Prospects for the Personalized Multimodal Therapy Approach to Pain Management via Action on NO and NOS

Chronic pain syndromes are an important medical problem generated by various molecular, genetic, and pathophysiologic mechanisms. Back pain, neuropathic pain, and posttraumatic pain are the most important pathological processes associated with chronic pain in adults. Standard approaches to the treatment of them do not solve the problem of pain chronicity. This is the reason for the search for new personalized strategies for the prevention and treatment of chronic pain. The nitric oxide (NO) system can play one of the key roles in the development of peripheral pain and its chronicity. The purpose of the study is to review publications devoted to changes in the NO system in patients with peripheral chronical pain syndromes. We have carried out a search for the articles published in e-Library, PubMed, Oxford Press, Clinical Case, Springer, Elsevier, and Google Scholar databases. The search was carried out using keywords and their combinations. The role of NO and NO synthases (NOS) isoforms in peripheral pain development and chronicity was demonstrated primarily from animal models to humans. The most studied is the neuronal NOS (nNOS). The role of inducible NOS (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) is still under investigation. Associative genetic studies have shown that single nucleotide variants (SNVs) of NOS1, NOS2, and NOS3 genes encoding nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS may be associated with acute and chronic peripheral pain. Prospects for the use of NOS inhibitors to modulate the effect of drugs used to treat peripheral pain syndrome are discussed. Associative genetic studies of SNVs NOS1, NOS2, and NOS3 genes are important for understanding genetic predictors of peripheral pain chronicity and development of new personalized pharmacotherapy strategies.     

Relationship between Volatile Composition and Bioactive Potential of Vegetables and Fruits of Regular Consumption—An Integrative Approach

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in studying and exploring the potential health benefits of foods, mainly from vegetables and fruits from regular intake. The presence of secondary metabolites, namely polyphenols, carotenoids and terpenes, in certain food matrices seems to contribute to their functional properties, expressed through an increased prevention in the development of certain chronic diseases, namely coronary heart diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and diabetes. However, some foods’ volatile secondary metabolites also present important bioactive properties, although this is a poorly scientifically explored field. In this context, and in order to explore the potential bioactivity of volatile metabolites in different vegetables and fruits from regular consumption, the volatile composition was established using a green extraction technique, solid phase microextraction in headspace mode (HS-SPME), combined with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 320 volatile metabolites, comprising 51 terpenic compounds, 45 organosulfur compounds, 31 aldehydes, 37 esters, 29 ketones, 28 alcohols, 23 furanic compounds, 22 hydrocarbons, 19 benzene compounds, 13 nitrogenous compounds, 9 carboxylic acids, 7 ethers, 4 halogenated compounds and 3 naphthalene derivatives, were positively identified. Each investigated fruit and vegetable showed a specific volatile metabolomic profile. The obtained results revealed that terpenic compounds, to which are associated antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities, are the most predominant chemical family in beetroot (61%), orange carrot (58%) and white carrot (61%), while organosulfur compounds (antiviral activity) are dominant in onion, garlic and watercress. Broccoli and spinach are essentially constituted by alcohols and aldehydes (enzyme-inhibition and antimicrobial properties), while fruits from the Solanaceae family are characterized by esters in tamarillo and aldehydes in tomato.     

Coordination of Na(+) by monoamine ligands in dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin transporters

The reuptake of neurotransmitters by dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin transporters during neuronal transmission requires a sodium gradient. An "ionic mode" of binding proposes that aspartate anchors the ligand's positive charge but ignores the direct role of sodium in ligand binding seen in the only representative structure, the prokaryotic leucine transporter LeuT. Here, we built structural models of human transporters of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin using the LeuT structure. The ligand and sodium-binding sites are highly conserved. We examined the possibilities for ligand binding given the available experimental evidence, including examples of catechol-cation chelates in X-ray structures of protein and other complexes. We conclude that a "chelation mode" of binding with direct interaction between the catechol hydroxyls and sodium is a valid alternative, with consequences for pharmaceutical design. In the modeled serotonin transporter complexes, Y95 is placed where it could select for serotonin through hydrogen bonding to the indole nitrogen.     

Theoretical surface-enhanced Raman spectra study of substituted benzenes II. Density functional theoretical SERS modelling of o-, m-, and p-methoxybenzonitrile

The SERS modelling of o-, m-, and p-methoxybenzonitrile has been performed following the same methodology that in Part I. Optimized structure obtained from DFT calculations in a B3LYP-LANL2DZ level of calculation shows different tilted positions for the isomers under study. From correlations obtained by comparison of Raman and SERS spectra concerning geometrical parameters, frequency shifting, change in band intensity, and force constants is possible to give insight about the different effect of the metal surface on these molecules and the structural reasons of this behaviour. Frontier orbital analysis gives further information and reveals a ligand to metal charge transfer mechanism for all isomers, as well as its relative importance.     

