Search

A detailed approach into electronic effects of ligands on gold‐alkyne interactions has been carried out in the gas phase using tandem mass spectrometry. A semi‐empirical method coupled to DFT calculations was used to quantify ligands effects on Au−CC bond strength. To this end, the critical energies of 16 [L−Au‐hex‐3‐yne]+ complexes with different L ligands were determined through collision induced dissociation. It was observed that electron‐rich ligands destabilize the gold‐alkyne bond, whereas phosphites and carbenes strengthened it. The influence of alkyne electronic effects on the gold‐alkyne bond has also been studied by dissociation in tandem mass spectrometry on four different alkynes. In an original approach, two successive ion‐molecule reactions within the mass spectrometer were used to measure the relative affinity of gold to an alkyne by exchange reactions. The result is that the more electron‐rich the alkyne, the stronger the gold‐alkyne bond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(P,C)-cyclometalated Au(III) complexes have shown remarkable ability to catalyze the intermolecular hydroarylation of alkynes. Evidence of an outer-sphere mechanism has been provided in a previous study and is confirmed here by analysing the experimental data and DFT calculations. In this work, we propose evaluation of critical energies of dissociation of Au(III) complexes with different substrates via energyresolved mass spectrometry (ERMS) experiments and kinetic modelling. The kinetic model is based on a multi-collisional approach. On the one hand, the classification confirms the mechanism previously proposed; on the other hand, it supports the collisional model and its application to particularly fragile adducts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of host molecules that feature well‐defined characteristics for molecular recognition of guest molecules is often a major aim of synthetic host–guest (H–G) chemistry. A key consideration in evaluating the selectivity of hosts and the affinities of guests is the measurement of binding energies of obtained H–G complexes. In contrast to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or fluorescence measurements that are capable of measuring binding strengths in solution, mass spectrometry offers the opportunity to measure gas‐phase binding energies. Presented in this article is a higher energy collision dissociation (HCD) approach for determining critical energies of dissociation of H–G complexes. Experiments were performed on electrospray ionization (ESI)‐generated H–G pairs in an LTQ‐XL/Orbitrap hybrid instrument. The presented HCD approach requires preliminary calibration of the internal energy distribution of generated ions that was achieved by the use of activation parameters that were known from previous low‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (low‐energy CID) experiments. Internal energy deposition was modeled based on a truncated Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution and characteristic temperature (Tchar). Using this method, critical energies of dissociation were determined for 10 H–G biologically relevant complexes of the heteroditopic hemicryptophane cage host (Host). Obtained results are compared with those found previously by low‐energy CID. The use of this HCD technique is relatively straightforward, although its implementation does require knowledge (or a presumption) about the Arrhenius pre‐exponential factor of the complexes to obtain their critical energies of dissociation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the direct introduction of biological samples into a high-resolution mass spectrometer, the LTQ-Orbitrap, as a fast tool for metabolomic studies. A proof of concept study was performed on yeast cell extracts that were introduced into the mass spectrometer by using flow injection analysis, with an acquisition time of 3 min. Typical mass spectra contained a few thousand m/z signals, 400 of which were found to be analytically relevant (i.e., their intensity was 3-fold higher than that of the background noise and they occurred in at least 60% of the acquisition profiles under identical experimental conditions). The method was validated by studies of the matrix effect, linearity, and intra-assay precision. Accurate mass measurements in the Orbitrap discriminated between isobaric ions and also indicated the elemental composition of the ions of interest with mass errors below 5 ppm, for identification purposes. The proposed structures were then assessed by MS' experiments via the linear ion trap, together with accurate mass determination of the product ions in the Orbitrap analyzer. When applied to the study of cadmium toxicity, the method was as effective as that initially developed by using LC/ESI-MS/ MS for a targeted approach. The same metabolic finger-prints were also subjected to multivariate statistical analyses. The results highlighted a reorganization of amino acid metabolism under cadmium conditions in order to increase the biosynthesis of glutathione.

