Determinants of histamine recognition: Implications for the design of antihistamines

Towards understanding how histamine, a vital neurotansmitter, can perform multiple physiological tasks, an analysis of the different proteins that bind histamine is reported here. Their structural comparison reveals conformational rigidity of histamine. Yet, flexibility in the modes of histamine binding has been observed, which appears to suit specific biological roles of the proteins. These results will be helpful in developing specific antihistamines and also in understanding the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of existing antihistamine

Data on sulforaphane treatment mediated suppression of autoreactive, inflammatory M1 macrophages

Any chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease (e.g. arthritis) associated pathogenesis directs uncontrolled accumulation of both soluble forms of collagens in the synovial fluids and M1 macrophages around inflamed tissues. Despite of few studies demonstrating efficiency of Sulforaphane (SFN) in suppressing arthritis associated collagen restricted T cells or fibroblasts, its effects on macrophage polarity and plasticity are less understood. Recently, we reported regulation of phenotypic and functional switching by SFN in induced and spontaneously differentiating human monocytes [1]. Here, flow cytometry, western blot and ELISA derived data demonstrated that SFN inhibited in vitro inflammatory responses developed by soluble human collagens (I–IV) induced auto-reactive M1 type monocyte/macrophage model

Determinants of histamine recognition: implications for the design of antihistamines

Towards understanding how histamine, a vital neurotansmitter, can perform multiple physiological tasks, an analysis of the different proteins that bind histamine is reported here. Their structural comparison reveals conformational rigidity of histamine. Yet, flexibility in the modes of histamine binding has been observed, which appears to suit specific biological roles of the proteins. These results will be helpful in developing specific antihistamines and also in understanding the pharmacological and toxicological profiles of existing antihistamines

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTI-GRANULOMA ACTIVITY OF SULFORAPHANE, A NATURALLY OCCURRING ISOTHIOCYANATE FROM BROCCOLI (BRASSICA OLERACEA)

Objective: The objective of this study was to establish the anti-inflammatory activity of sulforaphane (SFN) in different acute and subchronic models of inflammation. Methods: The anti-inflammatory activity of SFN was evaluated by the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in rat peripheral blood mononuclear cells (interleukin-6 [IL-6] and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) which are important mediators of inflammation as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Furthermore, paw volume was determined in various acute models of inflammation, and percentage inhibition of granuloma tissue was assessed by cotton pellet-induced granuloma model. From serum, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and alkaline phosphatase levels were determined which is followed by assay for estimation of antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione (GSH). Results: SFN showed significant anti-inflammatory activity against paw edema induced by carrageenin/histamine/egg-albumin. A remarkable control in inflammation was observed most notably at the highest test dose of 5 mg/kg in the subchronic granuloma model. In addition, the release of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α which is responsible for inflammatory activity gets attenuated by SFN (∗p<0.05; ∗∗p< 0.01). Moreover, toxic control rats showed significant decreased levels of GSH, catalase, and SOD and increased the level of serum hepatic enzymes which gets reversed by SFN in dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: The present findings demonstrated that SFN can recover inflammation by inhibiting TNF-α and IL-6 in inflammation process

Formulation of a dual drug-loaded nanoparticulate co-delivery hydrogel system and its validation in rheumatoid arthritis animal model

AbstractRheumatoid arthritis (RA), a systemic autoimmune disease that dramatically affects patients’ quality of life. Given the intricacy of RA’s pathophysiology, no single treatment can completely halt the disease progression. Here, we attempted to treat RA holistically and synergistically by co-delivering methotrexate (MTX), a standard slow-acting anti-rheumatic drug, and phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a bioactive phytochemical, using a sodium alginate (SA)-pluronic F127 (PF-127) in situ hydrogel formulation. Therefore, in the current study, the co-delivery of MTX and PEITC in the nanoparticulate form could help enhance stability and solubility and facilitate greater penetration in the target arthritic tissues. The fabricated MTX NP and PEITC NE were found to have a minimum particle size, PDI, and good zeta potential. Results from in vitro release studies showed that MTX and PEITC were simultaneously released from the DD NP HG matrix over 6–7 days through diffusion and erosion mechanisms. An intra-articular (IA) injection of DD NP HG dramatically reduced chronic inflammation in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats, delayed the onset of bone erosion, significantly reduced synovitis, and down-regulated the inflammatory cytokine expression. Most notably, the co-delivery strategy almost entirely restored the morphological features of the ankle joints of RA rats. The hepatic and renal function tests indicated good biological safety for DD NP HG in RA conditions. Taken together, these findings indicated that DD NP HG could achieve good anti-inflammatory activity and reverse cartilage disruption through a synergistic effect between two nanoparticulate forms of MTX and PEITC, which can effectively improve the drawbacks of their free forms

