Integrated analytical approach in veal calves administered the anabolic androgenic steroids boldenone and boldione: urine and plasma kinetic profile and changes in plasma protein expression

Surveillance of illegal use of steroids hormones in cattle breeding is a key issue to preserve human health. To this purpose, an integrated approach has been developed for the analysis of plasma and urine from calves treated orally with a single dose of a combination of the androgenic steroids boldenone and boldione. A quantitative estimation of steroid hormones was obtained by LC-APCI-Q-MS/MS analysis of plasma and urine samples obtained at various times up to 36 and 24 h after treatment, respectively. These experiments demonstrated that boldione was never found, while boldenone alpha- and beta-epimers were detected in plasma and urine only within 2 and 24 h after drug administration, respectively. Parallel proteomic analysis of plasma samples was obtained by combined 2-DE, MALDI-TOF-MS and muLC-ESI-IT-MS/MS procedures. A specific protein, poorly represented in normal plasma samples collected before treatment, was found upregulated even 36 h after hormone treatment. Extensive mass mapping experiments proved this component as an N-terminal truncated form of apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), a protein involved in cholesterol transport. The expression profile of ApoA1 analysed by Western blot analysis confirmed a significant and time dependent increase of this ApoA1 fragment. Then, provided that further experiments performed with a growth-promoting schedule will confirm these preliminary findings, truncated ApoA1 may be proposed as a candidate biomarker for steroid boldenone and possibly other anabolic androgens misuse in cattle veal calves, when no traces of hormones are detectable in plasma or urine.     

Unexpected Receptor Functional Mimicry Elucidates Activation of Coronavirus Fusion

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Synthesis and enantioselectivity of the enantiomers of PG9 and SM21, new potent analgesic and cognition-enhancing drugs

The enantiomers of two α-tropanyl esters, SM₂₁ (1) and PG₉ (2), derived from (+)-R-hyoscyamine, that act by increasing the central cholinergic tone, were obtained by esterification after resolution of the corresponding racemic acids [(−)-S-1, (−)-R-2 and (+)-S-2] and by stereospecific synthesis [(+)-R-1]. Their analgesic and cognition-enhancing activities were tested in mice and their ACh-releasing properties determined on rat parietal cortex. These compounds show enantioselectivity in analgesic and cognition-enhancing tests on mice, the eutomers being the isomers which possess the same spatial arrangement of the groups on the chiral atom as (+)-R hyoscyamine [(+)-R-SM₂₁, (+)-S-PG₉]. The ACh-releasing effect of the enantiomers of SM₂₁ in rats is in agreement with the results in mice, while PG₉ enantiomers do not show any appreciable enantioselectivity in this test. On the basis of the different effects of the 5-HT₄ antagonist SDZ 205557 on analgesia induced by the enantiomers of 1 and 2 and by (+)-R-hyoscyamine and the α-tropanyl ester of 2-phenylpropionic acid 3, a mechanism of action is proposed for this class of compounds. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Cooling intact and demembranated trabeculae from rat heart releases myosin motors from their inhibited conformation

Myosin filament–based regulation supplements actin filament–based regulation to control the strength and speed of contraction in heart muscle. In diastole, myosin motors form a folded helical array that inhibits actin interaction; during contraction, they are released from that array. A similar structural transition has been observed in mammalian skeletal muscle, in which cooling below physiological temperature has been shown to reproduce some of the structural features of the activation of myosin filaments during active contraction. Here, we used small-angle x-ray diffraction to characterize the structural changes in the myosin filaments associated with cooling of resting and relaxed trabeculae from the right ventricle of rat hearts from 39°C to 7°C. In intact quiescent trabeculae, cooling disrupted the folded helical conformation of the myosin motors and induced extension of the filament backbone, as observed in the transition from diastole to peak systolic force at 27°C. Demembranation of trabeculae in relaxing conditions induced expansion of the filament lattice, but the structure of the myosin filaments was mostly preserved at 39°C. Cooling of relaxed demembranated trabeculae induced changes in motor conformation and filament structure similar to those observed in intact quiescent trabeculae. Osmotic compression of the filament lattice to restore its spacing to that of intact trabeculae at 39°C stabilized the helical folded state against disruption by cooling. The myosin filament structure and motor conformation of intact trabeculae at 39°C were largely preserved in demembranated trabeculae at 27°C or above in the presence of Dextran, allowing the physiological mechanisms of myosin filament–based regulation to be studied in those conditions.     

