Enhancement by ganglioside GT1b of annexin I phosphorylation in bovine mammary gland in the presence of phosphatidylserine and Ca2+

Ganglioside GT1b and, to a lesser extent, GD3, enhanced phosphorylation of a 36 kDa protein (the substrate of protein kinase C) in the particulate fraction from bovine mammary gland. Sialic acids, asialogangliosides, and GM3 were without effect, and GD1a conversely inhibited phosphorylation of the 36 kDa protein. The enhanced phosphorylation by GT1b required the simultaneous presence of phosphatidylserine (PS) and Ca²⁺. The 36 kDa protein reacted with anti-annexin I in Western blot analysis. Addition of purified annexin I to the reaction mixture containing the particulate fraction increased the extent of phosphorylated 36 kDa protein, and the phosphorylation was further enhanced by GT1b. The enhanced phosphorylation of annexin I by GT1b was also dependent on PS and Ca²⁺. When annexin I was phosphorylated by purified protein kinase C, GT1b inhibited the annexin I phosphorylation. Addition of epidermal growth factor or insulin to the particulate fraction had little effect on the enhancement. These results suggest that an enzyme or enzymes other than protein kinase C, epidermal growth factor receptor kinase, or insulin receptor kinase is responsible for the GT1b- and GD3-enhanced phosphorylation of annexin I in the presence of PS and Ca²⁺.     

Biophysical studies of a synthetic mimic of the apoptosis-detecting protein annexin v

A Zn²⁺-dipicolylamine coordination compound is shown to sense the presence of anionic phospholipids in a membrane bilayer. The sensor contains two dipicolylamine subunits attached to an anthracene scaffold, which exhibits a maximum absorbance at 380 nm, and undergoes an enhancement in fluorescence intensity when exposed to membranes enriched in phosphatidylserine. For these reasons, the compound is referred to as PSS-380 (Phosphatidylserine Sensor, 380 nm). The fluorescence emission of PSS-380 is enhanced up to tenfold by the presence of vesicles containing the anionic phospholipids phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol, or phosphatidic acid. No enhancement in fluorescence is observed upon exposure to vesicles containing only zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine, or exposure to monodispersed (non-aggregated) anionic phospholipids. The sensing effect is cooperative; not only does association to the vesicles increase if the vesicles have raised levels of anionic phospholipid, but the maximum fluorescence at sensor saturation is also enhanced. It appears that sensing is triggered by the three-component self-assembly of sensor, Zn²⁺, and the anionic membrane surface, which leads to diminished photo-induced electron transfer (PET) quenching. The utility of PSS-380 in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy is demonstrated by using the molecule to detect the appearance of phosphatidylserine on the plasma membrane surface of various cell lines. Thus, PSS-380 can identify apoptotic cells in the same way as the commonly used protein reagent annexin V.     

Homology modelling of annexin I: implicit solvation improves side-chain prediction and combination of evaluation criteria allows recognition of different types of conformational error

Annexin I homology models were built from the annexin V crystalstructure. Three methods for side-chain prediction were testedbased on molecular mechanics conformational search, the useof a rotamer database, or a combination of these two methods.We showed that rotamer-based methods were more efficient andthat molecular mechanics energy minimizations, prior to rotamerselection, did not afford clearly improved predictions. Modelsbuilt in vacuo and with an implicit solvation term were comparedwith the annexin I crystal structure which became availableduring the course of this study. The analysis of solvation energies,root mean square deviations, Xi angles and hydrogen bonds showedthat models built with implicit solvation were of better quality.In annexin V, repeat III displays A-B and D-E loop conformationsquite different from other repeats. Since the sequence differencessuggest that repeat III in annexin I might present a conformationsimilar to other repeats, two annexin I models with differentrepeat III conformations were built and compared to determinewhether the correct conformation could have been predicted.We show that using a combination of evaluation criteria, itis possible to discriminate unequivocally between the nativeand the incorrect fold, stressing that only one criterion shouldnot be used to evaluate protein structures.     

Hinge-bending motions in annexins: molecular dynamics and essential dynamics of apo-annexin V and of calcium bound annexin V and I

Annexins are homologous proteins that bind to membranes in a calcium dependent manner, but for which precise physiological roles have yet to be defined. Most annexins are composed of a planar array of four homologous repeats, each containing five alpha-helices and associated into two modules. Annexin V forms a voltage-gated calcium channel in phospholipid bilayers. It has been proposed that the hydrophilic pore in the centre of the molecule may represent the ion conduction pathway and that a hinge movement in annexin V causes a variation of the inter- module angle and opens the calcium ion path. Here we present the results of molecular dynamics simulations of apo-annexin V and of calcium-bound annexin V and annexin I. The three simulations show significant differences in conformation and dynamics. The essential dynamics method was used to study the essential subspace of annexin V and showed that one of the essential motions corresponds to the postulated hinge motion. The hinge residues were located between repeats but belong to helices rather than to the links between helices. Calcium binding to annexin V led to a limitation of this hinge motion with more open conformations being favoured.      

Protein Modification via Nitrile Oxide−Dehydroalanine Cycloaddition: Formation of Isoxazoline Ring on the Protein Backbone

Here we describe a novel catalyst-free 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition bioconjugation approach for chemical modification of proteins. The dehydroalanine (Dha)-containing protein reacts with nitrile oxides generated in situ through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition in fully aqueous-buffered systems. This leads to the formation of a new isoxazoline ring at a pre-defined site (Dha) of the protein. Furthermore, the 1-pyrene isoxazoline-installed annexin V acts as a fluorescent probe, which successfully labels the outer cellular membranes of human cholangiocarcinoma (HuCCA-1) cells for detection of apoptosis.     

Annexin I in female rabbit reproductive organs: Varying levels in relation to maturity and pregnancy

The level of annexin I, a 36 kDa calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein (36 kDa PLBP) in the reproductive organs of young, mature, and pregnant rabbits was determined immunologically with antibodies raised against purified rabbit lung annexin I. In the cytosolic fractions of the ovary, fallopian tube, uterus, and placenta, annexin I was the only major immunoreactive protein. The reproductive organs appeared to have higher annexin I levels than most nonreproductive organ tissues, except the lung and the spleen which were also rich in annexin I. A small amount of annexin I and a nearly equal amount of its hydrolytic product, a 33 kDa polypeptide, were detected in the amniotic fluid between 21 and 27 days gestation. Structural similarity of annexin I in the reproductive organs and in the lung was suggested by their identical isoelectric point values. Annexin I in the ovary of adult rabbits was 70% higher than that in the respective organ of immature rabbits. The uterus of pregnant rabbits had about 84% higher annexin I contents than that of the nonpregnant rabbits., The placenta had more annexin I per mg cytosolic protein than either the ovary or the uterus during pregnancy. The high concentration of annexin I in the reproductive organs may reflect specific functions of these organs in the reproductive years and during the reproductive cycle.     

An efficient bifunctional lithium-organic initiator to be used in apolar solvents

Upon reaction of m-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB) with two mole equivalents of s-butyllithium (BuLi) in benzene solution a diadduct is formed predominantly. It was identified by proton n.m.r. and by mass spectrometry. Some oligomers are formed, next to the diadduct, at the expense of the monoadduct. When the addition reaction is carried out to completion, precipitation eventually occurs. If this solution is used as it is formed, before precipitation has occurred, to initiate the polymerization of styrene or of dienes in non-polar solvents, the polymers formed exhibit the molecular weights expected, narrow molecular weight distributions and two lithium-organic sites per polymer chain. This bifunctional lithium-organic initiator is efficient, in the absence of any polar additive, and should find suitable applications for the synthesis of triblock copolymers, of model networks and of telechelic polymers.     

