Some Possible Relationships of Carbohydrates and other Biological Components with the Water Structure at 37°

Dehydration-rehydration vegetables: Evaluation and future challenges

In this review, the rehydration kinetics model, the quality factors affecting of vegetables during rehydration process, the future challenges and development direction of rehydration process were comprehensively analyzed. Based on the fitting equation for the change in moisture content during rehydration, a suitable rehydration model can be selected to describe the rehydration process of vegetables. Optimal pre-treatment, drying and rehydration methods were selected by considering quality, energy consumption and environmental aspects, and new technologies were developed to improve the quality characteristics of rehydrated vegetables. It is necessary to classify vegetables according to their shape and type to establish the criteria of rehydration processing through mathematical modeling. Industrial production from pre-treatment to product packaging will be precisely adjusted through process parameters. Furthermore, improvements the quality of rehydrated vegetables can be considered in terms of the structural and compositional aspects of the cell wall and cell membrane.

Interaction of an Aldose Sugar with Photoinduced Electron Transfer (PET) and Non-PET Based Acridinedione Dyes in Water: Hydrogen-bonding Evidences from Fluorescence Spectral Techniques Assisted by Molecular Docking Approach

Fluorescence spectral techniques aided by molecular docking (Mol.Doc) approach were employed in probing the molecular interactions existing between D-glucose and resorcinol based acridinedione (ADR) dyes. ADR dyes has been classified into PET and non-PET dyes based on the substitution in the 9^th position of acridinedione ring structure. Addition of glucose to PET dye (ADR1) resulted in a decrease in the absorbance whereas to that of ADR2 dye (non-PET character in aqueous medium) resulted in a significant increase in the absorbance. The formation of an isosbestic point reveals the existence of a ground state interaction existing between the dye and sugar molecule. Addition of glucose to PET dye resulted in a drastic increase in the fluorescent enhancement (FE) and subsequent addition resulted in a marked decrease in the fluorescent intensity with no apparent shift of emission maximum. Interestingly, neither characteristic shift nor variation in emission intensity was observed in the case of ADR2 dye. Fluorescence lifetime studies of ADR1 dye in the presence of glucose illustrate the existence of multiple distinguishable micro environments of dye. Mol.Doc studies authenticate the co-existence of hydrogen bonding (HB) and hydrophobic interaction wherein the dye and sugar molecule acts as HB donor and acceptor resulting in a stable conformer. These conformers are governed predominantly by HB interactions. The nature of interaction of a simple sugar with ADR dyes are explored in depth by fluorescent techniques in coordination with docking studies is imparted in the present study.

Trehalose-Based Polyethers for Cryopreservation and Three-Dimensional Cell Scaffolds

The capability to slow ice growth and recrystallization is compulsory in the cryopreservation of cells and tissues to avoid injuries associated with the physical and chemical responses of freezing and thawing. Cryoprotective agents (CPAs) have been used to restrain cryoinjury and improve cell survival, but some of these compounds pose greater risks for the clinical application of cryopreserved cells due to their inherent toxicity. Trehalose is known for its unique physicochemical properties and its interaction with the phospholipids of the plasma membrane, which can reduce cell osmotic stress and stabilized the cryopreserved cells. Nonetheless, there has been a shortage of relevant studies on the synthesis of trehalose-based CPAs. We hereby report the synthesis and evaluation of a trehalose-based polymer and hydrogel and its use as a cryoprotectant and three-dimensional (3D) cell scaffold for cell encapsulation and organoid production. In vitro cytotoxicity studies with the trehalose-based polymers (poly(Tre-ECH)) demonstrated biocompatibility up to 100 mg/mL. High post-thaw cell membrane integrity and post-thaw cell plating efficiencies were achieved after 24 h of incubation with skin fibroblast, HeLa (cervical), and PC3 (prostate) cancer cell lines under both controlled-rate and ultrarapid freezing protocols. Differential scanning calorimetry and a splat cooling assay for the determination of ice recrystallization inhibition activity corroborated the unique properties of these trehalose-based polyethers as cryoprotectants. Furthermore, the ability to form hydrogels as 3D cell scaffolds encourages the use of these novel polymers in the development of cell organoids and cryopreservation platforms.

