Is a NAD pyrophosphatase activity necessary for Haemophilus influenzae type b multiplication in the blood stream?

Haemophilus influenzae has an absolute requirement for factor V because it lacks all the biosynthetic enzymes necessary for the de novo synthesis of NAD. Factor V can be provided as either nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide (NAD), nicotinamide mono-nucleotide (NMN) or nicotinamide riboside (NR) in vitro, but little is known about the source or the mechanism of uptake for factor V in vivo. Recently, a hypothetical open reading frame (ORF), termed nadN, was identified to encode a gene product essential for H. influenzae growth on NAD. Here, we report its role in the virulent H. influenzae serotype b strain Eagan. Our results indicate that NadN of type b Eagan strains is involved in NAD uptake and in processing NAD to NR, which appears to be the substrate for an as yet unidentified cytoplasmic membrane NR transport system. Furthermore, we present data showing that H. influenzae type b nadN mutants are able to survive as well as Eagan, in vivo in the five-day-old infant rat model of human invasive disease. NAD pyrophosphatase and NMN 5'-nucleotidase activities were present in rat and human serum, implying that under infection conditions H. influenzae may obtain NR directly from its host.

NadN and e (P4) are essential for utilization of NAD and nicotinamide mononucleotide but not nicotinamide riboside in Haemophilus influenzae.

Haemophilus influenzae has an absolute requirement for NAD (factor V) because it lacks almost all the biosynthetic enzymes necessary for the de novo synthesis of that cofactor. Factor V can be provided as either nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide (NAD), nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), or nicotinamide riboside (NR) in vitro, but little is known about the source or the mechanism of uptake of these substrates in vivo. As shown by us earlier, at least two gene products are involved in the uptake of NAD, the outer membrane lipoprotein e (P4), which has phosphatase activity and is encoded by hel, and a periplasmic NAD nucleotidase, encoded by nadN. It has also been observed that the latter gene product is essential for H. influenzae growth on media supplemented with NAD. In this report, we describe the functions and substrates of these two proteins as they act together in an NAD utilization pathway. Data are provided which indicate that NadN harbors not only NAD pyrophosphatase but also NMN 5'-nucleotidase activity. The e (P4) protein is also shown to have NMN 5'-nucleotidase activity, recognizing NMN as a substrate and releasing NR as its product. Insertion mutants of nadN or deletion and site-directed mutants of hel had attenuated growth and a reduced uptake phenotype when NMN served as substrate. A hel and nadN double mutant was only able to grow in the presence of NR, whereas no uptake of NMN was observed.

NADP and NAD utilization in Haemophilus influenzae.

Exogenous NAD utilization or pyridine nucleotide cycle metabolism is used by many bacteria to maintain NAD turnover and to limit energy-dependent de novo NAD synthesis. The genus Haemophilus includes several important pathogenic bacterial species that require NAD as an essential growth factor. The molecular mechanisms of NAD uptake and processing are understood only in part for Haemophilus. In this report, we present data showing that the outer membrane lipoprotein e(P4), encoded by the hel gene, and an exported 5'-nucleotidase (HI0206), assigned as nadN, are necessary for NAD and NADP utilization. Lipoprotein e(P4) is characterized as an acid phosphatase that uses NADP as substrate. Its phosphatase activity is inhibited by compounds such as adenosine or NMN. The nadN gene product was characterized as an NAD-nucleotidase, responsible for the hydrolysis of NAD. H. influenzae hel and nadN mutants had defined growth deficiencies. For growth, the uptake and processing of the essential cofactors NADP and NAD required e(P4) and 5'-nucleotidase. In addition, adenosine was identified as a potent growth inhibitor of wild-type H. influenzae strains, when NADP was used as the sole source of nicotinamide-ribosyl.

[The mutual transmission of Staphylococcus aureus between humans and cattle and the environmental adaptation of hemolysin and fibrinolysin formation]. / Zur Frage der wechselseitigen Ubertragung von Staphylococcus aureus zwischen Mensch und Rind und der Milieuadaptation der Hämolysin- und Fibrinolysinbildung.

In an ecological investigation in 20 dairy herds of cattle we compared the characteristics of strains isolated from nasal swabs of milkers, from the udder of cows and from cases of mastitis in cows. In 7 herds we found definite strains in the nasal flora of the milkers and in the udder-flora of the cows which only differ in the formation of hemolysin and of fibrinolysin. In the other checked characteristics strains from man and strains from cattle show identical patterns. In 5 herds these strains correspond to the host-specific variety hominis, in 2 herds to the hostspecific--variety bovis. These results refer to an environmental adaptation of the phenotypically detectable formation of hemolysins and fibrinolysin. From the ecological point of view an exchange of strains between man and cattle is likely. The origin of strains which can not be alloted to one ot the known host-specific varieties can be explained by an environmental adaptation. Besides the facts that strains of the host-specific variety bovis occur only very rarely in man and that strains of the host-specific variety hominis occur occasionally in cattle the clinical significance of the reported results has to be clarified by further investigations.

[The anodically moving thermolabile antigen (ATA) of gram-negative bacteria: its molecular heterogeneity and its chemical composition]. / Das anodisch wandernde thermolabile Antigen (ATA) von gramnegativen Bakterien: Seine molekulare Heterogenität und seine chemische Zusammensetzung

The anodically-moving thermolabile antigen (ATA) of gram-negative bacteria represents a glycolipoprote in. In aqueous solution ATA exhibits heterogeneity of the molecular size, the range varying between 2.10(4) and 8.10(5) Daltons. In the molecular range between 5.10(4) and 8.10(5) all the molecular states give precipitation lines with the corresponding antisera. It could be shown that all the molecular states of ATA are formed by different aggregation of the same subunit with a molecular weight of approximatively 22000.

[Dependence of various antigen formation of Proteus mirabilis strain 1095/67 growing on minimal nutrient media]. / Abhängigkeit der Ausbildung bestimmter Antigene von Proteus mirabilis Stamm 1095/67 beim Wachstrum auf Minimalnährmedien

Proteus mirabilis strain 1095/67 has been cultivated in surface culture on different minimal media, which were composed either of single amino acids or combinations of several amino acids without or with stepwise addition of other C-sources up to the complete medium. We found a direct dependence of the formation of the various antigens (moving to the cathode, to the anode, or not moving) on the composition of the medium. Certain amino acids (Ala, Glu, Asp. Ser) elicit only parts of the antigenic spectrum formed in complete medium, but enrich special antigens. With only 2 amino acids (Ala and Glu) and the vitamins thiamine, pyridoxal, and niacine in the anorganic basic medium the complete antigenic spectrum can be formed. We have shown that the composition of the cell wall varies with the composition of the culture medium. In shaked cultures we found serine to be essential for the production of the antigen moving to the cathode and the thermolabile antigene moving to the anode (ATA), niacine to be of fundamental importance in the biosynthesis of all antigens. Already under very limited supply of nutrients ATA, common to all gram-negative bacteria, is formed and, therefore, it seems to be a very basic cell wall component.