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Human disease prevalence has increased as a result of modern lifestyle, stress, and toxic waste. Worldwide, researchers aim to discover therapeutic compounds which may cure and prevent the onset of diseases. So, this study was planned to discover potential anti-inflammatory metabolites from Trigonella foenum-graecum. It is an annual plant within the family Fabaceae. This plant is used as a spice throughout the world and has many beneficial medicinal effects. It is commonly grown in Pakistan, India, and some Middle Eastern countries. Ten bioactive compounds representative of all classes, namely alkaloid, flavonoid, phytic acid, 4-hydroxy isoleucine, sapogenin, quercetin, trigonelline, tricin, naringenin, and flavonol were selected. Molecular docking of these ligands was carried out against drug targets namely cyclooxygenase-2, Human Neutrophil Elastase (HNE), microsomal PGES-2, and tyrosinase by using CB Dock and AMDock softwares. Further refining by screening filters produced sapogenin as the lead compound. All the visualization analysis and interaction studies were performed using PyMol molecular visualization tool and Ligplot+. Celebrex was used as the standard for comparison. The comparison between sapogenin and celebrex showed that the former is much more active than the standard drug. This is a novel finding. So, it might be explored further as a drug candidate to treat chronic inflammatory diseases in the future.

Phoenix dactylifera is known for medicinal importance due to its antioxidant, antidiabetic, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study is aimed at evaluating the effect of P. dactylifera seeds to cure Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD was induced in the rats with streptozotocin + aluminium chloride followed by treatment of methanolic extract of P. dactylifera seeds. The blood glucose levels were determined at regular intervals, which showed a prominent decrease in the extracts treated group. Behavior tests, including the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) test and Morris Water Maze (MWM) test, were used to evaluate memory patterns in rats. The results indicated that extract-treated rats significantly improved memory behavior compared to the diseased group. After dissection, the serum electrolytes, antioxidant enzymes, and choline esterase enzymes were measured in different organs. The serum parameters creatinine, urea, and bilirubin increased after extract treatment. Similarly, the level of antioxidant enzymes like peroxidases (POD), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in the extract-treated group showed improved results that were close to the normal control group. The enzyme (lipase, insulin, amylase, and acetylcholine) levels were found enhanced in extract groups as compared to diseased rats. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the level of dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitters, which were increased significantly for P. dactylifera seeds with values of 0.18 μg/mg tissue and 0.56 μg/mg tissue, respectively. Overall, results showed that P. dactylifera seeds proved to be quite efficient in improving the memory and behavior of treated rats. The antioxidants and enzymes were also increased; therefore, it may be a potential candidate for treating AD.

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plant is grown in about 150 countries of the world and is considered an important food crop. However, this crop is susceptible to different biotic and abiotic factors, which can affect its crop yield. This vulnerability can be reduced or eliminated by growing potatoes under sterilized conditions. Cytokinins, such as 6-Benzylaminopurine, are proven to show a significant role in the in vitro regulation of plants. In the current study, explants of Kuroda variety were/potato cv. Kuroda were grown using diverse concentrations of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), which displayed varied results. BAP concentration of 0.01 mg/l showed a 10 cm shoot length with 41 shoots having 66.66% regeneration efficiency. Meanwhile, the explant grown in 0.25 mg/l BAP concentration showed 16 cm shoot length with 65 shoots having 83.33% regeneration efficiency. On the other hand, the explants that were grown using 0.05 mg/l and 1 mg/l BAP concentration showed 7 cm and 10 cm shoot length with 35 and 52 shoots having 63.33% and 76.66% regeneration efficiency, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that 0.25 mg/L of BAP showed the best results with the highest number of shoots and shoot length as well as maximum regeneration efficiency among all the tested concentrations.

COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCov is a pandemic disease that occurred in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. It was first transmitted from the animal host to a human source, after which it followed human-human transmission and spread exponentially worldwide. Various countries have fallen prey to this virus, but there are certain countries or populations, which have been more affected by this than others. Moreover, the demographics of transmission and affected individuals are also variable from country-country. The purpose of this article is to highlight the non-modifiable risk factors for COVID-19 and their analysis in various populations affecting their susceptibility. Besides age, gender, and blood group, two major genetic factors associated with this disease are discussed here, including the potential of IL-6, in causing chronic disease conditions and the rs1800795 G/C-174 IL-6 polymorphism in the IL-6 gene and with the potential role of ACE-2 receptor in viral transmission and pathogenicity with its protective and disease-causing variants.

Recent advances are nowadays providing opportunities to examine the complexities of organs and organisms at the single-cell level. The conventional cell.based analysis mainly examines the cellular processes from the bulk of cells but single.cell omics provides a more detailed insight into individual cell phenotypes, thus giving a link between the phenotype and genotype of cells. Single-cell analysis can be performed at genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome levels and thus makes it possible to come across mechanisms not seen during the sequencing of bulk tissues. Researchers need to isolate single cells before the initiation of single-cell analysis. For this, various strategies like FACS, MACS, LCM, micro-manipulation and micro-fluids are used for cell isolation depending upon their physical properties and cellular biological characteristics. The analysis of single-cell data at multiple levels gives us an unusual view of multilevel transformation at the single-cell level and thus providing a better chance to discover novel biological processes. High throughput analysis of single cells at genome, transcriptome and proteome levels provides unique and important insights into cell variability and diverse processes like development, genetic expressions and severity of different symptoms in disease pathogenesis.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding RNAs that are roughly 18-22 nucleotides long. They play important roles in different natural procedures. As of now, little is known about their role in plant stress. The use of computational homology-based techniques for Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) with the Ambros exact method and other structural component criteria is a rational approach for the disclosure and confinement of conserved miRNAs from several species. Aims: The study aimed to identify novel stress induced miRNAs in tomato, using a computational approach. Methods: We used previously known sequences of mature miRNAs of different plants; Vitis, Oryza, Triticum and Sorghum for the prediction of potential novel miRNAs in tomatoes. The hairpin strucutres of miRNAs were predicted, their functional annotations were performed, and the targeted genes were identified. Results: Only two miRNAs were predicted and validated to be novel belonging to the family of miRNA1301. The expression analysis of the novel miRNAs showed their significant role in the growth and development of the respective tissues. We have found that the miRNAs in the leaf are highly conserved related to the seed. This discovery significantly broadens the understanding of the functions of miRNA in tomatoes. MiR1301 was found to play a role in transcriptional activation and transporter activity, also involved in ubiquitin-protein ligase translation and transcription. 7 potential targets were predicted for the two identified miRNAs. Conclusion: Identification of new miRNAs and their target genes will establish the potential roadmap for understanding the core regulatory interactions during abiotic stress in S. Lycopersicum.

Meldrum’s acid derivatives were facile synthesized by one-pot condensation process and characterized by NMR (1H, 13C, DEPT-90 and DEPT-135) and EI-MS. The synthesized compounds were screened for their potential to inhibit butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and α-glucosidase enzymes. Interestingly, the derivative 3a showed potent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, with the IC50 value equal to 2.1 mg/mL as compared to standard acarbose (IC50 = 4.7 mg/mL), whereas, in terms of BChE inhibitory activity investigation, the derivatives 3a and 3c showed novel results, with the IC50 values equal to 1.2 and 2.9 mg/mL, respectively, as compared to standard galantamine hydrobromide (IC50 = 4.7 mg/mL), making derivative 3a a dual inhibitor of both enzymes. Further, structure–activity relationship, comparative molecular docking analysis and the DNA–drug binding interaction were studied to investigate relationship between the chemical structure and its biological activity, inhibition of mechanism, interaction of compounds, DNA binding constant and Gibbs free energy. Structural insights into inhibitor binding to the α-glucosidase and BuChE revealed significant contribution of hydrophobic regions and significant residues of active sites. Comparative molecular docking studies showed that the residues of oxyanion hole, catalytic triad and hydrophobic pocket were actively engaged in interaction with the inhibitor. DNA binding constant was found in the order Kb 3e > Kb 3c > Kb 3a > Kb 3b > Kb 3d, while Gibbs free energy was found in the order ∆G 3e > ∆G 3a > ∆G 3b > ∆G 3c > ∆G 3d.

Our study aimed to identify the new blood-based biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer. Moreover, the three-dimensional (3D) structure of Kruppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) was also determined in order to better understand its function, and a signaling pathway was constructed to identity its upstream and downstream targets. In the current study, the co-expressions of tumor protein D52 (TPD52), KLF9, microRNA 223 (miR-223), and protein kinase C epsilon (PKCϵ) were evaluated in cervical cancer patients and a possible relation with disease outcome was revealed. The expressions of TPD52, KLF9, miR-223, and PKCϵ were studied in the blood of 100 cervical cancer patients and 100 healthy controls using real-time PCR. The 3D structure of KLF9 was determined through homology modeling via the SWISS-MODEL and assessed using the Ramachandran plot. The predicted 3D structure of KLF9 had a similarity index of 62% with its template (KLF4) with no bad bonds in it. In order to construct a genetic pathway, depicting the crosstalk between understudied genes, STRING analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and DAVID software were used. The constructed genetic pathway showed that all the understudied genes are linked to each other and involved in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. There was a 23-fold increase in TPD52 expression, a 2-fold increase in miR-223 expression, a 0.14-fold decrease in KLF9 expression, and a 0.05-fold decrease of PKCϵ expression in cervical cancer. In the present study, we observed an association of the expressions of TPD52, KLF9, miR-223, and PKCϵ with tumor stage, metastasis, and treatment status of cervical cancer patients. Elevated expressions of TPD52 and miR-223 and reduced expressions of KLF9 and PKCϵ in peripheral blood of cervical cancer patients may serve as predictors of disease diagnosis and prognosis. Nevertheless, further in vitro and tissue-level studies are required to strengthen their role as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Objective: To identify potential flavonoids of Artemisia annua effective against cancer using computationalapproaches.Study Design: Computational approaches were used to predict the anticancer activity of flavonoids throughCDRUG, comparing it with the standard anticancer drug, followed by determining physiochemical propertiesand toxicity prediction of the selected flavonoids.Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Department of Bioinformatics and Biosciences ofCapital University of Science and Technology (CUST) Islamabad, from December 2017 to July 2018.Materials and Methods: The flavonoids of Artemisia annua L were downloaded and computational techniques such as similarity search, toxicity prediction, targets identification etc. were applied to investigate their anti-cancer activities.Results: Luteoline, Cirsilineol, Cirsiliol, Eupatorin, Crisimaritin and Artemetin showed positive results among allthe tested flavonoids. These compounds have the potential to replace anti-cancer drugs because of anti-canceractivity, toxicity against cancer cells and similarity with approved anti-cancer agents.Conclusion: The screened compounds are good candidate for future drugs to be used against cancer. However,this is an in-silico study requiring further laboratory and enzymatic assays confirmation, which can be done invitro in future.

Objective Artemisia annua is the chief source of artemisinin, a potent antimalarial agent, in which other bioactive phytochemicals are also present. Due to low levels of bioactive compounds including artemisinin and flavonoids, it is necessary to increase the level of the secondary metabolites by regulating the expression of rol genes in the plant. Methods A hybrid variety of A. annua (Hyb1209r, Shennong) developed by the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, University of York, UK, was selected to produce transgenics of rolB and rolC genes. Genetic transformation was carried out via Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 harboring rolB and rolC genes of Agrobacterium rhizogenes cloned separately. HPLC was used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of flavonoids and artemisinin. Furthermore, thin layer chromatography (TLC) was also used to analyze artemisinin content. Results Comparative analysis via HPLC revealed considerable enhancement in the phytochemical content of transgenic A. annua plants as compared to the wild type plant. Transgenics of rolB gene showed an average increase of 321% in rutin, 97.2% in caffeic acid, and 218.4% in myricetin, respectively. In the case of rolC gene transgenics, an average increase of 197.5% in rutin, 76.3% in caffeic acid, and 209.3% in myricetin was observed. Transgenics of rolB and rolC genes showed a 14.3%–28.6% and 2.8%–12.7% increase in artemisinin content respectively by HPLC analysis. TLC analysis showed that an average 142.2% and 110.2% enhancement in artemisinin for rolB and rolC transgenics respectively, compared with the wild type. An enhanced production of total flavonoids (average 30.2% and 25.5% increase in rolB and rolC transgenics, respectively) and total phenolics (average 34.3% and 25.8% increase in rolB and rolC transgenics, respectively) was observed as a result of transformation. Transformed A. annua plants showed improved free radical scavenging activity (average 46.5% and 29.1% increase in rolB and rolC transgenics, respectively) and total reducing power (average 32.7% and 26.4% increase in rolB and rolC transgenics, respectively) compared with untransformed plant. Conclusion rolB and rolC genes were effective for developing A. annua plants with an enhanced level of phytochemicals.

