多糖的甲基化方法及图谱解析

本文对微量多糖的甲基化方法进行了研究。0.1 mg多糖样品用0.3 mL二甲亚砜溶解后,加入10 mg氢氧化钠粉末,室温下超声20 min。冰浴冷却后加入0.1 mL碘甲烷1,8～20℃下超声20 min,再加入0.1 mL碘甲烷,超声20 min。加入1 mL含4 mmol/L Na2S2O3的水,终止甲基化反应。反应液用0.5 mL氯仿提取4次,氯仿提取液用0.5 mL水处理5次。氯仿相用无水硫酸钠脱水后,氮气吹干。该法简便易行,甲基化程度高,适用于易溶(或难溶)于水和二甲亚砜的多糖。此外,本文对部分甲基化的糖醇乙酰酯衍生物的质谱图解析进行了阐述,并对特殊糖类样品的甲基化方法进行了说明。     

An alternative method for the rapid synthesis of partially O-methylated alditol acetate standards for GC-MS analysis of carbohydrates

Mixtures of partially O-methylated alditol acetate standards (PMAAs) of Glc, Gal, and Man were synthesized rapidly. Methylation of methyl glycosides was carried out in the presence of BaO/Ba(OH)(2) x 8H(2)O giving rise to mixtures of partially methylated glycosides (PMGs), whose degree of methylation was monitored by TLC. The batch containing the largest mixture of methyl ethers was converted into partially O-methylated alditol acetate derivatives (PMAAs), via successive hydrolysis, reduction, and acetylation, and then subjected to GC and GC-MS analysis. Detailed data on retention times, TIC, and EIMS are now provided.     

Quantitative determination of partially methylated alditol acetate of amino sugar by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Using doubly labeled N-acetyllactosamine. Hakomori's procedures to prepare partially methylated alditol acetates and their subsequent analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were followed from a quantitative aspect. It was found that both galactose and glucosamine were nearly quantitatively converted to PMAAs. Preferential loss of PMAA of glucosamine occurred on a column for gas chromatography when the amount of the PMAA injected onto a column was less than a certain level. Above this level, PMAAs of both galactose and glucosamine were eluted from the column with equal yields. However, in mass spectrometry with monitoring of total ions, the molar response factor of PMAA of glucosamine was found to be about 25% higher than that of PMAA of galactose. Based on these findings, methylation analysis of an oligosaccharide from Taka-amylase A composed of one glucosamine and five mannose residues could be carried out quantitatively.     

Separation of partially methylated mannitols by liquid chromatography

To facilitate the methylation linkage analysis of complex carbohydrates containing radioactively labeled mannose residues, an HPLC micromethylation technique has been developed which effectively resolves all of the partially methylated mannitol standards prepared using an under-methylation protocol. The method was applied to the linkage analysis of the nine mannose residues of the dolichol-derived oligosaccharide Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 isolated from BHK-21 fibroblasts. This technique should prove widely applicable to the methylation linkage analysis of radiolabeled complex carbohydrates.     

巢式甲基化特异性PCR检测不同类型组织标本中WIF-1基因启动子异常甲基化

目的:采用一种高灵敏度的DNA甲基化分析方法,即巢式甲基化特异性PCR法(nested-MSP,nMSP),检测外科手术切除新鲜组织、石蜡包埋组织及纤维支气管镜活检组织中WIF-1基因启动子的异常甲基化状态。方法:将基因组DNA变性成为单链,用亚硫酸氢盐修饰单链DNA,所有未甲基化的胞嘧啶被转变为尿嘧啶,而甲基化的胞嘧啶则不变。设计针对甲基化和非甲基化等位基因的特异引物,进行巢式PCR扩增,最后经凝胶电泳检测目的片段。结果:在3种类型的原发性非小细胞肺癌标本中都检测出了WIF-1基因启动子的异常甲基化。结论:巢式甲基化特异性PCR是一种灵敏度高、特异性强的甲基化检测方法,可广泛应用于不同类型标本基因启动子甲基化的分析。     

Validation of a new procedure to determine plasma fatty acid concentration and isotopic enrichment.

