Anti-herpes simplex virus effect of a seed extract from the tropical plant Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae).

Incubation of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1 (ACVr-HSV1), during infection of the HEp-2 cell culture, with an extract prepared from the seeds of Licania tomentosa (Benth.) Fritsch (Chrysobalanaceae) species impaired the productive replication of this virus in a concentration-dependent manner. The extract was able to inhibit extracellular virus (virucidal effect) and also interfered with a very early event of cell infection, at a non-cytotoxic concentration.

Action of chlorogenic acid on the complement system.

Previous research on plants used in folk medicine as antidotes against snake-bite revealed some constituents responsible for such protection. Chlorogenic acid (3-0-caffeoyl quinic acid) was one of these substances, studied with more attention. It has been shown that this substance binds to proteins through hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. This paper shows the preliminary results about the anti-complementary action of chlorogenic acid. Human and guinea pig sera, treated with chlorogenic acid, were added to the hemolytic system (sheep erythrocyte sensitized with hemolysin) to study its effect on the activation of the classical complement pathway. The action on the alternative pathway was studied with human serum treated with chlorogenic acid and zymosan. Our results show that chlorogenic acid presents anti-complementary action at the classical pathway, since the sera are not able to lysis the indicator system. The presence of C3b fragments on the surface of the yeast cells demonstrates that the alternative pathway was not affected.

Analysis of peptidogalactomannans from the mycelial surface of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Peptidogalactomannans (pGMs) from mycelium of two strains of Aspergillus fumigatus were fractionated by Cetavlon precipitation and size exclusion chromatography and their carbohydrate structures analysed using methylation-fragmentation analysis, partial acetolysis and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The most significant difference between the pGMs of the two strains was the degree of branching and the proportion of non-reducing ends of alpha-D-Manp and beta-D-Galf units. Methylation data showed that the pGM from AF 2109 contained alpha-D-Manp and beta-D-Galf non-reducing end units in a proportion of 3:1 while, in contrast, the proportion of these structures in pGM from AF 2140 was 7:1, resulting in a highly branched structure. The immunoreactivity of the pGM fractions was tested by indirect immunofluorescence. The fractions were also tested in an ELISA system with rabbit antiserum raised to whole cells of A. fumigatus NCPF 2140 and with serum from patients with either proven aspergilloma or ABPA. The carbohydrate moiety of the pGM appears to be responsible for the antigenicity. Periodate treatment, partial acid hydrolysis and beta-elimination removed most of the antibody binding capacity.

Complement-mediated hemolytic activity of succinylated concanavalin A: preparation and activity of cell intermediates.

Succinylated concanavalin A (SCon A) lyses sheep erythrocytes (E) in the presence of complement, whereas the native tetravalent lectin, Con A, is inactive. We have studied the ability of E-SCon A (ES) to interact with early acting guinea pig (gp) or human (hu) complement components (C1, C2, C4) and found that cell intermediates ESC1, ESC4, ESC14, and ESC142 can be generated that are analogous to intermediates conventionally prepared with E and rabbit IgM (pentameric) anti-Forssman antibody. Titration of gp or hu C1, C4, and C2, and quantification of the number of activated C1 molecules bound to ESC4 by the C1 fixation and transfer test showed in each case that an average of one effective site per cell was sufficient to cause cell lysis. Determination of tmax for optimal formation of ESC142 sites depended on the species combination of components used to make the intermediates, and the decay of ESC142 and EAC142 sites or sites generated with ESC4, EAC4, and trypsin-activated C2 were similar. The sugar alpha-D-methylglucopyranoside (alpha-MGP) inhibited binding of SCon A to E and eluted the lectin from ES, whereas galactose was nearly inactive, consistent with lectin sugar-binding selectivity. In contrast, both sugars were ineffective in eluting SCon A or C4hu from ESC4hu, indicating that C4hu blocked the interaction between lectin and alpha-MGP, perhaps by steric hindrance. SCon A is a divalent functional analogue of IgM anti-Forssman antibody that may be a uniquely suited reagent specific for cell membrane glycoconjugates for studying the mechanism of binding and activation of complement components.

Cell-bound C4b resists reduction by reducing agents: analysis by chain structure and by hemolytic activity.

EA3H-C4hu treated with 2-mercaptoethanol (MSH) or dithiothreitol (DTT) were analyzed for residual chains and hemolytic activity. MSH treatment resulted in no loss of the chains of C4b and no loss of reactivity with a polyclonal anti-human C4 rabbit antibody, and the cells did not lose their ability to generate SAC4b2a. DTT-treated cells lost about 70% of the gamma-chain and over 95% of C4b activity; there was no loss of alpha' and beta chains or the ability to react with anti-C4 antibody. Kinetic studies indicated that the remaining 30% of the gamma-chains could not be removed by prolonged incubation with DTT, implying heterogeneity of cell bound C4b. The data also imply that the gamma-chain is important in the generation of SAC4b2a.

Enhancing effect of concanavalin A on the hemolytic activity of anti-Forssman IgG: the role of C1.

Native tetravalent Con A and the divalent acetylated derivative increased the hemolytic titer (i.e., the reciprocal of the antibody dilution required to give an average of one lytic site per sheep erythrocyte) of IgG antibodies against Forssman antigen by up to 225% with guinea pig and human complement. Although the average number of lytic sites generated at each antibody concentration increased, the slope of the titration curve did not change. Other lectins with the same or different sugar specificity either augmented or inhibited hemolysis but were less potent than Con A. Augmentation by Con A was consistent with the ability of lectin on the cell surface to bind but not activate guinea pig C1. Thus it appears that cell-bound Con A and IgG yield a complex that behaves like a doublet of IgG antibody molecules in its ability to fix and activate C1, when activation is dependent on the IgG component. In contrast, the highest dose of Con A inhibited by at least 50% the hemolytic activity of IgG antibodies against either a sugar-free protein (HSA) or a protein reactive with Con A (human myeloma IgE) using cells to which these antigens were coupled with chromic chloride. This suggests that the identity, density, and/or mode of presentation of the antigen on the cell surface may be important determinants of lectin-induced augmentation. Although both the enhancement or inhibition by Con A in the presence of whole C correlated with the number of C1 molecules bound and activated, there was no correlation with the ability of the lectin to agglutinate the cells.

Hemolytic efficiency of cell-bound IgM: evidence that IgM-C1 complexes activate C4 molecules not hemolytic with homologous C2--C9.

The hemolytic efficiency of rabbit-anti-Forssman IgM antibody depends on the source of complement components. With whole guinea pig complement as few as one in 10 IgM molecules was hemolytic; it was found that with purified guinea pig C1, C4, and C2 components and with rat late-acting components, all IgM molecules were hemolytic. Evidence indicates that the block occurred as a result of generating at least two different cell-bound C4 molecules, one of which was not competent with homologous late-acting components.