Deactivation ofCandida rugosa lipase

Summary Deactivation ofCandida rugosa lipase was found to be complex. Hydrophobic interaction induced by iso-octane influenced the initial phase of deactivation, and increased the turn-over rate of the intermediate in the transition phase. After urea-treatment the structure of the last phase was not further influenced by thermal treatment, whereas that of initial phase was more sensitive to temperature change. Charge interaction was important in maintaining the structure during the deactivation, and especially anion charge might be a major factor.     

Echinostoma ilocanum infection in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia

Fecal examinations using the Kato Katz technique were performed on a total of 1,287 villagers (945 students and 342 general inhabitants) of Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia in May 2007 and November 2009. The overall intestinal helminth egg positive rate was 23.9%, and the most prevalent helminth species was hookworms (21.6%). Other helminth eggs detected included echinostomes (1.0%), Enterobius vermicularis (0.8%), small trematode eggs (0.7%), which may include Opisthorchis viverrini and Haplorchis spp., and Hymenolepis nana (0.4%). In order to recover adult echinostomes, we treated 2 patients with 10-15 mg/kg praziquantel and purged. Total 14 adult echinostomes, 1 and 13 worms from each patient, were collected. The echinostomes characteristically had 49-51 collar spines and 2 round or slightly lobated testes. They were identified as Echinostoma ilocanum (Garrison, 1908) Odhner, 1911. So far as literature are concerned, this is the first record on the discovery of human E. ilocanum infection in Cambodia.     

Inhibition of Taq DNA polymerase by seaweed extracts from British Columbia, Canada and Korea

Fifty-nine species of marine macrophytes from the coasts of British Columbia, Canada and Korea have been screened for the presence of PCR inhibitors, namely inhibitors of Taq DNA polymerase. Eleven of the species displayed some inhibitor activity. At the concentration of 5 μg of methanol extract in 25μL reaction mixture of PCR containing 1.5 unit of Taq DNA polymerase, one (Ulva sp.) of 8 Chlorophyta, eight (Colpomenia bullosa, Ecklonia cava, Endarachne binghamiae, Fucus distichus, Hizikia fusiformis, Sargassum confusum, Sargassum sagamianum, and Sargassum thunbergii) of 28 Phaeophyta, and one (Symphyocladia latiuscula) of 34 Rhodophyta showed inhibition in PCR amplification. In the case of the water extract, two (Cladophora columbiana, Ulva sp.) Chlorophyta, seven (Endarachne binghamiae, Fucus distichus, Hizikia fusiformis, Sargassum confusum, Sargassum sagamianum, Sargassum horneri, Scytosiphon dotyi) Phaeophyta, no Rhodophyta and one (Phyllospadix scouleri) seagrass showed inhibition in PCR amplification. the methanol fraction of Sargassum confusum and the water fraction of Fucus gardneri (mid–intertidal) have been found to inhibit PCR at level as low as 0.5 μg in 25μL of PCR reaction mixture. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Protective effect of radicicol against LPS/IFN-gamma-induced neuronal cell death in rat cortical neuron-glia cultures

We investigated the protective activity of radicicol, an antifungal antibiotic, against inflammation-induced neurotoxicity in neuron-glia cultures. Radicicol potently prevented the loss of neuronal cell bodies and neurites from LPS/IFN-gamma-induced neurotoxicity in rat cortical neuron-glia cultures with an EC(50) value of 0.09 microM. Radicicol inhibited the LPS/IFN-gamma-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and production of nitric oxide (NO) in microglia. Additionally, radicicol decreased the LPS/IFN-gamma-induced release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the cultures. The inhibitory potency of radicicol against the production of NO and TNF-alpha was well correlated with the protection of neurons. These results suggest that the protective effect of radicicol against LPS/IFN-gamma-induced neuronal cell death in neuron-glia cultures is mediated via the inhibition of TNF-alpha release, as well as the suppression of iNOS expression in microglia.     

Effects of magnolol (5,5'-diallyl-2,2'-dihydroxybiphenyl) on diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats

We investigated the effect of magnolol (5,5'-diallyl-2,2'-dihydroxybiphenyl), a marker compound isolated from the cortex of Magnolia officinalis, in non-obese type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. The rats were treated orally with magnolol (100 mg/kg body weight) once a day for 13 weeks. In magnolol-treated GK rats, fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin were significantly decreased, and the pancreatic islets also showed strong insulin antigen positivity. Urinary protein and creatinine clearance (Ccr) were significantly decreased. Pathological examination revealed the prevention of the glomeruli enlargement in magnolol-treated GK rats. The overproduction of renal sorbitol, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), type IV collagen, and TGF-beta1 mRNA were significantly reduced in magnolol-treated GK rats. Thus based on our findings, the use of magnolol could result in good blood glucose control and prevent or retard development of diabetic complications such as diabetic nephropathy.     

Synthesis, biological evaluation and structural determination of beta-aminoacyl-containing cyclic hydrazine derivatives as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors

Inhibitors of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) have been shown to be effective treatments for type 2 diabetes. A series of beta-aminoacyl-containing cyclic hydrazine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as DPP-IV inhibitors. One member of this series, (R)-3-amino-1-(2-benzoyl-1,2-diazepan-1-yl)-4-(2,4,5-trifluorophenyl)butan-1-one (10f), showed potent in vitro activity, good selectivity and in vivo efficacy in mouse models. Also, the binding mode of compound 10f was determined by X-ray crystallography.     

Transgenic tobacco expressing the hrpN(EP) gene from Erwinia pyrifoliae triggers defense responses against botrytis cinerea

HrpN(EP), from the gram-negative pathogen, Erwinia pyrifoliae, is a member of the harpin group of proteins, inducing pathogen resistance and hypersensitive cell death in plants. When the hrpN(EP) gene driven by the OsCc1 promoter was introduced into tobacco plants via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, their resistance to the necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, increased. Resistance to B. cinerea was correlated with enhanced induction of SA-dependent genes such as PR-1a, PR2, PR3 and Chia5, of JA-dependent genes such as PR-1b, and of genes related to ethylene production, such as NT-EFE26, NT-1A1C, DS321, NT-ACS1 and NT-ACS2. However the expression of NPR1, which is thought to be essential for multiple-resistance, did not increase. Since the pattern of expression of defense-related genes in hrpN(EP)-expressing tobacco differed from that in plants expressing hpaG(Xoo) from Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae, these results suggest that different harpins can affect the expression of different defense-related genes, as well as resistance to different plant pathogens.