Urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG), a reliable oxidative stress marker in hypertension

The potential use of oxidative stress products as disease markers and progression is an important aspect of biomedical research. In the present study, the quantification of urine 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) concentration has been used to express the oxidation status of hypertensive subjects.

8-oxo-dG has been simultaneously isolated and assayed in nuclear (nDNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In addition, oxidative stress of mononuclear cells has been estimated by means of GSH and GSSG levels and GSSG/GSH ratio in hypertensive subjects before and after antihypertensive treatment. It is shown that oxidative stress decreases significantly in hypertensive patients after treatment the effect being accompanied by reduction of their blood pressure.

A significant correlation is observed comparing the yield of urine 8-oxo-dG and that isolated from mitochondria DNA. Moreover, urinary excretion of 8-oxo-dG also correlates with the GSSG/GSH ratio of cells. Conclusion: urine 8-oxo-dG assay is a good marker for monitoring oxidative stress changes in hypertensives.     

Expression and purification of functional human anthrax toxin receptor (ATR/TEM8) binding domain from Escherichia coli

Anthrax is caused by the gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax receptors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the anthrax disease. Anthrax toxin receptor ATR/TEM8 VWA domain is responsible for the binding of protective antigen (PA) of B. anthracis, and thus an attractive target for structure-based drug therapies. However, the production of soluble and functional ATR/TEM8 VWA domain currently requires the use of mammalian expression systems. In this work, we expressed the ATR/TEM8 VWA domain as a fusion protein in Escherichia coli. Recombinant ATR/TEM8 VWA domain has been purified to homogeneity, and its identity has been verified by both N-terminal protein microsequencing and mass spectrometry. The purified ATR/TEM8 VWA domain exhibits very high affinity to PA based on BIAcore assay. Moreover, like the domain expressed in mammalian system, the bacterially expressed ATR/TEM8 VWA domain can block cytotoxicity induced by anthrax toxins, suggesting that the bacterially expressed ATR/TEM8 VWA domain is properly folded and fully functional.     

S100A8/A9 in COVID-19 pathogenesis: Impact on clinical outcomes

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a broad range of clinical manifestations, highlighting the need for specific diagnostic tools to predict disease severity and improve patient prognosis. Recently, calprotectin (S100A8/A9) has been proposed as a potential biomarker for COVID-19, as elevated serum S100A8/A9 levels are associated with critical COVID-19 cases and can distinguish between mild and severe disease states. S100A8/A9 is an alarmin that mediates host proinflammatory responses during infection and it has been postulated that S100A8/A9 modulates the cytokine storm; the hallmark of fatal COVID-19 cases. However, it has yet to be determined if S100A8/A9 is a bona-fide biomarker for COVID-19. S100A8/A9 is widely implicated in a variety of inflammatory conditions, such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), as well as pulmonary infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and influenza. Therefore, understanding how S100A8/A9 levels correlate with immune responses during inflammatory diseases is necessary to evaluate its candidacy as a potential COVID-19 biomarker. This review will outline the protective and detrimental roles of S100A8/A9 during infection, summarize the recent findings detailing the contributions of S100A8/A9 to COVID-19 pathogenesis, and highlight its potential as diagnostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for pulmonary infectious diseases, including COVID-19.     

C8/119S mutation of major mite allergen Derf-2 leads to degenerate secondary structure and molecular polymerization and induces potent and exclusive Th1 cell differentiation

Hyposensitization therapy for atopic diseases has been conducted for decades but suffered from many problems including anaphylactic reactions. We previously developed a mutant protein of the major mite allergen Derf-2, C8/119S, which showed reduced binding to IgE. The C8/119S mutant was shown to exhibit more efficient hyposensitizing effect than Derf-2 in the animal model of allergic bronchial asthma. In the present study, we indicate that C8/119S exhibits markedly augmented immunogenicity for the proliferation of Derf-2-specific human T cells and T cell clones irrespective of the epitope specificity as compared with Derf-2. Furthermore, C8/119S has induced potent and almost exclusive differentiation of Th1 cells from the peripheral blood of atopic patients in vitro. Neither Ag dosage effect nor absence of B cell-mediated Ag presentation could fully account for these effects. C8/119S has been indicated to lose the characteristic beta-barrel structure as judged by circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis and to polymerize solubly in physiological condition. Heating of Derf-2 also caused less stable molecular aggregation, but it hardly affected the secondary structure and failed to induce such a polarity toward the Th1 cell differentiation. These results have indicated that the degenerate secondary structure of C8/119S leading to stable molecular polymerization is primarily responsible for the marked increase in T cell-immunogenicity and the induction of exclusive Th1 cell differentiation in atopic patients. It has been suggested strongly that the recombinant C8/119S protein can provide an effective Ag with the least risk of anaphylaxis for allergen immunotherapy against house dust mite in human.     

Evidence for the role of retinal receptors R 7/8 in the orientation behaviour of the fly

The height orientation of flying houseflies Musca domestica has been analyzed:

1. The luminance threshold of the orientation behaviour has been determined. It corresponds to the luminance threshold needed for the optomotor response in the torque released by the receptors R 7/8 (Eckert, 1973).
2. The direction of the E-vector of the linearly polarized stimulating light has been varied at a luminance just above threshold. It was found that the ability of the fly to fixate is dependent upon this parameter.
3. The rhabdomeres R 1–6 and/or 7/8 have been stimulated selectively and the threshold of the height orientation response has been measured under the different conditions of stimulation. It has been found that the threshold of luminance, when all receptors are stimulated, is almost identical to the threshold when only the receptors R 7/8 are stimulated. If the receptors R 1–6 are stimulated specifically the response threshold is rised by 1 to 2 decades of illuminance, as compared to the specific stimulation of R 7/8.

It is concluded that the results of all experiments are in accordance with the hypothesis, that the receptors R 7/8 are necessary for the orientation behaviour.     

An analysis of genes for resistance against two Indian cultures of stem rust races of two bread wheats

Summary Two bread wheat accessions, E5008 and E6160, have been genetically analysed for resistance genes effective against Indian cultures of stem rust races, 15C and 122. The inheritance of resistance to each race has been determined from the F1 and F2 of the crosses (resistant parents with the susceptible variety, Agra Local) and F2 progenies from the backcross to Agra Local. Tests have been performed to see if the two varieties carry common genes/s for resistance. The identity of the genes for resistance has been established from relevant crosses with single gene lines carrying known genes for resistance.A single dominant gene effective to race 15C in E5008 has been demonstrated to be Sr9b. Of the two recessive genes, each producing distinct infection types (0; and 1–3) against race 122, one gene has been inferred to be Sr12 and the second to be a hitherto undesignated gene.The resistance of E6160 against race 15C is controlled by two genes, one dominant and one recessive. The dominant gene has been identified as Sr9b. The recessive gene has been inferred to be a new gene. Similarly, a dominant gene effective against race 122 in E6160 has been observed to be different from those so far designated. In addition, the presence of modifier gene/s in the variety, E6160 has been suggested.     

Urinary 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG), a reliable oxidative stress marker in hypertension

The potential use of oxidative stress products as disease markers and progression is an important aspect of biomedical research. In the present study, the quantification of urine 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) concentration has been used to express the oxidation status of hypertensive subjects.

8-oxo-dG has been simultaneously isolated and assayed in nuclear (nDNA) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). In addition, oxidative stress of mononuclear cells has been estimated by means of GSH and GSSG levels and GSSG/GSH ratio in hypertensive subjects before and after antihypertensive treatment. It is shown that oxidative stress decreases significantly in hypertensive patients after treatment the effect being accompanied by reduction of their blood pressure.

A significant correlation is observed comparing the yield of urine 8-oxo-dG and that isolated from mitochondria DNA. Moreover, urinary excretion of 8-oxo-dG also correlates with the GSSG/GSH ratio of cells. Conclusion: urine 8-oxo-dG assay is a good marker for monitoring oxidative stress changes in hypertensives.     

The homologous restriction factor is immunologically related to complement components C8 and C9 and to lymphocyte pore-forming protein perforin through cysteine-rich domains

The 65 kDa C8-binding protein or homologous restriction factor (C8bp/HRF) protects cells from complement (C)-mediated lysis by binding to C8 and abrogating lytic channel formation. Human C8bp/HRF is shown here to be immunologically related to human C8 and C9 and to murine lymphocyte poreforming protein (PFP, perforin). Polyclonal antibodies raised against purified C8, C9 and perforin react with C8bp/HRF. The antigenic epitopes shared by these four proteins are limited to cysteine-rich or disultide bridge-masked domains. Only complement proteins or perforin that have been disulfide-reduced elicit the production of cross-reactive antibodies when used as immunogens. Analogously, only C8bp/HRF that has been disulfide-reduced reacts with these antibodies. These results suggest that C8bp/HRF may belong to the complement/perforin supergene family. The function of homologous domains shared by these four proteins remains to be elucidated.     

Abiotic formation of oligonucleotides on basalt surfaces

The complication and further evolution of abiotic syntheses products occurred under environmental influences at the prebiological stage. From this point of view, the influence of some types of irradiation on the organic molecules adsorbed on the surfaces of volcanic rocks, appeared to be of great importance. In this connection, the effect of gamma rays on the AMP molecules adsorbed on mineral surfaces such as cinders and ashes has been studied. It has been shown that they can polymerize with the formation of oligonucleotides. The treatment of oligomers obtained by venom phosphodiesterase has shown that a polymeric product has mainly 3–5 and 2–5 bonds between nucleotides. The results obtained have been discussed from the evolutionary aspect.     

Synthesis and biological properties of new 5-nitroindazole derivatives

A series of new 3-alkoxy- or 3-hydroxy-1-[omega-(dialkylamino)alkyl]-5-nitroindazoles have been synthesized and their trichomonacidal, antichagasic and antineoplastic properties studied. Five derivatives (5, 6, 8, 9 and 17) showed remarkable trichomonacidal activity against Trichomonas vaginalis at 10 microg/mL concentration. Three compounds (8, 10, 11) exhibited interesting antichagasic activity and these same compounds moderate antineoplastic activity against TK-10 and HT-29 cell lines. Unspecific cytotoxicity against macrophages has also been evaluated and only compounds 9, 10 and 11 resulted cytotoxic at the higher dose evaluated (100 microg/mL), loosing cytotoxicity at lower doses. QSAR studies have been carried out. X-ray crystallographic study of compound 8 has been performed.     

Energetic approach to the folding of alpha/beta barrels

The folding of a polypeptide into a parallel (alpha/beta)8 barrel (which is also called a circularly permuted beta 8 alpha 8 barrel) has been investigated in terms of energy minimization. According to the arrangement of hydrogen bonds between two neighboring beta-strands of the central barrel therein, such an alpha/beta barrel structure can be folded into six different types: (1) left-tilted, left-handed crossover; (2) left-tilted, right-handed crossover; (3) nontilted, left-handed crossover; (4) nontilted, right-handed crossover; (5) right-tilted, left-handed crossover; and (6) right-tilted, right-handed crossover. Here "tilt" refers to the orientational relation of the beta-strands to the axis of the central beta-barrel, and "crossover" to the beta alpha beta folding connection feature of the parallel beta-barrel. It has been found that the right-tilted, right-handed crossover alpha/beta barrel possesses much lower energy than the other five types of alpha/beta barrels, elucidating why the observed alpha/beta barrels in proteins always assume the form of right tilt and right-handed crossover connection. As observed, the beta-strands in the energy-minimized right-tilted, right-handed crossover (alpha/beta)8-barrel are of strong right-handed twist. The value of root-mean-square fits also indicates that the central barrel contained in the lowest energy (alpha/beta)8 structure thus found coincides very well with the observed 8-stranded parallel beta-barrel in triose phosphate isomerase (TIM). Furthermore, an energetic analysis has been made demonstrating why the right-tilt, right-handed crossover barrel is the most stable structure. Our calculations and analysis support the principle that it is possible to account for the main features of frequently occurring folding patterns in proteins by means of conformational energy calculations even for very complicated structures such as (alpha/beta)8 barrels.     

