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)

The author has previously shown that the addition of egg-white lysozyme to the reaction mixture used in the Treponema pallidum immobilization test (TPI test) can reduce the time required for immobilization from 18 hours to as little as 6 hours. This opened up the possibility of developing a one-day TPI test and of further simplifying the procedure, as the conditions do not need to be so strictly controlled to ensure survival of the treponemes for the shorter time. In this paper it is shown that the standard procedure of incubation under an atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon dioxide can be replaced by incubation under a layer of liquid paraffin. The survival of treponemes is satisfactory under these conditions and the oil technique does not alter the sensitivity of the 6-hour test with added lysozyme. Comparative tests using the standard procedure, the lysozyme-gas technique and the lysozyme-oil technique showed that both modifications give the same degree of sensitivity and specificity after incubation for 6 hours as does the standard method. The feasibility of introducing these modifications into routine laboratory practice is discussed.
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PMID:A ONE-DAY TREPONEMA PALLIDUM IMMOBILIZATION TEST. 1431 9

Preparation of proteins in their crystalline state has been found to be important in producing stable therapeutic protein formulations, cross-linked enzyme crystals for application in industrial processes, generating novel porous media for separations, and of course in structure elucidation. Of these applications only X-ray crystallography requires large crystals, defined here as being crystals 100s of microns or greater in size. Smaller crystals have attractive attributes in many instances, and are just as useful in structure determination by solid state NMR (ssNMR) as are large crystals. In this paper we outline a simple set of procedures for preparing nanocrystalline protein samples for ssNMR or other applications and describe the characterization of their crystallinity by ssNMR and X-ray powder diffraction. The approach is demonstrated in application to five different proteins: ubiquitin, lysozyme, ribonuclease A, streptavidin, and cytochrome c. In all instances the nanocrystals produced are found to be highly crystalline as judged by natural abundance 13C ssNMR and optical and electron microscopy. We show for ubiquitin that nanocrystals prepared by rapid batch crystallization yield equivalent 13C ssNMR spectra to those of larger X-ray diffraction quality crystals. Single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction measurements are made to compare the degree of order present in polycrystalline, nanocrystalline, and lyophilized ubiquitin. Solid state 13C NMR is also used to show that ubiquitin nanocrystals are thermally robust, giving no indication of loss of local order after repeated temperature cycling between liquid nitrogen and room temperature. The methods developed are rapid and should scale well from the tenths of milligram to multi-gram scales, and as such should find wide utility in the preparation of protein nanocrystals for applications in catalysis, separations, and especially in sample preparation for structural studies using ssNMR.
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PMID:Preparation of protein nanocrystals and their characterization by solid state NMR. 1456 26

Cell multiplication and phage formation of lysogenic B. megatherium cultures have been determined under various conditions and in various culture media. 1. In general, the more rapid the growth of the culture, the more phage is produced. No conditions or culture media could be found which resulted in phage production without cell growth. 2. Cultures which produce phage grow normally, provided they are shaken. If they are allowed to stand, those which are producing phage undergo lysis. Less phage is produced by these cultures than by the ones which continue to grow. 3. Cells plated from such phage-producing cultures in liquid yeast extract medium grow normally on veal infusion broth agar or tryptose phosphate broth agar, which does not support phage formation, but will not grow on yeast extract agar. 4. Any amino acid except glycine, tyrosine, valine, leucine, and lysine can serve as a nitrogen source. Aspartic acid gives the most rapid cell growth. 5. The ribose nucleic acid content is higher in those cells which produce phage. 6. The organism requires higher concentrations of Mg, Ca, Sr, or Mn to produce phage than for growth. 7. The lysogenic culture can be grown indefinitely in media containing high phosphate concentrations. No phage is produced under these conditions, but the cells produce phage again in a short time after the addition of Mg. The potential ability to produce phage, therefore, is transmitted through cell division. 8. Colonies developed from spores which have been heated to 100 degrees C. for 5 minutes produce phage and hence, infected cells must divide. 9. No phage can be detected after lysis of the cells by lysozyme.
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PMID:Growth and phage production of lysogenic B. megatherium. 1483 49

Although there is a general consensus that highly cationic peptides kill bacteria primarily by injuring their membranes, an additional hypothesis is proposed suggesting that a large variety of cationic peptides might also render bacteria non viable by activating their autolytic wall enzymes - muramidases (a "Trojan Horse" phenomenon), resulting in bacteriolysis. This group of cationic peptides includes: lysozyme, lactoferrin, neutrophil-derived permeability increasing peptides, defensins, elastase, cathepsin G, and secretory phopholipase A2. In this respect, cationic peptides mimic the bactericidal/bacteriolytic effects exerted by of beta-lactam antibiotics. Bacteriolysis results in a massive release of the pro-inflammatory cell-wall components, endotoxin (LPS), lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and peptidoglycan (PPG), which if not effectively controlled, can trigger the coagulation and complement cascades, the release from phagocytes of inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and proteinases. Synergism (a "cross-talk") among such agonists released following bacteriolysis, is probably the main cause for septic shock and multiple organ failure. It is proposed that a use of bacteriolysis-inducing antibiotics should be avoided in bacteremic patients and particularly in those patients already suspected of developing shock symptoms as these might further enhance bacteriolysis and the release of LPS, LTA and PPG. Furthermore, in additonal to the supportive regimen exercised in intensive care settings, a use of non bacteriolysis-inducing antibiotics when combined with highly sulfated compounds (e.g. heparin, and other clinically certified polysufates) should be considered instead, as these might prevent the activation of the microbial own autolytic systems induced either by highly cationic peptides released by activated phagocytes or by the highly bacteriolytic beta-lactams. Polysulfates might also depress the deleterious effects of the complement cascade and the use of combinations among anti-oxidants ( N-acetyl cysteine), proteinase inhibitors and phospholipids might prove effective to depress the synergistic cytotoxic effects induced by inflammatory agonists. Also, a use of gamma globulin enriched either in anti-LPS or in anti-LTA activities might serve to prevent the binding of these toxins to receptors upon macrophage which upon activation generate inflammatory cytokines. Thus, a use of "cocktails" of anti-inflammatory agents might replace the unsuccessful use of single antagonists proven in scores of clinical trials of sepsis to by ineffective in prolonging the lives of patients. It is enigmatic why the concept, and the publications which support a role for cationic peptides also as potent inducers of bacteriolysis, an arch evil and a deleterious phenomenon which undoubtedly plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of post-infectious sequelae, has been consistently disregarded.
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PMID:Bactericidal cationic peptides can also function as bacteriolysis-inducing agents mimicking beta-lactam antibiotics?; it is enigmatic why this concept is consistently disregarded. 1497 5

A triclinic crystal of hen egg-white lysozyme obtained from a D2O solution at 313 K was transformed into a new triclinic crystal by slow release of solvent under a temperature-regulated nitrogen-gas stream. The progress of the transition was monitored by X-ray diffraction. The transition started with the appearance of strong diffuse streaks. The diffraction spots gradually fused and faded with the emergence of diffraction from the new lattice; the scattering power of the crystal fell to a resolution of 1.5 A from the initial 0.9 A resolution. At the end of the transition, the diffuse streaks disappeared and the scattering power recovered to 1.1 A resolution. The transformed crystal contained two independent molecules and the solvent content had decreased to 18% from the 32% solvent content of the native crystal. The structure was determined at 1.1 A resolution and compared with the native structure refined at the same resolution. The backbone structures of the two molecules in the transformed crystal were superimposed on the native structure with root-mean-square deviations of 0.71 and 0.96 A. A prominent structural difference was observed in the loop region of residues Ser60-Leu75. In the native crystal, a water molecule located at the centre of this helical loop forms hydrogen bonds to main-chain peptide groups. In the transformed crystal, this water molecule is replaced by a sodium ion with octahedral coordination that involves water molecules and a nitrate ion. The peptide group connecting Arg73 and Asn74 is rotated by 180 degrees so that the CO group of Arg73 can coordinate to the sodium ion. The change in the X-ray diffraction pattern during the phase transition suggests that the transition proceeds at the microcrystal level. A mechanism is proposed for the crystal transformation.
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PMID:Phase transition of triclinic hen egg-white lysozyme crystal associated with sodium binding. 1503 50

Magnetic particles about 10 nm in size were prepared by chemical precipitation under nitrogen and used for the selective and sequential adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (pI = 4.7) and lysozyme (LSZ) (pI = 1.1) under different conditions, such as pH and initial protein concentration. The separation ratio of BSA over LSZ at pH 4.6 is about 5, which is about 1.5 times the separation ratio of LSZ over BSA at pH 11.0. Only 10% of the preadsorbed BSA could be displaced by the sequential adsorption of LSZ at pH 11.0. On the other hand, 60% of the preadsorbed LSZ was desorbed due to the sequential adsorption of BSA at pH 4.6. Over 50% desorption of BSA or LSZ could be achieved either by 0.5 M Na(2)HPO(4) or 0.5 M NaH(2)PO(4) after 2 h. Over 80% of the enzymatic activity of LSZ was preserved when it was desorbed from magnetic particles.
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PMID:Selective and sequential adsorption of bovine serum albumin and lysozyme from a binary mixture on nanosized magnetic particles. 1556 74

