Enterotoxigenic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> strains bind bovine milk gangliosides in a ceramide-dependent process

Diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the main infectious disease of newborn calves. The first step of infection involves bacterial attachment to the intestinal mucosa. This adhesion is mediated by fimbriae that recognize some glycoconjugates on the host cell surface, in particular, several gangliosides. Because milk also contains gangliosides, these have been suggested to serve as ligands for bacterial fimbriae and thus prevent the bacterial attachment to mucosa. The most relevant ETEC strains in calves, including those with K99 and F41 fimbriae, were assayed to determine whether they are able to bind gangliosides isolated from several stages of bovine lactation. Both GM3 and GD3, the main gangliosides of milk, were recognized by ETEC strains, although the different fimbriae showed diverse levels of affinity. Unexpectedly, the adhesion to colostral gangliosides was considerably weaker than that to gangliosides from the other stages of lactation. Because the carbohydrate moiety did not change and because differences in the percentages of unsaturated FA and sphingosine between colostrum and other stages were observed, we conclude that the differences in adhesion could be due to a different composition of the ganglioside caramide.     

Catalytic Reduction of 4-Nitrobenzoic Acid by cis-[Rh(CO)2(Amine)2](PF6) Complexes Under Water–Gas Shift Reaction Conditions: Kinetics Study

Rhodium(I) complexes of the type, cis-[Rh(CO)₂(amine)₂](PF₆) where (amine = 3-picoline, 2-picoline, pyridine, 2,6-lutidina or 3,5-lutidine) dissolved in 80% aqueous amine solutions catalyzed the selective reduction of 4-nitrobenzoic acid to 4-aminobenzoic acid under CO atmosphere. The importance of these catalytic systems is their high chemo selectivity for the aromatic nitro group of the 4-nitrobenzoic acid with respect to the carboxylic group, allowing the production of the desired aromatic amine in high yields. The 4-aminobenzoic acid production depends on the nature of the coordinated amine. The Rh/3,5-lutidine system, the most active catalyst among tested, displays turnover frequencies for 4-aminobenzoic acid production of about 173 moles per mole Rh per day for [Rh] = 1 × 10^?4 mol, [4-nitrobenzoic acid] = 3.82 × 10^?3mol, 10 mL of 80% aqueous 3,5-lutidine, P(CO) = 0.9 atm at 100 °C. Analyses of kinetic results for the Rh/3,5-lutidine system show a first order dependence on 4-nitrobenzoic acid concentration, a non-linear dependence on CO pressure, a segmented Arrhenius plot and dependence on the nature of the reducing gas agent. These data are discussed in terms of a possible mechanism.     

Targeted Therapies for Brain Metastases from Breast Cancer

The discovery of various driver pathways and targeted small molecule agents/antibodies have revolutionized the management of metastatic breast cancer. Currently, the major targets of clinical utility in breast cancer include the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK-4/6) pathway. Brain metastasis, however, remains a thorn in the flesh, leading to morbidity, neuro-cognitive decline, and interruptions in the management of systemic disease. Approximately 20%–30% of patients with metastatic breast cancer develop brain metastases. Surgery, whole brain radiation therapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery are the traditional treatment options for patients with brain metastases. The therapeutic paradigm is changing due to better understanding of the blood brain barrier and the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. Several of these agents are in clinical practice and several others are in early stage clinical trials. In this article, we will review the common targetable pathways in the management of breast cancer patients with brain metastases, and the current state of the clinical development of drugs against these pathways.     

