Cellular membrane affinity chromatography (CMAC) in drug discovery from complex natural matrices

Secondary plant metabolites are evolutionary-designed molecules that interact with multiple biological targets in human organisms. Identification of pharmacologically active phytochemicals is usually a time consuming and costly process. Cellular membrane affinity chromatography (CMAC) allows the detection of secondary metabolites present in complex natural matrices, e.g. plant extracts and their interactions with the immobilized fully-functional transmembrane proteins. After the isolation process of the binding compounds, CMAC columns can be used to study the binding process between the potential new ligands and the immobilized transmembrane protein target. The following parameters can be determined using CMAC columns: binding affinity (Kd), association rate constant (kon), dissociation rate constant (koff) and the equilibrium constant for complex formation (K). This review summarizes the preparation steps and the use of CMAC columns in the drug discovery process of new potential drug leads present in complex natural matrices

Differential inflammatory microRNA and cytokine expression in pulmonary sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The disease has an important inflammatory and immune component; however, its immunopathogenesis is not completely understood. Recently, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs), the small non-coding RNAs, has attracted attention as both being involved in pathogenesis and serving as disease markers. Accordingly, changes in the expression of some miRNAs have been also associated with different autoimmune pathologies. However, not much is known about the role of miRNAs in sarcoidosis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the level of expression of selected miRNAs in healthy individuals and patients with sarcoidosis. We detected significantly increased level of miR-34a in peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from sarcoidosis patients. Moreover, significantly up-regulated levels of interferon (IFN)-γ, IFN-γ inducible protein (IP-10) and vascular endothelial growth factor were detected in sera of patients when compared to healthy subjects. Our results add to a known inflammatory component in sarcoidosis. Changes in the levels of miR-34a may suggest its involvement in the pathology of this disease

Model Studies on the Antioxidant Activity of Common Terpenoid Constituents of Essential Oils by Means of the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl Method

The research aims to indicate which of the structural elements of monoterpenes are responsible for their antioxidant activity. The activity was determined spectrophotometrically with the use of the DPPH^• assay. It has been shown that π bonds are responsible for the chain-breaking antioxidant activity of monoterpenes. It has been proved, for the first time, that blocking of conjugated double bonds leads to a decrease of the antioxidant activity of monoterpenes. A probable reaction mechanism between monoterpenes and DPPH^• has been proposed. It has been indicated that the antioxidant activity of monoterpenes strongly depends on the polarity of solvent used in the experiments. The presented results may stimulate additional research in the field of terpenoid antioxidants