We present the first example of water soluble complexes of carotenoids. The stability and reactivity of carotenoids in the complexes with natural polysaccharide arabinogalactan were investigated by different physicochemical techniques: optical absorption, HPLC, and pulsed EPR spectroscopy. Compared to pure carotenoids, polysaccharide complexes of carotenoids showed enhanced photostability by a factor of 10 in water solutions. A significant decrease by a factor of 20 in the reactivity toward metal ions (Fe(3+)) and reactive oxygen species in solution was detected. On the other hand, the yield and stability of carotenoid radical cations photoproduced on titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) were greatly increased. EPR measurements demonstrated efficient charge separation on complex-modified TiO(2) nanoparticles (7 nm). Canthaxanthin radical cations are stable for approximately 10 days at room temperature in this system. The results are important for a variety of carotenoid applications, in the design of artificial light-harvesting, photoredox, and catalytic devices.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jp805531q | DOI Listing |
Curr Top Dev Biol
January 2025
Université de Strasbourg, IGBMC UMR 7104, Illkirch, France; CNRS, UMR 7104, Illkirch, France; Inserm, UMR-S 1258, Illkirch, France; IGBMC, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France. Electronic address:
In mammals, differentiation of germ cells is crucial for sexual reproduction, involving complex signaling pathways and environmental cues defined by the somatic cells of the gonads. This review examines the long-standing model positing that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) acts as a meiosis-inducing substance (MIS) in the fetal ovary by inducing expression of STRA8 in female germ cells, while CYP26B1 serves as a meiosis-preventing substance (MPS) in the fetal testis by degrading ATRA and preventing STRA8 expression in the male germ cells until postnatal development. Recent genetic studies in the mouse challenge this paradigm, revealing that meiosis initiation in female germ cells can occur independently of ATRA signaling, with key roles played by other intrinsic factors like DAZL and DMRT1, and extrinsic signals such as BMPs and vitamin C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotosynth Res
January 2025
Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8530, Japan.
Red algae are photosynthetic eukaryotes whose light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) associate with photosystem I (PSI). In this study, we examined characteristics of PSI-LHCI, PSI, and LHCI isolated from the red alga Galdieria sulphuraria NIES-3638. The PSI-LHCI supercomplexes were purified using anion-exchange chromatography followed by hydrophobic-interaction chromatography, and finally by trehalose density gradient centrifugation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotosynth Res
January 2025
Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, Russia, 119991.
The femtosecond dynamics of energy transfer from light-excited spirilloxanthin (Spx) to bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a in the reaction centers (RCs) of purple photosynthetic bacteria Rhodospirillum rubrum was studied. According to crio-electron microscopy data, Spx is located near accessory BChl a in the B-branch of cofactors. Spx was excited by 25 fs laser pulses at 490 nm, and difference absorption spectra were recorded in the range 500-700 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Top Dev Biol
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States. Electronic address:
Animals perceiving light through visual pigments have evolved pathways for absorbing, transporting, and metabolizing the precursors essential for synthesis of their retinylidene chromophores. Over the past decades, our understanding of this metabolism has grown significantly. Through genetic manipulation, researchers gained insights into the metabolic complexity of the pathways mediating the flow of chromophore precursors throughout the body, and their enrichment within the eyes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Top Dev Biol
January 2025
University of Michigan, Department of Pharmacology, Caswell Diabetes Institute, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. Electronic address:
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) signaling is essential in numerous different biological contexts. This review highlights the diverse roles of ATRA during development, function, and diseases of the pancreas. ATRA is essential to specify pancreatic progenitors from gut tube endoderm, endocrine and exocrine differentiation, and adult islet function.
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