Delivery and application of dietary polyphenols to target organs, tissues and intracellular organelles.

At present, dietary polyphenols are popular with consumers because regular consumption of polyphenol-rich foods is likely to be beneficial for human health. However, administrated polyphenols are extensively metabolized in the digestive tract or some other parts before reaching the target organs. Additionally, some of the polyphenols are photosensitive, easily oxidized and are in unfavorable forms.

The green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin gallate precipitates salivary proteins including alpha-amylase: biochemical implications for oral health.

Green tea is a popular drink throughout the world, and it contains various components, including the green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Tea interacts with saliva upon entering the mouth, so the interaction between saliva and EGCG interested us, especially with respect to EGCG-protein binding. SDS-PAGE revealed that several salivary proteins were precipitated after adding EGCG to saliva.

Synthetic studies on novel 1,4-dihydro-2-methylthio-4,4,6-trisubstituted pyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid esters and their tautomers.

A mixture of alkyl 1,4-dihydro-2-methylthio-4,4,6-trisubstituted pyrimidine-5-carboxylate 1 and its tautomeric isomer, alkyl 1,6-dihydro-2-methylthio-4,6,6-trisubstituted pyrimidine-5-carboxylate 2 is synthesized by the Atwal-Biginelli cyclocondensation reaction of S-methylisothiourea hemisulfate salt 3 with 2-(gem-disubstituted)methylene-3-oxoesters 4 that can be accessed by the Lehnert procedure for the Knoevenagel-type condensation. The structures of the tautomeric products of the Atwal-Biginelli cyclocondensation reaction, 1 and 2, which are inseparable from each other, are determined unambiguously by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy at various temperatures and nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) experiment. Because these dihydropyrimidine products are otherwise inaccessible and thus hitherto unavailable, the synthetic methods established in this study will help to expand the molecular diversity of their related derivatives.

Characterization of rat and human CYP2J enzymes as Vitamin D 25-hydroxylases.

vitamin D is 25-hydroxylated in the liver, before being activated by 1alpha-hydroxylation in the kidney. Recently, the rat cytochrome P450 2J3 (CYP2J3) has been identified as a principal vitamin D 25-hydroxylase in the rat [Yamasaki T, Izumi S, Ide H, Ohyama Y. Identification of a novel rat microsomal vitamin D3 25-hydroxylase.

Studies on the transcriptional regulation of cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CYP46A1): marked insensitivity toward different regulatory axes.

Mammalian CNS contains a disproportionally large and remarkably stable pool of cholesterol. Despite an efficient recycling there is some requirement for elimination of brain cholesterol. Conversion of cholesterol into 24S-hydroxycholesterol by the cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) is the quantitatively most important mechanism.

Eight cytochrome P450s catalyze vitamin D metabolism.

Vitamin D3 plays a central role in calcium and phosphate homeostasis and is essential for the proper development and maintenance of bone. To exert its biological activities, vitamin D3 has to receive enzymatic transformation to the active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. The first step is the 25-hydroxylation reaction in the liver that produces 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, the major circulating form of vitamin D3.

Detection of endonuclease III- and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase-sensitive base modifications in gamma-irradiated DNA and cells by the aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) assay.

Ionizing radiation generates diverse DNA lesions that differentially induce cell death and mutations. In the present study, calf thymus DNA (400 microg/ml) and HeLa cells were irradiated by (60)Co gamma-rays, and abasic (AP) sites and endonuclease (Endo)III- and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (hOGG1)-sensitive base modifications in DNA were quantitated by the aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) assay. The irradiation of calf thymus DNA in phosphate buffer generated 91 Endo III- and 100 hOGG1-sensitive base modifications and 110 AP sites per 10(6) base pairs (bp) per Gy.

Identification of a novel rat microsomal vitamin D3 25-hydroxylase.

Vitamin D3 requires the 25-hydroxylation in the liver and the subsequent 1alpha-hydroxylation in the kidney to exert its biological activity. Vitamin D3 25-hydroxylation is hence an essential modification step for vitamin D3 activation. Until now, three cytochrome P450 molecular species (CYP27A1, CYP2C11, and CYP2D25) have been characterized well as vitamin D3 25-hydroxylases.

Repair of oxidative cytosine damage by DNA glycosylases.

5-Hydroxyuracil (HOU) and 5-hydroxycytosine (HOC) are major oxidative lesions of cytosine with mutagenic potentials. Therefore, HOU and HOC need to be removed from DNA to avoid mutation. In this study, oligonucleotide substrates containing HOU and HOC were synthesized by DNA polymerase reactions and tested for DNA glycosylases.

