Lipophilization of somatostatin analog RC-160 with long chain fatty acid improves its antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activity in vitro. (1/73)

The therapeutic potential of the somatostatin analogue RC-160 having antiproliferative activity, is limited by its short serum half life. To overcome this limitation, fatty acids namely butanoic acid and myristic acid were conjugated to the N-terminal residue of RC-160. The lipophilized derivatives of RC-160 were synthesized, purified by reverse phase HPLC and characterized by ES-mass spectroscopy. The antiproliferative activity of lipophilized derivatives of RC-160 on the growth of MIA-PaCa2 (human pancreatic carcinoma), DU145 (human prostate carcinoma), ECV304 (human umbilical chord endothelioma), as well as their antiangiogenic activity was evaluated in vitro. The relative stability of myristoyl-RC-160 towards degradation by proteases and serum was also determined. Myristoyl-RC-160 exhibited significantly higher antiproliferative efficacy than RC-160, on the above cell lines (P<0.01). Receptor binding assays, demonstrated that the affinity of RC-160 towards somatostatin receptors remains unaltered by myristoylation. Unlike RC-160, the myristoylated derivative was found to have significantly greater resistance to protease and serum degradation (P<0.01). Myristoyl-RC-160 exhibited significantly greater antiproliferative activity on ECV304, than RC-160 (P<0.01). Myristoyl RC-160 could also inhibit capillary tube formation more efficiently than RC-160 in a dose dependent manner, suggesting that it possessed enhanced antiangiogenic activity in vitro (P<0.001). Lipophilization of RC-160 with long chain fatty acids like myristic acid endows it with improved antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activity, stability and therapeutic index. British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) 109, 101 - 109  (+info)

Cryo-scanning electron microscopy observations of vessel content during transpiration in walnut petioles. Facts or artifacts? (2/73)

The current controversy about the "cohesion-tension" of water ascent in plants arises from the recent cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) observations of xylem vessels content by Canny and coworkers (1995). On the basis of these observations it has been claimed that vessels were emptying and refilling during active transpiration in direct contradiction to the previous theory. In this study we compared the cryo-SEM data with the standard hydraulic approach on walnut (Juglans regia) petioles. The results of the two techniques were in clear conflict and could not both be right. Cryo-SEM observations of walnut petioles frozen intact on the tree in a bath of liquid nitrogen (LN(2)) suggested that vessel cavitation was occurring and reversing itself on a diurnal basis. Up to 30% of the vessels were embolized at midday. In contrast, the percentage of loss of hydraulic conductance (PLC) of excised petiole segments remained close to 0% throughout the day. To find out which technique was erroneous we first analyzed the possibility that PLC values were rapidly returned to zero when the xylem pressures were released. We used the centrifugal force to measure the xylem conductance of petiole segments exposed to very negative pressures and established the relevance of this technique. We then analyzed the possibility that vessels were becoming partially air-filled when exposed to LN(2). Cryo-SEM observations of petiole segments frozen shortly after their xylem pressure was returned to atmospheric values agreed entirely with the PLC values. We confirmed, with water-filled capillary tubes exposed to a large centrifugal force, that it was not possible to freeze intact their content with LN(2). We concluded that partially air-filled conduits were artifacts of the cryo-SEM technique in our study. We believe that the cryo-SEM observations published recently should probably be reconsidered in the light of our results before they may be used as arguments against the cohesion-tension theory.  (+info)

Retinal adhesion in light- and dark-adapted rabbits. (3/73)

The effects of pigmentation and light exposure on retinal adhesion in rabbits have been investigated in a complete factorial experiment. Ocular pigmentation did not significantly influence retinal adhesion. A significant difference in retinal adhesive forces was found between light and dark adaptation. The force required to detach the retina from the retinal pigment epithelium was 20 per cent greater in light-adapted eyes than in dark-adapted eyes. These observations suggest that the positional change of rhodopsin molecules in the outer segment disk membranes occurring with light exposure and the resultant alteration in interdisk electrostatic forces may play an important role in retinal adhesion.  (+info)

Global analysis of the Deinococcus radiodurans proteome by using accurate mass tags. (4/73)

