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Lysis of erythrocytes by a hemolysin produced by a group B Streptococcus sp.

An improved procedure for the isolation and purification of the hemolysin produced by a group B streptococcus was developed, and the inactivation of partially purified hemolysin by several enzymes was studied. Hemolysin obtained in buffer containing starch and Tween 80 was inactivated by subtilisin and alpha-amylase, suggesting that the hemolysin may consist of a protein hemolytic moiety complexed to starch which acts as a carrier or stabilizer. Properties of the hemolytic reaction were studied by using sheep erythrocytes as target cells. Experiments to examine the kinetics of hemolysis at different hemolysin concentrations resulted in a family of sigmoidal curves characterized by a short prelytic lag phase followed by a period of rapid release of hemoglobin. The binding of the group B hemolysin at 37 degrees C was rapid; within 3 min, most of the cells had bound sufficient hemolysin to produce lysis. In contrast, the hemolysin did not bind to erythrocytes at 0 degrees C. The length of the prelytic lag period and the rate of hemolysis were also temperature dependent. A decrease in total hemolysis was observed when the target cell/hemolysin ratio was increased, suggesting that a multihit response is required for lysis. Intracellular 86Rb and hemoglobin were released at the same rate from hemolysin-treated cells, indicating that a colloid-osmotic process is not involved in the lytic mechanism.

Animals↗

Activities of Aeromonas hydrophila hemolysins and their interaction with erythrocyte membranes.

The activity of hemolysin produced by Aeromonas hydrophila CA-11, isolated from an environmental source, was more sensitive to temperature than that of hemolysin produced by strain AH-1, isolated from a diarrheal case. CA-11 hemolysin failed to elicit hemolysis below 10 degrees C. Immunoblotting analyses showed that both hemolysins formed into oligomers in rabbit erythrocyte membrane even when no hemolysis occurred. suggesting that the binding and the subsequent oligomerization are temperature independent. Sodium salicylate inhibited lysis of rabbit erythrocytes by both hemolysins, but selected monosaccharides and oligosaccharides did not. Thin-layer immunostaining indicated that both hemolysins bound to phosphoglycerides with net negative charge but weakly to the ones with no net negative charge. Neither sphingomyelin nor lysophosphoglyceride reacted with the hemolysins, whereas the hemolysins bound to free fatty acids. These results suggest that the binding of either hemolysin to the membrane component, probably phospholipid, requires both negative charge of the polar head group and suitable hydrophobicity of the nonpolar tails.

Aeromonas↗

Regulation of hemolysin expression in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 by Ca2+.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of swine pleuropneumonia, secretes a hemolytic activity which is thought to be a factor involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. The biosynthesis of hemolysin by serotype 1 strain 4074 was strongly dependent on the activity of free Ca2+ in the growth medium. At activities of free Ca2+ below 50 microM, very low hemolytic activities could be detected in the growth medium and in cell extracts. Maximal hemolytic activities of up to 400 hemolytic units per ml could be measured in growth medium containing free Ca2+ activities above 3 mM. Other bivalent cations did not stimulate the production of hemolysin. Neither the growth rate nor the secretion of hemolysin was affected by increasing Ca2+ concentrations in the medium. The hemolysin of serotype 1 did not require Ca2+ as a cofactor for the lysis of erythrocytes. Ca2+ induced the expression of a 105-kilodalton protein, which was secreted. This protein comigrated with purified hemolysin on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and exhibited hemolysin activity upon purification. Inhibition experiments with rifampin suggest that the hemolysin of A. pleuropneumoniae is regulated by Ca2+ at the transcriptional level. The threshold of hemolysin induction was around 700 microM free Ca2+, a concentration which is similar to that found in blood serum. The Ca2+-inducible hemolysin represents a novel type of positively regulated bacterial gene expression.

Actinobacillus↗

Epitopes of Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin: identification of monoclonal antibodies that prevent hemolysis.

