Experimental detection of proteolytic activity in a signal peptide peptidase of Arabidopsis thaliana

Background

The ubiquitin ligase COP1, COnstitutively Photomorphogenic 1, functions in many biological responses in mammalian cells, but its downstream pathway remains unclear.

Results

Here, we identified FIP200, a key regulator of mammalian autophagy, as a novel COP1-interacting protein by yeast two-hybrid screening. The interaction was confirmed by a GST-pulldown assay. Split-GFP analysis revealed that interaction between COP1 and FIP200 predominantly occurred in the cytoplasm and was enhanced in cells treated with UV irradiation. Different forms of FIP200 protein were expressed in cultured mammalian cells, and ectopic expression of COP1 reduced one of such forms.

Conclusions

These data suggest that COP1 modulates FIP200-associated activities, which may contribute to a variety of cellular functions that COP1 is involved in.     

Synthesis of Unsaturated Nitriles from Trisubstituted Olefins Via Ene-Type Chlorination

Unsaturated nitriles have been synthesized from trisubstituted olefins via ene-type chlorination and regioselective substitution with cyanide ion followed by double bond migration.     

Synthesis of novel 4′-C-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane pyrimidine nucleosides and evaluation of its anti-HIV-1 activity

The key glycosyl donor for the target molecule 12 was prepared by two-step sequences; (1) acetalization of tert-butyldimethylsilyloxyacetaldehyde with 3-bromopropanediol, (2) DBN-initiated β-elimination of the resulting 2-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy)methyl-4-bromomethyl-1,3-dioxolane 11. Electrophilic glycosidation between 12 and silylated pyrimidine nucleobase proceeded efficiently to provide a mixture of β- and α-anomers of the respective glycosides 14 and 15. Tin radical-mediated reduction of the bromomethyl functional group of 14 and 15 gave protected 4′-C-methyl-dioxorane uracil- 16 and thymine nucleoside 17. The respective cytosine nucleoside 18 was synthesized from 16. De-silylation of 4′-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane pyrimidine nucleosides 16–18 gave the target molecules. Evaluation of the anti-HIV-1 activity of the β- and α-anomers of the novel 4′-C-methyl-1′,3′-dioxolane nucleosides 22β,α–24β,α revealed that none of the nucleoside derivatives possess anti-viral activity against HIV-1 and show cytotoxicity against MT-4 cells at 100 μM.     

Induced production of novel prenyldepside and coumarins in endophytic fungi Pestalotiopsis acaciae

Concomitant supplementation of a histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, and a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-azacytidine, to the culture medium of a plant endophytic fungus, Pestalotiopsis acaciae, dramatically altered its metabolic profiles. As a result, three novel aromatic compounds, 2′-hydroxy-6′-hydroxymethyl-4′-methylphenyl-2,6-dihydroxy-3-(2-isopentenyl)benzoate (1), 4,6-dihydroxy-7-hydroxymethyl-3-methylcoumarin (2) and 4,6-dihydroxy-3,7-dimethylcoumarin (3), were isolated, along with five known polyketides, endocrocin (4), pestalotiollide B (5), pestalotiopyrone G (6), scirpyrone A (7) and 7-hydroxy-2-(2-hydroxypropyl)-5-methylchromone (8).     

Nuclear field shift effect in isotope fractionation of thallium

Environmental transport of Tl is affected by redox reaction between Tl(I) and Tl(III) and ligand exchange reactions of them. In order to deepen the knowledge of Tl chemistry, we investigated fractionation of Tl stable isotopes (²⁰³Tl and ²⁰⁵Tl) in a chemical exchange system. Tl isotopes were fractionated in a liquid–liquid extraction system, in which aqueous and organic phases are hydrochloric acid solution and dichloroethane including a crown ether, respectively. After purification by ion-exchange chemistry, the isotope ratio of ²⁰⁵Tl/²⁰³Tl in equilibrated aqueous phase was measured precisely by multiple-collector–inductively-coupled-plasma–mass-spectrometry. A large isotope fractionation >1 ‰ was found. Electronic structures of possible Tl species (hydrated Tl⁺, Tl³⁺, and Tl chlorides) were calculated by ab initio methods, and the isotope fractionation factor was theoretically obtained. The isotope fractionation via intramolecular vibrations was calculated to be much smaller than the experimental result. The isotope fractionation via isotopic change in nuclear volume, named the nuclear field shift effect, was calculated to be >1 ‰ in Tl(I)–Tl(III) redox systems and/or ligand exchange systems of Tl(III). The nuclear field shift effect was found to be the major origin of Tl isotope fractionation.     

Yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria Mixed-Specie Biofilm Formation is a Promising Cell Immobilization Technology for Ethanol Fermentation

We previously found that some Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus plantarum remarkably formed mixed-specie biofilm in a static co-culture and deduced that this biofilm had potential as immobilized cells. We investigated the application of mixed-specie biofilm formed by S. cerevisiae BY4741 and L. plantarum HM23 for ethanol fermentation in repeated batch cultures. This mixed-specie biofilm was far abundantly formed and far resistant to washing compared with S. cerevisiae single biofilm. Adopting mixed-specie biofilm formed on cellulose beads as immobilized cells, we could produce enough ethanol from 10 or 20 % glucose during ten times repeated batch cultures for a duration of 10 days. Cell numbers of S. cerevisiae and L. plantarum during this period were stable. In mixed-specie biofilm system, though ethanol production was slightly lower compared to S. cerevisiae single-culture system due to by-production of lactate, pH was stably maintained under pH 4 without artificial control suggesting high resistance to contamination. Inoculated model contaminants, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, were excluded from the system in a short time. From the above results, it was indicated that the mixed-specie biofilm of S. cerevisiae and L. plantarum was a promising immobilized cell for ethanol fermentation for its ethanol productivity and robustness due to high resistance to contamination.     

A Pd(II)-hydroxyporphycene: synthesis, characterization, and photoinduced proton-coupled electron transfer

A Pd(II) complex, Pd(TPrPc-OH) (1, TPrPc-OH = 9-hydroxy-2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycenato dianion), has been synthesized and characterized. ¹H NMR spectroscopy revealed that compound 1 exists as its enol form in solution. The H atom of the hydroxy group in 1 was exchanged with deuterium on addition of ethanol-d ₆. UV–visible spectra showed a red shift of the Q band of 1 in THF compared with that of the acetoxy derivative Pd(TPrPc-OAc) (2, TPrPc-OAc = 9-acetoxy-2,7,12,17-tetrapropylporphycenato dianion). The pK _a value of the hydroxy group in 1 was determined, by means of a UV–visible titration experiment, to be 10.56. A cyclic voltammogram of 1 in a mixture of THF and Britton–Robinson buffered aqueous solution revealed one-electron and one-proton coupled transfer in the oxidation process in the pH range from 2.7 to 10.5, which was identified by pH-varying experiments and the Pourbaix diagram. Transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that an electron-transfer reaction occurred from the triplet excited-state of 1 to 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (duroquinone, DQ) upon pulse laser irradiation at 532 nm. Such an intermolecular photoinduced electron-transfer reaction was not observed between the Ni analog, Ni(TPrPc-OH), and DQ. The reaction rate constant, k _q, was indicative of a kinetic isotope effect with k _q(H)/k _q(D) = 1.7, supporting the belief that the exited-state electron transfer from 1 to DQ is accompanied by proton transfer.     

Synthesis,Structure, and Reactivity of Lewis Base Stabilized Plumbacyclopentadienylidenes

Plumbacyclopentadienylidenes, in which the lead atoms have divalent states and are coordinated by THF, pyridine and N‐heterocyclic carbene, were synthesized and characterized. The THF‐ and pyridine‐stabilized compounds can be regarded as rare examples of hypervalent 10‐X‐4 species. The equilibrium between the THF adduct and the free plumbacyclopentadienylidene was evidenced by spectroscopic analysis and theoretical calculations. The THF adduct in benzene converted into a plumbylene dimer, where one of the lead centers is coordinated by THF and the other lead atom is coordinated by a divalent lead atom, the dimer gradually decomposing into spiroplumbole. The THF adduct unexpectedly reacted with trifluoroborane and trichlorogallane to afford fluoroborole and chlorogallole, which are the first examples of non‐annulated fluoroborole and gallole, respectively.     

Design and synthesis of 2-(1,3-dialkoxy-2-methylpropan-2-yl)-1,3-diarylpropanes as tethering units for folded H-stacking polymers

1,3-Diarylpropenes 9 having a 1,3-dialkoxy-2-methylpropan-2-yl group were designed as tethering monomers for folded H-stacking polymers, and were readily synthesized from 2-ethoxymethylidene malonate in four- or five-steps, including a facile sequential addition–elimination–addition reaction of benzyl zinc reagents. The preference for the closed (stacked) conformation in the resulting 2-substituted 1,3-diarylpropanes 9 was evaluated using MM2 calculations, ¹H NMR analyses, and fluorescence measurements. Copolymerization of the resulting monomers 9 with compounds containing π-units provided polymers with blue-shifted UV-absorptions both in solution and as films, compared with that of a model compound containing a single π-unit. This optical property is unique to H-aggregated π-units.     

One-pot synthesis of tryptanthrin by the Dakin oxidation of indole-3-carbaldehyde

A one-pot approach to indolo[2,1-b]quinazolines from indole-3-carbaldehydes through the Dakin oxidation was developed. It was shown that the reaction proceeded through the condensation of indole-3-carbaldehydes with isatoic anhydrides, derived in situ from indole-3-carbaldehydes by the Dakin oxidation, and further oxidation/cyclization steps.