The term “bioplastics” refers to chemically unrelated products that are manufactured exclusively or partially from renewable biomass sources such as agricultural products or microbes such as bacteria, yeast, and sometimes several nanometre-sized carbohydrate chains (polysaccharides). Bioplastics prepared from renewable means can be naturally recycled by biological processes, thus limiting the use of fossil fuels and shielding the environment. Biodegradable plastics are categorized as agro-polymers (starch, chitin, protein) and bio-polyesters (polyhydroxy-alkanoates, polylactic acid). Usually, foodstuffs with limited shelf life including fresh vegetables and fruits as well as those with long shelf life like cooked food items which are not in the need of increased oxygen supply are parceled using these bioplastics. Mainly, the enzymatic actions of microorganisms cause bioplastics polymers to decay into CO2, H2O, and other inorganic compounds. This current effort provides a general idea about bioplastics, aiming their production methods from biomass-based resources. Similarly, it will discuss the origin and classification of bioplastics. Furthermore, the details about the structure and components of bioplastics including polymers and the ways how these polymers are biochemically converted into bioplastics will also be reviewed. Moreover, different biopolymers currently under research will also be explored. With further improvements in the biopolymer area of research in the coming future, it can be more effectively utilized in various fields of life.

In this study the bark of Acacia modesta was evaluated for anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, antidepressant and anticoagulant activity by carrageenan, hot plat, forced swim and capillary tube method respectively in rats. Highest anti-inflammatory activity was exhibited by chloroform (AMC) extract (74.96% inhibition) while other two active fractions being n-hexane (AMH) and ethyl acetate (AME) exhibited 71.26% and 52.87% inhibition of edema respectively. On the other hand, the aqueous (AMA) fraction showed most effective response with 67.06% analgesic activity. Additionally, the significant (p0.05) post-treatment antipyretic effect was found by all fractions in time dependent manner. The current findings showed that AMC, AME and AMA had significant reduction in immobility time in the antidepressant test, while AMH showed mild antidepressant activity. In anticoagulant assay, the coagulation time of crude extract A. modesta and its all fractions were comparable to that of positive control aspirin (208s). Moreover, neither mortality nor lethality was observed in the tested animals. Overall, the plant extracts showed potent anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, antidepressant and anticoagulant activities which concludes that the bark of A. modesta have significant therapeutic potential.

Plants are major source for discovery and development of anticancer drugs. Several plant-based anticancer drugs are currently in clinical use. Fagonia indica is a plant of medicinal value in the South Asian countries. Using mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, several compounds were purified from the F. indica extract. We have used one of the purified compounds quinovic acid (QA) and found that QA strongly suppressed the growth and viability of human breast and lung cancer cells. QA did not inhibit growth and viability of non-tumorigenic breast cells. QA mediated its anticancer effects by inducing cell death. QA-induced cell death was associated with biochemical features of apoptosis such as activation of caspases 3 and 8 as well as PARP cleavage. QA also upregulated mRNA and protein levels of death receptor 5 (DR5). Further investigation revealed that QA did not alter DR5 gene promoter activity, but enhanced DR5 mRNA and protein stabilities. DR5 is one of the major components of the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Accordingly, Apo2L/TRAIL, the DR5 ligand, potentiated the anticancer effects of QA. Our results indicate that QA mediates its anticancer effects, at least in part, by engaging DR5-depentent pathway to induce apoptosis. Based on our results, we propose that QA in combination with Apo2L/TRAIL can be further investigated as a novel therapeutic approach for breast and lung cancers.

The world is experiencing a cancer epidemic and an increase in the prevalence of the disease. Cancer remains a major killer, accounting for more than half a million deaths annually. There is a wide range of natural products that have the potential to treat this disease. One of these products is artemisinin; a natural product from Artemisia plant. The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded in 2015 for the discovery of artemisinin in recognition of the drug's efficacy. Artemisinin produces highly reactive free radicals by the breakdown of two oxygen atoms that kill cancerous cells. These cells sequester iron and accumulate as much as 1000 times in comparison with normal cells. Generally, chemotherapy is toxic to both cancerous cells and normal cells, while no significant cytotoxicity from artemisinin to normal cells has been found in more than 4000 case studies, which makes it far different than conventional chemotherapy. The pleiotropic response of artemisinin in cancer cells is responsible for growth inhibition by multiple ways including inhibition of angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. It is very encouraging that artemisinin and its derivatives are anticipated to be a novel class of broad-spectrum antitumor agents based on efficacy and safety. This review aims to highlight these achievements and propose potential strategies to develop artemisinin and its derivatives as a new class of cancer therapeutic agents.

Breast cancer is the most prevailing disease among women. It actually develops from breast tissue and has heterogeneous and complex nature that constitutes multiple tumor quiddities. These features are associated with different histological forms, distinctive biological characteristics, and clinical patterns. The predisposition of breast cancer has been attributed to a number of genetic factors, associated with the worst outcomes. Unfortunately, their behavior with relevance to clinical significance remained poorly understood. So, there is a need to further explore the nature of the disease at the transcriptome level. The focus of this study was to explore the influence of Krüppel-like factor 3 (KLF3), tumor protein D52 (TPD52), microRNA 124 (miR-124), and protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε) expression on breast cancer. Moreover, this study was also aimed at predicting the tertiary structure of KLF3 protein. Expression of genes was analyzed through real-time PCR using the delta cycle threshold method, and statistical significance was calculated by two-way ANOVA in Graphpad Prism. For the construction of a 3D model, various bioinformatics software programs, Swiss Model and UCSF Chimera, were employed. The expression of KLF3, miR-124, and PKCε genes was decreased (fold change: 0.076443, 0.06969, and 0.011597, respectively). However, there was 2-fold increased expression of TPD52 with p value < 0.001 relative to control. Tertiary structure of KLF3 exhibited 80.72% structure conservation with its template KLF4 and was 95.06% structurally favored by a Ramachandran plot. These genes might be predictors of stage, metastasis, receptor, and treatment status and used as new biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis. However, extensive investigations at the tissue level and in in vivo are required to further strengthen their role as a potential biomarker for prognosis of breast cancer.

Because of the reemergence of ancestral microbes, current natural communities experience relationships. These hazards are caused by the reemergence of pathogens held in laboratories or by pathogens left in the permafrost that are accessible at thawing owing to climate change. Pathogens tend to be adapted locally and temporarily to their cohosts, but when pathogens from a different environment or time enter the host community, the degree to which a new host interacts with the pathogen depends on specific genotypical associations, the time lag between the host and the pathogen, and the interactions with native or recent host and pathogen species. Here we aim to investigate the evidence of such recurrence of the bacteria that existed in the absence of a natural host for centuries in comparison to the same bacteria that are surviving in the presence of a natural host. This review gives detailed insight into resurrection biology of natural habitats and alternate resistance patterns observed with time. It also gives insight into major sinks that harbor resistant bacteria and play a role in incorporating resistance in the environment.

Thioureas are exquisite building blocks for the construction of five and six membered heterocyclic units, and also display an extensive range of biological activities. 4-Nitro-2-cyano aniline was reacted with the various acid chlorides which were freshly prepared from carboxylic acids to afford the desired products in good yield. All the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and α-amylase activity. The compounds showed significant activity against bacteria and fungi. The compound 4e and 4b were found to be most inhibitors of α-amylase having IC50 9.7 μg/ml and 9.1 μg/ml. Further molecular docking studies were carried out to find out the binding mode of the inhibitors with the enzyme.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the image of Figure 1 and in Table 4. The corrected version of the figure and table is shown here.

