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Medicinal plants study has emerged as new topic of interest which unravels the therapeutic potential of different species of plant of therapeutic interest. Uttarakhand state is the niche as well as the repository of diverse medicinal plants that have an immense role in the pharmaceutical industry and can help in sustaining the livelihood of people living in this area in the near future. Approximately, 300 plant species have been recorded from the Uttarakhand, illustrating the richness of herbal plant in the state and empowering the herbal-dependent industry in sub-Himalayan region. The potential medicinal value lies in all the parts of plants like root, shoot, fruits and leaves for treating various illnesses. Thus, there is urgent need to record the traditional knowledge about aromatic and medicinal plants as they are on the verge of extinction. Therefore, present study focuses on collecting the information about medicinal plants used in traditional medical system by the natives of Uttarakhand, India for curing the different ailments of water-borne and role of government and private sector in conserving this rich reservoir of medicinal plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the mountain areas people's dependent on plants for their sustenance especially for medicine and value of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practises provides clues to latest areas of research in biodiversity conservation. However, information on the uses of plants for medicine is deficient from interior areas of Himalaya. Himachal Pradesh has a rich heritage of medicinal plants. Inspite of this, acute jaundice and viral hepatitis diseases are highly prevalent nowadays among the residents of the state. Total 57 plant families are used for the treatment of liver ailments. The majority of the medicinal plants belongs to the family Asteraceae followed by Berbridaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Gentianaceae, respectively. The present study aimed to review and highlight the available ethnomedicinal plants in Himachal Pradesh for the treatment of the liver disorders. The over-exploitation, habitat degradation and changing environmental conditions may lead to the extinction within few years. Therefore, regular monitoring of population habitats, development of conventional protocol, and establishment of species in-situ conditions and replication of this approach in other parts of Indian Himalayan region have been recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) detects viral dsRNA during viral infection. However, most natural viral dsRNAs are poor activators of TLR3 in cell-based systems, leading us to hypothesize that TLR3 needs additional factors to be activated by viral dsRNAs. The anti-microbial peptide LL37 is the only known human member of the cathelicidin family of antimicrobial peptides. LL37 complexes with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to prevent activation of TLR4, binds to ssDNA to modulate TLR9 and ssRNA to modulate TLR7 and 8. It synergizes with TLR2/1, TLR3 and TLR5 agonists to increase IL8 and IL6 production. This work seeks to determine whether LL37 enhances viral dsRNA recognition by TLR3. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a human bronchial epithelial cell line (BEAS2B) and human embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293T) transiently transfected with TLR3, we found that LL37 enhanced poly(I:C)-induced TLR3 signaling and enabled the recognition of viral dsRNAs by TLR3. The presence of LL37 also increased the cytokine response to rhinovirus infection in BEAS2B cells and in activated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Confocal microscopy determined that LL37 could co-localize with TLR3. Electron microscopy showed that LL37 and poly(I:C) individually formed globular structures, but a complex of the two formed filamentous structures. To separate the effects of LL37 on TLR3 and TLR4, other peptides that bind RNA and transport the complex into cells were tested and found to activate TLR3 signaling in response to dsRNAs, but had no effect on TLR4 signaling. This is the first demonstration that LL37 and other RNA-binding peptides with cell penetrating motifs can activate TLR3 signaling and facilitate the recognition of viral ligands. Conclusions/Significance: LL37 and several cell-penetrating peptides can enhance signaling by TLR3 and enable TLR3 to respond to viral dsRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) detects double-stranded (ds) RNAs to activate innate immune responses. While poly(I:C) is an excellent agonist for TLR3 in several cell lines and in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, viral dsRNAs tend to be poor agonists, leading to the hypothesis that additional factor(s) are likely required to allow TLR3 to respond to viral dsRNAs. TLR3 signaling was examined in a lung epithelial cell line by quantifying cytokine production and in human embryonic kidney cells by quantifying luciferase reporter levels. Recombinant 1b hepatitis C virus polymerase was found to enhance TLR3 signaling in the lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells when added to the media along with either poly(I:C) or viral dsRNAs. The polymerase from the genotype 2a JFH-1 HCV was a poor enhancer of TLR3 signaling until it was mutated to favor a conformation that could bind better to a partially duplexed RNA. The 1b polymerase also co-localizes with TLR3 in endosomes. RNA-binding capsid proteins (CPs) from two positive-strand RNA viruses and the hepadenavirus hepatitis B virus (HBV) were also potent enhancers of TLR3 signaling by poly(I:C) or viral dsRNAs. A truncated version of the HBV CP that lacked an arginine-rich RNA-binding domain was unable to enhance TLR3 signaling. These results demonstrate that several viral RNA-binding proteins can enhance the dsRNA-dependent innate immune response initiated by TLR3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this project was to better define the relationship between the endoribonuclease activity of murine hepatitis virus (MHV) Nsp15 (mNsp15) and its role in virus infection. Molecular modeling demonstrated that the catalytic residues of mNsp15 are superimposable with its severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ortholog. Alanine substitutions at three key residues in the mNsp15 catalytic pocket (H262, H277, and G275) and a double-mutant version (H262P and H277A) generated proteins with greatly reduced but detectable endoribonuclease activities. Furthermore, these mutant proteins demonstrated lower cleavage