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[The effect of metronidazole on stimulation of adhesion molecule expression on the surface of vascular endothelial cells by Bacteroides fragilis endotoxins and enterotoxin].

The influence of metronidazole on the level of expression of adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin on the surface of vascular endothelial cells activated with B. fragilis endotoxins and enterotoxin was examined. Three enterotoxigenic (ETBF) strains and one nonenterotoxigenic (NTBF) strain were used for lipopolysaccharide extraction. Enterotoxin was prepared from the culture supernatant of the reference B. fragilis ATCC 43858 strain. Expression of adhesion molecules on vascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1 cell line) was determined after their stimulation with bacterial compounds at the concentration of 10 micrograms/ml in the presence of metronidazole at the concentration of 4 micrograms/ml. Endothelial cells were activated for 4 hours (E-selectin expression) and for 24 hours (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression). Adhesion molecules were detected in immunoenzymatic test (ELISA) with mouse, monoclonal antibodies against human ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin. The results of experiments suggest, that metronidazole enhances the expression of examined adhesion molecules on endothelial cells. This antimicrobial agent causes some changes in the expression of endothelial ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin stimulated by B. fragilis endotoxins and enterotoxin.

Bacterial Toxins↗

The effects of cholera enterotoxin on intestinal tissue water as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Cholera enterotoxin has been postulated to change the configuration of the intracellular protein-water system, altering the permeability of the cell to water. Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, this protein-water relationship can be examined. Small intestinal loops in the rat were injected with 0.5 ml of either Schwarz/Mann cholera enterotoxin (40 mug/cc saline solution) or normal saline. Full thickness segments of intestine from each loop were taken and percentage water (using a gravimetric procedure which includes a correction for fat) and NMR relaxation times were determined. The mean value +/- S.D. for tissue water was 79.49 +/- 2.65% in the controls and 84.52 +/- 2.01% in the cholera specimens (p less than .001). T1 (spin-lattice) relaxation times were 521.22 +/- 69.5 msec in the controls and 667.96 +/- 119.25 msec in cholera tissue (p less than .001). T2 (spin-spin) relaxation times were 62.34 +/- 9.59 msec in controls and 80.35 +/- 21.46 msec in cholera tissue (p less than .02). These findings are consistent with the theory that cholera enterotoxin acts to alter intracellular protein-water relationship.

Animals↗

[Simultaneous expression of CS3 colonization factor antigen and LT-B/ST fusion enterotoxin antigen of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by attenuated Shigella flexneri 2a].

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) causes watery dehydrating diarrhea in infants in developing countries, and is the most common cause of travelers diarrhea. It has been known that the colonazition factor antigens (CFAs) and enterotoxins are important virulence factors of ETEC, and these two kinds of proteins should be included in any effective vaccine against ETEC. In this study, a host-plasmid lethal balancing system was constructed based on asd gene in an avirulent strain of S.flexneri to express CS3 antigens and the fusion LT-B/ST enterotoxins of Escherichia coli. Both of these antigens were expressed steadily in the S. flexneri vector without any antibiotic markers. Antibodies against CS3, LT, ST and LPS of Shigella were detected in sera of mice that were immunized with recombinant bacteria either oragastrically (o.g.) or intranasally (i.n.). SIgA against CS3 and enterotoxins were detected simultaneously in feces of mice. This work is helpful for constructing multivalent recombinant vaccine for prevention of bacterial diarrhea.

Animals↗

Localization of the immunologic activity in the superantigen Staphylococcal enterotoxin B using truncated recombinant fusion proteins.

The exotoxins of certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus strains are able both to stimulate potent proliferation and induce anergy in T lymphocytes expressing the appropriate T cell Ag receptor V beta gene elements. Although T cell activation by the S. aureus enterotoxins requires the presence of accessory cells bearing class II Ag of the MHC, unlike the peptide fragments of nominal Ag, they contact the external surfaces of both the class II MHC and TCR molecules. This paper investigates the immunologically active domains of S. aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) using truncated fragments of rSEB expressed as a fusion protein with protein A. The results of the experiments reported here indicate that the minimal fragment of SEB able to stimulate and induce anergy in hemagglutinin-reactive human T cells expressing V beta 3.1 gene elements is located in the amino-terminal portion of the molecule within residues 1-138. Deletion of the first 30 amino acid residues renders rSEB unable to stimulate T cells expressing V beta 3.1, whereas polyclonal T cells still respond to this molecule. This implies that the stimulation of several TCR-V beta families may be caused by the interaction with different regions of the toxin. The localization of immunologically active sites in the bacterial enterotoxins is needed to investigate both their biology and potential application as immunomodulatory agents.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

Effects of Staphylococcus aureus cell wall products (teichoic acid, peptidoglycan) and enterotoxin B on immunoglobulin (IgE, IgA, IgG) synthesis and CD23 expression in patients with atopic dermatitis.

