Vincent Guérineau

A Universal Nucleoside with Strong Two-Band Switchable Fluorescence and Sensitivity to the Environment for Investigating DNA Interactions

With the aim of developing a new tool to investigate DNA interactions, a nucleoside analogue incorporating a 3-hydroxychromone (3HC) fluorophore as a nucleobase mimic was synthesized and incorporated into oligonucleotide chains. In comparison with existing fluorescent nucleoside analogues, this dye features exceptional environmental sensitivity switching between two well-resolved fluorescence bands. In labeled DNA, this nucleoside analogue does not alter the duplex conformation and exhibits a high fluorescence quantum yield. This probe is up to 50-fold brighter than 2-aminopurine, the fluorescent nucleoside standard. Moreover, the dual emission is highly sensitive to the polarity of the environment; thus, a strong shielding effect of the flanking bases from water was observed. With this nucleoside, the effect of a viral chaperone protein on DNA base stacking was site-selectively monitored.

A New Safety Concern for Glaucoma Treatment Demonstrated by Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Benzalkonium Chloride Distribution in the Eye, an Experimental Study in Rabbits

We investigated in a rabbit model, the eye distribution of topically instilled benzalkonium_(BAK) chloride a commonly used preservative in eye drops using mass spectrometry imaging. Three groups of three New Zealand rabbits each were used: a control one without instillation, one receiving 0.01%BAK twice a day for 5 months and one with 0.2%BAK one drop a day for 1 month. After sacrifice, eyes were embedded and frozen in tragacanth gum. Serial cryosections were alternately deposited on glass slides for histological (hematoxylin-eosin staining) and immunohistological controls (CD45, RLA-DR and vimentin for inflammatory cell infiltration as well as vimentin for Müller glial cell activation) and ITO or stainless steel plates for MSI experiments using Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight. The MSI results were confirmed by a round-robin study on several adjacent sections conducted in two different laboratories using different sample preparation methods, mass spectrometers and data analysis softwares. BAK was shown to penetrate healthy eyes even after a short duration and was not only detected on the ocular surface structures, but also in deeper tissues, especially in sensitive areas involved in glaucoma pathophysiology, such as the trabecular meshwork and the optic nerve areas, as confirmed by images with histological stainings. CD45-, RLA-DR- and vimentin-positive cells increased in treated eyes. Vimentin was found only in the inner layer of retina in normal eyes and increased in all retinal layers in treated eyes, confirming an activation response to a cell stress. This ocular toxicological study confirms the presence of BAK preservative in ocular surface structures as well as in deeper structures involved in glaucoma disease. The inflammatory cell infiltration and Müller glial cell activation confirmed the deleterious effect of BAK. Although these results were obtained in animals, they highlight the importance of the safety-first principle for the treatment of glaucoma patients.

Insights into the hyperthermostability and unusual region-specificity of archaeal Pyrococcus abyssi tRNA m1A57/58 methyltransferase

The S-adenosyl-l-methionine dependent methylation of adenine 58 in the T-loop of tRNAs is essential for cell growth in yeast or for adaptation to high temperatures in thermophilic organisms. In contrast to bacterial and eukaryotic tRNA m1A58 methyltransferases that are site-specific, the homologous archaeal enzyme from Pyrococcus abyssi catalyzes the formation of m1A also at the adjacent position 57, m1A57 being a precursor of 1-methylinosine. We report here the crystal structure of P. abyssi tRNA m1A57/58 methyltransferase (PabTrmI), in complex with S-adenosyl-l-methionine or S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine in three different space groups. The fold of the monomer and the tetrameric architecture are similar to those of the bacterial enzymes. However, the inter-monomer contacts exhibit unique features. In particular, four disulfide bonds contribute to the hyperthermostability of the archaeal enzyme since their mutation lowers the melting temperature by 16.5°C. His78 in conserved motif X, which is present only in TrmIs from the Thermococcocales order, lies near the active site and displays two alternative conformations. Mutagenesis indicates His78 is important for catalytic efficiency of PabTrmI. When A59 is absent in tRNAAsp, only A57 is modified. Identification of the methylated positions in tRNAAsp by mass spectrometry confirms that PabTrmI methylates the first adenine of an AA sequence.

