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Notes: Summary The genetic investigation of fungi has been extended substantially by DNA-mediated transformation, providing a supplement to more conventional genetic approaches based upon sexual and parasexual processes. Initial transformation studies with the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae provided the model for transformation systems in other fungi with regard to methodology, vector construction and selection strategies. There are, however, certain differences betweenS. cerevisiae and filamentous fungi with regard to type of genomic insertion and the availability of shuttle vectors. Single-site linked insertions are common in yeast due to the high level of homology required for recombination between vectored and genomic sequences, whereas mycelial fungi often show a high frequency of heterologous and unlinked insertions, often in the form of random and multiple-site integrations. While extrachromosomally-maintained or replicative vectors are readily available for use with yeasts, such vectors have been difficult to construct for use with filamentous fungi. The development of vectors for replicative transformation with these fungi awaits further study. It is proposed that replicative vectors may be inherently less efficient for use with mycelial fungi relative to yeasts, since the mycelium, as an extended and semicontinuous network of cells, may delimit an adequate diffusion of the vector carrying the selectable gene, thus leading to a high frequency of abortive or unstable transformants.

Notes: Human fibrinogen was treated with thrombin in the presence of fibrinoligase (Factor XIIIa) and calcium ion at pH 8.5, ionic strength 0.45, and the ensuing polymerization was interrupted at various time intervals (t) both before and after the clotting time (tc) by solubilization with a solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate and urea. Aliquots of the solubilized protein were subjected to gel electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels after disulfide reduction by dithiothreitol and on agarose gels without reduction. The degree of γ-γ ligation was determined from the former. The latter provided the size distribution of ligated end-to-end sequences produced by splitting the ligated staggered overlapped oligomers down the middle, for degrees of polymerization, x, from 1 to 10. Addition of fibrinoligase (in which the activating thrombin had been inhibited by p-nitrophenyl-p′-guanidinobenzoate, NPGB) to Kabi fibrinogen showed the presence of small amounts of ligatable oligomers. Addition of fibrinoligase to a polymerizing mixture in which the action of thrombin had been stopped before clotting by NPGB produced the same distribution of ligated end-to-end sequences that was obtained when fibrinoligase was originally present, at least for reaction times up to 0.7 of the clotting time. The kinetics of γ-γ ligation by fibrinoligase acting on a polymerized mixture stabilized by NPGB were followed. The reaction was first order in the concentration of ligatable γ-γ junctions and the initial velocity was proportional to the enzyme concentration. The time evolution of size distribution of ligated end-to-end sequences agreed with a theory based on random ligation of ligatable junctions.

Notes: Human fibrinogen was treated with thrombin in the presence of fibrinoligase (Factor XIIIa) and calcium ion at pH 8.5, ionic strength 0.45, and the ensuing polymerization was interrupted at various time intervals (t) both before and after the clotting time (tc) by solubilization with a solution of sodium dodecylsulfate and urea. Aliquots of the solubilized protein were subjected to gel electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels after disulfide reduction by dithiothreitol and on agarose gels without reduction. The degree of γ-γ ligation was determined from the former and the size distribution of ligated oligomers, for degree of polymerization x from 1 to 10, from the latter. In some experiments, thrombin was inhibited, after partial polymerization, by p-nitrophenyl-p′-guanidinobenzoate. From these, it was concluded that for thrombin concentration ≤0.013 units/mL and fibrinoligase ≥30 mg/L, oligomer assembly is rapid compared with peptide A release and ligation is rapid compared with assembly. Under these conditions, the theory of the first paper of this series describes rather well the time dependences of the degree of γ-γ ligation, the weight fractions of monomer and small oligomers, and the number- and weight-average degrees of polymerization after solubilization of the staggered overlapped assemblies, each of which splits to give two strands of end-to-end ligated oligomers. The theory assumes that the second A peptide is released by thrombin more rapidly than the first by a factor q, which, from the experimental data, is determined to be 16. The subsequent assembly into staggered overlapped oligomers follows the statistics of linear polycondesation taking into account the presence of both difunctional and monofunctional combining units. For higher thrombin or lower fibrinoligase concentrations, ligation fails to keep pace with oligomer assembly, and the size distributions after solubilization show a higher proportion of very small and a lower proportion of larger ligated oligomers, owing to separation of the staggered overlapped assemblies into smaller fragments.

Notes: Soluble fibrin oligomers were formed by reacting fibrinogen with thrombin under fine clotting conditions where the action of thrombin is the rate-determining step for polymerization, and by inhibiting the reaction shortly before gelation. Oligomeric fibrin was separated from unreacted fibrinogen and small oligomers by gel permeation chromatography. Electron microscopy revealed that the largest soluble fibrin oligomers resemble the protofibrils present in fine clots, but are somewhat shorter and entirely lack the twisted, trifunctional junctions that contribute to the elastic properties of fine clots. When thrombin was added to the soluble fibrin oligomers, polymerization resumed and clots were formed at a more rapid rate than from fibrinogen at the same concentration and resulted in a less-opaque clot under coarse clotting conditions. The results confirm a prediction of a theory for the polymerization of fibrin and provide additional evidence that the final state of a coarse fibrin clot depends on the mobility of protofibrils during its formation.

Notes: The desire to replace the amide backbone of renin inhibitors with a new scaffold led us to explore vinylogous amides (enaminones). An initial attempt proved unsuccessful, a result explained after the fact via docking experiments. Based on this lesson, we designed a different vinylogous amide scaffold which incorportated one or more pyrrolinone rings into the backbone. Three of the four compounds gave IC50s in the 0.6 to 18 μM range. These compounds did not inhibit HIV-1 protease. Taken together, the results reported herein provide insights into the role of hydrogen bonding and steric interactions for binding to renin. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Notes: The molecular structure of pyroergotamine has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis to be the pyruvoyldiketopiperazine 1. The diketopiperazine ring exists in a folded or boat conformation, with a dihedral angle of 40° between the two almost planar peptide units. The R-group of the phenylalanine residue occupies a quasi-axial position of the diketopiperazine ring, while that of the proline residue is in a quasi-equatorial position. Puzzling spectroscopic and chemical properties of the compound can be rationalised in terms of crowding within the molecule.

Notes: The original suggestion that a through-space mechanism was operative in the seven-bond J(P, P) coupling constant of 30.3 Hz observed for 3.3′-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2,2′-[3,3′,5,5′-tetrakis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-2,2′-diyl]bis(oxy)}bis[1,3,2-oxazaphospholidine] (1a)) was investigated. In the solid-state CP-MAS 31PNMR spectrum of 1a, two nonequivalent P-atoms were observed; sufficient resolution could not be obtained to determine whether P, P coupling was present. The preparation and spectral data of the N-methyl analogue 1b and of the acyclic N-isopropyl analogue 6 (Scheme 1) provided evidence that a) the essentially exclusive formation (R*, R*,S*)-1ain the reaction of the disodium biphenyldiolate 3a with the phosphorochloridite 4a is the result of significant differences in the free energy of activation (ΔG*) for the formation of the various diastereoisomers due to the steric congestion within the molecule and that b) the magnitude of the observed P,P coupling is dependent upon the degree of conformational freedom within the molecule. In the 31P-NMR spectrum of the P-sulfide 7, which was prepared by the reaction of la with sulfur, 2s resonances were observed that strongly suggested that the lone electrons pair on P are involved in the mechanism for the transmission of coupling data. The (4S,5R)-12 and (4R, 5S)-12 of la were prepared in a three-step reaction sequence starting from the corresponding enantiomerically pure norephredine 8 (Scheme 2). Both (4S, 5R)- and (4R, 5S)-12 were obtained as a diastereoisomer mixture that differ by the configuration of the axis of chirality, i.e., (R*R*,R*)- and (R*,S*,R*)-12 were obtained. The major diastereoisomer was obtained upon recrystallization, and the atropisomers were observed to equilibrate in solution by monitoring the H—C(5) resonance in the 1H-NMR with time (ΔG° = 0.4 kcal/mol; Fig. 2). The process observed corresponds to the restricted rotation about the central single bond of the biphenyl system. The isolation of an atropisomer with only a single ortho substituent on each aryl ring is quite rare. In the 13C-NMR spectrum of both (R*,R*,R*)- and (R*,S*,R*)-12, C(5) is two-bond-coupled to the oxazaphospholidine P-atom (2J(C(5),P((2)) = 8.5 Hz) that is further virtually coupled to the P-atom of the other oxazaphospholidine ring (7J(P(2),P(2′)) = 30 Hz; 9J(C(5),P(2′)) = 0 Hz; δ(P(2)) = δ(P(2′)) = 136 ppm. In the 31P-NMR spectrum of (R*,R*,S*)-12, which was prepared from the racemic chloridite (mixture of three diastereoisomers was obtained), a 7J(P(2),P(2′) of 36 Hz was observed. These observations provide strong evidence that seven-bond P,P coupling occurs in all three diastereoisomers of 12. The observed P,P coupling is both independent of the configuration of the chiral axis and the configuration of the asymmetric P-centers. This independence of P,P coupling upon the configuration on P implies also the independence of the observed coupling upon the orientation of the lone-pair of electrons on P provided that the conformations of the diastereoisomers are similar in solution. The X-ray crystal structure of the complex formed from 1a and dichloro(cycloocta-1,5-diene)platinum(II) was obtained and the solid-state structure discussed. The major diastereoisomer of (4S,5R)-12 was used as a chiral ligand in asymmetric hydrosilylation and hydrogenation reactions (Scheme 3).

