Sunderbans polluted: Persistent organic pollutants found
Rising sea level and erosion aside, the Sundarbans now face a new threat. An international research team has detected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbde), a persistent organic pollutant, in the core sediment from seven sites in the wetland. pbdes are used as flame-retardants in electrical equipments, plastics, textiles, building materials, vehicles and aircraft industries. Earlier research has established that pbdes can be persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. They can cause liver and neuro-developmental toxicity and affect thyroid hormone levels.
“The huge discharge of municipal wastewater along with local industries’ waste may have contributed to elevated levels of pbdes. The presence of several textile plants along the upper stretch of Hooghly estuary indicates local use of pbde formulates for textile production,” says Santosh Kumar Sarkar, a co-researcher at the department of marine sciences in the Calcutta University, in a study published in the recent issue of Marine Pollution Bulletin (Vol 54, No 8).
Sarkar says, among the 12 kinds of pbdes found, the penta-bde mixture is most dangerous. “We will give due emphasis on the risks of exposure to wildlife species and humans now,” he adds. He feels the results will help monitor the wetland for more persistent organic pollutants.
The above article was originally written by this blogger and published in the 15th October 2007 issue of Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly published from New Delhi
Monday, November 05, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Human Urine Aids the Growth of Fish Food Organism
A research team from West Bengal has discovered that human urine could be an excellent liquid waste aid in the mass production of fish food organism called Moina micrura, a type of zooplankton. The team studied the nutrient potentials of human urine and then compared its efficacy with other waste products like cow urine, human-cow mixed urine, vermin-compost, cow dung, poultry droppings and mixed wastes (vermin-cow-poultry) for the mass culture of M. micrura in 24 outdoor tanks.
The team found that the newly born M. micrura held in the treatment with human urine started reproduction at least 4 days earlier than other solid wastes. Total number of M. micrura counted in the culture tank, related with offspring production per life span, was maximum in case of human urine treatment, followed by human–cow mixed urine, cow urine, vermin-compost, poultry droppings, mixed wastes (vermin–cow–poultry), cow dung and control treatments.
The relationship between the total offspring production per female per life span and the nitrogen content of water in different treatments implied that human urine can be used for the mass production of zooplankton Moina micrura required for larval and post larval rearing of commercial fishes, write the researchers in a recent issue of Ecological Engineering.
A research team from West Bengal has discovered that human urine could be an excellent liquid waste aid in the mass production of fish food organism called Moina micrura, a type of zooplankton. The team studied the nutrient potentials of human urine and then compared its efficacy with other waste products like cow urine, human-cow mixed urine, vermin-compost, cow dung, poultry droppings and mixed wastes (vermin-cow-poultry) for the mass culture of M. micrura in 24 outdoor tanks.
The team found that the newly born M. micrura held in the treatment with human urine started reproduction at least 4 days earlier than other solid wastes. Total number of M. micrura counted in the culture tank, related with offspring production per life span, was maximum in case of human urine treatment, followed by human–cow mixed urine, cow urine, vermin-compost, poultry droppings, mixed wastes (vermin–cow–poultry), cow dung and control treatments.
The relationship between the total offspring production per female per life span and the nitrogen content of water in different treatments implied that human urine can be used for the mass production of zooplankton Moina micrura required for larval and post larval rearing of commercial fishes, write the researchers in a recent issue of Ecological Engineering.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
A Potential Remedy for Malignant Malaria
A research team from Kolkata has discovered a complex organic compound that inhibits the activity of an enzyme that is essential for the survival and growth of Plasmodium falciparum, a parasite that causes malignant malaria in humans. According to the research team, the compound called hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTAB) disrupted the activity of the enzyme called choline kinase, an enzyme which plays vital role in the biosynthesis of the most essential phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine in P. falciparum.
