bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Specific Binding Sites for Monomeric and Aggregated β2‐Microglobulin on Surface of Groups A, B, C, and G Streptococci
Authors: Chhatwal Gursharan S. , Dutra Iveraldo S. , Blobel Hans 
Published: November 2013

AbstractHuman β2‐microglobulin (β2‐m) was isolated from urine samples of patients with tubular dysfunctions and aggregated with glutaraldehyde. Four aggregates with molecular weights of 800,000, 480,000, 260,000, and 60,000 were separated by filtration on Sephacryl S‐300. The aggregates and monomeric β2‐m (11,800 MW) were subsequently labeled with 125I and tested for binding to streptococci. Group A streptococci bound only aggregated β2‐m with a mean binding of 44.5%. Most of the group G streptococci, on the other hand, bound only monomeric β2‐m with a mean binding of 58%. Among group B streptococci the serotypes with protein antigens interacted mainly with monomeric β2‐m and those without protein antigens preferentially with aggregated β2‐m. Nontypable group B streptococcal serotypes did not bind monomeric or aggegated β2‐m. Of the streptococci belonging to group C, S. equisimilis reacted with monomeric β2‐m and S. dysgalactiae with aggregated β2‐m. S. equi did not interact with monomeric β2‐m or aggregated β2‐m. Bindings of monomeric β2‐m and aggregated β2‐m were saturable and could be inhibited by the respective unlabeled forms of β2‐m. Fibrinogen, fibronectin, α2‐macroglobulin, haptoglobin, or immunoglobulin G did not inhibit the binding of either form of β2‐m. The binding sites for monomeric β2‐m were more susceptible to trypsin than those for aggregated β2‐m. Treatment of streptococci with pronase destroyed their binding activities for monomeric and aggregated β2‐m. Both monomeric β2‐m and aggregated β2‐m binding sites were sensitive to heat. The Scatchard plots of monomeric β2‐m and aggregated β2‐m were linear with Kd of 1.29 × 10−9 M and >1.9 × 10−9 M respectively. The number of binding sites per bacterium were estimated to be 81,000 for monomeric β2‐m and 1,210 for aggregated β2‐m.
Antigen Presentation by Human Antigen‐Presenting Cells to Antigen‐Specific Xenogeneic Murine T Cells
Authors: Yabu Kouji , Yano Akihiko 
Published: November 2013

AbstractSuccessful antigen presentation by xenogeneic human antigen‐presenting cells (APC) to stimulate the proliferation of antigen‐specific, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)‐specific, ovelbumin (OVA)‐specific, and purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD)‐specific murine T cells was observed. Evidence indicating a direct cell interaction between antigen‐specific murine T cells and xenogeneic human APC was given by experiments using antigen‐specific murine T cell clones. The OVA‐specific B10.S(9R) T cell line (9‐0‐A1) and PPD‐specific B10.A(4R) T cell line (4‐P‐1) were stimulated by both xenogeneic human APC and murine APC from syngeneic or I‐A compatible strains, while the PPD‐specific human T cell line (Y‐P‐5) was stimulated by autologous human APC but not by murine APC. Anti‐HLA‐DR monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) blocked the xenogeneic human APC‐antigen‐specific murine T cell clone interaction. Thus, human xenogeneic APC can stimulate antigen‐specific murine T cells through HLA‐DR molecules in the same manner as syngeneic murine APC do through Ia molecules coded for by the I region of the H‐2 complex, while murine APC failed to present antigen to stimulate human antigen‐specific T cells.
Effects of Lactobacillus casei on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection in Normal and Dexamethasone‐Treated Mice
Authors: Saito Hajime , Watanabe Takashi , Horikawa Yoshiya 
Published: November 2013

