Discovery of Novel 2-Amino-5-(Substituted)-1,3,4-Thiadiazole Derivatives: New Utilities for Colon Cancer Treatment

BACKGROUND

Colon cancer is one of the most widespread disease, the mortality rate is high due to cancer metastasis and the development of drug resistance. In this regards, new chemotherapeutic agents with specific mechanisms of action and significant effect on patient's survival are the new era for the colon cancer drug development.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of present study was to design, synthesize of a novel series of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (VR1 to VR35) and screen them against HT-29 human colon cancer cell line.

METHOD

Newly 1,3,4-thiadiazole scaffold were designed, synthesized and further, characterized by FTIR, NMR (1H and 13C), MS and elemental analyses. Before the synthesis, molecular dynamic simulation and ADME studies were performed to find out the most potent lead compounds. Later, SRB assay using HT-29 cells and ELISA assays were performed to explore activity and molecular targets of VR24 and VR27 and find out whether in silico data had a similar pattern in the molecular level.

RESULTS

The results of docking study revealed that both VR24 and VR27 had interaction energy >-5 kcal/mol with various assigned molecular targets and the ligand-protein complexes were found to be stable with IL-6. The computational analysis of molecules showed good ADMET profiling. Later, the in vitro anticancer study was conducted where VR24 and VR27 were found to be active against HT-29 cells (GI50<10 µM). Finally, ELISA assays revealed that both the compounds had higher inhibition properties to various biomarker of colon cancer like IL-6 and COX-2.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, these result suggested that VR24 and VR27 inhibited the assigned molecular targets, imparting their ameliorative effects against colon cancer. Due to these encouraging results, we concluded that both VR24 and VR27 may be effective against colon cancer therapy in future.

A cheminformatics approach to characterize metabolomes in stable-isotope-labeled organisms

We report a computational approach (implemented in MS-DIAL 3.0; http://prime.psc.riken.jp/) for metabolite structure characterization using fully ¹³C-labeled and non-labeled plants and LC-MS/MS. Our approach facilitates carbon number determination and metabolite classification for unknown molecules. Applying our method to 31 tissues from 12 plant species, we assigned 1,092 structures and 344 formulae to 3,604 carbon-determined metabolite ions, 69 of which were found to represent structures currently not listed in metabolome databases.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Characterization of Lithospermum officinale to Discover Putative Genes Involved in Specialized Metabolites Biosynthesis

Lithospermum officinale is a valuable source of bioactive metabolites with medicinal and industrial values. However, little is known about genes involved in the biosynthesis of these metabolites, primarily due to the lack of genome or transcriptome resources. This study presents the first effort to establish and characterize de novo transcriptome assembly resource for L. officinale and expression analysis for three of its tissues, namely leaf, stem, and root. Using over 4Gbps of RNA-sequencing datasets, we obtained de novo transcriptome assembly of L. officinale, consisting of 77,047 unigenes with assembly N50 value as 1524 bps. Based on transcriptome annotation and functional classification, 52,766 unigenes were assigned with putative genes functions, gene ontology terms, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. KEGG pathway and gene ontology enrichment analysis using highly expressed unigenes across three tissues and targeted metabolome analysis showed active secondary metabolic processes enriched specifically in the root of L. officinale. Using co-expression analysis, we also identified 20 and 48 unigenes representing different enzymes of lithospermic/chlorogenic acid and shikonin biosynthesis pathways, respectively. We further identified 15 candidate unigenes annotated as cytochrome P450 with the highest expression in the root of L. officinale as novel genes with a role in key biochemical reactions toward shikonin biosynthesis. Thus, through this study, we not only generated a high-quality genomic resource for L. officinale but also propose candidate genes to be involved in shikonin biosynthesis pathways for further functional characterization.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly and Characterization of Lithospermum officinale to Discover Putative Genes Involved in Specialized Metabolites Biosynthesis

Lithospermum officinale is a valuable source of bioactive metabolites with medicinal and industrial values. However, little is known about genes involved in the biosynthesis of these metabolites, primarily due to the lack of genome or transcriptome resources. This study presents the first effort to establish and characterize de novo transcriptome assembly resource for L. officinale and expression analysis for three of its tissues, namely leaf, stem, and root. Using over 4Gbps of RNA-sequencing datasets, we obtained de novo transcriptome assembly of L. officinale, consisting of 77,047 unigenes with assembly N50 value as 1524 bps. Based on transcriptome annotation and functional classification, 52,766 unigenes were assigned with putative genes functions, gene ontology terms, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. KEGG pathway and gene ontology enrichment analysis using highly expressed unigenes across three tissues and targeted metabolome analysis showed active secondary metabolic processes enriched specifically in the root of L. officinale. Using co-expression analysis, we also identified 20 and 48 unigenes representing different enzymes of lithospermic/chlorogenic acid and shikonin biosynthesis pathways, respectively. We further identified 15 candidate unigenes annotated as cytochrome P450 with the highest expression in the root of L. officinale as novel genes with a role in key biochemical reactions toward shikonin biosynthesis. Thus, through this study, we not only generated a high-quality genomic resource for L. officinale but also propose candidate genes to be involved in shikonin biosynthesis pathways for further functional characterization.