Synthesis of a multibranched porphyrin–oligonucleotide scaffold for the construction of DNA-based nano-architectures

The interest in the functionalization of oligonucleotides with organic molecules has grown considerably over the last decade. In this work, we report on the synthesis and characterization of porphyrin-oligonucleotide hybrids containing one to four DNA strands (P1-P4). The hybrid P4, which inserts one porphyrin and four DNA fragments, was combined with gold nanoparticles and imaged by transmission electron microscopy.

Site-specific conjugation of metal carbonyl dendrimer to antibody and its use as detection reagent in immunoassay.

We describe here the conjugation of polyclonal goat anti-rabbit antibody to generation 4 polyamidoamine (G4-PAMAM) dendrimers carrying (i) (η(5)-cyclopentadienyl) iron dicarbonyl succinimidato complexes as infrared (IR) probes, (ii) nitroaniline entities as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes, (iii) acetamide groups for surface neutralization, and (iv) hydrazide-terminated spacer arms for the reaction with aldehyde. To preserve a high binding affinity, the conjugation was performed on the carbohydrate moieties located on the Fc fragment. The resulting conjugates were characterized by Fourier transform-IR, ultraviolet (UV), and high-mass matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. On the basis of relative concentration ratios of IR probes and antibody, an average labeling of 30 IR probes per antibody was reached (i.e., more than twice the value obtained with our previous strategy that generated no spacer arm). Immunoassays revealed that the antibody-dendrimer conjugates retained 55.1% of immunoreactivity on average with respect to underivatized antibody. Finally, the conjugates were used to quantify their antigen by solid-phase carbonyl metallo immunoassay (CMIA). Results showed a significant enhancement of the IR signal, demonstrating the efficiency of the new conjugation strategy and the potential of the new antibody-dendrimer conjugates as universal immunoanalytical reagents.

Coupling the Torpedo microplate-receptor binding assay with mass spectrometry to detect cyclic imine neurotoxins.

Cyclic imine neurotoxins constitute an emergent family of neurotoxins of dinoflagellate origin that are potent antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. We developed a target-directed functional method based on the mechanism of action of competitive agonists/antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors for the detection of marine cyclic imine neurotoxins. The key step for method development was the immobilization of Torpedo electrocyte membranes rich in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on the surface of microplate wells and the use of biotinylated-α-bungarotoxin as tracer. Cyclic imine neurotoxins competitively inhibit biotinylated-α-bungarotoxin binding to Torpedo-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a concentration-dependent manner. The microplate-receptor binding assay allowed rapid detection of nanomolar concentrations of cyclic imine neurotoxins directly in shellfish samples. Although highly sensitive and specific for the detection of neurotoxins targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as a class, the receptor binding assay cannot identify a given analyte. To address the low selectivity of the microplate-receptor binding assay, the cyclic imine neurotoxins tightly bound to the coated Torpedo nicotinic receptor were eluted with methanol, and the chemical nature of the eluted ligands was identified by mass spectrometry. The immobilization of Torpedo electrocyte membranes on the surface of microplate wells proved to be a high-throughput format for the survey of neurotoxins targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors directly in shellfish matrixes with high sensitivity and reproducibility.

The human tRNA m 5 C methyltransferase Misu is multisite-specific

The human tRNA m5C methyltransferase Misu is a novel downstream target of the proto-oncogene Myc that participates in controlling cell division and proliferation. Misu catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to carbon 5 of cytosines in tRNAs. It was previously shown to catalyze in vitro the intron-dependent formation of m5C at the first position of the anticodon (position 34) within the human pre-tRNALeu(CAA). In addition, it was recently reported that C48 and C49 are methylated in vivo by Misu. We report here the expression of hMisu in Escherichia coli and its purification to homogeneity. We show that this enzyme methylates position 48 in tRNALeu(CAA) with or without intron and positions 48, 49 and 50 in tRNAGly2(GCC) in vitro. Therefore, hMisu is the enzyme responsible for the methylation of at least four cytosines in human tRNAs. By comparison, the orthologous yeast enzyme Trm4 catalyzes the methylation of carbon 5 of cytosine at positions 34, 40, 48 or 49 depending on the tRNAs.

