Beech forests play an important role in temperate and north Mediterranean ecosystems in Greece since they occupy infertile montane soils. In the last glacial maximum, Fagus sylvatica (beech) was confined to Southern Europe where it was dominant and in the last thousand years has expanded its range to dominate central Europe. We sampled four different beech forest types. We found 298 insect species associated with beech trees and dead beech wood. While F. sylvatica and Quercus (oak) are confamilial, there are great differences in richness of the associated entomofauna. Insect species that inhabit beech forests are less than one fifth of those species living in oak dominated forests despite the fact that beech is the most abundant central and north European tree. There is a distinct paucity of monophagous species on beech trees and most insect species are shared between co-occurring deciduous tree species and beech. This lack of species is attributed to the vegetation history and secondary plant chemistry. Bark and leaf biophenols from beech indicate that differences in plant secondary metabolites may be responsible for the differences in the richness of entomofauna in communities dominated by beech and other deciduous trees. Full article

Past research has demonstrated that oestrogenic compounds produce strand breaks in the DNA of sperm and lymphocytes via reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the current investigation, sperm and lymphocytes were treated in vitro with oestrogenic compounds (diethylstilboestrol, progesterone, 17β-oestradiol, noradrenaline and triiodotyronine) and several aspects of DNA damage were investigated. Firstly, mediation of DNA damage by lipid peroxidation was investigated in the presence of BHA (a lipid peroxidation blocker). BHA reduced the DNA damage generated by 17β-oestradiol and diethylstilboestrol in a statistically significant manner. No effects were observed for sperm. Secondly, the presence of oxidized bases employing FPG and EndoIII were detected for lymphocytes and sperm in the negative control and after 24 h recovery in lymphocytes but not immediately after treatment for both cell types. The successful detection of oxidized bases in the negative control (untreated) of sperm provides an opportunity for its application in biomonitoring studies. DNA repair at 24 h after exposure was also studied. A nearly complete recovery to negative control levels was shown in lymphocytes 24 h recovery after oestrogenic exposure and this was statistically significant in all cases. Rapid rejoining of DNA, in a matter of hours, is a characteristic of DNA damaged by ROS. Full article

The deficiency of human carbonic anhydrase II (HCAII) has been recognized to be associated with a disease called CAII deficiency syndrome (CADS). Among the many mutations, the P237H mutation has been characterized to lead to a significant decrease in the activity of the enzyme and in the Gibbs free energy of folding. However, sequence alignment indicated that the 237th residue of CAII is not fully conserved across all species. The FoldX theoretical calculations suggested that this residue did not significantly contribute to the overall folding of HCAII, since all mutants had small ΔΔG values (around 1 kcal/mol). The experimental determination indicated that at least three mutations affect HCAII folding significantly and the P237H mutation was the most deleterious one, suggesting that Pro237 was important to HCAII folding. The discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results suggested that caution should be taken when using the prediction methods to evaluate the details of disease-related mutations. Full article

Elastin-like peptide (ELP) was fused to two different avian flu H5N1 antigens and expressed in transgenic tobacco plants. The presence of the ELP tag enhanced the accumulation of the heterologous proteins in the tobacco leaves. An effective membrane-based Inverse Transition Cycling was developed to recover the ELPylated antigens and antibodies from plant material. The functionality of both the ELPylated neuraminidase and an ELPylated nanobody was demonstrated. Full article

The series of fifteen synthesized 4-hydroxycoumarin derivatives was subjected to antioxidant activity evaluation in vitro, through total antioxidant capacity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical, lipid peroxide scavenging and chelating activity. The highest activity was detected during the radicals scavenging, with 2b, 6b, 2c, and 4c noticed as the most active. The antioxidant activity was further quantified by the quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) studies. For this purpose, the structures were optimized using Paramethric Method 6 (PM6) semi-empirical and Density Functional Theory (DFT) B3LYP methods. Bond dissociation enthalpies of coumarin 4-OH, Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) gained hybridization of the oxygen, acidity of the hydrogen atom and various molecular descriptors obtained, were correlated with biological activity, after which we designed 20 new antioxidant structures, using the most favorable structural motifs, with much improved predicted activity in vitro. Full article

The Asian rice gall midge, Orseolia oryzae (Wood-Mason), is a serious pest of rice. Investigations into the gall midge-rice interaction will unveil the underlying molecular mechanisms which, in turn, can be used as a tool to assist in developing suitable integrated pest management strategies. The insect gut is known to be involved in various physiological and biological processes including digestion, detoxification and interaction with the host. We have cloned and identified two genes, OoprotI and OoprotII, homologous to serine proteases with the conserved His87, Asp136 and Ser241 residues. OoProtI shared 52.26% identity with mosquito-type trypsin from Hessian fly whereas OoProtII showed 52.49% identity to complement component activated C1s from the Hessian fly. Quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed that both the genes were significantly upregulated in larvae feeding on resistant cultivar than in those feeding on susceptible cultivar. These results provide an opportunity to understand the gut physiology of the insect under compatible or incompatible interactions with the host. Phylogenetic analysis grouped these genes in the clade containing proteases of phytophagous insects away from hematophagous insects. Full article

