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PubMed1976

Urease. The primary cause of infection-induced urinary stones.

Previous reports have suggested that urease-producing bacteria play a prominent role in the formation of infection-induced urinary stones. We have carried out crystalization experiments in vitro which show that bacterial urease alkalinizes urine, thereby causing: (i) supersaturation with respect to struvite and calcium phosphate; and (ii) formation of struvite and apatite crystals. Growth of Proteus in urea-free urine or in urine which contained a urease inhibitor did not cause alkalinization, supersaturation, or crystallization of struvite and apatite. Growth of Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, or Pseudomonas was not associated with significant alkalinization, supersaturation, or crystallization. Struvite and apatite crystals dissolved in Proteus-infected urine in which undersaturation was maintained by urease inhibition. Similar results in all experiments were obtained using human urine and a synthetic urine which was devoid of matrix, pyrophosphate, or other undefined solutes. Urease-induced supersaturation appears to be the primary cause of infection-induced urinary stones.

Bacteria↗

PubMed2000

A poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-acryloxysuccinimide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) composite hydrogel membrane for urease immobilization to enhance urea hydrolysis rate by temperature swing*

A composite membrane made of cross-linked poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-acryloxysuccinimide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (p(NIPAAm-NAS-HEMA)) hydrogel on polyester nonwoven support has been synthesized. The composite membrane shows temperature-responsive properties similar to conventional PNIPAAm hydrogels beads, which reversibly swells below and de-swells above the lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAAm (around 32 to 33 degrees C). Diffusion of urea through the membrane was temperature-dependent with the effective diffusion coefficient at 20 degrees C being 18 times that at 60 degrees C. Urease was immobilized directly to the membrane by forming covalent bonds between its amino groups and the succinimide ester groups of the membrane. Membrane prepared with NIPAAm to NAS molar ratio of 9, and then reacted in pH 7 buffer with 6 mg of urease gave the best immobilized enzyme, where 0.102 mg protein and 5.71 U activity per cm(2) membrane, and 55% relative specific activity could be obtained. There was negligible internal mass transfer resistance for this preparation judging from the calculated effectiveness factor. Urease shows enhanced thermal stability after immobilization with the first-order inactivation rate constant at 70 degrees C decreased to 1/8 of that of free urease. Membrane-immobilized urease could be utilized in a two-compartment membrane reactor with temperature swing to substantially enhance urea hydrolysis rate. The best operating condition of the membrane reactor was with temperature cycling between 60 to 20 degrees C and with temperature change every 10 min, where concentration of product ammonia after 3 h reaction increased 3.8-folds when compared with isothermal operation at 60 degrees C.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1988

Induction of barley leaf urease.

Foliar urea application on barley plants increased leaf urease activity for 5 hours with a peak of 20-fold at 2 hours. To discern the mode of urease induction, urea with or without inhibitors and [(35)S]methionine were incubated with leaf sections for different lengths of time. Urease was extracted, partially purified, electrophoresed, and then quantified by fluorogram. Five urease (U) isozymes were separated by PAGE. U(a) and U(b) might be polymers or complexes that occurred only at the peak of induced activity. U(1) and U(2) appeared at 0.5 and 0.75 hour, respectively, after urea induction, peaked at 2 hours, and persisted only in treated leaves for several additional hours indicating that they are transient inducible forms. U(3) was the constitutive form present in control and treated leaves. Induction with cordycepin or cycloheximide completely prevented urea stimulated activity and nullified the existence of isozymes U(a), U(b), U(1), and U(2). (35)S-U(1), which was labeled in the last hour of induction, appeared on fluorogram 1 hour after induction, peaked at 2 hours, and declined at 3 hours. Results indicated that de novo synthesis of urease is activated by the influx of urea.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

Increased electrophoretic mobility of sodium sulfite-treated jack bean urease.

Sodium sulfite is a widely used activity-protective agent for the storage of urease. However, this reagent produces a 10% increase in the anodic electrophoretic mobility of native urease. Changes in the hydrodynamic properties of the enzyme are not involved in that modification. The observed change is related to an increased negative charge of the protein molecule in the presence of sodium sulfite. The results are discussed in terms of sulfitolysis of the single disulfide bond in the urease monomer. It is remarkable that the modification occurs at neutral pH. Our results show that removing sodium sulfite and reversing its effect by treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol are required prior to any study involving native urease.

