Syntheses, structures and electrochemical study of π-acetylene complexes of cobalt

The preparation and characterisation of the complexes [Co₂(CO)₄(PMe₃)₂][Co₂(CO)₆](Me₃SiC₂C₂SiMe₃) (4), [Co₂(CO)₄(dppm)][Co₂(CO)₆](Me₃SiC₂C₂H) (5), [Co₂(CO)₄(dppa)][Co₂(CO)₆](Me₃SiC₂C₂SiMe₃) (6), [Co₂(CO)₄(dppm)]₂[Co₂(CO)₆](Me₃SiC₂CCC₂C₂SiMe₃) (7) and [{SiMe₃(Co₂(CO)₄(dppm))C₂}₂(HCC)(1,3,5-C₆H₃)] (8) are described. An electrochemical study of the complexes 5-8 and of the related [Co₂(CO)₄(dppm)]₂(Me₃SiC₂(CC)₂C₂SiMe₃) (1), [Co₂(CO)₄(dppa)]₂(Me₃SiC₂C₂SiMe₃) (2) and [{SiMe₃(Co₂(CO)₄(dppm))C₂}(HCC)₂(1,3,5-C₆H₃)] (3) is presented by means of the cyclic and square-wave voltammetry techniques. Crystals of 8 suitable for single-crystal X-ray diffraction were grown and the molecular structure of this compound is discussed.     

发状念珠藻胞外多糖的纯化与性质分析

采用DEAE阴离子交换层析和Sephadex G100凝胶层析对液体悬浮培养发状念珠藻胞外多糖进行纯化, 得到两个组分NFPS1和NFPS2。对组分NFPS2进行理化性质分析, 并与野生发状念珠藻多糖NFPS0的性质进行对比。结果表明二者具有相似的单糖组成, 均为葡萄糖、木糖、半乳糖、甘露糖; 表观分子量分别为2.79×105、2.26×105; 均不含核酸、蛋白质等物质, 是非硫酸化多糖; 有较高的热稳定性, 其降解温度在245oC左右。但在微观结构上, 两者存在一定差别。     

Nucleic acids in mummified plant seeds: screening of twelve specimens by gel-electrophoresis,molecular hybridization and DNA cloning

Summary Twelve seed specimens of varying ages and from different archaeological sites were analyzed for the presence of polymerized DNA and RNA. Amongst the samples tested, one of Vitis vinifera from an archaeological site in Iran (2,000–3,000 B.C.) was found to be completely devoid of nucleic acids. Zea mais seeds of Precolumbial age from Peru (about 800 A.D.) contained depolymerized DNA and RNA. Samples of Vitis vinifera and Rubus sp. from a Lombard archaeological site (800 A.D.) as well as radiocarbon dated seeds from the site of the Spring Sanctuary near Metaponto (I–IV century B.C.) were found to contain polymerized DNA and rRNA bands. However the electrophoretic properties of the rRNAs in one case and hybridization experiments performed with cloned seed DNA in the other, clearly demonstrated that the polymerized nucleic acids were not of plant origin.     

Persephone/Sp?tzle Pathogen Sensors Mediate the Activation of Toll Receptor Signaling in Response to Endogenous Danger Signals in Apoptosis-deficient Drosophila

Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism that removes damaged or unwanted cells, effectively maintaining cellular homeostasis. It has long been suggested that a deficiency in this type of naturally occurring cell death could potentially lead to necrosis, resulting in the release of endogenous immunogenic molecules such as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and a noninfectious inflammatory response. However, the details about how danger signals from apoptosis-deficient cells are detected and translated to an immune response are largely unknown. In this study, we found that Drosophila mutants deficient for Dronc, the key initiator caspase required for apoptosis, produced the active form of the endogenous Toll ligand Spätzle (Spz). We speculated that, as a system for sensing potential DAMPs in the hemolymph, the dronc mutants constitutively activate a proteolytic cascade that leads to Spz proteolytic processing. We demonstrated that Toll signaling activation required the action of Persephone, a CLIP domain serine protease that usually reacts to microbial proteolytic activities. Our findings show that the Persephone proteolytic cascade plays a crucial role in mediating DAMP-induced systemic responses in apoptosis-deficient Drosophila mutants.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of phenanthroimidazole derivatives as stabilizer of c-myc G-quadruplex DNA

c-myc G-quadruplex DNA, which plays a central role in tumor progression and resistance, has been extensively investigated as potential target of antitumor drugs. In this paper, a series of phenanthroimidazole derives have been synthesized under irradiation of microwave in yields of 51–80%. The antitumor activity of these compounds against various tumor cells has been evaluated, and the results show that these compounds exhibit great inhibition to MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and Hela cells, especially 5 inhibit the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells with IC₅₀ about 3.6 μM. The further studies show that 5 can bind and stabilize c-myc G4 DNA in π–π stacking mode, which confirmed by the hypochromise in the electronic spectra of 5 with the increasing of c-myc G4 DNA. When dealt with 5, the strength of CD signal attributed to c-myc G4 DNA is decreased and the FRET melting point of c-myc G4 DNA is increased. Moreover, the molecule docking calculation was conducted to show that 5 suitably stack onto the 5′ G-quartet surface, and parallels to the surfaces of the G5 and G-quartet consisting of G7, G11, G16, and G20. As a result, the replication of c-myc oligomers is blocked by 5. In a word, this type of phenanthroimidazole derives can act as potential inhibitor against breast cancer cells by binding and stabilizing c-myc G4 DNA through π–π stacking.     

