Cyclophilins, or immunophilins, are proteins found in many organisms including bacteria, plants and humans. Most of them display peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity, and play roles as ...chaperones or in signal transduction. Here, we show that cyclophilin anaCyp40 from the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is enzymatically active, and seems to be involved in general stress responses and in assembly of photosynthetic complexes. The protein is associated with the thylakoid membrane and interacts with phycobilisome and photosystem components. Knockdown of anacyp40 leads to growth defects under high-salt and high-light conditions, and reduced energy transfer from phycobilisomes to photosystems. Elucidation of the anaCyp40 crystal structure at 1.2-Å resolution reveals an N-terminal helical domain with similarity to PsbQ components of plant photosystem II, and a C-terminal cyclophilin domain with a substrate-binding site. The anaCyp40 structure is distinct from that of other multi-domain cyclophilins (such as Arabidopsis thaliana Cyp38), and presents features that are absent in single-domain cyclophilins.
Due to genetic changes in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequences, cancer continues to be the second most prevalent cause of death. The traditional target-directed approach, which is confronted with ...the importance of target function in healthy cells, is one of the most significant challenges in anticancer research. Another problem with cancer cells is that they experience various mutations, changes in gene duplication, and chromosomal abnormalities, all of which have a direct influence on the potency of anticancer drugs at different developmental stages. All of these factors combine to make cancer medication development difficult, with low clinical licensure success rates when compared to other therapy categories. The current review focuses on the pathophysiology and molecular aspects of common cancer types. Currently, the available chemotherapeutic drugs, also known as combination chemotherapy, are associated with numerous adverse effects, resulting in the search for herbal-based alternatives that attenuate resistance due to cancer therapy and exert chemo-protective actions. To provide new insights, this review updated the list of key compounds that may enhance the efficacy of cancer treatment.
Recently, much attention has been paid to chronic neuro-inflammatory condition underlying neuropathic pain. It is generally linked with thermal hyperalgesia and tactile allodynia. It results due to ...injury or infection in the nervous system. The neuropathic pain spectrum covers a variety of pathophysiological states, mostly involved are ischemic injury viral infections associated neuropathies, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies, autoimmune disorders, traumatic origin, hereditary neuropathies, inflammatory disorders, and channelopathies. In CNS, angiogenesis is evident in inflammation of neurons and pain in bone cancer. The role of chemokines and cytokines is dualistic; their aggressive secretion produces detrimental effects, leading to neuropathic pain. However, whether the angiogenesis contributes and exists in neuropathic pain remains doubtful. In the present review, we elucidated summary of diverse mechanisms of neuropathic pain associated with angiogenesis. Moreover, an overview of multiple targets that have provided insights on the VEGF signaling, signaling through Tie-1 and Tie-2 receptor, erythropoietin pathway promoting axonal growth are also discussed. Because angiogenesis as a result of these signaling, results in inflammation, we focused on the mechanisms of neuropathic pain. These factors are mainly responsible for the activation of post-traumatic regeneration of the PNS and CNS. Furthermore, we also reviewed synthetic and herbal treatments targeting angiogenesis in neuropathic pain.
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•Neuropathic pain, caused by disease or lesion in central and peripheral nerves.•The signalling pathways associated with angiogenesis, in neuropathic pain.•Dysregulation of vasculature, restoration of blood flow/vasculature of peripheral nerve.•Potential novel therapeutic approaches targeting axonal regeneration, blood nerve barrier, angiogenesis, and herbal therapies.
The manipulation of single particles remains a topic of interest with many applications. Here we characterize the impact of selected parameters on the motion of single particles thanks to ...dielectrophoresis (DEP) induced by visible light, in a technique called Light-induced Dielectrophoresis, or LiDEP, also known as optoelectronic tweezers, optically induced DEP, and image-based DEP. Baker's yeast and Candida cells are exposed to an electric field gradient enabled by shining a photoconductive material with a specific pattern of visible light, and their response is measured in terms of the average cell velocity towards the gradient. The impact on cell velocity when varying the shape and color of the light pattern, as well as the distance from the cell to the pattern, is presented. The experimental setup featured a commercial light projector featuring digital light processing (DLP) technology but mechanically modified to accommodate a 40× microscope objective lens. The minimal resolution achieved on the light pattern was 8 µm. Experimental results show the capability for single cell manipulation and the possibility of using different shapes, colors, and distances to determine the average cell velocity.
In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion technique with and without Zr4+ doping. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy ...(SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), selected area diffraction pattern (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). A rietveld refinement analysis was performed using fullprof software on the XRD patterns of ZnO and Zr4+ doped ZnO nanoparticles, analysis showed a hexagonal wurtzite structure with an average crystallite size between 19 and 15 nm. SEM were employed to examine the surface morphology. TEM used to determine the particle size and size distribution histogram. SAED pattern confirmed the single-crystalline wurtzite structure. The compositional stoichiometry was verified by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX). The PL spectrum reveals UV emission at the near band edge, as well as defect-related blue and green emission. In the PL spectrum, the green emission of Zr doped ZnO nanoparticles correlates strongly with their magnetic properties.An oxygen vacancy defect was confirmed by EPR studies for Zr doped ZnO nanoparticles. Sample (x = 0.03) exhibited very high coercivity value due to higher oxygen vacancies (Vo). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the oxidation state of Zn and Zr4+ atoms exist as Zn2+ and Zr4+ in the ZnO structure respectively. A vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to quantify the magnetic properties. Field-dependent magnetization measurements show diamagnetic behavior for pristine and Zr (x = 0.01 mol) doped ZnO. However, other doped samples (x = 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07 mol) exhibited ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature due to intrinsic defects (Zni and Vo). A UV–visible absorption spectrum was used to determine the energy band gap. Compared with pristine ZnO nanoparticles, doped samples exhibit a redshift in absorption edge. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of synthesized samples was determined by degrading the dye methylene blue (M.B.) in the presence of sunlight. An extensive evaluation of the effect of Zr concentrations on photocatalytic degradation was conducted. Zr4+ doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibit emission peaks detected at 424, 446, and 573 nm. These emission peaks result from electron movement from the deep donor level, zinc interstitial (Zni), and oxygen vacancy(Vo), which ultimately leads to higher photocatalytic efficiency.
