Mitochondrial D-Loop Variation in Persian Multiple Sclerosis Patients: K and A Haplogroups as a Risk Factor!!

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a multifocal demyelinating central nervous system disorder in which interplay between genes and the environment are supposed to be involved. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has the only non-coding regions at the displacement loop (D-loop) region that contains two hypervariable segments (HVS-I and HVS-II) with high polymorphism. mtDNA has already been fully sequenced and many subsequent publications have showed polymorphic sites, haplogroups and haplotypes. Haplogroups could have important implications to understand association between mutability of the mitochondrial genome and disease. To assess relationship between mtDNA haplogroups and MS, we have sequenced the mtDNA HVS-I in 54 MS patients and 100 control subjects. We have found that haplogroups A and K are significantly more abundant in MS patients (P=0.042 for haplogroup A and P=0.0005 for haplogroup K). Thus, these two haplogroups might act synergistically to increase the penetrance of MS disease.     

Dinuclear terephthalato-bridged nickel(II) complexes. Structural characterization and magnetic properties

The dinuclear terephthalato-bridged nickel(II) complexes [Ni₂(cyclen)₂(μ-tp)](ClO₄)₂ (1) [Ni₂(trpn)₂(μ-tp)(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₂ (2) and [Ni₂(3,3,3-tet)₂(μ-tp)(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₂ · 2H₂O (3), where tp = terephthalate dianion, cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane, trpn = tris(3-aminopropyl)amine and 3,3,3-tet = 1,5,9,13-tetraazatridecane, were synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. Their magnetic susceptibilities were also determined at variable temperatures over the range 2-300 K. The structures of these complexes consist of μ-tp bridging two Ni(II) centers in a bis(bidentate) bonding fashion in 1 and in bis(monodentate) bonding fashion in 2 and 3. The coordination geometry around the Ni(II) ions in these compounds has a distorted octahedral geometry with four nitrogen atoms from the amine ligand (cyclen, trpn or 3,3,3-tet) and two coordinated oxygen atoms supplied by the chelated carboxylate group of the bridged terephthalate ligand in 1, and by one tp-carboxylate-oxygen in 2 and 3. The sixth coordination site in the last two complexes 2 and 3 is achieved via an oxygen atom from a coordinated water molecule. The intradimer Ni…Ni distances in these complexes are 10.740, 11.428 and 11.537 Å for 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The electronic spectra of the complexes in aqueous solutions are in complete agreement with the assigned X-ray geometry around the Ni(II) centers. Also, the analysis of the infrared spectral data for the ν(COO⁻) stretching frequencies of the tp-carboxalato groups reveals the existence of the bis(bidentate) and bis(monodentate) coordination modes for the bridged terephthalate ligand in 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Despite the different coordination modes of the tp bridging ligand in these complexes, they all exhibit very weak antiferromagnetic coupling. The coupling constants J were found to be −2.2, −0.6 and −1.5 cm³ K mol⁻¹ for the complexes 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The structural and magnetic results of 1-3 are discussed in relation to the other related published μ-terephthalato dinuclear Ni(II) compounds.     

Analysis of HLA DR2&;DQ6 (DRB1*1501, DQA1*0102, DQB1*0602) Haplotypes in Iranian Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is prototype of inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system .The etiology of MS remains unclear, but according to current data the disease develops in genetically susceptible individuals and may require additional environmental triggers. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles (DRB1*1501, DQA1*0102, DQB1*0602) may have the strongest genetic effect in MS. In this study, the role of these alleles were investigated in 183 Iranian patients with multiple sclerosis and compared with 100 healthy individuals. HLA typing for DRB1*1501, DQA1*0102, DQB1*0602 was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method. The results show that, HLA DR B1*1501 was significantly more frequent among MS patients (46% vs. 20%, PV = 0.0006) but DQA1*0102 haplotype was negatively associated with MS (30% vs. 50%, PV = 0.0049) and no significant association was found with DQB1*0602 and MS patients in comparison with control group (24% and 30%, PV = 0.43). No significant correlation was observed among these alleles with sex, type of disease; initial symptoms, expanded disability status scale (EDSS), as well as age at onset and familial MS. This study therefore indicates that there is no association of above HLA haplotypes with clinical presentation, disease duration, and disability in Iranian patients with MS which is in line with other previous studies in different ethnic groups.     

