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Relaxin-3/insulin-like peptide 5 chimeric peptide, a selective ligand for G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)135 and GPCR142 over leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor 7.

Relaxin-3, the most recently identified member of relaxin/insulin family, is an agonist for leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor (LGR)7, GPCR135, and GPCR142. LGR7 can be pharmacologically differentiated from GPCR135 and GPCR142 by its high affinity for relaxin. Selective ligands that specifically activate GPCR135 or GPCR142 are highly desirable for studying their functional roles. We have created chimeric peptides that consist of the B-chain of human relaxin-3 in combination with various A-chains from other members of the relaxin/insulin family. Pharmacological characterization of these chimeric peptides indicates the A-chain from relaxin-1, relaxin-2, insulin-like peptide (INSL)3, and INSL6 does not change the pharmacological properties of relaxin-3 significantly. In contrast, substitution of the relaxin-3 A-chain with the A-chain from INSL5 results in a chimeric peptide that selectively activates GPCR135 and GPCR142 over LGR7. This study demonstrates that the A-chains among some of the insulin/relaxin family members are pharmacologically exchangeable. The relaxin-3/INSL5 chimeric peptide is a potential tool to study in vivo function of GPCR135. In addition, because of the substitution of a very hydrophobic peptide (the A-chain of relaxin-3) with a very hydrophilic peptide (the A-chain from INSL5), the radiolabeled (125)I-relaxin-3/INSL5 chimera is a suitable ligand (high-affinity, low-nonspecific binding) for receptor autoradiographic studies on tissue sections.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Selenium speciation in animal tissues after enzymatic digestion by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

A procedure is described for the enzymatic digestion of tuna and mussel samples that allows the determination of selenium species by high-performance liquid chromatography in conjunction with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The species were extracted by two-step enzymatic hydrolysis with a non-specific protease (subtilisin). The selenium species were separated on a Spherisorb 5 ODS/AMINO column using two different chromatographic conditions, namely phosphate buffers at pH 2.8 and pH 6.0 as mobile phases. The method determines organic (trimethylselenonium, selenocystine, selenomethionine and selenoethionine) and inorganic selenium species (selenite and selenate), but only organic selenium species were found in the samples. The sum of identified selenium species in the sample was about 30% of the total selenium present in the enzymatic extract despite the fact that recoveries of total hydrolysed selenium were 93-102%. Trimethylselenonium ion and selenomethionine were found in both tuna and mussel samples and an unknown selenium species was also found in tuna samples.

Animals↗

Directly coupled liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the identification of drug metabolites in urine: application to diclofenac using chlorine and sulfur detection.

We report the application of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) linked to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (oa-TOFMS) for the identification of phase I and II urinary metabolites of diclofenac. The metabolites were separated by reversed-phase HPLC monitored with a UV diode array detector (UV-DAD) after which 90% of the eluent was directed to an ICPMS source, with the remainder going to an oa-TOF mass spectrometer. Compounds containing (35)Cl, (37)Cl and (32)S were detected specifically using ICPMS and identified by oa-TOFMS. The metabolites detected and identified in this way included glucuronic acid and sulfate conjugates, mono- and dihydroxylated and free diclofenac. In addition a previously unreported in vivo metabolite, an N-acetylcysteinyl conjugate of diclofenac, was also characterised. This is the first application of the combination of HPLC/UV-DAD/ICPMS/oa-TOFMS for the investigation of the metabolic fate of chlorinated xenobiotics by direct biofluid analysis.

Animals↗

Separation of proteins by zone electrophoresis on-line coupled with isotachophoresis on a column-coupling chip with conductivity detection.

This feasibility study deals with the separations of proteins by an on-line combination of zone electrophoresis (ZE) with isotachophoresis (ITP) on a poly(methylmethacrylate) column-coupling (CC) chip with integrated conductivity detection. ITP and ZE provided specific analytical functions while performing the cationic mode of the separation. ITP served, mainly, for concentrations of proteins and its concentrating power was beneficial in reaching a low dispersion transfer (injection) of the proteinous constituents, loaded on the CC chip in a 960 nL volume, into the ZE separation stage. This was complemented by an electrophoretically driven removal of the sample constituents migrating in front of the focused proteins from the separation system before the ZE separation. On the other hand, ZE served as a final separation (destacking) method and it was used under the separating conditions providing the resolutions and sensitive conductivity detections of the test proteins. In this way, ITP and ZE cooperatively contributed to low- or sub-microg/mL concentration detectabilities of proteins and their quantitations at 1-5 microg/mL concentrations. However, a full benefit in concentration detectabilities of proteins, expected from the use of the ITP-ZE combination, was not reached in this work. Small adsorption losses of proteins and detection disturbances in the ZE stage of separation, very likely due to trace constituents concentrated by ITP, appear to set limits in the detection of proteins in our experiments. The ITP-ZE separations were carried out in a hydrodynamically closed separation compartment of the chip with suppressed hydrodynamic and electroosmotic flows of the electrolyte solutions. Such transport conditions, minimizing fluctuations of the migration velocities of the separated constituents, undoubtedly contributed to highly reproducible migrations of the separated proteins (fluctuations of the migration time of a particular protein were typically 0.5% RSD in repeated ITP-ZE runs).

Animals↗

Separation of selenium-containing proteins in human and mouse plasma using tandem high-performance liquid chromatography columns coupled with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

An analytical method that uses two different high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns in tandem has been developed that separates three major selenium-containing proteins (albumin, glutathione peroxidase, and selenoprotein P) found in human blood plasma. The first column was a heparin affinity column and the second was a gel filtration column whose outlet was directly connected to an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. The method successfully separated plasma selenium into the three selenium-containing proteins and revealed the preferential retention of selenium in the form of selenoprotein P in a selenium-deficient human and in selenium-deficient mice. Our results also confirm the results of previous studies that showed a preference for supplemented selenium to be taken up as selenoprotein P in rats. Advantages of the tandem column method are that it allows rapid and convenient analyses of the distribution of plasma selenium, and that it is suitable for stable isotope tracer studies and metal interaction studies.

Adult↗

PFG-omega1-filtered TOCSY experiments for the determination of long-range heteronuclear and homonuclear coupling constants and estimation of J-coupling "crosstalk" artifacts in 2-D omega1-filtered "E. COSY-style" spectra.

We present novel one- and two-dimensional versions of the omega1-filtered TOCSY experiment. These experiments utilize pulsed-field gradient techniques and INEPT-reverse INEPT magnetization transfer to generate heteronuclear filtering by means of coherence pathway selection. The major advantages of this approach are twofold: first, each experiment requires a reasonable number of transmitter pulses, gradient pulses, and delays to implement. Second, the use of z-axis gradients at the beginning and termination of the pulse sequences prevents the recovery of dephased magnetization prior to FID detection. This technique was incorporated into 1-D and 2-D omega1-filtered JXH- and JHH-TOCSY-style experiments. As demonstrated on 15N-enriched peptide samples, the use of the pulsed-field-gradient coherence selection scheme effectively filters out unwanted magnetization components, thereby improving the overall sensitivity of the experiments. In addition to this suite of pulse sequences, we also present a method for correcting the reduction in J-coupling that results from crosspeak shifting in 2-D omega1-filtered E. COSY-style spectra. This correction is applicable to both Lorentzian and Gaussian 2-D crosspeak lineshapes.

Humans↗

The extent of dye-coupling between exocrine acinar cells of the mouse pancreas. The dye-coupled acinar unit.

Sustained intra-acinar microiontophoretic injection of the fluorescent dye Lucifer Yellow CH in isolated fragments of mouse pancreas reveals a finite limit to the extent of intercellular communication between acinar cells. In two preparations for which complete sets of serial sections could be obtained the dye-coupled intercommunicating acinar units consisted of 110 and 230 individual exocrine acinar cells.

Animals↗

Regulation of excitation-secretion coupling by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH): evidence for TRH receptor-ion channel coupling in cultured pituitary cells.

The electrophysiological and secretory properties of a well-studied clonal line of rat anterior pituitary cells (GH3) have been compared with a new line of morphologically distinct cells derived from it (XG-10). The properties of the latter cells differ from the parent cells in that they do not have receptors for thyrotropin-releasing hormone and their basal rate of secretion is substantially higher (ca. three- to fivefold). While both cell types generate Ca++ spikes, the duration of the spike in XG-10 cells (ca. 500 msec) is about 2 orders of magnitude longer than that in GH3 cells (5-10 msec). The current-voltage characteristics of the two cell types are markedly different; the conductance of GH3 cells is at least 20-fold higher than XG-10 cells when cells are depolarized to more positive potentials than the threshold for Ca++ spikes (approximately -35 mV). While treatment of GH3 cells with the secretagogues tetraethylammonium chloride or thyrotropin-releasing hormone decreases the conductance in this voltage region to approximately the same as that for XG-10 cells, the electrophysiological and secretory properties of XG-10 cells are unaffected by treatment with either of these agents. Results of this comparative study suggest that XG-10 cells lack tetraethylammonium-sensitive K+ channels. The parallel loss of thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor binding activity and of a K+ channel in XG-10 cells implies that the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor may be coupled with, or be an integral part of, this channel. Apparently thyrotropin-releasing hormone, like tetraethylammonium chloride, acts by inhibiting K+ channels resulting in a prolongation of the action potential, promoting Ca++ influx and subsequently enhancing hormone secretion.

