Chemical Profile and Biological Activities of Fungal Strains Isolated from Piper nigrum Roots: Experimental and Computational Approaches

The current report describes the chemical investigation and biological activity of extracts produced by three fungal strains Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium simplicissimum, and Fusarium proliferatum isolated from the roots of Piper nigrum L. growing in Vietnam. These fungi were namely determined by morphological and DNA analyses. GC/MS identification revealed that the EtOAc extracts of these fungi were associated with the presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. These EtOAc extracts showed cytotoxicity towards cancer cell lines HepG2, inhibited various microbacterial organisms, especially fungus Aspergillus niger and yeast Candida albicans (the MIC values of 50–100 μg/mL). In α-glucosidase inhibitory assay, they induced the IC₅₀ values of 1.00-2.53 μg/mL were better than positive control acarbose (169.80 μg/mL). The EtOAc extract of F. oxysporum also showed strong anti-inflammatory activity against NO production and PGE-2 level. Four major compounds linoleic acid (37.346 %), oleic acid (27.520 %), palmitic acid (25.547 %), and stearic acid (7.030 %) from the EtOAc extract of F. oxysporum were selective in molecular docking study, by which linoleic and oleic acids showed higher binding affinity towards α-glucosidase than palmitic and stearic acids. In subsequent docking assay with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid could be moderate inhibitors.     

Studies on the terminal stages of immune hemolysis. VI. Osmotic blockers of differing Stokes' radii detect complement-induced transmembrane channels of differing size.

We have previously shown that 0.1 M EDTA could be used to distinguish functionally different transmembrane channels produced during complement-(C) mediated hemolysis of E. In this paper we have studied the ability of sugars of varying Stokes' radii to prevent hemoglobin release from E intermediates whose lysis was inhibitable or not inhibitable by EDTA. On the basis of these experiments we propose that the inhibition of E transformation by high molarity EDTA occurs by virtue of the size of the EDTA molecule in solution. Studies on the effect of EDTA on red cell lysis induced by polyene antibiotics that form transmembrane channels of a defined size support this conclusion. The results of these experiments were interpreted to mean: 1) The EDTA inhibitable lesion of E has a smaller effective radius than the noninhibitable lesion; 2) the effective radius of the smallest lesion that yields a lytic site was less than 3.6 A; 3) the lesions produced in the red cell membrane by C are not uniform but vary in size depending on the C9 to SACl-8 ratio used to produce E.     

Studies on the interaction between protein A and immunoglobulin G. I. Effect of protein A on the functional activity of IgG.

Staphylococcal protein (A (PA) and IgG anti-Forssman immunoglobulin formed complexes that behaved functionally like IgM in their ability to lyse sheep erythrocytes (E) in the presence of whole guinea pig complement (GPC) and to fix purified guinea pig C1. Concanavalin A, a plant lectin that inhibited IgM but not IgG hemolytic activity, inhibited the hemolytic activity of IgG-protein A complexes that behaved like IgM but had no effect on complexes that behaved functionally like IgG. Since Con A is known to bind specifically to glucose and mannose residues, our results suggested that the interaction of protein A with the Fc region of IgG led to exposure of sugar moieties that may participate in complement (C) binding. The production of IgM-like complexes depended on the ratio of protein A to IgG and the empirical formula of these IgM-like complexes was found to be [(IgG)2PA]n. As the ratio of PA to IgG was increased, the resulting complexes tended to behave functionally like IgG but with reduced hemolytic activity and C1 fixing ability. Furthermore, the binding of C1 to EIgG was inhibited by PA and the binding of PA to EIgG was inhibited by C1 indicating that the binding sites for C1 and PA were located near each other or were identical. Our results offer a reasonable explanation for the reported effects of PA or mixtures of PA and IgG in vitro and in vivo.     

Effects of Handling or Immobilization on Plasma Levels of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine, Catecholamines, and Metabolites in Rats

In conscious animals, handling and immobilization increase plasma levels of the catecholamines norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI). This study examined plasma concentrations of endogenous compounds related to catecholamine synthesis and metabolism during and after exposure to these stressors in conscious rats. Plasma levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), NE, EPI, and dopamine (DA), the deaminated catechol metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and their O-methylated derivatives methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured using liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection at 1, 3, 5, 20, 60, and 120 min of immobilization. By 1 min of immobilization, plasma NE and EPI levels had already reached peak values, and plasma levels of DOPA, DHPG, DOPAC, and MHPG were increased significantly from baseline, whereas plasma DA and HVA levels were unchanged. During the remainder of the immobilization period, the increased levels of DOPA, NE, and EPI were maintained, whereas levels of the metabolites progressively increased. In animals immobilized briefly (5 min), elevated concentrations of the metabolites persisted after release from the restraint, whereas DOPA and catecholamine levels returned to baseline. Gentle handling for 1 min also significantly increased plasma levels of DOPA, NE, EPI, and the NE metabolites DHPG and MHPG, without increasing levels of DA or HVA. The results show that in conscious rats, immobilization or even gentle handling rapidly increases plasma levels of catecholamines, the catecholamine precursor DOPA, and metabolites of NE and DA, indicating rapid increases in the synthesis, release, reuptake, and metabolism of catecholamines.     

Effect of beta-endorphin on the steroid production of isolated zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata cells

Small doses of β-endorphin (10^?11?10^?5M) decrease corticosterone production of zona fasciculata cells but fail to influence steroid production of zona glomerulosa cells. 10^?4M β-endorphin increases corticosterone production of both zones. The stimulating effect of ACTH on zona fasciculata corticosterone- and zona glomerulosa aldosterone production was decreased by β-endorphin (10^?9?10^?7M). Conclusion: β-endorphin might modulate both basal and ACTH stimulated corticosterone secretion.     

Isolation of a highly active H+-ATPase from beef heart mitochondria

The lysolecithin extraction procedure originally described by Sadleret al. (1974) has been modified to yield a H⁺-ATPase with high levels of P_i-ATP exchange activity (400–600 nmol × min^–1 × mg^–1). This activity is further enhanced (1400–1600 nmol × min^–1 × mg^–1) following sucrose density gradient centrifugation in the presence of asolectin. This enhancement results in part from a lipid-dependent activation and in part from removal of inactive complexes. The H⁺ translocating activity of the complex has been determined spectrophotometrically using binding of oxonol VI as an indicator of membrane potential. P_i-ATP exchange, ATP hydrolysis, and oxonol binding are sensitive to energy-transfer inhibitors (oligomycin, rutamycin) and/or uncouplers (DNP, FCCP).     

Ultrastructure of the muscles of the dorsal diaphragm in Locusta migratoria

Summary The alary muscles of Locusta migratoria adults make up the major tissue of the dorsal diaphragm which separates pericardial and perivisceral sinuses in the abdomen. The alary muscles are striated with a sarcomere at rest measuring about 9 m. The Z-line has a staggered-beaded arrangement with A-bands and I-bands readily discernable. Thick myofilaments are surrounded by 10 or more thin filaments. The sarcoplasm has few mitochondria near the area of the Z-line, dyads are present and sarcoplasmic reticulum is poorly developed. Axons which innervate the alary muscle are either contained within invaginated folds of the sarcolemma of the muscle cells or the muscle cells send finger-like projections to envelop the axons. The synaptic terminals contain synaptic vesicles between 40 and 45 nm in diameter and a few electron-dense granules near or less than 170 nm in diameter. Away from synaptic terminals the axon profiles show few or no granules. The axons are accompanied everywhere by well-developed glial cells. This then is not typical neurosecretomotor innervation, however, the presence of electron-dense granules suggests the possibility of peptidergic neurotransmission.     

The effect of microhabitats on the leaf litter decomposition and on the distribution of soil animals

Earthworm burrows as microhabitats for other soil fauna were studied in a hornbeam-oak mixed forest in Hungary. Comparative chemical analysis and feeding experiments were carried out to find out whether the leaves in the burrows of large-bodied earthworms are more decomposed than those from the surrounding areas. The total organic matter content, the C/N ratio, the stability coefficient and the percentage of tannins and lipids indicate that the chemical breakdown of the litter material is more advanced in the burrows than on the other parts of the forest floor especially in autumn. No consistent differences were observed in the amounts of other organic components. Feeding experiments showed that three species of the fauna preferred the leaves pulled into the burrows to those from the surrounding areas and the preference was greater in autumn than in spring.
It is suggested that the high density of some soil animals in the burrows in autumn is due to the more palatable food there; in summer the microclimate of the burrows is favoured, whereas spring can be considered as a transition period.