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Herein, we describe the synthesis of a water-soluble photodynamically active fullerene bearing a polyethylene glycol chain and a hydrophilic cationic group, revealing that the solubility of the above derivative in aqueous medium depends on ultrasonication time, with the particle size of aggregates being correlated with concentration.

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Cerebrospinal fluid is thought to be mainly absorbed into arachnoid granules in the subarachnoid space and drained into the sagittal sinus. However, some observations such as late outbreak of arachnoid granules in fetus brain and recent cerebrospinal fluid movements study by magnetic resonance images, conflict with this hypothesis. In this study, we investigated the movement of cerebrospinal fluid in fetuses. Several kinds of fluorescent probes with different molecular weights were injected into the lateral ventricle or subarachnoid space in mouse fetuses at a gestational age of 13 days. The movements of the probes were monitored by live imaging under fluorescent microscope. Following intraventricular injection, the probes dispersed into the 3rd ventricle and aqueduct immediately, but did not move into the 4th ventricle and spinal canal. After injection of low and high molecular weight conjugated probes, both probes dispersed into the brain but only the low molecular weight probe dispersed into the whole body. Following intra-subarachnoid injection, both probes diffused into the spinal canal gradually. Neither probe dispersed into the brain and body. The probe injected into the lateral ventricle moved into the spinal central canal by the fetus head compression, and returned into the aqueduct by its release. We conclude this study as follows: (i) The movement of metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles will be restricted by molecular weight; (ii) Cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricle and in the subarachnoid space move differently; and (iii) Cerebrospinal fluid may not appear to circulate. In the event of high intracranial pressure, the fluid may move into the spinal canal.

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Previously, we reported that GfsA is a novel galactofuranosyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of O-glycan, the proper maintenance of fungal morphology, the formation of conidia and anti-fungal resistance in Aspergillus nidulans and A. fumigatus (Komachi Y et al., 2013. GfsA encodes a novel galactofuranosyltransferase involved in biosynthesis of galactofuranose antigen of O-glycan in Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus. Mol. Microbiol. 90:1054-1073). In the present paper, to gain an in depth-understanding of the enzymatic functions of GfsA in A. fumigatus (AfGfsA), we established an in vitro assay to measure galactofuranosyltransferase activity using purified AfGfsA, UDP-α-d-galactofuranose as a sugar donor, and p-nitrophenyl-ß-d-galactofuranoside as an acceptor substrate. LC/MS, 1H-NMR and methylation analyses of the enzymatic products of AfGfsA revealed that this protein has the ability to transfer galactofuranose to the C-5 position of the ß-galactofuranose residue via a ß-linkage. AfGfsA requires a divalent cation of manganese for maximal activity and consumes UDP-α-d-galactofuranose as a sugar donor. Its optimal pH range is 6.5-7.5 and its optimal temperature range is 20-30°C. 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and methylation analyses of fungal-type galactomannan extracted from the ∆AfgfsA strain revealed that AfGfsA is responsible for the biosynthesis of ß1,5-galactofuranose in the galactofuran side chain of fungal-type galactomannan. Based on these results, we conclude that AfGfsA acts as a UDP-α-d-galactofuranose: ß-d-galactofuranoside ß1,5-galactofuranosyltransferase in the biosynthetic pathway of galactomannans.

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New fluorescent Fluolid dyes have advantages over others such as stability against heat, dryness, and excess light. Here, we performed simultaneous immunostaining of renal tumors, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), papillary RCC, chromophobe RCC, acquired cystic disease-associated RCC (ACD-RCC), and renal angiomyolipoma (AML), with primary antibodies against Kank1, cytokeratin 7 (CK7), and CD10, which were detected with secondary antibodies labeled with Fluolid-Orange, Fluolid-Green, and Alexa Fluor 647, respectively. Kank1 was stained in normal renal tubules, papillary RCC, and ACD-RCC, and weakly or negatively in all other tumors. CK7 was positive in normal renal tubules, papillary RCC, and ACD-RCC. In contrast, CD10 was expressed in renal tubules and clear cell RCC, papillary RCC, AML, and AC-RCC, and weakly in chromophobe RCC. These results may contribute to differentiating renal tumors and subtypes of RCCs. We also examined the stability of fluorescence and found that fluorescent images of Fluolid dyes were identical between a tissue section and the same section after it was stored for almost three years at room temperature. This indicates that tissue sections can be stored at room temperature for a relatively long time after they are stained with multiple fluorescent markers, which could open a door for pathological diagnostics.

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The usefulness of Fluolid-Orange, a novel fluorescent dye, for DNA microarray and immunological assays has been examined. Fluolid-Orange-labeled probes (DNA and IgG) were stable as examined by laser-photo-bleaching and under heat and dry conditions. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the reproducibility of the microarray assay, while stage-specific immunostaining of marker proteins, Kank1 and calretinin, was performed for renal cancers, both giving satisfactory results. The stability of the dye should provide advantages for storing fluorescently labeled probes and re-examining the specimens later in genetic and pathological diagnostics.

