Search results for "Trace"

Separation of chitosomal chitin synthetase from cell-free extracts ofNeurospora crassa “Slime” variant agglutinated with concanavalin A

1989

Cell-free extracts of the wall-less slime variant ofNeurospora crassa were treated with concanavalin A (Con A); this treatment caused a massive agglutination of the particulate structures in the cell-free homogenate, although most (73%) of the chitin synthetase initially present in the cell-free extract remained in the supernatant obtained after sedimentation of the lectin-flocculated material. This chitin synthetase showed the sedimentation properties of chitosomes (unique microvesicular structures) and failed to bind [3H]Con A. A significant percentage (42%) of the chitin synthetase activity associated with the Con A-flocculated material probably corresponds to mechanically trapped chitos…

Molecular response to TBT stress in marine sponge Suberites domuncula: proteolytical cleavage and phosphorylation of KRS_SD protein kinase

2003

Abstract Marine sponges as sessile filter feeders are inevitably under a constant influence of changes in their environment. Mediation of extracellular signals and regulation of cellular response to environmental stress is a key function of cellular protein kinases. Expression, proteolytical cleavage and phosphorylation of stress-responsive KRS_SD protein kinase, in control and tributyl-tin (TBT) treated sponges were investigated. In control sponge, two KRS_SD proteins were expressed: KRS_SD1 (54 kDa) corresponding to KRS_SD calculated molecular weight, and KRS_SD2 (50 kDa). Exposure of sponges to TBT resulted in alteration of KRS_SD1 and KRS_SD2 expression levels and their phosphorylation …

Role of the Well-Known Basic and Recently Discovered Acidic Glutathione S-Transferases in the Control of Genotoxic Metabolites

1991

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs; E.C. 2. 5. 1. 18) are a family of enzymes which have increasingly attracted the interest of toxicologists, pharmacologists, biochemists and clinicians since their discovery in 1961 (1). Initially, GSTs were believed to serve as intracellular transport proteins for endogenous compounds with limited solubility in water, thus acting as an intracellular equivalent to albumin in blood plasma. In this assumed capacity of reversible binding and transport of various ligands, the corresponding protein was named ligandin (2). Following the discovery of abundant GST occurrence in most forms of aerobic life including plants, and the GST-catalysed conjugation of a wide …

Oxygen Radical Scavengers

2010

The myocardium can tolerate only relatively short periods of total myocardial ischemia without myocardial cell death. Following short ischemic periods, ischemic damage is reversible by reperfusion. However, with increasing duration and severity of ischemia, the damage inflicted to cardiomyocytes following reperfusion becomes irreversible. The combined pathologic events in the myocardium that follow a critical period of ischemia and leading to either reversible or irreversible damage to both cardiomyocytes and cardiac microvasculature is known as ischemia-reperfusion injury (Goldhaber and Weiss 1992).

Cationic Au Nanoparticle Binding with Plasma Membrane-like Lipid Bilayers: Potential Mechanism for Spontaneous Permeation to Cells Revealed by Atomis…

2014

Despite being chemically inert as a bulk material, nanoscale gold can pose harmful side effects to living organisms. In particular, cationic Au nanoparticles (AuNP+) of 2 nm diameter or less permeate readily through plasma membranes and induce cell death. We report atomistic simulations of cationic Au nanoparticles interacting with realistic membranes and explicit solvent using a model system that comprises two cellular compartments, extracellular and cytosolic, divided by two asymmetric lipid bilayers. The membrane-AuNP+ binding and membrane reorganization processes are discovered to be governed by cooperative effects where AuNP+, counterions, water, and the two membrane leaflets all contr…

Trace element determination in sediments: a comparative study between neutron activation analysis (NAA) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrome…

2000

An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method has been employed for trace element determination in five real sediment samples and a standard reference material. These samples were mineralized by dry ashing at 550°C and fused at 1100°C for 30 min with lithium metaborate. Dissolved samples were measured by a semiquantitative methodology with external calibration and with Rh as an internal standard. More than 50 elements have been measured. As a reference technique, a direct analysis of the solid samples was carried out by neutron activation analysis. Results obtained by ICP-MS have been compared with those obtained by neutron activation analysis (NAA) by applying the paired …

Glucose Diffusion Coefficients Determined from Concentration Profiles in Emt6 Tumor Spheroids Incubated in Radioactively Labeled L-Glucose

1994

In order to theoretically assess tissue energetic status, conditions for substance exchange need to be known. One group of parameters important in this context are diffusion coefficients of nutrients and metabolic waste products which may be assessed by incubating spheroids in a medium containing tracer amounts of the radioactively labeled substance in question, for a defined period of time. In previous studies, the overall amount of 14C-labeled substance taken up by the spheroids was measured by scintillation counters (e.g.[1]), or the concentration of 3H-labeled substance in the spheroid center was determined by autoradiography and grain counting (e.g. [4]). From a number of such measurem…

2013

Nitric oxide, produced by the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) from L-arginine is an important second messenger molecule in the central nervous system: It influences the synthesis and release of neurotransmitters and plays an important role in long-term potentiation, long-term depression and neuroendocrine secretion. However, under certain pathological conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis, excessive NO production can lead to tissue damage. It is thus desirable to control NO production in these situations. So far, little is known about the substrate supply to human nNOS as a determinant of its activity. Measuring bioactive NO via cGMP form…

New developments in immunochemical water analysis down to 30 mul sample volume.

1999

Abstract The determination of trace levels of pesticides like atrazine in water samples of small, restricted volumes is one of the future demands of environmental analysis. In a brief review existing chromatographic and immunochemical methods for atrazine are critically discussed. Then a simple rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the tip of an inoculation needle as a solid surface is presented. The sample volume could be reduced to 30 μl. The assay had a centre of the test IC50 of 0.12 μg l−1 and permitted the characterisation of atrazine at levels of 0.022–2.90 μg l−1. A first outlook for automatisation is given. The new method was compared with an ELISA using 96 well mic…

General Cytotoxicity Assessment by Means of the MTT Assay

2014

Cytotoxicity assays were among the first in vitro bioassay methods used to predict toxicity of substances to various tissues. In vitro cytotoxicity testing provides a crucial means for safety assessment and screening, and for ranking compounds. The choice of using a particular cytotoxicity assay technology may be influenced by specific research goals. As such, four main classes of assays are used to monitor the response of cultured cells after treatment with potential toxicants. These methods measure viability, cell membrane integrity, cell proliferation, and metabolic activity. In this chapter, we focus on the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium reducti…