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Biomedical subjects

A K Saha

Publications and source records attributed to A K Saha.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Virulence factors of the family Legionellaceae.

Whereas bacteria in the genus Legionella have emerged as relatively frequent causes of pneumonia, the mechanisms underlying their pathogenicity are obscure. The legionellae are facultative intracellular pathogens which multiply within the phagosome of mononuclear phagocytes and are not killed efficiently by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The functional defects that might permit the intracellular survival of the legionellae have remained an enigma until recently. Phagosome-lysosome fusion is inhibited by a single strain (Philadelphia 1) of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, but not by other strains of L. pneumophila or other species. It has been found that following the ingestion of Legionella organisms, the subsequent activation of neutrophils and monocytes in response to both soluble and particulate stimuli is profoundly impaired and the bactericidal activity of these cells is attenuated, suggesting that Legionella bacterial cell-associated factors have an inhibitory effect on phagocyte activation. Two factors elaborated by the legionellae which inhibit phagocyte activation have been described. First, the Legionella (cyto)toxin blocks neutrophil oxidative metabolism in response to various agonists by an unknown mechanism. Second, L. micdadei bacterial cells contain a phosphatase which blocks superoxide anion production by stimulated neutrophils. The Legionella phosphatase disrupts the formation of critical intracellular second messengers in neutrophils. In addition to the toxin and phosphatase, several other moieties that may serve as virulence factors by promoting cell invasion or intracellular survival and multiplication are elaborated by the legionellae. Molecular biological studies show that a cell surface protein named Mip is necessary for the efficient invasion of monocytes. A possible role for a Legionella phospholipase C as a virulence factor is still largely theoretical. L. micdadei contains an unusual protein kinase which catalyzes the phosphorylation of eukaryotic substrates, including phosphatidylinositol and tubulin. Since the phosphorylation of either phosphatidylinositol or tubulin might compromise phagocyte activation and bactericidal functions, this enzyme may well be a virulence factor. Administration of the L. pneumophila exoprotease induces lesions resembling those of Legionella pneumonia and kills guinea pigs, suggesting that this protein plays a role in the pathogenesis of legionellosis. However, recent work with a genetically engineered strain has convincingly shown that the protease is not necessary for intracellular survival or virulence. As might be expected with a complex process like intracellular parasitism, it appears that the capability of Legionella strains to invade and multiply in host phagocytes is multifactorial and that no single moiety which is responsible for the virulence phenotype will be found.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

Inhibition of human seminal fluid and Leishmania donovani phosphatases by molybdate heteropolyanions.

Inhibition of a tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (ACP) from Leishmania donovani and the tartrate-sensitive ACP from human seminal fluid (prostatic ACP) was examined using a series of 13 molybdate-containing heteropolyanions. The heteropolyanions were divided into four groups based on the number of molybdenum atoms they contain: Group I, Mo4; Group II, Mo6-8; Group III, Mo12; Group IV, Mo18. Two of the four groups, those consisting of compounds that contain either an Mo4 unit or an Mo18 unit with a heteroatom in the central cavity, were potent inhibitors and exhibited the highest degree of selectivity against the leishmanial and seminal fluid ACPs. The inhibition of prostatic ACP by complex E2 could be completely reversed by dialysis. Little inhibition of the acid phosphatase, beta-glucuronidase, or alpha-mannosidase from human spleen was observed with complexes B' and E2. For the seminal fluid phosphatase, the Ki values obtained with arsenate and vanadate depended markedly on pH, suggesting that, unlike most other phosphatases, the conformation of the inhibitor binding site on human seminal fluid ACP is pH-dependent. Results of competition experiments performed with various inhibitor pairs indicated that complex D2 binds to the active site of prostatic ACP while complex M binds at some site on the enzyme that affects the active site. Binding of complex M also modifies the affinity of the enzyme for other inhibitors such as vanadate. The potency of several heteropolyanion complexes and their selective inhibition of pathophysiologically significant acid phosphatases indicate that these compounds may have value as tools for study of the structure and function of this class of enzyme and perhaps in the therapy of human disease.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1991

Hypertensive primary intraventricular haemorrhage.

