Anticonvulsant Effect of Asparagus racemosus Willd. in a Mouse Model of Catamenial Epilepsy

Neurochemical Research - Asparagus racemosus Willd. (Family Liliaceae), also known as female reproductive tonic, is traditionally used across the Sub-Himalayan region in Uttarakhand, India for...     

Evaluation of Salmonella Porins as a Broad Spectrum Vaccine Candidate

Porins were prepared from smooth strain of Salmonella typhi 0–901 and chemotype of rough mutant of S. typhimurium Ra-30. Mice were immunized with both the porin preparations in different groups and challenged with S. typhimurium LT2–71 and S. enteritidis SH-1269. Porin immunized mice showed significant protection (P <0.01) against challenge with homologous as well as heterologous strains. Hence, the use of porins may be attempted in future to protect against salmonellosis.     

Observation on a 65-kilodalton protein isolated from kanagawa positive strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Crude hemolysin from four KP+ strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus belonging to serotype 02:K3 exhibited a major protein band (molecular weight, 65 kilodaltons (kDa] in addition to a previously known thermostable direct hemolysin band (molecular weight, 21 kDa) in SDS - polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. These strains showed maximum virulence leading to 100% mouse lethality within 2-6 h. It is hypothesized that this 65-kDa protein may play a vital role in the pathogenesis of the disease caused by V. parahaemolyticus.     

Autophagy and senescence: A new insight in selected human diseases

Senescence and autophagy play important roles in homeostasis. Cellular senescence and autophagy commonly cause several degenerative processes, including oxidative stress, DNA damage, telomere shortening, and oncogenic stress; hence, both events are known to be interrelated. Autophagy is well known for its disruptive effect on human diseases, and it is currently proposed to have a direct effect on triggering senescence and quiescence. However, it is yet to be proven whether autophagy has a positive or negative impact on senescence. It is known that elevated levels of autophagy induce cell death, whereas inadequate autophagy can trigger cellular senescence. Both have important roles in human diseases such as aging, renal degeneration, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. Therefore, this review aims to highlight the relevance of senescence and autophagy in selected human ailments through a summary of recent findings on the connection and effects of autophagy and senescence in these diseases.     

Selection of suitable reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR gene expression analysis in Mulberry (Morus alba L.) under different abiotic stresses

Molecular Biology Reports - Mulberry (Morus alba L.) is the sole food source for the mulberry silkworm, Bombyx mori and therefore important for sericulture industry. Different abiotic stress...     

Evaluation of Corrosion Resistance and Characterization of Ni-Cr Coated Structure Using Plasma Spray Coating for Marine Hulls

Plasmonics - Corrosion is a natural process which gradually destructs the materials with their environment by chemical or electrochemical means. Mechanized boat hull structures used in fishing were...     

Bandwidth Enhancement of Planar Terahertz Metasurfaces via Overlapping of Dipolar Modes

Plasmonics - We present enhancement of operational bandwidths of planar terahertz metasurfaces by incorporating a complex unit cell that consists of a pair of concentric ring resonators. The inner...     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Strboh A</Emphasis> homologue of NADPH oxidase regulates wound-induced oxidative burst and facilitates wound-healing in potato tubers

During 30-months of storage at 4°C, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers progressively lose the ability to produce superoxide in response to wounding, resist microbial infection, and develop a suberized wound periderm. Using differentially aged tubers, we demonstrate that Strboh A is responsible for the wound-induced oxidative burst in potato and aging attenuates its expression. In vivo superoxide production and NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity from 1-month-old tubers increased to a maximum 18–24 h after wounding and then decreased to barely detectable levels by 72 h. Wounding also induced a 68% increase in microsomal protein within 18 h. These wound-induced responses were lost over a 25- to 30-month storage period. Superoxide production and NOX activity were inhibited by diphenylene iodonium chloride, a specific inhibitor of NOX, which in turn effectively inhibited wound-healing and increased susceptibility to microbial infection and decay in 1-month-old tubers. Wound-induced superoxide production was also inhibited by EGTA-mediated destabilization of membranes. The ability to restore superoxide production to EGTA-treated tissue with Ca⁺² declined with advancing tuber age, likely a consequence of age-related changes in membrane architecture. Of the five homologues of NOX (Strboh A-D and F), wounding induced the expression of Strboh A in 6-month-old tubers but this response was absent in tubers stored for 25–30 months. Strboh A thus mediates the initial burst of superoxide in response to wounding of potato tubers; loss of its expression increases the susceptibility to microbial infection and contributes to the age-induced loss of wound-healing ability.     

High level expression of soybean trypsin inhibitor gene in transgenic tobacco plants failed to confer resistance against damage caused byHelicoverpa armigera

Helicoverpa armigera is a major pest of many tropical crop plants. Soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) was highly effective against the proteolytic activity of gut extract of the insect. SBTI was also inhibitory to insect growth when present in artificial diet. The gene coding for SBTI was cloned from soybean (Glycine max, CVBirsa) and transferred to tobacco plants for constitutive expression. Young larvae ofH. armigera, fed on the leaves of the transgenic tobacco plants expressing high level of SBTI, however, maintained normal growth and development. The results suggest that in certain cases the trypsin inhibitor gene(s) may not be suitable candidates for developing insect resistant transgenic plants.     

Polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor,toll-like receptor 2 and Toll-Like receptor 4 genes links with Dengue susceptibility

Host genetic factors are known to determine disease susceptibility in dengue virus infection. Therefore, in this study association of gene polymorphisms of Vitamin D Receptor [rs731236 (Taq) and rs7975232 (Apa1)], Toll-like receptor 2 [rs5743708 (Arg735Gln) and rs5743704 (Pro631His)] and Toll-like receptor 4 [rs4986790A/G(Asp299Gly13843) and rs4986791 C/T(Thr399Ile)] were studied in cases with dengue as compared to controls. Total 98 cases of confirmed dengue virus infection and 98 age, sex and geographically matched healthy controls were enrolled and their genetic polymorphisms for the above mentioned regions were studied by Sanger sequencing. Mutant genotypes CC of VDR rs731236 (Taq1) [(OR 3.808, p value =0.02, CI 1.160-12.498)], GG of VDR rs7975232 (Apa1) [(OR 3.485, p value =0.02, CI 1.162-10.45)] and heterozygous genotypes of TLR4 rs4986790 A/G Asp299Gly [OR 2.40, p value= 0.02, CI 1.12-5.14], TLR4 rs4986791 C/T Thr399Ile [OR 2.09, p value=0.02, CI 1.12-5.14] were found to be significantly more in cases with dengue virus infection as compared to the controls. Also, at these positions mutant alleles were observed in significantly higher number of cases than controls. The values for C allele at VDR rs731236 (Taq1) were OR 1.86, p value 0.009, CI 1.162-3.001; for allele G at rs7975232( Apa1) were OR 2.71, p value 0.006, CI 1.196-2.98 for allele G at TLR4s rs4986790 A/G Asp299Gly were OR 2.35, p value 0.009, CI 1.23-4.50 and for allele T at rs4986791 C/T Thr399Ile were OR 2.36, p value=0.006, CI 1.28-4.38. VDR and TLR4 but not TLR2 gene polymorphisms were found to be associated with dengue susceptibility in Indian population.