High-pressure synthesis of solid solutions between trigonal LiNiO2 and monoclinic Li[Li1/3Ni2/3]O2

High-pressure synthesis in an oxygen-rich atmosphere yields solid solutions between LiNiO₂ and Li₂NiO₃ over the whole concentration range. Structural characterization of the high-pressure oxides was performed using powder XRD, SEM analysis, IR spectroscopy, EPR spectroscopy at 9.23 and 115 GHz and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The crystal structure of Li[Li_xNi_1−x]O₂ ,, changes from trigonal R-3m to monoclinic C2/m at Li-to-Ni ratio of 2 (or ). The incorporation of Li into NiO₂-layers causes a decrease in the mean Li-O and Ni_1-xLi_x-O bond distance. Li and Ni ions in the mixed Ni_1-xLi_xO₂-layers display a tendency to order at a short length scale in such a way that mimics the Li_1/3Ni_2/3-arrangment of the end Li[Li_1/3Ni_2/3]O₂ composition. The charge distribution in these oxides proceeds via Ni³⁺ and Ni⁴⁺ ions.     

Isolation and Functional Characterization of Single Domain Antibody Modulators of Caspase-3 and Apoptosis

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an essential process affecting homeostasis of cell growth, development, and the elimination of damaged or dangerous cells. Inappropriate cell death caused by oxidative stress has been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke. On the other hand, a defect in the cell death process leads to the development of cancer. For example, the main player of apoptosis, p53, is defective in many of the human cancers. Apoptosis is regulated by the interplay of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins from the Bcl-2 family and caspases. In particular, specific modulators of the activity of Caspase 3 could be very important for the development of therapies for diseases such as neurodegeneration and cancer. In this study, two V_HHs specific to Caspase 3 (VhhCasp31 and VhhCasp32) were isolated from a heavy chain antibody variable domain (V_HH) phage display library and tested for their apoptosis-modulating effects. While VhhCasp31 was found to be antagonistic towards Caspase 3, VhhCasp32 was agonistic. Furthermore, when expressed as intrabodies in SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma cells, VhhCasp31 rendered cells resistant to oxidative-stress-induced apoptosis, whereas VhhCasp32 resulted in apoptosis. These V_HH antagonist and agonist of apoptosis could have potential for the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, respectively.     

A caged lanthanide complex as a paramagnetic shift agent for protein NMR

A lanthanide complex, named CLaNP (caged lanthanide NMR probe) has been developed for the characterisation of proteins by paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy. The probe consists of a lanthanide chelated by a derivative of DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) with two thiol reactive functional groups. The CLaNP molecule is attached to a protein by two engineered, surface-exposed, Cys residues in a bidentate manner. This drastically limits the dynamics of the metal relative to the protein and enables measurements of pseudocontact shifts. NMR spectroscopy experiments on a diamagnetic control and the crystal structure of the probe-protein complex demonstrate that the protein structure is not affected by probe attachment. The probe is able to induce pseudocontact shifts to at least 40 A from the metal and causes residual dipolar couplings due to alignment at a high magnetic field. The molecule exists in several isomeric forms with different paramagnetic tensors; this provides a fast way to obtain long-range distance restraints.     

Effect of the methionine ligand on the reorganization energy of the type-1 copper site of nitrite reductase

Copper-containing nitrite reductase harbors a type-1 and a type-2 Cu site. The former acts as the electron acceptor site of the enzyme, and the latter is the site of catalytic action. The effect of the methionine ligand on the reorganization energy of the type-1 site was explored by studying the electron-transfer kinetics between NiR (wild type (wt) and the variants Met150Gly and Met150Thr) with Fe(II)EDTA and Fe(II)HEDTA. The mutations increased the reorganization energy by 0.3 eV (30 kJ mol-1). A similar increase was found from pulse radiolysis experiments on the wt NIR and three variants (Met150Gly, Met150His, and Met150Thr). Binding of the nearby Met62 to the type-1 Cu site in Met150Gly (under influence of an allosteric effector) lowered the reorganization energy back to approximately the wt value. According to XRD data the structure of the reduced type-1 site in Met150Gly NiR in the presence of an allosteric effector is similar to that in the reduced wt NiR (solved to 1.85 A), compatible with the similarity in reorganization energy.     

Mapping of Malus domestica allergens by 2-D electrophoresis and IgE-reactivity

The importance of apple allergens has been repeatedly emphasized, and their presence has been confirmed both in pollen and in fruits. In the present study, a combination of proteomic tools have been used to build a complete allergen map of apple. The water-soluble fraction of an apple extract was precipitated using a phenol-based procedure and separated by 2-DE. Initially four previously classified allergens, Mal d 1, Mal d 2, Mal d 3 and Mal d 4, could be identified in Western blots with polyclonal rabbit antibodies directed to the four respective allergens, and subsequently matched to the bands recognized by several patient sera. Further, all four known apple allergens were localized on a 2-DE map and they were matched with spots recognized by sera of patients with different allergic patterns. Moreover, a new, putative allergen could be identified using MS. We evaluated the influence of post-translational modifications and the immunoreactivity under different analytical conditions. The comparison of different visualization methods for 2-DE gels and blots revealed that even very low concentrations of the intact epitopes are detectable by IgEs of patients, and therefore might be sufficient to trigger allergic symptoms in sensitized individuals.     

Local structure of Mn4+ and Fe3+ spin probes in layered LiAlO2 oxide by modelling of zero-field splitting parameters

The zero-field splitting parameters (ZFS) of Mn(4+) and Fe(3+) ions in LiAlO(2) with a layered structure are analyzed experimentally and theoretically by using high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, Neuman superposition model (NSM), DFT and multiconfigurational calculations. The interpretation of ZFS is based on the comparison of the experimentally determined values with the calculated ones. This approach allows assessing the performance of different methods for computation of ZFS of Fe(3+) and Mn(4+) in layered oxide matrices. DFT and multiconfigurational calculations are used to analyze the effect of oxygen, aluminium, and lithium neighbours on ZFS of Fe(3+) and Mn(4+). These calculations are based on a cluster comprising Fe(3+) or Mn(4+) ions in a trigonally compressed octahedron with 6 metal ions (Al(3+) or Co(3+)) as first metal neighbours and 6 O(2-) and 2 Li(+) (above and below the layer) as second neighbours. A satisfactory agreement with the experimental data is achieved when the local structure of Mn(4+) and Fe(3+) deviates from the trigonal host-site geometry. The local structure of Fe(3+) comprises an axial distortion, while trigonal environment with reduced extent of distortion appears around Mn(4+).