A case of hypertensive primary intraventricular haemorrhage is reported. The patient recovered with conservative management. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no previous report of this rare entity in Indian literature.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Characterization of a phosphomonoesterase from Brucella abortus.

Brucellae are facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens that reside primarily in cells of the reticuloendothelial system. The high-speed supernatant obtained after centrifuging a suspension of Brucella abortus that had been frozen-thawed and sonicated contained abundant phosphomonoesterase activity, determined by using 4-methylumbelliferylphosphate as the substrate; this enzyme was purified 2,900-fold (yield, 570%) by chromatography on DE-52 cellulose and hydroxylapatite columns and high-performance liquid chromatography-gel filtration. The native enzyme had a molecular mass of 120,000 daltons (+/- 10,000 daltons), as determined by gel filtration chromatography, and resolved into two bands (60,000 and 66,000 daltons) when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The B. abortus phosphomonoesterase had the following properties: pH optimum, 6.0 to 6.5; isoelectric point, 3.0; substrate specificity, 5'-AMP greater than 3'-AMP greater than 3'-GMP greater than 5'-GDP greater than 5'-CDP greater than 5'-CTP greater than 5'-UPT greater than phosphotyrosine greater than phosphoserine greater than phosphothreonine. The Km for 5'-AMP was 0.37 mM. Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and myo-inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate were poor substrates for the B. abortus enzyme. The phosphomonoesterase did not inhibit superoxide anion production by human neutrophils stimulated with formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. The phosphomonoesterase may be one of the bacterial enzymes in the pathway leading to the production of adenine, which is secreted by B. abortus and blocks the activation of neutrophils.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

Heparin binds to Leishmania donovani promastigotes and inhibits protein phosphorylation.

We show that promastigotes of Leishmania donovani, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), possess heparin receptors on their surface. From a linear Scatchard plot of the binding data obtained using [3H]heparin and viable promastigotes, one derives a binding constant of 4.7 x 10(-7) M and an estimate of 860,000 receptors per parasite. The [3H]heparin bound to parasites could not be displaced by hyaluronic acid or by three other glycosaminoglycans (dermatan sulphate, chondroitin 4-sulphate and chondroitin 6-sulphate). It was demonstrated that exponential phase promastigotes growing in medium 199 supplemented with fetal bovine serum incorporate 35SO4 into a cell-associated macromolecule that has the properties of heparin proteoglycan. Heparin inhibits the activity of the cell-surface histone-protein kinase; incubation of viable promastigotes with [gamma-32P]ATP and MgCl2 (10 mM) in the absence and presence of heparin (0.01-0.5 mg/ml) for 10 min, followed by analysis by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and autoradiography, revealed that the phosphorylation of 12 or 13 parasite proteins was inhibited by the glycosaminoglycan. These data suggest that heparin may play a role in the host-parasite relationship.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Vanadate monomers and dimers both inhibit the human prostatic acid phosphatase.

A combination of enzyme kinetics and 51V NMR spectroscopy was used to identify the species of vanadate that inhibits acid phosphatases. Monomeric vanadate was shown to inhibit wheat germ and potato acid phosphatases. At pH 5.5, the vanadate dimer inhibits the human prostatic acid phosphatase whereas at pH 7.0 it is the vanadate monomer that inhibits this enzyme. The pH-dependent shift in the affinity of the prostatic phosphatase for vanadate is presumably due to deprotonation of an amino acid side chain in or near the binding site resulting in a conformational change in the protein. pH may be a subtle effector of the insulin-like vanadate activity in biological systems and may explain some of the differences in selectivity observed with the protein phosphatases.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

Inhibition of neutrophil and natural killer cell function by human seminal fluid acid phosphatase.

