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Topic Review
Hydrogenosome
Hydrogenosome is a kind of membrane-bound organelle that widely exists in some evolutionarily distant protozoa and fungi, such as trichomonas, anaerobic fungi, endoamoeba and microsporidia. These microorganisms are anaerobic or microanaerobic, and they do not have mitochondria. Instead, they rely on the hydrogenosome, a kind of mitochondrion-related organelles (MROs), to metabolize organic matter under anoxic conditions, producing ATP to maintain their metabolism and growth.
  • 2.3K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Doxorubicin
The antibiotic doxorubicin is often used as an anti-neoplastic drug; however, many patients showed very unpleasant side-effects. Previous studies have demonstrated that dietary substances such as Aloe arborescens, Annona muricata, Morinda citrifolia, Beta rubra, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Vaccinium myrtillus may have anti-oxidant, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effects of a mixture of these components in an experimental model of doxorubicin toxicity. Rats (n = 30) received doxorubicin (5 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks and were randomized to receive the dietary mixture 2 hours following the first doxorubicin injection and until the end of the experiment. Animals were killed following 4 weeks, and blood, liver, and heart were collected for further analysis. The dietary supplement improved the depressed body weight and food consumption induced by DOX. In addition, the nutraceutical mixture reduced oxidative stress, ameliorated the morphological score, and preserved liver and heart structure, demonstrating a protective effect. These data show for the first time that the mixture of Aloe arborescens, Annona muricata, Morinda citrifolia, Beta rubra, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Vaccinium myrtillus may be useful to reduce the side effects following treatment with doxorubicin, and might ameliorate the quality of life of patients following chemotherapy.
  • 2.3K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Melanogenesis in Immune Systems
Melanocytes and melanin play a wide range of roles such as adsorption of metals, thermoregulation, and protection from foreign enemies by camouflage.
  • 2.3K
  • 14 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Lactosylceramide
Lactosylceramide (LacCer), also known as CD17/CDw17, is a member of a large family of small molecular weight compounds known as glycosphingolipids. It plays a pivotal role in the biosynthesis of glycosphingolipids, primarily by way of serving as a precursor to the majority of its higher homolog sub-families such as gangliosides, sulfatides, fucosylated-glycosphingolipids and complex neutral glycosphingolipids—some of which confer “second-messenger” and receptor functions. LacCer is an integral component of the “lipid rafts,” serving as a conduit to transduce external stimuli into multiple phenotypes, which may contribute to mortality and morbidity in man and in mouse models of human disease.
  • 2.3K
  • 02 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Melatonin in Wine and Beer
Melatonin is a hormone secreted in the pineal gland with several functions, especially regulation of circadian sleep cycle and the biological processes related to it. This review evaluates the bioavailability of melatonin and resulting metabolites, the presence of melatonin in wine and beer and factors that influence it, and finally the different benefits related to treatment with melatonin. When administered orally, melatonin is mainly absorbed in the rectum and the ileum; it has a half-life of about 0.45–1 h and is extensively inactivated in the liver by phase 2 enzymes. Melatonin (MEL) concentration varies from picograms to ng/mL in fermented beverages such as wine and beer, depending on the fermentation process. These low quantities, within a dietary intake, are enough to reach significant plasma concentrations of melatonin, and are thus able to exert beneficial effects. Melatonin has demonstrated antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, immunomodulatory and neuroprotective actions. These benefits are related to its free radical scavenging properties as well and the direct interaction with melatonin receptors, which are involved in complex intracellular signaling pathways, including inhibition of angiogenesis and cell proliferation, among others. In the present review, the current evidence on the effects of melatonin on different pathophysiological conditions is also discussed.
  • 2.3K
  • 08 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Chelating Ability of Plant Polyphenols
Many studies have widely examined the effects of dietary polyphenols on human health. Polyphenols are well known for their antioxidant properties and for their chelating abilities, by which they can be potentially employed in cases of pathological conditions, such as iron overload. The iron-binding abilities of dietary polyphenols can be important in inflammatory/immunomodulatory responses, especially involving macrophages and dendritic cells, and they also might contribute to reshape the gut microbiota into a healthy profile. As the axes “polyphenol–iron metabolism–inflammatory responses” and “polyphenol–iron availability–gut microbiota” have not been very well explored so far, there is the need for further investigation to exploit such a potential to prevent or counteract pathological conditions.
  • 2.3K
  • 16 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Lateral Organization of PI(4,5)P2
Phosphatidylinositol 4,5- bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) is a minor but ubiquitous component of the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells. However, due to its particular complex biophysical properties, it stands out from its neighboring lipids as one of the most important regulators of membrane-associated signaling events. Despite its very low steady-state concentration, PI(4,5)P2 is able to engage in a multitude of simultaneous cellular functions that are temporally and spatially regulated through the presence of localized transient pools of PI(4,5)P2 in the membrane.
  • 2.3K
  • 04 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Computational Drug Design of TB
Developing new, more effective antibiotics against resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis that inhibit its essential proteins is an appealing strategy for combating the global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic. Finding a compound that can target a particular cavity in a protein and interrupt its enzymatic activity is the crucial objective of drug design and discovery. Such a compound is then subjected to different tests, including clinical trials, to study its effectiveness against the pathogen in the host. In recent times, new techniques, which involve computational and analytical methods, enhanced the chances of drug development, as opposed to traditional drug design methods, which are laborious and time-consuming. The computational techniques in drug design have been improved with a new generation of software used to develop and optimize active compounds that can be used in future chemotherapeutic development to combat global tuberculosis resistance.
  • 2.3K
  • 17 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Medical Applications of Chitin
Chitin is a universal biopolymer that is found in microbes, plants, fungi, the exoskeleton of insects, various species of algae, and bottom-feeding crustaceans. This (1–4)-linked N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosamine polysaccharide can be readily processed with simple chemical procedures without putting a species at risk. Chitin has garnered interest as an alternative substance that can be used in the medical, environmental, and agricultural sectors.
  • 2.3K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Myokines
Myokines are small proteins (5–20 kDa) and proteoglycan peptides that are produced and secreted by skeletal muscle cells in response to muscle contractions.
  • 2.3K
  • 14 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Saffron for the Treatment of Human Diseases
Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a medicinal plant, originally cultivated in the East and Middle East, and later in some Mediterranean countries. Saffron is obtained from the stigmas of the plant. Currently, the use of saffron is undergoing a revival. The medicinal virtues of saffron, its culinary use and its high added value have led to the clarification of its phytochemical profile and its biological and therapeutic characteristics. Saffron is rich in carotenoids and terpenes. The major products of saffron are crocins and crocetin (carotenoids) deriving from zeaxanthin, pirocrocin and safranal, which give it its taste and aroma, respectively. Saffron and its major compounds have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in vivo. Anti-tumor properties have also been described. 
  • 2.3K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Mitochondria
Mitochondria are energy-producing structures and the main site for aerobic respiration in cells, and are therefore called the “powerhouse of the cell”.
  • 2.2K
  • 14 Apr 2023
Topic Review
MDM2-Based Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs)
Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are molecules that selectively degrade a protein of interest (POI). The incorporation of ligands that recruit mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) into PROTACs, forming the so-called MDM2-based PROTACs, has shown promise in cancer treatment due to its dual mechanism of action: a PROTAC that recruits MDM2 prevents its binding to p53, resulting not only in the degradation of POI but also in the increase of intracellular levels of the p53 suppressor, with the activation of a whole set of biological processes, such as cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. In addition, these PROTACs, in certain cases, allow for the degradation of the target, with nanomolar potency, in a rapid and sustained manner over time, with less susceptibility to the development of resistance and tolerance, without causing changes in protein expression, and with selectivity to the target, including the respective isoforms or mutations, and to the cell type, overcoming some limitations associated with the use of inhibitors for the same therapeutic target.
  • 2.2K
  • 15 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Biopolymeric Composite Materials
Biopolymers have attained enormous attention with perspective multi-functional and high-performance biocomposites having a low environmental impact with unique properties like, abundantly available, renewable, eco-friendly, and light-weight. Biopolymeric composites should substitute synthetic materials in optics, bio-chemistry, and biomedical engineering with versatile applications, and investment and research on these materials increase significantly. Biopolymers and biodegradable synthetic polymers have attracted researchers’ enormous attention in recent years . 
  • 2.2K
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Exosome
Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles generated inside cells during the maturation of endosomes into multivesicular bodies (MVBs) and then released into the extracellular space.
  • 2.2K
  • 02 Sep 2020
Topic Review
Human Gut Microbiome and Quercetin
The existing evidence suggests that gut microbiota is capable of flavonoid biotransformation to generate bioactive metabolites including 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4,6-THBA), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHBA), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC).
  • 2.2K
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Short Peptides
Short peptides should not include more than 45 amino acids.
  • 2.2K
  • 19 Feb 2021
Topic Review
DNA Dyes
Cell quantification is widely used both in basic and applied research. A typical example of its use is drug discovery research. Presently, plenty of methods for cell quantification are available. In this review, the basic techniques used for cell quantification, with a special emphasis on techniques based on fluorescent DNA dyes, are described. 
  • 2.2K
  • 23 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Bioactive Flavonoids from Citrus Fruits
Citrus species are one of the world’s popular fruit crops, cultivated all over the world for their economic and nutritional values. Citrus, like other fruits and vegetables, are an important source of several antioxidant molecules (polyphenols, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids) that can inhibit the harmful effects of free radicals on the human body; due to their functional values and health-promoting properties, Citrus species are considered valuable fruits not only in agri-food industry, but also in pharmaceutical industry. Flavonoids are among the major constituents of polyphenols found in different parts of Citrus fruits (skin, peels, seed, pulp membrane, and juice). Flavonoids have different biological properties (antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial activities). Several studies have also shown the health-related properties of Citrus flavonoids, especially antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammation, anti-aging, and cardiovascular protection activities.
  • 2.2K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Biosynthesis of Lasso Peptides
Lasso peptides are a subclass of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) and feature the threaded, lariat knot-like topology. The basic post-translational modifications (PTMs) of lasso peptide contain two steps, including the leader peptide removal of the ribosome-derived linear precursor peptide by an ATP-dependent cysteine protease, and the macrolactam cyclization by an ATP-dependent macrolactam synthetase.
  • 2.2K
  • 26 Jul 2022
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