MKK3/6-p38 MAPK negatively regulates murine MMP-13 gene expression induced by IL-1 beta and TNF-alpha in immortalized periodontal ligament fibroblasts

Matrix metalloprotease-13 (MMP-13) or collagenase-3 is involved in a number of pathologic processes such as tumor metastasis and angiogenesis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal diseases. These conditions are associated with extensive degradation of both connective tissue and bone. This report examines gene regulation mechanisms and signal transduction pathways involved in Mmp-13 expression induced by proinflammatory cytokines in periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts. Mmp-13 mRNA expression was increased 10.7 and 9.5 fold after stimulation with IL-1 beta (5 ng/mL) and TNF-alpha (10 ng/mL), respectively. However, inhibition of p38 MAPKinase with SB203580 resulted in significant (p < 0.001) induction (23.2 and 18.1 fold, respectively) of Mmp-13 mRNA as assessed by real time PCR. Negative regulation of IL-1 induced Mmp-13 expression was confirmed by inhibiting p38 MAPK gene expression with siRNA. Transient transfection of dominant negative forms of MKK3 and MKK6 also resulted in increased levels of Mmp-13 mRNA after IL-1 beta stimulation. Mmp-13 mRNA expression induced by TNF-alpha was decreased by JNK and ERK inhibition. Western blot and zymogram analysis indicated that Mmp-13 protein expression induced by the proinflammatory cytokines were also upregulated by inhibition of p38 MAPK. Reporter gene experiments using stable cell lines harboring 660-bp sequence of the murine Mmp-13 proximal promoter indicated that transcriptional mechanisms were at least partially involved in this negative regulation of Mmp-13 expression by p38 MAPK and upstream MKK3/6. These results suggest a negative transcriptional regulatory mechanism mediated by p38 MAPK and upstream MKK3/6 on Mmp-13 expression induced by proinflammatory cytokines in PDL fibroblasts. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V./International Society of Matrix Biology. All rights reserved.

Factors which affect the catalytic activity of iron(III) meso tetrakis(2,6-dichlorophenyl)porphyrin chloride in homogeneous system

An optimization study of the reaction conditions of Fe(TDCPP)Cl when it is used as catalyst in the hydroxylation of cyclohexane by iodosylbenzene (PhIO) has been carried out, It was found that Fe(TDCPP)Cl follows the classical PhIO mechanism described for Fe(TPP)Cl, which involves the monomeric active species Fe-IV(O)P-+. (I). In the optimized condition ([Fe(TDCPP) = 3.0 X 10(-4) mol l(-1) in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE); ultrasound stirring at 0 degrees C; PhIO/FeP molar ratio = 100), this FeP led to a yield of cyclohexanol (C-ol) of 96% and a turnover number of 96, Therefore, Fe(TDCPP)Cl may be considered a good biomimetic model and a very stable, resistant and selective catalyst, which yields C-ol as the sole product. DCE showed to be a better solvent than dichloromethane (DCM), 1 DCE:1 MeOH mixture or acetonitrile (ACN). Since the Fe-IV(O)P-+. is capable of abstracting hydrogen atom from DCM, MeOH or ACN, the solvent competes with the substrate. Presence of O-2 lowers the yield of C-ol, as it can further oxidize this alcohol to carboxylic acid in the presence of radicals, Presence of H2O also causes a decrease in the yield, since it converts the active species I into Fe-IV(OH)P, which cannot oxidize cyclohexane. Addition of excess imidazole or OH- to the system results in a decrease in the yield of C-ol, due to the formation of the hexacoordinated complexes Fe(TDCPP)Im(2)(+) (low-spin, beta(2) = 2.5 X 10(8) mol(-2) l(2)) and Fe(TDCPP)(OH)(2)(-) (high-spin, beta(2) = 6.3 X 10(7) mol(-2) l(2)), the formation of both Fe(TDCPP)Im(2)(+) and Fe(TDCPP)(OH)(2)(-) complexes were confirmed by EPR studies. The catalytic activities of Fe(TDCPP)C and Fe(TFPP)Cl were compared, the unusually high yields of C-ol with Fe(TFPP)Cl obtained when ultrasound, DCM and O-2 atmosphere were used, suggest that a parallel mechanism involving the mu-oxo dimer form, O-2 and radicals may also be occurring with this FeP, besides the PhIO mechanism.

