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Background: Previous studies have suggested that macrophages are present during lens regeneration in newts, but their role in the process is yet to be elucidated., Methods: Here we generated a transgenic reporter line using the newt, Pleurodeles waltl, that traces macrophages during lens regeneration. Furthermore, we assessed early changes in gene expression during lens regeneration using two newt species, Notophthalmus viridescens and Pleurodeles waltl. Finally, we used clodronate liposomes to deplete macrophages during lens regeneration in both species and tested the effect of a subsequent secondary injury after macrophage recovery., Results: Macrophage depletion abrogated lens regeneration, induced the formation of scar-like tissue, led to inflammation, decreased iris pigment epithelial cell (iPEC) proliferation, and increased rates of apoptosis in the eye. Some of these phenotypes persisted throughout the last observation period of 100 days and could be attenuated by exogenous FGF2 administration. A distinct transcript profile encoding acute inflammatory effectors was established for the dorsal iris. Reinjury of the newt eye alleviated the effects of macrophage depletion, including the resolution of scar-like tissue, and re-initiated the regeneration process., Conclusions: Together, our findings highlight the importance of macrophages for facilitating a pro-regenerative environment in the newt eye by regulating fibrotic responses, modulating the overall inflammatory landscape, and maintaining the proper balance of early proliferation and late apoptosis of the iPECs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A series of oxo-Mo(iv) complexes, [MoO(Dt 2- )(Dt 0 )] (where Dt 2- = benzene-1,2-dithiol (bdt), toluene-3,4-dithiol (tdt), quinoxaline-2,3-dithiol (qdt), or 3,6-dichloro-benzene-1,2-dithiol (bdtCl 2 ); Dt 0 = N , N '-dimethylpiperazine-2,3-dithione (Me 2 Dt 0 ) or N , N '-diisopropylpiperazine-2,3-dithione ( i Pr 2 Dt 0 )), possessing a fully oxidized and a fully reduced dithiolene ligand have been synthesized and characterized. The assigned oxidation states of coordinated dithiolene ligands are supported with spectral and crystallographic data. The molecular structure of [MoO(tdt)( i Pr 2 Dt 0 )] ( 6 ) demonstrates a large ligand fold angle of 62.6° along the S⋯S vector of the Dt 0 ligand. The electronic structure of this system is probed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The HOMO is largely localized on the Dt 2- ligand while virtual orbitals are mostly Mo and Dt 0 in character. Modeling the electronic spectrum of 6 with time dependent (TD) DFT calculations attributes the intense low energy transition at ∼18 000 cm -1 to a ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LL'CT). The electron density difference map (EDDM) for the low energy transition depicts the electron rich Dt 2- ligand donating charge density to the redox-active orbitals of the electron deficient Dt 0 ligand. Electronic communication between dithiolene ligands is facilitated by a Mo-monooxo center and distortion about its primary coordination sphere., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

A suite of lanthanoenediyne complexes of the form Ln(macrocycle)X 3 (Ln = La 3+ , Ce 3+ , Eu 3+ , Gd 3+ , Tb 3+ , Lu 3+ ; X = NO 3 - , Cl - , OTf - ) was prepared by utilizing an enediyne-containing [2 + 2] hexaaza-macrocycle ( 2 ). The solid-state Bergman cyclization temperatures, measured via DSC, decrease with the denticity of X (bidentate NO 3 - , T = 267-292 °C; monodentate Cl - , T = 238-262 °C; noncoordinating OTf - , T = 170-183 °C). 13 C NMR characterization shows that the chemical shifts of the acetylenic carbon atoms also rely on the anion identity. The alkyne carbon closest to the metal binding site, C A , exhibits a Δδ > 3 ppm downfield shift, while the more distal alkyne carbon, C B , displays a concomitant Δδ ≤ 2.5 ppm upfield shift, reflecting a depolarization of the alkyne on metal inclusion. For all metals studied, the degree of perturbation follows the trend 2 < NO 3 - < Cl - < OTf - . This belies a greater degree of electronic rearrangement in the coordinated macrocycle as the denticity of X and its accompanying shielding of the metal's Lewis acidity decrease. Computationally modeled structures of LnX 3 show a systematic increase in the lanthanide- 2 coordination number (CN La-mc = 2 (NO 3 - ), 4 (Cl - ), 5 (H 2 O, model for OTf - )) and a decrease in the mean Ln-N bond length (La-N average = 2.91 Å (NO 3 - ), 2.78 Å (Cl - ), 2.68 Å (H 2 O)), further suggesting that a decrease in the anion coordination number correlates with an increase in the metal-macrocycle interaction. Taken together, these data illustrate a Bergman cyclization landscape that is influenced by the bonding of metal to an enediyne ligand but whose reaction barrier is ultimately dominated by the coordinating ability of the accompanying anion.

Neutral complexes of zinc with N,N'-diisopropylpiperazine-2,3-dithione ( i Pr 2 Dt 0 ) and N,N'-dimethylpiperazine-2,3-dithione (Me 2 Dt 0 ) with chloride or maleonitriledithiolate (mnt 2- ) as coligands have been synthesized and characterized. The molecular structures of these zinc complexes have been determined using single crystal X-ray diffractometry. Complexes recrystallize in monoclinic P type systems with zinc adopting a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Two zinc complexes with mixed-valent dithiolene ligands exhibit ligand-to-ligand charge transfer bands. Optimized geometries, molecular vibrations and electronic structures of charge-transfer complexes were calculated using density functional theory (B3LYP/6-311G+(d,p) level). Redox orbitals are shown to be almost exclusively ligand in nature, with a HOMO based heavily on the electron-rich maleonitriledithiolate ligand, and a LUMO comprised mostly of the electron-deficient dithione ligand. Charge transfer is thus believed to proceed from dithiolate HOMO to dithione LUMO, showing ligand-to-ligand redox interplay across a d 10 metal.

Molybdopterin is an essential cofactor for all forms of life. The cofactor is composed of a pterin moiety appended to a dithiolene-functionalized pyran ring, and through the dithiolene moiety it binds metal ions. Different synthetic strategies for dithiolene-functionalized pyran precursors that have been designed and synthesized are discussed. These precursors also harbor 1,2-diketone or osone functionality that has been condensed with 1,2-diaminobenzene or other heterocycles resulting in several quinoxaline or pterin derivatives. Use of additives improves the regioselectivity of the complexes. The molecules have been characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR and IR spectroscopies, as well as by mass spectrometry. In addition, several compounds have been crystallographically characterized. The geometries of the synthesized molecules are more planar than the geometry of the cofactor found in proteins., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)