The Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane Model: A New In Vivo Tool to Evaluate Breast Cancer Stem Cell Activity

The high plasticity of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) allows them to differentiate and proliferate, specifically when xenotransplanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice. CSCs are highly tumorigenic, even when inoculated in small numbers. Thus, in vivo limiting dilution assays (LDA) in mice are the current gold standard method to evaluate CSC enrichment and activity. The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a low cost, naturally immune-incompetent and reproducible model widely used to evaluate the spontaneous growth of human tumor cells. Here, we established a CAM-LDA assay able to rapidly reproduce tumor specificities—in particular, the ability of the small population of CSCs to form tumors. We used a panel of organotropic metastatic breast cancer cells, which show an enrichment in a stem cell gene signature, enhanced CD44⁺/CD24^−/low cell surface expression and increased mammosphere-forming efficiency (MFE). The size of CAM-xenografted tumors correlate with the number of inoculated cancer cells, following mice xenograft growth pattern. CAM and mice tumors are histologically comparable, displaying both breast CSC markers CD44 and CD49f. Therefore, we propose a new tool for studying CSC prevalence and function—the chick CAM-LDA—a model with easy handling, accessibility, rapid growth and the absence of ethical and regulatory constraints.     

Molecular Docking Studies and Biological Evaluation of Berberine–Benzothiazole Derivatives as an Anti-Influenza Agent via Blocking of Neuraminidase

In this study, we have introduced newly synthesized substituted benzothiazole based berberine derivatives that have been analyzed for their in vitro and in silico biological properties. The activity towards various kinds of influenza virus strains by employing the cytopathic effect (CPE) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Several berberine–benzothiazole derivatives (BBDs), such as BBD1, BBD3, BBD4, BBD5, BBD7, and BBD11, demonstrated interesting anti-influenza virus activity on influenza A viruses (A/PR/8/34, A/Vic/3/75) and influenza B viral (B/Lee/40, and B/Maryland/1/59) strain, respectively. Furthermore, by testing neuraminidase activity (NA) with the neuraminidase assay kit, it was identified that BBD7 has potent neuraminidase activity. The molecular docking analysis further suggests that the BBD1–BBD14 compounds’ antiviral activity may be because of interaction with residues of NA, and the same as in oseltamivir.     

PACAP-38 in Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Humans and Pigs: A Translational Study

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a cardioprotective neuropeptide expressing its receptors in the cardiovascular system. The aim of our study was to examine tissue PACAP-38 in a translational porcine MI model and plasma PACAP-38 levels in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Significantly lower PACAP-38 levels were detected in the non-ischemic region of the left ventricle (LV) in MI heart compared to the ischemic region of MI-LV and also to the Sham-operated LV in porcine MI model. In STEMI patients, plasma PACAP-38 level was significantly higher before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared to controls, and decreased after PCI. Significant negative correlation was found between plasma PACAP-38 and troponin levels. Furthermore, a significant effect was revealed between plasma PACAP-38, hypertension and HbA1c levels. This was the first study showing significant changes in cardiac tissue PACAP levels in a porcine MI model and plasma PACAP levels in STEMI patients. These results suggest that PACAP, due to its cardioprotective effects, may play a regulatory role in MI and could be a potential biomarker or drug target in MI.     

Insights into the Action Mechanism of the Antimicrobial Peptide Lasioglossin III

Lasioglossin III (LL-III) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide derived from the venom of the eusocial bee Lasioglossum laticeps. LL-III is extremely toxic to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and it exhibits antifungal as well as antitumor activity. Moreover, it shows low hemolytic activity, and it has almost no toxic effects on eukaryotic cells. However, the molecular basis of the LL-III mechanism of action is still unclear. In this study, we characterized by means of calorimetric (DSC) and spectroscopic (CD, fluorescence) techniques its interaction with liposomes composed of a mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-rac-phosphoglycerol (POPG) lipids as a model of the negatively charged membrane of pathogens. For comparison, the interaction of LL-III with the uncharged POPC liposomes was also studied. Our data showed that LL-III preferentially interacted with anionic lipids in the POPC/POPG liposomes and induces the formation of lipid domains. Furthermore, the leakage experiments showed that the peptide could permeabilize the membrane. Interestingly, our DSC results showed that the peptide-membrane interaction occurs in a non-disruptive manner, indicating an intracellular targeting mode of action for this peptide. Consistent with this hypothesis, our gel-retardation assay experiments showed that LL-III could interact with plasmid DNA, suggesting a possible intracellular target.     

