The threat of nuclear radiation terrorism has prompted a widespread search for defenses against this menace. Radiation destroys the bone marrow (BM) and depletes the body of white blood cells (WBC or leukocytes) that defend against infection and disease. In this immune-weakened state, the body is more susceptible to infection and may become overwhelmed before the immune system has time to recov...

Cell wall transferases utilizing beta-(1-3)-glucan chains as substrates may play important roles in cell wall assembly and rearrangement, as beta-(1-3)-glucan is a major structural component of the cell wall of many fungi. A novel beta-(1-3)-glucanosyltransferase was purified to apparent homogenei ty from an autolysate of the cell wall of Aspergillus fumigatus. The enzyme had a molecular mass o...

(1,3;1,4)-beta-D-glucans consist of unbranched and unsubstituted chains of (1,3)- and (1,4)-beta-glucosyl residues, in which the ratio of (1,4)-beta-D-glucosyl residues to (1,3)-beta-D-glucosyl residues appears to influence not only the physicochemical properties of the polysaccharide and therefore its functional properties in cell walls, but also its adoption by different plant species during ...

Glucans are structurally diverse fungal biopolymers that stimulate innate immunity and are fungal pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Dectin-1 is a C-type lectin-like pattern recognition receptor that binds glucans and induces innate immune responses to fungal pathogens. We examined the effect of glucan structure on recognition and binding by murine recombinant Dectin-1 with a library of na...

Although cyclic glucans have been shown to be important for a number of symbiotic and pathogenic bacterium-plant interactions, their precise roles are unclear. Here, we examined the role of cyclic beta-(1,2)-glucan in the virulence of the black rot pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv campestris (Xcc). Disruption of the Xcc nodule development B (ndvB) gene, which encodes a glycosyltransferase req...

We have investigated the molecular basis for the reported synergism between peptaibols and cell wall hydrolytic enzymes in the antagonism of phytopathogenic fungi by Trichoderma harzianum. beta-Glucan synthase activity on isolated plasma membranes of Botrytis cinerea was inhibited in vitro by the peptaibols trichorzianin TA and TB, and this inhibition was reversed by the addition of phosphatidy...

The UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase (UGGT) is an endoplasmic reticulum sensor for quality control of glycoprotein folding. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the only eukaryotic organism so far described lacking UGGT-mediated transient reglucosylation of N-linked oligosaccharides. The only gene in S. cerevisiae with similarity to those encoding UGGTs is KRE5. S. cerevisiae KRE5 deletion s...

beta(1-->3)-Glucans are potent proinflammatory agents that have been suggested to play a role in indoor-related respiratory health effects. The aim of this study was to assess whether beta(1-->3)-glucan concentrations in house dust are correlated with levels of endotoxins, allergens, and culturable mold spore counts in house dust. Further, the associations of beta(1-->3)-glucan with housing cha...

Papulacandin B, an antifungal agent that interferes with the synthesis of yeast cell wall (1,3)beta-D-glucan, was used to isolate resistant mutants in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The resistance to papulacandin B always segregated as a recessive character that defines a single complementation group in both yeasts (pbr1+ and PBR1, respectively). Determination of severa...

A novel, potent, semisynthetic pneumocandin, L-733,560, was used to isolate a resistant mutant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This compound, like other pneumocandins and echinocandins, inhibits 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthase from Candida albicans (F.A. Bouffard, R.A. Zambias, J. F. Dropinski, J.M. Balkovec, M.L. Hammond, G.K. Abruzzo, K.F. Bartizal, J.A. Marrinan, M. B. Kurtz, D.C. McFadden, K.H. Nol...