Brown Algae as a Valuable Substrate for the Cost-Effective Production of Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid for Applications in Cream Formulations.

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a carboxylic-acid-rich, bio-derived, water-soluble, edible, hydrating, non-immunogenic polymer produced naturally by several microorganisms. Here, we re-emphasise the ability of natto to naturally produce γ-PGA on whole seaweed, as well as for the yields and chemical properties of the material to be affected by the presence of Mn. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an extracellular glycosaminoglycan which presents a high concentration of carboxylic acid and hydroxyl groups, being key in fulfilling numerous applications.

A practical synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted cubane derivatives.

A robust multigram-scale synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted cubanes (previously only available on milligram-scale) is reported. The approach exploits a readily available enone intermediate previously used for the synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted cubanes, by introducing a novel Wharton transposition to access useful quantities of 1,3-disubstituted cubanes for diverse applications.

Genetically engineered multicistronic allele of Pmel yielding highly specific CreERT2-mediated recombination in the melanocyte lineage.

Genetic approaches that allow lineage tracing are essential to our future understanding of melanocytes and melanoma. To date, the approaches used to label melanocytes in mice have relied on random integration of transgenes driven by the promoters of the Tyrosinase and Dopachrome tautomerase genes, knock-in to the Dopachrome tautomerase locus or knock-in to the Mlana locus in a bacterial artificial chromosome. These strategies result in expression in other tissues such as telencephalon and other cell types such as nerves.

Dbf4-Cdc7 (DDK) Inhibitor PHA-767491 Displays Potent Anti-Proliferative Effects via Crosstalk with the CDK2-RB-E2F Pathway.

Precise regulation of DNA replication complex assembly requires cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) and Dbf4-dependent kinase (DDK) activities to activate the replicative helicase complex and initiate DNA replication. Chemical probes have been essential in the molecular analysis of DDK-mediated regulation of MCM2-7 activation and the initiation phase of DNA replication. Here, the inhibitory activity of two distinct DDK inhibitor chemotypes, PHA-767491 and XL-413, were assessed in cell-free and cell-based proliferation assays.