Development of LCA benchmarks for Austrian torrent control structures

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - This study emerged from a research project that aimed to develop a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model for torrent control structures. This...     

Purification and Characterization of Anti-Listeria Compounds Produced by Geotrichum candidum

Geotrichum candidum can produce and excrete compounds that inhibit Listeria monocytogenes. These were purified by ultrafiltration, centrifugal partition chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, gel filtration, and high-pressure liquid chromatography, and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and optical rotation. Two inhibitors were identified: d-3-phenyllactic acid and d-3-indollactic acid.

Contamination by Listeria has become a problem over the past 20 years in many parts of the world. The ubiquitous nature of Listeria monocytogenes, its capacity to multiply at refrigeration temperatures, its thermal tolerance (11), and its resistance to relatively low pH (it can multiply at pH 5.3 and 4°C and at pH 4.39 and 30°C) (5), together with its tolerance of high salt concentrations (4, 18), make controlling this potentially pathogenic microorganism in food products difficult. This bacterium has been incriminated in several cases of food poisoning (2, 10, 19). At risk are the immunodepressed, the old, pregnant women, fetuses, and newborn babies. Several groups have worked on biological control. As a result, many bacteriocins, which inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes, have been isolated, purified, and characterized (12, 13, 16, 18). We have worked with Geotrichum candidum, a yeast-like member of the natural milk flora that is used as a maturing agent for soft and hard cheeses. In an extensive study carried out in 1984 (7), the interactions between G. candidum and the microflora in cheeses were examined. G. candidum inhibited the growth of gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, and fungi (6). We recently showed (3) that G. candidum inhibits the growth of L. monocytogenes on both solid and liquid media (a bacteriostatic effect). The inhibitors are stable over a wide pH range and can be heated to 120°C for 20 min. The present report describes the purification and characterization of compounds responsible for this antibacterial action.Microorganisms, culture conditions, and detection of inhibitory activity.The strain of G. candidum used came from the collection of the Caen University Food Microbiology Laboratory, Caen, France (UCMA G91) and was initially isolated from a cheese, Pont l’Evêque. One percent of a preculture (optical density at 620 nm [Milton Roy Spectronic 301; Bioblock Scientific, Illkirch, France] of 0.7 [10⁷ arthrospores or hyphae/ml]) of G. candidum was grown in a fermentor (20 liters; Biolafitte type PI) in 15 liters of Trypticase soy broth (30 g/liter; Biomerieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France) with yeast extract (6 g/liter; AES, Combourg, France) (TSBYE) buffered to pH 6.3 with 0.1 M citrate-0.2 M phosphate. The culture was stirred at 300 rpm for 64 h at 25°C under a pressure of 0.2 bar and was then filtered through a 1,000-Da cut-off membrane by tangential ultrafiltration (Sartorius, Palaiseau, France) under a pressure of 2 bars. The resulting ultrafiltrate was sterilized by passage through a capsule (Sartorius) containing 0.45-μm- and 0.2-μm-pore-size membranes.The inhibition of L. monocytogenes was checked at each purification step by the agar diffusion well assay (3). Antimicrobial activity was estimated by measuring the diameter of the inhibitory halo on two right-angle axes (average of two plates). The strain of L. monocytogenes (UCMA L205) (serovar 1/2a; Centre National de Référence des Listeria, Nantes, France) and lysovar 1652 (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France) came from the laboratory collection and was isolated from milk. The initial lyophilized ultrafiltrate (900 mg/ml) gave a halo