AJP - Regu Fuel your research with LabChart
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 260: R126-R133, 1991;
0363-6119/91 $5.00
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Johannsen, L.
Right arrow Articles by Krueger, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Johannsen, L.
Right arrow Articles by Krueger, J. M.

AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 260, Issue 1 126-R133, Copyright © 1991 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Macrophages produce somnogenic and pyrogenic muramyl peptides during digestion of staphylococci

L. Johannsen, J. Wecke, F. Obal Jr and J. M. Krueger
Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.

Muramyl peptides have a variety of biological effects in mammals, including enhancement of the immune response, sleep, and body temperature. Although mammals lack biosynthetic pathways for muramyl peptides, they are found in mammals and are well known as components of bacterial cell walls. This suggests that phagocytic mammalian cells digest bacterial cell walls and produce biologically active muramyl peptides. Staphylococcal cell walls were radioactively labeled during growth of the bacteria. During the digestion of these radiolabeled bacteria, murine bone marrow macrophages produced low-molecular-weight substances that coeluted chromatographically with the radioactive cell wall marker. Further separation of these substances using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography resulted in the isolation of substances with high specific biological activity. Intracerebroventricular injection of rabbits with these substances induced an increase in slow-wave sleep and body temperature and a suppression of rapid-eye-movement sleep. The characteristics of the biological responses and the chromatographic behavior of the active components are consistent with those of muramyl peptides. The ability of macrophages to tailor muramyl peptides from peptidoglycan may provide an amplification step for the immune response. Muramyl peptides released by macrophages may also act as mediators for various facets of the acute phase response elicited by bacterial infections such as fever and sleep.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol.Home page
L. Imeri, S. Bianchi, and M. Mancia
Muramyl dipeptide and IL-1 effects on sleep and brain temperature after inhibition of serotonin synthesis
Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, November 1, 1997; 273(5): R1663 - R1668.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Visit Other APS Journals Online