Cinnamaldehyde regulates H2O 2-induced skeletal muscle atrophy by ameliorating the proteolytic and antioxidant defense systems

Skeletal muscle atrophy/wasting is associated with impaired protein metabolism in diverse physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), disturbed redox status, and weakened antioxidant defense system are the major contributing factors toward atrophy. Regulation of protein metabolism by controlling ROS levels and its associated catabolic pathways may help in treating atrophy and related clinical conditions. Although cinnamaldehyde (CNA) enjoys the established status of antioxidant and its role in ROS management is reported, impact of CNA on skeletal muscle atrophy and related pathways is still unexplored. In the current study, the impact of CNA on C2C12 myotubes and the possible protection of cultured cells from H ₂O ₂-induced atrophy is examined. Myotubes were treated with H ₂O ₂ in the presence and absence of CNA and the changes in the antioxidative, proteolytic systems, and mitochondrial functions were scored. Morphological analysis showed significant protective effects of CNA on length, diameter, and nuclei fusion index of myotubes. The evaluation of biochemical markers of atrophy; creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase along with the study of muscle-specific structural protein (i.e., myosin heavy chain-fast [MHCf] type) showed significant protection of proteins by CNA. CNA pretreatment not only checked the activation of proteolytic systems (ubiquitin-proteasome E3-ligases [MuRF1/Atrogin1]), autophagy [Beclin1/LC3B], cathepsin L, calpain, caspase), but also prevented any alteration in the activities of antioxidative defense enzymes (catalase, glutathione- S-transferase, glutathione-peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase). The results suggest that CNA protects myotubes from H ₂O ₂-induced atrophy by inhibiting/resisting the amendments in proteolytic systems and maintains cellular redox-balance.     

A novel LncRNA-based prognostic score reveals TP53-dependent subtype of lung adenocarcinoma with poor survival

The prognostic signatures play an essential role in the era of personalised therapy for cancer patients including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Long noncoding RNA (LncRNA), a relatively novel class of RNA, has shown to play a crucial role in all the areas of cancer biology. Here, we developed and validated a robust LncRNA-based prognostic signature for LUAD patients using three different cohorts. In the discovery cohort, four LncRNAs were identified with 10% false discovery rate and a hazard ratio of >10 using univariate Cox regression analysis. A risk score, generated from the four LncRNAs’ expression, was found to be a significant predictor of survival in the discovery and validation cohort (p = 9.97 × 10 ⁻⁸ and 1.41 × 10 ⁻³, respectively). Further optimisation of four LncRNAs signature in the validation cohort, generated a three LncRNAs prognostic score (LPS), which was found to be an independent predictor of survival in both the cohorts ( p = 1.00 × 10 ⁻⁶ and 7.27 × 10 ⁻⁴, respectively). The LPS also significantly divided survival in clinically important subsets, including Stage I ( p = 9.00 × 10 ⁻⁴ and 4.40 × 10 ⁻², respectively), KRAS wild-type (WT), KRAS mutant ( p = 4.00 × 10 ⁻³ and 4.30 × 10 ⁻², respectively) and EGFR WT ( p = 2.00 × 10 ⁻⁴). In multivariate analysis LPS outperformed, eight previous prognosticators. Further, individual members of LPS showed a significant correlation with survival in microarray data sets. Mutation analysis showed that high-LPS patients have a higher mutation rate and inactivation of the TP53 pathway. In summary, we identified and validated a novel LncRNA signature LPS for LUAD.     

An aptasensor for rapid and sensitive detection of estrogen receptor alpha in human breast cancer

The analysis of estrogen receptor (ER) expression in breast carcinomas plays a crucial role in determining the endocrine responsiveness of tumors for systemic adjuvant therapy. Conventionally, the ER levels in breast carcinomas had been detected using the dextran-coated charcoal assay and radioimmunoassay, which are now substituted with safer and economic antibody-based assays such as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Despite a gold (Au) standard method, the IHC has been criticized for factors such as tissue fixation, antibody selection, and threshold staining for result interpretation that could falsify test accuracy and reproducibility. The quest for alternative methods of ER quantification in tissue samples paved the way for aptamer-based diagnostics. Previously, we have isolated a DNA aptamer against human ER alpha (ERα) using an in vitro evolution system. In this study, we developed an electrochemical sensor using the 76-nucleotide DNA ERα- aptamer for rapid, precise, and cost-effective detection of ERα expression in human breast cancer patients. The aptasensor was constructed by covalently immobilizing the thiolated ERα- aptamer onto a screen-printed Au electrode. Construction of aptasensors was confirmed through atomic force microscopy and differential pulse voltammetry measurements. A detection limit of 0.001 ng/ml was calculated for full-length ERα (66.2 kDa) in a detection time of 10 min. Analysis of the cancerous breast tissue samples using the ELISA and aptasensor methods enabled distinctive classification of samples into the categories of ER −ve, weak ER +ve, and strong ER +ve samples. The current change of this aptasensor lies within 5% after a storage of 60 days at 4°C. Further studies on a reasonably large sample size are required to realize the clinical potential of the sensor.     

Field performance of bacterial inoculants to alleviate water stress effects in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Plant and Soil - Plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase can play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance in plants, particularly...     

The First Record of the Rearfin Flying Fish,Cypselurus opisthopus (Exocoetidae), from the Waters of South India,with the Assessment of Flying Fish Species Occurring in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone

Journal of Ichthyology - The present study reports the first record of the rearfin flying fish, Cypselurus opisthopus (Bleeker, 1865), in the south-eastern Arabian Sea based on a single specimen...     

Current advances and future directions in genetic enhancement of a climate resilient food legume crop,cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a warm-season legume crop which is widely grown by resource-poor small and marginal farmers of Sub-Saharan...     

Analysis of capsaicinoid biosynthesis pathway genes expression in callus cultures of Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. ‘Umorok’

The placental tissue of the highly pungent chilli cultivar, Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. ‘Umorok’, is used as explants for callus induction. Callus cultures were subcultured after every 32 days and growth curves for a period of six consecutive growth cycles were studied till a stable capsaicinoids producing callus cultures were obtained. The capsaicinoids content in placental tissue explants decreased gradually during the first 2 months of culture as the explants dedifferentiated to form friable callus while the biomass and capsaicinoid content did not show much change in the subsequent growth cycles. The maximum callus biomass of 7.8 g freshweight (FW) or 0.56 g dry weight (DW) per culture were obtained on the 24th day of every growth cycle and the maximum average capsaicinoids content (1.6 mg g^?1 FW capsaicin and 0.78 mg g^?1 FW dihydrocapsaicin) were obtained on the 20th day of every growth cycle. To investigate the underlying dynamics for capsaicinoid biosynthesis during callus formation, comparative gene expression analysis of the genes involved in capsaicinoid biosynthesis pathway were also studied by qRT-PCR analysis. When compared with placental tissue, all the studied genes showed reduced expression during callus formation, especially putative aminotransferase (pAMT) and pungent gene 1 (Pun1), which were extensively down regulated from the 3rd month onwards in the callus cultures. Therefore, the present study revealed that the down-regulated expression of mainly two putative genes in capsaicinoid biosynthetic pathway (pAMT and Pun1) resulted in lower accumulation of capsaicinoids in callus cultures compared to placental tissues of fruits.

     

Selection of suitable reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR gene expression analysis in Mulberry (Morus alba L.) under different abiotic stresses

Molecular Biology Reports - Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is the sole food source for the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori and therefore important for sericulture industry. Different abiotic stress...     

Length–weight relationships of some fish from the Ganga River,India

Length–weight relationships (LWRs) were determined for seven riverine fish species from the river Ganga, India. Specimens were collected on a bi‐monthly basis from April 2017 to December 2018 using gill nets (mesh size 22–34 mm), cast nets (mesh size 16 mm) and bag nets (mesh size 14–22 mm). Total length was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm using a digital caliper and weight was recorded to the nearest 0.01 g on an electronic balance. From estimated length–weight relationships, the values for parameter “a” ranged from 0.004 (Bregmaceros mcclellandi and Setipinna tenuifilis) to 0.014 (Brachirus pan). Likewise, the values for the parameter “b” of the equation ranged from 2.958 (Bagarius bagarius) to 3.124 (Bregmaceros mcclellandi) and r² from 0.978 (Gonialosa manmina) to 0.996 (Brachirus pan).