Origin of the vertebrate visual cycle: III. Distinct distribution of RPE65 and beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase homologues in Ciona intestinalis

We previously identified three genes that encode putative visual cycle proteins that are homologues of retinal G-protein coupled receptor (Ci-opsin3), cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (Ci-CRALBP) and beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase (Ci-BCO) in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Ci-opsin3 and Ci-CRALBP are localized in both ocellus photoreceptor cells and surrounding non-photoreceptor cells in the brain vesicle of the larva. In the present study, we investigated the possible role and evolutionary origin of the BCO/RPE65 family in the visual cycle by analyzing Ci-BCO localization by immunohistochemistry and by identifying a novel gene that encodes a homologue of retinal pigment epithelium-specific 65 kDa protein (Ci-RPE65) in C. intestinalis. In situ hybridization and expressed sequence tag (EST) profiles consistently suggest that Ci-RPE65 is not significantly expressed in the ocellus and brain vesicle of the larva. Ci-RPE65 is expressed in the neural complex, a photoreceptor organ of the adult ascidian, at a level comparable to that of Ci-opsin3 and Ci-CRALBP. Ci-RPE65 is also expressed in various adult tissues, including the gill, body wall and intestine, suggesting that Ci-RPE65 plays a role in addition to that in the visual cycle. In contrast, Ci-BCO is predominantly localized in ocellus photoreceptor cells of the larva. The larval visual cycle seems to use Ci-opsin3 as a photo-isomerase. Our results also suggest that the RPE65-dependent visual cycle is used in the adult photoreceptors of a primitive chordate.     

Effects of the number of fatty acid residues on the phase behaviors of decaglycerol fatty acid esters

The effects of the number of fatty acid residues (n) in decaglycerol fatty acid esters, i.e., decaglycerol laurates (abbreviated to (C11)nG10), on the phase behaviors of three laurate esters, (C11)1.9G10, (C11)2.7G10, and (C11)3.4G10, were investigated. The unreacted decaglycerol remaining in each ester was removed by liquid extraction before use. (C11)1.9G10 formed hexagonal liquid crystals in aqueous solutions, while (C11)2.7G10 and (C11)3.4G10, which are more hydrophobic than (C11)1.9G10, formed lamellar liquid crystals. The cloud point in aqueous solution was measured for mixtures of these three esters. The cloud phenomenon was observed when the weight ratio of hydrophilic groups to the total surfactant (WH/WS) was around 0.6. The cloud point shifted to a markedly higher temperature, even with a slight increase in the WH/WS ratio. The solubilization abilities of (C11)nG10 for the oils m-xylene and (R)-(+)-limonene were also examined. When the WH/WS ratio was between 0.60 and 0.64, (C11)nG10 formed microemulsions and lyotropic liquid crystals in the presence of water and the oils. These self-organized structures were stable, even above 90 degrees C. It is concluded that the phase behavior of (C11)nG10 are insensitive to temperature, but strongly dependent on both the WH/WS ratio and the number of fatty acid residues (n).     

Conformational changes during apoplastocyanin folding observed by photocleavable modification and transient grating

A new method to investigate the initial protein folding dynamics is developed based on a pulsed laser light triggering method and a unique transient grating method. The side chain of the cysteine residue of apoplastocyanin (apoPC) was site-specifically modified with a 4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrobenzyl derivative, where the CD and 2D NMR spectra showed that the modified apoPC was unfolded. The substituent was cleaved with a rate of about 400 ns by photoirradiation, which was monitored by the disappearance of the absorption band at 355 nm and the increase in the transient grating signal. After a sufficient time from the photocleavage reaction, the CD and NMR spectra showed that the native beta-sheet structure was recovered. Protein folding dynamics was monitored in the time domain with the transient grating method from a viewpoint of the molecular volume change and the diffusion coefficient, both of which reflect the global structural change, including the protein-water interaction. The observed volume decrease of apoPC with a time scale of 270 micros is ascribed to the initial hydrophobic collapse. The increase in the diffusion coefficient (23 ms) is considered to indicate a change from an intermolecular to an intramolecular hydrogen bonding network. The initial folding process of apoPC is discussed based on these observations.     

