Search results for "LIPIDS"

The Alignment of Membrane-Active Peptides Depends on the Lipid Phase State as Viewed by solid state 19F-NMR

2009

Amphipathic membrane-active peptides (antimicrobial, hemolytic, cell-penetrating, fusogenic, etc.) achieve their functions by distinct interaction with lipid bilayers. Some typical structural modes are described in terms of models like the “barrel stave”, “toroidal pore”, “carpet” etc. These models are related to the alignment states of the peptides in the lipid bilayers (surface bound “S-state”, inserted “I-state” or tilted “T-state”), which can be readily characterized by solid state NMR. When determining such alignment, factors like peptide/lipid ratio, charge of the bilayer surface, thickness of the bilayer core, presence of cholesterol, and humidity are typically investigated. Yet, the…

Alkylation at the active site of the D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH), a membrane phospholipid-dependent enzyme, by 3-chloroacetyl pyridine ad…

1997

The structure of the rat liver's D-3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH) active site has been investigated using an affinity alkylating reagent, the 3-chloroacetyl pyridine adenine dinucleotide (3-CAPAD). This NAD+ analogue reagent strongly inactivates the enzyme following a concentration- and time-dependent process with a stoichiometry of approximately 1. The reagent reacts at the coenzyme binding site as revealed by the efficient protection by NADH. The effect of 3-CAPAD is stronger with the enzyme into its natural membrane environment than with the lipid-free purified apoBDH or with the reconstituted apoBDH-mitochondrial phospholipid complex. The pH-dependent effect on the inactivation p…

Synthesis of polyfluoroalkyl sp2-iminosugar glycolipids and evaluation of their immunomodulatory properties towards anti-tumor, anti-leishmanial and …

2019

Immunomodulatory glycolipids, among which α-galactosylceramide (KRN7000) is an iconic example, have shown strong therapeutic potential in a variety of conditions ranging from cancer and infection to autoimmune or neurodegenerative diseases. A main difficulty for those channels is that they often provoke a cytokine storm comprising both pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators that antagonize each other and negatively affect the immune response. The synthesis of analogues with narrower cytokine secretion-inducing capabilities is hampered by the intrinsic difficulty at controlling the stereochemical outcome in glycosidation reactions, particularly if targeting the α-anomer, which seriously hamper…

Surfactant effect on the physicochemical characteristics of cationic solid lipid nanoparticles

2016

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) may be considered as a new approach for therapeutics for many diseases. In addition to drug delivery, their use as non-viral vectors for gene delivery can be obtained by including cationic lipids, which provide a positive surface potential that favors binding to the nucleic acids as DNA, siRNA, miRNA, etc. In fact, the addition of cationic surfactants is indispensable for obtaining nanoparticles with surface positive charge. In this study, three different cationic lipids (dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, cetylpyridinium chloride) and Brij 76 as nonionic surfactant were employed to formulate Precirol ATO 5 based cSLN usi…

Immobilization of functionalized lipids in a random poly(methacrylate) copolymer monolayer

1995

It is shown that a monolayer of random poly(methacrylate) copolymer with a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic substituent exhibits a transition from the fluid to amorphous state. Above this transition any amphiphilic molecules mixed with the monolayer are immobile. Furthermore, such functionalized lipids are immobilized in the monolayer during the Langmuir-Blodgett transfer. The hydrophilic head-groups of the biotin-lipids remain on the formerly water-adjacent side of the monolayer, even if this side is exposed to air

In vitro fibrillogenesis of the amyloid beta 1-42 peptide: cholesterol potentiation and aspirin inhibition.

2002

Understanding the formation of extracellular amyloid neurofibrillar bundles/senile plaques and their role in the development of Alzheimer's disease is of considerable interest to neuroscientists and clinicians. Major components of the extracellular neurofibrillar bundles are polymerized amyloid beta (Abeta) peptides (1-40), (1-42) and (1-43), derived in vivo from the soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP) by proteolytic (beta- and gamma-secretase) cleavage. The Abeta(1-42) peptide is widely considered to be of greatest significance in relation to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. A well-defined ultrastructural characteristic within Alzheimer dense plaques is the presence of helical…

Cholesterol binding to amyloid-β fibrils: A TEM study

2008

There is increasing interest in the role of brain cholesterol in Alzheimer's disease and the contribution of cholesterol to the formation of amyloid plaques. This paper presents a TEM study showing the binding of soluble approximately 10 nm diameter cholesterol-PEG 600 micelles to amyloid-beta(1-42) (Abeta(1-42)) fibrils formed either in the presence of this cholesterol derivative or to preformed fibrils generated under four different fibrillogenesis conditions. Specimens negatively stained with uranyl acetate revealed that during 24 h fibrillogenesis at 37 degrees C the cholesterol-PEG micelles bound periodically to Abeta(1-42) protofibrils and apparently also formed a thin smooth unbroken…

Anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of flavonoid and saponin fractions from Zizyphus lotus (L.) Lam.

2008

Abstract The effect of the flavonoid and saponin fractions from the leaves and root bark of Zizyphus lotus (200 mg/kg) was evaluated on carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats and on acetic acid-induced algesia in mice. In addition, two methanolic extracts from the plant (1 mg/ear) were tested on oxazolone-induced contact-delayed hypersensitivity (DTH) in mice. The effect of the different fractions was also evaluated in vitro on the nitrite production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The results showed that both the flavonoid and saponin fractions significantly inhibited paw edema, algesia, and nitrite production without affecting cell viability. Furthermore, the …

Some aspects of the recovery of chlorinated residues (DDT-type compounds and PCB) from fish tissue by using different extraction methods

1974

Thermodynamic Study of Small Hydrophobic Ions at the Water–Lipid Interface

2001

Abstract The thermodynamics of binding of two small hydrophobic ions such as norharman and tryptophan to neutral and negatively charged small unilamellar vesicles was investigated at pH 7.4 using fluorescence spectroscopy. Vesicles were formed at room temperature from dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) or DMPC/dimyristoylphosphatidic acid and DMPC/dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol. The changes in fluorescence properties were used to obtain association isotherms at variable membrane surface negative charge and at different ionic strengths. The binding of both ions was found to be quantitatively enhanced as the percentage of negative phospholipid increases in the membrane. Also, a decrease …