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Abstract The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for viral function and a key drug target. Mpro is only active when reduced; turnover ceases upon oxidation but is restored by re-reduction. This suggests the system has evolved to survive periods in an oxidative environment, but the mechanism of this protection has not been confirmed. Here, we report a crystal structure of oxidized Mpro showing a disulfide bond between the active site cysteine, C145, and a distal cysteine, C117. Previous work proposed this disulfide provides the mechanism of protection from irreversible oxidation. Mpro forms an obligate homodimer, and the C117-C145 structure shows disruption of interactions bridging the dimer interface, implying a correlation between oxidation and dimerization. We confirm dimer stability is weakened in solution upon oxidation. Finally, we observe the protein’s crystallization behavior is linked to its redox state. Oxidized Mpro spontaneously forms a distinct, more loosely packed lattice. Seeding with crystals of this lattice yields a structure with an oxidation pattern incorporating one cysteine-lysine-cysteine (SONOS) and two lysine-cysteine (NOS) bridges. These structures further our understanding of the oxidative regulation of Mpro and the crystallization conditions necessary to study this structurally.

Introduction. Evaluation of the content of impurities is the most important step in confirming the safety and efficacy in the quality control of the medicinal product. Aluminum, being an acceptable impurity in a number of pharmaceutical substances, can adversely affect the human body, as a result of which its content is normalized. The admixture of aluminum in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation XV is determined by the spectrofluorimetric method using the ligand – 8-hydroxyquinoline in chloroform. In the present work, it is proposed to replace 8-hydroxyquinoline with the more accessible rutin, which also forms fluorescent complexes with metals. This approach involves the exclusion of the stage of extraction of the aluminum complex into chloroform from sample preparation, which improves the accuracy of the technique, and the replacement of chloroform has a positive effect on safety.Aim. To create an alternative approach for the spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminum impurities using rutin and "potassium chloride" as an active pharmaceutical ingredient.Materials and methods. The following substances and reagents were used as research materials: CRS of aluminum ion 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), CRS of iron ion (II) 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), CRS of zinc ion 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), CRS of lead-ion 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), CRS nickel-ion 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), CRS copper-ion 1 mg/ml (LLC "EKROSHIM", Russia), chromium (III) cation standard 1 mg/ml (imp., Sigma-Aldrich, USA) rutin (imp., Sichuan Guangsong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., China), ammonium acetic acid (imp., Molekula GmbH, Germany), glacial acetic acid (chemically pure, JSC "Base No. 1 Himreaktivov", Russia), potassium chloride (pharmaceutical substance, LLC "MZHR", Russia). The spectrofluorimetric study was carried out on an FL 6500 instrument (PerkinElmer Inc., USA). The aluminum impurity content was also evaluated using an Optima 8000 inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP AES) (PerkinElmer Inc., USA) and a Multi-Element Solution standard sample (PerkinElmer Inc., USA).Results and discussion. The approach given in the article eliminates the use of 8-hydroxyquinoline in chloroform and replaces it with rutin in 70 % ethyl alcohol. The aluminum-rutin complex has an excitation wavelength at 445 nm and an emission wavelength at 565 nm. The proposed method was tested on the substance "Potassium chloride" to assess the indicator "Aluminum", the content of which should not exceed 0.0001 %. Method validation was carried out according to three parameters "Specificity", "Linearity" and "Limit of detection". Comparison of the data obtained was carried out using atomic emission spectroscopy, during which the relevance of the technique was proved.Conclusion. An ergonomic approach has been developed for the spectrofluorimetric determination of aluminum impurities using rutin with approbation on the substance "Potassium chloride". The results obtained during the experiment were confirmed by the ICP AES method.

Serial crystallography (SX) has become an established technique for protein structure determination, especially when dealing with small or radiation-sensitive crystals and investigating fast or irreversible protein dynamics. The advent of newly developed multi-megapixel X-ray area detectors, capable of capturing over 1000 images per second, has brought about substantial benefits. However, this advancement also entails a notable increase in the volume of collected data. Today, up to 2 PB of data per experiment could be easily obtained under efficient operating conditions. The combined costs associated with storing data from multiple experiments provide a compelling incentive to develop strategies that effectively reduce the amount of data stored on disk while maintaining the quality of scientific outcomes. Lossless data-compression methods are designed to preserve the information content of the data but often struggle to achieve a high compression ratio when applied to experimental data that contain noise. Conversely, lossy compression methods offer the potential to greatly reduce the data volume. Nonetheless, it is vital to thoroughly assess the impact of data quality and scientific outcomes when employing lossy compression, as it inherently involves discarding information. The evaluation of lossy compression effects on data requires proper data quality metrics. In our research, we assess various approaches for both lossless and lossy compression techniques applied to SX data, and equally importantly, we describe metrics suitable for evaluating SX data quality.

