Nanoparticles Bounded to Interfering RNAs as a Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the tumors with poor prognosis and low survival due to late diagnosis, high resistance, and very limited effective therapeutic options. Thus, new pharmacological treatments are necessary to improve the prognosis of patients. In this context, nanoparticles represent an efficient system for transporting and administering therapeutic molecules.

Experimental Tumor Induction and Evaluation of Its Treatment in the Chicken Embryo Chorioallantoic Membrane Model: A Systematic Review.

The chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model, generated during avian development, can be used in cancer research as an alternative in vivo model to perform tumorigenesis in ovo due to advantages such as simplicity, low cost, rapid growth, and being naturally immunodeficient. The aim of this systematic review has been to compile and analyze all studies that use the CAM assay as a tumor induction model. For that, a systematic search was carried out in four different databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and WOS.

Ruthenium nanoparticles stabilized by 1,2,3-triazolylidene ligands in the hydrogen isotope exchange of E-H bonds (E = B, Si, Ge, Sn) using deuterium gas.

A series of ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru·MIC) stabilized with different mesoionic 1,2,3-triazolylidene (MIC) ligands were prepared by decomposition of the Ru(COD)(COT) (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene; COT = 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene) precursor with H (3 bar) in the presence of substoichiometric amounts of the stabilizer (0.1-0.2 equiv.

Circular Sponge against miR-21 Enhances the Antitumor Activity of Doxorubicin against Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, with chemotherapy being the main strategy. However, its effectiveness is reduced by drug resistance mechanisms. miR-21 is upregulated in breast cancer that has been linked to drug resistance and carcinogenic processes.

Catalytic Nitrous Oxide Reduction with H Mediated by Pincer Ir Complexes.

Reduction of nitrous oxide (NO) with H to N and water is an attractive process for the decomposition of this greenhouse gas to environmentally benign species. Herein, a series of iridium complexes based on proton-responsive pincer ligands (-) are shown to catalyze the hydrogenation of NO under mild conditions (2 bar H/NO (1:1), 30 °C). Among the tested catalysts, the Ir complex , based on a lutidine-derived CNP pincer ligand having nonequivalent phosphine and N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) side donors, gave rise to the highest catalytic activity (turnover frequency (TOF) = 11.

Reduction of NO with hydrosilanes catalysed by RuSNS nanoparticles.

A series of RuSNS nanoparticles, prepared by decomposition of Ru(COD)(COT) with H in the presence of an SNS ligand, have been found to catalyse the reduction of the greenhouse gas NO to N employing different hydrosilanes.

Minding the maps: Using visual mapping methodology and installation art to understand differences in client service accessibility among nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles.

This study highlights the pathways of clients' social service usage through qualitative interviews and visual mapping methodology. Undergraduate students interviewed clients at diverse social service agencies in Los Angeles that include homeless shelters, child welfare organizations, domestic violence organizations, LGBTQIA youth-oriented agencies, nonprofits serving older adults, schools, and organizations serving low-income families. Students used the information gathered from the interviews to visually map their clients' environmental and structural barriers, as well as their pathways to service.

Platinum nanoparticles stabilized by N-heterocyclic thiones. Synthesis and catalytic activity in mono- and di-hydroboration of alkynes.

N-Heterocyclic Thiones (NHT) proved to be efficient ligands for the stabilization of small platinum nanoparticles (1.3-1.7 nm), synthesized by decomposition of [Pt(dba)], under a H atmosphere, in the presence of variable sub-stoichiometric amounts of the NHT.

Membrane integration and topology of RIFIN and STEVOR proteins of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite.

The malarial parasite Plasmodium exports its own proteins to the cell surfaces of red blood cells (RBCs) during infection. Examples of exported proteins include members of the repetitive interspersed family (RIFIN) and subtelomeric variable open reading frame (STEVOR) family of proteins from Plasmodium falciparum. The presence of these parasite-derived proteins on surfaces of infected RBCs triggers the adhesion of infected cells to uninfected cells (rosetting) and to the vascular endothelium potentially obstructing blood flow.

