93 research outputs found
Impact of copper and iron binding properties on the anticancer activity of 8-hydroxyquinoline derived Mannich bases.
The anticancer activity of 8-hydroxyquinolines relies on complex formation with redox active copper and iron ions. Here we employ UV-visible spectrophotometry and EPR spectroscopy to compare proton dissociation and complex formation processes of the reference compound 8-hydroxyquinoline (Q-1) and three related Mannich bases to reveal possible correlations with biological activity. The studied derivatives harbor a CH2-N moiety at position 7 linked to morpholine (Q-2), piperidine (Q-3), and chlorine and fluorobenzylamino (Q-4) substituents. Solid phase structures of Q-3, Q-4·HCl·H2O, [(Cu(HQ-2)2)2]·(CH3OH)2·Cl4·(H2O)2, [Cu(Q-3)2]·Cl2 and [Cu(HQ-4)2(CH3OH)]·ZnCl4·CH3OH were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, the redox properties of the copper and iron complexes were studied by cyclic voltammetry, and the direct reaction with physiologically relevant reductants (glutathione and ascorbic acid) was monitored. In vitro cytotoxicity studies conducted with the human uterine sarcoma MES-SA/Dx5 cell line reveal the significant cytotoxicity of Q-2, Q-3, and Q-4 in the sub- to low micromolar range (IC50 values 0.2-3.3 μM). Correlation analysis of the anticancer activity and the metal binding properties of the compound series indicates that, at physiological pH, weaker copper(ii) and iron(iii) binding results in elevated toxicity (e.g.Q4: pCu = 13.0, pFe = 6.8, IC50 = 0.2 μM vs.Q1: pCu = 15.1, pFe = 13.0 IC50 = 2.5 μM). Although the studied 8-hydroxyquinolines preferentially bind copper(ii) over iron(iii), the cyclic voltammetry data revealed that the more cytotoxic ligands preferentially stabilize the lower oxidation state of the metal ions. A linear relationship between the pKa (OH) and IC50 values of the studied 8-hydroxyquinolines was found. In summary, we identify Q-4 as a potent and selective anticancer candidate with significant toxicity in drug resistant cells
dUTPase expression correlates with cell division potential in Drosophila melanogaster
dUTPase is a dNTP sanitizing enzyme that prevents the appearance of the potentially harmful uracil bases in DNA by hydrolyzing cellular dUTP. This function of dUTPase is found to be essential in many organisms including Drosophila melanogaster. Previously we showed that the expression pattern of dUTPase determines the extent of uracil accumulation in the genome of different tissues. We wished to reveal the regulatory mechanism that eventually leaves a set of tissues to have uracil-free and intact genome. We found that the expression pattern established by the promoter of Drosophila dUTPase overlaps with mRNA and protein expression pattern, excluding the involvement of other posttranscriptional contribution. This promoter was found to be active in primordial tissues, such as in imaginal discs of the larvae, in the larval brain and in reproductive organs. In the case of brain and imaginal tissues, we observed that the promoter activity depends on DRE motifs, the docking site of DREF, which is known as a transcriptional activator of genes involved in replication and proliferation. These results suggest that dUTPase expression is fine-tuned to meet the requirements of DNA synthesis, in tissues where the maintenance of genome integrity is of high importance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Rotated multifractal network generator
The recently introduced multifractal network generator (MFNG), has been shown
to provide a simple and flexible tool for creating random graphs with very
diverse features. The MFNG is based on multifractal measures embedded in 2d,
leading also to isolated nodes, whose number is relatively low for realistic
cases, but may become dominant in the limiting case of infinitely large network
sizes. Here we discuss the relation between this effect and the information
dimension for the 1d projection of the link probability measure (LPM), and
argue that the node isolation can be avoided by a simple transformation of the
LPM based on rotation.Comment: Accepted for publication in JSTA
Statistical mechanics of topological phase transitions in networks
We provide a phenomenological theory for topological transitions in
restructuring networks. In this statistical mechanical approach energy is
assigned to the different network topologies and temperature is used as a
quantity referring to the level of noise during the rewiring of the edges. The
associated microscopic dynamics satisfies the detailed balance condition and is
equivalent to a lattice gas model on the edge-dual graph of a fully connected
network. In our studies -- based on an exact enumeration method, Monte-Carlo
simulations, and theoretical considerations -- we find a rich variety of
topological phase transitions when the temperature is varied. These transitions
signal singular changes in the essential features of the global structure of
the network. Depending on the energy function chosen, the observed transitions
can be best monitored using the order parameters Phi_s=s_{max}/M, i.e., the
size of the largest connected component divided by the number of edges, or
Phi_k=k_{max}/M, the largest degree in the network divided by the number of
edges. If, for example the energy is chosen to be E=-s_{max}, the observed
transition is analogous to the percolation phase transition of random graphs.
For this choice of the energy, the phase-diagram in the [,T] plane is
constructed. Single vertex energies of the form
E=sum_i f(k_i), where k_i is the degree of vertex i, are also studied.
Depending on the form of f(k_i), first order and continuous phase transitions
can be observed. In case of f(k_i)=-(k_i+c)ln(k_i), the transition is
continuous, and at the critical temperature scale-free graphs can be recovered.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, minor changes, added a new refernce, to appear
in PR
Evaluation of 9-cis retinoic acid and mitotane as antitumoral agents in an adrenocortical xenograft model
Cardioprotective efficacy of limb remote ischaemic preconditioning in rats: discrepancy between a meta-analysis and a three-centre in vivo study
Cardiac changes and decreased cardiac expression of FOXP2 mediated by diet-induced moderate obesity cannot be affected by MAO-B inhibition : [abstract]
Saxagliptin Cardiotoxicity in Chronic Heart Failure: The Role of DPP4 in the Regulation of Neuropeptide Tone
Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors are novel medicines for diabetes. The SAVORTIMI-53 clinical trial revealed increased heart-failure-associated hospitalization in saxagliptin-treated
patients. Although this side effect could limit therapeutic use, the mechanism of this potential
cardiotoxicity is unclear. We aimed to establish a cellular platform to investigate DPP4 inhibition
and the role of its neuropeptide substrates substance P (SP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY), and to
determine the expression of DDP4 and its neuropeptide substrates in the human heart. Western
blot, radio-, enzyme-linked immuno-, and RNA scope assays were performed to investigate the
expression of DPP4 and its substrates in human hearts. Calcein-based viability measurements and
scratch assays were used to test the potential toxicity of DPP4 inhibitors. Cardiac expression of DPP4
and NPY decreased in heart failure patients. In human hearts, DPP4 mRNA is detectable mainly
in cardiomyocytes and endothelium. Treatment with DPP4 inhibitors alone/in combination with
neuropeptides did not affect viability but in scratch assays neuropeptides decreased, while saxagliptin
co-administration increased fibroblast migration in isolated neonatal rat cardiomyocyte-fibroblast
co-culture. Decreased DPP4 activity takes part in the pathophysiology of end-stage heart failure.
DPP4 compensates against the elevated sympathetic activity and altered neuropeptide tone. Its
inhibition decreases this adaptive mechanism, thereby exacerbating myocardial damage
Systematic transcriptomic and phenotypic characterization of human and murine cardiac myocyte cell lines and primary cardiomyocytes reveals serious limitations and low resemblances to adult cardiac phenotype
Background
Cardiac cell lines and primary cells are widely used in cardiovascular research. Despite increasing number of publications using these models, comparative characterization of these cell lines has not been performed, therefore, their limitations are undetermined. We aimed to compare cardiac cell lines to primary cardiomyocytes and to mature cardiac tissues in a systematic manner.
Methods and results
Cardiac cell lines (H9C2, AC16, HL-1) were differentiated with widely used protocols. Left ventricular tissue, neonatal primary cardiomyocytes, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes served as reference tissue or cells. RNA expression of cardiac markers (e.g. Tnnt2, Ryr2) was markedly lower in cell lines compared to references. Differentiation induced increase in cardiac- and decrease in embryonic markers however, the overall transcriptomic profile and annotation to relevant biological processes showed consistently less pronounced cardiac phenotype in all cell lines in comparison to the corresponding references. Immunocytochemistry confirmed low expressions of structural protein sarcomeric alpha-actinin, troponin I and caveolin-3 in cell lines. Susceptibility of cell lines to sI/R injury in terms of viability as well as mitochondrial polarization differed from the primary cells irrespective of their degree of differentiation.
Conclusion
Expression patterns of cardiomyocyte markers and whole transcriptomic profile, as well as response to sI/R, and to hypertrophic stimuli indicate low-to-moderate similarity of cell lines to primary cells/cardiac tissues regardless their differentiation. Low resemblance of cell lines to mature adult cardiac tissue limits their potential use. Low translational value should be taken into account while choosing a particular cell line to model cardiomyocytes
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