Flying-seed-like liquid crystals 7(+): Synthesis and mesomorphism of novel octakis(m-chloropyridyloxy) phthalocyanato copper(II) complexes

We have synthesized three novel octakis(m-chloropyridyloxy) phthalocyaninato copper(II) complexes, [x-PyO(m-Cl)](8)PcCu(x = 2, 3, 4: 2a-2c), keeping a chlorine atom at the meta position on the 2-, 3- and 4-pyridyloxy group, in which the nitrogen atom is located at the 2-, 3-and 4-positions, respectively. Their phase transition behavior and the mesophase structure have been established by using a polarizing optical microscope, a differential scanning calorimeter, and a temperature-dependent small angle X-ray diffractometer. Very interestingly, the mesomorphism appears with strong dependence of the position of nitrogen in m-chloropyridyloxy group. The derivative [3-PyO(m-Cl)](8)PcCu (2b) introduced a nitrogen atom at the 3-position is not mesogenic but crystalline. On the other hand, the derivative [2-PyO(m-Cl)](8)PcCu (2a) introduced a nitrogen atom at the 2-position shows columnar mesomorphism only at very high temperatures over 325 degrees C. The derivative [4-PyO(m-Cl)](8)PcCu (2c) introduced a nitrogen atom at the 4-position shows columnar mesomorphism in a very wide temperature region from rt to the decomposition temperature at 306 degrees C. From the viewpoint of N center dot center dot center dot Cl halogen bond, we have discussed about relationship between their mesomorphism and the position of nitrogen atom in m-chloropyridyloxy group.ArticleJOURNAL OF PORPHYRINS AND PHTHALOCYANINES. 21(1):48-58 (2017)journal articl

Safe and efficient method for cryopreservation of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem and progenitor cells by a programmed freezer with a magnetic field

AbstractStem cells represent a potential cellular resource in the development of regenerative medicine approaches to the treatment of pathologies in which specific cells are degenerated or damaged by genetic abnormality, disease, or injury. Securing sufficient supplies of cells suited to the demands of cell transplantation, however, remains challenging, and the establishment of safe and efficient cell banking procedures is an important goal. Cryopreservation allows the storage of stem cells for prolonged time periods while maintaining them in adequate condition for use in clinical settings. Conventional cryopreservation systems include slow-freezing and vitrification both have advantages and disadvantages in terms of cell viability and/or scalability. In the present study, we developed an advanced slow-freezing technique using a programmed freezer with a magnetic field called Cells Alive System (CAS) and examined its effectiveness on human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (hiPSC-NS/PCs). This system significantly increased cell viability after thawing and had less impact on cellular proliferation and differentiation. We further found that frozen-thawed hiPSC-NS/PCs were comparable with non-frozen ones at the transcriptome level. Given these findings, we suggest that the CAS is useful for hiPSC-NS/PCs banking for clinical uses involving neural disorders and may open new avenues for future regenerative medicine

Noninvasive technique to evaluate the muscle fiber characteristics using q-space imaging

Background Skeletal muscles include fast and slow muscle fibers. The tibialis anterior muscle (TA) is mainly composed of fast muscle fibers, whereas the soleus muscle (SOL) is mainly composed of slow muscle fibers. However, a noninvasive approach for appropriately investigating the characteristics of muscles is not available. Monitoring of skeletal muscle characteristics can help in the evaluation of the effects of strength training and diseases on skeletal muscles. Purpose The present study aimed to determine whether q-space imaging can distinguish between TA and SOL in in vivo mice. Methods In vivo magnetic resonance imaging of the right calves of mice (n = 8) was performed using a 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging system with a cryogenic probe. TA and SOL were assessed. q-space imaging was performed with a field of view of 10 mm x 10 mm, matrix of 48 x 48, and section thickness of 1000 mu m. There were ten b-values ranging from 0 to 4244 s/mm(2), and each b-value had diffusion encoding in three directions. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were compared with immunohistological findings. Results Full width at half maximum and Kurtosis maps of q-space imaging showed signal intensities consistent with immunohistological findings for both fast (myosin heavy chain II) and slow (myosin heavy chain I) muscle fibers. With regard to quantification, both full width at half maximum and Kurtosis could represent the immunohistological findings that the cell diameter of TA was larger than that of SOL (P < 0.01). Conclusion q-space imaging could clearly differentiate TA from SOL using differences in cell diameters. This technique is a promising method to noninvasively estimate the fiber type ratio in skeletal muscles, and it can be further developed as an indicator of muscle characteristics.journal articl

Oxygen isotope evidence from Ryugu samples for early water delivery to Earth by CI chondrites

The delivery of water to the inner Solar System, including Earth, is still a debated topic. A preferential role for hydrated asteroids in this process is supported by isotopic measurements. Carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites represent our main source of information about these volatile-rich asteroids. However, the destruction of weaker materials during atmospheric entry creates a bias in our CC data. The return of surface materials from the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft provides a unique opportunity to study high-porosity, low-density, primitive materials, unrepresented in the meteorite record. We measured the bulk oxygen isotope composition from four Ryugu particles and show that they most closely resemble the rare CI (CC Ivuna-type) chondrites, but with some differences that we attribute to the terrestrial contamination of the CI meteorites. We suggest that CI-related material is widespread among carbonaceous asteroids and a more important source of Earth’s water and other volatiles than its limited presence in our meteoritic collection indicates

A pristine record of outer Solar System materials from asteroid Ryugu’s returned sample

Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth’s water. Our best insight into their chemistry is currently provided by carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, but the meteorite record is biased: only the strongest types survive atmospheric entry and are then modified by interaction with the terrestrial environment. Here we present the results of a detailed bulk and microanalytical study of pristine Ryugu particles, brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Ryugu particles display a close compositional match with the chemically unfractionated, but aqueously altered, CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, which are widely used as a proxy for the bulk Solar System composition. The sample shows an intricate spatial relationship between aliphatic-rich organics and phyllosilicates and indicates maximum temperatures of ~30 °C during aqueous alteration. We find that heavy hydrogen and nitrogen abundances are consistent with an outer Solar System origin. Ryugu particles are the most uncontaminated and unfractionated extraterrestrial materials studied so far, and provide the best available match to the bulk Solar System composition

Human WN1316-activating factors exert WN1316-mediated cytoprotective activity.

