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 noninvasive test for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection that uses [15N]urea as a tracer has been established. The principle the test is based on is the strong urease activity of H. pylori. After oral ingestion, [15N]urea is broken down into ammonia and carbon dioxide by H. pylori urease in the stomach. The ammonia is absorbed into the blood and excreted in the urine. The amount of [15N]urea, reflecting the magnitude of H. pylori infection, is evaluated by measuring the abundance and excretion rate of 15N in ammonia in the urine. Thirty-six patients were examined in our study. The 15N excretion rates in urine ammonia of patients who were H. pylori positive were significantly higher than those of H. pylori-negative patients (P less than 0.05). Twenty-three patients were H. pylori positive by Gram stain and culture. The sensitivity of the 15NH4 excretion test compared with these techniques was 96%, and no false positives were obtained. The 15NH4+ excretion rates of 13 H. pylori-negative subjects were all in the normal range (less than 0.3%). This method is a simple, precise, highly sensitive, noninvasive, nonradioactive test. It could be used for diagnosis as well as for the followup of patients receiving H. pylori eradication therapy, especially children and pregnant women. It could also be used in epidemiological investigation of H. pylori infection in a general population.
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PMID:15NH4+ excretion test: a new method for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection. 173 51

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori is associated with a fall in serum gastrin but the way in which the infection raises the serum gastrin concentration is not clear. It may be related to the ammonia produced by the bacterium's urease stimulating gastrin release by the antral G cells. Alternatively, the antral gastritis induced by the infection may modify the regulation of gastrin release. We have examined serum gastrin in 10 patients before and 24 hours after starting triple anti-H pylori treatment consisting of tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate 120 mg four times daily, metronidazole 400 mg three times daily, and amoxycillin 500 mg three times daily. The urease activity, assessed by the 20 minute value of the 14C-urea breath test, fell from a median of 176 (range 116-504) kg% dose/mmol CO2 x 100 pretreatment to 5 (2-15) at 24 hours (p less than 0.005). The median antral gastritis score was 6 (4-6) pretreatment and fell to 3 (2-5) at 24 hours (p less than 0.02), and this was due to resolution of the polymorphonuclear component. Despite this complete suppression of bacterial urease activity and partial resolution of antral gastritis the median basal gastrin concentration remained unchanged, being 57 ng/l (45-77) pretreatment and 59 ng/l (45-80) at 24 hours and the median integrated gastrin response to a standardised meal was also unaltered, being 4265 ng/l/min (range 1975-8350) and 4272 ng/l/min (range 2075-6495) respectively. These findings do not support a causal association between H pylori urease activity and hypergastrinaemia and show rapid improvement of antral gastritis after starting anti-H pylori treatment.
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PMID:Is Helicobacter pylori associated hypergastrinaemia due to the bacterium's urease activity or the antral gastritis? 175 56

The urease (EC 3.5.1.5) inhibitor, phenylphosphoryldiamidate (PPDA), was given by continuous infusion into the rumen of two sheep nourished by intragastric infusion and into either the rumen or abomasum of four sheep given a pelleted diet containing 119 g crude protein (nitrogen x 6.25)/kg dry matter. PPDA was given at 1 g/d in infusion sheep and 1.5 g/d in the normally-fed sheep. Measurements of urea kinetics were made using single injections of [14C]urea. Urease inhibition was complete within 24 h of starting PPDA infusions to the rumen; in this time-period, urea concentration in rumen contents reached equilibrium with that in plasma and this situation persisted until infusions were terminated. Relative to the control periods, plasma urea and rumen ammonia concentrations were unchanged but urea irreversible loss rate decreased by 26% in infusion sheep and 33% in fed sheep when PPDA was given. Urinary urea excretion was not affected, hence urea degradation, measured by difference, decreased by 77 and 58% respectively in response to urease inhibition. Administration of PPDA to the abomasum resulted in a reduction in rumen urease activity to about 40% of control values but had no effect on urea metabolism. Differences between treatments in daily nitrogen retention were not significant, indicating that under the dietary conditions imposed in these experiments, even substantial changes in urea recycling had only minor effects on the overall N economy of the animal.
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PMID:Urease (EC 3.5.1.5) inhibition in the sheep rumen and its effect on urea and nitrogen metabolism. 176 Apr 42

Urease (urea amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.5) catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea to yield ammonia and carbon dioxide. Research on this enzyme has gained momentum since the discovery of Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent of human gastritis. The remarkably high urease activity of each organism has served as the basis of diagnostic tests for the presence of the organism in the urease biopsy test and urea breath test. Urease undoubtedly plays a central role in H. pylori pathogenesis. Hydrolysis of urea with generation of ammonia may enable survival of this acid-sensitive organism in the gastric mucosa. Ammonia generated by urea hydrolysis may also produce severe cytotoxic effects within gastric epithelium. The enzyme also elicits a strong immune response during acute infection, suggesting that this abundant antigen is readily available to the immune system. An increase in serum IgG titer is predictive of ongoing infection. Much progress has been made with regard to the molecular biology of urease. The high molecular weight protein (estimated by several investigators to be 300-520 kDa) has been purified, revealing two distinct subunits of 29.5 kDa and 66 kDa, a unique subunit structure as compared with other microbial ureases. However, amino acid sequences are nevertheless well conserved when compared with other bacterial ureases and that of the jack bean, Canavalia ensiformis. Furthermore, genes encoding urease of H. pylori have been cloned, sequenced, and amplified by the polymerase chain reaction.
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PMID:Helicobacter pylori urease: properties and role in pathogenesis. 177 23

The ability of Yarrowia lipolytica to produce ammonia from urea was found variable on some media. The colour change of the indicator in Christensen's urea agar was not due to the urease activity of this species but was a non-specific alkalization reaction. Rapid urea broth was reliable giving no false positive results. It was found that Y. lipolytica is a urease negative yeast species.
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PMID:On the false positive urease activity of Yarrowia lipolytica. 179 8

Trace levels of urethane, a cancer causing chemical, were detected in many kinds of wine, sherry, whisky, brandy and sake. Urethane formation from urea and ethanol in sake can be prevented by the treatment of acid urease, which is produced by Lactobacillus fermentum, but urethane, once formed, is very difficult to decompose. In order to keep the safety of alcoholic beverages, enzymatic removal of urethane has become an urgent problem. We found that Bacillus licheniformis sp., isolated from mouse gastrointestine, decomposed urethane to ethanol and ammonia. The enzyme showed higher urethanase activity at an acidic condition than at a neutral condition, and was resistant against ethyl alcohol of high concentrations. However, the enzyme had a low affinity to urethane for the industrial removal of the compound from alcoholic beverages.
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PMID:Urethanase of Bacillus licheniformis sp. isolated from mouse gastrointestine. 181 24

Our purpose was to determine the urea concentration in minor mucous gland (MMG) secretions and the pH at proximal and distal aspects of the lower surface of artificial plaque in vitro during infusion of urea solutions over the surface, at different film velocities. Saliva is present in the mouth as a slowly moving film (ca. 0.1 mm thick) with an estimated velocity in the range of 0.8-8.0 mm/min. At low velocities, due to the accumulation of bacterial products, a progressive increase in their concentration may occur in both the plaque and the overlying salivary film at the distal edge (where the film leaves the plaque). S. vestibularis, an oral micro-organism possessing ureolytic activity, was combined with 1% agarose, to give a urease Vmax similar to that of natural plaque. The artificial plaque was in the chamber (6.0 x 6.0 square and 0.5 or 1.5 mm deep) of a diffusion apparatus, and a urea-containing artificial saliva (3.3 or 13.2 mmol/l) was infused over the surface, as a film 0.1 mm deep, at velocities of 0.8, 8.2 and 86.2 mm/min. At the lower (physiologically normal) urea concentration and the two lower film velocities, most urea appeared to be metabolized at the proximal end of the plaque, which developed a higher pH. At the higher urea concentration, and a film velocity of 8 mm/min, a higher pH was found at the distal end. This was probably due to the combination of greater urea availability and a reduced rate of ammonia loss distally. At a film velocity of 86.2 mm/min, proximal/distal pH gradients did not develop.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Urea concentration in minor mucous gland secretions and the effect of salivary film velocity on urea metabolism by Streptococcus vestibularis in an artificial plaque. 183 51

