Biomedical subjects

S Engelmann

Publications and source records attributed to S Engelmann.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1996

General and oxidative stress responses in Bacillus subtilis: cloning, expression, and mutation of the alkyl hydroperoxide reductase operon.

The AhpC subunit of the Bacillus subtilis alkyl hydroperoxide reductase was identified as a general stress protein induced in response to heat or salt stress or after entry of the organism into the stationary phase. The ahp operon, encoding the two subunits AhpC and AhpF, was cloned and localized between the gntRKPZ operon and the bglA locus. Two-dimensional gel analyses revealed an especially strong induction of AhpC and AhpF in cells subjected to oxidative stress. Transcriptional studies showed a 3- to 4-fold induction of ahp mRNA after heat or salt stress or starvation for glucose and a 20-fold induction by oxidative stress, thus confirming the protein induction data for AhpC and AhpF. Stress induction occurred at a sigmaA-dependent promoter that overlaps with operator sites similar to the per box. Compared with the wild type, the ahpC mutant was resistant to hydrogen peroxide because of the derepression of the peroxide regulon (N. Bsat, L. Chen, and J. D. Helmann, J. Bacteriol. 178:6579-6586, 1996) but more sensitive to cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) during exponential growth. In contrast, stationary-phase wild-type and ahpC mutant cells displayed complete resistance to treatment with 1 mM CHP. Moreover, a sigmaB mutant was found to be extremely sensitive to CHP during vegetative growth and in stationary phase, which indicates that sigmaB-dependent general stress proteins are involved in the protection of cells against oxidative stress.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Characterization of cell surface-expressed proteochondroitin sulfate of pre-B Nalm-6 cells and its possible role in laminin adhesion.

Cell surface-expressed proteoglycans mediate contacts to extracellular matrix (ECM). Human B lymphocytes produce a species of a proteochondroitin sulfate (CSPG) with an approximate molecular mass of 135-150 kDa. Using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against B cell CSPG in flow cytometry we found that this CSPG is expressed on tumor cells of patients with CD19+ common acute lymphoblastic leukemia and on the corresponding cell lines Nalm-6, Reh and KM3. The CSPG is also present on hairy cell leukemia JOK-1 cells and weakly on the myeloma line U266. Concomitant with CSPG expression, Nalm-6 cells express the integrins alpha 5/beta 1 (CD49e/CD29) and alpha 6/beta 1 (CD49f/CD29), adhesion receptors for fibronectin and laminin, in contrast to the other two cell lines tested. Expression patterns of these adhesion receptors and CSPG were paralleled by strong adhesion of Nalm-6 to fibronectin and laminin. Adhesion of Nalm-6 to fibronectin was inhibited by the alpha 5-specific antibody SAM 1 by 80% whereas the alpha 6-specific antibody GoH3 reduced binding to laminin only by 20%. A possible involvement of surface-expressed CSPG in adhesion to ECM components was investigated by 24 h incubation of Nalm-6 cells with p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xyloside, an inhibitor of proteoglycan glycosylation. By this treatment, both adhesion of Nalm-6 to laminin and expression of CSPG were reduced by 40-50%. Furthermore, addition of chondroitin-6-sulfate, a structural element of Nalm-6 CSPG, reduced adhesion of Nalm-6 to laminin by 60%. Chondroitin-4-sulfate, heparin and heparan sulfate did not effectively inhibit the adhesion process. These observations suggest that surface-expressed CSPG may be involved in binding of Nalm-6 cells to laminin and that the specific sulfation pattern of chondroitin-6-sulfate may be essential in this regard.

Antigens, CD↗

PubMed1995

sigma B-dependent regulation of gsiB in response to multiple stimuli in Bacillus subtilis.

The expression of the gsiB gene of Bacillus subtilis in response to a wide variety of stress conditions was analysed, and the results provide evidence that gsiB is subject to a sigma B-dependent regulation. Primer extension experiments established identical start points for gsiB transcription during growth and after the induction by heat shock, salt or ethanol stress, and glucose limitation. The sequence upstream of the transcription start point shows great similarity to the sequences of sigma B-dependent promoters of B. subtilis. sigma B was absolutely required for the increase in gsiB mRNA level and in the synthesis rate of GsiB in response to various stimuli. Measurements of the ATP pool indicated that changes in the level of ATP might be one of the signals that regulate the activity of sigma B in B. subtilis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1995

Modulated glycosylation of proteoglycans during differentiation of human B lymphocytes.

