Stable Isotope-Resolved Metabolomics Shows Metabolic Resistance to Anti-Cancer Selenite in 3D Spheroids Versus 2D Cell Cultures

Conventional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures are grown on rigid plastic substrates with unrealistic concentration gradients of O2, nutrients, and treatment agents. More importantly, 2D cultures lack cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, which are critical for regulating cell behavior and functions. There are several three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems such as Matrigel, hydrogels, micropatterned plates, and hanging drop that overcome these drawbacks but they suffer from technical challenges including long spheroid formation times, difficult handling for high throughput assays, and/or matrix contamination for metabolic studies. Magnetic 3D bioprinting (M3DB) can circumvent these issues by utilizing nanoparticles that enable spheroid formation and growth via magnetizing cells. M3DB spheroids have been shown to emulate tissue and tumor microenvironments while exhibiting higher resistance to toxic agents than their 2D counterparts. It is, however, unclear if and how such 3D systems impact cellular metabolic networks, which may determine altered toxic responses in cells. We employed a Stable Isotope-Resolved Metabolomics (SIRM) approach with 13C6-glucose as tracer to map central metabolic networks both in 2D cells and M3DB spheroids formed from lung (A549) and pancreatic (PANC1) adenocarcinoma cells without or with an anti-cancer agent (sodium selenite). We found that the extent of 13C-label incorporation into metabolites of glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, the pentose phosphate pathway, and purine/pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis was largely comparable between 2D and M3DB culture systems for both cell lines. The exceptions were the reduced capacity for de novo synthesis of pyrimidine and sugar nucleotides in M3DB than 2D cultures of A549 and PANC1 cells as well as the presence of gluconeogenic activity in M3DB spheroids of PANC1 cells but not in the 2D counterpart. More strikingly, selenite induced much less perturbation of these pathways in the spheroids relative to the 2D counterparts in both cell lines, which is consistent with the corresponding lesser effects on morphology and growth. Thus, the increased resistance of cancer cell spheroids to selenite may be linked to the reduced capacity of selenite to perturb these metabolic pathways necessary for growth and survival

Small-Molecule Activators of Insulin-Degrading Enzyme Discovered through High-Throughput Compound Screening

Background: Hypocatabolism of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) by insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD), making pharmacological activation of IDE an attractive therapeutic strategy. However, it has not been established whether the proteolytic activity of IDE can be enhanced by drug-like compounds. Methodology/Principal Findings: Based on the finding that ATP and other nucleotide polyphosphates modulate IDE activity at physiological concentrations, we conducted parallel high-throughput screening campaigns in the absence or presence of ATP and identified two compounds—designated Ia1 and Ia2—that significantly stimulate IDE proteolytic activity. Both compounds were found to interfere with the crosslinking of a photoaffinity ATP analogue to IDE, suggesting that they interact with a bona fide ATP-binding domain within IDE. Unexpectedly, we observed highly synergistic activation effects when the activity of Ia1 or Ia2 was tested in the presence of ATP, a finding that has implications for the mechanisms underlying ATP-mediated activation of IDE. Notably, Ia1 and Ia2 activated the degradation of Aβ by ∼700% and ∼400%, respectively, albeit only when Aβ was presented in a mixture also containing shorter substrates. Conclusions/Significance: This study describes the first examples of synthetic small-molecule activators of IDE, showing that pharmacological activation of this important protease with drug-like compounds is achievable. These novel activators help to establish the putative ATP-binding domain as a key modulator of IDE proteolytic activity and offer new insights into the modulatory action of ATP. Several larger lessons abstracted from this screen will help inform the design of future screening campaigns and facilitate the eventual development of IDE activators with therapeutic utility

Mapping the internal recognition surface of an octanuclear coordination cage using guest libraries

Size and shape criteria for guest binding inside the cavity of an octanuclear cubic coordination cage in water have been established using a new fluorescence displacement assay to quantify guest binding. For aliphatic cyclic ketones of increasing size (from C5 to C11), there is a linear relationship between ΔG for guest binding and the guest’s surface area: the change in ΔG for binding is 0.3 kJ mol–1 Å–2, corresponding to 5 kJ mol–1 for each additional CH2 group in the guest, in good agreement with expectations based on hydrophobic desolvation. The highest association constant is K = 1.2 × 106 M–1 for cycloundecanone, whose volume is approximately 50% of the cavity volume; for larger C12 and C13 cyclic ketones, the association constant progressively decreases as the guests become too large. For a series of C10 aliphatic ketones differing in shape but not size, ΔG for guest binding showed no correlation with surface area. These guests are close to the volume limit of the cavity (cf. Rebek’s 55% rule), so the association constant is sensitive to shape complementarity, with small changes in guest structure resulting in large changes in binding affinity. The most flexible members of this series (linear aliphatic ketones) did not bind, whereas the more preorganized cyclic ketones all have association constants of 104–105 M–1. A crystal structure of the cage·cycloundecanone complex shows that the guest carbonyl oxygen is directed into a binding pocket defined by a convergent set of CH groups, which act as weak hydrogen-bond donors, and also shows close contacts between the exterior surface of the disc-shaped guest and the interior surface of the pseudospherical cage cavity despite the slight mismatch in shape

