Preliminary biological evaluations of new thalidomide analogues for multiple sclerosis application

The present work deals with the synthesis of a new series of thalidomide derivatives for therapeutic applications. These compounds were evaluated in vitro on a human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 for their antiproliferative potential and in vivo on an experimental animal multiple sclerosis model called EAE as angiogenesis inhibitors. The preliminary results obtained on EAE assays seem to validate that anti-angiogenesis compounds could be promising tools for the treatment of MS.     

Biochemical characterization of a recombinant short-chain NAD(H)-dependent dehydrogenase/reductase from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

The gene encoding a novel alcohol dehydrogenase that belongs to the short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs) superfamily was identified in the aerobic thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius strain DSM 639. The saadh gene was heterologously overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the protein (SaADH) was purified to homogeneity and characterized. SaADH is a tetrameric enzyme consisting of identical 28,978-Da subunits, each composed of 264 amino acids. The enzyme has remarkable thermophilicity and thermal stability, displaying activity at temperatures up to 75°C and a 30-min half-inactivation temperature of ~90°C, and shows good tolerance to common organic solvents. SaADH has a strict requirement for NAD(H) as the coenzyme, and displays a preference for the reduction of alicyclic, bicyclic and aromatic ketones and α-keto esters, but is poorly active on aliphatic, cyclic and aromatic alcohols, and shows no activity on aldehydes. The enzyme catalyses the reduction of α-methyl and α-ethyl benzoylformate, and methyl o-chlorobenzoylformate with 100% conversion to methyl (S)-mandelate [17% enantiomeric excess (ee)], ethyl (R)-mandelate (50% ee), and methyl (R)-o-chloromandelate (72% ee), respectively, with an efficient in situ NADH-recycling system which involves glucose and a thermophilic glucose dehydrogenase. This study provides further evidence supporting the critical role of the D37 residue in discriminating NAD(H) from NAD(P)H in members of the SDR superfamily.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of nocathiacin I analogues

Stereoselective reduction of dehydroalanine double bond in nocathiacin I afforded the primary amide 2. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the amide 2 provided the carboxylic acid 3, which upon coupling with a variety of amines furnished amides 4-32. Some of these semi-synthetic derivatives have retained very good antibacterial activity and have improved aqueous solubility.     

Elevated blood Hsp60, its structural similarities and cross-reactivity with thyroid molecules,and its presence on the plasma membrane of oncocytes point to the chaperonin as an immunopathogenic factor in Hashimoto's thyroiditis

The role Hsp60 might play in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases is under investigation, but little information exists pertaining to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT). With the aim to fill this gap, in the present work, we directed our attention to Hsp60 participation in HT pathogenesis. We found Hsp60 levels increased in the blood of HT patients compared to controls. The chaperonin was immunolocalized in thyroid tissue specimens from patients with HT, both in thyrocytes and oncocytes (Hurthle cells) with higher levels compared to controls (goiter). In oncocytes, we found Hsp60 not only in the cytoplasm but also on the plasma membrane, as shown by double immunofluorescence performed on fine needle aspiration cytology. By bioinformatics, we found regions in the Hsp60 molecule with remarkable structural similarity with the thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) molecules, which supports the notion that autoantibodies against TG and TPO are likely to recognize Hsp60 on the plasma membrane of oncocytes. This was also supported by data obtained by ELISA, showing that anti-TG and anti-TPO antibodies cross-react with human recombinant Hsp60. Antibody-antigen (Hsp60) reaction on the cell surface could very well mediate thyroid cell damage and destruction, perpetuating inflammation. Experiments with recombinant Hsp60 did not show stimulation of cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from HT patients. All together, these results led us to hypothesize that Hsp60 may be an active player in HT pathogenesis via an antibody-mediated immune mechanism.     

Interaction between the lipoamide-containing H-protein and the lipoamide dehydrogenase (L-protein) of the glycine decarboxylase multienzyme system. 1. Biochemical studies.

Lipoamide dehydrogenase or dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (EC 1.8.1. 4) is the E3-protein component of the mitochondrial 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes. It is also the L-protein component of the glycine decarboxylase system. Although the enzymology of this enzyme has been studied exhaustively using free lipoamide as substrate, no data are available concerning the kinetic parameters of this enzyme with its physiological substrates, the dihydrolipoyl domain of the E2 component (dihydrolipoyl acyltransferase) of the 2-oxoacid dehydrogenase multienzyme complexes or the dihydrolipoyl H-protein of the mitochondrial glycine decarboxylase. In this paper, we demonstrate that Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine, a specific disulfide reducing agent, allows a continuous reduction of the lipoyl group associated with the H-protein during the course of the reaction catalysed by the L-protein. This provided a valuable new tool with which to study the catalytic properties of the lipoamide dehydrogenase. The L-protein displayed a much higher affinity for the dihydrolipoyl H-protein than for free dihydrolipoamide. The oxidation of the dihydrolipoyl H-protein was not affected by the presence of structurally related analogues (apoH-protein or octanoylated H-protein). In marked contrast, these analogues strongly and competitively inhibited the decarboxylation of the glycine molecule catalysed by the P-protein component of the glycine decarboxylase system. Small unfolded proteolytic fragments of the H-protein, containing the lipoamide moiety, displayed Km values for the L-protein close to that found for the H-protein. On the other hand, these fragments were not able to promote the decarboxylation of the glycine in the presence of the P-protein. New highly hydrophilic lipoate analogues were synthesized. All of them showed Km and kcat/Km values very close to that found for the H-protein. From our results we concluded that no structural interaction is required for the L-protein to catalyse the oxidation of the dihydrolipoyl H-protein. We discuss the possibility that one function of the H-protein is to maintain a high concentration of the hydrophobic lipoate molecules in a nonmicellar state which would be accessible to the catalytic site of the lipoamide dehydrogenase.     

Paclitaxel induces apoptosis in Saos-2 cells with CD95L upregulation and Bcl-2 phosphorylation.

We examined the effect of paclitaxel on human osteoblastic cells Saos-2 to determine if paclitaxel can affect proliferation and apoptosis. We used a p53-negative cell line in order to mimic the loss of function frequently observed at the clinical level. Paclitaxel induced cell death in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Marked nuclear condensation and fragmentation of chromatin were observed by Hoechst 33258 stain, DNA ladder formation, electron microscopy, and flow cytometry at concentrations as low as 100 nM, a concentration which can be achieved by infusion in human plasma. At 100 nM, paclitaxel induced a G2 arrest at 8 h of treatment. The cells then continued to accumulate in G2 until 72 h when the percentage of apoptotic events reached 54%. At the molecular level, Bcl-2 protein was phosphorylated at 16 h and PARP protein was cleaved, indicating the activation of caspase-3-like proteases. Caspase inhibitors Z-VAD-FMK and Z-DEVD-FMK rescued Saos-2 cells from paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. CD95 expression was constantly high, while CD95L showed a threefold increase in expression. This suggests that, following the G2 arrest, apoptosis is induced through the CD95/CD95L system.     

Evaluation of the protection exerted by Pisum sativum Ferredoxin-NADP(H) Reductase against injury induced by hypothermia on Cos-7 cells

Hypothermia is employed as a method to diminish metabolism rates and preserve tissues and cells. However, low temperatures constitute a stress that produces biochemical changes whose extension depends on the duration and degree of cold exposure and is manifested when physiological temperature is restored. For many cellular types, cold induces an oxidative stress that is dependent on the elevation of intracellular iron, damages macromolecules, and is prevented by the addition of iron chelators. Pisum sativum Ferredoxin-NADP(H) Reductase (FNR) has been implicated in protection from injury mediated by intracellular iron increase and successfully used to reduce oxidative damage on bacterial, plant and mammalian systems. In this work, FNR was expressed in Cos-7 cells; then, they were submitted to cold incubation and iron overload to ascertain whether this enzyme was capable of diminishing the harm produced by these challenges. Contrary to expected, FNR was not protective and even exacerbated the damage under certain circumstances. It was also found that the injury induced by hypothermia in Cos-7 cells presented both iron-dependent and iron-independent components of damage when cells were actively dividing but only iron-independent component when cells were in an arrested state. This is in agreement with previous findings which showed that iron-dependent damage is also an energy-dependent process.     

