Publications by authors named "Mona AlOnazi"

Despite their wide usage in reducing tumors and improving patients' survival, chemotherapeutic drugs or natural compounds are facing the development of cancer resistance. Many experimental data and clinical trials have shown that combinatorial treatment could be an efficient solution for some resistance problems. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the synergistic effects of combining prodigiosin (PG), a natural compound with known anticancer properties, with the commonly used chemotherapy drugs 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), oxaliplatin, and paclitaxel.

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Background: Osteoporosis is a chronic bone metabolic disease that affects millions of people worldwide, particularly the elderly and postmenopausal women. It is characterized by weakened bones, increasing the risk of fractures and leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The goal of the current study is to examine the reported osteo-preservative effects of exercise and/or fasting in the Ramadan fasting model (RFM) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates the link between autism spectrum disorder and gastrointestinal issues using rodent models, focusing on how increased gut permeability might relate to neurotoxic effects from propionic acid (PPA).
  • - Forty young male western Albino rats were divided into six groups to test the effects of PPA and different probiotic treatments, measuring factors like intestinal permeability markers (zonulin and occludin) and oxidative stress indicators.
  • - Results indicated that probiotics could improve gut barrier function, lower markers of intestinal permeability, enhance GABA receptor expression, and reduce oxidative stress associated with PPA, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits for addressing gut-related issues in autistic individuals.
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Enzymatic degumming utilizing phospholipase enzymes could be used in ecologically friendly procedures with enhanced oil recovery yields. In this study, two phospholipases A of group I and II, WaPLA-I and WaPLA-II, from the snake venom of Saudi were evaluated for soybean oil degumming after being immobilized on three different support materials (calcium alginate (CA), CA-gelatin (CAG), and CA-chitosan (CAC), and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde). Higher yields of CAC-immobilized PLA-I (85 ± 3%) and PLA-II (87 ± 3.

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An inherent genetic enzyme disorder in humans, known as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, arises due to specific mutations. While the prevailing approach for investigating G6PD variants involves biochemical analysis, the intricate structural details remain limited, impeding a comprehensive understanding of how different G6PD variants of varying classes impact their functionality. This study 22 examined the dynamic properties of G6PD wild types and six G6PD variants from 23 different classes using molecular dynamic simulation (MDS).

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A novel protease inhibitor isolated from date palm flowers (PIDF) was purified and characterized. A heat and acidic treatment step followed by ethanol precipitation and reverse-phase high-performance chromatography was applied to purify this natural protease inhibitor to homogeneity with a single band of about 19 kDa. The stability study depicted that PIDF was fully stable at 40 °C and retained 65% of its initial activity after heating at 50 °C for 24 h.

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Cadmium (Cd) is a harmful heavy metal that results in many toxic issues. showed potential pharmaceutical applications. This study investigated the possible ameliorative mechanism of leaves extract (UPLE) against hepatotoxicity induced by cadmium chloride (CdCl) in mice.

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Oxidative stress along with dysfunction in cholinergic neurotransmission primarily underlies cognitive impairment. A significant approach to mitigate cognitive dysfunction involves the inhibition of cholinesterases, namely acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE). Exploring the potential antioxidant and anticholinesterase effects of edible plants holds promise for their utilization as botanicals to enhance cognition.

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Secreted phospholipases A are snake-venom proteins with many biological activities, notably anti-tumor activity. Phospholipases from the same snake type but different geographical locations have shown similar biochemical and biological activities with minor differences in protein sequences. Thus, the discovery of a new phospholipase A with unique characteristics identified in a previously studied venom could suggest the origins of these differences.

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This work describes the enzymatic transesterification of the oil extracted from SCGs for synthesis of biodiesel as a promising alternative to diesel fuels based on petroleum. Biocatalysts from various sources were tested for biodiesel synthesis using coffee oil among which CaCO- immobilized and showed the highest conversion yields (61 ± 2.64% and 64.

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Background: Males are more likely to develop autism as a neurodevelopmental disorder than females are, although the mechanisms underlying male vulnerability are not fully understood. Therefore, studying the role of autism etiologies considering sex differences in the propionic acid (PPA) rodent model of autism would build greater understanding of how females are protected from autism spectrum disorder, which may be used as a treatment strategy for males with autism.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the sex differences in oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation, and gut microbiota impairment as etiological mechanisms for many neurological diseases, with specific reference to autism.

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Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzyme defect that affects more than 500 million people worldwide. Individuals affected with G6PD deficiency may occasionally suffer mild-to-severe chronic hemolytic anemia. Chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia (CNSHA) is a potential result of the Class I G6PD variants.

