Hyperthyroidism and acromegaly due to a thyrotropin- and growth hormone-secreting pituitary tumor. Lack of hormonal response to bromocriptine.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, H E; Linfoot, J A; Braunstein, G D; Kovacs, K; Young, R T

1983-05-01

A 47-year-old woman with acromegaly and hyperthyroidism was found to have an inappropriately normal serum thyrotropin level (1.5 to 2.5 microU/ml) that responded poorly to thyrotropin-releasing hormone but showed partial responsiveness to changes in circulating thyroid hormones. Serum alpha-subunit levels were high-normal and showed a normal response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone. Growth hormone and thyrotropin hypersecretion persisted despite radiotherapy and bromocriptine treatment. Selective trans-sphenoidal removal of a pituitary adenoma led to normalization of both growth hormone and thyrotropin levels. Both thyrotropes and somatotropes were demonstrated in the adenoma by the immunoperoxidase technique and electron microscopy.

Preoperative Serum Thyrotropin to Thyroglobulin Ratio Is Effective for Thyroid Nodule Evaluation in Euthyroid Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lina; Li, Hao; Yang, Zhongyuan; Guo, Zhuming; Zhang, Quan

2015-07-01

This study was designed to assess the efficiency of the serum thyrotropin to thyroglobulin ratio for thyroid nodule evaluation in euthyroid patients. Cross-sectional study. Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China. Retrospective analysis was performed for 400 previously untreated cases presenting with thyroid nodules. Thyroid function was tested with commercially available radioimmunoassays. The receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine cutoff values. The efficacy of the thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio and thyroid-stimulating hormone for thyroid nodule evaluation was evaluated in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and odds ratio. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve was 0.746 for the thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio and 0.659 for thyroid-stimulating hormone. With a cutoff point value of 24.97 IU/g for the thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio were 78.9%, 60.8%, 75.5%, 2.01, and 0.35, respectively. The odds ratio for the thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio indicating malignancy was 5.80. With a cutoff point value of 1.525 µIU/mL for thyroid-stimulating hormone, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio were 74.0%, 53.2%, 70.8%, 1.58, and 0.49, respectively. The odds ratio indicating malignancy for thyroid-stimulating hormone was 3.23. Increasing preoperative serum thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio is a risk factor for thyroid carcinoma, and the correlation of the thyrotropin:thyroglobulin ratio to malignancy is higher than that for serum thyroid-stimulating hormone. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.

Pituitary response to thyrotropin releasing hormone in children with overweight and obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rijks, Jesse; Penders, Bas; Dorenbos, Elke; Straetemans, Saartje; Gerver, Willem-Jan; Vreugdenhil, Anita

2016-08-03

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations in the high normal range are common in children with overweight and obesity, and associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Prior studies aiming at unravelling the mechanisms underlying these high TSH concentrations mainly focused on factors promoting thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) production as a cause for high TSH concentrations. However, it is unknown whether TSH release of the pituitary in response to TRH is affected in children with overweight and obesity. Here we describe TSH release of the pituitary in response to exogenous TRH in 73 euthyroid children (39% males) with overweight or (morbid) obesity. Baseline TSH concentrations (0.9-5.5 mU/L) were not associated with BMI z score, whereas these concentrations were positively associated with TSH concentrations 20 minutes after TRH administration (r(2) = 0.484, p obesity. The clinical significance and the intermediate factors contributing to pituitary TSH release need to be elucidated in future studies.

NMR spectroscopy: structure elucidation of cycloelatanene A: a natural product case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Urban, Sylvia; Dias, Daniel Anthony

2013-01-01

The structure elucidation of new secondary metabolites derived from marine and terrestrial sources is frequently a challenging task. The hurdles include the ability to isolate stable secondary metabolites of sufficient purity that are often present in products that the compound may rapidly degrade during and/or after the isolation, due to sensitivity to light, air oxidation, and/or temperature. In this way, precautions need to be taken, as much as possible to avoid any such chemical inter-conversions and/or degradations. Immediately after purification, the next step is to rapidly acquire all analytical spectroscopic data in order to complete the characterization of the isolated secondary metabolite(s), prior to any possible decomposition. The final hurdle in this multiple step process, especially in the acquisition of the NMR spectroscopic and other analytical data (mass spectra, infrared and ultra-violet spectra, optical rotation, etc.), is to assemble the structural moieties/units in an effort to complete the structure elucidation. Often ambiguity with the elucidation of the final structure remains when structural fragments identified are difficult to piece together on the basis of the HMBC NMR correlations or when the relative configuration cannot be unequivocally identified on the basis of NOE NMR enhancements observed. Herein, we describe the methodology used to carry out the structure elucidation of a new C16 chamigrene, cycloelatanene A (5) which was isolated from the southern Australian marine alga Laurencia elata (Rhodomelaceae). The general approach and principles used in the structure determination of this compound can be applied to the structure elucidation of other small molecular weight compounds derived from either natural or synthetic sources.

Clinical Value of Thyrotropin Receptor Antibodies for the Differential Diagnosis of Interferon Induced Thyroiditis.

Science.gov (United States)

Benaiges, D; Garcia-Retortillo, M; Mas, A; Cañete, N; Broquetas, T; Puigvehi, M; Chillarón, J J; Flores-Le Roux, J A; Sagarra, E; Cabrero, B; Zaffalon, D; Solà, R; Pedro-Botet, J; Carrión, J A

2016-01-01

The clinical value of thyrotropin receptor antibodies for the differential diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis induced by pegylated interferon-alpha remains unknown. We analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of thyrotropin receptor antibodies in the differential diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) receiving pegylated interferon-alpha plus ribavirin. Retrospective analysis of 274 patients with CHC receiving pegylated interferon-alpha plus ribavirin. Interferon-induced thyrotoxicosis was classified according to clinical guidelines as Graves disease, autoimmune and non- autoimmune destructive thyroiditis. 48 (17.5%) patients developed hypothyroidism, 17 (6.2%) thyrotoxicosis (6 non- autoimmune destructive thyroiditis, 8 autoimmune destructive thyroiditis and 3 Graves disease) and 22 "de novo" thyrotropin receptor antibodies (all Graves disease, 2 of the 8 autoimmune destructive thyroiditis and 17 with normal thyroid function). The sensitivity and specificity of thyrotropin receptor antibodies for Graves disease diagnosis in patients with thyrotoxicosis were 100 and 85%, respectively. Patients with destructive thyroiditis developed hypothyroidism in 87.5% of autoimmune cases and in none of those with a non- autoimmune etiology (pthyroid scintigraphy for the differential diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis in CHC patients treated with pegylated interferon. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Pulsatile thyrotropin secretion in patients with Cushing's syndrome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adriaanse, R.; Brabant, G.; Endert, E.; Wiersinga, W. M.

1994-01-01

Pulsatile and circadian thyrotropin (TSH) secretion were studied in 16 healthy controls and in three patients with Cushing's syndrome who were studied twice (before and after treatment). Blood was sampled every 10 minutes over 24 hours for TSH (immunoradiometric assay [IRMA]). Mean 24-hour TSH in

The thyroid nodule. Thyrotropin and peripheral thyroid hormones; Der Schilddruesenknoten. TSH und periphere Hormone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zimny, M. [Klinikum Hanau (Germany). Inst. fuer Nuklearmedizin

2008-09-15

Thyrotropin, free triodothyronine and thyroxine represent the standard serological parameters for the diagnostic work-up of the thyroid but only a minority of thyroid nodules present with subclinical or overt thyroid disorders. Besides a review of the regulation and principle of function of thyroid hormones as well as the effects of subclinical or overt hyperthyroidism, the significant role of these parameters beyond the assessment of hyperthyroidism in thyroid nodules is discussed. There is evidence that the level of thyrotropin within the normal range is predictive for the relevance of autonomous functioning nodules and the risk of malignancy of non-functioning thyroid nodules. Furthermore, the ratio of triodothyronine and thyroxine indicates the etiology of hyperthyroidism. Thyrotropin represents the main parameter to determine the adequate dose of thyroid hormone therapy of thyroid nodules. (orig.)

Mutations that silence constitutive signaling activity in the allosteric ligand-binding site of the thyrotropin receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, Ann-Karin; Kleinau, Gunnar; Hoyer, Inna; Neumann, Susanne; Furkert, Jens; Rutz, Claudia; Schülein, Ralf; Gershengorn, Marvin C; Krause, Gerd

2011-01-01

The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) exhibits elevated cAMP signaling in the basal state and becomes fully activated by thyrotropin. Previously we presented evidence that small-molecule ligands act allosterically within the transmembrane region in contrast to the orthosteric extracellular hormone-binding sites. Our goal in this study was to identify positions that surround the allosteric pocket and that are sensitive for inactivation of TSHR. Homology modeling combined with site-directed mutagenesis and functional characterization revealed seven mutants located in the allosteric binding site that led to a decrease of basal cAMP signaling activity. The majority of these silencing mutations, which constrain the TSHR in an inactive conformation, are found in two clusters when mapped onto the 3D structural model. We suggest that the amino acid positions identified herein are indicating locations where small-molecule antagonists, both neutral antagonists and inverse agonists, might interfere with active TSHR conformations.

Radioimmunological studies of the thyrotropic function of the hypophysis under the effect of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone in thyroid diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vakulenko, A.D.; Matveenko, E.G.; Simakova, G.M.; Sorokina, V.G.; Golubnichaya, L.P.; Dobrova, G.S.

1979-01-01

The synthetic thyrotropin-releasing-hormone was stream-injected intravenously to 124 patients and 16 healthy people in doses of 200 μg. It was tolerated satisfactorily at the first and repeated injections. The radioimmunologic method was used prior to the test and 30 min after it to examine thyrotropin content in blood. In normal state the stimulation would result in 3.5-fold increase in thyrotropin level on the average. The hypophysial reserve of thyrotropin was significantly lower in cases of diffuse toxic goiter in grave and semigrave forms and toxic adenoma. It was significantly higher at primary hypothyrosis and retained at nodular euthyroid goiter, neupocirculatopy dystonia and mild thyrotoxicosis. At thyroid gland disturbances the test with thyrotropin-releasing-hormone is of diagnostic value at primary hypothyrosis in the initial latent period; besides, it can be used for control of substitution therapy and as a supplementary test at thyrotoxicosis

Chemical synthesis and structure elucidation of bovine κ-casein (1-44)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bansal, Paramjit S.; Grieve, Paul A.; Marschke, Ronald J.; Daly, Norelle L.; McGhie, Emily; Craik, David J.; Alewood, Paul F.

2006-01-01

The caseins (α s1 , α s2 , β, and κ) are phosphoproteins present in bovine milk that have been studied for over a century and whose structures remain obscure. Here we describe the chemical synthesis and structure elucidation of the N-terminal segment (1-44) of bovine κ-casein, the protein which maintains the micellar structure of the caseins. κ-Casein (1-44) was synthesised by highly optimised Boc solid-phase peptide chemistry and characterised by mass spectrometry. Structure elucidation was carried out by circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. CD analysis demonstrated that the segment was ill defined in aqueous medium but in 30% trifluoroethanol it exhibited considerable helical structure. Further, NMR analysis showed the presence of a helical segment containing 26 residues which extends from Pro 8 to Arg 34 . This is First report which demonstrates extensive secondary structure within the casein class of proteins

Collision-Induced Dissociation Mass Spectrometry: A Powerful Tool for Natural Product Structure Elucidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Andrew R; Carlson, Erin E

2015-11-03

Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool in natural product structure elucidation, but our ability to directly correlate fragmentation spectra to these structures lags far behind similar efforts in peptide sequencing and proteomics. Often, manual data interpretation is required and our knowledge of the expected fragmentation patterns for many scaffolds is limited, further complicating analysis. Here, we summarize advances in natural product structure elucidation based upon the application of collision induced dissociation fragmentation mechanisms.

Extended and structurally supported insights into extracellular hormone binding, signal transduction and organization of the thyrotropin receptor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd Krause

Full Text Available The hormone thyrotropin (TSH and its receptor (TSHR are crucial for the growth and function of the thyroid gland. The TSHR is evolutionary linked with the receptors of follitropin (FSHR and lutropin/choriogonadotropin (LHR and their sequences and structures are similar. The extracellular region of TSHR contains more than 350 amino acids and binds hormone and antibodies. Several important questions related to functions and mechanisms of TSHR are still not comprehensively understood. One major reason for these open questions is the lack of any structural information about the extracellular segment of TSHR that connects the N-terminal leucine-rich repeat domain (LRRD with the transmembrane helix (TMH 1, the hinge region. It has been shown experimentally that this segment is important for fine tuning of signaling and ligand interactions. A new crystal structure containing most of the extracellular hFSHR region in complex with hFSH has recently been published. Now, we have applied these new structural insights to the homologous TSHR and have generated a structural model of the TSHR LRRD/hinge-region/TSH complex. This structural model is combined and evaluated with experimental data including hormone binding (bTSH, hTSH, thyrostimulin, super-agonistic effects, antibody interactions and signaling regulation. These studies and consideration of significant and non-significant amino acids have led to a new description of mechanisms at the TSHR, including ligand-induced displacements of specific hinge region fragments. This event triggers conformational changes at a convergent center of the LRRD and the hinge region, activating an "intramolecular agonistic unit" close to the transmembrane domain.

Extended and structurally supported insights into extracellular hormone binding, signal transduction and organization of the thyrotropin receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Gerd; Kreuchwig, Annika; Kleinau, Gunnar

2012-01-01

The hormone thyrotropin (TSH) and its receptor (TSHR) are crucial for the growth and function of the thyroid gland. The TSHR is evolutionary linked with the receptors of follitropin (FSHR) and lutropin/choriogonadotropin (LHR) and their sequences and structures are similar. The extracellular region of TSHR contains more than 350 amino acids and binds hormone and antibodies. Several important questions related to functions and mechanisms of TSHR are still not comprehensively understood. One major reason for these open questions is the lack of any structural information about the extracellular segment of TSHR that connects the N-terminal leucine-rich repeat domain (LRRD) with the transmembrane helix (TMH) 1, the hinge region. It has been shown experimentally that this segment is important for fine tuning of signaling and ligand interactions. A new crystal structure containing most of the extracellular hFSHR region in complex with hFSH has recently been published. Now, we have applied these new structural insights to the homologous TSHR and have generated a structural model of the TSHR LRRD/hinge-region/TSH complex. This structural model is combined and evaluated with experimental data including hormone binding (bTSH, hTSH, thyrostimulin), super-agonistic effects, antibody interactions and signaling regulation. These studies and consideration of significant and non-significant amino acids have led to a new description of mechanisms at the TSHR, including ligand-induced displacements of specific hinge region fragments. This event triggers conformational changes at a convergent center of the LRRD and the hinge region, activating an "intramolecular agonistic unit" close to the transmembrane domain.

Computer-assisted methods for molecular structure elucidation: realizing a spectroscopist's dream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elyashberg Mikhail

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This article coincides with the 40 year anniversary of the first published works devoted to the creation of algorithms for computer-aided structure elucidation (CASE. The general principles on which CASE methods are based will be reviewed and the present state of the art in this field will be described using, as an example, the expert system Structure Elucidator. Results The developers of CASE systems have been forced to overcome many obstacles hindering the development of a software application capable of drastically reducing the time and effort required to determine the structures of newly isolated organic compounds. Large complex molecules of up to 100 or more skeletal atoms with topological peculiarity can be quickly identified using the expert system Structure Elucidator based on spectral data. Logical analysis of 2D NMR data frequently allows for the detection of the presence of COSY and HMBC correlations of "nonstandard" length. Fuzzy structure generation provides a possibility to obtain the correct solution even in those cases when an unknown number of nonstandard correlations of unknown length are present in the spectra. The relative stereochemistry of big rigid molecules containing many stereocenters can be determined using the StrucEluc system and NOESY/ROESY 2D NMR data for this purpose. Conclusion The StrucEluc system continues to be developed in order to expand the general applicability, provide improved workflows, usability of the system and increased reliability of the results. It is expected that expert systems similar to that described in this paper will receive increasing acceptance in the next decade and will ultimately be integrated directly to analytical instruments for the purpose of organic analysis. Work in this direction is in progress. In spite of the fact that many difficulties have already been overcome to deliver on the spectroscopist's dream of "fully automated structure elucidation" there is

Structure elucidation of a novel oligosaccharide (Medalose) from camel milk

Science.gov (United States)

Gangwar, Lata; Singh, Rinku; Deepak, Desh

2018-02-01

Free oligosaccharides are the third most abundant solid component in milk after lactose and lipids. The study of milk oligosaccharides indicate that nutrients are not only benefits the infant's gut but also perform a number of other functions which include stimulation of growth, receptor analogues to inhibit binding of pathogens and substances that promote postnatal brain development. Surveys reveal that camel milk oligosaccharides possess varied biological activities that help in the treatment of diabetes, asthma, anaemia, piles and also a food supplement to milking mothers. In this research, camel milk was selected for its oligosaccharide contents, which was then processed by Kobata and Ginsburg method followed by the HPLC and CC techniques. Structure elucidation of isolated compound was done by the chemical degradation, chemical transformation and comparison of chemical shift of NMR data of natural and acetylated oligosaccharide structure reporter group theory, the 1H, 13C NMR, 2D-NMR (COSY, TOCSY and HSQC) techniques, and mass spectrometry. The structure was elucidated as under: MEDALOSE

Preparation of standards of triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavalley E, C.; Delgado S, B.; Ruiz J, A.; Zambrano A, F.

1991-10-01

The standards preparation requires of certain basic principles, some of which are described in this work, which was made with the purpose of establishing the most appropriate conditions for the preparation of standards of triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyrotropin to be used in radioimmunoanalysis essays. The diverse standards show a balanced displacement, that which is observed in the graphs presented in this work. (Author)

Radioimmunoassay of Human Thyrotropin - Part 1. Plasma TSH levels in various thyroid functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, Chang Soon; Lee, Hong Kyu; Ro, Heung Kyu; Lee, Mun Ho

1972-01-01

The radioimmunoassay of human thyrotropin was performed in various thyroid states, utilizing the anti-h-T.S.H. antibody and purified human thyrotropin supplied from National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, Bethesda, Ma., U.S.A., and human thyrotropin standard-A obtained from National Institute for Biologic Standards, Mill Hill, London, England. 131 I labelled h-TSH was prepared after the Chloramine-T method of Greenwood et al. This double antibody system had a assay sensitivity of about l. 0 μU/ml of plasma HTS-A and could detect the plasma h-TSH level in the euthyroid patients. Plasma h-TSH level of the normal 26 Korean was l.1±0. 83 μU/ml, and that of the 8 hypothyroidisms were 8.3 to 67.5 μU/ml. In hyperthyroidisms, no cases showed the plasma h-TSH levels over l. 0 μU/ ml. Between the hypothyroidism and euthyroidism, no overlap is noticed on plasma h-TSH levels. A case of transient hypothyroid state identified by determination of plasma h-TSH level is presented. These results revealed that the radioimmunoassay of h-TSH in plasma could be a sensitive method to diagnose the hypothyroidism, if not caused by a pituitary disease.

Examination of some factors affecting sensitivity and reproducibility in radioimmunoassay of thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moser, R.J.; Hollingsworth, D.R.

1975-01-01

Conditions for measuring human thyrotropin by radioimmunoassay have been investigated, to improve the sensitivity and reproducibility of the assay. The Chloramine-T method of iodination was used, the reaction time being 20 s. Doubling the iodination reaction volume from 55 to 95 μl did not affect the immunoreactivity. Purification of labeled hormone by use of anion-exchange resin followed by silica (Quso G-32) instead of Sephadex gel-filtration or anion exchange alone yielded a product that was the least (less than 4 percent) contaminated with Na 125 I. Human serum albumin (2.5 g/liter)in phosphate-buffered saline, instead of bovine serum, should be used as diluent for unknowns; within-assay variance was 3 percent for the former, 62 percent for the latter. The assay worked equally well for both pregnant and nonpregnant patients, with use of 50 to 100 μl of serum per determination. A five-week-old labeled hormone yielded higher values than did two-week-old material. In 29 euthyroid patients the mean thyrotropin value was 5.7 microunits/ml (range 2.8 to 11); nine hypothyroid patients had a mean of 112 microunits/ml (range 38 to 267); and 13 hyperthyroid subjects showed suppressed thyrotropin with a mean of 3.1 microunits/ml (range 2.2 to 4.5). Following these suggestions, one can expect a highly purified immunoreactive tracer and a sensitive assay. (U.S.)

Serum Levels of Thyroid Hormones and Thyrotropin in Some Sickle ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The serum levels of the thyroid hormones (T4 and T3) and thyrotropin (TSH) were measured by radio-immunoassay (RIA) in the steady state of 10 homozygous sickle cell anaemia patients and 10 normal subjects of the same age group in years (15-25) who were the control group. The results showed that sickle cell disease ...

Activating thyrotropin receptor mutations in histologically heterogeneous hyperfunctioning nodules of multinodular goiter.

Science.gov (United States)

Tonacchera, M; Vitti, P; Agretti, P; Giulianetti, B; Mazzi, B; Cavaliere, R; Ceccarini, G; Fiore, E; Viacava, P; Naccarato, A; Pinchera, A; Chiovato, L

1998-07-01

Activating thyrotropin (TSH) receptor mutations have been found in toxic adenomas and in hot nodules contained in toxic multinodular goiter. The typical feature of multinodular goiter is the heterogeneity in morphology and function of different follicles within the same enlarged gland. In this report we describe a patient with a huge multinodular goiter, normal free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) serum values, and subnormal TSH serum concentration. Thyroid scintiscan showed two hot areas corresponding to the basal and apical nodules of the left lobe. The right lobe was poorly visualized by the radioisotope. The patient underwent thyroidectomy, and histological examination of the tissue was performed. Genomic DNA was extracted from the tissue specimen and direct sequencing of the TSH receptor and Gs alpha genes was done. At histology, one hyperfunctioning nodule had the typical microscopic structure of thyroid adenomas, and the other contained multiple macrofollicular areas not confined by a capsule. In spite of this histological difference, both hyperfunctioning nodules harbored a mutation of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHr) gene: an isoleucine instead of a threonine in position 632 (T632I) in the first nodule and a methionine instead of an isoleucine in position 486 (I486M) in the second nodule. In conclusion, our findings show for the first time that gain-of-function TSHr mutations are not only present in hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules with the histological features of the true thyroid adenomas, but also in hyperfunctioning hyperplastic nodules contained in the same multinodular goiter.

Structural–Functional Features of the Thyrotropin Receptor: A Class A G-Protein-Coupled Receptor at Work

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd Krause

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR is a member of the glycoprotein hormone receptors, a sub-group of class A G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs. TSHR and its endogenous ligand thyrotropin (TSH are of essential importance for growth and function of the thyroid gland and proper function of the TSH/TSHR system is pivotal for production and release of thyroid hormones. This receptor is also important with respect to pathophysiology, such as autoimmune (including ophthalmopathy or non-autoimmune thyroid dysfunctions and cancer development. Pharmacological interventions directly targeting the TSHR should provide benefits to disease treatment compared to currently available therapies of dysfunctions associated with the TSHR or the thyroid gland. Upon TSHR activation, the molecular events conveying conformational changes from the extra- to the intracellular side of the cell across the membrane comprise reception, conversion, and amplification of the signal. These steps are highly dependent on structural features of this receptor and its intermolecular interaction partners, e.g., TSH, antibodies, small molecules, G-proteins, or arrestin. For better understanding of signal transduction, pathogenic mechanisms such as autoantibody action and mutational modifications or for developing new pharmacological strategies, it is essential to combine available structural data with functional information to generate homology models of the entire receptor. Although so far these insights are fragmental, in the past few decades essential contributions have been made to investigate in-depth the involved determinants, such as by structure determination via X-ray crystallography. This review summarizes available knowledge (as of December 2016 concerning the TSHR protein structure, associated functional aspects, and based on these insights we suggest several receptor complex models. Moreover, distinct TSHR properties will be highlighted in comparison to other

Structural–Functional Features of the Thyrotropin Receptor: A Class A G-Protein-Coupled Receptor at Work

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, Gunnar; Worth, Catherine L.; Kreuchwig, Annika; Biebermann, Heike; Marcinkowski, Patrick; Scheerer, Patrick; Krause, Gerd

2017-01-01

The thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is a member of the glycoprotein hormone receptors, a sub-group of class A G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). TSHR and its endogenous ligand thyrotropin (TSH) are of essential importance for growth and function of the thyroid gland and proper function of the TSH/TSHR system is pivotal for production and release of thyroid hormones. This receptor is also important with respect to pathophysiology, such as autoimmune (including ophthalmopathy) or non-autoimmune thyroid dysfunctions and cancer development. Pharmacological interventions directly targeting the TSHR should provide benefits to disease treatment compared to currently available therapies of dysfunctions associated with the TSHR or the thyroid gland. Upon TSHR activation, the molecular events conveying conformational changes from the extra- to the intracellular side of the cell across the membrane comprise reception, conversion, and amplification of the signal. These steps are highly dependent on structural features of this receptor and its intermolecular interaction partners, e.g., TSH, antibodies, small molecules, G-proteins, or arrestin. For better understanding of signal transduction, pathogenic mechanisms such as autoantibody action and mutational modifications or for developing new pharmacological strategies, it is essential to combine available structural data with functional information to generate homology models of the entire receptor. Although so far these insights are fragmental, in the past few decades essential contributions have been made to investigate in-depth the involved determinants, such as by structure determination via X-ray crystallography. This review summarizes available knowledge (as of December 2016) concerning the TSHR protein structure, associated functional aspects, and based on these insights we suggest several receptor complex models. Moreover, distinct TSHR properties will be highlighted in comparison to other class A GPCRs to

Intrauterine Zn Deficiency Favors Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone-Increasing Effects on Thyrotropin Serum Levels and Induces Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Weaned Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viridiana Alcántara-Alonso

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Individuals who consume a diet deficient in zinc (Zn-deficient develop alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function, i.e., a low metabolic rate and cold insensitivity. Although those disturbances are related to primary hypothyroidism, intrauterine or postnatal Zn-deficient adults have an increased thyrotropin (TSH concentration, but unchanged thyroid hormone (TH levels and decreased body weight. This does not support the view that the hypothyroidism develops due to a low Zn intake. In addition, intrauterine or postnatal Zn-deficiency in weaned and adult rats reduces the activity of pyroglutamyl aminopeptidase II (PPII in the medial-basal hypothalamus (MBH. PPII is an enzyme that degrades thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH. This hypothalamic peptide stimulates its receptor in adenohypophysis, thereby increasing TSH release. We analyzed whether earlier low TH is responsible for the high TSH levels reported in adults, or if TRH release is enhanced by Zn deficiency at weaning. Dams were fed a 2 ppm Zn-deficient diet in the period from one week prior to gestation and up to three weeks after delivery. We found a high release of hypothalamic TRH, which along with reduced MBH PPII activity, increased TSH levels in Zn-deficient pups independently of changes in TH concentration. We found that primary hypothyroidism did not develop in intrauterine Zn-deficient weaned rats and we confirmed that metal deficiency enhances TSH levels since early-life, favoring subclinical hypothyroidism development which remains into adulthood.

The fundamentals behind solving for unknown molecular structures using computer-assisted structure elucidation: a free software package at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, Arvin; Pautler, Brent G

2016-05-15

The successful elucidation of an unknown compound's molecular structure often requires an analyst with profound knowledge and experience of advanced spectroscopic techniques, such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The implementation of Computer-Assisted Structure Elucidation (CASE) software in solving for unknown structures, such as isolated natural products and/or reaction impurities, can serve both as elucidation and teaching tools. As such, the introduction of CASE software with 112 exercises to train students in conjunction with the traditional pen and paper approach will strengthen their overall understanding of solving unknowns and explore of various structural end points to determine the validity of the results quickly. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Standardization of human thyrotropin radioimmunoassay and its application to the purification of this hormone to the preparation of the assay reagents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, L.H.

1991-01-01

The various steps that are necessary for setting up the thyrotropin radioimmunoassay are presented below. Radioiodination was carried out through the Chloramine T method and the labeled purification performed on Sephadex G-100. Purification of human thyrotropin from side fractions obtained during the purification of growth hormone was carried out in order to obtain a pure reagent for use in the radioimmunoassay. The employment of the hormone obtained was evaluated as the radioimmunoassay tracer in comparison with that prepared from the hormone received from the NIDDKD, U.S.A. The results indicated that although it was not possible to obtain a hormone with a purity degree adequate to be used as the tracer, enough experience was acquired for the isolation of thyrotropin. (author)

Structural elucidation of an antibiotic from the fungus Fusarium avenaceum Fries Sacc.; an amended structure for lateropyrone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorst-Allman, C.P.; Van Rooyen, P.H.; Wnuk, S.; Golinski, P.; Chelkowski, J.

1986-01-01

The structural elucidation by X-ray crystallography of an antibiotic produced by Fusarium avenaceum Fries Sacc. is described. Some chemical reactions of the metabolite are reported, and the identity of the metabolite with lateropyrone is proposed. The structure reported for lateropyrone is amended. 1 H n.m.r. and 13 C n.m.r. are used in this study

Intraindividual variation of triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyrotropin and thyroxine-binding globulin in fasting serum from healthy men

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liappis, N.; Hoffmann, U.; Rao, M.L.

1986-01-01

The concentrations of triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyrotropin and thyroxine-binding globulin were determined in fasting serum from 11 healthy men (age 18-25 years) by radioimmunoassays conducted over a period of 4 weeks on 5 consecutive days per week. The concentrations of thyroxine and thyroxine-binding globulin were very consistent intraindividually, with coefficients of variation of 7.84% and 9.37%, respectively. The triiodothyronine and thyrotropin levels showed significant intraindividual variability with coefficients of variation of 18.38% and 51.85%, respectively. These results point to the type of difficulties encountered in judging serum values, namely intraindividual variations over a given period of time. (orig.) [de

Production of thyrotropin receptor antibodies in acute phase of infectious mononucleosis due to Epstein-Barr virus primary infection: a case report of a child.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Keiko; Okuno, Keisuke; Ochi, Marika; Kumata, Keisuke; Sano, Hitoshi; Yoneda, Naohiro; Ueyama, Jun-Ichi; Matsushita, Michiko; Kuwamoto, Satoshi; Kato, Masako; Murakami, Ichiro; Kanzaki, Susumu; Hayashi, Kazuhiko

2015-01-01

Various autoantibodies have been reported to be detected during the progression of infectious mononucleosis. We observed a case of infectious mononucleosis due to Epstein-Barr virus primary infection for 2 months, and noticed the transiently increased titer of thyrotropin receptor autoantibodies detected at the acute phase on the 3rd day after admission. At that time, real-time quantitative PCR also revealed the mRNA expressions of an immediate early lytic gene, BZLF1, and a latent gene, EBNA2. The expression of BZLF1 mRNA means that Epstein-Barr virus infects lytically, and EBNA2 protein has an important role in antibody production as well as the establishment of Epstein-Barr virus latency. These results suggest that Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection is relevant to thyrotropin receptor autoantibody production. Thyrotropin receptor autoantibodies stimulate thyroid follicular cells to produce excessive thyroid hormones and cause Graves' disease. Recently, we reported the thyrotropin receptor autoantibody production from thyrotropin receptor autoantibody-predisposed Epstein-Barr virus-infected B cells by the induction of Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection in vitro. This case showed in vivo findings consistent with our previous reports, and is important to consider the pathophysiology of Graves' disease and one of the mechanisms of autoimmunity.

Effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone on regional cerebral blood flow in man

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oturai, P S; Friberg, L; Sam, I

1992-01-01

emission computerized tomograph and inhalation of 133Xe. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone caused a significant mean increase of 3.7% (range -8.8-22.7) in blood flow in a region consistent with the left thalamus compared to placebo (3.2% decrease). In 25 other regions no significant change was detected...

Nature's Migraine Treatment: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Parthenolide from "Tanacetum parthenium"

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Emma L.; Ashe, Siobhan; Walsh, John J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this experiment is to provide students with the essential skills and knowledge required to perform the extraction, isolation, and structural elucidation of parthenolide from "Tanacetum parthenium" or feverfew. Students are introduced to a background of the traditional medicinal uses of parthenolide, while more modern applications of…

Isolation and structural elucidation of secondary metabolites from plants of the Rutaceae family, Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Salicaceae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon Castro, Carlos

2014-01-01

A phytochemical study was conducted of the Zuelania guidonia plants (Salicaceae), croton ovalifolius (Euphorbiaceae) erythrochiton gymnanthus (Rutaceae) and Faramea occidentalis (Rubiaceae). Purification of the compounds was carried out using chromatographic techniques while structural elucidation was performed by experiments using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). Of Z. guidonia has been possible the purification and structural elucidation of 22 compounds (Z1-Z22), two labdane type diterpenes and 20 clerodane-type diterpenes. The clerodanes have presented 16 innovative structure, highlighting the presence of a group of 3,6-dihydro -1.2-dioxin and xylose group in some of them. In addition, 11 of the clerodanes were evaluated with cytotoxicity assays in three cancer cell lines CCRF-CEM (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), CEM-ADR5000 (acute lymphoblastic leukemia resistant to doxorubicin) MIA-Paca-2 (metastatic pancreas) and a line of healthy cells PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells). The Z4, Z6 and Z15 compounds stood out as the most cytotoxic, particularly against CCRF-CEM cells with IC 50 values between 1.6 and 2.5 μM. Seven compounds identified as glutarimide alkaloids (C1-C7) were isolated and elucidated, five of which have presented a novel structure from C. ovalifolius. Three compounds (E1-E3) that are triterpenes derivatives of known structure sitosterol, were isolated and elucidated from E. gymnanthus plant. From F. occidentalis was obtained the structure of a pure compound (F1], which is a flavonoid of known structure. (author) [es

Changes in the sialylation and sulfation of secreted thyrotropin in congenital hypothyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyves, P.W.; Gesundheit, N.; Thotakura, N.R.; Stannard, B.S.; DeCherney, G.S.; Weintraub, B.D.

1990-01-01

The authors have examined the oligosaccharide structure of secreted thyrotropin (TSH) in perinatal and mature rats with congenital primary hypothyroidism. Rat pituitaries from euthyroid control animals and those rendered hypothyroid by methimazole treatment were incubated with [ 3 H]glucosamine in vitro. Secreted TSH was purified, and oligosaccharides were enzymatically released and characterized by anion-exchange HPLC. In perinatal hypothyroid animals compared with control animals, oligosaccharides from TSH α and β subunits contained more species with three or more negative charges. Moreover, perinatal hypothyroid animals demonstrated a dramatic increase in the ratio of sialylated to sulfated species within oligosaccharides of the same negative charge. In mature hypothyroid 9-week-old animals compared with control animals, changes were less pronounced, suggesting that endocrine regulation of oligosaccharide structure is dependent upon the maturational state of the animal. Together, these data provide direct evidence and characterization of specific changes in the structure of a secreted pituitary glycoprotein hormone occurring as a result of in vivo endocrine alterations during early development. Moreover, they provide a potential structural basis to explain the delayed clearance of both TSH and the gonadotropins with end-organ deficiency, which may have important implications for the in vivo biological activities of these hormones

Effect of gamma irradiation on biological activity of thyrotropin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strbak, V; Macho, L; Sedlak, J; Hromadova, M

1976-03-01

The biological activity of thyrotropin (TSH) was tested after sterilization by 0.5 and 12.5 Mrad of gamma irradiation. It was found that the biological activity (McKenzie's assay) of TSH irradiated in dry state was not affected during the first month after sterilization by doses of 0.5 and 2.5 Mrad. However, substantial decrease of TSH biological activity was observed 3 to 5 months after the irradiation, the lower activity being after the former dose. The irradiation of TSH by 12.5 Mrad in dry state and by 0.5 and 2.5 Mrad in solution resulted in a decrease of biological activity already during first month. The structural changes in the molecule of TSH were apparently not very extensive, since a decrease of disulfide bonds from 0.96 to 0.77 M per 1M of TSH was found immediately after the irradiation, while uv absorbancy and electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were unaffected. These changes were followed by the decrease of TSH stability during storage in dry state. It is hypothesized that TSH molecule may be affected in ..beta.. subunit or in its connection with ..cap alpha...

Effect of gamma irradiation on biological activity of thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strbak, V.; Macho, L.; Sedlak, J.; Hromadova, M.

1976-01-01

The biological activity of thyrotropin (TSH) was tested after sterilization by 0.5 and 12.5 Mrad of gamma radiation. It was found that the biological activity (McKenzie's assay) of TSH irradiated in dry state was not affected during the first month after sterilization by doses of 0.5 and 2.5 Mrad. However, substantial decrease of TSH biological activity was observed 3 to 5 months after the irradiation, the lower activity after the 0.5 Mrad dose. The irradiation of TSH by 12.5 Mrad in dry state and by 0.5 and 2.5 Mrad in solution resulted in decreased biological activity already during the first month. The structural changes in the TSH molecule were apparently not very extensive, as a decrease of disulfide bonds from 0.96 to 0.77 M per 1 M of TSH was found immediately after the irradiation, while UV absorbancy and electrophoretic mobility on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were unaffected. These changes were followed by a decrease of TSH stability during storage in dry state. It is hypothesized that a TSH molecule may be affected in a β subunit or in its connection with α. (author)

Case report of a pituitary thyrotropin-secreting macroadenoma with Hashimoto thyroiditis and infertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jiaqi; Li, Jianwei; Jiang, Shu; Yu, Ruichao; Yu, Yerong

2018-01-01

Thyrotropin-secreting adenoma (TSHoma) is rare, diagnosis and treatment are often delayed if the condition coexists with Hashimoto thyroiditis. The enlarged pituitary adenoma may eventually induce panhypopituitarism, infertility, or the compression of optic nerves and optic chiasma. This patient was a 36-year-old man who had been referred to the pituitary disease multidisciplinary team (MDT) of the West China Hospital, due to infertility. Examinations revealed pituitary thyrotropin-secreting macroadenoma. We conducted trans-sphenoidal surgery. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) were used for reproductive reconstruction after surgery. This patient successfully fathered a child. To date, the multidisciplinary team treatment of TSHoma was rare, TSHomas are often misdiagnosed as macroadenomas, because the clinical features are varied and it often takes a long time to be diagnosed. So the purpose of this case report is to attract attention to the manifestation of increased thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration and discuss MDT treatment for TSH-secreting adenoma. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nature's Anti-Alzheimer's Drug: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Galantamine from "Leucojum Aestivum"

Science.gov (United States)

Halpin, Catherine M.; Reilly, Ciara; Walsh, John J.

2010-01-01

The discovery that galantamine penetrates the blood-brain barrier has led to its clinical use in the treatment of choline-deficiency conditions in the brain, such as Alzheimer's disease. This experiment involves the isolation and structure elucidation of galantamine from "Leucojum aestivum". Isolation of the alkaloid constituents in "L. aestivum"…

The effects of thyrotropin-suppressive therapy on bone metabolism in patients with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heemstra, K. A.; Hamdy, N. A. T.; Romijn, J. A.; Smit, J. W. A.

2006-01-01

Patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) are commonly treated long-term with thyrotropin (TSH)- suppressive thyroxine replacement therapy resolving in a state of subclinical hyperthyroidism. The relationship between subclinical hyperthyroidism and osteoporosis is not clear. In this

Mass Spectra-Based Framework for Automated Structural Elucidation of Metabolome Data to Explore Phytochemical Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuda, Fumio; Nakabayashi, Ryo; Sawada, Yuji; Suzuki, Makoto; Hirai, Masami Y.; Kanaya, Shigehiko; Saito, Kazuki

2011-01-01

A novel framework for automated elucidation of metabolite structures in liquid chromatography–mass spectrometer metabolome data was constructed by integrating databases. High-resolution tandem mass spectra data automatically acquired from each metabolite signal were used for database searches. Three distinct databases, KNApSAcK, ReSpect, and the PRIMe standard compound database, were employed for the structural elucidation. The outputs were retrieved using the CAS metabolite identifier for identification and putative annotation. A simple metabolite ontology system was also introduced to attain putative characterization of the metabolite signals. The automated method was applied for the metabolome data sets obtained from the rosette leaves of 20 Arabidopsis accessions. Phenotypic variations in novel Arabidopsis metabolites among these accessions could be investigated using this method. PMID:22645535

Mass spectra-based framework for automated structural elucidation of metabolome data to explore phytochemical diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fumio eMatsuda

2011-08-01

Full Text Available A novel framework for automated elucidation of metabolite structures in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS metabolome data was constructed by integrating databases. High-resolution tandem mass spectra data automatically acquired from each metabolite signal were used for database searches. Three distinct databases, KNApSAcK, ReSpect, and the PRIMe standard compound database, were employed for the structural elucidation. The outputs were retrieved using the CAS metabolite identifier for identification and putative annotation. A simple metabolite ontology system was also introduced to attain putative characterization of the metabolite signals. The automated method was applied for the metabolome data sets obtained from the rosette leaves of 20 Arabidopsis accessions. Phenotypic variations in novel Arabidopsis metabolites among these accessions could be investigated using this method.

Direct evidence that ganglioside is an integral component of the thyrotropin receptor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kielczynski, W.; Harrison, L.C.; Leedman, P.J.

1991-01-01

Gangliosides were extracted from purified human and porcine thyrotropin (TSH) receptors (TSH-R) and were detected by probing with an 125 I-labeled sialic acid-specific lectin, Limax flavus agglutinin. Gangliosides copurified with human and porcine TSH-R migrated between monosialoganglioside GM1 and disialoganglioside GD1a. Ceramide glycanase digestion of the purified human TSH-R-associated glycolipid confirmed its ganglioside nature. It was resistant to Vibrio cholerae sialidase, which digest all gangliosides except GM1, but was sensitive to Arthrobacter ureafaciens sialidase, which digests all gangliosides including GM1. These findings indicate that the human TSH-R contains ganglioside that belongs to the galactosyl(β1→ 3)-N-acetylgalactosaminyl(β1→ 4)-[N-acetylneuraminyl(α2→ 3)]galactosyl(β1 → 4)glucosyl(β1 → 1)ceramide (GM1) family. Its intimate association with receptor protein implies a key role for ganglioside in the structure and function of the TSH-R

Comprehensive secondary structure elucidation of four genera of the family Pospiviroidae.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamara Giguère

Full Text Available Viroids are small, circular, single stranded RNA molecules that infect plants. Since they are non-coding, their structures play a critical role in their life cycles. To date, little effort has been spend on elucidating viroid structures in solution due to both the experimental difficulties and the time-consuming nature of the methodologies implicated. Recently, the technique of high-throughput selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE was adapted for the probing of the members of family Avsunviroidae, all of whom replicate in the chloroplast and demonstrate ribozyme activity. In the present work, twelve viroid species belonging to four different genera of the family Pospiviroidae, whose members are characterized by the presence of a central conserved region (CCR and who replicate in nucleus of the host, were probed. Given that the structures of five distinct viroid species from the family Pospiviroidae have been previously reported, an overview of the different structural characteristics for all genera and the beginning of a manual classification of the different viroids based on their structural features are presented here.

General scheme for elucidating the structure of organic compounds using spectroscopic and spectrometric methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribeiro, Carlos Magno R.; Souza, Nelson Angelo de

2007-01-01

This work describes a systematic method to be applied in undergraduate courses of organic chemistry, correlating infrared spectra, hydrogen and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectra. To this end, a scheme and a table were developed to conduct the elucidation of the structure of organic compounds initially using infrared spectra. Interpretation of hydrogen and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and of mass spectra is used to confirm the proposed structure. (author)

Comparison of pituitary and recombinant human thyrotropin standards in an immunoradiometric system; Comparacion de estandares de tirotropina de origen hipofisario y recombinante en un sistema immunoradiometrico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blanca Fernandez, Silvia; Rodriguez Gonzalez, Julio Cesar; Nisembaum Alas, Amaparo; Sevy Gonzalez, O [Instituto Nacional de Endocrinologia, La Habana (Cuba)

1999-12-31

Results of two standards of human thyrotropin of pituitaries (B) and recombinant (C) origen supplied by the Instituto of pesquisas Energeticas y Nucleares, Brazil, were compared in our immunoradiometric reference system that use an human thyrotropin pituitary standard of local production (A). This work was supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency for an inter-regional comparison and set up of a reference standard

Parity and 11-Year Serum Thyrotropin and Thyroid Autoantibody Change: A Longitudinal Population-Based Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjergved, Lena; Carlé, Allan; Jørgensen, Torben

2016-01-01

thyrotropin (TSH), as well as change in thyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPOAb) status. A random sample of 4649 people aged 18-65 years participated in a population-based study in the period 1997-1998. In the study presented here, 1749 non-pregnant women with no history of thyroid disease were included who...

Evaluation of the responsiveness of pituitary gland to thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) in rats in the period of 8:00 to 12:00 a.m

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borghi, V.C.; Nicolau, W.; Bojarczuk, C.; Pieroni, R.R.

1977-01-01

The functional pituitary capacity for the secretion thyrotropin in rats, in relation to the period of time 8:00-12:00 a.m. was studied by means of the administration of synthetic TRH (thyrotropin releasing hormone). The highest pituitary response to the hypothalamic hormone attains its peak between 9:50 and 10:30 a.m., a time in which the gland denotes a high and practically constant level of TSH secretion [pt

Streamlined structure elucidation of an unknown compound in a pigment formulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yüce, Imanuel; Morlock, Gertrud E

2016-10-21

A fast and reliable quality control is important for ink manufacturers to ensure a constant production grade of mixtures and chemical formulations, and unknown components attract their attention. Structure elucidating techniques seem time-consuming in combination with column-based methods, but especially the low solubility of pigment formulations is challenging the analysis. In contrast, layer chromatography is more tolerant with regard to pigment particles. One PLC plate for NMR and FTIR analyses and one HPTLC plate for recording of high resolution mass spectra, MS/MS spectra and for gathering information on polarity and spectral properties were needed to characterize a structure, exemplarily shown for an unknown component in pigment Red 57:1 to be 3-hydroxy-2-naphtoic acid. A preparative layer chromatography (PLC) workflow was developed that used an Automated Multiple Development 2 (AMD 2) system. The 0.5-mm PLC plate could still be operated in the AMD 2 system and allowed a smooth switch from the analytical to the preparative gradient separation. Through automated gradient development and the resulting focusing of bands, the sharpness of the PLC bands was improved. For NMR, the necessary high load of the target compound on the PLC plate was achieved via a selective solvent extraction that discriminated the polar sample matrix and thus increased the application volume of the extract that could maximally be applied without overloading. By doing so, the yield for NMR analysis was improved by a factor of 9. The effectivity gain through a simple, but thoroughly chosen extraction solvent is often overlooked, and for educational purpose, it was clearly illustrated and demonstrated by an extended solvent screening. Thus, PLC using an automated gradient development after a selective extraction was proven to be a new powerful combination for structural elucidation by NMR. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pharmacology of bovine and human thyrotropin: an historical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, J

1999-05-01

Before the induction of a brief period of hypothyroidism became the standard method for inducing 131I uptake in thyroid cancer diagnosis and therapy, several other methods were explored and used. At the dawn of this new era of recombinant human thyrotropin (TSH) it is of interest to reflect briefly on some of this work. Partially purified bovine TSH (bTSH) was supplied for many years by the Armour Company as Thytropar for intramuscular injection and was first used in thyroid cancer 50 years ago at the Montefiore Hospital and at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Most of the patients were already hypothyroid and bTSH induced further 131I uptake in only a few. Experience over the next 30 years revealed frequent allergic reactions, occasionally serious ones, and in 1961 it was shown that prolonged use could result in resistance to both bTSH and human TSH. bTSH was, therefore, reserved for thyroid cancer patients unable to increase endogenous TSH when hypothyroid. bTSH also was used widely as a test to distinguish between hypothyroidism caused by thyroid or pituitary failure until it was replaced by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). In a few studies, TRH was also tested as an adjuvant to increase endogenous TSH and thus help to stimulate function in thyroid cancer, but this attracted little interest. Prolonged hypothyroidism, enhanced by antithyroid drugs, was used early on, but this very effective stimulant of thyroid cancer function was, for multiple reasons, discarded. Beginning interest 15 to 25 years ago in obtaining TSH from human pituitary glands, a byproduct of growth hormone production, was interrupted when this product was found to risk development of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease. Recombinant human TSH, a safe and effective substitute, is now ready for widespread use and development in thyroid cancer management.

Catharanthus alkaloids XXXII: isolation of alkaloids from Catharanthus trichophyllus roots and structure elucidation of cathaphylline.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordell, G A; Farnsworth, N R

1976-03-01

Further examination of the cytotoxic alkaloid fractions of Catharanthus trichophyllus roots afforded nine alkaloids. Two of these alkaloids, lochnericine and horhammericine, are responsible for part of the cytotoxic activity. The structure elucidation of cathaphylline, a new beta-anilino acrylate derivative, is described.

Childhood lead toxicity and impaired release of thyrotropin-stimulating hormone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huseman, C.A.; Moriarty, C.M.; Angle, C.R.

1987-01-01

Decreased stature of children is epidemiologically associated with increased blood lead independent of multiple socioeconomic and nutritional variables. Since endocrine dysfunction occurs in adult lead workers, they studied two girls, 2 years of age, before and after calcium disodium edetate chelation for blood leads (PbB) of 19-72 μg/dl. The height of both children had crossed from the 50th to below the 10th percentile during the course of chronic lead toxicity. Basal free T 4 , T 4 , T 3 , cortisol, somatomedin C, and sex steroids were normal. A decrease in the growth hormone response and elevation of basal prolcatin and gonadotropins were noted in one. Both children demonstrated blunted thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (TSH) responses to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in six of seven challenges. This prompted in vitro studies of cultured cells from rat pituitarities. After incubation of pituitary cells with 0.1-10 μM Pb 2+ for 2 hr, followed by the addition of TRH, there was a dose-dependent inhibition of TSH release Lead did not interfere with the assay of TSH. To investigate the interaction of lead and calcium, 45 Ca 2+ kinetic analyses were done on rat pituitary slices after 1 hr incubation with 1.0 μM lead. The impaired late efflux was consistent with a decrease in the size and exchangeability of the tightly bound pool of intracellular microsomal or mitochondrial calcium. The rat pituitary cell model provides a model for the decreased TSH release of lead poisoning, supports the biological plausibility of a neuroendocrine effect on growth, and suggests that interference with calcium-mediated intracellular responses is a basic mechanism of lead toxicity

Elucidation of Operon Structures across Closely Related Bacterial Genomes

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guojun

2014-01-01

About half of the protein-coding genes in prokaryotic genomes are organized into operons to facilitate co-regulation during transcription. With the evolution of genomes, operon structures are undergoing changes which could coordinate diverse gene expression patterns in response to various stimuli during the life cycle of a bacterial cell. Here we developed a graph-based model to elucidate the diversity of operon structures across a set of closely related bacterial genomes. In the constructed graph, each node represents one orthologous gene group (OGG) and a pair of nodes will be connected if any two genes, from the corresponding two OGGs respectively, are located in the same operon as immediate neighbors in any of the considered genomes. Through identifying the connected components in the above graph, we found that genes in a connected component are likely to be functionally related and these identified components tend to form treelike topology, such as paths and stars, corresponding to different biological mechanisms in transcriptional regulation as follows. Specifically, (i) a path-structure component integrates genes encoding a protein complex, such as ribosome; and (ii) a star-structure component not only groups related genes together, but also reflects the key functional roles of the central node of this component, such as the ABC transporter with a transporter permease and substrate-binding proteins surrounding it. Most interestingly, the genes from organisms with highly diverse living environments, i.e., biomass degraders and animal pathogens of clostridia in our study, can be clearly classified into different topological groups on some connected components. PMID:24959722

Sex-Specific Associations Between Thyrotropin and Serum Lipid Profiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meisinger, Christa; Ittermann, Till; Tiller, Daniel

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Population-based studies investigating the sex-specific association between thyrotropin (TSH) levels and serum lipid concentrations are scarce. We examined the association between TSH and total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL......) cholesterol, and triglycerides in men and women from the general population. Furthermore, the association with TSH outside and within the reference range and lipid levels was studied. METHODS: Individual data of 13,571 men and women without lipid medication of four population-based studies conducted...... in Western European adults were pooled for cross-sectional analyses. The association between TSH levels and lipid concentrations were analyzed by calculating sex-specific multivariable median regression models. RESULTS: In the pooled population, serum TSH levels were significantly positively associated...

Production of specific-structured lipids by enzymatic interesterification: elucidation of acyl migration by response surface design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Xuebing; Skands, Anja; Høy, Carl-Erik

1998-01-01

Production of specific-structured lipids (SSL) by lipase-catalyzed interesterification has been attracting more and more attention recently. However, it was found that acyl migration occurs during the reaction and causes the production of by-products. In this paper, the elucidation of acyl...

Evaluation of enhanced chemiluminescence enzymeimmunoassay(CLEIA) in the determination of thyrotropin(TSH) using amerlite system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chae H.; Kim, Hwan k.; Kim, Jin Gyu

1989-01-01

The determination of thyrotropin(TSH) is useful in diagnosis of thyroid diseases. And the widely-used method for the determination of thyrotropin is radioimmunoassay so far because of its sensitivity. But its radiohazard and relatively short half-life of isotopes necessitates alternative methods. So many novel non-isotopic immunoassays are developed and now replacing RIA in routine laboratory measurements. We evaluated the enhanced chemiluminescence enzymeimmunoassay (Amerlite, Amersham International plc., U.K.) for the determination of serum TSH. We got good precision result with control sera. Within-assay and between-assay precision revealed less than 10%(C.V.) respectively. And comparision with CLEIA to RIA showed good correlation (y=0.648x + 0.170, r=0.978, y=value of CLEIA, x=values of RIA, n=35). We also got good correlation between singletons and duplicates result from 35 patients sera (y=0.967x + 0.0281, r=0.997, y=values of singletons, x=values of duplicates). We concluded that CLEIA is vary reliable and economic method for the determination of human TSH substitutive for RIA because of its precision and unnecessary duplicate measurements. (Author)

Clinical experience of a sensitive immunoradiometric thyrotropin (TSH) assay kit (RIA-gnost hTSH)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Saeko; Jibiki, Kazuko; Demura, Reiko; Koike, Sachiko; Kurihara, Shigeko; Odagiri, Emi; Demura, Hiroshi

1987-01-01

A commercially available immunoradiometric thyrotropin (TSH) assay kit (RIA-gnost hTSH) was used to study the concentration of TSH in serum in a series of 124 patients with thyroid dysfunction and 35 normal controls. Laboratory test for RIA-gnost hTSH showed a detection limit for TSH to be 0.03 μU/ml. The basal serum concentration of TSH in normal controls ranged from 0.17 to 3.21 μU/ml, with a mean of 0.74 μU/ml. It was less than 0.04 μU/ml in all 28 untreated patients with Graves' disease, indicating the discrimination between normal and hyperthyroid subjects. In the case of untreated 7 patients with hypothalamic hypopituitarism, the basal TSH concentration ranged from 0.80 to 13.5 μU/ml. There was no consistent tendency for changes in TSH levels with normalization of free thyroxine in 8 treated patients with Graves' disease. The basal serum concentration of TSH reflected the response of TSH to thyrotropin releasing hormone in 10 treated patients with Graves' disease. The use of the RIA-gnost hTSH would be of clinical significance in the diagnosis and management of patients with Graves' disease or hypopituitarism. (Namekawa, K.)

Structure Elucidation and Cytotoxic Evaluation of New Polyacetylenes from a Marine Sponge Petrosia sp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yung-Shun Juan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The sponge Petrosia sp. yielded five polyacetylenic compounds (1–5, including two new polyacetylenes, petrosianynes A (1 and B (2. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with the physical and spectral data of related known analogues. Compounds 1–5 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against a limited panel of cancer cell lines.

Thyrotropin-producing adenoma. Report of two clinical cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ani R. Karapetyan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Diagnosis of hyperthyroidism does not present serious difficulties currently. Distribution of imaging techniques increasing the detection of pituitary adenomas every year. Thyrotropin-producing adenoma is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism. Early detection will alert its errors in treatment strategy, unjustified surgery on the thyroid gland, and will improve the quality of patients life. The article presents two clinical cases of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas in patients with different disease duration, and thus the presence of hyperthyroidism complications. Both patients were operated in the Federal Center of Neurosurgery Novosibirsk by transnasal transsphenoidal approach. The resistant euthyroidism was reached postoperatively, but in patients with long-term history of the disease, large size of adenoma in the postoperative period developed secondary adrenal insufficiency and her quality of life is significantly lower, taking into account comorbidities. The period of follow-up consists 3 years and one year respectively.

Structural Elucidation of Novel Saponins in the Sea Cucumber Holothuria lessoni

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrami, Yadollah; Zhang, Wei; Chataway, Tim; Franco, Chris

2014-01-01

Sea cucumbers are prolific producers of a wide range of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to purify and characterize one class of compound, the saponins, from the viscera of the Australian sea cucumber Holothuria lessoni. The saponins were obtained by ethanolic extraction of the viscera and enriched by a liquid-liquid partition process and adsorption column chromatography. A high performance centrifugal partition chromatography (HPCPC) was applied to the saponin-enriched mixture to obtain saponins with high purity. The resultant purified saponins were profiled using MALDI-MS/MS and ESI-MS/MS which revealed the structure of isomeric saponins to contain multiple aglycones and/or sugar residues. We have elucidated the structure of five novel saponins, Holothurins D/E and Holothurinosides X/Y/Z, along with seven reported triterpene glycosides, including sulfated and non-sulfated saponins containing a range of aglycones and sugar moieties, from the viscera of H. lessoni. The abundance of novel compounds from this species holds promise for biotechnological applications. PMID:25110919

Elucidation of Peptide-Directed Palladium Surface Structure for Biologically Tunable Nanocatalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedford, Nicholas M.; Ramezani-Dakhel, Hadi; Slocik, Joseph M.; Briggs, Beverly D.; Ren, Yang; Frenkel, Anatoly I.; Petkov, Valeri; Heinz, Hendrik; Naik, Rajesh R.; Knecht, Mark R.

2015-05-01

Peptide-enabled synthesis of inorganic nanostructures represents an avenue to access catalytic materials with tunable and optimized properties. This is achieved via peptide complexity and programmability that is missing in traditional ligands for catalytic nanomaterials. Unfortunately, there is limited information available to correlate peptide sequence to particle structure and catalytic activity to date. As such, the application of peptide-enabled nanocatalysts remains limited to trial and error approaches. In this paper, a hybrid experimental and computational approach is introduced to systematically elucidate biomolecule-dependent structure/function relationships for peptide-capped Pd nanocatalysts. Synchrotron X-ray techniques were used to uncover substantial particle surface structural disorder, which was dependent upon the amino acid sequence of the peptide capping ligand. Nanocatalyst configurations were then determined directly from experimental data using reverse Monte Carlo methods and further refined using molecular dynamics simulation, obtaining thermodynamically stable peptide-Pd nanoparticle configurations. Sequence-dependent catalytic property differences for C-C coupling and olefin hydrogenation were then eluddated by identification of the catalytic active sites at the atomic level and quantitative prediction of relative reaction rates. This hybrid methodology provides a clear route to determine peptide-dependent structure/function relationships, enabling the generation of guidelines for catalyst design through rational tailoring of peptide sequences

Computer-assisted structure elucidation from 13C-NMR-Spectra. I. The development of a three-dimensional structure code. II. The development of an isomer generating program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuetz, V.

1999-05-01

The presented thesis consists of two separate programs which both aid the automated structure elucidation in the CSEARCH database system. A successful utilization of a large collection of NMR reference spectra for the prediction of chemical shift values is dependent on a strong correlation between the spectral data and the structural information via unique coding. By now, this was done using the two-dimensional HOSE code, which turned out to be insufficient whenever stereochemical effects other than cis/trans-isomerism contribute to the chemical shift values. Therefore, this new algorithm has been developed to derive the demanded three-dimensional descriptors. The calculation is performed by matching the query structures against pattern molecules taken from a carefully selected library of ring skeletons. No three-dimensional coordinates are necessary, since the algorithm elucidates the descriptors on base of two-dimensional structures having their stereocenters specified using 'up/down' bonds. The descriptors are defined as number of interactions over 3 to 5 bonds, number of cis-substituents over 1 to 2 ringbonds and markers for axial substituents. This approach of deriving descriptors for steric interactions has successfully extended the HOSE coding scheme and has been implemented into a neural network; both methods allow for high-quality prediction of 13 C-NMR chemical shift values. The second algorithm is an isomer generating program named GENERAL, which efficiently supports the structure elucidation process by calculating all mathematically possible structures to a given molecular formula. The resulting list of structures is exhaustive and free of redundancy. Besides the basic input information - like the molecular formula and the specification of structural fragments, constraints can be defined to restrict the number of resulting structures. The most valuable information is provided by state-of-the-art 2D-NMR experiments and can be easily incorporated into

Preparation of standards of triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyrotropin; Prepracion de estandares de triyodotironina, tiroxina y tirotrofina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lavalley E, C.; Delgado S, B.; Ruiz J, A.; Zambrano A, F

1991-10-15

The standards preparation requires of certain basic principles, some of which are described in this work, which was made with the purpose of establishing the most appropriate conditions for the preparation of standards of triiodothyronine, thyroxine and thyrotropin to be used in radioimmunoanalysis essays. The diverse standards show a balanced displacement, that which is observed in the graphs presented in this work. (Author)

Tannin structural elucidation and quantitative ³¹P NMR analysis. 1. Model compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Melone, Federica; Saladino, Raffaele; Lange, Heiko; Crestini, Claudia

2013-10-02

Tannins and flavonoids are secondary metabolites of plants that display a wide array of biological activities. This peculiarity is related to the inhibition of extracellular enzymes that occurs through the complexation of peptides by tannins. Not only the nature of these interactions, but more fundamentally also the structure of these heterogeneous polyphenolic molecules are not completely clear. This first paper describes the development of a new analytical method for the structural characterization of tannins on the basis of tannin model compounds employing an in situ labeling of all labile H groups (aliphatic OH, phenolic OH, and carboxylic acids) with a phosphorus reagent. The ³¹P NMR analysis of ³¹P-labeled samples allowed the unprecedented quantitative and qualitative structural characterization of hydrolyzable tannins, proanthocyanidins, and catechin tannin model compounds, forming the foundations for the quantitative structural elucidation of a variety of actual tannin samples described in part 2 of this series.

The Crystal Structure of the Malaria Pigment Hemozoin as Elucidated by X-ray Powder Diffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Straasø, Tine

survival. Successful inhibition of hemozoin crystallization will lead to parasitic death and thus break the cycle. The aim of this thesis is to elucidate the structure of hemozoin by means of X-ray diffraction techniques. Knowledge of the structure will help facilitate intelligent drug design in the future....... As part of the project an all-in-vacuum powder diffractometer was developed, which provides data with a minimum background level and an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, the diffractometer is designed with the particular purpose of decreasing the number of parameters to be fitted. Installation...

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Three New Dolastanes from the Brown Alga Dilophus spiralis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vassilios Roussis

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Three new dolastane diterpenes (1–3 and five previously reported perhydroazulenes were isolated from the organic extracts of the brown alga Dilophus spiralis. The structure elucidation and the assignment of the relative configurations of the isolated natural products were based on extensive analyses of their spectroscopic data, whereas the absolute configuration of metabolite 2 was determined through its chemical conversion to a previously isolated compound of known configuration.

Prolactin, thyrotropin, and growth hormone release during stress associated with parachute jumping.

Science.gov (United States)

Noel, G L; Dimond, R C; Earll, J M; Frantz, A G

1976-05-01

Prolactin, growth hormone, and thyrotropin (TSH) release during the stress of parachute jumping has been evaluated in 14 male subjects. Subjects were studied at several times before and immediately after their first military parachute jump. All three hormones had risen significantly 1 to 14 min after the jump, compared to mean levels measured immediately beforehand. Earlier studies of physical exercise by ourselves and others would suggest that emotional stress played a role in producing changes of this magnitude. We conclude that prolactin, TSH, and growth hormone are released in physiologically significant amounts in association with the stress of parachute jumping.

Serum Thyrotropin and Phase of the Menstrual Cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore Benvenga

2017-09-01

Full Text Available About one-fifth of patients treated with levothyroxine have serum thyrotropin (TSH above target concentrations but, in approximately 15% of them, the cause of this TSH insufficient normalization remains unknown. We report the cases of two regularly menstruating women with known thyroid disease who had TSH levels consistently >3 mU/L (and sometimes above target levels during mid-cycle, but consistently lower serum levels during the follicular and luteal phases of menstrual cycle. A major TSH release by the thyrotrophs in response to high circulating levels of estradiol (E2 at mid-cycle may increase levels of TSH compared to other phases of the cycle. The increased TSH can be misinterpreted as refractory hypothyroidism if the woman is under L-T4 replacement therapy or as subclinical hypothyroidism if the woman is not. Our findings might have important implications for diagnosis and management of thyroid disease, suggesting to request serum TSH measurements outside of the periovulatory days.

Isolation and structural elucidation of secondary metabolites of plants of the families asteraceae and urticaceae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villagra Quesada, E.

2002-01-01

A phytochemistry study of plant's species of the Asteraceae and Urticaceae family is proposed in order to isolate and to elucidate the structure of active principles; due to the fact that several studies have found that some of these families have compounds with anti-inflammatory activity, mainly lactonas sesquiterpenicas . The phytochemistry study was carried out through the application of chromatography techniques, for the separation and purification of the compounds. Includes chromatography of column, fine and liquid layer of high resolution. On the other hand, spectroscopic techniques were used for the elucidation, mainly of nuclear magnetic resonance (RMN) as much of one as of two dimensions. In this way, it was possible to isolate 14 compounds in Decachaeta thieleana and 10 in Phenax mexicanus, from which 6 correspond compounds of innovative structure. The comparison of the results obtained in Decachaeta thieleana (with previous studies) evidences that specimens, orphologically identical (the same species, but different locations), possess totally different compounds. This suggests that the studied specimens do not correspond to the same species. However, the determination of such a cause not only evade the objectives of this work but also the area of study of Chemistry [es

Monoclonal Antibodies to the Thyrotropin Receptor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takao Ando

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR is a seven transmembrane G-protein linked glycoprotein expressed on the thyroid cell surface and which, under the regulation of TSH, controls the production and secretion of thyroid hormone from the thyroid gland. This membrane protein is also a major target antigen in the autoimmune thyroid diseases. In Graves' disease, autoantibodies to the TSHR (TSHR-Abs stimulate the TSHR to produce thyroid hormone excessively. In autoimmune thyroid failure, some patients exhibit TSHR-Abs which block TSH action on the receptor. There have been many attempts to generate human stimulating TSHR-mAbs, but to date, only one pathologically relevant human stimulating TSHR-mAb has been isolated. Most mAbs to the TSHR have been derived from rodents immunized with TSHR antigen from bacteria or insect cells. These antigens lacked the native conformation of the TSHR and the resulting mAbs were exclusively blocking or neutral TSHR-mAbs. However, mAbs raised against intact native TSHR antigen have included stimulating mAbs. One such stimulating mAb has demonstrated a number of differences in its regulation of TSHR post-translational processing. These differences are likely to be reflective of TSHR-Abs seen in Graves' disease.

