3 research outputs found
Uniform, Polycrystalline, and Thermostable Piperine-Coated Gold Nanoparticles to Target Insulin Fibril Assembly
Because
the process of insulin fibril assembly is linked to a multitude
of medical problems, finding effective and biocompatible inhibitors
against such an aggregation process could be beneficial. Targeting
the aggregation-prone residues of insulin may perhaps work as an effective
strategy to prevent the onset of insulin fibril assembly. In this
work, we have synthesized uniform sized, thermostable gold nanoparticles
(AuNPs<sup>piperine</sup>) surface-functionalized with piperine to
target amyloid-prone residues of insulin. We found that the process
of both spontaneous and seed-induced amyloid formation of insulin
was strongly inhibited in the presence of AuNPs<sup>piperine</sup>. Surface functionalization of piperine was found to be critical
to its inhibition effect because no such effect was observed for free
piperine as well as for uncoated control gold nanoparticles. Fluorescence
quenching data revealed binding of AuNPs<sup>piperine</sup> with insulin’s
native structure which was further validated by docking studies that
predicted viable H-bond and CH-Ï€ interactions between piperine
and key aggregation-prone residues of insulin’s B-chain. Our
hemolysis assay studies further confirmed that these piperine coated
nanoparticles were hemocompatible. Data obtained from both experimental
and computational studies suggest that the retention of native structure
of insulin and the ability of the piperine molecule to interact with
the aggregation-prone residues of insulin are the key factors for
the inhibition mechanism. The findings of this work may help in the
development of nanoparticle-based formulations to prevent medical
problems linked to insulin aggregation
Congenital rubella syndrome surveillance in India, 2016–21: Analysis of five years surveillance data
Background: In India, facility-based surveillance for congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) was initiated in 2016 to estimate the burden and monitor the progress made in rubella control. We analyzed the surveillance data for 2016–2021 from 14 sentinel sites to describe the epidemiology of CRS. Method: We analyzed the surveillance data to describe the distribution of suspected and laboratory confirmed CRS patients by time, place and person characteristics. We compared clinical signs of laboratory confirmed CRS and discarded case-patients to find independent predictors of CRS using logistic regression analysis and developed a risk prediction model. Results: During 2016–21, surveillance sites enrolled 3940 suspected CRS case-patients (Age 3.5 months, SD: 3.5). About one-fifth (n = 813, 20.6%) were enrolled during newborn examination. Of the suspected CRS patients, 493 (12.5%) had laboratory evidence of rubella infection. The proportion of laboratory confirmed CRS cases declined from 26% in 2017 to 8.7% in 2021. Laboratory confirmed patients had higher odds of having hearing impairment (Odds ratio [OR] = 9.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.6–16.2), cataract (OR = 7.8, 95% CI: 5.4–11.2), pigmentary retinopathy (OR = 6.7, 95 CI: 3.3–13.6), structural heart defect with hearing impairment (OR = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.2–12.2) and glaucoma (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2–8.1). Nomogram, along with a web version, was developed. Conclusions: Rubella continues to be a significant public health issue in India. The declining trend of test positivity among suspected CRS case-patients needs to be monitored through continued surveillance in these sentinel sites