Raman classification of selected subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) with chromosome translocations like KMT2A gene rearrangement (KMT2A-r) and BCR-ABL1 fusion gene have been recognized as crucial drivers in both BCP-ALL leukemogenesis and treatment management. Standard diagnostic protocols for proliferative diseases of the hematopoietic system, like KMT2A-r-ALL, are genetically based and strongly molecularly oriented. Therefore, an efficient diagnostic procedure requires not only experienced and multidisciplinary laboratory staff but also considerable instrumentation and material costs. In recent years, a Raman spectroscopy method has been increasingly used to detect subtle chemical changes in individual cells resulting from stress or disease. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify Raman signatures for the molecular subtypes and to develop a classification method based on the unique spectroscopic profile of in vitro models that represent specific aberrations aimed at KMT2A-r (RS4;11, and SEM) and the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene (SUP-B15, BV-173, and SD-1). Data analysis was based on chemometric methods, i.e. principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and support vector machine (SVM). The PCA-based multivariate model was used for pattern recognition of each investigated group of cells while PLS-DA and SVM were used to build models for the discrimination of spectra from the studied BCP-ALL molecular subtypes. The results showed that the studied molecular subtypes of ALL have characteristic spectroscopic profiles reflecting their peculiar biochemical state. The content of lipids (1600 cm-1), nucleic acids (789 cm-1), and haemoproteins (754, 1130, and 1315 cm-1), which are crucial in cell metabolism, was indicated as the main source of differentiation between subtypes. Identification of spectroscopic markers of cells with BCR-ABL1 or KMT2A-r may be useful in pharmacological studies to monitor the effectiveness of chemotherapy and further to understand differences in molecular responses between leukemia primary cells and cell lines.

New Piperazine Derivatives of 6-Acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin as 5-HT1A Receptor Agents.

A series of 15 new derivatives of 6-acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin containing a piperazine group were designed with the help of computational methods and were synthesized to study their affinity for the serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors. Among them, 6-acetyl-7-{4-[4-(3-bromophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butoxy}-4-methylchromen-2-one (4) and 6-acetyl-7-{4-[4-(2-chlorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butoxy}-4-methylchromen-2-one (7) exhibited excellent activity for 5-HT1A receptors with Ki values 0.78 (0.4-1.4) nM and 0.57 (0.2-1.3) nM, respectively, comparable to the Ki values of 8-OH-DPAT (0.25 (0.097-0.66) nM). The equilibrium dissociation constant values of the tested compounds showed differential intrinsic activities of the agonist and antagonist modes.

Synthesis, Biological Activity, ADME and Molecular Docking Studies of Novel Ursolic Acid Derivatives as Potent Anticancer Agents.

A series of new ursolic acid (UA) derivatives substituted with various amino acids (AAs) or dipeptides (DP) at the C-3 position of the steroid skeleton was designed and synthesized. The compounds were obtained by the esterification of UA with the corresponding AAs. The cytotoxic activity of the synthesized conjugates was determined using the hormone-dependent breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA. Three derivatives (l-seryloxy-, l-prolyloxy- and l-alanyl-l-isoleucyloxy-) showed micromolar IC50 values and reduced the concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9. Further studies revealed that for two compounds (l-seryloxy- and l-alanyl-l-isoleucyloxy-), a possible mechanism of their antiproliferative action is the activation of caspase-7 and the proapoptotic Bax protein in the apoptotic pathway. The third compound (l-prolyloxy- derivative) showed a different mechanism of action as it induced autophagy as measured by an increase in the concentrations of three autophagy markers: LC3A, LC3B, and beclin-1. This derivative also showed statistically significant inhibition of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6. Finally, for all synthesized compounds, we computationally predicted their ADME properties as well as performed molecular docking to the estrogen receptor to assess their potential for further development as anticancer agents.

