Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.23 (beta-galactosidase)
 14,648 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Uveitis occur in a proportion of patients with ankylosing spondylitis, and an increased faecal isolation of the Gram-negative micro-organism Klebsiella pneumoniae has been reported from such patients. Immunological cross-reactivity between K. pneumoniae and bovine vitreous humour has been studied by 2 different antibody binding techniques: I125-labelled antigen binding assay with and without carrier, and beta-galactosidase enzyme-immunoassay. Sera from rabbits immunised with whole klebsiella micro-organisms or klebsiella extracts were found to bind labelled vitreous humour antigens to a greater extent (p less than 0.001) than sera from rabbits immunised with Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, and phi X 174 virus or sera from the same rabbits before immunisation. It is suggested klebsiella micro-organisms may carry antigenic determinants which resemble vitreous humour antigens.
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PMID:Uveitis, vitreous humor, and klebsiella. I. Binding studies with rabbit antisera. 616 17

There is no small animal model that replicates chickenpox and herpes zoster, which are caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Therefore, to detect VZV in tissues of infected animals, the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene was inserted into the viral genome. Intravitreal inoculation of guinea pigs with virus-infected cells resulted in a chronic uveitis, with mononuclear cells in the vitreous cavity of the eye of nearly all animals. Staining with X-gal demonstrated the presence of VZV in the ciliary body or iris of approximately 40% of the animals and in retinal pigmented epithelial cells in 4 animals. X-gal staining showed VZV in the eye of 1 animal 140 days after inoculation. These experiments indicate that VZV expressing beta-galactosidase is useful for detecting virus in tissues and that VZV can cause a chronic uveitis in which virus can be detected in some animals for up to 4 months.
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PMID:Chronic uveitis in guinea pigs infected with varicella-zoster virus expressing Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase. 946 14

Ocular toxoplasmosis is the principal cause of posterior uveitis and a leading cause of blindness. Animal models are required to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease. The method currently used for the detection of retinal cysts in animals involves the observation, under a microscope, of all the sections from infected eyes. However, this method is time-consuming and lacks sensitivity. We have developed a rapid, sensitive method for observing retinal cysts in mice infected with Toxoplasma gondii. This method involves combining the flat-mounting of retina - a compromise between macroscopic observation and global analysis of this tissue - and the use of an avirulent recombinant strain of T. gondii expressing the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene, visually detectable at the submacroscopic level. Single cyst unilateral infection was found in six out of 17 mice killed within 28 days of infection, whereas a bilateral infection was found in only one mouse. There was no correlation between brain cysts number and ocular infection.
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PMID:Toxoplasma gondii: flat-mounting of retina as a new tool for the observation of ocular infection in mice. 2041 96