Short-Term Blockade of Pro-Inflammatory Alarmin S100A9 Favorably Modulates Left Ventricle Proteome and Related Signaling Pathways Involved in Post-Myocardial Infarction Recovery

Prognosis after myocardial infarction (MI) varies greatly depending on the extent of damaged area and the management of biological processes during recovery. Reportedly, the inhibition of the pro-inflammatory S100A9 reduces myocardial damage after MI. We hypothesize that a S100A9 blockade induces changes of major signaling pathways implicated in post-MI healing. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics and gene analyses of infarcted mice left ventricle were performed. The S100A9 blocker (ABR-23890) was given for 3 days after coronary ligation. At 3 and 7 days post-MI, ventricle samples were analyzed versus control and Sham-operated mice. Blockade of S100A9 modulated the expressed proteins involved in five biological processes: leukocyte cell–cell adhesion, regulation of the muscle cell apoptotic process, regulation of the intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway, sarcomere organization and cardiac muscle hypertrophy. The blocker induced regulation of 36 proteins interacting with or targeted by the cellular tumor antigen p53, prevented myocardial compensatory hypertrophy, and reduced cardiac markers of post-ischemic stress. The blockade effect was prominent at day 7 post-MI when the quantitative features of the ventricle proteome were closer to controls. Blockade of S100A9 restores key biological processes altered post-MI. These processes could be valuable new pharmacological targets for the treatment of ischemic heart. Mass spectrometry data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD033683.     

Mechanochemisch eingeleitete Copolymerisationsreaktionen. 2. Synthese von binären Copolymeren durch Schwingmahlung von Acrylnitril,Vinylacetat, Styrol und α-Methyl-Styrol

The present work describes mechanochemically initiated syntheses of binary copolymers based on vinylic- and acrylic-comonomers by using vibratory grinding at room temperature. The reaction process and the chemical structure of the copolymers are influenced by a number of factors such as copolymer ratio, duration of vibratory grinding, and chemical nature of the basic materials. The obtained copolymers were analyzed by chemical and spectroscopical methods. The copolymers show some special properties and their structure is different from those copolymers synthesized by other methods.     

Usability of a diabetes and cardiovascular disease education module in an African American, diabetic sample with physical, visual, and cognitive impairment.

Objective: Develop an accessible education module and test whether presence of diabetes complications and functional impairments differentially impacted intervention usability. Method: 30 African Americans with type 2 diabetes completed 1 of 4 (90-min) group education classes. Preintervention measures included medical history, Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-8, Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status, and Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Knowledge Test. For outcomes comparisons, patients were categorized according to functional impairment (physical; physical + cognitive or physical + visual; physical + cognitive + visual) and number of diabetes complications (0-1, 2-3, 4-6). Outcome measures were knowledge test change scores and patient ratings of satisfaction and accessibility of class and materials. Results: Education resulted in increased mean knowledge scores, from 6.6 to 11.3 (p     

Peptide-assembled optically responsive nanoparticle complexes

The design of active nanostructures whose form and properties can be modulated by remote means is an important challenge in nanoscience. Here we report two types of active nanoparticle complexes, with properties controlled by near-infrared illumination, resulting from the assembly of photothermally responsive plasmonic nanoparticles with thermally labile biomolecular linkers. Au nanoshells (NS) and quantum dots (QD) are assembled using coiled-coil peptides into NS-NS and NS-QD complexes. Illumination of the NS-NS complexes results in reversible disassembly reassembly, while illumination of NS-QD complexes results in a large, reproducible modulation of the quantum dot fluorescence without disassembly of the nanoparticle-peptide complex.     

Sugar‐Based Arylsulfonamide Carboxylates as Selective and Water‐Soluble Matrix Metalloproteinase‐12 Inhibitors

Matrix metalloproteinase‐12 (MMP‐12) can be considered an attractive target to study selective inhibitors useful in the development of new therapies for lung and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, a new series of arylsulfonamide carboxylates, with increased hydrophilicity resulting from conjugation with a β‐N‐acetyl‐d ‐glucosamine moiety, were designed and synthesized as MMP‐12 selective inhibitors. Their inhibitory activity was evaluated on human MMPs by using the fluorimetric assay, and a crystallographic analysis was performed to characterize their binding mode. Among these glycoconjugates, a nanomolar MMP‐12 inhibitor with improved water solubility, compound 3 [(R)‐2‐(N‐(2‐(3‐(2‐acetamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐glucopyranosyl)thioureido)ethyl)biphenyl‐4‐ylsulfonamido)‐3‐methylbutanoic acid], was identified.     

