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The hearts of many mammalian species are surrounded by an extensive layer of fat called epicardial adipose tissue (EAT). The lineage origins and determinative mechanisms of EAT development are unclear, in part because mice and other experimentally tractable model organisms are thought to not have this tissue. In this study, we show that mouse hearts have EAT, localized to a specific region in the atrial-ventricular groove. Lineage analysis indicates that this adipose tissue originates from the epicardium, a multipotent epithelium that until now is only established to normally generate cardiac fibroblasts and coronary smooth muscle cells. We show that adoption of the adipocyte fate in vivo requires activation of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) pathway, and that this fate can be ectopically induced in mouse ventricular epicardium, either in embryonic or adult stages, by expression and activation of PPARγ at times of epicardium-mesenchymal transformation. Human embryonic ventricular epicardial cells natively express PPARγ, which explains the abundant presence of fat seen in human hearts at birth and throughout life.

The CrIII ion in the title compound is bonded to three N atoms that are constrained to a facial arrangement by the tris­(pyridin-2-yl)amine ligand and by three chloride ligands, leading to a distorted octa­hedral coordination sphere., In the neutral complex mol­ecule of the title compound, fac-[CrCl3(tpa)] [tpa is tris­(pyridin-2-yl)amine; C15H12N4], the CrIII ion is bonded to three N atoms that are constrained to a facial arrangement by the tpa ligand and by three chloride ligands, leading to a distorted octa­hedral coordination sphere. The average Cr—N and Cr—Cl bond lengths are 2.086 (5) and 2.296 (4) Å, respectively. The complex mol­ecule is located on a mirror plane. In the crystal, a combination of C—H⋯N and C—H⋯Cl hydrogen-bonding inter­actions connect the mol­ecules into a three-dimensional network.

The influence of human serum albumin (HSA) on the bile acid-mediated inhibition of liver microsomal type 1 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1) was studied in vitro. A rat liver microsomal fraction was prepared, and the 11β-HSD1 enzyme activity in the presence of various concentrations of bile acids and HSA was determined using hydrocortisone as the substrate. The products of the reaction were extracted and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The magnitude of the inhibition decreased with the addition of HSA in a dose-dependent manner. Four percent human albumin decreased the inhibitory effects of 100 μM chenodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid from 89.9 ± 5.6 to 54.5 ± 6.1 % and from 83.8 ± 4.8 to 20.8 ± 4.2 %, respectively. In contrast, ursodeoxycholic acid and deoxycholic acid showed no inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity in the presence of 4 % human serum albumin, and the addition of 1 % γ-globulin to the assay mixture in the presence of bile acids did not affect the enzyme activity. Our in vitro study showed that the addition of HSA ameliorated the inhibition of 11β-HSD1 and that the magnitude of the change is dependent on the species of bile acid, presumably based on the numbers of hydroxyl groups. These results suggest that HSA seems to protect the bile acid-mediated inhibition of 11β-HSD1 in the healthy subject. On the other hand, in the patients with obstructive biliary diseases, not only elevated serum bile acid but also the accompanying hypoalbuminemia is important to evaluate the pathophysiology of the bile acid-mediated inhibition of 11β-HSD1 of the disease.

Aluminium (AI) enhances ferrous ion (Fe2+) -mediated lipid per oxidation which is the primary factor leading to cell death in nutrient medium in tobacco cells. Under these conditions, cell death processes were examined. Cells which had been treated with AI and Fe2+ together exhibited cell shrinkage and DNA ladders which were detected by agarose-gel electrophoresis in the form of bands corresponding to increasing multiples of ∼150 bp fragments. In the calcium (Ca)-free medium, a combination of Al and Fe2+ enhanced only partly the per oxidation of lipids and hardly promoted cell death, indicating that Ca2+ further stimulates the per oxidation of lipids enhanced by a combination of Al and Fe2+ and is required for cell death. N-Tosyl-L-phenylalanylchloromethyl ketone, an inhibitor of some cysteine and serine proteinases, had no effect on the per oxidation of lipids but almost completely blocked cell death enhanced by a combination of AI and Fe2+, suggesting that proteinase acts downstream from the pe...