Murine astrotactins 1 and 2 have a similar membrane topology and mature via endoproteolytic cleavage catalyzed by a signal peptidase.

Astrotactin 1 (Astn1) and Astn2 are membrane proteins that function in glial-guided migration, receptor trafficking, and synaptic plasticity in the brain as well as in planar polarity pathways in the skin. Here we used glycosylation mapping and protease protection approaches to map the topologies of mouse Astn1 and Astn2 in rough microsomal membranes and found that Astn2 has a cleaved N-terminal signal peptide, an N-terminal domain located in the lumen of the rough microsomal membranes (topologically equivalent to the extracellular surface in cells), two transmembrane helices, and a large C-terminal lumenal domain. We also found that Astn1 has the same topology as Astn2, but we did not observe any evidence of signal peptide cleavage in Astn1.

Development and Preliminary Assessment of Interprofessional Education Focused on Vulnerable Populations.

With the current state of the U.S. healthcare system, interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) has never been more important.

Developing Trans-Affirming Health Services in an Underserved Area: An Intersectional Approach.

Gender-nonconforming patients are at higher risk for medical problems that require prompt medical and mental health intervention. Barriers to healthcare for transgender individuals have been well characterized in the literature, but not in low resource settings. The purpose of this paper is to present the barriers encountered when bringing healthcare to transgender children, adolescents, and adults in a medically underserved, predominantly Hispanic area of the United States.

Stabilisation of gold nanoparticles by N-heterocyclic thiones.

Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) have been prepared using N-heterocyclic thiones (NHTs) as ligand stabilisers. These Au-NPs have been shown to be very stable, even in air, and have been characterized by a combination of several techniques (TEM, HR-TEM, STEM-HAADF, EDX, DLS, elemental analysis and H NMR). These nanoparticles are active in the catalytic reduction of nitroarenes to anilines.

Refined topology model of the STT3/Stt3 protein subunit of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex.

The oligosaccharyltransferase complex, localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotic cells, is responsible for the -linked glycosylation of numerous protein substrates. The membrane protein STT3 is a highly conserved part of the oligosaccharyltransferase and likely contains the active site of the complex. However, understanding the catalytic determinants of this system has been challenging, in part because of a discrepancy in the structural topology of the bacterial eukaryotic proteins and incomplete information about the mechanism of membrane integration.

Gene Duplication Leads to Altered Membrane Topology of a Cytochrome P450 Enzyme in Seed Plants.

Evolution of the phenolic metabolism was critical for the transition of plants from water to land. A cytochrome P450, CYP73, with cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) activity, catalyzes the first plant-specific and rate-limiting step in this pathway. The CYP73 gene is absent from green algae, and first detected in bryophytes.

Energetics of side-chain snorkeling in transmembrane helices probed by nonproteinogenic amino acids.

Cotranslational translocon-mediated insertion of membrane proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum is a key process in membrane protein biogenesis. Although the mechanism is understood in outline, quantitative data on the energetics of the process is scarce. Here, we have measured the effect on membrane integration efficiency of nonproteinogenic analogs of the positively charged amino acids arginine and lysine incorporated into model transmembrane segments.

Membrane insertion and topology of the amino-terminal domain TMD0 of multidrug-resistance associated protein 6 (MRP6).

The function of the ATP-binding cassette transporter MRP6 is unknown but mutations in its gene cause pseudoxanthoma elasticum. We have investigated the membrane topology of the N-terminal transmembrane domain TMD0 of MRP6 and the membrane integration and orientation propensities of its transmembrane segments (TMs) by glycosylation mapping. Results demonstrate that TMD0 has five TMs, an Nout-Cin topology and that the less hydrophobic TMs have strong preference for their orientation in the membrane that affects the neighboring TMs.

New Route to Stabilize Ruthenium Nanoparticles with Non-Isolable Chiral N-Heterocyclic Carbenes.

