Protection by ethyl pyruvate against gamma radiation induced damage in bovine serum albumin

Monitoring the interactions between bovine serum albumin and ZnO/Ag nanoparticles by spectroscopic techniques

Inducing the bio-functionalization in noble metal nanoparticles like gold, silver, zinc is very important to accomplish their biocompatibility in biological activities. These metal nanoparticles are being rigorously used in bio-sensing tools keeping their remarkable properties in mind. Amongst the serum albumins, the most ample proteins in plasma are bovine serum albumin and human serum albumin. A broad variety of physiological functions of bovine serum albumin has made it a model protein for bio-functionalization. In the present study, ZnO/Ag nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by SEM and XRD techniques and the interaction between bovine serum albumin and ZnO/Ag nanoparticles was evaluated by employing ultra-violet, steady state fluorescence, circular dichroism and FTIR spectroscopic techniques. Upon the excitation of bovine serum albumin, ZnO/Ag nanoparticles appreciably reduced the intrinsic fluorescence intensity of bovine serum albumin. The number of binding locations and apparent binding constants at different temperatures were calculated by the fluorescence quenching method. Static mechanism of quenching and conformational modifications in bovine serum albumin were also found.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Ethyl pyruvate: A newly discovered compound against ischemia-reperfusion injury in multiple organs

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a process whereby an initial ischemia injury and subsequent recovery of blood flow, which leads to the propagation of an innate immune response and the changes of structural and functional of multiple organs. Therefore, IRI is considered to be a great challenge in clinical treatment such as organ transplantation or coronary angioplasty. In recent years, ethyl pyruvate (EP), a derivative of pyruvate, has received great attention because of its stability and low toxicity. Previous studies have proved that EP has various pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis, and anti-fibrosis. Compelling evidence has indicated EP plays a beneficial role in a variety of acute injury models, such as brain IRI, myocardial IRI, renal IRI, and hepatic IRI. Moreover, EP can not only effectively inhibit multiple IRI-induced pathological processes, but also improve the structural and functional lesion of tissues and organs. In this study, we review the recent progress in the research on EP and discuss their implications for a better understanding of multiple organ IRI, and the prospects of targeting the EP for therapeutic intervention.

DNA binding and antiradical potential of ethyl pyruvate: Key to the DNA radioprotection

DNA is the store house of all necessary hereditary information for growth of cells and tissues. Physiological functionality of DNA depends on its 3D helical structure and any distortion in a structure may lead to mutation and genomic instability that may translate into disease like cancer. In order to prevent DNA damage, an exogenous compound is required that can either scavenge the excess free radicals or enhance the structural integrity of DNA through binding. In the present study, the binding mechanism of ethyl pyruvate (EP) with DNA models using different spectroscopic techniques was investigated for their structural integrity. Besides, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were performed to determine the antioxidant scavenging of EP. Plasmid DNA relaxation assay was performed to assess the radioprotection efficacy of EP in the plasmid DNA. Circular dichroism (CD) and UV-Vis absorbance spectroscopic data confirmed the conformation change in ctDNA upon binding with EP. The molecular docking visualized that EP stacks between the DNA bases with a glide score of -2.117 kcalmol while EP binds in the minor groove region of DNA with the glide score of -1.414 kcalmol . DPPH and FRAP data confirmed that EP scavenges significantly radicals at higher concentrations. In vitro radioprotection study in plasmid DNA pBR322 showed that EP retained the supercoiled form of plasmid DNA at 50 Gy radiation dose.