Distinctive solvation patterns make renal osmolytes diverse

The kidney uses mixtures of five osmolytes to counter the stress induced by high urea and NaCl concentrations. The individual roles of most of the osmolytes are unclear, and three of the five have not yet been thermodynamically characterized. Here, we report partial molar volumes and activity coefficients of glycerophosphocholine (GPC), taurine, and myo-inositol. We derive their solvation behavior from the experimental data using Kirkwood-Buff theory. We also provide their solubility data, including solubility data for scyllo-inositol. It turns out that renal osmolytes fall into three distinct classes with respect to their solvation. Trimethyl-amines (GPC and glycine-betaine) are characterized by strong hard-sphere-like self-exclusion; urea, taurine, and myo-inositol have a tendency toward self-association; sorbitol and most other nonrenal osmolytes have a relatively constant, intermediate solvation that has components of both exclusion and association. The data presented here show that renal osmolytes are quite diverse with respect to their solvation patterns, and they can be further differentiated based on observations from experiments examining their effect on macromolecules. It is expected, based on the available surface groups, that each renal osmolyte has distinct effects on various classes of biomolecules. This likely allows the kidney to use specific combinations of osmolytes independently to fine-tune the chemical activities of several types of molecules.

Phosphatidylinositol as a Component of the Ice Nucleating Site of Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia herbiola

Phosphatidylinositol has been identified as a major component of the ice nucleating site on the outer surface of two bacteria, Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia herbicola. Plant lectins binding to inositol and a highly purified phosphatidylinositol-specific hydrolase (a C(II) lipase) inhibited or decreased the efficiency of the ice nucleating activity (INA) of both bacteria. Extracts of these two INA(+) bacteria had phosphatidylinositol synthase activity while extracts from related INA(-) Pseudomonas or Erwinia strains had no detectable synthase activity. An Escherichia coli strain acquired phosphatidylinositol synthase activity when transformed to the INA(+) phenotype with recombinant plasmids containing fragments of P. syringae DNA.

DNA damage in storage cells of anhydrobiotic tardigrades

In order to recover without any apparent damage, tardigrades have evolved effective adaptations to preserve the integrity of cells and tissues in the anhydrobiotic state. Despite those adaptations and the fact that the process of biological ageing comes to a stop during anhydrobiosis, the time animals can persist in this state is limited; after exceedingly long anhydrobiotic periods tardigrades fail to recover. Using the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) technique to study the effect of anhydrobiosis on the integrity of deoxyribonucleic acid, we showed that the DNA in storage cells of the tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum was well protected during transition from the active into the anhydrobiotic state. Specimens of M. tardigradum that had been desiccated for two days had only accumulated minor DNA damage (2.09 +/- 1.98% DNA in tail, compared to 0.44 +/- 0.74% DNA in tail for the negative control with active, hydrated animals). Yet the longer the anhydrobiotic phase lasted, the more damage was inflicted on the DNA. After six weeks in anhydrobiosis, 13.63 +/- 6.41% of DNA was found in the comet tail. After ten months, 23.66 +/- 7.56% of DNA was detected in the comet tail. The cause for this deterioration is unknown, but oxidative processes mediated by reactive oxygen species are a possible explanation.