The role of thyrotropin suppression in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Deasy, J

2010-07-01

Thyroid carcinoma is the commonest endocrine malignancy. The majority of these are differentiated thyroid carcinomas, which have a good overall prognosis. Treatment includes surgical excision, radio-iodine ablation and long-term thyrotropin suppression. The degree and length of suppression required, as well as the potential side-effect remain controversial. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish the degree of thyrotropin suppression achieved in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. A retrospective review was performed of a prospectively maintained database. All patients with a diagnosis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma between January 1998 and January 2008 were identified. Demographic data, pathological stage and the treatment that the patient received was documented. TSH and free T4 levels were identified at specific time points post-operatively. Eighty-eight patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma were identified. Seventy patients (79.5%) were female. The mean age was 55, with a range of 18 to 79 years. The majority of patients underwent a total thyroidectomy (n=79; 89.7%) and of those 29 (32.9%) had an associated modified neck dissection. Accurate follow-up was available on forty-nine patients. TSH and free T4 were measured at 3 and 6 months, as well as at 1 and 2 years post-operatively. Adequate TSH suppression was taken at a level < 0.1 mU\\/L. The majority of patients (69.5%) had achieved adequate TSH suppression at 2 years. However, 65% of these same patients had a high free T4 at 2 years indicating a degree of hyperthyroidism. This study has demonstrated that TSH suppression is being adequately achieved in the majority of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. However, this must be carefully weighed against the potential detrimental side-effects of long-term sub-clinical hyperthyroidism.

Isolation and Structural Elucidation of Chondrosterins F–H from the Marine Fungus Chondrostereum sp.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Jian Lan

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The marine fungus Chondrostereum sp. was collected from a soft coral of the species Sarcophyton tortuosum from the South China Sea. Three new compounds, chondrosterins F–H (1, 4 and 5, together with three known compounds, incarnal (2, arthrosporone (3, and (2E-decene-4,6,8-triyn-1-ol (6, were isolated. Their structures were elucidated primarily based on NMR and MS data. Incarnal (2 exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against various cancer cell lines.

Isolation and Structural Elucidation of an Unknown compound from Murraya alternans (Kurz)Swingle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mya Aye; Hla Myoe Min; Sein Htun

2002-02-01

A new taxon of a species, Murraya alternans (Kurz) Swingle (Myanmar name, Naganaing) the series of Murraya belonging to the family Rutaceae had been recognized by Peter G. Waterman in 1986. However, this species has not been undertaken in botanical, medical, and chemical aspects. In this paper, scientific study on this taxon was chemically carried out for the first time. One of the unknown compounds was isolated from this species by column and high performance liquid chromatographic methods. It's partial structure could also be elucidated by spectral analysis such as IR, MS, H NMR(400MHz), C NMR (100MHz) spectrometry respectively. (author)

Subclinical hyperthyroidism due to a thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) gene mutation (S505R).

Science.gov (United States)

Pohlenz, Joachim; Pfarr, Nicole; Krüger, Silvia; Hesse, Volker

2006-12-01

To identify the molecular defect by which non-autoimmune subclinical hyperthyroidism was caused in a 6-mo-old infant who presented with weight loss. Congenital non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism is caused by activating germline mutations in the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) gene. Therefore, the TSHR gene was sequenced directly from the patient's genomic DNA. Molecular analysis revealed a heterozygous point mutation (S505R) in the TSHR gene as the underlying defect. A constitutively activating mutation in the TSHR gene has to be considered not only in patients with severe congenital non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism, but also in children with subclinical non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism.

Case report of recurrent atrial fibrillation induced by thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma with Graves' disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jiaqi; Tan, Huiwen; Huang, Juan; Luo, Dan; Tang, Ying; Yu, Ruichao; Huang, Hui

2018-06-01

Thyrotropin-secreting adenoma (TSHoma) is rare. Even though the thyrotoxicosis is mild in patients with TSHoma, it is still a rare cause of arrhythmia, ignore of mild disfunction of thyroid function of TSHoma can lead to the delayed diagnosis of pituitary tumor or leading to recurring of complications. Graves' disease is an auto-immue endocrinological disorder. Association of TSHoma and Graves's disease is extremely rare. Coexistence of these two diseases made the diagnosis and treatment complicated. This patient was a 55-year-old man who had been referred to the department of endocrinology and metabolism of the West China Hospital due to recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) and thyroxicosis. Examinations revealed pituitary thyrotropin-secreting macroadenoma with Graves' disease. We conducted transsphenoidal surgery. Thyrozol was used to treat the recurrence of Graves' disease after pituitary surgery. The TSHoma was successfully cured, and recurrent Graves' disease was controlled very well. The association of TSHoma and Graves' disease is extremely rare. Even though the clinical features of thyrotoxicosis are milder in patients with TSHoma, thyroid function tests are still important clinical assessment of patients with AF, which is an arrhythmia associated with hyperthyroidism. TSHoma is a rare cause of thyrotoxicosis; however, ignoring of the mild disfunction caused by TSHoma can lead to the delayed diagnosis of pituitary tumors or to recurring of complications of TSHoma.

Induction of stimulating thyrotropin receptor antibodies after radioiodine therapy for toxic multinodular goitre and Graves' disease measured with a novel bioassay

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hovens, Guido C.; Heemstra, Karen A.; Buiting, Antoinette M. J.; Stokkel, Marcel P.; Karperien, Marcel; Ballieux, Bart E.; Pereira, Alberto M.; Romijn, Johannes A.; Smit, Johannes W.

2007-01-01

Radioactive iodine therapy (RaI) in toxic multinodular goitre (TMNG) has been associated with the occurrence of Graves'-like hyperthyroidism. It has been postulated that pre-existing autoimmunity may contribute to this phenomenon. To study whether RaI induces thyrotropin receptor stimulating

APPLICATION OF A C-13 NMR TOPOLOGICAL MODEL TO THE STRUCTURE ELUCIDATION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

袁身刚; 彭琛; 郑崇直

1992-01-01

This paper presents an approach which can elucidate automatically the structures of simple organic compounds from their C-13 NMR spectral data by using a computer. Based on a substructure/C-13 NMR chemical shift topological correlation model, the approach deduces the candidate substructures and the constraints for the substructure assembling from the molecular formula and C-13 NMR spectral data. Then, candidate structures are generated under these constraints by assembling the candidate substructures in a partial superposition manner. Candidate substructures or structures are evaluated once they are generated in order to eliminate those conflicting with the original data as early as possible. The evaluation of a (sub)structure is mainly carried out by simulating its C-13 NMR (sub) spectrum, which is again based on the model, and comparing the simulated spectrum with the original data.

Isolation and structure elucidation of the nucleoside antibiotic strepturidin from Streptomyces albus DSM 40763.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesic, Alexander; Steinhaus, Britta; Kemper, Sebastian; Nachtigall, Jonny; Kutzner, Hans Jürgen; Höfle, Gerhard; Süssmuth, Roderich D

2014-06-01

The antibiotic strepturidin (1) was isolated from the microorganism Streptomyces albus DSM 40763, and its structure elucidated by spectroscopic methods and chemical degradation studies. The determination of the relative and absolute stereocenters was partially achieved using chiral GC/EI-MS analysis and microderivatization by acetal ring formation and subsequent 2D-NMR analysis of key (1)H,(1)H-NOESY NMR correlations and extraction of (1)H,(13)C coupling constants from (1)H,(13)C-HMBC NMR spectra. Based on these results, a biosynthesis model was proposed.

NR4A1 (Nur77 mediates thyrotropin-releasing hormone-induced stimulation of transcription of the thyrotropin β gene: analysis of TRH knockout mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yasuyo Nakajima

Full Text Available Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH is a major stimulator of thyrotropin-stimulating hormone (TSH synthesis in the anterior pituitary, though precisely how TRH stimulates the TSHβ gene remains unclear. Analysis of TRH-deficient mice differing in thyroid hormone status demonstrated that TRH was critical for the basal activity and responsiveness to thyroid hormone of the TSHβ gene. cDNA microarray and K-means cluster analyses with pituitaries from wild-type mice, TRH-deficient mice and TRH-deficient mice with thyroid hormone replacement revealed that the largest and most consistent decrease in expression in the absence of TRH and on supplementation with thyroid hormone was shown by the TSHβ gene, and the NR4A1 gene belonged to the same cluster as and showed a similar expression profile to the TSHβ gene. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that NR4A1 was expressed not only in ACTH- and FSH- producing cells but also in thyrotrophs and the expression was remarkably reduced in TRH-deficient pituitary. Furthermore, experiments in vitro demonstrated that incubation with TRH in GH4C1 cells increased the endogenous NR4A1 mRNA level by approximately 50-fold within one hour, and this stimulation was inhibited by inhibitors for PKC and ERK1/2. Western blot analysis confirmed that TRH increased NR4A1 expression within 2 h. A series of deletions of the promoter demonstrated that the region between bp -138 and +37 of the TSHβ gene was responsible for the TRH-induced stimulation, and Chip analysis revealed that NR4A1 was recruited to this region. Conversely, knockdown of NR4A1 by siRNA led to a significant reduction in TRH-induced TSHβ promoter activity. Furthermore, TRH stimulated NR4A1 promoter activity through the TRH receptor. These findings demonstrated that 1 TRH is a highly specific regulator of the TSHβ gene, and 2 TRH mediated induction of the TSHβ gene, at least in part by sequential stimulation of the NR4A1-TSHβ genes through a PKC and

Structure elucidation of the new citharoxazole from the Mediterranean deep-sea sponge Latrunculia (Biannulata) citharistae.

Science.gov (United States)

Genta-Jouve, Grégory; Francezon, Nellie; Puissant, Alexandre; Auberger, Patrick; Vacelet, Jean; Pérez, Thierry; Fontana, Angelo; Mourabit, Ali Al; Thomas, Olivier P

2011-08-01

Citharoxazole (1), a new batzelline derivative featuring a benzoxazole moiety, was isolated from the Mediterranean deep-sea sponge Latrunculia (Biannulata) citharistae Vacelet, 1969, together with the known batzelline C (2). This is the first chemical study of a Mediterranean Latrunculia species and the benzoxazole moiety is unprecedented for this family of marine natural products. The structure was mainly elucidated by the interpretation of NMR spectra and especially HMBC correlations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Structure elucidation of metabolite x17299 by interpretation of mass spectrometric data.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qibo; Ford, Lisa A; Evans, Anne M; Toal, Douglas R

2017-01-01

A major bottleneck in metabolomic studies is metabolite identification from accurate mass spectrometric data. Metabolite x17299 was identified in plasma as an unknown in a metabolomic study using a compound-centric approach where the associated ion features of the compound were used to determine the true molecular mass. The aim of this work is to elucidate the chemical structure of x17299, a new compound by de novo interpretation of mass spectrometric data. An Orbitrap Elite mass spectrometer was used for acquisition of mass spectra up to MS 4 at high resolution. Synthetic standards of N,N,N -trimethyl-l-alanyl-l-proline betaine (l,l-TMAP), a diastereomer, and an enantiomer were chemically prepared. The planar structure of x17299 was successfully proposed by de novo mechanistic interpretation of mass spectrometric data without any laborious purification and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis. The proposed structure was verified by deuterium exchanged mass spectrometric analysis and confirmed by comparison to a synthetic standard. Relative configuration of x17299 was determined by direct chromatographic comparison to a pair of synthetic diastereomers. Absolute configuration was assigned after derivatization of x17299 with a chiral auxiliary group followed by its chromatographic comparison to a pair of synthetic standards. The chemical structure of metabolite x17299 was determined to be l,l-TMAP.

Isolation and structure elucidation of an interaction product of aminotadalafil found in an illegal health food product.

Science.gov (United States)

Häberli, Adrian; Girard, Philippe; Low, Min-Yong; Ge, Xiaowei

2010-09-21

An interaction product of aminotadalafil was isolated from an illegal health food product. The structure of the interaction product was elucidated by means of IR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy. The hitherto unknown compound was characterized as condensation product of aminotadalafil and hydroxymethylfuraldehyde and is probably the result of a drug-excipient incompatibility. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Signaling-sensitive amino acids surround the allosteric ligand binding site of the thyrotropin receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, Gunnar; Haas, Ann-Karin; Neumann, Susanne; Worth, Catherine L; Hoyer, Inna; Furkert, Jens; Rutz, Claudia; Gershengorn, Marvin C; Schülein, Ralf; Krause, Gerd

2010-07-01

The thyrotropin receptor [thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR)], a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), is endogenously activated by thyrotropin, which binds to the extracellular region of the receptor. We previously identified a low-molecular-weight (LMW) agonist of the TSHR and predicted its allosteric binding pocket within the receptor's transmembrane domain. Because binding of the LMW agonist probably disrupts interactions or leads to formation of new interactions among amino acid residues surrounding the pocket, we tested whether mutation of residues at these positions would lead to constitutive signaling activity. Guided by molecular modeling, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of 24 amino acids in this spatial region, followed by functional characterization of the mutant receptors in terms of expression and signaling, measured as cAMP accumulation. We found that mutations V421I, Y466A, T501A, L587V, M637C, M637W, S641A, Y643F, L645V, and Y667A located in several helices exhibit constitutive activity. Of note is mutation M637W at position 6.48 in transmembrane helix 6, which has a significant effect on the interaction of the receptor with the LMW agonist. In summary, we found that a high proportion of residues in several helices surrounding the allosteric binding site of LMW ligands in the TSHR when mutated lead to constitutively active receptors. Our findings of signaling-sensitive residues in this region of the transmembrane bundle may be of general importance as this domain appears to be evolutionarily retained among GPCRs.

Quality characteristics of chemicals for the radioimmunoassay of thyroxine and thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verdeja I, C.E.

1994-01-01

Radioimmunoassay is a form of saturation analysis in which the test material competes with labelled antigen for a limited amount of antibody, the amount of label displaced being a measure of the antigen in the test sample. In this country, the kits for Radioimmunoassay (RIA) are imported, and this increase the cost of it. Because this lack of production, the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) has developed RIA's kits for the thyroxine (T 4 ), Thyrotropin (TSH) and Triyodotironine (T 3 ) hormones. This work presents the conclusions of the test recommended by the WHO. The quality test were: recuperation, cross reactions, basic parameters, intra and inter assay variations, sensibility and others. The results show that the RIA's kits of the ININ have a good behavior and can be use in the clinical laboratory. (Author)

pH-Controlled Oxidation of an Aromatic Ketone: Structural Elucidation of the Products of Two Green Chemical Reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Ballard, C. Eric

2010-01-01

A laboratory experiment emphasizing the structural elucidation of organic compounds has been developed as a discovery exercise. The "unknown" compounds are the products of the pH-controlled oxidation of 4'-methoxyacetophenone with bleach. The chemoselectivity of this reaction is highly dependent on the pH of the reaction media: under basic…

Structure Elucidation of Unknown Metabolites in Metabolomics by Combined NMR and MS/MS Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Boiteau, Rene M; Hoyt, David W; Nicora, Carrie D; Kinmonth-Schultz, Hannah A; Ward, Joy K; Bingol, Kerem

2018-01-17

We introduce a cheminformatics approach that combines highly selective and orthogonal structure elucidation parameters; accurate mass, MS/MS (MS²), and NMR into a single analysis platform to accurately identify unknown metabolites in untargeted studies. The approach starts with an unknown LC-MS feature, and then combines the experimental MS/MS and NMR information of the unknown to effectively filter out the false positive candidate structures based on their predicted MS/MS and NMR spectra. We demonstrate the approach on a model mixture, and then we identify an uncatalogued secondary metabolite in Arabidopsis thaliana . The NMR/MS² approach is well suited to the discovery of new metabolites in plant extracts, microbes, soils, dissolved organic matter, food extracts, biofuels, and biomedical samples, facilitating the identification of metabolites that are not present in experimental NMR and MS metabolomics databases.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) reverses hyperglycemia in rat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Luguang; Luo, John Z.Q.; Jackson, Ivor M.D.

2008-01-01

Hyperglycemia in thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) null mice indicates that TRH is involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Further, TRH levels in the pancreas peak during the stages of late embryonic and early neonatal β cell development. These observations are consistent in linking TRH to islet cell proliferation and differentiation. In this study, we examined the effect of TRH administration in damaged pancreatic rat (streptozotocin, STZ) to determine whether TRH could improve damaged pancreatic β cells function. We hypothesize that TRH is able to reverse STZ-induced hyperglycemia by increasing pancreatic islet insulin content, preventing apoptosis, and potentially induce islet regeneration. It was found that following intra-peritoneal (ip) injection, TRH (10 μg/kg body weight (bwt)) reverses STZ (65 mg/kg bwt)-induced hyperglycemia (TRH given 3 days after STZ injection). Increased circulating insulin levels and insulin content in extracted pancreas suggests that TRH reversed STZ-induced hyperglycemia through improving pancreatic islet β cell function. Further studies show a significantly lower level of apoptosis in islets treated with TRH as well as the presence of proliferation marker nestin and Brdu, suggesting that the TRH has the potential to prevent apoptosis and stimulate islet proliferation

Evaluation of Six Different Immunoassays for Serum Thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Donghong; Lu Hankui; Gao Yunchao; Ge Wenli; Xiong Jiang; Liu Qiaoping; Gu Qing

2010-01-01

To analyzes the discrepancy and association among six different thyrotropin (TSH) immunoassay methods and to study their impact on the clinical diagnoses of thyroid diseases, the 150 serum samples from three groups consisting of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and healthy subjects, 50 samples in each group were included in this study. The serum TSH levels were measured simultaneously by radioimmunoassay (RIA), immunoradiometric assay (IRMA), three-type chemilumiminescence immunoassay (CLIA) and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). The results showed that individual serum TSH level varied significantly from one assay to another. There was no correlation between TSH RIA and other five assays in groups of hyperthyroidism and healthy subjects(P>0.05). The correlations between TSH IRMA and four automatic assays in hyperthyroidism group were relatively low (r= 0.38∼0.41). However, among the four automatic assays, TSH levels were well correlated (r= 0.92∼0.99). For clinical diagnoses, TSH RIA alone was not useful in the differentiation of hyperthyroidism and normal subjects, and TSH IRMA was misleading in some hyperthyroidism. There were no significant differences for four TSH automatic immunoassays in differential diagnoses of thyroid diseases. (authors)

Elucidation of the structure-property relationship of p-type organic semiconductors through rapid library construction via a one-pot, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuse, Shinichiro; Matsumura, Keisuke; Wakamiya, Atsushi; Masui, Hisashi; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Yoshikawa, Susumu; Takahashi, Takashi

2014-09-08

The elucidation of the structure-property relationship is an important issue in the development of organic electronics. Combinatorial synthesis and the evaluation of systematically modified compounds is a powerful tool in the work of elucidating structure-property relationships. In this manuscript, D-π-A structure, 32 p-type organic semiconductors were rapidly synthesized via a one-pot, Suzuki-Miyaura coupling with subsequent Knoevenagel condensation. Evaluation of the solubility and photovoltaic properties of the prepared compounds revealed that the measured solubility was strongly correlated with the solubility parameter (SP), as reported by Fedors. In addition, the SPs were correlated with the Jsc of thin-film organic solar cells prepared using synthesized compounds. Among the evaluated photovoltaic properties of the solar cells, Jsc and Voc had strong correlations with the photoconversion efficiency (PCE).

Asparagine-linked oligosaccharides on lutropin, follitropin, and thyrotropin: distributions of sulfated and sialylated oligosaccharides on bovine, ovine, and human pituitary glycoprotein hormones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, E.D.; Baenziger, J.U.

1988-01-01

The asparagine-linked oligosaccharides on the pituitary glycoprotein hormones lutropin (LH), follitropin (FSH), and thyrotropin (TSH) consist of a heterogeneous array of neutral, sulfated, sialylated, and sulfated/sialylated structures. In this study, the authors determined the relative quantities of the various asparagine-linked oligosaccharides on LH, FSH, and TSH from these three animal species. The proportions of sulfated versus sialylated oligosaccharides varied markedly among the different hormones. Both hormone- and animal species-specific differences in the types and distributions of sulfated, sialylated, and sulfated/sialylated structures were evident. In particular, LH and FSH, which are synthesized in the same pituitary cell and bear α-subunits with the identical amino acid sequence, contained significantly different distributions of sulfated and sialylated oligosaccharides. For all three animal species, the ratio of sialylated to sulfated oligosaccharides differed by >10-fold for LH and FSH, with sulfated structures dominating on LH and sialylated structures on FSH. Sialylated oligosaccharides were also heterogeneous with respect to sialic acid linkage (α2,3 versus α2,6). The differences in oligosaccharide structures among the various pituitary glycoprotein hormones as well as among the various glycosylation sites within a single hormone support the hypothesis that glycosylation may serve important functional roles in the expression and/or regulation of hormone bioactivity

Isolation and structural elucidation of tiamulin metabolites formed in liver microsomes of pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lykkeberg, Anne Kruse; Cornett, Claus; Halling-Sørensen, Bent; Hansen, Steen Honoré

2006-09-18

Although the antimicrobial tiamulin is extensively metabolized in pigs, the metabolism is not well investigated. In this work the NADPH dependent metabolism of tiamulin in liver microsomes from pigs has been studied. The tiamulin metabolites formed in the incubations were analysed using LC-MS, and three major metabolites were isolated using solid phase extraction and preparative HPLC. The final structure elucidations were performed by tandem mass spectrometry and (1)H and (13)C NMR. The structures of the metabolites were found to be 2beta-hydroxy-tiamulin, 8alpha-hydroxy-tiamulin and N-deethyl-tiamulin. In addition, the LC-MS chromatograms revealed two other minor metabolites. From their chromatography and from MS(2) analysis the structures were estimated to be 2beta-hydroxy-N-deethyl-tiamulin and 8alpha-hydroxy-N-deethyl-tiamulin, but the structures were not confirmed by NMR. In these studies approximately 20% of tiamulin was deethylated, 10% was hydroxylated in the 2beta-position and 7% was hydroxylated in the 8alpha-position. About 40% of tiamulin was metabolized during the incubation conditions used. The protein precipitation in the incubations was performed using perchloric acid, and the preparative purification was performed under alkaline conditions. Therefore, the stability of the metabolites under these conditions was studied. The metabolites were found to be stable in the acid solution, but under alkaline conditions, particularly at room temperature, the stability of especially 8alpha-hydroxy-tiamulin was considerably reduced (40% loss after 1 week).

Building blocks for automated elucidation of metabolites: natural product-likeness for candidate ranking.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayaseelan, Kalai Vanii; Steinbeck, Christoph

2014-07-05

In metabolomics experiments, spectral fingerprints of metabolites with no known structural identity are detected routinely. Computer-assisted structure elucidation (CASE) has been used to determine the structural identities of unknown compounds. It is generally accepted that a single 1D NMR spectrum or mass spectrum is usually not sufficient to establish the identity of a hitherto unknown compound. When a suite of spectra from 1D and 2D NMR experiments supplemented with a molecular formula are available, the successful elucidation of the chemical structure for candidates with up to 30 heavy atoms has been reported previously by one of the authors. In high-throughput metabolomics, usually 1D NMR or mass spectrometry experiments alone are conducted for rapid analysis of samples. This method subsequently requires that the spectral patterns are analyzed automatically to quickly identify known and unknown structures. In this study, we investigated whether additional existing knowledge, such as the fact that the unknown compound is a natural product, can be used to improve the ranking of the correct structure in the result list after the structure elucidation process. To identify unknowns using as little spectroscopic information as possible, we implemented an evolutionary algorithm-based CASE mechanism to elucidate candidates in a fully automated fashion, with input of the molecular formula and 13C NMR spectrum of the isolated compound. We also tested how filters like natural product-likeness, a measure that calculates the similarity of the compounds to known natural product space, might enhance the performance and quality of the structure elucidation. The evolutionary algorithm is implemented within the SENECA package for CASE reported previously, and is available for free download under artistic license at http://sourceforge.net/projects/seneca/. The natural product-likeness calculator is incorporated as a plugin within SENECA and is available as a GUI client and

Structural elucidation of the polysaccharide moiety of a glycopeptide (GLPCW-II) from Ganoderma lucidum fruiting bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, LiBin; Zhang, JingSong; Ye, XiJun; Tang, QingJiu; Liu, YanFang; Gong, ChunYu; Du, XiuJui; Pan, YingJie

2008-03-17

A water-soluble glycopeptide (GLPCW-II) was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum by DEAE-Sepharose Fast-Flow and Sephacryl S-300 High Resolution Chromatography. The glycopeptide had a molecular weight of 1.2x10(4)Da (determined by HPLC), and consisted of approximately 90% carbohydrate and approximately 8% protein as determined using the phenol-sulfuric acid method and the BCA protein assay reagent kit, respectively. The polysaccharide moiety was composed mainly of D-Glc, L-Fuc, and D-Gal in the ratio of 1.00:1.09:4.09. To facilitate structure-activity studies, the structure of the GLPCW-II polysaccharide moiety was elucidated using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy including COSY, TOCSY, HMBC, HSQC, and ROESY, combined with GC-MS of methylated derivatives, and shown to consist of repeating units with the following structure: [Formula: see text].

Thyrotropin levels are associated with chronic kidney disease among healthy subjects in cross-sectional analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Science.gov (United States)

Peixoto de Miranda, Érique José F; Bittencourt, Márcio Sommer; Goulart, Alessandra C; Santos, Itamar S; de Oliveira Titan, Silvia Maria; Ladeira, Roberto Marini; Barreto, Sandhi Maria; Lotufo, Paulo A; Benseñor, Isabela Judith Martins

2017-12-01

Few studies have evaluated a possible relationship between thyrotropin levels and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and albumin/creatinine ratio in euthyroid subjects. We aimed to analyze this association using baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Cross-sectionally, we included subjects with normal thyroid function and with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). We excluded individuals using medications that affect thyroid function. Linear and logistic regression models evaluated GFR estimated by Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-Epi) and albuminuria/creatinine ratio as dependent variables and thyrotropin quartiles in individuals with euthyroidism and SCH as independent variables, adjusted for demographical characteristics and diseases related to CKD. We included 13,193 subjects with a median age of 51 years [interquartile range, (IQR): 45-58], 6840 (51.8%) women, 12,416 (94.1%) euthyroid, and 777 (5.9%) with SCH. SCH subjects were characterized by higher age, triglycerides, frequency of white race, cardiovascular disease, CKD, and former smokers. In adjusted models, log-transformed TSH in euthyroid subjects was inversely and strongly associated with CKD (β = -2.181, 95% CI -2.714 to -1.648), P < 0.0001 for glomerular filtration rate and 4.528 (1.190-7.865) for albuminuria/creatinine ratio. Multivariate logistic models for euthyroid subjects showed an OR of 1.45 (95% CI 1.15-1.83) for GFR and of 1.95 (95% CI 1.08-3.54) for albuminuria/creatinine ratio in the fourth quartile of TSH using the first as the reference. Thyrotropin levels are independently associated with CKD in euthyroid subjects.

Elucidating Functional Aspects of P-type ATPases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Autzen, Henriette Elisabeth

2015-01-01

and helped enlighten how thapsigargin, a potent inhibitor of SERCA1a, depends on a water mediated hydrogen bond network when bound to SERCA1a. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the same P-type ATPase were used to assess a long-standing question whether cholesterol affects SERCA1a through...... similar to that of the wild type (WT) protein. The discrepancy between the newly determined crystal structure of LpCopA and the functional manifestations of the missense mutation in human CopA, could indicate that LpCopA is insufficient in structurally elucidating the effect of disease-causing mutations...... in the human CopA proteins. MD simulations, which combine coarse-grained (CG) and atomistic procedures, were set up in order to elucidate mechanistic implications exerted by the lipid bilayer on LpCopA. The MD simulations of LpCopA corroborated previous and new in vivo activity data and showed...

A comparative study of the DG-OMEGA (DG Omega), DGII, and GAT method for the structure elucidation of a methylene-acetal linked thymine dinucleotide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Kampen, A. H. C.; Beckers, M. L. M.; Buydens, L. M. C.

1997-01-01

This research continues the investigation of the properties of the recently developed structure elucidation method DG-OMEGA (DG Omega). Towards this end it was applied for the structure determination of a methylene-acetal linked thymine dinucleotide. The performance of DG Omega was compared to the

Dihydronaflavonols from the leaves of Derris urucu (Leguminosae): structural elucidation and DPPH radical-scavenging activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lobo, Livia T.; Silva, Geilson A. da; Ferreira, Malisson; Silva, Milton N. da; Santos, Alberdan S.; Arruda, Alberto C.; Guilhon, Gisele M.S.P.; Santos, Lourivaldo S.; Arruda, Mara Silvia P. [Universidade Federal do Para (UFPA), Belem, PA (Brazil). Inst. de Ciencias Exatas e Naturais. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica], e-mail: mspa@ufpa.br; Borges, Rosilvaldo dos Santos [Universidade Federal do Para (UFPA), Belem, PA (Brazil). Fac. de Farmacia. Inst. de Ciencias

2009-07-01

Derris urucu is an Amazonian plant with insecticide and ichthyotoxic properties. Studies with this species show the presence of flavonoids, mainly rotenoids, as well as stilbenes. The ethanol extract of the leaves of Derris urucu (Leguminosae) afforded three new dihydroflavonols named urucuol A (1), B (2) and C (3), and the dihydroflavonol isotirumalin (4). Their structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR, UV and IR spectra and MS data and comparison with literature data. The isolated compounds (1-4) were evaluated for DPPH radical scavenging activity and showed a relatively lower antioxidant ability compared to the commercial antioxidant trans-resveratrol. (author)

Structural elucidation and identification of a new derivative of phenethylamine using quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sekuła, Karolina; Zuba, Dariusz

2013-09-30

In recent years, the phenomenon of uncontrolled distribution of new psychoactive substances that were marketed without prior toxicological studies has been observed. Because many designer drugs are related in chemical structure, the potential for misidentifying them is an important problem. It is therefore essential to develop an analytical procedure for unequivocal elucidation of the structures of these compounds. The issue has been discussed in the context of 25I-NBMD [2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-[(2,3-methylenedioxyphenyl)methyl]ethanamine], a psychoactive substance first discovered on the drug market in 2012. The substance was extracted from blotter papers with methanol. Separation was achieved via liquid chromatography. Analysis was conducted by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOFMS). Identification of the psychoactive component was supported by electron impact gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS). The high accuracy of the LC/ESI-QTOFMS method allowed the molecular mass of the investigated substance (M(exp) = 441.0438 Da; mass error, ∆m = 0.2 ppm) and the formulae of ions formed during fragmentation to be determined. The main ions were recorded at m/z = 135.0440, 290.9876 and 305.9981. Structures of the obtained ions were elucidated in the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments by comparing them to mass spectra of previously detected derivatives of phenethylamine. The performed study indicated the potential for using LC/QTOFMS method to identify new designer drugs. This technique can be used supplementary to standard GC/MS. Prior knowledge of the fragmentation mechanisms of phenethylamines allowed to predict the mass spectra of the novel substance--25I-NBMD. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stimulation with 0.3-mg recombinant human thyrotropin prior to iodine 131 therapy to improve the size reduction of benign nontoxic nodular goiter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Viveque Egsgaard; Bonnema, Steen Joop; Boel-Jørgensen, Henrik

2006-01-01

measurements of thyroid size and function and patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Baseline median goiter volume was 51 mL (range, 20-99 mL) in the placebo group and 59 mL (range, 25-92 mL) in the thyrotropin group (P = .75). At 12 months, the mean +/- SEM relative goiter reduction was 46.1% +/- 4.0% in the placebo...

Pituitary Apoplexy After Thyrotropin-releasing Hormone Stimulation Test in a Patient with Pituitary Macroadenoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huei-Fang Wang

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Pituitary apoplexy is a rare complication of pituitary tumors. We report a case of a 41-year-old female with acromegaly due to a pituitary macroadenoma, who developed pituitary apoplexy after a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH 200 mg intravenous injection stimulation test. Neither emergency computed tomography (CT scans nor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, performed 6 hours and 12 hours, respectively, after the active episode, disclosed the evidence of acute hemorrhage or infarction. Two days later, the pituitary mass, removed by transsphenoidal approach, showed ischemic necrosis and acute hemorrhage. The TRH test is generally safe for evaluating pituitary function, but pituitary apoplexy may occur after the procedure. CT and MRI may miss the diagnosis of pituitary apoplexy, especially if performed immediately after the acute episode.

Isolation and Elucidation of 15-Acetylguanacone from Soursop ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

002/C. The structure of compound 200/A2 was elucidated using 1H-NMR spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy .... Molecular Docking Experiments, Protein preparation ... ligand conformations in the binding sites through the .... Molecular dynamics simulation of diacetyl-guancone. Bioorgnic and Medicinal Chemistry 15: 4369-.

Dynamical structure analysis of crystalline-state reaction and elucidation of chemical reactivity in crystalline environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohashi, Yuji

2010-01-01

It was found that a chiral alkyl group bonded to the cobalt atom in a cobalt complex crystal was racemized with retention of the single crystal form on exposure to visible light. Such reactions, which are called crystalline-state reactions, have been found in a variety of cobalt complex crystals. The concept of reaction cavity was introduced to explain the reaction rate quantitatively and the chirality of the photo-product. The new diffractometers and detectors were made for rapid data collection. The reaction mechanism was also elucidated using neutron diffraction analysis. The unstable reaction intermediates were analyzed using cryo-trapping method. The excited-state structures were obtained at the equilibrium state between ground and excited states. (author)

Principles and determinants of G-protein coupling by the rhodopsin-like thyrotropin receptor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunnar Kleinau

Full Text Available In this study we wanted to gain insights into selectivity mechanisms between G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR and different subtypes of G-proteins. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR binds G-proteins promiscuously and activates both Gs (cAMP and Gq (IP. Our goal was to dissect selectivity patterns for both pathways in the intracellular region of this receptor. We were particularly interested in the participation of poorly investigated receptor parts.We systematically investigated the amino acids of intracellular loop (ICL 1 and helix 8 using site-directed mutagenesis alongside characterization of cAMP and IP accumulation. This approach was guided by a homology model of activated TSHR in complex with heterotrimeric Gq, using the X-ray structure of opsin with a bound G-protein peptide as a structural template.We provide evidence that ICL1 is significantly involved in G-protein activation and our model suggests potential interactions with subunits G alpha as well as G betagamma. Several amino acid substitutions impaired both IP and cAMP accumulation. Moreover, we found a few residues in ICL1 (L440, T441, H443 and helix 8 (R687 that are sensitive for Gq but not for Gs activation. Conversely, not even one residue was found that selectively affects cAMP accumulation only. Together with our previous mutagenesis data on ICL2 and ICL3 we provide here the first systematically completed map of potential interfaces between TSHR and heterotrimeric G-protein. The TSHR/Gq-heterotrimer complex is characterized by more selective interactions than the TSHR/Gs complex. In fact the receptor interface for binding Gs is a subset of that for Gq and we postulate that this may be true for other GPCRs coupling these G-proteins. Our findings support that G-protein coupling and preference is dominated by specific structural features at the intracellular region of the activated GPCR but is completed by additional complementary recognition patterns between receptor and G

Principles and determinants of G-protein coupling by the rhodopsin-like thyrotropin receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinau, Gunnar; Jaeschke, Holger; Worth, Catherine L; Mueller, Sandra; Gonzalez, Jorge; Paschke, Ralf; Krause, Gerd

2010-03-18

In this study we wanted to gain insights into selectivity mechanisms between G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) and different subtypes of G-proteins. The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) binds G-proteins promiscuously and activates both Gs (cAMP) and Gq (IP). Our goal was to dissect selectivity patterns for both pathways in the intracellular region of this receptor. We were particularly interested in the participation of poorly investigated receptor parts.We systematically investigated the amino acids of intracellular loop (ICL) 1 and helix 8 using site-directed mutagenesis alongside characterization of cAMP and IP accumulation. This approach was guided by a homology model of activated TSHR in complex with heterotrimeric Gq, using the X-ray structure of opsin with a bound G-protein peptide as a structural template.We provide evidence that ICL1 is significantly involved in G-protein activation and our model suggests potential interactions with subunits G alpha as well as G betagamma. Several amino acid substitutions impaired both IP and cAMP accumulation. Moreover, we found a few residues in ICL1 (L440, T441, H443) and helix 8 (R687) that are sensitive for Gq but not for Gs activation. Conversely, not even one residue was found that selectively affects cAMP accumulation only. Together with our previous mutagenesis data on ICL2 and ICL3 we provide here the first systematically completed map of potential interfaces between TSHR and heterotrimeric G-protein. The TSHR/Gq-heterotrimer complex is characterized by more selective interactions than the TSHR/Gs complex. In fact the receptor interface for binding Gs is a subset of that for Gq and we postulate that this may be true for other GPCRs coupling these G-proteins. Our findings support that G-protein coupling and preference is dominated by specific structural features at the intracellular region of the activated GPCR but is completed by additional complementary recognition patterns between receptor and G-protein subtypes.

A thyrotropin-secreting macroadenoma with positive growth hormone and prolactin immunostaining: A case report and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzu, F; Bayraktaroğlu, T; Zor, F; G N, B D; Salihoğlu, Y S; Kalaycı, M

2015-01-01

Thyrotropin (thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH]) secreting pituitary adenomas (TSHoma) are rare adenomas presenting with hyperthyroidism due to impaired negative feedback of thyroid hormone on the pituitary and inappropriate TSH secretion. This article presents a case of TSH-secreting macroadenoma without any clinical hyperthyroidism symptoms accompanying immunoreaction with growth hormone (GH) and prolactin. A 36-year-old female patient was admitted with complaints of irregular menses and blurred vision. On physical exam, she had bitemporal hemianopsia defect. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation showed suprasellar macroadenoma measuring 33 mm × 26 mm × 28 mm was detected on pituitary MRI. She had no hyperthyroidism symptoms clinically. Although free T4 and free T3 levels were elevated, TSH level was inappropriately within the upper limit of normal. Response to T3 suppression and thyrotropin releasing hormone-stimulation test was inadequate. Other pituitary hormones were normal. Transsphenoidal adenomectomy was performed due to parasellar compression findings. Immunohistochemically widespread reaction was observed with TSH, GH and prolactin in the adenoma. The patient underwent a second surgical procedure 2 months later due to macroscopic residual tumor, bitemporal hemianopsia and a suprasellar homogenous uptake with regular borders on indium-111 octreotide scintigraphy. After second surgery; due to ongoing symptoms and residual tumor, she was managed with octreotide and cabergoline treatment. On her follow-up with medical treatment, TSH and free T4 values were within normal limits. Although silent TSHomas are rare, they may arise with compression symptoms as in our case. The differential diagnosis of secondary hyperthyroidism should include TSHomas and thyroid hormone receptor resistance syndrome.

Circadian variations of serum thyrotropin, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, reverse triiodothyronine, corticosterone and lipids in starved rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwirska-Korczala, K.; Ostrowska, Z.; Kucharzewski, M.; Marek, B.; Kos-Kudla, B.; Buntner, B.; Swietochowska, E.

1993-01-01

We investigated the circadian variation of serum thyrotropin (TSH), thyroxine (T 4 ), triiodothyronine (T 3 ), reverse triiodothyronine (rT 3 ), corticosterone (B) and lipids in male Wistar rats after one-week starvation. Starvation decreased the TSH level and eliminated its 24-h rhythm. The rhythmicity of oscillations of T 3 and B was maintained. Starvation led to a shift in the acrophase of 24-h T 3 and B oscillation and induced the circadian rhythm of T 4 . The T 3 , T 4 and mesor values were lower, while for rT 3 and B they increased. Lipid concentrations remained unchanged in both experimental and control rats. (author). 27 refs, 3 figs, 2 tabs

Cytotoxic 1,3-Thiazole and 1,2,4-Thiadiazole Alkaloids from Penicillium oxalicum: Structural Elucidation and Total Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Yang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Two new thiazole and thiadiazole alkaloids, penicilliumthiamine A and B (2 and 3, were isolated from the culture broth of Penicillium oxalicum, a fungus found in Acrida cinerea. Their structures were elucidated mainly by spectroscopic analysis, total synthesis and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Biological evaluations indicated that compound 1, 3a and 3 exhibit potent cytotoxicity against different cancer cell lines through inhibiting the phosphorylation of AKT/PKB (Ser 473, one of important cancer drugs target.

Protein alterations induced by long-term agonist treatment of HEK293 cells expressing thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor and G11alpha protein

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Drastichová, Z.; Bouřová, Lenka; Hejnová, L.; Jedelský, P.; Svoboda, Petr; Novotný, J.

2010-01-01

Roč. 109, č. 1 (2010), s. 255-264 ISSN 0730-2312 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC554; GA ČR(CZ) GA309/06/0121; GA ČR(CZ) GD305/08/H037 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50110509 Keywords : Thyrotropin-releasing hormone * Gq/11 protein * proteomics Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 3.122, year: 2010

STATUS SOSIAL-EKONOMI DAN KADAR HORMON TIROTROPIN RUMAH-TANGGA PENGGUNA GARAM BERIDOIUM DI PERKOTAAN INDONESIA : ANALISIS DATA RISKESDAS 2007 (SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND THYROTROPIN HORMONE LEVEL OF HOUSEHOLDS USING IODIZED SALT IN INDONESIAN URBAN : ANA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djoko Kartono

2012-12-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Iodized salt is the long term and sustainable strategy to improve iodine intakeof the community.Level of thyroid stimulating hormone (thyrotropin hormone can be used as indicator of iodine intake adequacy. To study the socio-economic status of households using iodized salt and thyrotropin hormone level in urban areas. Riskesdas data 2007 that include 280.000 households was used.Thyrotropin hormone data include 9.457 people aged above 1 years. Variables included classification of village, rapid test on salt, education and occupation of households’ head, household expenditure and level of thyrotropin hormone. Around 80 percentof households where households’ head graduated from college/university used salt containing sufficient iodine. Only 18 percent households with households’ headworks as government workers used salt containing sufficient iodine. Around 70 percent households in 5th quintile of household’s expenditure were using salt with sufficient iodine content. Around 70 percent households in urban areas were using salt withsufficient iodine content.Among children 1-4 years, percentage of low category of thyrotropin hormon level was 3.3 percentand among 60 years of age and above was 15.8 percent. The higher the educational levelthe higher the percentage of households used salt with sufficient iodine. Percentage of households using salt with sufficient iodine was higher in urban than in rural areas. The higher the quintiles of household expenditures the higher the percentage of households using salt with sufficient iodine. There was a trend that the higher the age the higher the percentage of low category of thyrotropin hormone level. Keywords: householdsalt, education, occupation, urban, rural, expenditure, thyrotropin hormone   ABSTRAK Garam beriodium merupakan strategi jangka panjang dan berkesinambungan untuk memperbaiki asupan iodium masyarakat. Sementara itu, kadar thyroid stimulating hormone (hormon tirotropin dapat

Circadian variations of thyrotropin (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) in surgical and functional pinealectomy in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostrowska, Z.; Zwirska-Korczala, K.; Buntner, B.; Jarzab, B.; Kucharzewski, M.

1994-01-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the regulatory influence of surgical and functional pinealectomy on circadian variations of thyrotropin (TSH), triiodothyronine (T 3 ) and thyroxine (T 4 ) in male Wistar rats. The serum hormone levels were estimated with RIA method, and the circadian rhythm secretion was analyzed by means of cosinor method. Our study shows that there are marked differences in circadian fluctuations of T 3 and T 4 between the two generally used models of pinealectomy. (author). 55 refs, 4 figs

Structure elucidation of a flavonoid glycoside from the roots of Clerodendrum serratum (L. Moon, Lamiaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. S. Bhujbal

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Apigenin-7-glucoside, C21H20O10 (7-(β-D-glucopyranosyloxy-5-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one, was first time isolated from the roots of Clerodendrum serratum (L. Moon, Lamiaceae. Structure elucidation of the compound was carried out by ¹H NMR and FAB-MS studies.Apigenin-7-glucosídeo, C21H20O10 (7-(β-D-glucopiranosiloxi-5-hidroxi-2-(4-hidroxifenil-4H-1-benzopiran-4-ona, foi isolado pela primeira vez das raízes de Clerodendrum serratum (L. Moon, Lamiaceae. A elucidação estrutural da susbtância foi feita através de estudos de ¹H NMR e FAB-MS.

Effects of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism on rat growth hormone release induced by thyrotropin-releasing hormone.

Science.gov (United States)

Chihara, K; Kato, Y; Ohgo, S; Iwasaki, Y; Maeda, K

1976-06-01

The effect of synthetic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on the release of growth hormone (GH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was investigated in euthyroid, hypothyroid, and hyperthyroid rats under urethane anesthesia. In euthyroid control rats, intravenous injection of TRH (200 ng/100 g BW) resulted in a significant increase in both plasma GH and TSH. In rats made hypothyroid by treatment with propylthiouracil or by thyroidectomy, basal GH and TSH levels were significantly elevated with exaggerated responses to TRH. In contrast, plasma GH and TSH responses to TRH were both significantly inhibited in rats made hyperthyroid by L-thyroxine (T4) treatment. These results suggest that altered thyroid status influences GH release as well as TSH secretion induced by TRH in rats.

Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary tumor presenting with congestive heart failure and good response to dopaminergic agonist cabergoline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Hsi Kao

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Hyperthyroidism is an important inducing factor in patients with atrial fibrillation, and may trigger heart failure. Thyrotropin (thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH-secreting pituitary tumors are rare causes of hyperthyroidism. Here, we report a 66-year-old man with a pituitary TSH-secreting tumor who presented with hyperthyroidism and congestive heart failure. Endonasal trans-sphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy was performed. After the operation, the symptoms of hyperthyroidism and congestive heart failure were relieved, associated with normalization of thyroid function tests. Unfortunately, hand tremor and progressively elevated free T4 and TSH concentrations recurred 5 months after surgery. A dopaminergic agonist, cabergoline was administered and euthyroidism was restored for at least 11 months.

Rhizomes of Eremostachys laciniata: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Chemical Constituents and a Clinical Trial on Inflammatory Diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abbas Delazar

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study was the isolation and structure elucidation of chemical compounds from the rhizomes of Eremostachys laciniata (L Bunge (EL, an Iranian traditional medicinal herb with a thick root and pale purple or white flowers as well as the clinical studies on the therapeutic efficacy and safety of topical application of the EL extract in the management of some inflammatory conditions, e.g., arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and septic arthritis (Riter’s syndrome. Methods: The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated unequivocally on the basis of one and two dimensional NMR, UV and HR-FABMS spectroscopic data analyses. A single-blinded randomized clinical trial was carried out with the extract of the rhizomes of E. laciniata (EL to determine the efficacy and safety of the traditional uses of EL compared to that of piroxicam in treatment of inflammatory diseases, e.g., osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and Reiter’s syndrome. Results: Eleven iridoid glycosides, two phenylethanoids and two phytosterols were isolated and identified for the first time from the rhizomes of EL. After 14 days of treatment with the EL and piroxicam ointments, all groups showed significant improvements compared to the control groups. EL (5% ointment induced better initial therapeutic response than piroxicam (5% onitment. Conclusion: This clinical trial established that EL was suitable for topical applications as a safe and effective complementary therapy for inflammatory diseases.

Structural elucidation of nanocrystalline biomaterials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maltsev, S.

2008-10-23

Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are the second most prevalent health problem worldwide. In Germany approximately 5 millions people are affected by arthritis. Investigating biomineralization processes and bone molecular structure is of key importance for developing new drugs for preventing and healing bone diseases. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was the primary technique used due to its advantages in characterising poorly ordered and disordered materials. Compared to all the diffraction techniques that widely applied in structural investigations, the usefulness of NMR is independent of long range molecular order. This makes NMR an outstanding technique for studies of complex/amorphous materials. Conventional NMR experiments (single pulse, spin-echo, cross polarization (CP), etc.) as well as their modifications and high-end techniques (2D HETCOR, REDOR, etc.) were used in this work. Combining the contributions from different techniques enhances the information content of the investigations and can increase the precision of the overall conclusions. Also XRD, TEM and FTIR were applied to different extent in order to get a general idea of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite crystallite structure. Results: - A new approach named 'Solid-state NMR spectroscopy using the lost I spin magnetization in polarization transfer experiments' has been developed for measuring the transferred I spin magnetization from abundant nuclei, which is normally lost when detecting the S spin magnetization. - A detailed investigation of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite core was made to prove that proton environment of the phosphates units and phosphorus environment of hydroxyl units are the same as in highly crystalline hydroxyapatite sample. - Using XRD it was found that the surface of the hydroxyapatite nanocrystals is not completely disordered, as it was suggested before, but resembles the hydroxyapatite structure with HPO{sub 4}{sup 2-} (and some CO{sub 3}{sup

Structural elucidation of nanocrystalline biomaterials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maltsev, S

2008-10-23

Bone diseases, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, are the second most prevalent health problem worldwide. In Germany approximately 5 millions people are affected by arthritis. Investigating biomineralization processes and bone molecular structure is of key importance for developing new drugs for preventing and healing bone diseases. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was the primary technique used due to its advantages in characterising poorly ordered and disordered materials. Compared to all the diffraction techniques that widely applied in structural investigations, the usefulness of NMR is independent of long range molecular order. This makes NMR an outstanding technique for studies of complex/amorphous materials. Conventional NMR experiments (single pulse, spin-echo, cross polarization (CP), etc.) as well as their modifications and high-end techniques (2D HETCOR, REDOR, etc.) were used in this work. Combining the contributions from different techniques enhances the information content of the investigations and can increase the precision of the overall conclusions. Also XRD, TEM and FTIR were applied to different extent in order to get a general idea of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite crystallite structure. Results: - A new approach named 'Solid-state NMR spectroscopy using the lost I spin magnetization in polarization transfer experiments' has been developed for measuring the transferred I spin magnetization from abundant nuclei, which is normally lost when detecting the S spin magnetization. - A detailed investigation of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite core was made to prove that proton environment of the phosphates units and phosphorus environment of hydroxyl units are the same as in highly crystalline hydroxyapatite sample. - Using XRD it was found that the surface of the hydroxyapatite nanocrystals is not completely disordered, as it was suggested before, but resembles the hydroxyapatite structure with HPO{sub 4}{sup 2-} (and some CO{sub 3}{sup 2

Elucidation of structural isomers from the homogeneous rhodium-catalyzed isomerization of vegetable oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Andjelkovic, Dejan D; Min, Byungrok; Ahn, Dong; Larock, Richard C

2006-12-13

The structural isomers formed by the homogeneous rhodium-catalyzed isomerization of several vegetable oils have been elucidated. A detailed study of the isomerization of the model compound methyl linoleate has been performed to correlate the distribution of conjugated isomers, the reaction kinetics, and the mechanism of the reaction. It has been shown that [RhCl(C8H8)2]2 is a highly efficient and selective isomerization catalyst for the production of highly conjugated vegetable oils with a high conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content, which is highly desirable in the food industry. The combined fraction of the two major CLA isomers [(9Z,11E)-CLA and (10E,12Z)-CLA] in the overall CLA mixture is in the range from 76.2% to 93.4%. The high efficiency and selectivity of this isomerization method along with the straightforward purification process render this approach highly promising for the preparation of conjugated oils and CLA. Proposed improvements in catalyst recovery and reusability will only make this method more appealing to the food, paint, coating, and polymer industries in the future.

Multiple metals predict prolactin and thyrotropin (TSH) levels in men

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meeker, John D., E-mail: meekerj@umich.edu [Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 6635 SPH Tower, 109 S. Observatory St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Rossano, Mary G. [Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States); Protas, Bridget [Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States); Diamond, Michael P.; Puscheck, Elizabeth [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI (United States); Daly, Douglas [Grand Rapids Fertility and IVF, Grand Rapids, MI (United States); Paneth, Nigel [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States); Wirth, Julia J. [Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States); Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (United States)

2009-10-15

Exposure to a number of metals can affect neuroendocrine and thyroid signaling, which can result in adverse effects on development, behavior, metabolism, reproduction, and other functions. The present study assessed the relationship between metal concentrations in blood and serum prolactin (PRL) and thyrotropin (TSH) levels, markers of dopaminergic, and thyroid function, respectively, among men participating in a study of environmental influences on male reproductive health. Blood samples from 219 men were analyzed for concentrations of 11 metals and serum levels of PRL and TSH. In multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, BMI and smoking, PRL was inversely associated with arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc, but positively associated with chromium. Several of these associations (Cd, Pb, Mo) are consistent with limited studies in humans or animals, and a number of the relationships (Cr, Cu, Pb, Mo) remained when additionally considering multiple metals in the model. Lead and copper were associated with non-monotonic decrease in TSH, while arsenic was associated with a dose-dependent increase in TSH. For arsenic these findings were consistent with recent experimental studies where arsenic inhibited enzymes involved in thyroid hormone synthesis and signaling. More research is needed for a better understanding of the role of metals in neuroendocrine and thyroid function and related health implications.

Multiple metals predict prolactin and thyrotropin (TSH) levels in men

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meeker, John D.; Rossano, Mary G.; Protas, Bridget; Diamond, Michael P.; Puscheck, Elizabeth; Daly, Douglas; Paneth, Nigel; Wirth, Julia J.

2009-01-01

Exposure to a number of metals can affect neuroendocrine and thyroid signaling, which can result in adverse effects on development, behavior, metabolism, reproduction, and other functions. The present study assessed the relationship between metal concentrations in blood and serum prolactin (PRL) and thyrotropin (TSH) levels, markers of dopaminergic, and thyroid function, respectively, among men participating in a study of environmental influences on male reproductive health. Blood samples from 219 men were analyzed for concentrations of 11 metals and serum levels of PRL and TSH. In multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, BMI and smoking, PRL was inversely associated with arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc, but positively associated with chromium. Several of these associations (Cd, Pb, Mo) are consistent with limited studies in humans or animals, and a number of the relationships (Cr, Cu, Pb, Mo) remained when additionally considering multiple metals in the model. Lead and copper were associated with non-monotonic decrease in TSH, while arsenic was associated with a dose-dependent increase in TSH. For arsenic these findings were consistent with recent experimental studies where arsenic inhibited enzymes involved in thyroid hormone synthesis and signaling. More research is needed for a better understanding of the role of metals in neuroendocrine and thyroid function and related health implications.

Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas: biological and molecular features, diagnosis and therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Losa, M; Fortunato, M; Molteni, L; Peretti, E; Mortini, P

2008-12-01

Central hyperthyroidism due to a thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenoma is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism, representing 0.5-1.0% of all pituitary adenomas. The etiopathogenesis of TSH-secreting-adenomas is unknown and no definite role for various oncogenes has been proven. Patients with TSH-secreting adenoma usually present with signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism milder than those in patients with hyperthyroidism of thyroid origin, in addition to symptoms secondary to mass effects of the pituitary tumour. Mixed pituitary tumours co-secrete growth hormone and prolactin. The characteristic biochemical abnormalities are normal or high serum TSH concentrations in the presence of elevated total and/or free thyroid hormones concentrations. Measurement of markers of peripheral thyroid hormone action and dynamic tests may aid in the differential diagnosis with the syndrome of resistance to thyroid hormone. Neuroimaging is fundamental to visualize the pituitary tumor. Therapy of TSH-secreting adenomas can be accomplished by surgery, radiation therapies, and medical treatment with somatostatin analogs or dopamine agonists. Nowadays, and in contrast with the first reports on this rare disease, most patients are well controlled by current therapies.

Thyroxine and thyrotropin radioimmunoassays using dried blood samples on filter paper for screening of neonatal hypothyroidism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckers, C.; Cornette, C.; Francois, B.; Bouckaert, A.; Lechat, M.

1977-01-01

A routine and automatized methodology for thyroxine (T4) and thyrotropin (TSH) radioimmunoassay (RIA) using dried blood samples on filter paper is described. Five mm diameter dots were prepared. One eluted dot, corresponding to 4 μl of plasma, was used for T4-RIA while two were necessary for TSH-RIA. Reference filter papers were introduced in each assay for quality control. In a preliminary study on 1903 newborns, samples were obtained, generally between the 5th-7th day. Mean dot T4 was 7.38 +- 2.5 μg/dl. Mean dot TSH was 11.83 +- 9.1 μU/ml, the equation of the regression line between dot TSH (y) and serum TSH (x) being Y = 10.29 + 0.623x. (orig.) [de

Mass spectrometry for the elucidation of the subtle molecular structure of biodegradable polymers and their degradation products.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalczuk, Marek; Adamus, Grażyna

2016-01-01

Contemporary reports by Polish authors on the application of mass spectrometric methods for the elucidation of the subtle molecular structure of biodegradable polymers and their degradation products will be presented. Special emphasis will be given to natural aliphatic (co)polyesters (PHA) and their synthetic analogues, formed through anionic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of β-substituted β-lactones. Moreover, the application of MS techniques for the evaluation of the structure of biodegradable polymers obtained in ionic and coordination polymerization of cyclic ethers and esters as well as products of step-growth polymerization, in which bifunctional or multifunctional monomers react to form oligomers and eventually long chain polymers, will be discussed. Furthermore, the application of modern MS techniques for the assessment of polymer degradation products, frequently bearing characteristic end groups that can be revealed and differentiated by MS, will be discussed within the context of specific degradation pathways. Finally, recent Polish accomplishments in the area of mass spectrometry will be outlined. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radioimmunoassay of thyrotropin releasing hormone in plasma and urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Shiro; Musa, Kimitaka; Yamamoto, Suzuyo; Oshima, Ichiyo; Funato, Toyohiko

1975-01-01

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay has been developed capable of measuring thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) in extracted human plasma and urine. All of three TRH analogues tested had little cross-reactivity to antibody. Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone, lysine vasopressin, rat growth hormone and bovine albumin were without effect, but rat hypothalamic extract produced a displacement curve which was parallel to that obtained with the synthetic TRH. Sensitivity of the radioimmunoassay was 4 pg per tube with intraassay coefficient of variation of 6.2-9.7%. Synthetic TRH could be quantitatively extracted by methanol when added to human plasma in concentration of 25, 50 and 100 pg/ml. TRH immunoreactivity was rapidly reduced in plasma at 20 0 C than at 0 0 C, but addition of peptidase inhibitors, FOY-007 and BAL, prevented the inactivation of TRH for 3 hr at 0 0 C. The TRH in urine was more stable at 0 0 C than 20 0 C, and recovered 75+-4.6% at 24 hr after being added. The plasma levels of TRH were 19 pg/ml or less in normal adults and no sex difference was observed. The rate of disappearance of TRH administered i.v. from the blood could be represented as half-times of 4-12 min. Between 5.3-12.3% of the injected dose was excreted into urine within 1 hr as an immunoreactive TRH. These results indicate the usefulness of TRH radioimmunoassay for clinical investigation. (auth.)

Exploiting the Complementarity between Dereplication and Computer-Assisted Structure Elucidation for the Chemical Profiling of Natural Cosmetic Ingredients: Tephrosia purpurea as a Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hubert, Jane; Chollet, Sébastien; Purson, Sylvain; Reynaud, Romain; Harakat, Dominique; Martinez, Agathe; Nuzillard, Jean-Marc; Renault, Jean-Hugues

2015-07-24

The aqueous-ethanolic extract of Tephrosia purpurea seeds is currently exploited in the cosmetic industry as a natural ingredient of skin lotions. The aim of this study was to chemically characterize this ingredient by combining centrifugal partition extraction (CPE) as a fractionation tool with two complementary identification approaches involving dereplication and computer-assisted structure elucidation. Following two rapid fractionations of the crude extract (2 g), seven major compounds namely, caffeic acid, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, ethyl galactoside, ciceritol, stachyose, saccharose, and citric acid, were unambiguously identified within the CPE-generated simplified mixtures by a recently developed (13)C NMR-based dereplication method. The structures of four additional compounds, patuletin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, guaiacylglycerol 8-vanillic acid ether, and 2-methyl-2-glucopyranosyloxypropanoic acid, were automatically elucidated by using the Logic for Structure Determination program based on the interpretation of 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, and COSY) connectivity data. As more than 80% of the crude extract mass was characterized without need for tedious and labor-intensive multistep purification procedures, the identification tools involved in this work constitute a promising strategy for an efficient and time-saving chemical profiling of natural extracts.

Structure elucidation and immunomodulatory activity of a beta glucan from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma sinense.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-Qiang Han

Full Text Available A polysaccharide named GSP-2 with a molecular size of 32 kDa was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma sinense. Its structure was well elucidated, by a combined utilization of chemical and spectroscopic techniques, to be a β-glucan with a backbone of (1→4- and (1→6-Glcp, bearing terminal- and (1→3-Glcp side-chains at O-3 position of (1→6-Glcp. Immunological assay exhibited that GSP-2 significantly induced the proliferation of BALB/c mice splenocytes with target on only B cells, and enhanced the production of several cytokines in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and derived dendritic cells. Besides, the fluorescent labeled GSP-2 was phagocytosed by the RAW 264.7 cells and induced the nitric oxide secretion from the cells.

Biosynthesis and release of thyrotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity in rat pancreatic islets in organ culture. Effects of age, glucose, and streptozotocin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dolva, L O; Welinder, B S; Hanssen, K F

1983-01-01

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity (TRH-IR) was measured in isolated islets and in medium from rat pancreatic islets maintained in organ culture. TRH-IR in methanol extracts of both islets and culture medium was eluted in the same position as synthetic TRH by ion-exchange and gel...... chromatography and exhibited dilution curves parallel with synthetic TRH in radioimmunoassay. [3H]Histidine was incorporated into a component that reacted with TRH antiserum and had the same retention time as synthetic TRH on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. A continuous release of TRH...

Free triiodothyronine/free thyroxine ratio rather than thyrotropin is more associated with metabolic parameters in healthy euthyroid adult subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, So Young; Park, Se Eun; Jung, Sang Won; Jin, Hyun Seok; Park, Ie Byung; Ahn, Song Vogue; Lee, Sihoon

2017-07-01

The interrelation between TSH, thyroid hormones and metabolic parameters is complex and has not been confirmed. This study aimed to determine the association of TSH and thyroid hormones in euthyroid subjects and the relationship between thyroid function and metabolic risk factors. Furthermore, this study examined whether thyroid function has predictive power for metabolic syndrome. This is a cross-sectional study that included subjects in a medical health check-up programme at a single institution. The study included 132 346 participants (66 991 men and 65 355 women) aged over 18 years who had TSH, free T4 (FT4) and free T3 (FT3) levels within the institutional reference ranges. Thyrotropin, FT4, FT3 and metabolic parameters including height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, serum levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin and glucose were measured. There was a positive association between FT3/FT4 ratio and TSH in both men and women after adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking status and menopausal status (in women). The FT3/FT4 ratio and TSH were positively associated with risk of metabolic syndrome parameters including insulin resistance. The FT3/FT4 ratio had a greater predictive power than TSH for metabolic syndrome in both men and women. Thyrotropin levels were positively associated with FT3/FT4 ratio within the euthyroid range. The higher FT3/FT4 ratio is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome parameters and insulin resistance. FT3/FT4 ratio has a better predictive power for metabolic syndrome than TSH. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

3-Dimensional atomic scale structure of the ionic liquid-graphite interface elucidated by AM-AFM and quantum chemical simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Page, Alister J.; Elbourne, Aaron; Stefanovic, Ryan; Addicoat, Matthew A.; Warr, Gregory G.; Voïtchovsky, Kislon; Atkin, Rob

2014-06-01

In situ amplitude modulated atomic force microscopy (AM-AFM) and quantum chemical simulations are used to resolve the structure of the highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG)-bulk propylammonium nitrate (PAN) interface with resolution comparable with that achieved for frozen ionic liquid (IL) monolayers using STM. This is the first time that (a) molecular resolution images of bulk IL-solid interfaces have been achieved, (b) the lateral structure of the IL graphite interface has been imaged for any IL, (c) AM-AFM has elucidated molecular level structure immersed in a viscous liquid and (d) it has been demonstrated that the IL structure at solid surfaces is a consequence of both thermodynamic and kinetic effects. The lateral structure of the PAN-graphite interface is highly ordered and consists of remarkably well-defined domains of a rhomboidal superstructure composed of propylammonium cations preferentially aligned along two of the three directions in the underlying graphite lattice. The nanostructure is primarily determined by the cation. Van der Waals interactions between the propylammonium chains and the surface mean that the cation is enriched in the surface layer, and is much less mobile than the anion. The presence of a heterogeneous lateral structure at an ionic liquid-solid interface has wide ranging ramifications for ionic liquid applications, including lubrication, capacitive charge storage and electrodeposition.In situ amplitude modulated atomic force microscopy (AM-AFM) and quantum chemical simulations are used to resolve the structure of the highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG)-bulk propylammonium nitrate (PAN) interface with resolution comparable with that achieved for frozen ionic liquid (IL) monolayers using STM. This is the first time that (a) molecular resolution images of bulk IL-solid interfaces have been achieved, (b) the lateral structure of the IL graphite interface has been imaged for any IL, (c) AM-AFM has elucidated molecular level

Total Thyroidectomy for Thyroid Cancer Followed by Thyroid Storm due to Thyrotropin Receptor Antibody Stimulation of Metastatic Thyroid Tissue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Folkestad, Lars; Brandt, Frans; Brix, Thomas

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Graves disease (GD) is an autoimmune condition characterized by the presence of antibodies against the thyrotropin receptor (TRAB), which stimulate the thyroid gland to produce excess thyroid hormone. Theoretically, TRAB could stimulate highly differentiated thyroid cancer tissue and...... treatment continued until after the fourth RAI dose. Hypothyroidism did not occur until following the fifth RAI treatment. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS: We present a patient initially diagnosed with thyrotoxicosis and subsequently with metastatic follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer. It is suggested...... that TRAB stimulated the highly differentiated extrathyroidal metastatic thyroid tissue to produce excessive amounts of thyroid hormone, delayed diagnosis, and potential aggravation of the course of thyroid cancer....

Dose-dependent effects of 17-ß-estradiol on pituitary thyrotropin content and secretion in vitro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moreira R.M.

1997-01-01

Full Text Available We studied the basal and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH (50 nM induced thyrotropin (TSH release in isolated hemipituitaries of ovariectomized rats treated with near-physiological or high doses of 17-ß-estradiol benzoate (EB; sc, daily for 10 days or with vehicle (untreated control rats, OVX. One group was sham-operated (normal control. The anterior pituitary glands were incubated in Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate medium, pH 7.4, at 37oC in an atmosphere of 95% O2/5% CO2. Medium and pituitary TSH was measured by specific RIA (NIDDK-RP-3. Ovariectomy induced a decrease (P<0.05 in basal TSH release (normal control = 44.1 ± 7.2; OVX = 14.7 ± 3.0 ng/ml and tended to reduce TRH-stimulated TSH release (normal control = 33.0 ± 8.1; OVX = 16.6 ± 2.4 ng/ml. The lowest dose of EB (0.7 µg/100 g body weight did not reverse this alteration, but markedly increased the pituitary TSH content (0.6 ± 0.06 µg/hemipituitary; P<0.05 above that of OVX (0.4 ± 0.03 µg/hemipituitary and normal rats (0.46 ± 0.03 µg/hemipituitary. The intermediate EB dose (1.4 µg/100 g body weight induced a nonsignificant tendency to a higher TSH response to TRH compared to OVX and a lower response compared to normal rats. Conversely, in the rats treated with the highest dose (14 µg/100 g body weight, serum 17-ß-estradiol was 17 times higher than normal, and the basal and TRH-stimulated TSH release, as well as the pituitary TSH content, was significantly (P<0.05 reduced compared to normal rats and tended to be even lower than the values observed for the vehicle-treated OVX group, suggesting an inhibitory effect of hyperestrogenism. In conclusion, while reinforcing the concept of a positive physiological regulatory role of estradiol on the TSH response to TRH and on the pituitary stores of the hormone, the present results suggest an inhibitory effect of high levels of estrogen on these responses

Autoradiographic localization of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in the central nervous system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manaker, S.

