Dimethylarsinic acid targets tubulin in mitotic cells to induce abnormal spindles

Dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) is the most effective inducer of cell‐cycle disruption among the arsenic compounds and their metabolites. The present study was conducted to gain further insight into cell‐cycle disruption induced by DMA. The inhibition of cell proliferation and the mitotic arrest induced by DMA were significant and dose‐dependent in Chinese hamster V79 cells and the two seemed to be closely related. At less than 140 µM the DMA did not inhibit the proliferation of cells, but it significantly induced mitotic arrest. An indirect immunofluorescence assay using anti‐α‐tubulin antibodies revealed that DMA induced the formation of abnormal spindles in the metaphase cells even at 350 µM with 5 h of treatment. At 1.4 mM DMA no metaphase cells could form a definite spindle structure. The spindle figures were similar to those induced by colchicine (125 nM ) or vinblastine (110 nM ), major antimitotic agents. In DMA‐treated interphase cells, the microtubule networks were indistinguishable from those of normal cells. With the tubulin‐assembly assay estimated by turbidity, DMA at less than 200 µM suppressed tubulin assembly in a dose‐dependent manner, whereas at more than 700 µM it enhanced tubulin polymerization remarkably with or without addition of excess guanosine‐5′‐triphosphate. According to the above findings, we discussed the possibility that DMA, a primary metabolite of inorganic arsenic in mammals, is related to arsenic carcinogenicity. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple HPLC-fluorescence detection of nitric oxide in cultivated plant cells by in situ derivatization with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene.

An HPLC method with fluorescence detection for the determination of nitric oxide (NO) in cultivated plant cells (Agave pacifica, Agavaceae) was developed. NO was derivatized in situ with 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (DAN) as a labeling reagent and converted to 1(H)-naphthotriazole. The maximum peak height of the derivative was observed by incubation for 3 h at 25 degrees C with 0.2 mM DAN. Excess reagent in cells was removed by washing 3 times with 5 ml of water. The calibration curve for authentic standard of DAN-NO spiked to cultivated plant cells showed a good linearity (r = 0.995) in the range of 5.0 to 50 pmol/g cell. The detection limit at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was 3.4 pmol/g cells. The proposed method was successfully applied to the monitoring of NO concentration with cell growth. The effect of thermal treatment on the concentration of NO in plant cells was also examined. The concentration of NO in cells treated at 5 degrees C for 1 h was significantly higher than that treated at 25 degrees C and 35 degrees C for 1 h (n = 3, p < 0.05).     

The pre-Fermi natural reactor

The origin of the concept of a large-scale nuclear chain reaction occurring in nature can be traced back to the ideas expressed byAston in 1922 and byJoliot in 1935. Geochemical investigations on hot springs, which have been carried out at the University of Tokyo since the 1930s, played a key role in the early development of the theory of natural reactor. Results obtained from the studies, which have been carried out in various countries since the 1972 discovery of the Oklo phenomenon, reveal the fact that the natural reactors at Oklo may have indeed operated in a manner quite similar to the geysers or intermittent hot springs. A careful examination of the isotopic compositions of the so-called anomalous xenon from the Oklo reactor suggests that the natural reactors were operating at temperatures between the boiling point of iodine (183°C) and the melting point of tellurium (452°C), periodically being turned on and off.     

Inversion of the sign of the solid-state circular dichroism at low temperature

-Ni(H₂O)₆ · SO₄ and its selenate derivative exhibit chirality only in the solid-state. We have observed, for the first time, a sign inversion of CD (circular dichroism) in the ³A_2g → ³T_1g(P) Ni(II) d–d transition at near liquid nitrogen temperatures. The novel finding was achieved by building a new cooling unit to a solid-state specialized Universal Chiroptical Spectrophotometer (UCS-1) [R. Kuroda, T. Harada, Y. Shindo, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72 (2001) 3802.] and by formulating an analytical procedure to obtain artifact-free CD signals based on the Mueller matrix method. The sign inversion is remarkable as the crystal structure hardly changes from 300 to 100 K. The origin of the sign inversion is discussed.     

Heterocyclic effect for optical properties of naphthoquinone-based pigment: 2-methyl-3-heteroarylthio-1,4-naphthalenedione

Three novel naphthoquinone-based heterocyclic pigments, 2-methyl-3-[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)thio-1,4-naphthalenedione, (4-methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)thio-1,4-naphthalenedione, and (1-methyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)thio]-1,4-naphthalenedione, are synthesized, and their optical properties in both solution and solid states are investigated. Depending on the heteroarylthio ring in the pigment, variation in optical properties is observed, e.g. characteristic colours for each pigment in the solution and solid states. The achiral pigment containing the 1-methyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl ring exhibits a chiral space group and a CD signal in the solid state.     

Evaluation of chemiluminescence reagents for selective detection of reactive oxygen species

In order to evaluate the chemiluminescence (CL) reagents for selective detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we comprehensively measured the CL responses of 20 CL reagents (three luminol derivatives, two imidazopyrazinone derivatives, eight lophine derivatives, six acridinium ester derivatives and lucigenin) against six types of ROS (superoxide anion: O₂⁻, hydroxyl radical: OH, hydrogen peroxide: H₂O₂, hypochlorite anion: ClO⁻, singlet oxygen: ¹O₂, and nitric oxide: NO). As a result of the screening, it was found that nine CL reagents selectively detected O₂⁻ while one CL reagent selectively detected OH. However, no CL reagent had selectivity on the detection of H₂O₂, ClO⁻, ¹O₂ and NO. Our screening results could help to select the most suitable CL reagent for selective determination of different ROS.As an application study, 4-methoxyphenyl-10-methylacridinium-9-carboxylate (MMAC), one of the acridinium ester derivatives, showed high selectivity on the detection of O₂⁻, and thus was applied to the assay of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The dynamic range and detection limit of the developed CL assay were 0.1-10 and 0.06 U mL⁻¹, respectively. Significant correlation (r = 0.997) was observed between the results by the CL assay using MMAC and the spectrophotometric assay using 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium monosodium salt.