SummaryThis work describes a systematic evaluation of several autofocus functions used for analytical fluorescent image cytometry studies of counterstained nuclei. Focusing is the first step in the automatic fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of cells. Thirteen functions have been evaluated using qualitative and quantitative procedures. For the last of these procedures a figure-of-merit (FOM) is defined and proposed. This new FOM takes into account five important features of the focusing function. Our results show that functions based on correlation measures have the best performance for this type of image.

One of the most widely used and important groups of functional dyes are the styryl dyes and a review of this functional dye class has not been published for more than 15 years. In this review article, we describe the new trends in the synthesis of a range of novel intermediates and styryl dyes and include the most interesting examples of their high‐tech applications. However, this review is not intended to be comprehensive because of the large number of styryl dye studies that have been carried out in this time. Styryl cyanine dyes are widely used in optical recording media in laser discs, as flexible dyes, laser dyes, as optical sensitisers and in various other fields, for example dye‐sensitised solar cells and dyes with non‐linear optical properties. Additionally, the most important applications for these dyes are in bio‐labelling and in medicinal analysis.

The marine natural product thiocoraline A displayed approximately equal cytotoxic activity at nanomolar concentrations in a panel of 12 human cancer cell lines. X-ray diffraction analyses of orthorhombic crystals of this DNA-binding drug revealed arrays of docked pairs of staple-shaped molecules in which one pendent hydroxyquinoline chromophore from each cysteine-rich molecule appears intercalated between the two chromophores of a facing molecule. This arrangement is in contrast to the proposed mode of binding to DNA that shows the two drug chromophores clamping two stacked base pairs, in agreement with the nearest-neighbor exclusion principle. Proof of DNA sequence recognition was obtained from both classical DNase I footprinting experiments and determination of the melting temperatures of several custom-designed fluorescently labeled oligonucleotides. A rationale for the DNA-binding behavior was gained when models of thiocoraline clamping a central step embedded in several octanucleotides were built and studied by means of unrestrained molecular dynamics simulations in aqueous solution.

Trabectedin (Yondelis; ET-743) is a potent anticancer drug that binds to DNA by forming a covalent bond with a guanine in one strand and one or more hydrogen bonds with the opposite strand. Using a fluorescence-based melting assay, we show that one single trabectedin-DNA adduct increases the thermal stability of the double helix by >20°C. As deduced from the analysis of phosphorylated H2AX and Rad51 foci, we observed that clinically relevant doses of trabectedin induce the formation of DNA double-strand breaks in human cells and activate homologous recombination repair in a manner similar to that evoked by the DNA interstrand cross-linking agent mitomycin C (MMC). Because one important characteristic of this drug is its marked cytotoxicity on cells lacking a functional Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway, we compared the response of different subtypes of FA cells to MMC and trabectedin. Our data clearly show that human cells with mutations in FANCA, FANCC, FANCF, FANCG, or FANCD1 genes are highly sensitive to both MMC and trabectedin. However, in marked contrast to MMC, trabectedin does not induce any significant accumulation of FA cells in G 2 -M. The critical relevance of FA proteins in the response of human cells to trabectedin reported herein, together with observations showing the role of the FA pathway in cancer suppression, strongly suggest that screening for mutations in FA genes may facilitate the identification of tumors displaying enhanced sensitivity to this novel anticancer drug.

The 5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole, 11H-indolo[3,2-c]quinoline, 5H-benzo[f]pyrido[4,3-b]indole, and 13H-benz[5,6]indolo[3,2-c]quinoline heteroaromatic nuclei have been synthesized by the Graebe−Ullmann method by classical heating or under microwave irradiation. These tri-, tetra-, and pentacyclic compounds were transformed into the corresponding cationic derivatives by N-alkylation, and the DNA-binding properties of the resulting cationic systems were examined using UV−vis spectroscopy, viscometric determinations, and molecular modeling techniques. The tetracyclic cations were transformed into bis-salts by means of a diethyl bispiperidine rigid chain and a more flexible polyamide linker, but the low solubility of these bis-salts made the study of their bisintercalating properties difficult.

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The synthesis of new pyrido[1,2-a]- and pyridazino[1,6-a]benzimidazolium salts by basic condensation of 1,3-disubstituted 2-alkylbenzimidazolium salts and 1,2-diketones and subsequent chemical transformations is described. The DNA-binding properties were examined by UV-vis spectroscopy, viscosimetric determinations, and molecular modeling techniques. The presence of a flat polycyclic hydrocarbon moiety such as a naphthalene-1,8-diyl or a biphenyl-o,o'-diyl, fused to the cationic heterocycle, appears to enhance the interaction with DNA. Variation of the substituents on the indole-like N will allow us to build up a new series of bis-salts with bis-intercalating properties.

Abstract:The ability to acquire high resolution 3D images of the heart enables to study heart diseases more in detail. In this work, the CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis) clearing protocol was optimized for thick mouse heart sections to enhance the penetration depth of the confocal microscope lasers into the tissue. In addition, the optimized CUBIC clearing of the heart enhances antibody penetration into the tissue by a factor of five. The present protocol enables deep 3D high-quality image acquisition in the heart allowing a much more accurate assessment of the cellular and structural changes that underlie heart diseases. Sadayappan, "Cardiac muscle organization revealed in 3-D by imaging whole-mount mouse hearts using twophoton fluorescence and confocal microscopy,"