First generation TREN dendrimers functionalized with naphthyl and/or dansyl units. Ground and excited state electronic interactions and protonation effects.

We report the photophysical properties (absorption and emission spectra, quantum yield, and lifetime) of five dendrimers of first generation based on a TREN (tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) skeleton functionalized at the periphery with naphthyl and/or 5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (hereafter called dansyl) chromophores. Each dendrimer comprises one tertiary amine unit in the core and three branches carrying a sulfonimido unit at the periphery, each one substituted by two identical or different moieties. In particular, TD6 and TN6 contain dansyl (D) or naphthyl (N) units, respectively, while TD3B3, TN3B3 and TN3D3 contain dansyl, naphthyl or benzyl (B) units at the periphery. The spectroscopic behaviour of these dendrimers has been investigated in acetonitrile solution and compared with that of reference compounds. For all dendrimers the absorption bands are red shifted compared to those of monomeric naphthyl and dansyl reference compounds. Moreover, the intense naphthyl and dansyl fluorescence is greatly quenched because of strong interactions between the two aromatic moieties linked by a sulfonimido unit. Protonation of the amine units of the dendrimers by addition of CF(3)SO(3)H (triflic) acid causes a decrease in intensity of the luminescence and a change in the shape of the emission bands. The shapes of the titration curves depend on the dendrimer, but in any case the effect of acid can be fully reversed by successive addition of base (tributylamine). The obtained results reveal that among the intradendrimer interactions the most important one is that taking place (via mesomeric interaction) between the various chromophores and a pair of sulfonimido groups.     

The Proinflammatory RAGE/NF-κB Pathway Is Involved in Neuronal Damage and Reactive Gliosis in a Model of Sleep Apnea by Intermittent Hypoxia

Sleep apnea (SA) causes long-lasting changes in neuronal circuitry, which persist even in patients successfully treated for the acute effects of the disease. Evidence obtained from the intermittent hypoxia (IH) experimental model of SA has shown neuronal death, impairment in learning and memory and reactive gliosis that may account for cognitive and structural alterations observed in human patients. However, little is known about the mechanism controlling these deleterious effects that may be useful as therapeutic targets in SA. The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End products (RAGE) and its downstream effector Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB) have been related to neuronal death and astroglial conversion to the pro-inflammatory neurodegenerative phenotype. RAGE expression and its ligand S100B were shown to be increased in experimental models of SA. We here used dissociated mixed hippocampal cell cultures and male Wistar rats exposed to IH cycles and observed that NF-κB is activated in glial cells and neurons after IH. To disclose the relative contribution of the S100B/RAGE/NF-κB pathway to neuronal damage and reactive gliosis after IH we performed sequential loss of function studies using RAGE or S100B neutralizing antibodies, a herpes simplex virus (HSV)-derived amplicon vector that induces the expression of RAGEΔcyto (dominant negative RAGE) and a chemical blocker of NF-κB. Our results show that NF-κB activation peaks 3 days after IH exposure, and that RAGE or NF-κB blockage during this critical period significantly improves neuronal survival and reduces reactive gliosis. Both in vitro and in vivo, S100B blockage altered reactive gliosis but did not have significant effects on neuronal survival. We conclude that both RAGE and downstream NF-κB signaling are centrally involved in the neuronal alterations found in SA models, and that blockage of these pathways is a tempting strategy for preventing neuronal degeneration and reactive gliosis in SA.     

Long-term environmental impact of an oil spill in the southern part of Onega Bay,the White Sea

Complex studies were carried out in the southern part of Onega Bay (White Sea) in the summer seasons of 2003–2006 and 2011–2013. These studies revealed the dynamics of oil pollution of the water area after an accidental fuel oil spill in September 2003 and its long-term adverse effects on organisms of different trophic levels of the coastal ecosystem (benthos, fish, and sea mammal populations) in the most polluted southeastern part of the bay. The deterioration of the status of the top trophic-level white whale population (a decrease in numbers) and the accumulation of oil hydrocarbons in tissues of benthic organisms are described.     

Biochemical and immunochemical study of antigen preparations of Rickettsia prowazekii

The biochemical and immunochemical study of the qualitative composition of R. prowazekii antigenic preparations, isolated and purified by different methods, indicates that these preparations contain high-molecular polypeptide 3 (133600 D), morphologically linked with the cell membrane of R. prowazekii. The method of adsorption chromatography on calcium phosphate permits obtaining specific rickettsial antigens with a greater degree of purification from ballast admixtures than the methods of acid precipitation and gel filtration on Sephadex G-200.     