The major acid phosphatase of human seminal fluid was purified to homogeneity by chromatography on Sephadex G-150, and DEAE-Sephadex, and by isoelectric focusing (pI, 4.3). This purified preparation of seminal fluid acid phosphatase blocked superoxide anion production by neutrophils stimulated with fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) by 50%. The phosphatase also hydrolysed myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in vitro, an intracellular second messenger which releases Ca2+ from intracellular pools, at nearly one-third the rate at which the nonphysiologic substrate 4-methylumbelliferylphosphate (MUP) was cleaved. In contrast, two phosphoinositide lipids, namely phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate, were poor phosphatase substrates. Following fMLP stimulation of [3H]inositol-labeled neutrophils, the quantity of IP3 produced by phosphatase-treated cells was reduced by 69%. These results indicate that the human seminal fluid acid phosphatase may compromise the neutrophil's microbicidal response to the organism by hydrolyzing a second messenger (IP3) which is directly involved in the regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. The seminal fluid phosphatase also inhibited by 85% the ability of murine natural killer (NK) cells to inactivate target cells.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1989

Legionella micdadei protein kinase catalyzes phosphorylation of tubulin and phosphatidylinositol.

Legionella micdadei, a pathogen which enters into host phagocyte phagolysosomal structures, contains at least two protein kinases. We have purified to homogeneity the predominant, nucleotide-independent protein kinase and examined its ability to catalyze the transfer of phosphate from ATP to acceptors in human neutrophils. The L. micdadei protein kinase catalyzed the phosphorylation of proteins of 11.5, 14, 19, 23, 28, 34, and 38 kilodaltons (kDa) present in a Triton X-100 extract of neutrophil membranes and of 11.5, 13.5, 25, and 38 kDa in the neutrophil cytosol. Tubulin was a good substrate for the L. micdadei protein kinase in vitro. The bacterial kinase also catalyzed the phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol (PI) at about half the rate at which histones were phosphorylated; phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PIP) was not phosphorylated by the kinase. The PI kinase activity of the L. micdadei enzyme was optimum at pH 7.0, and the divalent cation requirement was satisfied best by Mg2+ and Ca2+. The maximum rate of PI phosphorylation was obtained with 0.6 mM PI; in the presence of MgCl2 (10 mM), the Km for PI was 0.9 mM and the Km for ATP was 1.5 mM. The detergents octyl-beta-D-glucoside (10 to 20 mM) and Triton X-100 (0.5%) stimulated kinase activity twofold when PI was the phosphate acceptor; however, only octyl glucoside stimulated histone kinase activity. Various membrane phospholipids inhibited PI kinase activity. The most potent phospholipid inhibitor was the product of the PI kinase reaction, PIP, which at a 0.6 mM concentration inhibited both PI and tubulin phosphorylation by 80%. The inhibition of kinase activity by PIP when histone served as the acceptor was noncompetitive in character. The L. micdadei kinase also phosphorylated PI in intact. (3H)inositol-labeled neutrophils. The PI kinase and histone kinase activities of teh L. micdadei kinase copurified and cofucused (pI, 5.8) when subjected to isoelectric focusing, suggesting that the two enzymatic activities reside in a single protein.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1988

Legionella micdadei phosphatase catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in human neutrophils.

The legionellae are facultative intracellular bacterial pathogens which multiply in host phagocytes. Legionella micdadei cells contain an acid phosphatase (ACP2) which blocks superoxide anion production by human neutrophils stimulated with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) [A. K. Saha, et al. (1985) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 243, 150-160]. In the present study, we have purified the Legionella phosphatase to homogeneity as indicated by the finding of a single 68,000-Da band following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We explored the possibility that ACP2 acts by interfering with polyphosphoinositide hydrolysis and the production of the intracellular second messengers, inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol, following neutrophil stimulation. Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) was hydrolyzed rapidly by ACP2 in vitro. The rate of hydrolysis of PIP2 was higher at pH 7.0 (Km 2.0 microM; 4 X 10(3) units/mg protein; 1 unit equals 1 nmol of Pi released/h) than at lower pH. IP3 was also a good substrate for ACP2 in vitro. When human neutrophil phosphoinositides were prelabeled with 32Pi, subsequent incubation with ACP2 resulted in an 85% loss of the labeled PIP2 over 2 h. Following fMLP stimulation of [3H]inositol-labeled neutrophils, the quantity of IP3 produced by ACP2-treated cells was reduced by 44%. Prior treatment of neutrophils with ACP2 also reduced by 45% the amount of diacylglycerol they produced when stimulated by fMLP. These results indicate that the Legionella phosphatase may compromise the neutrophils' microbicidal response to the organism by hydrolyzing PIP2, the progenitor of IP3 and diacylglycerol, and by hydrolyzing IP3 itself.