Acclimation through the hormesis effect increases the plasticity of organisms, which has been shown for many ectothermic animals, including fish. We investigated the effect of temperature acclimation in Baikal whitefish Coregonus baicalensis (Dybowski, 1874). Telomere length, telomerase activity, and the expression of genes, whose products are involved in the regulation of telomere length and defense against reactive oxygen species, were selected to assess the state of the larvae. Acclimation and acute temperature stress (+12 °C) had no effect on telomere length, but altered telomerase activity (acclimation decreased it; stress increased it) and the levels of genes expression. Under stress, the expression of superoxide dismutase genes was increased in acclimated larvae and that of glutathione peroxidases in non-acclimated larvae, which may indicate lower reactive oxygen species formation and slower antioxidant responses in acclimated fish. The expression of some telomere-related genes was reduced under temperature stress, but the expression of the tzap and smg genes, whose products improve the control of telomere length by preventing them from lengthening or shortening, was increased in acclimated individuals. The data obtained indicate a positive effect of acclimation on the state of the Baikal whitefish larvae by remodulation of their telomerase activity and the transcriptional profile.

The novel antiparkinsonian agent PA-96 is the focus of our research. PA-96 supported the survival of cultured naïve dopamine neurons, alleviated motor deficits in MPTP and haloperidol-based mice models of Parkinson’s disease, and increased the density of tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons and dopamine concentration in the midbrain of an MPTP-damaged brain. In this work, an HPLC–MS/MS method was developed and validated, and the pharmacokinetics of the agent was investigated in mice after a single or multiple oral administration (p.o.) and intravenous injection (i.v.) at various doses. The dose proportionality was also evaluated after a single p.o. administration of three ascending doses (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) and a single i.v. injection of two doses (1 and 10 mg/kg); also, the bioavailability was estimated. The disproportionality of pharmacokinetic parameters could be explained by the saturation of active centres of enzymes or receptors binding the substance: at low doses, part of the compound is bound, leaving a small amount circulating in blood, and rapidly metabolised and/or bound too. The bioavailability of PA-96 was c.a. 7 and 35% for the doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg, correspondingly.

Highly resistant to reduction nitroxides open new opportunities for structural studies of biological macromolecules in their native environment inside living cells and for functional imaging of pH and thiols, enzymatic activity and redox status in living animals. 3,4-Disubstituted nitroxides of 2,2,5,5-tetraethylpyrrolidine and pyrroline series with a functional group for binding to biomolecules and a polar moiety for higher solubility in water and for more rigid attachment via additional coordination to polar sites were designed and synthesized. The EPR spectra, lipophilicities, kinetics of the reduction in ascorbate-containing systems and the decay rates in liver homogenates were measured. The EPR spectra of all 3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidine nitroxides showed additional large splitting on methylene hydrogens of the ethyl groups, while the spectra of similar pyrroline nitroxides were represented with a simple triplet with narrow lines and hyperfine structure of the nitrogen manifolds resolved in oxygen-free conditions. Both pyrrolidine and pyrroline nitroxides demonstrated low rates of reduction with ascorbate, pyrrolidines being a bit more stable than similar pyrrolines. The decay of positively charged nitroxides in the rat liver homogenate was faster than that of neutral and negatively charged radicals, with lipophilicity, rate of reduction with ascorbate and the ring type playing minor role. The EPR spectra of N,N-dimethyl-3,4-bis-(aminomethyl)-2,2,5,5-tetraethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl showed dependence on pH with pKa = 3, ΔaN = 0.055 mT and ΔaH = 0.075 mT.