Bacterial colonization of peripheral intravenous cannulas in a tertiary care hospital: A cross sectional observational study

Background

The use of intravenous (IV) cannulas is an integral part of patient care in hospitals. These intravenous cannulas are a potential route for microorganisms to enter the blood stream resulting in a variety of local or systemic infections. Studies showing the actual prevalence of colonization of peripheral IV cannulas and its role in BSI are lacking. Hence, this study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of colonization of the injection ports of peripheral IV cannulas.

Methods

This cross sectional study was conducted on patients admitted in ICU and wards in an 800 bedded tertiary care hospital. Swabs were taken from lumens of peripheral IV cannulas and cultured. Patient demographic data and practices followed for maintenance of IV line were noted.

Results

A total of 196 injection port samples were taken, out of which 11 tested positive for microbial growth (5.61%). Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism contributing 64% of the microbial growth. A significant association was seen between presence of local signs, old age and positive cultures. Flushing IV cannula every 6 h was associated with negative cultures.

Conclusion

Peripheral IV cannulation has significant potential for microbial contamination and is largely ignored. Most of the risk factors associated with growth of microorganisms in the injection ports of peripheral intravenous cannulas (which has a potential to cause catheter-related blood stream infections) can be prevented by improving protocols for management. To prevent infection from occurring, practitioners should be educated and trained about the care and management of IV.

Novel 1,3,4-thiadiazoles inhibit colorectal cancer via blockade of IL-6/COX-2 mediated JAK2/STAT3 signals as evidenced through data-based mathematical modeling

We attempted a preclinical study using DMH-induced CRC rat model to evaluate the antitumor potential of our recently synthesized 1,3,4-thiadiazoles. The molecular insights were confirmed through ELISA, qRT-PCR and western blot analyses. The CRC condition was produced in response to COX-2 and IL-6 induced activation of JAK2/STAT3 which, in turn, was due to the enhanced phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3. The treatment with 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives (VR24 and VR27) caused the significant blockade of this signaling pathway. The behavior of STAT3 populations in response to IL-6 and COX-2 stimulations was further confirmed through data-based mathematical modeling using the quantitative western blot data. Finally, VR24 and VR27 restored the perturbed metabolites associated to DMH-induced CRC as evidenced through ¹H NMR based serum metabolomics. The tumor protecting ability of VR24 and VR27 was found comparable or to some degree better than the marketed chemotherapeutics, 5-flurouracil.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-loaded nanoparticles of betulinic acid for improved treatment of hepatic cancer: characterization, in vitro and in vivo evaluations

PURPOSE

The application of betulinic acid (B), a potent antineoplastic agent, is limited due to poor bioavailability, short plasma half-life and inappropriate tissue distribution. Thus, we aimed to prepare novel 50:50 poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-loaded B nanoparticles (BNP) and to compare its anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) activity with parent B.

METHODS

BNP were synthesized and characterized using different methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and particle size analyses. Particle size of BNP was optimized through the application of the stabilizer, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The anti-HCC response was evaluated through in vitro cell line study using Hep-G2 cells, confocal microscopy, in vivo oral pharmacokinetics and animal studies. Further, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis was conducted to observe the changes in the expression of specific genes.

RESULTS

Particle size of BNP was optimized through the application of the stabilizer, polyvinyl alcohol. Physicochemical characterization exhibited particle size of 257.1 nm with zeta potential -0.170 mV (optimized batch B, BNP). SEM and FTIR analyses of BNP showed that cylindrical particles of B converted to spherical particles in BNP and there were no interaction between B and used polymers. The release study of optimized BNP was highest (≥80%) than any other formulation. Later, in vitro cell culture analysis using Hep-G2 cells and confocal microscopy studies revealed that BNP had the highest inhibition and penetration properties than parent B. Oral pharmacokinetics studies using albino Wistar rats at single 100 mg dose again exhibited BNP had the higher 50% of plasma concentration (t1/2), a higher maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and took longer to reach the maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) than parent B. Next, our in vivo study using nitrosodiethyl amine (NDEA)-induced HCC model documented BNP decreased in number of nodules, restored body weight, oxidative stress parameters, liver marker enzymes and histological architecture than parent B. Lastly, qRT-PCR studies further demonstrated that anti-HCC properties of BNP may be due to over expression of antiapoptotic caspases i.e., caspase 3 and 8.

CONCLUSION

The prepared BNP showed a better therapeutic response against HCC and could be attributed as future candidate molecule for HCC treatment.

Molecular Docking, Pharmacophore, and 3D-QSAR Approach: Can Adenine Derivatives Exhibit Significant Inhibitor Towards Ebola Virus?

Introduction:

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is caused by Ebola virus, which is often accompanied by fatal hemorrhagic fever upon infection in humans. This virus has caused the majority of deaths in human. There are no proper vaccinations and medications available for EVD. It is pivoting the attraction of scientist to develop the potent vaccination or novel lead to inhibit Ebola virus.

Methods & Materials:

In the present study, we developed 3D-QSAR and the pharmacophoric model from the previous reported potent compounds for the Ebola virus.

Results & Discussion:

Results & Discussion: The pharmacophoric model AAAP.116 was generated with better survival value and selectivity. Moreover, the 3D-QSAR model also showed the best r2 value 0.99 using PLS factor. Thereby, we found the higher F value, which demonstrated the statistical significance of both the models. Furthermore, homological modeling and molecular docking study were performed to analyze the affinity of the potent lead. This showed the best binding energy and bond formation with targeted protein.

Conclusion:

Finally, all the results of this study concluded that 3D-QSAR and Pharmacophore models may be helpful to search potent lead for EVD treatment in future.

1,4-Benzothiazines-A Biologically Attractive Scaffold

1,4-benzothiazine (1,4-B), a pharmacophore of anti-psychotic drug phenothiazines, is a vital class of heterocyclic compounds implicating versatile biological activities. The aim of this review article is to summarize various synthetic strategies, biological activities and structure activity relationship concerning the bioactive heterocycle, 1,4-B. Synthetic chemists have discovered numerous routes for the syntheses of various 1,4-B analogues that show excellent activities through multiple mechanisms. The direct comparison of activities with the parent 1,4-B derivatives enables a systematic analysis of the structure activity relationship (SAR) among the series. This review article is an effort to compile the progress in the chemistry, biological activity and SAR of 1,4-benzothiazine in a systematic way. The previously explored insights included in this article collectively suggests that 1,4-benzothiazines (1,4-Bs), besides offering several interesting biological activities, have a tremendous ability to regulate various types of cancer. The previous work on the present nucleus summarized in this article will help the researchers to design their work based on 1,4-benzothiazine ring.

APCVD hexagonal boron nitride thin films for passive near-junction thermal management of electronics

The ability of graphene to serve as an ultrathin heat spreader has been previously demonstrated with impressive results. However, graphene is electrically conductive, making its use in contact with electronic devices problematic from a reliability and integration perspective. As an alternative, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a similarly structured material with large in-plane thermal conductivity but which possesses a wide band gap, thereby giving it potential to be utilized for directing contact, near-junction thermal management of electronics without shorting or the need for an insulating intermediate layer. In this work, the viability of using large area, continuous h-BN thin films as direct contact, near-junction heat spreaders for electronic devices is experimentally evaluated. Thin films of h-BN several square millimeters in size were synthesized via an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) method that is both simple and scalable. These were subsequently transferred onto a microfabricated test device that simulated a multigate transistor while also allowing for measurements of the device temperature at various locations via precision resistance thermometry. Results showed that these large-area h-BN films with thicknesses of 77-125 nm are indeed capable of significantly lowering microdevice temperatures, with the best sample showing the presence of the h-BN thin film reduced the effective thermal resistance by 15.9% ± 4.6% compared to a bare microdevice at the same power density. Finally, finite element simulations of these experiments were utilized to estimate the thermal conductivity of the h-BN thin films and identify means by which further heat spreading performance gains could be attained.

Isolated mangiferin and naringenin exert antidiabetic effect via PPARγ/GLUT4 dual agonistic action with strong metabolic regulation

In this study, we isolated two compounds from the leaves of Salacia oblonga (SA1, mangiferin and SA2, naringenin), and their structures were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. SA1 and SA2 were orally administered to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at 50 and 100 mg/kg daily for 15 days. Blood glucose level, serum lipid profile, oxidative stress parameters, histopathology, docking, molecular parameters, and NMR-based metabolic perturbation studies were performed to investigate the pharmacological activities of SA1 and SA2. Results suggested that both compounds reduced blood glucose level, restored body weight, and normalized lipid concentrations in the serum and oxidative stress biomarkers in the liver and pancreas. In addition, the docking study on several diabetes-associated targets revealed that both compounds had a strong binding affinity towards peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR_γ) and glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4). Further real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses were performed to confirm the gene and protein expression levels of PPAR_γ and GLUT4 in the pancreatic tissues. Data obtained from the molecular studies showed that both compounds exhibited antidiabetic effects through dual activation of PPAR_γ/GLUT4 signaling pathways. Finally, the NMR-based metabolic studies showed that both compounds normalized the diabetogenic metabolites in the serum. Altogether, we concluded that SA1 and SA2 might be potential antidiabetic lead compounds for future drug development.