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•Sol-gel auto combustion synthesized pristine and Zr doped ZnO nanoparticles.•Zr doped samples (x = 0.03, 0.05, and 0.07 mol) exhibited ferromagnetic behavior.•Diamagnetic to ferromagnetic transition and dye degradation are dependent on intrinsic defects.•In Zr doped ZnO nanoparticles, oxygen vacancies enhance photocatalytic activity.•Results of the study may lead to applications in photocatalysis and spintronics.
This study was undertaken to bridge the knowledge gap pertaining to cyanobacteria's response to pretreatment. The result elucidates the synergistic effect of pretreatment toxicity in cyanobacterium
...PCC7120 on morphological and biochemical attributes. Chemical (salt) and physical (heat) stress-pretreated cells exhibited significant and reproducible changes in terms of growth pattern, morphology, pigments, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant activity. Salinity pretreatment showed more than a five-fold decrease in the phycocyanin content but a six-fold and five-fold increase in carotenoid, lipid peroxidation (MDA content), and antioxidant activity (SOD and CAT) at 1 h and on 3rd day of treatment, respectively, giving the impression of stress-induced free radicals that are scavenged by antioxidants when compared to heat shock pretreatment. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of transcript (qRT-PCR) for FeSOD and MnSOD displayed a 3.6- and 1.8-fold increase in salt-pretreated (S-H) samples. The upregulation of transcript corresponding to salt pretreatment suggests a toxic role of salinity in synergizing heat shock. However, heat pretreatment suggests a protective role in mitigating salt toxicity. It could be inferred that pretreatment enhances the deleterious effect. However, it further showed that salinity (chemical stress) augments the damaging effect of heat shock (physical stress) more profoundly than physical stress on chemical stress possibly by modulating redox balance
activation of antioxidant responses. Our study reveals that upon pretreatment of heat, the negative effect of salt can be mitigated in filamentous cyanobacteria, thus providing a foundation for improved cyanobacterial tolerance to salt stress.
Present study deals with the identification of a novel aldo/keto reductase, AKR17A1 from Anabaena sp. PCC7120 and adds on as 17th family of AKR superfamily drawn from a wide variety of organisms. ...AKR17A1 shares many characteristics of a typical AKR such as- (i) conferring tolerance to multiple stresses like heat, UV-B, and cadmium, (ii) excellent activity towards known AKR substrates (isatin and 2-nitrobenzaldehyde), and (iii) obligate dependence on NADPH as a cofactor for enzyme activity. The most novel attribute of AKR17A1, first reported in this study, is its capability to metabolize butachlor, a persistent rice field herbicide that adversely affects agro-ecosystem and non-target organisms. The AKR17A1 catalyzed- degradation of butachlor resulted into formation of 1,2-benzene dicarboxylic acid and 2,6 bis (1,1, dimethylethyl) 4,-methyl phenol as the major products confirmed by GC-MS analysis.
The unusual ocular type of tuberculosis (TB), known as choroidal tuberculoma, poses diagnostic and treatment challenges, particularly when it occurs in the absence of other disease signs. Patients ...with ocular tuberculosis have choroidal tuberculomas. They rarely present as the first sign of tuberculosis without any prior systemic symptoms, and they typically occur in patients who have had the disease in the past. We present a 13 year old Boy with unilateral choroidal tuberculoma with meningitis as the primary sign of presumptive ocular tuberculosis allowed for early therapy to be started.
The term "neurodegenerative disorders" refers to a group of illnesses in which deterioration of nerve structure and function is a prominent feature. Cognitive capacities such as memory and ...decision-making deteriorate as a result of neuronal damage. The primary difficulty that remains is safeguarding neurons since they do not proliferate or regenerate spontaneously and are therefore not substituted by the body after they have been damaged. Millions of individuals throughout the world suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. Various pathways lead to neurodegeneration, including endoplasmic reticulum stress, calcium ion overload, mitochondrial dysfunction, reactive oxygen species generation, and apoptosis. Although different treatments and therapies are available for neuroprotection after a brain injury or damage, the obstacles are inextricably connected. Several studies have revealed the pathogenic effects of hypothermia, different breathed gases, stem cell treatments, mitochondrial transplantation, multi-pharmacological therapy, and other therapies that have improved neurological recovery and survival outcomes after brain damage. The present review highlights the use of therapeutic approaches that can be targeted to develop and understand significant therapies for treating neurodegenerative diseases.
Vitamin D possesses immunomodulatory qualities and is protective against respiratory infections. Additionally, it strengthens adaptive and cellular immunity and boosts the expression of genes ...involved in oxidation. Experts suggested taking vitamin D supplements to avoid and treat viral infection and also COVID-19, on the other hand, since the beginning of time, the use of plants as medicines have been vital to human wellbeing. The WHO estimates that 80 % of people worldwide use plants or herbs for therapeutic purposes. Secondary metabolites from medicinal plants are thought to be useful in lowering infections from pathogenic microorganisms due to their ability to inhibit viral protein and enzyme activity by binding with them. As a result, this manuscript seeks to describe the role of vitamin D and probable plant metabolites that have antiviral activities and may be complementary to the alternative strategy against COVID-19 in a single manuscript through reviewing various case studies.
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