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Paraquat (PQ), a herbicide used worldwide, causes fatal injury to organs upon high dose ingestion. Treatments for PQ poisoning are unreliable, and numerous deaths have been attributed inappropriate usage of the agent. It is generally speculated that a microsomal drug-metabolizing enzyme system is responsible for PQ toxicity. However, recent studies have demonstrated cytotoxicity via mitochondria, and therefore, the cytotoxic mechanism remains controversial. Here, we demonstrated that mitochondrial NADH-dependent PQ reductase containing a voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1) is responsible for PQ cytotoxicity. When mitochondria were incubated with NADH and PQ, superoxide anion (O(2)(*)) was produced, and the mitochondria ruptured. Outer membrane extract oxidized NADH in a PQ dose-dependent manner, and oxidation was suppressed by VDAC inhibitors. Zymographic analysis revealed the presence of VDAC1 protein in the oxidoreductase, and the direct binding of PQ to VDAC1 was demonstrated using biotinylated PQ. VDAC1-overexpressing cells showed increased O(2)(*) production and cytotoxicity, both of which were suppressed in VDAC1 knockdown cells. These results indicated that a VDAC1-containing mitochondrial system is involved in PQ poisoning. These insights into the mechanism of PQ poisoning not only demonstrated novel physiological functions of VDAC protein, but they may facilitate the development of new therapeutic approaches.

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Fluorescence techniques are widely used in biological research to examine molecular localization, while electron microscopy can provide unique ultrastructural information. To date, correlative images from both fluorescence and electron microscopy have been obtained separately using two different instruments, i.e. a fluorescence microscope (FM) and an electron microscope (EM). In the current study, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) (JEOL JXA8600M) was combined with a fluorescence digital camera microscope unit and this hybrid instrument was named a fluorescence SEM (FL-SEM). In the labeling of FL-SEM samples, both Fluolid, which is an organic EL dye, and Alexa Fluor, were employed. We successfully demonstrated that the FL-SEM is a simple and practical tool for correlative fluorescence and electron microscopy.

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The distance dependence of photoinduced electron transfer in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) duplex was investigated using the "TAP cassette" systems of the general formula (AT)6A(n)XA(9-n) (X denote guanine (G) or cytosine (C)). The tetrakis-9-acridinyl peptide (TAP) binds tightly with (AT)6 duplex region showing strong fluorescence that was not quenched by the A(n)XA(9-n) single-stranded region. Quenching was observed after duplex formation with the complementary T(9-n)XT(n) strand (G-C pairing), showing clear dependence on the distance between the TAP and a guanine. An extremely low beta value of 0.22 was obtained in our electron transfer (ET) system that suggests exceptional good mediation of ET process. Experiments with G-mismatches showed negligible quenching for systems with guanine separated by more than one AT base pair that indicated rather inefficient ET process for duplexes containing disrupted pi-electronic system.

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Bis-acridine orange peptides carrying two acridine oranges at the epsilon-amino moieties of both terminal lysines of a tetra(lysine) chain showed a ca. 200-fold fluorescence enhancement upon addition of double stranded DNA.

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Detection of double stranded DNA and estimation of the AT content in DNA of unknown concentration could be achieved with a bis-acridinyl peptide carrying fluorescein, FKA.

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Macrocyclic glycocluster compounds 2n (n = 2-7) with four alkyl (undecyl) chains and eight oligosaccharide moieties on the opposite sides of the calix[4]resorcarene macrocycle are prepared from the reactions of the corresponding octaamine derivative with maltooligosaccharide lactones. Combined evidence from dynamic light scattering (DLS), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicates that they form small micelle-like nanoparticles (d congruent with 3 nm) in water. In the presence of Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4, nanoparticles are agglutinated with phosphate ions as a glue to grow in size up to 60-100 nm, as revealed by DLS as well as microscopy (TEM and AFM). The phosphate-induced agglutination processes can be followed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Amphiphile 2n is readily immobilized on the hydrophobized sensor chip of SPR to give a closely packed monolayer with oligosaccharide moieties exposed to bulk water. While there is no further adsorption of 2n on the resulting monolayer, this does occur when the latter is pretreated with the phosphate salts, ultimately giving rise to a multilayer upon repeated treatment of the chip with 2n and Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4 in an alternate manner. Kinetic analyses show that the phosphate-mediated inter(saccharide) interactions in terms of rate and affinity are markedly dependent on the oligosaccharide chain lengths (n), becoming more favorable with increasing n's. The novel aggregation and agglutination behaviors observed are discussed in terms of immobilizable and irreversible micelles on the basis of the cone-shaped structure of quadruple-chain amphiphile 2n having a huge saccharide pool and the efficiency of multiple hydrogen bonding therein. The unique intermolecular binding properties of compound 22 and analogues so far reported are reviewed in light of the present finding.

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