PHOTOCYCLOADDITION REACTION OF 5,7-DIMETHOXYCOUMARIN TO THYMIDINE

Abstract— The photocycloaddition reaction of 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin to thymidine on direct irradiation (λ > 300 nm) is studied as a model for photosensitization reaction of furocoumarins. The major photoadducts were isolated by silica gel column and gel permeation chromatography. Each component of the photoadducts was further separated by reverse phase, paired-ion high performance liquid chromatography. The structure of these photoproducts isolated is consistent with 1:1 C₄-cycloadducts in accordance with characteristics of their UV, IR, NMR and mass spectra and elemental analysis data. The stereochemistry of each isomer was studied by Fourier transform NMR, UV and IR spectra. The fraction C has the anti head-to-tail configuration and the fraction D has the configuration of anti head-to-head. The fractions A and B probably have the syn configuration.     

Factors affecting the catalytic epoxidation of olefins by iron porphyrin complexes and H2O2 in protic solvents

The catalytic epoxidation of cyclohexene by iron(III) porphyrin complexes and H2O2 has been investigated in alcohol solvents to understand factors affecting the catalyst activity in protic solvents. The yields of cyclohexene oxide and the Fe(III/II) reduction potentials of iron porphyrin complexes were significantly affected by the protic solvents, and there was a close correlation between the product yields and the reduction potentials of the iron porphyrin catalysts. The role of alcohol solvents was proposed to control the electronic nature of iron porphyrin complexes that determines the catalyst activity in the epoxidation of olefins by H2O2. We have also demonstrated that an electron-deficient iron porphyrin complex can catalyze the epoxidation of olefins by H2O2 under conditions of limiting substrate with high conversion efficiency in a solvent mixture of CH3OH and CH2Cl2.     

bPAK-interacting exchange factor may regulate actin cytoskeleton through interaction with actin

p21-activated kinase (PAK)-interacting exchange factor (PIX) is known to be involved in regulation of Cdc42/Rac GTPases and PAK activity. PIX binds to the proline-rich region of PAK, and regulates biological events through activation of Cdc42/Rac GTPase. To further investigate the role of PIX we produced monoclonal antibodies (Mab) against bPIX. Three clones; N-C6 against N-terminal half and C-A3 and C-B7 against C- terminal half of bPIX were generated and characterized. N-C6 Mab detected bPIX as a major band in most cell lines. C-A3 Mab recognizes GIT-binding domain (GBD), but it does not interfere with GIT binding to bPIX. Using C-A3 Mab possible bPIX interaction with actin in PC12 cells was examined. bPIX Mab (C-A3) specifically precipitated actin of the PC12 cell lysates whereas actin Mab failed to immunoprecipitate bPIX. Co-sedimentation of PC12 cell lysates with the polymerized F-actin resulted in the recovery of most of bPIX in the cell lysates. These results suggest that bPIX may not interact with soluble actin but with polymerized F-actin and revealed that bPIX constitutes a functional complex with actin. These data indicate real usefulness of the bPIX Mab in the study of bPIX role(s) in regulation of actin cyoskeleton.     

Effect of particle size in preparative reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on the isolation of epigallocatechin gallate from Korean green tea

To isolate epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) of catechin compounds from Korean green tea (Bosung, Chonnam), a C18 reversed-phase preparative column (250x22 mm) packed with packings of three different sizes (15, 40-63, and 150 microm) was used. The sample extracted with water was partitioned with chloroform and ethyl acetate to remove the impurities including caffeine. The mobile phases in this experiment were composed of 0.1% acetic acid in water, acetonitrile, methanol and ethyl acetate. The injection volume was fixed at 400 microl and the flow rate was increased as the particle size becomes larger. The isolation of EGCG with particle size was compared at a preparative scale and the feasibility of separation of EGCG at larger particle sizes was confirmed. The optimum mobile phase composition for separating EGCG was experimentally obtained at the particle sizes of 15 and 40-63 microm in the isocratic mode, but EGCG was not purely separated at the particle size of 150 microm.     

Effective isolation of magnesium lithospermate B and its inhibition of aldose reductase and fibronectin on mesangial cell line

We developed an effective isolation method of magnesium lithospermate B from Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix and found for the first time that magnesium lithospermate B shows strong in vitro inhibition (IC50=0.04 microM) of aldose reductase (AR), 2.5 times than that of clinically used epalrestat (IC50=0.1 microM) and accumulation of fibronectin dose dependently.     

