scholarly journals Biosynthesis, structure and biological activity of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids in Hydra vulgaris

1993 ◽  
Vol 295 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Di Marzo ◽  
L De Petrocellis ◽  
C Gianfrani ◽  
G Cimino

Recent reports have suggested the involvement of arachidonic acid (AA) and its metabolites in the control of body pattern, head and tentacle regeneration and bud formation in Hydra spp. Here we describe for the first time the biosynthesis of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) in vitro by hydroid cytosolic extracts. Incubation of both unlabelled and tritiated AA with homogenates of Hydra vulgaris led to the conversion of up to 11% of the exogenous fatty acid into mainly two metabolites. These were characterized as 11-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (11-HPETE) and 11-HETE by means of a combination of chromatographic, chemical, 1H-n.m.r. and electron-impact m.s. techniques. Trace amounts of 9-HETE and 12-HETE were also found. Analysis of 11-HETE by chiral-phase h.p.l.c. revealed that this metabolite was composed mainly of the R enantiomer. The production of 11-HPETE and 11-HETE was found to be: (1) associated with the cytosolic fraction of Hydra homogenates; (2) dependent on AA concentration, incubation time and protein amount in the homogenates; (3) unaffected by co-incubation with the 5- and 12-lipoxygenase inhibitors, 5,8,11-eicosatriynoic acid and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, the cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, or the cytochrome P-450 inhibitors, proadifen and methoxalen. These results strongly suggest the presence of a very active (R)-11-lipoxygenase in H. vulgaris. The activity of both R and S enantiomers of synthetic 9-, 11- and 12-HETE and of ‘endogenous’ 11-HETE was studied on tentacle regeneration and bud formation in decapitated Hydra. Although almost all compounds tested inhibited budding, only endogenous 11-HETE and synthetic (R)-11-HETE significantly enhanced the average number of tentacles, thus suggesting that this eicosanoid might be one of the cellular regulators of regeneration in H. vulgaris.

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (suppl b) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R Greco ◽  
Wlodzimierz E Dembinski

The universal response surface approach (URSA) was developed to assess the nature and intensity of drug interactions, ie, synergism. antagonism and additivity. URSA consists of fitting a concentration-effect surface to experimental data with maximum likelihood approaches, with the estimation of parameters, including: ID5os, concentration-effect slopes and the synergism-antagonism parameter α When α is positive, synergism is indicated, when α is negative, antagonism is indicated and when α is zero. additivity is indicated. URSA was applied to data from a set of 45 in vitro growth inhibition experiments with the L929 mouse cell line. The cytokine, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), was combined with one of nine eicosanoid synthesis inhibitors: indomethacin, Ro 20-5720, ibuprofen (cyclooxygenase inhibitors): nordihydroguaiaretic acid, nafazatrom, esculetin (lipoxygenase inhibitors): or BW-755C, p henidone, timegadine [cyclo- and lipoxygenase inhibitors). Five different schedules were used with various orders and durations of drug exposure. Examples of all three types of drug interaction were found for combinations of TNF with all three classes of drugs. The largest synergism found was for TNF plus BW-755C (α = 4.30±1.3 [SE]). In general, for each combination, the degree of synergism was greater for schedules in which cells were exposed to TNF before exposure to the other agent.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Osipov ◽  
Tatiana I. Terpinskaya ◽  
Tatsiana Yanchanka ◽  
Tatjana Balashevich ◽  
Maxim N. Zhmak ◽  
...  

Several biochemical mechanisms, including the arachidonic acid cascade and activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), are involved in increased tumor survival. Combined application of inhibitors acting on these two pathways may result in a more pronounced antitumor effect. Here, we show that baicalein (selective 12-lipoxygenase inhibitor), nordihydroguaiaretic acid (non-selective lipoxygenase inhibitor), and indomethacin (non-selective cyclooxygenase inhibitor) are cytotoxic to Ehrlich carcinoma cells in vitro. Marine snail α-conotoxins PnIA, RgIA and ArIB11L16D, blockers of α3β2/α6β2, α9α10 and α7 nAChR subtypes, respectively, as well as α-cobratoxin, a blocker of α7 and muscle subtype nAChRs, exhibit low cytotoxicity, but enhance the antitumor effect of baicalein 1.4-fold after 24 h and that of nordihydroguaiaretic acid 1.8–3.9-fold after 48 h of cell cultivation. α-Conotoxin MII, a blocker of α6-containing and α3β2 nAChR subtypes, increases the cytotoxic effect of indomethacin 1.9-fold after 48 h of cultivation. In vivo, baicalein, α-conotoxins MII and PnIA inhibit Ehrlich carcinoma growth and increase mouse survival; these effects are greatly enhanced by the combined application of α-conotoxin MII with indomethacin or conotoxin PnIA with baicalein. Thus, we show, for the first time, antitumor synergism of α-conotoxins and arachidonic acid cascade inhibitors.