Repair roles of hSMUG1 assessed by damage specificity and cellular activity.

Single-strand-selective monofunctional uracil-DNA glycosylase (SMUG1) was previously identified as a putative backup enzyme of major mammalian uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG). However, the subsequent studies have shown conflicting results about the substrate specificity of SMUG1. In the present study, to clarify the repair role of SMUG1, we determined the damage specificity of purified human SMUG1 (hSMUG1) and its contribution to repair of oxidized bases in HeLa cell extracts.

Identification and characterization of mammalian 5-formyluracil-DNA glycosylase.

5-Formyluracil is a major oxidative thymine lesion with mutagenic and cytotoxic properties. In this study, we have partially purified and characterized a mammalian 5-formyluracil-DNA glycosylase (FDG) from rat liver. FDG was a monofunctional DNA glycosylase and removed 5-formyluracil, uracil, 5-hydroxyuracil, 5-hydroxylmethyluracil in single-stranded and double-stranded DNA.

Extensive methylation of CpG island of CYP24 gene in osteoblastic ROS17/2.8 cells.

CYP24 is a target gene of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) and is induced in the cells expressing vitamin D receptor (VDR) in response to 1,25-(OH)2D3. The osteoblastic ROS17/2.8 cells abundantly express VDR and have been used for the promoter analysis of many of vitamin D3 target genes.

Detection of NO-induced DNA lesions by the modified aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) assay.

When DNA is exposed to NO or HNO2, oxanine (Oxa) is formed as a major guanine lesion. For highly sensitive detection of Oxa using ARP, a probe molecule for DNA damage detection, the reactivity of ARP to Oxa was examined. Oxa site-specifically embedded in an oligonucleotide reacted with ARP but it took relatively long time (ca.

DNA-protein cross-link formation mediated by oxanine. A novel genotoxic mechanism of nitric oxide-induced DNA damage.

Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for many human cancers, and nitric oxide (NO) produced in inflamed tissues has been proposed to cause DNA damage via nitrosation or oxidation of base moieties. Thus, NO-induced DNA damage could be relevant to carcinogenesis associated with chronic inflammation. In this report, we report a novel genotoxic mechanism of NO that involves DNA-protein cross-links (DPCs) induced by oxanine (Oxa), a major NO-induced guanine lesion.

Mammalian 5-formyluracil-DNA glycosylase. 2. Role of SMUG1 uracil-DNA glycosylase in repair of 5-formyluracil and other oxidized and deaminated base lesions.

In the accompanying paper [Matsubara, M., et al. (2003) Biochemistry 42, 4993-5002], we have partially purified and characterized rat 5-formyluracil (fU)-DNA glycosylase (FDG).

Mammalian 5-formyluracil-DNA glycosylase. 1. Identification and characterization of a novel activity that releases 5-formyluracil from DNA.

5-Formyluracil (fU) is a major oxidative thymine lesion produced by reactive oxygen species and exhibits genotoxic and cytotoxic effects via several mechanisms. In the present study, we have searched for and characterized mammalian fU-DNA glycosylase (FDG) using two approaches. In the first approach, the FDG activity was examined using purified base excision repair enzymes.

Novel repair activities of AlkA (3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase II) and endonuclease VIII for xanthine and oxanine, guanine lesions induced by nitric oxide and nitrous acid.

Nitrosation of guanine in DNA by nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous acid leads to formation of xanthine (Xan) and oxanine (Oxa), potentially cytotoxic and mutagenic lesions. In the present study, we have examined the repair capacity of DNA N-glycosylases from Escherichia coli for Xan and Oxa. The nicking assay with the defined substrates containing Xan and Oxa revealed that AlkA [in combination with endonuclease (Endo) IV] and Endo VIII recognized Xan in the tested enzymes.

Effects of a guanine-derived formamidopyrimidine lesion on DNA replication: translesion DNA synthesis, nucleotide insertion, and extension kinetics.

2,6-Diamino-4-hydroxy-5-formamidopyrimidine derived from guanine (FapyG) is a major DNA lesion formed by reactive oxygen species. In this study, a defined oligonucleotide template containing a 5-N-methylated analog of FapyG (mFapyG) was prepared, and its effect on DNA replication was quantitatively assessed in vitro. The results were further compared with those obtained for 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine and an apurinic/apyrimidinic site embedded in the same sequence context.