Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 21, Issue 14, 2020

Background: Floral has diversity and unique nature due to the complex structure and component. Alpinia is an important genus of the Zingiberaceae family having complex taxonomical diversity. The presence of many unique bioactive molecules makes this genus, a pharmaceutically important genus. They provide a wide range of medicinal properties, including traditional remedies to modern therape Read More

Background: Cancer is considered as the main public health problem and the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Numerous environmental-lifestyle related risk factors account for around one-third of cancer deaths. Recently, the key role of lncRNAs has been widely investigated in a variety of disorders, including cancer. The lncRNA GHET1 has been considered as an essential oncogenic lncRNA Read More

Background: Chitin stands at second, after cellulose, as the most abundant polysaccharide in the world. Chitin is found naturally in marine environments as it is a crucial structural component of various marine organisms. Methods: Different amounts of waste chitin and chitosan can be discovered in the environment. Chitinase producing microbes help to hydrolyze chitin waste to play an essential function for the removal Read More

Background: Lectins are class of proteins characterized by their ability to selectively bind carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins. Many invertebrate lectins, especially derived from hemolymph, are being purified, and yet their functions and medical applications are subjects of major interest. Methods: Hemolymph lectins in invertebrates play a major role in protecting against many pathogens and microbes. Further, m Read More

Background: MiR-493 promotes the proliferation of prostate cancer (PC) cells by targeting PHLPP2. We aimed to explore the relationship between miR-493 and autophagy in PC. Methods: qRT-PCR and western blotting were used to determine the mRNA levels and protein expression of miR-493, PHLPP2, autophagy gene BECN1 and ATG7 in PC cells. The autophagy gene expression was determined after PC cells transfected with m Read More

Background and Objectives: Drug design strategies to develop novel broad-spectrum antibacterial agents for the treatment of respiratory tract infections that can combat bacterial resistance are currently gaining momentum. 2,4-thiazolidinedione is a structural scaffold that contains pharmacophores similar to β-lactam and non- β-lactam antibiotics. The objective of the study was to synthesize newer 3,5-Disubstituted- Read More

Background: The molecular etiology of Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum (PXE), an autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder, has become increasingly complex as not only mutations in the ABCC6, but also in ENPP1 and GGCX, can cause resembling phenotypes. Methods: To get insights on the common pathway, the overlapping metabolites for these three proteins were predicted through 3D homology modeling and virtu Read More

Background: NN-32 toxin, which was obtained from Naja naja venom and showed cytotoxicity on cancer cell lines. As the toxicity of NN-32 is the main hurdle in the process of drug development; hence, we have conjugated NN-32 toxin with gold nanoparticles (GNP-NN-32) in order to decrease the toxicity of NN-32 without reducing its efficacy, GNP-NN-32 alleviated the toxicity of NN-32 in in vitro studies during the course of earli Read More

Background: Secondary metabolites of plants, the polyphenols, play a vital role in protection from many health problems in human beings. Structurally favored phytochemicals may be studied to protect multiorgan injury. At pharmacological doses, gallic acid is nontoxic to mammals and is generally absorbed in the intestine. Aims: In this present study, gallic acid was evaluated for its protective efficacy against Lipo Polysac Read More

Background: Apoptosis could take place in the pathway dependent on death receptors or pathways dependent on mitochondria. In both, a key role is played by enzymes with protease activity, known as caspases. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the variances in the expression pattern of caspase-dependent signaling pathways in the endometrial cancer cell line when treated with salinomycin. Additionally, the changes in th Read More

Objective: Lichens are emerging as a promising natural source of bioactivities of pharmaceutical interest. The present study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the lichen Umbilicaria muhlenbergii as a potential source of pharmaceutically relevant anticancer and antibiotic lichen chemicals. Methods: The crude acetone extract of U. muhlenbergii exhibited 13.3 μg mL-1 cytotoxic activity (EC50) against breast cancer cells (MC Read More

Background: In Saudi Arabia, the incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer are high. Although current treatments are effective, breast cancer cells develop resistance to these treatments. Numerous studies have demonstrated that active compounds in plant extracts, such as the phenolic compound Rosmarinic Acid (RA), exert anti-cancer effects. Objective: We investigated the anticancer properties of methanolic crude ext Read More

Background: This is the fastest work in obtaining the metabolic profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in order to combat the infection diseases which leads to high morbidity and mortality rates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a high versatility of gram-negative bacteria that can undergo aerobic and anaerobic respiration. Capabilities in deploying different carbon sources, energy metabolism and regulatory system, ensure the survival Read More

Background: Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE) is a mitochondrial ATP synthase (mATPase) disease, which results in the death of infants. The case presented here is reportedly caused by complex V deficiency as a result of mutation of Arginine to Cysteine at residue 329 in the mATPase. A recent breakthrough was the discovery of J147, which targets mATPase in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on the concepts Read More