Annexin-Phospholipid Interactions. Functional Implications

Annexins constitute an evolutionary conserved multigene protein superfamily characterized by their ability to interact with biological membranes in a calcium dependent manner. They are expressed by all living organisms with the exception of certain unicellular organisms. The vertebrate annexin core is composed of four (eight in annexin A6) homologous domains of around 70 amino acids, with the overall shape of a slightly bent ring surrounding a central hydrophilic pore. Calcium- and phospholipid-binding sites are located on the convex side while the N-terminus links domains I and IV on the concave side. The N-terminus region shows great variability in length and amino acid sequence and it greatly influences protein stability and specific functions of annexins. These proteins interact mainly with acidic phospholipids, such as phosphatidylserine, but differences are found regarding their affinity for lipids and calcium requirements for the interaction. Annexins are involved in a wide range of intra- and extracellular biological processes in vitro, most of them directly related with the conserved ability to bind to phospholipid bilayers: membrane trafficking, membrane-cytoskeleton anchorage, ion channel activity and regulation, as well as antiinflammatory and anticoagulant activities. However, the in vivo physiological functions of annexins are just beginning to be established.     

Three-dimensional pharmacophore design and biochemical screening identifies substituted 1,2,4-triazoles as inhibitors of the annexin A2-S100A10 protein interaction

Protein interactions are increasingly appreciated as targets in small‐molecule drug discovery. The interaction between the adapter protein S100A10 and its binding partner annexin A2 is a potentially important drug target. To obtain small‐molecule starting points for inhibitors of this interaction, a three‐dimensional pharmacophore model was constructed from the X‐ray crystal structure of the complex between S100A10 and annexin A2. The pharmacophore model represents the favourable hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions between the two partners, as well as spatial and receptor site constraints (excluded volume spheres). Using this pharmacophore model, UNITY flex searches were carried out on a 3D library of 0.7 million commercially available compounds. This resulted in 568 hit compounds. Subsequently, GOLD docking studies were performed on these hits, and a set of 190 compounds were purchased and tested biochemically for inhibition of the protein interaction. Three compounds of similar chemical structure were identified as genuine inhibitors of the binding of annexin A2 to S100A10. The binding modes predicted by GOLD were in good agreement with their UNITY‐generated conformations. We synthesised a series of analogues revealing areas critical for binding. Thus computational predictions and biochemical screening can be used successfully to derive novel chemical classes of protein–protein interaction blockers.     

Controlled synthesis of Pt-decorated Au nanostructure and its promoted activity toward formic acid electro-oxidation

Highly active Pt-decorated Au nanoparticles on carbon support with Pt:Au mole ratio ranging from 1:10 to 1:2 was successfully synthesized based on successive reduction strategy. The successful formation of this structure was suggested by transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis and voltammetry analyses. The electrocatalytic activity of this decorated structure toward formic acid oxidation surprisingly increases despite the low amount of Pt being used. At 0.1 V, the specific activity of PtAu/C with Pt/Au mole ratio 1:8 was more than one order of magnitude higher than the conventional Pt/C. The enhancement was attributed to the less Pt ensemble sites that the decorated structure possesses (ensemble effect) and the increase in the Pt atom reactivity on Au nanocrystal. The formic acid oxidation mechanism on this decorated structure was also elucidated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique. It is proposed that besides the dehydrogenation reaction pathway happening on clean Pt sites, the reactive intermediate i.e. formate species could also be oxidized by the adsorbed water species on Pt at higher potential.     

Surface-functionalized nanoparticle library yields probes for apoptotic cells

We have developed techniques for the efficient synthesis and screening of small libraries of surface-functionalized nanoparticles for the recognition of specific types of cells. To illustrate this concept we describe the development of a nanoparticle that preferentially recognizes apoptotic Jurkat cells in a manner similar to the apoptosis-recognizing protein annexin V. The nanoparticle, which is detectable by fluorescence or NMR relaxometry, was analyzed for the ability to recognize normal and apoptotic cells by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis and fluorescence microscopy. The capability to develop nanoparticles which interact with specific target cells could be applied to the design of materials for diverse applications including quantum dots, which serve as fluorescence tracers, colloidal gold, which serves as a tracer for electron micrographs, or the crystalline forms of drugs.     