The role of endogenous glutathione (GSH) in the protection of suspension-cultured tobacco cells from aluminum (Al) toxicity was examined. Cells at the logarithmic phase of growth were treated with or without Al in nutrient medium prepared without P i and EDTA. In the absence of Al, total GSH content (including oxidized glutathione [GSSG]) increased gradually. In the presence of Al, the increase of GSH was repressed. This effect was observed before the loss of plasma membrane integrity and the loss of cell viability. In contrast, GSSG content in cells increased in the presence of Al. GSH-deprived cells were prepared by culturing cells with buthionine sulfoximine (an inhibitor of y-glutamylcysteine synthetase) for 24 h. Total GSH content in GSH-deprived cells was 6% of that in normal cells. The GSH-deprived cells exhibited a higher degree of lipid peroxidation, increased accumulation of Al, and greater loss of viability than normal cells. These results suggest that GSH protects cells from the oxidative membrane damage caused by a combination of Al and Fe(II) possibly by both direct consumption of GSH and oxidation of GSH.

In the title compound, cis-[CrF2(C10H8N2)2]ClO4, the CrIII ion is coordinated by the four N atoms [Cr—N = 2.0480 (14)–2.0842 (14) A] from two 2,2′-bipyridine ligands and two F− ions [Cr—F = 1.8409 (10) and 1.8541 (10) A] in a distorted octa­hedral arrangement. The crystal packing is stabilized by π–π inter­actions and weak inter­molecular C—H⋯F and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

The synthesis of glucosylsphingosine (GlcSph), a glucosylceramide (GlcCer) analogue devoid of fatty acids, in cultured fibroblasts was studied by using conduritol beta epoxide (CBE), an inhibitor of beta-glucosidase, and 1-phenyl-2-decanoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PDMP), an inhibitor of glucosylceramide (GlcCer) synthase (glucosyltransferase). When CBE was added to the culture medium, the intracellular beta-glucosidase activity decreased, and both GlcCer and GlcSph accumulated in the cells. After the addition of PDMP, the concentration of GlcCer decreased, while the content of GlcSph increased. When CBE and PDMP were added together, the intracellular accumulation of GlcSph to decreased to less than when CBE alone was added. Based on these results, the synthetic pathway for GlcSph was thus considered to not only be through the glucosylation of sphingosine, but also through the deacylation of GlcCer. When GlcCer (d18:1, C12:0) was added to the culture medium, the intracellular accumulation of GlcSph (d18:1) was evident, and it was also more pronounced in the presence of CBE. In addition, when GlcCer (d18:0, C12:0) was used, apparent accumulation of GlcSph (d18:0) was also observed. In order to determine whether or not the deacylase of GlcCer is identical to acid ceramidase, a deacylase of ceramide, the same experiments were carried out using fibroblasts from two patients with Farber disease, in which acid ceramidase is genetically deficient. The accumulation of GlcSph in the Farber disease fibroblasts after the loading of GlcCer for 7 days was found to be one-fifth of the control level.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

International audience; Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable disease characterized by calcified elastic fibers in cutaneous, ocular, and vascular tissues. PXE is caused by mutations in ABCC6, which encodes a protein of the ATP-driven organic anion transporter family. The inability of this transporter to secrete its substrate into the circulation is the likely cause of PXE. Vitamin K plays a role in the regulation of mineralization processes as a co-factor in the carboxylation of calcification inhibitors such as Matrix Gla Protein (MGP). Vitamin K precursor or a conjugated form has been proposed as potential substrate(s) for ABCC6. We investigated whether an enriched diet of vitamin K1 or vitamin K2 (MK4) could stop or slow the disease progression in Abcc6 (-/-) mice. Abcc6 (-/-) mice were placed on a diet of either vitamin K1 or MK4 at 5 or 100 mg/kg at prenatal, 3 weeks or 3 months of age. Disease progression was quantified by measuring the calcium content of one side of the mouse muzzle skin and histological staining for calcium of the opposing side. Raising the vitamin K1 or MK4 content of the diet increased the concentration of circulating MK4 in the serum. However, this increase did not significantly affect the MGP carboxylation status or reduce its abnormal abundance, the total calcium content or the pathologic calcification in the whiskers of the 3 treatment groups compared to controls. Our findings showed that raising the dietary intake of vitamin K1 or MK4 was not beneficial in the treatment of PXE and suggested that the availability of vitamin K may not be a limiting factor in this pathology.

An enantioselective Michael addition of β-keto esters to methyl vinyl ketone exploiting a chiral N,N′-dioxide–scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate complex as a catalyst affords the corresponding Michael adducts in high yields and with enantioselectivities of up to 80% ee.

Dirhodium(II) tetrakis[ N -tetrafluorophthaloyl-( S )- tert -leucinate], Rh 2 [( S )-TFPTTL] 4 , in which the phthalimido hydrogen atoms of the parent dirhodium(II) complex are substituted by fluorine atoms, dramatically enhances the reactivity and enantioselectivity (up to 97% ee) in intramolecular aromatic C–H insertion reactions of methyl 4-alkyl-2-diazo-4,4-diphenyl-3-oxopropionates. Catalysis with the use of 0.001 mol% of Rh 2 [( S )-TFPTTL] 4 has achieved the highest turnover number (up to 98,000 with the methyl substituent) ever recorded for chiral dirhodium(II) complex-catalyzed carbene transformations, without compromising the yield or enantioselectivity of the process.

Al toxicity in cultured tobacco cells (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Samsun; nonchlorophyllic cell line SL) has been investigated in nutrient medium. In this system, Al and Fe(II) (ferrous ion) in the medium synergistically result in the accumulation of both Al and Fe, the peroxidation of lipids, and eventually death in cells at the logarithmic phase of growth (+P cells). A lipophilic antioxidant, N,N[prime]-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine, protected +P cells from the peroxidation of lipids and from cell death, suggesting that a relationship exists between the two. Compared with +P cells, cells that had been starved of Pi (-P cells) were more tolerant to Al, accumulated 30 to 40% less Al and 70 to 90% less Fe, and did not show any evidence of the peroxidation of lipids during Al treatment. These results suggest that -P cells exhibit Al tolerance because their plasma membranes are protected from the peroxidation of lipids caused by the combination of Al and Fe(II). It seems likely that the exclusion of Fe from -P cells might suppress directly Fe-mediated peroxidation of lipids. Furthermore, since -P cells accumulated β-carotene, it is proposed that this carotenoid pigment might function as a radical-trapping antioxidant in the plasma membrane of cells starved of Pi.

An enantioselective Michael addition of beta-keto esters to methyl vinyl ketone exploiting a chiral N,N'-dioxide-scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate complex as a catalyst affords the corresponding Michael adducts in high yields and with enantioselectivities of up to 80% ee.

The human blood groups (ABO) are known to be determined by the terminal carbohydrate residues attached to common carbohydrate chains of the red cell surface. Specific transferases, i.e., N-acetylgalacto-saminyltransferase (A enzyme) in blood group A persons and galactosyltransferase (B enzyme) in blood group B persons, are responsible for transferring the carbohydrates to the terminal galactose of the H-substance of the O red cell surface, with both enzymes absent in blood group O persons. It has not been clear whether the expression of these transferases is related to allelic structural genes or is under regulatory control. The activities of A and B enzymes were completely neutralized by the anti-A-enzyme antibody, which was obtained from a rabbit immunized with purified A enzyme. When pretreated with a protein component obtained from blood group O plasma, the antibody had no capacity for neutralization of the two enzymes. If the transferases are under regulatory control, no immunologically cross-reactive protein should be produced in blood type O persons. The existence of an immunologically active component in blood group O plasma proves that the genes for A enzyme, B enzyme, and the immunologically cross-reactive protein in O plasma are allelic and excludes the possibility of involvement of regulatory control in blood group expression.