Multiple Modes of Nrf2 Regulation and Transcriptional Response

Cells have defense systems to deal with chemical insults from the environment. Some examples are chemical scavengers like glutathione and enzymes such as superoxide dismutase that inactivate radicals and other reactive chemicals in the cytoplasm. It is perhaps surprising that these protective systems are not maximally expressed in an unstressed cell. Rather, the ability to inactivate toxic chemicals is tightly regulated and only induced when needed. As a consequence, unstressed cells are usually very sensitive to radicals, but become more resistant as the cellular defense system has been appropriately upregulated after a few hours. The transcription factor Nrf2 is known to be a master regulator of many cytoprotective enzymes and proteins. Chemical inducers of Nrf2 inactivate its repressor, Keap1, when they react with critical cysteine residues in Keap1. The release of Nrf2 from Keap1 results in enhanced expression of genes involved in detoxification. This generates a feedback loop where Nrf2 induces protective enzymes capable of inactivating the chemical that reacted with Keap1. An unproven, but likely, scenario is that Nrf2 transcriptional response can vary depending on the nature of the chemical insult. The aim of this chapter is to examine the mechanisms by which the cell can sense different reactive chemicals and modulate protective responses. It is likely that this knowledge is of vital importance in the development of clinical Nrf2 activators in preventive medicine

Investigation of Protein Patterns by Using Sds Page in Kidney, Liver and Brain of Cyprinus Carpio

Western transfer and dodecyl sodium sulphate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) are two of the most widely used and beloved techniques in cancer research to identify proteins and glycoproteins. the protein fraction expression on the protein profile is significantly lower on the seventh day than it is on the eighth, the protein fraction expression is directly inversely related to the number of days. In order to determine the number of protein bands expressed in different tissues of Cyprinus carpio exposed to mercury and lead as the number of days rose, electrophoretic research was conducted. The difference between the 27 bands for lead and 36 bands for mercury on the seventh day and the 29 bands for lead and 40 bands on the thirty-first day suggests that as the number of exposure days to lead and mercury rises, so do the number of protein bands that are expressed. Using gel electrophoresis, a mixture of proteins is categorized by kind and molecular weight in the Western Blotting method. The results are then put into a membrane, which results in the formation of a band for each protein. Two HSP70 gene bands were found in Cyprinus carpio tissues after exposure to lead and mercury

Decreased GABA receptor in the cerebral cortex of epileptic rats: effect of Bacopa monnieri and Bacoside-A

<p>Abstact</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the cerebral cortex, maintains the inhibitory tones that counter balances neuronal excitation. When this balance is perturbed, seizures may ensue.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In the present study, alterations of the general GABA, GABA_Aand GABA_Breceptors in the cerebral cortex of the epileptic rat and the therapeutic application of <it>Bacopa monnieri </it>were investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Scatchard analysis of [³H]GABA, [³H]bicuculline and [³H]baclofen in the cerebral cortex of the epileptic rat showed significant decrease in B_max(P < 0.001) compared to control. Real Time PCR amplification of GABA receptor subunits such as GABA_Aά1, GABA_Aγ, GABA_Aδ, GABA_Band GAD where down regulated (P < 0.001) in epileptic rats. GABA_Aά5subunit and Cyclic AMP responsible element binding protein were up regulated. Confocal imaging study confirmed the decreased GABA receptors in epileptic rats. Epileptic rats have deficit in radial arm and Y maze performance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Bacopa monnieri </it>and Bacoside-A treatment reverses epilepsy associated changes to near control suggesting that decreased GABA receptors in the cerebral cortex have an important role in epileptic occurrence; <it>Bacopa monnieri </it>and Bacoside-A have therapeutic application in epilepsy management.</p

Identification of variety-specific ISSR markers in small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton.)

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Identification of variety-specific ISSR markers in small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton.)

