Interaction of Catechu Dye with DNA: Spectroscopic and In Silico Approach

Catechin, a yellow colored molecule obtained from the wood of Acacia catechu was analyzed for its interaction with synthetic DNA duplexes using spectroscopic analysis. UV-Visible spectroscopic analysis revealed the non-intercalative binding mode. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis expose chemical shift indicated by various vibrational stretches and an increase in the intensity of base stacking was observed by Circular Dichroism (CD), respectively. This inference was further confirmed through nuclear staining technique and also in electrophoretic technique; the dye quenches the fluorescent intensity of ethidium bromide. The result of fluorescence spectroscopy was in concordance with the electrophoretic technique. In addition, the spectroscopic results were in accordance with the molecular docking studies of specific catechin compound from the catechu dye with CT-DNA. This kind of site specificity is a gain in the medicinal field as the drug can be DNA targeted for cancer therapeutics. The present work reveals that catechu dye has a noteworthy application in the field of medical bioscience.     

Mangrove root: adaptations and ecological importance

Key message

This review gives a comprehensive overview of adaptations of mangrove root system to the adverse environmental conditions and summarizes the ecological importance of mangrove root to the ecosystem.

Abstract

In plants, the first line of defense against abiotic stress is in their roots. If the soil surrounding the plant root is healthy and biologically diverse, the plant will have a higher chance to survive in stressful conditions. Different plant species have unique adaptations when exposed to a variety of abiotic stress conditions. None of the responses are identical, even though plants have become adapted to the exact same environment. Mangrove plants have developed complex morphological, anatomical, physiological, and molecular adaptations allowing survival and success in their high-stress habitat. This review briefly depicts adaptive strategies of mangrove roots with respect to anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and also the major advances recently made at the genetic and genomic levels. Results drawn from the different studies on mangrove roots have further indicated that specific patterns of gene expression might contribute to adaptive evolution of mangroves under high salinity. We also review crucial ecological contributions provided by mangrove root communities to the ecosystem including marine fauna.

     

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Modulates Microbiota and Promotes Intestinal Regeneration to Reduce Inflammatory Bowel Disease Pathology

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Anti-viral triterpenes: a review

Phytochemistry Reviews - Triterpenes are naturally occurring derivatives biosynthesized following the isoprene rule of Ruzicka. The triterpenes have been reported to possess a wide range of...     

TP53 codon 72 polymorphism and type 2 diabetes: a case–control study in South Indian population

Molecular Biology Reports - TP53 functions primarily as a tumor suppressor, controlling a myriad of signalling pathways that prevent a cell from undergoing malignant transformation. This tumor...     

Identification of GR and TrxR systems in Setaria cervi: Purification and characterization of glutathione reductase

The glutathione reductase (GR) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) are important enzymes of the redox system that aid parasites to maintain an adequate intracellular redox environment. In the present study, the enzyme activity of GR and TrxR was investigated in Setaria cervi (S. cervi). Significant activity of both enzymes was detected in the somatic extract of adult and microfilariae stages of S. cervi. Both GR and TrxR were separated by partial purification using ammonium sulfate fractionation and DEAE ion exchange chromatography suggesting the presence of both glutathione and thioredoxin systems in S. cervi. The enzyme glutathione reductase (ScGR) was purified to homogeneity using affinity and ion exchange chromatography that resulted in 90 fold purification with a yield of 11.54%. The specific activity of the ScGR was 643 U/mg that migrated as a single band on SDS-PAGE. The subunit molecular mass was determined to be ~ 50 kDa while the optimum pH and temperature were found to be 7.0 and 35 °C respectively. The activation energy (Ea) was calculated from the slope of Arrhenius plot as 16.29 ± 1.40 kcal/mol. The Km and Vmax were determined to be 0.27 ± 0.045 mM; 30.30 ± 1.30 U/ml with NADPH and 0.59 ± 0.060 mM; 4.16 ± 0.095 U/ml with GSSG respectively. DHBA, a specific inhibitor for GR has completely inhibited the enzyme activity at 1 μM concentration. The inhibition of ScGR activity with NAI (IC₅₀ 0.71 mM), NEM (IC₅₀ 0.50 mM) and DEPC (IC₅₀ 0.27 mM) suggested the presence of tyrosine, cysteine and histidine residues at its active site. Further studies on characterization and understanding of these antioxidant enzymes may lead to designing of an effective drug against lymphatic filariasis.     

Natural Progression of Canine Glycogen Storage Disease Type IIIa

Glycogen storage disease type IIIa (GSD IIIa) is caused by a deficiency of glycogen debranching enzyme activity. Hepatomegaly, muscle degeneration, and hypoglycemia occur in human patients at an early age. Long-term complications include liver cirrhosis, hepatic adenomas, and generalized myopathy. A naturally occurring canine model of GSD IIIa that mimics the human disease has been described, with progressive liver disease and skeletal muscle damage likely due to excess glycogen deposition. In the current study, long-term follow-up of previously described GSD IIIa dogs until 32 mo of age (n = 4) and of family-owned GSD IIIa dogs until 11 to 12 y of age (n = 2) revealed that elevated concentrations of liver and muscle enzyme (AST, ALT, ALP, and creatine phosphokinase) decreased over time, consistent with hepatic cirrhosis and muscle fibrosis. Glycogen deposition in many skeletal muscles; the tongue, diaphragm, and heart; and the phrenic and sciatic nerves occurred also. Furthermore, the urinary biomarker Glc₄, which has been described in many types of GSD, was first elevated and then decreased later in life. This urinary biomarker demonstrated a similar trend as AST and ALT in GSD IIIa dogs, indicating that Glc₄ might be a less invasive biomarker of hepatocellular disease. Finally, the current study further demonstrates that the canine GSD IIIa model adheres to the clinical course in human patients with this disorder and is an appropriate model for developing novel therapies.Abbreviations: CCR, curly-coated retriever; CPK, creatine phosphokinase; GSD IIIa, glycogen storage disease type IIIa; Glc₄, Glcα1-6Glcα1-4Glcα1-4GlcGlycogen storage disease type IIIa (GSD IIIa; OMIM, 232400) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the glycogen debranching enzyme gene (AGL), leading to various clinical signs. The tissues mainly affected are liver, heart, and skeletal muscle. Clinical manifestations include hypoglycemia, elevated serum concentrations of liver and muscle enzymes, hepatomegaly, growth retardation, muscle weakness, cardiac hypertrophy with arrhythmia risk, polycystic ovaries and neuropathy.^15,17,29 Current treatments are mainly symptomatic and are not curative. The most frequently used therapies are dietary, such as providing uncooked corn starch to prevent hypoglycemia at young ages and high-protein diets, which have been shown to reverse the extent of cardiomyopathy associated with GSD IIIa.^7,8,30,37 In addition, the use of medium-chain triglycerides has shown positive therapeutic effects in patients with GSD Ia and GSD IIIa.^11,22 However, dietary therapies do not prevent the long-term complications of GSD IIIa, including hepatic cirrhosis, hepatocellular adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, cardiomyopathy, neuropathy, and myopathy.³¹An appropriate animal model is necessary to test novel therapies and address the long-term effects of GSD IIIa. Recently a mouse model for GSD III has been described that may prove beneficial in testing new therapies.¹⁹ However, the limitations of mouse models include a short lifespan that curtails the study of the long-term effects of novel treatments. In addition, a large animal model often mimics human disease more closely than do mouse models, as occurs in GSD type Ia dog models, which exhibit lactic acidosis similar to human patients, a characteristic that mouse models of GSD Ia lack.¹⁶ Therefore a naturally occurring large animal model for GSD IIIa may be more effective in terms of the development of new treatments than are available mouse models.GSD IIIa (OMIA, 001577) has been reported to occur in curly-coated retriever dogs (CCR) and is caused by a naturally occurring homozygous frameshift mutation in exon 32 that leads to the deletion of 126 amino acids at the C-terminus of glycogen debranching enzyme.^12,40 The dogs in these previous studies proved to have abnormalities similar to those seen in humans affected with the disorder, namely progressive glycogen accumulation in muscle and liver, elevated liver and muscle enzymes (ALP, AST, creatine phosphokinase [CPK], and ALT), and eventual liver fibrosis. However, these animals were not followed beyond 16 mo of age in the earlier studies.^12,40 The goal of the current study is to provide biochemical follow-up on these animals and analyze more extensively other tissues and organs involved in GSD IIIa in the dog model. A brief analysis of the naturally high protein diets of GSD IIIa dogs, as well as the effects of an increased protein diet in 2 dogs for the last few months of life, is included.We also include the analysis of a urinary biomarker, Glcα1–6Glcα1– 4Glcα1–4Glc (Glc₄), which is a breakdown product of glycogen by α-amylase and neutral α-1,4-glucosidase.³² Elevated levels of Glc₄ have been found in urine from patients with GSD types II, III, IV, VI, and IX and may correlate with disease advancement.^1,18,24,32 To our knowledge, Glc₄ has not been evaluated previously in dogs; we therefore here evaluated the utility of Glc₄ as a biomarker of canine GSD IIIa. A correlation of Glc₄ levels with liver enzyme concentrations in blood might indicate a role of Glc₄ as a less-invasive biomarker for determining the advancement of liver disease in human and canine patients.     

