Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.17 (lysozyme)
 21,489 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Schwab, John H. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Biological properties of streptococcal cell-wall particles. I. Determinants of the chronic nodular lesion of connective tissue. J. Bacteriol. 90:1405-1411. 1965.-The capacity of cell-wall fragments to induce a chronic remittent nodular lesion after a single injection into rabbit skin varies qualitatively as well as quantitatively among the streptococci. This variation among strains is the result of a summation of several properties of the bacterial cell, some intrinsic and others extrinsic to the cell-wall structure. With some species, the inability to produce this lesion may be related to the susceptibility of cell walls to lysozyme. Other factors defined in this paper include production of hyaluronidase, and association of the cell walls with a component which can affect the interval between injection and appearance of the nodules, called the latent time. Separation of cell-wall fragments from more soluble cell material by centrifugation results in a shorter latent time. Addition of the soluble supernatant fraction back to the cell walls prolongs the latent time and increases the area of lesion involvement. This latter effect is due to a spreading factor present in most cell extracts. Addition of hyaluronidase to isolated cell-wall fragments duplicates the increased lesion area but tends to shorten further the latent time. Thus, the soluble cell extract contains both a spreading factor and a component which prolongs the latent time, and the final influence on the lesion is in part a product of these two activities. The ease and extent of mechanical disintegration of the cell wall can also vary widely among strains and yield cell extracts differing in their content of cell-wall fragments of optimal size.
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PMID:Biological properties of streptococcal cell-wall particles. I. Determinants of the chronic nodular lesion of connective tissue. 584 33

The pic gene is harbored on the chromosomes of three important pathogens: enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and Shigella flexneri. Since Pic is secreted into the intestinal lumen during EAEC infection, we sought to identify intestinal-mucosal substrates for Pic. Pic did not damage epithelial cells, cleave fodrin, or degrade host defense proteins embedded in the mucus layer (sIgA, lactoferrin and lysozyme). However, by using a solid-phase assay to evaluate the mucinolytic activity of EAEC Pic, we documented a specific, dose-dependent mucinolytic activity. A serine protease inhibitor and an enzymatically inactive variant of Pic were used to show that the Pic serine protease motif is required for mucinolytic activity. Pic binds mucin, and this binding was blocked in competition assays using monosaccharide constituents of the oligosaccharide side chains of mucin. Moreover, Pic mucinolytic activity decreased when sialic acid was removed from mucin. Thus, Pic is a mucinase with lectin-like activity that can be related to its reported hemagglutinin activity. Our results suggest that EAEC may secrete Pic into the intestinal lumen as a strategy for penetrating the gel-like mucus layer during EAEC colonization.
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PMID:The serine protease motif of Pic mediates a dose-dependent mucolytic activity after binding to sugar constituents of the mucin substrate. 1853 33

Piacentinu Ennese is a protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese produced in the surrounding area of Enna (Sicily, Italy), using raw ewe's milk without the addition of any starter cultures. In the present study, the Lactobacillus population of Piacentinu Ennese PDO cheese was in vitro screened in order to select promising probiotic strains to be further used in humans. One hundred and sixty-nine lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from 90 days ripened cheeses and identified by Rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, using the (GTG)5-primer, and by MALDI-TOF MS. One hundred and thirteen (113) isolates belonging to QPS-list species were characterized for both safety and functional properties. All tested isolates were considered safe because none showed either gelatinase, DNase, mucinase, or hemolytic activity. Tolerance to lysozyme, bile salts, and acidic conditions, along with ability to survive under simulated gastrointestinal digestion, were observed. In addition, based on antimicrobial activity against pathogens, cell surface characteristics, Caco-2 adhesion abilities, and anti-inflammatory potential, it was possible to confirm the strain-dependent functional aptitude, suggesting that Piacentinu Ennese PDO cheese may be considered a precious source of probiotic candidates.
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PMID:Piacentinu Ennese PDO Cheese as Reservoir of Promising Probiotic Bacteria. 3140 76