Discovery of 1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione analogs that exhibit unusual and selective rapid cell death kinetics against acute myelogenous leukemia cells in culture

4-Benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione (TDZD-8) was previously identified as an antileukemic agent exhibiting no evident toxicity toward normal hematopoietic cells. An SAR study has been carried out to examine the effect of varying the C-2 and C-4- substituents on the thiadiazolidinone ring of TDZD-8 on antileukemic activity. These studies resulted in the identification of more druglike analogs that exhibited comparable potency to TDZD-8 in killing acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells in culture. Surprisingly, the cell death kinetics induced by several of these novel analogs on MV-411 cells were extremely fast, with commitment to death occurring within 30 min. At a concentration of 10 μM, 3f (LD₅₀ = 3.5 μM) completely eradicated cell viability of MV-411 cells within 2 h, while analog 3e (LD₅₀ = 2.0 μM) decimated cell viability within 30 min at a concentration of 10 μM and effectively abolished cell viability at 5 μM within 1-2 h.     

Genetic Diversity of Brazilian Aedes aegypti: Patterns following an Eradication Program

Background

Aedes aegypti is the most important vector of dengue fever in Brazil, where severe epidemics have recently taken place. Ae. aegypti in Brazil was the subject of an intense eradication program in the 1940s and 50s to control yellow fever. Brazil was the largest country declared free of this mosquito by the Pan-American Health Organization in 1958. Soon after relaxation of this program, Ae. aegypti reappeared in this country, and by the early 1980s dengue fever had been reported. The aim of this study is to analyze the present-day genetic patterns of Ae. aegypti populations in Brazil.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We studied the genetic variation in samples of 11 widely spread populations of Ae. aegypti in Brazil based on 12 well-established microsatellite loci. Our principal finding is that present-day Brazilian Ae. aegypti populations form two distinct groups, one in the northwest and one in the southeast of the country. These two groups have genetic affinities to northern South American countries and the Caribbean, respectively. This is consistent with what has been reported for other genetic markers such as mitochondrial DNA and allele frequencies at the insecticide resistance gene, kdr.

Conclusions/Significance

We conclude that the genetic patterns in present day populations of Ae. aegypti in Brazil are more consistent with a complete eradication of the species in the recent past followed by re-colonization, rather than the alternative possibility of expansion from residual pockets of refugia. At least two colonizations are likely to have taken place, one from northern South American countries (e.g., Venezuela) that founded the northwestern group, and one from the Caribbean that founded the southeastern group. The proposed source areas were never declared free of Ae. aegypti.     

Bottlenecks drive temporal and spatial genetic changes in alpine caddisfly metapopulations

Background

Extinction and re-colonisation of local populations is common in ephemeral habitats such as temporary streams. In most cases, such population turnover leads to reduced genetic diversity within populations and increased genetic differentiation among populations due to stochastic founder events, genetic drift, and bottlenecks associated with re-colonisation. Here, we examined the spatio-temporal genetic structure of 8 alpine caddisfly populations inhabiting permanent and temporary streams from four valleys in two regions of the Swiss Alps in years before and after a major stream drying event, the European heat wave in summer 2003.

Results

We found that population turnover after 2003 led to a loss of allelic richness and gene diversity but not to significant changes in observed heterozygosity. Within all valleys, permanent and temporary streams in any given year were not differentiated, suggesting considerable gene flow and admixture between streams with differing hydroperiods. Large changes in allele frequencies after 2003 resulted in a substantial increase in genetic differentiation among valleys within one to two years (1-2 generations) driven primarily by drift and immigration. Signatures of genetic bottlenecks were detected in all 8 populations after 2003 using the M-ratio method, but in no populations when using a heterozygosity excess method, indicating differential sensitivity of bottleneck detection methods.

Conclusions

We conclude that genetic differentiation among A. uncatus populations changed markedly both temporally and spatially in response to the extreme climate event in 2003. Our results highlight the magnitude of temporal population genetic changes in response to extreme events. More specifically, our results show that extreme events can cause rapid genetic divergence in metapopulations. Further studies are needed to determine if recovery from this perturbation through gradual mixing of diverged populations by migration and gene flow leads to the pre-climate event state, or whether the observed changes represent a new genetic equilibrium.     

Identification of phosphorylation sites on extracellular corneal epithelial cell maspin

Maspin, a 42-kDa non-classical serine protease inhibitor (serpin), is expressed by epithelial cells of various tissues including the cornea. The protein localizes to the nucleus and cytosol, and is present in the extracellular space. While extracellular maspin regulates corneal stromal fibroblast adhesion and inhibits angiogenesis during wound healing in the cornea, the molecular mechanism of its extracellular functions is unclear. We hypothesized that identifying post-translational modifications of maspin, such as phosphorylation, may help decipher its mode of action. The focus of this study was on the identification of phosphorylation sites on extracellular maspin, since the extracellular form of the molecule is implicated in several functions. Multi-stage fragmentation MS was used to identify sites of phosphorylation on extracellular corneal epithelial cell maspin. A total of eight serine and threonine phosphorylation sites (Thr50, Ser97, Thr118, Thr157, Ser240, Ser298, Thr310 and Ser316) were identified on the extracellular forms of the molecule. Phosphorylation of tyrosine residues was not detected on extracellular maspin from corneal epithelial cell, in contrast to breast epithelial cells. This study provides the basis for further investigation into the functional role of phosphorylation of corneal epithelial maspin.     

An insertion in loop L7 of human eosinophil-derived neurotoxin is crucial for its antiviral activity

The human eosinophil granule ribonuclease, eosinophil‐derived neurotoxin (EDN) has been shown to have antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus‐B (RSV‐B). Other closely related and more active RNases such as RNase A, onconase, and RNase k6 do not have any antiviral activity. A remarkable unique feature of EDN is a nine‐residue insertion in its carboxy‐terminal loop, L7 which is not present in RNase A, and differs in sequence from the corresponding loop in another eosinophil RNase, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). ECP has a much lower antiviral activity as compared to EDN. The current study probed the role of loop L7 of EDN in its antiviral activity. Three residues in loop L7, Arg117, Pro120, and Gln122, which diverge between EDN, ECP, and RNase A, were mutated to alanine alone and in combination to generate single, double, and triple mutants. These mutants, despite having RNase activity had decreased antiviral activity towards RSV suggesting the involvement of loop L7 in the interaction of EDN with RSV. It appears that the mutations in loop L7 disrupt the interaction of protein with the viral capsid, thereby inhibiting its entry into the virions. The study demonstrates that besides the RNase activity, loop L7 is another important determinant for the antiviral activity of EDN. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3104–3112, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Surface EMG pattern recognition for real-time control of a wrist exoskeleton

Background  

Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals have been used in numerous studies for the classification of hand gestures and movements and successfully implemented in the position control of different prosthetic hands for amputees. sEMG could also potentially be used for controlling wearable devices which could assist persons with reduced muscle mass, such as those suffering from sarcopenia. While using sEMG for position control, estimation of the intended torque of the user could also provide sufficient information for an effective force control of the hand prosthesis or assistive device. This paper presents the use of pattern recognition to estimate the torque applied by a human wrist and its real-time implementation to control a novel two degree of freedom wrist exoskeleton prototype (WEP), which was specifically developed for this work.     

The kinetics of Bacillus subtilis spore inactivation on filter paper by u.v. light and u.v. light in combination with hydrogen peroxide

Inactivation of spores of Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) on two different grades of cellulose filter paper (Whatman Grades 2 and 6), by ultraviolet light (u.v.), at an intensity of approximately 4·5 Wm⁻² and at fluences of up to 2 × 10³ Jm⁻², and u.v. in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, is described in terms of multi-target and single hit–single target kinetic expressions. Wet spores were inactivated at rates ranging from 6·7 to 10·6 higher than that of dry spores on both grades of filter paper. In addition, spore inactivation was up to 5·6 times more rapid on Grade 2 filter paper. Synergistic inactivation was seen to occur when spores were irradiated in the presence of 1% (w/v) hydrogen peroxide with rates up to 5·3 times higher than with treatment solely by u.v. The results obtained are discussed in general terms with particular reference to surface characteristics which might provide shielding to micro-organisms from incident u.v. light.     

Methods and approaches for the comprehensive characterization and quantification of cellular proteomes using mass spectrometry.

Proteomics has been proposed as one of the key technologies in the postgenomic era. So far, however, the comprehensive analysis of cellular proteomes has been a challenge because of the dynamic nature and complexity of the multitude of proteins in cells and tissues. Various approaches have been established for the analyses of proteins in a cell at a given state, and mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be an efficient and versatile tool. MS-based proteomics approaches have significantly improved beyond the initial identification of proteins to comprehensive characterization and quantification of proteomes and their posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Despite these advances, there is still ongoing development of new technologies to profile and analyze cellular proteomes more completely and efficiently. In this review, we focus on MS-based techniques, describe basic approaches for MS-based profiling of cellular proteomes and analysis methods to identify proteins in complex mixtures, and discuss the different approaches for quantitative proteome analysis. Finally, we briefly discuss novel developments for the analysis of PTMs. Altered levels of PTM, sometimes in the absence of protein expression changes, are often linked to cellular responses and disease states, and the comprehensive analysis of cellular proteome would not be complete without the identification and quantification of the extent of PTMs of proteins.     

Assessing Risks of Plant-Based Pharmaceuticals: II. Non-Target Organism Exposure

Plant-based pharmaceuticals potentially offer a cleaner method of producing a protein for drug manufacturing than traditional methods because plants are free of mammalian infectious agents. However, in the open environment they have the potential for intra-and inter-species gene flow, protein exposure to the public and non-target organisms, and they also have the potential to contaminate livestock feed. This study used probabilistic approaches to quantify the non-target organism risks associated with three pharmaceutical proteins produced in field-grown maize. The risk assessment for plant-based pharmaceuticals was conducted for four receptor species used as surrogates for a wider range of species. Body weights and maize consumption rates for each species were modeled from currently available information and used to calculate the exposure based on expression levels of three proteins. The acute dietary exposure for the receptor species was a single-day event in which the total maize consumption came from the recombinant maize. The non-target organism risk assessment demonstrated that risks will vary between species and between proteins, based primarily on differences in toxic endpoint and consumption rates. It also shows the utility of probabilistic, quantitative risk assessment methodologies and the importance of assessing risks from plant-based pharmaceuticals on a case-by-case basis.