Very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) are important components of various lipid classes in most organisms, from bacteria to higher plants and mammals, including humans. VLCFAs, or very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs), can be defined as fatty acids with 23 or more carbon atoms in the molecule. The main emphasis in this review is on the analysis of these acids, including obtaining standards from natural sources or their synthesis. Furthermore, the occurrence and analysis of these compounds in both lower (bacteria, invertebrates) and higher organisms (flowering plants or mammals) are discussed in detail. Attention is paid to their biosynthesis, especially the elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein (ELOVL4). This review deals with papers describing these very interesting compounds, whose chemical, biochemical and biological properties have not been fully explored.
Rhamnolipids are extensively studied biosurfactants due to their potential in many industrial applications, eco-friendly production and properties. However, their availability for broader application is severely limited by their production costs, therefore the optimization of efficacy of their cultivation gains significance as well as the information regarding the physio-chemical properties of rhamnolipids resulting from various cultivation strategies. In this work, the bioprocess design focused on optimization of the rhamnolipid yield of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DBM 3774 utilizing the response surface methodology (RSM). Six carbon sources were investigated for their effect on the rhamnolipid production. The RSM prediction improved the total rhamnolipid yield from 2.2 to 13.5 g/L and the rhamnolipid productivity from 11.6 to 45.3 mg/L/h. A significant effect of the carbon source type, concentration and the C/N ratio on the composition of the rhamnolipid congeners has been demonstrated for cultivation of P. aeruginosa DBM 3774 in batch cultivation. Especially, changes in presence of saturated fatty acid in the rhamnolipid congeners, ranging from 18.8% of unsaturated fatty acids (carbon source glycerol; 40 g/L) to 0% (sodium citrate 20 g/L) were observed. This demonstrates possibilities of model based systems as basis in cultivation of industrially important compounds like biosurfactants rhamnolipids and the importance of detailed study of interconnection between cultivation conditions and rhamnolipid mixture composition and properties.
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Naphthoquinones isolated from Quambalaria cyanescens (quambalarines) are natural pigments possessing significant cytotoxic and antimicrobial properties. Determining the structure of naphthoquinone compounds is important for the understanding of their biological activities and the informed synthesis of related analogues. Identifying quambalarines is challenging, because they contain a hydroxylated naphthoquinone scaffold and have limited solubility. Here, we report a detailed structural study of quambalarine derivatives, which form strong intramolecular hydrogen bonds (IMHBs) that enable the formation of several tautomers; these tautomers may complicate structural investigation due to their fast interconversion. To investigate tautomeric equilibria and identify new quambalarines, we complemented the experimental NMR spectroscopy data with density functional theory (DFT) calculations.
- MeSH
- antiinfekční látky chemie izolace a purifikace farmakologie MeSH
- antitumorózní látky chemie izolace a purifikace farmakologie MeSH
- Basidiomycota chemie MeSH
- magnetická rezonanční spektroskopie MeSH
- magnetická rezonanční tomografie MeSH
- molekulární struktura MeSH
- naftochinony chemie izolace a purifikace farmakologie MeSH
- vodíková vazba MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Spx is a Bacillus subtilis transcription factor that interacts with the alpha subunits of RNA polymerase. It can activate the thiol stress response regulon and interfere with the activation of many developmental processes. Here, we show that Spx is a central player orchestrating the heat shock response by up-regulating relevant stress response genes as revealed by comparative transcriptomic experiments. Moreover, these experiments revealed the potential of Spx to inhibit transcription of translation-related genes. By in vivo and in vitro experiments, we confirmed that Spx can inhibit transcription from rRNA. This inhibition depended mostly on UP elements and the alpha subunits of RNA polymerase. However, the concurrent up-regulation activity of stress genes by Spx, but not the inhibition of translation related genes, was essential for mediating stress response and antibiotic tolerance under the applied stress conditions. The observed inhibitory activity might be compensated in vivo by additional stress response processes interfering with translation. Nevertheless, the impact of Spx on limiting translation becomes apparent under conditions with high cellular Spx levels. Interestingly, we observed a subpopulation of stationary phase cells that contains raised Spx levels, which may contribute to growth inhibition and a persister-like behaviour of this subpopulation during outgrowth.