1991 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Cowell ◽  
R. J. Flower ◽  
J. C. Buckingham

ABSTRACT Dispersed anterior pituitary cells were used to investigate the possible roles of phospholipid metabolites released by phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in the control of immunoreactive ACTH (ir-ACTH) secretion in vitro. PLA2 (15 600–62 500 U/1), the PLA2 activator melittin (0·5–20 mg/l) and arachidonic acid (1 mmol/l) all produced increases in ir-ACTH release from the cells, whilst platelet-activating factor (PAF), prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α), the prostacyclin analogues iloprost and BW245C, the thromboxane A2 (TXA2) analogue U46619, and the leukotrienes LTB4 and LTC4 were ineffective in this respect. PGF2α (100 nmol/l and 1 μmol/l), iloprost (1 μmol/l) and BW245C (100 nmol/l and 1 μmol/l) depressed corticotrophin-releasing factor-41-induced ir-ACTH secretion, while the PAF antagonist BN52021 (10 and 100 μmol/l) and LTC4 (100 nmol/l and 1 μmol/l) had no discernable effects. The secretory responses of the cells to hypothalamic extracts (0·2 hypothalami/ml) and arachidonic acid (1 mmol/l) were generally unaffected by the cyclooxygenase inhibitors ibuprofen (10 and 100 μmol/l) and indomethacin (10 μmol/l), the TXA2 synthetase inhibitor imidazole (10 μmol/l–1 mmol/l), the lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (10 and 100 μmol/l) and the dual cyclo-oxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibitors phenidone (1–100 μmol/l) and BW755C (10 and 100 μmol/l). They were, however, inhibited by the dual cyclo-oxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibitor eicosatetraynoic acid (10 and 100 μmol/l), which also blocks epoxygenase and PLA2 activity and by the cytochrome P450 inhibitor SKF-525A (1 mmol/l). The results suggest that the stimulatory effects of PLA2 and arachidonic acid on ir-ACTH secretion are not effected by products generated by the cyclo-oxygenase or lipoxygenase pathways but may be mediated by metabolites generated by the cytochrome P450 pathway. Journal of Endocrinology (1991) 130, 21–32


2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 3213-3223 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Tanaka ◽  
S. Niiyama ◽  
S. Sato ◽  
A. Yamada ◽  
H. Higashi

Intracellular recordings were made from hippocampal CA1 neurons in rat slice preparations. Superfusion with oxygen- and glucose-deprived medium (in vitro ischemia) produced a rapid depolarization ∼5 min after the onset of the superfusion. Even when oxygen and glucose were reintroduced immediately after rapid depolarization, the membrane depolarized further (persistent depolarization) and reached 0 mV (irreversible depolarization) after 5 min from the reintroduction. The pretreatment of the slice preparation with a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor, para-bromophenacyl bromide, or a cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, 17-octadecynoic acid, significantly restored the membrane to the preexposure potential level after the reintroduction of oxygen and glucose. The administration of 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid or 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid did not change the latency of the rapid depolarization and did not allow the membrane potential to recover after the ischemic exposure. In contrast, after pretreatment with cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase inhibitors, such as indomethacin, resveratrol, Dup-697, nordihydroguaiaretic acid, and 3,4-dihydrophenyl ethanol, a minority of neurons tested showed postischemic recovery from the persistent depolarization. Improved recovery was also seen after treatment with the free radical scavengers, edaravone and α-tocopherol. These results suggest that the activation of the arachidonic acid cascade via PLA2 and the free radicals produced by arachidonic acid metabolism contribute to the irreversible depolarization produced by in vitro ischemia.


