Search

The G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) is known to exert a significant influence on neurogenesis and neurodevelopment within the central nervous system of both humans and rodents. Research findings indicate that the activation of GPR40 by an agonist has been observed to promote the proliferation and viability of hypothalamus cells in the human body. The objective of the present study is to discover new agonist compounds for the GPR40 protein through the utilization of machine learning and pharmacophore-based screening techniques, in conjunction with other computational methodologies such as docking, molecular dynamics simulations, free energy calculations, and investigations of the free energy landscape. In the course of our investigation, we successfully identified five unreported agonist compounds that exhibit robust docking score, displayed stability in ligand RMSD and consistent hydrogen bonding with the receptor in the MD trajectories. Free energy calculations were observed to be higher than control molecule. The measured binding affinities of compounds namely 1, 3, 4, 6 and 10 were -13.9, -13.5, -13.4, -12.9, and -12.1 Kcal/mol, respectively. The identified molecular agonist that has been found can be assessed in terms of its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of neurological diseases., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no competing financial interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Siddiqui et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has emerged as an eco-friendly and sustainable approach with diverse biological applications. This study presents synthesis of AgNPs-LS using a probiotic strain Lactobacillus salivarius ( L. salivarius ) and explores their multifaceted biological activities, including antibacterial, antibiofilm, anti-quorum sensing, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, anticoagulant and thrombolytic properties. The biosynthesis of AgNPs-LS was successfully achieved using L. salivarius cell free supernatants, resulting in well-characterized nanoparticles as confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential analysis. The AgNPs-LS demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against different pathogenic bacteria ( C. violaceum, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus , E. coli and S. marcescens ), emphasizing their potential in combating bacterial infections. Moreover, these AgNPs-LS were effective in inhibiting biofilm formation (>60 % at 1/2 MIC), a key mechanism of bacterial virulence, highlighting their utility in preventing biofilm-related infections. AgNPs-LS exhibited anti-quorum sensing activity, disrupting bacterial communication systems and potentially reducing virulence factor such as, violacein production in C. violaceum, pyocyanin production in P. aeruginosa and prodigiosin production in S. marcescens . Additionally, AgNPs-LS also exhibited notable antifungal activity towards a different pathogenic fungus ( F. proliferatum, P. purpurogenum, A. niger and R. stolonifer ). In terms of health applications, the AgNPs-LS displayed significant antioxidant activity, effectively scavenging DPPH • (IC 50  = 42.65 μg/mL) and ABTS •+ (IC 50  = 53.77 μg/mL) free radicals. Furthermore, AgNPs-LS showed cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7) (IC 50  = 52.29 μg/mL), positioning them as promising candidates for cancer therapy. Moreover, AgNPs-LS were also shown promising anticoagulant and thrombolytic activities under practical conditions. Therefore, the biogenic synthesis of AgNPs-LS using L. salivarius offers a sustainable and cost-effective route for producing AgNPs with an array of biological activities. These AgNPs-LS have the potential to address various challenges in healthcare, ranging from antimicrobial, anticancer applications to biofilm inhibition, antioxidant therapy, anticoagulant and thrombolytic agents., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Current ischemic models strive to replicate ischemia-mediated injury. However, they face challenges such as inadequate reproducibility, difficulties in translating rodent findings to humans, and ethical, financial, and practical constraints that limit the accuracy of extensive research. This study introduces a novel approach to inducing persistent ischemia in 3-day-old chicken embryos using endothelin-1. The protocol targets the right vitelline arteries, validated with Doppler blood flow imaging and molecular biology experiments. This innovative approach facilitates the exploration of oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, cellular death, and potential drug screening suitability utilizing a 3-day-old chicken embryo. Key features • This model enables the evaluation and investigation of the pathology related to persistent ischemia • This model allows for the assessment of parameters like oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular death • This model enables quantification of molecular changes at the nucleic acid and protein levels • This model allows for the efficient screening of drugs and their targets Graphical overview., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interest., (©Copyright : © 2024 The Authors; This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.)

Breast milk is a vital source of nutrition for breastfed infants, providing essential nutrients and elements but, in some cases, toxic ones. This is the first case-control study that investigated the elemental profile of breast milk samples collected from mothers residing in Matiari (Sindh), a region with insufficient industrial waste management, and its potential impact on infants' anthropometrics. Precisely, 62 milk samples, including 42 cases and 20 controls, were analyzed using the ICP-MS technique. Overall, six elements showed significance between the two groups, arsenic (As) was present at 0.68 μg/L in cases and absent in controls, while lead (Pb) exhibited elevated concentrations in the case group at 4.56 μg/L compared to 0.25 μg/L in controls, well-known for their toxicity. Barium (Ba) and manganese (Mn) levels were also higher in cases, associated with reported health effects on child well-being. Essential elements molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se) were higher in the controls. Furthermore, the association of these metals with the child growth standards as per WHO guidelines was calculated. Linear regression analysis revealed As negatively associated with WAZ and WHZ scores, while Mo was positively associated with WAZ, WHZ, and HAZ scores. These findings highlight serious health concerns in the region, where toxic elements pervade drinking water and food sources. Immediate actions are imperative to maintain the wellness of future generations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Extensive research on Lupeol's potential in cancer prevention highlights its ability to target various cancer-related factors. It regulates proliferative markers, modulates signaling pathways, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and influences inflammatory and apoptotic mechanisms. Additionally, Lupeol demonstrates selectivity in killing cancer cells while sparing normal cells, thus minimizing the risk of toxic effects on healthy tissues., Hypothesis: Therefore, we aimed to explore Lupeol's potential roles as a chemotherapeutic agent and as a sensitizer to chemotherapy by reviewing various animal-based studies published on its effects., Study Design: We conducted a comprehensive search across databases, including PubMed, PMC, Cochrane, EuroPMC, and ctri.gov.in to identify pertinent articles. Our focus was solely on published animal studies examining Lupeol's anti-cancer effects, with reviewers independently assessing bias risk and resolving discrepancies through consensus., Result: 20 studies were shortlisted. The results demonstrated that Lupeol brings changes in the tumor volume by [Hedges's g: -6.62; 95 % CI: -8.68, -4.56; τ 2 : 24.36, I 2 : 96.50 %; p < 0.05] and tumor weight by [Hedges's g: -3.97; 95 % CI: -5.20, -2.49; τ 2 : 2.70, I 2 : 79.27 %; p <0.05]. The high I 2 , negative Egger's value, and asymmetrical funnel plot show the publication bias among the studies. Further, Lupeol in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents showed better outcomes as compared to them alone [Hedges's g: -6.38; 95 % CI: -11.82, -0.94; τ 2 : 46.91; I 2 : 98.68 %; p <0.05]. Lupeol also targets various signaling molecules and pathways to exert an anti-cancer effect., Conclusion: In conclusion, Lupeol significantly reduces tumor volume and weight. Combining Lupeol with other chemotherapy agents shows promise for enhancing anti-cancer effects. However, high variability among studies and evidence of publication bias suggest caution in interpreting results., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Alzheimer's disease is a fatal chronic neurodegenerative condition marked by a gradual decline in cognitive abilities and impaired vascular function within the central nervous system. This affliction initiates its insidious progression with the accumulation of two aberrant protein entities including Aβ plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These chronic elements target distinct brain regions, steadily erasing the functionality of the hippocampus and triggering the erosion of memory and neuronal integrity. Several assumptions are anticipated for AD as genetic alterations, the occurrence of Aβ plaques, altered processing of amyloid precursor protein, mitochondrial damage, and discrepancy of neurotropic factors. In addition to Aβ oligomers, the deposition of tau hyper-phosphorylates also plays an indispensable part in AD etiology. The brain comprises a complex network of capillaries that is crucial for maintaining proper function. Tau is expressed in cerebral blood vessels, where it helps to regulate blood flow and sustain the blood-brain barrier's integrity. In AD, tau pathology can disrupt cerebral blood supply and deteriorate the BBB, leading to neuronal neurodegeneration. Neuroinflammation, deficits in the microvasculature and endothelial functions, and Aβ deposition are characteristically detected in the initial phases of AD. These variations trigger neuronal malfunction and cognitive impairment. Intracellular tau accumulation in microglia and astrocytes triggers deleterious effects on the integrity of endothelium and cerebral blood supply resulting in further advancement of the ailment and cerebral instability. In this review, we will discuss the impact of tau on neurovascular impairment, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and the role of hyperphosphorylated tau in neuron excitotoxicity and inflammation., (Copyright © 2024 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The cactus family plant has been used in folk medicine for a long time. In this work, Opuntia stricta chemical composition and its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties were investigated. Our results showed that O. stricta is highly rich in fibers and minerals. The present study assessed the levels of polyphenol contents and antioxidant and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities. The highest phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were observed in the methanolic extract. Concerning the qualitative analysis, nine phenolic and organic acids were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Luteolin-7-Glu (4.25 μg/g), apigenin-7-Glu (3.15 μg/g), and catechin (2.85 μg/g) were identified as major phenolic compounds. The predominant fatty acids detected by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to a flame ionization detector were linoleic and linolenic acids (35.11%). A factorial design plan was used to determine the effect of temperature, agitation speed, and maceration period on phenolic contents. In vivo , the methanol extract from Opuntia stricta showed anti-inflammatory activity. The computational modeling reveals that O. stricta compounds bind VEGF, IL-6, and TNF-α with high binding scores that reach -8.7 kcal/mol and establish significant molecular interactions with some key residues that satisfactorily explain both in vitro and in vivo findings. These data indicate that Opuntia stricta cladode powder could be potentially useful in pharmaceutical and food applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a diverse enzyme family crucial for cell signalling in various organs. Its dysregulation is linked to numerous diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and neurological problems. In the brain, PKC plays pivotal roles in synaptic plasticity, learning, memory, and neuronal survival. Specifically, PKC's involvement in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) pathogenesis is of significant interest. The dysregulation of PKC signalling has been linked to neurological disorders, including AD. This review elucidates PKC's pivotal role in neurological health, particularly its implications in AD pathogenesis and chronic alcohol addiction. AD, characterised by neurodegeneration, implicates PKC dysregulation in synaptic dysfunction and cognitive decline. Conversely, chronic alcohol consumption elicits neural adaptations intertwined with PKC signalling, exacerbating addictive behaviours. By unravelling PKC's involvement in these afflictions, potential therapeutic avenues emerge, offering promise for ameliorating their debilitating effects. This review navigates the complex interplay between PKC, AD pathology, and alcohol addiction, illuminating pathways for future neurotherapeutic interventions.