Assessment of free fatty acid (FFA) concentration and isotopic enrichment is useful for studies of FFA kinetics in vivo. A new procedure to recover the major FFA from plasma for concentration and isotopic enrichment measurements is described and validated. The procedure involves extraction of plasma lipids with hexane, methylation with iodomethane (CH(3)I) to form fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), and subsequent purification of FAME by solid phase extraction (SPE) chromatography. The new method was compared with a traditional method using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) to recover plasma FFA, with subsequent methylation by BF(3)/methanol. The TLC method was found to be less reliable than the new CH(3)I method because of contamination with extraneous fatty acids, chemical fractionation of FFA species, and incomplete recovery of FFA associated with TLC. In contrast, the CH(3)I/SPE method was free of contamination, did not exhibit chemical fractionation, and had higher recovery. The iodomethane reaction was specific for free fatty acids; no FAME were formed when esterified fatty acids (triglycerides, cholesteryl esters, phospholipids) were subjected to the methylation reaction.We conclude that the CH(3)I/SPE method provides rapid and convenient recovery of plasma fatty acids for quantification or GC/MS analysis as methyl esters, and is not subject to the problems of contamination, reduced recovery, and chemical fractionation associated with recovery of FFA by TLC.     

Conversion of histidine to hercynine by Neurospora crassa

Cell-free extracts of Neurospora crassa mycelium catalyze the methylation of l-histidine to form hercynine (histidine betaine). The partially methylated compounds, alpha-N-methyl-l-histidine and alpha-N,N-dimethyl-l-histidine, are also methylated by the same enzyme preparation to form hercynine. All three methylation reactions are stimulated by the addition of S-adenosylmethionine.     

Rapid synthesis of partially O-methylated alditol acetate standards for GC-MS: some relative activities of hydroxyl groups of methyl glycopyranosides on Purdie methylation

Mixtures containing the majority of partially O-methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs), necessary for the GC-MS based identification of glycosidic linkages in oligo- and polymeric structures were prepared. Rha, Fuc, Rib, Ara, Xyl, Man, Gal, and Glc were converted to their Me glycosides, and the products were progressively O-methylated using the Purdie reagent at 25 degrees C. Resulting PMGs were assayed by TLC and at times that were optimum for formation of mono-O-methyl derivatives and later for higher degrees of methylation; they were converted to PMAAs, in a process incorporating NaB(2)H(4) reduction. The majority of these can be used as standards for simultaneous identification of pyranosides and some furanosyl units particularly in heteropolysaccharides. The relative reactivities of OH-groups were determined by GC-MS as: Me alpha- and beta-Glcp, HO-2>HO-4>HO-3>HO-6, Me alpha- and beta-Galp, HO-3>HO-2>HO-4>HO-6, Me alpha-Manp, HO-3>HO-2>HO-4>HO-6, Me beta-Manp, HO-3>HO-4HO-6>HO-2, Me alpha-Rhap, OH-3>OH-2>OH-4; Me alphabeta-Fucp, OH-2>OH-3>OH-4, and Me alphabeta-Xylp, OH-2>OH-4>OH-3. The results differ from those obtained with Haworth, Hakomori, and Ciucanu methylation techniques, although some similarities occurred with the more rapid Kuhn method.     

Bonding of hydroxycinnamic acids to lignin: ferulic and p-coumaric acids are predominantly linked at the benzyl position of lignin, not the beta-position, in grass cell walls.