Up- and down-modulation of liver cytochrome P450 activities and associated events in two murine malaria models

Background

The mechanisms by which malaria up and down-regulates CYP activities are not understood yet. It is also unclear whether CYP activities are modulated during non-lethal malaria infections. This study was undertaken to evaluate the time course of CYP alterations in lethal (Plasmodium berghei ANKA) and non-lethal (Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi) murine malaria. Additionally, hypotheses on the association of CYP depression with enhanced nitric oxide (NO) production, and of CYP2a5 induction with endoplasmic reticulum dysfunction, enhanced haem metabolism and oxidative stress were examined as well.

Methods

Female DBA-2 and C57BL/6 mice were infected with P.berghei ANKA or P. chabaudi and killed at different post-infection days. Infection was monitored by parasitaemia rates and clinical signs. NO levels were measured in the serum. Activities of CYP1a (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase), 2b (benzyloxyresorufin-O-debenzylase), 2a5 (coumarin-7-hydroxylase) and uridine-diphosphoglucuronyl-transferase (UGT) were determined in liver microsomes. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity and concentrations of gluthatione (GSH) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were determined in the liver. Levels of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were evaluated by immunoblotting, while mRNAs of haemoxygenase-1 (HO-1) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were determined by quantitative RT-PCR.

Results

Plasmodium berghei depressed CYP1a and 2b and induced 2a5 in DBA-2 mice. In P.berghei-infected C57BL/6 mice CYP activities remained unaltered. In both strains, GST and UGT were not affected by P.berghei. Plasmodium c. chabaudi depressed CYP1a and 2b and induced 2a5 activities on the day of peak parasitaemia or near this day. CYP2a5 induction was associated with over-expression of HO-1 and enhanced oxidative stress, but it was not associated with GRP78 induction, a marker of endoplasmic reticulum stress. Plasmodium chabaudi increased serum NO on days near the parasitaemia peak in both strains. Although not elevating serum NO, P.berghei enhanced iNOS mRNA expression in the liver.

Conclusion

Down-regulation of CYP1a and 2b and induction of 2a5 occurred in lethal and non-lethal infections when parasitaemia rates were high. A contribution of NO for depression of CYP2b cannot be ruled out. Results were consistent with the view that CYP2a5 and HO-1 are concurrently up-regulated and suggested that CYP2a5 induction may occur in the absence of enhanced endoplasmic reticulum stress.     

Structural and magnetic characterization of a novel series of dinuclear Cu(II) complexes bridging by 2,5-pyrazine dicarboxylate

A new series of dinuclear 2,5-pyrazine dicarboxylato-bridged copper(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. The complexes have the general structural formula [Cu₂(L)₂(μ-pyzdc)](ClO₄)₂·nH₂O where L = TPA, n = 2 (1); L = pmedien, n = 2 (2); L = aepn, n = 3 (3); L = dpt, n = 2 (4); L = Medpt, n = 0 (5); L = dien, n = 0 (6) and L = MeDPA, n = 2 (7) with TPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine, pmdien = N,N,N′,N′′,N′′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine, aepn = N-(2-aminoethyl)-1,3-diaminopropane, dpt = dipropylene-triamine, Medpt = 3,3′-diamino-N-methyldipropylamine, dien = diethylenetriamine, MeDPA = N,N-di(2-pyridylmethyl)methylamine. In these complexes, the bridging nature of the 2,5-pyrazine dicarboxylato ligand (pyzdc) was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The structure of the TPA complex 1 consists of μ-pyzdc bridging two Cu(II) centers in a bis(monodentate) bonding fashion through a single oxygen atom supplied by each carboxylate group of the bridged pyzdc in a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry achieved by the four nitrogen atoms from the TPA ligand. In the complexes 2-5 derived from tridentate amines, the bridged pyzdc acts as a bis(bidentate) ligand in a distorted square pyramidal geometry achieved by one nitrogen and one carboxylate-oxygen of pyzdc, and by the three N-atoms of the amine coligands. The intradimer Cu?Cu distances in the complexes 2-5 are in the range 6.97-7.45 ? and in it is 10.96 ? in 1. The corresponding intermolecular distances are even shorter (5.34-7.99 ?). The susceptibility measurements at variable temperatures over the 5-300 K range reveal weak antiferromagnetic coupling with J values ranging from −0.61 to −4.78 cm⁻¹.     

