An Organoruthenium Anticancer Agent Shows Unexpected Target Selectivity For Plectin

Organometallic metal(arene) anticancer agents require ligand exchange for their anticancer activity and this is generally believed to confer low selectivity for potential cellular targets. However, using an integrated proteomics-based target-response profiling approach as a potent hypothesis-generating procedure, we found an unexpected target selectivity of a ruthenium(arene) pyridinecarbothioamide (plecstatin) for plectin, a scaffold protein and cytolinker, which was validated in a plectin knock-out model in vitro. Plectin targeting shows potential as a strategy to inhibit tumor invasiveness as shown in cultured tumor spheroids while oral administration of plecstatin-1 to mice reduces tumor growth more efficiently in the invasive B16 melanoma than in the CT26 colon tumor model.     

Extended specificity studies of mRNA assays used to infer human organ tissues and body fluids

Messenger RNA (mRNA) profiling is a technique increasingly applied for the forensic identification of body fluids and skin. More recently, an mRNA‐based organ typing assay was developed which allows for the inference of brain, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, heart, kidney, and skin tissue. When applying this organ typing system in forensic casework for the presence of animal, rather than human, tissue is an alternative scenario to be proposed, for instance that bullets carry cell material from a hunting event. Even though mRNA profiling systems are commonly in silico designed to be primate specific, physical testing against other animal species is generally limited. In this study, human specificity of the organ tissue inferring system was assessed against organ tissue RNAs of various animals. Results confirm human specificity of the system, especially when utilizing interpretation rules considering multiple markers per cell type. Besides, we cross‐tested our organ and body fluid mRNA assays against the target types covered by the other assay. Marker expression in the nontarget organ tissues and body fluids was observed to a limited extent, which emphasizes the importance of involving the case‐specific context of the forensic samples in deciding which mRNA profiling assay to use and when for interpreting results.     

Identification and quantitative analysis of physalin D and its metabolites in rat urine and feces by liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Physalin D is known to show extensive bioactivities. However, no excretion study has elucidated the excretion of physalin D and its metabolites. This study investigates the excretion of physalin D and its metabolites in rats. Metabolites in rat urine and feces were separated and identified by liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry. Furthermore, a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method was developed to quantify physalin D, physalin D glucuronide, and physalin D sulfate in rat feces and urine after the intragastric administration of physalin D. The analyte showed good linearity over a wide concentration range (r  > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 0.0532 μg/mL and 0.226 μg/g for urine and feces, respectively. Nine metabolites, including five phase I and four phase II metabolites, were identified and clarified after dosing in vivo. Only 4.0% of the gavaged dose, including physalin D and its phase II metabolites, was excreted in urine, whereas 10.8% was found in feces in the unchanged form. The results indicate that the extensive and rapid metabolism may be the main factors leading to the short half‐life of physalin D. These results can provide a basis for further studies on the structural modification and pharmacology of physalin D.     

The Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Walnut Husk and Pellicle by UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and HPLC

Husk and pellicle as the agri-food waste in the walnut-product industry are in soaring demand because of their rich polyphenol content. This study investigated the differential compounds related to walnut polyphenol between husk and pellicle during fruit development stage. By using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-orbitrap (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap), a total of 110 bioactive components, including hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids and quinones, were tentatively identified, 33 of which were different between husk and pellicle. The trend of dynamic content of 16 polyphenols was clarified during walnut development stage by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is the first time to comprehensive identification of phenolic compounds in walnut husk and pellicle, and our results indicated that the pellicle is a rich resource of polyphenols. The dynamic trend of some polyphenols was consistent with total phenols. The comprehensive characterization of walnut polyphenol and quantification of main phenolic compounds will be beneficial for understanding the potential application value of walnut and for exploiting its metabolism pathway.     

Metabolite Profiling and Characterization of LW6, a Novel HIF-1α Inhibitor,as an Antitumor Drug Candidate in Mice

A novel HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor)-1α inhibitor, the (aryloxyacetylamino)benzoic acid derivative LW6, is an anticancer agent that inhibits the accumulation of HIF-1α. The aim of this study was to characterize and determine the structures of the metabolites of LW6 in ICR mice. Metabolite identification was performed using a predictive multiple reaction monitoring-information dependent acquisition-enhanced product ion (pMRM-IDA-EPI) method in negative ion mode on a hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer (QTRAP). A total of 12 metabolites were characterized based on their MS/MS spectra, and the retention times were compared with those of the parent compound. The metabolites were divided into five structural classes based on biotransformation reactions: amide hydrolysis, ester hydrolysis, mono-oxidation, glucuronidation, and a combination of these reactions. From this study, 2-(4-((3r,5r,7r)-adamantan-1-yl)phenoxy)acetic acid (APA, M7), the metabolite produced via amide hydrolysis, was found to be a major circulating metabolite of LW6 in mice. The results of this study can be used to improve the pharmacokinetic profile by lowering the clearance and increasing the exposure relative to LW6.     

