Alpha-glucosidase inhibitory effect of anti-diabetic metal ions and their complexes

We found alpha-glucosidase inhibitory (α-GI) effect of metal ions and their complexes which showed the high blood glucose lowering effect in diabetic model animals. The Cu(II) ion and its complexes showed strong α-GI activity greater than clinically used acarbose in in vitro studies. Furthermore, in in vivo experiments, α-GI action was newly discovered in normal ddy mice. These results suggested that one of action mechanisms of the anti-diabetic metal ions and complexes is related to the α-GI effects.     

Nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase from Euphorbia characias latex: Purification and characterization

An authentic soluble metallo-protein nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (ELNPP) was purified to homogeneity from Euphorbia characias latex. The native protein had a molecular mass of 80 ± 5 kDa and was shown to be formed by two apparently identical subunits, each containing 1 Ca²⁺ and 1 Mg²⁺ ion. Whereas Mg²⁺ was shown to be strongly bound to the enzyme, Ca²⁺ was easily removed by treatment with EDTA. Ca²⁺-demetalated enzyme was shown to be almost totally inactive and the activity was fully restored incubating the demetalated ELNPP with Ca²⁺ ions. ELNPP exhibited hydrolytic activities toward pyrophosphate/phosphodiester bonds of a broad range of substrates and very efficiently hydrolyzed the artificial substrate thymidine 5′-monophosphate 4-nitrophenyl ester generating 4-nitrophenolate as a final product, and it has been used for enzyme kinetic experiments. ELNPP represents the first example of a nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase enzyme purified from the latex of a plant belonging to the large genus Euphorbia.     

An aptamer-based fluorescent biosensor for potassium ion detection using a pyrene-labeled molecular beacon

A novel and sensitive biosensor based on aptamer and pyrene-labeled fluorescent probes for the determination of K⁺ was developed. The aptamer was used as a molecular recognition element and a partially complementary oligonucleotide with the aptamer was labeled by pyrene moieties at both ends to transduce the binding event of K⁺ with aptamer. In the presence of K⁺, the complementary oligonucleotides were displaced from aptamers, which was accompanied by excimer fluorescence of pyrenes because the self-hairpin structure of the complementary oligonucleotide brought pyrene moieties into close proximity. However, it gave only monomer emission in the absence of K⁺. Under optimum conditions, the relative fluorescence intensity of pyrene was proportional to the concentration of K⁺ in the range of 6.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 2.0 × 10⁻² M. A detection limit of 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ M was achieved. Moreover, this method was able to detect K⁺ with high selectivity in the presence of Na⁺, , Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ ions of biological fluids. In brief, the assay may have great potential applications, especially in a biological environment because of its simplicity, sensitivity, and specificity.     

NMR solution structure of the N-terminal domain of hERG and its interaction with the S4-S5 linker

The human Ether-à-go-go Related Gene (hERG) potassium channel mediates the rapid delayed rectifier current (IKr) in the cardiac action potential. Mutations in the 135 amino acid residue N-terminal domain (NTD) cause channel dysfunction or mis-translocation. To study the structure of NTD, it was overexpressed and purified from Escherichia coli cells using affinity purification and gel filtration chromatography. The purified protein behaved as a monomer under purification conditions. Far- and near-UV, circular dichroism (CD) and solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies showed that the purified protein was well-folded. The solution structure of NTD was obtained and the N-terminal residues 13-23 forming an amphipathic helix which may be important for the protein-protein or protein-membrane interactions. NMR titration experiment also demonstrated that residues from 88 to 94 in NTD are important for the molecular interaction with the peptide derived from the S4-S5 linker.     

Curcumin potently blocks Kv1.4 potassium channels

Curcumin, a major constituent of the spice turmeric, is a nutriceutical compound reported to possess therapeutic properties against a variety of diseases ranging from cancer to cystic fibrosis. In whole-cell patch-clamp experiments on bovine adrenal zona fasciculata (AZF) cells, curcumin reversibly inhibited the Kv1.4K+ current with an IC50 of 4.4 microM and a Hill coefficient of 2.32. Inhibition by curcumin was significantly enhanced by repeated depolarization; however, this agent did not alter the voltage-dependence of steady-state inactivation. Kv1.4 is the first voltage-gated ion channel demonstrated to be inhibited by curcumin. Furthermore, these results identify curcumin as one of the most potent antagonists of these K+ channels identified thus far. It remains to be seen whether any of the therapeutic actions of curcumin might originate with its ability to inhibit Kv1.4 or other voltage-gated K+ channel.     

Glucose Deprivation Activates Diversity of Potassium Channels in Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neurons

1. Glucose is one of the most important substrates for generating metabolic energy required for the maintenance of cellular functions. Glucose-mediated changes in neuronal firing pattern have been observed in the central nervous system of mammals. K⁺ channels directly regulated by intracellular ATP have been postulated as a linkage between cellular energetic metabolism and excitability; the functional roles ascribed to these channels include glucose-sensing to regulate energy homeostasis and neuroprotection under energy depletion conditions. The hippocampus is highly sensitive to metabolic insults and is the brain region most sensitive to ischemic damage. Because the identity of metabolically regulated potassium channels present in hippocampal neurons is obscure, we decided to study the biophysical properties of glucose-sensitive potassium channels in hippocampal neurons.2. The dependence of membrane potential and the sensitivity of potassium channels to glucose and ATP in rat hippocampal neurons were studied in cell-attached and excised inside-out membrane patches.3. We found that under hypoglycemic conditions, at least three types of potassium channels were activated; their unitary conductance values were 37, 147, and 241 pS in symmetrical K⁺, and they were sensitive to ATP. For K⁺ channels with unitary conductance of 37 and 241, when the membrane potential was depolarized the longer closed time constant diminished and this produced an increase in the open-state probability; nevertheless, the 147-pS channels were not voltage-dependent.4. We propose that neuronal glucose-sensitive K⁺ channels in rat hippocampus include subtypes of ATP-sensitive channels with a potential role in neuroprotection during short-term or prolonged metabolic stress.     

