School Of Basic And Applied Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://kr.cup.edu.in/handle/32116/17
Browse
8 results
Search Results
Item Dopamine, sleep, and neuronal excitability modulate amyloid-?-mediated forgetting in Drosophila(Public Library of Science, 2021-10-07T00:00:00) Kaldun, Jenifer C.; Lone, Shahnaz R.; Humbert Camps, Ana M.; Fritsch, Cornelia; Widmer, Yves F.; Stein, Jens V.; Tomchik, Seth M.; Sprecher, Simon G.Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the main causes of age -related dementia and neurodegeneration. However, the onset of the disease and the mechanisms causing cognitive defects are not well understood. Aggregation of amyloidogenic peptides is a pathological hallmark of AD and is assumed to be a central component of the molecular disease pathways. Panneuronal expression of A?42 Arctic peptides in Drosophila melanogaster results in learning and memory defects. Surprisingly, targeted expression to the mushroom bodies, a center for olfactory memories in the fly brain, does not interfere with learning but accelerates forgetting. We show here that reducing neuronal excitability either by feeding Levetiracetam or silencing of neurons in the involved circuitry ameliorates the phenotype. Furthermore, inhibition of the Rac-regulated forgetting pathway could rescue the A?42 Arctic-mediated accelerated forgetting phenotype. Similar effects are achieved by increasing sleep, a critical regulator of neuronal homeostasis. Our results provide a functional framework connecting forgetting signaling and sleep, which are critical for regulating neuronal excitability and homeostasis and are therefore a promising mechanism to modulate forgetting caused by toxic A? peptides. � 2021 Kaldun et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Item Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in HIV patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis(Nature Research, 2023-07-08T00:00:00) Akanksha, Kumari; Kumari, Ashu; Dutta, Omprokash; Prasanth, Ajay; Deeba, Farah; Salam, NasirSoil-transmitted Helminth (STH) infections have been found associated with people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but little is known about the overall burden of STH coinfection in HIV patients. We aimed to assess the burden of STH infections among HIV patients. Relevant databases were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthic pathogens in HIV patients. Pooled estimates of each helminthic infection were calculated. The odds ratio was also determined as a measure of the association between STH infection and the HIV status of the patients. Sixty-one studies were finally included in the meta-analysis, consisting of 16,203 human subjects from all over the world. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in HIV patients was found to be 8% (95% CI 0.06, 0.09), the prevalence of Trichuris trichiura infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), the prevalence of hookworm infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), and prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.05). Countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America & Caribbean and Asia were identified with the highest burden of STH-HIV coinfection. Our analysis indicated that people living with HIV have a higher chance of developing Strongyloides stercoralis infections and decreased odds of developing hookworm infections. Our findings suggest a moderate level of prevalence of STH infections among people living with HIV. The endemicity of STH infections and HIV status both are partially responsible for the burden of STH-HIV coinfections. � 2023, The Author(s).Item Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in HIV patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis(Nature Research, 2023-07-08T00:00:00) Akanksha, Kumari; Kumari, Ashu; Dutta, Omprokash; Prasanth, Ajay; Deeba, Farah; Salam, NasirSoil-transmitted Helminth (STH) infections have been found associated with people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but little is known about the overall burden of STH coinfection in HIV patients. We aimed to assess the burden of STH infections among HIV patients. Relevant databases were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthic pathogens in HIV patients. Pooled estimates of each helminthic infection were calculated. The odds ratio was also determined as a measure of the association between STH infection and the HIV status of the patients. Sixty-one studies were finally included in the meta-analysis, consisting of 16,203 human subjects from all over the world. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in HIV patients was found to be 8% (95% CI 0.06, 0.09), the prevalence of Trichuris trichiura infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), the prevalence of hookworm infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), and prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.05). Countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America & Caribbean and Asia were identified with the highest burden of STH-HIV coinfection. Our analysis indicated that people living with HIV have a higher chance of developing Strongyloides stercoralis infections and decreased odds of developing hookworm infections. Our findings suggest a moderate level of prevalence of STH infections among people living with HIV. The endemicity of STH infections and HIV status both are partially responsible for the burden of STH-HIV coinfections. � 2023, The Author(s).Item Cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking and cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles(2012) Singh, R.P.; Ramarao, P.Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are used in consumer products and wound dressings due to their antimicrobial properties. However, in addition to toxic effects on microbes, Ag NPs can also induce stress responses as well as cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. We observed that Ag NPs are efficiently internalized via scavenger receptor-mediated phagocytosis in murine macrophages. Confocal and electron microscopy analysis revealed that internalized Ag NPs localize in the cytoplasm. Ag NPs cause mitochondrial damage, induce apoptosis and cell death. These effects were abrogated in presence of Ag ion-reactive, thiol-containing compounds suggesting the central of Ag ions in Ag NP toxicity. Quantitative image analysis revealed that intracellular dissolution of Ag NPs occurs about 50 times faster than in water. In conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that Ag NPs are internalized by scavenger receptors, trafficked to cytoplasm and induce toxicity by releasing Ag ions. ? 