Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterised by microcephaly present at birth and non-progressive mental retardation. Microcephaly is the outcome of a smaller but architecturally normal brain; the cerebral cortex exhibits a significant decrease in size. MCPH is a neurogenic mitotic disorder, though affected patients demonstrate normal neuronal migration, neuronal apoptosis and neural function. Twelve MCPH loci (MCPH1-MCPH12) have been mapped to date from various populations around the world and contain the following genes: Microcephalin, WDR62, CDK5RAP2, CASC5, ASPM, CENPJ, STIL, CEP135, CEP152, ZNF335, PHC1 and CDK6. It is predicted that MCPH gene mutations may lead to the disease phenotype due to a disturbed mitotic spindle orientation, premature chromosomal condensation, signalling response as a result of damaged DNA, microtubule dynamics, transcriptional control or a few other hidden centrosomal mechanisms that can regulate the number of neurons produced by neuronal precursor cells. Additional findings have further elucidated the microcephaly aetiology and pathophysiology, which has informed the clinical management of families suffering from MCPH. The provision of molecular diagnosis and genetic counselling may help to decrease the frequency of this disorder.

BackgroundExposure to ethanol during early development triggers severe neuronal death by activating multiple stress pathways and causes neurological disorders, such as fetal alcohol effects or fetal alcohol syndrome. This study investigated the effect of ethanol on intracellular events that predispose developing neurons for apoptosis via calcium-mediated signaling. Although the underlying molecular mechanisms of ethanol neurotoxicity are not completely determined, mitochondrial dysfunction, altered calcium homeostasis and apoptosis-related proteins have been implicated in ethanol neurotoxicity. The present study was designed to evaluate the neuroprotective mechanisms of metformin (Met) and thymoquinone (TQ) during ethanol toxicity in rat prenatal cortical neurons at gestational day (GD) 17.5.ResultsWe found that Met and TQ, separately and synergistically, increased cell viability after ethanol (100 mM) exposure for 12 hours and attenuated the elevation of cytosolic free calcium [Ca2+]c. Furthermore, Met and TQ maintained normal physiological mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔψM), which is typically lowered by ethanol exposure. Increased cytosolic free [Ca2+]c and lowered mitochondrial transmembrane potential after ethanol exposure significantly decreased the expression of a key anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2), increased expression of Bax, and stimulated the release of cytochrome-c from mitochondria. Met and TQ treatment inhibited the apoptotic cascade by increasing Bcl-2 expression. These compounds also repressed the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 and reduced the cleavage of PARP-1. Morphological conformation of cell death was assessed by TUNEL, Fluoro-Jade-B, and PI staining. These staining methods demonstrated more cell death after ethanol treatment, while Met, TQ or Met plus TQ prevented ethanol-induced apoptotic cell death.ConclusionThese findings suggested that Met and TQ are strong protective agents against ethanol-induced neuronal apoptosis in primary rat cortical neurons. The collective data demonstrated that Met and TQ have the potential to ameliorate ethanol neurotoxicity and revealed a possible protective target mechanism for the damaging effects of ethanol during early brain development.

Human autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) is a rare genetic disorder in which affected individuals are born with reduced brain size. MCPH is genetically heterogeneous, with six loci and four genes reported to date. Mutations in the ASPM gene at the MCPH5 locus appear to be the most common cause of MCPH. For this study, 33 Pakistani families with primary microcephaly were enrolled. Genotyping using microsatellite markers linked to the six known MCPH loci showed the linkage of 18 families to the MCPH5 locus, two to the MCPH2 locus, two to the MCPH4 locus, and one to the MCPH6 locus. The remaining ten families were not linked to any of the known loci. Families linked to the MCPH5 locus were further subjected to screening of the ASPM gene with direct DNA sequencing. Two previously reported variants, 3978G>A (W1326X) and 9557C>G (S3186X), were observed in five Pakistani families. Four novel nonsynonymous sequence variants, 9118insCATT, 9238A>T (L3080X), 9539A>C (Q3180P), and 1260delTCAAGTC, were found to segregate within four families, but were not observed in 200 Pakistani control chromosomes. One of the variants, 9539A>C (Q3180P), occurred in the IQ 79 domain, but its functional significance awaits definition.

