Synthesis and anti-microbial activity of pyrazolylbisindoles--promising anti-fungal compounds

A series of pyrazolylbisindole derivatives have been synthesized by reacting substituted pyrazole aldehydes with substituted indoles using phosphotungstic acid, a Keggin type heteropoly acid as catalyst. The synthesized pyrazolylbisindoles were evaluated for anti-microbial activities. The effect of pyrazolylbisindoles on the mycelial growth of plant pathogenic fungi is revealed. Entries 3c and 3d emerged as the most interesting compounds in this series exhibiting excellent anti-fungal activity.     

Utilization of acrylonitrile by bacteria isolated from petrochemical waste waters

A bacterium, utilising acrylonitrile as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen, was isolated from Indian Petrochemical Corporation Limited (IPCL) waste waters and identified as Arthrobacter sp. This strain could also utilize acetonitrile, acetamide and acrylamide individually as a source of carbon and nitrogen. The metabolic studies with the whole cells indicated the sequential conversion of the nitrile to the respective amide and then to the respective acid and ammonia. The rate of nitrile hydrolysis was slower than the corresponding amide hydrolysis. Acrylic acid, the end product of acrylonitrile breakdown, did not support the growth when provided as a carbon source.     

Algorithm to find distant repeats in a single protein sequence

Distant repeats in protein sequence play an important role in various aspects of protein analysis. A keen analysis of the distant repeats would enable to establish a firm relation of the repeats with respect to their function and three-dimensional structure during the evolutionary process. Further, it enlightens the diversity of duplication during the evolution. To this end, an algorithm has been developed to find all distant repeats in a protein sequence. The scores from Point Accepted Mutation (PAM) matrix has been deployed for the identification of amino acid substitutions while detecting the distant repeats. Due to the biological importance of distant repeats, the proposed algorithm will be of importance to structural biologists, molecular biologists, biochemists and researchers involved in phylogenetic and evolutionary studies.     

Exploring Newer Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in Marine Microbial Prospecting

Marine Biotechnology - Marine microbes genetically evolved to survive varying salinity, temperature, pH, and other stress factors by producing different bioactive metabolites. These microbial...     

Biochemical and biologic characterization of exosomes and microvesicles as facilitators of HIV-1 infection in macrophages

Exosomes and microvesicles (MV) are cell membranous sacs originating from multivesicular bodies and plasma membranes that facilitate long-distance intercellular communications. Their functional biology, however, remains incompletely understood. Macrophage exosomes and MV isolated by immunoaffinity and sucrose cushion centrifugation were characterized by morphologic, biochemical, and molecular assays. Lipidomic, proteomic, and cell biologic approaches uncovered novel processes by which exosomes and MV facilitate HIV-1 infection and dissemination. HIV-1 was "entrapped" in exosome aggregates. Robust HIV-1 replication followed infection with exosome-enhanced fractions isolated from infected cell supernatants. MV- and exosome-facilitated viral infections are affected by a range of cell surface receptors and adhesion proteins. HIV-1 containing exosomes readily completed its life cycle in human monocyte-derived macrophages but not in CD4(-) cells. The data support a significant role for exosomes as facilitators of viral infection.     

Ratio of the vitreous vascular endothelial growth factor and pigment epithelial-derived factor in Eales disease

Eales disease (ED) is an idiopathic inflammatory venous occlusion of the peripheral retina. As neovascularization is prominent in ED, this study attempts to look at the ratio of VEGF, the angiogenic factor, and PEDF, an anti-angiogenic factor in the vitreous of ED patients in comparison with the macular hole (MH) and Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR). Vitreous levels of VEGF and PEDF were determined in the undiluted vitreous specimen obtained from 26 ED cases, 17 PDR, and seven patients with MH. The vitreous levels of VEGF and PEDF were estimated by ELISA. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) for VEGF and PEDF were done in the epiretinal membrane of ED and PDR case. The VEGF/PEDF ratio was found to be significantly increased in ED (p = 0.014) and PDR (p = 0.000) compared to MH. However the ratio was 3.5-fold higher in PDR than ED (p = 0.009). The IHC data on the ERM specimen from ED showed the presence of VEGF and PEDF similar to PDR. The high angiogenic potential seen as the ratio of VEGF/PEDF correlates with the peak clinical onset of the disease in the age group 21–30 years and the diseases usually self-resolves above the age of 40, which is reflected by the low ratio of VEGF/PEDF. The study shows that the VEGF/PEDF ratio is significantly increased in ED though the angiogenic potential is higher in PDR than in ED. Clinically Eales Disease is known as a self-limiting disease, while PDR is a progressive disease.