Theoretical studies of C60/C70 fullerene derivatives: C60O and C70O

A semiempirical (AM1) calculation on the structures and stabilities of isomers of the fullerene derivatives C₆₀O and C₇₀O is carried out. The ozonolysis reaction mechanism and the thermodynamics of the compounds are studied. The two isomers of C₆₀O (56 bond and 66 bond) formed by an oxygen atom bridging across a C-C bond have an epoxide-like or an annulene-like structure. According to the ozonolysis reaction mechanism and kinetic factor analysis, the possible products of this ozonolysis reaction are C₆₀O with oxygen bridging over the 66 bond (C_2v) as an epoxide-like isomer and that with oxygen bridging over the 56 bond (C_s) as an annulene-like isomer. Further, the sixteen isomers of C₇₀O (both epoxide-like and annulene-like structures) have been studied with respect to the same reaction mechanism. The most possible product in this ozonolysis reaction contains oxygen bridging across in the upper part (66 bond in C₇₀O-2 or C₇₀O-4) as an epoxide-like structure. The other possible product is C₇₀O-8 (annulene-like structure), in which oxygen bridges across an broken equatorial CC bond in C₇₀ (D_5h). The vibrational frequency analysis and the electronic structure of the selected C₆₀O and C₇₀O isomers are generated for experimental characterisation. The experimental results indicate that C₆₀O and C₇₀O may decompose into the odd number fullerenes C₅₉ and C₆₉. We therefore studied the structures of C₅₉ and C₆₉ also.     

PKCalpha induces differentiation through ERK1/2 phosphorylation in mouse keratinocytes

Epidermal keratinocyte differentiation is a tightly regulated stepwise process that requires protein kinase C (PKC) activation. Studies on cultured mouse keraitnocytes induced to differentiate with Ca2+ have indirectly implicated the involvement of PKCa isoform. When PKCalpha was overexpressed in undifferentiated keratinocytes using adenoviral system, expressions of differentiation markers such as loricrin, filaggrin, keratin 1 (MK1) and keratin 10 (MK10) were increased, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation was concurrently induced without change of other MAPK such as p38 MAPK and JNK1/2. Similarly, transfection of PKCalpha kinase active mutant (PKCalpha- CAT) in the undifferentiated keratinocyte, but not PKCbeta-CAT, also increased differentiation marker expressions. On the other hand, PKCalpha dominant negative mutant (PKCbeta-KR) reduced Ca2+ -mediated differentiation marker expressions, while PKCbeta-KR did not, suggesting that PKCalpha is responsible for keratinocyte differentiation. When downstream pathway of PKCalpha in Ca2+ -mediated differentiation was examined, ERK1/2, p38 MAPK and JNK1/2 phosphorylations were increased by Ca2+ shift. Treatment of keratinocytes with PD98059, MEK inhibitor, and SB20358, p38 MAPK inhibitor, before Ca2+ shift induced morphological changes and reduced expressions of differentiation markers, but treatment with SP60012, JNK1/2 inhibitor, did not change at all. Dominant negative mutants of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK also inhibited the expressions of differentiation marker expressions in Ca2+ shifted cells. The above results indicate that both ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK may be involved in Ca2+ -mediated differentiation, and that only ERK1/2 pathway is specific for PKCalpha-mediated differentiation in mouse keratinocytes.     

Phytosphingosine-1-phosphate stimulates chemotactic migration of L2071 mouse fibroblasts via pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins

Phytosphingosine-1-phosphate (PhS1P) was found to stimulate an intracellular calcium increase via phospholipase C but not pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive G-proteins in L2071 mouse fibroblasts. PhS1P also activated ERK and p38 kinase, and these activations by PhS1P were inhibited by PTX. Moreover, PhS1P stimulated the chemotactic migration of L2071 cells via PTX-sensitive Gi protein(s). In addition, the PhS1P-induced chemotactic migration of L2071 cells was also dramatically inhibited by LY294002 and SB203580 (inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase and p38 kinase, respectively). L2071 cells are known to express four S1P receptors, i.e., S1P1, S1P2, S1P3, and S1P4, and pretreatment with an S1P1 and S1P3 antagonist (VPC 23019) did not affect on PhS1P-induced chemotaxis. This study demonstrates that PhS1P stimulates at least two different signaling cascades, one is a PTX-insensitive but phospholipase C dependent intracellular calcium increase, and the other is a PTX-sensitive chemotactic migration mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase and p38 kinase.     

