Structural characterization by chromatographic profiling of the oligosaccharides of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) recombinant envelope glycoprotein gp120 produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells

This report together with the paper by T. Mizuochi, M. W. Spellman, M. Larkin, J. Solomon, L. J. Basa and T. Feizi (1988) Biochem. J. 254, 599-603 describes the structural elucidation of the N-linked oligosaccharides of the HIV envelope glycoprotein, gp120 (cloned from the HTLV-III B isolate and expressed as a secreted fusion protein after transfection of Chinese hamster ovary cells), which is known to bind with high affinity to human T4 lymphocytes. Oligosaccharides were released from peptide by hydrazinolysis, fractionated by paper electrophoresis, high performance lectin affinity chromatography and Bio-Gel P-4 column chromatography, and their structures determined by sequential exoglycosidase digestions in conjunction with methylation analysis. The glycoprotein was found to be unique in its diversity of oligosaccharide structures. These include high-mannose type and hybrid type, as well as four categories of complex type chains: mono-, bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary, with or without N-acetyllactosamine repeats, and with or without a core region fucose residue. Among the sialidase-treated oligosaccharides no less than 29 structures were identified as follows: (formula; see text) where G = galactose; GN = N-acetylglucosamine; M = mannose; F = fucose; +/- = residues present in a proportion of chains. The actual number of oligosaccharide structures is much greater since before desialylation there was evidence that among the hybrid and complex type chains all but 6% contained sialic acid at the C-3 position of terminal galactose residues, and partially sialylated forms of the bi- and multiantennary chains were present.     

Effect of Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata Hook. F. & Thomson) Essential Oil on Acute Inflammatory Response In Vitro and In Vivo

The aim of this study is to evaluate the phytochemical profile, oral acute toxicity, and the effect of ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata Hook. F. & Thomson) essential oil (YEO) on acute inflammation. YEO was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For in vitro tests, YEO was assessed using cytotoxicity, neutrophil chemotaxis induced by N-formyl methionyl leucyl phenylalanine (fMLP), and phagocytic activity tests. YEO was orally administered in zymosan-induced peritonitis, carrageenan-induced leukocyte rolling, and adhesion events in the in situ microcirculation model and in carrageenan-induced paw edema models. YEO (2000 mg/kg) was also tested using an acute toxicity test in Swiss mice. YEO showed a predominance of benzyl acetate, linalool, benzyl benzoate, and methyl benzoate. YEO did not present in vitro cytotoxicity. YEO reduced the in vitro neutrophil chemotaxis induced by fMLP and reduced the phagocytic activity. The oral treatment with YEO reduced the leukocyte recruitment and nitric oxide production in the zymosan-induced peritonitis model, reduced rolling and adherent leukocyte number induced by carrageenan in the in situ microcirculation model, and reduced carrageenan-induced edema and mechanical hyperalgesia. YEO did not present signs of toxicity in the acute toxicity test. In conclusion, YEO affected the leukocyte activation, and presented antiedematogenic, anti-hyperalgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties.     

Cancer-Associated Mutations of the Adenosine A2A Receptor Have Diverse Influences on Ligand Binding and Receptor Functions

The adenosine A_2A receptor (A_2AAR) is a class A G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). It is an immune checkpoint in the tumor micro-environment and has become an emerging target for cancer treatment. In this study, we aimed to explore the effects of cancer-patient-derived A_2AAR mutations on ligand binding and receptor functions. The wild-type A_2AAR and 15 mutants identified by Genomic Data Commons (GDC) in human cancers were expressed in HEK293T cells. Firstly, we found that the binding affinity for agonist NECA was decreased in six mutants but increased for the V275A mutant. Mutations A165V and A265V decreased the binding affinity for antagonist ZM241385. Secondly, we found that the potency of NECA (EC₅₀) in an impedance-based cell-morphology assay was mostly correlated with the binding affinity for the different mutants. Moreover, S132L and H278N were found to shift the A_2AAR towards the inactive state. Importantly, we found that ZM241385 could not inhibit the activation of V275A and P285L stimulated by NECA. Taken together, the cancer-associated mutations of A_2AAR modulated ligand binding and receptor functions. This study provides fundamental insights into the structure–activity relationship of the A_2AAR and provides insights for A_2AAR-related personalized treatment in cancer.     

