Codeine dysregulates ribosome biogenesis in with DNA double-strand breaks to chart path to new classes of antibiotics.

Aim: A bacterial genetics-guided approach was utilized for the discovery of new compounds affecting bacterial genome stability.

Materials & Methods: Fungal extracts and fractions were tested for genome instability-mediated antibacterial activity. Interaction assays and RT-qPCR were used to identify compounds that boost the activity of sub-minimum inhibitory concentration streptomycin and obtain insights on the molecular mechanisms of the primary hit compound, respectively.

Use of medicinal plants as a remedy against lymphatic filariasis: Current status and future prospect.

Despite the successes achieved so far with the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, there is still an appreciable number of lymphatic filarial patients who need alternative treatment and morbidity management strategies. The unresponsiveness of some cohorts to the drugs used in the mass drug administration program is currently raising a lot of questions and this needs urgent attention. Natural medicinal plants have a long-standing history of being effective against most disease conditions.

Drug discovery research in Ghana, challenges, current efforts, and the way forward.

We have a long-term vision to develop drug discovery research capacity within Ghana, to tackle unmet medical needs in Ghana and the wider West African region. However, there are several issues and challenges that need to be overcome to enable this vision, including training, human resource, equipment, infrastructure, procurement, and logistics. We discuss these challenges from the context of Ghana in this review.

Chitosan-Coated Halloysite Nanotubes As Vehicle for Controlled Drug Delivery to MCF-7 Cancer Cells In Vitro.

The aim of the work is to improve the release properties of curcumin onto human breast cancer cell lines using coated halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) with chitosan as a polycation. A loading efficiency of 70.2% (/) was attained for loading 4.

Transcriptomic analysis of marine endophytic fungi extract identifies highly enriched anti-fungal fractions targeting cancer pathways in HepG2 cell lines.

Background: Marine endophytic fungi (MEF) are good sources of structurally unique and biologically active secondary metabolites. Due to the increase in antimicrobial resistance, the secondary metabolites from MEF ought to be fully explored to identify candidates which could serve as lead compounds for novel drug development. These secondary metabolites might also be useful for development of new cancer drugs.

DNA double-strand break formation and repair as targets for novel antibiotic combination chemotherapy.

An unrepaired DNA double-strand break (DSB) is lethal to cells. In bacteria, DSBs are usually repaired either via an error-prone pathway, which ligates the ends of the break or an accurate recombination pathway. Due to this lethality, drugs that induce persistent DSBs have been successful in bacterial infection treatment.

Wood-decaying fungi found in Southern Ghana: A potential source of new anti-infective compounds.

Discovery of bioactive natural products are instrumental for development of novel antibiotics. The discovery and development of natural products such as penicillin represented a major milestone in the treatment of bacterial infections. Currently, many antibiotics have lost their relevance in clinics due to the emergence of drug-resistant microbial pathogens.

Chitosan Composites Synthesized Using Acetic Acid and Tetraethylorthosilicate Respond Differently to Methylene Blue Adsorption.

The sol-gel and cross-linking processes have been used by researchers to synthesize silica-based nanostructures and optimize their size and morphology by changing either the material or the synthesis conditions. However, the influence of the silica nanostructures on the overall physicochemical and mechanistic properties of organic biopolymers such as chitosan has received limited attention. The present study used a one-step synthetic method to obtain chitosan composites to monitor the uptake and release of a basic cationic dye (methylene blue) at two different pH values.

Electrochemical Response of Corresponds to Cell Viability upon Exposure to Seed Extracts and Antifungal Drugs.

bioactive compounds have been shown to contain antioxidant properties. The extracts from the same plant are used in traditional medical practices to treat various diseases with impressive outcomes. In this study, ionic mobility in cells in the presence of seed extracts was monitored using electrochemical detection methods to link cell death to ionic imbalance.

Characterization of Two New Multidrug-Resistant Strains of : Tools for Routine In Vitro Screening of Novel Anti-Mycobacterial Agents.

is a pathogen of global public health concern. This threat is exacerbated by the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extremely-drug-resistant strains of the pathogen. We have obtained two distinct clones of multidrug-resistant after gradual exposure of mc² 155 to increasing concentrations of erythromycin.

Expression, Purification, and Monitoring of Conformational Changes of hCB2 TMH67H8 in Different Membrane-Mimetic Lipid Mixtures Using Circular Dichroism and NMR Techniques.

This work was intended to develop self-assembly lipids for incorporating G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in order to improve the success rate for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) structural elucidation. We hereby report the expression and purification of uniformly N-labeled human cannabinoid receptor-2 domain in insect cell media. The domain was refolded by screening several membrane mimetic environments.

The Mtb proteome library: a resource of assays to quantify the complete proteome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Research advancing our understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) biology and complex host-Mtb interactions requires consistent and precise quantitative measurements of Mtb proteins. We describe the generation and validation of a compendium of assays to quantify 97% of the 4,012 annotated Mtb proteins by the targeted mass spectrometric method selected reaction monitoring (SRM). Furthermore, we estimate the absolute abundance for 55% of all Mtb proteins, revealing a dynamic range within the Mtb proteome of over four orders of magnitude, and identify previously unannotated proteins.

Expression, purification and analysis of the activity of enzymes from the pentose phosphate pathway.

RNAs, more than ever before, are increasingly viewed as biomolecules of the future, in the versatility of their functions and intricate three-dimensional folding. To effectively study them by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, structural biologists need to tackle two critical challenges of spectral overcrowding and fast signal decay for large RNAs. Stable-isotope nucleotide labeling is one attractive solution to the overlap problem.

Elr-type proteins protect Xenopus Dead end mRNA from miR-18-mediated clearance in the soma.

Segregation of the future germ line defines a crucial cell fate decision during animal development. In Xenopus, germ cells are specified by inheritance of vegetally localized maternal determinants, including a group of specific mRNAs. Here, we show that the vegetal localization elements (LE) of Xenopus Dead end (XDE) and of several other germ-line-specific, vegetally localized transcripts mediate germ cell-specific stabilization and somatic clearance of microinjected reporter mRNA in Xenopus embryos.

Participation of Xenopus Elr-type proteins in vegetal mRNA localization during oogenesis.

Directional transport of specific mRNAs is of primary biological relevance. In Xenopus oocytes, mRNA localization to the vegetal pole is important for germ layer formation and germ cell development. Using a biochemical approach, we identified Xenopus Elr-type proteins, homologs of the Hu/ELAV proteins, as novel components of the vegetal mRNA localization machinery.