Simultaneous determination of monosaccharides and oligosaccharides in dates using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

a b s t r a c t Ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used for the simultaneous separation and determination of reducing monosaccharides (fructose and glucose), a non-reducing disaccharide (sucrose) and oligosaccharides (kestose and nystose) in HILIC mode. The chromatographic separation of all saccharides was performed on a BEH amide column using an acetonitrile-water gradient elution. The detection was carried out using selected ion recording (SIR) acquisition mode. The validation of the proposed method showed that the limit of detection and limit of quantification values for the five analyzed compounds were in the range of 0.25-0.69 lg/mL and 0.82-3.58 lg/mL, respectively; while the response was linear in the range of 1-50 lg/mL. The developed method showed potential usefulness for a rapid and sensitive analysis of underivatized saccharides and was used for determination of sugars in three date samples (Sefri, Mabroom, Ghassab) which were soxhlet extracted by ethanol

Structure-based identification of galectin-1 selective modulators in dietary food polyphenols : a pharmacoinformatics approach

In this study, a set of dietary polyphenols was comprehensively studied for the selective identification of the potential inhibitors/modulators for galectin-1. Galectin-1 is a potent prognostic indicator of tumor progression and a highly regarded therapeutic target for various pathological conditions. This indicator is composed of a highly conserved carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) that accounts for the binding affinity of β-galactosides. Although some small molecules have been identified as galectin-1 inhibitors/modulators, there are limited studies on the identification of novel compounds against this attractive therapeutic target. The extensive computational techniques include potential drug binding site recognition on galectin-1, binding affinity predictions of ~ 500 polyphenols, molecular docking, and dynamic simulations of galectin-1 with selective dietary polyphenol modulators, followed by the estimation of binding free energy for the identification of dietary polyphenol-based galectin-1 modulators. Initially, a deep neural network-based algorithm was utilized for the prediction of the druggable binding site and binding affinity. Thereafter, the intermolecular interactions of the polyphenol compounds with galectin-1 were critically explored through the extra-precision docking technique. Further, the stability of the interaction was evaluated through the conventional atomistic 100 ns dynamic simulation study. The docking analyses indicated the high interaction affinity of different amino acids at the CRD region of galectin-1 with the proposed five polyphenols. Strong and consistent interaction stability was suggested from the simulation trajectories of the selected dietary polyphenol under the dynamic conditions. Also, the conserved residue (His44, Asn46, Arg48, Val59, Asn61, Trp68, Glu71, and Arg73) associations suggest high affinity and selectivity of polyphenols toward galectin-1 protein.The Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, through the Research Groups Program Grant No. (RGP-1440–0021).https://link.springer.com/journal/11030hj2023Chemical Patholog

Expression of Toll-like Receptor 9 in nose, peripheral blood and bone marrow during symptomatic allergic rhinitis

BACKGROUND: Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the upper airway mucosa that also affects leukocytes in bone marrow and peripheral blood. Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is a receptor for unmethylated CpG dinucleotides found in bacterial and viral DNA. The present study was designed to examine the expression of TLR9 in the nasal mucosa and in leukocytes derived from different cellular compartments during symptomatic allergic rhinitis. METHODS: The study was based on 32 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and 18 healthy subjects, serving as controls. Nasal biopsies were obtained before and after allergen challenge. Bone marrow, peripheral blood and nasal lavage fluid were sampled outside and during pollen season. The expression of TLR9 in tissues and cells was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: TLR9 was found in several cell types in the nasal mucosa and in different leukocyte subpopulations derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood and nasal lavage fluid. The leukocyte expression was generally higher in bone marrow than in peripheral blood, and not affected by symptomatic allergic rhinitis. CONCLUSION: The widespread expression of TLR9 in the nasal mucosa along with its rich representation in leukocytes in different compartments, demonstrate the possibility for cells involved in allergic airway inflammation to directly interact with bacterial and viral DNA

Contrasted Patterns of Selection on MHC-Linked Microsatellites in Natural Populations of the Malagasy Plague Reservoir

