Effects of resveratrol on HepG2 cells as revealed by (1)H-NMR based metabolic profiling.

Background: Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in plant products, has been shown to regulate many cellular processes and to display multiple protective and therapeutic effects. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated the influence of resveratrol on multiple intracellular targets that may regulate metabolic homeostasis.

Methods: We analysed the metabolic modifications induced by resveratrol treatment in a human hepatoblastoma line, HepG2 cells, using a (1)H-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics approach that allows the simultaneous screening of multiple metabolic pathways.

Structural and metallo selectivity in the assembly of [2 × 2] grid-type metallosupramolecular species: mechanisms and kinetic control.

An unsymmetrical bis(tridentate) ligand LH in which one binding site can be readily deprotonated forms a kinetically inert [Co(III)L(2)](+) complex which can be used as a "corner" species for the "Coupe du Roi" assembly of trans,trans-[Co(2)M(2)L(4)](6+) metallogrids (M = Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)). In the mixed Co(III)/Co(II) species, the oxidation states appear to be localised. In solution, the ligand LH forms octacationic, homometallic [2 × 2] grids with the individual labile metal ions Fe(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), seemingly as mixtures of all possible isomers arising from the unsymmetrical nature of the ligand.

Conversion of the mycotoxin patulin to the less toxic desoxypatulinic acid by the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11.

The infection of stored apples by the fungus Penicillium expansum causes the contamination of fruits and fruit-derived products with the mycotoxin patulin, which is a major issue in food safety. Fungal attack can be prevented by beneficial microorganisms, so-called biocontrol agents. Previous time-course thin layer chromatography analyses showed that the aerobic incubation of patulin with the biocontrol yeast Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 leads to the disappearance of the mycotoxin spot and the parallel emergence of two new spots, one of which disappears over time.

Linking mantle plumes, large igneous provinces and environmental catastrophes.

Large igneous provinces (LIPs) are known for their rapid production of enormous volumes of magma (up to several million cubic kilometres in less than a million years), for marked thinning of the lithosphere, often ending with a continental break-up, and for their links to global environmental catastrophes. Despite the importance of LIPs, controversy surrounds even the basic idea that they form through melting in the heads of thermal mantle plumes. The Permo-Triassic Siberian Traps--the type example and the largest continental LIP--is located on thick cratonic lithosphere and was synchronous with the largest known mass-extinction event.

A young source for the Hawaiian plume.

Recycling of oceanic crust through subduction, mantle upwelling, and remelting in mantle plumes is a widely accepted mechanism to explain ocean island volcanism. The timescale of this recycling is important to our understanding of mantle circulation rates. Correlations of uranogenic lead isotopes in lavas from ocean islands such as Hawaii or Iceland, when interpreted as model isochrons, have yielded source differentiation ages between 1 and 2.

Solvent and hydrogen confinement in molecular capsules-Hirshfeld surface and molecular simulation analysis.

Hirshfeld surface analysis of the 'ordered' inner phase of the molecular capsule complex, [(chloroform)(6)@C-n-butylpyrogallol[4]arene)(6)], provides insight into the intermolecular contacts and orientation of the solvent molecules. Molecular simulations show that adding two or three hydrogen molecules to the six solvent molecules is energetically favoured, and this correlates with NMR studies.

Methyl jasmonate deficiency alters cellular metabolome, including the aminome of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit.

Exogenous treatment with jasmonates (JA) has been shown to reduce the levels of polyamines in many plants. But the role of endogenous JA on polyamine biosynthesis or other cellular metabolites has thus far remained uninvestigated. We developed transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.

Site specific Co(III) sarcophagine binding in multi-component phosphonium and p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene systems.

Co(III) sarcophagine-type cage molecules, [Co(diCLsar)](3+) or [Co(HONOsar)](3+), form either 1 : 1 or 1 : 2 host-guest inclusion complexes with mono-phosphonium cations and sodium p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene in the solid state yielding complex I [p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene·Co(diCLsar)·2{benzyltriphenylphosphonium}], complex II [2{p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene}·Co(diCLsar)·3{tetraphenylphosphonium}] and complex III [p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene·Co(HONOsar)·tetraphenylphosphonium]. The diversity of the structural types of these multi-component systems, including the orientation of the Co(III) molecules in the cavities of the calixarenes, depends on the nature of their terminal functional groups. The secondary coordination interactions binding between the Co(III) molecules and p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene have also been investigated in water using NMR techniques.

Temperature-dependent crystal structure of the isopropanol clathrate of Dianin's compound.

The title compound undergoes two order-disorder transitions between 15 and 299 K, dictated by ordering of the guest molecules in the host cages, and resulting in three related crystal structures. We anticipate behaviour of this kind to be widespread, and speculate that the concept of "the crystal structure" for individual Dianin's clathrates may be elusive.

Properties of PEI-based polyplex nanoparticles that correlate with their transfection efficacy.

We have evaluated the key properties of the polyethylenimine (PEI)-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-TAT peptide polyplex nanoparticles including their behavior in cells and compared them with the transfection efficacy (TE) using 11 different cell lines. We found statistically significant positive correlation between TE and the share of 50-75 nm fraction in the whole mixture of nanoparticles estimated with atomic force microscopy. Variations in PEG/PEI and N/P ratios (PEI nitrogen to DNA phosphate ratio) enabled us to find their optimal combinations, which resulted in up to 100% TE for several cell lines.

Monitoring of metabolic profiling and water status of Hayward kiwifruits by nuclear magnetic resonance.

The metabolic profiling of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa, Hayward cultivar) aqueous extracts and the water status of entire kiwifruits were monitored over the season (June-December) using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodologies. The metabolic profiling of aqueous kiwifruit extracts was investigated by means of high field NMR spectroscopy. A large number of water-soluble metabolites were assigned by means of 1D and 2D NMR experiments.

Layered Calcium Structures of p-Phosphonic Acid O-Methyl-Calix[6]arene.

Hexamethoxy-calix[6]arene has been fully functionalized with p-phosphonic acid groups on the upper rim in 57% yield over three steps, and has been authenticated in the solid state by X-ray diffraction as either a nitrate salt or one of two calcium complexes. The latter differ by the ratio of calcium ions per calixarene, either 3:1 or 4:1. In both structures the coordination sphere of the calcium ions is made up of oxygen atoms from the phosphonic acid groups and from water of crystallization, as part of extended polymeric layers in the extended 3D packing.

[Frequency and specific features of depressive disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

The aim of the work was to study the frequency of depressive conditions and their specific features in 200 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with reference to their quality of life. The patients were subjected to clinical and laboratory examination and interviewed to elucidate their awareness of the disease. The CES-D depression scale and SF-36 questionnaire were used for the purpose.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery with aortopulmonary window.

This report describes a rare case of anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the pulmonary artery associated with a large aortopulmonary window in a 2-month-old boy. The right coronary artery was exposed to systemic pressure and carried fairly well-oxygenated blood to the myocardium. Closure of the aortopulmonary window alone could have caused acute myocardial ischemia.

Quality traits of conventional and transgenic lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) at harvesting by NMR metabolic profiling.

Metabolism of genetically modified (GM) lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) leaves was investigated by comparing NMR metabolic profiles of three lines (T(3)B12, T(7)B7, and T(7)B14) overexpressing the E. coli asparagine synthetase A gene with those of the wild type (WT) at 24, 56, and 64 days after sowing (DAS).

Selective binding of imidazolium cations in building multi-component layers.

Addition of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium (C(n)-mim) cations 3-5 to a mixture of bis-phosphonium cation 2 and sodium p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene (1) in the presence of lanthanide ions results in the selective binding of an imidazolium cation into the cavity of the calixarene. The result is a multi-layered solid material with an inherently flexible interplay of the components. Incorporating ethyl-, n-butyl- or n-hexyl-mim cations into the multi-layers results in significant perturbation of the structure, the most striking effect is the tilting of the plane of the bowl-shaped calixarene relative to the plane of the multi-layer, with tilt angles of 7.

