Control of Trypanosoma cruzi Epimastigote Motility through the Nitric Oxide Pathway

ABSTRACT. Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigote motility can be enhanced by addition of L-arginine, to the culture. This effect is blocked by N-methyl-L-arginine, a competitive inhibitor of the nitric oxide synthase. N-methyl-D-aspartate and L-glutamate, two agonists of the NMDALglutamate receptor, also enhanced motility. This stimulation is blocked by MK-801 a noncompetitive antagonist of the NMDA receptor. In addition, sodium nitroprusside, a guanylyl cyclase stimulator and 8-Br-cyclic GMP, an analog of cyclic GMP, also stimulated epimastigote motility. It is suggested that an increase of intracellular cyclic GMP levels mediated by nitric oxide may be responsible for the increase in epimastigote motility.     

The impact of sampling frequency and sampling times on chamber-based measurements of N2O emissions from fertilized soils

An automated closed‐chamber system was developed to measure N₂O fluxes in the field. It was deployed at two N‐fertilized grassland sites in two successive years, together with replicated manual chambers, to investigate the spatial and temporal variability in fluxes, and the likely impact of sampling frequency on cumulative flux values. The automated system provided flux data at 8‐h intervals, while manual sampling was conducted at intervals of 3–7 days. The autochambers showed fluctuations in emissions not detected by manual sampling. However, integrated flux values based on the more intensive measurements were on average no more than 14% greater than those based on data from the autochambers that were obtained at the same time as manual sampling. This difference was not significant and well within the spatial variability determined with manual chambers. If daily sampling intervals were used immediately after fertilization, the agreement was closer still, increasing the confidence that can be placed in manual procedures. Diurnal variations in temperature and flux were small, and results from sampling at mid‐day were not significantly different from those based on early morning or evening sampling. Where diurnal fluctuations in temperature and flux are likely to be much larger, the autochamber/sampler system could prove very useful to quantify the effect.     

Chemiluminescence of lucigenin by electrogenerated superoxide ions in aqueous solutions

The chemiluminescence reaction of lucigenin (Luc²⁺?2NO₃^?, N,N′‐dimethyl‐9,9′‐biacridinium dinitrate) at gold electrodes in dioxygen‐saturated alkaline aqueous solutions (pH 10) was investigated in detail by the use of electrochemical emission spectroscopy. We noted that both O₂ and Luc²⁺ are reduced on a gold electrode in aqueous solution of pH 10 in almost the same potential region. From this fact, we expected chemiluminescence based on a radical–radical coupling reaction of superoxide ion (O₂·^?) and one‐electron reduced form of Luc²⁺ (Luc·⁺, a radical cation). Chemiluminescence was actually observed in the potential range where O₂ and Luc²⁺ were simultaneously reduced at the electrodes. The effects were examined upon addition of enzymes, i.e. superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, into the solution and the substitution of heavy water (D₂O) for light water (H₂O) as a solvent on the chemiluminescence. In the presence of native and active SOD, chemiluminescence was completely absent. On the other hand, chemiluminescence was observed, unchanged in the presence of either denatured and inert SOD or catalase. In addition, the amount of chemiluminescence in D₂O solution was about three times greater than that in H₂O solution. These results, together with cyclic voltammetric results, suggest that O₂·^? participates directly in the chemiluminescence but H₂O₂ does not, and the chemiluminescence results from the coupling reaction between O₂·^? and Luc^·+ under the present experimental conditions. These chemically unstable species, O₂·^? and Luc·⁺, are produced during the simultaneous electroreduction of O₂ and Luc²⁺. The coupling reaction between those radical species would lead to the formation of a dioxetane‐type intermediate and, finally, to chemiluminescence. The chemiluminescence reaction mechanism is discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soils,a sink for N2O? A review

Soils are the main sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O). The N₂O emission at the soil surface is the result of production and consumption processes. So far, research has concentrated on net N₂O production. However, in the literature, there are numerous reports of net negative fluxes of N₂O, (i.e. fluxes from the atmosphere to the soil). Such fluxes are frequent and substantial and cannot simply be dismissed as experimental noise.
Net N₂O consumption has been measured under various conditions from the tropics to temperate areas, in natural and agricultural systems. Low mineral N and large moisture contents have sometimes been found to favour N₂O consumption. This fits in with denitrification as the responsible process, reducing N₂O to N₂. However, it has also been reported that nitrifiers consume N₂O in nitrifier denitrification. A contribution of various processes could explain the wide range of conditions found to allow N₂O consumption, ranging from low to high temperatures, wet to dry soils, and fertilized to unfertilized plots. Generally, conditions interfering with N₂O diffusion in the soil seem to enhance N₂O consumption. However, the factors regulating N₂O consumption are not yet well understood and merit further study.
Frequent literature reports of net N₂O consumption suggest that a soil sink could help account for the current imbalance in estimated global budgets of N₂O. Therefore, a systematic investigation into N₂O consumption is necessary. This should concentrate on the organisms, reactions, and environmental factors involved.     

Nitric Oxide Production and Perivascular Tyrosine Nitration Following Focal Ischemia in Neonatal Rat

Abstract: Oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide (NO^•) have been proposed to be involved in acute CNS injury produced by cerebral ischemia; however, controversy remains regarding how they cause injury. Because superoxide generation is triggered during reperfusion, the cytotoxic oxidant peroxynitrite could be formed, but it is not known if this occurs. Dot blot and immunohistochemistry studies were performed on the magnitude and time course of tyrosine nitration and inducible NO synthase (NOS2) in the postischemic rat pup brain. Neonatal ischemia was induced by permanent left middle cerebral artery occlusion in association with 1-h occlusion of the left common carotid artery in 7-day-old Wistar pups. Nitrotyrosine (NT) immunoreactivity was evident in the blood vessels close to the cortical infarct at 48–72 h of recovery, and T lymphocytes were involved with this production. NOS2 immunoreactivity was seen in neutrophils in the same vessels and in the parenchyma at 72 h of recirculation. Whereas NT staining decreased with time, NOS2-positive neutrophils could be still detected in arachnoid vessels at 14 days of recirculation. We conclude that perivascular reactions mediated by peroxynitrite are important in the cascade of events that lead to brain oxidative stress in neonatal ischemia. Moreover, NO-related species may serve as a signaling function instead of directly mediating toxicity.     

Cytokine-Induced Accumulation of Very Long-Chain Fatty Acids in Rat C6 Glial Cells: Implication for X-Adrenoleukodystrophy

Abstract: X-Adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) is an inherited metabolic disorder of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA) with subsequent manifestation of neuroinflammatory disease. To investigate the possible role of proinflammatory cytokines in the X-ALD disease process, we examined the effect of cytokines on the metabolism of VLCFA in C6 glial cells expressing oligodendrocyte-like properties. C6 glial cells under serum-free conditions were treated with different combinations of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interferon-γ) or cytokine with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cytokine-treated C6 cells had higher concentrations of VLCFA, measured as percent weight and also as C_26:0/C_22:0 ratio, which were 300–400% as compared with the controls. We also found increased levels of C_26:1 in cytokine-treated cells. The accumulation of VLCFA paralleled the decrease (35–55%) in peroxisomal β-oxidation activity and a 12- to 14-fold increase in the production of nitric oxide (NO). Individual cytokines were unable either to produce NO or to increase the levels of VLCFA in C6 cells. Inhibition of cytokine-induced NO production by l -N-methylarginine, an inhibitor of NO synthase (NOS), and N-acetylcysteine, an inhibitor of cytokine-mediated induction of inducible NOS, normalized the peroxisomal β-oxidation activity and the levels of VLCFA, suggesting a role for the proinflammatory cytokines and NO toxicity in the neuropathological changes associated with abnormal VLCFA metabolism (e.g., X-ALD). X-ALD is a peroxisomal disease having deficient oxidation of VLCFA, resulting in the excessive accumulation of VLCFA in all tissues but especially in brain. We observed greater increase in levels of VLCFA in the inflammatory region of ALD brain (in the demyelinating plaque and the area around the plaque) than in the normal-looking area away from the plaque; this also indicates that cytokines in the proinflammatory region may augment the VLCFA defect caused by the inherited abnormality in X-ALD brain. Although C6 glial cultured cells do not reflect the X-ALD model precisely, the observed relationship between the cytokine-induced inhibition of the oxidation of VLCFA, excessive accumulation of VLCFA, and excessive production of NO and their normalization by inhibitors of NOS in C6 glial cells suggests that NO-mediated toxicity may play a role in VLCFA-associated neuroinflammatory diseases (e.g., X-ALD).     

Induction of Nitric Oxide Synthase and Nitric Oxide-Mediated Apoptosis in Neuronal PC12 Cells After Stimulation with Tumor Necrosis FActor-α/Lipopolysaccharide

Abstract: Exposure of neuronal PC12 cells, differentiated by nerve growth factor, to tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) resulted in de novo synthesis of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA and protein with an increase up to 24 h. Brain NOS expression was unaffected. The induction of iNOS in differntiated PC12 cells was associated with cell death characterized by features of apoptosis, The NOS inhibitors N -monomethylarginine, aminoguanidine, and 2-amino-5,6-dihydro-6-methyl-4 H -1,3-thiazine HCl prevented TNF-α/LPS-induced cell death and DNA fragmentation, suggesting that the TNF-α/LPS-induced cell death is mediated by iNOS-derived NO. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that addition of l -arginine, which serves as a precursor and limiting factor of enzyme-derived NO production, potentiated TNF-α/LPS-induced loss of viability.     

