Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.20 (alpha-glucosidase)
 4,237 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Bacteroides forsythus is a fastidious anaerobic gram-negative organism associated with various forms of periodontal disease. It is dependent on N-acetylmuramic acid for growth. A method for rapid presumptive identification of human-derived strains of B. forsythus is presented, based on the following eight criteria: (i) positive activity for alpha-glucosidase, (ii) positive activity for beta-glucosidase, (iii) positive activity for sialidase, (iv) positive activity for trypsinlike enzyme, (v) negative indole production, (vi) requirement for N-acetylmuramic acid, (vii) colonial morphology, and (viii) gram stain morphology from blood agar medium deficient in N-acetylmuramic acid. Enzymes were assayed with rapid filter paper spot tests based on fluorogenic substrates (4-methylumbelliferone derivatives and N alpha-carbobenzoxy-L-arginine-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin hydrochloride). Gas-liquid chromatography analysis of the metabolic products of B. forsythus grown in peptone yeast extract broth supplemented with N-acetylmuramic acid and heat-inactivated horse serum revealed predominant amounts of acetate, propionate, butyrate, isovalerate, and phenyl acetate, with minor amounts of isobutyrate and succinate. The described presumptive identification scheme facilitated recognition of four strains of B. forsythus which were isolated from subgingival plaque samples from monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). With the exception of indole production, these organisms were essentially identical to the human strains of B. forsythus for all phenotypic and genotypic characteristics examined.
 ...
PMID:Rapid presumptive identification and further characterization of Bacteroides forsythus. 155 81

Specific glycosidase activities were determined in samples of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) collected from eight predetermined sites in two groups, each of 20 adult patients, with either gingivitis or periodontitis. The total activities (as units of enzyme activity per sample) of alpha-L-fucosidase, sialidase, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-glucosidase and alpha-glucosidase were significantly greater in the periodontitis group. In contrast, the total beta-mannosidase and hexosaminidase A activities were significantly greater in the gingivitis group, while there was no significant difference in the total alpha-mannosidase activity between the groups. Only the specific activities (as units of enzyme activity per min per microliter of GCF) of beta-mannosidase and hexosaminidase A were significantly different between the groups being greater in the gingivitis group. When used to predict the clinical status of individual periodontal sites, the total enzyme activities had specificity and sensitivity values of 91.9 and 61.3%, respectively. Measurement of glycosidase activities might thus have a role in monitoring the efficacy of periodontal treatment or in predicting future periodontal disease but this will require further investigation.
 ...
PMID:Glycosidase activities in gingival crevicular fluid in subjects with adult periodontitis or gingivitis. 161 Mar 3

A total of 80 oral strains of Bacteroides gingivalis, B. asaccharolyticus, B. melaninogenicus subsp. intermedius, B. melaninogenicus subsp. melaninogenicus, Capnocytophaga, Treponema denticola, and T. vincentii were characterized with the API ZYM system for 19 enzyme activities. Comparison of anaerobic and aerobic incubation with nine reference strains of these organisms showed no important differences. The key differential tests for black-pigmented Bacteroides strains and treponemes of oral origin were trypsin, alpha-glucosidase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase. All Capnocytophaga strains produced distinctive aminopeptidase activities but varied in their glycosidic capabilities. The presence of a trypsin-like activity in B. gingivalis, T. denticola, and a group of Capnocytophaga strains may contribute to tissue destruction in periodontal disease.
 ...
PMID:API ZYM system for identification of Bacteroides spp., Capnocytophaga spp., and spirochetes of oral origin. 676 81