Combined Effect of Enterocin and Lipase From Enterococcus faecium NCIM5363 Against Food Borne Pathogens: Mode of Action Studies

Food borne diseases have a major impact on public health whose epidemiology is rapidly changing. The whole cells of pathogens involved or their toxins/metabolites affect the human health apart from spoiling sensory properties of the food products finally affecting the food industry as well as consumer health. With pathogens developing mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, there has been an increased need to replace antibiotics as well as chemical additives with naturally occurring bacteriocins. Bacteriocins are known to act mainly against Gram-positive pathogens and with little or no effect towards Gram-negative enteric bacteria. In the present study, combination effect of lipase and bacteriocin produced by Enterococcus faecium NCIM5363, a highly lipolytic lactic acid bacterium against various food pathogens was assessed. The lipase in combination with enterocin exhibited a lethal effect against Gram-negative pathogens. Scanning electron microscopy studies carried out to ascertain the constitutive mode of action of lipase and enterocin revealed that the lipase degrades the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria and creates a pore through which enterocin enters thereby resulting in cell death. The novelty of this work is the fact that this is the first report revealing the synergistic effect of lipase with enterocin against Gram-negative bacteria.     

In-silico comparative study of inhibitory mechanism of Plant Serine Proteinase Inhibitors

The nematodes like root-knot and cyst are plant-parasitic pest found in horticultural and agricultural crops. They do damages in the roots of plants as a result losses million tons of production. High cost of nematicides and environment safety concern has necessitated finding of some alternative methods. Under Integrated Pest Management (IPM) such problems are solving significantly by means of target gene inhibition, agrobacterium mediated transformation etc. One of this strategy use Plant Proteinase Inhibitors (PIs) gene which are used to control the proteolysis mechanism of Pest by inhibiting gut Serine Proteinase (SP). Present work investigates the utility of computer aided methods to study the mechanism of Protein-Protein interactions and thereby inhibition of Serine Proteinase by PIs. Hence 3D models of Serine Proteinase as well as Serine Proteinase Inhibitors (SPIs) generated using homology modeling. Validations of constructed models have been done by PROCHECK, VERIFY3D, ERRAT and PROSA. Prediction of Protein interacting surface patches and site specific protein docking was performed by using ZDOCK Server. Backbone refinement of output protein complexes was executed in Fiber Dock server. Interaction study between SP and SPIs complexes shows their comparative inhibition efficacy, measured in terms of number of hydrogen bonds, Van dar wall attraction and docking energy. This work reported that Vigna marina and Phaseolus oligospermus are having better inhibition efficiency in comparison to other inhibitors.     

Additive effects of mitochondrion-targeted cytochrome CYP2E1 and alcohol toxicity on cytochrome c oxidase function and stability of respirosome complexes

Alcohol treatment induces oxidative stress by a combination of increased production of partially reduced oxygen species and decreased cellular antioxidant pool, including GSH. Recently, we showed that mitochondrion-targeted CYP2E1 augments alcohol-mediated toxicity, causing an increase in reactive oxygen species production and oxidative stress. Here, we show that cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), the terminal oxidase of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, is a critical target of CYP2E1-mediated alcohol toxicity. COS-7 and Hep G2 cell lines expressing predominantly mitochondrion-targeted (Mt(++)) CYP2E1 and livers from alcohol-treated rats showed loss of CcO activity and increased protein carbonylation, which was accompanied by a decline in the steady state levels of subunits I, IVI1, and Vb of the CcO complex. This was also accompanied by reduced mitochondrial DNA content and reduced mitochondrial mRNA. These changes were more prominent in Mt(++) cells in comparison with wild type (WT) CYP2E1-expressing or ER(+) (mostly microsome-targeted) cells. In addition, mitochondrion-specific antioxidants, ubiquinol conjugated to triphenyl phosphonium, triphenylphosphonium conjugated carboxyl proxyl, and the CYP2E1 inhibitor diallyl sulfide prevented the loss of CcO activity and the CcO subunits, most likely through reduced oxidative damage to the enzyme complex. Our results suggest that damage to CcO and dissociation of respirosome complexes are critical factors in alcohol-induced toxicity, which is augmented by mitochondrion-targeted CYP2E1. We propose that CcO is one of the direct and immediate targets of alcohol-induced toxicity causing respiratory dysfunction.     

Computational Mapping Identifies Localized Mechanisms for Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disorder in the Western world and a common cause of hospitalization and death. Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies have met with limited success, in part due to an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms for AF. AF is traditionally characterized by spatiotemporally disorganized electrical activation and, although initiating triggers for AF are described, it is unclear whether AF is sustained by spatially meandering continuous excitation (re-entrant waves), localized electrical sources within the atria, or some other mechanism. This has limited therapeutic options for this condition. Here we show that human AF is predominantly caused by a small number (1.8±0.9) of localized re-entrant waves or repetitive focal beats, that remain stable with limited spatial migration over prolonged periods of time. Radiofrequency ablation that selectively targeted the sites of these sources was able to immediately terminate fibrillation and eliminate the arrhythmia with high success. Our results show that human AF, despite apparent spatiotemporal disorganization, is often perpetuated by a few spatially-constrained and temporally conserved sources whose targeted ablation can eliminate this complex rhythm disorder.     