Organoiridium complexes : anticancer agents and catalysts

Iridium is a relatively rare precious heavy metal, only slightly less dense than osmium. Researchers have long recognized the catalytic properties of square-planar Ir(I) complexes, such as Crabtree's hydrogenation catalyst, an organometallic complex with cyclooctadiene, phosphane, and pyridine ligands. More recently, chemists have developed half-sandwich pseudo-octahedral pentamethylcyclopentadienyl Ir(III) complexes containing diamine ligands that efficiently catalyze transfer hydrogenation reactions of ketones and aldehydes in water using H2 or formate as the hydrogen source. Although sometimes assumed to be chemically inert, the reactivity of low-spin 5d(6) Ir(III) centers is highly dependent on the set of ligands. Cp* complexes with strong σ-donor C^C-chelating ligands can even stabilize Ir(IV) and catalyze the oxidation of water. In comparison with well developed Ir catalysts, Ir-based pharmaceuticals are still in their infancy. In this Account, we review recent developments in organoiridium complexes as both catalysts and anticancer agents. Initial studies of anticancer activity with organoiridium complexes focused on square-planar Ir(I) complexes because of their structural and electronic similarity to Pt(II) anticancer complexes such as cisplatin. Recently, researchers have studied half-sandwich Ir(III) anticancer complexes. These complexes with the formula [(Cp(x))Ir(L^L')Z](0/n+) (with Cp* or extended Cp* and L^L' = chelated C^N or N^N ligands) have a much greater potency (nanomolar) toward a range of cancer cells (especially leukemia, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and melanoma) than cisplatin. Their mechanism of action may involve both an attack on DNA and a perturbation of the redox status of cells. Some of these complexes can form Ir(III)-hydride complexes using coenzyme NAD(P)H as a source of hydride to catalyze the generation of H2 or the reduction of quinones to semiquinones. Intriguingly, relatively unreactive organoiridium complexes containing an imine as a monodentate ligand have prooxidant activity, which appears to involve catalytic hydride transfer to oxygen and the generation of hydrogen peroxide in cells. In addition, researchers have designed inert Ir(III) complexes as potent kinase inhibitors. Octahedral cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes not only serve as cell imaging agents, but can also inhibit tumor necrosis factor α, promote DNA oxidation, generate singlet oxygen when photoactivated, and exhibit good anticancer activity. Although relatively unexplored, organoiridium chemistry offers unique features that researchers can exploit to generate novel diagnostic agents and drugs with new mechanisms of action

The main actors involved in parasitization of Heliothis virescens larva

At the moment of parasitization by another insect, the host Heliothis larva is able to defend itself by the activation of humoral and cellular defenses characterized by unusual reactions of hemocytes in response to external stimuli. Here, we have combined light and electron microscopy, staining reactions, and immunocytochemical characterization to analyze the activation and deactivation of one of the most important immune responses involved in invertebrates defense, i.e., melanin production and deposition. The insect host/parasitoid system is a good model to study these events. The activated granulocytes of the host insect are a major repository of amyloid fibrils forming a lattice in the cell. Subsequently, the exocytosed amyloid lattice constitutes the template for melanin deposition in the hemocel. Furthermore, cross-talk between immune and neuroendocrine systems mediated by hormones, cytokines, and neuromodulators with the activation of stress-sensoring circuits to produce and release molecules such as adrenocorticotropin hormone, alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and neutral endopeptidase occurs. Thus, parasitization promotes massive morphological and physiological modifications in the host insect hemocytes and mimics general stress conditions in which phenomena such as amyloid fibril formation, melanin polymerization, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and activation of the adrenocorticotropin hormone system occur. These events observed in invertebrates are also reported in the literature for vertebrates, suggesting that this network of mechanisms and responses is maintained throughout evolution

An Interconverting Family of Coordination Cages and a meso-Helicate; Effects of Temperature, Concentration, and Solvent on the Product Distribution of a Self-Assembly Process

The self-assembly between a water-soluble bis-bidentate ligand L^18w and Co­(II) salts in water affords three high-spin Co­(II) products: a dinuclear <i>meso</i>-helicate [Co₂(L^18w)₃]­X₄; a tetrahedral cage [Co₄(L^18w)₆]­X₈; and a dodecanuclear truncated-tetrahedral cage [Co₁₂(L^18w)₁₈]­X₂₄ (X = BF₄ or ClO₄). All three products were crystallized under different conditions and structurally characterized. In [Co₂(L^18w)₃]­X₄ all three bridging ligands span a pair of metal ions; in the two larger products, there is a metal ion at each vertex of the Co₄ or Co₁₂ polyhedral cage array with a bridging ligand spanning a pair of metal ions along every edge. All three structural types are known: what is unusual here is the presence of all three from the same reaction. The assemblies <b>Co</b>_<b>2</b>, <b>Co</b>_<b>4</b>, and <b>Co</b>_<b>12</b> are in slow equilibrium (hours/days) in aqueous solution, and this can be conveniently monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy because (i) the paramagnetism of Co­(II) disperses the signals over a range of ca. 200 ppm and (ii) the different symmetries of the three species give characteristically different numbers of independent ¹H NMR signals, which makes identification easy. From temperature- and concentration-dependent ¹H NMR studies it is clear that increasing temperature and increasing dilution favors fragmentation to give a larger proportion of the smaller assemblies for entropic reasons. High concentrations and low temperature favor the larger assembly despite the unfavorable entropic and electrostatic factors associated with its formation. We suggest that this arises from the hydrophobic effect: reorganization of several smaller complexes into one larger one results in a smaller proportion of the hydrophobic ligand surface being exposed to water, with a larger proportion of the ligand surface protected in the interior of the assembly. In agreement with this, ¹H NMR spectra in a nonaqueous solvent (MeNO₂) show formation of only [Co₂(L^18w)₃]­X₄ because the driving force for reorganization into larger assemblies is now absent. Thus, we can identify the contributions of temperature, concentration, and solvent on the result of the metal/ligand self-assembly process and have determined the speciation behavior of the <b>Co</b>_<b>2</b>/<b>Co</b>_<b>4</b>/<b>Co</b>_<b>12</b> system in aqueous solution

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease

\ua9 2023, This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply. Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations