In this study, the chemical composition, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity (DPPH, ORAC and FRAP assays) of A. subrufescens and P. ostreatus, cultivated with handmade and commercials ...supplements, were compared. Additionally, the compounds ergosterol, saccharopine, and hexitol were identified in A. subrufescens by HPLC‐MS/MS. The antioxidant compound p‐coumaric acid and dihexoses was found in both mushroom species. A. subrufescens presented higher total phenolic content (73.8 ± 0.6 mg GAE 100 g−1) and antioxidant activity than P. ostreatus (16.6 ± 0.5 mg GAE 100 g−1). The handmade supplement based on the waste of noble grains presented statistically similar phenolic content to the mushrooms cultivated with commercial ones Spawn Mate II SE (86.1 ± 1.4 and 92.9 ± 0.3 mg GAE 100 g−1, respectively). Therefore, the results support the use of handmade supplements based on agro‐wastes as a viable alternative to the use of high‐cost commercial ones.
Pleurotus ostreatus and Agaricus subrufescens supplementation (both with commercial and handmade ones) was evaluated by the antioxidant activities and chemical composition.
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•Aminoquinoline (AQ4) is an efficient DNA minor groove binder.•The interaction with DNA leads to a new fluorescent band centered at 590 nm.•Compared to Hoechst, AQ4 causes a higher ...signal-to-noise fluorescent ratio (+DNA/−DNA).•The complex AQ4-DNA is pH dependent, being favored in acidic medium.•Molecular dynamics validate the complex AQ4-DNA.
An aminoquinoline (AQ4) was developed and proven to be a new and efficient DNA minor groove fluorescent probe. The specificity for DNA minor groove was attested by comparing it with well-established DNA probes such as Hoechst stain, acridine orange, and ethidium bromide. AQ4 was similar to the Hoechst stain, a classic minor groove probe, and opposite to acridine orange and ethidium bromide, the typical intercalating probes. An advantage of AQ4 to the Hoechst stain was the higher fluorescent signal-to-noise ratio (+DNA/-DNA). The interaction with DNA leads to an exclusive fluorescent band centered at 590 nm. The red-shifted fluorescent band is associated with a new absorption band (490 nm), revealing a ground-state complex formation. The complexation was also evidenced by circular dichroism, anisotropy, and fluorescence lifetime. The complex AQ4-DNA was pH dependent, being favored in an acidic medium. This feature was related to the preferential interaction with a protonated form of AQ4, i.e., AQ4(H+), revealing the role of electrostatic forces, which was corroborated by the strong dependence on the ionic strength of the medium and, particularly, on magnesium ions. The complexes were studied by docking and molecular dynamics and confirmed the stability of AQ4(H+). Additionally, 500 ns simulations were performed by adding salts. The presence of the salts leads to the loss of the binding of AQ4(H+) after 52 ns (NaCl) and 142 ns (MgCl2). Experimental and in silico outcomes showed the advantages of the aminoquinoline over the commercial DNA minor groove stain, the Hoechst dye. Hence, we propose its further application in cell-based assays.
Due to its primordial function as a drug carrier, human serum albumin (HSA) is extensively studied regarding its binding affinity with developing drugs. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is ...frequently applied as a spectroscopic molecular ruler to measure the distance between the binding site and the ligand. In this work, we have shown that most of the published results that use the FRET technique to estimate the distance from ligands to the binding sites do not corroborate the crystallography data. By comparing the binding affinity of dansyl-proline with HSA and ovotransferrin, we demonstrated that FRET explains the quenching provoked by the interaction of ligands in albumin. So, why does the distance calculation via FRET not corroborate the crystallography data? We have shown that this inconsistency is related to the fact that a one-to-one relationship between donor and acceptor is not present in most experiments. Hence, the quenching efficiency used for calculating energy transfer depends on distance and binding constant, which is inconsistent with the correct application of FRET as a molecular ruler. We have also shown that the indiscriminate attribution of 2/3 to the relative orientation of transition dipoles of the acceptor and donor (κ2) generates inconsistencies. We proposed corrections based on the experimental equilibrium constant and theoretical orientation of transition dipoles to correct the FRET results.
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•FRET is responsible for albumin fluorescence quenching caused by ligands.•An intrinsic error in the application of FRET for albumin-ligand was identified.•A correction in the equation for the calculation of the distance was proposed.