On the degree of commutativity of p ‐groups of maximal class

Let G be a p ‐group of maximal class of order p^m , p ≠ 2, and c (G) the degree of commutativity of G. Let c₀ be the nonnegative residue of c modulo p – 1. In this paper, by using only Lie algebra techniques, we prove that 2c ≥ m – 2p + c 0 + 1. Also, we give examples of Lie algebras satisfying the following equalities: In addition, there exist examples of p ‐groups of maximal class satisfying 2c = m – 2p + c₀ + 3 for each c₀ ∈ [2, p – 2] (see [6, Theorem 4.5]). (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Capillary electrophoretic chiral determination of mirtazapine and its main metabolites in human urine after enzymatic hydrolysis

Capillary electrophoresis and liquid-phase microextraction using porous polypropylene hollow fibers were employed for the enantioselective analyses of mirtazapine and its metabolites demethylmirtazapine and 8-hydroxymirtazapine in human urine. Before the extraction, urine samples (1.0 mL) were submitted to enzymatic hydrolysis at 37 degrees C for 16 h. Then, the enzyme was precipitated with trichloroacetic acid, the pH was adjusted to 8 with 0.5 mol/L phosphate buffer solution (pH 11) and 15% sodium chloride was further added. The analytes were transferred from the aqueous donor phase, through n-hexyl ether (organic solvent immobilized in the fiber), into 0.01 moL/L acetic acid solution (acceptor phase). The electrophoretic analyses were carried out in 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer solution (pH 2.5) containing 0.55% w/v carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin. The method was linear over the concentration range of 62.5-2500 ng/mL for each mirtazapine and 8-hydroxymirtazapine enantiomer and 62.5-1250 ng/mL for each demethylmirtazapine enantiomer. The quantification limit was 62.5 ng/mL for all the enantiomers. Within-day and between-day assay precision and accuracy were lower than 15% for all the enantiomers. Finally, the method proved to be suitable for pharmacokinetic studies.     

Chemometric resolution of fully overlapped CE peaks: Quantitation of carbamazepine in human serum in the presence of several interferences

Drug monitoring in serum samples was performed using second‐order data generated by CE‐DAD, processed with a suitable chemometric strategy. Carbamazepine could be accurately quantitated in the presence of its main metabolite (carbamazepine epoxide), other therapeutic drugs (lamotrigine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, phenylephrine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, theophylline, caffeine, acetyl salicylic acid), and additional serum endogenous components. The analytical strategy consisted of the following steps: (i) serum sample clean‐up to remove matrix interferences, (ii) data pre‐processing, in order to reduce the background and to correct for electrophoretic time shifts, and (iii) resolution of fully overlapped CE peaks (corresponding to carbamazepine, its metabolite, lamotrigine and unexpected serum components) by the well‐known multivariate curve resolution‐alternating least squares algorithm, which extracts quantitative information that can be uniquely ascribed to the analyte of interest. The analyte concentration in serum samples ranged from 2.00 to 8.00 mg/L. Mean recoveries were 102.6% (s=7.7) for binary samples, and 94.8% (s=13.5) for spiked serum samples, while CV (%)=4.0 was computed for five replicate, indicative of the acceptable accuracy and precision of the proposed method.     

Determination of icariin in rat plasma by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography after oral administration of a lipid-based suspension of Epimedium koreanum extract

A simple, specific and sensitive method for quantitative determination of icariin in rat plasma using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV-detection was developed and applied to an animal study of a lipid-based suspension of the Epimedium koreanum extract in rats. Rutin was selected as the internal standard and methanol was found to be the best solvent for extraction of icariin from the plasma. Linearity was observed between 0.030 and 100 microg/mL (r > 0.99). The extraction recoveries of icariin and rutin were approximately 75 and 80%, respectively, in plasma. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation were less than 5%. The limit of detection was 6 ng/mL and the limit of quantification was 18 ng/mL.     

Syntheses of (E)- and (Z)-3-styrylchromones

Several (E)- and (Z)-3-styrylchromones were prepared by two different methodologies, the Wittig reaction of chromone-3-carboxaldehyde with benzylic ylides and the Knoevenagel condensation of chromone-3-carboxaldehyde with phenylacetic acids in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide under microwave irradiation. The Knoevenagel reaction followed by a decarboxylation offered an efficient and diastereoselective method for preparing (E)-3-styrylchromones in a shorter reaction time. It was also demonstrated that phenylacetic acid can also be substituted with success by phenylmalonic acid. The stereochemistry of all products was assigned by NMR experiments.     

Syntheses of (<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)- and (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis>)-3-styrylchromones

Several (E)- and (Z)-3-styrylchromones were prepared by two different methodologies, the Wittig reaction of chromone-3-carboxaldehyde with benzylic ylides and the Knoevenagel condensation of chromone-3-carboxaldehyde with phenylacetic acids in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide under microwave irradiation. The Knoevenagel reaction followed by a decarboxylation offered an efficient and diastereoselective method for preparing (E)-3-styrylchromones in a shorter reaction time. It was also demonstrated that phenylacetic acid can also be substituted with success by phenylmalonic acid. The stereochemistry of all products was assigned by NMR experiments. Correspondence: Artur M. S. Silva, Chemistry Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.