Involvement of multiple genetic loci in Staphylococcus aureus teicoplanin resistance.

Teicoplanin resistance was transformed from a teicoplanin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus into the susceptible strain BB255 to give strain BB938. The cell wall composition, amidation of the iD-glutamate, and peptide crosslinking were identical in BB938 as in BB255 except for a 60% increased length of the glycan chain. Transductional crosses revealed that at least two distinct loci contributed in a cumulative fashion to teicoplanin resistance. One of these loci correlated with a mutation inactivating the anti-sigma factor RsbW. This mutation must have occurred during transformation and selection for teicoplanin resistance in BB938. Genetic manipulations involving the sigB operon showed that transcription factor SigB contributed to decreased teicoplanin susceptibility.

[Thrombocyte counts in TMB (Tryon Maze Brights) and TMD (Tryon Maze Dulls) rats following warfarin (author's transl)]. / Thrombozytenzahl bei tmb (tyron-maze-brights)- und tmd (tryon-maze-dulls)-ratten nach warfain.

A dosage of 3 mg Warfarin/kg body weight causes a highly significant increase in the number of platelets both in TMB (Tryon maze brights) and TMD (Tryon maze dulls) rats. Different "intelligence levels" show no effect on this increase. In condition of rest the number of platelets is significantly higher in TMD rats than in TMB animals. With regard to a hypothetical relationship between the number of platelets and the amount of circulating and urinary catecholamines the results suggest a similar relationship in conditions of rest as can be shown in emotive (e+) and nonemotive (e--) Wistar rats as well as a varying reaction to stress -- different levels of "intelligence" and anxiety provided.

glmM operon and methicillin-resistant glmM suppressor mutants in Staphylococcus aureus.

The Staphylococcus aureus phosphoglucosamine mutase gene glmM was shown to be the last gene of a three-cistron operon, orf1-orf2-glmM. One transcriptional start was identified upstream of orf1, and a second start producing a monocistronic transcript was identified upstream of glmM. Disruption of glmM abolished GlmM production, decreased methicillin resistance, and resulted in teicoplanin hypersusceptibility without affecting the production of the endogenous penicillin-binding proteins and PBP 2'. Complementation of the glmM mutation by the complete glmM operon restored both methicillin resistance and normal teicoplanin susceptibility. In contrast, a highly methicillin-resistant suppressor mutant obtained by selection for growth in the presence of methicillin remained GlmM deficient and teicoplanin hypersusceptible. The suppressor mutation was not linked to the glmM operon but was correlated with decreased autolysis and increased production of a 49-kDa protein, suggesting that there is an alternative pathway for glucosamine-1-phosphate synthesis in S. aureus.

Tn551-mediated insertional inactivation of the fmtB gene encoding a cell wall-associated protein abolishes methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

A Tn551 insert in a gene termed fmtB was shown to reduce oxacillin as well as Triton X-100 resistance in highly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) COL. Backcrosses of fmtB::Tn551 into S. aureus COL and into two genetically distinct MRSA strains, KSA8 and NCTC10443, confirmed the linkage of fmtB::Tn551 with loss of oxacillin resistance. The fmtB gene codes for a protein of a deduced molecular mass of 263 kDa that contains 17 tandem repeats of 75 amino acids and a C-terminal LPXTG cell wall-sorting motif. Immunoblots with anti-FmtB antibodies confirmed its localization in the cell wall fraction. The fmtB gene was mapped downstream of the phosphoglucosamine mutase operon glmM which catalyses formation of glucosamine-1-phosphate. Oxacillin resistance was not restored in fmtB mutants by trans-complementation with fmtB. However, although GlmM production was not affected by fmtB inactivation, oxacillin resistance was increased in fmtB mutants by introducing a plasmid-borne glmM gene, presumably by GlmM overexpression. Interestingly, a similar phenotypic complementation was obtained in fmtB mutants by including substrate level concentrations of N-acetylglucosamine or glucosamine in the growth medium. Inactivation of the fmtB gene seems therefore to have an indirect effect on methicillin resistance which can be relieved by increasing the production of the cell wall precursor glucosamine-1-phosphate.

[The open-field, non-stressed behavior of rats under the acute and chronic effect of imipramine and tranylcypromine, depending on the individual reaction type (emotional and non-emotional)]. / Uber das Verhalten der Ratten im Open Field ohne Belastung, unter akuter und länger andauernder Wirkung von Imipramin und Tranylcypromin sowie über Abhängigkeiten vom Reaktionstyp (emotive und nichtemotive Tiere).

The acute and prolonged effects of imipramine and tranylcypromine were studied on 30 emotive and 30 non-emotive mature male Wistar rats to determine whether the drugs affect the behavior of these two reaction types differently. We found that both drugs change the typical behavior of the rats in the open field, each in a different way. Acute doses of imipramine inhibit symptoms of anxiety as well as the exploratory behavior so that the rats appear totally disinterested in their environment. This finding seems to confirm the assumed central nervous suppressing effects of this drug as mentioned in the literature. Single doses of tranylcypromine have effects similar to those mentioned for imipramine; however, long-term use results in a "vitalisation" of behavior: symptoms of anxiety remain inhibited and exploratory behavior becomes dominant. Both drugs produced a certain "flattening" of behavior. Due to the effects of drugs used, the original behavioral differences without stress disappear. Prolonged use of tranylcypromine makes emotive rats totally non-emotive.

[Blood count, leukocyte alkaline phosphatase activity, and blood sugar levels in Wistar rats as a function of the reaction type (level of higher nervous activity) of the animal]. / Blutbild, Aktivität der alkalischen Leukozytenphosphatase und Blutzucker der Wistar-Ratten in Abhängigkeit vom Reaktionstyp (Typ der höheren Nerventätigkeit) der Tiere.

The corpuscular blood composition, ALP activity and glucose level of 20 E+ and 20 E- adult male Wistar rats were measured without stress. We wanted to find differences due to the specific reaction type--emotive/non-emotive--of the animals. E+ animals had higher counts of small erythrocytes and a higher total number of leucocytes than E- rats. When the compositions of the blood of several inbred strains were compared, the composition of the red blood, total number of leucocytes and lymphocytes of E- -Wistar rats and E- -Sprague-Dawley rats were most similar. Differences in the activity of the ALP and in the glucose levels we found are similar to those in literature on this topic. When measured in a condition of inactivity the lower glucose values of E+ Wistar rats correspond to the excretion of smaller amounts of urinary catecholamines. Our findings, as well as those mentioned in the literature, confirm the assumption that the reaction type--which corresponds to the type of higher nervous activity--influences all functions of the organism including the composition of the blood.

[Effect of behavior changing drugs, imipramine and tranylcypromine, on the composition of the blood and activity of the alkaline leukocytophosphatase of emotive and non-emotive adult male Wistar rats]. / Einfluss verhaltensändernder Psychopharmaka--Imipramin und Tranylcypromin--auf das Blutbild und auf die Aktivität der alkalischen Leukozytenphosphatase bei emotiven und nichtemotiven Wistar-Ratten.

The corpuscular composition of the blood and the alcalic leucocytophosphatase (ALP) activity was measured for a total of 40 emotive and non-emotive adult male Wistar rats in order to test the influence of a single dose of imipramine (IMI) and tranylcypromine (TRAN) as well as of IMI and TRAN given in a period of 8 days. Special attention was paid to the reaction type of the animals. Changes in the red and white components of the blood were found due to drug application and to reaction type. The relationship between reaction type and drug application we assumed to exist was confirmed. The ALP activity also changed depending on the type of drug dosage. The assumption that ALP activity is higher for emotive rats than for non-emotive ones was confirmed as well.

CA-125 concentrations in the serum and pregnancy outcome in IVF cycles.

PURPOSE: CA-125 has been proposed as a potential marker for endometrial receptivity in assisted reproduction. This study was designed to evaluate whether the levels of CA-125 in the serum of patients undergoing IVF-embryo transfer (ET) is correlated with the outcome. METHODS: Levels of serum CA-125 were measured on the day before and on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration, ovum pickup (OPU), and ET in 74 patients undergoing 100 IVF cycles between January 1994 and March 1995. Patients were treated with a midluteal-phase gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist protocol and follicular-phase human menopausal gonadotropin. RESULTS: One hundred oocyte retrievals resulted in 91 ETs, and 22 clinical pregnancies (22%/OPU and 24.2%/ET). The live-born rate was 21%/OPU and 23.1%/ET. Neither the CA-125 serum levels nor their increase from the day of hCG until the day of ET showed any prognostic significance to the outcome of IVF, and they were not correlated with the endometrium thickness or the number of oocytes retrieved or fertilized. CONCLUSIONS: The CA-125 serum levels in conventional IVF cycles were not correlated with the IVF outcome and yielded no prognostic information in a GnRH agonist down-regulation protocol.