Polyphenolic compounds are vital components of plants. However, their analysis is particularly difficult and challenging due to their similar chemical and structural properties. In this study, we developed a simple and reproducible HPLC-DAD protocol for determining nineteen pharmacologically important polyphenols in plant-based food samples, including fruits (apple, banana, grapefruit, peach, grapes, plum, and pear), vegetables (onion, cabbage, capsicum, garlic, lemon, tomato, potato, and spinach), and other edible items (corn, kidney beans, green tea, black tea, and turmeric). The reference standards were pooled into four different groups based on logP values and expected retention time to avoid compound co-elution. These developed methods will be useful for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of biologically important polyphenolic compounds in various food samples and botanicals.

Introduction: The cytosolic Ser/Thr kinase TBK1 is of utmost importance in facilitating signals that facilitate tumor migration and growth. TBK1-related signaling plays important role in tumor progression, and there is need to work on new methods and workflows to identify new molecules for potential treatments for TBK1-affecting oncologies such as breast cancer. Methods: Here, we propose the machine learning assisted computational drug discovery approach to identify TBK1 inhibitors. Through our computational ML-integrated approach, we identified four novel inhibitors that could be used as new hit molecules for TBK1 inhibition. Results and Discussion: All these four molecules displayed solvent based free energy values of -48.78, -47.56, -46.78 and -45.47 Kcal/mol and glide docking score of -10.4, -9.84, -10.03, -10.06 Kcal/mol respectively. The molecules displayed highly stable RMSD plots, hydrogen bond patterns and MMPBSA score close to or higher than BX795 molecule. In future, all these compounds can be further refined or validated by in vitro as well as in vivo activity. Also, we have found two novel groups that have the potential to be utilized in a fragment-based design strategy for the discovery and development of novel inhibitors targeting TBK1. Our method for identifying small molecule inhibitors can be used to make fundamental advances in drug design methods for the TBK1 protein which will further help to reduce breast cancer incidence., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Siddiqui, Jamal, Zafar and Jahan.)

Background: Causes of death after first time community-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE) diagnosed in unselected patients at the emergency department (ED) was investigated., Materials and Methods: The study consists of all patients > 18 years of age who had a visit for any medical reason to any of 5 different ED in Stockholm County, Sweden from 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2017. We have identified all patients with a first registered incident VTE; deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE) during the study period. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazards ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause mortality and cause-specific death in patients with DVT or PE using all other patients as the reference group., Results: In total, 359,884 patients had an ED visit during the study period of whom about 2.1% were diagnosed with VTE (DVT = 4,384, PE = 3,212). The patients with VTE were older compared to the control group. During a mean follow up of 2.1 years, 1567 (21%) and 23,741(6.7%) patients died within the VTE and reference group, respectively. The adjusted risk of all-cause mortality was nearly double in patients with DVT (HR 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.8) and more than 3-fold in patients with PE (HR 3.4; 95% CI, 3.1-3.6). While the risk of cancer related death was nearly 3-fold in patient with DVT (HR 2.7; 95% CI, 2.4-3.1), and 5-fold in PE (HR 5.4; 95% CI, 4.9-6.0 respectively). The diagnosis of PE during the ED visit was associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular death (HR 2.2; 95% CI, 1.9-2.6)., Conclusion: Patients with VTE have an elevated risk of all-cause mortality, including cardiovascular death., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A revival interest has been given to natural products as sources of phytocompounds to be used as alternative treatment against infectious diseases. In this context, we aimed to investigate the antimicrobial potential of Ziziphus honey (ZH) against twelve clinical bacterial strains and several yeasts and molds using in vitro and computational approaches. The well-diffusion assay revealed that ZH was able to induce growth inhibition of most Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The high mean growth inhibition zone (mGIZ) was recorded in E. coli (Clinical strain, 217), S. aureus followed by E. coli ATCC 10536 (mGIZ values: 41.00 ± 1 mm, 40.67 ± 0.57 mm, and 34.67 ± 0.57 mm, respectively). The minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) and minimal fungicidal concentration values (MFCs) from approximately 266.33 mg/mL to over 532.65 mg/mL. Molecular docking results revealed that the identified compounds maltose, 2-furoic acid, isopropyl ester, 2,4-imidazolidinedione, 5-(2-methylpropyl)-(S)- and 3,4,5-trihydroxytoluene, S-Methyl-L-Cysteine, 2-Furancarboxylic acid, L-Valine-N-ethoxycarbonyl, Hexanoic acid, 3,5,5-trimethyl-, Methyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside, gamma-Sitosterol, d-Mannose, 4-O-Methylmannose, 2,4-Imidazolidinedione, 5-(2-methylpropyl)- (S) were found to have good affinity for targeted receptor, respectively. Through a 100-ns dynamic simulation research, binding interactions and stability between promising phytochemicals and the active residues of the studied enzymes were confirmed. The ADMET profiling of all identified compounds revealed that most of them could be qualified as biologically active with good absorption and permeation. Overall, the results highlighted the efficiency of ZH against the tested clinical pathogenic strains. The antimicrobial potential and the potency displayed by the identified compounds could imply their further pharmacological applications.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Chemical-induced neurotoxicity is increasingly recognized to accelerate the development of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs), which pose an increasing health burden to society. Attempts are being made to develop drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier and have minimal or no side effects. Nobiletin (NOB), a polymethoxylated flavonoid with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, has been demonstrated to be a promising compound to treat a variety of NDs. Here, we investigated the potential role of NOB in sodium arsenate (NA)-induced deregulated miRNAs and target proteins in human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs). The proteomics and microRNA (miRNA) profiling was done for different groups, namely, unexposed control, NA-exposed, NA + NOB, and NOB groups. Following the correlation analysis between deregulated miRNAs and target proteins, RT-PCR analysis was used to validate the selected genes. The proteomic analysis showed that significantly deregulated proteins were associated with neurodegeneration pathways, response to oxidative stress, RNA processing, DNA repair, and apoptotic process following exposure to NA. The OpenArray analysis confirmed that NA exposure significantly altered miRNAs that regulate P53 signaling, Wnt signaling, cell death, and cell cycle pathways. The RT-PCR validation studies concur with proteomic data as marker genes associated with autophagy and apoptosis (HO-1, SQSTM1, LC-3, Cas3, Apaf1, HSP70, and SNCA1) were altered following NA exposure. It was observed that the treatment of NOB significantly restored the deregulated miRNAs and proteins to their basal levels. Hence, it may be considered one of its neuroprotective mechanisms. Together, the findings are promising to demonstrate the potential applicability of NOB as a neuroprotectant against chemical-induced neurotoxicity., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Jahan, Ansari, Srivastava, Aldosari, Alabdallat, Siddiqui, Khan, Albadrani, Sarkar, Khan, Adnan and Pant.)

