ABSTRACT
We examined oxidative stress markers of 31 patients suffering from ALS, 24 patients suffering from PD and 30 healthy subjects were included. We determined the plasma levels of lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA), of protein oxidative lesions (plasma glutathione, carbonyls and thiols) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes i.e. erythrocyte Cu,Zn-Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase. MDA and thiols were significantly different in both neurodegenerative diseases versus control population. A trend for an enhancement of oxidized glutathione was noted in ALS patients. Univariate analysis showed that SOD activity was significantly decreased in ALS and GSH-Px activity was decreased in PD. After adjusting for demographic parameters and enzyme cofactors, we could emphasize a compensatory increase of SOD activity in PD. Different antioxidant systems were not involved in the same way in ALS and PD, suggesting that oxidative stress may be a cause rather than a consequence of the neuronal death.
Subject(s)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/metabolism , Oxidative Stress , Parkinson Disease/metabolism , Adult , Age Factors , Antioxidants/metabolism , Biomarkers/metabolism , Female , Glutathione Peroxidase/metabolism , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Sex Factors , Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism , Trace Elements/metabolismABSTRACT
Acinetobacter baumannii isolate KAR was uncommonly more resistant to cefepime and cefpirome than to ceftazidime and cefotaxime. Cloning and expression of the beta-lactamase gene content of this isolate into Escherichia coli TOP10 identified ss-lactamase RTG-4 (or CARB-10), which corresponds to the first reported extended-spectrum CARB-type enzyme. RTG-4 is a plasmid-encoded Ambler class A beta-lactamase whose sequence differs by 4 amino acid substitutions from the narrow-spectrum beta-lactamase RTG-3. RTG-4 hydrolyzes cefepime and cefpirome and weakly hydrolyzes ceftazidime due to the single Ser-to-Thr substitution at Ambler position 69. RTG-4 is less susceptible to inhibition by tazobactam and sulbactam than RTG-3. Expression of beta-lactamase RTG-4 in a wild-type A. baumannii reference strain showed that it conferred resistance to cefepime and cefpirome. The genetic environment of the bla(RTG-4) gene was made of a peculiar transposon located on a ca. 50-kb plasmid. ISAba9, located upstream of bla(RTG-4), may be responsible for its acquisition by recognizing a secondary right inverted repeat sequence, thus acting by a one-ended transposition process.