Growth studies of Helicobacter pylori were performed involving analysis of the bacterium and its microenvironment, to lend insight into the factors responsible for the morphologic conversion phenomenon. H. pylori converted from bacillary to coccoid forms in broth culture after incubation for 5 days under microaerobic conditions with agitation. This morphologic conversion was paralleled by a dramatic decrease in colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml) and a significant endogenous increase in the pH of the broth culture. In addition, removal of broth cultures from microaerobic conditions after 3 days of incubation resulted in a rapid increase in culture pH, a morphologic conversion, and a concomitant decrease of CFU/ml. These observations suggest an inhibitory effect of basic pH, endogenously produced, on the growth of H. pylori in vitro. Experiments designed to identify the reason for the endogenous increase in culture pH demonstrated that the urease enzyme of H. pylori is not primarily responsible for this phenomenon. Rather, H. pylori appears to produce a deaminase enzyme that is likely responsible for the generation of ammonia, which results in the increase in culture pH, the morphologic conversion, and the loss of culturability observed in vitro. Also indicated is the need for a buffering component (for example, bicarbonate) to maintain pH conditions favorable to the growth of H. pylori.
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PMID:Characterization of the morphologic conversion of Helicobacter pylori from bacillary to coccoid forms. 186 96

A flow injection method was developed, aimed at the determination of urea in human serum. The system makes use of the naturally immobilized urease present in Canavalia ensiformis DC (jack bean). A column is filled with small pieces of this bean, and the sample (50 microliters) containing urea passes through it carried by a 1% NaCl solution. On leaving the column the stream is merged with an alkaline reagent (0.5 mol dm-3 NaOH; 0.5% disodium dihydrogen ethylenediaminetetraacetate). The ammonium ions, arising from the enzymatic reaction that occurs inside the column, are changed into the molecular form, which permeates a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane and is received in a de-ionized water acceptor stream. The ammonia ionizes causing an increase in the conductance, which is proportional to the urea content of the sample. About 40 samples can be processed in 1 h with negligible carry-over and with a relative standard deviation of 1% or less. The results are in agreement with those obtained by a standard spectrophotometric method.
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PMID:Determination of urea in serum by using naturally immobilized urease in a flow injection conductimetric system. 187 83

Recent studies showed that hyperammonaemia caused many of the metabolic changes in portacaval-shunted rats, a model of hepatic encephalopathy. These changes included a depression in the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRGlc), an indication of decreased brain function. 2. The purpose of the present experiments was to determine whether the depression of CMRGlc caused by ammonia is confined to certain brain structures, or whether the depression is an overall decrease in all structures, such as occurs in portacaval-shunted rats. To accomplish this objective, rats were made hyperammonaemic by giving them intraperitoneal injections of 40 units of urease/kg body wt. every 12 h; control rats received 0.154 m-NaCl. CMRGlc was measured 48 h after the first injection, by using quantitative autoradiography with [6-14C]glucose as a tracer. 3. The experimental rats had high plasma ammonia concentrations (control 70 nmol/ml, experimental 610 nmol/ml) and brain glutamine levels (control 5.4 mumol/ml). Hyperammonaemia decreased CMRGlc throughout the brain by an average of 19%. CMRGlc showed an inverse correlation with plasma ammonia, but a stronger correlation with the brain glutamine content. 4. Hyperammonaemia led to a decrease in CMRGlc throughout the brain that was indistinguishable from the pattern seen in portacaval-shunted rats. This is taken as further evidence that the cerebral depression found in portacaval-shunted rats is a consequence of hyperammonaemia. The observation that depression of CMRGlc correlated more closely with brain glutamine content than with plasma ammonia suggests that metabolism of ammonia is an important step in the pathological sequence.
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PMID:Hyperammonaemia depresses glucose consumption throughout the brain. 187 5


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