Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:6.3.4.6 (urease)
 7,490 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Proteus mirabilis, a motile gram-negative bacterium, is a principal cause of urinary tract infections in patients with functional or anatomical abnormalities of the urinary tract or those with urinary catheters in place. Thus far, virulence factors including urease, flagella, haemolysin, various fimbriae, IgA protease and a deaminase have been characterized based on the phenotypic traits conferred by these proteins. In this study, an attempt was made to identify new virulence genes of P. mirabilis that may not have identifiable phenotypes using the recently described technique of signature-tagged mutagenesis. A pool of chromosomal transposon mutants was made through conjugation and kanamycin/tetracycline selection; random insertion was confirmed by Southern blotting of chromosomal DNA isolated from 16 mutants using the aphA gene as a probe. From the total pool, 2.3% (9/397) auxotrophic mutants and 3.5% (14/397) swarming mutants were identified by screening on minimal salts agar and Luria agar plates, respectively. Thirty per cent of the mutants, found to have either no tag or an unamplifiable tag, were removed from the input pool. Then 10(7) c.f.u. from a 96-mutant pool (approximately 10(5) c.f.u. of each mutant) were used as an input pool to transurethrally inoculate seven CBA mice. After 2 d infection, bacteria were recovered from the bladders and kidneys and yielded about 10(5) c.f.u. as an output pool. Dot blot analysis showed that two of the 96 mutants, designated B2 and B5, could not be hybridized by signature tags amplified from the bladder output pool. Interrupted genes from these two mutants were cloned and sequenced. The interrupted gene in B2 predicts a polypeptide of 37.3 kDa that shares amino acid similarity with a putative protease or collagenase precursor. The gene in B5 predicts a polypeptide of 32.6 kDa that is very similar to that encoded by ORF284 of the rpoN operon controlling expression of nitrogen-regulated genes from several bacterial species. The virulence of the two mutants was tested further by co-challenging CBA mice with each mutant and the parental strain. After 1 week of infection, the B2 and B5 mutants were recovered in numbers 100-fold and 1000-fold less than the parental strain, respectively. Using an in vitro assay, it was shown that the B2 mutant had significantly less (P = 0.0001) extracellular protease activity than the wild-type strain. These findings demonstrate that signature-tagged mutagenesis is a viable approach to identify bacterial genes associated with the ability to infect the urinary tract.
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PMID:Identification of protease and rpoN-associated genes of uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis by negative selection in a mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection. 1020 98

The genus Proteus belongs to the tribe of Proteae in the family of Enterobacteriaceae, and consists of five species: P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris, P. morganii, P. penneri and P. myxofaciens. They are distinguished from the rest of Enterobacteriaceae by their ability to deaminate phenylalanine and tryptophane. They hydrolyze urea and gelatin and fail to ferment lactose, mannose, dulcitol and malonate; and do not form lysine and arginine decarboxylase or beta-galactosidase [1]. Colonies produce distinct "burned chocolate" odor and frequently show the characteristics of swarming motility on solid media. P. mirabilis, P. vulgaris and P. morganii are widely recognized human pathogens. They have been isolated from urinary tract infections, wounds, ear, and nosocomial bacteremic infections, often in immuncompromised patients [2-6]. P. myxofaciens has no clinical interest to this time. P. penneri as species nova was nominated by the recommendation of Hickman and co-workers [7]. Formerly it was recognized as P. vulgaris biogroup 1 or indole negative P. vulgaris [8, 9]. Although it has been less commonly isolated from clinical samples than the other three human pathogenic Proteus species, it has nevertheless been connected with infections of the urinary tract, wounds and has been isolated from the feces of both healthy and diarrheic individuals [10-12]. Potential virulence factors responsible for virulence of Proteae are: IgA protease, urease, type3 fimbriae associated with MR/K haemagglutinins of at least two antigenic types, endotoxin, swarming motility and HlyA and/or HpmA type hemolysins [for review see ref. 13]. In the followings we give a survey of accumulated concepts about the position and characteristics of HlyA type alpha-hemolysins both in general and with emphasis on virulence functions in the tribe of Proteae.
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PMID:Proteus virulence: involvement of the pore forming alpha-hemolysin (a short review). 1105 65

Ureaplasma species are the most prevalent genital Mycoplasma isolated from the urogenital tract of both men and women. Ureaplasma has 14 known serotypes and is divided into two biovars- Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum. The organism has several genes coding for surface proteins, the most important being the gene encoding the Multiple Banded Antigen (MBA). The C-terminal domain of MBA is antigenic and elicits a host antibody response. Other virulence factors include phospholipases A and C, IgA protease and urease. Besides genital tract infections and infertility, Ureaplasma is also associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and diseases in the newborn (chronic lung disease and retinopathy of prematurity). Infection produces cytokines in the amniotic fluid which initiates preterm labour. They have also been reported from renal stone and suppurative arthritis. Genital infections have also been reported with an increasing frequency in HIV-infected patients. Ureaplasma may be a candidate 'co factor' in the pathogenesis of AIDS. Culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are the mainstay of diagnosis. Commercial assays are available with improved turnaround time. Micro broth dilution is routinely used to test antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates. The organisms are tested against azithromycin, josamycin, ofloxacin and doxycycline. Resistance to macrolides, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones have been reported. The susceptibility pattern also varies among the biovars with biovar 2 maintaining higher sensitivity rates. Prompt diagnosis and initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy is essential to prevent long term complications of Ureaplasma infections. After surveying PubMed literature using the terms 'Ureaplasma', 'Ureaplasma urealyticum' and 'Ureaplasma parvum', relevant literature were selected to provide a concise review on the recent developments.
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PMID:Ureaplasma: current perspectives. 2586 69

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the human Ureaplasma species are most frequently isolated from the amniotic fluid and placenta in these cases. Ureaplasma colonisation is associated with infertility, stillbirth, histologic chorioamnionitis, and neonatal morbidities, including congenital pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, meningitis and perinatal death. The human Ureaplasma spp. are separated into Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum with 14 known serotypes. The small genome has several genes, which code for surface proteins; most significantly the Multiple Banded Antigen (MBA) where an antigenic C-terminal domain elicits a host antibody response. Other genes code for various virulence factors such as IgA protease and urease. Ureaplasma spp. infection is diagnosed by culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and commercial assays are available to improve turnaround time. Microbroth dilution assays are routinely used to test antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical Ureaplasma spp. especially against doxycycline, azithromycin, ofloxacin and josamycin. Resistance to macrolides, fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines has been reported. A concise review of Ureaplasma spp. and their role in pregnancy outcomes, especially preterm birth, offers insight into the early diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic therapy to prevent long-term complications of Ureaplasma spp. infections.
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PMID:Ureaplasma species and preterm birth: current perspectives. 3214 97