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Biomedical subjects

E Anders

Publications and source records attributed to E Anders.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

[Reducing MRI artefacts by controlled combinations of para- and diamagnetic materials].

A theoretical mathematical model of dual-component paramagnetic and diamagnetic material to cancel metal-induced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) artifacts was investigated and evaluated. The magnetization produced by material causes gradient linearity distortion. By using materials with opposing paramagnetic and diamagnetic properties it is supposed to compensate these effects. Therefore the interferences by paramagnetic and diamagnetic materials on images in a closed 1.5 Tesla high field magnetic resonance imaging system was experimentally examined for different types of sequences and correlated to their magnetic susceptibility. Basing on this results the concept of dual-component materials to solve the problems of MRI--artifacts was theoretically checked by using the finite element method and experimentally in the MRI.

Artifacts↗

New insights into the mechanistic details of the carbonic anhydrase cycle as derived from the model system [(NH(3))(3)Zn(OH)](+)/CO(2): how does the H(2)O/HCO(3)(-) replacement step occur?

The full reaction path for the conversion of carbon dioxide to hydrogencarbonate has been computed at the B3LYP/6-311+G** level, employing a [(NH(3))(3)Zn(OH)](+) model catalyst to mimic the active center of the enzyme. We paid special attention to the question of how the catalytic cycle might be closed by retrieval of the catalyst. The nucleophilic attack of the catalyst on CO(2) has a barrier of 5.7 kcal mol(-1) with inclusion of thermodynamic corrections and solvent effects and is probably the rate-determining step. This barrier corresponds well with prior experiments. The intermediate result is a Lindskog-type structure that prefers to stabilize itself via a rotation-like transition state to give a Lipscomb-type product, which is a monodentate hydrogencarbonate complex. By addition of a water molecule, a pentacoordinated adduct with pseudo-trigonal-bipyramidal geometry is formed. The water molecule occupies an equatorial position, whereas the hydrogencarbonate ion is axial. In this complex, proton transfer from the Zn-bound water molecule to the hydrogencarbonate ion is extremely facile (barrier 0.8 kcal mol(-1)), and yields the trans,trans-conformer of carbonic acid rather than hydrogencarbonate as the leaving group. The carbonic acid molecule is bound by a short O...H-O hydrogen bond to the catalyst [(NH(3))(3)Zn(OH)](+), in which the OH group is already replaced by that of an entering water molecule. After deprotonation of the carbonic acid through a proton relay to histidine 64, modeled here by ammonia, hydrogencarbonate might undergo an ion pair return to the catalyst prior to its final dissociation from the complex into the surrounding medium.

Bicarbonates↗

Cs(2) fixation by carbonic anhydrase model systems-a new substrate in the catalytic cycle.

The conversion of CS(2) with common carbonic anhydrase model systems has been studied using Hartree-Fock and density-functional theory methods employing the 6-311+G basis set. The calculated geometries and energetical parameters for [L(3)ZnOH](+)/CS(2) model systems (L = NH(3), imidazole) are compared with those obtained previously for the CO(2) hydration. While the same reaction mechanism applies for both heterocumulenes, the hypothetical conversion of CS(2) to give [L(3)ZnSC(O)SH](+) is characterized by a higher barrier and is much more exothermic than the corresponding CO(2) reaction cascade. Due to the increased number of heteroatoms, additional intermediates and product structures (compared with those involved in the CO(2) conversion) must be taken into account and have been analyzed in detail. The smaller electrophilicity of CS(2) is the reason for the higher activation energies, while the significantly increased exothermicity is due to the strong zinc(II)/sulfur interaction. The reversibility and therefore the existence of a catalytic cycle which could allow comparable CS(2) transformations must be questioned. Nevertheless, an interesting field of stoichiometric zinc-mediated CS(2) transformations is conceivable.

Carbon Dioxide↗

Bis(1,3,4-thiadiazolo)-1,3,5-triazinium halides. 2. Intramolecular ring transformation and synthesis of novel highly substituted guanidines.

