Bioactivity and Metabolomics Profiling of Endophytic Actinobacteria Isolated from Roots of the Medicinal Plants Dominant in South Asian Region

Background: Plant-derived endophytic actinobacteria are the center of attention due to their capacity to produce diverse antimicrobial and anticancer compounds and their metabolites influence plant growth.Methods: In this study, 40 endophytic actinobacteria strains were isolated from the roots of eight medicinal plants used as folk medicine in South Asian region. The isolates were characterized morphologically, biochemically and physiologically and the genus level identification of the selected strains was done by 16SrRNA gene sequencing. In small scale cultivation (50ml broth), the isolates were grown in A-medium to prepare the crude extracts. These crude extracts were subsequently evaluated for their antimicrobial, anticancer and antioxidant activity and the metabolomics profile of each of the extract was determined by TLC and HPLC-UV/MS.Results: The taxonomic studies showed that the isolates belong to the group actinobacteria based on their morphological and physiological characteristics and the 16SrRNA gene sequencing of the selected strains identified the genera including Streptomyces, Micromonospora and Nocardia. Cumulatively,53% of extracts exhibited anti-Gram-(+) activity,47% exhibited anti-Gram-(-) activity,32% exhibited antifungal activity and 30% were cytotoxic to PC3 and A549 cancer cell lines and most of the extracts have shown antioxidant activity greater than 50%. The metabolomics analysis predicted the presence of an array of low molecular weight metabolites and indicated the promising isolates in collection for further studies for novel bioactive metabolite isolation and structure elucidation.Conclusion: Overall the study provides an overview of the endophytic actinobacteria residing in the roots of the selected medicinal plants prevalent in south Asian region and their potential to produce the medicinally and biotechnologically useful compounds.Keywords: Endophytic Actinobacteria; Metabolomic Profiling; Natural Products; Antimicrobial Compounds; Anticancer Compounds   

INVESTIGATION OF SOME CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF ASPARAGUS SPERNGERI

Objective: Asparagus sprengeri (A S) is an ornamental plant cultivated in EGYPT. This study was designed to investigate some lipid and flavanoid constituents, in addition to the evaluation of antioxidant activity of different extracts of the plant. Methods: Two phospholipid were identified by (HPTLC). The fatty acid methyl ester and unsaponifiable matter were analyzed by GC. Four flavonoids were isolated by CC and purified by PPc. Identification of isolated flavanoidal compounds was carried by spectroscopic analysis Viz, TLC,PC, UV, EL-MS and H-1– NMR. The different extracts were tested for their free radical scavenging activity using DPPH and β-Carotene- linoleic acid bleaching assay. Results: Four flavonoids, were isolated, apigenin, dihydroquercitin, naringenin, apigenin- 7-o- glucoside Nine fatty acids, Myrestic and linoliec acids were the major components. The unsaponifiable matter was found to be a mixture of hydrocarbons from (C13– C28) and cholesterol two classes of phospholipid were identified namely L-α-Phosphatidyl-DL-glycerol and L-α- Phosphatidylethanolamine. The alcoholic extract of the plant has moderate antioxidant activity with EC50 0.114 and 0.110 mg/ml for the DppH and β-carotene methods respectively Conclusion: Asparagus sprengeri can be used as the natural antioxidant. Flavonoids are suggested to be a group of key antioxidants in Asparagus

BIOPROCESIRANJE PRIRODNE FOSFATNE RUDE BAKTERIJOM STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Phosphate ores are in high demand around the world because they are the primary raw materials used in the manufacturing of phosphatic fertilizers and other chemicals. Since the grade of the ore is gradually declining, it is becoming economically viable to mine and beneficiate numerous lower-grade deposits, and a significant number of precious minerals are discarded due to the inadequacy of new technological advances. Thus, biological processes are becoming more appealing in mineral processing due to their lower operating costs and potential applications to beneficiate low-grade complex ores through the interaction of bacteria and mineral surfaces, resulting in surface modification and mineral separation via bio-flotation. Staphylococcus aureus was supplied by the mineral bioprocessing lab, CMRDI. Bacterial adhesion measurements revealed a higher affinity for apatite than quartz. A binary mixture containing 12.5% P2O5 and 42.5% SiO2 yielded a concentrate containing 20.15% P2O5 and 33.5% SiO2. Using the bio-flotation process with Staphylococcus aureus and the optimal conditions on natural phosphate ore, a concentrate with 30.25% P2O5 was obtained from a feed containing 21.89% P2O5.Diljem svijeta velika je potražnja za fosfatnom rudom s obzirom na to da je riječ o primarnoj sirovini koja se koristi u proizvodnji fosfatnih gnojiva i drugih kemikalija. Budući da se koncentracija rude postupno smanjuje, ekonomski je sve isplativije eksploatirati i oplemenjivati brojna ležišta niže koncentracije s obzirom na to da se znatne količine korisne mineralne sirovine nedovoljno iskorištavaju zbog neadekvatnosti novih tehnologija. Stoga biološki procesi postaju sve zanimljiviji u oplemenjivanju SiO2 mineralnih sirovina zbog nižih operativnih troškova i potencijalne primjene za obogaćivanje kompleksnih ruda niskoga stupnja koncentracije, i to interakcijom bakterija i površine minerala, što rezultira površinskom modifikacijom i odvajanjem minerala putem bioflotacije. Bakteriju Staphylococcus aureus isporučio je laboratorij za bioprocesiranje minerala, CMRDI. Mjerenja bakterijske adhezije pokazala su veći afinitet za apatit nego za kvarc. Binarna smjesa koja je sadržavala 12,5 % P2O5 i 42,5 % SiO2 dala je koncentrat koji je sadržavao 20,15 % P2O5 i 33,5 % SiO2. Postupkom bioflotacije bakterijom Staphylococcus aureus pri optimalnim uvjetima na prirodnoj fosfatnoj rudi dobiven je koncentrat s 30,25 % P2O5 iz sirovine koja je sadržavala 21,89 % P2O5