Objective: To identify the inhibitory effects of artemisinin and its derivatives against Alpha-Amylase in DiabetesII.Study Design: Insilico approaches using Bioinformatics techniques were used to access the effects of arteisininand its derivatives.Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted comprising 6 month period at Capital University ofScience and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.Materials and Methods: In this work, the inhibitory effects of artemisinin and its derivatives were determinedby using in silico approach. For proper inhibitory effects, molecular docking and the pharmacokineticproperties of the ligand were identified.Results: Artemether was found to be the ligand that shows the best binding energy -7.08 Kcal/mol, stronghydrogen bonding, 4 alkyl bonds, 0 bumps, inhibition constant 13.26, and better pharmacokinetic properties. Ithas been selected as a lead compound as it is the most active compound for alpha-amylase inhibition.Conclusion: In future, this work can be used in wet-lab analysis to confirm its adequacy and efficacy.

A series of organotin esters has been synthesized using a diverse array of drugs containing carboxylic function with triphenyl/tributyltin. The synthesized derivatives were bioevaluated for antibacterial, antifungal and enzyme inhibition (α-amylase, α-glucosidase and butyrylcholinesterase) activities. Interestingly, compound 3c was found to be most potent in all bioassay and showed higher activity than the standards in case of antibacterial and antifungal activity. The molecular docking was utilized to ascertain the mechanism and mode of action towards the molecular targets indicating that ligands and complexes were stabilized at the active site by electrostatic and hydrophobic forces, consistent with the corresponding experimental results. Docking simulation providing additional information about the possibilities of the inhibitory potential of the compounds against the 1j7t and 1EA1. It has been predicted by in silico calculation and investigation of the binding pattern that compound 3c can serve as the potential surrogate for hit to lead generation and design of novel antibacterial and anti-leishmanial agents.

Five medicinal plants of Pakistan were investigated for their antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, and anticoagulant potential. Antinociceptive activity was estimated by hot plate and writhing assay. In hot plate assay, Quercus dilatata (52.2%) and Hedera nepalensis (59.1%) showed moderate while Withania coagulans (65.3%) displayed a significant reduction in pain. On the other hand, in writhing assay, Quercus dilatata (49.6%), Hedera nepalensis (52.7%), and Withania coagulans (62.0%) showed comparative less activity. In anti-inflammatory assays crude extracts showed significant edema inhibition in a dose dependent manner. In carrageenan assay, the highest activity was observed for Withania coagulans (70.0%) followed by Quercus dilatata (66.7%) and Hedera nepalensis (63.3%). Similar behavior was observed in histamine assay with percentage inhibitions of 74.3%, 60.4%, and 63.5%, respectively. Antidepressant activity was estimated by forced swim test and the most potent activity was revealed by Withania coagulans with immobility time 2.2s (95.9%) followed by Hedera nepalensis with immobility time 25.3s (53.4%). Moreover, the crude extracts of Fagonia cretica (74.6%), Hedera nepalensis (73.8%), and Phytolacca latbenia (67.3%) showed good anticoagulant activity with coagulation times 86.9s, 84.3s, and 67.5s, respectively. Collectively, the results demonstrate that these five plants have rich medicinal constituents which can be further explored.

The emergence of modifiable sequence-specific nucleases such as translation activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), and the potent Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats-related nuclease 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR/Cas9) system has transformed the field of genome editing. The CRISPR/Cas9 system is chiefly multipurpose and has been applied in numerous species representing all branches of life. Furthermore, the advent of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology has offered an exclusive opening to create cellular models to study the properties of the core genetic abnormalities of several diverse cell types. Merging this with the current developments in genome editing techniques, CRISPR has delivered a facility to repair recognized causative alleles in patient lines, or to introduce disease alleles into a healthy wild-type cell line. Here, we estimate the advantages and applications of CRISPR along with iPSC in terms of workflow, understanding, strengths, and flaws.

