Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:2.7.11.1 (protein kinase)
 81,284 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Whereas bacteria in the genus Legionella have emerged as relatively frequent causes of pneumonia, the mechanisms underlying their pathogenicity are obscure. The legionellae are facultative intracellular pathogens which multiply within the phagosome of mononuclear phagocytes and are not killed efficiently by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The functional defects that might permit the intracellular survival of the legionellae have remained an enigma until recently. Phagosome-lysosome fusion is inhibited by a single strain (Philadelphia 1) of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, but not by other strains of L. pneumophila or other species. It has been found that following the ingestion of Legionella organisms, the subsequent activation of neutrophils and monocytes in response to both soluble and particulate stimuli is profoundly impaired and the bactericidal activity of these cells is attenuated, suggesting that Legionella bacterial cell-associated factors have an inhibitory effect on phagocyte activation. Two factors elaborated by the legionellae which inhibit phagocyte activation have been described. First, the Legionella (cyto)toxin blocks neutrophil oxidative metabolism in response to various agonists by an unknown mechanism. Second, L. micdadei bacterial cells contain a phosphatase which blocks superoxide anion production by stimulated neutrophils. The Legionella phosphatase disrupts the formation of critical intracellular second messengers in neutrophils. In addition to the toxin and phosphatase, several other moieties that may serve as virulence factors by promoting cell invasion or intracellular survival and multiplication are elaborated by the legionellae. Molecular biological studies show that a cell surface protein named Mip is necessary for the efficient invasion of monocytes. A possible role for a Legionella phospholipase C as a virulence factor is still largely theoretical. L. micdadei contains an unusual protein kinase which catalyzes the phosphorylation of eukaryotic substrates, including phosphatidylinositol and tubulin. Since the phosphorylation of either phosphatidylinositol or tubulin might compromise phagocyte activation and bactericidal functions, this enzyme may well be a virulence factor. Administration of the L. pneumophila exoprotease induces lesions resembling those of Legionella pneumonia and kills guinea pigs, suggesting that this protein plays a role in the pathogenesis of legionellosis. However, recent work with a genetically engineered strain has convincingly shown that the protease is not necessary for intracellular survival or virulence. As might be expected with a complex process like intracellular parasitism, it appears that the capability of Legionella strains to invade and multiply in host phagocytes is multifactorial and that no single moiety which is responsible for the virulence phenotype will be found.
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PMID:Virulence factors of the family Legionellaceae. 157 12

In the process of protein kinase reaction carried out in the mixture consisting of tris-HCl buffer, EDTA, MgCl2, gamma-32P-ATP and the cytoplasmic fraction of rabbit pulmonary cells the phosphorylation of proteins with molecular weights of 150 and 55 kD took place. The addition of L. pneumophila culture fluid to the reaction mixture resulted in the splitting of phosphorylated proteins with the formation of the component having a molecular weight of 45 kD. These disturbances in protein kinase reaction were found to occur due to the involvement of Legionella cytoplasm, a previously characterized protein with a molecular weight of 37 kD, into the process. In this connection, the participation of cytolysin in the pathogenesis of Legionella infection may also be considered from the viewpoint of the effect produced by cytolysin on the regulatory processes affecting the metabolism of target cells.
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PMID:[The splitting of the acceptor proteins of the protein kinase system in eukaryotic cells by Legionella cytolysin]. 195 Feb 77

Endogenous phosphorylation of specific proteins in eukaryotic cells is one of the main mechanisms controlling intracellular metabolic processes. It is proposed that microorganisms multiplying intracellularly possess ways of changing cellular metabolism to benefit their survival. The detection and partial purification of a phosphokinase system in pulmonary cells with acceptor proteins of molecular masses 150 and 55 kDa is reported. It is also shown that the bacterium Legionella pneumophila, a facultative intracellular parasite, secretes a toxic protein, cytolysin, that cleaves the 55 kDa component to produce a 45 kDa protein and probably hydrolyzes the 150 kDa component completely. Thus far, the significance of cytolysin in the pathogenesis of legionellosis has been restricted to its direct necrotic action. This product may, however, also act as a regulator of metabolic processes in the host cells by influencing their protein kinase activity. The findings reported may aid our understanding of mechanisms of intracellular parasitism and the survival strategy of pathogenic bacteria.
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PMID:Action of Legionella cytolysin on components of the phosphokinase system of eukaryotic cells. 213 66

Legionella pneumophila is a ubiquitous, pathogenic, Gram-negative bacterium responsible for legionellosis. Like many other amoeba-resistant microorganisms, L. pneumophila resists host clearance and multiplies inside the cell. Through its Dot/Icm type IV secretion system, the bacterium injects more than three hundred effectors that modulate host cell physiology in order to promote its own intracellular replication. Here we report that L. pneumophila prevents proliferation of its natural host Acanthamoeba castellanii. Infected amoebae could not undergo DNA replication and no cell division was observed. The Dot/Icm secretion system was necessary for L. pneumophila to prevent the eukaryotic proliferation. The absence of proliferation was associated with altered amoebal morphology and with a decrease of mRNA transcript levels of CDC2b, a putative regulator of the A. castellanii cell cycle. Complementation of CDC28-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae by the CDC2b cDNA was sufficient to restore proliferation of CDC28-deficient S. cerevisiae and suggests for the first time that CDC2b from A. castellanii could be functional and a bona fide cyclin-dependent kinase. Hence, our results reveal that L. pneumophila impairs proliferation of A. castellanii and this effect could involve the cell cycle protein CDC2b.
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PMID:Legionella pneumophila prevents proliferation of its natural host Acanthamoeba castellanii. 2780 70