Proteoglycans are mediators of cellular adhesion and regulate growth factor activities. Proteoglycans of B lymphocytes undergo structural changes during B cell ontogeny which may correspond to the specific requirements of the respective microenvironment of the maturing cell. We analyzed three human B cell lines representing pre-B cells (Nalm-6), activated B cells (Jok-1) and plasma cells (U266) for their cellular proteoglycans. Gel filtration of the 35S-labeled macromolecules of the three cell lines revealed an increase in size in the order Nalm-6 < Jok-1 < U266. In Jok-1 and U266 cells the major pool of proteoglycans consisted of proteochondroitin sulfates of 50 to 90 kDa. These proteolglycans carried a protein core of approx. 30 kDa to which 1 to 3 glycosaminoglycan chains in the range of 28 to 32 kDa were attached. In Nalm-6 cells only free chondroitin sulfate chains of 23 kDa, but no intact proteoglycans, were detected. Chondroitin sulfate chains were predominantly composed of chondroitin-4-sulfate, those of Nalm-6 and U266 cells additionally contained 10-20% of unsulfated disaccharides. In U266 cells 30% of glycosaminoglycans consisted of heparan sulfate either bound to pure proteoheparan sulfate or to chondroitin sulfate/heparan sulfate hybrid-proteoglycans. Earlier, syndecan-1 was described as a hybrid proteoglycan containing heparan sulfate/chondroitin sulfate chains which is transcribed by murine B cells at early and late maturation stages. In order to see whether syndecan is transcribed by the human B cell lines used here, we measured expression of syndecan mRNA by the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Similar to murine lymphocytes, syndecan-specific mRNA was detected in Nalm-6 and U266 cells, equivalent to early and late B cells, but not in lymphoblastoid Jok-1 cells. However, Nalm-6 cells do not produce proteoheparan sulfate. In these cells, syndecan synthesis may be blocked at the translational level. Also, the proteoglycans of U266 are different from syndecan-1 in their composition of glycosaminoglycans and in size of protein cores. Together, these results indicate that the major pool of proteoglycans produced by human B cells consists of proteochondroitin sulfate and additionally in later stages of a smaller proportion of proteoheparan sulfate which is not identical to syndecan-1. During distinct phases of B cell differentiation, modulations in the glycosaminoglycan moiety concerning size and sulfation of glycosaminoglycan chains were also found.

B-Lymphocytes↗

PubMed1995

Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and regulation of katE encoding a sigma B-dependent catalase in Bacillus subtilis.

A sigma B-dependent stress gene of Bacillus subtilis was localized downstream of the licS gene. The predicted amino acid sequence exhibited a significant similarity to the sequence of the katE-encoded catalase HPII of Escherichia coli, and we designated it the open reading frame katE. In a B. subtilis katE mutant, catalase 2 could not be detected. The amount of katE-specific mRNA was increased after heat, salt, or ethanol stress or after glucose starvation in a sigma B-dependent manner. As in E. coli, the transcription of the katE gene in B. subtilis was unaffected by the addition of H2O2 to exponentially growing cells. In contrast, the katA gene encoding catalase 1 of B. subtilis showed an induction pattern different from that of katE; katA expression was strongly increased by oxidative stress. The similarity between E. coli sigma S-dependent genes and B. subtilis sigma B-dependent genes suggests that both may confer multiple stress resistance to stationary-phase cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Analysis of the induction of general stress proteins of Bacillus subtilis.

In Bacillus subtilis stress proteins are induced in response to different environmental conditions such as heat shock, salt stress, glucose and oxygen limitation or oxidative stress. These stress proteins have been previously grouped into general stress proteins (Gsps) and heat-specific stress proteins (Hsps). In this investigation the N-terminal sequences of 13 stress proteins of B. subtilis were determined. The quantification of the mRNA and the analysis of the protein synthesis pattern support the initial hypothesis that the chaperones DnaK and GroEL are Hsps in B. subtilis. In contrast, the recently described proteins GsiB, Ctc and RsbW belong to a class of Gsps that are induced by various stresses including heat shock. The main part of the Gsps described in this study failed to be induced in the sigB deletion mutant ML6 in response to heat shock. However, all the five Hsps were induced in this mutant in response to heat shock. These data indicate that SigB plays a crucial role in the induction of general stress genes, but is dispensable for the induction of Hsps.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and expression of the Bacillus subtilis lon gene.

The lon gene of Escherichia coli encodes the ATP-dependent serine protease La and belongs to the family of sigma 32-dependent heat shock genes. In this paper, we report the cloning and characterization of the lon gene from the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The nucleotide sequence of the lon locus, which is localized upstream of the hemAXCDBL operon, was determined. The lon gene codes for an 87-kDa protein consisting of 774 amino acid residues. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with previously described lon gene products from E. coli, Bacillus brevis, and Myxococcus xanthus revealed strong homologies among all known bacterial Lon proteins. Like the E. coli lon gene, the B. subtilis lon gene is induced by heat shock. Furthermore, the amount of lon-specific mRNA is increased after salt, ethanol, and oxidative stress as well as after treatment with puromycin. The potential promoter region does not show similarities to promoters recognized by sigma 32 of E. coli but contains sequences which resemble promoters recognized by the vegetative RNA polymerase E sigma A of B. subtilis. A second gene designated orfX is suggested to be transcribed together with lon and encodes a protein with 195 amino acid residues and a calculated molecular weight of 22,000.

ATP-Dependent Proteases↗

PubMed1991

Making connections in mathematics.

Math textbooks, which usually represent the mathematics curriculum, seem to be linked to the poor math performance of U.S. students. The major shortcomings of math textbooks are described in this article; then an alternative perspective is offered (the sameness analysis), along with research conducted with students with learning disabilities and at-risk students. The article then presents a detailed illustration of the sameness analysis--how to teach the addition-subtraction and multiplication-division relationships and their interrelationships in the context of solving word problems in mathematics.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Can Medicare beneficiaries make informed choices?

This DataWatch assesses Medicare beneficiaries' understanding of the differences between their managed care and fee-for-service Medicare options. A telephone survey was used to evaluate knowledge levels among 1,673 beneficiaries residing in five Medicare markets with high managed care penetration. Half of the sample were enrolled in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and half in the traditional Medicare program. The findings show that 30 percent of beneficiaries know almost nothing about HMOs; only 11 percent have adequate knowledge to make an informed choice; and HMO enrollees have significantly lower knowledge levels of the differences between the two delivery systems. These findings have implications for educating beneficiaries about their expanded choices.

Aged↗