Immunotoxic effects of cis-urocanic acid exposure in C57BL/6N and C3H/HeN mice

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation results in increased levels of intradermal cis-urocanic acid (cUCA) and alters cutaneous immunity by interfering with processing and presentation of antigen by Langerhans cells. Reports on effects of systemic immunotoxicity with 30 day cUCA exposure in laboratory rodents include thymic atrophy, thymic hypocellularity and decreased T-cell-mediated immunity; however, immune effects of single exposure or 5 day cUCA administration, which may better mimic human exposures, are poorly defined. The present study initially evaluated immune effects of single, 5 day, and 4 week cUCA exposure in C57BL/6N mice. Single administration of intradermal cUCA resulted in decreased splenocyte phagocytosis that persisted for 30 days after cUCA exposure. Five day consecutive cUCA exposure decreased numbers of phenotypically mature CD4(+)CD8(-) and CD4(-)CD8(+) (single positive) thymocytes, increased CD4(+)CD8(+) (double positive) immature thymocytes and increased splenocyte proliferation. Prolonged cUCA exposure (4 weeks) caused profound thymic hypocellularity and splenic hypercellularity and increased splenic macrophage chemiluminescence. Because of this apparent sensitivity of C57BL/6N mice to cUCA, thymic hypocellularity was compared between C57BL/6N and C3H/HeN mice dosed with cUCA, and was found to be more pronounced in the C57BL/6N strain. These results are an extension of previous conclusions on immune modulation caused by cUCA in the spleen and thymus. Further, the observed variation in sensitivity between the mouse strains is consistent with known genetic susceptibility of these strains to the immunomodulatory effects of exposure to sunlight.     

CCR5 antagonists: 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acid analogues with potent anti-HIV activity

[reaction: see text] A novel approach to alpha,alpha-disubstituted-beta-amino acids (beta(2,2)-amino acids) was employed in the synthesis of a series of 3-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)propionic acids possessing high affinity for the CCR5 receptor and potent anti-HIV activity. The rat pharmacokinetics for these new analogues featured higher bioavailabilities and lower rates of clearance as compared to cyclopentane 1.     

Fluorinated heterocyclic compounds. An effective strategy for the synthesis of fluorinated Z-oximes of 3-perfluoroalkyl-6-phenyl-2h-1,2,4-triazin-5-ones via a ring-enlargement reaction of 3-benzoyl-5-perfluoroalkyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles and hydrazine

The reaction of 3-benzoyl-5-perfluoroalkyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles with hydrazine has been investigated, evidencing the possibility of competitive reaction paths. Nucleophilic addition of the hydrazine to the electrophilic C(5) of the 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring, followed by ring opening and ring closure with enlargement, leads with high yield and in very mild experimental conditions to the formation of Z-oximes of 3-perfluoroalkyl-6-phenyl-2H-1,2,4-triazin-5-ones (11a-c) as major products of the reaction. In turn, the hydrazine can attack the electrophilic carbonyl carbon giving 4-perfluoroacylamino-5-phenyl-2H-1,2,3-triazoles (13a-c) through the well-known Boulton-Katritzky rearrangement of the intermediate hydrazones.     

Influence of CaCO<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles shape on thermal and crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene based nanocomposites

Summary The influence of calcium carbonate nanoparticles with different shapes (spherical and elongated) on the thermal properties and crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene was investigated. CaCO₃ nanoparticles were covered by an appropriate coating agent to improve the interfacial adhesion between the filler and the polyolefin matrix. The nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing and subsequent compression molding. A remarkable effect of CaCO₃ on the thermal properties of iPP was observed. Moreover, the analysis of crystallization kinetics showed that CaCO₃ nanopowder coated with PP-MA are efficient nucleating agents for iPP, and the overall crystallization rate results higher than plain iPP.     

Hydration free energies and entropies for water in protein interiors

Free energy calculations for the transfer of a water molecule from the pure liquid to an interior cavity site in a protein are presented. Two different protein cavities, in bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) and in the I76A mutant of barnase, represent very different environments for the water molecule: one which is polar, forming four water-protein hydrogen bonds, and one which is more hydrophobic, forming only one water-protein hydrogen bond. The calculations give very different free energies for the different cavities, with only the polar BPTI cavity predicted to be hydrated. The corresponding entropies for the transfer to the interior cavities are calculated as well and show that the transfer to the polar cavity is significantly entropically unfavorable while the transfer to the nonpolar cavity is entropically favorable. For both proteins an analysis of the fluctuations in the positions of the protein atoms shows that the addition of a water molecule makes the protein more flexible. This increased flexibility appears to be due to an increased length and weakened strength of protein-protein hydrogen bonds near the cavity.     

