Conjugate of Thiol and Guanidyl Units with Oligoethylene Glycol Linkage for Manipulation of Oxidative Protein Folding

Oxidative protein folding is a biological process to obtain a native conformation of a protein through disulfide-bond formation between cysteine residues. In a cell, disulfide-catalysts such as protein disulfide isomerase promote the oxidative protein folding. Inspired by the active sites of the disulfide-catalysts, synthetic redox-active thiol compounds have been developed, which have shown significant promotion of the folding processes. In our previous study, coupling effects of a thiol group and guanidyl unit on the folding promotion were reported. Herein, we investigated the influences of a spacer between the thiol group and guanidyl unit. A conjugate between thiol and guanidyl units with a diethylene glycol spacer (GdnDEG-SH) showed lower folding promotion effect compared to the thiol–guanidyl conjugate without the spacer (GdnSH). Lower acidity and a more reductive property of the thiol group of GdnDEG-SH compared to those of GdnSH likely resulted in the reduced efficiency of the folding promotion. Thus, the spacer between the thiol and guanidyl groups is critical for the promotion of oxidative protein folding.     

Ca2+ Regulates ERp57-Calnexin Complex Formation

ERp57, a member of the protein disulfide isomerase family, is a ubiquitous disulfide catalyst that functions in the oxidative folding of various clients in the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In concert with ER lectin-like chaperones calnexin and calreticulin (CNX/CRT), ERp57 functions in virtually all folding stages from co-translation to post-translation, and thus plays a critical role in maintaining protein homeostasis, with direct implication for pathology. Here, we present mechanisms by which Ca²⁺ regulates the formation of the ERp57-calnexin complex. Biochemical and isothermal titration calorimetry analyses revealed that ERp57 strongly interacts with CNX via a non-covalent bond in the absence of Ca²⁺. The ERp57-CNX complex not only promoted the oxidative folding of human leukocyte antigen heavy chains, but also inhibited client aggregation. These results suggest that this complex performs both enzymatic and chaperoning functions under abnormal physiological conditions, such as Ca²⁺ depletion, to effectively guide proper oxidative protein folding. The findings shed light on the molecular mechanisms underpinning crosstalk between the chaperone network and Ca²⁺.     

Antagonist-perturbation mechanism for activation function-2 fixed motifs: active conformation and docking mode of retinoid X receptor antagonists

HX531, which contains a dibenzodiazepine skeleton, is one of the first retinoid X receptor (RXR) antagonists. Functioning via RXR-PPARγ heterodimer, this compound is receiving a lot of attention as a therapeutic drug candidate for diabetic disease controlling differentiation of adipose tissue. However, the active conformation of HX531 for RXRs is not well established. In the present study, quantum mechanics calculations and molecular mechanical docking simulations were carried out to precisely study the docking mode of HX531 with the human RXRα ligand-binding domain, as well as to provide a new approach to drug design using a structure-based perspective. It was suggested that HX531, which has the R configuration for the bent dibenzodiazepine plane together with the equatorial configuration for the N-methyl group attached to the nitrogen atom in the seven-membered diazepine ring, is a typical activation function-2 (AF-2) fixed motif perturbation type antagonist, which destabilizes the formation of AF-2 fixed motifs. On the other hand, the docking simulations supported the experimental result that LG100754 is an RXR homodimer antagonist and an RXR heterodimer agonist.     

2.2]Paracyclophane as a bridging unit in the design of organic dyes for sensitized solar cells

Organic dyes consisting of a [2.2]paracyclophane unit along the main chromophore are examined for their application in sensitized solar cells. These materials exhibit considerably high values of open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) ranging 0.69-0.72 V, and an overall efficiency up to 3.8%.     

Synthesis and Solvatochromatic properties of 9-(4-Aminophenylethynyl)-10-(4-nitrophenylethynyl)anthracene

9-(4-Aminophenylethynyl)-10-(4-nitrophenylethynyl)anthracene (2) was synthesized in high yield by using a route involving sequential Sonogashira cross coupling reactions of 9-bromo-10-iodoanthracene with 4-nitrophenylacetylene and 4-aminophenylacetylene. Solvatochromism was observed in the absorption and fluorescence spectra of 2 in a variety of solvents. In less polar solvents, such as hexane and benzene, the fluorescence emission band of 2 appears in the green to orange region while this substance does not fluoresce in polar solvents, such as acetonitrile and DMF.     

A Cocatalyst that Stabilizes a Hydride Intermediate during Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution over a Rhodium‐Doped TiO2 Nanosheet

The hydrogen evolution reaction using semiconductor photocatalysts has been significantly improved by cocatalyst loading. However, there are still many speculations regarding the actual role of the cocatalyst. Now a photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction pathway is reported on a cocatalyst site using TiO₂ nanosheets doped with Rh at Ti sites as one‐atom cocatalysts. A hydride species adsorbed on the one‐atom Rh dopant cocatalyst site was confirmed experimentally as the intermediate state for hydrogen evolution, which was consistent with the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In this system, the role of the cocatalyst in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution is related to the withdrawal of photo‐excited electrons and stabilization of the hydride intermediate species; the presence of oxygen vacancies induced by Rh facilitate the withdrawal of electrons and stabilization of the hydride.     

Synthesis,physical properties,and structure of TIPS-difuranoacenes

The synthesis, physical properties, and structure of triisopropylsilylethynyltetracenodifuran (2) and pentacenodifuran (3) derivatives were reported. There showed high stability in solution in the dark, yet decomposed under light. Single crystal of pentacenodifuran was analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis, and showed one dimensional packing array along the c-axis. The molecules were stacked with a 3.30 Å interlayer distance. The crystals exhibited a high thermal stability under an ambient condition.     

Anthracene based organic dipolar compounds for sensitized solar cells

Organic dyes that consist of an anthracene moiety between a triphenylamine donor group and a cyanoacrylic acid acceptor group displayed remarkable solar-to-energy conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells. The planar geometry of anthracene and its bulky substituents helped the dyes to form a high quality monolayer on the surface of TiO₂. A typical device made with the dye AN-Bu displayed a maximal photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) 65% in the region of 350–510 nm, a short-circuit photocurrent density (J_sc) 12.78 mA cm⁻², an open-circuit photovoltage (V_oc) 0.73 V, and a fill factor (FF) 0.67, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency 6.23%. In an experiment of using deoxycholic acid (DCA) as a co-absorbent, the values of V_oc stayed in a similar range, yet the values of J_sc were reduced in ca. 11% due to a decrease of loading amounts. This result indicated that the quality of the dye films cannot be further improved by the adding of DCA. The photophysical properties were analyzed with the aid of a time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) model with the B3LYP functional.