Theories in polymer science - helpful or inhibiting?

Theories in polymer science play an important role in how experiments are designed and results interpreted. Three areas of polymer chemistry are focussed on: step growth polymerization, particularly predictions of equal reactivity of functional groups; free radical chain polymerization with emphasis on structural irregularities and the consequences of these structures for previous theories; free radical copolymerization and the many models at present under discussion aimed at providing a theoretical basis for predicting the outcome of such copolymerization. The question of whether or not we as polymer chemists have been helped or hindered by theory is addressed.     

Copper(II) complexes of 2-amino-5-chloro-3-fluoropyridine: syntheses and magnetic properties of (3,5-FCAP)2CuX2 and (3,5-FCAPH)2CuX4

Using 2-amino-5-chloro-3-fluoropyridine, two new copper halide coordination complexes and two new salts have been synthesized: [(3,5-FCAP)₂CuCl₂] (1), [(3,5-FCAP)₂CuBr₂](2), (3,5-FCAPH)₂[CuCl₄] (3) and (3,5-FCAPH)₂[CuBr₄] (4) [3,5-FCAP?=?2-amino-5-chloro-3-fluoropyridine; 3,5-FCAPH?=?2-amino-5-chloro-3-fluoropyridinium]. These complexes have been analyzed through single-crystal X-ray diffraction and temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility. Compounds 1 and 2 crystallize in the triclinic space group P-1, while 3 and 4 crystallize in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c. All structures were distinct, with 1 giving a bihalide bridged chain, 2 yielding a halide bridged dimer, 3 forming a two-halide bridged chain via short Cl???Cl contacts, and 4 producing a rectangular sheet via short Br???Br contacts. All four compounds exhibit anti-ferromagnetic interactions and were fit to linear chain (1 and 3), dimer (2), and rectangular 2-D sheet (4) models. The resulting J/k_B values are ?3.4(1), ?31.3(8), ?0.9(1), and ?9.46(6)?K with an α value (α?=?J?/J) of 0.06(2), respectively.     

Reduced order fully coupled structural–acoustic analysis via implicit moment matching

A reduced order model is developed for low frequency, undamped, fully coupled structural–acoustic analysis of interior cavities backed by flexible structural systems. The reduced order model is obtained by applying a projection of the coupled system matrices, from a higher dimensional to a lower dimensional subspace, whilst preserving essential properties of the coupled system. The basis vectors for projection are computed efficiently using the Arnoldi algorithm, which generates an orthogonal basis for the Krylov Subspace containing moments of the original system. The key idea of constructing a reduced order model via Krylov Subspaces is to remove the uncontrollable, unobservable and weakly controllable, observable parts without affecting the transfer function of the coupled system. Three computational test cases are analyzed, and the computational gains and the accuracy compared with the direct inversion method in ANSYS.     

Adiabatic corrections to density functional theory energies and wave functions

The adiabatic finite-nuclear-mass-correction (FNMC) to the electronic energies and wave functions of atoms and molecules is formulated for density-functional theory and implemented in the deMon code. The approach is tested for a series of local and gradient corrected density functionals, using MP2 results and diagonal-Born-Oppenheimer corrections from the literature for comparison. In the evaluation of absolute energy corrections of nonorganic molecules the LDA PZ81 functional works surprisingly better than the others. For organic molecules the GGA BLYP functional has the best performance. FNMC with GGA functionals, mainly BLYP, show a good performance in the evaluation of relative corrections, except for nonorganic molecules containing H atoms. The PW86 functional stands out with the best evaluation of the barrier of linearity of H2O and the isotopic dipole moment of HDO. In general, DFT functionals display an accuracy superior than the common belief and because the corrections are based on a change of the electronic kinetic energy they are here ranked in a new appropriate way. The approach is applied to obtain the adiabatic correction for full atomization of alcanes C(n)H(2n+2), n = 4-10. The barrier of 1 mHartree is approached for adiabatic corrections, justifying its insertion into DFT.