Melanin–Perovskite Composites for Photothermal Conversion

Biomacromolecular pigments, such as melanin, play an essential role in the survival of all living beings. Melanin absorbs sunlight and transforms it into heat, which is crucial for avoiding damage to skin cells. Light absorption produces excited electrons, which could either fall back to ground states by releasing the heat (photothermal effect) and/or light (photoluminescence), or stay at higher energy levels within its lifetime period, which can be captured through external electronic circuitry (photovoltaic effect). In this study, it is demonstrated that the combination of melanin with halide perovskite light absorber in the form of a composite exhibits high absorbance from the UV to NIR region in the solar spectrum. And the composite displays significantly reduced photoluminescence and minimized density of residual excited states (verified by photovoltaic measurement) owing to the significantly enhanced nonradiant quenching by the melanin. As a result, the composite shows an ultrahigh solar‐thermal quantum yield of 99.56% and solar‐thermal conversion efficiency of ≈81% under one‐sun illumination (AM1.5), which is superior to typical carbon materials such as graphene (≈70%). By coating the photothermal composite film on the hot‐side of thermoelectric devices, a 7000% increase in output power as compared to the blank device under illumination is observed.     

Src kinases relax adherens junctions between the neighbors of apoptotic cells to permit apical extrusion

Epithelia can eliminate apoptotic cells by apical extrusion. This is a complex morphogenetic event where expulsion of the apoptotic cell is accompanied by rearrangement of its immediate neighbors to form a rosette. A key mechanism for extrusion is constriction of an actomyosin network that neighbor cells form at their interface with the apoptotic cell. Here we report a complementary process of cytoskeletal relaxation that occurs when cortical contractility is down-regulated at the junctions between those neighbor cells themselves. This reflects a mechanosensitive Src family kinase (SFK) signaling pathway that is activated in neighbor cells when the apoptotic cell relaxes shortly after injury. Inhibiting SFK signaling blocks both the expulsion of apoptotic cells and the rosette formation among their neighbor cells. This reveals the complex pattern of spatially distinct contraction and relaxation that must be established in the neighboring epithelium for apoptotic cells to be extruded.     

Label-free protein and pathogen detection using the atomic force microscope

The atomic force microscope (AFM) uses a sharp micron-scale tip to scan and amplify surface features, providing exceptionally detailed topographical information with magnification on the order of x10(6). This instrument is used extensively for quality control in the computer and semiconductor industries and is becoming a progressively more important tool in the biological sciences. Advantages of the AFM for biological application include the ability to obtain information in a direct, label-free manner and the ability to image in solution, providing real-time data acquisition under physiologically relevant conditions. A novel application of the AFM currently under development combines its surface profiling capabilities with fixed immuno-capture using antibodies immobilized in a nanoarray format. This provides a distinctive platform for direct, label-free detection and characterization of viral particles and other pathogens.