Social implications of palm oil production through social life cycle perspectives in Johor,Malaysia

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Palm oil is considered as the primary source of income for many farmers in Southeast Asia and become a very important agricultural commodity for...     

BRCA1 and BRCA2 germline mutations in Malaysian women with early-onset breast cancer without a family history

Background

In Asia, breast cancer is characterised by an early age of onset: In Malaysia, approximately 50% of cases occur in women under the age of 50 years. A proportion of these cases may be attributable, at least in part, to genetic components, but to date, the contribution of genetic components to breast cancer in many of Malaysia''s ethnic groups has not been well-characterised.

Methodology

Given that hereditary breast carcinoma is primarily due to germline mutations in one of two breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, we have characterised the spectrum of BRCA mutations in a cohort of 37 individuals with early-onset disease (≤40 years) and no reported family history. Mutational analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 was conducted by full sequencing of all exons and intron-exon junctions.

Conclusions

Here, we report a total of 14 BRCA1 and 17 BRCA2 sequence alterations, of which eight are novel (3 BRCA1 and 5 BRCA2). One deleterious BRCA1 mutation and 2 deleterious BRCA2 mutations, all of which are novel mutations, were identified in 3 of 37 individuals. This represents a prevalence of 2.7% and 5.4% respectively, which is consistent with other studies in other Asian ethnic groups (4–9%).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In silico</Emphasis> analysis of methyltransferase domains involved in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites

Background  

Secondary metabolites biosynthesized by polyketide synthase (PKS) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) family of enzymes constitute several classes of therapeutically important natural products like erythromycin, rapamycin, cyclosporine etc. In view of their relevance for natural product based drug discovery, identification of novel secondary metabolite natural products by genome mining has been an area of active research. A number of different tailoring enzymes catalyze a variety of chemical modifications to the polyketide or nonribosomal peptide backbone of these secondary metabolites to enhance their structural diversity. Therefore, development of powerful bioinformatics methods for identification of these tailoring enzymes and assignment of their substrate specificity is crucial for deciphering novel secondary metabolites by genome mining.     

Converting differential-equation models of biological systems to membrane computing

This paper presents a method to convert the deterministic, continuous representation of a biological system by ordinary differential equations into a non-deterministic, discrete membrane computation. The dynamics of the membrane computation is governed by rewrite rules operating at certain rates. That has the advantage of applying accurately to small systems, and to expressing rates of change that are determined locally, by region, but not necessary globally. Such spatial information augments the standard differentiable approach to provide a more realistic model. A biological case study of the ligand–receptor network of protein TGF-β is used to validate the effectiveness of the conversion method. It demonstrates the sense in which the behaviours and properties of the system are better preserved in the membrane computing model, suggesting that the proposed conversion method may prove useful for biological systems in particular.     

Proteomic analysis revealed the biofilm-degradation abilities of the bacteriophage UPMK_1 and UPMK_2 against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Biotechnology Letters - The degradation activity of two bacteriophages UPMK_1 and UPMK_2 against methicillin-resistant&nbsp;Staphylococcus aureus&nbsp;phages were examined using gel...     

Molecular phylogeny and diversity of penaeid shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) from South-East Asian waters

The decapod family Penaeidae comprises most of the economically important marine shrimp species. Its members are widespread throughout the world, with its highest species diversity centred in the Indo-West Pacific region. Despite this importance, their taxonomy, classification and phylogeny are not yet settled due in part to incongruence among hypotheses proposed from molecular versus morphological studies. In this study, using a thorough taxonomic sampling of especially the South-East Asian species, we aim to (a) utilize a reconstructed phylogeny to test the monophyly of the Penaeidae and its currently recognized genera and (b) explore its species diversity in South-East Asian waters. To infer the phylogeny, a combined gene data set (including 109 ingroup and six outgroup taxa) of mitochondrial genes, COI and 16S rRNA, and two nuclear genes, NaK and PEPCK, was utilized. To explore its diversity, another data set that included 371 COI gene sequences (231 newly generated and 140 retrieved from public sources) was compiled and subsequently analysed with two different tools (ABGD and bPTP) for species delimitation. Other than supporting the non-monophyly of the Penaeidae with the Sicyoniidae nested within the penaeid tribe Trachypenaeini, the genera Penaeus, Mierspenaeopsis and Parapenaeopsis were also revealed to be polyphyletic. Our species delimitation analysis inferred that 94 putative species actually existed within the 71 morphospecies reviewed, indicating an underestimated biodiversity in this family and the potential presence of new species within the following morphospecies: Kishinouyepenaeopsis cornuta, K. incisa, Mierspenaeopsis sculptilis, M hardwicki, Parapenaeopsis coromandelica and Penaeus monodon.     