Knowledge of genetic variability within and among types and breeds of dromedary ( Camelus dromedarius L.) can be a valuable asset in selective breeding of desirable characteristics and will shed light on their origin, dynamics of domestication, and dispersion. Variability in an 809 bp segment of the mtDNA genome was measured within and among dromedaries from eight indigenous and one exogenous breed from Ha'il in north-central Saudi Arabia. Sixteen mtDNA haplotypes were identified among 47 camels. Haplotypic diversity among breeds is high ( H d = 0.817); most of the AMOVA variance (55.05%) occurs within breeds. Phylogenetic comparison of these haplotypes with those obtained across their geographic range showed that most haplotypes were placed within the same cluster with ancient wild dromedaries and the two newly identified haplotypes in this study. The most prevalent haplotypes found in dromedaries from this area appear to be ancestral to most other dromedaries and differ from each other by only one SNP. These results support the hypothesis that the Arabian Peninsula is a hub of diversification for dromedaries.

Aerobic metabolism in plants results in the production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), a significant and comparatively stable non-radical reactive oxygen species (ROS). H 2 O 2 is a signaling molecule that regulates particular physiological and biological processes (the cell cycle, photosynthesis, plant growth and development, and plant responses to environmental challenges) at low concentrations. Plants may experience oxidative stress and ultimately die from cell death if excess H 2 O 2 builds up. Triticum dicoccoides , Triticum urartu, and Triticum spelta are different ancient wheat species that present different interesting characteristics, and their importance is becoming more and more clear. In fact, due to their interesting nutritive health, flavor, and nutritional values, as well as their resistance to different parasites, the cultivation of these species is increasingly important. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms of plant tolerance to different biotic and abiotic stresses by studying different stress-induced gene families such as catalases (CAT), which are important H 2 O 2 -metabolizing enzymes found in plants. Here, we identified seven CAT -encoding genes ( TdCATs ) in Triticum dicoccoides , four genes in Triticum urartu ( TuCATs ), and eight genes in Triticum spelta ( TsCATs ). The accuracy of the newly identified wheat CAT gene members in different wheat genomes is confirmed by the gene structures, phylogenetic relationships, protein domains, and subcellular location analyses discussed in this article. In fact, our analysis showed that the identified genes harbor the following two conserved domains: a catalase domain (pfam00199) and a catalase-related domain (pfam06628). Phylogenetic analyses showed that the identified wheat CAT proteins were present in an analogous form in durum wheat and bread wheat. Moreover, the identified CAT proteins were located essentially in the peroxisome, as revealed by in silico analyses. Interestingly, analyses of CAT promoters in those species revealed the presence of different cis elements related to plant development, maturation, and plant responses to different environmental stresses. According to RT-qPCR, Triticum CAT genes showed distinctive expression designs in the studied organs and in response to different treatments (salt, heat, cold, mannitol, and ABA). This study completed a thorough analysis of the CAT genes in Triticeae , which advances our knowledge of CAT genes and establishes a framework for further functional analyses of the wheat gene family.

In the face of rising antibiotic resistance and the need for novel therapeutic approaches against cancer, the present study delves into the various facets of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) derived from the probiotic strain Lactobacillus casei (AgNPs-LC), assessing their efficacy in combating bacterial infections, disrupting biofilm formation, interfering with quorum sensing mechanisms, and exhibiting anti-cancer properties. The results showed that the AgNPs-LC had a spherical shape with an average size of 15 nm. The biosynthesized AgNPs-LC showed a symmetrical absorption spectrum with a peak at 458 nm with a diameter of 5-20 nm. AgNPs-LC exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and inhibited the biofilm formation (> 50% at sub-MIC) and quorum sensing-mediated virulence factors, such as the production of violacein in C. violaceum (> 80% at sub-MIC), pyocyanin in P. aeruginosa (> 70% at sub-MIC), and prodigiosin in S. marcescens (> 80% at sub-MIC). The exopolysaccharides (EPS) were also found to reduce in the presence of AgNPs-LC. Furthermore, the AgNPs-LC showed anti-cancer and anti-metastasis activity via inhibiting cell migration and invasion of human lung cancer (A-549) cells. Overall, the present study brings out the multifaceted therapeutic capabilities of AgNPs-LC which offer exciting prospects for the development of innovative biomedical and pharmaceutical interventions, making AgNPs-LC a versatile and promising candidate for a wide range of applications in healthcare and medicine. However, further research is essential to fully harness their therapeutic potential., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Candidiasis, caused by opportunistic fungal pathogens of the Candida genus, poses a significant threat to immunocompromised individuals. Natural compounds derived from medicinal plants have gained attention as potential sources of anti-fungal agents. Ajwa dates ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) have been recognized for their diverse phytochemical composition and therapeutic potential. In this study, we employed a multi-faceted approach to explore the anti-candidiasis potential of Ajwa dates' phytochemicals. Utilizing network pharmacology, we constructed an interaction network to elucidate the intricate relationships between Ajwa dates phytoconstituents and the Candida -associated molecular targets of humans. Our analysis revealed key nodes in the network (STAT3, IL-2, PTPRC, STAT1, CASP1, ALB, TP53, TLR4, TNF and PPARG), suggesting the potential modulation of several crucial processes (the regulation of the response to a cytokine stimulus, regulation of the inflammatory response, positive regulation of cytokine production, cellular response to external stimulus, etc.) and fungal pathways (Th17 cell differentiation, the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, the C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway and necroptosis). To validate these findings, molecular docking studies were conducted, revealing the binding affinities of the phytochemicals towards selected Candida protein targets of humans (ALB-rutin (-9.7 kJ/mol), STAT1-rutin (-9.2 kJ/mol), STAT3-isoquercetin (-8.7 kJ/mol), IL2-β-carotene (-8.5 kJ/mol), CASP1-β-carotene (-8.2 kJ/mol), TP53-isoquercetin (-8.8 kJ/mol), PPARG-luteolin (-8.3 kJ/mol), TNF-βcarotene (-7.7 kJ/mol), TLR4-rutin (-7.4 kJ/mol) and PTPRC-rutin (-7.0 kJ/mol)). Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations of rutin-ALB and rutin-STAT1 complex were performed to gain insights into the stability and dynamics of the identified ligand-target complexes over time. Overall, the results not only contribute to the understanding of the molecular interactions underlying the anti-fungal potential of specific phytochemicals of Ajwa dates in humans but also provide a rational basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies against candidiasis in humans. This study underscores the significance of network pharmacology, molecular docking and dynamics simulations in accelerating the discovery of natural products as effective anti-fungal agents. However, further experimental validation of the identified compounds is warranted to translate these findings into practical therapeutic applications.

Antimicrobial resistance by pathogenic bacteria has become a global risk to human health in recent years. The most promising approach to combating antimicrobial resistance is to target virulent traits of bacteria. In the present study, a biosurfactant derived from the probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus was tested against three Gram-negative bacteria to evaluate its inhibitory potential on their biofilms, and whether it affected the virulence factors controlled by quorum sensing (QS). A reduction in the virulence factors of Chromobacterium violaceum (violacein production), Serratia marcescens (prodigiosin production) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pyocyanin, total protease, LasB elastase and LasA protease production) was observed at different sub-MIC concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. Biofilm development was reduced by 65.76%, 70.64% and 58.12% at the highest sub-MIC levels for C. violaceum, P. aeruginosa and S. marcescens, respectively. Biofilm formation on glass surfaces exhibited significant reduction, with less bacterial aggregation and reduced formation of extracellular polymeric materials. Additionally, swimming motility and exopolysaccharides (EPS) production were shown to be reduced in the presence of the L. acidophilus-derived biosurfactant. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis performed on compounds identified through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of QS and biofilm proteins yielded further insights into the mechanism underlying the anti-QS activity. Therefore, the present study has clearly demonstrated that a biosurfactant derived from L. acidophilus can significantly inhibit virulence factors of Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. This could provide an effective method to inhibit the formation of biofilms and QS in Gram-negative bacteria.

Acute leukemia (AL) is a critical neoplasm of white blood cells with two main subtypes: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study is focused on understanding the association of the preleukemic disease aplastic anemia (APA) with ALL and AML at metallomic level, using healthy subjects as a control. In this study, a validated and efficient inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry/MS-based workflow was employed to profile a total of 13 metallomic features. The study encompassed 41 patients with AML, 62 patients with ALL, 46 patients with APA, and 55 age-matched healthy controls. The metallomic features consisted of eight essential elements (Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se, and Zn) and five non-essential/toxic elements (Ag, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb). Six out of the 13 elements were found to be substantially different (P < .05) using absolute concentrations between serum samples of AL (ALL and AML) and preleukemia (APA) patients in comparison with healthy subjects. Elements including magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, and zinc were upregulated and only one element (chromium) was downregulated in serum samples of disease when compared with healthy subjects. Through the utilization of both univariate tests and multivariate classification modeling, it was determined that chromium exhibited a progressive behavior among the studied elements. Specifically, chromium displayed a sequential upregulation from healthy individuals to preleukemic disease (APA), and ultimately in patients diagnosed with ALL. Overall, metallomic-based biomarkers may have the utility to predict the association of APA with ALL., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Globally, obesity is a severe health issue. A more precise and practical approach is required to enhance clinical care and drug development. The FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated) gene variant rs1421085 is strongly associated with an increased susceptibility to obesity in numerous populations; however, the precise mechanism behind this association concerning metabolomics is still not understood. This study aims to examine the association between metabolites and obesity-related anthropometric traits based on the variant FTO rs1421085. This study was based on a case-control design involving a total of 542 participants including overweight/obese cases and healthy controls. The blood samples were collected from all the participants. The isolated serum samples were subjected to untargeted metabolomics using GC-MS. The isolated DNA samples were genotyped for the FTO rs1421085 variant. Initially, a total of 42 metabolites were identified on GC-MS, which were subjected to further association analyses. The study observed a significant association of two metabolites, glycerol and 2,3-dihydroxypropyl stearate with FTO gene variant rs1421085 and obesity-related anthropometric traits including % BF, WHtR, WC, and HC. The CT genotype of FTO rs1421085 may greatly increase the risk of overweight/obesity by changing the lipid metabolism-related metabolites. Therefore, this study highlights the significance of biochemical networks in the progression of obesity in carriers of the FTO rs1421085 risk genotype.

Honey is the most recognized natural food by-product derived from flower nectar and the upper aero-digestive tract of the honeybees. Significance of honey for its medicinal importance are well-documented in the world's oldest medical literatures. However, the current urbanization, environmental contaminations and changes in agricultural, as well as apiculture practices has led to various types of contaminations in honey. Among all, pesticide contamination has become one of the major issues worldwide. This review focuses on the recent updates concerning pesticides occurrence in honey, as well as how the repeated use and long-term exposure to honey contaminated with pesticide residues could affect the human physiological functions, possibly leading to the development of various cancers. Our findings suggests that uncontrolled use of pesticides in farming and apiculture practices leads to the occurrence of pesticides residues in honey. Therefore, regular consumption of such honey will pose a serious threat to human health, since most of the pesticides has been reported as potential carcinogens. This review will draw the attention of honey consumers, scientific communities, apiculture farmers, as well as governing bodies to strictly monitor the pesticide usage in floriculture, agriculture as well as other related practices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Hyperphosphorylation of tau is an important event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, leading to the generation of "neurofibrillary tangles," a histopathological hallmark associated with the onset of AD and related tauopathies. Microtubule-affinity regulating kinase 4 (MARK4) is an evolutionarily conserved Ser-Thr (S/T) kinase that phosphorylates tau and microtubule-associated proteins, thus playing a critical role in AD pathology. The uncontrolled neuronal migration is attributed to overexpressed MARK4, leading to disruption in microtubule dynamics. Inhibiting MARK4 is an attractive strategy in AD therapeutics. Methods: Molecular docking was performed to see the interactions between MARK4 and galantamine (GLT). Furthermore, 250 ns molecular dynamic studies were performed to investigate the stability and conformational dynamics of the MARK4-GLT complex. We performed fluorescence binding and isothermal titration calorimetry studies to measure the binding affinity between GLT and MARK4. Finally, an enzyme inhibition assay was performed to measure the MARK4 activity in the presence and absence of GLT. Results: We showed that GLT, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, binds to the active site cavity of MARK4 with an appreciable binding affinity. Molecular dynamic simulation for 250 ns demonstrated the stability and conformational dynamics of the MARK4-GLT complex. Fluorescence binding and isothermal titration calorimetry studies suggested a strong binding affinity. We further show that GLT inhibits the kinase activity of MARK4 significantly (IC 50 = 5.87 µM). Conclusion: These results suggest that GLT is a potential inhibitor of MARK4 and could be a promising therapeutic target for AD. GLT's inhibition of MARK4 provides newer insights into the mechanism of GLT's action, which is already used to improve cognition in AD patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The authors declare that they were editorial board members of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2023 Adnan, DasGupta, Anwar, Shamsi, Siddiqui, Snoussi, Bardakci, Patel and Hassan.)

The emergence of antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to humankind, emphasizing the need for alternative antimicrobial agents. This study focuses on investigating the antibacterial, antibiofilm, and anti-quorum-sensing (anti-QS) activities of saponin-derived silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-S) obtained from Ajwa dates ( Phoenix dactylifera L.). The design and synthesis of these novel nanoparticles were explored in the context of developing alternative strategies to combat bacterial infections. The Ajwa date saponin extract was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent to synthesize AgNPs-S, which was characterized using various analytical techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biosynthesized AgNPs-S exhibited potent antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria due to their capability to disrupt bacterial cell membranes and the leakage of nucleic acid and protein contents. The AgNPs-S effectively inhibited biofilm formation and quorum-sensing (QS) activity by interfering with QS signaling molecules, which play a pivotal role in bacterial virulence and pathogenicity. Furthermore, the AgNPs-S demonstrated significant antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals and cytotoxicity against small lung cancer cells (A549 cells). Overall, the findings of the present study provide valuable insights into the potential use of these nanoparticles as alternative therapeutic agents for the design and development of novel antibiotics. Further investigations are warranted to elucidate the possible mechanism involved and safety concerns when it is used in vivo, paving the way for future therapeutic applications in combating bacterial infections and overcoming antibiotic resistance.

The present study aimed to molecularly identify and characterize the hard ticks infesting camels from the northern region (Ha'il province) of Saudi Arabia using the mitochondrial barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I ( COI ). The sequences of tick samples from camels in three regions of Ha'il were aligned with those previously reported from different geographic regions, revealing nine haplotypes, of which six were newly described in this study for the first time. These haplotypes were used to determine their phylogenetic relationships using the maximum likelihood method, displaying two distinct clades corresponding to Hyalomma dromedarii and H. impeltatum . Moreover, the haplotypes showing the highest homology with those deposited in NCBI-GenBank from different geographic regions, including Saudi Arabia, were obtained and combined to determine their phylogenetic relationships among them. The results showed that the haplotypes belonging to two clades were grouped with those previously determined as H. dromedarii and H. impeltatum . Moreover, the presence of H. scupense (syn. H. detritum ) together with H. impeltatum suggests possible asymmetrical hybridization and mitochondrial introgression between these species. H. scupense infesting different mammal species apart from camels were also clustered in a different clade, indicating the presence of different lineages of this species that show different host specificities.

