Metabolic products of microorganisms. 192. The anthraquinones of the Aspergillus glaucus group. II. Biological activity

From the mycelia of Aspergillus cristatus the following anthraquionic pigments were isolated: catenarin, emodin, erythroglaucin, rubrocristin, physcion, physcion-9-anthrone, questin, viocristin, and isoviocristin. The latter two do not belong to the 9, 10-anthraquinone series but to the 1,4-anthraquinones, and so far they have not been reported among naturally occurring quinones.Emodin, catenarin, viocristin, and isoviocristin snowed antibacterial activity with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 1–10 g/ml. In Bacillus brevis catenarin and emodin inhibited the incorporation of uracil and leucine preferentially. At higher concentrations the incorporation of thymidine into the trichloroacetic acid-precipitable fraction of cells was also affected. In the presence of viocristin or isoviocristin all three macromolecular syntheses came to a halt. Rubrocristin, erythroglaucin, and physcion showed no significant inhibitory effects.In Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells catenarin, emodin, and viocristin inhibited the incorporation of uridine and thymidine. The incorporation of leucine was hardly affected.In vitro, inhibition of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli by catenarin and to a lesser extent by emodin was observed, whereas rubrocristin (catenarin-8-methyl ether), physcion, and erythroglaucin were not active.Abbreviations MIC minimal inhibitory concentration - TCA trichloroacetic acid - ECA Ehrlich ascites carcinoma Metabolic Products of Microorganisms. 191. W. Keller-Schierlein und B. Joos; Über das 4-Oxohomotyrosin, ein Abbauprodukt des Echinocandins. Helv. Chim. Acta (in press)     

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Lavandulapedunculata subsp. atlantica (Braun‐Blanq.) Romo Essential Oil and Selected Terpenoids against Resistant Bacteria Strains–Structure–Activity Relationships

The genus Lavandula is known for its different uses in traditional medicine. This study is interested in the chemical composition of Lavandulapedunculata subsp.atlantica (Braun‐Blanq. ) Romo as well as evaluating its antibacterial potential against multi‐resistant strains. The analysis of Lavandulaatlantica essential oil (LAEO) allows the identification of 47 components representing 93.6 % of all identified. The main constituent of LAEO was camphor (50.4 %), followed by fenchone (14.1 %) and camphene (5.6 %). The antibacterial assays revealed that LAEO was active against all the studied bacteria. A preliminary study of the relationship between certain terpenoids and antibacterial activity was also carried out in order to note the compound(s) that are responsible for LAEO's antibacterial activity. This study showed that the activity of the essential oil may be due to the presence of certain minor compounds such as carvone, considering the presence of the synergistic effect between the essential oil.     

Expression and Characterization of a Functional Single-Chain Variable Fragment (scFv) Protein Recognizing MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells in E. coli Cytoplasm

Single-chain variable fragment (scFv) is one of the most common antibody forms. This report describes the expression of the scFv gene as a soluble protein in Origami DE3 cytoplasm. The purified scFv recognized the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFRvIII) on the surface of MCF-7 cells. The scFv protein was purified in soluble form at a concentration of 10 mg/l, and the scFv protein activity and specificity were characterized using several immunological assays. The purified scFv protein showed specific binding to MCF-7 cells, evidenced by a band of 68 kDa in Western blot analysis, and immunofluorescence clearly proved that the scFv antibody recognized the EGFRvIII antigen epitopes. Furthermore, 53 % of the MCF-7 cells were bound to scFv protein, as measured by flow cytometry analysis. This study demonstrated that the Origami DE3 expression system can produce single-chain antibodies in active form for later use in gene therapy and vaccine production.     

Dinoflagellate cyst distribution in marine surface sediments off West Africa (17–6°N) in relation to sea-surface conditions, freshwater input and seasonal coastal upwelling

An organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst analysis was carried out on 53 surface sediment samples from West Africa (17–6°N) to obtain insight in the relationship between their spatial distribution and hydrological conditions in the upper water column as well as marine productivity in the study area.Multivariate analysis of the dinoflagellate cyst relative abundances and environmental parameters of the water column shows that sea-surface temperature, salinity, marine productivity and bottom water oxygen are the factors that relate significantly to the distribution patterns of individual species in the region.The composition of cyst assemblages and dinoflagellate cyst concentrations allows the identification of four hydrographic regimes; 1) the northern regime between 17 and 14°N characterized by high productivity associated with seasonal coastal upwelling, 2) the southern regime between 12 and 6°N associated with high-nutrient waters influenced by river discharge 3) the intermediate regime between 14 and 12°N influenced mainly by seasonal coastal upwelling additionally associated with fluvial input of terrestrial nutrients and 4) the offshore regime characterized by low chlorophyll-a concentrations in upper waters and high bottom water oxygen concentrations.Our data show that cysts of Polykrikos kofoidii, Selenopemphix quanta, Dubridinium spp., Echinidinium species, cysts of Protoperidinium monospinum and Spiniferites pachydermus are the best proxies to reconstruct the boundary between the NE trade winds and the monsoon winds in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. The association of Bitectatodinium spongium, Lejeunecysta oliva, Quinquecuspis concreta, Selenopemphix nephroides, Trinovantedinium applanatum can be used to reconstruct past river outflow variations within this region.     

Insulators, not Polycomb response elements, are required for long-range interactions between Polycomb targets in Drosophila melanogaster

The genomic binding sites of Polycomb group (PcG) complexes have been found to cluster, forming Polycomb "bodies" or foci in mammalian or fly nuclei. These associations are thought to be driven by interactions between PcG complexes and result in enhanced repression. Here, we show that a Polycomb response element (PRE) with strong PcG binding and repressive activity cannot mediate trans interactions. In the case of the two best-studied interacting PcG targets in Drosophila, the Mcp and the Fab-7 regulatory elements, we find that these associations are not dependent on or caused by the Polycomb response elements they contain. Using functional assays and physical colocalization by in vivo fluorescence imaging or chromosome conformation capture (3C) methods, we show that the interactions between remote copies of Mcp or Fab-7 elements are dependent on the insulator activities present in these elements and not on their PREs. We conclude that insulator binding proteins rather than PcG complexes are likely to be the major determinants of the long-range higher-order organization of PcG targets in the nucleus.     

Genetic Aspects of Myoclonus–Dystonia Syndrome (MDS)

Myoclonus–dystonia (M–D) is an autosomal-dominant movement disorder with onset in the first two decades of life. Mutations in the epsilon-sarcoglycan gene (SGCE, DYT11) on chromosome 7q21–q31 represent the major genetic cause of M–D in some populations. The syndrome was related with mutations in two other genes (DRD2 and DYT1). A second locus has been reported in one large M–D family (DYT15, 18p11), but no gene has been identified yet. In this review, we discuss genetic aspects of myoclonus–dystonia.     

Expression of adiponectin receptors in pancreatic beta cells

Pancreatic beta cell dysfunction is an early and crucial pathogenic factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. Free fatty acids (FFA) and adipokines released from adipose tissues lead to both the development of insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction. Adiponectin is a novel adipokine with antidiabetic properties. Its circulating concentrations are reduced in subjects with increased visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, or type 2 diabetes. Very recently, the cloning of two adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 was reported. AdipoR1 is abundantly expressed in muscle, while AdipoR2 is predominantly expressed in liver. Here we report the marked expression of mRNAs for the adiponectin receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 in human and rat pancreatic beta cells, at levels similar to liver and greater than muscle. Adiponectin receptor expression is increased by beta cell exposure to the unsaturated FFA oleate, and treatment of insulin-producing cells with globular adiponectin induces lipoprotein lipase expression. Regulated adiponectin receptor expression on pancreatic beta cells might be a novel mechanism modulating the effects of circulating adiponectin.