Characterization and catalytic activity of 2,6-dichlorophenyl substituted iron(III) porphyrin supported on silica gel and imidazole propyl gel

In this work we have made use of the study of the interaction between Fe(TDCPP)(+) and the axial ligands OH- and imidazole in order to help characterize the heterogenized catalysts Fe(TDCPP)SG and Fe(TDCPP)IPG through UV-VIS and EPR spectroscopies and thus, better understand their different catalytic activity in the oxidation of cyclohexane by PhIO. We have found out that in Fe(TDCPP)SG (containing 1.2 X 10(-6) mol Fe(TDCPP)(+)/g of support), the FeP bis-coordinates to silica gel through Fe-O coordination and it is high-spin (FeP)-P-III species. In Fe(TDCPP)IPG 1 (containing 1.1 X 10(-6) mol Fe(TDCPP)(+) and 2.2 X 10(-4) mol imidazole/g of support), the FeP is bis-ligated to imidazole propyl gel through Fe-imidazole coordination and using NO as a paramagnetic probe, we present evidence that Fe(TDCPP)(+) is present as a mixture of low-spin (FeP)-P-III and (FeP)-P-II species. This catalyst led to a relative low yield of cyclohexanol (25%) because the bis-coordination of the (FeP)-P-III to the support partially blocks the reaction between Fe(TDCPP)(+) and PhIO, thus leading to the formation of only a small amount of the active species Fe-IV(OP+, while the (FeP)-P-II species do not react with the oxygen donor. Increasing the amount of Fe(TDCPP)(+) and decreasing the amount of imidazole in the support led to the obtention of high-spin (FeP)-P-III EPR signals in the spectra of Fe(TDCPP)IPG 5 (containing 4.4 X 10(-6) mol Fe(TDCPP)(+) and 2.2 X 10(-5) mol imidazole/g of IPG), together with low-spin (FeP)-P-III species. This latter catalyst led to better cyclohexanol yields (67%) than Fe(TDCPP)IPG 1. Fe(TDCPP)IPG 5 was further used in a study of the optimization of its catalytic activity and in recycling experiments in the optimized conditions. Recycling oxidation reactions of Fe(TDCPP)IPG 5 led to a total turnover number of 201 and total cyclohexanol yield of 201%, which could not be attained with Fe(TDCPP)Cl in homogeneous solution (turnover = 96) due to the difficulty in recovering and reusing it.

A new processing method of CaZn2(OH)(6)center dot 2H(2)O powders: Photoluminescence and growth mechanism

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Cytogenomic characterization of an unexpected 17.6 Mb 9p deletion associated to a 14.8 Mb 20p duplication in a dysmorphic patient with multiple congenital anomalies presenting a normal G-banding karyotype

We describe a female patient with developmental delay, dysmorphic features and multiple congenital anomalies who presented a normal G-banded karyotype at the 550-band resolution. Array and multiplex-ligation probe amplification (MLPA) techniques identified an unexpected large unbalanced genomic aberration: a 17.6 Mb deletion of 9p associated to a 14.8 Mb duplication of 20p. The deleted 9p genes, especially CER1 and FREM1, seem to be more relevant to the phenotype than the duplicated 20p genes. This study also shows the relevance of using molecular techniques to make an accurate diagnosis in patients with dysmorphic features and multiple anomalies suggestive of chromosome aberration, even if on G-banding their karyotype appears to be normal. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was necessary to identify a masked balanced translocation in the patient's mother, indicating the importance of associating cytogenetic and molecular techniques in clinical genetics, given the implications for patient management and genetic counseling. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pimavanserin, a selective serotonin (5-HT)2A-inverse agonist, enhances the efficacy and safety of risperidone, 2 mg/day, but does not enhance efficacy of haloperidol, 2 mg/day: Comparison with reference dose risperidone, 6 mg/day

Most atypical antipsychotic drugs (APDs), e. g. risperidone (RIS), produce more extensive blockade of brain serotonin (5-HT)(2A) than dopamine (DA) D-2 receptors. This distinguishes them from typical APDs, e.g. haloperidol (HAL). Our objective was to test the hypothesis that augmentation of low doses of RIS or HAL (2 mg/day) with pimavanserin (PIM), a selective 5-HT2A inverse agonist, to enhance 5-HT2A receptor blockade, can achieve efficacy comparable to RIS, 6 mg/day, but with lesser side effects. In a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, 6 week trial, 423 patients with chronic schizophrenia experiencing a recent exacerbation of psychotic symptoms were randomized to RIS2mg + placebo (RIS2PBO), RIS2mg + PIM20mg (RIS2PIM), RIS6mg + PBO (RIS6PBO), HAL2mg + PBO (HAL2PBO), or HAL2mg + PIM20mg (HAL2PIM). Improvement in psychopathology was measured by the PANSS and CGI-S. The reduction in PANSS Total Score with RIS2PIM at endpoint was significantly greater than RIS2PBO: -23.0 vs. -16.3 (p = 0.007), and not significantly different from the RIS6PBO group: -23.2 points. The percentage of patients with >= 20% improvement at day 15 in the RIS2PIM group was 62.3%, significantly greater than the RIS6PBO (42.1%; p = 0.01) and the RIS2PBO groups (37.7%; p = 0.002). Weight gain and hyperprolactinemia were greater in the RIS6PBO group than the RIS2PIM group but there was no difference in extrapyramidal side effects (EPS). HAL2PBO and HAL2PIM were not significantly different from each other in efficacy but HAL2PIM had less EPS at end point. Both HAL groups and RIS6PBO showed equal improvement in psychopathology at endpoint, indicating HAL 2 mg/day is effective to treat an acute exacerbation in chronic schizophrenia patients. In conclusion, a sub-effective RIS dose combined with PIM to enhance 5-HT2A receptor blockade provided faster onset of action, and at endpoint, equal efficacy and better safety, compared to standard dose RIS. These results support the conclusion that 5-HT2A receptor blockade is a key component of the action of some atypical APDs and can reduce EPS due to a typical APD. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formation of thin luminescent Eu3+-LB films by in situ coordination with 2,3,5,6-tetra(2 '-pyridyl)pyrazine and 1-octadecanol in pure and mixed Langmuir monolayers

