Miltefosine (hexadecylphosphocholine), the first oral drug against visceral leishmaniasis, triggered pneumococcal autolysis at concentrations higher than 2.5 microM. Bactericidal activity was also observed in cultures of other streptococci, although these failed to undergo lysis. The autolysis elicited by miltefosine can be attributed to triggering of the pneumococcal autolysin LytA.

The autolysin AcmA of Lactococcus lactis was shown to be degraded by the extracellular lactococcal proteinase PrtP. Autolysis, as evidenced by reduction in optical density of a stationary-phase culture and concomitant release of intracellular proteins, was greatly reduced when L. lactis MG1363 cells expressed the cell wall-anchored lactococcal proteinase PrtP of the PI-type caseinolytic specifi...

The optimum conditions for autolysis and autoplast formation in Clostridium acetobutylicum P262 have been defined. Autolysis was optimal at pH 6.3 in 0.04 M sodium phosphate buffer, and the bacterium produced latent and active forms of an autolytic enzyme. The ability of cells to autolyze decreased sharply when cultures entered the stationary phase. Autoplasts were induced by 0.25 to 0.5 M sucr...

Asphyxia is one of the implicit causes of intrapartum death. The most affected are the organs of respiratory and digestive systems, filled with different substances or structures of the feto-maternal metabolism. Inside these organs, the cells of the mucosal epithelium suffer cellular autolysis and are completely removed. The loss of structure can reach the depths of the mucous membrane. In some...

Extracellular DNA is an important component of the biofilm matrix. Now, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is shown to control autolysis through the production of HQNO, a quorum-sensing-regulated respiratory poison. Thus, HQNO-driven autolysis links programmed cell death with quorum sensing and biofilm formation.

1. Under certain conditions, general autolysis does not begin immediately upon the removal of the organ from its circulation. This latent period is more apt to be present in those cases in which the tissues have been temporarily cooled on account of the use of a cold saline diluent or in which the percentage concentration of the inorganic salts (calcium or potassium), of the tissues have been c...