A β-sheet-targeted theranostic agent for diagnosing and preventing aggregation of pathogenic peptides in Alzheimer's disease

Amyloid-β peptide(Aβ) aggregates, particularly Aβ oligomers, are established biomarker and toxic species in Alzheimer's disease(AD). Early detection and disaggregation of Aβ aggregates are of great importance for the treatment of AD due to the unavailability of therapy at the advanced stages of the disease. A multitalented agent, 2-{2-[(1 H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)methoxy]phenyl}benzothiazole(BPB), is designed by merging two β-sheet targeting groups into one molecule to detect and inhibit the Aβaggregation. BPB can quantitatively measure the β-sheet level of soluble Aβ oligomers and specifically distinguish the aggregates of Aβ40 and Aβ42 by unique luminescence spectrum. Animal tests demonstrate that BPB can efficiently penetrate the blood brain barrier and precisely stain Aβ plaques in the brain; more importantly, it can differentiate the blood of APP transgenic mice from that of normal ones. In addition to the diagnostic potential, BPB also suppresses the generation of ROS, protects the neurons from neurotoxicity, and disaggregates the Aβ aggregates in brain homogenates of APP transgenic mice induced by metal ions or self-assembly. In view of its detective ability toward Aβ oligomers and inhibition to Aβ-related neurotoxicity, BPB may be developed into a sensitive probe for screening blood samples in the early diagnosis of AD as well as an effective inhibitor for diminishing Aβ aggregates in the treatment of the disease.     

AFM and fluorescence spectrascopy investigation for disaggregation of existing Aβ fibrils by baicalein

The wavelength for the peak of fluorescence emission of thioflavin T（ThT） was changed from 445 nm to 481 nm when ThT was added in Aβ solution which indicating theβ-sheet structure of Aβ fibril.The significant decrease in the intensity of fluorescence at 481 nm was observed when the baicalein was added in mixed solution of Aβ and ThT,suggesting that the depolymerization of Aβ fibrils happened and there were Aβfibrils left to react with ThT to keep the initial fluorescence intensity.And the existing Aβfibrils are disaggregated by baicalein in a time- and dose-dependent manner.AFM images of the morphologies of the Aβ_1-42 fibrils obviously changed smaller and more dispersive when baicalein added indicating also the depolymerization of Aβ.The results demonstrate a basis for development of a potential herb drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease（AD）.     

Aβ-binding molecules: Possible application as imaging probes and as anti-aggregation agents

As amyloid β (Aβ) is at the centre of pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Aβ aggregate-specific probes for in vivo studies of Aβ are potentially important for the early diagnosis and the assessment of new treatment strategies in the AD brain by noninvasive imaging. Several series of compounds derived from Congo red (CR) and Thioflavin T (ThT) have been evaluated as potential probes for the Aβ imaging. They include a diversity of core structures contributing to their affinities to Aβ. Small-molecule inhibi- tors were known to inhibit the formation of Aβ oligomers and fibrils. This inhibition has to be performed in such a way that these inhibitors bind to Aβ in the binding channel where Aβ-binding probes should sit. Therefore, several of them were used as novel core structures to develop Aβ probes, with their de- rivatives exhibiting good Aβ affinities. This approach will facilitate the design of a variety of candidates for Aβ probe molecules and anti-aggregation-therapeutic drugs. Moreover, the finding of Aβ probes with diverse core structures recognized by binding sites on Aβs will likely provide a promising per- spective for the design of 99mTc-labeled probe-derived molecules.     

Selective binding of bile salts by β-cyclodextrin derivatives with appended quinolyl arms

Two β-cyclodextrin derivatives bearing appended quinolyl and isoquinolyl arms,i.e.mono-(6-quinolyl- 6-deoxy)-β-cyclodextrin(1) and mono-(6-isoquinolyl-6-deoxy)-β-cyclodextrin(2) were synthesized in satisfactory yields and fully characterized.Their original conformations and binding behaviors toward four bile salt guests,that is,sodium cholate(CA),sodium deoxycholate(DCA),sodium glycocholate (GCA),and sodium taurocholate(TCA),were investigated by means of fluorescence,circular dichroism and 2D NMR spectroscopy.The study of solution structures revealed that both quinolyl and isoquinolyl arms were located outside the cyclodextrin cavity.The results obtained from the fluorescence titrations showed that the binding abilities of hosts 1 and 2 with selected bile salts varied in an order of DCA > CA > GCA.The selective binding of hosts toward bile salt guests was discussed from the viewpoints of induced-fit and multiple binding.     