Short-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase associates with a protein super-complex integrating multiple metabolic pathways

Proteins involved in mitochondrial metabolic pathways engage in functionally relevant multi-enzyme complexes. We previously described an interaction between short-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (SCHAD) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) explaining the clinical phenotype of hyperinsulinism in SCHAD-deficient patients and adding SCHAD to the list of mitochondrial proteins capable of forming functional, multi-pathway complexes. In this work, we provide evidence of SCHAD's involvement in additional interactions forming tissue-specific metabolic super complexes involving both membrane-associated and matrix-dwelling enzymes and spanning multiple metabolic pathways. As an example, in murine liver, we find SCHAD interaction with aspartate transaminase (AST) and GDH from amino acid metabolic pathways, carbamoyl phosphate synthase I (CPS-1) from ureagenesis, other fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis enzymes and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, an extra-mitochondrial enzyme of the glycolytic pathway. Most of the interactions appear to be independent of SCHAD's role in the penultimate step of fatty acid oxidation suggesting an organizational, structural or non-enzymatic role for the SCHAD protein.     

Synthesis and evaluation of aplysinopsin analogs as inhibitors of human monoamine oxidase A and B

Aplysinopsins are tryptophan-derived natural products that have been isolated from a variety of marine organisms. Previous studies have shown aplysinopsin analogs to possess a variety of biological activities, including modulation of neurotransmissions. A series of fifty aplysinopsin analogs was synthesized and assayed for monoamine oxidase A and B inhibitory activity. Three compounds displayed significant MAO inhibitory activity and selectivity. The compound (E)-5-[(6-bromo-1H-indol-3-yl)methylene]-2-imino-1,3-dimethylimidazolidin-4-one (3x) possessed an IC(50) of 5.6 nM at MAO-A and had a selectivity index of 80.24. An SAR study revealed that multiple N-methylations, one of which should be at position N-2', and bromination at C-5 or C-6 are important factors for MAO-A potency and selectivity.     

Chemical mapping of mammalian cells by atom probe tomography

In atom probe tomography (APT), a technique that has been used to determine 3D maps of ion compositions of metals and semiconductors at sub-nanometer resolutions, controlled emissions of ions can be induced from needle-shaped specimens in the vicinity of a strong electric field. Detection of these ions in the plane of a position sensitive detector provides two-dimensional compositional information while the sequence of ion arrival at the detector provides information in the third dimension. Here we explore the use of APT technology for imaging biological specimens. We demonstrate that it is possible to obtain 3D spatial distributions of cellular ions and metabolites from unstained, freeze-dried mammalian cells. Multiple peaks were reliably obtained in the mass spectrum from tips with diameters of ~50 nm and heights of ~200 nm, with mass-to-charge ratios (m/z) ranging from 1 to 80. Peaks at m/z 12, 23, 28 and 39, corresponding to carbon, sodium, carbonyl and potassium ions respectively, showed distinct patterns of spatial distribution within the cell. Our studies establish that APT could become a powerful tool for mapping the sub-cellular distribution of atomic species, such as labeled metabolites, at 3D spatial resolutions as high as ~1 nm.     

Prospective role of insecticides of fungal origin: Review

Advances in the application of microbial‐based technology in insect pest management assist us to counter problems created by the application of chemical pesticides. These are mainly strong environmental effects, resistance development and high costs. Among the microbial pesticides, fungal pesticides are now preferred as they are target specific, ecofriendly, lacking in toxic residue and are economical. Being numerous with great diversification, entomopathogenic fungi therefore have great potential to control a large variety of insect pests. Fungi are applied directly in form of spores, mycelia or blastospores or by their metabolites (mycotoxins). Both approaches have very promising roles in insect pest management. However, there are three main obstacles in the development of fungal pesticides: (i) scant production of mycotoxins; (ii) carcinogenic mycotoxicosis in non‐target organisms; and (iii) slow effectiveness. Therefore, to eliminate these problems, attention has recently been paid to a synergistic approach to combating insecticide resistance. Next to synergism, genetic manipulation is also used to enhance the pathogenicity and virulence of fungal insecticides. However, the key risk associated with the release of recombinant microorganisms into the environment is that the novel organism may have unforeseen undesirable characteristics. Therefore, the introduction of synergists in pest control could have great benefit both economically and ecologically. An ideal synergistic approach is the mixing of more than two accelerating components together, i.e. tripartite or multiple synergism to enhance effectiveness. Thus, synergistic approaches have a bright future and require further research and financial support.