Ischemic stroke is the major cause of death and morbidity worldwide. Stem cell treatment is at the forefront of ischemic therapeutic interventions. However, the fate of these cells following transplantation is mostly unknown. The current study examines the influence of oxidative and inflammatory pathological events associated with experimental ischemic stroke (oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD)) on the stem cell population (human Dental Pulp Stem Cells, and human Mesenchymal Stem Cells) through the involvement of the NLRP3 inflammasome. We explored the destiny of the above-mentioned stem cells in the stressed micro (-environment) and the ability of MCC950 to reverse the magnitudes. An enhanced expression of NLRP3, ASC, cleaved caspase1, active IL-1β and active IL-18 in OGD-treated DPSC and MSC was observed. The MCC950 significantly reduced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the aforementioned cells. Further, in OGD groups, oxidative stress markers were shown to be alleviated in the stem cells under stress, which was effectively relieved by MCC950 supplementation. Interestingly, whereas OGD increased NLRP3 expression, it decreased SIRT3 levels, implying that these two processes are intertwined. In brief, we discovered that MCC950 inhibits NLRP3-mediated inflammation by inhibiting the NLRP3 inflammasome and increasing SIRT3. To conclude, according to our findings, inhibiting NLRP3 activation while enhancing SIRT3 levels with MCC950 reduces oxidative and inflammatory stress in stem cells under OGD-induced stress. These findings shed light on the causes of hDPSC and hMSC demise following transplantation and point to strategies to lessen therapeutic cell loss under ischemic-reperfusion stress., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The glutamate-gated ion channels known as N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are important for both normal and pathological brain function. Subunit-selective antagonists have high therapeutic promise since many pathological conditions involve NMDAR over activation, although few clinical successes have been reported. Allosteric inhibitors of GluN2B-containing receptors are among the most potential NMDAR targeting drugs. Since the discovery of ifenprodil, a variety of GluN2B-selective compounds have been discovered, each with remarkably unique structural motifs. These results expand the allosteric and pharmacolog-ical spectrum of NMDARs and provide a new structural basis for the development of next-generation GluN2B antagonists that have therapeutic potential in brain diseases. Small molecule therapeutic inhibitors targeting NMDA have recently been developed to target CNS disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. In the current study, a cheminformatics method was used to discover potential antagonists and to identify the structural requirements for Gly/NMDA antagonism. In this case we have created a useful pharmacophore model with solid statistical values. Through pharmacophore mapping, the verified model was used to filter out virtual matches from the ZINC database. Assessing receptor-ligand binding mechanisms and affinities used molecular docking. To find the best hits, the GlideScore and the interaction of molecules with important amino acids were considered essential features. We found some molecular inhibitors, namely, ZINC13729211, ZINC07430424, ZINC08614951, ZINC60927204, ZINC12447511, and ZINC18889258 with high binding affinity using computational methods. The molecules in our studies showed characteristics such as good stability, hydrogen bonding and higher binding affinities in the solvation-based assessment method than ifenprodil with acceptable ADMET profile. Moreover, these six leads have been proposed as potential new perspectives for exploring potent Gly/NMDA receptor antagonists. In addition, it can be tested in the laboratory for potential therapeutic strategies for both in vitro and in vivo research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Siddiqui, Badraoui, Jahan, Alshahrani, Siddiqui, Khan and Adnan.)

Purpose: Antibiotic resistance development in pathogenic bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae seriously threatens humankind. Therefore, it is important to understand the interaction of bacteria with antibiotic agents and how it acquires resistance at the molecular level. The current study describes metabolomics analysis of K. pneumoniae sensitive strains and its gentamicin-tolerant (resistant) strains., Methods: K. pneumoniae strains were treated at five different concentrations of gentamicin, increasing from a low dose (16.2 µg/mL) to the highest dose (250 µg/mL) at three incubation time periods (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h). Colonies obtained at various concentrations and time intervals were subjected to metabolomic analysis using GC-MS., Results: A drastic change was observed in the morphology of K. pneumoniae colonies with the increasing gentamicin concentration. Moreover, K. pneumoniae strains grown at the highest concentration (250 µg/mL) were found tolerant to 1 mg/mL gentamicin (4-folds) and considered resistant strains. A total of 459 metabolites were identified. A sequential down/up-regulation in 4, 3, and 4 metabolites were observed in association with the increasing gentamicin concentration at 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h, respectively. While with the comparative analysis of resistant and sensitive strains, a total of seven down- and sixteen up-regulated metabolites were observed. The concentration of some fatty acids and sugars have been found to increase while, a few metabolites like inosine, tyrosine, 1-propionylproline, and 2-hydroxyacetic acid have been found down-regulated in resistant samples., Conclusion: These regulator metabolites might be associated with resistance development in K. pneumoniae against gentamicin and might be helpful in the rapid detection of gentamicin-resistant clinical strains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, bacterial pathogens have developed resistance to antimicrobial agents that have created a global threat to human health and environment. As a novel approach to combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), targeting bacteria's virulent traits that can be explained by quorum sensing (QS) is considered to be one of the most promising approaches. In the present study, biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles derived from Lactobacillus rhamnosus (AgNPs-LR) were tested against three Gram-negative bacteria to determine whether they inhibited the formation of biofilms and triggered the virulence factors controlled by QS. In C. violaceum and S. marcescens , a remarkable inhibition (>70%) of QS-mediated violacein and prodigiosin production was recorded, respectively. A dose-dependent decrease in virulence factors of P. aeruginosa (pyocyanin, pyoverdine, LasA protease, LasB elastase and rhamnolipid production) was also observed with AgNPs-LR. The biofilm development was reduced by 72.56%, 61.70%, and 64.66% at highest sub-MIC for C. violaceum , S. marcescens and P. aeruginosa , respectively. Observations on glass surfaces have shown remarkable reductions in biofilm formation, with less aggregation of bacteria and a reduced amount of extra polymeric materials being formed from the bacteria. Moreover, swimming motility and exopolysaccharides (EPS) was also found to reduce in the presence of AgNPs-LR. Therefore, these results clearly demonstrate that AgNPs-LR is highly effective in inhibiting the development of biofilms and the QS-mediated virulent traits of Gram-negative bacteria. In the future, AgNPs-LR may be used as an alternative to conventional antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infections after careful evaluation in animal models, especially for the development of topical antimicrobial agents.

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a disease process that affects several vital organs. There is widespread agreement that the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway plays a crucial role in the development of I/R injury. We have developed transferrin-conjugated, pH-responsive nanomicelles for the entrapment of MCC950 drug. These nanomicelles specifically bind to the transferrin receptor 1 (TFR1) expressed on the cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and thus help the cargo to cross the BBB. Furthermore, the therapeutic potential of nanomicelles was assessed using in vitro, in ovo , and in vivo models of I/R injury. Nanomicelles were injected into the common carotid artery (CCA) of a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model to achieve maximum accretion of nanomicelles into the brain as blood flows toward the brain in the CCA. The current study reveals that the treatment with nanomicelles significantly alleviates the levels of NLRP3 inflammasome biomarkers which were found to be increased in oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD)-treated SH-SY5Y cells, the I/R-damaged right vitelline artery (RVA) of chick embryos, and the MCAO rat model. The supplementation with nanomicelles significantly enhanced the overall survival of MCAO rats. Overall, nanomicelles exerted therapeutic effects against I/R injury, which might be due to the suppression of the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) play a direct role in the development of a neurological disorder, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). Since ELOVL1 catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the synthesis of VLCFAs, it has emerged as an attractive target for the treatment of X-ALD. Recently two potent inhibitors, compound 22 (C22) and compound 27 (C27) have been reported to specifically inhibit human ELOVL1 but their structural basis of inhibition has not been explored. In the present study, we have used a homology model of human ELOVL1 to deduce the binding site and binding modes of C22 and C27. We have employed computational approaches to characterize the binding of C22 and C27. Initially, binding of hexacosanoyl-CoA (C26:0-CoA) to ELOVL1 was modelled and further validated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. We observed that the fatty acid tail of C26: CoA protrudes from a unique opening located at the occluded end of ELOVL1. Structural comparison of ELOVL1 with the crystal structure of ELOVL7 revealed that the unique opening was not present in human ELOVL7. Combined blind and focused molecular docking approaches revealed that C22 and C27 exhibit favourable binding in the same unique opening. Further, MD simulations and free binding energy calculations confirmed that C22 and C27 maintain the favourable binding in the unique opening of ELOVL1. Overall, our findings suggest that selective human ELOVL1 inhibitors block the binding of long tails of VLCFAs near the occluded end of ELOVL1. Present study will be helpful in the discovery and design of novel, selective and potent inhibitors of human ELOVL1., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Malaria and schistosomiasis are two major parasitic diseases that remain leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Co-infections of these two parasites are common in the tropics, where both diseases are endemic. The clinical consequences of schistosomiasis and malaria are determined by a variety of host, parasitic, and environmental variables. Chronic schistosomiasis causes malnutrition and cognitive impairments in children, while malaria can cause fatal acute infections. There are effective drugs available to treat malaria and schistosomiasis. However, the occurrence of allelic polymorphisms and the rapid selection of parasites with genetic mutations can confer reduced susceptibility and lead to the emergence of drug resistance. Moreover, the successful elimination and complete management of these parasites are difficult due to the lack of effective vaccines against Plasmodium and Schistosoma infections. Therefore, it is important to highlight all current vaccine candidates undergoing clinical trials, such as pre-erythrocytic and erythrocytic stage malaria, as well as a next-generation RTS,S-like vaccine, the R21/Matrix-M vaccine, that conferred 77% protection against clinical malaria in a Phase 2b trial. Moreover, this review also discusses the progress and development of schistosomiasis vaccines. Furthermore, significant information is provided through this review on the effectiveness and progress of schistosomiasis vaccines currently under clinical trials, such as Sh28GST, Sm-14, and Sm-p80. Overall, this review provides insights into recent progress in malarial and schistosomiasis vaccines and their developmental approaches.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Metalloproteins have been linked to human health and diseases. The molecular functions of metalloproteins in IHD is not well understood and require further exploration. The objective of this study was to find out the role of metalloproteins in the pericardial fluid of IHD patients having normal (EF > 45) and impaired (EF < 45) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). IHD patients were grouped into two categories: LVEF<45 (n = 12) and LVEF >45 (n = 33). Pooled samples of pericardial fluid were fractionated by using ZOOM-isoelectric focusing (IEF) followed by further processing using one-dimensional gel electrophoresis (1D SDS-PAGE) and filter-aided sample preparation (FASP). Tryptic peptides of each fraction and differential bands were then analyzed by nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS. Protein identification was performed through a Mascot search engine using NCBI-Prot and SwissProt databases. A total of 1082 proteins including 154 metalloproteins were identified. In the differential bands, 60 metalloproteins were identified, while 115 metalloproteins were identified in all ZOOM-IEF fractions. Twelve differentially expressed metalloproteins were selected in the intense bands according to their molecular weight (MW) and isoelectric point (pI). The 12 differentially expressed metalloprotein includes ceruloplasmin, Prothrombin, Vitamin K-dependent protein, Fibulin-1, Ribosomal protein S6 kinase alpha-6, nidogen, partial, Serum albumin, Hemopexin, C-reactive protein, Serum amyloid P-component, and Intelectin-1 protein which were all up-regulated while serotransferrin is the only metalloprotein that was down-regulated in impaired (LVEF<45) group. Among the metalloproteins, Zn-binding proteins are 36.5 % followed by Ca-binging 32.2 %, and Fe-binging 12.2 %. KEGG, pathway analysis revealed the association of ceruloplasmin and serotransferrin with the ferroptosis pathway. In conclusion, 154 metalloproteins were identified of them the Zn-binding protein followed by Ca-binding and Fe-binding proteins were the most abundant metalloproteins. The two metalloproteins, the Cu-binding protein ceruloplasmin, and Fe-binding protein serotransferrin are involved in the ferroptosis pathway, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death that has been linked to cardiac pathology, especially in IHD patients having impaired systolic (LVEF<45) dysfunction. However, further research is required to validate these findings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in bio-based degradable plastics as an alternative to synthetic plastic. Polyhyroxybutyrate (PHB) is a macromolecule produced by bacteria as a part of their metabolism. Bacteria accumulate them as reserve materials when growing under different stress conditions. PHBs can be selected as alternatives for the production of biodegradable plastics because of their fast degradation properties when exposed to natural environmental conditions. Hence, the present study was undertaken in order to isolate the potential PHB-producing bacteria isolated from the municipal solid waste landfill site soil samples collected from the Ha'il region of Saudi Arabia to assess the production of PHB using agro-residues as a carbon source and to evaluate the growth of PHB production. In order to screen the isolates for producing PHB, a dye-based procedure was initially employed. Based on the 16S rRNA analysis of the isolates, Bacillus flexus ( B. flexus ) accumulated the highest amount of PHB of all the isolates. By using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer and Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR), in which a sharp absorption band at 1721.93 cm -1 (C=O stretching of ester), 1273.23 cm -1 (-CH group), multiple bands between 1000 and 1300 cm -1 (stretching of the C-O bond), 2939.53 cm -1 (-CH 3 stretching), 2880.39 cm -1 (-CH 2 stretching) and 3510.02 cm -1 (terminal -OH group), the extracted polymer was characterized and confirmed its structure as PHB. The highest PHB production by B. flexus was obtained after 48 h of incubation (3.9 g/L) at pH 7.0 (3.7 g/L), 35 °C (3.5 g/L) with glucose (4.1 g/L) and peptone (3.4 g/L) as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. As a result of the use of various cheap agricultural wastes, such as rice bran, barley bran, wheat bran, orange peel and banana peel as carbon sources, the strain was found to be capable of accumulating PHB. Using response surface methodology (RSM) for optimization of PHB synthesis using a Box-Behnken design (BBD) proved to be highly effective in increasing the polymer yield of the synthesis. With the optimum conditions obtained from RSM, PHB content can be increased by approximately 1.3-fold when compared to an unoptimized medium, resulting in a significant reduction in production costs. Thus, isolate B. flexus is a highly promising candidate for the production of industrial-size quantities of PHB from agricultural wastes and is capable of removing the environmental concerns associated with synthetic plastics from the industrial production process. Moreover, the successful production of bioplastics using a microbial culture provides a promising avenue for the large-scale production of biodegradable and renewable plastics with potential applications in various industries, including packaging, agriculture and medicine.

Fatty acids play an important role in controlling the energy balance of mammals. De novo lipogenesis also generates a significant amount of lipids that are endogenously produced in addition to their ingestion. Fatty acid elongation beyond 16 carbons (palmitic acid), which can lead to the production of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA), can be caused by the rate-limiting condensation process. Seven elongases, ELOVL1-7, have been identified in mammals and each has a unique substrate specificity. Researchers have recently developed a keen interest in the elongation of very long chain fatty acids protein 1 (ELOVL1) enzyme as a potential treatment for a variety of diseases. A number of neurological disorders directly or indirectly related to ELOVL1 involve the elongation of monounsaturated (C20:1 and C22:1) and saturated (C18:0-C26:0) acyl-CoAs. VLCFAs and ELOVL1 have a direct impact on the neurological disease. Other neurological symptoms such as ichthyotic keratoderma, spasticity, and hypomyelination have also been linked to the major enzyme (ELOVL1). Recently, ELOVL1 has also been heavily used to treat a number of diseases. The current review focuses on in-depth unique insights regarding the role of ELOVL1 as a therapeutic target and associated neurological disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

