Antioxidant, antidiabetic effects and polyphenolic contents of propolis from Siirt, Turkey.

Propolis, a natural product collected by honeybees from various plant sources, has gained significant attention due to its diverse bioactive compounds and potential therapeutic properties. To further explore its contents and biological activities, this study aimed to analyze the phenolic compounds in Siirt propolis extracts obtained using different solvents, namely ethanol, water, and ethanol-water mixtures. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the phenolic profile, as well as the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of the propolis extracts. Chemical profiling of extracts was performed using LC-MS/MS. The antioxidant potential of the propolis extracts was evaluated through free radical scavenging methods, including DPPH and ABTS assays. As a result of these analyses, propolis extracts showed moderate radical scavenging potential with 13.86%-35.72% for DPPH and 33.62%-62.50% for ABTS at a concentration of 30 µg mL-1, respectively. This radical scavenging potential of the extracts sheds light on its ability to combat oxidative stress, which is implicated in the development of diabetes, and its potential effects on cellular health. Additionally, the study assessed the antidiabetic properties of the propolis extracts by examining their inhibition effects on α-amylase and α-glycosidase enzymes. Extracts with high phenolic content showed a high inhibitory effect against α-glucosidase with an IC50 of 5.72 ± 0.83 µg mL-1. This research provided significant findings regarding the potential use of propolis in the treatment of diabetes and related metabolic disorders.

In Silico Prediction and Molecular Docking of SNPs in NRP1 Gene Associated with SARS-COV-2.

Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) which is a main transmembrane cell surface receptor acts as a host cell mediator resulting in increasing the SARS-Cov-2 infectivity and also plays a role in neuronal development, angiogenesis and axonal outgrowth. The goal of this study is to estimate the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NRP1 gene on the function, structure and stabilization of protein as well as on the miRNA-mRNA binding regions using bioinformatical tools. It is also aimed to investigate the changes caused by SNPs in NRP1 on interactions with drug molecule and spike protein. The missense type of SNPs was analyzed using SIFT, PolyPhen-2, SNAP2, PROVEAN, Mutation Assessor, SNPs&GO, PhD-SNP, I-Mutant 3.0, MUpro, STRING, Project HOPE, ConSurf, and PolymiRTS. Docking analyses were conducted by AutoDock Vina program. As a result, a total of 733 missense SNPs were determined within the NRP1 gene and nine SNPs were specified as damaging to the protein. The modelling results showed that wild and mutant type amino acids had some different properties such as size, charge, and hydrophobicity. Additionally, their three-dimensional structures of protein were utilized for confirmation of these differences. After evaluating the results, nine polymorphisms rs141633354, rs142121081, rs145954532, rs200028992, rs200660300, rs369312020, rs370117610, rs370551432, rs370641686 were determined to be damaging on the structure and function of NRP1 protein and located in conserved regions. The results of molecular docking showed that the binding affinity values are nearly the same for wild-type and mutant structures support that the mutations carried out are not in the focus of the binding site, therefore the ligand does not affect the binding energy. It is expected that the results will be useful for future studies.

An update comprehensive review on the status of COVID-19: vaccines, drugs, variants and neurological symptoms.

Various recently reported mutant variants, candidate and urgently approved current vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many current situations with severe neurological damage and symptoms as well as respiratory tract disorders have begun to be reported. In particular, drug, vaccine, and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been developed and are currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Here, we review lessons learned from the use of novel mutant variants of the COVID-19 virus, immunization, new drug solutions, and antibody therapies for infections. Next, we focus on the B 1.1.7, B 1.351, P.1, and B.1.617 lineages or variants of concern that have been reported worldwide, the new manifestations of neurological manifestations, the current therapeutic drug targets for its treatment, vaccine candidates and their efficacy, implantation of convalescent plasma, and neutralization of mAbs. We review specific clinical questions, including many emerging neurological effects and respiratory tract injuries, as well as new potential biomarkers, new studies in addition to known therapeutics, and chronic diseases of vaccines that have received immediate approval. To answer these questions, further understanding of the burden kinetics of COVID-19 and its correlation with neurological clinical outcomes, endogenous antibody responses to vaccines, pharmacokinetics of neutralizing mAbs, and action against emerging viral mutant variants is needed.