1985-01-01

Quantitative autoradiography was used to examine the distribution of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors in the rat and human central nervous system (CNS). The binding of [ 3 H]-3-methyl-histidine 2 -TRH ([ 3 H]-MeTRH) to TRH receptors was saturable, of a high affinity (K/sub d/ = 5 nM), and specific for TRH analogs. Studies with neurotoxins ibotenic acid and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) suggest that TRH receptors within the amygdala are predominantly located on cell bodies, and not nerve terminals. Finally, an examination was made of the concentrations of TRH receptors in spinal cords of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative disease of the motor neurons located in Lamina IX. Large decreases in TRH receptors were noted in ALS spinal cords, when compared to non-neurological controls, probably reflecting the loss of motor neurons. In addition, decreases in the TRH receptor concentration of Lamina II were observed. This finding may reflect the sensitivity of neurons throughout the CNS to the pathophysiologic mechanisms of neuronal degeneration which cause ALS

Structure Elucidation and Immunomodulatory Activity of A Beta Glucan from the Fruiting Bodies of Ganoderma sinense

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Rui-Qi; Dong, Cai-Xia; Chan, Chung-Lap; Ko, Chun-Hay; Cheung, Wing-Shing; Luo, Ke-Wang; Dai, Hui; Wong, Chun-Kwok; Leung, Ping-Chung; Han, Quan-Bin

2014-01-01

A polysaccharide named GSP-2 with a molecular size of 32 kDa was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma sinense. Its structure was well elucidated, by a combined utilization of chemical and spectroscopic techniques, to be a β-glucan with a backbone of (1→4)– and (1→6)–Glcp, bearing terminal- and (1→3)–Glcp side-chains at O-3 position of (1→6)–Glcp. Immunological assay exhibited that GSP-2 significantly induced the proliferation of BALB/c mice splenocytes with target on only B cells, and enhanced the production of several cytokines in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and derived dendritic cells. Besides, the fluorescent labeled GSP-2 was phagocytosed by the RAW 264.7 cells and induced the nitric oxide secretion from the cells. PMID:25014571

Differences in Brain Glucose Metabolism During Preparation for 131I Ablation in Thyroid Cancer Patients: Thyroid Hormone Withdrawal Versus Recombinant Human Thyrotropin.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Hyeonseok S; Choi, Eun Kyoung; Song, In-Uk; Chung, Yong-An; Park, Jong-Sik; Oh, Jin Kyoung

2017-01-01

In preparation for 131 I ablation, temporary withdrawal of thyroid hormone is commonly used in patients with thyroid cancer after total thyroidectomy. The current study aimed to investigate brain glucose metabolism and its relationships with mood or cognitive function in these patients using 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography ( 18 F-FDG-PET). A total of 40 consecutive adult patients with thyroid carcinoma who had undergone total thyroidectomy were recruited for this cross-sectional study. At the time of assessment, 20 patients were hypothyroid after two weeks of thyroid hormone withdrawal, while 20 received thyroid hormone replacement therapy and were euthyroid. All participants underwent brain 18 F-FDG-PET scans and completed mood questionnaires and cognitive tests. Multivariate spatial covariance analysis and univariate voxel-wise analysis were applied for the image data. The hypothyroid patients were more anxious and depressed than the euthyroid participants. The multivariate covariance analysis showed increases in glucose metabolism primarily in the bilateral insula and surrounding areas and concomitant decreases in the parieto-occipital regions in the hypothyroid group. The level of thyrotropin was positively associated with the individual expression of the covariance pattern. The decreased 18 F-FDG uptake in the right cuneus cluster from the univariate analysis was correlated with the increased thyrotropin level and greater depressive symptoms in the hypothyroid group. These results suggest that temporary hypothyroidism, even for a short period, may induce impairment in glucose metabolism and related affective symptoms.

Structure elucidation of the diagnostic product ion at m/z 97 derived from androst-4-en-3-one-based steroids by ESI-CID and IRMPD spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thevis, M.; Beuck, S.; Hoeppner, S.; Thomas, A.; Held, J.; Schaefer, M.; Oomens, J.; Schaenzer, W.

2012-01-01

Structure elucidation of steroids by mass spectrometry has been of great importance to various analytical arenas and numerous studies were conducted to provide evidence for the composition and origin of (tandem) mass spectrometry-derived product ions used to characterize and identify steroidal

The 24-hour profiles of thyrotropin, throxine and triiodothyronine in goitrous and goitre-free Ugandans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajubi, S.K.

1980-01-01

Plasma thyrotropin (TSH), thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay with commercial assay kits in serial blood samples collected over a 24-hour period from 6 normal and 6 clinically euthyroid but goitrous male Ugandan subjects. Measurements on normal subjects revealed two peaks in plasma TSH concentration, one at about 08.00 hrs, the other at about 20.00 hrs. Plasma T4 concentrations showed two corresponding peaks, while plasma T3 concentrations showed no discernable pattern. Measurement on goitrous subjects revealed only the earlier peak in plasma TSH concentration, while the pooled mean TSH concentration was lower than in normal subjects. Plasma T4 concentrations showed two peaks, as for normal subjects, but the pooled mean T4 concentration was also lower than in normal subjects. Measurements on plasma T3 concentration again showed no discernable pattern. The significance of these findings is discussed

Isolation and structure elucidation of avocado seed (Persea americana) lipid derivatives that inhibit Clostridium sporogenes endospore germination.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Sánchez, Dariana Graciela; Pacheco, Adriana; García-Cruz, María Isabel; Gutiérrez-Uribe, Janet Alejandra; Benavides-Lozano, Jorge Alejandro; Hernández-Brenes, Carmen

2013-07-31

Avocado fruit extracts are known to exhibit antimicrobial properties. However, the effects on bacterial endospores and the identity of antimicrobial compounds have not been fully elucidated. In this study, avocado seed extracts were tested against Clostridium sporogenes vegetative cells and active endospores. Bioassay-guided purification of a crude extract based on inhibitory properties linked antimicrobial action to six lipid derivatives from the family of acetogenin compounds. Two new structures and four compounds known to exist in nature were identified as responsible for the activity. Structurally, most potent molecules shared features of an acetyl moiety and a trans-enone group. All extracts produced inhibition zones on vegetative cells and active endospores. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of isolated molecules ranged from 7.8 to 15.6 μg/mL, and bactericidal effects were observed for an enriched fraction at 19.5 μg/mL. Identified molecules showed potential as natural alternatives to additives and antibiotics used by the food and pharmaceutical industries to inhibit Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria.

Structural elucidation of the hormonal inhibition mechanism of the bile acid cholate on human carbonic anhydrase II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boone, Christopher D. [University of Florida, PO Box 100267, Gainesville, FL 32610 (United States); Tu, Chingkuang [University of Florida, PO Box 100245, Gainesville, FL 32610 (United States); McKenna, Robert, E-mail: rmckenna@ufl.edu [University of Florida, PO Box 100267, Gainesville, FL 32610 (United States)

2014-06-01

The structure of human carbonic anhydrase II in complex with cholate has been determined to 1.54 Å resolution. Elucidation of the novel inhibition mechanism of cholate will aid in the development of a nonsulfur-containing, isoform-specific therapeutic agent. The carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are a family of mostly zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration/dehydration of CO{sub 2} into bicarbonate and a proton. Human isoform CA II (HCA II) is abundant in the surface epithelial cells of the gastric mucosa, where it serves an important role in cytoprotection through bicarbonate secretion. Physiological inhibition of HCA II via the bile acids contributes to mucosal injury in ulcerogenic conditions. This study details the weak biophysical interactions associated with the binding of a primary bile acid, cholate, to HCA II. The X-ray crystallographic structure determined to 1.54 Å resolution revealed that cholate does not make any direct hydrogen-bond interactions with HCA II, but instead reconfigures the well ordered water network within the active site to promote indirect binding to the enzyme. Structural knowledge of the binding interactions of this nonsulfur-containing inhibitor with HCA II could provide the template design for high-affinity, isoform-specific therapeutic agents for a variety of diseases/pathological states, including cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy and osteoporosis.

Two-monoclonal-antibody sandwich-type assay for thyrotropin, with use of an avidin-biotin separation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odell, W.D.; Griffin, J.; Zahradnik, R.

1986-01-01

We have developed a sensitive, specific, noncompetitive, sandwich-type radioimmunoassay for human thyrotropin (hTSH), which can be performed in 30 min. The assay involves two monoclonal antibodies, selected for high affinity and specificity and also for reaction against antigenic sites on hTSH that are distal from each other. One of these antibodies is labeled with 125 I; the other is conjugated covalently to biotin. Polystyrene beads were also conjugated covalently to biotin. After conjugation, the beads were incubated with avidin. These beads represent a rapid, simple method for separating hTSH-bound antibody from free antibody. The biotin-antibody-hTSH- 125 I-labeled antibody complexes bind to the beads and hTSH concentration is directly related to counts per minute. This assay can detect hTSH at a concentration of 0.06 milli-unit/L in serum

Structure Elucidation of A New Coumarin Type Compound, Alternamin, Isolated from the Plant (Murraya Alternans (Kurz) Swingle) Having The Antidote Activity on Snake Venoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hla Myo Min; Mya Aye

2004-06-01

The structure of a new coumarin type compound isolated from the entitled species was elucidated by the full spectral analysis consisting of FTIR, 1H NMR, DQF COSY, 13C NMR, DEPT, EIMS (HR-EIMS), HMQC and HMBC. The antidote activities of the fresh juice and the ethanolic extract of the plant, and the isolated compound alternamin were also determined

Structural Elucidation of Z- and E- Isomers of 5-Alkyl-4-ethoxycarbonyl-5-(4`-chlorophenyl-3-oxa-4-pentenoic Acids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. M. F. Madkour

2000-05-01

Full Text Available Z- and E-isomers of 5-alkyl-4-ethoxycarbonyl-5-(4`-chlorophenyl-3-oxa-4-pentenoic acids were prepared via the condensation of p-chloroacetophenone and/or pchloropropiophenone with diethyl-2,2`-oxydiacetate in the presence of sodium hydride as a basic catalyst. The Z-isomers of 2a and 2b were found to be predominant. The behaviour of the corresponding anhydrides towards the action of hydrazine, phenylhydrazine, primary aromatic amines, hydrocarbons and ethanolysis has also been investigated. The structures and configurations of the products have been elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic means.

Syntheses, structural elucidation, thermal properties, theoretical quantum chemical studies (DFT and biological studies of barbituric–hydrazone complexes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amina A. Soayed

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Condensation of barbituric acid with hydrazine hydrate yielded barbiturichydrazone (L which was characterized using IR, 1H NMR and mass spectra. The Co(II, Ni(II and Cu(II complexes derived from this ligand have been synthesized and structurally characterized by elemental analyses, spectroscopic methods (IR, UV–Vis and ESR and thermal analyses (TGA, DTG and DTA and the structures were further elucidated using quantum chemical density functional theory. Complexes of L were found to have the ML.nH2O stoichiometry with either tetrahedral or octahedral geometry. The ESR data showed the Cu(II complex to be in a tetragonal geometry. Theoretical investigation of the electronic structure of metal complexes at the TD-DFT/B3LYP level of theory has been carried out and discussed. The fundamental vibrational wavenumbers were calculated and a good agreement between observed and scaled calculated wavenumbers was achieved. Thermal studies were performed to deduce the stabilities of the ligand and complexes. Thermodynamic parameters, such as the order of reactions (n, activation energy ΔE∗, enthalpy of reaction ΔH∗ and entropy ΔS∗ were calculated from DTA curves using Horowitz–Metzger method. The ligand L and its complexes have been screened for their antifungal and antibacterial activities and were found to possess better biological activities compared to those of unsubstituted barbituric acid complexes.

Prolactin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone in early and advanced human breast cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barni, S.; Lissoni, P.; Tancini, G.

1986-01-01

While prolactin (PRL) has been shown to stimulate the development of mammary carcinoma in several animal species, its role in human breast cancer remains to be established. To further investigate PRL secretion in human breast cancer, its basal levels and response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were evaluated in 16 patients (6 with no metastases and 10 with metastatic locations). The control group consisted of 19 healthy women. High PRL basal concentrations were seen in 2 patients only; no significant differences were found between the other patients and the normal subjects. The PRL increase induced by TRH administration was significantly higher in patients than in controls. Finally a change in the hormonal secretion was found after chemotherapy in 3 of the 5 patients in whom PRL response to TRH was evaluated either before or 10-12 days after a cycle of intravenous CMF adjuvant chemotherapy. These results demostrate the existence of an exaggerated response of PRL to TRH in patients with breast cancer, even in the presence of normal basal levels. Moreover, they would seem to suggest a possible influence of CMF on PRL response to TRH stimulation

Recombinant human thyrotropin stimulation prior to 131I therapy in toxic multinodular goitre with low radioactive iodine uptake.

Science.gov (United States)

Azorín Belda, M J; Martínez Caballero, A; Figueroa Ardila, G C; Martínez Ramírez, M; Gómez Jaramillo, C A; Dolado Ardit, J I; Verdú Rico, J

Stimulation with recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) increases thyroid radioiodine uptake, and is an aid to 131 I therapy in non-toxic multinodular goitre (MNG). However, there are not many studies using rhTSH prior to 131 I in toxic multinodular goitre to improve hyperthyroidism and compressive symptoms. A prospective study was conducted on patients with MNG and hyperthyroidism. Patients were recruited consecutively and divided into group I, stimulated with 0.3mg of rhTSH before radioiodine therapy, and a control group or group II, without stimulation. Thyroid function, radioiodine thyroid uptake, thyroid weight, and compressive symptoms were measured, and patients were followed-up for 9 months. Group I consisted of 16 patients (14 women), with a mean age 69.7 years, and group II with 16 patients (12 women), with a mean age 70.7 years. After stimulation with 0.3mg rhTSH in group I, 131 I uptake (RAIU) at 24h increased by 78.4%, and the estimated absorbed dose by 89.3%. In group II, the estimated absorbed dose was lower than group I after stimulation with rhTSH (29.8Gy vs. 56.4Gy; P=0.001). At 9 months of follow-up, hyperthyroidism was controlled in 87.5% of patients in group I, and 56.2% in group II (P=0.049). The mean reduction in thyroid weight was higher in group I than in group II (39.3% vs. 26.9%; P=0.017), with a tendency towards subjective improvement of compressive symptoms in group I, although non-significant. Only 2 patients described tachycardias after rhTSH administration, which were resolved with beta-blockers. Stimulation with 0.3mg of recombinant human thyrotropin prior to radioiodine therapy achieves a reduction in thyroid weight and functional improvement in patients with hyperthyroidism and multinodular goitre with low uptake, and with no need for hospital admission. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

Thyrotropin Receptor Antibody (TRAb)-IgM Levels Are Markedly Higher Than TRAb-IgG Levels in Graves' Disease Patients and Controls, and TRAb-IgM Production Is Related to Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumata, Keisuke; Nagata, Keiko; Matsushita, Michiko; Kuwamoto, Satoshi; Kato, Masako; Murakami, Ichiro; Fukata, Shuji; Hayashi, Kazuhiko

2016-10-01

Graves' disease is an autoimmune thyroid disorder that mainly presents as hyperthyroidism and is caused by thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs) that stimulate thyroid-stimulating hormone receptors. We previously reported that Graves' disease patients and healthy controls both had Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected TRAb-positive B cells and the EBV-reactivated induction of these B cells in cultures may induce the production of TRAbs. In the present study, we quantified serum TRAb-IgG and TRAb-IgM levels in 34 Graves' disease patients and 15 controls using ELISA to elucidate the mechanisms underlying EBV-related antibody production. As expected, TRAb-IgG and TRAb-IgM levels were higher in Graves' disease patients than in controls; however, TRAb-IgM levels were significantly higher than those of TRAb-IgG levels, whereas total IgM levels were lower than total IgG levels. On the other hand, the enhanced production of TRAb-IgM was frequently observed in patients with EBV reactivation. These results are consistent with the fact that the percentage of autoreactive IgM B cells are higher than that of autoreactive IgG B cells, and support the EBV-related polyclonal B cell activation. It is necessary to clarify the biological characteristics of TRAb-IgM and the relationship between TRAb isotypes and the biology of Graves' disease.

Elucidation of the electrochromic mechanism of nanostructured iron oxides films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Lobato, M.A.; Martinez, Arturo I.; Castro-Roman, M. [Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Cinvestav Campus Saltillo, Carr. Saltillo-Monterrey Km. 13, Ramos Arizpe, Coah. 25900 (Mexico); Perry, Dale L. [Mail Stop 70A1150, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Zarate, R.A. [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Casilla 1280, Antofagasta (Chile); Escobar-Alarcon, L. (Departamento de Fisica, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico)

2011-02-15

Nanostructured hematite thin films were electrochemically cycled in an aqueous solution of LiOH. Through optical, structural, morphological, and magnetic measurements, the coloration mechanism of electrochromic iron oxide thin films was elucidated. The conditions for double or single electrochromic behavior are given in this work. During the electrochemical cycling, it was found that topotactic transformations of hexagonal crystal structures are favored; i.e. {alpha}-Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} to Fe(OH){sub 2} and subsequently to {delta}-FeOOH. These topotactic redox reactions are responsible for color changes of iron oxide films. (author)

A Placebo-Controlled, Blinded and Randomised Study on the Effects of Recombinant Human Thyrotropin on Quality of Life in the Treatment of Thyroid Cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nygaard, Birte; Bastholt, Lars; Bennedbæk, Finn Noe

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: It is well known that thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) in thyroid cancer patients can induce a decrease in quality of life (QOL). Recombinant human thyrotropin (rh-TSH) has been used to avoid this; however, no blinded studies have ever documented the effect. OBJECTIVE: To compare QOL...... in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) treated with either rh-TSH or liothyronine (L-T3) THW for 10 days. STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind, randomised cross-over. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients with DTC treated by total thyroidectomy and indication for postsurgery radioiodine (RI) ablation therapy...

LC-MS analysis in the e-beam and gamma radiolysis of metoprolol tartrate in aqueous solution: Structure elucidation and formation mechanism of radiolytic products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slegers, Catherine [Unite d' Analyse Chimique et Physico-chimique des Medicaments, Universite Catholique de Louvain, CHAM 72.30, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels (Belgium)]. E-mail: catherine.slegers@skynet.be; Maquille, Aubert [Unite d' Analyse Chimique et Physico-chimique des Medicaments, Universite Catholique de Louvain, CHAM 72.30, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels (Belgium); Deridder, Veronique [Unite d' Analyse Chimique et Physico-chimique des Medicaments, Universite Catholique de Louvain, CHAM 72.30, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels (Belgium); Sonveaux, Etienne [Unite de Chimie Pharmaceutique et de Radiopharmacie, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Brussels (Belgium); Habib Jiwan, Jean-Louis [Laboratoire de Spectrometrie de Masse, Universite Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve (Belgium); Tilquin, Bernard [Unite d' Analyse Chimique et Physico-chimique des Medicaments, Universite Catholique de Louvain, CHAM 72.30, Avenue E. Mounier, 72, B-1200, Brussels (Belgium)

2006-09-15

E-beam and gamma products from the radiolysis of aqueous solutions of ({+-})-metoprolol tartrate, saturated in nitrogen, are analyzed by HPLC with on-line mass and UV detectors. The structures of 10 radiolytic products common to e-beam and gamma irradiations are elucidated by comparing their fragmentation pattern to that of ({+-})-metoprolol. Two of the radiolytic products are also metabolites. Different routes for the formation of the radiolytic products are proposed.

Electrochemical Synthesis, Structure Elucidation and Antibacterial Evaluation of 9a-aza-9a-chloro-9a-homoerythromycin A

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoran Mandic

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Electrochemical synthesis, structure elucidation and antibacterial evaluation of 9a-aza-9a-chloro-9a-homoerythromycin A were carried out. It was found that the anodic oxidation of 9a-aza-9a-homoerythromycin A via electrogenerated reactive chlorine species leads to the chlorination of lactam nitrogen in high yield provided the pH of the reaction mixture is maintained above 3. NOESY spectra reveal the existence of the mixture of two conformational families in the solution, the "folding-out" conformer being slightly more abundant comparing to 9a-Aza-9a-homoerythromycin A. The chlorine substitution of lactam hydrogen resulted in improved antimicrobial potency against Sreptococcus pyogenes PSCB0542, Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 25238, Haemophilus  influenzae ATCC 49247 and Enteroccocus faecalis ATCC 29212.

DFT and EXAFS, mutually enhancing tools for structure elucidation of Tc complexes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breynaert, E.; Bruggeman, C.; Maes, A.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The redox-sensitive fission product technetium-99 (Tc) is of great interest in nuclear waste disposal studies because of its potential for contaminating the geosphere due to its very long half-life (2.13 x 10 5 year) and high mobility under oxidising conditions, where technetium forms pertechnetate (TcO 4 - ). Under suitable reducing conditions, e.g. in the presence of an iron(II) containing solid phase which can act as an electron donor, the solubility can be limited by the reduction of pertechnetate followed by the formation of a surface precipitate [1]. However, by association with mobile humic substances (HS) or other associating/complexing species, the solubility of reduced Tc species may be drastically enhanced [2]. The elucidation of the identity and geometrical structure of the species causing this enhanced solubility often remains a difficult issue. Extended X-Ray Absorption Fluorescence Spectroscopy/ X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (EXAFS/XANES) analysis can be very helpful to determine the molecular surroundings of reduced Tc organic complexes of Tc(IV) colloid-HS-associations. The interpretation of the EXAFS spectra is however not a straightforward process due to the possibly strong influence of multiple scattering paths on the spectra. Contrary to single scattering analysis which can be easily performed on the experimental EXAFS spectra, multiple scattering analysis can only be done, based on good approximations of the possible geometrical structures of the species under consideration. It has been shown that the Density Functional Theory (DFT) can be used to perform geometry optimizations of technetium species and therefore can be utilized to predict the structure of technetium complexes [3]. The success and computational effort needed for such structure predictions are however highly dependant on the quality of the initial structure from which the geometry optimization is started. Single scattering analysis of

Cord blood thyrotropin screening for congenital hypothyroidism. Three years' experience on the Island of Saint Lucia.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajous, C; Goto, M; Fitzgerald, M; Anderson, C L; Craft, W; Hurley, R M; Zeller, W P

1991-01-01

Cord blood thyrotropin (TSH) screening for congenital primary hypothyroidism has been in effect on the island of St. Lucia for the past three years. Umbilical cord blood samples are obtained on Guthrie filter paper and then transported 3,000 miles to Loyola University of Chicago and delivered to the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. There TSH is measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). After three years, 1,789 newborns have been screened, and the mean value is 6.23 +/- 0.13 microIU per ml. This mean value is less than previously reported by us in 1986 (10.23 +/- 0.29 microIU per ml).13 It is concluded that this screening service continues to be possible far removed from the population under observation. No case of primary hypothyroidism has been detected. Our decreased mean TSH value is due to the new method currently used by the Illinois State Metabolic Screening Laboratory. Congenital hypothyroidism will not be missed provided internal controls are established and rigidly observed.

Clinical characteristics of patients with thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yung-Yen; Chang, Hung-Yu; Lin, Jen-Der; Chen, Kwang-Wen; Huang, Yu-Yao; Jung, Shih-Ming

2003-03-01

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (thyrotropin, TSH)-secreting pituitary adenoma is a very rare cause of hyperthyroidism. Diagnosis of this condition is often delayed due to lack of availability of TSH radioimmunoassay (RIA), the failure to recognize the utility of RIA and the incorrect attribution of the condition to other causes of thyrotoxicosis. This retrospective study analyzed the clinical characteristics of patients with this disorder treated from 1991 to 2002. Seven patients (6 females, 1 male; mean age, 48 years; range, 33 to 72 years) with a diagnosis of TSHsecreting pituitary adenoma based on detectable TSH levels with high serum free thyroid hormone or triiodothyronine concentrations and pituitary lesions found on neuroimaging were included in this study. Patient records including clinical features, endocrine studies, immunohistochemistry studies, and response to treatment were reviewed. All 7 patients had hyperthyroidism, elevated free thyroxine or triiodothyronine levels, and unsuppressed levels of TSH. Imaging studies demonstrated a pituitary mass or lesion in all patients. Six patients had macroadenomas and 1 patient had a microadenoma. One of the patients had coexisting acromegalic features and hypersecretion of growth hormone was diagnosed. All of the patients had been treated with thionamides or thyroidectomy for presumed primary hyperthyroidism. Serum alpha-subunit level was uncharacteristically normal in 2 patients and elevated in 1 patient. Alpha-subunit/TSH molar ratios were elevated in 3 patients. Five patients underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy but only one of them remained well-controlled at follow-up. Three patients received administration of somatostatin analogs and they achieved normalization of serum TSH and free thyroid hormones during the period of therapy. TSH immunoassay has an important role in the evaluation of hyperthyroid patients to determine the presence of inappropriate secretion. TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma exhibits

LC-MS analysis in the e-beam and gamma radiolysis of metoprolol tartrate in aqueous solution: Structure elucidation and formation mechanism of radiolytic products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slegers, Catherine; Maquille, Aubert; Deridder, Veronique; Sonveaux, Etienne; Habib Jiwan, Jean-Louis; Tilquin, Bernard

2006-01-01

E-beam and gamma products from the radiolysis of aqueous solutions of (±)-metoprolol tartrate, saturated in nitrogen, are analyzed by HPLC with on-line mass and UV detectors. The structures of 10 radiolytic products common to e-beam and gamma irradiations are elucidated by comparing their fragmentation pattern to that of (±)-metoprolol. Two of the radiolytic products are also metabolites. Different routes for the formation of the radiolytic products are proposed

Mayotlide: synthetic approaches and structural elucidation

OpenAIRE

Herraiz Cobo, Jesús

2017-01-01

[eng] Mayotlide is a marine peptide isolated by PharmaMar S.A. from Spongia sp.. The sequence of the aminoacids were achieved by MS-MS spectrometry, where two of them were tryptophans. The NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of N1-C3a bond between the tryptophans, which means that one of them was cyclized. On the first structure proposal, the aminoacids were forming two macrocyclic rings: on the ring B, all the aminoacids of molecule were tied by amide bond, remarking the presence of the ...

Mayotlide: synthetic approaches and structural elucidation

OpenAIRE

Herraiz Cobo, Jesús

2017-01-01

Mayotlide is a marine peptide isolated by PharmaMar S.A. from Spongia sp.. The sequence of the aminoacids were achieved by MS-MS spectrometry, where two of them were tryptophans. The NMR spectroscopy revealed the presence of N1-C3a bond between the tryptophans, which means that one of them was cyclized. On the first structure proposal, the aminoacids were forming two macrocyclic rings: on the ring B, all the aminoacids of molecule were tied by amide bond, remarking the presence of the cycliz...

Radioimmunoassay of thyrotropin releasing hormone in human serum and its clinical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Zhiying; Liu Shizhen

1995-01-01

The study was aimed at investigating the relationship between the TRH level in peripheral blood and the physiological, pathophysiological variation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, especially at studying the relationship between TRH level and various thyroid function states as well as its clinical significance. A highly sensitive, specific radioimmunoassay of the thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) has been developed in the laboratory using 125 I labeled anti-TRH antibodies. Blood samples were collected in tubes containing a mixture of 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfur, Tween 20 and EDTA-2NA(E). The sensitivity was 8.3% pmol/L, and the intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 2.5%∼4.9% and 8.9%∼10.0% respectively. The recovery rate ranged from 92%∼105%. The TRH levels in sera of 80 normals and 324 patients with pituitary thyroid diseases were measured with this assay. The results show a significant decrease of TRH levels in hyperthyroid patients and increase in hypothyroid subjects. The TRH levels in patients with nodular goiter and cold nodules, pituitary dwarfism and pituitary tumours were not significantly different from those of the normal group. The results demonstrated that measurement of TRH level in peripheral blood is useful in investigating the physiological and pathophysiological status of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis function and the change in TRH levels has close relations with the thyroid function

Structural elucidation of the DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out states of TAM kinases and insight into the selectivity of their inhibitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Messoussi, Abdellah; Peyronnet, Lucile; Feneyrolles, Clémence; Chevé, Gwénaël; Bougrin, Khalid; Yasri, Aziz

2014-10-10

Structural elucidation of the active (DFG-Asp in) and inactive (DFG-Asp out) states of the TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases is required for future development of TAM inhibitors as drugs. Herein we report a computational study on each of the three TAM members Tyro-3, Axl and Mer. DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out homology models of each one were built based on the X-ray structure of c-Met kinase, an enzyme with a closely related sequence. Structural validation and in silico screening enabled identification of critical amino acids for ligand binding within the active site of each DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out model. The position and nature of amino acids that differ among Tyro-3, Axl and Mer, and the potential role of these residues in the design of selective TAM ligands, are discussed.

Basal levels of triiodotironine, thyroxine, thyrotropin, free thyroxine and reverse triiodotyronine in patients with chronic renal failure submitted to hemodialysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knobel, H.; Mendonca, B.B. de; Mendes, V.; Rocha Junior, J.E.; Medeiros Neto, G.

1987-01-01

Serum triiodotironine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and reverse triiodothyronine (rT3) concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay in 21 uremic patients on regular hemodialysis therapy (sera were collected immediately before dialysis) and 11 normal controls. In advanced chronic renal failure serum T3 and T4 were frequently decreased (86% and 57%, respectively). and serum rT3 was normal (81%) or subnormal (14%). The serum TSH and FT4 values were normal in all cases even when serum T3 and T4 concentrations were decreased below the normal range. The findings suggest that the measurement of serum TSH probably represents the most reliable differentiation between this disease with low T4 levels and primary hypothyroidism. (author)

A different approach to the radioimmunoassay of thyrotropin releasing hormone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visser, T.J.; Klootwijk, W.; Docter, R.; Hennemann, G.

1977-01-01

Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) was linked to hemocyanin by means of a dinitrophenylene moiety. TRH (pGlu-His-Pro-NH 2 ) was made to react with a large excess of 1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene to yield Nsup(im)-[5-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl]TRH. After removal of excess reagent the derivative was coupled to hemocyanin with a minimum of side-reactions. From two rabbits out of four immunized with this material valuable antisera were obtained, which were used in the radioimmunoassay of the hypothalamic hormone at a final dilution of 1:7,500 and 1:15,000, respectively. The properties, especially with regard to specificity, of these antisera were studied and compared with another antiserum, which was obtained using a conjugate having TRH linked to thyroglobulin via a p-azophenyl-acetyl moiety. Despite the difference between the derivatives, i.e. the nature and the point of attachment of the side chains, the specificities of the assays were very similar. Deamidation of TRH, deletion of either one of the terminal residues, hydrolysis of the lactam of the pyroglutamyl residue, and replacing Pro-NH 2 by Pro-Gly-NH 2 or by an octapeptide chain yield peptides with strongly diminished cross-reactivities. However, Nsup(im)-benzyl-TRH and pGlu-Phe-Pro-NH 2 were 5-10 times as active as TRH probably due to a closer physico-chemical similarity to the arrangement of the haptens in the conjugates. This suggests that the sensitivity of the radioimmunoassay may be increased markedly by conversion of TRH into the Nsup(im)-dinitrophenyl derivative and by using a related compound for radioiodination. (orig.) [de

Rapid screening and structural elucidation of a novel sibutramine analogue in a weight loss supplement: 11-desisobutyl-11-benzylsibutramine.

Science.gov (United States)

Mans, Daniel J; Gucinski, Ashley C; Dunn, Jamie D; Gryniewicz-Ruzicka, Connie M; Mecker-Pogue, Laura C; Kao, Jeff L-F; Ge, Xia

2013-09-01

A novel analogue of sibutramine, 11-desisobutyl-11-benzylsibutramine, has been discovered. During routine ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) screening of a weight loss supplement collected at an US FDA import operation facility an unknown peak was observed. Further analysis of the supplement by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and high resolution mass spectrometry revealed an unknown peak with a relative retention time of 1.04 with respect to sibutramine and a predicted formula of C20H24NCl. In order to elucidate the analogue's structure, it was isolated from the supplement and characterized by tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which revealed the analogue possessed a benzyl moiety at the 11 position in place of the isobutyl group associated with sibutramine. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Structural Elucidation of the DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out States of TAM Kinases and Insight into the Selectivity of Their Inhibitors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdellah Messoussi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Structural elucidation of the active (DFG-Asp in and inactive (DFG-Asp out states of the TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases is required for future development of TAM inhibitors as drugs. Herein we report a computational study on each of the three TAM members Tyro-3, Axl and Mer. DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out homology models of each one were built based on the X-ray structure of c-Met kinase, an enzyme with a closely related sequence. Structural validation and in silico screening enabled identification of critical amino acids for ligand binding within the active site of each DFG-Asp in and DFG-Asp out model. The position and nature of amino acids that differ among Tyro-3, Axl and Mer, and the potential role of these residues in the design of selective TAM ligands, are discussed.

High-performance liquid chromatography on-line coupled to high-field NMR and mass spectrometry for structure elucidation of constituents of Hypericum perforatum L

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, S. H.; Jensen, A. G.; Cornett, Claus

1999-01-01

The on-line separation and structure elucidation of naphthodianthrones, flavonoids, and other constituents of an extract from Hypericum perforatum L, using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled on-line with ultraviolet-visible, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mass spectrometry...... (MS) is described. A conventional reversed-phase HPLC system using ammonium acetate as the buffer substance in the eluent tvas used, and proton NMR spectra were obtained on a 500 MHz NMR instrument. The MS and MS/MS analyses were performed using negative electrospray ionization, In the present study...

Thyrotropin receptor antibody activities significantly correlate with the outcome of radioiodine (131I) therapy for hyperthyroid Graves' disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaise, Kazuro; Kaise, Nobuko; Yoshida, Katsumi; Fukazawa, Hiroshi; Mori, Koki; Yamamoto, Makiko; Sakurada, Toshiro; Saito, Shintaro; Yoshinaga, Kaoru

1991-01-01

The outcome of 131 I therapy for 109 patients with Graves' disease was analysed according to pretreatment laboratory data including thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) activities. Forty-five percent of patients became euthyroid, and 13% of patients became hypothyroid within one year after 131 I therapy. Forty-two percent of patients remained hyperthyroid one year after 131 I therapy. Pretreatment values for serum T 4 , T 3 , and the estimated weight of the thyroid were significantly higher in the hyperthyroid group. The mean for the TRAb index of the hyperthyroid group was significantly higher than that of the euthyroid group. Life table analysis revealed a significant effect of the TRAb index on the rate of hyperthyroidism after 3 months or later. These results appear to suggest that the TRAb index is one of the factors which influence the outcome of 131 I therapy for Graves' disease. (author)

RosettaTMH: a method for membrane protein structure elucidation combining EPR distance restraints with assembly of transmembrane helices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Leaver-Fay

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Membrane proteins make up approximately one third of all proteins, and they play key roles in a plethora of physiological processes. However, membrane proteins make up less than 2% of experimentally determined structures, despite significant advances in structure determination methods, such as X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy. One potential alternative means of structure elucidation is to combine computational methods with experimental EPR data. In 2011, Hirst and others introduced RosettaEPR and demonstrated that this approach could be successfully applied to fold soluble proteins. Furthermore, few computational methods for de novo folding of integral membrane proteins have been presented. In this work, we present RosettaTMH, a novel algorithm for structure prediction of helical membrane proteins. A benchmark set of 34 proteins, in which the proteins ranged in size from 91 to 565 residues, was used to compare RosettaTMH to Rosetta’s two existing membrane protein folding protocols: the published RosettaMembrane folding protocol (“MembraneAbinitio” and folding from an extended chain (“ExtendedChain”. When EPR distance restraints are used, RosettaTMH+EPR outperforms ExtendedChain+EPR for 11 proteins, including the largest six proteins tested. RosettaTMH+EPR is capable of achieving native-like folds for 30 of 34 proteins tested, including receptors and transporters. For example, the average RMSD100SSE relative to the crystal structure for rhodopsin was 6.1 ± 0.4 Å and 6.5 ± 0.6 Å for the 449-residue nitric oxide reductase subunit B, where the standard deviation reflects variance in RMSD100SSE values across ten different EPR distance restraint sets. The addition of RosettaTMH and RosettaTMH+EPR to the Rosetta family of de novo folding methods broadens the scope of helical membrane proteins that can be accurately modeled with this software suite.

Structure elucidation and toxicity analyses of the radiolytic products of aflatoxin B{sub 1} in methanol-water solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Feng [Institute of Agro-food Science and Technology of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Key Opening Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Control, Ministry of Agriculture, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12th Zhongguancun South Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100081 (China); Xie, Fang [Institute of Agro-food Science and Technology of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Key Opening Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Control, Ministry of Agriculture, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Xue, Xiaofeng [Bee Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1st Xiangshan North Ditch, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100093 (China); Wang, Zhidong; Fan, Bei [Institute of Agro-food Science and Technology of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Key Opening Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Control, Ministry of Agriculture, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Ha, Yiming, E-mail: wxfay2011@hotmail.com [Institute of Agro-food Science and Technology of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China); Key Opening Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing and Quality Control, Ministry of Agriculture, 2nd Yuanmingyuan West Road, Hai Dian District, Beijing 100193 (China)

2011-09-15

Highlights: {yields} Radiolytic products of aflatoxin B{sub 1} were produced under gamma irradiation. {yields} Seven key radiolytic products were structure-elucidated. {yields} Free-radical species in radiolytic solution resulted in the formation of products. {yields} Based on the structure-activity relationship analysis, the toxicity of radiolytic products was significantly reduced compared with that of AFB{sub 1}. {yields} The addition reaction on furan ring double bond was the reason for the reduced toxicity. - Abstract: The identification of the radiolytic products of mycotoxins is a key issue in the feasibility study of gamma ray radiation detoxification. Methanol-water solution (60:40, v/v) spiked with aflatoxin B{sub 1} (AFB{sub 1}; 20 mg L{sup -1}) was irradiated with Co{sup 60} gamma ray to generate radiolytic products. Liquid chromatography-quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry was applied to identify the radiolytic products of AFB{sub 1}. Accurate mass and proposed molecular formulas with a high-matching property of more than 20 radiolytic products were obtained. Seven key radiolytic products were proposed based on the molecular formulas and tandem mass spectrometry spectra. The analyses of toxicity and formation pathways were proposed based on the structure of the radiolytic products. The addition reaction caused by the free-radical species in the methanol-water solution resulted in the formation of most radiolytic products. Based on the structure-activity relationship analysis, the toxicity of radiolytic products was significantly reduced compared with that of AFB{sub 1} because of the addition reaction that occurred on the double bond in the terminal furan ring. For this reason, gamma irradiation is deemed an effective tool for the detoxification of AFB{sub 1}.

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies against human thyrotropin and use in an immunoradiometric assay and immunohistochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benkirane, M.; Bon, D.; Bellot, F.; Prince, P.; Delori, P.; Hassoun, J.; Carayon, P.

1987-01-01

Monoclonal antibodies were prepared against human thyrotropin. 13 different antibodies were characterized. Ten antibodies were of the IgG1 subclass. The affinities of the antibodies were in the range 10 9 -10 11 mol -1 .l. Four of them were specific for hTSH and did not react with hLH, hFSH, hCG or αhCG. Four reacted with these hormones and recognized the α subunit of hCG. One cross-reacted only with HFSH. The remaining four antibodies recognized the holo-hTSH only, and thus were designated as anti-conformational determinants. Monoclonal antibodies reacting with different antigenic determinants on the hTSH molecule defined seven clusters. Two of them were used to develop a simplified two-site sandwich radioimmunoassay in which one monoclonal antibody was immobilized on tubes (anti-βTSH) and another (anti-α) labelled with 125 I. This assay was highly specific and demonstrated a sensitivity level of 0.1 μIU/ml. Two monoclonal antibodies were used in immunohistochemistry and their quality and specificity was assessed in the detection of hTSH immunoreactivity in human pituitary biological sections. 20 refs.; 6 figs.; 2 tabs

Thyrotropin receptor autoantibodies and early miscarriages in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis: a case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Toulis, Konstantinos A; Goulis, Dimitrios G; Tsolakidou, Konstantina; Hilidis, Ilias; Fragkos, Marios; Polyzos, Stergios A; Gerofotis, Antonios; Kita, Marina; Bili, Helen; Vavilis, Dimitrios; Daniilidis, Michail; Tarlatzis, Basil C; Papadimas, Ioannis

2013-08-01

We have previously hypothesized that early miscarriage in women with Hashimoto thyroiditis might be the result of a cross-reactivity process, in which blocking autoantibodies against thyrotropin receptor (TSHr-Ab) antagonize hCG action on its receptor on the corpus luteum. To test this hypothesis from the clinical perspective, we investigated the presence of TSHr-Ab in Hashimoto thyroiditis patients with apparently unexplained, first-trimester recurrent miscarriages compared to that in Hashimoto thyroiditis patients with documented normal fertility. A total of 86 subjects (43 cases and 43 age-matched controls) were finally included in a case-control study. No difference in the prevalence of TSHr-Ab positivity was detected between cases and controls (Fisher's exact test, p value = 1.00). In patients with recurrent miscarriages, TSHr-Ab concentrations did not predict the number of miscarriages (univariate linear regression, p value = 0.08). These results were robust in sensitivity analyses, including only cases with full investigation or those with three or more miscarriages. We conclude that no role could be advocated for TSHr-Ab in the aetiology of recurrent miscarriages in women with Hashimoto thyroiditis.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH promotes wound re-epithelialisation in frog and human skin.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia T Meier

Full Text Available There remains a critical need for new therapeutics that promote wound healing in patients suffering from chronic skin wounds. This is, in part, due to a shortage of simple, physiologically and clinically relevant test systems for investigating candidate agents. The skin of amphibians possesses a remarkable regenerative capacity, which remains insufficiently explored for clinical purposes. Combining comparative biology with a translational medicine approach, we report the development and application of a simple ex vivo frog (Xenopus tropicalis skin organ culture system that permits exploration of the effects of amphibian skin-derived agents on re-epithelialisation in both frog and human skin. Using this amphibian model, we identify thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH as a novel stimulant of epidermal regeneration. Moving to a complementary human ex vivo wounded skin assay, we demonstrate that the effects of TRH are conserved across the amphibian-mammalian divide: TRH stimulates wound closure and formation of neo-epidermis in organ-cultured human skin, accompanied by increased keratinocyte proliferation and wound healing-associated differentiation (cytokeratin 6 expression. Thus, TRH represents a novel, clinically relevant neuroendocrine wound repair promoter that deserves further exploration. These complementary frog and human skin ex vivo assays encourage a comparative biology approach in future wound healing research so as to facilitate the rapid identification and preclinical testing of novel, evolutionarily conserved, and clinically relevant wound healing promoters.

Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone (TRH) Promotes Wound Re-Epithelialisation in Frog and Human Skin

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guo-You; Emelianov, Vladimir; Paredes, Roberto; Debus, Sebastian; Augustin, Matthias; Funk, Wolfgang; Amaya, Enrique; Kloepper, Jennifer E.; Hardman, Matthew J.; Paus, Ralf

2013-01-01

There remains a critical need for new therapeutics that promote wound healing in patients suffering from chronic skin wounds. This is, in part, due to a shortage of simple, physiologically and clinically relevant test systems for investigating candidate agents. The skin of amphibians possesses a remarkable regenerative capacity, which remains insufficiently explored for clinical purposes. Combining comparative biology with a translational medicine approach, we report the development and application of a simple ex vivo frog (Xenopus tropicalis) skin organ culture system that permits exploration of the effects of amphibian skin-derived agents on re-epithelialisation in both frog and human skin. Using this amphibian model, we identify thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) as a novel stimulant of epidermal regeneration. Moving to a complementary human ex vivo wounded skin assay, we demonstrate that the effects of TRH are conserved across the amphibian-mammalian divide: TRH stimulates wound closure and formation of neo-epidermis in organ-cultured human skin, accompanied by increased keratinocyte proliferation and wound healing-associated differentiation (cytokeratin 6 expression). Thus, TRH represents a novel, clinically relevant neuroendocrine wound repair promoter that deserves further exploration. These complementary frog and human skin ex vivo assays encourage a comparative biology approach in future wound healing research so as to facilitate the rapid identification and preclinical testing of novel, evolutionarily conserved, and clinically relevant wound healing promoters. PMID:24023889

Spinal cord thyrotropin releasing hormone receptors of morphine tolerant-dependent and abstinent rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahmani, N.H.; Gulati, A.; Bhargava, H.N. (Univ. of Illinois, Chicago (USA))

1990-07-01

The effect of chronic administration of morphine and its withdrawal on the binding of 3H-(3-MeHis2)thyrotropin releasing hormone (3H-MeTRH) to membranes of the spinal cord of the rat was determined. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with either 6 placebo or 6 morphine pellets (each containing 75-mg morphine base) during a 7-day period. Two sets of animals were used. In one, the pellets were left intact at the time of sacrificing (tolerant-dependent) and in the other, the pellets were removed 16 hours prior to sacrificing (abstinent rats). In placebo-pellet-implanted rats, 3H-MeTRH bound to the spinal cord membranes at a single high affinity binding site with a Bmax of 21.3 +/- 1.6 fmol/mg protein, and an apparent dissociation constant Kd of 4.7 +/- 0.8 nM. In morphine tolerant-dependent or abstinent rats, the binding constants of 3H-MeTRH to spinal cord membranes were unaffected. Previous studies from this laboratory indicate that TRH can inhibit morphine tolerance-dependence and abstinence processes without modifying brain TRH receptors. Together with the present results, it appears that the inhibitory effect of TRH on morphine tolerance-dependence and abstinence is probably not mediated via central TRH receptors but may be due to its interaction with other neurotransmitter systems.

Reproducibility of whole-body {sup 131}I scan and serum thyrotropin and stimulated thyroglobulin values in patients studied twice after injection of recombinant human thyrotropin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niederkohr, Ryan D.; McDougall, I.R. [Stanford University Medical Center, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Stanford, CA (United States)

2007-03-15

Recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) is used to increase radioiodine uptake during imaging of thyroid cancer, obviating the need to render the patient hypothyroid. We assessed the reproducibility of radioiodine uptake, serum thyrotropin (TSH), and stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels after rhTSH administration. A retrospective review was performed of patients at Stanford who underwent whole-body {sup 131}I scanning for surveillance of thyroid cancer twice after thyroidectomy and {sup 131}I ablation, with rhTSH prior to each scan. Forty-eight hour radioiodine uptake, peak serum TSH, and stimulated serum Tg levels for each study were recorded. Paired t tests and correlation analysis were used to assess interexamination repeatability. Twenty-three patients underwent two scintiscans with rhTSH, for a total of 46 exams. There was no significant difference between percent uptake at 48 h in the paired exams (p=0.40). Serum TSH level was measured in 45 of 46 exams; TSH exceeded 50 mIU/l in all cases, and there was no significant difference between paired TSH levels (p=0.93). All patients had stimulated serum Tg levels measured, with no significant difference between paired Tg levels (p=0.40); after excluding one patient whose Tg changed from 15.8 ng/ml to undetectable between scans without interval treatment, the p value rose to 0.95. There was a strong correlation among paired uptake values (r=0.85, p<0.0001), peak serum TSH (r=0.69, p=0.0003), and stimulated Tg levels (r=0.81, p<0.0001). No discordant scan interpretations were reported. Forty-eight hour radioiodine uptake, peak serum TSH, and stimulated serum Tg levels after administration of rhTSH are repeatable between studies, demonstrating reproducibility of diagnostic results without rendering patients hypothyroid. (orig.)

Elucidating the vacuum structure of the Aoki phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azcoiti, Vicente; Di Carlo, Giuseppe; Follana, Eduardo; Vaquero, Alejandro

2013-01-01

In this paper, we discuss the vacuum structure of QCD with two flavors of Wilson fermions, inside the Aoki phase. We provide numerical evidence, coming from HMC simulations in 4 4 , 6 4 and 8 4 lattices, supporting a vacuum structure for this model at strong coupling more complex than the one assumed in the standard wisdom, with new vacua where the expectation value of iψ ¯ γ 5 ψ can take non-zero values, and which can not be connected with the Aoki vacua by parity–flavor symmetry transformations

Brain receptors for thyrotropin releasing hormone in morphine tolerant-dependent rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhargava, H.N.; Das, S.

1986-03-01

The effect of chronic treatment of rats with morphine and its subsequent withdrawal on the brain receptors for thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) labeled with /sup 3/H-(3MeHis/sup 2/)TRH (MeTRH). Male Sprague Dawley rats were implanted with 4 morphine pellets (each containing 75 mg morphine base) during a 3-day period. Placebo pellet implanted rats served as controls. Both tolerance to and dependence on morphine developed as a result of this procedure. For characterization of brain TRH receptors, the animals were sacrificed 72 h after the implantation of first pellet. In another set of animals the pellets were removed and were sacrificed 24 h later. The binding of /sup 3/H-MeTRH to membranes prepared from brain without the cerebellum was determined. /sup 3/H-MeTRH bound to brain membranes prepared from placebo pellet implanted rats at a single high affinity site with a B/sub max/ value of 33.50 +/- 0.97 fmol/mg protein and a K/sub d/ of 5.18 +/- 0.21 nM. Implantation of morphine pellets did not alter the B/sub max/ value of /sup 3/H-MeTRH but decreased the K/sub d/ value significantly. Abrupt or naloxone precipitated withdrawal of morphine did not alter B/sub max/ or the K/sub d/ values. The binding of /sup 3/H-MeTRH to brain areas was also determined. The results suggest that the development of tolerance to morphine is associated with enhanced sensitivity of brain TRH receptors, however abrupt withdrawal of morphine does not change the characteristics of brain TRH receptors.

Gene expression of thyrotropin- and corticotrophin-releasing hormones is regulated by environmental salinity in the euryhaline teleost Sparus aurata.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Jarabo, Ignacio; Martos-Sitcha, J A; Barragán-Méndez, C; Martínez-Rodríguez, G; Mancera, J M; Arjona, F J

2018-04-01

In euryhaline teleosts, the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid and hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal axes (HPT and HPI, respectively) are regulated in response to environmental stimuli such as salinity changes. However, the molecular players participating in this physiological process in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), a species of high value for aquaculture, are still not identified and/or fully characterized in terms of gene expression regulation. In this sense, this study identifies and isolates the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (trh) mRNA sequence from S. aurata, encoding prepro-Trh, the putative factor initiating the HPT cascade. In addition, the regulation of trh expression and of key brain genes in the HPI axis, i.e., corticotrophin-releasing hormone (crh) and corticotrophin-releasing hormone-binding protein (crhbp), was studied when the osmoregulatory status of S. aurata was challenged by exposure to different salinities. The deduced amino acid structure of trh showed 65-81% identity with its teleostean orthologs. Analysis of the tissue distribution of gene expression showed that trh mRNA is, though ubiquitously expressed, mainly found in brain. Subsequently, regulation of gene expression of trh, crh, and crhbp was characterized in fish acclimated to 5-, 15-, 40-, and 55-ppt salinities. In this regard, the brain gene expression pattern of trh mRNA was similar to that found for the crh gene, showing an upregulation of gene expression in seabream acclimated to the highest salinity tested. Conversely, crhbp did not change in any of the groups tested. Our results suggest that Trh and Crh play an important role in the acclimation of S. aurata to hypersaline environments.

Isolation, structural elucidation, MS profiling, and evaluation of triglyceride accumulation inhibitory effects of benzophenone C-glucosides from leaves of Mangifera indica L.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yi; Han, Lifeng; Ge, Dandan; Liu, Xuefeng; Liu, Erwei; Wu, Chunhua; Gao, Xiumei; Wang, Tao

2013-02-27

Seventy percent ethanol-water extract from the leaves of Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae) was found to show an inhibitory effect on triglyceride (TG) accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. From the active fraction, six new benzophenone C-glucosides, foliamangiferosides A(3) (1), A(4) (2), C(4) (3), C(5) (4), C(6) (5), and C(7) (6) together with 11 known benzophenone C-glucosides (7-17) were obtained. In this paper, isolation, structure elucidation (1-6), and MS fragment cleavage pathways of all 17 isolates were studied. 1-6 showed inhibitory effects on TG and free fatty acid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells at 10 μM.

Effect of primary particle size on spray formation, morphology and internal structure of alumina granules and elucidation of flowability and compaction behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pandu Ramavath

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Three different alumina powders with varying particle sizes were subjected to spray drying under identical conditions and effect of particle size on heat transfer efficiency and mechanism of formation of granules was elucidated. Morphology, internal structure and size distribution of granules were studied and evaluated with respect to their flow behaviour. In order to estimate the elastic interaction of granules, the granules were subjected to compaction under progressive loading followed by periodic unloading. Compaction curves were plotted and compressibility factor was estimated and correlated with predicted and measured green density values.

Structure elucidation and in vitro cytotoxicity of ochratoxin α amide, a new degradation product of ochratoxin A.

Science.gov (United States)

Bittner, Andrea; Cramer, Benedikt; Harrer, Henning; Humpf, Hans-Ulrich

2015-05-01

The mycotoxin ochratoxin A is a secondary metabolite occurring in a wide range of commodities. During the exposure of ochratoxin A to white and blue light, a cleavage between the carbon atom C-14 and the nitrogen atom was described. As a reaction product, the new compound ochratoxin α amide has been proposed based on mass spectrometry (MS) experiments. In the following study, we observed that this compound is also formed at high temperatures such as used for example during coffee roasting and therefore represents a further thermal ochratoxin A degradation product. To confirm the structure of ochratoxin α amide, the compound was prepared in large scale and complete structure elucidation via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and MS was performed. Additionally, first studies on the toxicity of ochratoxin α amide were performed using immortalized human kidney epithelial (IHKE) cells, a cell line known to be sensitive against ochratoxin A with an IC50 value of 0.5 μM. Using this system, ochratoxin α amide revealed no cytotoxicity up to concentrations of 50 μM. Thus, these results propose that the thermal degradation of ochratoxin A to ochratoxin α amide might be a detoxification process. Finally, we present a sample preparation and a HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method for the analysis of ochratoxin α amide in extrudates and checked its formation during the extrusion of artificially contaminated wheat grits at 150 and 180 °C, whereas no ochratoxin α amide was detectable under these conditions.

Thyrotropin - Binding Inhibiting Immunoglobulin (TBII) in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Dae Sung; Ahn, Byeong Cheol; Sohn, Sang Kyun; Lee, Jae Tae; Lee, Kyu Bo

1996-01-01

In order to evaluate the significance of thyrotropin-binding inhibiting immunoglobulin (TBII) in the patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases, the authors investigated 402 cases of Graves' disease and 230 cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis comparing 30 cases of normal healthy adult at Kyung Pook University Hospital from February 1993 to August 1994. The TBII was tested by radioimmunoassay and assessed on the dynamic change with the disease course, thyroid functional parameters, and other thyroid autoantibodies; antithyroglobulin antibody(ATAb) and antimicrosomal antibody(AMAb) including thyroglobulin. The serum level of TBII was 40.82 ± 21.651(mean ± SD)% in hyperthyroid Graves' disease and 8.89 ± 14.522% in Hashimoto's thyroiditis and both were significant different from normal control of which was 3.21 ± 2.571%. The frequency of abnormally increased TBII level was 92.2% in hyperthyroid Craves' disease, 46.7% in euthyroid Graves' disease or remission state of hyperthyroidism, and 23.9% in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The serum levels of increased TBII in Graves' disease were positively correlated with RAIU, serum T3, T4, and FT4, but negatively correlated with serum TSH(each p<0.001). The TBII in Graves' disease had significant positive correlation with serum thyroglobulin and AMAb, but no significant correlation with ATAb. In the Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the serum levels of TBII were positively correlated with RAIU, serum T3, TSH and AMAb, but not significantly correlated with serum T4, FT4, thyroglobulin and ATAb. Therefore serum level of TBII seemed to be a useful mean of assessing the degree of hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease and correlated well with thyroidal stimulation. The serum level of TBII in Hashimoto's thyroiditis is meaningful for the degree of both functional abnormality reflecting either hyperfunction or hypofunction and the immunologic abnormality.

Determination of congenital hypothyroidism in neonatal by immunoradiometric assays of thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contreras P, E.

1998-01-01

The congenital hypothyroidism is the endocrine illness more frequent of the childhood, it is the one that produce the devastating effects on the growth and the development. It represent one of the few causes of mental delay that it could be prevented if it is diagnosed and treaty on time. The infants affected with congenital hypothyroidism, could be detected for the apparent presence of some physical abnormalities, which comes the first days of the birth. Unfortunately, in the moment in which the classical manifestations are made present, it is very probable that cerebral damage already exists, for what the affected children should be tried before the three months of life administering them thyroid hormones. In Mexico the incidence of the congenital hypothyroidism is of one for each 1612 births for that is very important in the area of Public Health diagnose in early form and with certainty the congenital hypothyroidism. The TSH hormone or thyrotropin is formed in the hypophysis and intervenes in the synthesis of the thyroid hormones (T3, T4) when the concentration of these is adapted, the formation of TSH is inhibited, for that upon lacking the thyroid hormones the concentration of TSH in the blood is high. For these reasons the shot metabolic state of a newborn could be determined, quantifying the TSH in blood obtained by heel stab of the neonatal, or in coming blood from the umbilical cord, after 48 hours of being born. However because the TSH is similar to other hormones and is in extremely low concentrations, it is made necessary appeal analytic techniques of very sensitive and specific laboratory like the Immunoradiometric assays (Irma) in order to could determine the levels of this hormone in the blood. (Author)

Thyrotropin - Binding Inhibiting Immunoglobulin (TBII) in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Dae Sung; Ahn, Byeong Cheol; Sohn, Sang Kyun; Lee, Jae Tae; Lee, Kyu Bo [Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Taegu (Korea, Republic of)

1996-03-15

In order to evaluate the significance of thyrotropin-binding inhibiting immunoglobulin (TBII) in the patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases, the authors investigated 402 cases of Graves' disease and 230 cases of Hashimoto's thyroiditis comparing 30 cases of normal healthy adult at Kyung Pook University Hospital from February 1993 to August 1994. The TBII was tested by radioimmunoassay and assessed on the dynamic change with the disease course, thyroid functional parameters, and other thyroid autoantibodies; antithyroglobulin antibody(ATAb) and antimicrosomal antibody(AMAb) including thyroglobulin. The serum level of TBII was 40.82 +- 21.651(mean +- SD)% in hyperthyroid Graves' disease and 8.89 +- 14.522% in Hashimoto's thyroiditis and both were significant different from normal control of which was 3.21 +- 2.571%. The frequency of abnormally increased TBII level was 92.2% in hyperthyroid Craves' disease, 46.7% in euthyroid Graves' disease or remission state of hyperthyroidism, and 23.9% in Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The serum levels of increased TBII in Graves' disease were positively correlated with RAIU, serum T3, T4, and FT4, but negatively correlated with serum TSH(each p<0.001). The TBII in Graves' disease had significant positive correlation with serum thyroglobulin and AMAb, but no significant correlation with ATAb. In the Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the serum levels of TBII were positively correlated with RAIU, serum T3, TSH and AMAb, but not significantly correlated with serum T4, FT4, thyroglobulin and ATAb. Therefore serum level of TBII seemed to be a useful mean of assessing the degree of hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease and correlated well with thyroidal stimulation. The serum level of TBII in Hashimoto's thyroiditis is meaningful for the degree of both functional abnormality reflecting either hyperfunction or hypofunction and the immunologic abnormality.

Elucidation of the biosynthesis of meroterpenoid yanuthone D in Aspergillus Niger

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Dorte Koefoed; Petersen, Lene Maj; Klitgaard, Andreas

2012-01-01

We have elucidated the mode of biosynthesis of the meroterpenoid compound Yanuthone D in Aspergillus niger. We have successfully deleted all cluster genes, and identified a number of intermediates. Structures of the intermediates were solved using a combined approach comprising classical 1D- and 2D......-NMR and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In this study we have confirmed that Yanuthone D is of meroterpenoid origin, and we have identified an unexpected precursor, which has not before been reported for Aspergillus niger....

Effects of long-term intraperitoneal injection of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on aging- and obesity-related changes in body weight, lipid metabolism, and thyroid functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierpaoli, Walter; Lesnikov, Vladimir A

2011-02-01

Adult adipose mice, high fat diet-fed (HFD) mice, anterior hypothalamus-lesioned obese mice and genetically obese mice, were injected daily with thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). The treatment provoked a mobilization of triglycerides in the peripheral blood, a decrease of leptin and a loss of body weight. The weight loss did not depend on TSH-mediated stimulation of thyroid hormone secretion with consequent metabolic hyperthyroidism. The levels of blood cholesterol were not affected or even suppressed. Even at a very high dosage TRH did not affect the obesity of genetically obese mice. The ubiquitous tripeptide TRH may thus constitute a key element in the hormone-controlled regulation of body weight and fat stores in the adult and aging body.

Functional diagnostics for thyrotropin hormone receptor autoantibodies: bioassays prevail over binding assays.

Science.gov (United States)

Lytton, Simon David; Schluter, Anke; Banga, Paul J

2018-06-01

Autoantibodies to the thyrotropin hormone receptor (TSH-R) are directly responsible for the hyperthyroidism in Graves' disease and mediate orbital manifestations in Graves' orbitopathy (otherwise known as thyroid eye disease). These autoantibodies are heterogeneous in their function and collectively referred to as TRAbs. Measurement of TRAbs is clinically important for diagnosis of a variety of conditions and different commercial assays with high sensitivity and specificity are available for diagnostic purposes. This review provides overwhelming evidence that the TRAbs detected in binding assays by mainly the automated electrochemical luminescence immunoassays (ECLIA) do not distinguish TRAbs that stimulate the TSH-R (called TSIs or TSAbs) and TRAbs that just inhibit the binding of TSH without stimulating the TSH-R (called TBAbs). However, TSAbs and TBAbs have divergent pathogenic roles, and depending which fraction predominates cause different clinical symptoms and engender different therapeutic regimen. Therefore, diagnostic distinction of TSAbs and TBAbs is of paramount clinical importance. To date, only bioassays such as the Mc4 TSH-R bioassay (Thyretain TM , Quidel) and the Bridge assay (Immulite 2000, Siemens) can measure TSAbs, with only the former being able to distinguish between TSAbs and TBAbs. On this note, it is strongly recommended to only use the term TSI or TSAb when reporting the results of bioassays, whereas the results of automated TRAb binding assays should be reported as TRAbs (of undetermined functional significance). This review aims to present a technical and analytical account of leading commercial diagnostic methods of anti-TSH-R antibodies, a metaanalysis of their clinical performance and a perspective for the use of cell based TSH-R bioassays in the clinical diagnostics of Graves' disease.

Thyrotropin-Blocking Autoantibodies and Thyroid-Stimulating Autoantibodies: Potential Mechanisms Involved in the Pendulum Swinging from Hypothyroidism to Hyperthyroidism or Vice Versa

Science.gov (United States)

Rapoport, Basil

2013-01-01

Background Thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) antibodies that stimulate the thyroid (TSAb) cause Graves' hyperthyroidism and TSHR antibodies which block thyrotropin action (TBAb) are occasionally responsible for hypothyroidism. Unusual patients switch from TSAb to TBAb (or vice versa) with concomitant thyroid function changes. We have examined case reports to obtain insight into the basis for “switching.” Summary TBAb to TSAb switching occurs in patients treated with levothyroxine (LT4); the reverse switch (TBAb to TSAb) occurs after anti-thyroid drug therapy; TSAb/TBAb alterations may occur during pregnancy and are well recognized in transient neonatal thyroid dysfunction. Factors that may impact the shift include: (i) LT4 treatment, usually associated with decreased thyroid autoantibodies, in unusual patients induces or enhances thyroid autoantibody levels; (ii) antithyroid drug treatment decreases thyroid autoantibody levels; (iii) hyperthyroidism can polarize antigen-presenting cells, leading to impaired development of regulatory T cells, thereby compromising control of autoimmunity; (iv) immune-suppression/hemodilution reduces thyroid autoantibodies during pregnancy and rebounds postpartum; (v) maternally transferred IgG transiently impacts thyroid function in neonates until metabolized; (vi) a Graves' disease model involving immunizing TSHR-knockout mice with mouse TSHR-adenovirus and transfer of TSHR antibody-secreting splenocytes to athymic mice demonstrates the TSAb to TBAb shift, paralleling the outcome of maternally transferred “term limited” TSHR antibodies in neonates. Finally, perhaps most important, as illustrated by dilution analyses of patients' sera in vitro, TSHR antibody concentrations and affinities play a critical role in switching TSAb and TBAb functional activities in vivo. Conclusions Switching between TBAb and TSAb (or vice versa) occurs in unusual patients after LT4 therapy for hypothyroidism or anti-thyroid drug treatment for Graves

Established Stem Cell Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Is Applicable in the Evaluation of the Efficacy of Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone Analog.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohuchi, Kazuki; Funato, Michinori; Kato, Zenichiro; Seki, Junko; Kawase, Chizuru; Tamai, Yuya; Ono, Yoko; Nagahara, Yuki; Noda, Yasuhiro; Kameyama, Tsubasa; Ando, Shiori; Tsuruma, Kazuhiro; Shimazawa, Masamitsu; Hara, Hideaki; Kaneko, Hideo

2016-02-01

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder characterized by the degeneration of spinal motor neurons. This disease is mainly caused by mutation or deletion of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. Currently, no effective treatment is available, and only symptomatic treatment can be provided. Our purpose in the present study was to establish a human SMA-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (SMA-iPSC) disease model and assay a therapeutic drug in preparation for the development of a novel treatment of SMA. We generated iPSCs from the skin fibroblasts of a patient with SMA and confirmed that they were pluripotent and undifferentiated. The neural differentiation of SMA-iPSCs shortened the dendrite and axon length and increased the apoptosis of the spinal motor neurons. In addition, we found activated astrocytes in differentiated SMA-iPSCs. Using this model, we confirmed that treatment with the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) analog, 5-oxo-l-prolyl-l-histidyl-l-prolinamide, which had marginal effects in clinical trials, increases the SMN protein level. This increase was mediated through the transcriptional activation of the SMN2 gene and inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3β activity. Finally, the TRH analog treatment resulted in dendrite and axon development of spinal motor neurons in differentiated SMA-iPSCs. These results suggest that this human in vitro disease model stimulates SMA pathology and reveal the potential efficacy of TRH analog treatment for SMA. Therefore, we can screen novel therapeutic drugs such as TRH for SMA easily and effectively using the human SMA-iPSC model. Significance: Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) has recently been reported to produce the greatest increase in survival motor neuron protein levels by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β; however, motor neurons lack PDGF receptors. A human in vitro spinal muscular atrophy-derived induced pluripotent stem cell model was

The study on mutations of the gene of extracellular domain of human thyrotropin receptor in the patients with thyroid diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zuncheng; Fang Peihua; Tan Jian; Lu Mei

2002-01-01

Objective: To define the sequence of the gene of extracellular domain of normal human thyrotropin receptor (hTSHR) and to investigate the mutations of the gene in the patients with thyroid diseases. Methods: Total RNAs were extracted from the thyroid tissue of four normal controls, twelve Graves' disease, four Hashimoto's thyroiditis and eleven nodular goiter patients. The extracellular domain of hTSHR genes were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequenced with CEQ 2000 Genetic Analyzer. Results: The normal controls and the patients with thyroid disease had the same gene sequences of the extracellular domain of hTSHR. No mutation was found, except a silent base exchange in exon 7 (Asn187) at 661 base, in which 20 samples were 'T', 11 samples were 'C', without changes of amino acid of the TSHR. Conclusions: This study has not revealed mutations in the gene of extracellular domain of hTSHR. Other molecular pathogenetic mechanisms may be involved and more research is demanded

Thyrotropin receptor antibody activities significantly correlate with the outcome of radioiodine ( sup 131 I) therapy for hyperthyroid Graves' disease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaise, Kazuro; Kaise, Nobuko; Yoshida, Katsumi; Fukazawa, Hiroshi; Mori, Koki; Yamamoto, Makiko; Sakurada, Toshiro; Saito, Shintaro; Yoshinaga, Kaoru (Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). School of Medicine)

1991-08-01

The outcome of {sup 131}I therapy for 109 patients with Graves' disease was analysed according to pretreatment laboratory data including thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) activities. Forty-five percent of patients became euthyroid, and 13% of patients became hypothyroid within one year after {sup 131}I therapy. Forty-two percent of patients remained hyperthyroid one year after {sup 131}I therapy. Pretreatment values for serum T{sub 4}, T{sub 3}, and the estimated weight of the thyroid were significantly higher in the hyperthyroid group. The mean for the TRAb index of the hyperthyroid group was significantly higher than that of the euthyroid group. Life table analysis revealed a significant effect of the TRAb index on the rate of hyperthyroidism after 3 months or later. These results appear to suggest that the TRAb index is one of the factors which influence the outcome of {sup 131}I therapy for Graves' disease. (author).

