Characterization of N-terminal processing of group VIA phospholipase A<Subscript>2</Subscript> and of potential cleavage sites of amyloid precursor protein constructs by automated identification of signature peptides in LC/MS/MS analyses of proteolytic digests

Dysregulation of proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease, and the Group VIA phospholipase A(2) (iPLA(2)beta) is the dominant PLA(2) enzyme in the central nervous system and is subject to regulatory proteolytic processing. We have identified novel N-terminal variants of iPLA(2)beta and previously unrecognized proteolysis sites in APP constructs with a C-terminal 6-myc tag by automated identification of signature peptides in LC/MS/MS analyses of proteolytic digests. We have developed a Signature-Discovery (SD) program to characterize protein isoforms by identifying signature peptides that arise from proteolytic processing in vivo. This program analyzes MS/MS data from LC analyses of proteolytic digests of protein mixtures that can include incompletely resolved components in biological samples. This reduces requirements for purification and thereby minimizes artifactual modifications during sample processing. A new algorithm to generate the theoretical signature peptide set and to calculate similarity scores between predicted and observed mass spectra has been tested and optimized with model proteins. The program has been applied to the identification of variants of proteins of biological interest, including APP cleavage products and iPLA(2)beta, and such applications demonstrate the utility of this approach.     

Microwave-Assisted Soluble Polymer-supported Synthesis of Peptoids

Libraries of peptide-like compounds are attractive sources of binding agents for proteomics applications. The synthesis of oligomeric combinatorial libraries of peptidomimetics is usually more straightforward than the creation of large libraries of more "drug-like" molecules. Herein we report synthesis of peptoids on soluble high loading Noncross-linked polystyrene. The synthesis route consists of: (a) preparation "soluble wang resin" from non-crosslinked polystyrene and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol via ether linkage, (b) an esterification step performed by the addition of bromoacetyl bromide to "soluble wang resin" and (c) a nucleophilic displacement of bromide with a primary amine.     

Background-free,fast protein staining in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel using counterion dyes,zincon and ethyl violet

A background-free, fast protein staining method in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using an acidic dye, zincon (ZC) and a basic dye, ethyl violet (EV) is described. It is based on the counterion dye staining technique that employs two oppositely charged dyes to form an ion-pair complex in staining solution. The selective binding of free dye molecules to proteins in acidic solution produces bluish violet-colored bands. It is a rapid and end-point staining procedure, involving only fixing and staining steps that are completed in 1-1.5 h. The detection limit of this method is 8-15 ng of protein that is comparable to the sensitivity of the colloidal Coomassie Brilliant Blue G (CBBG) stain. Due to its sensitivity and speed, this stain may be more practical than any other dye-based stains for routine laboratory purposes.     

Comparison of one-, two-, and three-dimensional iron phosphates containing ethylenediamine

A new two-dimensional (2d) iron phosphate, (C₂N₂H₁₀)Fe₂O(PO₄)₂, has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions in the system of FeCl₃-H₃PO₄-C₂N₂H₈-H₂O. The crystal data is: space group P2₁/c, a=10.670(1) Å, b=10.897(1) Å, c=9.918(1) Å, β=105.632(1)°, Z=4. The layered structure consists of double sheet layers, of composition Fe₂O(PO₄)₂, built from FeO₅ trigonal bipyramids and PO₄ tetrahedra. The amine holds the layers together via H-bonding. The study of the magnetic properties reveals two magnetic transitions at 160 and 30 K with spin-glass-like behavior below 160 K. By varying the hydrothermal conditions, three other iron phosphates were synthesized: the one-dimensional (1d) (C₂N₂H₁₀)Fe(HPO₄)₂(OH)·H₂O, the 2d (C₂N₂H₁₀)Fe₂(PO₄)₂(OH)₂, and the three-dimensional (3d) (C₂N₂H₁₀)₂Fe₄O(PO₄)₄·H₂O. The 1d compound can be used as the starting reagent in the synthesis of both the 2d compound and the 3d lipscombite Fe₃(PO₄)₂(OH)₂ due to the similar building blocks in their structures. In the 3d phosphate (C₂N₂H₁₀)₂Fe₄O(PO₄)₄·H₂O, manganese can substitute for half of the iron atoms. Magnetic study shows ordering transitions at about 30 K, however, manganese substitution depresses the magnetic ordering temperature.     

Organic phase conversion of bulk (wurtzite) ZnO to nanophase (wurtzite and zinc blende) ZnO

We describe the all-organic phase conversion of bulk commercial ZnO in the wurtzite modification to sub-30 nm ZnO that we find to be partially in the zinc blende [, a=4.568(3) Å] modification. The conversion involves refluxing ZnO in 2,4-pentanedione (acetylacetone) at 413 K to form the zinc 2,4-pentanedionate, which is decomposed by heating at 573 K in an appropriate high-temperature solvent such as dibenzylether to form nanophase ZnO. This nanophase, partially zinc blende ZnO can also be obtained in a single step by heating commercial zinc 2,4-pentanedionate in refluxing dibenzylether. Thermodiffractometry suggests that the conversion of zinc blende ZnO to wurtzite ZnO commences near 650 K.     

Correlating second harmonic optical responses of single Ag nanoparticles with morphology

Femtosecond laser excited second harmonic (SH) activity from single Ag nanoparticles is reported. A correlation of SH single-particle measurements with high-resolution imaging of particle morphology by TEM was achieved by creating position markers on an optical and electron transparent substrate (Si3N4 thin film, approximately 100 nm). We compared the SH activity of single Ag nanoparticles (nanospheres versus nanorods) and cluster structures (composed of two or multiple particles, e.g., dimers and trimers). The direct correlation of single-particle structures and SH activity, spectral and power dependence, strongly suggests one-photon resonant driven nonlinear oscillator response mechanism.     

Application of an integrated microchip system with capillary array electrophoresis to optimization of enzymatic reactions

In this work, a combination of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) microchip system with capillary array electrophoresis (CAE) is demonstrated as a system for optimizing conditions for enzymatic reaction. Dimethylacridinone (DDAO)-phosphate substrate and alkaline phosphatase conjugate were selected for the enzymatic reaction, which was applicable to the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Laser-induced fluorometry with a miniature semiconductor laser was used to detect the enzymatic products. The speed of the enzymatic reaction between the DDAO-phosphate and the alkaline phosphatase conjugate was investigated as a function of reaction time. The microchip-CAE detection system could determine the pH condition and the concentration of enzyme that are suitable for rapid and low-cost analysis. This result shows the feasibility of using the microchip-CAE system for application to miniaturized screening systems.     

Metastasis-suppressor KAI1/CD82 induces homotypic aggregation of human prostate cancer cells through Src-dependent pathway

To investigate the functional role of KAI1/CD82, a metastasis suppressor for human prostate cancer, in the regulation of homotypic cell adhesion, we transfected KAI1 cDNA into DU 145 human prostate cancer cells and established stable transfectant clones with high KAI1/CD82 expression. The KAI1 transfectant cells exhibited significantly increased homotypic cell aggregation in comparison with the control transfectant cells. This aggregation of the KAI1 transfectants was further enhanced upon exposure to anti-CD82 antibody, suggesting that KAI1/CD82 may be involved in the intracellular signaling for the cell adhesion. Among several signal pathway inhibitors tested, PP1, an inhibitor of Src family kinases, significantly suppressed homotypic aggregation of the KAI1 transfectant cells. Ligation of KAI1/CD82 with anti-CD82 antibody increased endogenous Src kinase activity of the KAI1 transfectant cells. When different types of src expression constructs were retransfected into the KAI1-transfected DU 145 cells, kinase-negative mutant src transfectant cells exhibited much lower homotypic aggregation than the mock cells transfected with an empty vector. Moreover, homotypic aggregation of the mutant src transfectant cells was not enhanced by KAI1/CD82 ligation with anti- CD82 antibody. These results suggest that Src mediates the intracellular signaling pathway of KAI1/CD82 for the induction of homotypic adhesion of human prostate cancer cells.     

Novel Poly（thienylene Ethynylene）s with Electron-accepting Groups

Since the early works of A. J. Heeger, A G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa on semiconducting polymers, π-conjugated oligomers and polymers have been actively investigated for a variety of optoelectronic applications, such as field effect transitors (FET…     

Waugh-型镍钼杂多酸的量子化学计算

采用半经验INDO法，完成了Waugh-型镍钼杂多酸（NH44）6〔NIMO9O32〕·6H2O的量子化学计算，得到146个成键轨道和78个反键轨道，轨道能级，电荷和键序等数据。通过对这些数据的分析，表明杂多酸分子中端氧和Ni都可能为化学活性中心，各原子轨道在分子轨道中都占有一定比例，其HOMO和LUMO能级皆为负值，其体系具有进一步接受电子的能力。这些结论与实验事实一致。