Efficacy of the cyclodextrin liquid preparation of itraconazole in treatment of denture stomatitis: comparison with itraconazole capsules.
(33/768)
This study investigated the efficacy of a cyclodextrin solution of itraconazole in the treatment of Candida-associated denture stomatitis. It was found that the liquid and capsule preparations of itraconazole were equally effective adjuncts in the treatment of this condition. However, the side effect profile indicates that capsules are the preferred formulation. (+info)
Non-CD28 costimulatory molecules present in T cell rafts induce T cell costimulation by enhancing the association of TCR with rafts.
(34/768)
While CD28 functions as the major T cell costimulatory receptor, a number of other T cell molecules have also been described to induce T cell costimulation. Here, we investigated the mechanisms by which costimulatory molecules other than CD28 contribute to T cell activation. Non-CD28 costimulatory molecules such as CD5, CD9, CD2, and CD44 were present in the detergent-insoluble glycolipid-enriched (DIG) fraction/raft of the T cell surface, which is rich in TCR signaling molecules and generates a TCR signal upon recruitment of the TCR complex. Compared with CD3 ligation, coligation of CD3 and CD5 as an example of DIG-resident costimulatory molecules led to an enhanced association of CD3 and DIG. Such a DIG redistribution markedly up-regulated TCR signaling as observed by ZAP-70/LAT activation and Ca2+ influx. Disruption of DIG structure using an agent capable of altering cholesterol organization potently diminished Ca2+ mobilization induced by the coligation of CD3 and CD5. This was associated with the inhibition of the redistribution of DIG although the association of CD3 and CD5 was not affected. Thus, the DIG-resident costimulatory molecules exert their costimulatory effects by contributing to an enhanced association of TCR/CD3 and DIG. (+info)
Cholesterol efflux promotes acrosome reaction in goat spermatozoa.
(35/768)
Cholesterol efflux and membrane destabilization play an important role in sperm capacitation and membrane fusion in the acrosome reaction (AR). In this study we establish the effect of cholesterol removal from spermatozoa on acrosomal responsiveness. Mature goat spermatozoa were incubated in BSA-free medium in the presence of beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) as cholesterol acceptor. After incubation with 8 mM betaCD, 50-60% of cholesterol was released from sperm membranes with no loss in the phospholipid content, and 35% of AR was induced. However, when 30% of cholesterol was lost, this moderate cholesterol decrease was unable to initiate AR. Cholesterol desorption was very rapid, following an exponential kinetics with a half-time of around 10 min, which is in contrast with the slow sigmoidal kinetics of acrosomal responsiveness: around 2 h was required for maximal AR. Our results suggest that cholesterol efflux has a direct influence on the onset of the AR, that is, merely removing cholesterol would trigger the AR. (+info)
Cholesterol depletion of enterocytes. Effect on the Golgi complex and apical membrane trafficking.
(36/768)
Intestinal brush border enzymes, including aminopeptidase N and sucrase-isomaltase, are associated with "rafts" (membrane microdomains rich in cholesterol and sphingoglycolipids). To assess the functional role of rafts in the present work, we studied the effect of cholesterol depletion on apical membrane trafficking in enterocytes. Cultured mucosal explants of pig small intestine were treated for 2 h with the cholesterol sequestering agent methyl-beta-cyclodextrin and lovastatin, an inhibitor of hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase. The treatment reduced the cholesterol content >50%. Morphologically, the Golgi complex/trans-Golgi network was partially transformed into numerous 100-200 nm vesicles. By immunogold electron microscopy, aminopeptidase N was localized in these Golgi-derived vesicles as well as at the basolateral cell surface, indicating a partial missorting. Biochemically, the rates of the Golgi-associated complex glycosylation and association with rafts of newly synthesized aminopeptidase N were reduced, and less of the enzyme had reached the brush border membrane after 2 h of labeling. In contrast, the basolateral Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase was neither missorted nor raft-associated. Our results implicate the Golgi complex/trans-Golgi network in raft formation and suggest a close relationship between this event and apical membrane trafficking. (+info)
Detergent-insoluble GPI-anchored proteins are apically sorted in fischer rat thyroid cells, but interference with cholesterol or sphingolipids differentially affects detergent insolubility and apical sorting.
(37/768)
In contrast to Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, Fischer rat thyroid cells deliver the majority of endogenous glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-anchored proteins to the basolateral surface. However, we report here that the GPI proteins Placental Alkaline Phosphatase (PLAP) and Neurotrophin Receptor-Placental Alkaline Phosphatase (NTR-PLAP) are apically localized in transfected Fischer rat thyroid cells. In agreement with the "raft hypothesis," which postulates the incorporation of GPI proteins into glycosphingolipids and cholesterol-enriched rafts, we found that both of these proteins were insoluble in Triton X-100 and floated into the lighter fractions of sucrose density gradients. However, disruption of lipid rafts by removal of cholesterol did not cause surface missorting of PLAP and NTR-PLAP, and the altered surface sorting of these proteins after Fumonisin B1 treatment did not correlate with reduced levels in Triton X-100 -insoluble fractions. Furthermore, in contrast to the GPI-anchored forms of both of these proteins, the secretory and transmembrane forms (in the absence of a basolateral cytoplasmic signal) were sorted to the apical surface without association with lipid microdomains. Together, these data demonstrate that the GPI anchor is required to mediate raft association but is not sufficient to determine apical sorting. They also suggest that signals present in the ectodomain of the proteins play a major role and that lipid rafts may facilitate the recognition of these signals in the trans-Golgi network, even though they are not required for apical sorting. (+info)
Carotenoid:methyl-beta-cyclodextrin formulations: an improved method for supplementation of cultured cells.
(38/768)
BC. Two days after supplementation with 5 microM BC in MbetaCD, cellular BC levels reached a maximum of 140+/-11 pmol/microg DNA, leveling off to 100+/-15 pmol/microg DNA until day 8. Incubation with BC dissolved in THF/DMSO resulted in a lower BC uptake of 105+/-14 pmol/microg DNA and 64+/-20 pmol/microg DNA respectively. No cytotoxic effects of these formulations were detected. The results show that the MbetaCD formulation is an improved method for investigations of carotenoids and other lipophilic compounds in in vitro test systems compared to methods using organic solvents. (+info)
Structural analysis of chromophore-labeled disaccharides by capillary electrophoresis tandem mass spectrometry using ion trap mass spectrometry.
(39/768)
Disaccharides tagged with p-aminobenzoic acid (ABA) were separated by capillary electrophoresis (CE) and analyzed on-line with negative ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI/MS/MS). The formation of glycosylamine instead of reductive amination was selected as the derivatization reaction. In negative ion ESI, the glycosylamine approach provides more information on linkage and anomeric configuration than reductive amination. In CE analysis of ABA-labeled disaccharides, alpha-cyclodextrin (CD) was found to play a crucial role in the separation of linkage isomers. Although ammonium acetate/alpha-CD provided the best resolution of linkage isomers, the borate buffer was superior to alpha-CD in the separation of disaccharides with the same linkage but different anomeric configuration and/or monosaccharide composition. Both alpha-CD and borate suppressed the ion signal in ESI, and operational conditions were successfully obtained using 10 mM alpha-CD or 10 mM borate. (+info)
Reversal of charge selectivity in transmembrane protein pores by using noncovalent molecular adapters.
(40/768)
In this study, the charge selectivity of staphylococcal alpha-hemolysin (alphaHL), a bacterial pore-forming toxin, is manipulated by using cyclodextrins as noncovalent molecular adapters. Anion-selective versions of alphaHL, including the wild-type pore and various mutants, become more anion selective when beta-cyclodextrin (betaCD) is lodged within the channel lumen. By contrast, the negatively charged adapter, hepta-6-sulfato-beta-cyclodextrin (s(7)betaCD), produces cation selectivity. The cyclodextrin adapters have similar effects when placed in cation-selective mutant alphaHL pores. Most probably, hydrated Cl(-) ions partition into the central cavity of betaCD more readily than K(+) ions, whereas s(7)betaCD introduces a charged ring near the midpoint of the channel lumen and confers cation selectivity through electrostatic interactions. The molecular adapters generate permeability ratios (P(K+)/P(Cl-)) over a 200-fold range and should be useful in the de novo design of membrane channels both for basic studies of ion permeation and for applications in biotechnology. (+info)