Fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) diversity in cucurbit fields and surrounding forest areas of Himachal Pradesh,a north-western Himalayan state of India

During the course of studies, Bactrocera (Bactrocera) latifrons (Hendel), B. (B.) nigrofemoralis White and Tsuruta, Dacus (Callantra) longicornis Wiedemann, Dacus (Callantra) sphaeroidalis (Bezzi), Cyrtostola limbata (Hendel) and Pliomelaena udhampurensis Agarwal and Kapoor were recorded for the first time in Himachal Pradesh in a cucurbit ecosystem. Apart from these, other species viz. Bactrocera tau, Bactrocera cucurbitae, Bactrocera dorsalis, Bactrocera zonata, Bactrocera scutellaris, Bactrocera diversa and Dioxyna sororcula (Wiedemann) were also identified. Distribution records of B. (B.) dorsalis (Hendel), B. (B.) zonata (Saunders), Bactrocera (Hemigymnodacus) diversa (Coquillett), B. (Zeugodacus) cucurbitae (Coquillett), B. (Z.) scutellaris (Bezzi) and B. (Z.) tau (Walker) has been described.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Oenococcus oeni immobilized in different layers of a cellulose/starch gel composite for simultaneous alcoholic and malolactic wine fermentations

The production of a two-layer composite biocatalyst for immobilization of two different microorganisms for simultaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation (MLF) of wine in the same bioreactor is reported. The biocatalyst consisted of a tubular delignified cellulosic material (DCM) with entrapped Oenococcus oeni cells, covered with starch gel containing the alcohol resistant and cryotolerant strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae AXAZ-1. The biocatalyst was found effective for simultaneous low temperature alcoholic fermentation resulting to conversion of malic acid to lactic acid in 5 days at 10 °C. Improvement of wine quality compared with wine fermented with S. cerevisiae AXAZ-1 immobilized on DCM was attributed to MLF as well as to increased ester formation and lower higher alcohols produced at low fermentation temperatures (10 °C) as shown by GC and headspace SPME GC/MS analysis. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the preparation of a three-layer composite biocatalyst is also possible. The significance of such composite biocatalysts is the feasibility of two or three bioprocesses in the same bioreactor, thus reducing production cost in the food industry     

195 In silico study on HIV-PRIs substructures to terminate proteolytic activity in HTLV

Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is RNA retrovirus, which causes CD3?+?and CD4?+?T-cell type leukemia and demyelinating diseases, like tropical spastic myelopathy. The replicative stage of the virus is one of the critical stages for the development of the disease. At present, there are no approved therapeutic agents targeting HTLV. The HTLV mechanism of malignant cell growth in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL)/lymphoma, and the HTLV-PR has been an attractive target for anticancer drug design. In comparison with other retroviruses, HTLV also encodes protease (PR) enzyme which is essential for maturation. Both the HIV and HTLV proteases show high structural similarity but known inhibitors of HIV-PR are not able to inhibit the HTLV-PR, while comparing the binding pocket of both proteases, MET37 of HTLV shows repulsive role with known HIV inhibitors. Functional analysis of M37A mutation clearly shows that MET37 is highly important for the protease function. Available inhibitors were tested against the HTLV-PR binding pocket and failed to interact with MET37. Screening of similar libraries of known compounds provides better interactions with MET37 and further validation with in vivo and in vitro studies on these screened compounds will provide more strength in discovering potent inhibitor for HTLV-PR.     

Lamin A/C Haploinsufficiency Modulates the Differentiation Potential of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Background

Lamins are structural proteins that are the major determinants of nuclear architecture and play important roles in various nuclear functions including gene regulation and cell differentiation. Mutations in the human lamin A gene cause a spectrum of genetic diseases that affect specific tissues. Most available mouse models for laminopathies recapitulate disease symptoms for muscle diseases and progerias. However, loss of human lamin A/C also has highly deleterious effects on fetal development. Hence it is important to understand the impact of lamin A/C expression levels on embryonic differentiation pathways.

