Chromatographic hydrophobic parameters in correlation analysis of structure-activity relationships

Exploring the significance of microbiota metabolites in rheumatoid arthritis: uncovering their contribution from disease development to biomarker potential

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a multifaceted autoimmune disorder characterized by chronic inflammation and joint destruction. Recent research has elucidated the intricate interplay between gut microbiota and RA pathogenesis, underscoring the role of microbiota-derived metabolites as pivotal contributors to disease development and progression. The human gut microbiota, comprising a vast array of microorganisms and their metabolic byproducts, plays a crucial role in maintaining immune homeostasis. Dysbiosis of this microbial community has been linked to numerous autoimmune disorders, including RA. Microbiota-derived metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), tryptophan derivatives, Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), bile acids, peptidoglycan, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), exhibit immunomodulatory properties that can either exacerbate or ameliorate inflammation in RA. Mechanistically, these metabolites influence immune cell differentiation, cytokine production, and gut barrier integrity, collectively shaping the autoimmune milieu. This review highlights recent advances in understanding the intricate crosstalk between microbiota metabolites and RA pathogenesis and also discusses the potential of specific metabolites to trigger or suppress autoimmunity, shedding light on their molecular interactions with immune cells and signaling pathways. Additionally, this review explores the translational aspects of microbiota metabolites as diagnostic and prognostic tools in RA. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of translating these findings into clinical practice are critically examined.

Role of microbiota short-chain fatty acids in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases

There is emerging evidence that microbiota and its metabolites play an important role in helath and diseases. In this regard, gut microbiota has been found as a crucial component that influences immune responses as well as immune-related disorders such as autoimmune diseases. Gut bacterial dysbiosis has been shown to cause disease and altered microbiota metabolite synthesis, leading to immunological and metabolic dysregulation. Of note, microbiota in the gut produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate, and remodeling in these microbiota metabolites has been linked to the pathophysiology of a number of autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus. In this review, we will address the most recent findings from the most noteworthy studies investigating the impact of microbiota SCFAs on various autoimmune diseases.

Towards understanding the mechanism of action of antibacterial N-alkyl-3-hydroxypyridinium salts: Biological activities, molecular modeling and QSAR studies

In this study, we have carried out a combined experimental and computational investigation to elucidate several bred-in-the-bone ideas standing out in rational design of novel cationic surfactants as antibacterial agents. Five 3-hydroxypyridinium salts differing in the length of N-alkyl side chain have been synthesized, analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography, tested for in vitro activity against a panel of pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains, computationally modeled in water by a SCRF B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method, and evaluated by a systematic QSAR analysis. Given the results of this work, the hypothesis suggesting that higher positive charge of the quaternary nitrogen should increase antimicrobial efficacy can be rejected since 3-hydroxyl group does increase the positive charge on the nitrogen but, simultaneously, it significantly derogates the antimicrobial activity by lowering the lipophilicity and by escalating the desolvation energy of the compounds in comparison with non-hydroxylated analogues. Herein, the majority of the prepared 3-hydroxylated substances showed notably lower potency than the parent pyridinium structures, although compound 8 with C12 alkyl chain proved a distinctly better antimicrobial activity in submicromolar range. Focusing on this anomaly, we have made an effort to reveal the reason of the observed activity through a molecular dynamics simulation of the interaction between the bacterial membrane and compound 8 in GROMACS software.

In vitro advanced antimycobacterial screening of isoniazid-related hydrazones, hydrazides and cyanoboranes: Part 14

As a part of an ongoing search for new isoniazid-related isonicotinoylhydrazones (ISNEs), 2'-monosubstituted isonicotinohydrazides and cyanoboranes, some analogues belonging to these three series of compounds were further evaluated in an in vitro advanced antimycobacterial screening. The results here reported allowed us to extend their structure-activity relationships. A general correlation emerged between their lipophilicity and effectiveness against intracellular M. tuberculosis. On the whole, the most interesting result of this research was that some hydrazides and ISNEs proved to be more effective antimycobacterial agents than parental isoniazid in a TB-infected macrophage model.

Reverse-phase HPLC method for measuring polarity distributions of natural organic matter

A reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed to measure the polarity distribution of natural organic matter (NOM) samples. The polarity distribution is obtained by calibrating an octadecyl bonded silica phase column and polar eluent with compounds of known octanol-water partition coefficient (Kow) and using this calibration curve to transform NOM retention times into an equivalent Kow. Polarity distributions treat the NOM samples as a complex mixture rather than summarizing the polarity in a single number. The method is sensitive, with UV detection allowing quantitation of samples with <5 mg of C/L. Individual chromatograms are acquired in <20 min, allowing much faster analysis on smaller samples than XAD resin separation or 13C NMR. Polarity distributions of 10 representative NOM isolates and 2 whole water samples indicate that NOM is generally hydrophilic in nature (log Kow < 2), although XAD-8 isolates are more hydrophobic than RO isolates from the same source. Hydrophilicity, as indicated by recovery from the HPLC column, is correlated to the elemental oxygen/carbon ratio but does not correlate strongly with molecular weight or 13C NMR aromaticity.

