Modulation of the lifespan of C. elegans by the controlled release of nitric oxide

The frontier of nitric oxide biology has gradually shifted from mechanism elucidation to biomanipulation, e.g. cell-proliferation promotion, cell-apoptosis induction, and lifespan modulation. This warrants biocompatible nitric oxide (NO) donating materials, whose NO release is not only controlled by a bioorthogonal trigger, but also self-calibrated allowing real-time monitoring and hence an onset/offset of the NO release. Additionally, the dose of NO release should be facilely adjusted in a large dynamic range; flux and the dose are critical to the biological outcome of NO treatment. Via self-assembly of a PEGylated small-molecule NO donor, we developed novel NO-donating nanoparticles (PEG-NORM), which meet all the aforementioned criteria. We showcased that a low flux of NO induced cell proliferation, while a high flux induced cell oxidative stress and, ultimately, death. Notably, PEG-NORM was capable of efficiently modulating the lifespan of C. elegans. The average lifespan of C. elegans could be fine-tuned to be as short as 15.87 ± 0.29 days with a high dose of NO, or as long as 21.13 ± 0.41 days with a low dose of NO, compared to an average life-span of 18.87 ± 0.46 days. Thus, PEG-NORM has broad potential in cell manipulation and life-span modulation and could drive the advancement of NO biology and medicine.

Schematic illustration of modulating the longevity of the C. elegans by PEG-NORM nanoparticles.     

Design of a calcium-binding protein with desired structure in a cell adhesion molecule

Ca2+, "a signal of life and death", controls numerous cellular processes through interactions with proteins. An effective approach to understanding the role of Ca2+ is the design of a Ca2+-binding protein with predicted structural and functional properties. To design de novo Ca2+-binding sites in proteins is challenging due to the high coordination numbers and the incorporation of charged ligand residues, in addition to Ca2+-induced conformational change. Here, we demonstrate the successful design of a Ca2+-binding site in the non-Ca2+-binding cell adhesion protein CD2. This designed protein, Ca.CD2, exhibits selectivity for Ca2+ versus other di- and monovalent cations. In addition, La3+ (Kd 5.0 microM) and Tb3+ (Kd 6.6 microM) bind to the designed protein somewhat more tightly than does Ca2+ (Kd 1.4 mM). More interestingly, Ca.CD2 retains the native ability to associate with the natural target molecule. The solution structure reveals that Ca.CD2 binds Ca2+ at the intended site with the designed arrangement, which validates our general strategy for designing de novo Ca2+-binding proteins. The structural information also provides a close view of structural determinants that are necessary for a functional protein to accommodate the metal-binding site. This first success in designing Ca2+-binding proteins with desired structural and functional properties opens a new avenue in unveiling key determinants to Ca2+ binding, the mechanism of Ca2+ signaling, and Ca2+-dependent cell adhesion, while avoiding the complexities of the global conformational changes and cooperativity in natural Ca2+-binding proteins. It also represents a major achievement toward designing functional proteins controlled by Ca2+ binding.     

Synthesis and near infrared luminescence of a tetrametallic Zn2Yb2 architecture from a trinuclear Zn3L2 Schiff base complex

Near infrared luminescence is observed in tetrametallic [Zn2Yb2L2(mu-OH)2Cl4].2MeCN which is obtained from the Zn3 Schiff-base complex [Zn3L2(NO3)2].MeOH, (H2L =N,N'-bis(5-bromo-3-methoxysalicylidene)propylene-1,3-diamine).     

Preparative SEC column packed with microporous particles prepared from cellulose

New microporous particles with large pore size (mean pore diameter of 820 nm) are successfully prepared from a mixture of cellulose and konjac glucomannan (RC-KGM3) in 1.5 M NaOH-0.65 M thiourea aqueous solution by coagulating with 5 weight percentage (wt%) CaCl(2), and then 2 wt% HCl aqueous solution. A preparative size-exclusion chromatographic (SEC) column packed with the gel particles is used for the fractionation of a dextran in water. The exclusion limit and fractionation range of the stationary phase are molecular masses of 125 yen 104 g/mol and 5.6 yen 104 to 125 yen 104 g/mol, respectively. The dextran [dextran 50, weight-average molecular mass (M(w)) = 40.1 yen 104 g/mol, polydispersity index (d) = 3.5] is fractionated by the preparative SEC column to obtain six fractions, and four of them are refractionated twice by the same preparative SEC column. The refractionated samples F-3-3 and F-4-3 are characterized by analytical SEC combined with laser light scattering and light scattering to obtain M(w) of 91.8 and 61.9 yen 104 g/mol, as well as d of 1.3 and 1.4, respectively. The results indicate that the fractions having narrow molecular mass distribution are satisfactorily prepared with the SEC column. The described SEC column can be successfully used to fractionate polymers in aqueous solution.     

