Exploring the role of antimicrobials in the selective growth of purple phototrophic bacteria through genome mining and agar spot assays.

Purple non-sulphur bacteria (PNSB) are an emerging group of microbes attractive for applied microbiology applications such as wastewater treatment, plant biostimulants, microbial protein, polyhydroxyalkanoates and H2 production. These photoorganoheterotrophic microbes have the unique ability to grow selectively on organic carbon in anaerobic photobioreactors. This so-called selectivity implies that the microbial community will have a low diversity and a high abundance of a particular PNSB species. Recently, it has been shown that certain PNSB strains can produce antimicrobials, yet it remains unclear whether these contribute to competitive inhibition. This research aimed to understand which type of antimicrobial PNSB produce and identify whether these compounds contribute to their selective growth. Mining 166 publicly-available PNSB genomes using the computational tool BAGEL showed that 59% contained antimicrobial encoding regions, more specifically biosynthetic clusters of bacteriocins and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Inter- and intra-species inhibition was observed in agar spot assays for Rhodobacter blasticus EBR2 and Rhodopseudomonas palustris EBE1 with inhibition zones of, respectively, 5.1 and 1.5-5.7 mm. Peptidomic analysis detected a peptide fragment in the supernatant (SVLQLLR) that had a 100% percentage identity match with a known non-ribosomal peptide synthetase with antimicrobial activity.

Improved analysis of ultra-high molecular mass polystyrenes in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using DCTB matrix and caesium salts.

RATIONALE: The ionization of polystyrenes in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is typically achieved by the use of silver salts. Since silver salts can cause severe problems, such as cluster formation, fragmentation of polymer chains and end group cleavage, their substitution by alkali salts is highly desirable. METHODS: The influence of various cations (Ag(+), Cs(+) and Rb(+)) on the MALDI process of polystyrene (PS) mixtures and high mass polystyrenes was examined. The sample preparation was kept as straightforward as possible. Consequently, no recrystallization or other cleaning procedures were applied. RESULTS: The investigation of a polystyrene mixture showed that higher molecular polystyrenes could be more easily ionized using caesium, rather than rubidium or silver salts. In combination with the use of DCTB as matrix a high-mass polymer analysis could be achieved, which was demonstrated by the detection of a 1.1 MDa PS. CONCLUSIONS: A fast, simple and robust MALDI sample preparation method for the analysis of ultra-high molecular weight polystyrenes based on the use of DCTB and caesium salts has been presented. The suitability of the presented method has been validated by using different mass spectrometers and detectors.

Impact of constant storage temperatures and multiple warming cycles on the quality of stored red blood cells.

BACKGROUND: Red blood cells (RBCs) are routinely stored in liquid state at temperatures below 6°C, and RBC unit core temperature should not exceed 10°C during transport. Since the critical temperature of 10°C was chosen mostly arbitrarily, this study investigated the effect of both constant temperature settings as well as multiple rewarming cycles on stored RBCs with respect to morphology, biochemical parameters and haemolysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Buffy coat-depleted filtered RBCs were used as standard products. RBCs were stored at 1-6°C (reference group, n = 12), 13 and 22°C (test groups, n = 12 each) or stored at 1-6°C and warmed up five times to 10, 13, or 22°C for a period of 24 h each. Various biochemical parameters were measured weekly. RBCs were further investigated using electron microscopy. RESULTS: Red blood cells stored constantly at 13 or 22°C showed stable haemolysis rates until day 28 and day 14, respectively. RBCs stored at 1-6°C with five warming-up periods to 10, 13 or 22°C each lasting 24 h (total 120 h) did not exceed the limit of the haemolysis rate at the end of storage. Differently shaped erythrocytes were found in all samples, but more crenate erythrocytes appeared after 42 days of storage independent of temperature profiles. CONCLUSION: Red cells can be kept at constant temperatures above 6°C without apparent harmful effects at least until day 14, whereas multiple warming cycles for no longer than 24 h at 10, 13 or 22°C with subsequent cooling do not cause quality loss as assessed using the in vitro assays employed in this study.

Analytical solution of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations for an electrochemical system close to electroneutrality.

Single charge densities and the potential are used to describe models of electrochemical systems. These quantities can be calculated by solving a system of time dependent nonlinear coupled partial differential equations, the Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations. Assuming small deviations from the electroneutral equilibrium, the linearized and decoupled equations are solved for a radial symmetric geometry, which represents the interface between a cell and a sensor device. The densities and the potential are expressed by Fourier-Bessels series. The system considered has a ratio between the Debye-length and its geometric dimension on the order of 10(-4) so the Fourier-Bessel series can be approximated by elementary functions. The time development of the system is characterized by two time constants, τ(c) and τ(g). The constant τ(c) describes the approach to the stationary state of the total charge and the potential. τ(c) is several orders of magnitude smaller than the geometry-dependent constant τ(g), which is on the order of 10 ms characterizing the transition to the stationary state of the single ion densities.

Patterned self-assembly of gold nanoparticles on chemical templates fabricated by soft UV nanoimprint lithography.

Chemical templates for the patterned immobilization of gold nanoparticles were fabricated by soft UV nanoimprint lithography. The template structures were fabricated by means of the consecutively performed process steps of nanoimprint lithography, reactive ion etching, chemical functionalization with amino groups, and lift-off of imprint resist. These chemical templates were used for the defined assembly of 20 nm diameter citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles from aqueous solution. By reducing the ionic strength of the solution, one- and zero-dimensional particle assemblies were generated on sub-100-nm template structures. By this means, the pattern resolution predefined by the lithography process could be easily enhanced by dilution of the nanoparticle solution.

Increased production of superoxide anion by macrophages exposed in vitro to muramyl dipeptide or lipopolysaccharide.

After in vitro exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or muramyl dipeptide (MDP), cultured resident mouse peritoneal macrophages were primed to display enhanced generation of superoxide anion (O2-) in response to stimulation by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan. Priming with LPS (1 microgram/ml) produced a sevenfold enhancement of PMA-stimulated O2- generation; priming was detected within 30 min and persisted for at least 4 d. Exposure to MDP (1 muM) primed the macrophages to double their O2- release; the response was first observed after 4 h and persisted for at least 3 d. The priming response was not observed with stereoisomers of MDP, which are inactive as adjuvants. LPS and MDP appeared to work directly on the macrophages rather than indirectly by interacting with adherent lymphocytes: (a) Addition of nonadherent cell populations that contained lymphocytes had no effect on the response. (b) The response was normal with cells from nude mice, which lack mature T lymphocytes. (c) Macrophages from C3H/HeJ mice, whose B lymphocytes fail to respond to LPS, were weak in their response to priming LPS; the addition of normal (C3Heb/FeJ) nonadherent cells had no effect on this weak response. (d) The macrophage-like cell line J774.1 also showed enhanced O2--generating capacity after a 4-h exposure to LPS or MDP. The O2--generating capacity of macrophages primed with LPS in vitro was equivalent to that previously observed with cells elicited in vivo by injection of LPS or activated by infection with Bacille Calmette-Guérin. The data suggest that previous exposure to bacterial products could prime macrophages to respond with increased production of toxic oxygen metabolites on contact with invading microorganisms or tumor cells.

Activation of macrophages for enhanced release of superoxide anion and greater killing of Candida albicans by injection of muramyl dipeptide.

The adjuvant muramyl dipeptide (MDP) has been shown to affect a number of macrophage functions in vitro. We studied the effect of subcutaneous injection of MDP into mice. Cultured peritoneal macrophages from treated mice displayed increased spreading, total cell protein, and specific activity of beta-glucosaminidase a constituent of macrophage lysosomes, and of lactate dehydrogenase. Generation of superoxide anion (O2-) by MDP-treated macrophages stimulated by contact with phorbol myristate acetate was enhanced by over fivefold to levels achieved by macrophages from bacillus Calmette-Guérin-infected mice. The enhancement in stimulated O2- release was noted by 1 h after injection of MDP, peaked by 3 h, and remained high for at least 48 h. Priming for enhancement of O2- release by MDP was similar in athymic nude mice and in normal littermates, suggesting that mature T lymphocytes are not involved in this MDP effect. Priming for enhanced stimulated O2- release, and morphologic and enzymic changes, were not achieved by injection of the D-D stereoisomer of MDP. Phagocytosis of Candida albicans was only slightly greater by macrophages from mice give MDP, but MDP-stimulated cells killed two times more C. albicans in vitro than did cells from untreated animals. When MDP was given 18 h before, simultaneously with, or 24 h after lethal infectious challenge with C. albicans, treated mice were protected compared with controls. These results suggest that injection of MDP effectively and rapidly activates macrophages in the recipient animal. This agent should serve as an important probe of macrophage physiology and, perhaps ultimately, as a means of enhancing host defense in humans.

