Evaluation of the characteristics of the neutron beam of a linac-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy.

The linac-base neutron source "iBNCT" developed by the Tsukuba team has begun to generate a large intensity of neutrons. To confirm the applicability of the device to BNCT, several characteristic measurements have been implemented. In a water phantom experiment, when the accelerator was operated with an average current of 1.4 mA, the maximum thermal neutron flux was approximately 7.8 × 108 (n/cm2/s). Results demonstrate the stability of the linac over time, showing its promising potential for future patient treatment.

Monomeric structure of an active form of bovine cytochrome c oxidase.

Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), a membrane enzyme in the respiratory chain, catalyzes oxygen reduction by coupling electron and proton transfer through the enzyme with a proton pump across the membrane. In all crystals reported to date, bovine CcO exists as a dimer with the same intermonomer contacts, whereas CcOs and related enzymes from prokaryotes exist as monomers. Recent structural analyses of the mitochondrial respiratory supercomplex revealed that CcO monomer associates with complex I and complex III, indicating that the monomeric state is functionally important. In this study, we prepared monomeric and dimeric bovine CcO, stabilized using amphipol, and showed that the monomer had high activity. In addition, using a newly synthesized detergent, we determined the oxidized and reduced structures of monomer with resolutions of 1.85 and 1.95 Å, respectively. Structural comparison of the monomer and dimer revealed that a hydrogen bond network of water molecules is formed at the entry surface of the proton transfer pathway, termed the K-pathway, in monomeric CcO, whereas this network is altered in dimeric CcO. Based on these results, we propose that the monomer is the activated form, whereas the dimer can be regarded as a physiological standby form in the mitochondrial membrane. We also determined phospholipid structures based on electron density together with the anomalous scattering effect of phosphorus atoms. Two cardiolipins are found at the interface region of the supercomplex. We discuss formation of the monomeric CcO, dimeric CcO, and supercomplex, as well as their role in regulation of CcO activity.

Stereoconvergent 1,4-Addition Reaction of 5H-Oxazol-4-ones with E,Z Isomeric Mixture of Alkylidene ß-Ketoesters Catalyzed by Chiral Guanidines.

A 1,4-addition reaction of 5H-oxazol-4-ones to alkylidene ß-ketoesters, which was catalyzed by using chiral guanidines via a dynamic kinetic resolution process that involved geometric isomerization of the alkylidene ß-ketoesters, was developed. This method allowed using E,Z isomeric mixture of various acyclic alkylidene ß-ketoesters to obtain the products stereoselectively. The relation between the geometry and the stereoselectivity of products was investigated, and the derivatization of the products to the corresponding α-acyl-γ-lactone was performed.

Enantioselective dioxytosylation of styrenes using lactate-based chiral hypervalent iodine(III).

A series of optically active hypervalent iodine(III) reagents prepared from the corresponding (R)-2-(2-iodophenoxy)propanoate derivative was employed for the asymmetric dioxytosylation of styrene and its derivatives. The electrophilic addition of the hypervalent iodine(III) compound toward styrene proceeded with high enantioface selectivity to give 1-aryl-1,2-di(tosyloxy)ethane with an enantiomeric excess of 70-96% of the (S)-isomer.

Stereochemical assignment of the unique electron acceptor 5'-hydroxyphylloquinone, a polar analog of vitamin K1 in photosystem I.

A unique electron-accepting analog of vitamin K1 found in photosystem I in several species of oxygenic photosynthetic microorganisms was confirmed to be 5'-hydroxyphylloquinone (1) through stereo-uncontrolled synthesis. Furthermore, the stereochemistry of 1 obtained from Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 was assigned to be 5'S using proline-catalyzed stereocontrolled reactions.

Enantioselective C-C Bond Formation during the Oxidation of 5-Phenylpent-2-enyl Carboxylates with Hypervalent Iodine(III).

The oxidation of (5-acyloxypent-3-enyl)benzene with hypervalent iodine(III) afforded 2-oxy-1-(oxymethyl)tetrahydronaphthalene under metal-free conditions. The acyloxy group may nucleophilically participate in the oxidative cyclization. A lactate-based chiral hypervalent iodine afforded an enantioselective variant of oxyarylation with up to 89% ee.

In the beginning when the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society was established.

Upon the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the journal, "Genes and Environment", the history of sciences on environmental mutagens in Japan was reviewed.

Metal-Free Enantioselective Oxidative Arylation of Alkenes: Hypervalent-Iodine-Promoted Oxidative C-C Bond Formation.

The enantioselective oxyarylation of (E)-6-aryl-1-silyloxylhex-3-ene was achieved using a lactate-based chiral hypervalent iodine(III) reagent in the presence of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. The silyl ether promotes the oxidative cyclization, and enhances the enantioselectivity. In addition, the corresponding aminoarylation was achieved.

Organocatalytic 1,4-Addition Reaction of 2-Formyl(thio)esters to Vinylketones: An Efficient Access to Acyclic Chiral Building Blocks with a Quaternary Carbon Stereocenter.

2-Formyl(thio)esters were utilized as pronucleophiles to obtain less-accessible acyclic chiral building blocks bearing versatile functional groups on a quaternary carbon atom for enantioselective 1,4-addition to vinylketones. To achieve high enantioselectivity in the present 1,4-addition reaction, thiourea-tertiary amines containing a bulky chiral backbone were developed as catalysts, and several derivatizations of the products were performed to demonstrate the synthetic utility of the products.

Stereoselective Formation of Substituted 1,3-Dioxolanes through a Three-Component Assembly during the Oxidation of Alkenes with Hypervalent Iodine(III).

Stereoselective formation of substituted 1,3-dioxolanes was achieved through an assembly of three components: alkene, carboxylic acid and silyl enol ether. The reaction proceeded via stereospecific generation of a 1,3-dioxolan-2-yl cation intermediate during oxidation of alkene substrates with hypervalent iodine. The stereoselective trapping of the cation intermediate with silyl enol ether completed the formation of the dioxolane product.

A series of two oxidation reactions of ortho-alkenylbenzamide with hypervalent iodine(III): a concise entry into (3R,4R)-4-hydroxymellein and (3R,4R)-4-hydroxy-6-methoxymellein.

A sequence of oxidation reactions of alkenamides with hypervalent iodine is described. Oxidation of ortho-alkenylbenzamide substrates selectively gave isochroman-1-imine products. The products underwent further oxidation in the presence of a Pd salt catalyst leading to regioselective C-H acetoxylation at the 8-position. A series of oxidations was applied to the crucial steps of asymmetric synthesis of 4-hydroxymellein derivatives.

Modification of the ³²P-postlabeling method to detect a single adduct species as a single spot.

The original (32)P-postlabeling method developed by Randerath and his colleagues has been modified to detect a single type of adduct as a single spot in thin-layer chromatography (TLC), because some types of adducts gave multiple adduct spots by the original method. In the remodified methods, DNA is first digested with micrococcal nuclease and phosphodiesterase II and then labeled with [γ-(32)P]ATP under standard or adduct intensification conditions. Since the labeled digest includes adducted mono-, di-, and/or oligo-deoxynucleotides, it is further treated with phosphatase and phosphodiesterase prior to TLC. The labeled digest is treated with nuclease P1 (NP1) in Method I, with T4 polynucleotide kinase and NP1 in Method II, and then with phosphodiesterase I in both cases and subjected to TLC. The advantage of these methods is that the number of adduct species formed can be estimated by TLC.

Arabitol provided by lichenous fungi enhances ability to dissipate excess light energy in a symbiotic green alga under desiccation.

Lichens are drought-resistant symbiotic organisms of mycobiont fungi and photobiont green algae or cyanobacteria, and have an efficient mechanism to dissipate excess captured light energy into heat in a picosecond time range to avoid photoinhibition. This mechanism can be assessed as drought-induced non-photochemical quenching (d-NPQ) using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. A green alga Trebouxia sp., which lives within a lichen Ramalina yasudae, is one of the most common green algal photobionts. This alga showed very efficient d-NPQ under desiccation within the lichen thallus, whereas it lost d-NPQ ability when isolated from R. yasudae, indicating the importance of the interaction with the mycobiont for d-NPQ ability. We analyzed the water extracts from lichen thalli that enhanced d-NPQ in Trebouxia. Of several sugar compounds identified in the water extracts by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) and gas chromatography (GC) analyses, only d-arabitol recovered d-NPQ in isolated Trebouxia to a level similar to that detected for R. yasudae thallus. Other sugar compounds did not help the expression of d-NPQ at the same concentrations. Thus, arabitol is essential for the expression of d-NPQ to dissipate excess captured light energy into heat, protecting the photobiont from photoinhibition. The relationship between mycobionts and photobionts is, therefore, not commensalism, but mutualism with each other, as shown by d-NPQ expression.

Demonstration of cytotoxicity against wasps by pierisin-1: a possible defense factor in the cabbage white butterfly.

The cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, produces pierisin-1, a protein inducing apoptosis of mammalian cells. In the present study, the biological activity of pierisin-1 as a protective agent against parasitic wasps for P. rapae was examined. Pierisin-1 caused detrimental effects on eggs and larvae of non-habitual parasitoids for P. rapae, Glyptapanteles pallipes, Cotesia kariyai and Cotesia plutellae at 1-100 µg/ml, levels essentially equivalent to those found in P. rapae larvae. In contrast, eggs and larvae of the natural parasitoid of P. rapae, Cotesia glomerata proved resistant to the toxicity of pierisin-1 through inhibition of pierisin-1 penetration of the surface layer. The expression level of pierisin-1 mRNA in the larvae of P. rapae was increased by parasitization by C. plutellae, whereas it was decreased by C. glomerata. In addition, C. plutellae was associated with elevation of activated pierisin-1 in the hemolymph. From these observations, it is suggested that pierisin-1 could contribute as a defense factor against parasitization by some type of wasps in P. rapae.

Asymmetric synthesis of 4,8-dihydroxyisochroman-1-one polyketide metabolites using chiral hypervalent iodine(III).

Stereoselective oxylactonization of ortho-alkenylbenzoate with chiral hypervalent iodine is applied to the asymmetric synthesis of 4-oxyisochroman-1-one polyketide metabolites including 4-hydroxymellein (1), a derivative of fusarentin 2, monocerin (3), and an epimer of monocerin epi-3.

Theoretical insight into stereoselective reaction mechanisms of 2,4-pentanediol-tethered ketene-olefin [2 + 2] cycloaddition.

We report ab initio molecular dynamics calculations based on density functional theory performed on an intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition between ketene and olefin linked with a 2,4-pentanediol (PD) tether. We find that the encounter of the ketene and olefin moieties could be prearranged in the thermal equilibrated state before the cycloaddition. The reaction mechanism is found to be stepwise, similar to that of intermolecular ketene [2 + 2] cycloadditions with ordinary alkenes. A distinct feature of the reaction pathway for a major diastereoisomer is a differential activation free energy of about 1.5 kcal/mol, including 2.8 kcal/mol as the differential activation entropy, with a transition state consisting of a flexible nine-membered ring in the olefin-PD-ketene moiety. This theoretical study provides a reasonable explanation for the strict stereocontrollability of the PD-tethered ketene-olefin cycloaddition, irrespective of reaction types or conditions.

