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K Takumi

Publications and source records attributed to K Takumi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Purification and characterization of S layer proteins from Clostridium difficile GAI 0714.

The S layer of Clostridium difficile GAI0714 was shown to be composed of two proteins, of 32 kDa and 45 kDa, as determined by SDS-PAGE. The two proteins were extracted with 8 M-urea (pH 8.3) from a cell wall preparation and purified by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography followed by HPLC gel filtration. When solubilized in 0.1 M-urea, both proteins appeared to exhibit dimeric forms, with respective molecular masses of about 61 kDa and 99 kDa, upon HPLC. Although the amino acid compositions of the two proteins differed from each other, both proteins had a high content of acidic amino acids, very low contents of histidine and methionine, and no cysteine. The 32 kDa protein exhibited multiple isoelectric forms (pI 3.7-3.9), whereas the 45 kDa protein had a single form (pI 3.3). Radioiodination and immunogold labelling revealed that both proteins were exposed evenly over the entire cell surface. Based on immunodiffusion analysis using monospecific antiserum raised to the individual proteins, there was no antigenic relationship between the two proteins. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis showed that the antigenicity of the 32 kDa protein appeared to be strain specific, whereas that of the 45 kDa protein appeared to be group specific.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

Demonstration and characterization of the cell wall carbohydrate and protein antigens from Clostridium botulinum type E Saroma.

Two different cell wall antigens, carbohydrate (CHO) and protein (P), from Clostridium botulinum type E Saroma were extracted with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and Sephadex G-75 or G-100. The CHO antigen was composed of glucose, galactose, glucosamine, galactosamine, alanine and phosphorus with a molar ratio of 1.5:1.5:0.25:0.25:1:1. The P antigen was an acidic protein with a molecular weight of 60 kDa, in which the major amino acids were aspartate, glutamate and serine, while the minor ones were cysteine and methionine. Thin sections of the intact or SDS-extracted cells of the organism demonstrated that the cell wall was composed of a two-layered structure, an inner layer about 20 nm thick and an outer layer about 10 nm, and by the extraction with SDS, the outer layer disappeared from the cell surface, leaving the inner layer. Immunogel diffusion tests demonstrated that either CHO antigen or P antigen was common among the nonproteolytic strains of C. botulinum.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

Isolation, and morphological and chemical properties of an autolysis-deficient mutant of Clostridium botulinum type A.

An autolysis-deficient mutant was isolated from Clostridium botulinum type A 190L by treatment with ethyl methanesulfonate. The cell wall prepared from the mutant autolyzed at much slower rate than that from the parent strain, accompanying with much less liberation of both amino terminals and reducing groups. Electron microscopic observation revealed that the mutant strain was converted to short rod or curved spherical form with thickened cell walls when the growth temperature was shifted from 37 to 45 C. The mutant had a significantly larger amount of non-peptidoglycan-carbohydrate complexes than did the parent strain and became markedly resistant to the autolysin partially purified from the parent, compared with the parent strain. Furthermore, the mutant was fairly tolerant to killing by penicillin. These results suggest that the autolysis deficiency of the mutant was due not only to the deficient production of autolysin but also to the excess accumulation of carbohydrate in the cell wall.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Purification and partial characterization of a soluble hemagglutinin from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

A soluble hemagglutinin (HA) produced by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain Inoue, serotype 5b, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration on Sepharose CL-6B and high performance liquid chromatography on a DEAE-5PW anion-exchange column. The purified HA was a 14.5 kDa protein with an isoelectric point of 4.5. Amino acid analysis indicated that the HA consisted of 133 residues, corresponding to the molecular weight of 14,100. The amino acid sequence of N-terminal 38 amino acid residues showed no homology with that of several fimbrial proteins from Escherichia coli.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

S layer protein of Clostridium tetani: purification and properties.

S layer protein of Clostridium tetani strain AO 174, a nontoxigenic derivative of strain Harvard A 47, was prepared from the cell walls by 4 M urea extraction and purified by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography followed by a combination of anion-exchange chromatography and reverse-phase chromatography using an HPLC system. The molecular weight of the S layer protein was estimated to be 140 kilodaltons (kDa) by SDS-PAGE. The amino acid composition of the 140 kDa protein was very similar to those of S layer proteins from the other bacterial species: it was rich in acidic amino acid and lacked cysteine. Also, the protein was unique in its extremely low content of proline (0.02 to 0.03 mol%). Multiple isoelectric forms ranging from pH 4.0 to 4.5 were observed in the purified preparation. Immunodiffusion analysis showed that the 140 kDa protein was a common antigen to the three strains of C. tetani tested.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1991

In vivo lectin-binding of photoreceptors and interphotoreceptor matrix in rat.

The in vivo distribution of lectin receptors in the photoreceptors and interphotoreceptor matrix (IPM) was studied by histochemistry and light microscopy. Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated lectins (peanut agglutinin, PNA; Ricinus communis agglutinin-1, RCA-1; or wheat germ agglutinin, WGA) were administered into the subretinal space of living rats, and 1 and 6 hours later eyeballs were enucleated to examine retinal tissues with a light microscope. The surfaces of cone photoreceptor outer segments and inner segments, and/or cone-associated IPM were labeled preferentially with PNA at 1 and 6 hours after its subretinal administration. One hour after subretinal injection, RCA-1 labeling appeared in the distal surface of the outer segments, the basal region of the inner segments, and the surface of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). At 6 hours the basal portion of the outer segments showed RCA-1 labeling as well. The distribution of labeling by WGA was uniform throughout the outer segments and/or the IPM domain except for the most distal portion of the outer segments. These observations conform for the most part to previous in vitro experiments, and indicate, together with previously not explicitly described observations, that a spatial heterogeneity in the vertical and horizontal directions exists in the IPM domain.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Substance P-like immunoreactive retinal terminals found in two retinorecipient areas of the Japanese monkey.

