Mycobacteria Exploit Host Hyaluronan for Efficient Extracellular Replication

In spite of the importance of hyaluronan in host protection against infectious organisms in the alveolar spaces, its role in mycobacterial infection is unknown. In a previous study, we found that mycobacteria interact with hyaluronan on lung epithelial cells. Here, we have analyzed the role of hyaluronan after mycobacterial infection was established and found that pathogenic mycobacteria can grow by utilizing hyaluronan as a carbon source. Both mouse and human possess 3 kinds of hyaluronan synthases (HAS), designated HAS1, HAS2, and HAS3. Utilizing individual HAS-transfected cells, we show that HAS1 and HAS3 but not HAS2 support growth of mycobacteria. We found that the major hyaluronan synthase expressed in the lung is HAS1, and that its expression was increased after infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Histochemical analysis demonstrated that hyaluronan profoundly accumulated in the granulomatous legion of the lungs in M. tuberculosis-infected mice and rhesus monkeys that died from tuberculosis. We detected hyaluronidase activity in the lysate of mycobacteria and showed that it was critical for hyaluronan-dependent extracellular growth. Finally, we showed that L-Ascorbic acid 6-hexadecanoate, a hyaluronidase inhibitor, suppressed growth of mycobacteria in vivo. Taken together, our data show that pathogenic mycobacteria exploit an intrinsic host-protective molecule, hyaluronan, to grow in the respiratory tract and demonstrate the potential usefulness of hyaluronidase inhibitors against mycobacterial diseases.     

Pheromone-gland-specific fatty-acyl reductase in the adzuki bean borer,Ostrinia scapulalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The adzuki bean borer moth, Ostrinia scapulalis, uses a mixture of (E)-11- and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetates as a sex pheromone. At a step in the pheromone biosynthetic pathway, fatty-acyl precursors are converted to corresponding alcohols by an enzyme, fatty-acyl reductase (FAR). Here we report the cloning of FAR-like genes expressed in the pheromone gland of female O. scapulalis, and the characterization of a single pheromone-gland-specific FAR (pgFAR) and its functional assay using an insect cell expression system. As many as thirteen FAR-like genes (FAR-I–FAR-XIII) were expressed in the pheromone gland of O. scapulalis; however, only one (FAR-XIII) was pheromone-gland-specific. The deduced amino acid sequence of FAR-XIII predicted a 462-aa protein with a conserved NAD(P)H-binding motif in the N-terminal region, showing overall identity of 34% with the pgFAR of Bombyx mori. A functional assay using Sf9 cells transfected with an expression vector containing the open reading frame of the FAR-XIII gene has proven that FAR-XIII protein has the ability to convert a natural substrate, (Z)-11-tetradecenoic acid, to a corresponding alcohol, (Z)-11-tetradecenol.     

Protective effects of quercetin and its metabolites on H2O2-induced chromosomal damage to WIL2-NS cells

We investigated chromosomal damage caused by a typical flavonoid, quercetin, and its two conjugates, quercetin-3-O-sulfate and isorhamnetin, and their protective effects against chromosomal damage induced by H2O2. The chromosomal damage was detected by the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay using a lymphoblastoid cell line, WIL2-NS. We found that quercetin itself induced chromosomal damage at 10 microM, but quercetin-3-O-sulfate and isorhamnetin did not induce damage up to 30 microM. In the medium used for the CBMN assay, quercetin (at 100 microM) generated a high concentration of H2O2, but the two conjugates did not at the same concentration. On the other hand, pretreatment with quercetin (at 1 microM), quercetin-3-O-sulfate (at 10 microM), and isorhamnetin (at 5 microM) prevented H2O2-induced chromosomal damage to WIL2-NS cells. These findings suggest that the induction and prevention of H2O2-induced chromosomal damage are different between quercetin and its metabolites.     

A hyperthermostable pullulanase produced by an extreme thermophile,Bacillus flavocaldarius KP 1228, and evidence for the proline theory of increasing protein thermostability

Summary A cell-associated pullalanase (-dextrin 6-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.41) of an extreme thermophile, Bacillus flavocaldarius KP 1228, was purified to homogeneity. The molecular weight and isoelectric point were estimated to be about 55 000 and 7.0, respectively. The N-terminal sequence was Ala-Try-Tyr-Glu-Gly-Ala-Phe-Phe-Tyr-Gln-Ile-Phe-Pro-Asp-Tyr-Phe-Phe-Tyr-Ala-Gly-. The enzyme was most active at pH 6.3. The activities for 5% pullulan and 5% soluble starch were maximal at 75–80° C and at 80–85° C, respectively. The enzyme was stable up to 90° C for 10 min at pH 6.8. The enzyme had no antigenic determinants shared with pullulanases from the mesophiles Klebsiella pneumoniae and B. acidopullulyticus NCIB 11647. A comparison of amino acid composition demonstrated that the proline content increased greatly in a linear fashion with the rise in thermostability in the order K. pneumoniae B. acidopullulyticus B. flavocaldarius enzymes, as found with Bacillus oligo-1,6-glucosidases.Presented in part at the Annual Meeting of the Agricultural Chemical Society of Japan at Tokyo, April 2, 1987 (Abstracts, p 91)Offprint requests to: Y. Suzuki     

Yeast glucan of Pneumocystis carinii cyst wall: an excellent target for chemotherapy.

