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.

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).

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.

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.

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.