Pteridine content of some methane- and methanol-oxidizing bacteria.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R N Patel.
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A primary alcohol dehydrogenase has been purified from Methylococcus capsulatus (Texas strain). The purified enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of methanol and formaldehyde to formate; other primary alcohols are oxidized to their corresponding aldehydes. Ammonium ions are required for enzyme activity. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 120,000 daltons and consists of two 62,000 molecular-weight subunits which dissociate at acidic pH. The enzyme is similar to an alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme isolated from Pseudomonas sp. M27.
Three pteridines have been isolated from the methane- or methanol-oxidizing bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus. Two of these are known compounds, 2-amino-6-carboxy-4-hydroxypteridine and 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-methylpteridine. The third is shown by degradative and synthetic experiments to be l-threo-neopterin 2':3'-phosphate. Labelling experiments show that both the pteridine moiety and phosphate residue are derived from a single GTP molecule. The possible metabolic significance of these compounds in methanol oxidation is discussed.
Methylococcus capsulatus grows only on methane or methanol as its sole source of carbon and energy. Some amino acids serve as nitrogen sources and are converted to keto acids which accumulate in the culture medium. Cell suspensions oxidize methane, methanol, formaldehyde, and formate to carbon dioxide. Other primary alcohols are oxidized only to the corresponding aldehydes. Oxidation of formate by cell suspensions is more sensitive to inhibition by cyanide than is the oxidation of other one carbon compounds. This is due to the cyanide sensitivity of a soluble nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-specific formate dehydrogenase. Oxidation of formaldehyde and methanol is catalyzed by a nonspecific primary alcohol dehydrogenase which is activated by ammonium ions and is independent of pyridine nucleotides. Some comparisons are made with a strain of Pseudomonas methanica.
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Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) plays a central role in the pathophysiology of cartilage damage and degradation in arthritis. In noninflammatory arthropathies such as osteoarthritis (OA), the synovial-derived IL-1 beta has been implicated in the disease process. In this study, we report that human OA-affected cartilage demonstrates upregulated IL-1 beta mRNA not seen in normal cartilage. The OA-affected cartilage in ex vivo conditions spontaneously releases detectable amounts of autocrine IL-1 beta, nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), known to be involved in cartilage damage and inflammation, that cannot be detected in normal cartilage. The autocrine IL-1 beta released by the OA-affected cartilage (for at least 72 hr in ex vivo conditions) is present in sufficient quantities to modulate NO and PGE2 production because addition of recombinant soluble IL-1 beta receptor (but not soluble tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor) and cytokine-suppressive antiinflammatory drugs (CSAIDs) significantly attenuates the spontaneous release of NO and PGE2. Furthermore, OA-affected cartilage releases significant amounts of IL-6 and IL-8 in ex vivo conditions. Addition of CSAIDs to OA-affected cartilage differentially regulates IL-6 and IL-8 production by inhibiting the spontaneous release of IL-6 but not IL-8 in ex vivo conditions. These experiments demonstrate that the human OA-affected cartilage itself releases sufficient amounts of functionally active autocrine IL-1 beta that can modulate endogenous NO, PGE2, and IL-6, but not IL-8, all of which are known to be stimulated by IL-1 beta in vitro. These IL-1 beta induced pleotropic inflammatory mediators in OA-affected cartilage may be sufficient to facilitate or augment cartilage degradation and inhibit cartilage repair, and therefore lead the cartilage into an autodestructive pathway in osteoarthritis.