Notes: A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay method has been developed for the quantitative determination of iothalamate and p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) concentrations in serum and urine samples in the male rat. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured as clearance of iothalamate, while effective renal blood flow (ERBF) was measured as clearance of PAH. The method is simple, rapid and sensitive and detects iothalamate and PAH in rat serum and urine following administration of bolus doses and continuous infusions of iothalamate and PAH. Samples of serum and urine were deproteinized with two volumes of acetonitrile containing the internal standard, and an aliquot chromatographed on a C18 reversed-phase column. The mobile phase was comprised of 0.1 M sodium phosphate with 1.2 mM tetrabutylammonium phosphate: methanol, 85:15 (v/v), at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The analytical column eluate was monitored with a UV detector at 254 nm with quantitation achieved using peak-height ratios. The precision of the method was 6.6 and 3.6% for iothalamate in serum and urine, and 5.6 and 4.9% for PAH in serum and urine, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation was 0.63 μg/mL for iothalamate and 1.25 μg/mL for PAH in serum, and 3.1 μg/mL for iothalamate and 1.5 μg/mL for PAH in urine. Recovery of iothalamate from serum and urine was 99.9 and 93.5%, respectively. Recovery of PAH from serum and urine was 99.8 and 92.6%, respectively.The present study demonstrated that non-radioactive iothalamate and PAH can be measured simultaneously using a HPLC assay to measure GFR and ERBF in the male rat.

Notes: A simple, accurate and precise procedure for the quantitation of itazigrel (a potent lipophilic inhibitor of collagen and arachidonic acid-induced aggregation being studied for its effects on peripheral vascular disease) from granulated rodent diet is presented. The drug was extracted from rodent diet using methanol + water (80:20) following dissolution of the diet in water. Samples of the supernatant were injected into the HPLC and the eluent was monitored with a fluorescent detector (λex = 320 and λem = 430) to achieve analytical specificity. Interday coefficients of variation of the calibration curve slope were ±6% on standards between 0 and 1000 μg/g. Potency and homogeneity of the drug spiked diet prepared over a 1 year interval at 70,200 and 600 μg/g was 99.3 ± 2.5%, 100 ± 1.8%, and 101 ± 1.9% of label, respectively. Samples prepared for chromatography were stable for 24 h at 20°C, and drug in diet was stable for 102 days when protected from light and stored at 20°C.

Notes: The strength of adhesion and dynamics of detachment of murine 3T3 fibroblasts from self-assembled monolayers were measured in a radial-flow chamber (RFC) by applying models for fluid mechanics, adhesion strength probability distributions, and detachment kinetics. Four models for predicting fluid mechanics in a RFC were compared to evaluate the accuracy of each model and the significance of inlet effects. Analysis of these models indicated an outer region at large radial positions consistent with creeping flow, an intermediate region influenced by inertial dampening, and an inner region dominated by entrance effects from the axially-oriented inlet. In accompanying experiments patterns of the fraction of cells resisting detachment were constructed for individual surfaces as a function of the applied shear stress and evaluated by comparison with integrals of both a normal and a log-normal distribution function. The two functions were equally appropriate, yielding similar estimates of the mean strength of adhesion. Further, varying the Reynolds number in the inlet, Red, between 630 and 1480 (corresponding to volumetric flow rates between 0.9 and 2.1 mL/s) did not affect the mean strength of adhesion. For these same experiments, analysis of the dynamics of detachment revealed three temporal phases: 1) rapid detachment of cells at the onset of flow, consistent with a first-order homogeneous kinetic model; 2) time-dependent rate of detachment during the first 30 sec. of exposure to hydrodynamic shear, consistent with the first-order heterogeneous kinetic model proposed by Dickinson and Cooper (1995); and 3) negligible detachment, indicative of pseudo-steady state after 60 sec. of flow. Our results provide rigorous guidelines for the measurement of adhesive interactions between mammalian cells and prospective biomaterial surfaces using a RFC. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 55: 616-629, 1997.