The influence of staphylococcal cell wall products (teichoic acid, peptidoglycan) and enterotoxin B on peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) was investigated. The parameters studied were spontaneous and interleukin-inducible immunoglobulin (IgA, IgE, IgG) synthesis and CD23 expression. PBL from non-atopic donors served as controls. Teichoic acid and peptidoglycan induced an enhanced synthesis of IgA and IgG in normal donors. However, IgA and IgG synthesis in PBL from patients with AD was significantly suppressed by teichoic acid and enterotoxin B. The incubation of PBL from normal donors with enterotoxin B and interleukin-4 (IL-4) or IL-5 led to a significant suppression of IgA and IgG synthesis. Co-stimulation of PBL with teichoic acid or peptidoglycan and IL-4 led to a pronounced increase in IgE synthesis and CD23 expression in patients with AD. Our data indicate that cell wall products and toxins of staphylococci modulate the cytokine-dependent humoral immunity in patients with AD and may be responsible for allergic skin reactions in AD.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

[Bacterial enterotoxins: structure, mode of action].

The enterotoxins are macro-proteins, produced by enterotoxic bacterial strains acting in the human or animal intestine during digestive infections. In most cases, they induce diarrhoea (associated or not with tissue damage). These molecules differ in their structure and mechanism of action. Some of them (cholera toxin, Escherichia coli LT) activate a cyclase system (adenylate or guanylate cyclase), inducing water and electrolyte flux in the gut. Conversely, others (toxins A and B, Clostridium difficile; Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin; verotoxin), provoke diarrhoea, intestinal damage associated with inflammatory response acting on cellular functions (protein synthesis, permeability to small molecules). Most enterotoxins act via membrane receptors which they specifically recognize on the surface of the enterocyte.

Animals↗

Comparative evaluation of some bioassay models & serological tests for the detection of Salmonella enterotoxin.

Two bioassay models viz., rabbit ligated ileal loop (RLIL) and the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture and three serological methods viz., enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Biken and staphylococcal coagglutination (CoA) tests were standardized and used for the detection of Salmonella enterotoxin. A total of 37 strains belonging to 14 different serotypes of Salmonella were tested simultaneously by all the five assay models. Serological tests were standardized with antiserum against the purified enterotoxin of S. typhimurium (P/536). The CHO test was found to be the most sensitive (86.37%) followed by ELISA and CoA test (83.78%) each and Biken test (78.37%). The RLIL test was found to be least sensitive (64.86%) for detection of Salmonella enterotoxin.

Agglutination Tests↗

Prevalence of four enterotoxin (STaP, STaH, STb, and LT) and four adhesin subunit (K99, K88, 987P, and F41) genes among Escherichia coli isolates from cattle.

Colony hybridizations with DNA probes for 3 heat-stable (STaP, STaH, and STb) enterotoxins and 1 heat-labile (LT) enterotoxin and for 4 adhesins (K99, F41, K88, 987P) were performed on 870 Escherichia coli isolates to determine pathotypes prevalent among enterotoxigenic E coli (ETEC) isolated from cattle in Belgium. One hundred thirty-two E coli isolates (15.2%) hybridized with probes STaP, K99, and/or F41. The 5 other probes were not hybridized by E coli isolates. Therefore, only STaP enterotoxin and K99 and F41 adhesins were virulence factors of ETEC isolated from cattle. Two major pathotypes accounted for 95% of the ETEC: STaP+K99+F41+ (67.4%) and STaP+K99+ (27.3%). The last 5% of probe-positive isolates had STaP+, STaP+F41+, or K99+F41+ minor pathotypes. Of 12 American ETEC isolates also assayed, 7 were positive with STb and/or 987P probes (pathotypes STaP+STb+, STaP+ 987P+, or STaP+STb+987P+) and may be porcine- rather than bovine-specific enteropathogens. The remaining 5 American ETEC isolates belonged to 3 minor pathotypes (STaP+, STaP+F41+, and K99+F41+) also found among Belgian E coli isolates. Such isolates may be derivatives of STaP+K99+F41+ or STaP+K99+ ETEC after in vivo or in vitro loss of virulence genes and/or non-ETEC isolates, which have acquired virulence genes by in vivo transfer.

Adhesins, Escherichia coli↗

Production of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta by staphylococcal enterotoxin A activated human T cells.

