A New Antifungal Antibiotic from Bacillus sp. KM5 Isolated from Rice Rhizospheric Soil

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Bacterial strain, Bacillus sp. KM5 was recently isolated and characterized by strong antifungal activities...     

Size of distal radial and distal ulnar arteries in adults of southern Rajasthan and their implications for percutaneous coronary interventions

Aims and objectives

Transradial interventions are gaining popularity in recent years. However the radial artery being small, there is a limitation in using interventional devices through this route. We have measured radial and ulnar arteries size in adult patients at our tertiary care cardiology center in southern Rajasthan.

Method

Adult patients >30 years, who came for Echocardiography at a tertiary care center were included. Radial and ulnar arteries inner diameters were measured 2–3 cm above the Styloid process in both forearms with the Ultrasonography. Patient information about weight, height, diabetes and hypertension were collected. Body mass index and Body surface area were calculated.

Results

We studied 204 patients, which includes 60.8% males. Mean diameter was 2.325 ± 0.4 mm mm for radial arteries and 2.358 ± 0.39 mm for ulnar arteries (p = 0.24). Hypertensive and male patients had larger mean radial artery diameter than non hypertensive (2.383 mm v/s 2.272 mm, p = 0.006) and female patients (2.37 mm v/s 2.26 mm, p = 0.008) respectively. Diabetic patients (2.305 mm) had nonsignificantly smaller radial arteries diameters than nondiabetics (2.329 mm, p = 0.6). We calculated correlations between radial arteries diameters and Body surface area, Body mass index, height and weight of patients, none of these correlations were statistically significant (r = 0.30, r = 0.28, r = 0.07, r = 0.031 respectively).

Conclusion

Mean radial artery diameter (2.325 ± 0.4 mm) in the study was slightly smaller than ulnar artery (2.358 ± 0.39 mm). Males and hypertensives had a larger mean radial artery diameter than females and non hypertensives. Radial artery inner diameter measurement by Ultrasonography may be more helpful than Allen''s test for ideal selection of cases.     

Signaling beyond Punching Holes: Modulation of Cellular Responses by Vibrio cholerae Cytolysin

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are a distinct class of membrane-damaging cytolytic proteins that contribute significantly towards the virulence processes employed by various pathogenic bacteria. Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) is a prominent member of the beta-barrel PFT (beta-PFT) family. It is secreted by most of the pathogenic strains of the intestinal pathogen V. cholerae. Owing to its potent membrane-damaging cell-killing activity, VCC is believed to play critical roles in V. cholerae pathogenesis, particularly in those strains that lack the cholera toxin. Large numbers of studies have explored the mechanistic basis of the cell-killing activity of VCC. Consistent with the beta-PFT mode of action, VCC has been shown to act on the target cells by forming transmembrane oligomeric beta-barrel pores, thereby leading to permeabilization of the target cell membranes. Apart from the pore-formation-induced direct cell-killing action, VCC exhibits the potential to initiate a plethora of signal transduction pathways that may lead to apoptosis, or may act to enhance the cell survival/activation responses, depending on the type of target cells. In this review, we will present a concise view of our current understanding regarding the multiple aspects of these cellular responses, and their underlying signaling mechanisms, evoked by VCC.     

A diabetes perception study among rural and urban individuals of West Bengal,India: are we ready for the pandemic?

International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries - Type 2 diabetes is a pandemic in India, yet studies regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices in diabetes in various Indian...     

Structural features and antiviral activity of sulphated fucans from the brown seaweed Cystoseira indica

Natural compounds offer interesting pharmacological perspectives for antiviral drug development. In this study, we have analysed sulphated-fucan-containing fractions isolated from the brown seaweed Cystoseira indica. The crude water extract (CiWE) and the main fraction (CiF3) obtained by anion exchange chromatography had potent antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) without cytotoxicity for Vero cell cultures. Furthermore, they had no direct inactivating effect on virions in a virucidal assay, and lacked anticoagulant activity. The mode of action of these compounds could be mainly ascribed to an inhibitory effect on virus adsorption. Chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods showed that the major polysaccharide had an apparent molecular mass of 35 kDa and contained a backbone of alpha-(1 --> 3)-linked fucopyranosyl residues substituted at C-2 with fucopyranosyl and xylopyranosyl residues. This sulphated fucan, considered the active principle of the C. indica water extract, also contained variously linked xylose and galactose units and glucuronic acid residues. Sulphate groups, if present, are located mostly at C-4 of (1 --> 3)-linked fucopyranosyl units, and appeared to be very important for the anti-herpetic activity of this polymer.     

Leishmania donovani infection of human myeloid dendritic cells leads to a Th1 response in CD4+ T cells from healthy donors and patients with kala-azar

The role played by dendritic cells (DCs) in Leishmania donovani infection is poorly understood. Here, we report that L. donovani amastigotes efficiently infect human peripheral-blood monocyte-derived DCs. Opsonization with normal human serum enhanced the infectivity of amastigotes and promastigotes only marginally. Surface attachment versus internalization was distinguished by incubation of DCs with live, fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled parasites, followed by quenching with crystal violet. Infection with amastigotes was accompanied by DC maturation, as was evident from the up-regulation of maturation-associated cell-surface markers, the nuclear translocation of RelB, and the release of cytokines. Amastigote-primed DCs produced inflammatory cytokines in response to subsequent treatment with interferon- gamma or anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody. When cocultured, amastigote-infected DCs induced T helper cell type 1 (Th1) responses both in naive allogeneic CD4(+) T cells and in autologous CD4(+) T cells from patients with kala-azar and up-regulated the expression of T-bet. Our data reveal that infection with L. donovani amastigotes induces a Th1 cytokine milieu in both DCs and T cells.