Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of substituted flavones and aurones as potential anti-influenza agents.

We designed a series of substituted flavones and aurones as non-competitive H1N1 neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors and anti-influenza agents. The molecular docking studies showed that the designed flavones and aurones occupied 150-cavity and 430-cavity of H1N1-NA. We then synthesized these compounds and evaluated these for cytotoxicity, reduction in H1N1 virus yield, H1N1-NA inhibition and kinetics of inhibition.

Structure-aided drug development of potential neuraminidase inhibitors against pandemic H1N1 exploring alternate binding mechanism.

The rate of mutability of pathogenic H1N1 influenza virus is a threat. The emergence of drug resistance to the current competitive inhibitors of neuraminidase, such as oseltamivir and zanamivir, attributes to a need for an alternative approach. The design and synthesis of new analogues with alternate approach are particularly important to identify the potential neuraminidase inhibitors which may not only have better anti-influenza activity but also can withstand challenge of resistance.

Genetic Characterization of Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic 2009 Virus Isolates from Mumbai.

Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus was first detected in India in May 2009 which subsequently became endemic in many parts of the country. Influenza A viruses have the ability to evade the immune response through its ability of antigenic variations. The study aims to characterize influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09 viruses circulating in Mumbai during the pandemic and post-pandemic period.

A Computational Model for Docking of Noncompetitive Neuraminidase Inhibitors and Probing their Binding Interactions with Neuraminidase of Influenza Virus H5N1.

Background: With cases of emergence of drug resistance to the current competitive inhibitors of neuraminidase (NA) such as oseltamivir and zanamavir, there is a present need for an alternative approach in the treatment of avian influenza. With this in view, some flavones and chalcones were designed based on quercetin, the most active naturally occurring noncompetitive inhibitor.

Objective: We attempt to understand the binding of quercetin to H5N1-NA, and synthetic analogs of quercetin namely flavones and its precursors the chalcones using computational tools.

Seroprevalence of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Antibodies in College Students in Mumbai, India.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) are vaccine preventable viral infections, which cause significant mortality and morbidity globally. Increased incidence rates of these infectious diseases are observed in young adults. Information on seroprevalence data on MMR in India is limited.

Novel evidence of microglial immune response in impairment of Dengue infection of CNS.

Dengue, the most rampant zoonotic viral disease in tropics, contributes to 14% of acute febrile illness cases globally. Encephalitis in primary Dengue fever, with/without haemorrhage has been reported occasionally. Our study presents novel evidence for this rarity at the molecular level.

Drug susceptibility of influenza A/H3N2 strains co-circulating during 2009 influenza pandemic: first report from Mumbai.

Objective: From its first instance in 1977, resistance to amantadine, a matrix (M2) inhibitor has been increasing among influenza A/H3N2, thus propelling the use of oseltamivir, a neuraminidase (NA) inhibitor as a next line drug. Information on drug susceptibility to amantadine and neuraminidase inhibitors for influenza A/H3N2 viruses in India is limited with no published data from Mumbai. This study aimed at examining the sensitivity to M2 and NA inhibitors of influenza A/H3N2 strains isolated from 2009 to 2011 in Mumbai.