Deletion of Wntless in myeloid cells exacerbates liver fibrosis and the ductular reaction in chronic liver injury

Background: Macrophages play critical roles in liver regeneration, fibrosis development and resolution. They are among the first responders to liver injury and are implicated in orchestrating the fibrogenic response via multiple mechanisms. Macrophages are also intimately associated with the activated hepatic progenitor cell (HPC) niche or ductular reaction that develops in parallel with fibrosis. Among the many macrophage-derived mediators implicated in liver disease progression, a key role for macrophage-derived Wnt proteins in driving pro-regenerative HPC activation towards a hepatocellular fate has been suggested. Wnt proteins, in general, however, have been associated with both pro-and anti-fibrogenic activities in the liver and other organs. We investigated the role of macrophage-derived Wnt proteins in fibrogenesis and HPC activation in murine models of chronic liver disease by conditionally deleting Wntless expression, which encodes a chaperone essential for Wnt protein secretion, in LysM-Cre-expressing myeloid cells (LysM-Wls mice)

Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Citrus Maxima (J.Burm) Merr in Animal Models

ABSTRACT The present study was aimed to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Citrus maxima in animal models

Effect of physicochemical conditions on phenol degradation by <i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i>: A focus on phenol catabolic enzymes

236-242The present study was aimed to investigate phenol catabolic activity and phenol tolerance ability of lysine producing bacterium, Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032. The results revealed that phenol inhibited the growth rate of bacteria (1500 ppm, indicating the toxicity of phenol to bacterial cells at higher concentrations. The maximum (> 95%) growth rate was observed at 200 ppm during a period of 24 h. In the present study, optimal conditions were standardized at different concentrations of phenol to know the phenol catabolism and phenol tolerance of C. glutamicum. Further, an attempt was also made to know the effect of yeast extract on phenol degradation by C. glutamicum. The results also demonstrated that increase in the yeast extract enhanced phenol (300 ppm) degradation efficiency of C. glutamicum, which reflects the phenol tolerance of bacteria. Thus, in-depth optimization studies on metabolic and molecular aspects may contribute to understand the potentiality of C. glutamicum in the biodegradation of phenol in large scale bio-remediation processes

Production of itaconic acid by Ustilago maydis from agro wastes in solid state fermentation

Itaconic acid (IA) is one of the hopeful substances within the cluster of organic acids. IA is used in artificial glass, bioactive compounds in pharmacy, medicine, agriculture, for the synthesis of fiber, resin, plastic, rubber, paints, surfactant, ion-exchange resins and lubricant. Most recurrently used microorganism for commercial production of IA is Aspergillus terreus. Some filamentous fungi belonging to Ustilaginales also produce IA. In the present work, an attempt was made to produce IA by Ustilago maydis employing Solid State Fermentation (SSF) from various agro wastes like ground nut shells, rice bran, rice husk, orange pulp, ground nut oil cake, orange pulp and sugarcane bagasse as carbon substrates, which were used after pretreatment. 10 g of each substrate was taken in a 500 ml conical flasks separately and supplemented with 20 mL nutrient solution containing glucose, at pH 3. One milliliter inoculum containing 1×107 spores was added and moisture was maintained at 60%. After incubation at 32°C for 5 days, the acid production was estimated by spectrophotometric method and by HPLC analysis. Interestingly, the yield of itaconic acid was promising with all the above substrates, where orange pulp, sugarcane bagasse and rice bran supported higher yields

Biosynthesis, characterization, and evaluation of bioactivities of leaf extract-mediated biocompatible silver nanoparticles from an early tracheophyte, Pteris tripartita Sw.

Xavierravi Baskaran,1 Antony Varuvel Geo Vigila,2 Thangaraj Parimelazhagan,3 Doulathabad Muralidhara-Rao,4 Shouzhou Zhang1 1Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People&rsquo;s Republic of China; 2Department of Zoology, St Xavier&rsquo;s College, Palayamkottai, 3Department of Botany, Bioprospecting Laboratory, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 4Department of Biotechnology, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaAbstract: The objective of the study was to characterize silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and their bioactivities in early tracheophytes (Pteridophyta). Aqueous leaf extract of a critically endangered fern, Pteris tripartita Sw., was used for one-step green synthesis of Ag-NPs. The biosynthesized Ag-NPs were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared&nbsp;spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Morphologically, the Ag-NPs showed hexagonal, spherical, and rod-shaped structures. Size distributions of Ag-NPs, calculated using Scherrer&rsquo;s formula, showed an average size of 32&nbsp;nm. Ag-NPs were studied for in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial, and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities. Ag-NPs exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced paw volume tests performed in female Wistar albino rats. Furthermore, Ag-NPs showed significant antimicrobial activity against 12 different microorganisms in three different assays (disk diffusion, time course growth, and minimum inhibitory concentration). This study reports that colloidal Ag-NPs can be synthesized by simple, nonhazardous methods, and that biosynthesized Ag-NPs have significant therapeutic properties.Keywords: silver nanoparticles, Pteris tripartita, FTIR, HRTEM, antioxidant, antimicrobia

Sulphited oils fatliquours from table

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Hepatocurative potential of sesquiterpene lactones of Taraxacum officinale on carbon tetrachloride induced liver toxicity in mice

The hepatocurative potential of ethanolic extract (ETO) and sesquiterpene lactones enriched fraction (SL) of Taraxacum officinale roots was evaluated against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The diagnostic markers such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total bilirubin contents were significantly elevated, whereas significant reduction in the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) and enhanced hepatic lipid peroxidation, liver weight and liver protein were observed in CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Post-treatment with ETO and SL significantly protected the hepatotoxicity as evident from the lower levels of hepatic enzyme markers, such as serum transaminase (ALT, AST), ALP and total bilirubin. Further, significant reduction in the liver weight and liver protein in drug-treated hepatotoxic mice and also reduced oxidative stress by increasing reduced glutathione content and decreasing lipid peroxidation level has been noticed. The histopathological evaluation of the liver also revealed that ETO and SL reduced the incidence of liver lesions induced by CCl4. The results indicate that sesquiterpene lactones have a protective effect against acute hepatotoxicity induced by the administration of CCl4 in mice. Furthermore, observed activity of SL may be due to the synergistic action of two sesquiterpene lactones identified from enriched ethyl acetate fraction by HPLC method