Trehalose and trehalose-based polymers for environmentally benign, biocompatible and bioactive materials

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide that is found in many organisms but not in mammals. This sugar plays important roles in cryptobiosis of selaginella mosses, tardigrades (water bears), and other animals which revive with water from a state of suspended animation induced by desiccation. The interesting properties of trehalose are due to its unique symmetrical low-energy structure, wherein two glucose units are bonded face-to-face by 1→1-glucoside links. The Hayashibara Co. Ltd., is credited for developing an inexpensive, environmentally benign and industrial-scale process for the enzymatic conversion of α-1,4-linked polyhexoses to α,α-d-trehalose, which made it easy to explore novel food, industrial, and medicinal uses for trehalose and its derivatives. Trehalose-chemistry is a relatively new and emerging field, and polymers of trehalose derivatives appear environmentally benign, biocompatible, and biodegradable. The discriminating properties of trehalose are attributed to its structure, symmetry, solubility, kinetic and thermodynamic stability and versatility. While syntheses of trehalose-based polymer networks can be straightforward, syntheses and characterization of well defined linear polymers with tailored properties using trehalose-based monomers is challenging, and typically involves protection and deprotection of hydroxyl groups to attain desired structural, morphological, biological, and physical and chemical properties in the resulting products. In this review, we will overview known literature on trehalose’s fascinating involvement in cryptobiology; highlight its applications in many fields; and then discuss methods we used to prepare new trehalose-based monomers and polymers and explain their properties.

The hydration of glucose: the local configurations in sugar-water hydrogen bonds

The hydration of a simple sugar is an essential model for understanding interactions between hydrophilic groups and interfacial water molecules. Here I perform first-principles molecular dynamics simulations on a glucose-water system and investigate how individual hydroxyl groups are locally hydrated. I demonstrate that the hydroxyl groups are less hydrated and more incompatible with a locally tetrahedral network of hydrogen bonds than previously thought. The results suggest that the hydroxyl groups form roughly two hydrogen bonds. Further, I find that the local hydration of the hydroxyl groups is sensitively affected by seemingly small variations in the local electronic structure and bond polarity of the groups. My findings offer insight into an atomic-level understanding of sugar-water interactions.

Hydration of Cyclohexylamines: CPCM Calculation of Hydration Gibbs Energy of the Conformers

This work presents a theoretical study on the hydration of cyclohexylamine and isomers of cyclohexyldiamine. All possible conformers were fully optimized in solution using the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) and density functional theory. Values of the Gibbs energy of solvation, its respective contributions (electrostatic, nonelectrostatic and conformational change), and the relative Gibbs energy of the conformers in aqueous solution and gas phase are reported. From these values and the Boltzmann populations of the conformers in both phases, the weighted mean values of DeltaG(solv) for the compounds are calculated. Three structural features were found to be important for the hydration of these compounds: the distance between the two NH2 groups (proximity disfavors hydration), their position relative to the ring (equatorial is preferred over axial), and the orientation of the nitrogen lone-pairs (gauche is more favorable to hydration than trans). In the particular case of vicinal cyclohexyldiamines, in addition to these two factors, the relative orientation of one group to the other should also be taken into account.

Resurrecting Van Leeuwenhoek's rotifers: a reappraisal of the role of disaccharides in anhydrobiosis

In 1702, Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to describe the phenomenon of anhydrobiosis in a species of bdelloid rotifer, Philodina roseola. It is the purpose of this review to examine what has been learned since then about the extreme desiccation tolerance in rotifers and how this compares with our understanding of anhydrobiosis in other organisms. Remarkably, much of what is known today about the requirements for successful anhydrobiosis, and the degree of biostability conferred by the dry state, was already determined in principle by the time of Spallanzani in the late 18th century. Most modern research on anhydrobiosis has emphasized the importance of the non-reducing disaccharides trehalose and sucrose, one or other sugar being present at high concentrations during desiccation of anhydrobiotic nematodes, brine shrimp cysts, bakers' yeast, resurrection plants and plant seeds. These sugars are proposed to act as water replacement molecules, and as thermodynamic and kinetic stabilizers of biomolecules and membranes. In apparent contradiction of the prevailing models, recent experiments from our laboratory show that bdelloid rotifers undergo anhydrobiosis without producing trehalose or any analogous molecule. This has prompted us to critically re-examine the association of disaccharides with anhydrobiosis in the literature. Surprisingly, current hypotheses are based almost entirely on in vitro data: there is very limited information which is more than simply correlative in the literature on living systems. In many species, disaccharide accumulation occurs at approximately the same time as desiccation tolerance is acquired. However, several studies indicate that these sugars are not sufficient for anhydrobiosis; furthermore, there is no conclusive evidence, through mutagenesis or functional knockout experiments, for example, that sugars are necessary for anhydrobiosis. Indeed, some plant seeds and micro-organisms, like the rotifer, exhibit excellent desiccation tolerance in the absence of high intracellular sugar concentrations. Accordingly, it seems appropriate to call for a re-evaluation of our understanding of anhydrobiosis and to embark on new experimental programmes to determine the key molecular mechanisms involved.

