Cytosolic accumulation of gammaH2AX is associated with tropomyosin-related kinase A-induced cell death in U2OS cells

Tropomyosin-related kinase A (TrkA) plays an important role in cell survival, differentiation, and apoptosis in various neuronal and nonneuronal cell types. Here we show that TrkA overexpression by the Tet-On system mimics NGF-mediated activation pathways in the absence of nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulation in U2OS cells. In addition, p53 upregulation upon DNA damage was inhibited by TrkA, and p21 was upregulated by TrkA in a p53-independent manner. TrkA overexpression caused cell death by interrupting cell cycle progression, and TrkA-induced cell death was diminished in the presence of its specific inhibitor GW441756. Interestingly, TrkA-mediated cell death was strongly related to gammaH2AX production and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage in the absence of DNA damage inducer. In this study, we also reveal that gammaH2AX production by TrkA is blocked by TrkA kinase inhibitors K-252a and GW441756, and it is also significantly inhibited by JNK inhibitor SP600125. Moreover, reduction of cell viability by TrkA was strongly suppressed by SP600125 treatment, suggesting a critical role of JNK in TrkA-induced cell death. We also found that gammaH2AX and TrkA were colocalized in cytosol in the absence of DNA damage, and the nuclear localization of gammaH2AX induced by DNA damage was partly altered to cytosol by TrkA overexpression. Our results suggest that the abnormal cytosolic accumulation of gammaH2AX is implicated in TrkA-induced cell death in the absence of DNA damage.     

Thermodynamically- and kinetically-controlled Friedel-Crafts alkenylation of arenes with alkynes using an acidic fluoroantimonate(v) ionic liquid as catalyst

By employing superacidic fluoroantimonate ionic liquid (IL), [bmim][Sb(2)F(11)], as catalyst, not only thermodynamically-controlled but also kinetically-controlled Friedel-Crafts alkenylations of arenes with alkynes have been realized for the first time.     

Activation of Lewis acid catalysts in the presence of an organic salt containing a non-coordinating anion: its origin and application potential

In the presence of a soluble organic salt containing non-coordinating anion (e.g., [bmim][SbF(6)] or [NR(4)][SbF(6)]), the catalytic activity of Lewis acid (MX(n)) was dramatically enhanced due to the anion exchange between the Lewis acid and organic salt.     

Nucleophilic substitution reactions promoted by oligoethylene glycols: a mechanistic study of ion‐pair SN2 processes facilitated by Lewis base

We present a mechanistic study for nucleophilic substitution (S_N2) reactions facilitated by multifunctional n‐oligoethylene glycols (n‐oligoEGs) using alkali metal salts MX (M⁺ = Cs⁺, K⁺, X^– = F^–, Br^–, I^–, CN^–) as nucleophilic agents. Density functional theory method is employed to elucidate the underlying mechanism of the S_N2 reaction. We found that the nucleophiles react as ion pairs, whose metal cation is ‘coordinated’ by the oxygen atoms in oligoEGs acting as Lewis base to reduce the unfavorable electrostatic effects of M⁺ on X^–. The two terminal hydroxyl (?OH) function as ‘anchors’ to collect the nucleophile and the substrate in an ideal configuration for the reaction. Calculated barriers of the reactions are in excellent agreement with all experimentally observed trends of S_N2 yields obtained by using various metal cations, nucleophiles and oligoEGs. The reaction barriers are calculated to decrease from triEG to pentaEG, in agreement with the experimentally observed order of efficiency (triEG < tetraEG < pentaEG). The observed relative efficiency of the metal cations Cs⁺ versus K⁺ is also nicely demonstrated (larger [better] barrier [efficiency] for Cs⁺ than for K⁺). We also examine the effects of the nucleophiles (F^–, Br^–, I^–, CN^–), finding that the magnitudes of reaction barriers are F^– > CN^– > Br^– > I^–, elucidating the observation that the yield was lowest for F^–. It is suggested that the role of oxygen atoms in the promoters is equivalent to that of –OH group in bulky alcohols (tert‐butyl or amyl‐alcohol) for S_N2 fluorination reactions previously studied in our lab. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3-Dimensional cell culture for on-chip differentiation of stem cells in embryoid body

This paper proposes a microfluidic device for the on-chip differentiation of an embryoid body (EB) formed in a microwell via 3-dimensional cultures of mouse embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells. The device adjusted the size of the EB by fluid volume, differentiated the EB by chemical treatment, and evaluated its effects in EC cells by on-chip immunostaining. A microfluidic resistance network was designed to control the size of the embryoid body. The duration time and flow rate into each microwell regulated the initial number of trapped cells in order to adjust the size of the EB. The docked cells were aggregated and formed a spherical EB on the non-adherent surface of the culture chip for 3 days. The EC cells in the EB were then differentiated into diverse cell lineages without attachment for an additional 4 days; meanwhile, retinoic acid (RA) was applied without serum to direct the cells into early neuronal lineage. On-chip immunostaining of the EB in the microwell with a neuronal marker was conducted to assess the differentiation-inducing ability of RA. The effect of RA on neuronal differentiation was analyzed with confocal microscopic images of the TuJ1 marker. The RA-treated cells expressed more neuronal markers and appeared as mature neuronal cells with long neurites. The fluorescence intensity of the TuJ1 in the RA-treated EB was twice that observed in the non-treated EB on day 5. It was demonstrated that the pre-screening of inducing chemicals on the early neuronal differentiation of EC cells in a single microfluidic chip was indeed feasible. This chip is expected to constitute a useful tool for assessing the early differentiation of ES cells without attachment, and is also expected to prove useful as an anti-cancer drug test platform for the cytotoxicity assay with cellular spheroids.     

A mild and efficient method for the selective deprotection of silyl ethers using KF in the presence of tetraethylene glycol

A mild and efficient protocol for the deprotection of silyl ethers using KF in tetraethylene glycol is reported. A wide range of alcoholic silyl ethers can be selectively cleaved in high yield in the presence of certain acid- and base-labile functional groups. Moreover, the phenolic silyl ethers were cleaved exclusively, without affecting the alcoholic silyl ethers, at room temperature.     

Development of target-specific multimodality imaging agent by using hollow manganese oxide nanoparticles as a platform

A platform protocol developed based on the hollow manganese oxide nanoparticles provided multimodal diagnostic agents, which allow the selectively detect vulva cancer with T(1)-weighted in vivo MRI.     

In vitro angiogenesis assay for the study of cell-encapsulation therapy

Cell encapsulation within alginate beads has potential as a sustained release system for delivering therapeutic agents in vivo while protecting encapsulated cells from the immune system. There is, however, no in vitro model for cell-encapsulation therapy that provides a suitable platform for quantitative assessment of physiological responses to secreted factors. Here we introduce a new microfluidic system specifically designed to evaluate and quantify the pro-angiogenic potential of factors secreted from human fetal lung fibroblasts encapsulated in beads on an intact endothelial cell monolayer. We confirmed that cell-encapsulating beads induced an angiogenic response in vitro, demonstrated by a strong correlation between the encapsulated cell density in the beads and the length of the vascular lumen formed in vitro. Conditions established by in vitro tests were then further shown to exert a pro-angiogenic response in vivo using a subcutaneous mouse model, forming an extensive network of functional luminal structures perfused with red blood cells.