Effect of Chlorphenesin on Localized Hemolysis in Gel Assay

Chlorphenesin, a simple glycerol ether, when added to Jerne plates greatly reduced the number of hemolytic plaques. This effect appeared to be related to dose, and was clearly demonstrable with antibody-forming spleen cells from mice that had been immunized either with sheep red blood cells or with penicillin G conjugated with Keyhole limpet hemocyanin. Chlorphenesin did not affect the antigen, destroy complement, or interfere with the interaction of complement and the antigen-antibody complexes. Incubation of spleen cell suspensions with chlorphenesin prior to plating was more effective in reducing the number of plaques than was addition of the substance to the plates. It may act by reducing the ability of antibodies to react with antigens or by affecting the release of antibodies from the spleen cells.     

The Effect of Phlebotomy-Induced Hemolysis on Insulin Level Determination

Objective: To examine the effect of phlebotomy-induced hemolysis on serum insulin and C-peptide measurement by an immunochemiluminometric assay.Methods: As part of a study designed to evaluate β-cell function in a group of adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, we tested insulin and C-peptide levels in 1,048 samples. In order to evaluate the effect of phlebotomy-induced hemolysis, we determined insulin and C-peptide levels simultaneously in hemolyzed and nonhemolyzed samples.Results: Forty-seven (4.5%) of the 1,048 samples were affected by hemolysis. In 26 cases, we had paired hemolyzed and nonhemolyzed serum samples that allowed a simultaneous comparison. We found that all degrees of hemolysis led to a significant decrease in insulin level. In hemolyzed serum, the median (interquartile range) of the insulin was 5.6 (1.8 to 24.3) mIU/L, versus 21.3 (11.4 to 48.5) mIU/L in nonhemolyzed serum, representing a 25 to 98% loss. This phenomenon was not found for C-peptide levels.Conclusion: Clinicians have to be aware that even a mild degree of phlebotomy-induced hemolysis has a significant effect on serum insulin level determination, which can lead to misinterpretation of test results. This finding has important implications, especially in the evaluation of suspected cases of hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia.Abbreviation: ICMA = immunochemiluminometric assay     

Effect of Cholesterol Content on Gramicidin S-Induced Hemolysis of Erythrocytes

Gramicidin S (GS) is a cyclo-decapeptide antibiotic with wide Gram+ and Gram− antimicrobial spectrum. However, its therapeutic application is very limited due to hemolytic activity of GS. The presence of cholesterol defines one of the most significant differences between eukaryotic plasma membranes and bacterial inner membranes. To find out the cholesterol effect on the GS hemolytic efficiency we compared GS-induced hemolysis of erythrocytes extracted from the blood of healthy donors against donors with atherosclerosis, “naturally” enriched with cholesterol. Our results show that increased cholesterol levels significantly attenuates yet does not abolishes the GS hemolytic activity. High levels of cholesterol content in erythrocyte membranes results in a decrease in the membrane fluidity and deformability leading to a decrease in the rate of GS interaction with membranes. The results obtained confirm that hydrophobic as well as electrostatic interactions must be involved in the binding of GS to cell membranes. Lipid peroxidation occurring within atherosclerotic erythrocytes leads to considerable decrease in the degree of GS-induced erythrocyte hemolysis in vitro. These results can be applied to the rational design of GS analogs with increased antibacterial efficiency but reduced hemolytic activity.     

氟化物对酒精发酵生产的影响

ＮａＦ是ＥＭＰ途径的抑制剂,然而,目前酒精发酵生产中却用以提高出酒率,这与酒精发酵机理是矛盾的。通过实验研究,分析比较ＮａＦ对酵母菌酒精发酵,革兰氏阳性菌（乳酸杆菌）和阴性菌（醋酸杆菌）代谢活动的影响,加入ＮａＦ对发酵液中钙,镁离子浓度的改变,结果发现钙,镁离子浓度与酒精发酵密切相关,生产上,ＮａＦ之所以能改善酵母菌的酒精发酵,主要是降低了水的硬度。ＮａＦ的用量应以水的硬度而定。过量ＮａＦ对酵母菌     

Effect of Dyes on Bacterial Growth

A rapid screening procedure was used to test the effect of 42 dyes on growth of 30 bacteria on solid media. The results indicated that many readily available dyes might have potential application for selective isolation of specific bacterial groups as well as value in differentiating between closely related bacterial taxa. Separation of Enterobacter from Escherichia, Salmonella from Shigella, and Staphylococcus from Micrococcus by selected dyes was also evaluated.     