Bis(1,3,4-thiadiazolo)-1,3,5-triazinium halides 6 can be easily attacked by nucleophiles at either the C(3a) or the C(4a) position of the central six-membered (cationic) ring. Nucleophilic attack leads to at least two reaction channels, one of which has been previously detected (pathway a) and leads to novel aminals 19. In this paper we report on a second channel (pathway b). Attack of primary or secondary amines 8 at C(3a) or C(4a) in 6 (and their analogues 7) leads to the weakly stabilized intermediates 14. A cascade of several proton shifts, ring openings, rearrangements, and ring closure processes is initiated which finally leads via 17 and 18 to novel highly substituted guanidines 9, 10, 12, and 13. Pathway b seems to be the result of well-balanced negative-hyperconjugative effects in 14 and/or 17 which control the highly selective opening of a relatively stable central 1,3,5-triazinium ring to yield the crucial intermediate 18. Some representatives of the guanidines have been characterized by X-ray analyses. Since some of the guanidines contain one or two chirality centers, an effort was made to investigate the stereochemistry of these compounds.

Journal Article↗

On the structure of sulfur-stabilized allyllithium compounds in solution

A combination of density functional calculations (B3LYP/6-31+G(d) level of theory) and experimental investigations (NMR and cryoscopic measurements) lead to structural assignments in solution for a series of three sulfur stabilized allyllithium compounds 1-3. All three lithium species are monomers in THF under the experimental conditions studied here and exist exclusively in an endo conformation. Increasing the oxidation state of sulfur (thiol --> sulfoxide --> sulfone) causes a change in the solution state structure of the allyllithium compounds. In the case of 1-thiophenylallyllithium 1, a fast equilibrium between two eta(1)-species is present with the equilibrium favoring the eta(1) C(alpha)-Li contact ion pair. The preference for this conformation can be attributed to the charge stabilizing properties of the sulfur substituent. For the lithiated sulfoxide 2, this equilibrium is frozen on the NMR time scale and two different lithium species (a eta(1) C(alpha)-Li and a eta(1) C(gamma)-Li contact ion pair), each possessing an intramolecular Li-O contact, coexist in d(8)-THF. In the case of the lithiated sulfone 3, several solvated conformations are in rapid equilibrium with each other on the NMR time scale in solution. The presence of two chelating oxygen atoms allows the lithium to form a OLiO scissor-like contact ion pair that competes with the eta(1) C(alpha)-Li and the eta(1) C(gamma)-Li contact ion pairs also calculated for compound 3.

Journal Article↗

Conformational design for 13alpha-steroids

The diastereomeric 16-bromo- and 16-azido-17-alcohols 5-8, 11, 12, 16, and 17 and 17-ketones 3, 4, 9, and 10 of the 13alpha-estra-1,3, 5(10)-triene series were synthesized as precursors for biologically active compounds and chiral ligands for metal complexation. Conformational investigations of these and some other compounds via X-ray analysis and (1)H NMR spectroscopy show the existence of compounds with the classical steroid conformation (ring C chair, restricted conformation of ring D) and such with an atypical ring C twist-boat and a flexible ring D conformation. It could be shown that 17beta-substituents or flattening of the D-ring are responsible for the twist-boat conformation, whereas compounds containing a 17alpha-substituent or 17-keto group possess the classical conformation. By varying the substituents, compounds with either of these conformations can be intentionally synthesized. MO calculations confirmed the relative stability of the twist-boat conformation.

Journal Article↗

Fixation of heterocumulenes. 1. A theoretical study on the irreversible reaction of CO(2) with a 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane

The mechanism of electrophilic addition of CO(2) to 2-lithio-2-phenyl-1, 3-dithiane-tetrahydrofuran-tetramethylethylendiamine, a Corey-Seebach "umpolungs" reagent for nucleophilic acylation, was investigated at the B3YLP/6-311+G//HF/6-31+G level of theory with specific solvation effects being included in the study. The overall reaction is exothermic by 18.8 kcal/mol and proceeds via precomplexation of the CO(2) (necessary for activation). The reaction barrier is calculated to be 11.9 kcal/mol (relative to the precomplex 2a) and represents a lower boundary for the activation energy. The reaction barrier is shown to originate from specific solvent effects. A detailed survey of the electronic effects governing the reaction is given. The ab initio results were then compared with semiempirical PM3 calculations, which were extended to include the heterocumulenes COS and CS(2). As expected, the reduced electrophilicity of these molecules leads to a higher activation barrier by retention of the same reaction mechanism.

Journal Article↗

Pre-biotic organic matter from comets and asteroids.

Several authors have suggested that comets or carbonaceous asteroids contributed large amounts of organic matter to the primitive Earth, and thus possibly played a vital role in the origin of life. But organic matter cannot survive the extremely high temperatures (>10(4) K) reached on impact, which atomize the projectile and break all chemical bonds. Only fragments small enough to be gently decelerated by the atmosphere--principally meteors of 10(-12)-10(-6) g--can deliver their organic matter intact. The amount of such 'soft-landed' organic carbon can be estimated from data for the infall rate of meteoritic matter. At present rates, only approximately 0.006 g cm-2 intact organic carbon would accumulate in 10(8) yr, but at the higher rates of approximately 4 x 10(9) yr ago, about 20 g cm-2 may have accumulated in the few hundred million years between the last cataclysmic impact and the beginning of life. It may have included some biologically important compounds that did not form by abiotic synthesis on Earth.

