Saima Wajid

Arbuscular mycorrhiza increase artemisinin accumulation in Artemisia annua by higher expression of key biosynthesis genes via enhanced jasmonic acid levels

It is becoming increasingly evident that the formation of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) enhances secondary metabolite production in shoots. Despite mounting evidence, relatively little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This study suggests that increase in artemisinin concentration in Artemisia annua colonized by Rhizophagus intraradices is due to altered trichome density as well as transcriptional patterns that are mediated via enhanced jasmonic acid (JA) levels. Mycorrhizal (M) plants had higher JA levels in leaf tissue that may be due to induction of an allene oxidase synthase gene (AOS), encoding one of the key enzymes for JA production. Non-mycorrhizal (NM) plants were exogenously supplied with a range of methyl jasmonic acid concentrations. When leaves of NM and M plants with similar levels of endogenous JA were compared, these matched closely in terms of shoot trichome density, artemisinin concentration, and transcript profile of artemisinin biosynthesis genes. Mycorrhization increased artemisinin levels by increasing glandular trichome density and transcriptional activation of artemisinin biosynthesis genes. Transcriptional analysis of some rate-limiting enzymes of mevalonate and methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways revealed that AM increases isoprenoids by induction of the MEP pathway. A decline in artemisinin concentration in shoots of NM and M plants treated with ibuprofen (an inhibitor of JA biosynthesis) further confirmed the implication of JA in the mechanism of artemisinin production.

Allelic Variations in 5, 10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene and Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer in Indian Women

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene located on chromosome 1p36.3 catalyses the conversion of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5,methyltetrahydrofolate, the major methyl donor for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Two common polymorphisms in the MTHFR gene have been identified, 677C>T in exon 4, leading to substitution of alanine by valine and 1298A>C in exon 7 which leads to the replacement of glutamic acid by alanine resulting into reduced enzyme activity. The potential influence of MTHFR activity on DNA methylation and on the availability of uridylates and thymidylates for DNA synthesis and repair makes MTHFR an attractive candidate for cancer predisposing gene. In order to elucidate the role of MTHFR polymorphism in cervical cancer, both the exons for 677C>T and 1298A>C mutations were analyzed among 219 females, including 77 females with normal cervical cytology, 80 with cervical dysplasia and 62 with squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix. Females with mutant allele at 677 position (CT/TT genotypes) were found to be almost three times the risk of cervical dysplasia than females with CC genotype [OR, 2.9; (CI, 1.5-5.7)], but were less likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma [OR, 1.5 (CI, 0.7-3.2)]. Similar findings were observed for mutation at 1298 position, females with AC/CC genotypes were almost four times the risk of cervical dysplasia [OR, 4.3 (CI, 2.1-9.0)], as compared to AA genotype. Our study lends further support to the hypothesis that the MTHFR polymorphism (677C>T or 1298A>C) is involved in susceptibility to cervical dysplasia.

A constitutive expression system for cellulase secretion in Escherichia coli and its use in bioethanol production.

The production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass appears to be attractive and viable due to the abundance and availability of this biomass. The hydrolysis of this biomass, however, is challenging because of the complex lignocellulosic structure. The ability to produce hydrolytic cellulase enzymes in a cost-effective manner will certainly accelerate the process of making lignocellulosic ethanol production a commercial reality. These cellulases may need to be produced aerobically to generate large amounts of protein in a short time or anaerobically to produce biofuels from cellulose via consolidated bioprocessing. Therefore, it is important to identify a promoter that can constitutively drive the expression of cellulases under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions without the need for an inducer. Using lacZ as reporter gene, we analyzed the strength of the promoters of four genes, namely lacZ, gapA, ldhA and pflB, and found that the gapA promoter yielded the maximum expression of the β-galactosidase enzyme under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. We further cloned the genes for two cellulolytic enzymes, β-1,4-endoglucanase and β-1,4-glucosidase, under the control of the gapA promoter, and we expressed these genes in Escherichia coli, which secreted the products into the extracellular medium. An ethanologenic E. colistrain transformed with the secretory β-glucosidase gene construct fermented cellobiose in both defined and complex medium. This recombinant strain also fermented wheat straw hydrolysate containing glucose, xylose and cellobiose into ethanol with an 85% efficiency of biotransformation. An ethanologenic strain that constitutively secretes a cellulolytic enzyme is a promising platform for producing lignocellulosic ethanol.