Use of cable guide while performing segmental mandibulectomy using Gigli saw

Segmental mandibulectomies are performed commonly in patients having benign or malignant pathologies of mandible. For this purpose, Gigli saw is used frequently by most of the maxillofacial surgeons. The two main challenging tasks while using Gigli saw includes passage of the device around the bone which is to be cut and the preservation of the underlying soft tissue from getting damaged by the saw during its movement. Hence, we propose the use of a "Cable guide with hook" which not only helps in easy passage of Gigli saw around the mandible but also prevents injury to the underlying soft tissue while performing mandibulectomy.

Computational deciphering of biotic stress associated genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the major vegetable plant and a model system for fruit development. Its global importance is due to its lycopene pigment which has anti-oxidative and anti-cancerous properties. Though > 1.5 M biotic stress associated ESTs of tomato are available but cumulative analysis to predict genes is warranted. Availability of whole genome de novo assembly can advantageously be used to map them over different chromosome. Further, available 0.14 M catalogued markers can be used to introgress specific desirable genes in varietal improvement program. We report here 57 novel genes associated with biotic stress of tomato along with 50 genes having physical location over different chromosomes. We also report 52 cis-regulating elements and 69 putative miRNAs which are involved in regulation of these biotic stresses associated genes. These putative candidate genes associated with biotic stress can be used in molecular breeding in the endeavor of tomato productivity along with its sustainable germplasm management.

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ESts related to biotic stress were collected and assembled into contigs.

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Total 57 novel genes were computationally mined from the assembled contigs.

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Among the predicted novel gene, 50 genes were mapped on tomato genome.

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52 cis-regulating elements and 69 putative miRNAs were predicted for the novel genes.

5H-benzo[h]thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazolines ameliorate NDEA-induced hepatocellular carcinogenesis in rats through IL-6 downregulation along with oxidative and metabolic stress reduction

5H-benzo[h]thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline scaffold is known to have an antitumor effect on certain types of malignancies; however, its effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Previously, we reported p-toluenesulfonic acid-promoted syntheses, molecular modeling and in vitro antitumor activity of 5H-benzo[h]thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline against human hepatoma (Hep-G2) cells where compounds 4A and 6A were found to be potent inhibitors among the series. In continuation to our previous effort to develop novel therapeutic strategies for HCC treatment, here we investigated the in vivo antitumor activity and the mechanism underlying the effects of 4A and 6A in N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)-induced HCC using male Wistar rats. NDEA was administered weekly intraperitoneally at a dose of 100 mg/kg for 6 weeks. Various physiological and morphological changes, oxidative parameters, liver marker enzymes and cytokines were assessed to evaluate the antitumor effect of 4A and 6A. In addition, proton nuclear magnetic resonance-based serum metabolomics were performed to analyze the effects of 4A and 6A against HCC-induced metabolic alterations. Significant tumor incidences with an imbalance in carcinogen metabolizing enzymes and cellular redox status were observed in carcinogenic rats. Tumor inhibitory effects of 4A and 6A were noted by histopathology and biochemical profiles in NDEA-induced hepatic cancer. Compounds 4A and 6A had a potential role in normalizing the elevated levels of inflammatory mediators such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10. At molecular level, the real-time quantitative reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that 4A and 6A attenuated the IL-6 gene overexpression in hepatic cancer. Further, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis scores plot demonstrated a significant separation of 4A and 6A-treated groups from carcinogen control group. Both the compounds have potential to restore the imbalanced metabolites due to HCC, signifying promising hepatoprotective activities. All these findings suggested that 4A and 6A could be potential drug candidates to treat HCC.