Divalent metal ions are essential for the efficient catalysis and structural stability of many nucleotidyl-transfer enzymes. Poly(A)-specific ribonuclease (PARN) belongs to the DEDD superfamily of 3'-exonucleases, and the active site of PARN contains four conserved acidic amino acid residues that coordinate two Mg²⁺ ions. In this research, we studied the roles of these four acidic residues in PARN thermal stability by mutational analysis. It was found that Mg²⁺ significantly decreased the rate but increased the aggregate size of the 54 kDa wild-type PARN in a concentration-dependent manner. All of the four mutants decreased PARN thermal aggregation, while the aggregation kinetics of the mutants exhibited dissimilar Mg²⁺-dependent behavior. A comparison of the kinetic parameters indicated that Asp28 was the most crucial one to the binding of the two Mg²⁺ ions, while metal B might be more important in PARN structural stability. The spectroscopic and aggregation results also suggested that the alterations in the active site structure by metal binding or mutations might lead to a global conformational change of the PARN molecule. Full article

A thermophilic lipolytic bacterium identified as Bacillus sp. L2 via 16S rDNA was previously isolated from a hot spring in Perak, Malaysia. Bacillus sp. L2 was confirmed to be in Group 5 of bacterial classification, a phylogenically and phenotypically coherent group of thermophilic bacilli displaying very high similarity among their 16S rRNA sequences (98.5–99.2%). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cloning of L2 lipase gene was conducted by using five different primers. Sequence analysis of the L2 lipase gene revealed an open reading frame (ORF) of 1251 bp that codes for 417 amino acids. The signal peptides consist of 28 amino acids. The mature protein is made of 388 amino acid residues. Recombinant lipase was successfully overexpressed with a 178-fold increase in activity compared to crude native L2 lipase. The recombinant L2 lipase (43.2 kDa) was purified to homogeneity in a single chromatography step. The purified lipase was found to be reactive at a temperature range of 55–80 °C and at a pH of 6–10. The L2 lipase had a melting temperature (Tm) of 59.04 °C when analyzed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy studies. The optimum activity was found to be at 70 °C and pH 9. Lipase L2 was strongly inhibited by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (100%), whereas phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), pepstatin-A, 2-mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol (DTT) inhibited the enzyme by over 40%. The CD spectra of secondary structure analysis showed that the L2 lipase structure contained 38.6% α-helices, 2.2% ß-strands, 23.6% turns and 35.6% random conformations. Full article

Flavonoids and phenolics are abundant in loquat flowers. Methanol had the highest extraction efficiency among five solvents, followed by ethanol. Considering the safety and residue, ethanol is better as extraction solvent. The average content of flavonoids and phenolics of loquat flower of five cultivars were 1.59 ± 0.24 and 7.86 ± 0.87 mg/g DW, respectively, when using ethanol as extraction solvent. The contents of both bioactive components in flowers at different developmental stages and in the various flower tissues clearly differed, with the highest flavonoids and phenolics content in flowers of stage 3 (flower fully open) and petal, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was measured using FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS methods. The values of ABTS method was highest, followed by DPPH, the lowest was FRAP, when using vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity (VCEAC) as unit. Correlation analysis showed that the ABTS method showed the highest correlation coefficients with flavonoids and phenolics, i.e., 0.886 and 0.973, respectively. Full article

d-(+)-Galactose-conjugated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized for use as biosensors to detect the cancer marker galectin-3. To investigate the binding of galectin-3 to the d-(+)-galactose-conjugated SWCNTs, an electrochemical biosensor was fabricated by using molybdenum electrodes. The binding affinities of the conjugated SWCNTs to galectin-3 were quantified using electrochemical sensitivity measurements based on the differences in resistance together with typical I-V characterization. The electrochemical sensitivity measurements of the d-(+)-galactose-conjugated SWCNTs differed significantly between the samples with and without galectin-3. This indicates that d-(+)-galactose-conjugated SWCNTs are potentially useful electrochemical biosensors for the detection of cancer marker galectin-3. Full article

We assessed the polyphenolic contents and antioxidant potential of the aqueous, ethanol and methanol stem bark extracts of Jatropha curcas. The total phenol, flavonoids, flavonols and proanthocyanidin contents of the extracts were evaluated to determine their effect on the antioxidant property of this plant, using standard phytochemical methods. The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts of the plant were also assessed against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide anion, (O₂⁻) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) using spectroscopic methods and results were compared with that of butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid as standards. The concentrations of different classes of phenolic compounds were higher in methanol and ethanol extracts compared to aqueous extracts. There was correlation between total phenol, total flavonoids, total flavonol and total proanthocyanidins (r = 0.996, 0.978, 0.908, and 0.985) respectively. There was correlations between the amount of phenolic compounds and percentage inhibition of DPPH radicals scavenging activity of the extract (r = 0.98). Findings from the present study indicated that J. curcas is a potential source of natural antioxidants and may be a good candidate for pharmaceutical plant based products. Full article