Thyrotropin Receptor and Membrane Interactions in FRTL-5 Thyroid Cell Strain in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Albi, E.; Ambesi-Impiombato, F. S.; Peverini, M.; Damaskopoulou, E.; Fontanini, E.; Lazzarini, R.; Curcio, F.; Perrella, G.

2011-01-01

The aim of this work was to analyze the possible alteration of thyrotropin (TSH) receptors in microgravity, which could explain the absence of thyroid cell proliferation in the space environment. Several forms of the TSH receptor are localized on the plasma membrane associated with caveolae and lipid rafts. The TSH regulates the fluidity of the cell membrane and the presence of its receptors in microdomains that are rich in sphingomyelin and cholesterol. TSH also stimulates cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation and cell proliferation. Reported here are the results of an experiment in which the FRTL-5 thyroid cell line was exposed to microgravity during the Texus-44 mission (launched February 7, 2008, from Kiruna, Sweden). When the parabolic flight brought the sounding rocket to an altitude of 264km, the culture media were injected with or without TSH in the different samples, and weightlessness prevailed on board for 6 minutes and 19 seconds. Control experiments were performed, in parallel, in an onboard 1g centrifuge and on the ground in Kiruna laboratory. Cell morphology and function were analyzed. Results show that in microgravity conditions the cells do not respond to TSH treatment and present an irregular shape with condensed chromatin, a modification of the cell membrane with shedding of the TSH receptor in the culture medium, and an increase of sphingomyelin-synthase and Bax proteins. It is possible that real microgravity induces a rearrangement of specific sections of the cell membrane, which act as platforms for molecular receptors, thus influencing thyroid cell function in astronauts during space missions.

Metabolomic elucidation of pork from different crossbreds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertram, Hanne Christine S.; Straadt, Ida Krestine; Clausen, Morten Rahr

, and correlations between individual metabolites and sensory attributes were elucidated. A high content of carnosine in the meat was associated with a low value of many sensory attributes related to meat flavor/taste. Surprsingly, IMP and inosine were in general not correlated with sensory attributes related...... to meat flavor/taste. Water-holding capacity and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of the meat were determined to elucidate the correlations between individual metabolites and these two parameters that are of importance for the technological meat quality. In conclusion, the present study reveals...

Purification and partial elucidation of the structure of an antioxidant carbohydrate biopolymer from the probiotic bacterium Bacillus coagulans RK-02.

Science.gov (United States)

Kodali, Vidya P; Perali, Ramu S; Sen, R

2011-08-26

An exopolysaccharide (EPS) was isolated from Bacillus coagulans RK-02 and purified by size exclusion chromatography. The purified, homogeneous EPS had an average molecular weight of ∼3 × 10⁴ Da by comparison with FITC-labeled dextran standards. In vivo evaluations showed that, like other reported polysaccharides, this EPS displayed significant antioxidant activity. FTIR spectroscopy analysis showed the presence of hydroxy, carboxy, and α-glycosidic linkages and a mannose residue. GC analysis indicated that the EPS was a heteropolymer composed of glucose, mannose, galactose, glucosamine, and fucose as monomeric constituent units. Partial elucidation of the structure of the carbohydrate biopolymer based on GC-MS and NMR analysis showed the presence of two unique sets of tetrasaccharide repeating units that have 1→3 and 1→6 glycosidic linkages. This is also the first report of a Gram-positive bacterial polysaccharide with both fucose as a sugar monomer and 1→3 and 1→6 glycosidic linkages in the molecular backbone.

64 kDa protein is a candidate for a thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor in prolactin-producing rat pituitary tumor cells (GH4C1 cells)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, M.; Hogset, A.; Alestrom, P.; Gautvik, K.M.

1988-01-01

A thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) binding protein of 64 kDa has been identified by covalently crosslinking [ 3 H]TRH to GH4C1 cells by ultraviolet illumination. The crosslinkage of [ 3 H]TRH is UV-dose dependent and is inhibited by an excess of unlabeled TRH. A 64 kDa protein is also detected on immunoblots using an antiserum raised against GH4C1 cell surface epitopes. In a closely related cell line (GH12C1) which does not bind [ 3 H]TRH, the 64 kDa protein cannot be demonstrated by [ 3 H]TRH crosslinking nor by immunoblotting. These findings indicate that the 64 kDa protein is a candidate for a TRH-receptor protein in GH4C1 cells

Quality characteristics of chemicals for the radioimmunoassay of thyroxine and thyrotropin.; Caracteristicas de calidad de reactivos para el radioinmunoanalisis de tiroxina y tirotropina.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verdeja I, C E

1994-12-31

Radioimmunoassay is a form of saturation analysis in which the test material competes with labelled antigen for a limited amount of antibody, the amount of label displaced being a measure of the antigen in the test sample. In this country, the kits for Radioimmunoassay (RIA) are imported, and this increase the cost of it. Because this lack of production, the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) has developed RIA`s kits for the thyroxine (T{sub 4}), Thyrotropin (TSH) and Triyodotironine (T{sub 3}) hormones. This work presents the conclusions of the test recommended by the WHO. The quality test were: recuperation, cross reactions, basic parameters, intra and inter assay variations, sensibility and others. The results show that the RIA`s kits of the ININ have a good behavior and can be use in the clinical laboratory. (Author).

Transcription initiation complex structures elucidate DNA opening.

Science.gov (United States)

Plaschka, C; Hantsche, M; Dienemann, C; Burzinski, C; Plitzko, J; Cramer, P

2016-05-19

Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes begins with assembly of the RNA polymerase (Pol) II initiation complex and promoter DNA opening. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of yeast initiation complexes containing closed and open DNA at resolutions of 8.8 Å and 3.6 Å, respectively. DNA is positioned and retained over the Pol II cleft by a network of interactions between the TATA-box-binding protein TBP and transcription factors TFIIA, TFIIB, TFIIE, and TFIIF. DNA opening occurs around the tip of the Pol II clamp and the TFIIE 'extended winged helix' domain, and can occur in the absence of TFIIH. Loading of the DNA template strand into the active centre may be facilitated by movements of obstructing protein elements triggered by allosteric binding of the TFIIE 'E-ribbon' domain. The results suggest a unified model for transcription initiation with a key event, the trapping of open promoter DNA by extended protein-protein and protein-DNA contacts.

Isolation and structure elucidation of a neuropeptide from three ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1993-03-03

Mar 3, 1993 ... determination of the primary structure by pulsed·liquid phase sequencing employing Edman chemistry .... in cockroaches and haemo1ymph lipids in locusts (Glide ..... 15 ()()() described species), and higher classification is still.

Structural elucidation of a water-insoluble glucan produced by a glucosyltransferase of Streptococcus mutans 6715 by chemical and instrumental analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, H.M.

1985-01-01

The structure of a water-insoluble polysaccharide produced by the glucosyltransferase of Streptococcus mutans 6715 has been elucidated through the use of periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, dextranase digestion, concanavalin A binding studies, methylation followed by methanolysis, reductive cleavage and gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic analysis, carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance and fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy. These studies show that the water-insoluble glucan is comprised of 67% α-(1-3) linkages in a contiguous backbone with the remaining 33% existing as α-(1-6) linkages possibly as linear residues extending from α-(1-6) branch points. 14% of the residues exist as branch points and the ratio of linear extending α-(1-3) residues in the backbone to linear extending α-(1-6) residues in the side chain was found to be 5:2. Dextranase digestion and Smith degradation both gave rise to a high molecular weight fraction which is only α-(1-3) linked. In addition, the average length of the side chains was shown to not exceed 3 residues

Structure of E. coli 16S RNA elucidated by psoralen crosslinking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, J.F.; Hearst, J.E.

1983-01-01

E. coli 16S RNA in solution was photoreacted with hydroxymethyltrimethylpsoralen and long wave ultraviolet light. Positions of crosslinks were determined to high resolution by partially digesting the RNA with T 1 RNase, separating the crosslinked fragments by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, reversing the crosslink, and sequencing the separated fragments. This method yielded the locations of crosslinks to +/-15 nucleotides. Even finer placement has been made on the basis of our knowledge of psoralen reactivity. Thirteen unique crosslinks were mapped. Seven crosslinks confirmed regions of secondary structure which had been predicted in published phylogenetic models, three crosslinks discriminated between phylogenetic models, and three proved the existence of new structures. The new structures were all long-range interactions which appear to be in dynamic equilibrium with local secondary structure. Because this technique yields direct information about the secondary structure of large RNAs, it should prove invaluable in studying the structure of other RNAs of all sizes

A comparative study of the clinical features of thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-jing FAN

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Objective To comparatively analyze the clinical characteristics of thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas (TSH-omas. Methods The clinical features, laboratory variables, imaging and pathological results were retrospectively compared and analyzed of 26 cases with TSH-omas admitted in Chinese PLA General Hospital from Feb. 2006 to Oct. 2016 and 20 cases with TSH-omas admitted in Shanghai Huashan Hospital from Apr. 2006 to Apr. 2013. Results The female ratio was slightly higher in patients of Chinese PLA General Hospital than in Huashan Hospital [(57.7%(15/26 vs. 45.0%(9/20], while the mean age was similar [39.5±14.1(18-67 years vs. 40.0±14.5(17-74 years]. The most common chief complaint was thyrotoxicosis [73.1%(19/26 vs. 55.0%(11/20], and mild-to-moderate goiter was the most common symptom. The mean serum TSH levels in Chinese PLA General Hospital and in Huashan Hospital were 5.06(2.97-6.27mU/L and 6.16(3.76-10.91mU/L respectively, and patients with normal serum TSH levels were more common in Chinese PLA General Hospital than in Huashan Hospital [57.7%(15/26 vs. 40.0%(8/20]. Microadenoma was more common in Chinese PLA General Hospital than in Huashan Hospital [34.62%(9/26 vs. 20.0%(4/20], while macroadenoma was more common in Huashan Hospital than in Chinese PLA General Hospital [20.0%(4/20 vs. 7.7%(2/26]. Microadenoma was more common in female patients of the both groups [66.7%(6/9 vs. 75.0%(3/4], while macroadenoma was all found in male patients. Tumor invasion of surrounding tissue and structure was often found in macroadenoma. In terms of octreotide inhibition test, the range of 24h TSH inhibition rate was roughly the same in the two groups (37.4%-91.8% and 46.5%-94.1%, respectively. Mixed adenoma was rare among all the pathologically confirmed cases. In Chinese PLA General Hospitals, TSH immunoreactive negative neoplastic cells were found in 3 of 8 cases, and octreotide scanning showed negative in 2 of 12 cases. Conclusions Patients with

Product ion isotopologue pattern: A tool to improve the reliability of elemental composition elucidations of unknown compounds in complex matrices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufmann, A; Walker, S; Mol, G

2016-04-15

Elucidation of the elemental compositions of unknown compounds (e.g., in metabolomics) generally relies on the availability of accurate masses and isotopic ratios. This study focuses on the information provided by the abundance ratio within a product ion pair (monoisotopic versus the first isotopic peak) when isolating and fragmenting the first isotopic ion (first isotopic mass spectrum) of the precursor. This process relies on the capability of the quadrupole within the Q Orbitrap instrument to isolate a very narrow mass window. Selecting only the first isotopic peak (first isotopic mass spectrum) leads to the observation of a unique product ion pair. The lighter ion within such an isotopologue pair is monoisotopic, while the heavier ion contains a single carbon isotope. The observed abundance ratio is governed by the percentage of carbon atoms lost during the fragmentation and can be described by a hypergeometric distribution. The observed carbon isotopologue abundance ratio (product ion isotopologue pattern) gives reliable information regarding the percentage of carbon atoms lost in the fragmentation process. It therefore facilitates the elucidation of the involved precursor and product ions. Unlike conventional isotopic abundances, the product ion isotopologue pattern is hardly affected by isobaric interferences. Furthermore, the appearance of these pairs greatly aids in cleaning up a 'matrix-contaminated' product ion spectrum. The product ion isotopologue pattern is a valuable tool for structural elucidation. It increases confidence in results and permits structural elucidations for heavier ions. This tool is also very useful in elucidating the elemental composition of product ions. Such information is highly valued in the field of multi-residue analysis, where the accurate mass of product ions is required for the confirmation process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In silico functional elucidation of uncharacterized proteins of Chlamydia abortus strain LLG.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gagandeep; Sharma, Dixit; Singh, Vikram; Rani, Jyoti; Marotta, Francessco; Kumar, Manoj; Mal, Gorakh; Singh, Birbal

2017-03-01

This study reports structural modeling, molecular dynamics profiling of hypothetical proteins in Chlamydia abortus genome database. The hypothetical protein sequences were extracted from C. abortus LLG Genome Database for functional elucidation using in silico methods. Fifty-one proteins with their roles in defense, binding and transporting other biomolecules were unraveled. Forty-five proteins were found to be nonhomologous to proteins present in hosts infected by C. abortus . Of these, 31 proteins were related to virulence. The structural modeling of two proteins, first, WP_006344020.1 (phosphorylase) and second, WP_006344325.1 (chlamydial protease/proteasome-like activity factor) were accomplished. The conserved active sites necessary for the catalytic function were analyzed. The finally concluded proteins are envisioned as possible targets for developing drugs to curtail chlamydial infections, however, and should be validated by molecular biological methods.

Expert systems for structure elucidation of organic molecules by spectral methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elyashberg, Mikhail E

1999-01-01

The state-of-the-art of the investigations aimed at creating expert systems for establishing the structure of organic molecules from IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra is analysed. Computer methods used for identification of molecular fragments, generation of their structure and spectra prediction are considered. Principles of the creation of modern expert systems and general strategy of solving structural problems are discussed. The bibliography includes 174 references.

Ravynic acid, an antibiotic polyeneyne tetramic acid from Penicillium sp. elucidated through synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Myrtle, J D; Beekman, A M; Barrow, R A

2016-09-21

A new antibiotic natural product, ravynic acid, has been isolated from a Penicillium sp. of fungus, collected from Ravensbourne National Park. The 3-acylpolyenyne tetramic acid structure was definitively elucidated via synthesis. Highlights of the synthetic method include the heat induced formation of the 3-acylphosphorane tetramic acid and a selective Wittig cross-coupling to efficiently prepare the natural compounds carbon skeleton. The natural compound was shown to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus down to concentrations of 2.5 µg mL(-1).

Structure elucidation of chromogen resulting from jaffe's reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, I.; Tariq, M.I.; Siddiqui, H.L.

2009-01-01

Jaffe's reaction is a reaction of creatinine with alkaline picric acid resulting in red chromogen. This color is being used widely for the estimation of creatinine in biological fluids without knowing the exact structure of the chromogen. The red species is isolated and its UV/Visible, /sup 1/H- and /sup 13/C- NMR studies are carried out. It is found that the red species is not a pure compound but a mixture of stereoisomers. Moreover, the red species in water reflects the same UV /Visible spectra as given by the reaction of creatinine with alkaline picrate in aqueous media The red species is a 2:3 molar Meisenheimer a-complex of creatinine-picric acid. (author)

High-pressure synthesis and single-crystal structure elucidation of the indium oxide-borate In{sub 4}O{sub 2}B{sub 2}O{sub 7}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ortner, Teresa S.; Vitzthum, Daniela; Heymann, Gunter; Huppertz, Hubert [Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, Centre of Chemistry and Biomedicine (CCB), Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck (Austria)

2017-12-29

The indium oxide-borate In{sub 4}O{sub 2}B{sub 2}O{sub 7} was synthesized under high-pressure/high-temperature conditions at 12.5 GPa/1420 K using a Walker-type multianvil apparatus. Single-crystal X-ray structure elucidation showed edge-sharing OIn{sub 4} tetrahedra and B{sub 2}O{sub 7} units building up the oxide-borate. It crystallizes with Z = 8 in the monoclinic space group P2{sub 1}/n (no. 14) with a = 1016.54(3), b = 964.55(3), c = 1382.66(4) pm, and β = 109.7(1) . The compound was also characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Chronic exposure to hypergravity affects thyrotropin-releasing hormone levels in rat brainstem and cerebellum

Science.gov (United States)

Daunton, N. G.; Tang, F.; Corcoran, M. L.; Fox, R. A.; Man, S. Y.

1998-01-01

In studies to determine the neurochemical mechanisms underlying adaptation to altered gravity we have investigated changes in neuropeptide levels in brainstem, cerebellum, hypothalamus, striatum, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex by radioimmunoassay. Fourteen days of hypergravity (hyperG) exposure resulted in significant increases in thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) content of brainstem and cerebellum, but no changes in levels of other neuropeptides (beta-endorphin, cholecystokinin, met-enkephalin, somatostatin, and substance P) examined in these areas were found, nor were TRH levels significantly changed in any other brain regions investigated. The increase in TRH in brainstem and cerebellum was not seen in animals exposed only to the rotational component of centrifugation, suggesting that this increase was elicited by the alteration in the gravitational environment. The only other neuropeptide affected by chronic hyperG exposure was met-enkephalin, which was significantly decreased in the cerebral cortex. However, this alteration in met-enkephalin was found in both hyperG and rotation control animals and thus may be due to the rotational rather than the hyperG component of centrifugation. Thus it does not appear as if there is a generalized neuropeptide response to chronic hyperG following 2 weeks of exposure. Rather, there is an increase only of TRH and that occurs only in areas of the brain known to be heavily involved with vestibular inputs and motor control (both voluntary and autonomic). These results suggest that TRH may play a role in adaptation to altered gravity as it does in adaptation to altered vestibular input following labyrinthectomy, and in cerebellar and vestibular control of locomotion, as seen in studies of ataxia.

Novel germline mutation (Leu512Met) in the thyrotropin receptor gene (TSHR) leading to sporadic non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Stephanie A; Moon, Jennifer E; Dauber, Andrew; Smith, Jessica R

2017-03-01

Primary nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism is a rare cause of neonatal hyperthyroidism. This results from an activating mutation in the thyrotropin-receptor (TSHR). It can be inherited in an autosomal dominant manner or occur sporadically as a de novo mutation. Affected individuals display a wide phenotype from severe neonatal to mild subclinical hyperthyroidism. We describe a 6-month-old boy with a de novo mutation in the TSHR gene who presented with accelerated growth, enlarging head circumference, tremor and thyrotoxicosis. Genomic DNA from the patient's and parents' peripheral blood leukocytes was extracted. Exons 9 and 10 of the TSHR gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Sequencing exon 10 of the TSHR gene revealed a novel heterozygous missense mutation substituting cytosine to adenine at nucleotide position 1534 in the patient's peripheral blood leukocytes. This leads to a substitution of leucine to methionine at amino acid position 512. The mutation was absent in the parents. In silico modeling by PolyPhen-2 and SIFT predicted the mutation to be deleterious. The p.Leu512Met mutation (c.1534C>A) of the TSHR gene has not been previously described in germline or somatic mutations. This case presentation highlights the possibility of mild thyrotoxicosis in affected individuals and contributes to the understanding of sporadic non-autoimmune primary hyperthyroidism.

Structural elucidation of novel bioactive compound (2-chloro-1-(2-chlorocyclopropyl-2-(4-nitrophenylethanone from basidiomycetous fungus Lentinus squarrosulus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Usha N.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available While screening for bioactive compounds from macrofungi of Western Ghats of Karnataka, Lentinus squarrosulus a member of polyporaceae was collected and mycelium of the fungus was obtained on potato dextrose agar medium and cultured in a liquid medium (containing 2% glucose, 1% peptone and 2% yeast extract for 20 days on a rotary shaker for the production of secondary metabolites. The cell free culture fluid (100ml was subjected to solvent extraction with dichloromethane (100ml and the extract was evaluated for antimicrobial activity by agar diffusion method and cytotoxic activity of the extract was also determined by MTT and SRB assay on MCF7 cell line. The results revealed that the dichloromethane extract was inhibitory against Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilus and also fungi such as Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani and Trichoderma harzianum. The extract showed 13-27% cell inhibition at 63-1000 µg/ml concentration by MTT and SRB assays on MCF7 cell line. The structural elucidation of the compound by spectroscopic NMR (1H and C13, IR and mass spectrometric analysis confirmed the presence of 2-chloro-1-(2-chlorocyclopropyl-2-(4-nitrophenylethanone responsible for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity.

[Thyrotropin reference ranges during pregnancy in the province of Huelva, Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega Carpio, A; Vázquez Rico, I; Castaño López, M A; Duarte González, L; Montilla Álvaro, M; Ruiz Reina, A

2017-11-18

The correct diagnosis of hypothyroidism during pregnancy requires knowledge of the local trimester-specific thyrotropin (TSH) reference ranges. When these are not available, the guidelines recommend upper limits of 2.5, 3.0, and 3.0μU/ml for the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd trimesters, respectively. The aim is to establish the reference range for our local population. A population-based observational study was performed on healthy pregnant women from 11 healthcare centres in the province of Huelva. Women were recruited consecutively during 2016 through the pregnancy process. Women were excluded who had a history of thyroid or medical disease, a poor obstetric history, multiple pregnancy, thyroid autoimmunity, and extreme TSH values (10μU/ml), as well as women treated with levothyroxine for thyroid dysfunction. The study included a total of 186 pregnant women, with a mean age of 30.7 years (95% CI: 29.8-31.6) and a body mass index (BMI) of 23.6 (95% CI: 23.2-24.0). Most of them had the first laboratory tests performed before week 11 of pregnancy. Valid subjects for analysis were 145, 105, and 67 pregnant women in the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd trimesters, respectively, after excluding those due to abortion (18.9%), autoimmunity (6.5%), hypo/hyperthyroidism (2.2%), and levothyroxine treatment during the 2 nd /3 rd trimester (18.6%). The 97.5% TSH percentile for the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd trimester was 4.68, 4.83, and 4.57μU/ml, respectively. Thyroid dysfunction was identified in 80 women (55.2%), 33 of whom received treatment with Levothyroxine (22.7%). With the new criteria, thyroid dysfunction prevalence would be reduced to 6.2%, and the need for treatment to 4.1%. The reference range for TSH in our population differs from that proposed by the guidelines. Unnecessary treatment was being given to 18.6% of pregnant women. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors. Localization by light microscopic autoradiography in rat brain using [3H][3-Me-His2]TRH as the radioligand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mantyh, P.W.; Hunt, S.P.

1985-01-01

Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) is a putative neurotransmitter in both the central and peripheral nervous system. In the present report, we have used autoradiography coupled with densitometric analysis of tritium-sensitive film to investigate the distribution of [ 3 H][3-Me-His2]TRH [( 3 H]MeTRH)-binding sizes in the rat brain. Previous pharmacological reports have established that many of these [ 3 H]MeTRH-binding sites have a structure-activity profile consistent with being a physiological TRH receptor. A high level of TRH receptors were observed in the accessory olfactory bulb, lateral nucleus of the amygdala, dentate gyrus, and entorhinal cortex. Moderate levels of TRH receptors were observed in the rhinal cortex, hypothalamus, superior colliculus, several brainstem motor nuclei, and lamina I of the spinal trigeminal nucleus pars candalis, while low concentrations of receptors are present in the cerebral cortex, striatum and ventral horn of the spinal cord. Very low levels of receptors were observed in the globus pallidus and in most nuclei of the dorsal thalamus. Comparisons of the distribution of TRH receptors to TRH-immunoreactive content indicates that, while in some areas of the brain there is a rough correlation between levels of TRH peptide and its receptor, in most brain areas there is little obvious correlation between the two. While such a discrepancy has been observed for other peptides and their receptors, the extensive distribution of TRH receptors in the central nervous system does provide an explanation for the variety of behavioral effects observed when TRH is infused into the central nervous system

Thyrotropin Suppressive Therapy for Low-Risk Small Thyroid Cancer: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Suyeon; Kim, Won Gu; Han, Minkyu; Jeon, Min Ji; Kwon, Hyemi; Kim, Mijin; Sung, Tae-Yon; Kim, Tae Yong; Kim, Won Bae; Hong, Suck Joon; Shong, Young Kee

2017-09-01

Thyrotropin (TSH) suppression has improved the clinical outcomes of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, the efficacy of TSH suppressive therapy (TST) is unclear in patients with low-risk DTC. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of TST and optimal TSH levels of patients with low-risk DTC. This retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study included DTC patients (n = 446) who underwent lobectomy from 2002 to 2008 with or without TST (TST group and No-TST group). Disease-free survival (DFS) and dynamic risk stratification were compared between both groups using serum TSH levels. Approximately 74% of TST patients and 11% of No-TST patients had suppressed serum TSH levels (<2 mIU/L). The median follow-up period was 8.6 years. During follow-up, the disease recurred in 10 (2.7%) patients, with no significant difference in DFS between the groups (p = 0.63). The proportion of patients with excellent treatment response was similar between the TST (65.2%) and No-TST (64.4%) groups. Incomplete biochemical response was noted in 17.2% of the TST group patients and 9.4% of the No-TST group patients. No significant difference was observed in the DFS between both groups by comparing serum TSH level (p = 0.57). TST did not improve clinical outcomes, and serum TSH levels were not associated with recurrence in patients with low-risk small DTC. No clinical benefits were shown for TSH suppression in low-risk patients who underwent lobectomy. Thus, levothyroxine is not necessary for patients without evidence of hypothyroidism.

Two novel mutations in the sixth transmembrane segment of the thyrotropin receptor gene causing hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules.

Science.gov (United States)

Gozu, Hulya; Avsar, Melike; Bircan, Rifat; Claus, Maren; Sahin, Serap; Sezgin, Ozlem; Deyneli, Oguzhan; Paschke, Ralf; Cirakoglu, Beyazit; Akalin, Sema

2005-04-01

Autonomously functioning thyroid nodules (AFTNs) can present as hyperfunctioning adenomas or toxic multinodular goiters. In the last decade, a large number of activating mutations have been identified in the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) gene in autonomously functioning thyroid nodules. Most have been situated close to, or within the sixth transmembrane segment and third intracellular loop of the TSHR where the receptor interacts with the Gs protein. In this study we describe two novel mutations in the sixth transmembrane segment of the TSHR causing hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules. Genomic DNAs were isolated from four hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules, normal tissues and peripheral leukocytes of two patients with toxic multinodular goiter. After amplifying the related regions, TSHR and G(s)alpha genes were analyzed by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. The precise localization of the mutations was identified by automatic DNA sequence analysis. Functional studies were done by site-directed mutagenesis and transfection of a mutant construct into COS-7 cells. We identified two novel TSHR mutations in two hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules: Phe631Val in the first patient and Iso630Met in the second patient. Both mutant receptors display an increase in constitutive stimulation of basal cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels compared to the wild-type receptor. This confirms that these mutant receptors cause hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules.

Anti- and pro-lipase activity of selected medicinal, herbal and aquatic plants, and structure elucidation of an anti-lipase compound.

Science.gov (United States)

Ado, Muhammad Abubakar; Abas, Faridah; Mohammed, Abdulkarim Sabo; Ghazali, Hasanah M

2013-11-26

Plants that help in slowing down the digestion of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in the pancreas and small intestine of humans play an important role in the reduction of obesity. On the other hand, there may be plants or plant parts that stimulate intestinal lipolytic activity, thus contributing to greater TAG assimilation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aqueous methanolic extracts of ninety eight (98) medicinal, herbal and aquatic plant materials from Malaysia for their effect on porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) activity and to identify the structure of an anti-lipase compound from one of the sources. The degree of inhibition was also quantified as relative to orlistat activity against PPL (orlistat equivalents). Results revealed that while 19.4% of the extracts were found to have anti-lipase activity ≥80%, 12% were actually found to promote PPL activity. Twenty two percent (22.4%) exhibited moderate inhibition (41%-80%) and 2% were neutral toward PPL activity. The ripe fruit of Averrhoa carambola and the leaves of Archidendron jiringa (Jack) I.C Nielsen L. (jering), Cynometra cauliflora (nam-nam) and Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd (candle nut/buah keras) had the highest (100%) anti-lipase activity and are equivalent to 0.11 µg orlistat/mL. Plants that stimulated lipase activity included Pimpinella anisum L. (aniseed/jintan manis), activating the enzyme by 186.5%. Kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of C. cauliflora leaves and found to be an active lipase inhibitor. The structure was elucidated using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR analyses.

Using FT-IR Spectroscopy to Elucidate the Structures of Ablative Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Wendy

2011-01-01

The composition and structure of an ablative polymer has a multifaceted influence on its thermal, mechanical and ablative properties. Understanding the molecular level information is critical to the optimization of material performance because it helps to establish correlations with the macroscopic properties of the material, the so-called structure-property relationship. Moreover, accurate information of molecular structures is also essential to predict the thermal decomposition pathways as well as to identify decomposition species that are fundamentally important to modeling work. In this presentation, I will describe the use of infrared transmission spectroscopy (FT-IR) as a convenient tool to aid the discovery and development of thermal protection system materials.

Anti- and Pro-Lipase Activity of Selected Medicinal, Herbal and Aquatic Plants, and Structure Elucidation of an Anti-Lipase Compound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Abubakar Ado

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Plants that help in slowing down the digestion of triacylglycerols (TAGs in the pancreas and small intestine of humans play an important role in the reduction of obesity. On the other hand, there may be plants or plant parts that stimulate intestinal lipolytic activity, thus contributing to greater TAG assimilation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aqueous methanolic extracts of ninety eight (98 medicinal, herbal and aquatic plant materials from Malaysia for their effect on porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL activity and to identify the structure of an anti-lipase compound from one of the sources. The degree of inhibition was also quantified as relative to orlistat activity against PPL (orlistat equivalents. Results revealed that while 19.4% of the extracts were found to have anti-lipase activity ≥80%, 12% were actually found to promote PPL activity. Twenty two percent (22.4% exhibited moderate inhibition (41%–80% and 2% were neutral toward PPL activity. The ripe fruit of Averrhoa carambola and the leaves of Archidendron jiringa (Jack I.C Nielsen L. (jering, Cynometra cauliflora (nam-nam and Aleurites moluccana (L. Willd (candle nut/buah keras had the highest (100% anti-lipase activity and are equivalent to 0.11 µg orlistat/mL. Plants that stimulated lipase activity included Pimpinella anisum L. (aniseed/jintan manis, activating the enzyme by 186.5%. Kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of C. cauliflora leaves and found to be an active lipase inhibitor. The structure was elucidated using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR analyses.

Integrating structural and mutagenesis data to elucidate GPCR ligand binding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk, Christian; Harpsøe, Kasper; Hauser, Alexander S

2016-01-01

is reported that exhibit activity through multiple receptors, binding in allosteric sites, and bias towards different intracellular signalling pathways. Furthermore, a wealth of single point mutants has accumulated in literature and public databases. Integrating these structural and mutagenesis data will help...

Elucidation of polymer induced DNA condensation. Visualisation at the single molecular level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Alison Laura

2002-01-01

DNA condensation is a phenomenon that has stimulated interest from biologists, physicists, and polymer chemists for decades. At the cellular level, this process is key to the packing of DNA within the nuclear envelope, and the exposure of the appropriate nucleic acid sequences in order for transcription to occur, and proteins to be produced. The advent of gene therapy has led to an invigoration of this subject area. In order to successfully deliver to, and transfect target cells, many delivery vectors condense the therapeutic DNA into small compact particles. The nature of these particles have a considerable influence on the ultimate expression of the administered nucleic acid material. In addition, at its most fundamental, DNA itself is a classical polyelectrolyte polymer, the behaviour of which has applicability to other charged polymeric systems. There are two core interwound themes to this investigation; the visualisation of DNA condensate morphology at ultra-resolution, and the elucidation of the mechanisms of formation of these structures. The technique of atomic force microscopy is central to these investigations. Methodologies have been devised allowing the visualisation of the tertiary structure and conformational behaviour of individual DNA condensates in near in situ conditions. Condensation of the nucleic acid material has been induced by two classes of cation; small molecular cations, like those found within eukaryotic cells, and a range of cationic polymers. The cationic polymers investigated all have considerable potential as gene delivery vectors. The resultant DNA condensates have been assessed and contrasted in terms of their tertiary morphology, lateral dimensions, and structural volume. Assessments have also been made regarding the influence of the molecular architecture of the cationic moiety and the nature of the input nucleic acid material on the resultant DNA condensates. With regard to the elucidation of the mechanisms of DNA condensate

Synthesis and NMR elucidation of novel pentacycloundecane ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

NICO

SYNTHESIS AND NMR ELUCIDATION OF NOVEL. PENTACYCLOUNDECANE DERIVED PEPTIDES. Rajshekhar Karpoormath, a. Oluseye K. Onajole, a. Thavendran Govender, b. Glenn E. M. Maguire, a and Hendrik G. Kruger a* a. School of Chemistry, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa b. School of ...

The utility of peripheral thyrotropin receptor mRNA in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Aliyev, Altay; Soundararajan, Saranya; Bucak, Emre; Gupta, Manjula; Hatipoglu, Betul; Nasr, Christian; Siperstein, Allan; Berber, Eren

2015-10-01

Our aim was to analyze the utility of peripheral thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) messenger RNA (mRNA) in predicting and detecting the recurrence of differentiated thyroid cancer. Peripheral blood TSHR-mRNA was obtained in 103 patients before and after total thyroidectomy. An analysis was performed to correlate peripheral blood TSHR-mRNA concentration with oncologic outcomes. Tumor types were papillary (n = 92), follicular (n = 9) and Hürthle cell (n = 2) cancer. Preoperative TSHR-mRNA was ≥1.02 ng/μg in 85% (88/103). On follow-up (median 48 months), 10 patients (10 %) developed recurrence. Recurrence rate in patients with a preoperative TSHR-mRNA ≥ 1.02 ng/μg was 11% versus 0% in those with a lesser concentration. TSHR-mRNA correctly diagnosed 7 (70%) of 10 recurrences. Of 19 patients with positive thyroglobulin (Tg) antibodies, TSHR-mRNA confirmed disease-free status in 12 (63%) and recurrence in 1 (5%). For Tg, TSHR-mRNA and whole-body radioactive iodine scan, sensitivity was 70%, 70%, and 75%; specificity 94%, 76%, 97%; PPV 54%, 24%, and 67%; and NPV 97%, 96%, and 98%, respectively, in detecting recurrent disease. This study shows that patients with preoperative TSHR-mRNA ≥1.02 ng/μg may be at a greater risk for recurrence compared with those with a lesser concentration. In the presence of Tg antibodies, TSHR-mRNA accurately predicted disease status in 68% of patients. Its overall performance in detecting recurrence was similar to Tg and whole-body radioactive iodine scan, albeit with lower specificity and PPV. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The negative correlation between thyrotropin receptor-stimulating antibodies and bone mineral density in postmenopausal patients with Graves' disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Amashukeli, Medea; Korinteli, Maka; Zerekidze, Tamar; Jikurauli, Nino; Shanava, Shorena; Tsagareli, Marina; Giorgadze, Elen

2013-06-01

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disorder with various clinical manifestations. Thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs), the circulating autoantibodies specific to Graves' disease, are the cause for hyperthyroidism, the most prevalent abnormality. Hyperthyroidism leads to increased bone turnover and a negative bone balance. The aims of the present study were to determine the relationship between TRAbs and bone mineral density (BMD), to assess the extent of BMD change in patients with Graves' disease, and to determine the impact of conservative and surgical therapy on BMD. Fifty female postmenopausal patients with Graves' disease were chosen for this study. Twenty women had a recent diagnosis of Graves' disease, 30 women presented with a compensated disease state after either conservative or surgical treatment, and 30 healthy postmenopausal women served as controls. Thyroid parameters were measured, and BMD values were obtained by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan.Femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD and T-scores were significantly lower in newly diagnosed patients compared with the control group, but a difference was not observed between the treated and control groups. Statistical analysis revealed a strong and significant negative correlation between femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD and TRAb values.Both surgical and conservative therapies are effective for restoring BMD in postmenopausal patients with Graves' disease, and the increased level of TRAb can be a useful marker of bone density impairment.

PET Study in a Patient with Spinocerebellar Degeneration before and after Long-Term Administration of Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Tanji

1996-01-01

Full Text Available We studied the chronic effect of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH in a patient with spinocerebellar degeneration by measuring cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRG1c using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG and positron emission tomography (PET. A 56-year-old female, who had suffered from progressive ataxia for 2 years, was treated by intravenous administration of 2 mg TRH for 3 weeks, and CMRG1c of the brain was measured before and after treatment. CMRG1c was markedly decreased in the cerebellum and there was no significant difference before and after the treatment, i.e. mean CMRG1c values were 4.92 and 4.90 mg/100 g/min, and the ratios of the cerebellum versus the frontal cortex were 0.50 and 0.51, respectively. The degree of disequilibrium of her body examined with stabilography became better by the 19th day and further improved by the 26th day after the start of TRH treatment. Based on the present study we conclude that long-term administration of TRH did not improve CMRG1c in the cerebellum, but evidently improved the sway of gravity center by stabilography. We speculate that the chronic effect of TRH was not necessarily due to an improvement of cerebellar function, because TRH receptors are widely distributed throughout the central nervous system.

Novel germline mutation (Leu512Met) in the thyrotropin receptor gene (TSHR) leading to sporadic non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Stephanie A.; Moon, Jennifer E.; Dauber, Andrew; Smith, Jessica R.

2018-01-01

Background Primary nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism is a rare cause of neonatal hyperthyroidism. This results from an activating mutation in the thyrotropin-receptor (TSHR). It can be inherited in an autosomal dominant manner or occur sporadically as a de novo mutation. Affected individuals display a wide phenotype from severe neonatal to mild subclinical hyperthyroidism. We describe a 6-month-old boy with a de novo mutation in the TSHR gene who presented with accelerated growth, enlarging head circumference, tremor and thyrotoxicosis. Methods Genomic DNA from the patient’s and parents’ peripheral blood leukocytes was extracted. Exons 9 and 10 of the TSHR gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Results Sequencing exon 10 of the TSHR gene revealed a novel heterozygous missense mutation substituting cytosine to adenine at nucleotide position 1534 in the patient’s peripheral blood leukocytes. This leads to a substitution of leucine to methionine at amino acid position 512. The mutation was absent in the parents. In silico modeling by PolyPhen-2 and SIFT predicted the mutation to be deleterious. Conclusions The p.Leu512Met mutation (c.l534C>A) of the TSHR gene has not been previously described in germline or somatic mutations. This case presentation highlights the possibility of mild thyrotoxicosis in affected individuals and contributes to the understanding of sporadic non-autoimmune primary hyperthyroidism. PMID:28195550

Endogenous Thyrotropin and Triiodothyronine Concentrations in Individuals with Thyroid Cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Nsouli-Maktabi, Hala; Soldin, Steven J.

2008-01-01

Background Thyroid hormone suppression therapy is associated with decreased recurrence rates and improved survival in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. Recently higher baseline thyrotropin (TSH) levels have been found to be associated with a postoperative diagnosis of differentiated thyroid cancer. Our objective was to confirm whether preoperative TSH levels were higher in patients who were diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer after undergoing thyroidectomy, compared with patients who were found to have benign disease. We also sought to determine whether thyroid hormone levels were lower in the patients with malignancy. Methods The study was a retrospective analysis of a prospective study. The study setting was the General Clinical Research Center of an Academic Medical Center. Participants were 50 euthyroid patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Thyroxine, triiodothyronine (T3), and TSH levels were documented in patients prior to their scheduled thyroidectomy. Following thyroidectomy, patients were divided into those with a histologic diagnosis of either differentiated thyroid cancer or benign disease. Preoperative thyroid profiles were correlated with patients' postoperative diagnoses. Results All patients had a normal serum TSH concentration preoperatively. One-third of the group was diagnosed with thyroid cancer as a result of their thyroidectomy. These patients had a higher serum TSH level (mean = 1.50 mIU/L, CI 1.22–1.78 mIU/L) than patients with benign disease (mean = 1.01 mIU/mL, CI 0.84–1.18 mIU/L). There was a greater risk of having thyroid cancer in patients with TSH levels in the upper three quartiles of TSH values, compared with patients with TSH concentrations in the lowest quartile of TSH values (odd ratio = 8.7, CI 2.2–33.7). Patients with a thyroid cancer diagnosis also had lower T3 concentrations measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (mean = 112.6 ng/dL, CI 103.8–121.4�

Heparin sodium compliance to the new proposed USP monograph: elucidation of a minor structural modification responsible for a process dependent 2.10 ppm NMR signal.

Science.gov (United States)

Mourier, Pierre A J; Guichard, Olivier Y; Herman, Fréderic; Viskov, Christian

2011-01-25

Heparin is a highly sulfated hetero polysaccharide mixture found and extracted from mammalian tissues. It has been widely used as an anticoagulant drug during the past decades. In the new proposed USP heparin monograph, the ¹H NMR acceptance criteria to prevent contamination by over sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), or other persulfated glycosaminoglycans, specifies that no unidentified signals greater than 4% of the mean of signal height of 1 and 2 should be present in the following ranges: 0.10-2.00, 2.10-3.20, and 5.70-8.00 ppm. However, those criteria do not take into account the impact of potential structural modifications generated by the heparin manufacturing processes. In fact, starting from pig mucosa, heparin purification involves oxidizing reagents such as sodium peroxide, potassium permanganate and peracetic acid. In the present work, we demonstrate that potassium permanganate treated heparins show a small but characteristic extra signal at 2.10 ppm. Controlled heparinase I depolymerisation is used to target and excise the oligosaccharide responsible for this extra signal from the polysaccharide backbone. By using orthogonal chromatographic techniques, the fingerprint oligosaccharide was isolated and its structure elucidated. Without the identification of this structural moiety, such purified heparins may have been considered as non-compliant drug substance and not suitable for pharmaceutical use. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elucidating dominant pathways of the nano-particle self-assembly process.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Xiangze; Li, Bin; Qiao, Qin; Zhu, Lizhe; Lu, Zhong-Yuan; Huang, Xuhui

2016-09-14

Self-assembly processes play a key role in the fabrication of functional nano-structures with widespread application in drug delivery and micro-reactors. In addition to the thermodynamics, the kinetics of the self-assembled nano-structures also play an important role in determining the formed structures. However, as the self-assembly process is often highly heterogeneous, systematic elucidation of the dominant kinetic pathways of self-assembly is challenging. Here, based on mass flow, we developed a new method for the construction of kinetic network models and applied it to identify the dominant kinetic pathways for the self-assembly of star-like block copolymers. We found that the dominant pathways are controlled by two competing kinetic parameters: the encounter time Te, characterizing the frequency of collision and the transition time Tt for the aggregate morphology change from rod to sphere. Interestingly, two distinct self-assembly mechanisms, diffusion of an individual copolymer into the aggregate core and membrane closure, both appear at different stages (with different values of Tt) of a single self-assembly process. In particular, the diffusion mechanism dominates the middle-sized semi-vesicle formation stage (with large Tt), while the membrane closure mechanism dominates the large-sized vesicle formation stage (with small Tt). Through the rational design of the hydrophibicity of the copolymer, we successfully tuned the transition time Tt and altered the dominant self-assembly pathways.

Drug: D06120 [KEGG MEDICUS

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available D06120 Drug Thyrotropin alfa (USAN/INN); Thyrotropin alfa (genetical recombination...) (JAN); Thyrotropin human alfa (genetical recombination); Thyrogen (TN) ... Therapeutic category: 7990 A

Macro- and microadenoma of thyrotropin secreting pituitary tumors--two clinical cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Hubalewska-Hola, Alicja; Fröss, Katarzyna; Kostecka-Matyja, Marta; Sowa-Staszczak, Anna; Szybiński, Zbigniew; Huszno, Bohdan; Ptak, Marzena

2003-01-01

Thyrotropin secreting adenoma, thyrotropinoma (TSH-oma), is a rare cause of hyperthyroidism--called secondary hyperthyroidism. The hormonal profile in pituitary hyperthyroidism is characterized by a nonsuppressed TSH in the presence of high levels of free thyroid hormones (fT4, fT3) reflecting an abnormal feedback. The diagnosis of TSH-oma is often made at the stage of macroadenoma because of the aggressive nature of the tumor and due to the fact that patients are mistakenly treated for more common primary hyperthyroidism for a long time. Two cases of TSH-secreting adenoma were detected in Chair and Department of Endocrinology, Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow for the last twenty years. Case 1: 49 year old woman was admitted to the Clinic of Endocrinology in 1999 with recurring hyperthyroidism treated with surgical thyroid ablation in 1992 and thyreostatics for the previous nine years. On admission to the Clinic her thyroid panel presented with elevated free hormone levels (mainly fT3-14.8 pmol/l) and not suppressed TSH-0.7 mIU/l suggesting central hyperthyroidism. MRI scan of the pituitary gland revealed microadenoma of 5 mm in diameter. She was qualified to transsphenoidal resection of the tumor. Histopathology revealed acidophilic adenoma with positive TSH staining. Thyroid hormones 8 days after the operation suggested full effectiveness of the surgery. Case 2: 65 year old man treated for one year with L-Thyroxin because of elevated TSH (60 mIU/l) and then with thyreostatics for elevated fT3 and fT4 was admitted to the Clinic of Endocrinology in 2000 with suspected thyrotropinoma. On admission to the Clinic thyroid panel suggested hyperthyroidism with fT4-40 pmol/l, FT3-11.2 pmol/l without suppression of TSH 2.2 mIU/l. MRI scan revealed a pituitary tumor 20 x 18 x 20 mm, compressing the optic chiasm. He was administered octreotide as a preparation for the operation. The patient underwent trans-sphenoidal resection of the adenoma

Synthesis and NMR Elucidation of Novel Pentacycloundecane ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Herein we report the synthesis and NMR elucidation of five novel pentacycloundecane (PCU)-derived short peptides as potential HIV protease inhibitors. 1H and 13C spectral analysis show major overlapping of methine resonance of the PCU 'cage' thereby making it extremely difficult to assign the NMR signals. Attachment ...

Structural studies on some capsular antigens from Escherichia Coli and Klebsiella

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, A N

1987-12-01

A review of the structural studies of bacterial capsular polysaccharides (K-antigens) from Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Klebsiella is presented. There is a general trend in the structural elucidation of polysaccharides towards the analysis of higher oligosaccharides. This trend has been facilitated by advances in modern instrumental techniques for the analysis of oligosaccharides, for example, high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The structural elucidations of the capsular polysaccharides from E. Coli K37 and K55, and Klebsiella K39 are reported. This elucidation of K-antigens provides an insight into the response of mammalian immune systems to antigenic stimuli. The usefulness of bacteriophage degradation as a technique for the structural elucidation of polysaccharides containing repeating unit structures is emphasized. The bacteriophage degradation of E. coli K55 polysaccharide illustrates that bacteriophage-borne enzymes may be used to degrade chemically related carbohydrate materials. The bacteriophage technique for the structural elucidation of the Klebsiella K39 polysaccharide also illustrates the advantages of this technique where the polysaccharide contains labile glycosidic bonds which are readily cleaved during standard chemical analysis. The enzymatic degradation of polysaccharides allows high yields of specific oligosaccharides to be recovered. The feasibility of analysing small amounts of carbohydrate material has become realistic due to improved instrumental capabilities. At the same time, more detailed information concerning the fine structure of known carbohydrate materials can be elucidated. 421 refs., 56 figs., 16 tabs.

Lanthanide-cyclodextrin complexes as probes for elucidating optical purity by NMR spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenzel, T.J.; Bogyo, M.S.; Lebeau, E.L. (Bates College, Lewiston, ME (United States))

1994-06-01

A multidentate ligand is bonded to cyclodextrins by the reaction of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic dianhydride with 6-mono- and 2-mono(ethylenediamine) derivatives of cyclodextrin. Adding Dy(III) to the cyclodextrin derivatives enhances the enantiomeric resolution in the [sup 1]H NMR spectra of carbionoxamine maleate, doxylamine succinate, pheniramine maleate, propranolol hydrochloride, and tryptophan. The enhancement is more pronounced with the secondary derivative. The Dy(III)-induced shifts can be used to elucidate the geometry of cyclodextrin-substrate inclusion complexes. Lanthanide-induced shifts are reported for complexes of aspartame, tryptophan, propranolol, and 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate with cyclodextrins, and the relative magnitudes of the shifts agree with previously reported structures of the complexes. 37 refs., 9 figs., 5 tabs.

Elucidating Small-Scale Animal-Fluid Interactions in the Deep Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Katija, K.; Sherman, A.; Graves, D.; Kecy, C. D.; Klimov, D.; Robison, B. H.

2016-02-01

The midwater region of the ocean (below the euphotic zone and above the benthos) is one of the largest ecosystems on our planet, yet remains one of the least explored. Little-known marine organisms that inhabit midwater have developed life strategies that contribute to their evolutionary success, and understanding interactions with their physical, fluid environment will shed light on these strategies. Although significant advances in underwater vehicle technologies have improved access to midwater, small-scale, in situ fluid mechanics measurement methods that seek to quantify the interactions that midwater organisms have with their physical environment are lacking. Here we present DeepPIV, an instrumentation package affixed to remotely operated vehicles that quantifies fluid motions from the surface of the ocean down to 4000 m depths. Utilizing ambient suspended particulate, fluid-structure interactions can be evaluated on a range of marine organisms in midwater and on the benthos. As a proof of concept for DeepPIV, we targeted giant larvaceans (Bathochordaeus stygias) in Monterey Bay that create mucus houses to filter food. Once mucus houses become clogged, they are abandoned by the larvacean, and are left to sink to the ocean bottom; in Monterey Bay, sinking mucus houses contribute to nearly a third of the particulate on the ocean bottom. Little is known about the structure of these mucus houses and the function they play in selectively filtering particles. Using DeepPIV, we reveal the complex structures and flows generated within larvacean mucus houses, which are used to ultimately elucidate how these structures function.

The importance of asking "how and why?" in natural product structure elucidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Patrick D; Lawrence, Andrew L

2017-10-18

Covering: up to 2017This review highlights why careful consideration of the biosynthetic origin (the how) and the biological function (the why) of a natural product can be so useful during the determination of its structure. Recent examples of structural reassignments inspired by biosynthetic and functional insights will be presented. This review will demonstrate the importance of viewing the origin, structure and function of a natural product as intertwined threads of a single story, best viewed as a whole rather than as discrete topics.

Elucidation of cladofulvin biosynthesis reveals a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase required for anthraquinone dimerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Scott; Mesarich, Carl H; Saccomanno, Benedetta; Vaisberg, Abraham; De Wit, Pierre J G M; Cox, Russell; Collemare, Jérôme

2016-06-21

Anthraquinones are a large family of secondary metabolites (SMs) that are extensively studied for their diverse biological activities. These activities are determined by functional group decorations and the formation of dimers from anthraquinone monomers. Despite their numerous medicinal qualities, very few anthraquinone biosynthetic pathways have been elucidated so far, including the enzymatic dimerization steps. In this study, we report the elucidation of the biosynthesis of cladofulvin, an asymmetrical homodimer of nataloe-emodin produced by the fungus Cladosporium fulvum A gene cluster of 10 genes controls cladofulvin biosynthesis, which begins with the production of atrochrysone carboxylic acid by the polyketide synthase ClaG and the β-lactamase ClaF. This compound is decarboxylated by ClaH to yield emodin, which is then converted to chrysophanol hydroquinone by the reductase ClaC and the dehydratase ClaB. We show that the predicted cytochrome P450 ClaM catalyzes the dimerization of nataloe-emodin to cladofulvin. Remarkably, such dimerization dramatically increases nataloe-emodin cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines. These findings shed light on the enzymatic mechanisms involved in anthraquinone dimerization. Future characterization of the ClaM enzyme should facilitate engineering the biosynthesis of novel, potent, dimeric anthraquinones and structurally related compound families.

Does Pictorial Elucidation Foster Recollection of Idioms?

Science.gov (United States)

Boers, Frank; Piquer Piriz, Ana Maria; Stengers, Helene; Eyckmans, June

2009-01-01

Experimental evidence suggests that pictorial elucidation helps learners comprehend and remember the meaning of second language (L2) idioms. In this article we address the question whether it also helps retention of the form of idioms, i.e. their precise lexical composition. In a small-scale experiment, the meaning of English idioms was clarified…

Elucidating the mechanisms of nanodiamond-promoted structural disruption of crystallised lipid.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Zak E; Walsh, Tiffany R

2016-10-12

The removal or structural disruption of crystallised lipid is a pivotal but energy-intensive step in a wide range of industrial and biological processes. Strategies to disrupt the structure of crystallised lipid in aqueous solution at lower temperatures are much needed, where nanoparticle-based strategies show enormous promise. Using the aqueous tristearin bilayer as a model for crystallised lipid, we demonstrate that the synergistic use of surfactant and detonation nanodiamonds can depress the onset temperature at which disruption of the crystallised lipid structure occurs. Our simulations reveal the molecular-scale mechanisms by which this disruption takes place, indicating that the nanodiamonds serve a dual purpose. First, the nanodiamonds are predicted to facilitate delivery of surfactant to the lipid/water interface, and second, nanodiamond adsorption acts to roughen the lipid/water interface, enhancing ingress of surfactant into the bilayer. We find the balance of the hydrophobic surface area of the nanodiamond and the nanodiamond surface charge density to be a key determinant of the effectiveness of using nanodiamonds to facilitate lipid disruption. For the nanodiamond size considered here, we identify a moderate surface charge density, that ensures the nanodiamonds are neither too hydrophobic nor too hydrophilic, to be optimal.

Elucidating the structural basis for differing enzyme inhibitor potency by cryo-EM.

Science.gov (United States)

Rawson, Shaun; Bisson, Claudine; Hurdiss, Daniel L; Fazal, Asif; McPhillie, Martin J; Sedelnikova, Svetlana E; Baker, Patrick J; Rice, David W; Muench, Stephen P

2018-02-20

Histidine biosynthesis is an essential process in plants and microorganisms, making it an attractive target for the development of herbicides and antibacterial agents. Imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase (IGPD), a key enzyme within this pathway, has been biochemically characterized in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( Sc_ IGPD) and Arabidopsis thaliana ( At_ IGPD). The plant enzyme, having been the focus of in-depth structural analysis as part of an inhibitor development program, has revealed details about the reaction mechanism of IGPD, whereas the yeast enzyme has proven intractable to crystallography studies. The structure-activity relationship of potent triazole-phosphonate inhibitors of IGPD has been determined in both homologs, revealing that the lead inhibitor (C348) is an order of magnitude more potent against Sc_ IGPD than At_ IGPD; however, the molecular basis of this difference has not been established. Here we have used single-particle electron microscopy (EM) to study structural differences between the At and Sc_ IGPD homologs, which could influence the difference in inhibitor potency. The resulting EM maps at ∼3 Å are sufficient to de novo build the protein structure and identify the inhibitor binding site, which has been validated against the crystal structure of the At_ IGPD/C348 complex. The structure of Sc _IGPD reveals that a 24-amino acid insertion forms an extended loop region on the enzyme surface that lies adjacent to the active site, forming interactions with the substrate/inhibitor binding loop that may influence inhibitor potency. Overall, this study provides insights into the IGPD family and demonstrates the power of using an EM approach to study inhibitor binding. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Structure Elucidation of New Acetylated Saponins, Lessoniosides A, B, C, D, and E, and Non-Acetylated Saponins, Lessoniosides F and G, from the Viscera of the Sea Cucumber Holothuria lessoni

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrami, Yadollah; Franco, Christopher M. M.

2015-01-01

Sea cucumbers produce numerous compounds with a wide range of chemical structural diversity. Among these, saponins are the most diverse and include sulfated, non-sulfated, acetylated and methylated congeners with different aglycone and sugar moieties. In this study, MALDI and ESI tandem mass spectrometry, in the positive ion mode, were used to elucidate the structure of new saponins extracted from the viscera of H. lessoni. Fragmentation of the aglycone provided structural information on the presence of the acetyl group. The presence of the O-acetyl group was confirmed by observing the mass transition of 60 u corresponding to the loss of a molecule of acetic acid. Ion fingerprints from the glycosidic cleavage provided information on the mass of the aglycone (core), and the sequence and type of monosaccharides that constitute the sugar moiety. The tandem mass spectra of the saponin precursor ions [M + Na]+ provided a wealth of detailed structural information on the glycosidic bond cleavages. As a result, and in conjunction with existing literature, we characterized the structure of five new acetylated saponins, Lessoniosides A–E, along with two non-acetylated saponins Lessoniosides F and G at m/z 1477.7, which are promising candidates for future drug development. The presented strategy allows a rapid, reliable and complete analysis of native saponins. PMID:25603350

Effects of metamorphosis and captivity on the in vitro sensitivity of thyroid glands from the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum, to bovine thyrotropin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norman, M.F.; Norris, D.O.

1987-01-01

The sensitivity of thyroid glands from the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum, to bovine thyrotropin (bTSH) was tested in vitro. Thyroids were taken from subjects representing metamorphic stages I (premetamorphic larvae), II (onset of climax), and VII (completion of gill resorption), as well as from captivity control larvae. Exogenous TSH reduced the cumulative uptake of 125 I in vitro by thyroids from stage I larvae after 24 and 48 hr. The capacity of thyroids to release thyroxine (T4) in vitro was used subsequently as a measure of their responsiveness to TSH. Baseline levels of T4 release in vitro were variable but did not differ significantly among developmental stages. A low dose of bTSH (5 X 10(-6) IU/ml) did not increase in vitro T4 release compared with that of controls. A larger dose (5 X 10(-4) IU/ml) caused greater increases in T4 release from thyroids of stage II and VII subjects than from those of controls. This dose produced only a small response by thyroids from captivity-control subjects. The results suggest that the thyroids of Ambystoma increase in their capacity to respond to TSH during the process of metamorphosis

Lateral hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone neurons: distribution and relationship to histochemically defined cell populations in the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Horjales-Araujo, E; Hellysaz, A; Broberger, C

2014-09-26

The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) constitutes a large component of the hypothalamus, and has been implicated in several aspects of motivated behavior. The LHA is of particular relevance to behavioral state control and the maintenance of arousal. Due to the cellular heterogeneity of this region, however, only some subpopulations of LHA cells have been properly anatomically characterized. Here, we have focused on cells expressing thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), a peptide found in the LHA that has been implicated as a promoter of arousal. Immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization were used to map the LHA TRH population in the rat, and cells were observed to form a large ventral cluster that extended throughout almost the entire rostro-caudal axis of the hypothalamus. Almost no examples of coexistence were seen when sections were double-stained for TRH and markers of other LHA populations, including the peptides hypocretin/orexin, melanin-concentrating hormone and neurotensin. In the juxtaparaventricular area, however, a discrete group of TRH-immunoreactive cells were also stained with antisera against enkephalin and urocortin 3. Innervation from the metabolically sensitive hypothalamic arcuate nucleus was investigated by double-staining for peptide markers of the two centrally projecting groups of arcuate neurons, agouti gene-related peptide and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, respectively; both populations of terminals were observed forming close appositions on TRH cells in the LHA. The present study indicates that TRH-expressing cells form a unique population in the LHA that may serve as a link between metabolic signals and the generation of arousal. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cell division factors from crown gall tumors: a strategy for structural elucidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manning, K.S.

1985-01-01

Mitogenic compounds present in extracts of Vinca rosea crown gall tumor tissue were investigated. An isolation procedure, consisting of solvent partitions and reverse phase chromatography, has yielded a group of isomeric compounds which show activity in the tobacco pith bioassay. Initial characterizations revealed an unsaturated base, a sugar residue, a β-linked glucose, an allylic alcohol, and two methyl groups. A two part strategy of mass spectrometry (MS) in combination with proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) was envisioned. The aglycone structure would be determined by MS and the regiochemical relationships among the structural units would be defined by 1 H NMR data. The utility of this approach was demonstrated by the structure assignment of a specific inhibitor of β-D-glucuronidase, 2(S)-carboxy-3(R),4(R),5(S)-trihydroxypiperidine. The relative stereochemistry of the hydroxyls was revealed by 1 H NMR and the absolute configuration was deduced by a comparison of Cotton effects with a model compound. The use of 1 H NMR to establish regiochemical relationships was investigated. Terpenes containing quaternary carbons and methyl groups were excellent models for the regiochemical problems presented by the mitogenic factors. This 1 H NMR spectroscopy has been applied to the cell division factor structure problem. These data, with information from two dimensional nOe experiments, have defined some of the regio-relationships among the structural units present in the isolated factors

The impact of long-term exposure to space environment on adult mammalian organisms: a study on mouse thyroid and testis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Angela Masini

Full Text Available Hormonal changes in humans during spaceflight have been demonstrated but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. To clarify this point thyroid and testis/epididymis, both regulated by anterior pituitary gland, have been analyzed on long-term space-exposed male C57BL/10 mice, either wild type or pleiotrophin transgenic, overexpressing osteoblast stimulating factor-1. Glands were submitted to morphological and functional analysis.In thyroids, volumetric ratios between thyrocytes and colloid were measured. cAMP production in 10(-7M and 10(-8M thyrotropin-treated samples was studied. Thyrotropin receptor and caveolin-1 were quantitized by immunoblotting and localized by immunofluorescence. In space-exposed animals, both basal and thyrotropin-stimulated cAMP production were always higher. Also, the structure of thyroid follicles appeared more organized, while thyrotropin receptor and caveolin-1 were overexpressed. Unlike the control samples, in the space samples thyrotropin receptor and caveolin-1 were both observed at the intracellular junctions, suggesting their interaction in specific cell membrane microdomains.In testes, immunofluorescent reaction for 3β- steroid dehydrogenase was performed and the relative expressions of hormone receptors and interleukin-1β were quantified by RT-PCR. Epididymal sperm number was counted. In space-exposed animals, the presence of 3β and 17β steroid dehydrogenase was reduced. Also, the expression of androgen and follicle stimulating hormone receptors increased while lutenizing hormone receptor levels were not affected. The interleukin 1 β expression was upregulated. The tubular architecture was altered and the sperm cell number was significantly reduced in spaceflight mouse epididymis (approx. -90% vs. laboratory and ground controls, indicating that the space environment may lead to degenerative changes in seminiferous tubules.Space-induced changes of structure and function of thyroid and testis

Structure Elucidation of New Acetylated Saponins, Lessoniosides A, B, C, D, and E, and Non-Acetylated Saponins, Lessoniosides F and G, from the Viscera of the Sea Cucumber Holothuria lessoni

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yadollah Bahrami

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Sea cucumbers produce numerous compounds with a wide range of chemical structural diversity. Among these, saponins are the most diverse and include sulfated, non-sulfated, acetylated and methylated congeners with different aglycone and sugar moieties. In this study, MALDI and ESI tandem mass spectrometry, in the positive ion mode, were used to elucidate the structure of new saponins extracted from the viscera of H. lessoni. Fragmentation of the aglycone provided structural information on the presence of the acetyl group. The presence of the O-acetyl group was confirmed by observing the mass transition of 60 u corresponding to the loss of a molecule of acetic acid. Ion fingerprints from the glycosidic cleavage provided information on the mass of the aglycone (core, and the sequence and type of monosaccharides that constitute the sugar moiety. The tandem mass spectra of the saponin precursor ions [M + Na]+ provided a wealth of detailed structural information on the glycosidic bond cleavages. As a result, and in conjunction with existing literature, we characterized the structure of five new acetylated saponins, Lessoniosides A–E, along with two non-acetylated saponins Lessoniosides F and G at m/z 1477.7, which are promising candidates for future drug development. The presented strategy allows a rapid, reliable and complete analysis of native saponins.

Anti-thyrotropin receptor antibody levels after radioiodine therapy in patients of childbearing age with Graves' disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Mizuho; Tojo, Katsuyoshi; Tajima, Naoko; Yoshimura, Hiroshi; Ito, Koichi

2006-01-01

Following radioiodine therapy for Graves' disease, transient elevation of anti-thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) is observed. Elevation of TRAb causes neonatal hyperthyroidism. Serum TRAb levels before radioiodine therapy, 2 months to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, 2 to 3 years, and 3 to 4 years after radioiodine therapy were retrospectively analyzed in 25 women of childbearing age with Graves' disease. The normal range for TRAb is ≤15%. The one patient with serum TRAb levels <10% before radioiodine therapy did not have TRAb levels ≥50% after radioiodine therapy. However, in patients with serum TRAb levels of 10% to 30% before radioiodine therapy (n=8), TRAb were ≥50% in 75.0% 2 months to 1 year after radioiodine therapy, in 25.0% 1 to 2 years after, and in 37.5% 2 to 4 years after. In patients with serum TRAb levels of 30% to 50% before radioiodine therapy (n=3), TRAb levels were ≥50% in 33.3% 2 months to 1 year after radioiodine therapy and in 0.0% 1 to 4 years after. In patients with serum TRAb levels of 50% to 70% before radioiodine therapy (n=6), TRAb were ≥50% in 83.3% 2 months to 1 year after radioiodine therapy, in 66.6% 1 to 2 years after, and in 33.3% 2 to 4 years after. In patients with serum TRAb levels ≥70% before radioiodine therapy (n=7), TRAb levels were ≥50% in 100% 2 months to 1 year after radioiodine therapy, in 85.7% 1 to 2 years after, in 71.4% 2 to 3 years after, and in 57.1% 3 to 4 years after. Serum TRAb levels are more likely to be ≥50% after radioiodine therapy in patients with high serum TRAb levels before radioiodine therapy. (author)

Seasonal and pulsatile dynamics of thyrotropin and leptin in mares maintained under a constant energy balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Buff, P R; Messer, N T; Cogswell, A M; Johnson, P J; Keisler, D H; Ganjam, V K

2007-11-01

The objective of this study was to determine if seasonal and/or pulsatile variations occur in plasma concentrations of thyrotropin (TSH) and leptin in mares while maintaining a constant energy balance. Blood samples were collected every 20 min during a 24h period in winter and again in summer from six Quarter Horse type mares. Plasma concentrations of TSH, leptin, and T(4) were determined by radioimmunoassay. No differences were observed in body weight between winter (388.1+/-12.5 kg) and summer (406.2+/-12.5 kg; P=0.11). Plasma concentrations of TSH were greater in the summer (2.80+/-0.07 ng/ml) when compared to winter (0.97+/-0.07 ng/ml; P<0.001). Pulse frequency of TSH was not different between winter (6.17+/-0.78 pulses/24h) and summer (5.33+/-0.78 pulses/24h; P=0.49). Mean TSH pulse amplitude, pulse area, and area under the curve were all greater in summer compared to winter (3.11+/-0.10 ng/ml versus 1.20+/-0.10 ng/ml, 24.86+/-0.10 ng/ml min versus 13.46+/-1.90 ng/ml min, 3936+/-72.93 ng/ml versus 1284+/-72.93 ng/ml, respectively; P<0.01). Mean concentrations of leptin were greater in summer (2.48+/-0.17 ng/ml) compared to winter (0.65+/-0.17 ng/ml; P<0.001). Pulsatile secretion patterns of leptin were not observed in any horses during experimentation. Mean concentrations of T(4) were greater in winter (20.3+/-0.4 ng/ml) compared to summer (18.2+/-0.4 ng/ml; P<0.001). These seasonal differences between winter and summer provide evidence of possible seasonal regulation of TSH and leptin.