diameter of 36 ± 0.7 mm in the inhibition assay.Purification.Samples of ultrafiltrate (20 μl) were spotted on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates (silica gel, 10 by 5 cm, 0.25 mm thick, 60 F₂₅₄; Merck, Darmstadt, Germany), with 20 μl of TSBYE for controls, and eluted by vertical chromatography with a butanol-acetic acid-water (40:10:20 [vol/vol/vol]) solvent system. The bands were examined under UV light (254 nm) or after treatment with Ehrlich’s reagent. Four well-separated bands were found (R_fs, 0.11 ± 0.04; 0.41 ± 0.04; 0.7 ± 0.03; and 0.86 ± 0.03), but only the band with an R_f of 0.7 ± 0.03 differed from that of control preparations (TSBYE not containing G. candidum). The microbiological bioautography test (1) confirmed the presence of the inhibitor in the band with an R_f of 0.7. Lyophilized ultrafiltrate was subjected to centrifugal partition chromatography (Sanki 1000 Engineering Ltd.; EverSeiko, Tokyo, Japan) in butanol-acetic acid-water (40:10:50 [vol/vol/vol]). Partitioning was carried out under the following conditions: ascending mode, 1,200 rpm; flow rate, 3 ml/min; pressure, 40 bars. An aliquot of material (3 g) previously equilibrated with the solvent system was injected into the separatus via a 12-ml injection loop. Fractions (10 ml each) were collected and evaporated to dryness in a SpeedVac (Jouan RC 1022, Saint Herblain, France). The dried extracts of certain fractions were taken up in 800 μl of water and brought to pH 5.6 with 0.2 M NaOH. A total of 10 mg of pooled fractions with an R_f close to 0.7 and showing L. monocytogenes inhibitory activity (36 ± 0.7 mm for a solution of 38 mg/ml) was taken up in 250 μl of methanol-water (50:50 [vol/vol]) and automatically deposited (Camag Linomat) on a 10- by 20-cm TLC plate (silica gel, 0.25 mm thick, 60 F₂₅₄; Merck). The plate was developed with butanol-acetic acid-water (40:10:20 [vol/vol/vol]) and examined under UV light. Bands with an R_f of 0.7 were scraped off and placed in methanol. The silica was washed several times and removed by centrifugation and filtration through a 0.2-μm-pore-size filter. An aliquot (20 μl) was spotted on a small silica TLC plate to confirm elution of the solute by the methanol solvent. The purity of the band with an R_f of 0.7 was confirmed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a photodiode array detector at 206 and 222 nm (solvent A: 0.1% formic acid in water; solvent B: CH₃CN-H₂O [95:5] plus 0.1% formic acid) on a C₁₈ Grom-Sil ODS2 column (4.6 by 30 mm; particle size, 1.5 μm; Grom Analytic, Herrenberg, Germany) at the flow rate of 1 ml/min. Inhibitory activity was assessed as above. Preparative TLC indicated that the band with an R_f of 0.7 contained two components, one eluting at 4.5 min on HPLC (peak 1) and the other at 5.5 min (peak 2). The latter fraction gave an inhibitory halo of 36 ± 0.7 mm at a concentration of 20 mg/ml (a 45-fold purification over the ultrafiltrate). The material from preparative TLC (40 mg in 200 μl of methanol-water) was placed on a column of Sephadex LH20 (1 m by 1 cm; Pharmacia), and the column was eluted with methanol-water at 12 ml h⁻¹. Fractions (1 ml each) were collected and examined by HPLC to determine the material in each fraction. This final purification on Sephadex LH20 gave two peaks, with two-thirds of the eluate at peak 1 and one-third at peak 2 (Fig. ​(Fig.1).1). As the concentration for peak 2 was very low, only the inhibitory activity for peak 1 was assayed. A concentration of 20 mg/ml gave a halo diameter of 26 ± 0.7 mm. Open in a separate windowFIG. 1Reverse-phase liquid chromatography (HPLC) of inhibitory compounds of G. candidum after purification by centrifugal partition chromatography, preparative TLC, and Sephadex LH20 gel filtration. Column, C₁₈ Grom-Sil ODS2 column (4.6 by 30 mm; particle size, 1.5 μm; Grom Analytic). Eluent: solvent A (0.1% formic acid in water), solvent B (CH₃CN-H₂O [95:5] plus 0.1% formic acid). Flow rate, 1 ml/min. (a) Product 1 (detection at 206 nm); (b) product 2 (detection at 222 nm).

Characterization.

