Chemistry Commons^™

Ccl2 (Mcp-1) Mediates Chronic Pelvic Pain Through Mast Cells In Experimental Autoimmune Cystitis, Fuat Bicer

ETD Archive

Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) is a chronic inflammatory bladder condition with unknown pathophysiology. Chronic pelvic pain is one of the most important and disturbing symptoms of IC/PBS, beside urinary frequency, urgency, and nocturia. Increased amounts of mast cells (MCs) and CCL2 have been found in bladder tissue and urine, respectively. Whether or not there is a causal relationship between CCL2, MCs, and pelvic pain in IC/PBS is unknown. Methods: Female BALB/c mice were immunized with a peptide consisting of residues 65-84 of the bladder urothelium-specific protein uroplakin 3A to induce experimental autoimmune cystitis (EAC), a model for human IC/PBS. …

Chronic Kidney Disease: Vitamin D Treatment Regimens And Novel Assay Development For Kidney And Cardiovascular Function Biomarkers, Joe M. El-Khoury

ETD Archive

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is highly prevalent in the US population and has high incidence of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. A known complication of CKD is secondary hyperparathyroidism that is caused by bone and mineral imbalances, including vitamin D deficiency. Supplementation of CKD patients with vitamin D is based on guidelines issued by the Kidney Disease Quality Outcomes Initiative (K/DOQI), which recommend administration of vitamin D2 in variable doses depending on the severity of vitamin D deficiency. Retrospective and pilot studies have shown that vitamin D2 was not as effective as vitamin D3 in treating vitamin D deficiency. In Chapter …

Gain-Of-Function Mutations In Scn5a Gene Lead To Type-3 Long Qt Syndrome, Fang Fang

ETD Archive

Type-3 long QT syndrome, which is related to type 5 voltage-gated sodium channel alpha subunit (SCN5A) mutation, has been identified since 1995. LQTS mutation in SCN5A is a gain-of-function mutation producing late sodium current, INa,L. Brugada mutation in SCN5A is a loss-of-function causing INa decrease. Whereas, the mechanism for Dilated Cardiomyopathy mutations in SCN5A is still not fully understood. N1325S is one of the first series of mutations identified for type-3 LQTS. Our lab created a mouse model for LQTS by expressing SCN5A mutation N1325S in the mouse hearts (TG-NS) and a matched experimental control line with overexpression of wild- …

Development And Characterization Of Experimental Autoimmune Cystitis (Eac), Kenan Izgi

ETD Archive

Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome(IC/PBS) is a chronic inflammation of the urinary bladder, consisting of irritative voiding symptoms frequent and urgent urination and pain referred to the pelvic region or the bladder upon filling, lack of other pathology. The pathophysiology of interstitial cystitis (IC) is enigmatic. The impaired urothelium of bladder and autoimmunity might lead the underlying pathology. One of the shortcomings in IC/PBS research has been the lack of an appropriate animal model. In the current study, we show that the bladder specific Uroplakin 3A (UPK3A)-derived immunogenic UPK3A 65-84 peptide is capable of targeting experimental autoimmune cystitis (EAC) in BALB/c …

Ellagic Acid-Mediated Ck2 Inhibition;A Natural, Multifunctional Strategy To Trigger Cervical Cancer Cell Death In Vitro And In Vivo, Hanan F. Mohammad

ETD Archive

Targeting CK2 for cancer therapy has proven effective in inhibiting tumor growth in several histology's. The main goal of this study was to acquire pre-clinical data on a naturally occurring CK2-inhibitor (ellagic acid) in support of a human clinical trial. In vitro analysis included testing the spectrum of ellagic acid anti-cancer activity, defining the mode of growth inhibition in cancer cells and its impact on biochemical and molecular pathways. In vivo studies included determination of ellagic acid inhibitory effect in animal tumor models and toxicity analysis. We found that CK2 inhibition mediated by ellagic acid, was effective in inhibiting the …

Proteomic Approaches To Elucidate Molecular Mechanisms Of Metal Accumulation In Plants With Focus On Arsenic, Chamari Hasintha Walliwalagedara Kiribandage

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No abstract provided.

Rnase L Manipulates Macrophages In Innate Immunity And Tumor Growth, Xin Yi

ETD Archive

RNase L is one of the key enzymes in the 2-5A system of interferon (IFN) action against viral infection and cellular proliferation. Tissue distribution analysis has revealed that RNase L is highly expressed in the spleen, thymus, lung, testis, intestine and most of immune cells such as T, B cells and macrophages. However, the physiological role of RNase L in the immune system is largely unknown. My thesis thus focused on studying the possible physiological role of RNase L in macrophages. By using bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) from RNase L+/+and -/- mice, we demonstrated that RNase L is involved in …

Purification And Characterization Of Blood Aspirin Hydrolases, Gang Zhou

ETD Archive

Aspirin prophylaxis suppresses major adverse cardiovascular events, but its turnover in blood is rapid, which limits its inhibitory effects on platelet cyclooxygenase and thrombosis. Inter-individual variability of platelet responses to aspirin clinically presents as treatment failure, and this increasing clinical phenomenon is frequently named aspirin "resistance". However, the molecular mechanisms behind this are unclear. Blood aspirin hydrolases are believed to control aspirin survival in vivo, but the identity of the circulating enzyme(s) that hydrolyzes aspirin remains unknown. In this thesis, blood aspirin hydrolases were identified and characterized. The relationship between blood aspirin hydrolases and aspirin efficacy was investigated. RP-HPLC analysis …

Boronic Acid Macroligands For Glycomics Applications, Poornima Pinnamaneni

ETD Archive

Cell surface carbohydrates existing as glycoproteins and glycolipids represent the first information about the cell with the outside world and are closely involved in various biological processes such as cell communication, and the molecular recognition and cell targeting. However, the mechanisms of most of the processes at the molecular level are still unclear. It is therefore very important to develop specific carbohydrate-binding molecules for a fast, efficient, sensitive and accurate analysis of complex carbohydrates structures and functions, known as glycomics. In addition, certain carbohydrate-binding molecules can be used in medical applications such as biomarkers for diseases diagnosis and targeted drug …

Methylation Markers In Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Avinash Gavicharla

ETD Archive

Hepatocellular Carcinoma is one of the major causes for mortality in the world and is usually asymptomatic until late stage decreasing the survival rate. There is an increase of incidence every year and current diagnostic and prognostic bio markers like AFP have their limitations in the wider context. Therefore, it is important to develop novel biomarkers. The aim of the Research is to understand the cytosine methylation and investigate the role of the p16 and SLIT-2 genes as biomarkers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. The methylation profiles of the genes were assessed on bisulfite modified DNA samples with the aid of Real …

Removal Of Uracil By Uracil Dna Glycosylase Limits Pemetrexed Cytotoxicity: Overriding The Limit With Methoxyamine To Inhibit Base Excision Repair, A. D. Bulgar, L. D. Weeks, Y. Miao, S. Yang, Yan Xu, C. Guo, S. Markowitz, N. Oleinick, S. L. Gerson, Lili Liu

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Uracil DNA glycosylase (UDG) specifically removes uracil bases from DNA, and its repair activity determines the sensitivity of the cell to anticancer agents that are capable of introducing uracil into DNA. In the present study, the participation of UDG in the response to pemetrexed-induced incorporation of uracil into DNA was studied using isogenic human tumor cell lines with or without UDG (UDG+/+/UDG−/−). UDG−/− cells were very sensitive to pemetrexed. Cell killing by pemetrexed was associated with genomic uracil accumulation, stalled DNA replication, and catastrophic DNA strand breaks. By contrast, UDG+/+ cells were >10 times more resistant to pemetrexed due to …

Maxwell's Equations, Part V, David W. Ball

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This is the fifth installment in a series devoted to explaining Maxwell’s equations, the four mathematical statements upon which the classical theory of electromagnetic fields – and light – is based. Previous installments can be found on Spectroscopy’s website (whose URL can be found throughout these issues). Maxwell’s equations are expressed in the language of vector calculus, so a significant part of some previous columns have been devoted to explaining vector calculus, not spectroscopy. For better or worse, that’s par for the course, and it’s my job to explain it well – I trust readers will let me know if …

Nitric Oxide Synthase Encapsulation In Liposomes: A Potential Delivery Platform To (Nitric Oxide)-Deficient Targets, Reshani H. Perera, Pubudu M. Peiris, Serban F. Peteu, Mekki Bayachou

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Nitric oxide (NO) is a freely diffusible, gaseous free radical, associated with many physiological and pathological processes: such as neuronal signaling, immune response and inflammatory response. In mammalian organisms, NO is produced from L-arginine in an NADPH-dependent reaction catalyzed by a family of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes. Typically, large NO fluctuations in biological systems under/over a critical limit is associated with problems that range from transient dysfunctions to severe chronic disease states. In this regard, we explore the development of a potential delivery and release method of nitric oxide to NO-deficient sites using liposomes as vehicles. Liposomes have already …

