[Revised prevalence of afa+ Escherichia coli strains in acute pyelonephritis of children]. / Révision de la prévalence des souches afa+ dans les Escherichia coli responsables de pyélonéphrites aiguës de l'enfant.

Two hundred E. coli strains isolated from children with pyelonephritis were investigated for the presence of six virulence factors. The used primers amplified adhesin pap and sfa, toxin haemolysin (hly) and cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (cnf1) and aerobactin (aer). For afimbrial adhesin, the previously used set of primers could not allow to detect the newly reported afa operons (Le Bouguenec et al., 2001). With a new set of primers specific for the afa operon family the prevalence of afa+ strains increased from 3.5% to 13.5%. Combinations of three or more factors in a same strain were found in 48.5%. Thirty two different urovirulent genotypes were observed; two strains contained the six studied factors.

Hepatic lipase promotes the uptake of HDL esterified cholesterol by the perfused rat liver: a study using reconstituted HDL particles of defined phospholipid composition.

The role of hepatic triacylglycerol lipase (H-TGL) in promoting the liver uptake of high density lipoprotein (HDL) free and esterified cholesterol was studied in a recirculating rat liver perfusion, a situation where the enzyme is physiologically expressed and is active at the vascular bed. For this purpose, reconstituted HDL of defined phospholipid composition were prepared, containing either 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, a substrate for H-TGL, or 1-O-hexadecyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, a non-hydrolyzable analog. Reconstituted HDL were then used in the perfused rat liver system. The main results are the following. 1) Reconstituted HDL were obtained by sonication of lipids and apolipoproteins and isolated by ultracentrifugation in the 1.07-1.21 g/ml density interval. Reconstituted HDL containing either diacylphosphatidylcholine or alkyl-acyl-phosphatidylcholine were similar in terms of chemical composition, apparent size, and apolipoprotein A-I immunoreactivity, and were comparable to native HDL3. 2) Reconstituted HDL were labeled with free [14C]cholesterol and [3H]cholesteryl ether, a non-hydrolyzable tracer of esterified cholesterol, and were perfused through the rat liver. Liver uptake of [3H]cholesteryl ether was 2.5-fold higher from reconstituted HDL containing diacylphospholipid than from HDL reconstituted with alkyl-acyl-phospholipids. Liver uptake of free [14C]cholesterol was identical in both cases. 3) H-TGL-depleted rat livers were obtained by a 12-min preperfusion in the presence of heparin, displacing 90% of the enzymatic activity. The residual activity in the perfusate was inhibited by a specific antibody directed against rat H-TGL. Liver uptake of [3H]cholesteryl ether from reconstituted HDL containing diacylphospholipid was reduced by 35% in hepatic lipase-depleted livers compared to controls. On the other hand, hepatic lipase depletion had no effect on the liver uptake of esterified cholesterol from HDL reconstituted with alkyl-acyl-phospholipids. The above findings support a role for the phospholipase A1 activity of H-TGL in stimulating the delivery of HDL esterified cholesterol to liver cells.

Lipoprotein lipase regulation in the cyclophosphamide-treated rabbit: dependence on nutritional status.

Cyclophosphamide injection into the fasted rabbit induces a hypertriglyceridemia (4.6 mM vs. 0.8 mM in controls) and a defect of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), as measured in post-heparin plasma (PHP). In contrast, administration of the drug into fed animals tends to increase PHP-LPL. The effects of cyclophosphamide on LPL activity and synthesis, depending on the nutritional state, were thus studied in two sites: periepididymal adipose tissue and heart. In adipose tissue, fasting decreased LPL activity to 45.2 mIU/g (P < 0.001) compared to 667.9 mIU/g in fed animals. PHP-LPL activity was also decreased by 45% upon starvation. These modulations appeared to be related to plasma insulin levels. The relative rate of synthesis of fat tissue LPL was decreased from 0.32% total protein synthesis in fed animals to 0.10% in fasted rabbits, concordant with a reduction in the expression of LPL specific mRNA. Cyclophosphamide administration to the fed rabbit led to decreases of LPL activity and synthesis in the adipose tissue, similar to those observed upon starvation. However, when injected into fasted animals, the drug did not further depress fat tissue LPL. Fasting did not change heart LPL activity (288.3 mIU/g vs. 239.3 in fed animals) nor its relative rate of synthesis (0.21% of total protein synthesis). However, cyclophosphamide induced opposite effects, depending on the nutritional state: after injection into fed animals, heart LPL activity increased up to 477.2 mIU/g (P < 0.01) with a concomitant increase in the LPL synthesis rate. Conversely, drug administration into fasted rabbits led to a decrease of heart LPL activity to 133.9 mIU/g. Similar qualitative variations were recorded in postheparin plasma. Hence, although insensitive to nutritional modulations, heart LPL responded differently to cyclophosphamide, depending on the nutritional state. In spite of those different modulations of heart and adipose tissue LPL, the enzyme isolated from these two sources displayed similar molecular mass, immunoreactivity, and catalytic properties. The effects of cyclophosphamide injection on very low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-triacylglycerol (TG) synthesis were also investigated, as a possible determinant of hypertriglyceridemia. The drug stimulated TG synthesis in both nutritional states, and maximally by 45% in fed animals. Hence, a defect of heart and postheparin plasma LPL appears as a major determinant of hypertriglyceridemia in cyclophosphamide-treated fasted rabbits.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Hepatic lipase-mediated hydrolysis versus liver uptake of HDL phospholipids and triacylglycerols by the perfused rat liver.