Ru nanoparticles (RuNPs) stabilized by non-isolable chiral N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), namely SIDPhNp ((4S,5S)-1,3-di(naphthalen-1-yl)-4,5-diphenylimidazolidine) and SIPhOH ((S)-3-((1S,2R)-2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethyl)-1-((R)-2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethyl)-4,5-dihydro-3H-imidazoline), have been synthesized through a new procedure that does not require isolation of the free carbenes. The obtained RuNPs have been characterized by state-of-the-art techniques and their surface chemistry has been investigated by FTIR and solid-state MAS NMR upon the coordination of CO, which indicated the presence of free and reactive Ru sites. Their catalytic activity has been tested in various hydrogenation reactions involving competition between different sites, whereby interesting differences in selectivity were observed, but no enantioselectivity.

Folding and Intramembraneous BRICHOS Binding of the Prosurfactant Protein C Transmembrane Segment.

Surfactant protein C (SP-C) is a novel amyloid protein found in the lung tissue of patients suffering from interstitial lung disease (ILD) due to mutations in the gene of the precursor protein pro-SP-C. SP-C is a small α-helical hydrophobic protein with an unusually high content of valine residues. SP-C is prone to convert into β-sheet aggregates, forming amyloid fibrils.

Ruthenium(II) Complexes Containing Lutidine-Derived Pincer CNC Ligands: Synthesis, Structure, and Catalytic Hydrogenation of C-N bonds.

A series of Ru complexes containing lutidine-derived pincer CNC ligands have been prepared by transmetalation with the corresponding silver-carbene derivatives. Characterization of these derivatives shows both mer and fac coordination of the CNC ligands depending on the wingtips of the N-heterocyclic carbene fragments. In the presence of tBuOK, the Ru-CNC complexes are active in the hydrogenation of a series of imines.

RIFINs are adhesins implicated in severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Rosetting is a virulent Plasmodium falciparum phenomenon associated with severe malaria. Here we demonstrate that P. falciparum-encoded repetitive interspersed families of polypeptides (RIFINs) are expressed on the surface of infected red blood cells (iRBCs), where they bind to RBCs--preferentially of blood group A--to form large rosettes and mediate microvascular binding of iRBCs.

Live-cell topology assessment of URG7, MRP6₁₀₂ and SP-C using glycosylatable green fluorescent protein in mammalian cells.

Experimental tools to determine membrane topology of a protein are rather limited in higher eukaryotic organisms. Here, we report the use of glycosylatable GFP (gGFP) as a sensitive and versatile membrane topology reporter in mammalian cells. gGFP selectively loses its fluorescence upon N-linked glycosylation in the ER lumen.

The code for directing proteins for translocation across ER membrane: SRP cotranslationally recognizes specific features of a signal sequence.

The signal recognition particle (SRP) cotranslationally recognizes signal sequences of secretory proteins and targets ribosome-nascent chain complexes to the SRP receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, initiating translocation of the nascent chain through the Sec61 translocon. Although signal sequences do not have homology, they have similar structural regions: a positively charged N-terminus, a hydrophobic core and a more polar C-terminal region that contains the cleavage site for the signal peptidase. Here, we have used site-specific photocrosslinking to study SRP-signal sequence interactions.

Changed membrane integration and catalytic site conformation are two mechanisms behind the increased Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio by presenilin 1 familial Alzheimer-linked mutations.

The enzyme complex γ-secretase generates amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), a 37-43-residue peptide associated with Alzheimer disease (AD). Mutations in presenilin 1 (PS1), the catalytical subunit of γ-secretase, result in familial AD (FAD). A unifying theme among FAD mutations is an alteration in the ratio Aβ species produced (the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio), but the molecular mechanisms responsible remain elusive.

Probing the surface of platinum nanoparticles with 13CO by solid-state NMR and IR spectroscopies.

The synthesis and full characterization of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) prepared by decomposition of the Pt(dba)2 complex in the presence of CO and H2 and stabilized either sterically by a polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone or chemically by a ligand, diphenylphosphinobutane, are reported. In these studies, (13)CO was used as a probe molecule to investigate the surface of the particles, using IR and solid-state NMR spectroscopies with magic angle spinning (MAS-NMR). Three nanosystems with different sizes are described: Pt/PVP/(13)CO (monomodal: 1.