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Synthesis of Silver Nano-Particles from Natural Products and its Applications

Infections, that are resistant to the various antibiotics, have increased and become a major concern in the field of drug discovery. This has initiated the need to improve the quality of the existing drugs or find an innovative set of strategies to overcome this issue. In the hope of treating multiple-drug resistant infections, the concept of using natural products to form nanoparticles that could resolve the problem has been introduced. This review talks about the myriad ways of synthesis of silver nanoparticles from natural products which helps in the treatment of multiple diseases

Hypoglycemia induced changes in cholinergic receptor expression in the cerebellum of diabetic rats

Abstract Glucose homeostasis in humans is an important factor for the functioning of nervous system. Hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia is found to be associated with central and peripheral nerve system dysfunction. Changes in acetylcholine receptors have been implicated in the pathophysiology of many major diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). In the present study we showed the effects of insulin induced hypoglycemia and streptozotocin induced diabetes on the cerebellar cholinergic receptors, GLUT3 and muscle cholinergic activity. Results showed enhanced binding parameters and gene expression of Muscarinic M1, M3 receptor subtypes in cerebellum of diabetic (D) and hypoglycemic group (D + IIH and C + IIH). α7nAchR gene expression showed a significant upregulation in diabetic group and showed further upregulated expression in both D + IIH and C + IIH group. AchE expression significantly upregulated in hypoglycemic and diabetic group. ChAT showed downregulation and GLUT3 expression showed a significant upregulation in D + IIH and C + IIH and diabetic group. AchE activity enhanced in the muscle of hypoglycemic and diabetic rats. Our studies demonstrated a functional disturbance in the neuronal glucose transporter GLUT3 in the cerebellum during insulin induced hypoglycemia in diabetic rats. Altered expression of muscarinic M1, M3 and α7nAchR and increased muscle AchE activity in hypoglycemic rats in cerebellum is suggested to cause cognitive and motor dysfunction. Hypoglycemia induced changes in ChAT and AchE gene expression is suggested to cause impaired acetycholine metabolism in the cerebellum. Cerebellar dysfunction is associated with seizure generation, motor deficits and memory impairment. The results shows that cerebellar cholinergic neurotransmission is impaired during hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and the hypoglycemia is causing more prominent imbalance in cholinergic neurotransmission which is suggested to be a cause of cerebellar dysfunction associated with hypoglycemia.</jats:p

Survey Among Medical Students During COVID-19 Lockdown: The Online Class Dilemma

Background: In view of COVID-19 lockdown in India, many colleges started online classes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of, and the factors affecting, medical students attending online classes during lockdown. Methods: We designed an online questionnaire with open-ended, close-ended, and Likert scale questions. Links to the questionnaires were shared with the medical students who have attended at least one online class during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Respondents were 1061 participants from 30 medical colleges from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. Results: The majority of students – 94% (955/1016) – used smartphones to attend online classes. ZOOM/ Skype – by 57.1% (580/1016) – and Google platforms – by 54.4% (553/1016) – were commonly used. Learning at leisure – 44.5% (452/1016) – was the top reason why students liked online classes, whereas network problems – 85.8% (872/1016) – was the top reason why students disliked them. Lack of sufficient interaction – 61.1% (621/1016) was another reason why students disliked online learning. More than half the participants – 51.7% (526/1016) – did not want to continue online classes after COVID-19 lockdown. More students – 55% (558/1016) – favored regular classes than online classes. Conclusion: Students in our survey did not seem favorably disposed to online classes. Network problems experienced by students should be addressed. Furthermore, teachers should try to make the classes more interactive and educational institutions should address the problems pointed out by the students in order to make online classes more effective in the future

Diversity analysis of released varieties of Indian cardamom using ISSR markers reveal narrowing genetic base

311-322Elettaria cardamomum Maton the small cardamom of commerce is a monotypic genus in India under the family Zingiberaceae. Genetic diversity studies using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were conducted on a total of 13 released varieties of cardamom including selections and hybrids from different research stations in South India along with a popular variety Njallani and a wild relative Aframomum sps as checks. ISSR markers however, revealed relatively high level of genetic redundancy among the tested varieties with the exception of a few. Nonetheless, unweighted pair group method of arithmetic average (UPGMA) based cluster analysis of the similarity matrix differentiated all the varieties tested with the exception of two and segregated the wild relative Aframomum. Considerable reduction of polymorphism percentage was observed on exclusion of Aframomum while studying ISSR polymorphism which could be an indicator of the narrowing genetic base in the released varieties. Morphological data were compiled based on International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) cardamom descriptor and revealed moderate variability among the varieties. The results highlighted the requirement of molecular characterization of unutilized germplasm accessions, related wild species, and exotic relatives using specific molecular markers to help refine breeding efforts and introgression of new alleles for further improvement and enhancement of genetic base of cultivated cardamom