Apoptosis-like cell death in Leishmania donovani treated with KalsomeTM10, a new liposomal amphotericin B

The present study aimed to elucidate the cell death mechanism in Leishmania donovani upon treatment with KalsomeTM10, a new liposomal amphotericin B. Methodology/Principal findings We studied morphological alterations in promastigotes through phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy. Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and disruption of mitochondrial integrity was determined by flow cytometry using annexinV-FITC, JC-1 and mitotraker, respectively. For analysing oxidative stress, generation of H2O2 (bioluminescence kit) and mitochondrial superoxide O2 − (mitosox) were measured. DNA fragmentation was evaluated using terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) and DNA laddering assay. We found that KalsomeTM10 is more effective then Ambisome against the promastigote as well as intracellular amastigote forms. The mechanistic study showed that KalsomeTM10 induced several morphological alterations in promastigotes typical of apoptosis. KalsomeTM10 treatment showed a dose- and time-dependent exposure of PS in promastigotes. Further,study on mitochondrial pathway revealed loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as well as disruption in mitochondrial integrity with depletion of intracellular pool of ATP. KalsomeTM10 treated promastigotes showed increased ROS production, diminished GSH levels and increased caspase-like activity. DNA fragmentation and cell cycle arrest was observed in KalsomeTM10 treated promastigotes. Apoptotic DNA fragmentation was also observed in KalsomeTM10 treated intracellular amastigotes. KalsomeTM10 induced generation of ROS and nitric oxide leads to the killing of the intracellular parasites. Moreover, endocytosis is indispensable for KalsomeTM10 mediated anti-leishmanial effect in host macrophag

Synthesis, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, COX1/2-inhibitory activity, and molecular docking studies of hybrid pyrazole analogues

Md Jahangir Alam,1 Ozair Alam,1 Suroor Ahmad Khan,1 Mohd Javed Naim,1 Mohammad Islamuddin,2 Girdhar Singh Deora3 1Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2Parasite Immunology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, 3Institute of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India Abstract: This article reports on the design, synthesis, and pharmacological activity of a new series of hybrid pyrazole analogues: 5a–5u. Among the series 5a–5u, the compounds 5u and 5s exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity of 80.63% and 78.09% and inhibition of 80.87% and 76.56% compared with the standard drug ibuprofen, which showed 81.32% and 79.23% inhibition after 3 and 4 hours, respectively. On the basis of in vivo studies, 12 compounds were selected for assessment of their in vitro inhibitory action against COX1/2 and TNFα. The compounds 5u and 5s showed high COX2-inhibitory activity, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 1.79 and 2.51 µM and selectivity index values of 72.73 and 65.75, respectively, comparable to celecoxib (selectivity index =78.06). These selected compounds were also tested for TNFα, cytotoxicity, and ulcerogenicity. Docking studies were also carried out to determine possible interactions of the potent compounds (5u and 5s), which also showed high docking scores of -12.907 and -12.24 compared to celecoxib, with a -9.924 docking score. These selective COX2 inhibitors were docked into the active site of COX2, and showed the same orientation and binding mode to that of celecoxib (selective COX2 inhibitor). Docking studies also showed that the SO2NH2 of 5u and 5s is inserted deep inside the selective pocket of the COX2-active site and formed a hydrogen-bond interaction with His90, Arg513, Phe518, Ser353, Gln192, and Ile517, which was further validated by superimposed docked pose with celecoxib. Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity, analgesic activity, selective COX2 inhibition, TNFα inhibition, molecular docking studies, pyrazole&nbsp

AKTIVITAS ANTIMALARIA PENGHAMBATAN POLIMERISASI HEME EKSTRAK ETANOL DAUN JAMBU BIJI (Psidium guajava) DAN DAUN PEPAYA (Carica papaya)

Dalam upaya pencarian sumber obat baru dari tumbuhan sebagai antimalaria berbasis pengetahuan etnobotani secara turun temurun, maka dilakukan pengujian penghambatan polimerisasi heme dari ekstrak etanol 70% daun Pepaya (Carica papaya) dan daun Jambu Biji (Psidium guajava). Data yang diperoleh dihitung IC50 dengan menggunakan SPSS 22 diperoleh bahwa ekstrak etanol 70% daun Pepaya (Carica papaya) dan daun Jambu Biji (Psidium guajava) memiliki aktivitas sebagai antimalaria masing-masing sebesar 7.914 dan 8.794 mg/ml serta berpotensi untuk dikembangkan dalam penelitian lebih lanjut sebagai antimalaria

Development of Highly Sensitive Sandwich ELISA for the Early-Phase Diagnosis of Chikungunya Virus Utilizing rE2-E1 Protein