Atmosphere↗

Clot lysis mediated by cultured human microvascular endothelial cells.

The lysis of fibrin clots on the surface of cultured human omental tissue microvascular endothelial cells (HOTMEC) and cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was studied. Fibrin clots were made by mixing fibrinogen, plasminogen and thrombin on the surface of both cell types. Clot lysis was seen only on the surface of HOTMEC, which were found to synthesize about 100-fold more tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) antigen than HUVEC. Clot lysis of HOTMEC could be blocked by anti-tPA IgG but was not affected by the incorporation of exogenous plasminogen activator (PAI) into the clot in concentrations (75 arbitrary units) exceeding the tPA activity (21 +/- 2.5 IU) of the cells. Thus, it is likely that tPA secreted by HOTMEC is protected from inhibition by PAI in the presence of fibrin and endothelial cells. The stimulation of EC to release an excess of tPA over PAI, in contrast to the secretion of an excess of PAI over tPA found in unstimulated cells in the absence of fibrin, is obviously no prerequisite for the initiation of fibrinolysis on the surface of HOTMEC. As thrombin was used for clot formation, its influence on tPA and PAI synthesis of both cell types was investigated. In contrast to HOTMEC, which were not affected by alpha-thrombin, HUVEC revealed a dose-dependent increase in tPA and PAI synthesis upon incubation with the enzyme. This increase in tPA production by HUVEC was not sufficient to lyse the clots within 48 hours. Furthermore, HUVEC behaved differently towards thrombin as these cells in contrast to HOTMEC revealed the typical shape change reaction upon incubation with the enzyme.

Capillaries↗

Attachment of cultured human endothelial cells is promoted by specific association with S protein (vitronectin) as well as with the ternary S protein-thrombin-antithrombin III complex.

The interaction of the multifunctional S protein (vitronectin) with cultured human endothelial cells of macrovascular and microvascular origin was investigated. Purified S protein, coated on polystyrene Petri dishes, induced dose-dependent and time-dependent attachment and spreading of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as well as human omental tissue microvascular endothelial cells (HOTMECs) at 37 degrees C. Not only isolated S protein, but also the ternary S protein-thrombin-antithrombin III (STAT) complex promoted attachment of approximately 90% of the cells within 2 hours at an S protein concentration of 0.13 mumol/L. Inhibition of attachment in these experiments was achieved by the addition of the cell-attachment pentapeptide Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser and by monospecific antibodies against S protein, whereas nonrelated peptides or antibodies against fibronectin, fibrinogen, or von Willebrand factor (vWF) were ineffective. Direct binding of S protein to HUVECs and HOTMECs was studied with cells in suspension at a density of 1 x 10(6) cells/mL and was maximal after 120 minutes. S protein bound to both cell types in a dose-dependent fashion with an estimated dissociation constant Kd = 0.2 mumol/L. At a 200-fold to 500-fold molar excess of unlabeled S protein, greater than 80% of bound radiolabeled S protein was displaceable, whereas binding was reduced to 30% to 50% by addition of the pentapeptide, the STAT complex, or by physiologic concentrations of fibrinogen or vWF as well as Fab fragments of anti(human S protein)IgG, but not by Fab rabbit IgG. These findings present evidence for the specific association of S protein with endothelial cells ultimately leading to attachment and spreading of cells. Moreover, a novel function for the ternary STAT complex, which induced endothelial cell attachment and spreading virtually identical to free S protein, is described. These data further suggest a possible role for S protein during coagulation as major vessel wall-related adhesive protein at sites of vascular injury.

Antigens, Surface↗

Microvascular endothelial cells from human omental tissue: modified method for long-term cultivation and new aspects of characterization.

