Evaluation of colors in green mutants isolated from purple bacteria as a host for colorimetric whole-cell biosensors

The change in carotenoid-based bacterial color from yellow to red can be applied to whole-cell biosensors. We generated several green mutants to emphasize the color change in such biosensors. The blue-green crtI-deleted mutant, Rhodopseudomonas palustris no.711, accumulated the colorless carotenoid precursor, phytoene. Green Rhodovulum sulfidophilum M31 accumulated neurosporene, a downstream product of phytoene. Another green mutant, Rhodobacter sphaeroides Ga, accumulated neurosporene and chloroxanthin, which are both downstream products of phytoene. All green mutants accumulated bacteriochlorophyll a. Photosynthetic membrane obtained from the green mutants all exhibited decreased absorption of wavelength range at 510–570 nm. Therefore, these indicate that the greenish bacterial colors were mainly caused by the existence of bacteriochlorophyll a and the changes in carotenoid composition in photosynthetic membrane. The colors of the green mutants and their wild-type strains were plotted in the CIE-L*a*b* color space, and the color difference (ΔE*ab) values between a green mutant and its wild type were calculated. ΔE*ab values were higher in the green mutants than in Rdv. sulfidophilum CDM2, the yellowish host strain of reported biosensors. These data indicate that change in bacterial color from green to red is more distinguishable than that from yellow to red as a reporter signal of carotenoid-based whole-cell biosensors.     

Crystal structures of blasticidin S deaminase (BSD): implications for dynamic properties of catalytic zinc

The set of blasticidin S (BS) and blasticidin S deaminase (BSD) is a widely used selectable marker for gene transfer experiments. BSD is a member of the cytidine deaminase (CDA) family; it is a zinc-dependent enzyme with three cysteines and one water molecule as zinc ligands. The crystal structures of BSD were determined in six states (i.e. native, substrate-bound, product-bound, cacodylate-bound, substrate-bound E56Q mutant, and R90K mutant). In the structures, the zinc position and coordination structures vary. The substrate-bound structure shows a large positional and geometrical shift of zinc with a double-headed electron density of the substrate that seems to be assigned to the amino and hydroxyl groups of the substrate and product, respectively. In this intermediate-like structure, the steric hindrance of the hydroxyl group pushes the zinc into the triangular plane consisting of three cysteines with a positional shift of approximately 0.6 A, and the fifth ligand water approaches the opposite direction of the substrate with a shift of 0.4 A. Accordingly, the zinc coordination is changed from tetrahedral to trigonal bipyramidal, and its coordination distance is extended between zinc and its intermediate. The shift of zinc and the recruited water is also observed in the structure of the inactivated E56Q mutant. This novel observation is different in two-cysteine cytidine deaminase Escherichia coli CDA and might be essential for the reaction mechanism in BSD, since it is useful for the easy release of the product by charge compensation and for the structural change of the substrate.     

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide induces osteoclast formation in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent bone resorbing factor. The effect of LPS on osteoclast formation was examined by using murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. LPS-induced the formation of multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in RAW 264.7 cells 3 days after the exposure. MGCs were positive for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity. Further, MGC formed resorption pits on calcium-phosphate thin film that is a substrate for osteoclasts. Therefore, LPS was suggested to induce osteoclast formation in RAW 264.7 cells. LPS-induced osteoclast formation was abolished by anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha antibody, but not antibodies to macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB ligand (RANKL). TNF-alpha might play a critical role in LPS-induced osteoclast formation in RAW 264.7 cells. Inhibitors of NF-kappaB and stress activated protein kinase (SAPK/JNK) prevented the LPS-induced osteoclast formation. The detailed mechanism of LPS-induced osteoclast formation is discussed.     

Ligand-binding activity and expression profile of annexins in Caenorhabditis elegans

Mammalian annexins are implicated in several physiological mechanisms based on their calcium-dependent phospholipid/membrane binding and carbohydrate-binding activities. In this study, we investigated gene expression profiles of all four Caenorhabditis elegans annexins, nex-1, -2, -3 and -4, throughout the development, and compared phospholipid- and carbohydrate-binding properties of their protein products, NEX-1, -2, -3 and -4. We found that nex-1 and -3 are transcribed continuously during the developmental stages, while expression of nex-2 and -4 appeared to be temporal, peaking at the L1 stage followed by a gradual decrease toward the adult stage. NEX-1 and -3 were detected as single protein band in total worm extracts by immunoblotting, but NEX-2 was heterogenic in size. NEX-1, -2, and -3 showed the binding activities to phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine, but not to phosphatidylcholine. In contrast to their uniform phospholipids-binding properties, their glycosaminoglycan-binding activities were distinctive. NEX-2 bound to heparan sulfate and chondroitin, NEX-3 bound only to heparan sulfate, and NEX-1 showed no lectin activities under tested conditions. NEX-4 had neither phospholipids- nor carbohydrate-binding properties. Differentiated expression profiles and ligand-binding properties of NEX-1, -2, -3 and -4, shown in our study, may represent distinctive roles for each C. elegans annexins.     

Design and synthesis of new potent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors with enhanced ex vivo duration

A series of 5beta-methylprolyl-2-cyanopyrrolidine analogs were synthesized and evaluated as DPP-IV inhibitors, and the duration of their ex vivo activity was assessed. Comparison of their potency and duration of action was done among three different species. The mode of binding was investigated, and the effect on the plasma glucose level was evaluated. Structure-activity relationships are also presented.     

An expeditious synthesis of tamoxifen, a representative SERM (selective estrogen receptor modulator), via the three-component coupling reaction among aromatic aldehyde, cinnamyltrimethylsilane, and beta-chlorophenetole

Two new synthetic pathways to the anti-cancer agent tamoxifen and its derivatives were developed. The first route involved the aldol reaction of benzyl phenyl ketone with acetaldehyde followed by Friedel–Crafts substitution with anisole in the presence of Cl₂Si(OTf)₂ to produce 1,1,2-triaryl-3-acetoxybutane, a precursor of the tamoxifen derivatives. The second one utilized the novel three-component coupling reaction among aromatic aldehydes, cinnamyltrimethylsilane, and aromatic nucleophiles using HfCl₄ as a Lewis acid catalyst to produce 3,4,4-triarylbutene, that is also a valuable intermediate of the tamoxifen derivatives. The former strategy requires a total of 10 steps from the aldol formation to the final conversion to tamoxifen, whereas the latter needs only three or four steps to produce tamoxifen and droloxifene including the installation of the side-chain moiety and the base-induced double-bond migration to form the tetra-substituted olefin structure. This synthetic strategy seems to serve as a new and practical pathway to prepare not only the tamoxifen derivatives but also the other SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators) including estrogen-dependent breast cancer and osteoporosis agents.     

Detection of streptomycin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from China as determined by denaturing HPLC analysis and DNA sequencing

China is regarded by the World Health Organization as a major hot-spot region for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Streptomycin has been deployed in China for over 50 years and is still widely used for tuberculosis treatment. We have developed a denaturing HPLC (DHPLC) method for detecting various gene mutations conferring drug resistance in M. tuberculosis. The present study focused on rpsL and rrs mutation analysis. Two hundred and fifteen M. tuberculosis clinical isolates (115 proved to be streptomycin-resistant and 100 susceptible by a routine proportional method) from China were tested to determine the streptomycin minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), and subjected to DHPLC and concurrent DNA sequencing to determine rpsL and rrs mutations. The results showed that 85.2% (98/115) of streptomycin-resistant isolates harbored rpsL or rrs mutation, while rpsL mutation (76.5%, 88/115) dominated. MIC of 98 mutated isolates revealed no close correlation between mutation types and levels of streptomycin resistance. No mutation was found in any of the susceptible isolates. The DHPLC results were completely consistent with those of sequencing. The DHPLC method devised in this study can be regarded as a useful and powerful tool for detection of streptomycin resistance. This is the first report to describe DHPLC analysis of mutations in the rpsL and rrs genes of M. tuberculosis in a large number of clinical isolates.     

Laboratory-based evaluation of TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" to detect toxins A and B of clostridium difficile]

The TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" which detects both toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB) of Clostridium difficile in stool specimens through immunochromatography was first approved to be released in Japan, and we evaluated its accuracy. In the evaluation, the TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" could correctly detect TcdA and TcdB in solution and in stool specimens spiked with culture broth of TcdA and/or TcdB-producing isolates of C. difficile. The minimum detectable concentrations for TcdA and TcdB were determined to be < or =0.32 ng/ml and < or =0.63 ng/ml, respectively. The TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" gave the consistent results with the colon-endoscopic diagnosis, that is, all the 10 stool specimens from the patients with pseudomembranous colitis were read as being positive, but negative for five patients without any C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD). Of 10 positive stool specimens, one was read as being negative by the commercially available test reagents that can detect only TcdA. In clinical evaluation, a total of 240 stool specimens were tested. Of these, the TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" gave 19 positive results, and TcdA and/or TcdB-producing strains of C. difficile were successfully isolated from all the positive stool specimens, except one. Whereas, of 221 negative stool specimens, 28 isolates of C. difficile were recovered and 11 isolates were identified as TcdA and/or TcdB-producing strains. With these results, it can be concluded that the TOX A/B QUIK CHEK "NISSUI" can correctly detect both TcdA and TcdB of C. difficile, and should be promptly applied to clinical microbiology laboratory to make a definite diagnosis of CDAD, particularly for the CDAD caused by the TcdA-negative but TcdB-positive mutant strains.     

Monitoring of environmental arsenic by cultures of the photosynthetic bacterial sensor illuminated with a near-infrared light emitting diode array

Recombinant Rhodopseudomonas palustris, harboring the carotenoid-metabolizing gene crtI (CrtIBS), and whose color changes from greenish yellow to red in response to inorganic As(III), was cultured in transparent microplate wells illuminated with a light emitting diode (LED) array. The cells were seen to grow better under near-infrared light, when compared with cells illuminated with blue or green LEDs. The absorbance ratio of 525 to 425 nm after cultivation for 24 h, which reflects red carotenoid accumulation, increased with an increase in As(III) concentrations. The detection limit of cultures illuminated with near-infrared LED was 5 microgram/l, which was equivalent to that of cultures in test tubes illuminated with an incandescent lamp. A near-infrared LED array, in combination with a microplate, enabled the simultaneous handling of multiple cultures, including CrtIBS and a control strain, for normalization by the illumination of those with equal photon flux densities. Thus, the introduction of a near-infrared LED array to the assay is advantageous for the monitoring of arsenic in natural water samples that may contain a number of unknown factors and, therefore, need normalization of the reporter event.     

High Predation Pressure by an Introduced Flatworm on Land Snails on the Oceanic Ogasawara Islands1

The introduction of a predatory flatworm, Platydemus manokwari, has been considered a cause of the decline of endemic land snails on the tropical oceanic islands. To clarify the effect of P. manokwari on land snail survival in the field, we examined survival rates of snails experimentally placed in areas where snails are absent (i.e., P. manokwari is present) on Chichijima, Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. We found that over 50 and 90 percent of the snails were dead after 3 and 11 d, respectively, and that the main cause of mortality was predation by P. manokwari.