Relatively Uniform-sized biodegradable poly(lactide) (PLA) microcapsules were successfully prepared by combining a Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) membrane emulsification technique and multiple emulsion-solvent evaporation method. An aqueous phase containing lysozyme was used as the internal water phase (w1), and PLA and Arlacel 83 were dissolved in a mixture solvent of dichloromethane (DCM) and toluene which was used as the oil phase (o). These two solutions were emulsified by a homogenizer to form a w1/o primary emulsion. The primary emulsion was permeated through the uniform pores (5.25 microm) of an SPG membrane into the external water phase by the pressure of nitrogen gas to form the uniform w1/o/w2 droplets. Then, the solid polymer microcapsules were obtained by simply evaporating the solvent. It is necessary to avoid the phase separation of primary emulsion during the SPG membrane emulsification. It was found that when the density difference of the internal water phase and oil phase was reduced to nearly zero and Arlacel 83 was used as the oil emulsifier, the phase separation was not observed within 24 h. The w1/o/w2 emulsion with uniform diameter was obtained only when Arlaecl 83 concentration was limited below 2.5 wt.% based on oil phase. The drug encapsulation efficiency was found to be related to several factors including PLA molecular weight, additive type and its concentration in the internal water phase, the emulsifier type and concentration in the oil phase, the NaCl concentration and the pH value in the external water phase. Comparing with the stirring method, it was found that the size was more uniform and the drug encapsulation efficiency was much higher when the microcapsules were prepared by SPG membrane emulsification technique and the highest drug encapsulation efficiency of 92.20% was obtained. This is the first study to prepare PLA microcapsules by combining an SPG membrane emulsification technique and multiple emulsion-solvent evaporation method.
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PMID:Preparation of uniform-sized PLA microcapsules by combining Shirasu porous glass membrane emulsification technique and multiple emulsion-solvent evaporation method. 1571 Apr 98

The effect of the limited alignment of hydrated molecules is considered in a laser-aligned molecular beam, on diffraction patterns taken from the beam. Simulated patterns for a protein beam are inverted using the Fienup-Gerchberg-Saxton phasing algorithm, and the effect of limited alignment on the resolution of the resulting potential maps is studied. For a typical protein molecule (lysozyme) with anisotropic polarizability, it is found that up to 1 kW of continuous-wave near-infrared laser power (depending on dielectric constant), together with cooling to liquid-nitrogen temperatures, may be needed to produce sufficiently accurate alignment for direct observation of the secondary structure of proteins in the reconstructed potential or charge-density map. For a typical virus (TMV), a 50 W continuous-wave laser is adequate for subnanometre resolution at room temperature. The dependence of resolution on laser power, temperature, molecular size, shape and dielectric constant is analyzed.
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PMID:Diffraction and imaging from a beam of laser-aligned proteins: resolution limits. 1572 74

Experimental (15)N-(1)H and (1)H-(1)H residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) for the asparagine (Asn) and glutamine (Gln) side chains of hen egg-white lysozyme are measured and analysed in conjunction with (1)N relaxation data, information about chi(1) torsion angles in solution and molecular dynamics simulations. The RDCs are compared to values predicted from 16 high-resolution crystal structures. Two distinct groups of Asn and Gln side chains are identified. The first contains residues whose side chains show a fixed, relatively rigid, conformation in solution. For these residues there is good agreement between the experimental and predicted RDCs. This agreement improves when the experimental order parameter, S, is included in the calculation of the RDCs from the crystal structures. The comparison of the experimental RDCs with values calculated from the X-ray structures shows that the similarity between the oxygen and nitrogen electron densities is a limitation to the correct assignment of the Asn and Gln side-chain orientation in X-ray structures. In the majority of X-ray structures a 180 degrees rotation about chi(2) or chi(3), leading to the swapping of N(delta/epsilon 2) and O(delta/epsilon 1), is necessary for at least one Asn or Gln residue in order to achieve good agreement between experimental and predicted RDCs. The second group contains residues whose side chains do not adopt a single, well-defined, conformation in solution. These residues do not show a correlation between the experimental and predicted RDCs. In many cases the family of crystal structures shows a range of orientations for these side chains, but in others the crystal structures show a well-defined side-chain position. In the latter case, this is found to arise from crystallographic contacts and does not represent the behaviour of the side chain in solution.
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PMID:Asparagine and glutamine side-chain conformation in solution and crystal: a comparison for hen egg-white lysozyme using residual dipolar couplings. 1575 58

Nostoc punctiforme is a filamentous cyanobacterium that is capable of dark heterotrophy and cellular differentiation into nitrogen-fixing heterocysts, motile hormogonia, or spore-like akinetes. The study of akinete differentiation at the molecular level has been limited by the asynchronous development and limited number of akinetes formed within a filament. A system in which to study the development and genetic regulation of akinetes was investigated using a zwf mutant lacking glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the initial enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. Upon dark incubation in the presence of fructose, the zwf(-) strain ceased growth and differentiated into akinete-like cells, whereas the wild-type strain exhibited heterotrophic growth. Dark-induced zwf akinetes exhibited periodic acid-Schiff staining characteristics identical to that observed for wild-type akinetes, and synchronous induction of akinetes occurred in treated cultures. Dark-induced zwf akinetes exhibited increased resistance to the environmental stresses of desiccation, cold, or treatment with lysozyme relative to vegetative cells of both strains. Transcription of the avaK akinete marker gene was strongly induced in developing zwf akinetes as shown by Northern blotting and green fluorescent protein transcriptional reporter fusions. ATP levels did not vary significantly between dark incubated strains, indicating that a signal other than energy level may trigger akinete formation. This phenotypic and genetic evidence showing near-synchronous induction of dark-induced zwf akinetes indicates that this system will provide a valuable tool for the molecular genetic study of akinete development in N. punctiforme.
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PMID:Characterization of a model system for the study of Nostoc punctiforme akinetes. 1590 99


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