Effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus brevis SBC8803 on cutaneous arterial sympathetic nerve activity, cutaneous blood flow and transepidermal water loss in rats.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of the effects of heat-killed Lactobacillus brevis SBC8803 (HK-SBC8803) on the standard physiological markers of skin health of cutaneous arterial sympathetic nerve activity (CASNA), cutaneous blood flow and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and to determine whether SBC8803 targets serotonin 5-HT3 receptors in rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: A set of three experiments were conducted to examine the effects of SBC8803 on CASNA, cutaneous blood flow and TEWL using Wistar and hairless rats. Two additional experiments further attempted to determine whether HK-SBC8803 was targeting the serotonin 5-HT3 receptors by pretreatment with the 5-HT3 antagonist granisetron. Administration of HK-SBC8803 in the first three experiments caused marked inhibition of CASNA and significant elevation of cutaneous blood flow under urethane anaesthesia as well as significant decrease in TEWL on the dorsal skin of conscious hairless rats. Pretreatment with granisetron decreased the effects of HK-SBC8803 on CASNA and cutaneous blood flow. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that HK-SBC8803 reduces CASNA, increases cutaneous blood flow and decreases TEWL and that 5-HT3 receptors may be involved in CASNA and cutaneous blood flow responses. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: HK-SBC8803 could be a useful substance in the treatment/prevention of skin problems, specifically chapped or dry skin.

Mapping the virus and host genes involved in the resistance response in cucumber mosaic virus-Infected Arabidopsis thaliana.

A yellow strain of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) [CMV(Y)] induces a resistance response characterized by inhibition of virus systemic movement with development of necrotic local lesions in the virus-inoculated leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype C24. In this report, the avirulence determinant in the virus genome was defined and the resistance gene (RCY1) of C24 was genetically mapped. The response of C24 to CMV containing the chimeric RNA3 between CMV(Y) and a virulent strain of CMV indicated that the coat protein gene of CMV(Y) determined the localization of the virus in the inoculated leaves of C24. The RCY1 locus was mapped between two CAPS markers, DFR and T43968, which were located in the region containing genetically defined disease resistance genes and their homologues. These results indicate that the resistance response to CMV(Y) in C24 is determined by the combination of the coat protein gene and RCY1 on chromosome 5.

Classification and identification of strains of Lactobacillus brevis based on electrophoretic characterization of D-lactate dehydrogenase: relationship between D-lactate dehydrogenase and beer-spoilage ability.

The cell-free extracts of 60 strains which were identified phenotypically as being those of Lactobacillus brevis, including 48 isolates from the environment and 12 reference strains, were applied to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for extracting their NAD-dependent D- and L-lactate dehydrogenases (LDH). These strains were divided into 5 groups, i.e., Groups A, B, C, D, and E, on the basis of the electrophoretic mobilities of their D-LDH. The strains showed variations in their carbohydrate fermentation patterns. No relationship between the profile of D-LDH and the carbohydrate fermentation pattern was recognized. However, there appeared to be a relationship between the D-LDH profile and the beer-spoilage ability, because 40 out of 44 beer-spoilage strains identified as L. brevis were classified to Group B. We purified D-LDHs from the so-called complete beer-spoilage strain SBC 8002 of LDH Group B and from the non beer-spoilage strains JCM 1059T of LDH Group A and AHU 1508 of LDH Group C. Although the purified D-LDHs had the same molecular weight (84 kDa), each possessed a different optimum pH, optimum temperature, and isoelectric point. The aforementioned parameter values for the enzyme from the so-called complete beer-spoilage strain SBC 8002 of LDH Group B were 10.0, 50 degrees C, and 4.1, respectively; this strain was discriminated from the D-LDHs of the other two non beer-spoilage strains especially by its optimum temperature (50 degrees C).

Nucleotide sequence of the uricase gene from Bacillus sp. TB-90.

The nucleotide sequence of the uricase gene from the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus sp. TB-90 was determined. The primary structure of the uricase deduced from the nucleotide sequence comprised 332 amino acids, with a total molecular mass of 37,994 Da. The molecular mass of the subunit of the uricase produced by the transformant of Escherichia coli agreed well with this value. However, the molecular mass of a subunit of the uricase produced by Bacillus sp. TB-90 was found to be 34,000 Da by SDS-PAGE. The difference between these molecular masses was attributed to processing of the C-terminal 13 amino acid residue in Bacillus sp. TB-90. Comparison of the enzymatic properties of both uricases showed that the thermostability of the uricase produced by the transformant was enhanced by about 10 degrees C in comparison to that produced by Bacillus sp. TB-90.

Plasmid variability in the istamycin producing strains of Streptomyces tenjimariensis.

Three strains of istamycin-producing Streptomyces tenjimariensis were isolated over a period of time from soils at the same location and were found to have three different types of plasmid profiles. Protoplast fusion between two of these strains provided a clone harboring a smaller plasmid not present in the parent strains. None of the plasmids had restriction sites for EcoR I and Hind III. Most of the plasmids had one or two restriction sites for BamH I, Bcl I, Bgl II, Kpn I, Pst I and Pvu II, and more than two restriction sites for Sal I and Sst II. Plasmid restriction maps and Southern hybridization experiments revealed that pST2, pST12 and pST22 were identical, as were pST10 and pST20. In addition, it was revealed that pST1, pST1, pST11 and pST21 were related to each other.