Human Cancer Cell Line Based Approach of 1,3,4-thiadiazole and its Fused Ring: A Comprehensive Review

The chemistry of heterocyclic containing, 1,3,4-thiadiazole has been an interesting field of study from ancient years. Subsequently, 1,3,4-thiadiazole nucleus constitutes a significant class of compounds for new drug development. Recently, various 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives synthesized and evaluated their biological activities including antimicrobial, antituberculosis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsants, antidepressant and anxiolytic, antihypertensive, anticancer and antifungal activity. The search for anticancer compounds with more selective activities and lower side effect continues to be an active area of argument examination in medicinal chemistry. This review elaborately described the medicinal chemistry, their structural activity relationship, and anticancer properties with respect to human cell line based approach related to synthesized 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives.

Flexible electronics-compatible non-enzymatic glucose sensing via transparent CuO nanowire networks on PET films

Diabetic individuals need simple, accurate, and cost effective means by which to independently assess their glucose levels in a non-invasive way. In this work, a sensor based on randomly oriented CuO nanowire networks supported by a polyethylene terephthalate thin film is evaluated as a flexible, transparent, non-enzymatic glucose sensing system analogous to those envisioned for future wearable diagnostic devices. The amperometric sensing characteristics of this type of device architecture are evaluated both before and after bending, with the system's glucose response, sensitivity, lower limit of detection, and effect of applied bias being experimentally determined. The obtained data shows that the sensor is capable of measuring changes in glucose levels within a physiologically relevant range (0-12 mM glucose) and at lower limits of detection (0.05 mM glucose at +0.6 V bias) consistent with patient tears and saliva. Unlike existing studies utilizing a conductive backing layer or macroscopic electrode setup, this sensor demonstrates a percolation network-like trend of current versus glucose concentration. In this implementation, controlling the architectural details of the CuO nanowire network could conceivably allow the sensor's sensitivity and optimal sensing range to be tuned. Overall, this work shows that integrating CuO nanowires into a sensor architecture compatible with transparent, flexible electronics is a promising avenue to realizing next generation wearable non-enzymatic glucose diagnostic devices.

p-TSA-promoted syntheses of 5H-benzo[h] thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline and indeno[1,2-d] thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine analogs: molecular modeling and in vitro antitumor activity against hepatocellular carcinoma

In our efforts to address the rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we have made a commitment to the synthesis of novel molecules to combat Hep-G2 cells. A facile and highly efficient one-pot, multicomponent reaction has been successfully devised utilizing a p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA)-catalyzed domino Knoevenagel/Michael/intramolecular cyclization approach for the synthesis of novel 5H-benzo[h]thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline and indeno[1,2-d] thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine analogs bearing a bridgehead nitrogen atom. This domino protocol constructed one new ring by the concomitant formation of multiple bonds (C-C, C-N, and C=N) involving multiple steps without the use of any metal catalysts in one-pot, with all reactants effi-ciently exploited. All the newly synthesized compounds were authenticated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, together with elemental analysis, and their antitumor activity was evaluated in vitro on a Hep-G2 human cancer cell line by sulforhodamine B assay. Computational molecular modeling studies were carried out on cancer-related targets, including interleukin-2, interleukin-6, Caspase-3, and Caspase-8. Two compounds (4A and 6A) showed growth inhibitory activity comparable to the positive control Adriamycin, with growth inhibition of 50% <10 μg/mL. The results of the comprehensive structure-activity relationship study confirmed the assumption that two or more electronegative groups on the phenyl ring attached to the thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline system showed the optimum effect. The in silico simulations suggested crucial hydrogen bond and π-π stacking interactions, with a good ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) profile and molecular dynamics, in order to explore the molecular targets of HCC which were in complete agreement with the in vitro findings. Considering their significant anticancer activity, 4A and 6A are potential drug candidates for the management of HCC.

Ameliorative effects of pyrazinoic acid against oxidative and metabolic stress manifested in rats with dimethylhydrazine induced colonic carcinoma

Pyrazinoic acid (PA) is structurally similar to nicotinic acid which acts on G-protein-coupled receptor (GPR109A). GPR109A expresses in colonic and intestinal epithelial sites, and involves in DNA methylation and cellular apoptosis. Therefore, it may be assumed that PA has similar action like nicotinic acid and may be effective against colorectal carcinoma (CRC). CRC was produced via subcutaneous injection of dimethylhydrazine (DMH) at 40 mg/kg body weight once in a week for 4 weeks. After that, PA was administered orally at 2 doses of 10 and 25 mg/kg daily for 15 d to observe the antiproliferative effect. Various physiologic, oxidative stress, molecular parameters, histopathology, RT-PCR and NMR based metabolomics were performed to evaluate the antiproliferative potential of PA. Our results collectively suggested that PA reduced body weight, tumor volume and incidence no. to normal. It restored various oxidative stress parameters and normalized IL-2, IL-6, and COX-2 as compared with carcinogen control. In molecular level, overexpressed IL-6 and COX-2 genes became normal after PA administration. Again, normal tissue architecture was prominent after PA administration. Score plots of PLS-DA models exhibited that PA treated groups were significantly different from CRC group. We found that CRC rat sera have increased levels of acetate, glutamine, o-acetyl-glycoprotein, succinate, citrulline, choline, o-acetyl choline, tryptophan, glycerol, creatinine, lactate, citrate and decreased levels of 3-hydroxy butyrate, dimethyl amine, glucose, maltose, myoinositol. Further the PA therapy has ameliorated the CRC-induced metabolic alterations, signifying its antiproliferative properties. In conclusion, our study provided the evidence that PA demonstrated good antiproliferative effect on DMH induced CRC and thus demonstrated the potential of PA as a useful drug for future anticancer therapy.

