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)

Bactericidal properties of aprotinin, a proteinase inhibitor and possibly a defence molecule in bovine species, and of chicken egg white lysozyme, known as muramidase, were investigated. Incubation of various bacteria in the presence of either aprotinin or lysozyme showed that both proteins killed Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria without addition of complement or EDTA. Denaturation of the two proteins by dithiothreitol did not lead to loss of their bactericidal potency. Electron microscopic examination of Escherichia coli incubated either with lysozyme or aprotinin revealed that the bacterial cytoplasms gradually disintegrated. Both aprotinin and lysozyme were demonstrated within the affected cytoplasm by immunogold labelling. The results suggest that the bactericidal potency of lysozyme is not only due to muramidase activity but also to its cationic and hydrophobic properties. The bactericidal activity of aprotinin is probably also related to both these properties rather than to its activity as proteinase inhibitor.
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PMID:Bactericidal activities of lysozyme and aprotinin against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria related to their basic character. 137 10

Recent studies by our group suggested that lysozyme has a high affinity for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of both the smooth and rough forms, and inhibits various immunomodulatory activities of LPS. GLA60 is a synthetic monosaccharide analogue of bacterial lipid A well known as having most of the activities of lipid A with very low toxicity. In this study, we characterized the interaction of lysozyme with GLA60 in comparison to that with Escherichia coli 0111 LPS (smooth form) by means of an immunopharmacological approach. Using dansylated lysozyme (DNS-LZM) as a probe, LZM was found to bind to GLA60. The mitogenic and polyclonal B-cell activating activities were significantly reduced by complex formation. However, there was no inhibitory effect on GLA60 induced production of IL-1 and TNF of macrophages. Interestingly, the activities of macrophages induced by the complex were found to be significantly higher than those induced by GLA60 itself. In contrast, the activities of 0111 LPS were significantly inhibited by LZM. Since the GLA60-LZM complex produced a turbid suspension but the 0111 LPS-LZM complex remained soluble, we consider that the activities of GLA60 alone were mediated by the common functional LPS receptor for dispersed form in both macrophages and B-lymphocytes, but activation of macrophages by the complex was mediated either by another LPS receptor not present in B-lymphocytes or through the phagocytic function of macrophages.
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PMID:Modification of immunopharmacological activities of synthetic monosaccharide lipid A analogue, GLA60, by lysozyme. 147 20

A bovine intestinal bacterial isolate, identified as Enterococcus hirae, was found to produce a bacteriocin (designated hiraecin S) inhibitory to Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. Identification to species level was determined by comprehensive biochemical and morphological tests which were verified by DNA-DNA homology assays. The antimicrobial agent was inactivated by pronase and papain and was insensitive to catalase. The antimicrobial activity was not due to hydrogen peroxide or acid formation, nor was lysozyme or muramidase activity observed in cell-free bacteriocin preparations. Inhibition of selected gram-negative bacteria was not observed. Other enterococci were sensitive to the bacteriocin, and except for Listeria spp., no other gram-positive bacteria tested were inhibited.
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PMID:Production of bacteriocin inhibitory to Listeria species by Enterococcus hirae. 148 76

Chitinase has been purified from the extract of cabbage through successive steps of ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatofocusing and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration. By these steps, the purity of the enzyme increased by 93.3 fold and the recovery of the enzyme activity was 20%. The purified enzyme had an optimal pH of 5.0, an optimal temperature between 40 to 50 degrees C and a Km of 76 microM for hydrolysis of ethylene glycol chitin. The molecular weight of the enzyme determined from filtration through Sephadex G-75 was 30,000 daltons. Heavy metal ions, Hg2+ (0.5 mM) and Ag+(2.5 mM) significantly inhibited the activity of the enzyme. NBSI1 (1.0 mM), DNFB (0.5 mM) and PMSF (0.5 mM) completely inhibited the activity of the enzyme. The enzyme also showed muramidase activity for hydrolysis of Micrococcus lysodeikticus cell wall. The presence of chitinase in cabbage may function as a defense enzyme against potential pathogens.
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PMID:Purification and properties of chitinase from cabbage. 148 7

A substantial portion of the second peptidoglycan hydrolase (muramidase-2) activity of Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790 (formerly Streptococcus faecium) is present in the supernatant culture medium. In contrast, nearly all muramidase-1 activity is associated with cells in the latent, proteinase-activatable form. Muramidase-2 activity is produced and secreted throughout growth, with maximal levels attained at or near the end of exponential growth in a rich organic medium. Muramidase-2 activity in the culture medium remained high even during overnight incubations in the absence of proteinase inhibitors. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of supernatant culture medium concentrated by 60% saturated ammonium sulfate precipitation showed the presence of several Coomassie blue-staining bands. One intensely staining protein band, at about 71 kDa, selectively adsorbed to the insoluble peptidoglycan fraction of cell walls of E. hirae, retained muramidase-2 activity, and reacted in Western immunoblots with monoclonal antibodies to muramidase-2. The mobility of extracellular muramidase-2 in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was indistinguishable from that of muramidase-2 extracted with 6 M guanidine hydrochloride from intact bacteria. Muramidase-2 appears to have only a limited number of binding sites on the peptidoglycan of E. hirae cell walls but binds with high affinity. Although high levels of muramidase-2 activity were present in supernatants of stationary-phase cultures, the bacteria were resistant to autolysis. Thus it appears that the peptidoglycan in walls of intact cells of E. hirae is somehow protected from the hydrolytic action of extracellular muramidase-2.
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PMID:Extracellular and cellular distribution of muramidase-2 and muramidase-1 of Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790. 157 92

We cloned and sequenced the gene encoding the muramidase-released protein (MRP) of a pathogenic Streptococcus suis type 2 strain to determine whether its amino acid sequence resembles that of proteins with known functions and to determine its function in virulence. The complete nucleotide sequence composing the gene and the regions flanking it was determined. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed the presence of a signal peptide at the N terminus and a cell envelope anchor at the C terminus, both of which resembled similar regions in several other surface proteins from gram-positive bacteria. The processed form of MRP has a length of 1,209 amino acids and a calculated molecular weight of 131,094. A highly repetitive region preceded the envelope anchor. The repeated units were preceded by a proline-rich stretch of amino acids (26 of 86). No overall homologies were observed between the amino acid sequence of MRP and protein sequences in the EMBL data bank. A particular region within the amino acid sequence, however, showed some similarity with the fibronectin-binding protein of Staphylococcus aureus. Binding of MRP to human fibronectin, however, could not be confirmed.
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PMID:Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the 136-kilodalton surface protein (muramidase-released protein) of Streptococcus suis type 2. 158 2

An extracellular enzyme showing lytic activity on non-N-acetylated peptidoglycan has been isolated from Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. The lytic enzyme was purified to homogeneity by anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration, with a recovery of 24%. The enzyme was monomeric and had an estimated molecular weight of 41,000 and an isoelectric point of 3.8. It has been characterized as a muramidase whose 23-amino-acid N terminus displayed 39% homology with the N,O-diacetyl muramidase of the fungus Chalaropsis sp. The muramidase hydrolyzed purified cell walls at an optimum pH of 3, with a maximum velocity of 9.1 mumol of reducing sugars released min-1 mg of muramidase-1 and a concentration of cell walls giving a half-maximum rate of 0.01 mg ml-1. Its activity was inhibited by glucosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, Hg2+, Fe3+, and Ag+ but not by choline. The muramidase-peptidoglycan complex rapidly dissociated before total hydrolysis of the chain and randomly reassociated on another peptidoglycan chain. The affinity of the muramidase was affected by the protein content and the acetylation of the cell wall.
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PMID:Purification and characterization of an extracellular muramidase of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 that acts on non-N-acetylated peptidoglycan. 159 33

The pathogenesis of middle ear inflammation caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae was explored in the chinchilla model with different pneumococcal cell wall (CW) preparations, including isolated native CW, M1 muramidase CW (M1-CW) digest, amidase CW digest, and M1 peptidoglycan (M1-PG) digest. Inflammatory cell and lysozyme concentrations in middle ear fluid (MEF) were measured between 6 and 72 h after the middle ears were inoculated with one of the preparations or sterile saline. Middle ear histopathology was measured quantitatively at 72 h. Native CW, M1-CW digest, and amidase-CW digest caused significantly more inflammatory cell influx and lysozyme accumulation in MEF than saline did. M1-PG digest also caused more inflammatory cell influx and lysozyme accumulation in MEF than saline did but caused less inflammation than native CW or either CW digest. Epithelial metaplasia was significantly greater in ears inoculated with native CW than in ears inoculated with the CW or PG digest or with saline. Pneumococcal CW is, therefore, the principal factor that initiates middle ear inflammation in acute pneumococcal otitis media, and CW teichoication seems to be important in initiating this response.
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PMID:Role of the bacterial cell wall in middle ear inflammation caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. 161 50

Macrophages and granulocytes seem to play a key role in the pathogenesis of bacterial meningitis. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) leads to macrophage deactivation, as well as to inhibition of cytokine production and of endothelial granulocyte adhesion. We have investigated the influence of TGF-beta on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), intracranial pressure (ICP), and brain edema formation during the early phase of experimental meningitis. Rats which were inoculated intracisternally with live pneumococci or with pneumococcal cell wall hydrolyzed by the M1 muramidase (PCW-M) developed an increase of rCBF and ICP within 4 h postintracisternal challenge. A single intraperitoneal injection of TGF-beta 2 but not of TGF-beta 2 vehicle-control prevented the changes of rCBF. Furthermore, TGF-beta 2 significantly reduced the increase of ICP in rats inoculated with PCW-M. Likewise, the elevation of brain water content after intracisternal injection of pneumococci or PCW-M was blocked by pretreatment of rats with TGF-beta 2. TGF-beta 1 exhibited similar inhibitory effects in PCW-M-injected rats. The beneficial effects of TGF-beta 2 on the initial phase after pneumococcal inoculation seem to be tumor necrosis factor alpha- (TNF-alpha) independent since (a) intracisternal or intraperitoneal injection of neutralizing anti-TNF-alpha antibodies did not significantly influence rCBF, ICP, and brain water content in PCW-M-induced meningitis; and (b) TNF-alpha was only occasionally detected at low levels in cerebrospinal fluid at 4 h after PCW-M application.
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PMID:Transforming growth factor beta 2 inhibits cerebrovascular changes and brain edema formation in the tumor necrosis factor alpha-independent early phase of experimental pneumococcal meningitis. 161 60

The optimum conditions for autolysis of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 were determined. Autolysis was optimal at pH 6.3 and 55 degrees C in 0.1 M-sodium acetate/phosphate buffer. The ability of cells to autolyse decreased sharply at the end of the exponential phase of growth. Lysis was stimulated by monovalent cations and compounds that complex divalent cations, and inhibited by divalent cations. The autolysin of C. acetobutylicum, which was mainly cytoplasmic, was purified to homogeneity and characterized as a muramidase. The enzyme was identical to the extracellular muramidase in terms of M(r), isoelectric point and NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. The autolysin was inhibited by lipoteichoic acids and cardiolipin but not by phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. A mechanism of regulation and fixation involving lipoteichoic acid, cardiolipin and divalent cations is proposed.
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PMID:Autolysis of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. 164 27


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