specificities for uridylate than wild-type (WT) mNsp15. These mutations were successfully incorporated into viruses named vH262A, vH277A, vG275A, and vH262P+H277A. All four mutant viruses formed plaques with diameters similar to that of MHV-A59 1000 (WT virus) on several different cell lines. Interestingly, viruses with a mutation at a noncatalytic residue, D324A, could not be recovered despite repeated attempts, and expression of mNsp15 containing the D324A mutation in Escherichia coli resulted in an insoluble protein. Plaques derived from vH262A produced approximately 6- to 13-fold fewer PFU than those from WT virus. Cells infected with mNsp15 mutant viruses accumulated lesser amounts of plus- and minus-sense subgenomic RNAs and spike protein than WT virus. The expression of mNsp15 in trans by transient transfection partially restored RNA synthesis by vH262A. These results demonstrate that mNsp15 is required for optimal infection by MHV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the in-vitro anti-diabetic, anti-cholinesterase, and anti-inflammatory potential of extracts from different parts of Ficus benghalensis , including leaves, stem, and roots, as well as isolated column fractions (F-B-1 C, F-B-2 C, F-B-3 C, and F-B-4 C)., Methods: The extracts and subsequent fractions were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against key enzymes involved in diabetes [α-glucosidase and α-amylase], neurodegenerative diseases [acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase], and inflammation (cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX))., Results: The results showed that F. benghalensis leaf extract exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (73.84%) and α-amylase inhibitory activity (76.29%) at 1000 µg/mL. The stem extract (65.50%) and F-B-2 C fraction (69.67%) also demonstrated significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In terms of anti-cholinesterase activity, the extracts of roots, leaves, and stem showed promising inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 50.50 to 474.83 µg/mL. The derived fractions (F-B-1 C, F-B-2 C, F-B-3 C, and F-B-4 C) also exhibited notable inhibition of AChE and BChE, with IC50 values from 91.85 to 337.94 µg/mL. Moreover, the F-B-3 C fraction demonstrated the highest COX-2 inhibitory potential (85.72%), followed by F-B-1 C (83.13%), the stem extract (80.85%), and the leaves extract (79.00%). The F-B-1 C fraction showed the highest 5-LOX inhibitory activity (87.63%), while the root extract exhibited the lowest inhibition (73.39%)., Conclusions: The results demonstrated promising bioactivity, suggesting the potential of F. benghalensis as a source of natural compounds with therapeutic applications. Further studies are required to identify and isolate the active components responsible for these effects and to evaluate their in-vivo efficacy and safety., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Given his role as Guest Editor and Editorial Board Member of Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark, Marcello Iriti had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to Jen-Tsung Chen., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

A sesquiterpenic alkaloid dendrobine is the major bioactive compound extracted from Dendrobium nobile Lindl. This compound was structurally very similar to picrotoxinin (neurotoxin) containing bicyclic or tricyclic ring while dendrobine containing tetracyclic rings with up to 7 stereogenic centers showing numerous neuroprotective effects. Several sesquiterpenic alkaloids such as (+)-(1R,5R,6S,8R,9R)- 8,12-dihydroxy-copacamphan-3-en-2-one, dendrobine, denrine B, (+)- (1R,2S,3R,4S,5R,6S,9R)-3,11,12-trihydroxypicrotoxane-2(15)-lactone, dendroxine B, nobilonine, 13-Hydroxy-14-oxodendrobine, 6-Hydroxy-nobilonine and (-)-(1S,2R,3S,4R,5S,6R,9S,12R)- 3,11,13-trihydroxypicrotoxane-2(15)-lactone were isolated from D. nobile This comprehensive review summarizes the necessary information on the morphology, biochemistry and pharmacology of dendrobine. The phytochemical profile had potent in-vivo and in-vitro efficacy in neuroprotection, nerve function, memory enhancement, cognitive disorders, anxiety and depression, anti-oxidant, psychological conditions, increasing serotonin concentration in synapse anxiolytic, tranquilizing, anti-stress, neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson), anti-inflammatory and analgesic. The compound dendrobine activates neuro synapses, serotonergic synapse and signaling pathways during neurotransmission playing important role in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, anxiety and long-term depression., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Toll-like Receptor 3 (TLR3) detects double-stranded (ds) RNAs to activate innate immune responses. While poly(I:C) is an excellent agonist for TLR3 in several cell lines and in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, viral dsRNAs tend to be poor agonists, leading to the hypothesis that additional factor(s) are likely required to allow TLR3 to respond to viral dsRNAs. TLR3 signaling was examined in a lung epithelial cell line by quantifying cytokine production and in human embryonic kidney cells by quantifying luciferase reporter levels. Recombinant 1b hepatitis C virus polymerase was found to enhance TLR3 signaling in the lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells when added to the media along with either poly(I:C) or viral dsRNAs. The polymerase from the genotype 2a JFH-1 HCV was a poor enhancer of TLR3 signaling until it was mutated to favor a conformation that could bind better to a partially duplexed RNA. The 1b polymerase also co-localizes with TLR3 in endosomes. RNA-binding capsid proteins (CPs) from two positive-strand RNA viruses and the hepadenavirus hepatitis B virus (HBV) were also potent enhancers of TLR3 signaling by poly(I:C) or viral dsRNAs. A truncated version of the HBV CP that lacked an arginine-rich RNA-binding domain was unable to enhance TLR3 signaling. These results demonstrate that several viral RNA-binding proteins can enhance the dsRNA-dependent innate immune response initiated by TLR3.

Solitary schwannomas constitute only 2%-6% of stromal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract; the stomach is the preferred site of involvement. We report a 35-year-old woman who presented with difficulty in defecation. A mass on the posterior wall of the rectum was excised. Histologically, the lesion was a schwannoma, with S-100 proteins positivity and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity. The patient is asymptomatic two years later.