Lipid-amphotericin B complex structure in solution: A possible first step in the aggregation process in cell membranes

The interactions between the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine were investigated in vesicles (using circular dichroism) and in chloroform solution (using circular dichroism and IH, I3C, and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance). The results show that amphotericin B readily aggregates in vesicles and that the extent of aggregation depends on the 1ipid:drug concentration ratio. Introduction of sterol molecules into the membrane hastens the process of aggregation of amphotericin B. In chloroform solutions amphotericin B strongly interacts with phospholipid molecules to form a stoichiometric complex. The results suggest that there are interactions between the conjugated heptene stretch of amphotericin B and the methylene groups of lipid acyl chains, while the sugar moiety interacts with the phosphate head group by the formation of a hydrogen bond. A model is proposed for the lipid-amphotericin B complex, in which amphotericin B interacts equally well with the two lipid acyl chains, forming a 1:l complex.

Computation of restoration of ligand response in the random kinetics of a prostate cancer cell signaling pathway

Mutation and/or dysfunction of signaling proteins in the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway are frequently observed in various kinds of human cancer. Consistent with this fact, in the present study, we experimentally observe that the epidermal growth factor (EGF) induced activation profile of MAP kinase signaling is not straightforward dose-dependent in the PC3 prostate cancer cells. To find out what parameters and reactions in the pathway are involved in this departure from the normal dose-dependency, a model-based pathway analysis is performed. The pathway is mathematically modeled with 28 rate equations yielding those many ordinary differential equations (ODE) with kinetic rate constants that have been reported to take random values in the existing literature. This has led to us treating the ODE model of the pathways kinetics as a random differential equations (RDE) system in which the parameters are random variables. We show that our RDE model captures the uncertainty in the kinetic rate constants as seen in the behavior of the experimental data and more importantly, upon simulation, exhibits the abnormal EGF dose-dependency of the activation profile of MAP kinase signaling in PC3 prostate cancer cells. The most likely set of values of the kinetic rate constants obtained from fitting the RDE model into the experimental data is then used in a direct transcription based dynamic optimization method for computing the changes needed in these kinetic rate constant values for the restoration of the normal EGF dose response. The last computation identifies the parameters, i.e., the kinetic rate constants in the RDE model, that are the most sensitive to the change in the EGF dose response behavior in the PC3 prostate cancer cells. The reactions in which these most sensitive parameters participate emerge as candidate drug targets on the signaling pathway. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Augmentation of murine natural killer cell and antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity activities by phyllanthus emblica, a new immunomodulator

When administered orally, Phyllanthus emblica, an excellent source of vitamin C (ascorbate), has been found to enhance natural killer (NK) cell activity and antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in syngeneic BALB/c mice, bearing Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) tumor. P. emblica elicited a 2-fold increase in splenic NK cell activity on day 3 post tumor inoculation. Enhanced activity was highly significant on days 3, 5, 7 and 9 after tumor inoculation with respect to the untreated tumor bearing control. A significant enhancement in ADCC was documented on days 3, 7, 9, 11 and 13 in drug treated mice as compared to the control. An increase in life span (ILS) of 35% was recorded in tumor bearing mice treated with P. emblica. This increased survival was completely abrogated when NK cell and killer (K) cell activities were depleted either by cyclophosphamide or anti-asialo-GM, antibody treatment. These results indicate: (a) an absolute requirement for a functional NK cell or K cell population in order that P. emblica can exert its effect on tumor bearing animals, and (b) the antitumor activity of P. emblica is mediated primarily through the ability of the drug to augment natural cell mediated cytotoxicity.

Behaviour of the germ cell specific lamin through mammalian spermatogenesis as probed with monoclonal antibodies.

We had earlier identified a 60 kDa nuclear lamin protein (lamin(g)) unique to the germ cells of rat testis which was subsequently shown to be antigenically conserved in germ cells of grasshopper, rooster, frog and plants. We have now obtained eight monoclonal antibodies in mouse against this lamin(g) antigen. While all the eight Mabs reacted with lamin(g) antigen in an immunoblot analysis, only three Mabs (A(11)C(7), A(11)D(4), C1F7) showed strong reactivity in the immunofluorescence analysis of the germ cells. The Mabs A(11)C(7) and A(11)D(4) showed a slight cross-reactivity with rat liver lamin B. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis of pre-meiotic, meiotic and post-meiotic germ cells with Mabs have shown that while the lamin(g) is localized in the lamina structures of spermatogonia and round spermatids, it is localized to the phase dense regions of pachytene spermatocytes which is in conformity with our previous observations using rabbit polyclonal antibodies. The localization of the antigen in the germ cells was also confirmed by immunohistochemical staining of the thin sections of seminiferous tubules. By immunostaining the surface spread pachytene spermatocytes, the antigen was further localized to the telomeric ends of the paired homologous chromosomes. Using anti-somatic lamin B antibodies, we have also demonstrated the absence of somatic lamins in meiotic and post-meiotic germ cells. The lamina structure of pre-meiotic spermatogonial nucleus contains both somatic lamin B and lamin(g) as evidenced by immunofluorescence studies with two differently fluorochrome labelled anti-lamin B and anti-lamin(g) antibodies. The selective retention of lamin(g) in the pachytene spermatocytes is probably essential for anchoring the telomeric ends of the paired chromosomes to the inner nuclear membrane.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes raised against Japanese encephalitis virus: effector cell phenotype, target specificity and in vitro virus clearance.

Several H-2 defined cell lines were examined for their ability to support infection and replication of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) before their use in in vitro and in vivo stimulation protocols for generating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against JEV. Among II different cell lines tested, two H-2(d) macrophage tumour lines (P388D1, RAW 264.7), an H-2(d) hybridoma (Sp2/0), an H-2K(k)D(d) neuroblastoma (Neuro 2a), and H-2(k) fibroblast cell line (L929) were found to support JEV infection and replication. These cell lines were used to generate anti-JEV CTLs by using in vivo immunization followed by in vitro stimulation of BALB/c mice. We observed that not only syngeneic and allogeneic infected cells but also JEV-infected xenogeneic cells could prime BALB/c mice for the generation of JEV-specific CTLs upon subsequent in vitro stimulation of splenocytes with JEV-infected syngeneic cells. Although infected xenogeneic cells were used for immunization, the anti-JEV effecters that were generated lysed infected syngeneic targets but not JEV-infected xenogeneic or allogeneic target cells in a 5h Cr-51 release assay. These anti-JEV effecters recognized syngeneic target cells infected with West Nile virus to a lesser extent and were shown to be Lyt-2.2(+) T cells. The results of unlabelled cold target competition studies suggested alterations in the cell surface expression of viral antigenic determinants recognized by these CTLs. We further demonstrate that the JEV-specific CTLs generated could virtually block the release of infectious virus particles from infected P388D1 and Neuro 2a cells in vitro.

Peanut agglutinin from callus and cell suspension cultures of Arachis hypogaea L

Synthesis of peanut agglutinin was induced in callus and cell suspension cultures of cotyledons of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The lectin was synthesised in cultures through several passages. Biosynthesis of peanut agglutinin was regulated by the type and concentration of exogenous growth regulators and was positively correlated to the growth of the cultures,indicating that the agglutinin may have a role to play during cell growth. Movement of agglutinin from the cells into the medium not only facilitated easy isolation of the lectin but also provided a clue that it may probably serve as a defence molecule. The synthesized lectin purified from culture, was found to be biologically active, and was found to be comparable with the lectin from seeds, in terms of its electrophoretic mobility.

Design and development of a self-supported polymer electrolyte fuel cell system with anodic dead-end operation

Design and operational details for a self-supported polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system with anodic dead-end fuel supply and internally humidified cathodic oxidant flow are described. During the PEFC operation, nitrogen and water back diffuse across the Nafion membrane from the cathode to the anode and accumulate in the anode flow channels affecting stack performance. The accumulated inert species are flushed from the stack by purging the fuel cell stack with a timer-activated purge valve to address the aforesaid problem. To minimize the system complexity, stack is designed in such a way that all the inert species accumulate in only one cell called the purge cell. A pulsed purge sequence comprises opening the valve for purge duration followed by purge-valve closing for the hold period and repeating the sequence in cycles. Since self-humidification is inadequate to keep the membrane wet, the anodic dead-end-operated PEFC stack with composite membrane comprising perflourosulphonic acid (Nafion) and silica is employed for keeping the membrane humidified even while operating the stack with dry hydrogen and internally humidified air.

Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of CZTS solar cell absorber layers and characterization studies

CZTS (Copper Zinc Tin Sulphide) is a wide band gap quartnery chalcopyrite which has a band gap of about 1.45 eV and an absorption coefficient of 10(4) cm(-1); thus making it an ideal material to be used as an absorber layer in solar cells. Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis is a deposition technique, where the solution is atomized ultrasonically, thereby giving a fine mist having a narrow size distribution which can be used for uniform coatings on substrates. An Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis equipment was developed and CZTS absorber layers were successfully grown with this technique on soda lime glass substrates using aqueous solutions. Substrate temperatures ranging from 523 K to 723 K were used to deposit the CZTS layers and these films were characterized using SEM, EDAX and XRD. It was observed that the film crystallized in the kesterite structure and the best crystallites were obtained at 613 K. It was observed that the grain size progressively increased with temperature. The optical band gap of the material was obtained as 1.54 eV.