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Rodent models may help investigations on the possible link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gut microbiota since autistic patients frequently manifested gastrointestinal troubles as co-morbidities. Thirty young male rats were divided into five groups: Group 1 serves as control; Group 2, bee pollen and probiotic-treated; and Group 3, propionic acid (PPA)-induced rodent model of autism; Group 4 and Group 5, the protective and therapeutic groups were given bee pollen and probiotic combination treatment either before or after the neurotoxic dose of PPA, respectively. Serum occludin, zonulin, lipid peroxides (MDA), glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase, and gut microbial composition were assessed in all investigated groups.

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Human Lymphatic filariasis is caused by parasitic nematodes and Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), a redox-active enzyme, helps to form and isomerize the disulfide bonds, thereby acting as a chaperone. Such activity is essential for activating many essential enzymes and functional proteins. protein disulfide isomerase (BmPDI) is crucial for parasite survival and an important drug target.

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The mechanisms underlying selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) use during pregnancy as a major autism risk factor are unclear. Here, brain neurochemical changes following fluoxetine exposure and in an autism model were compared to determine the effects on autism risk. The study was performed on neonatal male western albino rats which were divided into Groups one (control), two (propionic acid [PPA]-induced autism model), and three (prenatal SSRI-exposed newborn rats whose mothers were exposed to 5 mg/kg of fluoxetine over gestation days 10-20).

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Amyloid fibrils have been linked to a number of diseases. Surfactants imitate plasma membrane lipids and induce amyloid fibrils. This study examined the effects of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at pH 4.

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Biodiesel is one of the important biofuels as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuels. In the current study, enzymatic transesterification reaction was carried out for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) and experimental conditions were optimized, in order to reach maximum biodiesel yield. and lipase enzymes were individually immobilized on CaCO to be used as environmentally friendly catalysts for biodiesel production.

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Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common enzyme deficiency disorder affecting over 400 million individuals worldwide. G6PD protects red blood cells (RBC) from the harmful effects of oxidative substances. There are more than 400 G6PD mutations, of which 186 variants have shown to be linked to G6PD deficiency by decreasing the activity or stability of the enzyme.

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Increasing numbers of patients who recover from COVID-19 report lasting symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle weakness, dementia, and insomnia, known collectively as post-acute COVID syndrome or long COVID. These lasting symptoms have been examined in different studies and found to influence multiple organs, sometimes resulting in life-threating conditions. In this review, these symptoms are discussed in connection to the COVID-19 and long-COVID-19 immune changes, highlighting oral and psychiatric health, as this work focuses on the gut microbiota's link to long-COVID-19 manifestations in the liver, heart, kidney, brain, and spleen.

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A metabolic disease called hypercholesterolemia is connected to both oxidative damage and inflammation. The goal of the current investigation was to determine if olive oil and palm oil could prevent hypercholesterolemia-induced oxidative stress in the liver of rats fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD). The experimental mice were given HCD for three months while also receiving 0.

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This study aimed to evaluate the protective and therapeutic potency of bee pollen and probiotic mixture on brain intoxication caused by propionic acid (PPA) in juvenile rats. Five groups of six animals each, were used: the control group only receiving phosphate-buffered saline; the bee pollen and probiotic-treated group receiving a combination of an equal quantity of bee pollen and probiotic (0.2 kg/kg body weight); the PPA group being treated for 3 days with an oral neurotoxic dose of PPA (0.

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) comprise a heterogeneous group of pathological conditions, mainly of genetic origin, characterized by stereotyped behavior, such as marked impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, social skills, and cognition. Excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) imbalances have been recorded as an etiological mechanism of ASD. Furthermore, GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in adult life, is known to be much lower in both patients and rodent models of ASD.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficiencies in social interaction and repetitive behaviors. Multiple studies have reported abnormal cell membrane composition and autoimmunity as known mechanisms associated with the etiopathogenesis of ASD. In this study, multiple regression and combined receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve as statistic tools were done to clarify the relationship between phospholipase A2 and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) ratio (PLA2/PE) as marker of lipid metabolism and membrane fluidity, and antihistone-autoantibodies as marker of autoimmunity in the etiopathology of ASD.

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There are limited data on inflammatory cytokines and chemokines; the humoral immune response; and main clinical laboratory parameters as indicators for disease severity and mortality in patients with critical and mild COVID-19 without comorbidities or immune-mediated diseases in Saudi Arabia. We determined the expression levels of major proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines; C-reactive protein (CRP); procalcitonin; SARS-CoV-2 IgM antibody and twenty-two clinical laboratory parameters and assessed their usefulness as indicators of disease severity and in-hospital death. Our results showed a significant increase in the expression levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgM antibody; IL1-β; IL-6; IL-8; TNF-α and CRP in critical COVID-19 patients; neutrophil count; urea; creatinine and troponin were also increased.

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