Browsing by Author "Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes"
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- Antioxidant, DNA cleavage, and cellular effects of silibinin and a new oxovanadium(IV)/silibinin complexPublication . Naso, Luciana G.; Ferrer, Evelina G.; Butenko, Nataliya; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes; Lezama, Luis; Rojo, Teófilo; Etcheverry, Susana B.; Williams, Patricia A. M.A new complex of the oxovanadium(IV) cation with the flavolignan silibinin has been synthesized and characterized. Vanadium compounds show interesting biological and pharmacological properties and some of them display antitumoral actions. Flavonoids are part of a larger group of antioxidant compounds called polyphenols which may inhibit the proliferation and growth of cancer cells. The antioxidant and antitumoral effects of silibinin and its oxovanadium(IV) complex were investigated. Silibinin acted as a very strong antioxidant and its complexation with oxovanadium(IV) improved this behavior. Besides, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by this compound was favored in tumoral (UMR106) cells and correlated with the deleterious behavior in the proliferation of this cell line. Conversely, silibinin did not exert any effect on the proliferation of normal osteoblasts (MC3T3E1). The cytotoxic action andROSgeneration of the oxovanadium(IV) complex was more effective in tumoral cells. This behavior was not consistent with cleavingDNA of plasmid DNA pA1 because no significant cleaving activity was observed in both cases. These results suggest that the main deleterious mechanisms may take place through cytotoxic effects more than genotoxic actions. A comparison with our own findings on the behavior of other flavonoids and their vanadyl(IV) complex has also been performed.
- Binding of oxovanadium(IV) complexes to blood serum albuminsPublication . Cobbina, Enoch; Mehtab, Sameena; Correia, Isabel; Gonçalves, Gisela; Tomaz, Isabel; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes; Jakusch, Tamás; Eneyedi, Eva; Kiss, Tamás; Pessoa, João CostaIn this work the binding of VIVO2+ and VIVO-complexes to serum albumins {human serum albumin (HSA), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and porcine serum albumin (PSA)} are studied using circular dichroism (CD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and visible absorption spectroscopy. The results confirm previous findings that VIVO2+ occupies at least two types of binding sites on albumin: ‘the strong vanadium binding site’ (designated by VBS1) and ‘the weak vanadium binding sites’ (designated by VBS2). VBS1 binds 1 mol equivalent of VIVO2+. On the other hand VBS2 correspond to binding of several mol equivalents of VIVO, and studies done with PSA in the presence of excess ZnII ions indicate that VSB2 corresponds to two distinct types of sites. The hyperfine coupling constant Az for VIVO2+ binding at VBS2 on HSA and BSA are all very similar (~168 × 10-4 cm-1) but differ slightly on PSA (~166 × 10-4 cm-1) due to differences in the binding sets. When (VIVO)-HSA systems are titrated with maltol ternary species of (maltol)m(VIVO)mHSA and (maltol)2m(VIVO)mHSA stoichiometry form which are clearly distinguishable from the binary (VIVO)-HSA system by the type and intensity of the CD spectra recorded. Changes are also observable in the intensity of the X-band EPR spectra, but not much in the hyperfine coupling constants Az, which are all in the range 166-167 × 10-4 cm-1. The results further demonstrate that the presence of maltol may enhance the binding of VIVO to albumin.
- Cyto- and genotoxicity of a vanadyl(IV) complex with oxodiacetate in human colon adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells: potential use in cancer therapyPublication . Di Virgilio, Ana L.; Rivadeneira, Josefina; Muglia, Cecilia I.; Reigosa, Miguel A.; Butenko, Nataliya; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes; Etcheverry, Susana B.The complex of vanadyl(IV) cation with oxodiacetate, VO(oda) caused an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2 in the range of 25–100 lM (P\0.001). This inhibition was partially reversed by scavengers of free radicals. The difference in cell proliferation in the presence and the absence of scavengers was statistically significant in the range of 50–100 lM (P\0.05). VO(oda) altered lysosomal and mitochondria metabolisms (neutral red and MTT bioassays) in a dose–response manner from 10 lM(P\0.001). Morphological studies showed important transformations that correlated with the disassembly of actin filaments and a decrease in the number of cells in a dose response manner. Moreover, VO(oda) caused statistically significant genotoxic effects on Caco-2 cells in the low range of concentration (5–25 lM) (Comet assay). Increment in the oxidative stress and a decrease in the GSH level are the main cytotoxic mechanisms of VO(oda). These effects were partially reversed by scavengers of free radicals in the range of 50–100 lM (P\0.05). Besides, VO(oda) interacted with plasmidic DNA causing single and double strand cleavage, probably through the action of free radical species. Altogether, these results suggest that VO(oda) is a good candidate to be evaluated for alternative therapeutics in cancer treatment.
- Detection and Identification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration by GC-MS combined with chemometricsPublication . Yang, Yang; Ferro, Miguel Duarte; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes; Liang, YizengIn this study, an analytical method for the detection and identification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration with four types of oils (corn, peanut, rapeseed, and sunflower oils) was proposed. The variables under evaluation included 22 fatty acids and 6 other significant parameters (the ratio of linoleic/linolenic acid, oleic/linoleic acid, total saturated fatty acids (SFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), MUFAs/PUFAs). Univariate analyses followed by multivariate analyses were applied to the adulteration investigation. As a result, the univariate analyses demonstrated that higher contents of eicosanoic acid, docosanoic acid, tetracosanoic acid, and SFAs were the peculiarities of peanut adulteration and higher levels of linolenic acid, 11-eicosenoic acid, erucic acid, and nervonic acid the characteristics of rapeseed adulteration. Then, PLSLDA made the detection of adulteration effective with a 1% detection limit and 90% prediction ability; a Monte Carlo tree identified the type of adulteration with 85% prediction ability.
- DNA cleavage activity of VIVO(acac)2 and derivativesPublication . Butenko, Nataliya; Tomaz, Ana Isabel; Nouri, Ofelia; Escribano, Esther; Moreno, Virtudes; Gama, Sofia; Ribeiro, Vera; Telo, João Paulo; Pessoa, João Costa; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma AntunesThe DNA cleavage activity of several b-diketonate vanadyl complexes is examined. Vanadyl acetylacetonate,VIVO(acac)2, 1, shows a remarkable activity in degrading plasmid DNA in the absence of any activating agents, air and photoirradiation. The cleaving activity of several related complexes VIVO(hd)2(2, Hhd = 3,5-heptanedione), VIVO(acac-NH2)2 (3, Hacac-NH2 = acetoacetamide) and VIVO(acac-NMe2)2(4, Hacac-NMe2 = N,N-dimethylacetoacetamide) is also evaluated. It is shown that 2 exhibits an activity similar to 1, while 3 and 4 are much less efficient cleaving agents. The different activity of the complexes is related to their stability towards hydrolysis in aqueous solution, which follows the order 1 2 3 4.The nature of the pH buffer was also found to be determinant in the nuclease activity of 1 and 2. In a phosphate buffered medium DNA cleavage by these agents is much more efficient than in tris, hepes,mes or mops buffers. The reaction seems to take place through a mixed mechanism, involving the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), namely OH radicals, and possibly also direct cleavage at phosphodiester linkages induced by the vanadium complexes.
- Electrochemical DNA sensor for detection of single nucleotide polymorphismsPublication . Marques, L. P. J.; Cavaco, Isabel Maria Palma Antunes; Pinheiro, J. P.; Ribeiro, Vera; Ferreira, GuilhermeIn recent years there has been an increased interest in using biosensors for the recognition and monitoring of molecule interactions. DNA sensors and gene chips are particularly relevant for directly applying the information gathered from the genome projects. In this work electrochemical techniques are used to develop methodologies to detect DNA polymorphisms in human genes using cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) as a model gene. CYP3A4*1B oligonucleotides were immobilized on the surface of a gold electrode and hybridized with fully complementary oligonucleotide sequences as well as with mismatched sequences corresponding to the CYP3A4*1A reference sequence. The methodology developed is based on double-stranded DNA’s ability to transport charge along nucleotide stacking. The perturbation of the double helix pi-stack introduced by a mismatched nucleotide reduces electron flow and can be detected by measuring the attenuation of the charge transfer. The methodology developed could identify CYP3A4*1A homozygotes by the 5 μC charge attenuation observed when compared with DNA samples containing at least one CYP3A4*1B allele.