1987 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-NP ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Takeda ◽  
I. Lasnitzki ◽  
T. Mizuno

ABSTRACT The testicular feminization (Tfm) gene, which is characterized by a deficiency in androgen receptors, is located on the X-chromosome. Using steroid autoradiography, the mosaicism of the Tfm gene has been demonstrated in the androgen target tissues of XTfm/X+ heterozygous female mouse fetuses and the effects of androgens on the mosaic pattern analysed. In the mesenchyme of urogenital sinuses of wild-type female fetuses (X+/X+), more than 95% of the cells were androgen-receptor positive (labelled with [3H]testosterone) while in that of heterozygous fetuses (XTfm/X+), only half of the cells were receptor positive (Tfm gene inactive), and receptor-positive cells and -negative cells formed small irregular patches. When the heterozygous sinuses were cultured in vitro in the presence of androgens, the sinuses underwent male sexual development and formed epithelial buds (prostate gland rudiments) projecting into the surrounding mesenchyme. Autoradiographic analysis revealed that the mosaicism of the mesenchyme disappeared around the developing epithelial buds: almost all the mesenchymal cells in close vicinity to the buds were receptor positive while in the outer layers receptor-positive and -negative cells coexisted. The proportion of receptor-positive cells was greatly increased in the mesenchyme beneath the non-budding area of the sinus epithelium. This androgen-induced increase was observed before the onset of bud formation. The results obtained in the thymidine incorporation experiments suggest that the increase of receptor-positive cells beneath the sinus epithelium might be explained by the migratory behaviour of the androgen-incorporating cells rather than by their selective proliferation. J. Endocr. (1987) 114, 131–137


1971 ◽  
Vol 68 (1_Suppl) ◽  
pp. S27-S40 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kobayashi ◽  
T. Kigawa ◽  
M. Mizuno ◽  
T. Watanabe

ABSTRACT There are several in vitro methods to analyse the function of the adenohypophysis or the mechanisms of its regulation. The present paper deals with single cell culture, organ culture and short term incubation techniques by which the morphology and gonadotrophin-secreting function of the adenohypophysis were studied. In trypsin-dispersed cell culture, the adenohypophysial cells showed extensive propagation to form numerous cell colonies and finally develop into a confluent monolayer cell sheet covering completely the surface of culture vessels. Almost all of the cultured cells, however, became chromophobic, at least at the end of the first week of cultivation, when gonadotrophin was detectable neither in the culture medium nor in the cells themselves. After the addition of the hypothalamic extract, gonadotrophin became detectable again, and basophilic or PAS-positive granules also reappeared within the cells, suggesting that the gonadotrophs were stimulated by the extract to produce gonadotrophin. In organ culture and short term incubation, the incorporation of [3H] leucine into the adenohypophysial cells in relation to the addition of hypothalamic extract was examined. It was obvious that the ability to incorporate [3H] leucine into the gonadotrophs in vitro was highly dependent upon the presence of the hypothalamic extract.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 478e-479
Author(s):  
M.M. Jenderek ◽  
A.J. Olney

Hibiscus syriacus is a difficult species in micropropagation due to its endogenous contamination and recalcitrant shoot formation; therefore, studies on using explants other than shoot tip or axillary buds of growing shrubs were initiated. Three different seedling fragments (root, hypocotyl, and leaf petiole) from aseptically germinated seedlings of hibiscus (var. Aphrodite) were evaluated for adventitious bud formation, shoot and leaf development. The explants were cultured on McCown's woody plant basal salt medium supplemented with KNO3 (800 mg/L), adenine sulfate (80 mg/L) and MS vitamins containing BA or 2iP or TDZ at 0.5, 1.0, 2.2, 4.4 and 10 mM. Adventitious buds were present on all of the three different explants grown on medium containing TDZ; however, the most abundant bud formation, with many small leaves originating from callus was observed on hypocotyl explants cultured on medium with 1 mM of TDZ. Petiole explants were the most frequent to develop short shoots (≈15 mm) and one to nine leaves without callus formation, where 70% of hypocotyl and the root explants formed leaves originating from callus. Callus was induced on all explant types regardless of the level or type of cytokinin used. However, the number of shoots produced by any explant type was low, petioles cultured on 0.5 and 1mM of TDZ were the most suitable material for non-callus shoot development in H. syriacus. Hypocotyl explants proved to be an excellent source for adventitious bud formation but their ability to develop shoots needs to be investigated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (29) ◽  
pp. 4840-4854 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysoula-Evangelia Karachaliou ◽  
Hubert Kalbacher ◽  
Wolfgang Voelter ◽  
Ourania E. Tsitsilonis ◽  
Evangelia Livaniou