Pyrolysis coupled to metastable atom bombardment (MAB) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) is used for generating mass spectra from bovine urine samples obtained from cattle treated with anabolic steroids. These spectra constitute fingerprints, which can be discriminated by multivariate statistical analysis. Four main conclusions can be drawn from this work: (i) The use of different metastable gases, such as Xe*, Kr*, or [N.sub.2]*, as an energy-tunable ionization beamline allows control of the internal energy and the dissociation processes of the produced odd electron molecular ions, thus giving rise to complementary mass spectra fingerprints. (ii) A variable transformation depending on the biofluid matrix suitably contracts the frequency distribution of the generated data for low m/z ratios holding information related to endogenous metabolites encountered in urine. (iii) Coupling variable selection to statistical pattern recognition methods results in low error rates (

Biotin synthase, enzyme which catalyzes the transformation of dethiobiotin (DTB) to biotin, has an absolute requirement for S-adenosylmethionine. It has been shown that AdoMet was not the sulfur donor and it could belong to the family of enzymes, namely, pyruvate formate-lyase, anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase and lysine 2,3-aminomutase, which employ AdoMet as a source of deoxyadenosyl radical. Investigations into this possibility showed the involvement of a deoxyadenosyl radical in the activation of the functionalized positions.

A library of eleven cationic gold(III) complexes of the general formula [(C C)Au(N N)]+ when C C is either biphenyl or 4,4'‐ditertbutyldiphenyl and N N is a bipyridine, phenanthroline or dipyridylamine derivative have been synthesized and characterized. Contrasting effects on the viability of the triple negative breast cancer cells MDA‐MB‐231 was observed from a preliminary screening. The antiproliferative activity of the seven most active complexes were further assayed on a larger panel of human cancer cells as well as on non‐cancerous cells for comparison. Two complexes stood out for being either highly active or highly selective. Eventually, reactivity studies with biologically meaningful amino acids, glutathione, higher order DNA structures and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) revealed a markedly different behavior from that of the well‐known coordinatively isomeric [(C N C)Au(NHC)]+ structure. This makes the [(C C)Au(N N)]+ complexes a new class of organogold compounds with an original mode of action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The transcription factor STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) is frequently activated in tumor cells. Activated STAT3 forms homodimers, or heterodimers with other TFs such as NF-κB, which becomes activated. Cytoplasmic STAT3 dimers are activated by tyrosine phosphorylation; they interact with importins via a nuclear localization signal (NLS) one of which is located within the DNA-binding domain formed by the dimer. In the nucleus, STAT3 regulates target gene expression by binding a consensus sequence within the promoter. STAT3-specific decoy oligonucleotides (STAT3-decoy ODN) that contain this consensus sequence inhibit the transcriptional activity of STAT3, leading to cell death; however, their mechanism of action is unclear. Results The mechanism of action of a STAT3-decoy ODN was analyzed in the colon carcinoma cell line SW 480. These cells' dependence on activated STAT3 was verified by showing that cell death is induced by STAT3-specific siRNAs or Stattic. STAT3-decoy ODN was shown to bind activated STAT3 within the cytoplasm, and to prevent its translocation to the nucleus, as well as that of STAT3-associated NF-κB, but it did not prevent the nuclear transfer of STAT3 with mutations in its DNA-binding domain. The complex formed by STAT3 and the STAT3-decoy ODN did not associate with importin, while STAT3 alone was found to co-immunoprecipitate with importin. Leptomycin B and vanadate both trap STAT3 in the nucleus. They were found here to oppose the cytoplasmic trapping of STAT3 by the STAT3-decoy ODN. Control decoys consisting of either a mutated STAT3-decoy ODN or a NF-κB-specific decoy ODN had no effect on STAT3 nuclear translocation. Finally, blockage of STAT3 nuclear transfer correlated with the induction of SW 480 cell death. Conclusions The inhibition of STAT3 by a STAT3-decoy ODN, leading to cell death, involves the entrapment of activated STAT3 dimers in the cytoplasm. A mechanism is suggested whereby this entrapment is due to STAT3-decoy ODN's inhibition of active STAT3/importin interaction. These observations point to the high potential of STAT3-decoy ODN as a reagent and to STAT3 nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling in tumor cells as a potential target for effective anti-cancer compounds.