The antigenic regions of Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin were determined by antibody binding to cyanogen bromide (CnBr) fragments of this protein under denatured conditions. Alpha-hemolysin was isolated from filtered culture supernatants of a recombinant strain by a combination of trichloroacetic acid precipitation and preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Alpha-hemolysin was used to (i) produce polyclonal rabbit antisera and murine monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and (ii) generate CnBr fragments. Rabbit IgG and 13 murine IgG monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were elicited to alpha-hemolysin as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent and immunoprecipitation assays. Antibodies bound to three specific CnBr fragments of alpha-hemolysin in Western blots (immuno-blots) from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels: CnBrII (encompassing residues [R] 2 to 160), CnBrV (R 425 to 892), and CnBrVI (R 893 to 1023). Five MAbs bound to CnBrII, seven MAbs bound to CnBrV, and one MAb bound to CnBrVI. These specific CnBr fragments are predicted to be hydrophilic and charged. There was no antibody binding to the highly hydrophobic CnBrIII (R 161 to 416). Similar binding patterns were observed when rabbit polyclonal anti-alpha-hemolysin IgG was used. Polyclonal antibodies to alpha-hemolysin readily inhibited hemolysis and its neutralization capacity was 4- to 64-fold more potent than neutralizing MAbs. The five MAbs that bind to CnBrII possessed hemolytic neutralizing activity to various degrees. In contrast, only three of seven MAbs that bind to CnBrV fragment exhibited neutralization capacity to various degrees; the MAb to CnBrVI did not exhibit this capacity. Based on these data, we predict that denatured alpha-hemolysin and its CnBrII and CnBrV fragments might be worthwhile immunoprophylactic candidates for the prevention of hemolysin-mediated E. coli tissue injury.

Animals↗

Target cell range of Haemophilus ducreyi hemolysin and its involvement in invasion of human epithelial cells.

Haemophilus ducreyi, the causative agent of chancroid, produces a hemolysin, whose role in virulence is not well defined. To assess the possible role of hemolysin in pathogenesis, we evaluated its target cell range by using wild-type H. ducreyi 35000, nonhemolytic mutants with the hemolysin structural gene deleted, and isogenic strains expressing different amounts of hemolytic activity. The cytotoxicity of the various cell types was assessed by quantitating the release of lactate dehydrogenase into culture supernatants as a measure of cell lysis. In these experiments, human foreskin fibroblasts, human foreskin epithelial cells, and, to a lesser extent, HEp-2 cells were lysed by H. ducreyi hemolysin. Hemolysin also lysed human blood mononuclear cells and immune system cell lines including U937 macrophage-like cells, T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes. In contrast, human polymorphonuclear leukocytes were not sensitive to hemolysin under the conditions tested. We also analyzed the effect of hemolysin on invasion of human epithelial cells and found that H. ducreyi strains expressing cloned hemolysin genes showed a 10-fold increase in invasion compared to the control strain. These data support the hypothesis that the H. ducreyi hemolysin is important in the pathogenesis of chancroid and may contribute to ulcer formation, invasion of epithelial cells, and evasion of the immune response.

Cell Line↗

Purification and characterization of enterotoxigenic El Tor-like hemolysin produced by Vibrio fluvialis.

The halophilic bacterium Vibrio fluvialis is an enteric pathogen that produces an extracellular hemolysin. This hemolysin was purified to homogeneity by using sequential hydrophobic-interaction chromatography with phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B and gel filtration with Sephacryl S-200. It has a molecular weight of 63,000 and an isoelectric point of 4.6, and its hemolytic activity is sensitive to heat, proteases, and preincubation with zinc ions. The hemolysin lyses erythrocytes of the eight different animal species that we tested, is cytotoxic against Chinese hamster ovary cells in tissue culture, and elicits fluid accumulation in suckling mice. Lysis of erythrocytes occurs by a temperature-dependent binding step followed by a temperature- and pH-dependent lytic step. Fourteen of the first 20 N-terminal amino acid residues (Val-Ser-Gly-Gly-Glu-Ala-Asn-Thr-Leu-Pro-His-Val-Ala-Phe-Tyr-Ile-Asn-Val-Asn-Arg) are identical to those of the El Tor hemolysin of Vibrio cholerae and the heat-labile hemolysin of Vibrio mimicus. This homology was further confirmed by PCR analysis using a 5' primer derived from the amino-terminal sequence of the hemolysin and a 3' primer derived from the El Tor hemolysin structural gene. The hemolysin also reacts with antibodies to the El Tor-like hemolysin of non-O1 V. cholerae.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cloning and functional characterization of the plasmid-encoded hemolysin determinant of Escherichia coli.

We cloned the DNA containing the Escherichia coli hemolysin determinant on a small, high-copy plasmid. We generated plasmids containing fragments of this DNA and used them either alone or in two-plasmid complementation systems to define the limits of the structural genes. This system also allowed us to partially characterize the function of each of the gene products in the production and transport of hemolysin. Taken with previously published data, the present experiments indicate the following. (i) At least three cistrons, hlyC, hlyA, and hlyB (these were previously designated cisC, etc. [Noegel et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 175:343-350, 1979]), contain the specific genetic information for the hemolytic phenotype, (ii) hlyA encodes a 107,000-kilodalton protein, which seems to be an inactive precursor of hemolysin. (iii) Normal amounts of hemolysin activity inactive precursor of hemolysin. (iii) Normal amounts of hemolysin activity require only the products of hlyA and hlyC. This activity was found in the periplasm; very little hemolysin activity was found in the cytoplasm, suggesting that the hlyC product is required for transport or activation of the hlyA product or both. (iv) Active hemolysin remains in the periplasm in the absence of hlyB function, hence the hlyB product seems to be necessary for the transport of hemolysin to the exterior of the cell. We further show that overproduction of the hlyA product is lethal, probably causing lysis of the cell.

Biological Transport↗

Purification and characterization of an Aeromonas hydrophila hemolysin.

A hemolysin produced by Aeromonas hydrophila CA-11, isolated from an environmental source, was purified by sulfopropyl-Sephadex C-25 chromatography at pH 5.0. This hemolysin caused fluid accumulation in infant mouse intestines and rabbit intestinal loops and killed Vero cells, as did the hemolysin produced by strain AH-1, isolated from a diarrheal case. In polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses at pHs 4.0 and 9.4 and in thin-layer isoelectric focusing, CA-11 hemolysin migrated as a single band to a position different from that of AH-1 hemolysin. Immunodiffusion tests indicated that CA-11 hemolysin was immunologically related to AH-1 hemolysin but possessed unique antigenic determinants. Neutralization tests with antihemolysin sera also demonstrated immunological cross-reactivity between AH-1 and CA-11 hemolysins. These results apparently indicate that the hemolysins produced by the two strains of A. hydrophila are immunologically and physicochemically different from each other.

Aeromonas↗

Comparison of four hemolysin-producing organisms (Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Listeria monocytogenes) for release of inflammatory mediators from various cells.

We investigated the role of various hemolysin-producing strains (Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Listeria monocytogenes) in induction of inflammatory mediators, e.g., histamine release from rat mast cells as well as the chemiluminescence response and the release of lipoxygenase transformation products from human polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Our data show that the hemolysin-positive bacteria as well as the hemolysin-positive culture supernatants were active in inducing the chemiluminescence response, leukotriene (LTB4 and LTC4) release from human granulocytes, and histamine release from rat mast cells. The degree of leukotriene release was dependent on the hemolysin type and on the expression of hemolysin activity. The E. coli alpha-hemolysin and the aerolysin-producing A. hydrophila were the most potent stimuli whether washed bacteria or bacterial supernatant was used. Bacteria expressing the S. marcescens hemolysin and the listeriolysin were only poor inducers of leukotriene generation. In contrast to leukotriene generation, all hemolysin-positive strains induced nearly the same histamine release in a dose-dependent manner. Our data suggest a potent role for various hemolysins as virulence factors in inducing the release of inflammatory mediators.

