CODEN : IJBBBQ ISSN
: 0301-1208
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VOLUME 45 |
NUMBER 1 |
FEBRUARY 2008 |
Minireviews
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Xenobiotic-induced
Immune Alterations: Implications in Health and Disease |
7 |
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Basu Dev
Banerjee*, Ayanabha Chakraborti, Sanvidhan G Suke, Rafat S Ahmed and A K Tripathi |
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Sodium
stibogluconate: Therapeutic use in the Management of Leishmaniasis |
16 |
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Papers
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Activation of cell mediated immune response and apoptosis towards
malignant cells with turmeric treatment in murine model |
23 |
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Cloning and characterization of diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) cDNA sequence from Brassica juncea cv Pusa bold |
30 |
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Application of fast chlorophyll a
fluorescence transient (OJIP) analysis to monitor functional integrity of pea
(Pisum sativum) mesophyll
protoplasts during isolation |
37 |
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B
Sunil, K Riazunnisa, T Sai Krishna, Gert Schansker, Reto J Strasser, |
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Effect
of probucol and desferroxamine against adriamycin toxicity in cardiac and
renal tissues of rats |
44 |
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Conformation of a residue substituted fragment (349-364) of human
lactoferrin protein in DMSO-d6 by 1H NMR and restrained
molecular dynamics |
51 |
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Notes |
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Exogenous
administration of dehydroepiendrosterone attenuates loss of superoxide
dismuatse activity in the brain of old rats |
57 |
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TRendys
Meeting Report 2007 |
61 |
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Instructions to Authors |
65 |
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*Author
for correspondence
AUTHOR INDEX
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57 |
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51 |
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57 |
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MINIREVIEWS
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.7-15
Xenobiotic-induced Immune Alterations: Implications in Health and Disease
Basu Dev Banerjee*, Ayanabha Chakraborti, Sanvidhan G Suke, Rafat S Ahmed and A K Tripathi
Environmental Biochemistry and Immunology
Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry,
University College of Medical Sciences and G.T.B. Hospital (University of
Delhi), Dilshad Garden, Delhi-110 095, India
Received 14 May 2007; revised 5 December 2007
Immune function may be significantly altered following occupational, inadvertent or therapeutic exposure to chemically diverse xenobiotics. The environmental chemicals like pesticides, halogenated hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, organic solvents, asbestos, silica, heavy metals etc. may interact with both cellular and humoral components of the immune system which can result in altered immune status that in turn may lead to decreased resistance to infection, certain forms of neoplasia or in some cases exacerbate allergy or autoimmunity. Recent advances in pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics have contributed a lot to delineate the mechanism of interaction of xenobiotics with the biological system at the cellular and molecular level. However, detection of immune changes on exposure to immunotoxic agents is highly complex, especially in humans due to several confounding factors like age, sex, race gender, co- existence of disease, food habits, smoking etc. Thus, establishing a quantitative relationship between immunotoxicological data and risk assessment, following xenobiotic exposure is still a challenge. The present article reviews the immune alterations caused by exposure to variety of xenobiotics, and their implications in health and disease.
Keywords: Xenobiotics, Pesticides, Disease,
Autoimmunity, Immunotoxicity
*E-mail: banerjeebd@hotmail.com
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.16-22
Sodium Stibogluconate: Therapeutic use in the Management of Leishmaniasis
Jayeeta Roychoudhury and Nahid Ali*
Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
4 Raja
Received 30 July 2007; revised 17 December 2007
Leishmaniasis causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The disease is endemic in developing countries of tropical regions, and in recent years economic globalization and increased travel has also spread to people in developed countries. In the absence of effective vaccines and vector-control measures, the main line of defense against the disease is chemotherapy. Organic pentavalent antimonials, including sodium stibogluconate have been the first-line drug for the treatment of leishmaniasis for the last several decades, and clinical resistance to these drugs has emerged as a primary obstacle to successful treatment and control. The present review describes the structure, activity, mode of action of sodium stibogluconate and mechanism of resistance towards this drug in leishmaniasis.
