Anticoagulation activity of salivary gland extract of oriental blackfly Simulium indicum

Objective: To study the morphology of the salivary gland of the female blackfly of the species Simulium indicum (S. indicum) along with protein profile and anticoagulant activity of the salivary gland extract. Methods: Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the protein profile of the salivary gland extract (SGE) and anticoagulant activities against thrombin, and the extrinsic and intrinsic coagulation pathways were found in S. indicum SGE in the TT, PT and APTT assays, respectively. Results: Results revealed that each gland consisted of a cylindrical U-shaped secretory lobe and a more or less spherical reservoir. The protein contents of whole salivary glands were also quantified and the amount of salivary gland proteins in the adult female S. indicum was found out to be approximately 1.12 ± 0.13 μg/female. At least 16 major and several minor protein bands were detected in the female salivary glands. The molecular masses of these major protein bands were estimated at 69, 65, 61, 58, 44, 42, 39, 33, 30, 28, 27, 26, 23, 21, 18 and 16 kDa, consecutively. Anticoagulant activities were found in S. indicum SGE in all the assays. It was found that SGE prolonged human plasma clotting time in a dose-dependent manner. Factor Xa inhibition was shown by the SGE of S. indicum. Percent inhibition value was 93.8. A positive correlation (r=0.89) was observed between total protein and percent inhibition of factor Xa. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that the mode of action of the anticoagulant(s) is mainly on the inhibition of thrombin and factor Xa along with other target factors of the coagulation cascade

Mean Raman spectrum of reference and different asthma grades.

<p>A. Reference, B. Mild asthma, C. Moderate asthma, D. Treated severe asthma, E. Untreated severe asthma.</p

Raman instrumentation for <i>ex</i><i>vivo</i> applications.

<p>A. Laser: excitation source, λ_{785 nm}, B. Superhead: optical assembly that couples excitation and detection elements, C. Sample stage: assembly to place <i>ex </i><i>vivo</i> samples, D. Spectrograph: E. CCD.</p

Box-and-Whisker plot exhibiting the relationships of the measured YKL-40 protein levels with reference and active groups (with different sub-groups).

<p>Box-and-Whisker plot exhibiting the relationships of the measured YKL-40 protein levels with reference and active groups (with different sub-groups).</p

Morphological and molecular diversity of endophytic Colletotrichum gloeosporioides from tea plant, Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze of Assam, India

Thirty isolates of endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy asymptomatic leaves of tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and identified morphologically based on colony morphology, spore shape and size, growth and sporulation rate. Internal transcribed spacer r-DNA sequence analysis supported for molecular identification of all the isolates. Based on morphological and molecular characteristics the isolates were identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Variations on colony morphology which included the production of conidial masses, led to divide the isolates into different groups. Variations on spore size, growth rate and sporulation rate were exhibited by all the isolates. With RAPD molecular markers, genetic variations among the thirty isolates were observed. Genetic variations and relatedness among the thirty isolates were analyzed with UPGMA phylogram using NTSYS program. Two major groups were obtained among the thirty isolates. Group I comprised of 16 isolates which included three sub groups (Ia, Ib and Ic) and Group II constituted fourteen isolates and it also had three sub groups (IIa, IIb and IIc). A partial co-relationship among the isolates was established on the basis of morphological and molecular based clustering

LDA for classification of control and asthma groups.

<p>A. Scree plot, B. 3D Scatter plot.</p