Cation-pi interaction in the polyolefin cyclization cascade uncovered by incorporating unnatural amino acids into the catalytic sites of squalene cyclase

It has been assumed that the pi-electrons of aromatic residues in the catalytic sites of triterpene cyclases stabilize the cationic intermediates formed during the polycyclization cascade of squalene or oxidosqualene, but no definitive experimental evidence has been given. To validate this cation-pi interaction, natural and unnatural aromatic amino acids were site-specifically incorporated into squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC) from Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius and the kinetic data of the mutants were compared with that of the wild-type SHC. The catalytic sites of Phe365 and Phe605 were substituted with O-methyltyrosine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, which have higher cation-pi binding energies than phenylalanine. These replacements actually increased the SHC activity at low temperature, but decreased the activity at high temperature, as compared with the wild-type SHC. This decreased activity is due to the disorganization of the protein architecture caused by the introduction of the amino acids more bulky than phenylalanine. Then, mono-, di-, and trifluorophenylalanines were incorporated at positions 365 and 605; these amino acids reduce cation-pi binding energies but have van der Waals radii similar to that of phenylalanine. The activities of the SHC variants with fluorophenylalanines were found to be inversely proportional to the number of the fluorine atoms on the aromatic ring and clearly correlated with the cation-pi binding energies of the ring moiety. No serious structural alteration was observed for these variants even at high temperature. These results unambiguously show that the pi-electron density of residues 365 and 605 has a crucial role for the efficient polycyclization reaction by SHC. This is the first report to demonstrate experimentally the involvement of cation-pi interaction in triterpene biosynthesis.     

Monitoring the brain metabolites of children with acute encephalopathy caused by the H1N1 virus responsible for the 2009 influenza pandemic: a quantitative in vivo H MR spectroscopy study

Background and Purpose

Influenza viral infection, which results in central nervous system dysfunction, is a major cause of acute encephalopathy (AE). The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the concentrations of brain metabolites in children with AE using single-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and to provide diagnostic information about the relationship between the symptoms of AE and metabolite concentrations.

Materials and Methods

The subjects were 10 children (mean age: 6.2 years; range: 1–13) with AE caused by the novel influenza A virus responsible for the 2009 influenza pandemic. The serial MRS data (TE/TR=30/5000 ms, 3 T) acquired from the basal ganglia (BG) and centrum semiovale (CS) of each patient were categorized into three periods: (1) initial neurological symptom presentation and the start of treatment (n= 10), (2) short-term follow-up (n= 9) and (3) long-term follow-up (n= 3). As controls, the magnetic resonance (MR) spectra of eight age-matched children were also investigated.

Results

In both regions, the concentrations of the major metabolites (N-acetylaspartate, creatine, choline, myo-inositol, glutamate/glutamine complex and glutamate) only showed minor fluctuations between the three periods. On the other hand, higher levels of taurine (Tau) were observed in the BG during the second period (P=.005), and increased levels of glucose were observed in the CS during the first (P=.005) and second (P=.036) periods.

Conclusions

Serial monitoring of brain metabolite changes was carried out with a clinical MR system. The concentrations of major metabolites only displayed very minor fluctuations in response to mild H1N1-related AE. However, a higher Tau concentration was found to be associated with neurological symptoms. Further studies are required to improve our understanding of the detailed activity of Tau in AE.     

In vivo assessment of the permeability of the blood--brain barrier and blood-retinal barrier to fluorescent indoline derivatives in zebrafish

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Successful delivery of compounds to the brain and retina is a challenge in the development of therapeutic drugs and imaging agents. This challenge arises because internalization of compounds into the brain and retina is restricted by the blood--brain barrier (BBB) and blood-retinal barrier (BRB), respectively. Simple and reliable in vivo assays are necessary to identify compounds that can easily cross the BBB and BRB. METHODS: We developed six fluorescent indoline derivatives (IDs) and examined their ability to cross the BBB and BRB in zebrafish by in vivo fluorescence imaging. These fluorescent IDs were administered to live zebrafish by immersing the zebrafish larvae at 7--8 days post fertilization in medium containing the ID, or by intracardiac injection. We also examined the effect of multidrug resistance proteins (MRPs) on the permeability of the BBB and BRB to the ID using MK571, a selective inhibitor of MRPs. RESULTS: The permeability of these barriers to fluorescent IDs administered by simple immersion was comparable to when administered by intracardiac injection. Thus, this finding supports the validity of drug administration by simple immersion for the assessment of BBB and BRB permeability to fluorescent IDs. Using this zebrafish model, we demonstrated that the length of the methylene chain in these fluorescent IDs significantly affected their ability to cross the BBB and BRB via MRPs. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that in vivo assessment of the permeability of the BBB and BRB to fluorescent IDs could be simply and reliably performed using zebrafish. The structure of fluorescent IDs can be flexibly modified and, thus, the permeability of the BBB and BRB to a large number of IDs can be assessed using this zebrafish-based assay. The large amount of data acquired might be useful for in silico analysis to elucidate the precise mechanisms underlying the interactions between chemical structure and the efflux transporters at the BBB and BRB. In turn, understanding these mechanisms may lead to the efficient design of compounds targeting the brain and retina.     

Effect of chain length distribution on the phase behavior of polyglycerol fatty acid ester in water

The effect of the chain length distribution on the phase behavior, the structure of liquid crystals, and physicochemical properties was investigated in water/ polyglycerol fatty acid ester. Polyglycerol fatty acid esters with sharply distributed polyglycerol (10G*0.7L) and with broadly distributed polyglycerol (10G0.7L) were used. Unreacted polyglycerol in both surfactants was removed. 10G*0.7L forms hexagonal liquid crystals at a higher concentration than 10G0.7L. The effective cross-sectional area of the lipophilic parts in the hexagonal phase of 10G0.7L is smaller than that of 10G*0.7L owing to the difference in the chain length distribution. Evidently, 10G0.7L molecules are tightly packed in aggregates; therefore, 10G0.7L decreased the surface tension more strongly and promoted emulsification. Received: 11 January 2000 Accepted: 8 March 2000     

Visible-Light-Induced Synthesis of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolines through Formal [4+2] Cycloaddition of Acyclic α,β-Unsaturated Amides and Imides with N,N-Dialkylanilines

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinolines should be applicable to the development of new pharmaceutical agents. A facile synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines that is achieved by a photoinduced formal [4+2] cycloaddition reaction of acyclic α,β-unsaturated amides and imides with N,N-dialkylanilines under visible-light irradiation, in which a new Ir^III complex photosensitizer, a thiourea, and an oxidant act cooperatively in promoting the reaction, is reported. The photoreaction enables the synthesis of a wide variety of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines, while controlling the trans/cis diastereoselectivity (>99:1) and constructing contiguous stereogenic centers. A chemoselective cleavage of an acyclic imide auxiliary is demonstrated.     

Millimeter and Submillimeter Wave ESR System: Using 30 T Pulsed Magnetic Field

New systems for millimeter and submillimeter wave ESR have been developed in Kobe University. In the previous system the pulsed magnetic field was limited up to 17 T in the temperature range from 1.8 to 86 K. Using the new systems, we can measure in the field range up to 30 T in the temperature range from 1.8 K to 4.2 K and from 18 K to room temperature. The resolution of the magnetic field has been also improved in the new ESR system. The details of our new ESR systems are presented. In addition, the measurements of Yb₂Cu₂O₅ using these new systems are presented.     

Formes linéaires de logarithmes de points algébriques sur les groupes algébriques

Dans ce papier, nous donnons des minorations de combinaisons linéaires à coefficients algébriques de logarithmes de points algébriques sur les groupes algébriques commutatifs: soitG un groupe algébrique commutatif connexe défini sur la clôture algébriqueQ de dans , et soitvT _G () un point de l'espace tangent dont l'image exp _G (v) par l'exponentielle deG appartient àG(Q). On cherche à minorer la distance du pointv aux hyperplansW deT _G (), rationnels surQ, qui ne passent pas parv. Cette minoration dépend, entre autres, d'un majorantB de la hauteur usuelle des coefficients d'une forme linéaire définissantW. LorsqueG est un groupe linéaire, il s'agit de minorer une combinaison linéaire de logarithmes de nombres algébriques, et la méthode de A. Baker permet d'obtenir une minoration