Study Of HbA1c As A Reliable Indicator For Metabolic Syndrome In Non Diabetic Patients

With the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus increase in the recent decade, the importance of early detection of insulin resistance is essential. However, a simple method is not currently available for precise measurements. Therefore the aim of this study was to elucidate the association of HbA1c with metabolic syndrome as a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors. The study population consisted of 45 subjects with metabolic syndrome and 45 free of metabolic syndrome (control group).Total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, HbA1c, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in both groups. HbA1c levels are found much more in MS group than the control group, 8,7% and 6,2%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of HbA1c is significantly higher in metabolic syndrome patients, 86,7% and 46,67%, respectively. Additionally, subjects with metabolic syndrome exhibited significantly higher blood glucose, triglyceride, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and cholesterol. Our results suggest that HbA1c may be a marker for metabolic syndrome and may identify in a certain degree insulin resistance subjects

A review on nanoparticle and protein interaction in biomedical applications

Nanoparticles are molecules with size depended chemical and pyhsical characteristics, enabling interesting and correlated approaches while dealing with fundamental biological questions. Nanoparticles are capable of strong and important interaction with other molecules. Many different nanoparticles are produced, with variety of different roles, but Gold nanoparticle as metal based beads, have specific importance due to their attractive physical and chemical properties, biocompatibility, and facile surface modification. In general, nanoparticles have the ability to interact with whole physiological surrounding once when they enter human body. In most of the cases, first molecule they interact with are proteins, which are the main constituens of human body and the driving force of most of the biological processes. This understanding of interaction between nanoparticles and proteins represents an important essence for secure and efficient application of nanoparticles. In this regards, several methods for nanoparticle-protein interaction were developed and analysed in this review. Further, this paper reviews the current scientific development in nanoparticle-protein interactions

Determination of combined sibship indices using 15 STR loci and a grey zone in a small local population in central Bosnia and Herzegovina

This study investigates the genetic diversity and relatedness among a small local population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In a genetic research study, a sample of 38 individuals was collected from the village of Vukotići, consisting of 21 male and 17 female subjects. The total genomic DNA was extracted using a modified Miller protocol. The QUANTIFILER DNA identification kit was used to quantify the total human DNA in the sample. The sibship relationship was assessed by computing the likelihood ratio for each of the 15 STR loci in both relatives and non-relatives. Results showed a higher homogeneity of the small local population compared to the mixed population within the larger population. Variability in peak height observed in the genetic analysis was attributed to differences in DNA concentration in the extracted samples. Probability of relatedness among participants in the Vukotići village was found to be low. Central tendency and variability measures revealed valuable insights into sample distribution and variation. The study concludes that CSI=1 and CSI=3 can be used as reliable tools to determine sibship in small local populations without a "gray zone"

An in silico approach for structural and functional analysis of heavy metal associated (HMA) proteins in Brassica oleracea

Heavy metal ATPases (HMAs) are the most important proteins involved in heavy metal accumulation process. Brassica oleracea has 5 HMA (1-5) homologues whose 3D structure has been predicted and validated in this study by different bioinformatics tools. Phylogenetic and multiple sequence alignment analyses showed high relationship between HMA2 and HMA4, while two same domains were identified in all five HMA proteins: E1-E2 ATPase and haloacid dehydrogenase (HAD) domain. Four HMA (2-5) proteins were identified to be localized in the plasma membrane, while HMA1 localization is predicted to be in plastid. Interactome analysis revealed high interaction of all HMA (1-5) proteins with many metal ion binding proteins and chaperones. Among these, interesting and strong interaction is observed between all HMA (1-5) proteins and ATX1, while HMA1, HMA2 and HMA4 have been found to strongly interact with FP3 (farnesylated protein 3) and FP6 (farnesylated protein 6) proteins. Docking site predictions and electrostatic potentials between HMA2/HMA4 and the interactome proteins were explained and discussed in this study

Ethical, legal and social implications of genetically modified organism in the shadow of advanced genetic tools

In order to define the term GMO, different scientific definitions and legal explanations are available. In the regulation process of GM foods, the US and EU legal frameworks are based on the methodologies themselves. Currently, for the production of GMOs, several genome editing tools are available. Along with different site-directed nucleases (ZFN, TALENs, etc.), RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9 have proven to be the very effective tools for genome editing. According to the current EU legislative, introduced in 2018, CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAi techniques are regulated as methods that produce GMOs, because the methodology of the process itself resembles the traditional breeding methods. In the past few years, a large number of scientific publications have confirmed that CRISPR/Cas9 and RNAi technology produce GMOs, supporting and suggesting that the legislation policies in the EU and especially in the USA have to be elaborated. Besides, a huge public pressure makes it difficult to develop and implement new methodologies for GMO production. For this reason, ELSI society is responsible to investigate and question whether the new genetic engineering techniques produce GMO food that is safe for human consumption

In silico prediction of three-dimensional structure and interactome analysis of Tubulin α subfamily of Arabidopsis thaliana

Microtubules are essential components of cytoskeleton, rigid hollow rods approximately 25 nm in diameter. Microtubules are dynamic structures being continuously assembled and disassembled within the cell. The basic building blocks of microtubules are heterodimers of globular α- and β-tubulin subunits In Arabidopsis thaliana tubulin subunits are encoded by small gene families, six for α-tubulin and nine for β-tubulin.Both α- and β-tubulin bind GTP, which functions analogously to the ATP bound to actin to regulate polymerization. It is shown that tubulin α forms hydrogen bonds with the GTPase domain of b-tubulin. Multiple sequence alignment revealed high similarity between the family subunits. Due to the missing of three dimensional structuresin A. thaliana, structural models were predicted and validated. Additionally, protein domains search revealed that all tubulin α family subunits contain GTPase domain as the tubulin C terminal domain, confirming previous research. Finally the interactome analysis revealed several interactomes. AtTUA6 shows strong interaction with embryosac development arrest 10 protein (EDA10), involved in stimulating the exchange of guanyl nucleotides, enabling the replacement of GDP by GTP in association with a GTPases

3D structure prediction of histone acetyltransferase (HAC) proteins of the p300/CBP family and their interactome in Arabidopsis thaliana

Histone acetylation is an important posttranslational modification correlated with gene activation. In Arabidopsis thaliana the histone acetyltransferase (HAC) proteins of the CBP family are homologous to animal p300/CREB (cAMP-responsive element-binding proteins, which are important histone acetyltransferases participating in many physiological processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this study the 3-D structure of all HAC protein subunits in Arabidopsis thaliana: HAC1, HAC2, HAC4, HAC5 and HAC12 is predicted by homology modeling and confirmed by Ramachandran plot analysis. The amino acid sequences HAC family members are highly similar to the sequences of the homologous human p300/CREB protein. Conservation of p300/CBP domains among the HAC proteins was examined further by sequence alignment and pattern search. The domains of p300/CBP required for the HAC function, such as PHD, TAZ and ZZ domains, are conserved in all HAC proteins. Interactome analysis revealed that HAC1, HAC5 and HAC12 proteins interact with S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase domaincontaining protein that shows methyltransferase activity, suggesting an additional function of the HAC proteins. Additionally, HAC5 has a strong interaction value for the putative c-myb-like transcription factor MYB3R-4, which suggests that it also may have a function in regulation of DNA replication

Comparative structural analysis of HAC1 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Histone acetylation is an important posttranslational modification correlated with gene activation. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the histone acetyltransferase 1 (AtHAC1) is homologous to animal p300/CREB (cAMPresponsive element-binding protein)-binding proteins, which are the main histone acetyltransferases participating in many physiological processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this study the 3-D structure of the HAC1 protein in Arabidopsis thaliana was predicted using 4 homology-based prediction servers: ESyPred3D, 3D-JIGSAW, SWISS-MODEL and PHYRE2. The homology modeled structureswere evaluated and stereochemical analysis done by Ramachadran plot analysis. The amino acid sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana HAC1 protein are highly similar to the sequence of the homologous human p300/CREB. SWISS MODEL and Phyre2 servers computed the identical 3D structures. Validation and verification methods, using Z-score and 3D-1D score, showed that these 3D models are of good and acceptable quality

Functional interactome of Aquaporin 1 sub-family reveals new physiological functions in Arabidopsis Thaliana

Aquaporins are channel proteins found in plasma membranes and intercellular membranes of different cellular compartments, facilitate the water flux, solutes and gases across the cellular plasma membranes. The present study highlights the sub-family plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) predicting the 3-D structure and analyzing the functional interactome of it homologs. PIP1 homologs integrate with many proteins with different plant physiological roles in Arabidopsis thaliana including; PIP1A and PIP1B: facilitate the transport of water, diffusion of amino acids and/or peptides from the vacuolar compartment to the cytoplasm, play a role in the control of cell turgor and cell expansion and involved in root water uptake respectively. In addition we found that PIP1B plays a defensive role against Pseudomonas syringae infection through the interaction with the plasma membrane Rps2 protein. Another substantial function of PIP1C via the interaction with PIP2E is the response to nematode infection. Generally, PIP1 sub-family interactome controlling many physiological processes in plant cell like; osmoregulation in plants under high osmotic stress such as under a high salt, response to nematode, facilitate the transport of water across cell membrane and regulation of floral initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana