缺钼培养的蓝藻吸氢

培养液中缺钼时,蓝藻(Anabaena 7120)吸氢量显著下降,补加钼时吸氢量恢复到有钼培养的蓝藻水平。缺钼培养的蓝藻吸氢对氧和CO都敏感,暗中经乙炔或光下以分子氢预处理后,吸氢量减少。光下缺钼培养的蓝藻吸氢比暗中高,光合抑制剂和结合态氮明显地抑制此种蓝藻吸氢。     

蓝藻(Anabaena 7120)的光合放氢和参与放氢的酶

蓝藻Anabaena 7120放氢是一个依赖于光的过程,暗中几乎测不出放氢活性。静置方式培养的蓝藻预先进行强化培养是测得高放氢活性的重要条件。年轻的蓝藻放氢活性比年老的高。氯化铵和一系列光合作用抑制剂对蓝藻放氢有抑制作用,弱光加剧氯化铵对放氢的抑制。在弱光加光合抑制剂的条件下,受氯化铵抑制的放氢活性恢复速度比强光下慢。CO_2、N_2、NaN_3和KNO_3与放氢竞争电子而抑制蓝藻的放氢。C_2H_2促进蓝藻放氢,CO则抑制放氢,C_2H_2和CO一起加入时,放氢受到的促进显著比单加C_2H_2的大。经分子氢预处理过的蓝藻,其放氢活性在光下可以得到明显的促进。     

短期高温伤害蓝藻Anabaena7120的固氮活性恢复与生理条件的关系

蓝藻经短期高温处理后,其固氮活性显著下降,但在合宜条件下,这种受伤害的固氮活性可以有一定程度的恢复。光下不仅比暗中恢复快,而且活性也高得多。光合抑制剂和外源碳水化合物分别减缓和促进受高温伤害的蓝藻固氮活性恢复。在光、暗和供给外源碳水化合物的条件下,厌氧(氩和氮中)对受高温伤害的蓝藻固氮活性恢复不利。与正常蓝藻有异的是,H_2,CO_2及H_2与O_2,CO_2与N_2的加合都阻碍受高温伤害的蓝藻固氮活性的恢复。     

缺钼培养的蓝藻Anabaena 1720放氢的研究

培养液中缺钼时,蓝藻Anabaena 7120的放氢受到削弱,其削弱程度比固氮活性的削弱小。此种蓝藻的放氢对CO和氧都敏感,预先以乙炔处理时,其放氢即受抑制,而在光下以分子氢预处理则促进放氢。这类蓝藻光下放氢比暗中高,当添加光合抑制剂或氯化铵于反应系统时,其放氢便明显下降。     

分子氮影响下的蓝藻Anabaena7120乙炔还原

经分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原活性下降。分子氮对乙炔还原的抑制作用可因CO_2的加入而削弱,氮浓度增高时,CO_2的此种有益作用即消失。在5％ CO_2条件下:(1)光照强度大时,经分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原活性比未经处理的(氮气中)高些,弱光下则削弱,暗中削弱更大;(2)它受到光合抑制剂的抑制较大;(3)对CO_2和O_2的敏感度比未经氮预处理者小;(4)分子氢对其支持与来经氮预处理的相差甚微,但对其受O_2损伤时的保护作用则大些;(5)MSX对分子氮预处理的蓝藻乙炔还原也有明显的抑制,且比单加CO_2的大。     

不同生理条件下外源蔗糖对蓝藻固氮去铵阻抑的影响

外源蔗糖促进蓝藻固氮和其去铵阻抑。空气氧下蔗糖的促进作用比厌氧(氩)中更显著,而且此种促进作用只有在光下才表现出来。暗中或添加光合抑制剂时蔗糖的促进作用消失。在有蔗糖的条件下,O_2,H_2和N_2 CO_2对蓝藻固氮和其去铵阻抑都没有良好作用,但H_2 O_2对其则有一定程度的促进。     

蓝藻Anabaena 7120光漂白细胞的吸氢

蓝藻光漂白细胞吸氢比其正常细胞小,对CO和O_2也很敏感。C_2H_2和分子氢预处理都导致蓝藻光漂白细胞吸氢下降。光下蓝藻光漂白细胞吸氢明显高于暗中,光强大的高于光强小的,暗中很微弱。此种吸氢也可为光合抑制剂所削弱或抑制。     

酰胺态氮瞬间调节荚膜红假单孢菌光合固氮活性的GS传感机制

天门冬酰胺(Asn)和谷氨酰胺(Gln)对荚膜红假单孢菌固氮酶活性抑制,在表观上类似于氨关闭效应,这种抑制效应由GS参与,相似于氨抑的传感机制。中断Gln代谢的6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine(DON)存在时,氨抑的持续时间延长,与此相类似,Gln抑制加剧,这可能归之于Gln的积累。但是,Gln抑制被methionine sulfoximine(MSX,GS的抑制剂)消除,消除时MSX对Gln的浓度比值约为0.2,与氨抑消除所需的MSX对氨的浓度比值相当。此外,MSX消除氨抑不为DON拮抗,表明Gln抑制固氮酶活性由GS传感。然而,不能抑制GS转谷酰基活性的methionine suffone(MSF,谷氨酸的类似物)却与MSX相同,能消除Gln和氨对固氮活性的抑制。上述观察结果也可延伸至Asn的关闭固氮酶活性效应。     

蓝藻Anabaena 7120固氮的光调节

蓝藻Anabaena 7120固氮是一个依赖于光的过程,暗中乙炔还原活性检测不出来。预先以强光、弱光或黑暗对蓝藻进行短期处理,也会引起其固氮活性呈现相应的高低差异。在蓝藻固氮反应中加入NH_4Cl、KNO_3或尿素等结合态氮时,乙炔还原活性即受到抑制,弱光加剧这种抑制,受尿素抑制的蓝藻固氮活性恢复时,强光下比弱光下快。一系列光合抑制剂对蓝藻固氮活性都有抑制作用,弱光下此种抑制加剧。尿素和此类抑制剂对蓝藻固氮活性呈现协同性抑制,其效应和弱光下尿素对固氮抑制加剧是一致的。受尿素抑制的蓝藻固氮活性恢复过程中,加入光合抑制剂的恢复慢,而且只能维持在一个很低的水平上。     

MSX1通过与GRP78相互作用促进前列腺癌细胞PC-3增殖

同源异型框蛋白在发育中具有非常重要的作用,而同源异型框蛋白的异常表达和很多人类疾病相关,其中就包括前列腺癌的发生发展。我们通过分析TCGA数据库中前列腺癌病人样本MSX1的表达量发现,在肿瘤样本中MSX1表达量显著高于非肿瘤样本。因此我们检测正常永生化前列腺基底细胞系WPMY-1、雄激素依赖的前列腺癌细胞系LNCa P、雄激素非依赖的前列腺癌细胞系PC-3中MSX1的表达量,发现在雄激素依赖的前列腺癌细胞系LNCa P中MSX1表达量最高。为了探究MSX1在前列腺癌细胞中的作用,我们选取MSX1表达量较低且不受雄激素调控的PC-3细胞作为研究对象。研究表明过表达MSX1可以显著促进PC-3细胞的增殖。我们通过免疫沉淀技术确定了MSX1与GRP78蛋白相互作用,而GRP78蛋白可以调控AKT、ERK1/2等细胞周期相关蛋白从而调控细胞周期等细胞进程。因此推测MSX1通过和GRP78相互作用从而促进前列腺癌细胞增殖。我们的研究为阐明MSX1在前列腺癌发生发展中作用机理提供了一定的理论参考依据。     

沙蜇(Stomolophus meleagris)刺丝囊毒素生物活性的初步分析

从沙蜇触手提取刺丝囊细胞毒素,并对该毒素进行溶血活性、致死活性、SOD活性和抗肿瘤活性的研究。结果显示,沙蜇毒素具有明显的溶血活性,其半溶血率(HU50)约为10.5μg/ml;该毒素还对草鱼显示出较强的致死活性,半致死量(LD50)为50μg毒素/g鱼;同时该毒素具有明显的SOD活性和抗肿瘤活性,当毒素浓度为18μg/ml时其总SOD活性为161 U/mg,而毒素浓度为1 mg/ml时,该毒素对肝癌细胞Bel-7402表现出显著的抑制效果,其抑制率达到54.9%。因此,有必要对沙蜇毒素内的生物活性组分进行深入研究,为沙蜇毒素的开发利用提供依据。     

