Involvement of Essential Signaling Cascades and Analysis of Gene Networks in Diabesity

(1) Aims: Diabesity, defined as diabetes occurring in the context of obesity, is a serious health problem that is associated with an increased risk of premature heart attack, stroke, and death. To date, a key challenge has been to understand the molecular pathways that play significant roles in diabesity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the genetic links between diabetes and obesity in diabetic individuals and highlight the role(s) of shared genes in individuals with diabesity. (2) Methods: The interactions between the genes were analyzed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) tool after the compilation of obesity genes associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). Cytoscape plugins were utilized for enrichment analysis. (3) Results: We identified 546 obesity genes that are associated with T1D, T2D, and MODY. The network backbone of the identified genes comprised 514 nodes and 4126 edges with an estimated clustering coefficient of 0.242. The Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) generated three clusters with a score of 33.61, 16.788, and 6.783, each. The highest-scoring nodes of the clusters were , , and genes. The genes from cluster 1 were enriched in FOXO-mediated transcription of oxidative stress, renin secretion, and regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. The cluster 2 genes enriched in Src homology 2 domain-containing (SHC)-related events triggered by , regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, and GRB2: SOS produce a link to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling for integrins. The cluster 3 genes ere enriched in IGF1R signaling cascade and insulin signaling pathway. (4) Conclusion: This study presents a platform to discover potential targets for diabesity treatment and helps in understanding the molecular mechanism.The APC was funded by Qatar University Internal Grant number [QUST-2-CHS-2020-12

Cloning, expression, purification and amyloid degradation study of recombinant serrapeptase from Serratia marcescens

Abstract Background Serrapeptase (SP) is a proteolytic enzyme which plays a prominent role in the degradation of dead tissue. It can also use as a therapeutic enzyme for the treatment of Insulin amyloids. It has reported that the SP protein has the fibrinolytic activity, but the activities towards insulin amyloid degradation not reported. Our study has focused the cloning and expressing SP gene and studying its cytotoxic reactivity studies and amyloids degradation. Results SP gene was cloned in pET-28 a (+), and the enzyme was expressed using E.coli BL 21 (DE3) strain. The clone was confirmed using colony PCR, sequencing and restriction digestion. Overexpression of enzyme and purification performed using IPTG and Ni-NTA column. The molecular weight of serrapeptase protein was determined using SDS-PAGE, which found to be 52 kDa. The purified enzyme showed a zone of clearance on casein plate, slight cytotoxic reactivity to PC-12 cells after 24 h contact and 25% insulin amyloid degradation confirmed after 24 h of incubation. Conclusion This study shows that cloning and the expression of SP will reduce the time and cost of production of SP from wild type strain which can be used for the treatment of amyloid-related diseases.</jats:p

Remediation of Pb2+ and Cd2+ using rice husk biochar produced at low temperatures

Abstract In this study, biochar was obtained under mild conditions by pyrolysis treatment (350 oC) of rice husk, providing energy-efficient and low-carbon footprint synthesis. The pyrolyzed biochar was selected as the basis for solvothermal reaction to combine with ferrite in which the abundant functional groups would facilitate the removal of lead (Pb2+) and cadmium (Cd2+). Biochar/Ferrite (MBC) has special physicochemical properties and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and BET. The sorption possessions of the magnetic biochar (MBC) towards the heavy metals Pb2+ and Cd2+ were validated by the batch sorption process. The findings of the batch sorption kinetics propose the mechanism of sorption follows a pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models applied to the sorption equilibrium data for assessment of sorption potential and related mechanism. These findings showed that the sorption occurred through physical and chemical connections among Pb2+ and Cd2+ through MBC functional groups. Pb2+ and Cd2+ had a sorption potential of 147 mg/g, 104 mg/g at pH 5.5, and 300 k. The synthesized MBC was tested for recovery of heavy metal from industrial effluent, and successfully recovered 80% of heavy metals Pb2+ and Cd2+. Finally, the findings obtained showed the MBC adsorbent's ability for extracting trace heavy metals from industrial effluent.</jats:p

Exploring the bacterial community composition of soil from a tropical dry evergreen forest in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Metagenomics is a cutting edge omics technology that has been employed in various fields including novel product discovery, diagnostics, and pollutant monitoring. 16S metagenome amplicon sequencing is used for understanding the microbial diversity from various environments. Forest ecosystems have been known for the discovery of novel bacteria and also bacteria that produces novel compounds that are pharmaceutically and industrially relevant. In this study we try to show the bacterial community structure of the soil obtained from a tropical evergreen forest in India. We use 16s metagenomics sequencing and then follow it up with various analysis like alpha diversity analysis, to find out the dominant bacterial species found in these soils. Actinobacteria was found to be the most copmmonly found bacterial phylum followed by proteobacteria, firmicutes, chloroflexi, acidobacteria, verrucomicrobia, bacteroidetes, gemmatimonadetes, nitospirae and other unclassified organisms. Further studies can elucidate on the discovery of novel compounds from these bacteria.</jats:p