Polymeric adsorbents with peptide pendants as artificial receptors for β-Mactam antibiotics by mimicking the binding sites of β-lactamases

A scries of polymeric adsorbents with peptide pendants were designed as the artificial receptors of β-laetarn antibiotics by mimicking the structures of binding site in β-lactamases.Crosslinked poly(N,N-dimethyl acry-lamide) gel as a carrier was prepared by suspension copolyrnerization of N,N-dimethyl acrylamide and N,N-bisacryl-diaminoethane and then functionalized with ethylenediamine after partial hydrolysis.Using solid-phase peptide synthesis with symmetrical anhydride of protected amino acid step by step,various peptide pendants were respectively anchored onto the functionalized carrier.The adsorption properties of these peptide-containing adsorbents for β-lactam antibiotics such as ampicillin and cefotaxime were then studied.The results showed that only those adsorbents in which peptide chains contained more than one lysine residues could obviously adsorb both β-lactams and that static interaction as well as hydrogen bond played an important role during the adsorption     

Activation free energy of Zn（Ⅱ）,Co（Ⅱ） binding to metallo-β-lactamase ImiS

In an effort to understand the recombination of a B2 metallo-β-lactamase（MβL）,the binding of metals to apo-ImiS was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry and fluorescence spectra.The binding of Zn（Ⅱ）,Co（Ⅱ） to apo-lmiS resulted in activation free energies △G_≠~θ values of 93.719 and 92.948 kJ mol~（-1）,respectively,and increasing of fluorescence intensity at maxima emission of 340 nm.     

Detection of amyloid-beta by Fmoc-KLVFF self-assembled fluorescent nanoparticles for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis

The abnormal aggregation of amyloid-beta(Aβ) has been widely believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alz heimer's disease(AD),which is also recognized as one of the main biomarkers for AD diagnosis.The peptide sequence Lys-Leu-Val-Phe-Phe(KLVFF) is considered as the main driver of the fibrillation of Aβ,which also can be utilized to target Aβ and inhibit its aggregation.In this study,KLVFF and Fmoc-KLVFF fluorescent nanoparticles were self-assembled through zinc coordination and π-πstacking.The recognition of Aβ aggregates including oligomers and fibrils by fluorescent nanoparticles can be realized through aromatic,hydrophobic,and hydrogen-bond interactions.The fluorescent nanoprobes can distinguish Aβ aggregation formats and detect Aβ at the limit of 1 pg/mL(S/N=3).Hence,the detection of Aβ aggregates by fluorescent peptide nanoparticles has great potential for AD diagnosis and progression prediction.     

Structure determination of glycopeptide of β-momorcharin

The structure of the N-linked oligosaccharide chain of β-momorcharin, a ribosome-inactivating protein from the seeds of Momordica charantia Linn (Cucurbitaceae), was determined. A glycopeptide liberated by pronase digestion of the glycoprotein was subjected to amino acid and neutral carbohydrate analysis to establish the composition of amino acid and sugar residues. The sequences and glycosylation hnkages of the sugar and amino acid residues in the glycopeptide were determined as Manαl-6(XyIβ1-2)-Manβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-4(Fucαl-3)-GlcNAc-Asn-Leu by 2D-NMR spectroscopy and FAB-MS data.     

Reliable folding of hybrid tetrapeptides into short β-hairpins

Five hybrid tetrapeptides, each consisting a central dipeptide segment of α-amino acid residues flanked by two aromatic γ-amino acid residues, are found to fold into well-defined β-hairpin conformations as shown by NMR, computational study, and X-ray structures. The turn loop of this β-hairpin motif accommodates different two-residue α-amino acid sequences from the highly flexible Gly-Gly, to the more restricted D-Pro-Gly. The presence of α-amino acid side chains enhances the stabilities of the ...     

Synthesis and cationic selectivity studies of novel calix[4]arene derivatives containing heteroatom at the lower rim

A series of calixarene derivatives 2―5 containing heteroatom at the lower rim have been synthesized. 1H NMR studies and crystallographic structures demonstrated that the calix[4]arene derivatives adopted cone conformations. Their cationic binding abilities and selectivities towards heavy and tran- sition metal ions have been evaluated by solvent extraction of aqueous metal picrates. The obtained results indicated that the introduction of nitrogen, sulfur, and/or phosphor atoms to the calix[4]arene framework could effectively enhance their binding ability and selectivity for heavy and transition metal ions, such as Pb2 or Ag .     

