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

The peptidoglycan of Gram-positive bacteria is known to trigger cytokine release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). However, it requires 100-1000 times more Gram-positive peptidoglycan than Gram-negative lipopolysaccharide to release the same amounts of cytokines from target cells. Thus, either peptidoglycan is poorly active or only part of it is required for PBMC activation. To test this hypothesis, purified Streptococcus pneumoniae walls were digested with their major autolysin N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase, and/or muramidase. Solubilized walls were separated by reverse phase high pressure chromatography. Individual fractions were tested for their PBMC-stimulating activity, and their composition was determined. Soluble components had a Mr between 600 and 1500. These primarily comprised stem peptides cross-linked to various extents. Simple stem peptides (Mr <750) were 10-fold less active than undigested peptidoglycan. In contrast, tripeptides (Mr >1000) were >/=100-fold more potent than the native material. One dipeptide (inactive) and two tripeptides (active) were confirmed by post-source decay analysis. Complex branched peptides represented </=2% of the total material, but their activity (w/w) was almost equal to that of LPS. This is the first observation suggesting that peptidoglycan stem peptides carry high tumor necrosis factor-stimulating activity. These types of structures are conserved among Gram-positive bacteria and will provide new material to help elucidate the mechanism of peptidoglycan-induced inflammation.
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PMID:Digestion of Streptococcus pneumoniae cell walls with its major peptidoglycan hydrolase releases branched stem peptides carrying proinflammatory activity. 1021 31

65 children with the severe course of bronchial asthma (BA) were examined. The character of respiratory tract microflora, humoral immunity characteristics, mediators, of inflammation and pathomorphological features of the bronchial tree during the severe course of BA in children at the period of remission were studied. The specific features of the colonization of the bronchial tree by microflora in the severe form of BA were established. The severe course of BA in children at the period of remission was characterized by a higher content of tumor necrosis factor and an increase in the lysozyme activity of bronchoalveolar fluid. Disturbances in the proportion of cAMP and cGMP in smooth muscles and an increase in the number of apudocytes containing adrenalin and serotonin may probably be one of the mechanisms of bronchial hyperreactivity.
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PMID:[The nature of the respiratory tract microflora and the immunity indices in a severe form of bronchial asthma in children]. 1085 93

We have previously shown that hepatic cryoablation (cryo), but not partial hepatectomy, induces a systemic inflammatory response, with distant organ injury and overproduction of NF-kappaB-dependent cytokines. Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) levels are markedly increased 1 h and beyond after cryo compared with partial hepatectomy where no elevation occurs. NF-kappaB activation (by electrophoretic mobility shift assay) is strikingly increased in the noncryo liver (but not in the lung) at 30 min and in both the liver and lung tissue 1 h after cryo, returning to the baseline by 2 h and beyond. The current study investigated the histopathologic changes associated with cryoablation-induced acute lung injury. Animals underwent 35% hepatic resection or a similar volume hepatic cryo and were sacrificed at 1, 2, 6, and 24 h. Pulmonary histologic features were assessed using hematoxylin and eosin and immunoperoxidase staining with a macrophage-specific antibody (anti-lysozyme, 1:200 dilution, Dako, Carpinteria, CA). The following features were graded semiquantitatively (0-3): perivascular lymphoid cuffs, airspace edema and hemorrhage, margination of neutrophils within pulmonary vasculature, and the presence of macrophages with foamy cytoplasm in the pulmonary interstitium. Hepatic resection (n = 21) resulted in slight perivascular edema at 1, 2, 6, and 24 h post-resection, but there were no other significant changes. Pulmonary findings after hepatic cryo (n = 22) included prominent perivascular lymphoid cuffs 1 and 2 h following hepatic injury that were not present at any other time point (P 0.01). Marginating PMNs and foamy macrophages were more common after cryo at all time points (P<0.05, cryo vs resection). Severe lung injury, as evidenced by airspace edema and parenchymal hemorrhage, was present in four of six (67%) animals at 24 h (P 0.03). In follow-up studies immediate resection (n = 15) of the cryo-treated liver prior to thawing prevented the pulmonary changes. The findings of pulmonary perivascular interstitial macrophages 2 h following hepatic cryo suggests that hepatic cytokine production may induce downstream recruitment of pulmonary macrophages, which may contribute to subsequent severe lung injury. This study suggests that a soluble mediator from direct liver injury leads to neutrophilic lung inflammation and this is associated with the thawing phase of cryoablation.
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PMID:Hepatic cryoablation-induced acute lung injury: histopathologic findings. 1112 Jun 27

Many species of life contain cationic antimicrobial peptides as components of their immune systems. The antimicrobial activity of these peptides has been studied extensively, and many peptides have a broad spectrum of activity not only against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria but also against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. Such cationic antimicrobial peptides can also act in synergy with host molecules, such as other cationic peptides and proteins, lysozyme, and also conventional antibiotics, to kill microbes. It has been found that certain peptides are produced in large quantities at sites of infection/inflammation, and their expression can be induced by bacterial products such as endotoxic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). These peptides often have a high affinity for bacterial products, such as LPS, allowing them to modulate the host response and reduce the inflammatory response in sepsis. More recently, they have been found to interact directly with host cells to modulate the inflammatory process and innate defenses.
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PMID:Cationic antimicrobial peptides and their multifunctional role in the immune system. 1114 18