- MeSH
- Bacillus subtilis účinky léků enzymologie účinky záření MeSH
- fyziologický stres * MeSH
- genetická transkripce MeSH
- oxidační stres * MeSH
- proteosyntéza MeSH
- reakce na tepelný šok * MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u bakterií * MeSH
- stanovení celkové genové exprese MeSH
- transkripční faktory metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
New sulfonamides 5/6 derived from 4-methoxyacetophenone 1 were synthesized by N-sulfonation reaction of ammonia (3) and aminopyrimidinone (4) with its sulfonyl chloride derivative 2. Sulfonamides 5 and 6 were used as precursors of two new series of chalcones 8a-f and 9a-f, which were obtained through Claisen-Schmidt condensation with aromatic aldehydes 7a-f. Compounds 5/6, 8a-d, 8f, 9a-d, and 9f were screened by the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) at 10 μM against sixty different human cancer cell lines (one-dose trial). Chalcones 8b and 9b satisfied the pre-determined threshold inhibition criteria and were selected for screening at five different concentrations (100, 10, 1.0, 0.1, and 0.01 μM). Compound 8b exhibited remarkable GI50 values ranging from 0.57 to 12.4 μM, with cytotoxic effects being observed in almost all cases, especially against the cell lines K-562 of Leukemia and LOX IMVI of Melanoma with GI50 = 0.57 and 1.28 μM, respectively. Moreover, all compounds were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, chalcones 8a-c and 9a-c were the most active showing MIC values between 14 and 42 μM, and interestingly they were devoid of antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium smegmatis and Staphylococcus aureus. These antituberculosis hits showed however low selectivity, being equally inhibitory to M. tuberculosis and mammalian T3T cells. The chalcone-sulfonamide hybrids 8a-f and 9a-f resulted to be appealing cytotoxic agents with significant antituberculosis activity.
- MeSH
- antituberkulotika chemická syntéza chemie farmakologie toxicita MeSH
- antitumorózní látky chemická syntéza chemie farmakologie toxicita MeSH
- buňky 3T3 MeSH
- chalkonoidy chemická syntéza chemie farmakologie toxicita MeSH
- léky antitumorózní - screeningové testy MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
- molekulární struktura MeSH
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis účinky léků MeSH
- myši MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- sulfonamidy chemická syntéza chemie farmakologie toxicita MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- myši MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Large areas polluted with toxic heavy metals or radionuclides were formed as a side product of rapid industrial development of human society. Plants, due to their sessile nature, should adapt to these challenging genotoxic environmental conditions and develop resistance. Herein, we evaluated the response of three natural ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh (Oasis, Columbia-0, and Chernobyl-07) to cadmium, using discovery gel-based proteomics. These accessions are differing by level of tolerance to heavy metal probably achieved by various exposure to chronic ionizing radiation. Based on the pairwise comparison (control versus cadmium-treated) we recognized 5.8-13.4% of identified proteins as significantly altered at the presence of cadmium. Although the majority of photosynthesis-related proteins were found to be less abundant in all ecotypes it was noted that in contrast to the sensitive variants (Col and Oas), the tolerant Che accession may activate the mechanism preserving photosynthesis and energy production. Also, proteins modulating energy budget through alternative route and mediating higher resistance to heavy metals were upregulated in this ecotype. Although we suggest that regulation of enzymes acting in peptide and protein synthesis, protection of the plants against various abiotic stresses, or those neutralizing the effects of reactive oxygen species are rather associated with general response to cadmium, they were found to be altered more intensively in the Che accession. Thus, the identified affected proteins may represent good candidate molecules for molecular breeding to improve tolerance of crops to heavy metal stress.
- MeSH
- Arabidopsis fyziologie účinky záření MeSH
- druhová specificita MeSH
- ekotyp * MeSH
- fyziologická adaptace účinky záření MeSH
- fyziologický stres * MeSH
- kadmium metabolismus MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí metabolismus MeSH
- proteiny huseníčku metabolismus MeSH
- proteomika MeSH
- radiační expozice MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- srovnávací studie MeSH
New amphiphilic diblock polymer nanotherapeutics serving simultaneously as a drug delivery system and an inhibitor of multidrug resistance were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their physico-chemical and biological characteristics. The amphiphilic character of the diblock polymer, containing a hydrophilic block based on the N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide copolymer and a hydrophobic poly(propylene oxide) block (PPO), caused self-assembly into polymer micelles with an increased hydrodynamic radius (Rhof approximately 15nm) in aqueous solutions. Doxorubicin (Dox), as a cytostatic drug, was bound to the diblock polymer through a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond, enabling prolonged circulation in blood, the delivery of Dox into a solid tumor and the subsequent stimuli-sensitive controlled release within the tumor mass and tumor cells at a decreased pH. The applicability of micellar nanotherapeutics as drug carriers was confirmed by an in vivo evaluation using EL4 lymphoma-bearing C57BL/6 mice. We observed significantly higher accumulation of micellar conjugates in a solid tumor because of the EPR effect compared with similar polymer-drug conjugates that do not form micellar structures or with the parent free drug. In addition, highly increased anti-tumor efficacy of the micellar polymer nanotherapeutics, even at a sub-optimal dose, was observed. The presence of PPO in the structure of the diblock polymer ensured, during in vitro tests on human and mouse drug-sensitive and resistant cancer cell lines, the inhibition of P-glycoprotein, one of the most frequently expressed ATP-dependent efflux pump that causes multidrug resistance. In addition, we observed highly increased rate of the uptake of the diblock polymer nanotherapeutics within the cells. We suppose that combination of unique properties based on MDR inhibition, stimuli sensitiveness (pH sensitive activation of drug), improved pharmacokinetics and increased uptake into the cells made the described polymer micelle a good candidate for investigation as potential drug delivery system.
