scholarly journals In vitro circadian rhythms: imaging and electrophysiology

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 103-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Beaulé ◽  
Daniel Granados-Fuentes ◽  
Luciano Marpegan ◽  
Erik D Herzog

In vitro assays have localized circadian pacemakers to individual cells, revealed genetic determinants of rhythm generation, identified molecular players in cell–cell synchronization and determined physiological events regulated by circadian clocks. Although they allow strict control of experimental conditions and reduce the number of variables compared with in vivo studies, they also lack many of the conditions in which cellular circadian oscillators normally function. The present review highlights methods to study circadian timing in cultured mammalian cells and how they have shaped the hypothesis that all cells are capable of circadian rhythmicity.

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haicheng Liu ◽  
Yushi Futamura ◽  
Honghai Wu ◽  
Aki Ishiyama ◽  
Taotao Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: Malaria is one of the most devastating parasitic diseases, yet the discovery of antimalarial agents remains profoundly challenging. Very few new antimalarials have been developed in the past 50 years, while the emergence of drug-resistance continues to appear. Objective: This study focuses on the discovery, design, synthesis, and antimalarial evaluation of 3-cinnamamido-N-substituted benzamides. Method: In this study, a screening of our compound library was carried out against the multidrug-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain. Derivatives of the hit were designed, synthesized and tested against P. falciparum 3D7 and the in vivo antimalarial activity of the most active compounds was evaluated using the method of Peters’ 4-day suppressive test. Results: The retrieved hit compound 1 containing a 3-cinnamamido-N-substituted benzamide skeleton showed moderate antimalarial activity (IC50 = 1.20 µM) for the first time. A series of derivatives were then synthesized through a simple four-step workflow, and half of them exhibited slightly better antimalarial effect than the precursor 1 during the subsequent in vitro assays. Additionally, compounds 11, 23, 30 and 31 displayed potent activity with IC50 values of approximately 0.1 µM, and weak cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. However, in vivo antimalarial activity is not effective which might be ascribed to the poor solubility of these compounds. Conclusion: In this study, phenotypic screen of our compound library resulted in the first report of 3-cinnamamide framework with antimalarial activity and 40 derivatives were then designed and synthesized. Subsequent structure-activity studies showed that compounds 11, 23, 30 and 31 exhibited the most potent and selective activity against P. falciparum 3D7 strain with IC50 values around 0.1 µM. Our work herein sets another example of phenotypic screen-based drug discovery, leading to potentially promising candidates of novel antimalarial agents once given further optimization.


2001 ◽  
Vol 360 (3) ◽  
pp. 707-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor R. PETTITT ◽  
Mark McDERMOTT ◽  
Khalid M. SAQIB ◽  
Neil SHIMWELL ◽  
Michael J. O. WAKELAM

Mammalian cells contain different phospholipase D enzymes (PLDs) whose distinct physiological roles are poorly understood and whose products have not been characterized. The development of porcine aortic endothelial (PAE) cell lines able to overexpress PLD-1b or −2a under the control of an inducible promoter has enabled us to characterize both the substrate specificity and the phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) product of these enzymes under controlled conditions. Liquid chromatography–MS analysis showed that PLD1b- and PLD2a-transfected PAE cells, as well as COS7 and Rat1 cells, generate similar PtdOH and, in the presence of butan-1-ol, phosphatidylbutanol (PtdBut) profiles, enriched in mono- and di-unsaturated species, in particular 16:0/18:1. Although PtdBut mass increased, the species profile did not change in cells stimulated with ATP or PMA. Overexpression of PLD made little difference to basal or stimulated PtdBut formation, indicating that activity is tightly regulated in vivo and that factors other than just PLD protein levels limit hydrolytic function. In vitro assays using PLD-enriched lysates showed that the enzyme could utilize both phosphatidylcholine and, much less efficiently, phosphatidylethanolamine, with slight selectivity towards mono- and di-unsaturated species. Phosphatidylinositol was not a substrate. Thus PLD1b and PLD2a hydrolyse a structurally similar substrate pool to generate an identical PtdOH product enriched in mono- and di-unsaturated species that we propose to function as the intracellular messenger forms of this lipid.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Melendez ◽  
Daniel Sieiro ◽  
David Salgado ◽  
Valérie Morin ◽  
Marie-Julie Dejardin ◽  
...  

AbstractFusion of nascent myoblasts to pre-existing myofibres is critical for skeletal muscle growth and repair. The vast majority of molecules known to regulate myoblast fusion are necessary in this process. Here, we uncover, through high-throughput in vitro assays and in vivo studies in the chicken embryo, that TGFβ (SMAD2/3-dependent) signalling acts specifically and uniquely as a molecular brake on muscle fusion. While constitutive activation of the pathway arrests fusion, its inhibition leads to a striking over-fusion phenotype. This dynamic control of TGFβ signalling in the embryonic muscle relies on a receptor complementation mechanism, prompted by the merging of myoblasts with myofibres, each carrying one component of the heterodimer receptor complex. The competence of myofibres to fuse is likely restored through endocytic degradation of activated receptors. Altogether, this study shows that muscle fusion relies on TGFβ signalling to regulate its pace.


2001 ◽  
Vol 204 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-227
Author(s):  
J.A. Albertus ◽  
R.O. Laine

Many aquatic organisms are resistant to environmental pollutants, probably because their inherent multi-drug-resistant protein extrusion pump (pgp) can be co-opted to handle man-made pollutants. This mechanism of multixenobiotic resistance is similar to the mechanism of multidrug resistance exhibited in chemotherapy-resistant human tumor cells. In the present study, a variety of techniques were used to characterize this toxin defense system in killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) hepatocytes. The cellular localization and activity of the putative drug efflux system were evaluated. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies were used to examine the range of expression of this putative drug transporter in the presence of environmental and chemotherapeutic toxins. The broad range of pgp expression generally observed in transformed mammalian cells was found in normal cells of our teleost model. Our findings suggest that the expression of the pgp gene in the killifish could be an excellent indicator of toxin levels or stressors in the environment.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Hoppensteadt ◽  
A Kumar ◽  
J Fareed ◽  
J Mardigian

Non-antithrombin III mediated effects such as interaction with heparin cofactor II, modulation of endothelium and polymorphonuclear leukocytes contribute to the overall antithrombotic effects of glycosaminoglycans. In order to study the role of these dermatans, we investigated their in vitro anticoagulant effects using the clot based (PT, APTT, TT, and Heptest), antiprotease (anti IIa and anti Xa) and Thromboplastin C activated fibrinopeptide A generation test. The in vivo antithrombotic actions were investigated, against activated and non activated prothrombin complex concentrates, and in combination with Russells viper venom in jugular and femoral vein stasis thrombosis models (rabbit). The dermatans studied consisted of a standard dermatan of porcine intestinal origin and four sulfated dermatans with varying degrees of sulfation. All of the dermatans studied showed weak anticoagulant effects on the routinely performed clot based assays. Marked variability was seen on the protease inhibition (anti Xa and anti IIa) assays. In the in vivo studies all dermatans studied showed varying degrees of antithrombotic actions against various thrombogenic agents in a modified stasis thrombosis model. Sulfation appeared to produce stronger anticoagulant effects as determined by in vitro assays, whereas the intravenous antithrombotic actions of native dermatan were stronger than sulfated derivatives. This data suggests that dermatans produce their antithrombotic actions via non-antithrombin III mediated pathways. Furthermore, in vitro testing methods are of limited value in the evaluation of the biologic actions of dermatans and their derivatives.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie M. Sayes ◽  
Kenneth L. Reed ◽  
Shekhar Subramoney ◽  
Lloyd Abrams ◽  
David B. Warheit

1991 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 658-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. V. Umnova ◽  
T. L. Michurina ◽  
N. I. Smirnova ◽  
I. V. Aleksandrova ◽  
G. G. Poroshenko

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 3576-3586 ◽  
Author(s):  
C H Yang ◽  
J Tomkiel ◽  
H Saitoh ◽  
D H Johnson ◽  
W C Earnshaw

The kinetochore in eukaryotes serves as the chromosomal site of attachment for microtubules of the mitotic spindle and directs the movements necessary for proper chromosome segregation. In mammalian cells, the kinetochore is a highly differentiated trilaminar structure situated at the surface of the centromeric heterochromatin. CENP-C is a basic, DNA-binding protein that localizes to the inner kinetochore plate, the region that abuts the heterochromatin. Microinjection experiments using antibodies specific for CENP-C have demonstrated that this protein is required for the assembly and/or stability of the kinetochore as well as for a timely transition through mitosis. From these observations, it has been suggested that CENP-C is a structural protein that is involved in the organization or the kinetochore. In this report, we wished to identify and map the functional domains of CENP-C. Analysis of CENP-C truncation mutants expressed in vivo demonstrated that CENP-C possesses an autonomous centromere-targeting domain situated at the central region of the CENP-C polypeptide. Similarly, in vitro assays revealed that a region of CENP-C with the ability to bind DNA is also located at the center of the CENP-C molecule, where it overlaps the centromere-targeting domain.


1980 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy L. Ratliff ◽  
Robert S. Stinson ◽  
Dwight E. Talburt

Cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) activity was observed in Streptococcus lactis C2, Streptococcus cremoris C10, Streptococcus diacetlactis 18-16, and Streptococcus thermophilus C3. In vitro assays of cell-free extracts obtained from S. lactis C2 showed that the cAMP-associated enzymes adenyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase were also present. In vitro experiments showed that prostaglandin E1 (PGE) stimulation of adenyl cyclase increased cAMP concentrations approximately fivefold, and in vivo studies showed that PGE treatment of S. lactis C2 increased intracellular cAMP concentrations twofold. Furthermore, PGE-induced elevation of intracellular cAMP levels was shown to prevent the repression of β-D-phosphogalactoside galactohydrolase synthesis by glucose.


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