Redox, mutagenic and structural studies of the glutaredoxin/arsenate reductase couple from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The arsenate reductase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has been characterized in terms of the redox properties of its cysteine residues and their role in the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. Of the five cysteines present in the enzyme, two (Cys13 and Cys35) have been shown not to be required for catalysis, while Cys8, Cys80 and Cys82 have been shown to be essential. The as-isolated enzyme contains a single disulfide, formed between Cys80 and Cys82, with an oxidation-reduction midpoint potential (E(m)) value of -165mV at pH 7.0. It has been shown that Cys15 is the only one of the four cysteines present in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 glutaredoxin A required for its ability to serve as an electron donor to arsenate reductase, while the other three cysteines (Cys18, Cys36 and Cys70) play no role. Glutaredoxin A has been shown to contain a single redox-active disulfide/dithiol couple, with a two-electron, E(m) value of -220mV at pH 7.0. One cysteine in this disulfide/dithiol couple has been shown to undergo glutathionylation. An X-ray crystal structure, at 1.8? resolution, has been obtained for glutaredoxin A. The probable orientations of arsenate reductase disulfide bonds present in the resting enzyme and in a likely reaction intermediate of the enzyme have been examined by in silico modeling, as has the surface environment of arsenate reductase in the vicinity of Cys8, the likely site for the initial reaction between arsenate and the enzyme.     

The Effects of Rehydration and Oxygen on the Heat Resistance of High Vacuum Treated Spores

S ummary . Damage induced in bacterial spores by exposure to reduced pressures of the order of 10^-8 torr, has been assessed in terms of the differences in the heat resistance of the dried spores. The response of the spores has been assessed as a function of (a), the drying temperature from 0-65°; (b) the duration and level of rehydration; (c) the presence or absence of oxygen during heating. Comparison has also been made between spores dried to a given water level and spores rehydrated to the same water level after prolonged drying. Log survivors/heating time curves for treated spore samples have been constructed and have been shown to exhibit a shoulder at high survival levels and a linear portion below a surviving fraction of 0·1. These curves have been explained on the basis of the shoulder representing the time during which necessary structural changes occur in the spore, before the lethal mechanism responsible for the linear portion of the curve becomes operative. The heat response has been shown to be a function of the temperature of drying, and of the presence of oxygen during heating, the structural change itself being reversible by water.     

Comparative estimation of the EGFP effects on the development of embryos obtained by reciprocal crossing of C57BL/6-Tgn(ACTbEGFP01Osb/J and C57BL/6 mice

The effect of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) on the in vitro viability of early embryos of C57BL/6--Tgn(ACTbEGFP010sb/J mice has been studied. The number of viable ova in hemizygous females (-/egfp) has been shown to decrease. Irrespective of the EGFP level, it has no deleterious effect on the early development of embryos obtained by reciprocal crossing of hemizygous (-/egfp) and wild-type (-/-) mice.     

From triplex to B-form duplex stabilization: reversal of target selectivity by aminoglycoside dimers

Aminoglycosides have been shown to target A-form nucleic acids. Our work has previously shown that neomycin (and other aminoglycosides) bind and stabilize DNA/RNA triplexes and other A-form nucleic acids. We report herein the unexpected B-form duplex stabilization shown by aminoglycoside dimers (neomycin-neomycin and neomycin-tobramycin). The dimers are highly selective for AT rich duplexes and show high affinity (K(a) approximately 10(8)M(-1)) as determined by isothermal titration calorimetry.     

Effect of long-term thyroxine administration on the endocrine epithelium of rat pancreas]

The effect of prolonged thyroxine administration (0.001 mg/g BW) on pancreatic islets has been studied on 64 Wistar male rats by means of radioautographic, morphometric and electron microscopic methods. The phase response in the amount of the DNA-synthesising cells of the middle class islets has been revealed: the initial increase (5 days) is followed by a decrease (30 days) and then by a return to the control levels (60 days). The level of metabolism in sulphur-containing proteins has decreased in both A- and B-cells. After 30 days of the experiment, B/A cell volume ratio has been shown to increase. Electron microscopic studies have revealed ultrastructural reorganization of B-cells from "resting" B-cells into "dark" B-cells at increased excretion of secretory material.     

The effect of ionic strength on melting of DNA modified by platinum(II) complexes

Thermal denaturation of calf thymus DNA modified by antitumor cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cis-DDP) and by two related Pt(II) compounds which had been shown to be clinically inefective, viz. trans-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (trans-DDP) or monodentate diethylenetriaminechloroplatinum(II) chloride {[Pt(dien)Cl)]Cl}, was studied by monitoring changes of absorbance at 260 nm. The melting of DNA platinated to different levels was investigated in neutral media containing varying concentrations of Na⁺. It has been shown that the ionic strength has a strong influence on the character and magnitude of changes in the melting temperature of DNA (T_m) induced by the platination. The modification of DNA by either platinum complex used in this work results in an increase of T_m if DNA melting is measured in media containing low Na⁺ concentrations (ca. 1 mM). This effect is reversed at higher Na⁺ concentrations. The concentration of Na⁺ at which this reversal occurs is, however, markedly lower for DNA modified by cis-DDP than for DNA modified by the other two platinum complexes. These results have been iterpreted to mean that at least three factors affect the thermal stability of DNA modified by the platinum(II) complexes: stabilization effects of the positive charge on the platinum moiety and of interstrand cross-links, and a destabilization effect of conformational distortions in DNA. Thus, in order to compare and interpret the melting behavior of DNA modified by different compounds, a great attention has to be paid to the composition of the medium in which the melting experiments are carried out.     

The 5'-deoxyadenylic acid molecule conformational capacity: quantum-mechanical investigation using density functional theory (DFT)

Exhaustive conformational analysis of the 5'-deoxyadenylic acid molecule, has been carried out by the quantum-mechanical density functional theory method at the MP2/6-311++G(d,p)//DFT B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) theory level. As many as 726 of its conformations have been revealed with the relative gas phase Gibbs energies under standard conditions from 0 to 12.1 kcal/mole. It has been shown, that the energetically most favorable conformation has north sugar puckering and synorientation of the nitrogenous base and is stabilized by intramolecular O(p1)H(p1)-N3 and O3'H-O(p) hydrogen bonds. Four conformations have been shown to have their geometry similar to that of AI-DNA and four - of BI-DNA. One conformer of the 5'-deoxyadenylic acid molecule is similar to its sodium salt hexahydrate structure in crystalline state resolved by the X-ray diffraction method and taken from literature. It is shown that effective charges of C4' and C5' atoms are the most sensitive to the molecule conformation ones. The role of the intramolecular OH-N hydrogen bonds in formation of the 5'-deoxyadenylic acid molecule structure has been demonstrated.     

Biological microemulsions: Part III--The formation characteristics and transport properties of saffola-aerosol OT-hexylamine-water system.

The results of formation, phase behaviour and physical properties of biological microemulsions prepared from saffola/AOT/hexylamine/water in presence of different additives, viz. cholesterol, crown ether, urea and brine, are presented. It has been found that the additives and temperature have striking effects; mono-, bi- and triphasic solutions interchanging proportions among themselves. The conduction of microemulsion at different [Water/AOT] ratios (w = 9,10,14,18,20,39 and 45) has shown conspicuous dependence on temperature with a significant degree of percolation, whereas the dependence of viscosity on temperature has shown normal declining trend with temperature. A maximum in viscosity with respect to its variation with amount of water has been observed. The Walden product (lambda eta) has evidenced noncompensation of ion transport by conduction with the viscosity of the medium. The activation energies evaluated for conduction (delta E*cond) and viscosity (delta E*vis) are systematic except at [Water/AOT] ratio, w = 20. The additives cholesterol, crown ether and their mixture have shown a decreasing effect on the delta E*cond for percolation, whereas delta E*vis has increased in their presence. The bicontinuous microemulsion has the prospect for use as liquid membrane.     

Effect of biginelli pyrimidines on production of reactive oxygen species by polymorphonuclear leukocytes

The action of six synthetic Biginelli pyrimidines on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by polymorphonuclear leukocytes has been studied. It has been shown using the method of luminoldependent chemiluminescence that, at concentrations of 10–100 μM, these compounds stimulate the production of ROS by neutrophils stimulated by phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). The ROS production by PMA-stimulated neutrophils in the presence of 10 μM 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenylethyl)-4-(alkyl/aryl) substituted Biginelli pyrimidines increased by 50–90%. The priming action of Biginelli pyrimidines on the ROS production by neutrophils has been shown to increase when the furyl radical was replaced by phenyl and isopropyl radicals by the C(4) pyrimidine cycle and replacement of the benzyl substitute at N(1) by 3,4-phenylethyl. At a concentration of 0.01–0.1 μM, 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenylethyl)-4-(alkyl/aryl) substituted Biginelli pyrimidines had a high inhibitory activity. It has been found that 1-(2-[3,4-dimethoxyphenyl]-ethyl)-4-phenyl-5-carbethoxy-6-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-pyrimidinethion at high concentrations (1 mM and more) is able to induce a respiratory burst of neutrophils without additional stimulation.     