Using peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunocytochemistry, we demonstrated a dense accumulation of substance P-like (SP) immunoreactive terminals in the internal layer of the pregeniculate nucleus and in the pretectal olivary nucleus of the Japanese monkey. These distributions of immunostaining were similar to those for retinofugal terminals in the same nuclei. Bilateral eye enucleation markedly decreased SP immunoreactivity in the nuclei. The reduced immunoreactivity probably reflected the loss of SP-containing retinal ganglion cells that sent axons to the pregeniculate and pretectal olivary nuclei.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Purification and immunochemical properties of a wall protein antigen from Clostridium difficile ATCC 11011.

A wall-surface protein antigen, designated 32K antigen, was extracted from whole cells of Clostridium difficile strain ATCC 11011 with phosphate buffered saline and purified by ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration, and chromatofocusing. The 32K antigen preparation was determined to be highly homogeneous by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino acid composition of the antigen was characteristic in the predominance of the acidic amino acids, the very low contents of methionine and histidine, and the lack of cysteine. A monomeric molecular weight of the 32K antigen was estimated to be 32,000 by SDS-PAGE and 30,200 by sedimentation equilibrium. The antigen exhibited two isoelectric forms (IP, 4.12 and 3.96). Neither carbohydrate nor phosphorus was detectable in the antigen. The antigen was relatively resistant to trypsin but sensitive to pepsin. Immunoblot analysis of the wall proteins isolated from other strains of C. difficile probed with monospecific antiserum against the antigen from ATCC 11011 showed that the antigenicity of 32K wall protein was common among some of the strains containing 32K wall proteins.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1985

Solubilization and partial properties of receptor substance for bacteriophage alpha 2 induced from Clostridium botulinum type A 190L.

Bacteriophage alpha 2, one of the two inducible phages from Clostridium botulinum type A 190L, had a latent period of 55 min and an average burst size of 75 in C. botulinum type A Hall used as the host bacterium. The phage particles were adsorbed on the cell walls extracted with hot trichloroacetic acid (TCA-walls). The receptor substance for the phage was solubilized from the TCA-walls with Achromopeptidase and fractionated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-150. The fraction having the highest level of receptor activity for the phage contained large amounts of muramic acid and glucosamine. Both authentic muramic acid and glucosamine significantly inactivated the phage, whereas glucose, galactose, L-and D-alanine, diaminopimeric acid, or D-glutamic acid did not exhibit similar activity. There results strongly suggest that the receptor site for phage alpha 2 is closely associated with glycan moieties of the cell wall peptidoglycan.

Bacteriophages↗
PubMed1983

Purification and characterization of a wall protein antigen from Clostridium botulinum type A.

A wall surface protein, designated antigen S, was extracted from Clostridium botulinum type A strain 190L with 0.1% Brij 58-2 M LiCl and purified sequentially by acetone pecipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, hydroxyapatite chromatography, chromatofocusing, and gel filtration. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis of the purified antigen S preparation against homologous multispecific antiserum to whole cells revealed only a single precipitin line. Antigen S had an apparent molecular weight of about 195,000, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The antigen was composed predominantly of acidic amino acid residues, and the isoelectric point was estimated to be at pH 4.75. Tryptic digestion of antigen S destroyed antigenic activity and produced one major polypeptide fragment with a molecular weight of about 44,000. Indirect immunoferritin labeling showed that antigen S was located on the outer layer of the cell wall.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1981

Characterization of two inducible bacteriophages, alpha 1 and alpha 2, isolated from Clostridium botulinum type A 190L and their deoxyribonucleic acids.

Two inducible bacteriophages, alpha 1 and alpha 2, isolated from Clostridium botulinum type A strain 190L and their deoxyribonucleic acids (DNAs) were purified and characterized. Phage alpha 1, which is unable to form plaques on any strain of C. botulinum, was produced in large quantities after treatment with mitomycin C (MC), whereas phage alpha 2, which was induced in much lower quantities than phage alpha 1, propagated in cultures of type A strain Hall. The phage DNAs were exclusively synthesized after induction with MC. Alpha 1 and alpha 2 DNAs had sedimentation coefficients of 34.0 and 30.6 S, corresponding to molecular weights of 31.9 x 10(6) and 23.5 x 10(6), respectively. The buoyant density in CsC1 was 1.682 g/cm3 for alpha 1 DNA and 1.680 g/cm3 for alpha 2 DNA. Based on thermal denaturation characteristics, the genomes of both phages were shown to be double-stranded DNAs. Agarose gel electrophoretic profiles of the phage DNAs digested with restriction endonuclease EcoRI revealed nine fragments for alpha 1 DNA and six fragments for alpha 2 DNA. The molecular weights of the phage DNAs as determined by restriction enzyme analysis were 30.55 x 10(6) for alpha 1 DNA and 25.83 x 10(6) for alpha 2 DNA. Nontoxigenic mutants obtained from strain 190L could, like the toxigenic parent strain, produce the two phages after treatment with MC. Lysogenic conversion to toxigenicity by phage alpha 2 was not observed with the nontoxigenic mutants. It seems likely that there is no relationship between either phage genome and the toxigenicity of C. botulinum type A.

Bacteriophages↗