Synthesis and anti-microbial activity of isothiosemicarbazones and cyclic analogues

It is known that some derivatives of both thiourea and thiosemicarbazide exhibit potent anti-microbial activity. In order to investigate the effects on the biological properties of structural modifications of such structures, we have synthesised and studied some arylidenisothiosemicarbazones. In this paper we report on the synthesis and structure-activity relationships of some isothiosemicarbazones, where the arylidene group has been replaced with a cycloalkyl group and the sulfur atom has been either differently substituted or enclosed in a thiazole ring.

3H-[1,2]Dithiolo[3,4-b]pyridine-3-thione and its derivatives synthesis and antimicrobial activity

A series of 2-substituted isothiazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-3(2H)-thiones, isothiazolo[5,4-b]pyridin-3(2H)-ones, N-substituted 2-sulfanylnicotinamides and the corresponding carbothioamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against several strains of Gram+ and Gram- bacteria and fungi. Chemical syntheses were resumed into a comprehensive cyclic route that enables the reversible conversion for each derivative of the series considered. Among the tested compounds the N-(aralkyl)-2-sulfanylnicotinamides show the highest fungitoxicity (MIC = 1.25-5 microg/ml). The best activity towards Gram-positive bacteria was in the range of 2.5-5 microg/ml. Activity against Gram-negative bacteria was generally very poor for all compounds.

New tetrahydro-2H-1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione derivatives as potential antimicrobial agents

The deacylated chloramphenicol amine D-(-)-threo-2-amino-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,3-diol (D-amine, 1a), and its enantiomer, the L-(+)-threo-form (L-amine, 1b), were introduced into a tetrahydro-2H-1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione (THTT) skeleton. They are incorporated in three ways (Chart 1, types I-III) at N3 (type I), N5 (type II) or both N3 and N5 (type III) of the THTT system. These selections were made in order to investigate the effect of combining the structural features of the THTT and the D-amine on the antimicrobial activity, if any.

Determination of lipophilicity of some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and their relationships by using principal component analysis based on thin-layer chromatographic retention data

The relative lipophilicity of ten non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents have been determined by reversed-phase thin layer chromatography using different reversed-phase high-performance thin-layer chromatography plates and water-methanol mixtures as eluents. The compounds studied showed regular retention behavior, their RM values decreasing linearly with increasing concentration of methanol in the eluent. Principal component analysis allowed a more rational and objective estimation and comparison of lipophilicity determined by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography. It also affords a useful graphical tool, since scatterplots of the scores onto the plane described by the first two components will have the effect of separating compounds from each other most effectively, thus obtaining "congeneric lipophilicity chart".

New carriers for representative peptides and peptide drugs

3,5-Disubstituted tetrahydro-2H-1,3,5-thiadiazine-2-thione (THTT) derivatives; 4a-g were prepared and found to be a promising prodrug approach for peptide drugs. The pH profile for their degradation in aqueous buffer solutions was determined using HPLC technique and accounted for, in terms of specific base-catalyzed reactions. All of the compounds however, showed high acid-stability. Enzymatic (human serum) hydrolysis of the different derivatives offered an advantageous range of t1/2's, the property that permits controlling onset and duration of actions of drugs.

A quantitative concept of the mechanism of intestinal lymphatic transfer of lipophilic molecules

The partition of mepitiostane, testosterone, and some structurally related compounds between lymph and blood in rat jejunum (lymph-blood partition ratio; LBPR) was determined, and the quantitative relationship between LBPR and lipophilicity was examined. When the delta Rm values (hydrophobic parameter derived from the mobility) relative to testosterone were < 0.2, their logLBPRs remained approximately constant in the range of -2 to -3. When the delta Rm values of the compounds were > 0.2, a linear correlation (r = 0.986, n = 8) was observed between these values and the logLBPRs. The LBPR, but not the extent of lymphatic absorption, of lipophilic molecules was determined strictly by the superlipophilicity, and for high partitioning into the lymph (> 50% of the absorbed amount), the delta Rm value had to be > 0.50 (5.65 as the logP value). The relationship between LBPR and superlipophilicity could be explained on the basis of the theoretical equations derived from absorption kinetics based on a dynamic partitioning model.

