Phospholipase C: underrated players in microbial infections.

During bacterial infections, one or more virulence factors are required to support the survival, growth, and colonization of the pathogen within the host, leading to the symptomatic characteristic of the disease. The outcome of bacterial infections is determined by several factors from both host as well as pathogen origin. Proteins and enzymes involved in cellular signaling are important players in determining the outcome of host-pathogen interactions. phospholipase C (PLCs) participate in cellular signaling and regulation by virtue of their ability to hydrolyze membrane phospholipids into di-acyl-glycerol (DAG) and inositol triphosphate (IP3), which further causes the activation of other signaling pathways involved in various processes, including immune response. A total of 13 PLC isoforms are known so far, differing in their structure, regulation, and tissue-specific distribution. Different PLC isoforms have been implicated in various diseases, including cancer and infectious diseases; however, their roles in infectious diseases are not clearly understood. Many studies have suggested the prominent roles of both host and pathogen-derived PLCs during infections. PLCs have also been shown to contribute towards disease pathogenesis and the onset of disease symptoms. In this review, we have discussed the contribution of PLCs as a determinant of the outcome of host-pathogen interaction and pathogenesis during bacterial infections of human importance.

Host phospholipase C-γ1 impairs phagocytosis and killing of mycobacteria by J774A.1 murine macrophages.

Macrophages represent the first line of defense against invading Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). In order to enhance intracellular survival, Mtb targets various components of the host signaling pathways to limit macrophage functions. The outcome of Mtb infection depends on various factors derived from both host and pathogen. A detailed understanding of such factors operating during interaction of the pathogen with the host is a prerequisite for designing new approaches for combating mycobacterial infections. This work analyzed the role of host phospholipase C-γ1 (PLC-γ1) in regulating mycobacterial uptake and killing by J774A.1 murine macrophages. Small interfering RNA mediated knockdown of PLC-γ1 increased internalization and reduced the intracellular survival of both Mtb and Mycobacterium smegmatis (MS) by macrophages. Down-regulation of the host PLC-γ1 was observed during the course of mycobacterial infection within these macrophages. Finally, Mtb infection also suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (RANTES) which was restored by knocking down PLC-γ1 in J774A.1 cells. These observations suggest a role of host PLC-γ1 in the uptake and killing of mycobacteria by murine macrophages.

Phospholipase C-γ2 promotes intracellular survival of mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infects millions of people each year. These bacilli can survive inside macrophages. To favor their survival, pathogen alters various signal transduction pathways in host cells. Phospholipase C (PLC) signaling regulates various processes in mammalian cells but has never been investigated for their roles in regulating phagocytosis and killing of mycobacteria by macrophages. Here, we report that infection with Mtb but not Mycobacterium smegmatis (MS) induces phosphorylation of PLC-γ2 at tyrosine 1217 in J774A.1 cells. Small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of PLC-γ2 expression leads to the enhanced killing of both MS and Mtb by these cells suggesting that Mtb activates PLC-γ2 to promote its intracellular survival within macrophages. Knockdown of PLC-γ2 also lead to increased uptake of Mtb but not MS by J774.A.1 cells. Further, we have observed that PLC-γ2 was required for Mtb-induced inhibition of expression of proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 (RANTES). Altogether, our results for the first time demonstrate that Mtb induces activation of macrophages PLC-γ2 to inhibit their mycobactericidal response.

PknG supports mycobacterial adaptation in acidic environment.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), has the remarkable ability to adapt to the hostile environment inside host cells. Eleven eukaryotic like serine-threonine protein kinases (STPKs) are present in Mtb. Protein kinase G (PknG) has been shown to promote mycobacterial survival inside host cells. A homolog of PknG is also present in Mycobacterium smegmatis (MS), a fast grower, non-pathogenic mycobacterium. In the present study, we have analyzed the role of PknG in mycobacteria during exposure to acidic environment. Expression of pknG in MS was decreased in acidic medium. Recombinant MS ectopically expressing pknG (MS-G) showed higher growth in acidic medium compared to wild type counterpart. MS-G also showed higher resistance upon exposure to 3.0 pH and better adaptability to acidic pH. Western blot analysis showed differential threonine but not serine phosphorylation of cellular proteins in MS at acidic pH which was restored by ectopic expression of pknG in MS. In Mtb H37Ra (Mtb-Ra), expression of pknG was increased at acidic pH. We also observed decreased expression of pknG in MS during infection in macrophages while the expression of pknG in Mtb-Ra was increased in similar conditions. Taken together, our data strongly suggests that pknG regulates growth of mycobacteria in acidic environment and is differentially transcribed in MS and Mtb under these conditions.