Design,Synthesis, Evaluation and Thermodynamics of 1-Substituted Pyridylimidazo[1,5-a]Pyridine Derivatives as Cysteine Protease Inhibitors

Targeting papain family cysteine proteases is one of the novel strategies in the development of chemotherapy for a number of diseases. Novel cysteine protease inhibitors derived from 1-pyridylimidazo[1,5-a]pyridine representing pharmacologically important class of compounds are being reported here for the first time. The derivatives were initially designed and screened in silico by molecular docking studies against papain to explore the possible mode of action. The molecular interaction between the compounds and cysteine protease (papain) was found to be very similar to the interactions observed with the respective epoxide inhibitor (E-64c) of papain. Subsequently, compounds were synthesized to validate their efficacy in wet lab experiments. When characterized kinetically, these compounds show their K_i and IC₅₀ values in the range of 13.75 to 99.30 µM and 13.40 to 96.50 µM, respectively. The thermodynamics studies suggest their binding with papain hydrophobically and entropically driven. These inhibitors also inhibit the growth of clinically important different types of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria having MIC₅₀ values in the range of 0.6–1.4 µg/ml. Based on Lipinski’s rule of Five, we also propose these compounds as potent antibacterial prodrugs. The most active antibacterial compound was found to be 1-(2-pyridyl)-3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine (3a).     

Antisecretory,Gastroprotective, Antioxidant and Anti-Helicobcter Pylori Activity of Zerumbone from Zingiber Zerumbet (L.) Smith

Background

Zingiber zerumbet Smith is a perennial herb, broadly distributed in many tropical areas. In Malaysia, it’s locally known among the Malay people as “lempoyang” and its rhizomes, particularly, is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease beyond other gastric disorders.

Aim of the study

The aim of the current study is to evaluate the gastroprotective effect of zerumbone, the main bioactive compound of Zingiber zerumbet rhizome, against ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model in rats.

Materials and Methods

Rats were pre-treated with zerumbone and subsequently exposed to acute gastric ulcer induced by absolute ethanol administration. Following treatment, gastric juice acidity, ulcer index, mucus content, histological analysis (HE and PAS), immunohistochemical localization for HSP-70, prostaglandin E2 synthesis (PGE₂), non-protein sulfhydryl gastric content (NP-SH), reduced glutathione level (GSH), and malondialdehyde level (MDA) were evaluated in ethanol-induced ulcer in vivo. Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and anti-H. pylori activity were investigated in vitro.

Results

The results showed that the intragastric administration of zerumbone protected the gastric mucosa from the aggressive effect of ethanol-induced gastric ulcer, coincided with reduced submucosal edema and leukocyte infiltration. This observed gastroprotective effect of zerumbone was accompanied with a significant (p <0.05) effect of the compound to restore the lowered NP-SH and GSH levels, and to reduce the elevated MDA level into the gastric homogenate. Moreover, the compound induced HSP-70 up-regulation into the gastric tissue. Furthermore, zerumbone significantly (p <0.05) enhanced mucus production, showed intense PAS stain and maintained PG content near to the normal level. The compound exhibited antisecretory activity and an interesting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against H. pylori strain.

Conclusion

The results of the present study revealed that zerumbone promotes ulcer protection, which might be attributed to the maintenance of mucus integrity, antioxidant activity, and HSP-70 induction. Zerumbone also exhibited antibacterial action against H. pylori.