S-allyl cysteine inhibits TNFα-induced skeletal muscle wasting through suppressing proteolysis and expression of inflammatory molecules.

BACKGROUND: Elevated levels of inflammatory molecules are key players in muscle wasting/atrophy leading to human morbidity. TNFα is a well-known pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of muscle wasting under diverse clinical settings. S-allyl cysteine (SAC), an active component of garlic (Allium sativum), has established anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in various cell types. However, the impact of SAC on skeletal muscle pathology remains unexplored. Owing to the known anti-inflammatory properties of SAC, we investigated whether pre-treatment with SAC has a protective role in TNFα-induced atrophy in cultured myotubes. METHODS AND RESULTS: C2C12 myotubes were treated with TNFα (100ng/ml) in the presence or absence of SAC (0.01mM). TNFα treatment induced atrophy in myotubes by up-regulating various proteolytic systems i.e. cathepsin L, calpain, ubiquitin-proteasome E3-ligases (MuRF1/atrogin1), caspase 3 and autophagy (Beclin1/LC3B). TNFα also induced the activation of NFκB by stimulating the degradation of IκBα (inhibitor of NFκB), in myotubes. The alterations in proteolytic systems likely contribute to the degradation of muscle-specific proteins and reduce the myotube length, diameter and fusion index. The SAC supplementation significantly impedes TNFα-induced protein loss and protects myotube morphology by suppressing protein catabolic systems and endogenous level of inflammatory molecules namely TNFα, IL-6, IL-1ß, TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK), fibroblast growth factor-inducible 14 (Fn14) and Nox. CONCLUSION AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings reveal anti-atrophic role for SAC, as it prevents alterations in protein metabolism and protects myotubes by regulating the level of inflammatory molecules and multiple proteolytic systems responsible for muscle atrophy.

Development of an efficient and reproducible regeneration system in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

The availability of reproducible regeneration system through tissue culture is a major bottleneck in wheat improvement program. The present study has considered to develop an efficient callus induction and regeneration system using mature and immature embryos as explants in recently released agronomically superior spring wheat varieties. An efficient sterilization process was standardized using 0.1% HgCl2 and 70% ethanol for both seeds and embryos. The maximum possible combinations of plant growth regulators (PGRs) were evaluated for their effect on different wheat regeneration processes through tissue culture starting from callus to root induction. Picloram is found as an effective auxin with 87.63-98.67% callus induction efficiency in both explants. Supplementation of CuSO4 along with 2,4-D, zeatin in regeneration medium significantly enhanced the multiple shoot induction. The shoot development was achieved using full strength Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium and root induction using half MS medium without PGRs. The optimized medium and method has resulted up to 100% regeneration irrespective of the genotype used with high reproducibility. Thus, the standardized regeneration system can be used in the regeneration of healthy plants from embryos rescued from interspecies crosses, transgenic production, induced mutation breeding and recently developed genome editing techniques for the procreation of wheat plants having novel traits.

Waste derivitized blue luminescent carbon quantum dots for selenite sensing in water.

Herein, we report an environmental friendly, facile, and completely green synthetic method for producing carbon quantum dots (CQDs) from whey, a major dairy waste. The as-prepared monodispersed diameter CQDs exhibit blue luminescence with noteworthy quantum yield (~11.4%) and excitation dependent emission behaviour. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis reveals the presence of aromatized carbon peaks, leading to polymerized CQDs diameter architecture during whey pyrolysis. The X-ray and selected area electron diffraction patterns confirm their amorphous nature. Further, we demonstrate, these CQDs as an effective sensor probe for selective selenite monitoring in water upon functionalization with appropriate ligand. The functionalized GCQDs probe is shown to detect selenite with high sensitivity in 10-1000ppb detection range. Further it is selective for selenite over other relevant ions (such as Cu2+, As3+, As5+, Pb2+, Ni2+, Se6+, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, NO2- and F-) and displays a sub-ppb detection limit at 1.1% relative standard deviation.

Comparative Temporal Expression Analysis of MicroRNAs and Their Target Genes in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes During Osmotic Stress.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important nonprotein-coding genes involved in almost all biological processes during biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. To investigate the miRNA-mediated plant response to drought stress, two drought-tolerant (C-306 and NI-5439) and two drought-sensitive (HUW-468 and WL-711) wheat genotypes were exposed to 25 % PEG 6000 for 1, 12 and 24 h. Temporal expression patterns of 12 drought-responsive miRNAs and their corresponding nine targets were monitored by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The results showed differential expression of miRNAs and their targets with varying degree of upregulation and downregulation in drought-sensitive genotypes. Likewise, in drought-tolerant wheat genotypes, maximum accumulation of miR393a and miR397a was observed at 1 h of stress. In addition, nearly perfect negative correlation was observed in four miRNA and target pairs (miR164-NAC, miR168a-AGO, miR398-SOD and miR159a-MYB) across all the temporal period studied which could be a major player during drought response in wheat. We, for the first time, validated the presence of miR529a and miR1029 in wheat. These findings gives a clue for temporal and variety-specific differential regulation of miRNAs and their targets in wheat in response to osmotic shock and could help in defining the potential roles of miRNAs in plant adaptation to osmotic stress in future.

Assessment of adaptability of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) breeds in two different climatic conditions: using cytogenetic techniques on genome integrity.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genome integrity so as to assess the adaptability of three breeds of indigenous cattle reared under arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan (Bikaner) and Haryana (Karnal) India. The cattle were of homogenous group (same age and sex) of indigenous breeds viz. Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Kankrej. A total of 100 animals were selected for this study from both climatic conditions. The sister chromatid exchanges (SCE's), chromosomal gaps and chromatid breaks were observed in metaphase plates of chromosome preparations obtained from in vitro culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes. The mean number of breaks and gaps in Sahiwal and Tharparkar of semi-arid zone were 8.56 ± 3.16, 6.4 ± 3.39 and 8.72 ± 2.04, 3.52 ± 6.29, respectively. Similarly, the mean number of breaks and gaps in Tharparkar and Kankrej cattle of arid zone were 5.26 ± 1.76, 2.74 ± 1.76 and 5.24 ± 1.84, 2.5 ± 1.26, respectively. The frequency of SCEs in chromosomes was found significantly higher (P < 0.05) in Tharparkar of semi-arid region (4.72 ± 1.55) compared to arid region (2.83 ± 1.01). Similarly, the frequency of SCEs was found to be 4.0 ± 1.41 in the Sahiwal of semi-arid region and 2.69 ± 1.12 in Kankrej of arid zone. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) amongst the different zones, i.e. arid and semi-arid, whereas no significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed in the same zone. The analysis of frequency of CAs and SCEs revealed significant effects of environmental conditions on the genome integrity of animals, thereby indicating an association with their adaptability.

Expression profiling of major heat shock protein genes during different seasons in cattle (Bos indicus) and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) under tropical climatic condition.

Heat shock proteins consist of highly conserved stress proteins, expressed in response to stress and play crucial roles in environmental stress tolerance and adaptation. The present study was conducted to identify major types of genes under the HSP70 family and other HSPs and to evaluate their expression pattern in Sahiwal and Tharparkar breeds of zebu cattle (Bos indicus) and Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) with respect to different seasons. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction was performed to analyze the transcript variants of three HSP70 family genes (HSPA1A, HSPA1B, and HSPA8) and HSP10, HSP60, HSP90 and HSF1 in each breed. The major finding of this study was the higher abundance of all the studied HSP genes during summer and winter compared to spring season, but the magnitude of increase was higher during summer as compared to winter. HSPA1A and HSPA1B genes showed maximal induction (P<0.001) during summer and winter while HSP60 and HSP10 were found to be the second most abundantly expressed HSPs. The relative mRNA abundance of HSF1 significantly increased (P<0.001) in Murrah buffalo compared to Tharparkar and Sahiwal cattle during summer and winter. Expression pattern of heat shock protein genes indicated that amongst the breeds, the expression was higher in Murrah buffalo compared to Sahiwal and Tharparkar cattle, thereby indicating the more adaptive capacity of later during periods of stress. Hence, this study suggests that heat shock protein genes may be conveniently used as biomarkers for assessing stress response in cattle and buffalo and the expression is species and breed-specific. Furthermore, the variation in expression is associated with heat tolerance and adaptation to different climatic conditions.