Deciphering the influence of structural distortions on the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy of pentagonal bipyramidal Ni(ii) complexes.

The effect of subtle structural distortions on single ion magnetic anisotropy of pentagonal bipyramidal Ni(ii) complexes was probed by magnetization measurements and theoretical calculations. Reducing structural distortion on the equatorial pentagonal plane and employing strong field ligands on axial coordination sites dramatically enhance the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in pentagonal bipyramidal Ni(ii) complexes.

Modulation of the coordination environment: a convenient approach to tailor magnetic anisotropy in seven coordinate Co(II) complexes.

The possibility of controlling magnetic anisotropy by tuning contribution of second order perturbation to spin-orbit coupling through modulation of the coordination environment is investigated. Subtle variation of the coordination environment triggers a remarkable deviation in the axial zero field splitting parameter of seven coordinate Co(II) complexes.

Tumor cell death mediated by peptides that recognize branched intermediates of DNA replication and repair.

Effective treatments for cancer are still needed, both for cancers that do not respond well to current therapeutics and for cancers that become resistant to available treatments. Herein we investigated the effect of a structure-selective d-amino acid peptide wrwycr that binds replication fork mimics and Holliday Junction (HJs) intermediates of homologous recombination (HR) in vitro, and inhibits their resolution by HJ-processing enzymes. We predicted that treating cells with HJ-binding compounds would lead to accumulation of DNA damage. As cells repair endogenous or exogenous DNA damage, collapsed replication forks and HJ intermediates will accumulate and serve as targets for the HJ-binding peptides. Inhibiting junction resolution will lead to further accumulation of DNA breaks, eventually resulting in amplification of the damage and causing cell death. Both peptide wrwycr and the related wrwyrggrywrw entered cancer cells and reduced cell survival in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Early markers for DNA damage, γH2AX foci and 53BP1 foci, increased with dose and/or time exposure to the peptides. DNA breaks persisted at least 48 h, and both checkpoint proteins Chk1 and Chk2 were activated. The passage of the cells from S to G2/M was blocked even after 72 h. Apoptosis, however, was not induced in either HeLa or PC3 cells. Based on colony-forming assays, about 35% peptide-induced cytotoxicity was irreversible. Finally, sublethal doses of peptide wrwycr (50-100 µM) in conjunction with sublethal doses of several DNA damaging agents (etoposide, doxorubicin, and HU) reduced cell survival at least additively and sometimes synergistically. Taken together, the results suggest that the peptides merit further investigation as proof-of-principle molecules for a new class of anti-cancer therapeutics, in particular in combination with other DNA damaging therapies.

Geometry-mediated enhancement of single-ion anisotropy: a route to single-molecule magnets with a high blocking temperature.

Not just any old iron ion: A linear, two-coordinate ionic Fe(I) complex with a S=3/2 ground state has a large energy barrier for magnetization reversal, Ueff =226 cm(-1) , and undergoes slow magnetic relaxation in the absence of an applied magnetic field. The preparation of complexes with these properties is a step towards the eventual practical application of single-molecule magnets.

Bradykinin decreases podocyte permeability through ADAM17-dependent epidermal growth factor receptor activation and zonula occludens-1 rearrangement.

Recent data show that increases in bradykinin (BK) concentration contribute to the beneficial effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) treatment in chronic kidney disease. However, the possible role of BK in attenuated proteinuria, often seen in ACEI-treated patients, is not well studied. Here, we report that BK decreases mouse podocyte permeability through rearrangement of the tight junction protein zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and identify some of the major signaling events leading to permeability change. We show that BK2 receptor (BK2R) stimulation transactivates the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR transactivation is mediated by a disintegrin and metalloenzyme (ADAM) family members, which are required for both extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and EGFR activation by BK. Using a gene-silencing approach we observed that both BK-induced ERK activation and BK-induced permeability decrease in podocytes is attenuated by ADAM17 down-regulation, and we identified epiregulin (ER) as the EGFR ligand participating in ADAM-dependent BK2R-EGFR cross-talk. EGFR inhibition attenuated both ZO-1 rearrangement and BK-induced permeability decreases in podocyte. We propose that ZO-1 redistribution is an important element of BK-induced permeability change and the signaling events involved in ZO-1 rearrangement include transactivation of the EGFR via ADAM17 activation and ER shedding. Our data indicate that ADAM17 and the EGFR may be potential novel therapeutic targets in diabetic nephropathy and other chronic kidney diseases.