Simultaneous determination of plasmatic phytosterols and cholesterol precursors using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with selective ion monitoring (SIM)

Phytosterols (beta-sitosterol, cholestanol and campesterol) and cholesterol precursors (desmosterol and lathosterol), have been suggested as important biochemical markers of intestinal cholesterol absorption and liver biosynthesis, respectively, and as useful clinical parameters in the study of hypercholesterolemia, beta-sitosterolemia, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, including pharmacological response to hypolipidemic agents. We developed an optimised analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of cholestanol, desmosterol, lathosterol, campesterol and beta-sitosterol in plasma using capillary gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with multiple selected ion monitoring (SIM). This method is based on the alkaline hydrolysis of sterol esters, extraction of free sterols and derivatization. The recovery of all sterols was in the range 76-101%. Within-day relative standard deviations (R.S.Ds.) and the between-day R.S.Ds. of cholestanol, desmosterol, lathosterol, campesterol and beta-sitosterol were less than 8%, and their plasma levels in 161 normal subjects were (mean+/-S.D.) 4.73+/-2.57, 2.37+/-1.04, 6.23+/-3.14, 3.67+/-1.95 and 5.92+/-3.62 micromol/l, respectively.     

Evolution of differential substrate specificities in Mu class glutathione transferases probed by DNA shuffling

A library of variant enzymes was created by combined shuffling of the DNA encoding the human Mu class glutathione transferases GST M1-1 and GST M2-2. The parental GSTs are 84 % sequence identical at the protein level, but their specific activities with the substrates aminochrome and 2-cyano-1,3-dimethyl-1-nitrosoguanidine (cyanoDMNG) differ by more than 100-fold. Aminochrome is of particular interest as an oxidation product of dopamine and of possible significance in the etiology of Parkinson's disease, and cyanoDMNG is a model for genotoxic and potentially carcinogenic nitroso compounds. GST M2-2 has at least two orders of magnitude higher catalytic activity with both of the substrates than any of the other known GSTs, including GST M1-1. The DNA library of variant Mu class GST sequences contained "mosaic" structures composed of alternating segments of both parental sequences. All clones contained the 5'-end of a GST M1-1 clone optimized for high-level expression in Escherichia coli. The remainder of the sequences derived from segments of GST M2-2 and GST M1-1 DNA. All of the clones analyzed contained between two and seven distinct DNA segments. In addition, each clone contained an average of approximately one point mutation. None of the library clones analyzed was identical with either of the two parental structures. Variant GST sequences were expressed in E. coli, and their enzymatic activities with aminochrome, cyanoDMNG, and 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) were determined in bacterial lysates. Such screening of more than 70 clones demonstrated a continuous range of activities covering at least two orders of magnitude for each of the substrates. For a given clone, the activities with aminochrome and cyanoDMNG, in spite of their different chemistries, were clearly correlated, whereas no strong correlation was found with CDNB. This functional correlation suggests a common structural basis for the enzymatic mechanisms for conjugation of aminochrome and denitrosation of cyanoDMNG. From an evolutionary perspective, the results show that recombination of segments from homologous proteins gives rise to a large proportion of functionally competent proteins with a range of activities. The data support the proposal that natural evolution of protein functions may involve recombination of DNA segments followed by selection for advantageous functional properties of the resulting proteins. Clearly, the same approach can be utilized in the engineering of proteins displaying novel functions by in vitro evolution.     

