Primary cultures of dispersed cells of rat pineal gland

Summary In vitro indole metabolism and ultrastructural morphology of the pineal gland of male rats were examined. A comparison of the effect of norepinephrine stimulation on indole synthesis in whole cultured glands and preparations of dispersed pineal cells is discussed. Our studies on the performance of dispersed cells during the first 24 h after preparation indicate a strong dependence of pineal cells upon physical attachment to the culture dish and probably also on cell-to-cell contact.     

Sequestration of arginine by polyphosphate in vacuoles of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

The conditions for synthesis, purification, and properties of tryptophanase by a marine organism (Vibrio K-7) were studied. Tryptophanase was induced by tryptophan and its analogs, and partially repressed by 0.5% glucose or glycerol. NaCl (0.4M) was required for optimal growth and tryptophanase activity in whole cells. The enzyme was purified to 92% homogeneity by heat treatment, hydroxyapatite chromatography and fractionation with ammonium sulfate. This tryptophanase has been found to have kinetic properties similar to the tryptophanase from other microorganisms. It carries out both , -elimination reactions (using tryptophan, serine, cysteine and S-methyl-cysteine as substrates) and -replacement reactions (forming tryptophan from indole and serine, cysteine or S-methyl-cysteine). The enzyme has a sedimentation coefficient of 9.2S and requires pyridoxal 5-phosphate as a cofactor. The optimal pH for the tryptophanase reaction is pH 8.0.Nonstandard Abbreviations PLP pyridoxal 5-phosphate - TPase tryptophanase - TSase tryptophan synthase - DHase dehydratase - TCA tricarboxylic acid - BSA bovine serum albumin Preliminary reports of this work have been presented (M. J. Klug and R. D. DeMoss, Bacteriol. Proc. 1971, p. 132; D. D. Whitt and R. D. DeMoss, Abstr. Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol. 1973, p. 148)     

Biochemical characterization of indole prenyltransferases: filling the last gap of prenylation positions by a 5-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase from Aspergillus clavatus

The putative prenyltransferase gene ACLA_031240 belonging to the dimethylallyltryptophan synthase superfamily was identified in the genome sequence of Aspergillus clavatus and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The soluble His-tagged protein EAW08391 was purified to near homogeneity and used for biochemical investigation with diverse aromatic substrates in the presence of different prenyl diphosphates. It has shown that in the presence of dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP), the recombinant enzyme accepted very well simple indole derivatives with L-tryptophan as the best substrate. Product formation was also observed for tryptophan-containing cyclic dipeptides but with much lower conversion yields. In contrast, no product formation was detected in the reaction mixtures of L-tryptophan with geranyl or farnesyl diphosphate. Structure elucidation of the enzyme products by NMR and MS analyses proved unequivocally the highly regiospecific regular prenylation at C-5 of the indole nucleus of the simple indole derivatives. EAW08391 was therefore termed 5-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase, and it filled the last gap in the toolbox of indole prenyltransferases regarding their prenylation positions. K(m) values of 5-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase were determined for L-tryptophan and DMAPP at 34 and 76 μM, respectively. Average turnover number (k(cat)) at 1.1 s(-1) was calculated from kinetic data of L-tryptophan and DMAPP. Catalytic efficiencies of 5-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase for L-tryptophan at 25,588 s(-1)·M(-1) and for other 11 simple indole derivatives up to 1538 s(-1)·M(-1) provided evidence for its potential usage as a catalyst for chemoenzymatic synthesis.     

Indole derivatives as dual-effective agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: Synthesis,biological evaluation,and molecular modeling studies

Several indole derivatives, that were highly potent ligands of GluN2B-subunit-containing N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, also demonstrated antioxidant properties in ABTS method. In particular, the 2-(4-benzylpiperidin-1-yl)-1-(5-hydroxy-1H-indol-3-yl)ethanone (1) proved to be a dual-effective neuroprotective agent. With the aim to increase the antioxidant properties we added a catechol moiety onto piperidine moiety. The designed hybrid derivative 3,4-dihydroxy-N-[1-[2-(5-hydroxy-1H-indol-3-yl)-2-oxoethyl]piperidin-4-yl]benzamide (10) was the most effective antioxidant agent (>94.1 ± 0.1% of inhibition at 17 μM) and showed GluN2B/NMDA receptor affinity at low micromolar concentration (IC₅₀ 0.66 μM). By means of computational studies we explored the effect of the presence of this antioxidant fragment during the recognition process to binding pocket.     

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of novel bisindolylalkanes analogues

In an effort to develop potent anti-cancer chemopreventive agents that act on topoisomerase II, a novel series of bisindolylalkanes analogues such as 3,3′-(thiochroman-4,4-diyl)bis(1H-indole) are synthesized. Structures of all compounds are elucidated by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS. Anti-proliferative activities for all of these compounds are investigated by the method of MTT assay on 7 human cancer lines. Most of them showed antitumor activities in vitro, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value is 7.798 μg/mL of 3a against MCF7. Compound 3a showed comparable topoisomerase II inhibitory activity to etoposide (VP-16) at 100 μM concentration. The rest of the compounds also showed varying degree topoisomerase II inhibitory activity.     

Design and bio-evaluation of indole derivatives as potent Kv1.5 inhibitors

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the common arrhythmias that threaten human health. Kv1.5 potassium channel is reported as an efficacious and safe target for the treatment of AF. In this paper, we designed and synthesized three series of compounds through modifying the lead compound RH01617 that was screened out by the pharmacophore model we reported earlier. All of the compounds were evaluated by the whole-patch lamp technology and most of them possessed potent inhibitory activities against Kv1.5. Compounds IIIi and IIIl were evaluated for the target selectivity as well as the pharmacodynamic effects in an isolated rat model. Due to the promising pharmacological behavior, compound IIIl deserves further pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic evaluations.     

Indole acetic acid mimics the effect of salt stress in relation to enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism in chickpea seedlings

The effect of addition of indole acetic acid (3 M) andNaCl (75 mM) on growth and enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism inchickpea seedlings was compared. In comparison with control seedlings, theseedlings growing in the presence of indole acetic acid (IAA) had reducedamylase activity in cotyledons and enhanced sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrosephosphate synthase (SPS) activities in cotyledons and shoots at all days ofseedling growth. Compared with control seedlings, sucrose content was higher incotyledons, shoots and roots and reducing sugar content was lower in shoots ofIAA treated seedlings. A low invertase (acid and alkaline) activity in shoots ofIAA treated seedlings could lead to reduced sink strength and hence decreasedgrowth of seedlings. Effects of NaCl stress on growth and activities of amylase,SS and SPS in cotyledons and invertase, SS and SPS in shoots were similar tothose observed with addition of IAA.     

Glucosides from the roots of Capparis tenera

Two new lignan glucosides, compounds 2 and 3, two new 1H-indole-alkaloid glucosides, 5 and 6, as well as two new phenolic glucosides, 7 and 10, were isolated from the roots of Capparis tenera, together with five known compounds. Their structures were characterized by chemical and spectroscopic methods. Most of these isolates were obtained for the first time from Capparidaceae. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the new compounds were investigated.     

New indole based hybrid oxadiazole scaffolds with N-substituted acetamides: As potent anti-diabetic agents

Current study is based on the sequential conversion of indolyl butanoic acid (1) into ethyl indolyl butanoate (2), indolyl butanohydrazide (3), and 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol analogs (4) by adopting chemical transformations. In a parallel series of reactions, 2-bromo-N-phenyl/arylacetamides (7a-l) were synthesized by reacting different amines derivatives (5a-l) with 2-bromoacetyl bromide (6) to serve as electrophile. Then, the synthesized electrophiles (7a-l) were treated with nucleophilic 1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol analog (4) to afford a range of N-substituted derivatives (8a-l). The structural confirmation of all the synthetic compounds was carried out by IR, ¹H-, ¹³C NMR, EI-MS, and CHN analysis data. All synthesized molecules (8a-l) were tested for their antidiabetic potential via inhibition of the α-glucosidase enzyme followed by their in silico study. Their cytotoxicity profile was also ascertained via hemolytic activity and all of them possessed very low cytotoxicity. Compounds 8h and 8l were found most active having IC₅₀ values 9.46 ± 0.03 µM and 9.37 ± 0.03 µM, respectively. However, all other molecules also exhibited good to moderate inhibition potential with IC₅₀ values between 12.68 ± 0.04–37.82 ± 0.07, compared to standard acarbose (IC₅₀ = 37.38 ± 0.12 µM), hence can be used as lead molecules for further research in order to get better antidiabetic agents.     

Chemical characterization of cytotoxic indole acetic acid derivative from mulberry fruit (Morus alba L.) against human cervical cancer

The fruit of the white mulberry tree (Morus alba L.) is a multiple fruit with a sweet flavor commonly consumed around the world. Chemical investigation of the fruits led to the isolation of two indole acetic acid derivatives (1 −2) including a new compound, which turned out to be an isolation artifact, 3S-(β-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-2,3-dihydro-2-oxo-1H-indole-3-acetic acid butyl ester (1), along with five known compounds (3 −7). Compounds 2 and 7 were newly identified from mulberry fruit. The new isolation artifact (1) exhibited cytotoxic effect on human cervical cancer Hela cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compound 1 activated caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-3, followed by cleavage of PARP, a substrate of caspase-3, in a dose-dependent manner. Simultaneous alterations in protein expression of mitochondrial factors Bax, BID and Bcl-2 were also observed. A comparison between compounds 1 and 2 led to a structure-activity relationship analysis of the cytotoxic effect. These results suggest that compound 1 could be beneficial in human cervical cancer treatment, and provide a theoretical basis for further application of compound 1.