Inhibition of K+ efflux prevents mitochondrial dysfunction, and suppresses caspase-3-, apoptosis-inducing factor-, and endonuclease G-mediated constitutive apoptosis in human neutrophils

Neutrophils die rapidly via apoptosis and their survival is contingent upon rescue from constitutive programmed cell death by signals from the microenvironment. In these experiments, we investigated whether prevention of K⁺ efflux could affect the apoptotic machinery in human neutrophils. Disruption of the natural K⁺ electrochemical gradient suppressed neutrophil apoptosis (assessed by annexin V binding, nuclear DNA content and nucleosomal DNA fragmentation) and prolonged cell survival within 24–48 h of culture. High extracellular K⁺ (10–100 mM) did not activate extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and Akt, nor affected phosphorylation of p38 MAPK associated with constitutive apoptosis. Consistently, pharmacological blockade of ERK kinase or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) did not affect the anti-apoptotic action of KCl. Inhibition of K⁺ efflux effectively reduced, though never completely inhibited, decreases in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨ_m) that preceded development of apoptotic morphology. Changes in ΔΨ_m resulted in attenuation of cytochrome c release from mitochondria into the cytosol and decreases in caspase-3 activity. Culture of neutrophils in medium containing 80 mM KCl with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK resulted in slightly greater suppression of apoptosis than KCl alone. High extracellular KCl also attenuated translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and endonuclease G (EndoG) from mitochondria to nuclei. The DNase inhibitor, aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) partially inhibited nucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and the effects of ATA and 80 mM KCl were not additive. These results show that prevention of K⁺ efflux promotes neutrophil survival by suppressing apoptosis through preventing mitochondrial dysfunction and release of the pro-apoptotic proteins cytochrome c, AIF and EndoG independent of ERK, PI 3-kinase and p38 MAPK. Thus, K⁺ released locally from damaged cells may function as a survival signal for neutrophils.     

Characterization of the mechanisms of action and nitric oxide species involved in the relaxation induced by the ruthenium complex

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the control of vascular tone. NO donors have therapeutic use and the most used NO donors, nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside have problems in their use. Thus, new NO donors have been synthesized to minimize these undesirable effects. Nytrosil ruthenium complexes have been studied as a new class of NO donors. trans-[RuCl([15]aneN(4))NO](2+), induces vasorelaxation only in presence of reducing agent. In this study, we characterized the mechanisms of vasorelaxation of trans-[RuCl([15]aneN(4))NO](2+) in denuded rat aorta and identified which NO forms are involved in this relaxation. We also evaluated the effect of this NO donor in decreasing the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]c) of the vascular smooth muscle cells. Vasorelaxation to trans-[RuCl([15]aneN(4))NO](2+) (E(max): 101.8 +/- 2.3%, pEC(50): 5.03 +/- 0.15) was almost abolished in the presence of the NO* scavenger hydroxocobalamin (E(max): 4.0 +/- 0.4%; P < 0.001) and it was partially inhibited by the NO(-) scavenger L-cysteine (E(max): 79.9 +/- 6.9%, pEC(50): 4.41 +/- 0.06; P < 0.05). The guanylyl cyclase inhibitor ODQ reduced the E(max) (57.7 +/- 4.0%, P < 0.001) and pEC(50) (4.21 +/- 0.42, P < 0.01) and the combination of ODQ and TEA abolished the response to trans-[RuCl([15]aneN(4))NO](2+). The blockade of voltage-dependent (K(v)), ATP-sensitive (K(ATP)), and Ca(2+)-activated (K(Ca) K(+) channels reduced the vasorelaxation induced by trans-[RuCl([15]aneN(4))NO](2+). This compound significantly reduced [Ca(2+)]c (from 100% to 85.9 +/- 3.5%, n = 4). In conclusion, our data demonstrate that this NO donor induces vascular relaxation involving NO* and NO(-) species, that is associated to a decrease in [Ca(2+)]c. The mechanisms of vasorelaxation involve guanylyl cyclase activation, cGMP production and K(+) channels activation.     

Group II metal-directed structural variation of coordination compounds derived from 5-[N-acetato(4-pyridyl)]tetrazolate ligand

Reactions of MCl₂ (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) and a4-ptz (a4-ptz = 5-[N-acetato (4-pyridyl)] tetrazolate) potassium salt in water, respectively, and produced four new complexes [Mg(H₂O)₆] · (a4-ptz)₂ · 2H₂O (1), [Ca(a4-ptz)₂(H₂O)₂]_n · 2nH₂O (2), [Sr(a4-ptz)₂(H₂O)₂]_n · 2nH₂O (3), [Ba₄(a4-ptz)₈(H₂O)₈]_n · 4nH₂O (4). These compounds were structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 has mononuclear structure bearing distinct intermolecular hydrogen-bond interactions to form a three-dimensional supramolecular network. While compounds 2-4 have one-dimensional polymeric chains that are bridged by two water molecules linker, respectively. The luminescence properties of 1-4 were investigated at room temperature in the solid state.