Induction of Anti-influenza Immunity by Modified Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Carrying Hemagglutinin-derived Epitope Structure

The development of vaccination methods that can overcome the emergence of new types of influenza strains caused by escape mutations is desirable to avoid future pandemics. Here, a novel type of immunogen was designed that targeted the conformation of a highly conserved region of influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA) composed of two separate sequences that associate to form an anti-parallel β-sheet structure. Our previous study identified this β-sheet region as the structural core in the epitope of a characteristic antibody (B-1) that strongly neutralizes a wide variety of strains within the H3N2 serotype, and therefore this β-sheet region was considered a good target to induce broadly reactive immunity against the influenza A virus. To design the immunogen, residues derived from the B-1 epitope were introduced directly onto a part of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), whose surface is mostly composed of β-sheets. Through site-directed mutagenesis, several modified EGFPs with an epitope-mimicking structure embedded in their surface were prepared. Two EGFP variants, differing from wild-type (parental) EGFP by only five and nine residues, induced mice to produce antibodies that specifically bind to H3-type HA and neutralize H3N2 virus. Moreover, three of five mice immunized with each of these EGFP variants followed by a booster with equivalent mCherry variants acquired anti-viral immunity against challenge with H3N2 virus at a lethal dosage. In contrast to conventional methods, such as split HA vaccine, preparation of this type of immunogen requires less time and is therefore expected to be quickly responsive to newly emerged influenza viral strains.     

Directed Evolution and Structural Analysis of NADPH-Dependent Acetoacetyl Coenzyme A (Acetoacetyl-CoA) Reductase from Ralstonia eutropha Reveals Two Mutations Responsible for Enhanced Kinetics

NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-coenzyme A (acetoacetyl-CoA) reductase (PhaB) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)], along with β-ketothiolase (PhaA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase (PhaC). In this study, PhaB from Ralstonia eutropha was engineered by means of directed evolution consisting of an error-prone PCR-mediated mutagenesis and a P(3HB) accumulation-based in vivo screening system using Escherichia coli. From approximately 20,000 mutants, we obtained two mutant candidates bearing Gln47Leu (Q47L) and Thr173Ser (T173S) substitutions. The mutants exhibited k_cat values that were 2.4-fold and 3.5-fold higher than that of the wild-type enzyme, respectively. In fact, the PhaB mutants did exhibit enhanced activity and P(3HB) accumulation when expressed in recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum. Comparative three-dimensional structural analysis of wild-type PhaB and highly active PhaB mutants revealed that the beneficial mutations affected the flexibility around the active site, which in turn played an important role in substrate recognition. Furthermore, both the kinetic analysis and crystal structure data supported the conclusion that PhaB forms a ternary complex with NADPH and acetoacetyl-CoA. These results suggest that the mutations affected the interaction with substrates, resulting in the acquirement of enhanced activity.     

The effect of oxysterols on the interaction of Alzheimer's amyloid beta with model membranes

The interaction of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide with cell membranes has been shown to be influenced by Aβ conformation, membrane physicochemical properties and lipid composition. However, the effect of cholesterol and its oxidized derivatives, oxysterols, on Aβ-induced neurotoxicity to membranes is not fully understood. We employed here model membranes to investigate the localization of Aβ in membranes and the peptide-induced membrane dynamics in the presence of cholesterol and 7-ketocholesterol (7keto) or 25-hydroxycholesterol (25OH). Our results have indicated that oxysterols rendered membranes more sensitive to Aβ, in contrast to role of cholesterol in inhibiting Aβ/membrane interaction. We have demonstrated that two oxysterols had different impacts owing to distinct positions of the additional oxygen group in their structures. 7keto-containing cell-sized liposomes exhibited a high propensity toward association with Aβ, while 25OH systems were more capable of morphological changes in response to the peptide. Furthermore, we have shown that 42-amino acid Aβ (Aβ-42) pre-fibril species had higher association with membranes, and caused membrane fluctuation faster than 40-residue isoform (Aβ-40). These findings suggest the enhancing effect of oxysterols on interaction of Aβ with membranes and contribute to clarify the harmful impact of cholesterol on Aβ-induced neurotoxicity by means of its oxidation.     

Identification of a novel benzimidazole derivative as a highly potent NPY Y5 receptor antagonist with an anti-obesity profile

Optimization of HTS hit 1 for NPY Y5 receptor binding affinity, CYP450 inhibition, solubility and metabolic stability led to the identification of some orally available oxygen-linker derivatives for in vivo study. Among them, derivative 4i inhibited food intake induced by the NPY Y5 selective agonist, and chronic oral administration of 4i in DIO mice caused a dose-dependent reduction of body weight gain.     

Discovery and structure–activity relationship of thienopyridine derivatives as bone anabolic agents

A cell-based assay was performed for the discovery of novel bone anabolic agents. Alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity of ST2 cells was utilized as an indicator of osteoblastic differentiation, and thienopyridine derivative 1 was identified as a hit compound. 3-Aminothieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carboxamide was confirmed to be a necessary core structure for the enhancement of ALPase activity, and then optimization of the C4-substituent on the thienopyridine ring was carried out. Introduction of cyclic amino groups to the C4-position of the thienopyridine ring improved the activity. Especially, N-phenyl-homopiperazine derivatives were found to be strong enhancers of ALPase among this new series. Furthermore, 3-amino-4-(4-phenyl-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)thieno[2,3-b]pyridine-2-carboxamide (15k) was orally administered to ovariectomized (OVX) rats over 6 weeks for evaluating the effects on areal bone mineral density (aBMD), and statistically significant improvements in aBMD were observed from the dosage of 10 mg/kg/day.     

Design and synthesis of a series of α-benzyl phenylpropanoic acid-type peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma partial agonists with improved aqueous solubility

In the continuing study directed toward the development of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (hPPARγ) agonist, we attempted to improve the water solubility of our previously developed hPPARγ-selective agonist 3, which is insufficiently soluble for practical use, by employing two strategies: introducing substituents to reduce its molecular planarity and decreasing its hydrophobicity via replacement of the adamantyl group with a heteroaromatic ring. The first approach proved ineffective, but the second was productive. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a series of α-benzyl phenylpropanoic acid-type hPPARγ partial agonists with improved aqueous solubility. Among them, we selected (R)-7j, which activates hPPARγ to the extent of about 65% of the maximum observed with a full agonist, for further evaluation. The ligand-binding mode and the reason for the partial-agonistic activity are discussed based on X-ray-determined structure of the complex of hPPARγ ligand-binding domain (LBD) and (R)-7j with previously reported ligand-LDB structures. Preliminal apoptotic effect of (R)-7j against human scirrhous gastric cancer cell line OCUM-2MD3 is also described.     

Human acidic mammalian chitinase as a novel target for anti-asthma drug design using in silico screening

Human acidic mammalian chitinase (hAMCase) was recently shown to be involved in the development of asthma, suggesting a possible application for hAMCase inhibitors as novel therapeutic agents for asthma. We therefore initiated drug discovery research into hAMCase using a combination of in silico methodologies and a hAMCase assay system. We first selected 23 candidate hAMCase inhibitors from a database of four million compounds using a multistep screening system combining Tripos Topomer Search technology, a docking calculation and two-dimensional molecular similarity analysis. We then measured hAMCase inhibitory activity of the selected compounds and identified seven compounds with IC₅₀ values ?100 μM. A model describing the binding modes of these hit compounds to hAMCase was constructed, and we discuss the structure–activity relationships of the compounds we identified, suggested by the model and the actual inhibitory activities of the compounds.     

Turbidimetric Evaluation of Yeast Cell Amount

It was found that the intercellular space of centrifuged sake yeast cultured in anaerobic medium is 0.263 ml/g, which is larger than that of bakers’ yeast. On the preparation of the calibration curve, this centrifuged sake yeast wras used as standard substance.

The diameters of the majority of cells were included in a range of 3~8_µ during the whole course of cultural development. A similar distribution was found on the cells cultured in an abnormal medium. From these results, clearly, the turbidimetric method for the evaluation of the cell amount of yeast cultured anaerobically is unaffected by the cultural conditions.