Metallomics Blog

HOT Article: Studying Wilson’s disease

14 May 2012

A systems approach implicates nuclear receptor targeting in the Atp7b−/− mouse model of Wilson's disease

Burkhead et al., Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article

Jason L. Burkhead from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a team from around the US have been studying Wilson’s disease, an inherited recessive disorder that is the result of a mutation in the ATP7B gene and causes defective copper metabolism in the human body. This leads to copper accumulation in tissues, leading to a number of neurological or psychiatric symptoms, and liver disease.

Click here or on the title below to read more about their research. This paper will be free to access for 2 weeks, so don’t delay!

A systems approach implicates nuclear receptor targeting in the Atp7b^−/− mouse model of Wilson’s disease
Phillip A. Wilmarth, Kristopher K. Short, Oliver Fiehn, Svetlana Lutsenko, Larry L. David and Jason L. Burkhead
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20017A

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HOT Article: Multiple forms of selenoprotein P discovered

09 May 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

The selenium-containing protein, selenoprotein P (SePP) is in charge of the transport and distribution of the essential trace element selenium (Se) in the human body. Guillaume Ballihaut and colleagues from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA, have studied SePP that is present in human plasma and found that it exists as a mixture of at least 3 isoforms.

Click on the title below to read more. It will be free to access for 2 weeks.

Multiple forms of selenoprotein P in a candidate human plasma standard reference material
Guillaume Ballihaut, Lisa E. Kilpatrick, Eric L. Kilpatrick and W. Clay Davis
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20059G

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Issue 5 of Metallomics now online

04 May 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

The latest issue of Metallomics in now available online for you to browse. Featuring nucleic acid chemistry, pharmaceuticals, metabolomics, metals in plants and much more!

On the front cover is research from Korea by Hyosun Lee and Seog K. Kim from Kyungpook National University and Yeungnam University, respectively, who along with their colleagues have studied the binding modes and photo-induced DNA cleavage mechanisms of porphyrins.

Photo-induced DNA scission by Cu(II)-meso-tetrakis(n-N-methylpyridiniumyl)porphyrins (n = 2, 3, 4) and their binding modes to supercoiled DNA
Nataraj Chitrapriya, Jongjin Park, Wei Wang, Hyosun Lee and Seog K. Kim
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20015E

We travel to Brazil for our inside front cover this month, with an image from Frédéric Frézard from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Together with co-workers he has been looking at antimonial drugs, drugs which contain antimony, in the treatment of leishmaniasis. This is a type of parasitic disease caused by kinetoplastid protozoa which belong to the genus Leishmania.

Greater binding affinity of trivalent antimony to a CCCH zinc finger domain compared to a CCHC domain of kinetoplastid proteins
Frédéric Frézard, Heveline Silva, Adriano Monteiro de Castro Pimenta, Nicholas Farrell and Cynthia Demicheli
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT00176D

50 Years of Metals in Biology: the Gordon Research Conference

Metals in Biology Gordon Research Conference

These cover articles will be free to access for 6 weeks, so why not click through and take a look.

This month we also have a lovely Editorial by Richard H. Holm and Michael J. Maroney from the 2012 Metals in Biology Gordon Research Conference which was held January 22–27, in Ventura, CA, USA. As well as the scientific program, the conference celebrated the 50th anniversary of the very first meeting.

50 Years of Metals in Biology: the Gordon Research Conference
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT90017C

Issue 5 also has a minireview by Bei Wu and J. Sabine Becker from the Central Division of Analytical Chemistry, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. In it they cover the emerging techniques for elemental imaging and speciation analysis that allows researchers to obtain increasing knowledge of elemental distribution and availabilities in plants.

Imaging techniques for elements and element species in plant science
Bei Wu and J. Sabine Becker
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT00002D

Finally, we also have a HOT article for you to read. Hugues Preud’homme and colleagues from the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, France, have studied selenium-rich yeasts as there is growing evidence of the superiority of organic forms of selenium over selenate or selenite in terms of bioaccessibility.

Large-scale identification of selenium metabolites by online size-exclusion-reversed phase liquid chromatography with combined inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) and electrospray ionization linear trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (ESI-MSⁿ)
Hugues Preud’homme, Johann Far, Sandra Gil-Casal and Ryszard Lobinski
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT00172A

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HOT Article: nanopore analysis of proteins

03 May 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

The importance of adding EDTA for the nanopore analysis of proteins

Krasniqi & Lee, Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article

Nanopore analysis has become an emerging technique for study of the conformation of proteins and protein/protein interactions. Besnik Krasniqi and Jeremy S. Lee from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada have been studying the effects of different buffers such as HEPES, TRIS and EDTA on nanopore analysis.

Their paper will be free to access for 2 weeks, so click through and read more here.

The importance of adding EDTA for the nanopore analysis of proteins
Besnik Krasniqi and Jeremy S. Lee
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20050C

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Metal of the month: copper

02 May 2012

By Vibhuti Patel, Deputy Editor.

Copper pipes Our (belated) Metal of the Month for April is copper, a metal so commonplace in our lives that we probably forget its importance. Historically, copper was the first metal to be worked by people, and the discovery that it could be hardened with a little tin to form the alloy bronze gave its name to the Bronze Age. The biggest industrial usage of copper is in electrical equipment such as wiring and motors due to its great ability to conduct both heat and electricity.

But this is Metallomics, so what about biology?

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HOT Article: Absorption of manganese and cadmium in the kidney

26 Apr 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

In this HOT article from Seiichiro Himeno and colleagues from Tokushima Bunri University, Japan, the role of metal transporters in the absorption of Cd²⁺ and Mn²⁺ into proximal tubule cells of the kidney is being studied. The unfortunate effects of chronic exposure to cadmium is the preferential accumulation of cadmium in the kidney which can lead to nephrotoxicity.

Read more about this research here. This paper will be free to access for 2 weeks.

Roles of ZIP8, ZIP14, and DMT1 in transport of cadmium and manganese in mouse kidney proximal tubule cells
Hitomi Fujishiro, Yu Yano, Yukina Takada, Maya Tanihara and Seiichiro Himeno
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20024D

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Meet Jan Reedijk

18 Apr 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

Jan Reedijk is a professor of chemistry from the Leiden University in The Netherlands. His research interests include coordination chemistry, bio-inorganic chemistry and metal applications in medicine. In September 2011 he was invited as a keynote speaker at the 5th International Conference on Metals and Genetics (ICMG-5), held in Kobe, Japan. The following perspective is based on his lecture, why not click through and have a read!

Fast and slow versus strong and weak metal–DNA binding: consequences for anti-cancer activity
Jan Reedijk
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20032E

We were also lucky enough to have Jan sit down and answer a few questions about himself.

Your paper is a review on metal-DNA binding and their consequences for anti-cancer activity. What’s hot at the moment/going to be next big thing in this field? I would say that now increasing numbers of people feel that metal-protein interaction, so long neglected in this field, need to be given consideration as well. In fact I do hint to that issue at the end of my review already.

What projects are you working on at the moment? I have retired from my full time job, and now only collaborate with others in this field.

Is there anything you’d have done differently in your career? For sure many things! Everybody makes mistakes, but from these mistakes we learn and improve.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist? Curiosity in Chemistry!

What’s the secret to running a successful research group? Make sure that your group members all feel they belong to a team, and do share the scientific challenges with them, even with the youngest undergraduates. This will stimulate and enhance creativity,

What do enjoy doing in your spare time? Tennis, jogging, golf, listening classical music, hiking.

Where in the world would you most like to visit and why? I have been in many interesting places during my active career. No real wishes left; Hawaii perhaps: I had planned to go for Pacifichem, but had to cancel (2009) due to illness.

Thank you Jan for taking some time out to talk to us.

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HOT Article: A highly antitumor-active platinum(II) complex

16 Apr 2012

By Rebecca Brodie, Development Editor.

Seiji Komeda from the Suzuka University of Medical Science and other colleagues from Japan have been exploring Pt–DNA interaction modes of Pt based anticancer drugs that are different from those of cisplatin. They performed kinetic and cytotoxicity studies on these new compounds. Click through here and check out their results. This HOT article will be free to access for 2 weeks.

Komeda et al., Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article

An in vivo highly antitumor-active tetrazolato-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) complex largely circumvents in vitro cisplatin resistance: two linkage isomers yield the same product upon reaction with 9-ethylguanine but exhibit different cytotoxic profiles
Masako Uemura, Toshihiro Suzuki, Kazuto Nishio, Masahiko Chikuma and Seiji Komeda
Metallomics, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2MT20026K

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