Potential Mechanisms of Photodynamic Inactivation of Virus by Methylene BlueI. RNA–Protein Crosslinks and Other Oxidative Lesions in Qβ Bacteriophage

A spectrum of oxidative lesions was observed in a bacteriophage-based model system that is very sensitive to the photodynamic activity of selected dyes. When suspensions of the intact bacteriophage Qβ were exposed to methylene blue plus light (MB+L), inactivating events, or "hits" occurred that were oxygen-dependent and that were associated with the formation of several specific lesions: (1) carbonyl moieties on proteins, (2) 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua), and (3) single-strand breaks (ssb) in the RNA genome and (4) RNA-protein crosslinks. Formation of carbonyl groups associated with protein in the Qβ phage preparation correlated positively with photoinactivation of the phage with increasing doses of either of the sensitizers MB or rose bengal. Strand breaks in the Qβ genomic RNA were observable at high MB concentrations but appeared not to be significant at the lower concentrations of MB, as full-length Qβ RNA was observable well beyond the 99% inactivation point in MB dosage. It was shown that the number of 8-oxoGua lesions were unlikely to be sufficient to account for the number of lethal events. Following exposure to MB+L, crosslink formation between Qβ RNA and protein was observed by virtue of the location of RNA at the interface of phenol-aqueous extractions of phage suspensions. A significant increase over background of RNA-protein complexes (including full-length Qβ RNA) was observed at the lowest concentration of MB tested (0.5 μ M ), which corresponded roughly to an average of 2 lethal hits per phage or approximately 13% survival compared to the zero MB control (100% survival). Due to its close correlation with Qβ inactivation and its expected lethality, RNA-protein crosslink formation may be important as an inactivating lesion in bacteriophage Qβ following MB+L exposure.     

Chip-based nLC-TOF-MS is a highly stable technology for large-scale high-throughput analyses

Many studies focused on the discovery of novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of disease states are facilitated by mass spectrometry-based technology. HPLC coupled to mass spectrometry is widely used; miniaturization of this technique using nano-liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry (MS) usually results in better sensitivity, but is associated with limited repeatability. The recent introduction of chip-based technology has significantly improved the stability of nano-LC-MS, but no substantial studies to verify this have been performed. To evaluate the temporal repeatability of chip-based nano-LC-MS analyses, N-glycans released from a serum sample were repeatedly analyzed using nLC-PGC-chip-TOF-MS on three non-consecutive days. With an average inter-day coefficient of variation of 4 %, determined on log₁₀-transformed integrals, the repeatability of the system is very high. Overall, chip-based nano-LC-MS appears to be a highly stable technology, which is suitable for the profiling of large numbers of clinical samples for biomarker discovery.     

Structures of Highly Twisted Amides Relevant to Amide N−C Cross‐Coupling: Evidence for Ground‐State Amide Destabilization

Herein, we show that acyclic amides that have recently enabled a series of elusive transition‐metal‐catalyzed N?C activation/cross‐coupling reactions are highly twisted around the N?C(O) axis by a new destabilization mechanism of the amide bond. A unique effect of the N‐glutarimide substituent, leading to uniformly high twist (ca. 90°) irrespective of the steric effect at the carbon side of the amide bond has been found. This represents the first example of a twisted amide that does not bear significant steric hindrance at the α‐carbon atom. The ¹⁵N NMR data show linear correlations between electron density at nitrogen and amide bond twist. This study strongly supports the concept of amide bond ground‐state twist as a blueprint for activation of amides toward N?C bond cleavage. The new mechanism offers considerable opportunities for organic synthesis and biological processes involving non‐planar amide bonds.     

Electrophilicity Scale of Activated Amides: 17O NMR and 15N NMR Chemical Shifts of Acyclic Twisted Amides in N−C(O) Cross-Coupling

The structure and properties of amides are of tremendous interest in organic synthesis and biochemistry. Traditional amides are planar and the carbonyl group non-electrophilic due to n_N→π*_C=O conjugation. In this study, we report electrophilicity scale by exploiting ¹⁷O NMR and ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts of acyclic twisted and destabilized acyclic amides that have recently received major attention as precursors in N-C(O) cross-coupling by selective oxidative addition as well as precursors in electrophilic activation of N-C(O) bonds. Most crucially, we demonstrate that acyclic twisted amides feature electrophilicity of the carbonyl group that ranges between that of acid anhydrides and acid chlorides. Furthermore, a wide range of electrophilic amides is possible with gradually varying carbonyl electrophilicity by steric and electronic tuning of amide bond properties. Overall, the study quantifies for the first time that steric and electronic destabilization of the amide bond in common acyclic amides renders the amide bond as electrophilic as acid anhydrides and chlorides. These findings should have major implications on the fundamental properties of amide bonds.