Inclusion properties of 3-fluoromesotetraphenylporphyrin with C60 and C70

To improve the selectivity ratio of C70 over C60, a new designer molecule, viz., 3-fluoromesotetraphenylporphyrin (1) has been reported in the present investigations. Fluorescence studies reveal that the Q-absorption band of 1 gets sufficient quenching effect upon addition of both C60 and C70. Binding constants (K) of the C60/1 and C70/1 complexes are estimated to be 580 and 10,800 dm3 mol(-1), respectively. Thus, K(C70)/K(C60) is approximately 19 which is very large and even comparable with other macrocyclic host molecules like calix[5]arene, azacalix[m]arene[n]pyridine, cyclotriveratrylenophane and calixarene bisporphyrin. 1H NMR chemical shift measurements show that the -NH- proton of 1 suffers more shifts in presence of C70 compared to C60. This finding also offers a good support in favor of high K value for C70/1 complex as well as large selectivity ratio of C70 over C60.     

Stabilization Studies on Divalent Five‐Membered Rings C4H4C,C4H4Si,C4H4Ge,C4H4Sn,and C4H4Pb

Energy differences, ΔX_S‐t (X = E, H and G) (ΔX_S‐t = X_(singlet)‐X_(triplet)) between singlet (s) and triplet (t) states are calculated at B3LYP/6‐311++G (3df,2p). The DFT calculations show that the triplet state of C₄H₄C is a ground state with planar conformer respect to its corresponding nonplanar singlet state. Both singlet and triplet states of C₄H₄M (M = Si, Ge, Sn and Pb) have a planar conformer with the singlet ground state. Four isodesmic reactions are presented for determining the stability energies, SE. NICS calculations are carried out for C₄H₄M to determine the aromatic character.     

Entelon® (Vitis vinifera Seed Extract) Prevents Cancer Metastasis via the Downregulation of Interleukin-1 Alpha in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells

Interleukin-1 (IL1) is a proinflammatory cytokine and promotes cancer cell proliferation and invasiveness in a diversity of cancers, such as breast and colon cancer. Here, we focused on the pharmacological effect of Entelon^® (ETL) on the tumorigenesis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells by IL1-alpha (IL1A). IL1A enhanced the cell growth and invasiveness of TNBC cells. We observed that abnormal IL1A induction is related with the poor prognosis of TNBC patients. IL1A also increased a variety of chemokines such as CCL2 and IL8. Interestingly, IL1A expression was reduced by the ETL treatment. Here, we found that ETL significantly decreased the MEK/ERK signaling pathway in TNBC cells. IL1A expression was reduced by UO126. Lastly, we studied the effect of ETL on the metastatic potential of TNBC cells. Our results showed that ETL significantly reduced the lung metastasis of TNBC cells. Our results showed that IL1A expression was regulated by the MEK/ERK- and PI3K/AKT-dependent pathway. Taken together, ETL inhibited the MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and suppressing the lung metastasis of TNBC cells through downregulation of IL1A. Therefore, we propose the possibility of ETL as an effective adjuvant for treating TNBC.     

