We immobilize hydrolases such as lipase and chitinase on superparamagnetic particles, which are subjected to a rotational magnetic field, and measure the activities of the enzymes. We find that the activities of lipase and chitinase increase in the rotational magnetic field compared to those in the absence of a magnetic field and reach maximum at certain frequencies. The present methodology may...

Acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) is produced in the lung during allergic inflammation and asthma, and inhibition of enzymatic activity has been considered as a therapeutic strategy. However, most chitinase inhibitors are nonselective, additionally inhibiting chitotriosidase activity. Here, we describe bisdionin F, a competitive AMCase inhibitor with 20-fold selectivity for AMCase over chitot...

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) is an important enzyme for the remodeling of chitin in the cell wall of fungi. We have cloned three chitinase genes (CHT1, CHT2, and CHT3) from the dimorphic human pathogen Candida albicans. CHT2 and CHT3 have been sequenced in full and their primary structures have been analyzed: CHT2 encodes a protein of 583 aa with a predicted size of 60.8 kDa; CHT3 encodes a protein ...

This study concerned the production, purification and application of extracellular chitinase from Cellulosimicrobium cellulans strain 191. In shaken flasks the maximum yield of chitinase was 6.9 U/mL after 72 h of cultivation at 25°C and 200 rpm. In a 5 L fermenter with 1.5 vvm aeration, the highest yield obtained was 4.19 U/mL after 168 h of fermentation at 25°C and 200 rpm, and using 3 vvm, i...

Family 18 chitinases play key roles in organisms ranging from bacteria to man. There is a need for specific, potent inhibitors to probe the function of these chitinases in different organisms. Such molecules could also provide leads for the development of chemotherapeuticals with fungicidal, insecticidal, or anti-inflammatory potential. Recently, two natural product peptides, argifin and argadi...

The effect of supplementation of medium with rapeseed meal (RM) on production of biotechnologically important enzymes was investigated in submerged cultures of the white rot fungus Cerrena unicolor. The addition of RM (3.5% w/v) distinctly stimulated the activities of laccase, chitinase, and β-glucosidase. As compared to the control, the activities of chitinase, β-glucosidase, and laccase in th...

Culture filtrates and autolysates of Coccidioides immitis have provided suitable crude antigens for the serodiagnosis and prognosis of coccidioidomycosis. One of these, a heat-labile antigen which participates in the immunodiffusion reaction corresponding to the complement fixation reaction (IDCF), has been characterized as a 110-kDa native protein that, when subjected to reducing conditions an...

Many fungi, including pathogenic strains, require proper chitin metabolism to assure normal cell wall replication. Chitinase hydrolyzes chitin; inhibition of endogenous chitinases or application of extracellular chitinases can disrupt fungal division. It is possible that chitinase inhibitors could be used as antifungal agents. We have solved the X-ray structure of a class I1 chitinase from barl...

Sequence data for genes encoding 16S rRNA indicated that the marine strain previously named Pseudomonas sp. strain S9 would be better identified as a Pseudoalteromonas sp. By use of transposon mutagenesis, a chitinase-negative mutant of S9 with a lacZ reporter gene insertion was isolated. Part of the interrupted gene was cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence had homology to sequ...

Both chitinase Al and D from Bacitlas eireulans WL-12 speeifically hydrolyzed the IY-acetyl-fi-D-glucosaminidic bonds in 50% ?VLacetylated chitesan molecules to produce hetero-oligosaccharides with GlcNAc at the reducing end residues, together with GlcNAc and (GlcNAc}2. ClcN-GlcNAc and ClcN-GlcNAc-GlcNAc were produced as major hydrolysis products with chitinase Al and D, respectiyely, but GlcN-...