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Brucella ovis cell membranes were isolated from fractured and lysozyme-treated cells by ultracentrifugation. These preparations appeared to consist largely of outer membranes, as judged from the results of ultracentrifugation experiments in sucrose density gradients under conditions that are widely used to separate inner and outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria. The sequential detergent extraction of cell membranes yielded mainly lipopolysaccharide and three groups of outer membrane proteins. In immunoblotting, lipopolysaccharide had good antigenic reactivity with all sera from rams exposed to B. ovis (vaccination or natural infection), but some outer membrane proteins reacted strongly only with sera from immune (vaccinated) rams, not from infected rams, suggesting a possible diagnostic role for such proteins in predicting immunity or infection.

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Rough lipopolysaccharide, extracted by a mixture of phenol, chloroform, and petroleum ether from freeze-dried Brucella ovis cells with a yield of 0.71%, contained relatively small amounts of protein and nucleic acid contaminants as compared with lipopolysaccharides from other Brucellae. The crude lipopolysaccharide was suitable as a diagnostic antigen in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the sensitive and specific detection of ram epididymitis caused by B. ovis infection. In comparative serological tests, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with B. ovis lipopolysaccharide gave better identification of infections and fewer false-negative results than the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with sonicated antigen or the complement fixation test.

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The inner and outer membranes of Pasteurella haemolytica were separated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation after plasmolysis of the cells in 20% sucrose and fragmentation in a French pressure cell. Assays of the two membrane fractions for 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, succinate dehydrogenase, and NADH dehydrogenase and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that each of the two membrane fractions was purified fivefold relative to the other. The outer membrane fraction contained two major proteins of molecular weights 30,000 and 42,000 (30K and 42K proteins), and the inner membrane fraction contained five proteins in approximately equal amounts. Intact bacteria as well as membrane fractions were extracted by procedures used by others for vaccine preparation to determine whether the outer membrane proteins were released. Extraction of the isolated membranes with 0.5 M potassium thiocyanate in 0.425 M NaCl with or without EDTA or with M sodium salicylate failed to release more than traces of the outer membrane proteins. Sodium dodecyl sulfate extracted essentially all of the proteins of both membranes, but the products of this procedure were of low solubility and presumably denatured. The inner membrane proteins were extracted with 0.5% Sarkosyl in 0.02 M sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.5). The 42K outer membrane protein, most of the lipopolysaccharide, and some of the 30K outer membrane protein were extracted with 1% Zwittergent 3-16 in 0.25 M NaCl (pH 8), and the remaining 30K outer membrane protein was extracted with 1% deoxycholate in 0.25% NaCl (pH 8). Extraction of membranes in this sequence yielded partially purified membrane proteins that were soluble in dilute buffers.

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A protein from Pasteurella haemolytica that was highly immunogenic and toxic toward bovine alveolar macrophages was partially purified. When isolated from culture supernatants of P haemolytica serotype 1 or serotype 6, the protein reacted on Ouchterlony immunodiffusion tests with antisera from 12 serotypes of P haemolytica, but did not cross-react with antisera to serotypes of P multocida. This indicated that the protein may be specific for P haemolytica. Bacteria were grown in dialysis culture in a brain-heart infusion and calf-serum growth medium. The protein was isolated from the medium by ultrafiltration and size-exclusion chromatography and has a molecular weight of approximately 150,000 daltons. The protein, which is highly immunogenic and has the characteristics of a virulence factor, is common to all serotypes of P haemolytica, and may be an effective agent for immunization against P haemolytica in cattle.

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A sequential extraction procedure was used to provide 3 endotoxin fractions from Pasteurella haemolytica with distinct biological and solubility properties. After acetone dessication, extraction with phenol, chloroform, and petroleum ether (2:5:8) provided a fraction designated rough lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Subsequent extraction of the cells with 45% phenol at 68 C yielded a fraction designated smooth LPS, which was further divided into smooth precipitate and smooth supernatant, based on sedimentation at 105,000 x g for 4 hours. Yields of the 3 fractions were 1.5%, 3%, and 5.5% of the dry weight of the cells. The polysaccharide moieties of the rough LPS amd smooth precipitate fractions were obtained by partial acid hydrolysis followed by chloroform extraction. Biological activities of all 5 fractions were compared with activities of standard LPS fractions from Serratia marcescens and Salmonella typhimurium. Results of chicken embryo lethality, the local Shwartzman's phenomenon, nonspecific resistance enhancement ot challenge exposure by S typhimurium pyrogenicity, and the Limulus amebocyte lysate assay were reported.

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Twenty-five proteins in their native state as well as additional materials for the evaluation of column parameters have been submitted to high pressure gel permeation chromatography (GPC) on a TSK G3000 SW column. Our data are compiled from 110 experiments. A new method of treating GPC data has been developed and compared with other methods currently in use. The new method yields lower errors in molecular weights than the others, and by comparison with theoretical plots we were able to attribute the larger errors to curvature of the alternative plots. after studying several methods for characterizing the column, we have concluded that thyroglobulin as well as three or four proteins in the molecular weight range 20,000-30,000, all containing sodium azide, serve to characterize the column with respect to V0, Vi and Vt. Extension of this method of analysis to denatured proteins, biopolymers and other polymers is also outlined. Several chromatograms are also presented to illustrate the resolution obtained with columns of this type. column parameters are compared with values for other packing materials used in PGC.