Aeromonas↗

A novel hemolysin from the lichen Parmelia pulla.

A hitherto unknown hemolysin from the lichen Parmelia pulla was discovered and a method was developed for its purification to apparent homogeneity. Saline phosphate buffer pH 7.2 extracted the bulk of the hemolysin from the lichen thalli. From this extract the hemolysin was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration with Sepharose 6-B column. The overall recovery was about 75% and the purified hemolysin appeared to be electrophoretically homogenous and had a native molecular weight of 32,600. The purified hemolysin had a pH optimum around 5.5, stable at room temperature and gradually loses its activity upon freezing and thawing. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified hemolysin in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate revealed the presence of two types of subunits with apparent molecular weight of 18,000 and 14,000 respectively, indicating a dimeric (alpha beta) type of structure. Immunoblotting analysis demonstrated the presence of this hemolysin in crude extract prepared from P tinictina but not in crude extract from P tiliacea and P acetabulum. The purified hemolysin lyses rabbit erythrocytes and the rate of hemolysis was linear dependence on protein concentration. Erythrocytes obtained from various species including human were also lysed by the purified hemolysin in a concentration dependent manner.

Animals↗

OXYGEN-STABLE HEMOLYSINS OF GROUP A STREPTOCOCCI. II. CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND ELECTROPHORETIC STUDIES.

The oxygen-stable streptococcal hemolysins, which can be induced by a number of diverse substances, have been studied. Differences among these hemolysins have been found in electrophoresis, chromatography, pH stability, and susceptibility to some organic solvents and to an enzyme, RNAase. These properties have in each case been found to characterize the inducing substances as well. In a number of instances it has been found possible to incubate one inducer with the hemolysin induced by another of these agents and then, after appropriate fractionation, to find hemolytic activity in the fraction containing the fresh inducer. These observations suggest that the oxygen-stable streptococcal hemolysins are constituted as carrier-hemolysin complexes, the carriers being the set of molecular species effective as inducers, and the prosthetic group being transferred from one carrier to another under appropriate conditions. After transfer of the hemolytic moiety from a hemolysin molecule which is susceptible to inactivation by a given agent or set of conditions to a carrier which is not itself significantly affected by this agent, the new, derived, hemolysin has been found not to be inactivated by the agent. The hemolysins of this group can thus be inactivated by enzymatic attack on the prosthetic group, or by hydrolysis or deformation of the postulated carrier molecule.

Chemical Phenomena↗

OXYGEN-STABLE HEMOLYSINS OF GROUP A STREPTOCOCCI. 3. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CELL-BOUND HOMOLYSIN TO STREPTOLYSIN S.

The relationship of the streptococcal hemolysin which is recognized on incubation of RBC with streptococcal cells (cell-bound hemolysin, CBH), to RNA hemolysin, a representative of oxygen-stable hemolysin (streptolysin S) has been studied. A number of similarities have been found in the conditions for optimal production of each of these hemolysins, a requirement for cysteine, Mg(++), and glucose; maximal production by streptococci in the stationary phase; similar curves of pH-dependence. In both systems, the production of hemolysin was inhibited by certain antibiotics, by ultraviolet irradiation, and by sonic disruption and was absent in the same streptococcal mutant strain. The hemolytic activity of both systems was inhibited by lecithin, trypan blue, and papain. Similarities were also found in relative susceptibilities to the two hemolytic systems of erythrocytes of a number of animal species. These data support a suggestion advanced in an earlier study that a streptococcal hemolytic moiety, which can be induced by, and carried on, a number of diverse agents to comprise the group of oxygen-stable hemolysins, serves, in its original attachment to a component of the streptococcal cell, to produce the hemolytic effect recognized as the cell-bound hemolysin.

