Pachypodol attenuates Perfluorooctane sulphonate-induced testicular damage by reducing oxidative stress

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an endocrine disruptor chemical (EDC) with potentially adverse effects on the male reproductive system. Pachypodol (5,4′-dihydroxy-3,7,3′-trimethoxyflavone) is a promising flavonoid isolated from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth that shows a broad range of pharmacological properties. However, the potential curative effects of pachypodol on testicular toxicity are not available until now. Therefore, this research was proposed to examine the efficiency of pachypodol against PFOS-induced testicular toxicity in adult male rats. The experiments were conducted on Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 48), which were equally distributed into four groups: control, PFOS (20 mg/kg), PFOS + Pachypodol (20 mg/kg + 10 mg/kg respectively), and Pachypodol (10 mg/kg). After 56 days of treatment, testes were excised by slaughtering rats, weighed, and stored till further analysis. The estimated parameters include biochemical markers, spermatogenic indices, hormonal and histopathological profiles. PFOS exposure disturbed the biochemical profile by altering the antioxidant/oxidant balance. For instance, it decreased the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GSR) while increasing the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). PFOS intoxication also led to a notable decline in viability, motility, epididymal sperm count, and the number of HOS coiled-tail sperms, whereas the higher level of abnormality in the head, mid-piece, and tail of sperms were observed. Besides, it lowered luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and plasma testosterone. In addition, PFOS exposure led to histopathological damages in testicles. However, pachypodol treatment potently alleviated all the illustrated impairments in testes. Conclusively, our results demonstrate the promising free-radical scavenging activity of pachypodol, a novel phytochemical, against the PFOS-instigated testicular dysfunctions.     

Physiological responses of wheat to drought stress and its mitigation approaches

Drought is a polygenically controlled stress and a major agricultural risk that reduces crop productivity and limits the successful insight of land potential throughout the world. This review article has been divided into two parts, i.e., effect of drought stress on physiology of wheat and potential drought mitigation approaches. In the first part, physiological responses of wheat to stress were discussed. Cell membrane stability, relative water content, early maturity, decreased leaf area, small plant size, increased dry weight and root–shoot ratio, and the whole-plant transpiration rate response to enhanced atmospheric vapor pressure deficit are physiological traits associated with drought tolerance in wheat. Reduction of relative water content closes stomata and thereby reduces stomatal conductance. Osmotic adjustment improves drought tolerance by allowing cell enlargement, plant growth, and stomata to stay partially open and by maintaining CO₂ fixation under severe water deficit. The wheat plant accumulates several organic and inorganic solutes in its cytosol to lessen its osmotic potential for maintenance of cell turgor. Drought affects photosynthesis negatively by changing the inner structure of chloroplasts, mitochondria, and chlorophyll content and minerals. Destruction of the photosystem II (PSII) oxygen releasing complex and reaction center can disturb production and use of electrons, causing lipid peroxidation of cell membrane through the production of reactive oxygen species. In the second part, drought mitigation approaches were discussed. Seed, drought, bacterial, and hormonal priming are common approaches used to lessen the effects of water deficit. Physiological trait-based breeding, molecular breeding, marker-assisted backcrossing, aerial phenotyping, water budgeting, and resource allocation are modern approaches used to develop drought tolerant wheat cultivars. Wheat genotypes produced as a result of a combination of all these methodologies will increase food security regarding the currently changing climate.     

Pollutant fate and spatio-temporal variation and degree of sedimentation of industrial- and municipal wastes in Chakbandi drain and River Chenab

This study’s objective was to assess a seasonal impact of industrial and sewage waste disposal on water quality of the river upstream Trimu Head. Considering the significance of the river, drain wastewater was analyzed during the summer and the winter seasons from pre-determined locations. Water quality parameters were recorded higher than the maximum permissible limits prescribed by WHO for freshwater bodies. Level of these Physio-chemical variables was higher in the winter due to the least amount of water from domestic sewage. Although some of these parameters indicated sedimentation hitherto the water quality of River Chenab was found very poor due to the pollution bestowed by tributary waste water from drains. Findings of this investigation suggest the importance of continuous monitoring and assessment to improve the water quality of the river. This study provides a baseline data which may be compared to assess any further deterioration in the water quality and may also be used to plan future monitoring and required restoration of habitat for the safe supply of fish to the population of this region.     

Different Susceptibility of Three Clinically Isolated Strains of Cryptococcus neoformans to the Fungicidal Effects of Reactive Nitrogen and Oxygen Intermediates: Possible Relationships with Virulence

We investigated the susceptibility of three clinically isolated strains of Cryptococcus neoformans with different virulences to reactive nitrogen and oxygen intermediates (RNI and ROI, respectively), representing two important mediators of macrophage microbicidal activity. All mice infected with the highly virulent strain of C. neoformans, YC-11, died within 3 to 6 weeks because of rapid multiplication of the organism in the lungs and dissemination to the brain. In contrast, a weakly virulent strain, YC-13, was almost completely eradicated from the lungs and did not disseminate to the brain, leading to survival of all infected animals during the period of observation (15 weeks). The virulence of the third strain, YC-5, was intermediate between the other two strains. To examine the susceptibility of C. neoformans to the fungicidal effect of nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anions (O₂-), the organisms were exposed to these oxidants, which were chemically generated in a cell-free system. Interestingly, the number of live YC-13 yeast cells was markedly reduced after exposure to NO and O₂^?. In contrast, YC-11 was almost completely resistant to the killing effect of these oxidants. YC-5 showed an intermediate susceptibility. Our results demonstrate that the resistance of C. neoformans to the fungicidal effects of RNI and ROI is related to virulence, and suggest that the resistance to nitrogen- and oxygen-derived oxidants may be one of the factors to determine the outcome of infection with C. neoformans.     

Monitoring of trace metals in tissues of Wallago attu (lanchi) from the Indus River as an indicator of environmental pollution

We aimed to assess the bioaccumulation of selected four trace metals (Cd, Ni, Zn and Co) in four tissues (muscles, skin, gills and liver) of a freshwater fish Wallago attu (lanchi) from three different sites (upstream, middle stream and downstream) of the Indus River in Mianwali district of Pakistan. Heavy metal contents in water samples and from different selected tissues of fish were examined by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The data were statistically compared to study the effects of the site and fish organs and their interaction on the bioaccumulation pattern of these metals at P < 0.05. In W. attu the level of cadmium ranged from 0.004 to 0.24; nickel 0.003–0.708; cobalt 0.002–0.768 and zinc 47.4–1147.5 μg/g wet weight. The magnitude of metal bioaccumulation in different organs of fish species had the following order gills > liver > skin > muscle. The order of bioaccumulation of these metals was Ni < Zn < Co < Cd. Heavy metal concentrations were increased during the dry season as compared to the wet season. The results of this study indicate that freshwater fish produced and marketed in Mianwali have concentrations below the standards of FEPA/WHO for these toxic metals.     

Optimization of culture media for enhanced chitinase production from a novel strain of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia using response surface methodology

Chitinase is one of the most important mycolytic enzymes with industrial significance. This enzyme is produced by a number of organisms including bacteria. In this study we describe optimization of media components with increased production of chitinase for selected bacteria Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from the soil. Different components of the defined media responsible for influencing chitinase secretion by the bacterial isolate were screened using Plackett-Burman experimental design and were further optimized by Box-Behnken factorial design of response surface methodology (RSM) in liquid culture. Maximum chitinase production was predicted in medium containing chitin 4.94 g/l, maltose 5.56 g/l, yeast extract 0.62 g/l, KH2PO4 1.33 g/l and MgSO4.7H2O 0.65 g/l using Response surface plots and point prediction tool of DESIGN EXPERT 7.1.6 (Statease, USA) software.     

