Lamellar Structure in Alanine-Glycine Copolypeptides Studied by Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy: A Model for the Crystalline Domain of Bombyx mori Silk Fibroin in Silk II Form.

Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) fibers with excellent mechanical properties have attracted widespread attention as new biomaterials. However, the structural details are still not conclusive. Here, we propose a lamellar structure for the crystalline domain of the SF fiber based on structural analyses of the Ala Cß peaks in the 13C cross-polarization/magic angle spinning NMR spectra of (Ala-Gly)m (m = 9, 12, 15, and 25) and 13C selectively labeled (Ala-Gly)15 model peptides. Namely, three Ala Cß peaks with relative intensities of 1:2:1 obtained by deconvolution were assigned to two kinds of ß-sheet and a ß-turn, which are interpreted as a lamellar structure formed by repetitive folding using ß-turns every eighth amino acid, for which the basic structure is (Ala-Gly)4 in an antipolar arrangement. The dynamics and intermolecular arrangement were further studied using 13C solid-state spin-lattice relaxation time observations and the rotational echo double resonance experiments, respectively.

Japanese phase I study of GC33, a humanized antibody against glypican-3 for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

GC33 is a humanized mAb against human glypican-3 (GPC3). In the first-in-human study carried out in the USA, GC33 was well tolerated and showed preliminary antitumor activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of GC33 in Japanese patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The study design was a conventional 3 + 3 dose-escalation design to determine the maximum tolerated dose of GC33 given i.v. at 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg weekly. Immunohistochemistry was carried out on tumor biopsies to evaluate GPC3 expression. Thirteen patients were enrolled across the three dose levels, and no patients observed any dose-limiting toxicity up to the highest planned dose of 20 mg/kg. The most common adverse events were decreased lymphocyte count, decreased natural killer cell count, increased C-reactive protein, and pyrexia. Grade 3 adverse events (increased blood pressure, decreased lymphocyte count, and decreased platelet count) were observed in two or more patients. The AUCinf showed a dose-proportional increase from the 5 mg/kg dose group to the 20 mg/kg dose group. The trough concentrations of GC33 appeared to reach a steady state after the fourth to the sixth dose. Seven of the 13 patients showed stable disease, the other six showed progressive disease. Furthermore, three patients showed long-term stable disease of more than 5 months. In conclusion, GC33 given at up to 20 mg/kg weekly was well tolerated in Japanese patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cloning and characterization of grpE in Acetobacter pasteurianus NBRC 3283.

The grpE gene in Acetobacter pasteurianus NBRC 3283 was cloned and characterized, to elucidate the mechanism underlying the resistance of acetic acid bacteria to the stressors existing during acetic acid fermentation. This gene was found to be located in tandem with two related genes, appearing on the genome in the order grpE-dnaK-dnaJ. A sigma(32)-type promoter sequence was found in the upstream region of grpE. The relative transcription levels of grpE, dnaK, and dnaJ mRNA were in the ratio of approximately 1:2:0.1, and the genes were transcribed as grpE-dnaK, dnaK, and dnaJ. The transcription level of grpE was elevated by heat shock and treatment with ethanol. Co-overexpression of GrpE with DnaK/J in cells resulted in improved growth compared to the single overexpression of DnaK/J in high temperature or ethanol-containing conditions, suggesting that GrpE acts cooperatively with DnaK/J for expressing resistance to those stressors considered to exist during acetic acid fermentation. Our findings indicate that GrpE is closely associated with adaptation to stressors in A. pasteurianus and may play an important role in acetic acid fermentation.

Thermal effects in high-power CW second harmonic generation in Mg-doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate.

We investigated thermal behaviors of single-pass second-harmonic generation of continuous wave green radiation with high efficiency by quasi-phase matching in periodically poled Mg-doped stoichiometric lithium tantalate (PPMgSLT). Heat generation turned out to be directly related to the green light absorption in the material. Strong relation between an upper limit of the second harmonic power and confocal parameter was found. Single-pass second-harmonic generation of 16.1 W green power was achieved with 17.6% efficiency in Mg:SLT at room temperature.

Growth arrest and apoptosis induced by quercetin is not linked to adipogenic conversion of human preadipocytes.

Quercetin is involved in several biological activities including inhibition of cell growth and induction of apoptosis in cancer cells. However, it is unclear and unknown whether quercetin influences cell maturation. We examined the effect of quercetin on the growth and differentiation of human preadipocyte cells AML-I. Induced growth arrest of AML-I by quercetin was accompanied by the appearance of characteristics of apoptosis under the adipogenic stimulation by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate staining method. A decrease of nuclear factor-kappaB and the antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1 and an increase of the proapoptotic protein Bad were observed in time-dependent fashion in the quercetin-treated cells compared with the vehicle-treated cells by Western blot analysis. Structure-related flavonoids, including rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside) and quercitrin (quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside), did not have any cytotoxic effect on AML-I. Interestingly, exposure of AML-I to quercetin for 6 days increased the amount of cytoplasmic lipid droplets as well as the expression of fatty acid synthase and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma proteins. These results suggested that apoptosis induced by quercetin was not linked to adipogenic conversion of preadipocytes.

Induction of apoptosis by new ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids isolated from the New Zealand liverwort Jungermannia species.

Some diterpenoids show various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV and anti-tumor activity. Previously, we have focused our research on the apoptosis-inducing properties of diterpenoids and found that some ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells. In this study, we have investigated the induction of apoptosis in HL-60 cells by the novel ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids, jungermannenones A (JA), B (JB), C (JC) and D (JD), isolated from the New Zealand liverwort Jungermannia species. Treatment of the cells with each compound for 12 h resulted in cytotoxicity (IC (50) values: A, 1.3; B, 5.3; C, 7.8; D, 2.7 microM) and caused DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation, both biochemical markers of the induction of apoptosis. Treatment with the compounds resulted in activation of caspases, including caspase-3 and caspase-8. A broad-spectrum inhibitor of caspases, Z-Asp-CH (2)-DCB, attenuated the cytotoxicity induced by these compounds, suggesting that JA, JB, JC and JD induced apoptosis through a caspase-dependent pathway. JA and JD inhibited the activity of nuclear factor-kappaB, which is a transcriptional factor of anti-apoptotic factors. Thus, some of these new ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids may be promising candidates for anti-tumor agents.

Expression of the gonadal p450 aromatase gene of Xenopus and characterization of the 5'-flanking region of the aromatase gene.

Investigation by RQ-RT-PCR revealed that transcription of the p450 aromatase gene is activated at stage 50, when sex determination of the female begins, and that aromatase gene expression is also activated by exogenously administrated estradiol. In order to determine the molecular basis underlying the specific activation of aromatase gene expression during sex differentiation and in response to exogenous estradiol, we isolated the 5'-flanking fragment of the gene and characterized the promoter sequence. We demonstrated binding sequences to a specific trans-activating factor upstream of the p450 aromatase promoter II, the cAMP response element binding protein/activating transcription factor family, and steroidogenic factor-1. An estrogen response element half-site sequence that recognize an estrogen receptors, was also found.

Activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase during ent-11alpha-hydroxy-16-kauren-15-one-induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

Kaurene-type diterpenes possess various biological activities including antitumor and anti-inflammatory effects. Indeed, we have found that an ent-kaurene diterpene, ent-11alpha-hydroxy-16-kauren-15-one (KD), induced apoptosis via caspase-8 activation in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. However, the mechanism of caspase-8 activation by KD is not clear. In this study, we investigated the involvement of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 (MAPK)) in KD-induced apoptosis. p38 (MAPK) was activated by treatment with KD parallel to DNA ladder formation. Pretreatment with SB203580, a specific inhibitor of p38 (MAPK), attenuated induction of apoptosis by KD and inhibited activation of caspase-8. Cleavage of Bid, a typical substrate of caspase-8, was also inhibited by treatment with SB203580, suggesting that activation of p38 (MAPK) occurs upstream of caspase-8 during KD-induced apoptosis.

An ent-kaurene diterpene enhances apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor in human leukemia cells.

Some antitumor agents, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and camptothecin (CPT), often cause resistance of tumor cells to antitumor agents through activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) pathway that leads to up-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins. Therefore, co-treatment of an inhibitor of the NF-kappa B pathway with antitumor agents is a useful strategy for chemotherapy. Here we report that ent-11 alpha-hydroxy-16-kauren-15-one (KD) selectively inhibits NF-kappa B-dependent gene expression due to treatment with TNF-alpha. KD in combination with TNF-alpha caused a dramatic increase in apoptosis in human leukemia cells accompanied by activation of caspases. A broad-spectrum inhibitor of caspases decreased the apoptosis induced by treatment with KD and TNF-alpha. KD in combination with CPT also caused an increase in apoptosis. These results suggest that the apoptotic potency of co-treatment of KD with TNF-alpha or CPT is elicited through selective inhibition of NF-kappa B-dependent anti-apoptotic proteins and thus may provide a basis for the development of useful approaches to the treatment of leukemia.

A comparison of apoptosis and necrosis induced by ent-kaurene-type diterpenoids in HL-60 cells.

We previously reported that ent-11alpha-hydroxy-16-kauren-15-one (KD) induces apoptosis through a caspase-dependent pathway and the induction of apoptosis is dependent on its enone group in human leukemia cells. Here we investigated the abilities of some KD-related compounds with enone group (Fig. 1) to induce apoptosis and to activate some caspases. The IC50 values of ent-kaurene-related compounds possessing the enone group, ent-1beta-hydroxy-9(11),16-kauradien-15-one (1), ent-9(11),16-kauradiene-12,15-dione (2) and the rearranged ent-kaurane-type diterpene (3), against HL-60 cells after 12 h of treatment were 40 microM, 1.8 microM and 5.5 microM, respectively. Although treatment with 3 induced apoptosis, DNA ladder formation was not observed after treatment with 1 or 2. Induction of necrosis, as assayed by trypan blue staining, was observed after treatment with 1 or 2. Treatment with compound 1, 2 or 3 induced proteolysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), a substrate of caspase-3, and processing of caspase-3. Activation of caspase-8 and processing of Bid, a typical substrate of caspase-8, were also observed on treatment with these compounds. Pretreatment with a broad-spectrum inhibitor of caspases attenuated apoptosis induced by 3 but not necrosis induced by 1 and 2. In summary, KD-related compounds are a unique family of diterpenes that cause either caspase-dependent apoptotic or necrotic cell death.

Kaurene diterpene induces apoptosis in human leukemia cells partly through a caspase-8-dependent pathway.

Defects in apoptosis signaling pathways contribute to tumorigenesis and drug resistance, and these defects are often a cause of failure of chemotherapy. Thus, a major goal in chemotherapy is to find cytotoxic agents that restore the ability of tumor cells to undergo apoptosis. We previously found that an Ent-kaurene diterpene, Ent-11alpha-hydroxy-16-kauren-15-one (KD), induced apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Here, we found that caspase-8, an apoptotic factor, is involved in KD-induced apoptosis. Although treatment of HL-60 cells with KD resulted in the activation of caspase-8 and -9, a caspase-8-specific inhibitor but not a caspase-9-specific inhibitor attenuated KD-induced apoptosis. Expression of a catalytically inactive caspase-8 partly attenuated KD-induced apoptosis. Treatment with KD led to a time-dependent cleavage of Bid, a substrate of caspase-8, as well as to the proteolytic processing of procaspase-8, indicating that KD treatment induces apoptosis through a caspase-8-dependent pathway. Moreover, overexpression of the drug resistance factor Bcl-2, which is frequently overexpressed in many tumors, failed to confer resistance to KD-induced cytotoxicity. Thus, KD may be a promising experimental cytotoxic agent that possibly points to new strategies to overcome a drug resistance.