N-Acetyl Transferase,Shati/Nat8l,in the Dorsal Hippocampus Suppresses Aging-induced Impairment of Cognitive Function in Mice

As the elderly population rapidly increases worldwide, the onset of cognitive dysfunction is expected to increase. Although neuronal plasticity, neurogenesis, and mitochondrial dysfunction have been reported to be involved in cognitive function, the detailed mechanism of cognitive impairment accompanied by aging is poorly understood as there are many confounding factors associated with aging. Therefore, effective treatments for aging have not yet been developed, and the establishment of therapeutic strategies has not progressed accordingly. We have previously found a decline of cognitive function in the developmental stage in mice who lack the expression of Shati/Nat8l, an N-acetyl transferase However, the contribution of Shati/Nat8l to cognitive impairment in aged mice has not yet been investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of Shati/Nat8l in cognitive function during aging. We observed a reduction in Shati/Nat8l mRNA expression in the dorsal hippocampus of mice as a result of their aging. Moreover, the cognitive dysfunction observed in aged mice was reversed by Shati/Nat8l overexpression in the dorsal hippocampus. Shati/Nat8l overexpression in the dorsal hippocampus of mice did not alter the expression of neurotrophic factors or mitochondrial function-related genes, including Bdnf or Pgc-1α, which are suggested to be downstream genes of Shati/Nat8l. Decreased N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) in aged mice was upregulated by Shati/Nat8l overexpression, suggesting that the Shati/Nat8l-NAA pathway determines cognitive function with aging. Taken together, Shati/Nat8l and NAA in the dorsal hippocampus may be novel targets for the treatment of cognitive impairment.

     

Endogenous DNA damage as related to cancer and aging

The endogenous background level of oxidant-induced DNA damage in vivo has been assayed by measuring 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (oh8dG), thymine glycol and thymidine glycol in urine and oh8dG in DNA. The level of oxidative DNA damage as measured by oh8dG in normal rat liver is shown to be extensive (1/130,000 bases in nuclear DNA and 1/8000 bases in mitochondrial DNA), especially in mtDNA. The methylation adduct 7-methylguanine (m7G) has also been found. m7G is one of about 5 adducts found on methylating DNA, and oh8dG is one of about 20 adducts found on oxidizing DNA, e.g., by radiation. We also discuss 3 hitherto unrecognized antioxidants in man.     

Monomeric class I molecules mediate TCR/CD3 epsilon/CD8 interaction on the surface of T cells.

Both CD8 and the TCR bind to MHC class I molecules during physiologic T cell activation. It has been shown that for optimal T cell activation to occur, CD8 must be able to bind the same class I molecule that is bound by the TCR. However, no direct evidence for the class I-dependent association of CD8 and the TCR has been demonstrated. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we show directly that a single class I molecule causes TCR/CD8 interaction by serving as a docking molecule for both CD8 and the TCR. Furthermore, we show that CD3epsilon is brought into close proximity with CD8 upon TCR/CD8 association. These interactions are not dependent on the phosphorylation events characteristic of T cell activation. Thus, MHC class I molecules, by binding to both CD8 and the TCR, mediate the reorganization of T cell membrane components to promote cellular activation.     

Serum and urine levels of interleukin-8 in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Angiogenesis plays an important role in many types of cancer. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is known to be a pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic cytokine, and IL-8 has been reported to be associated with tumor progression, prognosis and survival in several types of cancers. However, the role of IL-8 in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has not been fully determined. Here, we evaluated the usefulness of measuring serum and urine IL-8 levels in patients with NHL. We developed reference intervals for serum and urine IL-8 level in 131 control individuals. We measured serum IL-8 and urine IL-8 levels in patients with NHL, and we compared the concentrations with those of control individuals. The reference intervals for serum IL-8 and urine IL-8 corrected by creatinine (Cr) were 15.9-430.3 pg/mL and 0.0-28.4 pg/mg Cr, respectively. The concentrations of urine IL-8/Cr were significantly higher in patients than in controls (48.9+/-194.4 vs. 5.2+/-13.8 pg/mg Cr, P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in serum IL-8 concentrations between NHL patients and controls (159.2+/-40.4 vs. 99.6+/-107.1 pg/mL; P=0.099). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis gave 0.83 and 0.43 ROC area values for urine IL-8/Cr and serum IL-8, respectively. There was no correlation between the serum and urine concentrations of IL-8 and clinical variables, the only exception being the international prognostic index (IPI), which showed a marginal correlation with urine IL-8/Cr levels (P=0.07). This study indicated that urine IL-8/Cr levels might be useful as a diagnostic marker of NHL.     

