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)

A plaque growth chamber was developed for long-term growth of five separate plaques from the same plaque or saliva sample under identical conditions of temperature and gas phase. Reagent addition and growth conditions for each plaque could be independently controlled, and each was accessible for sequential sampling and electrode insertion. Plaques were cultured for over six weeks on pellicle-coated Lux (TM) 25-mm diameter cover-slips at 35 degrees C under 5% CO2 in N2, and supplied with a medium containing 0.25% mucin (BMM) at 3.6 mL/h, and with periodic 5% sucrose. Electron microscopy and flora analysis of microcosm plaques showed that they had close similarities to reported characteristics of natural dental plaques. Diverse motile bacteria were present. Sucrose-induced Stephan pH curves and urea-induced pH rises were also similar to those reported for natural plaques. Changes in plaque urease, calcium, phosphate concentrations, and the flora were followed over five weeks in a plaque supplied with BMM containing additional 2.5 mmol/L calcium and 7.5 mmol/L phosphate. Despite this high environmental calcium phosphate concentration, there was no continuing increase in calcium levels, although plaque phosphate doubled. Urease levels fluctuated. Changes in the cultivable flora were minor. A urea-containing calcium phosphate/mono-fluorophosphate pH 5 solution, applied for six min every two h for seven days, increased plaque calcium, phosphate, and fluoride to high levels. Thus, plaques grown over several weeks in the multi-station artificial mouth exhibited metabolic and pH behavior typical of natural plaques, could be analyzed during development, and the system allowed manipulation of environmental variables important in plaque pH control and calcification.
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PMID:A multi-station dental plaque microcosm (artificial mouth) for the study of plaque growth, metabolism, pH, and mineralization. 196 Feb 50

Nephrolithiasis is a heterogeneous disorder, with varying chemical composition and pathophysiologic background. Although kidney stones are generally composed of calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate, they may also consist of uric acid, magnesium-ammonium phosphate, or cystine. Stones develop from a wide variety of metabolic or environmental disturbances, including varying forms of hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, undue urinary acidity, hyperuricosuria, hyperoxaluria, infection with urease-producing organisms, and cystinuria. The cause of stone formation may be ascertained in most patients using the reliable diagnostic protocols that are available for the identification of these disturbances. Effective medical treatments, capable of correcting underlying derangements, have been formulated. They include sodium cellulose phosphate, thiazide, and orthophosphate for hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis; potassium citrate for hypocitraturic calcium nephrolithiasis; acetohydroxamic acid for infection stones; and D-penicillamine and alpha-mercaptopropionylglycine for cystinuria. Using these treatments, new stone formation can now be prevented in most patients.
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PMID:Etiology and treatment of urolithiasis. 196 46

The form, location, and distribution of fluorhydroxyapatite deposited in dental plaque by a urease-mediated mineral enrichment process have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. Artificial plaque was formed in terylene gauze in the mouth of one subject and immersed for five min four times per day in a mineral-enriching solution. Contralateral control plaque remained untreated. The effect on natural plaque was studied in two subjects who withheld oral hygiene for four days and mouthrinsed with this solution for two min four times per day during the last two days. Mineral deposits were seen in all plaque samples exposed to the test solution. None was detected in any control sample. The deposits were scattered in the interbacterial matrix as needle-shaped crystals, the size and shape of apatite, together with amorphous material. The crystals appeared larger and more perfect, and the amorphous material less conspicuous, with longer in vivo rinsing periods. Platelet-shaped crystals of octacalcium phosphate were never seen. Mineral was also seen within the remnants of dead bacterial cells and within degenerating epithelial cells. Crystals were never seen within intact bacterial cells, as in calculus formation. The presence of a single crystal type and the relative absence of densely-mineralized foci are other differences between this mineral-enrichment process and supra-gingival calculus formation. A longer-term study is necessary to determine whether the solution promotes calculus by providing nucleation seeds.
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PMID:Therapeutic mineral enrichment of dental plaque visualized by transmission electron microscopy. 199 74

The kinetics of Klebsiella aerogenes urease inactivation by disulfide and alkylating agents was examined and found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. Reactivity of the essential thiol is affected by the presence of substrate and competitive inhibitors, consistent with a cysteine located proximal to the active site. In contrast to the results observed with other reagents, the rate of activity loss in the presence of 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) saturated at high reagent concentrations, indicating that DTNB must first bind to urease before inactivation can occur. The pH dependence for the rate of urease inactivation by both disulfide and alkylating agents was consistent with an interaction between the thiol and a second ionizing group. The resulting macroscopic pKa values for the 2 residues are less than 5 and 12. Spectrophotometric studies at pH 7.75 demonstrated that 2,2'-dithiodipyridine (DTDP) modified 8.5 +/- 0.2 mol of thiol/mol of enzyme or 4.2 mol of thiol/mol of catalytic unit. With the slow tight binding competitive inhibitor phenyl-phosphorodiamidate (PPD) bound to urease, 1.1 +/- 0.1 mol of thiol/mol of catalytic unit were protected from modification. PPD-bound DTDP-modified urease could be reactivated by dialysis, consistent with the presence of one thiol per active site. Analogous studies at pH 6.1, using the competitive inhibitor phosphate, confirmed the presence of one protected thiol per catalytic unit. Under denaturing conditions, 25.5 +/- 0.3 mol of thiol/mol of enzyme (Mr = 211, 800) were modified by DTDP.
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PMID:Reactivity of the essential thiol of Klebsiella aerogenes urease. Effect of pH and ligands on thiol modification. 203 78