Study on the inclusion interaction of methylated-β-cyclodextrins with albendazole by spectrofluorimetry and its application

The inclusion interaction between three types of methylated-β-cyclodextrins （Me-β-CDs） and albendazole （ABZ） was studied by spectrofluorimetry. The result showed that Me-β-CDs reacted with ABZ to form an inclusion complex, 1： 1 stoichiometry for Me- β-CDs-ABZ complex was established and its association constant have been determined from fluorescence data by Benesi- Hildebrand＇s method （double reciprocal plots）. It was noted that 2,6-DM-β-CD exhibited stronger binding ability than other Me-β- CDs. Based on the significant enhancement of fluorescence intensity of inclusion complex, a simple and highly sensitive fluorimetric method is proposed for the determination of ABZ in the presence of 2,6-DM-β-CD. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of ABZ in tablets and human urine.     

Synthesis of A novel Bridged Bis(β-cyclodextrin)s Possessing Phenanthroline Tether and Its Molecular Binding Ability with Dyes

A novel β-cyclodextrin dimer bearing 2,9-diformyl-1,10-phenanthroline tether 4 has been synthesized and its inclusion complexation behavior with two triangular model substrates (RhB and BG) has been investigated through fluorescence and ultraviolet spectrometry.The result obtained indicated that novel bridged bis(β-cyclodextrin)s could significantly cnhance the original molccular binding ability of native β-cyclodextrin by cooperative binding of two hydrophobic cavities.     

环糊精与两种有机物的包合物的不同光解特性

The effectiveness of the solubilization and photodegradation of β-cyclodextrin （β-CD） and hydroxypropyl-β- cyclodextrin （HPCD） on two hydrophobic organic compounds （HOC） of methyl parathion and pentachlorophenol was investigated. The results indicate that the solubilization or photodegradation of two HOC were influenced by complexing with β-CD or HPCD. The solubility of pentachlorophenol （PCP） was increased linearly with β-CD concentration. The solubility of methyl parathion （MPT） was increased with the increase of β-CD concentration initially, however, as the β-CD concentration was enhanced above 3 g/L, the solubility was decreased with increase of β-CD concentration. The solubilities of two HOC were increased linearly with the increase of HPCD concentration. Although the photodegradation of MPT was improved, the photodegradation of PCP was restrained by complexation of HOC with β-CD or HPCD. In a word, the effectiveness of photodegradation or solubilization of HPCD was more significant than that of β-CD. One potential application of such a method was the in situ remediation of hydrophobic organic pollutants in contaminated soil and groundwater or industrial waste streams.     

Quantitative structure-activity relationship of compounds binding to estrogen receptor β based on heuristic method

Estrogen compounds may pose a serious threat to the health of humans and wildlife.The estrogen receptor (ER) exists as two subtypes,ERβ and ERβ.Compounds might have different relative affinities and binding modes for ERβ and ERβ.In this study,the heuristic method was performed on 31 compounds binding to ERβ to select 5 variances most related to the activity (LogRBA) from 1524 variances,which were then employed to develop the best model with the significant correlation and the best predictive power (r2 = 0.8...     

The effects of alkali metal(Na+,K+) on the exchange degree of Hβ zeolite and the catalytic properties of the alkalized zeolites

The effects of alkali metals (Na+,K+) on the exchange degree of Hβ zeolite under different conditions and the conversion of α(or β)-methylnaphthalene over the alkalized zeolites were studied. The results showed that the H+ of Hβ zeolite is totally replaced by the Na+ of NaCl solution, while partially exchanged by the K+ of KC1 solution, there is an exchange equilibrium between the H+ and K+ for Hβ zeolite (Si/Al=17.23) and the value of equilibrium is 88.39. The exchange degree also increases with increasing the Si/Al of the samples. It was suggested that these resluts are attributed to the electrostatic field in the pore of Hβ zeolite and the nature of zeolite and the properties of alkali metal. The isomerization of α(or β)-methylnaphthalene is the main reaction over the samples and it is more favour on the proper acid-base sites of KHβ zeolite.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Binding Interaction between Hormone Glucagon Protein and Self-Assembled Monolayer Molecules

Restrained molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the binding affinity of the peptide with alkanethiols of different tail-groups, S（CH2）7CH3, S（CH2）7OH and S（CH2）7COOH, which self-assembled on Au（111） surface in the presence of water molecules. The curves of binding affinity were calculated by fixing the center of mass of the peptide at various distances from the assembling surface. Simulation results show that the binding affin- ity is in the order as COOH-SAMs〉OH-SAMs〉CH3-SAMs, while 100% COOH-SAMs〉5% COOH-SAMS in concentration. The effects on binding affinity by different tail-groups were also studied. Results show that the binding affinity between COOH-SAMs and the peptide is bigger than those of the others and increasing the acidity of COOH-SAMs will result in stronger attractive power.     