AbstractA single intraperitoneal injection of Lactobacillus casei YIT 0003 into normal or dexamethasone‐treated mice led to nonspecific resistance against intraperitoneal challenge with lethal doses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO 3047. The enhanced resistance was retained for 14 days (P<0.05) after injection with living L. casei. In contrast, the statistically significant duration of the enhanced resistance in mice treated intraperitoneally with living L. acidophilus YIT 0075 was only 5 days. The in vivo killing activity of peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) against P. aeruginosa 5 and 7 days after intraperitoneal injection of living L. casei was significantly higher than in the case of PECs elicited by L. acidophilus. In the case of intravenous injection of heat‐killed L. casei before intraperitoneal challenge with P. aeruginosa, there were no survivors in the late period after administration of L. casei. A high correlation existed between the patterns of in vivo killing of P. aeruginosa by PECs and survival rate of mice injected intravenously with heat‐killed L. casei. The reduced in vivo killing activity of PECs from dexamethasone‐treated mice against P. aeruginosa infection was also augmented by the intraperitoneal injection of heat‐killed L. casei. These results indicate that L. casei possesses a resistance‐enhancing capacity against P. aeruginosa infection in vivo. Differences in the duration of the enhanced resistance caused by L. casei and by L. acidophilus may be due to differences in chemical composition and/or physicochemical properties of the cell walls of the two kinds of bacteria.
Characterization of an Echovirus Type 30 Variant Isolated from Patients with Aseptic Meningitis
Authors: Matsumoto Kazuo , Yokochi Takashi , Matsuda Susumu , Itoi Yoshiyuki , Kimura Yoshinobu 
Published: November 2013

AbstractAn outbreak of echovirus type 30 infection associated with aseptic meningitis occurred among newborn babies in a hospital neonatal room at Fukui City in 1983. The isolated virus was identified as an antigenic variant of echovirus type 30 by cross‐neutralization tests with antisera against the prototype Bastianni strain and the present isolate. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the antigenic determinants responsible for virus neutralization, some of which were type specific and others strain specific, were present on the capsid protein VP1. The current strain was more thermoresistant than the prototype, suggesting some alterations in virus structural proteins.
New Monoclonal Antibodies That Define Multiple Epitopes and a Human‐Specific Marker on the Interleukin 2 Receptor Molecules of Primates
Authors: Tanaka Yuetsu , Inoi Takeshi , Tozawa Hideki , Sugamura Kazuo , Hinuma Yorio 
Published: November 2013

AbstractTwelve hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies to the human interleukin 2 (IL‐2) receptor (IL‐2R) molecule were prepared. These antibodies were characterized by competitive antibody‐binding assay and sequential immunoprecipitation assay with four known monoclonal antibodies to the human IL‐2R molecule. The twelve new monoclonal antibodies were divided among the four known antibody types, the HIEI‐, H‐A26‐, H‐31‐, and anti‐Tac‐type, and an additional new type, the H‐48‐type. The H‐48 antibody did not compete with any other antibodies in the competitive binding assay. The binding of 125I‐IL‐2 to MT‐2 cells and the IL‐2‐dependent growth of normal activated T‐cells were both strongly inhibited by all the H‐31‐ and anti‐Tac‐type antibodies, and partially or slightly inhibited by HIEI‐ and H‐A26‐type antibodies, but were not inhibited by the H‐48 antibody. Thus, the same type of monoclonal antibodies had a similar effect on the function of IL‐2R. These results suggest that epitopes for the same type of antibodies could be single identical epitopes or epitopes closely associated with each other. On the other hand, these antibodies also reacted variously with a panel of various human and simian lymphoid cell lines immortalized with human T‐cell leukemia virus type‐I (HTLV‐I): the H‐45 antibody reacted only with the human cell lines, the H‐Cl and H‐44 and H‐47 antibodies reacted with human and ape cell lines, and the other antibodies reacted with cell lines of humans, apes and Old and New World monkeys. These differences in the reactivity of the antibodies with the primate cell lines suggest that the antigenic structure of the IL‐2R molecule changed during evolutionary divergence of the primates.
Mechanisms of Plasmid‐Mediated Antibiotic Resistances in Vibrio parahaemolytcus
Authors: Hasegawa Hiroko , Hamashima Hajime , Arai Taketoshi 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe mechanisms of drug resistance of clinical isolate, Vibrio (V.) parahaemolyticus ST550, resistant to chloramphenicol (CP), aminoglycoside antibiotics (AGs) and β‐lactam antibiotics were investigated. The mechanisms of resistance to CP, AGs and β‐lactam antibiotics were dependent on chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), aminoglycoside‐3″‐adenylyltransferase AAD(3″) and aminoglycosides‐3′‐phosphotransferase APH(3′) and TEM type penicillinase, respectively.
Number of Hits Necessary for Complement‐Mediated Hemolysis
Authors: Takeda Junji , Kozono Haruo , Takata Yuko , Hong Kyongsu , Kinoshita Taroh , Sayama Koji , Tanaka Etsuko , Inoue Kozo 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe number of hits necessary for the C8 and C9 steps of immune hemolysis was reexamined with a previously unemployed experimental design, in which various numbers of EAC1–7, excess of the supplementary component and a constant amount of the component tested were incubated in a constant volume (Inoue et al. 1976. Infect. Immun. 13: 337). Our results were consistent with previous findings; the steps of guinea pig C8 and C9, and human C8 each followed a one‐hit mechanism, while that of human C9 showed a multi‐hit response. When lysis of sensitized erythrocytes (EA) by normal human serum was analysed in a similar way, one‐hit curves were obtained. This result, taken together with the above results, suggests that immune hemolysis occurs by a single lesion including a single C8 and multiple C9 in the case of human complement and that normal human serum contains sufficient excess of C9. On the other hand, when C9‐deficient human serum was used for lysis of EA, multiple‐hit curves were obtained. The mechanism of lysis by C5b‐8 may differ from that by C5b‐9.
Survey of Modifying Enzymes and Plasmids in Amikacin‐Resistant Serratia marcescens
Authors: Katoh‐Kanno Rieko , Kimura Mitsuko , Ikeda Tatsuo , Kimura Sadao 
Published: November 2013

AbstractForty amikacin‐resistant strains of Serratia marcescens isolated from four different hospitals (A, B, C, and D) were examined for modifying enzymes and plasmids. Twenty‐one of the isolates produced acetyltransferase that modified amikacin. Eighteen of the 21 acetyltransferase‐bearing isolates were from different inpatients in hospital A and the other three were from hospital C. Amikacin resistance was mediated by conjugative plasmid of 24 megadaltons in 15 of the 18 acetyltransferase‐bearing isolates of hospital A and by nonconjugative plasmids, derivatives of the 24‐megadalton plasmids, in the remaining three isolates of the same hospital. The 24‐megadalton plasmid determined aminoglycoside acetyltransferase (6′) IV. This plasmid‐borne enzyme conferred amikacin resistance on S. marcescens but not on Escherichia coli K12. The frequency of transfer of the 24‐megadalton plasmid from the S. marcescens isolate to E. coli K12 by conjugation was approximately 10‐7 (transconjugants/donors) and was 0.1% of that between E. coli strains. In acetyltransferase‐bearing isolates from hospital C, the enzyme was mediated by a nonconjugative plasmid in one case and could not be associated with a plasmid in the remaining two cases. Neither enzymes nor plasmids could be associated with amikacin resistance of the isolates of the other two hospitals.
A Novel Rat Monoclonal Antibody Directed against a Population of Activated Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages
Authors: Someya Akira 
Published: November 2013

AbstractA hybridoma clone secreting rat monoclonal antibody (MAB) designated as 3F3.5F and which reacted with a population of activated tumoricidal mouse peritoneal macrophage (MΦ) was produced by the fusion of mouse myeloma cells with rat spleen cells immunized against adherent BCG‐activated mouse peritoneal exudate cells (adherent BCG‐PEC). The antibody was cytotoxic and of the rat IgM class. The specific reactivity of the antibody with mouse primary cells and cell lines was examined by complement‐dependent cytotoxicity and indirect immunofluorescence flow cytometry analysis. The antibody was found to bind to about 40% of the adherent BCG‐PEC activated in vivo and elicited peritoneal macrophages activated in vitro by lymphokine and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), to about 35% of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) 15 hr after intraperitoneal injection of BCG, to about 30% of bone marrow cells from BCG‐infected mice, to about 10% of P815 mastocytoma cells and to thioglycollate‐induced PEC to some degree. It did not bind to other cells tested including BCG‐induced peritoneal lymphocytes, non‐tumoricidal PEC, thymocytes, spleen cells, resting bone marrow cells from normal mice, lymphomas, myelomas, fibroblasts, or macrophage‐cell lines. Pretreatment of adherent BCG‐PEC with MAB 3F3.5F and rabbit complement caused a considerable decrease in tumor cytotoxicity toward P815 cells, but the same pretreatment of non‐adherent BCG‐PEC had no inhibitory effect on natural killer activity for YAC‐1 cells.
Age‐Specific Prevalence of Hepatitis B e Antigen (HBeAg) and Antibody to HBeAg (Anti‐HBe) among Asymptomatic Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) Carriers in Okinawa and Kyushu, Japan
Authors: Kashiwagi Seizaburo , Hayashi Jun , Nomura Hideyuki , Kajiyama Wataru , Ikematsu Hideyuki , Shingu Toshimitsu , Hayashida Kazuo , Kaji Masaro 
Published: November 2013

AbstractA total of 1,741 asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers in two areas (Okinawa and Kyushu) in Japan were surveyed for the presence of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and the corresponding antibody (anti‐HBe) to determine the age‐specific prevalence of these markers and the mean age of carriers with HBeAg. Prevalence of HBeAg was significantly higher in Kyushu (36.4% of 755 carriers) than in Okinawa (20.0% of 986 carriers) (P<0.001). The mean age of carriers with HBeAg was 25.5 years in Kyushu and 16.1 years in Okinawa, suggesting that HBeAg converted to anti‐HBe earlier in Okinawa than in Kyushu. In contrast, the prevalence of anti‐HBe was significantly higher in Okinawa (74.6% of 986) than in Kyushu (56.3% of 755) (P<0.001). The prevalence of HBeAg decreased with age up to 40–49 years of age and then increased in both areas. Prevalence of anti‐HBe was inversely related to the prevalence of HBeAg in both areas. These data suggest that HBeAg and anti‐HBe are chronological markers of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and that the duration of HBeAg persistence can be different in different area, even in the same country.
Plasmid‐Like Properties of the Four Virulence‐Associated Factors of Yersinia pestis
Authors: Tsukano Hiroko , Wake Akira , Sakakibara Yoshimasa 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe virulence‐associated factors of Yersinia pestis, which determine the abilities to produce pesticin I (Pst+), capsular fraction I antigen (Fra+), V and W antigen complex (Vwa+) and a cell‐surface component for adsorption of exogenous pigments (Pgm+), were independently eliminated by cultivation of the cells in the presence of acridine orange, ethidium bromide or sodium dodecyl sulfate at a subinhibitory concentration. A virulent Y. pestis strain, Yreka, harbored at least five extrachromosomal DNA molecules of different sizes. In these molecules, a novel 13‐megadalton DNA which was cured concomitantly with the elimination of the Fra factor was found, in addition to the known species of 7 and 44 megadaltons which were lost with the conversions to Pst‐ and Vwa‐, respectively. Although the conversion to Pgm‐ could not be correlated with the lack of any proper extrachromosomal DNA, the factor was transmitted to Pgm‐ cells with the aid of self‐conjugative RP4 plasmid. The cells acquiring the Pgm factor regained virulence for mice.
Structural Changes in the Nucleoid of Bacillus subtilis at Low Temperature
Authors: Amako Kazunobu , Takade Akemi , Umeda Akiko 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe external shape of the nucleoid of Bacillus subtilis strain w23 was examined with a new electron microscopic technique, the rapid freezing and substitution fixation method. The nucleoid of the log and stationary phase cells was recognized as an area devoid of ribosomes and widely dispersed in the cytoplasm, which was different from that observed in OsO4‐fixed cells. If the bacteria were exposed to low temperatures (0 to 10 C), the nucleoid showed a highly concentrated shape in the middle of the cytoplasm. These structural changes were observed only when the bacteria were maintained in a high‐salt buffer. The results are discussed in relation to the membrane fluidity at low temperature.
Stimulation of Macrophages and Antitumor Activity of Radiodetoxified Endotoxin
Authors: Nerkar Devdas Punjaji , Bandekar Jayant Ramchandra 
Published: November 2013

AbstractLipopolysaccharide of Salmonella typhimurium was irradiated with gamma radiation at 10, 15, and 30 kGy doses. A dose of 30 kGy significantly detoxified the LPS (180 times). Mice were injected intraperitoneally with the radiodetoxified LPS, and it was found that it stimulated peritoneal macrophages as was evident from the enhancement of their acid hydrolases and cellular RNA content. Both LPS and radiodetoxified LPS exhibited antitumor activity against S180 cells in Swiss mice. Treatment with 20 μg/mouse of either LPS or 30 kGy LPS gave maximum survival of the mice (90%). These mice were found to resist the challenge of S180 cells (1 × 106).
Metabolic Activation of 1–Nitropyrene and 1, 6–Dinitropyrene by Nitroreductases from Bacteroides fragilis and Distribution of Nitroreductase Activity in Rats
Authors: Kinouchi Takemi , Ohnishi Yoshinari 
Published: November 2013

AbstractNitrated polycyclic aromatic compounds, 1–nitropyrene (1–NP) and 1,6‐dinitropyrene (1,6–diNP), are environmental mutagens and carcinogens. Nitroreductases purified from an anaerobic bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis, catalyzed the metabolic activation of these compounds to produce DNA‐ and tRNA‐bound adducts in vitro. Formation of the adducts was inhibited by p‐chloromercuribenzoic acid, which is an inhibitor of nitroreductases from B. fragilis. The enzyme and coenzyme (NADPH) were essential for the adduct formation. These results suggest that nitroreduction is a necessary step in the metabolic activation of nitropyrenes. 1–NP bound specifically to poly(G) and poly(dG), and 1,6–diNP bound to poly(G), poly(dG), and poly(X). The other purine polynucleotides were weak acceptors. However, the reactive products of nitropyrenes formed by nitroreductases could not bind to pyrimidine polynucleotides. Enzymatic hydrolysis of 1–NP‐bound DNA and subsequent analysis by high‐performance liquid chromatography showed one major and two minor adducts in the hydrolysate. The peak of the major adduct corresponded to that of N‐(deoxyguanosin‐8–yl)‐1‐aminopyrene, which is the same as an adduct formed by xanthine oxidase, a mammalian nitroreductase. Nitroreductase activity in the various organs and intestinal contents of Sprague‐Dawley rats was assayed in the presence of NADPH or NADH under nitrogen gas. Nitroreductase activity was widely distributed in the organs of the rats; in particular, that of the liver and of the small intestine was relatively high, but that of the respiratory organs such as lung and alveolar macrophages was very low. Intestinal contents had high nitroreductase activity, which was proportional to the number of bacteria, especially anaerobic bacteria, in the intestine. These results suggest that the nitroreductase activity of the normal bacterial flora is very high in rats and that the intestinal bacteria play a major role in the metabolism of nitropyrenes in vivo.
Effect of Mannitol and Glucose on the Distribution and Trypsin Susceptibility of Protein A of Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Yamada Sakuo , Matsumoto Akira 
Published: November 2013

AbstractThe biological activity and morphological distribution of protein A on the cell surface were studied in a medium containing an excess of either mannitol or glucose, which suppressed protein A production of Staphylococcus aureus, Cowan I strain. Preculture of the organisms in the presence of a sugar suppressed the expression of protein A, resulting in a decrease in the number of cells bound with anti‐ferritin rabbit IgG molecules, which specifically indicate protein A distribution. The distribution pattern of protein A on the cell surface changed with glucose but not with mannitol. The two‐layered ferritin distribution on the organism grown in the control medium was altered into a heavily labeled, thick and rough layer with glucose, suggesting the induction of a conformational change in the polypeptide chain forming protein A. This was positively supported by the increase in trypsin susceptibility of protein A.
Culture Conditions for Stimulating Cholera Toxin Production by Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor
Authors: Iwanaga Masaaki , Yamamoto Koichiro , Higa Naomi , Ichinose Yoshio , Nakasone Noboru , Tanabe Masao 
Published: November 2013

AbstractA method that stimulates cholera toxin (CT) production by Vibrio cholerae O1 biotype El Tor (El Tor vibrios) to the level of several micrograms per ml in the culture fluid was established. Such a large amount of CT was obtained by the following method: El Tor vibrios were cultured in AKI medium (1.5% Bacto peptone, 0.4% yeast extract‐Difco, 0.5% NaCl, 0.3% NaHCO3) at 37 C for 4 hr in a stationary test tube and then for 16 hr in a shaken flask, with inoculum sizes of 105 to 107/ml. With this method, 35 strains out of 60 examined produced 2 to 16 μg/ml of CT as determined by the reversed passive latex agglutination test (RPLA). Thirty‐three randomly selected strains out of the 60 produced reasonable amounts of rabbit skin vascular permeability factor, reflecting the amount of CT titrated with RPLA.
Appearance of Uridine 5′‐Diphospho‐N‐Acetylglucosamine‐4‐Epimerase during Sporulation of Bacillus megaterium
Authors: Nishikawa Jun‐Ichi , Iwawaki Hiromi , Takubo Yoshihiro , Nishihara Tsutomu , Kondo Masaomi 
Published: November 2013

AbstractIn a biosynthetic study of the spore coat of Bacillus megaterium ATCC 12872 spore with galactosamine phosphate as a major component of the outer coat, high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme immunoassay were applied for the measurement of UDP‐N‐acetylglucosamine‐4‐epimerase [EC 5.1.3.7] activity and the enzyme protein concentration, respectively. The new HPLC system using an ion‐pair (or anion‐exchange) column allowed us to determine successfully the enzyme activity and its application, proving that the specific activity of the enzyme in the cells increased at the later stage of sporulation. This increase in activity was parallel to the induction of enzyme protein synthesis, which was detected by sandwich enzyme immunoassay using antiserum to the purified enzyme. These results suggested that the regulation of this enzyme is at the genetic level and it plays an important role in the outer coat synthesis in the later sporulation stage of B. megaterium.