Fast in vivo water quantification in rat brain oedema based on T(1) measurement at high magnetic field.

BACKGROUND: In vivo water content determination based on magnetic resonance (MR) method is of importance in clinical practice as well as in animal studies to follow up the treatment given in order to reduce brain oedema. The methods proposed in the literature so far are largely time consuming. The aim of this study was to find a fast in vivo water quantification method having real advantage for patients suffering from critical conditions. METHOD: Cold injury was applied to provoke brain oedema in fourteen rats. T(1) values of both the oedematous area and the contralateral normal cortex were determined by two independent methods 24 hours after the cold impact. First, from a series of images recorded by inversion recovery spin echo (IRSE) sequence and then by progressive saturation experiment performed by localised MR spectroscopy using stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM). To reduce the acquisition time, a two-element repetition time array was optimised for the STEAM experiment, whereas four inversion times were used for T(1) mapping. Both methods were validated against gel phantoms with known T(1) values. After the MR measurements the animals were sacrificed and the water contents of the regions of interest were determined by gravimetric wet-dry method. FINDINGS: The reciprocals of the in vivo measured T(1) values were correlated with the reciprocals of the brain water contents. STEAM experiment showed stronger correlation (r=0.96) than IRSE (r=0.93). In addition, STEAM provided more accurate T(1) values in the phantom study. Determination of brain water content based on T1 measurement does work also at high magnetic field. Determination of brain water content by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy is feasible within 2 minutes. INTERPRETATION: Using the presented fast method, water content can be determined within a couple of minutes in animal experiments as well as in the daily clinical practice.

In vivo water quantification in mouse brain at 9.4 Tesla in a vasogenic edema model.

The aim of our study was to establish a simple in vivo method for water quantification in vasogenic edema, and provide data on imaging of mouse brain at 9.4 Tesla. Apparent T1 and spin density values determined by MRI were found to strongly correlate with the gravimetric water content of mouse brain undergoing cold injury. Using a two-point calibration line between the spin density values for pure water and cortex of mouse brain, as well as the corresponding water contents in vivo, water could be quantified with satisfactory accuracy.

Effect of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors on the ischemia-reperfusion-induced oxidative cell damage and mitochondrial metabolism in Langendorff heart perfusion system.

Ischemia-reperfusion induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, and ROS lead to cardiac dysfunction, in part, via the activation of the nuclear poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP, called also PARS and ADP-RT). ROS and peroxynitrite induce single-strand DNA break formation and PARP activation, resulting in NAD(+) and ATP depletion, which can lead to cell death. Although protection of cardiac muscle by PARP inhibitors can be explained by their attenuating effect on NAD(+) and ATP depletion, there are data indicating that PARP inhibitors also protect mitochondria from oxidant-induced injury. Studying cardiac energy metabolism in Langendorff heart perfusion system by (31)P NMR, we found that PARP inhibitors (3-aminobenzamide, nicotinamide, BGP-15, and 4-hydroxyquinazoline) improved the recovery of high-energy phosphates (ATP, creatine phosphate) and accelerated the reutilization of inorganic phosphate formed during the ischemic period, showing that PARP inhibitors facilitate the faster and more complete recovery of the energy production. Furthermore, PARP inhibitors significantly decrease the ischemia-reperfusion-induced increase of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, single-strand DNA breaks, and the inactivation of respiratory complexes, which indicate a decreased mitochondrial ROS production in the reperfusion period. Surprisingly, PARP inhibitors, but not the chemically similar 3-aminobenzoic acid, prevented the H(2)O(2)-induced inactivation of cytochrome oxidase in isolated heart mitochondria, suggesting the presence of an additional mitochondrial target for PARP inhibitors. Therefore, PARP inhibitors, in addition to their important primary effect of decreasing the activity of nuclear PARP and decreasing NAD(+) and ATP consumption, reduce ischemia-reperfusion-induced endogenous ROS production and protect the respiratory complexes from ROS induced inactivation, providing an additional mechanism by which they can protect heart from oxidative damages.

Syntheses of the first amine-dicarboxyboranes and their bis(methylester) and bis(N-ethylamide) derivatives.

Amine-bis(N-ethylcarbamoyl)boranes [A.BH(CONHEt)(2), 3; A = trimethylamine (Me(3)N, a), quinuclidine (Q, b), pyridine (py, f), 4-picoline (pic, g)] have been prepared after deprotonation of [amine-bis(C-hydroxy-N-ethylimidate)hydroboron(2+)] cations (2), which were formed by the hydrolysis of [amine-bis(ethylnitrilium)hydroboron(2+)]tetrafluoroborates (1). Numerous representatives of 3 [A = diethylamine (Et(2)NH, c), piperidine (pip, d), pyrrolidine (pyrr, e), 4-aminopyridine (4-NH(2)-py, h), 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP, i), imidazole (Him, j), 1-methylimidazole (Mim, k)] have been prepared by base exchange reactions from 3a. 3a-e are extremely stable in aqueous media, either acidic or alkaline, probably because of the considerable steric hindrance of possible reaction centers. However, they were transformed into amine-dicarboxyboranes [A.BH(COOH)(2), 4a-e] in acidic medium under vigorous conditions (100-130 degrees C). This transformation was accompanied by significant decomposition, probably owing to the protonation on the N atom, resulting in the rupture of the B-N bond. As an exception, 4b, where N atom in a rigid bicycle is not prone to attacks, could be isolated in very good yield. On the other hand, amine-bis(N-ethylcarbamoyl)boranes containing amines with sp(2)-hybridized N atoms (3f-k) undergo complete decomposition under similar conditions probably because of the increased hydridic character of the hydrogen adjacent to boron. Base exchange reactions starting from 4b resulted in the ammonium salts of 4c-e, h, i of composition [A.BH(COOH)(COO(-))][AH(+)], which in turn could be transformed into the diacids 4, except 4h, by protonation. As salt formation indicates, the 4 compounds are stronger acids as univalent acids than the corresponding A.BH(2)(COOH) complexes. 4a-e, i were readily esterified into amine-bis(methoxycarbonyl)boranes (5a-e, i) in methanol, employing a catalytic amount of HBr. 5a-e, i are stable in alkaline medium but are readily hydrolyzed in acidic medium. Hydrolysis of [amine-bis(C-methoxy-N-ethylimidate)hydroboron(2+)] cations did not give the corresponding bisesters 5 in alkaline, neutral, or acidic medium.

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone: 3-benzylfuran-2(5H)-ones vs (Z)-benzylidene-gamma-butyrolactones and their reduction to 3-benzyl-gamma-butyrolactones

[reaction: see text] The palladium-catalyzed arylation of the alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone proceeds in good yields and may be directed toward the synthesis of 3-benzylfuran-2(5H)-ones when the starting aryl iodides contain strongly electron-withdrawing groups. The combined palladium-catalyzed arylation/hydrogenation of the alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactone represents a new simple entry into functionalized alpha-benzyl-gamma-butyrolactones.

Isolation and sequence analysis of a cDNA encoding human placental tissue protein 13 (PP13), a new lysophospholipase, homologue of human eosinophil Charcot-Leyden Crystal protein.

Expression of placental tissue protein 13 (PP13) in different human tissues was investigated by chemiluminescence Western blot analysis using monospecific anti-PP13 serum. In term placentae we detected a 16 kDa single protein band immunochemically identical to the purified PP13 antigen. After investigation of 26 types of human fetal and adult tissue, PP13 was also found in certain other normal and tumorous tissue extracts. It is not secreted into circulation as we could not find PP13 in sera of pregnant women. A full length cDNA with 578 bp insert was isolated by screening a human placental cDNA library with anti-PP13 serum. The open reading frame of the cDNA encodes for a 139-residue-long protein with a predicted molecular mass of 16.118 kDa, identical to the previously isolated and characterized PP13 antigen described in 1983. By alignment search of the protein databank PP13 is highly homologous (69 per cent) to the 16.5 kDa human eosinophil Charcot-Leyden Crystal protein, a unique dual-function lysophospholipase, a member of the beta-galactoside binding S-type animal lectin superfamily. Northern blot analysis revealed a 600 bp PP13 mRNA, detected only in placental tissue from 16 types of human healthy adult tissue. Lysophospholipase activity of PP13 was confirmed by(1)H and(31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements.