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Carnosine is an endogenous dipeptide whose oral administration has been found to prevent several oxidative based diseases including lung disease, type 2 diabetes and its micro and macrovascular complications, cardiovascular disorders, neurodegenerative and kidney disease. While it is generally accepted that the beneficial effects of carnosine are due to its antioxidant, anti-advanced glycation end product (AGE) and -advanced lipoxidation end product (ALE) and anti-inflammatory properties, the molecular mechanisms explaining such effects have not yet been clearly defined. Studies indicate that carnosine acts by a direct antioxidant mechanism and by sequestering reactive carbonyls (RCS), the byproducts of lipid and glucose oxidation, thus inhibiting AGE and ALE which are the reaction products of RCS with proteins. Moreover, carnosine has also been found to act indirectly by activating the Nrf2 transcription factor, a mechanism that would explain many of the effects evoked by this peptide such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiglycation and anti-carbonyl effects and taken together would explain its therapeutic effect. The present review reports and discusses the most recent studies on the molecular mechanisms of carnosine which need to be fully clarified before promoting carnosine and derivatives as therapeutic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] AGEs of β2-m were identified and characterized in in vitro conditions. [•] Carboxymethyl, carboxyethyl and methyl-imidazolinone Arg3 were identified in β2-m isolated from the urine of uremic subjects. [•] AGEs content of urinary β2-m were found to range from 0.2 to 1% in uremic subjects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work we present for the first time the use of ion-exchange liquid chromatography to separate the native form and a partially structured intermediate of the folding of the amyloidogenic protein beta2-microglobulin. Using a strong anion-exchange column that accounts for the differences in charge exposure of the two conformers, a LC–UV method is initially optimised in terms of mobile phase pH, composition and temperature. The preferred mobile phase conditions that afford useful information were found to be 35mM ammonium formate, pH 7.4 at 25°C. The dynamic equilibrium of the two species is demonstrated upon increasing the concentration of acetonitrile in the protein sample. Then, the chromatographic method is transferred to MS detection and the respective charge state distributions of the separated conformers are identified. The LC–MS results demonstrate that one of the conformers is partially unfolded, compared with the native and more compact species. The correspondence with previous results obtained in free solution by capillary electrophoresis suggest that strong ion exchange LC–MS does not alter beta2-microglobulin conformation and maintains the dynamic equilibrium already observed between the native protein and its folding intermediate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The challenging search of ligands for the amyloidogenic protein β2-microglobulin led us to set up an integrated strategy that combines analytical techniques and molecular modelling. Using a chemical library composed of 90 sulphonated molecules and a novel MS screening approach, we initially single out a few new binders. To check for anti-amyloid activity, the best hit obtained was thoroughly studied by docking analysis, affinity and refolding experiments by capillary electrophoresis and in vitro fibrillogenesis Thioflavin T test. Correlative analysis of the overall results obtained from the MS screening led to develop an equation able to identify the key factors of the affinity for β2-microglobulin and to predict the affinity for novel derivatives. The proposed equation was then used for a virtual screening of a large compound database. Studies on the new hit thus retrieved confirm the predictive potential of both the equation on affinity and of docking analysis on anti-amyloid activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The in vitro metabolic stability of histidine-dipeptides (HD), carnosine (CAR) and anserine (ANS), in human serum, and their absorption kinetics after ingesting pure carnosine or HD rich foods in humans have been investigated. Healthy women ( n = 4) went through four phases of taking one dose of either 450 mg of pure carnosine, 150 g beef (B), 150 g chicken (C), or chicken broth (CB) from 150 g chicken with a >2-week washout period between each phase. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, 100, 180, 240, and 300 min, and urine samples before and after (up to 7 h) ingesting pure carnosine or food. Both plasma and urine samples were analyzed for HD concentrations using a sensitive and selective LC–ESI-MS/MS method. CAR was undetectable in plasma after ingesting pure carnosine, B, C or CB. By contrast, plasma ANS concentration was significantly increased ( P < 0.05) after ingesting C or CB, respectively. Urinary concentrations of both CAR and ANS were 13- to 14-fold increased after ingesting B, and 14.8- and 243-fold after CB ingestion, respectively. Thus, dietary HD, which are rapidly hydrolyzed by carnosinase in plasma, and excreted in urine, may act as reactive carbonyl species sequestering agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the profiles and immunnoreactivity of proteins from human peripheral nerve (HPN) tissue, the main pathological target of Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS), and from Campylobacter (C) jejuni, as the most often causative agent for GBS.

Abstract: The aim of this work was to establish an analytical method for identifying the botanical origin of honey, as an alternative to conventional melissopalynological, organoleptic and instrumental methods (gas-chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS), high-performance liquid chromatography HPLC). The procedure is based on the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) profile coupled, when necessary, with electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and two-dimensional NMR analyses of solid-phase extraction (SPE)-purified honey samples, followed by chemometric analyses. Extracts of 44 commercial Italian honeys from 20 different botanical sources were analyzed. Honeydew, chestnut and linden honeys showed constant, specific, well-resolved resonances, suitable for use as markers of origin. Honeydew honey contained the typical resonances of an aliphatic component, very likely deriving from the plant phloem sap or excreted into it by sap-sucking aphids. Chestnut honey contained the typical signals of kynurenic acid and some structurally related metabolite. In linden honey the 1H NMR profile gave strong signals attributable to the mono-terpene derivative cyclohexa-1,3-diene-1-carboxylic acid (CDCA) and to its 1-O-β-gentiobiosyl ester (CDCA-GBE). These markers were not detectable in the other honeys, except for the less common nectar honey from rosa mosqueta. We compared and analyzed the data by multivariate techniques. Principal component analysis found different clusters of honeys based on the presence of these specific markers. The results, although obviously only preliminary, suggest that the 1H NMR profile (with HPLC–MS analysis when necessary) can be used as a reference framework for identifying the botanical origin of honey. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)-m) is a protein responsible for a severe complication of long-term hemodialysis, known as dialysis-related amyloidosis, in which initial beta(2)-m misfolding leads to amyloid fibril deposition, mainly in the skeletal tissue. Whereas much attention is paid to understanding the complex mechanism of amyloid formation, the evaluation of small molecules that may bind beta(2)-m and possibly inhibit the aggregation process is still largely unexplored mainly because the protein lacks a specific active site. Based on our previous findings, we selected a pilot set of sulfonated molecules that are known to either bind or not to the protein, including binders that are anti-amyloidogenic. We show how a complementary approach, using high-resolution mass spectrometry and in silico studies, can offer rapid and precise information on affinity, as well as insight into the structural requisites that favour or disfavour the inhibitory activity. Overall, this approach can be used for predictive purposes and for a rapid screening of fibrillogenesis inhibitors.

Histidine-containing oligopeptides are currently studied as detoxifying agents against cytotoxic alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes (prototype: 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, HNE), electrophilic end products formed by decomposition of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, associated with severe pathologies such as diabetes, nephropathy, retinopathy, and neurodegenerative diseases. This study evaluated the quenching reaction against HNE of the endogenous tripeptide l-glycyl- l-histidyl- l-lysine (GHK), an oligopeptide discovered to be a growth-modulating factor and also a strong activator of wound healing. We first evaluated the HNE consumption (50 microM, HPLC-UVDAD method) in the presence of GHK (1 mM) in physiomimetic conditions (phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) and confirmed GHK/HNE adduct formation by mass spectrometric analysis (ESI-MS/MS) and (1)H NMR analyses. These results indicated that GHK was an effective quencher of HNE, although significantly less potent than the reference compound carnosine, and that HNE modulation by GHK can contribute to the satisfactory outcome of the wound-healing process. In the second part of the study, we investigated the quenching reaction between GHK and HNE, in parallel to carnosine, using (1)H NMR and computational analyses. At a mechanistic level, this explained the different reactivity of the two peptides: (i) The greater stability of the macrocyclic intermediate HNE/carnosine was compared to HNE/GHK. (ii) GHK in solution has a quasi-folded conformation due to the interaction of four intramolecular hydrogen bonds, three of which need to be broken for the transition state to form (energy barrier, approximately 20 kcal/mol). By contrast, carnosine, with an extended conformation and only one hydrogen bond, requires less energy to reach the transition state ( approximately 7 kcal/mol). (iii) The different stereoelectronic features of the transition state lead to the intramolecular Michael reaction, that is, the favorable superimposition of carnosine highest occupied molecular orbital and the HNE lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, in relation to the unfavorable orbital configuration of GHK. The overall findings provide interesting and useful insights into the mechanisms of interaction of both GHK and carnosine with HNE and illustrate the utility of computational studies for defining the (optimal) chemical and structural parameters for an optimal quenching of alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes.