Isolation,Culture and Long-Term Maintenance of Primary Mesencephalic Dopaminergic Neurons From Embryonic Rodent Brains

Degeneration of mesencephalic dopaminergic (mesDA) neurons is the pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s diseae. Study of the biological processes involved in physiological functions and vulnerability and death of these neurons is imparative to understanding the underlying causes and unraveling the cure for this common neurodegenerative disorder. Primary cultures of mesDA neurons provide a tool for investigation of the molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological properties, in order to understand the development, long-term survival and degeneration of these neurons during the course of disease. Here we present a detailed method for the isolation, culturing and maintenance of midbrain dopaminergic neurons from E12.5 mouse (or E14.5 rat) embryos. Optimized cell culture conditions in this protocol result in presence of axonal and dendritic projections, synaptic connections and other neuronal morphological properties, which make the cultures suitable for study of the physiological, cell biological and molecular characteristics of this neuronal population.     

Ghrelin receptors in human gastrointestinal tract during prenatal and early postnatal development

The aim of our study was to investigate the appearance, density and distribution of ghrelin cells and GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b in the human stomach and duodenum during prenatal and early postnatal development. We examined chromogranin-A and ghrelin cells in duodenum, and GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b expression in stomach and duodenum by immunohistochemistry in embryos, fetuses, and infants. Chromogranin-A and ghrelin cells were identified in the duodenum at weeks 10 and 11 of gestation. Ghrelin cells were detected individually or clustered within the base of duodenal crypts and villi during the first trimester, while they were presented separately within the basal and apical parts of crypts and villi during the second and third trimesters. Ghrelin cells were the most numerous during the first (∼11%) and third (∼10%) trimesters of gestation development. GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b were detected at 11 and 16 weeks of gestation, showed the highest level of expression in Brunner's gland and in lower parts of duodenal crypts and villi during the second trimester in antrum, and during the third trimester in corpus and duodenum. Our findings demonstrated for the first time abundant duodenal expression of ghrelin cells and ghrelin receptors during human prenatal development indicating a role of ghrelin in the regulation of growth and differentiation of human gastrointestinal tract.     

Malaria-induced reduction of fecundity during the first gonotrophic cycle of Anopheles Stephensi mosquitoes

Abstract. Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes which had fed upon mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis malaria parasites produced significantly fewer eggs than mosquitoes fed on an uninfected mouse. Fecundity reduction was more pronounced when the bloodmeal contained malaria gametocytes and the mosquitoes developed oocysts. Egg production and haematin excretion were correlated for uninfected bloodfed mosquitoes; the presence of P.y. nigeriensis in the blood affected this relationship. Reduced fecundity was associated with a significant reduction of bloodmeal size (measured by haematin excretion) in mosquitoes which ingested gametocytaemic blood. The bloodmeal size in mosquitoes fed on parasitaemic blood without gametocytes was not significantly reduced. The use of haematin assays for determination of bloodmeal size in mosquitoes is discussed.     

N-phenyl ureidobenzenesulfonates,a novel class of promising human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitors

N-phenyl ureidobenzenesulfonates (PUB-SOs) is a new class of promising anticancer agents inducing replication stresses and cell cycle arrest in S-phase. However, the pharmacological target of PUB-SOs was still unidentified. Consequently, the objective of the present study was to identify and confirm the pharmacological target of the prototypical PUB-SO named 2-ethylphenyl 4-(3-ethylureido)benzenesulfonate (SFOM-0046) leading to the cell cycle arrest in S-phase. The antiproliferative and the cytotoxic activities of SFOM-0046 were characterized using the NCI-60 screening program and its fingerprint was analyzed by COMPARE algorithm. Then, human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH) colorimetric assay, uridine rescuing cell proliferation and molecular docking in the brequinar-binding site were performed. As a result, SFOM-0046 exhibited a mean antiproliferative activity of 3.5 μM in the NCI-60 screening program and evidenced that leukemia and colon cancer cell panels were more sensitive to SFOM-0046. COMPARE algorithm showed that the SFOM-0046 cytotoxic profile is equivalent to the ones of brequinar and dichloroallyl lawsone, two inhibitors of hDHODH. SFOM-0046 inhibited the hDHODH in the low nanomolar range (IC₅₀ = 72 nM) and uridine rescued the cell proliferation of HT-29, HT-1080, M21 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines in the presence of SFOM-0046. Finally, molecular docking showed a binding pose of SFOM-0046 interacting with Met43 and Phe62 present in the brequinar-binding site. In conclusion, PUB-SOs and notably SFOM-0046 are new small molecules hDHODH inhibitors triggering replication stresses and S-phase arrest.     

A novel Golgi mannosidase inhibitor: Molecular design,synthesis, enzyme inhibition,and inhibition of spheroid formation

Effective chemotherapy for solid cancers is challenging due to a limitation in permeation that prevents anticancer drugs from reaching the center of the tumor, therefore unable to limit cancer cell growth. To circumvent this issue, we planned to apply the drugs directly at the center by first collapsing the outer structure. For this, we focused on cell–cell communication (CCC) between N-glycans and proteins at the tumor cell surface. Mature N-glycans establish CCC; however, CCC is hindered when numerous immature N-glycans are present at the cell surface. Inhibition of Golgi mannosidases (GMs) results in the transport of immature N-glycans to the cell surface. This can be employed to disrupt CCC. Here, we describe the molecular design and synthesis of an improved GM inhibitor with a non-sugar mimic scaffold that was screened from a compound library. The synthesized compounds were tested for enzyme inhibition ability and inhibition of spheroid formation using cell-based methods. Most of the compounds designed and synthesized exhibited GM inhibition at the cellular level. Of those, AR524 had higher inhibitory activity than a known GM inhibitor, kifunensine. Moreover, AR524 inhibited spheroid formation of human malignant cells at low concentration (10 µM), based on the disruption of CCC by GM inhibition.     

Identification of the Active Sites in the Methyltransferases of a Transcribing dsRNA Virus

Many double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses are capable of transcribing and capping RNA within a stable icosahedral viral capsid. The turret of turreted dsRNA viruses belonging to the family Reoviridae is formed by five copies of the turret protein, which contains domains with both 7-N-methyltransferase and 2′-O-methyltransferase activities, and serves to catalyze the methylation reactions during RNA capping. Cypovirus of the family Reoviridae provides a good model system for studying the methylation reactions in dsRNA viruses. Here, we present the structure of a transcribing cypovirus to a resolution of ~ 3.8 Å by cryo-electron microscopy. The binding sites for both S-adenosyl-l-methionine and RNA in the two methyltransferases of the turret were identified. Structural analysis of the turret in complex with RNA revealed a pathway through which the RNA molecule reaches the active sites of the two methyltransferases before it is released into the cytoplasm. The pathway shows that RNA capping reactions occur in the active sites of different turret protein monomers, suggesting that RNA capping requires concerted efforts by at least three turret protein monomers. Thus, the turret structure provides novel insights into the precise mechanisms of RNA methylation.