Simple Summary: Temperature acclimation enables animals, especially aquatic ones, to safely survive climate fluctuations in the natural environment. The aim of our work was to study how temperature acclimation in aquaculture affects cold-water Baikal whitefish at the embryonic stage and their well-being during a heat shock (24 °C). Selected molecular markers (telomere length, telomerase activity, and expression of target genes) showed that acclimation at the early developmental stages has a positive effect on the Baikal whitefish larvae and allows them to tolerate acute temperature stress without the harmful consequences. The data obtained will improve the survival of fish and increase their plasticity under aquaculture conditions. Acclimation through the hormesis effect increases the plasticity of organisms, which has been shown for many ectothermic animals, including fish. We investigated the effect of temperature acclimation in Baikal whitefish Coregonus baicalensis (Dybowski, 1874). Telomere length, telomerase activity, and the expression of genes, whose products are involved in the regulation of telomere length and defense against reactive oxygen species, were selected to assess the state of the larvae. Acclimation and acute temperature stress (+12 °C) had no effect on telomere length, but altered telomerase activity (acclimation decreased it; stress increased it) and the levels of genes expression. Under stress, the expression of superoxide dismutase genes was increased in acclimated larvae and that of glutathione peroxidases in non-acclimated larvae, which may indicate lower reactive oxygen species formation and slower antioxidant responses in acclimated fish. The expression of some telomere-related genes was reduced under temperature stress, but the expression of the tzap and smg genes, whose products improve the control of telomere length by preventing them from lengthening or shortening, was increased in acclimated individuals. The data obtained indicate a positive effect of acclimation on the state of the Baikal whitefish larvae by remodulation of their telomerase activity and the transcriptional profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel antiparkinsonian agent PA-96 is the focus of our research. PA-96 supported the survival of cultured naïve dopamine neurons, alleviated motor deficits in MPTP and haloperidol-based mice models of Parkinson's disease, and increased the density of tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons and dopamine concentration in the midbrain of an MPTP-damaged brain. In this work, an HPLC–MS/MS method was developed and validated, and the pharmacokinetics of the agent was investigated in mice after a single or multiple oral administration (p.o.) and intravenous injection (i.v.) at various doses. The dose proportionality was also evaluated after a single p.o. administration of three ascending doses (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) and a single i.v. injection of two doses (1 and 10 mg/kg); also, the bioavailability was estimated. The disproportionality of pharmacokinetic parameters could be explained by the saturation of active centres of enzymes or receptors binding the substance: at low doses, part of the compound is bound, leaving a small amount circulating in blood, and rapidly metabolised and/or bound too. The bioavailability of PA-96 was c.a. 7 and 35% for the doses of 5 and 10 mg/kg, correspondingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for targeted structural modification of the methyl ester of phlomisoic acid was developed by introduction of an additional C-16 ketopyrazole moiety via cyclocondensation of diterpenoid alkyne-1,2- diones with arylhydrazines. The conditions for regioselective formation of labdanoid 1,3-diarylpyrazol-5- ylmethanones were found. The possibility of a sequential four-component reaction in a single pot was demonstrated. Significant analgesic activity of labdanoid-substituted diarylpyrazoles in thermal and chemical irritation models was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various N-containing 18-norlabdanoids were synthesized via reactions of 18-nor-4-amino-15,16-epoxy-8(17),13(16),14-labdatriene with methyl iodide, aromatic aldehydes, acetic and trifluoroacetic acid anhydrides, benzoyl chloride, sulfonyl chlorides, bromoacetic acid chloride, and methyl bromoacetate and condensation with azidobenzoic acids. The cytotoxic activity (MTT assay) against MCF7, HepG2, and HeLa tumor cell lines was shown to increase significantly if the lambertianic acid carboxylic group was replaced by an amine. Subsequent modification of the N-containing substituent by addition of an N′-substituted glycylamide moiety altered the cytotoxicity and selectivity. The synthesized compounds had the greatest effect on the viability of MCF7 cell line. The IC50 value for the most active compound was 8 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main protease (M pro ) of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for viral function and a key drug target. M pro is only active when reduced; turnover ceases upon oxidation but is restored by re-reduction. This suggests the system has evolved to survive periods in an oxidative environment, but the mechanism of this protection has not been confirmed. Here, we report a crystal structure of oxidized M pro showing a disulfide bond between the active site cysteine, C145, and a distal cysteine, C117. Previous work proposed this disulfide provides the mechanism of protection from irreversible oxidation. M pro forms an obligate homodimer, and the C117-C145 structure shows disruption of interactions bridging the dimer interface, implying a correlation between oxidation and dimerization. We confirm dimer stability is weakened in solution upon oxidation. Finally, we observe the protein's crystallization behavior is linked to its redox state. Oxidized M pro spontaneously forms a distinct, more loosely packed lattice. Seeding with crystals of this lattice yields a structure with an oxidation pattern incorporating one cysteine-lysine-cysteine (SONOS) and two lysine-cysteine (NOS) bridges. These structures further our understanding of the oxidative regulation of M pro and the crystallization conditions necessary to study this structurally., (© 2024. The Author(s).)