Decarbopalladation of pi-allylpalladium intermediates formed from palladium-catalyzed arylations of 3-allen-1-ols

[reaction: see text] Unusual palladium-catalyzed arylative fragmentations of acyclic 3-allen-1-ols were observed. Oxidative addition of Pd(0) to aryl halides would form the arylpalladium halides, which added to the central carbon of allenes via carbopalladation to form the pi-allylpalladium intermediates. The pi-allylpalladium intermediates would be reductively eliminated via carbon-carbon cleavage to give the arylated dienes and the alpha-hydroxyalkylpalladium intermediates, which were further reductively eliminated to the corresponding aldehydes.     

Ionizing radiation induces blockade of c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent cell death pathway in a manner correlated with p21(Cip/WAF1) induction in primary cultured normal human fibroblasts

During radiotherapy of cancer, neighboring normal cells may receive sub-lethal doses of radiation. To investigate whether such low levels of radiation modulate normal cell responses to death stimuli, primary cultured human fibroblasts were exposed to various doses of gamma-rays. Analysis of cell viability using an exclusion dye propidium iodide revealed that the irradiation up to 10 Gy killed the fibroblasts only to a minimal extent. In contrast, the cells efficiently lost their viability when exposed to 0.5-0.65 mM H(2)O(2). This type of cell death was accompanied by JNK activation, and was reversed by the use of a JNK-specific inhibitor SP600125. Interestingly, H(2)O(2) failed to kill the fibroblasts when these cells were pre-irradiated, 24 h before H(2)O(2) treatment, with 0.25-0.5 Gy of gamma-rays. These cytoprotective doses of gamma-rays did not enhance cellular capacity to degrade H(2)O(2), but elevated cellular levels of p21(Cip/WAF1), a p53 target that can suppress H(2)O(2)-induced cell death by blocking JNK activation. Consistently, H(2)O(2)-induced JNK activation was dramatically suppressed in the pre-irradiated cells. The overall data suggests that ionizing radiation can impart normal fibroblasts with a survival advantage against oxidative stress by blocking the process leading to JNK activation.     

Delta-secretase cleavage of Tau mediates its pathology and propagation in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with age as a major risk factor. AD is the most common dementia with abnormal structures, including extracellular senile plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles, as key neuropathologic hallmarks. The early feature of AD pathology is degeneration of the locus coeruleus (LC), which is the main source of norepinephrine (NE) supplying various cortical and subcortical areas that are affected in AD. The spread of Tau deposits is first initiated in the LC and is transported in a stepwise manner from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus and then to associative regions of the neocortex as the disease progresses. Most recently, we reported that the NE metabolite DOPEGAL activates delta-secretase (AEP, asparagine endopeptidase) and triggers pathological Tau aggregation in the LC, providing molecular insight into why LC neurons are selectively vulnerable to developing early Tau pathology and degenerating later in the disease and how δ-secretase mediates the spread of Tau pathology to the rest of the brain. This review summarizes our current understanding of the crucial role of δ-secretase in driving and spreading AD pathologies by cleaving multiple critical players, including APP and Tau, supporting that blockade of δ-secretase may provide an innovative disease-modifying therapeutic strategy for treating AD.Subject terms: Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer''s disease     

Theoretical studies on the mechanism of acid-promoted hydrolysis of N-formylaziridine in comparison with formamide

[reaction: see text] We present an ab initio study of the acid-promoted hydrolysis reaction mechanism of N-formylaziridine in comparison with formamide. Since the rate of amide hydrolysis reactions depends on the formation of the tetrahedral intermediate, we focused our attention mainly on the reactant complex, the tetrahedral intermediate, and the transition state connecting these two stationary points. Geometries were optimized using the density functional theory, and the energetics were refined using ab initio theory including electron correlation. Solvent effects were investigated by using polarizable continuum method calculations. The proton-transfer reaction between the O-protonated and N-protonated amides was investigated. In acidic media, despite that the N-protonated species is more stable than the O-protonated one, it is predicted that both N-protonated and O-protonated pathways compete in the hydrolysis reaction of N-formylaziridine.