Novel synthetic analogs of the Pseudomonas autoinducer.

Release of virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by two N-acylhomoserine lactones, PAI-1 and PAI-2, that activate the respective transcription factors LasR and RhlR. With the goal of developing novel therapeutic agents, we synthesized constrained analogs of PAI-1 and evaluated them in P. aeruginosa. Two of the novel analogs bound to LasR and showed agonist activity in LasR stimulation of a lasI-lacZ reporter construct.

Matrix mineralization and the differentiation of osteocyte-like cells in culture.

Osteocyte-like cells were prepared by sequentially treating calvaria from newborn rats with collagenase and chelating agents. On a reconstituted gel of basement membrane components, cells from the third collagenase digest displayed a round shape and expressed the highest level of alkaline phosphatase with minimal osteocalcin deposition into the matrix. On the other hand, cells derived from the interior after EDTA treatment exhibited well-developed dendritic cell processes and expressed essentially no alkaline phosphatase. The latter population also showed quite distinct characteristics such as higher extracellular activities of casein kinase II and ecto-5'-nucleotidase and the extracellular accumulation of a large amount of osteocalcin associated with mineral. These diverse phenotypic and protein expressions as well as the sites from which each population of cells were recovered strongly suggest that we have isolated osteoblastic and osteocytic cells. Bone sialoprotein II was extracellularly phosphorylated by casein kinase II in osteocytic cells but not in osteoblastic cells. We discuss the possibility that differentiation of young osteocytes from osteoblasts may facilitate the biochemical sequence of mineral deposition in the bone matrix.

Effect of ipriflavone and estrogen on the differentiation and proliferation of osteogenic cells.

The effect of ipriflavone (IP) on the proliferation and differentiation of rat osteoblast-like (ROB) cells and human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPLF) was studied in the presence and absence of estrogen. ROB cells were isolated from newborn rat calvaria by sequential collagenase digestion and HPLF from the outgrowth of human periodontal ligament in culture. The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, employed as a marker of bone cell differentiation, was significantly enhanced by IP in both cell types; however, the concentration at which IP had a maximal effect was lower in ROB cells than in HPLF (10(-10) versus 10(-7) M, respectively). Cell proliferation judged by DNA content was either constant (ROB cells) or slightly increased (HPLF) by IP up to 10(-10) M, and decreased significantly above that concentration. In addition, the dose-dependent effect of estrogen on the growth and differentiation of each cell type in the presence and absence of IP was also tested. At the concentrations of IP which showed maximum effects in the induction of ALP, 10(-10) M for ROB cells and 10(-7) M for HPLF, IP inhibited DNA increase in an estrogen-independent manner. Estradiol (10(-11)-10(-9) M) itself increased the growth rate of both cell types significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Regardless of the concentrations of estradiol tested, ALP activities of both ROB cells and HPLF were elevated by the addition of IP. The ratio of ALP in the presence and absence of IP was similar over the range of estradiol concentrations tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) on human periodontal ligament in vitro. Alterations of intracellular Ca2+].

The concept of orthodontic tooth movement is based on the hypothesis that teeth move as a result of the biological response of periodontal tissues to the mechanical forces applied. There is a widely held hypothesis that mechanical stress generates an electrical signal which sets in motion the subsequent events, as in bone exposed to mechanical forces electrical currents are produced affect bone growth and remodeling. This implies a transduction mechanism which translates the electrical signal into a biochemical message, recognizable by the cellular machine. This study is aimed at the identification of the message and the investigation of its control. In fact, the effect of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields (PEMF) on the intracellular second messenger, cytoplasmic Ca2+ in Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts (HPLF) was investigated. The resting intracellular ionized calcium concentration ([Ca+2]i) of HPLF cells was 232.7 +/- 25.0 nM, and with PEMF [Ca2+]i increased from 12 hrs to 499.0 +/- 115.5 nM up to 12 hrs, then reached to a steady level through 24 hrs. The PEMF were also found to decrease the responses towards epidermal growth factor (EGF) and serum, when the degree of response was based on the intracellular Ca2+ transient. These effects of PEMF were mimicked by 12-0-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA), a potent activator of protein kinase C. Some reports have suggested that fibroblasts of the periodontal ligament contain high alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity as much as osteoblast. Since similar results concerning the [Ca2+]i were obtained in osteoblast (OB)-like cells, this experiment also supports the hypothesis that fibroblasts of periodontal ligament have osteoblastic features.