Effect of Sauropus androgynus L. Merr. on dengue virus-2: An in vitro and in silico study.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Sauropus androgynus L. Merr. (Euphorbiaceae) commonly known as "multigreen" and "multivitamin" is consumed as a vegetable and used in traditional medicine to relieve fever. AIM OF THE STUDY: This in vitro study is aimed to explore the activities of the lipophilic fraction of the leaves of S. androgynus (LFSA) against dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses and malaria (P. falciparum strain 3D7) parasite. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The LFSA was analyzed by using GC-FID and GC-MS. The antiviral activity of LFSA was studied using the Vero CCL-81 cell line. The cytotoxicity assay was performed using 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT). Focus forming unit (FFU), cell-based immunofluorescence (IFA) assays, and quantitative RT-PCR, were used to determine and confirm antiviral activity against DENV and CHIKV. The antiparasitic activity of LFSA was carried out against P. falciparum strain 3D7 grown in fresh O+ human erythrocytes culture. RESULTS: Twelve compounds were identified in LFSA using GC/MS. The most abundant compound was squalene (36.9%), followed by vitamin E (12.5%) and linolenic acid (10.2%). Significant reduction in DENV titre was observed under pre- and post-infection treatment conditions at a concentration of 31.25 µg/ml, but no anti-malarial and anti-CHIKV activity was observed. The Autodock-Vina-based in-silico docking study revealed that ß-sitosterol could form a strong interaction with the DENV E glycoprotein. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that LFSA can inhibit DENV infection and might act as a potent prophylactic/therapeutic agent against DENV-2. In-silico results suggested that ß-sitosterol may block the viral entry by inhibiting the fusion process.

Development and validation of LC-MS/MS method for quantification of novel PP2A - ß-catenin signalling inhibitor, S011-2111 in mice plasma: Application to its preclinical pharmacokinetic studies.

S011-2111 is a semicarbazone and chalcone hybrid demonstrating antiproliferative tumor cell-selective effects along with unique antimetastatic potential by mitigating PP2A-ß-catenin signalling pathway. The present study envisaged to explore the in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetics of S011-2111. A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry bioanalytical method was developed and validated to determine S011-2111. It has high permeability across intestinal membrane as observed in in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion study. It has high plasma protein binding and poor aqueous solubility. It was rapidly partitioning into plasma of blood, where it was moderately stable. In mice liver microsomal stability study, S011-2111 was stable against cytochrome P450 enzymes but undergoes rapid glucuronidation with intrinsic clearance of 148.6 ±â€¯48.3 µL/min/mg. Following 100 mg/kg oral dosing of S011-2111, the compound was detectable in the plasma samples up to 24 h with a maximum plasma concentration of 45 ±â€¯16.5 ng/mL at 2.4 ±â€¯0.1 h and absolute bioavailability of 1.68%. Knowledge from this research will assist in further development of S011-2111 as an anti-cancer agent.

Formaldehyde Vapor Concentration in Electronic Cigarettes and Health Complaints of Electronic Cigarettes Smokers in Indonesia.

Electronic cigarettes regulation in Indonesia has not been set yet. In the last 4 years the electronic cigarettes have been widely distributed and used in Indonesia. Electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol, liquid flavors, etc. All ingredients produce vapor when heated. Vapor and particles from electronic cigarettes affect the human health. Formaldehyde is known as a product of propylene glycol and glycerol vapor degradation. Formaldehyde is one of the chemical agents categorized as carcinogen. The aim of the research was to analyze the identification of formaldehyde vapor concentration and health complaint of electronic cigarettes smoker. The research was conducted in Surabaya city, Indonesia, from October 2015 to December 2016. The research used cross-sectional approach. Sample was obtained by purposive sampling that fulfilled samples inclusion criteria. The variables were the onset of smoking electronic cigarettes, smoking frequency of electronic cigarettes, formaldehyde vapor concentration, cotinine urine, and health complaint of electronic cigarettes smoker. The result showed that formaldehyde concentration in six vapors varied while cotinine urine mostly was positive. It is suggested to educate people about hazard of electronic cigarettes and to conduct further research to identify chemical agent in electronic cigarettes.

Complications in total knee arthroplasty with and without surgical drainage.

The standard practice in total joint arthroplasty has included the use of postsurgical drains to minimize perioperative wound complications, particularly infection. This practice is not without cost and potential morbidity. Our recent cemented and cementless total knee arthroplasties (TKAs) have been done without the use of postoperative surgical drains and without any appreciable increase in wound complications. To confirm this, we retrospectively reviewed 227 consecutive TKAs, specifically evaluating perioperative wound complications. No statistical increase in perioperative complications in TKAs without drains was found. A lower percentage of complications was seen in the cementless population when compared with cemented or drained knees. We suggest that surgical drainage is not required in TKA, even when cementless fixation is used.

Myositis ossificans of the hand.

We present a case of myositis ossificans of the hand and review the clinical, radiological, and histological presentation, as well as the appropriate therapeutic management.

The influence of intercalator structure on DNA binding strength: the importance of side chain orientation.

A naphthothiophene intercalator with a cationic side chain linked to the ring through an ester group (1E) has been shown to bind to DNA almost an order of magnitude more strongly than a similar compound with the side chain linked to the ring through an amide group (1A) (W.D. Wilson, et al., Biophys. Chem. 24, 101-109 (1986]. X-ray crystallographic analysis of these two compounds indicates that both the ester and amide groups are essentially planar but that the amide is twisted approximately 30 degrees out of the aromatic plane of the naphthothiophene while the ester and ring system are co-planar. Proton NMR studies of the DNA complexes of these two compounds indicate that the naphthothiophene ring is intercalated in both 1A and 1E but that the protons of the ring system near the side chain interact with DNA base pairs at the binding site significantly better in 1E than in 1A. The protons next to the ester group on the side chain of 1E are also shifted upfield significantly more on addition of DNA than those of 1A. The large planar area of 1E, thus, allows greater stacking, complex geometry optimization, and dipolar interactions of the ester group with DNA base pairs at the binding site to account for the larger binding constant of this compound relative to 1A.

The effect of intercalator structure on binding strength and base-pair specificity in DNA interactions.

The interaction of naphthothiophene, phenanthrene and anthracene ring systems, which have amide and ester side chains with cationic groups (synthesized from the aromatic acid chlorides and appropriate amines and alcohols), with calf thymus DNA has been investigated by using viscometric titrations, spectrophotometric binding experiments and 1H-, 31P- and 17O-NMR methods. The viscosity and NMR experiments suggest that all of these compounds bind to DNA by intercalation. These experiments and spectrophotometric binding studies, however, indicate that there is considerable variation in the interaction of these compounds with DNA. These variations can all be explained by the geometry of the ring systems, the position of protons adjacent to the side chains, and the relative sizes of the amide and ester side chains. With the naphthothiophene ester and amide, for example, the planar amide cannot rotate into the plane of the naphthothiophene ring whereas the smaller planar ester can. With this ring system the ester has a significantly higher binding constant than the amide derivative. Additional binding studies with poly[d(A-T)2] and poly[d(G-C)2] have shown that all of these compounds bind more strongly to the A-T- than the G-C-containing polymer. Since the ester compounds do not have hydrogen bond donating groups proximate to the aromatic ring, these results suggest a model for the A-T specificity of these compounds that involves a solvent-mediated hydrogen bond between the C-2 carbonyl of thymine and the carbonyl group of the intercalators.