Magnesium materials are of increasing interest in the development of biodegradable implants as they exhibit properties that make them promising candidates. However, the formation of gas cavities after implantation of magnesium alloys has been widely reported in the literature. The composition of the gas and the concentration of its components in these cavities are not known as only a few studies using non-specific techniques were done about 60 years ago. Currently many researchers assume that these cavities contain primarily hydrogen because it is a product of magnesium corrosion in aqueous media. In order to clearly answer this question we implanted rare earth-containing magnesium alloy disks in mice and determined the concentration of hydrogen gas for up to 10 days using an amperometric hydrogen sensor and mass spectrometric measurements. We were able to directly monitor the hydrogen concentration over a period of 10 days and show that the gas cavities contained only a low concentration of hydrogen gas, even shortly after formation of the cavities. This means that hydrogen must be exchanged very quickly after implantation. To confirm these results hydrogen gas was directly injected subcutaneously. Most of the hydrogen gas was found to exchange within 1h after injection. Overall, our results disprove the common misbelief that these cavities mainly contain hydrogen and show how quickly this gas is exchanged with the surrounding tissue.
SummaryThe bidirectional NiFe-hydrogenase of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is encoded by five genes ( hoxEFUYH ) which are transcribed as one unit. The transcription of the hox -operon is regulated by a promoter situated upstream of hoxE . The transcription start point was located at − − − − 168 by 5 ′ ′ ′ ′ Race. Several promoter probe vectors carrying different promoter fragments revealed two regions to be essential for the promoter activity. One is situated in the untranslated 5 ′ ′ ′ ′ leader region and the other is found − − − − 569 to − − − − 690 nucleotides upstream of the ATG. The region further upstream was shown to bind a protein. Even though an imperfect NtcA binding site was identified, NtcA did not bind to this region. The protein binding to the DNA was purified and found to be LexA by MALDI-TOF. The complete LexA and its DNA binding domain were overexpressed in Escherichia coli . Both were able to bind to two sites in the examined region in bandshift-assays. Accordingly, the hydrogenase activity of a LexA-depleted mutant was reduced. This is the first report on LexA acting not as a repressor but as a transcriptional activator. Furthermore, LexA is the first transcription factor identified so far for the expression of bidirectional hydrogenases in cyanobacteria.
There is increasing evidence that breath volatile organic compounds (VOC) have the potential to support the diagnosis and management of inflammatory diseases such as COPD. In this study we used a novel breath sampling device to search for COPD related VOCs. We included a large number of healthy controls and patients with mild to moderate COPD, recruited subjects at two different sites and carefully controlled for smoking. 222 subjects were recruited in Hannover and Marburg, and inhaled cleaned room air before exhaling into a stainless steel reservoir under exhalation flow control. Breath samples (2.5 l) were continuously drawn onto two Tenax(®) TA adsorption tubes and analyzed in Hannover using thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Data of 134 identified VOCs from 190 subjects (52 healthy non-smokers, 52 COPD ex-smokers, 49 healthy smokers, 37 smokers with COPD) were included into the analysis. Active smokers could be clearly discriminated by higher values for combustion products and smoking related VOCs correlated with exhaled carbon monoxide (CO), indicating the validity of our data. Subjects from the study sites could be discriminated even after exclusion of cleaning related VOCs. Linear discriminant analysis correctly classified 89.4% of COPD patients in the non/ex-smoking group (cross validation (CV): 85.6%), and 82.6% of COPD patients in the actively smoking group (CV: 77.9%). We extensively characterized 134 breath VOCs and provide evidence for 14 COPD related VOCs of which 10 have not been reported before. Our results show that, for the utilization of breath VOCs for diagnosis and disease management of COPD, not only the known effects of smoking but also site specific differences need to be considered. We detected novel COPD related breath VOCs that now need to be tested in longitudinal studies for reproducibility, response to treatment and changes in disease severity.
Although the immunomodulatory and cytoprotective properties of itaconate have been studied extensively, it is not known whether its naturally occurring isomers mesaconate and citraconate have similar properties. Here, we show that itaconate is partially converted to mesaconate intracellularly and that mesaconate accumulation in macrophage activation depends on prior itaconate synthesis. When added to human cells in supraphysiological concentrations, all three isomers reduce lactate levels, whereas itaconate is the strongest succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) inhibitor. In cells infected with influenza A virus (IAV), all three isomers profoundly alter amino acid metabolism, modulate cytokine/chemokine release and reduce interferon signalling, oxidative stress and the release of viral particles. Of the three isomers, citraconate is the strongest electrophile and nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) agonist. Only citraconate inhibits catalysis of itaconate by cis-aconitate decarboxylase (ACOD1), probably by competitive binding to the substrate-binding site. These results reveal mesaconate and citraconate as immunomodulatory, anti-oxidative and antiviral compounds, and citraconate as the first naturally occurring ACOD1 inhibitor.
The objective of this project was to gain information on toxicokinetic behaviour and in vivo genotoxicity of alternariol (AOH) in NMRI mice. Therefore, commercially available AOH was purified using a preparative HPLC-method. Initial dose-range finding proved AOH to be nontoxic after single or repeated oral application of up to 2000 mg/kg (limit dose). Subsequently, an in vivo oral toxicokinetic study (OECD guideline 417) was performed with 200 and 1000 mg/kg radiolabelled AOH. The study revealed low systemic absorption, with about 90 % of the total dose excreted via faeces and up to 9 % via urine. Blood levels did not exceed 0.06 % of the administered dose during the first 24 h after administration. Thus, target organ toxicity would most likely be restricted to the gastrointestinal tract. Metabolism of AOH was then investigated in a toxicokinetic study with non-radiolabelled AOH. Three dosage schemes were used: 200 and 2000 mg/kg (single dose) and 3 x 2000 mg/kg (0, 24 and 45 h). Whole blood (LC-MS/MS analysis) and urine (GC-MS in SIM mode) were analysed for AOH and its hydroxy-metabolites. Four metabolites (8-hydroxy-AOH, 4-hydroxy-AOH, 10-hydroxy-AOH, 2-hydroxy-AOH) were detected and ID was confirmed by NMR and mass spectrometry. Results also pointed to low systemic absorption, but mean blood levels (0.5 µM AOH, 3 h after the last of three applications) was considered sufficient to justify performance of a combined bone marrow micronucleus test (OECD 474) and in vivo alkaline comet assay (stomach, gut, liver). Therefore, 3 x 2000 mg/kg AOH were applied in corn oil (at 0, 24, and 45 h) and animals were sacrificed 48 h after the first application. The micronucleus assay revealed no toxic or genotoxic effect of AOH in bone marrow and the comet assay with liver tissue also did not indicate systemic genotoxicicity. © Schuchardt S, Ziemann C, Hansen T, 2014
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