scholarly journals THE ROLE OF EPINEPHRINE IN THE REACTIONS PRODUCED BY THE ENDOTOXINS OF GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

1956 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Blood Vessels ◽  
Intravenous Injection ◽  
Acute Inflammation ◽  
Nitrogen Mustard ◽  
Basic Mechanism ◽  
Intradermal Injection ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Hemorrhagic Necrosis

Extensive lesions of dermal hemorrhagic necrosis occurred in rabbits when epinephrine (or norepinephrine) was injected into the skin within 4 hours after an intravenous injection of endotoxin. As little as 5 µg. of intradermal epinephrine, and 1 µg. of intravenous endotoxin, were sufficient to produce lesions. Similar lesions, but smaller in size and surrounded by a zone of acute inflammation, were produced by intradermal injection of a mixture of comparable amounts of endotoxin and epinephrine. No lesions were produced by combinations of endotoxin with serotonin, pitressin, or ephedrine. Both types of epinephrine-endotoxin lesion were prevented by pretreatment with cortisone, dibenzyline, and chlorpromazine. They were not prevented by heparin or nitrogen mustard. The lesions produced by intradermal mixtures of epinephrine and endotoxin were greatly enhanced in size and severity in animals treated with nitrogen mustard. Both types of lesion were prevented in rabbits rendered "tolerant" by repeated injections of sublethal amounts of endotoxin. It is concluded that endotoxin has the property of altering the reactivity of blood vessels to epinephrine in such a way that this hormone becomes a potent necrotizing agent. The possibility that this effect may represent a basic mechanism in the various intoxicating actions of endotoxin, and certain implications of this hypothesis, are discussed.

scholarly journals STUDIES ON THE GENERALIZED SHWARTZMAN REACTION

1955 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis Thomas ◽  
Joel Brunson ◽  
Richard T. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Polyvinyl Alcohol ◽  
Intravenous Injection ◽  
Dextran Sulfate ◽  
Nitrogen Mustard ◽  
Protective Action ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Single Intravenous Injection ◽  
Intravenous Injections ◽  
Shwartzman Reaction

Lesions indistinguishable from those of the generalized Shwartzman reaction occured in rabbits when a single intravenous injection of Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin was accompanied, or followed, by an injection of one of the following synthetic, heparin-like, acidic polymers-sodium polyanethol sulfonate, dextran sulfate, or sodium polyvinyl alcohol sulfonate. These reactions were produced by doses of polymer or of endotoxin which were without demonstrable effect when given singly. Heparin, in those similar to those previously shown to protect rabbits against the lesions of the generalized Shwartzman reaction, prevented the reaction to the combined injection of endotoxin and acidic polymers. Nitrogen mustard, which was previously shown to prevent the lesions of the generalized Shwartzman reaction from occurring after two intravenous injections of endotoxin, had no protective action against the lesions produced by the combined injection of endotoxin and polymer. Cortisone did not affect the reaction to endotoxin and polymer. The role of fibrinogen in the reaction under study is discussed in the paper which follows.

scholarly journals MexAB-OprM Efflux Pump Interaction with the Peptidoglycan of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5328
Author(s):  
Miao Ma ◽  
Margaux Lustig ◽  
Michèle Salem ◽  
Dominique Mengin-Lecreulx ◽  
Gilles Phan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Active Efflux

One of the major families of membrane proteins found in prokaryote genome corresponds to the transporters. Among them, the resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) transporters are highly studied, as being responsible for one of the most problematic mechanisms used by bacteria to resist to antibiotics, i.e., the active efflux of drugs. In Gram-negative bacteria, these proteins are inserted in the inner membrane and form a tripartite assembly with an outer membrane factor and a periplasmic linker in order to cross the two membranes to expulse molecules outside of the cell. A lot of information has been collected to understand the functional mechanism of these pumps, especially with AcrAB-TolC from Escherichia coli, but one missing piece from all the suggested models is the role of peptidoglycan in the assembly. Here, by pull-down experiments with purified peptidoglycans, we precise the MexAB-OprM interaction with the peptidoglycan from Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, highlighting a role of the peptidoglycan in stabilizing the MexA-OprM complex and also differences between the two Gram-negative bacteria peptidoglycans.

The role of Gram-negative bacteria in skin and soft tissue infections

2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Russo ◽  
Enrico Maria Trecarichi ◽  
Carlo Torti
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Soft Tissue Infections ◽  
Gram Negative

scholarly journals Human genetic deficiencies reveal the roles of complement in the inflammatory network: Lessons from nature

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (37) ◽  
pp. 15861-15866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Tore Lappegård ◽  
Dorte Christiansen ◽  
Anne Pharo ◽  
Ebbe Billmann Thorgersen ◽  
Bernt Christian Hellerud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Enzyme Release ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Cytokines And Chemokines ◽  
Ifn Γ ◽  
Inducible Protein ◽  
The Complement System

Complement component C5 is crucial for experimental animal inflammatory tissue damage; however, its involvement in human inflammation is incompletely understood. The responses to Gram-negative bacteria were here studied taking advantage of human genetic complement-deficiencies—nature's own knockouts—including a previously undescribed C5 defect. Such deficiencies provide a unique tool for investigating the biological role of proteins. The experimental conditions allowed cross-talk between the different inflammatory pathways using a whole blood model based on the anticoagulant lepirudin, which does not interfere with the complement system. Expression of tissue factor, cell adhesion molecules, and oxidative burst depended highly on C5, mediated through the activation product C5a, whereas granulocyte enzyme release relied mainly on C3 and was C5a-independent. Release of cytokines and chemokines was mediated to varying degrees by complement and CD14; for example, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-8 were more dependent on complement than IFN-γ and IL-6, which were highly dependent on CD14. IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and IFN-γ inducible protein 10 (IP-10) were fully dependent on CD14 and inversely regulated by complement, that is, complement deficiency and complement inhibition enhanced their release. Granulocyte responses were mainly complement-dependent, whereas monocyte responses were more dependent on CD14. Notably, all responses were abolished by combined neutralization of complement and CD14. The present study provides important insight into the comprehensive role of complement in human inflammatory responses to Gram-negative bacteria.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Membrane Vesicles, Extracellular ATP and Biofilm Formation in Antarctic Gram-Negative Bacteria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Baeza ◽  
Elena Mercade
Keyword(s):  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Metabolic Cost ◽  
Extracellular Atp ◽  
Gram Negative Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Survival ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
And Control

Abstract Biofilms offer a safe environment that favors bacterial survival; for this reason, most pathogenic and environmental bacteria live integrated in biofilm communities. The development of biofilms is complex and involves many factors, which need to be studied in order to understand bacterial behavior and control biofilm formation when necessary. We used a collection of cold-adapted Antarctic Gram-negative bacteria to study whether their ability to form biofilms is associated with a capacity to produce membrane vesicles and secrete extracellular ATP. In most of the studied strains, no correlation was found between biofilm formation and these two factors. Only Shewanella vesiculosa M7T secreted high levels of extracellular ATP, and its membrane vesicles caused a significant increase in the speed and amount of biofilm formation. In this strain, an important portion of the exogenous ATP was contained in membrane vesicles, where it was protected from apyrase treatment. These results confirm that ATP influences biofilm formation. Although the role of extracellular ATP in prokaryotes is still not well understood, the metabolic cost of its production suggests it has an important function, such as a role in biofilm formation. Thus, the liberation of extracellular ATP through membrane vesicles and its function deserve further study.

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