Understanding biological systems and the roles of their constituents is facilitated by the ability to make quantitative, sensitive, and comprehensive measurements of how their proteome changes, e.g., in response to environmental perturbations. To this end, we have developed a high-throughput methodology to characterize an organism's dynamic proteome based on the combination of global enzymatic digestion, high-resolution liquid chromatographic separations, and analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The peptides produced serve as accurate mass tags for the proteins and have been used to identify with high confidence >61% of the predicted proteome for the ionizing radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. This fraction represents the broadest proteome coverage for any organism to date and includes 715 proteins previously annotated as either hypothetical or conserved hypothetical.  (+info)

Generation of the streaming potential by liposomes in cylindrical capillary. Experimental data. (5/73)

A model of creation a streaming potential U as a result of colloidal particle movement in flow in a capillary has been described previously (Zawada 1996) as well as the systems for measurement (Zawada 1990, 1991). The filling of capillary with a solution of liposomes results in a labile adsorbance of liposomes on a capillary glass and changes the measured streaming potential. In order to minimalize these adverse effects, the capillary was covered with phospholipid layer of different composition. Some concentrations of stearylamine as a component of the phospholipid layer may fully compensate the surface charge of the glass capillary and can reduce the liposomes adsorption. The streaming potential of the liposomes solution depends on the ionic strength of the electrolyte and is smaller than the zeta potential for similar liposomes. This suggests that only a part of ions of the liposome ion atmosphere participate in creating of the streaming potential. These are the ions from the hydrodynamic slipping layer. The regression analysis of the relationships between streaming potential U and concentration of liposomes and next ionic strength of the electrolyte gave the value of the surface potential psi0 and the thickness of the hydrodynamic slipping layer d, that is independent of the ionic strength.  (+info)

The shape parameter of liposomes and DNA-lipid complexes determined by viscometry utilizing small sample volumes. (6/73)

A minicapillary viscometer utilizing <0.5 ml of sample at a volume fraction of <0.1% is described. The calculated a/b of DPPC/DPPG multilamellar liposome was 1.14 as prolate ellipsoids and a/b of dioleoylpropyltrimethyl ammonium methylsulfate-DNA complex at a charge ratio of 4:1 (+/-) was 3.7 as prolate ellipsoids or 4.9 as oblate ellipsoids. The deviation of shape from perfect sphere is thus expressed quantitatively in more than two significant figures. In these measurement, the necessary amount of DNA is <0.5 mg.  (+info)

Iohexol in serum determined by capillary electrophoresis. (7/73)

Iohexol, a nonionic compound used as a contrast medium for angiography and as a measure of the glomerular filtration rate, was quantified in serum by capillary electrophoresis. Comparable results were obtained for serum samples deproteinized with acetonitrile or analyzed directly after 50-fold dilution with borate buffer. Serum samples were electrophoresed for 2.6 min at 12 kV in a borate buffer with detection at 254 nm and with 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine as internal standard. Acetonitrile deproteinization gave a greater sensitivity than did sample dilution. Between-run CVs were between 4.7% and 6.7%, and within-run CVs were between 2.5 and 3.2%. Analytical recoveries were 95-105%. Results of the method compared well with those by high-performance liquid chromatography (slope 0.96, intercept 0.005 g/L). This method demonstrates the potential of capillary electrophoresis for rapid and simple quantification of small molecules.  (+info)

High-pressure fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. (8/73)

We demonstrate that a novel high-pressure cell is suitable for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The pressure cell consists of a single fused silica microcapillary. The cylindrical shape of the capillary leads to refraction of the excitation light, which affects the point spread function of the system. We characterize the influence of these beam distortions by FCS and photon-counting histogram (PCH) analysis and identify the optimal position for fluorescence fluctuation experiments in the capillary. At this position within the capillary, FCS and photon-counting histogram experiments are described by the same equations as used in standard FCS experiments. We report the first experimental realization of fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy under high pressure. A fluorescent dye was used as a model system for evaluating the properties of the capillary under pressure. The autocorrelation function and the photon count distribution were measured in the pressure range from 0 to 300 MPa. The fluctuation amplitude and the diffusion coefficient show a small pressure dependence. The changes of these parameters, which are on the order of 10%, are due to the pressure changes of the viscosity and the density of the aqueous medium.  (+info)