Preliminary investigation of the water-soluble polysaccharides from the leaves of the bambooSasamorpha chiisanensis

It has been shown that the water-soluble polysaccharides of the leaves of the bambooSasamorpha chiisanensis Nak., after the removal of starch, contain residues of D-galactose, D-glucose, mannose, arabinose, D-xylose, rhamnose, and glucuronic and galacturonic acids and form an involved polysaccharide complex. Eight polysaccharide fractions differing in their uronic acid contents and in the ratio of neutral sugars have been isolated with the aid of chromatography on DEAE-cellulose.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR, Tashkent. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 44–48, January–February, 1987.     

Intramolecular, reductive cyclization of beta-ketoisothiocyanates promoted by using samarium diiodide

A novel samarium diiodide (SmI2) promoted intramolecular cyclization of beta-ketoisothiocyanate, derived from alpha,beta-unsaturated esters and ammonium thiocyanate led to alpha-hydroxythiolactams and/or thiolactams in high yields. Treatment of beta-ketoisothiocyanate with two equivalents of SmI2 gave a mixture of alpha-hydroxythiolactam and thiolactam. Four equivalents of SmI2 afforded only thiolactam in high yields. The intramolecular cyclization took place with high to complete stereoselectivity. A mechanism to explain this transformation is proposed.     

Participation of benzene hydrogen bonding upon anion binding

A m-xylene-bridged imidazolium receptor, 1, has been designed and synthesized. The receptor 1 utilizes two imidazole (C-H)(+)- - -anion hydrogen bonds and one benzene hydrogen- - -anion hydrogen bond. The major driving force of complexation between the receptor 1 and anions comes from two imidazole (C-H)(+)- - -anion hydrogen bonds. However, both NMR experiments and ab initio calculations show that the benzene hydrogen attracts the anion guests, clearly indicating benzene (C-H)- - -anion hydrogen bonding. [reaction: see text]     

Single-walled carbon nanotube biosensors using aptamers as molecular recognition elements

We report the real-time detection of protein using SWNT-FET-based biosensors comprising DNA aptamers as molecular recognition elements. Anti-thrombin aptamers that are highly specific to serine protein thrombin were immobilized on the sidewall of a SWNT-FET using CDI-Tween linking molecules. The binding of thrombin aptamers to SWNT-FETs causes a rightward shift of the threshold gate voltages, presumably due to the negatively charged backbone of the DNA aptamers. While the addition of thrombin solution causes an abrupt decrease in the conductance of the thrombin aptamer immobilized SWNT-FET, no noticeable change was observed with elastase.     

A facile synthesis of 1,2-oxaphospholenes and stereoselective conversion into oxaphospholanes

Treatment of α-acylallylphosphonates with m-CPBA in the presence of MgSO₄, afforded 1,2-oxaphosphol-3-enes 2-oxides and the subsequent cuprate addition produced 1,2-oxaphospholanes stereoselectively.     

Synthesis of a caged glutamate for efficient one- and two-photon photorelease on living cells

We have synthesized a biologically inert, photosensitive derivative of the major excitatory amino acid, L-glutamate (which we call MDNI-glu) that makes more efficient use of incident light than all other caged glutamates. Laser flash photolysis of MDNI-glu in acutely isolated hippocampal brain slices evoked a rapid increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration in astrocytes.     

Thermodynamic studies of alkaline-earth-metal cation complexation by lipophilic dioxa,trioxa, and dithia dicarboxylic acids

Five new lipophilic dicarboxylic acids with systematic structural variation in the bridge which joins the two lipophilic carboxylic acid units have been synthesized. Potentiometric equilibrium measurements of hydrogen ion concentrations have been employed to determine the protonation constants for these lipophilic di-ionizable acyclic ligands in 90% methanol-10% water (v/v) at 25.0 °C and an ionic strength of 0.10 M and the stability constants for their complexes with Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and Sr²⁺. Although all five ligands exhibit the highest stability constants for Ca²⁺, the magnitude of the differences between the stability constants for complexation of Ca²⁺ versus Mg²⁺ or Sr²⁺ is found to vary widely depending upon the identity of the bridging unit which joins the two carboxylic acid end groups.     

Clinical significance of anti-filaggrin antibody recognizing uncitrullinated filaggrin in rheumatoid arthritis

Filaggrin is expressed in the cornified layer of epidermis and known to be one of the antigenic targets in rheumatoid arthritis. Although the citrulline residue in filaggrin is thought to be an antigenic determinant recognized by autoantibodies, the diagnostic sensitivity of synthetic citrullinated peptide is variable. To investigate the implication of anti-filaggrin antibodies recognizing uncitrullinated filaggrin in rheumatoid arthritis, we assayed antibody titers using unmodified recombinant filaggrin in the sera from 73 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 150 patients with other connective tissue diseases and 70 normal controls. We also performed the correlation analysis between antibody titers and the clinical variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Titers of IgG anti-filaggrin antibodies were significantly higher in rheumatoid arthritis patients compared to normal controls (P=0.02), but not in patients with osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or systemic lupus erythematosus. IgG anti-filaggrin antibodies were more frequently found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to normal controls (12.3% vs 1.4% respectively, P=0.04). An anti-filaggrin antibody titer was correlated with visual analogue scale of pain, tender joint count, Ritchie articular index or C-reactive protein, but not with anti-nuclear antibody or rheumatoid factor. These results suggest that anti-filaggrin antibody recognizes the uncitrullinated filaggrin as an antigen and its titer correlates with clinical parameters, explaining the variable sensitivity of anti-filaggrin antibody test.     

Structural studies of C-amidated amino acids and peptides: crystal structures of Z-Gly-Phe-NH2, Tyr-Lys-NH2, and Asp-Phe-NH2

As part of the series investigating the structural features of C-terminal amidated amino acids and peptides, three crystal structures of Z-Gly-Phe-NH2, Tyr-Lys-NH2, and Asp-Phe-NH2 were analyzed by the X-ray diffraction method, and their molecular conformations and intermolecular interactions were investigated. Although the respective dipeptides exhibited an energetically allowable torsion angle concerning each backbone or side chain, the observed extended (Z-Gly-Phe-NH2, Asp-Phe-NH2) and folded (Tyr-Lys-NH2) conformations were considerably different from those of the corresponding unamidated peptides, due to the conformational flexibility of the respective dipeptides. The comparison between the crystal packings of the amidated and unamidated dipeptides indicated that the C-terminal amides tend to associate with the same neighboring group through hydrogen bonds, in which both the amide NH and O=C groups participate, while the unamidated peptides prefer a linear molecular connection, where both or either of the two carboxyl oxygens participate in the hydrogen bond formation. The difference in hydrogen bonding ability between the C-terminal amide and carboxyl groups has been considered to be based on the structural data of the related peptides analyzed so far.     

Halogenation of vinyl ketoximes. Synthesis of isoxazoles and preparation and silver ion-promoted reactions of 4-halo-2-isoxazolines

Reaction of several α,β-unsaturated ketoximes with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) gave isoxazoles, but yields were lower and the reaction less general than a similar transformation using iodine under basic conditions. With β,β-disubstituted oximes, 4-halo-5,5-disubstituted-2-isoxazolines were obtained using NBS, iodine, or N-chlorosuccinimide. Treatment of the 4-bromoisoxazo-lines with silver acetate or silver nitrate caused either elimination with rearrangement to give isoxazoles or substitution at C-4, depending upon the nature of the substituents at C-5.