Ancient Chinese medicine and mechanistic evidence of acupuncture physiology

Acupuncture has been widely used in China for three millennia as an art of healing. Yet, its physiology is not yet understood. The current interest in acupuncture started in 1971. Soon afterward, extensive research led to the concept of neural signaling with possible involvement of opioid peptides, glutamate, adenosine and identifying responsive parts in the central nervous system. In the last decade scientists began investigating the subject with anatomical and molecular imaging. It was found that mechanical movements of the needle, ignored in the past, appear to be central to the method and intracellular calcium ions may play a pivotal role. In this review, we trace the technique of clinical treatment from the first written record about 2,200 years ago to the modern time. The ancient texts have been used to introduce the concepts of yin, yang, qi, de qi, and meridians, the traditional foundation of acupuncture. We explore the sequence of the physiological process, from the turning of the needle, the mechanical wave activation of calcium ion channel to beta-endorphin secretion. By using modern terminology to re-interpret the ancient texts, we have found that the 2nd century b.c. physiologists were meticulous investigators and their explanation fits well with the mechanistic model derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confocal microscopy. In conclusion, the ancient model appears to have withstood the test of time surprisingly well confirming the popular axiom that the old wine is better than the new

Therapeutic DNA Vaccine Encoding Peptide P10 against Experimental Paracoccidioidomycosis

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, is the most prevalent invasive fungal disease in South America. Systemic mycoses are the 10th most common cause of death among infectious diseases in Brazil and PCM is responsible for more than 50% of deaths due to fungal infections. PCM is typically treated with sulfonamides, amphotericin B or azoles, although complete eradication of the fungus may not occur and relapsing disease is frequently reported. A 15-mer peptide from the major diagnostic antigen gp43, named P10, can induce a strong T-CD4+ helper-1 immune response in mice. The TEPITOPE algorithm and experimental data have confirmed that most HLA-DR molecules can present P10, which suggests that P10 is a candidate antigen for a PCM vaccine. In the current work, the therapeutic efficacy of plasmid immunization with P10 and/or IL-12 inserts was tested in murine models of PCM. When given prior to or after infection with P. brasiliensis virulent Pb 18 isolate, plasmid-vaccination with P10 and/or IL-12 inserts successfully reduced the fungal burden in lungs of infected mice. In fact, intramuscular administration of a combination of plasmids expressing P10 and IL-12 given weekly for one month, followed by single injections every month for 3 months restored normal lung architecture and eradicated the fungus in mice that were infected one month prior to treatment. The data indicate that immunization with these plasmids is a powerful procedure for prevention and treatment of experimental PCM, with the perspective of being also effective in human patients

A theoretical investigation of steric effects on H-1 chemical shifts of camphor and norcamphor derivatives

Camphor and norcamphor derivatives provide convenient models for testing and evaluating some of the results of our work on substituted adamantanes and for checking their applicability to other systems. Our results show that the reduction in C-H bond lengths associated with steric interactions are not as pronounced in systems that are less rigid. Deshielding of H-1 chemical shifts on introduction of the substituent in exo and endo positions can also be traced to angular distortions which are stronger in norcamphor, bornane and camphor than in norbornane due to additional steric interactions with a carbonyl group, with methyl groups, or with both. H-1 chemical shifts are sensitive probes for steric effects, reflecting differences in bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles in a systematic way. Given the proper models for comparison purposes they can be used to evaluate the size of a certain group and locate its interactions with the rest of the molecular framework. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.76741699293

Experimental, SOPPA(CCSD), and DFT Analysis of Substitutent Effects on NMR (1)J(CF) Coupling Constants in Fluorobenzene Derivatives

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Interesting insight into the electronic molecular structure changes associated with substituent effects on the Fermi contact (FC) and paramagnetic spin-orbit (PSO) terms of (1)J(CF) NMR coupling constants (SSCCs) in o-X-, m-X-, and p-X-fluorobenzenes (X = NH2; NO2) is presented. The formulation of this approach is based on the influence of different conjugative and hyperconjugative interactions on a second-order property, which can be qualitatively predicted if it is known how they affect the main virtual excitations entering into that second-order property. A set of consistent approximations are introduced in order to analyze the behavior of occupied and virtual orbitals, which define some experimental trends for (1)J(CF) spin-spin coupling constants. In addition, DFT hybrid functionals were used, and a similar degree of confidence to compute the (1)J(CF) with those observed for the SOPPA(CCSD) method was obtained. The (1)J(CF) SSCCs for ezetimibe, a commercially fluorinated drug used to reduce cholesterol levels, were measured and DFT-calculated, and the qualitative approach quoted above was applied. As a byproduct, a possible method to determine experimentally a significant PSO contribution to (1)J(CF) SSCCs is discussed.115712721279Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CONICET [PIP 0369/10]UBATEC [X047]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [05/59649-0, 06/02783-9]CONICET [PIP 0369/10]UBATEC [X047

Solvent effects in the (2)J(HH), (3)J(HH), (1)J(NC) and (2)J(NC) coupling constants in the NMR spectrum of acetylcholine chloride

Coupling constant values (J(NH) and J(NC)) obtained from H-1 and C-13 NMR spectra of acetylcholine chloride (ACh) in several solvents with a wide range of permittivity constants (epsilon) are remarkably invariant, indicating the absence of solvent effects in the conformational equilibrium of this compound. The values show that the OCH2CH2N+ system occurs in a gauche arrangement. J(NH) and J(NC) are observable in most solvents, but not in chlorine-containing solvents, and are not dependent on solvent viscosity. This behavior was explained using data from T-1 measurements. The measurement of NMR diffusion coefficients shows that ACh has a greater tendency to aggregate when dissolved in chlorinated solvents, a fact that could explain the observed differences in N-14 T-1. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.79741699444