High concentrations of viscogens decrease the protein folding rate constant by prematurely collapsing the coil

In several studies, viscogenic osmolytes have been suggested to decrease the folding rate constant of polypeptides by slowing their motion through the solvent. Here, we show that osmolytes may slow protein folding by prematurely collapsing the coil. At low or moderate concentrations of osmolytes (<30%), folding of the two-state protein CI2 becomes faster with increasing osmolyte concentrations, suggesting that the kinetics are governed by protein stability. However, at higher concentrations of osmolyte, the coil collapses in the dead-time of the refolding experiment, causing a dramatic drop in the folding rate. The collapsed state is non-native and appears to be different for different osmolytes.

Antifreeze and ice nucleator proteins in terrestrial arthropods

Terrestrial arthropods survive subzero temperatures by becoming either freeze tolerant (survive body fluid freezing) or freeze avoiding (prevent body fluid freezing). Protein ice nucleators (PINs), which limit supercooling and induce freezing, and antifreeze proteins (AFPs), which function to prevent freezing, can have roles in both freeze tolerance and avoidance. Many freeze-tolerant insects produce hemolymph PINs, which induce freezing at high subzero temperatures thereby inhibiting lethal intracellular freezing. Some freeze-tolerant species have AFPs that function as cryoprotectants to prevent freeze damage. Although the mechanism of this cryoprotection is not known, it may involve recrystallization inhibition and perhaps stabilization of the cell membrane. Freeze-avoiding species must prevent inoculative freezing initiated by external ice across the cuticle and extend supercooling abilities. Some insects remove PINs in the winter to promote supercooling, whereas others have selected against surfaces with ice-nucleating abilities on an evolutionary time scale. However, many freeze-avoiding species do have proteins with ice-nucleating activity, and these proteins must be masked in winter. In the beetle Dendroides canadensis, AFPs in the hemolymph and gut inhibit ice nucleators. Also, hemolymph AFPs and those associated with the layer of epidermal cells under the cuticle inhibit inoculative freezing. Two different insect AFPs have been characterized. One type from the beetles D. canadensis and Tenebrio molitor consists of 12- and 13-mer repeating units with disulfide bridges occurring at least every six residues. The spruce budworm AFP lacks regular repeat units. Both have much higher activities than any known AFPs.

Cryptobiosis--a peculiar state of biological organization

David Keilin (Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B, 150, 1959, 149-191) coined the term 'cryptobiosis' (hidden life) and defined it as 'the state of an organism when it shows no visible signs of life and when its metabolic activity becomes hardly measurable, or comes reversibly to a standstill.' I consider selected aspects of the 300 year history of research on this unusual state of biological organization. Cryptobiosis is peculiar in the sense that organisms capable of achieving it exhibit characteristics that differ dramatically from those of living ones, yet they are not dead either, so one may propose that cryptobiosis is a unique state of biological organization. I focus chiefly on animal anhydrobiosis, achieved by the reversible loss of almost all the organism's water. The adaptive biochemical and biophysical mechanisms allowing this to take place involve the participation of large concentrations of polyhydroxy compounds, chiefly the disaccharides trehalose or sucrose. Stress (heat shock) proteins might also be involved, although the details are poorly understood and seem to be organism-specific. Whether the removal of molecular oxygen (anoxybiosis) results in the reversible cessation of metabolism in adapted organisms is considered, with the result being 'yes and no', depending on how one defines metabolism. Basic research on cryptobiosis has resulted in unpredicted applications that are of substantial benefit to the human condition and a few of these are described briefly.

