S-Nitrosylation of Akt by organic nitrate delays revascularization and the recovery of cardiac function in mice following myocardial infarction.

The effects of long-term nitrate therapy are compromised due to protein S-Nitrosylation, which is mediated by nitric oxide (NO). This study is to determine the role of Akt S-Nitrosylation in the recovery of heart functions after ischaemia. In recombinant Akt protein and in HEK293 cells, NO donor decreased Akt activity and induced Akt S-Nitrosylation, but was abolished if Akt protein was mutated by replacing cysteine 296/344 with alanine (Akt-C296/344A). In endothelial cells, NO induced Akt S-Nitrosylation, reduced Akt activity and damaged multiple cellular functions including proliferation, migration and tube formation. These alterations were ablated if cells expressed Akt-C296/344A mutant. In Apoe-/- mice, nitroglycerine infusion increased both Akt S-Nitrosylation and infarct size, reduced Akt activity and capillary density, and delayed the recovery of cardiac function in ischaemic hearts, compared with mice infused with vehicle. Importantly, these in vivo effects of nitroglycerine in Apoe-/- mice were remarkably prevented by adenovirus-mediated enforced expression of Akt-C296/344A mutant. In conclusion, long-term usage of organic nitrate may inactivate Akt to delay ischaemia-induced revascularization and the recovery of cardiac function through NO-mediated S-Nitrosylation.

A systematic proteomic analysis of NaCl-stressed germinating maize seeds.

Salt (NaCl) is a common physiological stressor of plants. To better understand how germinating seeds respond to salt stress, we examined the changes that occurred in the proteome of maize seeds during NaCl-treated germination. Phenotypically, salt concentrations less than 0.2 M appear to delay germination, while higher concentrations disrupt development completely, leading to seed death. The identities of 96 proteins with expression levels altered by NaCl-incubation were established using 2-DE-MALDI-TOF-MS and 2-DE-MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. Of these 96 proteins, 79 were altered greater than twofold when incubated with a 0.2 M salt solution, while 51 were altered when incubated with a 0.1 M salt solution. According to their functional annotations in the Swiss-Prot protein-sequence databases, these proteins are mainly involved in seed storage, energy metabolism, stress response, and protein metabolism. Notably, the expression of proteins that respond to abscisic acid signals increased in response to salt stress. The results of this study provide important clues as to how NaCl stresses the physiology of germinating maize seeds.

Diaqua-bis[5-(2-pyrid-yl)-1H-tetra-zolato-κN,N]cobalt(II).

In the title compound, [Co(C(6)H(4)N(5))(2)(H(2)O)(2)], the Co atom is bonded to two water mol-ecules and two bidentate 5-(2-pyrid-yl)tetra-zolate ligands resulting in a slightly distorted octa-hedral CoN(4)O(2) coordination geometry. The Co(II) cation is situated on a crystallographic center of inversion. The asymmetric unit therefore comprises one-half of the mol-ecule. The four N atoms belonging to two bidentate 5-(2-pyrid-yl)tetra-zolate ligands lie in the equatorial plane and the two associated water mol-ecules are observed in the axial coordination sites. The crystal structure exhibits a three-dimensional supra-molecular network assembled by inter-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

[Analysis of cDNA library of Cucumis sativus L. challenged by Pseudomonas syringae pv. Lachrymans].

A cDNA library was constructed from the leaves of the disease-resistant cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cultivar 'D0462' challenged by Pseudomonas syringae pv. Lachrymans for 48 h. The inserted fragment sizes ranged from 0.45 to 2.1 kb and the average inserted size was 1 kb. Sequencing analysis showed that 2 352 TUTs (Tentative unique transcripts), 282 contigs, and 2 070 singlets were identified in the 2 966 ESTs derived from the cDNA library. The result of the BlastX analysis indicated that there were 1 848 ESTs with known or unknown function, 504 ESTs with no significant similarity matching with any protein or DNA sequence in the databases. In this library, many defense/disease-resistant related genes, such as metallothionein, glutathione S-transferase, ubiquitin, b-1, 3-glucanase, zinc finger protein, and cysteine protease, which might participate in the plant and the pathogens, are inclued.

Diaqua-1κO,3κO-di-µ-cyanido-1:2κN:C;2:3κC:N-dicyanido-2κN-bis-{4,4'-dibromo-2,2'-[propane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo-methyl-idyne)]diphenolato}-1κO,N,N',O';3κO,N,N',O'-1,3-dimanganese(III)-2-nickel(II).