Mohammad Islamuddin,1,2 Abuzer Ali,3 Wajihul Hasan Khan,4 Amena Ali,5 Syed Kazim Hasan,1 Mohd Abdullah,6 Kentaro Kato,2 Malik Zainul Abdin,7 Shama Parveen1 1Molecular Virology Laboratory, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India; 2Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Environment, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan; 3Microbiology Laboratory, Ansari Health Center, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India; 4Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia; 5Molecular Virology Lab, Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110029, India; 6Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Hamdard University, New Delhi, 110026, IndiaCorrespondence: Mohammad Islamuddin; Shama Parveen, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Chikungunya is caused by an alpha virus transmitted to humans by an infected mosquito. Infection is generally considered to be self-limiting and non-critical. Chikungunya infection may be diagnosed by severe joint pain with fever, but it is difficult to diagnose because the symptoms of chikungunya are common to many pathogens, including dengue fever. Diagnosis mainly depends on viral culture, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and IgM ELISA. Early and accurate diagnosis of the virus can be achieved by the application of PCR methods, but the high cost and the need for a thermal cycler restrict the use of such methods. On the other hand, antibody-based IgM ELISA is considered to be inexpensive, but antibodies against chikungunya virus (CHIKV) only develop after 4 days of infection, so it has limited application in the earlier diagnosis of viral infection and the management of patients. Because of these challenges, a simple antigen-based sensitive, specific, and rapid detection method is required for the early and accurate clinical diagnosis of chikungunya.Methods: The amino acid sequence of CHIKV ectodomain E1 and E2 proteins was analyzed using bioinformatics tools to determine the antigenic residues, particularly the B-cell epitopes and their characteristics. Recombinant E2-E1 CHIKV antigen was used for the development of polyclonal antibodies in hamsters and IgG was purified. Serological tests of 96 CHIKV patients were conducted by antigen-capture ELISA using primary antibodies raised against rCHIKV E2-E1 in hamsters and human anti-CHIKV antibodies.Results: We observed high specificity and sensitivity, of 100% and 95.8%, respectively, and these values demonstrate the efficiency of the test as a clinical diagnostic tool. There was no cross-reactivity with samples taken from dengue patients.Discussion: Our simple and sensitive sandwich ELISA for the early-phase detection of CHIKV infection may be used to improve the diagnosis of chikungunya.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: chikungunya, sandwich ELISA, recombinant E2-E1, B-cell epitopes, IgG, hamster antibodie

Nanoliposomal artemisinin for the treatment of murine visceral leishmaniasis

Muzamil Y Want,1 Mohammad Islammudin,1 Garima Chouhan,1 Hani A Ozbak,2 Hassan A Hemeg,2 Asoke P Chattopadhyay,3 Farhat Afrin2 1Parasite Immunology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Hamdard, Hamdard University, New Delhi, India; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Chemistry, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, India Abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a fatal, vector-borne disease caused by the intracellular protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Most of the therapeutics for VL are toxic, expensive, or ineffective. Sesquiterpenes are a new class of drugs with proven antimicrobial and antiviral activities. Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone with potent antileishmanial activity, but with limited access to infected cells, being a highly lipophilic molecule. Association of artemisinin with liposome is a desirable strategy to circumvent the problem of poor accessibility, thereby improving its efficacy, as demonstrated in a murine model of experimental VL. Nanoliposomal artemisinin (NLA) was prepared by thin-film hydration method and optimized using Box–Behnken design with a mean particle diameter of 83±16 nm, polydispersity index of 0.2±0.03, zeta potential of -27.4±5.7 mV, and drug loading of 33.2%±2.1%. Morphological study of these nanoliposomes by microscopy showed a smooth and spherical surface. The mechanism of release of artemisinin from the liposomes followed the Higuchi model in vitro. NLA was free from concomitant signs of toxicity, both ex vivo in murine macrophages and in vivo in healthy BALB/c mice. NLA significantly denigrated the intracellular infection of Leishmania donovani amastigotes and the number of infected macrophages ex vivo with an IC50 of 6.0±1.4 µg/mL and 5.1±0.9 µg/mL, respectively. Following treatment in a murine model of VL, NLA demonstrated superior efficacy compared to artemisinin with a percentage inhibition of 82.4%±3.8% in the liver and 77.6%±5.5% in spleen at the highest dose of 20 mg/kg body weight with modulation of cell-mediated immunity towards protective Th1 type. This study is the first report on the use of a liposomal drug delivery system for artemisinin as a promising alternative intervention against VL. Keywords: visceral leishmaniasis, Box–Behnken, nanoliposomes, drug delivery, artemisinin, Leishmania&nbsp