Properties of Antigenomic HDV Ribozyme Consisting of Two RNA Chains

B:LS ribozyme, a trans-variant of naturally occurring HDV ribozyme, has been constructed. The ribozyme consists of a substrate-containing LS chain and a catalytic B chain and differs from previously constructed trans-ribozymes in the length and nucleotide sequence of its oligonucleotide chains (33 and 34 bp, respectively). The chains readily associate with each other at room temperature, at which the LS cleavage reaction is negligible, which makes it possible to investigate association of the intact chains. At the same time, the self-cleavage rate constant for the trans-ribozyme B:LS at 50°C is close to those for the previously studied permuted cis-ribozymes, especially the LSB variant. In addition, the dependence of trans-ribozyme on reaction conditions (Mg²⁺ concentration, pH, and temperature) resembled that of cis-ribozyme. Similar to other trans-ribozymes, B:LS ribozyme demonstrated the ability for multiple turnover of the B strand with an excess of the substrate LS chain. The kinetic model of the self-cleavage reaction for B:LS is presented at http://www.cardio.ru/labgen/RZ_r.html. Taken together, our results show that the novel trans-variant of HDV ribozyme can be used as a model for analyzing the process of HDV ribozyme self-cleavage.     

Synthesis of spiropyran analogues of retinal and study of their interaction with bacterioopsin from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Halobacterium salinarum</Emphasis>

The synthesis of a series of retinal analogues containing the spiropyran moiety instead of trimethylcyclohexene ring was proposed. The interaction of the resulting retinal analogues with bacterioopsin from apomembranes of Halobacterium salinarum and the spectral characteristics of the new pigments were studied.     

Saturated C21–C33Hydrocarbons Are Involved in the Self-Regulation of Pseudomonas fluorescensAdhesion to a Glass Surface

One of the two putative groups of antiadhesins was identified in Pseudomonas fluorescensby the method of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A mixture of high-molecular unbranched hydrocarbons (HC) with a chain length from 21 to 33 carbon atoms reduced cell adhesion to a glass surface. These HC accumulated in the culture liquid to a total concentration of 10–15 g/l; the concentrations of individual HC ranged from 0.1 to 3.0 g/l. After the addition of individual HC to the bacterial culture, the number of cells attached to the glass surface decreased. This decrease in cell adhesion was due to the enhanced aggregation of the bacterial cells, which promoted mechanical (hydrodynamic) cell detachment from the surface.     

NMR investigation of the dynamics of tryptophan side-chains in hemoglobins

NMR relaxation measurements of 15N spin-lattice relaxation rate (R(1)), spin-spin relaxation rate (R(2)), and heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) have been carried out at 11.7T and 14.1T as a function of temperature for the side-chains of the tryptophan residues of 15N-labeled and/or (2H,15N)-labeled recombinant human normal adult hemoglobin (Hb A) and three recombinant mutant hemoglobins, rHb Kempsey (betaD99N), rHb (alphaY42D/betaD99N), and rHb (alphaV96W), in the carbonmonoxy and the deoxy forms as well as in the presence and in the absence of an allosteric effector, inositol hexaphosphate (IHP). There are three Trp residues (alpha14, beta15, and beta37) in Hb A for each alphabeta dimer. These Trp residues are located in important regions of the Hb molecule, i.e. alpha14Trp and beta15Trp are located in the alpha(1)beta(1) subunit interface and beta37Trp is located in the alpha(1)beta(2) subunit interface. The relaxation experiments show that amino acid substitutions in the alpha(1)beta(2) subunit interface can alter the dynamics of beta37Trp. The transverse relaxation rate (R(2)) for beta37Trp can serve as a marker for the dynamics of the alpha(1)beta(2) subunit interface. The relaxation parameters of deoxy-rHb Kemspey (betaD99N), which is a naturally occurring abnormal human hemoglobin with high oxygen affinity and very low cooperativity, are quite different from those of deoxy-Hb A, even in the presence of IHP. The relaxation parameters for rHb (alphaY42D/betaD99N), which is a compensatory mutant of rHb Kempsey, are more similar to those of Hb A. In addition, TROSY-CPMG experiments have been used to investigate conformational exchange in the Trp residues of Hb A and the three mutant rHbs. Experimental results indicate that the side-chain of beta37Trp is involved in a relatively slow conformational exchange on the micro- to millisecond time-scale under certain experimental conditions. The present results provide new dynamic insights into the structure-function relationship in hemoglobin.