Maltotriose-modified poly(propylene imine) Glycodendrimers as a potential novel platform in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic Leukemia. A proof-of-concept pilot study in the animal model of CLL.

Cancer nanotherapeutics have shown promise in resolving some of the limitations of conventional drug delivery systems such as nonspecific biodistribution and targeting, lack of water solubility, and low therapeutic indices, Among the various nanoparticles that are available, dendrimers, highly branched macromolecules with a specific size and shape, are one of the most promising ones. In this preliminary study, we tested the anti-tumor activity of maltotriose-modified fourth-generation poly(propylene imine) glycodendrimers (PPI-G4-M3) in vivo in the subcutaneous MEC-1 xenograft model of human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in NOD scid gamma mice. Fludarabine was used for model validation and as a positive treatment control. The anti-tumor response was calculated as tumor volume, tumor control ratio, and tumor growth inhibition. The study showed that PPI-G4-M3 inhibited subcutaneous tumor growth more efficiently than fludarabine. The anti-tumor response was dose-dependent. Cationic PPI-G4-M3 showed the highest anti-tumor activity but also higher toxicity than the neutral dendrimers and fludarabine. These first promising results warrant further studies in the optimization of dendrimers charge, dose, route and schedule of administration to combat CLL.

6-Acetyl-5-hydroxy-4,7-dimethylcoumarin derivatives: Design, synthesis, modeling studies, 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and D2 receptors affinity.

Molecular docking studies using appropriate 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and D2 receptors models were used to design sixteen new 5-hydroxycoumarin derivatives with piperazine moiety (3-18). The microwave radiation have been used to synthesize them and their structures have been confirmed using mass spectrometry, 1H and 13C NMR. All newly prepared derivatives were evaluated for their 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and D2 receptor affinity. Seven of the synthesized derivatives showed very high affinities to 5-HT1A receptor (3-4.0 nM, 6-4.0 nM, 7-1.0 nM, 9-6.0 nM, 15-4.3 nM, 16-1.0 nM, 18-3.0 nM) and one of them showed high affinities to 5-HT2A receptor (16-8.0 nM). In the case of the D2 receptor none of the tested derivatives showed high affinity. Compounds 7 and 16 were identified as potent antagonists of the 5-HT1A receptor as shown by the [35S]GTPcS binding assay but they didn't show any antidepressant effect at the single dose tested (10 mg/kg) in the tail suspension tests.

Coumarin-piperazine derivatives as biologically active compounds.

A number of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, depression and others CNS diseases are known to induce defects in the function of neural pathways sustained by the neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin. N-arylpiperazine moiety is important for CNS-activity, particularly for serotonergic and dopaminergic activity. In the scientific literature there are many examples of coumarin-piperazine derivatives, particularly with arylpiperazines linked to a coumarin system via an alkyl liner, which can modulate serotonin, dopamine and adrenergic receptors. Numerous studies have revealed that the inclusion of a piperazine moiety could occasionally provide unexpected improvements in the bioactivity of various biologically active compounds. The piperazine analogs have been shown to have a potent antimicrobial activity and they can also act as BACE-1 inhibitors. On the other hand, arylpiperazines linked to coumarin derivatives have been shown to have antiproliferative activity against leukemia, lung, colon, breast, and prostate tumors. Recently, it has been reported that coumarin-piperazine derivatives exhibit a Fneuroprotective effect by their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities and they also show activity as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and antifilarial activity. In this work we provide a summary of the latest advances in coumarin-related chemistry relevant for biological activity.

Evaluation of blood-brain barrier penetration and examination of binding to human serum albumin of 7-O-arylpiperazinylcoumarins as potential antipsychotic agents.

