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At least 811 records · Page 45

Camptothecin disrupts androgen receptor signaling and suppresses prostate cancer cell growth

The androgen receptor (AR) is the main therapeutic target for treatment of metastatic prostate cancers. The present study demonstrates that the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin selectively inhibits androgen-responsive growth of prostate cancer cells. Camptothecin strikingly inhibited mutated and wild-type AR protein expression in LNCaP and PC-3/AR cells. This inhibition coincided with decreased androgen-mediated AR phosphorylation at Ser{sup 81} and reduced androgen-mediated AR transcriptional activity in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, camptothecin disrupted the association between AR and heat shock protein 90 and impeded binding of the synthetic androgen [{sup 3}H]R1881 to AR in LNCaP cells. Camptothecin also blocked androgen-induced AR nuclear translocation, leading to downregulation of the AR target gene PSA. In addition to decreasing the intracellular and secreted prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, camptothecin markedly inhibited androgen-stimulated PSA promoter activity. Collectively, our data reveal that camptothecin not only serves as a traditional genotoxic agent but, by virtue of its ability to target and disrupt AR, may also be a novel candidate for the treatment of prostate cancer.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Autocrine stimulation of osteoblast activity by Wnt5a in response to TNF-α in human mesenchymal stem cells

Highlights: ► Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) leads to bone fusions and ankylosis. ► TNF-α stimulates osteoblasts through growth factors in AS. ► We compare the involvement of canonical vs non-canonical Wnt signaling. ► Canonical Wnt signaling is not involved in TNF-α effects in differentiating hMSCs. ► TNF-α stimulates osteoblasts through Wnt5a autocrine secretion in hMSCs. -- Abstract: Although anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α treatments efficiently block inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis (AS), they are inefficient to prevent excessive bone formation. In AS, ossification seems more prone to develop in sites where inflammation has resolved following anti-TNF therapy, suggesting that TNF-α indirectly stimulates ossification. In this context, our objectives were to determine and compare the involvement of Wnt proteins, which are potent growth factors of bone formation, in the effects of TNF-α on osteoblast function. In human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), TNF-α significantly increased the levels of Wnt10b and Wnt5a. Associated with this effect, TNF-α stimulated tissue-non specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) and mineralization. This effect was mimicked by activation of the canonical β-catenin pathway with either anti-Dkk1 antibodies, lithium chloride (LiCl) or SB216763. TNF-α reduced, and activation of β-catenin had little effect on expression of osteocalcin, a late marker of osteoblast differentiation. Surprisingly, TNF-α failed to stabilize β-catenin and Dkk1 did not inhibit TNF-α effects. In fact, Dkk1 expression was also enhanced in response to TNF-α, perhaps explaining why canonical signaling by Wnt10b was not activated by TNF-α. However, we found that Wnt5a also stimulated TNAP in MSCs cultured in osteogenic conditions, and increased the levels of inflammatory markers such as COX-2. Interestingly, treatment with anti-Wnt5a antibodies reduced endogenous TNAP expression and activity. Collectively, these data suggest that increased levels of Dkk1 may blunt the autocrine effects of Wnt10b, but not that of Wnt5a, acting through non-canonical signaling. Thus, Wnt5a may be potentially involved in the effects of inflammation on bone formation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Interactions of a potent cyclic peptide inhibitor with the light chain of botulinum neurotoxin A: insights from x-ray crystallography

The seven antigenically distinct serotypes (A to G) of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) are responsible for the deadly disease botulism. BoNT serotype A (BoNT/A) exerts its lethal action by cleaving the SNARE protein SNAP-25, leading to inhibition of neurotransmitter release, flaccid paralysis and autonomic dysfunction. BoNTs are dichain proteins: the heavy chain is responsible for neurospecific binding, internalization and translocation, and the light chain is responsible for substrate cleavage. Because of their extreme toxicity and prior history of weaponization, the BoNTs are considered to be potential bioterrorism agents. No post-symptomatic therapeutic interventions are available for BoNT intoxication other than critical care; therefore it is imperative to develop specific antidotes against this neurotoxin. To this end, a cyclic peptide inhibitor (CPI-1) was synthesized and found to inhibit BoNT/A light chain (Balc) with high affinity. When tested in a cell-free Förster resonance excitation transfer (FRET) assay, CPI-1 was found to have a K i of 13.9 nM using full-length Balc448 and 42.1 nM using a truncated crystallizable form of light chain (Balc424). Co-crystallization of CPI-1 with Balc424 revealed that in the Balc-CPI-1 complex, the inhibitor adopts a helical conformation, occupies a high percentage of the active site cavity and interacts in an amphipathic manner with critical active site residues. The data suggest that CPI-1 prevents SNAP-25 from accessing the Balc active site by blocking both the substrate binding path at the surface and the Zn 2+ binding region involved in catalysis. This is in contrast to linear peptide inhibitors described to date which block only the latter

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

New opportunities in produced water management: A market-based approach to produced water trading

Produced water (PW) is a byproduct of oil and gas (O&G) production. Obtained alongside the more valuable energy products, PW is usually characterized by high levels of salinity and often contains many contaminants (chemicals, soluble and insoluble oil, organics, etc.) making it unsuitable for release without substantial treatment. Couple this with the fact that PW is typically obtained at multiple times the rate of oil or gas, and the added transport, treatment, and disposal costs become a serious challenge for operators. These realities have led to ad-hoc practices including cooperation between industry competitors to recycle, share, or otherwise mitigate PW costs. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in partnership with the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) is pursuing novel technology solutions to address PW issues that complement or improve ad-hoc practices adopted by operators. In this paper, we observe that well-established market management practices used in electrical power generation have natural analogues in the PW supply chain. These parallels open up a new line of research where we view PW management as a market equilibrium problem, and explore solutions that foster active and data-based collaboration among operators through market structures similar to power markets, with the ultimate objective of improving PW management costs and recycling rates. Here, we make a case for our observations, present a PW market clearing optimization model that shows how such a market system could operate in the O&G space, and provide an illustrative case study for demonstration.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Radiation Therapy Outcomes: A Clinician's Perspective

Radiation oncology has always been deeply rooted in modeling, from the early days of isoeffect curves to the contemporary Quantitative Analysis of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (QUANTEC) initiative. In recent years, medical modeling for both prognostic and therapeutic purposes has exploded thanks to increasing availability of electronic data and genomics. One promising direction that medical modeling is moving toward is adopting the same machine learning methods used by companies such as Google and Facebook to combat disease. Broadly defined, machine learning is a branch of computer science that deals with making predictions from complex data through statistical models. These methods serve to uncover patterns in data and are actively used in areas such as speech recognition, handwriting recognition, face recognition, “spam” filtering (junk email), and targeted advertising. Although multiple radiation oncology research groups have shown the value of applied machine learning (ML), clinical adoption has been slow due to the high barrier to understanding these complex models by clinicians. Here, we present a review of the use of ML to predict radiation therapy outcomes from the clinician's point of view with the hope that it lowers the “barrier to entry” for those without formal training in ML. We begin by describing 7 principles that one should consider when evaluating (or creating) an ML model in radiation oncology. We next introduce 3 popular ML methods—logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and artificial neural network (ANN)—and critique 3 seminal papers in the context of these principles. Although current studies are in exploratory stages, the overall methodology has progressively matured, and the field is ready for larger-scale further investigation.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

EBSD and TEM Characterization of High Burn-up Mixed Oxide Fuel

Understanding and studying the irradiation behavior of high burn-up oxide fuel is critical to licensing of future fast breeder reactors. Advancements in experimental techniques and equipment are allowing for new insights into previously irradiated samples. In this work dual column focused ion beam (FIB)/scanning electron microscope (SEM) was utilized to prepared transmission electron microscope samples from mixed oxide fuel with a burn-up of 6.7% FIMA. Utilizing the FIB/SEM for preparation resulted in samples with a dose rate of <0.5 mRem/h compared to approximately 1.1 R/h for a traditionally prepared TEM sample. The TEM analysis showed that the sample taken from the cooler rim region of the fuel pellet had approximately 2.5x higher dislocation density than that of the sample taken from the mid-radius due to the lower irradiation temperature of the rim. The dual column FIB/SEM was additionally used to prepared and serially slice approximately 25 um cubes. High quality electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) were collected from the face at each step, showing, for the first time, the ability to obtain EBSD data from high activity irradiated fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Recent status and improvement of reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic steels for high-temperature service

Reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) steels, candidate structural materials for fusion reactors, have achieved technological maturity after about three decades of research and development. The recent status of a few developmental aspects of current RAFM steels, such as aging resistance, plate thickness effects, fracture toughness, and fatigue, is updated in this paper, together with ongoing efforts to develop next-generation RAFM steels for superior high-temperature performance. Additionally, to thermomechanical treatments, including nonstandard heat treatment, alloy chemistry refinements and modifications have demonstrated some improvements in high-temperature performance. Castable nanostructured alloys (CNAs) were developed by significantly increasing the amount of nanoscale MX (M = V/Ta/Ti, X = C/N) precipitates and reducing coarse M 23 C 6 (M = Cr). Preliminary results showed promising improvement in creep resistance and Charpy impact toughness. We present and compare limited low-dose neutron irradiation results for one of the CNAs and China low activation martensitic with data for F82H and Eurofer97 irradiated up to ~70 displacements per atom at ~300–325 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Reduced deuterium retention in simultaneously damaged and annealed tungsten

Deuterium (D) retention in polycrystalline tungsten (W) with copper (Cu) ion damage concurrently produced at elevated surface temperature is investigated in this paper. An in situ heated stage held W samples at a controlled temperature up to 1243 K, which were subjected to displacement damage produced by 3.4 MeV Cu ions. D retention is subsequently explored by exposure of the W samples held at 383 K to a D 2 plasma ion fluence of 10 24 D + /m 2 . Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), utilizing the D( 3 He,p) 4 He nuclear reaction, is used to probe the D concentration in the near surface up to 6 μm. Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) is used to measure outgassed HD and D 2 molecules to determine the bulk D concentration. Both NRA and TDS measure a significant reduction in D retention for samples damaged at elevated temperature. TDS quantitatively shows that the lowest energy trap remains largely unaffected while higher energy traps, induced by Cu ions, are annealed and approach intrinsic concentrations as the temperature during ion damage approaches 1243 K. Finally, analysis of TDS data yields an activation energy of (0.10 ± 0.02) eV for recovery of ion-damage induced traps at elevated temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A novel muon detector for borehole density tomography

Muons can be used to image the density of materials through which they pass, including geological structures. Subsurface applications of the technology include tracking fluid migration during injection or production, with increasing concern regarding such timely issues as induced seismicity or chemical leakage into aquifers. Current density monitoring options include gravimetric data collection and active or passive seismic surveys. One alternative, or complement, to these methods is the development of a muon detector that is sufficiently compact and robust for deployment in a borehole. Such a muon detector can enable imaging of density structure to monitor small changes in density – a proxy for fluid migration – at depths up to 1500 m. Such a detector has been developed, and Monte Carlo modeling methods applied to simulate the anticipated detector response. Testing and measurements using a prototype detector in the laboratory and shallow underground laboratory demonstrated robust response. Lastly, a satisfactory comparison with a large drift tube-based muon detector is also presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Correlating laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with neutron activation analysis to determine the elemental concentration in the ionome of the Populus trichocarpa leaf

The black cottonwood poplar (Populus trichocarpa) leaf ionome (inorganic trace elements and mineral nutrients) is an important aspect for determining the physiological and developmental processes contributing to biomass production. A number of techniques are used to measure the ionome, yet characterizing the leaf spatial heterogeneity remains a challenge, especially in solid samples. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used to determine the elemental composition of leaves and is able to raster across solid matrixes at 10 μm resolution. Here, we evaluate the use of LIBS for solid sample leaf elemental characterization in relation to neutron activation. In fact, neutron activation analysis is a laboratory-based technique which is used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to certify trace elements in candidate reference materials including plant leaf matrices. Introduction to the techniques used in this research has been presented in this manuscript. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) data has been correlated to the LIBS spectra to achieve quantification of the elements or ions present within poplar leaves. The regression coefficients of calibration and validation using multivariate analysis (MVA) methodology for six out of seven elements have been determined and vary between 0.810 and 0.998. LIBS and NAA data has been presented for the elements such as, calcium, magnesium, manganese, aluminum, copper, and potassium. Chlorine was also detected but it did not show good correlation between the LIBS and NAA techniques. This research shows that LIBS can be used as a fast, high-spatial resolution technique to quantify elements as part of large-scale field phenotyping projects.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Structural Mechanisms of Allostery and Autoinhibition in JNK Family Kinases

c-Jun N-terminal (JNK) family kinases have a common peptide-docking site used by upstream activating kinases, substrates, scaffold proteins, and phosphatases, where the ensemble of bound proteins determines signaling output. Although there are many JNK structures, little is known about mechanisms of allosteric regulation between the catalytic and peptide-binding sites, and the activation loop, whose phosphorylation is required for catalytic activity. Here, we compare three structures of unliganded JNK3 bound to different peptides. These were compared as a class to structures that differ in binding of peptide, small molecule ligand, or conformation of the kinase activation loop. Peptide binding induced an inhibitory interlobe conformer that was reversed by alterations in the activation loop. Structure class analysis revealed the subtle structural mechanisms for allosteric signaling between the peptide-binding site and activation loop. Biochemical data from isothermal calorimetry, fluorescence energy transfer, and enzyme inhibition demonstrated affinity differences among the three peptides that were consistent with structural observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin activates the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and alters sex steroid hormone secretion without affecting growth of mouse antral follicles in vitro

