Pomegranate (Punica granatum) seed linolenic acid isomers: concentration-dependent modulation of estrogen receptor activity.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum) seed linolenic acid isomers were evaluated as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) in vitro. Punicic acid (PA) inhibited (IC(50)) estrogen receptor (ER) alpha at 7.2 microM, ERbeta at 8.8 microM; alpha-eleostearic acid (AEA) inhibited ERalpha/ERbeta at 6.5/7.8 microM. PA (not AEA) agonized ERalpha/ERbeta (EC(50)) at 1.8/2 microM, antagonizing at 101/80 microM. AEA antagonized ERalpha/ERbeta at 150/140 microM. PA and AEA induced ERalpha and ERbeta mRNA expression in MCF-7, but not in MDA-MB-231. Overall, the results show PA and AEA are SERMs.

Thermostability of chimeric cytidine deaminase variants produced by DNA shuffling.

The DNA shuffling technique has been used to generate libraries of evolved enzymes in thermostability. We have shuffled two thermostable cytidine deaminases (CDAs) from Bacillus caldolyticus DSM405 (T53) and B. stearothermophilus IFO12550 (T101). The shuffled CDA library (SH1067 and SH1077 from the first round and SH2426 and SH2429 from the second round) showed various patterns in thermostability. The CDAs of SH1067 and SH1077 were more thermostable than that of T53. SH2426 showed 150% increased half-time than that of T53 at 70 degrees C. The CDA of SH2429 showed about 200% decreased thermostability than that of T53 at 70 degrees C. A single amino acid residue replacement that presented between SH1077 and SH2429 contributed to dramatic changes in specific activity and thermostability. On SDS-PAGE, the purified CDA of SH1077 tetramerized, whereas that of SH2429 denatured and became almost monomeric at 80 degrees C. A simulated three-dimensional structure for the mutant CDA was used to interpret the mutational effect.

17Alpha-estradiol arrests cell cycle progression at G2/M and induces apoptotic cell death in human acute leukemia Jurkat T cells.

A pharmacological dose (2.5-10 microM) of 17alpha-estradiol (17alpha-E(2)) exerted a cytotoxic effect on human leukemias Jurkat T and U937 cells, which was not suppressed by the estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist ICI 182,780. Along with cytotoxicity in Jurkat T cells, several apoptotic events including mitochondrial cytochrome c release, activation of caspase-9, -3, and -8, PARP degradation, and DNA fragmentation were induced. The cytotoxicity of 17alpha-E(2) was not blocked by the anti-Fas neutralizing antibody ZB-4. While undergoing apoptosis, there was a remarkable accumulation of G(2)/M cells with the upregulatoin of cdc2 kinase activity, which was reflected in the Thr56 phosphorylation of Bcl-2. Dephosphorylation at Tyr15 and phosphorylation at Thr161 of cdc2, and significant increase in the cyclin B1 level were underlying factors for the cdc2 kinase activation. Whereas the 17alpha-E(2)-induced apoptosis was completely abrogated by overexpression of Bcl-2 or by pretreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk, the accumulation of G(2)/M cells significantly increased. The caspase-8 inhibitor z-IETD-fmk failed to influence 17alpha-E(2)-mediated caspase-9 activation, but it markedly reduced caspase-3 activation and PARP degradation with the suppression of apoptosis, indicating the contribution of caspase-8; not as an upstream event of the mitochondrial cytochrome c release, but to caspase-3 activation. In the presence of hydroxyurea, which blocked the cell cycle progression at the G(1)/S boundary, 17alpha-E(2) failed to induce the G(2)/M arrest as well as apoptosis. These results demonstrate that the cytotoxicity of 17alpha-E(2) toward Jurkat T cells is attributable to apoptosis mainly induced in G(2)/M-arrested cells, in an ER-independent manner, via a mitochondria-dependent caspase pathway regulated by Bcl-2.

Identification of psychrophile Shewanella sp. KMG427 as an eicosapentaenoic acid producer.

An isolate from holothurians was identified as an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-producing bacterium KMG427, which is characterized by EPA synthesis efficiency, by thin layer and gas chromatographic analyses. The EPA production was maximized to more than 10% of the total fatty acids by incubation at 4o degrees C after cell proliferation at 20 degrees C. The isolated bacterium was categorized as Gramnegative, rod-shaped, aerobic, and motile with a single polar flagellum. According to phylogenetic analysis based on morphological and physiological specificities as an EPA-producing bacterium, the isolate KMG427 was found to belong to the genus Shewanella. The 16S rDNA of KMG427 was revealed to have 100% of sequence identity to that of S. hanedai CIP 103207T. Therefore, the isolate might be classified and identified as Shewanella sp. KMG427.

Inhibition of protein kinase CKII activity by resveratrol, a natural compound in red wine and grapes.

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin found in grapes and other foods that has been shown to have anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects. Because protein kinase CKII is involved in cell proliferation and oncogenesis, we examined whether resveratrol could modulate CKII activity. Resveratrol was shown to inhibit the phosphotransferase activity of CKII with IC(50) of about 10 microM. Steady state studies revealed that resveratrol acted as a competitive inhibitor with respect to the substrate ATP. A value of 1.2 microM was obtained for the apparent K(i). Resveratrol also inhibited the catalytic reaction of CKII with GTP as substrate. Furthermore, resveratrol inhibits endogenous CKII activity on protein substrates in HeLa cell lysates. These results suggest that resveratrol is likely to function by inhibiting oncogenic disease, at least in part, through the inhibition of CKII activity.