Modular nanotransporters of anticancer drugs conferring cell specificity and higher efficiency.

This review deals with artificial modular nanotransporters (MNT) of polypeptide nature for drug delivery into target cells and then into a specified cell compartment like the nucleus. The developed approach is based on the use of intracellular transport processes characteristic of practically all cells, including cancer cells. The first MNT module ligand carries out a double function: specific recognition of a cancer target cell and penetration into the cell via receptor-mediated endocytosis.

NMR and chemometrics in tracing European olive oils: the case study of Ligurian samples.

An NMR and chemometric analytical approach to classify extra virgin olive oils according to their geographical origin was developed within the European TRACE project (FP6-2003-FOOD-2-A, contract number: 0060942). Olive oils (896 samples) of three consecutive harvesting years (2005, 2006, and 2007) coming from Mediterranean areas were analyzed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Olive oil samples from Liguria, an Italian region, were chosen as a case study and PLS-DA and SIMCA modeling analyses were used to build up statistical models both to discriminate between Ligurian and non-Ligurian olive oils and to define the Ligurian olive oil class to confirm the declared provenience.

Novel modular transporters delivering anticancer drugs and foreign DNA to the nuclei of target cancer cells.

A major challenge in the development of specific and effective cancer treatments is the paradoxical situation that exploiting a molecular target that is accessible (surface membrane or extracellular matrix) is critical for achieving tumor selectivity whereas delivery of the therapeutic inside the cell, to the cell nucleus is generally required for maximizing the therapeutic effect. Photosensitizers, alpha-particle emitting radionuclides and foreign genetic material could be considered as such therapeutics if they possessed cellular and subcellular specificity. The author describes a novel approach of using modular recombinant transporters to target the therapeutics to the nucleus of cancer cells, where their action is most pronounced or can only be expressed.

Syntheses, structures and spectroscopy of uni- and bi-dentate nitrogen base complexes of silver(I) trifluoromethanesulfonate.

In extension of recent synthetic and crystallographic studies of adducts of silver(I) oxyanion salts with uni- and bi-dentate nitrogen-donor ligands, AgX : L (1 : n), a parallel series of complexes formed with silver(I) trifluoromethanesulfonate ('tfs', 'triflate') has been similarly defined, showing rather more divergence from tendencies established with the previous ClO(4), NO(3), F(3)CCO(2) core arrays than might be expected from basicity arguments. Thus, while silver triflate crystallised from neat base forms 1 : 2 mononuclear adducts with 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine and quinoline which comprise essentially linear two-coordinate [LAgL](+) cations, perturbed by approaches of the anions, 1 : 2 adducts obtained similarly from pyridine and 2-methylpyridine are [L(2)Ag(mu-tfs)(2)AgL(2)] dimers, with central four- and eight-membered rings arising from mu-OSO(2)CF(3) and extended mu-(O,O'SOCF(3)) anion bridging modes, respectively. With piperidine, a single-stranded polymer reminiscent of the arrays [(pip)(2)AgX](infinity/infinity), X = Cl, NCS, is formed, the triflate bridging through two of its oxygen atoms, rather than via a single atom bridge.

Organization of lower rim O-alkylated p-phosphonic acid calix[4]arenes.

Lower rim O-methyl, -n-butyl, and n-octadecyl calix[4]arenes bearing p-phosphonic acid groups on the upper rim have been prepared in high yield, compounds 12-14. Where possible the compounds have been characterized in the solid state using X-ray diffraction, or as the precursor phosphate esters or a cesium salt. The cone conformation ethyl phosphate ester for the octadecyl compound crystallizes in a bi-layer 39.

NMR-metabolic methodology in the study of GM foods.

The 1H-NMR methodology used in the study of genetically modified (GM) foods is discussed. Transgenic lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv "Luxor") over-expressing the ArabidopsisKNAT1 gene is presented as a case study. Twenty-two water-soluble metabolites (amino acids, organic acids, sugars) present in leaves of conventional and GM lettuce were monitored by NMR and quantified at two developmental stages.