Solid‐state 31P NMR investigation on the status of guanine nucleotides in paclitaxel‐stabilized microtubules

Microtubule dynamics is a target for many chemotherapeutic drugs. In order to understand the biochemical effects of paclitaxel on the GTPase activity of tubulin, the status of guanine nucleotides in microtubules was investigated by ³¹P cross‐polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR. Microtubules were freshly prepared in vitro in the presence of paclitaxel and then lyophilized in sucrose buffer for solid‐state NMR experiments. A ³¹P CPMAS NMR spectrum with the SNR of 25 was successfully acquired from the lyophilized microtubule sample. The broadness of the ³¹P spectral lines in the spectrum indicates that the molecular environments around the guanine nucleotides inside tubulin may not be as crystalline as reported by many diffraction studies. Deconvolution of the spectrum into four spectral components was carried out in comparison with the ³¹P NMR spectra obtained from five control samples. The spectral analysis suggested that about 13% of the nucleotides were present as GTP and 37% as GDP in the β‐tubulin (E‐site) of the microtubules. It was found that most of the GDPs were present as GDP‐P_i complex in the microtubules, which seems to be one of the effects of paclitaxel binding. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Book rewiev

Howard Anton and Robert C. Busby, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.     

Electronic structure and vibrational spectra of cis-diammine(orotato)platinum(II), a potential cisplatin analogue: DFT and experimental study

Orotic acid (vitamin B₁₃) is a key intermediate in biosynthesis of the pyrimidine nucleotides in living organisms, moreover, it may serve as the biological carrier for some metal ions. cis-Diammine(orotato)platinum(II), cis-[Pt(C₅H₂N₂O₄)(NH₃)₂] can be considered as a new potential cisplatin analogue. The FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra of the title complex are reported, for the first time. The molecular structure, vibrational frequencies, and the theoretical infrared and Raman intensities have been calculated by the density functional mPW1PW91 method. The detailed vibrational assignment has been made on the basis of the calculated potential energy distribution. The theoretically predicted IR and Raman spectra show very good agreement with experiment. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses were performed for cisplatin, carboplatin and the title complex. The results provided new data on the nature of platinum–ligand bonding in these compounds. Strong intramolecular hydrogen bond between the orotate ligand and the coordinated ammonia group stabilizes the structure of the platinum(II) complex. Thus, it is suggested that the orotate ligand in the title complex is more inert to the substitution reactions than the chloride ligands in cisplatin.     

A two-fraction model for the calculation of the resonance spectra of the complex permittivity of ice in the far infrared

A two-fraction model that makes it possible to calculate analytically the complex dielectric permittivity of ice in the far infrared and submillimeter wavelength ranges is proposed. The librational and vibrational fractions are considered. The first fraction, consisting of rigid dipoles executing anharmonic reorientations in defects of the structure, gives rise to the librational band of ice at 800 cm^?1. The second fraction consists of elastically vibrating oppositely charged H-bonded molecules. This fraction describes two bands of ice in the range 100–300 cm^?1, and the nonresonant background of dielectric losses in the submillimeter wavelength range. The dielectric permittivity spectra of ice calculated for the temperature of ?7°C are consistent with the experimental spectra. The spectra of ice at the temperature ?30°C are predicted.     

Realization of an OpenMath Server for REDUCE

Various approaches and standards for transferring mathematical objects between different computer programs in multimedia environment in the framework of the OpenMath project are described. The use of these standards might revolutionize the exchange of mathematical information caused by the development of computer algebra tools and telecommunication possibilities. The standards make it possible to create databases and easily save and use mathematical objects obtained in different applications, e.g., to exchange the data obtained in different computer algebra systems and place information on the Internet. Bibliography: 9 titles.     

Une méthode de calcul des coefficients de réflexion et de transmission d'une houle bidimensionnelle en milieu confinéA new method for the calculation of transmission and reflection coefficients for water waves in a small basin

This paper presents a method to estimate reflected and transmitted wave amplitude spectra in a bounded domain such as a wave tank, when available data signals must be shortened due to interferences and wall effects. This paper extends the well known Goda and Suzuki two-probe method to three probes. The paper also suggests solutions to compute reliable transmission and reflection coefficients in spite of problems linked to higher harmonics and to the interference between different wave trains propagating in the tank. To cite this article: G. Duclos, A.H. Clément, C. R. Mecanique 331 (2003).     

Three-pencil lattices on triangulations

In this paper, three-pencil lattices on triangulations are studied. The explicit representation of a lattice, based upon barycentric coordinates, enables us to construct lattice points in a simple and numerically stable way. Further, this representation carries over to triangulations in a natural way. The construction is based upon group action of S ₃ on triangle vertices, and it is shown that the number of degrees of freedom is equal to the number of vertices of the triangulation.