Photoreactions of furocoumarins with biomolecules

Recent aspects of the photoreactions of linear and angular furocoumarins with DNA and related compounds, including [2 + 2] cycloaddition to pyrimidine bases, covalent attachment to the osidic moiety of adenine nucleosides and photodynamic effects, are surveyed. Reactions of photoexcited furocoumarins with proteins and unsaturated lipids and the possible biological roles of the resulting adducts are also presented and discussed.     

SOME PREVALENT BIOMOLECULES AS DEFENSES AGAINST SINGLET OXYGEN DAMAGE

Abstract— We have compared the relative abilities of some putative biological protectors to block oxidation of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF)† in illuminated solutions containing the photosensitizer rose bengal and in the separated-surface-sensitizer (S-S-S) system involving pure singlet oxygen (¹ΔA_gO₂). While L-histidine is a well-known quencher of singlet oxygen, free L-histidine is not commonly found in high concentrations in nature. L-Carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine), however, is present in the striated muscles of many organisms, most notably mammals, in concentrations up to 40 m M . At neutral pH, carnosine quenched singlet oxygen more effectively than did equimolar histidine, both in solubilized sensitizer studies and in the S-S-S system. In the pure singlet oxygen system, 1 m M carnosine reduced the rate of BHMF oxidation as effectively as 3 m M histidine alone, or a mixture of 3 mM histidine and 3 m M β-alanine. The fungal product L-ergothioneine (2-thiol-L.-histidine betaine) and its synthetic analogue, 2-thiolhistidine, at 1 m M blocked photosensitized BHMF oxidation using solubilized rose bengal, as did urate at 0.5 m M . All three compounds failed to reduce the rate of BHMF oxidation by singlet oxygen in the S-S-S system, however. Homocarnosine (-γ-aminobutyryl-L-histidine) gave levels of protection against BHMF oxidation identical to histidine, but is present in the central nervous system only at micromolar concentrations. Neither 1 m M imidazole nor 5 m M urea reduced BHMF oxidation in either system. We conclude that some prevalent biomolecules may afford protection either by preventing singlet oxygen production (urate, L-ergothioneine) or by intercepting singlet oxygen once formed (L-carnosine). Such protective devices may be of importance in natural systems.     

Partition of rose bengal anion from aqueous medium into a lipophilic environment in the cell envelope of Salmonella typhimurium: implications for cell-type targeting in photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy employs photosensitizers for the selective destruction of tumor tissue while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Photosensitization may also be applied to the selective eradication of microorganisms. Photosensitized inactivation requires that the sensitizer bind to the target and therefore the factors that determine photosensitizer binding are critical to photosensitization selectivity. This paper reports the determination of some features of the binding site of the potent photosensitizer, Rose Bengal, in Salmonella bacteria and describes some of the factors that affect this binding. The shift in the wavelength of maximum fluorescence and experiments with the fluorescence quencher TNBS indicate that Rose Bengal is located in a non-aqueous compartment such as the outer membrane. The dye does not seem to significantly accumulate inside the cell, but rather to accumulate in the outer membrane. Time-dependent changes in sensitizer localization in two strains of Salmonella typhimurium that differ in cell wall formation, LT-2 and TA1975, correspond to their differences in susceptibility to photosensitized killing. Therefore these results provide clues to the factors that determine photosensitization selectivity. Understanding this phenomenon is essential for the efficient design of selective photosensitizers and for optimizing antitumor and antiviral photodynamic therapy.     

Charge-density waves in pure and intercalated Nb3Te4

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), resistivity measurements and electronic band structure calculations performed by means of the extended Hückel tight-binding method are presented for the quasi one-dimensional compounds A_xNb₃Te₄ (A = In, Tl, Zn, Ag, Hg). HRTEM and electron diffraction performed on pure Nb₃Te₄ at room- and liquid nitrogen temperatures, reveal both the basic structure and the low-temperature charge-density waves (CDWs) modulation. Resistivity vs. temperature plots show characteristic CDW anomalies, dependent on the type and concentration of the atoms, intercalated into the large hexagonal tunnels of the host structure. It is shown that intercalation of Tl and In results in a flattening of the corresponding Fermi surfaces and that CDW formation is largely dependent on the coincidence between the Fermi level E_F and a small peak in the density of states spectrum, mainly developed from the Nb dz² orbitals. This peak is positioned in a minimum between the filled and empty states of the spectrum and tends to split into a doublet as a consequence of intercalation.     

COMPARISON OF PHOTODYNAMIC ACTION BY ROSE BENGAL IN GRAM-POSITIVE AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

Abstract— The photodynamic inactivation by illuminated Rose Bengal of a number of bacterial species was compared. The gram-positive species, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis and Streptococcus salivarius, were inactivated about 200x more quickly (99% inactivation) than a Salmonella typhimurium wildtype strain. The Salmonella inactivation curve exhibited an initial lag time during which bacteria were not significantly inactivated. The lag time for inactivation of a derivative of the wildtype Salmonella strain that is deficient in a large portion of its cell wall lipopolysaccharide coat was approximately half of the lag time for the wildtype strain but the subsequent rate of inactivation was approximately the same for the two strains. Dark preincubation of both Salmonella strains with Rose Bengal before illumination shortened the lag time, but did not increase the final rate of inactivation. Dark preincubation prior to illumination did not measurably change the inactivation curve of the gram-positive species. The lag time observed in the inactivation curves for Salmonella bacteria may reflect the time required for penetration of the Rose Bengal anion through the outer portion of the gram-negative cell wall to a critical location within the cell for effective photosensitization.     

A NEW BIOLOGICAL TARGET OF FUROCOUMARINS: PHOTOCHEMICAL FORMATION OF COVALENT ADDUCTS WITH UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS

Abstract— Furocoumarins, potent skin therapy and tanning agents, form covalent adducts in a photochemical reaction with unsaturated fatty acids. These adducts and the chemical kinetics of their formation have been characterized by chromatography, isotopic tracers, electronic absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Adduct formation does not require oxygen. The quantum yield of adduct formation in ethanol or methanol-water solutions is comparable to the quantum yield for formation of furocoumarin-thymine adducts in DNA.     

PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF 4-THIOURIDINE AND THYMINE

Abstract— When thymine is irradiated in aqueous solution with monochromatic 334-nm UV radiation in the presence of 4-thiouridine a photoproduct of thymine is formed, as shown by thin-layer chromatography and autoradiography. The quantum yield for the formation of thymine photoproduct (θ=0.017) is greater than that for cytosine photoproduct formation (θ= 0.0015). The identity of the photoproduct is not known: one possibility is the formation of an adduct between the sensitizer and the base yielding a pyrimidine-pyrimidone type of photoproduct.