Lactoferrin is a milk protein that reportedly protects infants from gut-related, systemic infection. Proof for this concept is limited and was addressed during in vivo and in vitro studies. Neonatal rats pretreated orally with recombinant human lactoferrin (rh-LF) had less bacteremia and lower disease severity scores (P < 0.001) after intestinal infection with Escherichia coli. Control animals had 1,000-fold more colony-forming units of E. coli per milliliter of blood than treated animals (P < 0.001). Liver cultures from control animals had a twofold increase in bacterial counts compared with cultures from rh-LF-treated pups (P < 0.02). Oral therapy with rh-LF + FeSO(4) did not alter the protective effect. In vitro studies confirmed that rh-LF interacted with the infecting bacterium and rat macrophages. An in vitro assay showed that rh-LF did not kill E. coli, but a combination of rh-LF + lysozyme was microbicidal. In vitro studies showed that rat macrophages released escalating amounts of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha when stimulated with increasing concentrations of rh-LF. The in vitro studies suggest that rh-LF may act with other "natural peptide antibiotics" or may prime macrophages to kill E. coli in vivo.
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PMID:Lactoferrin protects neonatal rats from gut-related systemic infection. 1166 22

Recent studies indicated that the nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NADPH) oxidase-derived oxygen radicals plays a deleterious role in arthritis. To study this in more detail, gonarthritis was induced in NADPH oxidase-deficient mice. Mice received an intraarticular injection of either zymosan, to elicit an irritant-induced inflammation, or poly-L-lysine coupled lysozyme, to evoke an immune-complex mediated inflammation in passively immunized mice. In contrast to wild-type mice, arthritis elicited in both p47phox(-/-) and gp91(-/-) mice showed more severe joint inflammation, which developed into a granulomatous synovitis. Treatment with either Zileuton or cobra venom factor showed that the chemokines LTB4 and complement C3 were not the driving force behind the aggravated inflammation in these mice. Arthritic NADPH oxidase-deficient mice showed irreversible cartilage damage as judged by the enhanced aggrecan VDIPEN expression, and chondrocyte death. Furthermore, only in the absence of NADPH oxidase-derived oxygen radicals, the arthritic joints showed osteoclast-like cells, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive/multinucleated cells, extensive bone erosion, and osteolysis. The enhanced synovial gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1alpha, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, MMP-9 and receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) might contribute to the aggravated arthritis in the NADPH oxidase-deficient mice. This showed that the involvement of NADPH oxidase in arthritis is probably far more complex and that oxygen radicals might also be important in controlling disease severity, and reducing joint inflammation and connective tissue damage.
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PMID:Deficiency of NADPH oxidase components p47phox and gp91phox caused granulomatous synovitis and increased connective tissue destruction in experimental arthritis models. 1450 59

During mammary gland infection, non-specific responses are the predominant ones. The goal of this study was to investigate the mRNA expression of various soluble immune components and of the major milk proteins during the acute phase of mammary inflammation. Five healthy lactating cows were intramammary infused in one quarter with 100 microg Escherichia coli-endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) and the contralateral quarter with saline (9 g/l) serving as control. Mammary biopsy samples of both quarters were taken immediately before and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 h after infusion and mRNA expression of various factors was quantified via real-time RT-PCR. Blood samples for determination of leukocyte number were taken simultaneously with the biopsy samples and rectal temperature was measured at 1-h intervals. Rectal temperature increased until 5h (P < 0.05) after LPS administration and remained elevated until 9 h after LPS inoculation. Blood leukocyte number decreased (P < 0.05) from 0 to 3 h from 7.7 +/- 1.1 x 10(9)l(-1) to 5.7 +/- 1.0 x 10(9)l(-1) and thereafter recovered to pre-treatment levels until 12 h after LPS challenge. In LPS-treated quarters, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and cyclooxygenase-2-mRNA expression increased (P < 0.05) to highest values at 3h after LPS challenge. Lactoferrin, lysozyme, inducible nitric oxide synthase increased (P < 0.05) and peaked at 6 h after challenge, and platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase-mRNA expression tended to increase (P = 0.07). mRNA expression of insulin-like growth factor-I and of alphaS1-casein (CN), alphaS2-CN, beta-CN and beta-lactoglobulin did not change significantly, whereas mRNA expression of 5-lipoxygenase and alpha-lactalbumin decreased (P < 0.05) in both quarters and that of kappa-CN only in the LPS quarter. mRNA expression of some investigated factors (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, lysozyme, 5-lipoxygenase, alpha-lactalbumin) changed in control quarters, however in all respective factors less than in the LPS quarters (P < 0.05). In conclusion, mRNA expression of most inflammatory factors increased within hours, whereas that of most milk proteins remained unchanged.
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PMID:Short-term changes of mRNA expression of various inflammatory factors and milk proteins in mammary tissue during LPS-induced mastitis. 1475 84

