A Comparative Analysis of Conventional and Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES)-Mediated Strategies for the Extraction of Chitin from Marine Crustacean Shells.

Chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, is utilised in a wide range of applications including wastewater treatment, drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, and stem cell technology among others. This review compares the most prevalent strategies for the extraction of chitin from crustacean sources including chemical methods that involve the use of harsh solvents and emerging methods using deep eutectic solvents (DES). In recent years, a significant amount of research has been carried out to identify and develop environmentally friendly processes which might facilitate the replacement of problematic chemicals utilised in conventional chemical extraction strategies with DES. This article provides an overview of different experimental parameters used in the DES-mediated extraction of chitin while also comparing the purity and yields of associated extracts with conventional methods. As part of this review, we compare the relative proportions of chitin and extraneous materials in different marine crustaceans. We show the importance of the species of crustacean shell in relation to chitin purity and discuss the significance of varying process parameters associated with different extraction strategies. The review also describes some recent applications associated with chitin. Following on from this review, we suggest recommendations for further investigation into chitin extraction, especially for experimental research pertaining to the enhancement of the "environmentally friendly" nature of the process. It is hoped that this article will provide researchers with a platform to better understand the benefits and limitations of DES-mediated extractions thereby further promoting knowledge in this area.

Estrogen induces phospholipase A2 activation through ERK1/2 to mobilize intracellular calcium in MCF-7 cells.

The principal secreted estrogen, 17beta-estradiol rapidly activates signaling cascades that regulate important physiological processes including ion transport across membranes, cytosolic pH and cell proliferation. These effects have been extensively studied in the MCF-7 estrogen-responsive human breast carcinoma cell line. Here, we demonstrate that a physiological concentration of 17beta-estradiol caused a rapid, synchronous and transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration in a confluent monolayer of MCF-7 cells 2-3 min after treatment. This response was abolished when cells were pre-incubated with the phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) inhibitor quinacrine or with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. The translocation of GFP-cPLA(2)alpha to perinuclear membranes occurred 1-2 min after 17beta-estradiol treatment; this translocation was concurrent with the transient phosphorylation of cPLA(2)alpha at serine residue 505. The phosphorylation and translocation of cPLA(2) were sensitive to inhibition of the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascade and occurred simultaneously with a transient activation of ERK. The phosphorylation of cPLA(2) could be stimulated by membrane impermeable 17beta-estradiol conjugated to bovine serum albumen and was blocked by an antagonist of the classical estrogen receptor. Here we show, for the first time, that PLA(2) and the eicosanoid biosynthetic pathway are involved in the 17beta-estradiol induced rapid calcium responses of breast cancer cells.

Rapid effects of dexamethasone on intracellular pH and Na+/H+ exchanger activity in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Glucocorticoids have been shown to produce rapid nongenomic responses in airway epithelia. By using an intracellular pH (pH(i)) spectrofluorescence imaging system and the NH4Cl acid-loading technique, we have shown that the synthetic glucocorticoid,dexamethasone, accelerated intracellular pH recovery after an acid load in a human bronchial epithelial cell line (16HBE14o- cells). Exposure to NH4Cl (20 mm) elicited an intracellular acidification, followed by a pH(i) recovery. Inhibition of the Na+/H+ exchanger decreased the steady-state pH(i) and antagonized the dexamethasone stimulation of pH(i) regulation. The rapid effect of dexamethasone on pH(i) was neither affected by the inhibitor of transcription, cycloheximide, nor by the classical glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors antagonists, RU486 and spironolactone, respectively. The dexamethasone effect on pH(i) regulation was reduced by inhibitors of adenylate cyclase, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and mitogenactivated protein kinase (ERK1/2). By using a PepTag assay system and Western blotting, we have shown that dexamethasone stimulated cAMP-dependent protein kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase activities. Taken together our results provide evidence for the rapid stimulation of Na+/H+ exchange activity by glucocorticoids in bronchial epithelial cells via a nongenomic mechanism involving cAMP-dependent protein kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK1/2 pathways.