Integrated omics analysis of specialized metabolism in medicinal plants

Medicinal plants are a rich source of highly diverse specialized metabolites with important pharmacological properties. Until recently, plant biologists were limited in their ability to explore the biosynthetic pathways of these metabolites, mainly due to the scarcity of plant genomics resources. However, recent advances in high-throughput large-scale analytical methods have enabled plant biologists to discover biosynthetic pathways for important plant-based medicinal metabolites. The reduced cost of generating omics datasets and the development of computational tools for their analysis and integration have led to the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways of several bioactive metabolites of plant origin. These discoveries have inspired synthetic biology approaches to develop microbial systems to produce bioactive metabolites originating from plants, an alternative sustainable source of medicinally important chemicals. Since the demand for medicinal compounds are increasing with the world's population, understanding the complete biosynthesis of specialized metabolites becomes important to identify or develop reliable sources in the future. Here, we review the contributions of major omics approaches and their integration to our understanding of the biosynthetic pathways of bioactive metabolites. We briefly discuss different approaches for integrating omics datasets to extract biologically relevant knowledge and the application of omics datasets in the construction and reconstruction of metabolic models.

Metabolomics approach discriminates toxicity index of pyrazinamide and its metabolic products, pyrazinoic acid and 5-hydroxy pyrazinoic acid

Pyrazinamide (PYZ)-an essential component of primary drug regimen used for the treatment and management of multidrug resistant or latent tuberculosis-is well known for its hepatoxicity. However, the mechanism of PYZ-induced hepatotoxicity is still unknown to researchers. Studies have shown that the drug is metabolized in the liver to pyrazinoic acid (PA) and 5-hydroxy pyrazinoic acid (5-OHPA) which individually may cause different degrees of hepatotoxicity. To evaluate this hypothesis, PYZ, PA, and 5-OHPA were administered to albino Wistar rats orally (respectively, at 250, 125, and 125 mg kg^-1 for 28 days). Compared to normal rats, PYZ and its metabolic products decreased the weights of dosed rats and induced liver injury and a status of oxidative stress as assessed by combined histopathological and biochemical analysis. Compared to normal controls, the biochemical and morphological changes were more aberrant in PA- and 5-OHPA-dosed rats with respect to those dosed with PYZ. Finally, the serum metabolic profiles of rats dosed with PYZ, PA, and 5-OHPA were measured and compared with those of normal control rats. With respect to normal control rats, the rats dosed with PYZ and 5-OHPA showed most aberrant metabolic perturbations in their sera as compared to those dosed with PA. Altogether, the study suggests that PYZ-induced hepatotoxicity might be associated with its metabolized products, where 5-OHPA contributes to a higher degree in its overall toxicity than PA.

Role of Antibiotic Cement Coated Nailing in Infected Nonunion of Tibia

Introduction

Infected nonunion of long bones is a chronic and debilitating disorder. It is more difficult to deal with when the implant used for internal fixation itself becomes a potential media for infection because of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. Traditionally, it is managed by two-stage procedure for controlling the infection first and then treating the nonunion. This study has been undertaken to explore antibiotic cement coated nailing as single stage treatment modality for treating infection and achieving stability at the same time.

Materials and Methods

Twenty patients (above 18 years of age) with infected nonunion of tibia with bone gap less than 2 cm were managed using antibiotic cement coated K-nail. Antibiotic cement nail was prepared using endotracheal tube method. Antibiotics used were a combination of vancomycin and teicoplanin.

Results

Infection was controlled in 95% of the patients. Bony union was achieved in 12 of 20 (60%) patients with antibiotic cement nailing as the only procedure with average time of union of 32 weeks. Remaining 8 patients required additional procedures like bone grafting or exchange nailing and these were done in six patients, with union of fracture. Two patients refused to undergo further procedures. Complications encountered were difficult nail removal in three cases, broken nail in two cases, and bent nail in one case. Recurrence of infection was observed in two patients. Average period of follow-up was 13 months.

Conclusion

Antibiotic cement impregnated nailing is a simple, economical and effective single stage procedure for the management of infected nonunion of tibia. It is advantageous over external fixators, as it eliminates the complications of external fixators and has good patient compliance. The method utilizes existing easily available instrumentation and materials and is technically less demanding, and therefore can be performed at any general orthopaedic center.

Effect of ethanolic extract of Quisqualis indica L. flower on experimental esophagitis in albino Wistar rats

Quisqualis indica L., Syn. Combretum indicum (L.) DeFilipps., known as Rangoon creeper or Chinese Honeysuckle, is an abundant source of phenols and flavonoids thathave crucial role in free radical scavenging. Therefore, here we investigated whether extract of Q. indica flower has any role against esophagitis through scavenging of free radical oxygen species. In this study, we elucidated the effect of ethanolic flower extract of Q. indica on experimental esophagitis in albino Wister rats. The fasted animals divided into six groups and received carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (0.25%, 3 mL/kg, Sham control) or toxic control or pantoprazole (30 mg/kg) or flower extract of different doses (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg) were subjected to pylorus and fore stomach ligation. All the animals were sacrificed after 8 h and evaluated for various parameters such as total acidity, free acidity, gastric pH, volume of gastric juices and esophagitis index. Esophageal tissues were subjected to estimation of various oxidative stress parameters like malonaldehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and protein carbonyl (PC). In a separate experiment, in vitro antioxidant assays such as DPPH and H2O2 assays, total phenolic and flavonoid contents were also conducted. The results revealed that treatments with pantoprazole and flower extracts significantly inhibited the gastric secretion, total acidity and esophagitis index. Various oxidative stress parameters also restored to normal level in the treated groups. This action could be due to the presence of higher phenolic and flavonoid contents. All these findings collectively suggest that the flower extract of Q. indica possibly possess anti-esophagitis potential.

The ‘three-legged stool’

Many hospitals do not have a structured process of consent, the attainment of which can often be rather ‘last-minute’ and somewhat chaotic. This is a surprising state of affairs as spinal surgery is a high-risk surgical specialty with potential for expensive litigation claims. More recently, the Montgomery ruling by the United Kingdom Supreme Court has placed the subject of informed consent into the spotlight.

There is a paucity of practical guidance on how a consent process can be achieved in a busy clinical setting. The British Association of Spinal Surgeons (BASS) has convened a working party to address this need. To our knowledge this is the first example of a national professional body, representing a single surgical specialty, taking such a fundamental initiative.

In a hard-pressed clinical environment, the ability to achieve admission reliably on the day of surgery, in patients at ease with their situation and with little likelihood of late cancellation, will be of great benefit. It will reduce litigation and improve the patient experience.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1427–30.

High-throughput sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly of Swertia japonica to identify genes involved in the biosynthesis of therapeutic metabolites

Here, we report potential transcripts involved in the biosynthesis of therapeutic metabolites in Swertia japonica , the first report of transcriptome assembly, and characterization of the medicinal plant from Swertia genus. Swertia genus, representing over 170 plant species including herbs such as S. chirata, S. hookeri, S. longifolia, S. japonica, among others, have been used as the traditional medicine in China, India, Korea, and Japan for thousands of years. Due to the lack of genomic and transcriptomic resources, little is known about the molecular basis involved in the biosynthesis of characteristic key bioactive metabolites. Here, we performed deep-transcriptome sequencing for the aerial tissues and the roots of S. japonica, generating over 2 billion raw reads with an average length of 101 bps. Using a combined approach of three popular assemblers, de novo transcriptome assembly for S. japonica was obtained, yielding 81,729 unigenes having an average length of 884 bps and N50 value of 1452 bps, of which 46,963 unigenes were annotated based on the sequence similarity against NCBI-nr protein database. Annotation of transcriptome assembly resulted in the identification of putative genes encoding all enzymes from the key therapeutic metabolite biosynthesis pathways. Transcript abundance analysis, gene ontology enrichment analysis, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed metabolic processes being up-regulated in the aerial tissues with respect to the roots of S. japonica. We also identified 37 unigenes as potential candidates involved in the glycosylation of bioactive metabolites. Being the first report of transcriptome assembly and annotation for any of the Swertia species, this study will be a valuable resource for future investigations on the biosynthetic pathways of therapeutic metabolites and their regulations.

