Vinitha Ramanath Pai

IMA and IMAR in serum and saliva of preeclampsia – a preliminary study

Introduction: Oxidative stress could play a role in the development of preeclampsia. Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) is a oxidatively modified form of albumin. Objective: To evaluate the levels of salivary and serum IMA and IMA: albumin ratio (IMAR) in preeclampsia and with its severity and investigate their correlation with the fetal birth weight. Methods: This case control study was conducted on 50 preeclamptic (32 mild and 18 severe cases) and 50 normal pregnant controls. Blood and saliva were obtained to measure albumin, IMA and IMAR was calculated. Results: serum and salivary IMA and IMAR were significantly increased in preeclampsia. Although the increase in serum was in accordance with the severity, it was not so in the saliva. Yet, salivary IMAR showed significant difference between controls and mild preeclampsia. There was a negative correlation between IMA and albumin in both serum and saliva. A weak negative correlation was seen between the serum IMAR and fetal birth weight (r = −0.293; p < 0.05), but not with salivary IMAR. Conclusion: This study is an evidence for involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, which is reflected in serum and saliva. Salivary IMAR could be a better marker for early prediction of preeclampsia.

Chemotherapy resistance mechanisms in advanced skin cancer

Melanoma is a most dangerous and deadly type of skin cancer, and considered intrinsically resistant to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It has become a major public health concern as the incidence of melanoma has been rising steadily over recent decades with a 5-year survival remaining less than 5%. Detection of the disease in early stage may be curable, but late stage metastatic disease that has spread to other organs has an extremely poor prognosis with a median survival of less than 10 months. Since metastatic melanoma is unresponsive to therapy that is currently available, research is now focused on different treatment strategies such as combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The molecular basis of resistance to chemotherapy seen in melanoma is multifactorial; defective drug transport system, altered apoptotic pathway, deregulation of apoptosis and/or changes in enzymatic systems that mediate cellular metabolic machinery. Understanding of alterations in molecular processes involved in drug resistance may help in developing new therapeutic approaches to treatment of malignant melanoma.

Novel benzimidazole–oxadiazole hybrid molecules as promising antimicrobial agents

In the present study, we describe the design and expeditious synthesis of novel 2-aryl-5-(3-aryl-[1,2,4]-oxadiazol-5-yl)-1-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole hybrid molecules as promising antimicrobial agents. The core moiety 2-aryl-ethyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-carboxylate was efficiently synthesized by a rapid ‘one pot’ nitro reductive cyclization reaction using sodium dithionite as reagent. All the compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activities and the active compounds were screened for their anti-tubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain by the Microplate Alamar Blue Assay method. Compounds 8k, 8n, 8p and 8r exhibited potent anti-tubercular activity with MIC of 1.6 μg mL−1, which is two times more potent than the standard drugs pyrazinamide and ciprofloxacin and fourfold superior to streptomycin and isoniazid. Further, potent compounds were tested for their preliminary toxicity by hemolytic assay, where the compounds remain nontoxic even at higher concentration and showed good selectivity index. The investigation of cytotoxicity against normal embryonic kidney cell line HEK 293 by MTT assay showed IC50 value of more than 355 μg mL−1 for all the tested potent compounds. From the screening study, 8k, 8n, 8p and 8r emerged as strong candidates with potent antimicrobial activities and good ADME parameters. Attempts were also made to establish the structural activity relationships among the tested compounds.

Serum and salivary sialic acid as a biomarker in oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer

Background: Aberrant glycosylation is the universal feature of cancer and components of various glycoconjugates, such as sialic acid is found to rise in various malignancies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the serum and salivary sialic acid in oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) and oral cancer (OC) to investigate the possibility of using this as a diagnostic marker. Materials and Methods: The study included 85 subjects, who were grouped as control (30), OPMD patients (25), and oral cancer patients (30). Serum and unstimulated whole saliva was collected from subjects of all groups and sialic acid estimation was done using spectrophotometry. The results were tabulated and analyzed statistically. Results: The mean serum sialic acid levels in normal, OPMD, and oral cancer group were 7.515, 19.620, and 55.235 mg/dL, respectively, whereas the levels of salivary sialic acid were 1.5113, 2.3302, and 9.0304 mg/dL, respectively. A very highly significant rise (P < 0.005) in serum and salivary sialic acid was observed in the study subjects compared with that of the control. Conclusions: The present study showed a significant and gradual increase in serum and salivary sialic acid from control to oral potentially malignant disorders to oral cancer. From this study we can suggest that sialic acid can be used as a reliable biomarker. As this monosaccharide is observed in saliva in detectable quantity, saliva can be used as a diagnostic medium for screening and early detection of oral cancer.

High predictive ability of glycated hemoglobin on comparison with oxidative stress markers in assessment of chronic vascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract Objective: To validate the diagnostic utility of oxidative stress markers along with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c ) in the assessment of chronic vascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Ischemia modified albumin (IMA), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in 100 type 2 DM (without complications n = 50, with complications n = 50) and healthy controls (n = 50). Diagnostic potential was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic analysis and their relationships to risk variables were analyzed. Results: MDA, IMA and AOPP were significantly increased in diabetics, both with and without complications. Oxidative stress parameters correlated with fasting blood glucose and HbA1c (independent predictors). Duration of diabetes was an independent predictor for AOPP and MDA. The association of IMA with diabetes duration was lost on multiple regression analysis. Area under the curve, sensitivity and specificity for MDA were 0.795, 84%, 66%; for AOPP, they were 0.762, 82%, 56%; for IMA, they were 0.611, 60%, 52%; and for HbA1c, they were 0.848, 90%, 70%, respectively. Conclusion: MDA and AOPP could be considered better than IMA in the evaluation of diabetes progression, but MDA is more useful as a diagnostic indicator to detect vascular complications. HbA1c measurement is of greater value than the oxidative stress markers in the prediction of vascular complications.

