Cd, Hg, Pb, and As in European species of wild growing forest landscape fungi : a review

Kadmij (Cd), živo srebro (Hg), svinec (Pb) in arzen (As) so kovine, ki se naravno ali kot posledica človekove dejavnosti pojavljajo v okolju, tudi v gozdni krajini, kjer so rastišča številnih evropskih vrst gliv. Namen članka je bil pripraviti pregled vrst in količin izbranih kovin v trosnjakih gliv terprimerjati lastne raziskave, opravljene v različno onesnaženih območjih v Sloveniji (Zgornja Mežiška, Šaleška in Poljanska dolina), s podatki evropskih raziskav. Vsebnosti kovin v trosnjakih gliv iz neonesnaženih območij pravilomanajdemo v naslednjih intervalih: <0,5 mg/kg suhe teže (Cd), < 0,5 mg/kg do 10 mg/kg suhe teže (Hg), < 0,5 mg/kg do 5 mg/kg suhe teže (Pb) in < 0,5 mg/kg do 1 (2) mg/kg suhe teže (As). Na podlagi pregleda vsebnosti izbranih kovin v trosnjakih gliv ugotavljamo, da sta problematični kovini predvsem Cd in Hg. Omenjeni kovini lahko dosegata velike vsebnosti celo v glivah, ki rastejo v neonesnaženih območjih. Za vse analizirane kovin je značilno, da v trosnjakih gliv iz močno onesnaženih območji dosegajo velike, celo ekstemne vsebnosti, ki nekajkrat prekoračujejo vsebnosti iz neonesnaženih območij. Upoštevaje primerjavo z evropskimi raziskavami ugotavljamo, da je Zgornja Mežiška dolina obremenjena s Pb in Cd, Šaleška dolina pa s Cd in As.Metals, which originate from anthropogenic and natural activities, frequently occur in forest landscape with habitats of many European species of wild growing fungi. The presented review focuses on cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) levels in fruiting bodies of wild growing European species of fungi of forest landscape. Furthermore, a comparison with studies of this kind performed in Slovenia was made with the aim to assess themetals levels in fungi from differently polluted areas in Slovenia (the Upper Meža Valley, the Šalek Valley, the Poljana Valley). The usual reported levels for most species grown in unpolluted areas are in the following ranges:Cd: < 0,5 mg/kg - 5 mg/kg dry weight (dw), Hg: < 0,5 mg/kg - 10 mg/kg dw, Pb: < 0,5 mg/kg - 5 mg/kg dw, As: < 0,5 mg/kg -1 (2) mg/kg dw (As), respectively. The presented data reveal that cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) have probably been the most detrimental trace elements in fruiting bodies, which can reach increased levels even in unpolluted areas. It is evident for all analyzed trace elements that values can considerably increase in fungi picked in severely polluted areas. According to data regarding Slovene studies and comparison with other European studies, it is obvious that the Šalek Valley is enriched with Cd and As, while the Upper Meža Valley is considerably polluted with Pb and Cd

Effects of menthol and Akt inhibitors on the gene expression of MRP2.

HepG2 cells were exposed to 10–100 μM menthol, 5 μM MK-2206, 40 μM perifosine, or 40 μM ipatasertib for 24 hr. Total RNA was extracted and purified from HepG2 cells, and the expression level of MRP2 was measured by real-time PCR. The results represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. ***: pver. Control group).</p

Effect of menthol on intracellular accumulation and efflux of EPI.

HepG2 cells were exposed to 100 μM menthol for 24 hr. (A) Cells were preincubated for 10 min at 37°C and then incubated with 5 μM EPI for 10 or 30 min. (B) After the cells had been loaded with 5 μM EPI for 30 min at 37°C, they were incubated in drug-free HBSS for 3 min at 37°C. The results represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. **: pver. Control group), ***: pver. Control group).</p

Effects of menthol on cytotoxicity of EPI and CIS.

The cells were exposed to 5 μM EPI or 80 μM CIS 24 hr after treatment with 100 μM menthol, and cell viability was then evaluated by the MTT method 24 hr later. The results are shown as means ± SD of three independent experiments. **: pp<0.001, NS: not significant.</p

Effect of MK-571 and verapamil on decreased intracellular accumulation of EPI after menthol exposure.