Maxwell's Equations, Part Iv, David W. Ball

Chemistry Faculty Publications

In this column, we continue our explanation of Maxwell’s equations, the seminal classical explanation of electricity and magnetism (and, ultimately, light). For those of you new to the series, consider finding the last few appearances of this column to get caught up. Alternately, you should be able to find past columns on our website, www.spectroscopymag.com and look for “The Baseline” link. Words of warning: for my own reasons, the figures are being numbered sequentially through this series of columns, which is why the first figure in this column is numbered 26. Also, we’re going to get a bit mathematical. Unfortunately …

Synthesis And Antiproliferative Activity Of Some Steroidal Lactams, Yanmin Huang, Jianguo Cui, Sijing Chen, Chunfang Gan, Aimin Zhou

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Using cholesterol as starting material, a series of 6-substituted-3-aza-A-homo-3-oxycholestanes and 6-substituted-4-aza-A-homo-3-oxycholestanes were synthesized by the oxidation, reduction, oximation, Beckman rearrangement and condensation reaction. These synthesized compounds displayed a distinct cytotoxicity against MGC 7901, HeLa and SMMC 7404 cancer cells. Our results revealed that the structures of functional groups at position-6 on the steroidal ring are crucial for the IC50 value of antiproliferative activities of these compounds and the cytotoxic activity against MGC 7901 and SMMC 7404 cells was not significantly different between 4-N-lactams and 3-N-lactams when its 6-substituted group was a carbonyl or a hydroximino, but all 3-N-lactams showed a …

Exploring The Roles Of Nucleobase Desolvation And Shape Complementarity During The Misreplication Of O6-Methylguanine, Delia Chavarria, Andrea Ramos Serrano, Ichiro Hirao, Anthony J. Berdis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

O6-methylguanine is a miscoding DNA lesion arising from the alkylation of guanine. This report uses the bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase as a model to probe the roles hydrogen-bonding interactions, shape/size, and nucleobase desolvation during the replication of this miscoding lesion. This was accomplished by using transient kinetic techniques to monitor the kinetic parameters for incorporating and extending natural and non-natural nucleotides. In general, the efficiency of nucleotide incorporation does not depend on the hydrogen-bonding potential of the incoming nucleotide. Instead, nucleobase hydrophobicity and shape complementarity appear to be the preeminent factors controlling nucleotide incorporation. In addition, shape complementarity plays a …

Design And Synthesis Of A Biotinylated Probe Of Cox-2 Inhibitor Nimesulide Analog Jcc76, Bo Zhong, Rati Lama, Kerri M. Smith, Yan Xu, Bin Su

Chemistry Faculty Publications

JCC76 is a derivative of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) selective inhibitor nimesulide and exhibits potent anti-breast cancer activity. It selectively induces apoptosis of Her2 positive breast cancer cells. However, the specific molecular targets of JCC76 still remain unclear, which significantly withdraw the further drug development of JCC76. To identify the molecular targets of JCC76, a six carbon linker and biotin conjugated JCC76 probe was designed and synthesized. The anti-proliferation activity of the probe and its analogs was evaluated.

Determination Of Hexamethylene Bisacetamide, An Antineoplastic Compound, In Mouse And Human Plasma By Lc–Ms/Ms, Kerri M. Smith, Wannarasmi Ketchart, Xiang Zhou, Monica M. Montano, Yan Xu

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) is a polar compound which has recently been discovered to have antineoplastic activity by up-regulating the expression of an endogenous antiproliferative breast cancer protein, HEXIM1 (hexamethylene bisacetamide inducible protein 1) in vivo. HMBA has been shown in the past to induce terminal differentiation in multiple leukemia types at a concentration of 2–5 mM, but its phase I and II clinical trials were largely unsuccessful due to serious side effects (notably, thrombocytopenia) with dose escalation. In this work, a sensitive and simple LC–MS/MS method for direct determination of HMBA in mouse and human plasma is described. Plasma samples …

In Vitro And In Vivo Effects Of A Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor Nimesulide Analog Jcc76 In Aromatase Inhibitors-Insensitive Breast Cancer Cells, Bo Zhong, Xiaohan Cai, Xing Yi, Aimin Zhou, Shiuan Chen, Bin Su

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Third generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are more effective than tamoxifen in the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. However, long-term use of AIs commonly results in resistance. We examined whether compound JCC76{Cyclohexanecarboxylic acid [3-(2,5-dimethyl-benzyloxy)-4-(methanesulfonyl-methyl-amino)-phenyl]-amide}, an analog of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor nimesulide, can inhibit the growth of AI-insensitive breast cancer cells and the mechanisms by which the compound affects cell proliferation. LTEDaro (long term estrogen deprived MCF-7aro cell) cells, which are a model for AI resistance, were used in this study. JCC76 effectively inhibited LTEDaro cell proliferation with an IC50 of 2.75 ± 0.31 μM. Further investigations reveal that …

Maxwell's Equations, Part Ii, David W. Ball

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This is the second part of a multi-part production on Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism. The ultimate goal is a definitive explanation of these four equations; readers will be left to judge how definitive it is. A note: for certain reasons, figures are being numbered sequentially throughout this series, which is why the first figure in this column is numbered 8. I hope this does not cause confusion. Another note: this is going to get a bit mathematical. It can’t be helped: models of the physical universe, like Newton’s second law F = ma, are based in math. So are Maxwell’s …

The Exonuclease Activity Of Hpmc2 Is Required For Transcriptional Regulation Of The Qr Gene And Repair Of Estrogen-Induced Abasic Sites, N. Krishnamurthy, C. R. Ngam, Anthony J. Berdis, M. M. Montano

Chemistry Faculty Publications

We have previously reported that the expression of antioxidative stress enzymes is upregulated by trans-hydroxytamoxifen (TOT) in breast epithelial cell lines providing protection against estrogen-induced DNA damage. This regulation involves Estrogen Receptor β (ERβ) recruitment to the Electrophile Response Element (EpRE) and a novel protein, human homolog of Xenopus gene which Prevents Mitotic Catastrophe (hPMC2). We have also demonstrated that ERβ and hPMC2 are required for TOT-dependent recruitment of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) and Topoisomerase IIβ (Topo IIβ) to the EpRE. Sequence analysis reveals that the C-terminus of hPMC2 encodes a putative exonuclease domain. Using in vitro kinetic assays, …

Profiling Sterols In Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis: Utility Of Girard Derivatization And High Resolution Exact Mass Lc-Esi-Msn Analysis, Andrea E. Debarber, Yana Sandlers, Anuradha S. Pappu, Louise S. Merkens, P. Barton Duell, Steven R. Lear, Sandra K. Erickson, Robert D. Steiner

Chemistry Faculty Publications

In this study we profile free 3-oxo sterols present in plasma from patients affected with the neurodegenerative disorder of sterol and bile acid metabolism cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), utilizing a combination of charge-tagging and LC-ESI-MSn performed with an LTQ-Orbitrap Discovery instrument. In addition, we profile sterols in plasma from 24-month-old cyp27A1 gene knockout mice lacking the enzyme defective in CTX. Charge-tagging was accomplished by reaction with cationic Girard's P (GP) reagent 1-(carboxymethyl) pyridinium chloride hydrazide, an approach uniquely suited to studying the 3-oxo sterols that accumulate in CTX, as Girard's reagent reacts with the sterol oxo moiety to form charged hydrazone …

Epistatic Roles For Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Muts And Dinb (Dna Pol Iv) In Coping With Reactive Oxygen Species-Induced Dna Damage, Laurie H. Sanders, Babho Devadoss, Geraldine V. Raja, Jaime O'Connor, Shengchang Su, Daniel J. Wozniak, Daniel J. Hassett, Anthony J. Berdis, Mark D. Sutton

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is especially adept at colonizing the airways of individuals afflicted with the autosomal recessive disease cystic fibrosis (CF). CF patients suffer from chronic airway inflammation, which contributes to lung deterioration. Once established in the airways, P. aeruginosa continuously adapts to the changing environment, in part through acquisition of beneficial mutations via a process termed pathoadaptation. MutS and DinB are proposed to play opposing roles in P. aeruginosa pathoadaptation: MutS acts in replication-coupled mismatch repair, which acts to limit spontaneous mutations; in contrast, DinB (DNA polymerase IV) catalyzes error-prone bypass of DNA lesions, contributing to mutations. As part of …

The Low Resolution Structure Of Apoa1 In Spherical High Density Lipoprotein Revealed By Small Angle Neutron Scattering, Zhiping Wu, Valentin Gogonea, Xavier Lee, Roland P. May, Vitaliy Pipich, Matthew A. Wagner, Arundhati Undurti, Thomas C. Tallant, Camelia Baleanu Gogonea, Francesca Charlton, Alexander I. Ioffe, Joseph A. Didonato, Kerry Anne Rye, Stanley L. Hazen

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Spherical high density lipoprotein (sHDL), a key player in reverse cholesterol transport and the most abundant form of HDL, is associated with cardiovascular diseases. Small angle neutron scattering with contrast variation was used to determine the solution structure of protein and lipid components of reconstituted sHDL. Apolipoprotein A1, the major protein of sHDL, forms a hollow structure that cradles a central compact lipid core. Three apoA1 chains are arranged within the low resolution structure of the protein component as one of three possible global architectures: (i) a helical dimer with a hairpin (HdHp), (ii) three hairpins (3Hp), or (iii) an …