Drug targeting through pilosebaceous route.

Local skin targeting is of interest for the pharmaceutical and the cosmetic industry. A topically applied substance has basically three possibilities to penetrate into the skin: transcellular, intercellular, and follicular. The transfollicular path has been largely ignored because hair follicles constitute only 0.1% of the total skin. The hair follicle is a skin appendage with a complex structure containing many cell types that produce highly specialised proteins. The hair follicle is in a continuous cycle: anagen is the hair growth phase, catagen the involution phase and telogen is the resting phase. Nonetheless, the hair follicle has great potential for skin treatment, owing to its deep extension into the dermis and thus provides much deeper penetration and absorption of compounds beneath the skin than seen with the transdermal route. In the case of skin diseases and of cosmetic products, delivery to sweat glands or to the pilosebaceous unit is essential for the effectiveness of the drug. Increased accumulation in the pilosebaceous unit could treat alopecia, acne and skin cancer more efficiently and improve the effect of cosmetic substances and nutrients. Therefore, we review herein various drug delivery systems, including liposomes, niosomes, microspheres, nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, lipid nanocarriers, gene therapy and discuss the results of recent researches. We also review the drugs which have been investigated for pilosebaceous delivery.

Crystal chemistry of sodium zirconium phosphate based simulated ceramic waste forms of effluent cations (Ba(2+), Sn(4+), Fe(3+), Cr(3+), Ni(2+) and Si(4+)) from light water reactor fuel reprocessing plants.

A novel concept of immobilization of light water reactor (LWR) fuel reprocessing waste effluent through interaction with sodium zirconium phosphate (NZP) has been established. Such conversion utilizes waste materials like zirconium and nickel alloys, stainless steel, spent solvent tri-butyl phosphate and concentrated solution of NaNO(3). The resultant multi component NZP material is a physically and chemically stable single phase crystalline product having good mechanical strength. The NZP matrix can also incorporate all types of fission product cations in a stable crystalline lattice structure; therefore, the resultant solid solutions deserve quantification of crystallographic data. In this communication, crystal chemistry of the two types of simulated waste forms (type I-Na(1.49)Zr(1.56)Sn(0.02)Fe(0).(28)Cr(0.07)Ni(0.07)P(3)O(12) and type II-Na(1.35)Ba(0.14)Zr(1.56)Sn(0.02)Fe(0).(28)Cr(0.07)Ni(0.07)P(2.86)Si(0.14)O(12)) has been investigated using General Structure Analysis System (GSAS) programming of the X-ray powder diffraction data. About 4001 data points of each have been subjected to Rietveld analysis to arrive at a satisfactory structural convergence of Rietveld parameters; R-pattern (R(p))=0.0821, R-weighted pattern (R(wp))=0.1266 for type I and R(p)=0.0686, R(wp)=0.0910 for type II. The structure of type I and type II waste forms consist of ZrO(6) octahedra and PO(4) tetrahedra linked by the corners to form a three-dimensional network. Each phosphate group is on a two-fold rotation axis and is linked to four ZrO(6) octahedra while zirconium octahedra lies on a three-fold rotation axis and is connected to six PO(4) tetrahedra. Though the expansion along c-axis and shrinkage along a-axis with slight distortion of bond angles in the synthesized crystal indicate the flexibility of the structure, the waste forms are basically of NZP structure. Morphological examination by SEM reveals that the size of almost rectangular parallelepiped crystallites varies between 0.5 and 1.5 microm. The EDX analysis provides the analytical evidence of immobilization of effluent cations in the matrix. The particle size distributions of the material along selected reflecting planes have been calculated by Scherrer's formula.