Tandem mass spectrometry involves isolation of specific precursor ions and their subsequent excitation through collision‐, photon‐, or electron‐mediated activation techniques in order to induce unimolecular dissociation leading to formation of fragment ions. These powerful ion activation techniques, typically used in between mass selection and mass analysis steps for structural elucidation, have not only found a wide variety of analytical applications in chemistry and biology, but they have also been used to study the fundamental properties of ions in the gas phase. In this tutorial paper, a brief overview is presented of the theories that have been used to describe the activation of ions and their subsequent unimolecular dissociation. Acronyms of the presented techniques include CID, PQD, HCD, SORI, SID, BIRD, IRMPD, UVPD, EPD, ECD, EDD, ETD, and EID. The fundamental principles of these techniques are discussed in the context of their implementation on ultra‐high resolution tandem mass spectrometers. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Mass Spec Rev [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-energy collision induced dissociation (CID) (low-energy CID) approach that can determine both activation energy and activation entropy has been used to evaluate gas-phase binding energies of host-guest (H-G) complexes of a heteroditopic hemicryptophane cage host (Zn (II)@1) with a series of biologically relevant guests. In order to use this approach, preliminary calibration of the effective temperature of ions undergoing resonance excitation is required. This was accomplished by employing blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD) which allows direct measurement of activation parameters. Activation energies and pre-exponential factors were evaluated for more than 10 H-G complexes via the use of low-energy CID. The relatively long residence time of the ions inside the linear ion trap (maximum of 60 s) allowed the study of dissociations with rates below 1 s-1. This possibility, along with the large size of the investigated ions, ensures the fulfilment of rapid energy exchange (REX) conditions and, as a consequence, accurate application of the Arrhenius equation. Compared with the BIRD technique, low-energy CID allows access to higher effective temperatures, thereby permitting one to probe more endothermic decomposition pathways. Based on the measured activation parameters, guests bearing a phosphate (-OPO32-) functional group were found to bind more strongly with the encapsulating cage than those having a sulfonate (-SO³-) group; however, the latter ones make stronger bonds than those with a carboxylate (-CO2-) group. In addition, it was observed that the presence of trimethylammonium (-N(CH3)3+) or phenyl groups in the guest's structure improves the strength of H-G interactions. The use of this technique is very straightforward, and it does not require any instrumental modifications. Thus, it can be applied to other H-G chemistry studies where comparison of bond dissociation energies is of paramount importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ligand electronic effects in gold(i) chemistry have been evaluated by means of the experimental determination of M–CO bond dissociation energies for 16 [L–Au–CO]+ complexes, bearing L ligands widely used in gold catalysis. Energy-resolved analyses have been made using tandem mass spectrometry with collision-induced dissociation. Coupled with DFT calculations, this approach enables the quantification of ligand effects based on the LAu–CO bond strength. A further energy decomposition analysis gives access to detailed insights into this bond's characteristics. Whereas small differences are observed between phosphine- and phosphite-containing gold complexes, carbene ligands are shown to stabilize the gold-carbonyl bond much more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported by mass spectrometry experiments, DFT computations indicate that the lithium amide of a 3-aminopyrrolidine (lithium benzhydryl(1-benzylpyrrolidin-3-yl)amide, 1-Li) is protected, up to a certain limit, against hydrolysis when it is aggregated with a strongly polar partner such as LiCl, LiBr, or MeLi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox-labeled nucleotides are of increasing interest for the fabrication of next generation molecular tools and should meet requirements of being thermally stable, sensitive, and compatible with polymerase-mediated incorporation while also being electrochemically discriminable. The synthesis and characterization of Keggin and Dawson polyoxometalate-deoxynucleotide (POM-dNTP) bioconjugates linked through 7-deaza-modified purines is described. The modified POM-dNTPs were used for polymerase-based amplification of a DNA sequence