Validation of a Fast and Simple HPLC-UV Method for the Quantification of Adenosine Phosphates in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

A new HPLC method for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) was developed and validated. ATP, ADP, and AMP were extracted from human bronchial epithelial cells with a rapid extraction procedure and separated with a C18 column (3 × 150 mm, 2.7 µm) using isocratic elution with a mobile phase consisting of 50 mM of potassium hydrogen phosphate (pH 6.80). The absorbance was monitored at 254 nm. The calibration curves were linear in 0.2 to 10 µM, selective, precise, and accurate. This method allowed us to quantify the nucleotides from two cell models: differentiated NHBE primary cells grown at the air–liquid interface (ALI) and BEAS-2B cell line. Our study highlighted the development of a sensitive, simple, and green analytical method that is faster and less expensive than other existing methods to measure ATP, ADP, and AMP and can be carried out on 2D and 3D cell models.     

Effect of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin on CFTR Levels in Primary Human Airway Epithelial Cells Grown at the Air-Liquid-Interface

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene is influenced by the fundamental cellular processes like epithelial differentiation/polarization, regeneration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Defects in CFTR protein levels and/or function lead to decreased airway surface liquid layer facilitating microbial colonization and inflammation. The SERPINA1 gene, encoding alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) protein, is one of the genes implicated in CF, however it remains unknown whether AAT has any influence on CFTR levels. In this study we assessed CFTR protein levels in primary human lung epithelial cells grown at the air-liquid-interface (ALI) alone or pre-incubated with AAT by Western blots and immunohistochemistry. Histological analysis of ALI inserts revealed CFTR- and AAT-positive cells but no AAT-CFTR co-localization. When 0.5 mg/mL of AAT was added to apical or basolateral compartments of pro-inflammatory activated ALI cultures, CFTR levels increased relative to activated ALIs. This finding suggests that AAT is CFTR-modulating protein, albeit its effects may depend on the concentration and the route of administration. Human lung epithelial ALI cultures provide a useful tool for studies in detail how AAT or other pharmaceuticals affect the levels and activity of CFTR.     

Effect of Sex Steroids and PGF2α on the Expression of Their Receptors and Decorin in Bovine Caruncular Epithelial Cells in Early–Mid Pregnancy

Changes in the expression of various genes, including pregnancy-associated hormone receptors and extracellular matrix proteins, have been suggested to play a significant role in bovine placental development. This study aimed to examine the influence of sex steroids and PGF_2α on decorin (DCN) expression in the epithelial cells of bovine caruncle in early–mid pregnancy in cows. The expression patterns of DCN, PTGFR_, PGR and ESR1 were analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting in primary caruncular epithelial cell cultures (PCECC) and placental tissue homogenates derived from the 2nd and 4th months of pregnancy. PCECC were found to express DCN, PTGFR_, PGR and ESR1. The intensity of PGR staining was higher in cells derived from the 4th month of pregnancy (p < 0.05). The 17β-estradiol, progesterone and PGF_2α have not been shown to affect DCN expression. PGF_2α decreased PTGFR expression in cells derived from the 4th month of gestation (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the results of the present preliminary study showed that the expression of the PTGFR, ESR1, PGR and DCN in PCECC does not vary throughout early–mid pregnancy. Further studies should be carried out to observe the relationship between hormonal status and cellular adhesion to determine their importance for properly developing placentation and pregnancy in cows.     

Chemiluminescence Method for the Determination of Glutathione in Human Serum Using the Ru(phen)3 2+ – KMnO4 System

A simple, rapid and specific chemiluminescence (CL) method for the determination of glutathione has been developed. The method is based on the enhanced CL of the reaction between Ru(phen)₃ ²⁺ (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) and KMnO₄ by glutathione in HCl medium. Under the optimum conditions, the response is linearly proportional to the concentration of glutathione between 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ and 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹. The dection limit for glutathione (5.8 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹) is about 10 and 200 times better than those of the spectrophotometric method using Ellman regent and the Lucigenin – CL method, respectively. The final procedure allows the determination of glutathione in human serum with recoveries of 92%–108%. A satisfactory agreement was obtained with a mean relative difference of 2.5% compared to the HPLC method.     

Ca2+-Mg2+-Zn2+体系在水溶性聚磷酸铵溶液中螯合规律的研究

近年来,水溶性聚磷酸铵在液体肥料和复合肥料的领域受到了广泛的关注,并在发达国家中得到了大面积的推广及应用。在pH值为5.5~8.0、温度为278.15 K~323.15 K的条件下,本文采用滴定法研究Ca_²⁺-Mg_²⁺-Zn_²⁺体系在聚磷酸铵溶液中的螯合规律。实验结果表明：相同质量分数的聚磷酸铵溶液对金属离子的螯合量会随着体系中Ca_²⁺、Mg_²⁺、Zn_²⁺的摩尔浓度的变化而变化;随着温度的升高而逐渐降低;随着pH的增加而逐渐增加;随着聚合度的升高而逐渐增加。采用傅里叶红外光谱对聚磷酸铵和A₁B₃C₃体系的螯合物进行表征。     

Regulation of Cytokines and Dihydrotestosterone Production in Human Hair Follicle Papilla Cells by Supercritical Extraction-Residues Extract of Ulmus davidiana

This study was conducted to examine the anti-hair loss mechanism of the supercritical fluid extraction-residues extract of Ulmus davidiana by the regulation of cytokine production and hormone function in human dermal follicle papilla cells (HDFPCs). To investigate the modulatory effects on H₂O₂-induced cytokines, we measured transforming growth factor-beta and insulin-like growth factor 1 secreted from HDFPCs. To investigate the regulatory effects of supercritical extraction-residues extract of Ulmus davidiana on dihydrotestosterone hormone production, cells were co-incubated with high concentrations of testosterone. The supercritical extraction-residues extract of Ulmus davidiana significantly inhibited the secretion of transforming growth factor-beta but rescued insulin-like growth factor 1 in a dose-dependent manner. The supercritical extraction-residues extract of Ulmus davidiana markedly reduced dihydrotestosterone production. These results suggest that the supercritical fluid extract residues of Ulmus davidiana and their functional molecules are candidates for preventing human hair loss.     

Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complex–Cationic Peptide Hybrids Trigger Paraptosis in Cancer Cells via an Intracellular Ca2+ Overload from the Endoplasmic Reticulum and a Decrease in Mitochondrial Membrane Potential

In our previous paper, we reported that amphiphilic Ir complex–peptide hybrids (IPHs) containing basic peptides such as KK(K)GG (K: lysine, G: glycine) (e.g., ASb-2) exhibited potent anticancer activity against Jurkat cells, with the dead cells showing a strong green emission. Our initial mechanistic studies of this cell death suggest that IPHs would bind to the calcium (Ca²⁺)–calmodulin (CaM) complex and induce an overload of intracellular Ca²⁺, resulting in the induction of non-apoptotic programmed cell death. In this work, we conduct a detailed mechanistic study of cell death induced by ASb-2, a typical example of IPHs, and describe how ASb-2 induces paraptotic programmed cell death in a manner similar to that of celastrol, a naturally occurring triterpenoid that is known to function as a paraptosis inducer in cancer cells. It is suggested that ASb-2 (50 µM) induces ER stress and decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m), thus triggering intracellular signaling pathways and resulting in cytoplasmic vacuolization in Jurkat cells (which is a typical phenomenon of paraptosis), while the change in ΔΨ_m values is negligibly induced by celastrol and curcumin. Other experimental data imply that both ASb-2 and celastrol induce paraptotic cell death in Jurkat cells, but this induction occurs via different signaling pathways.     

Study of Complex Formation Between Dicyclohexano-18-Crown-6 (DCH18C6) with Mg 2+, Ca2+, Sr 2+, and Ba2+ Cations in Methanol–Water Binary Mixtures Using Conductometric Method

The complexation reactions between Mg²⁺,Ca²⁺,Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺ metal cations with macrocyclic ligand, dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (DCH18C6) were studied in methanol (MeOH)–water (H₂O) binary mixtures at different temperatures using conductometric method . In all cases, DCH18C6 forms 1:1 complexes with these metal cations. The values of stability constants of complexes which were obtained from conductometric data show that the stability of complexes is affected by the nature and composition of the mixed solvents. While the variation of stability constants of DCH18C6-Sr ²⁺ and DCH18C6-Ba²⁺versus the composition of MeOH–H₂O mixed solvents is monotonic, an anomalous behavior was observed for variations of stability constants of DCH18C6-Mg²⁺ and DCH18C6-Ca²⁺ versus the composition of the mixed solvents. The values of thermodynamic parameters (ΔH_c°, ΔS_c°) for complexation reactions were obtained from temperature dependence of formation constants of complexes using the van’t Hoff plots. The results show that in most cases, the complexation reactions are enthalpy stabilized but entropy destabilized and the values of thermodynamic parameters are influenced by the nature and composition of the mixed solvents. The obtained results show that the order of selectivity of DCH18C6 ligand for metal cations in different concentrations of methanol in MeOH–H₂O binary system is: Ba²⁺>Sr²⁺>Ca²⁺> Mg²⁺.     

Study of Complex Formation between N-Phenylaza-15-Crown-5 with Mg2+, Ca2+, Ag+ and Cd2+ Metal Cations in Some Binary Mixed Aqueous and Non-aqueous Solvents using the Conductometric Method

The complexation reactions between Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ag⁺ and Cd²⁺ metal cations with N-phenylaza-15-crown-5 (Ph-N15C5) were studied in acetonitrile (AN)–methanol (MeOH), methanol (MeOH)–water (H₂O) and propanol (PrOH)–water (H₂O) binary mixtures at different temperatures using the conductometric method. The conductance data show that the stochiometry of all of the complexes with Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Ag⁺ and Cd²⁺ cations is 1:1 (L:M). The stability of the complexes is sensitive to the solvent composition and a non-linear behaviour was observed for variation of log K _f of the complexes versus the composition of the binary mixed solvents. The selectivity order of Ph-N15C5 for the metal cations in neat MeOH is Ag⁺>Cd²⁺>Ca²⁺>Mg²⁺, but in the case of neat AN is Ca²⁺>Cd²⁺>Mg²⁺>Ag⁺. The values of thermodynamic parameters (ΔH _c ^o , ΔS _c ^o ) for formation of Ph-N15C5–Mg²⁺, Ph-N15C5–Ca²⁺, Ph-N15C5–Ag⁺ and Ph-N15C5–Cd²⁺ complexes were obtained from temperature dependence of stability constants and the results show that the thermodynamics of complexation reactions is affected by the nature and composition of the mixed solvents.     

Synthesis and Biological Assessment of 4,1-Benzothiazepines with Neuroprotective Activity on the Ca2+ Overload for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Stroke

In excitable cells, mitochondria play a key role in the regulation of the cytosolic Ca²⁺ levels. A dysregulation of the mitochondrial Ca²⁺ buffering machinery derives in serious pathologies, where neurodegenerative diseases highlight. Since the mitochondrial Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger (NCLX) is the principal efflux pathway of Ca²⁺ to the cytosol, drugs capable of blocking NCLX have been proposed to act as neuroprotectants in neuronal damage scenarios exacerbated by Ca²⁺ overload. In our search of optimized NCLX blockers with augmented drug-likeness, we herein describe the synthesis and pharmacological characterization of new benzothiazepines analogues to the first-in-class NCLX blocker {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"CGP37157","term_id":"875406365","term_text":"CGP37157"}}CGP37157 and its further derivative ITH12575, synthesized by our research group. As a result, we found two new compounds with an increased neuroprotective activity, neuronal Ca²⁺ regulatory activity and improved drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic properties, such as clog p or brain permeability, measured by PAMPA experiments.     

Recoordination of a metal ion in the cavity of a crown compound: a theoretical study. 1. Conformers of arylazacrown ethers and their complexes with Ca2+ cation

Photoinduced recoordination of Ca²⁺ complexes of the photochromic azacrown ethers is studied by the density functional method. The study included model arylazacrown ethers containing various acceptor groups in the aromatic ring in the para position to the azacrown ether moiety and a real azacrown-containing styryl dye. It is found that both free azacrown ethers and their complexes can adopt two types of conformations: (1) axial conformations, in which the aromatic ring axis passing through the crown ether nitrogen N_cr and the opposite atom of the aromatic ring is perpendicular to the root-mean-square (RMS) plane of the crown ether (least-squares fitted plane for all the crown ether atoms), and (2) equatorial conformations, in which the aromatic ring axis only slightly deflects from the RMS plane of the crown ether. In the equatorial conformers, the metal cation is coordinated only to the O atoms of the azacrown ether cycle, the metal—nitrogen bond is broken, and N_cr is conjugated with the aromatic ring. In the axial conformers, the metal cation is additionally coordinated to N_cr. It is found that the presence of an acceptor group bearing a formal positive charge decreases the relative energy of the equatorial conformer and favors metal—nitrogen bond dissociation, which results in the recoordination of the metal cation. However, a long distance between the charged group and N_cr has the reverse effect. The photoinduced recoordination observed in the alkaline-earth metal complexes of the photochromic azacrown ethers is explained by the transitions between the axial and equatorial conformers facilitated by the charge transfer in the excited state of the complex.