Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.22099/MBRC.2024.48801.1899
S A Smiline Girija
Epigenetic mechanisms attribute to the resistance and virulence of Acinetobacter baumannii sparking a renewed area of research. Unveiling the targets pertained to the epigenetic modulation in the bacterium would aid in the curbing its complications in various recalcitrant infections. This review thus throws light on the various epigenetic mechanisms exhibited by A. bauamnnii, urging the need to implement epigenetic based novel strategies in precision medicine.
{"title":"Hijacking the epigenetic mechanisms of <i>A. baumannii</i>.","authors":"S A Smiline Girija","doi":"10.22099/MBRC.2024.48801.1899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/MBRC.2024.48801.1899","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epigenetic mechanisms attribute to the resistance and virulence of <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> sparking a renewed area of research. Unveiling the targets pertained to the epigenetic modulation in the bacterium would aid in the curbing its complications in various recalcitrant infections. This review thus throws light on the various epigenetic mechanisms exhibited by <i>A. bauamnnii</i>, urging the need to implement epigenetic based novel strategies in precision medicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"13 2","pages":"51-53"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10946551/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140175675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2024.49840.1954
Deepu Mathew, Ravisankar Valsalan, M Shijili
Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion (MATE) proteins are responsible for the transport of a wide range of metabolites out of plant cells. This helps to protect the cells from toxins and other harmful compounds. MATE proteins also play a role in plant development, by regulating the transport of hormones and other signalling molecules. They transport a wide variety of substances, including organic acids, plant hormones, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenes and other secondary metabolites. MATE proteins are thought to play similar roles in Coriander, in addition to stress responses. The MATE genes in the coriander genome have been identified and characterized. Detailed genome homology search and domain identification analysis have identified 91 MATE proteins in the genome assembly of coriander. A phylogenetic analysis of the identified proteins divided them into five major clades. The functions of the transporters in each cluster were predicted based on the clustering pattern of the functionally characterized proteins. The amino acid sequences, exon-intron structures and motif details of all the 91 proteins are identified and described. This is the first work on the MATE transporters in coriander and the results deliver clues for the molecular mechanisms behind the stress responses and secondary metabolite transport in coriander.
{"title":"Genome-wide mining and characterization of MATE transporters in Coriandrum sativum L.","authors":"Deepu Mathew, Ravisankar Valsalan, M Shijili","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2024.49840.1954","DOIUrl":"10.22099/mbrc.2024.49840.1954","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion (MATE) proteins are responsible for the transport of a wide range of metabolites out of plant cells. This helps to protect the cells from toxins and other harmful compounds. MATE proteins also play a role in plant development, by regulating the transport of hormones and other signalling molecules. They transport a wide variety of substances, including organic acids, plant hormones, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenes and other secondary metabolites. MATE proteins are thought to play similar roles in Coriander, in addition to stress responses. The MATE genes in the coriander genome have been identified and characterized. Detailed genome homology search and domain identification analysis have identified 91 MATE proteins in the genome assembly of coriander. A phylogenetic analysis of the identified proteins divided them into five major clades. The functions of the transporters in each cluster were predicted based on the clustering pattern of the functionally characterized proteins. The amino acid sequences, exon-intron structures and motif details of all the 91 proteins are identified and described. This is the first work on the MATE transporters in coriander and the results deliver clues for the molecular mechanisms behind the stress responses and secondary metabolite transport in coriander.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"13 3","pages":"155-164"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11194028/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141446618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To investigate the effects of thymidylate synthase (TS) 3'UTR genotype on promotor methylation of tumor-related genes in 22 patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) from southern Iran. We evaluated the correlations of TS 3'UTR genotype with promoter methylation of hTERT, hMLH1, MSH2, MMP2, CDH1, p14, p16, and p21 genes in CRC patients. The polymorphism of TS 3'UTR was evaluated through mutagenically specific PCR. The genes promoter methylation was determined using methylation-specific PCR. For 10 patients, the gene expression profile of epigenetic regulating enzymes, histone deacetylases (HDACs) and DNA methyltransferases(DNMTs), was also examined in both tumor and normal adjacent tissues by quantitative real time PCR. There was a significant association between the hMLH1 methylation and age of patients (P= 0.039) and also between MSH2 methylation and tumor site (P= 0.036). There was insignificant association between gene-specific methylation and TS 3'UTR genotype. However, all polymorphic genotypes of TS were associated with higher methylation of hMLH1 and CDH1 and lower methylation of MSH2. The -6bp/+6bp (heterozygous mutant) and [-6bp/+6bp, +6bp/+6bp] (homozygous mutant) genotypes resulted in higher methylation of p16, and -6bp/+6bp and [-6bp/+6bp, +6bp/+6bp] genotypes were correlated with lower methylation of MMP2. The overexpression of epigenetic enzymes, HDACs and DNMTs, was also demonstrated. There was no association between DNMTs transcript levels and gene-specific hypermethylation. The polymorphic TS genotypes, especially -6bp/+6bp, could affect methylation frequencies of studied genes. Moreover, promoter methylation status was not dependent on DNMTs gene expression. Large sample size studies may contribute to validate these findings.
{"title":"The effects of thymidylate synthase 3'UTR genotype on methylation of tumor-specific genes promoter in 22 colorectal cancer patients from southern Iran.","authors":"Maryam Niknam, Fakhraddin Naghibalhossaini, Mozhdeh Zamani, Seyed Vahid Hosseini, Pooneh Mokarram","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.48009.1850","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.48009.1850","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To investigate the effects of <i>thymidylate synthase (TS)</i> 3'UTR genotype on promotor methylation of tumor-related genes in 22 patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) from southern Iran. We evaluated the correlations of <i>TS</i> 3'UTR genotype with promoter methylation of <i>hTERT, hMLH1, MSH2, MMP2, CDH1, p14, p16,</i> and <i>p21</i> genes in CRC patients. The polymorphism of <i>TS</i> 3'UTR was evaluated through mutagenically specific PCR. The genes promoter methylation was determined using methylation-specific PCR. For 10 patients, the gene expression profile of epigenetic regulating enzymes, <i>histone deacetylases (HDACs)</i> and <i>DNA methyltransferases</i> <i>(DNMTs),</i> was also examined in both tumor and normal adjacent tissues by quantitative real time PCR. There was a significant association between the <i>hMLH1</i> methylation and age of patients (<i>P</i>= 0.039) and also between <i>MSH2</i> methylation and tumor site (<i>P</i>= 0.036). There was insignificant association between gene-specific methylation and <i>TS</i> 3'UTR genotype. However, all polymorphic genotypes of <i>TS</i> were associated with higher methylation of <i>hMLH1</i> and <i>CDH1</i> and lower methylation of <i>MSH2</i>. The -6bp/+6bp (heterozygous mutant) and [-6bp/+6bp, +6bp/+6bp] (homozygous mutant) genotypes resulted in higher methylation of <i>p16</i>, and -6bp/+6bp and [-6bp/+6bp, +6bp/+6bp] genotypes were correlated with lower methylation of <i>MMP2</i>. The overexpression of epigenetic enzymes, <i>HDACs</i> and <i>DNMTs,</i> was also demonstrated. There was no association between DNMTs transcript levels and gene-specific hypermethylation. The polymorphic TS genotypes, especially -6bp/+6bp, could affect methylation frequencies of studied genes. Moreover, promoter methylation status was not dependent on <i>DNMTs</i> gene expression. Large sample size studies may contribute to validate these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"13 2","pages":"89-102"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10946552/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140175677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The use of a combination of three-drug regimen has improved HIV-1 infected patients' life span and quality; however the emergence of drug-resistant strains remains a main problem. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) consist of a main part of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimen. The present study aimed to investigate resistant mutations to RTI drugs in both treatment naïve and under treatment HIV patients in Mashhad city, north-eastern Iran. RNA was extracted from sera of 22 treatment naïve and 22 under treatment patients. The mean age of under treated and treatment naive groups were 38.5±6.7 and 40.8±7.9 respectively. cDNA was synthesized and amplified with Nested PCR assay targeting specific sequences of RT gene. The PCR products were sent for sequencing. Bidirectional sequencing results were analysed using HIV drug resistance database supplied by Stanford University (HIV Drug Resistance Database, https://hivdb.stanford.edu). Among under treatment patients 10 out of 22 (45%) had at least one high-level resistance mutation which was higher than high level resistance mutation rate among treatment naive cases (P<0.01). Detected resistance mutations were as follows: K101E, K103N, K103E, V106M, V108I, E138A, V179T, Y181C, M184V, Y188L, Y188H, Y188F, G190A, L210W, T215F, T215Y, K219Q, and P225H. A high level of resistance mutations to RT inhibitors was observed that causes drug resistance especially against lamivudine (3TC). Such mutations should be considered as probable responsible for therapeutic failure. Serial surveillance studies of circulating drug resistance mutations are recommended.
{"title":"A survey of resistance mutations to reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) among HIV-1 patients in northeast of Iran.","authors":"Zahra Mazaheri, Sahar Tahaghoghi-Hajghorbani, Kazem Baesi, Kiarash Ghazvini, Saeid Amel-Jamehdar, Masoud Youssefi","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2024.48729.1895","DOIUrl":"10.22099/mbrc.2024.48729.1895","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of a combination of three-drug regimen has improved HIV-1 infected patients' life span and quality; however the emergence of drug-resistant strains remains a main problem. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs) consist of a main part of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) regimen. The present study aimed to investigate resistant mutations to RTI drugs in both treatment naïve and under treatment HIV patients in Mashhad city, north-eastern Iran. RNA was extracted from sera of 22 treatment naïve and 22 under treatment patients. The mean age of under treated and treatment naive groups were 38.5±6.7 and 40.8±7.9 respectively. cDNA was synthesized and amplified with Nested PCR assay targeting specific sequences of RT gene. The PCR products were sent for sequencing. Bidirectional sequencing results were analysed using HIV drug resistance database supplied by Stanford University (HIV Drug Resistance Database, https://hivdb.stanford.edu). Among under treatment patients 10 out of 22 (45%) had at least one high-level resistance mutation which was higher than high level resistance mutation rate among treatment naive cases (P<0.01). Detected resistance mutations were as follows: K101E, K103N, K103E, V106M, V108I, E138A, V179T, Y181C, M184V, Y188L, Y188H, Y188F, G190A, L210W, T215F, T215Y, K219Q, and P225H. A high level of resistance mutations to RT inhibitors was observed that causes drug resistance especially against lamivudine (3TC). Such mutations should be considered as probable responsible for therapeutic failure. Serial surveillance studies of circulating drug resistance mutations are recommended.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"13 3","pages":"117-125"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11194027/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141446614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2023.47756.1845
Nour Samman, Hassan Mohabatkar, Parisa Rabiei
Phospholipases, as important lipolytic enzymes, have diverse industrial applications. Regarding the stability of extremophilic archaea's proteins in harsh conditions, analyses of unusual features of their proteins are significantly important for their utilization. This research was accomplished to in silico study of archaeal phospholipases' properties and to develop a pioneering method for distinguishing these enzymes from other archaeal enzymes via machine learning algorithms and Chou's pseudo-amino acid composition concept. The non-redundant sequences of archaeal phospholipases were collected. BioSeq-Analysis sever was used with Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forests (RF), Covariance Discrimination (CD), and Optimized Evidence-Theoretic K-nearest Neighbor (OET-KNN) as powerful machine learnings algorithms. Also, different Chou's pseudo-amino acid composition modes were performed and then, 5-fold cross-validation was applied to the sequences. Based on our results, the OET-KNN predictor, with 96% accuracy, yields the best performance in SC-PseAAC mode by 5-fold cross-validation. This predictor also achieved very high values of specificity (95%), sensitivity (96%), Matthews's correlation coefficient (0.92), and accuracy (96%). The present investigation yielded a robust anticipatory model for the archaeal phospholipase prediction utilizing the tenets PseAAC and OET-KNN machine learning algorithm.
