Therapeutic application of PPE2 protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in inhibiting tissue inflammation

Abstract There is an increasing need to develop biological anti‐inflammatory agents that are more targeted, effective, and with lesser side effects as compared to conventional chemical drugs. In the present study, we found that Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein PPE2 and a synthetic derivative peptide can suppress the mast cell population and inhibit several vasoactive and fibrogenic mediators and pro‐inflammatory cytokines induced by mast cells in formalin‐induced tissue injury. PPE2 was found to inhibit transcription from the promoter of stem cell factor, important for mast cell maintenance and migration. Thus, PPE2/peptide can be used as a potent nonsteroidal therapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammation and tissue injury

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Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of Dichantium annulatum grass filters in watercourses and to optimize the grass coverage in these watercourses. This experiment was conducted in 2% slope watercourses with varying filter grass coverage (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%) as main treatments and different flow rates (5, 10, 15, 20 L/s) as sub-treatments. The inflow and outflow, flow velocity, depth of the flow, and sediment concentration was measured and analyzed for each run. The experimental results reveal that the grass filter strips are able to reduce the sediment concentration in the runoff water by six times (from 4.2 to 0.65 g/L). The filter strips are able to reduce the velocity of the runoff water by two times (from 1.06 to 0.47 m/s) and convert the supercritical flows into subcritical flows. The filter strips are able to increase the Manning’s coefficient from 0.0323 to 0.1006 under various discharges. From the experiment, it can be concluded that more than 50% grass filter coverage in watercourses did not further reduce sediment concentration, outflow, flow velocity, and the Froude number and increase roughness of the channels. Based on these results, it is recommended that D. annulatum can be used as a filter in watercourses to prevent runoff and soil losses from crop fields and thereby reducing the sedimentation of downstream water bodies. The optimum grass coverage, i.e. 50% of the channel length, can maintain the maximum grass production with minimum soil loss.Not Availabl

Cis Selective RCM Study to the 14-Membered Cyclic Subunit of Bielschowskysin

A concise, (Z)-selective ring-closing metathesis (RCM) route to the 14-membered carbocycle of bielschowskysin is detailed, using naturally occurring chiral starting materials. Unproductive RCM substrates were attributed to alkyne chelation of the ruthenium catalyst and steric disadvantages within the cembranoid precursors, which was eventually circumvented by using cyclic diol benzylidene protection involving a C8-quaternary carbinol center

Identification of Novel Mutations in ABCA4 Gene: Clinical and Genetic Analysis of Indian Patients with Stargardt Disease

Stargardt disease (STGD) is the leading cause of juvenile macular degeneration associated with progressive central vision loss, photophobia, and colour vision abnormalities. In this study, we have described the clinical and genetic features of Stargardt patients from an Indian cohort. The next generation sequencing was carried out in five clinically confirmed unrelated patients and their family members using a gene panel comprising 184 retinal specific genes. Sequencing results were analyzed by read mapping and variant calling in genes of interest, followed by their verification and interpretation. Genetic analysis revealed ABCA4 mutations in all of the five unrelated patients. Among these, four patients were found with compound heterozygous mutations and another one had homozygous mutation. All the affected individuals showed signs and symptoms consistent with the disease phenotype. We report two novel ABCA4 mutations in Indian patients with STGD disease, which expands the existing spectrum of disease-causing variants and the understanding of phenotypic and genotypic correlations. Screening for causative mutations in patients with STGD using panel of targeted gene sequencing by NGS would be a cost effective tool, might be helpful in confirming the precise diagnosis, and contributes towards the genetic counselling of asymptomatic carriers and isolated patients

Heterozygous mutations of the kinesin KIF21A in congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1)

Congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles type 1 (CFEOM1; OMIM #135700) is an autosomal dominant strabismus disorder associated with defects of the oculomotor nerve. We show that individuals with CFEOM1 harbor heterozygous missense mutations in a kinesin motor protein encoded by KIF21A. We identified six different mutations in 44 of 45 probands. The primary mutational hotspots are in the stalk domain, highlighting an important new role for KIF21A and its stalk in the formation of the oculomotor axis