specific for Yersinia pestis and the amplified DNA detected using an electrochemical DNA sensor. This highlights the potential of polyoxometalates as thermally stable, sensitive and polymerase-compatible redox labels for exploitation in bioanalytical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fujiwara hydroarylation of alkynes was reinvestigated using the addition of indole to methyl or ethyl phenylpropiolate catalyzed by Pd(OAc)2 as a model reaction. Reactions were monitored by both 1H NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS), and also through reactions carried out in the gas phase using MS/MS experiments. Contrary to the original suggestion for exclusive heteroarene activation, the data supports the coexistence of both heteroarene activation (C-H activation) and alkyne activation (Friedel-Crafts-type pathway). Under the reaction conditions used in this work, intermediates for both mechanisms were detected by NMR spectroscopy and MS, but alkyne activation seems to be predominant according to 1H NMR spectroscopic studies and theoretical predictions. Alkyne activation is promoted by the coordination of an electrophilic palladium species to the C-C triple bond, followed by nucleophilic attack of the heteroaryl counterpart. Two previously undetected equilibria in this reaction involving the vinylpalladium intermediates and the final products were also found to be critical to the stereoselectivity of the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SN1 alkylating agents activate the mismatch repair system leading to delayed G2/M cell cycle arrest and DNA repair with subsequent survival or cell death. STAT1, an anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic transcription factor is known to potentiate p53 and to affect DNA-damage cellular response. We studied whether STAT1 may modulate cell fate following activation of the mismatch repair system upon exposure to the alkylating agent N-methyl- N′-nitro- N-nitrosoguanidine ( MNNG). Using STAT1-proficient or -deficient cell lines, we found that STAT1 is required for: ( i) reduction in the extent of DNA lesions, ( ii) rapid phosphorylation of T68- CHK2 and of S15-p53, ( iii) progression through the G2/M checkpoint and ( iv) long-term survival following treatment with MNNG. Presence of STAT1 is critical for the formation of a p53- DNA complex comprising: STAT1, c-Abl and MLH1 following exposure to MNNG. Importantly, presence of STAT1 allows recruitment of c-Abl to p53- DNA complex and links c-Abl tyrosine kinase activity to MNNG-toxicity. Thus, our data highlight the important modulatory role of STAT1 in the signalling pathway activated by the mismatch repair system. This ability of STAT1 to favour resistance to MNNG indicates the targeting of STAT1 pathway as a therapeutic option for enhancing the efficacy of SN1 alkylating agent-based chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigations based on NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and DFT calculations shed light on the metallic species generated in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric [2+2+2] cycloaddition reaction between diynes and isocyanates with the chiral phosphate TRIP. The catalytic mixture comprising [{Rh(cod)Cl}2], 1,4-diphenylphosphinobutane (dppb), and Ag( S)-TRIP actually gives rise to two species, both having an effect on the stereoselectivity. One is a rhodium(I) complex in which TRIP is a weakly coordinating counterion, whereas the other is a bimetallic Rh/Ag complex in which TRIP is a strongly coordinating X-type ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioconjugation of polyoxometalates (POMs), which are inorganic metal oxido clusters, to DNA strands to obtain functional labeled DNA primers and their potential use in electrochemical detection have been investigated. Activated monooxoacylated polyoxotungstates [SiW11O39{Sn(CH2)2CO}]8− and [P2W17O61{Sn(CH2)2CO}]6− have been used to link to a 5′-NH2 terminated 21-mer DNA forward primer through amide coupling. The functionalized primer was characterized by using a battery of techniques, including electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, as well as IR and Raman spectroscopy. The functionality of the POM-labeled primers was demonstrated through hybridization with a surface-immobilized probe. Finally, the labeled primers were successfully used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the PCR products were characterized by using electrophoresis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cold THF and in the presence of LiCl, a lithium pyrrolidinylamide forms a 1:1 mixed aggregate, which is observed directly by ESI-MS. Gas-phase protonation of this species leads to selective transfer of H+ to the chlorine, suggesting that LiCl shields the amide nitrogen and prevents its direct protonation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproducibility among different types of excitation modes is a major bottleneck in the field of tandem mass spectrometry library development in metabolomics. In this study, we specifically evaluated the influence of collision voltage and activation time parameters on tandem mass spectrometry spectra for various excitation modes [collision-induced dissociation (CID), pulsed Q dissociation (PQD) and higher-energy collision dissociation (HCD)] of Orbitrap-based instruments. For this purpose, internal energy deposition was probed using an approach based on Rice-Rampserger-Kassel-Marcus modeling with three thermometer compounds of different degree of freedom (69, 228 and 420) and a thermal model. This model treats consecutively the activation and decomposition steps, and the survival precursor ion populations are characterized by truncated Maxwell-Boltzmann internal energy distributions. This study demonstrates that the activation time has a significant impact on MS/MS spectra using the CID and PQD modes. The proposed model seems suitable to describe the multiple collision regime in the PQD and HCD modes. Linear relationships between mean internal energy and collision voltage are shown for the latter modes and the three thermometer molecules. These results suggest that a calibration based on the collision voltage should provide reproducible for PQD, HCD to be compared with CID in tandem in space instruments. However, an important signal loss is observed in PQD excitation mode whatever the mass of the studied compounds, which may affect not only parent ions but also fragment ions depending on the fragmentation parameters. A calibration approach for the CID mode based on the variation of activation time parameter is more appropriate than one based on collision voltage. In fact, the activation time parameter in CID induces a modification of the collisional regime and thus helps control the orientation of the fragmentation pathways (competitive or consecutive dissociations). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of the Pauson-Khand reaction has been studied by mass spectrometry and it has been found, through ion-molecule reaction with 13CO, that the carbon monoxide incorporated into the product cyclopentenone is one that has been retained within the complex. Theoretical and kinetic calculations support this finding, which provides a complementary explanation for the effect of Pauson-Khand promoters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organophosphorus compounds have played important roles as pesticides, chemical warfare agents and extractors of radioactive material. Structural elucidation of phosphonates poses a particular challenge because their initial forms can be hydrolyzed, thus, degradation products may predominate in samples acquired in the field. The analysis of non-volatile organophosphorus compounds and their degradation products is possible using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry ESI-MS/MS. Here, we present a generic strategy that allows the unambiguous identification of substituents for two families of organophosphorus compounds: the phosphonates and phosphates. General fragmentation rules were deduced based on the study of decomposition pathways of 55 organophosphorus esters, including examples found in the literature. Multistage MS (MSn) experiments at high resolution in a hybrid mass spectrometer provide accurate mass measurements, whereas collision-induced dissociation experiments in a triple quadrupole give access to small fragment ions. The creation of a specific nomenclature for each possible structure of organophosphorus compound, depending on the alkyl side chain linked to the oxygen, was achieved by applying these fragmentation rules. This led to the creation of an 'identification tree' based upon the unique consecutive decomposition pathways uncovered for each individual compound. Hence, seven structural motifs were created that orient an unequivocal identification using the 'identification tree'. Despite the similar structures of the ensemble of phosphate and phosphonate esters, distinct identifications based upon characteristic neutral losses and diagnostic fragment ions were possible in all cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of the ion internal energy in mass spectrometry is needed to establish a workable mass spectral library. The purpose of this study is to understand and to compare the pressure effects on the collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectrum pattern recorded using triple quadrupole instruments. The monoprotonated Leucine enkephalin [YGGFL, H+] was used as a thermometer molecule to calibrate the electrospray ionization (ESI) and