Engineered Production of Short Chain Fatty Acid in Escherichia coli Using Fatty Acid Synthesis Pathway.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyric acid, have a broad range of applications in chemical and fuel industries. Worldwide demand of sustainable fuels and chemicals has encouraged researchers for microbial synthesis of SCFAs. In this study we compared three thioesterases, i.e., TesAT from Anaerococcus tetradius, TesBF from Bryantella formatexigens and TesBT from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, for production of SCFAs in Escherichia coli utilizing native fatty acid synthesis (FASII) pathway and modulated the genetic and bioprocess parameters to improve its yield and productivity. E. coli strain expressing tesBT gene yielded maximum butyric acid titer at 1.46 g L-1, followed by tesBF at 0.85 g L-1 and tesAT at 0.12 g L-1. The titer of butyric acid varied significantly depending upon the plasmid copy number and strain genotype. The modulation of genetic factors that are known to influence long chain fatty acid production, such as deletion of the fadD and fadE that initiates the fatty acid degradation cycle and overexpression of fadR that is a global transcriptional activator of fatty acid biosynthesis and repressor of degradation cycle, did not improve the butyric acid titer significantly. Use of chemical inhibitor cerulenin, which restricts the fatty acid elongation cycle, increased the butyric acid titer by 1.7-fold in case of TesBF, while it had adverse impact in case of TesBT. In vitro enzyme assay indicated that cerulenin also inhibited short chain specific thioesterase, though inhibitory concentration varied according to the type of thioesterase used. Further process optimization followed by fed-batch cultivation under phosphorous limited condition led to production of 14.3 g L-1 butyric acid and 17.5 g L-1 total free fatty acid at 28% of theoretical yield. This study expands our understanding of SCFAs production in E. coli through FASII pathway and highlights role of genetic and process optimization to enhance the desired product.

Increased miltefosine tolerance in clinical isolates of Leishmania donovani is associated with reduced drug accumulation, increased infectivity and resistance to oxidative stress

Background Miltefosine (MIL) is an oral antileishmanial drug used for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent. Recent reports indicate a significant decline in its efficacy with a high rate of relapse in VL as well as post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). We investigated the parasitic factors apparently involved in miltefosine unresponsiveness in clinical isolates of Leishmania donovani. Methodology L. donovani isolated from patients of VL and PKDL at pretreatment stage (LdPreTx, n = 9), patients that relapsed after MIL treatment (LdRelapse, n = 7) and parasites made experimentally resistant to MIL (LdM30) were included in this study. MIL uptake was estimated using liquid chromatography coupled mass spectrometry. Reactive oxygen species and intracellular thiol content were measured fluorometrically. Q-PCR was used to assess the differential expression of genes associated with MIL resistance. Results LdRelapse parasites exhibited higher IC50 both at promastigote level (7.92 ± 1.30 μM) and at intracellular amastigote level (11.35 ± 6.48 μM) when compared with LdPreTx parasites (3.27 ± 1.52 μM) and (3.85 ± 3.11 μM), respectively. The percent infectivity (72 hrs post infection) of LdRelapse parasites was significantly higher (80.71 ± 5.67%, P<0.001) in comparison to LdPreTx (60.44 ± 2.80%). MIL accumulation was significantly lower in LdRelapse parasites (1.7 fold, P<0.001) and in LdM30 parasites (2.4 fold, P<0.001) when compared with LdPreTx parasites. MIL induced ROS levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) in macrophages infected with LdRelapse while intracellular thiol content were significantly higher in LdRelapse compared to LdPreTx, indicating a better tolerance for oxidative stress in LdRelapse isolates. Genes associated with oxidative stress, metabolic processes and transporters showed modulated expression in LdRelapse and LdM30 parasites in comparison with LdPreTx parasites. Conclusion The present study highlights the parasitic factors and pathways responsible for miltefosine unresponsiveness in VL and PKDL.

Analysis of C9orf72 repeat expansion in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients from North India

Pathogenic expansion of a hexanucleotide repeat in C9orf72 is associated with ~30% of familial ALS and ~7% of sporadic ALS patients amongst different populations. This repeat expansion was screened in 75 ALS patients and 115 healthy individuals from North India. On analysis by repeat-primed PCR, pathogenic expansion was not observed either in ALS patients or healthy controls. These observations are similar to the findings in most of the Asian populations.