Induction of glandular stomach cancers in Helicobacter pylori-infected Mongolian gerbils by 1-nitrosoindole-3-acetonitrile.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and high intake of various traditional salt-preserved foods are regarded as risk factors for human gastric cancer. We previously reported that Chinese cabbage contains indole compounds, such as indole-3-acetonitrile, a mutagen precursor. 1-Nitrosoindole-3-acetonitrile (NIAN), formed by the treatment of indole-3-acetonitrile with nitrite under acidic conditions, shows direct-acting mutagenicity. In the present study, NIAN administration by gavage to Mongolian gerbils (MGs) at the dose of 100 mg/kg two times a week resulted in three adduct spots (1.6 adducts/10(8) nucleotides in total), detected in DNA samples from the glandular stomach by (32) P-postlabeling methods. Treatment with six consecutive doses of 100 mg/kg of NIAN, two times a week for 3 weeks, induced well-and moderately-differentiated glandular stomach adenocarcinomas in the MGs at the incidence of 31% under H. pylori infection at 54-104 weeks. Such lesions were not induced in MGs given broth alone, broth + NIAN or infection with H. pylori alone. Thus, endogenous carcinogens formed from nitrosation of indole compounds could be critical risk factors for human gastric cancer development under the influence of H. pylori infection.

5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone is the dominant naphthoquinone of PSI in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Thylakoid membranes contain two types of quinones, benzoquinone (plastoquinone) and naphthoquinone, which are involved in photosynthetic electron transfer. Unlike the benzoquinone, the chemical species of naphthoquinone present (phylloquinone, menaquinone-4 and 5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone) varies depending on the oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been used as a model organism to study the function of the naphthoquinone bound to PSI. However, the level of phylloquinone and the presence of other naphthoquinones in this organism remain unknown. In the present study, we found that 5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone is the predominant naphthoquinone in cell and thylakoid extracts based on the retention time during reverse phase HPLC, absorption and mass spectrometry measurements. It was shown that 5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone is enriched 2.5-fold in the PSI complex as compared with thylakoid membranes but that it is absent from PSI-deficient mutant cells. We also found a small amount of phylloquinone in the cells and in the PSI complex and estimated that accumulated 5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone and phylloquinone account for approximately 90 and 10%, respectively, of the total naphthoquinone content. The ratio of these two naphthoquinones remained nearly constant in the cells and in the PSI complexes from logarithmic and stationary cell growth stages. We conclude that both 5'-monohydroxyphylloquinone and phylloquinone stably co-exist as major and minor naphthoquinones in Chlamydomonas PSI.

Enhancement of carcinogenesis and fatty infiltration in the pancreas in N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine-treated hamsters by high-fat diet.

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk, although the mechanisms have yet to be detailed. This study aimed to elucidate promotion of pancreatic cancer by obesity and hyperlipidemia. METHODS: Six-week-old female Syrian golden hamsters were treated with N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine (BOP) and after 1 week were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or standard diet (STD) for 6 or 17 weeks. RESULTS: Body weight and serum levels of lipids and leptin were significantly higher in the HFD than the STD group at 14 weeks of age. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas developed only in the BOP + HFD group, with an incidence of 67% (P < 0.01) at 14 weeks of age. In addition, the multiplicity was 2-fold greater in the BOP + HFD group than in the BOP + STD group (P < 0.05) at 25 weeks of age. Pancreatic fatty infiltration was increased by BOP treatment and further enhanced by the HFD, correlating with progression of BOP-induced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and up-regulated expression of adipocytokines and cell proliferation-related genes in the pancreas. CONCLUSIONS: High-fat diet is shown to increase serum lipid levels and enhance fatty infiltration in the pancreas with abnormal adipocytokine production, which may accelerate and enhance pancreatic cancer.

Highly Z-selective asymmetric 1,4-addition reaction of 5H-oxazol-4-ones with alkynyl carbonyl compounds catalyzed by chiral guanidines.

An asymmetric 1,4-addition reaction of 5H-oxazol-4-ones with alkynyl carbonyl compounds was developed, and, for the first time, high enantiomeric and geometric control was achieved to afford the thermodynamically unstable Z-isomer predominantly using chiral guanidine catalysts bearing a hydroxy group at the appropriate position. The method provides synthetically useful γ-butenolide ester bearing a chiral quaternary stereogenic center.