Action Potentials↗

Determination of low cadmium concentrations in wine by on-line preconcentration in a knotted reactor coupled to an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer with ultrasonic nebulization.

An on-line cadmium preconcentration and determination system implemented with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) associated to flow injection (FI) with ultrasonic nebulization system (USN) was studied. The cadmium was retained as the cadmium-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol, Cd-(5-Br-PADAP), complex, at pH 9.5. The cadmium complex was removed from the knotted reactor (KR) with 3.0 mol/L nitric acid. A total enhancement factor of 216 was obtained with respect to ICP-OES using pneumatic nebulization (12 for USN and 18 for KR) with a preconcentration time of 60 s. The value of the detection limit for the preconcentration of 5 mL of sample solution was 5 ng/L. The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 5 microg/L Cd level was 2.9% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated from the peak heights obtained. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for cadmium was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 1,000 microg/L. The method was successfully applied to the determination of cadmium in wine samples.

Cadmium↗

Mercury speciation in thawed out and refrozen fish samples by gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and atomic fluorescence spectroscopy.

Different sub-sampling procedures were applied for the determination of mercury species (as total mercury Hg, methylmercury MeHg+ and inorganic mercury Hg2+) in frozen fish meat. Analyses were carried out by two different techniques. After the sample material was pre-treated by microwave digestion, atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (AFS) was used for the determination of total Hg. Speciation analysis was performed according to the following procedure: dissolution of sample material in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), derivatisation with sodium tetraethylborate (NaBEt4), extraction into isooctane and measurement with gas chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICPMS) for the identification and quantification of methylmercury (MeHg+) and inorganic mercury (Hg2+). The concentration range of total Hg measured in the shark fillets is between 0.9 and 3.6 microg g(-1) thawed out shark fillet. Speciation analysis leads to > or =94% Hg present as MeHg+. Homogeneity, storage conditions and stability of analytical species and sample materials have great influence on analytical results. Sub-sampling of half-frozen/partly thawed out fish and analysis lead to significantly different concentrations, which are on average a factor of two lower.

Animals↗

Comparison of on-line coupling of ion-chromatography with atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry and with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry as tools for the ultra-trace analysis of bromate in surface water samples.

Ion chromatography in combination with atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometry (API-MS) as well as with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) had been compared for trace analysis of bromate. The results indicate that both techniques yield comparable results, which are in excellent agreement with standard methods for bromate determination. Furthermore, both techniques showed almost equal absolute detection limits (approximately 50 pg bromate injected). Contrary to IC-API-MS, IC-ICP-MS can tolerate a higher salt concentration in the mobile phase. This allows the use of high-capacity columns combined with large sample volumes. This lowered the concentration based detection limits by one order of magnitude for IC-ICP-MS compared to IC-API-MS (0.06 microg/l vs. 0.5 microg/l). On the other hand, IC-API-MS is able to allow a positive identification of bromate even in cases when IC does not fully separate bromate from other bromine-containing species. The performance data of both IC-MS techniques have been established by participation in an international round robin test.

Atmospheric Pressure↗

Novel preconcentration technique for on-line coupling to high-speed narrow-bore capillary gas chromatography: sample enrichment by equilibrium (ab)sorption. II. Coupling to a portable micro gas chromatograph.

The technique of equilibrium (ab)sorption has been proven to be a powerful method for preconcentration of gaseous samples for high-speed narrow-bore capillary gas chromatography (GC) in general and field-portable GC instruments, often referred as micro GCs, in particular. Using a simple experimental set-up equipped with an open-tubular enrichment column it is possible to produce a homogeneously enriched sample plug, allowing reproducible injections of an enriched sample into the micro GC. Using a non-polar trapping column enrichment factors found for n-alkanes in the range of C7 to C10 ranged from 15 to 150 and agree well with calculated values. Using a highly retentive Thermocap column, the enrichment factor observed for heptane was above 500. As the use of this new preconcentration method requires only minimum modification of the micro GC, the chromatographic performance of the instrument was not compromised by direct coupling to the preconcentration device. Examples of on-line enrichment with portable micro GC analysis of VOCs from air are shown. These examples clearly demonstrate the potentials of the new method in field analysis.

Absorption↗

Application of capillary zone electrophoresis-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and capillary isoelectric focusing-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for selenium speciation.

