In-silico screening of bioactive compounds of Moringa oleifera as potential inhibitors targeting HIF-1α/VEGF/GLUT-1 pathway against Breast Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer is among the most heterogeneous and aggressive diseases and a foremost cause of death in women globally. Hypoxic activation of HIF-1α in breast cancers triggers the transcription of a battery of genes encoding proteins that facilitate tumor growth and metastasis and is correlated with a poor prognosis. Based on the reported cytotoxic and anti-cancer properties of Moringa oleifera (Mo), this study explores the inhibitory effect of bioactive compounds from M. oleifera and breast cancer target proteins HIF-1α, VEGF, and GLUT-1 in silico. METHODS: The X-ray crystallographic structures of HIF-1α, VEGF, and GLUT1 were sourced from the Protein Data Bank (PDB) and docked with 70 3D PubChem structures of bioactive compounds of M. oleifera using AutoDock Vina, and binding modes were analyzed using Discovery Studio. Five compounds with the highest binding energies were selected and further drug-likeness, oral bioavailability, ADME, and toxicity profiles were analyzed using SwissADME, ADMETSaR, and ADMETlab 3.0 web server. RESULTS: Out of the screened 70 bioactive compounds, the top five compounds with the best binding energies were identified namely Apigenin, Ellagic Acid, Isorhamnetin, Luteolin, and Myricetin with each receptor. Molecular docking results indicated that the ligands interact strongly with the target HIF-1α, VEGF, and GLUT-1 receptors through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. These compounds showed favorable drug-like and pharmacokinetic properties, possessed no substantial toxicity, and were fairly bioavailable. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggested that the compounds possess strong potential in developing putative lead compounds targeting HIF-1α that are safe natural plant-based drugs against breast cancer.

COVID-19 infection in pregnancy: a review of existing knowledge.

The world has been coping up with the grave pandemic of COVID-19 since its inception into the human race in December, 2019. By entering the host through the spike (S) glycoprotein, it paves way for its own survival and multiplication. Respiratory tract being the point of entry causes pulmonary compromise and leads to development of ARDS. Having non-specific clinical features that resemble flu makes the clinical diagnosis much more difficult. Pregnancy being an immunocompromised and a hypercoagulable state is prone to be a high-risk group for COVID-19. This study is an attempt to understand the maternal and fetal outcomes in COVID-19 and the vertical transmissibility of the virus. Evidence suggests that the contribution of COVID-19 is not very significant in maternal morbidity and mortality. However, due to some factors such as the immunological response in the mother, certain complications may arise in the neonate in the post-natal period. No vertical transmission of the virus has been reported yet. However, the management remains crucial as two lives are at stake. Some of the precautionary measures that can be implemented to prevent COVID-19 can be segregation of medical services from that of the general population in settings of outpatient care, inpatient care and labor room care. Also, triaging the patients into low risk, moderate risk and high risk can aid in faster delivery of health-care facilities to the pregnant and the newborn.

Thyroid function and mental disorders: an insight into the complex interaction.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the serum levels of Thyroxine (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3) and the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in patients with depression. METHODS: Sixty clinically diagnosed and drug naive depressed patients and an equal number of healthy, age and sex matched control subjects were included in this study. The Ham-D scale was used to classify the degree of depression into the mild, moderate and the severe grades. The biochemical parameters (T3, T4 and TSH) were estimated by using commercially available kits. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS-10 software, one way ANOVA and the χ2 test. RESULT: The female depressive (n = 48) cases outnumbered the male depressive cases. The distributions of the patients in the mild, moderate and the severe categories were similar. A significant decline in the T3 level and an elevation in the T4 level were found in the depressive cases as compared to those in the healthy controls. ANOVA with multiple comparisons testing among the patient group showed no significant difference in the TSH level when the depressive cases with various degrees of depression were compared. A total of twelve depressive patients were found to have thyroid abnormalities. CONCLUSION: This study therefore observed the presence of thyroid dysfunction among the depressive cases, which is most often characterized as the "Lower Thyroid Syndrome". Thus, the inclusion of the thyroid screening test among the depressive patients may be helpful in the proper management of the cases.