1.Crosstalk between liver antioxidant and the endocannabinoid systems after chronic administration of the FAAH inhibitor, URB597, to hypertensive rats.
Biernacki M1, Łuczaj W1, Gęgotek A1, Toczek M2, Bielawska K1, Skrzydlewska E3. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016 Apr 13. pii: S0041-008X(16)30076-X. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2016.04.006. [Epub ahead of print]
Hypertension is accompanied by perturbations to the endocannabinoid and antioxidant systems. Thus, potential pharmacological treatments for hypertension should be examined as modulators of these two metabolic systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic administration of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor [3-(3-carbamoylphenyl)phenyl]N-cyclohexylcarbamate (URB597) on the endocannabinoid system and on the redox balance in the livers of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Hypertension caused an increase in the levels of endocannabinoids [anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoyl-dopamine (NADA)] and CB1 receptor and the activities of FAAH and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). These effects were accompanied by an increase in the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a decrease in antioxidant activity/level, enhanced expression of transcription factor Nrf2 and changes to Nrf2 activators and inhibitors.
2.Enhanced adsorption of Cr(VI) from water by guar gum based composite hydrogels.
Maity J1, Ray SK2. Int J Biol Macromol. 2016 Apr 13. pii: S0141-8130(16)30344-0. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.04.036. [Epub ahead of print]
Composite hydrogels were prepared by in situ incorporation of a natural macromolecule guar gum and nano sized bentonite clay in an acrylic network during copolymerization of acrylic acid, N,N-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) and hydroxyethyl methacrlylate (HEMA) in water. The structure of the hydrogels was characterized and the hydrogels showing the best results in mechanical and swelling properties were used for the removal of low (5-50mg/L) and high (100-800mg/L) concentration of Cr (VI) ions from water. The composite hydrogel showed a high removal of 97.8% (4.89mg/g gel) and 91.4% (182.4mg/g gel) at an initial feed metal ion concentration of 5mg/L and 200mg/L, respectively.
3.Enhanced coagulation-photocatalytic treatment of Acid red 73 dye and real textile wastewater using UVA/synthesized MgO nanoparticles.
Jorfi S1, Barzegar G2, Ahmadi M3, Darvishi Cheshmeh Soltani R4, Alah Jafarzadeh Haghighifard N5, Takdastan A6, Saeedi R7, Abtahi M8. J Environ Manage. 2016 Apr 14;177:111-118. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.04.005. [Epub ahead of print]
Sequencing coagulation - photocatalytic degradation using UVA/MgO nanoparticles process was investigated for Acid red 73dye removal and then treatment of a real textile wastewater. Effective operational parameters including pH and coagulant and photocatalyst dosage were studied in synthetic wastewater and then the process was applied for real wastewater. Both coagulation and photocatalytic processes were pH dependent. At coagulant dosage of 200 mg/L and initial pH of 6, the dye concentration decreased from 200 to 31 mg/L. Complete removal of AR73 was observed with MgO nanoparticles of 0.8 g/L, initial pH of 5 and reaction time of 60 min. Langmuir-Hinshelwood model was well fitted with removal results (R2: 0.939-0.988 for different initial dye concentration). In the case of real textile wastewater, the sequence coagulation-UVA/MgO nanoparticles photocatalytic degradation yielded considerable total COD and TOC removal 98.3% and 86.9%respectively, after 300 min.
4.Multivalent hyaluronic acid bioconjugates improve sFlt-1 activity in vitro.
Altiok EI1, Santiago-Ortiz JL2, Svedlund FL3, Zbinden A1, Jha AK1, Bhatnagar D1, Loskill P4, Jackson WM1, Schaffer DV5, Healy KE6. Biomaterials. 2016 Mar 12;93:95-105. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.03.017. [Epub ahead of print]
Anti-VEGF drugs that are used in conjunction with laser ablation to treat patients with diabetic retinopathy suffer from short half-lives in the vitreous of the eye resulting in the need for frequent intravitreal injections. To improve the intravitreal half-life of anti-VEGF drugs, such as the VEGF decoy receptor sFlt-1, we developed multivalent bioconjugates of sFlt-1 grafted to linear hyaluronic acid (HyA) chains termed mvsFlt. Using size exclusion chromatography with multiangle light scattering (SEC-MALS), SDS-PAGE, and dynamic light scattering (DLS), we characterized the mvsFlt with a focus on the molecular weight contribution of protein and HyA components to the overall bioconjugate size. We found that mvsFlt activity was independent of HyA conjugation using a sandwich ELISA and in vitro angiogenesis assays including cell survival, migration and tube formation. Using an in vitro model of the vitreous with crosslinked HyA gels, we demonstrated that larger mvsFlt bioconjugates showed slowed release and mobility in these hydrogels compared to low molecular weight mvsFlt and unconjugated sFlt-1.