Pentanol and Benzyl Alcohol Attack Bacterial Surface Structures Differently

The genus Methylobacterium tolerates hygiene agents like benzalkonium chloride (BAC), and infection with this organism is an important public health issue. Here, we found that the combination of BAC with particular alcohols at nonlethal concentrations in terms of their solitary uses significantly reduced bacterial viability after only 5 min of exposure. Among the alcohols, Raman spectroscopic analyses showed that pentanol (pentyl alcohol [PeA]) and benzyl alcohol (BzA) accelerated the cellular accumulation of BAC. Fluorescence spectroscopic assays and morphological assays with giant vesicles indicated that PeA rarely attacked membrane structures, while BzA increased the membrane fluidity and destabilized the structures. Other fluorescent spectroscopic assays indicated that PeA and BzA inactivate bacterial membrane proteins, including an efflux pump for BAC transportation. These findings suggested that the inactivation of membrane proteins by PeA and BzA led to the cellular accumulation but that only BzA also enhanced BAC penetration by membrane fluidization at nonlethal concentrations.     

酒精废液降解菌Q5的化学诱变

目的：筛选出一些酒精废液的降解菌。方法：使用亚硝基胍（NTG）、亚硝基甲基脲（NMU）等对酒精废液降解菌Q5进行诱变。结果：在无机盐选择培养基上生长菌株有36株,再经5次传代试验仅有8株能稳定传代,最后筛选出以酒精废液为碳源的性能较好的突变菌株Q58。该突变菌株Q58对酒精废液的降解率比出发菌株高0.65%;对酒精废液的降解时间比出发菌株缩短12h。     

Effect of Viscosity on Bacterial Motility

The behavior of a number of motile flagellated bacteria toward viscosity characteristics of their fluid environments was observed. All showed an increase in velocity (micrometers per second) in more viscous solutions. Velocity reached a maximum at a characteristic value, however, and thereafter decreased with higher viscosities. Peritrichously flagellated bacteria had maximum velocities at higher viscosities than polarly flagellated bacteria. Effects of temperature, and possible utilization of chemical constituents in the viscous solutions, were studied and found to be negligible factors under the experimental conditions used. Different agents produced the same phenomenon, thus indicating that there probably were no chemically induced metabolic effects. Loss of available water and the possibility of a variable energy supply to the flagellar propulsive system were considered but are believed minimal. Theoretically derived thermodynamic equations were utilized and suggest that the conformation of the flagellar helix affects efficiency of propulsion. Such a relationship between helix waveform and velocity was experimentally observed with Thiospirillum jenese.     

The Protective Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide on Erythrocyte Hemolysis Induced by Silver Nanoparticles

Biophysics - The mechanisms of regulation of adaptation of erythrocytes by hydrogen peroxide during hemolysis induced by silver nanoparticles have been studied using numerical modeling and...     

糖蜜酒精废水的生物脱色及其细菌群落结构分析

糖蜜酒精废水是糖厂利用糖蜜生产酒精后的废液,废水中色素的含量较高,脱色为该类废水处理过程中的一大难题。采用富集培养技术,将取自糖厂IC(internal circulation)反应器底部的活性污泥加入到不同浓度废水中进行富集,得到的菌群可使废水脱色24%、COD(chemical oxygen demand)去除率19.2%。为了提高菌群的脱色能力,研究了几种单因素对菌群生长、脱色及COD去除能力的影响,结果发现,菌群使废水脱色和去除COD的最佳条件为:10%(v/v)废水中添加0.5%葡萄糖、0.1%蛋白胨、0.1%KH2PO4、0.05%MgSO4·7H2O、0.05%KCl,废水初始pH7.0,在37℃培养7d,废水脱色率达46.2%、COD去除率为38.5%。为了了解以上条件下菌群的群落结构,采用分子生态学方法构建了菌群中细菌16S rDNA文库并对代表性的克隆进行了测序,结果显示其中细菌主要分布在Firmicutes、Proteobacteria、Bacteroidetes的7个目中,分别是Erysipelotrich-ales、Clostridiales、Lactobacillales、Xanthomonadales、Burkholderiales、Enterobacteriales、Bacteroidales。大多数细菌属于发酵型细菌,化能异氧型。本研究结果为利用微生物调控糖蜜酒精废水的生物处理提供了依据。     

Effect of Proteolytic Enzymes on Bacterial Flagella

Sheared flagella of Salmonella typhimurium strains SL 870 (Nml(+)Fla(+)) and SL 871 (Nml(-)Fla(+)) were found to be susceptible to proteolytic digestion by trypsin, chymotrypsin, and Pronase. The rate of tryptic digestion was similar for the epsilon-N-methyllysine-containing and the nonmethylated flagella. Thin fibers, which appeared to originate from only one end of the flagellar filament, were formed upon trypsin digestion. The fibers were not dissociated at extremes of pH or upon heating. The amino acid composition of the purified fibers was very different from that of intact Salmonella flagellin, and the fibers did not cross-react with antiflagellin or antiflagellar antiserum. The possible significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the flagellar structure.     

Hemolysis by hexachlorophene

Human erythrocytes were hemolyzed by doses of hexachlorophene (HCP) comparable to those which caused lysis of bacterial protoplasts. The hemolytic doses were about 5 orders of magnitude higher than the reported blood levels in regular hexachlorophene users. Thus, hemolytic phenomena seem unlikely sources of hexachlorophene toxicity.     

Pneumococci Producing Beta Hemolysis on Agar

Fifty-six strains of pneumococci were studied for hemolysis on blood-agar Twenty-two (39%) of these strains produced beta hemolysis on agar containing horse red cells, six (11%) were beta hemolytic for sheep cells, and none lysed human or rabbit red cells. The substance producing beta hemolysis appeared after 24 hr of anaerobic incubation. Subsequent exposure to air at low temperature (6 to 20 C) for 48 hr was needed to activate it. There was no relation between serological type and beta hemolysis production. This substance appears to be different from the pneumococcal hemolysin previously described.     

Effect of Selected Herbicides on Bacterial Growth Rates

Specific growth rate constants were used to evaluate the effects of selected herbicides on Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacillus sp. Comparison of growth rate constants permitted the identification of either stimulatory or inhibitory effects of these substances. E. carotovora was inhibited by 6,7-dihydrodipyrido(1,2-a:2'-c)pyrazinediium (diquat) and 4-hydroxy-3,5-diiodobenzonitrile (ioxynil) at 25 mug/ml; 1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium (paraquat) at 50 mug/ml; and pentachlorophenol (PCP) at 10 mug/ml. P. fluorescens was inhibited by paraquat and PCP at 25 mug/ml and by 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) at 50 mug/ml. Stimulation of P. fluorescens was observed with 4-(methylsulfonyl)-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropylaniline (nitralin) at 25 mug/ml. The Bacillus species was inhibited by diquat (25 mug/ml), ioxynil (10 mug/ml), and paraquat and PCP (5 mug/ml). No significant effect of 2-chloro-4-(ethylamino)-6-(isopropylamino)-s-triazine (atrazine), 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (diuron), alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin), or 1,1-dimethyl-3-(alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoro-m-tolyl)urea (fluometuron) on growth rates of the bacteria was observed at 25 and 50 mug/ml.     

Immunosuppressive Effect of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide on Antibody Response

Injection of endotoxins (bacterial lipopolysaccharide: LPS) several days prior to immunization causes the suppression of antibody response. The suppressive effects of several kinds of LPS preparations on the plaque-forming cell (PFC) antibody response in the spleen of mice were examined after immunization with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Glycolipids obtained from heptoseless mutants (Re form) of salmonella or its lipid A preparation coupled artificially with bovine serum albumin (BSA) are capable, like LPS obtained from a wild type (S form) strain, of inducing suppression of the PFC response, while alkaline-detoxified LPS can not. The refractory periods of the PFC response induced by LPS injection last only a few days. However, the use of cyclophosphamide (CY) together with LPS can extend the refractory periods of antigenic stimulation for several weeks. Injections of LPS and CY can also induce unresponsive states of OH agglutinin antibody response to antigenic stimulation with formalin-killed organisms of Escherichia coli or Salmonella enteritidis (presumably both thymus-independent antigens). These unresponsive states induced by LPS and CY are easily terminated by a transfer of syngeneic bone marrow cells but not by thymocyte transfer.