Microwave-assisted synthesis of 5-aminopyrazol-4-yl ketones and the p38(MAPK) inhibitor RO3201195 for study in Werner syndrome cells

5-Aminopyrazol-4-yl ketones are prepared rapidly and efficiently using microwave dielectric heating from beta-ketonitriles by treatment with N,N'-diphenylformamidine followed by heterocyclocondensation by irradiation with a hydrazine. The inhibitory activity of RO3201195 prepared by this methodology was confirmed in hTERT-immortalized HCA2 and WS dermal fibroblasts at 200nM concentration, both by ELISA and immunoblot assay, and displays excellent kinase selectivity for p38alpha MAPK over the related stress-activated kinase JNK.     

ERK1/2 map kinase metabolic pathway is responsible for phosphorylation of translation initiation factor eIF4E during in vitro maturation of pig oocytes

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) plays an important role in mRNA translation by binding the 5'-cap structure of the mRNA and facilitating the recruitment to the mRNA of other translation factors and the 40S ribosomal subunit. eIF4E undergoes regulated phosphorylation on Ser-209 and this phosphorylation is believed to be important for its binding to mRNA and to other initiation factors. The findings showing that the translation initiation factor eIF4E becomes gradually phosphorylated during in vitro maturation (IVM) of pig oocytes with a maximum in metaphase II (M II) stage oocytes have been documented by us recently (Ellederova et al., 2006). The aim of this work was to study in details the metabolic pathways involved in this process. Using inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases, Butyrolactone I (BL I) and protein phosphatases, okadaic acid (OA) we show that ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway is involved in this phosphorylation. We also demonstrate that activation and phosphorylation of ERK1/2 MAP kinase and eIF4E is associated with the activating phosphorylation of Mnk1 kinase, one of the two main kinases phosphorylating eIF4E in somatic cells.     

Development of a single-chain, quasi-dimeric zinc-finger nuclease for the selective degradation of mutated human mitochondrial DNA

The selective degradation of mutated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecules is a potential strategy to re-populate cells with wild-type (wt) mtDNA molecules and thereby alleviate the defective mitochondrial function that underlies mtDNA diseases. Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), which are nucleases conjugated to a zinc-finger peptide (ZFP) engineered to bind a specific DNA sequence, could be useful for the selective degradation of particular mtDNA sequences. Typically, pairs of complementary ZFNs are used that heterodimerize on the target DNA sequence; however, conventional ZFNs were ineffective in our system. To overcome this, we created single-chain ZFNs by conjugating two FokI nuclease domains, connected by a flexible linker, to a ZFP with an N-terminal mitochondrial targeting sequence. Here we show that these ZFNs are efficiently transported into mitochondria in cells and bind mtDNA in a sequence-specific manner discriminating between two 12-bp long sequences that differ by a single base pair. Due to their selective binding they cleave dsDNA at predicted sites adjacent to the mutation. When expressed in heteroplasmic cells containing a mixture of mutated and wt mtDNA these ZFNs selectively degrade mutated mtDNA, thereby increasing the proportion of wt mtDNA molecules in the cell. Therefore, mitochondria-targeted single-chain ZFNs are a promising candidate approach for the treatment of mtDNA diseases.     

Effects of every-other-day feeding on prolactin regulatory mechanism in transgenic human growth hormone mice

Transgenic mice overexpressing human growth hormone (hGH) exhibit accelerated aging with functional hyperprolactinemia and greatly depressed endogenous prolactin. Calorie restriction (CR) is widely recognized as the most effective experimental intervention to delay aging. The aim of the present work was to analyze the effects of lifelong overexpression of hGH on prolactin-gene expression as well as the dopamine production at the pituitary level and discern whether this mechanism changes as a function of feeding patterns. Ten-month-old mice fed every other day (EOD) were killed after one day of fasting. The results confirmed typical phenotypic features of these transgenic mice: an increase in body weight, very high hGH plasma concentrations, and hyperinsulinemia. There was a marked inhibition of the expression of the prolactin gene, together with an increased tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and the long isoform of dopamine receptor type 2 (D2LR) gene expression at the pituitary level. These parameters were not affected by the EOD feeding pattern. These data may suggest an autocrine or paracrine effect of dopamine at the hypophyseal level on prolactin secretion that is independent of the feeding pattern.     

Highly sensitive method for quantitative determination of bilirubin in biological fluids and tissues

Unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) exhibits potent antioxidant and cytoprotective properties, but causes apoptosis and cytotoxicity at pathologically elevated concentrations. Accurate measurement of UCB concentrations in cells, fluids and tissues is needed to evaluate its role in redox regulation, prevention of atherosclerotic and malignant diseases, and bilirubin encephalopathy. In the present study, we developed and validated a highly sensitive method for tissue UCB determinations. UCB was extracted from rat organs with chloroform/methanol/hexane at pH 6.2 and then partitioned into a minute volume of alkaline buffer that was subjected to HPLC using an octyl reverse phase (RP) column. Addition of mesobilirubin as an internal standard corrected for losses of UCB during extraction. Recoveries averaged 75+/-5%. The detection limit was 10pmol UCB/g wet tissue. Variance was +/-2.5%. When used to measure UCB concentrations in tissues of jaundiced Gunn rats, this procedure yielded UCB levels directly comparable to published methods, and accurately determined very low tissue bilirubin concentrations (相似文献