Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “cell wall”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Phase I study of iv mycobacterial cell wall skeleton and cell wall skeleton combined with trehalose dimycolate.

A phase I study to determine the toxicity and immunologic effects of iv administered aqueous suspensions of mycobacterial cell wall skeleton (CWS) and CWS combined with trehalose dimycolate (TDM) was performed. A total of 26 patients received suspensions of either CWS or CWS/TDM given iv every 1 or 2 weeks in set doses of either 100, 250, 500, or 1000 micrograms/m2. The major dose-limiting side effects for both preparations were fever and chills at a dose of 1 mg/m2. This was more severe with the combined CWS/TDM. There was no renal or pulmonary toxicity. There was evidence of hepatic toxicity, with increases in the alkaline phosphatase and gamma glutamyl transferase, especially with high doses of CWS/TDM. Both the CWS and CWS/TDM groups had an increase in their wbc count. In the patients receiving CWS alone, there was a decrease in the peripheral blood monocytes. In the CWS/TDM group, there was an increase in the serum lysozyme, suggesting macrophage activation. No antitumor effect was seen in this phase I study. Aqueous suspensions of CWS and CWS/TDM can be administered safely iv over a period of time, with evidence of an effect on hematologic parameters.

Animals↗

Adaptation of roots to low water potentials by changes in cell wall extensibility and cell wall proteins.

It is common for the root/shoot ratio of plants to increase when water availability is limiting. This ratio increases because roots are less sensitive than shoots to growth inhibition by low water potentials. The physiological and molecular mechanisms that assist root growth under drought conditions are reviewed, with a focus on changes in cell walls. Maize seedlings adapt to low water potential by making the walls in the apical part of the root more extensible. In part, this is accomplished by increases in expansin activity and in part by other, more complex changes in the wall. The role of xyloglucan endotransglycosylase, peroxidase and other wall enzymes in root adaptation to low water potential is evaluated and some of the complications in the field of study are listed.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Tracing cell wall biogenesis in intact cells and plants : selective turnover and alteration of soluble and cell wall polysaccharides in grasses.

Cells of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L. cv Abarr) in liquid culture and leaves of maize seedlings (Zea mays L. cv LH51 x LH1131) readily incorporated d-[U-(14)C]glucose and l-[U-(14)C]arabinose into soluble and cell wall polymers. Radioactivity from arabinose accumulated selectively in polymers containing arabinose or xylose because a salvage pathway and C-4 epimerase yield both nucleotide-pentoses. On the other hand, radioactivity from glucose was found in all sugars and polymers. Pulse-chase experiments with proso millet cells in liquid culture demonstrated turnover of buffer soluble polymers within minutes and accumulation of radioactive polymers in the cell wall. In leaves of maize seedlings, radioactive polymers accumulated quickly and peaked 30 hours after the pulse then decreased slowly for the remaining time course. During further growth of the seedlings, radioactive polymers became more tenaciously bound in the cell wall. Sugars were constantly recycled from turnover of polysaccharides of the cell wall. Arabinose, hydrolyzed from glucuronoarabinoxylans, and glucose, hydrolyzed from mixed-linkage (1-->3, 1-->4)beta-d-glucans, constituted most of the sugar participating in turnover. Arabinogalactans were a large portion of the buffer soluble (cytoplasmic) polymers of both proso millet cells and maize seedlings, and these polymers also exhibited turnover. Our results indicate that the primary cell wall is not simply a sink for various polysaccharide components, but rather a dynamic compartment exhibiting long-term reorganization by turnover and alteration of specific polymers during development.

Journal Article↗

Streptococcal cell walls and synovial cell activation. Stimulation of synovial fibroblast plasminogen activator activity by monocytes treated with group A streptococcal cell wall sonicates and muramyl dipeptide.

Group A streptococcal peptidoglycan has previously been shown to be arthritogenic in rats and has been implicated as a structure present in a class of possible etiologic agents for rheumatoid arthritis. The present study reports that conditioned medium from human monocytes, after interaction with cell wall sonicates of four group A streptococcal strains, stimulates the plasminogen activator (PA) activity of nonrheumatoid synovial fibroblasts. Low concentrations of N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D isoglutamine (muramyl dipeptide) can also generate this synovial activator (SA) activity from human monocytes. Preliminary biochemical data suggest that the SA activity is distinct from interferon-gamma, interleukin 1, and interleukin 2. These results indicate that agents that are arthritogenic in rats can modulate human synovial fibroblast functions via monocytes. The findings are proposed to have possible significance for an understanding of the cellular interactions involved in the formation and function of the rheumatoid pannus, because PA has been invoked as possibly being generally important for the processes of cell migration, tissue remodeling, and inflammation.

Acetylmuramyl-Alanyl-Isoglutamine↗

INCORPORATION OF HYDROXYLYSINE INTO THE CELL WALL AND A CELL-WALL PRECURSOR IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS.

