Development of electrophoretic conditions for the characterization of protein glycoforms by capillary electrophoresis—electrospray mass spectrometry

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method using acidic buffers and capillaries coated with Polybrene, a cationic polymer has been developed for the separation of glycoproteins and glycopeptides. Electrophoretic conditions have been optimized to provide resolution of individual glycoforms observed for different glycoprotein preparations. These conditions were found to be entirely compatible with the operation of electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS), which facilitated the assignments of possible carbohydrate compositions of glycopeptides arising from digests of glycoproteins. By using operating conditions enhancing the formation of oxonium fragment ions prior to mass spectral analysis, selective identification of glycopeptides was achieved for complex samples such as those from proteolytic digests or chemical cleavages. Examples of applications are presented for ribonuclease B, ovalbumin, horseradish peroxidase, and a lectin from Erithrina corallodendron using both CE-ESMS and CE with ultraviolet detection (CE-UV).     

Darstellung und schwingungsspektroskopische Untersuchung von [H3B?Se?Se?BH3]2− und [H3B-μ2-Se(B2H5)]− Kristallstruktur und theoretische Untersuchung der Molekülstruktur von [H3B-μ2-Se(B2H5)]−

Synthesis and Vibrational Spectroscopic Investigation of [H₃B? Se? Se? BH₃]^2? and [H₃B-μ₂-Se(B₂H₅)]^? Crystal Structure and Theoretical Investigation of the Molecular Structure of [H₃B-μ₂-Se(B₂H₅)]^? M₂[H₃B? Se? Se? BH₃] 1 is produced by the reaction between elemental selenium and MBH₄ (1 : 1) in triglyme (diglyme), under dehydrogenation. 1 reacts with an excess of B₂H₆ to give M[H₃B-μ₂-Se(B₂H₅)] 2 which is also formed in the reaction of THF · BH₃ with 1 . These reactions proceed under cleavage of the Se? Se bond and hydrogen evolution. [(C₆H₅)₄]Br reacts with Na · 2 to form [(C₆H₅)₄P] · 2 which crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I4 (Nr. 82). An X-ray structure determination failed because of disordering of the cation and anion. ¹¹B, ⁷⁷Se NMR shifts and ¹J(¹¹B¹H) coupling constants as well as IR- and Raman spectroscopic investigations convey further structural information. Structural data of 2 have been calculated by SCF methods. The anion of 2 may be viewed either as an adduct of Se with B₃H₈^?, or as a bridge substituted selena derivative of B₂H₆.     

Synthesis and anti-leukaemic activity of pyrrolo[3,2,1-hi]indole-1,2-diones,pyrrolo[3,2,1-ij]quinoline-1,2-diones and other polycyclic isatin derivatives

To further expand the structure–cytotoxic activity relationships of isatin derivatives and to reduce flexibility in substituent groups at nitrogen, 20 analogues incorporating a ring system between the N1 and C7 atoms of isatin were prepared using a variety of synthetic strategies. This yielded pyrroloindole-, pyrroloquinoline-, pyrroloacridine-, pyrrolophenanthridine- and benzopyrrolophenanthridine-based systems with embedded isatin moieties, the latter possessing a novel carbon skeleton. These compounds were subsequently assessed for their in vitro cytotoxicity against human U937 lymphoma cells, with the brominated pyrroloacridine dione 27 showing the most promising activity (IC₅₀ 3.01 μM) after 24 h.     

Magnetic resonance studies of laryngeal tumors implanted in nude mice: effect of treatment with bleomycin and electroporation

Recently, a new type of cancer treatment has been introduced that combines pulsed electric fields (PEF) with anticancer drugs. The proposed mode of action is that PEF create transient pores in the membranes which allow entry of drugs into the cells. This method increases cytotoxicity of some anticancer drugs like bleomycin (BLM) by 2-3 orders of magnitude, which, in turn, reduces systemic drug dosage without decreasing efficacy. In the present study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine changes in apparent water self-diffusion coefficients (ADC) and spin-lattice (T(1)) and spin-spin (T(2)) relaxation times that occur in an animal laryngeal tumor (HEp-2 cells) model with BLM delivered by PEF. A Bruker 14 Tesla (600 MHz) wide-bore spectrometer with micro-imaging capability was used to generate all the data. Mice carrying approximately 8 mm tumors were treated with several combinations of drug and PEF. All measurements were made on tumor samples excised from mice 24 and 48 hours after treatment with (i) saline, intratumor injection (i.t.), (ii) BLM, i.t., (iii) saline with PEF, and (iv) BLM, i.t., followed by PEF. Although T(1) does not differ between the controls (i, ii, and iii) and full treatment (iv) 6.72 +/- 0.20 s vs. 6.31 +/- 1.7 s, T(2) for (iv) at 24 hours is significantly different from the controls 52.4 +/- 0.91 ms vs. 46.5 +/- 1.54 ms. T(2) differences between treatment and controls disappear at 48 hours. ADC increases significantly from 24 to 48 hours (7.31 +/- 0.16 x 10(-6) to 8.28 +/- 0.28 x 10(-6) cm(2)/sec, p = 0.05). Longer T(2) values may reflect early apoptosis and tumor death when the tumor is structurally less dense. Higher ADC's, associated with the periphery of the tumors and the central region, may indicate loose structural organization and necrosis resulting from the combination treatment.     

Directed evolution of cyclic peptides for inhibition of autophagy

In recent decades it has become increasingly clear that induction of autophagy plays an important role in the development of treatment resistance and dormancy in many cancer types. Unfortunately, chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), two autophagy inhibitors in clinical trials, suffer from poor pharmacokinetics and high toxicity at therapeutic dosages. This has prompted intense interest in the development of targeted autophagy inhibitors to re-sensitize disease to treatment with minimal impact on normal tissue. We utilized Scanning Unnatural Protease Resistant (SUPR) mRNA display to develop macrocyclic peptides targeting the autophagy protein LC3. The resulting peptides bound LC3A and LC3B—two essential components of the autophagosome maturation machinery—with mid-nanomolar affinities and disrupted protein–protein interactions (PPIs) between LC3 and its binding partners in vitro. The most promising LC3-binding SUPR peptide accessed the cytosol at low micromolar concentrations as measured by chloroalkane penetration assay (CAPA) and inhibited starvation-mediated GFP-LC3 puncta formation in a concentration-dependent manner. LC3-binding SUPR peptides re-sensitized platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin treatment and triggered accumulation of the adapter protein p62 suggesting decreased autophagic flux through successful disruption of LC3 PPIs in cell culture. In mouse models of metastatic ovarian cancer, treatment with LC3-binding SUPR peptides and carboplatin resulted in almost complete inhibition of tumor growth after four weeks of treatment. These results indicate that SUPR peptide mRNA display can be used to develop cell-penetrating macrocyclic peptides that target and disrupt the autophagic machinery in vitro and in vivo.

SUPR peptide mRNA display was used to evolve a cell-permeable, macrocyclic peptide for autophagy inhibition.     

Differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of nanomolar levels of dissolved sulfide applicable to field analysis of groundwater

Conventional batch mode analysis of dissolved sulfide by cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) is known to suffer from loss of sulfide in the cell to the waste mercury pool, compromising quantification of sulfide. Here we report a simple alternative approach to batch-mode differential pulse CSV (DPCSV). A fresh aliquot of sample is used for each voltammetric scan to minimize loss of sulfide through reaction with the mercury by limiting the time for sulfide-mercury contact, which is found to be more important in suppressing the sulfide signal than the amount of free mercury in the cell. Our improved batch-mode method exhibited a limit of detection of 1.3 nM, a relative standard deviation of 2.5% in NaOH supporting electrolyte and a linear response to as high a concentration as 1600 nM in a supporting electrolyte composed of Na₂CO₃/NaHCO₃ (pH 8.3) mixed with an equal volume of oxic groundwater. A relative standard deviation of 4.5% was obtained for a groundwater sample in Na₂CO₃/NaHCO₃ (pH 8.3) supporting electrolyte. These values are comparable to previously published results. Compared to other sensitive sulfide analytical techniques such as gas chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), DPCSV is preferred for sulfide analysis in the field due to its simple and portable instrumentation, lack of complex sample preparation, and short analysis time. The method was applied on site to analyze Fe-rich, reducing groundwater samples collected at a landfill site in Winthrop, Maine. Sulfide concentrations ranged from undetectable (<4 nM) to 7340 nM, generally increasing as the oxidation/reduction potential (ORP) of the water became more negative. We also demonstrate, for the first time, that the onset of sulfate reduction as indicated by the presence of small amounts of sulfide (tens to hundreds of nM) occurs in groundwater systems when the ORP value reaches −130 mV.     

Proton Diffusion andT1Relaxation in Polyacrylamide Gels: A Unified Approach Using Volume Averaging

The structure of polyacrylamide gels was studied using proton spin–lattice relaxation and PFG diffusion methods. Polyacrylamide gels, with total polymer concentrations ranging from 0.25 to 0.35 g/ml and crosslinker concentrations from 0 to 10% by weight, were studied. The data showed no effect of the crosslinker concentration on the diffusion of water molecules. The Ogston–Morris and Mackie–Meares models fit the general trends observed for water diffusion in gels. The diffusion coefficients from the volume averaging method also fit the data, and this theory was able to account for the effects of water-gel interactions that are not accounted for in the other two theories. The averaging theory also did not require the physically unrealistic assumption, required in the other two theories, that the acrylamide fibers are of similar size to water molecules. Contrary to the diffusion data,T₁relaxation measurements showed a significant effect of crosslinker concentration on the relaxation of water in gels. The model developed using the Bloch equations and the volume averaging method described the effects of water adsorption on the gel medium on both the diffusion coefficients and the relaxation measurements. In the proposed model the gel medium was assumed to consist of three phases (i.e., bulk water, uncrosslinked acrylamide fibers, and a bisacrylamide crosslinker phase). The effects of the crosslinker concentration were accounted for by introducing the proton partition coefficient,K^eq, between the bulk water and crosslinker phase. The derived relaxation equations were successful in fitting the experimental data. The partition coefficient,K^eq, decreased significantly as the crosslinker concentration increased from 5 to 10% by weight. This trend is consistent with the idea that bisacrylamide tends to form hydrophobic regions with increasing crosslinker concentration.