Medicinal Importance of Azo and Hippuric Acid Derivatives

Histone Lactylation Dynamics: Unlocking the Triad of Metabolism, Epigenetics, and Immune Regulation in Metastatic Cascade of Pancreatic Cancer

Cancer cells rewire metabolism to sculpt the immune tumor microenvironment (TME) and propel tumor advancement, which intricately tied to post-translational modifications. Histone lactylation has emerged as a novel player in modulating protein functions, whereas little is known about its pathological role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression. Employing a multi-omics approach encompassing bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing, metabolomics, ATAC-seq, and CUT&Tag methodologies, we unveiled the potential of histone lactylation in prognostic prediction, patient stratification and TME characterization. Notably, "LDHA-H4K12la-immuno-genes" axis has introduced a novel node into the regulatory framework of "metabolism-epigenetics-immunity," shedding new light on the landscape of PDAC progression. Furthermore, the heightened interplay between cancer cells and immune counterparts via Nectin-2 in liver metastasis with elevated HLS unraveled a positive feedback loop in driving immune evasion. Simultaneously, immune cells exhibited altered HLS and autonomous functionality across the metastatic cascade. Consequently, the exploration of innovative combination strategies targeting the metabolism-epigenetics-immunity axis holds promise in curbing distant metastasis and improving survival prospects for individuals grappling with challenges of PDAC.

Rapeseed oil-based hippurate amide nanocomposite coating material for anticorrosive and antibacterial applications

Industrial crops and products have proved to be an excellent alternative to petro-based chemicals. Vegetable oils are rich in functional groups that can be transformed into monomers and polymers with applications such as biodiesel, lubricants, inks, coatings, and paints. This study describes the synthesis of rapeseed oil (RO)-based esteramide for the first time. The reaction was carried out by amidation of RO, producing diol fatty amide (N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) RO fatty amide), followed by its esterification reaction with hippuric acid, resulting in RO-based hippurate amide (ROHA). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the introduction of amide and ester moieties in ROHA. ROHA was further reinforced with silver nanoparticles (SNPs) to develop corrosion-protective nanocomposite coatings. ROHA/SNP coatings were scratch-resistant, impact-resistant, and flexible and showed good corrosion resistance performance toward 3.5 w/w% NaCl medium, with adequate corrosion protection efficiency, and antimicrobial behavior against Staphylococcus aureus, Chromobacterium violaceum, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. ROHA/SNP coatings can be safely used up to 250°C.

Metabolic Signature of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Elite Male Soccer Players

Introduction: Biological aging is associated with changes in the metabolic pathways. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictive marker of biological aging; however, the underlying metabolic pathways remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic alterations and identify the metabolic predictors of LTL in elite male soccer players.

Methods: Levels of 837 blood metabolites and LTL were measured in 126 young elite male soccer players who tested negative for doping abuse at anti-doping laboratory in Italy. Multivariate analysis using orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS), univariate linear models and enrichment analyses were conducted to identify metabolites and metabolic pathways associated with LTL. Generalized linear model followed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were conducted to identify top metabolites predictive of LTL.

Results: Sixty-seven metabolites and seven metabolic pathways showed significant associations with LTL. Among enriched pathways, lysophospholipids, benzoate metabolites, and glycine/serine/threonine metabolites were elevated with longer LTL. Conversely, monoacylglycerols, sphingolipid metabolites, long chain fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids were enriched with shorter telomeres. ROC analysis revealed eight metabolites that best predict LTL, including glutamine, N-acetylglutamine, xanthine, beta-sitosterol, N2-acetyllysine, stearoyl-arachidonoyl-glycerol (18:0/20:4), N-acetylserine and 3-7-dimethylurate with AUC of 0.75 (0.64–0.87, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion: This study characterized the metabolic activity in relation to telomere length in elite soccer players. Investigating the functional relevance of these associations could provide a better understanding of exercise physiology and pathophysiology of elite athletes.

Pyridine Scaffolds, Phenols and Derivatives of Azo Moiety: Current Therapeutic Perspectives

Synthetic heterocyclic compounds have incredible potential against different diseases; pyridines, phenolic compounds and the derivatives of azo moiety have shown excellent antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, anti-melanogenic, anti-ulcer, anticancer, anti-mycobacterial, anti-inflammatory, DNA binding and chemosensing activities. In the present review, the above-mentioned activities of the nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds (pyridines), hydroxyl (phenols) and azo derivatives are discussed with reference to the minimum inhibitory concentration and structure–activity relationship, which clearly indicate that the presence of nitrogen in the phenyl ring; in addition, the hydroxyl substituent and the incorporation of a diazo group is crucial for the improved efficacies of the compounds in probing different diseases. The comparison was made with the reported drugs and new synthetic derivatives that showed recent therapeutic perspectives made in the last five years.

Beverages containing Lactobacillus paracasei LC-37 improved functional dyspepsia through regulation of the intestinal microbiota and their metabolites

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common disease of the digestive system and probiotics have been reported to be effective in the treatment of functional gastrointestinal diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the beverage containing Lactobacillus paracasei LC-37 (LC-37) and its ability to relieve symptoms of FD by a randomized clinical trial. Due to the mechanistic complexity underlying FD, intestinal microbiota and stool metabolomes were also evaluated. The results showed that FD was relieved in participants after treatment with the beverage containing LC-37 for 14 and 28 d. The clinical symptom scores were significantly decreased after these times (abdominal pain and belching were significantly decreased after 14 d and almost absent after 28 d of treatment). Probiotics, such as those containing the Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Weissella, significantly increased, and the abundance of harmful bacteria such as Lachnocliostridium significantly decreased. Furthermore, relevant beneficial intestinal metabolites such as pelargonic acid, benzoic acid, and short-chain fatty acids increased, and harmful intestinal metabolites such as hippuric acid decreased. Taken together, these findings suggested that the beverages containing LC-37 can increase the abundance of probiotics and decrease pathogenic bacteria, and thereby improve beneficial intestinal metabolites. Therefore, the beverages containing LC-37 may provide a natural alternative to combat FD.

Synthesis, characterization and computational study on potential inhibitory action of novel azo imidazole derivatives against COVID-19 main protease (Mpro: 6LU7)

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Six azo imidazole derivatives have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and analytical tools.

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Inhibitory potential against main protease (6LU7) have been investigated using computational techniques.

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Binding energy of the ligands has found in the range −6.7 Kcal/mole to −8.1 Kcal/mole.

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The order of the ligands towards the protein 6LU7 are L5> L4≈L6>L1>L2>L3.

A series of six novel imidazole anchored azo-imidazole derivatives (L1-L6) have been prepared by the simple condensation reaction of azo-coupled ortho-vaniline precursor with amino functionalised imidazole derivative and the synthesized derivatives (L1-L6) have been characterized by different analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Molecular docking studies were carried out to ascertain the inhibitory action of studied ligands (L1-L6) against the Main Protease (6LU7) of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The result of the docking of L1-L6 showed a significant inhibitory action against the Main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2 and the binding energy (ΔG) values of the ligands (L1-L6) against the protein 6LU7 have found to be -7.7 Kcal/mole (L1), -7.4 Kcal/mole (L2), -6.7 Kcal/mole (L3), -7.9 Kcal/mole (L4), -8.1 Kcal/mole (L5) and -7.9 Kcal/mole (L6). Pharmacokinetic properties (ADME) of the ligands (L1-L6) have also been studied.