The high resolution potential of capillary electrophoresis (CE) makes CE techniques valuable for separations of selenium species, both, organic and inorganic. Such effective separations of charged species are possible using the CZE mode (Z = zone). Very powerful separations can be achieved by capillary isoelectric focusing, when analysing molecules showing different isoelectric points (pI) values, such as organic Se species. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) MS is an element-specific multi-element detector, providing extremely low detection limits. The combination of CE with ICP-MS promises a powerful tool for metal speciation. Therefore, an online hyphenation of CE [using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) or capillary isoelectric focusing (cITP) model] with ICP-MS, which was developed earlier, was modified and applied to selenium speciation. Separation was differentiated from the detection step during hyphenation. This resulted in short separation times (10 min) and a subsequent detection step lasting 100 s. Firstly, a CZE method was applied, providing a separation of six Se species of interest in one run [Se(IV), Se(VI), selenium carrying glutathione (GSSeSG), selenomethionine (SeM), selenocystine (SeC), selenocystamine (SeCM)]. This CZE method used an alkaline background electrolyte (Na2CO3/NaOH). The Se species were separated sufficiently from each other. Detection limits were calculated as 10 or 20 micrograms Se l-1 for inorganic Se species and 30-50 micrograms Se l-1 for organic Se species. The method was applied to standard mixtures and body fluids like human milk and serum. Secondly, a cIEF separation (pH range 2-10) was employed for organic Se species only in parallel. Detection limits were around 10-30 micrograms Se l-1. The method was applied to standard mixtures and body fluids like human milk and serum.

Electrophoresis, Capillary↗

Ru(II)-catalyzed chemo- and regioselective cyclotrimerization of three unsymmetrical alkynes through boron temporary tether. One-pot four-component coupling via cyclotrimerization/Suzuki-Miyaura coupling.

The Ru(II)-catalyzed [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization of alkynylboronates, propargyl alcohol, and terminal alkynes proceeded chemo- and regioselectively to give rise to arylboronates, which were subjected to Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling with aryliodides to afford highly substituted biaryls in 53-76% yields.

Journal Article↗

Electrochemical and homogeneous proton-coupled electron transfers: concerted pathways in the one-electron oxidation of a phenol coupled with an intramolecular amine-driven proton transfer.

Proton-coupled electron transfers currently attract considerable attention in view of their likely involvement in many natural processes. Electrochemistry, through techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, is an efficient way of investigating the reaction mechanism of these reactions, and deciding whether proton and electron transfers are concerted or occur in a stepwise manner. The oxidation of an ortho-substituted 4,6-di (tert-butyl)-phenol in which the phenolic hydrogen atom is transferred during the reaction to the nitrogen atom of a nearby amine is taken as illustrative example. A careful analysis of the cyclic voltammetric responses obtained with this compound and its OD derivative allows, after estimation of the various thermodynamic parameters, ruling out the occurrence of the square scheme mechanism involving the proton-electron and electron-proton sequences. Simulation and comparison of the rate constant and H/D kinetic isotope effect with theoretical predictions show that the experimental value of the preexponential factor is ca. 1 order of magnitude larger than the theoretical value. Detailed calculations suggest that an electric field effect is responsible for this discrepancy.

Journal Article↗

A novel generation of coupling reagents. Enantiodifferentiating coupling reagents prepared in situ from 2-chloro-4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazine (CDMT) and chiral tertiary amines.

Coupling of racemic N-protected amino acids with amino components by means of 2-chloro-4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazine (CDMT) in the presence of chiral tertiary amines such as strychnine, brucine, and sparteine proceeds enantioselectively, affording appropriate amides or dipeptides in 69-85% yield. The configuration of the preferred enantiomer and enantiomeric enrichment depend on the structures of the amine and carboxylic acid. Calculated Kagan enantioselectivity parameters (s) are in the range 1.6-195. Chiral triazinylammonium chlorides formed in situ from CDMT and chiral tertiary amines are postulated as reactive intermediates involved in the process of enantioselective activation of N-protected amino acids.

Journal Article↗

Facile one-pot coupling-aminovinylation approach to push-pull chromophores: alkyne activation by sonogashira coupling.

A straightforward coupling-aminovinylation sequence of terminal alkynes 1, electron-deficient heteroaryl halides 2, and secondary amines 4 furnishes highly solvochromic push-pull chromophores 5 in good yields. Semiempirical calculations (PM3) suggest that the aminovinylation proceeds in a stepwise fashion through a zwitterionic intermediate with a final rate-determining intramolecular protonation. Crucial parameters for the success of the amine addition are the relative LUMO energies and the charge distribution at the beta-alkynyl carbon atom.

Journal Article↗