Background COVID-19 is an illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Due to its rapid spread, in March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared pandemic. Since the outbreak of pandemic many governments, scientists, and institutions started to work on new vaccines and finding of new and repurposing drugs. Main body of the abstract Drug repurposing is an excellent option for discovery of already used drugs, effective against COVID-19, lowering the cost of production, and shortening the period of delivery, especially when preclinical safety studies have already been performed. There are many approved drugs that showed significant results against COVID-19, like ivermectin and hydrochloroquine, including alternative treatment options against COVID-19, utilizing herbal medicine. Short conclusion This article summarized 11 repurposing drugs, their positive and negative health implications, along with traditional herbal alternatives, that harvest strong potential in efficient treatments options against COVID-19, with small or no significant side effects. Out of 11 repurposing drugs, four drugs are in status of emergency approval, most of them being in phase IV clinical trials. The first repurposing drug approved for clinical usage is remdesivir, whereas chloroquine and hydrochloroquine approval for emergency use was revoked by FDA for COVID-19 treatment in June 2020.
Heavy metal ATPases (HMAs) are the most important proteins involved in heavy metal accumulation process. Brassica oleracea has 5 HMA (1-5) homologues whose 3D structure has been predicted and validated in this study by different bioinformatics tools. Phylogenetic and multiple sequence alignment analyses showed high relationship between HMA2 and HMA4, while two same domains were identified in all five HMA proteins: E1-E2 ATPase and haloacid dehydrogenase (HAD) domain. Four HMA (2-5) proteins were identified to be localized in the plasma membrane, while HMA1 localization is predicted to be in plastid. Interactome analysis revealed high interaction of all HMA (1-5) proteins with many metal ion binding proteins and chaperones. Among these, interesting and strong interaction is observed between all HMA (1-5) proteins and ATX1, while HMA1, HMA2 and HMA4 have been found to strongly interact with FP3 (farnesylated protein 3) and FP6 (farnesylated protein 6) proteins. Docking site predictions and electrostatic potentials between HMA2/HMA4 and the interactome proteins were explained and discussed in this study.
Background: Metal-nicotianamine transporter (YSL) family protein belongs to the oligopeptide heavy metal transporter group, as characterized in Arabidopsis thaliana. Oligopeptide transporters (OPTs) are a group of membrane-localized proteins, involved in different transport mechanisms, contributing to nitrogen mobilization, glutathione transport and long-distance metal distribution. Metal-nicotianamine transporter gene 3 (YSL3) incorporates the oligopeptide transporter domain, found to transfer several heavy metals in diverse plant species, and among them cadmium transport in Brassica oleracea. Objective: To evaluate and confirm the expression of Metal-nicotianamine transporter (YSL3) under cadmium stress. Studied species: Brassica oleracea var. acephala Study site and dates: Brassica oleracea var. acephala samples were collected from Blagaj region, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: Through a simple bioinformatic approach the interactome partner of Metal-nicotianamine transporter (YSL3) was discovered and annotated. Oligopeptide transporter 3 (OPT3) and Metal-nicotianamine transporter (YSL3) genes were checked for expression levels under cadmium stress. Results: We have identified a strong interacting partner of YSL3, later confirmed as Oligopeptide transporter 3 (OPT3) protein in Brassica oleracea. The in vitro expression analysis by using a qRT-PCR revealed a significant upregulation of YSL3 and OPT3, during Cd stress. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the represented in-silico approach, followed by in vitro gene expression study, successfully confirmed YSL3 and identified OPT3 as a new gene, in correlation to cadmium stress.
With the metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus increase in the recent decade, the importance of early detection of insulin resistance is essential. However, a simple method is not currently available for precise measurements. Therefore the aim of this study was to elucidate the association of HbA 1c with metabolic syndrome as a constellation of cardiovascular risk factors. The study population consisted of 45 subjects with metabolic syndrome and 45 free of metabolic syndrome (control group).Total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, HbA 1c , body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured in both groups. HbA 1c levels are found much more in MS group than the control group, 8,7% and 6,2%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of HbA 1c is significantly higher in metabolic syndrome patients, 86,7% and 46,67%, respectively. Additionally, subjects with metabolic syndrome exhibited significantly higher blood glucose, triglyceride, systolic/diastolic blood pressure and cholesterol. Our results suggest that HbA 1c may be a marker for metabolic syndrome and may identify in a certain degree insulin resistance subjects.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.