Enzymes of intermediary carbohydrate metabolism in Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides.

Cell extracts of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma mycoides were examined for enzymes of intermediary carbohydrate metabolism using a sensitive radiochemical assay procedure. For M. mycoides, the enzyme activities detected were supporting evidence for the existence of a glycolytic pathway giving lactate anaerobically and acetate aerobically. U. urealyticum also had activities of many glycolytic enzymes. Enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway occurred in both M. mycoides and U. urealyticum. Their presence allowed the proposal of a sequence for the synthesis from glycolytic pathway intermediates of ribose 5-phosphate, and hence phosphoribosyl diphosphate, for the synthesis of nucleotides. Pathways for the further metabolism of deoxyribose 1-phosphate and ribose 1-phosphate produced from nucleoside phosphorylase reactions operated in extracts from both organisms.

Presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus-1 in reference reagents of human origin in diagnostic kits.

We tested 54 reagents of human origin that were included in a number of diagnostic kits to be used as positive or negative control material, and for quality assurance, for the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). Of these, 12 (22%) reagents were found to give positive results for antibodies to HIV-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and/or supplementary tests. These results suggest that some diagnostic reagents of human origin may be contaminated with HIV-1 and potentially may be infectious.