Circulating P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand 1 and P-Selectin Levels in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients.

PURPOSE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxia which induces inflammation in blood vessels leading to the development of cardiovascular comorbidities. Several studies implicated the role of P-selectin in vascular inflammation of OSA. P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) is the main activator for P-selectin and is involved in immune cell trafficking. However, PSGL-1 has not been analyzed in OSA. The aim of the study was to investigate plasma PSGL-1 and P-selectin levels to have a deeper understanding on their interaction in obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: Fifty-one untreated patients with OSA and 42 non-OSA controls were recruited. Plasma PSGL-1 levels were determined in evening and morning samples, P-selectin levels were analyzed in morning samples using commercially available ELISA kits. Polysomnography was performed in all participants. OSA was defined by an apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5/h. RESULTS: PSGL-1 levels did not differ between controls and OSA patients either in the evening or in the morning. Although, there was no difference between controls (16.9/6.8-40.8 ng/ml) and patients with OSA (19.6/8.4-56.8, p = 0.24), patients with severe OSA had increased plasma P-selectin levels (25.6/8.4-56.8 ng/ml) compared to mild OSA patients (14.1/8.5-35.3 ng/ml, p = 0.006) and controls (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: P-selectin expression relates to disease severity suggesting a pathophysiological role in endothelial cell activation. PSGL-1 levels are unaltered in OSA, suggesting an alternative activation pathway for P-selectin in OSA.

Influence of gold additives on the stability and phase transformation of titanate nanostructures.

Gold nanoparticles were prepared and characterized on protonated (H-form) titanate nanotubes (TiONTs) and nanowires (TiONWs). The chemical nature and morphology of gold particles were monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM). The optical properties of Au-containing titanate nanowires were explored by means of ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The size distribution and homogeneity of gold particles depend on the reduction mode from the corresponding gold salt to metal particles. Smaller clusters (3-8 nm) were obtained with the NaBH4 reactant at 293 K than with molecular hydrogen reduction. An unexpectedly high binding energy gold state was found by XPS in gold-loaded titanate nanostructures. This state was absent from the spectra of gold-loaded TiO2(110). A likely explanation for this phenomenon, supported also by the characteristic decrease of band gap energy from 3.10 eV to 2.74 eV with increasing Au content, is that depending on the metal loading and titanate structure, Au is stabilized on titanate nanowires partially in positively charged gold form by ion exchange and also as Au clusters. Our important new finding is that the thermal annealing behavior of Au-loaded titanate nanotubes and nanowires is different. The former lose their tubular morphology and are readily transformed into anatase even at a very low temperature of 473 K. On the other hand, gold stabilizes the layered structure of titanate nanowires up to 873 K.

Methylglyoxal-mediated growth inhibition in an Escherichia coli cAMP receptor protein mutant.

Under certain growth conditions, some strains of Escherichia coli accumulate toxic levels of methylglyoxal. This report characterizes a strain which synthesizes a mutant cAMP receptor protein in an adenylate cyclase deletion background. When cultured in glucose 6-phosphate minimal medium, this strain (222) was prematurely growth arrested due to methylglyoxal production; growth inhibition did not occur when the strain was grown in glucose minimal medium. A comparison of a variety of enzyme and cofactor levels in the related strains 222 (mutant) and 225 (wild-type) grown on either glucose or glucose 6-phosphate medium was carried out. The only difference found that might explain an increase in methylglyoxal accumulation was an elevated level of phosphofructokinase in strain 222 grown on glucose 6-phosphate. Since this enzyme activity probably limits hexose phosphate metabolism, it is suggested that growth inhibition in strain 222 may be due to increased production of triose phosphate, some of which is converted to methylglyoxal.

Reverse transcriptase and its associated ribonuclease H: interplay of two enzyme activities controls the yield of single-stranded complementary deoxyribonucleic acid.

The synthesis of single-stranded globin cDNA by the RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity of reverse transcriptase in the presence of oligothymidylate primers was investigated in order to determine the limitations to higher yields. The results indicated that the associated ribonuclease H activity, an integral part of reverse transcriptase, plays a large role in the synthesis of the first strand of cDNA and that the interplay of the two enzyme activities for any specific set of conditions determines the yield of single-stranded products. In both the presence and the absence of polymerization, the associated ribonuclease H catalyzed the deadenylation of mRNA, producing molecules that were somewhat shorter, highly homogeneous in size, and fully translatable into globin protein. They were also entirely lacking in the ability to serve as templates for cDNA synthesis. The reaction was completely dependent on oligothymidylate and completely independent of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. The initial rate of deadenylation was one-fourth the initial rate of initiation of polymerization when saturating levels of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates were used in the polymerase reaction. In the presence of ribonuclease H activity, the DNA polymerase catalyzed the synthesis of an array of cDNAs including some that were full length. The initiation of polymerization was rate limiting: once synthesis had begun, it required 1-1.5 min to transcribe globin mRNA. However, most primers that were elongated were aborted prematurely. Maximum synthesis of full-length cDNA required stoichiometric levels of enzyme and high triphosphate levels, but regardless of conditions, the sum of completed cDNA and deadenylated mRNA accounted for only 50% of the input mRNA. The data fit a model in which synthesis of full-length cDNA molecules depends on the arrangement of primers and transcription initiation complexes on the poly(A) "tail" of mRNA.