Several intracellular pathogens exploit macrophages as a niche for survival and replication. The success of this strategy requires the subversion or the avoidance of microbicidal functions of macrophages. Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is a strictly intracellular bacterium that multiplies in myeloid cells. The survival of C. burnetii may depend on the selective use of macrophage recep...

A comparative study of the removal of Pb2+ ions and Cr3+ ions was conducted to determine the efficiency of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) produced using microwave heating as an adsorbent in removing heavy metal ions from waste water. Optimization of parameters such as adsorbent dosage, pH value, agitation speed, and agitation time was done using the Design Expert software version 6.0. The statistical ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by murine macrophages in response to cytokines and/or gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide. NO induction by gram-positive bacteria such as group B streptococci (GBS), the major etiologic agents of neonatal pneumonia and meningitis, has received little study. GBS as well as two other gram-positive bacterial species, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epi...

A plasticized Cr3+ ion sensor by incorporating 2,3,8,9-tetraphenyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododeca-1,3,7,9-tetraene (TTCT) ionophore exhibits a good potentiometric response for Cr3+ over a wide concentration range (1.0 x 10(-6)-1.0 x 10(-1) M) with a slope of 19.5 mV per decade. The sensor response is stable for at least three months. Good selectivity for Cr3+ in comparison with alkali, alkaline e...

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) with a deficiency of the complement receptor type 3 (CR3) membrane glycoprotein family have impairments in the ability to adhere to surfaces as well as chemotactic and phagocytic defects, processes that require a functional contractile apparatus. PMN from the patient with neutrophil actin dysfunction (NAD) displayed similar functional characteristics to those ...

Three children from two unrelated families had a history of recurrent bacterial infections, and their neutrophils were shown to have deficient phagocytic and respiratory responses and possible deficiencies in chemotaxis or adherence. Their neutrophils were strikingly deficient in the ability to ingest or give a respiratory burst in response to unopsonized bakers' yeast or zymosan (Z). Tests for...

Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) is a key apical-basal polarity determinant and Par complex component. It is recruited by Par3/Baz (Bazooka in Drosophila) into epithelial apical domains through high-affinity interaction. Paradoxically, aPKC also phosphorylates Par3/Baz, provoking its relocalization to adherens junctions (AJs). We show that Par3 conserved region 3 (CR3) forms a tight inhibitory ...

Nonopsonic invasion of mononuclear phagocytes by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is likely important in the establishment of a primary infection in the lung. M. tuberculosis binds to a variety of phagocyte receptors, of which the mannose receptor and complement receptor type 3 (CR3) may support nonopsonic binding. CR3, a beta2 integrin, is a target for diverse intracellular pathogens, but its role i...

Cupriavidus sp. are generally heavy metal tolerant bacteria with the ability to degrade a variety of aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, although the degradation pathways and substrate versatilities remain largely unknown. Here we studied the bacterium Cupriavidus gilardii strain CR3, which was isolated from a natural asphalt deposit, and which was shown to utilize naphthenic acids as a sole carbon...

Previous investigations of p150,95 (CD11c), the third member of the CD18 membrane glycoprotein family that includes CR3 (Mac-1 or CD11b) and LFA-1 (CD11a), had demonstrated that solubilized p150,95 bound to iC3b-agarose in a manner similar to isolated CR3. The current study showed that membrane surface p150,95 also expressed iC3b-receptor activity and was probably the same as the neutrophil rec...