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) induces neuronal phenotype acquisition in dominant negative MEK1-expressing hippocampal neural progenitor cells

It has been shown that neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM)-induced neuronal differentiation is extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent. However, an involvement of the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase (MEK), an upstream kinase of ERK, has not been directly demonstrated in this process. Therefore, we investigated whether the MEK1 plays a critical role in the NCAM-induced neuronal differentiation of hippocampal neural progenitor cells (NPCs). NPCs were transiently transfected with expression plasmids encoding activated or dominant negative (DN) forms of MEK1. The expression of DN MEK1 inhibited neuronal phenotype acquisition and soluble NCAM rescued the defect in the neuronal phenotype acquisition in DN-MEK1-transfected cells, suggesting that NCAM might contribute to the neuronal differentiation via distinct, parallel pathways including the MEK pathway. In cells expressing wild type MEK1 or constitutively active MEK1 on the other hand, the percentage of cells positive for beta-tubulin type III (Tuj1), a marker for early postmitotic neurons, was higher than seen in vector-transfected cells. These results suggest that the activation of MEK1 is required for obtaining neuronal phenotype in NPCs.     

Protein C-Mannosylation and C-Mannosyl Tryptophan in Chemical Biology and Medicine

C-Mannosylation is a post-translational modification of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Monomeric α-mannose is attached to specific Trp residues at the first Trp in the Trp-x-x-Trp/Cys (W-x-x-W/C) motif of substrate proteins, by the action of C-mannosyltransferases, DPY19-related gene products. The acceptor substrate proteins are included in the thrombospondin type I repeat (TSR) superfamily, cytokine receptor type I family, and others. Previous studies demonstrated that C-mannosylation plays critical roles in the folding, sorting, and/or secretion of substrate proteins. A C-mannosylation-defective gene mutation was identified in humans as the disease-associated variant affecting a C-mannosylation motif of W-x-x-W of ADAMTSL1, which suggests the involvement of defects in protein C-mannosylation in human diseases such as developmental glaucoma, myopia, and/or retinal defects. On the other hand, monomeric C-mannosyl Trp (C-Man-Trp), a deduced degradation product of C-mannosylated proteins, occurs in cells and extracellular fluids. Several studies showed that the level of C-Man-Trp is upregulated in blood of patients with renal dysfunction, suggesting that the metabolism of C-Man-Trp may be involved in human kidney diseases. Together, protein C-mannosylation is considered to play important roles in the biosynthesis and functions of substrate proteins, and the altered regulation of protein C-manosylation may be involved in the pathophysiology of human diseases. In this review, we consider the biochemical and biomedical knowledge of protein C-mannosylation and C-Man-Trp, and introduce recent studies concerning their significance in biology and medicine.     

2-Oxo-3,4-dihydropyrimido[4,5-d] pyrimidines as new reversible inhibitors of EGFR C797S (Cys797 to Ser797) mutant

Extensive structure-activity relationships (SARs) study of JND3229 was conducted to yield a series of new reversible 2-oxo-3,4-dihydropyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine privileged scaffold as EGFR^C797S inhibitors. One of the most potent compound 6i potently suppressed EGFR^{L858R/T790M/C797S} kinase with an IC₅₀ value of 3.1 nmol/L, and inhibited the proliferation of BaF3 cells harboring EGFR^{L858R/T790M/C797S} and EGFR^{19D/T790M/C797S} mutants with IC₅₀ values of 290 nmol/L and 316 nmol/L, respectively. Further, 6i dose-dependently induced suppression of the phosphorylation of EGFR^{L858R/T790M/C797S} and EGFR^{19D/T790M/C797S} in BaF3 cells. Compound 6i may serve as a promising lead compound for further drug discovery overcoming the acquired resistance of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.     

