Search results for "Permeability"
showing 10 items of 596 documents
Redox signaling (cross-talk) from and to mitochondria involves mitochondrial pores and reactive oxygen species
2010
This review highlights the important role of redox signaling between mitochondria and NADPH oxidases. Besides the definition and general importance of redox signaling, the cross-talk between mitochondrial and Nox-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) is discussed on the basis of 4 different examples. In the first model, angiotensin-II is discussed as a trigger for NADPH oxidase activation with subsequent ROS-dependent opening of mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channels leading to depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential followed by mitochondrial ROS formation and respiratory dysfunction. This concept was supported by observations that ethidium bromide-induced mitochondrial d…
Nitroglycerine causes mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production: In vitro mechanistic insights
2007
Background Nitroglycerine (GTN) is an organic nitrate that has been used for more than 100 years. Despite its widespread clinical use, several aspects of the pharmacology of GTN remain elusive. In a recent study, the authors of the present study showed that GTN causes opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Objective In the present study, it was tested whether GTN-induced ROS production depends on mitochondrial potassium ATP-dependent channel or mPTP opening, and/or GTN biotransformation. Methods and results Isolated rat heart mitochondria were incubated with succinate (a substrate for complex II) and GT…
Peptides corresponding to helices 5 and 6 of Bax can independently form large lipid pores
2006
Proteins of the B-cell lymphoma protein 2 (Bcl2) family are key regulators of the apoptotic cascade, controlling the release of apoptotic factors from the mitochondrial intermembrane space. A helical hairpin found in the core of water-soluble folds of these proteins has been reported to be the pore- forming domain. Here we show that peptides including any of the two a-helix fragments of the hairpin of Bcl2 associated protein X (Bax) can independently induce release of large labelled dextrans from synthetic lipid vesicles. The permeability promoted by these peptides is influenced by intrinsic monolayer curvature and accompanied by fast transbilayer redis- tribution of lipids, supporting a to…
Active surfaces engineered by immobilizing protein-polymer nanoreactors for selectively detecting sugar alcohols.
2016
We introduce active surfaces generated by immobilizing protein-polymer nanoreactors on a solid support for sensitive sugar alcohols detection. First, such selective nanoreactors were engineered in solution by simultaneous encapsulation of specific enzymes in copolymer polymersomes, and insertion of membrane proteins for selective conduct of sugar alcohols. Despite the artificial surroundings, and the thickness of the copolymer membrane, functionality of reconstituted Escherichia coli glycerol facilitator (GlpF) was preserved, and allowed selective diffusion of sugar alcohols to the inner cavity of the polymersome, where encapsulated ribitol dehydrogenase (RDH) enzymes served as biosensing e…
Peptides Derived from Apoptotic Bax and Bid Reproduce the Poration Activity of the Parent Full-Length Proteins
2005
Bax and Bid are proapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family that regulate the release of apoptogenic factors from mitochondria. Although they localize constitutively in the cytoplasm, their apoptotic function is exerted at the mitochondrial outer membrane, and is related to their ability to form transbilayer pores. Here we report the poration activity of fragments from these two proteins, containing the first alpha-helix of a colicinlike hydrophobic hairpin (alpha-helix 5 of Bax and alpha-helix 6 of Bid). Both peptides readily bind to synthetic lipid vesicles, where they adopt predominantly alpha-helical structures and induce the release of entrapped calcein. In planar lipid membranes they fo…
Ultramorphology and dentine permeability changes induced by prophylactic procedures on exposed dentinal tubules in middle dentine
2010
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in dentinal permeability (i.e. hydraulic conductance) after prophylactic treatments performed using prophy-powders with air-polishing system or prophy-pastes on exposed middle dentine. The changes in dentine morphology were evaluated by SEM. Study design: Commercial prophylactic pastes and air-polishing powders were tested in this study. Dentine discs from human third molars were used to study the quantitative reduction of the dentine permeability under simulated pulpal pressure (20 cm H 2O). Further specimens were gold-coated and analysed using observed a SEM. Results: The results of this study showed different dentine perme…
Complement lysis: a hole is a hole.
1991
recent experimental advances 21, it is now possible to produce MACs with a precise molecular composition 7 for better designed experiments. In my judgement, however, it will always be problematic to propose a single unifying mechanism for MAC action simply because MAC effects are not uniform. The reason for attempting to classify MACs as leaky patch or channel formers is a desire to wield Occam's razor and carve out the simplest unifying theory. But this razor often cuts one's throat, especially when it comes to immunological processes. A system that degranulates platelets, 'kills' such widely diverse targets as artificial liposomes, 'dead' viruses and erythrocytes, metabolically active cel…
Predicting Skin Permeability by Means of Computational Approaches: Reliability and Caveats in Pharmaceutical Studies
2019
The skin is the main barrier between the internal body environment and the external one. The characteristics of this barrier and its properties are able to modify and affect drug delivery and chemical toxicity parameters. Therefore, it is not surprising that permeability of many different compounds has been measured through several in vitro and in vivo techniques. Moreover, many different in silico approaches have been used to identify the correlation between the structure of the permeants and their permeability, to reproduce the skin behavior, and to predict the ability of specific chemicals to permeate this barrier. A significant number of issues, like interlaboratory variability, experim…
Diffusion of naltrexone across reconstituted human oral epithelium and histomorphological features
2006
Abstract In transbuccal absorption a major limitation could be the low permeability of the mucosa which implies low drug bioavailability. The ability of naltrexone hydrochloride (NLX) to penetrate a resembling histologically human buccal mucosa was assessed and the occurrence of any histomorphological changes observed. We used reconstituted human oral (RHO) non-keratinised epithelium as mucosal section and a Transwell diffusion cells system as bicompartmental model. Buccal permeation was expressed in terms of drug flux ( J s ) and permeability coefficients ( K p ). Data were collected using both artificial and natural human saliva. The main finding was that RHO does not restrain NLX permeat…
Mechanical properties and water vapor permeability of starch/montmorillonite nanocomposites
2009
Results of an investigation into an unmodified-montmorillonite (MMT)-filled nanocomposite based on plasticized starch are reported. Data on the influence of MMT content on the tensile mechanical properties of the material are presented. Particular attention is given to the water vapor permeability of the nanocomposite. It is found that the resistance to water permeation of plasticized starch can be improved considerably by introducing a rather small amount of the filler into it. Data on the influence of MMT content on the coefficients of moisture diffusion, solubility, and permeability are reported. Also, a simple method for determining the effect of irregularly oriented platelike filler pa…