Repair of radiation induced DNA damages in unicellular green algae

Two cell repair systems--photoreactivation and repair of single-strand DNA breaks have been studied using unicellular green algae as a test-system. Effects of the genotype and the intensity of pico/second UV-laser irradiation on the degree of the photoreactivation have been investigated. It has been shown that the lower intensity (I = 8.10(6) W/cm2) effects less the inactivation of living cells comparing with I = 30.10(6) W/cm2, regardless of the genotype. The clearly expressed higher potentials of strains LARG-1 and 260 to produce and repair alterations of the cyclobutane-pyrimidine dimers type have been established. An analysis of DNA degradation during gamma rays irradiation and after incubation has been carried out for investigation the relationship between strains radioresistance and repair of single-strand break. It has been shown that high efficiency of the repair system is characteristic of the resistant strain obtained from chronically irradiated population.     

Immunogenic cell death,DAMPs and anticancer therapeutics: An emerging amalgamation

Immunogenic profile of certain cancer cell death mechanisms has been transmuted by research published over a period of last few years and this change has been so drastic that a new (sub)class of apoptotic cancer cell death, redefined as ‘immunogenic apoptosis’ has started taking shape. In fact, it has been shown that this chemotherapeutic agent-specific immunogenic cancer cell death modality has the capabilities to induce ‘anticancer vaccine effect’, in vivo. These new trends have given an opportunity to combine tumour cell kill and antitumour immunity within a single paradigm, a sort of ‘holy grail’ of anticancer therapeutics. At the molecular level, it has been shown that the immunological silhouette of these cell death pathways is defined by a set of molecules called ‘damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs)’. Various intracellular molecules like calreticulin (CRT), heat-shock proteins (HSPs), high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein, have been shown to be DAMPs exposed/secreted in a stress agent/factor-and cell death-specific manner. These discoveries have motivated further research into discovery of new DAMPs, new pathways for their exposure/secretion, search for new agents capable of inducing immunogenic cell death and urge to solve currently present problems with this paradigm. We anticipate that this emerging amalgamation of DAMPs, immunogenic cell death and anticancer therapeutics may be the key towards squelching cancer-related mortalities, in near future.     

A mutagenicity assessment of acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde has been shown in studies by several different laboratories to be a clastogen (chromosome-breaking) and inducer of sister-chromatid exchanges in cultured mammalian cells (Chinese hamster cells and human lymphocytes). Although there have been very few studies in intact mammals, the available evidence suggests that acetaldehyde produces similar cytogenetic effects in vivo. The production of cytogenetic abnormalities may be related to the ability of acetaldehyde to form DNA-DNA and/or DNA-protein cross-links. Acetaldehyde apparently has not been evaluated for its ability to cause gene mutations in cultured mammalian cells, but it has been shown to produce sex-linked recessive lethals in Drosophila. In general, bacteria tests have been negative. Although acetaldehyde is a genotoxic cross-linking agent, it does not appear to cause DNA strand breaks. There were no studies available regarding the potential of acetaldehyde to produce genetic damage in mammalian germ cells in vivo. Most mutagenicity testing on acetaldehyde has been motivated by attempts to define the proximate mutagen in ethanol metabolism.     

Regulation of SHIP2 function through plasma membrane interaction

A fundamental aspect of signalling concerns the precise cellular localization of the enzymes acting on phosphoinositides, particularly PtdIns(3,4,5)P₃. SHIP1/2 phosphatases, that dephosphorylate PtdIns(3,4,5)P₃ to PtdIns(3,4)P₂, have a series of interacting motives that favour protein:protein interactions. A large number of proteins, receptors, protein kinases, cytoskeletal and adaptor proteins have been shown to bind to SHIP1/2 thereby modulating their own function and localization. SHIP2 localization has been studied at endogenous level in a series of cell models (MEFs, COS-7 and HeLa cells). In cells maintained in serum, SHIP2 localization was shown to be perinuclear with some staining at the nuclear level as well. In response to EGF, SHIP2 has been shown to translocate to the periphery of the cells (i.e. plasma membranes). This effect was transient with a maximum at 15 min stimulation by EGF.     

Molecular genetic analysis of the pullalanase B gene of Bacillus acidopullulyticus

Abstract A fragment from Bacillus acidopullulyticus strain 294-16 encoding a pullunase activity has been cloned into Bacillus subtilis . The nucleotide sequence of the 3972 base pairs (bp) fragment has been determined and shown to include only one complete open reading frame (ORF) of 863 codons. The deduced amino acid sequence of this ORF, denoted pulB , shows homology to a number of amylolytic enzymes. Primary and secondary structure analysis indicates that the central region of the protein forms the catalytic domain in a characteristics ( β / α )₈ barrel. Three carboxylic acid residues essential for catalysis were identified. Regions within the catalytic domain proposed to be involved in substrate binding have been identified by homology.     

