Phytanic acid impairs mitochondrial respiration through protonophoric action

Refsum disease is a rare, inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by accumulation of the dietary branched-chain fatty acid phytanic acid in plasma and tissues caused by a defect in the alphaoxidation pathway. The accumulation of phytanic acid is believed to be the main pathophysiological cause of the disease. However, the exact mechanism(s) by which phytanic acid exerts its toxicity have not been resolved. In this study, the effect of phytanic acid on mitochondrial respiration was investigated. The results show that in digitonin-permeabilized fibroblasts, phytanic acid decreases ATP synthesis, whereas substrate oxidation per se is not affected. Importantly, studies in intact fibroblasts revealed that phytanic acid decreases both the mitochondrial membrane potential and NAD(P)H autofluorescence. Taken together, the results described here show that unesterified phytanic acid exerts its toxic effect mainly through its protonophoric action, at least in human skin fibroblasts. Received 4 August 2007; received after revision 26 September 2007; accepted 10 October 2007 J. C. Komen, F. Distelmaier: These authors contributed equally to this work.     

甲醇催化脱氢制甲酸甲酯反应中Cu－ZnO－ZrO_2／SiO_2催化剂的特性

Ｃｕ－ＺｎＯ－ＺｒＯ２／ＳｉＯ２催化剂对甲醇催化脱氢制甲酸甲酯的反应具有良好的活性和选择性．应用连续微反、差示热分析、Ｘ射线衍射、程序升温还原、Ｘ射线光电子能谱分析和红外光谱等技术，对该催化剂的活性中心本质、ＺｎＯ及ＺｒＯ２的助催化作用、可能的反应机理以及催化剂的失活原因进行了探讨．     

C对Fe—20%Cr合金抗氧化性的影响

本文对不同含碳量的 Fe-20%Cr 合金进行了900℃静止大气气氛下的抗氧化实验,并测定了在此温度下的氧化动力学曲线.通过结合氧化膜表面微观形貌对氧化动力学曲线的分析,以及氧化膜下表层的微观分析等,指出随含碳量增加,氧化过程由良性的外部氧化转向恶性的内部氧化的过程及原因,并分析了合金中存在的两种主要类型的碳化物对氧化过程的影响.为高温磨损工况下材料的选择提供了一定的理论依椐.     

Active site of praseodymium orthovanadate catalyst in oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

The pure phase of praseodymium orthovanadate (PrVO₄) has been prepared by the citrate method. The active site of Pr-VO₄ was studied by ESR, NO-TPD, O₂-TPD and¹⁸O₂-isotope exchange methods. The results of ESR and NO-TPD confirmed the presence of V⁴⁺ in the catalyst.¹⁸O₂-isotope exchange was through a single exchange procedure. From the result of O₂ + TPD and the kinetic study of¹⁸O₂-isotope exchange, one can reach a conclusion that the V⁴⁺ species associated with oxygen vacancies are the site for O₂ activation. The adsorbed O₂ or O⁻ are the active oxygen species in propane oxidative dehydrogenation.     

2,2''''-二苯基二硫的间接电解氧化合成

以KJ—NaI为间接电解质，丙酮为溶剂，用间接电解氧化的方法对硫酚进行偶联，高产率地得到了偶联产物2，2’-二苯基二硫(Ph2S2)．     

糖尿病血管内皮细胞功能异常及其机理

糖尿病血管病变（Diabetic vasculopathy）是糖尿病患者致残死亡的首要原因，多种因素参与了这一病理过程，其中血管内皮细胞功能异常起重要作用。随着糖尿病患者血糖升高，患者血管内皮功能受损逐渐加重，与脂代谢紊乱、胰岛素抵抗、氧化应激等多种因素相互影响。认识血管功能的异常，探索其发病机理，对有效预防糖尿病大血管病变，提高患者生存率及生存质量是十分重要的。     

运动、氧化应激与红细胞膜流动性

红细胞膜对于红细胞正常结构和功能的维持尤为重要，其与运动性疲劳的关系日益受到重视，笔者就运动与氧化应激、氧化损伤与红细胞膜流动性以及与红细胞功能的关系作一简要综述。     

仿生氧化偶联合成苯并二氢呋喃新木脂素 Balanophonin

以廉价易得的香草醛和丙二酸为原料，经knoevenagel缩合反应、酯化、仿生氧化偶联、还原和氧化等5步反应(总产率22％)制得苯并二氢呋喃新木脂素Balanophonin 1，其中两分子阿魏酸甲酯5经Ag2O仿生氧化偶联成为它的二聚体6是本合成路线的关键步骤。     

Effect of hydrogen peroxide on the binding of Merocyanine 540 to human erythrocytes

The fluorescent dye Merocyanine 540 (MC540) is often used as a probe to monitor the molecular packing of phospholipids in the outer leaflet of biomembranes. In a previous study we showed that the increased staining of erythrocytes with a perturbed membrane structure was mainly due to an increase in the fluorescence yield of cell-bound MC540, rather than to an increase of the number of bound molecules. Erythrocytes and ghosts exposed to continuous fluxes of H₂O₂ exhibited pronounced lipid peroxidation. Further, red blood cells subjected to this form of oxidative stress also showed increased staining with MC540. It appeared that this was caused by a strong increase in binding of MC540, together with a slight red shift of the fluorescence emission maximum and a small increase in the fluorescence yield of bound MC540. The changed MC540 binding characteristics were not observed when lipid peroxidation was suppressed by the presence of the antioxidant BHT in the incubation medium. However, open ghosts exposed to H₂O₂ showed no increase of MC540 binding, excluding a direct involvement of lipid peroxidation. Measurement of fluorescence emission spectra and gel filtration studies showed that MC540 can bind to H₂O₂-exposed hemoglobin. Experiments with erythrocytes lysed in hypotonic medium after exposure to H₂O₂ revealed that peroxidation of lipids with H₂O₂ induced a non-specific permeabilization of the plasma membrane to MC540, thereby allowing MC540 to bind to the oxidatively denatured, more hydrophobic hemoglobin. These results indicate that conclusions about packing of phospholipids in the outer leaflet of the membrane based on increased MC540-staining should be drawn with care. Received 27 September 1996; received after revision 5 November 1996; accepted 27 November 1996     

4，4，7，7－四硝基－D_3－三高立方烷的合成

从Ｄ３－三高立方烷－４，７－二酮出发，得到４，７－二硝基－Ｄ３－三高立方烷，通过控制反应时间，可将所得产物进一步分别氧化硝化为４，４，７－三硝基－Ｄ３－三高立方烷和目标化合物４，４，７，７－四硝基－Ｄ３－三高立方烷．