Dithionitrobenzoic Acid↗

PubMed1975

[Repression of urease biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa by ammonium ions].

The regulation of the synthesis of the enzyme urease (urea amido hydrolase E.C. 3.5.1.5.) in Neurospora crassa was investigated. The biosynthesis of urease is repressed by ammonium ions. Under ammonium excess conditions the specific activity of urease decreases from 0.980 to 0.180 mumoles NH3/min/mg protein. By addition of cycloheximide it was shown that ammonia influences the synthesis of this enzyme. Enzyme induction by the substrate could be excluded. Even under the conditions of highest repression a specific activity of urease of 0.180 mumoles NH3/min/mg protein was measured. Possible causes of this constitutive enzyme level are discussed.

Ammonium Chloride↗

PubMed2005

Kinetic parameters of urease immobilized on modified acrylonitrile copolymer membranes in the presence and absence of Cu(II) ions.

Poly(acrylonitrile-methylmethacrylate-sodium vinylsulfonate) membranes were subjected to seven different chemical modifications and the amount of the newly formed groups was measured for each membrane. Urease was then covalently immobilized onto the modified membranes and the amount of bound protein was determined. The kinetic parameters V(max) and K(m) of the immobilized urease were studied under static and dynamic conditions. Results showed that the rate of the enzyme reaction was higher for the membranes modified with NH(2)OH . H(2)SO(4), NH(2)NH(2) . H(2)SO(4), NaOH + EDA and NaOH + GA + EDA. It was confirmed that the reaction rate, measured under dynamic conditions, was higher than that one determined under static conditions. The influence of Cu(II) ions, as inhibitors, on the enzyme reaction kinetics (V(i) and K(i)) was also investigated. It turned out that the most sensitive membranes towards Cu(II) were those modified with NH(2)NH(2) . H(2)SO(4), NaOH + EDA and H(2)O(2). The results initiated further investigations on the influence of other heavy metal ions (Cd(II), Zn(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II)) over urease bound to a NH(2)OH . H(2)SO(4)-modified membrane. It was found that the inhibition effect of the heavy metal ions over immobilized urease decreases in the order: Cu(II) > Cd(II) > Zn(II) > Ni(II) > Pb(II). [Diagram: see text]

Acrylonitrile↗

PubMed1992

Characterization of urease from Sporosarcina ureae.

Alkaline stable (pH 7.75-12.5) urease from Sporosarcina ureae was purified over 400-fold by ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The cytoplasmic enzyme was remarkably active with a specific activity of greater than 9300 mumol urea degraded min-1 mg protein-1 at pH 7.5, where it has optimal activity. Although S. ureae is closely related to Bacillus pasteurii, known to possess a homopolymeric urease containing 1 nickel per subunit [M(r) = 65000], the S. ureae enzyme is comprised of three subunits [apparent M(r) = 63,100 (alpha), 14,500 (beta), and 8500 (gamma)] in an estimated alpha beta gamma 2 stoichiometry and contains 2.1 +/- 0.6 nickel ions per alpha beta gamma 2 unit as measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Stationary phase cultures sometimes possessed low levels of urease activity, but the specific activity of cell extracts of partially purified urease preparations from such cultures could be elevated by heat treatment, dilution, or dialysis to values comparable to those observed in samples from exponentially grown cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

Factors affecting growth and urease production by Trichophyton spp.

Among Trichophyton spp. examined for urease production, T. rubrum was negative, whereas T. mentagrophytes appeared to be the most active species. Urease was not detected in cell-free culture fluids of the tested fungi. The endocellular urease of the test fungi was essentially constitutive. Moreover, addition of urea to the growth medium of these organisms markedly inhibited their mycelial biomass and ureolytic yield. Environmental factors showed variable effects on the test fungi and there was no correlation between mycelial growth and urease activity of these fungi.

Hydrogen-Ion Concentration↗

PubMed1981

The genetics and biochemistry of urease in Ustilago violacea.

Two complementing loci in different linkage groups of the basidiomycete Ustilago violacea are involved in urease activity: a structural one (ure-1) and a second inferred to involve a permease (ure-2) locus. Two types of complementing mutations occur in the structural locus: null activity (ure-la) and obviously reduced activity (ure-1b). The ure-2 mutants lacked urease activity in vivo on the phenol red-urea est medium, but gave extracts with wild-type activity. Extracts from wild-type strains gave one site of urease activity after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A number of ure-1b mutants and activity revertants from ure-1a mutants yielded electrophoretically variant urease sites. The results are discussed in terms of enzyme polymorphism in haploid eukaryotes by one (missense) or two (null, then missense) mutations.