Diabetes and cancer are common diseases worldwide with terrific effect on human health. In the present study, a high valued medicinal plant Artemisia carvifolia Buch was subjected for evaluation of anticancer and antidiabetic potential. Previously produced rolB and rolC gene transgenic plants of A. carvifolia were also compared with the wild type plant for a differential count of cytotoxicity and antidiabetic activity. Lowest IC50 values were shown by rolB transgenic line TB4 for alpha-glucosidase (838.6 μg/ml), alpha-amylase (742.8 μg/ml) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (1300 μg/ml) in contrast to the wild type plant which showed IC50 values of 1608.4 μg/ml for alpha-glucosidase, 1973.8 μg/ml for alpha-amylase and 1800 μg/ml for dipeptidyl peptidase-4. Among rolC transgenic plants, TC1 showed lowest IC50 value i.e. 873 μg/ml for alpha-glucosidase, 747.7 μg/ml for alpha-amylase and 1400 μ/ml for dipeptidyl peptidase-4. Viability of the cancer cells including HeLA, HePG2 and MCF7 decreased to 80% when treated with methanolic extract of the plant and it decreased to 70% when treated with n-hexane extract. Cytotoxic effect was found more enhanced when cells were treated with both the extracts combined, showing synergism between flavonoids and artemisinin. RolB transformants showed slightly better activity than the rolC transformants which were found superior in activity than the wild type plant. Metabolite profiling by ESI/MS-TOF showed the involvement of significant plant secondary compounds in antidiabetic and anticancer potential in the extracts of transgenic lines. Vital amino acids, substantial phenylpropanoids and important phytochemicals were detected at a higher level in rolB and rolC transgenic plants than wild type plants.

Prostate cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths in men and there is a growing interest in identifying natural compounds for its management. We analyzed bioactive withanolides in Withania coagulans from 11 different sites in Pakistan and evaluated the antiprostate cancer activities of leaf extracts from two sites with the greatest amounts. Total withanolide concentration differed by ~ 17-fold between sites, ranging from 1.01 ± 0.01 mg/g dry weight (mean ± SE) at Jand to 16.83 ± 0.02 mg/g at Mohmand Agency. Different tissues varied in their total withanolide content with roots having the least (0.42 ± 0.07 mg/g dry weight) and leaves the most (2.45 ± 0.45 mg/g). We found strong inverse correlations between site annual precipitation versus withanolide amounts in fruits (r = − 0.84, P = 0.001), leaves (r = − 0.88, P

Mathematical modeling is the art of converting problems from the biological area into handy mathematical formulations whose theoretical and numerical analysis provides understandings about the directions and solutions to the particular problem. Recently, the combination therapy treatments have been revealed exceptionally fruitful by using mathematical modeling technique. The human nervous system is composed of axons, covered by the myelin sheath. Axons carry signals and promote myelin development. The abnormalities in myelination formation due to mutations in myelin gene result in memory disorders and impaired cognitive activities. The ERBb gene family is responsible for causing abnormalities in myelin gene. Using this knowledge, the pathway of mutated myelin gene was retrieved and its model was developed. Modeling and simulation analysis was performed to determine the level of expression of several genes. The Neurotrophin 3 ligand-coated with silver nanoparticle was induced in the model to normalize the transcription of myelin gene. It was observed that the myelin gene expression level increases from 0 after two days of NT3 induction and reaches to the maximum level on the 10th day of drug induction along with an increase in ERBb expression. This research work can be used in the future as a part of drug discovery and formulation.

Artemisinin and its analogues are naturally occurring most effective antimalarial secondary metabolites. These compounds also possess activity against various types of cancer cells, schistosomiasis, and some viral diseases. Artemisinin and its derivatives (A&D) are found in very low amounts in the only natural source i.e. Artemisia plant. To meet the global needs, plant sources have been exploited for the enhanced production of these natural products because their chemical synthesis is not profitable. The generally adopted approaches include non-transgenic (tissue and cell cultures) and transgenic together with the cell, tissue, and whole transgenic plant cultures. The genes targeted for the overproduction of A&D include the biosynthetic pathway genes, trichome development genes and rol genes, etc. Artemisinin is naturally produced in trichomes of leaves. At the same time, transgenic hairy roots are considered a good source to harvest artemisinin. However, the absence of trichomes in hairy roots suggests that artemisinin biosynthesis is not limited to trichomes. Moreover, the expression of the gene involved in trichome development and sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis (TFAR1) in transgenic and non-transgenic roots provokes researchers to look for new insight of artemisinin biosynthesis. Here we discuss and review precisely the various biotechnological approaches for the enhanced biosynthesis of A&D. Graphical Abstract