Reduction of C60 and C70 by primary amines: Optical and ESR studies

Radical anions C70- and C70 2- were obtained in vacuo by the reaction of I-amino3-propanol (AP) and 1,5-diaminopentane (DAP) with fullerene C70. The radical anions were identified by visible/near IR (X = I372 and I172 nm, respectively) and ESR spectroscopies. The temperature dependences of the ESR spectra were studied for the C₆₀-AP, C₇₀-AP, and C70-DAP systems. At low temperatures (I5-45 K), the ESR spectrum for C60 is close to that for species with axial symmetry of theg-factor (q_| = 2.000 and g, = I.995). The anisotropy of theg-factor is averaged, when the temperature increases. At T > I48 K the averaged line is broadened, and the sharp signal with g = 2.0001 overlaps this broad line. The intensity of the narrow line increases, when the temperature increases. The ESR spectrum observed in the C₇₀-AP system at I2.5 K may be tentatively described as a superposition of two ESR spectra, namely, the ESR spectra of a radical with g_| = 2.0042 and g, = 2.0015 (presumably a radical cation) and of C₇₀ ^– with q_| = 2.000 and g = I.994. The spectra of the sample in which C70 is present mainly as C₇₀ ^2– exhibit only a line with g = 2.0004.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. I, pp. 103–108, January, 1996.     

Saponins Extracted from Tea (Camellia Sinensis) Flowers Induces Autophagy in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Tea flower saponins (TFS) possess effective anticancer properties. The diversity and complexity of TFS increases the difficulty of their extraction and purification from tea flowers. Here, multiple methods including solvent extraction, microporous resin separation and preparative HPLC separation were used to obtain TFS with a yield of 0.34%. Furthermore, we revealed that TFS induced autophagy—as evidenced by an increase in MDC-positive cell populations and mCherry-LC3B-labeled autolysosomes and an upregulation of LC3II protein levels. 3-MA reversed the decrease in cell viability induced by TFS, showing that TFS induced autophagic cell death. TFS-induced autophagy was not dependent on the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway. TFS-induced autophagy in OVCAR-3 cells was accompanied by ERK pathway activation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. This paper is the first report of TFS-mediated autophagy of ovarian cancer cells. These results provide new insights for future studies of the anti-cancer effects of TFS.     

Thromboxane A2 modulates migration, proliferation, and differentiation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Prostanoid metabolites are key mediators in inflammatory responses, and accumulating evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be recruited to injured or inflamed tissues. In the present study, we investigated whether prostanoid metabolites can regulate migration, proliferation, and differentiation potentials of MSCs. We demonstrated herein that the stable thromboxane A₂ (TxA₂) mimetic U46619 strongly stimulated migration and proliferation of human adipose tissue-derived MSCs (hADSCs). Furthermore, U46619 treatment increased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a smooth muscle marker, in hADSCs, suggesting differentiation of hADSCs into smooth muscle-like cells. U46619 activated ERK and p38 MAPK, and pretreatment of the cells with the MEK inhibitor U0126 or the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB202190 abrogated the U46619-induced migration, proliferation, and α-SMA expression. These results suggest that TxA₂ plays a key role in the migration, proliferation, and differentiation of hADSCs into smooth muscle-like cells through signaling mechanisms involving ERK and p38 MAPK.     

Pentazol‐Derivate und daraus entstehende Azide: [O3S—p‐C6H4—N5]— und [O3S—p‐C6H4—N3]— als Kalium‐Kronenether‐Salze

Pentazole Derivates and Azides Formed from them: Potassium‐Crown‐Ether Salts of [O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₅]^— and [O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃]^{— —}O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₂⁺ was reacted with sodium azide at —50 °C in methanol, yielding a mixture of 4‐pentazolylbenzenesulfonate and 4‐azidobenzenesulfonate (amount‐of‐substance ratio 27:73 according to NMR). By addition of KOH in methanol at —50 °C a mixture of the potassium salts K[O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₅] and K[O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃] was precipitated (ratio 60:40). A solution of this mixture along with 18‐crown‐6 in tetrahydrofurane yielded the crystalline pentazole derivate [THF‐K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₅]·THF by addition of petrol ether at —70 °C. From the same solution upon evaporation and redissolution in THF/petrol ether the crystalline azide [THF‐K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃]·THF was obtained. A solution of the latter in chloroform/toluene under air yielded [K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃]·1/3H₂O. According to their X‐ray crystal structure determinations [THF‐K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₅]·THF and [THF‐K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃]·THF have the same kind of crystal packing. Differences worth mentioning exist only for the atomic positions of the pentazole ring as compared to the azido group and for one THF molecule which is coordinated to the potassium ion; different orientations of the THF molecule take account for the different space requirements of the N₅ and the N₃ group. In [K‐18‐crown‐6][O₃S—p‐C₆H₄—N₃]·1/3H₂O there exists one unit consisting of one [K‐18‐crown‐6]⁺ and one [O₃S‐C₆H₄—N₃]^— ion and another unit consisting of two [O₃S‐C₆H₄—N₃]^— ions joined via two [K‐18‐crown‐6]⁺ ions and one water molecule. The rate constants for the decomposition [O₃S‐C₆H₄—N₅]^— → [O₃S‐C₆H₄—N₃]^— + N₂ in methanol were determined at 0 °C and —20 °C.     

