Inductive expression and characterization analysis of Paralichthys olivaceus pigment epithelium-derived factor in a virally infected cell line

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is acknowledged to be a non-inhibitory member of the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily, with antiangiogenesis, and neuroprotective and immumoregulatory function, mainly in the tissues of nervous system. Here, A PEDF gene homolog, Paralichthys olivaceus PEDF (PoPEDF), was isolated from flounder embryonic cells (FEC) treated with UV-inactivated Grass carp hemorrhage virus (GCHV) and subsequently identified as a differentially expressed gene. The full length of PoPEDF cDNA is 1803 bp with an open reading frame of 1212 bp encoding a 403-amino-acid protein. This deduced protein contains an N-terminal signal peptide, a glycosylation site, a consensus serpin motif, and a 34-mer and a 44-mer fragment, all of which are very conserved in the PEDF family. PoPEDF gene exhibits a conserved exon-intron arrangement with 8 exons and 7 introns. This conserved evolutionary relationship was further confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis, where fish PEDFs and mammalian members formed a well-supported clade. Constitutive expression of PoPEDF was widely detected in many tissues. In response to UV-inactivated GCHV or poly(I:C), PEDF mRNA was upregulated in FEC cells with time. This is the first report on the transcriptional induction of PEDF in virally infected cells. (C) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of poly(piperazineamide) composite nanofiltration membrane by interfacial polymerization of 3,3 ',5,5 '-biphenyl tetraacyl chloride and piperazine

Most nanofiltration (NF) membranes are composite and have a polyamide thin film prepared by interfacial polymerization. Their performances mainly correlate the structure of the thin film and monomers used for its preparation. In this work, a novel thin-film composite (TFC) nanofiltration membrane was successfully prepared from 3,3',5,5'-biphenyl tetraacyl chloride (mm-BTEC) and piperazine (PIP) through interfacial polymerization. Attenuated reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the chemical composition of the membrane surface. The membrane performance was optimized by studying preparation parameters including monomer concentration, reaction time, and pH of aqueous phase.

SYNTHESES OF METHYLCYCLOPENTADIENYL DERIVATIVES OF LANTHANIDES (LN = LA-ND) AND CRYSTAL-STRUCTURES OF [(THF)2LI(MU-CL)2]2[MECPND(THF)] AND [LI(DME)3][MECPLA(NPH2)3]

The reaction of LnCl3.2LiCl with 1 equiv of MeCpNa in THF gives the complexes [(THF)2Li(mu-Cl)2]2[MeCpLn(THF)] (Ln = Nd (1), La (2)) in good yield. These precursors react further with 2 equiv of LiNPh2 to produce the new complexes [Li(DME)3][MeCpLn(NPh2)3] (Ln = La (3), Pr (4), Nd (5)). They have been characterized by elemental analyses and IR and NMR spectra, as well as by structural analyses of 1 and 3. The chloride 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n (No. 14) with a = 12.130 (5) angstrom, b = 17.343 (5) angstrom, c = 17.016 (5) angstrom, beta = 108.54 (3)-degrees, V = 3393.87 angstrom3, Z = 4, and D(c) = 1.45 g/cm3. Least-squares refinement led to a final R value of 0.051 (I greater-than-or-equal-to 3-sigma(I(o))) for 2004 independent reflections. Complex 3 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c (No. 14) with a = 18.335 (6) angstrom, b = 16.576 (5) angstrom, c = 17.461 (6) angstrom, beta = 96.04 (3)-degrees, V = 5277.17 angstrom3, D(c) = 1.26 g/cm3, Z = 4, and R = 0.057 (I greater-than-or-equal-to 2.5-sigma(I(o))) for 3378 reflections. The structure of 3 consists of discrete ion pairs [Li(DME)3]+ and [MeCpLa(NPh2)3]- with average La-N and La-C(ring) distances of 2.459 (8) and 2.84 (1) angstrom, respectively.