Prothymosin alpha (ProTα) is a highly acidic polypeptide, ubiquitously expressed in almost all mammalian cells and tissues and consisting of 109 amino acids in humans. ProTα is known to act both, intracellularly, as an anti-apoptotic and proliferation mediator, and extracellularly, as a biologic response modifier mediating immune responses similar to molecules termed as “alarmins”. Antibodies and immunochemical techniques for ProTα have played a leading role in the investigation of the biological role of ProTα, several aspects of which still remain unknown and contributed to unraveling the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of the polypeptide. This review deals with the so far reported antibodies along with the related immunodetection methodology for ProTα (immunoassays as well as immunohistochemical, immunocytological, immunoblotting, and immunoprecipitation techniques) and its application to biological samples of interest (tissue extracts and sections, cells, cell lysates and cell culture supernatants, body fluids), in health and disease states. In this context, literature information is critically discussed, and some concluding remarks are presented.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-221
Author(s):  
Haroon Khan ◽  
Muhammad Zafar ◽  
Helena Den-Haan ◽  
Horacio Perez-Sanchez ◽  
Mohammad Amjad Kamal

Aim and Objective: Lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes play an important role in the pathophysiology of several inflammatory and allergic diseases including bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic conjunctivitis, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Inhibitors of the LOX are believed to be an ideal approach in the treatment of diseases caused by its over-expression. In this regard, several synthetic and natural agents are under investigation worldwide. Alkaloids are the most thoroughly investigated class of natural compounds with outstanding past in clinically useful drugs. In this article, we have discussed various alkaloids of plant origin that have already shown lipoxygenase inhibition in-vitro with possible correlation in in silico studies. Materials and Methods: Molecular docking studies were performed using MOE (Molecular Operating Environment) software. Among the ten reported LOX alkaloids inhibitors, derived from plant, compounds 4, 2, 3 and 1 showed excellent docking scores and receptor sensitivity. Result and Conclusion: These compounds already exhibited in vitro lipoxygenase inhibition and the MOE results strongly correlated with the experimental results. On the basis of these in vitro assays and computer aided results, we suggest that these compounds need further detail in vivo studies and clinical trial for the discovery of new more effective and safe lipoxygenase inhibitors. In conclusion, these results might be useful in the design of new and potential lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2574
Author(s):  
Lahcen Hssaini ◽  
Francisca Hernandez ◽  
Manuel Viuda-Martos ◽  
Jamal Charafi ◽  
Rachid Razouk ◽  
...  

In the present study, chromatic coordinates, phenolic acids, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) and lipid peroxidation inhibition capacity (LPIC) essays and their relative IC50 were investigated in 25 fig cultivars growing in Morocco. The aims of this study were to determine (i) the variation in these compounds among light and dark-colored cultivars, (ii) their partitioning between fruit peel and pulp and (iii) to display network connections among these variables. Twelve phenolic compounds (PCs) were isolated in peel extract versus eight in pulp samples. Anthocyanins, mainly cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, were the predominant compounds in peels, where the mean concentrations were 75.90 ± 18.76 and 77.97 ± 18.95 µg/g dw, respectively. On the other hand, (−)-epicatechin and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside were the major compounds in the pulp extracts, where the mean values were 5.23 ± 4.03 and 9.01 ± 5.67 µg/g dw, respectively. A two-dimensional hierarchically clustered heatmap was applied to the dataset to explore correlations in the dataset and similarities between cultivars, without dimensionality reduction. Results showed that anthocyanins, particularly pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3,5-diglucoside and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, were the main contributors to the peels’ free radical scavenging capacity. This capacity was particularly higher in the peel of dark-colored figs compared to the fruit pulp. The local cultivar “INRA 1301” showed the most promising phenolic profile due to its very high levels of almost all detected PCs, especially (−)-epicatechin, quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidine-3,5-diglucoside, cyanidine-3-O-rutinoside and pelargonidin-3-O-rutinoside (54.66, 141.08, 35.48, 494.08, 478.66, 12.56 µg/g dw, respectively). Having the darkest figs in the collection (L* = 25.72, c* = 22.09 and h° = 20.99), this cultivar has also combined promising IC50 values, which were of 19.85, 40.58 and 124.78 µg/mL for DPPH, ABTS and LPIC essays, respectively.


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