6-Phenyl-benzo[d]naphtho-[2,3-b]thio-phene

In the title compound, C22H14S, the r.m.s. deviation from the mean plane of the four-fused-ring naphtho-thio-phene unit is 0.056 Å. The dihedral angle between the naphtho-thio-phene plane and the pendant phenyl ring is 67.24 (6)°. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯π and π-π stacking [minimum centroid-centroid separation = 3.7466 (10) Å] inter-actions are observed, which together lead to (010) sheets.

1-(2-Amino-6-methyl-pyrimidin-4-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-piperidin-4-aminium chloride

In the title mol-ecular salt, C12H22N5(+)·Cl(-), the cation is protonated at the dimethyl-substituted tertiary N atom. The piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation with the exocyclic N-C bond in an equatorial orientation. The dihedral angle between the piperidine ring (all atoms) and the pyrimidine ring is 14.00 (1)°. In the crystal, the ions are connected by N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers, which are further connected by N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. Aromatic π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid separation = 3.4790 (9) Å] are also observed in the structure.

9-(4-Meth-oxy-phen-yl)anthracene

In the title compound, C21H16O, the dihedral angle between the anthracene ring system and the benzene ring is 74.3 (5)°. The anthracene ring system is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0257 Å) and the meth-oxy group lies in the plane of the benzene ring [C1-O1-C2-C7 torsion angle = 0.5 (2)°]. The crystal structure features π-π [centroid-centroid distance = 3.9487 (12) Å] and C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a sheet running along the a-axis direction.

3'-Ferrocenylcarbon-yl-1'-methyl-4'-phenyl-spiro-[indeno-[2,3-b]quinoxaline-11,2'-pyrrolidine]

In the title compound, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₃₁H₂₄N₃O)], the pyrrolidine ring makes a dihedral angle of 86.3 (3)° with the mean plane [r.m.s deviation = 0.074 (2) Å] of the indeno-quinoxaline ring system. The central pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation and the two cyclopentadienyl rings adopt an eclipsed conformation. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯N and C—H⋯π inter­actions, propagating along the c and a axes, respectively.

3-(Ferrocen-1-ylcarbon-yl)-1-methyl-4-(4-methyl-phen-yl)spiro-[pyrrolidine-2,11'-indeno-[1,2-b]quinoxaline]

In the title compound, [Fe(C(5)H(5))(C(32)H(26)N(3)O)], the pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation. The indeno-quinoxaline ring system [86.44 (5)°], the methyl-phenyl ring [86.06 (7)°] and the ferrocene rings [82.00 (7) and 83.95 (9)°] are almost perpendicular to the pyrrolidine ring. The two cyclopentadienyl rings adopt an eclipsed conformation. The crystal structure features C-H⋯N inter-actions.

1-Ethoxy-2-methoxy-4-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethenyl]benzene

In the title mol­ecule, C₁₇H₁₇NO₄, the dihedral angle between the two aromatic rings is 42.47 (7)°. The nitro group is twisted by 7.44 (11)° out of the plane of the ring to which it is attached. The methoxy and ethoxy group O atoms deviate significantly from the phenyl ring [by 0.0108 (11) and 0.0449 (11) Å, respectively]. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯π inter­actions.

{1'-Phenyl-1',2',5',6',7',7a'-hexa-hydro-spiro-[indeno-[1,2-b]quinoxaline-11,3'-pyrrolizin]-2'-yl}(p-tol-yl)methanone

In the title compound, C(35)H(29)N(3)O, the quinoxaline and indene systems are essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.047 (2) and 0.032 (2) Å for C atoms, respectively. The quinoxaline system forms a dihedral angle of 4.75 (3)° with the indene system. The pyrrolizine system is folded. The substituted five-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the other five-membered ring, one C atom is disordered with a site-occupancy ratio of 0.676 (12):0.324 (12). In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the bifurcated carbonyl O atom.

3'-(4-Chloro-benzo-yl)-4'-(4-chloro-phen-yl)-1'-methyl-spiro-[indoline-3,2'-pyrrolidin]-2-one

In the title compound, C₂₅H₂₀Cl₂N₂O₂, the pyrrolidine ring adopts an envelope conformation and the best plane through the five ring atoms makes a dihedral angle of 87.03 (8)° with the indoline ring. Mol­ecules are connected by pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into centrosymmetric dimers with an R₂²(8) graph-set ring motif. C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds stabilize the crystal structure.

3-(4-Bromo-phen-yl)quinazolin-4(3H)-one

In the title compound, C₁₄H₉BrN₂O, the quinazoline unit is essentially planar, with a mean deviation of 0.058 (2) Å from the least-squares plane defined by the ten constituent ring atoms. The dihedral angle between the mean plane of the quinazoline ring system and the 4-bromo­phenyl ring is 47.6 (1)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular C—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming infinite chains of alternating R₂²(6) dimers and R₂²(14) ring motifs.

(Biphenyl-4-yl)[2-(4-methylbenzoyl)phenyl]methanone

In the title compound, C₂₇H₂₀O₂, the central benzene ring makes dihedral angles of 64.86 (7) and 70.35 (7)° with the methyl-substituted ring and the biphenyl ring system, respectively. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions, which link the mol­ecules into chains parallel to the b axis.

Autologous Immune Enhancement Therapy for cancer using NK cells and CTLs without feeder layers; our six year experience in India

BACKGROUND

Autologous Natural Killer (NK) cells and Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs) based immune-cell therapy, otherwise called as Autologous Immune enhancement therapy (AIET), though has been in clinical practice in several developed nations since early 90s, in India it is in infancy due to lack of technological knowhow. Our institute has been providing the AIET cell expansion services since 2005 and we here in report our experience in 30 such patients of both solid tumours and hematological malignancies.

MATERIALS & METHODS

The number of AIET transfusions in each patient ranged from one to six. All the patients included had Stage III to IV malignancy. AIET was either given along with the chemotherapy or after the completion of a minimum of six cycles of chemotherapy in all the patients. 70 ml of Peripheral Blood was collected each time. The protocol followed was as per Terunuma et al (Breast Cancer 2010) which uses only the patients' autologous plasma for expansion of the Natural Killer Cells and Cytotoxic T lymphocytes from the peripheral blood. The cells were cultured for a period of 10 to 16 days and then transfused to the patients intravenously. The cells were subjected to Flow cytometry before and after the in vitro expansion. Feeder layers were not used in the procedure of in vitro expansion at any stage.

RESULTS

The percentage of NK cells and CTLs after expansion by flow cytometry ranged from 60 to 82 %. There were no adverse reactions in any of the patients following transfusion. The mean prolonged survival time was 15 months and 27% of the patients had Static non-progressive disease after the therapy. Two patients reported significant decrease in Cancer marker levels after AIET and among the terminally ill, two had more than two years survival. All the patients reported improvement in quality of life and resumption of appetite following AIET.

CONCLUSION

Optimal in vitro expansion of NK cells and CTLs of patients with stage III-IV cancer either concurrently or after chemotherapy could be accomplished using autologous serum without use of feeder layers. The In vitro expanded NK cells and CTLs when given intravenously decrease the tumor size and prolong the survival without any adverse effect in our experience.

3-(4-Chloro-phen-yl)quinazolin-4(3H)-one

In the title compound, C₁₄H₉ClN₂O, the quinazoline unit is essentially planar, with a mean deviation from the least-squares plane defined by the ten constituent ring atoms of 0.027 (2) Å. The dihedral angle between the mean plane of the quinazoline ring system and the 4-chloro­phenyl ring is 44.63 (5)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular C—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming infinite chains of alternating R₂²(6) dimers and R₂²(14) ring motifs.

