We identified four anti-inflammatory sulfur-containing compounds from garlic, and their chemical structures were identified as Z-and E-ajoene and oxidized sulfonyl derivatives of ajoene. The sulfur compounds inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factora, interleukin-1b, and interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated macrophages. Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that these sulfur compounds attenuated the LPS-induced expression of the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins and mRNA. Moreover, these sulfurcontaining compounds suppressed the nuclear factor-jB (NF-jB) transcriptional activity and the degradation of inhibitoryjBa in LPS-activated macrophages. Furthermore, we observed that they markedly inhibited the LPS-induced phosphorylations of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) at 20 lM. These data demonstrate that the sulfur compounds from garlic, (Z, E)-ajoene and their sulfonyl analogs, can suppress the LPS-induced production of NO/ PGE2 and the expression of iNOS/COX-2 genes by inhibiting the NF-jB activation and the phosphorylations of p38 and ERK. Taken together, these data show that Z-and E-ajoene and their sulfonyl analogs from garlic might have anti-inflammatory therapeutic potential.
One important factor in fabricating protein microarray is to immobilize proteins without losing their activity on a solid phase. To keep them functional, it is necessary to immobilize proteins in a way that preserve their folded structural integrity. In a previous study, we developed novel Calixarene derivatives for the immobilization of proteins on the surface of a glass slide (1). In this study, we compared the sensitivity and the specificity of the linker molecules with those of five other protein attachment agents on glass slides using a prostate-specific antigen and its antibodies as a model system. The Calixcrown-coated protein chip showed a superior sensitivity and a much lower detection limit than those chips prepared by other methods. When we tested the capability of Calixcrown to immobilize antibody molecules, it appeared that Calixcrown makes arrangement of antibody be more regular with the vertical orientation than the covalent-bond agent. We also observed that the Calixcrown chip could be used for the diagnostic application with clinical samples from prostate cancer and HIV patients. Finally, we applied the Calixcrown chip using an antibody microarray to identify up- or down-regulated proteins in specific tissue and detected several up- or down-regulated proteins from a rat liver by administering toxin. Thus, the Calixcrown chip can be used as a powerful tool with a wide range of applications, including protein-protein interaction, protein-DNA interaction, and an enzyme activity assay.
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