The delivery of drugs to the brain is complicated by the multiple factors including low blood-brain barrier (BBB) passive permeability, active BBB efflux systems, and plasma protein binding. Thus, a detailed understanding of the transport of the new potent substances through the membranes is vitally important and their physico-chemical characteristics should be analyzed at first. This work presents an evaluation of drug likeness of eight 7-O-arylpiperazinylcoumarin derivatives with high affinity towards serotoninergic receptors 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A with particular analysis of the requirements for the CNS chemotherapeutics. The binding constants to human serum albumin (HSA) were determined at physiological pH using fluorescence spectroscopy, and then their mode of action was explained by analysis of theoretical HSA complexes. Dynamic simulation of systems allowed for reliable evaluation of the interaction strength. The analyzed coumarins were able to pass BBB, and they present good drug likeness properties. They showed high affinities to HSA (log KQ = 5.3-6.0 which corresponds to -8.12 to -7.15 kcalmol-1 of Gibbs free energy). The changes of the emission intensity upon binding to HSA were scrutinized showing the different mode of action for 4-phenylpiperazinylcoumarins. The values of computed Gibbs free energy and determined on the basis of experimentally obtained binding constants log KQ coincide suggesting a good quality of the theoretical model. Overall the 8-acetyl-7-O-arylpiperazinyl-4-methylcoumarin derivatives represent valuable lead compounds to be further tested in various preclinical assays as a possible chemotherapeutics against CNS diseases. Studied coumarins can be metabolized by cytochrome P450 to aldehydes and hydroxy derivatives. The existence of other binding sites inside HSA than Sudlow's site 1 was postulated. The longer aliphatic linker between coumarin and piperazine moieties favored binding to HSA in other than Sudlow site 1 pocket.

Affecting NF-κB cell signaling pathway in chronic lymphocytic leukemia by dendrimers-based nanoparticles.

The complex genetic diversity of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) makes it difficult to determine the effective and durable therapy beneficial to patients. During the several past years' significant insights in the biology of the disease and its treatment have been made, allowing for the identification of promising novel therapeutic agents. The investigation of signaling pathways to understand the biological character of CLL together with the development of molecular profiling is key in personalized approach in therapy for this disease. As it was already proven, maltotriose (M3) modified fourth generation poly(propylene imine) dendrimers (PPI-G4) modulate BCR, TRAIL and WNT signaling pathway gene expression in CLL cells and strongly influence their survival by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of PPI-G4-M3 dendrimers on NFκB pathway gene expression in CLL (MEC-1) cells with 60 K microarray, as it is one of the major factors in the pathogenesis of B-cell neoplasms. The findings were compared with those obtained with Fludarabine (FA) and the results indicate that PPI-G4-M3 dendrimers affect the expression of the examined genes and exert comparable effect on the CLL cells to FA. Dendrimers are one of the most potent groups of nanometer-sized macromolecules for closing the gap between the present ineffective treatment and the future effective personalized therapy due to their potential versatile biological properties.

5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors affinity, docking studies and pharmacological evaluation of a series of 8-acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin derivatives.

In this work we describe the synthesis, docking studies and biological evaluation of a focused library of novel arylpiperazinyl derivatives of 8-acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin. The new compounds were screened for their 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptor affinity. Among the evaluated compounds, six displayed high affinities to 5-HT1A receptors (4a-0.9 nM, 6a-0.5 nM, 10a-0.6 nM, 3b-0.9 nM, 6b-1.5 nM, 10b-1 nM). Compound 6a and 10a bearing a bromo- or methoxy- substituent in ortho position of the piperazine phenyl ring, were identified as potent antagonists of the 5-HT1A receptors. In the tail suspension test, mice injected with 6a showed a dose-dependent increase in depressive-like behavior that was related to a decrease in locomotor activity. Compound 10a did not decrease or prolong immobility time nor did it affect home cage activity. Molecular docking studies using 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A homology models revealed structural basis of the high affinity of ortho-substituted derivatives and subtle changes in amino acid interactions patterns depending on the length of the alkyl linker.

Synthetic amphibian peptides and short amino-acids derivatives against planktonic cells and mature biofilm of Providencia stuartii clinical strains.