Increased Oxidatively Modified Forms of Albumin in Association with Decreased Total Antioxidant Activity in Different Types of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Protein oxidation has been demonstrated in preeclampsia, but this finding has not been established in other hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDP). The present study comparatively evaluated ischemia modified albumin (IMA) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in different HDP and investigated their association with total antioxidant activity (AOA) and total thiols. There was a significant increase in AOPP and IMA, a significant decrease in AOA, total thiols and albumin in every HDP compared to controls. Among HDP groups, eclampsia patients showed more significant change in each of the parameter. IMA and AOPP were negatively associated with AOA in every HDP and with total thiols only in eclampsia. The present study supports the hypothesis of oxidative stress, as evidenced by increased protein oxidation, decreased antioxidant status and significant negative association between protein oxidation and AOA in every HDP. The imbalance of prooxidants and antioxidants was further augmented in eclampsia.

Mobile Phone and Tablet Make Your Kids Sick

1Department of Biochemistry, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya University, Mangaluru-575018, India 2Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya University, Mangaluru-575018, India 3Department of Paedodontics, Yenepoya Dental College, Yenepoya University, Mangaluru-575018, India *Corresponding author: Bhuvanesh Sukhlal Kalal, CSIR-Senior Research Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, Yenepoya Medical College; and Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya University, Mangaluru -575018, Karnataka, India, Tel: +91 9739309942; E-mail: bhuvanesh611@gmail.com

Triterpenoids with Cytotoxic Potential from the Leaves of Tridax procumbens L.

The anticancer activity of crude extracts of the leaves of Tridax procumbens, against two breast cancer cell lines-MCF-7 (benign) and MDA-MB-231 (metastatic) were investigated and an attempt was made to identify the anticancer principle. The extracts with methanol (TPM), ethanol (TPE) and chloroform (TPC) as solvents were screened for cytotoxicity by MTT assay against MCF-7 cells. The effective extract was further evaluated on MDA-MB-231 cells. Among the three extracts, TPC was effective at an IC 50 value of 136 µg/ml and 129 µg/ml on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells respectively. Phytochemical analysis of the extract showed the presence of only steroids and terpenoids and their concentration was high (77.4% w/w). HPLC-MS of the chloroform soluble crude extract revealed a major peak (57.59% concentration) at a retention time of 4.78 min and MS data of this peak revealed presence of two fragments of molecular weight 475.80 and 701.80. The compounds were identified to be 3β, 9β-Dihydroxy-18α-oleanan-28-oic acid, a derivative of oleanolic acid and 3β, 28-Bis (cinnamoyl) betulin respectively, both from the triterpenoid family.

A preliminary evaluation of anticancer and antioxidant potential of two traditional medicinal plants from Lamiaceae - Pogostemon heyneanus and Plectranthus amboinicus

Abstract This study investigates the cytotoxic and antioxidant potential of crude leaf extracts of Pogostemon heyneanus (P. heyneanus) and Plectranthus amboinicus (P. amboinicus), medicinal plants from Lamiaceae family. Crude leaf extracts, with methanol, ethanol and chloroform were evaluated for cytotoxicity in two breast cancer cell lines of different grades, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, by MTT assay. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH and H2O2 assays. The results of MTT assay revealed that chloroform extract of P. heyneanus and ethanol extract of P. amboinicus were effective against MCF-7 cells. The chloroform extract of P. heyneanus was more effective than P. amboinicus against MDA-MB-231. Effective antioxidant activity was shown by the ethanol extract of P. amboinicus which correlated positively with the total phenol content. The chloroform extract of P. heyneanus, was rich in steroids and saponins which correlated positively with the cytotoxic activity. In conclusion, chloroform soluble leaf extracts of P. heyneanus, which is rich in steroids and saponins shows effective cytotoxicity on both breast cancer lines studied and could be used for identification of a potential anticancer principle, while ethanol extract of P. amboinicus has better potential as an antioxidant.

Investigation of the Possibility of Using Serum Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) as a Novel and Early Marker of the Extent of Oxidative Stress Induced by Various Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) is an altered serum albumin that forms under the conditions of oxidative stress and is considered as a biomarker of cardiac ischemia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ischemia modified albumin (IMA) in the serum of the individuals with different types of tobacco habits in order to investigate the possibility of using this as a biomarker for the oxidative stress induced by the tobacco products. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 90 subjects, who were Grouped as control (30), Group I (betel quid chewers), Group II (gutkha chewers), Group III (smokers) and Group IV (mixed). Serum was collected from subjects of all Groups and IMA estimation was done using Albumin Cobalt binding assay. The results were tabulated and analysed statistically. RESULTS The mean serum IMA levels in control, Group I, Group II, Group III and Group IV were 0.52547 ABSU, 0.68767 ABSU, 0.47433 ABSU,0.36540 ABSU and 0.54593 ABSU respectively. CONCLUSION The results show that serum IMA levels were increased in betel quid chewers and mixed Group compared to the controls. From the results noted in this study we suggest that IMA can be used as an early marker for tobacco related oxidative stress.