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Biomedical subjects

U Seydel

Publications and source records attributed to U Seydel.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Reconstitution of the lipid matrix of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria as asymmetric planar bilayer.

This paper is a report on the reconstitution of the lipid matrix of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria as an asymmetric planar bilayer. This is the first time that a planar membrane is described, which consists on one side of a phospholipid (PL) mixture and on the other side of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Therefore, strong emphasis is placed on a physical characterization of this membrane via its electrical properties. The membranes were prepared from spread monolayers or from vesicle-derived monolayers. Contrary to observations for symmetric phospholipid membranes, specific capacitances of (0.67 +/- 0.02) mu F.cm-2, breakdown voltages between 200 and 400 mV and specific conductances between 10(-8) and 2 x 10(-7) S.cm-2 were obtained independent of the preparation method. The LPS-containing membranes were stable up to 3 hr if they were formed and kept at temperatures above the hydrocarbon chain melting temperature of the LPS. For the specific capacitance, a dependence on the aperture radius was observed. This is explained by assuming a toroidal transition zone at the rim of the aperture. First results on the action of the pore-forming alpha-toxin from Staphylococcus aureus on bilayers of different composition demonstrate particular characteristics of this asymmetric bilayer system. The pore-formation rate is highest in symmetric phospholipid bilayers, considerably lower in asymmetric PL/LPS systems and fully inhibited in LPS/LPS systems.

Bacterial Toxins↗
PubMed1988

Phosphorylation of an 85-kd membrane protein by a novel mechanism.

Protein phosphorylation has been recognized as a major mechanism for the regulation of cellular functions. The classical phosphate donor in protein phosphorylation reactions is ATP. Here we show that 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulphate (PAPS), a ubiquitous nucleotide so far known to have a central role in sulphate transfer, serves as phosphate donor for protein phosphorylation. In a very specific, rapid and probably autocatalytic reaction, the 3'-phosphate group of PAPS was found to be transferred to a serine residue of an 85-kd membrane protein (p85). ATP did not serve as phosphate donor in this reaction. Radioactive phosphate incorporated into p85 in a membrane fraction was rapidly lost by dephosphorylation after removal of PAPS or by exchange with unlabelled phosphate after addition of nonradioactive PAPS. PAPS-dependent phosphorylation of the 85-kd protein and other proteins was observed in all rat and bovine tissues examined, as well as in various mammalian cell lines. Our results indicate the existence of a novel widespread form of protein phosphorylation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1988

Monitoring of bacterial drug response by mass spectrometry of single cells.

The application of the laser microprobe mass analyser LAMMA 500 to the solution of problems in the field of microbiology is reported. The special features of this instrument allow the analysis of single bacterial cells, and questions can be answered which are not accessible to the normally applied integral methods. Thus it is possible to establish distributions of, for instance, elemental concentrations within a bacterial population and of correlations between measured characteristics of a bacterium with its morphology. The mass spectrum of a single bacterial cell comprises information on its intracellular cation contents as well as on the organic matrix. The relation between the sodium and potassium contents can serve as a criterion of the physiological state of a cell and of its viability. The information from the organic matrix can be extracted from the complex spectra of fragment ions produced by the interaction of the laser with the cell by applying multivariate data analysis, thus rendering additional information. Examples will be given for in vitro drug screening and in vivo therapy control in leprosy, an infection which is caused by a mycobacterial species, Mycobacterium leprae; this organism does not multiply in artificial growth media so that only limited numbers of organisms are available for microbiological investigations.

Mass Spectrometry↗
PubMed1988

Orientation measurements on membrane systems made from lipopolysaccharides and free lipid A by FT-IR spectroscopy.

Here we report on investigations into the orientational behaviour of hydrated membrane systems made from lipopolysaccharide and its lipid component, free lipid A, using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and applying attenuated total reflectance. For the investigated lipopolysaccharides--extracted from mutants of Salmonella minnesota and Escherichia coli, and differing in the length of the polysaccharide moiety--the dependence of dichroic ratios on temperature for several vibrations of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions was measured, from which the order parameter for the lipid assembly can be calculated. In the lower temperature range (less than 40 degrees C) for all lipopolysaccharide preparations the evaluation of the dichroic ratios clearly shows the existence of a highly ordered phase, i.e. the gel state of the hydrocarbon chains within lamellar structures. For this phase an order parameter S = 0.70 +/- 0.05 could be calculated which is lower than that of typical phospholipids in the same phase state (S = 0.80 +/- 0.05 for e.g. phosphatidylethanolamines). For deep rough mutant lipopolysaccharides at higher temperatures (greater than 40 degrees C) a transition into a disordered, isotropic phase can usually be observed for which an order parameter S = 0.25 +/- 0.05 could be approximated. The other rough mutant lipopolysaccharides at higher temperatures predominantly form lamellar structures. Only in special cases, under the influence of divalent cations like Mg2+, could isotropic phases also be observed. Free lipid A preparations over the whole temperature range exhibited no unequivocal orientational behaviour. However, the existence of a pure L beta-phase even at lower temperatures may be excluded for these compounds. The observed structural preferences might be of great importance with respect to the expression of biological activities of lipopolysaccharide and free lipid A systems in vivo and in vitro.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1987

Investigations into the polymorphism of lipid A from lipopolysaccharides of Escherichia coli and Salmonella minnesota by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.