HepG2 cells were exposed to 100 μM menthol for 24 hr. Cells were preincubated for 10 min at 37°C with or without 100 μM MK-571, and 100 μM verapamil, and then incubated with 5 μM EPI for 30 min under the same conditions as for preincubation. The results represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. **: pp<0.001.</p

Kaempulchraols A–H, Diterpenoids from the Rhizomes of <i>Kaempferia pulchra</i> Collected in Myanmar

Eight new diterpenoids, kaempulchraols A–H (<b>1</b>–<b>8</b>), along with five known analogues were isolated from the CHCl₃-soluble extract of rhizomes of <i>Kaempferia pulchra</i> of Myanmar. The structures of these compounds were elucidated using extensive spectroscopic techniques including X-ray diffraction analysis. All the isolates were tested for their antiproliferative activity against a panel of five human cancer cell lines (A549, human lung cancer; HeLa, human cervix cancer; PANC-1 and PSN-1, human pancreatic cancer; MDA-MB-231, human breast cancer) and TIG-3, normal human primary fibroblast cells. Kaempulchraol F (<b>6</b>) exhibited weak activity against the human pancreatic PSN-1 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 12.3 μM

Biosynthetic Pathway for High Structural Diversity of a Common Dilactone Core in Antimycin Production

We herein report comparative analysis of two versions of the biosynthetic gene clusters of antimycins, a natural product family possessing up to 44 distinct entities. The biosynthetic pathway of antimycins is amenable to the high structural variation of the substrates, supported by successes in heterologous expression of the <i>ant</i> cluster and in fluorine incorporation. The latter facilitated the investigation of the structure–activity relationship into the usually invariable 3-formamidosalicylic acid moiety of the molecules

A new sterol from the Vietnamese marine sponge <i>Xestospongia testudinaria</i> and its biological activities

<p>A new sterol, langcosterol A (<b>1</b>), together with two known sterols <b>2</b> and <b>3</b>, were isolated from the marine sponge <i>Xestospongia testudinaria</i> collected in Vietnam. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and comparisons with published data. The new compound <b>1</b> and the known compound <b>3</b> exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines (A549, lung cancer; MCF7, breast cancer; HeLa, cervical cancer) and a human normal cell line (WI-38 fibroblast), with IC₅₀ values ranging from 29.0 to 68.0 μM.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Relationship Between Short Term Variability (STV) and Onset of Cerebral Hemorrhage at Ischemia–Reperfusion Load in Fetal Growth Restricted (FGR) Mice.docx

<p>Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a risk factor exacerbating a poor neurological prognosis at birth. A disease exacerbating a poor neurological prognosis is cerebral palsy. One of the cause of this disease is cerebral hemorrhage including intraventricular hemorrhage. It is believed to be caused by an inability to autoregulate cerebral blood flow as well as immaturity of cerebral vessels. Therefore, if we can evaluate the function of autonomic nerve, cerebral hemorrhage risk can be predicted beforehand and appropriate delivery management may be possible. Here dysfunction of autonomic nerve in mouse FGR fetuses was evaluated and the relationship with cerebral hemorrhage incidence when applying hypoxic load to resemble the brain condition at the time of delivery was examined. Furthermore, FGR incidence on cerebral nerve development and differentiation was examined at the gene expression level. FGR model fetuses were prepared by ligating uterine arteries to reduce placental blood flow. To compare autonomic nerve function in FGR mice with that in control mice, fetal short term variability (STV) was measured from electrocardiograms. In the FGR group, a significant decrease in the STV was observed and dysfunction of cardiac autonomic control was confirmed. Among genes related to nerve development and differentiation, Ntrk and Neuregulin 1, which are necessary for neural differentiation and plasticity, were expressed at reduced levels in FGR fetuses. Under normal conditions, Neurogenin 1 and Neurogenin 2 are expressed mid-embryogenesis and are related to neural differentiation, but they are not expressed during late embryonic development. The expression of these two genes increased in FGR fetuses, suggesting that neural differentiation is delayed with FGR. Uterine and ovarian arteries were clipped and periodically opened to give a hypoxic load mimicking the time of labor, and the bleeding rate significantly increased in the FGR group. This suggests that FGR deteriorates cardiac autonomic control, which becomes a risk factor for cerebral hemorrhage onset at birth. This study demonstrated that cerebral hemorrhage risk may be evaluated before parturition for FGR management by evaluating the STV. Further, this study suggests that choosing an appropriate delivery timing and delivery method contributes to neurological prognosis improvement.</p

A Methyltransferase Initiates Terpene Cyclization in Teleocidin B Biosynthesis

Teleocidin B is an indole terpenoid isolated from Streptomyces. Due to its unique chemical structure and ability to activate protein kinase C, it has attracted interest in the areas of organic chemistry and cell biology. Here, we report the identification of genes encoding enzymes for teleocidin B biosynthesis, including nonribosomal peptide synthetase (<i>tleA</i>), P-450 monooxygenase (<i>tleB</i>), prenyltransferase (<i>tleC</i>), and methyltransferase (<i>tleD</i>). The <i>tleD</i> gene, which is located outside of the <i>tleABC</i> cluster on the chromosome, was identified by transcriptional analysis and heterologous expression. Remarkably, TleD not only installs a methyl group on the geranyl moiety of the precursor but also facilitates the nucleophilic attack from the electron-rich indole to the resultant cation, to form the indole-fused six-membered ring. This is the first demonstration of a cation, generated from methylation, triggering successive terpenoid ring closure