Mechanistic Study for the Reaction of B12 Complexes with m-Chloroperbenzoic Acid in Catalytic Alkane Oxidations.

The oxidation of alkanes with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (mCPBA) catalyzed by the B12 derivative, heptamethyl cobyrinate, was investigated under several conditions. During the oxidation of cyclohexane, heptamethyl cobyrinate works as a catalyst to form cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone at a 0.67 alcohol to ketone ratio under aerobic conditions in 1 h. The reaction rate shows a first-order dependence on the [catalyst] and [mCPBA] while being independent of [cyclohexane]; Vobs = k2[catalyst][mCPBA]. The kinetic deuterium isotope effect was determined to be 1.86, suggesting that substrate hydrogen atom abstraction is not dominantly involved in the rate-determining step. By the reaction of mCPBA and heptamethyl cobyrinate at low temperature, the corresponding cobalt(III)acylperoxido complex was formed which was identified by UV-vis, IR, ESR, and ESI-MS studies. A theoretical study suggested the homolysis of the O-O bond in the acylperoxido complex to form Co(III)-oxyl (Co-O•) and the m-chlorobenzoyloxyl radical. Radical trapping experiments using N-tert-butyl-α-phenylnitrone and CCl3Br, product analysis of various alkane oxidations, and computer analysis of the free energy for radical abstraction from cyclohexane by Co(III)-oxyl suggested that both Co(III)-oxyl and the m-chlorobenzoyloxyl radical could act as hydrogen-atom transfer reactants for the cyclohexane oxidation.

SIRPα/CD172a regulates eosinophil homeostasis.

Eosinophils are abundant in the lamina propria of the small intestine, but they rarely show degranulation in situ under steady-state conditions. In this study, using two novel mAbs, we found that intestinal eosinophils constitutively expressed a high level of an inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα)/CD172a and a low, but significant, level of a tetraspanin CD63, whose upregulation is closely associated with degranulation. Cross-linking SIRPα/CD172a on the surface of wild-type eosinophils significantly inhibited the release of eosinophil peroxidase induced by the calcium ionophore A23187, whereas this cross-linking effect was not observed in eosinophils isolated from mice expressing a mutated SIRPα/CD172a that lacks most of its cytoplasmic domain (SIRPα Cyto(-/-)). The SIRPα Cyto(-/-) eosinophils showed reduced viability, increased CD63 expression, and increased eosinophil peroxidase release with or without A23187 stimulation in vitro. In addition, SIRPα Cyto(-/-) mice showed increased frequencies of Annexin V-binding eosinophils and free MBP(+)CD63(+) extracellular granules, as well as increased tissue remodeling in the small intestine under steady-state conditions. Mice deficient in CD47, which is a ligand for SIRPα/CD172a, recapitulated these phenomena. Moreover, during Th2-biased inflammation, increased eosinophil cell death and degranulation were obvious in a number of tissues, including the small intestine, in the SIRPα Cyto(-/-) mice compared with wild-type mice. Collectively, our results indicated that SIRPα/CD172a regulates eosinophil homeostasis, probably by interacting with CD47, with substantial effects on eosinophil survival. Thus, SIRPα/CD172a is a potential therapeutic target for eosinophil-associated diseases.

Constitutive expression of IDO by dendritic cells of mesenteric lymph nodes: functional involvement of the CTLA-4/B7 and CCL22/CCR4 interactions.

Dendritic cells (DCs) express the immunoregulatory enzyme IDO in response to certain inflammatory stimuli, but it is unclear whether DCs express this enzyme under steady-state conditions in vivo. In this study, we report that the DCs in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) constitutively express functional IDO, which metabolizes tryptophan to kynurenine. In line with a previous report that regulatory T cells (Tregs) can induce IDO in DCs via the CTLA-4/B7 interaction, a substantial proportion of the MLN DCs were located in juxtaposition to Tregs, whereas this tendency was not observed for splenic DCs, which do not express IDO constitutively. When CTLA-4 was selectively deleted in Tregs, the frequency of IDO-expressing DCs in MLNs decreased significantly, confirming CTLA-4's role in IDO expression by MLN DCs. We also found that the MLN DCs produced CCL22, which can attract Tregs via CCR4, and that the phagocytosis of autologous apoptotic cells induced CCL22 expression in CCL22 mRNA-negative DCs. Mice genetically deficient in the receptor for CCL22, CCR4, showed markedly reduced IDO expression in MLN-DCs, supporting the involvement of the CCL22/CCR4 axis in IDO induction. Together with our previous observation that MLN DCs contain much intracytoplasmic cellular debris in vivo, these results indicate that reciprocal interactions between the DCs and Tregs via both B7/CTLA-4 and CCL22/CCR4 lead to IDO induction in MLN DCs, which may be initiated and/or augmented by the phagocytosis of autologous apoptotic cells by intestinal DCs. Such a mechanism may help induce the specific milieu in MLNs that is required for the induction of oral tolerance.

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in the small intestinal lamina propria show an effector/memory phenotype.

CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been implicated in the suppression of pathogenic responses to both self- and non-self-antigens in the intestine. However, their precise properties and functions in the gut, as well as the molecular basis of their recruitment to the gut, are poorly understood. Here, we found that most of the CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in the small intestinal lamina propria (LP) express Foxp3 and exhibit an 'effector/memory' phenotype, CD44(hi)CD45RB(lo)CD62L(-), whereas only a minority of the Foxp3(+)CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes showed this phenotype. The Tregs in the small intestinal LP (LP-Tregs) expressed higher levels of CCR4 and CCR9 and a substantially lower level of CCR7 than the Tregs in the spleen. In vitro, the LP-Tregs showed chemotaxis to CCL25/thymus-expressed chemokine. In addition, they showed efficient chemotaxis to the CCR4 ligands, CCL17/thymus and activation-regulated chemokine and CCL22/macrophage-derived chemokine, which are abundantly expressed by dendritic cells (DCs) in the small intestinal LP. In vivo, approximately 50% of the LP-Tregs were closely associated or in direct contact with LP-DCs. These findings demonstrate that LP-Tregs are phenotypically and functionally unique and raise the possibility that they are retained in the small intestinal LP through the action of CCL17 and CCL22, which are locally produced by LP-DCs.