色褐链霉菌磷脂酶D基因pld的克隆与表达

利用表达载体pET-22b( ),实现了色褐链霉菌磷脂酶D基因在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中的高效表达.利用镍亲和柱对表达产物进行纯化,将纯化后的重组磷脂酶D作用于底物卵磷脂和丝氨酸定向合成磷脂酰丝氨酸,并用HPLC法检测酶活力.结果表明,目的蛋白可在短时间内进行大量表达.转酯反应6 h后卵磷脂的转化率达到31%,重组磷脂酶D活力达到39 U·(mg蛋白)-1.     

Lipid composition of subcellular membranes from larvae and prepupae ofDrosophila melanogaster

Subcellular membranes were analyzed for their lipid composition and protein content at two developmental points representing the third instar wandering larvae and prepupal stages ofDrosophila. At both stages, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) were the major constituents with phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG) and phosphatidic acid (PA) being relatively minor components. In total homogenates and in the nuclear-enriched fraction there was no significant difference in the phospholipid composition of the wandering larvae and prepupae. In mitochondria only a significant increase in the minor component PS was observed in the prepupae. In lysosomal membranes on the other hand, the relative abundance of the major components PE and PC increased in the prepupae although the molar ratios of the two lipids remained almost constant. The fatty acid composition of the phospholipids remained virtually unchanged in all of the fractions examined, including the lysosomes, and there was no evidence of lipid peroxidation. With regard to cellular degeneration and the involvement of lysosomes, we conclude that mechanisms other than gross modification of the lipid and/or lipid/protein ratio of their membranes are involved in the liberation of the acid phosphatase contents.     

Reaction between methanol and acetic acid catalyzed by SiO2‐supported V‐P‐O catalyst in oxygen atmosphere

SiO₂‐supported V‐P‐O catalysts prepared by the incipient‐wetness impregnation method beginning with ammonium metavanadate and phosphoric acid were used in the catalytic reaction between methanol and acetic acid in an oxygen atmosphere. The SiO₂‐supported V‐P‐O catalysts were composed of VOPO₄ and (VO)₂P₂O₇ phases. Both the acidic and alkaline sites were co‐present in the catalysts. The vanadium species catalyzed the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. The V‐P‐O(20–30 wt%)/SiO₂ catalysts with a P/V mole ratio of 2:1 exhibited higher catalytic activity for the formation of acrylic acid and methyl acrylate with a total selectivity of ～28 % at 380 °C. The acid sites of the catalysts also catalyzed the formation of methyl acetate with a selectivity of ～65 %. Methanol can be an alternative to formaldehyde for the synthesis of both acrylic acid and methyl acrylate through the aldol condensation reaction.     

Miceliar-Enhanced Ultrafiltration Using a Twin-Head Cationic Surfactant

ABSTRACT

A twin-head cationic surfactant was used in micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration of aqueous solutions of benzoic acid. The surfactant, a tertiary amine with two polyoxyethylene head groups and an alkyl tail of 18 carbons, had a critical micelle concentration of 0.06 mM (0.05 g/L). Semiequilibrium dialysis measurements gave a maximum solubilization capacity of 1 mole of acid per mole of surfactant. The ultrafiltration was performed in hollow fiber units having molecular weight cutoffs of 5K and 30K at transmembrane pressures up to 138 kPa. The permeate flux was independent of the concentration of surfactant at concentrations below 4 g/L and decreased at higher concentrations. The flux was independent of the concentration of benzoic acid. At a fixed benzoic acid concentration, the rejection of acid increased with increasing concentration of surfactant, passed through a maximum, and then decreased. For surfactant concentrations above about 2 mM and below 20 mM, the rejections of the surfactant and benzoic acid were functions only of the ratio of surfactant to solute. The best ratio was 1.2 moles of surfactant per mole of benzoic acid, where the rejections were 0.89 for the acid and 0.95 for the surfactant.     

