Allele mining in β-lactoglobulin gene of Capra hircus

β-Lactoglobulin (β-LG) genetic polymorphisms are important and well known due to their effects on quantitative traits and technological properties of milk. At the DNA level, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) allows for the detection of unknown polymorphisms at β-LG loci. Here we describe the usefulness of the PCR-SSCP technique for β-LG typing. In the present study, we amplified and sequenced the part of promoter region and all the seven exons containing the entire coding and untranslated region for the β-lactoglobulin gene in best dairy goat breeds of India namely: Jamunapari and Jakhrana. Nine polymorphisms were detected, one in the l promoter region, four in the introns and four in the exons of the β-lactoglobulin gene. All polymorphisms were single nucleotide substitutions. The polymorphisms in the coding region did not produce any amino acid change.Key words: β-Lactoglobulin gene, dairy goats, polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP)

Anti-Hyperglycemic And Anti-Hyperlipidemic Potential Of A Polyherbal Preparation “Diabegon” In Metabolic Syndrome Subject With Type 2 Diabetes

Background: In the present study, “Diabegon” a poly-herbal preparation, with hypoglycemic activity, was evaluated for its preventive effect inmetabolic syndrome subjects with type 2 diabetes and also to reveal its side effects, on liver and kidney.Materials and Methods: Type 2 diabetic subjects with metabolic syndrome (N=58) were categorized on the basis of age and fasting blood glucose.The grouping was as follows: Group I (35-50 yrs), Group II (51-65 yrs), Group III >65 yrs, Group IV FBS<145.9, Group V FBS>145. Each group wasadministered 4 gm of diabegon daily. Blood glucose levels, lipid profile, liver and kidney function of the subjects were regularly monitored within 3months of interval to 18 months.Results: The reduction in fasting blood glucose level ranged from 12.3% (P<0.05) to 42% (P<0.001) after 18 month of therapy whereas in postprandial blood glucose, the decrease ranged from 28% (P<0.05) to 32% (P<0.05) after 18 month of therapy. Overall reductions in the individual parameters of the metabolic syndrome subjects were significantly higher in Group I. Cholesterol level decreased from 11% to 27.2% (P<0.001), triglyceride levels decreased from 24% to 55%, VLDL and LDL levels reduced by 60% & 54% respectively after 18 months of therapy. The HDL-C level increased in all groups. Moreover, diabegon administration for 1.5 years exhibited no alteration in liver and kidney function tests, which indicate its non-toxicity.Conclusion: Our study suggests that diabegon could be included as a preventive treatment in metabolic syndrome subjects with type 2 diabetesespecially for long term treatment as it efficiently shows anti-hyperglycemic and anti-lipidemic effects with no adverse impacts on the liver and kidney.Key words: Metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, Diabegon, Polyherbal preparation

Does sphingosine 1-phosphate play a protective role in the course of pulmonary tuberculosis?

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) has recently been reported to induce antimycobacterial activity in vitro and in a mouse model of in vivo Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. However, its role in the course of pulmonary tuberculosis in humans is still not known. This study shows that S1P levels in airway surface fluid of tuberculosis (TB) patients are significantly less than those observed in non-TB control patients. Moreover, the in vitro stimulation of bronchoalveolar lavage cells coming from TB patients with S1P significantly reduces intracellular growth of endogenous mycobacterial isolates. These results show that, in the course of pulmonary TB, airway epithelial fluid-associated S1P may play a protective role in the containment of intracellular mycobacterial growth and that its decrease may represent a novel pathogenic mechanism through which M. tuberculosis favors its replication

Diagnosis of tuberculosis: Available technologies, limitations, and possibilities

Rapid diagnosis and treatment are important for preventing transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, the diagnosis of tuberculosis continues to pose serious problems, mainly because of difficulties in differentiating between patients with active tuberculosis and those with healed lesions, normal mycobacterium boris BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) vaccinated individuals, and unvaccinated Manteux positives. Physicians still rely on conventional methods such as Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining, fluorochrome staining, sputum culture, gastric lavage, and other non-traditional methods. Although the tuberculin test has aided in the diagnosis of tuberculosis for more than 85 years, its interpretation is difficult because sensitization with nontuberculous mycobacteria leads to false-positive tests. There have been numerous unsuccessful attempts to develop clinically useful serodiagnostic kits for tuberculosis. A number of proteinaceous and nonprotein antigens (such as acyltrehaloses and phenolglycolipids) have been explored from time to time for the development of such assays but they have not proved to be clinically useful. It has been difficult to develop an ELISA utilizing a suitable antigen because M. tuberculosis shares a large number of antigenic proteins with other microorganisms that may or may not be pathogenic. With the advent of molecular biology techniques, there have been significant advances in nucleic acid-based amplification and hybridization, which are helping to rectify existing flaws in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. The detection of mycobacterial DNA in clinical samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a promising approach for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculous infection. However, the PCR results must be corrected for the presence of inhibitors as well as for DNA contamination. In the modern era of genetics, marked by proteomics and genomics, the day is not far off when DNA chip-based hybridization assays will instantly reveal mycobacterial infections