Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 16, Issue 24, 2016

Firefly shows bioluminescence by “luciferin−luciferase” (L−L) reaction using luciferin, luciferase, ATP and O2. The chemical photon generation by an enzymatic reaction is widely utilized for analytical methods including biological imaging in the life science fields. To expand photondetecting analyses with firefly bioluminescence, it is important for users to understand the chemical basis of the L−L reaction. In particular, the e Read More

Firefly bioluminescence is widely used in life science research as a useful analysis tool. For example, the adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP)-dependent enzymatic firefly bioluminescence reaction has long been utilized as a microbial monitoring tool. Rapid and sensitive firefly luciferin-luciferase combinations are used not only to measure cell viability but also for reporter-gene assays. Recently, bioluminescence was utilized as a n Read More

Skeletal muscle contractions and their attendant increase in metabolism accelerate production and accumulation of multiple metabolites in the cytoplasm, interstitium and vascular compartments. Continued myocyte contractile function and subsequent recovery is often highly dependent upon constraining metabolite accumulation. In particular, the control of pH ([H+]) during exercise is absolutely crucial for muscle force Read More

The innovation and development of live-cell fluorescence imaging methods have revealed the dynamic aspects of intracellular Ca2+ in a wide variety of cells. The fertilized egg, the very first cell to be a new individual, has long been under extensive investigations utilizing Ca2+ imaging since its early days, and spatiotemporal Ca2+ dynamics and underlying mechanisms of Ca2+ mobilization, as well as physiological roles Read More

An adequate supply of blood flow to the brain is critically important to maintain long-term brain function. However, many issues surrounding the regulatory mechanism of the blood flow supply to the brain remain unclear, such as i) the appropriate range of capillary flow velocity to keep neurons healthy, ii) the size of the vascular module to support a functioning neural unit, iii) the sensing mechanism for capillary flow con Read More

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human brain plays an important role in the field of medical imaging as well as basic neuroscience. It measures proton spin relaxation, the time constant of which depends on tissue type, and allows us to visualize anatomical structures in the brain. It can also measure functional signals that depend on the local ratio of oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin in the blood, which is believed Read More

A radioisotope and its imaging have been powerful tools to explore the mechanism of chemical reaction and the dynamic behavior of trace element in biomolecular science and nuclear medicine. This article reviews some labelled compounds for radiopharmaceuticals in biochemical science and nuclear medicine using short-lived nuclides, the production and applications of “Multitracer” containing carrier-free radionu Read More

Molecular imaging can be used to evaluate the spatial–time change of the molecular biological phenomenon of the cell–molecule level in living bodies. Molecular imaging technology is expected to be applied in the fields of drug development, clinical diagnosis, and life science research. Specifically, positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful non-invasive imaging technology for investigating physiological paramete Read More