Protective effects of accompanying proteins on light- and water-mediated degradation of Curcumin

     Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidation properties. Low water solubility and rapid hydrolytic degradation are two challenges limiting use of curcumin as therapeutic agent. In the current study, the role of the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA), β-lactoglobulin and casein, as food-grade biopolymers and safe drug delivery systems, on the physical activity of curcumin were surveyed. It appears that BSA and casein as protein vehicles are useful tools to increase stability of curcumin, as a health promoting agent.

Proteins expression clustering of Alzheimer disease in rat hippocampus proteome

Because of the huge amounts of proteomic data and demand for new methods of laboratory analysis results, proteins collective analysis, in addition to taking less time, biostatistician assist at identification of new patterns in the data set. In this study, rat hippocampus proteome in normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) were analyzed by using proteomic techniques and bioinformatics’ analysis. Protein extracts from normal and Alzheimer's rats were separated by using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE). The silver staining method was used for detecting spots. Bioinformatics analysis of proteome were performed by progensis same spots software. Bioinformatics and statistical analysis of 2DE gel techniques obtained 760 protein spots were detected in both normal and AD rats.  Comparisons between controls and Alzheimer gel containing 20 common proteins were expressed significantly differences. 16 new proteins were expressed in AD, while 36 proteins were suppressed. Proteins clustering by using correlation analysis evaluated 3 clusters in the proteome; Principal component analysis also confirmed the results of clustering. Finally, we can conclude that a significant expression of Alzheimer changes in the hippocampus proteome which are associated with specific biological processes summarized in 3 main clusters indicated 3 principal biological pathways of AD.

Synthesis and investigation of antioxidant activities of 2-benzylidene-3-coumaranones

      A number of 6-hydroxy-2-benzylidene-3-coumaranones were synthesized from condensation of 6-hydroxy-3-coumaranone with appropriate aldehydes and were evaluated for their antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activity was assessed using two methods, including, 1,1-biphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and reducing power assays. Some of the benzylidene coumaranones showed antioxidant activity more than Trolox as reference antioxidant

Evidence of human hemoglobin interaction and chorionic gonadotropin hormone: Prospects for the use of hemoglobin as ligand in affinity chromatography for the purification of the hormone

The purification of biomolecules is a necessary step in many biochemical researches. In this regard, developments of convenient, specific and low cost methods of purification are of particular interest. Given the human hemoglobin (Hb) affinity toward some charged carbohydrates, interaction of this molecule with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is a glycoprotein hormone containing sialic acid, was examined. In the current study, we gathered evidence of free hCG and free Hb interaction using spectroscopic and radiometric techniques. Then, based on the affinity of hemoglobin (Hb) toward charged carbohydrates on human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a known sialic acid containing glycoprotein hormone, Hb-sepharose as well as native and denatured globin columns for isolation of the hormone were prepared. Sepharose-6B was activated by cyanogens bromide. Native Hb, normal globin and denatured globin were bound to cyanogen bromide–activated sepharose. Then, uptake of hCG by these gels were compared. Among the columns only native hemoglobin-sepharose column was able to catch a limited number of serum proteins such as hCG. Using the above column hCG hormone was purified with fold purification of 34 and efficiency of 80%. The chromatographic behavior of growth hormone (GH) and hCG in binding to the DEAE-Cellulose column were identical but GH showed no binding to Hb-sepharose column, indicating that the retention mechanism of hCG to Hb-sepharose column is not a simple ion exchange mode. Since globin had no property to attach to hCG but native Hb-sepharose was able to catch hCG, the BPG cavity of Hb is suggested as the possible binding site for hCG to Hb

Chemometrical-electrochemical investigation for comparing inhibitory effects of quercetin and its sulfonamide derivative on human carbonic anhydrase II: Theoretical and experimental evidence

This paper reports results of a valuable study on investigation of inhibitory effects of the sulfonamide derivative of quercetin (QD) on human carbonic anhydrase II (CA-II) by electrochemical and chemometrical approaches. To achieve this goal, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was chosen as the sensing platform and different electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to investigate and comparing inhibitory effects of quercetin (Q) and QD on CA-II. By the use of EQUISPEC, SPECFIT, SQUAD and REACTLAB as efficient hard-modeling algorithms, bindings of Q and QD with CA-II were investigated and the results confirmed that the QD inhibited the CA-II stronger than Q suggesting a highly relevant role of QD's-SO2NH2 group in inhibiting activity and also was confirmed by docking studies. Finally, a novel EIS technique based on interaction of Q and CA-II was developed for sensitive electroanalytical determination of CA-II and in this section of our study, the sensitivity of the developed electroanalytical methodology was improved by the modification of the GCE was with multi-walled carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid.Fil: Khodarahmi, Reza. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Khateri, Shaya. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Adibi, Hadi. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Nasirian, Vahid. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Hedayati, Mehdi. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Faramarzi, Elahe. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Soleimani, Shokoufeh. Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences; IránFil: Goicoechea, Hector Casimiro. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Desarrollo Analítico y Quimiometría; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Jalalvand, Ali Reza. Kermanshah University Of Medical Sciences; Irá