{"title":"Using several pseudo amino acid composition types and different machine learning algorithms to classify and predict archaeal phospholipases.","authors":"Nour Samman, Hassan Mohabatkar, Parisa Rabiei","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.47756.1845","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.47756.1845","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phospholipases, as important lipolytic enzymes, have diverse industrial applications. Regarding the stability of extremophilic archaea's proteins in harsh conditions, analyses of unusual features of their proteins are significantly important for their utilization. This research was accomplished to <i>in silico</i> study of archaeal phospholipases' properties and to develop a pioneering method for distinguishing these enzymes from other archaeal enzymes via machine learning algorithms and Chou's pseudo-amino acid composition concept. The non-redundant sequences of archaeal phospholipases were collected. BioSeq-Analysis sever was used with Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forests (RF), Covariance Discrimination (CD), and Optimized Evidence-Theoretic K-nearest Neighbor (OET-KNN) as powerful machine learnings algorithms. Also, different Chou's pseudo-amino acid composition modes were performed and then, 5-fold cross-validation was applied to the sequences. Based on our results, the OET-KNN predictor, with 96% accuracy, yields the best performance in SC-PseAAC mode by 5-fold cross-validation. This predictor also achieved very high values of specificity (95%), sensitivity (96%), Matthews's correlation coefficient (0.92), and accuracy (96%). The present investigation yielded a robust anticipatory model for the archaeal phospholipase prediction utilizing the tenets PseAAC and OET-KNN machine learning algorithm.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 3","pages":"117-126"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10387176/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9922446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Extracting high-yield, high-quality DNA from plant samples is challenging due to the presence of the cell wall, pigments, and some secondary metabolites. The main CTAB method, two of its modified protocols (beta-mercaptoethanol or ammonium acetate were eliminated), the modified Murray and Thompson method, and the Gene All kit were statistically compared based on the quantity and quality of the total DNA (tDNA) extracted from fresh and dried leaves of three medicinal herbs P. harmala, T. ramosissima, and P. reptans. The suitability of the tDNAs for molecular studies was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the fragments of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) in nuclear DNA and the trnL-F region in chloroplast DNA. Some significant differences were found between the tDNAs extracted by five extraction methods. With the exception of P. harmala, where the PCR of both the ITS fragments and the trnL-F region worked successfully in all DNA samples, but only the ITS fragments, not the chloroplast trnL-F region, were amplified in the DNA samples of T. ramosissima and P. reptans. The chloroplast trnL-F region was amplified only in DNA samples extracted from fresh and dried leaves of the three studied herbs using the commercial kit. Gene All kit, the main CTAB method, and its modified protocols were the less time-consuming protocols that yielded DNA suitable for downstream PCR vis-a-vis the modified Murray and Thompson method.
