Galectin-2 Agglutinates via Lipopolysaccharide Containing H Type I Under Weakly Acidic Conditions.

Galectins are β-galactoside-binding animal lectins involved in various biological functions, such as host defense. Galectin-2 and -3 are members of the galectin family that are expressed in the stomach, including the gastric mucosa and surface mucous cells. Galectin-3 exhibits aggregation and bactericidal activity against in a β-galactoside-dependent manner.

Effects of Oakmoss Components on Extra- and Intracellular Legionella pneumophila and Its Host Acanthamoeba castellanii.

Acanthamoeba castellanii is a ubiquitous organism found in environmental water. The amoeba is pathogenic to toward humans and is also a reservoir of bacteria of the genus Legionella, a causative agent of legionellosis. Oakmoss, a source of natural fragrance ingredients, and its components are antibacterial agents that are specifically active against the genus Legionella.

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity Expression of the Hinokitiol/Cyclodextrin Complex Against Bacteria.

The purpose of this study was to assess the antimicrobial activity of a solid dispersion prepared by mixing and grinding hinokitiol (HT) with α-cyclodextrin (αCD), β-cyclodextrin (βCD), or γ-cyclodextrin (γCD). Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by calculating the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and evaluating the change in the number of bacteria over time. The test microbes used were two Gram-positive bacteria ( and ), two Gram-negative bacteria ( and ), and two fungi ( and ).

Effects of Fragrance Ingredients on the Uptake of Legionella pneumophila into Acanthamoeba castellanii.

Acanthamoeba castellanii, a ubiquitous organism in water environments, is pathogenic toward humans and also is a host for bacteria of the genus Legionella, a causative agent of legionellosis. Fragrance ingredients were investigated for their antibacterial activity against planktonic Legionella pneumophila, amoebicidal activity against A. castellanii, and inhibitory effect against L.

Effects of oakmoss and its components on Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC 30234 and the uptake of Legionella pneumophila JCM 7571 (ATCC 33152) into A. castellanii.

Acanthamoeba castellanii, a ubiquitous organism in water environments, is pathogenic toward humans and also is a host for bacteria of the genus Legionella, a causative agent of legionellosis. Oakmoss, a natural fragrance ingredient, and its components are antibacterial agents specifically against the genus Legionella. In the present study, oakmoss and its components were investigated for their amoebicidal activity against A.

Evaluation of the live vaccine efficacy of virulence plasmid-cured, and phoP- or aroA-deficient Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in mice.

We evaluated the protective efficacy of 94-kb virulence plasmid-cured, and phoP- or aroA-deficient strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ΔphoP or ΔaroA S. Typhimurium) as oral vaccine candidates in BALB/c mice. Two weeks after the completion of 3 oral immunizations with 1 × 10(8) colony-forming units (CFU) of virulence plasmid-cured, and ΔphoP or ΔaroA S.

Effects of oakmoss and its components on biofilm formation of Legionella pneumophila.

Oakmoss and its components are known as antibacterial agents, specifically against Legionella pneumophila. In the present study, we investigated the effects of oakmoss and its components (phenol, didepside and isochromen derivatives) on L. pneumophila biofilm formation, with particular reference to the bactericidal activity (minimum bactericidal concentration; MBC) of these components against the bacterial cells in the biofilm.

The antibacterial activity of compounds isolated from oakmoss against Legionella pneumophila and other Legionella spp.

Oakmoss is a natural fragrance ingredient exhibiting highly specific, potent antibacterial activity against Legionella pneumophila, a causative agent of severe water-bone pneumonia. In the present study, the antibacterial activity of individual compounds isolated from oakmoss was investigated against L. pneumophila and other Legionella spp.

Characterization of the carbohydrate backbone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O6 lipopolysaccharides.

Structural characterization studies have been carried out on the carbohydrate backbone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus serotype O6 lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The carbohydrate backbone isolated from O6 LPS by sequential derivatization, that is, dephosphorylation, O-deacylation, pyridylamination, N-deacylation and N-acetylation, is a nonasaccharide consisting of 3 mol of D-glucosamine (GlcN) (of which one is pyridylaminated), 2 mol of L-glycero-D-manno-heptose (Hep), and 1 mol each of D-galactose (Gal), D-glucose (Glc), D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) and 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid (Kdo). Structural analyses by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry demonstrated that the carbohydrate backbone is β-Galp-(1→2)-α-Hepp-(1→3)-α-Hepp-(1→5)-α-Kdop-(2→6)-β-GlcpNAc-(1→6)-GlcNAc-PA, in which the 3-substituted α-Hepp is further substituted by β-GlcpNAc-(1→4)-β-Glcp at position 4 and by β-GlcpA at position 2.

The antibacterial activity of fragrance ingredients against Legionella pneumophila.

In the current study we investigated the antibacterial activity of fragrance ingredients against Legionella pneumophila, a causative agent of severe pneumonia. Among the 41 different fragrance ingredients tested, we found that the natural fragrance ingredients oakmoss (OM) and birch tar oil (BT), which contain many components, exhibit potent antibacterial activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC, % (v/v)) of OM and BT were 0.

Reactions of 26-iodopseudodiosgenin and 26-iodopseudodiosgenone with various nucleophiles and pharmacological activities of the products.