Hepatic triacylglycerol-lipase-mediated hydrolysis and liver uptake of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) lipid components were studied in a recirculating rat liver perfusion, a situation where the enzyme is physiologically expressed and active at the vascular bed. Human native HDL were labelled with tri-[3H]oleoylglycerol, [N-methyl-3H]dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), 1-palmitoyl,2-[14C]linoleoylphosphatidylcholine (PLPC), 1-palmitoyl,2-[14C]linoleoylphosphatidyl-ethanolamine (PLPE) and 1-palmitoyl,2-[14C]palmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE). (1) Relative degradation rates of phosphatidylethanolamine molecular species were 2- to 10-fold higher than those of phosphatidylcholine. Considering [14C] PLPC and [14C] PLPE as representative of HDL phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, respectively, the amounts of lysophosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidylethanolamine generated after a 60 min perfusion were comparable. The enzyme showed a clear preference for the molecular species bearing an unsaturated fatty acid at the 2 position of glycerol; this was the most pronounced in the case of phosphatidylethanolamine molecular species. (2) Relative liver uptake of HDL-phosphatidylethanolamine was 4- to 5-fold higher than that of HDL-phosphatidylcholine, irrespective of the constitutive fatty acids. Nevertheless, mass estimation indicated that 3 times more molecules of phosphatidylcholine than of phosphatidylethanolamine were transferred. No correlation could be found between the relative degradation rates of phospholipids and their relative liver uptake, indicating a dissociation between the two processes. (3) Perfusate decay and relative liver uptake of labelled HDL-triacylglycerol were higher than that of any phospholipid class. No circulating radiolabelled free fatty acids accumulated in the perfusate, but they were found acylated into liver cell phospholipids and triacylglycerols. (4) A prior 10-12-min washout of the liver vascular bed with heparin removed over 80% of the hepatic lipase activity, as assessed by specific immunoinhibition. Hepatic lipase-depleted liver displayed impaired phospholipid hydrolysis and triacyglycerol uptake, whereas the transfer of HDL phospholipids to liver tissue was unaffected.

Collagen of the normal and the varicose human saphenous vein: a biochemical study.

Various types of collagen (I, III, IV, V) were identified in normal and varicose human saphenous veins using pepsin digestion and cyanogen bromide digestion followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Varicose veins were found to have a higher collagen content than normal veins. This is consistent with the morphological fibrosis which has regularly been described. No essential differences were found in the collagen composition of dilated and apparently healthy portions of varicose veins.

Kinetic evidence for phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol as preferential substrates for hepatic lipase in HDL subfractions: modulation by changes in the particle surface, or in the lipid core.

Human HDL subfractions, HDL2 (d: 1.085-1.125) and HDL3 (d: 1.125-1.19) labelled with 2-[14C]linoleoylphosphatidylethanolamine and tri-[3H]oleoylglycerol, were incubated with partially purified hepatic triacylglycerol lipase, isolated from human post-heparin plasma. Kinetics of hydrolysis of these two HDL-lipid substrates were followed and were compared to those previously obtained on phosphatidylcholine (G. Simard et al (1989) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1001, 225-233). (1) The apparent Km obtained for HDL-triacylglycerol was half that for HDL-phosphatidylethanolamine, but the estimated Vmax was higher for the latter. Hence, despite a lower affinity, more molecules of phosphatidylethanolamine than of triacylglycerol were found hydrolysed. A strong correlation was observed between the hepatic lipase activity added and the maximal degradation rates for phosphatidylethanolamine measured in HDL2 and HDL3. (2) A linear relationship was observed in both HDL2 and HDL3 between the respective degradations of the two substrates. The number of phosphatidylethanolamine molecules hydrolysed exceeded that of triacylglycerol by 30% in HDL2 and by 70% in HDL3. HDL2 were 2- and 4-times more reactive than HDL3 for the hydrolysis of phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol, respectively, taking the Vmax/Km ratio as an indicator of catalytic efficiency. In both HDL subfractions, the calculated Vmax/Km value was 30-50-fold higher for PE and TG than for PC. (3) HDL particles were modified either on their surface by selective enrichment in free cholesterol or in their inner-core by replacement of esterified cholesterol by triacylglycerol in presence of a source of neutral lipid transfer activity. A mild cholesterol enrichment stimulated the phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol reactivities by 30-60% towards hepatic lipase, whereas increasing the triacylglycerol concentration in HDL was followed by a proportional increase in the amounts of triacylglycerol hydrolysed with no effect on phospholipid degradation.