The current study presents the results of an experiment carried to assess the impact of azithromycin, a COVID-19 drug, probably accumulated in marine sediments for three years, since the start of the pandemic, on benthic marine nematodes. It was explored the extent to which a common macrophyte from the Mediterranean Sea influenced the toxic impact of azithromycin on meiobenthic nematodes. Metals are known to influence toxicity of azithromycin. The nematofauna from a metallically pristine site situated in Bizerte bay, Tunisia, was exposed to two concentrations of azithromycin [i.e. 5 and 10 μg l -1 ]. In addition, two masses of the common macrophyte Posidonia oceanica [10 and 20% Dry Weight (DW)] were considered and associated with azithromycin into four possible combinations. The abundance and the taxonomic diversity of the nematode communities decreased significantly following the exposure to azithromycin, which was confirmed by the toxicokinetic data and behaving as substrate for P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The toxicity of 5 μg l -1 dosage of azithromycin was partially reduced at 10% DW of Posidonia and completely at 20% DW. The results showed that 5 μg l -1 of azithromycin can be reduced by the macrophyte P. oceanica when present in the environment at low masses as 10% DW., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The proteinaceous compounds produced by lactic acid bacteria are called bacteriocins and have a wide variety of bioactive properties. However, bacteriocin's commercial availability is limited due to short stability periods and low yields. Therefore, the objective of this study was to synthesize bacteriocin-derived silver nanoparticles (Bac10307-AgNPs) extracted from Lactobacillus acidophilus ( L. acidophilus ), which may have the potential to increase the bioactivity of bacteriocins and overcome the hurdles. It was found that extracted and purified Bac10307 had a broad range of stability for both temperature (20-100 °C) and pH (3-12). Further, based on Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis, its molecular weight was estimated to be 4.2 kDa. The synthesized Bac10307-AgNPs showed a peak of surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm λmax. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the presence of biological moieties, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) coupled with Energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) confirmed that AgNPs were spherical and irregularly shaped, with a size range of 9-20 nm. As a result, the Bac10307-AgNPs displayed very strong antibacterial activity with MIC values as low as 8 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ), when compared to Bac10307 alone. In addition, Bac10307-AgNPs demonstrated promising in vitro antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (IC 50 = 116.04 μg/mL) and in vitro cytotoxicity against human liver cancer cells (HepG2) (IC 50 = 135.63 μg/mL), more than Bac10307 alone (IC 50 = 139.82 μg/mL against DPPH and 158.20 μg/mL against HepG2). Furthermore, a protein-protein molecular docking simulation study of bacteriocins with target proteins of different biological functions was also carried out in order to ascertain the interactions between bacteriocins and target proteins.

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection which got worsens with time if not diagnosed and treated. The current COVID-19 pandemic has association with fungal infection specifically with mucormycosis. Already immunocompromised patients are easy target for COVID-19 and mucormycosis as well. COVID-19 infection imparts in weak immune system so chances of infection is comparatively high in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, diabetes, corticosteroid medicines, and a weakened immune system are the most prevalent risk factors for this infection as we discussed in case studies here. The steroid therapy for COVID-19 patients sometimes have negative impact on the patient health and this state encounters many infections including mucormycosis. There are treatments available but less promising and less effective. So, researchers are focusing on the promising agents against mucormycosis. It is reported that early treatment with liposomal amphotericin B (AmB), manogepix, echinocandins isavuconazole, posacanazole and other promising therapeutic agents have overcome the burden of mucormycosis. Lipid formulations of AmB have become the standard treatment for mucormycosis due to their greater safety and efficacy. In this review article, we have discussed case studies with the infection of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we focused on anti-mucormycosis agents with mechanism of action of various therapeutics, including coverage of new antifungal agents being investigated as part of the urgent global response to control and combat this lethal infection, especially those with established risk factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been shown to be extremely important in numerous signaling pathways, particularly those involved in cancer progression. Many therapeutic inhibitors, consisting of both small molecules and monoclonal antibodies, have been developed to target inflammatory, triple-negative and metastatic breast cancer. With the emergence of resistance in breast cancer treatment strategies, there is a need to develop novel drug targets that not only overcome resistance, but also exhibit low toxicity and high specificity. The work presented here focuses on the identification of new inhibitors against the EGFR protein using combined computational approaches. Using a comprehensive machine learning-based virtual screening approach complemented by other computational approaches, we identified six new molecules from the ZINC database. The gold docking score of these six novel molecules is 125.95, 125.38, 123.13, 119.71, 115.64 and 113.73, respectively, while the gold score of the control group is 120.74. In addition, we also analyzed the FEC value of these compounds and found that the values of compounds 1, 2, 3 and 4 (-61.82, -63.98, -67.98 and -63.32, respectively) were higher are than those of the control group (-61.05). Furthermore, these molecules showed highly stable RMSD plots and good interaction of hydrogen bonds. The identified inhibitors provided interesting insights for understanding the electronic, hydrophobic, steric and structural requirements for EGFR inhibitory activity. Distinguishing these novel molecules could lead to the development of new drugs useful in treating breast cancer.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Microtubule-affinity regulating kinase 4 (MARK4) is linked with the development of cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. Due to its direct role in the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, MARK4 is considered as an attractive target to fight Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuroinflammation. In the present study, we have selected Harmaline (HAR), an alkaloid of Paganum harmala, to investigate its MARK4 inhibitory potential and its binding mechanism. Molecular docking and fluorescence binding studies were carried out to estimate the binding affinity of the HAR with the MARK4. We observed an excellent binding affinity of HAR to the MARK4 (K = 10 7  M -1 ), further complemented by isothermal titration calorimetric measurements. In addition, HAR significantly inhibits the kinase activity of MARK4 (IC 50 value of 4.46 μM). Structural investigations suggested that HAR binds to the active site pocket and forms several non-covalent interactions with biologically important residues of MARK4. All-atom molecular dynamics simulation studies further advocated that the MARK4-HAR complex is stabilized throughout the trajectory of 200 ns and causes a little conformational change. All these findings suggest that HAR is a potential MARK4 inhibitor that can be implicated in managing MARK4-associated diseases, including AD., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic for humans and marine fauna alike. The current study assessed the impact of PAHs on the migratory behaviour of meiobenthic nematodes collected from the Bizerte lagoon, Tunisia. The experiment lasted for 15 days and was carried in open microcosms, which comprised a lower, contaminated and an upper, uncontaminated compartment. Three treatments were used, for each of them an untreated control was set up: sediment contaminated with chrysene (116 ng g -1 dry weight (DW), with phenanthrene (116 ng g -1 DW) and a mixture of both. The results showed a significant decrease in diversty and abundance in the lower, contaminated compartments compared to the upper zones. The results also highlighted that under an increased stress some species progressively increased in number, these were considered PAH-tolerant species such as Odontophora villoti, some others had an occasionally increased in number were considered as opportunistic species, such as Paracomesoma dubium and the species that showed a progressive decreased in number, such as Metoncholaimus pristiurus and Steineria sp., Terschellingia. longicaudata, and Oncholaimellus sp. were classified as PAH-sensitive. Moreover, an increase in the activity of biochemical biomarkers was observed following the exposure of males and gravid females of T. longicaudata to 29, 58 and 87 ng g -1 DW of chrysene and phenanthrene paralleled by a higher vulnerability of the latter demographic category. Besides, a significant decrease in fertility of females and an increase in pharyngeal sucking power were observed for both types of PAHs considered. The sex ratio was also significantly imbalanced in the favor of males, which suggest that chrysene and phenanthrene affect also the hormone system of T. longicaudata. The high affinities of these PAHs and their molecular interactions with both germ line development protein 3 (GLD-3) and sex-determining protein (SDP) may justify these results and explain the toxicokinetic attributes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, the chemical composition of the volatile oil and methanolic extract from Ducrosia flabellifolia Boiss. was investigated. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of the methanolic extract from D. flabellifolia aerial parts were screened using experimental and computational approaches. Results have reported the identification of decanal (28.31%) and dodecanal (16.93%) as major compounds in the essential oil obtained through hydrodistillation. Farnesyl pyrophosphate, Methyl 7-desoxypurpurogallin-7-carboxylate trimethyl ether, Dihydro-Obliquin, Gummiferol, 2-Phenylaminoadenosine, and 2,4,6,8,10-dodecapentaenal, on the other hand, were the dominant compounds in the methanolic extract. Moreover, the tested extract was active against a large collection of bacteria and yeast strains with diameter of growth inhibition ranging from 6.67 ± 0.57 mm to 17.00 ± 1.73 mm, with bacteriostatic and fungicidal activities against almost all tested microorganisms. In addition, D. flabellifolia methanolic extract was dominated by phenolic compounds (33.85 ± 1.63 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of extract) and was able to trap DPPH• and ABTS•+ radicals with IC 50 about 0.05 ± 0 mg/mL and 0.105 ± 0 mg/mL, respectively. The highest percentages of anticancer activity were recorded at 500 µg/mL for all cancer cell lines with IC 50 about 240. 56 µg/mL (A-549), 202.94 µg/mL (HCT-116), and 154.44 µg/mL (MCF-7). The in-silico approach showed that D. flabellifolia identified compounds bound 1HD2, 2XCT, 2QZW, and 3LN1 with high affinities, which together with molecular interactions and the bond network satisfactorily explain the experimental results using antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer assays. The obtained results highlighted the ethnopharmacological properties of the rare desertic D. flabellifolia plant species growing wild in Hail region (Saudi Arabia).

