An optimized lactate dehydrogenase release assay for screening of drug candidates in neuroscience.

INTRODUCTION: Quantification of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release is a widely accepted assay for the quantitative determination of cell viability and late-stage apoptosis. Major disadvantages of commercially available LDH assay kits include proprietary formulations, limited options for optimization and high cost, all resulting in limited reproducibility in research applications. Here, we describe a novel, custom LDH assay suitable in the context of plate reader-based screening of drug candidates for glioprotection, but with wide applicability to other cell types and experimental paradigms. METHODS: We developed a novel and highly reproducible LDH release assay that is more cost-effective than commercially available assays with comparable performance. The assay was validated by assessing 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid antioxidant protection against tert-butylhydroperoxide-induced oxidative stress in C6 astroglioma cells. Assay performance was validated by direct comparison and compatible with other methods of measuring cellular viability, namely 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and 6-carboxy-2', 7' dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate assays. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference between results obtained with the novel custom assay and a commercially available assay CytoTox96® (Promega, Madison, WI). DISCUSSION: The novel custom LDH release assay allows the reproducible quantification of cell viability and is highly cost-effective when compared to commercially available assays (approximately 25 times cheaper). In addition and in contrast to commercially available assays, the identification and detailed description of all assay components and procedures provide greater control over experimental conditions and design. We provide a detailed standard operating procedure permitting our novel assay to be readily adapted depending on experimental requirements.

Vibronic coupling in the superoxide anion: the vibrational dependence of the photoelectron angular distribution.

We present a comprehensive photoelectron imaging study of the O(2)(X (3)Σ(g)(-),v(')=0-6)←O(2)(-)(X (2)Π(g),v(")=0) and O(2)(a (1)Δ(g),v(')=0-4)←O(2)(-)(X (2)Π(g),v(")=0) photodetachment bands at wavelengths between 900 and 455 nm, examining the effect of vibronic coupling on the photoelectron angular distribution (PAD). This work extends the v(')=1-4 data for detachment into the ground electronic state, presented in a recent communication [R. Mabbs, F. Mbaiwa, J. Wei, M. Van Duzor, S. T. Gibson, S. J. Cavanagh, and B. R. Lewis, Phys. Rev. A 82, 011401(R) (2010)]. Measured vibronic intensities are compared to Franck-Condon predictions and used as supporting evidence of vibronic coupling. The results are analyzed within the context of the one-electron, zero core contribution (ZCC) model [R. M. Stehman and S. B. Woo, Phys. Rev. A 23, 2866 (1981)]. For both bands, the photoelectron anisotropy parameter variation with electron kinetic energy, ß(E), displays the characteristics of photodetachment from a d-like orbital, consistent with the π(g)(∗) 2p highest occupied molecular orbital of O(2)(-). However, differences exist between the ß(E) trends for detachment into different vibrational levels of the X (3)Σ(g)(-) and a (1)Δ(g) electronic states of O(2). The ZCC model invokes vibrational channel specific "detachment orbitals" and attributes this behavior to coupling of the electronic and nuclear motion in the parent anion. The spatial extent of the model detachment orbital is dependent on the final state of O(2): the higher the neutral vibrational excitation, the larger the electron binding energy. Although vibronic coupling is ignored in most theoretical treatments of PADs in the direct photodetachment of molecular anions, the present findings clearly show that it can be important. These results represent a benchmark data set for a relatively simple system, upon which to base rigorous tests of more sophisticated models.

Immunoprophylactic effects of the anti-leprosy Mw vaccine in household contacts of leprosy patients: clinical field trials with a follow up of 8-10 years.

We report here a large scale, double blind immunoprophylactic trial of a leprosy vaccine based on Mycobacterium w (Mw) in an endemic area of Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, India. A population of 420,823 spread over 272 villages was screened where 1226 multibacillary (MB) and 3757 paucibacillary (PB) cases of leprosy were detected. A total of 29,420 household contacts (HHC) of these patients were screened for evidence of active or inactive leprosy. After exclusion of 1622 contacts for any of the different exclusion criteria, a total of 24,060 HHC could be vaccinated for vaccine or placebo under coding (20,194 administered two doses and 3866 received single dose). The vaccine consisted of 1 x 10(9) heat killed bacilli (Mw) in normal saline for the first dose and half of the first dose, i.e. 5 x 10(8) bacilli for the second dose, given 6 months after the first dose. The placebo consisted of 1/8th dose of the normal dose of tetanous toxoid. Both placebo and vaccine were given under double-blind coding, The contacts were followed up during three surveys at 3, 6 and 9 years after the initial vaccination, for detection of post-vaccination cases (PVCs) and observing any side-effects caused as a result of vaccination. The codes were opened on 24th January 2001, after the analysis of the data following completion of the third and final follow-up survey. When only contacts received the vaccine, Mw vaccine showed a protective efficacy (PE) of 68-6% at the end of first, 59% at the end of the second and 39.3% at the end of the third follow-up survey. When both patients and contacts received the vaccine, the protective efficacy observed was 68%, 60% and 28% at the end of the first, second and third surveys, respectively. When patients, and not the contacts, received the vaccine, a PE of 42.9% in the first, 31% in the second and 3% in the third survey was shown. These results suggest that the vaccination of the contacts is more valuable in achieving the objective of immunoprophylaxis than that of patients, and the vaccine effects are noted maximally in children (as compared to adolescents and adults) who constitute the most responsive group The effect of vaccine is sustained for a period of about 7-8 years, following which there is a need to provide a booster vaccination for the sustained protection.