Intergeneric and intrageneric conjugal transfer of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance determinants in Leuconostoc spp.

Transfer of the broad-host-range resistance plasmids pIP501 and pAM beta 1 from Streptococcus faecalis to Leuconostoc dextranicum and Leuconostoc cremoris occurred between cells that were immobilized on nitrocellulose filters in the presence of DNase. Transfer of pIP501 to Leuconostoc spp. also occurred when Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus lactis were used as donors. In addition, transfer of pIP501 and pAM beta 1 was observed from L. cremoris and L. dextranicum transconjugants to S. sanguis and S. faecalis. Expression of the pAM beta 1 erythromycin and pIP501 erythromycin and chloramphenicol resistance determinants was essentially equivalent in donors and transconjugants. Frequencies of transfer generally ranged from 10(-4) to 10(-7) transconjugants per input donor cell. Intrageneric transfer of pIP501 and pAM beta 1 occurred between L. cremoris and L. dextranicum strains in the same approximate range. These data further extend the host range of pIP501 and pAM beta 1 and demonstrate another example of gene transfer in the genus Leuconostoc.     

The cytoplasmic peptidoglycan precursor of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis terminates in lactate.

Vancomycin resistance plasmids in enterococci carry the genes vanH and vanA, which encode enzymes catalyzing, respectively, the reduction of 2-keto acids to 2-D-hydroxy acids and the addition of D-hydroxy acids to D-alanine. It has therefore been postulated that resistant cells produce peptidoglycan precursors that terminate in the depsipeptide D-alanine-2-D-hydroxy acid rather than the dipeptide D-alanine-D-alanine, thus preventing vancomycin binding (M. Arthur, C. Molinas, T. D. H. Bugg, G. D. Wright, C. T. Walsh, and P. Courvalin, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 36:867-869, 1992). In the present work, a cytoplasmic peptidoglycan precursor was isolated from vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and analyzed by mass spectrometry, which suggested the structure UDP-N-acetyl-muramyl-L-Ala-D-Glu-L-Lys-D-Ala-D-lactate.     

Cloning, expression, and nucleotide sequence of genes involved in production of pediocin PA-1, and bacteriocin from Pediococcus acidilactici PAC1.0.

The production of pediocin PA-1, a small heat-stable bacteriocin, is associated with the presence of the 9.4-kbp plasmid pSRQ11 in Pediococcus acidilactici PAC1.0. It was shown by subcloning of pSRQ11 in Escherichia coli cloning vectors that pediocin PA-1 is produced and, most probably, secreted by E. coli cells. Deletion analysis showed that a 5.6-kbp SalI-EcoRI fragment derived from pSRQ11 is required for pediocin PA-1 production. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this 5.6-kbp fragment indicated the presence of four clustered open reading frames (pedA, pedB, pedC, and pedD). The pedA gene encodes a 62-amino-acid precursor of pediocin PA-1, as the predicted amino acid residues 19 to 62 correspond entirely to the amino acid sequence of the purified pediocin PA-1. Introduction of a mutation in pedA resulted in a complete loss of pediocin production. The pedB and pedC genes, encoding proteins of 112 and 174 amino acid residues, respectively, are located directly downstream of the pediocin structural gene. Functions could not be assigned to their gene products; mutation analysis showed that the PedB protein is not involved in pediocin PA-1 production. The mutation analysis further revealed that the fourth gene, pedD, specifying a relatively large protein of 724 amino acids, is required for pediocin PA-1 production in E. coli. The predicted pedD protein shows strong similarities to several ATP-dependent transport proteins, including the E. coli hemolysin secretion protein HlyB and the ComA protein, which is required for competence induction for genetic transformation in Streptococcus pneumoniae.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)