The persistent environmental contaminant, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is an ovarian toxicant. These studies were designed to characterize the actions of TCDD on steroidogenesis and growth of intact mouse antral follicles in vitro. Specifically, these studies tested the hypothesis that TCDD exposure leads to decreased sex hormone production/secretion by antral follicles as well as decreased growth of antral follicles in vitro. Since TCDD acts through binding to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), and the AHR has been identified as an important factor in ovarian function, we also conducted experiments to confirm the presence and activation of the AHR in our tissue culture system. To do so, we exposed mouse antral follicles for 96 h to a series of TCDD doses previously shown to have effects on ovarian tissues and cells in culture, which also encompass environmentally relevant and pharmacological exposures (0.1–100 nM), to determine a dose response for TCDD in our culture system for growth, hormone production, and expression of the Ahr and Cyp1b1. The results indicate that TCDD decreases progesterone, androstenedione, testosterone, and estradiol levels in a non-monotonic dose response manner without altering growth of antral follicles. The addition of pregnenolone substrate (10 μM) restores hormone levels to control levels. Additionally, Cyp1b1 levels were increased by 3–4 fold regardless of the dose of TCDD exposure, evidence of AHR activation. Overall, these data indicate that TCDD may act prior to pregnenolone formation and through AHR transcriptional control of Cyp1b1, leading to decreased hormone levels without affecting growth of antral follicles. -- Highlights: ►TCDD disrupts sex steroid hormone levels, but not growth of antral follicles. ►Pregnenolone co-treatment by-passes TCDD-induced steroid hormone disruption. ►TCDD affects steroid hormone levels through an AHR pathway in antral follicles.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Protein Kinase G facilitates EGFR-mediated cell death in MDA-MB-468 cells

The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase with critical implications in cell proliferation, migration, wound healing and the regulation of apoptosis. However, the EGFR has been shown to be hyper-expressed in a number of human malignancies. The MDA-MB-468 metastatic breast cell line is one example of this. This particular cell line hyper-expresses the EGFR and undergoes EGFR-mediated apoptosis in response to EGF ligand. The goal of this study was to identify the kinases that could be potential intermediates for the EGFR-mediated induction of apoptosis intracellularly. After identifying Cyclic GMP-dependent Protein Kinase G (PKG) as a plausible intermediate, we wanted to determine the temporal relationship of these two proteins in the induction of apoptosis. We observed a dose-dependent decrease in MDA-MB-468 cell viability, which was co-incident with increased PKG activity as measured by VASPSer239 phosphorylation. In addition, we observed a dose dependent decrease in cell viability, as well as an increase in apoptosis, in response to two different PKG agonists, 8-Bromo-cGMP and 8-pCPT-cGMP. MDA-MB-468 cells with reduced PKG activity had attenuated EGFR-mediated apoptosis. These findings indicate that PKG does not induce cell death via transphosphorylation of the EGFR. Instead, PKG activity occurs following EGFR activation. Together, these data indicate PKG as an intermediary in EGFR-mediated cell death, likely via apoptotic pathway.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Regulation of adipogenesis by ceramide 1-phosphate

Highlights: • Exogenous C1P inhibits adipogenesis. • ERK1–2 are implicated in the inhibition of adipogenesis by C1P. • C1P inhibition of adipogenesis is blocked by Gi protein inhibitor pertussis toxin. We showed previously that ceramide kinase (CerK) expression increases during adipogenesis pointing to a relevant role of intracellular C1P in this process. In the present work we demonstrate that administration of exogenous C1P inhibits the differentiation of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes into mature adipocytes through a mechanism involving activation of extracellularly regulated kinases (ERK) 1–2. Exogenous C1P reduced the accumulation of lipid droplets and the content of triacylglycerol in these cells, and potently inhibited the expression of the early and late adipogenic markers C/EBPβ and PPARγ, respectively. C1P also reduced the secretion of leptin, which is a crucial regulator of energy balance and appetite in the organism, and is considered to be a late marker of adipogenesis. Interestingly, all of these C1P actions were reversed by pertussis toxin, suggesting the intervention of a Gi protein-coupled receptor previously identified for C1P, in this process. Also, exogenous C1P significantly reduced CerK activity. Altogether, the data presented in this work suggest that exogenous C1P may balance adipogenesis, and that targeting CerK may be a novel way for potential applications in the treatment of obesity or other inflammation-associated diseases.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