Thyrotropin regulates IL-6 expression in CD34+ fibrocytes: clear delineation of its cAMP-independent actions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nupur Raychaudhuri

Full Text Available IL-6 plays diverse roles in normal and disease-associated immunity such as that associated with Graves' disease (GD. In that syndrome, the orbit undergoes remodeling during a process known as thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO. Recently, CD34(+ fibrocytes were found to infiltrate the orbit in TAO where they transition into CD34(+ orbital fibroblasts. Surprisingly, fibrocytes display high levels of functional thyrotropin receptor (TSHR, the central antigen in GD. We report here that TSH and the pathogenic anti-TSHR antibodies that drive hyperthyroidism in GD induce IL-6 expression in fibrocytes and orbital fibroblasts. Unlike TSHR signaling in thyroid epithelium, that occurring in fibrocytes is completely independent of adenylate cyclase activation and cAMP generation. Instead TSH activates PDK1 and both AKT/PKB and PKC pathways. Expression and use of PKCβII switches to that of PKCµ as fibrocytes transition to TAO orbital fibroblasts. This shift is imposed by CD34(- orbital fibroblasts but reverts when CD34(+ fibroblasts are isolated. The up-regulation of IL-6 by TSH results from coordinately enhanced IL-6 gene promoter activity and increased IL-6 mRNA stability. TSH-dependent IL-6 expression requires activity at both CREB (-213 to -208 nt and NF-κB (-78 to -62 nt binding sites. These results provide novel insights into the molecular action of TSH and signaling downstream for TSHR in non-thyroid cells. Fibrocytes neither express adenylate cyclase nor generate cAMP and thus these findings are free from any influence of cAMP-related signaling. They identify potential therapeutic targets for TAO.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesia is associated with increased thyrotropin releasing hormone in the dorsal striatum of hemi-parkinsonian rats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ippolita Cantuti-Castelvetri

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Dyskinesias associated with involuntary movements and painful muscle contractions are a common and severe complication of standard levodopa (L-DOPA, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine therapy for Parkinson's disease. Pathologic neuroplasticity leading to hyper-responsive dopamine receptor signaling in the sensorimotor striatum is thought to underlie this currently untreatable condition.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR was employed to evaluate the molecular changes associated with L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease. With this technique, we determined that thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH was greatly increased in the dopamine-depleted striatum of hemi-parkinsonian rats that developed abnormal movements in response to L-DOPA therapy, relative to the levels measured in the contralateral non-dopamine-depleted striatum, and in the striatum of non-dyskinetic control rats. ProTRH immunostaining suggested that TRH peptide levels were almost absent in the dopamine-depleted striatum of control rats that did not develop dyskinesias, but in the dyskinetic rats, proTRH immunostaining was dramatically up-regulated in the striatum, particularly in the sensorimotor striatum. This up-regulation of TRH peptide affected striatal medium spiny neurons of both the direct and indirect pathways, as well as neurons in striosomes.TRH is not known to be a key striatal neuromodulator, but intrastriatal injection of TRH in experimental animals can induce abnormal movements, apparently through increasing dopamine release. Our finding of a dramatic and selective up-regulation of TRH expression in the sensorimotor striatum of dyskinetic rat models suggests a TRH-mediated regulatory mechanism that may underlie the pathologic neuroplasticity driving dopamine hyper-responsivity in Parkinson's disease.

Investigations on the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on the function and structure of the thyroid gland of adult and perinatal rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, W.T. Jr.

1979-01-01

Recent evidence indicates that PCB may cause alterations in thyroid structure and thyroxine metabolism. The administration of PCB to rats results in an enlargement of the thyroid gland, lowered serum thyroxine concentration, and increased conjugation and excretion of thyroxine-glucuronide in the bile. These findings suggest that some of the metabolic alterations produced by intoxication with PCB may be related to alterations in thyroid structure and function. Therefore, the objectives of this investigation were: (a) to evaluate the acute, subchronic and delayed effects of PCB on the structure and function of the thyroid gland in adult Osborne-Mendel rats; (b) to compare the changes produced by PCB with those produced by iodide excess and deficiency, and thyrotropin and thyroxine administration; (c) to investigate the fine structural changes and hormonal alterations in thyroid glands of perinatal rats exposed in utero and by the milk to PCB; and (d) to determine the alterations in the biliary excretion of 125 I-thyroxine and fine structural changes in thyroid glands of the glucuronyltransferase deficient homozygous Gunn rat exposed to PCB

Bioactive Structure of Membrane Lipids and Natural Products Elucidated by a Chemistry-Based Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Murata, Michio; Sugiyama, Shigeru; Matsuoka, Shigeru; Matsumori, Nobuaki

2015-08-01

Determining the bioactive structure of membrane lipids is a new concept, which aims to examine the functions of lipids with respect to their three-dimensional structures. As lipids are dynamic by nature, their "structure" does not refer solely to a static picture but also to the local and global motions of the lipid molecules. We consider that interactions with lipids, which are completely defined by their structures, are controlled by the chemical, functional, and conformational matching between lipids and between lipid and protein. In this review, we describe recent advances in understanding the bioactive structures of membrane lipids bound to proteins and related molecules, including some of our recent results. By examining recent works on lipid-raft-related molecules, lipid-protein interactions, and membrane-active natural products, we discuss current perspectives on membrane structural biology. © 2015 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structure elucidation of the diagnostic product ion at m/z 97 derived from androst-4-en-3-one-based steroids by ESI-CID and IRMPD spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Thevis, Mario; Beuck, Simon; Höppner, Sebastian; Thomas, Andreas; Held, Joseph; Schäfer, Mathias; Oomens, Jos; Schänzer, Wilhelm

2012-03-01

Structure elucidation of steroids by mass spectrometry has been of great importance to various analytical arenas and numerous studies were conducted to provide evidence for the composition and origin of (tandem) mass spectrometry-derived product ions used to characterize and identify steroidal substances. The common product ion at m/z 97 generated from androst-4-ene-3-one analogs has been subject of various studies, including stable isotope-labeling and (high resolution/high accuracy) tandem mass spectrometry, but its gas-phase structure has never been confirmed. Using high resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometry and low resolution tandem mass spectrometry, density functional theory (DFT) calculation, and infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy employing a free electron laser, the structure of m/z 97 derived from testosterone was assigned to protonated 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one. This ion was identified in a set of six cyclic C(6)H(9)O(+) isomers as computed at the B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,2p) level of theory (protonated 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 2-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one and 2-cyclohexen-1-one). Product ions of m/z 97 obtained from MS(2) and MS(3) experiments of protonated 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 2-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 2-cyclohexen-1-one, and testosterone corroborated the suggested gas-phase ion structure, which was eventually substantiated by IRMPD spectroscopy yielding a spectrum that convincingly matched the predicted counterpart. Finally, the dissociation pathway of the protonated molecule of testosterone to m/z 97 was revisited and an alternative pathway was suggested that considers the exclusion of C-10 along with the inclusion of C-5, which was experimentally demonstrated with stable isotope labeling.

Diagnostic accuracy of circulating thyrotropin receptor messenger RNA combined with neck ultrasonography in patients with Bethesda III-V thyroid cytology.

Science.gov (United States)

Aliyev, Altay; Patel, Jinesh; Brainard, Jennifer; Gupta, Manjula; Nasr, Christian; Hatipoglu, Betul; Siperstein, Allan; Berber, Eren

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the usefulness of thyrotropin receptor messenger RNA (TSHR-mRNA) combined with neck ultrasonography (US) in the management of thyroid nodules with Bethesda III-V cytology. Cytology slides of patients with a preoperative fine needle aspiration (FNA) and TSHR-mRNA who underwent thyroidectomy between 2002 and 2011 were recategorized based on the Bethesda classification. Results of thyroid FNA, TSHR-mRNA, and US were compared with the final pathology. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. There were 12 patients with Bethesda III, 112 with Bethesda IV, and 58 with Bethesda V cytology. The sensitivity of TSHR-mRNA in predicting cancer was 33%, 65%, and 79 %, and specificity was 67%, 66%, and 71%, for Bethesda III, IV, and V categories, respectively. For the same categories, the PPV of TSHR-mRNA was 25%, 33%, and 79%, respectively; whereas the NPV was 75%, 88%, and 71%, respectively. The addition of neck US to TSHR-mRNA increased the NPV to 100% for Bethesda III, and 86%, for Bethesda IV, and 82% for Bethesda V disease. This study documents the potential usefulness of TSHR-mRNA for thyroid nodules with Bethesda III-V FNA categories. TSHR-mRNA may be used to exclude Bethesda IV disease. A large sample analysis is needed to determine its accuracy for Bethesda category III nodules. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Radioiodine Thyroid Remnant Ablation after Recombinant Human Thyrotropin or Thyroid Hormone Withdrawal in Patients with High-Risk Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabián Pitoia

2012-01-01

Full Text Available To supplement limited relevant literature, we retrospectively compared ablation and disease outcomes in high-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC patients undergoing radioiodine thyroid remnant ablation aided by recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH versus thyroid hormone withdrawal/withholding (THW. Our cohort was 45 consecutive antithyroglobulin antibody- (TgAb- negative, T3-T4/N0-N1-Nx/M0 adults ablated with high activities at three referral centers. Ablation success comprised negative (<1 μg/L stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg and TgAb, with absent or <0.1% scintigraphic thyroid bed uptake. “No evidence of disease” (NED comprised negative unstimulated/stimulated Tg and no suspicious neck ultrasonography or pathological imaging or biopsy. “Persistent disease” was failure to achieve NED, “recurrence,” loss of NED status. rhTSH patients (n=18 were oftener ≥45 years old and higher stage (P=0.01, but otherwise not different than THW patients (n=27 at baseline. rhTSH patients were significantly oftener successfully ablated compared to THW patients (83% versus 67%, P<0.02. After respective 3.3 yr and 4.5 yr mean follow-ups (P=0.02, NED was achieved oftener (72% versus 59% and persistent disease was less frequent in rhTSH patients (22% versus 33% (both comparisons P=0.03. rhTSH stimulation is associated with at least as good outcomes as is THW in ablation of high-risk DTC patients.

Radioiodine thyroid remnant ablation after recombinant human thyrotropin or thyroid hormone withdrawal in patients with high-risk differentiated thyroid cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitoia, Fabián; Marlowe, Robert J; Abelleira, Erika; Faure, Eduardo N; Bueno, Fernanda; Schwarzstein, Diego; Lutfi, Rubén Julio; Niepomniszcze, Hugo

2012-01-01

To supplement limited relevant literature, we retrospectively compared ablation and disease outcomes in high-risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients undergoing radioiodine thyroid remnant ablation aided by recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) versus thyroid hormone withdrawal/withholding (THW). Our cohort was 45 consecutive antithyroglobulin antibody- (TgAb-) negative, T3-T4/N0-N1-Nx/M0 adults ablated with high activities at three referral centers. Ablation success comprised negative (<1 μg/L) stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) and TgAb, with absent or <0.1% scintigraphic thyroid bed uptake. "No evidence of disease" (NED) comprised negative unstimulated/stimulated Tg and no suspicious neck ultrasonography or pathological imaging or biopsy. "Persistent disease" was failure to achieve NED, "recurrence," loss of NED status. rhTSH patients (n = 18) were oftener ≥45 years old and higher stage (P = 0.01), but otherwise not different than THW patients (n = 27) at baseline. rhTSH patients were significantly oftener successfully ablated compared to THW patients (83% versus 67%, P < 0.02). After respective 3.3 yr and 4.5 yr mean follow-ups (P = 0.02), NED was achieved oftener (72% versus 59%) and persistent disease was less frequent in rhTSH patients (22% versus 33%) (both comparisons P = 0.03). rhTSH stimulation is associated with at least as good outcomes as is THW in ablation of high-risk DTC patients.

Phytochemical study of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don: Spectroscopic elucidation of unusual amino-phlorogucinols and antimicrobial assessment of secondary metabolites from medium-polar extract.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Abrosca, Brigida; Buommino, Elisabetta; Caputo, Pina; Scognamiglio, Monica; Chambery, Angela; Donnarumma, Giovanna; Fiorentino, Antonio

2016-12-01

Three unusual amino-phloroglucinols, named helichrytalicines A-C, along with seventeen known compounds including acetophenones, tremetrone derivatives, low-molecular weight phenols, flavonol glucosides, have been isolated from the medium-polar extract of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don, a medicinal plant typical of the Mediterranean vegetation. The structures of the compounds have been elucidated based on extensive 2D-NMR spectroscopic analyses, including COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, CIGAR-HMBC, H2BC and HSQC-TOCSY, along with Q-TOF HRMS 2 analysis. Stereostructure of the new compounds has been elucidated by Mosher's method and NOESY experiment. Antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus epidermidis of selected compounds have been evaluated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flavonoid glycosides from Olax mannii: Structure elucidation and effect on the nuclear factor kappa B pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Okoye, Festus B C; Sawadogo, Wamtinga Richard; Sendker, Jandirk; Aly, Amal H; Quandt, Bettina; Wray, Victor; Hensel, Andreas; Esimone, Charles O; Debbab, Abdessamad; Diederich, Marc; Proksch, Peter

2015-12-24

Olax mannii Oliv. (Olacaceae) is among the many medicinal plants used in Nigeria for the ethnomedicinal management of both cancer and inflammation. Such plants represent potential sources of innovative therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer and other malignant disorders. While the majority of medicinal plants exert their anticancer effects by direct cytotoxicity on tumor cells, it is important that other mechanisms through which these plants can exhibit anticancer effects are investigated. Preliminary studies indicated that Olax mannii leaves are rich sources of novel flavonoid glycosides. The detailed chemistry as well the mechanisms through which these flavonoid constituents may exert their cancer chemo-preventive and therapeutic effects are, however, not yet investigated. The aim of this study is to carry out a detailed chemical investigation of Olax mannii leaves and the effects of the isolated constituents on the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. A methanol leaf extract was subjected to various chromatographic separations to achieve isolation of flavonoid glycosides and the structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by a combination of 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry. Biological activities were assessed by measurement of cellular viability and proliferation using quantitative IncuCyte videomicroscopy, trypan blue staining and by quantification of the number of metabolically active K562 cells based on quantitation of ATP. The effect of the compounds on the inhibition of the NF-κB pathway as well as toxicity towards peripheral blood mononuclear cells to evaluate differential toxicity was also assayed. Chemical investigation of the methanol leaf extract of the plant material led to the isolation of three new flavonoid triglycosides, kaempferol 3-O-[α-D-apiofuranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-L-arabinofuranoside]-7-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (1), kaempferol 3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-L-arabinofuranoside]-7-O

Elucidation of amyloid beta-protein oligomerization mechanisms: discrete molecular dynamics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbanc, B; Betnel, M; Cruz, L; Bitan, G; Teplow, D B

2010-03-31

Oligomers of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) play a central role in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease. Of the two predominant Abeta alloforms, Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42), Abeta(1-42) is more strongly implicated in the disease. We elucidated the structural characteristics of oligomers of Abeta(1-40) and Abeta(1-42) and their Arctic mutants, [E22G]Abeta(1-40) and [E22G]Abeta(1-42). We simulated oligomer formation using discrete molecular dynamics (DMD) with a four-bead protein model, backbone hydrogen bonding, and residue-specific interactions due to effective hydropathy and charge. For all four peptides under study, we derived the characteristic oligomer size distributions that were in agreement with prior experimental findings. Unlike Abeta(1-40), Abeta(1-42) had a high propensity to form paranuclei (pentameric or hexameric) structures that could self-associate into higher-order oligomers. Neither of the Arctic mutants formed higher-order oligomers, but [E22G]Abeta(1-40) formed paranuclei with a similar propensity to that of Abeta(1-42). Whereas the best agreement with the experimental data was obtained when the charged residues were modeled as solely hydrophilic, further assembly from spherical oligomers into elongated protofibrils was induced by nonzero electrostatic interactions among the charged residues. Structural analysis revealed that the C-terminal region played a dominant role in Abeta(1-42) oligomer formation whereas Abeta(1-40) oligomerization was primarily driven by intermolecular interactions among the central hydrophobic regions. The N-terminal region A2-F4 played a prominent role in Abeta(1-40) oligomerization but did not contribute to the oligomerization of Abeta(1-42) or the Arctic mutants. The oligomer structure of both Arctic peptides resembled Abeta(1-42) more than Abeta(1-40), consistent with their potentially more toxic nature.

Elucidation of Molecular Pathogenic Mechanisms of Norrie Disease

OpenAIRE

Luhmann, Ulrich F.O.

2010-01-01

Summary Norrie disease (ND) is a rare X-linked recessive congenital blindness, sometimes associated with deafness and mental retardation. In this thesis the molecular pathogenic mechanisms of this syndrome should be elucidated using the Ndph knockout mouse model. Gene expression studies but also histology and protein biochemistry were used to characterize the affected organs, eye and brain. Gene expression analyses of eyes at p21 using cDNA subtrac...

Elucidating the pH-Dependent Structural Transition of T7 Bacteriophage Endolysin.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Meenakshi; Kumar, Dinesh; Poluri, Krishna Mohan

2016-08-23

Bacteriophages are the most abundant and diverse biological entities on earth. Bacteriophage endolysins are unique peptidoglycan hydrolases and have huge potential as effective enzybiotics in various infectious models. T7 bacteriophage endolysin (T7L), also known as N-acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidase or T7 lysozyme, is a 17 kDa protein that lyses a range of Gram-negative bacteria by hydrolyzing the amide bond between N-acetylmuramoyl residues and the l-alanine of the peptidoglycan layer. Although the activity profiles of several of the T7 family members have been known for many years, the molecular basis for their pH-dependent differential activity is not clear. In this study, we explored the pH-induced structural, stability, and activity characteristics of T7L by applying a variety of biophysical techniques and protein nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Our studies established a reversible structural transition of T7L below pH 6 and the formation of a partially denatured conformation at pH 3. This low-pH conformation is thermally stable and exposed its hydrophobic pockets. Further, NMR relaxation measurements and structural analysis unraveled that T7L is highly dynamic in its native state and a network of His residues are responsible for the observed pH-dependent conformational dynamics and transitions. As bacteriophage chimeric and engineered endolysins are being developed as novel therapeutics against multiple drug resistance pathogens, we believe that our results are of great help in designing these entities as broadband antimicrobial and/or antibacterial agents.

Symmetry Breaking in NMR Spectroscopy: The Elucidation of Hidden Molecular Rearrangement Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. McGlinchey

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy is probably the most convenient and sensitive technique to monitor changes in molecular structure in solution. Rearrangements that are rapid on the NMR time-scale exhibit simplified spectra, whereby non-equivalent nuclear environments yield time-averaged resonances. At lower temperatures, when the rate of exchange is sufficiently reduced, these degeneracies are split and the underlying “static” molecular symmetry, as seen by X-ray crystallography, becomes apparent. Frequently, however, such rearrangement processes are hidden, even when they become slow on the NMR time-scale, because the molecular point group remains unchanged. Judicious symmetry breaking, such as by substitution of a molecular fragment by a similar, but not identical moiety, or by the incorporation of potentially diastereotopic (chemically non-equivalent nuclei, allows the elucidation of the kinetics and energetics of such processes. Examples are chosen that include a wide range of rotations, migrations and other rearrangements in organic, inorganic and organometallic chemistry.

Structure and stoichiometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gai, P.L.

1992-01-01

Structural and stoichiometric variations and their role in superconducting properties of bulk cuprate ceramics are elucidated. Atomic structure and chemistry of defect microstructures, including vacancy and interstitial defects, weak-link problems, structural modulations and coherent intergrowths leading to new structures are studies and quantitatively interpreted. They are shown to play a critical role in controlling hole concentration, critical currents and flux pinning. These phenomena underpin the solid state chemistry which determines the physical properties of the nonstoichiometric oxide superconductors. In this paper technological implications, synthesis of related novel materials and recent developments are discussed

Elucidation and in planta reconstitution of the parthenolide biosynthetic pathway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Qing; Manzano, David; Tanić, Nikola

2014-01-01

Parthenolide, the main bioactive compound of the medicinal plant feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium), is a promising anti-cancer drug. However, the biosynthetic pathway of parthenolide has not been elucidated yet. Here we report on the isolation and characterization of all the genes from feverfew tha...

Mediator subunit MED1 is a T3-dependent and T3-independent coactivator on the thyrotropin β gene promoter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsui, Keiji; Oda, Kasumi; Mizuta, Shumpei; Ishino, Ruri; Urahama, Norinaga; Hasegawa, Natsumi [Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142 (Japan); Roeder, Robert G. [Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065 (United States); Ito, Mitsuhiro, E-mail: itomi@med.kobe-u.ac.jp [Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142 (Japan); Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065 (United States); Department of Family and Community Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe 654-0142 (Japan); Consolidated Research Institute for Advanced Science and Medical Care, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 159-8555 (Japan)

2013-10-11

Highlights: •MED1 is a bona fide T3-dependent coactivator on TSHB promoter. •Mice with LxxLL-mutant MED1 have attenuated TSHβ mRNA and thyroid hormone levels. •MED1 activates TSHB promoter T3-dependently in cultured cells. •T3-dependent MED1 action is enhanced when SRC1/SRC2 or HDAC2 is downregulated. •MED1 is also a T3-independent GATA2/Pit1 coactivator on TSHB promoter. -- Abstract: The MED1 subunit of the Mediator transcriptional coregulator complex is a nuclear receptor-specific coactivator. A negative feedback mechanism of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH, or thyrotropin) expression in the thyrotroph in the presence of triiodothyronine (T3) is employed by liganded thyroid hormone receptor β (TRβ) on the TSHβ gene promoter, where conventional histone-modifying coactivators act as corepressors. We now provide evidence that MED1 is a ligand-dependent positive cofactor on this promoter. TSHβ gene transcription was attenuated in MED1 mutant mice in which the nuclear receptor-binding ability of MED1 was specifically disrupted. MED1 stimulated GATA2- and Pit1-mediated TSHβ gene promoter activity in a ligand-independent manner in cultured cells. MED1 also stimulated transcription from the TSHβ gene promoter in a T3-dependent manner. The transcription was further enhanced when the T3-dependent corepressors SRC1, SRC2, and HDAC2 were downregulated. Hence, MED1 is a T3-dependent and -independent coactivator on the TSHβ gene promoter.

Tripeptide amide L-pyroglutamyl-histidyl-L-prolineamide (L-PHP-thyrotropin-releasing hormone, TRH) promotes insulin-producing cell proliferation.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, LuGuang; Luo, John Z Q; Jackson, Ivor

2013-02-01

A very small tripeptide amide L-pyroglutamyl-L-histidyl-L-prolineamide (L-PHP, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone, TRH), was first identified in the brain hypothalamus area. Further studies found that L-PHP was expressed in pancreas. The biological role of pancreatic L-PHP is still not clear. Growing evidence indicates that L-PHP expression in the pancreas may play a pivotal role for pancreatic development in the early prenatal period. However, the role of L-PHP in adult pancreas still needs to be explored. L-PHP activation of pancreatic β cell Ca2+ flow and stimulation of β-cell insulin synthesis and release suggest that L-PHP involved in glucose metabolism may directly act on the β cell separate from any effects via the central nervous system (CNS). Knockout L-PHP animal models have shown that loss of L-PHP expression causes hyperglycemia, which cannot be reversed by administration of thyroid hormone, suggesting that the absence of L-PHP itself is the cause. L-PHP receptor type-1 has been identified in pancreas which provides a possibility for L-PHP autocrine and paracrine regulation in pancreatic function. During pancreatic damage in adult pancreas, L-PHP may protect beta cell from apoptosis and initiate its regeneration through signal pathways of growth hormone in β cells. L-PHP has recently been discovered to affect a broad array of gene expression in the pancreas including growth factor genes. Signal pathways linked between L-PHP and EGF receptor phosphorylation suggest that L-PHP may be an important factor for adult β-cell regeneration, which could involve adult stem cell differentiation. These effects suggest that L-PHP may benefit pancreatic β cells and diabetic therapy in clinic.

Radioiodine plus recombinant human thyrotropin do not cause acute airway compression and are effective in reducing multinodular goiter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albino, C.C., E-mail: ccalbino@uol.com.b [Instituto de Diabetes e Endocrinologia de Maringa, PR (Brazil); Graf, H.; Paz-Filho, G. [Universidade Federal do Parana (UFPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Hospital das Clinicas. Servico de Endocrinologia e Metabologia; Diehl, L.A. [Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), PR (Brazil); Olandoski, M.; Sabbag, A. [Pontificia Univ. Catolica do Parana (PUCPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Nucleo de Bioestatistica; Buchpiguel, C. [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Radiologia

2006-03-15

Recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) reduces the activity of radioiodine required to treat multinodular goiter (MNG), but acute airway compression can be a life-threatening complication. In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we assessed the efficacy and safety (including airway compression) of different doses of rhTSH associated with a fixed activity of {sup 131}I for treating MNG. Euthyroid patients with MNG (69.3 +- 62.0 mL, 20 females, 2 males, 64 +- 7 years) received 0.1 mg (group I, N = 8) or 0.01 mg (group II, N = 6) rhTSH or placebo (group III, N = 8), 24 h before 1.11 GBq {sup 131}I. Radioactive iodine uptake was determined at baseline and 24 h after rhTSH and thyroid volume (TV, baseline and 6 and 12 months after treatment) and tracheal cross-sectional area (TCA, baseline and 2, 7, 180, and 360 days after rhTSH) were determined by magnetic resonance; antithyroid antibodies and thyroid hormones were determined at frequent intervals. After 6 months, TV decreased significantly in groups I (28.5 +- 17.6%) and II (21.6 +- 17.8%), but not in group III (2.7 +- 15.3%). After 12 months, TV decreased significantly in groups I (36.7 +- 18.1%) and II (37.4 +- 27.1%), but not in group III (19.0 +- 24.3%). No significant changes in TCA were observed. T3 and free T4 increased transiently during the first month. After 12 months, 7 patients were hypothyroid (N 3 in group I and N = 2 in groups II and III). rhTSH plus a 1.11-GBq fixed {sup 131}I activity did not cause acute or chronic changes in TCA. After 6 and 12 months, TV reduction was more pronounced among patients treated with rhTSH plus {sup 131}I (author)

Radioiodine plus recombinant human thyrotropin do not cause acute airway compression and are effective in reducing multinodular goiter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albino, C.C.; Graf, H.; Paz-Filho, G.; Olandoski, M.; Sabbag, A.; Buchpiguel, C.

2006-01-01

Recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) reduces the activity of radioiodine required to treat multinodular goiter (MNG), but acute airway compression can be a life-threatening complication. In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we assessed the efficacy and safety (including airway compression) of different doses of rhTSH associated with a fixed activity of 131 I for treating MNG. Euthyroid patients with MNG (69.3 ± 62.0 mL, 20 females, 2 males, 64 ± 7 years) received 0.1 mg (group I, N = 8) or 0.01 mg (group II, N = 6) rhTSH or placebo (group III, N = 8), 24 h before 1.11 GBq 131 I. Radioactive iodine uptake was determined at baseline and 24 h after rhTSH and thyroid volume (TV, baseline and 6 and 12 months after treatment) and tracheal cross-sectional area (TCA, baseline and 2, 7, 180, and 360 days after rhTSH) were determined by magnetic resonance; antithyroid antibodies and thyroid hormones were determined at frequent intervals. After 6 months, TV decreased significantly in groups I (28.5 ± 17.6%) and II (21.6 ± 17.8%), but not in group III (2.7 ± 15.3%). After 12 months, TV decreased significantly in groups I (36.7 ± 18.1%) and II (37.4 ± 27.1%), but not in group III (19.0 ± 24.3%). No significant changes in TCA were observed. T3 and free T4 increased transiently during the first month. After 12 months, 7 patients were hypothyroid (N 3 in group I and N = 2 in groups II and III). rhTSH plus a 1.11-GBq fixed 131 I activity did not cause acute or chronic changes in TCA. After 6 and 12 months, TV reduction was more pronounced among patients treated with rhTSH plus 131 I (author)

A new approach for applying residual dipolar couplings as restraints in structure elucidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meiler, Jens; Blomberg, Niklas; Nilges, Michael; Griesinger, Christian

2000-01-01

Residual dipolar couplings are useful global structural restraints. The dipolar couplings define the orientation of a vector with respect to the alignment tensor. Although the size of the alignment tensor can be derived from the distribution of the experimental dipolar couplings, its orientation with respect to the coordinate system of the molecule is unknown at the beginning of structure determination. This causes convergence problems in the simulated annealing process. We therefore propose a protocol that translates dipolar couplings into intervector projection angles, which are independent of the orientation of the alignment tensor with respect to the molecule. These restraints can be used during the whole simulated annealing protocol

Elucidation of the fluctuation history of cosmic radiation and global environmental using AMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Kazuho

2008-01-01

Recently, accuracy of AMS has further been raised in trace amounts of sample. Besides application of 14 C to the age estimation, it has been able to restore in detail the past fluctuation of cosmic radiation strength using the other radioactive isotopes ( 10 Be, 36 Cl etc) in environmental samples and to elucidate the correlation of this with the fluctuation of climate and environment. In this report, the attempts to elucidate the fluctuation history of cosmic radiation and global environment with ice cores using AMS are presented. (M.H.)

Seasonal Changes in Serum Thyrotropin Concentrations Observed from Big Data Obtained During Six Consecutive Years from 2010 to 2015 at a Single Hospital in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshihara, Ai; Noh, Jaeduk Yoshimura; Watanabe, Natsuko; Iwaku, Kenji; Kunii, Yo; Ohye, Hidemi; Suzuki, Miho; Matsumoto, Masako; Suzuki, Nami; Sugino, Kiminori; Thienpont, Linda M; Hishinuma, Akira; Ito, Koichi

2018-04-01

This study analyzed big data for serum thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (fT3), and free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations in patients who had attended the outpatient clinic of Ito Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) during a recent six-year period (between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2015) in order to investigate for seasonal changes. The serum TSH concentrations were reviewed for all 135,417 patients aged >20 years. Patients with any thyroid diseases were included, irrespective of whether they were receiving drug therapy. In total 1,637,721 serum samples were analyzed for TSH, 1,626,269 for fT3, and 1,669,381 for fT4. It was observed that the TSH concentrations showed annual changes during the six-year period. They decreased during the summer, while they increased during the winter. The TSH concentrations were negatively correlated with the daily temperatures (Spearman rank correlation coefficient -0.4486; p < 0.0001). The same applied for the correlation between fT3 concentrations and daily temperatures. The fact that the TSH concentrations show annual changes in areas where the temperature ranges during the year are rather wide should be borne in mind for interpretation of results.

Frequency and Clinical Implication of the R450H Mutation in the Thyrotropin Receptor Gene in the Japanese Population Detected by Smart Amplification Process 2

Science.gov (United States)

Yanagawa, Yoshimaro; Aoki, Tomoyuki; Morimura, Tadashi; Araki, Osamu; Kimura, Takao; Ogiwara, Takayuki; Kotajima, Nobuo; Yanagawa, Masumi; Murakami, Masami

2014-01-01

In Japanese pediatric patients with thyrotropin (TSH) resistance, the R450H mutation in TSH receptor gene (TSHR) is occasionally observed. We studied the frequency and clinical implication of the R450H mutation in TSHR in the general population of Japanese adults using smart amplification process 2 (SmartAmp2). We designed SmartAmp2 primer sets to detect this mutation using a drop of whole blood. We analyzed thyroid function, antithyroid antibodies, and this mutation in 429 Japanese participants who had not been found to have thyroid disease. Two cases without antithyroid antibodies were heterozygous for the R450H mutation in TSHR. Thus, the prevalence of this mutation was 0.47% in the general population and 0.63% among those without antithyroid antibodies. Their serum TSH concentrations were higher than the average TSH concentration not only in subjects without antithyroid antibodies but also in those with antithyroid antibodies. The R450H mutation in TSHR is relatively common in the Japanese population and potentially affects thyroid function. The present study demonstrates that the SmartAmp2 method is useful to detect the R450H mutation in TSHR, which is one of the common causes of TSH resistance in the Japanese population. PMID:24895636

Identification of a novel structure in heparin generated by potassium permanganate oxidation

Science.gov (United States)

Beccati, Daniela; Roy, Sucharita; Yu, Fei; Gunay, Nur Sibel; Capila, Ishan; Lech, Miroslaw; Linhardt, Robert J.; Venkataraman, Ganesh

2012-01-01

The worldwide heparin contamination crisis in 2008 led health authorities to take fundamental steps to better control heparin manufacture, including implementing appropriate analytical and bio-analytical methods to ensure production and release of high quality heparin sodium product. Consequently, there is an increased interest in the identification and structural elucidation of unusually modified structures that may be present in heparin. Our study focuses on the structural elucidation of species that give rise to a signal observed at 2.10 ppm in the N-acetyl region of the 1H NMR spectrum of some pharmaceutical grade heparin preparations. Structural elucidation experiments were carried out using homonuclear (COSY, TOSCY and NOESY) and heteronuclear (HSQC, HSQC-DEPT, HMQC-COSY, HSQC-TOCSY, and HMBC) 2D NMR spectroscopy on both heparin as well as heparin-like model compounds. Our results identify a novel type of oxidative modification of the heparin chain that results from a specific step in the manufacturing process used to prepare heparin. PMID:25147414

Mutations in the thyrotropin receptor signal transduction pathway in the hyperfunctioning thyroid nodules from multinodular goiters: a study in the Turkish population.

Science.gov (United States)

Gozu, Hulya; Avsar, Melike; Bircan, Rifat; Sahin, Serap; Deyneli, Oguzhan; Cirakoglu, Beyazit; Akalin, Sema

2005-10-01

Many studies have been carried out to determine G(s) alpha and TSHR mutations in autonomously functioning thyroid nodules. Variable prevalences for somatic constitutively activating TSHR mutations in hot nodules have been reported. Moreover, the increased prevalence of toxic multinodular goiters in iodine-deficient regions is well known. In Turkey, a country with high incidence rates of goiter due to iodine deficiency, the frequency of mutations in the thyrotropin receptor signal transduction pathway has not been evaluated up to now. In the present study, a part of the genes of the TSHR, G(s)alpha and the catalytic subunit of the PKA were checked for activating mutations. Thirty-five patients who underwent thyroidectomy for multinodular goiters were examined. Genomic DNAs were extracted from 58 hyperactive nodular specimens and surrounding normal thyroid tissues. Mutation screening was done by single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. In those cases where a mutation was detected, the localization of the mutation was determined by automatic DNA sequencing. No G(s)alpha or PKA mutations were detected, whereas ten mutations (17%) were identified in the TSHR gene. All mutations were somatic and heterozygotic. In conclusion, the frequency of mutations in the cAMP signal transduction pathway was found to be lower than expected in the Turkish population most likely because of the use of SSCP as a screening method and sequencing only a part of TSHR exon 10.

Identification of the chemical constituents of Chinese medicine Yi-Xin-Shu capsule by molecular feature orientated precursor ion selection and tandem mass spectrometry structure elucidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hong-ping; Chen, Chang; Liu, Yan; Yang, Hong-Jun; Wu, Hong-Wei; Xiao, Hong-Bin

2015-11-01

The incomplete identification of the chemical components of traditional Chinese medicinal formula has been one of the bottlenecks in the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine. Tandem mass spectrometry has been widely used for the identification of chemical substances. Current automatic tandem mass spectrometry acquisition, where precursor ions were selected according to their signal intensity, encounters a drawback in chemical substances identification when samples contain many overlapping signals. Compounds in minor or trace amounts could not be identified because most tandem mass spectrometry information was lost. Herein, a molecular feature orientated precursor ion selection and tandem mass spectrometry structure elucidation method for complex Chinese medicine chemical constituent analysis was developed. The precursor ions were selected according to their two-dimensional characteristics of retention times and mass-to-charge ratio ranges from herbal compounds, so that all precursor ions from herbal compounds were included and more minor chemical constituents in Chinese medicine were identified. Compared to the conventional automatic tandem mass spectrometry setups, the approach is novel and can overcome the drawback for chemical substances identification. As an example, 276 compounds from the Chinese Medicine of Yi-Xin-Shu capsule were identified. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hyperthyroidism caused by a germline activating mutation of the thyrotropin receptor gene: difficulties in diagnosis and therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertalan, Rita; Sallai, Agnes; Sólyom, János; Lotz, Gábor; Szabó, István; Kovács, Balázs; Szabó, Eva; Patócs, Attila; Rácz, Károly

2010-03-01

Germline activating mutations of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) gene have been considered as the only known cause of sporadic nonautoimmune hyperthyroidism in the pediatric population. Here we describe the long-term follow-up and evaluation of a patient with sporadic nonautoimmune primary hyperthyroidism who was found to have a de novo germline activating mutation of the TSHR gene. The patient was an infant who presented at the age of 10 months in an unconscious state with exsiccation, wet skin, fever, and tachycardia. Nonautoimmune primary hyperthyroidism was diagnosed, and brain magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography showed also Arnold-Chiari malformation type I. Continuous propylthiouracil treatment resulted in a prolonged clinical cure lasting for 10 years. At the age of 11 years and 5 months the patient underwent subtotal thyroidectomy because of symptoms of trachea compression caused by a progressive multinodular goiter. However, 2 months after surgery, hormonal evaluation indicated recurrent hyperthyroidism and the patient was treated with propylthiouracil during the next 4 years. At the age of 15 years the patient again developed symptoms of trachea compression. Radioiodine treatment resulted in a regression of the recurrent goiter and a permanent cure of hyperthyroidism without relapse during the last 3 years of his follow-up. Sequencing of exon 10 of the TSHR gene showed a de novo heterozygous germline I630L mutation, which has been previously described as activating mutation at somatic level in toxic thyroid nodules. The I630L mutation of the TSHR gene occurs not only at somatic level in toxic thyroid nodules, but also its presence in germline is associated with nonautoimmune primary hyperthyroidism. Our case report demonstrates that in this disorder a continuous growth of the thyroid occurs without any evidence of elevated TSH due to antithyroid drug overdosing. This may justify previous recommendations for early treatment of affected

Elucidation of self-induced sloshing occurrence mechanism using numerical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeki, Soichi; Madarame, Haruki; Okamoto, Koji; Tanaka, Nobukazu.

1995-01-01

In liquid metal-cooled fast breeder reactors, there is free liquid surface in a reactor vessel and others, and by reducing the size of the reactor vessel and others, it is necessary to increase the flow velocity of liquid sodium coolant. In the free liquid surface in which fast circulating flow exists, undesirable phenomena like waving and bubble catching are feared. The self-induced sloshing taken up in this study is one of these phenomena. Since the actual machine has complex three-dimensional structure, in order to forecast the occurrence of sloshing, it is necessary to elucidate the mechanism of vibration occurrence. The mechanism of occurrence of self-induced sloshing due to horizontal and vertical plane jets has been explained a number of times so far. In this study, by applying the model of the occurrence mechanism of Fukaya to horizontal plane jet, the self-induced sloshing due to horizontal plane jet was simulated by numerical analysis. Based on the results, it was attempted to examine the vibration energy supplied to sloshing in a whole flow field and the dependence of sloshing region on water depth and flow velocity. The numerical simulation, the analysis of the occurrence mechanism by using the numerical analysis code and the results are reported. (K.I.)

Structural elucidation of AgAsS2 glass by the analysis of clusters formed during laser desorption ionisation applying quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Mawale, Ravi Madhukar; Alberti, Milan; Zhang, Bo; Fraenkl, Max; Wagner, Tomas; Havel, Josef

2016-03-15

The structure of AgA(s)S2 glass, which has a broad range of applications, is still not well understood and a systematic mass spectrometric analysis of AgA(s)S2 glass is currently not available. Elucidation of the structure should help in the development of this material. The AgA(s)S2 glass was prepared by the melt-quenched technique. Laser desorption ionisation (LDI) using quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QIT-TOFMS) was used to follow the generation of Ag(m)As(n)S(x) clusters. The stoichiometry of the clusters generated was determined via collision-induced dissociation (CID) and modelling of isotopic patterns. The AgA(s)S2 glass was characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The LDI of AgA(s)S2 glass leads to the formation of unary (Ag+/− and As(3+)) species, 38 binary (As(n)S(x), Ag(m)S(x)), and 98 ternary (Ag(m)As(n)S(x)) singly charged clusters. The formation of silver-rich nano-grains during AgA(s)S2 glass synthesis has been identified using TEM analysis and also verified by QIT-TOFMS. TOFMS was shown to be a useful technique to study the generation of Ag(m)As(n)S(x )clusters. SEM, TEM and EDX analysis proved that the structure of AgA(s)S2 glass is ‘grain-like’ where grains are either: (1) Silver-rich ‘islands’ (Ag(m,) m up to 39) connected by arsenic and/or sulfur or arsenic sulfide chains or (2) silver sulfide (Ag2S)m (m = 9-20) clusters also similarly inter-connected. This obtained structural information may be useful for the development of ultra-high-density phase-change storage and memory devices using this kind of glass as a base.

Elucidating reaction mechanisms on quantum computers

Science.gov (United States)

Reiher, Markus; Wiebe, Nathan; Svore, Krysta M.; Wecker, Dave; Troyer, Matthias

2017-01-01

With rapid recent advances in quantum technology, we are close to the threshold of quantum devices whose computational powers can exceed those of classical supercomputers. Here, we show that a quantum computer can be used to elucidate reaction mechanisms in complex chemical systems, using the open problem of biological nitrogen fixation in nitrogenase as an example. We discuss how quantum computers can augment classical computer simulations used to probe these reaction mechanisms, to significantly increase their accuracy and enable hitherto intractable simulations. Our resource estimates show that, even when taking into account the substantial overhead of quantum error correction, and the need to compile into discrete gate sets, the necessary computations can be performed in reasonable time on small quantum computers. Our results demonstrate that quantum computers will be able to tackle important problems in chemistry without requiring exorbitant resources. PMID:28674011

Elucidating reaction mechanisms on quantum computers

Science.gov (United States)

Reiher, Markus; Wiebe, Nathan; Svore, Krysta M.; Wecker, Dave; Troyer, Matthias

2017-07-01

With rapid recent advances in quantum technology, we are close to the threshold of quantum devices whose computational powers can exceed those of classical supercomputers. Here, we show that a quantum computer can be used to elucidate reaction mechanisms in complex chemical systems, using the open problem of biological nitrogen fixation in nitrogenase as an example. We discuss how quantum computers can augment classical computer simulations used to probe these reaction mechanisms, to significantly increase their accuracy and enable hitherto intractable simulations. Our resource estimates show that, even when taking into account the substantial overhead of quantum error correction, and the need to compile into discrete gate sets, the necessary computations can be performed in reasonable time on small quantum computers. Our results demonstrate that quantum computers will be able to tackle important problems in chemistry without requiring exorbitant resources.

Elucidating reaction mechanisms on quantum computers.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiher, Markus; Wiebe, Nathan; Svore, Krysta M; Wecker, Dave; Troyer, Matthias

2017-07-18

With rapid recent advances in quantum technology, we are close to the threshold of quantum devices whose computational powers can exceed those of classical supercomputers. Here, we show that a quantum computer can be used to elucidate reaction mechanisms in complex chemical systems, using the open problem of biological nitrogen fixation in nitrogenase as an example. We discuss how quantum computers can augment classical computer simulations used to probe these reaction mechanisms, to significantly increase their accuracy and enable hitherto intractable simulations. Our resource estimates show that, even when taking into account the substantial overhead of quantum error correction, and the need to compile into discrete gate sets, the necessary computations can be performed in reasonable time on small quantum computers. Our results demonstrate that quantum computers will be able to tackle important problems in chemistry without requiring exorbitant resources.

Elucidating determinants of aerosol composition through particle-type-based receptor modeling

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, M. L.; Jeong, C.-H.; Slowik, J. G.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Corbin, J. C.; Lu, G.; Mihele, C.; Rehbein, P. J. G.; Sills, D. M. L.; Abbatt, J. P. D.; Brook, J. R.; Evans, G. J.

2011-08-01

An aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) was deployed at a semi-rural site in southern Ontario to characterize the size and chemical composition of individual particles. Particle-type-based receptor modelling of these data was used to investigate the determinants of aerosol chemical composition in this region. Individual particles were classified into particle-types and positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to their temporal trends to separate and cross-apportion particle-types to factors. The extent of chemical processing for each factor was assessed by evaluating the internal and external mixing state of the characteristic particle-types. The nine factors identified helped to elucidate the coupled interactions of these determinants. Nitrate-laden dust was found to be the dominant type of locally emitted particles measured by ATOFMS. Several factors associated with aerosol transported to the site from intermediate local-to-regional distances were identified: the Organic factor was associated with a combustion source to the north-west; the ECOC Day factor was characterized by nearby local-to-regional carbonaceous emissions transported from the south-west during the daytime; and the Fireworks factor consisted of pyrotechnic particles from the Detroit region following holiday fireworks displays. Regional aerosol from farther emissions sources was reflected through three factors: two Biomass Burning factors and a highly chemically processed Long Range Transport factor. The Biomass Burning factors were separated by PMF due to differences in chemical processing which were in part elucidated by the passage of two thunderstorm gust fronts with different air mass histories. The remaining two factors, ECOC Night and Nitrate Background, represented the night-time partitioning of nitrate to pre-existing particles of different origins. The distinct meteorological conditions observed during this month-long study in the summer of 2007 provided a unique

Hypoxia and the Edema Syndrome: Elucidation of a Mechanism of Teratogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

The elucidation of mechanisms and pathogenesis of birth defects is exceedingly complex. Consequently, there are few examples where the etiology of birth defects caused by a specific agent has been well described. One such example is the "Edema Syndrome" first described by Casimer...

Hyperthyroidism caused by an ectopic thyrotropin-secreting tumor of the nasopharynx: a case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Anli; Xia, Weibo; Qi, Fang; Jin, Zimeng; Yang, Di; Zhang, Zhuhua; Li, Fang; Xing, Xiaoping; Lian, Xiaolan

2013-09-01

Ectopic thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting tumors are extremely rare. To our knowledge, only three cases have previously been reported so far, but the tumors were not studied ultrastructurally and in vitro. We present a case that was extensively examined to gain deeper insights in terms of the histopathological features and hormonal secretion profile of the tumor. A 49-year-old female complained of nasal obstruction for 15 years and thyrotoxicosis for one and a half years. Except for a high basal TSH with concomitantly elevated free tri-iodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels, her pituitary hormone profile yielded normal results. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 2 cm × 2 cm mass in the nasopharynx, which showed an increased tracer uptake on octreotide scintigraphy. Preoperative treatment with octreotide effectively reduced serum TSH, FT3, and FT4 to normal levels. The mass was endoscopically removed via an endonasal approach. Immunophenotyping and hormone determination of cultured cells confirmed that the mass was a plurihormonal TSH-/growth hormone (GH)-/prolactin (PRL)-producing adenoma. Co-expression of TSH and GH was found in most cells. Electron microscopy showed that the adenoma was formed by a single cell type, with secretory granules of small size. In vitro studies demonstrated that octreotide reduced both TSH and GH secretion. We report an ectopic TSH-secreting tumor, which had plurihormonal secretion in vitro, including TSH, GH, and PRL. Histologically, it mimicked a TSH-secreting pituitary adenoma. Octreotide was useful in the diagnosis and treatment of this ectopic TSH-secreting tumor. Ectopic TSH-secreting tumors are extremely rare. In terms of hormone secretion profile, histological characteristics, and response to octreotide, they are similar to pituitary TSH-secreting adenomas, suggesting that they are of identical cell origin.

Thyroid Function Within the Normal Range and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Åsvold, Bjørn O; Vatten, Lars J; Bjøro, Trine

2015-01-01

documented, but conflicting evidence suggests that thyrotropin levels in the upper part of the reference range may be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between differences in thyroid function within the reference range and CHD risk. DESIGN...... known thyroid or cardiovascular disease at baseline. EXPOSURES: Thyroid function as expressed by serum thyrotropin levels at baseline. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Hazard ratios (HRs) of CHD mortality and CHD events according to thyrotropin levels after adjustment for age, sex, and smoking status....... This finding suggests that differences in thyroid function within the population reference range do not influence the risk of CHD. Increased CHD risk does not appear to be a reason for lowering the upper thyrotropin reference limit....

Elucidate Innovation Performance of Technology-driven Mergers and Acquisitions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, L.; Wang, K.; Yu, H.; Shang, L.; Mitkova, L.

2016-07-01

The importance and value of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) have increased with the expectancy to obtain key technology capabilities and rapid impact on innovation. This article develops an original analytical framework to elucidate the impact of the technology and product relatedness (similarity/complementarity) of the Technology-driven M&A’ partners on post-innovation performance. We present results drawing on a multiple case studies of Chinese High-Tech firms from three industries. (Author)

A novel deletion in the thyrotropin Beta-subunit gene identified by array comparative genomic hybridization analysis causes central congenital hypothyroidism in a boy originating from Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermanns, Pia; Couch, Robert; Leonard, Norma; Klotz, Cherise; Pohlenz, Joachim

2014-01-01

Isolated central congenital hypothyroidism (ICCH) is rare but important. Most ICCH patients are diagnosed later, which results in severe growth failure and intellectual disability. We describe a boy with ICCH due to a large homozygous TSHβ gene deletion. A 51-day-old male Turkish infant, whose parents were first cousins, was admitted for evaluation of prolonged jaundice. His clinical appearance was compatible with hypothyroidism. Venous thyrotropin (TSH) was undetectably low, with a subsequent low free T4 and a low free T3, suggestive of central hypothyroidism. Using different PCR protocols, we could not amplify both coding exons of the boy's TSHβ gene, which suggested a deletion. An array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) using specific probes around the TSHβ gene locus showed him to be homozygous for a 6-kb deletion spanning all exons and parts of the 5' untranslated region of the gene. Infants who are clinically suspected of having hypothyroidism should be evaluated thoroughly, even if their TSH-based screening result is normal. In cases with ICCH and undetectably low TSH serum concentrations, a TSHβ gene deletion should be considered; aCGH should be performed when gene deletions are suspected. In such cases, PCR-based sequencing techniques give negative results.

Elucidating the neurotoxic effects of MDMA and its analogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Karuppagounder, Senthilkumar S; Bhattacharya, Dwipayan; Ahuja, Manuj; Suppiramaniam, Vishnu; Deruiter, Jack; Clark, Randall; Dhanasekaran, Muralikrishnan

2014-04-17

There is a rapid increase in the use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its structural congeners/analogs globally. MDMA and MDMA-analogs have been synthesized illegally in furtive dwellings and are abused due to its addictive potential. Furthermore, MDMA and MDMA-analogs have shown to have induced several adverse effects. Hence, understanding the mechanisms mediating this neurotoxic insult of MDMA-analogs is of immense importance for the public health in the world. We synthesized and investigated the neurotoxic effects of MDMA and its analogs [4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 2, 6-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDMA), and N-ethyl-3, 4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDEA)]. The stimulatory or the dopaminergic agonist effects of MDMA and MDMA-analogs were elucidated using the established 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned animal model. Additionally, we also investigated the neurotoxic mechanisms of MDMA and MDMA-analogs on mitochondrial complex-I activity and reactive oxygen species generation. MDMA and MDMA-analogs exhibited stimulatory activity as compared to amphetamines and also induced several behavioral changes in the rodents. MDMA and MDMA-analogs enhanced the reactive oxygen generation and inhibited mitochondrial complex-I activity which can lead to neurodegeneration. Hence the mechanism of neurotoxicity, MDMA and MDMA-analogs can enhance the release of monoamines, alter the monoaminergic neurotransmission, and augment oxidative stress and mitochondrial abnormalities leading to neurotoxicity. Thus, our study will help in developing effective pharmacological and therapeutic approaches for the treatment of MDMA and MDMA-analog abuse. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elucidation of the Structure Formation of Polymer-Conjugated Proteins in Solution and Block Copolymer Templates

Science.gov (United States)

Ferebee, Rachel L.

The broader technical objective of this work is to contribute to the development of enzyme-functionalized nanoporous membranes that can function as autonomous and target selective dynamic separators. The scientific objective of the research performed within this thesis is to elucidate the parameters that control the mixing of proteins in organic host materials and in block copolymers templates in particular. A "biomimetic" membrane system that uses enzymes to selectively neutralize targets and trigger a change in permeability of nanopores lined with a pH-responsive polymer has been fabricated and characterized. Mechanical and functional stability, as well as scalability, have been demonstrated for this system. Additional research has focused on the role of polymeric ligands on the solubility characteristics of the model protein, Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). For this purpose BSA was conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) ligands of varied degree of polymerization and grafting density. Combined static and dynamic light scattering was used (in conjunction with MALDI-TOF) to determine the second virial coefficient in PBS solutions. At a given mass fraction PEG or average number of grafts, the solubility of BSA-PEG conjugates is found to increase with the degree of polymerization of conjugated PEG. This result informs the synthesis of protein-conjugate systems that are optimized for the fabrication of block copolymer blend materials with maximum protein loading. Blends of BSA-PEG conjugates and block copolymer (BCP) matrices were fabricated to evaluate the dispersion morphology and solubility limits in a model system. Electron microscopy was used to evaluate the changes in lamellar spacing with increased filling fraction of BSA-PEG conjugates.

Epistemological controversies in the analytic field elucidated by the theological realm.

Science.gov (United States)

Squverer, Amos

2015-08-01

This article proposes to address certain epistemological controversies in psychoanalysis by elucidating them through the religious field. The theological field serves the author as the repressed, which indicates the latent stakes that continue to do work at the heart of these debates. The goal is to show how debates that take place on the epistemological level bring into confrontation different anthropological concepts and discursive traditions that have their roots in religious discourses. The principal hypothesis of the author is that the dissident theories of psychoanalysis can be understood as a return to a pre-monotheistic theological conception or to an idolatrous practice that aims, primarily, to undo castration. This hypothesis will be used to elucidate the debates with two authors: Adler and Rank. The author shows how these theorists, by leaving analytical ground, connect their theories to pre-monotheistic conceptions and highlight conceptual tools that are characteristic to them. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Solution structure of LC4 transmembrane segment of CCR5.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuhide Miyamoto

Full Text Available CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5 is a specific co-receptor allowing the entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1. The LC4 region in CCR5 is required for HIV-1 entry into the cells. In this study, the solution structure of LC4 in SDS micelles was elucidated by using standard 1H two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and fluorescence quenching. The LC4 structure adopts two helical structures, whereas the C-terminal part remains unstructured. The positions in which LC4 binds to the HIV-1 inhibitory peptide LC5 were determined by docking calculations in addition to NMR data. The poses showed the importance of the hydrophobic interface of the assembled structures. The solution structure of LC4 elucidated in the present work provides a structural basis for further studies on the HIV-1 inhibitory function of the LC4 region.

Solution structure of LC4 transmembrane segment of CCR5.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Kazuhide; Togiya, Kayo

2011-01-01

CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a specific co-receptor allowing the entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The LC4 region in CCR5 is required for HIV-1 entry into the cells. In this study, the solution structure of LC4 in SDS micelles was elucidated by using standard 1H two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and fluorescence quenching. The LC4 structure adopts two helical structures, whereas the C-terminal part remains unstructured. The positions in which LC4 binds to the HIV-1 inhibitory peptide LC5 were determined by docking calculations in addition to NMR data. The poses showed the importance of the hydrophobic interface of the assembled structures. The solution structure of LC4 elucidated in the present work provides a structural basis for further studies on the HIV-1 inhibitory function of the LC4 region.

Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry characterization of the steroidal saponins of Dioscorea panthaica Prain et Burkill and its application for accelerating the isolation and structural elucidation of steroidal saponins.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weihao; Zhao, Ye; Jing, Wenguang; Zhang, Jun; Xiao, Hui; Zha, Qin; Liu, An

2015-03-01

Dioscorea panthaica is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb used in the treatment of various physiological conditions, including cardiovascular disease, gastropathy and hypertension. Steroidal saponins (SS) are the main active ingredients of this herb and have effects on myocardial ischemia and cancer. The phytochemical evaluation of SS is both time-consuming and laborious, and the isolation and structural determination steps can be especially demanding. For this reason, the development of new methods to accelerate the processes involved in the identification, isolation and structural elucidation of SS is highly desirable. In this study, a new ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-IT/MS(n)) method has been developed for the identification of the SS in D. panthaica Prain et Burkill. Notably, the current method can distinguish between spirostanol and furostanol-type compounds based on the fragmentation patterns observed by electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-IT/MS(n)) analysis. UHPLC-IT/MS(n) was used to conduct a detailed investigation of the number, structural class and order of the sugar moieties in the sugar chains of the SS present in D. panthaica. The established fragmentation features were used to analyze the compounds found in the 65% ethanol fraction of the water extracts of D. panthaica. Twenty-three SS were identified, including 11 potential new compounds and six groups of isomers. Two of these newly identified SS were selected as representative examples, and their chemical structures were confirmed by (1)H and (13)C NMR analyses. This newly developed UHPLC-IT/MS(n) method therefore allowed for the efficient identification, isolation and structural determination of the SS in D. panthaica. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microtermolides A and B from termite-associated Streptomyces sp. and structural revision of vinylamycin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carr, Gavin; Poulsen, Michael; Klassen, Jonathan L.

2012-01-01

Microtermolides A (1) and B (2) were isolated from a Streptomyces sp. strain associated with fungus-growing termites. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Structural elucidation of 1 led to the re-examination of the struct......Microtermolides A (1) and B (2) were isolated from a Streptomyces sp. strain associated with fungus-growing termites. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Structural elucidation of 1 led to the re...

Toward a Method for Exposing and Elucidating Ethical Issues with Human Cognitive Enhancement Technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Bjørn

2017-04-01

To develop a method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues with human cognitive enhancement (HCE). The intended use of the method is to support and facilitate open and transparent deliberation and decision making with respect to this emerging technology with great potential formative implications for individuals and society. Literature search to identify relevant approaches. Conventional content analysis of the identified papers and methods in order to assess their suitability for assessing HCE according to four selection criteria. Method development. Amendment after pilot testing on smart-glasses. Based on three existing approaches in health technology assessment a method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues in the assessment of HCE technologies was developed. Based on a pilot test for smart-glasses, the method was amended. The method consists of six steps and a guiding list of 43 questions. A method for exposing and elucidating ethical issues in the assessment of HCE was developed. The method provides the ground work for context specific ethical assessment and analysis. Widespread use, amendments, and further developments of the method are encouraged.

Tumour dosimetry and response in patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer using recombinant human thyrotropin before radioiodine therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keizer, Bart de; Hoekstra, Anne; Rijk, Peter P. van; Klerk, John M.H. de [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Room E02.222, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht (Netherlands); Brans, Boudewijn; Dierckx, Rudi A. [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent (Belgium); Zelissen, Pierre M.J.; Koppeschaar, Hans P.F.; Lips, Cees J.M. [Department of Endocrinology, University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands)

2003-03-01

The development of recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) has given clinicians new options for diagnostic follow-up and treatment of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). This paper evaluates the tumour dosimetry and response following -iodine-131 treatment of metastatic thyroid cancer patients after rhTSH stimulation instead of classical hormone withdrawal-induced hypothyroidism. Nineteen consecutive {sup 131}I treatments in 16 patients were performed after rhTSH stimulation. All patients had undergone a near-total thyroidectomy followed by an ablative dosage of {sup 131}I. They all suffered from metastatic or recurrent disease showing tumoral {sup 131}I uptake on previous post-treatment scintigraphy. Dosimetric calculations were performed using {sup 131}I tumour uptake measurements from post-treatment {sup 131}I scintigrams and tumour volume estimations from radiological images. Response was assessed by comparing pre-treatment serum thyroglobulin (Tg) level with the Tg level 3 months post treatment. In 18 out of 19 treatments, uptake of {sup 131}I in metastatic or recurrent lesions was seen. The median tumour radiation dose was 26.3 Gy (range 1.3-368 Gy), and the median effective half-life was 2.7 days (range 0.5-6.5 days). Eleven of 19 treatments (10/16 patients) were evaluable for response after 3 months. {sup 131}I therapy with rhTSH resulted in a biochemical partial response in 3/11 or 27% of treatments (two patients), biochemical stable disease in 2/11 or 18% of treatments and biochemical progressive disease in 6/11 or 55% of treatments. Our study showed that although tumour doses in DTC patients treated with {sup 131}I after rhTSH were highly variable, 45% of treatments led to disease stabilisation or partial remission when using rhTSH in conjunction with {sup 131}I therapy, without serious side-effects and with minimal impact on quality of life. RhTSH is therefore adequately satisfactory as an adjuvant tool in therapeutic settings and is

Using Genetic Buffering Relationships Identified in Fission Yeast To Elucidate the Molecular Pathology of Tuberous Sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-01

tsc1 and tsc2 loss of function mutations in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Northeast Regional Yeast Meeting, June 16-17, University at Buffalo, The State...AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-1-0169 TITLE: Using Genetic Buffering Relationships Identified in Fission Yeast To Elucidate the Molecular Pathology of...SUBTITLE Using Genetic Buffering Relationships Identified in Fission 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W81XWH-14-1-0169 Yeast to Elucidate the Molecular Pathology

Hypothyroidism and Mortality among Dialysis Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Rhee, Connie M.; Alexander, Erik K.; Bhan, Ishir

2013-01-01

Summary Background and objectives Hypothyroidism is highly prevalent among ESRD patients, but its clinical significance and the benefits of thyroid hormone replacement in this context remain unclear. Design, setting, participants, & measurements This study examined the association between hypothyroidism and all-cause mortality among 2715 adult dialysis patients with baseline thyrotropin levels measured between April of 2005 and April of 2011. Mortality was ascertained from Social Security Death Master Index and local registration systems. The association between hypothyroidism (thyrotropin greater than assay upper limit normal) and mortality was estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. To reduce the risk of observing reverse-causal associations, models included a 30-day lag between thyrotropin measurement and at-risk time. Results Among 350 (12.9%) hypothyroid and 2365 (87.1%) euthyroid (assay within referent range) patients, 917 deaths were observed during 5352 patient-years of at-risk time. Hypothyroidism was associated with higher mortality. Compared with thyrotropin in the low-normal range (0.4–2.9 mIU/L), subclinical hypothyroidism (thyrotropin >upper limit normal and ≤10.0 mIU/L) was associated with higher mortality; high-normal thyrotropin (≥3.0 mIU/L and ≤upper limit normal) and overt hypothyroidism (thyrotropin >10.0 mIU/L) were associated with numerically greater risk, but estimates were not statistically significant. Compared with spontaneously euthyroid controls, patients who were euthyroid while on exogenous thyroid replacement were not at higher mortality risk, whereas patients who were hypothyroid were at higher mortality risk. Sensitivity analyses indicated that effects on cardiovascular risk factors may mediate the observed association between hypothyroidism and death. Conclusions These data suggest that hypothyroidism is associated with higher mortality in dialysis patients, which may be ameliorated by thyroid hormone replacement

Combining pharmacophore fingerprints and PLS-discriminant analysis for virtual screening and SAR elucidation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Askjær, Sune; Langgård, Morten

2008-01-01

The criterion of success for the initial stages of a ligand-based drug-discovery project is dual. First, a set of suitable lead compounds has to be identified. Second, a level of a preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the identified ligands has to be established in order to guide ...... by the protein-binding site known from X-ray complexes. The result of this analysis assists in explaining the efficiency of 2D pharmacophore fingerprints as descriptors in virtual screening....... the lead optimization toward a final drug candidate. This paper presents a combined approach to solving these two problems of ligand-based virtual screening and elucidation of SAR based on interplay between pharmacophore fingerprints and interpretation of PLS-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models....... The virtual screening capability of the PLS-DA method is compared to group fusion maximum similarity searching in a test using four graph-based pharmacophore fingerprints over a range of 10 diverse targets. The PLS-DA method was generally found to do better than the Smax method. The GpiDAPH3 and PCH...

Effect of radioiodine irradiation of thyroid gland in vitro with a dose of 4-5 Gy on iodide transport in thyrocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paster, Yi.P.

2000-01-01

We study the influence of ouabain on the basal and thyrotropin-stimulated iodide uptake in thyroid gland preliminarily irradiated by radioiodine (absorbed dose: 4-5 Gy) in vitro. Newborn pig thyroid tissue was incubated in a medium, containing 37 kBq/ml of 131-iodine (absorbed dose: 4-5 Gy), washed and achieved by collagenase dissociation. Thyrocytes were incubated with thyrotropin (100.0 mE/ml), ouabain (0.1 mol/l), and 125-iodide (0.4 kBq/ml). Then cells were washed, stored at 4 degree C for 60 days, and the 125-iodide uptake was assessed. Ouabain depressed both the basal and thyrotropin-stimulated iodide uptakes by thyrocytes in vitro. After preliminary radioiodine irradiation of the thyroid tissue (absorbed dose: 4-5 Gy), ouabain stimulated both the basal and thyrotropin-stimulated iodide uptakes by thyrocytes

An analytical approach to elucidate the mechanism of grain refinement in calcium added Mg-Al alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagasivamuni, B.; Ravi, K.R.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Minor additions of Ca (<0.2%) refines the grain structure in Mg-(3, 6 and 9)Al alloys. • Analytical model elucidate that nucleation potency is enhanced after Ca addition. • Ternary Mg-Al-xCa growth restriction values (Q t ) are computed using Scheil equations. • Grain size predictions elucidate that nucleation events dominate grain refinement. • Growth restriction due to the higher Ca addition on grain refinement is not significant. - Abstract: The present study investigates the grain refinement of Mg-3Al, Mg-6Al and Mg-9Al alloys by calcium addition. The maximum reduction in grain size has been observed at 0.2% Ca addition in Mg-Al alloys, in which any further addition (up to 0.4%) has marginal improvement in grain refinement. The mechanism associated with the grain refinement of Mg-Al alloys by Ca addition is discussed in terms of growth restriction factor (Q) and constitutional undercooling (ΔT CS ) using analytical model. The influence of growth restriction factor (Q) on the final grain size of Ca-added Mg-Al alloys are calculated with the help analytical model by assuming that the number of nucleant particles is not altered through Ca addition. For accurate grain size calculations, the value of Q has been estimated with reliable thermodynamic database using Scheil solidification simulation. The comparison of predicted and experimental grain size results indicate that constitutional undercooling activation of nucleation events plays dominant role in grain refinement in Mg-Al alloys by calcium addition, whereas the increase in growth restriction value has negligible effect

Synthetic Elucidation of Design Principles for Molecular Qubits

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Michael James

Quantum information processing (QIP) is an emerging computational paradigm with the potential to enable a vast increase in computational power, fundamentally transforming fields from structural biology to finance. QIP employs qubits, or quantum bits, as its fundamental units of information, which can exist in not just the classical states of 0 or 1, but in a superposition of the two. In order to successfully perform QIP, this superposition state must be sufficiently long-lived. One promising paradigm for the implementation of QIP involves employing unpaired electrons in coordination complexes as qubits. This architecture is highly tunable and scalable, however coordination complexes frequently suffer from short superposition lifetimes, or T2. In order to capitalize on the promise of molecular qubits, it is necessary to develop a set of design principles that allow the rational synthesis of complexes with sufficiently long values of T2. In this dissertation, I report efforts to use the synthesis of series of complexes to elucidate design principles for molecular qubits. Chapter 1 details previous work by our group and others in the field. Chapter 2 details the first efforts of our group to determine the impact of varying spin and spin-orbit coupling on T2. Chapter 3 examines the effect of removing nuclear spins on coherence time, and reports a series of vanadyl bis(dithiolene) complexes which exhibit extremely long coherence lifetimes, in excess of the 100 mus threshold for qubit viability. Chapters 4 and 5 form two complimentary halves of a study to determine the exact relationship between electronic spin-nuclear spin distance and the effect of the nuclear spins on T2. Finally, chapter 6 suggests next directions for the field as a whole, including the potential for work in this field to impact the development of other technologies as diverse as quantum sensors and magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents.

Organic-Silica Interactions in Saline: Elucidating the Structural Influence of Calcium in Low-Salinity Enhanced Oil Recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Desmond, J L; Juhl, K; Hassenkam, T; Stipp, S L S; Walsh, T R; Rodger, P M

2017-09-08

Enhanced oil recovery using low-salinity solutions to sweep sandstone reservoirs is a widely-practiced strategy. The mechanisms governing this remain unresolved. Here, we elucidate the role of Ca 2+ by combining chemical force microscopy (CFM) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We probe the influence of electrolyte composition and concentration on the adsorption of a representative molecule, positively-charged alkylammonium, at the aqueous electrolyte/silica interface, for four electrolytes: NaCl, KCl, MgCl 2 , and CaCl 2 . CFM reveals stronger adhesion on silica in CaCl 2 compared with the other electrolytes, and shows a concentration-dependent adhesion not observed for the other electrolytes. Using MD simulations, we model the electrolytes at a negatively-charged amorphous silica substrate and predict the adsorption of methylammonium. Our simulations reveal four classes of surface adsorption site, where the prevalence of these sites depends only on CaCl 2 concentration. The sites relevant to strong adhesion feature the O - silica site and Ca 2+ in the presence of associated Cl - , which gain prevalence at higher CaCl 2 concentration. Our simulations also predict the adhesion force profile to be distinct for CaCl 2 compared with the other electrolytes. Together, these analyses explain our experimental data. Our findings indicate in general how silica wettability may be manipulated by electrolyte concentration.