Animals↗

Cloning and characterization of three hemolysin genes from Aeromonas salmonicida.

Two hemolysin genes (ASH3 and ASH4) of Aeromonas salmonicida strain 17-2 and one (ASH1) of A. salmonicida ATCC14174 were cloned into the cosmid vector charomid 9-36 in Escherichia coli DH1. The overall amino acid sequence of the ASH3 was similar to that of the aerolysins of Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas sobria, and hemolysins AHH3, AHH4, and AHH5 of A. hydrophila, and hemolysin ASA1 of A. sobria. The sequence of ASH4 was similar to that of the AHH1 hemolysin of A. hydrophila. The ASH4 hemolysin contains some homologous sequence regions of the Vibrio vulnificus and Vibrio cholerae cytolysin-hemolysin. Both ASH3 and ASH4 DNA probes reacted with all 104 strains of A. salmonicida, whereas the ASH1 DNA probe did not hybridize with any of the 104 strains studied except strain ATCC14174. ASH1 and ASH3 were broad spectrum hemolysins with most activity against rabbit and horse erythrocytes, respectively, whereas ASH4 hemolysin did not lyse bovine and horse erythrocytes. ASH3 and ASH4, but not ASH1, were activated by trypsin.

Aeromonas↗

Identification and characterization of the Aeromonas sobria hemolysin glycoprotein receptor on intestine 407 cells.

Aeromonas sobria hemolysin is important in the pathogenesis of diarrhoea caused by this enteropathogenic bacterium. By immunoprecipitation analysis using hemolysin and anti-hemolysin antibody, a 66 kDa protein (p66) was identified as a receptor for A. sobria hemolysin on Intestine 407 cells. Treatment of p66 with N-glycosidase F reduced the apparent sized of p66 to 60 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. p66, released from Intestine 407 cells following incubation with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) treatment, bound A. sobria hemolysin. Thus treatment of Intestine 407 cells with PI-PLC resulted in the remarkable decrease of the sensitivity to A. sobria hemolysin. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that p66, the binding protein for A. sobria hemolysin, is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein expressed on the surface of Intestine 407 cells and probably plays a role as a receptor for A. sobria hemolysin on the intestinal cells.

Aeromonas↗

The role of group B streptococci beta-hemolysin expression in newborn lung injury.

There is a direct correlation between the level of GBS beta-hemolysin expression and the ability of GBS to injury lung epithelial cells. Electron microscopy suggest the hemolysin acts as a pore-forming cytolysin. beta-hemolysin-associated lung epithelial cell injury is inhibited by surfactant phospholipid, a substance in which high-risk premature infants are deficient. We have now shown that loss of GBS hemolysin activity is associated with decreased animal virulence following intrathoracic inoculation of the organism. Further, a knockout of a putative GBS beta-hemolysin gene from the literature suggests it is not the major GBS hemolysin determinant. Cloning and sequencing analysis of the Tn916 (or Tn916DE) insertions in three of our nonhemolytic GBS mutants show identical integration sites in a distinct chromosomal locus. Finally, a putative 11-kd hemolysin species is identified by comparative analysis of protein extracts from isogenic hemolysin mutants.

Animals↗

Hemolysin phenotypes and genotypes of eaeA-positive and eaeA-negative bovine verotoxigenic Escherichia coli.