{"title":"Comparison of five DNA extraction methods in three medicinal plants: <i>Peganum harmala</i> L., <i>Tamarix ramosissima</i> Ledeb., and <i>Potentilla reptans</i> L.","authors":"Zahra Salehi, Atefe Amirahmadi, Arezou Rezaei, Parisa Farrokh, Javad Ghasemian","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.45131.1798","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.45131.1798","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extracting high-yield, high-quality DNA from plant samples is challenging due to the presence of the cell wall, pigments, and some secondary metabolites. The main CTAB method, two of its modified protocols (beta-mercaptoethanol or ammonium acetate were eliminated), the modified Murray and Thompson method, and the Gene All kit were statistically compared based on the quantity and quality of the total DNA (tDNA) extracted from fresh and dried leaves of three medicinal herbs <i>P. harmala</i>, <i>T. ramosissima</i>, and <i>P. reptans</i>. The suitability of the tDNAs for molecular studies was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the fragments of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) in nuclear DNA and the <i>trn</i>L-F region in chloroplast DNA. Some significant differences were found between the tDNAs extracted by five extraction methods. With the exception of <i>P. harmala</i>, where the PCR of both the ITS fragments and the <i>trn</i>L-F region worked successfully in all DNA samples, but only the ITS fragments, not the chloroplast <i>trn</i>L-F region, were amplified in the DNA samples of <i>T. ramosissima</i> and <i>P. reptans</i>. The chloroplast <i>trn</i>L-F region was amplified only in DNA samples extracted from fresh and dried leaves of the three studied herbs using the commercial kit. Gene All kit, the main CTAB method, and its modified protocols were the less time-consuming protocols that yielded DNA suitable for downstream PCR vis-a-vis the modified Murray and Thompson method.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 1","pages":"1-16"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10186858/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9845450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2023.47706.1842
Atena Eslami-Farouji, Ahmad Reza Khosravi, Mahdi Gholami, Sasan Mohsenzadeh
Circumscribing species boundries is necessary in systematic plant biology. Even a mistake in delimiting taxa may lead to incorrect scientific interpretations. Draba rimarum (Rech.f.) A.R. Khosravi & A. Eslami-Farouji is an endemic Iranian species with a narrow geographic distribution, and is genetically close to D. aucheri. The present study provided a phylogenetic review, time divergence, and planar network of both species to unravel the distinct position of both species along with the prediction of any conflicting or ambiguous signals. Regarding this purpose, here we represent that phylogenetic trees may fail to show reliable results toward the distinct position of genetically close species.
{"title":"A comparison of phylogenetic and distance-based approaches for the distinction of genetically closed species, <i>Draba rimarum</i> (Rech.f.) A.R. Khosravi & A. Eslami-Farouji, and <i>Draba aucheri</i> Boiss. (Brassicaceae) as a case study.","authors":"Atena Eslami-Farouji, Ahmad Reza Khosravi, Mahdi Gholami, Sasan Mohsenzadeh","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.47706.1842","DOIUrl":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.47706.1842","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circumscribing species boundries is necessary in systematic plant biology. Even a mistake in delimiting taxa may lead to incorrect scientific interpretations. <i>Draba rimarum</i> (Rech.f.) A.R. Khosravi & A. Eslami-Farouji is an endemic Iranian species with a narrow geographic distribution, and is genetically close to <i>D. aucheri</i>. The present study provided a phylogenetic review, time divergence, and planar network of both species to unravel the distinct position of both species along with the prediction of any conflicting or ambiguous signals. Regarding this purpose, here we represent that phylogenetic trees may fail to show reliable results toward the distinct position of genetically close species.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 4","pages":"155-163"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10599596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"54230204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2023.46450.1804
Razieh Seifi, Hoda Ayat, Ali Mohammad Ahadi
Scorpion venom contains various toxin peptides with pharmacological and biological properties. Scorpion toxins specifically interact with membrane ion channels which play key roles in progression of cancer. Therefore, scorpion toxins have received special attention for targeting cancer cells. Two new toxins MeICT and IMe-AGAP, isolated from Iranian yellow scorpion, Mesobuthus eupeus, interact specifically with chloride and sodium channels, respectively. Anti-cancer properties of MeICT and IMe-AGAP have been determined before, in addition they show 81 and 93% similarity with two well-known anti-cancer toxins, CTX and AGAP, respectively. The aim of this study was construction of a fusion peptide MeICT/IMe-AGAP to target different ion channels involved in cancer progression. Design and structure of the fusion peptide were investigated by bioinformatics studies. Two fragments encoding MeICT and IMe-AGAP were fused using overlapping primers by SOEing-PCR. MeICT/IMe-AGAP chimeric fragment was cloned into pET32Rh vector, expressed in Escherichia coli host and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The in silico studies showed that chimeric peptide with GPSPG linker preserved the three-dimensional structure of both peptides and can be functional. Due to the high expression of chloride and sodium channels in various cancer cells, MeICT/IMe-AGAP fusion peptide can be used as an effective agent to target both channels in cancers, simultaneously.