Staphylococcal enterotoxin at concentrations of less than 1 pg/ml induces significant TNF activity in human peripheral blood T cells and monocytes. Maximal TNF activity is routinely detected after 48 to 72 h of culture. IL-2 and IL-4 were both growth promoting for human T cells but only IL-2 could efficiently induce TNF production. The production of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta differed greatly in kinetics. An early intracytoplasmatic production of TNF-alpha after 6 h was detected in both monocytes and T cells whereas a late production of TNF-beta (lymphotoxin) after 48 h, occurred in the T cell population. Induction of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta production by Staphylococcal enterotoxin requires the presence of both monocytes and T cells. The CD4+45R- but not CD4+45R+ and CD8+ cells supported TNF-alpha production in monocytes. The main lytic component from Staphylococcal enterotoxin-activated mononuclear cells is TNF-beta. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells produced about equal amounts of biologically active TNF into the culture supernatants but a fourfold higher frequency of TNF-beta producing cells was demonstrated among CD4+ vs CD8+ cells. The CD4+45R- T cell subset was an efficient producer of TNF-beta and IFN-gamma whereas the CD4+45R+ T cell subset produced significant amounts of TNF-beta but only marginal amounts of IFN-gamma.

Antigen-Presenting Cells↗

Actin and lamin comprised filaments in the nuclei of Chinese hamster ovary cells affected with Clostridium difficile enterotoxin A.

The major change in the ultrastructure of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells treated with Clostridium difficile enterotoxin A was the formation of bundles of filaments in the nucleoplasm. The filaments appeared after 2.5 h and disappeared by the fourth hour of incubation with the toxin. To partially characterize these filaments, laser diffractometry and ultrastructural immunocytochemistry were employed. The bundles consist of coiled filaments of about 11 nm and 16 nm diameter and a main long axial periodicity of about 26 nm. Postembedding immunogold labelling with monoclonal antibodies demonstrated that these intranuclear filaments are comprised mainly of actin, but also contain lamin and vinculin. Between 2.5 and 3 h of incubation with enterotoxin A, the lamins were located close to the nuclear envelope, but they were also consistently found scattered in the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Such an unusual distribution of lamins might mediate the adverse effects of enterotoxin A on nuclear organization and function and thus cause the eventual death of CHO cells.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗

Relationship between enterotoxic- and T lymphocyte-stimulating activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin B.

The enterotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus cause a gastrointestinal intoxication probably via their action on intramucosal neuronal cells. Staphylococcal enterotoxins are also the most powerful mitogens known, activating CD3+ T lymphocytes of several species in a clonally variable and MHC class II-dependent fashion. We examined a possible relationship between enterotoxic and mitogenic activity of staphylococcal enterotoxin serotype B (SEB). We used a monoclonal anti-Id directed against the combining site of an anti-SEB mAb. This anti-Id failed to elicit an enteric response by itself but could block the enteric response in monkeys to a 6000-fold excess of SEB. The anti-Id was mitogenic, however, for human and monkey T cells, triggering a fraction of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Not all SEB-reactive T cells were activated by the anti-Id. The anti-Id bound to T cells with a similarly low affinity as did SEB. Additional evidence for a separation of enterotoxic and mitogenic activity comes from studies with carboxymethylated SEB. Although this modified SEB had lost its enterotoxic activity, it was as mitogenic as the unmodified molecule. These results support the notion that the enteric reaction to SEB is not mediated via its effect on T lymphocytes. We conclude that SEB and anti-Id might bind to a common structure of different receptors on T cells and target cells in the intestinal mucosa, probably peripheral sensory neurons.

Animals↗

Binding of staphylococcal enterotoxin A to purified murine MHC class II molecules in supported lipid bilayers.

The staphylococcal enterotoxins are a family of bacterial toxins that are thought to exert their pathogenic effects by the massive activation of T lymphocytes to produce lymphokines. Activation of T cells by these toxins is dependent on MHC class II+ APC. Recent studies from a number of laboratories have implicated MHC class II proteins as the APC surface receptor for a number of the staphylococcal enterotoxins. The present report shows that staphylococcal enterotoxin A, (SEA) binds to the purified murine MHC class II molecule I-Ed reconstituted in supported planar membranes, indicating that no other cell surface proteins are required for SEA binding. The Kd for SEA binding to I-Ed was determined to be 3.5 +/- 1.6 x 10(-6) M. Specific binding of SEA to I-Ad was also observed, but the interaction was of significantly lower affinity. Binding of SEA to purified I-Ed was blocked by antibodies against both the alpha- and the beta-chain of the I-Ed molecule, but not by antibodies specific for an unrelated MHC class II protein. Binding of SEA to I-Ad was blocked by an A beta d but not by an A alpha d-specific antibody. Planar membranes containing only lipid and purified I-Ed molecules were sufficient for activation of a V beta 1 expressing T hybrid by SEA. The T cells responded to as few as 180 toxin molecules per T cell.

Animals↗

Role of upstream sequences in the expression of the staphylococcal enterotoxin B gene.

The staphylococcal enterotoxin B gene (seb) is positively regulated at the transcriptional level (Gaskill, M. E., and Khan, S. A. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 6276-6280). The sequences involved in the regulation of transcription of the seb gene have been studied by deletion analysis. A multicopy Staphylococcus aureus plasmid carrying the cloned seb gene was used to generate a series of mutants that are deleted in the upstream region of this gene. The levels of enterotoxin B protein and mRNA produced by the deletion mutants were analyzed. A region between 59 and 93 nucleotides upstream of the transcription initiation site was found to be required for transcription and expression of the seb gene. Deletion of this sequence greatly reduced or eliminated transcription of the seb gene. DNA-protein binding experiments showed that cell-free extracts made from an staphylococcal enterotoxin B-producing strain contain protein(s) that specifically bind to the upstream region. This protein may be involved in the transcriptional activation of the seb gene.

Base Sequence↗

[Immunobiological properties of staphylococcal enterotoxins type A, B, C, D and E].

Comparative study of mitogenic and interferonogenic properties of staphylococcal enterotoxins of different serotypes is done. It is revealed that preparations of enterotoxins are polyclonal mitogens and have interferon-inducing activity. It is stated that enterotoxin of D type has the highest mitogenic activity, which is shown by interferon-inducing activity of A type toxin.

Antigens↗

Effect of heat-stable and heat-labile enterotoxins of Escherichia coli on intestinal brush border membrane enzymes of mice.

The activities of intestinal brush border membrane (BBM) enzymes alkaline phosphatase, maltase, lactase, sucrase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and leucine aminopeptidase were determined in intestinal homogenates and purified BBMs from control, heat-stable and heat-labile enterotoxin treated mice. The activities of all the enzymes except lactase were decreased significantly (p less than 0.01) in homogenates while increased significantly (p less than 0.001) in BBMs of experimental groups as compared to controls. Calmodulin activities were increased significantly (p less than 0.01) as compared to control in heat-stable enterotoxin treated mice but remained unaltered in heat-labile enterotoxin treated mice. DNA contents of intestinal homogenates were decreased in experimental groups demonstrating the decrease in cell number in these groups. The altered BBM enzyme activities could not be attributed to changes in calmodulin activities. The increase in enzyme activities in BBMs may reflect a compensatory phenomenon in the remaining cells.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

[Use of the coagglutination test in the detection of thermolabile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli].

The authors examined 39 strains of E. coli isolated from patients with the clinical diagnosis of diarrhoea for the presence of thermolabile enterotoxin (LT-I). For assessment of LT-I adaptation of the staphylococcal coagglutination technique was used. Suspension of a strain of staphylococcus aureus Cowan I, MAU, 55/64 was sensitized with a specific antibody against LT-I (not diluted and diluted). 50 ng purified enterotoxin created with the thus sensitized staphylococcal suspension a still reproducible coagglutination. The above test revealed that none of the tested strains of E. coli produced the thermolabile LT-I enterotoxin.

Agglutination Tests↗

Our experiences with isolation of heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli.

From the Escherichia coli strain isolated from a patient suffering from diarrhoea a homogenate and concentrated culture filtrate were prepared. From these materials the heat-labile enterotoxin was isolated after its elution with 0.2 M D-galactose from Sepharose 6B column. The obtained enterotoxin was positive in the rabbit ileal loop test up to a concentration of 1 microgram protein/ml. In the immunodiffusion test it reacted in a concentration up to 5 micrograms protein/ml with anticholeragen and in a concentration up to 30 micrograms protein/ml with its specific antiserum. This antiserum was prepared by intramuscular immunization of rabbits by enterotoxin with complete Freund's adjuvant.

Bacterial Toxins↗

[Lowering of bactericidal activity of mouse peritoneal macrophages under combined use of staphylococcal enterotoxin type A and endotoxin].

The present study investigated the effect of staphylococcal enterotoxin type A (SEA) and endotoxin Serratia marcescens (LPS) on the phagocytosis and killing of Staphylococcus aureus by mouse peritoneal macrophages. Two hours after enterotoxin intraperitoneal injection phagocytic and bactericidal activity were depressed. 24 hours later there was increased functional activity of macrophages by SEA and LPS, apart. But when two toxins were administered together (LPS four hours later enterotoxin) marked inhibition of bacterial killing was observed. When peritoneal macrophages were treated in vitro for 24 hours with the same toxins they were also markedly suppressed in bactericidal activity.

Animals↗