Tetrakis[μ-3-(3-pyridyl)acrylato-κ2 O:O′]bis{(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)[3-(3-pyridyl)acrylato-κ2 O,O′]europium(III)} pentahydrate

The europiumIII ion in the title compound, [Eu2(C8H6NO2)6(C12H8N2)2]·5H2O, is coordinated by seven carboxyl­ate O atoms and two N atoms from one phenanthroline mol­ecule. The carboxyl­ate groups of 3-(3-pyrid­yl)acrylate link pairs of europium(III) ions, forming centrosymmetric dinuclear units, which further assemble into a sheet parallel to the (001) plane through hydrogen-bonding inter­actions involving the uncoordinated water mol­ecules. One water molecule is disordered

Effect of route of delivery on heterologous protection against HCV induced by an adenovirus vector carrying HCV structural genes

BACKGROUND: An effective vaccine and new therapeutic methods for hepatitis C virus (HCV) are needed, and a potent HCV vaccine must induce robust and sustained cellular-mediated immunity (CMI). Research has indicated that adenoviral and vaccinia vectors may have the ability to elicit strong B and T cell immune responses to target antigens. RESULTS: A recombinant replication-defective adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) vector, rAd5-CE1E2, and a recombinant Tian Tan vaccinia vector, rTTV-CE1E2, were constructed to express the HCV CE1E2 gene (1-746 amino acid HCV 1b subtype). Mice were prime-immunised with rAd5-CE1E2 delivered via intramuscular injection (i.m.), intranasal injection (i.n.), or intradermal injection (i.d.) and boosted using a different combination of injection routes. CMI was evaluated via IFN-γ ELISPOT and ICS 2 weeks after immunisation, or 16 weeks after boost for long-term responses. The humoral response was analysed by ELISA. With the exception of priming by i.n. injection, a robust CMI response against multiple HCV antigens (core, E1, E2) was elicited and remained at a high level for a long period (16 weeks post-vaccination) in mice. However, i.n. priming elicited the highest anti-core antibody levels. Priming with i.d. rAd5-CE1E2 and boosting with i.d. rTTV-CE1E2 carried out simultaneously enhanced CMI and the humoral immune response, compared to the homologous rAd5-CE1E2 immune groups. All regimens demonstrated equivalent cross-protective potency in a heterologous surrogate challenge assay based on a recombinant HCV (JFH1, 2a) vaccinia virus. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that a rAd5-CE1E2-based HCV vaccine would be capable of eliciting an effective immune response and cross-protection. These findings have important implications for the development of T cell-based HCV vaccine candidates

Molecular examination of bone marrow stromal cells and chondroitinase ABC-assisted acellular nerve allograft for peripheral nerve regeneration

The present study aimed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying combinatorial bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) transplantation and chondroitinase ABC (Ch-ABC) therapy in a model of acellular nerve allograft (ANA) repair of the sciatic nerve gap in rats. Sprague Dawley rats (n=24) were used as nerve donors and Wistar rats (n=48) were randomly divided into the following groups: Group I, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) control group (ANA treated with DMEM only); Group II, Ch-ABC group (ANA treated with Ch-ABC only); Group III, BMSC group (ANA seeded with BMSCs only); Group IV, Ch-ABC + BMSCs group (Ch-ABC treated ANA then seeded with BMSCs). After 8 weeks, the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the regenerated tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Axonal regeneration, motor neuron protection and functional recovery were examined by immunohistochemistry, horseradish peroxidase retrograde neural tracing and electrophysiological and tibialis anterior muscle recovery analyses. It was observed that combination therapy enhances the growth response of the donor nerve locally as well as distally, at the level of the spinal cord motoneuron and the target muscle organ. This phenomenon is likely due to the propagation of retrograde and anterograde transport of growth signals sourced from the graft site. Collectively, growth improvement on the donor nerve, target muscle and motoneuron ultimately contribute to efficacious axonal regeneration and functional recovery. Thorough investigation of molecular peripheral nerve injury combinatorial strategies are required for the optimization of efficacious therapy and full functional recovery following ANA

Edge-Termination and Core-Modification Effects of Hexagonal Nanosheet Graphene

[[abstract]]Optimized geometries and electronic structures of two different hexagonal grapheme nanosheets (HGNSs), with armchair (n-A-HGNS, n = 3–11) and zigzag (n-Z-HGNS, n = 1–8) edges have been calculated by using the GGA/PBE method implemented in the SIESTA package, with the DZP basis set, where n represents the number of peripheral rings. The computed HOMO-LUMO energy gap (Eg = ELUMO − EHOMO) decreases for fully H-terminated A- and Z-HGNSs with increasing n, i.e., with increasing nanosheet size and pπ-orbitals being widely delocalized over the sheet surface. The full terminations, calculated with various functional groups, including the electron-withdrawing (F-, Cl-, and CN-) and -donating (OH-, and SH-) substitutions, were addressed. Significant lowering of EHOMO and ELUMO was obtained for CN-terminated HGNS as compared to those for H-terminated ones due to the mesomeric effect. The calculated Eg value decreases with increasing n for all terminations, whereby for the SH-termination in HGNS, the termination effect becomes less significant with increasing n. Further, the calculation results for stabilities of HGNS oxides support the tendency toward the oxidative reactivity at the edge site of the sheet, which shows most pronounced C-C bond length alternation, by chemical modification. Physical properties of HGNSs with various numbers of the core-defects, which can be obtained by strong oxidation, were also investigated. Their structures can change drastically from planar to saddle-like shapes. These conformations could be used as stationary phases with controlled interaction in the separation methods such as HPLC and the other chemical analysis techniques.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子