The Influence of the Second and Outer Coordination Spheres on Rh(diphosphine)2 CO2 Hydrogenation Catalysts

A series of [Rh(PCH2XRCH2P)2]+ complexes were prepared to investigate second and outer coordination sphere effects on CO2 hydrogenation catalysis, where X is CH2 (dppp) or X-R is N-CH3, N-CH2COOH (glycine), N-CH2COOCH3 (Gly-OMe) or N-CH2C(O)N-CH(CH3)COOCH3 (GlyAla-OMe). All of these modified complexes were active for CO2 reduction to formate, with the N-CH3 derivative offering an eight-fold enhancement over dppp, which is consistent with decreased electron density around the phosphorous (and corresponding increase in electron density around the metal) observed in the 31P NMR spectrum. Despite the increase in rate with the addition of the pendant nitrogen, the addition of electron withdrawing amino acids and dipeptides to the amine resulted in complexes with reductions in rate of one to two orders of magnitude, most consistent with a change in pKa of the pendant amine resulting in lower activity. Collectively, the data suggests multiple contributions of the pendant amine in this catalytic system. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for the DOE by Battelle. A portion of this research was performed using EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

bioinspired↗

Mechanism of the electrocatalytic reduction of protons with diaryldithiolene cobalt complexes.

A series of dimeric cobalt-diaryldithiolene complexes [Co(S2C2Ar2)2]2, possessing various aryl para substituents (OMe, F, Cl, and Br), were studied as electrocatalysts for proton reduction in nonaqueous media, in an effort to correlate dithiolene donor strength with catalyst activity. Cyclic voltammetry data acquired for the cobalt-diaryldithiolene dimers guided the isolation of chemically reduced monoanionic ([Co(S2C2Ar2)2](-)) and dianionic ([Co(S2C2Ar2)2](2-)) monomers. The potassium and tetrabutylammonium salts of dianionic cobalt-diaryldithiolene complexes have been characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Treatment of the dianionic species with stoichiometric quantities of a weak acid afforded H2 and the monoanionic cobalt-diaryldithiolene species. Density functional theory (BP86) suggests that hydrogen elimination proceeds through a diprotonated intermediate with a Co-H bond and a protonated S center. A transition state for transfer of the S-H proton to the metal center was located with a computed free energy of 5.9 kcal/mol, in solution (DMF via C-PCM approach).

Letko, Christopher S↗

Water-Accelerated Photooxidation of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 Perovskite

Optical absorbance is used to study the kinetics of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) thin film degradation in response to combinations of moisture, oxygen, and illumination over a range of temperatures. 105 degradations were conducted over 41 unique environmental conditions. We discover that water acts synergistically with oxygen in a water-accelerated photo-oxidation (WPO) pathway. This pathway is the dominant pathway at 25 °C and is 10, 100, 1000, and >1000 times faster than dry photooxidation (DPO), degradation via hydrate formation, thermal degradation, and blue light degradation, respectively. We find that the rate determining step for DPO is proton abstraction from methylammonium while for WPO it is proton abstraction from water, which occurs at a faster rate and results in water acting as an accelerant for photooxidation of MAPbI 3 . A full kinetic rate equation is derived and fitted to the data to determine activation energies and rate constants.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Structure and function of Parkin E3 ubiquitin ligase reveals aspects of RING and HECT ligases

Parkin is a RING-between-RING E3 ligase that functions in the covalent attachment of ubiquitin to specific substrates, and mutations in Parkin are linked to Parkinson’s disease, cancer and mycobacterial infection. The RING-between-RING family of E3 ligases are suggested to function with a canonical RING domain and a catalytic cysteine residue usually restricted to HECT E3 ligases, thus termed ‘RING/HECT hybrid’ enzymes. Here we present the 1.58 Å structure of Parkin-R0RBR, revealing the fold architecture for the four RING domains, and several unpredicted interfaces. Examination of the Parkin active site suggests a catalytic network consisting of C431 and H433. In cells, mutation of C431 eliminates Parkin-catalysed degradation of mitochondria, and capture of an ubiquitin oxyester confirms C431 as Parkin’s cellular active site. Our data confirm that Parkin is a RING/HECT hybrid, and provide the first crystal structure of an RING-between-RING E3 ligase at atomic resolution, providing insight into this disease-related protein.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