Phenotype-related differential alpha-2,6- or alpha-2,3-sialylation of glycoprotein N-glycans in human chondrocytes.

OBJECTIVE: Sialic acids frequently occur at the terminal positions of glycoprotein N-glycans present at chondrocyte surfaces or in the cartilage matrix. Sialic acids are transferred to glycoproteins in either alpha-2,3 or alpha-2,6 linkage by specific sialyltransferases (SiaTs) and can potentially affect cell functions and cell-matrix interactions. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between the expression of the human chondrocyte phenotype and the sialylation of chondrocyte glycoprotein N-glycans. METHODS: The transcription of 5 SiaT was quantified using real-time Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. N-glycan analysis was performed using LC-ESI-MS. Primary human chondrocytes were cultured in monolayer or alginate beads and compared to the chondrocyte cell lines C-28/I2 and SW1353. In addition, effects of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on primary cells were assessed. RESULTS: Primary human chondrocytes predominantly express alpha-2,6-specific SiaTs and accordingly, alpha-2,6-linked sialic acid residues in glycoprotein N-glycans. In contrast, the preponderance of alpha-2,3-linked sialyl residues and, correspondingly, reduced levels of alpha-2,6-specific SiaTs are associated with the altered chondrocyte phenotype of C-28/I2 and SW1353 cells. Importantly, a considerable shift towards alpha-2,3-linked sialic acids and alpha-2,3-specific SiaT mRNA levels occurred in primary chondrocytes treated with IL-1beta or tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). CONCLUSION: The expression of the differentiated chondrocyte phenotype is linked to the ratio of alpha-2,6- to alpha-2,3-linked sialic acids in chondrocyte glycoprotein N-glycans. A shift towards altered sialylation might contribute to impaired cell-matrix interactions in disease conditions.

Photochemical regeneration of flavoenzymes - An Old Yellow Enzyme case-study.

Direct, NAD(P)H-independent regeneration of Old Yellow Enzymes represents an interesting approach for simplified reaction schemes for the stereoselective reduction of conjugated C=C-double bonds. Simply by illuminating the reaction mixtures with blue light in the presence of sacrificial electron donors enables to circumvent the costly and unstable nicotinamide cofactors and a corresponding regeneration system. In the present study, we characterise the parameters determining the efficiency of this approach and outline the current limitations. Particularly, the photolability of the flavin photocatalyst and the (flavin-containing) biocatalyst represent the major limitation en route to preparative application.

Copper and cadmium: responses in Pseudomonas putida KT2440.

AIMS: To compare responses of a soil bacterium to Cu and Cd. METHODS AND RESULTS: In minimal medium, Cd caused a dose-dependent growth stasis of logarithmic phase cells of Pseudomonas putida, strain KT2440, whereas Cu did not compromise growth up to 10 mg l(-1). Proteomics showed changes in accumulation of both membrane and soluble proteins by 6 h of treatment; increased Krebs cycle enzymes were apparent. Transcript analysis showed Cd- and Cu-induced different genes. Cd-induced genes encoding the transcriptional regulator CzrR2; an outer membrane protein associated with lipopolysaccharide stability, H1; two oxidative stress protective proteins and the P-type ATPase, CadA2, associated with Cd(2+) efflux. The genes most responsive to Cu encoded the regulator CopR1 and the outer membrane resistance protein regulated by CopR1, CopB1; a putative porin, PorD and the Cu-binding protein, PacZ or CopZ, and CopA2. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support that a soil pseudomonad restricts internalization of the metals by using different sets of binding proteins and efflux pumps. Activation of mechanisms to protect against oxidative stress also was evident especially with Cd exposure. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The differential cellular responses to Cd and Cu suggest that risk assessment for Cd and Cu should be different.

The HSG procedure for modelling integrated urban wastewater systems.

Whilst the importance of integrated modelling of urban wastewater systems is ever increasing, there is still no concise procedure regarding how to carry out such modelling studies. After briefly discussing some earlier approaches, the guideline for integrated modelling developed by the Central European Simulation Research Group (HSG - Hochschulgruppe) is presented. This contribution suggests a six-step standardised procedure to integrated modelling. This commences with an analysis of the system and definition of objectives and criteria, covers selection of modelling approaches, analysis of data availability, calibration and validation and also includes the steps of scenario analysis and reporting. Recent research findings as well as experience gained from several application projects from Central Europe have been integrated in this guideline.

Application of elemental microanalysis to elucidate the role of spherites in the digestive gland of the helicid snail Chilostoma lefeburiana.