Extraction of lipids from Yarrowia Lipolytica

BACKGROUND: Microorganisms have often been considered for the production of oils and fats as an alternative to agricultural and animal resources. Extraction experiments were performed using a strain of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica (Y. lipolytica), a high‐lipid‐content yeast. Three different methods were tested: Soxhlet extraction, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) extraction using ethanol as a co‐solvent. Also, high pressure solubility measurements in the systems ‘CO₂ + yeast oil’ and ‘CO₂ + ethanol + yeast oil’ were carried out. RESULTS: The solubility experiments determined that, at the conditions of the supercritical extractor (40 °C and 20 MPa), a maximum concentration of 10 mg of yeast oil per g of solvent can be expected in pure CO₂. 10% w/w of ethanol in the solvent mixture increased this value to almost 15 mg of yeast oil per g of solvent. Different pretreatments were necessary to obtain satisfactory yields in the extraction experiments. The Soxhlet and the ASE method were not able to complete the lipid extraction. The ‘SCCO₂ + ethanol’ extraction curves revealed the influence of the different pretreatments on the extraction mechanism. CONCLUSION: Evaluating the effectiveness of a given pretreatment, ASE reduced the amount of material and solvent used compared with Soxhlet. In all three cases, the best total extraction performance was obtained for the ethanol‐macerated yeast (EtM). Addition of ethanol to the solvent mixture enhanced the oil solubility. Oil can be extracted from Y. lipolytica in two different steps: a non‐selective ethanol extraction followed by TAG‐selective SCCO₂ purification. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Simulations of vapor–liquid phase equilibrium and interfacial tension in the CO2–H2O–NaCl system

Direct interfacial molecular dynamics simulations are used to obtain the phase behavior and interfacial tension of CO₂–H₂O–NaCl mixtures over a broad temperature and pressure range (50°C ≤ T ≤ 250°C, 0 ≤ P ≤ 600 bar) and NaCl concentrations (1–4 mol/kg H₂O). The predictive ability of several existing water (SPC and TIP4P2005), carbon dioxide (EPM2 and TraPPE), and sodium chloride (SD and DRVH) models is studied and compared, using conventional Lorentz–Berthelot combining rules for the unlike‐pair parameters. Under conditions of moderate NaCl molality (～1 mol/kg H₂O), the predictions of the CO₂ solubility in the water‐rich and CO₂‐rich phase resemble those in the CO₂–H₂O system [Liu et al., J Phys Chem B. 2011;115:6629–6635]. Consistent with our previous work, the TraPPE/TIP4P2005 model combination gives the best overall performance in predicting coexistence composition and pressure in the water‐rich phase. Critical assessments are also made on the ranges of temperature and pressure where particular model combinations work better. The dependence of the interfacial tension on temperature and pressure is better predicted by the TraPPE/TIP4P2005 and EPM2/SPC models, whereas the EPM2/TIP4P2005 model overestimates this property by 10–20%, possibly due to the inadequacy of the combining rules. It is also found that the interfacial tension increases with salt concentration, consistent with experimental observations. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3514–3522, 2013     

Melatonin May Curtail the Metabolic Syndrome: Studies on Initial and Fully Established Fructose-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats

To examine the effect of melatonin given to rats simultaneously with fructose on initial and fully developed metabolic syndrome, male Wistar rats had free access to chow and 5% or 10% fructose drinking solution for 8 weeks. As compared to controls, systolic blood pressure augmented significantly under both treatments whereas excessive body weight was seen in rats receiving the 10% fructose only. Rats drinking 5% fructose showed a greater tolerance to a glucose load while rats having access to a 10% fructose drinking solution exhibited the expected impaired glucose tolerance found in the metabolic syndrome. Circulating triglyceride and low density lipoproteins-cholesterol (LDL-c) concentration augmented significantly in rats showing a fully developed metabolic syndrome only, while high blood cholesterol levels were found at both stages examined. Melatonin (25 μg/mL drinking solution) counteracted the changes in body weight and systolic blood pressure found in rats administered with fructose. Melatonin decreased the abnormal hyperglycemia seen after a glucose load in 10% fructose-treated rats but it did not modify the greater tolerance to glucose observed in animals drinking 5% fructose. Melatonin also counteracted the changes in plasma LDL-c, triglyceride and cholesterol levels and decreased plasma uric acid levels. The results underline a possible therapeutical role of melatonin in the metabolic syndrome, both at initial and established phases.