Background. Thioacetamide (TAA), a class 2B-type carcinogen, is a potent toxicant. Toxicities caused by this compound in various tissues due to oxidative stress, increase of proinflammatory markers, and apoptosis have been reported; however, reports on kidney toxicity are negligible. Resveratrol (RSV), on the other hand, has demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in different cases. Resveratrol’s protective effects against TAA kidney toxicity were investigated in four rat groups. Methodology. Four groups of rats were studied as follows (n=8): control group, where rats were fed normal diet and water; TAA group, where rats received 0.3% TAA in water for two weeks; RSV group, where rats received 10 mg/kg body weight (bw) of RSV as oral suspension for two weeks; and treated group, where rats orally received 10 mg/kg bw RSV and simultaneously received 0.3% TAA for two weeks. Kidney homogenates from all groups were analyzed for cytokine release (IL-4, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) and oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, catalase, and 8-OHdG). The serum of rats was analyzed for the quantification of renal function markers (blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and creatine kinase). Result. A significant increase in the renal function markers (BUN, 240%; creatinine, 187%; and creatine kinase, 117%), oxidative stress parameters (lipid peroxidation, 192% increase; catalase, 30.5% decrease), cytokines (IL-4, 120%; TNF-α, 129%; and IFN-γ, 133%), and DNA damage was observed in the TAA-treated group. All changes were significantly reversed in the group treated with RSV and TAA (P<0.05) in combination, with no significant difference compared to the control group. Conclusion. We conclude that resveratrol shows protection against TAA toxicity in rat kidney with respect to DNA damage, oxidative stress, renal function and cytokine release.

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SARS CoV-2 is still considered a global health issue, and its threat keeps growing with the emergence of newly evolved strains. Despite the success in developing some vaccines as a protective measure, finding cost-effective treatments is urgent. Accordingly, we screened a number of phenolic natural compounds for their in vitro anti-SARS CoV-2 activity. We found sinapic acid (SA) selectively inhibited the viral replication in vitro with an half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 2.69 µg/mL with significantly low cytotoxicity (CC50 = 189.3 µg/mL). Subsequently, we virtually screened all currently available molecular targets using a multistep in silico protocol to find out the most probable molecular target that mediates this compound’s antiviral activity. As a result, the viral envelope protein (E-protein) was suggested as the most possible hit for SA. Further in-depth molecular dynamic simulation-based investigation revealed the essential structural features of SA antiviral activity and its binding mode with E-protein. The structural and experimental results presented in this study strongly recommend SA as a promising structural motif for anti-SARS CoV-2 agent development.

Increasing numbers of patients who recover from COVID-19 report lasting symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle weakness, dementia, and insomnia, known collectively as post-acute COVID syndrome or long COVID. These lasting symptoms have been examined in different studies and found to influence multiple organs, sometimes resulting in life-threating conditions. In this review, these symptoms are discussed in connection to the COVID-19 and long-COVID-19 immune changes, highlighting oral and psychiatric health, as this work focuses on the gut microbiota’s link to long-COVID-19 manifestations in the liver, heart, kidney, brain, and spleen. A model of this is presented to show the biological and clinical implications of gut microbiota in SARS-CoV-2 infection and how they could possibly affect the therapeutic aspects of the disease. Probiotics can support the body’s systems in fighting viral infections. This review focuses on current knowledge about the use of probiotics as adjuvant therapies for COVID-19 patients that might help to prevent long-COVID-19 complications.

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This study was conducted to identify a new alkaline and thermophilic protease (Ba.St.Pr) produced from Bacillus stearothermophilus isolated from olive oil mill sols and to evaluate its culture conditions, including temperature, pH, carbon and nitrogen sources, and incubation time. The optimum culture conditions for cell growth (10 g/L) and protease production (5050 U/mL) were as follows: temperature 55 °C, pH 10, inoculation density 8 × 108 CFU/mL, and incubation time 24 h. The use of 3% yeast extract as the nitrogen sources and galactose (7.5 g/L) as the carbon sources enhanced both cell growth and protease production. Using reversed-phase analytical HPLC on C-8 column, the new protease was purified with a molecular mass of approximately 28 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of Ba.St.Pr exhibited a high level of identity of approximately 95% with those of Bacillus strains. Characterization under extreme conditions revealed a novel thermostable and alkaline protease with a half-life time of 187 min when incubated with combined Ca2+/mannitol. Ba.St.Pr demonstrated a higher stability in the presence of surfactant, solvent, and Ca2+ ions. Consequently, all the evaluated activity parameters highlighted the promising properties of this bacterium for industrial and biotechnological applications.

The main objective of the current study was the extraction, purification, and biochemical characterization of a protein protease inhibitor from Conyzadioscoridis. Antimicrobial potential and cytotoxic effects were also examined. The protease inhibitor was extracted in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6–7). Then, the protease inhibitor, named PDInhibitor, was purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by filtration through a Sephadex G-50 column and had an apparent molecular weight of 25 kDa. The N-terminal sequence of PDInhibitor showed a high level of identity with those of the Kunitz family. PDInhibitor was found to be active at pH values ranging from 5.0 to 11.0, with maximal activity at pH 9.0. It was also fully active at 50 °C and maintained 90% of its stability at over 55 °C. The thermostability of the PDInhibitor was clearly enhanced by CaCl2 and sorbitol, whereas the presence of Ca2+ and Zn2+ ions, Sodium taurodeoxycholate (NaTDC), Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), Dithiothreitol (DTT), and β-ME dramatically improved the inhibitory activity. A remarkable affinity of the protease inhibitor with available important therapeutic proteases (elastase and trypsin) was observed. PDInhibitor also acted as a potent inhibitor of commercial proteases from Aspergillus oryzae and of Proteinase K. The inhibitor displayed potent antimicrobial activity against gram+ and gram- bacteria and against fungal strains. Interestingly, PDInhibitor affected several human cancer cell lines, namely HCT-116, MDA-MB-231, and Lovo. Thus, it can be considered a potentially powerful therapeutic agent.

Introduction: Nanoparticles are at the forefront of rapidly developing nanotechnology and have gained much attention for their application as an effective drug delivery system and as a mediated therapeutic agent for cancer. However, the cytotoxicity of nanoparticles is still relatively unknown and, therefore, additional study is required in order to elucidate the potential toxicity of these nanoparticles on cells. Materials and Methods: Thus, the following work aimed to investigate the capability of Beta vulgaris (beetroot) water extract (BWE; 200 mg/kg) to protect hepatic tissue following silver nanoparticles (AgNPs; 80 mg/kg; >100 nm) intoxication in male rats. Results: AgNPs-intoxication elevated the liver function markersincluding serum transaminases and alkaline phosphatase activitiesand decreased serum levels of albumin and total proteins, in addition to disturbing the oxidation homeostasis. This is evidenced by the increased lipid peroxidation, the depleted glutathione, and the suppressed activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. In addition, an apoptotic reaction was observed following AgNPs treatment, as indicated by the up-regulation of p53 and down-regulating Bcl-2 expressions, examined by the immunohistochemistry method. Furthermore, AgNPs exhibited a marked elevation in liver DNA damage that was indicated by an increase in tail length, tail DNA% and tail movement. However, BWE eliminated the biochemical and histological alterations, reflecting its hepatoprotection effect in response to AgNPs. Discussion: Collectively, the present data suggest that BWE could be used following AgNPs as a potential therapeutic intervention to minimize AgNPs-induced liver toxicity.