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1988

Demonstration of two protein kinases in extracts of Legionella micdadei.

Protein kinases I (PK I) and II (PK II) were purified 253- and 13.5-fold, respectively, from an extract of sonically disrupted cells of Legionella micdadei by ion-exchange chromatography on QAE-Sephadex, by histone affinity chromatography, and by HPLC-gel filtration chromatography. Both enzymes catalysed the phosphorylation of calf thymus histones, with a Km of 2.7 mg ml-1 for PK I and 2.9 mg ml-1 for PK II. Histone H2b was the best protein kinase substrate for both PK I and PK II. The pH optima were 6.8 and 7.0 for PK I and PK II respectively. The Km for ATP was 0.29 mM for PK I and 0.33 mM for PK II. PK II activity was stimulated by either cAMP or cGMP, whereas PK I was inhibited by both cyclic nucleotides. The activity of PK I was unaffected by addition of calmodulin, diacylglycerol and mixtures of Ca2+ and acidic phospholipids, but these additions increased PK II activity threefold. The activity of PK II was stimulated by spermine and spermidine, but PK I was inhibited by these compounds. PK I and PK II were both strongly inhibited by heparin.

Chromatography, Affinity↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of the protein kinase and acid phosphatase activities of five species of Leishmania.

Promastigotes from log phase and stationary phase cultures of Leishmania donovani, L. braziliensis panamensis, L. tropica, L. major, and L. mexicana amazonensis were analyzed for their content of protein kinase and acid phosphatase activities. Cell surface, histone-specific protein kinase activity was 1.3- to 2.8-fold higher in stationary phase cells of all species except for L. tropica in which the activities of stationary and log phase cells were equal; L. mexicana amazonensis had the highest histone-specific protein kinase activity and L. donovani the lowest. When viable, motile promastigotes of all five species were incubated for 10 min with [gamma-32P]ATP and Mg2+ (10 mM) in the absence of exogenous histone acceptor; about one dozen proteins were phosphorylated in each case. Both log phase and stationary phase promastigotes of all five species extensively phosphorylated a 50-kDa protein that had the mobility of tubulin. Incubation of pure calf brain tubulin with [gamma-32P]ATP and purified L. donovani protein kinase resulted in extensive phosphorylation of the former. Highly infective metacyclic forms (PNA-) of L. major, isolated from a stationary culture using the peanut agglutinin (PNA), contained eight times more histone-specific protein kinase activity than noninfective log phase cells (PNA+). The PNA- and PNA+ forms of L. major both phosphorylated a 50-kDa protein when incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP and magnesium or manganese ions (10 mM); the 50-kDa protein was precipitated by anti-tubulin rabbit antibodies. Extracts of all five species contained large amounts of acid phosphatase activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acid Phosphatase↗
PubMed1987

Host resistance and faecal sporocyst excretion in dogs exposed to repeated infection with Sarcocystis levinei.

A marked reduction in the faecal excretion of sporocysts was observed in experimental pups, following the repeated oral administration to them of buffalo cardiac muscle infected with Sarcocystis levinei. Sporocysts excreted from days 9 to 25 post-infection (pi) exhibited a gradual reduction in the quantum. Maximum intensity of excretion of sporocysts was recorded between days 9 and 16 pi, becoming moderate after day 16, light after day 21 and completely absent after day 36. After the subsequent feeding to pups of S. levinei infected buffalo cardiac tissues at 40 day intervals the quantity of sporocysts shed was less, the prepatent period was prolonged and the patent period was considerably shortened. The peak period of excretion varied depending upon the number of exposures of the pups to the infected S. levinei tissues from buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Partial purification and characterization of Naegleria fowleri beta-glucosidase.

