Actinophages as indicators of actinomycete taxa in marine environments

It is necessary to continue to screen for new metabolites and evaluate the potential of less known and new bacterial taxa so that new and improved compounds for future use against drug-resistant bacteria or for chemical modification may be developed. There has been considerable interest in the detection and identification of marine microorganisms since they have been reported to produce bioactive compounds ranging from antitumour to antibacterial and antiviral agents. In this study, an improved technique that involves the exploitation of marine actinophages as indicators of the marine actinomycete taxa and uses marine bacteriophages as tools to reduce the numbers of common marine bacteria, which impedes the growth of rare actinomycetes on isolation plates, has been applied. This technique reduced the numbers of colony forming units of unwanted bacteria on isolation plates and hence increased the chances of detecting novel marine actinomycete genera for isolation and subsequent screening for antiviral activity.     

Potent, selective, and orally bioavailable matrix metalloproteinase-13 inhibitors for the treatment of osteoarthritis

Modification of -biphenylsulfonamidocarboxylic acids led to potent and selective MMP-13 inhibitors. Compound 16 showed 100% oral bioavailability in rats and demonstrated >50% inhibition of bovine cartilage degradation at 10 ng/mL.     

Arterial anatomy of the lower lip: a cadaveric study

The aim of the study was to investigate the arterial anatomy of the lower lip. The location, course, length, and diameter of the inferior labial artery and the sublabial artery were revealed by bilateral meticulous anatomic dissections in 14 adult male preserved cadaver heads. Another cadaver head was used for silicone rubber injection to fill the regional arterial tree. The inferior labial artery was the main artery of the lower lip and in all cases branched off the facial artery. The mean length of the inferior labial artery was found to be 52.3 mm (range, 16 to 98 mm). The mean distance of the origin of the inferior labial artery from the labial commissura was 23.9 mm. The mean external diameter of the inferior labial artery at the origin was 1.2 mm. The sublabial artery was present in 10 (71 percent) of the cadavers. Mean measurements of this artery were 1 mm for diameter, 23.4 mm for length, and 27.6 mm for distance from the labial commissura. The sublabial artery may originate from the facial artery or the inferior labial artery. This study found that this region does not have a constant arterial distribution, the inferior labial artery and the sublabial artery (if it exists) can be in different locations unilaterally or bilaterally, and the diameter and the length may vary.     

Screening and simple purification of alanine dehydrogenase in Bacillus strains

Alanine dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.1), in the presence of NAD+, catalyzes the reversible deamination of L-alanine. Screening of alanine dehydrogenase in bacillus strains was carried out to develop its utilization as an industrial and analytical catalyst. Eight bacillus strains were used, including Bacillus megaterium LA 199 which abundantly produces enzymes. Alanine dehydrogenase was purified simply from Bacillus megaterium LA 199 by heat treatment at pH 5.4, followed by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and Sepharose CL-2B chromotography. The enzyme consisted of six subunits with an identical molecular mass of 42.5 kDa. The Km were 1.17 x 10(-2) mM for NADH and 5.12 x 10(-2) mM for pyruvate.     

Influence of exogenous iron and ascorbate on H2O2-induced glutathione oxidation in red cells

The effective fall in cytosolic reduced glutathione levels in intact red cells exposed to exogenous oxidant stress in the form of Fe2+, H2O2 and ascorbate was caused by H2O2 alone. Relatively high concentrations of Fe2+ had no contributory effect on the oxidizing capacity of H2O2. Ascorbate, at physiological levels, showed no protection whereas glucose was totally protective. Since glucose, via hexose monophosphate shunt, is the only source of reducing equivalent in red cells, the NADPH/NADP+ redox role in the diminution of intracellular reduced glutathione.     

Molecular characterization of β-thalassemia in Azerbaijan

We have analyzed the -thalassemia mutations in 99 chromosomes of 49 adults with -thalassemia major and of one with Hb S--thalassemia, who are regular patients at a large hematology clinic in Bakü, Azerbaijan. A total of 20 different mutants were identified; three [frameshift at codon 8 (-AA); IVS-II-I (GA); IVS-I-110 (GA)] were present in about two-thirds of all chromosomes. Most alleles are the same as found in Mediterranean populations; a few have an Asian origin or come from Kurdistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, or a black population. One mutant [frameshift at codons 82/ 83 (-G)] might be specific for the Azerbaijanian population. Nearly all patients were transfused, which made quantitation of Hb F impossible; high^G values were present in the Hb F of those patients whose -thalassemia chromosome carried the C T mutation at position — 158 in the promoter of the ^G-globin gene.     

Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia absinthium</Emphasis> L. on pseudopregnancy model in rats

Researchers have been investigating new treatment strategies for the management of pseudopregnancy, due to some long term causes of this disease including mastitis and mammary tumor. Owing to the side effects of hormone therapy, much attention has been focused on more tolerable treatment options including natural remedies. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of Artemisia absinthium L. (wormwood) on pseudopregnancy model in rats. A. absinthium, which is a perennial shrubby plant from Asteraceae family, was reported to be used as an emmenagogue in folk medicine and was previously shown to modulate dopaminergic system. In the present study, pseudopregnancy model was induced in female Sprague–Dawley rats by injection of pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin. The petroleum ether, dichloromethane and methanol extracts of A. absinthium, prepared by successive extraction method, were orally administered to the rats at 100 mg/kg dose, once daily for 10 days. Bromocriptine (3 mg/kg/per os) was administered to the reference group animals. At the end of the experiment, all of the animals were sacrificed, the blood samples, ovaries and uterine tissues were taken for histopathological and biochemical analysis. According to the results of the present study, the petroleum ether extract displayed beneficial effects in pseudopregnancy model in rats when compared with the control group. Therefore, Gas Chromatography analysis was conducted on this extract to reveal its phytochemical profile.     

Fine mapping of an imprinted gene for familial nonchromaffin paragangliomas, on chromosome 11q23.

Hereditary nonchromaffin paragangliomas (PGL; glomus tumors; MIM 168000) are mostly benign, slow-growing tumors of the head and neck region, inherited from carrier fathers in an autosomal dominant fashion subject to genomic imprinting. Genetic linkage analysis in two large, unrelated Dutch families assigned PGL loci to two regions of chromosome 11, at 11q23 (PGL1) and 11q13.1 (PGL2). We ascertained a total of 11 North American PGL families and confirmed maternal imprinting (inactivation). In three of six families, linkage analysis provided evidence of linkage to the PGL1 locus at 11q23. Recombinants narrowed the critical region to an approximately 4.5-Mb interval flanked by markers D11S1647 and D11S622. Partial allelic loss of strictly maternal origin was detected in 5 of 19 tumors. The greatest degree of imbalance was detected at 11q23, distal to D11S1327 and proximal to CD3D. Age at onset of symptoms was significantly different between fathers and children (Wilcoxon rank-sum test, P < .002). Affected children had an earlier age at onset of symptoms in 39 of 57 father-child pairs (chi2 = 7.74, P < .006). However, a more conservative comparison of the number of pairs in which a child had > or = 5 years earlier age at onset (n = 33) vis-a-vis that of complementary pairs (n = 24) revealed no significant difference (chi2 = 1.42, P > .2). Whether these data represent genetic anticipation or ascertainment bias can be addressed only by analysis of a larger number of father-child pairs.     

Potent and Selective Monoamine Oxidase‐B Inhibitory Activity: Fluoro‐ vs. Trifluoromethyl‐4‐hydroxylated Chalcone Derivatives

For various neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s diseases, selective and reversible MAO‐B inhibitors have a great therapeutic value. In our previous study, we have shown that a series of methoxylated chalcones with F functional group exhibited high binding affinity toward human monoamine oxidase‐B (hMAO‐B). In continuation of our earlier study and to extend the understanding of the structure–activity relationships, a series of five new chalcones were studied for their inhibition of hMAO. The results demonstrated that these compounds are reversible and selective hMAO‐B inhibitors with a competitive mode of inhibition. The most active compound, (2E)‐1‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐3‐[4‐(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]prop‐2‐en‐1‐one, exhibited a K_i value of 0.33 ± 0.01 μm toward hMAO‐B with a selectivity index of 26.36. A molecular docking study revealed that the presence of a H‐bond network in hydroxylated chalcone with the N(5) atom of FAD is crucial for MAO‐B selectivity and potency.     

Suitability of animals' purified milk caseins and their subunit kappa-caseins as substrates for subtilisin and trypsin.

Acid casein and kappa-casein were purified from different species of animal's milk, such as cow, sheep, goat, and water buffalo. These caseins were used as substrates for commercially available subtilisin and trypsin. It was established that, when acid caseins were used as a substrate for subtilisin, cow acid casein was found to be a better substrate for the enzymes, compared to other animals' milk casein. It was suggested that this acid casein has significantly more aromatic amino acids, as compared to arginine and lysine. K(M) and Vmax values, which were obtained for cow kappa-casein, showed that cow kappa-casein was a better susbstrate for trypsin than the others, suggesting that cow kappa-casein has a rich content of lysine, arginine, and aromatic amino acids by comparison with the others. The calculated C/N ratio also supports this suggestion.