Age-related Changes in Bovine α-crystallin and High-molecular-weight Protein

The high-molecular-weight (HMW) protein from the lens is composed mostly of α-crystallin in a highly aggregated state. Bovine HMW protein was carefully separated from α-crystallin by size-exclusion chromatography. α-Crystallin has chaperone-like ability whereby it stabilizes other proteins under conditions of stress (e.g. heat). Comparison of bovine HMW protein and α-crystallin shows that the HMW protein has a markedly reduced chaperone ability compared to α-crystallin. However, in contrast to the results of other workers, we observe no alteration with age in the ability of α-crystallin to act as a chaperone. Using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry, changes in the phosphorylation of the α-crystallin subunits with age have been quantified. Phosphorylation of α-crystallin occurs early in life but does not alter in proportion after about three years of age. In addition, phosphorylation of the A subunit of α-crystallin has little effect on its chaperone ability. As is found in the artificially prepared HMW complex of α- and γ-crystallin, NMR spectroscopy shows that in the naturally occurring HMW protein, the short C-terminal extension of the α_Bsubunit has lost its flexibility whereas the α_Asubunit extension is still flexible. Post-translational modifications therefore seem to have little effect on the chaperone action of α-crystallin, but alterations in the quaternary structure of α-crystallin via incorporation into the HMW aggregate, lead to major changes in the chaperone ability of the protein. The results are consistent with the notion that one of the contributing factors to cataract formation in the lens is the depletion of α-crystallin with age as it is converted into the HMW protein.     

3-(3-吡啶基)-6-芳基-7H-1,2,4-三唑并[3,4-b][1,3,4]噻二嗪的合成与波谱表征

目的：研究分子中含吡啶基的有多个杂环的化合物系列的波谱表征，方法：由烟酸出发，经多步反应，制得有吡啶基的均三唑并噻二嗪化合物，并进行红外，核磁共振氢谱与碳谱测试。结果：得到原料，中间体和产物的红外光谱图，产物的核磁共振氢谱与碳谱图。结论：标题化合物红外光谱1600cm^-1处多有C＝N伸缩振动峰，1250cm^-左右有N－N＝C伸缩振动峰，700cm^-1有C－S－C弯曲振动峰；噻二嗪亚甲基氢的化学位移δ值约为4．46，吡啶基四个氢原子化学位移约为9．3、8．9、8．7、8．0，噻二嗪亚甲基碳化学位移为23。     

核磁共振法测定非离子表面活性剂 HLB 值的研究 2.几种混合体系 HLB 值的测定与计算

本文应用核磁共振法(NMR)测定了几种混合体系的 HLB 值与混合体系中各组分的 HLB 值。实验结果表明,混合体系中各组分在核磁共振图谱中的积分曲线高度也具有加和性。混合体系的 HLB 值是体系中各组分 HLB 值的加权平均值。因此,对混合体系的 HLB 值可以应用 NMR 法直接测定,也可应用 NMR 法测定各组分的 HLB值,通过计算求得,计算值与实测值完全一致。     

Working‐correlation‐structure identification in generalized estimating equations

Selecting an appropriate working correlation structure is pertinent to clustered data analysis using generalized estimating equations (GEE) because an inappropriate choice will lead to inefficient parameter estimation. We investigate the well‐known criterion of QIC for selecting a working correlation structure, and have found that performance of the QIC is deteriorated by a term that is theoretically independent of the correlation structures but has to be estimated with an error. This leads us to propose a correlation information criterion (CIC) that substantially improves the QIC performance. Extensive simulation studies indicate that the CIC has remarkable improvement in selecting the correct correlation structures. We also illustrate our findings using a data set from the Madras Longitudinal Schizophrenia Study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pharmacokinetics of the 13C labeled anticancer agent temozolomide detected in vivo by selective cross-polarization transfer

The anticancer agent temozolomide labeled with ¹³C (8-Carbamoyl-3-13C-methylimidazo-[5,1-d]-1,2,3,5-tetrazin-4-(3H)-one), was noninvasively detected in subcutaneous RIF-1 tumors by a selective cross polarization ¹³C NMR method, at a field strength of 9.4T. Pharmacokinetics of the drug, at a dose of 150 mg/kg, were determined for intravenous and intraperitoneal modes of administration (three animals per mode). The half-life of the drug in the tumors was approximately 60 min. The uptake and clearance of the drug, however, varied significantly between individual hosts, for both modes of administration. These results demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining pharmacokinetics of anticancer agents for individual tumors without the need for a label that might modify drug activity (e.g., fluorine). The variability of the in vivo measurements, even within the same tumor model, demonstrates the necessity of directly monitoring the tumor to evaluate drug pharmacokinetics.     

High resolution solid-state 29si nmr spectroscopy of silicone gels used to fill breast prostheses

We have used ²⁹Si solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study the chemical structure of the silicone gels in virgin and explanted breast prostheses. Despite evidences of alteration in the morphological appearance of the silicone gel inside the breast prosthesis, our results do not reveal changes in the chemical nature and structure of the silicone gels after implantation. In addition to the main ²⁹Si resonance peak at ?22.26 ppm that corresponds to the resonance frequency of the D repeat unit of the polysiloxane chains, the high sensitivity of our NMR technique allows the detection of very low concentrations of silicone compounds. Within our experimental detection limit of 0.2%, no signal between ?90 ppm and ?150 ppm are observed. This indicates that no silica products are present inside the gel of the prostheses. Furthermore, our ²⁹Si NMR spectra indicate differences in the chemical compositions of the silicone gels from different manufacturers.     

Chemical shift differences between free and Fab-bound peptide correlate with a two-stage selection of peptide sequences from a random phage display library to delineate critical and non-critical residues for antibody recognition

Epitope libraries provide a method to identify peptide ligands for antibodies, receptors or other binding proteins. As such, they provide a powerful tool to rapidly identify lead ligands in the drug discovery process. In an attempt to correlate structural information with the results from peptide screening, we have used NMR spectroscopy of peptide/antibody complexes to demonstrate that core residues identified through a two-stage selection process undergo a larger structural change upon binding antibody than do positions in the peptide amenable to a variety of side chains. The model system used was the M2 monoclonal antibody/Flag? octapeptide epitope system. We have analyzed two peptides: Ac-Asp-Tyr-Lys-Leu-Gly-Asp-Asp-Leu-NH₂ (peptide l), which contains several non-core positions randomized, and Ac-Asp-Tyr-Lys-Asp-Asp-Asp-Asp-Leu-NH₂ (peptide 2), which closely corresponds to the original Flag? sequence. Enrichment of the peptides with ¹⁵N facilitated the investigation by permitting spectral editing of the peptide resonances in the presence of antibody. For peptide 1 the absolute shifts for the free vs. Fab-bound peptide were found to be largest for the amide groups of Asp-1 and Asp-6, in agreement with classification of these residues as critical by the phage display library selection process. For peptide 2 the largest absolute shifts were observed for Asp-1 and Asp-4, with the other aspartic acid residues also showing significant but smaller changes. © Munksgaard 1995.     

Image technique optimization in MR imaging of a titanium alloy joint prosthesis

The purpose of this study was to explore systematically the effect of the imaging parameters changeable by the user in spin-echo (SE) imaging sequences to minimize image distortion when imaging joint prostheses. A titanium alloy hip joint prosthesis was studied at 1.0 T. The SE imaging parameters were bandwidth/pixel (BW/p), TE, strength of encoding gradients (matrix size), echo train length (ETL), and direction of phase and frequency encoding. The effect of ETL in rapid acquisition relaxation enhanced (RARE) sequences was also evaluated with a turbo-SE sequence using a different ETL with the same TR and an effective TE. It is concluded that an optimized image quality can be achieved in SE imaging by using a high bandwidth/pixel value (at least 130 Hz/pixel), a high resolution matrix (256–512), sequences with multiple refocusing, and a frequency-encoding axis parallel to the long axis of the prosthesis. The degree of distortion is reduced with this optimized technique.     

Vacuolar cytoplasmic phase separation in cultured mammalian cells involves the microfilament network and reduces motional properties of intracellular water

Hep-2, human epithelial carcinoma cells, and human foreskin fibroblasts (FF9 and FF13) were exposed to either an ultrafiltrate (< 50 kD) of human sera or the weak base, procaine hydrochloride, to induce reversible cytoplasmic vacuolization. The formation of vacuoles was shown not to be due to imbibition of medium. Ultrastructural details obtained from various stages of vacuole formation were compared. In both cases of induction vacuoles were irregular and often appeared membraneless, with little in the way of electron-dense content. They started to form in the perinuclear cytoplasm and progressed towards the periphery. Osmotic stress was not involved since mitochondria remained normal throughout a vacuolization episode.
Vacuoles were often seen in close contact with filamentous structures, and this association remained detectable at late stages of the phenomenon. Fluorescent visualization of F-actin confirmed that the vacuoles were frequently bordered by microfilaments. No major metabolic impairment was apparent in vacuolized cells as judged by protein synthesis measurements, but nuclear fluorescence (DNA content) and forward light scatter (nuclear volume) by flow cytometric analysis suggested late S phase and G2 retardation. ¹H-nmr relaxation measurements indicated intracellular water restricted in motional characteristics in vacuolized cells. The possibility of a restricted cytoplasmic phase separation as part of a transient adaptation response is raised, and a hypothesis to explain the findings is discussed.