Intimin or EaeA protein has been implicated in the attaching/effacing lesion caused by entero-hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in the intestine but it is not produced by all EHEC and is therefore not adequate as a marker for EHEC. Hemolysins are produced by a high percentage of verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) and could be a marker for EHEC, but their distribution and relation to virulence are not known. We used PCR amplification to determine the presence or absence of eaeA sequences in 281 VTEC isolates from the feces of healthy cattle. There were 101 eaeA-positive isolates, which belonged to O groups 5, 26, 69, 80, 84, 98, 103, 111, 119, 145, 157 and 108 eaeA-negative isolates, which belonged to O groups 8, 22, 38, 113, 119, 116, 132, 153, 156 or untypable. All isolates were tested for hemolysis on horse blood agar and on washed sheep blood agar. PCR amplification was used to test for EHEC hemolysin, Ehly1, Ehly2 and alpha-hemolysin D sequences. Among eaeA-positive isolates 98% were positive for EHEC hemolysin sequences and were hemolytic on washed sheep red blood cell agar; the corresponding percentage for eaeA-negative isolates was 36%. Ehly1 and Ehly2 sequences were present in only 11 isolates (O groups 26, 84, 119 and 132). None of the eaeA-positive and 13 of the eaeA-negative isolates (including all 11 isolates of O group 132) were positive for alpha-hemolysin D gene sequences by PCR and alpha-hemolysin production on horse blood agar. We conclude that since Ehly1, Ehly2 and alpha-hemolysin occur at low frequency among bovine VTEC and serotypes implicated in human disease they are unlikely to be significant virulence factors. In contrast, EHEC hemolysin was present in almost all eaeA-positive VTEC isolates and in approximately one-third the eaeA-negative ones; it may be both a virulence marker and virulence factor but further testing is required. The study identified isolates with all combinations of eaeA and EHEC hly, which may be useful for further testing.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗

Hemolysin as a marker for Serratia.

All Serratia marcescens strains (total of 33) of different sources were hemolytic including clinical strains previously classified as being nonhemolytic. DNA fragments of the two hemolysin genes hybridized with the chromosomal DNA of S. marcescens, S. liquefaciens, S. kiliensis, S. grimesii, S. proteamaculans, S. plymutica, S. rubridaea which were also hemolytic. The restriction pattern of the hemolysin locus differed in each strain. S. ficaria and S. marinorubra expressed a different hemolysin which was much smaller than the S. marcescens hemolysin since it diffused through dialysis membranes. The DNA of the latter strains did not hybridize with the S. marcescens hemolysin DNA probes. Some S. marcescens strains, S. kiliensis and S. liquefaciens also expressed in addition the small hemolysin. No hybridization was found with DNA of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella arerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Shigella dysenteriae, Yersinia enterocolitica, Yersinia pseudotuberculosus, Listeria sp., Aeromonas sp., Legionella sp. and a Meninococcus sp., indicating that the hemolysin DNA probes are specific for Serratia, or that the hemolysin genes occur rarely in genera other than Serratia.

Autoradiography↗

Identification and partial characterization of an Actinomyces pyogenes hemolysin.

Twenty-two Actinomyces pyogenes isolates were recovered from hepatic abscesses in cattle and evaluated for hemolysin production. Hemolysin was collected from supernatant of cultures grown in 6% CO2 in brain heart infusion (BHI) broth. The effect of oxidizing and reducing agents, enzymes, temperatures and pH on hemolytic activity were studied using sheep erythrocytes as the target cells. Our study showed that A. pyogenes hemolysin is oxygen stable; sensitive to treatment by protease, trypsin, and amylase; and destroyed by treatment at extreme temperatures (56 and 100 degrees C) and pH (pH 3 and 11). Production of hemolysin was studied in BHI, RPMI-1640, and a defined serum-free A. pyogenes medium under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Maximum hemolysin was produced in BHI incubated aerobically in 6% CO2 and to a lesser degree anaerobically in RPMI-1640. No hemolysin was produced in the defined A. pyogenes medium. Differential filtration, isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis identified two hemolysin proteins with pI values of 3.40 and 9.45 and estimated molecular masses of 62 and 58 kDa, respectively. Cell-free supernatant samples positive for hemolysin activity also were screened for leukotoxin activity. Significant levels of leukotoxin were detected in all samples screened.

Actinomyces↗