Use of beta-1,3-glucan-specific antibody to study the cyst wall of Pneumocystis carinii and effects of pneumocandin B0 analog L-733,560.

Use of beta-1,3-glucan-specific antibody to study the cyst wall of Pneumocystis carinii and effects of pneumocandin B0 analog L-733,560. K H Nollstadt , M A Powles , H Fujioka , M Aikawa and D M Schmatz Department of Parasite Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Merck Research Laboratories, Rahway, New Jersey 07065. ABSTRACT A new class of promising antipneumocystis agents, cyclic lipopeptide pneumocandin analogs, has been shown to effectively prevent Pneumocystis carinii cyst development in murine models. These compounds are believed to inhibit the biosynthesis of beta-1,3-glucan, a major constituent of the cell walls of various pathogenic fungi. However, all evidence of the presence of this polymer in P. carinii cysts is based on indirect methods. To address this, highly specific rabbit polyclonal antiserum was raised against a laminariheptaose-human transferrin hapten conjugate. This antiserum was used to demonstrate the presence of beta-1,3-glucan in alkaline extracts of P. carinii-infected rat lung tissue and to quantitate the degree of infection in this tissue as laminarin equivalents. The antiserum was also used to localize beta-1,3-glucan in P. carinii-infected rat lung tissue at the transmission electron microscopic level by immunogold labeling. High concentrations of beta-1,3-glucan were present in the electron-lucent layer of the P. carinii cyst wall, but beta-1,3-glucan was absent from intracystic bodies and trophozoites. Ultrastructural evaluation of lung tissue from P. carinii-infected rats treated with the pneumocandin analog L-733,560 demonstrated that the few cysts which remained are deformed, lack the translucent layer of the cyst wall, and contain minimal amounts of beta-1,3-glucan. CiteULike Connotea Delicious Digg Facebook Google+ Mendeley Reddit StumbleUpon Twitter What's this? « Previous | Next Article » Table of Contents This Article doi: 10.1128/​AAC.38.10.2258 Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. October 1994 vol. 38 no. 10 2258-2265 » Abstract PDF Classifications Research Article Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in ASM journals Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of AAC Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Load citing article information Citing articles via Web of Science Citing articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nollstadt, K. H. Articles by Schmatz, D. M. Search for related content PubMed PubMed citation Articles by Nollstadt, K. H. Articles by Schmatz, D. M. Related Content Load related web page information Social Bookmarking CiteULike Connotea Delicious Digg Facebook Google+ Mendeley Reddit StumbleUpon Twitter What's this? current issue December 2011, volume 55, issue 12 Alert me to new issues of AAC About AAC Subscribers Authors Reviewers Advertisers Inquiries from the Press Permissions & Commercial Reprints ASM Journals Public Access Policy AAC RSS Feeds 1752 N Street N.W. • Washington DC 20036 202.737.3600 • 202.942.9355 fax • [email protected] Print ISSN: 0066-4804 Online ISSN: 1098-6596 Copyright © 2011 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to AAC .asm.org, visit: http://intl- AAC .asm.org | More Info»