A suspension in dichloromethane-water (18:1, v/v) of various fractions containing hydroxycinnamic acid ester-ether bridges between lignin and polysaccharides prepared from cell walls of matured oat (Avena sativa L.) intemodes, and a solution of their acetates in the same solvent, were treated with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ). This reagent selectively cleaves benzyl ether and ester linkages of negatively charged aromatic nuclei. The sample treated with DDQ was directly hydrolysed either under mild (1 M NaOH, overnight at 37 degrees C) or severe (4 M NaOH, for 2 h at 170 degrees C) conditions. The hydroxycinnamic acids released in the hydrolysate were methylated with diazomethane and analysed quantitatively using gas chromatography. Significant portions of ether linkages between hydroxycinnamic acids and lignin were cleaved with DDQ, which suggests that most of the hydroxycinnamic acids were ether-linked at the benzyl position, and not the beta-position, of the lignin side chain as previously claimed.     

Preparation and characterisation of methylcellulose from annual cardoon and juvenile eucalyptus

We have studied the preparation of methylcellulose from annual cardoon and juvenile eucalyptus. The high cellulose and low lignin contents of these plants make them potential alternative resources for cellulose derivation. Their high quality pulps were obtained by the Impregnation Rapid Steam Pulping (IRSP) process and Total Chloride Free (TCF) bleaching sequences using hydrogen peroxide. The bleached pulp was methylated twice in an isopropanol slurry at 60 °C for 22 h after mercerisation in 40% NaOH solution. Yields of water-soluble and alkali-soluble methylcellulose were determined by solvent extraction. Substitution patterns of methylcellulose were determined by ¹³C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The intrinsic viscosities and solution properties of methylcellulose were measured in either 4% NaOH solution or dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO). This study shows that annual cardoon and juvenile eucalyptus can produce high-quality methylcellulose, which can be used as alternative resources for the production of methylcellulose.     

Modifications of substituted seryl and threonyl residues in phosphopeptides and a polysialoglycoprotein by beta-elimination and nucleophile additions

The beta-elimination and nucleophile addition reactions of the substituted serine and threonine residues were studied using several synthesized fluorescence-labeled phosphopeptides and a salmon egg polysialoglycoprotein (PSGP). The reagents used were 1 M CH3SH-0.43 M NaOH, 1 M NaBH4-0.1 M NaOH, 1 M CH3NH2-0.1 M NaOH, and 1 M Na2SO3-0.1 M NaOH. The beta-elimination reaction of a phosphoserine peptide, Gly-Ser(PO4)-Glu-AEAP, was about 20 times faster than that of the corresponding phosphothreonine peptide. The carboxyl-side amino acid of the phosphoamino acids in peptides greatly affected the beta-elimination rate. The beta-elimination reaction rates of O-glycosyl serine and threonine in the polysialoglycoprotein were similar and were about a half of that of the phosphoserine peptide. The rates of addition of the three nucleophiles and hydrogen to alpha-aminoacrylic acid (beta-elimination product of substituted serine) in the peptide decreased in the order of CH3SH, Na2SO3, CH3NH2, and H2(NaBH4), and the addition to alpha-aminocrotonic acid (beta-elimination product of substituted threonine) in the order of Na2SO3, CH3NH2, CH3SH, and H2. These results indicated that sulfite is the most recommended nucleophile because of its high addition rate. If sulfite addition is carried out in the presence of NaBH4, sugar chains can be released as alditols, converting the sugar-attaching amino acids to beta-sulfoamino acids.     

Induced rapid phospholipid methylation and arachidonic acid release by dimethyl sulfoxide-treated human promyelocytic leukemic HL-60 cells

The incubation of undifferentiated promyelocytic HL-60 cells with DMSO resulted in the rapid transmethylation of phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) into phosphatidylcholine (PC) which was maximal at 60 secs. This rapid generation of PC was followed by a decrease of the methylated phospholipid and the release of arachidonic acid. Thus, the rapid DMSO-induced phospholipid methylation coupled with release of arachidonic acid (precursor for eicosanoids) prior to morphological evidence of cellular differentiation may represent early biochemical events which result in the generation of intracellular chemical signals which may program the promyelocytic cells into a differentiation mode.     