{"title":"Design and construction of a chimeric peptide, MeICT/IMe-AGAP, from two anti-cancer toxins of Iranian <i>Mesobuthus eupeus</i> scorpion.","authors":"Razieh Seifi, Hoda Ayat, Ali Mohammad Ahadi","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.46450.1804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.46450.1804","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Scorpion venom contains various toxin peptides with pharmacological and biological properties. Scorpion toxins specifically interact with membrane ion channels which play key roles in progression of cancer. Therefore, scorpion toxins have received special attention for targeting cancer cells. Two new toxins MeICT and IMe-AGAP, isolated from Iranian yellow scorpion, <i>Mesobuthus eupeus,</i> interact specifically with chloride and sodium channels, respectively. Anti-cancer properties of MeICT and IMe-AGAP have been determined before, in addition they show 81 and 93% similarity with two well-known anti-cancer toxins, CTX and AGAP, respectively. The aim of this study was construction of a fusion peptide MeICT/IMe-AGAP to target different ion channels involved in cancer progression. Design and structure of the fusion peptide were investigated by bioinformatics studies. Two fragments encoding MeICT and IMe-AGAP were fused using overlapping primers by SOEing-PCR. MeICT/IMe-AGAP chimeric fragment was cloned into pET32Rh vector, expressed in <i>Escherichia coli</i> host and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. The <i>in silico</i> studies showed that chimeric peptide with GPSPG linker preserved the three-dimensional structure of both peptides and can be functional. Due to the high expression of chloride and sodium channels in various cancer cells, MeICT/IMe-AGAP fusion peptide can be used as an effective agent to target both channels in cancers, simultaneously.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 1","pages":"27-36"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10186859/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9845449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-01DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2023.46890.1813
Khyber Saify
Human leukocyte antigen-DQB1 (HLA-DQB1, OMIM: 604305) is the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) system. HLA genes are classified into three classes (I, II, and III). The HLA-DQB1 belongs to class II, is mainly involved in the actions of the human immune system and plays a fundamental role in donor-recipient matching in transplantation and can be associated with most autoimmune diseases. In this study, the potential influence(s) of the G-71C (rs71542466) and T-80C (rs9274529) genetic polymorphisms were investigated. These polymorphisms, located in the HLA-DQB1 promoter region, have a significant frequency in the world population. The online software ALGGEN-PROMO.v8.3 was used in this work. The results indicate that the C allele at the -71 position actually creates a new potential binding site for NF1/CTF and the C allele at the -80 position changes the TFII-D binding site into a GR-alpha response element. The NF1/CTF plays the role of activator and the GR-alpha is the inhibitor; thus, according to the roles of these transcription factors, it is suggested that the above-mentioned polymorphisms alter the expression levels of HLA-DQB1. Therefore, this genetic variation is associated with autoimmune diseases; however, this cannot be generalized because this is the first report and more studies are needed in the future.
