Social Interactions Increase Activation of Vasopressin-Responsive Neurons in the Dorsal Raphe.

Social interactions play an important role in our daily lives and can profoundly impact our health for better and worse. To better understand the neural circuitry underlying social behavior, we focused on neural circuits involving vasopressin neurons of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and serotonin neurons of the dorsal raphe (DR). Previous research shows that BNST vasopressin neurons are activated in male mice by interaction with a female and that vasopressin indirectly excites serotonin neurons. In our studies, we tested the hypothesis that specific social interactions would also activate neurons in the DR, specifically vasopressin 1A receptor (Avpr1a)-expressing neurons, which may be direct targets of the BNST vasopressin neurons. Using in separate experiments immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we found that male and female subjects exposed to a female conspecific show activation in the DR, and the activated neurons include populations of Avpr1a-expressing and other non-serotonergic, non-Avpr1a neurons in roughly equal numbers. Avpr1a neurons in the DR constitute a largely undocumented neuron population. Electrophysiological data suggest that most DR Avpr1a neurons behave like fast spiking interneurons found in other brain regions. Examination of RNAseq and in situ hybridization data suggests that there are glutamatergic, GABAergic, and serotonergic subtypes of Avpr1a neurons in the DR. Together our data support a model in which a subset of vasopressin-responsive interneurons in the DR may relay stimulus specific social signals from the forebrain BNST to the serotonergic DR system, which could help direct prosocial stimulus specific behavioral responses.

Pharmacological evaluation of phytochemicals from South Indian Black Turmeric (Curcuma caesia Roxb.) to target cancer apoptosis.

Curcuma caesia Roxb. (Black turmeric), a perennial herb of the family Zingiberaceae is indigenous to India. C. caesia is used as a spice, food preservative and coloring agent commonly in the Indian subcontinent. Functional parametric pharmacological evaluations like drug ability and toxicity profile of this endangered species is poorly documented. In our present study, among all the extracts of dried C. caesia rhizome viz- hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water tested for free radical scavenging capacity by total antioxidant activity (TAO) method, Hexane Rhizome Extract (HRE) was found to possess remarkable activity (1200mg ascorbic acid equivalent/100g). In MTT assay across three cancer cell lines and a control cell line, HRE exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition only in cancer cells, with notable activity in HepG2 cell lines (IC50: 0976µg/mL). Further, western blotting and flow cytometry experiments proved that HRE induces cell arrest at G2/M phase along with cellular apoptosis as suggestive by multiple-point mitochondrial mediated intrinsic pathway of Programmed Cell Death (PCD). Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS) analysis of HRE suggested twenty compounds that when docked in silico with Tubulin (1SA0) and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor/ EGFR (1XKK) showed very intimate binding with the original ligands. Our results provided significant evidence of the toxicity mechanisms of HRE that may be beneficial for more rational applications of drug discovery for slowing down cancer progression.

Microsatellite Instability in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia using D17S261 and D3S643 markers: A Pilot Study in Gujarat Population.

CONTEXT: Tumor progresses through a series of genetic alterations that involve proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes - the gatekeeper, caretakers, and landscaper genes. Microsatellites are short tandem repeat sequences, present over the span of human genome and are known to be variable at multiple loci due to errors in DNA Mismatch Repair machinery. AIM: The present study was aimed to evaluate the association between Microsatellite Instability (MSI) and evolution of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) - genetically a rare event but profound in this pilot study. SETTINGS AND DESIGNS: We explore the possibility of MSI in primary CML patients confirmed by t(9;22) using capillary electrophoresis. Fifteen CML patients and healthy individual samples, respectively, were used to study the markers D17S261 and D3S643. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The DNA was amplified using tagged and nontagged primers and further subjected to bioanalysis and fragment analysis. RESULTS: While the results from bioanalyzer fluctuated, fragment analysis indicated the presence of microsatellite variability in 80% of the patients' samples as compared to no MSI in normal individuals for both the markers. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that MSI is a genetic event that may have a role in CML progression or evolution. Further studies are warranted to understand the plausible underlying causes.

Biodegradation of phenol by native microorganisms isolated from coke processing wastewater.

The present investigation was undertaken to assess the biodegradation of phenol by native bacteria strains isolated from coke oven processing wastewater. The strains were designated ESDSPB1, ESDSPB2 and ESDSPB3 and examined for colony morphology Gram stain characters and biochemical tests. Phenol degrading performance of all the strains was evaluated initially. One of the strains namely ESDSPB2 was found to be highly effective for the removal of phenol, which was used as sole carbon and energy source. From an initial concentration of 200 mg I(-1) it degraded to 79.84 +/- 1.23 mg l(-1). In turn the effect of temperature (20 to 45 degrees C), pH (5-10) and glucose concentration (0, 0.25 and 0.5%) on the rate of phenol degradation by that particular strain was investigated. Observations revealed that the rate of phenol biodegradation was significantly affected by pH, temperature of incubation and glucose concentration. The optimal conditions for phenol removal were found to be pH of 7 (84.63% removal), temperature, 30 degrees C (76.69% removal) and 0.25% supplemented glucose level (97.88% removal). The main significance of the study is the utilization of native bacterial strains from the waste water itself having potential of bioremediation.

Studies of insulin release and rat pancreatic islet metabolism with diastereomers of D-glucose.

Studies of insulin release with diastereomers and other analogues of D-glucose demonstrated that only sugars which undergo oxidation to CO2 stimulated insulin release by the pancreatic islet. None of the non-metabolizable diastereomers of glucose stimulated insulin release in the presence of a sub-stimulatory concentration of glucose for fuel. Although 5.5 mM glucose formed 77% as much CO2 as 16.7 mM mannose and twice that of 16.7 mM fructose, 5.5 mM glucose did not stimulate insulin release whereas 16.7 mM mannose and fructose did stimulate insulin release. These results indicate that the important stimulus for glucose-induced insulin release involves metabolism of glucose, but that the stimulus does not involve solely a fuel function of glucose.