the CID internal energies deposited on the molecular species and the time scale of ion decompositions. The survival yield and the ratio of a4/b4 fragment ions were mainly monitored. The energy uptake for the ESI source geometry used in our study has no impact on the CID spectrum fingerprint. The collision cell pressure for the [YGGFL, H+] has a major influence on the SY curves slope and on the experimental time scale. To demonstrate the pressure effect on internal energy distribution, three models (threshold, thermal and collisional) based on RRKM theory were built using the Masskinetics software. As a result, the limit of each model is discussed, and the investigation demonstrates that the thermal model, using truncated Maxwell-Boltzmann internal energy distribution, is well-suited for simulating the experimental data at high pressure widely used in the analytical conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azaphilones represent numerous groups of wild fungal secondary metabolites that exhibit exceptional tendency to bind to nitrogen atoms in various molecules, especially those containing the amine group. Nitrogenized analogues of mitorubrin azaphilones, natural secondary metabolites of Hypoxylon fragiforme fungus, have been detected in the fungal methanol extract in very low concentrations. Positive electrospray ionization interfaced with high-resolution mass spectrometry was applied for confirmation of the elemental composition of protonated species. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments have been performed, and fragmentation mechanisms have been proposed. Additional information regarding both secondary metabolite analogue families has been reached by application of gas-phase proton/deuterium (H/D) exchanges performed in the collision cell of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. An incomplete H/D exchange with one proton less than expected was observed for both protonated mitorubrin azaphilones and their nitrogenized analogues. By means of the density functional theory, an appropriate explanation of this behavior was provided, and it revealed some information concerning gas-phase H/D exchange mechanism and protonation sites. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transcription factor STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) is frequently activated in tumor cells. Activated STAT3 forms homodimers, or heterodimers with other TFs such as NF-κB, which becomes activated. Cytoplasmic STAT3 dimers are activated by tyrosine phosphorylation; they interact with importins via a nuclear localization signal (NLS) one of which is located within the DNA-binding domain formed by the dimer. In the nucleus, STAT3 regulates target gene expression by binding a consensus sequence within the promoter. STAT3-specific decoy oligonucleotides (STAT3-decoy ODN) that contain this consensus sequence inhibit the transcriptional activity of STAT3, leading to cell death; however, their mechanism of action is unclear. Results: The mechanism of action of a STAT3-decoy ODN was analyzed in the colon carcinoma cell line SW 480. These cells' dependence on activated STAT3 was verified by showing that cell death is induced by STAT3-specific siRNAs or Stattic. STAT3-decoy ODN was shown to bind activated STAT3 within the cytoplasm, and to prevent its translocation to the nucleus, as well as that of STAT3-associated NF-κB, but it did not prevent the nuclear transfer of STAT3 with mutations in its DNA-binding domain. The complex formed by STAT3 and the STAT3-decoy ODN did not associate with importin, while STAT3 alone was found to co-immunoprecipitate with importin. Leptomycin B and vanadate both trap STAT3 in the nucleus. They were found here to oppose the cytoplasmic trapping of STAT3 by the STAT3-decoy ODN. Control decoys consisting of either a mutated STAT3-decoy ODN or a NF-κBspecific decoy ODN had no effect on STAT3 nuclear translocation. Finally, blockage of STAT3 nuclear transfer correlated with the induction of SW 480 cell death. Conclusions: The inhibition of STAT3 by a STAT3-decoy ODN, leading to cell death, involves the entrapment of activated STAT3 dimers in the cytoplasm. A mechanism is suggested whereby this entrapment is due to STAT3- decoy ODN's inhibition of active STAT3/importin interaction. These observations point to the high potential of STAT3-decoy ODN as a reagent and to STAT3 nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling in tumor cells as a potential target for effective anti-cancer compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cyclopropanation of unsaturated lipids is an intriguing enzymatic reaction and a potential therapeutic target in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Cyclopropane fatty acid synthase from Escherichia coli is