Purification of a rat liver phenol sulphotransferase (P-STG) with the aid of guanidine hydrochloride treatment.

An isoenzyme of phenol sulphotransferase, designated P-STG, was purified 157-fold from male rat liver cytosol by diethylaminoethyl-cellulose (DEAE-cellulose) and agarose-hexane-adenosine-3',5'-bisphosphate affinity chromatography. The P-STG fraction obtained after DEAE-cellulose chromatography rapidly lost its activity during storage at 4 degrees C, however, the activity was recovered by the addition of 1.6 M guanidine hydrochloride (Gndn HCl) followed by dialysis. Gndn HCl also substantially improved the yield of P-STG in a subsequent purification step using affinity chromatography, while the specific activity of the purified P-STG was not changed by Gndn HCl treatment. It is possible that the Gndn HCl treatment caused P-STG recovery from an inactivated to an active form rather than reactivating it for increased activity. Purified P-STG is a homodimer with a native molecular mass of 67 kDa; the subunit molecular mass is 35 kDa. Immunoblot analysis carried out with antibodies raised against the purified enzyme indicated that male rat liver contains a higher level of the enzyme than female rat liver. This enzyme is also expressed in the kidney and the stomach. P-STG reaches maximum activity when 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol and 4-nitrophenol are used as substrates at pH 5.5. Using dopamine as a substrate the pH optimum is about 9.0. P-STG activity is markedly inhibited by the addition of sodium chloride to the reaction mixture.     

High-pressure polymerization of vinyl chloride

The radical polymerization of vinyl chloride was investigated at 60°C under high pressure up to 5000 bar in benzaldehyde, benzonitrile, toluene, heptane, cyclohexane, and dioxane as solvent. In benzaldehyde and benzonitrile, the polymerizations were depressed by increased pressure. This unusual behavior was explained by the solvent participation and the effect of pressure on the propagating radicals. The crystallinities of polymer obtained in all solvents decreased with increasing pressure, as judged by the absorbance ratio of the infrared spectra. However the effects of pressure on the absorbance ratio of the polymer obtained in benzaldehyde and benzonitrile were not identical with those in the other solvents. These facts also suggest that both solvents play a special role for the solvent participation in the propagating step.     

Conjugated addition of cyanotrimethylsilane to α,β-unsaturated ketones

Triethylaluminium-mediated reaction of cyanotrimethylsilane with 6-methylbicyclo[4.4.0]dec-1-en-3-one affords a mixture of diastereomeric 1,4-adducts. The reaction is kinetically controlled in toluene, whereas thermodynamically in refluxing THF. 4-Methyl-3-penten-2-one and carvone analogously give the respective 1,4-adducts and a conjugated dienone addords the 1,6-adduct in good yield.     

Absolute structure, biosynthesis, and anti-microtubule activity of phomopsidin, isolated from a marine-derived fungus Phomopsis sp.

The absolute configuration of phomopsidin, a marine-derived fungal metabolite from Phomopsis sp. isolated at Pohnpei, was determined by the exciton chirality method as 6S, 7S, 8S, 11S, 12R, and 15R. The biosynthetic study using ¹³C-labeled precursors revealed the origin of all carbon atoms in phomopsidin, which was built by nine acetates and three methyl groups from l-methionine. Inhibitory activities of phomopsidin and its Me ester derivative against microtubule assembly were examined together with the structurally related compounds MK8383, solanapyrones, and tanzawaic acids. Phomopsidin and its (16Z)-isomer (MK8383) showed anti-microtubule activity at IC₅₀ of 5.7 and 8.0 μM, respectively, while the Me ester and other compounds were not active at 100 μM.     

Crystal and molecular structures of cis-1-phenyl-3-piperidinocyclohexan-1-ol hydrochloride

Mr = 295.84, triclinic, Pl, a = 6.786(1), b = 7.658(1), c = 8.561(1) Å, α = 108.17(1), β = 97.94(1), γ = 103.32(2)°, V = 400.6 ų, Z = 1,D_m = 1.23, D_x = 1.226 Mgm^?3, δ(Cu Kα) = 1.5418 Å, μ = 20.81 cm^?1, F(000) = 160. The structure has been solved by direct and Fourier methods and refined by a least-squares procedure to the final R = 0.043 for 1182 observed reflections (|F_o] >3σ(F_o)). cis-1-Phenyl-3-piperidinocyclohexan-1-ol possessing 1,3-diaxial positions between the piperidine and hydroxyl groups is converted to the isomer with 1,3-diequatorial positions in its hydrochloride. The hydrogen bond is formed between the chloride anion and the protonated nitrogen atom of piperidine instead of the intramolecular hydrogen bond in the free cis-base between the oxygen and nitrogen atoms.     

