Search

The anticancer complexes cisplatin and carboplatin target the DNA major groove, forming intrastrand and interstrand cross-links between guanine bases through their N7 atoms, causing distortion of the DNA helix and apoptotic cell death. A major side effect of these drugs is toxicity, which is caused via binding to many proteins in the body. A range of crystallographic studies have been carried out involving the cocrystallization of hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) as a test protein with cisplatin and carboplatin in aqueous and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) conditions. Different cryoprotectants, glycerol and Paratone, were used for each of the cisplatin and carboplatin cocrystallization cases, while silicone oil was used for studies involving N-acetylglucosamine (NAG). Both cisplatin and carboplatin do not bind to HEWL in aqueous media on the timescales of the conditions used here, but upon addition of DMSO two molecules of cisplatin or carboplatin bind either side of His15, which is the only His residue in lysozyme and is assumed to be an imidazolyl anion or a chemical resonance moiety, i.e. both imidazole N atoms are chemically reactive. To identify the platinum-peak positions in the `with DMSO conditions', anomalous scattering maps were calculated as a cross-check with the Fo−Fc OMIT maps. Platinum-occupancy σ values were established using three different software programs in each case. The use of EVAL15 to process all of the diffraction data sets provided a consistent platform for a large ensemble of data sets for the various protein and platinum-compound model refinements with REFMAC5 and then SHELXTL. Overall, this extensive set of crystallization and cryoprotectant conditions allowed a systematic evaluation of cisplatin and carboplatin binding to lysozyme as a test protein via detailed X-ray crystal structure characterizations. DMSO is used as a super-solvent for drug delivery as it is deemed to cause no effect upon drug binding. However, these results show that addition of DMSO causes the platinum anticancer drugs to bind to HEWL. This effect should be considered in toxicity assessments of these drugs and perhaps more widely.

Anterior chamber injection of donor rabbit lymphocytes sensitized in vitro to recipient alloantigens leads to the development of small focal areas of endothelial cell destruction (pocks) on the recipient cornea. Damage may be observed through a specular microscope as early as 2 days after injection of sensitized lymphocytes. Recipients of unsensitized allogeneic or sensitized autologous lymphocytes demonstrate little or no endothelial damage and no pock formation. Flat endothelial preparations reveal focal destruction of the endothelium with multiple foci, many infiltrated and surrounded by mononuclear cells. This model provides controlled sensitization to a variety of histocompatibility and corneal antigens that may be responsible for initiation of graft rejection.

Active trachoma is characterized by chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva, and repeated episodes of reinfection are thought to be necessary to sustain this inflammation. It is currently believed that much of the tissue damage is immunologically mediated. To identify which antigens might be responsible for stimulating this continued inflammation, cynomolgus monkeys that had recovered from a previous ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis were challenged with various antigen preparations. Purified preparations of formalin- or UV-inactivated elementary bodies did not elicit any inflammation even with daily inoculation. In addition, neither purified chlamydial major outer membrane protein nor lipopolysaccharide, including recombinant organisms expressing the lipopolysaccharide group antigen, elicit inflammation. A soluble triton extract of the organism rapidly induced marked inflammation when inoculated in the eyes of immune monkeys but had no effect in naive animals. These studies suggest that the continual inflammation in trachoma may not be due to repeated exposure to chlamydial surface antigen(s) but rather to a labile product released by the living organisms.