Basidiomycota↗

PubMed1998

Inhibitory action of YJA20379, a new proton pump inhibitor on Helicobacter pylori growth and urease.

The activities of two types of antiulcer agents against 9 strains of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) were determined by the agar dilution method. The antiulcer agents were YJA20379, a newly synthesized proton pump inhibitor developed by Yung-Jin Pharmaceutical company, and omeprazole. Both compounds were found to have significant activities against this organism. The MIC values of YJA20379 and omeprazole were 11.7 and 31.25 micrograms/ml, respectively. In addition, the inhibitory potency of both compounds was investigated on H. pylori urease which is believed to be an important colonization and virulence factor in the pathogenesis of gastritis and peptic ulcers. These compounds dose-dependently inhibited urease extracted with distilled water and their IC50 values were 16.4 x 10(-5) M and 14.3 x 10(-5) M, respectively. In addition, a pH-dependent study to determine whether inhibitory potency would be activated by acid condition was performed. It was found that unlike omeprazole, YJA20379 was not affected by acid condition. To determine the inhibition pattern and optimal concentration of substrate, kinetics were evaluated at various pH levels (pH 5.0, 7.0, and 8.5). The data show that YJA20379 noncompetitively inhibited H. pylori urease and KM/Ki values were 0.96 mM/60 microM (pH 5.0), 0.56 mM/141.5 microM (pH 7.0), and 1.94 mM/34 microM (pH 8.5), respectively. Based on data obtained, it is concluded that YJA20379 is a significant inhibitor of H. pylori growth and urease and therefore, taking these results into consideration, YJA20379 might be a beneficial therapy for gastritis and peptic ulcers induced by H. pylori.

Benzothiazoles↗

PubMed2002

Activation of the urease of Schizosaccharomyces pombe by the UreF accessory protein from soybean.

Plant orthologs of the bacterial urease accessory genes ureD and ureF, which are required for the insertion of the nickel ion at the active site, have been isolated from soybean ( Glycine max L. Merr.), tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum) and Arabidopsis thaliana. The functionality of soybean UreD and UreF was tested by measuring their ability to complement urease-negative mutants of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a eukaryote which produces a "plant-like" urease of ~90 kDa. The S. pombe ure4 mutant was complemented by a 12-kb fragment of S. pombe genomic DNA, which was shown by PCR to contain a putative ureD gene. However, ure4 was not complemented by a UreD cDNA soybean, expressed under the control of a strong promoter. In contrast, an S. pombe ure3 mutation was complemented by both a 10-kb fragment of S. pombe DNA containing ureF and the UreF cDNA from soybean. Soybean Eu2 is a candidate urease accessory gene; its product cooperates with the Eu3 protein in activating apourease in vitro. However, the sequences of UreD and UreF transcripts from two eu2/eu2 mutants, recovered as RT-PCR products, revealed no mutational alteration, suggesting that Eu2 encodes neither UreD nor UreF.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1977

The interaction of p-nitrophenyl carbamate with urease.

1. p-Nitrophenyl carbamate and thiourea have been shown to be substrates for urease (urea amidohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.5) 2. Urease has been shown to have a lower Km, 0.67 mM, with p-nitrophenyl carbamate than with urea, 2.0 mM. 3. The V of urease for the hydrolysis of urea, p-nitrophenyl carbamate and thiourea has been shown to be the same, indicating a common rate-limiting step. 4. A mechanism has been proposed for urease where the initial rate-limiting step is the release of a molecule of ammonia from the substrates.

Carbamates↗

PubMed1988

An assessment of urease-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The use of urease in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) offers the advantages of convenience and safety. However, urease-based ELISA, performed in standard microtitre format, could result in false positive reactions upon prolonged incubation. False positive reactions appeared when wells containing substrate solution absorbed ammonia liberated from a reactive well nearby. Thus, the intensity of the false reaction was proportional to that of the urease reaction. The transfer of ammonia was demonstrated by pyrolysis-mass spectrometry. When urease conjugates were compared with peroxidase conjugates in the detection of IgG and IgM, there was no evidence that one enzyme was superior to the other in terms of increasing the sensitivity or the speed of ELISA.