{"title":"The genetic polymorphisms at the promoter region of <i>HLA-DQB1</i> gene, creating responsive elements for NF1/CTF and converting the TFII-D binding site to GR-alpha.","authors":"Khyber Saify","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.46890.1813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.46890.1813","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human leukocyte antigen-DQB1 (HLA-DQB1, OMIM: 604305) is the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) system. HLA genes are classified into three classes (I, II, and III). The HLA-DQB1 belongs to class II, is mainly involved in the actions of the human immune system and plays a fundamental role in donor-recipient matching in transplantation and can be associated with most autoimmune diseases. In this study, the potential influence(s) of the G-71C (rs71542466) and T-80C (rs9274529) genetic polymorphisms were investigated. These polymorphisms, located in the <i>HLA-DQB1</i> promoter region, have a significant frequency in the world population. The online software ALGGEN-PROMO.v8.3 was used in this work. The results indicate that the C allele at the -71 position actually creates a new potential binding site for NF1/CTF and the C allele at the -80 position changes the TFII-D binding site into a GR-alpha response element. The NF1/CTF plays the role of activator and the GR-alpha is the inhibitor; thus, according to the roles of these transcription factors, it is suggested that the above-mentioned polymorphisms alter the expression levels of <i>HLA-DQB1</i>. Therefore, this genetic variation is associated with autoimmune diseases; however, this cannot be generalized because this is the first report and more studies are needed in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 1","pages":"51-55"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10186860/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9490169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Toxicity and autophagy effects of a new complex of platinum II (CPC) were evaluated on HeLa cells cultured on a PCL/gelatin electrospinning scaffold. HeLa cells were treated with CPC on the first, third, and fifth days and the concentration of IC50 was determined. The autophagic and apoptotic effects of CPC were examined by MTT assay, Acridine Orange, Giemsa, DAPI, MDC, real-time PCR, Western blot testing, and molecular docking. The cell viability was obtained on days 1, 3, and 5 as much as 50, 7.28, and 19%, respectively with a concentration of IC50 (100μM) of CPC. The staining results indicated that the treatment of HeLa cells with CPC had antitumor and autophagic effects. Results of RT-PCR showed that the expression of BAX, BAD, P53, and LC3 genes was significantly increased in the sample treated with IC50 concentration compared to the control sample whereas the expression of BCL2, mTOR, and ACT genes in cells was significantly decreased compared to the control group. Also, these results were confirmed by Western blotting. The data indicated the induction of apoptotic death and autophagy in the studied cells. The new compound of CPC has antitumor effects.
{"title":"Toxicity and autophagy effects of fluorinated cycloplatinated(II) complex bearing dppm ligand on cancer cells in <i>in-vitro</i> culture and <i>in-silico</i> prediction.","authors":"Zahra Kamalzade, Elham Hoveizi, Masood Fereidoonnezhad","doi":"10.22099/mbrc.2023.44705.1781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22099/mbrc.2023.44705.1781","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Toxicity and autophagy effects of a new complex of platinum II (CPC) were evaluated on HeLa cells cultured on a PCL/gelatin electrospinning scaffold. HeLa cells were treated with CPC on the first, third, and fifth days and the concentration of IC<sub>50</sub> was determined. The autophagic and apoptotic effects of CPC were examined by MTT assay, Acridine Orange, Giemsa, DAPI, MDC, real-time PCR, Western blot testing, and molecular docking. The cell viability was obtained on days 1, 3, and 5 as much as 50, 7.28, and 19%, respectively with a concentration of IC<sub>50</sub> (100μM) of CPC. The staining results indicated that the treatment of HeLa cells with CPC had antitumor and autophagic effects. Results of RT-PCR showed that the expression of <i>BAX</i>, <i>BAD</i>, <i>P53</i>, and <i>LC3</i> genes was significantly increased in the sample treated with IC<sub>50</sub> concentration compared to the control sample whereas the expression of <i>BCL2</i>, <i>mTOR</i>, and <i>ACT</i> genes in cells was significantly decreased compared to the control group. Also, these results were confirmed by Western blotting. The data indicated the induction of apoptotic death and autophagy in the studied cells. The new compound of CPC has antitumor effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":19025,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Research Communications","volume":"12 1","pages":"37-49"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10186856/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9845452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}