Maxwell's Equations, Part I: History, David W. Ball

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism are the fundamental understanding of how light behaves. There are various versions, depending on whether there is vacuum, a charge present, matter present, the system is relativistic or quantum, or are written in terms of differential or integral calculus. Here, I inaugurate a multi-part series on a discussion of each of Maxwell’s equations. The goal is for this series to become the definitive explanation of these rules (I know, a heady goal!). I trust readers will let me know if I succeed. In this first installment, we will discuss a little bit of historical development as …

Homozygous Mutation In Samhd1 Gene Causes Cerebral Vasculopathy And Early Onset Stroke, Baozhong Xin, Stephen Jones, Erik G. Puffenberger, Claas Hinze, Alicia Bright, Haiyan Tan, Aimin Zhou, Guiyun Wu, Jilda Vargus Adams, Dimitris Agamanolis, Heng Wang

Chemistry Faculty Publications

We describe an autosomal recessive condition characterized with cerebral vasculopathy and early onset of stroke in 14 individuals in Old Order Amish. The phenotype of the condition was highly heterogeneous, ranging from severe developmental disability to normal schooling. Cerebral vasculopathy was a major hallmark of the condition with a common theme of multifocal stenoses and aneurysms in large arteries, accompanied by chronic ischemic changes, moyamoya morphology, and evidence of prior acute infarction and hemorrhage. Early signs of the disease included mild intrauterine growth restriction, infantile hypotonia, and irritability, followed by failure to thrive and short stature. Acrocyanosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, chilblain …

Quantifying The Energetic Contributions Of Desolvation And Π-Electron Density During Translesion Dna Synthesis, Edward A. Motea, Irene Lee, Anthony J. Berdis

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This report examines the molecular mechanism by which high-fidelity DNA polymerases select nucleotides during the replication of an abasic site, a non-instructional DNA lesion. This was accomplished by synthesizing several unique 5-substituted indolyl 2′-deoxyribose triphosphates and defining their kinetic parameters for incorporation opposite an abasic site to interrogate the contributions of π-electron density and solvation energies. In general, the Kd, app values for hydrophobic non-natural nucleotides are ∼10-fold lower than those measured for isosteric hydrophilic analogs. In addition, kpol values for nucleotides that contain less π-electron densities are slower than isosteric analogs possessing higher degrees of π-electron density. The differences …

Growth Factor Signaling Enhances Aromatase Activity Of Breast Cancer Cells Via Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms, Bin Su, Cynthie Wong, Yanyan Hong, Shiuan Chen

Chemistry Faculty Publications

It has been demonstrated that growth factors produced by breast cancer cells stimulate aromatase expression in both breast cancer and adjacent adipose fibroblasts and stromal cells. However, whether these growth factors affect aromatase activity by other mechanisms still remain unclear. In the current study, MCF-7aro and T47Daro aromatase transfected breast carcinoma cells were used to explore the mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation of aromatase activity by growth factor pathways. Our study reveals that PI3K/Akt and MAPK inhibitors suppressed aromatase activity in MCF-7aro cells. However, PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors stimulated aromatase activity in T47Daro cells. This is due to enhanced MAPK phosphorylation as …

Semen Quality And Chemical Oxidative Stress; Quantification And Remediation, Saleem Ali Bani-Hani

ETD Archive

The necessary multi-step process to prepare human semen for assisted reproduction (AR) such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) is known to induce oxidative stress in human spermatozoa and subsequent damage to the integrity of their cell components and, thus, to their function. Literature reports have viewed this as a potential link with the high frequency of birth defects among the IVF babies. In this work, we studied the effect of incubation and centrifugation on human sperm quality using established AR protocols. We found that in vitro incubation and centrifugation (20 min at 220g) of sperm generally degrade sperm quality in …

Quantitative And Qualitative Mass Spectrometric Analysis Of Anticancer Agents, Drugs Of Abuse And Enzyme-Inhibitor Complexes, Keri M. Smith

ETD Archive

Mass spectrometry is a valuable tool in the analysis of many types of compounds. From small molecules to large proteins, mass spectrometry can help to interrogate samples and give insights to the origins of disease as well as calculate an exact concentration. Bioanalytical method development is an integral component in the measurement of such compounds. To facilitate proper analytical investigation, the process of method development, analysis, and interpretation must be understood. This work describes the basis and procedure for bioanalytical method development and its detailed application to preclinical studies of the antineoplastic agent hexamethylene bisacetamide and measurement ofillicit drugs of …