HDTAB inhibited P. falciparum choline kinase (PfCK) in a dose-dependent manner and offered very potent antimalarial activity in lab studies against P. falciparum. Furthermore, the antimalarial activity of HDTAB paralleled the decrease in phosphatidylcholine content, which was found to correlate with the decreased phosphocholine generation. These results suggest that inhibition of choline kinase by HDTAB leads to decreased phosphocholine, which in turn causes a decrease in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis, resulting in death of the parasite.
Moreover, HDTAB exhibited profound antimalarial activity in vivo against the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii (N-67 strain). Interestingly, parasites at the trophozoite and schizont stages were found to be particularly sensitive to HDTAB, write the researchers in a recent issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Malaria is still a burning problem in India and other developing countries and second biggest killer after tuberculosis. Till November 2006, nearly 1.04 million Indians were afflicted with malaria. Of all the malaria cases, .46 million cases were P. falciparum cases. Some of the states like MP, Orissa, A.P., West Bengal, Gujarat, North Eastern States, Bihar and Maharashtra are highly endemic for P. falciparum and these states contribute around 97 per cent of the total P. falciparum cases in the country.
Since the 1990s, malaria returned with vengeance. The new obstacles have been resistance in P. falciparum to chloroquine and other anti-malarial drugs and human resistance to chemical control of vectors. Malaria control has become a complex enterprise.
Malaria also causes huge economic loss in a country like India. India has spent up to 25 per cent of its health budget on malaria control from 1977-1997. In 1997, India also started a five-year program for malaria control aimed to target 100 districts where 80 per cent of all P. falciparum cases occur.
A research team from Kolkata has discovered a complex organic compound that inhibits the activity of an enzyme that is essential for the survival and growth of Plasmodium falciparum, a parasite that causes malignant malaria in humans. According to the research team, the compound called hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTAB) disrupted the activity of the enzyme called choline kinase, an enzyme which plays vital role in the biosynthesis of the most essential phospholipid, phosphatidylcholine in P. falciparum.
HDTAB inhibited P. falciparum choline kinase (PfCK) in a dose-dependent manner and offered very potent antimalarial activity in lab studies against P. falciparum. Furthermore, the antimalarial activity of HDTAB paralleled the decrease in phosphatidylcholine content, which was found to correlate with the decreased phosphocholine generation. These results suggest that inhibition of choline kinase by HDTAB leads to decreased phosphocholine, which in turn causes a decrease in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis, resulting in death of the parasite.
Moreover, HDTAB exhibited profound antimalarial activity in vivo against the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii (N-67 strain). Interestingly, parasites at the trophozoite and schizont stages were found to be particularly sensitive to HDTAB, write the researchers in a recent issue of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Malaria is still a burning problem in India and other developing countries and second biggest killer after tuberculosis. Till November 2006, nearly 1.04 million Indians were afflicted with malaria. Of all the malaria cases, .46 million cases were P. falciparum cases. Some of the states like MP, Orissa, A.P., West Bengal, Gujarat, North Eastern States, Bihar and Maharashtra are highly endemic for P. falciparum and these states contribute around 97 per cent of the total P. falciparum cases in the country.
Since the 1990s, malaria returned with vengeance. The new obstacles have been resistance in P. falciparum to chloroquine and other anti-malarial drugs and human resistance to chemical control of vectors. Malaria control has become a complex enterprise.
Malaria also causes huge economic loss in a country like India. India has spent up to 25 per cent of its health budget on malaria control from 1977-1997. In 1997, India also started a five-year program for malaria control aimed to target 100 districts where 80 per cent of all P. falciparum cases occur.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Herbal Cure for Amoebiasis
Indian camphorweed, that grows in lowlands and swamps, may hold the key to a cure for amoebiasis, a disease caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica that mostly hits the poor. A team of researchers from Jadavpur University and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, both in Kolkata, have isolated a compound from the root of this plant that stops the growth of the parasite.
Among the seven compounds isolated from the root extract of the shrub (Pluchea indica) is r/j/3.
“This pure compound, chemically a thiophene derivative, was most effective in checking the proliferation of the parasites,” says lead researcher Tapan Kumar Chatterjee.
This could be a potent anti-amoebic drug, he says. The findings of the study will be published in a forthcoming issue of Phytomedicine.
The researchers took a virulent strain (hm1) of E histolytica and cultured trophozoites, the stage in which the parasite resides in the intestine and causes symptoms of amoebiasis. Then they exposed the trophozoites to varying doses of the pure compound.
r/j/3 showed optimum result at a dose of 0.00005 gm per ml. Two hours after administration, it caused granulation in the trophozoites. In four hours, the trophozoites were completely broken down. r/j/3 acted slower than synthetic drugs like metronidazole. “But being a plant product, it is safe and non-toxic. Metronidazole is very toxic and parasites are sometimes resistant to it,” Chatterjee says.
The above article was originally published in Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly published from New Delhi and written by this blogger.
Indian camphorweed, that grows in lowlands and swamps, may hold the key to a cure for amoebiasis, a disease caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica that mostly hits the poor. A team of researchers from Jadavpur University and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, both in Kolkata, have isolated a compound from the root of this plant that stops the growth of the parasite.
Among the seven compounds isolated from the root extract of the shrub (Pluchea indica) is r/j/3.
“This pure compound, chemically a thiophene derivative, was most effective in checking the proliferation of the parasites,” says lead researcher Tapan Kumar Chatterjee.
This could be a potent anti-amoebic drug, he says. The findings of the study will be published in a forthcoming issue of Phytomedicine.
The researchers took a virulent strain (hm1) of E histolytica and cultured trophozoites, the stage in which the parasite resides in the intestine and causes symptoms of amoebiasis. Then they exposed the trophozoites to varying doses of the pure compound.
r/j/3 showed optimum result at a dose of 0.00005 gm per ml. Two hours after administration, it caused granulation in the trophozoites. In four hours, the trophozoites were completely broken down. r/j/3 acted slower than synthetic drugs like metronidazole. “But being a plant product, it is safe and non-toxic. Metronidazole is very toxic and parasites are sometimes resistant to it,” Chatterjee says.
The above article was originally published in Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly published from New Delhi and written by this blogger.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Aloe vera could cure Kala-azar
known for its cosmetic applications, aloe vera, the wonder plant, has now been found to possess ingredients that can cure kala-azar and some other forms of leishmaniasis. Ghrita Kumari, as the plant is locally known, can kill two forms of leishmania parasites, researchers from Kolkata’s Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology have found. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by certain species of sand fly.
In laboratory experiments, the team found that leaf extracts of the aloe vera plant directly killed two kinds of parasites, promastigotes and amastigotes. The promastigote form enters the human body through sand-fly bites and morphs into amastigote inside the macrophage cells, a type of immune cells derived from while blood cells.
This causes kala-azar or leishmaniasis with symptoms like fever, loss of appetite and enlarged spleen and liver.
“Aloe vera extracts activated cultured mice macrophages increasing the production of toxic metabolites of oxygen like superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide,” says Mitali Chatterjee, lead co-author of the study. “I feel that these toxic metabolites help generate oxidative stress-destroying leishmania parasites inside the macrophages,” she says. According to her, the study has immense potential as aloe vera is easily available and its toxicity is low. Aloe vera, she says, could be a potential herbal remedy for kala-azar and other types of leishmaniasis.
To study the efficacy of aloe vera extract, five parasitic strains including k27 and jish 118 were isolated from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, lv81 and l280, from patients with mucocutaneous leishmaniasis while mon 29 and 2001 were isolated from patients with visceral leishmaniasis.
After culling promastigotes from patients, the team converted them into amastigotes in culture media outside macrophage cells. Then promastigotes and amastigotes were exposed to various concentrations of the plant leaf extract. “The extract possesses a direct parasiticidal effect on leishmania promastigotes, irrespective of the species, suggesting its efficacy in all forms of leishmaniasis,” comments Chitra Mandal, one of the authors.
The potency of the extract to kill leishmania amastigotes was over 25-fold higher than in promastigotes, write the researchers in Glycoconjugate Journal (Vol 24, No 1). This was significant, considering amastigotes are responsible for the disease.
