Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of (R)- and (S)-ricinoleic acid derivatives

(R)-ricinoleic acid is the main component of castor oil from Ricinus communis L. Due to the presence of the hydroxyl group in homoallylic position and asymmetrically substituted carbon atom, it may undergo a number of chemical and biochemical transformations resulting in the products with some specific bioactivities. Conversion of (R)-ricinoleic acid into its (S)-enantiomer enables synthesis of both (R)- and (S)-ricinoleic acid derivatives and comparison of their biological activities. In the present research, (R)- and (S)-ricinoleic acid amides synthesized from methyl ricinoleates and ethanolamine or pyrrolidine as well as acetate derivatives of ethanolamine amides were studied to demonstrate their biological activities using HT29 cancer cells. Double staining of cells with fluorochromes (Hoechst 33258/propidium iodide) as well as 2,′7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCF) and comet assays were performed. Both the tested amides and acetates caused DNA damage and induced apoptotic and necrotic cell death. In the case of (R)- and (S)-enantiomers of one of the tested acetates, significant difference in the ability to induce DNA damage was observed, which showed the impact of the stereogenic center on the activities of these compounds.     

The ratio of amount of haemoglobin to total surface area of erythrocytes in mammals

The literature provides all the data needed to calculate the ratio between the amount of haemoglobin and the total surface area of erythrocytes in 54 species of mammals ranging in body mass from 2.5 g to more than 1000 kg. Analysis shows that the concentration of haemoglobin (Hb; g%) does not depend on the body mass of the mammals studied. The number of erythrocytes in 1 mm³ of blood (RBC; 10⁶×mm⁻³) is significantly lower, and the diameter of these cells significantly higher, among larger mammals as opposed to smaller ones. The result is that the total surface area of erythrocytes in 1 mm³ of blood (TSAE; mm²×mm⁻³) is significantly lower among larger mammals, while the Hb/TSAE ratio (pg×μm⁻²) is significantly greater. These results point to the smaller size of erythrocytes of smaller mammals permitting much greater numbers to exist, thereby producing a greater TSAE and smaller Hb/TSAE ratio. The greater total surface area of red blood cells per unit volume of blood in small mammals can in turn be presumed to allow for full saturation of haemoglobin by oxygen, even where the period of contact between erythrocytes and air in the lungs is shorter than in their larger counterparts.

     

Mitochondria-mediated ATP depletion by anti-cancer agents of the jasmonate family

Jasmonates are plant stress hormones that induce suppression of proliferation and death in cancer cells, while being selectively inactive towards non-transformed cells. Jasmonates can overcome apoptotic blocks and exert cytotoxic effects on drug-resistant cells expressing p53 mutations. Jasmonates induce a rapid depletion of ATP in cancer cells. Indeed, this steep drop occurs when no signs of cell death are detectable yet. Experiments using modulators of ATP synthesis via glycolysis or oxidative phosphorylation suggest that the latter is the pathway suppressed by jasmonates. Consequently, the direct effects of jasmonates on mitochondria were evaluated. Jasmonates induced cytochrome c release and swelling in mitochondria isolated from cancer cells but not from normal ones. Thus, the selectivity of jasmonates against cancer cells is rooted at the mitochondrial level, and probably exploits differences between mitochondria from normal versus cancer cells. These findings position jasmonates as promising anti-cancer drugs acting via energetic depletion in neoplastic cells.     

Protective action of melatonin against oxidative DNA damage: chemical inactivation versus base-excision repair

Melatonin is a hormone-like substance that has a variety of beneficial properties as regulator of the circadian rhythm and as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent. The latter activity can be linked with the ability of melatonin to protect DNA against oxidative damage. It may exert such action either by scavenging reactive oxygen species or their primary sources, or by stimulating the repair of oxidative damage in DNA. Since such type of DNA damage is reflected in oxidative base modifications that are primarily repaired by base-excision repair (BER), we tried to investigate in the present work whether melatonin could influence this DNA-repair system. We also investigated the ability of melatonin to inactivate hydrogen peroxide, a potent source of reactive oxygen species. Melatonin at 50 microM and its direct metabolite N(1)-acetyl-N(2)-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine reduced DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide at approximately the same ratio. Melatonin stimulated the repair of DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide, as assessed by the alkaline comet assay. However, melatonin at 50 microM had no impact on the activity in vitro of three glycosylases playing a pivotal role in BER: Endo III, Fpg and ANPG 80. On the other hand, melatonin chemically inactivated hydrogen peroxide, reducing its potential to damage DNA. And finally, melatonin did not influence the repair of an a-basic (AP) site by cellular extracts, as was evaluated by a functional BER assay in vitro. In conclusion, melatonin can have a protective effect against oxidative DNA damage by chemical inactivation of a DNA-damaging agent as well as by stimulating DNA repair, but key factors in BER, viz. glycosylases and AP-endonucleases, do not seem to be affected by melatonin. Further study with other components of the BER machinery and studies aimed at other DNA-repair systems are needed to clarify the mechanism underlying the stimulation of DNA repair by melatonin.     

Memory CD8+ T cells require CD28 costimulation

CD8(+) T cells are a critical component of the adaptive immune response against infections and tumors. A current paradigm in immunology is that naive CD8(+) T cells require CD28 costimulation, whereas memory CD8(+) T cells do not. We show here, however, that during viral infections of mice, costimulation is required in vivo for the reactivation of memory CD8(+) T cells. In the absence of CD28 costimulation, secondary CD8(+) T cell responses are greatly reduced and this impairs viral clearance. The failure of CD8(+) T cells to expand in the absence of CD28 costimulation is CD4(+) T cell help independent and is accompanied by a failure to down-regulate Bcl-2 and by cell cycle arrest. This requirement for CD28 costimulation was shown in both influenza A and HSV infections. Thus, contrary to current dogma, memory CD8(+) T cells require CD28 costimulation to generate maximal secondary responses against pathogens. Importantly, this CD28 requirement was shown in the context of real infections were multiple other cytokines and costimulators may be up-regulated. Our findings have important implications for pathogens, such as HIV and measles virus, and tumors that evade the immune response by failing to provide CD28 costimulation. These findings also raise questions about the efficacy of CD8(+) T cell-based vaccines against such pathogens and tumors.     

Symmetry of septin hourglass and ring structures

Septin filaments form ordered hourglass and ring-shaped structures in close apposition to the yeast bud-neck membrane. The septin hourglass scaffolds the asymmetric localization of many essential cell division proteins. However, it is unknown whether the septin structures have an overall polarity along the mother-daughter axis that determines the asymmetric protein localization. Here we engineered rigid septin- green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions with various fluorescence dipole directions by changing the position of the GFP beta-barrel relative to the septin filament axis. We then used polarized fluorescence microscopy to detect potential asymmetries in the filament organization. We found that both the hourglass and ring filament assemblies have sub-resolution C(2) symmetry and lack net polarity along the mother-daughter axis. The hourglass filaments have an additional degree of symmetry relative to the ring filaments, most likely due to a twist in their higher-order structure. We previously reported that during the hourglass to rings transition septin filaments change their direction. Here we show that the filaments also undergo a change in their lateral organization, consistent with filament untwisting. The lack of net septin polarity along the mother-daughter axis suggests that there are no septin-based structural reasons for the observed asymmetry of other proteins. We discuss possible anisotropic processes that could break the septin symmetry and establish the essential bud-neck asymmetry.     

Actin filament reorganization in HL-60 leukemia cell line after treatment with G-CSF and GM-CSF

