Bound by the love for cholesterol: A transporter meets a GPCR.

In a recently published article in Nature, Bayly-Jones et al. report the cryo-EM structures of a lysosomal cholesterol sensor, LYCHOS, also known as GPR155, which reveals a unique fusion of a plant auxin-transporter-like domain with a seven-transmembrane GPCR-like domain and elucidates mechanistic insights into cellular regulation of mTORC1 activity.

Supramolecular Polymers: Inherently Dynamic Materials.

ConspectusSince its inception in the early 1990s, the field of supramolecular polymers (SPs) has grown into an interdisciplinary field of chemistry. It expanded from the self-assembly of molecular building blocks based on H-bonding into the realm of complex dynamic material, encompassing both supramolecular noncovalent and molecular covalent regimes. It has paved the path for a more diverse field of research into a new class of polymeric materials, coined dynamic polymers or dynamers.

Molecular mapping of drought-responsive QTLs during the reproductive stage of rice using a GBS (genotyping-by-sequencing) based SNP linkage map.

Background: In rice, drought stress at reproductive stage drastically reduces yield, which in turn hampers farmer's efforts towards crop production. The majority of the rice varieties have resistance genes against several abiotic and biotic stresses. Therefore, the traditional landraces were studied to identify QTLs/candidate genes associated with drought tolerance.

Small-Molecule Investigation of Diels-Alder Complexes for Thermoreversible Crosslinking in Polymeric Applications.

Combinations of dienes and dienophiles were examined in order to elicit possible combinations for thermoreversible crosslinking units. Comparison of experimental results and quantum calculations indicated that reaction kinetics and activation energy were much better prediction factors than change in enthalpy for the prediction of successful cycloaddition. Further testing on diene-dienophile pairs that underwent successful cycloaddition determined the feasibility of thermoreversibility/retro-reaction of each of the Diels-Alder compounds.

EGFR gene regulation in colorectal cancer cells by garlic phytocompounds with special emphasis on S-Allyl-L-Cysteine Sulfoxide.

Colorectal cancer is one among the most common cancers in the world and a major cause of cancer related deaths. Similar to other cancers, colorectal carcinogenesis is often associated with over expression of genes related to cell growth and proliferation, especially Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). There is an increasing attention towards the plant derived compounds in prevention of colorectal carcinogenesis by downregulating EGFR.

Plant Phenolics Ferulic Acid and P-Coumaric Acid Inhibit Colorectal Cancer Cell Proliferation through EGFR Down-Regulation.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) or bowel cancer is one of the most important cancer diseases, needing serious attention. The cell surface receptor gene human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) may have an important role in provoking CRC. In this pharmaceutical era, it is always attempted to identify plant-based drugs for cancer, which will have less side effects for human body, unlike the chemically synthesized marketed drugs having serious side effects.

Garlic Phytocompounds Possess Anticancer Activity by Specifically Targeting Breast Cancer Biomarkers - an in Silico Study.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is a serious lifestyle disease. There are several prognostic biomarkers like nuclear receptors whose over-expression is associated with BC characteristics. These biomarkers can be blocked by compounds with anti-cancer potential but selection must be made on the basis of no adverse side effects.

An Easily Accessible Self-Healing Transparent Film Based on a 2D Supramolecular Network of Hydrogen-Bonding Interactions between Polymeric Chains.

Self-healing polymers hold great promise for the future, enhancing in particular the longevity of polymeric materials. We describe a self-healing covalent polymer, presenting an extensive array of hydrogen-bonding sites based on the combination of urea, urethane, and bis-acyl-hydrazine units. Solvent-cast thin-films prepared by polycondensation of a commercially available dihydrazide and a diisocyanate prepolymer exhibited excellent room temperature autonomous healing with almost full recovery of mechanical properties when two parts of a cut film were overlapped and gently pressed together.

DYNAMERS: dynamic polymers as self-healing materials.

Importing self-repair or self-healing features into inert materials is of great relevance to material scientists, since it is expected to eliminate the necessity of replenishing a damaged material. Be it material chemistry or more specifically polymer chemistry, such materials have attracted the imagination of both material scientists and chemists. A stroll down the memory lane 70 years back, this might have sounded utopian.

The tris-urea motif and its incorporation into polydimethylsiloxane-based supramolecular materials presenting self-healing features.

Materials of supramolecular nature have attracted much attention owing to their interesting features, such as self-reparability and material robustness, that are imparted by noncovalent interactions to synthetic materials. Among the various structures and synthetic methodologies that may be considered for this purpose, the introduction of extensive arrays of multiple hydrogen bonds allows for the formation of supramolecular materials that may, in principle, present self-healing behavior. Hydrogen bonded networks implement dynamic noncovalent interactions.

Dynamic covalent chemistry: a facile room-temperature, reversible, Diels-Alder reaction between anthracene derivatives and N-phenyltriazolinedione.

A series of readily accessible, dynamic Diels-Alder reactions that are reversible at room temperature have been developed between anthracene derivatives as dienes and N-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione as the dienophile. The adducts formed undergo reversible component exchange to form dynamic libraries of equilibrating cycloadducts. Furthermore, reversible adduct formation allows temperature-dependent modulation of the fluorescent properties of anthracene components; a feature of potential interest for the design of optodynamic polymeric materials by careful selection and manipulation of these simple dienes and dienophiles.

Trivalent iron and ruthenium complexes with a redox noninnocent (2-mercaptophenylimino)-methyl-4,6-di-tert-butylphenolate(2-) ligand.

The 3,5-di-tert-butyl substituted N-(salicylidene)-o-mercaptoaniline (H(2)L) ligand reacted with equimolar amounts of FeBr(2) and 2 equiv of triethylamine in air affords [Fe(III)(L-L)Br](0) (1), where (L-L)(2-) is a pentacoordinate ligand formed from the oxidative dimerization of L(2-) via disulfide bridge formation. Reaction of H(2)L with RuCl(3) x H(2)O and NEt(3) gives a dark green-brown dinuclear complex, [Ru(III)(2)(L)(2)Cl(2)(NCCH(3))(2)](0) (2). Both complexes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Molecular and electronic structure of the square planar bis(o-amidobenzenethiolato)iron(III) anion and its bis(o-quinoxalinedithiolato)iron(III) analogue.

Crystalline purple [PPh4][FeIIIL2] (1), where L2- represents the closed-shell dianion of 4,6-di-tert-butyl-2-[(pentafluorophenyl)amino]benzenethiol, has been synthesized from the reaction of H2L and FeBr2 (2:1) in acetonitrile with excess NEt3, careful, brief exposure of the solution to air, and addition of [PPh4]Br. The monoanion has been shown by X-ray crystallography to be square planar. The oxidation of 1 with 1 equiv of iodine produces the neutral species [FeI(L*)2]0 (2) where (L*)1- represents the one-electron oxidized pi radical anion of L2-.