GMP-140 is an integral membrane glycoprotein of apparent Mr = 140,000 located in secretory storage granules of platelets and vascular endothelial cells. When these cells are activated, GMP-140 redistributes from the membrane of the granules to the plasma membrane. To gain insight into the potential function of GMP-140, we examined aspects of its structure and biosynthesis. The amino acid compos...

Innate immunity is the primary mechanism by which extracellular bacterial pathogens are effectively cleared from the lung. We have previously shown that cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP [c-diguanylate]) is a novel small molecule immunomodulator and immunostimulatory agent that triggers protective host innate immune responses. Using a murine model of bacterial pneumonia, we show that local intranasal (i....

Biofilms formed by bacterial pathogens are responsible of more than 70% of all infections in developed countries and are less sensitive to treatments with antimicrobial agents. The ubiquitous second messenger 3', 5'-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) is used in most bacteria to control the switch to the biofilm lifestyle; c-di-GMP has no counterpart in eukaryotic cells and thus it is an ideal ta...

The bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) signaling pathway regulates biofilm formation, virulence, and other processes in many bacterial species and is critical for their survival. Two classes of c-di-GMP-binding riboswitches have been discovered that bind this second messenger with high affinity and regulate diverse downstream genes, underscoring the importance of RNA ...

In recent years, the potential of glycosylated food components to positively influence health has received considerable attention. Milk is a rich source of biologically active glycoconjugates which are associated with antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anti-adhesion, anti-inflammatory and prebiotic properties. Glycomacropeptide (GMP) is the C-terminal portion of kappa-casein that is released from...

Upon Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection of the gut, an early line of defense is the gastrointestinal epithelium which senses the pathogen and intrusion along the epithelial barrier is one of the first events towards disease. Recently, we showed that high intracellular amounts of the secondary messenger c-di-GMP in S. typhimurium inhibited invasion and abolished induction of a pro...

We have measured the levels of 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP) in isolated retinas from toad to investigate their correlation to the opening and closing of the light-dependent permeability of photoreceptors. When Ca2+-induced changes in cyclic GMP concentration are compared with the Ca2+-induced changes in the permeability of photoreceptor light-dependent channel, four quantitative d...

A large number of genes coding for enzymes predicted to synthesize and degrade 3'-5-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) is found in most bacterial genomes and this dinucleotide emerged as an intracellular signal-controlling bacterial behaviour. An association between high levels of c-di-GMP and antibiotic resistance may be expected because c-di-GMP regulates biofilm formation and this mode of gro...

We evaluated the effects of guanosine 5'-monophosphate (GMP)-chelated calcium and iron (CaFe-GMP) on health and egg quality in layers experimentally infected with Salmonella Gallinarum. In this study, a CaFe-GMP feed additive was added to a commercial layer feed and fed to layers over a four-week period. All were inoculated with Salmonella Gallinarum. Body weight, mortality, clinical symptoms, ...