Two Lyt-2 polypeptides arise from a single gene by alternative splicing patterns of mRNA

The Lyt-2/3 molecule is a glycoprotein expressed on T lymphocytes and has classically been considered a marker for the cytotoxic/suppressor T cell subset. It has been postulated to be a receptor for class I major histocompatibility complex proteins. We have used a cDNA clone encoding the analogous human protein, Leu-2/T8, to isolate mouse cDNA clones, which were used as probes to isolate mouse genomic clones. By transfection we have shown that the mouse homologue of Leu-2/T8 is Lyt-2 and not Lyt-3. We have further demonstrated that two Lyt-2 polypeptide chains are encoded by a single gene and result from alternative modes of mRNA splicing. The nucleotide sequence of cDNA clones encoding each of these polypeptide chains has been determined and shows the difference between the two Lyt-2 polypeptide chains to be in the lengths of their cytoplasmic tails.     

甲状旁腺素、胰岛素样生长因子-Ⅰ对骨特征性标志蛋白的影响

为了阐明甲状旁腺素（ｐａｒａｔｈｙｒｏｉｄｈｏｒｍｏｎｅ,ＰＴＨ）、胰岛素样生长因子－Ⅰ（ｉｎｓｕｌｉｎ－ｌｉｋｅｇｒｏｗｔｈｆａｃｔｏｒ－Ⅰ,ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ）在促成骨样细胞ＲＯＳ１７／２．８增殖的同时对其分化状况的影响,研究了ＰＴＨ、ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ对骨特征性标志蛋白碱性磷酸酶（ａｌｋａｌｉｎｅｐｈｏｓｐｈａｔａｓｅ,ＡＬＰ）活性、骨钙素（ｏｓｔｅｏｃａｌ－ｃｉｎ）ｍＲＮＡ表达及骨胶原蛋白（ｃｏｌａｇｅｎ）合成的影响．结果表明,ＰＴＨ、ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ均可抑制ＡＬＰ活性,ＰＴＨ的抑制作用强于ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ,抑制作用具有时间剂量依赖性;ＰＴＨ、ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ均可诱导骨钙素ｍＲＮＡ表达增加;ＰＴＨ能够促进３Ｈ－脯氨酸参入新生小鼠颅骨组织,既ＰＴＨ能够骨胶原蛋白合成增加．这些结果提示,ＰＴＨ、ＩＧＦ－Ⅰ在促成骨样细胞ＲＯＳ１７／２．８增殖的同时也促进其分化,表明在成骨细胞的生发成熟过程中,增殖、分化现象相辅相成,相伴而行．     

Deletion of core fucosylation on alpha3beta1 integrin down-regulates its functions

The core fucosylation (alpha1,6-fucosylation) of glycoprotein is widely distributed in mammalian tissues. Recently alpha1,6-fucosylation has been further reported to be very crucial by the study of alpha1,6-fucosyltransferase (Fut8)-knock-out mice, which shows the phenotype of emphysema-like changes in the lung and severe growth retardation. In this study, we extensively investigated the effect of core fucosylation on alpha3beta1 integrin and found for the first time that Fut8 makes an important contribution to the functions of this integrin. The role of core fucosylation in alpha3beta1 integrin-mediated events has been studied by using Fut8(+/+) and Fut8(-/-) embryonic fibroblasts, respectively. We found that the core fucosylation of alpha3beta1 integrin, the major receptor for laminin 5, was abundant in Fut8(+/+) cells but was totally abolished in Fut8(-/-) cells, which was associated with the deficient migration mediated by alpha3beta1 integrin in Fut8(-/-) cells. Moreover integrin-mediated cell signaling was reduced in Fut8(-/-) cells. The reintroduction of Fut8 potentially restored laminin 5-induced migration and intracellular signaling. Collectively, these results suggested that core fucosylation is essential for the functions of alpha3beta1 integrin.     

Etude chimio-taxonomique dans le genre cistus

The composition of 3 species of genus Cistus L. has been analysed and compared: C. labdaniferus L. contains essentially compounds of labdane type, namely labdane-8, 15, 19-triol whose structure has been confirmed; C. monspeliensis L. contains almost exclusively compounds having a new squeleton, the cistane, with a cis-junction of A and B; no cyclic diterpenes have been isolated from C. salvifolius L. which has been found rich in unsaturated aliphatic acids one of which is a mono conjugated triethylenic acid.