Heat-inactivated coelomic fluid of the earthworm Perionyx excavatus is a possible alternative source for fetal bovine serum in animal cell culture

Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) is used as a major supplement in culturing animal cells under in vitro conditions. Due to ethical concern, high cost, biosafety, and geographical as well as batchwise result variations, it is important to reduce or replace the use of FBS in animal cell culture. The major objective of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of heat-inactivated coelomic fluid (HI-CF) of the earthworm, Perionyx excavatus as a possible alternative for FBS in animal cell culture experiments. The coelomic fluid (CF) was extruded from the earthworm using electric shock method and used for the experiments. Electric shock method is a simple non-invasive technique, which has no harmful effect on earthworms. Mouse primary fibroblast and HeLa cell lines were used in this study. Among HI-CF, autoclaved CF and crude CF, the supplement of medium with HI-CF shows positive results. The processed HI-CF (90°C for 5 min) at 10% supplement in cell culture medium promote maximum cell growth but cells need the initial support of FBS for the attachment to the culture flask. Microscopic observation and immunofluorescence assay with actin and lamin A confirm that the cellular and molecular morphology of the cells is maintained intact. The HI-CF of earthworm, P. excavatus has shown better cellular viability when compared with FBS and making it possible as an alternative supplement to minimize the use of FBS.     

Abnormal hemoglobins, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and hereditary ovalocytosis in the Dayaks of Sarawak.

A survey of abnormal hemoglobins, G6PD deficiency and hereditary ovalocytosis was carried out among the Dayaks of Sarawak. The only abnormal hemoglobin found was Hb Co Sp, which occurred in 0.35% of the Land Dayaks and 0.83% of the Sea Dayaks. G6PD deficiency occurred in 5.3% of the male Land Dayaks and 5.0% of the male Sea Dayaks; no electrophoretic variant of G6PD was found in any of the 285 Land Dayaks and 240 Sea Dayaks examined. Hereditary ovalocytosis was found in 12.7% of the Land Dayaks and 9.0% of the Sea Dayaks.     

Effect of l-Carnosine as adjunctive therapy in the management of children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled study

l-Carnosine is an amino acid that acts as an anti-oxidant, anti-toxic and neuroprotective agent. There is a paucity of data about the effectiveness of l-Carnosine in the management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of l-Carnosine as adjunctive therapy in the management of ASD. This was a randomized controlled trial. Children aged 3–6 years with a diagnosis of mild to moderate ASD were assigned to standard care arm (occupational and speech therapy) and intervention care arm (l-Carnosine, 10–15 mg/kg in 2 divided doses) plus standard care treatment. The children were assessed at the baseline and the end of 2 months for the scores of Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition—Standard Version (CARS2-ST), Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), BEARS sleep screening tool and 6-item Gastrointestinal Severity Index (6-GSI). Of the sixty-seven children enrolled, sixty-three children had completed the study. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed for any of the outcome measures assessed. Supplementation of l-Carnosine did not improve the total score of CARS2-ST, ATEC, BEARS sleep screening tool and 6-GSI scores of children with ASD. Further investigations are needed with more objective assessments to critically validate the effectiveness of l-Carnosine on ASD children for more decisive results.

     

Regulation of the phosphorylation of calpain II and its inhibitor

Phosphorylation of calpain II (or its inhibitor) by the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (A-PK), cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase (G-PK), and protein kinase C (PK-C) was analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. Among these protein kinases, the catalytic subunit of A-PK exhibited the strongest phosphorylations of both calpain II and its inhibitor. Arachidonic acid and staurosporine effectively inhibited phosphorylation regardless the type of kinase tested. Despite its lack of effect on the phosphorylation of calpain II by the catalytic subunit of A-PK, sphingosine moderately enhanced the phosphorylation of calpain II by G-PK. Other agents, including phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and 1, 2-dioleoyl-sn-glycerol, had no significant effect.