Methodology and Principal Findings

We have investigated the differentiation potential of mouse embryonic stem cells containing reduced levels of lamin A/C by detailed lineage analysis of embryoid bodies derived from these cells by in vitro culture. We initially carried out a targeted disruption of one allele of the mouse lamin A/C gene (Lmna). Undifferentiated wild-type and Lmna^+/− embryonic stem cells showed similar expression of pluripotency markers and cell cycle profiles. Upon spontaneous differentiation into embryoid bodies, markers for visceral endoderm such as α-fetoprotein were highly upregulated in haploinsufficient cells. However, neuronal markers such as β-III tubulin and nestin were downregulated. Furthermore, we observed a reduction in the commitment of Lmna^+/− cells into the myogenic lineage, but no discernible effects on cardiac, adipocyte or osteocyte lineages. In the next series of experiments, we derived embryonic stem cell clones expressing lamin A/C short hairpin RNA and examined their differentiation potential. These cells expressed pluripotency markers and, upon differentiation, the expression of lineage-specific markers was altered as observed with Lmna^+/− embryonic stem cells.

Conclusions

We have observed significant effects on embryonic stem cell differentiation to visceral endoderm, neuronal and myogenic lineages upon depletion of lamin A/C. Hence our results implicate lamin A/C level as an important determinant of lineage-specific differentiation during embryonic development.     

Antagonistic and antimicrobial activities of some bacterial isolates collected from soil samples

Thirty seven bacterial cultures isolated from soil samples obtained from different locations were tested for their antagonistic activity against some fungal pathogens, viz., Sclerotium rolfsii, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani, causal agents of collar rot of sunflower, wilts and root rots, respectively. Among them, 5 bacterial strains, viz., A1 6 (Bacillus sphaericus), K1 24 (Pseudomonas fluorescens), M1 42 (Bacillus circulans), M1 66 (Bacillus brevis) and T1 22 (Bacillus brevis) showed positive antagonistic activity. M1 66 was the most effective in inhibiting mycelial growth of S. rolfsii in vitro followed by M1 42, T1 22, K1 24 and A1 6. Only one bacterial strain i.e. M1 42 exhibited antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum, and none of the bacterial strains gave positive activity against R. solani. Furthermore, antimicrobial activities of all the 5 strains were checked against different test organisms. These strains showed their extensive inhibition effect particularly against gram-positive test bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and the test fungal strain (Candida albicans). On the other hand, B. brevis M1 66 and B. brevis T1 22 strains had an inhibitory effect against gram positive and gram-negative test bacteria (Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) as well as the test fungal strain.     

Fenofibrate inhibits intestinal Cl- secretion by blocking basolateral KCNQ1 K+ channels

Fibrates are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) ligands in widespread clinical use to lower plasma triglyceride levels. We investigated the effect of fenofibrate and clofibrate on ion transport in mouse intestine and in human T84 colonic adenocarcinoma cells through the use of short-circuit current (I(sc)) and ion flux analysis. In mice, oral administration of fenofibrate produced a persistent inhibition of cAMP-stimulated electrogenic Cl(-) secretion by isolated jejunum and colon without affecting electroneutral fluxes of (22)Na(+) or (86)Rb(+) (K(+)) across unstimulated colonic mucosa. When applied acutely to isolated mouse intestinal mucosa, 100 microM fenofibrate inhibited cAMP-stimulated I(sc) within 5 min. In T84 cells, fenofibrate rapidly inhibited approximately 80% the Cl(-) secretory responses to forskolin (cAMP) and to heat stable enterotoxin STa (cGMP) without affecting the response to carbachol (Ca(2+)). Both fenofibrate and clofibrate inhibited cAMP-stimulated I(sc) with an IC(50) approximately 1 muM, whereas other PPARalpha activators (gemfibrozil and Wy-14,643) were without effect. Membrane permeabilization experiments on T84 cells indicated that fenofibrate inhibits basolateral cAMP-stimulated K(+) channels (putatively KCNQ1/KCNE3) without affecting Ca(2+)-stimulated K(+) channel activity, whereas clofibrate inhibits both K(+) pathways. Fenofibrate had no effect on apical cAMP-stimulated Cl(-) channel activity. Patch-clamp analysis of HEK-293T cells confirmed that 100 microM fenofibrate rapidly inhibits K(+) currents associated with ectopic expression of human KCNQ1 with or without the KCNE3 beta-subunit. We conclude that fenofibrate inhibits intestinal cAMP-stimulated Cl(-) secretion through a nongenomic mechanism that involves a selective inhibition of basolateral KCNQ1/KCNE3 channel complexes. Our findings raise the prospect of fenofibrate as a safe and effective antidiarrheal agent.     

ZNF471 modulates EMT and functions as methylation regulated tumor suppressor with diagnostic and prognostic significance in cervical cancer

Cell Biology and Toxicology - Cervical cancer (CC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death among women in developing countries. However, the underlying mechanisms and molecular targets for...