeptides and prevents their possibly deleterious accumulation in the membrane. The key components of this system are two AAA proteases, membrane-embedded ATP-dependent proteolytic complexes, which expose their catalytic sites at opposite membrane surfaces. Other components include the prohibitin complex with apparently chaperone-like properties and a regulatory function during proteolysis and a recently identified ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter that exports peptides derived from the degradation of membrane proteins from the matrix to the intermembrane space. All of these components are highly conserved during evolution and appear to be ubiquitously present in mitochondria of eukaryotic cells, indicating important cellular functions. This review will summarize our current understanding of this proteolytic system and, in particular, focus on the mechanisms guiding the degradation of membrane proteins by AAA proteases.     

The characteristic region of arenicin-1 involved with a bacterial membrane targeting mechanism

The antimicrobial peptide arenicin-1 consists of two antiparallel β-sheets linked by a hydrophilic β-turn. To determine the role of a specific region found in a particular β-sheet structure of the peptide for antibacterial activity, two analogs with N-terminal deletions (RW) and substitutions of Arg to Ala in the β-turn region were designed. In the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test, the antibacterial activities of the analogs were reduced for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, when compared to arenicin-1. The influence of the decrease in hydrophobicity on the antibacterial activity was confirmed by a hemolytic assay. Through flow cytometric analysis using propidium iodide (PI) and a 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) assay, it was confirmed that the analogs decreased the degree of plasma membrane permeability compared to arenicin-1. In particular, analog 2 showed a lower permeability in Gram-negative bacteria than in Gram-positive bacteria. The results indicate that a reduction in the net charge weakened the electrostatic interactions between the peptides and the negatively charged membranes. In liposomes, which mimic bacterial membranes, due to a reduced binding affinity to the membranes, the analogs could not deeply penetrate into the hydrocarbon region and induce enough fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FD) leakage compared to that of arenicin-1. It is thought that the Arg residue in the hydrophilic β-turn region is more important to antibacterial activity than the Arg residue in the N-terminal region. This study suggests that the Arg and Trp residues in the N-terminal region and the Arg residue in the β-turn region of arenicin-1 play a key role in antibacterial activity.     

Effect of cyanide on mitochondrial membrane depolarization induced by uncouplers

In this work, it was found that the ability of common uncouplers – carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone (FCCP) and 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) – to reduce membrane potential of isolated rat liver mitochondria was diminished in the presence of millimolar concentrations of the known cytochrome c oxidase inhibitor – cyanide. In the experiments, mitochondria were energized by addition of ATP in the presence of rotenone, inhibiting oxidation of endogenous substrates via respiratory complex I. Cyanide also reduced the uncoupling effect of FCCP and DNP on mitochondria energized by succinate in the presence of ferricyanide. Importantly, cyanide did not alter the protonophoric activity of FCCP and DNP in artificial bilayer lipid membranes. The causes of the effect of cyanide on the efficiency of protonophoric uncouplers in mitochondria are considered in the framework of the suggestion that conformational changes of membrane proteins could affect the state of lipids in their vicinity. In particular, changes in local microviscosity and vacuum permittivity could change the efficiency of protonophore-mediated translocation.