Isobaric thermoanalytical study of the decomposition process of interstitial graphite-Iron(III) chloride compounds

First-step and second-step interstitial graphite-FeCl₃ compounds were studied by isobaric thermal analysis in the temperature interval of 298 ... 750 K and pressure interval of 10 ... 700 Torr. ΔH ⁰ and ΔS ⁰ values were obtained for the processes C₆FeCI₃ → 0.5 C₁₂FeCI₃ + 0.5 FeCl₃(s) C₆FeCl₃ → 6C + FeCl₃(s) and C₁₂FeCl₃ → 12 C + FeCl₃(s) It was demonstrated that the thermal decomposition process of the interstitial graphite compounds investigated proceeds in stages. Temperature dependence of the heat capacity of the studied compounds was determined in the temperature interval of 298 ... 570 K.     

Molecular assembly of mitogen-activated protein kinase module in ras-transformed NIH3T3 cell line

The ras, is a G-like protein that controls the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway involved in control and differentiation of cell growth. MAPK is a key component of its signaling pathway and the aberrant activation may play an important role in the transformation process. To better understand roles of ras in the activation of MAPKs, we have established ras transformed NIH3T3 fibroblast cell line, and analyzed the MAPK module. The ras transformed cells formed numerous spikes at the edges of cells and showed loss of contact inhibition. The levels of ERK1/2 MAPKs as revealed by Western blot analysis were not significantly different between ras transformed and non-transformed cells. However, phosphorylation of ERK MAPKs and the level of MEK were significantly increased although the heavily expressed level of Raf-1, an upstream component of MAPK pathway was unchanged in ras transformed NIH3T3 cells. The sedimentation profile of the MAPK module kinases in a glycerol gradient showed the presence of a rather homogeneous species of multimeric forms of ERK1/2 and MEK as indicated by the narrow distribution peak areas. The broad sedimentation profile of the Raf-1 in a glycerol gradient may suggest possible heterologous protein complexes but the identification of interacting molecules still remains to be identified in order to understand the organization of the MAPK signal transduction pathway.     

Electronic structure of C84 and KxC84: Comparison to C60 and graphite

X ray photoemission spectra show ～10 valence band features in C₆₀ and C₈₄ films, although they are less distinct in C₈₄ because of the increased number of valence electrons and the decreased molecular symmetry. The presence of inequivalent carbon atoms in C₈₄ is reflected by the fact that the C 1s main line is ～0.2 eV wider than in C₆₀. The C 1s satellite region of C₈₄ exhibits four features within 15 eV of the main line and shows that the HOMO-LUMO π-π* excitation energy of C₈₄ is ～0.5 eV smaller than in C₆₀. Potassium 2p spectra for K-doped C₈₄ films suggest the formation of a phase with composition K₃C₈₄ with two spectroscopically-distinguishable K sites. A new spectral feature emerges when the K content is increased beyond K₃C₈₄, suggesting a phase transition and a saturated composition of K₆C₈₄, as for K_xC₆₀. These similarities are intriguing since K_xC₈₄ is insulating for all x while K₃C₆₀ is metallic and superconducting.