Pneumocystis pneumonia is the most serious opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients, particularly those with AIDS. Approved therapy is limited to pentamidine and inhibitors of folic acid synthesis, but these drugs show a high rate of adverse reactions in AIDS patients emphasizing the urgent need for additional effective therapies. Progress has, however, been hindered by lack of knowledge about this parasite's cellular characteristics. Previously we reported that beta (1,3)glucan is a major component of the Pneumocystis carinii cyst wall. This study shows that administration of aculeacin A, an inhibitor of beta (1,3)glucan biosynthesis, affects cyst wall formation, inhibits cyst maturation, and prevents severe pneumonia in steroid-treated rats. Thus this study not only demonstrates that beta (1,3)glucan is indispensable for growth of the parasite in rats, but suggests a new therapeutic strategy for human pneumocystosis.     

In addition to the ARS core, the ARS box is necessary for autonomously replicating sequences

Summary Autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) were cloned from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of D. melanogaster using YIp5, which is composed of pBR322 and the yeast ura3 gene, as the cloning vector and YNN27, a Ura^- yeast strain as the recipient. The nucleotide sequences of six ARSs, two from nuclear bulk, two from the nuclear 1.688 satellite, and two from mitochondorial DNA, were determined. The relationship between the transformation frequency and the inclusion of the ARS core, 5 _T ^A TT-TAT _A ^G TTT _T ^A 3, of these fragments was analysed. All the ARSs contained an ARS core or a single base change of it. However, not all the fragments that contained a single base change of the ARS core were able to transform the recipient cells, suggesting that certain bases in the ARS core were not exchangeable. It is suggested by transformation experiments with subfragments that in addition to an ARS core, an ARS box which is located within 25 bp upstream of the ARS core and whose sequence is composed of 5TNT _G ^A AA 3, is necessary for autonomous replication.     

Galectin-9 Enhances Cytokine Secretion,but Suppresses Survival and Degranulation,in Human Mast Cell Line

Galectin-9 (Gal-9), a lectin having a β-galactoside-binding domain, can induce apoptosis of Th1 cells by binding to TIM-3. In addition, Gal-9 inhibits IgE/Ag-mediated degranulation of mast cell/basophilic cell lines by binding to IgE, thus blocking IgE/Ag complex formation. However, the role of Gal-9 in mast cell function in the absence of IgE is not fully understood. Here, we found that recombinant Gal-9 directly induced phosphorylation of Erk1/2 but not p38 MAPK in a human mast cell line, HMC-1, which does not express FcεRI. Gal-9 induced apoptosis and inhibited PMA/ionomycin-mediated degranulation of HMC-1 cells. On the other hand, Gal-9 induced cytokine and/or chemokine production by HMC-1 cells, dependent on activation of ERK1/2 but not p38 MAPK. In addition, the lectin activity of Gal-9 was required for Gal-9-mediated cytokine secretion by HMC-1 cells. These observations suggest that Gal-9 has dual properties as both a regulator and an activator of mast cells.     

Free amino acid changes in the cerebral cortex of experimental uremic rat

The levels of free amino acids in the cerebral cortex of acute and chronic uremic rats were examined. Amino acids significantly elevated were aspartate, glutamine, glycine, histidine, ornithine, phenylalanine, phosphoethanolamine and taurine, whereas 1-methyl histidine and 3-methyl histidine were specifically detected in uremic rats. Glutamate, arginine and carnosine disclosed a significant reduction. There was no change in the concentrations of γ-aminobutyrate and alanine. The above findings were essentially identical in both acute and chronic uremia. It was conjectured that these changes of amino acid levels in the brain might participate in the progress of uremic encephalopathy.     

Identification and purification of sulfotransferases for 20-hydroxysteroid from the larval fat body of a fleshfly,Sarcophaga peregrina

Sulfotransferase (ST) activity for 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) was identified in a larval fat body lysate of the fleshfly, Sarcophaga peregrina, but not in the hemolymph. The activity was highly sensitive to 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol (DCNP) (IC50=0.61 microM), a specific inhibitor of phenol ST (P-ST), but insensitive to triethylamine, a hydroxysteroid ST inhibitor. These results suggest that 20E-specific ST enzymes belong to the P-ST family, despite the fact that 20E is a hydroxysteroid. In addition to 20E ST activity, a relatively high level of 2-naphthol ST activity was detected in the fat body lysate. The ST activity for both substrates transiently decreased to the 50% of maximal levels, 6 hrs after induction of pupation. The ST enzymes were separated on a DEAE-cellulose column. The 20E-ST enzymes were eluted around 50 mM KCl as two separate peaks of close proximity and the P-ST was eluted at 0.1 M KCl. The 20E ST enzymes were further purified using 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphate (PAP)-agarose affinity column chromatography. Both of the eluted active fractions demonstrated 43-kDa proteins on SDS-polyacrylamide gel. Photoaffinity labeling with [35S]-3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) showed 43-kDa bands in the fat body lysate, as well as in the purified fractions. These results suggest that the 43-kDa proteins catalyze 20E sulfation within the fat body of S. peregrina.