Study of cutting force and surface roughness in the turning of polytetrafluoroethylene composites with a polycrystalline diamond tool

Despite the importance of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites in many industrial applications, especially for space industry, very little is known about the machinability of these composites. This paper presents an investigation into the turning of PTFE composites using a polycrystalline diamond tool in order to analyze the effect of the cutting parameters and insert radius on the cutting force and surface roughness. A strain gauge based dynamometer for the main cutting force measurement in turning was constructed. The force signals were captured and processed using a strain data acquisition system based on the Sider8 and CATMAN software. Cutting force and surface roughness were measured through longitudinal turning, according to the experimental plan developed based on the Taguchi methodology. The signal-to-noise ratio and the analysis of variance were applied to the experimental data in order to determine the effect of the process variables on the surface roughness and cutting force, and predictive models have been derived.     

The Helicobacter pylori CagY Protein Drives Gastric Th1 and Th17 Inflammation and B Cell Proliferation in Gastric MALT Lymphoma

Background: the neoplastic B cells of the Helicobacter pylori-related low-grade gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma proliferate in response to H. pylori, however, the nature of the H. pylori antigen responsible for proliferation is still unknown. The purpose of the study was to dissect whether CagY might be the H. pylori antigen able to drive B cell proliferation. Methods: the B cells and the clonal progeny of T cells from the gastric mucosa of five patients with MALT lymphoma were compared with those of T cell clones obtained from five H. pylori–infected patients with chronic gastritis. The T cell clones were assessed for their specificity to H. pylori CagY, cytokine profile and helper function for B cell proliferation. Results: 22 of 158 CD4⁺ (13.9%) gastric clones from MALT lymphoma and three of 179 CD4⁺ (1.7%) clones from chronic gastritis recognized CagY. CagY predominantly drives Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and Interleukin-17 (IL-17) secretion by gastric CD4⁺ T cells from H. pylori-infected patients with low-grade gastric MALT lymphoma. All MALT lymphoma-derived clones dose dependently increased their B cell help, whereas clones from chronic gastritis lost helper activity at T-to-B-cell ratios greater than 1. Conclusion: the results obtained indicate that CagY drives both B cell proliferation and T cell activation in gastric MALT lymphomas.     

Diversity of stress responses in dairy thermophilic streptococci

Exponential and stationary phase cells of 56 strains of the dairy Streptococcus species S. thermophilus, S. macedonicus and S. salivarius, were exposed to acid, osmotic, oxidative and heat stresses to investigate the diversity of their responses. Three strains of dairy related streptococci, Lactococcus lactis ATCC11454, Enterococcus faecium DSM20477 and Enterococcus faecalis DSM20478, were included for comparison purposes. Acid and heat adaptation and cross-protection to stress were studied in ten strains with different stress response patterns. Cell death and the changes in protein expression were evaluated by plate counts and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Polyacrilamide Gel Electrophoresis, respectively. All strains of all species were highly tolerant of osmotic stress. With a few exceptions, acid and oxidative treatments reduced the number of viable cells by > 5 log units but responses to heat stress were more variable. For some, but not all strains, stationary phase cells were more resistant to some or all stresses. Matrix cluster analysis was used to group strains on the basis of their pattern of stress response in seven clusters. Significant associations between the sources of strains and stress resistance were found for acid and oxidative stresses. Adaptation to stress during the exponential phase enhanced the survival of acid and heat stressed cells from 1 to 60,000-folds, but a detrimental effect of adaptation on cell viability was evident for oxidative and osmotic stresses for three strains. Adaptation and entry into the stationary phase resulted in significant changes of protein bands whose estimated molecular masses corresponded with those of proteins (DnaK, GprE, GroEL, and GroES) involved in the general stress response but no statistically significant correlation between stress response and band intensity was evident.     

The generality of the automatic attitude activation effect.

R. H. Fazio et al (1986) demonstrated that Ss were able to evaluate adjectives more quickly when these adjectives were immediately preceded (primed) by attitude objects of similar valence, compared with when these adjectives were primed by attitude objects of opposite valence. Moreover, this effect obtained primarily for attitude objects toward which Ss were presumed to hold highly accessible attitudes, as indexed by evaluation latency. The present research explored the generality of these findings across attitude objects and across procedural variations. The results of 3 experiments indicated that the automatic activation effect is a pervasive and relatively unconditional phenomenon. It appears that most evaluations stored in memory, for social and nonsocial objects alike, become active automatically on the mere presence or mention of the object in the environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impaired retrieval from remote memory in patients with frontal lobe damage.

Patients with unilateral dorsolateral frontal lobe lesions and matched controls were given 2 tests of remote memory for public information, the Public Events Test and the Famous Faces Test. On both tests, the patients with frontal lobe lesions exhibited impaired recall for remote information. Recognition memory was relatively preserved. Provision of semantic and phonemic cues in the Famous Faces Test did not completely compensate for their recall deficit. These findings suggest that the remote memory impairment exhibited by frontal patients may be related to deficits in strategic search of memory. These deficits in retrieval from remote memory extend the array of memory deficits associated with damage to the frontal lobes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)