Najam-us-Sahar Sadaf Zaidi

Design, synthesis and bioevaluation of novel umbelliferone analogues as potential mushroom tyrosinase inhibitors

Abstract A series of umbelliferone analogues were synthesized and their inhibitory effects on the DPPH and mushroom tyrosinase were evaluated. The results showed that some of the synthesized compounds exhibited significant mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Especially, 2-oxo-2-[(2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yl)oxy]ethyl-2,4-dihydroxybenzoate (4e) bearing 2,4-dihydroxy substituted phenyl ring exhibited the most potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity with IC50 value 8.96 µM and IC50 value of kojic acid is 16.69. The inhibition mechanism analyzed by Lineweaver–Burk plots revealed that the type of inhibition of compound 4e on tyrosinase was non-competitive. The docking study against tyrosinase enzyme was also performed to determine the binding affinity of the compounds. The compounds 4c and 4e showed the highest binding affinity with active binding site of tyrosinase. The initial structure activity relationships (SARs) analysis suggested that further development of such compounds might be of interest. The statistics of our results endorses that compounds 4c and 4e may serve as a structural template for the design and development of novel tyrosinase inhibitors.

In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Cinnamomum cassia and Its Nanoparticles Against H7N3 Influenza A Virus

Nanoparticles have wide-scale applications in various areas, including medicine, chemistry, electronics, and energy generation. Several physical, biological, and chemical methods have been used for synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using plants provide advantages over other methods as it is easy, efficient, and eco-friendly. Nanoparticles have been extensively studied as potential antimicrobials to target pathogenic and multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Their applications recently extended to development of antivirals to inhibit viral infections. In this study, we synthesized silver nanoparticles using Cinnamomum cassia (Cinnamon) and evaluated their activity against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H7N3. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UVVis absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Cinnamon bark extract and its nanoparticles were tested against H7N3 influenza A virus in Vero cells and the viability of cells was determined by tetrazolium dye (MTT) assay. The silver nanoparticles derived from Cinnamon extract enhanced the antiviral activity and were found to be effective in both treatments, when incubated with the virus prior to infection and introduced to cells after infection. In order to establish the safety profile, Cinnamon and its corresponding nanoparticles were tested for their cytotoxic effects in Vero cells. The tested concentrations of extract and nanoparticles (up to 500 μg/ml) were found non-toxic to Vero cells. The biosynthesized nanoparticles may, hence, be a promising approach to provide treatment against influenza virus infections.

Alpha-lipoic acid-mediated activation of muscarinic receptors improves hippocampus- and amygdala-dependent memory.

Aluminum (Al) is a neurotoxic agent which readily crosses the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) and accumulates in the brain leading to neurodegenerative disorders, characterised by cognitive impairment. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is an antioxidant and has a potential to improve cognitive functions. This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of ALA in AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity mouse model. Effect of ALA (25mg/kg/day) was evaluated in the AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity (AlCl3 150 mg/kg/day) mouse model on learning and memory using behaviour tests and on the expression of muscarinic receptor genes (using RT-PCR), in hippocampus and amygdala. Following ALA treatment, the expression of muscarinic receptor genes M1, M2 and choline acetyltransferase (ChaT) were significantly improved (p<0.05) relative to AlCl3-treated group. ALA enhanced fear memory (p<0.01) and social novelty preference (p<0.001) comparative to the AlCl3-treated group. Fear extinction memory was remarkably restored (p<0.001) in ALA-treated group demonstrated by reduced freezing response as compared to the AlCl3-treated group which showed higher freezing. In-silico analysis showed that racemic mixture of ALA has higher binding affinity for M1 and M2 compared to acetylcholine. These novel findings highlight the potential role of ALA in cognitive functions and cholinergic system enhancement thus presenting it an enviable therapeutic candidate for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Plant-Microbe Interactions: A Molecular Approach

