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Autoimmune disorder is a chronic immune imbalance which is developed through a series of pathways. The defect in B cells, T cells, and lack of self-tolerance has been greatly associated with the onset of many types of autoimmune complications including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. The SLE is an autoimmune disease with a common type of lupus that causes tissue and organ damage due to the wide spread of inflammation. In the current study, twenty anti-inflammatory peptides derived from plant and animal sources were docked as ligands or peptides counter to proinflammatory cytokines. Interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 3 (IL-3), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were targeted in this study as these are involved in the pathogenesis of SLE in many clinical studies. Two docking approaches (i.e., protein-ligand docking and peptide-protein docking) were employed in this study using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software and HADDOCK web server, respectively. Amongst docked twenty peptides, the peptide DEDTQAMMPFR with S -score of -11.3018 and HADDOCK score of − 10.3 ± 2.5 kcal/mol showed the best binding interactions and energy validation with active amino acids of IFN-γ protein in both docking approaches. Depending upon these results, this peptide could be used as a potential drug candidate to target IFN-γ, IL-3, and TNF-α proteins to control inflammatory events. Other peptides (i.e., QEPQESQQ and FRDEHKK) also revealed good binding affinity with IFN-γ with S -scores of -10.98 and -10.55, respectively. Similarly, the peptides KHDRGDEF, FRDEHKK, and QEPQESQQ showed best binding interactions with IL-3 with S -scores of -8.81, -8.64, and -8.17, respectively.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are ubiquitously expressed, covalently closed rings, produced by pre-mRNA splicing in a reversed order during post-transcriptional processing. Circularity endows 3'-5'-linked circRNAs with stability and resistance to exonucleolytic degradation which raises the question whether circRNAs may be relevant as potential therapeutic targets or agents. High stability in biological systems is the most remarkable property and a major criterion for why circRNAs could be exploited for a range of RNA-centred medical applications. Even though various biological roles and regulatory functions of circRNAs have been reported, their in-depth study is challenging because of their circular structure and sequence-overlap with linear mRNA counterparts. Moreover, little is known about their role in viral infections and in antiviral immune responses. We believe that an in-depth and detailed understanding of circRNA mediated viral protein regulations will increase our knowledge of the biology of these novel molecules. In this review, we aimed to provide a comprehensive basis and overview on the biogenesis, significance and regulatory roles of circRNAs in the context of antiviral immune responses and viral infections including hepatitis C virus infection, hepatitis B virus infection, hepatitis delta virus infection, influenza A virus infection, Epstein-Barr virus infection, kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus infection, human cytomegalovirus infection, herpes simplex virus infection, human immunodeficiency virus infection, porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus infection, ORF virus infection, avian leukosis virus infection, simian vacuolating virus 40 infection, transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus infection, and bovine viral diarrhoea virus infection. We have also discussed the critical regulatory role of circRNAs in provoking antiviral immunity, providing evidence for implications as therapeutic agents and as diagnostic markers.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), primarily inflammatory cardiomyopathy, are characterized by the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the myocardium. It has a relatively high risk of deteriorating heart function and has heterogeneous etiologies. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy is mainly mediated by viral infections but can also be mediated by protozoa, fungal or bacterial infections. Besides that, there are a wide variety of drugs, toxic substances, and systemic immune-mediated diseases that result in the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Despite broad research, inflammatory cardiomyopathy has a poor prognosis. The roles of the pathogens, host genomic counterparts and environmental triggers in the progression of disease are still under consideration, including the role of some viruses as active inducers and others as bystanders. In this review article, we review the available evidence on the types, pathogenesis and treatment of myocarditis, inflammatory cardiomyopathy, and atherosclerosis with a particular focus on virus-associated cardiac diseases.

The synthesis of nanomaterials with specific properties and functions as biomimetic nanoenzymes has attracted extensive attention in the past decades due to their great potential to substitute natural enzymes. Herein, a facile and simple method for the preparation of platinum nanoparticle (PtNP)-decorated two-dimensional metal-organic framework (MOF) nanocomposites was developed. A ligand with heme-like structure, Fe(III) tetra(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine chloride (TCPP(Fe)), was applied to synthesize MOF nanosheets (denoted as Cu-TCPP(Fe) nanosheets) in high yield. Ultrathin Cu-TCPP(Fe) nanosheets with thickness less than 10 nm were used as a novel template for the growth of ultrasmall and uniform PtNPs. Significantly, the obtained hybrid nanomaterials (PtNPs/Cu-TCPP(Fe) hybrid nanosheets) exhibit enhanced peroxidase-like activity compared to PtNPs, Cu-TCPP(Fe) nanosheets, and the physical mixture of both due to the synergistic effect. On account of the excellent peroxidase-like activity of PtNPs/Cu-TCPP(Fe) hybrid nanosheets, we established a colorimetric method for sensitive and rapid detection of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, by combining with glucose oxidase, a cascade colorimetric method was established to further detect glucose with excellent sensitivity and selectivity.

Purpose The secondary metabolites in plants are the basis of defense and stress balance, which is an important aspect in plant growth. The UV-B treatment (a biotic stress) and salt stress on bitter melon ( Momordica charantia L.) were studied, and the impact of pre-sowing seed treatment was evaluated on the basis of biochemical and enzymatic biomarkers, antioxidants, and wound-healing potential during early growth stages. Methods The UV-B treatment for 5 and 10 min and salt stress 250 mM and 500 mM treatments were applied, and 21-day seedling tissue were collected for total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), antioxidant, chlorophyll contents, hydrogen peroxide, total soluble sugar, enzymes activities, and wound-healing potential studies. Results The TPC, TFC, diphenyl picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), chlorophyll contents, and total soluble sugar were recorded higher at 5 min treatment with UV-B and salt stress at 250 mM concentration. Antioxidant enzymes activities were recorded higher for 10 min UV-B treatment and 500 mM salt treatment. Wound-healing potential was found significant at 5 min treatment with UV-B radiation, which was studied in vivo in rabbits. The LC-MS analysis revealed a variety of phenolic compounds in the seedlings. Conclusion The study concluded that treatments significantly affect the biological activities of bitter melon seeds at the seedling stage, and the seeds contain important phenolic compounds responsible for its antioxidant potential and enzymatic activities. Future studies could be focused on the later stages of growth, development, and yield characteristics subjected to salt stress along with UV-B radiation treatment.