Gold nanoclusters have the tunable optical absorption property, and are promising for cancer cell imaging, photothermal therapy and radiotherapy. First-principle is a very powerful tool for design of novel materials. In the present work, structural properties, band gap engineering and tunable optical properties of Ag-doped gold clusters have been calculated using density functional theory. The electronic structure of a stable Au₂₀ cluster can be modulated by incorporating Ag, and the HOMO–LUMO gap of Au_20−nAg_n clusters is modulated due to the incorporation of Ag electronic states in the HOMO and LUMO. Furthermore, the results of the imaginary part of the dielectric function indicate that the optical transition of gold clusters is concentration-dependent and the optical transition between HOMO and LUMO shifts to the low energy range as the Ag atom increases. These calculated results are helpful for the design of gold cluster-based biomaterials, and will be of interest in the fields of radiation medicine, biophysics and nanoscience. Full article

The active metabolite of the novel immunosuppressive agent leflunomide has been shown to inhibit the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH). This enzyme catalyzes the fourth step in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Self-organizing molecular field analysis (SOMFA), a simple three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) method is used to study the correlation between the molecular properties and the biological activities of a series of analogues of the active metabolite. The statistical results, cross-validated r_CV² (0.664) and non cross-validated r² (0.687), show a good predictive ability. The final SOMFA model provides a better understanding of DHODH inhibitor-enzyme interactions, and may be useful for further modification and improvement of inhibitors of this important enzyme. Full article

Akt plays an important role in the inhibition of apoptosis induced by chemotherapy and other stimuli. We therefore investigated if knockdown of Akt2 promoted drug-induced apoptosis in cultured osteosarcoma cells in vitro. SAOS-2 cells were transfected with Akt2 siRNA. The sensitivity of the transformed cell line to the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin was assessed. Reduced expression of Akt2 did not directly inhibit the growth rate of the transfected cells; however, it significantly increased their sensitivity to cisplatin. Knockdown of Akt2, together with cisplatin treatment, promoted the expression of p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA). It is possible that the augmentation of cisplatin cytotoxicity may be mediated by PUMA activation. The results of this study suggest that knockdown of Akt2 expression may have therapeutic applications in enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with osteosarcoma. Full article

Mulberry is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese medicines. Anthocyanins are the main bioactive components of mulberry, and possess important biological activities, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. This study investigated the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of anthocyanins from mulberry by using response surface methodology (RSM). The extraction conditions associated with anthocyanin yield, including extraction solvent, liquid-to-solid rate, temperature and extraction time, are discussed. The optimal conditions obtained by RSM for UAE from mulberry include 63.8% methanol contains 1% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), 43.2 °C temperature, 23.8 (v/w) liquid-to-solid ratio, and 40 min time for the maximum yield (64.70 ± 0.45 mg/g). The results indicated that the UAE can be an effective method for the extraction of some active components from plant materials. Full article

The hedgehog signal pathway is an essential agent in developmental patterning, wherein the local concentration of the Hedgehog morphogens directs cellular differentiation and expansion. Furthermore, the Hedgehog pathway has been implicated in tumor/stromal interaction and cancer stem cell. Nowadays searching novel inhibitors for Hedgehog Signal Pathway is drawing much more attention by biological, chemical and pharmological scientists. In our study, a solid computational model is proposed which incorporates various statistical analysis methods to perform a Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) study on the inhibitors of Hedgehog signaling. The whole QSAR data contain 93 cyclopamine derivatives as well as their activities against four different cell lines (NCI-H446, BxPC-3, SW1990 and NCI-H157). Our extensive testing indicated that the binary classification model is a better choice for building the QSAR model of inhibitors of Hedgehog signaling compared with other statistical methods and the corresponding in silico analysis provides three possible ways to improve the activity of inhibitors by demethylation, methylation and hydroxylation at specific positions of the compound scaffold respectively. From these, demethylation is the best choice for inhibitor structure modifications. Our investigation also revealed that NCI-H466 served as the best cell line for testing the activities of inhibitors of Hedgehog signal pathway among others. Full article

The effects of high pressure (to 600 MPa) at different temperatures (20 to 60 °C) for 20 min on protein solubilization and electrophoretic pattern in beef post-rigor longissimus dorsi muscle were studied. The results showed that protein solubilization increased with increasing temperature, especially from 40 °C to 60 °C. A regular trend of protein solubilization was found when isolated myofibrils were subjected to high pressure at different temperatures, an increase was observed with increasing pressure up to about 400 MPa, solubility then decreasing to 600 MPa. Electrophoretic profiles showed that myosin light chains and actin thin filaments were sensitive to pressure, and were released from myofibrils subjected to 100 MPa and higher pressures at the different temperatures. Full article

In order to improve its stability and catalytic rate in flour, the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOX) was investigated in this work. The enzyme was encapsulated in calcium alginate-chitosan microspheres (CACM) using an emulsification-internal gelation-GOX adsorption‑chitosan coating method. The interaction between alginate and chitosan was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (IR). The resultant CACM in wet state, whose morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), was spherical with a mean diameter of about 26 μm. The GOX load, encapsulation efficiency and activity of the CACM-GOX were influenced by concentration of chitosan, encapsulation time and encapsulation pH. The highest total enzymatic activity and encapsulation efficiency was achieved when the pH of the adsorption medium was near the isoelectric point (pI) of GOX, approximately pH 4.0. In addition, the molecular weight of chitosan also evidently influenced the encapsulation efficiency. Storage stabilities of GOX samples were investigated continuously over two months and the retained activity of CACM-GOX was 70.4%, markedly higher than the 7.5% of free enzyme. The results reveal the great potential of CACM-GOX as a flour improver. Full article

The genetic diversity of antagonistic bacteria from the tobacco rhizosphere was examined by BOXAIR-PCR, 16S-RFLP, 16S rRNA sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis methods. These studies revealed that 4.01% of the 6652 tested had some inhibitory activity against Phytophthora nicotianae. BOXAIR-PCR analysis revealed 35 distinct amplimers aligning at a 91% similarity level, reflecting a high degree of genotypic diversity among the antagonistic bacteria. A total of 25 16S-RFLP patterns were identified representing over 33 species from 17 different genera. Our results also found a significant amount of bacterial diversity among the antagonistic bacteria compared to other published reports. For the first time; Delftia tsuruhatensis, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Advenella incenata, Bacillus altitudinis, Kocuria palustris, Bacillus licheniformis, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Myroides odoratimimus are reported to display antagonistic activity towards Phytophthora nicotianae. Furthermore, the majority (75%) of the isolates assayed for antagonistic activity were Gram-positives compared to only 25% that were Gram-negative bacteria. Full article

The formation of a self-sustaining autocatalytic chemical network is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the origin of life. The question of whether such a network could form “by chance” within a sufficiently complex suite of molecules and reactions is one that we have investigated for a simple chemical reaction model based on polymer ligation and cleavage. In this paper, we extend this work in several further directions. In particular, we investigate in more detail the levels of catalysis required for a self-sustaining autocatalytic network to form. We study the size of chemical networks within which we might expect to find such an autocatalytic subset, and we extend the theoretical and computational analyses to models in which catalysis requires template matching. Full article

The study aims to present a detailed theoretical investigation of noncovalent intermolecular interactions between different π–π stacking nitrogen substituted phenothiazine derivatives by applying second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation (MP2), density functional (DFT) and semiempirical theories. The conformational stability of these molecular systems is mainly given by the dispersion-type electron correlation effects. The density functional tight-binding (DFTB) method applied for dimer structures are compared with the results obtained by the higher level theoretical methods. Additionally, the optimal configuration of the investigated supramolecular systems and their self-assembling properties are discussed. Full article

We have previously shown a tissue-specific increase in oxidative stress in the early stages of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. In this study, we investigated oxidative stress-related long-term complications and mitochondrial dysfunctions in the different tissues of STZ-induced diabetic rats (>15 mM blood glucose for 8 weeks). These animals showed a persistent increase in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS, respectively) production. Oxidative protein carbonylation was also increased with the maximum effect observed in the pancreas of diabetic rats. The activities of mitochondrial respiratory enzymes ubiquinol: cytochrome c oxidoreductase (Complex III) and cytochrome c oxidase (Complex IV) were significantly decreased while that of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I) and succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex II) were moderately increased in diabetic rats, which was confirmed by the increased expression of the 70 kDa Complex II sub-unit. Mitochondrial matrix aconitase, a ROS sensitive enzyme, was markedly inhibited in the diabetic rat tissues. Increased expression of oxidative stress marker proteins Hsp-70 and HO-1 was also observed along with increased expression of nitric oxide synthase. These results suggest that mitochondrial respiratory complexes may play a critical role in ROS/RNS homeostasis and oxidative stress related changes in type 1 diabetes and may have implications in the etiology of diabetes and its complications. Full article

The contributions of individual amino acid residues or groups of amino acids to antioxidant activities of some food protein hydrolysates were investigated using partial least squares (PLS) regression method. PLS models were computed with amino acid composition and 3-z scale descriptors in the X-matrix and antioxidant activities of the samples in the Y-matrix; models were validated by cross-validation and permutation tests. Based on coefficients of the resulting models, it was observed that sulfur-containing (SCAA), acidic and hydrophobic amino acids had strong positive effects on scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and H₂O₂ radicals in addition to ferric reducing antioxidant power. For superoxide radicals, only lysine and leucine showed strong positive contributions while SCAA had strong negative contributions to scavenging by the protein hydrolysates. In contrast, positively-charged amino acids strongly contributed negatively to ferric reducing antioxidant power and scavenging of DPPH and H₂O₂ radicals. Therefore, food protein hydrolysates containing appropriate amounts of amino acids with strong contribution properties could be potential candidates for use as potent antioxidant agents. We conclude that information presented in this work could support the development of low cost methods that will efficiently generate potent antioxidant peptide mixtures from food proteins without the need for costly peptide purification. Full article

The electronic properties of Te doped-ZnSb systems are investigated by first-principles calculations. We focus on the Zn₆₄Sb_64−xTe_x systems (x = 0, 2, 3, 4), which respond to the 0, 1.56at%, 2.34at% and 3.12at% of Te doping concentration. We confirm that the amount of Te doping will change the conductivity type of ZnSb. In the cases of x = 2 and 3, we find that the Te element in ZnSb introduces some bands originating from Te s and p orbits and a donor energy level in the bottom of the conduction band, which induce the n-type conductivity of ZnSb. From these findings for the electronic structure and the conductivity mechanism, we predict that Te doping amounts such as 1.56at% and 2.34at% can be considered as suitable candidates for use as donor dopant. Full article

An environmental physical method described herein was developed to improve the tensile properties of Bombyx mori cocoon sericin films, by using the plasticizer of glycerol, which has a nontoxic effect compared with other chemical crosslinkers. The changes in the tensile characteristics and the structure of glycerolated (0–40 wt% of glycerol) sericin films were investigated. Sericin films, both in dry and wet states, showed enhanced tensile properties, which might be regulated by the addition of different concentrations of glycerol. The introduction of glycerol results in the higher amorphous structure in sericin films as evidenced by analysis of attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra, thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observation revealed that glycerol was homogeneously blended with sericin molecules when its content was 10 wt%, while a small amount of redundant glycerol emerged on the surface of sericin films when its content was increased to 20 wt% or higher. Our results suggest that the introduction of glycerol is a novel nontoxic strategy which can improve the mechanical features of sericin-based materials and subsequently promote the feasibility of its application in tissue engineering. Full article

A new homologous series (ten compounds) of 2-hydroxy azo compounds SR_n (where n:1–10) were synthesized. Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques such as IR (Infrared), ¹H-NMR as well as elemental analysis. Mesomorphic properties and phase transitions were studied using polarized hot stage optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and are discussed as a function of the number of carbon atoms in the thioalkyl chain. It has been found that all compounds in the series are pure nematogens. Full article

KRAS mutation has been unambiguously identified as a marker of resistance to cetuximab-based treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. However, most studies of KRAS mutation analysis have been performed using homogenously archived CRC specimens, and studies that compare freshly frozen specimens and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens of CRC are lacking. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of tissue preservation on the determination of KRAS mutational status. A series of 131 mCRC fresh-frozen tissues were first analyzed using both high-resolution melting (HRM) and direct sequencing. KRAS mutations were found in 47/131 (35.8%) using both approaches. Out of the 47 samples that were positive for KRAS mutations, 33 had available matched FFPE specimens. Using HRM, 2/33 (6%) demonstrated suboptimal template amplification, and 2/33 (6%) expressed an erroneous wild-type KRAS profile. Using direct sequencing, 6/33 (18.1%) displayed a wild-type KRAS status, and 3/33 (9.1%) showed discordant mutations. Finally, the detection of KRAS mutations was lower among the FFPE samples compared with the freshly frozen samples, demonstrating that tissue processing clearly impacts the accuracy of KRAS genotyping. Full article

The lysophospholipids sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) act via G-protein coupled receptors S1P_1–5 and LPA_1–3 respectively, and are implicated in allergy. Eosinophils accumulate at innervating cholinergic nerves in asthma and adhere to nerve cells via intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells were used as an in vitro cholinergic nerve cell model. The G_i coupled receptors S1P₁, S1P₃, LPA₁, LPA₂ and LPA₃ were expressed on IMR-32 cells. Both S1P and LPA induced ERK phosphorylation and ERK- and G_i-dependent up-regulation of ICAM-1 expression, with differing time courses. LPA also induced ERK- and G_i-dependent up-regulation of the eosinophil chemoattractant, CCL-26. The eosinophil granule protein eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) induced ERK-dependent up-regulation of transcription of S1P₁, LPA₁, LPA₂ and LPA₃, providing the situation whereby eosinophil granule proteins may enhance S1P- and/or LPA- induced eosinophil accumulation at nerve cells in allergic conditions. Full article

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a major cause of herb–drug interactions. The CYP1A2 enzyme plays a major role in the metabolism of drugs in humans. Its broad substrate specificity, as well as its inhibition by a vast array of structurally diverse herbal active ingredients, has indicated the possibility of metabolic herb–drug interactions. Therefore nowadays searching inhibitors for CYP1A2 from herbal medicines are drawing much more attention by biological, chemical and pharmological scientists. In our work, a pharmacophore model as well as the docking technology is proposed to screen inhibitors from herbal ingredients data. Firstly different pharmaphore models were constructed and then validated and modified by 202 herbal ingredients. Secondly the best pharmaphore model was chosen to virtually screen the herbal data (a curated database of 989 herbal compounds). Then the hits (147 herbal compounds) were continued to be filtered by a docking process, and were tested in vitro successively. Finally, five of eighteen candidate compounds (272, 284, 300, 616 and 817) were found to have inhibition of CYP1A2 activity. The model developed in our study is efficient for in silico screening of large herbal databases in the identification of CYP1A2 inhibitors. It will play an important role to prevent the risk of herb–drug interactions at an early stage of the drug development process. Full article

In this research, two types of sulfated polysaccharide derivatives were successfully synthesized. Their antioxidant activities were investigated by employing various established in vitro systems. In addition, the degree of sulfation was evaluated using ion-chromatography and IR spectra. The results verify that, when employing scavenging superoxide radical tests, both the sulfation of acid Auricularia auricular polysaccharides (SAAAP) and the sulfation of neutral Auricularia auricular polysaccharides (SNAAP) derivatives possessed considerable antioxidant activity and had a more powerful antioxidant competence than that of the native non-sulfated polysaccharides (AAAP and NAAP). On the other hand, AAAP and NAAP exhibited stronger activity on scavenging both the hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxidation. Available data obtained with in vitro measurements indicates that the sulfated groups of AAAP and NAAP played an important role on antioxidant activity. In sum, the research demonstrates that the antioxidant activity of sulfated polysaccharide derivatives in vitro has a potential significance for seeking new natural antioxidant protective agents. Full article

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), obtained by precipitation polymerisation with 4-vinylpyridine as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linker, and bisphenol-A (BPA) as template, was prepared. The binding site configuration of the BPA-MIP was examined using Scatchard analysis. Moreover, the behaviour of the BPA-MIP for the extraction of several phenolic compounds (bisphenol-A, bisphenol-F, 4-nitrophenol, 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol) and phenoxyacid herbicides such as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T and 2,4,5-TP has been studied in organic and aqueous media in the presence of other pesticides in common use. It was possible to carry out the selective preconcentration of the target analytes from the organic medium with recoveries of higher than 70%. In an aqueous medium, hydrophobic interactions were found to exert a remarkably non-specific contribution to the overall binding process. Several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the BPA-MIP were evaluated to achieve the selective preconcentration of phenols and phenoxyacids from aqueous samples. The possibility of using the BPA-MIP as a selective sorbent to preconcentrate these compounds from other samples such as urine and river water was also explored. Full article

To investigate anticancer effect of lycopene, we examined the effects of lycopene on the oxidative injury and immunity activities of N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced gastric cancer rats. The animals were divided into five groups. Group I served as the normal control and was given corn oil orally for 20 weeks. Group II were induced with MNNG 200 mg/kg body weight by oral gavage at days 0 and 14, and saturated NaCl (1 mL per rats) was given once every three days for four weeks until the end of the experimental period. Group III, IV and V were posttreated with lycopene (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg body weight, dissolved in corn oil) from the sixth week of MNNG (as in group II) induction up to the end of the experimental period. In the presence of MNNG, MDA and immunity levels were significantly increased, whereas enzymatic (SOD, CAT, and GPx) antioxidant activities were decreased in the treated rats compared with normal control rats. Administration of lycopene to gastric carcinoma-induced rats largely up-regulated the redox status and immunity activities to decrease the risk of cancer compared to group II. We conclude that up-regulation of antioxidants and immunity by lycopene treatment might be responsible for the anticancer effect in gastric carcinoma. Full article

In the present study, six families of sulfated polysaccharides were obtained from seaweed Dictyopteris delicatula by proteolytic digestion, followed by acetone fractionation and molecular sieving on Sephadex G-100. Chemical analyses demonstrated that all polysaccharides contain heterofucans composed mainly of fucose, xylose, glucose, galactose, uronic acid, and sulfate. The fucans F0.5v and F0.7v at 1.0 mg/mL showed high ferric chelating activity (~45%), whereas fucans F1.3v (0.5 mg/mL) showed considerable reducing power, about 53.2% of the activity of vitamin C. The fucan F1.5v presented the most prominent anticoagulant activity. The best antiproliferative activity was found with fucans F1.3v and F0.7v. However, F1.3v activity was much higher than F0.7v inhibiting almost 100% of HeLa cell proliferation. These fucans have been selected for further studies on structural characterization as well as in vivo experiments, which are already in progress. Full article