The pooled fractions were run on HPLC with a Grom-Sil ODS2 column coupled to a mass detector (Sciex Api III, triple quadrupole; Thornhill, Canada). Product 1, analyzed by desorption and chemical ionization, gave a signal at an m/z of 184 for (M⁺ NH₄)⁺ on desorption and chemical ionization and thus had a mass of 166. Product 2 was analyzed by ion spray and gave a signal at an m/z of 297 (M + 4 Na)⁺ for a mass of 205. Spectra were determined in a Nicolet model 60 SXR FT-IR. Samples were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, and the ¹H and ¹³C resonances were measured in a Brucker spectrometer at 200 and 400 Hz, respectively. The purified material was taken up in methanol, and the isomeric form of the substance(s) inhibiting L. monocytogenes was determined in a Perkin-Elmer model 341 polarimeter. Two inhibitors were identified (Fig. ​(Fig.2);2); product 1 was 2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid (phenyllactic acid, mass 166), and product 2 was 2-hydroxy-3-indolpropanoic acid (indollactic acid, mass 205). The rotation of polarized light showed that the phenyllactic acid produced by G. candidum was the d form. The spectrum properties of the isolated compounds are identical to those of authentic commercial compounds (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.). d-Phenyllactic acid can be purchased from Aldrich (product no. 37 690-6), and dl-indollactic acid is available from Sigma (catalog no. I2875). Inhibitory activity with commercial compounds showed that dl-phenyllactic acid (Sigma catalog no. P7251) was a stronger inhibitor of Listeria than dl-indollactic acid (34 and 26 ± 0.7 mm for 187 mM, respectively) and that the d form of phenyllactic acid was more active (38 mm for 120 mM) than the l form (Aldrich 11, 306-9, 30 mm for 120 mM). The samples were taken up in methanol-water (50:50 [vol/vol]) and brought to pH 5.6 (Table ​(Table1).1). Open in a separate windowFIG. 2Structure of two inhibitory compounds of G. candidum characterized by LC-mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, and optical rotation.TABLE 1Anti-Listeria activity of phenyllactic acid and indollactic acid^a

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibits myogenesis through redox-dependent and -independent pathways

Muscle wasting accompanies diseases that are associated with chronic elevated levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. We previously demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibits myogenic differentiation via the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). The goal of the present study was to determine whether this process depends on the induction of oxidative stress. We demonstrate here that TNF-alpha causes a decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) during myogenic differentiation of C(2)C(12) cells, which coincides with an elevated generation of reactive oxygen species. Supplementation of cellular GSH with N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) did not reverse the inhibitory effects of TNF-alpha on troponin I promoter activation and only partially restored creatine kinase activity in TNF-alpha-treated cells. In contrast, the administration of NAC before treatment with TNF-alpha almost completely restored the formation of multinucleated myotubes. NAC decreased TNF-alpha-induced activation of NF-kappaB only marginally, indicating that the redox-sensitive component of the inhibition of myogenic differentiation by TNF-alpha occurred independently, or downstream of NF-kappaB. Our observations suggest that the inhibitory effects of TNF-alpha on myogenesis can be uncoupled in a redox-sensitive component affecting myotube formation and a redox independent component affecting myogenic protein expression.     

The capsule polysaccharide synthesis locus of streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14: Identification of the glycosyl transferase gene cps14E.

To identify a chromosomal region of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14 involved in capsule polysaccharide synthesis, two strategies were used: (i) Tn916 mutagenesis, followed by the characterization of four unencapsulated mutants, and (ii) cross-hybridization with a capsule polysaccharide synthesis gene (cps) probe from S. agalactiae, which has a structurally similar capsule. The two approaches detected the same chromosomal region consisting of two adjacent EcoRI fragments. One of these EcoRI fragments was cloned and hybridized with a cosmid library. This resulted in clone cMKO2. A similar cosmid clone was obtained from an unencapsulated Tn916 mutant, Spnl4.H. Sequence analysis of the two cosmid clones revealed that in the Tn916 mutant, a gene, cps14E, which is homologous to other bacterial genes encoding glycosyl transferases, had been inactivated. An open reading frame immediately downstream of cps14E, designated cps14F, shows no significant homology with any known genes or proteins. A functional assay showed that cps14E encodes a glycosyl transferase and that a gene-specific knockout mutant lacks this enzyme activity, whereas inactivation of cps14F does not have this effect.     

Importance of position 8 in μ-conotoxin KIIIA for voltage-gated sodium channel selectivity

μ-Conotoxin KIIIA from Conus kinoshitai is a 16-residue peptide that acts as a potent pore blocker of several voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(v)). In order to obtain more selective blockers and to investigate the role of Trp at position 8, we substituted this residue with Arg, Gln and Glu. KIIIA and analogues were tested on a range of Na(v) expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. The rank order of potency for KIIIA was: rNa(v)1.4 ≥ rNa(v)1.2 > mNa(v)1.6 > rNa(v)1.3, with IC(50) values of 48 ± 6 nm, 61 ± 5 nm, 183 ± 31 nm and 3.6 ± 0.3 μm, respectively, whereas no effect was seen on hNa(v)1.5 and hNa(v)1.8 at a concentration of 10 μm. Replacement of Trp8 resulted in more selective blockers with a preference for neuronal sodium channels over the skeletal sodium channel. The activity on rNa(v)1.4 was reduced about 40-, 70- and 200-fold for [W8R]KIIIA, [W8Q]KIIIA and [W8E]KIIIA, respectively. All analogues showed a completely reversible block of rNa(v)1.2, as opposed to the partial reversibility of KIIIA. At saturating concentrations, complete block of rNa(v)1.2 was never achieved. The residual current was lower than 10%, except for [W8E]KIIIA. KIIIA had no effect on the voltage dependence of activation of rNa(v)1.2, whereas all analogues caused a depolarizing shift. Overall, this study shows that Trp8 is a key residue in the pharmacophore. Replacement of Trp8 enables more selective blockers to be obtained for neuronal sodium channels. Trp is a key determinant for the reversibility of block of rNa(v)1.2.     

Ultrastructural localization of steroid sulphatase in cultured human fibroblasts by immunocytochemistry: A comparative study with lysosomal enzymes and the mannose 6-phosphate receptor

Summary Immunocytochemistry was used to study the subcellular localization of steroid sulphatase in cultured human fibroblasts. Ultra-thin cryosections were incubated with antibodies raised against steroid sulphatase purified from human placenta and immune complexes were visualized with gold probes as electron dense markers. Steroid sulphatase was found in rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi cisternae and in the trans-Golgi reticulum, where it co-distributes with lysosomal enzymes and the mannose 6-phosphate receptor. The enzyme was not detected in lysosomes. Steroid sulphatase was also found at the plasma membrane and in the endocytic pathway (i.e. coated pits, endosomes and multivesicular endosomes). These may be the sites where sulphated oestrogen precursors are hydrolysed. Also here, it co-localizes with lysosomal enzymes and the mannose 6-phosphate receptor. It is concluded that microsomal steroid sulphatase and lysosomal enzymes share several cellular compartments.     

Characterization and expression analysis of the aspartic protease gene family of Cynara cardunculus L

Cardosin A and cardosin B are two aspartic proteases mainly found in the pistils of cardoon Cynara cardunculus L., whose flowers are traditionally used in several Mediterranean countries in the manufacture of ewe's cheese. We have been characterizing cardosins at the biochemical, structural and molecular levels. In this study, we show that the cardoon aspartic proteases are encoded by a multigene family. The genes for cardosin A and cardosin B, as well as those for two new cardoon aspartic proteases, designated cardosin C and cardosin D, were characterized, and their expression in C. cardunculus L. was analyzed by RT-PCR. Together with cardosins, a partial clone of the cyprosin B gene was isolated, revealing that cardosin and cyprosin genes coexist in the genome of the same plant. As a first approach to understanding what dictates the flower-specific pattern of cardosin genes, the respective gene 5' regulatory sequences were fused with the reporter beta-glucuronidase and introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana. A subsequent deletion analysis of the promoter region of the cardosin A gene allowed the identification of a region of approximately 500 bp essential for gene expression in transgenic flowers. Additionally, the relevance of the leader intron of the cardosin A and B genes for gene expression was evaluated. Our data showed that the leader intron is essential for cardosin B gene expression in A. thaliana. In silico analysis revealed the presence of potential regulatory motifs that lay within the aforementioned regions and therefore might be important in the regulation of cardosin expression.