Lignans and neolignans as lead compounds

Many lignans and neolignans have served as lead compounds for the development of new drugs. Perhaps the best known example is podophyllotoxin, an antimitotic compound that binds to tubulin. Etoposide and teniposide are derived from podophyllotoxin, but their antitumoural activity is due to inhibition of topoisomerase II. Combination of both pharmacophores has led to compounds with a dual mechanism of action, such as azatoxin. Dihydrobenzofuran neolignans, based on the natural lead 3,4-di-O-methylcedrusin, have also been investigated as potential antitumoural agents; the dimerisation product of caffeic acid methyl ester was the most active compound. Here too, he cytotoxic activity was due to inhibition of tubulin polymerisation. In addition, the same compounds showed antiangiogenic activity. Podophyllotoxin, as well as other types of lignans, such as dibenzylbutyrolactones related to arctigenin, dibenzocyclooctadiene-type lignans, and dibenzylbutanes, have been explored as leads for antiviral agents (also including HIV). Synthetic 8.O.4-neolignans have been evaluated for their antileishmanial and antifungal properties. Detailed study of the antifungal properties of the phenylpropanoid moieties has resulted in the design of highly active arylpropanoid derivatives. Other examples where lignans have been used as lead compounds include enzyme inhibitors of phosphodiesterase IV and V, and 5-lipoxygenase, and for the development of hypolipidemic and antirheumatic agents.     

Volatile Nitrogenous Compounds from Bacteria: Source of Novel Bioactive Compounds

Bacteria can produce nitrogenous compounds via both primary and secondary metabolic processes. Many bacterial volatile nitrogenous compounds produced during the secondary metabolism have been identified and reported for their antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, algicidal and antitumor activities. The production of these nitrogenous compounds depends on several factors, including the composition of culture media, growth conditions, and even the organic solvent used for their extraction, thus requiring their identification in specific conditions. In this review, we describe the volatile nitrogenous compounds produced by bacteria especially focusing on their antimicrobial activity. We concentrate on azo-compounds mainly pyrazines and pyrrolo-pyridines reported for their activity against several microorganisms. Whenever significant, extraction and identification methods of these compounds are also mentioned and discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is first review describing volatile nitrogenous compounds from bacteria focusing on their biological activity.     

Phenolic composition and antiparasitic activity of plants from the Brazilian Northeast “Cerrado”

This work describes the antiparasitic and cytotoxic activities of three plant species from the Cerrado biome, Northeastern Brazil. Significant antiparasitic inhibition was observed against Trypanosoma cruzi (63.86%), Leishmania brasiliensis (92.20%) and Leishmania infantum (95.23%) when using ethanol extract from leaves of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Malvaceae), at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. However, low levels of inhibition were observed when assessing leishmanicidal and trypanocidal (Clone CL-B5) activities of crude ethanol extracts from leaves and bast tissue of Luehea paniculata (Malvaceae) and leaves and bark of Prockia crucis (Salicaceae) at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. The extracts revealed the presence of phenolic acids such as gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid, as well as flavonoids such as rutin, luteolin, apigenin and quercetin – the latter detected only in G. ulmifolia. G. ulmifolia extract displayed higher leishmanicidal activity probably due to the presence of quercetin, a potent known leishmanicidal compound. A cytotoxicity test indicated values over 50% at the highest concentration (1000 μg/mL) for all natural products, which were considered cytotoxic. This points out the need for further tests to enable future in vivo trials, including antineoplastic activity on human tumor cells.     

