Identification of potent Antigen 85C inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis via in-house lichen library and binding free energy studies Part-II

Broccoli Cultivated with Deep Sea Water Mineral Fertilizer Enhances Anti-Cancer and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of AOM/DSS-Induced Colorectal Cancer in C57BL/6N Mice

This study aimed to determine the alleviating effect of broccoli grown with deep sea water mineral (DSWM) fertilizer extracted from deep sea water on the development of colorectal cancer in C57BL/6N mice treated with AOM/DSS. Naturaldream Fertilizer Broccoli (NFB) cultured with deep sea water minerals (DSWM) showed a higher antioxidant effect and mineral content. In addition, orally administered NFB, showed a level of recovery in the colon and spleen tissues of mice compared with those in normal mice through hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Orally administered NFB showed the inhibition of the expression of inflammatory cytokine factors IL-1β, IL-6, TNF, IFN-γ, and IL-12 while increasing the expression of IL-10. Furthermore, the expression of inflammatory cytokines and NF-κB in the liver tissue was inhibited, and that of inflammatory enzymes, such as COX-2 and iNOS, was reduced. In the colon tissue, the expression of p53 and p21 associated with cell cycle arrest increased, and that of Bcl-2 associated with apoptosis decreased. Additionally, the expression of Bax, Bad, Bim, Bak, caspase 9, and caspase 3 increased, indicating enhanced activation of apoptosis-related factors. These results demonstrate that oral administration of broccoli cultivated using DSWM significantly restores spleen and colon tissues and simultaneously inhibits the NF-κB pathway while significantly decreasing cytokine expression. Moreover, by inducing cell cycle arrest and activating cell apoptosis, they also suggest alleviating AOM/DSS-induced colon cancer symptoms in C57BL/6N mice.

Recent Progress in the Development of Novel Mycobacterium Cell Wall Inhibitor to Combat Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Despite decades of research in drug development against TB, it is still the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases. The long treatment duration, patient noncompliance coupled with the ability of the tuberculosis bacilli to resist the current drugs increases multidrug-resistant tuberculosis that exacerbates the situation. Identification of novel drug targets is important for the advancement of drug development against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The development of an effective treatment course that could help us eradicates TB. Hence, we require drugs that could eliminate the bacteria and shorten the treatment duration. This review briefly describes the available data on the peptidoglycan component structural characterization, identification of the metabolic pathway, and the key enzymes involved in the peptidoglycan synthesis, like N-Acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate uridyltransferase, mur enzyme, alanine racemase as well as their inhibition. Besides, this paper also provides studies on mycolic acid and arabinogalactan synthesis and the transport mechanisms that show considerable promise as new targets to develop a new product with their inhibiter.

Screening approaches and therapeutic targets: The two driving wheels of tuberculosis drug discovery

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease, infecting a quarter of world's population. Drug resistant TB further exacerbates the grim scenario of the drying TB drug discovery pipeline. The limited arsenal to fight TB presses the need for thorough efforts for identifying promising hits to combat the disease. The review highlights the efforts in the field of tuberculosis drug discovery, with an emphasis on massive drug screening campaigns for identifying novel hits against Mtb in both industry and academia. As an intracellular pathogen, mycobacteria reside in a complicated intracellular environment with multiple factors at play. Here, we outline various strategies employed in an effort to mimic the intracellular milieu for bringing the screening models closer to the actual settings. The review also focuses on the novel targets and pathways that could aid in target-based drug discovery in TB. The recent high throughput screening efforts resulting in the identification of potent hits against Mtb has been summarized in this article. There is a pressing need for effective screening strategies and approaches employing innovative tools and recent technologies; including nanotechnology, gene-editing tools such as CRISPR-cas system, host-directed bacterial killing and high content screening to augment the TB drug discovery pipeline with safer and shorter drug regimens.