A proposal for the structuring of water

In spite of much work, many of the properties of water remain puzzling. A fluctuating network of water molecules, with localised icosahedral symmetry, is proposed to exist derived from clusters containing, if complete, 280 fully hydrogen-bonded molecules. These are formed by the regular arrangement of identical units of 14 water molecules that can tessellate locally, by changing centres, in three-dimensions and interconvert between lower and higher density forms. The structure allows explanation of many of the anomalous properties of water including its temperature-density and pressure-viscosity behaviour, the radial distribution pattern, the presence of both pentamers and hexamers, the change in properties and 'two-state' model on supercooling and the solvation properties of ions, hydrophobic molecules, carbohydrates and macromolecules. The model described here offers a structure on to which large molecules can be mapped in order to offer insights into their interactions.

Glycerol-induced baroprotection in erythrocyte membranes

A system for applying hydrostatic pressures up to 10,000 atm upon cell suspensions for time intervals from a few seconds to several minutes is described. The K+ content of toad red blood cells was used as an indication of the degree of membrane injury induced by the hyperbaric condition. It is practically not affected for pressures up to 2000 atm in experiments lasting 3 or 10 min. falling markedly for pressures of 5000 or 8000 atm. The duration of the applied pressure and its intensity are additive regarding the magnitude of the baroinjury. Glycerol, a cryoprotective agent. at 4.0 M, confers partial but significant baroprotection, which is characterized by a smaller decline of the cell K+ content of the glycerol-treated cells in comparison to the untreated cells, submitted to the same conditions of pressure and time. Baroinjury is compatible with a reversible mechanism. However, irreversible membrane damage occurs for a pressure of 8000 atm applied for 10 min. Baroinjury is discussed in terms of alterations of the lipid leaflet or of membrane proteins, and the mechanism of baroprotection in terms of stabilization of membrane components, under the effect of high pressure, by the association of glycerol with the proteins or the phosphate head groups of phospholipids.

Effects of carbohydrates on membrane stability at low water activities

The relative effectiveness of a variety of carbohydrates in preserving the structural and functional integrity of membranes at low water activities was studied, using Ca-transporting microsomes from muscle as a model membrane. The order of effectiveness (greatest to lowest) was: trehalose, lactose, maltose, cellobiose, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, raffinose, myo-inositol, glycerol. At the highest concentrations of the most effective sugars tested, microsomes were obtained upon rehydration that were similar structurally and functionally to fresh membranes. The least effective carbohydrates, alcohol sugars, all appear to be fusogenic. A structural explanation for relative effectiveness of the sugars was sought, but no clear relationship was found, except that effectiveness does not appear to be related to the number of position of hydroxyl groups available for hydrogen bonding.

Cellular responses to extreme water loss: the water-replacement hypothesis

The previously advanced hypothesis that desiccation resistance involves the replacement of water adjacent to intracellular surfaces with polyhydroxy compounds has been supported by experiments on cysts of the brine shrimp, Artemia, and in a model system of albumin--glycerol--water, using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, microwave dielectrics, and density measurements. We have also considered other problems that cells face when large fractions of their total water content are removed. Observations by other investigators have indicated that a variety of mammalian cells can lose roughly 50% of their water and survive; for a given cell type death occurs if its volume is reduced below a certain minimum level. Membrane damage has previously been suggested to be a major cause of dehydration damage. We have proposed some additional plausible mechanisms that might also be involved.

Water relations of altered body functions

Body fluids are relatively dilute aqueous solutions, so despite their complex and variable chemical constitution, the properties of water contribute materially to their physical behavior. Since there is probably no water-potential gradient anywhere in the body, those fluids are in dynamic osmotic equilibrium with each other and, because water resembles a highly mobile random network of severely distorted hydrogen bonds, a dynamic water continuum pervades the body-fluid compartments. This random network is subject to interference in a variety of ways, but its likely response is remarkably consistent with corresponding changes in major body functions. The state of body water may therefore be a more sensitive index of abnormality than hitherto supposed.