- MeSH
- akrylamidy aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- antibiotika antitumorózní aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- chemorezistence účinky léků MeSH
- doxorubicin aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- hydrofobní a hydrofilní interakce MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- micely * MeSH
- mnohočetná léková rezistence účinky léků MeSH
- myši inbrední C57BL MeSH
- myši MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- nádory farmakoterapie metabolismus patologie MeSH
- nosiče léků aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- polymery aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- propylenglykoly aplikace a dávkování chemie farmakokinetika terapeutické užití MeSH
- tumor burden účinky léků MeSH
- uvolňování léčiv MeSH
- viabilita buněk účinky léků MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- myši MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Analysis of polar lipids from eight psychrophilic yeasts (Cryptococcus victoriae, Cystofilobasidium capitatum, Holtermaniella wattica, Mrakiella aquatica, M. cryoconiti, Rhodotorula lignophila, Kondoa malvinella and Trichosporon aggtelekiense) grown at 4-28°C by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/high resolution electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry determined 17 classes of lipids and identified dozens of molecular species of phospholipids including their regioisomers. Most of the yeasts were able to grow over the whole temperature range, reaching the highest biomass at 4 or 10°C. On temperature drop to 4°C, all eight strains showed a significant decrease of MUFA and a simultaneous increase of PUFA such as α-linolenic acid, the content of which in the biomass reached up to 20%. We also found alterations in the proportions of individual phospholipids (PI, PE and PC), the PC/PE-ratio decreasing with decreasing temperature. With increasing temperature the content of PoO-PC rose while that of LL-PC decreased, the drop in the content of LL-PC being nearly 100-fold while the content of PoO-PC increased more than twice. A change in temperature brought about changes in molecular species of PC (molecular species PO-PC versus OP-PC) as well as PE, i.e. PO-PE and OP-PE. The phase transition temperature of PO-PC differs from OP-PC by 7°C and the difference between PO-PE and OP-PE is some 10°C; we thus assume that the cell compensates for the adverse temperature effect by changing the fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-2 positions.
Tyrosinases act in the development of organoleptic properties of tea, raisins, etc., but also cause unwanted browning of fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms. The tyrosinase from Agaricus bisporus has been used as a model to study tyrosinase inhibitors, which are also indispensable in the treatment of skin pigmentation disorders. However, this model has disadvantages such as side enzyme activities and the presence of multiple isoenzymes. Therefore, we aimed to introduce a new tyrosinase model. The pro-tyrosinase from Polyporus arcularius was overproduced in Escherichia coli. Trypsin digestion led to a cleavage after R388 and hence enzyme activation. The tyrosinase was a homodimer and transformed L-DOPA and tert-butylcatechol preferentially. Various aurons were examined as effectors of this enzyme. 2'- and 3'-hydroxyaurones acted as its activators and 2',4'-dihydroxyaurone as an inhibitor, whereas 4'-hydroxyaurones were its substrates. The enzyme is a promising model for tyrosinase effector studies, being a single isoenzyme and void of side enzyme activities.
- MeSH
- benzofurany metabolismus MeSH
- Escherichia coli genetika metabolismus MeSH
- exprese genu MeSH
- fungální proteiny chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- kinetika MeSH
- Polyporus enzymologie MeSH
- rekombinantní proteiny chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- tyrosinasa chemie genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Colleflaccinosides A and B, two chiral bianthraquinone glycosides from the two geographical varieties of lichen Collema flaccidum collected in Russia and Israel have been isolated as new natural products. Their structures were elucidated using UV, CD, IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectral data, and chemical degradation. The colleflaccinosides B had significant antitumor activity in the crown gall tumor inhibition test.
- MeSH
- Agrobacterium tumefaciens účinky léků MeSH
- anthrachinony farmakologie chemie izolace a purifikace MeSH
- antiinfekční látky farmakologie chemie izolace a purifikace MeSH
- antitumorózní látky fytogenní farmakologie chemie izolace a purifikace MeSH
- cirkulární dichroismus MeSH
- glykosidy farmakologie chemie izolace a purifikace MeSH
- lišejníky chemie MeSH
- mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
- molekulární konformace MeSH
- molekulární modely MeSH
- nádory rostlin MeSH
- nukleární magnetická rezonance biomolekulární MeSH
- spektrofotometrie infračervená MeSH
- spektrofotometrie ultrafialová MeSH
- spektrometrie hmotnostní - bombardování rychlými atomy MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Izrael MeSH
- Rusko MeSH