The molecular structures of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) vary, but most contain a carboxylic acid functional group (RCOOH). This functional group is known to be related to the ...mechanism of cyclooxygenase inhibition and also causes side effects, such as gastrointestinal bleeding. This study proposes a new role for RCOOH in NSAIDs: facilitating the interaction at the binding site II of serum albumins. We used bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model to investigate the interactions with ligands at site II. Using dansyl-proline (DP) as a fluorescent site II marker, we demonstrated that only negatively charged NSAIDs such as ibuprofen (IBP), naproxen (NPX), diflunisal (DFS), and ketoprofen (KTP) can efficiently displace DP from the albumin binding site. We confirmed the importance of RCOO by neutralizing IBP and NPX through esterification, which reduced the displacement of DP. The competition was also monitored by stopped-flow experiments. While IBP and NPX displaced DP in less than 1 s, the ester derivatives were ineffective. We also observed a higher affinity of negatively charged NSAIDs using DFS as a probe and ultrafiltration experiments. Molecular docking simulations showed an essential salt bridge between the positively charged residues Arg409 and Lys413 with RCOO–, consistent with the experimental findings. We performed a ligand dissociation pathway and corresponding energy analysis by applying molecular dynamics. The dissociation of NPX showed a higher free energy barrier than its ester. Apart from BSA, we conducted some experimental studies with human serum albumin, and similar results were obtained, suggesting a general effect for other mammalian serum albumins. Our findings support that the RCOOH moiety affects not only the mechanism of action and side effects but also the pharmacokinetics of NSAIDs.
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•4-Dimethylamino-beta-nitrostyrene (DANS) works as a fluorescent solvatochromic probe.•DANS has its fluorescence increased upon binding in albumin.•Solvatochromism of DANS enables the ...estimation of dielectric constant in albumin.•Molecular dynamics provides the electrostatic energy between DANS and solvent molecules.•Molecular dynamics enables the estimation of dielectric constant in albumin.
The spectroscopic properties of 4-dimethylamino-beta-nitrostyrene (DANS) were theoretically and experimentally correlated with the polarity of organic solvents and applied to estimate the overall apparent dielectric constant in the binding sites of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The linear correlation between McRae's solvent polarity function and the wavelength of maximum emission (R2 = 0.8899) showed the suitability of DANS as a fluorescent solvatochromic probe. The interaction between BSA and DANS was evaluated (Ka = 3.1 × 104 mol−1 L), and based on the DANS/BSA emission, the apparent dielectric constant of BSA was estimated (ε = 5.5 ± 0.8). The experimental and theoretical absorption and emission maxima were correlated using density-functional theory. Molecular dynamics was used to calculate the mean electrostatic energy between DANS and the organic solvent molecules. These results were associated with the experimental fluorescence and applied to the BSA/DANS system, resulting in electrostatic energy (−37 kJ mol−1). The application of this model generated a dielectric constant of 5.8 ± 1.3 to BSA, which was consistent with the values obtained by McRae's solvent polarity function. The mean electrostatic energy of DANS in BSA binding sites was calculated directly from molecular dynamics simulations and resulted in −40 ± 2, −47 ± 3, and −48 ± 3 kJ mol−1 for sites I, II, and III. These results showed that the environment offered by the site I presented the value of electrostatic energy closest to the obtained with the solvatochromic model. In conclusion, DANS can be used to estimate the apparent polarity of albumins.
Human serum albumin (HSA) is a target for reactive oxygen species (ROS), and alterations of its physiological functions caused by oxidation is a current issue. In this work, the amino-acid residues ...Trp-214 and Lys-199, which are located at site I of HSA, were experimentally and computationally oxidized, and the effect on the binding constant with phenylbutazone was measured. HSA was submitted to two mild oxidizing reagents, taurine monochloramine (Tau-NHCl) and taurine dibromamine (Tau-NBr₂). The oxidation of Trp-214 provoked spectroscopic alterations in the protein which were consistent with the formation of
'-formylkynurenine. It was found that the oxidation of HSA by Tau-NBr₂, but not by Tau-NHCl, provoked a significant increase in the association constant with phenylbutazone. The alterations of Trp-214 and Lys-199 were modeled and simulated by changing these residues using the putative oxidation products. Based on the Amber score function, the interaction energy was measured, and it showed that, while native HSA presented an interaction energy of -21.3 kJ/mol, HSA with Trp-214 altered to
'-formylkynurenine resulted in an energy of -28.4 kJ/mol, and HSA with Lys-199 altered to its carbonylated form resulted in an energy of -33.9 kJ/mol. In summary, these experimental and theoretical findings show that oxidative alterations of amino-acid residues at site I of HSA affect its binding efficacy.
Human serum albumin (HSA) is the primary drug carrier protein in the blood plasma. To perform this task, it has two cavities (sites I and II) where the pharmaceutical drugs can be bound. Dansyl amino ...acids are fluorescent markers widely used to identify the binding sites of new drugs. Here, we found intriguing differences between site I and site II for dansyl amino acids. These findings might open new perspectives for the studies of the interaction of drugs with albumin. In a comprehensive experimental and theoretical approach, six dansyl amino acids that are supposed to be specifically bound either to site I or site II were characterized. The interactions were evaluated by fluorescence quantum yield, fluorescence lifetime, anisotropy, association constant, induced circular dichroism, and isothermal titration calorimetry. All these techniques showed that dansyl amino acids of site II are significantly better ligands compared to the ones of site I. Oppositely, the binding free energies obtained by the molecular dynamics-based approaches suggested that dansyl amino acids bind stronger to site I. These results, contradictory at first glance, were clarified by calculating the Potential of Mean Force corresponding to ligand unbinding. These data suggested that the ligands could easier access site II than site I, explaining the experimental data. In conclusion, the access of a potential ligand of albumin to its binding site might be crucial for their interactions and in the design of new practical applicability as a drug-albumin.
