OeFAD8, OeLIP and OeOSM expression and activity in cold-acclimation of Olea europaea,a perennial dicot without winter-dormancy

Planta - Cold-acclimation genes in woody dicots without winter-dormancy, e.g., olive-tree, need investigation. Positive relationships between OeFAD8, OeOSM , and OeLIP19 and olive-tree...     

Impact of preanalytical handling and timing for peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolation and RNA studies: the experience of the Interinstitutional Multidisciplinary BioBank (BioBIM)

Multicenter studies and biobanking projects require blood transportation from the participating center to a central collection or diagnostic laboratory. The impact of time delays between venous blood collection and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolation prior to RNA extraction may affect the quality and quantity of isolated nucleic acids for genomic applications. Thus, standard operating procedure (SOP) optimization for the treatment of biological samples before RNA extraction is crucial in a biological repository. In order to define SOPs for whole blood preservation prior to RNA extraction, we sought to determine whether different blood storage times (0, 3, 6, 10, 24, and 30 hours) prior to PBMCs isolation and storage at -80°C, could affect the quality and quantity of extracted RNA. After spectrophotometric quantification, the quality and integrity of RNA were assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis, RNA integrity number and real time-PCR (RT-PCR).?Across the different time points we did not observe significant differences within the first 24 hours of blood storage at room temperature, while a significant loss in RNA yield and integrity was detected between 24 and 30 hours. We conclude that time delays before PBMCs isolation prior to RNA extraction may have a significant impact on downstream molecular biological applications.     

Caged O(2). Reaction of cytochrome bo(3) oxidase with photochemically released dioxygen from a cobalt peroxo complex.

We developed the synthesis of the caged oxygen donor (micro-peroxo)(micro-hydroxo)bis[bis(bipyridyl)cobalt(III)] complex (HPBC) as nitrate salt, which has, compared with the perchlorate-form described previously [MacArthur, R., Sucheta, A., Chong, F.F. & Einarsdottir, O. (1995) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 92, 8105-8109], greatly enhanced solubility. Now, the quantum efficiency of the photolytical release of dioxygen was determined to be 0.4 per photon at a laser wavelength of 308 nm, which was used to observe biological reactions. The X-ray structure of HPBC has been solved, and the molecular interactions of photochemically generated oxygen with cytochrome oxidase were investigated with optical and FT-IR spectroscopy: it acts as acceptor of electrons transferred from prereduced cytochrome bo(3), the heme-copper oxidase from Escherichia coli. FT-IR spectra revealed typical absorbance difference changes in the carbonyl region of cytochrome bo(3), supported by bandshifts due to solvent isotope exchange and by assignment using site-directed mutants. IR difference spectra of the photooxidation reaction using the caged oxygen compound, and of the photoreduction reaction using the caged electron donor FMN, have inverted shapes. The spectroscopic signals of carboxyl groups are thus equivalent in both reactions: the use of chemically produced oxygen allows the observation of the ongoing molecular changes of cytochrome bo(3) oxidase under quasi-physiological conditions.     

Vitiligo: A Possible Model of Degenerative Diseases

Vitiligo is characterized by the progressive disappearance of pigment cells from skin and hair follicle. Several in vitro and in vivo studies show evidence of an altered redox status, suggesting that loss of cellular redox equilibrium might be the pathogenic mechanism in vitiligo. However, despite the numerous data supporting a pathogenic role of oxidative stress, there is still no consensus explanation underlying the oxidative stress-driven disappear of melanocytes from the epidermis. In this study, in vitro characterization of melanocytes cultures from non-lesional vitiligo skin revealed at the cellular level aberrant function of signal transduction pathways common with neurodegenerative diseases including modification of lipid metabolism, hyperactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), constitutive p53-dependent stress signal transduction cascades, and enhanced sensibility to pro-apoptotic stimuli. Notably, these long-term effects of subcytotoxic oxidative stress are also biomarkers of pre-senescent cellular phenotype. Consistent with this, vitiligo cells showed a significant increase in p16 that did not correlate with the chronological age of the donor. Moreover, vitiligo melanocytes produced many biologically active proteins among the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SAPS), such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), matrix metallo proteinase-3 (MMP3), cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 and 7 (IGFBP3, IGFBP7). Together, these data argue for a complicated pathophysiologic puzzle underlying melanocytes degeneration resembling, from the biological point of view, neurodegenerative diseases. Our results suggest new possible targets for intervention that in combination with current therapies could correct melanocytes intrinsic defects.     

Arylglycine derivatives as potent transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) antagonists

A series of arylglycine-based analogs was synthesized and tested for TRPM8 antagonism in a cell-based functional assay. Following structure–activity relationship studies in vitro, a number of compounds were identified as potent TRPM8 antagonists and were subsequently evaluated in an in vivo pharmacodynamic assay of icilin-induced ‘wet-dog’ shaking in which compound 12 was fully effective. TRPM8 antagonists of the type described here may be useful in treating pain conditions wherein cold hypersensitivity is a dominant feature.     

Cell cycle studies of murine leukemia cell L5l78Y by polarization effects of light scattering

The structural changes during the life cycle of a synchronized population of mouse leukemia cell line L5l78Y have been described by polarized light scattering measurements. Exponentially growing cells were synchronized by an automatic excess thymidine-colcemid treatment technique. Samples were removed from the suspension culture and fixed with glutaraldehyde at hourly intervals throughout the life cycle. The effect these cell samples had in changing right-hand circularly polarized light to 45° linearly polarized light during the scattering process was measured at angles 6–l60° to the incident beam. The reproducibility of the light scattering signals for each time interval was statistically evaluated and found to have good intertrial correlation for each time period in the angular range 6–60° to the incident beam. Statistically significant changes were seen between cell samples during the synchronous life cycle. Therefore, the system developed has applications as an extremely sensitive measure of cell structure, and of structural changes caused by low-level chemical, physical or biological agents.