In-vitro antioxidant,antimutagenic and cancer cell growth inhibition activities of Rhododendron arboreum leaves and flowers

In the current investigation, the active principles of the methanol extracts of Rhododendron arboreum leaves (MEL) and flowers (MEF) were investigated with the help of ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), amino acid analyzer and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). UHPLC revealed different polyphenols present in the extracts. GC-MS identified 20 phytochemicals in leaves and 17 in the flowers, whereas, amino acid analyzer confirmed 11 amino acids in leaves and 10 in the flowers. The extracts were subjected to the investigation of biological activity through analysis of antioxidant activity in different in vitro assays, antimutagenic activity in Ames assay and cancer cell growth inhibition activity by MTT (3-4,5 dimethylthiazol-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. MEL showed higher antioxidant activity in lipid peroxidation inhibition assay (95.32 ± 0.37%) than MEF (77.09 ± 4.17%) with IC₅₀103.6 µg/ml for MEL and 271.17 µg/ml for MEF. In nitric oxide scavenging assay, an activity of 94.46 ± 0.32% (IC₅₀ 150.13) was observed in MEF followed by 83.71 ± 0.74% (IC₅₀ 179.52) in MEL. The antimutagenic activity of both the extracts was evaluated against sodium azide, 4-nitro-O-phenylenediamine and 2-aminofluorene mutagens in TA-98 and TA-100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium. The analysis was carried out using pre- and co-incubation modes. However, both extracts were observed to possess considerable antimutagenic activity against different known mutagens, flowers came out to be more effective than the leaves in terms of % inhibition. The extracts also exhibited significant cancer cell growth inhibition activity, when tested against 3 cancer cell lines namely, Human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), Breast cancer cell line (MCF7) and Lung cancer cell line (A549). In case of HeLa and A549, MEL showed higher activity of 64.62 ± 2.65 and 75.08 ± 1.68% as compared to 53.11 ± 2.84 and 45.92 ± 2.43% in MEL, respectively. The EC₅₀ values for MEL in HeLa and A549 were noted to be 232.76 and 155.38 µg/ml, respectively, whereas, MEF had EC₅₀ of 395.50 µg/ml in HeLa and 660.26 µg/ml in A549. Further, MEF showed higher cytotoxicity in MCF7 cell line (84.93 ± 1.17%) followed by the MEL (73.57 ± 1.27%) with EC₅₀ value of 95.16 µg/ml for MEF followed by 172.19 µg/ml for MEL. The biological activities of the extracts can be attributed to the phyto-constituents identified by sophisticated instruments.The biological activities of the extracts can be attributed to the active principles identified by sophisticated instruments.     

Synthesis and evaluation of the antiplasmodial activity of novel indeno[2,1-c]quinoline derivatives

With the aim to explore the potentiality of new chemical scaffolds for the design of new antimalarials, a set of new indeno[2,1-c]quinolines bearing different basic heads has been synthesized and tested in vitro against chloroquine sensitive (CQ-S) and chloroquine resistant (CQ-R) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibited a moderate antiplasmodial activity, inhibiting the growth of both CQ-S and CQ-R strains of P. falciparum with IC₅₀ ranging from 0.24 to 6.9 μM and with a very low resistance index. The most potent compounds (1.2–1.3-fold the CQ on the W-2 strain) can be considered as promising ‘lead compounds’ to be further optimized to improve efficacy and selectivity against Plasmodia.     

Analysis of anti-bacterial and anti oxidative activity of Azadirachta indica bark using various solvents extracts

Herbal medications have been used for relief of symptoms of disease. Regardless of the great advances observed in current medicine in recent decades, plants still make a significant contribution to health care. An alarming increase in bacterial strains resistant to a number of antimicrobial agents demands that a renewed effort be made to seek antibacterial agents effective against pathogenic bacteria resistant to or less sensitive to current antibiotics. Anti-bacterial activity of Azadirachta indica stem bark was tested against pathogenic Salmonella paratyphi and Salmonella typhi using various solvent extracts. The in vitro anti-bacterial activity was performed by agar well diffusion method and the results were expressed as the average diameter of zone of inhibition of bacterial growth around the well. The ethanol and methanol extracts showed better anti-bacterial activity with zone of inhibition (20–25 mm) when compared with other tested extracts and standard antibiotic Erythromycin (15 mcg) with zone of inhibition (13–14 mm). Using Fisher’s exact test of significance difference was found between two Salmonella strains sensitivity patterns against tested extracts (P ⩽ 0.035). Extracts of A. indica stem bark also exhibited significant antioxidant activity, thus establishing the extracts as an antioxidant. The results obtained in this study give some scientific support to the A. indica stem bark for further investigation of compounds and in future could be used as drug.