Assessment of serum tenascin-C and growth differentiation factor-15 among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with and without acute coronary syndrome

BackgroundHigh prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with a higher prevalence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Inflammation is one of the important contributors to the pathogenesis and complications of coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15) and Tenascin-C (TNC) play an important role in the initiation of atherosclerotic plaque as well as its rupture. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between serum GDF-15, TNC, and the risk of ACS among T2DM patients.MethodsAnthropometric parameters, routine biochemical investigations like liver and renal function tests, lipid profile, and Creatine Kinase-Total (CK-T), Creatine Kinase-MB (CK-MB) were measured in 42 T2DM patients with ACS and 42 T2DM patients. Serum GDF-15 and TNC were measured by Human Sandwich-ELISA kits.ResultsSerum GDF-15 and TNC levels were significantly higher in T2DM patients with ACS as compared to T2DM patients. Serum GDF-15 was significantly correlated with waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, pulse, serum CK-T, and CK-MB. Serum TNC was significantly correlated with the pulse, serum CK-T, CK-MB, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and blood urea nitro GEN. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that waist circumference was independently positively associated with serum GDF-15.ConclusionsT2DM patients with higher serum GDF-15 and TNC levels were at higher risk of acute coronary syndrome independent of other cardiovascular risk factors.     

Levels of formaldehyde in residential indoor air of Gonabad,Iran

Abstract

Human health has been identified to be affected more significantly by indoor air quality. Among numerous pollutants present in indoor air, formaldehyde (FA) is of great concern because of its highly hazardous nature. The concentrations of FA were determined from 20 newly decorated homes in the city of Gonabad, Iran during 2015. It was found that the indoor air levels of FA in all the sampled houses were exceptionally high in the range of 21 to 360 µg/m³ (mean of 149.3 µg/m³). If the 24-h average concentrations of FA measured from those sites were concerned, nearly 40% of them were seen to exceed the WHO guideline values (i.e., 100 µg/m³). One of the important reasons for the high concentrations could be low air exchange rates in those houses (e.g., from 0.18 to 0.37?h^?1), high levels of humidity in the newly decorating houses and stronger sources in the indoor environment. Furthermore, its pollution in homes with natural ventilation was seen to be much higher than those of mechanical ventilation. Due to high levels of indoor FA, more effective control procedures should be developed and employed to reduce the risk associated with formaldehyde exposure.     

Phosphorylation of centromeric histone H3 variant regulates chromosome segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The centromeric histone H3 variant (CenH3) is essential for chromosome segregation in eukaryotes. We identify posttranslational modifications of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CenH3, Cse4. Functional characterization of cse4 phosphorylation mutants shows growth and chromosome segregation defects when combined with kinetochore mutants okp1 and ame1. Using a phosphoserine-specific antibody, we show that the association of phosphorylated Cse4 with centromeres increases in response to defective microtubule attachment or reduced cohesion. We determine that evolutionarily conserved Ipl1/Aurora B contributes to phosphorylation of Cse4, as levels of phosphorylated Cse4 are reduced at centromeres in ipl1 strains in vivo, and in vitro assays show phosphorylation of Cse4 by Ipl1. Consistent with these results, we observe that a phosphomimetic cse4-4SD mutant suppresses the temperature-sensitive growth of ipl1-2 and Ipl1 substrate mutants dam1 spc34 and ndc80, which are defective for chromosome biorientation. Furthermore, cell biology approaches using a green fluorescent protein–labeled chromosome show that cse4-4SD suppresses chromosome segregation defects in dam1 spc34 strains. On the basis of these results, we propose that phosphorylation of Cse4 destabilizes defective kinetochores to promote biorientation and ensure faithful chromosome segregation. Taken together, our results provide a detailed analysis, in vivo and in vitro, of Cse4 phosphorylation and its role in promoting faithful chromosome segregation.     

Alr2954 of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 with ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase activity bestows abiotic stress tolerance in Escherichia coli

Functional & Integrative Genomics - In silico derived properties on experimental validation revealed that hypothetical protein Alr2954 of Anabaena sp. PCC7120 is ADP-ribose pyrophosphatase,...     

New Strategies of LIBS-Based Validation of Glycemic Elements for Diabetes Management

Antidiabetic efficacy of medicinal plant cannot be ignored in order to develop drugs without toxicity and side effects. Trace elements present in plant material is responsible for their medicinal nature and hence it is necessary to know the major and minor constituents of the plant material. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a very efficient and powerful analytical tool to monitor the elements present in sample. The present study deals with the LIBS-based validation of glycemic elements present in Withania coagulans and Cajanus cajan medicinal herbs. The decreasing blood glucose level and improving glucose tolerance test significantly showed that the higher content of Mg and Ca in W. coagulans in comparison to C. cajan is responsible for its significant role in diabetes management, whereas the concentration of other elements are nearly the same in both extracts.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Corydalis nana</Emphasis> complex (Fumariaceae sect. Latiflorae) in Western Himalaya

Corydalis nana Royle in the western Himalaya is found to be a complex of three species, including two hitherto undescribed. The true C. nana is a yellow-flowered species. The most common, greyish-blue or white-flowered species in the Sino-Indo-Nepal Himalaya, hitherto mistaken as C. nana, is a new species described here as Corydalis magni. An additional related species, Corydalis devendrae, characterised by tuberous roots and dorsally wingless/non crestate upper and lower petals is also described and illustrated from Uttarakhand state, India. A table comparing diagnostic characters, along with keys to taxa of the complex and a distribution map, are also included.     

Evidence for the involvement of multiple pathways in the biodegradation of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene by Pseudomonas putida CSV86

Pseudomonas putida CSV86, a soil bacterium, grows on 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene as the sole source of carbon and energy. In order to deduce the pathways for the biodegradation of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene, metabolites were isolated from the spent medium and purified by thin layer chromatography. Emphasis has been placed on the structural characterisation of isolated intermediates by GC-MS, demonstration of enzyme activities in the cell free extracts and measurement of oxygen uptake by whole cells in the presence of various probable metabolic intermediates. The data obtained from such a study suggest the possibility of occurrence of multiple pathways in the degradation of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene. We propose that, in one of the pathways, the aromatic ring adjacent to the one bearing the methyl moiety is oxidized leading to the formation of methylsalicylates and methylcatechols. In another pathway the methyl side chain is hydroxylated to-CH₂OH which is further converted to-CHO and-COOH resulting in the formation of naphthoic acid as the end product. In addition to this, 2-hydroxymethylnaphthalene formed by the hydroxylation of the methyl group of 2-methylnaphthalene undergoes aromatic ring hydroxylation. The resultant dihydrodiol is further oxidised by a series of enzyme catalysed reactions to form 4-hydroxymethyl catechol as the end product of the pathway.     

Discovery of thiazolyl-phthalazinone acetamides as potent glucose uptake activators via high-throughput screening

With the aim to discover orally active small molecules that stimulate glucose uptake, high throughput screening of a library of 5000 drug-like compounds was conducted in differentiated skeletal muscle cells in presence of insulin. N-Substituted phthalazinone acetamide was identified as a potential glucose uptake modulator. Several novel derivatives were synthesized to establish structure activity relationships. Identified lead thiazolyl-phthalazinone acetamide (7114863) increased glucose uptake (EC₅₀ of 0.07 ± 0.02 μM) in differentiated skeletal muscle cells in presence of insulin. Furthermore, 7114863 was superior to rosiglitazone under similar experimental conditions without inducing PPAR-γ agonist activity thus making it a very interesting scaffold.