Role of Endogenous Peptides and Enzymes in the Pathogenesis of Acute Pancreatitis: A Review

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease with the clinical manifestation of acute abdominal pain. Several factors are involved in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. The exact mechanism(s) by which diverse etiological factors induce an attack are still unclear. However, one of the proposed mechanisms for induction of acute pancreatitis is auto-digestion of pancreatic tissues by unwanted activation of pancreatic digestive enzymes. The main objective of this review is to describe the pathogenesis mechanism of acute pancreatitis that are related to various inflammatory and proinflammatory mediators.Keywords: Acute Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Injury, Cytokines, Chemokines, Inflammatio

Tetramethylguanidine (TMG)-catalysed Synthesis of α-Aminophosphonates by a One-pot Reaction

Aldimines (Schiff’s bases) undergo nucleophilic addition with diethyl/dimethyl/diphenylphosphite (Pudovik reaction) in the presence of a catalytic amount of tetramethylguanidine (TMG) at ambient temperature to afford the corresponding α-aminophosphonates in high yields. The Schiff’s bases were prepared by reacting cinnamaldehyde with substituted amines in refluxing absolute alcohol. The structures of the title compounds were established by elemental analysis and IR, 1H, 13C, 31PNMR and FAB mass spectral data. The antimicrobial activities of these compounds were evaluated and they exhibited significant antimicrobial activity.KEYWORDS: Imines, α-aminophosphonates, tetramethylguanidine (TMG), dialkyl- and arylphosphites, antimicrobial activity

Screening and Optimization of Physical Parameters for Enhanced Alkaline Protease Production by Alkaliphilic Bacillus Subtilis SH2 Isolate

The present investigations dealt with the optimization of the physical parameters for production of alkaline protease by alkaliphilic Bacillus subtilis SH-2 isolated from slaughter house soil of Warangal, Telangana State, India. Primary screening of four different samples revealed one potent isolate. Morphological and Biochemical characterization followed by Molecular signature of 16s rRNA homology confirmed that the isolate SH-2 belongs to Bacillus subtilis. Bacillus subtilis SH-2 was screened on four different reported mediums (M1213, M660, Horikoshi and Halophilic Bacillus medium) under shake culture conditions. Maximum alkaline protease production (500 EU/ml) obtained on M1213 and Horikoshi mediums. Further optimization of physical parameters by OVAT method revealed that mean generation time (41.18 min), 4% level inoculum, incubation time 72 hrs, pH 10, temperature 350C and agitation 150 rpm are ideal for enzyme production. OVAT method resulted in 2.2 fold increased production of alkaline protease production (1100 EU/ml)

Synthesis of Dinaphtho-dioxaphosphocin-8-oxides, Epoxides and Bisphosphonates

Preparation of 8-substituted-16H-dinaphtho [2,1-d:1’,2’-g] [1,3,2] dioxaphosphocin 8-oxides (5a–g) with an eight-membered phosphorus heterocyclic system (2) and their epoxides and bisphosphonates was accomplished by reacting 8-bromo-dinaphthophosphocin (2) with different mono and bis Grignard reagents (3a–g and 6) followed by oxidation with H2O2. Their structures were confirmed by elemental and spectral (1H, 13C and 31P NMR) data analysis. Some of these compounds are found to possess moderate antimicrobial activity.KEYWORDS: Dioxaphosphocin 8-oxides, dioxaphosphocin bisphosphonates, antimicrobial activity

Landmark detection in 2D bioimages for geometric morphometrics: a multi-resolution tree-based approach

The detection of anatomical landmarks in bioimages is a necessary but tedious step for geometric morphometrics studies in many research domains. We propose variants of a multi-resolution tree-based approach to speed-up the detection of landmarks in bioimages. We extensively evaluate our method variants on three different datasets (cephalometric, zebrafish, and drosophila images). We identify the key method parameters (notably the multi-resolution) and report results with respect to human ground truths and existing methods. Our method achieves recognition performances competitive with current existing approaches while being generic and fast. The algorithms are integrated in the open-source Cytomine software and we provide parameter configuration guidelines so that they can be easily exploited by end-users. Finally, datasets are readily available through a Cytomine server to foster future research

