Hydrophilic Acylated Surface Protein A (HASPA) of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leishmania donovani</Emphasis>: Expression,Purification and Biophysico-Chemical Characterization

Hydrophilic acylated surface proteins (HASPs) are acidic surface proteins which get localized on the surface of Leishmania parasite during infective stages through a “non-classical” pathway. In this study, we report the heterologous expression and purification of Leishmania donovani HASPA (r-LdHASPA) in E. coli system and its partial characterization. The structural aspects of the purified protein were analyzed using CD spectroscopy and modeling studies which indicate that r-LdHASPA consists of random coils. Studies in mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cell lines indicate that r-LdHASPA enhances reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Co-immunoprecipitation (IP) studies indicate that r-LdHASPA interacts with certain macrophage proteins which however could not be identified unambiguously. The present study provides key insights into the structural and functional aspects of an important Leishmania protein, HASPA, which we believe could be useful for further research on vaccine/drug development.     

Scaffold hybridization in generation of indenoindolones as anticancer agents that induce apoptosis with cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase

Scaffold hybridization of several natural and synthetic anticancer leads led to the consideration of indenoindolones as potential novel anticancer agents. A series of these compounds were prepared by a diversity-feasible synthetic method. They were found to possess anticancer activities with higher potency compared to etoposide and 5-fluorouracil in kidney cancer cells (HEK 293) and low toxicity to corresponding normal cells (Vero). They exerted apoptotic effect with blocking of cell cycle at G2/M phase.     

OSL and thermally assisted OSL response in dental enamel for its possible application in retrospective dosimetry

Dental enamel was studied for its thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) defects. The TL studies showed a wide glow curve with multiple peaks. The thermally assisted OSL (TA-OSL) studies showed that the integrated TA-OSL and thus OSL signal increases with readout temperature between 100 and 250 °C, due to the temperature dependence of OSL. The thermally assisted energy E _A associated with this increase is found to be 0.21 ± 0.015 eV. On the other hand, the signal intensity decreases with temperature between 260 and 450 °C. This decrease could be due to depletion of OSL active traps or possible thermal quenching. The increase of the OSL signal at increased temperature can be used to enhance the sensitivity of dental enamel for ex vivo measurements in retrospective dosimetry. The emission and excitation spectra of its luminescence centers were studied by photoluminescence and were found to be at 412 and 324 nm, respectively. It was found to possess multiple OSL active traps having closely lying photoionization cross sections characterized by continuous wave OSL and nonlinear OSL methods. The investigated dental enamel samples showed a linear OSL dose response up to 500 Gy. The dose threshold was found to be 100 mGy using a highly sensitive compact OSL reader with blue LED (470 nm) stimulation.     

Attenuation of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and genotoxicity by an indole-based natural compound 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) through activation of Nrf2/ARE signaling pathways and inhibiting apoptosis

The most crucial complication related to doxorubicin (DOX) therapy is nonspecific cytotoxic effect on healthy normal cells. The clinical use of this broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic agent is restricted due to development of severe form of cardiotoxicity, myelosuppression, and genotoxicity which interfere with therapeutic schedule, compromise treatment outcome and may lead to secondary malignancy. 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) is a naturally occurring plant alkaloid formed by the hydrolysis of indolylmethyl glucosinolate (glucobrassicin). Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the protective role of DIM against DOX-induced toxicity in mice. DOX was administered (5?mg/kg b.w., i.p.) and DIM was administered (25?mg/kg b.w., p.o.) in concomitant and 15 days pretreatment schedule. Results showed that DIM significantly attenuated DOX-induced oxidative stress in the cardiac tissues by reducing the levels of free radicals and lipid peroxidation, and by enhancing the level of glutathione (reduced) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The chemoprotective potential of DIM was confirmed by histopathological evaluation of heart and bone marrow niche. Moreover, DIM considerably mitigated DOX-induced clastogenicity, DNA damage, apoptosis, and myeloid hyperplasia in bone marrow niche. In addition, oral administration of DIM significantly (p?相似文献   

Direct plant regeneration of curry leaf tree (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Murraya koenigii</Emphasis> koenig.), an aromatic plant

Summary An efficient protocol for plant regeneration from stem segments of Murraya koenigii was developed by culturing on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2.5 mg l⁻¹ benzyladenine (BA), 25 mgl⁻¹ adenine sulfate, 0.25 mgl⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and 3% sucrose. The frequency of shoot bud regeneration was higher on similar medium in subsequent subcultures. The regenerated shoots were rooted on half-strength basal MS medium supplemented with 0.25–0.5 mgl⁻¹ IAA or 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) within 8–12 d of culture. The maximum percentage of rooting was obtained on MS medium supplemented with IAA and NAA, each at 0.25 mgl⁻¹. During acclimatization, 95% of rooted plantlets survived were grown normally under greenhouse conditions.     

Rapid Multiplication and Induction of Early In Vitro Flowering in Dendrobium Primulinum Lindl

Dendrobium primulinum is an important epiphytic orchid. A successful protocol for mass multiplication and early in vitro flowering was developed. Immature embryos of 4 week after pollination exhibited about 96% germination within 30 days of culture on MS medium containing sucrose (3%) (w/v), NAA and BA (6 and 9 μM) in combination. Protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) formed from the germinating seeds on the germination medium. Rooted plantlets were formed within 2-3 wk on MS medium containing sucrose (3%), NAA and BA (3 and 12 μM in combination) where about 29 shoot/buds produced per cycle of 4 wk interval. The well rooted plantlets produced 4-5 floral buds per spike when they were maintained on MS medium containing sucrose (3%), fresh apple juice (10%) (v/v) for four wk followed by on MS medium freed of apple juice but enriched with NAA and BA (3 and 12 μM respectively). The hardened plantlets were transferred to community potting mix where the about 80% transplants survived after two months of transfer.