The longevity-associated BPIFB4 gene supports cardiac function and vascularization in ageing cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The ageing heart naturally incurs a progressive decline in function and perfusion that available treatments cannot halt. However, some exceptional individuals maintain good health until the very late stage of their life due to favourable gene-environment interaction. We have previously shown that carriers of a longevity-associated variant (LAV) of the BPIFB4 gene enjoy prolonged health spans and lesser cardiovascular complications.

Oral Progenitor Cell Line-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles as a Treatment for Preferential Wound Healing Outcome.

Scar formation during wound repair can be devastating for affected individuals. Our group previously documented the therapeutic potential of novel progenitor cell populations from the non-scarring buccal mucosa. These Oral Mucosa Lamina Propria-Progenitor Cells (OMLP-PCs) are multipotent, immunosuppressive, and antibacterial.

Functional, Aromatic, and Fluorinated Monothiosemicarbazones: Investigations into Their Structures and Activity toward the Gallium-68 Incorporation by Microwave Irradiation.

We report on the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a new series of coordinating monothiosemicarbazones incorporating aromatic backbones, featuring O/N/S donor centers monosubstituted with different aliphatic, aromatic, fluorinated, and amine-functionalized groups at their N centers. Their ability to bind metal ions such as Zn(II) and Ga(III) was explored, and the formation of two different coordination isomers of the Zn(II) complex was demonstrated by X-ray diffraction studies using synchrotron radiation. These studies showed the planar geometry for the coordinated mono(thiosemicarbazone) ligand and that the metal center can adopt either a heavily distorted tetrahedral Zn center (placed in an N/S/S/N environment, with CN = 4) or a pseudo-octahedral geometry, where the Zn(II) center is in the O/N/S/S/N/O environment, and CN = 6.

[F]Difluorocarbene for positron emission tomography.

The advent of total-body positron emission tomography (PET) has vastly broadened the range of research and clinical applications of this powerful molecular imaging technology. Such possibilities have accelerated progress in fluorine-18 (F) radiochemistry with numerous methods available to F-label (hetero)arenes and alkanes. However, access to F-difluoromethylated molecules in high molar activity is mostly an unsolved problem, despite the indispensability of the difluoromethyl group for pharmaceutical drug discovery.

Explorations into Peptide Nucleic Acid Contrast Agents as Emerging Scaffolds for Breakthrough Solutions in Medical Imaging and Diagnosis.

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs, nucleic acid analogues with a peptide backbone rather than a phosphoribosyl backbone) have emerged as promising chemical agents in antigene or antisense therapeutics, as splicing modulators or in gene editing. Their main benefits, compared to DNA or RNA agents, are their biochemical stability and the lack of negative charges throughout the backbone, leading to negligible electrostatic interaction with the strand with which they are hybridizing. As a result, hybridization of PNA strands with DNA or RNA strands leads to higher binding energies and melting temperatures.

Chemosensitization of Temozolomide-Resistant Pediatric Diffuse Midline Glioma Using Potent Nanoencapsulated Forms of a N(3)-Propargyl Analogue.

The lack of clinical response to the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ) in pediatric diffuse midline/intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) has been associated with -methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) expression and mismatch repair deficiency. Hence, a potent N(3)-propargyl analogue (N3P) was derived, which not only evades MGMT but also remains effective in mismatch repair deficient cells. Due to the poor pharmacokinetic profile of N3P ( < 1 h) and to bypass the blood-brain barrier, we proposed convection enhanced delivery (CED) as a method of administration to decrease dose and systemic toxicity.

Absolute standardisation and determination of the half-life and gamma emission intensities of Zr.

An absolute standardisation of Zr was performed alongside determination of gamma emission intensities and half-life. The collected data were evaluated alongside complementary works from previous publications and new recommended nuclear data values are presented including a new evaluated T = 78.361(25) h and new absolute intensities for gamma transitions resulting from its decay to Y.

Biodistribution PET/CT Study of Hemoglobin-DFO-Zr Complex in Healthy and Lung Tumor-Bearing Mice.

Proteins, as a major component of organisms, are considered the preferred biomaterials for drug delivery vehicles. Hemoglobin (Hb) has been recently rediscovered as a potential drug carrier, but its use for biomedical applications still lacks extensive investigation. To further explore the possibility of utilizing Hb as a potential tumor targeting drug carrier, we examined and compared the biodistribution of Hb in healthy and lung tumor-bearing mice, using for the first time Zr labelled Hb in a positron emission tomography (PET) measurement.

Transfer of a human gene variant associated with exceptional longevity improves cardiac function in obese type 2 diabetic mice through induction of the SDF-1/CXCR4 signalling pathway.

Aims: Homozygosity for a four-missense single-nucleotide polymorphism haplotype of the human BPIFB4 gene is enriched in long-living individuals. Delivery of this longevity-associated variant (LAV) improved revascularisation and reduced endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis in mice through a mechanism involving the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1). Here, we investigated if delivery of the LAV-BPIFB4 gene may attenuate the progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Radiosynthesis of [F]-Labelled Pro-Nucleotides (ProTides).

Phosphoramidate pro-nucleotides (ProTides) have revolutionized the field of anti-viral and anti-cancer nucleoside therapy, overcoming the major limitations of nucleoside therapies and achieving clinical and commercial success. Despite the translation of ProTide technology into the clinic, there remain unresolved in vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic questions. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging using [F]-labelled model ProTides could directly address key mechanistic questions and predict response to ProTide therapy.

L-Selectin Enhanced T Cells Improve the Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy.

The homing molecule, L-selectin (CD62L), is commonly used as a T cell activation marker, since expression is downregulated following engagement of the T cell receptor. Studies in mice have shown that CD62L central memory T cells are better at controlling tumor growth than CD62L effector memory T cells, while L-selectin knockout T cells are poor at controlling tumor growth. Here, we test the hypothesis that T cells expressing genetically modified forms of L-selectin that are maintained following T cell activation (L-selectin enhanced T cells) are better at controlling tumor growth than wild type T cells.

Systematic and detailed analysis of behavioural tests in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model of stroke: Tests for long-term assessment.

In order to test therapeutics, functional assessments are required. In pre-clinical stroke research, there is little consensus regarding the most appropriate behavioural tasks to assess deficits, especially when testing over extended times in milder models with short occlusion times and small lesion volumes. In this study, we comprehensively assessed 16 different behavioural tests, with the aim of identifying those that show robust, reliable and stable deficits for up to two months.

Scaling-down antibody radiolabeling reactions with zirconium-89.

The most widely cited procedures for radiolabeling antibodies with zirconium-89 for immuno-PET require multi-milligram amounts of antibody which can be cost-prohibitive, particularly during the research and development process. We therefore sought to develop a reliable (89)Zr-radiolabeling procedure that provides high radiochemical yields at the microgram scale.

Evaluation of a fluorescent derivative of AMD3100 and its interaction with the CXCR4 chemokine receptor.

AMD3100 is a potent and selective antagonist of the CXCR4 receptor; it has been shown to block the route of entry of HIV into host T-cells. This compound and its analogues have since been found to act as haematopoietic stem cell mobilisation agents and, more recently, as anti-cancer agents. Here, we have examined a fluorescent derivative of AMD3100, L(1), which offered the potential to assess the behaviour of AMD3100 at the cell surface by using optical imaging modalities.

T2 weighted MRI for assessing renal lesions in transgenic mouse models of tuberous sclerosis.

Objective: Transgenic mouse models of tuberous sclerosis (TSC) develop renal cysts, cystadenomas, solid adenomas and carcinomas. Identification and characterisation of these lesions in vivo may help in TSC pre-clinical trials. This study was to evaluate T2 weighted MRI for assessment of renal lesions in two Tsc mouse models.

Hadamard NMR spectroscopy for relaxation measurements of large (>35 kDa) proteins.

Here we present a suite of pulse sequences for the measurement of (15)N T(1), T(1rho) and NOE data that combine traditional TROSY-based pulse sequences with band-selective Hadamard frequency encoding. The additive nature of the Hadamard matrix produces much reduced resonance overlap without the need for an increase in the dimensionality of the experiment or a significant decrease in the signal to noise ratio. We validate the accuracy of these sequences in application to ubiquitin and demonstrate their utility for relaxation measurements in Escherichia coli Class II fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBP-aldolase), a 358 residue 78 kDa dimeric enzyme.

Configurations of metallocyclams and relevance to anti-HIV activity.

Antiviral cyclam macrocycles block viral entry into cells by binding to the CXCR4 co-receptor. Cyclams bind transition metal ions strongly and can potentially form a range of trans (I-V) and cis configurations which may be recognised differently by co-receptor proteins. A survey of the CSD (crystallographic structural database) shows that the trans-III configuration is the most common in the solid state for complexes of cyclam itself.

Comparative modelling of human PHOSPHO1 reveals a new group of phosphatases within the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily.

PHOSPHO1 is a recently identified phosphatase whose expression is upregulated in mineralizing cells and is implicated in the generation of inorganic phosphate for matrix mineralization, a process central to skeletal development. The enzyme is a member of the haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) superfamily of magnesium-dependent hydrolases. However, the natural substrate(s) is as yet unidentified and to date no structural information is known.

Anti-viral cyclam macrocycles : rapid zinc uptake at physiological pH.

NMR and UV-vis spectroscopic studies show that Zn(II) binds to cyclam rapidly at micromolar concentrations, an observation relevant to the anti-viral activity and co-receptor binding of anti-HIV cyclams.

Structure and dynamics of metallomacrocycles: recognition of zinc xylyl-bicyclam by an HIV coreceptor.

As platforms for the design of metal-based therapeutic and diagnostic agents, macrocycles are rigid enough to provide strong metal binding sites and orient functional groups stereoselectively, yet flexible enough to accommodate structural changes required for induced-fit recognition of biological targets. We consider the recognition of the Zn(II) complex of the bis-tetraazamacrocycle xylyl-bicyclam, a potent anti-HIV agent, by the coreceptor CXCR4, a G-protein-coupled receptor used by HIV for membrane fusion and cell entry. NMR studies show that the macrocycles of Zn(II)(2)-xylyl-bicyclam perchlorate exist in aqueous solution as two major configurations, trans-I (nitrogen chirality R,S,R,S), and trans-III (S,S,R,R).