The level of sequestered calcium in vegetative amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum can predict post-aggregative cell fate

When freshly starved amoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum are stained with chlortetracycline (CTC), a cell type-specific fluorescent probe for membrane-associated calcium (Ca2+) the resulting fluorescence distribution falls into two functional classes. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting shows that highly fluorescing amoebae tend to enter the prestalk pathway while those with low fluorescence tend to become prespores. In the light of previous findings, these results indicate that in addition to cell cycle phase at starvation, phenotypic variation in the level of sequestered calcium is an early correlate of cell fate.

Azidothymidine induces apoptosis in mouse myeloma cell line Sp2/0

Azidothymidine (AZT), which has been extensively used as an antiviral agent in the treatment of AIDS, showed strong inhibition of growth of Sp2/0 cells in vitro. AZT-treated cells showed a decrease in viability in a dose-dependent manner. AZT specifically induced typical apoptotic cell death with DNA double-strand cleavage and subsequent formation of apoptotic bodies. The induction of DNA double-strand cleavage into the oligonucleosomal ladder by AZT was protected in the presence of thymidine or uridine. An increase in endonuclease activity from nuclear extract of AZT-treated cells was observed. The enzyme activity was found to be Ca2+- and Mg2+-dependent and was inhibited by zinc acetate. A marked enhancement of PARP activity was observed in AZT-treated cells. These observations show that AZT can trigger both morphological and biochemical changes typical of apoptosis in the mouse myeloma cell line Sp2/0.

Cell versus message level performances in ATM networks

The goal of this paper is to provide some insight into the relations that exist between cell level and message level performance guarantees in the context of ATM networks. Cell level guarantees are typically what the network is capable of providing, while message level guarantees are the ones of interest to users. It is, therefore, important to understand how the two are related, and which factors influence this relation. There are many different performance measures that are of importance, and in this paper we try to touch on the (three) most relevant ones. This includes comparing cell and message loss probabilities, average cell and message delays, and cell and message jitter. Specifically, we show that cell and message loss probabilities can exhibit significant differences, which strongly depend on traffic characteristics such as peak rate and burst size, i.e., for a fixed cell loss probability, the message loss probability can greatly vary when peak rate and burst size change. One reason for this sensitivity, is that message loss depends on what happen to all the cells in a message. For delay and jitter, we also find that peak rate and burst size play a role in determining the relation between cell and message performance. However, this sensitivity is not as acute as with losses since message delay and jitter are typically determined by the performance seen by only one cell, the last cell in a message. In the paper, we provide quantitative examples that illustrate the range of behaviors and identify the impact of different parameters.

Needleless Vaccine Delivery Using Micro-Shock Waves

Shock waves are one of the most efficient mechanisms of energy dissipation observed in nature. In this study, utilizing the instantaneous mechanical impulse generated behind a micro-shock wave during a controlled explosion, a novel nonintrusive needleless vaccine delivery system has been developed. It is well-known that antigens in the epidermis are efficiently presented by resident Langerhans cells, eliciting the requisite immune response, making them a good target for vaccine delivery. Unfortunately, needle-free devices for epidermal delivery have inherent problems from the perspective of the safety and comfort of the patient. The penetration depth of less than 100 mu m in the skin can elicit higher immune response without any pain. Here we show the efficient utilization of our needleless device (that uses micro-shock waves) for vaccination. The production of liquid jet was confirmed by high-speed microscopy, and the penetration in acrylamide gel and mouse skin was observed by confocal microscopy. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strain pmrG-HM-D (DV-STM-07) was delivered using our device in the murine salmonellosis model, and the effectiveness of the delivery system for vaccination was compared with other routes of vaccination. Vaccination using our device elicits better protection and an IgG response even at a lower vaccine dose (10-fold less) compared to other routes of vaccination. We anticipate that our novel method can be utilized for effective, cheap, and safe vaccination in the near future.

Effect of TiO2 electrode thickness on photovoltaic properties of dye sensitized solar cell based on randomly oriented Titania nanotubes

Anatase titania nanotubes (TNTs) have been synthesized from P25 TiO2 powder by alkali hydrothermal method followed by post annealing. The microstructure analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the formation of anatase nanotubes with a diameter of 9-10 nm. These NTs are used to make photo anode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Layer by layer deposition with curing of each layer at 350 C is employed to realize films of desired thickness. The performance of these cells is studied using photovoltaic measurements. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is used to quantitatively analyze the effect of thickness on the performance of these cells. These studies revealed that the thickness of TiO2 has a pronounced impact on the cell performance and the optimum thickness lies in the range of 10-14 mu m. In comparison to dye solar cells made of P25, TNTs based cells exhibit an improved open circuit voltage and fill factor (FF) due to an increased electron lifetime, as revealed by EIS analysis. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.