Study of miRNA Based Gene Regulation, Involved in Solid Cancer, by the Assistance of Argonaute Protein

Solid tumor is generally observed in tissues of epithelial or endothelial cells of lung, breast, prostate, pancreases, colorectal, stomach, and bladder, where several genes transcription is regulated by the microRNAs (miRNAs). Argonaute (AGO) protein is a family of protein which assists in miRNAs to bind with mRNAs of the target genes. Hence, study of the binding mechanism between AGO protein and miRNAs, and also with miRNAs-mRNAs duplex is crucial for understanding the RNA silencing mechanism. In the current work, 64 genes and 23 miRNAs have been selected from literatures, whose deregulation is well established in seven types of solid cancer like lung, breast, prostate, pancreases, colorectal, stomach, and bladder cancer. In silico study reveals, miRNAs namely, miR-106a, miR-21, and miR-29b-2 have a strong binding affinity towards PTEN, TGFBR2, and VEGFA genes, respectively, suggested as important factors in RNA silencing mechanism. Furthermore, interaction between AGO protein (PDB ID-3F73, chain A) with selected miRNAs and with miRNAs-mRNAs duplex were studied computationally to understand their binding at molecular level. The residual interaction and hydrogen bonding are inspected in Discovery Studio 3.5 suites. The current investigation throws light on understanding miRNAs based gene silencing mechanism in solid cancer

Elucidation of the Inhibitory Effect of Phytochemicals with Kir6.2 Wild-Type and Mutant Models Associated in Type-1 Diabetes through Molecular Docking Approach

Among all serious diseases globally, diabetes (type 1 and type 2) still poses a major challenge to the world population. Several target proteins have been identified, and the etiology causing diabetes has been reasonably well studied. But, there is still a gap in deciding on the choice of a drug, especially when the target is mutated. Mutations in the KCNJ11 gene, encoding the kir6.2 channel, are reported to be associated with congenital hyperinsulinism, having a major impact in causing type 1 diabetes, and due to the lack of its 3D structure, an attempt has been made to predict the structure of kir6.2, applying fold recognition methods. The current work is intended to investigate the affinity of four phytochemicals namely, curcumin (Curcuma longa), genistein (Genista tinctoria), piperine (Piper nigrum), and pterostilbene (Vitis vinifera) in a normal as well as in a mutant kir6.2 model by adopting a molecular docking methodology. The phytochemicals were docked in both wild and mutated kir6.2 models in two rounds: blind docking followed by ATP-binding pocket-specific docking. From the binding pockets, the common interacting amino acid residues participating strongly within the binding pocket were identified and compared. From the study, we conclude that these phytochemicals have strong affinity in both the normal and mutant kir6.2 model. This work would be helpful for further study of the phytochemicals above for the treatment of type 1 diabetes by targeting the kir6.2 channel

Elucidation of the Molecular Interaction between miRNAs and the Gene, Involved in Acute Myeloid Leukemia, by the Assistance of Argonaute Protein through a Computational Approach

Acute myeloid leukemia is a well characterized blood cancer in which the unnatural growth of immature white blood cell takes place, where several genes transcription is regulated by the micro RNAs (miRNAs). Argonaute (AGO) protein is a protein family that binds to the miRNAs and mRNA complex where a strong binding affinity is crucial for its RNA silencing function. By understanding pattern recognition between the miRNAs-mRNA complex and its binding affinity with AGO protein, one can decipher the regulation of a particular gene and develop suitable siRNA for the same in disease condition. In the current work, HOXA9 gene has been selected from literature, whose deregulation is well-established in acute myeloid leukemia. Four miRNAs (mir-145, mir-126, let-7a, and mir-196b) have been selected to target mRNA of HOXA9 (NCBI accession No. NM_152739.3). The binding interaction between mRNAs and mRNA of HOXA9 gene was studied computationally. From result, it was observed mir-145 has highest affinity for HOXA9 gene. Furthermore, the interaction between miRNAs-mRNA duplex of all chosen miRNAs are docked with AGO protein (PDB ID: 3F73, chain A) to study their interaction at molecular level through an in silico approach. The residual interaction and hydrogen bonding are inspected in Discovery Studio 3.5 suites. The current investigation throws light on understanding of AGO-assisted miRNA based gene silencing mechanism in HOXA9 gene associated in acute myeloid leukemia computationally