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. The repercussions of conventional therapeutic approaches present a challenge in the delivery of new effective treatments. Thus, more attention is being awarded to natural products, mainly honey. Honey could be the basis for the development of new therapies for cancer patients. The aim of this study is to assess the phytochemical profiling, antioxidant, drug-likeness properties, and anticancer activity of Ziziphus honey (ZH) derived from the Hail region of Saudi Arabia. The phytochemical profiling using high resolution-liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HR-LCMS) revealed 10 compounds belonging to several familial classes and one tripeptide. Potential antioxidant activity was noted as assessed by DPPH (IC50 0.670 mg/mL), ABTS (IC50 3.554 mg/mL), and β-carotene (IC50 > 5 mg/mL). The ZH exerted a notable cytotoxic effect in a dose-dependent manner against three cancer cell lines: lung (A549), breast (MCF-7), and colon (HCT-116), with respective IC50 values of 5.203%, 6.02%, and 7.257%. The drug-likeness investigation unveiled that most of the identified compounds meet Lipinski’s rule. The molecular docking analysis revealed interesting antioxidant and anticancer activities for most targeted proteins and supported the in vitro findings. The Miraxanthin-III compound exhibited the most stabilized interaction. This study provides deeper insights on ZH as prominent source of bioactive compounds with potent antioxidant and anticancer effects.

Listeria monocytogenes ( L. monocytogenes ) is a serious food-borne pathogen that can cause listeriosis, an illness caused by eating food contaminated with this pathogen. Currently, the treatment or prevention of listeriosis is a global challenge due to the resistance of bacteria against multiple commonly used antibiotics, thus necessitating the development of novel green antimicrobials. Scientists are increasingly interested in microbial surfactants, commonly known as "biosurfactants", due to their antimicrobial properties and eco-friendly nature, which make them an ideal candidate to combat a variety of bacterial infections. Therefore, the present study was designed to use a network pharmacology approach to uncover the active biosurfactants and their potential targets, as well as the signaling pathway(s) involved in listeriosis treatment. In the framework of this study, 15 biosurfactants were screened out for subsequent studies. Among 546 putative targets of biosurfactants and 244 targets of disease, 37 targets were identified as potential targets for treatment of L. monocytogenes infection, and these 37 targets were significantly enriched in a Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, which aims to identify those biological processes, cellular locations, and molecular functions that are impacted in the condition studied. The obtained results revealed several important biological processes, such as positive regulation of MAP kinase activity, protein kinase B signaling, ERK1 and ERK2 cascade, ERBB signaling pathway, positive regulation of protein serine/threonine kinase activity, and regulation of caveolin-mediated endocytosis. Several important KEGG pathways, such as the ERBBB signaling pathway, TH17 cell differentiation, HIF-1 signaling pathway, Yersinia infection, Shigellosis, and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways, were identified. The protein-protein interaction analysis yielded 10 core targets (IL2, MAPK1, EGFR, PTPRC, TNF, ITGB1, IL1B, ERBB2, SRC, and mTOR). Molecular docking was used in the latter part of the study to verify the effectiveness of the active biosurfactants against the potential targets. Lastly, we found that a few highly active biosurfactants, namely lichenysin, iturin, surfactin, rhamnolipid, subtilisin, and polymyxin, had high binding affinities towards IL2, MAPK1, EGFR, PTPRC, TNF, ITGB1, IL1B, ERBB2, SRC, and mTOR, which may act as potential therapeutic targets for listeriosis. Overall, based on the integrated network pharmacology and docking analysis, we found that biosurfactants possess promising anti-listeriosis properties and explored the pharmacological mechanisms behind their effect, laying the groundwork for further research and development.

β-thalassemia is one of the most common monogenic disorders and a life-threatening health issue in children. A cost-effective and safe therapeutic approach to treat this disease is to reactivate the γ-globin gene for fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production that has been silenced during infancy. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the only FDA approved HbF inducer. However, its cytotoxicity and inability to respond significantly in all patients pose a need for an HbF inducer with better efficacy. The study describes the serum metabolic alteration in β-YAC transgenic mice treated with Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) ( n = 5), a newly identified HbF inducer, and compared to the mice groups treated with HU ( n = 5) and untreated control ( n = 5) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Various univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were performed to identify discriminant metabolites that altered the biological pathways encompassing galactose metabolism, lactose degradation, and inositol. Furthermore, the decreased concentrations of L-fucose and geraniol in TDF-treated mice help in recovering towards normal, decreasing oxidative stress even much better than the HU-treated mice. The proposed study suggested that TDF can reduce the deficiency of blood required for β-thalassemia and can be used for the preclinical study at phase I/II for fetal hemoglobin production.

Diabetes mellitus has become a serious problem associated with health complications, such as metabolism disorders and liver-kidney dysfunction. The inadequacies associated with conventional medicines have led to a determined search for alternative natural therapeutic agents. The present study was conducted to evaluate the hypoglycemic, antilipidemic, and antioxidant effects of EGCG in surviving diabetic mice. Alloxan diabetic mice were treated with EGCG. Their bloods were collected and submitted to various biochemical measurements, including blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, creatinine, and transaminases. Their livers and kidneys were isolated to assess oxidative damage and to perform histological analysis. Both EGCG and insulin treatment of diabetic mice resulted in a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose levels. EGCG supplementation also ameliorated hepatic as well as renal toxicity indices. Moreover, diabetic mice injected with EGCG exhibited significant changes in antioxidant enzyme activities in the liver and kidney. Histological analyses also showed that it exerted an ameliorative action on these organs and efficiently protected the liver-kidney functions of diabetic mice. EGCG was found to bind α-amylase, PTP1B, and α-glucosidase with good affinities ranging from -6.1 to -8.4 kcal/mol. The findings revealed that EGCG administration induced attractive curative effects on diabetic mice, particularly in terms of liver-kidney function. EGCG can, therefore, be considered as a potential strong candidate for future applications to treat and alleviate diabetic burden. Its pharmacokinetics, high affinities, and molecular interactions with the targeted receptors satisfactory explain the in vivo findings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Riadh Badraoui reports financial support was provided by University of Hail., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study reported the fabrication and characterization of gastric dressing, composed of gelatine (GEL), chitosan (CH), and pomegranate peel (PP) extract. The structural changes occurring after γ-irradiation of GEL−CH−PP dressing were reported. The results showed that the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy of un-irradiated GEL−CH−PP showed two paramagnetic centers, which corresponded to g = 2.19 and g = 2.002. After irradiation, a new active centre appeared at g = 2.0035 at 10 kGy. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses revealed an increase in peak intensity at C−H chains, as well as the C=O carboxyl groups at 10 kGy, due to the cross-linking phenomenon. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed a low change of crystallinity between the range of 2θ (15−30°). Moreover, γ-rays enhanced scavenging DPPH radical activity (51±%) and chelating power activities 79.12%. A significant inhibition of antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities (p < 0.01) was noticed. The hemolysis rates showed 0.42%, suggesting a high hemocompatibility, and exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in vitro (48%). In vivo, the healing effects of GEL−CH−PP dressing showed that the incidence and severity of gastric histopathological lesions decreased, compared with the ulcerated group, which could explain the bioavailability and the pharmacokinetic findings. The results highlight the loading of bioactive agents into polymer-based gastric dressings, with promising pharmacokinetics properties and effects on the induced ulcera in rabbits.