Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from the Red Sea Marine Verongid Sponge Suberea Species

In a continuation of our efforts to identify bioactive compounds from Red Sea Verongid sponges, the organic extract of the sponge Suberea species afforded seven compounds including two new dibrominated alkaloids, subereamollines C and D (1 and 2), together with the known compounds aerothionin (3), homoaerothionin (4), aeroplysinin-1 (5), aeroplysinin-2 (6) and a revised subereaphenol C (7) as ethyl 2-(2,4-dibromo-3,6-dihydroxyphenyl)acetate. The structures of the isolated compounds were assigned by different spectral data including optical rotations, 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D (COSY, multiplicity-edited HSQC, and HMBC) NMR and high-resolution mass spectroscopy. Aerothionin (3) and subereaphenol C (7) displayed potent cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell line with IC50 values of 29 and 13.3 µM, respectively. In addition, aeroplysinin-2 (6) showed potent antimigratory activity against the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 with IC50 of 18 µM. Subereamollines C and D are new congeners of the previously reported compounds subereamollines A and B with methyl ester functionalities on the side chain. These findings provide further insight into the biosynthetic capabilities of members of the genus Suberea and the chemical diversity as well as the biological activity of these compounds

Optimization of Reduced Glutathione Production by a Lactobacillus plantarum Isolate Using Plackett–Burman and Box–Behnken Designs

In this work, we aim to optimize the production of reduced glutathione (GSH) synthesized intracellularly by a food-grade microorganism through a statistical approach. Using a colorimetric method, 25 Lactobacillus plantarum isolates were screened in an attempt to find a GSH-producing strain. It was found that 36% of the tested isolates showed positive result. Isolate (L7) was found to produce 152.61 μM glutathione per gram which was the highest amount produced intracellularly. Accordingly, the later isolate was selected for the optimization process using Plackett–Burman and Box–Behnken designs. Temperature, amino acids, and urea were found to be the most significant independent variables. Following data analysis, the composition of the optimized medium was De Man-Sharp-Rogosa broth as a basal medium supplemented with NaCl (5%), H2O2 (0.05%), sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.05%), amino acids (0.0281%), and urea (0.192%). The pH of the medium was adjusted to 8 and incubated for 24 h at 40°C. The GSH amount was increased by 10-fold (851%) using the optimized medium. Hence, our optimization design estimated the biotechnological potential of L. plantarum (L7) for the production of GSH in the industry

2-D speckle-tracking assessment of left and right ventricular function in rheumatoid arthritis patients with and without disease activity

Objectives: Disease activity has been considered as independent cardiovascular risk factor in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. We aimed to evaluate the effect of RA disease activity on left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) functions by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). Methods: 120 patients with RA without evidence of cardiovascular disease and 40 healthy control subjects were included. Disease activity was evaluated according to Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) score and Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28). LV and RV functions were assessed using conventional echocardiography and global longitudinal strain (GLS) technique measured by STE. Results: 81 patients had active disease while 39 patients were in remission. The LV and RV GLS value for active RA patients was reduced compared to RA patients in remission and control group (p = 7 and >2.8 respectively with sensitivity of 77.6%, specificity of 85.0% and area under ROC curve = 90.4 for SDAI score and with sensitivity of 89.7%, specificity of 71.7% and area under ROC curve = 89.4 for DAS28 score. Also, SDAI score and DAS28 were predictive for reduced RV GLS with a cut off value of >11 and >3 respectively with sensitivity of 73.1%, specificity of 93.5% and area under ROC curve = 91.6 for SDAI score and with sensitivity of 84.6%, specificity of 80.4% and area under ROC curve = 90.8 for DAS28 score. Conclusion: Disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is associated with lower left and right ventricular function. Disease activity scores can predict subclinical left and right ventricular dysfunction