Characteristic conformation of Mosher's amide elucidated using the cambridge structural database.

Science.gov (United States)

Ichikawa, Akio; Ono, Hiroshi; Mikata, Yuji

2015-07-16

Conformations of the crystalline 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-methoxy-2-phenylpropanamide derivatives (MTPA amides) deposited in the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) were examined statistically as Racid-enantiomers. The majority of dihedral angles (48/58, ca. 83%) of the amide carbonyl groups and the trifluoromethyl groups ranged from -30° to 0° with an average angle θ1 of -13°. The other conformational properties were also clarified: (1) one of the fluorine atoms was antiperiplanar (ap) to the amide carbonyl group, forming a staggered conformation; (2) the MTPA amides prepared from primary amines showed a Z form in amide moieties; (3) in the case of the MTPA amide prepared from a primary amine possessing secondary alkyl groups (i.e., Mosher-type MTPA amide), the dihedral angles between the methine groups and the carbonyl groups were syn and indicative of a moderate conformational flexibility; (4) the phenyl plane was inclined from the O-Cchiral bond of the methoxy moiety with an average dihedral angle θ2 of +21°; (5) the methyl group of the methoxy moiety was ap to the ipso-carbon atom of the phenyl group.

Structural and Functional Elucidation of Yeast Lanosterol 14α-Demethylase in Complex with Agrochemical Antifungals

Science.gov (United States)

Sagatova, Alia A.; Keniya, Mikhail V.; Negroni, Jacopo; Wilson, Rajni K.; Woods, Matthew A.; Monk, Brian C.

2016-01-01

Azole antifungals, known as demethylase inhibitors (DMIs), target sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway of fungal pathogens of both plants and humans. DMIs remain the treatment of choice in crop protection against a wide range of fungal phytopathogens that have the potential to reduce crop yields and threaten food security. We used a yeast membrane protein expression system to overexpress recombinant hexahistidine-tagged S. cerevisiae lanosterol 14α-demethylase and the Y140F or Y140H mutants of this enzyme as surrogates in order characterize interactions with DMIs. The whole-cell antifungal activity (MIC50 values) of both the R- and S-enantiomers of tebuconazole, prothioconazole (PTZ), prothioconazole-desthio, and oxo-prothioconazole (oxo-PTZ) as well as for fluquinconazole, prochloraz and a racemic mixture of difenoconazole were determined. In vitro binding studies with the affinity purified enzyme were used to show tight type II binding to the yeast enzyme for all compounds tested except PTZ and oxo-PTZ. High resolution X-ray crystal structures of ScErg11p6×His in complex with seven DMIs, including four enantiomers, reveal triazole-mediated coordination of all compounds and the specific orientation of compounds within the relatively hydrophobic binding site. Comparison with CYP51 structures from fungal pathogens including Candida albicans, Candida glabrata and Aspergillus fumigatus provides strong evidence for a highly conserved CYP51 structure including the drug binding site. The structures obtained using S. cerevisiae lanosterol 14α-demethylase in complex with these agrochemicals provide the basis for understanding the impact of mutations on azole susceptibility and a platform for the structure-directed design of the next-generation of DMIs. PMID:27907120

Structure and engineering of celluloses.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Serge; Samain, Daniel

2010-01-01

This chapter collates the developments and conclusions of many of the extensive studies that have been conducted on cellulose, with particular emphasis on the structural and morphological features while not ignoring the most recent results derived from the elucidation of unique biosynthetic pathways. The presentation of structural and morphological data gathered together in this chapter follows the historical development of our knowledge of the different structural levels of cellulose and its various organizational levels. These levels concern features such as chain conformation, chain polarity, chain association, crystal polarity, and microfibril structure and organization. This chapter provides some historical landmarks related to the evolution of concepts in the field of biopolymer science, which parallel the developments of novel methods for characterization of complex macromolecular structures. The elucidation of the different structural levels of organization opens the way to relating structure to function and properties. The chemical and biochemical methods that have been developed to dissolve and further modify cellulose chains are briefly covered. Particular emphasis is given to the facets of topochemistry and topoenzymology where the morphological features play a key role in determining unique physicochemical properties. A final chapter addresses what might be considered tomorrow's goal in amplifying the economic importance of cellulose in the context of sustainable development. Selected examples illustrate the types of result that can be obtained when cellulose fibers are no longer viewed as inert substrates, and when the polyhydroxyl nature of their surfaces, as well as their entire structural complexity, are taken into account. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Presence of Epstein-Barr virus-infected B lymphocytes with thyrotropin receptor antibodies on their surface in Graves' disease patients and in healthy individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Keiko; Higaki, Katsumi; Nakayama, Yuji; Miyauchi, Hiromi; Kiritani, Yui; Kanai, Kyosuke; Matsushita, Michiko; Iwasaki, Takeshi; Sugihara, Hirotsugu; Kuwamoto, Satoshi; Kato, Masako; Murakami, Ichiro; Nanba, Eiji; Kimura, Hiroshi; Hayashi, Kazuhiko

2014-05-01

Graves' disease is an autoimmune hyperthyroidism caused by thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAbs). Because Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) persists in B cells and is occasionally reactivated, we hypothesized that EBV contributes to TRAbs production in Graves' disease patients by stimulating the TRAbs-producing B cells. In order for EBV to stimulate antibody-producing cells, EBV must be present in those cells but that have not yet been observed. We examined whether EBV-infected (EBV(+)) B cells with TRAbs on their surface (TRAbs(+)) as membrane immunoglobulin were present in peripheral blood of Graves' disease patients. We analyzed cultured or non-cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 13 patients and 11 healthy controls by flow-cytometry and confocal laser microscopy, and confirmed all cultured PBMCs from 8 patients really had TRAbs(+) EBV(+) double positive cells. We unexpectedly detected TRAbs(+) cells in all healthy controls, and TRAbs(+) EBV(+) double positive cells in all cultured PBMC from eight healthy controls. The frequency of TRAbs(+) cells in cultured PBMCs was significantly higher in patients than in controls (p = 0.021). In this study, we indicated the presence of EBV-infected B lymphocytes with TRAbs on their surface, a possible player of the production of excessive TRAbs, the causative autoantibody for Graves' disease. This is a basic evidence for our hypothesis that EBV contributes to TRAbs production in Graves' disease patients. Our results further suggest that healthy controls have the potential for TRAbs production. This gives us an important insight into the pathogenesis of Graves' disease.

Thyrotropin serum levels are differentially associated with biochemical markers of bone turnover and stiffness in women and men: results from the SHIP cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsourdi, E; Wallaschofski, H; Rauner, M; Nauck, M; Pietzner, M; Rettig, R; Ittermann, T; Völzke, H; Völker, U; Hofbauer, L C; Hannemann, A

2016-02-01

In two large German population-based cohorts, we showed positive associations between serum thyrotropin (TSH) concentrations and the Fracture Risk Assessment score (FRAX) in men and positive associations between TSH concentrations and bone turnover markers in women. The role of thyroid hormones on bone stiffness and turnover is poorly defined. Existing studies are confounded by differences in design and small sample size. We assessed the association between TSH serum concentrations and bone stiffness and turnover in the SHIP cohorts, which are two population-based cohorts from a region in Northern Germany comprising 2654 men and women and 3261 men and women, respectively. We calculated the bone stiffness index using quantitative ultrasound (QUS) at the calcaneus, employed FRAX score for assessment of major osteoporotic fractures, and measured bone turnover markers, N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (P1NP), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), osteocalcin, and type I collagen cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTX) in all subjects and sclerostin in a representative subgroup. There was no association between TSH concentrations and the stiffness index in both genders. In men, TSH correlated positively with the FRAX score both over the whole TSH range (p < 0.01) and within the reference TSH range (p < 0.01). There were positive associations between TSH concentrations and P1NP, BAP, osteocalcin, and CTX (p < 0.01) in women but not in men. There was no significant association between TSH and sclerostin levels. TSH serum concentrations are associated with gender-specific changes in bone turnover and stiffness.

Atomic-level structures and physical properties of magnetic CoSiB metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shan, Guangcun; Liang Zhang, Ji; Li, Jiong; Zhang, Shuo; Jiang, Zheng; Huang, Yuying; Shek, Chan-Hung

2014-01-01

Two CoSiB metallic glasses of low Co contents, which consist of different clusters, have recently been developed by addition of solute atoms. In this work, the atomic structure and the magnetic properties of the two CoBSi metallic glasses were elucidated by state-of-the-art extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) combining with ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) computational techniques. Besides, the origin of these magnetic behaviors was discussed in view of the EXAFS results and atomic structures of the metallic glasses. - Graphical abstract: The atomic structure and the origins of the magnetic properties of two ternary CoBSi metallic glasses were elucidated by state-of-the-art extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) combining with ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) techniques. - Highlights: • The atomic structure and the origins of the magnetic properties of two ternary CoBSi metallic glasses were revealed. • The atomic structures were elucidated by state-of-the-art extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) combining with ab initio molecular-dynamics (AIMD) techniques. • The experimental spectra were in good agreement with the predictions of ab initio full multiple scattering theory using the FEFF8.4 code. • The origin of these magnetic behaviors was discussed in view of the EXAFS results and atomic structures of the metallic glasses. • These two metallic glasses consist of different clusters, and hence different magnetic properties, which are dominated by short-range orders (SROs)

Thyroid remnant ablation success and disease outcome in stage III or IV differentiated thyroid carcinoma: recombinant human thyrotropin versus thyroid hormone withdrawal.

Science.gov (United States)

Vallejo Casas, Juan A; Mena Bares, Luisa M; Gálvez Moreno, Maria A; Moreno Ortega, Estefanía; Marlowe, Robert J; Maza Muret, Francisco R; Albalá González, María D

2016-06-01

Most publications to date compare outcomes after post-surgical thyroid remnant ablation stimulated by recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) versus thyroid hormone withholding/withdrawal (THW) in low-recurrence risk differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients. We sought to perform this comparison in high-risk patients. We retrospectively analyzed ~9-year single-center experience in 70 consecutive adults with initial UICC (Union for International Cancer Control) stage III/IV, M0 DTC undergoing rhTSH-aided (N.=54) or THW-aided (N.=16) high-activity ablation. Endpoints included ablation success and DTC outcome. Assessed ≥1 year post-ablation, ablation success comprised a) no visible scintigraphic thyroid bed uptake or pathological extra-thyroidal uptake; b) undetectable stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) without interfering autoantibodies; c) both criteria. DTC outcome, determined at the latest visit, comprised either 1) "no evidence of disease" (NED): undetectable Tg, negative Tg autoantibodies, negative most recent whole-body scan, no suspicious findings clinically, on neck ultrasonography, or on other imaging; 2) persistent disease: failure to attain NED; or 3) recurrence: loss of NED. After the first ablative activity, ablation success by scintigraphic plus biochemical criteria was 64.8% in rhTSH patients, 56.3% in THW patients (P=NS). After 3.5-year versus 6.2-year median follow-up (P<0.05), DTC outcomes were NED, 85.2%, persistent disease, 13.0%, recurrence, 1.9%, in the rhTSH group and NED, 87.5%, persistent or recurrent disease, 6.3% each, in the THW group (P=NS). In patients with initial stage III/IV, M0 DTC, rhTSH-aided and THW-assisted ablation were associated with comparable remnant eradication or DTC cure rates.

Using Jigsaw-Style Spectroscopy Problem-Solving to Elucidate Molecular Structure through Online Cooperative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Winschel, Grace A.; Everett, Renata K.; Coppola, Brian P.; Shultz, Ginger V.

2015-01-01

Cooperative learning was employed as an instructional approach to facilitate student development of spectroscopy problem solving skills. An interactive online environment was used as a framework to structure weekly discussions around spectroscopy problems outside of class. Weekly discussions consisted of modified jigsaw-style problem solving…

Application of ion beams for elucidation of functions in living bodies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimura, Takashi; Ishihara, Noriyuki; Omichi, Hideki; Tamura, Mamoru; Omasa, Kenji; Sasaki, Yasuhito.

1992-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) is planning a research project, 'Application of Ion Beams for Elucidation of Functions in Living Bodies'. This project is characterized by the non-invasive or non-destructive measurement for living plants, animals and microorganisms and divided into two fields. The first field is the utilization of positron emitters prepared with cyclotron. The development of a new method which combines PET with other methods like near infrared region spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy is urgently desired. Positron emitters can be also applied to elucidate the functions of plants. The second field is in situ and non-invasive optical measurement of living bodies or cells irradiated with ion beams. Active species produced by irradiation could induce physiological and biochemical reactions in living bodies or cells. To actualize this project, a group of non-invasive measuring equipments for the first field will be set in a new building next to ion irradiation facilities (TIARA, Takasaki Ion Accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application). For the second field, in situ and non-invasive optical measurement of living bodies or cells with be carried out in TIARA. (J.P.N.)

Solving a 3D structural puzzle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoeck, Casper

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a versatile tool in analytical chemistry, highly suitable for structural elucidation of organic molecules – as well as multiple other areas of research. The subjects covered within this thesis all concern methods which allow a shift from covalent t...

Heparin sodium compliance to USP monograph: structural elucidation of an atypical 2.18 ppm NMR signal.

Science.gov (United States)

Mourier, Pierre A J; Guichard, Olivier Y; Herman, Fréderic; Viskov, Christian

2012-01-01

The ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) acceptance criteria in the new heparin US Pharmacopeia (USP) monograph do not take into account potential structural modifications responsible for any extra signals observed in ¹H NMR spectra, some purified heparins may be non-compliant under the proposed new USP guidelines and incorrectly classified as unsuitable for pharmaceutical use. Heparins from the "ES" source, containing an extra signal at 2.18 ppm, were depolymerized under controlled conditions using heparinases I, II, and III. The oligosaccharides responsible for the 2.18 ppm signal were enriched using orthogonal chromatographic techniques. After multiple purification steps, we obtained an oligosaccharide mixture containing a highly enriched octasaccharide bearing the structural modification responsible for the extra signal. Following heparinase I depolymerization, a pure tetrasaccharide containing the fingerprint structural modification was isolated for full structural determination. Using 1D and 2D ¹H NMR spectroscopy, the structural moiety responsible for the extra signal at 2.18 ppm was identified as an acetyl group on the heparin backbone, most likely resulting from a very minor manufacturing process side reaction that esterifies the uronic acid at position 3. Such analytical peculiarity has always been present in this heparin source and it was used safety over the years. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intracellular postsynaptic cannabinoid receptors link thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptors to TRPC-like channels in thalamic paraventricular nucleus neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L; Kolaj, M; Renaud, L P

2015-12-17

In rat thalamic paraventricular nucleus of thalamus (PVT) neurons, activation of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors enhances excitability via concurrent decrease in G protein-coupled inwardly-rectifying potassium (GIRK)-like and activation of transient receptor potential cation (TRPC)4/5-like cationic conductances. An exploration of intracellular signaling pathways revealed the TRH-induced current to be insensitive to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) inhibitors, but reduced by D609, an inhibitor of phosphatidylcholine-specific PLC (PC-PLC). A corresponding change in the I-V relationship implied suppression of the cationic component of the TRH-induced current. Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a product of the hydrolysis of PC. Studies focused on the isolated cationic component of the TRH-induced response revealed a reduction by RHC80267, an inhibitor of DAG lipase, the enzyme involved in the hydrolysis of DAG to the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Further investigation revealed enhancement of the cationic component in the presence of either JZL184 or WWL70, inhibitors of enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of 2-AG. A decrease in the TRH-induced response was noted in the presence of rimonabant or SR144528, membrane permeable CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists, respectively. A decrease in the TRH-induced current by intracellular, but not by bath application of the membrane impermeable peptide hemopressin, selective for CB1 receptors, suggests a postsynaptic intracellular localization of these receptors. The TRH-induced current was increased in the presence of arachidonyl-2'-chloroethylamide (ACEA) or JWH133, CB1 and CB2 receptor agonists, respectively. The PI3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, known to inhibit TRPC translocation, decreased the response to TRH. In addition, a TRH-induced enhancement of the low-threshold spike was prevented by both rimonabant, and SR144528. TRH had no influence on excitatory or inhibitory miniature

Capacitance-voltage characteristics of GaAs ion-implanted structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Privalov E. N.

2008-08-01

Full Text Available A noniterative numerical method is proposed to calculate the barrier capacitance of GaAs ion-implanted structures as a function of the Schottky barrier bias. The features of the low- and high-frequency capacitance-voltage characteristics of these structures which are due to the presence of deep traps are elucidated.

[Isolation and structure elucidation of further new saponins from Solidago canadensis].

Science.gov (United States)

Reznicek, G; Jurenitsch, J; Freiler, M; Korhammer, S; Haslinger, E; Hiller, K; Kubelka, W

1992-02-01

Four new main saponins (canadensis-saponins 5-8) (compounds 5-8) were isolated from Solidago canadensis L. (Asteraceae). Using GC/MS, FAB-MS, and mainly 2D-NMR techniques their structures were identified as 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl(1----3)-beta-D- glucopyranosyl]-28-O-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl(1----2)-alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1----4)-[beta-D- xylopyranosyl-(1----3)]-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-[beta-D-apio -D- furanosyl-(1----3)]-beta-D-6-deoxyglucopyranosyl-(1----)]-bayog enin(5),3-O- [beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-28-O-[beta-D- galactopyranosyl-(1----2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D- xylopyranosyl-(1----4)-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1----3)]-alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-[beta-D-apio-D-furanosyl-(1----3)]- arabinopyranosyl-(1----)]bayogenin(6),3-O-[beta-D-glucopy ran osyl-(1----3)- beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-28-O-[beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1----2)- alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1----4)-[beta-D- xylopyranosyl-(1----3)]-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-[alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)]-beta-D-6-deoxyglucopyranosyl-(1----)]-++ +bayogenin (7), and 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-28-[O- beta-D-galactopyranosyl-(1----2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D - xylopyranosyl-(1----4)-[beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1----3)]-alpha-L- rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----3)]arabinopyr anosyl - (1----)[-bayogenin (8).

Drug Elucidation: Invertebrate Genetics Sheds New Light on the Molecular Targets of CNS Drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donard S. Dwyer

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Many important drugs approved to treat common human diseases were discovered by serendipity, without a firm understanding of their modes of action. As a result, the side effects and interactions of these medications are often unpredictable, and there is limited guidance for improving the design of next-generation drugs. Here, we review the innovative use of simple model organisms, especially Caenorhabditis elegans, to gain fresh insights into the complex biological effects of approved CNS medications. Whereas drug discovery involves the identification of new drug targets and lead compounds/biologics, and drug development spans preclinical testing to FDA approval, drug elucidation refers to the process of understanding the mechanisms of action of marketed drugs by studying their novel effects in model organisms. Drug elucidation studies have revealed new pathways affected by antipsychotic drugs, e.g., the insulin signaling pathway, a trace amine receptor and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Similarly, novel targets of antidepressant drugs and lithium have been identified in C. elegans, including lipid-binding/transport proteins and the SGK-1 signaling pathway, respectively. Elucidation of the mode of action of anesthetic agents has shown that anesthesia can involve mitochondrial targets, leak currents and gap junctions. The general approach reviewed in this article has advanced our knowledge about important drugs for CNS disorders and can guide future drug discovery efforts.

Raman mapping in the elucidation of solid salt eutectic and near eutectic structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Rolf W.; Kerridge, D. H.

2002-01-01

The distribution of the different components of solidified eutectic or near-eutectic salt mixtures (eutectics) was examined by use of Raman microscope mapping of the structures formed when these melts were slowly cooled. Seven binary and one ternary system were investigated. In most cases...... and the composition. When unidirectional cooling was applied it was possible for the system (KCl-Na2SO4, 60:40 mol/mol) to observe lamellar arrangements of the component phases, in an arrangement closely similar to what is frequently found among metallic or ceramic eutectics. Each area, conglomerate or lamellar, did...

Structural elucidation of the Brucella melitensis M antigen by high-resolution NMR at 500 MHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bundle, D.R.; Cherwonogrodzky, J.W.; Perry, M.B.

1987-01-01

The Brucella M antigen from the species type strain Brucella melitensis 16M has been identified as a component of the cell wall lipopolysaccharide (LPS). O polysaccharide liberated from this LPS by mild acid hydrolysis exhibited M activity in serological tests and was shown to be a homopolymer of 4-formamido-4,6-dideoxy-α-D-mannopyranosyl residues arranged in an oligosaccharide repeating unit as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the native lipopolysaccharide. Structural analysis of the O polysaccharide by NMR methods was difficult due to apparent microheterogeneity of the repeating unit, which was in fact caused by the presence of rotational isomers of the N-formyl moiety. This problem was resolved by chemical modification of the polysaccharide to its amino and N-acetyl derivatives, the 500-MHz 1 H and 125-MHz 13 C NMR spectra of which could be analyzed in terms of a unique structure through application of pH-dependent β-shifts and two-dimensional techniques that included COSY, relayed COSY, and NOESY experiments together with heteronuclear C/H shift correlation spectroscopy. On the basis of these experiments and supported by methylation and periodate oxidation data, the structure of the M polysaccharide was determined as a linear polymer of unbranched pentasaccharide repeating units consisting of four 1,2-linked and one 1,3-lined 4,6-dideoxy-4-formamido-α-D-mannopyranosyl residues. The marked structural similarity of the M antigen and the A antigen, which is known to be a 1,2-linked homopolysaccharide of 4,6-dideoxy-4-formamido-α-D-mannopyranosyl units, accounts for cross-serological reactions of the two and the long-standing confusion surrounding the nature of their antigenic determinants

Elucidation and modulation of glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eberhart, K.

2011-01-01

This thesis deals with the elucidation of the synergistic effect of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone and the metabolic modulator 2-deoxyglucose on apoptosis induction in two in vitro model systems of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 2-deoxyglucose accelerated the kinetics of, and increased the sensitivity to, glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in two leukemia cell lines. In primary lymphocytes from healthy donors, in contrast, 2-deoxyglucose and dexamethasone did not act synergistically on apoptosis induction. To elucidate the molecular basis of the synergistic effect, glycolysis by means of glucose uptake, lactate production, ATP levels, glucose transporter and hexokinase expression and mitochondrial oxygen consumption was analyzed in treated vs. untreated cells. The study revealed a downregulation of gene expression of the glucose transporter GLUT1 and hexokinase 2 (HK2), release of HK2 from the outer mitochondrial membrane, as well as reduced glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration. Moreover, the analysis of the mitochondrial proteome by 2 dimensional differential gel electrophoresis after treatment with 2-deoxyglucose and dexamethasone revealed the regulation of several interesting candidate proteins involved in treatment related apoptosis. (author)

The subcellular and organ distribution and natural form of histidyl-proline diketopiperazine in rat brain determined by a specific radioimmunoassay.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanagisawa, T; Prasad, C; Peterkofsky, A

1980-11-10

Histidyl-proline diketopiperazine is produced in brain as a product of the metabolism of thyrotropin-releasing hormone. A number of the previously observed central nervous system and pituitary activities resulting from an exposure to thyrotropin-releasing hormone appear to involve the conversion of the releasing factor to the cyclic dipeptide. In the present study, the development of a rabbit antiserum that is highly specific for histidyl-proline diketopiperazine is described; the antiserum has essentially no capability to bind thyrotropin-releasing hormone or a number of other related peptides. The antibody can also distinguish between the natural form of the cyclic dipeptide and a diastereomer containing D-proline. A procedure for extraction, with high yield, of histidyl-proline diketopiperazine from brain is described. With the aid of the specific antiserum it was found that the preponderance of the cyclic dipeptide in rat brain is bound to high molecular weight material, mainly in the range of Mr = 70,000; histidyl-proline diketopiperazine can be disassociated from this material by boiling in salt/methanol solution. The concentration of the dipeptide in rat brain is in the range of 275 to 565 pmol/brain, approximately 2.5 times the concentrations determined for thyrotropin-releasing hormone (113 to 210 pmol/brain). A study of the subcellular distribution of histidyl-proline diketopiperazine and thyrotropin-releasing hormone suggests that the releasing factor is concentrated in synaptosomal vesicles while the diketopiperazine is not. A determination of the regional distribution of thyrotropin-releasing hormone and histidyl-proline diketopiperazine indicated that both peptides are found in highest concentrations in pituitary and hypothalamus, but are detectable in other areas of brain as well.

Determination of congenital hypothyroidism in neonatal by immunoradiometric assays of thyrotropin; Determinacion de hipotiroidismo congenito en neonatos por analisis inmunoradiometrico de tirotrofina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Contreras P, E

1998-06-01

The congenital hypothyroidism is the endocrine illness more frequent of the childhood, it is the one that produce the devastating effects on the growth and the development. It represent one of the few causes of mental delay that it could be prevented if it is diagnosed and treaty on time. The infants affected with congenital hypothyroidism, could be detected for the apparent presence of some physical abnormalities, which comes the first days of the birth. Unfortunately, in the moment in which the classical manifestations are made present, it is very probable that cerebral damage already exists, for what the affected children should be tried before the three months of life administering them thyroid hormones. In Mexico the incidence of the congenital hypothyroidism is of one for each 1612 births for that is very important in the area of Public Health diagnose in early form and with certainty the congenital hypothyroidism. The TSH hormone or thyrotropin is formed in the hypophysis and intervenes in the synthesis of the thyroid hormones (T3, T4) when the concentration of these is adapted, the formation of TSH is inhibited, for that upon lacking the thyroid hormones the concentration of TSH in the blood is high. For these reasons the shot metabolic state of a newborn could be determined, quantifying the TSH in blood obtained by heel stab of the neonatal, or in coming blood from the umbilical cord, after 48 hours of being born. However because the TSH is similar to other hormones and is in extremely low concentrations, it is made necessary appeal analytic techniques of very sensitive and specific laboratory like the Immunoradiometric assays (Irma) in order to could determine the levels of this hormone in the blood. (Author).

Food-intake dysregulation in type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats: hypothesized role of dysfunctional brainstem thyrotropin-releasing hormone and impaired vagal output.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, K; Ao, Y; Harper, R M; Go, V L W; Yang, H

2013-09-05

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), a neuropeptide contained in neural terminals innervating brainstem vagal motor neurons, enhances vagal outflow to modify multisystemic visceral functions and food intake. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are accompanied by impaired vagal functioning. We examined the possibility that impaired brainstem TRH action may contribute to the vagal dysregulation of food intake in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats, a T2D model with hyperglycemia and impaired central vagal activation by TRH. Food intake induced by intracisternal injection of TRH analog was reduced significantly by 50% in GK rats, compared to Wistar rats. Similarly, natural food intake in the dark phase or food intake after an overnight fast was reduced by 56-81% in GK rats. Fasting (48h) and refeeding (2h)-associated changes in serum ghrelin, insulin, peptide YY, pancreatic polypeptide and leptin, and the concomitant changes in orexigenic or anorexigenic peptide expression in the brainstem and hypothalamus, all apparent in Wistar rats, were absent or markedly reduced in GK rats, with hormone release stimulated by vagal activation, such as ghrelin and pancreatic polypeptide, decreased substantially. Fasting-induced Fos expression accompanying endogenous brainstem TRH action decreased by 66% and 91%, respectively, in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) in GK rats, compared to Wistar rats. Refeeding abolished fasting-induced Fos-expression in the NTS, while that in the DMV remained in Wistar but not GK rats. These findings indicate that dysfunctional brainstem TRH-elicited vagal impairment contributes to the disturbed food intake in T2D GK rats, and may provide a pathophysiological mechanism which prevents further weight gain in T2D and obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of sodium ions on rat thyrocyte (FRTL-5 cells) swelling- and thyrotropin-activated taurine efflux dependent on cAMP and Epac.

Science.gov (United States)

Fugelli, Kjell

2016-03-01

Cellular osmolyte release is important in preventing water accumulation and swelling. However, the signaling pathways that detect volume increase and activate solute efflux are still not fully understood. We investigated efflux activation of the osmolyte taurine which is actively accumulated in rat thyrocytes (FRTL-5). Efflux of accumulated [(3)H]taurine was stimulated by cellular swelling and thyrotropin (TSH). These effects were significantly diminished in cells having reduced TSH receptor concentrations. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (IBMX, Rolipram) enhanced both responses. An analog of forskolin (FSK; 7-deacetyl-7-[O-(N-methylpiperazino)-γ-butyryl] dihydrochloride) and an analog of cAMP, specific for activating exchange protein activated directly by cAMP (Epac; 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-2'-O-methyladenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, acetoxymethyl ester), significantly stimulated [(3)H]taurine efflux. A cAMP analog specific for activating protein kinase A (PKA; N6-benzoyladenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, acetoxymethyl ester) had no significant stimulatory effect on [(3)H]taurine efflux rate. The amiloride analog, 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)-amiloride, which inhibits a TSH-stimulated Na(+)/H(+) exchanger, enhanced (100 %) and ouabain inhibited (50 %) the TSH-stimulated [(3)H]taurine efflux rate. The effect of FSK on efflux was strongly potentiated by Na(+)-free iso-osmotic conditions and by osmolality/cell volume that affected also the db-cAMP-stimulated efflux. The TSH receptors and downstream elements of the signaling pathway comprising adenylyl cyclase, cAMP and Epac appeared to mediate the hormone-induced signal for [(3)H]taurine efflux from FRTL-5 cells. With less evidence, the cell volume/osmolality-induced [(3)H]taurine efflux cascade appeared to share some of the hormone signaling elements and to modulate the hormone signaling pathway at two levels through cellular Na(+).

Active Interaction Mapping as a tool to elucidate hierarchical functions of biological processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Farré, Jean-Claude; Kramer, Michael; Ideker, Trey; Subramani, Suresh

2017-07-03

Increasingly, various 'omics data are contributing significantly to our understanding of novel biological processes, but it has not been possible to iteratively elucidate hierarchical functions in complex phenomena. We describe a general systems biology approach called Active Interaction Mapping (AI-MAP), which elucidates the hierarchy of functions for any biological process. Existing and new 'omics data sets can be iteratively added to create and improve hierarchical models which enhance our understanding of particular biological processes. The best datatypes to further improve an AI-MAP model are predicted computationally. We applied this approach to our understanding of general and selective autophagy, which are conserved in most eukaryotes, setting the stage for the broader application to other cellular processes of interest. In the particular application to autophagy-related processes, we uncovered and validated new autophagy and autophagy-related processes, expanded known autophagy processes with new components, integrated known non-autophagic processes with autophagy and predict other unexplored connections.

Structural Analysis of Natural Products

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Přichystal, Jakub; Schug, K. A.; Lemr, Karel; Novák, Jiří; Havlíček, Vladimír

2016-01-01

Roč. 88, č. 21 (2016), s. 10338-10346 ISSN 0003-2700 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1509; GA MŠk(CZ) LH14064; GA ČR(CZ) GA16-20229S Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : IONIZATION-MASS-SPECTROMETRY * BIOSYNTHETIC GENE CLUSTERS * STRUCTURE ELUCIDATION Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology Impact factor: 6.320, year: 2016

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Uncommon Secondary Metabolites from Cistus salviifolius L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perihan Gürbüz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To our knowledge this is the first report on the isolation of a flavonoid glycoside: quercetin 3-O-α-arabinopyranoside (5, two phenylbutanon glycosides: 4-(4'-O-[6''-O-galloyl-β-galactopyranosyl]-3'-hydroxyphenyl-butan-2-on (8, 4-(3'-O-β-glucopyranosyl-4'-hydroxyphenyl-butan-2-on (9, one phloroglucinol glycoside: 1-O-β-glucopyranosyl-3,5-dimethoxybenzene (10 and a steroid glycoside: sitosterol-3-O-(6''-O-butanoyl-β-galactopyranoside (14 from the Cistus species (Cistaceae. Additional to these compounds three flavonol aglycones: kaempferol (1, quercetin (2, myricetin (3; three flavonoid glycosides; kaempferol 3-O-β-(6''-O-trans-p-coumaroyl-glucopyranoside (4, quercetin 3-O-β-galactopyranoside (6, myricetin 3-O-β-galactopyranoside (7; one phloroglucinol glycoside: 1-O-β-glucopyranosyl-3,5-dimethoxybenzene (11; one steroid aglycone: β-sitosterol (12; one steroid glycoside: Sitosterol-3-O- β-glucopyranoside (13 were isolated from the aerial parts of the Cistus salviifolius L.. Their structures were identified using spectral methods (UV, IR, 1D- and 2D-NMR, and ESI-MS.

Glucosinolate structures in evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Agerbirk, Niels; Olsen, Carl Erik

2012-05-01

By 2000, around 106 natural glucosinolates (GSLs) were probably documented. In the past decade, 26 additional natural GSL structures have been elucidated and documented. Hence, the total number of documented GSLs from nature by 2011 can be estimated to around 132. A considerable number of additional suggested structures are concluded not to be sufficiently documented. In many cases, NMR spectroscopy would have provided the missing structural information. Of the GSLs documented in the past decade, several are of previously unexpected structures and occur at considerable levels. Most originate from just four species: Barbarea vulgaris, Arabidopsis thaliana, Eruca sativa and Isatis tinctoria. Acyl derivatives of known GSLs comprised 15 of the 26 newly documented structures, while the remaining exhibited new substitution patterns or chain length, or contained a mercapto group or related thio-functionality. GSL identification methods are reviewed, and the importance of using authentic references and structure-sensitive detection methods such as MS and NMR is stressed, especially when species with relatively unknown chemistry are analyzed. An example of qualitative GSL analysis is presented with experimental details (group separation and HPLC of both intact and desulfated GSLs, detection and structure determination by UV, MS, NMR and susceptibility to myrosinase) with emphasis on the use of NMR for structure elucidation of even minor GSLs and GSL hydrolysis products. The example includes identification of a novel GSL, (R)-2-hydroxy-2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)ethylglucosinolate. Recent investigations of GSL evolution, based on investigations of species with well established phylogeny, are reviewed. From the relatively few such investigations, it is already clear that GSL profiles are regularly subject to evolution. This result is compatible with natural selection for specific GSL side chains. The probable existence of structure-specific GSL catabolism in intact plants suggests

Understanding Structural Features of Microbial Lipases–-An Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Geraldine Sandana Mala

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The structural elucidations of microbial lipases have been of prime interest since the 1980s. Knowledge of structural features plays an important role in designing and engineering lipases for specific purposes. Significant structural data have been presented for few microbial lipases, while, there is still a structure-deficit, that is, most lipase structures are yet to be resolved. A search for ‘lipase structure’ in the RCSB Protein Data Bank ( http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/ returns only 93 hits (as of September 2007 and, the NCBI database ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov reports 89 lipase structures as compared to 14719 core nucleotide records. It is therefore worthwhile to consider investigations on the structural analysis of microbial lipases. This review is intended to provide a collection of resources on the instrumental, chemical and bioinformatics approaches for structure analyses. X-ray crystallography is a versatile tool for the structural biochemists and is been exploited till today. The chemical methods of recent interests include molecular modeling and combinatorial designs. Bioinformatics has surged striking interests in protein structural analysis with the advent of innumerable tools. Furthermore, a literature platform of the structural elucidations so far investigated has been presented with detailed descriptions as applicable to microbial lipases. A case study of Candida rugosa lipase (CRL has also been discussed which highlights important structural features also common to most lipases. A general profile of lipase has been vividly described with an overview of lipase research reviewed in the past.

Structural insight into catalytic mechanism of PET hydrolase

OpenAIRE

Han, Xu; Liu, Weidong; Huang, Jian-Wen; Ma, Jiantao; Zheng, Yingying; Ko, Tzu-Ping; Xu, Limin; Cheng, Ya-Shan; Chen, Chun-Chi; Guo, Rey-Ting

2017-01-01

PET hydrolase (PETase), which hydrolyzes polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into soluble building blocks, provides an attractive avenue for the bioconversion of plastics. Here we present the structures of a novel PETase from the PET-consuming microbe Ideonella sakaiensis in complex with substrate and product analogs. Through structural analyses, mutagenesis, and activity measurements, a substrate-binding mode is proposed, and several features critical for catalysis are elucidated.

Structural insight into catalytic mechanism of PET hydrolase.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Xu; Liu, Weidong; Huang, Jian-Wen; Ma, Jiantao; Zheng, Yingying; Ko, Tzu-Ping; Xu, Limin; Cheng, Ya-Shan; Chen, Chun-Chi; Guo, Rey-Ting

2017-12-13

PET hydrolase (PETase), which hydrolyzes polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into soluble building blocks, provides an attractive avenue for the bioconversion of plastics. Here we present the structures of a novel PETase from the PET-consuming microbe Ideonella sakaiensis in complex with substrate and product analogs. Through structural analyses, mutagenesis, and activity measurements, a substrate-binding mode is proposed, and several features critical for catalysis are elucidated.

Structural elucidation of dendritic host-guest complexes by X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chang, T.; Pieterse, K.; Broeren, M.A.C.; Kooijman, H.; Spek, A.L.; Hilbers, P.A.J.; Meijer, E.W.

2007-01-01

The multiple monovalent binding of adamantyl-urea poly(propyleneimine) dendrimers with carboxylic acid-urea guests was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations and X-ray crystallography to better understand the structure and behavior of the dynamic multivalent complex in solution. The

Structural elucidation and NMR assignments of a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid from Crotalaria vitellina Ker Gawl.

Science.gov (United States)

Casimiro Bezerra, Denise Aline; Fechine Tavares, Josean; dos Santos, Paula Ferreira; Castello Branco, Marianna Vieira Sobral; de Fátima Agra, Maria; Subrinho, Fernanda Lima; Braz-Filho, Raimundo; da Silva, Marcelo Sobral

2013-08-01

A new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, named crotavitelin, was isolated from fruits of Crotalaria vitellina, Fabaceae (Papilionoideae). The structure was established by spectroscopic techniques such as one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR, IR, and MS. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Elastomeric Cellular Structure Enhanced by Compressible Liquid Filler

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yueting; Xu, Xiaoqing; Xu, Chengliang; Qiao, Yu; Li, Yibing

2016-05-01

Elastomeric cellular structures provide a promising solution for energy absorption. Their flexible and resilient nature is particularly relevant to protection of human bodies. Herein we develop an elastomeric cellular structure filled with nanoporous material functionalized (NMF) liquid. Due to the nanoscale infiltration in NMF liquid and its interaction with cell walls, the cellular structure has a much enhanced mechanical performance, in terms of loading capacity and energy absorption density. Moreover, it is validated that the structure is highly compressible and self-restoring. Its hyper-viscoelastic characteristics are elucidated.

Subclinical hypothyroidism diagnosed by thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in infertile women with basal thyroid-stimulating hormone levels of 2.5 to 5.0 mIU/L.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, You-Jeong; Kim, Chung-Hoon; Kwack, Jae-Young; Ahn, Jun-Woo; Kim, Sung-Hoon; Chae, Hee-Dong; Kang, Byung-Moon

2014-11-01

To investigate the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) diagnosed by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulating test in infertile women with basal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels of 2.5 to 5.0 mIU/L. This study was performed in 39 infertile women with ovulatory disorders (group 1) and 27 infertile women with male infertility only (group 2, controls) who had basal serum TSH levels of 2.5 to 5.0 mIU/L and a TRH stimulating test. Serum TSH levels were measured before TRH injection (TSH0) and also measured at 20 minutes (TSH1) and 40 minutes (TSH2) following intravenous injection of 400 µg TRH. Exaggerated TSH response above 30 mIU/L following TRH injection was diagnosed as SH. Group 1 was composed of poor responders (subgroup A), patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (subgroup B) and patients with WHO group II anovulation except poor responder or polycystic ovary syndrome (subgroup C). The prevalence of SH was significantly higher in group 1 of 46.2% (18/39) compared with 7.4% (2/27) in group 2 (P=0.001). TSH0, TSH1, and TSH2 levels were significantly higher in group 1 than the corresponding values in group 2 (Pstimulation test had better be performed in infertile women with ovulatory disorders who have TSH levels between 2.5 and 5.0 mIU/L for early detection and appropriate treatment of SH.

Elucidation of the mechanism for anomalous blueshift

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaki, Hideyuki; Kando, Masaki; Koga, J.K.; Nakajima, Kazuhisa

2004-01-01

The anomalous blue shift of high intensity laser which was discovered by the present authors occurs in the process of gas ionization accompanied with the self-focusing. This shift does not depend either on the laser power or on the gas density and all photons are shifted by a certain frequency, while the one which has been known in common depends on both the intensity and density and only some part of the laser photons is shifted. In order to elucidate this phenomenon, the occurrence conditions of the anomalous blue shift were investigated and the results are compared with theory. The shifts were measured by focusing the laser beam in the gas-filled chamber with an off-axis-parabolic mirror and with a convex lens. When the reflective lens was used the amount of the shift depended significantly on the ionization rate of the plasma, while it depended on the pulse width when the transmission lens was used indicating that the shift is determined by the valence due to the ionization at the focusing point. (S. Funahashi)

Successful Use of [14C]Paracetamol Microdosing to Elucidate Developmental Changes in Drug Metabolism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.G. Mooij (Miriam); E. van Duijn (Esther); C.A.J. Knibbe (Catherijne); K.M. Allegaert (Karel); J. Windhorst (Judith); J.M. van Rosmalen (Joost); N.H. Hendrikse (N. Harry); D. Tibboel (Dick); W.H.J. Vaes (Wouter H. J.); S.N. de Wildt (Saskia)

2017-01-01

textabstractBackground: We previously showed the practical and ethical feasibility of using [14C]-microdosing for pharmacokinetic studies in children. We now aimed to show that this approach can be used to elucidate developmental changes in drug metabolism, more specifically, glucuronidation and

Successful Use of [(14)C]Paracetamol Microdosing to Elucidate Developmental Changes in Drug Metabolism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mooij, M.G.; Duijn, E. van; Knibbe, C.A.; Allegaert, K.; Windhorst, A.D.; Rosmalen, J. van; Hendrikse, N.H.; Tibboel, D.; Vaes, W.H.; Wildt, S.N. de

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: We previously showed the practical and ethical feasibility of using [(14)C]-microdosing for pharmacokinetic studies in children. We now aimed to show that this approach can be used to elucidate developmental changes in drug metabolism, more specifically, glucuronidation and sulfation,

Dimensions of normal and abnormal personality: Elucidating DSM-IV personality disorder symptoms in adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tromp, N.B.; Koot, H.M.

2010-01-01

The present study aimed to elucidate dimensions of normal and abnormal personality underlying DSM-IV personality disorder (PD) symptoms in 168 adolescents referred to mental health services. Dimensions derived from the Big Five of normal personality and from Livesley's (2006) conceptualization of

Structural basis for PPARγ transactivation by endocrine-disrupting organotin compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Shusaku; Hiromori, Youhei; Nakamura, Shota; Kawahara, Kazuki; Fukakusa, Shunsuke; Maruno, Takahiro; Noda, Masanori; Uchiyama, Susumu; Fukui, Kiichi; Nishikawa, Jun-Ichi; Nagase, Hisamitsu; Kobayashi, Yuji; Yoshida, Takuya; Ohkubo, Tadayasu; Nakanishi, Tsuyoshi

2015-02-01

Organotin compounds such as triphenyltin (TPT) and tributyltin (TBT) act as endocrine disruptors through the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signaling pathway. We recently found that TPT is a particularly strong agonist of PPARγ. To elucidate the mechanism underlying organotin-dependent PPARγ activation, we here analyzed the interactions of PPARγ ligand-binding domain (LBD) with TPT and TBT by using X-ray crystallography and mass spectroscopy in conjunction with cell-based activity assays. Crystal structures of PPARγ-LBD/TBT and PPARγ-LBD/TPT complexes were determined at 1.95 Å and 1.89 Å, respectively. Specific binding of organotins is achieved through non-covalent ionic interactions between the sulfur atom of Cys285 and the tin atom. Comparisons of the determined structures suggest that the strong activity of TPT arises through interactions with helix 12 of LBD primarily via π-π interactions. Our findings elucidate the structural basis of PPARγ activation by TPT.

Piracetam and TRH analogues antagonise inhibition by barbiturates, diazepam, melatonin and galanin of human erythrocyte D-glucose transport

OpenAIRE

Naftalin, Richard J; Cunningham, Philip; Afzal-Ahmed, Iram

2004-01-01

Nootropic drugs increase glucose uptake into anaesthetised brain and into Alzheimer's diseased brain. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone, TRH, which has a chemical structure similar to nootropics increases cerebellar uptake of glucose in murine rolling ataxia. This paper shows that nootropic drugs like piracetam (2-oxo 1 pyrrolidine acetamide) and levetiracetam and neuropeptides like TRH antagonise the inhibition of glucose transport by barbiturates, diazepam, melatonin and endogenous neuropeptide...

Correlated mutations in protein sequences: Phylogenetic and structural effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lapedes, A.S. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States). Theoretical Div.]|[Santa Fe Inst., NM (United States); Giraud, B.G. [C.E.N. Saclay, Gif/Yvette (France). Service Physique Theorique; Liu, L.C. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States). Theoretical Div.; Stormo, G.D. [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Dept. of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

1998-12-01

Covariation analysis of sets of aligned sequences for RNA molecules is relatively successful in elucidating RNA secondary structure, as well as some aspects of tertiary structure. Covariation analysis of sets of aligned sequences for protein molecules is successful in certain instances in elucidating certain structural and functional links, but in general, pairs of sites displaying highly covarying mutations in protein sequences do not necessarily correspond to sites that are spatially close in the protein structure. In this paper the authors identify two reasons why naive use of covariation analysis for protein sequences fails to reliably indicate sequence positions that are spatially proximate. The first reason involves the bias introduced in calculation of covariation measures due to the fact that biological sequences are generally related by a non-trivial phylogenetic tree. The authors present a null-model approach to solve this problem. The second reason involves linked chains of covariation which can result in pairs of sites displaying significant covariation even though they are not spatially proximate. They present a maximum entropy solution to this classic problem of causation versus correlation. The methodologies are validated in simulation.

Structural studies on proton/protonation of the protein molecule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morimoto, Yukio; Kida, Akiko; Chatake, Toshiyuki; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Hosokawa, Keiichi; Murakami, Takuto; Umino, Masaaki; Tanaka, Ichiro; Hisatome, Ichiro; Yanagisawa, Yasutake; Fujiwara, Satoshi; Hidaka, Yuji; Shimamoto, Shigeru; Fujiwara, Mitsutoshi; Nakanishi, Takeyoshi

2015-01-01

This paper reports three studies involved in the analysis of protons and protonation at physiologically active sites in protein molecules. (1) 'Elucidation of the higher-order structure formation and activity performing mechanism of yeast proteasome.' With an aim to apply to anti-cancer drugs, this study performed the shape analysis of the total structure of 26S proteasome using small-angle X-ray scattering to clarify the complex form where controlling elements bonded to the both ends of 20S catalyst body, and analyzed the complex structure between the active sites of 20S and inhibitor (drug). (2) 'Basic study on the neutron experiment of biomolecules such as physiologically active substances derived from Natto-bacteria.' This study conducted the purification, crystallization, and X-ray analysis experiment of nattokinase; high-grade purification and solution experiment of vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7); and Z-DNA crystal structure study related to the neutron crystal analysis of DNA as another biomolecule structure study. (3) 'Functional evaluation on digestive enzymes derived from Nephila clavata.' As an Alzheimer's disease-related amyloid fibril formation model, this study carried out elucidation on the fibrosis and fiber-forming mechanism of the traction fiber of Nephila clavata, and the functional analysis of its degrading enzyme. (A.O.)

Structural elucidation, molecular representation and solvent interactions of vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich South African coals

Science.gov (United States)

van Niekerk, Daniel

The structural differences and similarities of two Permian-aged South African coals, vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals (similar rank, carbon content and Permian age), were evaluated. With South African coals the opportunity presented itself to study not only Permian-aged Gondwana vitrinite but also inertinite. It was expected that these coals would differ from Northern hemisphere Carboniferous coals. It was concluded from various structural data that both coals, although different in maceral composition and depositional basins, are similar in their base structural composition. The main differences were that the inertinite-rich Highveld coal was more ordered, more aromatic, and had less hydrogen than the vitrinite-rich Waterberg coal. Analytical data were used to construct large-scale advanced molecular representations for vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals. The three-dimensional models were structurally diverse with a molecular weight range of 78 to 1900 amu. The vitrinite-rich coal model consisted of 18,572 atoms and 191 individual molecules and the inertinite-rich coal model consisted of 14,242 atoms and 158 individual molecules. This largescale modeling effort was enabled by the development of various PERL scripts to automate various visualization and analytical aspects. Coal swelling studies were conducted using the traditional pack-bed swelling method and a new novel single-particle stop-motion videography swelling method with NMP and CS2/NMP solvents. The pack-bed swelling showed that vitrinite-rich coal had a greater swelling extent and that swelling extent for both coals was greater in CS2/NMP binary solvent than for NMP. Single-particle swelling experiments showed that both coals, for both solvents, exhibit overshoot-type and climbing-type swelling behaviors. Inertinite-coal had a faster swelling rate, in both solvents, than the vitrinite-rich coal. The single-particle swelling data was used to calculate

Elucidating Mechanisms of Molecular Recognition Between Human Argonaute and miRNA Using Computational Approaches

KAUST Repository

Jiang, Hanlun

2016-12-06

MicroRNA (miRNA) and Argonaute (AGO) protein together form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) that plays an essential role in the regulation of gene expression. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of AGO-miRNA recognition is thus of great importance not only for the in-depth understanding of miRNA function but also for inspiring new drugs targeting miRNAs. In this chapter we introduce a combined computational approach of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, Markov state models (MSMs), and protein-RNA docking to investigate AGO-miRNA recognition. Constructed from MD simulations, MSMs can elucidate the conformational dynamics of AGO at biologically relevant timescales. Protein-RNA docking can then efficiently identify the AGO conformations that are geometrically accessible to miRNA. Using our recent work on human AGO2 as an example, we explain the rationale and the workflow of our method in details. This combined approach holds great promise to complement experiments in unraveling the mechanisms of molecular recognition between large, flexible, and complex biomolecules.

Elucidating Mechanisms of Molecular Recognition Between Human Argonaute and miRNA Using Computational Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Hanlun; Zhu, Lizhe; Héliou, Amélie; Gao, Xin; Bernauer, Julie; Huang, Xuhui

2017-01-01

MicroRNA (miRNA) and Argonaute (AGO) protein together form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) that plays an essential role in the regulation of gene expression. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of AGO-miRNA recognition is thus of great importance not only for the in-depth understanding of miRNA function but also for inspiring new drugs targeting miRNAs. In this chapter we introduce a combined computational approach of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, Markov state models (MSMs), and protein-RNA docking to investigate AGO-miRNA recognition. Constructed from MD simulations, MSMs can elucidate the conformational dynamics of AGO at biologically relevant timescales. Protein-RNA docking can then efficiently identify the AGO conformations that are geometrically accessible to miRNA. Using our recent work on human AGO2 as an example, we explain the rationale and the workflow of our method in details. This combined approach holds great promise to complement experiments in unraveling the mechanisms of molecular recognition between large, flexible, and complex biomolecules.

Structures of Astromaterials Revealed by EBSD

Science.gov (United States)

Zolensky, M.

2018-01-01

Groups at the Johnson Space Center and the University of Tokyo have been using electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) to reveal the crystal structures of extraterrestrial minerals for many years. Even though we also routinely use transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD), and conventional electron diffraction, we find that EBSD is the most powerful technique for crystal structure elucidation in many instances. In this talk I describe a few of the cases where we have found EBSD to provide crucial, unique information. See attachment.

Spreading properties of cosmetic emollients: Use of synthetic skin surface to elucidate structural effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Douguet, Marine; Picard, Céline; Savary, Géraldine; Merlaud, Fabien; Loubat-Bouleuc, Nathalie; Grisel, Michel

2017-06-01

The study focuses on the impact of structural and physicochemical properties of emollients on their spreadability. Fifty-three emollients, among which esters, silicones, vegetable and mineral oils, have been characterized. Their viscosity, surface tension, density and spreadability have been measured. Vitro-skin ® , an artificial skin substitute, was used as an artificial porous substrate to measure spreadability. Two different methods have been selected to characterize spreadability, namely contact angle and spreading value. Dynamic contact angle measurements showed that emollient spreadability is first governed by spontaneous spreading and that, in a second phase, absorption and migration into the porous substrate becomes the driver of the extension of the spreading area. Statistical analysis of physicochemical and spreading value data revealed that viscosity has a major impact on the spreading behavior of emollients whatever their chemical type. A special emphasis was placed on the ester family in which chemical diversity is very wide. The results highlighted a difference between "high viscosity esters" for which viscosity is the main factor impacting spreadability and "low viscosity esters" for which structural variations (mono/diester, saturated/unsaturated chain, linear/branched chain) have to be considered in addition to viscosity. Linear regressions were used to express spreading value as a function of viscosity for each of the four emollient families tested (esters, silicones, vegetable and mineral oils). These regressions allowed the development of reliable predictive models as a powerful tool for formulators to forecast spreadability of emollients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure of chymotrypsin variant B from Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leth-Larsen, Rikke; Asgeirsson, B; Thórólfsson, M

1996-01-01

The amino-acid sequence of chymotrypsin variant B isolated from the pyloric caeca of Atlantic cod has been elucidated. The characterization of the primary structure is based on N-terminal Edman degradation and mass spectrometry of the native protein and enzymatically derived peptides. Chymotrypsi...... autolysis sites, cod variant B only contains a single autolysis site. The three-dimensional structures of the A- and B-variants of cod has been modelled on the known crystal structure of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin showing almost superimposable structures....

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of a Novel Yellow Pigment from the Marine Bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Kumar

2005-10-01

Full Text Available The marine environment is a major source for many novel natural compounds. A new yellow pigment has been isolated from the marine bacterium P. tunicata and identified as a new member of the tambjamine class of compounds. The structural identification was achieved by a combination of 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry data.

Well-defined azazirconacyclopropane complexes supported on silica structurally determined by 2D NMR comparative elucidation

KAUST Repository

El Eter, Mohamad; Hamzaoui, Bilel; Abou-Hamad, Edy; Pelletier, Jeremie; Basset, Jean-Marie

2013-01-01

Grafting of Zr(NMe2)4 on mesoporous silica SBA-15 afforded selectively well-defined surface species SiOZr(NMe2) (η2NMeCH2). 2D solid-state NMR (1H- 13C HETCOR, Multiple Quantum) experiments have shown a unique structural rearrangement occurring on the immobilised zirconium bis methylamido ligand. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

Structure elucidation and chemical synthesis of stigmolone, a novel type of prokaryotic pheromone.

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, W E; Berkessel, A; Plaga, W

1998-09-15

Approximately 2 micromol of a novel prokaryotic pheromone, involved in starvation-induced aggregation and formation of fruiting bodies by the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca, were isolated by a large-scale elution procedure. The pheromone was purified by HPLC, and high-resolution MS, IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR were used to identify the active substance as the hydroxy ketone 2,5, 8-trimethyl-8-hydroxy-nonan-4-one, which has been named stigmolone. The analysis was complicated by a solvent-dependent equilibrium between stigmolone and the cyclic enol-ether 3,4-dihydro-2,2, 5-trimethyl-6-(2-methylpropyl)-2H-pyran formed by intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the 8-OH group at the ketone C4 followed by loss of H2O. Both compounds were synthesized chemically, and their structures were confirmed by NMR analysis. Natural and synthetic stigmolone have the same biological activity at ca. 1 nM concentration.

Biochemical research elucidating metabolic pathways in Pneumocystis*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaneshiro E.S.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Advances in sequencing the Pneumocystis carinii genome have helped identify potential metabolic pathways operative in the organism. Also, data from characterizing the biochemical and physiological nature of these organisms now allow elucidation of metabolic pathways as well as pose new challenges and questions that require additional experiments. These experiments are being performed despite the difficulty in doing experiments directly on this pathogen that has yet to be subcultured indefinitely and produce mass numbers of cells in vitro. This article reviews biochemical approaches that have provided insights into several Pneumocystis metabolic pathways. It focuses on 1 S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet; SAM, which is a ubiquitous participant in numerous cellular reactions; 2 sterols: focusing on oxidosqualene cyclase that forms lanosterol in P. carinii; SAM:sterol C-24 methyltransferase that adds methyl groups at the C-24 position of the sterol side chain; and sterol 14α-demethylase that removes a methyl group at the C-14 position of the sterol nucleus; and 3 synthesis of ubiquinone homologs, which play a pivotal role in mitochondrial inner membrane and other cellular membrane electron transport.

Isolation and structure elucidation of neuropeptides of the AKH/RPCH family in long-horned grasshoppers (Ensifera).

Science.gov (United States)

Gäde, G

1992-11-01

An identical neuropeptide was isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography from the corpora cardiaca of the king cricket, Libanasidus vittatus, and the two armoured ground crickets, Heterodes namaqua and Acanthoproctus cervinus. The crude gland extracts had adipokinetic activity in migratory locusts, hypertrehalosaemic activity in American cockroaches and a slight hypertrehalosaemic, but no adipokinetic, effect in armoured ground crickets. The primary structure of this neuropeptide was determined by pulsed-liquid phase sequencing employing Edman chemistry after enzymically deblocking the N-terminal 5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid residue. The C-terminus was also blocked, as indicated by the lack of digestion by carboxypeptidase A. The peptide was assigned the structure [symbol: see text]Glu-Leu-Asn-Phe-Ser-Thr-Gly-TrpNH2, previously designated Scg-AKH-II. The corpora cardiaca of the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus contained a neuropeptide which differed in retention time from the one isolated from the king and armoured ground crickets. The structure was assigned as [symbol: see text]Glu-Val-Asn-Phe-Ser-Thr-Gly-TrpNH2, previously designated Grb-AKH. This octapeptide caused hyperlipaemia in its donor species. The presence of the same peptide, Scg-AKH-II, in the two primitive infraorders of Ensifera, and the different peptide, Grb-AKH, in the most advanced infraorder of Ensifera, supports the evolutionary trends assigned formerly from morphological and physiological evidence.

Elucidating the Solvation Structure and Dynamics of Lithium Polysulfides Resulting from Competitive Salt and Solvent Interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rajput, Nav Nidhi; Murugesan, Vijayakumar; Shin, Yongwoo; Han, Kee Sung; Lau, Kah Chun; Chen, Junzheng; Liu, Jun; Curtiss, Larry A.; Mueller, Karl T.; Persson, Kristin A.

2017-04-10

Fundamental molecular level understanding of functional properties of liquid solutions provides an important basis for designing optimized electrolytes for numerous applica-tions. In particular, exhaustive knowledge of solvation structure, stability and transport properties is critical for developing stable electrolytes for fast charging and high energy density next-generation energy storage systems. Here we report the correlation between solubility, solvation structure and translational dynamics of a lithium salt (Li-TFSI) and polysulfides species using well-benchmarked classical molecular dynamics simulations combined with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). It is observed that the polysulfide chain length has a significant effect on the ion-ion and ion-solvent interaction as well as on the diffusion coefficient of the ionic species in solution. In particular, extensive cluster formation is observed in lower order poly-sulfides (Sx2-; x≤4), whereas the longer polysulfides (Sx2-; x>4) show high solubility and slow dynamics in the solu-tion. It is observed that optimal solvent/salt ratio is essen-tial to control the solubility and conductivity as the addi-tion of Li salt increases the solubility but decreases the mo-bility of the ionic species. This work provides a coupled theoretical and experimental study of bulk solvation struc-ture and transport properties of multi-component electro-lyte systems, yielding design metrics for developing optimal electrolytes with improved stability and solubility.

Ordered mesoporous silica materials with complicated structures

KAUST Repository

Han, Yu

2012-05-01

Periodically ordered mesoporous silicas constitute one of the most important branches of porous materials that are extensively employed in various chemical engineering applications including adsorption, separation and catalysis. This short review gives an introduction to recently developed mesoporous silicas with emphasis on their complicated structures and synthesis mechanisms. In addition, two powerful techniques for solving complex mesoporous structures, electron crystallography and electron tomography, are compared to elucidate their respective strength and limitations. Some critical issues and challenges regarding the development of novel mesoporous structures as well as their applications are also discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

In-situ observation of structure formation in polymer processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murase, Hiroki

2009-01-01

In-situ X-ray scattering in polymer processing is a crucial method to elucidate the mechanism of structure formation in the process. Fiber spinning is one such process primarily imposing extensional deformation on polymeric melt at the spin-line during rapid cooling. In-situ small-angle X-ray scattering using synchrotron radiation on the spinning process allows direct observation of the transient structure developing in the process. (author)

Comparative genomics of the relationship between gene structure and expression

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ren, X.

2006-01-01

The relationship between the structure of genes and their expression is a relatively new aspect of genome organization and regulation. With more genome sequences and expression data becoming available, bioinformatics approaches can help the further elucidation of the relationships between gene

Applying iPSCs for Preserving Endangered Species and Elucidating the Evolution of Mammalian Sex Determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Honda, Arata

2018-04-06

The endangered species Tokudaia osimensis has the unique chromosome constitution of 2n = 25, with an XO/XO sex chromosome configuration (2n = 25; XO). There is urgency to preserve this species and to elucidate the regulator(s) that can discriminate the males and females arising from the indistinguishable sex chromosome constitution. However, it is not realistic to examine this rare animal species by sacrificing individuals. Recently, true naïve induced pluripotent stem cells were successfully generated from a female T. osimensis, and the sexual plasticity of its germ cells was elucidated. This achievement constitutes the basis of an attractive research area, including embryonic fate determination, sex determination, and factor(s) that can replace the Y chromosome. In this essay, concrete strategies to conserve rare animal species and to reveal their specific characteristics using other compatible and abundant animals are proposed. © 2018 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

The importance of the photosynthetic Gibbs effect in the elucidation of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Ebenhöh, Oliver; Spelberg, Stephanie

2018-02-19

The photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle, or Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle, is now contained in every standard biochemistry textbook. Although the cycle was already proposed in 1954, it is still the subject of intense research, and even the structure of the cycle, i.e. the exact series of reactions, is still under debate. The controversy about the cycle's structure was fuelled by the findings of Gibbs and Kandler in 1956 and 1957, when they observed that radioactive 14 CO 2 was dynamically incorporated in hexoses in a very atypical and asymmetrical way, a phenomenon later termed the 'photosynthetic Gibbs effect'. Now, it is widely accepted that the photosynthetic Gibbs effect is not in contradiction to the reaction scheme proposed by CBB, but the arguments given have been largely qualitative and hand-waving. To fully appreciate the controversy and to understand the difficulties in interpreting the Gibbs effect, it is illustrative to illuminate the history of the discovery of the CBB cycle. We here give an account of central scientific advances and discoveries, which were essential prerequisites for the elucidation of the cycle. Placing the historic discoveries in the context of the modern textbook pathway scheme illustrates the complexity of the cycle and demonstrates why especially dynamic labelling experiments are far from easy to interpret. We conclude by arguing that it requires sound theoretical approaches to resolve conflicting interpretations and to provide consistent quantitative explanations. © 2018 The Author(s).

A stepwise approach to the evaluation and treatment of subclinical hyperthyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Vinh Q; Burch, Henry B

2012-01-01

To review a stepwise approach to the evaluation and treatment of subclinical hyperthyroidism. English-language articles regarding clinical management of subclinical hyperthyroidism published between 2007 and 2012 were reviewed. Subclinical hyperthyroidism is encountered on a daily basis in clinical practice. When evaluating patients with a suppressed serum thyrotropin value, it is important to exclude other potential etiologies such as overt triiodothyronine toxicosis, drug effect, nonthyroidal illness, and central hypothyroidism. In younger patients with mild thyrotropin suppression, it is acceptable to perform testing again in 3 to 6 months to assess for persistence before performing further diagnostic testing. In older patients or patients with thyrotropin values less than 0.1 mIU/L, diagnostic testing should proceed without delay. Persistence of thyrotropin suppression is more typical of nodular thyroid autonomy, whereas thyroiditis and mild Graves disease frequently resolve spontaneously. The clinical consequences of subclinical hyperthyroidism, such as atrial dysrhythmia, accelerated bone loss, increased fracture rate, and higher rates of cardiovascular mortality, are dependent on age and severity. The decision to treat subclinical hyperthyroidism is directly tied to an assessment of the potential for clinical consequences in untreated disease. Definitive therapy is generally selected for patients with nodular autonomous function, whereas antithyroid drug therapy is more appropriate for mild, persistent Graves disease. The presented stepwise approach to the care of patients presenting with an isolated suppression of serum thyrotropin focuses on the differential diagnosis, a prediction of the likelihood of persistence, an assessment of potential risks posed to the patient, and, finally, a personalized choice of therapy.

Structure elucidation of female-specific volatiles released by the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armin Tröger

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Females of the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica produce the putative polydeoxypropionates (2E,4E,6S,8S,10S-4,6,8,10-tetramethyltrideca-2,4-diene and (2E,4E,6S,8S,10S-4,6,8,10-tetramethyltrideca-2,4-dien-1-ol or their enantiomers as sex specific volatiles. The structures were assigned on the basis of GC–MS investigations using synthetic reference compounds.

Preferential Selectivity of Inhibitors with Human Tau Protein Kinase Gsk3 Elucidates Their Potential Roles for Off-Target Alzheimer’s Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jagadeesh Kumar Dasappa

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Alzheimer’s disease (AD is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta peptides (A and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs. The abnormal phosphorylation of tau leads to the formation of NFTs produced by the action of tau kinases, resulting in the loss of neurons and synapse, leading to dementia. Hence, tau kinases have become potential drug target candidates for small molecule inhibitors. With an aim to explore the identification of a common inhibitor, this investigation was undertaken towards analyzing all 10 tau kinases which are implicated in phosphorylation of AD. A set of 7 inhibitors with varied scaffolds were collected from the Protein Data Bank (PDB. The analysis, involving multiple sequence alignment, 3D structural alignment, catalytic active site overlap, and docking studies, has enabled elucidation of the pharmacophoric patterns for the class of 7 inhibitors. Our results divulge that tau protein kinases share a specific set of conserved structural elements for the binding of inhibitors and ATP, respectively. The scaffold of 3-aminopyrrolidine (inhibitor 6 exhibits high preferential affinity with GSK3. Surprisingly, the PDB does not contain the structural details of GSK3 with this specific inhibitor. Thus, our investigations provide vital clues towards design of novel off-target drugs for Alzheimer’s.

Interactions of structurally modified surfactants with reservoir minerals: Calorimetric, spectroscopic and electrokinetic study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Somasundaran, P.; Sivakumar, A.; Xu, Q.

1991-03-01

The objective of this project is to elucidate mechanisms of adsorption of structurally modified surfactants on reservoir minerals and to develop a full understanding of the effect of the surfactant structure on the nature of the adsorbed layers at the molecular level. An additional aim is to study the adsorption of surfactant mixtures on simple well-characterized minerals and on complex minerals representing real conditions. The practical goal of these studies is the identification of the optimum surfactant structures and their combinations for micellar flooding. In this work, the experiments on adsorption were focussed on the position of sulfonate and methyl groups on the aromatic ring of alkyl xylene sulfonates. A multi-pronged approach consisting of calorimetry, electrokinetics, wettability and spectroscopy is planned to elucidate the adsorption mechanism of surfactants and their mixtures on minerals such as alumina and kaolinite. 32 refs., 15 figs., 7 tabs.