Over the last decade, the growing number of multidrug resistant strains limits the use of many of the currently available chemotherapeutic agents. Furthermore, bacterial biofilm, due to its complex structure, constitutes an effective barrier to conventional antibiotics. The in vitro activities of naturally occurring peptide (Citropin 1.1), chemically engineered analogue (Pexiganan), newly-designed, short amino-acid derivatives (Pal-KK-NH2, Pal-KKK-NH2, Pal-RRR-NH2) and six clinically used antimicrobial agents (Gatifloxacin, Ampicilin, Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone, Cefuroxime and Cefalexin) were investigated against planktonic cells and mature biofilm of multidrug-resistant Providencia stuartii strains, isolated from urological catheters. The MICs, MBCs values were determined by broth microdilution technique. Inhibition of biofilm formation by antimicrobial agents as well as biofilm susceptibility assay were tested using a surrogate model based on the Crystal Violet method. The antimicrobial activity of amino-acids derivatives and synthetic peptides was compared to that of clinically used antibiotics. For planktonic cells, MICs of peptides and antibiotics ranged between 1 and 256 µg/ml and 256 and ≥ 2048 µg/ml, respectively. The MBCs values of Pexiganan, Citropin 1.1 and amino-acids derivatives were between 16 and 256 µg/ml, 64 and 256 µg/ml and 16 and 512 µg/ml, respectively. For clinically used antibiotics the MBCs values were above 2048 µg/ml. All of the tested peptides and amino-acids derivatives, showed inhibitory activity against P. stuartii biofilm formation, in relation to their concentrations. Pexiganan and Citropin 1.1 in concentration range 32 and 256 µg/ml caused both strong and complete suppression of biofilm formation. None of the antibiotics caused complete inhibition of biofilm formation process. The biofilm susceptibility assay verified the extremely poor antibiofilm activity of conventional antibiotics compared to synthetic peptides. The obtained results showed that synthetic peptides are generally more potent and effective than clinically used antibiotics.

Raman spectroscopy can recognize the KMT2A rearrangement as a distinct subtype of leukemia.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are the two most common hematologic malignancies, challenging to treat and associated with high recurrence and mortality rates. This work aims to identify specific Raman biomarkers of ALL cells with the KMT2A gene rearrangement (KMT2A-r), representing a highly aggressive subtype of childhood leukemia with a poor prognosis. The proposed approach combines the sensitivity and specificity of Raman spectroscopy with machine learning and allows us to distinguish not only myelo- and lymphoblasts but also discriminate B-cell precursor (BCP) ALL with KMT2A-r from other blasts of BCP-ALL. We have found that KMT2A-r ALL cells fixed with 0.5% glutaraldehyde exhibit a unique spectroscopic profile that enables us to identify this subtype from other leukemias and normal cells. Therefore, a rapid and label-free method was developed to identify ALL blasts with KMT2A-r based on the ratio of the two Raman bands assigned to phenylalanine - 1040 and 1008 cm-1. This is the first time that a particular group of leukemic cells has been identified in a label-free way. The identified biomarker can be used as a screening method in diagnostic laboratories or non-reference medical centers.

[Bacterial biofilm as a cause of urinary tract infection--pathogens, methods of prevention and eradication]. / Biofilm bakteryjny jako przyczyna zakazen ukladu moczowego--mikroorganizmy patogenne, metody prewencji i eradykacji.

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the common chronic and recurrent bacterial infections. Uropathogens which are able to form biofilm constitute a major etiological factor in UTI, especially among elder patients who are subject to long-term catheterization. It is caused by the capacity of the microorganisms for efficient and permanent colonization of tissues and also adhesion to diverse polymers used for urological catheter production such as propylene, polystyrene, silicone, polyvinyl chloride or silicone coated latex. Antibiotic therapy is the most common treatment for UTI. Fluoroquinolones, nitrofurans, beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim and sulfonamides are used predominantly. However, the biofilm due to its complex structure constitutes an effective barrier to the antibiotics used in the treatment of urinary tract infections. In addition, the growing number of multidrug resistant strains limits the usage of many of the currently available chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, it seems important to search for new methods of treatment such as coating of catheters with non-pathogenic E. coli strains, the design of vaccines against fimbrial adhesive proteins of the bacterial cells or the use of bacteriophages.

Reliable cell preparation protocol for Raman imaging to effectively differentiate normal leukocytes and leukemic blasts.

Leukemias are a remarkably diverse group of malignancies originating from abnormal progenitor cells in the bone marrow. Leukemia subtypes are classified according to the cell type that has undergone neoplastic transformation using demanding and time-consuming methods. Alternative is Raman imaging that can be used both for living and fixed cells. However, considering the diversity of leukemic cell types and normal leukocytes, and the availability of different sample preparation protocols, the main objective of this work was to verify them for leukemia and normal blood cell samples for Raman imaging. The effect of glutaraldehyde (GA) fixation in a concentration gradient (0.1 %, 0.5 %, and 2.5 % GA) on the molecular structure of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was verified. Changes in the secondary structure of proteins within cells were indicated as the main effect of fixation, as shown by an increase in band intensity at 1041 cm-1, characteristic for in-plane δ(CH) deformation in phenylalanine (Phe). Different sensitivity of mononuclear and leukemic cells to fixation was observed. While the 0.1 % concentration of GA was too low to preserve the cell structure for an extended period of time, a GA concentration of 0.5 % seemed optimal for both normal and malignant cells. Chemical changes in PBMCs samples stored for 11 days were also investigated, which manifested in numerous modifications in the secondary structure of proteins and the content of nucleic acids. The impact of cell preculturing for 72 h after unbanking was verified, and there was no significant effect on the molecular structure of cells fixed with 0.5 % GA. In summary, the developed protocol for the preparation of samples for Raman imaging allows for the effective differentiation of fixed normal leukocytes from malignant T lymphoblasts.

The kinetics of blast clearance are associated with copy number alterations in childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

We analyzed the pattern of whole-genome copy number alterations (CNAs) and their association with the kinetics of blast clearance during the induction treatment among 195 pediatric patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) who displayed intermediate or high levels of minimal residual disease (MRD). Using unsupervised hierarchical clustering of CNAs > 5 Mbp, we dissected three clusters of leukemic samples with distinct kinetics of blast clearance [A - early slow responders (n=105), B - patients with persistent leukemia (n=24), C - fast responders with the low but detectable disease at the end of induction (n=66)] that corresponded with the patients' clinical features, the microdeletion profile,the presence of gene fusions and patients survival. Low incidence of large CNAs and chromosomal numerical aberrations occurred in cluster A which included ALL samples showing recurrent microdeletions within the genes encoding transcription factors (i.e., IKZF1, PAX5, ETV6, and ERG), DNA repair genes (XRCC3 and TOX), or harboring chromothriptic pattern of CNAs. Low hyperdiploid karyotype with trisomy 8 or hypodiploidy was predominantly observed in cluster B. Whereas cluster C included almost exclusively high-hyperdiploid ALL samples with concomitant mutations in RAS pathway genes. The pattern of CNAs influences the kinetics of leukemic cell clearance and selected aberrations affecting DNA repair genes may contribute to BCP-ALL chemoresistance.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of derivatives of 2- and 3-benzofurancarboxylic acids.

We found that amiodarone has potent antifungal activity against a broad range of fungi, potentially defining a new class of antimycotics. Investigations into its molecular mechanisms showed amiodarone mobilized intracellular Ca2+, which is thought to be an important antifungal characteristic of its fungicidal activity. Amiodarone is a synthetic drug based on the benzofuran ring system, which is contained in numerous compounds that are both synthetic and isolated from natural sources with antifungal activity. To define the structural components responsible for antifungal activity, we synthesized a series of benzofuran derivatives and tested them for the inhibition of growth of two pathogenic fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus, to find new compounds with antifungal activity. We found several derivatives that inhibited fungal growth, two of which had significant antifungal activity. We were surprised to find that calcium fluxes in cells treated with these derivatives did not correlate directly with their antifungal effects; however, the derivatives did augment the amiodarone-elicited calcium flux into the cytoplasm. We conclude that antifungal activity of these new compounds includes changes in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. Analyses of these benzofuran derivatives suggest that certain structural features are important for antifungal activity. Antifungal activity drastically increased on converting methyl 7-acetyl-6-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-benzofurancarboxylate (2b) into its dibromo derivative, methyl 7-acetyl-5-bromo-6-hydroxy-3-bromomethyl-2-benzofurancarboxylate (4).

Raman-based spectrophenotyping of the most important cells of the immune system.

INTRODUCTION: Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells that includes T and B lymphocytes. The total number of lymphocytes and their percentage in the blood can be a marker for the diagnosis of several human diseases. Currently, cytometric methods are widely used to distinguish subtypes of leukocytes and quantify their number. These techniques use cell immunophenotyping, which is limited by the number of fluorochrome-labeled antibodies that can be applied simultaneously. OBJECTIVE: B and T lymphocytes were isolated from peripheral blood obtained from healthy human donors. METHODS: The immunomagnetic negative selection was used for the enrichment of B and T cells fractions, and their purity was assessed by flow cytometry. Isolated cells were fixed with 0.5% glutaraldehyde and measured using confocal Raman imaging. K-means cluster analysis, principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant methods were applied for the identification of spectroscopic markers to distinguish B and T cells. HPLC was the reference method for identifying carotene in T cells. RESULTS: Reliable discrimination between T and B lymphocytes based on their spectral profile has been demonstrated using label-free Raman imaging and chemometric analysis. The presence of carotene in T lymphocytes (in addition to the previously reported in plasma) was confirmed and for the first time unequivocally identified as ß-carotene. In addition, the molecular features of the lymphocytes nuclei were found to support the discriminant analysis. It has been shown that although the presence of carotenoids in T cells depends on individual donor variability, the reliable differentiation between lymphocytes is possible based on Raman spectra collected from individual cells. CONCLUSIONS: This proves the potential of Raman spectroscopy in clinical diagnostics to automatically differentiate between cells that are an important component of our immune system.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of a Series of 5- and 7-Hydroxycoumarin Derivatives as 5-HT1A Serotonin Receptor Antagonists.

We have designed and synthesized a series of 60 new 5- and 7-hydroxycoumarin derivatives bearing the piperazine moiety with the expected binding to 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors. Molecular docking of all investigated compounds revealed subnanomolar estimates of 5-HT1AR Ki for three ligands and 5-HT2AR Ki for one ligand as well as numerous low nanomolar estimates of Ki for both receptors. Intrigued by these results we synthesized all 60 new derivatives using microwave-assisted protocols. We show that three new compounds show a relatively high antagonistic activity against the 5HT1A receptor, although lower than the reference compound WAY-100635. These compounds also showed relatively low binding affinities to the 5-HT2A receptor. We also provide a detailed structure-activity analysis of this series of compounds and compare it with previously obtained results for an exhaustive series of coumarin derivatives.

Towards Raman-Based Screening of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Type B (B-ALL) Subtypes.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of malignant neoplasms in the pediatric population. B-cell precursor ALLs (BCP-ALLs) are derived from the progenitors of B lymphocytes. Traditionally, risk factors stratifying therapy in ALL patients included age at diagnosis, initial leukocytosis, and the response to chemotherapy. Currently, treatment intensity is modified according to the presence of specific gene alterations in the leukemic genome. Raman imaging is a promising diagnostic tool, which enables the molecular characterization of cells and differentiation of subtypes of leukemia in clinical samples. This study aimed to characterize and distinguish cells isolated from the bone marrow of patients suffering from three subtypes of BCP-ALL, defined by gene rearrangements, i.e., BCR-ABL1 (Philadelphia-positive, t(9;22)), TEL-AML1 (t(12;21)) and TCF3-PBX1 (t(1;19)), using single-cell Raman imaging combined with multivariate statistical analysis. Spectra collected from clinical samples were compared with single-cell spectra of B-cells collected from healthy donors, constituting the control group. We demonstrated that Raman spectra of normal B cells strongly differ from spectra of their malignant counterparts, especially in the intensity of bands, which can be assigned to nucleic acids. We also showed that the identification of leukemia subtypes could be automated with the use of chemometric methods. Results prove the clinical suitability of Raman imaging for the identification of spectroscopic markers characterizing leukemia cells.

Self-Assessment of the Body and Social Competences in the Group of Mothers and Their Adult Daughters.

The main research objective of this study was seeking the predictive role of general self-esteem and the body image in social competences among women and their biological daughters. As it stands, there is a lack of research showing the mothers and their adult daughters at the same time in the context of measuring the same psychological variables, i.e., general self-esteem, self-assessment of the body and specific social competences in the scope of behaviour in intimate situations, situations requiring social exposure and assertiveness. The study group comprised 102 individuals; 51 pairs of mothers (40-64 years old, M = 51.33) and their biological daughters (19-25 years old, M = 22.49). The following instruments were used: The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Body Esteem Scale, the Social Competence Scale, categorized interview (to measure BMI and collect data describing the criteria for selection to the research group). The significance of the differences and the stepwise regression analysis were performed. The results of the study demonstrated the following to be significant predictors of social competences in subjects: General self-esteem B = 0.615, discrepancy real-obligatory body image B = 0.275 among daughters, and physical condition B = 0.362 in mothers. The general self-esteem of daughters positively influences all verified types of their social competences (competences in intimate situations, in case of social exposure and ability to be assertive). However, it is the significant predictor only for mothers' competences in dealing with situations of social exposure. Discrepancy real-obligatory body image: Seems to be the predictor of daughters' social competences conditioning effectiveness in situations requiring assertiveness. The physical condition among mothers seems to be especially important for their assertiveness and effectiveness in intimate situations. The conflict between the real and the ideal body image is also an important aspect in predicting the assertiveness in the group of mothers. The study results can prove to be helpful in creating preventive and educational programs focused on self-esteem and social competencies in women, including the context of the relation between mothers and their daughters.

Drug likeness prediction of 5-hydroxy-substituted coumarins with high affinity to 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors.

One of the latest trends is search for the new anti-psychotic drugs among coumarin derivatives with piperazine moiety. Their therapeutic potential can be hampered by poor physico-chemical parameters as low brain penetration or limited transport in the body fluid. Herein, we predicted the drug likeness of six coumarins with high affinity towards 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors. Subsequent experimental determination of their binding constants to human serum albumin (HSA) revealed the binding with a moderate strength (logK=4.8-5.8) at the Sudlow's site 1, which represents a possibility of temporary storage of tested coumarins on HSA. Computational mapping of the binding of coumarins - HSA complexes showed that the coumarin rings of all tested compounds were similarly located within the hydrophobic binding pocket of HSA, while the rest of molecules (composed with alkyl chains, piperazine and benzene rings) decided about the difference in binding modes by the hydrogen bonding interactions. The proton dissociation constants (pKa) of the compounds were also determined by UV-vis spectrophotometric titrations to obtain the distribution of the species in the different protonation states at physiological pH of 7.4. A good agreement of the computationally-determined free enthalpy values of the ligand - HSA complexes with the values determined by experimental fluorescence quenching data could be a promising prospect for proposed theoretical strategy.