Reduction of allergenicity of irradiated ovalbumin in ovalbumin-allergic mice

Egg allergy is one of the most serious of the immediate hypersensitivity reactions to foods. Such an allergic disorder is mediated by IgE antibodies stimulated by T-helper type 2 (Th2) lymphocytes. This study was undertaken to evaluate changes of allergenicity and cytokine profiles by exposure of irradiated ovalbumin (OVA), a major allergen of egg white, in the OVA-allergic mice model. OVA solutions (2 mg/ml in 0.01 M phosphate buffered saline (PBS) were gamma-irradiated to 50 and 100 kGy. The allergenicity in the OVA-allergy-induced mice model was remarkably reduced when challenged with irradiated OVA. Cultures of spleen cells harvested from OVA-sensitized mice showed a significant decrease in Th2 cytokine levels of ILs-4 and -5 with a concomitant increase in Th1 cytokine levels of IL-12 when co-cultured with irradiated OVA. However, IFN-γ level decreased dependant on the radiation dose of co-cultured OVA. The levels of IgEs and Th2-cytokine were reduced dependant on the radiation dose. These data show that the irradiated OVA could downregulate the activity of Th2 lymphocytes in OVA-sensitized mice.     

Anti-pathogenic,anti-diabetic,anti-inflammatory,antioxidant, and wound healing efficacy of Datura metel L. leaves

Datura metel L. is an important medicinal plant of Solanaceae family which has extensive pharmacological properties. The present investigation was aimed to identify the presence of phytoconstituents and assess in vitro antibacterial, anti-biofilm, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cytotoxicity, and wound healing efficacy of D. metel leaves extract. Among different solvent extracts, methanolic extract showed higher amount of phenolic (124.61 ± 0.68 mg GAE/g), alkaloid (88.77 ± 1.01 mg AE/g), flavonoids (42.24 ± 0.18 mg QE/g), and tannins contents (38.72 ± 0.51 mg GAE/g). The extract exhibited not only significantly (P < 0.05) different antibacterial activities against pathogens tested but also showed maximum biofilm inhibition of 94, 88, and 92% against B. subtilis, MRSA, and E. coli, respectively. Anti-diabetic assay depicted 22.55 ± 0.62–79.41 ± 1.13% and 24.31 ± 1.47–72.59 ± 0.22% of α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition abilities of methanolic extract, respectively at varied concentrations. The methanolic extract showed potential anti-inflammatory effect (P < 0.05) by showing 28.11 ± 0.13, 34.94 ± 1.11, 55.73 ± 0.42, 73.28 ± 0.72, and 92.62 ± 1.33% of inhibition of protein denaturation at different concentrations with an IC₅₀ value of 52.45 µg/mL. The extract revealed significant (P < 0.05) rate of ABTS scavenging, DPPH degradation, and reducing power assay in a concentration dependent manner. The cytotoxicity assay was demonstrated on L929 mouse fibroblast cell line and found > 90% of cell viability in the presence of methanolic extract, thereby indicating its non-toxicity effect. Wound healing assay indicated that methanolic extract at 50 µg/mL closed 100% of wound gap after 24 h with high rate of migration and proliferation. Furthermore, GC–MS chromatogram revealed the presence of several components in methanolic extract, including neophytadiene, hexadecanoic acid, and hentriacontane as principal phytoconstituents. In conclusion, methanolic extract of D. metel leaves could be used as potent therapeutic agent not only for treating metabolic diseases but also superficial chronic diabetic wounds.     

Biomolecular interactions with nanoparticles: applications for coronavirus disease 2019

Nanoparticles are small particles sized 1–100 nm, which have a large surface-to-volume ratio, allowing efficient adsorption of drugs, proteins, and other chemical compounds. Consequently, functionalized nanoparticles have potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications. A variety of nanoparticles have been studied, including those constructed from inorganic materials, biopolymers, and lipids. In this review, we focus on recent work targeting the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Understanding the interactions between coronavirus-specific proteins (such as the spike protein and its host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) with different nanoparticles paves the way to the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics that are urgently needed for the fight against COVID-19, and indeed for related future viral threats that may emerge.     

An efficient Fe(III)-catalyzed 1,6-conjugate addition of para-quinone methides with fluorinated silyl enol ethers toward β,β-diaryl α-fluorinated ketones

Reported here is a highly efficient 1,6-conjugate addition of fluorinated silyl enol ethers to para-quinone methides, allowing facile access to a range of β,β-diaryl α-fluorinated ketones with good to high yields. Fe(OTf)₃ was identified as the optimal catalyst, with the loading of 3?mol%. Notably, this represent the first 1,6-conjugate addition with fluorinated silyl enol ethers. The synthetic potential of the resulting adducts is also demonstrated.     

Electrochemical Single-Cell Protein Therapeutics Using a Double-Barrel Nanopipette

Single-cell protein therapeutics is expected to promote our in-depth understanding of how a specific protein with a therapeutic dosage treats the cell without population averaging. However, it has not yet been tackled by current single-cell nanotools. We address this challenge by the use of a double-barrel nanopipette, in which one lumen was used for electroosmotic cytosolic protein delivery and the other was customized for ionic evaluation of the consequence. Upon injection of protein DJ-1 through the delivery lumen, upregulation of the antioxidant protein could protect neural PC-12 cells against oxidative stress from phorbol myristate acetate exposure, as deduced by targeting of the cytosolic hydrogen peroxide by the detecting lumen. The nanotool developed in this study for single-cell protein therapeutics provides a perspective for future single-cell therapeutics involving different therapeutic modalities, such as peptides, enzymes and nucleic acids.     

Principles and applications of a research-oriented gas chromatography—mass spectrometry data system

A research-oriented gas chromatography—mass spectrometry data system for a quadrupole mass spectrometer has been developed based on a centrally located departmental computer facility. An overview of the hardware and software system is presented, emphasizing the important aspects of on-line computer data acquisition and control and the design philosophy used in the development of the system. The application of the system is demonstrated by the g.c.—m.s. analysis of a mixture of four transition metal β-diketonates (Al, Cr, Rh, and Ru tris-1,1,1-trifluoro-pentane-2,4-dionate). This analysis involved vacuum gas chromatography with a support-coated open tubular column and detection of the eluent by chemical ionization mass spectrometry. The results demonstrate the data system capabilities and indicate the utility of the combined methodologies.     

Synthesis,characterization, and antimicrobial activities of barbital-based alkaline earth metal complexes: the X-ray crystal structure of [Ba2H(Barb)5] (Barb = 5,5-diethyl barbiturate)

Three barbital-based alkaline earth metal complexes, [Ca(Barb)₂]?·?3H₂O (1), [Ba₂H(Barb)₅] (2) and [Mg(Barb)₂]?·?2H₂O (3) (Barb?=?5,5-diethyl barbiturate sodium salt), were synthesized and characterized with elemental analysis, thermal analysis, and infrared, Raman, ultraviolet, and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectroscopies. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies reveal that 2 is a dimer. Each barium(II) is surrounded by an O₇N₂ donor set in an approximate monocapped square antiprism with Ba–O distances ranging from 2.6512(14) to 2.9168(15)?Å and Ba–N distances of 2.7601(15) and 3.2558(17)?Å. The complex forms polymeric networks in the solid state with different coordinating abilities of O and N donors and N–H···O hydrogen bonds. The antimicrobial activities of 1–3 were observed against different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, yeast, and molds. Variable antimicrobial activity against the different bacteria strains was observed and compared with that of standard antibiotics; minimum inhibitory concentration values ranged from 22 to 170?µg?mL^?1 for bacteria.     

Screening chemical libraries for nucleic-acid-binding drugs by in vitro selection: A test case with lividomycin

Summary Screening new drugs is a costly and time-consuming process. Identifying new targets for existing therapeutics is often a particularly effective avenue for drug development. We have investigated whether in vitro selection can be used for target acquisition. Aminoglycoside antibiotics are known to bind to and inactivate functional natural nucleic acids, such as ribosomal RNA. As an example of how new targets for aminoglycosides could be identified, a lividomycin aptamer was iteratively isolated from a random sequence pool. The consensus sequence of this and other anti-aminoglycoside aptamers was used as the basis for a comprehensive search of natural sequence databases. Surprisingly, a high degree of similarity was found between aptamers and genomic sequences from a variety of organisms. While many of the similarities found are in regions of unknown or nonessential function, some of the sequences are found in critical genes in pathogenic organisms.     

Heart ablation using a planar rectangular high intensity ultrasound transducer and MRI guidance

The aim of this study was to evaluate a flat rectangular (3 × 10 mm²) MRI compatible transducer operating at 5 MHz. The main task was to explore the feasibility of creating deep lesions in heart at a depth of at least 15 mm. The size of thermal necrosis in heart tissue was estimated as a function of power and time using a simulation model. The system was then tested in an excised lamb heart. In this study, we were able to create lesions of 15 mm deep with acoustic power of 6 W for an exposure of approximately 1 min. The contrast to noise ratio (CNR) between lesion and heart tissue was evaluated using fast spin echo (FSE). The CNR value was approximately 22 using T1 W FSE. Maximum CNR was achieved with repetition time (TR) between 300 and 800 ms. Using T2W FSE, the corresponding CNR was approximately 13 for the 14 in vivo experiments. The average lesion depth was 11.93 mm with a standard deviation of 0.62 mm. In vivo irradiation conditions were 6 W for 60 s. The size of the lesion in the other two dimensions was close to 3 × 10 mm² (size of the transducer element).