Novelty of Axin 2 and lack of Axin 1 gene mutation in colorectal cancer: a study in Kashmiri population

Colorectal cancer is (CRC) one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Various genetic factors have been reported to be involved in the development of colorectal cancers including Axin gene. Axin, a major scaffold protein, plays an important role in various bio signaling pathways. We aim to study mutational pattern of Axin gene in colorectal cancer patients of Kashmiri population. The paired tumor and adjacent normal tissue specimens of 50 consecutive patients with CRC were used in our study. The DNA preparations were evaluated for the occurrence of Axin 1 and Axin 2 gene mutations by direct DNA sequencing. We analyzed exon 1a, 1b, 1c, 2, 4, 6, and 10 of Axin 1 and exon 7 of Axin 2. In this study, we found a novel mutation of G>T (GCT>TCT) transversion in exon 7 of Axin 2 gene at codon G695T (p.alanine >?serine) at a frequency of 6% (3/50). In the same exon of Axin 2 gene a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was detected in codon L688L (CCT>CTT) at a frequency of 36% (18/50). In exon 1c of Axin 1 a SNP was detected at codon D726D (GAT>GAC) at a frequency of 62.5% (31/50). Both the SNPs were synonymous hence do not lead to change of amino acid. Although Axin 1 and Axin 2 gene mutations have been found to be involved in the development of colorectal cancers, it seems to be a relatively rare event in Kashmiri population. However, an interesting finding of this study is the novelty of Axin 2 gene mutations which may be a predisposing factor in ethnic Kashmiri population to CRC.     

Presence of RD149 deletions in M. tuberculosis Central Asian Strain 1 isolates affect growth and TNFα induction in THP-1 monocytes

Central Asian Strain 1 (CAS1) is the prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis genogroup in South Asia. CAS1 strains carry deletions in RD149 and RD152 regions. Significance of these deletions is as yet unknown. We compared CAS1 strains with RD149 and concurrent RD149-RD152 deletions with CAS1 strains without deletions and with the laboratory reference strain, M. tuberculosis H37Rv for growth and for induction of TNFα, IL6, CCL2 and IL10 in THP-1 cells. Growth of CAS1 strains with deletions was slower in broth (RD149; p?=?0.024 and RD149-RD152; p?=?0.025) than that of strains without deletions. CAS1 strains with RD149 deletion strains further showed reduced intracellular growth (p?=?0.013) in THP-1 cells as compared with strains without deletions, and also as compared with H37Rv (p?=?0.007) and with CAS1 RD149-RD152 deletion strains (p?=?0.029). All CAS1 strains induced higher levels of TNFα and IL10 secretion in THP-1 cells than H37Rv. Additionally, CAS1 strains with RD149 deletions induced more TNFα secretion than those without deletions (p?=?0.013). CAS1 RD149 deletion strains from extrapulmonary sources showed more rapid growth and induced lower levels of TNFα and IL6 secretion in THP-1 cells than isolates from pulmonary sources. This data suggests that presence of RD149 reduces growth and increases the induction of TNFα in host cells by CAS1 strains. Differences observed for extrapulmonary strains may indicate an adaptation which increases potential for dissemination and tropism outside the lung. Overall, we hypothesise that RD149 deletions generate genetic diversity within strains and impact interactions of CAS1 strains with host cells with important clinical consequences.     

Effect of ethanol on serum electrolytes and osmolality

Rats and rabbits were injected ethanol 2 g/kg intraperitoneally. One hour after injection blood was analyzed for serum electrolytes and osmolality. Administration of ethanol caused decrease in serum sodium (p less than 0.0005), potassium (p less than 0.0005), calcium (p less than 0.0005), chloride (p less than 0.005), magnesium (p less than 0.0005) in rabbits. Further studies of intraperitoneal administration of ethanol in rats showed decrease in concentration of sodium (p less than 0.025), potassium (p less than 0.025), calcium (p less than 0.01) chloride (p less than 0.005) magnesium (p less than 0.005), phosphorus (p less than 0.025) and glucose (p less than 0.005). Administration of ethanol caused an increase in serum osmolality in both rabbits and rats (p less than 0.005, p less than 0.05). It is concluded that ethanol ingestion is probably the commonest cause of the hyperosmolar state. Although the osmotic and sedative effects of ethanol are pharmacologically unrelated, the presence of ethanol should be considered in comatose patients in whom the measured plasma osmolality appreciably exceeds that predicted on the basis of plasma glucose, urea and electrolytes concentration.