According to the researchers, the study is significant as available anti-lesihmanial therapy has drawbacks like toxic side-effects, high cost and drug-resistance. Aloe vera could be an effective antidote to kala-azar, which according to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, puts 165.4 million people at risk in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The above article was originally published in the 30 April 2007 issue of Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly published in New Delhi and written by this blogger.
known for its cosmetic applications, aloe vera, the wonder plant, has now been found to possess ingredients that can cure kala-azar and some other forms of leishmaniasis. Ghrita Kumari, as the plant is locally known, can kill two forms of leishmania parasites, researchers from Kolkata’s Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology have found. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by certain species of sand fly.
In laboratory experiments, the team found that leaf extracts of the aloe vera plant directly killed two kinds of parasites, promastigotes and amastigotes. The promastigote form enters the human body through sand-fly bites and morphs into amastigote inside the macrophage cells, a type of immune cells derived from while blood cells.
This causes kala-azar or leishmaniasis with symptoms like fever, loss of appetite and enlarged spleen and liver.
“Aloe vera extracts activated cultured mice macrophages increasing the production of toxic metabolites of oxygen like superoxide anions, hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide,” says Mitali Chatterjee, lead co-author of the study. “I feel that these toxic metabolites help generate oxidative stress-destroying leishmania parasites inside the macrophages,” she says. According to her, the study has immense potential as aloe vera is easily available and its toxicity is low. Aloe vera, she says, could be a potential herbal remedy for kala-azar and other types of leishmaniasis.
To study the efficacy of aloe vera extract, five parasitic strains including k27 and jish 118 were isolated from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, lv81 and l280, from patients with mucocutaneous leishmaniasis while mon 29 and 2001 were isolated from patients with visceral leishmaniasis.
After culling promastigotes from patients, the team converted them into amastigotes in culture media outside macrophage cells. Then promastigotes and amastigotes were exposed to various concentrations of the plant leaf extract. “The extract possesses a direct parasiticidal effect on leishmania promastigotes, irrespective of the species, suggesting its efficacy in all forms of leishmaniasis,” comments Chitra Mandal, one of the authors.
The potency of the extract to kill leishmania amastigotes was over 25-fold higher than in promastigotes, write the researchers in Glycoconjugate Journal (Vol 24, No 1). This was significant, considering amastigotes are responsible for the disease.
According to the researchers, the study is significant as available anti-lesihmanial therapy has drawbacks like toxic side-effects, high cost and drug-resistance. Aloe vera could be an effective antidote to kala-azar, which according to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, puts 165.4 million people at risk in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The above article was originally published in the 30 April 2007 issue of Down To Earth, a science and environment fortnightly published in New Delhi and written by this blogger.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Scorpion Venom Antidote to Blood Cancer
venom spewed by the deadly Indian black scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis) could have a possible cure for human blood cancer, a new research claims.A joint team from Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, and University of Calcutta found in laboratory tests that venom from the black scorpion stopped the proliferation of cultured human blood cancer cells and drove them to commit mass suicide (apoptosis or programmed cell death).
“This is the first report of anti-cancer potential of Indian black scorpion venom from India,” says Aparna Gomes, who led the research. “We have already identified that the anti-cancer effects of scorpion venom are due to the presence of certain proteins,” says Antony Gomes, co-author of the study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Leukemia Research.
The researchers are working to decipher the identity of the anti-cancer proteins in scorpion venom and find how those proteins inhibit the growth of cancer cells. This provides clues to the development of a new anti-cancer drug.
The researchers cultured two types of human leukaemic cell lines (u937 and k562) and exposed them to doses of scorpion venom for 48 hours. The team took two million of each type of leukaemic cells. The u937 cells were exposed to 0.0000415 gram/ml of scorpion venom and k562 cells to 0.0000883 gram/ml. A batch of unexposed leukaemic cells was treated as controls. The study found that both the doses of venom halted the growth of 50 per cent of the cancer cells. Sophisticated imaging techniques revealed that the venom-treated cancer cells underwent controlled death.