Ammonia↗

PubMed1991

Activity and distribution of urease following microencapsulation within polyamide membranes.

Urease was microencapsulated by forming a semipermeable polyamide membrane around aqueous microdroplets (266 microns mean diameter) containing the soluble enzyme. The yield of the interfacial polymerization technique, determined spectrophotometrically, was 83% of the original enzyme on a mass basis, resulting in a final intracapsular urease concentration of 62.3 mg ml-1 or 0.1 mM. Similar absorption spectra of broken and intact microcapsules suggested that spectrophotometry may be applied in performing direct studies on the intact microcapsules. The high activity yield of urease microcapsules relative to the mass of entrapped enzyme (92.5%) indicated minimal effects of mass transfer limitation. The mass of active urease incorporated into the nylon membrane represented 6% of the encapsulated enzyme activity. The soluble intracapsular enzyme fraction (94%) was released into solution upon rupture of the membrane. A complete mass and activity balance of the encapsulated enzyme was achieved.

Capsules↗

PubMed1995

Encapsulation of urease enzyme in xanthan-alginate spheres.

Urease-containing xanthan-alginate spheres were prepared by a two-step process which involved the Ca2+ coupling of the polysaccharides, followed by gentle glutaraldehyde cross-linking with amine groups of gelatin present in the initial mixture. This second step caused a slight decrease in the enzymatic activity but increased the stability. The water content and size distribution of the spheres were examined together with the sphere morphology. The effect of polymer ratio and enzyme loading on urease activity was investigated. An increase in xanthan content was found to affect the water uptake of the spheres. Temperature and pH stability of encapsulated urease was found to be higher than the free form. The xanthan-alginate spheres showed 75% of maximum urease activity even after 20 repeated uses under optimal conditions.

Alginates↗

PubMed1995

Urease immobilized on modified polysulphone membrane: preparation and properties.

Porous asymmetric membranes were formed by the phase inversion method from one-to-one blends of polysulphone and its aminated derivative. Amino groups were introduced into polysulphone UDEL P 1700 by chlorosulphonation followed by amination. Urease was immobilized on the modified polysulphone membranes. The properties of the immobilized urease were investigated and related to the free enzyme. The Michaelis constant was 4.4 times higher for the immobilized than for the free urease. Immobilization improved the pH stability of the enzyme at pH < 6.5 as well as its temperature stability. However, the immobilization did not protect the enzyme against heat inactivation at 70 degrees C; the half-times for the activity decay were equal to 120 and 50 min for the free and immobilized enzymes, respectively. The immobilized urease exhibited good storage and operational stability, and good reusability, properties that prove the applicability of the obtained system in enzymatic-membrane reactors.

Enzymes, Immobilized↗

PubMed1988

The enzyme coupling process in urease immobilization on O-alkylated nylon tubes.

Coupling of Jack bean urease (EC 3.5.1.5) to the inside surface of type 6 nylon tubes, activated by high-temperature O-alkylation with dimethyl sulphate and modified subsequently with lysine and glutaraldehyde, was investigated to establish optimal experimental conditions for the coupling process. For the system described, the most active immobilized urease derivatives were prepared with 2 mg/ml of the solubilized urease solution and use of higher enzyme concentrations proved wasteful. Although urease coupling without thermal denaturation of the solubilized enzyme was achieved at 20 degrees C, derivatives prepared at 37 degrees C yielded maximal activity over the 3 h coupling period. Also, longer incubations of the enzyme solution in the tube were unnecessary under these conditions. Optimal pH for the coupling process was 6.5, one at which the solubilized enzyme was most stable.

Alkylation↗

PubMed1979

Urease from a sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus: partial purification and kinetics.

1. Urease from a sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus, was purified 300-fold, using heat precipitation, ethanol precipitation and gel filtration. 2. The pH optimum is 8.0. 3. The apparent Michaelis constant for urea is 0.13 mM at pH 8.0. 4. The inhibitory effects of seven reagents on urease were evaluated. The pattern of inhibition is similar to other invertebrate ureases. 5. L. variegatus urease is compared with that of several other invertebrates, and its possible significance in CaCO3 formation is discussed.

Animals↗