ABSTRACT
Excess or inadequate levels of inorganic ions may induce significant acute and long-term irreversible dysfunction in humans. The fetus and placenta are particularly vulnerable to toxins due to the immaturity of the blood-brain barrier and diminished biotransformation enzymatic activity. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 pregnant women, 79 rural, and 93 urban. Umbilical cord blood was collected at the time of delivery and analyzed for 20 inorganic elements. Significant differences were found between urban and rural samples for two elements where copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo) were higher in urban samples. No marked differences between groups occurred for: arsenic, barium, cadmium, calcium, cobalt, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mercury, selenium, strontium, or zinc. All samples were devoid of platinum, silver, thallium or uranium. Data demonstrated significant differences in urban and rural prenatal exposure to Cu and Mo. Further study is needed to determine if there is a causal link between neonatal outcomes and prenatal exposure to these elements.
Subject(s)
Environmental Pollutants/metabolism , Fetal Blood/chemistry , Maternal Exposure/statistics & numerical data , Rural Population/statistics & numerical data , Trace Elements/metabolism , Urban Population/statistics & numerical data , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Kentucky , Male , Ohio , Pregnancy , West Virginia , Young AdultABSTRACT
Potent antagonists of the integrin α(5)ß(1), which are RGD mimetics built from tyrosine are described. This letter describes the optimization of in vitro potency obtained by variation of two parts of the molecule, the basic group and the linker between the basic group and the phenyl central core.
Subject(s)
Integrin alpha5beta1/antagonists & inhibitors , Oligopeptides/chemical synthesis , Tyrosine/analogs & derivatives , Tyrosine/chemical synthesis , Cell Adhesion/drug effects , Cell Survival/drug effects , Fibrinogen/chemistry , Fibronectins/chemistry , Humans , Integrin alpha5beta1/metabolism , K562 Cells , Models, Molecular , Molecular Mimicry , Oligopeptides/pharmacology , Serum Albumin/chemistry , Structure-Activity Relationship , Tyrosine/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Potent antagonists of the integrin α(5)ß(1), which are RGD mimetics built from tyrosine are described. This paper describes the optimization of in vitro potency obtained by variation of two parts of the molecule, the central aromatic core and the amide moiety.