The control cancer cells showed intact cell membrane, but the treated cells clearly showed deep ridges and furrows as well as severe membrane bulging, the hallmark of mass death. The treated cells had damaged nuclei as well as fragmented dna compared to intact ones of controls. The venom also arrested the cell cycle reducing the dna content of the cancer cells.
Such study results are encouraging. “Of the 90 species of venomous Indian scorpions, we have seen only one species,” says Antony Gomes. He believes that more effective anti-cancer drugs can be made by studying venoms.
A cheap anti-leukaemic drug is urgently needed as the National Cancer Registry has identified leukemia among ten of the leading cancers in Delhi, Aurangabad, Barshi, Bangalore, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram.
The above article was originally published in 'Down To Earth', a science and environmently fortnightly and written by this blogger
venom spewed by the deadly Indian black scorpion (Heterometrus bengalensis) could have a possible cure for human blood cancer, a new research claims.A joint team from Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, and University of Calcutta found in laboratory tests that venom from the black scorpion stopped the proliferation of cultured human blood cancer cells and drove them to commit mass suicide (apoptosis or programmed cell death).
“This is the first report of anti-cancer potential of Indian black scorpion venom from India,” says Aparna Gomes, who led the research. “We have already identified that the anti-cancer effects of scorpion venom are due to the presence of certain proteins,” says Antony Gomes, co-author of the study to be published in a forthcoming issue of Leukemia Research.
The researchers are working to decipher the identity of the anti-cancer proteins in scorpion venom and find how those proteins inhibit the growth of cancer cells. This provides clues to the development of a new anti-cancer drug.
The researchers cultured two types of human leukaemic cell lines (u937 and k562) and exposed them to doses of scorpion venom for 48 hours. The team took two million of each type of leukaemic cells. The u937 cells were exposed to 0.0000415 gram/ml of scorpion venom and k562 cells to 0.0000883 gram/ml. A batch of unexposed leukaemic cells was treated as controls. The study found that both the doses of venom halted the growth of 50 per cent of the cancer cells. Sophisticated imaging techniques revealed that the venom-treated cancer cells underwent controlled death.
The control cancer cells showed intact cell membrane, but the treated cells clearly showed deep ridges and furrows as well as severe membrane bulging, the hallmark of mass death. The treated cells had damaged nuclei as well as fragmented dna compared to intact ones of controls. The venom also arrested the cell cycle reducing the dna content of the cancer cells.
Such study results are encouraging. “Of the 90 species of venomous Indian scorpions, we have seen only one species,” says Antony Gomes. He believes that more effective anti-cancer drugs can be made by studying venoms.
A cheap anti-leukaemic drug is urgently needed as the National Cancer Registry has identified leukemia among ten of the leading cancers in Delhi, Aurangabad, Barshi, Bangalore, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram.
The above article was originally published in 'Down To Earth', a science and environmently fortnightly and written by this blogger
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Nanoparticles Could Help in Screening Individuals for Thalassaemia
A type of nanoparticles could provide clues to whether a person carries the defective gene for thalassaemia, claims a research team from Kolkata-based Calcutta University. Known as copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), the nanomolecules form various protein aggregates binding to haemoglobin, the metalloprotein in red blood cells. Besides protein aggregrates, the copper nanoparticles also precipitate the aggregated protein.
The researchers found that the nanoparticles formed a distinct aggregation when bound to a mutated form of haemoglobin that leads to beta-thalassaemia. Using special techniques like atomic absorption spectroscopy and high-pressure liquid chromatography, the team found the nanoparticles were co-precipitated with specific variants of haemoglobin. Studies showed that protein initially broke the nanoclusters into smaller sizes (4nm), followed by gradual increase in cluster size. A suitable scaling up of the approach may have important implications in screening haemoglobinopathies such beta-thalassaemia, write the researchers in a recent issue of Nanomedicine.
According to an estimate, there would be about 45 million carriers and about 15,000 infants born each year with haemoglobinopathies in India. The carrier frequency of haemoglobinopathy varies from 3 to 17 per cent in different population groups of India. In India, beta-thalassaemia comprises about 80–90 per cent of the total thalassaemias reported. More than 200 beta-thalassaemia mutations have been identified all over the world and of these about 28 mutations have been documented in Indian patients. There is growing concern that thalassemia may become a very serious problem in the next 50 years.
A type of nanoparticles could provide clues to whether a person carries the defective gene for thalassaemia, claims a research team from Kolkata-based Calcutta University. Known as copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), the nanomolecules form various protein aggregates binding to haemoglobin, the metalloprotein in red blood cells. Besides protein aggregrates, the copper nanoparticles also precipitate the aggregated protein.
The researchers found that the nanoparticles formed a distinct aggregation when bound to a mutated form of haemoglobin that leads to beta-thalassaemia. Using special techniques like atomic absorption spectroscopy and high-pressure liquid chromatography, the team found the nanoparticles were co-precipitated with specific variants of haemoglobin. Studies showed that protein initially broke the nanoclusters into smaller sizes (4nm), followed by gradual increase in cluster size. A suitable scaling up of the approach may have important implications in screening haemoglobinopathies such beta-thalassaemia, write the researchers in a recent issue of Nanomedicine.
According to an estimate, there would be about 45 million carriers and about 15,000 infants born each year with haemoglobinopathies in India. The carrier frequency of haemoglobinopathy varies from 3 to 17 per cent in different population groups of India. In India, beta-thalassaemia comprises about 80–90 per cent of the total thalassaemias reported. More than 200 beta-thalassaemia mutations have been identified all over the world and of these about 28 mutations have been documented in Indian patients. There is growing concern that thalassemia may become a very serious problem in the next 50 years.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Antidote to Infertility from
A protein isolated from buffalo blood induces forward motility of goat sperm, en essential quality that makes fertilisation possible in animals and humans, claims a research team from the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. Known as the forward motility stimulating factor (FMSF), it has been shown to activate goat spermatozoa.
“FMSF can be used to enhance fertility in animal breeding farms and human infertility clinics,” says Gopal Chandra Majumder, the lead author. “The motility-promoting efficacy of FMSF is higher than non-protein activators like theophylline and bicarbonate. Besides, it is not species specific,” Majumder adds. FMSF, according to him, also has the potential for improving breeding of wild animals, and should help species that are almost extinct or endangered.
After isolation from buffalo blood fluid, FMSF was purified and exposed to goat sperm incubated in plasma. The team found two types of FMSF (FMSF-I, FMSF-II). Nearly 20-30 per cent goat spermatozoa showed forward progression in the absence of FMSF-I. The addition of it enhanced sperm forward motility significantly.
“The motility-promoting action is nearly complete in about one minute compared to other motility-promoting factors (theophylline and bicarbonate), which take six minutes to initiate maximal forward motility of sperm,” says Majumder. Mostly synthesized in liver, FMSF-I stimulates the motility of sperm of goat, rat, and humans. This shows that it has a certain regulatory role on sperm physiology. FMSF-I contains protein and sugar, both of which contribute to its motility-promoting factor, he says.
“Study reveals that FMSF-I binds to the receptor protein on sperm cell surface, which activates a second messenger protein, which in turn triggers a cascade of cellular events inside the sperm inducing forward motility,” explains Majumder in a paper published in the November issue of Journal of cellular Physiology (Vol 209, No 2).
The above article was originally published in ‘Down to Earth’, a science and fortnightly published from
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Scientists Snap an Image of a Piece of HIV Protein
In a groundbreaking discovery, for the first time researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases (part of National Institutes of Health), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla have crystallized and captured an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV surface protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody. Unlike much of the constantly mutating virus, this protein component is stable and -- more importantly, say the researchers -- appears vulnerable to attack from this specific antibody, known as b12, which can broadly neutralize HIV.
This finding, one of the best leads to come along in years, shows us a critical area of vulnerability on the virus that may be used to target with vaccines, sum up the researchers.