Heterologous expression of Arabidopsis NPR1 (AtNPR1) enhances oxidative stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco plants

In Arabidopsis, NPR1 (non-expressor of pathogenesis related genes 1, AtNPR1) functions downstream of salicylic acid (SA) and modulates the SA mediated systemic acquired resistance. It is also involved in a cross talk with the jasmonate pathway that is essential for resistance against herbivores and necrotrophic pathogens. Overexpression of AtNPR1 in transgenic plants resulted in enhanced disease resistance. Recently, tobacco transgenic plants expressing AtNPR1 were shown to be tolerant to the early instars of Spodoptera litura (Meur et al., Physiol Plant 133:765-775, 2008). In this communication, we show that the heterologous expression of AtNPR1 in tobacco has also enhanced the oxidative stress tolerance. The transgenic plants exhibited enhanced tolerance to the treatment with methyl viologen. This tolerance was associated with the constitutive upregulation of PR1, PR2 (glucanase), PR5 (thaumatin like protein), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and Cu(2+)/Zn(2+) superoxide dismutase (SOD). This is the first demonstration of the novel function of heterologous expression of AtNPR1 in oxidative stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco.

Treatment of synthetic glucose media by an integrated process of anaerobic digestion and reverse osmosis

A bio-kinetic study was conducted on a laboratory scale to evaluate the performance of an indigenously fabricated fixed film anaerobic reactor operated in upward flow mode for the treatment of synthetic glucose medium. The feasibility of using a combination of anaerobic treatment and reverse osmosis (RO) for generation of recyclable water from the effluent formed the basis of the study. The reactor was operated under different organic loading rates (OLR) and hydraulic residence times (HRT) at a constant feed pH of 7.0. The chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total alkalinity, pH and total volatile acids (TVA) were monitored in the samples drawn from different sampling ports provided in the reactor. Pilot-scale experiments using a spiral-wound thin-film composite (TFC) polyamide commercial membrane were carried out to investigate the potential of RO for processing the composite effluent emanating from the anaerobic process. Separation performance was evaluated at varying feed pressure (11-41 bar) and found to improve with increasing pressure. High rejection of dissolved solids (approximately 98%), COD, BOD and almost complete removal of color were achieved with reasonable flux and water recovery.

A mitogen-activated protein kinase gene, AhMPK3 of peanut: molecular cloning, genomic organization, and heterologous expression conferring resistance against Spodoptera litura in tobacco

Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade plays a very important role in plant signal transduction mechanism. A full length cDNA of 1,514 bp length, corresponding to a mitogen-activated protein kinase gene was cloned from peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Based on its high homology with Arabidopsis AtMPK3, the cDNA was designated as AhMPK3. It carried an open reading frame of 1,113 bp encoding a 371 amino acid polypeptide. AhMPK3 bears TEY motif in its activation loop and belongs to the A1 subgroup of MAPK family. Southern blot analysis revealed that AhMPK3 exists in two copies in peanut genome and its structural organization revealed well-conserved nature of these signaling components across different species. AhMPK3 when transiently expressed in tobacco leaves was found to localize in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Transgenic tobacco plants ectopically expressing AhMPK3 exhibited enhanced resistance to first and second instar larvae of Spodoptera litura and constitutively higher transcript levels of defense response genes like PR1a, PR1b, LOX1, PI-II etc. Apart from this when wounded, transgenic plants accumulated high levels of PI-II and PR1b transcripts rapidly compared to wild type indicating the occurrence of a priming phenomenon.

Constitutive expression of a trypsin protease inhibitor confers multiple stress tolerance in transgenic tobacco

Protease inhibitors have been reported to confer insect resistance in transgenic plants, except for a rice protease inhibitor that conferred drought tolerance in transgenic rice plants. We have cloned a protease inhibitor of tobacco that is expressed under treatment with ABA, hydrogen peroxide, methyl jasmonate and wounding. The cDNA codes for a six-domain serine protease inhibitor with a deduced sequence of 396 amino acids. We have generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing the protease inhibitor constitutively under the 35S promoter. When analyzed in the T(2) generation, these transgenic plants exhibited tolerance to sodium chloride, variable pH and sorbitol, together with the expected resistance to the insect pests Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera. The transgenic plants showed enhanced seed germination, root length and root-shoot ratio, significantly enhanced total chlorophyll content and reduced thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances under stress. Under sodium chloride treatment, the transgenic plants have enhanced protease inhibitor activity. The transgenic plants exhibited a higher potassium content and an optimum Na+/K+ ratio. To our knowledge, this is the first report of transgenic plants with constitutive protease inhibitor expression showing tolerance to a wide range variable pH in the culture medium along with other stresses.

Constitutive expression of Arabidopsis NPR1 confers enhanced resistance to the early instars of Spodoptera litura in transgenic tobacco

In Arabidopsis, NPR1 (AtNPR1) regulates salicylic acid (SA)-mediated activation of PR genes at the onset of systemic acquired resistance. AtNPR1 also modulates SA-induced suppression of jasmonic acid-responsive gene expression, and npr1 mutants manifest enhanced herbivore resistance. We have raised stable transgenic tobacco lines, expressing AtNPR1 constitutively, which showed elevated expression of PR1 and PR2 genes upon SA treatment. Herbivore bioassays with a generalist polyphagous pest, Spodoptera litura, revealed that the transgenic lines exhibited enhanced resistance compared to the wild-type plants, particularly with respect to younger larval populations. Insect-mediated injury induced several protease inhibitors (PIs), more significantly a 40-kDa serine PI in all the tobacco lines, but the induction was higher in the transgenic plants. We show in this communication that heterologous expression of AtNPR1 provides enhanced resistance to early larval populations of the herbivore, Spodoptera in transgenic tobacco plants.

Raman and AFM studies of swift heavy ion irradiated InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures

The effect of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation on InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures is studied using Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The structures consist of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown InGaAs layers on GaAs(001), having layer thicknesses of 12, 36, 60 and 96 nm. After irradiation, the GaAs type longitudinal optical (LO) mode blue shifted to higher frequency in thin samples and red shifted towards lower frequency in thick samples. These results are discussed invoking the penetration depth of the probe radiation (λ = 514.5 nm) in InGaAs. Deconvoluting the Raman spectra of thin samples indicates a compressive strain developed in the substrate, close to the interface upon irradiation. This modification and diffusion of indium across the interface results in an increase of strain and reduction of the defect densities in the InGaAs layer. The variations in FWHM of the Raman modes are discussed in detail. The surface morphology of these heterostructures has been studied by AFM before and after SHI irradiation. These studies, combined with Raman results, help to identify different relaxation regimes.

Salivary gland tumors: a 10-year retrospective study of survival in relation to size, histopathological examination of the tumor, and nodal status

Salivary gland neoplasms represent the most complex and diverse group of tumors encountered by the head and neck oncologist. Their diagnosis and management is complicated by their relative infrequency. The significance of the study was to analyze the different types of salivary gland tumors, the modalities of treatment given, and their varied outcomes in relation with morbidity, prognosis, and survival rate. A total of 436 patients were treated for salivary gland neoplasm at Madras Medical College and Research Institute between 1991 and 2001, and the results were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were between 11 and 72 years of age (mean, 41.5 years), and 334 were male and 102 were female. They were from different socioeconomic groups. Fine-needle aspiration cytology was done for all patients that presented with salivary gland swelling. Univariate analysis was done, the confidence interval and odds ratio were calculated, and the significance was noted. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was estimated, and the results were analyzed. Pleomorphic adenoma was the most common benign tumor affecting the salivary glands. In our series, 155 patients had malignant parotid gland neoplasms, and 20 patients had cervical lymph node metastasis at the time of presentation. Facial nerve paralysis was noted in 21 cases. The recurrence after total parotidectomy for malignant salivary gland tumors was effectively managed with external beam irradiation in 19 patients. The survival, prognosis, and the mortality rate of the malignant parotid neoplasms and their relation to the sex of the patient, histopathological type of tumor, nodal status, and size of the tumor were analyzed.

Solid Phase Synthesis of 2-Aminoquinazoline-Based Compounds

A versatile method for the solid-phase synthesis of 2-aminoquinazoline-based derivatives, 3-substituted-3,4-dihydroquinazolin-2-amines and imidazoquinazolines, has been developed. They were obtained by treating the amino group of polymer-linked amino acids with 2-nitrobenzaldehyde followed by reduction of the nitro group to an amine. Cyclization of the resulting immobilized intermediates with cyanogen bromide followed by acidic/basic cleavage yielded the desired quinazoline-based compounds in high yields and purities.