Determination of an optimal dosing regimen for aspirin chemoprevention of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumours in rats

In order to establish an optimal timing and duration of aspirin treatment in the chemoprevention of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon cancer in rats, colon tumours were induced using an established protocol and aspirin was given in the diet at 500 p.p.m. during various stages of colon carcinogenesis. Results indicate that only aspirin treatment throughout the entire carcinogenic period significantly reduced tumour incidence and volume whereas intermittent aspirin dosing increased tumour number and/or volume, suggesting that aspirin must be used for an extended period in order to gain any chemopreventive benefit. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Effects of common haplotypes of the ileal sodium dependent bile acid transporter gene on the development of sporadic and familial colorectal cancer: A case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genetics of sporadic and non-syndromic familial colorectal cancer (CRC) is not well defined. However, genetic factors that promote the development of precursor lesions, i.e. adenomas, might also predispose to CRC. Recently, an association of colorectal adenoma with two variants (c.507C>T;p.L169L and c.511G>T;p.A171S) of the ileal sodium dependent bile acid transporter gene (<it>SLC10A2</it>) has been reported. Here, we reconstructed haplotypes of the <it>SLC10A2 </it>gene locus and tested for association with non-syndromic familial and sporadic CRC compared to 'hyper-normal' controls who displayed no colorectal polyps on screening colonoscopy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We included 150 patients with sporadic CRC, 93 patients with familial CRC but exclusion of familial adenomatous polyposis and Lynch's syndrome, and 204 'hyper-normal' controls. Haplotype-tagging <it>SLC10A2 </it>gene variants were identified in the Hapmap database and genotyped using PCR-based 5' exonuclease assays with fluorescent dye-labelled probes. Haplotypes were reconstructed using the PHASE algorithm. Association testing was performed with both SNPs and reconstructed haplotypes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Minor allele frequencies of all <it>SLC10A2 </it>polymorphisms are within previously reported ranges, and no deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium are observed. However, we found no association with any of the <it>SLC10A2 </it>haplotypes with sporadic or familial CRC in our samples (all P values > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Common variants of the <it>SLC10A2 </it>gene are not associated with sporadic or familial CRC. Hence, albeit this gene might be associated with early stages of colorectal neoplasia, it appears not to represent a major risk factor for progression to CRC.</p

Anti-epileptic effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides by inhibition of intracellular calcium accumulation and stimulation of expression of CaMKII a in epileptic hippocampal neurons

Purpose: To investigate the mechanism of the anti-epileptic effect of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides (GLP), the changes of intracellular calcium and CaMK II a expression in a model of epileptic neurons were investigated. Method: Primary hippocampal neurons were divided into: 1) Control group, neurons were cultured with Neurobasal medium, for 3 hours; 2) Model group I: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours; 3) Model group II: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours then cultured with the normal medium for a further 3 hours; 4) GLP group I: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium containing GLP (0.375 mg/ml) for 3 hours; 5) GLP group II: neurons were incubated with Mg2+ free medium for 3 hours then cultured with a normal culture medium containing GLP for a further 3 hours. The CaMK II a protein expression was assessed by Western-blot. Ca2+ turnover in neurons was assessed using Fluo-3/AM which was added into the replacement medium and Ca2+ turnover was observed under a laser scanning confocal microscope. Results: The CaMK II a expression in the model groups was less than in the control groups, however, in the GLP groups, it was higher than that observed in the model group. Ca2+ fluorescence intensity in GLP group I was significantly lower than that in model group I after 30 seconds, while in GLP group II, it was reduced significantly compared to model group II after 5 minutes. Conclusion: GLP may inhibit calcium overload and promote CaMK II a expression to protect epileptic neuron