Structural study of acetogenins by tandem mass spectrometry under high and low collision energy

Collision-induced dissociation experiments of seven annonaceous acetogenins were carried out under high and low collision energy conditions. Each compound was studied as protonated or deprotonated and lithium- or sodium- cationized molecules, using ElectroSpray Ionisation (ESI) with a hybrid linear trap/orbitrap mass spectrometer (LTQ-Orbitrap®). The same ion species were studied with a Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation (MALDI) tandem mass spectrometer in a high collision energy regime (1 or 2 keV). Although each of the techniques showed some limitations in the detection of functional groups, unambiguous structural identification of the acetogenins was obtained. MALDI ToF-ToF has the advantage over ESI-based methods to provide mass spectra rich in informative fragments which allows the confirmation of some functional groups position. By contrast, ESI-LTQ-Orbitrap® analysis has the advantage over MALDI that the mass spectra are relatively simple with only fragments close to the functional groups. However, this technique needs to carry out experiments both in negative and positive ionization modes. Copyri

Chiral Calcium–BINOL Phosphate Catalyzed Diastereo- and Enantioselective Synthesis of syn-1,2-Disubstituted 1,2-Diamines: Scope and Mechanistic Studies

A highly enantioselective, chiral, Lewis acid calcium-bis(phosphate) complex, Ca[3 a]n, which catalyzes the electrophilic amination of enamides with azodicarboxylate derivatives 2 to provide versatile chiral 1,2-hydrazinoimines 4 is disclosed. The reaction gives an easy entry to optically active syn-1,2-disubstituted 1,2-diamines 6 in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities, after a one-pot reduction of the intermediate 1,2-hydrazinoimines 4. The geometry and nature of the N-substituent of the enamide affect dramatically both the reactivity and the enantioselectivity. Although the calcium-bis(phosphate) complex was a uniquely effective catalyst, the exact nature of the active catalytic species remains unclear. NMR spectroscopy and MS analysis of the various calcium complexes Ca[3]n reveals that the catalysts exist in various oligomer forms. The present mechanistic study, which includes nonlinear effects and kinetic measurements, constitutes a first step in understanding these calcium-bis(phosphate) complex catalysts. DFT calculations were carried out to explore the mechanism and the origin of the enantioselectivity with the Ca[3]n catalysts.

MALDI-TOF-MS detection of the low molecular weight neurotoxins anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a on lyophilized and fresh filaments of axenic Oscillatoria strains☆

Anatoxin-a (ANTX) and homoanatoxin-a (HANTX) are low molecular weight neurotoxic secondary amines of 165 and 179 Da, respectively. We applied matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for the detection of ANTX and HANTX directly on lyophilized and fresh filaments of axenic strains of the genus Oscillatoria, using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid as matrix and purified ANTX and HANTX as references. To counteract the span of low molecular mass ions (< m/z 1000) generated by the matrix, we induced the matrix-suppression effect to obtain high quality ANTX/HANTX MALDI signals. MALDI desorption/ionization of the matrix-ANTX and the matrix-HANTX generated protonated molecules [M+H](+) at m/z 166.12322 and 180.1372, respectively. The masses obtained from the analysis of lyophilized filaments of the ANTX-producer Oscillatoria sp. strain PCC 9240 (m/z 166.15) and of fresh filaments of the HANTX-producers Oscillatoria sp. strains PCC 6506 (m/z 180.1375), PCC 9029 (m/z 180.1334) and PCC 10111 (m/z 180.13996) corresponded to the protonated molecular ions of ANTX and HANTX, respectively. Therefore, the application of MALDI-TOF-MS for the detection of cyanobacterial anatoxins in clonal and axenic strains of the cyanobacterial culture collections worldwide may help to assess ANTX/HANTX incidence among cyanobacteria.