The kinetics of the active and de-energized transport of O-methyl glucose in Ustilago maydis

The kinetics of the uptake and efflux of 3-O-methyl-glucose in sporidia of Ustilago maydis were measured, both in active cells and in cells whose metabolic activity had been inhibited by azide and iodoacetate.The de-energized transport system proved to be carrier mediated with apparent affinity constants 13 ± 2 mM outside (K₀) and 18 ± 2 mM inside (K₁). The apparent maximum rate constants for the same system were 0.66 ± 0.05 mmol/l cell water per min for uptake (V₊ and 0.53 ± 0.04 mmol/l cell water per min for efflux (V_-. For the active system K₀ = 0.08 ± 0.01, K₁ > 40, V₊ = 9.7 ± 0.5 and V₋ 1.1 ± 0.9 (in equivalent units). These results are discussed in the context of the carrier mechanism as proposed by Regen and Morgan (Regen, D.M. and Morgan, H.E. (1964) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 79, 151–166).The antifungal compound carboxin had no effect on de-energized transport but was shown to decrease both K₀ and V₊ in the active system. Phloretin and phlorizin were also found to be without effect on de-energized cells but the former enhanced while the latter inhibited active uptake.     

Uricase immobilized onto nylon tube for use in automated analysis of serum urate

Uricase is immobilized onto glutaraldehyde-activated nylon tube. Immobilized uricase tube is incorporated into a continuous flow automated analyzer for assaying blood urate. The immobilized enzyme shows good storage and operational stability and the assay system compares favorably with an established method.     

Phase Behaviour and Formation of Fatty Acid Esters Nanoemulsions Containing Piroxicam

Fatty acid esters are long-chain esters, produced from the reaction of fatty acids and alcohols. They possess potential applications in cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations due to their excellent wetting behaviour at interfaces and a non-greasy feeling when applied on the skin surfaces. This preliminary work was carried out to construct pseudo-ternary phase diagrams for oleyl laurate, oleyl stearate and oleyl oleate with surfactants and piroxicam. Then, the preparation and optimization study via ‘One-At-A-Time Approach’ were carried out to determine the optimum amount of oil, surfactants and stabilizer using low-energy emulsification method. The results revealed that multi-phase region dominated the three pseudo-ternary phase diagrams. A composition was chosen from each multi-phase region for preparing the nanoemulsions systems containing piroxicam by incorporating a hydrocolloid stabilizer. The results showed that the optimum amount (w/w) of oil for oleyl laurate nanoemulsions was 30 and 20 g (w/w) for oleyl stearate nanoemulsions and oleyl oleate nanoemulsions. For each nanoemulsions system, the amount of mixed surfactants and stabilizer needed for the emulsification to take place was found to be 10 and 0.5 g (w/w), respectively. The emulsification process via high-energy emulsification method successfully produced nano-sized range particles. The nanoemulsions systems passed the centrifugation test and freeze–thaw cycle with no phase failures, and stable for 3 months at various storage temperatures (3°C, 25°C and 45°C). The results proved that the prepared nanoemulsions system cannot be formed spontaneously, and thus, energy input was required to produce nano-sized range particles.     

A new thermostable and organic solvent-tolerant lipase from Aneurinibacillus thermoaerophilus strain HZ

A thermostable and organic solvent-tolerant lipase produced by Aneurinibacillus thermoaerophilus strain HZ was purified and characterised. The lipase was purified to apparent homogeneity with two steps: anion exchange chromatography on Q-Sepharose and gel filtration on Sephadex-G75. A final specific activity of 43.5 U/mg was obtained with an overall recovery of 19.7% and 15.6 purification fold. The molecular mass of the HZ lipase was estimated to be 50 kDa. The optimum pH for the activity of the purified HZ lipase was 7.0. The stability showed a broad range of pH values between pH 4.0 and 9.0 at 30 °C. The purified HZ lipase exhibited an optimum temperature of 65 °C with a half-life of 3 h and 10 min at 65 °C. The activity of the purified HZ lipase was stimulated in the presence of Ca²⁺. Organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, n-tetradecane and n-hexadecane enhanced the lipase activity. Studies on the effect of oil showed that the lipase preferred natural oil, such as sunflower oil, over synthetic substrates.     

Different Clinical Outcomes of Entamoeba histolytica in Malaysia: Does Genetic Diversity Exist?

The present study was conducted to investigate the clinical outcomes of Entamoeba histolytica infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic Orang Asli (aborigine) communities in Malaysia. Examination was performed on 500 stool samples obtained from Orang Asli communities in 3 different states using formalin-ether concentration, trichrome staining, and single-round PCR techniques. Out of 500 stool samples, single infection of E. histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, and Entamoeba moshkovskii was identified in 3.2%, 13.4%, and 1%, respectively. In addition, 10 samples had mixed infections with E. histolytica and E. dispar. Six samples containing E. dispar were also positive for E. moshkovskii, and only 2 samples had E. histolytica in association with E. dispar and E. moshkovskii. Seventeen E. histolytica-positive samples were from symptomatic subjects, whereas the remaining 11 samples came from asymptomatic subjects. These findings suggest a predominant distribution of pathogenic potential of E. histolytica strains in this community. Therefore, further studies on genotyping of E. histolytica is required, to find out association between E. histolytica genotype and the outcome of the infection.     

Chemometric analysis of lipase-catalyzed synthesis of xylitol esters in a solvent-free system

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed esterification of xylitol and two fatty acids (capric and caproic acid) were studied in a solvent-free system. The Taguchi orthogonal array method based on three-level-four-variables with nine experiments was applied for the analysis and optimization of the reaction parameters including time, substrate molar ratio, amount of enzyme, and amount of molecular sieve. The obtained conversion was higher in the esterification of xylitol and capric acid with longer chain length. The optimum conditions derived via the Taguchi approach for the synthesis of xylitol caprate and xylitol caproate were reaction time, 29 and 18 h; substrate molar ratio, 0.3 and 1.0; enzyme amount, 0.20 and 0.05 g, and molecular sieve amount of 0.03 g, respectively. The good correlation between the predicted conversions (74.18% and 61.23%) and the actual values (74.05% and 60.5%) shows that the model derived from the Taguchi orthogonal array can be used for optimization and better understanding of the effect of reaction parameters on the enzymatic synthesis of xylitol esters in a solvent-free system.     

Flavan-3-ols from the leaves of Malaysian Uncaria longiflora var. pteropoda (Miq.) Ridsd

A novel flavonoid, (?)-2R,3R-3,5,4′-trihydoxyflavan-[6,7:5″,6″]-2″-pyranone, named uncariechin (1), was isolated from the methanolic extract of the leaves of Uncaria longiflora var. pteropoda (Miq.) Ridsd. along with the known (?)-epiafzelechin (2) and (?)-epicatechin (3), methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, four pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids, isopteropodine, pteropodine, uncarine F and isopteropodic acid, previously found in the stems, and two coumarins, scopoletin and 3,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxycoumarin. Structures of the compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR, FTIR, UV, MS, and experimental as well as calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. Compounds 2 and 3 were evaluated for their neurotoxic and neuroprotective properties against differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell lines using the MTS assay. Compounds 2 and 3 did not show any neurotoxic effects but showed strong protective potential against hydrogen peroxide-induced neurotoxicity with maximum cell viability at a concentration of 1 μM.     

Systematic Pharmacogenomics Analysis of a Malay Whole Genome: Proof of Concept for Personalized Medicine

Background

With a higher throughput and lower cost in sequencing, second generation sequencing technology has immense potential for translation into clinical practice and in the realization of pharmacogenomics based patient care. The systematic analysis of whole genome sequences to assess patient to patient variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics responses towards drugs would be the next step in future medicine in line with the vision of personalizing medicine.

Methods

Genomic DNA obtained from a 55 years old, self-declared healthy, anonymous male of Malay descent was sequenced. The subject''s mother died of lung cancer and the father had a history of schizophrenia and deceased at the age of 65 years old. A systematic, intuitive computational workflow/pipeline integrating custom algorithm in tandem with large datasets of variant annotations and gene functions for genetic variations with pharmacogenomics impact was developed. A comprehensive pathway map of drug transport, metabolism and action was used as a template to map non-synonymous variations with potential functional consequences.

Principal Findings

Over 3 million known variations and 100,898 novel variations in the Malay genome were identified. Further in-depth pharmacogenetics analysis revealed a total of 607 unique variants in 563 proteins, with the eventual identification of 4 drug transport genes, 2 drug metabolizing enzyme genes and 33 target genes harboring deleterious SNVs involved in pharmacological pathways, which could have a potential role in clinical settings.

Conclusions

The current study successfully unravels the potential of personal genome sequencing in understanding the functionally relevant variations with potential influence on drug transport, metabolism and differential therapeutic outcomes. These will be essential for realizing personalized medicine through the use of comprehensive computational pipeline for systematic data mining and analysis.     

Various Polar Tripeptides as Asymmetric Organocatalyst in Direct Aldol Reactions in Aqueous Media

A series of tripeptide organocatalysts containing a secondary amine group and two amino acids with polar side chain units were developed and evaluated in the direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction of 4‐nitrobenzaldehyde and cyclohexanone. The effectiveness of short polar peptides as asymmetric catalysts in aldol reactions to attain high yields of enantio‐ and diastereoselective isomers were investigated. In a comparison, glutamic acid and histidine produced higher % ee and yields when they were applied as the second amino acid in short trimeric peptides. These short polar peptides were found to be efficient organocatalysts for the asymmetric aldol addition reaction in aqueous media. Chirality 25:726–734, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc