Searching for the Best Transthyretin Aggregation Protocol to Study Amyloid Fibril Disruption.

Several degenerative amyloid diseases, with no fully effective treatment, affect millions of people worldwide. These pathologies-amyloidoses-are known to be associated with the formation of ordered protein aggregates and highly stable and insoluble amyloid fibrils, which are deposited in multiple tissues and organs. The disruption of preformed amyloid aggregates and fibrils is one possible therapeutic strategy against amyloidosis; however, only a few compounds have been identified as possible fibril disruptors in vivo to date.

Understanding the skin sensitization capacity of ascaridole: a combined study of chemical reactivity and activation of the innate immune system (dendritic cells) in the epidermal environment.

To improve the prediction of the possible allergenicity of chemicals in contact with the skin, investigations of upstream events are required to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the initiation of allergic reactions. Ascaridole, one of the compounds responsible for skin sensitization to aged tea tree oil, degrades into intermediates that evolve via different mechanisms involving radical species. We aimed at broadening the knowledge about the contribution of radical intermediates derived from ascaridole to the skin sensitization process by assessing the reactivity profile towards amino acids, identifying whether free radicals are formed in a reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) model and their biological properties to activate the immune system, namely dendritic cells in their natural context of human HaCaT keratinocytes and RHE.

Sensitization potential and potency of terpene hydroperoxides in the cocultured activation test method.

Background: Positive patch test reactions to mixtures of oxidized terpenes containing allergenic hydroperoxides are frequently reported. However, human sensitization data for these hydroperoxides are not available.

Objectives: To analyse and evaluate the human sensitization potential and potency of hydroperoxides in vitro by using human cells.

Backbone, side chain and heme resonance assignments of cytochrome OmcF from Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Gene knockout studies on Geobacter sulfurreducens (Gs) cells showed that the outer membrane cytochrome OmcF is involved in respiratory pathways leading to the extracellular reduction of Fe(III) citrate and U(VI) oxide. In addition, microarray analysis of OmcF-deficient mutant versus the wild-type strain revealed that many of the genes with decreased transcript level were those whose expression is upregulated in cells grown with a graphite electrode as electron acceptor. This suggests that OmcF also regulates the electron transfer to electrode surfaces and the concomitant electrical current production by Gs in microbial fuel cells.

Functional characterization of eight human CYP1A2 variants: the role of cytochrome b5.

Background: Interindividual variability in cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated xenobiotic metabolism is extensive. CYP metabolism requires two electrons, which can be donated by NADPH cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (CYPOR) and/or cytochrome b5 (b5). Although substantial number of studies have reported on the function and effect of b5 in CYP-mediated catalysis, its mode of action is still not fully understood.