Modification of poly(vinyl alcohol) using maleic acid and its application to the separation of acetic acid-water mixtures by the pervaporation technique

The ‘solution technique’ modification of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) using maleic acid was carried out with the help of triethanolamine/water catalysts. The resulting PVA membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy, and tensile studies to investigate the reaction between PVA polymer and maleic acid. It was found that the resulting PVA membranes had two portions, branched and crosslinked, and there were no more branched than cross-linked portions. For the pervaporation separation of the acetic acid-water system, two reaction densities (X_cr = mole maleic acid per mole monomeric unit of PVA) of 0.05 and 0.1 were studied for the separation of the entire range of mixture compositions at 25° C. The separation factors of the X_cr = 0.05 modified PVA membranes were higher than those of the X_cr 0.1 modified ones and the highest separation factor of 7.80 was obtained at 70wt% water in the feed with the X_cr = 0.05 modified PVA membrane.     

Reduction electrochimique de la (Pyridyle-2)-3-diphenyle-5,6-triazine-1,2,4

The electrochemical reduction of the triazine PDT [3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4 triazine] in dimethylformamide indicates that the first reduction potential and the corresponding mechanism depend tremendously on the medium acidity. In the presence of protic acid, the first reduction of PDT is a two electron process which involves two protons per mole of PDT. The reduction products were characterized by thin layer chromatography and by NMR, thus allowing to identify the reduction sites in the PDT.     

Prediction of ethane and CO2 solubilities in heavy norma paraffins using generalized-parameter soave and peng-robinson equations of state

A study was made of the abilities of the Soave and Peng-Robinson equations to represent the phase behavior of ethane + n-paraffin and CO₂ + n-paraffin systems. These equations are capable of describing the phase behavior of such systems; however, the level of precision obtained varies with the degree of complexity used in representing the interaction parameters in the mixing rules employed. For ethane/C0₂ with n-paraffins extending from C₃ to n-C₄₄, an uncertainty of about 1 % is obtained for bubble point pressures (or about 0.005 mole fraction for solubilities) when two system-specific interaction parameters per isotherm are used. Simple generalized correlations are presented for the equation-of-state interaction parameters which allow prediction of the bubble point pressures with an expected uncertainty of about 5.7% (0.014 in mole fraction).     

Kinetics of in situ epoxidation of soybean oil in bulk catalyzed by ion exchange resin

The kinetics of the epoxidation of soybean oil in bulk by peracetic acid formed in situ, in the presence of an ion exchange resin as the catalyst, was studied. The proposed kinetic model takes into consideration two side reactions of the epoxy ring opening involving the formation of hydroxy acetate and hydroxyl groups as well as the reactions of the formation of the peracid and epoxy groups. The catalytic reaction of the peracetic acid formation was characterized by adsorption of only acetic acid and peracetic acid on the active catalyst sites, and irreversible surface reaction was the overall rate-determining step. Kinetic parameters were estimated by fitting experimental data using the Marquardt method. Good agreement between the calculated and experimental data indicated that the proposed kinetic model was correct. The effect of different reaction variables on epoxidation was also discussed. The conditions for obtaining optimal epoxide yield (91% conversion, 5.99% epoxide content in product) were found to be: 0.5 mole of glacial acetic acid and 1.1 mole of hydrogen peroxide (30% aqueous solution) per mole of ethylenic unsaturation, in the presence of 5 wt% of the ion exchange resin at 75°C, over the reaction period of 8 h.     

Solubility correlation by model with partial molar volume

Jouyban-Acree/van't Hoff model was often used to correlate solubility data, which was related to temperature, and the mole fraction of each solvent in the mixture of two solvents. In this work, the partial molar volume of each component in the mixture of two solvents was first time introduced as a modification to the Jouyban-Acree/van't Hoff model. Furthermore, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technology based on temperature, mole fraction, and partial molar volume of each solvent were employed to improve the accuracy of the solubility estimation. The models were evaluated in terms of their ability to mathematically correlate solute solubility in binary solvents. An average root mean square deviation (RMSD) is used to measure the deviation between the calculated values and the experimental values. With partial molar volume as a modified parameter of the Jouyban-Acree/van't Hoff model, the overall RMSD of all the correlations of solubility improved.