1. Rat histamine H2 receptors were epitope-tagged with six histidine residues at the C-terminus to allow immunological detection of the receptor. Recombinant baculoviruses containing the epitope-tagged H2 receptor were prepared and were used to infect insect Sf9 cells. 2. The His-tagged H2 receptors expressed in insect Sf9 cells showed typical H2 receptor characteristics as determined with [125...

The enhanced microdialysis relative recovery (RR) of some hydrophobic tricyclic drugs (imipramine, desipramine, amitriptyline, carbamazepine and promethazine) is discussed. Enhanced RR was achieved by including a binding agent [beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) or 2-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD)] in the microdialysis perfusion fluid to form inclusion complexes with the drugs, which inc...

Cholesterol has important functions in the organization of membrane structure and this may be mediated via the formation of cholesterol-rich, liquid-ordered membrane microdomains often referred to as lipid rafts. Methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (cyclodextrin) is commonly used in cell biology studies to extract cholesterol and therefore disrupt lipid rafts. However, in this study we reassessed this exp...

The preparation and formation mechanism of n-hexadecane/water emulsions using natural beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and chemically modified beta-CDs (triacylated beta-cyclodextrins) as an emulsifier were investigated. The stable water/oil (W/O) emulsion was formed using tripropanoyl-beta-CD (TP-beta-CD). From observation using the contact angle (theta(ow)) of precipitates derived from CD, it was ...

A new unsymmetric guest compound comprising ferrocene and azobenzene moieties was synthesized and can form a host-guest system with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) complexed. The complexation stoichiometries and sites of the ensembles can be selectively controlled by reversible redox and photoirradiation.

A 6A,6A'-dicyclohexylamine-6B,6B'-diselenide-bis-beta-cyclodextrin (6-CySeCD) was designed and synthesized to imitate the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPX). In this novel GPX model, beta-cyclodextrin provided a hydrophobic environment for substrate binding within its cavity, and a cyclohexylamine group was incorporated into cyclodextrin in proximity to the catalytic selenium in or...

Recently, using structure-inspired drug design, we demonstrated that aminoalkyl derivatives of beta-cyclodextrin inhibited anthrax lethal toxin action by blocking the transmembrane pore formed by the protective antigen (PA) subunit of the toxin. In the present study, we evaluate a series of new beta-cyclodextrin derivatives with the goal of identifying potent inhibitors of anthrax toxins. Newly...

A variety of signal transduction pathways including PI turnover, MAP kinase activation, and PI 3-kinase activation have been shown to be affected by changes in cellular cholesterol content. However, no information is available regarding the locus (or loci) in the pathways that are susceptible to modulation by cholesterol. We report here that depletion of cholesterol with methyl-beta-cyclodextri...

It has been reported that vimentin, a cytoskeleton filament that is expressed only in mesenchymal cells after birth, is re-expressed in epithelial cells in vivo under pathological conditions and in vitro in primary culture. Whether vimentin re-expression is only a marker of cellular dedifferentiation or is instrumental in the maintenance of cell structure and/or function is a matter of debate. ...

Host vesicles composed of amphiphilic beta-cyclodextrin CD1 recognize metal-coordination complexes of the adamantyl-functionalized ethylenediamine ligand L via hydrophobic inclusion in the beta-cyclodextrin cavities at the vesicle surface. In the case of Cu(II) and L, the resulting coordination complex was exclusively CuL(2), and the interaction with the host vesicles was intravesicular, unless...