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In oxygen-evolving photosystem II (PSII), the multi-phasic electron transfer from a redox-active tyrosine residue (TyrZ) to a chlorophyll cation radical (P680 + ) precedes the water-oxidation chemistry of the S-state cycle of the Mn 4 Ca cluster. Here we investigate these early events, observable within about 10 ns to 10 ms after laser-flash excitation, by time-resolved single-frequency infrared (IR) spectroscopy in the spectral range of 1310-1890 cm -1 for oxygen-evolving PSII membrane particles from spinach. Comparing the IR difference spectra at 80 ns, 500 ns, and 10 µs allowed for the identification of quinone, P680 and TyrZ contributions. A broad electronic absorption band assignable P680 + was used to trace largely specifically the P680 + reduction kinetics. The experimental time resolution was taken into account in least-square fits of P680 + transients with a sum of four exponentials, revealing two nanosecond phases (30-46 ns and 690-1110 ns) and two microsecond phases (4.5-8.3 µs and 42 µs), which mostly exhibit a clear S-state dependence, in agreement with results obtained by other methods. Our investigation paves the road for further insight in the early events associated with TyrZ oxidation and their role in the preparing the PSII donor side for the subsequent water oxidation chemistry., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a key xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme involved in the clearance of many drugs. Genetic polymorphisms in CYP2D6 contribute to the large inter-individual variability in drug metabolism and could affect metabolic phenotyping of CYP2D6 probe substances such as dextromethorphan (DXM). To study this question, we (i) established an extensive pharmacokinetics dataset for DXM; and (ii) developed and validated a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of DXM and its metabolites dextrorphan (DXO) and dextrorphan O-glucuronide (DXO-Glu) based on the data. Drug-gene interactions (DGI) were introduced by accounting for changes in CYP2D6 enzyme kinetics depending on activity score (AS), which in combination with AS for individual polymorphisms allowed us to model CYP2D6 gene variants. Variability in CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 activity was modeled based on in vitro data from human liver microsomes. Model predictions are in very good agreement with pharmacokinetics data for CYP2D6 polymorphisms, CYP2D6 activity as described by the AS system, and CYP2D6 metabolic phenotypes (UM, EM, IM, PM). The model was applied to investigate the genotype-phenotype association and the role of CYP2D6 polymorphisms for metabolic phenotyping using the urinary cumulative metabolic ratio (UCMR), DXM/(DXO + DXO-Glu). The effect of parameters on UCMR was studied via sensitivity analysis. Model predictions indicate very good robustness against the intervention protocol (i.e. application form, dosing amount, dissolution rate, and sampling time) and good robustness against physiological variation. The model is capable of estimating the UCMR dispersion within and across populations depending on activity scores. Moreover, the distribution of UCMR and the risk of genotype-phenotype mismatch could be estimated for populations with known CYP2D6 genotype frequencies. The model can be applied for individual prediction of UCMR and metabolic phenotype based on CYP2D6 genotype. Both, model and database are freely available for reuse., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Grzegorzewski, Brandhorst and König.)

A multitude of pharmacokinetics studies have been published. However, due to the lack of an open database, pharmacokinetics data, as well as the corresponding meta-information, have been difficult to access. We present PK-DB (https://pk-db.com), an open database for pharmacokinetics information from clinical trials. PK-DB provides curated information on (i) characteristics of studied patient cohorts and subjects (e.g. age, bodyweight, smoking status, genetic variants); (ii) applied interventions (e.g. dosing, substance, route of application); (iii) pharmacokinetic parameters (e.g. clearance, half-life, area under the curve) and (iv) measured pharmacokinetic time-courses. Key features are the representation of experimental errors, the normalization of measurement units, annotation of information to biological ontologies, calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters from concentration-time profiles, a workflow for collaborative data curation, strong validation rules on the data, computational access via a REST API as well as human access via a web interface. PK-DB enables meta-analysis based on data from multiple studies and data integration with computational models. A special focus lies on meta-data relevant for individualized and stratified computational modeling with methods like physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK), pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD), or population pharmacokinetic (pop PK) modeling., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)

The procedures for the reconstitution, dilution and storage of BCG for intravesical use in superficial bladder cancer have not been previously analyzed. Package inserts in the FDA-approved BCG vaccines suggest instillation immediately after reconstitution but allow storage of diluted vaccines for as long as 2 hours prior to treatment. In this report, we examined the effect of storage of diluted BCG vaccines on the quality and antitumor activity of various BCG vaccine preparations. The data show a time-dependent aggregation of BCG after reconstitution. All vaccine preparations tested, including Connaught, Institute Armand Frappier, Japanese, Pasteur, RIVM, and Tice, aggregated after reconstitution and dilution. Visible aggregation was reduced by elimination of the liquid/gas interface. Aggregation appeared to have no effect on colony forming unit counts but adversely affected antitumor activity. We conclude that for optimal results, BCG vaccines should be reconstituted and diluted immediately prior to instillation.