Activation of mouse macrophages by in vivo and in vitro treatment with a cyanine dye, lumin.

The cyanine photosensitizer, lumin, is a potent macrophage activating agent: 4 days after administration of small amounts of lumin to mice (20-40 ng mouse-1), peritoneal macrophages exhibited a greatly enhanced Fc-mediated ingestion activity; higher doses (more than 3000 ng mouse-1) did not have this effect. The in vitro photodynamic activation of macrophages in mouse peritoneal cells exposed to white fluorescent light (3 J m-2 s-1) was also studied in media containing various concentrations of lumin. A short light exposure (45 J m-2) with 10 ng lumin ml-1 produced a maximum ingestion activity of macrophages. Lumin has absorption peaks at 670 and 760 nm. Therefore we designed experiments in which peritoneal cells were exposed to a red fluorescent light (emission, 660 nm; 0.5 J m-2 s-1). In a medium containing 3 ng lumin ml-1 with 7.5 J m-2 of red light, a markedly enhanced ingestion activity of macrophages was observed. The photodynamic treatment of peritoneal macrophages alone did not stimulate phagocytic activity, but the photodynamic treatment of a mixture of non-adherent (B and T) cells and macrophages resulted in a greatly enhanced ingestion activity of macrophages. Thus non-adherent cells are required for the photodynamic activation of macrophages, implying that an activating factor is generated within the non-adherent cells and transmitted to the macrophages. This hypothesis was confirmed by the observation that co-cultivation of photodynamically treated non-adherent cells with untreated macrophages resulted in a greatly enhanced ingestion capacity.     

Syntheses and optical properties of stable 8-alkylidene-bacteriochlorins mimicking the molecular structures of natural bacteriochlorophylls-b and g

We prepared bacteriochlorophyll(BChl)-b and g models by Diels-Alder reactions of 8-vinyl-chlorophylls with tetracyanoethylene. The resulting 8-alkylidene-bacteriochlorins with various substituent groups at the 3-position had the same π-conjugate as BChls-b/g. While the natural pigments isomerized by addition of an acid to afford the corresponding chlorins, the synthetic models were stable under the acidic conditions due to dialkylation at the 7-position. These BChl-b/g models are useful for investigating the optical properties of relatively unstable BChls-b/g.     

Determination of residual chlorine in tap water by flow-injection spectrophotometry

The method is based on the redox reaction between 4,4′-tetramethyldiaminothiobenzophenone (thio-Michler's ketone) and chlorine at pH 3.5; 2-methoxyethanol and Triton X-100 are used to keep the reagent in solution. The absorbance of the blue quinoidal product is measured at 640 nm. Linear calibration is obtained for 0.2?1.0 mg l^?1 chlorine. The method is suitable for tap waters.     

INHIBITORY EFFECT OF CONTINUOUS FAR-RED PREIRRADIATION ON CHLOROPHYLL ACCUMULATION OF PHARBITIS NIL COTYLEDONS

Abstract The effect of continuous far-red (FR) preirradiation on the accumulation of chlorophyll (Chi) during a white light (WL; 500 lx) period was examined using Pharbitis nil cotyledons. The saturation level of accumulated Chi attained after prolonged exposure to WL was always lowered by continuous FR irradiation preceding the WL. The rate of Chi accumulation during the rapid increase phase (operationally defined as the amount of Chi accumulated during a 24-h WL period) was enhanced by preirradiation with up to 36 h of FR. However, when the FR preirradiation lasted longer, the rate was reduced below the dark control level. Even FR preirradiation of up to 36 h fully reduced the rate of Chi accumulation under WL when 36 h or longer darkness was spaced between the FR and the WL period.