An efficient algorithm for protein structure comparison using elastic shape analysis

BACKGROUND

Protein structure comparison play important role in in silico functional prediction of a new protein. It is also used for understanding the evolutionary relationships among proteins. A variety of methods have been proposed in literature for comparing protein structures but they have their own limitations in terms of accuracy and complexity with respect to computational time and space. There is a need to improve the computational complexity in comparison/alignment of proteins through incorporation of important biological and structural properties in the existing techniques.

RESULTS

An efficient algorithm has been developed for comparing protein structures using elastic shape analysis in which the sequence of 3D coordinates atoms of protein structures supplemented by additional auxiliary information from side-chain properties are incorporated. The protein structure is represented by a special function called square-root velocity function. Furthermore, singular value decomposition and dynamic programming have been employed for optimal rotation and optimal matching of the proteins, respectively. Also, geodesic distance has been calculated and used as the dissimilarity score between two protein structures. The performance of the developed algorithm is tested and found to be more efficient, i.e., running time reduced by 80-90 % without compromising accuracy of comparison when compared with the existing methods. Source codes for different functions have been developed in R. Also, user friendly web-based application called ProtSComp has been developed using above algorithm for comparing protein 3D structures and is accessible free.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodology and algorithm developed in this study is taking considerably less computational time without loss of accuracy (Table 2). The proposed algorithm is considering different criteria of representing protein structures using 3D coordinates of atoms and inclusion of residue wise molecular properties as auxiliary information.

De novo transcriptome assembly and characterization of nine tissues of Lonicera japonica to identify potential candidate genes involved in chlorogenic acid, luteolosides, and secoiridoid biosynthesis pathways

Lonicera japonica is one of the most important medicinal plants with applications in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for thousands of years. Extensive studies on the constituents of L. japonica extracts have revealed an accumulation of pharmaceutically active metabolite classes, such as chlorogenic acid, luteolin and other flavonoids, and secoiridoids, which impart characteristic medicinal properties. Despite being a rich source of pharmaceutically active metabolites, little is known about the biosynthetic enzymes involved, and their expression profile across different tissues of L. japonica. In this study, we performed de novo transcriptome assembly for L. japonica, representing transcripts from nine different tissues. A total of 22 Gbps clean RNA-seq reads from nine tissues of L. japonica were used, resulting in 243,185 unigenes, with 99,938 unigenes annotated based on a homology search using blastx against the NCBI-nr protein database. Unsupervised principal component analysis and correlation studies using transcript expression data from all nine tissues of L. japonica showed relationships between tissues, explaining their association at different developmental stages. Homologs for all genes associated with chlorogenic acid, luteolin, and secoiridoid biosynthesis pathways were identified in the L. japonica transcriptome assembly. Expression of unigenes associated with chlorogenic acid was enriched in stems and leaf-2, unigenes from luteolin were enriched in stems and flowers, while unigenes from secoiridoid metabolic pathways were enriched in leaf-1 and shoot apex. Our results showed that different tissues of L. japonica are enriched with sets of unigenes associated with specific pharmaceutically important metabolic pathways and, therefore, possess unique medicinal properties. The present study will serve as a resource for future attempts for functional characterization of enzyme coding genes within key metabolic processes.

Coordinate Regulation of Metabolite Glycosylation and Stress Hormone Biosynthesis by TT8 in Arabidopsis

Secondary metabolites play a key role in coordinating ecology and defense strategies of plants. Diversity of these metabolites arises by conjugation of core structures with diverse chemical moieties, such as sugars in glycosylation. Active pools of phytohormones, including those involved in plant stress response, are also regulated by glycosylation. While much is known about the enzymes involved in glycosylation, we know little about their regulation or coordination with other processes. We characterized the flavonoid pathway transcription factor TRANSPARENT TESTA8 (TT8) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) using an integrative omics strategy. This approach provides a systems-level understanding of the cellular machinery that is used to generate metabolite diversity by glycosylation. Metabolomics analysis of TT8 loss-of-function and inducible overexpression lines showed that TT8 coordinates glycosylation of not only flavonoids, but also nucleotides, thus implicating TT8 in regulating pools of activated nucleotide sugars. Transcriptome and promoter network analyses revealed that the TT8 regulome included sugar transporters, proteins involved in sugar binding and sequestration, and a number of carbohydrate-active enzymes. Importantly, TT8 affects stress response, along with brassinosteroid and jasmonic acid biosynthesis, by directly binding to the promoters of key genes of these processes. This combined effect on metabolite glycosylation and stress hormones by TT8 inducible overexpression led to significant increase in tolerance toward multiple abiotic and biotic stresses. Conversely, loss of TT8 leads to increased sensitivity to these stresses. Thus, the transcription factor TT8 is an integrator of secondary metabolism and stress response. These findings provide novel approaches to improve broad-spectrum stress tolerance.