Ionizing radiation-induced instant pairing of heterochromatin of homologous chromosomes in human cells

Using fluorescence in situ hybridization with human band-specific DNA probes we examined the effect of ionizing radiation on the intra-nuclear localization of the heterochromatic region 9q12-->q13 and the euchromatic region 8p11.2 of similar sized chromosomes 9 and 8 respectively in confluent (G1) primary human fibroblasts. Microscopic analysis of the interphase nuclei revealed colocalization of the homologous heterochromatic regions from chromosome 9 in a proportion of cells directly after exposure to 4 Gy X-rays. The percentage of cells with paired chromosomes 9 gradually decreased to control levels during a period of one hour. No significant changes in localization were observed for chromosome 8. Using 2-D image analysis, radial and inter-homologue distances were measured for both chromosome bands. In unexposed cells, a random distribution of the chromosomes over the interphase nucleus was found. Directly after irradiation, the average inter-homologue distance decreased for chromosome 9 without alterations in radial distribution. The percentage of cells with inter-homologue distance <3 micro m increased from 11% in control cells to 25% in irradiated cells. In contrast, irradiation did not result in significant changes in the inter-homologue distance for chromosome 8. Colocalization of the heterochromatic regions of homologous chromosomes 9 was not observed in cells irradiated on ice. This observation, together with the time dependency of the colocalization, suggests an underlying active cellular process. The biological relevance of the observed homologous pairing remains unclear. It might be related to a homology dependent repair process of ionizing radiation induced DNA damage that is specific for heterochromatin. However, also other more general cellular responses to radiation-induced stress or change in chromatin organization might be responsible for the observed pairing of heterochromatic regions.     

Composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil and hexane-ether extract of Tanacetum santolinoides (dc.) Feinbr. and Fertig

Tanacetum santolinoides, Essential Oil Composition, n-Hexane-Ether Extract Composition The essential oil of the aerial parts of Tanacetum santolinoides was analyzed by capillary GLC and GLC-MS. Altogether 30 components were identified. The main constituents were thymol (18%), trans-thujone (17.5%), trans-chrysanthenyl acetate (13.2%), cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (9.2%), umbellulone (9.7%) and 1,8-cineole (4.7%). Similar essential oil pattern in addition to palmitic acid methyl ester, palmitic acid, stigmasterol, sitosterol and two flavonoidal aglycons were found in the n-hexane-ether extract. The oil showed strong in vitro activity against E. coli, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans.     

A computational approach identifies two regions of Hepatitis C Virus E1 protein as interacting domains involved in viral fusion process

Background  

The E1 protein of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) can be dissected into two distinct hydrophobic regions: a central domain containing an hypothetical fusion peptide (FP), and a C-terminal domain (CT) comprising two segments, a pre-anchor and a trans-membrane (TM) region. In the currently accepted model of the viral fusion process, the FP and the TM regions are considered to be closely juxtaposed in the post-fusion structure and their physical interaction cannot be excluded. In the present study, we took advantage of the natural sequence variability present among HCV strains to test, by purely sequence-based computational tools, the hypothesis that in this virus the fusion process involves the physical interaction of the FP and CT regions of E1.     

Effect of ethyl alcohol on plasma testosterone level in mice

The effect of ethanol ingestion on testicular steroidogenesis in mice was evaluated by measuring plasma testosterone level. Four groups of CBA/J male mice were treated with one of the following doses of ethanol: 1.240, 0.620, 0.310 or 0.155 g ethanol/Kg body weight. A control group was given water. The data showed no effect of the treatment on testicular weight. The concentration of testosterone in the plasma was significantly reduced in animals treated with alcohol. There was also a significant relationship between the dose of alcohol and the plasma testosterone level, with the decrease in testosterone being from 2 to 18 fold in various groups.     

Molecular defense response of mycorrhizal bean plants infected with Rhizoctonia solani

A time course study was conducted to investigate disease development and molecular defense response in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants colonized by a mixture of five arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, namely, Glomus mosseae, G. intraradices, G. clarum, Gigaspora gigantea, and Gigaspora margarita, and post-infected with the soil-borne pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Results showed that pre-colonization of bean plants by AM fungi significantly reduced disease severity and disease incidence. DNA fingerprinting using the differential display technique revealed a genetic polymorphism (86.8 %) in bean plants that resulted from the colonization by AM fungi. Two genetic mechanisms were recorded: (1) switching on of new genes and (2) induction of other active genes, including the defense genes chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, to a highly expressed state.     

Exploring the non-coding regions in the mtDNA of some honey bee species and subspecies

The sequence of the DNA contains coding and non-coding regions. The role of the non-coding regions is not known and is hypothesized to maintain the structure of the DNA. This study aimed to investigate the structure of the non-coding sequences in honey bees utilizing bioinformatics. The non-coding sequences of the mtDNA of three honey bee species Apis dorosata, Apis florea, Apis cerana, and ten subspecies of Apis mellifera were investigated. Different techniques were utilized to explore the non-coding regions of these bees including sequence analysis, phylogenetic relationships, enzymatic digestion, and statistical tests. Variations in size and sequences of nucleotides were detected in the studied species and subspecies, but with the same nucleotide abundance (i.e. nucleotides A were more than T and nucleotides G were less than C). The phylogenetic tree based on the non-coding regions was partially similar to the known phylogenetic relationships between these bees. The enzymatic digestion using four restriction enzymes confirmed the results of the phylogenetic relationships. The statistical analysis based on numerical codes for nucleotides showed the absence of significant variations between the studied bees in their sequences in a similar way to results of neutrality tests. This study suggests that the non-coding regions have the same functional role in all the studied bees regardless of the number of nucleotides, and not just to maintain the structure of the DNA. This is approximately the first study to shade lights on the non-coding regions of the mtDNA of honey bees.     

Metabolic profiling of photoautotrophic and photomixotrophic potato plantlets (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis>) provides new insights into acclimatization

Conventional photomixotrophic micropropagation systems are inefficient due to the high rates of mortality upon the transfer of plantlets from in vitro to ex vitro conditions. Exogenous medium sugar has been suggested to be the major cause of this problem. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of sucrose supply on the metabolic profile of in vitro-grown potato plantlets subjected to different tissue culture conditions consisting of Murashige and Skoog medium and without sucrose [photoautotrophic (PAT) condition] or with 3% sucrose [photomixotrophic (PMT) condition]. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, we identified a set of 51 different metabolites in leaf tissues during the rooting phase. Most growth parameters, such as shoot length, leaf fresh weight, leaf number, and leaf area/plant, were significantly lower under PMT than under PAT conditions. Moreover, photosynthesis was inhibited due to partial stomatal closure under PMT conditions. The metabolomic profiles along with principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that the two treatments were characterized by distinct metabolic signatures. PAT leaves were characterized by the accumulation of urea and erythritol. In comparison, PMT leaves were characterized by the accumulation of metabolites belonging to the primary metabolism and catecholamines as well as compounds related to abiotic stress conditions, such as proline, hydroxyproline, asparagine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), soluble sugars, and myo-inositol.     

Synthesis of modified steroids as a novel class of non-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive agents

The identification of compounds able to treat both pain and inflammation with limited side effects is one of the prominent goals in biomedical research. This study aimed at the synthesis of new modified steroids with structures justifying non-ulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities. The steroid derivatives were synthesized via straightforward and efficient methods and their structures were established based on the analytical and spectral data. The in vivo anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and anti-ulcerogenic activities of some of these compounds were studied. The newly synthesized compounds 8b, 19b, 24 and 31a showed anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and anti-ulcerogenic activity with various intensities. Oedema was significantly reduced by either dose 25 or 50 mg/kg of all tested compounds at 3 and 4 h post-carrageenan. Compound 19b was the most effective in alleviating thermal pain. The analgesic activity of either dose of the compounds 8b, 24, 31a as well as the high dose 19b was significantly higher than that for indomethacin (IND). Gastric mucosal lesions caused in the rats by the administration of 96% EtOH and IND were inhibited by all tested compounds administered at (50 mg/kg) dose in the study.     

New 1,2,3-triazole linked ciprofloxacin-chalcones induce DNA damage by inhibiting human topoisomerase I& II and tubulin polymerization

A series of novel 1,2,3-triazole-linked ciprofloxacin-chalcones 4a-j were synthesised as potential anticancer agents. Hybrids 4a-j exhibited remarkable anti-proliferative activity against colon cancer cells. Compounds 4a-j displayed IC₅₀s ranged from 2.53-8.67 µM, 8.67–62.47 µM, and 4.19–24.37 µM for HCT116, HT29, and Caco-2 cells; respectively, whereas the doxorubicin, showed IC₅₀ values of 1.22, 0.88, and 4.15 µM. Compounds 4a, 4b, 4e, 4i, and 4j were the most potent against HCT116 with IC₅₀ values of 3.57, 4.81, 4.32, 4.87, and 2.53 µM, respectively, compared to doxorubicin (IC₅₀ = 1.22 µM). Also, hybrids 4a, 4b, 4e, 4i, and 4j exhibited remarkable inhibitory activities against topoisomerase I, II, and tubulin polymerisation. They increased the protein expression level of γH2AX, indicating DNA damage, and arrested HCT116 in G2/M phase, possibly through the ATR/CHK1/Cdc25C pathway. Thus, the novel ciprofloxacin hybrids could be exploited as potential leads for further investigation as novel anticancer medicines to fight colorectal carcinoma.