Use of a Hemoglobin-Trapping Approach in the Determination of Nitric Oxide in In Vitro and In Vivo Systems

We describe methods for measuring the release of nitric oxide (NO) derived from organic nitrates in vitro, using triple wavelength and difference spectrophotometry in the presence and absence of concentric microdialysis probes. These methods are based on the ability of NO to oxidize oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) to methemoglobin (MetHb) quantitatively in aqueous solution. Isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), a thiol-dependent organic nitrate, increased MetHb concentration in 45 min from 2.47 ± 0.47 to 4.15 ± 0.12 M (p < 0.05) and decreased OxyHb concentration from 2.13 ± 0.35 to 0.33 ± 0.26 M (p < 0.05) at 37°C. At 27°C, the OxyHb concentration was not significantly altered (2.04 ± 0.23 to 1.60 ± 0.04 M) by ISDN, nor was the MetHb concentration (from 2.68 ± 0.50 to 2.59 ± 0.25 M). Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a thiol-independent organic nitrate, increased MetHb concentrations in 30 min from 4.21 ± 0.26 to 6.00 ± 0.56 M (p < 0.05) at 37°C, and from 4.23 ± 0.39 to 5.90 ± 0.43 M (p < 0.01) at 27°C. SNP also decreased OxyHb concentrations in 30 min from 1.99 ± 0.32 to 0.13 ± 0.12 M (p < 0.01) at 37°C, and from 2.25 ± 0.31 to 0.13 ± 0.09 M (p < 0.01) at 27°C. Difference spectrophometry indicated that 0.25-5 mM SNP significantly increased NO production in a dose-dependent fashion. This hemoglobin-trapping technique was also useful in quantifying the concentrations of NO released from SNP in aqueous solution in vitro, using concentric microdialysis probes. The NO concentration following exposure to SNP was 530 ± 50 nM, as determined using the difference spectrophotometric technique. To demonstrate the applicability of this technique to in vivo microdialysis, we implanted concentric microdialysis probes into hippocampus and cerebellum of conscious and anesthetized rats. Baseline NO concentrations in hippocampus of conscious and anesthetized rats were 11 ± 2 nM and 23 ± 9 nM, respectively, while in the cerebellum NO concentrations were 28 ± 9 nM and 41 ± 20 nM, respectively. These results demonstrate that microdialysis using a novel hemoglobin-trapping technique possesses adequate sensitivity to measure the NO levels produced from organic nitrates in aqueous solutions, and further document the applicability of this approach to in vivo systems.     

Terpenoids of Pinus strobus cortex tissue

The diterpenes, strobol, strobal, manoyl oxide, and cis- and trans-abienols, were isolated as major constituents of the extract of Pinus strobus L. cortex tissue. The known triterpene, 3β-methoxy-14-serraten-21-one, was also found. A polyprenol was isolated from the needle extractives.     

The structure of psi DNA

In concentrated solutions of neutral or anionic polymers (and an adequate cation concentration), DNA condenses into a compact state, which is of interest for its possible relevance to chromosome structure and the packing of DNA in viruses. The X-ray scattering of DNA condensed in this way has been examined with respect to the secondary structure of the helix and the tertiary structure of the compact state. Measurements have also been made with dense aqueous gels of DNA in the absence of poly(ethylene oxide) at ordinary salt concentrations and in 6·0 M-LiCl. All preparations exhibit a well-defined interhelical spacing, implying substantial parallelism, but no lattice spacings higher than first order are observed. Comparison with calculated scattering curves for disoriented helical segments indicates that a structure very close to the B fiber structure prevails in all preparations. No significant contribution from the A or C fiber structures can be detected in either the condensed preparations or the LiCl solutions. Thus there is no basis for attributing the origin of the strongly anomalous circular dichroism spectra to a secondary structure significantly different from that in dilute solution. The decrease in interhelix spacing with increasing polymer concentration is in reasonable accord with expectation on the basis of excluded volume interactions. There is improved short-range order in the polymer-induced compact state as compared with the simple solution having the same interhelix spacing.The results are in reasonably good agreement with expectation for a folded chain structure of the compact state, similar to the usual mode of crystallization of simple linear polymers. There is no evidence for supercoiling.