Microwave-mediated analysis for sugar, fatty acid, and sphingoid compositions of glycosphingolipids

For chemical characterization of glycosphingolipids, it is necessary to determine the chemical compositions of three constituents, i.e., sugars, fatty acids, and sphingoids. A new rapid analytical method is described using a one-pot reaction in a household microwave oven, producing sugars, fatty acids, and especially sphingoids free of by-products, from a single aliquot of a biological sample. Glycosphingolipids were hydrolyzed by microwave exposure with 0.1 M NaOH/CH(3)OH for 2 min followed by 1 M HCl/CH(3)OH for 45 s. The alkaline methanolysis step produced intermediate lysoglycosphingolipids virtually free of by-products such as the O-methyl ethers usually seen. The fatty acid methyl esters were extracted with n-hexane, and other reaction products were dried, taken up in aqueous alkaline methanol, and shaken with chloroform. Sphingoids partitioned into the organic phase under these conditions, whereas the sugar portion that partitioned into the aqueous phase was re-N-acetylated and remethanolyzed for 30 s by microwave exposure. Analysis of the profiles of glycosphingolipid constituents obtained using the microwave oven method showed that they were quantitatively and qualitatively comparable to those obtained by time-consuming conventional methods, which require reaction for several hours. Analysis of the three constituents, including analysis by gas chromatography, may be obtained within 1 day using the method described here.     

Methylation of deoxyribonucleic acid in cultured mammalian cells by N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. The influence of cellular thiol concentrations on the extent of methylation and the 6-oxygen atom of guanine as a site of methylation

1. In neutral aqueous solution N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) yields salts of nitrocyanamide as u.v.-absorbing products. With cysteine, as found independently by Schulz & McCalla (1969), the principal product is 2-nitràminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid. Both these reactions liberate the methylating species; thiols enhance the rate markedly at neutral pH values. An alternative reaction with thiols gives cystine, presumably via the unstable S-nitrosocysteine. 2. Thiols (glutathione or N-acetylcysteine) in vitro at about the concentration found in mammalian cells enhance the rate of methylation of DNA markedly over that in neutral solution. 3. Treatment of cultured mammalian cells with MNNG results in rapid methylation of nucleic acids, the extent being greater the higher the thiol content of the cells. Rodent embryo cells are more extensively methylated than mouse L-cells of the same thiol content. Cellular thiol concentrations are decreased by MNNG. Proteins are less methylated by MNNG than are nucleic acids. 4. Methylation of cells by dimethyl sulphate does not depend on cellular thiol content and protein is not less methylated than nucleic acids. Methylation by MNNG may therefore be thiol-stimulated in cells. 5. Both in vitro and in cells about 7% of the methylation of DNA by MNNG occurs at the 6-oxygen atom of guanine. The major products 7-methylguanine and 3-methyladenine are given by both MNNG and dimethyl sulphate, but dimethyl sulphate does not yield O(6)-methylguanine. Possible reaction mechanisms to account for this difference between these methylating agents and its possible significance as a determinant of their biological effects are discussed.     

Determining the polysaccharide composition of plant cell walls

The plant cell wall is a chemically complex structure composed mostly of polysaccharides. Detailed analyses of these cell wall polysaccharides are essential for our understanding of plant development and for our use of plant biomass (largely wall material) in the food, agriculture, fabric, timber, biofuel and biocomposite industries. We present analytical techniques not only to define the fine chemical structures of individual cell wall polysaccharides but also to estimate the overall polysaccharide composition of cell wall preparations. The procedure covers the preparation of cell walls, together with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based methods, for both the analysis of monosaccharides as their volatile alditol acetate derivatives and for methylation analysis to determine linkage positions between monosaccharide residues as their volatile partially methylated alditol acetate derivatives. Analysis time will vary depending on both the method used and the tissue type, and ranges from 2 d for a simple neutral sugar composition to 2 weeks for a carboxyl reduction/methylation linkage analysis.     