Variable N-terminal regions of muscle myosin heavy chain modulate ATPase rate and actin sliding velocity

We integratively assessed the function of alternative versions of a region near the N terminus of Drosophila muscle myosin heavy chain (encoded by exon 3a or 3b). We exchanged the alternative exon 3 regions between an embryonic isoform and the indirect flight muscle isoform. Each chimeric myosin was expressed in Drosophila indirect flight muscle, in the absence of other myosin isoforms, allowing for purified protein analysis and whole organism locomotory studies. The flight muscle isoform generates higher in vitro actin sliding velocity and solution ATPase rates than the embryonic isoform. Exchanging the embryonic exon 3 region into the flight muscle isoform decreased ATPase rates to embryonic levels but did not affect actin sliding velocity or flight muscle ultrastructure. Interestingly, this swap only slightly impaired flight ability. Exchanging the flight muscle-specific exon 3 region into the embryonic isoform increased actin sliding velocity 3-fold and improved indirect flight muscle ultrastructure integrity but failed to rescue the flightless phenotype of flies expressing embryonic myosin. These results suggest that the two structural versions of the exon 3 domain independently influence the kinetics of at least two steps of the actomyosin cross-bridge cycle.     

(-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate induced apoptosis by dissociation of c-FLIP/Ku70 complex in gastric cancer cells

Anti-cancer properties of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) are mediated via apoptosis induction, as well as inhibition of cell proliferation and histone deacetylase. Accumulation of stabilized cellular FLICE-inhibitory protein (c-FLIP)/Ku70 complex in the cytoplasm inhibits apoptosis through interruption of extrinsic apoptosis pathway. In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer role of EGCG in gastric cancer (GC) cells through dissociation of c-FLIP/Ku70 complex. MKN-45 cells were treated with EGCG or its antagonist MG149 for 24 h. Apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry and quantitative RT-PCR. Protein expression of c-FLIP and Ku70 was analysed using western blot and immunofluorescence. Dissociation of c-FLIP/Ku70 complex as well as Ku70 translocation were studied by sub-cellular fractionation and co-immunoprecipitation. EGCG induced apoptosis in MKN-45 cells with substantial up-regulation of P53 and P21, down-regulation of c-Myc and Cyclin D1 as well as cell cycle arrest in S and G2/M check points. Moreover, EGCG treatment suppressed the expression of c-FLIP and Ku70, decreased their interaction while increasing the Ku70 nuclear content. By dissociating the c-FLIP/Ku70 complex, EGCG could be an alternative component to the conventional HDAC inhibitors in order to induce apoptosis in GC cells. Thus, its combination with other cancer therapy protocols could result in a better therapeutic outcome.     

Automatic sequencing of mitochondrial tRNA genes in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy

We have investigated nine children with infantile onset of mitochondrial myopathy and two adults with myoclonus epilepsy and ragged-red fibers (MERRF) and chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO), respectively. These patients lacked any of the previously known pathogenic tRNA mutations. Southern blot analysis of muscle mtDNA revealed no deletions. The tRNA genes of muscle mtDNA were sequenced. Restriction enxyme analysis of PCR fragments was performed to verify the presence of the mutations identified by automatic sequencing. Several tRNA mutations were found, but they were all homoplasmic. Furthermore, the mutations were either present in controls or did not change nucleotides conserved between species. This strongly suggests that none of the tRNA mutations identified in the 11 patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy was pathogenic. It can thus be concluded that mitochondrial tRNA mutations and mtDNA deletions probably are an infrequent cause of mitochondrial disorders in infants. Patients with MERRF and CPEO may lack both pathogenic point mutations of tRNA genes and deletions of mtDNA.