Effect of Sudharshan Kriya Pranayama on Salivary Expression of Human Beta Defensin-2, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma, and Nuclear Factor-Kappa B in Chronic Periodontitis

Sudarshan Kriya Yoga: A Breath of Hope during COVID-19 Pandemic

Important counter measures to combat an infectious disease pandemic include vaccination, antiviral therapy, and immunomodulation therapy. Vaccinations are disease specific and moreover strain specific, so the protection provided is also specific and limited. Antiviral therapies are costly and require bulk production of drugs, hence globally there is an increased interest toward low-risk, cost-effective complementary alternative therapies, such as Yoga and Ayurveda to tackle the infectious pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is clinical evidence available on the potential complementary role of yogic practices in the management of noncommunicable and communicable diseases. Various online databases were searched for articles published between 2000 and 2020. Databases explored were Medline, EMBASE, Indian Citation Index, PsycINFO, Index Medicus for South-East Asia Region, and Google Scholar. All search results were screened, and articles related to keywords such as COVID-19, yoga therapy, and Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) were selected for data extraction. Quality of the studies included was evaluated on the basis of the construct validity, content validity, relevance, bias, credibility relating to information, and data sources. SKY is a unique yogic practice that includes specific sequential breathing techniques. It balances the autonomic nervous system and thus can alleviate anxiety, routine stress, depression, stress-related medical disorders, and posttraumatic stress. It potentiates natural host immune defenses that are essential to tackle a plethora of microbial infections. This narrative review article provides an overview of potential therapeutic benefits that SKY can offer to the population at large during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Latcripin-7A, derivative of Lentinula edodes C91-3, reduces migration and induces apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in breast cancer cells

Due to the high mortality rate and an increase in breast cancer incidence, it has been challenging for researchers to come across an effective chemotherapeutic strategy with minimum side effects. Therefore, the need for the development of effective chemotherapeutic drugs is still on the verge. Consequently, we approached a new mechanism to address this issue. The naturally available peptide named latcripin-7A (LP-7A), extracted from a mushroom called Lentinula edodes, provided us promising results in terms of growth arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy in breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). Expressions of protein markers for apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle were confirmed via Western blot analysis. Migration and invasion assays were performed to analyze the anti-migratory and anti-invasive properties of LP-7A, while cell cycle analysis was performed via flow cytometry to evaluate its affect over cell growth. Supportive assays were performed like acridine orange, Hoechst 33258 stain, DNA fragmentation, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) to further confirm the anticancer effect of LP-7A on breast cancer cell lines. It is concluded that LP-7A effectively reduces migration and promotes apoptosis as well as autophagy in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines by inducing cell growth arrest at G₀/G₁ phase and decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential without adverse effects on MCF-10A normal breast cells. KEY POINTS: • In this study, we have investigated the anti-cancer activity of novel latcripin-7A (LP-7A), a protein extracted as a result of de novo characterization of Lentinula edodes C_91-3. • We conclude in our research work that LP-7A can initiate diverse cell death-related events, i.e., apoptosis and autophagy in both triple-positive and triple-negative breast cancer cell lines by interacting with different nodes of cellular signaling that can further be investigated in vivo to gain a better understanding.