Keywords:
Sodium stibogluconate,
Visceral leishmaniasis, Resistance, Pentavalent antimonials
*E-mail: nali@iicb.res.in
PAPERS
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.23-29
Activation of cell mediated immune response and apoptosis towards malignant cells with turmeric treatment in murine model
Ashim K Chakravarty and Hadida Yasmin
Immunology &
Cell Biology Lab, Dept. of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, University of
North Bengal,
Siliguri 734 013, India
Received 22 May 2007; revised 30 October 2007
The effect of
ethanolic turmeric extract (ETE)
on murine
lymphocytes vis-ΰ-vis tumor cells was studied, in terms of its ability to
activate lymphocytes and to induce apoptosis in tumor cells. Degree of activation and proliferation of
lymphocytes treated with ETE was analyzed in terms of blastogenesis, DNA
synthesis through 3H-thymidine incorporation and cell cycle analysis
by flourescence activated cell sorter (FACS). FACS analysis was also carried out to observe the
proliferation as well as apoptosis of tumor cells. Morphological condition of
both the cell types in presence of ETE was examined by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM). Cytotoxic capability of ETE-treated effector T lymphocytes
towards tumor cells was judged in vitro by
51Cr-release assay and the growth of tumor in situ. ETE stimulated murine lymphocytes towards blastogenesis
and synthesis of DNA, as revealed by increased incorporation of 3H-thymidine.
FACS indicated that the lymphocytes were driven towards mitotic cycle by activating G2-M
transition. In the same count, the tumor cells mostly
remained accumulated in the G2-M phase, and thus mitotically
arrested. Scanning electron photomicrographs revealed the blastoid
transformation of lymphocytes and ETE-induced apoptotic condition of tumor
cells. Furthermore, ETE-treated T cells were cytotoxic
towards tumor cells in vitro, as
shown by 51Cr- release assay. ETE administered intravenously or
orally could delay the onset
and growth of tumor, and thus prolonged the life span of the tumor-bearing
host. The present investigation suggests potential of turmeric both to destroy
the malignant cells directly and via activation of the hosts cellular
immunity.
Keywords: Turmeric, Lymphocytes, Immunostimulatory, Tumor
cells, Apoptotic
*Email: prof_ashim_chakravarty@rediffmail.com
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.30-36
Cloning and
characterization of diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) cDNA sequence from Brassica
juncea cv. Pusa Bold
Division of Biochemistry, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012
Received 30 May 2007; revised 3 January 2008
Diacylgycerol acyltransferase
(DGAT: EC 2.3.1.20) is the only enzyme in the Kennedy pathway that is
exclusively committed to the synthesis of storage oil in plants. In this study,
cloning and characterization of DGAT gene
sequence from Brassica juncea cv Pusa
bold, an important oil seed crop of
Keywords: Diacylglycerol
acyltransferase (DGAT), Kennedy pathway, Triacylglycerol, RT-PCR, cDNA cloning
*Email: ims_bio@yahoo.com
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.37-43
Application of fast chlorophyll a fluorescence transient (OJIP) analysis to monitor functional integrity of pea (Pisum sativum) mesophyll protoplasts during isolation
B Sunil1,
K Riazunnisa1, T Sai Krishna1, Gert Schansker2,
Reto J Strasser2, Agepati S Raghavendra1 and
Prasanna Mohanty1*#
1Department
of Plant Sciences,
2Bioenergetics
Laboratory,
Received 10 May 2007; revised 28 November 2007
Intact and metabolically very active mesophyll protoplasts were isolated rapidly from pea (Pisum sativum) leaves. The functional performance of protoplasts at various stages of their isolation was analyzed by using fast Chl a fluorescence OJIP transients and compared with that of intact leaves. The results demonstrated that the OJIP transients could successfully be used to monitor the quality of mesophyll protoplasts at different isolation steps. The protoplasts maintained their integrity and photosynthetic status very well, and their performance was very similar to that of the intact leaves.
