Isolation and characterization of mercury and multidrug-resistant Citrobacter freundii strains from tannery effluents in Kolkata, India.

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most potent toxic heavy metals that distresses livestock, humans, and ecological health. Owing to uncontrolled exposure to untreated tannery industrial effluents, metals such as Hg are increasing in nature and are, therefore, becoming a global concern. As a result, understanding the thriving microflora in that severe condition and their characteristics becomes immensely important.

A critical review of therapeutic interventions in sickle cell disease: Progress and challenges.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder that occurs due to the point mutation in the β-globin gene, which results in the formation of sickle hemoglobin (HbS) in the red blood cells (RBCs). When HbS is exposed to an oxygen-depleted environment, it polymerizes, resulting in hemolysis, vaso-occlusion pain, and impaired blood flow. Still, there is no affordable cure for this inherited disease.

Genetics of 67 patients of suspected primary ciliary dyskinesia from India.

Data are limited on the genetic profile of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) from developing countries. Here, we report one of the first study on genetic profile of patients with suspected PCD from India. In this prospective cross-sectional study, we enrolled 162 children with suspected PCD.

Predicting efficacy of antiseizure medication treatment with machine learning algorithms in North Indian population.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a classifier using supervised machine learning to effectively assess the impact of clinical, demographical, and biochemical factors in accurately predicting the antiseizure medications (ASMs) treatment response in people with epilepsy (PWE).

Methods: Data was collected from 786 PWE at the Outpatient Department of Neurology, Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), New Delhi, India from 2005 to 2015. Patients were followed up at the 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 12th month over the span of 1 year for the drugs being administered and their dosage, the serum drug levels, the frequency of seizure control, drug efficacy, the adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and their compliance to ASMs.

The "Investigating and translating genomic evidence for public health response to SARS-CoV-2 (INSIDE SARS-CoV-2)" project - Network of excellence. Commentary.

The "Investigating and translating genomic evidence for public health response to SARS-CoV-2 (INSIDE SARS-CoV-2)" project is part of the initiative "Joint science and technology cooperation call for joint project proposals for the years 2021-2023" promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Republic of India. To start the project activities, the pandemic response and the epidemiological situation in Italy and in India, together with the genomic surveillance strategies for SARS-CoV-2 virus in the two countries, are here described.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 27B (SCA27B) in India: insights from a large cohort study suggest ancient origin.

Background: The ethnic diversity of India provides a unique opportunity to study the history of the origin of mutations of genetic disorders. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 27B (SCA27B), a recently identified dominantly inherited cerebellar disorder is caused by GAA-repeat expansions in intron 1 of Fibroblast Growth Factor 14 (FGF14). Predominantly reported in the European population, we aimed to screen this mutation and study the founder haplotype of SCA27B in Indian ataxia patients.

Sustainable Synthesis of Novel Green-Based Nanoparticles for Therapeutic Interventions and Environmental Remediation.

The advancement in nanotechnology has completely revolutionized various fields, including pharmaceutical sciences, and streamlined the potential therapeutic of many diseases that endanger human life. The synthesis of green nanoparticles by biological processes is an aspect of the newly emerging scientific field known as "green nanotechnology". Due to their safe, eco-friendly, nontoxic nature, green synthesis tools are better suited to produce nanoparticles between 1 and 100 nm.

Flagellin conjugated Per a 10 and its T cell peptides attenuate airway inflammation and restore cellular function.

Adjuvants were used to modulate response towards relevant immune cells. The present study aims to investigate FlaA-conjugated Per a 10 and T cell peptides in amelioration of allergic airway disease in mice. Mice given Per a 10 showed allergic features with higher cellular infiltration, IgE, Th-2 cytokines and alarmins.

Spectrum of rare and common mitochondrial DNA variations from 1029 whole genomes of self-declared healthy individuals from India.

Mitochondrial disorders are a class of heterogeneous disorders caused by genetic variations in the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) as well as the nuclear genome. The spectrum of mtDNA variants remains unexplored in the Indian population. In the present study, we have cataloged 2689 high confidence single nucleotide variants, small insertions and deletions in mtDNA in 1029 healthy Indian individuals.

Identifying unstable CNG repeat loci in the human genome: a heuristic approach and implications for neurological disorders.

Tandem nucleotide repeat (TNR) expansions, particularly the CNG nucleotide configuration, are associated with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we aimed to identify novel unstable CNG repeat loci associated with the neurogenetic disorder spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). Using a computational approach, 15,069 CNG repeat loci in the coding and noncoding regions of the human genome were identified.

Novel peptide inhibitor of human tumor necrosis factor-α has antiarthritic activity.

The inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α trimer formation renders it inactive for binding to its receptors, thus mitigating the vicious cycle of inflammation. We designed a peptide (PIYLGGVFQ) that simulates a sequence strand of human TNFα monomer using a series of in silico methods, such as active site finding (Acsite), protein-protein interaction (PPI), docking studies (GOLD and Flex-X) followed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. The MD studies confirmed the intermolecular interaction of the peptide with the TNFα.

Single cell genomics based insights into the impact of cell-type specific microbial internalization on disease severity.

Host-microbe interactions are complex and ever-changing, especially during infections, which can significantly impact human physiology in both health and disease by influencing metabolic and immune functions. Infections caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are the leading cause of global mortality. Microbes have evolved various immune evasion strategies to survive within their hosts, which presents a multifaceted challenge for detection.

Prognostic biomarkers of intracerebral hemorrhage identified using targeted proteomics and machine learning algorithms.

Early prognostication of patient outcomes in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is critical for patient care. We aim to investigate protein biomarkers' role in prognosticating outcomes in ICH patients. We assessed 22 protein biomarkers using targeted proteomics in serum samples obtained from the ICH patient dataset (N = 150).

Comparative genome analysis reveals driving forces behind Monkeypox virus evolution and sheds light on the role of ATC trinucleotide motif.

Monkeypox (MPOX), a zoonotic disease originating in Western and Central Africa in 1970, has seen a recent surge in outbreaks across 100+ countries. A comparative analysis of 404 Monkeypox virus (MPXV) genomes revealed notable changes in microsatellite abundance and density, especially within Clades I, IIa, and IIb. Each clade exhibited unique microsatellite motifs, with twenty-six conserved loci specific to MPXV, suggesting their potential as molecular markers in diagnostics.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line IGIBi18-A from an Indian patient with Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome.

Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome (RSTS) is a rare genetic disorder which is caused by mutations in either CREBBP or EP300. RSTS with mutations in CREBBP is known as RSTS-1. We have generated an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line, IGIBi018-A from an Indian RSTS-patient using the episomal reprogramming method.

Targeting Prohibitin 2-Hu-Hsp70A1A complex as a unique approach towards malaria vaccine development.

Malaria parasite invasion to host erythrocytes is mediated by multiple interactions between merozoite ligands and erythrocyte receptors that contribute toward the development of disease pathology. Here, we report a novel antigen prohibitin "PHB2" and identify its cognate partner "Hsp70A1A" in host erythrocyte that plays a crucial role in mediating host-parasite interaction during merozoite invasion. Using small interfering RNA (siRNA)- and glucosamine-6-phosphate riboswitch (glmS) ribozyme-mediated approach, we show that loss of Hsp70A1A in red blood cells (RBCs) or PHB2 in infected red blood cells (iRBCs), respectively, inhibit PHB2-Hsp70A1A interaction leading to invasion inhibition.

Role of miR-128-3p and miR-195-5p as biomarkers of coronary artery disease in Indians: a pilot study.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) imposes a significant economic burden in developing countries like India. Timely diagnosis and treatment should be prioritized to mitigate the disease. Current diagnostic tools being invasive and less specific raise the need to develop less invasive and more reliable molecular biomarkers.

Uracil as a biomarker for spatial pyrimidine metabolism in the development of gingivobuccal oral squamous cell carcinoma.

No biomarker has yet been identified that allows accurate diagnosis and prognosis of oral cancers. In this study, we investigated the presence of key metabolites in oral cancer using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify metabolic biomarkers of gingivobuccal oral squamous cell carcinoma (GB-OSCC). NMR spectroscopy revealed that uracil was expressed in 83.

Studying Human Pathogenic Cryptococcus Gattii Lineages by Utilizing Simple Sequence Repeats to Create Diagnostic Markers and Analyzing Diversity.

In this study, we compared the occurrence, relative abundance (RA), and density (RD) of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) among the lineages of human pathogenic Cryptococcus gattii using an in-silico approach to gain a deeper understanding of the structure and evolution of their genomes. C. gattii isolate MF34 showed the highest RA and RD of SSRs in both the genomic and transcriptomic sequences, followed by isolate WM276.