Antibacterial effects of Scrophularia striata seed aqueous extract on staphilococcus aureus

Plant-based drugs are regarded promising recently. Scrophularia has been shown various biological activities such as antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties. According to pervious researches, bacteria are becoming resistant to some kinds of antibiotics, so it is prominent to find more reliable sources against them. Here Staphylococcus aureus as a common type of Gram- positive bacteria has been chosen for this in vitro study. After culturing this bacterium, it was treated with various dosages of Scrophularia striata seed aqueous extract and tetracycline, and then its antibacterial effect was assessed by spectrophotometery method based on bacteria population alteration after 24h incubation. In order to investigate probable side effects of the seed extract its effect on human fibroblast cells has been studied. MTT assay was applied for cell survival determination of human fibroblast cells after 24h. Findings indicate that bacterial population has been declined between 1 to 20 μg mL-1 dosages of the extract, which 5 μg mL-1 is the most effective dosage without containing any cytotoxic effect on human fibroblast cells. In fact extract not only has no antiproliferation properties but also has evoked cell profileration, so it can be consider as a cell growth factor. Tetracycline, on the contrary, showed its potent impact merely in highest dosages with noticeable side effects. It can be concluded that, Scrophularia striata could be possibly a promising antibiotic which shows significant antibacterial properties, and with lesser side effects.

Study of cosolvent-induced α-chymotrypsin fibrillogenesis: Does protein surface hydrophobicity trigger early stages of aggregation reaction?

The misfolding of specific proteins is often associated with their assembly into fibrillar aggregates, commonly termed amyloid fibrils. Despite the many efforts expended to characterize amyloid formation in vitro, there is no deep knowledge about the environment (in which aggregation occurs) as well as mechanism of this type of protein aggregation. Alpha-chymotrypsin was recently driven toward amyloid aggregation by the addition of intermediate concentrations of trifluoroethanol. In the present study, approaches such as turbidimetric, thermodynamic, intrinsic fluorescence and quenching studies as well as chemical modification have been successfully used to elucidate the underlying role of hydrophobic interactions (involved in early stages of amyloid formation) in α-chymotrypsin-based experimental system. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Electrochemical sensor for rapid determination of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 in raw cancer cell lysates

The first electrochemical immunosensor for the determination of fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) biomarker is reported in this work. The biosensor involves a sandwich configuration with covalent immobilization of a specific capture antibody onto activated carboxylic-modified magnetic microcarriers (HOOC-MBs) and amperometric detection at disposable carbon screen-printed electrodes (SPCEs). The biosensor exhibits a great analytical performance regarding selectivity for the target protein and a low LOD of 48.2 pg mL-1. The electrochemical platform was successfully applied for the determination of FGFR4 in different cancer cell lysates without any apparent matrix effect after a simple sample dilution and using only 2.5 μg of the raw lysate. Comparison of the results with those provided by a commercial ELISA kit shows competitive advantages by using the developed immunosensor in terms of simplicity, analysis time, and portability and cost-affordability of the required instrumentation for the accurate determination of FGFR4 in cell lysates

Anthocyanins in the Management of Metabolic Syndrome: A Pharmacological and Biopharmaceutical Review

The term “metabolic syndrome” (MetS) refers to a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. The origin of MetS includes a combination of multiple factors, such as sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet choice, and genetic factors. MetS is highly prevalent and adversely affects the general population by elevating risk of cardiovascular complications, organ failure, and much other pathology associated with late-stage diabetes. Anthocyanins (ANTs) are health-promoting bioactive compounds belonging to the flavonoids subclass of polyphenols. Numerous studies have reported the potential therapeutic benefits on MetS syndrome and diabetes from fruits rich in ANTs. This review summarizes the role of several dietary ANTs on preventing and managing MetS as well as the pharmacological mechanisms and biopharmaceutical features of their action. We also discuss potential nanoformulation and encapsulation approaches that may enhance the bioefficacy of ANTs in MetS. Experiments have demonstrated that ANTs may attenuate the symptoms of MetS via improving insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidaemia, cholesterol levels, hypertension, blood glucose, protecting β cells, and preventing free radical production. In brief, the intake of ANT-rich supplements should be considered due to their plausible ability for prevention and management of MetS. Additionally, randomized double-blind clinical trials are obligatory for evaluating the bioefficacy and pharmacological mechanisms of ANTs and their pharmaceutical formulations in patients with MetS