The polymorphism of lipid A, the endotoxic principle of the lipopolysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria, has been investigated in the fully hydrated state at temperatures between 5 degrees and 58 degrees C via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. These measurements were supplemented by X-ray diffraction, fluorescence intensity techniques and differential thermal analysis. Up to three distinct phase transitions could be detected, with the main transition temperatures lying at approximately 41 degrees, 46 degrees, 44 degrees and 47 degrees C for Escherichia coli lipid A, Salmonella minnesota lipid A, and the synthetic lipid A compounds 506 and 516, respectively. 4'-Monophosphoryl-lipid A samples exhibited their main transition temperatures at considerably higher temperatures (about 52 degrees C for E. coli lipid A). The analysis of greater than CH2 stretching absorption bands as well as the wide-angle scattering behaviour of the lipid A samples showed that the main transition apparently involved the completion of hydrocarbon chain melting of lipid A, as typically observed for phospholipids. However, the phase transition behaviour was found to be much more complex than that usually observed for model phospholipid systems. Even below the main transition temperature, considerable amounts of the methylene segments of the acyl chains of lipid A were found to assume gauche conformations. These conformational changes might be related to the occurrence of up to two further transitions located at about 22 degrees, 30 degrees, 27 degrees and 25.5 degrees C (first transition) and at about 34 degrees, 42 degrees, 38.5 degrees and 40.5 degrees C (second transition) for E. coli lipid A, S. minnesota lipid A and the synthetic lipid A compounds 506 and 516, respectively. Furthermore, by the analysis of some characteristic infrared absorption bands related to the hydrophilic backbone, it could be demonstrated that the temperature-induced conformational changes occurring within the hydrocarbon chains were constantly and simultaneously accompanied by detectable rearrangements within the interfacial region and the polar head group of lipid A. The following conclusions were drawn: Up to about 30 degrees C the lipid A assemblies were supposed to adopt virtually bilayered, true lamellar arrangements, as revealed by the analysis of greater than CH2 scissoring vibrations and X-ray diffraction pattern. However, as indicated by fluorometric techniques, no stable closed vesicles seemed to be formed even under these conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Calorimetry↗
PubMed1986

Orientation measurements on ordered multibilayers of phospholipids and sphingolipids from synthetic and natural origin by ATR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was applied to natural and synthetic planar membrane multibilayer systems made from phospholipids and sphingolipids to perform orientational measurements utilizing the attenuated total reflectance technique. Applying polarized infrared light, the dichroic ratios and the positions of the peak maxima of various infrared-active bands in dependence on temperature and degree of hydration as well as the phase behaviour were studied. Under certain assumptions - which are discussed - made for the order parameter S, the orientation of various functional groups with respect to the molecular axis or to the membrane normal can be determined. For the gel phase values for S between 0.80 +/- 0.05 for the complete molecule and 0.40 +/- 0.05 for the end methyl group and for the liquid crystalline phase a value of 0.50 +/- 0.05 were approximated. Applying these data, a relatively precise determination of the angles of the oscillating dipole moments of various functional groups could be performed, which - for some vibrations - deviate considerably from those angles assumed earlier. Regarding the phase behaviour, it was found that not only the degree of hydration but the amount of bulk water of the sample has a strong influence on the phase transition temperature Tc (lyotrophism), but only a weak influence on the orientational data.

Fourier Analysis↗
PubMed1985

Isolation and structural analysis of two lipid A precursors from a KDO deficient mutant of Salmonella typhimurium differing in their hexadecanoic acid content.

The extraction, purification and structural characterization of two lipid A precursors (Ia and Ib) differing only in one hexadecanoic acid are described. Both precursors were synthesized at elevated temperatures by a new mutant of Salmonella typhimurium (mutant Ts5) which is conditionally defective in synthesis of the 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid region of lipopolysaccharides. Both precursors were purified by repeated phenol/chloroform/petroleum ether (PCP) extractions followed by thin layer chromatography. The precursor preparation was free of lipopolysaccharides and phospholipids and contained less than 0.1% protein. Structural analysis which included chemical degradation procedures as well as positive ion laser desorption (LDMS) mass spectroscopy of dephosphorylated lipid A precursors showed together that precursor Ia represents a diphosphorylated glucosamine disaccharide containing two ester, two amide-linked residues of 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid and lacks the ester-linked dodecanoic, tetradecanoic and hexadecanoic acid as well as 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid. Precursor Ib has the same basic structure as precursor Ia, but contains in addition one mol of hexadecanoic acid per mol disaccharide which is linked to the 3-hydroxy group of the amide-bound 3-hydroxy-tetradecanoic acid of the reducing, terminal glucosamine residue. The structure of precursor Ib supports the conclusion that hexadecanoic acid incorporation occurs at an early stage in lipid A biosynthesis prior to the attachment of 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid and/or other polar substituents.

Chromatography, DEAE-Cellulose↗
PubMed1985

Newer aspects of the chemical structure and biological activity of bacterial endotoxins.

Gram-negative bacteria express at their surface various amphiphiles among which the lipopolysaccharides (endotoxins, O-antigens) have been studied most intensively. Lipopolysaccharides consist of a heteropolysaccharide portion (O-specific chain and core) which is responsible for the O- (and R-) antigenic properties and a covalently bound lipid component, termed lipid A, which contains the endotoxic principle of lipopolysaccharides. The detailed chemical structure of a large number of O-chains and the general architecture of the core oligosaccharide has been established. Recent analyses of the enterobacterial inner core region indicate the presence of a linear trisaccharide of alpha 2.4-linked 3-deoxy-D-manno-2-octulosonic acid (KDO) residues of which only the reducing group is believed to be located in the main core chain. This KDO residue which provides the link between the polysaccharide and the lipid A component appears to be involved in a recently detected ubiquitous immunodeterminant expressed by lipopolysaccharides of various origin. The chemical structure of enterobacterial lipid A's is now known in some detail. Lipid A of Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Proteus consists of a beta 1.6-linked D-glucosamine disaccharide which carries four (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups in positions 2, 3, 2' and 3' and two phosphoryl residues in positions 1 and 4'. Up to three of the hydroxy fatty acids (positions 2, 2' and 3') are, at their 3-hydroxyl groups, acylated by non-hydroxylated acyl residues, and to phosphoryl groups non-acylated, nitrogen-containing residues such as 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinopyranose and phosphorylethanolamine may be bound. The hydroxyl group in position 4 of the glucosamine disaccharide is free and that in position 6' serves as the attachment site for KDO (i.e. the polysaccharide component) in lipopolysaccharide. Based on this structure lipid A analogues have been chemically synthesized and analysed for endotoxic activity in vivo and in vitro. In two test systems (pyrogenicity, local Shwartzman reaction) the synthetic part structures exhibited weak or no endotoxic activity, as did a precursor of lipid A biosynthesis which is structurally identical to one of the analogues. In many other systems, however, including lethal toxicity, B-lymphocyte mitogenicity, macrophage activation, induction of cross tolerance, expression of lipid A antigenicity, the synthetic materials were of comparable activity as bacterial free lipid A. These findings support the structural proposals made for lipid A and they prove the previous hypothesis that the endotoxic principle is embedded in lipid A.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Endotoxins↗
PubMed1985

Results from cation and mass fingerprint analysis of single cells and from ATP measurements of M. leprae for drug sensitivity testing: a comparison.

The physiologic states of Mycobacterium leprae isolated from patient biopsies were studied using single cell mass spectrometry by laser microprobe mass analysis (LAM-MA) and ATP bioluminescence assay. The changes in the physiologic state of M. leprae after the patients had been treated with dapsone (DDS) monotherapy were also studied. The shift of the low intracellular Na+, K+-ratio of untreated M. leprae cells to higher values under DDS therapy, as measured from a limited number of single bacteria, correlates with a decrease in the ATP content. Further information on the influence of the drug could be drawn from the multivariate analysis of mass fingerprints of the organic matrix of the cells. Evidence is provided that the combination of the measurement of the intracellular cation ratios and of the mass fingerprint analysis could give fast answers to the question of drug resistance and to the persister hypothesis. The ATP bioluminescence assay and the single cell mass analysis should be alternatives to the mouse foot pad test.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Structural studies on the lipid A component of enterobacterial lipopolysaccharides by laser desorption mass spectrometry. Location of acyl groups at the lipid A backbone.

In the present paper laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) was applied to dephosphorylated free lipid A preparations obtained from lipopolysaccharides of Re mutants of Salmonella minnesota, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the location of (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid and 3-O-acylated (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid residues which are bound to amino and hydroxyl groups of the glucosamine disaccharide backbone of lipid A. Based on the previous finding from biochemical analyses that the amino group of the nonreducing glucosamine residue (GlcN II) of the backbone carries, in S. minnesota and E. coli, 3-dodecanoyloxytetradecanoic acid and, in P. mirabilis, 3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoic acid, a self-consistent interpretation of the LDMS was possible. It was found that: (a) in all three lipids A GlcN II is, besides the amide-linked 3-acyloxyacyl residue, substituted by ester-linked 3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoic acid; (b) the reducing glucosamine (GlcN I) is substituted by ester-linked 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid; (c) the amino group of GlcN I carries a 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid which is non-acylated in E. coli and which is partially acylated by hexadecanoic acid in S. minnesota and P. mirabilis. In lipids A which were obtained from the P. mirabilis Re mutant grown at low temperature (12 degrees C) LDMS analysis revealed that specifically the one fatty acid bound to the 3-hydroxyl group of amide-linked 3-hydroxytetra-decanoic acid at GlcN II is positionally replaced by delta 9-hexadecenoic acid (palmitoleic acid). It appears, therefore, that enterobacterial lipids A resemble each other in that the 3-hydroxyl groups of the two 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid residues linked to GlcN II are fully acylated, while those of the two 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid groups attached to GlcN I are free or only partially substituted.

Chemical Phenomena↗
PubMed1984

Nature and location of amide-bound (R)-3-acyloxyacyl groups in lipid A of lipopolysaccharides from various gram-negative bacteria.

It has previously been demonstrated [Eur. J. Biochem. 124, 191-198 (1982) and 137, 15-22 (1983)] that the lipid A component of Salmonella and Proteus lipopolysaccharides contains amide-linked (R)-3-acyloxyacyl residues. In the present study lipid A of other gram-negative bacteria was analysed for the presence of amide-bound 3-acyloxyacyl residues. It was found that such residues are constituents of all lipid A tested (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Chromobacterium violaceum, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Xanthomonas sinensis, Bacteroides fragilis, Vibrio cholerae, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Rhodospirillum tenue, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Escherichia coli). Amide-linked (R)-3-acyloxyacyl groups, therefore, represent common and ubiquitous structural elements of bacterial lipid A. The composition of 3-acyloxyacyl groups differed considerably among different bacteria. As amide-bound (R)-3-hydroxy fatty acids straight chain and isobranched acyl groups with 10-17 carbon atoms were identified. The most frequently encountered fatty acids, substituting the 3-hydroxyl group of 3-hydroxy fatty acids, were nonhydroxylated straight chain and isobranched acyl residues with 10-17 carbon atoms as well as (S)-2-hydroxy fatty acids with 12 carbon atoms. In some cases, using laser desorption mass spectrometry, the distribution of 3-acyloxyacyl residues over the two available glucosamine amino groups of the lipid A backbone was investigated.

Acinetobacter↗
PubMed1984

Laser desorption mass spectrometry of synthetic lipid A-like compounds.

The applicability and the present limitations of the laser microprobe mass analyser LAMMA -500 as an instrument for the structural analysis of higher molecular weight, non-volatile, bio-organic compounds (less than or equal to 2000 u) were investigated. For this purpose mass spectra of various synthetic and natural compounds representing cell wall components of Gram-negative bacteria, e.g. phospholipids and lipid A-like molecules were studied. In several cases these spectra exhibited relatively simple and interpretable patterns with a prominent quasi-molecular ion originating from alkali attachment. For one group of the compounds studied--synthetic lipid A-like molecules containing a phosphate moiety--the spectra were rather complicated and lacked pronounced quasi-molecular peaks. Possible reasons for this observation are discussed.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1983

Mass spectrometric analysis of drug-induced changes in Na+ and K+ contents of single bacterial cells.

Time-dependent changes in the intracellular Na+/K+ ratio of Escherichia coli, induced by the nitrofuran derivative HN32 [2,4-diamino-6-(5-nitrofuryl-2)-5-ethylpyrimidine], were measured by laser-induced mass spectrometry of single bacterial cells. The results show good agreement with data on viable cell and total cell counts, release of ATP and 14CO2 production demonstrating that the single cell analysis of intracellular sodium and potassium concentrations may supply reliable information on cell viability and, furthermore, offer additional information not available from established gross methods.

Escherichia coli↗
PubMed1982

Detection of externally induced impairments in single bacterial cells by laser microbe mass analysis.

Applying the laser microbe mass analyzer method (LAMMA), mass spectra (fingerprints) were taken from single bacterial cells not treated or treated with high temperature, X-irradiation, isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), or diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS). Spectra of treated cells ("M. lufu," M. tuberculosis H37Ra, E. coli) differ from those of controls in that the K+/Na+ ratio was smaller and in that the intensities of peaks with m/e greater than 100 were lower. From the results with M. leprae the possible application of this new method for monitoring the effectiveness of leprosy therapy is proposed.

Animals↗