Re: methylation cycle and Bb

[Guest guest]

So is it a good idea to take extra folic acid, to keep

down the homocysteine, since the bacteria use it for

their own advantage. jimd

--- Kate <KateDunlay@...> wrote:

> Hey Rich,

>

> Is this anything new?

>

> - Kate

>

> 1: Int J Med Microbiol. 2006 May;296 Suppl

> 40:92-102. Epub 2006 Mar 10.

> Functionality of Borrelia burgdorferi LuxS: the

> Lyme disease

> spirochete produces and responds to the pheromone

> autoinducer-2 and

> lacks a complete activated-methyl cycle.

>

> * von Lackum K,

> * Babb K,

> * Riley SP,

> * Wattier RL,

> * Bykowski T,

> * son B.

>

> Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and

> Molecular Genetics,

> College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, MS 415

> Chandler Medical

> Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0298, USA.

>

> Borrelia burgdorferi produces Pfs and LuxS

> enzymes for breakdown

> of the toxic byproducts of methylation reactions,

> producing 4,5-

> dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD), adenine, and

> homocysteine. DPD and

> its spontaneously rearranged derivatives constitute

> a class of

> bacterial pheromones named autoinducer-2 (AI-2). We

> describe that B.

> burgdorferi produces DPD during laboratory

> cultivation. Furthermore,

> addition of in vitro synthesized DPD to cultured B.

> burgdorferi

> resulted in altered expression levels of a specific

> set of bacterial

> proteins, among which is the outer surface

> lipoprotein VlsE. While a

> large number of bacteria utilize homocysteine, the

> other LuxS

> product, for synthesis of methionine as part of the

> activated-methyl

> cycle, B. burgdorferi was found to lack that

> ability. We propose that

> the main function of B. burgdorferi LuxS is to

> synthesize DPD and

> that the Lyme disease spirochete utilizes a form of

> DPD as a

> pheromone to control gene expression.

>

> PMID: 16530477 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi, Kate.

All I can say is that it's new to me. I'm not completely sure what

the significance of it is, though. I think that the fact that

Borrelia burgdorferi does not operate the methylation cycle is

consistent with the fact that it does not make glutathione, either.

I think that's also consistent with the fact that it is able to

lower the level of glutathione and the activity of glutathione

peroxidase in its host, presumably to suppress the immune system,

without causing problems for itself. Clever little beastie!

Rich

>

> Hey Rich,

>

> Is this anything new?

>

> - Kate

>

> 1: Int J Med Microbiol. 2006 May;296 Suppl 40:92-102. Epub 2006

Mar 10.

> Functionality of Borrelia burgdorferi LuxS: the Lyme disease

> spirochete produces and responds to the pheromone autoinducer-2

and

> lacks a complete activated-methyl cycle.

>

> * von Lackum K,

> * Babb K,

> * Riley SP,

> * Wattier RL,

> * Bykowski T,

> * son B.

>

> Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular

Genetics,

> College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, MS 415 Chandler

Medical

> Center, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0298, USA.

>

> Borrelia burgdorferi produces Pfs and LuxS enzymes for

breakdown

> of the toxic byproducts of methylation reactions, producing 4,5-

> dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD), adenine, and homocysteine. DPD

and

> its spontaneously rearranged derivatives constitute a class of

> bacterial pheromones named autoinducer-2 (AI-2). We describe that

B.

> burgdorferi produces DPD during laboratory cultivation.

Furthermore,

> addition of in vitro synthesized DPD to cultured B. burgdorferi

> resulted in altered expression levels of a specific set of

bacterial

> proteins, among which is the outer surface lipoprotein VlsE. While

a

> large number of bacteria utilize homocysteine, the other LuxS

> product, for synthesis of methionine as part of the activated-

methyl

> cycle, B. burgdorferi was found to lack that ability. We propose

that

> the main function of B. burgdorferi LuxS is to synthesize DPD and

> that the Lyme disease spirochete utilizes a form of DPD as a

> pheromone to control gene expression.

>

> PMID: 16530477 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

>