Synthesis of novel fatty-acyl gratisin derivatives

To find candidates with high antimicrobial and low hemolytic activities, many gratisin (GR) analogues have been designed and synthesized. In the present account, we synthesized novel derivatives of GR having both the polycationic and fatty acyl groups, cyclo{-Val(1)-Orn(2)-Leu(3)-D-Phe(4)-Pro(5)-D-Lys(6)(X)-Val(7)-Orn(8)-Leu(9)-D-Phe(10)-Pro(11)-D-Lys(12)-} {X=-CO(CH(2))(6)CH(3) (1), -Lys-CO(CH(2))(6)CH(3) (2), -(Lys)(2)-CO(CH(2))(6)CH(3) (3), and -(Lys)(3)-CO(CH(2))(6)CH(3) (4)}, and examined the biological activities. Among them, we found that 2-4 have differential ionic interaction against the prokaryotic membrane and eukaryotic membrane. In other words, the dissociation with high antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic activity is caused by the addition of D-Lys(6)-{(Lys)(n)-CO(CH(2))(6)CH(3)} residues at position 6 of [D-Lys(6,12)]-GR. Our findings should be helpful in finding drug candidates with high antimicrobial activity and low hemolytic activity that are capable of combating microbial resistance.     

Dissociated neuronal culture expressing ionotropic odorant receptors as a hybrid odorant biosensor--proof-of-concept study

Artificial odorant sensors generally perform poorer than olfactory systems in living organisms. The excellent performances of living odorant systems are achieved by the molecular recognition abilities of odorant receptors and the neuronal information processing that follows. To take advantages of this, here we propose a novel hybrid odorant biosensor by means of expressing ionotropic odorant receptors of insects into dissociated neuronal cultures of rodents. This combination of materials brings significant advantages such as easy functional expression, prolonged lifetime, and an ability to amplify the weak ionic currents of odorant receptors. In the present work, pheromone receptors and co-receptors of silkmoth, i.e., BmOR1 and BmorOrco, were expressed in neuronal cultures via liposome transfection. Consequently, BmOR1 and BmorOrco were co-expressed in 8% of neuronal cells, and both receptors were co-localized on a cell membrane. In Ca++ imaging experiments, synchronous increase of calcium signals at the presentation of BOL was found in both transfected cells and non-transfected cells in a dose-dependent manner. These results provide the proof-of-concept of the proposed hybrid odorant biosensor.     

An ab initio MO study on the disulfide bond: properties concerning the characteristic S-S dihedral angle

The characteristics of disulfide groups concerning the S-S dihedral angle are represented by ab initio SCF calculations using the split-valence 6-31G(^*) basis set. It is shown that the hyperconjugation between the S-H bond and the electron pair on the other sulfur plays an important role in determining the characteristic S-S dihedral angle. The S 3d orbitals do not participate in such characteristics. The nature of the S-S bond is compared with that of the O-O bond. The S-S bond length varies largely depending on the S-S dihedral angle. This is related to the frequency-conformation correlation of the disulfide group.     

Metabolic activation of chemical carcinogens and binding of metabolites with nucleic acid bases

A free radical was produced enzymatically by incubating benzo(a)pyrene with liver microsomes. This radical, identified as the 6-oxybenzo(a) pyrene radical, was sufficiently reactive to bind covalently with nucleic acid bases. Similar reactive free radicals were produced enzymatically from anthanthrene and 10-aza-benzo(a)pyrene, which are carcinogenic in spite of lacking so-called “bay regions.” Hepatocarcinogens such as 3′-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene and related compounds, naphthylamines, and 2-acetylaminofluorene yield free radicals after being incubated with liver microsomes. Thus, various kinds of chemical carcinogens are found to be converted to free radicals, suggesting causal significance for the formation of free radicals in chemical carcinogenesis.     

Adsorption of protein on the surface of thermosensitive poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres modified with the N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide and 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine moieties

A series of microspheres composed of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA), and/or 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), i.e., binary copolymer microspheres [poly(HPMA-co-MMA)_KPS and poly(HPMA-co-MMA)_ABIP] and ternary ones [poly(HPMA/MPC-co-MMA)_KPS and poly(HPMA/MPC-co-MMA)_ABIP], were prepared by emulsifier-free emulsion copolymerization using potassium peroxodisulfate (KPS) or 2,2′-azobis[2-(imidazolin-2-yl)propane] dihydrochloride (ABIP) as initiators. The decrease in ζ-potential of the polymer microspheres is caused by the addition of the HPMA and/or MPC moieties. Equilibrium water content of poly(HPMA-co-MMA)_ABIP showed a remarkable swelling change with a change in response to temperature: the hydrated conformation at 28°C and the dehydrated one at above 40°C. The adsorption of protein on the polymer microspheres also changed in response to change in temperature. The ternary polymer microspheres effectively suppressed the adsorption both of Alb and Glo, less than binary ones. A series of polymer microspheres are expected to apply as a novel drug carrier with both thermosensitive and nonthrombogenic functions. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 3349–3357, 1997     

Stilbene-cored poly(glutamate) dendrimers

A new class of photoresponsive poly(glutamate) dendrimers based on a stilbene core unit was successfully synthesized. The core stilbene was used to probe the polarity inside the dendrimer based on changes in the absorption and fluorescence spectra under various solvent conditions. Upon acidification of a solution of one of the dendrimers, wG1, the absorption band decreased with red-shift and the fluorescence band decreased with blue-shift, indicating that the groups at dendrimer periphery were protonated, resulting in shrinking of the dendrimer via hydrophobic interactions, and the inside of the dendrimer became more hydrophobic than under neutral pH conditions. In addition, the core stilbene unit underwent photoisomerization to give the cis-isomer with concomitant structural change in the poly(glutamate) dendrimer.     

Structure and hypochromism of (6,9) (9′,6′) purinophanes

The structure of the title compound 1a was determined to be a cross-stacking form with an interplanar distance of ca. 3.3 Å by X-ray analysis. On the basis of this structure, the hypochromicity of 1a was calculated by the ASMO SCF CI method.     

An ab initio molecular orbital study on the stacking interaction between nucleic acid bases: Dependence on the sequence and relation to the conformation

The stacking interaction energies between nucleic acid bases in A DNA and B DNA are calculated by means of the ab initio molecular orbital method. The calculated values agree well with the experimental values of stacking enthalpy changes. The stacking interaction energy is shown to be highly sequence dependent, particularly when the sequence includes guanine or cytosine. The possibility is shown that the conformation of a DNA double helix fragment is determined by the constituent stacking interaction. Electrostatic energy is the cause of the sequence dependency of the stacking energy, while charge transfer and dispersion energies contribute to the overall stability.