Supercritical fluid extraction and characterization of lipids from algae Scenedesmus obliquus

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extractions (with and without ethanol as an entrainer) were carried out to remove lipids and pigments from protein concentrate of green algae (Scenedesmus obliquus) cultivated under controlled conditions. The content and fatty acid composition of algal lipids using column, thin-layer (TLC) and gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) were determined. Absorption spectra of extracted fractions showed the predominance of chlorophyll A (lambda max at 410 nm). Single step supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction resulted mostly in removal of neutral lipids and a part of glycolipids, but phospholipids were not extracted. Addition of ethanol to SC-CO2 increased the amount of glycolipids and phospholipids in the extract. TLC pattern of algal lipids showed that the main part of neutral lipids consisted of diglycerides, triglycerides, hydrocarbons, free sterols, and sterol esters. The glycolipids were mostly monogalactosyl diglyceride, digalactosyl diglyceride, esterified sterol glycoside, and sterol glycoside. In phospholipids, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl glycerol, and phosphatidyl ethanolamine were the main compounds. Fatty acid composition patterns indicated the main fatty acids to be 16:0, 16:1, 16:2, 16:3, 16:4, 18:1, 18:2, and 18:3(a). Relatively high recovery of polyunsaturated fatty acids and essential fatty acids in supercritical fluid extracted algal lipids and proteins isolates were observed.     

Senescence Marker Protein 30 (SMP30): A Novel Pan-Species Diagnostic Marker for the Histopathological Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Humans and Animals

Senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) is a cell survival factor playing an important role in vitamin C synthesis and antiapoptosis. Moreover, its cytoprotective role suggests a possibility to be related to cancer cell survival. Mammary carcinoma is a common cancer in both humans and animals. Because of its histopathological diversity, especially in the early stage, histopathological diagnosis may be complicated; therefore, a diagnostic marker is helpful for confirmation. The present study analyzed the expression pattern of SMP30 in mammary carcinoma in humans, dogs, and cats. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and western blot analysis were used to investigate SMP30 expression patterns. The expression was specifically observed in neoplastic glandular epithelial cells. The expression increased with the malignancy of glandular epithelial cells with a highly proliferative status. However, SMP30 expression was low in normal mammary gland tissues or well-differentiated adenoma tissues. The patterns were consistently reproduced in canine primary mammary carcinoma cells and MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human carcinoma cell lines. This study provides useful information to understand SMP30 expression in various stages of mammary carcinoma and to suggest its utility as a pan-species diagnostic marker, thereby helping to establish strategies for diagnosing mammary carcinoma in several species.     

Evaluation of the Effects of Developmental Trauma on Neurotransmitter Systems Using Functional Molecular Imaging

Early life stress (ELS) is strongly associated with psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia in adulthood. To date, biological, behavioral, and structural aspects of ELS have been studied extensively, but their functional effects remain unclear. Here, we examined NeuroPET studies of dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and serotonergic systems in ELS animal models. Maternal separation and restraint stress were used to generate single or complex developmental trauma. Body weights of animals exposed to single trauma were similar to those of control animals; however, animals exposed to complex trauma exhibited loss of body weight when compared to controls. In behavioral tests, the complex developmental trauma group exhibited a decrease in time spent in the open arm of the elevated plus-maze and an increase in immobility time in the forced swim test when compared to control animals. In NeuroPET studies, the complex trauma group displayed a reduction in brain uptake values when compared to single trauma and control groups. Of neurotransmitter systems analyzed, the rate of decrease in brain uptake was the highest in the serotonergic group. Collectively, our results indicate that developmental trauma events induce behavioral deficits, including anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes and dysfunction in neurotransmitter systems.     

Biflavonoid-Induced Disruption of Hydrogen Bonds Leads to Amyloid-β Disaggregation

Deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) fibrils in the brain is a key pathologic hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. A class of polyphenolic biflavonoids is known to have anti-amyloidogenic effects by inhibiting aggregation of Aβ and promoting disaggregation of Aβ fibrils. In the present study, we further sought to investigate the structural basis of the Aβ disaggregating activity of biflavonoids and their interactions at the atomic level. A thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence assay revealed that amentoflavone-type biflavonoids promote disaggregation of Aβ fibrils with varying potency due to specific structural differences. The computational analysis herein provides the first atomistic details for the mechanism of Aβ disaggregation by biflavonoids. Molecular docking analysis showed that biflavonoids preferentially bind to the aromatic-rich, partially ordered N-termini of Aβ fibril via the π–π interactions. Moreover, docking scores correlate well with the ThT EC₅₀ values. Molecular dynamic simulations revealed that biflavonoids decrease the content of β-sheet in Aβ fibril in a structure-dependent manner. Hydrogen bond analysis further supported that the substitution of hydroxyl groups capable of hydrogen bond formation at two positions on the biflavonoid scaffold leads to significantly disaggregation of Aβ fibrils. Taken together, our data indicate that biflavonoids promote disaggregation of Aβ fibrils due to their ability to disrupt the fibril structure, suggesting biflavonoids as a lead class of compounds to develop a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer’s disease.     

Modulation of Tubular pH by Acetazolamide in a Ca2+ Transport Deficient Mice Facilitates Calcium Nephrolithiasis

Proximal tubular (PT) acidosis, which alkalinizes the urinary filtrate, together with Ca²⁺ supersaturation in PT can induce luminal calcium phosphate (CaP) crystal formation. While such CaP crystals are known to act as a nidus for CaP/calcium oxalate (CaOx) mixed stone formation, the regulation of PT luminal Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]) under elevated pH and/or high [Ca²⁺] conditions are unknown. Since we found that transient receptor potential canonical 3 (TRPC3) knockout (KO; -/-) mice could produce mild hypercalciuria with CaP urine crystals, we alkalinized the tubular pH in TRPC3-/- mice by oral acetazolamide (0.08%) to develop mixed urinary crystals akin to clinical signs of calcium nephrolithiasis (CaNL). Our ratiometric (λ340/380) intracellular [Ca²⁺] measurements reveal that such alkalization not only upsurges Ca²⁺ influx into PT cells, but the mode of Ca²⁺ entry switches from receptor-operated to store-operated pathway. Electrophysiological experiments show enhanced bicarbonate related current activity in treated PT cells which may determine the stone-forming phenotypes (CaP or CaP/CaOx). Moreover, such alkalization promotes reactive oxygen species generation, and upregulation of calcification, inflammation, fibrosis, and apoptosis in PT cells, which were exacerbated in absence of TRPC3. Altogether, the pH-induced alteration of the Ca²⁺ signaling signature in PT cells from TRPC3 ablated mice exacerbated the pathophysiology of mixed urinary stone formation, which may aid in uncovering the downstream mechanism of CaNL.     

The GNAQ T96S Mutation Affects Cell Signaling and Enhances the Oncogenic Properties of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common malignant tumor in the liver, grows and metastasizes rapidly. Despite advances in treatment modalities, the five-year survival rate of HCC remains less than 30%. We sought genetic mutations that may affect the oncogenic properties of HCC, using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data analysis. We found that the GNAQ T96S mutation (threonine 96 to serine alteration of the Gαq protein) was present in 12 out of 373 HCC patients (3.2%). To examine the effect of the GNAQ T96S mutation on HCC, we transfected the SK-Hep-1 cell line with the wild-type or the mutant GNAQ T96S expression vector. Transfection with the wild-type GNAQ expression vector enhanced anchorage-independent growth, migration, and the MAPK pathways in the SK-Hep-1 cells compared to control vector transfection. Moreover, cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, migration, and the MAPK pathways were further enhanced in the SK-Hep-1 cells transfected with the GNAQ T96S expression vector compared to the wild-type GNAQ-transfected cells. In silico structural analysis shows that the substitution of the GNAQ amino acid threonine 96 with a serine may destabilize the interaction between the regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) protein and GNAQ. This may reduce the inhibitory effect of RGS on GNAQ signaling, enhancing the GNAQ signaling pathway. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping analysis for Korean HCC patients shows that the GNAQ T96S mutation was found in only one of the 456 patients (0.22%). Our data suggest that the GNAQ T96S hotspot mutation may play an oncogenic role in HCC by potentiating the GNAQ signal transduction pathway.     

Characterization of oxide scales formed on low carbon steel between 1100 and 1250 °C in air

A low carbon steel was oxidized isothermally at temperatures of 1100–1250 °C for up to 2 h in air, and the oxide scales were examined. Several hundred micrometer-thick scales formed owing to poor oxidation resistance at high temperatures. Scales consisting mainly of Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and FeO spalled easily, owing to the formation of voids and cracks in the scales. All the alloying elements were also oxidized and incorporated in the iron oxide scales, depending on their local concentration in the matrix.