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The soluble proteins from bovine lens homogenate were separated on Sepharose CL-6B (2 X 200 cm) in 0.05 M tris-NaHSO3 pH 8.2 buffer containing 20 mM EDTA. Five sharp and defined fractions (HM alpha, alpha, beta H, beta L, gamma) were obtained. Each crystallin fraction was further purified by rechromatography on the same column. Each protein fraction was pure as judged by ultracentrifugation and SDS-gel electrophoresis. The molecular weights of the five fractions were 3.04 x 10(6), 5.83 x 10(5), 1.58 x 10(5) , 4.59 x 10(4), 2.14 x 10(4) as determined from sedimentation coefficient and intrinsic viscosity data by Scheraga-Mandelkern equation, which was in close agreement with that obtained by gel filtration. The polypeptide composition of crystallins as determined by SDS-gel electrophoresis revealed one band for high molecular weight alpha (HM alpha) and alpha, three for beta H, two for beta L and one for gamma. The gross CD patterns of crystallins were about the same in the peptide region (200 nm similar to or approximately 250 nm) with a minimum centered at about 217 nm, indicative of a beta-sheet structure in all crystallins. The [theta] values at 217 nm ranged from --1700 to --3700 degrees cm2 per decimole. The CD spectra of these crystallins in the aromatic region (250 nm similar to or approximately 300 nm) were different, reflecting the different contributions of aromatic amino acids to the tertiary structure of crystallins.

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Micrococcus luteus cell exposed to PB(NO3)2 contained cytosol ribosomal particles and disaggregated membranal ribosomal particles as determined by ultracentirifugation and spectral studies. Approx. 60% of the membrane ribosome fraction from lead exposed cells had a sedimentation value of 8.4S. Cytosol ribosomes from lead exposed cells as well as membranal and cytosol ribosomes from control cells were comparable by their contents of predominantly the 70S type with the 50S and 100S present in relatively small amounts. The lead content of the 8.4S component was more than 200 times higher than the components with higher sedimentation coefficients from lead exposed cells and approc. 650 times more than that of control cell ribosomes. The cells exposed to lead, however, showed no adverse effects from the lead in respect to their growth rates and cellular yields. These results indicate that lead is interacting only at specific sites of the membrane and is inducing events initiated only in strategic cellular regions. These data further substantiate that subtle changes do occur in lead exposed cells that show no obvious effects. It is assumed that these 'minor' alterations are, in toto, biologically significant.

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Hydrodynamic, chemical, and optical properties of arginine deiminase (EC 3.5.3.6) from Mycoplasma arthritidis are reported for the enzyme isolated from log phase cells. The S020,w and D020,w values of the enzyme are 5.48 S and 5.87 X 10(-7) cm3/s, respectively; the molecular weight is 87,300. Determination of the amino acid composition shows that about 45% of the residues are nonpolar. Another unique feature of the composition is the presence of 36 half-cystine residues. The state of oxidation of the half-cystines appears to be well established as 16 disulfide and 4 sulfhydryl groups. The reaction of 1 sulfhydryl group with 0.3 mM 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) has a half-life of about 50 min at pH 8. The modified enzyme retains full activity. Two -SH groups are accessible to this reagent in 2 M guanidine hydrochloride, whereas all 4 -SH groups react immediately in 4 M guanidine hydrochloride. Reduction of disulfide bonds with dithiothreitol occurs only to a limited extent in 8 M urea, but is complete in 4 M guanidine hydrochloride. The enzyme loses activity immediately at pH 2.5, but retains full activity upon standing 8 h at pH 9.5 in several buffers. The large number of cystine residues leads to a complex near ultraviolet circular dichroism spectrum with cystine contributions apparently superimposed on contributions from aromatic residues. The far ultraviolet spectrum suggests that the molecule contains about 18% alpha helix. At pH 2.5, beta conformation and disulfide contributions are dominant. Aromatic and alpha bands are reduced considerably at pH 9.5.

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Michaelis-Menten kinetics are observed in studies of highly purified bovine adrenal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase at pH8.0 in 0.1 M bicine. The Km for NADP+ is 3.8 muM and for glucose-6-phosphate, 61 muM. At pH 6.9 Km for NADP+ increases to 6.5 muM. The enzyme is inhibited by NADPH both at pH 6.8 and at 8.0 with a Kip of 2.36 muM at pH 8.0. Inhibition is competitive with respect to both substrates implying that addition of substrates is random ordered. The data are also interpreted in terms of "reducing charge", the mole fraction of coenzyme in the reduced form. This appears to be the major mechanism for regulation of the pentose shunt. D-glucose, oxidized by the enzyme at a very slow rate, is also a competitive inhibitor for the natural substrate with a Ki of 0.29 M. Phosphate is a competitive inhibitor for glucose-6-phosphate oxidation but both phosphate and sulfate accelerate glucose oxidation suggesting a common binding site for the two anions and the phosphate of the natural substrate. While binding of ACTH to our enzyme preparations has been observed, we have not been able, in spite of repeated attempts, to demonstrate augmentation of the activity of the enzyme by the addition of ACTH.

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