Optical manipulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells reveals that green light protection against UV irradiation is favored by low Ca2+ and requires intact UPR pathway

AbstractOptical manipulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with high density green photons conferred protection against the deleterious effects of UV radiation. Combining chemical screening with UV irradiation of yeast cells, it was noted that the high density green photons relied on the presence of intact unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway to exert their protective effect and that the low Ca2+ conditions boosted the effect. UPR chemical inducers tunicamycin, dithiotreitol and calcium chelators augmented the green light effect in a synergic action against UV-induced damage. Photo-manipulation of cells was a critical factor since the maximum protection was achieved only when cells were pre-exposed to green light

Heat shock, visible light or high calcium augment the cytotoxic effects of <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> (Swingle) leaf extracts against <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> cells

<div><p>To gain new insight into the antimicrobial potential of <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> Swingle, ethanol leaf extracts were evaluated for the antifungal effects against the model yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisae</i>. The extracts inhibited the yeast growth in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect could be augmented by heat shock, exposure to visible light or exposure to high concentrations of Ca²⁺. Using transgenic yeast cells expressing the Ca²⁺-dependent photoprotein, aequorin, it was found that the leaf extracts induced cytosolic Ca²⁺ elevation. Experiments on yeast mutants with defects in Ca²⁺ transport demonstrated that the cytotoxicity of the <i>A. altissima</i> leaf extracts (AaLEs) was mediated by transient pulses of Ca²⁺ ions which were released into the cytosol predominantly from the vacuole. The investigation of the antifungal synergies involving AaLEs may contribute to the development of optimal and safe combination therapies for the treatment of drug-resistant fungal infections.</p></div

Green light effects on biological systems: a new biophysical phenomenon

This paper reports a new phenomenon connected with the influence of green light (GL) on biological systems. Our experiments have revealed an antioxidant effect of GL on cells subjected to lethal doses of UV at the cellular level and a protective effect of GL on DNA denatured by UV, coupled with a structural modification of DNA macromolecules under GL irradiation, at the molecular level. Mouse melanocyte cultures are subjected to UV irradiations with L50 fluxes of 16.0 J m − 2 s − 1. GL is obtained from a strontium aluminate pigment, which emits GL under UV activation. Cells grown in GL, prior to UV irradiation, present a clear surprising protective effect with surviving values close to the controls. A GL antioxidant effect is suggested to be mediated through GL influence on cellular water cluster dynamics. To test this hypothesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are determined in cell cultures. The results revealed a decrease of cellular ROS generation in the UV-irradiated samples protected by a previous 24 h of GL irradiation. At the DNA level, the same type of GL protection against UV damage is recorded by gel electrophoresis and by UV spectroscopy of the irradiated DNA molecules. Two physical methods, impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry, have revealed at the level of GL-irradiated DNA molecules spectral modifications that correlate with the UV spectroscopy results. The interaction between the chargeless photons and the field of water molecules from the cellular compartments is discussed in relation with the new field of macroscopic quantum coherence phenomena