Fisetin-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers: Formulation and Evaluations against Advanced and Metastatic Melanoma.

Fisetin (Fis), a natural flavonoid with anticancer effects, suffers from delivery constraints. Fisetin-nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) were developed for better efficacy against metastatic melanoma, employing the design of experiment (DoE) approach. The optimized NLCs depict a particle diameter of 135.

Over-expression of GhACTIN1 under the control of GhSCFP promoter improves cotton fiber and yield.

Actin dynamics is pivotal in controlling cotton fiber elongation and the onset of secondary wall biosynthesis. We report that overexpression of GhACTIN1 under fiber fiber-specific promoter, GhSCFP, improves cotton fiber length, strength, and micronaire value. However, the effect of transgene has a more positive effect on fiber strength and micronaire value than fiber length.

Dual AAV-based PCDH15 gene therapy achieves sustained rescue of visual function in a mouse model of Usher syndrome 1F.

Mutations in the PCDH15 gene, encoding protocadherin-15, are among the leading causes of Usher syndrome type 1 (USH1F), and account for up to 12% USH1 cases worldwide. A founder truncating variant of PCDH15 has a ∼2% carrier frequency in Ashkenazi Jews accounting for nearly 60% of their USH1 cases. Although cochlear implants can restore hearing perception in USH1 patients, presently there are no effective treatments for the vision loss due to retinitis pigmentosa.

Cassia Angustifolia Primed ASCs Accelerate Burn Wound Healing by Modulation of Inflammatory Response.

Background: Thermal traumas impose a huge burden on healthcare systems. This merits the need for advanced but cost-effective remedies with clinical prospects. In this context, we prepared a regenerative 3D-construct comprising of Cassia angustifolia extract (SM) primed adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) laden amniotic membrane for faster burn wound repair.

Analysis of Transgenic Cotton Plants Containing Universal Stress Protein (GaUSP-1, GaUSP-2) and Zinc Finger Transcriptional Factor (GaZnF) Genes under Drought Stress.

Water is the most limiting factor for plant growth and crop productivity. Drought stress adversely affects crop yield throughout the world. Up to 50% of crop yield in Pakistan is severely affected by the shortage of water.

Genomic characterization and comparative genomic analysis of HS-associated Pasteurella multocida serotype B:2 strains from Pakistan.

Background: Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is a highly fatal and predominant disease in livestock, particularly cattle and buffalo in the tropical regions of the world. Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida), serotypes B:2 and E:2, are reported to be the main causes of HS wherein serotype B:2 is more common in Asian countries including Pakistan and costs heavy financial losses every year.

Multiplex Cas9-based excision of CLCuV betasatellite and DNA-A revealed reduction of viral load with asymptomatic cotton plants.

Multiplexed Cas9-based genome editing of cotton resulted in reduction of viral load with asymptomatic cotton plants. In depth imaging of proteomic dynamics of resulting CLCuV betasatellite and DNA-A protein was also performed. The notorious  cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV), which is transmitted by the sap-sucking insect whitefly, continuously damages cotton crops.

Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Extract and Its Antibacterial Activity.

Excessive use of antimicrobial medications including antibiotics has led to the emerging menace of antimicrobial resistance, which, as per the World Health Organization (WHO), is among the top ten public health threats facing humanity, globally. This necessitates that innovative technologies be sought that can aid in the elimination of pathogens and hamper the spread of infections. Zinc oxide (ZnO) has multifunctionality owing to its extraordinary physico-chemical properties and functionality in a range of applications.

Systematic elucidation of the multi-target pharmacological mechanism of against congestive cardiac failure via network pharmacology and molecular modelling approaches.

Congestive cardiac failure (CCF) is a pathophysiologic state when the heart is not able to maintain its cardiac output to meet the demand of metabolising tissues. CCF is responsible for approximately 2.9 million deaths worldwide.

Accelerating Chloroplast Engineering: A New System for Rapid Generation of Marker-Free Transplastomic Lines of .

'Marker-free' strategies for creating transgenic microorganisms avoid the issue of potential transmission of antibiotic resistance genes to other microorganisms. An already-established strategy for engineering the chloroplast genome (=plastome) of the green microalga involves the restoration of photosynthetic function using a recipient strain carrying a plastome mutation in a key photosynthesis gene. Selection for transformant colonies is carried out on minimal media, such that only those cells in which the mutated gene has been replaced with a wild-type copy carried on the transgenic DNA are capable of phototrophic growth.

A sub-chronic feeding study of dual toxin insect-resistant transgenic maize (CEMB-413) on Wistar rats.

Genetically modified (GM) crops expressing insecticidal crystal proteins are widely accepted worldwide, but their commercial utilization demands comprehensive risk assessment studies. A 90-day risk assessment study was conducted on Wistar rats fed with GM maize (CEMB-413) expressing binary insect-resistant genes (cry1Ac and cry2Ab) at low (30%) and high (50%) dose along with a control diet group. The study used fifty Wistar rats randomly distributed in five treatment groups.

