Investigation of the influence of cell density of human fibroblasts cryopreserved inside collagen sponges at various cooling rates

The influence of cell density of cells cryopreserved inside a collagen matrix at various cooling rates was investigated. Human fibroblasts were three-dimensionally cultured for 2 days in a collagen sponge (20 mm in diameter and 1 mm in thickness) as an extracellular matrix to imitate biological tissue (artificial tissue). Different cell densities for the artificial tissue were used, from 10(5) to 10(7) cells/cm(3). Four artificial tissues were first stacked in a test chamber, frozen at a cooling rate of 0.3 to 50 degrees C/min in a solution of Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium, 20% fetal bovine serum and 10% dimethylsulfoxide, kept frozen below -185 degrees C for 2 hours, and then finally thawed. Membrane integrity of fibroblasts using a trypan blue exclusion assay was evaluated as an index for post-thaw cellular viability. Results show that with increasing cell density, the post-thaw membrane integrity decreased. Therefore, in the cryopreservation of biological tissue, it seems high cell density is one factor which causes a decline in viability.     

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of ent‐Pyripyropene A

An asymmetric total synthesis of ent‐pyripyropene A was achieved by a convergent synthetic route. We used our originally developed Ti^III‐catalyzed radical cyclization to construct an AB‐ring portion that consisted of a trans‐decalin skeleton with five contiguous stereogenic centers. The coupling between the AB‐ring and the DE‐ring portions, and a subsequent C‐ring cyclization, led to the total synthesis of ent‐pyripyropene A. An evaluation of the insecticidal activity of ent‐pyripyropene A against two aphid species revealed that ent‐pyripyropene A was 35–175 times less active than naturally occurring pyripyropene A. This result indicated that the biological target of pyripyropene A recognizes the absolute configuration of pyripyropene A.     

Influence of RNA Strand Rigidity on Polyion Complex Formation with Block Catiomers

Polyion complexes (b‐PICs) are prepared by mixing single‐ or double‐stranded oligo RNA (aniomer) with poly(ethylene glycol)‐b‐poly(l ‐lysine) (PEG‐PLL) (block catiomer) to clarify the effect of aniomer chain rigidity on association behaviors at varying concentrations. Here, a 21‐mer single‐stranded RNA (ssRNA) (persistence length: 1.0 nm) and a 21‐mer double‐stranded RNA (small interfering RNA, siRNA) (persistence length: 62 nm) are compared. Both oligo RNAs form a minimal charge‐neutralized ionomer pair with a single PEG‐PLL chain, termed unit b‐PIC (uPIC), at low concentrations (<≈0.01 mg mL⁻¹). Above the critical association concentration (≈0.01 mg mL⁻¹), ssRNA b‐PICs form secondary associates, PIC micelles, with sizes up to 30–70 nm, while no such multimolecular assembly is observed for siRNA b‐PICs. The entropy gain associated with the formation of a segregated PIC phase in the multimolecular PIC micelles may not be large enough for rigid siRNA strands to compensate with appreciably high steric repulsion derived from PEG chains. Chain rigidity appears to be a critical parameter in polyion complex association.

     

A general extension theorem for cohomology classes on non reduced analytic subspaces

The main purpose of this paper is to generalize the celebrated L~2 extension theorem of Ohsawa and Takegoshi in several directions: The holomorphic sections to extend are taken in a possibly singular hermitian line bundle, the subvariety from which the extension is performed may be non reduced, the ambient manifold is K¨ahler and holomorphically convex, but not necessarily compact.     

Hydrophilic quaternary ammonium type ionic liquids. Systematic study of the relationship among molecular structures, osmotic pressures, and water-solubility

This Letter examines the relationship between the structures of ionic liquids and their water-solubility or osmotic pressure with a number of synthesized quaternary ammonium type ionic liquids and organic salts containing a hydroxyl group as hydrophilic substituted groups on ammonium group cations, and bromide or methylsulfonate as anions. The study found a linear relation between the amount and osmotic pressure of the water-soluble ionic liquids synthesized here, strongly indicating that these water-soluble ionic liquids are perfectly ionized in water like inorganic salts with small diameter ions.     

Rational development of caged-biotin protein-labeling agents and some applications in live cells

Biotin-(strept)avidin complex is widely used in biotechnology because of its extremely high binding constant, but there is no report describing spatiotemporally controlled formation of the complex in live cells. Here, based on X-ray crystal structure analysis and calorimetric data, we designed and synthesized photoreleasable biotins, which show greatly reduced affinity for (strept)avidin, but recover native affinity after UV irradiation. For application at the cell surface, we introduced an amine-reactive moiety into these "caged" biotin molecules. Specific fluorescence imaging of live cells that had been labeled with these agents and then UV-irradiated, was accomplished by addition of streptavidin conjugated with a fluorophore. We also demonstrated the applicability of these compounds for UV-irradiated-cell-specific drug delivery by using caged-biotin-labeled cells, a prodrug, and streptavidin conjugated with a prodrug-activating enzyme.     

Spicachlorantins G-J, new lindenane sesquiterpenoid dimers from the roots of Chloranthus spicatus

Four new lindenane sesquiterpenoid dimers, spicachlorantins G-J (1-4), were isolated from the roots of Chloranthus spicatus together with seven known compounds, including chloramultilide A, shizukaol B, shizukaol D, shizukaol F, shizukaol P, chlorahololide D, and cycloshizukaol A. The planar structures of the new compounds were established by 1D-, 2D-NMR, and MS analyses. The absolute configurations of these compounds were determined by analyzing rotating Overhauser enhancement and exchange spectroscopy (ROESY) and circular dichroism (CD) spectra.