Purification of prostaglandin H synthetase and a fluorometric assay for its activity

Prostaglandin H synthetase (PGH synthetase) has been purified to homogeneity from sheep vesicular glands. The pure enzyme has a specific activity of about 40 microM of arachidonic acid consumed per minute per milligram of protein, which corresponds to a turnover number of 2800 min-1 per subunit. The purified enzyme was obtained by one-stage chromatography on DEAE-Toyopearl 650 from Tween 20-solubilized microsomes. A sensitive fluorometric assay for PGH synthetase activity using homovanillic acid (HVA) as electron donor has been proposed. It has been shown that homovanillic acid may be used as the electron donor and that in the presence of HVA the enzyme has an activity of approximately 40 microM/min/mg.     

Dynamics of peroxidation of brain tissue lipids in mice infected with influenza virus in the presence of immobilization stress

The poststress activation of peroxide oxidation reaction (POL) of lipids from brain tissue of the mice CBA and FI (CBA X C57 Black) has been confirmed. The principal difference in the nature of malonic dialdehyde level dynamics in brain tissue determined by a form of infectious process induced by influenza strain A/PR/8/34 pathogenic for mice has been found. The sublethal dose has been shown to activate while the lethal dose to suppress the POL process. Progression of influenza infection at the stress background was accompanied by a sharp unidirectional increase in MDA content in mice brain tissue. The increase was mostly expressed in case of mice infection with a lethal dose of the virus. The data obtained suggest a membrane mechanism for barrier damage as a reason of severing influenza infection by the stress background.     

Redox, mutagenic and structural studies of the glutaredoxin/arsenate reductase couple from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The arsenate reductase from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has been characterized in terms of the redox properties of its cysteine residues and their role in the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme. Of the five cysteines present in the enzyme, two (Cys13 and Cys35) have been shown not to be required for catalysis, while Cys8, Cys80 and Cys82 have been shown to be essential. The as-isolated enzyme contains a single disulfide, formed between Cys80 and Cys82, with an oxidation-reduction midpoint potential (E_m) value of − 165 mV at pH 7.0. It has been shown that Cys15 is the only one of the four cysteines present in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 glutaredoxin A required for its ability to serve as an electron donor to arsenate reductase, while the other three cysteines (Cys18, Cys36 and Cys70) play no role. Glutaredoxin A has been shown to contain a single redox-active disulfide/dithiol couple, with a two-electron, E_m value of − 220 mV at pH 7.0. One cysteine in this disulfide/dithiol couple has been shown to undergo glutathionylation. An X-ray crystal structure, at 1.8 Å resolution, has been obtained for glutaredoxin A. The probable orientations of arsenate reductase disulfide bonds present in the resting enzyme and in a likely reaction intermediate of the enzyme have been examined by in silico modeling, as has the surface environment of arsenate reductase in the vicinity of Cys8, the likely site for the initial reaction between arsenate and the enzyme.     

Preparation and characterization of sodium hexameta phosphate cross-linked chitosan microspheres for controlled and sustained delivery of centchroman

The cross-linked microspheres using chitosan with different molecular weights and degree of deacetylation have been prepared in presence of sodium hexameta polyphosphate (SHMP) as physical cross-linker. The degree of cross-linking through electrostatic interactions in chitosan microspheres has been evaluated by varying the charge density on chitosan and varying degree of dissociation of sodium hexameta polyphosphate by solution pH. The degree of deacetylation and molecular weight of chitosan has controlled electrostatic interactions between hexameta polyphosphate anions and chitosan, which played significant role in swelling, loading and release characteristics of chitosan microspheres for centchroman. The microspheres prepared by hexameta polyphosphate anions cross-linker were compact and more hydrophobic than covalently cross-linked microspheres, which has been attributed to the participation of all amino groups of chitosan in physical cross-linking with added hexameta polyphosphate anions. The microspheres prepared under different experimental conditions have shown an initial step of burst release, which was followed by a step of controlled release for centchroman. The extent of drug release in these steps has shown dependence on properties of chitosan and degree of cross-linking between chitosan and added polyanions. The degree of swelling and release characteristics of microspheres was also studied in presence of organic and inorganic salts, which shown significant effect on controlled characteristics of microspheres due to variations in ionic strength of the medium. The initial step of drug release has followed first order kinetics and become zero order after attaining an equilibrium degree of swelling in these microspheres. The microspheres prepared using chitosan with 62% (w/w) degree of deacetylation and molecular weight of 1134 kg mol⁻¹ have shown a sustained release for centchroman for 50 h at 4% (w/w) degree of cross-linking with SHMP.