Naegleria fowleri cells, grown axenically, contain high levels of beta-D-glucosidase which catalyzes the hydrolysis of 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4MUGlc) (Km, 0.9 mM), octyl-beta-D-glucoside (Km, 0.17 mM), and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside at relative rates of 1.00, 2.88, and 1.16, respectively (substrate concentration, 3.0 mM). When the amebae are subjected to freeze-thawing, sonication, and centrifugation (100,000 g, 1 h), 85% of the beta-glucosidase activity appears in the supernatant fraction. The beta-glucosidase was purified 40-fold (34% yield) using a combination of chromatographic steps involving DE-52 cellulose, concanavalin A-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite followed by isoelectric focusing. The predominant soluble beta-D-galactosidase activity in the Naegleria extract copurifies with the beta-D-glucosidase; the two activities have the same isoelectric point (pI, 6.9), similar heat stabilities, are both inhibited by lactobionic acid (Ki, 0.40 mM), and exhibit optima at pH 4.5, indicating that they are probably the same enzyme. The Naegleria beta-D-glucosidase has an apparent molecular weight of 66,000, a Stokes radius of 25 A, and a sedimentation coefficient of 4.2S. The beta-glucosidase is not inhibited by conduritol beta-epoxide or galactosylsphingosine but is completely inhibited by 1.25 mM bromo conduritol beta-epoxide. The latter compound, when present in the growth medium, inhibits the growth of the organism and profoundly alters its ultrastructure, the main effect being the apparent inhibition of cytokinesis and the generation of multinucleate cells. The issue of the role of the beta-glucosidase in the metabolism of the ameba and its possible role in pathogenic mechanisms are discussed.

Amoeba↗
PubMed1986

A cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase in Leishmania donovani.

Leishmania donovani promastigotes labelled for 2 h with 32Pi incorporated radioactivity into at least 21 different proteins, as determined by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. Pulse-chase studies with 32Pi demonstrated that the labelled proteins were in a dynamic state: some radiolabelled proteins rapidly disappeared and others appeared after the chase. The possibility of an ectokinase on the parasite was examined; incubation of intact parasites for 10 min at 25 degrees C in an osmotically buffered medium containing [gamma-32P]ATP, but not [alpha-32P]ATP, resulted in the labelling of 10 different protozoal proteins, presumably localized to the surface of the organism's plasma membrane. Intact promastigotes also catalysed the transfer of 32P from [gamma-32P]ATP to histones. The histone-dependent kinase was solubilized by repeated freezing and thawing, and sonication, and purified 118-fold by chromatographing the high-speed (200,000 g, 1 h) supernatant fraction on QAE-Sephadex, Sephadex G-150 and hydroxyapatite columns. The kinase eluted as a single activity peak from all three columns. The partially purified histone-dependent kinase had the following properties: pH optimum, 7.0; optimum temperature, 37 degrees C; Km for mixed calf thymus histone, 0.15 mM; Km for ATP, 0.8 mM; preferred fractionated histone acceptors, H2b greater than H4 greater than H2a greater than H3 (H1 does not serve as an acceptor); optimum activity required 10-20 mM-Mg2+; inhibited 50-80% by 0.01 mM- and 1 mM-Ca2+; activity was not stimulated by calmodulin, cyclic AMP (1 mM) or cyclic GMP (1 mM) nor inhibited by a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitor (50 micrograms/assay); apparent Mr 75,000, as determined by Sephadex G-150 gel filtration chromatography; phosphorylated exclusively serine residues. Protein kinase activity was low in the early exponential phase of the growth curve and increased 6-fold upon entry into the stationary phase.

Animals↗