Design,synthesis and antitubercular evaluation of novel 2-substituted-3H-benzofuro benzofurans via palladium–copper catalysed Sonagashira coupling reaction

A series of novel natural product like 2-substiuted-3H-benzofurobenzofurans designed by molecular hybridization were synthesized in very good yields. The key reactions involved in the synthesis are iodination of 2-dibenzofuranol using iodine monochloride followed by palladium–copper catalyzed Sonagashira-coupling of 1-iododibenzofuran-2-ol with various alkyl and aryl acetylenes. Among the all 10 new compounds screened for in vitro anti-mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, 2-(4-methoxy-2-methyl phenyl)-3H-benzofuro[3,2-e]benzofuran (7c) was found to be most active with MIC 3.12 μg/mL and has shown lower cytotoxicity with good therapeutic index.     

Solvent Microenvironments and Copper Binding Alters the Conformation and Toxicity of a Prion Fragment

The secondary structures of amyloidogenic proteins are largely influenced by various intra and extra cellular microenvironments and metal ions that govern cytotoxicity. The secondary structure of a prion fragment, PrP(111-126), was determined using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy in various microenvironments. The conformational preferences of the prion peptide fragment were examined by changing solvent conditions and pH, and by introducing external stress (sonication). These physical and chemical environments simulate various cellular components at the water-membrane interface, namely differing aqueous environments and metal chelating ions. The results show that PrP(111-126) adopts different conformations in assembled and non-assembled forms. Aging studies on the PrP(111-126) peptide fragment in aqueous buffer demonstrated a structural transition from random coil to a stable β-sheet structure. A similar, but significantly accelerated structural transition was observed upon sonication in aqueous environment. With increasing TFE concentrations, the helical content of PrP(111-126) increased persistently during the structural transition process from random coil. In aqueous SDS solution, PrP(111-126) exhibited β-sheet conformation with greater α-helical content. No significant conformational changes were observed under various pH conditions. Addition of Cu²⁺ ions inhibited the structural transition and fibril formation of the peptide in a cell free in vitro system. The fact that Cu²⁺ supplementation attenuates the fibrillar assemblies and cytotoxicity of PrP(111-126) was witnessed through structural morphology studies using AFM as well as cytotoxicity using MTT measurements. We observed negligible effects during both physical and chemical stimulation on conformation of the prion fragment in the presence of Cu²⁺ ions. The toxicity of PrP(111-126) to cultured astrocytes was reduced following the addition of Cu²⁺ ions, owing to binding affinity of copper towards histidine moiety present in the peptide.     

Novel chalcogenides of thymidine and uridine: synthesis, properties and applications

A facile and efficient methodology has been developed for the synthesis of dithymidine and di-uridine derived disulfides using benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate as a sulfur transfer reagent. However, a similar reaction of thymidine derivative with tetraethylammonium tetraselenotungstate as a selenium transfer reagent resulted in the formation of an unexpected cyclic diselenide. The disulfide derivatives of nucleosides have been used as precursors in a tandem disulfide cleavage-Michael addition/ring opening reactions to construct aminoacid and carbocyclic derivatives of nucleosides.     

UNC5B receptor deletion exacerbates DSS‐induced colitis in mice by increasing epithelial cell apoptosis

The netrin-1 administration or overexpression is known to protect colon from acute colitis. However, the receptor that mediates netrin-1 protective activities in the colon during colitis remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that UNC5B receptor is a critical mediator of protective function of netrin-1 in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis using mice with partial deletion of UNC5B receptor. DSS colitis was performed in mice with partial genetic UNC5B deficiency (UNC5B^+/− mice) or wild-type mice to examine the role of endogenous UNC5B. These studies were supported by in vitro models of DSS-induced apoptosis in human colon epithelial cells. WT mice developed colitis in response to DSS feeding as indicated by reduction in bw, reduction in colon length and increase in colon weight. These changes were exacerbated in heterozygous UNC5B knockout mice treated with DSS. Periodic Acid-Schiff stained section shows damages in colon epithelium and mononuclear cell infiltration in WT mice, which was further increased in UNC5B heterozygous knockout mice. This was associated with large increase in inflammatory mediators such as cytokine and chemokine expression and extensive apoptosis of epithelial cells in heterozygous knockout mice as compared to WT mice. Overexpression of UNC5B human colon epithelial cells suppressed DSS-induced apoptosis and caspase-3 activity. Moreover, DSS induced large amount of netrin-1 and shRNA mediated knockdown of netrin-1 induction exacerbated DSS-induced epithelial cell apoptosis. Our results suggest that UNC5B is a critical mediator of cell survival in response to stress in colon.     

Increased toll‐like receptor 4 in cerebral endothelial cells contributes to the astrocyte swelling and brain edema in acute hepatic encephalopathy

Astrocyte swelling and the subsequent increase in intracranial pressure and brain herniation are major clinical consequences in patients with acute hepatic encephalopathy. We recently reported that conditioned media from brain endothelial cells (ECs) exposed to ammonia, a mixture of cytokines (CKs) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), when added to astrocytes caused cell swelling. In this study, we investigated the possibility that ammonia and inflammatory agents activate the toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) in ECs, resulting in the release of factors that ultimately cause astrocyte swelling. We found a significant increase in TLR4 protein expression when ECs were exposed to ammonia, CKs or LPS alone, while exposure of ECs to a combination of these agents potentiate such effects. In addition, astrocytes exposed to conditioned media from TLR4‐silenced ECs that were treated with ammonia, CKs or LPS, resulted in a significant reduction in astrocyte swelling. TLR4 protein up‐regulation was also detected in rat brain ECs after treatment with the liver toxin thioacetamide, and that thioacetamide‐treated TLR4 knock‐out mice exhibited a reduction in brain edema. These studies strongly suggest that ECs significantly contribute to the astrocyte swelling/brain edema in acute hepatic encephalopathy, likely as a consequence of increased TLR4 protein expression by blood‐borne noxious agents.

     

Elicitation of jasmonate-mediated host defense in Brassica juncea (L.) attenuates population growth of mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.)

The productivity of Brassica oilseeds is severely affected by its major pest: aphids. Unavailability of resistance source within the crossable germplasms has stalled the breeding efforts to derive aphid resistant cultivars. In this study, jasmonate-mediated host defense in Indian mustard Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. was evaluated and compared with regard to its elicitation in response to mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) and the defense elicitor methyl jasmonate (MeJ). Identification of jasmonate-induced unigenes in B. juncea revealed that most are orthologous to aphid-responsive genes, identified in taxonomically diverse plant–aphid interactions. The unigenes largely represented genes related to signal transduction, response to biotic and abiotic stimuli and homeostasis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in addition to genes related to cellular and metabolic processes involved in cell organization, biogenesis, and development. Gene expression studies revealed induction of the key jasmonate biosynthetic genes (LOX, AOC, 12-OPDR), redox genes (CAT3 and GST6), and other downstream defense genes (PAL, ELI3, MYR, and TPI) by several folds, both in response to MeJ and plant-wounding. However, interestingly aphid infestation even after 24 h did not elicit any activation of these genes. In contrast, when the jasmonate-mediated host defense was elicited by exogenous application of MeJ the treated B. juncea plants showed a strong antibiosis effect on the infesting aphids and reduced the growth of aphid populations. The level of redox enzymes CAT, APX, and SOD, involved in ROS homeostasis in defense signaling, and several defense enzymes viz. POD, PPO, and PAL, remained high in treated plants. We conclude that in B. juncea, the jasmonate activated endogenous-defense, which is not effectively activated in response to mustard aphids, has the potential to reduce population growth of mustard aphids.     

BCDB - A database for breast cancer research and information

In pursuit of a better updated source including 'omics' information for breast cancer, Breast Cancer Database (BCDB) has been developed to provide the researcher with the quick overview of the Breast cancer disease and other relevant information. This database comprises of myriad of information about genes involved in breast cancer, its functions and drug molecules which are currently being used in the treatment of breast cancer. The data available in BCDB is retrieved from the biomedical research literature. It facilitates the user to search information on gene, its location in chromosome, functions and its importance in cancer diseases. Broadly, this can be queried by giving gene name, protein name and drug name. This database is platform independent, user friendly and freely accessible through internet. The data present in BCDB is directly linked to other on-line resources such as NCBI, PDB and PubMed. Hence, it can act as a complete web resource comprising gene sequences, drug structures and literature information related to breast cancer, which is not available in any other breast cancer database. AVAILABILITY: The database is freely available at http://122.165.25.137/bioinfo/breastcancerdb/