Plague (Yersinia pestis infection) is a highly virulent rodent disease that persists in many natural ecosystems. The black rat (Rattus rattus) is the main host involved in the plague focus of the central highlands of Madagascar. Black rat populations from this area are highly resistant to plague, whereas those from areas in which the disease is absent (low altitude zones of Madagascar) are susceptible. Various lines of evidence suggest a role for the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) in plague resistance. We therefore used the MHC region as a candidate for detecting signatures of plague-mediated selection in Malagasy black rats, by comparing population genetic structures for five MHC-linked microsatellites and neutral markers in two sampling designs. We first compared four pairs of populations, each pair including one population from the plague focus and one from the disease-free zone. Plague-mediated selection was expected to result in greater genetic differentiation between the two zones than expected under neutrality and this was observed for one MHC-class I-linked locus (D20Img2). For this marker as well as for four other MHC-linked loci, a geographic pattern of genetic structure was found at local scale within the plague focus. This pattern would be expected if plague selection pressures were spatially variable. Finally, another MHC-class I-linked locus (D20Rat21) showed evidences of balancing selection, but it seems more likely that this selection would be related to unknown pathogens more widely distributed in Madagascar than plague

Early Production of IL-22 but Not IL-17 by Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Exposed to live Borrelia burgdorferi: The Role of Monocytes and Interleukin-1

If insufficiently treated, Lyme borreliosis can evolve into an inflammatory disorder affecting skin, joints, and the CNS. Early innate immunity may determine host responses targeting infection. Thus, we sought to characterize the immediate cytokine storm associated with exposure of PBMC to moderate levels of live Borrelia burgdorferi. Since Th17 cytokines are connected to host defense against extracellular bacteria, we focused on interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-22. Here, we report that, despite induction of inflammatory cytokines including IL-23, IL-17 remained barely detectable in response to B. burgdorferi. In contrast, T cell-dependent expression of IL-22 became evident within 10 h of exposure to the spirochetes. This dichotomy was unrelated to interferon-γ but to a large part dependent on caspase-1 and IL-1 bioactivity derived from monocytes. In fact, IL-1β as a single stimulus induced IL-22 but not IL-17. Neutrophils display antibacterial activity against B. burgdorferi, particularly when opsonized by antibodies. Since neutrophilic inflammation, indicative of IL-17 bioactivity, is scarcely observed in Erythema migrans, a manifestation of skin inflammation after infection, protective and antibacterial properties of IL-22 may close this gap and serve essential functions in the initial phase of spirochete infection

Estimation of isatin in spiked plasma samples using high performance liquid chromatography

An isocratic analytical method based on liquid chromatographic determination with UV detection is described for the determination of isatin in spiked plasma and in its synthetic mixture. The separation of the isatin was achieved on betasil C-8 column using mobile phase consisting of a binary mixture of acetonitrile and buffer (Na2CO3 + NaHCO3). Linearity, accuracy and precision were found to be acceptable over the concentration range (5 - 150 mg/L). LOD and LOQ were found to be 1.09 mg/L and 3.3 mg/L, respectively. The developed LC method with UV-visible detection offers simplicity, selectivity, precision and accuracy. It produces a symmetric peak shape and reasonable retention time. No interference has been observed with the excipients found in the drug formulation. Forced degradation studies were also conducted on the isatin samples and the results shows that the newly developed method is able to determine the content of isatin in presence of its degradation products. The proposed method when applied to the determination of isatin in spiked plasma samples produced a recovery ranging from 96.0%-98.2%

Immunization with the N-terminal region of the nonstructural protein NS1 promotes survival after challenge with lethal influenza A virus dose

We previously reported that the epitope recognized by an influenza A virus H1, H2, and H3-crossreactive, H-2 Ld-restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) is located between amino acids 1 and 40 on the nonstructural protein NS1. In the present experiments, we examined whether immunization with recombinant vaccinia virus which contained genes coding for amino acids 1-40 of NS1 (Vac-10) protected mice from lethal challenge with influenza A virus. Mice immunized with this recombinant virus developed influenza A virus-specific cytotoxic activity but not neutralizing antibodies. Challenge with a lethal dose of influenza A virus demonstrated that the first deaths were delayed by 2 days, and the mortality rate was significantly reduced (p \u3c 0.05) in Vac-10-immunized mice compared with mice immunized with control vaccinia virus. These results suggest that immunization with a single subtype-crossreactive CTL epitope on NS1 can induce protective immunity against lethal influenza A virus infection

Use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with polymers in solar cells

There is a clear need to make energy cheap, readily accessible and green, while ensuring its production does not contribute to further climate change. Of all the options available, photovoltaics offer the highest probability of delivering a meaningful and sustainable change in the way society produces its energy. One approach to the development of such photovoltaics involves the use of polymers. These systems offer the advantages of cheap production, flexibility (and hence a range of deployment opportunities) and tunability of light absorption. However, there are issues with polymer-based photovoltaic systems and one significant effort to improve these systems has involved the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This review will focus on those efforts. CNTs have been used in virtually every component of the devices to help charge conduction, improve electrode flexibility and in some cases as active light absorbing materials