Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar. The most common treatment is taking oral hypoglycemic drugs such as acarbose, but long-term use of acarbose has dangerous ...side effects. Thus, alternative therapies using herbal medicines are of interest to researchers. Aquilaria malaccensis leaves have been used as an herbal tea for their high antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. This research aimed to analyze the antidiabetic potential of A. malaccensis leaves extract in vitro and in silico. The research utilized a methodology that included the analysis of the inhibitory activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes through spectrophotometry. Furthermore, the study examined the inhibition of glucose diffusion in the dialysis bag. Additionally, an in silico investigation on α-glucosidase inhibition was conducted, involving toxicity analysis of selected compounds, molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulation, and density functional theory. The results showed that chloroform extract of A. malaccensis leaves had the best result on each test parameter with an IC50 of 3.22 mg/mL for α-amylase inhibition and 3.65 mg/mL for α-glucosidase inhibition. The chloroform extract of A. malaccensis leaves is the best for inhibiting glucose diffusion in the first 30 min. All in silico models supported by density functional theory showed that some secondary metabolites of A. malaccensis leaves extract, such as 5-Hydroxy-4′,7-dimethoxyflavone and followed by epifriedelanol, are better than acarbose in terms of inhibiting α-glucosidase. Based on the results, agarwood's extract demonstrates anti-diabetic potential through the inhibition of α-amylase and exhibits a slightly superior efficacy in inhibiting α-glucosidase activity. This observation is substantiated by both in-laboratory and in-silico data.
Exploring the antidiabetic potential of Aquilaria malaccensis leaves extract, researchers conducted a multifaceted study, revealing its superior inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes compared to Acarbose, as supported by empirical and computational analyses. Display omitted
•Researchers explore a potential natural alternative to Acarbose for diabetes management, focusing on Aquilaria malaccensis leaves•In vitro tests reveal that the chloroform extract of A. malaccensis leaves exhibits strong inhibitory effects on key enzymes and glucose diffusion, suggesting its potential as an antidiabetic agent.•Molecular docking and dynamic simulations, along with density functional theory, affirm the efficacy of A. malaccensis leaf extract in inhibiting alpha-glucosidase, surpassing Acarbose in certain aspects.•The study underscores the promise of A. malaccensis leaves as a source of effective antidiabetic compounds, encouraging further investigation into its therapeutic potential.
Background
The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene is a reporter gene that can be used to optimize protein isolation procedures and the functional working of a transduction protein. EGFP, ...with the addition of eleven arginine residues, has been engineered to functionally improve the protein transduction process, which can later be used for cell reprogramming like induced pluripotent stem cells. The addition of six histidine amino acid residues at its C-terminal is intended for the protein isolation process using the His-tag antibody.
Methods
The study aimed to investigate the optimization of the EGFP polyarginine protein expression in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in sufficient quantities for the protein isolation stage. This study also analyzed EGFP expression without polyarginine to analyze the polyarginine addition effect on expression processes. Protein expression was qualitatively measured by looking at expression fluorescence and protein levels of EGFP and EGFP - PolyR proteins.
Results
The addition of a PolyR group to the C-terminal of EGFP carrying C-terminal 6×His-tag showed similar fluorescence expression levels compare to EGFP without addition of PolyR as well. Moreover, yeast with plasmid insertion showed decrease
S. cerevisiae growth curve but still preserving the fluorescence EGFP.
Conclusions
The expression of the EGFP modified protein in
S. cerevisiae is not affected by the addition of arginine.
Background: The enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene is a reporter gene that can be used to optimize protein isolation procedures and the functional working of a transduction protein. EGFP, ...with the addition of eleven arginine residues, has been engineered to functionally improve the protein transduction process, which can later be used for cell reprogramming like induced pluripotent stem cells. The addition of six histidine amino acid residues at its C-terminal is intended for the protein isolation process using the His-tag antibody.
Methods: The study aimed to investigate the optimization of the EGFP polyarginine protein expression in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in sufficient quantities for the protein isolation stage. This study also analyzed EGFP expression without polyarginine to analyze the polyarginine addition effect on expression processes. Protein expression was qualitatively measured by looking at expression fluorescence and protein levels of EGFP and EGFP - PolyR proteins.
Results: Bands on Western Blots with 6×His-tag monoclonal antibody (primary antibody) and Goat anti-mouse IgG HRP (secondary antibody) showed the EGFP polyarginine and EGFP proteins were expressed in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae INVSc1 at relatively low levels. The lyticase incubation time modification and administration of 3-5 kDa microfilter to concentrate increased the yield of isolated protein.
Conclusions: The sufficient amount of protein isolation in
S. cerevisiae can be achieved by using lyticase and sonicators combination for the lysis process.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance and counseling teachers are demanded to keep running counseling services using various alternatives of online learning applications. At the same time, parents ...as the main assistants in the online counseling process should actively encourage their children to have active participation. It is because the majority of parents consider that all the things related to school activities are totally teachers’ responsibility. Thus, the present study attempted to find, reveal, and describe the role of parents in the implementation of supporting technology for online counseling services during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, the researchers adopted an online survey method and cross-sectional technique to analyze the data of 350 student's parents in Semarang Regency as the respondents of this study. Generally, the findings indicated that parents with high level of understanding tend to provide great support for the online counseling services given to their children. Article visualizations:
Lischer K, Putra ABRD, Guslianto BW, Avilla F, Sitorus SG, Nugraha Y, Sarmoko. 2020. Short Communication: The emergence and rise of indigenous thermophilic bacteria exploration from hot springs in ...Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5474-5481. Indonesia is an archipelagic country located in the pacific ring of fire, and is estimated to cause numerous hot springs spread across the country. In addition, small living microbes have been explored in these locations since 1985. These microbes possess the ability to survive in areas with high temperature (more than 40oC-90oC), and are therefore termed thermophiles. Hence, massive explorations have been conducted on Java island and other unexplored areas at Sumatra to Papua in New Guinea islands. Moreover, a total of 71 hot springs characterized by the presence of thermophilic bacteria have been explored in Indonesia. These investigations ensue with various approaches, including through conventional and microbiological, 16S rRNA, as well as whole-genome sequencing methods. In addition to species exploration, the application of thermophiles has become a topic of interest from 1999, especially based on thermostable enzymes with the capacity to maintain activity at high-temperature conditions. These include amylase, protease, lipase, xylanase, esterase, and cellulase as the most common isolated form, which indicates the existence of significant extractable potentials. Hence, there is a need for further research in terms of both exploration and application purposes.
Administration of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) has proved to be effective by providing immediate protection against SARS‐CoV‐2. However, dual strategies combining virus neutralization and immune ...response stimulation to enhance specific cytotoxic T cell responses, such as dendritic cell (DC) cross‐priming, represent a promising field but have not yet been explored. Here, a broadly nAb, TNT, are first generated by grafting an anti‐RBD biparatopic tandem nanobody onto a trimerbody scaffold. Cryo‐EM data show that the TNT structure allows simultaneous binding to all six RBD epitopes, demonstrating a high‐avidity neutralizing interaction. Then, by C‐terminal fusion of an anti‐DNGR‐1 scFv to TNT, the bispecific trimerbody TNTDNGR‐1 is generated to target neutralized virions to type 1 conventional DCs (cDC1s) and promote T cell cross‐priming. Therapeutic administration of TNTDNGR‐1, but not TNT, protects K18‐hACE2 mice from a lethal SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, boosting virus‐specific humoral responses and CD8+ T cell responses. These results further strengthen the central role of interactions with immune cells in the virus‐neutralizing antibody activity and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of the Fc‐free strategy that can be used advantageously to provide both immediate and long‐term protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 and other viral infections.
Here they generate a bispecific Fc‐free trimeric antibody to neutralize and target SARS‐CoV‐2 virions to type 1 conventional dendritic cells and promote T cell cross‐priming. Therapeutic administration protected mice from a lethal infection, boosting virus‐specific humoral and CD8+ T cell immune responses. The results highlight the potential of bispecific trimerbodies with neutralizing and vaccine‐like action to provide both immediate and long‐term protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 and other viral infections.
Obesity caused by a high-fat diet leads to an altered reproductive hormonal profile, including impaired semen quality. Antioxidants can overcome these conditions. One of the well-known sources of ...antioxidants is in the rambutan fruit peel extract. This research aimed to figure the effect of rambutan fruit peel extract towards total sperm count in Wistar rats induced with high-fat feed. The study design used post-test only control group, subjects were 30 male Wistar rats divided into five groups: Group I (Positive Control) was given high-fat feed, Group II (Treatment Control Group) was given 15mg/kg BW rambutan fruit peel extract, whereas group III, IV, V (Treatment Group) were given an extract of rambutan skin with a dosage of 15, 30, and 60 mg/kg BW, respectively. Treatment was administered for 81 days. This study showed that rambutan fruit peel extract with doses of 15, 30, and 60 mg/kg BW has significantly increased total sperm count in Wistar rats induced with high-fat feed. The outcome using Kruskal Wallis shows a result of p-value 0,010 (CI 95%). Antioxidant compounds found in rambutan fruit peel extract significantly increase total sperm count in Wistar rats induced with high-fat feed, with the highest efficacy on the dose of 15mg/kg BW.
Keywords: Fruit Peel Rambutan Extract; ; ;
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