Role of vitamin E-acetate on cisplatin induced genotoxicity: An <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> analysis

Vitamin E has generated immense interest because of its potential of being an antioxidant, a neuroprotector, and a protector against atherosclerosis, carcinogenesis and cardiovascular disease. However, the prooxidant chemistry of vitamin E cannot be ignored since it is related to the generation of peroxyl radicals. In the present study, 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg of vitamin E-acetate (VE) administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) to Balb/C mice significantly induced 6%, 8% and 11.33% (control value=2.33%) of chromosome aberrations (CA) and 0.88%, 1.39% and 1.81% (control value=0.61%) of micronucleus (MN), following 24 hour of treatment in the bone marrow cells. In the germ cells, VE did not induce any sperm head abnormality (SHA) after 35 days of exposure. Most importantly, it has been observed that pre-treatment with VE significantly reduces CA, MN, and SHA induction by chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin (CIS). Our findings suggest that lone treatment with VE induce genotoxicity in somatic cells after 24 and 48 hours of exposure but not in germ cells after 35 days of exposure, whereas pre-treatment with VE reduces CIS induced genotoxicity as well as cytotoxicity. There exists a thin line of difference on the behavioral transition of VE when acting alone and when acting with a drug.     

Genome sequences of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium, Choleraesuis, Dublin, and Gallinarum strains of well- defined virulence in food-producing animals

Salmonella enterica is an animal and zoonotic pathogen of worldwide importance and may be classified into serovars differing in virulence and host range. We sequenced and annotated the genomes of serovar Typhimurium, Choleraesuis, Dublin, and Gallinarum strains of defined virulence in each of three food-producing animal hosts. This provides valuable measures of intraserovar diversity and opportunities to formally link genotypes to phenotypes in target animals.     

Identification of cultivation condition to produce correctly folded form of a malaria vaccine based on Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 in Escherichia coli

The C-terminal, 19-kDa domain of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 (PfMSP-1₁₉) is among the leading vaccine candidate for malaria due to its essential role in erythrocyte invasion by the parasite. We designed a synthetic gene for optimal expression of recombinant PfMSP-1₁₉ in Escherichia coli and developed a scalable process to obtain high-quality PfMSP-1₁₉. The synthetic gene construct yielded a fourfold higher expression level of PfMSP-1₁₉ in comparison to the native gene construct. Optimization of cultivation conditions in the bioreactor indicated important role of yeast extract and substrate feeding strategy for obtaining enhanced expression of soluble and correctly folded PfMSP-1₁₉. It was observed that the higher expression level of PfMSP-1₁₉ was essentially associated with the generation of higher level of incorrectly folded PfMSP-1₁₉. A simple purification procedure comprising metal affinity and ion exchange chromatography was developed to purify correctly folded form of PfMSP-1₁₉ from cell lysate. Biochemical and biophysical characterization of purified PfMSP-1₁₉ suggested that it was highly pure, homogeneous, and correctly folded.     

A Type of Orthogonal Contrasts for Unbalanced Data

A simple method of making a type of orthogonal contrasts among treatments for unbalanced two-way classification data has been described. The method begins with the direct use of absorbing equations, derived from normal equations. Then it is shown that the single components of the treatment sum of squares, adjusted for blocks, are independently distributed.     

Human digestive and metabolic lipases—a brief review

The major human lipases include the gastric, pancreatic and bile-salt-stimulated lipase that aid in the digestion and assimilation of dietary fats, and the hepatic, lipoprotein and endothelial lipase that function in the metabolism of lipoproteins. The triacylglycerol and phopholipase activities of these enzymes enable these varied functions. The lipase enzymes exhibit a high degree of sequence homology not only within but also across species. This and the diverse chromosomal location of their genes point to a multigenic family of enzymes involved in absorption and transport of lipids. Inactivation of lipolytic activity of microorganisms to control infection, inhibition of digestive lipase to control obesity, stimulation of metabolic lipase to reduce hyperlipidemia or procoagulant state, or use of pancreatic lipase supplement in the management of cystic fibrosis are examples of how lipase activity modulation can impact human health.     

Crystal and molecular structure of hexan-2,5-dione bis(4-phenyl-thiosemicarbazonato) nickel(II), (C20H22N6S2Ni): a model study of the enhancement of the antibacterial activity of a tetradentate N,S donor ligand on metal complexation

The crystal structure of the nickel(II) complex (C₂₀H₂₂N₆S₂Ni) of the N₂S₂ ligand hexan-2,5-dionebis(4-phenyl-thiosemicarbazone) has been solved using diffractometric data. The complex, exhibiting greater antibacterial activity than the free ligand, crystallizes in the space group C2 with a = 17.414(1) Å, b = 8.485(1) Å, c = 15.129(3) Å, β = 104.09(3)°, Z = 4, d(obsd) = 1.425 g cm^?3, d(calc) = 1.438 g cm^?3 and μ(Mo-K_ga) = 10.978 cm^?1. The structure has been refined by full-matrix least squares to a final R = 0.033 and R_w = 0.041 using 1743 reflections with I ≥ 3σ(I) out of 2049 unique reflections measured (2° ≤ gq ≤ 27°). The hydrogens were either located or placed in their calculated positions. The nickel(II) ion lies in the tetrahedrally distorted square planar ligand field of the tetradentate ligand forming two five membered and one seven membered chelate rings. It is observed that the lack of conjugation in the seven membered chelate rings of the present complex and of similar complexes leads to dissymmetry in the ring geometry. The metal ion is coordinatively unsaturated and available for additional coordination in its axial directions.     

Age-related differences in the lifestyle regularity of seniors experiencing bereavement, care-giving, insomnia, and advancement into old-old age

Compared to younger adults, seniors (> or = 60 yrs) often adopt a highly regular lifestyle, perhaps as an adaptive response to age-related changes in their sleep and circadian rhythms. At baseline, diary measures of lifestyle regularity (SRM-5) were obtained from 104 seniors of three separate groups. Thirty-three subjects were challenged by spousal bereavement or the need to care for a spouse at home with dementia (Challenged); 33 were suffering from formally diagnosed (DSM-IV) insomnia (Insomnia); and 38 were healthy, well-functioning older seniors in the second half of their eighth decade of life or later (Healthy Older). The objective of this study was to determine whether lifestyle regularity increased as a function of age within each of these three senior groups. Overall, age was significantly correlated with SRM-5 (r=0.41, p<0.001), with the SRM score increasing by 0.67 units/decade. The same was true for the Challenged and Insomnia groups, which also showed a significant correlation between SRM and age (Challenged: r=0.48, p<0.01; Insomnia: r=0.36, p<0.05), though with a slightly faster rate of SRM increase in the Challenged (0.95 units/decade) than Insomnia (0.55 units/decade) group. Perhaps there was no correlation between age and SRM (r=0.07, n.s.) in the Healthy Older group due to the small age range, although this group did have a higher overall SRM score than the other two groups (p<0.01). The study thus confirmed that the previously observed increase in lifestyle regularity over the adult lifespan persists into later life. This may represent an adaptive behavioral response that might be used in future therapeutic approaches.