In silico approach to the analysis of SNPs in the human APAF1 gene.

The apoptotic protease activating factor 1 (APAF1) gene encodes a cytoplasmic protein that initiates apoptosis and is a crucial factor in the mitochondria-dependent death pathway. APAF1 is implicated in many pathways such as apoptosis, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. The purpose of this study was to predict deleterious/damaging SNPs in the APAF1 gene viain silicoanalysis. To this end, APAF1 missense SNPs were obtained from the NCBI dbSNP database. In silico analysis of the missense SNPs was carried out by using publicly available online software tools. The stabilization and three-dimensional modeling of mutant proteins were also determined by using the I-Mutant 2.0 and Project HOPE webservers, respectively. In total, 772 missense SNPs were found in the APAF1 gene from the NCBI dbSNP database, 18 SNPs of which were demonstrated to be deleterious or damaging. Of those, 13 SNPs had a decreasing effect on protein stability, while the other 5 SNPs had an increasing effect. Based on the modeling results, some dissimilarities of mutant type amino acids from wild-type amino acids such as size, charge, and hydrophobicity were revealed. The SNPs predicted to be deleterious in this study might be used in the selection of target SNPs for genotyping in disease association studies. Therefore, we could suggest that the present study could pave the way for future experimental studies.

[Detection of intestinal parasites with conventional and molecular methods in follow-up HIV/AIDS cases]. / Izlemdeki hiv /aids olgularindaki intestinal parazitlerin konvansiyonel ve moleküler yöntemler ile saptanmasi.

In people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), several complaints related to the gastrointestinal system, mainly diarrhea can be determined. In our study, we aimed to detect the existence of intestinal parasites with conventional methods based on microscopy and with molecular methods based on multiplex-PCR among 90 anti-retroviral treatment (ART) naive or ART adherent HIV/AIDS cases. The existence of Giardia spp., Blastocystis spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Dientamoeba spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. were searched in stool samples and the relation with the existence of these parasites and demographic/clinical data of the cases were determined. The demographic and clinical data of the participants included in the study were as follows; the average age was 34.02 ± 9.7 years, average time of diagnosis was 2.4 ± 1.7 years. Gender distribution was as follows; 85.6% male and 14.4% female. HIV transmission was related with heterosexual intercourse in 60%, homosexual intercourse in 33.3%, blood/blood products contact in 1.1% and with unknown routes in 5.6% of the cases. Fifty percent of the patients were in pre-ART and 50% was in on-ART state. The average CD4+ T lymphocyte count was detected as 400 cells/mm3 and the median of viral load was 114.527 copies/ml. An overall prevalence of at least one intestinal parasitic infection was recorded as 36.7% and the prevalence of this infection due to Blastocystis spp. was 22.2%, followed by Dientamoeba spp. (13.3%), E.histolytica (4.4%), Cryptosporidium spp. (3.3%), Giardia spp. (2.2%) and multiple parasitic infections (7.7%). The type of sexual behaviours related with the detection of intestinal parasites were statistically significant especially in homosexual intercourse (p< 0.001). The increase in CD4+ T lymphocyte counts were reversely associated (p= 0.062) and the increase in the levels of viral load were positively associated (p< 0.001) with detection rate of intestinal parasite. The detection of parasites by molecular methods was statistically significant in pre-ART participants (p= 0.002) and participants with diarrhea (p= 0.019). In the present study, the increase in the frequency of intestinal parasitic infections has shown that essential interventions are required. In all HIV/AIDS cases, routine parasitic screening should be performed by more sensitive methods to manage early and specific treatment.