Keywords: Chl a
fluorescence, Functional integrity, Mesophyll protoplasts, O-J-I-P Transients, Pisum sativum, Protoplast isolation
*E-mail:
prasanna37@hotmail.com,
photosis@rediffmail.com
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp. 44-50
Effect of probucol and desferroxamine against adriamycin toxicity in cardiac and renal tissues of rats
Nermin A H Sadik*, Manal F Ismail and Amira A Shaheen
Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy,
Received 28 March 2007; revised 10 May 2007
Adriamycin (ADR) is an
anthracycline glycoside with a broad spectrum of therapeutic activity against
various tumors; however, its clinical use has been limited due to its cardiac
and renal toxicity. Production of free radicals is involved in the development
of ADR-induced toxicity. This study investigated the effect of pre-treatment with probucol (PROB, a hypolipidemic
drug with a powerful antioxidant property) and
desferroxamine (DFO, an iron chelator) against ADR-induced oxidative
stress in the cardiac and renal tissues. Forty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups:
Group I rats received ADR (3 mg/kg, b.w i.p.) over a period of 2 weeks for a
cumulative dose of 18 mg/kg, b.w; Group II or ADR + PROB group rats were given
PROB i.p. in a cumulative dose of 120 mg/kg, b.w. divided into twelve equal
injections over a period of
4 weeks starting 2 weeks before ADR administration; Group III or ADR + DFO
group rats were given DFO i.p. in six equal doses each 50 mg/kg, b.w.over a
period of 2 weeks given 30 min before ADR injection; and Group IV rats were
kept without treatment and served as a control. Results showed that ADR
administration caused a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level in
serum, heart and kidney tissues along with lowered activities of cardiac and
renal glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). A significant
decrease in cardiac glutathione (GSH) level and xanthine dehydrogenase
(XD)/xanthine oxidase (XO) ratio, serum creatine kinase (CK) and renal
glutathione reductase (GR) activities was also observed. Cytotoxic damage was
evident from the histopathological examination in heart and kidney specimens. Pre-treatment with either
PROB or DFO restored the cardiac, renal and serum MDA levels and renal GR and
cardiac GST activities. They also caused significant elevation in serum CK
activity and renal XD/XO ratio. PROB normalized the activity of cardiac GPx,
whereas DFO restored activity of GPx in both cardiac and renal tissues. It can
be concluded that pre-treatment with either PROB or DFO counteracts the state
of oxidative stress associated with ADR treatment by modulating the antioxidant
status of the animals.
Keywords:
Adriamycin, Probucol, Desferroxamine, Oxidative stress, Heart, Kidney, Rat
*E-mail: nerminsadik@yahoo.com
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.51-56
Conformation of a residue substituted fragment (349-364) of human lactoferrin protein in DMSO-d6 by 1H NMR and restrained molecular dynamics
P N Sunilkumar1, C Sadasivan1, K
1Department
of Biotechnology and Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Kannur University,
Thalassery Campus, Palayad P.O., Kerala 670 661, India
2School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala
686 560, India
Received; 18 July 2007; revised 28 December 2007
The 16mer
peptide AVGEQELRGCNQWSGL is the Lys9Gly substitution analogue of 349-364 fragment of human lactoferrin (HLf). Interestingly, this HLf (349-364) fragment shows 68.75% sequence
identity with the corresponding sequence in porcine lactoferrin (PLf), 50% with
camel lactoferrin (ULf) and other lactoferrins coming in between the above two. From the available crystal structure data,
the 349-364 sequence stretch was found to adopt a right-handed
α-helical structure. The three-dimensional
structure of the
analogue in dimethyl
sulphoxide-d6 (DMSO-d6) at
Keywords: Human
lactoferrin, Nuclear magnetic resonance, Peptide conformation, Restrained
molecular dynamics, Solid-phase peptide synthesis
*Email: mharidasm@rediffmail.com
NOTES
Indian
Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Vol. 45, February 2008, pp.57-60
Exogenous administration of dehydroepiendrosterone attenuates loss of superoxide dismuatse activity in the brain of old rats
Nupur Sinha,
Received 20 June 2007; revised 31 December 2007
The influence of exogenously administered dehyroepiendrosterone (DHEA) on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was investigated in the mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions from cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus and medulla regions of the brains of 12- and 22-months old rats. DHEA was administered daily at the dose of 30 mg/kg/body wt, intraperitonially (i.p) in both age groups of rats for 1 month. Results showed that SOD activity was significantly higher in the mitochondrial fraction than in the cytosolic fraction, in DHEA-treated animals in both age groups. This indicated that exogenous DHEA affected mitochondrial SOD more than the cytosolic SOD. In terms of percent increase, 22 months-old animals showed significant increase in the SOD activity in both the fractions of all the four brain regions than in the 12 months old DHEA-treated animals. This showed that exogenous DHEA provided more protection to the SOD in ageing brain of older rats (22 months) than the younger (12 month) ones. The study suggests that exogenous DHEA is more beneficial at old age in terms of neuroprotection against oxidative stress-mediated brain dysfunctions and may protect age-related alterations in cognitive functions like learning and memory.
Keywords: Dehydroepiendrosterone, Superoxide dismutase, Brain,
Aging
*Email:
deepak57in@yahoo.com