Jong-Yoon Park

Delayed Treatment With Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Stem Cells Attenuates Diabetic Renal Injury

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease worldwide. Excess accumulation of extracellular matrix and the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition contribute to renal fibrosis, which is associated with DKD. The present study examined whether delayed treatment with human umbilical cord blood-derived stem cells (hUCB-SC) showed a therapeutic effect on DKD progression. Experimental diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 50 mg/kg) into 6-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. Age-matched control rats received an equivalent volume of sodium citrate buffer alone. At 4 weeks after the STZ injection when diabetic renal injury had developed, hUCB-SC were administered (1 × 10(6) cells/rat) through the tail vein. Four weeks after administering the hUCB-SC, rats were sacrificed and we measured indices of DKD, including urinary protein excretion as well as fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and E-cadherin mRNA, and protein expression. Diabetic rats developed significantly increased urinary protein excretion and renal hypertrophy compared to those in control rats. Renal expression of fibronectin and α-SMA mRNA, and protein were increased significantly in diabetic rats compared to those in the controls. E-cadherin protein expression in diabetic kidneys decreased significantly. Intravenously administered hUCB-SC effectively reduced proteinuria, renal fibronectin, and α-SMA up-regulation, as well as renal E-cadherin down-regulation in diabetic rats without a significant effect on blood glucose. Engrafted hUCB-SC in diabetic kidneys were confirmed by human DNA PKcs. The results demonstrated that delayed treatment with hUCB-SC attenuated the progression of diabetic renal injury.

Kinetic Study on Michael-Type Reactions of β-Nitrostyrenes with Cyclic Secondary Amines in Acetonitrile: Transition-State Structures and Reaction Mechanism Deduced from Negative Enthalpy of Activation and Analyses of LFERs

A kinetic study is reported for the Michael-type reactions of X-substituted β-nitrostyrenes (1a-j) with a series of cyclic secondary amines in MeCN. The plots of pseudo-first-order rate constant k(obsd) vs [amine] curve upward, indicating that the reactions proceed through catalyzed and uncatalyzed routes. The dissection of k(obsd) into Kk2 and Kk3 (i.e., the rate constants for the uncatalyzed and catalyzed routes, respectively) revealed that Kk3 is much larger than Kk2, implying that the reactions proceed mainly through the catalyzed route when [amine] > 0.01 M. Strikingly, the reactivity of β-nitrostyrene (1g) toward piperidine decreases as the reaction temperature increases. Consequently, a negative enthalpy of activation is obtained, indicating that the reaction proceeds through a relatively stable intermediate. The Brønsted-type plots for the reactions of 1g are linear with β(nuc) = 0.51 and 0.61, and the Hammett plots for the reactions of 1a-j are also linear with ρX = 0.84 and 2.10 for the uncatalyzed and catalyzed routes, respectively. The reactions are concluded to proceed through six-membered cyclic transition states for both the catalyzed and uncatalyzed routes. The effects of the substituent X on reactivity and factors influencing β(nuc) and ρX obtained in this study are discussed.

Definitive evidence for a stepwise mechanism: a downward curvature in the plot of kobs versus amine concentrations in aminolysis reactions of dibenzo[1,2]oxathiin-6-oxide

Abstract Pseudo-first-order rate constants ( k obs ) have been measured spectrophotometrically for aminolyses of dibenzo[1,2]oxathiin-6-oxide. The plot of k obs vs amine concentrations exhibits a downward curvature which levels off as the amine concentration increases. Such a downward curvature is proposed as definitive evidence for a stepwise mechanism, which is supported by the microscopic rate constants determined.