Expression analysis of protein homeostasis pathways in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients

Misfolded protein aggregates are the hallmark of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) which suggests involvement of protein homeostasis pathways in etiology of ALS. However, status of protein homeostasis in peripheral blood of ALS is not well established. We analyzed expression levels of key genes of proteostasis pathways in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of sporadic ALS (sALS) patients and healthy controls. Increased protein carbonylation was observed in patients reflecting oxidative damage in PBMCs. We observed increased transcript and protein levels of GRP78 suggesting Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) insult to cells. Further, significant upregulation of spliced XBP1 and two stress sensors: IRE1α/ERN1 and ATF6 indicated induction of unfolded protein response (UPR). Genes involved in autophagosome initiation (ULK1, ULK2, ATG13); nucleation and elongation (BECLIN1, ATG7, ATG16L1, ATG5, ATG10) and vesicular trafficking genes were significantly increased in patients. Increased lipidation of LC3 validated induction of autophagy. Accumulation of low molecular weight ubiquitinated proteins in patients suggested deregulation of proteasome (UPS) pathway. In addition, cytosolic chaperones (HSP70 and HSP27) and HSF1 were elevated in patients. Increased TDP43 indicated role of TDP43 in disease pathology. Our findings suggest that there is oxidative insult and upregulation of UPR, vesicular trafficking and autophagy in PBMCs of sALS patients.

Assessment of cellular and serum proteome from tongue squamous cell carcinoma patient lacking addictive proclivities for tobacco, betel nut and alcohol: Case study†

The intriguing molecular pathways involved in oral carcinogenesis are still ambiguous. The oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) ranks as the most common type constituting more than 90% of the globally diagnosed oral cancers cases. The elevation in the OSCC incidence rate during past 10 years has an alarming impression on human healthcare. The major challenges associated with OSCC include delayed diagnosis, high metastatic rates, and low 5‐year survival rates. The present work foundations on reverse genetic strategy and involves the identification of genes showing expressional variability in an OSCC case lacking addictive proclivities for tobacco, betel nut, and/or alcohol, major etiologies. The expression modulations in the identified genes were analyzed in 16 patients comprising oral pre‐cancer and cancer histo‐pathologies. The genes SCCA1 and KRT1 were found to down regulate while DNAJC13, GIPC2, MRPL17, IG‐Vreg, SSFA2, and UPF0415 upregulated in the oral pre‐cancer and cancer pathologies, implicating the genes as crucial players in oral carcinogenesis.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of gymnemic acids from Gymnema sylvestre leaves and its effect on insulin-producing RINm-5 F β cell lines.

INTRODUCTION Gymnema sylvestre is an important anti-diabetic medicinal plant, hence it is necessary to study the effective extraction of its active medicinal components. OBJECTIVE To develop an efficient ultrasound-assisted extraction method for anti-diabetic gymnemic acids from Gymnema sylvestre leaves and measure their effect on insulin-producing RINm-5 F β cells. METHODS Box-Behnkens design and response surface methodology was applied to the ultrasound-assisted extraction of gymnemic acids from Gymnema sylvestre leaves. Analysis of gymnemic acids was carried out by high-performance thin-layer chromatography by converting total gymnemic acids into gymnemagenin by alkali hydrolysis. Effects of extracts on insulin production were tested on cultured, insulin-producing RINm-5 F β cell lines. RESULTS The point prediction tool of the design expert software predicted 397.9 mg gymnemic acids per gram of the defatted G. sylvestre leaves using ultrasound-assisted extraction, with ethanol at 60 °C for 30 min. The predicted condition shows 93.34% validity under experimental conditions. The ultrasound-assisted extract caused up to about four times more insulin production from RINm-5 F β cells than extracts obtained from Soxhlet extraction. CONCLUSIONS Response surface methodology was successfully used to improve the extraction of gymnemic acids from G. sylvestre leaves. The ultrasound-assisted extraction process may be a better alternative to prepare such herbal extracts because it saves time and may prevent excess degradation of the target analytes.

In Silico elucidation of novel anticancer lead molecules targeting Human Prostate Specific Gene-1 protein

Farheen Waziri, Ramachandran Vijayan, Tahreem Sahar, Shadab Anwar, Samudrala Gourinath, Swatantra Kumar Jain and Saima Wajid Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India; School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; Department of Biochemistry, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India