Oxysterols (OHCs) are byproducts of cholesterol oxidation that are known to activate the Hedeghog (Hh) signaling pathway. While OHCs that incorporate hydroxyl groups throughout the scaffold are known, those that act as agonists of Hh signaling primarily contain a single hydroxyl on the alkyl side chain. We sought to further explore how side chain hydroxylation patterns affect oxysterol-mediated Hh activation, by performing a structure-activity relationship study on a series of synthetic OHCs. The most active analogue, 23(R)-OHC (35), demonstrated potent activation of Hh signaling in two Hh-dependent cell lines (EC50 values 0.54-0.65 μM). In addition, OHC 35 was approximately 3-fold selective for the Hh pathway as compared to the liver X receptor, a nuclear receptor that is also activated by endogenous OHCs. Finally, 35 induced osteogenic differentiation and osteoblast formation in cultured cells, indicating functional agonism of the Hh pathway.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ml300192k | DOI Listing |
J Food Sci Technol
January 2025
Agricultural Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain-Shams University, P.O. Box 68, Hadayek Shoubra, Cairo 11241 Egypt.
Unlabelled: Despite the remarkably high antioxidant activity of tocopherols, their applications in the food industry are limited because of their instability under various conditions. Complexes of α-tocopherol (α-TQ) or α-tocopheryl acetate (α-TQA) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) or starch were prepared and characterized by UV-vis, IR and thermal analysis. Oxidative stability of α-TQ and α-TQA against HO was 74.
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Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Fluorescent probes are widely used in cellular imaging and disease diagnosis. Acting as substitute carriers, fluorescent probes can also be used to help transport drugs within cells. In this study, commonly used fluorophores, TAMRA (5-carboxytetramethylrhodamine), PBA (1-pyrenebutyric acid), NBD (nitrobenzoxadiazole), OG (Oregon Green), and CF (5-carboxyfluorescein) were conjugated with the dipeptide β-Ala-Lys, the peptide moiety of the well-established peptide transporter substrate β-Ala-Lys(AMCA) (AMCA: 7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin-3-acetic acid) by modifying it with respect to side-chain length and functional end groups.
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Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwig-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
The interplay between attractive London dispersion forces and steric effects due to repulsive forces resulting from the Pauli principle often determines the geometry and stability of nanostructures. Aromatic polyimides (PI) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) were chosen as building blocks as two components in the hetero delocalized electron nanostructures. Two PIs, having the same diamine part and different linkage substituents between two phenyl rings of dianhydride part, one linked with ether bond (C-O-C) (OPI), the other with C-(CF3)2 (FPI), were investigated.
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Department of Chinese Osteo-traumatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325200, China. Electronic address:
Fatigue is a pathological state that can impair physical and cognitive performance, making the development of effective therapeutic strategies crucial. In this study, an acid polysaccharide (MHa) was isolated from Mentha haplocalyx. Structural analysis showed that MHa (40.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Center for Sustainable Materials (SusMat), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Complex coacervation is a form of liquid-liquid phase separation, whereby two types of macromolecules, usually bearing opposite net charges, self-assemble into dense microdroplets driven by weak molecular interactions. Peptide-based coacervates have recently emerged as promising carriers to deliver large macromolecules (nucleic acids, proteins and complex thereof) inside cells. Thus, it is essential to understand their assembly/disassembly mechanisms at the molecular level in order to tune the thermodynamics of coacervates formation and the kinetics of cargo release upon entering the cell.
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