凡纳滨对虾细菌性病原的分离鉴定和耐药性研究

从5批患病的凡纳滨对虾分离细菌性病原,共分离纯化了50株细菌,随机选择形态差异的11株进行16S rDNA基因测序。测序结果表明,这11株菌主要分布在节杆菌属、弧菌属、芽胞杆菌属、微小杆菌属和希瓦氏菌属。对其中2株弧菌进行16S rDNA基因系统进化树分析,发现1株A1-1可能为Vibrio parahaemolyticus(副溶血性弧菌),而另外1株菌A2-3可能为Vibrio rotiferianus(半滑舌鳎病原菌轮虫弧菌)。形态和生理生化鉴定表明A1-1符合副溶血性弧菌的基本特征,可能是副溶血性弧菌中的一个型。人工感染实验表明A1-1对金鲫鱼具有明显的致病性,1×10~6 CFU感染剂量时能使80%金鲫鱼死亡。耐药性分析表明A1-1对土霉素、红霉素有较强的抗药性,而对链霉素、新霉素、四环素和氟本尼考均表现一定的敏感性。     

In silico characterization of a RNA binding protein of cattle filarial parasite Setaria digitata

Human lymphatic filariasis (HLF) is a neglected tropical disease which threatens nearly 1.4 billion people in 73 countries worldwide. Wuchereria bancrofti is the major causative agent of HLF and it closely resembles cattle filarial parasite Setaria digitata. Due to difficulties in procuring W. bancrofti parasite material, S. digitata cDNA library has been constructed to identify novel drug targets against HLF and many of the cDNA sequences are yet to be assigned structure and function. In this study, a 549 bp long cDNA (sdrbp) has been sequenced and characterized in silico. The shortest ORF of 249 bp from the isolated cDNA encodes a polypeptide of 82 amino acids and shows an amino acid identity of 54% with the RRM domain of human cleavage stimulation factor-64 kDa subunit (CstF-64). Structure of the protein (sdRBP) obtained by homology modelling using RRM of CstF-64 as template adopts classical RRM topology (β1α1β2β3α2β4). sdRBP model built was validated by superimposition tools and Ramachandran plot analysis. CstF-64 plays an important role in pre-mRNA polyadenylation by interacting with specific GU-rich downstream sequence element. Molecular docking studies of sdRBP with different RNA molecules revealed that sdRBP has greater binding affinity to GU-rich RNA and comparable results were obtained upon similar docking of RRM of CstF-64 with the same RNA molecules. Therefore, sdRBP is likely to perform homologous function in S. digitata. This study brings new dimensions to the functional analysis of RNA binding proteins of S. digitata and their evaluation as new drug targets against HLF.     

Highly efficient expression and purification system of small-size protein domains in Escherichia coli for biochemical characterization

It is often essential to focus the study on the small-size domains of large proteins in eukaryotic cells in the post-genomic era, but the low expression level, insolubility, and instability of the domains have been continuing to hinder the massive purification of domain peptides for structural and biological investigation. In this work, a highly efficient expression and purification system based on a small-size fusion partner GB1 and histidine tag was utilized to solve these problems. Two vectors, namely pGBTNH and pGBH, were constructed to improve expression and facilitate purification. The linker and thrombin cleavage site have been optimized for minimal degradation during purification process. This system has been tested for eight domain peptides varying in size, linker, hydrophobicity, and predicted secondary structure. The results indicate that this system is achievable to produce these domain peptides with high solubility and stability for further biochemical characterization. Moreover, the fusion protein without the linker and thrombin cleavage site is also suitable for spectroscopic studies especially for NMR structural elucidation, if the target peptide is prone to precipitation or easily degraded during purification. This system will be beneficial to the research field of structure and function of small domain and peptide fragment.     

Isatin based Schiff bases as inhibitors of α-glucosidase: Synthesis,characterization, in vitro evaluation and molecular docking studies

Isatin base Schiff bases (1–20) were synthesized, characterized by ¹H NMR and EI/MS and evaluated for α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. Out of these twenty (20) compounds only six analogs showed potent α-glucosidase inhibitory potential with IC₅₀ value ranging in between 2.2 ± 0.25 and 83.5 ± 1.0 μM when compared with the standard acarbose (IC₅₀ = 840 ± 1.73 μM). Among the series compound 2 having IC₅₀ value (18.3 ± 0.56 μM), 9 (83.5 ± 1.0 μM), 11 (3.3 ± 0.25 μM), 12 (2.2 ± 0.25 μM), 14 (11.8 ± 0.15 μM), and 20 (3.0 ± 0.15 μM) showed excellent inhibitory potential many fold better than the standard acarbose. The binding interactions of these active analogs were confirmed through molecular docking.     

Employment of 16S rDNA gene sequencing techniques for improved identification of difficult-to-identify bacterial veterinary pathogens

To employ 16S rDNA PCR and automated sequencing techniques to identify a collection of bacterial veterinary pathogens from avian, equine, canine and ovine sources, that have proven difficult to identify, employing conventional cultural techniques. Universal or “broad-range” eubacterial PCR was performed on a collection of 46 difficult-to-identify bacterial isolates originating from clinical veterinary specimens. 16S rDNA PCR was performed using two sets of universal primers to successfully generate a composite amplicon of 1,068 bp, which was sequenced to obtain each isolate’s identity. Sequence analysis was able to identify all isolates examined with relative ease. Where the use of molecular identification methods is justified, such as in outbreak control or bioterrorism in animal health, employment of partial 16S rDNA PCR and sequencing employing universal or “broad-range” 16S rDNA, provides a valuable and reliable method of identification of such pathogens.