Adeno-Associated Virus-Mediated Gene Therapy.

Choice of vector is the most critical step in gene therapy. Adeno-associated viruses (AAV); third generation vectors, are getting much attention of scientists to be used as vehicles due to their non-pathogenicity, excellent safety profile, low immune responses, great efficiency to transduce non-dividing cells, large capacity to transfer genetic material and long-term expression of genetic payload. AAVs have multiple serotypes and each serotype shows tropism for a specific cell.

Computational Modeling, High-Level Soluble Expression and In Vitro Cytotoxicity Assessment of Recombinant Azurin: A Promising Anti-Cancer Therapeutic Candidate.

Azurin is a natural protein produced by that exhibits potential anti-tumor, anti-HIV, and anti-parasitic properties. The current study aimed to investigate the potential of azurin protein against breast cancer using both in silico and in vitro analyses. The amino acid sequence of Azurin was used to predict its secondary and tertiary structures, along with its physicochemical properties, using online software.

Decoding the mystery of MMTV-like virus and its relationship with breast cancer metastasis.

Background: MMTV causes mammary tumors in mice, and it is associated with invasive and aggressive forms of breast cancer in humans. However, the underlying mechanisms are yet unknown. We aimed to determine the MMTV-like virus (MMTV-LV) association with histological types of breast cancer, nodal involvement, and metastasis.

F3 peptide functionalized liquid crystalline nanoparticles for delivering Salinomycin against breast cancer.

Salinomycin (Sal) is a potent veterinary antibiotic known to offer significant toxicity to the variety of neoplastic cells. Its therapeutic utility is limited due to its higher lipophilicity (logP 7.5) and poor hydrophilicity.

Structural and dynamics insights into the GBA variants associated with Parkinson's disease.

The gene encodes for the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase), which maintains glycosphingolipid homeostasis and regulates the autophagy process. Genomic variants of are associated with Goucher disease; however, several heterozygous variants of GBA (E326K, T369M, N370S, L444P) are frequent high-risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD). The underlying mechanism of these variants has been revealed through functional and patient-centered research, but the structural and dynamical aspects of these variants have not yet been thoroughly investigated.

Risk Loci For Chronic Obstructive Disease Reside On Chromosome 14: A Case-Control Study On The Pakistani Population.

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the third leading cause of death worldwide, is characterized by airflow limitation that can be due to abnormalities in the airway and/or alveoli. Genetic diagnosis at an early stage can be a key factor in the provision of accurate and timely treatment. Single Nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are an important tool to study genetic association/ predisposition of the disease and have great potential to be diagnostic markers for early diagnosis of disease.

Evaluation of exosomes encapsulated recombinant Interleukin-29 for its in vitro anticancer studies.

Exosomes have recently been considered ideal biotherapeutic nanocarriers that broaden the frontiers of current drug delivery systems to overcome the shortcomings associated with cytokine-based immunotherapy. Using this approach, the current study aimed to assess anti-proliferative activity of purified IL-29 and exosomes encapsulated IL-29. The IL-29+pET-28a construct was transformed into Rosetta 2(DE3) cells which was used for the large-scale production of IL-29.

Identification and characterization of RNA polymerase II (RNAP) C-Terminal domain phosphatase-like 3 (SlCPL3) in tomato under biotic stress.

Background: Bacterial diseases are a huge threat to the production of tomatoes. During infection intervals, pathogens affect biochemical, oxidant and molecular properties of tomato. Therefore, it is necessary to study the antioxidant enzymes, oxidation state and genes involved during bacterial infection in tomato.

CRISPR/Cas-mediated plant genome editing: outstanding challenges a decade after implementation.

The discovery of the CRISPR/Cas genome-editing system has revolutionized our understanding of the plant genome. CRISPR/Cas has been used for over a decade to modify plant genomes for the study of specific genes and biosynthetic pathways as well as to speed up breeding in many plant species, including both model and non-model crops. Although the CRISPR/Cas system is very efficient for genome editing, many bottlenecks and challenges slow down further improvement and applications.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2: Insights into the epidemiology of the pandemic.

Aim: This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and disease symptoms in Malakand, Pakistan.

Materials & Method: 623 samples with suspected SARS-CoV-2 were collected from different regions of Malakand and analyzed to detect SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies using ELISA.

Results: 306 (49.

Enhanced soluble expression of active recombinant human interleukin-29 using champion pET SUMO system.

Current research focuses on the soluble and high-level expression of biologically active recombinant human IL-29 protein in Escherichia coli. The codon-optimized IL-29 gene was cloned into the Champion™ pET SUMO expression system downstream of the SUMO tag under the influence of the T7 lac promoter. The expression of SUMO-fused IL-29 protein was compared in E.

Risk of adverse outcomes following treatment with direct acting antiviral drugs in HCV infected patients with liver cirrhosis.

Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the second major cause of death in Pakistan. Previously, interferon-based regimens were considered highly recommended therapy for HCV patients. Since 2015, interferon-based therapy has been replaced with interferon-free therapy also known as Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) drugs.