EPR parameters and local geometry for Cr3+ and V2+ ions in HfS2 crystals

From the high-order perturbation formulas of EPR parameters (zero-field splitting D, g factors gparallel, gperpendicular and hyperfine structure constants Aparallel, Aperpendicular) based on the two spin-orbit coupling parameter model for 3d3 ions in trigonal symmetry, the EPR parameters of Cr3+ and V2+ ions in HfS2 crystals are calculated. From the calculations, it is found that the local trigonal distortion angle theta of impurity center in HfS2:Cr3+ is smaller than that in HfS2:V2+. The dominant cause of the small zero-field splitting |D| and g-anisotropy |Deltag|=|gparallel-gperpendicular| in HfS2:Cr3+ (compound to HfS2:V2+) is due to the small local trigonal distortion angle theta rather than to the small impurity-ligand distance R in HfS2:Cr3+.     

Efficient catalytic aza-Michael additions of carbamates to enones: revisited dual activation of hard nucleophiles and soft electrophiles by InCl3/TMSCl catalyst system

The aza-Michael reaction of a variety of chalcones with weaker nucleophilic carbamates catalyzed by InCl₃ in the presence of TMSCl via the entry of dual activation of both hard nucleophiles (carbamates) and soft electrophiles (enones) to provide the corresponding adducts in good yields. The first example of enantioselective aza-Michael reaction of chalcones with carbamates was also investigated in the presence of the present catalyst system.     

钕诱导番茄产生抗性的时间研究

采用盆栽试验研究了Nd3 在不同诱导时间对番茄叶抗性指标(过氧化物酶(POD)、多酚氧化酶(PPO)和苯丙氨酸解氨酶(PAL)活性、细胞膜透性、氧自由基(O2-·)产生速率和木质素含量)的影响.结果表明:从第3 d开始,Nd3 诱导提高番茄叶内PAL活性,第3d增幅也最大,达32.30%,维持时间为诱导后第3～5 d;Nd3 诱导后第1～2 d POD活性升高,第1 d增幅最大,维持时间是诱导后第1～2 d;Nd3 诱导后1～3 d,PPO活性升高,第1 d增幅最大,维持时间是诱导后第1～3 d;从诱导后第2 d开始,Nd3 降低细胞膜透性,第3 d时降幅最大,为54.33%,持续时间为诱导后第2～5 d;从第3 d开始,Nd3 诱导降低氧自由基产生速率,第4 d降幅最大,第3 d氧自由基产生速率最低,持续时间为诱导后第3～5 d;从第4 d开始,Nd3 诱导提高木质素含量,5 d时有继续升高的趋势.从不同诱导时间番茄叶PAL活性、细胞膜透性、氧自由基产生速率的变化来看,在Nd3 诱导的第3 d,番茄产生的抗性最强.     

Thiazolium-mediated multicomponent reactions: a facile synthesis of 3-aminofuran derivatives

[reaction: see text] A facile synthesis of highly functionalized 3-aminofuran derivatives by the multicomponent reactions of thiazolium salts, aldehydes, and DMAD is described.     

Classification and recognition of compounds in low-resolution open-path FT-IR spectrometry by Kohonen self-organizing maps

The possibility of using one- and two-dimensional Kohonen self-organizing maps (SOMs) to recognize similarities in low-resolution vapor-phase infrared spectra without any additional information, i.e., in an unsupervised mode, has been investigated. Full-range vapor-phase FT-IR reference spectra were first used to train the networks and the trained networks were then used to classify the reference spectra into several groups. The feasibility of reducing the spectral range to be consistent with the atmospheric windows used in open-path FT-IR spectrometry was also studied. Kohonen networks are shown to be relatively immune to the presence of noise. An example of using a trained Kohonen map to recognize the presence of selected compounds in field-measured open-path FT-IR spectra is given. Received: 13 January 1998 / Revised: 4 May 1998 / Accepted: 14 May 1998     

Lead-selective membrane electrodes based on dithiophenediazacrown ether derivatives

Three double-armed diazacrown ethers with two thiophene side groups, 7,16-dithenyl-1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane (DTDC), 7,16-dithenoyl-1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane (DTODC), and 7,16-di-(2-thiopheneacetyl)-1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane (DTAODC), have been synthesized and used as novel neutral lead(II) ionophores in ion selective electrode applications. The relationship between the molecular structure of these ionophores and electrochemical properties (linear range, response time, selectivity) of the membrane electrode is discussed. The optimum conditions for the preparation of the electrodes are described. The optimized dithenoyldiazacrown had a detection limit of pPb = 5.7, and Nernstian range with slope 29.2 mV decade⁻¹ from pPb = 5.0 to 2.7. Mercury and silver ions are the major interferences. These electrodes are applied to potentiometric titrations of lead(II) ions and show promise for the determination of lead ions in water samples.