We have used three established human glioblastoma (GBM) cell lines-U87MG, A172, and T98G-as cellular systems to examine the plasticity of the drug-induced GBM cell phenotype, focusing on two clinical drugs, the phosphodiesterase PDE10A inhibitor Mardepodect and the multi-kinase inhibitor Regorafenib, using genome-wide drug-induced gene expression (DIGEX) to examine the drug response. Both drugs upregulate genes encoding specific growth factors, transcription factors, cellular signaling molecules, and cell surface proteins, while downregulating a broad range of targetable cell cycle and apoptosis-associated genes. A few upregulated genes encode therapeutic targets already addressed by FDA approved drugs, but the majority encode targets for which there are no approved drugs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simple model describing the influence of ion size in the electrical double layer (EDL) near a highly charged plane is proposed here. This model is based on the Poisson-Boltzmann equation with a single additional term representing the mechanical response of bulky ions to hydrostatic pressure. This pressure is produced by Coulomb forces, and increases to several kilobars in the vicinity of a highly charged plane.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe water surface charge has been extensively debated in recent decades. Electrophoretic mobilities of air bubbles in water and disjoining pressures between the surfaces of aqueous films suggest that the surface of water exhibits a significant negative charge. This is commonly attributed to a strong adsorption of hydroxide ions at the interface, though spectroscopic measurements and simulation studies suggest surface depletion of hydroxide ions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGGA+U calculation were performed for oxides of Ti, V, Mo, and Ce with the objective of establishing the best value of the parameter Ueff to use in order to match the calculated reduction and oxidation energies of each oxide with experimental values. In each case, the reaction involved the hydrogen reduction of an oxide to its next lower oxide and the formation of water. Our calculations show that the optimal value of Ueff required to match calculated and experimental values of the reaction energy are significantly different from those reported in the literature based on matching lattice parameters or electronic properties and that the use of these values of Ueff can result in errors in the calculated redox energies of over 100 kJ/mol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo use the TRXF technique for the quantification of DNA binding to monolayers at the air-water interface, DNA from salmon testes was labeled by covalently bound bromine. For this purpose, an analytical procedure for the quantification of bromine in labeled DNA with a detection limit of 10-20 μg was developed. It was found that the pH of the solution has a strong influence on the yield of brominated DNA (BrDNA) when Br(2) is used as a reagent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to be used in versatile DNA delivery systems, novel cationic lipids were synthesized. The head groups of the new compounds represented by monoamines or oligoamines can be charged or uncharged depending on the environmental pH. Since their pK values are unknown, the protonation properties of these lipids have been studied in a wide pH range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simplified total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TRXF) technique is proposed for the study of the electrical double layer (EDL) near charged monolayers at the air-water interface. In contrast to the parent NTEF (near total external reflection X-ray fluorescence) method, TRXF uses a fixed angle of incidence (below the critical one) and abandons both "spatial resolution" (which is poor anyway) and "absolute calibration" with the bulk reference. These modifications reduce both the duration of experiments and the complexity of the data treatment by 1-2 orders of magnitude and turn TRXF into a truly simple tool for elemental analysis within the EDL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeviations from the classic Gouy-Chapman (GC) model due to the finite size of hydrated counterions were tested for negatively charged Langmuir monolayers with different surface charge densities. Monolayers with the largest charge density (>0.6 C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhosphatidylglycerols are components of biological membranes. The phase behavior of these phospholipids was extensively investigated. However, there is still no definite picture about the dependence of the ionization state and monolayer structure on subphase composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembrane surface electrostatic interactions impose structural constraints on imported proteins. An unprecedented sensitive dependence on these constraints was seen in the voltage-gated import and channel formation by the C-terminal pore-forming domain of the bacteriocin, colicin E1. At physiological ionic strengths, significant channel current was observed only in a narrow interval of anionic lipid content ([L-]), with the maximum current (I(max)) at 25-30 mol% (dioleoyl)-phosphatidylglycerol ([L-]max) corresponding to a surface potential of the lipid bilayer in the absence of protein, psi(o)max = -60 +/- 5 mV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies of kaolin have revealed an effect characterized by an unusual temperature-induced change of the EPR spectrum of the Fe3+ ion, which is the magnetic probe in kaolin-clay. At low temperature (T=4.2 K) a resonance line with an effective g-value g1=4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF