Artemisinin production by plant hairy root cultures in gas- and liquid-phase bioreactors

Key message Alternative biotechnological protocol for large-scale artemisinin production was established. It featured enhanced growth and artemisinin production by cultivation of hairy roots in nutrient mist bioreactor (NMB) coupled with novel cultivation strategies. Artemisinin is used for the treatment of cerebral malaria. Presently, its main source is from seasonal plant Artemisia annua. This study featured investigation of growth and artemisinin production by A. annua hairy roots (induced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated genetic transformation of explants) in three bioreactor configurations—bubble column reactor, NMB and modified NMB particularly to establish their suitability for commercial production. It was observed that cultivation of hairy roots in a non-stirred bubble column reactor exhibited a biomass accumulation of 5.68 g/l only while batch cultivation in a custom-made NMB exhibited a higher biomass concentration of 8.52 g/l but relatively lower artemisinin accumulation of 0.22 mg/g was observed in this reactor. A mixture of submerged liquid-phase growth (for 5 days) followed by gas-phase cultivation in nutrient mist reactor operation strategy (for next 15 days) was adopted for hairy root cultivation in this investigation. Reasonably, high (23.02 g/l) final dry weight along with the artemisinin accumulation (1.12 mg/g, equivalent to 25.78 mg/l artemisinin) was obtained in this bioreactor, which is the highest reported artemisinin yield in the gas-phase NMB cultivation

Synthesis and antibacterial studies on some new thiazole moiety based quinolone derivatives

1413-1415Thiazole moiety at C-3 position based quinolone derivatives have been synthesized from the starting material aniline and its derivatives. All synthesized compounds in this series have been tested for in vitro antibacterial activity against E. coli (ETEC), S. typhi, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. All synthesized compound have been tested with reference drugs viz., norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin

Dengue in India

Dengue virus belongs to family Flaviviridae, having four serotypes that spread by the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. It causes a wide spectrum of illness from mild asymptomatic illness to severe fatal dengue haemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Approximately 2.5 billion people live in dengue-risk regions with about 100 million new cases each year worldwide. The cumulative dengue diseases burden has attained an unprecedented proportion in recent times with sharp increase in the size of human population at risk. Dengue disease presents highly complex pathophysiological, economic and ecologic problems. In India, the first epidemic of clinical dengue-like illness was recorded in Madras (now Chennai) in 1780 and the first virologically proved epidemic of dengue fever (DF) occurred in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Eastern Coast of India in 1963-1964. During the last 50 years a large number of physicians have treated and described dengue disease in India, but the scientific studies addressing various problems of dengue disease have been carried out at limited number of centres. Achievements of Indian scientists are considerable; however, a lot remain to be achieved for creating an impact. This paper briefly reviews the extent of work done by various groups of scientists in this country

A PORTRAYAL OF THE SOCIODEMOGRAPHICS AND OPTIMAL UPTAKE OF ANTENATALCARE SERVICES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN OF URBAN SLUMS IN INDIA: AN INITIAL DATASET DEPICTION

Escalating deployment of maternal healthcare services has considerably impacted maternal mortality rates. However, urban slums have remained an understudied area in this context. Aim: To assess maternal healthcare service utilization patterns and influencing factors during antenatal period in urban slums. The analysis encompasses Fertility, Family Planning Practices, Dietary Habits, Health Quality, and implications of COVID-19 on Pregnancy. Method: Cross-sectional research conducted between April and June 2022, among urban slums in South Delhi, targeting pregnant women aged 18-44 years. Data from 250 ongoing pregnancies, accessed through Aganwadi centers, were collected electronically following study porotocol. Result: Results indicated that 98% of participants were under 40 years of age, with 67% falling below 28 years. About 93% of sample population was educated, with 93% as homemakers. Among women with parity, 82% had one child. Awareness of ANC was widespread, with 78% demonstrating medium level of knowledge. Media exposure and family planning adoption were minimal (47% and 51%, respectively). ANC utilization rates were high, with 98%, 97%, and 94% receiving iron and folic acid, tetanus toxoid, and ultrasound examinations, respectively. Only 2% were exposed to COVID-19 during pregnancy. Conclusion: This initial investigation indicates low media exposure and family planning adoption. However, ANC awareness and utilization were significant. Strategies should prioritize women's education to enhance awareness of ANC and postnatal care. Strengthening public health infrastructure is vital for optimizing maternal service utilization

Degradation of Japanese encephalitis virus by neutrophils

The ability of neutrophils to degrade the phagocytosed Japanese encephalitis (JE) virion, via triggering of the respiratory burst and generation of toxic radicals has been investigated. JEV or JEV-induced macrophage derived factor (MDF) induces increase in intracellular oxidative signals with generation of superoxide anion (O−2), via activation of cytosolic NADPH and subsequent formation of hydrogen peroxide, with maximum activity on day 7 post infection. The response was sensitive to anti-MDF antibody treatment. Further, the study revealed rapid degradation of phagocytosed JE viral protein and nucleic acid. The viral protein degradation was partially dependent on the generation of toxic oxygen species as it could be abrogated by pretreatment of the cells with staurosporine

Correlating the differences in the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike variants on their interactions with human ACE2 receptor

Abstract Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 variants plays a critical role in infection and transmission through its interaction with human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) receptors. Prior findings using molecular docking and biomolecular studies reported varied findings on the difference in the interactions among the spike variants with the hACE2 receptors. Hence, it is a prerequisite to understand these interactions in a more precise manner. To this end, firstly, we performed ELISA with trimeric spike glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants including Wuhan Hu-1(Wild), Delta, C.1.2 and Omicron. Further, to study the interactions in a more specific manner by mimicking the natural infection, we developed hACE2 receptors expressing HEK-293T cell line, evaluated their binding efficiencies and competitive binding of spike variants with D614G spike pseudotyped virus. In line with the existing findings, we observed that Omicron had higher binding efficiency compared to Delta in both ELISA and Cellular models. Intriguingly, we found that cellular models could differentiate the subtle differences between the closely related C.1.2 and Delta in their binding to hACE2 receptors. Our study using the cellular model provides a precise method to evaluate the binding interactions between spike sub-lineages to hACE2 receptors