A spectrofluorometric analysis to evaluate transcutaneous biodistribution of fluorescent nanoparticulate gel formulations

The investigation of the absorption of drug delivery systems, designed for the transport of therapeutic molecules inside the body, could be relatively simplified by the fluorophore association and tracking by means of bio-imaging techniques (i.e., optical in vivo imaging or confocal and multiphoton microscopy). However, when a fluorescence signal comes out from the skin, its specific detection can be problematic. Skin high autofluorescence can hinder the observation of administered exogenous fluorophores conjugated to drug delivery systems, making it more challenging to detect their biodistribution. In the present study, we have developed a method based on the spectrofluorometric analysis of skin samples to discriminate the fluorescent signal coming from administered fluorescent molecules from the background. Moreover, we gave a semi-quantitative evaluation of the signal intensity. Thus, we distinguished two gel formulations loading the fluorophore rhodamine B (called GEL RHO and GEL SLN-RHO). The two formulations of gels, one of which containing solid lipid nanoparticles (GEL RHO-SLN), were administered on skin explants incubated in a bioreactor, and the penetration was evaluated at different time points (2 and 6 hours). Cryostatic sections of skin samples were observed with confocal laser scanning microscopy, and a spectrofluorometric analysis was performed. Significantly higher signal intensity in the samples administered with SLN-RHO GEL, with a preferential accumulation in the hair bulbs, was found. Reaching also the deeper layers of the hair shaft after 6 hours, the solid lipid nanoparticles thickened with polymer represent a suitable drug delivery system for transcutaneous administration.Key words: Organ culture, bioreactor, transcutaneous biodistribution, spectrofluorimetric analysis     

Intraspecific Diversity within Diaporthe Helianthi: Evidence from Rdna Intergenic Spacer (IGS) Sequence Analysis

Diaporthe helianthi is the causal agent of sunflower stem canker, a serious pathogen of sunflower in Europe but recorded sporadically in Italy. The genetic diversity of D. helianthi isolates from different geographic origins (Argentina, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Romania) was investigated using IGS sequences. A 400 bp fragment of the portion of the IGS region flanking the 5' end of the 18S gene was amplified from each isolate. The aligned nucleotide sequences showed intraspecific sequence homology from 99-100% among French/Yugoslavian isolates to 95-100% among Italian isolates. French/Yugoslavian isolates shared 90-92% sequence homology with Italian isolates. The phylogenetic tree obtained from the aligned data revealed three separate groups. Group 1 included all isolates from France and former Yugoslavia and one isolate from Argentina; Group 2 included all Italian isolates and one isolate from Argentina. The most distantly related isolate was that from Romania (Group 3). The average genetic distances among isolates within Group 1 and within Group 2 were 0.22 and 3.29 respectively. The analysis showed that all isolates originating from countries where severe outbreaks of the disease are reported annually (France and former Yugoslavia) form a well defined taxon characterized by relatively low variability. This group is distinct from the group formed by isolates originating from Italy, whose variability is relatively much higher. Results obtained revealed a marked differentiation among pathogen isolates, and members of Group 1 seem not yet to have spread into Italian sunflower-growing areas.     

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitor indinavir directly affects the opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), that includes human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors (PIs), has been remarkably efficacious including against some opportunistic infections. In this report we investigated the effect(s) of the PI indinavir on protease activity by Cryptococcus neoformans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for recurrent meningoencephalitis in AIDS patients. Indinavir was also tested for potential effects on other parameters, such as fungal viability, growth ability and susceptibility to immune effector cells. It was found that indinavir impaired cryptococcal protease activity in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. The phenomenon was similarly detectable in ATCC/laboratory strains and clinical isolates. C. neoformans growth rate was also significantly reduced upon exposure to indinavir, while fungal viability was not affected and mitochondrial toxicity not detected. Furthermore, as assessed by an in vitro infection model, indinavir significantly and consistently augmented C. neoformans susceptibility to microglial cell-mediated phagocytosis and killing. Overall, by providing the first evidence that indinavir directly affects C. neoformans, these data add new in vitro insights on the wide-spectrum efficacy of PIs, further arguing for the clinical relevance of HAART against opportunistic infections in AIDS.