Plants thrive in a complex environment comprising of various biotic and abiotic agents. Like all biological systems, these agents tend to interact with the plant body. Microorganisms form a major portion of the ecosystem and have been found to inoculate or infect members of all the kingdoms. Plants and microbes have developed molecular mechanisms to interact with one another and attain the maximum benefit from the interactions. This mutualistic relationship provides benefit not only to the microbes but also to the plants. Based upon this complex molecular interplay, a number of mechanisms have been studied and are currently being employed for the agricultural, environmental, and health benefits. The principles of biofertilization and bioremediation utilize the plant-microbe interactions for the survival of the two players along with contributing to the food chain and the ecosystem. Similarly, the secondary metabolites obtained from these organisms contribute to human medical and agricultural welfare. These processes are regulated by a variety of biological, physical, chemical, and environmental factors, the study of which can be helpful in exploiting better outcomes from the interaction. The advent of modern techniques has helped in deciphering the role of various molecular players of the plant-microbe interactions. Moreover, they can be employed for regulating the plant-microbe interaction for improved efficiency. The current chapter discusses the molecular mechanisms involved in the plant-microbe interactions exhibited in biofertilization, bioremediation, biocontrol, and induced systemic resistance. Afterwards, the factors affecting the molecular machinery involved in these pathways have been discussed. Toward the end, a brief introduction of the genetic manipulative techniques and their applications in the plant-microbe interactions has been presented.

Prevalence of rotavirus, adenovirus, hepatitis A virus and enterovirus in water samples collected from different region of Peshawar, Pakistan.

Viral gastroenteritis and other water-borne diseases are the most neglected areas of research in Pakistan. To determine the quality of water, 4 enteric viruses were studied from different localities of Peshawar, Pakistan. The study validates the viral detection method for Rotavirus (RV), Human adenovirus (HAdV), Enterovirus (EV) and Hepatitis A virus (HAV), directly from water sources of rural areas of Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Overall, 95 five water samples were tested; among them, 9.47% were positive for RV, 38.94% for HAdV, 48.42% for EV and 12.63% for HAV. The presence of these viruses in water was directly correlated with meteorological data. High prevalence of EV and HAdV was detected frequently in the wet season from May - September, which can be the potential cause of spreading of gastroenteritis in the population. Environmental surveillance is an additional tool to evaluate the epidemiology of enteric viruses circulating in a given community.

Global geno-proteomic analysis reveals cross-continental sequence conservation and druggable sites among influenza virus polymerases

Influenza virus is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity associated with respiratory diseases. The high rate of mutation in the viral proteome provides it with the ability to survive in a variety of host species. This property helps it in maintaining and developing its pathogenicity, transmission and drug resistance. Alternate drug targets, particularly the internal proteins, can potentially be exploited for addressing the resistance issues. In the current analysis, the degree of conservation of influenza virus polymerases has been studied as one of the essential elements for establishing its candidature as a potential target of antiviral therapy. We analyzed more than 130,000 nucleotide and amino acid sequences by classifying them on the basis of continental presence of host organisms. Computational analyses including genetic polymorphism study, mutation pattern determination, molecular evolution and geophylogenetic analysis were performed to establish the high degree of conservation among the sequences. These studies lead to establishing the polymerases, in particular PB1, as highly conserved proteins. Moreover, we mapped the conservation percentage on the tertiary structures of proteins to identify the conserved, druggable sites. The research study, hence, revealed that the influenza virus polymerases are highly conserved (95-99%) proteins with a very slow mutation rate. Potential drug binding sites on various polymerases have also been reported. A scheme for drug target candidate development that can be employed to rapidly mutating proteins has been presented. Moreover, the research output can help in designing new therapeutic molecules against the identified targets.

Development of robust in vitro RNA-dependent RNA polymerase assay as a possible platform for antiviral drug testing against dengue.