化学气相沉积法制备碳化铬薄膜的研究

以三（2,2,6,6-四甲基-3,5-庚二酮）化铬为前驱体,采用化学气相沉积（CVD）法在氧化铝（Al₂O₃）陶瓷基板上制备碳化铬（Cr₃C₂）薄膜,其中沉积温度为723 K至923 K,沉积时间为1 200 s。研究了不同沉积温度对Cr₃C₂薄膜的相组成、择优取向、宏观表面、微观结构及电学性能的影响。结果表明,在723 K至923 K下制备得到具有高度（130）择优取向的Cr₃C₂薄膜。随着沉积温度的升高,Cr₃C₂薄膜表面先由光滑变粗糙,后逐渐变光滑;薄膜晶粒呈椭球型生长;薄膜的厚度先增加后减小,从而导致电阻先减小后增大。在798 K时制备得到厚度最大且电阻最小的（130）择优取向的最佳Cr₃C₂薄膜。同时,在实验条件下Cr₃C₂薄膜表面存在少量的碳和Cr₂O₃。     

MS Binding Assays for Glycine Transporter 2 (GlyT2) Employing Org25543 as Reporter Ligand

This study describes the first binding assay for glycine transporter 2 (GlyT2) following the concept of MS Binding Assays. The selective GlyT2 inhibitor Org25543 was employed as a reporter ligand and it was quantified with a highly sensitive and rapid LC-ESI-MS/MS method. Binding of Org25543 at GlyT2 was characterized in kinetic and saturation experiments with an off-rate of 7.07×10⁻³ s⁻¹, an on-rate of 1.01×10⁶ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, and an equilibrium dissociation constant of 7.45 nM. Furthermore, the inhibitory constants of 19 GlyT ligands were determined in competition experiments. The validity of the GlyT2 affinities determined with the binding assay was examined by a comparison with published inhibitory potencies from various functional assays. With the capability for affinity determination towards GlyT2 the developed MS Binding Assays provide the first tool for affinity profiling of potential ligands and it represents a valuable new alternative to functional assays addressing GlyT2.     

Screening of Inhibitors Targeting Heat Shock Protein 47 Involved in the Development of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Heat shock protein 47 (HSP47), a collagen-specific molecular chaperone, is causally related to fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The identification of Compounds that interfere with the HSP47-collagen interaction is essential for the development of relevant therapeutics. Herein, we prepared human HSP47 as a soluble fusion protein expressed in E. coli and established an assay system for HSP47 inhibitor screening. We screened a natural and synthetic Compound library established at Nagasaki University. Among 1023 Compounds, 13 exhibited inhibitory activity against human HSP47, of which three inhibited its function in a dose-dependent manner. Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, one of these three Compounds, is a typical polyphenol Compound derived from tea leaves. Structurally related Compounds were synthesized and examined for their activity, revealing a hydroxyl group at A-ring position 5 as important for its activity. The present findings provide valuable insight for the development of natural product-derived therapeutics for fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.     

Cardioinotropic Effects in Subchronic Intoxication of Rats with Lead and/or Cadmium Oxide Nanoparticles

Subchronic intoxication was induced in outbred male rats by repeated intraperitoneal injections with lead oxide (PbO) and/or cadmium oxide (CdO) nanoparticles (NPs) 3 times a week during 6 weeks for the purpose of examining its effects on the contractile characteristics of isolated right ventricle trabeculae and papillary muscles in isometric and afterload contractions. Isolated and combined intoxication with these NPs was observed to reduce the mechanical work produced by both types of myocardial preparation. Using the in vitro motility assay, we showed that the sliding velocity of regulated thin filaments drops under both isolated and combined intoxication with CdO–NP and PbO–NP. These results correlate with a shift in the expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms towards slowly cycling β–MHC. The type of CdO–NP + PbO–NP combined cardiotoxicity depends on the effect of the toxic impact, the extent of this effect, the ratio of toxicant doses, and the degree of stretching of cardiomyocytes and muscle type studied. Some indices of combined Pb–NP and CdO–NP cardiotoxicity and general toxicity (genotoxicity included) became fully or partly normalized if intoxication developed against background administration of a bioprotective complex.     

重芳烃轻质化催化剂n（Ni）/n（Ni+Mo）的优化与分析

以β分子筛为载体,在保持金属总负载量不变的情况下,采用等体积浸渍法制备了4种不同n（Ni）/n（Ni+Mo）的催化剂。分别采用X射线衍射（XRD）、比表面积测试（BET）、氨程序升温脱附（NH₃-TPD）、氢程序升温还原（H₂-TPR）、氢程序升温脱附（H₂-TPD）和热重-差热分析（TG-DTG）等方法对催化剂进行了表征。结果表明,4种催化剂的酸量和酸强度相近,在n（Ni）/n（Ni+Mo）等于基准+0.2时,Mo与载体之间的相互作用最弱,其氢气吸附量最多且积炭量最少;采用某炼厂重整C₁₀⁺ 重芳烃对4种催化剂进行评价,结果表明n（Ni）/n（Ni+Mo）等于基准+0.2催化剂具有最优的催化活性和稳定性。上述结果表明,影响重芳烃轻质化催化剂活性和稳定性的关键因素是催化剂氢气吸附量的多少,氢气吸附量越多金属表面的溢流氢效应越明显,积炭前驱体被溢流氢及时消除,从而保护了催化剂的加氢活性中心不被积炭覆盖,有助于催化剂在较高活性下保持稳定。     

应用重组HBcAg与其单克隆抗体配对检测抗—HBc

抗—HBc单克隆抗体经纯化、酶标后，用作包被抗体和酶标抗体，重组工程菌表达的HBcAg作为联结抗原，选择最佳配对单克隆抗体，用ELISA法检测临床标本593份，其中与Abbott试剂盒对照检测91份，符合率达99．09％，与国内的ELISA试剂盒对照检测502份，符合率达98.1％，证明该单克隆抗体ELISA试剂盒检测抗—HBc的特异性、灵敏度、精确性均属国内领先水平。