Deactivated hydrocarbonaceous silica and immobilized artificial membrane stationary phases in high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of hydrophobicities of organic bases: relationship to log P and CLOGP

Retention parameters for a series of 29 organic base drugs (including 17 phenothiazine derivatives) were measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) employing new columns of distinctive partition properties. One column was a deactivated alkyl-bonded silica and two others were packed with lecithin-bonded propylamino-silica, i.e. the immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) columns; one of the IAM stationary phases had the unreacted propylamine moieties additionally end-capped with methylglycolate. The highly deactivated hydrocarbonaceous silica column showed regular rectilinear relationships between logarithms of chromatographic capacity factors and the content of organic modifier in aqueous eluent; it is suitable for generating a chromatographic scale of hydrophobicity. Such a scale (hydrocarbonaceous) is different from that provided by measurement of partitioning of solutes between n-octanol and water (alkanol log P scale). The relative hydrophobicity parameters determined by HPLC on the IAM columns were different from both log P scale and from the hydrocarbonaceous chromatographic hydrophobicity scale. The hydrophobicity parameter, CLOGP, theoretically calculated by the fragmental methods, correlated better than log P with chromatographic hydrophobicity parameters. It has been postulated that each hydrophobicity measuring system reveals some specific aspects of the hydrophobicity phenomenon and that the nature of hydrophobic binding sites on receptors and plasma proteins may require different hydrophobicity models than drug permeation through biological membranes. By means of HPLC, diverse hydrophobicity measures can readily be determined, among which those most suitable for specific QSAR applications can be identified.

The concentration jump method. Kinetics of vital staining of mitochondria in HeLa cells with lipophilic cationic fluorescent dyes

Lipophilic cationic fluorescent dyes (D) specifically stain the mitochondria of living cells. A perfusion chamber for cell cultures is described, which can be used to determine the kinetics of vital staining of the mitochondria of single selected cells in situ. In these experiments styrylpyridinium dyes and cultures of HeLa cells were used. The dyes differ strongly in their lipophilic properties; Rm values and the partition coefficients Po/w between n-octanol (o) and water (w) were determined in order to characterize their lipophilicity. In the thermostat-regulated chamber the concentration of the dye CD can be increased from CD = 0 to CD > 0 within a few seconds (concentration jump). Thus, the time t = 0 for the beginning of the vital staining and the dye concentration in the cell medium during the staining experiment, CD = const., are unambiguously defined. The concentration of the dye, Cb, which is bound to the mitochondria (b), is proportional to the intensity of the fluorescence Ib. On the other hand, the free dye molecules (f) in the aqueous medium exhibit practically no fluorescence, I(f) << Ib. The intensity of the fluorescence I = Ib was measured as a function of time t; the measured values were corrected for photobleaching. The fluorescence intensity I(t) at first increases linearly with t and reaches a saturation value for t-->infinity. In the linear range of I(t) the flow J(o) = (dI/dt)o of the dye into the cell depends strongly on the dye concentration and increases linearly with CD. The concentration range CD = 10(-9)-10(-5) M at 37 degrees C was investigated. From the linear correlation between J(o) and CD it follows that the kinetics of the vital staining of mitochondria is controlled by diffusion. At t = 0 the flow of the xenobiotic agent through the cell membrane determines the rate of staining. The slope dJ(o)/dCD of the plot J(o) vs CD describes the efficiency of dye accumulation at the mitochondria and strongly increases with increasing lipophilicity of the dye molecules. Thus lipophilic dyes pass through the cell membrane more easily than less lipophilic molecules.

Comparative study of chromatography on thin layers impregnated with organic stationary phases. Chromatographic separation of nitrophenols

The chromatographic behaviour of nitrophenols on thin layers of silica gel and cellulose was compared, both without impregnation and impregnated with non-aqueous polar stationary phases (formamide, dimethylformamide) and less polar stationary phases (liquid paraffin, octan-1-ol, 1-bromonaphthalene). Cellulose is preferred when using formamide or dimethylformamide if a pure partition process is required. For each particular analyte a certain amount of the stationary phase is always required to suppress the adsorption activity of silica gel. Separation by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography is strongly affected by the type of stationary phase (the possibility of forming charge-transfer complexes with 1-bromonaphthalene) and its support (the acidic properties of silica gel and its adsorption activity), the mobile phase (content of organic modifier, pH, presence of salts) and the properties of the solutes (polarity, ionizability).

Influence of mobile phase composition on evaluation of lipophilicity by partition chromatography

The problems of the concentration dependence of retention indices and the applicability of extrapolated values in the evaluation of lipophilicity were studied. The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of arylalkanoic acids were carried out with experimental data for substituted estra-1,3,5 (10)-trienes, benzodiazepines, dermorphine derivatives and dansylamides selected from the literature for this purpose. Fair linear relationships between slopes of concentration dependences and extrapolated and non-extrapolated values of RM and log k' were found. Equivalence of these indices in the evaluation of lipophilicity can be inferred. Statistically significant dependences of log P (sigma pi) values on concentration slopes make it possible to use them as new parameters of lipophilicity. The goodness of fit of these relationships increases when the values of ET(30), as a measure of the solvatochromic solvent polarity of mobile phases, are used instead of the change in modifier concentration.