Diffuse palmoplantar keratoderma, onychodystrophy, universal hypotrichosis and cysts

No abstract availabl

Luteolin Causes 5′CpG Demethylation of the Promoters of TSGs and Modulates the Aberrant Histone Modifications, Restoring the Expression of TSGs in Human Cancer Cells

Cancer progression is linked to abnormal epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation and histone modifications. Since epigenetic alterations, unlike genetic changes, are heritable and reversible, they have been considered as interesting targets for cancer prevention and therapy by dietary compounds such as luteolin. In this study, epigenetic modulatory behaviour of luteolin was analysed on HeLa cells. Various assays including colony forming and migration assays, followed by biochemical assays of epigenetic enzymes including DNA methyltransferase, histone methyl transferase, histone acetyl transferase, and histone deacetylases assays were performed. Furthermore, global DNA methylation and methylation‐specific PCR for examining the methylation status of CpG promoters of various tumour suppressor genes (TSGs) and the expression of these TSGs at transcript and protein level were performed. It was observed that luteolin inhibited migration and colony formation in HeLa cells. It also modulated DNA methylation at promoters of TSGs and the enzymatic activity of DNMT, HDAC, HMT, and HAT and reduced the global DNA methylation. Decrease in methylation resulted in the reactivation of silenced tumour suppressor genes including FHIT, DAPK1, PTEN, CDH1, SOCS1, TIMPS, VHL, TP53, TP73, etc. Hence, luteolin‐targeted epigenetic alterations provide a promising approach for cancer prevention and intervention

Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory Potential Bergenia ligulata

Abstract Bergenia ligulata Wall., family Saxifragaceae, is an Indian folk medicine used for a variety of pharmacological effects. In this study, evidence is provided in animal model to demonstrate the role of aqueous as well as 50% ethanolic extract of B. ligulata in inflammation and as antibacterial agent. Oral administration of the extract at a dose level of 1 gm/kg bw showed anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activity as evaluated using pharmacological and biochemical parameters. The effect was studied on biochemical parameters reportedly perturbed in inflammation. While the extract treatment could alleviate the level of succinate dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase, which increase in inflammation, the level of superoxide dismutase increased following the treatment with the extract as well as the diclofenac. Role of oxygen free radicals/peroxides was evaluated by measuring lipid peroxidation and glutathione. Treatment with the extract could significantly decrease the enhanced level of lipid peroxidation in inflammation, and increased the level of glutathione. Further, the antibacterial activity of various fractions was tested in vitro using cultures of Escherichia coli, Baccillus subtilis, and S. aureus, and the fractions were found to be antibacterial. The antifungal activity was also tested using the culture of Saccharomyces. However, the drug was ineffective in inhibiting fungal growth. Results provide evidence suggesting the anti-inflammatory as well as the antibacterial role of B. ligulata, thus implicating the plant extract in treatment against the bacterial infection and inflammation

Regional and scale-specific effects of land use on amphibian diversity [poster]

Background/Question/Methods Habitat loss and degradation influence amphibian distributions and are important drivers of population declines. Our previous research demonstrated that road disturbance, development and wetland area consistently influence amphibian richness across regions of the U.S. Here, we examined the relative importance of these factors in different regions and at multiple spatial scales. Understanding the scales at which habitat disturbance may be affecting amphibian distributions is important for conservation planning. Specifically, we asked: 1) Over what spatial scales do distinct landscape features affect amphibian richness? and 2) Do road types (non-rural and rural) have similar effects on amphibian richness? This is the second year of a collaborative, nationwide project involving 11 U.S. colleges integrated within undergraduate biology curricula. We summarized North American Amphibian Monitoring Program data in 13 Eastern and Central U.S states and used geographic information systems to extract landscape data for 471 survey locations. We developed models to quantify the influence of landscape variables on amphibian species richness and site occupancy across five concentric buffers ranging from 300m to 10,000m. Results/Conclusions Across spatial scales, development, road density and agriculture were the best predictors of amphibian richness and site occupancy by individual species. Across regions, we found that scale did not exert a large influence on how landscape features influenced amphibian richness as effects were largely comparable across buffers. However, development and percent impervious surface had stronger influence on richness at smaller spatial scales. Richness was lower at survey locations with higher densities of non-rural and rural roads, and non-rural road density had a larger negative effect at smaller scales. Within regions, landscape features driving patterns of species richness varied. The scales at which these factors were associated with richness were highly variable within regions, suggesting the scale effects may be region specific. Our project demonstrates that networks of undergraduate students can collaborate to compile and analyze large ecological data sets, while engaging students in authentic and inquiry-based learning in landscape-scale ecology