A method for long-term cultivation of large amounts of human microvascular endothelial cells from the omental tissue (human omental tissue microvascular endothelial cells, HOTMECs) was devised. The method originally described by Kern, Knedler, and Eckel was modified: HOTMECs were isolated by enzymatic dissociation with collagenase. For primary cultivation and passages, HOTMECs were plated either onto fibronectin-coated petri dishes or onto a human fibroblast extracellular matrix (HFB-ECM) prepared from the same tissue. Omental tissue (10-15 g) yielded 4-8 X 10(5) HOTMECs; more than 90% of the cells adhered to precoated dishes and grew in Waymouth's culture medium supplemented with 20% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum. Confluence was reached 3-5 days after seeding with an average of 1-2 X 10(6) cells/dish. Confluent HOTMEC layers were subcultured at a split ratio of 1:3 up to 11 passages by plating the cells onto dishes coated with HFB-ECM and maintained in long-term culture for up to 3 months. The endothelial origin of these cells was demonstrated as follows. The cells in culture showed the typical "cobblestone" growth pattern and synthesized von Willebrand factor (vWF) as determined by metabolic labeling. Using an indirect immunostaining technique, the cytoplasm of the HOTMECs stained for vWF. A monoclonal antibody specific for human endothelial cells bound exclusively to the cultured cells. The expression of thrombomodulin on the surface of the cultured cells was demonstrated by the activation of protein C by thrombin. In control experiments, these features could be detected on neither fibroblasts nor mesothelial cells.

Cells, Cultured↗

Differences in coagulant and fibrinolytic activities of cultured human endothelial cells derived from omental tissue microvessels and umbilical veins.

Large vessel and microvascular endothelial cells were compared in their capacity to synthesize and secrete coagulant and fibrinolytic factors. Human omental tissue microvascular endothelial cells (HOTMEC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were isolated, grown to confluency under identical conditions, and studied in primary cultures. After an incubation period of 12 hours in serum-free medium, the conditioned medium of confluent HOTMEC contained 100-fold higher levels of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) antigen than that of HUVEC. The conditioned media as well as the lysates of both cell types did not contain any free tPA activity, but the free plasminogen activator inhibitor capacity was found intracellularly as well as extracellularly. Although von Willebrand factor was detected in both cell types by immunofluorescence, measurable amounts were only found in HUVEC using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The kinetics of protein C activation by thrombin on the surface of once-passaged cells were identical for HOTMEC and HUVEC. The present study indicates that cultivated HOTMEC produce larger quantities of tPA than HUVEC do, possess smaller amounts of von Willebrand factor than HUVEC do, and express thrombomodulin for protein C activation as effectively as HUVEC.

Adult↗

Method for the determination of fast acting plasminogen activator inhibitor capacity (PAI-cap) in plasma, platelets and endothelial cells.

A titration assay for the determination of the fast acting plasminogen activator inhibitor capacity (PAI-cap) was developed. Most of the hitherto published assays for fast acting PAI are reported to have the disadvantage of non-parallel titration curves of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in buffer and plasma. In the assay reported here, this problem has been overcome by adequate predilution of the samples, thus achieving parallel titration curves regardless of the individual PAI-cap of a sample. Provided that values are calculated from parallel titration curves, reproducible PAI-cap values at different dilutions of a sample are obtained. This assay can be applied for the determination of PAI-cap in plasma, serum and other biological fluids as platelet releasates and endothelial cell conditioned medium. PAI-cap of plasma of 10 healthy male volunteers ranged from 15.3 to 32.3 arbitrary inhibitor units AU/ml (24.5 +/- 5.2, mean +/- SD). The alternative use of three different anticoagulants (citrate, EDTA, heparin) had no influence on PAI-cap determinations. Serum generated from blood contained a mean of PAI-cap of 129% in comparison to the plasma of the same donor indicating the release of PAI from cells during clotting. Plasma PAI-cap changed during the day with a constant decrease from the highest levels in the morning (100%) to low levels in the evening (62.9%). Platelets aggregated by thrombin released plasminogen activator inhibitor amounting to a mean PAI-cap of 4.33 +/- 2.98 AU per 2.5 X 10(8) cells.

Anticoagulants↗

Physicochemical, immunochemical and functional comparison of human S-protein and vitronectin. Evidence for the identity of both plasma proteins.

The comparison of the complement inhibitor s-protein, isolated from human plasma, with vitronectin, a serum spreading factor, revealed a high degree of similarity of both proteins with respect to molecular weight, band pattern in polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and amino acid composition. While radiolabeled S-protein was precipitated by antiserum against vitronectin, both proteins exhibited precipitin lines of complete identity in double immunodiffusion analysis when tested mutually against antisera of the appropriate components. The functional property of vitronectin to promote cell spreading of fibroblasts was also documented for purified S-protein. These findings indicate a high degree of similarity with respect to structural and functional properties of S-protein and vitronectin and hence may implicate that both proteins are identical.

Cell Adhesion↗