Influence of sulphur fertilization on suppression of molybdenum uptake by berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and oats (Avena sativa L.) grown on a molybdenumtoxic soil

Summary Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and oats (Avena satina L.) were grown in a greenhouse on a soil with a toxic level of available molybdenum. Significant increase in yield of berseem was observed on application of phosphorus and sulphur. The oat crop responded only to P application. The content of Mo in plants was enhanced by application of phosphorus. The application of sulphur depressed the Mo content of plants. The effect of P application was more conspicuous than the depressing effect of S application on Mo content of plants. The decrease in Mo content with S application was more pronounced in the oat crop. An application of 100 ppm S as gypsum caused 57.6 per cent decrease in the concentration of Mo which was below the threshhold toxic level. But in berseem, an application of 100 ppm S even could not lower the Mo concentration to a safer level. Gypsum and superphosphate were equally effective in lowering the concentration of Mo in berseem.Published as no 2 in the series: Molybdenum accumulation in forage crops, by the same authors.College of Agriculture and Radiation Soil Chemist, respectively.     

Effect of corticosteroids on arachidonate induced mortality in male and female mice

Sodium arachidonate (50 mg/kg) given intravenously to male and female mice induces pulmonary emboli followed by respiratory distress and cyanosis. Female mice are significantly more resistant to this treatment than male mice. Cortisone pretreatment for four days to intact mice (10 mg/kg/day/4 days) had a significant protective effect in both males and females against arachidonate toxicity, eliminating the sex difference previously observed. Adrenalectomy four days before arachidonate infusion increased the sensitivity to SA and resulted in 100% mortality in both sexes. Pretreatment of adrenalized animals with cortisone significantly reduced to some degree the mortality rate in both sexes. Castration of male and female mice three weeks before adrenalectomy did not affect the mortality rate seen following adrenalectomy alone. In conclusion, exogenous cortical steroids augment the resistance of even intact mice and are absolutely necessary for survival in adrenalectomized animals. The observed sex differences in untreated intact animals is not seen after treatment with cortisone or adrenalectomy.     

Penta-peptide ATN-161 based neutralization mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

SARS-CoV-2 has become a big challenge for the scientific community worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 enters into the host cell by the spike protein binding with an ACE2 receptor present on the host cell. Developing safe and effective inhibitor appears an urgent need to interrupt the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with ACE2 receptor in order to reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We have examined the penta-peptide ATN-161 as potential inhibitor of ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binding, where ATN-161 has been commercially approved for the safety and possess high affinity and specificity towards the receptor binding domain (RBD) of S1 subunit in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We carried out experiments and confirmed these phenomena that the virus bindings were indeed minimized. ATN-161 peptide can be used as an inhibitor of protein-protein interaction (PPI) stands as a crucial interaction in biological systems. The molecular docking finding suggests that the binding energy of the ACE2-spike protein complex is reduced in the presence of ATN-161. Protein-protein docking binding energy (-40.50 kcal/mol) of the spike glycoprotein toward the human ACE2 and binding of ATN-161 at their binding interface reduced the biding energy (-26.25 kcal/mol). The finding of this study suggests that ATN-161 peptide can mask the RBD of the spike protein and be considered as a neutralizing candidate by binding with the ACE2 receptor. Peptide-based masking of spike S1 protein (RBD) and its neutralization is a highly promising strategy to prevent virus penetration into the host cell. Thus masking of the RBD leads to the loss of receptor recognition property which can reduce the chance of infection host cells.