The intricate "orchestered molecular conversation" between the host and gut microbiome is one of the most dynamic research areas in recent years. The rhythmic chemical cross talk in the form of bioactive metabolites and signalling molecules synthesized by gut microbiome plays a significant role for the modulation of human health in diversified ways. They are recognized as low molecular weight (LMW) molecules having versatile chemical attributes. They possess magnificent capability of interacting with surrounding environment and controlling the genes for various genetic, biochemical and physiological functions for maintaining the homeostasis that is now-a-days termed as "small molecules microbes originated (SMOM) homeostasis" in the host. These metabolic signatures have close structural and functional resemblance with small molecules synthesized by host eukaryotic cells and dietary components. Therefore, they may be considered as universalized metabolites contributing to the remarkable phenomenon of epigenetic regulation, cell to cell communication and stability of genome manifesting the overall growth and development of the host and known as "metabiotics". The wide panorama of utilization of probiotics is continuously expanding and conferring the major health benefits through metabiotic components are gaining tremendous momentum therefore recognized as "hidden soldiers" of the body. Therefore firstly, we outline the need and types of metabiotic molecules and depicting their role in human health. Then, we summarize their preventive and therapeutic avenues in various diseases and finally, we propose the current technological interventions, bottlenecks and future perspectives in this field that are implied for accelerating their comprehensive understanding and utilization at industrial scale.
Synonymous codon usage bias is an inevitable phenomenon in organismic taxa across the three domains of life. Though the frequency of codon usage is not equal across species and within genome in the same species, the phenomenon is non random and is tissue-specific. Several factors such as GC content, nucleotide distribution, protein hydropathy, protein secondary structure, and translational selection are reported to contribute to codon usage preference. The synonymous codon usage patterns can be helpful in revealing the expression pattern of genes as well as the evolutionary relationship between the sequences. In this study, synonymous codon usage bias patterns were determined for the evolutionarily close proteins of albumin superfamily, namely, albumin, α-fetoprotein, afamin, and vitamin D-binding protein. Our study demonstrated that the genes of the four albumin superfamily members have low GC content and high values of effective number of codons (ENC) suggesting high expressivity of these genes and less bias in codon usage preferences. This study also provided evidence that the albumin superfamily members are not subjected to mutational selection pressure.
Background
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by four closely related serotypes of Dengue viruses (DENVs). This disease whose symptoms range from mild fever to potentially fatal haemorrhagic fever and hypovolemic shock, threatens nearly half the global population. There is neither a preventive vaccine nor an effective antiviral therapy against dengue disease. The difference between severe and mild disease appears to be dependent on the viral load. Early diagnosis may enable timely therapeutic intervention to blunt disease severity by reducing the viral load. Harnessing the therapeutic potential of RNA interference (RNAi) to attenuate DENV replication may offer one approach to dengue therapy.
Methodology/Principal Findings
We screened the non-translated regions (NTRs) of the RNA genomes of representative members of the four DENV serotypes for putative siRNA targets mapping to known transcription/translation regulatory elements. We identified a target site in the 5′ NTR that maps to the 5′ upstream AUG region, a highly conserved
cis
-acting element essential for viral replication. We used a replication-defective human adenovirus type 5 (AdV5) vector to deliver a short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting this site into cells. We show that this shRNA matures to the cognate siRNA and is able to inhibit effectively antigen secretion, viral RNA replication and infectious virus production by all four DENV serotypes.
Conclusion/Significance
The data demonstrate the feasibility of using AdV5-mediated delivery of shRNAs targeting conserved sites in the viral genome to achieve inhibition of all four DENV serotypes. This paves the way towards exploration of RNAi as a possible therapeutic strategy to curtail DENV infection.
Giant lymph node hyperplasia is a benign condition and lesions have largely occurred in the thorax; it has rarely occurred in the pelvis. The case reported here appears to be the first in which this lesion occurring in the pelvis has obstructed vaginal delivery and required elective Cesarean section at term. The further management and a brief review of the literature are presented.
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