In this case study we present an application of different analytical electron microscopic methods in biology, to elucidate their usefulness in such investigations. Using analytical electron microscopy, spherites in the digestive gland cells of the helicid snail Chilostoma lefeburiana were examined at three stages: just before the non-feeding period of over-wintering in November, in the middle of over-wintering in February and at its end in March. A detailed characterization of changes in the elemental composition of the spherites was characterized by a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy filtering TEM (EFTEM). During over-wintering, the spherites passed the following changes. Before over-wintering in November, they consisted of striking concentric layers of electron-dense and electron-lucent zones, while in February and March they showed clear empty zones between materials of different electron density. In November spherites, C, O, Ca, P, Cl, Fe, Si, Na, K, Mg and S were detected, whereas in February ones C, O, N, Cl, Si and S were found and only C, O, N, Si and Cl were detected in March spherites. It is suggested that the elements missing in February and March were used in different physiological processes during over-wintering, like (1) the maintenance of the appropriate elemental composition of the internal environment, (2) accumulation of non-toxic waste materials that cannot be metabolized and (3) avoiding potential intoxication by contamination with toxic metals.

Lipopolysaccharide priming of human neutrophils for an enhanced respiratory burst. Role of intracellular free calcium.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) pretreatment "primes" neutrophils to release increased amounts of superoxide anion (O2-) when stimulated. We investigated the molecular basis of this enhanced activity. Comparison of kinetic parameters of the respiratory burst NADPH oxidase in unstimulated LPS-primed and control neutrophils disclosed a similar Km for NADPH and no difference was seen in the content of cytochrome b. Pertussis toxin, which inhibits some G proteins, did not prevent priming. Change in membrane potential (delta psi) was five-fold greater in LPS-primed cells and paralleled the increased O2- release. Cytofluorographic analysis indicated that the increased change in delta psi was due to the creation of a new population of active cells. Changes in the concentration of intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) are believed to antecede changes in delta psi. There was a consistent increment (67 +/- 8%, n = 12) in resting [Ca2+]i in cells preincubated with LPS compared with control. When stimulated, the peak [Ca2+]i was significantly higher in LPS-primed cells. Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C activity was unaltered in resting and FMLP-stimulated neutrophils preexposed to LPS. Addition to cells of the intracellular Ca2+ chelator MAPTAM before preincubation with LPS blocked the changes in [Ca2+]i and the enhanced respiratory burst that characterize LPS priming. The increased resting [Ca2+]i in LPS-primed cells may enhance stimulus-induced cellular activity by modifying a Ca2+-dependent step in signal transduction.

Increase in gastric acid-induced afferent input to the brainstem in mice with gastritis.

Acid challenge of the gastric mucosa is signaled to the brainstem. This study examined whether mild gastritis due to dextrane sulfate sodium (DSS) or iodoacetamide (IAA) enhances gastric acid-evoked input to the brainstem and whether this effect is related to gastric myeloperoxidase activity, gastric histology, gastric volume retention or cyclooxygenase stimulation. The stomach of conscious mice was challenged with NaCl (0.15 M) or HCl (0.15 and 0.25 M) administered via gastric gavage. Two hours later, activation of neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) was visualized by c-Fos immunocytochemistry. Gastritis was induced by DSS (molecular weight 8000; 5%) or IAA (0.1%) added to the drinking water for 7 days. Relative to NaCl, intragastric HCl increased the number of c-Fos protein-expressing cells in the NTS. Pretreatment with DSS or IAA for 1 week did not alter the c-Fos response to NaCl but significantly enhanced the response to HCl by 54 and 74%, respectively. Either pretreatment elevated gastric myeloperoxidase activity and induced histological injury of the mucosal surface. In addition, DSS caused dilation of the gastric glands and damage to the parietal cells. HCl-induced gastric volume retention was not altered by IAA but attenuated by DSS pretreatment. Indomethacin (5 mg/kg) failed to significantly alter HCl-evoked expression of c-Fos in the NTS of control, DSS-pretreated and IAA-pretreated mice. We conclude that the gastritis-evoked increase in the gastric acid-evoked c-Fos expression in the NTS is related to disruption of the gastric mucosal barrier, mucosal inflammation, mucosal acid influx and enhanced activation of the afferent stomach-NTS axis.

Experimental gastritis in mice enhances anxiety in a gender-related manner.

There is a gender-related comorbidity of pain-related and inflammatory bowel diseases with psychiatric diseases. Since the impact of experimental gastrointestinal inflammation on the emotional-affective behavior is little known, we examined whether experimental gastritis modifies anxiety, stress coping and circulating corticosterone in male and female Him:OF1 mice. Gastritis was induced by adding iodoacetamide (0.1%) to the drinking water for at least 7 days. Inflammation was assessed by gastric histology and myeloperoxidase activity, circulating corticosterone determined by enzyme immunoassay, anxiety-related behavior evaluated with the elevated plus maze and stress-induced hyperthermia tests, and depression-like behavior estimated with the tail suspension test. Iodoacetamide-induced gastritis was associated with gastric mucosal surface damage and an increase in gastric myeloperoxidase activity, this increase being significantly larger in female mice than in male mice. The rectal temperature of male mice treated with iodoacetamide was enhanced, whereas that of female mice was diminished. The circulating levels of corticosterone were reduced by 65% in female mice treated with iodoacetamide but did not significantly change in male mice. On the behavioral level, iodoacetamide treatment caused a decrease in nocturnal home-cage activity, drinking and feeding. While depression-related behavior remained unaltered following induction of gastritis, behavioral indices of anxiety were significantly enhanced in female but not male mice. There was no correlation between the estrous cycle and anxiety as well as circulating corticosterone. Radiotracer experiments revealed that iodoacetamide did not readily enter the brain, the blood-brain ratio being 20:1. Collectively, these data show that iodoacetamide treatment causes gastritis in a gender-related manner, its severity being significantly greater in female than in male mice. The induction of gastritis in female mice is associated with a reduction of circulating corticosterone and an enforcement of behavioral indices of anxiety. Gastric inflammation thus has a distinct gender-dependent influence on emotional-affective behavior and its neuroendocrine control.

The cell wall-associated levansucrase of Actinomyces viscosus.

Actinomyces viscosus produces both a soluble extracellular levansucrase and a cell wall-associated levansucrase. The enzyme from cell walls was solubilized by lysozyme digestion. The soluble extracellular and cell wall-associated forms of the enzyme were compared and appeared to be identical, based on molecular weight estimations, kinetic parameters, and reactions with antisera. The product of both forms of the enzyme was a high molecular weight, branched levan, as shown by its reactivity with myeloma proteins specific for beta(2 leads to 1) and for beta(2 leads to 6) linkages in fructosans. Although levansucrase remained tightly bound to the levan which it synthesized, the enzyme did not bind to exogeneously added levan. Regarding the potential pathogenicity of the levan product, pure levan, produced using purified levansucrase, did weakly activate complement by the alternative pathway. However, the pure levan did not directly cause bone resorption in an in vitro bone resorption assay.

Lysis of leukemic cells by human macrophages: inhibition by 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride (AEBSF), a serine protease inhibitor.

Proteases are known to be involved in regulation of macrophage activation and killing. We examined the effect of a serine protease inhibitor, 4-(2-aminoethyl)-benzenesulfonyl fluoride (AEBSF), on lysis of leukemic cells by human macrophages. Monocytes, isolated by Histopaque gradients and centrifugal elutriation, were cultured for 5 days in RPMI-1640 medium with 5% AB serum, and then activated with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma; 100 U/mL) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 ng/mL), with or without AEBSF, for 2 days. On day 7, macrophages were washed, fresh medium without AEBSF added, and target cells added for 2 days. Lytic activity against two leukemic cell lines (K562 and HL-60) was assessed by an 111indium-releasing assay. Macrophages treated with IFN-gamma + LPS lysed K562 and HL-60 cells. AEBSF (50-150 microM) blocked the killing of these leukemic cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Other protease inhibitors were not effective. AEBSF was nontoxic at the concentrations used, and did not inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) secretion from the macrophages. The lytic activity against leukemic cells was inhibited by anti-TNF-alpha antibody, but not by anti-IL-1 beta, nor by superoxide dismutase or catalase. However, the leukemic cells were resistant to being killed by recombinant TNF-alpha alone in the absence of macrophages, indicating that TNF-alpha was required for killing, but that other factors that were inhibited by AEBSF were also required. Serum-free culture supernatant of activated macrophages had significant cytotoxic activity against leukemic cells. This cytotoxic activity was not altered by addition of AEBSF to the culture supernatant, suggesting that AEBSF affected macrophage activation, rather than inhibiting cytotoxic proteases secreted by the macrophages, or affecting the target cells themselves. Thus, a protease, which is susceptible to AEBSF, might be involved in the activation of macrophages, and might regulate the secretion of antitumor effector molecules other than TNF-alpha.