Abstract NS5 is the largest and most conserved protein among the four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. It has been the target of interest for antiviral drug development due to its major role in replication. NS5 consists of two domains, the N-terminal methyltransferase domain and C-terminal catalytic RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain. It is an unstable protein and is prone to inactivation upon prolonged incubation at room temperature, thus affecting the inhibitor screening assays. In the current study, we expressed and purified DENV RdRp alone in Esherichia coli (E. coli) cells. The N-terminally His-tagged construct of DENV RdRp was transformed into E. coli expression strain BL-21 (DE3) pLysS cells. Protein expression was induced with isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) at a final concentration of 0.4mM. The induced cultures were then grown for 20h at 18°C and cells were harvested by centrifugation at 6000xg for 15min at 4°C. The recombinant protein was purified using HisTrap affinity column (Ni-NTA) and then the sample was subjected to size exclusion chromatography, which successfully removed the degradation product obtained during the previous purification step. The in vitro polymerase activity of RdRp was successfully demonstrated using homopolymeric polycytidylic acid (poly(rC)) RNA template. This study describes the high level production of enzymatically active DENV RdRp protein which can be used to develop assays for testing large number of compounds in a high-throughput manner. RdRp has the de novo initiation activity and the in vitro polymerase assays for the protein provide a platform for highly robust and efficient antiviral compound screening systems.

Protein sequence conservation and stable molecular evolution reveals influenza virus nucleoprotein as a universal druggable target.

The high mutation rate in influenza virus genome and appearance of drug resistance calls for a constant effort to identify alternate drug targets and develop new antiviral strategies. The internal proteins of the virus can be exploited as a potential target for therapeutic interventions. Among these, the nucleoprotein (NP) is the most abundant protein that provides structural and functional support to the viral replication machinery. The current study aims at analysis of protein sequence polymorphism patterns, degree of molecular evolution and sequence conservation as a function of potential druggability of nucleoprotein. We analyzed a universal set of amino acid sequences, (n=22,000) and, in order to identify and correlate the functionally conserved, druggable regions across different parameters, classified them on the basis of host organism, strain type and continental region of sample isolation. The results indicated that around 95% of the sequence length was conserved, with at least 7 regions conserved across the protein among various classes. Moreover, the highly variable regions, though very limited in number, were found to be positively selected indicating, thereby, the high degree of protein stability against various hosts and spatio-temporal references. Furthermore, on mapping the conserved regions on the protein, 7 drug binding pockets in the functionally important regions of the protein were revealed. The results, therefore, collectively indicate that nucleoprotein is a highly conserved and stable viral protein that can potentially be exploited for development of broadly effective antiviral strategies.

Frequency of hepatitis E and Hepatitis A virus in water sample collected from Faisalabad, Pakistan

Hepatitis E and Hepatitis A virus both are highly prevalent in Pakistan mainly present as a sporadic disease. The aim of the current study is to isolate and characterized the specific genotype of Hepatitis E virus from water bodies of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Drinking and sewage samples were qualitatively analyzed by using RT-PCR. HEV Genotype 1 strain was recovered from sewage water of Faisalabad. Prevalence of HEV and HAV in sewage water propose the possibility of gradual decline in the protection level of the circulated vaccine in the Pakistani population.

Omics Approaches in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering

Abstract The constant uncontrolled rise in the population calls for the efforts to ensure the timely availability of biopharmaceuticals to address the prophylactic and therapeutic needs of the masses. This, hence, calls for the constant upgradation and optimization of the industrial bioprocesses. Improving the output of bioprocesses to make them more cost effective and time efficient requires the incorporation and use of newer techniques. Most industrial biotechnological products involve the involvement of at least one biological organism. Therefore in order to enhance the output of these processes, an intelligent optimization of the bioprocesses has to be carried out. The advent of omics has been a tantamount to the progress in all the fields of biotechnology. A number of tools have been employed by the biotechnologists, systems biologists, and bioprocess engineers for optimizing and developing efficient industrial process for biological applications. The efficient production of quality biological products is based on the selection, optimization, and engineering of appropriate biological mechanisms. Recent advances in the field of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have led to an overall increase in the industrial output and, hence, an improvement in the biomedical outcomes. This chapter addresses the history of the inculcation of omics technologies in the field of industrial biotechnology followed by the tools developed for improving the industrial output. The challenges faced in this sector have also been addressed.