RESUMO
Ceramides are the main lipid component maintaining the lamellae structure of stratum corneum, as well as lipid second messengers for the regulation of cellular proliferation and/or apoptosis. In our previous study, psoriatic skin lesions showed marked decreased levels of ceramides and signaling molecules, specially protein kinase C-alpha (PKC-alpha) and c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in proportion to the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores, which suggested that the depletion of ceramide is responsible for epidermal hyperproliferation of psoriasis via downregulation of proapoptotic signal cascade such as PKC-alpha and JNK. In this study, we investigated the protein expression of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) and ceramidase, two major ceramide metabolizing enzymes, in both psoriatic epidermis and non-lesional epidermis. The expression of SPT, the ceramide generating enzyme in the de novo synthesis in psoriatic epidermis, was significantly less than that of the non-lesional epidermis, which was inversely correlated with PASI score. However, the expression of ceramidase, the degradative enzyme of ceramides, showed no significant difference between the lesional epidermis and the non-lesional epidermis of psoriatic patients. This might suggest that decreased expression of SPT protein is one of the important causative factors for decreased ceramide levels in psoriasis.
Assuntos
Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Amidoidrolases/biossíntese , Apoptose , Proliferação de Células , Ceramidases , Ceramidas/química , Epiderme/metabolismo , Proteínas Quinases JNK Ativadas por Mitógeno/metabolismo , Modelos Biológicos , Proteína Quinase C-alfa/metabolismo , Psoríase/sangue , Serina C-Palmitoiltransferase/biossínteseRESUMO
Fermentation parameters for the production of penicillin G acylase by Escherichia coli NCIM 2400 have been evaluated. The bacterium produced the enzyme intracellularly when grown in nutrient broth containing PAA. PAA stimulated the enzyme synthesis by 8-10 fold and reduced the lag period. The optimum concentration of PAA for induction was 20 mM and addition of PAA prior to inoculation gave maximum production of PGA. Glucose, lactose, sorbitol, acetate and lactate even at 0.1% concentration catabolically repressed the enzyme formation. Peptone was the best utilised 'N' source for the enzyme production. Phosphate and yeast extract were found to be essential for both the growth and for enzyme biosynthesis. Temperature between 22-24 degrees C was optimum and under ideal condition E. coli NCIM 2400 produced 0.45-0.55 U/ml of penicillin G acylase.