ß-glucans: a potential source for maintaining gut microbiota and the immune system.

The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract holds a complex and dynamic population of microbial communities, which exerts a marked influence on the host physiology during homeostasis and disease conditions. Diet is considered one of the main factors in structuring the gut microbiota across a lifespan. Intestinal microbial communities play a vital role in sustaining immune and metabolic homeostasis as well as protecting against pathogens. The negatively altered gut bacterial composition has related to many inflammatory diseases and infections. ß-glucans are a heterogeneous assemblage of glucose polymers with a typical structure comprising a leading chain of ß-(1,4) and/or ß-(1,3)-glucopyranosyl units with various branches and lengths as a side chain. ß-glucans bind to specific receptors on immune cells and initiate immune responses. However, ß-glucans from different sources differ in their structures, conformation, physical properties, and binding affinity to receptors. How these properties modulate biological functions in terms of molecular mechanisms is not known in many examples. This review provides a critical understanding of the structures of ß-glucans and their functions for modulating the gut microbiota and immune system.

Immuno-informatics guided designing of a multi-epitope vaccine against Dengue and Zika.

Dengue and zika are amongst the most prevalent mosquito-borne diseases caused by closely related members Dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV), respectively, of the Flaviviridae family. DENV and ZIKV have been reported to co-infect several people, resulting in fatalities across the world. A vaccine that can safeguard against both these pathogens concurrently, can offer several advantages. This study has employed immuno-informatics for devising a multi-epitope, multi-pathogenic vaccine against both these viruses. Since, the two viruses share a common vector source, whose salivary components are reported to aid viral pathogenesis; antigenic salivary proteins from Aedes aegypti were also incorporated into the design of the vaccine along with conserved structural and non-structural viral proteins. Conserved B- and T-cell epitopes were identified for all the selected antigenic proteins. These epitopes were merged and further supplemented with ß-defensin as an adjuvant, to yield an immunogenic vaccine construct. In-silico 3D modeling and structural validation of the vaccine construct was conducted, followed by its molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies with human TLR2. Immune simulation study was also performed, and it further provided support that the designed vaccine can mount an effective immune response and hence provide protection against both DENV and ZIKV. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor in Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Globally, neurodegenerative diseases cause a significant degree of disability and distress. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), primarily found in the brain, has a substantial role in the development and maintenance of various nerve roles and is associated with the family of neurotrophins, including neuronal growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5). BDNF has affinity with tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrKB), which is found in the brain in large amounts and is expressed in several cells. Several studies have shown that decrease in BDNF causes an imbalance in neuronal functioning and survival. Moreover, BDNF has several important roles, such as improving synaptic plasticity and contributing to long-lasting memory formation. BDNF has been linked to the pathology of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This review aims to describe recent efforts to understand the connection between the level of BDNF and neurodegenerative diseases. Several studies have shown that a high level of BDNF is associated with a lower risk for developing a neurodegenerative disease.

Methods in cell separation for biomedical application: cryogels as a new tool.

The analysis and separation of cells including rare cell populations from a heterogeneous population has become an important tool in scientific research and medicine. The last two decades have seen tremendous progress in the field of cell separation, as a result of which various methods have been available which utilize different physiochemical and immunological characteristics of cells. A brief overview of methods of cell separation used in the past and a detailed description of methods being used presently as well as prospective methods are discussed in the paper. Chromatography has come into the picture as the apparent solution for the limitations of various cell separation methods. In recent years, a new and promising affinity-based cell separation chromatography technique has been developed using highly interconnected supermacroporous cryogels, and this new method is discussed in detail. Due to the importance and relevance of cell-based therapy and stem cell separation in the present scenario, cryogels present a new tool for preparative scale cell separation.