Structural studies of chemical constituents of Thithonia Tagetiflora Desv (Asteraceae)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ngoc Huynh, Vinh; Nguyen Thi Hoai, Thu; Phi Phung Nguyen, Kim

2013-01-01

Tithonia tagetiflora Desv. (Asteraceae) is a widespread plant in Vietnam, and the species of Tithonia are known as plants containing many biologically active compounds. However, T. tagetiflora's chemical composition remains mostly unknown. Therefore, we now report the structural elucidation of tw...

Structural Elucidation and Biological Activity of a Highly Regular Fucosylated Glycosaminoglycan from the Edible Sea Cucumber Stichopus herrmanni.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaomei; Luo, Lan; Cai, Ying; Yang, Wenjiao; Lin, Lisha; Li, Zi; Gao, Na; Purcell, Steven W; Wu, Mingyi; Zhao, Jinhua

2017-10-25

Edible sea cucumbers are widely used as a health food and medicine. A fucosylated glycosaminoglycan (FG) was purified from the high-value sea cucumber Stichopus herrmanni. Its physicochemical properties and structure were analyzed and characterized by chemical and instrumental methods. Chemical analysis indicated that this FG with a molecular weight of ∼64 kDa is composed of N-acetyl-d-galactosamine, d-glucuronic acid (GlcA), and l-fucose. Structural analysis clarified that the FG contains the chondroitin sulfate E-like backbone, with mostly 2,4-di-O-sulfated (85%) and some 3,4-di-O-sulfated (10%) and 4-O-sulfated (5%) fucose side chains that link to the C3 position of GlcA. This FG is structurally highly regular and homogeneous, differing from the FGs of other sea cucumbers, for its sulfation patterns are simpler. Biological activity assays indicated that it is a strong anticoagulant, inhibiting thrombin and intrinsic factor Xase. Our results expand the knowledge on structural types of FG and illustrate its biological activity as a functional food material.

Computer-assisted modeling: Contributions of computational approaches to elucidating macromolecular structure and function: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walton, S.

1987-01-01

The Committee, asked to provide an assessment of computer-assisted modeling of molecular structure, has highlighted the signal successes and the significant limitations for a broad panoply of technologies and has projected plausible paths of development over the next decade. As with any assessment of such scope, differing opinions about present or future prospects were expressed. The conclusions and recommendations, however, represent a consensus of our views of the present status of computational efforts in this field

Structure of restacked MoS{sub 2} and WS{sub 2} elucidated by electron crystallography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heising, J; Kanatzidis, M G

1999-02-03

There has been a lot of confusion about the nature of restacked MoS{sub 2} and WS{sub 2}. The structure has been proposed to be trigonal TiS{sub 2} type with octahedral M{sup 4} and called 1T-MoS{sub 2}. The presence of a distortion in the metal plane that gives rise to a superstructure has been suggested. Electron crystallographic studies on small (submicron) single crystal domains of restacked WS{sub 2} and MoS{sub 2} have been performed to solve their superstructure. It was shown that what initially seems to be a trigonal crystal is actually a triplet of three individual orthorhombic crystals. Using two-dimensional hk0 data from films for both triple and single crystals the authors calculated corresponding Patterson projections, which reveal a severe distortion in the Mo/W plane, forming infinite zigzag chains. The projection of the structure suggests M-M distances of 2.92 and 2.74 {angstrom} for MoS{sub 2} and Ws{sub 2}, respectively. Least-squares refinement from the single-crystal data gives R{sub 1} = 13.3% for WS{sub 2} and R{sub 1} = 15.3% for MoS{sub 2}. Therefore, it is proposed that restacked MoS{sub 2} and WS{sub 2} are not 1T form but rather WTe{sub 2} type.

True Nature of Supply Network Communication Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lokhman Hakim bin Osman

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Globalization of world economy has altered the definition of organizational structure. Global supply chain can no longer be viewed as an arm-length structure. It has become more complex. The complexity demands deeper research and understanding. This research analyzed a structure of supply network in an attempt to elucidate the true structure of the supply network. Using the quantitative Social Network Analysis methodology, findings of this study indicated that, the structure of the supply network differs depending on the types of network relations. An important implication of these findings would be a more focus resource management upon network relationship development that is based on firms’ positions in the different network structure. This research also contributes to the various strategies of effective and efficient supply chain management.

Structure elucidation of a bioactive polysaccharide from fruiting bodies of Hericium erinaceus in different maturation stages.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qiao-Zhen; Wu, Di; Zhou, Shuai; Liu, Yan-Fang; Li, Zheng-Peng; Feng, Jie; Yang, Yan

2016-06-25

HPB-3, a heteropolysaccharide, with a mean molecular weight of 1.5×10(4)Da, was obtained from the maturating-stage IV, V and VI fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus, exhibited higher macrophages stimulation activities, was able to upregulate the functional events mediated by activated macrophages, such as production of nitric oxide (NO). Monosaccharide composition analysis showed that HPB-3 comprised l-fucose, d-galactose and d-glucose in the ratio of 5.2:23.9:1. Its chemical structure was characterized by sugar and methylation analysis, along with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, including (1)H-(1)H COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, HMQC and HMBC experiments. The results indicated that HPB-3 contained a-(1/6)-linked galactopyranosyl backbone, partially with a side chain composed of α-l-fucopyranose at the O-2 position. The predicted primary structure of the polysaccharide was established as below. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS): a novel probe for local structure of glassy solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, J.

1979-01-01

The extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) is the oscillation in the absorption coefficient extending a few hundred eVs on the high energy side of an x-ray absorption edge. This mode of spectroscopy has recently been realized to be a powerful tool in probing the local atomic structure of all states of matter, particularly with the advent of intense synchrotron radiation. More importantly is the unique ability of EXAFS to probe the structure and dynamics around individual atomic species in a multi-atomic system. In this paper, the physical processes associated with the EXAFS phenomenon will be discussed. Experimental results obtained at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory on some oxide and metallic glasses will be presented. The local structure in these materials are elucidated using a Fourier transform technique

Structural elucidation and magnetic behavior evaluation of rare earth (La, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy) doped BaCoNi-X hexagonal nano-sized ferrites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majeed, Abdul; Khan, Muhammad Azhar; Raheem, Faseeh ur; Hussain, Altaf; Iqbal, F.; Murtaza, Ghulam; Akhtar, Majid Niaz; Shakir, Imran; Warsi, Muhammad Farooq

2016-01-01

Rare-earth (RE=La 3+ , Nd 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ ) doped Ba 2 NiCoRE x Fe 28−x O 46 (x=0.25) hexagonal ferrites were synthesized for the first time via micro-emulsion route, which is a fast chemistry route for obtaining nano-sized ferrite powders. These nanomaterials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD analysis exhibited that all the samples crystallized into single X-type hexagonal phase. The crystalline size calculated by Scherrer's formula was found in the range 7–19 nm. The variations in lattice parameters elucidated the incorporation of rare-earth cations in these nanomaterials. FTIR absorption spectra of these X-type ferrites were investigated in the wave number range 500–2400 cm −1. Each spectrum exhibited absorption bands in the low wave number range, thereby confirming the X-type hexagonal structure. The enhancement in the coercivity was observed with the doping of rare-earth cations. The saturation magnetization was lowered owing to the redistribution of rare-earth cations on the octahedral site (3b VI ). The higher values of coercivity (664–926 Oe) of these nanomaterials suggest their use in longitudinal recording media. - Graphical abstract: Nano-sized rare-earth (RE=La 3+ , Nd 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Dy 3+ ) doped Ba 2 NiCoRE x Fe 28−x O 46 (x=0.25) hexagonal ferrites were synthesized for the first time via micro-emulsion route and the crystallite size was found in the range 7–19 nm. The enhancement in the coercivity was observed with the doping of rare-earth cations. The higher values of coercivity (664–926 Oe) of these nanomaterials suggest their use in longitudinal recording media. - Highlights: • Micro-emulsion route was used to synthesize Ba 2 NiCoRE x Fe 28−x O 46 ferrites. • The crystallite size was found in the range 7–19 nm. • The rare-earth incorporation enhanced the coercivity (664–926 Oe). �

Structure/Function Analysis of Protein-Protein Interactions and Role of Dynamic Motions in Mercuric Ion Reductase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, Susan M.

2005-05-18

This report summarizes the activities and findings of our structure/function studies of the bacterial detoxification enzyme mercuric ion reductase. The objectives of the work were to obtain crystal structure information for the catalytic core of this enzyme, use the information to investigate the importance of specific parts of the enzyme to its function, and investigate the role of one domain of the enzyme in its function within cells. We describe the accomplishments towards these goals including many structures of the wild type and mutant forms of the enzyme that highlight its interactions with its Hg(II) substrate, elucidation of the role of the N-terminal domain in vitro and in vivo, and elucidation of the roles of at two conserved residues in the core in the mechanism of catalysis.

Reappraisal of the structure of arterial Tunica adventitia and its ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Many anatomical studies on arteries, however, still make only peripheral reference to it, without elucidating its detailed structure. ... Google literature search was done using the key words tunica adventitia combined with: artery, aorta, cells, cell types, collagen, elastic fibres, vasa vasora, lymphatics, nerves, atherosclerosis.

Elucidation of spin echo small angle neutron scattering correlation functions through model studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Shew, Chwen-Yang; Chen, Wei-Ren

2012-02-14

Several single-modal Debye correlation functions to approximate part of the overall Debey correlation function of liquids are closely examined for elucidating their behavior in the corresponding spin echo small angle neutron scattering (SESANS) correlation functions. We find that the maximum length scale of a Debye correlation function is identical to that of its SESANS correlation function. For discrete Debye correlation functions, the peak of SESANS correlation function emerges at their first discrete point, whereas for continuous Debye correlation functions with greater width, the peak position shifts to a greater value. In both cases, the intensity and shape of the peak of the SESANS correlation function are determined by the width of the Debye correlation functions. Furthermore, we mimic the intramolecular and intermolecular Debye correlation functions of liquids composed of interacting particles based on a simple model to elucidate their competition in the SESANS correlation function. Our calculations show that the first local minimum of a SESANS correlation function can be negative and positive. By adjusting the spatial distribution of the intermolecular Debye function in the model, the calculated SESANS spectra exhibit the profile consistent with that of hard-sphere and sticky-hard-sphere liquids predicted by more sophisticated liquid state theory and computer simulation. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

Modeling the structure of SARS 3a transmembrane protein using a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

three α-helices has been subjected to MD simulations to examine its quality. The TM bundle was ... of the structure of the channel, however, are yet to be elucidated. ... interactions between the proteins and the lipid bilayer has been studied ...

Essential elucidation for preparation of supported nickel phosphide upon nickel phosphate precursor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xuguang; Xu, Lei; Zhang, Baoquan

2014-01-01

Preparation of supported nickel phosphide (Ni 2 P) depends on nickel phosphate precursor, generally related to its chemical composition and supports. Study of this dependence is essential and meaningful for the preparation of supported Ni 2 P with excellent catalytic activity. The chemical nature of nickel phosphate precursor is revealed by Raman and UV–vis spectra. It is found that initial P/Ni mole ratio ≥0.8 prohibits the Ni-O-Ni bridge bonding (i.e., nickel oxide). This chemical bonding will not result in Ni 2 P structure, verified by XRD characterization results. The alumina (namely, γ-Al 2 O 3 , θ-Al 2 O 3 , or α-Al 2 O 3 ) with distinct physiochemical properties also results in diverse chemical nature of nickel phosphate, and then different nickel phosphides. The influence of alumina support on producing Ni 2 P was explained by the theory of surface energy heterogeneity, calculated by the NLDFT method based on N 2 -sorption isotherm. The uniform surface energy of α-Al 2 O 3 results only in the nickel phosphosate precursor and thus the Ni 2 P phase. - Graphical abstract: Surface energy heterogeneity in alumina (namely α-Al 2 O 3 , θ-Al 2 O 3 , and γ-Al 2 O 3 ) supported multi-oxidic precursors with different reducibilities and thus diverse nickel phosphides (i.e., Ni 3 P, Ni 12 P 5 , Ni 2 P). - Highlights: • Preparing pure Ni 2 P. • Elucidating nickel phosphate precursor. • Associating with surface energy

Tannin structural elucidation and quantitative ³¹P NMR analysis. 2. Hydrolyzable tannins and proanthocyanidins.

Science.gov (United States)

Melone, Federica; Saladino, Raffaele; Lange, Heiko; Crestini, Claudia

2013-10-02

An unprecedented analytical method that allows simultaneous structural and quantitative characterization of all functional groups present in tannins is reported. In situ labeling of all labile H groups (aliphatic and phenolic hydroxyls and carboxylic acids) with a phosphorus-containing reagent (Cl-TMDP) followed by quantitative ³¹P NMR acquisition constitutes a novel fast and reliable analytical tool for the analysis of tannins and proanthocyanidins with significant implications for the fields of food and feed analyses, tannery, and the development of natural polyphenolics containing products.

Thyrotropinoma and multinodular goiter: A diagnostic challenge for hyperthyroidism

OpenAIRE

Aksoy, Duygu Yazgan; Gedik, Arzu; Cinar, Nese; Soylemezoglu, Figen; Berker, Mustafa; Gurlek, Omer Alper

2013-01-01

Thyroid disorders are frequently encountered. The diagnosis is straightforward unless clinical or laboratory findings are inconclusive and/or perplexing. Hyperthyroidism due to a thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma rarely occurs and symptoms due to thyroid hormone excess are subtle. The presentation of the disease becomes unusual when co-secretion of other hormones with thyrotropin or concomitant thyroid parenchymal pathology exist. We present the case of a 63-year-old female patient with...

Lack of association between autonomously functioning thyroid nodules and germline polymorphisms of the thyrotropin receptor and Gαs genes in a mild to moderate iodine-deficient Caucasian population.

Science.gov (United States)

Vicchio, Teresa Manuela; Giovinazzo, Salvatore; Certo, Rosaria; Cucinotta, Mariapaola; Micali, Carmelo; Baldari, Sergio; Benvenga, Salvatore; Trimarchi, Francesco; Campennì, Alfredo; Ruggeri, Rosaria Maddalena

2014-07-01

Mutations of the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) and/or Gαs gene have been found in a number of, but not all, autonomously functioning thyroid nodules (AFTNs). Recently, in a 15-year-old girl with a hyperfunctioning papillary thyroid carcinoma, we found two somatic and germline single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): a SNP of the TSHR gene (exon 7, codon 187) and a SNP of Gαs gene (exon 8, codon 185). The same silent SNP of the TSHR gene had been reported in patients with AFTN or familial non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism. No further data about the prevalence of the two SNPs in AFTNs as well as in the general population are available in the literature. To clarify the possible role of these SNPs in predisposing to AFTN. Germline DNA was extracted from blood leukocytes of 115 patients with AFTNs (43 males and 72 females, aged 31-85 years, mean ± SD = 64 ± 13) and 100 sex-matched healthy individuals from the same geographic area, which is marginally iodine deficient. The genotype distribution of the two SNPs was investigated by restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence of the two SNPs in our study population was low and not different to that found in healthy individuals: 8 % of patients vs. 9 % of controls were heterozygous for the TSHR SNP and 4 % patients vs. 6 % controls were heterozygous for the Gαs SNP. One patient harbored both SNPs. These results suggest that these two SNPs do not confer susceptibility for the development of AFTN.

Structural researches of carbonic fluid nanosystems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kyzyma, O.A.; Tomchuk, A.V.; Avdeev, M.V.; Tropin, T.V.; Aksenov, V.L.; Korobov, M.V.

2015-01-01

The results of researches concerning the cluster state in a number of disperse carbonic materials that are widely used in modern applications, including fullerenes and detonation nanodiamonds, are reported. With the help of the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) method, some basic aspects of clustering in such systems are elucidated. At the same time, for the most effective and reliable description of a cluster structure under various conditions, a complex analysis involving complementary experimental and calculation techniques is applied. The experimental aspects of SANS applications are emphasized, and a qualitatively new idea of the structure of analyzed systems is formulated

Electrophilic properties of patulin. Adduct structures and reaction pathways with 4-bromothiophenol and other model nucleophiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Fliege, R; Metzler, M

2000-05-01

The mycotoxin patulin (PAT) is believed to exert its cytotoxic and chromosome-damaging effects by forming covalent adducts with essential cellular thiols. Since the chemical structures of such adducts are unknown to date, we have studied the reaction of PAT and its O-acetylated derivative with the monofunctional thiol model compound 4-bromothiophenol (BTP), which was chosen due to analytical advantages. By means of analytical and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, 16 adducts of PAT and 3 adducts of acetyl-PAT were isolated and their chemical structures elucidated by (1)H and (13)C NMR, IR, and UV spectroscopy. Time course studies and analysis of daughter product formation from isolated intermediate adducts led to a detailed scheme for the reaction of PAT with BTP. The structures of adducts of PAT formed with other model nucleophiles, e. g., the aliphatic thiol 2-mercaptoethanol and the aromatic amine 4-bromoaniline, were also elucidated and found to corroborate the reaction scheme. In addition, one further reaction pathway was observed with 2-mercaptoethanol, which appears to be independent from those found for BTP. Our study with model nucleophiles provides insights into the electrophilic reactivity of PAT and proved to be useful for the structure elucidation of PAT adducts with biological nucleophiles of toxicological relevance, as will be reported by Fliege and Metzler [(2000) Chem. Res. Toxicol. 13, 373-381].

Clinicopathological characteristics and therapeutic outcomes in thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenomas: a single-center study of 90 cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Shozo; Fukuhara, Noriaki; Horiguchi, Kentaro; Yamaguchi-Okada, Mitsuo; Nishioka, Hiroshi; Takeshita, Akira; Takeuchi, Yasuhiro; Ito, Junko; Inoshita, Naoko

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to analyze clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes in a large single-center clinical series of cases of thyrotropin (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenomas. The authors retrospectively reviewed clinical, pathological, and treatment characteristics of 90 consecutive cases of TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas treated with transsphenoidal surgery between December 1991 and May 2013. The patient group included 47 females and 43 males (median age 42 years, range 11-74 years). Sixteen tumors (18%) were microadenomas and 74 (82%) were macroadenomas. Microadenomas were significantly more frequent in the more recent half of our case series (12 of 45 cases) (p = 0.0274). Cavernous sinus invasion was confirmed in 21 patients (23%). In 67 cases (74%), the tumors were firm elastic or hard in consistency. Acromegaly and hyperprolactinemia were observed, respectively, in 14 (16%) and 11 (12%) of the 90 cases. Euthyroidism was achieved in 40 (83%) of 48 patients and tumor shrinkage was found in 24 (55%) of 44 patients following preoperative somatostatin analog treatment. Conventional transsphenoidal surgery, extended transsphenoidal surgery, and a simultaneous combined supra- and infrasellar approach were performed in 85, 2, and 3 patients, respectively. Total removal with endocrinological remission was achieved in 76 (84%) of 90 patients, including all 16 (100%) patients with microadenomas, 60 (81%) of the 74 with macroadenomas, and 8 (38%) of the 21 with cavernous sinus invasion. None of these 76 patients experienced tumor recurrence during a median follow-up period of 2.8 years. Stratifying by Knosp grade, total removal with endocrinological remission was achieved in 34 of 36 patients with Knosp Grade 0 tumors, all 24 of those with Grade 1 tumors, 12 of the 14 with Grade 2 tumors, 6 of the 8 with Grade 3 tumors, and none of the 8 with Grade 4 tumors. Cavernous sinus invasion and tumor size were significant independent predictors of surgical

Spectral studies of 2-pyrazoline derivatives: structural elucidation through single crystal XRD and DFT calculations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chinnaraja, D; Rajalakshmi, R; Srinivasan, T; Velmurugan, D; Jayabharathi, J

2014-04-24

A series of biologically active N-thiocarbamoyl pyrazoline derivatives have been synthesized using anhydrous potassium carbonate as the catalyst. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR spectral studies, LCMS, CHN Analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis (compound 7). In order to supplement the XRD parameters, molecular modelling was carried out by Gaussian 03W. From the optimized structure, the energy, dipolemoment and HOMO-LUMO energies of all the systems were calculated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Roles of water in protein structure and function studied by molecular liquid theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Imai, Takashi

2009-01-01

The roles of water in the structure and function of proteins have not been completely elucidated. Although molecular simulation has been widely used for the investigation of protein structure and function, it is not always useful for elucidating the roles of water because the effect of water ranges from atomic to thermodynamic level. The three-dimensional reference interaction site model (3D-RISM) theory, which is a statistical-mechanical theory of molecular liquids, can yield the solvation structure at the atomic level and calculate the thermodynamic quantities from the intermolecular potentials. In the last few years, the author and coworkers have succeeded in applying the 3D-RISM theory to protein aqueous solution systems and demonstrated that the theory is useful for investigating the roles of water. This article reviews some of the recent applications and findings, which are concerned with molecular recognition by protein, protein folding, and the partial molar volume of protein which is related to the pressure effect on protein.

Cutoff value of thyroid uptake of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate to discriminate between Graves' disease and painless thyroiditis: a single center retrospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Uchida, Toyoyoshi; Suzuki, Ruriko; Kasai, Takatoshi; Onose, Hiroyuki; Komiya, Koji; Goto, Hiromasa; Takeno, Kageumi; Ishii, Shinya; Sato, Junko; Honda, Akira; Kawano, Yui; Himuro, Miwa; Yamada, Emiko; Yamada, Tetsu; Watada, Hirotaka

2016-01-01

Thyroid uptake of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate is a useful way to determine the cause of thyrotoxicosis. In daily clinical practice, (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake is used to discriminate between Graves' disease and painless thyroiditis when clinical information is not enough to make the distinction. However, since the optimal cutoff value of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake has not yet been elucidated, our aim was to determine this value. We recruited patients with thyrotoxicosis in whom (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake was measured in clinical settings between 2009 and 2013. Three experienced endocrinologists (who were blinded to the value of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake and initial treatment) diagnosed the cause of thyrotoxicosis based on thyrotropin, free triiodothyronine, free thyroxine, and thyrotropin receptor antibody levels, and by ultrasound findings and using images of thyroid uptake of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate without the actual values. Ninety-four patients diagnosed as having Graves' disease or painless thyroiditis were finally included. According to the diagnosis, the optimal cutoff value of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake was determined by receiver operating characteristics analysis. A cutoff value of 1.0% provided optimal sensitivity and specificity of 96.6% and 97.1%, respectively. Then, its validity was confirmed in 78 patients with confirmed Graves' disease or painless thyroiditis diagnosed at another institute. Applying this cutoff value to the patients with thyrotoxicosis revealed positive and negative predictive values for Graves' disease of 100% and 88.9%, respectively. In conclusion, a cutoff value for (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake of 1.0% was useful to discriminate between Graves' disease and painless thyroiditis.

Solution Structure of LC4 Transmembrane Segment of CCR5

OpenAIRE

Miyamoto, Kazuhide; Togiya, Kayo

2011-01-01

CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) is a specific co-receptor allowing the entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The LC4 region in CCR5 is required for HIV-1 entry into the cells. In this study, the solution structure of LC4 in SDS micelles was elucidated by using standard 1H two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and fluorescdence quenching. The LC4 structure adopts two helical structures, whereas the C-terminal part remains unstructured. The positions in which LC4 ...

Cryo-EM structures of the mammalian endo-lysosomal TRPML1 channel elucidate the combined regulation mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sensen Zhang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract TRPML1 channel is a non-selective group-2 transient receptor potential (TRP channel with Ca2+ permeability. Located mainly in late endosome and lysosome of all mammalian cell types, TRPML1 is indispensable in the processes of endocytosis, membrane trafficking, and lysosome biogenesis. Mutations of TRPML1 cause a severe lysosomal storage disorder called mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV. In the present study, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM structures of Mus musculus TRPML1 (mTRPML1 in lipid nanodiscs and Amphipols. Two distinct states of mTRPML1 in Amphipols are added to the closed state, on which could represent two different confirmations upon activation and regulation. The polycystin-mucolipin domain (PMD may sense the luminal/extracellular stimuli and undergo a “move upward” motion during endocytosis, thus triggering the overall conformational change in TRPML1. Based on the structural comparisons, we propose TRPML1 is regulated by pH, Ca2+, and phosphoinositides in a combined manner so as to accommodate the dynamic endocytosis process.

Crosslinked electrospun PVA nanofibrous membranes: elucidation of their physicochemical, physicomechanical and molecular disposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaikh, Rubina P; Kumar, Pradeep; Choonara, Yahya E; Du Toit, Lisa C; Pillay, Viness

2012-01-01

The effects of modifying electrospun poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers through crosslinking using glutaraldehyde (GA) are explored in this paper. Various concentrations of PVA solutions containing model drugs rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) were electrospun and thereafter crosslinked using GA vapors. PVA nanofibers demonstrated high drug entrapment efficiency of 98.77% ± 1.384% and 95.07% ± 1.988% for the INH- and RIF-loaded PVA nanofibers, respectively. The surface morphology, molecular vibrational transitions, tensile attributes and in vitro drug release were characterized and supported by in silico molecular mechanics simulations. Results indicated that crosslinking caused a significant reduction in the rate of drug release where 81.11% ± 2.35% of INH and 59.31% ± 2.57% of RIF were released after 12 h. Tensile properties such as the ultimate strength and Young's modulus increased after crosslinking, caused by crosslinks forming between PVA nanofibers as was revealed through scanning electron microscopy analysis. Fourier Transform infrared analysis was conducted to further support the mode of crosslinking. Additionally, image processing analysis was carried out to quantify the effect of formulation variables on the morphology of nanofibers. Furthermore, the effect of GA-induced crosslinking and addition of drugs on the performance of electrospun fibers was further elucidated and conceptualized using a molecular mechanics assisted model building and energy refinement approach via molecular mechanics energy relationships by exploring the spatial disposition of energy-minimized molecular structures of the polymer, crosslinker and the drugs. (paper)

Structure and absolute configuration of Jurassic polyketide-derived spiroborate pigments obtained from microgram quantities.

OpenAIRE

Wolkenstein, K.; Sun , H.; Falk, H.; Griesinger, C.

2015-01-01

Complete structural elucidation of natural products is often challenging due to structural complexity and limited availability. This is true for present-day secondary metabolites, but even more for exceptionally preserved secondary metabolites of ancient organisms that potentially provide insights into the evolutionary history of natural products. Here, we report the full structure and absolute configuration of the borolithochromes, enigmatic boron-containing pigments from a Jurassic putative...

Elucidating the mechanisms of nickel compound uptake: A review of particulate and nano-nickel endocytosis and toxicity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muñoz, Alexandra; Costa, Max, E-mail: Max.Costa@nyumc.org

2012-04-01

Nickel (Ni) is a worldwide pollutant and contaminant that humans are exposed to through various avenues resulting in multiple toxic responses — most alarming is its clear carcinogenic nature. A variety of particulate Ni compounds persist in the environment and can be distinguished by characteristics such as solubility, structure, and surface charge. These characteristics influence cellular uptake and toxicity. Some particulate forms of Ni are carcinogenic and are directly and rapidly endocytized by cells. A series of studies conducted in the 1980s observed this process, and we have reanalyzed the results of these studies to help elucidate the molecular mechanism of particulate Ni uptake. Originally the process of uptake observed was described as phagocytosis, however in the context of recent research we hypothesize that the process is macropinocytosis and/or clathrin mediated endocytosis. Primary considerations in determining the route of uptake here include calcium dependence, particle size, and inhibition through temperature and pharmacological approaches. Particle characteristics that influenced uptake include size, charge, surface characteristics, and structure. This discussion is relevant in the context of nanoparticle studies and the emerging interest in nano-nickel (nano-Ni), where toxicity assessments require a clear understanding of the parameters of particulate uptake and where establishment of such parameters is often obscured through inconsistencies across experimental systems. In this regard, this review aims to carefully document one system (particulate nickel compound uptake) and characterize its properties.

Structural elucidation and antioxidant activity of lignin isolated from rice straw and alkali‑oxygen black liquor.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Bo; Zhang, Yu; Gu, Lihui; Wu, Wenjuan; Zhao, Huifang; Jin, Yongcan

2018-05-17

Alkali‑oxygen cooking of lignocellulose offers lignin many structural properties and bioactivities for biorefinery. In this work, milled wood lignin (MWL) and alkali‑oxygen lignin (AOL) were isolated from rice straw and alkali‑oxygen black liquor, respectively. The lignin structure was characterized by spectroscopy and wet chemistry. Antioxidant activity of lignins was assessed by DPPH·and ABTS scavenging ability assay. Results showed the oxidization and condensation of lignin occurred during alkali‑oxygen cooking. The p-hydroxyphenyl was more easily removed from rice straw than guaiacyl and syringyl units. The ester or ether linkages derived from hydroxycynnamic acids, and the main interunit linkages, i.e. β-O-4' bonds, were mostly cleaved. Lignin-xylan complex had high reactivity under alkali‑oxygen condition. Tricin, incorporated into lignin, was detected in MWL but was absent in AOL. Nitrobenzene oxidation showed MWL can well represent the protolignin of rice straw, and the products yield decreased dramatically after alkali‑oxygen cooking. AOL had higher radical scavenging ability than MWL indicating alkali‑oxygen cooking was an effective pathway for the enhancement of antioxidant activity of lignin. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Secretome analysis to elucidate metalloprotease-dependent ectodomain shedding of glycoproteins during neuronal differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsumagari, Kazuya; Shirakabe, Kyoko; Ogura, Mayu; Sato, Fuminori; Ishihama, Yasushi; Sehara-Fujisawa, Atsuko

2017-02-01

Many membrane proteins are subjected to limited proteolyses at their juxtamembrane regions, processes referred to as ectodomain shedding. Shedding ectodomains of membrane-bound ligands results in activation of downstream signaling pathways, whereas shedding those of cell adhesion molecules causes loss of cell-cell contacts. Secreted proteomics (secretomics) using high-resolution mass spectrometry would be strong tools for both comprehensive identification and quantitative measurement of membrane proteins that undergo ectodomain shedding. In this study, to elucidate the ectodomain shedding events that occur during neuronal differentiation, we establish a strategy for quantitative secretomics of glycoproteins released from differentiating neuroblastoma cells into culture medium with or without GM6001, a broad-spectrum metalloprotease inhibitor. Considering that most of transmembrane and secreted proteins are N-glycosylated, we include a process of N-glycosylated peptides enrichment as well as isotope tagging in our secretomics workflow. Our results show that differentiating N1E-115 neurons secrete numerous glycosylated polypeptides in metalloprotease-dependent manners. They are derived from cell adhesion molecules such as NCAM1, CADM1, L1CAM, various transporters and receptor proteins. These results show the landscape of ectodomain shedding and other secretory events in differentiating neurons and/or during axon elongation, which should help elucidate the mechanism of neurogenesis and the pathogenesis of neurological disorders. © 2017 Molecular Biology Society of Japan and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Elucidation of the conformational free energy landscape in H.pylori LuxS and its implications to catalysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhattacharyya Moitrayee

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background One of the major challenges in understanding enzyme catalysis is to identify the different conformations and their populations at detailed molecular level in response to ligand binding/environment. A detail description of the ligand induced conformational changes provides meaningful insights into the mechanism of action of enzymes and thus its function. Results In this study, we have explored the ligand induced conformational changes in H.pylori LuxS and the associated mechanistic features. LuxS, a dimeric protein, produces the precursor (4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione for autoinducer-2 production which is a signalling molecule for bacterial quorum sensing. We have performed molecular dynamics simulations on H.pylori LuxS in its various ligand bound forms and analyzed the simulation trajectories using various techniques including the structure network analysis, free energy evaluation and water dynamics at the active site. The results bring out the mechanistic details such as co-operativity and asymmetry between the two subunits, subtle changes in the conformation as a response to the binding of active and inactive forms of ligands and the population distribution of different conformations in equilibrium. These investigations have enabled us to probe the free energy landscape and identify the corresponding conformations in terms of network parameters. In addition, we have also elucidated the variations in the dynamics of water co-ordination to the Zn2+ ion in LuxS and its relation to the rigidity at the active sites. Conclusions In this article, we provide details of a novel method for the identification of conformational changes in the different ligand bound states of the protein, evaluation of ligand-induced free energy changes and the biological relevance of our results in the context of LuxS structure-function. The methodology outlined here is highly generalized to illuminate the linkage between structure and function in

[Neuropsychological approach to elucidating delusion and psychotic symptoms].

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Motoichiro

2012-01-01

Neuropsychological symptom-oriented approach is a critical method to elucidate delusion and psychotic symptoms in patients with focal brain damages and schizophrenia. In Capgras delusion (CD), the delusional misidentification of familiar people disguised as others, the patients with right amygdala damage and bilateral ventromedial prefrontal lesions have a deficient or reduced emotional valence of the person with intact configurational processes of the face. Reduplicative paramnesia (RP) is a specific phenomenon characterized by subjective certainty that a familiar place or person has been duplicated. Clinical evidences indicated that the patient with RP following right prefrontal damages showed the lack of emotional valence for the present hospital. This abnormal sense of familiarity triggered the deficits of the orientation of self to the outside world, that is, double orientation, resulting in the development of geographical reduplicative paramnesia. In line with the pathogenesis of CD and RP after brain damages, the delusion in schizophrenia may have a germ as developmental origins, which include the aberrant or salient perceptual experiences and abnormal sense of agency, and might be further aggravated by the impairment of causal reasoning process such as the jumping-to-conclusions bias.

Full structure assignments of pyrrolizidine alkaloid DNA adducts and mechanism of tumor initiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yuewei; Xia, Qingsu; Gamboa da Costa, Gonçalo; Yu, Hongtao; Cai, Lining; Fu, Peter P

2012-09-17

Pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants are widespread in the world and are probably the most common poisonous plants affecting livestock, wildlife, and humans. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are among the first chemical carcinogens identified in plants. Previously, we determined that metabolism of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in vivo and in vitro generated a common set of DNA adducts that are responsible for tumor induction. Using LC-ESI/MS/MS analysis, we previously determined that four DNA adducts (DHP-dG-3, DHP-dG-4, DHP-dA-3, and DHP-dA-4) were formed in rats dosed with riddelliine, a tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid. Because of the lack of an adequate amount of authentic standards, the structures of DHP-dA-3 and DHP-dA-4 were not elucidated, and the structural assignment for DHP-dG-4 warranted further validation. In this study, we developed an improved synthetic methodology for these DNA adducts, enabling their full structural elucidation by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. We determined that DHP-dA-3 and DHP-dA-4 are a pair of epimers of 7-hydroxy-9-(deoxyadenosin-N(6)-yl) dehydrosupinidine, while DHP-dG-4 is 7-hydroxy-9-(deoxyguanosin-N(2)-yl)dehydrosupinidine, an epimer of DHP-dG-3. With the structures of these DNA adducts unequivocally elucidated, we conclude that cellular DNA preferentially binds dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid, for example, dehydroriddelliine, at the C9 position of the necine base, rather than at the C7 position. We also determined that DHP-dA-3 and DHP-dA-4, as well as DHP-dG-3 and DHP-dG-4, are interconvertible. This study represents the first report with detailed structural assignments of the DNA adducts that are responsible for pyrrolizidine alkaloid tumor induction on the molecular level. A mechanism of tumor initiation by pyrrolizidine alkaloids is consequently fully determined.

Polymorphism in phenobarbital: discovery of a new polymorph and crystal structure of elusive form V.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Saikat; Goud, N Rajesh; Matzger, Adam J

2016-03-21

This report highlights the discovery of a new polymorph of the anticonvulsant drug phenobarbital (PB) using polymer-induced heteronucleation (PIHn) and unravelling the crystal structure of the elusive form V. Both forms are characterized by structural, thermal and VT-Raman spectroscopy methods to elucidate phase transformation behavior and shed light on stability relationships.

Predictions of flavonoid solubility in ionic liquids by COSMO-RS: experimental verification, structural elucidation, and solvation characterization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Zheng; Lue, Bena-Marie; Thomsen, Kaj

2007-01-01

Predictions of the solubility of flavonoids in a large variety of ionic liquids (ILs) with over 1800 available structures were examined based on COSMO-RS computation. The results show that the solubilities of flavonoids are strongly anion-dependent. Experimental measurement of the solubilities...... of esculin and rutin in 12 ILs with varying anions and cations show that predicted and experimental results generally have a good agreement. Based on the sound physical basis of COSMO-RS, the solubility changes of flavonoids were quantitatively associated with solvation interactions and structural...... characteristics of ILs. COSMO-RS derived parameters, i.e. misfit, H-bonding and van der Waals interaction energy, are shown to be capable of characterizing the complicated multiple interactions in the IL system effectively. H-bonding interaction is the most dominant interaction for ILs (followed by misfit and van...

Flavonoids from the leaves of Deguelia utilis (Leguminosae): structural elucidation and neuroprotective properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Dalglish G. de; Almeida, Cecilia M.C. de; Silva, Consuelo Y.Y. e; Arruda, Mara S.P.; Arruda, Alberto C.; Silva, Milton N. da; Lopes, Dielly C.F.; Yamada, Elizabeth S.; Costa, Edmar T. da; MFilho, Arnaldo Jorge

2012-01-01

Five new flavonoids, 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-2'',2''dimethylchromene-(5''6'':6,7)- dihydroflavonol (1), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-dihydroflavonol (2), 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-allyl-2'',2''-dimethylchromene-(5'',6'':6,7) flavanone (3), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanone (4), 3,5,3'-trihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy- 6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanol (5), together with the stilbenes 4-methoxylonchocarpene (6) and lonchocarpene (7) were isolated from the leaves of Deguelia utilis. Their chemical structures were established on the basis of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectral data and HRESITOF-MS (electrospray ionization-high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry). Also, in order to investigate potential cytoprotective effects of these flavonoids, we used a fraction eluted with hexane:EtOAc containing all seven flavonoids, in an in vitro model of neurodegeneration, using hippocampal primary cultures from neonatal (PND2-P3) rats exposed to rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor. There was a significant reduction in cell viability (19.4 ± 1.6%) when the cultures were exposed to 30 nmol L -1 rotenone for 72 h. Concomitant exposure of the cultures to the FR3 (5 μg mL -1 ) and 30 nmol L -1 rotenone resulted in values of cell viability similar to control groups (99.6 ± 4.8%), strongly suggesting a cytoprotective effect for this flavonoid-rich fraction. (author)

Elucidation of functions of micro-organisms and animals in forest biosystem. Shinrin seitaikei ni okeru biseibutsu oyobi dobutsu no kino no kaimei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-10-25

This paper describes a report on elucidating functions of micro-organisms and animals in a forest biosystem. Classification of forest micro-organisms and elucidation of their physiology, ecology, and roles in the biosystem: Characteristics of tree root putterfaction bacteria, which cause withering of windbreaks in the Ishigaki Island, Japan were elucidated, and identifying the culture hyphae has become possible. Chemicals effective for their control were discovered, which enable their extermination. Investigations on soil molds using artificial acid rains clarified that the exterminating agents display their effects when sprinkled repeatedly over an extended period even in low concentrations. Classification of forest animals and elucidation of their physiology, ecology, and interactions among animals: A method was developed to photograph three-dimensionally the shapes of perforations made by earthworms using a soft X-ray and analyze them using a computer, which is being used for investigation. The perforation pattern is complex, and the hole diameters are in proportion with sizes of earthworms. Taxonomic studies on the Japanese lesser grain borers are close to completion. Damping-off of certain kinds of plantr exhibited parasitism of a kind of grain borerr and mycobionts without exceptions. An artificial burrow was devised for ecological investigation on field mice. 1 tab.

Structural Elucidation of cis / trans Dicaffeoylquinic Acid Photoisomerization Using Ion Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, Xueyun; Renslow, Ryan S.; Makola, Mpho M.; Webb, Ian K.; Deng, Liulin; Thomas, Dennis G.; Govind, Niranjan; Ibrahim, Yehia M.; Kabanda, Mwadham M.; Dubery, Ian A.; Heyman, Heino M.; Smith, Richard D.; Madala, Ntakadzeni E.; Baker, Erin S.

2017-03-15

Due to the recently uncovered health benefits and anti-HIV activities of dicaffeoylquinic acids (diCQAs), understanding their structures and functions is of great interest for drug discovery efforts. DiCQAs are analytically challenging to identify and quantify since they commonly exist as a diverse mixture of positional and geometric (cis/trans) isomers. In this work, we utilized ion mobility spectrometry coupled with mass spectrometry to separate the various isomers before and after UV irradiation. The experimental collision cross sections were then compared with theoretical structures to differentiate and identify the diCQA isomers. Our analyses found that naturally the diCQAs existed predominantly as trans/trans isomers, but after 3 h of UV irradiation, cis/cis, cis/trans, trans/cis, and trans/trans isomers were all present in the mixture. This is the first report of successful differentiation of cis/trans diCQA isomers individually, which shows the great promise of IMS coupled with theoretical calculations for determining the structure and activity relationships of different isomers in drug discovery studies.

Rearrangement of cluster structure during fission processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyalin, Andrey G.; Obolensky, Oleg I.; Solov'yov, Andrey V.

2004-01-01

Results of molecular dynamics simulations of fission reactions $Na_10^2+ -->Na_7^++ Na_3^+ and Na_18^2+--> 2Na_9^+ are presented. The dependence of the fission barriers on the isomer structure of the parent cluster is analysed. It is demonstrated that the energy necessary for removing homothetic...... groups of atoms from the parent cluster is largely independent of the isomer form of the parent cluster. The importance of rearrangement of the cluster structure during the fission process is elucidated. This rearrangement may include transition to another isomer state of the parent cluster before actual...

In situ analysis and structural elucidation of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) tannins for high-throughput germplasm screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Gea, An; Stringano, Elisabetta; Brown, Ron H; Mueller-Harvey, Irene

2011-01-26

A rapid thiolytic degradation and cleanup procedure was developed for analyzing tannins directly in chlorophyll-containing sainfoin ( Onobrychis viciifolia ) plants. The technique proved suitable for complex tannin mixtures containing catechin, epicatechin, gallocatechin, and epigallocatechin flavan-3-ol units. The reaction time was standardized at 60 min to minimize the loss of structural information as a result of epimerization and degradation of terminal flavan-3-ol units. The results were evaluated by separate analysis of extractable and unextractable tannins, which accounted for 63.6-113.7% of the in situ plant tannins. It is of note that 70% aqueous acetone extracted tannins with a lower mean degree of polymerization (mDP) than was found for tannins analyzed in situ. Extractable tannins had between 4 and 29 lower mDP values. The method was validated by comparing results from individual and mixed sample sets. The tannin composition of different sainfoin accessions covered a range of mDP values from 16 to 83, procyanidin/prodelphinidin (PC/PD) ratios from 19.2/80.8 to 45.6/54.4, and cis/trans ratios from 74.1/25.9 to 88.0/12.0. This is the first high-throughput screening method that is suitable for analyzing condensed tannin contents and structural composition directly in green plant tissue.

Experimental and theoretical elucidation of structural and antioxidant properties of vanillylmandelic acid and its carboxylate anion

Science.gov (United States)

Dimić, Dušan; Milenković, Dejan; Ilić, Jelica; Šmit, Biljana; Amić, Ana; Marković, Zoran; Dimitrić Marković, Jasmina

2018-06-01

Vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), an important metabolite of catecholamines that is routinely screened as tumor marker, was investigated by the various spectroscopic techniques (IR, Raman, UV-Vis, antioxidant decolorization assay and NMR). Structures optimized by the employment of five common functionals (M05-2X, M06-2X, B3LYP, CAM-B3LYP, B3LYP-D3) were compared with the crystallographic data. The M05-2X functional reproduced the most reliable experimental bond lengths and angles (correlation coefficient >0.999). The importance of intramolecular hydrogen bonds for structural stability was discussed and quantified by the NBO analysis. The most prominent bands in vibrational spectrum were analyzed and compared to the experimental data. The positions of the carbon and hydrogen atoms in NMR spectra were well reproduced. The differences in UV-Vis spectrum were investigated by adding the explicit solvent and by performing NBO and QTAIM analyses. The discrepancy in the two spectra of about 50 nm could be explained by the solvent effect on carboxyl group. The most probable antioxidant activity mechanism was discussed for VMA and its carboxylate anion. The Molecular Docking study with the C - reactive protein additionally proved that variety of functional groups present in VMA and its anion allowed strong hydrogen and hydrophobic interactions.

AfricaArray seismological studies of the structure and evolution of the African continent

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Durrheim, RJ

2013-10-01

Full Text Available and Madagascar. Brandt and Mulibo elucidated the relationship between the African Superplume, Superswell and the East African Rift System by studying the seismic velocity structure of the mantle. Kgaswane jointly inverted P-wave receiver functions (PRFs...

Elucidation of the structure of organic solutions in solvent extraction by combining molecular dynamics and X-ray scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferru, G.; Gomes Rodrigues, D.; Berthon, L.; Guilbaud, P.; Diat, O.; Bauduin, P.

2014-01-01

Knowledge of the supramolecular structure of the organic phase containing amphiphilic ligand molecules is mandatory for full comprehension of ionic separation during solvent extraction. Existing structural models are based on simple geometric aggregates, but no consensus exists on the interaction potentials. Herein, we show that molecular dynamics crossed with scattering techniques offers key insight into the complex fluid involving weak interactions without any long range ordering. Two systems containing mono- or diamide extractants in heptane and contacted with an aqueous phase were selected as examples to demonstrate the advantages of coupling the two approaches for furthering fundamental studies on solvent extraction. (authors)

Effects of forced swimming stress on thyroid function, pituitary thyroid-stimulating hormone and hypothalamus thyrotropin releasing hormone expression in adrenalectomy Wistar rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Qiuyan; Liu, Aihua; Ma, Yanan; Wang, Anyi; Guo, Xinhong; Teng, Weiping; Jiang, Yaqiu

2016-11-01

In order to study the impact that is imposed on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis of adrenalectomy male Wistar rats by stress caused by swimming, the blood level of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), the expression of TSHβ mRNA at the pituitary and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) expression at the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) were measured. A total of 50 male Wistar rats of 6-8 weeks of age and with an average weight of 190-210 grams were randomly divided into the following two groups: The surgical (without adrenal glands) and non-surgical (adrenalectomy) group. These two groups were then divided into the following five groups, according to the time delay of sacrifice following forced swim (10 min, 2 h, 12 h and 24 h) and control (not subjected to swimming) groups. A bilateral adrenalectomy animal model was established. Serum TSH in the blood was measurement by chemiluminescent immunoassay, and cerebrum tissue were excised for the measurement of TRH expression using an immunohistochemistry assay. In addition, pituitaries were excised for the extraction of total RNA. Finally, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed for quantitation of TSHβ. Following swimming, the serum T3, T4 and TSH, the TSHβ mRNA expression levels in the pituitary and the TRH expression in the PVN of the surgical group were gradually increased. In the non-surgical group, no significant differences were observed in the serum T3, T4 and TSH levels compared with the control group. The TSHβ mRNA expression at the pituitary showed a similar result. Furthermore, the TRH expression at PVN was gradually increased and stress from swimming could increase the blood T4, T3 and TSH levels, TSHβ mRNA expression at the pituitary and TRH expression at the PVN in adrenalectomy Wistar rats. Moreover, the index in the surgical group changed significantly compared with the non-surgical group. In conclusion, the results

Elucidation of IL-1/TGF-beta interactions in mouse chondrocyte cell line by genome-wide gene expression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Takahashi, N; Rieneck, K; van der Kraan, P M

2005-01-01

To elucidate the antagonism between interleukin-1 (IL-1) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) at the gene expression level, as IL-1 and TGF-beta are postulated to be critical mediators of cartilage degeneration/protection in rheumatic diseases....

Diagnostic value of recombinant human thyrotropin-stimulated ¹²³I whole-body scintigraphy in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Alzahrani, Ali S; AlShaikh, OmAlkhaire; Tuli, Mahmoud; Al-Sugair, Abdulaziz; Alamawi, Reem; Al-Rasheed, Maha M

2012-03-01

Published data on recombinant human thyrotropin- (rhTSH-) stimulated iodine-123 (¹²³I) diagnostic whole-body scintigraphy (DxWBS) in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) surveillance after initial treatment are limited. We sought to evaluate this modality's diagnostic value in this setting. We retrospectively compared rhTSH-stimulated ¹²³I DxWBS results with DTC status concurrently determined by stimulated serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement, neck ultrasonography, and other imaging studies. Disease was considered present based on stimulated Tg level ≥1 μg/L without interfering Tg autoantibodies with or without positive imaging or biopsy-proven DTC. We also compared scan positivity and disease detection rates of rhTSH-stimulated DxWBS scans obtained with ¹²³I with those acquired with iodine-131 (¹³¹I) during the same period. The sample comprised 105 consecutive totally thyroidectomized patients undergoing rhTSH-aided DxWBS with I-123 (n = 67) or with ¹³¹I (n = 38) for diagnostic follow-up. rhTSH, 0.9 mg/d, was injected intramuscularly on 2 consecutive days. Oral diagnostic activities of 5 to 10 mCi (185-370 MBq) ¹²³I or 3 mCi (111 MBq) ¹³¹I were given on the third day. DxWBS was performed 24 hours (¹²³I) or 48 to 72 hours (¹³¹I) later. rhTSH-aided ¹²³I DxWBS scans showed 35.3% sensitivity, 98.0% specificity, 85.7% positive predictive value, and 81.6% negative predictive value. rhTSH-stimulated ¹²³I and ¹³¹I DxWBS did not differ in scan positivity (10.4% vs. 13.2%, P = 0.75) or disease detection rates (35.3% vs. 27.8%, P = 1.00). In DTC, rhTSH-aided ¹²³I DxWBS achieves comparable results in diagnostic follow-up with those of rhTSH-aided ¹³¹I DxWBS. Future studies should address the preablation setting and scan activity and timing.

Structural elucidation and magnetic behavior evaluation of rare earth (La, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy) doped BaCoNi-X hexagonal nano-sized ferrites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Majeed, Abdul, E-mail: abdulmajeed2276@gmail.com [Department of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100 (Pakistan); Khan, Muhammad Azhar, E-mail: azhar.khan@iub.edu.pk [Department of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100 (Pakistan); Raheem, Faseeh ur; Hussain, Altaf; Iqbal, F. [Department of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100 (Pakistan); Murtaza, Ghulam [Centre for Advanced Studies in Physics, Government College University, Lahore 54000 (Pakistan); Akhtar, Majid Niaz [Department of Physics, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore 54000 (Pakistan); Shakir, Imran [Deanship of Scientific Research, College of Engineering, King Saud University, PO Box 800, Riyadh 11421 (Saudi Arabia); Warsi, Muhammad Farooq [Department of Chemistry, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100 (Pakistan)

2016-06-15

Rare-earth (RE=La{sup 3+}, Nd{sup 3+}, Gd{sup 3+}, Tb{sup 3+}, Dy{sup 3+}) doped Ba{sub 2}NiCoRE{sub x}Fe{sub 28−x}O{sub 46} (x=0.25) hexagonal ferrites were synthesized for the first time via micro-emulsion route, which is a fast chemistry route for obtaining nano-sized ferrite powders. These nanomaterials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD analysis exhibited that all the samples crystallized into single X-type hexagonal phase. The crystalline size calculated by Scherrer's formula was found in the range 7–19 nm. The variations in lattice parameters elucidated the incorporation of rare-earth cations in these nanomaterials. FTIR absorption spectra of these X-type ferrites were investigated in the wave number range 500–2400 cm{sup −1.} Each spectrum exhibited absorption bands in the low wave number range, thereby confirming the X-type hexagonal structure. The enhancement in the coercivity was observed with the doping of rare-earth cations. The saturation magnetization was lowered owing to the redistribution of rare-earth cations on the octahedral site (3b{sub VI}). The higher values of coercivity (664–926 Oe) of these nanomaterials suggest their use in longitudinal recording media. - Graphical abstract: Nano-sized rare-earth (RE=La{sup 3+}, Nd{sup 3+}, Gd{sup 3+}, Tb{sup 3+}, Dy{sup 3+}) doped Ba{sub 2}NiCoRE{sub x}Fe{sub 28−x}O{sub 46} (x=0.25) hexagonal ferrites were synthesized for the first time via micro-emulsion route and the crystallite size was found in the range 7–19 nm. The enhancement in the coercivity was observed with the doping of rare-earth cations. The higher values of coercivity (664–926 Oe) of these nanomaterials suggest their use in longitudinal recording media. - Highlights: • Micro-emulsion route was used to synthesize Ba{sub 2}NiCoRE{sub x}Fe{sub 28−x}O{sub 46} ferrites. • The crystallite size was found

Isolation and structure elucidation of pectic polysaccharide from rose hip fruits (Rosa canina L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Ognyanov, Manol; Remoroza, Connie; Schols, Henk A; Georgiev, Yordan; Kratchanova, Maria; Kratchanov, Christo

2016-10-20

A pectic polysaccharide from rose hip (RH) fruits has been obtained by extraction with 1% aqueous citric acid. It was found that the polysaccharide fraction mainly consisted of galacturonic acid (45.5%) next to galactose (5.5%) and arabinose (4.7%). RH pectin is having a relatively high degree of methylesterification (62%) and acetylation (10%) and consists of different molecular weight populations in the range of 10-100kDa. Enzymatic fingerprinting was performed using a combination of pectin lyase (PL) and endo-polygalacturonase. Detailed information about the structure and level of galacturonic acid oligomers released was obtained using LC-HILIC-MS/ELSD and HPAEC. Predominantly, unsaturated and methyl-esterified oligomers (DP 3-5) were released indicating that high proportions of methylesterified 'PL degradable' areas were present within the pectin. The data revealed that homogalacturonan is the main building block of the extracted pectin and consists of long methylesterified/acetylated GalA sequences interspersed with small blocks of non-methyl-esterified GalA units. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A systems biology approach for elucidating the interaction of curcumin with Fanconi anemia FANC G protein and the key disease targets of leukemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahato, David; Samanta, Dipayan; Mukhopadhyay, Sudit S; Krishnaraj, R Navanietha

2017-06-01

Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disorder with a high risk of malignancies including acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma. There is a constant search out of new potential therapeutic molecule to combat this disorder. In most cases, patients with FA develop haematological malignancies with acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Identifying drugs which can efficiently block the pathways of both these disorders can be an ideal and novel strategy to treat FA. The curcumin, a natural compound obtained from turmeric is an interesting therapeutic molecule as it has been reported in the literature to combat both FA as well as leukemia. However, its complete mechanism is not elucidated. Herein, a systems biology approach for elucidating the therapeutic potential of curcumin against FA and leukemia is investigated by analyzing the computational molecular interactions of curcumin ligand with FANC G of FA and seven other key disease targets of leukemia. The proteins namely DOT1L, farnesyl transferase (FDPS), histone decetylase (EP3000), Polo-like kinase (PLK-2), aurora-like kinase (AUKRB), tyrosine kinase (ABL1), and retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) were chosen as disease targets for leukemia and modeled structure of FANC G protein as the disease target for FA. The docking investigations showed that curcumin had a very high binding affinity of -8.1 kcal/mol with FANC G protein. The key disease targets of leukemia namely tyrosine kinase (ABL1), aurora-like kinase (AUKRB), and polo-like kinase (PLK-2) showed that they had the comparable binding affinities of -9.7 k cal/mol, -8.7 k cal/mol, and -8.6 k cal/mol, respectively with curcumin. Further, the percentage similarity scores obtained from PAM50 using EMBOSS MATCHER was shown to provide a clue to understand the structural relationships to an extent and to predict the binding affinity. This investigation shows that curcumin effectively interacts with the disease targets of both

Flavonoids from the leaves of Deguelia utilis (Leguminosae): structural elucidation and neuroprotective properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Dalglish G. de; Almeida, Cecilia M.C. de; Silva, Consuelo Y.Y. e; Arruda, Mara S.P.; Arruda, Alberto C.; Silva, Milton N. da, E-mail: yumilton@yahoo.com.br [Laboratorio de Cromatografia Liquida, Universidade Federal do Para, Guama, Belem-PA (Brazil); Lopes, Dielly C.F.; Yamada, Elizabeth S.; Costa, Edmar T. da; MFilho, Arnaldo Jorge [Laboratorio de Neuropatologia Experimental, Hospital Universitario Barros Barreto, Guama, Belem-PA (Brazil)

2012-11-15

Five new flavonoids, 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-2'',2''dimethylchromene-(5''6'':6,7)- dihydroflavonol (1), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-dihydroflavonol (2), 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-allyl-2'',2''-dimethylchromene-(5'',6'':6,7) flavanone (3), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanone (4), 3,5,3'-trihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy- 6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanol (5), together with the stilbenes 4-methoxylonchocarpene (6) and lonchocarpene (7) were isolated from the leaves of Deguelia utilis. Their chemical structures were established on the basis of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectral data and HRESITOF-MS (electrospray ionization-high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry). Also, in order to investigate potential cytoprotective effects of these flavonoids, we used a fraction eluted with hexane:EtOAc containing all seven flavonoids, in an in vitro model of neurodegeneration, using hippocampal primary cultures from neonatal (PND2-P3) rats exposed to rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor. There was a significant reduction in cell viability (19.4 {+-} 1.6%) when the cultures were exposed to 30 nmol L{sup -1}rotenone for 72 h. Concomitant exposure of the cultures to the FR3 (5 {mu}g mL{sup -1}) and 30 nmol L{sup -1} rotenone resulted in values of cell viability similar to control groups (99.6 {+-} 4.8%), strongly suggesting a cytoprotective effect for this flavonoid-rich fraction. (author)

Flavonoids from the leaves of Deguelia utilis (Leguminosae): structural elucidation and neuroprotective properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Dalglish G. de; Almeida, Cecilia M.C. de; Silva, Consuelo Y.Y. e; Arruda, Mara S.P.; Arruda, Alberto C., E-mail: yumilton@yahoo.com.br [Universidade Federal do Para (UFPA), Belem, PA (Brazil). Lab. de Cromatografia Liquida; Lopes, Dielly C.F.; Yamada, Elizabeth S.; Costa, Edmar T. da; Silva, Milton N. da [Hospital Universitario Barros Barreto, Belem, PA (Brazil). Lab. de Neuropatologia Experimental

2012-10-15

Five new flavonoids, 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-2{sup ,}2{sup -}dimethylchromene-(5''6''6,7)- dihydroflavonol (1), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-dihydroflavonol (2), 5,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-8-allyl-2'', 2''-dimethylchromene-(5{sup ,}6{sup :}6,7) flavanone (3), 5,3'-dihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy-6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanone (4), 3,5,3'-trihydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxy- 6,8-dimethylallyl-flavanol (5), together with the stilbenes 4-methoxylonchocarpene (6) and lonchocarpene (7) were isolated from the leaves of Deguelia utilis. Their chemical structures were established on the basis of NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectral data and HRESITOF-MS (electrospray ionization-high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry). Also, in order to investigate potential cytoprotective effects of these flavonoids, we used a fraction eluted with hexane:EtOAc containing all seven flavonoids, in an in vitro model of neurodegeneration, using hippocampal primary cultures from neonatal (PND2-P3) rats exposed to rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor. There was a significant reduction in cell viability (19.4 {+-} 1.6%) when the cultures were exposed to 30 nmol L{sup -1} rotenone for 72 h. Concomitant exposure of the cultures to the FR3 (5 {mu}g mL{sup -1}) and 30 nmol L{sup -1} rotenone resulted in values of cell viability similar to control groups (99.6 {+-} 4.8%), strongly suggesting a cytoprotective effect for this flavonoid-rich fraction. (author)

Anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics: a new insight into the structure of nuclei; La dynamique moleculaire antisymetrisee, une nouvelle facon de comprendre la structure des noyaux

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshiko, Kanada-En' yo [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization - KEK, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, Ibaraki (Japan); Masaaki, Kimura [Institute of Physical and Chemical Research - RIKEN, Saitama (Japan); Hisashi, Horiuchi [Kyoto Univ., Dept. of Physics, Graduate School of Science (Japan)

2003-06-01

The AMD (anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics) theory for nuclear structure is explained by showing its actual applications. First the formulation of AMD including various refined versions is briefly presented and its characteristics are discussed, putting a stress on its nature as an 'ab initio' theory. Then we demonstrate fruitful applications to various structure problems in stable nuclei, in order to explicitly verify the 'ab initio' nature of AMD, especially the ability to describe both mean-field-type structure and cluster structure. Finally, we show the results of applications of AMD to unstable nuclei, from which we see that AMD is powerful in elucidating and understanding various types of nuclear structure of unstable nuclei. (authors)

Elucidation of the relationships between H-bonding patterns and excited state dynamics in cyclovalone.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamperti, Marco; Maspero, Angelo; Tønnesen, Hanne H; Bondani, Maria; Nardo, Luca

2014-08-28

Cyclovalone is a synthetic curcumin derivative in which the keto-enolic system is replaced by a cyclohexanone ring. This modification of the chemical structure might in principle result in an excited state that is more stable than that of curcumin, which in turn should produce an enhanced phototoxicity. Indeed, although curcumin exhibits photosensitized antibacterial activity, this compound is characterized by very fast excited-state dynamics which limit its efficacy as a photosensitizer. In previous works we showed that the main non-radiative decay pathway of keto-enolic curcuminoids is through excited-state transfer of the enolic proton to the keto-oxygen. Another effective deactivation pathway involves an intermolecular charge transfer mechanism occurring at the phenyl rings, made possible by intramolecular H-bonding between the methoxy and the hydroxyl substituent. In this paper we present UV-Vis and IR absorption spectra data with the aim of elucidating the intramolecular charge distribution of this compound and its solvation patterns in different environments, with particular focus on solute-solvent H-bonding features. Moreover, we discuss steady state and time-resolved fluorescence data that aim at characterizing the excited-state dynamics of cyclovalone, and we compare its decay photophysics to that of curcumin. Finally, because during the characterization procedures we found evidence of very fast photodegradation of cyclovalone, its photostability in four organic solvents was studied by HPLC and the corresponding relative degradation rates were calculated.

Elucidation of the Relationships between H-Bonding Patterns and Excited State Dynamics in Cyclovalone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Lamperti

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Cyclovalone is a synthetic curcumin derivative in which the keto-enolic system is replaced by a cyclohexanone ring. This modification of the chemical structure might in principle result in an excited state that is more stable than that of curcumin, which in turn should produce an enhanced phototoxicity. Indeed, although curcumin exhibits photosensitized antibacterial activity, this compound is characterized by very fast excited-state dynamics which limit its efficacy as a photosensitizer. In previous works we showed that the main non-radiative decay pathway of keto-enolic curcuminoids is through excited-state transfer of the enolic proton to the keto-oxygen. Another effective deactivation pathway involves an intermolecular charge transfer mechanism occurring at the phenyl rings, made possible by intramolecular H-bonding between the methoxy and the hydroxyl substituent. In this paper we present UV-Vis and IR absorption spectra data with the aim of elucidating the intramolecular charge distribution of this compound and its solvation patterns in different environments, with particular focus on solute-solvent H-bonding features. Moreover, we discuss steady state and time-resolved fluorescence data that aim at characterizing the excited-state dynamics of cyclovalone, and we compare its decay photophysics to that of curcumin. Finally, because during the characterization procedures we found evidence of very fast photodegradation of cyclovalone, its photostability in four organic solvents was studied by HPLC and the corresponding relative degradation rates were calculated.

Super-resolution optical microscopy for studying membrane structure and dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sezgin, Erdinc

2017-07-12

Investigation of cell membrane structure and dynamics requires high spatial and temporal resolution. The spatial resolution of conventional light microscopy is limited due to the diffraction of light. However, recent developments in microscopy enabled us to access the nano-scale regime spatially, thus to elucidate the nanoscopic structures in the cellular membranes. In this review, we will explain the resolution limit, address the working principles of the most commonly used super-resolution microscopy techniques and summarise their recent applications in the biomembrane field.

Structural elucidation of fucosylated chondroitin sulfates from sea cucumber using FTICR-MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Agyekum, Isaac; Pepi, Lauren; Yu, Yanlei; Li, Junhui; Yan, Lufeng; Linhardt, Robert J; Chen, Shiguo; Amster, I Jonathan

2018-02-01

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfates are complex polysaccharides extracted from sea cucumber. They have been extensively studied for their anticoagulant properties and have been implicated in other biological activities. While nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to extensively characterize fucosylated chondroitin sulfate oligomers, we herein report the first detailed mass characterization of fucosylated chondroitin sulfate using high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The two species of fucosylated chondroitin sulfates considered for this work include Pearsonothuria graeffei (FCS-Pg) and Isostichopus badionotus (FCS-Ib). Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides were prepared by N-deacetylation-deaminative cleavage of the two fucosylated chondroitin sulfates and purified by repeated gel filtration. Accurate mass measurements obtained from electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry measurements confirmed the oligomeric nature of these two fucosylated chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides with each trisaccharide repeating unit averaging four sulfates per trisaccharide. Collision-induced dissociation of efficiently deprotonated molecular ions through Na/H + exchange proved useful in providing structurally relevant glycosidic and cross-ring product ions, capable of assigning the sulfate modifications on the fucosylated chondroitin sulfate oligomers. Careful examination of the tandem mass spectrometry of both species deferring in the positions of sulfate groups on the fucose residue (FCS-Pg-3,4- OS) and (FCS-Ib-2,4- OS) revealed cross-ring products 0,2 A αf and 2,4 X 2αf which were diagnostic for (FCS-Pg-3,4- OS) and 0,2 X 2αf diagnostic for (FCS-Ib-2,4- OS). Mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry data acquired for both species varying in oligomer length (dp3-dp15) are presented.

Structure elucidation and antioxidant activity of a novel polysaccharide isolated from Boletus speciosus Forst.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xiang; Hou, Yi-ling; Hou, Wan-ru

2012-04-01

In this study, a novel heteropolysaccharide was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Boletus speciosus Forst through DEAE-cellulose column and Sephadex G-200 column. The Boletus speciosus Forst polysaccharide (BSFP-1) had a molecular weight of 1.33×10(4) Da and was mainly composed of l-Man and d-Gal which ratios were 2:1. Structural features of Boletus speciosus Forst polysaccharide (BSFP-1) were investigated by a combination of total hydrolysis, methylation analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), infrared (IR) spectra and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that Boletus speciosus Forst polysaccharide (BSFP-1) had a backbone of (1→4)-α-l-mannopyranose residues which branches at O-6 based on the experimental results. The branches were mainly composed of one with →1)-α-d-galactopyranose residue. The antioxidant activity of BSFP-1 was evaluated with two biochemical methods, including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(-)) radical scavenging, scavenging activity of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-suphonic acid)diammonium (ABTS(+)) radical. The results indicated that BSFP-1 showed strong antioxidant. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A structurally characterized organometallic plutonium(IV) complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apostolidis, Christos; Walter, Olaf [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate G - Nuclear Safety and Security, Karlsruhe (Germany); Vogt, Jochen; Liebing, Phil; Edelmann, Frank T. [Chemisches Institut, Otto-von-Guericke-Universitaet Magdeburg (Germany); Maron, Laurent [Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie des Nanoobjets (LPCNO), Universite de Toulouse/INSA/CNRS (UMR5215), Toulouse (France)

2017-04-24

The blood-red plutonocene complex Pu(1,3-COT'')(1,4-COT'') (4; COT''=η{sup 8}-bis(trimethylsilyl)cyclooctatetraenyl) has been synthesized by oxidation of the anionic sandwich complex Li[Pu(1,4-COT''){sub 2}] (3) with anhydrous cobalt(II) chloride. The first crystal structure determination of an organoplutonium(IV) complex revealed an asymmetric sandwich structure for 4 where one COT'' ring is 1,3-substituted while the other retains the original 1,4-substitution pattern. The electronic structure of 4 has been elucidated by a computational study, revealing a probable cause for the unexpected silyl group migration. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Structural elucidation and molecular docking of a novel antibiotic compound from cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. MGL001

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niveshika No Name

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Cyanobacteria are rich source of array of bioactive compounds. The present study reports a novel antibacterial bioactive compound purified from cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. MGL001 using various chromatographic techniques viz. thin layer chromatography (TLC and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. Further characterization was done using electrospray ionisation mass spectroscopy (ESIMS and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR and predicted structure of bioactive compound was 9-Ethyliminomethyl-12-(morpholin - 4 - ylmethoxy -5, 8, 13, 16 – tetraaza – hexacene - 2, 3 dicarboxylic acid (EMTAHDCA. Structure of EMTAHDCA clearly indicated that it is a novel compound that was not reported in literature or natural product database. The compound exhibited growth inhibiting effects mainly against the gram negative bacterial strains and produced maximum zone of inhibition at 150 μg/mL concentration. The compound was evaluated through in silico studies for its ability to bind 30S ribosomal fragment (PDB ID: 1YRJ, 1MWL, 1J7T and 1LC4 and OmpF porin protein (4GCP, 4GCQ and 4GCS which are the common targets of various antibiotic drugs. Comparative molecular docking study revealed that EMTAHDCA has strong binding affinity for these selected targets in comparison to a number of most commonly used antibiotics. The ability of EMTAHDCA to bind the active sites on the proteins and 30S ribosomal fragments where the antibiotic drugs generally bind indicated that it is functionally similar to the commercially available drugs.