Agarose microdroplet leukocyte migration inhibition (LMI) assays were performed to measure reactivity against line 10 hepatocarcinoma antigens and purified protein derivative (PPD) with the use of peripheral blood leukocytes from line 10 and/or BCG-sensitized syngeneic guinea pigs. The assay was quite sensitive and detected leukocyte migration inhibition with concentrations as low as 12.6 ng protein/ml of the crude sonicate of the line 10 tumor and 0.1 pg PPD. Specificity was shown by lack of reactivity in leukocytes of line 10 and/or BCG-sensitized animals with antigen preparations of L2C leukemia cells or normal syngeneic liver. Furthermore, leukocytes from normal control guinea pigs failed to react with any antigen. The results also suggested antigen cross-reactivity between line 10 tumor and BCG. Leukocytes from guinea pigs sensitized to only BCG became LMI reactive to the line 10 sonicate as well as PPD. No reactivity was observed with leukocytes of the animals in simultaneous tests with a sonicate of guinea pig L2C leukemia cells. The results demonstrated the usefulness of this microassay in detection of LMI reactivity with low antigen concentrations and small volumes of whole blood.

We present a simple method for the recovery of lymphocytes from guinea pig peripheral blood by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation using Ficoll-metrizoate solutions. This technique is formulated specifically for the routine preparation of guinea pig lymphocytes for in vitro cultivation and is capable of recovering 40-60% of available lymphocytes. Whole, heparinized (10-100 U/ml) blood was drawn from strain 2 guinea pigs by cardiac puncture, diluted 1 : 4 with Ca2,Mga free Hanks' balanced salt solution (CMF-HBSS) containing EDTA (5 mM) and gentamicin (50 microgram/ml), and incubated at room temperature for 30-60 min to promote leukocyte disaggregation. Five volumes of diluted blood were layered onto 2 vol of Ficoll-metrizoate adjusted to a density of 1.107 g/ml with sodium metrizoate solution. A band of mononuclear cells (80-90% lymphocytes, 10-20% monocytes, and less than 2% granulocytes) formed at the interface after centrifugation (400 X g, 20-40 min, room temperature). More than 95% of the cells were viable by trypan blue exclusion. Lymphocytes recovered from as little as 3-5 ml whole blood were more sensitive to antigen- or mitogen-activated transformation than leukocyte suspensions obtained by dextran-citrate sedimentation with or without nylon column filtration.

A new transplantable leukemia (KSL) of unknown etiology that arose in a female Sewall-Wright strain 2 guinea pig is described. KSL cells morphologically resembled medium to large lymphocytes, displayed surface Ia antigen and receptors for complement and for the Fc portion of immunoglobulin, and synthesized surface immunoglobulin (IgM). These characteristics suggest a leukemia of B-lymphocyte origin. KSL cells were shown to be sensitive in vivo to both cyclophosphamide and 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea; however, neither drug effectively prevented eventual recurrence of the disease. KSL leukemia was also shown to be distinct from another guinea pig lymphatic leukemia (L2C) with respect to cell morphology, antigenicity, and in vivo growth rate. In this last respect, KSL appeared more closely related to the chronic lymphocytic leukemias. Thus KSL is the first chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the guinea pig to be characterized; it is also the only guinea pig model of lymphatic leukemia that is distinct from L2C leukemia currently available for study.

Improved rat liver tumor models with solitary or multiple metastatic tumors were developed for radiological imaging research. Unlike previous studies which employed trocar inoculation of tumor fragments, an enzymatically disaggregated cell suspension of mammary cancer was injected by fine needle either directly into the liver to produce solitary cancer nodules, or indirectly via the spleen or mesenteric vein to produce multiple liver metastases. Tumor size was proportional to the time elapsed after implantation. The operative mortality of direct liver, splenic parenchymal, and mesenteric inoculations were 8%, 4%, and 27%, respectively. MR tissue characteristics, image contrast, and pharmaceutical enhancement of these tumors closely resembles human hepatic metastases. The availability of reproducible, inexpensive animal models of metastatic cancer allows efficient evaluation of new liver imaging techniques.

The immunogenicity of four transplantable leukemias was evaluated in syngeneic Sewall-Wright strain 2 guinea pigs. The L76 and KSL leukemias are considered appropriate models for the assessment of immunogenicity because of their recent origin and unknown (natural) etiology. The chemically induced K77 leukemia of recent origin and the long-passaged L2C leukemia of unknown etiology could be classified as experimental tumors prone to artifactual immunogenicity. Our studies clearly show that naturally occurring guinea pig leukemias are potentially immunogenic, although to a lesser degree than experimental leukemias. These findings are in contrast to previous studies in mouse and rat tumor models, which showed that naturally occurring tumors were essentially nonimmunogenic, thereby raising questions about the relevance of animal tumor models to human cancer.