In the title compound, [Mn(2)Ni(C(17)H(14)Br(2)N(2)O(2))(2)(CN)(4)(H(2)O)(2)] or [{Mn(C(17)H(14)Br(2)N(2)O(2))(H(2)O)}(2)(µ-CN)(2){Ni(CN)(2)}], each Mn(III) atom is chelated by a Schiff base ligand via two N and two O atoms and is additionally coordinated by a water mol-ecule to give a slightly distorted octa-hedral geometry. Two such Mn(III) ions are linked by a square-planar Ni(CN)(4) unit, which lies on an inversion centre. A two-dimensional network is formed by O-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

[Combined use of optical coherence tomography and intravascular ultrasound during percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with coronary artery disease].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the value of combined optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) examinations in detecting coronary artery plaque during percutaneous transluminal coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: OCT and IVUS examinations were performed on 30 diseased coronary vessels from 27 patients underwent PCI from Feb. 2008 to July. 2008. RESULTS: Seventeen vulnerable plaques (4 intima tearing which were not detected by IVUS), 5 plaque rupture (1 out of 5 was detected by IVUS), 5 thrombus lesions (1 out of 5 was found by IVUS), 12 thin-cap lipid-rich lesions (2 detected by IVUS) were detected by OCT in 22 lesions (without 8 lesions post DES stents). Analysis result of plaque burden by IVUS was superior to that obtained by OCT. In 8 DES stents (implanted for 6 months to 4 years), OCT detected 2 had severe restenosis, 6 stents struts were completely covered with neointima without restenosis, 1 stent had aneurysm-like dilatation. IVUS results were similar except for limitations on exactly detecting neointima post stenting. In 19 newly implanted stents, the incidence of stent under-expansion detected by OCT was 26.0% (same as that by IVUS), stent malposition was 63.2% (10.5% by IVUS, P < 0.01), near stent tearing was 10.5% (not detected by IVUS), tissue prolapse between coronary stent struts was 52.6% (10.5% in IVUS, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: OCT imaging is superior to IVUS on detecting vulnerable plaques and change of structure around stents while IVUS is superior to OCT on estimating plaque burden in patients underwent PCI.

Morphologic characteristics of late stent malapposition after drug-eluting stents implantation by optical coherence tomography follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Late stent malapposition was frequently observed after DES implantation, which has been associated with the occurrence of late stent thrombosis due to poor neointimal coverage. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency of late stent malapposition at least 1 year after different DESs implantation by optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Angiographic and OCT examinations were given to 68 patients who had received total 126 various DESs implantation for at least 1 year to detect late stent malapposition. Malapposed strut distance (MSD), malapposed strut area (MSA), reference lumen area (RLA) and reference stent area (RSA) were checked with off-line OCT analysis. RESULTS: Totally 26 Cypher Select stents, 15 Taxus Liberte stents, 51 Partner stents and 34 Firebird I stents were examined. Among 68 patients who underwent DES implantation, 7 patients (10.3%) had late malapposition. Average RSA, MSA and MSD were (7.9 +/- 2.8) mm(2),(2.0 +/- 1.6) mm(2) and (590 +/- 270) microm respectively. According to the MSA/RSA ratio, 4 patients had slight malapposition, 2 patients had moderate malapposition and 1 patient had severe malapposition. CONCLUSIONS: Late stent malapposition is detected frequently after implantation of DES, but if this predisposes to late stent thrombosis and requires any specific therapy needs to be further elucidated.

A shotgun phosphoproteomics analysis of embryos in germinated maize seeds.

To better understand the role that reversible protein phosphorylation plays in seed germination, we initiated a phosphoproteomic investigation of embryos of germinated maize seeds. A total of 776 proteins including 39 kinases, 16 phosphatases, and 33 phosphoproteins containing 36 precise in vivo phosphorylation sites were identified. All the phosphorylation sites identified, with the exception of the phosphorylation site on HSP22, have not been reported previously (Lund et al. in J Biol Chem, 276, 29924-29929, 2001). Assayed with QRT-PCR, the transcripts of ten kinase genes were found to be dramatically up-regulated during seed germination and those of four phosphatase genes were up-regulated after germination, which indicated that reversible protein phosphorylation occurred and complex regulating networks were activated during this period. At least one-third of these phosphoproteins are key components involved in biological processes which relate to seed germination, such as DNA repair, gene transcription, RNA splicing and protein translation, suggesting that protein phosphorylation plays an important role in seed germination. As far as we know, this is the first phosphoproteomic study on a monocot and it will lay a solid foundation for further study of the molecular mechanisms of seed germination and seedling development.