Lipopolysaccharide-inactivating activity of neutrophils is due to lactoferrin.

Neutrophils can inactivate lipopolysaccharide (LPS), thereby blocking the ability of LPS to prime fresh neutrophils for enhanced fMLP-triggered release of superoxide. Here we show that inactivation of LPS by neutrophils was primarily due to lactoferrin. A time course for inactivating LPS showed that neutrophils (5 million/ml) took 30 min to inactivate 10 ng/ml LPS. Mononuclear cells could not inactivate LPS under the same conditions. Experiments with radioactive LPS showed that inactivated LPS remained in the medium and was not taken up or destroyed by the neutrophils during inactivation. Inactivated LPS still gelled Limulus lysate and primed monocytes. Cell-free medium from neutrophil suspensions also inactivated LPS. A single LPS-inactivating factor was purified from medium by heparin-agarose chromatography. SDS-PAGE showed a single band at 80 kDa, which was identified as lactoferrin by immunoblotting. Antilactoferrin immunoglobulin G removed the LPS-inactivating activity from purified lactoferrin and cell-free medium. Surprisingly, even purified neutrophil lactoferrin required 30 min to inactivate LPS, indicating inherently slow binding of lactoferrin to LPS.

Increased transglutaminase activity in elicited and activated macrophages: relationship to production of superoxide anion.

To evaluate whether transglutaminase (TG) might be involved in production of oxygen metabolites, TG activity was measured in resident, in activated, and in elicited murine peritoneal macrophages. These various types of macrophages show a wide diversity in their ability to generate oxygen metabolites. Like other transglutaminases, the macrophage enzyme was found to be a calcium-dependent enzyme that was stabilized by dithiothreitol and inhibited by dansylcadaverine. The TG activity was approximately six-times higher in lysates of LPS-elicited macrophages compared with lysates of resident macrophages; this paralleled the six-fold increase in phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated release of superoxide anion (O2-). From mixing experiments, the difference in TG activity was not due to an endogenous cellular inhibitor in the resident cells. The apparent Km of TG for putrescine was similar in lysates of resident and LPS-elicited macrophages, but the Vmax was significantly greater in lysates of LPS-elicited cells. Macrophages obtained from mice injected with either viable bacillus Calmette-Guérin, muramyl dipeptide, or killed Corynebacterium parvum released three- to six-times more O2- than did resident macrophages. The TG activity in these macrophages was also two- to six- times higher than in resident cells. However, macrophages that were primed by exposure to LPS in vitro exhibited increased production of O2- but no increase in TG activity. We conclude that enhanced TG activity is not a prerequisite for the enhanced O2- production observed in activated macrophages.

Neutrophils responded to immobilized lipopolysaccharide in the absence of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in solution primes neutrophils for enhanced release of superoxide in response to N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. We show that LPS immobilized on polystyrene or polypropylene acted on neutrophils by a mechanism different from that of LPS in solution. Coating the surface with 1% plasma, either before coating with LPS (plasma/LPS) or after coating with LPS (LPS/plasma), was essential to induce the LPS response in neutrophils. However, plasma could be replaced by fibrinogen, type I collagen or type IV collagen, or, to a lesser extent, by fibronectin or vitronectin, which was not true for LPS in solution. About 20% of the LPS added was immobilized on the plastic surfaces, based on its ability to adsorb anti-LPS antibody after extensive washing. The amount of soluble LPS that might have been released from surfaces during the incubation with neutrophils was too low to account for the priming by immobilized LPS. About 13-20 min was needed for neutrophils to become primed after incubation with immobilized LPS. Immobilized LPS induced up-regulation of CD11b/CD18 and latent alkaline phosphatase and also enhanced the adhesive response of neutrophils. Priming by immobilized LPS was inhibited by anti-CD14 antibody or by treatment of neutrophils with the LPS antagonist LA-14-PP. When immobilized LPS was treated with anti-LPS-binding protein (LBP) antibody, the response of neutrophils to LPS/plasma was inhibited but the response to plasma/LPS or fibrinogen/LPS was not. Thus, the LPS in plasma/LPS or fibrinogen/LPS acted on neutrophils in an LBP-independent manner. We conclude that the CD14-dependent LPS receptor system of neutrophils was capable of working in the absence of LBP, but only when LPS was immobilized on a surface coated with protein.