Smith, W. Grady (University of Minnesota, St. Paul), Daniel P. Gilboe, and L. M. Henderson. Incorporation of hydroxylysine into the cell wall and a cell-wall precursor in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 89:136-140. 1965.-Recent work has shown that hydroxylysine can substitute for lysine in cell-wall synthesis of Streptococcus faecalis, apparently becoming incorporated into cell-wall mucopeptide. This paper extends these observations to investigate the metabolism of hydroxylysine in Staphylococcus aureus, an organism from which sufficiently large quantities of cell-wall precursors. uridine diphosphate-N-acetylmuramyl peptides, could be obtained. Hydroxylysine has been shown to be incorporated into the cell-wall precursor uridine diphosphate-N-acetylmuramyl l-ala.d-glu. l-lys.d-ala.d-ala from S. aureus (Copenhagen) apparently in lieu of lysine. Hydroxylysine was also incorporated into the cell-wall mucopeptides of S. aureus in resting cultures. This incorporation was inhibited by penicillin or lysine, but not by chloramphenicol. Hydroxylysine had little effect on the incorporation of lysine into S. aureus. Hydroxylysine acted as a growth inhibitor in this organism; the inhibition was reversed by lysine.

Alanine↗

Ultrastructure of the cell wall and cell division of unicellular blue-green algae.

The fine structure of the cell wall and the process of cell division were examined in thin sections of two unicellular blue-green algae grown under defined conditions. Unilateral invagination of the photosynthetic lamellae is the first sign of cell division in the rod-shaped organism, Anacystis nidulans. Symmetrical invagination of the cytoplasmic membrane and inner wall layers follows. One wall layer, which appears to be the mucopolymer layer, is then differentially synthesized to form the septum; the outer wall layers are not involved in septum formation. Centripetal splitting of the inner layer separates the two daughter cells. A second division, in a plane parallel to the first, usually occurs before the first daughter cells are separated. In the coccoid organism, Gleocapsa alpicola, the features of cell division are broadly similar; however, unilateral invagination of the lamellae is not observed and the second division takes place in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the previous division.

Cell Division↗

A new method for quantitative determination of polysaccharides in the yeast cell wall. Application to the cell wall defective mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A reliable acid hydrolysis method for quantitative determination of the proportion of beta-glucan, mannan and chitin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall is reported together with a simple extraction procedure to quantify within a standard error of less than 2% the proportion of the wall per gram of cell dry mass. This method is an optimized version of Saeman's procedure based on sulfuric acid hydrolysis of complex polysaccharides. It resulted in an almost complete release of glucose, mannose and glucosamine residues from cell wall polysaccharides. After complete removal of sulfate ions by precipitation with barium hydroxide, the liberated monosaccharides were separated and quantified by high performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. The superiority of this method over the hydrolysis in either trifluoroacetic or hydrochloric acid resides in its higher efficiency regarding the release of glucose from beta 1,6-glucan and of glucosamine from chitin. The sulfuric acid method was successfully applied to determine the beta-glucan, mannan and chitin contents in cell walls of genetically well-characterized yeast mutants defective in cell wall biosynthesis, and in Schizosaccharomyces pombe cell walls. The simplicity and reliability of this procedure make it the method of choice for the characterization of cell walls from S. cerevisiae mutants generated in the EUROFAN programme, as well as for other pharmacological and biotechnological applications.

Acids↗

Production of cell wall polypeptides by different cell wall mutants of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Three classes of cell wall-defective mutants of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been described in the literature differing with respect to the amounts of cell wall material and its attachment to the plasma membrane, respectively. We have compared the production of the chaotrope-soluble cell wall polypeptides by the different mutants. These experiments have been performed by comparative Western-blot analyses using antibodies raised (1) against the deglycosylation products of the insoluble wall fraction of wild-type cells, (2) against the deglycosylation product of the '150 kDa' chaotrope-soluble cell wall polypeptide and (3) against the carbohydrate side chains of the Chlamydomonas cell wall glycoproteins, respectively. Considerably different levels of cell wall polypeptides were found in the LiCl-extracts from intact cells of the various mutant strains containing the apoplastic, chaotrope-soluble cell wall glycoproteins. No correlation was found between the amounts and the patterns of cell wall glycoproteins present in the LiCl-extracts and the electron microscopical classification of the mutant strains. All the mutant strains were shown to contain the same amounts and patterns of intracellular cell wall precursors as wild-type cells as revealed by Western-blot analyses of urea-SDS lysates of LiCl-pretreated cells. These findings indicate that the different mutant strains produce the same set of cell wall polypeptides at the same relative amounts as wild-type cells. However, in the case of some strains belonging to different classes of cell wall mutants and showing differential seggregation patterns in crosses, alterations were observed for the pattern of extracellular cell wall polypeptides present in the LiCl-extracts from intact cells and in the culture medium, respectively.

