Determination of Seven Manufacturing Impurities in FD&C Red No. 40 by Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.

BACKGROUND: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration batch-certifies color additives to ensure that each lot meets published specifications for coloring food, drugs, and cosmetics. OBJECTIVE: An ultra-high-performance LC (UHPLC) method was developed to determine seven manufacturing impurities in the monoazo color additive FD&C Red No. 40 (R40). The analytes consist of two intermediates, an impurity originating from one intermediate, a reaction by-product, and three subsidiary colors. The intermediates are 4-amino-5-methoxy-2-methylbenzenesulfonic acid [cresidine-p-sulfonic acid (CSA)] and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthalene sulfonic acid sodium salt (SS). The impurity originating from the intermediate SS is 6,6'-oxybis[2-naphthalenesulfonic acid] disodium salt. The reaction by-product is 4,4'-(diazoamino)bis[5-methoxy-2-methylbenzenesulfonic acid disodium salt. The subsidiary colors are sodium salts of CSA coupled with 2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid, 2-naphthol-6,8-disulfonic acid, or 2-naphthol. METHODS: Samples of R40 were dissolved in an ammonium acetate buffer modified to pH 9.2, filtered, and analyzed by UHPLC. Quantitation of the analytes was performed by calibration in the presence of the color additive matrix. RESULTS: UHPLC validation studies showed linear calibration curves (R2 = 0.9999), good recovery (95-121%) and precision (RSDs = 1.0-6.3%), and LOQs ranging from 0.002 to 0.030%. Survey analyses of 31 samples from 11 manufacturers yielded results by the new UHPLC method and a previously used HPLC method that are consistent within experimental error. CONCLUSIONS: The new UHPLC method provides faster analysis time, improved separation, and similar sensitivity compared to the HPLC method. HIGHLIGHTS: An UHPLC method was developed and validated to determine seven manufacturing impurities in R40 submitted to the FDA for batch certification.

Genetic validation of the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 as a candidate therapeutic target in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive histologic subtype of brain cancer with poor outcomes and limited treatment options. Here, we report the selective overexpression of the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 as a novel candidate theranostic target in this disease. PRMT5 silences the transcription of regulatory genes by catalyzing symmetric dimethylation of arginine residues on histone tails. PRMT5 overexpression in patient-derived primary tumors and cell lines correlated with cell line growth rate and inversely with overall patient survival. Genetic attenuation of PRMT5 led to cell-cycle arrest, apoptosis, and loss of cell migratory activity. Cell death was p53-independent but caspase-dependent and enhanced with temozolomide, a chemotherapeutic agent used as a present standard of care. Global gene profiling and chromatin immunoprecipitation identified the tumor suppressor ST7 as a key gene silenced by PRMT5. Diminished ST7 expression was associated with reduced patient survival. PRMT5 attenuation limited PRMT5 recruitment to the ST7 promoter, led to restored expression of ST7 and cell growth inhibition. Finally, PRMT5 attenuation enhanced glioblastoma cell survival in a mouse xenograft model of aggressive glioblastoma. Together, our findings defined PRMT5 as a candidate prognostic factor and therapeutic target in glioblastoma, offering a preclinical justification for targeting PRMT5-driven oncogenic pathways in this deadly disease.

Prohibitins and the cytoplasmic domain of CD86 cooperate to mediate CD86 signaling in B lymphocytes.

CD86 engagement on a CD40L/IL-4-primed murine B cell activates signaling intermediates that promote NF-κB activation to increase Oct-2 and mature IgG1 mRNA and protein expression, as well as the rate of IgG1 transcription, without affecting class switch recombination. One of the most proximal signaling intermediates identified is phospholipase Cγ2, a protein reported to bind tyrosine residues, which are absent in the cytoplasmic domain of CD86. Using a proteomics-based identification approach, we show that the tyrosine-containing transmembrane adaptor proteins prohibitin (Phb)1 and Phb2 bind to CD86. The basal expression of Phb1/2 and association with CD86 was low in resting B cells, whereas the level of expression and association increased primarily after priming with CD40. The CD86-induced increase in Oct-2 and IgG1 was less when either Phb1/2 expression was reduced by short hairpin RNA or the cytoplasmic domain of CD86 was truncated or mutated at serine/threonine protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, which did not affect Phb1/2 binding to CD86. Using this approach, we also show that Phb1/2 and the CD86 cytoplasmic domain are required for the CD86-induced phosphorylation of IκBα, which we previously reported leads to NF-κB p50/p65 activation, whereas only Phb1/2 was required for the CD86-induced phosphorylation of phospholipase Cγ2 and protein kinase Cα/ß(II), which we have previously reported leads to NF-κB (p65) phosphorylation and subsequent nuclear translocation. Taken together, these findings suggest that Phb1/2 and the CD86 cytoplasmic domain cooperate to mediate CD86 signaling in a B cell through differential phosphorylation of distal signaling intermediates required to increase IgG1.