Ultrathin (10 nm) nanosheets of a metal-organic framework (MOF-NSs) were prepared in high-yield and scalable production by a surfactant-assisted one-step method. The MOF-NSs possess distinguished affinity for ssDNA but not for dsDNA. This causes the fluorescence of the labeled DNA to be quenched. On binding to the target DNA (shown here for Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio parahemolyticus), the labeled duplex is released and the fluorescence of the label is restored. The labels Texas Red, Cy3 and FAM were used and give red, red or green fluorescence depending on the kind of pathogen. The detection limits are 28 pM, 35 pM and 15 pM for the gene segments of Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio parahemolyticus, respectively. Graphical abstract Schematic of an ultrasensitive fluorescent biosensor for multiplex detection of pathogenic DNAs based on ultrathin MOF nanosheets (type Cu-TCPP).

Background Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal stem cell disorders exhibiting cytopenias, ineffective hematopoiesis and morphological dysplasia. Bone marrow cytogenetics, inspite of being incorporated as mandatory tool in diagnosis are done less frequently due to limited availability of this technique in Pakistan. The aim of the study was to study baseline clinicohematological and cytogenetic characteristics of patients presenting with de novo MDS. Results A retrospective cross sectional study was done at National Institute of Blood Diseases and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Karachi, Pakistan from 2010 to 2016. Total of 177 patients were included in the study having median age 51 years and male to female ratio of 3:1. Pancytopenia was observed in 80 (45%) patients and bicytopenia in 74 (42%). Mean Hb% was 7.8 ± 2.18 g/dl, total leukocyte count (TLC) 8.8 ± 13.6 × 109/l, platelet count was 82 ± 95.7 × 109/l. Of total 170 (96%) were transfusion dependent. Refractory cytopenias with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD) was the most common world health organization (WHO) category. Karyotype was done in 98 (55%) patients out of which 44 (45%) had abnormal karyotype, complex karyotype (CK) was most commonly observed in 12 (12.2%) followed by monosomy 7 in 7 (7.1%). Conclusions We found younger median age at diagnosis, higher mean TLC and no significant history of recurrent infections. CK and monosomy 7 carry bad prognostic implications and early disease transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Monosomy 7 being associated with bad overall survival, such patients must be identified early with close clinical follow up and offered stem cell transplant. This is the largest cohort of patients of MDS evaluated for baseline clinical and cytogenetic characteristics in our country.

A novel impedimetric sensor was developed for the detection of loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) amplicons of various foodborne pathogens through combining with a microfluidic system and magnetic separation procedure. The amplified nucleic acid products (amplicons) of the LAMP reaction can adsorb on magnetic beads surface via electrostatic adsorption process. The obtained nucleic acid-magnetic bead composites were re-dispersed in deionized water and the impedance response was measured by injecting the nucleic acid-magnetic bead composites into the microfluidic system. On account of the quite low conductivity (1˜2 μS cm―1) of deionized water, the weak change of charge can be detected by impedance. Thus the abundant negative charges of nucleic acids in the composites can produce an obviously reduction of impedance signal. Based on the principle, the developed impedimetric sensing method was used for sensing various foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7), Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), which achieved a low detection limit (10 copies). Compared with the conventional gel electrophoresis method, our method is more sensitive and faster, which has a potential for fast and sensitive detection of the LAMP products of various targets.

Mastitis is one of the major problematic diseases of dairy animals throughout the world associated with etiological agents but Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major causes which are responsible for this dairy scourge. Biofilm production by the microorganisms is considered an important virulence factor responsible for adhesion of these microorganisms with living or non-living surfaces. Staphylococcus aureus isolates which produce biofilm lead to chronic mastitis in dairy animals. The intramammary infection due to biofilm producer S. aureus is difficult to treat even with intra-mammary antibiotics so proper considerations should be given to the infections produced by biofilm producing bacteria. Development of an effective vaccination against the bacteria which produce biofilm may provide success to control such type of perilous infections.

Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis is very important as starter culture of cheese and yogurt production. A variety of bacteriocins ranging the molecular weight 3 to 10 have been reported from L. lactis under different growth conditions. In our study, we have optimized the growth of L. lactis for the bacteriocin production. Growth kinetics of these bacteria was studied in accordance to time, pH and temperature. Optimum growth as well as optimum bacteriocin activity was obtained after 18 h at pH 5.0 and temperature 37°C. Bacteriocin activity was produced on optimal conditions and were further characterized and purified. Antibacterial assay of bacteriocin showed the strong growth inhibition of test bacteria. Bacteriocin activities were checked after their treatment with different enzymes, organic solvents, sodium chloride (NaCl) and detergents as well as their heat stability and effect of pH was studied. Bacteriocin activity was found to heat stability at 100°C for 30 min and activity was found stable in the 3 to 10 pH range but lost the activity after the treatment with proteinase-K and protease enzymes. Urea, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and 6% affected the bacteriocin activity. Bactericidal activity was further purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulphate precipitation and chromatographic techniques. Molecular weight was calculated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) as 4.6 kDa. Key words: Bacteriocin activity, Lactococcus lactis, growth kinetics, antibacterial assay.