scholarly journals Interaction of Azospirillum lipoferumwith Wheat Germ Agglutinin Stimulates Nitrogen Fixation

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (13) ◽  
pp. 3949-3955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Karpati ◽  
Peter Kiss ◽  
Tamas Ponyi ◽  
Istvan Fendrik ◽  
Miklos de Zamaroczy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Gene Cluster ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Wheat Germ Agglutinin ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Side Chains ◽  
Receptor Complex ◽  
Sugar Binding ◽  
Signalling Cascade

ABSTRACT In vitro, the nitrogen fixation capability of A. lipoferum is efficiently increased in the presence of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). A putative WGA-binding receptor, a 32-kDa protein, was detected in the cell capsule. The stimulatory effect requiredN-acetyl-d-glucosamine dimer (GlcNAcdi) terminated sugar side chains of the receptor and was dependent on the number of GlcNAcdi links involved in receptor-WGA interface. Binding to the primary sugar binding sites on WGA had a larger stimulatory effect than binding to the secondary sites. The WGA-receptor complex generated stimulus led to elevated transcription of the nifH and nifA genes and of the glnBA gene cluster but not of the glnA gene from its own promoter. There may well be a signalling cascade contributing to the regulation of nitrogen fixation.

scholarly journals Influence of Concanavalin A, wheat germ agglutinin, and soybean agglutinin on the fusion of myoblasts in vitro.

1975 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 826-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Den ◽  
D A Malinzak ◽  
H J Keating ◽  
A Rosenberg
Keyword(s):  
Concanavalin A ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Wheat Germ Agglutinin ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Myoblast Fusion ◽  
Normal Serum ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Number Of Binding Sites

Although muscle cell fusion was shown to be an energy-requiring process, release of myoblasts from an EGTA fusion block could be accomplished with Earle's balanced salt solution (containing 1.8 mM Ca++) free of glucose or any other energy-produced metabolite. The effect of concanavalin A, abrin, and the lectins from wheat germ, soybean, and Lens culinaris on myoblast fusion was examined with synchronized myoblast cultures upon release from fusion block. At a concentration of 15 mug/ml, these lectins were found to inhibit the fusion process to the extent of 62%, 41%, 32%, 8%, and 19%, respectively. Concanavalin A inhibition could be prevented by alpha-methyl-D-mannoside. The inhibitory effect of all the lectins except abrin could be reversed by changing to the normal, serum-containing medium. The number of binding sites was 3.4 X 10(7), 6.1 X 10(7), and 1.7 X 10(6), respectively. Although myoblasts were found to have about twice as many binding sites for wheat germ agglutinin as for concanavalin A, concanavalin A was determined to be twice as effective as wheat germ agglutinin as an inhibitor of myoblast fusion. These findngs raise the possibility that specific cell surface glycoproteins may be an important factor in this process.

Analysis of surface carbohydrates of Trichobilharzia ocellata miracidia and sporocysts using lectin binding techniques

Parasitology ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. T. Gerhardus ◽  
J. M. C. Baggen ◽  
W. P. W. Van Der Knaap ◽  
T. Sminia
Keyword(s):  
Concanavalin A ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Wheat Germ Agglutinin ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Lectin Binding ◽  
Surface Coat ◽  
Peanut Agglutinin ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Trichobilharzia Ocellata

Miracidia and in vitro-derived primary sporocysts of the avian schistosome Trichobilharzia ocellata were studied for the expression and the characteristics of glycoconjugate moieties comprising the surface coat. Using a panel of 9 peroxidase labelled lectins, several different lectin binding sites were demonstrated on the larvae. Fixed miracidia have binding sites for 7 of the lectins; wheat-germ agglutinin binds to both the ciliated plates and the tegumental ridges between them; the other 6 lectins bind to the plates only. Three of the miracidia-binding lectins, wheat-germ agglutinin, concanavalin A and peanut agglutinin, also bind to fixed sporocysts. Since the miracidial ridges are devoid of binding sites for concanavalin A and peanut agglutinin, whereas the sporocyst tegument binds these lectins, it appears that these sites become exposed during or shortly after transformation. In saturation experiments, low concentrations of peanut agglutinin and concanavalin A are bound more avidly by sporocysts than by miracidia, indicating a higher binding affinity of the former. The two larval forms do not differ in affinity for wheat-germ agglutinin but they have different binding capacities; when offered in high concentrations, more of this lectin is bound by sporocysts than by miracidia. Lectin binding was competitively inhibited by adding the appropriate free saccharides. Live larvae showed the same lectin binding pattern as did fixed specimens. Proteinase treatment reduced lectin binding to living and, to a lesser extent, to fixed larvae, suggesting that binding sites are constituents of proteoglycoconjugates. After SDS–PAGE of extracts from miracidia and sporocysts and subsequent Western blotting, some of the lectins failed to bind glycoproteins, others reacted with an array of bands. The patterns differed among the lectins and each lectin gave different patterns for miracidia and sporocysts. The results obtained with these two lectin-binding techniques support the conclusion that stage-specific proteoglycoconjugates occur at the surface of T. ocellata larvae.

scholarly journals Trichomonas vaginalis Lipophosphoglycan Mutants Have Reduced Adherence and Cytotoxicity to Human Ectocervical Cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. 1951-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix D. Bastida-Corcuera ◽  
Cheryl Y. Okumura ◽  
Angie Colocoussi ◽  
Patricia J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Germ Agglutinin ◽  
Parent Strain ◽  
Trichomonas Vaginalis ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Chemical Mutagenesis ◽  
Reduced Adherence

ABSTRACT The extracellular human pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis is covered by a dense glycocalyx thought to play a role in host-parasite interactions. The main component of the glycocalyx is lipophosphoglycan (LPG), a polysaccharide anchored in the plasma membrane by inositol phosphoceramide. To study the role of LPG in trichomonads, we produced T. vaginalis LPG mutants by chemical mutagenesis and lectin selection and characterized them using morphological, biochemical, and functional assays. Two independently selected LPG mutants, with growth rates comparable to that of the wild-type (parent) strain, lost the ability to bind the lectins Ricinnus comunis agglutinin I (RCA120) and wheat germ agglutinin, indicating alterations in surface galactose and glucosamine residues. LPG isolated from mutants migrated faster than parent strain LPG on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting the mutants had shorter LPG molecules. Dionex high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection analyses revealed galactosamine, glucosamine, galactose, glucose, mannose/xylose, and rhamnose as the main monosaccharides of T. vaginalis parent strain LPG. LPG from both mutants showed a reduction of galactose and glucosamine, corresponding with the reduced size of their LPG molecules and inability to bind the lectins RCA120 and wheat germ agglutinin. Mutant parasites were defective in attachment to plastic, a characteristic associated with avirulent strains of T. vaginalis. Moreover, the mutants were less adherent and less cytotoxic to human vaginal ectocervical cells in vitro than the parental strain. Finally, while parent strain LPG could inhibit the attachment of parent strain parasites to vaginal cells, LPG from either mutant could not inhibit attachment. These combined results demonstrate that T. vaginalis adherence to host cells is LPG mediated and that an altered LPG leads to reduced adherence and cytotoxicity of this parasite.

Wheat germ agglutinin chromatography of GlcNacβ1-3(GlcNAcβl-6)Gal and GlcNAcβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)Galβ1-4GlcNAc, obtained by in vitro synthesis and by partial cleavage of teratocarcinoma poly-N-acetyllactosaminoglycans

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Seppo ◽  
Leena Penttilä ◽  
Anne Makkonen ◽  
Anne Leppänen ◽  
Ritva Niemelä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Germ Agglutinin ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Embryonal Carcinoma ◽  
Periodate Oxidation ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Teratocarcinoma Cell ◽  
Partial Acid Hydrolysis ◽  
In Vitro Synthesis ◽  
In Vitro Biosynthesis

GlcNAcβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)[14C(U)]Gal and GlcNAcβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)[14C(U)]Galβ1-4GlcNAc were prepared by in vitro synthesis. They were characterized by enzymatic sequencing, by partial acid hydrolysis, and by periodate oxidation experiments. The two saccharides were isolated also from partial acid hydrolysates of metabolically labeled poly-N- acetyllactosaminoglycans of murine embryonal carcinoma cells (line PC 13). The tetrasaccharide was retarded in a column of agarose-linked wheat germ agglutinin; the trisaccharide was strongly bound. Chromatography in this column separated the trisaccharide into two distinct peaks, which represented interconvertible molecules. Together with our previous data on linear teratocarcinoma saccharides, these findings show that affinity chromatography with immobilized wheat germ agglutinin can be advantageously used in fractionating radiolabeled oligo-N-acetyllactosaminoglycans and saccharides related to them.Key words: GlcNAcβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)Gal, GlcNAcβ1-3(GlcNAcβ1-6)Galβ1-4GlcNAc, wheat germ agglutinin – agarose chromatography, in vitro biosynthesis, teratocarcinoma cell.

scholarly journals Analysis of the structural requirements of sugar binding to the liver, brain and insulin-responsive glucose transporters expressed in oocytes

1993 ◽  
Vol 294 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
C A Colville ◽  
M J Seatter ◽  
G W Gould
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Bond ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Glucose Transporters ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Sugar Binding ◽  
Glucose Analogues ◽  
Sugar Recognition

We have expressed the liver (GLUT 2), brain (GLUT 3) and insulin-responsive (GLUT 4) glucose transporters in oocytes from Xenopus laevis by microinjection of in vitro-transcribed mRNA. Using a range of halogeno- and deoxy-glucose analogues, and other hexoses, we have studied the structural basis of sugar binding to these different isoforms. We show that a hydrogen bond to the C-3 position is involved in sugar binding for all three isoforms, but that the direction of this hydrogen bond is different in GLUT 2 from either GLUT 1, 3 or 4. Hydrogen-bonding at the C-4 position is also involved in sugar recognition by all three isoforms, but we propose that in GLUT 3 this hydrogen bond plays a less significant role than in GLUT 2 and 4. In all transporters we propose that the C-4 position is directed out of the sugar-binding pocket. The role of the C-6 position is also discussed. In addition, we have analysed the ability of fructopyranose and fructofuranose analogues to inhibit the transport mediated by GLUT2. We show that fructofuranose analogues, but not fructopyranose analogues, are efficient inhibitors of transport mediated by GLUT 2, and therefore suggest that GLUT 2 accommodates D-glucose as a pyranose ring, but D-fructose as a furanose ring. Models for the binding sites of GLUT 2, 3 and 4 are presented.

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