This neutralizing antibody binds to a HIV surface protein called gp120. Until now, no one had succeeded in determining the detailed structure of b12 in complex with gp120. It was extremely difficult to crystallize b12 bound to gp120, say the researchers in the 15 February online issue of Nature, in part due to the inherently flexible nature of the chemical bonds in gp120. To overcome the problem, the investigators created a variety of gp120s and eventually made the protein stiff enough to capture a picture of it in complex with b12. They saw that b12 binds gp120 at the same point where gp120 initially attaches to CD4 (a type of host’s cell surface protein).
In a groundbreaking discovery, for the first time researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases (part of National Institutes of Health), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla have crystallized and captured an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV surface protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody. Unlike much of the constantly mutating virus, this protein component is stable and -- more importantly, say the researchers -- appears vulnerable to attack from this specific antibody, known as b12, which can broadly neutralize HIV.
This finding, one of the best leads to come along in years, shows us a critical area of vulnerability on the virus that may be used to target with vaccines, sum up the researchers.
This neutralizing antibody binds to a HIV surface protein called gp120. Until now, no one had succeeded in determining the detailed structure of b12 in complex with gp120. It was extremely difficult to crystallize b12 bound to gp120, say the researchers in the 15 February online issue of Nature, in part due to the inherently flexible nature of the chemical bonds in gp120. To overcome the problem, the investigators created a variety of gp120s and eventually made the protein stiff enough to capture a picture of it in complex with b12. They saw that b12 binds gp120 at the same point where gp120 initially attaches to CD4 (a type of host’s cell surface protein).
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Folic Acid May Prevent Cleft Lip and Palate in Infants
Gulping down leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains early in their pregnancy can help women reduce their baby’s chances of being born with a facial cleft, claims a team of researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIHES), part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIEHS team found that 0.4 miligrams (mg) a day of folic acid, which is found in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains could reduce the baby’s risk by one third.
“These findings provide further evidence of the benefits of folic acid for women,” said Allen J. Wilcox, lead author of the study published in the latest British Medical Journal. “We already know that folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects, including spina bifida.”
Folic acid is a B vitamin found in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains. It can also be taken as a vitamin supplement, and it is added to flour and other fortified foods. The recommended daily dietary allowance for folate for adults is 400 micrograms or 0.4 mg.
“Folic acid deficiency causes facial clefts in laboratory animals, so we had a good reason to focus on folic acid in our clefts study,” said Wilcox. This population-based study was conducted in Norway, which has one of the highest rates of facial clefts in Europe and does not allow foods to be fortified with folic acid. In the US, on other hand, about one in every 750 babies is born with cleft lip and/ or palate.
The researchers estimated that 22 percent of isolated either cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP) cases in Norway could be averted if all pregnant women took 0.4 mg of folic acid per day.
Gulping down leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains early in their pregnancy can help women reduce their baby’s chances of being born with a facial cleft, claims a team of researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIHES), part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIEHS team found that 0.4 miligrams (mg) a day of folic acid, which is found in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains could reduce the baby’s risk by one third.
“These findings provide further evidence of the benefits of folic acid for women,” said Allen J. Wilcox, lead author of the study published in the latest British Medical Journal. “We already know that folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects, including spina bifida.”
Folic acid is a B vitamin found in leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains. It can also be taken as a vitamin supplement, and it is added to flour and other fortified foods. The recommended daily dietary allowance for folate for adults is 400 micrograms or 0.4 mg.
“Folic acid deficiency causes facial clefts in laboratory animals, so we had a good reason to focus on folic acid in our clefts study,” said Wilcox. This population-based study was conducted in Norway, which has one of the highest rates of facial clefts in Europe and does not allow foods to be fortified with folic acid. In the US, on other hand, about one in every 750 babies is born with cleft lip and/ or palate.
The researchers estimated that 22 percent of isolated either cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP) cases in Norway could be averted if all pregnant women took 0.4 mg of folic acid per day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)