Templated Atom-Precise Galvanic Synthesis and Structure Elucidation of a [Ag 24 Au(SR) 18 ] − Nanocluster

KAUST Repository

Bootharaju, Megalamane Siddaramappa

2015-11-27

Synthesis of atom-precise alloy nanoclusters with uniform composition is challenging when the alloying atoms are similar in size (for example, Ag and Au). A galvanic exchange strategy has been devised to produce a compositionally uniform [Ag24Au(SR)18]- cluster (SR: thiolate) using a pure [Ag25(SR)18]- cluster as a template. Conversely, the direct synthesis of Ag24Au cluster leads to a mixture of [Ag25-xAux(SR)18]-, x=1-8. Mass spectrometry and crystallography of [Ag24Au(SR)18]- reveal the presence of the Au heteroatom at the Ag25 center, forming Ag24Au. The successful exchange of the central Ag of Ag25 with Au causes perturbations in the Ag25 crystal structure, which are reflected in the absorption, luminescence, and ambient stability of the particle. These properties are compared with those of Ag25 and Ag24Pd clusters with same ligand and structural framework, providing new insights into the modulation of cluster properties with dopants at the single-atom level.

Local structure of alkalis in mixed-alkali borate glass to elucidate the origin of mixed-alkali effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yomei Tokuda

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We report the structural analysis of Na+ and Cs+ in sodium cesium borate crystals and glasses using 23Na and 133Cs magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR spectroscopy. The composition dependence of NMR spectra of the borate was similar to that of the silicate: (1 the peak position of cesium borate crystals shifted to upfield for structures with larger Cs+ coordination numbers, (2 the MAS NMR spectra of xNa2O-yCs2O-3B2O3 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, x + y = 1 glass showed that the average coordination number (CN of both the alkali cations decreases with increasing Cs+/(Na+ + Cs+ ratio. However, the degree of decrement in borates is much smaller than that in silicates. We have considered that the small difference in CN is due to 4-coordinated B, because it is electrically compensated by the alkali metal ions resulting in the restriction of having various coordinations of O to alkali metal.

Plasma experiments elucidative for challenging problems investigated in other branches of science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanduloviciu, M.; Popescu, S.

2001-01-01

Driving away from thermal equilibrium a plasma initially in an asymptotic stable state it is possible to identify the succession of the physical processes that form, as a whole, a new scenario of self-organization able to explain, besides the challenging problems of non-equilibrium physics, also some of the today not solved essential problems of the chemical and biological sciences. Thus, plasma experiments have revealed the presence of a local self-enhancement mechanism associated with long-range inhibition that explains pattern formation in general. Two successively produced instabilities originated in a positive feedback mechanism were identified to be at the origin of the spatial and spatial-temporal patterns, respectively. This feedback mechanism comprises a self-enhancing mechanism of the production of positive ions complemented by the creation of a net negative space charge by accumulation of electrons that have lost their kinetic energy in neutral excitations. The informational content concerning self-organization revealed by the plasma experiments suggests the presence of a new physical basis for the behavior of the systems working as differential negative resistance, but also new information on the actual cause of the anomalous transport of particles and energy. These results present special interest in solid state physics where the mechanism of current instabilities observed in semiconductors is today a non-conclusively solved problem. Anomalous transport of particles and energy is today a challenging problem of high energy physics because it is considered as the principal cause that impedes the improvement of the economical performances of fusion devices. Since all chemical and biological phenomena involve, at least, physical processes, the scenario of self-organization identified in plasma could be elucidative for understanding the phenomena, as for instance, the pattern formation in chemical media, but also the spontaneous self-assembling of the

Are Structural Analogues to Bisphenol A Safe Alternatives?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenmai, Anna Kjerstine; Dybdahl, Marianne; Pedersen, Mikael

2014-01-01

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical with widespread human exposure suspected of causing low-dose effects. Thus, a need for developing alternatives to BPA exists. Structural analogues of BPA have already been detected in foods and humans. Due to the structural analogy of the alternatives......, there is a risk of effects similar to BPA.Objectives: The aim was to elucidate and compare the hazards of bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol S (BPS) and 4-cumylphenol (HPP) to BPA.Methods: In vitro studies on steroidogenesis, receptor activity, and biomarkers of effect, as well...

Study on geologic structure of hydrogenic deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

The problem of studying geologic structure of hydrogenic uranium deposits developed by underground leaching (UL), is elucidated. Geologic maps of the surface are used to characterize engineering and geologic conditions. Main geologoic papers are maps drawn up according to boring data. For total geologic characteristic of the deposit 3 types of maps are usually drawn up: structural maps of isohypses or isodepths, lithologic-facies maps on the horizon and rhythm, and maps of epigenetic alterations (geochemmcal). Besides maps systems of sections are drawn up. Problems of studying lithologic-facies and geohemical peculiarities of deposits, epigenotic alterations, substance composition of ores and enclosing rocks, documentation and core sampting, are considered in details

Computational Approaches for Revealing the Structure of Membrane Transporters: Case Study on Bilitranslocase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katja Venko

Full Text Available The structural and functional details of transmembrane proteins are vastly underexplored, mostly due to experimental difficulties regarding their solubility and stability. Currently, the majority of transmembrane protein structures are still unknown and this present a huge experimental and computational challenge. Nowadays, thanks to X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy over 3000 structures of membrane proteins have been solved, among them only a few hundred unique ones. Due to the vast biological and pharmaceutical interest in the elucidation of the structure and the functional mechanisms of transmembrane proteins, several computational methods have been developed to overcome the experimental gap. If combined with experimental data the computational information enables rapid, low cost and successful predictions of the molecular structure of unsolved proteins. The reliability of the predictions depends on the availability and accuracy of experimental data associated with structural information. In this review, the following methods are proposed for in silico structure elucidation: sequence-dependent predictions of transmembrane regions, predictions of transmembrane helix–helix interactions, helix arrangements in membrane models, and testing their stability with molecular dynamics simulations. We also demonstrate the usage of the computational methods listed above by proposing a model for the molecular structure of the transmembrane protein bilitranslocase. Bilitranslocase is bilirubin membrane transporter, which shares similar tissue distribution and functional properties with some of the members of the Organic Anion Transporter family and is the only member classified in the Bilirubin Transporter Family. Regarding its unique properties, bilitranslocase is a potentially interesting drug target. Keywords: Membrane proteins, Bilitranslocase, 3D protein structure, Transmembrane region predictors, Helix–helix interactions

Elucidating the genetic architecture of reproductive ageing in the Japanese population.

Science.gov (United States)

Horikoshi, Momoko; Day, Felix R; Akiyama, Masato; Hirata, Makoto; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Matsuda, Koichi; Ishigaki, Kazuyoshi; Kanai, Masahiro; Wright, Hollis; Toro, Carlos A; Ojeda, Sergio R; Lomniczi, Alejandro; Kubo, Michiaki; Ong, Ken K; Perry, John R B

2018-05-17

Population studies elucidating the genetic architecture of reproductive ageing have been largely limited to European ancestries, restricting the generalizability of the findings and overlooking possible key genes poorly captured by common European genetic variation. Here, we report 26 loci (all P Japanese ancestry). Highlighted genes for menopause include GNRH1, which supports a primary, rather than passive, role for hypothalamic-pituitary GnRH signalling in the timing of menopause. For puberty timing, we demonstrate an aetiological role for receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatases by combining evidence across population genetics and pre- and peri-pubertal changes in hypothalamic gene expression in rodent and primate models. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate widespread differences in allele frequencies and effect estimates between Japanese and European associated variants, highlighting the benefits and challenges of large-scale trans-ethnic approaches.

Thermodynamic and structural characteristics of cement minerals at elevated temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruton, C.J.; Meike, A.; Viani, B.E.; Martin, S.; Phillips, B.L.

1994-05-01

We have instituted an experimental and including program designed to elucidate the structural and thermodynamic response of cement minerals to elevated temperature. Components of the program involve: (a) synthesis of hydrated Ca-silicates; (b) structural analysis of cement phases induced by heating and dehydration/rehydration; (c) mechanistic and thermodynamic descriptions of the hydration/dehydration behavior of hydrated Ca-silicates as a function of temperature, pressure and relative humidity; (d) study of naturally occurring hydrated Ca-silicates; and (e) measurements of thermodynamic data for hydrated Ca-silicates

Structural elucidation and physicochemical properties of an organic NLO crystal: 4-Nitrotoluene-2-sulphonic acid dihydrate

Science.gov (United States)

Sangeetha, K.; Guru Prasad, L.; Mathammal, R.

2018-03-01

4-nitrotoluene-2-sulphonic acid dihydrate single crystals have been developed using slow evaporation technique in methanol. Lattice parameters of the NTSAD crystal have been calculated and it confirms the grown material. The intermolecular interactions are studied from the 3D Hirshfeld surface analysis and 2D fingerprint plots. The NMR spectral analysis has been carried out to confirm the molecular structure of the grown material. Optical properties have been obtained from UV-VIS spectral analysis and photoluminescence studies. Frequency conversion property of the NTSAD crystal was investigated with the aid of Kurtz and Perry method.

A Glimpse of Membrane Transport through Structures-Advances in the Structural Biology of the GLUT Glucose Transporters.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Nieng

2017-08-18

The cellular uptake of glucose is an essential physiological process, and movement of glucose across biological membranes requires specialized transporters. The major facilitator superfamily glucose transporters GLUTs, encoded by the SLC2A genes, have been a paradigm for functional, mechanistic, and structural understanding of solute transport in the past century. This review starts with a glimpse into the structural biology of membrane proteins and particularly membrane transport proteins, enumerating the landmark structures in the past 25years. The recent breakthrough in the structural elucidation of GLUTs is then elaborated following a brief overview of the research history of these archetypal transporters, their functional specificity, and physiological and pathophysiological significances. Structures of GLUT1, GLUT3, and GLUT5 in distinct transport and/or ligand-binding states reveal detailed mechanisms of the alternating access transport cycle and substrate recognition, and thus illuminate a path by which structure-based drug design may be applied to help discover novel therapeutics against several debilitating human diseases associated with GLUT malfunction and/or misregulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antioxidant activity and electrochemical elucidation of the enigmatic redox behavior of curcumin and its structurally modified analogues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jha, Niki S.; Mishra, Satyendra; Jha, Shailendra K.; Surolia, Avadhesha

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Structural analogues of curcumin have been synthesized. • Confirmation of redox behaviour emanates from H- shift from central methylene group in curcumin. • Mechanism of curcumin oxidation has been proposed. • Correlation between redox behavior and antioxidant activity has been established. - Abstract: Here, we report studies on the antioxidant activity and redox behavior of curcumin and its structurally modified synthetic analogues. We have synthesized a number of analogues of curcumin which abrogate its keto-enol tautomerism or substitute the methylene group at the centre of its heptadione moiety implicated in the hydride transfer and studied their redox property. From cyclic voltammetric studies, it is demonstrated that H- atom transfer from CH 2 group at the center of the heptadione link also plays an important role in the antioxidant properties of curcumin along with that of its phenolic –OH group. In addition, we also show that the conversion of 1, 3- dicarbonyl moiety of curcumin to an isosteric heterocycle as in pyrazole curcumin, which decreases its rotational freedom, leads to an improvement of its redox properties as well as its antioxidant activity

Insights into structural features of HDAC1 and its selectivity inhibition elucidated by Molecular dynamic simulation and Molecular Docking.

Science.gov (United States)

Sixto-López, Yudibeth; Bello, Martiniano; Correa-Basurto, José

2018-03-06

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a family of proteins whose main function is the removal of acetyl groups from lysine residues located on histone and non-histone substrates, which regulates gene transcription and other activities in cells. HDAC1 dysfunction has been implicated in cancer development and progression; thus, its inhibition has emerged as a new therapeutic strategy. Two additional metal binding sites (Site 1 and Site 2) in HDACs have been described that are primarily occupied by potassium ions, suggesting a possible structural role that affects HDAC activity. In this work, we explored the structural role of potassium ions in Site 1 and Site 2 and how they affect the interactions of compounds with high affinities for HDAC1 (AC1OCG0B, Chlamydocin, Dacinostat and Quisinostat) and SAHA (a pan-inhibitor) using molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in concert with a Molecular-Mechanics-Generalized-Born-Surface-Area (MMGBSA) approach. Four models were generated: one with a potassium ion (K + ) in both sites (HDAC1 k ), a second with K + only at site 1 (HDAC1 ks1 ), a third with K + only at site 2 (HDAC1 ks2 ) and a fourth with no K + (HDAC1 wk ). We found that the presence or absence of K + not only impacted the structural flexibility of HDAC1, but also its molecular recognition, consistent with experimental findings. These results could therefore be useful for further structure-based drug design studies addressing new HDAC1 inhibitors.

Residue Modification and Mass Spectrometry for the Investigation of Structural and Metalation Properties of Metallothionein and Cysteine-Rich Proteins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon W. Irvine

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Structural information regarding metallothioneins (MTs has been hard to come by due to its highly dynamic nature in the absence of metal-thiolate cluster formation and crystallization difficulties. Thus, typical spectroscopic methods for structural determination are limited in their usefulness when applied to MTs. Mass spectrometric methods have revolutionized our understanding of protein dynamics, structure, and folding. Recently, advances have been made in residue modification mass spectrometry in order to probe the hard-to-characterize structure of apo- and partially metalated MTs. By using different cysteine specific alkylation reagents, time dependent electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS, and step-wise “snapshot” ESI-MS, we are beginning to understand the dynamics of the conformers of apo-MT and related species. In this review we highlight recent papers that use these and similar techniques for structure elucidation and attempt to explain in a concise manner the data interpretations of these complex methods. We expect increasing resolution in our picture of the structural conformations of metal-free MTs as these techniques are more widely adopted and combined with other promising tools for structural elucidation.

Isolation and structural characterization of echinocystic acid triterpenoid saponins from the Australian medicinal and food plant Acacia ligulata

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Diana Jæger; Ndi, Chi P.; Crocoll, Christoph

2017-01-01

The Australian plant Acacia ligulata has a number of traditional food and medicinal uses by Australian Aboriginal people, although no bioactive compounds have previously been isolated from this species. Bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanolic extract of the mature pods of A. ligulata led...... to the isolation of the two new echinocystic acid triterpenoid saponins, ligulatasides A (1) and B (2), which differ in the fine structure of their glycan substituents. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and saccharide linkage analysis. These are the first isolated...... compounds from A. ligulata and the first fully elucidated structures of triterpenoid saponins from Acacia sensu stricto having echinocystic acid reported as the aglycone. Compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against a human melanoma cancer cell line (SK-MEL28) and a diploid fibroblast...

X-radiographic study of rare-earth compounds with special regardment of modulated structures. The response of the crystal structure to stoichiometry deviations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leisegang, Tilmann

2010-01-01

Even shortly after World War II, as large amounts of ultrapure rare earths (RE) became available for scientific research, a large reservoir of peculiar phenomena was uncovered. These had not been investigated before or were completely unknown. Examples of these phenomena are, magnetic ordering, the KONDO effect, quantum critical points, heavy fermion behaviour, as well as superconductivity. A strong influence of small variations of the chemical composition on the physical properties had been observed. The main focus of the present thesis is the detailed elucidation of the crystal structure of fundamental representatives of this class of substances, as well as the influence of dedicated variations of the chemical composition on their structure and properties. In particular, the characterisation of modulated crystals is an important facet. A large spectrum of physical methods, especially X-ray diffraction, is employed in the investigations. Results on oriented intergrowth in the Y-Ni-B-C system, incommensurately ordered vacancies in the Ce-Si system, incorporation of stacking faults as well as commensurately ordered transition metal atoms (TM) in the RE-TM-Si system and site specific occupancy in the Y-Mn-Fe-O system are presented. Their elucidation is reported for the first time. It is shown which consequences the structural peculiarities will have on the physical properties. An objective of this thesis is to give an overview of the possible ''answers'' that can be obtained with regard to the influence of the crystal structure of rare earth transition metal compounds on deviations of the chemical composition. (orig.)

Elucidating the design principles of photosynthetic electron-transfer proteins by site-directed spin labeling EPR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ishara Silva, K; Jagannathan, Bharat; Golbeck, John H; Lakshmi, K V

2016-05-01

Site-directed spin labeling electron paramagnetic resonance (SDSL EPR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool to determine solvent accessibility, side-chain dynamics, and inter-spin distances at specific sites in biological macromolecules. This information provides important insights into the structure and dynamics of both natural and designed proteins and protein complexes. Here, we discuss the application of SDSL EPR spectroscopy in probing the charge-transfer cofactors in photosynthetic reaction centers (RC) such as photosystem I (PSI) and the bacterial reaction center (bRC). Photosynthetic RCs are large multi-subunit proteins (molecular weight≥300 kDa) that perform light-driven charge transfer reactions in photosynthesis. These reactions are carried out by cofactors that are paramagnetic in one of their oxidation states. This renders the RCs unsuitable for conventional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigations. However, the presence of native paramagnetic centers and the ability to covalently attach site-directed spin labels in RCs makes them ideally suited for the application of SDSL EPR spectroscopy. The paramagnetic centers serve as probes of conformational changes, dynamics of subunit assembly, and the relative motion of cofactors and peptide subunits. In this review, we describe novel applications of SDSL EPR spectroscopy for elucidating the effects of local structure and dynamics on the electron-transfer cofactors of photosynthetic RCs. Because SDSL EPR Spectroscopy is uniquely suited to provide dynamic information on protein motion, it is a particularly useful method in the engineering and analysis of designed electron transfer proteins and protein networks. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Biodesign for Bioenergetics--the design and engineering of electronic transfer cofactors, proteins and protein networks, edited by Ronald L. Koder and J.L. Ross Anderson. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

20170917 - A Cross-platform Format to Associate NMR-extracted data (NMReDATA) to Chemical Structures (SMASHNMR)

Science.gov (United States)

An open initiative involving cross-disciplinary contributors of computer-assisted structure elucidation (CASE), including methodology specialists, software and database developers and the editorial board of Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry, is addressing the old problem of reporti...

Exploiting the Past and the Future in Protein Secondary Structure Prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baldi, Pierre; Brunak, Søren; Frasconi, P

1999-01-01

predictions based on variable ranges of dependencies. These architectures extend recurrent neural networks, introducing non-causal bidirectional dynamics to capture both upstream and downstream information. The prediction algorithm is completed by the use of mixtures of estimators that leverage evolutionary......Motivation: Predicting the secondary structure of a protein (alpha-helix, beta-sheet, coil) is an important step towards elucidating its three-dimensional structure, as well as its function. Presently, the best predictors are based on machine learning approaches, in particular neural network...

Immunological assays employed for the elucidation of an histoplasmosis outbreak in São Paulo, SP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Noronha Passos

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Several reports showed outbreaks of histoplasmosis acquired while bat-inhabited caves were visited by tourists, miners or researchers. We evaluated the performance of double immunodifusion (DI and immunoblotting (IB assays, employed for the histoplasmosis outbreak elucidation occurred in Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo. The existence of epidemiologic link, four patients with clinical signs suggestive of histoplasmosis and mycological confirmation has made that all 35 individuals involved to the cave visit were subjected to serological evaluation. By DI, we observed reactivity against H. capsulatum antigen in a single serum examined nearly 20 days after exposure to fungal propagules. On the other hand, IB showed reactivity against H and M fractions in 50% of samples evaluated. The analysis of the second sample batch, collected two months after the exposure showed that 96.7% were reactive by DI with antibodies titers ranging from 1 to 16 and 100% of reactivity against H and M fractions, by IB, suggesting an acute infection. The analysis of the overall agreement between the methods showed to be reasonable (κ = 0.37. This study confirms the importance and efficacy of more sensitive methodologies, such as IB assay, to early elucidation of disease, especially in cases of patients without mycological information.

Pulsatile secretion of thyrotropin during fasting: a decrease of thyrotropin pulse amplitude

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Romijn, J. A.; Adriaanse, R.; Brabant, G.; Prank, K.; Endert, E.; Wiersinga, W. M.

1990-01-01

The effect of fasting on circadian and pulsatile TSH secretion was investigated in eight healthy subjects (four men and four women in the follicular phase). Each subject was studied twice, once during 24 h with normal food intake and once during the last 24 h of a 60-h fast. Blood was sampled every

Using IR spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution to elucidate mechanism of heat-induced decomposition of an organic complex

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karpushkin, Evgeny; Gvozdik, Nataliya; Kucheryavskiy, Sergey V.

the opportunity to carry out simultaneous thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry analysis and IR/Raman/mass spectrometry investigation of the evolving gaseous products. However, elucidation of the mechanism of the reactions occurring upon heat- ing is not completely straightforward, due to a number...

Marine Biotoxins: Laboratory Culture and Molecular Structure

Science.gov (United States)

1991-01-21

ciguateric carnivorous fishes in concentrations ranging from I to 10 ppb. Its molecular structure has been elucidated. It has been isolated from toxic...American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1984, pp 217-329. 6. Med. J. Australia 1986, 145 (11/12), 558; 584-5M). 7. "Toxic Plants and Animals A Guide...isolated and grown in the laboratory. Lethality of crude acetone and methanol extracts were assa~ed by ip injection into mice. In vitro cytotoxicity and

Structures of sub-monolayered silicon carbide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baba, Y.; Sekiguchi, T.; Shimoyama, I.; Nath, Krishna G.

2004-01-01

The electronic and geometrical structures of silicon carbide thin films are presented. The films were deposited on graphite by ion-beam deposition using tetramethylsilane (TMS) as an ion source. In the Si K-edge near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra for sub-monolayered film, sharp peaks due to the resonance from Si 1s to π*-like orbitals were observed, suggesting the existence of Si=C double bonds. On the basis of the polarization dependencies of the Si 1s → π* peak intensities, it is elucidated that the direction of the π*-like orbitals is just perpendicular to the surface. We conclude that the sub-monolayered SiC x film has a flat-lying hexagonal structure of which configuration is analogous to the single sheet of graphite

Elucidating structural order and disorder phenomena in mullite-type Al4B2O9 by automated electron diffraction tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Haishuang; Krysiak, Yaşar; Hoffmann, Kristin; Barton, Bastian; Molina-Luna, Leopoldo; Neder, Reinhard B.; Kleebe, Hans-Joachim; Gesing, Thorsten M.; Schneider, Hartmut; Fischer, Reinhard X.

2017-01-01

The crystal structure and disorder phenomena of Al 4 B 2 O 9 , an aluminum borate from the mullite-type family, were studied using automated diffraction tomography (ADT), a recently established method for collection and analysis of electron diffraction data. Al 4 B 2 O 9 , prepared by sol-gel approach, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The ab initio structure determination based on three-dimensional electron diffraction data from single ordered crystals reveals that edge-connected AlO 6 octahedra expanding along the b axis constitute the backbone. The ordered structure (A) was confirmed by TEM and HAADF-STEM images. Furthermore, disordered crystals with diffuse scattering along the b axis are observed. Analysis of the modulation pattern implies a mean superstructure (AAB) with a threefold b axis, where B corresponds to an A layer shifted by ½a and ½c. Diffraction patterns simulated for the AAB sequence including additional stacking disorder are in good agreement with experimental electron diffraction patterns. - Graphical abstract: Crystal structure and disorder phenomena of B-rich Al 4 B 2 O 9 studied by automated electron diffraction tomography (ADT) and described by diffraction simulation using DISCUS. - Highlights: • Ab-initio structure solution by electron diffraction from single nanocrystals. • Detected modulation corresponding mainly to three-fold superstructure. • Diffuse diffraction streaks caused by stacking faults in disordered crystals. • Observed streaks explained by simulated electron diffraction patterns.

X-ray Crystal Structures Elucidate the Nucleotidyl Transfer Reaction of Transcript Initiation Using Two Nucleotides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

M Gleghorn; E Davydova; R Basu; L Rothman-Denes; K Murakami

2011-12-31

We have determined the X-ray crystal structures of the pre- and postcatalytic forms of the initiation complex of bacteriophage N4 RNA polymerase that provide the complete set of atomic images depicting the process of transcript initiation by a single-subunit RNA polymerase. As observed during T7 RNA polymerase transcript elongation, substrate loading for the initiation process also drives a conformational change of the O helix, but only the correct base pairing between the +2 substrate and DNA base is able to complete the O-helix conformational transition. Substrate binding also facilitates catalytic metal binding that leads to alignment of the reactive groups of substrates for the nucleotidyl transfer reaction. Although all nucleic acid polymerases use two divalent metals for catalysis, they differ in the requirements and the timing of binding of each metal. In the case of bacteriophage RNA polymerase, we propose that catalytic metal binding is the last step before the nucleotidyl transfer reaction.

Cellular regulation of the structure and function of aortic valves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail El-Hamamsy

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aortic valve was long considered a passive structure that opens and closes in response to changes in transvalvular pressure. Recent evidence suggests that the aortic valve performs highly sophisticated functions as a result of its unique microscopic structure. These functions allow it to adapt to its hemodynamic and mechanical environment. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in normal valve physiology is essential to elucidate the mechanisms behind valve disease. We here review the structure and developmental biology of aortic valves; we examine the role of its cellular parts in regulating its function and describe potential pathophysiological and clinical implications.

Elucidating the nature and mechanism of tic improvement in tourette syndrome: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shprecher, David R; Gannon, Keenan; Agarwal, Nivedita; Shi, Xianfeng; Anderson, Jeffrey S

2014-01-01

For unclear reasons, many Tourette syndrome (TS) children report near-complete tic remission by young adulthood. Immature maturation of brain networks, observed with resting-state functional MRI (rs-fc-MRI) in adolescents and adults with TS, might evolve to a mature pattern in adults who experience tic improvement or remission. We explored the feasibility of testing this hypothesis in our population of young adult TS males, each with prior clinical assessments completed during childhood as part of a separate TS Association Genetics Consortium study. A total of 10 TS males (off tic suppressing drugs for at least 6 months) aged 19-32 years, mean follow-up interval 7.5 (2 to 13) years, and 11 neurologically normal controls were enrolled and underwent 3-Tesla structural and rs-fc-MRI sequences. The mean change in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) was -31.5% (total) and -26.6% (YGTSS motor+vocal). Two subjects reported resolution of tic-related disability, with drops from mean 45 to 16.5 (YGTSS-total) and 25 to 11.5 (YGTSS motor+vocal.). Rs-fc-MRI revealed significantly increased connectivity between the ipsilateral anterior and mid cingulate cortex and striatum, increased connectivity between local connections, and decreased connectivity between more distant connections; representing an immature connectivity pattern. Similar to previous reports, we found immature patterns of functional connectivity in adult TS subjects. Despite a lack of complete tic remission, two subjects exhibited dramatic drops in tic severity that correlated with tic-related disability improvement. More work is needed to elucidate the mechanism of such dramatic improvement in TS.

Structure and Function of Lipase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjold-Jørgensen, Jakob

.e. the waterlipidinterface. For Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TlL) and related lipases, activation of the enzymeinvolves a rearrangement of a structural domain, called the “lid”, which covers the active site inhomogenous aqueous solution. At the water-lipid interface, the lid is displaced from the active site andmoves...... the water-lipid interface, structural movements occurring during activation have been difficult to probeexperimentally. In this work, novel variants of TlL were constructed based on rational design with amutated lid-region in order to elucidate the impact of the lid-residue composition and characteristics...... onthe activation mechanism. From characterization studies of these variants we have shown (Paper I) thatthe lid-region plays a crucial role in governing interfacial activation and enzymatic activity. Specifically,using a combination of spectroscopic and enzymatic activity-based methods we have...

Cocaine Hydrochloride Structure in Solution Revealed by Three Chiroptical Methods

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fagan, P.; Kocourková, L.; Tatarkovič, M.; Králík, F.; Kuchař, M.; Setnička, V.; Bouř, Petr

2017-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 16 (2017), s. 2258-2265 ISSN 1439-4235 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-05935S; GA MŠk(CZ) LTC17012 Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : analytical methods * circular dichroism * density functional calculations * Raman spectroscopy * structure elucidation Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry OBOR OECD: Physical chemistry Impact factor: 3.075, year: 2016

Plant lessons: exploring ABCB functionality through structural modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurélien eBailly

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In contrast to mammalian ABCB1 proteins, narrow substrate specificity has been extensively documented for plant orthologs shown to catalyze the transport of the plant hormone, auxin. Using the crystal structures of the multidrug exporters Sav1866 and MmABCB1 as templates, we have developed structural models of plant ABCB proteins with a common architecture. Comparisons of these structures identified kingdom-specific candidate substrate-binding regions within the translocation chamber formed by the transmembrane domains of ABCBs from the model plant Arabidopsis. These results suggest an early evolutionary divergence of plant and mammalian ABCBs. Validation of these models becomes a priority for efforts to elucidate ABCB function and manipulate this class of transporters to enhance plant productivity and quality.

Phononic Band Gaps in 2D Quadratic and 3D Cubic Cellular Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Warmuth, Franziska; Körner, Carolin

2015-12-02

The static and dynamic mechanical behaviour of cellular materials can be designed by the architecture of the underlying unit cell. In this paper, the phononic band structure of 2D and 3D cellular structures is investigated. It is shown how the geometry of the unit cell influences the band structure and eventually leads to full band gaps. The mechanism leading to full band gaps is elucidated. Based on this knowledge, a 3D cellular structure with a broad full band gap is identified. Furthermore, the dependence of the width of the gap on the geometry parameters of the unit cell is presented.

Elucidation of structural, vibrational and dielectric properties of transition metal (Co2+) doped spinel Mg-Zn chromites

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, Pankaj; Varshney, Dinesh

2018-05-01

Co2+ doped Mg-Zn spinel chromite compositions Mg0.5Zn0.5-xCoxCr2O4 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) have been synthesized by the high-temperature solid state method. Synchrotron and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show single-phase crystalline nature. The structural analysis is validated by Rietveld refinement confirms the cubic structure with space group Fd3m. Crystallite size is estimated from Synchrotron XRD which was found to be 30-34 nm. Energy dispersive analysis confirms stoichiometric Mg0.5Zn0.5-xCoxCr2O4 composition. Average crystallite size distribution is estimated from imaging software (Image - J) of SEM is in the range of 100-250 nm. Raman spectroscopy reveals four active phonon modes, and a pronounced red shift is due to enhanced Co2+ concentration. Increased Co2+ concentration in Mg-Zn chromites shows a prominent narrowing of band gap from 3.46 to 2.97 eV. The dielectric response is attributed to the interfacial polarization, and the electrical modulus study supports non-Debye type of dielectric relaxation. Ohmic junctions (minimum potential drop) at electrode interface are active at lower levels of doping (x transformer applications at high frequencies.

On the use of atomistic simulations to aid bulk metallic glasses structural elucidation with solid-state NMR.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Ary R; Rino, José P

2017-08-24

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) experimental 27 Al metallic shifts reported in the literature for bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) were revisited in the light of state-of-the-art atomistic simulations. In a consistent way, the Gauge-Including Projector Augmented-Wave (GIPAW) method was applied in conjunction with classical molecular dynamics (CMD). A series of Zr-Cu-Al alloys with low Al concentrations were selected as case study systems, for which realistic CMD derived structural models were used for a short- and medium-range order mining. That initial procedure allowed the detection of trends describing changes on the microstructure of the material upon Al alloying, which in turn were used to guide GIPAW calculations with a set of abstract systems in the context of ssNMR. With essential precision and accuracy, the ab initio simulations also yielded valuable trends from the electronic structure point of view, which enabled an overview of the bonding nature of Al-centered clusters as well as its influence on the experimental ssNMR outcomes. The approach described in this work might promote the use of ssNMR spectroscopy in research on glassy metals. Moreover, the results presented demonstrate the possibility to expand the applications of this technique, with deeper insight into nuclear interactions and less speculative assignments.

Exaggerated levothyroxine malabsorption due to calcium carbonate supplementation in gastrointestinal disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Csako, G; McGriff, N J; Rotman-Pikielny, P; Sarlis, N J; Pucino, F

2001-12-01

To describe a patient with primary hypothyroidism in whom ingestion of levothyroxine with calcium carbonate led to markedly elevated serum thyrotropin concentrations. A 61-year-old white woman with primary hypothyroidism, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, and history of Whipple resection for pancreatic cancer was euthyroid with levothyroxine 175-188 micrograms/d. After taking a high dose of calcium carbonate (1250 mg three times daily) with levothyroxine, she developed biochemical evidence of hypothyroidism (thyrotropin up to 41.4 mU/L) while remaining clinically euthyroid. Delaying calcium carbonate administration by four hours returned her serum thyrotropin to a borderline high concentration (5.7 mU/L) within a month. Serum concentrations of unbound and total thyroxine and triiodothyronine tended to decrease, but remained borderline low to normal while the patient concomitantly received levothyroxine and calcium carbonate. Concomitant administration of levothyroxine and calcium carbonate often results in levothyroxine malabsorption. While in most patients the clinical consequences of this interaction, even with prolonged exposure, are relatively small, overt hypothyrodism may develop in patients with preexisting malabsorption disorders. However, as the current case illustrates, the clinical manifestations of the initial levothyroxine deficit may not always be apparent and, of all usual laboratory thyroid function tests, only thyrotropin measurement will reliably uncover the exaggerated levothyroxine malabsorption. Decreased absorption of levothyroxine when given with calcium carbonate may be particularly pronounced in patients with preexisting malabsorption disorders. Once recognized, a change in drug administration schedule usually minimizes or eliminates this interaction.

Correlation of orbital muscle changes evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging and thyroid-stimulating antibody in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, M.; Yoshimura, M.; Inada, M.

1993-01-01

To evaluate the relationship between eye changes and autoantibody to the thyrotropin receptor in patients with Graves' disease, the authors evaluated the eye changes using magnetic resonance imaging and the results were correlated with thyroid-stimulating antibody, thyrotropin binding inhibitor immunoglobulin and thyroid growth activity. Subjects were 15 patients with Graves' disease who had Graves' ophthalmopathy, including exophthalmos and other signs and symptoms, and 9 patients without ophthalmopathy; all were maintained in a euthyroid state by antithyroid drugs. The thyrotropin-binding inhibitor imunoglobulin was measured by a kit, and thyroid-stimulating antibody and thyroid growth activity were evaluated by cyclic adenosine 3', 5'-monophosphate production and [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation, respectively, by cultured functional rat thyroid lined cells. The sum of the swelling ratios of the four extraocular muscles correlated well with the degree of exophthalmos. The thyrotropin-binding inhibitor immunoglobulin was positive in 9 out of 15 patients with ophthalmopathy; however, no correlation was observed between the activity and exophthalmos or muscle swelling. No significant correlation was observed between muscle changes and thyroid growth activity either. On the other hand, thyroid-stimulating antibody in Graves' patients with ophthalmopathy was significantly higher than that in patients without ophthalmopathy. Moreover, the level of the stimulating activity in Graves' patients with ophthalmopathy showed a significant positive correlation with the sum of the swelling ratios of the individual eight eye muscles. These results suggest that thyroid-stimulating antibody has a close relation to Graves' ophthalmopathy. 23 refs., 4 figs

Otra posible invención sobre el dolor. Una elucidación psicoanalítica de la melancolía. // Another possible invention related to pain. A psychoanalytical elucidation to melancholia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Manuel Ramírez Escobar.

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to elucidate certain structural features that allow us to think about a possible clinic of melancholia, following what has been said by Freud and Lacan, without ignoring the historical development of this concept and some works in classic psychiatry. After a brief review to subjects already mentioned, the author outlines a possible treatment for this structure that within the psychosis has not been included in many studies on the matter. Finally, explaining the statute of the object to which the melancholic is identified and the pain at existing, triggered by the foreclosure of the Name-of-the-Father, will offer a clear way to elucidate the issue. // El presente trabajo apunta al esclarecimiento de ciertos rasgos estructurales que permiten pensar una clínica posible de la melancolía, siempre atendiendo a lo dicho por Freud y Lacan pero sin pasar por alto tanto las elaboraciones históricas del concepto como los trabajos efectuados en la psiquiatría clásica. Haciendo un breve recorrido por lo ya mencionado podrá surgir un esbozo de tratamiento posible de una estructura que dentro de las psicosis ha quedado al margen de muchos trabajos al respecto. Por último, apuntar hacia el estatuto del objeto al cuál se identifica el melancólico y al dolor de existir desencadenado por la forclusión del Nombre del Padre permitirá una vía de esclarecimiento como propuesta de trabajo.

Isolation and structural elucidation of compounds from the non ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CARTA

Key words: Nicandra physaloides, withanicandrin, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, antifungal activity. INTRODUCTION .... 30.1 (C-23), 149.8 (C-24), 122.0 (C-25), 167.3. (C-26), 12.7 ( C-27) and .... Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. (Including the ...

Elucidation of the glucose transport pathway in glucose transporter 4 via steered molecular dynamics simulations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aswathy Sheena

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: GLUT4 is a predominant insulin regulated glucose transporter expressed in major glucose disposal tissues such as adipocytes and muscles. Under the unstimulated state, GLUT4 resides within intracellular vesicles. Various stimuli such as insulin translocate this protein to the plasma membrane for glucose transport. In the absence of a crystal structure for GLUT4, very little is known about the mechanism of glucose transport by this protein. Earlier we proposed a homology model for GLUT4 and performed a conventional molecular dynamics study revealing the conformational rearrangements during glucose and ATP binding. However, this study could not explain the transport of glucose through the permeation tunnel. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To elucidate the molecular mechanism of glucose transport and its energetic, a steered molecular dynamics study (SMD was used. Glucose was pulled from the extracellular end of GLUT4 to the cytoplasm along the pathway using constant velocity pulling method. We identified several key residues within the tunnel that interact directly with either the backbone ring or the hydroxyl groups of glucose. A rotation of glucose molecule was seen near the sugar binding site facilitating the sugar recognition process at the QLS binding site. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study proposes a possible glucose transport pathway and aids the identification of several residues that make direct interactions with glucose during glucose transport. Mutational studies are required to further validate the observation made in this study.

Elucidating transmission dynamics and host-parasite-vector relationships for rodent-borne Bartonella spp. in Madagascar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cara E. Brook

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Bartonella spp. are erythrocytic bacteria transmitted via arthropod vectors, which infect a broad range of vertebrate hosts, including humans. We investigated transmission dynamics and host-parasite-vector relationships for potentially zoonotic Bartonella spp. in invasive Rattus rattus hosts and associated arthropod ectoparasites in Madagascar. We identified five distinct species of Bartonella (B. elizabethae 1, B. elizabethae 2, B. phoceensis 1, B. rattimassiliensis 1, and B. tribocorum 1 infecting R. rattus rodents and their ectoparasites. We fit standard epidemiological models to species-specific age-prevalence data for the four Bartonella spp. with sufficient data, thus quantifying age-structured force of infection. Known zoonotic agents, B. elizabethae 1 and 2, were best described by models exhibiting high forces of infection in early age class individuals and allowing for recovery from infection, while B. phoceensis 1 and B. rattimassiliensis 1 were best fit by models of lifelong infection without recovery and substantially lower forces of infection. Nested sequences of B. elizabethae 1 and 2 were recovered from rodent hosts and their Synopsyllus fonquerniei and Xenopsylla cheopsis fleas, with a particularly high prevalence in the outdoor-dwelling, highland-endemic S. fonquerniei. These findings expand on force of infection analyses to elucidate the ecological niche of the zoonotic Bartonella elizabethae complex in Madagascar, hinting at a potential vector role for S. fonquerniei. Our analyses underscore the uniqueness of such ecologies for Bartonella species, which pose a variable range of potential zoonotic threats.

A STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW OF GH61 PROTEINS – FUNGAL CELLULOSE DEGRADING POLYSACCHARIDE MONOOXYGENASES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Lo Leggio

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed a spurt of activities in the elucidation of the molecular function of a class of proteins with great potential in biomass degradation. GH61 proteins are of fungal origin and were originally classified in family 61 of the glycoside hydrolases. From the beginning they were strongly suspected to be involved in cellulose degradation because of their expression profiles, despite very low detectable endoglucanase activities. A major breakthrough came from structure determination of the first members, establishing the presence of a divalent metal binding site and a similarity to bacterial proteins involved in chitin degradation. A second breakthrough came from the identification of cellulase boosting activity dependent on the integrity of the metal binding site. Finally very recently GH61 proteins were demonstrated to oxidatively cleave crystalline cellulose in a Cu and reductant dependant manner. This mini-review in particular focuses on the contribution that structure elucidation has made in the understanding of GH61 molecular function and reviews the currently known structures and the challenges remaining ahead for exploiting this new class of enzymes to the full.

A structural overview of GH61 proteins – fungal cellulose degrading polysaccharide monooxygenases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Lo Leggio

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Recent years have witnessed a spurt of activities in the elucidation of the molecular function of a class of proteins with great potential in biomass degradation. GH61 proteins are of fungal origin and were originally classified in family 61 of the glycoside hydrolases. From the beginning they were strongly suspected to be involved in cellulose degradation because of their expression profiles, despite very low detectable endoglucanase activities. A major breakthrough came from structure determination of the first members, establishing the presence of a divalent metal binding site and a similarity to bacterial proteins involved in chitin degradation. A second breakthrough came from the identification of cellulase boosting activity dependent on the integrity of the metal binding site. Finally very recently GH61 proteins were demonstrated to oxidatively cleave crystalline cellulose in a Cu and reductant dependant manner. This mini-review in particular focuses on the contribution that structure elucidation has made in the understanding of GH61 molecular function and reviews the currently known structures and the challenges remaining ahead for exploiting this new class of enzymes to the full.

Convergent preparation and photophysical characterization of dimaleimide dansyl fluorogens: elucidation of the maleimide fluorescence quenching mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Guy, Julia; Caron, Karine; Dufresne, Stéphane; Michnick, Stephen W; Skene, W G; Keillor, Jeffrey W

2007-10-03

Dimaleimide fluorogens are being developed for application to fluorescent protein labeling. In this method, fluorophores bearing two maleimide quenching groups do not fluoresce until both maleimide groups have undergone thiol addition reactions with the Cys residues of the target protein sequence [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 559-566]. In this work, a new convergent synthetic route was developed that would allow any fluorophore to be attached via a linker to a dimaleimide moiety in a modular fashion. Series of dimaleimide and dansyl derivatives were thus prepared conveniently and used to elucidate the mechanism of maleimide quenching. Intersystem crossing was ruled out as a potential quenching pathway, based on the absence of a detectable triplet intermediate by laser flash photolysis. Stern-Volmer rate constants were measured with exogenous dimaleimide quenchers and found to be close to the diffusion-controlled limits, consistent with electron transfer being thermodynamically favorable. The thermodynamic feasibility of the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) quenching mechanism was verified by cyclic voltammetry. The redox potentials measured for dansyl and maleimide confirm that electron transfer from the dansyl excited state to a pendant maleimide group is exergonic and is responsible for fluorescence quenching of the fluorogens studied herein. Taking this PET quenching mechanism into account, future fluorogenic protein labeling agents will be designed with spacers of variable length and rigidity to probe the structure-property PET efficiency relationship.

Anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics: a new insight into the structure of nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshiko, Kanada-En'yo; Masaaki, Kimura; Hisashi, Horiuchi

2003-01-01

The AMD (anti-symmetrized molecular dynamics) theory for nuclear structure is explained by showing its actual applications. First the formulation of AMD including various refined versions is briefly presented and its characteristics are discussed, putting a stress on its nature as an 'ab initio' theory. Then we demonstrate fruitful applications to various structure problems in stable nuclei, in order to explicitly verify the 'ab initio' nature of AMD, especially the ability to describe both mean-field-type structure and cluster structure. Finally, we show the results of applications of AMD to unstable nuclei, from which we see that AMD is powerful in elucidating and understanding various types of nuclear structure of unstable nuclei. (authors)

Elucidation of the TMab-6 Monoclonal Antibody Epitope Against Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko, Mika K; Yamada, Shinji; Itai, Shunsuke; Chang, Yao-Wen; Nakamura, Takuro; Yanaka, Miyuki; Harada, Hiroyuki; Suzuki, Hiroyoshi; Kato, Yukinari

2018-05-03

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and mutations of the TERT promoter are significant in the pathogenesis of 1p/19q-codeleted oligodendrogliomas and isocitrate dehydrogenase gene wild-type glioblastomas, as well as melanomas and squamous cell carcinomas. We previously developed an antihuman TERT monoclonal antibody (mAb), TMab-6, which is applicable in immunohistochemistry for human tissues. However, the binding epitope of TMab-6 against TERT is yet to be elucidated. In this study, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry were utilized for investigating the epitope of TMab-6. The findings revealed that the critical epitope of TMab-6 is the TERT sequence PSTSRPPRPWD; Thr310 and Ser311 of TERT are especially significant amino acids for TMab-6 recognition.

True Nature of Supply Network Communication Structure (P.1-14

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lokhman Hakim bin Osman

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Globalization of world economy has altered the definition of organizational structure. Global supply chain can no longer be viewed as an arm-length structure. It has become more complex. The complexity demands deeper research and understanding. This research analyzed a structure of supply network in an attempt to elucidate the true structure of the supply network. Using the quantitative Social Network Analysis methodology, findings of this study indicated that, the structure of the supply network differs depending on the types of network relations. An important implication of these findings would be a more focus resource management upon network relationship development that is based on firms’ positions in the different network structure. This research also contributes to the various strategies of effective and efficient supply chain management.Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Network Studies, Inter-Organizational Relations, Social Capital

Structural studies of human cell surface receptors : On low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 and epidermal growth factor receptors 2 and 3

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Nardis, C.

2017-01-01

The elucidation of proteins’ structure and function is of great importance for the understanding of disease triggering mechanisms and for the development of new drugs. In this thesis, different biophysical and biochemical techniques were employed to gain insights into the structural and functional

Synthesis, Molecular Structure, and Electrochemistry of 1-Ferrocenyl-1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaboranes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Korotvička, A.; Šnajdr, I.; Štěpnička, P.; Císařová, I.; Janoušek, Zbyněk; Kotora, M.

-, č. 15 (2013), s. 2789-2798 ISSN 1434-1948 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP207/11/0338; GAČR(CZ) GAP207/11/0705 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:61388963 Keywords : carboranes * metallocenes * structure elucidation * electrochemistry * addition Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.965, year: 2013

Electronic structure and optical properties of Cs2HgI4: Experimental study and band-structure DFT calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Lavrentyev, A. A.; Gabrelian, B. V.; Vu, V. T.; Shkumat, P. N.; Myronchuk, G. L.; Khvyshchun, M.; Fedorchuk, A. O.; Parasyuk, O. V.; Khyzhun, O. Y.

2015-04-01

High-quality single crystal of cesium mercury tetraiodide, Cs2HgI4, has been synthesized by the vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger method and its crystal structure has been refined. In addition, electronic structure and optical properties of Cs2HgI4 have been studied. For the crystal under study, X-ray photoelectron core-level and valence-band spectra for pristine and Ar+-ion irradiated surfaces have been measured. The present X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate that the Cs2HgI4 single crystal surface is very sensitive with respect to Ar+ ion-irradiation. In particular, Ar+ bombardment of the single crystal surface alters the elemental stoichiometry of the Cs2HgI4 surface. To elucidate peculiarities of the energy distribution of the electronic states within the valence-band and conduction-band regions of the Cs2HgI4 compound, we have performed first-principles band-structure calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) as incorporated in the WIEN2k package. Total and partial densities of states for Cs2HgI4 have been calculated. The DFT calculations reveal that the I p states make the major contributions in the upper portion of the valence band, while the Hg d, Cs p and I s states are the dominant contributors in its lower portion. Temperature dependence of the light absorption coefficient and specific electrical conductivity has been explored for Cs2HgI4 in the temperature range of 77-300 K. Main optical characteristics of the Cs2HgI4 compound have been elucidated by the first-principles calculations.

Plasma effects on subcellular structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gweon, Bomi; Kim, Dan Bee; Jung, Heesoo; Choe, Wonho; Kim, Daeyeon; Shin, Jennifer H.

2010-01-01

Atmospheric pressure helium plasma treated human hepatocytes exhibit distinctive zones of necrotic and live cells separated by a void. We propose that plasma induced necrosis is attributed to plasma species such as oxygen radicals, charged particles, metastables and/or severe disruption of charged cytoskeletal proteins. Interestingly, uncharged cytoskeletal intermediate filaments are only minimally disturbed by plasma, elucidating the possibility of plasma induced electrostatic effects selectively destroying charged proteins. These bona fide plasma effects, which inflict alterations in specific subcellular structures leading to necrosis and cellular detachment, were not observed by application of helium flow or electric field alone.

Multinary lithium (oxo)nitridosilicates. Syntheses, structures and their materials properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horky, Katrin

2017-01-01

The objective of this thesis was the synthesis, identification and characterization of novel lithium(oxo)nitridosilicates in order to investigate as well as to expand the materials properties of this compound class. Therefore, different synthesis strategies were carried out. Crystal structure elucidation with single-crystal X-ray diffraction was carried out on new compounds. Moreover, investigations of physical properties like luminescence and lithium ion conductivity were performed.

Multinary lithium (oxo)nitridosilicates. Syntheses, structures and their materials properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horky, Katrin

2017-11-06

The objective of this thesis was the synthesis, identification and characterization of novel lithium(oxo)nitridosilicates in order to investigate as well as to expand the materials properties of this compound class. Therefore, different synthesis strategies were carried out. Crystal structure elucidation with single-crystal X-ray diffraction was carried out on new compounds. Moreover, investigations of physical properties like luminescence and lithium ion conductivity were performed.

Monoacyl phosphatidylcholine inhibits the formation of lipid multilamellar structures during in vitro lipolysis of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Thuy; Siqueira, Scheyla D V S; Amenitsch, Heinz; Rades, Thomas; Müllertz, Anette

2017-10-15

The colloidal structures formed during lipolysis of self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) might affect the solubilisation and possibly the absorption of drugs. The aim of the current study is to elucidate the structures formed during the in vitro lipolysis of four SEDDS containing medium-chain glycerides and caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glycerides (Labrasol), with or without monoacyl phosphatidylcholine (MAPC). In situ synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was combined with ex situ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) to elucidate the generated structures. The SAXS scattering curves obtained during the lipolysis of MAPC-free SEDDS containing 43-60% w/w Labrasol displayed a lamellar phase peak at q=2.13nm -1 that increased with Labrasol concentration, suggesting the presence of multilamellar structures (MLS) with a d-spacing of 2.95nm. However, SEDDS containing 20-30% w/w MAPC did not form MLS during the lipolysis. The cryo-TEM and DLS studies showed that MAPC-free SEDDS formed coarse emulsions while MAPC-containing SEDDS formed nanoemulsions during the dispersion in digestion medium. From the first minute and during the entire lipolysis process, SEDDS both with and without MAPC generated uni-, bi-, and oligo-lamellar vesicles. The lipolysis kinetics in the first minutes of the four SEDDS correlated with an increased intensity of the SAXS curves and the rapid transformation from lipid droplets to vesicles observed by cryo-TEM. In conclusion, the study elucidates the structures formed during in vitro lipolysis of SEDDS and the inhibitory effect of MAPC on the formation of MLS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure modification and functionality of whey proteins: quantitative structure-activity relationship approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakai, S; Li-Chan, E

1985-10-01

According to the original idea of quantitative structure-activity relationship, electric, hydrophobic, and structural parameters should be taken into consideration for elucidating functionality. Changes in these parameters are reflected in the property of protein solubility upon modification of whey proteins by heating. Although solubility is itself a functional property, it has been utilized to explain other functionalities of proteins. However, better correlations were obtained when hydrophobic parameters of the proteins were used in conjunction with solubility. Various treatments reported in the literature were applied to whey protein concentrate in an attempt to obtain whipping and gelling properties similar to those of egg white. Mapping simplex optimization was used to search for the best results. Improvement in whipping properties by pepsin hydrolysis may have been due to higher protein solubility, and good gelling properties resulting from polyphosphate treatment may have been due to an increase in exposable hydrophobicity. However, the results of angel food cake making were still unsatisfactory.

Theoretical Neuroanatomy:Analyzing the Structure, Dynamics,and Function of Neuronal Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Seth, Anil K.; Edelman, Gerald M.

The mammalian brain is an extraordinary object: its networks give rise to our conscious experiences as well as to the generation of adaptive behavior for the organism within its environment. Progress in understanding the structure, dynamics and function of the brain faces many challenges. Biological neural networks change over time, their detailed structure is difficult to elucidate, and they are highly heterogeneous both in their neuronal units and synaptic connections. In facing these challenges, graph-theoretic and information-theoretic approaches have yielded a number of useful insights and promise many more.

Revealing the hidden structural phases of FeRh

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jinwoong; Ramesh, R.; Kioussis, Nicholas

2016-11-01

Ab initio electronic structure calculations reveal that tetragonal distortion has a dramatic effect on the relative stability of the various magnetic structures (C-, A-, G-, A'-AFM, and FM) of FeRh giving rise to a wide range of novel stable/metastable structures and magnetic phase transitions between these states. We predict that the cubic G-AFM structure, which was believed thus far to be the ground state, is metastable and that the tetragonally expanded G-AFM is the stable structure. The low energy barrier separating these states suggests phase coexistence at room temperature. We propose an A'-AFM phase to be the global ground state among all magnetic phases which arises from the strain-induced tuning of the exchange interactions. The results elucidate the underlying mechanism for the recent experimental findings of electric-field control of magnetic phase transition driven via tetragonal strain. The magnetic phase transitions open interesting prospects for exploiting strain engineering for the next-generation memory devices.

Elucidating high-dimensional cancer hallmark annotation via enriched ontology.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Shankai; Wong, Ka-Chun

2017-09-01

Cancer hallmark annotation is a promising technique that could discover novel knowledge about cancer from the biomedical literature. The automated annotation of cancer hallmarks could reveal relevant cancer transformation processes in the literature or extract the articles that correspond to the cancer hallmark of interest. It acts as a complementary approach that can retrieve knowledge from massive text information, advancing numerous focused studies in cancer research. Nonetheless, the high-dimensional nature of cancer hallmark annotation imposes a unique challenge. To address the curse of dimensionality, we compared multiple cancer hallmark annotation methods on 1580 PubMed abstracts. Based on the insights, a novel approach, UDT-RF, which makes use of ontological features is proposed. It expands the feature space via the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) ontology graph and utilizes novel feature selections for elucidating the high-dimensional cancer hallmark annotation space. To demonstrate its effectiveness, state-of-the-art methods are compared and evaluated by a multitude of performance metrics, revealing the full performance spectrum on the full set of cancer hallmarks. Several case studies are conducted, demonstrating how the proposed approach could reveal novel insights into cancers. https://github.com/cskyan/chmannot. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Insights into the molecular mechanism of dehalogenation catalyzed by D-2-haloacid dehalogenase from crystal structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yayue; Feng, Yanbin; Cao, Xupeng; Liu, Yinghui; Xue, Song

2018-01-23

D-2-haloacid dehalogenases (D-DEXs) catalyse the hydrolytic dehalogenation of D-2-haloacids, releasing halide ions and producing the corresponding 2-hydroxyacids. A structure-guided elucidation of the catalytic mechanism of this dehalogenation reaction has not been reported yet. Here, we report the catalytic mechanism of a D-DEX, HadD AJ1 from Pseudomonas putida AJ1/23, which was elucidated by X-ray crystallographic analysis and the H 2 18 O incorporation experiment. HadD AJ1 is an α-helical hydrolase that forms a homotetramer with its monomer including two structurally axisymmetric repeats. The product-bound complex structure was trapped with L-lactic acid in the active site, which is framed by the structurally related helices between two repeats. Site-directed mutagenesis confirmed the importance of the residues lining the binding pocket in stabilizing the enzyme-substrate complex. Asp205 acts as a key catalytic residue and is responsible for activating a water molecule along with Asn131. Then, the hydroxyl group of the water molecule directly attacks the C2 atom of the substrate to release the halogen ion instead of forming an enzyme-substrate ester intermediate as observed in L-2-haloacid dehalogenases. The newly revealed structural and mechanistic information on D-DEX may inspire structure-based mutagenesis to engineer highly efficient haloacid dehalogenases.

Study on the Reactivity of Amino Acid Chemosensor, NPFNP, with Ethanol: Structural Elucidation through Single Crystal XRD and DFT Calculations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beena Varghese

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A novel ethoxy derivative of an amino acid chemosensor, 3-naphthyl-1-phenyl-5-(2ʹ-fluoro-5ʹ-nitrophenyl-2-pyrazoline (NPFNP, has been synthesized and characterized by different spectroscopic methods.  A single crystal of the ethoxy derivative, 3-naphthyl-1-phenyl-5-(2ʹ-ethoxy-5ʹ-nitrophenyl-2-pyrazoline NPENP, has been obtained and characterized.  The structure holds interest as it carries biologically active pyrazoline as a central ring attaching to electron donating and withdrawing substituents. The major motivation for this work was to gain detailed insight into the structural parameters of this compound for investigating the influence of crystal packing and geometrical dimensions on optical properties. Time-dependent DFT calculations have been employed for comparing the XRD data with theoretical parameters. The results show that the DFT method at B3LYP/6-31G level can well reproduce the structure of the title compound.

Fluid and electrolyte homeostasis during spaceflight: Elucidation of mechanisms in a primate

Science.gov (United States)

Churchill, Susanne

1990-01-01

Although it is now well accepted that exposure to the hypogravic environment of space induces a shift of fluid from the lower extremities toward the upper body, the actual physiological responses to this central volume expansion have not been well characterized. Because it is likely that the fluid and electrolyte response to hypogravity plays a critical role in the development of Cardiovascular Deconditioning, elucidation of these mechanisms is of critical importance. The goal of flight experiment 223, scheduled to fly on SLS-2, is the definition of the basic renal, fluid and electrolyte response to spaceflight in four instrumented squirrel monkeys. The studies were those required to support the development of flight hardware and optimal inflight procedures, and to evaluate a ground-based model for weightlessness, lower body positive pressure (LBPP).

Elucidation of the Synthetic Mechanism of Acylceramide, an Essential Lipid for Skin Barrier Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohno, Yusuke

2017-01-01

The primary function of the skin is to act as a permeability barrier that prevents water loss from inside the body and external invasion such as by pathogens, harmful substances, and allergens. Lipids play a critical role in skin barrier formation by forming multi-lamellar structures in the stratum corneum, the outermost cell layer of the epidermis. Ceramide, the backbone of sphingolipids, accounts for more than 50% of the stratum corneum lipids. Acylceramides are epidermis-specific ceramide species essential for skin barrier formation. Decreases in acylceramide levels and changes in ceramide composition and chain-length are associated with such cutaneous disorders as ichthyosis, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. Acylceramide consists of a long-chain base and an amide-linked ultra-long-chain fatty acid (ULCFA, 28-36 carbon chain), which is ω-hydroxylated and esterified with linoleic acid. Although the molecular mechanism by which acylceramide is generated has not been fully understood for decades, we recently identified two genes, CYP4F22 and PNPLA1, involved in acylceramide synthesis and elucidated the entire biosynthetic pathway of acylceramide: the synthesis of ULCFA by ELOVL1 and ELOVL4, ω-hydroxylation of the ULCFA by CYP4F22, amide-bond formation with a long-chain base by CERS3, and transacylation of linoleic acid from triacylglycerol to ω-hydroxyceramide by PNPLA1 to generate acylceramide. CYP4F22 and PNPLA1 are the causative genes of ichthyosis. We demonstrated that mutations of CYP4F22 or PNPLA1 markedly reduced acylceramide production. Our recent findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms of skin barrier formation and of ichthyosis pathogenesis.

Elucidating the Nature and Mechanism of Tic Improvement in Tourette Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Shprecher

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Background: For unclear reasons, many Tourette syndrome (TS children report near‐complete tic remission by young adulthood. Immature maturation of brain networks, observed with resting‐state functional MRI (rs‐fc‐MRI in adolescents and adults with TS, might evolve to a mature pattern in adults who experience tic improvement or remission. We explored the feasibility of testing this hypothesis in our population of young adult TS males, each with prior clinical assessments completed during childhood as part of a separate TS Association Genetics Consortium study. Methods: A total of 10 TS males (off tic suppressing drugs for at least 6 months aged 19–32 years, mean follow‐up interval 7.5 (2 to 13 years, and 11 neurologically normal controls were enrolled and underwent 3‐Tesla structural and rs‐fc‐MRI sequences. Results: The mean change in Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS was −31.5% (total and −26.6% (YGTSS motor+vocal. Two subjects reported resolution of tic‐related disability, with drops from mean 45 to 16.5 (YGTSS‐total and 25 to 11.5 (YGTSS motor+vocal.. Rs‐fc‐MRI revealed significantly increased connectivity between the ipsilateral anterior and mid cingulate cortex and striatum, increased connectivity between local connections, and decreased connectivity between more distant connections; representing an immature connectivity pattern.Discussion: Similar to previous reports, we found immature patterns of functional connectivity in adult TS subjects. Despite a lack of complete tic remission, two subjects exhibited dramatic drops in tic severity that correlated with tic‐related disability improvement. More work is needed to elucidate the mechanism of such dramatic improvement in TS.

Structural prediction and analysis of VIH-related peptides from selected crustacean species.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagaraju, Ganji Purna Chandra; Kumari, Nunna Siva; Prasad, Ganji Lakshmi Vara; Rajitha, Balney; Meenu, Madan; Rao, Manam Sreenivasa; Naik, Bannoth Reddya

2009-08-17

The tentative elucidation of the 3D-structure of vitellogenesis inhibiting hormone (VIH) peptides is conversely underprivileged by difficulties in gaining enough peptide or protein, diffracting crystals, and numerous extra technical aspects. As a result, no structural information is available for VIH peptide sequences registered in the Genbank. In this situation, it is not surprising that predictive methods have achieved great interest. Here, in this study the molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) of the kuruma prawn (Marsupenaeus japonicus) is used, to predict the structure of four VIHrelated peptides in the crustacean species. The high similarity of the 3D-structures and the calculated physiochemical characteristics of these peptides suggest a common fold for the entire family.

Structure of extremely nanosized and confined In-O species in ordered porous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramallo-Lopez, J.M.; Renteria, M.; Miro, E.E.; Requejo, F.G.; Traverse, A.

2003-01-01

Perturbed-angular correlation, x-ray absorption, and small-angle x-ray scattering spectroscopies were suitably combined to elucidate the local structure of highly diluted and dispersed InO x species confined in the porous of the ZSM5 zeolite. This novel approach allow us to determined the structure of extremely nanosized In-O species exchanged inside the 10-atom-ring channel of the zeolite, and to quantify the amount of In 2 O 3 crystallites deposited onto the external zeolite surface

The assay of thyrotropin receptor antibodies with human TSH/LH-CG chimeric receptor expressed on chinese hamster ovary cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, Ka Hee; Kim, Chang Min

1996-12-01

TSH/LH-CG chimera cDNA is transfected to CHO-K1 cell to obtain the chimeric receptor expressed on the cell surface. The optimal conditions for TSAb and TSBAb measurements are determined using chimeric receptors and under these conditions activity of TSAb and TSBAb in the sera of the Graves' patients. The results obtained are compared to those of TSAb assays using FRTL5 cells CHO-TSHR cells which have wild type human TSH receptor. The transfection procedure of chimeric receptor gene to CHO-K1 cells are on going. The optimal conditions for TSAb and TSBAb measurement using chimeric receptor will be determined after success of transfection procedure. If this study is successfully completed, not only the heterogeneity of Graves. IgG but also pathogenesis of Graves' disease will be elucidated. (author). 25 refs

The assay of thyrotropin receptor antibodies with human TSH/LH-CG chimeric receptor expressed on chinese hamster ovary cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yi, Ka Hee; Kim, Chang Min [Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1996-12-01

TSH/LH-CG chimera cDNA is transfected to CHO-K1 cell to obtain the chimeric receptor expressed on the cell surface. The optimal conditions for TSAb and TSBAb measurements are determined using chimeric receptors and under these conditions activity of TSAb and TSBAb in the sera of the Graves` patients. The results obtained are compared to those of TSAb assays using FRTL5 cells CHO-TSHR cells which have wild type human TSH receptor. The transfection procedure of chimeric receptor gene to CHO-K1 cells are on going. The optimal conditions for TSAb and TSBAb measurement using chimeric receptor will be determined after success of transfection procedure. If this study is successfully completed, not only the heterogeneity of Graves. IgG but also pathogenesis of Graves` disease will be elucidated. (author). 25 refs.

Optimal analysis of structures by concepts of symmetry and regularity

CERN Document Server

Kaveh, Ali

2013-01-01

Optimal analysis is defined as an analysis that creates and uses sparse, well-structured and well-conditioned matrices. The focus is on efficient methods for eigensolution of matrices involved in static, dynamic and stability analyses of symmetric and regular structures, or those general structures containing such components. Powerful tools are also developed for configuration processing, which is an important issue in the analysis and design of space structures and finite element models. Different mathematical concepts are combined to make the optimal analysis of structures feasible. Canonical forms from matrix algebra, product graphs from graph theory and symmetry groups from group theory are some of the concepts involved in the variety of efficient methods and algorithms presented. The algorithms elucidated in this book enable analysts to handle large-scale structural systems by lowering their computational cost, thus fulfilling the requirement for faster analysis and design of future complex systems. The ...

Exaggerated gonadotropin response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone in amenorrheic runners.

Science.gov (United States)

Yahiro, J; Glass, A R; Fears, W B; Ferguson, E W; Vigersky, R A

1987-03-01

Most studies of exercise-induced amenorrhea have compared amenorrheic athletes (usually runners) with sedentary control subjects. Such comparisons will identify hormonal changes that develop as a result of exercise training but cannot determine which of these changes play a role in causing amenorrhea. To obviate this problem, we assessed reproductive hormone status in a group of five amenorrheic runners and compared them to a group of six eumenorrheic runners matched for body fatness, training intensity, and exercise performance. Compared to the eumenorrheic runners, the amenorrheic runners had lower serum estradiol concentrations, similar basal serum luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations, and exaggerated responses of serum gonadotropins after administration of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (100 micrograms intravenous bolus). Serum prolactin levels, both basally and after thyrotropin-releasing hormone administration (500 micrograms intravenous bolus) or treadmill exercise, was similar in the two groups, as were serum thyroid function tests (including thyrotropin response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone). Changes in serum cortisol levels after short-term treadmill exercise were similar in both groups, and serum testosterone levels increased after exercise only in the eumenorrheic group. In neither group did such exercise change serum luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, or thyrotropin levels. We concluded that exercise-induced amenorrhea is not solely related to the development of increased prolactin output after exercise training. The exaggerated gonadotropin response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone seen in amenorrheic runners in comparison with matched eumenorrheic runners is consistent with a hypothalamic etiology for the menstrual dysfunction, analogous to that previously described in "stress-induced" or "psychogenic" amenorrhea.