利用智能手机快速测定水环境中的六价铬含量

利用智能手机和小木盒构建的数字图像比色法(DIC)完成了水中六价铬浓度的快速检测。利用智能手机能够同时对显色溶液进行照明、图像采集和数据处理,可以快速定量检测六价铬。在六价铬0.05～0.80mg/L浓度内有良好的线性范围,线性方程为y=127.939x+73.181,相关系数为0.994;考察了方法的重现性,对2种质量浓度样品进行检测,其相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.5%～5.5%,测定结果和分光光度法对水样进行测定的结果基本一致,证明了方法的可靠性及准确性。     

运用综合手段研究铅锌硫化物精矿的氧化和鉴定其产物

南京关口每年从国外进口铅、锌精矿达几百万吨,随着我国国民经济的发展,作为重要有色金属来源的该矿种的进口量仍将逐年增加。硫化物精矿在运输和储存过程中都有可能发生氧化,由此导致金属品位的波动是常见现象,然而此前在这方面的报导甚少。为此,作者以铅锌硫化物精矿为例对其进行了模拟状态下的氧化实验并采用能谱、光学显微镜、化学物相分析、X射线衍射分析、扫描电镜等手段对氧化前及氧化后的样品进行了鉴定。结果表明,在模拟精矿储运条件下两种精矿的氧化皆甚为明显,铅精矿为1.5%,而锌精矿达到了14.5%,由此引起的品位变化是不可忽视的。鉴于有色金属硫化物精矿在储运过程中呈现了它们的易氧化性并对品位产生影响,所以有关这类矿产品的商贸过程中涉及取样、样品加工和保管、公证等问题,均应在科学实验基础上规范化。     

毒品与化学*

毒品与化学的种种纠葛在2018年中国毒品形势报告中得到了淋漓尽致的体现,因此为做好禁毒工作,必须厘清化学与毒品的关系。从为什么毒品是化学品(毒品的本质),毒品检验和识别,毒品成瘾的本质,由传统毒品到新型毒品的转变等4个方面系统阐述毒品与化学的关系。     

Targeting tribbles homolog 3 (TRIB3) protein against type 2 diabetes for the identification of potential inhibitors by in silico screening

Tribbles homolog 3 (TRIB3) protein is inhibiting the insulin signaling by directly binding to the Akt/PKB leading to insulin resistance in the pancreas causing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Hence, TRIB3 protein is considered as a possible drug target for the new lead identification against type 2 diabetes. In the present study, the homology model of TRIB3 protein was generated to explore its biochemical function and molecular interactions in the new lead identification. The energy minimization of TRIB3 protein was carried out and evaluated by validation protocols for structure reliability. The druggable binding site of TRIB3 protein was identified for the virtual screening and molecular docking studies. The Asinex-fragments library of 22634 small molecules was docked at TRIB3 active site using the Glide module to identify new chemical entities. A total of 9 molecules were identified as final hits from virtual screening and their potency was ranked using Glide score, Glide energies, and residues interactions. The 6 prioritized lead molecules were further optimized using AutoDock, Prime MM/GBSA, and percentage of human oral absorption for the identification of potential leads. The molecules L2, L5, and L6 are identified as lead inhibitors and are showing consistent interactions with key residues Glu194 and Lys196 of TRIB3 protein. The identified potential leads were analyzed by ADME properties for their drug likeness and HergIC50 values are predicted for the prevention of preclinical failures. The present work sheds light on the identification of the best lead molecules against TRIB3 protein and offers a route to design as novel potential drug candidates for T2DM.     

基于显微共聚焦拉曼技术对三种食源性致病菌的快速鉴别研究

采用显微共聚焦拉曼技术,建立了对三种常见食源性致病菌快速鉴别的检测方法。使用XploRA PLUS共聚焦拉曼光谱仪,在激光功率为5 mW、积分时间为30s、积分次数为1次的条件下,对德尔卑沙门氏菌、副溶血性弧菌和金黄色葡萄球菌进行了拉曼光谱数据的采集。对拉曼光谱采用多项式平滑算法和荧光背底扣除后,采用主成分分析法(PCA)对预处理后的数据进行降维,提取出前三个主成分的累计方差贡献率达到了95.4％,样本明显的聚为了3类。同时结合Fisher判别分析法(FLD)构建分类模型,对三种样本进行交叉验证,分类准确率达到了100％。结果表明,采用显微共聚焦拉曼技术与PCA-FLD方法结合可实现对三种食源性致病菌的快速准确鉴别且模型检测精度高,方法具有一定的实用性及参考价值。