26-Iodopseudodiosgenin (8) and 26-iodopseudodiosgenone (9) were reacted with various nucleophiles (KSCN, KOCN, NaCN, NaN(3) and various amines) to give pseudodiosgenin derivatives (4, 12, 16-20, 26) and pseudodiosgenone derivatives (5, 13, 21-25, 27), respectively. The reactions of 8 and 9 with KOCN gave the elimination products (10) and (11), respectively. The reaction of 9 with NaCN gave 5alpha,26- (14) and 5beta,26-dicyanocholestan-3-one (15).

Azithromycin inhibits the formation of flagellar filaments without suppressing flagellin synthesis in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium.

The present study shows that a sub-MIC of the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin (AZM) diminishes the virulence function of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. We first constructed an AZM-resistant strain (MS248) by introducing ermBC, an erythromycin ribosome methylase gene, into serovar Typhimurium. The MIC of AZM for MS248 exceeded 100 microg/ml.

Structural characterization of the carbohydrate backbone of the lipopolysaccharide of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O-untypeable strain KX-V212 isolated from a patient.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain KX-V212 of a novel serotype, which does not belong to any of the known 13 O-serotypes of this vibrio, was isolated from a patient. Its O-antigen harbors a unique strain-specific O-antigenic factor(s), in addition to that shared by the O-antigen of V. parahaemolyticus serotype O2.

Structure of the core-oligosaccharide with a characteristic D-glycero-alpha-D-talo-oct-2-ulosylonate-(2-->4)-3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonate [alpha-Ko-(2-->4)-Kdo] disaccharide in the lipopolysaccharide from Burkholderia cepacia.

The core oligosaccharide in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Burkholderia cepacia GIFU 645(T) was investigated. After mild acid hydrolysis of the LPS, a heptasaccharide was isolated and identified by chemical analyses, GLC-MS, FABMS, and NMR spectroscopy as follows: [carbohydrate structure: see text] where L-alpha-D-Hep stands for L-glycero-alpha-D-manno-heptose, Ko for D-glycero-D-talo-oct-2-ulosonic acid, and Kdo for 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid.

Unusual interaction of a lipopolysaccharide isolated from Burkholderia cepacia with polymyxin B.

We have demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) obtained from Burkholderia cepacia, an important opportunistic pathogen, has unique characteristics in both structure and activity. One of the structural characteristics is that the B. cepacia LPS has 4-amino-4-deoxy-L-arabinose (Ara4N) in its inner core region.

Protection against Shiga toxin 1 challenge by immunization of mice with purified mutant Shiga toxin 1.

Shiga toxin 1 (Stx1) of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 was cloned, and four mutant Stx1s were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis with PCR. The wild-type and mutant Stx1s with amino acid replacements at positions 167 and 170 of the A subunit were purified by one-step affinity chromatography with commercially available Globotriose Fractogel, and the mutant Stxs were used for the immunization of mice. The mutant toxins were nontoxic to Vero cells in vitro and to mice in vivo and induced the immunoglobulin G antibody against the wild-type Stx1, which neutralized the cytotoxicity of Stx1.

Structural analysis of the carbohydrate backbone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O2 lipopolysaccharides.

A structural investigation has been carried out on the carbohydrate backbone of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O2 lipopolysaccharides (LPS) isolated by dephosphorylation, O-deacylation and N-deacylation. The carbohydrate backbone is a short-chain saccharide consisting of nine monosaccharide units i.e.

Structure and serological characterization of 5,7-diamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-non-2-ulosonic acid isolated from lipopolysaccharides of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O2 and O-untypable strain KX-V212.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus O2 and O-untypable (OUT) strain (KX-V212) isolated from an individual patient were shown to contain 5,7-diamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-non-2-ulosonic acid (NonlA), which was readily released from LPS by mild acid hydrolysis. In the present study, we investigated the chemical and serological properties of NonlA isolated from LPS of V. parahaemolyticus O2 and OUT KX-V212.

Serum antibodies of periodontitis patients compared to the lipopolysaccharides of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum.

Serum antibody titers against the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum were compared between 9 periodontitis patients and 24 healthy persons. The IgG titers against the LPSs of P. gingivalis ATCC 33277(T) and W50 were clearly higher in the patients than in the healthy persons.

Oral immunization with ATP-dependent protease-deficient mutants protects mice against subsequent oral challenge with virulent Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium.

We evaluated the efficacy of mutants with a deletion of the stress response protease gene as candidates for live oral vaccine strains against Salmonella infection through infection studies with mice by using a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium mutant with a disruption of the ClpXP or Lon protease. In vitro, the ClpXP protease regulates flagellum synthesis and the ClpXP-deficient mutant strain exhibits hyperflagellated bacterial cells (T. Tomoyasu et al.

An immunochemical study of serological cross-reaction between lipopolysaccharides from Vibrio cholerae O22 and O139.

A comparative chemical and serological study of the LPS of Vibrio cholerae O139 and O22 was performed. Chemical analysis revealed that the sugar composition of the LPS of strain O22 was quite similar to that of O139 LPS. Each contained D-glucose, L-glycero-D-manno-heptose, colitose (3,6-dideoxy-L-galactose), D-fructose, D-glucosamine, D-quinovosamine and D-galacturonic acid.