Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P00750 (PLA)
 16,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Antimicrobial peptides and proteins are effector molecules in the protection of epithelial surfaces. We have evaluated the presence of antimicrobial peptides/proteins that can participate in human colonic defence against microbes. A peptide/protein extract of normal human colon mucosa was found to be active against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. Four polypeptides with antimicrobial activity were isolated from this material and they were identified by N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis as ubiquicidin, histone H2B, eosinophil cationic protein, and phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)). Using immunodetection and mass spectrometry, LL-37, HNP1-3, and HBD-1 were also identified. Combined, these results indicate that the colon mucosa is protected by a complex mixture of polypeptides, able to kill invading microbes and working in synergy as a barrier against bacterial invasion.
 ...
PMID:Antimicrobial peptides in the first line defence of human colon mucosa. 1286 Jan 95

Picolinic acid (PA) potentiates macrophage (MPhi) antimicrobial activity against intracellular Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Here, we studied the mechanisms of this phenomenon using human THP-1 MPhis. First, when PA-treated MAC-infected MPhis were cultured in the presence or absence of reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI) scavengers, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors or phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) inhibitors, none of these agents blocked the activity of PA in potentiating MPhi anti-MAC activity. Second, when PA was added to the in vitro anti-MAC bactericidal system consisting of either ROIs, reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNIs) or free fatty acid (FFA) molecules, which are the major MPhi antimicrobial effectors, PA inhibited the activity of ROIs and conversely potentiated the activity of RNIs; PA did not affect the activity of FFAs. Third, PA reduced mRNA expression of NADPH oxidase and beta-defensin-1 by MAC-infected MPhis, whilst neither cytosolic PLA(2) nor CAP37 mRNA expression was affected. Notably, inducible NOS and secretory PLA(2) mRNA expression was not detected for MAC-infected MPhis even when given PA treatment. These findings suggest that ROIs, RNIs, FFAs and beta-defensin-1 do not play important roles in the PA-induced potentiation of MPhi anti-MAC activity.
 ...
PMID:Effects of picolinic acid on the antimicrobial functions of host macrophages against Mycobacterium avium complex. 1729 87