The endo-β-1,4-glucanase gene celE from the anaerobic fungus Orpinomyces PC-2 was placed under the control of an alcohol oxidase promoter (AOX1) in the plasmid pPIC9K, and integrated into the genome of a methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris GS115 by electroporation. The strain with highest endo-β-1,4-glucanase activity was selected and designed as P. pastoris egE, and cultivated in shaking flasks. The culture supernatant was assayed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and showed a single band at about 52 kDa. Furthermore, the recombinant P. pastoris egE was proved to possess the ability to utilize sodium carboxymethyl cellulose as a carbon source. The recombinant endoglucanase produced by P. pastoris showed maximum activity at pH 6.0 and temperature 45 °C, indicating it was a mesophilic neutral endo-β-1,4-glucanase, suitable for denim biofinishing/washing. Further research was carried out in suitable fermentation medium in shaking flasks. The most favorable methanol addition concentration was discussed and given as 1.0%. After methanol induction for 96 h, the endo-β-1,4-glucanase activity reached 72.5 IU mL⁻¹. This is the first report on expression and characterization of endo-β-1,4-glucanase from Orpinomyces in P. pastoris. The endo-β-1,4-glucanase secreted by recombinant P. pastoris represents an attractive potential for both academic research and textile industry application. Full article

Extractable dietary fiber (DF) plays an important role in nutrition. This study on porridge making with whole grain rye investigated the effect of rest time of flour slurries at room temperature before cooking and amount of flour and salt in the recipe on the content of DF components and molecular weight distribution of extractable fructan, mixed linkage (1→3)(1→4)-β-D-glucan (β-glucan) and arabinoxylan (AX) in the porridge. The content of total DF was increased (from about 20% to 23% of dry matter) during porridge making due to formation of insoluble resistant starch. A small but significant increase in the extractability of β-glucan (P = 0.016) and AX (P = 0.002) due to rest time was also noted. The molecular weight of extractable fructan and AX remained stable during porridge making. However, incubation of the rye flour slurries at increased temperature resulted in a significant decrease in extractable AX molecular weight. The molecular weight of extractable β-glucan decreased greatly during a rest time before cooking, most likely by the action of endogenous enzymes. The amount of salt and flour used in the recipe had small but significant effects on the molecular weight of β-glucan. These results show that whole grain rye porridge made without a rest time before cooking contains extractable DF components maintaining high molecular weights. High molecular weight is most likely of nutritional importance. Full article

A successful design of peptidomimetics must come to terms with χ-space control. The incorporation of χ-space constrained amino acids into bioactive peptides renders the χ¹ and χ² torsional angles of pharmacophore amino acids critical for activity and selectivity as with other relevant structural features of the template. This review describes histidine analogues characterized by replacement of native α and/or β-hydrogen atoms with alkyl substituents as well as analogues with α, β-didehydro unsaturation or C^α-C^β cyclopropane insertion (ACC derivatives). Attention is also dedicated to the relevant field of β-aminoacid chemistry by describing the synthesis of β²- and β³-models (β-hHis). Structural modifications leading to cyclic imino derivatives such as spinacine, aza-histidine and analogues with shortening or elongation of the native side chain (nor-histidine and homo-histidine, respectively) are also described. Examples of the use of the described analogues to replace native histidine in bioactive peptides are also given. Full article

The helical shape of the thin filaments causes their passive counterclockwise rotation during muscle stretch that increases tensile stress and torque at first by unwinding and then by winding up the four anchoring Z-filaments. This means storage of energy in the series elastic Z-filaments and a considerable decrease of the liberated energy of heat and work to (h—w_ap), where h is the heat energy and w_ap the stretch energy induced from outside by an apparatus. The steep thin filament helix with an inclination angle of 70° promotes the passive rotation during stretch, but impedes the smooth sliding of shortening by increased friction and production of frictional heat. The frictional heat may be produced by the contact with the myosin cross-bridges: (1) when they passively snap on drilling thin filaments from cleft to cleft over a distance 2 × 2.7 nm = 5.4 nm between the globular actin monomers in one groove, causing stepwise motion; or (2) when they passively cycle from one helical groove to the next (distance 36 nm). The latter causes more heat and may take place on rotating thin filaments without an effective forward drilling (“idle rotation”), e.g., when they produce “unexplained heat” at the beginning of an isometric tetanus. In an Appendix to this paper the different states of muscle are defined. The function of its most important components is described and rotation model and power-stroke model of muscular contraction is compared. Full article

Aminoethylcysteine ketimine decarboxylated dimer is a natural sulfur-containing compound detected in human plasma and urine, in mammalian brain and in many common edible vegetables. Over the past decade many studies have been undertaken to identify its metabolic role. Attention has been focused on its antioxidant properties and on its reactivity against oxygen and nitrogen reactive species. These properties have been studied in different model systems starting from plasma lipoproteins to specific cellular lines. All these studies report that aminoethylcysteine ketimine decarboxylated dimer is able to interact both with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite and its derivatives). Its antioxidant activity is similar to that of Vitamin E while higher than other hydrophilic antioxidants, such as trolox and N-acetylcysteine. Full article