Animals↗

Comparative roles of the cell wall and cell membrane in limiting uptake of xenobiotic molecules by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Using reversible electropermeabilization of cells and spheroplasts, we show that the cell wall and plasma membrane partly account for bleomycin resistance by acting as two independent barriers. We also report on the presence of a membrane protein that may be responsible for bleomycin internalization and toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Scw10p, a cell-wall glucanase/transglucosidase important for cell-wall stability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Glycosyl hydrolases and transferases are crucial for the formation of a rigid but at the same time plastic cell wall in yeasts and fungi. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae glucan hydrolase family 17 (GH17) contains the soluble cell-wall proteins Scw4p, Scw10p, Scw11p and Bgl2p. For Bgl2p, endoglucanase/glucanosyltransferase activity has been demonstrated, and Scw11p has been shown to be involved in cell separation. Here, Scw4p and Scw10p, which show 63 % amino acid identity, were characterized. scw4 and scw10 single mutants were sensitive towards cell-wall destabilizing agents, suggesting a role in cell-wall assembly or maintenance. Simultaneous deletion of SCW4 and SCW10 showed a synergistic effect, and activated the cell-wall compensatory mechanism in a PKC1-dependent manner. Both the amount of cell-wall chitin and the amount of mannoproteins attached to chitin were increased in mutant scw4scw10. Deletion of CHS3 proved the critical role of chitin in scw4scw10. However, the mannoprotein Sed1p and the glucan synthase Fks2p were also crucial for cell-wall stability in mutant scw4scw10. The exchange of two conserved glutamate residues localized in the putative catalytic domain of GH17 family members strongly suggests that Scw10p acts as a 1,3-beta-glucanase or as a 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase. In addition, the synthetic interactions between Bgl2p and Scw10p which support a functional cooperation in cell-wall assembly were analysed. The data suggest that Scw4p and Scw10p act as glucanases or transglucosidases in concert with other cell-wall proteins to assure cell-wall integrity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Screening systems for detecting inhibitors of cell wall transglycosylation in Enterococcus. Cell wall transglycosylation inhibitors in Enterococcus.

We devised two screening systems to detect cell wall transglycosylation inhibitors. One screen utilizes a mutant of Enterococcus faecalis strain A256 that is dependent on vancomycin or moenomycin for growth. In the absence of transglycosylation inhibitors the strain fails to grow, while in the presence of inhibitors, cells are rescued. A second screening organism E. faecalis strain MDD212 utilizes a translational fusion of the lacZ gene to the vanH promoter in a derivative of E. faecalis that contains a vancomycin resistance determinant. Induction of beta-galactosidase occurs when cells are exposed to inhibitors of transglycosylation. Our natural products drug source of fungal fermentations was tested with these screens. Several cultures that produced the same family of compounds, called the thielavins, were detected. Thielavin B inhibited the formation of peptidoglycan in an in vitro assay, suggesting that these screening systems can detect compounds that interfere with cell wall transglycosylation.

Base Sequence↗

Cell wall synthesis in cotton roots after infection with Fusarium oxysporum. The deposition of callose, arabinogalactans, xyloglucans, and pectic components into walls, wall appositions, cell plates and plasmodesmata.

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum penetration hyphae infect living cells in the meristematic zone of cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.) roots. We characterized wall modifications induced by the fungus during infection of the protodermis using antibodies against callose, arabinogalactan-proteins, xyloglucan, pectin, polygalacturonic acid and rhamnogalacturonan I in high-pressure frozen, freeze-substituted root tissue. Using quantitative immunogold labelling we compared the cell walls before and after hyphal contact, cell plates with plasmodesmata during cytokinesis, and wall appositions induced by fungal contact. In the already-existing wall, fungal contact induced only minor modifications such as an increase of xyloglucan epitopes. Wall appositions mostly exhibited epitopes similar to the cell plate except that wall appositions had a much higher callose content. This study shows that wall appositions induced by Fusarium oxysporum hyphae are the result of normal cell wall synthesis and the addition of large amounts of callose. The appositions do not stop fungal growth.

Cell Wall↗

The Aspergillus niger MADS-box transcription factor RlmA is required for cell wall reinforcement in response to cell wall stress.

In Aspergillus niger, the genes coding for glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (gfaA) and alpha-1,3-glucan synthase (agsA) are induced in response to cell wall stress. In silico analysis of the promoter region of the two genes revealed the presence of putative DNA binding sites for transcription factors involved in stress responses, including sites identical to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rlm1p and Msn2p/Msn4p transcription factors. Promoter analysis indicated that the induction of the agsA gene in response to cell wall stress is fully dependent on a putative Rlm1p binding site in its promoter region. Database searches revealed the presence of S. cerevisiae Rlm1p homologues in most filamentous fungi examined, including A. niger. Deletion of the RLM1 homologue, named rlmA in A. niger, completely eliminated the induction of agsA and resulted in a twofold reduced induction of gfaA during Calcofluor White-induced cell wall stress. The rise in cell wall chitin in the presence of Calcofluor White was also affected in the rlmA deletion strain. In addition, the deletion strain was more sensitive towards cell wall stress agents. Our results indicate that A. niger responds to cell wall stress by transcriptional activation of cell wall reinforcing genes including agsA and gfaA through an Rlm1p-like transcription factor. We propose that such a cell wall salvage mechanism is wide spread in filamentous fungi.

Amino Acid Sequence↗