title: In vivo degradation of bacterial cell wall by the muralytic enzyme mutanolysin.
abstract: The muralytic enzyme mutanolysin can act in vivo to eliminate chronic erosive arthritis induced in rats by polymers of peptidoglycan-polysaccharide isolated from group A streptococci (PG-APS). The amounts of PG-APS in the livers and spleens of rats treated with mutanolysin were significantly reduced compared with the amounts in control rats treated with phosphate-buffered saline. However, the amounts of PG-APS in the limbs of mutanolysin- and phosphate-buffered saline-treated rats were comparable. PG-APS polymers extracted from the livers, spleens, and limbs of mutanolysin-treated rats were extensively degraded, whereas PG-APS extracted from phosphate-buffered saline-treated rats had a high molecular weight. We propose that mutanolysin abrogates arthritis in rats by degrading PG-APS polymers to a size which is no longer able to induce chronic erosive arthritis, even though the polymers are still present in the limbs.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001168:Arthritis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism*; D004487:Edema / Q000382:microbiology; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D005121:Extremities / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010457:Peptidoglycan; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D010450:Endopeptidases; C021816:mutanolysin