In 11 patients with long-term indwelling catheters the amount of catheter encrustation and urinary pH were measured and the urine regularly cultured over a prolonged period of time (median of 7 periods of 3 weeks). The mean urinary pH was related to the persistent presence of urease-producing micro-organisms (P. mirabilis) and urinary pH governed the precipitation of catheter encrustation. The critical pH appeared to be around 6.8. In patients with a mean urinary pH below this level the encrustation was minute (less than or equal to 2.9 mg phosphate). In patients with a mean urinary pH above 6.8 it was considerable but with a marked interindividual variation (35.5-138.7 mg phosphate). The composition of the encrustation was also strongly pH-related, with a much higher proportion present as magnesium ammonium phosphate in patients with a mean urinary pH above 6.8. The persistent presence of urease producers was not associated with a high pH or a more pronounced precipitation of phosphate in all patients. The amount of encrustation thus appears to depend not only on the presence of urease-producing micro-organisms but also on individual factors such as urinary composition.
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PMID:Relationship between urease-producing bacteria, urinary pH and encrustation on indwelling urinary catheters. 203 22

To Study how the composition of urine influences urease-induced crystallization, human urine samples were incubated with urease and the subsequent precipitation measured. Beside the pH increase, the urinary content of magnesium and calcium had profound effects on the precipitation of magnesium ammonium phosphate and calcium phosphate, respectively. Urine phosphate, ammonium and osmolarity had no direct effects on the precipitation. Among the urine components with potential inhibitory properties, only albumin was found to be correlated with such an effect. This inhibitory activity was especially influential in urines with high calcium and magnesium levels. These findings suggest that the composition of urine could also influence the formation of stones consisting of magnesium ammonium phosphate and calcium phosphate.
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PMID:How variations in the composition of urine influence urease-induced crystallization. 210 Apr 18

In a group of patients consecutively operated on for renal stones, more than half of the patients had urinary tract infection. In a significant number of the patients with infection stones containing magnesium ammonium phosphate, no urease-producing microorganism could be cultured. Escherichia coli was on the other hand rather frequently cultured from the stone in these patients. This suggests the possibility that E. coli might be involved in stone formation. The correlation between stone and voided urine cultures was incomplete. It is thus important to perform stone cultures. This could be done without loss of accuracy by culturing crushed stones.
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PMID:The bacteriology of operated renal stones. 218 Jul 20

To compare the frequency of urine infection in calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate stone formers, we reviewed charts from patients whose last renal stone submitted for analysis was predominantly composed of calcium phosphate in 118 and of calcium oxalate in 223. Positive cultures were commoner, but not significantly, in the phosphate than the oxalate stone formers, both in men (17 vs. 7.6%) and women (22 vs. 15%). Bacteria frequently producing urease were found in only 4% of the phosphate group. Urine leucocytes were slightly more frequent in the oxalate group for men and significantly so for women. The results do not support the concept that calcium phosphate stones are mainly due to infection with urease-producing or other bacteria.
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PMID:Comparison of urinary tract infection in calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate stone formers. 220 21

Previous studies have shown human urine to have an inhibitory action on urease-induced crystallisation. Centrifugation and 0.45 microns filtration of the urine did not reduce this activity. This eliminates larger urine particles as being the cause of the inhibitory activity. Both the retenate and the filtrate after ultrafiltration of urine with a 100.000 mol weight cut-off influenced the urease-induced crystallisation of magnesium ammonium phosphate and calcium phosphate. The results indicate that the inhibitory action is exerted by more than one urinary component.
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PMID:The effects of fractioned human urine on urease-induced crystallisation in vitro. 231 71

The efficacy of a diet designed to facilitate dissolution of feline magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite) uroliths was evaluated in 30 cases of urolithiasis, sterile struvite uroliths dissolved in a mean of 36 days after initiation of dietary treatment. In 5 cases of urolithiasis, struvite urocystoliths associated with urease-negative bacterial urinary tract infection dissolved in a mean of 23 days after initiation of dietary and antimicrobial treatment. In 3 cases of urolithiasis, struvite urocystoliths associated with urease-positive staphylococcal urinary tract infection dissolved in a mean of 79 days after initiation of dietary and antimicrobial treatment. Dissolution of uroliths in cats fed the treatment diet was associated with concomitant remission of dysuria, hematuria, and pyuria, and reduction in urine pH and struvite crystalluria. In one case, a urocystolith composed of 100% ammonium urate, and in another case, a urolith composed of 60% calcium phosphate, 20% calcium oxalate, and 20% magnesium ammonium phosphate did not dissolve.
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PMID:Medical dissolution of feline struvite urocystoliths. 232 73


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