Md. Mamun Al-Amin

Effects of Antipsychotics on the Inflammatory Response System of Patients with Schizophrenia in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Cultures

Objective We investigated the effects of antipsychotics on immune-challenged peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures. Methods Blood samples were collected from twelve patients with first-episode schizophrenia. The PBMCs were separated and cultures were prepared and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly[I:C]), and then separately treated with a typical antipsychotic (haloperidol) or atypical antipsychotic (clozapine, quetiapine, or risperidone). Pro-inflammatory (interferon gamma [IFN-γ]) and anti-inflammatory (interleukin [IL]-4 and IL-10) cytokine levels were measured in the LPS- or poly(I:C)-stimulated PBMC cultures treated with antipsychotics. Results Haloperidol and quetiapine significantly increased the IL-4 levels (p<0.05) in LPS-stimulated PBMC cultures, while clozapine and quetiapine significantly enhanced the IL-4 levels (p<0.05) in poly(I:C)-stimulated PBMC cultures. Only treatment with haloperidol resulted in a significant increase in IL-10 production (p<0.05) in LPS-stimulated PBMC cultures, whereas clozapine, quetiapine, and risperidone treatment significantly increased IL-10 production (p<0.05) in poly(I:C)-stimulated PBMC cultures. All of the antipsychotics reduced the IFN-γ level significantly (p<0.05) in LPS- and poly(I:C)-stimulated PBMC cultures. Conclusion Antipsychotic treatment altered immune function by raising the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) and suppressing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ).

Astaxanthin improves behavioral disorder and oxidative stress in prenatal valproic acid-induced mice model of autism

Prenatal exposure to valproic acid on gestational day 12.5 may lead to the impaired behavior in the offspring, which is similar to the human autistic symptoms. To the contrary, astaxanthin shows neuroprotective effect by its antioxidant mechanism. We aimed to (i) develop mice model of autism and (ii) investigate the effect of astaxanthin on such model animals. Valproic acid (600 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to the pregnant mice on gestational day 12.5. Prenatal valproic acid-exposed mice were divided into 2 groups on postnatal day 25 and astaxanthin (2mg/kg) was given to the experimental group (VPA_AST, n=10) while saline was given to the control group (VPA, n=10) for 4 weeks. Behavioral test including social interaction, open field and hot-plate were conducted on postnatal day 25 and oxidative stress markers such as lipid peroxidation, advanced protein oxidation product, nitric oxide, glutathione, and activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase were estimated on postnatal day 26 to confirm mice model of autism and on postnatal day 56 to assess the effect of astaxanthin. On postnatal day 25, prenatal valproic acid-exposed mice exhibited (i) delayed eye opening (ii) longer latency to respond painful stimuli, (iii) poor sociability and social novelty and (iv) high level of anxiety. In addition, an increased level of oxidative stress was found by determining different oxidative stress markers. Treatment with astaxanthin significantly (p<0.05) improved the behavioral disorder and reduced the oxidative stress in brain and liver. In conclusion, prenatal exposure to valproic day in pregnant mice leads to the development of autism-like features. Astaxanthin improves the impaired behavior in animal model of autism presumably by its antioxidant activity.

Astaxanthin ameliorates aluminum chloride-induced spatial memory impairment and neuronal oxidative stress in mice.

Aluminum chloride induces neurodegenerative disease in animal model. Evidence suggests that aluminum intake results in the activation of glial cells and generation of reactive oxygen species. By contrast, astaxanthin is an antioxidant having potential neuroprotective activity. In this study, we investigate the effect of astaxanthin on aluminum chloride-exposed behavioral brain function and neuronal oxidative stress (OS). Male Swiss albino mice (4 months old) were divided into 4 groups: (i) control (distilled water), (ii) aluminum chloride, (iii) astaxanthin+aluminum chloride, and (iv) astaxanthin. Two behavioral tests; radial arm maze and open field test were conducted, and OS markers were assayed from the brain and liver tissues following 42 days of treatment. Aluminum exposed group showed a significant reduction in spatial memory performance and anxiety-like behavior. Moreover, aluminum group exhibited a marked deterioration of oxidative markers; lipid peroxidation (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), glutathione (GSH) and advanced oxidation of protein products (AOPP) in the brain. To the contrary, co-administration of astaxanthin and aluminum has shown improved spatial memory, locomotor activity, and OS. These results indicate that astaxanthin improves aluminum-induced impaired memory performances presumably by the reduction of OS in the distinct brain regions. We suggest a future study to determine the underlying mechanism of astaxanthin in improving aluminum-exposed behavioral deficits.

Tadalafil enhances working memory, and reduces hippocampal oxidative stress in both young and aged mice

Tadalafil, a type-5 phosphodiesterase enzyme inhibitor with long half-life used to treat erectile dysfunction. Recently it has been reported that tadalafil improves cognitive function. Here, we aimed to investigate the age dependent effects of tadalafil on memory, locomotor, behavior, and oxidative stress in the hippocampus. Tadalafil was orally administered everyday (5 mg/kg) to young (2 months) and old (16 months) healthy mice for 4 weeks. Control mice from each group received equal volume of 0.9% normal saline for the same duration. Memory and locomotor activity were tested using radial arm maze and open field test respectively. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and advanced protein oxidation product (APOP) was analyzed and catalase activity was determined from the isolated hippocampus. Treatment with tadalafil in aged mice improves working memory than the corresponding tadalafil treated young mice in radial arm maze test. Tadalafil treated mice traveled less distance in the center and the mean speed of tadalafil treated aged mice was significantly lower than the tadalafil treated young mice in open field test. Tadalafil treatment elicited a decrease of MDA level in the hippocampus of aged mice than that of young mice. APOP level was decreased only in aged mice treated with tadalafil. Treatment with tadalafil decreased NO and increased catalase activity in both young and aged mice. On the basis of previous and our findings, we conclude that tadalafil treatment reduces oxidative stress while increased cGMP level in the hippocampus might be responsible for memory enhancement.

Content specificity of attentional bias to threat in post-traumatic stress disorder

BACKGROUND Attentional bias to affective information and reduced cognitive control may maintain the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and impair cognitive functioning. However, the role of content specificity of affective stimuli (e.g., trauma-related, emotional trauma-unrelated) in the observed attentional bias and cognitive control is less clear, as this has not been tested simultaneously before. Therefore, we examined the content specificity of attentional bias to threat in PTSD. METHODS PTSD participants (survivors of a multistory factory collapse, n=30) and matched controls (n=30) performed an Eriksen Flanker task. They identified the direction of a centrally presented target arrow, which was flanked by several task-irrelevant distractor arrows pointed to the same (congruent) or opposite direction (incongruent). Additionally, participants were presented with a picture of a face (neutral, emotional) or building (neutral=normal, emotional=collapsed multistory factory) as a task-irrelevant background image. RESULTS We found that PTSD participants produced overall larger conflict effects and longer reaction times (RT) to emotional than to neutral stimuli relative to their healthy counterparts. Moreover, PTSD, but not healthy participants showed a stimulus specific dissociation in processing emotional stimuli. Emotional faces elicited longer RTs compared to neutral faces, while emotional buildings elicited faster responses, compared to neutral buildings. CONCLUSIONS PTSD patients show a content-sensitive attentional bias to emotional information and impaired cognitive control.

Prenatal maternal lipopolysaccharide administration leads to age- and region-specific oxidative stress in the early developmental stage in offspring

Prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been exploited to simulate brain disorder in animal model. Prenatal LPS-exposure has shown elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the early stages of the postnatal period. This study determines the effect of prenatal LPS-exposure on oxidative stress (OS) in the distinct brain regions in the early postnatal stages. LPS (50 μg/kg, i.p.) and water for injection (100 μl, i.p.) were given to the experimental (n=5) and control (n=5) group of pregnant Swiss albino mice respectively on gestational day (GD)-16 and 17. Animals were decapitated on postnatal day (PnD) - 1, 7, 14 and 21 to assay levels of oxidative markers from 6 distinct brain regions. When compared with the control, prenatal LPS-exposure alters levels of OS markers: (i) on PnD-1, glutathione (GSH) level is raised and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity is dropped, (ii) on PnD-7, advanced oxidation of protein product (AOPP) level is elevated, (iii) on PnD-14, lipid peroxidation (MDA) and activity of catalase (CAT) are enhanced, (iv) on PnD-21, increased MDA continued. The hippocampus (HC) and cerebellum (CB) were mostly susceptible to OS in the early postnatal development. Levels of MDA and activity of CAT enzyme were increased on PnD-14 in the cortex, HC and CB. Except MDA, all OS markers recovered and returned to the level of control animals on PnD-21. Taken together, these results suggest that prenatal LPS-exposure induces age- and region-specific OS in the early postnatal stage.

Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant activities of Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus leaves.

Abstract Background: Our present study was carried out to explore the potential role of the methanol extract from the leaves of Phlogocanthus thyrsiflorus (PT) Nees. in central and peripheral analgesic activities using hot plate and acetic acid-induced writhing methods. We also tested the anti-inflammatory effects and anti-oxidant activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema and the DPPH method, respectively. Methods: Methanol extracts of PT leaves were prepared using 500 g powder in 1.8 L methanol by percolation method, followed by evaporation in a rotary evaporator under controlled temperature and pressure. The crude methanol extract was dried by freeze drier and preserved at 4 °C. Results: Oral administration of PT significantly (p<0.05) increased the reaction time at 55.73% (250 mg/kg) and 72.81% (500 mg/kg) inhibition (p<0.05) in the hot plate test at 3 h. PT significantly (p<0.05) inhibited 42.17% (250 mg/kg) and 56.63% (500 mg/kg) acetic acid-induced writhing. PT leaves (250 and 500 mg/kg) also significantly (p<0.05) inhibited paw edema 6 h after carrageenan injection. Furthermore, this plant showed significant (p<0.05) free radical-scavenging activity at a dose range of 25–800 μg/mL. Conclusions: Based on the findings, we can conclude that PT leaf possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidant activities. Preliminary phytochemical study of PT leaves revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins and triterpens in methanol extract which could be correlated with its observed biological activities.

