Current Biotechnology - Volume 6, Issue 1, 2017

Background: Ebola virus (EBOV) is a single-stranded RNA filovirus and its genome consists of seven genes. Among these seven genes, the glycoprotein (GP) gene encodes the only transmembrane protein of EBOV which consists of disulfide linked glycoprotein 1 (GP1) and glycoprotein 2 (GP2). The two glycoproteins i.e. GP1 and GP2 are furin-cleavage fragments of GP. Both GP1 and GP2 are heavily glycosylated. The GP1 Read More

Background: There are some chapters written on microbiology of alcohol-making, where grapes and certain regional and seasonal fruits have been used to produce wines or specialized fruit beverages. This overview deals with the types of microorganisms involved in alcohol (ethanol) fermentation using various types of substrates, such as agricultural, industrial by-products and residual substrates, and seasonal and re Read More

Background: Halogenases are involved in the halogenation of secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical relevance, such as the antibiotics chloramphenicol and vancomycin. Hereby flavin- or FADH2-dependent halogenases represents the major class of halogenases. Previous investigations on flavin-dependent halogenases have focused on Actinomycetes and sponge-associated microorganisms. In order to ext Read More

Introduction: CD4+ regulatory T-cells that constitutively express CD25 have a potent mechanism of action of immunomodulation and hence hold a great therapeutic potential for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and tolerance induction in the context of solid organ transplantation. Methods: For in vitro generation of Tregs volunteer donor’s adipose tissue was resected and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were gener Read More

Background: Forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) is a transcription factor expressed by regulatory T (Treg) cells in the immune system. Detection of Foxp3 gene expression is an indispensable tool for the diagnosis of autoimmune disorders. Here we report the application of a polyacrylamide hydrogel sensor for the detection of Foxp3 gene via DNA hybridization. Methods: Polyacrylamide based hydrogels were generated using Read More

Background: Predicting thermostability of a protein, given its sequence or structure is a challenging job. Predicting which mutations can render mesophilic proteins thermostable is further challenging. A guided approach for the same is still elusive. Prediction can be done on the three hierarchies of protein organization: nucleotide sequence of the gene, primary amino acid sequences and the three dimensional structur Read More

Purpose: The ability of spermidine to increase the selectivity of anticancer agents has been studied extensively. In this research we report the combination of this polyamine and GM1 ganglioside micelles and characterize their behavior for drug delivery. Methods: Dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy were used to characterize size and morphology of micelles. Zeta potential was determined using a Nano-zeta Read More

Background: The antitumor activity of L-asparaginase isolated from natural sourceshas been proven thriving in treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other lymphoproliferative disorders however production efficiency and associated glutaminase activity has always been a limitation to its use. Asparaginase also induces apoptosis and cytoprotective autophagy in chronic myeloid leukemia cells. Together these findings ma Read More

Background: Saurauia punduana Wallich (Actinidiaceae) is a therapeutically important threatened plant species. Habitat destruction due to anthropogenic activities and over-collection for medicinal purpose has reduced the natural population. Present communication reports successful somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from in vitro cotyledonary leaves. Method: Saurauia punduana seeds were extracted fro Read More