Controlled porous glass (CPG) with reactive epoxy groups as support for affinity chromatography I. Optimization of CPG modification and the binding of glucose with modified surface

The selective and complementary interaction between the ligand bound to support surface and isolated substance is the key of the affinity chromatography. This is the reason of the research in the field of certain sorbents. They are obtained by chemical reaction of matrix with proper ligands. It is carried out mainly by using bifunctional substances which make the reaction with the ligand in question possible. This paper deals with the preparation of controlled porosity glass with reactive epoxy groups. In order to obtain such support and avoid application of a proper epoxy silane compound, the double-step reaction using simple agents was employed. The sorbent syntheses were optimized. The prepared sorbents were applied for coupling some carbohydrates and amino acids.     

难溶于二甲亚砜多糖的甲基化方法研究

本文对难溶于二甲亚砜(DMSO)但易溶于水的多糖——羊栖菜褐藻糖胶的甲基化方法进行了研究。10mg多糖用0．1mL水溶解后,加和3mL DMSO,使多糖转溶于DMSO,然后加人2mL 3A分子筛脱除水分。将DNSO溶液过滤后,滤液中加入50mg NaOH粉末,室温下反应10min。加入0．5mL碘甲烷,室温下反应60min。加1mL水终止反应,加1mol／L HAc中和、透析、冻干。该法简便易行,所得产物的甲基化程度比较高。     

Comparison of different normalization assumptions for analyses of DNA methylation data from the cancer genome

Nowadays, some researchers normalized DNA methylation arrays data in order to remove the technical artifacts introduced by experimental differences in sample preparation, array processing and other factors. However, other researchers analyzed DNA methylation arrays without performing data normalization considering that current normalizations for methylation data may distort real differences between normal and cancer samples because cancer genomes may be extensively subject to hypomethylation and the total amount of CpG methylation might differ substantially among samples. In this study, using eight datasets by Infinium HumanMethylation27 assay, we systemically analyzed the global distribution of DNA methylation changes in cancer compared to normal control and its effect on data normalization for selecting differentially methylated (DM) genes. We showed more differentially methylated (DM) genes could be found in the Quantile/Lowess-normalized data than in the non-normalized data. We found the DM genes additionally selected in the Quantile/Lowess-normalized data showed significantly consistent methylation states in another independent dataset for the same cancer, indicating these extra DM genes were effective biological signals related to the disease. These results suggested normalization can increase the power of detecting DM genes in the context of diagnostic markers which were usually characterized by relatively large effect sizes. Besides, we evaluated the reproducibility of DM discoveries for a particular cancer type, and we found most of the DM genes additionally detected in one dataset showed the same methylation directions in the other dataset for the same cancer type, indicating that these DM genes were effective biological signals in the other dataset. Furthermore, we showed that some DM genes detected from different studies for a particular cancer type were significantly reproducible at the functional level.     

Synthesis and 11C-labelling of the ACTH fragment analogue H-Met(O2)-Glu-His-Phe-D-Lys-Phe-OH (Org 2766) via its homocystine-containing precursor

The hexapeptide dimer (H-Hcy-Glu-His-Phe-D-Lys-Phe-OH)2 was synthesized using solution methods and characterized. Its conversion into H-Met(O2)-Glu-His-Phe-D-Lys-Phe-OH, Org 2766, was studied on a small scale in as short a time as possible; reduction of the disulfide bond using Na/NH3, reaction with CH3I, oxidation with H2O2 and catalyst and purification by HPLC were carried out starting with 2 mg of the dimer in a total preparation time of approximately 22 min, starting with the addition of CH3I. The preparation of the 11C-labelled analogue was carried out by methylation with 11CH3I. Restrictions imposed by working with carbon-11 will be discussed.