Currently, information regarding the influence of growth factors on the cytoskeleton, including G-CSF and GMCSF, remains limited. In the present study we show alterations in F-actin distribution and cell cycle progression in HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells, resulting from treatment with these cytokines in vitro. We found that both agents caused F-actin reorganization. Although multiple potential effects of various growth factors have been described previously, in our experimental conditions, we observed some rather subtle differences between the effects of G-CSF and GM-CSF on studied cells. The presence of these cytokines in the cell environment caused not only increased F-actin labeling in the cytoplasm, but also a weaker intensity of peripheral ring staining in comparison with control cells. In spite of the fact that HL60 cells exposed to G-CSF and GM-CSF contained different F-actin structures such as aggregates and F-actin network, the rate of actin polymerization was not significantly enhanced. Moreover, alterations were mainly related to considerable changes in the relative proportion of these different structures, what might be reflected by specific features of the differentiation process, with regard to the kind of stimulating factor used. Thus, reorganization of F-actin and other results obtained in our experimental conditions, might reflect unique characteristics of the differentiation process in HL-60 cells, involving low apoptosis frequency, the G1 to S phase transition in the cell cycle, as well as possible alternative ways of the cell death.     

Regulatory role of cathepsin D in apoptosis

Cathepsin D (CTSD, EC 3.4.23.5) is well known aspartyl protease. Among different role in cell physiology, a new function of this enzyme is examined. Cathepsin D is an important regulator of apoptotic pathways in cells. It acts at different stage of intrinsic and extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Cathepsin D can either induce apoptosis in presence of cytotoxic factors, but in certain studies an inhibitory role in apoptosis was also reviewed. Detailed review of involvement of cathepsin D in cell apoptosis is a purpose of this paper.     

Human gliosarcoma-associated ganglioside composition is complex and distinctive as evidenced by high-performance mass spectrometric determination and structural characterization

Gangliosides (GGs), involved in malignant alteration and tumor progression/invasiveness, are considered as tumor biomarkers or therapeutic targets. Here, we describe the first systematic GG composition characterization in human gliosarcoma versus normal brain tissue using our recently developed mass spectrometry (MS) methods, based on nano-electrospray (nano-ESI), Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR), and chip nano-ESI quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF), complemented by thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) analysis and quantification. Combined MS enabled detection and structural assignment of 73 distinct GG species: many more than reported so far for investigated gliomas. Apart from the 7.4-times lower total GG content, gliosarcoma contained all major brain-associated species, however, in very altered proportions, exhibiting a highly distinctive pattern: GD3 (48.9%)>GD1a/nLD1>GD2/GT3>GM3>GT1b>GM2>GM1a/GM1b/nLM1>LM1>GD1b>GQ1b. MS also revealed abundant O-Ac-GD3; its sequencing provided structural evidence to postulate a novel O-Ac-GD3 isomer O-acetylated at the inner Neu5Ac-residue, previously not structurally confirmed. The high sensitivity and mass accuracy permitted the assignment of unusual minor species: GM4, Hex-HexNAc-nLM1, Gal-GD1, Fuc-GT1, GalNAc-GT1, O-Ac-GM3, di- O-Ac-GD3O-Ac-GD3, and O-Ac-GT3, not previously reported as glioma-associated. The gliosarcoma-expressed GA2 might represent a marker distinguishing astrocytic from oligodendroglial tumors. This is, to our knowledge, so far the most complete GG composition characterization of certain glioma, which demonstrates that our MS-based approach could provide essential structural information relevant to glycosphingolipid role(s) in brain tumor biology, differential diagnosis/prognosis and novel treatment concepts.     

DAP5 associates with eIF2β and eIF4AI to promote Internal Ribosome Entry Site driven translation

Initiation is a highly regulated rate-limiting step of mRNA translation. During cap-dependent translation, the cap-binding protein eIF4E recruits the mRNA to the ribosome. Specific elements in the 5′UTR of some mRNAs referred to as Internal Ribosome Entry Sites (IRESes) allow direct association of the mRNA with the ribosome without the requirement for eIF4E. Cap-independent initiation permits translation of a subset of cellular and viral mRNAs under conditions wherein cap-dependent translation is inhibited, such as stress, mitosis and viral infection. DAP5 is an eIF4G homolog that has been proposed to regulate both cap-dependent and cap-independent translation. Herein, we demonstrate that DAP5 associates with eIF2β and eIF4AI to stimulate IRES-dependent translation of cellular mRNAs. In contrast, DAP5 is dispensable for cap-dependent translation. These findings provide the first mechanistic insights into the function of DAP5 as a selective regulator of cap-independent translation.