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•The binding of ligands in albumin might be a kinetically driven molecular event.•In albumin, site-I dansyl amino acids are worst ligands than site II ones.•The low affinity of site-I dansyl amino acids explains their inefficacy as site markers.•The free energy barrier for binding of site-I dansyl amino acids explains their inefficacy.
Coumarin derivatives as dihydrocoumarins have been reported to have multiple biological activities, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Apocynin (APO), which is a ...substituted-methoxy-catechol, is the most commonly used inhibitor of the multienzymatic complex NADPH-oxidase.
To increase the potency of APO as an NADPH oxidase inhibitor and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, we synthesized a compound by combining the structural features of a dihydrocoumarin and APO.
The dihydrocoumarin-apocynin derivative (HCA) was synthesized and evaluated in antioxidant and cell-based bioassays and compared with APO.
We found that HCA (IC50 = 10 µM) acted as an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase (ex vivo assays) and was more potent than APO (EC50 10 µM). The inhibitory effect on NADPH oxidase was not related to simple radical scavenger activity. HCA was also a more effective radical scavenger than APO, as verified in the DPPH (EC50 = 50.3 versus EC50100 µM), triene degradation (slope AUC/concentration 759 ± 100 versus 101 ± 15) and FRAP (slope 0.159 versus 0.015) assays. The tested compound demonstrated a similar activity as an inhibitor of the oxidative damage provoked by peroxyl radicals in erythrocyte membranes.
HCA showed superior capacity as inhibitor of NADPH oxidase and antioxidant activity. These findings show that HCA could be an improved substitute for APO and deserves further in vivo anti-inflammatory studies.
The application of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in biomaterials has increased significantly in the recent years. Here, we aimed to study the potential deleterious effects of ZnO on blood ...components, including human serum albumin (HSA), erythrocytes and human isolated primary neutrophils. To test the influence of the morphology of the nanomaterials, ZnO nanoneedles (ZnO-nn) and nanoflowers (ZnO-nf) were synthesized. The zeta potential and mean size of ZnO-nf and ZnO-nn suspensions in phosphate-buffered saline were −10.73 mV and 3.81 nm and −5.27 mV and 18.26 nm, respectively. The incubation of ZnO with HSA did not cause its denaturation as verified by the absence of significant alterations in the intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescence and in the circular dichroism spectrum of the protein. The capacity of HSA as a drug carrier was not affected as verified by employing site I and II fluorescent markers. Neither type of ZnO was able to provoke the activation of neutrophils, as verified by lucigenin- and luminol-dependent chemiluminescence and by the extracellular release of hydrogen peroxide. ZnO-nf, but not ZnO-nn, induced the haemolysis of erythrocytes. In conclusion, our results reinforce the concept that ZnO nanomaterials are relatively safe for usage in biomaterials. A potential exception is the capacity of ZnO-nf to promote the lysis of erythrocytes, a discovery that shows the importance of the morphology in the toxicity of nanoparticles.
Taurine bromamine (Tau-NHBr) is produced by the reaction between hypobromous acid (HOBr) and the amino acid taurine. There are increasing number of applications of Tau-NHBr as an anti-inflammatory ...and microbicidal drug for topical usage. Here, we performed a comprehensive study of the chemical reactivity of Tau-NHBr with endogenous and non-endogenous compounds. Tau-NHBr reactivity was compared with HOBr, hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and taurine chloramine (Tau-NHCl). The second-order rate constants (k₂) for the reactions between Tau-NHBr and tryptophan (7.7 × 10² M(-1)s(-1)), melatonin (7.3 × 10³ M(-1)s(-1)), serotonin (2.9 × 10³ M(-1)s(-1)), dansylglycine (9.5 × 10¹ M(-1)s(-1)), tetramethylbenzidine (6.4 × 10² M(-1)s(-1)) and H₂O₂ (3.9 × M(-1)s(-1)) were obtained. Tau-NHBr demonstrated the following selectivity regarding its reactivity with free amino acids: tryptophan > cysteine ~ methionine > tyrosine. The reactivity of Tau-NHBr was strongly affected by the pH of the medium (for instance with dansylglycine: pH 5.0, 1.1 × 10⁴ M(-1)s(-1), pH 7.0, 9.5 × 10 M(-1)s(-1) and pH 9.0, 1.7 × 10 M(-1)s(-1)), a property that is related to the formation of the dibromamine form at acidic pH (Tau-NBr₂). The formation of singlet oxygen was observed in the reaction between Tau-NHBr and H₂O₂. Tau-NHBr was also able to react with linoleic acid, but with low efficiency compared with HOBr and HOCl. Compared with HOBr, Tau-NHBr was not able to react with nucleosides. In conclusion, the following reactivity sequence was established: HOBr > HOCl > Tau-NHBr > Tau-NHCl. These findings can be very helpful for researchers interested in biological applications of taurine haloamines.
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