DSC study of cold and heat denaturation processes of β-lactoglobulin A with guanidine hydrochloride

The cold and heat denaturations of bovine β-lactoglobuhn A (β-lg A) has been studied in solutions of guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) by differential scanning calorimelry (DSC) The experimental results are presented and discussed.It is shown that the number of protons bound by the monomeric molecules of β-lg A was unchanged before and after its heat denaturation below pH 3,and that the activation energy of the heat denaturation was depressed owing to the presence of GuHCl.In the solutions with 2.50 and 3.06 mol/L of GuHCl,both the cold and heat denat-urations of β-lg A were observed.In comparison with the heat denaturation,the activation energy of cold denaturation was far lower and the number of GuHCl molecules bound by the unfolded polypeptide chains after cold denaturation increased a lot.The absolute value of the enthalpy of cold denaturation was larger than that of heat denaturation It was found by the analysis that the contribution to the total denaturational enthalpy of conformational change i     

Micellar parameters of diblock copolymers and their interactions with ionic surfactants

The interactions of non-ionic amphiphilic diblock copolymer poly（oxyethylene/oxybutylene）(E₃₉B₁₈) with anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate（SDS） and cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide（CTAB） were studied by using various techniques such as surface tension,conductivity,steady-state fluorescence and dynamic light scattering.Surface tension measurements were used to determine the critical micelle concentration（CMC） and thereby the free energy of micellization(△G_mic),free energy of adsorption(△G_ads),surface excess concentration（Γ） and minimum area per molecule（A）.Conductivity measurements were used to determine the critical micelle concentration（CMC）,critical aggregation concentration（CAC）,polymer saturation point（PSP）,degree of ionization（α） and counter ion binding（β）. Dynamic light scattering experiments were performed to check the changes in physiochemical properties of the block copolymer micelles taken place due to the interactions of diblock copolymers with ionic surfactants.The ratio of the first and third vibronic peaks（I₁/I₃） indicated the polarity of the pyrene micro environment and was used for the detection of micelle as well as polymer-surfactant interactions.Aggregation number（N）,number of binding sites（n） and free energy of binding （△G_b） for pure surfactants as well as for polymer-surfactant mixed micellar systems were determined by the fluorescence quenching method.     

Spectral Study on the Interactions Among Cu(Ⅱ), Doxorubicin and CopC

Interactions among Cu(Ⅱ),doxorubicin and copper operon C(CopC)have been investigated in detail by means of fluorescence,UV-Vis,IR spectra,isothermal titration calorimetry(ITC)and molecular docking in Tris-HCl buffer(50 mmol/L,pH=7.4,25℃).The results suggest that Cu(Ⅱ)-doxorubicin is formed in a Cu(Ⅱ)to doxorubicin molar ratio of 1:2,and the conditional stability constant,K[Cu(Ⅱ)-doxorubicin]is 1.90×10^9 L^2/mol^2,CopC and doxorubicin can form a 1:1 complex,the conditional stability constant is greater than 10^5 L/mol.Binding of doxorabicin causes a conformational change in CopC with the reduction of β-sheet and increase of random coil,and the stability of CopC is decreased.Cu(Ⅱ),doxorubicin and CopC can form a CopC-Cu(Ⅱ)-doxorubicin ternary complex.The formation of CopC-Cu(Ⅱ)-doxorubicin reduced greatly the reduction rate of Cu(Ⅱ)by ascorbate(Vc),i.e.,the binding of doxorubicin affects the action of CopC as redox switch.     

3D-QSAR and docking studies of estrogen compounds based on estrogen receptor β

Close attention has been paid to estrogen compounds because these chemicals may pose a serious threat to the health of humans and wildlife. Estrogen receptor (ER) exists as two subtypes, ERα and ERβ. The difference in amino acids sequence of the binding sites of ERα and ERβ might lead to a result that some synthetic estrogens and naturally occurring steroidal ligands have different relative affinities and binding modes for ERα and ERβ. In this investigation, comparative molecular similarity indices analysis...