The in situ complexation between 2,3,5,6-tetra(2-pyridyl)pyrazine (tppz) molecules and europium ions at the air-liquid interface by means of mixed 1-octadecanol Langmuir films is reported. These films were transferred to solid supports by means of the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. The EDS maps attested the homogeneity of the LB films as well as the presence of the europium ions. The mixed alcohol/tppz LB film contained a larger amount of europium ions as compared to the pure octadecanol LB film. This work reports the production of a thin luminescent Eu3+ film containing europium ions using only alcohol molecules as ligands an unexpected result, since it is well known that there is an occurrence of non-radiative deactivation of excited europium by hydroxyl groups. Europium ion multiple binding sites were detected from lifetime decay measurements of these films in the presence of tppz molecules. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CTAB, Triton X-100 and freezing-thawing treatments of Candida guilliermondii: Effects on permeability and accessibility of the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase enzymes

Cells of Candida guilliermondii (ATCC 201935) were permeabilised with surfactant treatment (CTAB or Triton X-100) or a freezing-thawing procedure. Treatments were monitored by in situ activities of the key enzymes involved in xylose metabolism, that is, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XD). The permeabilising ability of the surfactants was dependent on its concentration and incubation time. The optimum operation conditions for the permeabilisation of C. guilliermondii with surfactants were 0.41 mM (CTAB) or 2.78 mM (Triton X-100), 30 degrees C, and pH 7 at 200 rpm for 50 min. The maximum permeabilisation measured in terms of the in situ G6PD activity observed was, in order, as follows: CTAB (122.4 +/- 15.7 U/g(cells)) > freezing-thawing, , (54.3 +/- 1.9 U/g(cells)) > Triton X-100 (23.5 +/- 0.0 U/g(cells)). These results suggest that CTAB surfactant is more effective in the permeabilisation of C. guilliermondii cells in comparison to the freezing-thawing and Triton X-100 treatments. Nevertheless, freezing-thawing was the only treatment that allowed measurable in situ XR activity. Therefore, freezing-thawing permeabilised yeast cells could be used as a source of xylose reductase for analytical purposes or for use in biotransformation process such as xylitol preparation from xylose. The level of in situ xylose reductase was found to be 13.2 +/- 0.1 U/g(cells).

Response of interleukin-6 during euglycaemic and hyperglycaemic exercise in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus

The aim of this randomized, single-blinded cross-over study was to investigate the response of interleukin-6 (IL-6) during moderate aerobic exercise in stable euglycaemia and hyperglycaemia in seven male patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. IL-6 increased significantly over the entire study period in euglycaemia, but not in hyperglycaemia.

Screening the Structural Space of Bicyclo-DNA: Synthesis and Properties of Bicyclo-DNA Functionalized at C(6’)

The synthesis of a novel bicyclo-thymidine nucleoside bearing an ester functionality at C(6') (bc(alpha-alk)-nucleosides) is reported. This nucleoside was incorporated into oligodeoxynucleotides via solid phase phosphoramidite chemistry, and the ester moiety was post-synthetically converted to an amide or a carboxy group, or was left unchanged. Thermal melting data (T-m) with complementary DNA and RNA were collected and compared to natural DNA and to bc- and bc(ox)-DNA. It was found that single incorporations of bc(alpha-alk)-nucleosides in DNA duplexes were destabilizing by 0.5 to 2.5 degrees C/mod, whereas two consecutive bc(alpha-alk)-residues were less destabilizing, and in some cases even stabilizing by 0.5 degrees C/mod. In duplexes with complementary RNA, isolated bc(alpha-alk)-residues destabilized the duplex by -1.0 to -4.0 degrees C/mod, depending on the chemical nature of the substituent, whereas two consecutive modifications were only destabilizing by 0.3-1.0 degrees C/mod. The pairing selectivity was similar to that of unmodified or bc-DNA.

Parallel synthesis and nucleic acid binding properties of C(6')-[alpha]-functionalized bicyclo-DNA

Two novel bicyclo-T nucleosides carrying a hydroxyl or a carboxymethyl substituent in C(6')-[alpha]-position were prepared and incorporated into oligodeoxynucleotides. During oligonucleotide deprotection the carboxymethyl substituent was converted into different amide substituents in a parallel way. Tm-measurements showed no dramatic differences in both, thermal affinity and mismatch discrimination, compared to unmodified oligonucleotides. The post-synthetic modification of the carboxymethyl substituent allows in principle for a parallel preparation of a library of oligonucleotides carrying diverse substituents at C(6'). In addition, functional groups can be placed into unique positions in a DNA double helix.

Validation of the Swiss Monte Carlo Plan for a static and dynamic 6 MV photon beam

Monte Carlo (MC) based dose calculations can compute dose distributions with an accuracy surpassing that of conventional algorithms used in radiotherapy, especially in regions of tissue inhomogeneities and surface discontinuities. The Swiss Monte Carlo Plan (SMCP) is a GUI-based framework for photon MC treatment planning (MCTP) interfaced to the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS). As for any dose calculation algorithm, also the MCTP needs to be commissioned and validated before using the algorithm for clinical cases. Aim of this study is the investigation of a 6 MV beam for clinical situations within the framework of the SMCP. In this respect, all parts i.e. open fields and all the clinically available beam modifiers have to be configured so that the calculated dose distributions match the corresponding measurements. Dose distributions for the 6 MV beam were simulated in a water phantom using a phase space source above the beam modifiers. The VMC++ code was used for the radiation transport through the beam modifiers (jaws, wedges, block and multileaf collimator (MLC)) as well as for the calculation of the dose distributions within the phantom. The voxel size of the dose distributions was 2mm in all directions. The statistical uncertainty of the calculated dose distributions was below 0.4%. Simulated depth dose curves and dose profiles in terms of [Gy/MU] for static and dynamic fields were compared with the corresponding measurements using dose difference and γ analysis. For the dose difference criterion of ±1% of D(max) and the distance to agreement criterion of ±1 mm, the γ analysis showed an excellent agreement between measurements and simulations for all static open and MLC fields. The tuning of the density and the thickness for all hard wedges lead to an agreement with the corresponding measurements within 1% or 1mm. Similar results have been achieved for the block. For the validation of the tuned hard wedges, a very good agreement between calculated and measured dose distributions was achieved using a 1%/1mm criteria for the γ analysis. The calculated dose distributions of the enhanced dynamic wedges (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 45° and 60°) met the criteria of 1%/1mm when compared with the measurements for all situations considered. For the IMRT fields all compared measured dose values agreed with the calculated dose values within a 2% dose difference or within 1 mm distance. The SMCP has been successfully validated for a static and dynamic 6 MV photon beam, thus resulting in accurate dose calculations suitable for applications in clinical cases.

Interleukin-6 is an efficacious marker of axonal transport disruption during experimental glaucoma and stimulates neuritogenesis in cultured retinal ganglion cells

It is increasingly recognised that chronically activated glia contribute to the pathology of various neurodegenerative diseases, including glaucoma. One means by which this can occur is through the release of neurotoxic, proinflammatory factors. In the current study, we therefore investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of expression of three such cytokines, IL-1β, TNFα and IL-6, in a validated rat model of experimental glaucoma. First, only weak evidence was found for increased expression of IL-1β and TNFα following induction of ocular hypertension. Second, and much more striking, was that robust evidence was uncovered showing IL-6 to be synthesised by injured retinal ganglion cells following elevation of intraocular pressure and transported in an orthograde fashion along the nerve, accumulating at sites of axonal disruption in the optic nerve head. Verification that IL-6 represents a novel marker of disrupted axonal transport in this model was obtained by performing double labelling immunofluorescence with recognised markers of fast axonal transport. The stimulus for IL-6 synthesis and axonal transport during experimental glaucoma arose from axonal injury rather than ocular hypertension, as the response was identical after optic nerve crush and bilateral occlusion of the carotid arteries, each of which is independent of elevated intraocular pressure. Moreover, the response of IL-6 was not a generalised feature of the gp130 family of cytokines, as it was not mimicked by another family member, ciliary neurotrophic factor. Finally, further study suggested that IL-6 may be an early part of the endogenous regenerative response as the cytokine colocalised with growth-associated membrane phosphoprotein-43 in some putative regenerating axons, and potently stimulated neuritogenesis in retinal ganglion cells in culture, an effect that was additive to that of ciliary neurotrophic factor. These data comprise clear evidence that IL-6 is actively involved in the attempt of injured retinal ganglion cells to regenerate their axons.