Arabidopsis thaliana contains eight glutathione peroxidase (GPX) homologs (AtGPX1–8). Four mature GPX isoenzymes with different subcellular distributions, AtGPX1, ‐2, ‐5 and ‐6, were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and characterized. Interestingly, these recombinant proteins were able to reduce H2O2, cumene hydroperoxide, phosphatidylcholine and linoleic acid hydroperoxides using thioredoxin but not glutathione or NADPH as an electron donor. The reduction activities of the recombinant proteins with H2O2 were 2–7 times higher than those with cumene hydroperoxide. Km values for thioredoxin and H2O2 were 2.2–4.0 and 14.0–25.4 µm, respectively. These finding suggest that GPX isoenzymes may function to detoxify H2O2 and organic hydroperoxides using thioredoxin in vivo and may also be involved in regulation of the cellular redox homeostasis by maintaining the thiol/disulfide or NADPH/NADP balance.

Drought is one of the most common abiotic stresses, affecting the growth and productivity of crop plants globally, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Different strategies are used to mitigate the impact of drought among crop plants. Exogenous application of different substances are known to decrease the effects of various abiotic stresses, including drought stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Ca2+ and H2O2 in developing drought stress tolerance in Brassica napus “Bulbul-98” seedlings. Brassica napus “Bulbul-98” seedlings were exposed to 5, 10 and 15 mM Ca2+ and 2, 5 and 10 μM H2O2 concentrations twice at an interval of two days for up to 20 days after germination. Drought stress decreased relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content and increased proline, H2O2, soluble protein and electrolyte leakage in Brassica seedlings. Exogenous Ca2+ (5, 10,15 mM) and H2O2 (2, 5, 10 μM) supplementations, during drought stress induction, showed a significant increase in RWC by 5.4%, 18.06%, 26.2% and 6.87%, 13.9%, 18.3% respectively. Similarly, with the exogenous application of Ca2+ (5, 10, 15 mM) and H2O2 (2, 5, 10 μM), chlorophyll content was increased by 15.03%, 22.2%, and 28.4%, and 9.6%, 23.3%, and 27.5% respectively. It was confirmed that the seedlings under drought stress that were supplemented with Ca2+ and H2O2 recovered from water content reduction and chlorosis, and were able to grow normally.

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease, caused by blood borne pathogen; the Hepatitis C Virus. In this study we analyzed blood samples collected from various risk groups for the prevalence of anti-HCV and active HCV infection with the help of Immunochromtographic tests and nested PCR. The prevalence of active HCV infection among the high risk groups was 15.57% (26/167). The prevalence of HCV in individual risk groups was 15%, 28%, 8%, 14.28% and 14.28% in the case of thalassemics, dialysis, major surgery group, dental surgery group and injection drug users respectively. Our analysis reveals the fact that health care facilities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan are contributing a great deal towards the spread of HCV infection.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a primary liver malignancy in which the risk of development is always multifunctional. Interleukin-6 is a proinflammatory and multifunctional cytokine, which plays an important role in the immune response, haematopoiesis and defence against viral infection. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of Interleukin-6 mutations (rs2069837 and rs17147230) associated with genetic risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Khyber Pakthunkhwa population. A total of 72 hepatocellular carcinoma cases and 38 controls were included in this study. The genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood cells and Interleukin-6 genotyping was performed using T-ARMS-PCR technique. Our results show a significant increase risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma with the mutation within Interleukin-6 gene with heterozygous G allele (rs2069837) (OR = 10.667, 95%CI = 3.923–29.001, p = < 0.0001) and heterozygous T allele (rs17147230) (OR = 75.385, 95%CI = 9.797–580.065, p = < 0.0001). However, under recessive gene model the results were insignificant in case of Interleukin-6 rs2069837 (OR = 0.605, 95%CI = 0.217–1.689, p = 0.337), while significant in case of Interleukin-6 rs17147230 (OR = 0.298, 95%CI = 0.121–0.734, p = 0.0085). In conclusion, Interleukin-6 mutation is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility. More related studies with other associated interleukins and their whole gene sequencing will be required.

Pakistan is rich in sheep genetic resources. Balkhi, Hashtnagri, and Michni are neighboring sheep populations found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. In this study, we analyzed the genetic structures and bottleneck incidents within these sheep populations using 31 microsatellite DNA markers. Total numbers of 116, 100, and 95 alleles, with average numbers of 3.20, 3.26, and 3.74 alleles per locus were observed, respectively, in Balkhi, Hashtnagri, and Michni population. Mean observed heterozygosity was 0.402 in Balkhi, 0.416 in Hashtnagri, and 0.522 in Michni population. All the three sheep populations showed significantly high inbreeding. Michni population was found to be in mutation drift equilibrium, showing the absence of genetic bottleneck. The data of Balkhi and Hashtnagri indicated the presence of genetic bottleneck in these populations. These results suggest a moderate level of genetic diversity within Michni population that may be useful for breed improvement programs. Hashtnagri and Balkhi populations having low within breed genetic variability may contain some valuable characteristics that need to be conserved.