the only in vitro model available to date for mechanistic and inhibition studies. While the overall reaction mechanism of this enzymatic process is now well accepted, some mechanistic issues are still debated. Using homogeneous E. coli enzyme we have shown that, contrary to previous report based on in vivo experiments, there is no exchange of the cylopropane methylene protons with the solvent during catalysis, as probed by ultra high resolution mass spectrometry. Using [methyl-14C]-labeled and [methyl- 3H3]-S-adenosyl-l-methionine we have measured a significant intermolecular primary tritium kinetic isotope effect (T V/Kapp =1.8±0.1) consistent with a partially rate determining deprotonation step. We conclude that both chemical steps of this enzymatic cyclopropanation, the methyl addition onto the double bond and the deprotonation step, are rate determining, a common situation in efficient enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) convey signals from the membrane to the nucleus in response to cytokines or growth factors. STAT3 is activated in response to cytokines involved mostly in cell proliferation; STAT1 is activated by cytokines, including interferon-γ, involved in defence against pathogens and the inhibition of cell proliferation. STAT3, which is frequently activated in tumour cells, is a valuable target with respect to achieving inhibition of tumour cell proliferation. Indeed, its inhibition results in cell death. We previously observed that inhibition of the transcription factor nuclear factor-κB, a key regulator of cell proliferation, with decoy oligodeoxynucleotides results in cell death. We used a similar approach for STAT3. A hairpin STAT3 oligodeoxynucleotide was added to a colon carcinoma cell line in which it induced cell death as efficiently as the STAT3 inhibitor stattic. The hairpin STAT3 oligodeoxynucleotide co-localized with STAT3 within the cytoplasm, prevented STAT3 localization to the nucleus, blocked a cyclin D1 reporter promoter and associated with STAT3 in pull-down assays. However, the same cells were efficiently killed by interferon-γ. This effect was counteracted by the STAT3 oligodeoxynucleotide, which was found to efficiently inhibit STAT1. Thus, although it can inhibit STAT3, the hairpin STAT3 oligodeoxynucleotide appears also to inhibit STAT1-mediated interferon-γ cell killing, highlighting the need to optimize STAT3-targeting oligodeoxynucleotides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and stereochemistry of four sesquiterpene lactones, budlein A (1), zaluzanin A (2), and glaucolides D (3a) and E (3b), isolated from Mexican Asteraceae species, for which only partial NMR data could be found in the literature, were determined. A combination of 1D and 2D high-resolution NMR experiments, such as DEPT, COSY, NOESY, ROESY, HMQC, HSQC, and HMBC, were used to completely assign the 1H and 13C spectra. The crystal structures of zaluzanin A (2) and glaucolide E (3b) were also determined. Glaucolides D and E have been previously reported to relax KCl-induced contraction in rat uterine smooth muscle; therefore, the effects of zaluzanin A and budlein A were examined in the same model. It was found that both compounds can relax contraction induced by KCl, but only zaluzanin A induced relaxation when contraction was induced with oxytocin. The preliminary biological test results according to these profiles are reported in this paper.Key words: NMR data, X-ray data, sesquiterpene lactones, Mexican Asteraceae, smooth muscle relaxant. On a déterminé la structure et la stéréochimie de quatre lactones sesquiterpéniques, la budléine A (1), la zaluzanine A (2), et les glaucolides D (3a) et E (3b), isolées d’espèces mexicaines d’Asteraceae, pour lesquelles seulement des données de RMN partielles ont pu être trouvées dans la littérature. On a utilisé une combinaison d’expériences de RMN à haute résolution 1D et 2D, telles que DEPT, COSY, NOESY, ROESY, HMQC, HSQC et HMBC, pour assigner complètement les spectres de 1H et 13C. On a aussi déterminé la structure cristalline de la zaluzanine A (2) et du glaucolide E (3b). Précédemment, on avait rapporté que les glaucolides D et E relaxent la contraction induite par le KCl dans le muscle utérin lisse de rate; en conséquence, on a examiné les effets de la zaluzanine A et de la budléine A dans le même modèle. On a trouvé que les deux composés peuvent relaxer la contraction induite par le KCl, mais que seule la zaluzanine A induit la relaxation quand la contraction est induite avec l’ocytocine. On présente les résultats préliminaires des tests biologiques appropriés dans cet article.Mots-clés : données de RMN, données de rayons-X, lactones sesquiterpéniques, Asteraceae du Mexique, relaxant du muscle lisse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]