Synthesis and effect on SMMC-7721 cells of new benzo[c,d]indole rhodanine complex merocyanines as PDT photosensitizers

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a modern and noninvasive therapeutic approach, however, it relies on the development of photosensitizers. Here five new benzo[c,d]indole rhodamine complex merocyanines (BIRCM) D1-D5, displaying low dark toxicity and significant photo toxicity, were synthesized as PDT photosensitizers, and characterized by ¹H NMR, IR, UV–Vis and HRMS. The investigation of their absorption spectra in different solvents showed that the absorption maxima and molar extinction coefficient were in the region 507–679 nm and 0.21 × 10⁴–1.27 × 10⁵ L · mol^?1cm^?1, respectively. The evaluation of PDT activity showed that only irradiation could not kill SMMC-7721 cells, and the cell survival rate and inhibition rate at the application dose and duration was 92%–87% and 78%–49%, respectively. Especially, using D2, absorbed in the red zone, as photosensitizer for PDT analyzed its effect on SMMC-7721 cells survival, it could be found that the cell survival rate was 92% without irradiating and the cell inhibited rate was 78% under irradiating at concentrations of 2.5 × 10^?6 mol/L, displaying low dark toxicity and high photo toxicity, which was valuable for PDT of some microvascular diseases or other superficial diseases.     

利用代谢组学研究大气细颗粒物的生殖毒性效应

大气细颗粒物(PM2.5)污染已成为严峻的环境问题,探究PM2.5的毒性效应和机理变得尤为重要.本研究利用基于液相色谱/质谱的代谢组学技术,分析经PM2.5悬混液气管滴注暴露后成年雄性大鼠睾丸代谢组的全局变化,采用偏最小二乘判别分析法和非参数检验进行统计分析.结果表明,PM2.5暴露组大鼠睾丸的油提和水提代谢指纹谱均可与对照组实现准确区分,表明PM2.5暴露对大鼠睾丸的整体代谢网络产生了显著影响,最终鉴定出56个差异代谢物.通路分析显示,PM2.5暴露会引起大鼠睾丸的氨基酸和核苷酸代谢紊乱、类固醇激素代谢失衡以及脂类代谢异常,而这些重要通路可能是PM2.5生殖毒性的关键分子事件.     

Aspirin attenuates the anti-inflammatory effects of theophylline via inhibition of cAMP production in mice with non-eosinophilic asthma

Theophylline is commonly used to treat severe asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characterized by non-eosinophilic inflammation. Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) is one of the most widely used medications worldwide, but up to 20% of patients with asthma experience aggravated respiratory symptoms after taking ASA. Here we evaluated the adverse effect of ASA on the therapeutic effect of theophylline in mice with non-eosinophilic asthma. A non-eosinophilic asthma mouse model was induced by airway sensitization with lipopolysaccharide-containing allergen and then challenged with allergen alone. Therapeutic intervention was performed during allergen challenge. Theophylline inhibited lung inflammation partly induced by T_h1 immune response. ASA attenuated the beneficial effects of theophylline. However, co-administration of the ASA metabolite salicylic acid (SA) showed no attenuating effect on theophylline treatment. The therapeutic effect of theophylline was associated with increase in cAMP levels, which was blocked by co-treatment of theophylline and ASA. ASA co-treatment also attenuated the anti-inflammatory effects of a specific phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor. These results demonstrate that ASA reverses anti-inflammatory effects of theophylline, and that ASA exerts its adverse effects through the inhibition of cAMP production. Our data suggest that ASA reverses lung inflammation in patients taking theophylline, although clinical evidence will be needed.     

The toxicity of Cu~(2+) to Microcystis aeruginosa using dielectric spectroscopy

Dielectric spectroscopy(DS) was utilized to investigate the toxicity of the Cu2+ solution to Microcystis aeruginosa.It was found that 0.04 mM Cu2+ had no effect on dielectric increment,whereas the Cu2+ concentrations above 0.1 mM decreased the value of Δε/Δε intact.The toxic effect of Cu2+ on M.aeruginosa cells was time-dependent and concentration-dependent.There was a threshold concentration between 0.04 mM and 0.1 mM,which affected the cell membrane,suggesting that Cu2+ at the concentrations higher than 0...     

Specific molecular and cellular events induced by irradiated X‐ray photoactivatable drugs raise the problem of co‐toxicities: particular consequences for anti‐cancer synchrotron therapy

Synchrotrons are capable of producing intense low‐energy X‐rays that enable the photoactivation of high‐Z elements. Photoactivation therapy (PAT) consists of loading tumors with photoactivatable drugs and thereafter irradiating them at an energy, generally close to the K‐edge of the element, that enhances the photoelectric effect. To date, three major photoactivatable elements are used in PAT: platinum (cisplatin and carboplatin), iodine (iodinated contrast agents and iododeoxyuridine) and gadolinium (motexafin gadolinium). However, the molecular and cellular events specific to PAT and the radiobiological properties of these photoactivatable drugs are still misknown. Here, it is examined how standard and synchrotron X‐rays combined with photoactivatable drugs impact on the cellular response of human endothelial cells. These findings suggest that the radiolysis products of the photoactivatable drugs may participate in the synergetic effects of PAT by increasing the severity of radiation‐induced DNA double‐strand breaks. Interestingly, subpopulation of highly damaged cells was found to be a cellular pattern specific to PAT. The data show that the efficiency of emerging anti‐cancer modalities involving synchrotron photoactivation strongly depends on the choice of photoactivatable drugs, and important series of experiments are required to secure their clinical transfer before applying to humans.     

THE EXTINCTION OF A NON-AUTONOMOUS ALLELOPATHIC PHYTOPLANKTON MODEL WITH FEEDBACK CONTROLS

A non-autonomous allelopathic phytoplankton model with feedback controls is considered in this paper. By constructing some suitable Lyapunov type extinction functions, some sufficient conditions for the extinction of the system are obtained. For the autonomous case, by constructing a suitable Lyapunov function, we show that one species is extinct and the rest species is globally attractive. Our results supplement some known results.     

A sensitive, rapid ferricyanide-mediated toxicity bioassay developed using Escherichia coli

A need for rapid toxicity techniques has seen recent research into developing new microbiological assays and characterising their toxicity responses using a range of substances. A microbiological bioassay that determines changes in ferricyanide-mediated respiration for toxicity measurement (FM-TOX) shows particular promise. The development and optimisation of an improved FM-TOX method, incorporating novel features, is described using Escherichia coli as the biocatalyst. Omission of an exogenous carbon source, used in previously described FM-TOX assays, substantially improves the assay sensitivity. In addition, the development of a two-step procedure (toxicant exposure followed by determination of microbial respiratory activity) was found to enhance the inhibition of E. coli by 3,5-dichlorophenol and four other toxicants, compared to single-step procedures. Other assay parameters, such as the ferricyanide concentration, exposure times and optical density of the biocatalyst were also optimised, sometimes based on practical aspects. Toxicity tests were carried out using the adopted technique on both organic and inorganic toxicants, with classic sigmoid-shaped dose-response curves observed, as well as some non-standard responses. IC₅₀ data is presented for a number of common toxicants. The optimised assay provides a good foundation for further toxicity testing using E. coli, as well as the potential for expanding the technique to utilise other bacteria with complementary toxicity responses, thereby allowing use of the assay in a range of applications.