Genotyping of interleukins-18 promoters and their correlation with coronary artery stenosis in Saudi population

Molecular Biology Reports - Complex coronary atherosclerotic lesions often lead to coronary occlusion, clinically represented as a single-vessel disease (SVD) and multivessel...     

Curcumin,its derivatives,and their nanoformulations: Revolutionizing cancer treatment

Curcumin is a natural compound derived from turmeric and can target malignant tumor molecules involved in cancer propagation. It has potent antioxidant activity, but its effectiveness is limited due to poor absorption and rapid elimination from the body. Various curcumin derivatives have also shown anticancer potential in in-vitro and in-vivo models. Curcumin can target multiple signaling pathways involved in cancer development/progression or induce cancer cell death through apoptosis. In addition, curcumin and its derivatives could also enhance the effectiveness of conventional chemotherapy, radiation therapy and reduce their associated side effects. Lately, nanoparticle-based delivery systems are being developed/explored to overcome the challenges associated with curcumin's delivery, increasing its overall efficacy. The use of an imaging system to track these formulations could also give beneficial information about the bioavailability and distribution of the nano-curcumin complex. In conclusion, curcumin holds significant promise in the fight against cancer, especially in its nanoform, and could provide precise delivery to cancer cells without affecting normal healthy cells.     

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals and their toxicity assessment in Mystus species

This study was conducted on two native fish species namely Mystus vittatus and Mystus tengara inhabiting challenging environment of Yamuna River. The heavy metals concentrations in the river water were found to be as follows: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni > Cr > Cd, all above the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The high metal pollution index in gill, liver, and kidney of M. vittatus was recorded compared to M. tengara. The pathology caused by the accumulation of heavy metals resulted significantly (p < 0.05) higher enzyme activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatinine kinase (CK) in M. tengara as compared to M. vittatus. However, albumin: globulin ratio was found to be below 0.8 in both fishes. Higher total leukocyte (TLC) (48.5 × 10³/mm³), lymphocytes (40%), respiratory burst activity (1.9), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity (13.11 U/L) in M. vittatus reflect high immune response. In addition, chromosomal breakage study showed significantly (p < 0.05) low micronuclei frequency, lobed nuclei, and kidney-shaped nuclei (KSN) in M. vittatus. These results indicate that under the same challenging conditions M. vittatus have more capability of resistance and its continuous survival points towards its suitability to serve as a bioindicator than M. tengara.