Social innovation and SONO filter for drinking water

Purpose Bangladesh is facing an alarming situation with the drinking water in its most areas, as groundwater used for drinking has been contaminated with naturally occurring inorganic arsenic. Many entrepreneurs along with the government are trying to cope up with this problem. SONO filter is one of them that is based on the social innovation concept. Social innovation is defined as innovative products/services motivated by the goal of meeting a social need, with the opportunity to create new social collaborations. This paper aims to examine the concepts of social innovation, which advocates enhancing values to society and the social benefit to all the stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach This is an exploratory study and presents the evolution, the development of the social business model and its implementation. Abul Hussam initiated the social business concept through SONO filter that is commercialized through the Manob Sakti Unnayan Kendro. The study has been conducted entirely on the basis of documentary information and data available in the public domain. Findings The findings show a hopeful contribution toward enhancing social benefits to society especially in arsenic-affected areas. SONO filter helps to mitigate the water-borne diseases and make people clean and safe, as well as healthy, by providing pure drinking water. Even by drinking pure water, people with arsenic-related diseases are getting better day by day through this social initiative. Originality/value Business based on social innovation is a new and really a good working concept. It has faced many hurdles in its journey to meet social objectives. Many researchers, entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, national planners and society leaders will surely be benefited by its solution.

Antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of stems of Smilax zeylanica in vitro.

Abstract Background: Plant-derived phytochemicals consisting of phenols and flavonoids possess antioxidant properties, eventually rendering a lucrative tool to scavenge reactive oxygen species. This study was carried out to evaluate in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of methanolic extract and petroleum ether extracts of Smilax zeylanica L. stems. Methods: Phytochemical screening was done following standard procedures. Antioxidant activity was tested using several in vitro assays, viz., 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, NO assay, H2O2 assay, CUPRAC assay, FRAP assay and total antioxidant capacity assay. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were determined by colorimetric method. Brine shrimp lethality and MTT cell viability assays were used for cytotoxic potential. Results: Preliminary phytochemical study revealed the presence of flavonoids and glycosides in both extracts. Methanolic extract was found to possess stronger antioxidant potential than petroleum ether extracts in all assays. The IC50 value of methanolic extract was 29.14±0.39 μg/mL, 120.30±3.32 μg/mL and 78.41±5.53 μg/mL in DPPH assay, NO assay and H2O2 assay, respectively. Likewise, total phenol [56.78 mg/g gallic acid (GAE)] and flovonoid [125.69 mg/g quercetin equivalents (QE)] were higher in methanolic extract. In cytotoxicity assays, petroleum ether extract showed stronger activity in both brine shrimp lethality (LC50 2.85±0.13 μg/mL) and MTT cell viability assay (IC50 15.49±1.18 μg/mL). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that methanolic extracts could be considered as potential sources of natural antioxidant, whereas petroleum ether extracts could be explored for promising anticancer molecules.

Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects of Ixora coccinea

Abstract Background: The present study was carried out to explore the potential of the ethanol extract of Ixora coccinea L. (IC) leaves as analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic agents using the hot-plate, acetic acid-induced writhing, carrageenan-induced paw edema and brewer’s yeast-induced pyrexia tests in rodents. Methods: The extract was prepared by soaking the dried powdered leaves of IC in ethanol for 2 days. The filtrate thus obtained by filtration and evaporation was considered as a stock solution and was used in all experimental models. Results: Oral administration of IC (250 and 500 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.05) increased the reaction time in the hot-plate test. Ixora coccinea (250 and 500 mg/kg) produced 56.14% and 63.16% inhibition (p<0.05) in acetic acid-induced writhing. It also (250 and 500 mg/kg) produced significant (p<0.05) inhibition of paw edema pronounced at 6 h after carrageenan injection. Intraperitoneal administration of IC (250 and 500 mg/kg) lowered the body temperature in brewer’s yeast-induced hyperthermia. Conclusions: Based on the findings, it may be concluded that the IC leaves possessed analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic activities. Phytochemical constituents of IC leaves such as flavonoids, tannins, and triterpenes in ethanol extract could be correlated with its observed biological activities.