Obesity is a chronic disease of multifactorial origin and can be defined as an increase in the accumulation of body fat. Adipose tissue is not only a triglyceride storage organ, but studies have shown the role of white adipose tissue as a producer of certain bioactive substances called adipokines. Among adipokines, we find some inflammatory functions, such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6); other adipokines entail the functions of regulating food intake, therefore exerting a direct effect on weight control. This is the case of leptin, which acts on the limbic system by stimulating dopamine uptake, creating a feeling of fullness. However, these adipokines induce the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), generating a process known as oxidative stress (OS). Because adipose tissue is the organ that secretes adipokines and these in turn generate ROS, adipose tissue is considered an independent factor for the generation of systemic OS. There are several mechanisms by which obesity produces OS. The first of these is the mitochondrial and peroxisomal oxidation of fatty acids, which can produce ROS in oxidation reactions, while another mechanism is over-consumption of oxygen, which generates free radicals in the mitochondrial respiratory chain that is found coupled with oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Lipid-rich diets are also capable of generating ROS because they can alter oxygen metabolism. Upon the increase of adipose tissue, the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), was found to be significantly diminished. Finally, high ROS production and the decrease in antioxidant capacity leads to various abnormalities, among which we find endothelial dysfunction, which is characterized by a reduction in the bioavailability of vasodilators, particularly nitric oxide (NO), and an increase in endothelium-derived contractile factors, favoring atherosclerotic disease. Full article

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are proteins that usually do not adopt well-defined native structures when isolated in solution under physiological conditions. Numerous IDPs have close relationships with human diseases such as tumor, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, diabetes, and so on. These disease-associated IDPs commonly play principal roles in the disease-associated protein-protein interaction networks. Most of them in the disease datasets have more interactants and hence the size of the disease-associated IDPs interaction network is simultaneously increased. For example, the tumor suppressor protein p53 is an intrinsically disordered protein and also a hub protein in the p53 interaction network; α-synuclein, an intrinsically disordered protein involved in Parkinson diseases, is also a hub of the protein network. The disease-associated IDPs may provide potential targets for drugs modulating protein-protein interaction networks. Therefore, novel strategies for drug discovery based on IDPs are in the ascendant. It is dependent on the features of IDPs to develop the novel strategies. It is found out that IDPs have unique structural features such as high flexibility and random coil-like conformations which enable them to participate in both the “one to many” and “many to one” interaction. Accordingly, in order to promote novel strategies for drug discovery, it is essential that more and more features of IDPs are revealed by experimental and computing methods. Full article

The science and policy of pharmaceuticals produced and/or delivered by plants has evolved over the past twenty-one years from a backyard remedy to regulated, purified products. After seemingly frozen at Phase I human clinical trials with six orally delivered plant-made vaccines not progressing past this stage over seven years, plant-made pharmaceuticals have made a breakthrough with several purified plant-based products advancing to Phase II trials and beyond. Though fraught with the usual difficulties of pharmaceutical development, pharmaceuticals made by plants have achieved pertinent milestones albeit slowly compared to other pharmaceutical production systems and are now at the cusp of reaching the consumer. Though the current economic climate begs for cautious investment as opposed to trail blazing, it is perhaps a good time to look to the future of plant-made pharmaceutical technology to assist in planning for future developments in order not to slow this technology’s momentum. To encourage continued progress, we highlight the advances made so far by this technology, particularly the change in paradigms, comparing developmental timelines, and summarizing the current status and future possibilities of plant-made pharmaceuticals. Full article

The aim of microfluidic mixing is to achieve a thorough and rapid mixing of multiple samples in microscale devices. In such devices, sample mixing is essentially achieved by enhancing the diffusion effect between the different species flows. Broadly speaking, microfluidic mixing schemes can be categorized as either “active”, where an external energy force is applied to perturb the sample species, or “passive”, where the contact area and contact time of the species samples are increased through specially-designed microchannel configurations. Many mixers have been proposed to facilitate this task over the past 10 years. Accordingly, this paper commences by providing a high level overview of the field of microfluidic mixing devices before describing some of the more significant proposals for active and passive mixers. Full article

Nanotechnology, along with related concepts such as nanomaterials, nanostructures and nanoparticles, has become a priority area for scientific research and technological development. Nanotechnology, i.e., the creation and utilization of materials and devices at nanometer scale, already has multiple applications in electronics and other fields. However, the greatest expectations are for its application in biotechnology and health, with the direct impact these could have on the quality of health in future societies. The emerging discipline of nanomedicine brings nanotechnology and medicine together in order to develop novel therapies and improve existing treatments. In nanomedicine, atoms and molecules are manipulated to produce nanostructures of the same size as biomolecules for interaction with human cells. This procedure offers a range of new solutions for diagnoses and “smart” treatments by stimulating the body’s own repair mechanisms. It will enhance the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular diseases. Preventive medicine may then become a reality. Full article