Validity of procalcitonin as diagnostic biomarker for infective endocarditis

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is still a fatal infection with high morbidity and mortality. Successful patient outcomes depend on prompt diagnosis and effective therapy. Blood cultures are usually time consuming and sometimes echocardiography is falsely negative. Thus, a straightforward blood test may assist early diagnosis of IE. Multiple studies have revealed that procalcitonin (PCT) was highly associated with bacteremia - the main diagnostic criteria for endocarditis - in patients with fever. Objectives: We aimed to assess the diagnostic significance of procalcitonin concentration in suspected patients of IE. Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients admitted to Assiut University Heart Hospital with a suspicion of IE were enrolled in a prospective study. Based on clinical, microbiological, and echocardiographic findings, Modified duke criteria were applied to the cases to confirm their diagnosis as definite, possible, or rejected IE cases before testing for procalcitonin was done. The study also included fifteen healthy volunteers for comparison with IE patients. Results: Procalcitonin was significantly higher (P-value <0.05) in patients diagnosed as definite and possible IE than with healthy volunteers. The area under the ROC curve was 0.705. At cutoff value of 0.425 ng/ml, the procalcitonin test's sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive values were 47.6%, 93.3%, 56%, and 90.9%, respectively. Conclusion: This study implies that procalcitonin may be a valuable supplementary diagnostic marker in IE diagnosis. A threshold value of 0.425 ng/ml should be used for ruling out endocarditis in routine clinical practice and the diagnosis of IE can be strongly excluded below this value

A lipidomic screen of hyperglycemia-treated HRECs links 12/15-Lipoxygenase to microvascular dysfunction during diabetic retinopathy via NADPH oxidase

Retinal hyperpermeability and subsequent macular edema is a cardinal feature of early diabetic retinopathy (DR). Here, we investigated the role of bioactive lipid metabolites, in particular 12/15-lipoxygenase (LOX)-derived metabolites, in this process. LC/MS lipidomic screen of human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) demonstrated that 15-HETE was the only significantly increased metabolite (2.4 ± 0.4-fold, P = 0.0004) by high glucose (30 mM) treatment. In the presence of arachidonic acid, additional eicosanoids generated by 12/15-LOX, including 12- and 11-HETEs, were significantly increased. Fluorescein angiography and retinal albumin leakage showed a significant decrease in retinal hyperpermeability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice lacking 12/15-LOX compared with diabetic WT mice. Our previous studies demonstrated the potential role of NADPH oxidase in mediating the permeability effect of 12- and 15-HETEs, therefore we tested the impact of intraocular injection of 12-HETE in mice lacking the catalytic subunit of NADPH oxidase (NOX2). The permeability effect of 12-HETE was significantly reduced in NOX2−/− mice compared with the WT mice. In vitro experiments also showed that 15-HETE induced HREC migration and tube formation in a NOX-dependent manner. Taken together our data suggest that 12/15-LOX is implicated in DR via a NOX-dependent mechanism.National Institutes of Health Grant 5R01EY023315 and National Priorities Research Program Grant 4-1046-3-284 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). This study was also supported in part by the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health Grant S10RR027926

Antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B viral infection during pregnancy: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137739/1/hep28302.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137739/2/hep28302-sup-0001-suppinfo01.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137739/3/hep28302_am.pd

Primary tumor-induced immunity eradicates disseminated tumor cells in syngeneic mouse model

WOS: 000462721900029PubMed ID: 30926774Although clinically apparent metastasis is associated with late stages of cancer development, micro-metastatic dissemination may be an early event. However, the fate of these early disseminated tumor cells (DTC) remains elusive. We show that despite their capacity to disseminate into secondary organs, 4T1 tumor models develop overt metastasis while EMT6-tumor bearing mice clear DTCs shed from primary tumors as well as those introduced by intravenous (IV) injection. Following the surgical resection of primary EMT6 tumors, mice do not develop detectable metastasis and reject IV-injected tumor cells. In contrast, these cells readily grow and metastasize in immuno-deficient athymic or Rag2(-/- )mice, an effect mimicked by CD8(+) T-cell depletion in immunocompetent mice. Furthermore, recombinant G-CSF or adoptive transfer of granulocytic-MDSCs isolated from 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, induce metastasis by suppressing CD8(+) T-cells in EMT6-primed mice. Our studies support the concept of immune surveillance providing molecular insights into the immune mechanisms during tumor progression.Georgia Cancer Center; Forbes Institute research fund; Bridge Fund by Augusta University Research Inc.; American Cancer Society Institutional fundWe gratefully acknowledge the generous help from Flow Cytometry, Genomics Core facilities, and Labaratory of Animal Services. We thank Drs. Rafi Ahmed and Paulo C. Rodriguez for insightful discussions and comments, Dr. Iskander Asm for for helping with and training of our staff on the tail vein injections. This work was supported by start up funds to H.K. by Georgia Cancer Center. Additional research fundings to H.K. provided by American Cancer Society Institutional fund, Forbes Institute research fund, and Bridge Fund by Augusta University Research Inc