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.Item Role of Macromolecular Crowding on Stability and Iron Release Kinetics of Serum Transferrin(American Chemical Society, 2017) Kumar, Sandeep; Sharma, Deepak; Kumar, RajeshThe macromolecular crowding influences the structural stability and functional properties of transferrin (Tf). The equilibrium as well as kinetic studies of Tf at different concentrations of crowding agents (dextran 40, dextran 70, and ficoll 70) and at a fixed concentration of dextran 40 under different concentrations of NaCl at pH 7.4 and 5.6 (?1) revealed that (i) the crowder environment increases the diferric-Tf (Fe2Tf) stability against iron loss and overall denaturation of the protein, (ii) both in the absence and presence of crowder, the presence of salt promotes the loss of iron and overall denaturation of Fe2Tf which is due to ionic screening of electrostatic interactions, (iii) the crowder environment retards iron release from monoferric N-lobe of Tf (FeNTf) by increasing enthalpic barrier, (iv) the retardation of iron release by crowding is enthalpically dominated than the entropic one, (v) both in the absence and presence of crowder, the presence of salt accelerates the iron release from FeNTf due to ionic screening of electrostatic interactions and anion binding to KISAB sites, and (vi) the crowders environment is unable to diminish (a) the salt-induced destabilization of Fe2Tf against the loss of iron and overall denaturation and (b) the anion effect and ionic screening of diffusive counterions responsible to promote iron release from FeNTf. ? 2017 American Chemical Society.Item A microRNA switch regulates the rise in hypothalamic GnRH production before puberty(Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Messina, Andrea; Langlet, Fanny; Chachlaki, Konstantina; Roa, Juan; Rasika, Sowmyalakshmi; Jouy, Nathalie; Gallet, Sarah; Gaytan, Francisco; Parkash, Jyoti; Tena-Sempere, Manuel; Giacobini, Paolo; Prevot, Vincent; Messina, A.; Langlet, F.; Chachlaki, K.; Roa, J.; Rasika, S.; Jouy, N.; Gallet, S.; Gaytan, F.; Parkash, J.; Tena-Sempere, M.; Giacobini, P.; Prevot, V.A sparse population of a few hundred primarily hypothalamic neurons forms the hub of a complex neuroglial network that controls reproduction in mammals by secreting the 'master molecule' gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Timely postnatal changes in GnRH expression are essential for puberty and adult fertility. Here we report that a multilayered microRNA-operated switch with built-in feedback governs increased GnRH expression during the infantile-to-juvenile transition and that impairing microRNA synthesis in GnRH neurons leads to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and infertility in mice. Two essential components of this switch, miR-200 and miR-155, respectively regulate Zeb1, a repressor of Gnrh transcriptional activators and Gnrh itself, and Cebpb, a nitric oxide-mediated repressor of Gnrh that acts both directly and through Zeb1, in GnRH neurons. This alteration in the delicate balance between inductive and repressive signals induces the normal GnRH-fuelled run-up to correct puberty initiation, and interfering with this process disrupts the neuroendocrine control of reproduction. ? 2016 Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.Item Pyrazoloquinazolines: Synthetic strategies and bioactivities(2015) Garg, Mansi; Chauhan, Monika; Singh, Pankaj Kumar; Singh, Pankaj Kumar; Alex, Jimi Marin; Kumar, RajNumerous N-heterocycles are indisputably evidenced to exhibit myriad biological activities. In the recent past, attempts made to condense the various heterocycles have resulted in derivatives possessing better bioactivities. Among many such condensed heterocycles, pyrazoloquinazolines have managed to hold the attention of many researchers, owing to the broad spectrum of activities they portray. This review is the first of its kind to congregate the various pyrazoloquinazolines reported until now and categorizes these structurally isomeric classes into eleven different groups based on the fusion pattern of the ring such as [1,5-c], [5,1-b], [4,3-h], etc. Furthermore, this review is a concerted effort to highlight design, synthetic strategies as well as biological activities of each class of this condensed heterocycle. Structure-activity relationship studies and in silico approaches wherever reported have also been discussed. In addition, manuscript also offers scope for design, synthesis and generation of libraries of unreported classes of pyrazoloquinazolines for the biological evaluation. Copyright ? 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Item Chemical composition and biological effects of artemisia maritima and artemisia nilagirica essential oils from wild plants of Western Himalaya(Georg Thieme Verlag, 2014) Stappen, Iris; Wanner, J, rgen; Tabanca, Nurhayat; Wedge, David E.; Ali, Abbas; Khan, Ikhlas A.; Kaul, Vijay K.; Lal, Brij; Jaitak, Vikas; Gochev, Velizar; Girova, Tania; Stoyanova, Albena; Schmidt, Erich; Jirovetz, Leopold; Stappen, I.; Wanner, J.; Tabanca, N.; Wedge, D.E.; Ali, A.; Khan, I.A.; Kaul, V.K.; Lal, B.; Jaitak, V.; Gochev, V.; Girova, T.; Stoyanova, A.; Schmidt, E.; Jirovetz, L.Artemisia species possess pharmacological properties that are used for medical purposes worldwide. In this paper, the essential oils from the aerial parts of Artemisia nilagirica and Artemisia maritima from the western Indian Himalaya region are described. The main compounds analyzed by simultaneous GC/MS and GC/FID were camphor and 1,8-cineole from A. maritima, and camphor and artemisia ketone from A. nilagirica. Additionally, the oils were evaluated for their antibacterial, antifungal, mosquito biting deterrent, and larvicidal activities. A. nilagirica essential oil demonstrated nonselective antifungal activity against plant pathogens Colletotrichum acutatum, Colletotrichum fragariae, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, whereas A. maritima did not show antifungal activity. Both Artemisia spp. exhibited considerable mosquito biting deterrence, whereas only A. nilagirica showed larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti. Antibacterial effects assessed by an agar dilution assay demonstrated greater activity of A. maritima essential oil against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to A. nilagirica.