BOUND WATER, INOSITOL, AND THE INDUCTION OF LAMBDA PROPHAGES BY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Lysogenic cells of Escherichia coli K12 (λ+) and Escherichia coli M3 (λ59) were held in atmospheres having relative humidities (R.H.) from 30% to 80% and irradiated with 2537 Å ultraviolet light (uv.). The colony-forming ability of both types of cell was destroyed more rapidly at 55% R.H. than at any other level of R.H. With E. coli K12 (λ+) the percentage of cells in which prophage induction occurred increased as the dose of ultraviolet light increased and the maximum number of inductions occurred at 55% R.H. Inositol prevented (λ+) prophage induction but was less effective in doing so at 55% R.H. Desiccation alone induced the (λ59) prophage and subsequent uv. irradiation resulted in the destruction of the prophage. The maximum rate of destruction was found at 55% R.H. Inositol prevented the uv. inactivation of the (λ59) prophage, resulting in an increase in inductions with uv. dose at 30% R.H. The free phages were found to have the same sensitivity to ultraviolet light as the induced prophages but were less protected by inositol.It is proposed that water molecules hold the prophage to or in the host DNA and that ultraviolet light induces the prophage and destroys its integrity by reorientating these water molecules.

THE INDUCTION OF LAMBDA PROPHAGES BY CONTROLLED DESICCATION

Cells of Escherichia coli K12 (λ +) and Escherichia coli M3 (λ59) were desiccated at various levels of relative humidity (R.H.). When the cells were cultured in an enriched medium and held at 55% R.H., induction of the prophage in 36% of E. coli K12 cells and 75% of E. coli M3 cells occurred. At 30% R.H. or 70% R.H., fewer inductions took place. The maximum number of cells in which prophage induction occurred was found 15 minutes after desiccation began with E. coli K12 and immediately after the cells were dried with E. coli M3. After the attainment of maximum levels of induction, plaque-forming ability was gradually destroyed, but the rate of destruction was dependent on the R.H. at which the cells were held. The plaque-forming ability of the free viruses and of cells in which prophage induction had occurred were destroyed by prolonged desiccation at different rates. Also, the loss of colony-forming ability of the cells was more rapid than the inactivation of plaque-forming ability of either induced prophages or the free viruses. The compound, i-inositol, prevented prophage induction by desiccation and also stopped the destruction of induced prophages within the cell.It is concluded that water molecules bound to the DNA hold the prophage to the host DNA and their removal results in induction.

THE INFLUENCE OF GROWTH MEDIA ON PROTEINS BOUND TO DNA AND THEIR POSSIBLE ROLE IN THE RESPONSE OF ESCHERICHIA COLI B TO ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from cells of Escherichia coli B, after rigorous extraction, was found to contain residual amounts of protein, the quantity of which was determined by the medium in which the cells were grown. The DNA of cells grown in a minimal salts medium contained from 10 to 15 times more protein than the DNA of cells grown in an enriched medium. The addition of amino acids, vitamins, or nucleic acid bases to the growth medium resulted in a decrease in the amount of residual protein and an increase in the sensitivity of the cells to ultraviolet light. Of the enrichments tested, the amino acids produced the greatest decrease in the quantity of residual proteins and the largest increase in sensitivity to ultraviolet. The type of mutant cell produced by ultraviolet irradiation was found to be strongly influenced by the ingredients of the growth medium. Few mutants were found after the irradiation of cells grown in the minimal salts medium but when the growth medium was enriched with amino acids, many mutants requiring amino acids appeared. Similarly the addition of vitamins or bases resulted in the production of vitamin-and base-requiring mutants. It is suggested that these residual proteins become attached to specific sites on the DNA during the operation of certain genes and this results in an increase in the ability of the DNA to withstand the damaging action of desiccation and ultraviolet light.