<p>Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 8 μM WN1316 in the presence of purified GST-fusion proteins for 3 h followed by 12 h of chase incubation without the compound, and then exposed to 40 μM menadione for 4 h. Concentrations of the GST-fusion proteins used are as follows; GST; 4.4 μg/ml, GST-RBP4; 2.2 μg/ml, GST-AHSG; 1.9 μg/ml, GST- SERPINA1; 2.4 μg/ml, GST-ITIH4; 2.3 μg/ml, GST-A1BG; 1.5 μg/ml, GST-HPX; 1.7 μg/ml, GST-CFB; 3.3 μg/ml. As control experiments, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 8 μM WN1316 (as a positive control) or DMSO (as a vehicle control) in DMEM supplemented with 2% FBS (corresponds to a protein concentration of approximately 0.5 mg/ml). The cell viability was calculated by AlamarBlue, and was expressed as a relative value (relative cytoprotective activity; -fold) of the WN1316-treated samples for vehicle control (DMSO) set as 1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA (<i>p</i><0.0001) followed by Dunnett’s <i>post hoc</i> test compared with GST-RBP4 (**<i>p</i><0.001).</p

Protein factors in FBS exert WN1316-mediated cytoprotective activity.

<p>(A) Effect of FBS on WN1316-induced cytoprotection. Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 8 μM WN1316 or DMSO for 3 h followed by 12 h of chase incubation without the compound, and then exposed to 40 μM menadione for 4 h. The cell viability was measured by AlamarBlue assay, and was expressed as a relative value (relative cytoprotective activity; -fold) of the WN1316-treated samples for vehicle control (DMSO) set as 1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA (<i>p</i><0.0001) followed by Dunnett’s <i>post hoc</i> test compared with DMSO-treated control (**<i>p</i><0.001). (B) Effect of heat-denatured FBS on the anti-oxidative stress activity of WN1316. Heat denaturation of FBS was performed at 65°C for 30 min and chilled ice-cold (denatured FBS), and heat denatured FBS was renatured by the incubation at 4°C for 16 h (renatured FBS). Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were incubated with 8 μM WN1316 or DMSO for 3 h in DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS, 10% denatured FBS, or 10% renatured FBS, followed by 12 h of chase incubation without the compound, and then treated with 40 μM menadione for 4 h. The cell viability was calculated by AlamarBlue assay, and was expressed as a relative value (relative cytoprotective activity; -fold) of the WN1316-treated samples for vehicle control (DMSO) set as 1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA (<i>p</i><0.0001) followed by Dunnett’s <i>post hoc</i> test compared with DMSO-treated control (**<i>p</i><0.001).</p

Deglycosylation does not affect WN1316-mediated cytoprotective activity.

<p>Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were pretreated with 8 μM WN1316 in DMEM containing 0.28 mg/ml Blue pass treated with or without EnzMix and PNGaseF for 3 h followed by 12 h of chase incubation without the compound, and then exposed to 40 μM menadione for 4 h. As control experiments, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 8 μM WN1316 (as a positive control) or DMSO (as a vehicle control) in DMEM supplemented with 2% FBS (corresponds to a protein concentration of approximately 0.5 mg/ml). The cell viability was calculated by AlamarBlue, and was expressed as a relative value (relative cytoprotective activity; -fold) of the WN1316-treated samples for vehicle control (DMSO) set as 1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA (<i>p</i><0.0001) followed by Dunnett’s <i>post hoc</i> test compared with DMSO-treated control (**<i>p</i><0.001).</p

Silver staining and Western blot analysis of Blue pass fraction treated with or without glycosidase.

<p>Blue pass fraction was treated with or without EnzMix (removal <i>N</i>- and <i>O</i>-glycans) and PNGaseF (removal of <i>N</i>-glycans) at 37°C for 16 h. The molecular masses and homogeneities of the proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE (A) and Western blotting with anti-AHSG antibody as a glycoprotein standard (B). Proteins were visualized by silver staining using a Silver Stain Kit Wako (Wako).</p

<i>N</i>-linked glycoproteins exert WN1316-mediated cytoprotective activity.

<p>Differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were pretreated with 8 μM WN1316 in DMEM containing 0.2 mg/ml FBS, Con A pass, or Con A elute for 3 h followed by 12 h of chase incubation without the compound, and then exposed to 40 μM menadione for 4 h. As control experiments, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 8 μM WN1316 (as a positive control) or DMSO (as a vehicle control) in DMEM supplemented with 2% FBS (corresponds to a protein concentration of approximately 0.5 mg/ml). The cell viability was calculated by AlamarBlue, and was expressed as a relative value (relative cytoprotective activity; -fold) of the WN1316-treated samples for vehicle control (DMSO) set as 1. Data are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA (<i>p</i><0.0001) followed by Dunnett’s <i>post hoc</i> test compared with DMSO-treated control (**<i>p</i><0.001, *<i>p</i><0.01).</p