Although amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC) is the most frequently administered antibiotic in France, its in vivo effects on immunity in healthy adults have never, to our knowledge, been described. Eighteen healthy adult male volunteers, 25+/-6 years old, were treated for 5 days with oral amoxicillin (1 g) /clavulanate potassium (125 mg), two times daily. Systemic and local intestinal immunity parameters were sequentially explored before, during and after the antibiotic treatment. No significant differences were obtained for transudation markers (albumin and alpha1-antitrypsin) in sera, feces and saliva, showing that AMC did not induce inflammatory reaction. Phagocytosis, peripheral blood cell subsets, intracellular interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha production by natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, intracellular TNF-alpha production by monocytes showed no significant differences throughout the trial. In fecal outputs, no significant differences were found in secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA), lactoferrin (Lf), lysozyme (Lz) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1. In sera, concentrations of total IgA (T-IgA), S-IgA, IgM, Lf and Lz did not show any significant variations throughout the study, whereas concentrations of IgG were slightly but significantly reduced 15 days after AMC treatment. In saliva, concentrations of T-IgA were slightly but significantly higher, whereas S-IgA concentrations were unchanged. Our results showed that oral AMC intake did not induce any significant adverse effects on immunity in adult humans.
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PMID:Effects of a short-course of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid on systemic and mucosal immunity in healthy adult humans. 1577 27

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive scarring disease of the lung. It has been suggested that fibrosis is an inflammatory process, and cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta have been shown to play key roles in the pathogenesis of fibrotic lung disease. However, the source of these cytokines remains in question and there is controversy over the role that infiltrating inflammatory cells play in fibrosis. T cells could play a key role by releasing cytokines upon engaging autoantigens revealed as a result of necrosis or apoptosis following epithelial injury. Some studies have shown that disrupting T-cell function leads to more severe disease, whereas others have shown that T-cell deficiency protects against fibrotic injury. To investigate whether specific antigen engagement by T cells is required for the development of fibrosis, bleomycin was instilled into the lungs of mice expressing a transgenic T-cell receptor beta (TCRbeta) gene. Expression of the TCRbeta transgene prevents effective recognition of antigens other than a single epitope of hen egg lysozyme. These mice therefore have defective antigen-specific responses but a normal representation of mature T-cell subsets. If antigen-specific T-cell engagement is required for the development of lung fibrosis, bleomycin-induced fibrosis should be reduced in the TCRbeta transgenic mice. In fact, there is no difference in the inflammatory or fibrotic response to bleomycin between TCRbeta transgenic and control mice. Thus, if T cells are required for fibrogenesis, it must involve an antigen-independent mechanism.
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PMID:Sensitivity to bleomycin-induced lung injury is not moderated by an antigen-limited T-cell repertoire. 1620 23

The effect of somatic cell count (SCC) and milk fraction on milk composition, distribution of cell populations, and mRNA expression of various inflammatory parameters was studied. Therefore, quarter milk samples were defined as cisternal (C), first 400 g of alveolar (A1), and remaining alveolar milk (A2) during the course of milking. Quarters were assigned to 4 groups according to their total SCC: 1) <12 x 10(3)/mL, 2) 12 to 100 x 10(3)/mL, 3) 100 to 350 x 10(3)/mL, and 4) >350 x 10(3)/mL. Milk constituents of interest were SCC, fat, protein, lactose sodium, and chloride ions as well as electrical conductivity. Cell populations were classified into lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils (PMN). The mRNA expression of the inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, cyclooxygenase-2, lactoferrin, and lysozyme was measured via real-time, quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Somatic cell count decreased from highest levels in C to lowest levels in A1 and increased thereafter to A2 in all groups. Fat content increased from C to A2 and with increasing SCC level. Lactose decreased with increasing SCC level but remained unchanged during milking. Concentrations of sodium and chloride, and electrical conductivity increased with increasing SCC but were higher in C than in A1 and A2. Protein was not affected by milk fraction or SCC level. The distribution of leukocytes was dramatically influenced by milk fraction and SCC. Lymphocytes were the dominating cell population in group 1, but the proportion of lymphocytes was low in groups 2, 3, and 4. Macrophage proportion was highest in group 2 and decreased in groups 3 and 4, whereas that of PMN increased from group 2 to 4. The content of macrophages decreased during milking in all SCC groups whereas that of PMN increased. The proportion of lymphocytes was not affected by milk fraction. The mRNA expression of all inflammatory factors showed an increase with increasing SCC but minor changes occurred during milking. In conclusion, milk fraction and SCC level have a crucial influence on the distribution of leukocyte populations and several milk constituents. The surprisingly high content of lymphocytes and concomitantly low mRNA expression of inflammatory factors in quarters with SCC <12 x 10(3)/mL indicates a different and possibly reduced readiness of the immune system to respond to invading pathogens.
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PMID:Leukocyte populations and mRNA expression of inflammatory factors in quarter milk fractions at different somatic cell score levels in dairy cows. 1677 65


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