In recent years, there is a growing interest in research to investigate the importance of gut microbiome in health and diseases. This opens a new area of research for the role of microbial flora of the human gut in inflammation, energy homeostasis, pathogenesis of obesity and other associated disorders. Recent studies propose association of the gut microbiome with development of obesity and metabolic syndromes, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The T2DM is a metabolic disease that is mainly caused by obesity-linked insulin resistance. The vascular effects of obesity appears to play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that is one of the rapidly growing diseases of a late stage of life all over the world. Studies from both humans and mice models have been demonstrated the engagement of gut microbial flora in the pathogenesis of obesity and host metabolism. The aim of this review is to discuss the current findings that may explain the cascade of gut microbial flora participation in the development of obesity, T2DM and further initiation of AD. In addition, the available data regarding the mechanisms that have been proposed to elucidate the role of gut microbiota in weight gain and possible cause of T2DM and AD have been examined.

In this review, we attempt to report the latest studies regarding capability of bacteria from sponges as producers of bioactive metabolite. Moreover, these sponge associated bacteria are an important source of different enzymes of industrial significance. In present review, we will address some novel approaches for discovering marine metabolites from bacteria that have the greatest potential to be used in clinical treatments.

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a neurological and developmental disorder caused by exposure of developing brain to ethanol. Administration of osmotin to rat pups reduced ethanol-induced apoptosis in cortical and hippocampal neurons. Osmotin, a plant protein, mitigated the ethanol-induced increases in cytochrome c, cleaved caspase-3, and PARP-1. Osmotin and ethanol reduced ethanol neurotoxicity both in vivo and in vitro by reducing the protein levels of cleaved caspase-3, intracellular [Ca2+]cyt, and mitochondrial transmembrane potential collapse, and also upregulated antiapoptotic Bcl-2 protein. Osmotin is a homolog of adiponectin, and it controls energy metabolism via phosphorylation. Adiponectin can protect hippocampal neurons against ethanol-induced apoptosis. Abrogation of signaling via receptors AdipoR1 or AdipoR2, by transfection with siRNAs, reduced the ability of osmotin and adiponectin to protect neurons against ethanol-induced neurodegeneration. Metformin, an activator of AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase), increased whereas Compound C, an inhibitor of AMPK pathway, reduced the ability of osmotin and adiponectin to protect against ethanol-induced apoptosis. Osmotin exerted its neuroprotection via Bcl-2 family proteins and activation of AMPK signaling pathway. Modulation of AMPK pathways by osmotin, adiponectin, and metformin hold promise as a preventive therapy for fetal alcohol syndrome.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal disorder of the blood forming cells characterized by accumulation of immature blast cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood. Being a heterogeneous disease, AML has been the subject of numerous studies that focus on unraveling the clinical, cellular and molecular variations with the aim to better understand and treat the disease. Cytogenetic-risk stratification of AML is well established and commonly used by clinicians in therapeutic management of cases with chromosomal abnormalities. Successive inclusion of novel molecular abnormalities has substantially modified the classification and understanding of AML in the past decade. With the advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies the discovery of novel molecular abnormalities has accelerated. NGS has been successfully used in several studies and has provided an unprecedented overview of molecular aberrations as well as the underlying clonal evolution in AML. The extended spectrum of abnormalities discovered by NGS is currently under extensive validation for their prognostic and therapeutic values. In this review we highlight the recent advances in the understanding of AML in the NGS era.

Epilepsy is a prominent sign of neurological dysfunction in children with various fetal and maternal deficiencies. However, the detailed mechanism and influences underlying epileptic disorders are still unrevealed. The hippocampal neurons are vulnerable to epilepsy-induced pathologic changes and often manifests as neuronal death. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of maternal epileptic seizure on apoptotic neuronal death, modulation of GABA B1 receptor (R), and protein kinase A-α (PKA) in prenatal rat hippocampal neurons at gestational days (GD) 17.5. Seizure was induced in pregnant rat using intraperitoneal injection of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) (40 mg/kg for 15 days). To confirm the seizure electroencephalography (EEG) data was obtained by the Laxtha EEG-monitoring device in the EEG recording room and EEG were monitored 5 min and 15 min after PTZ injection. The RT-PCR and Western blot results showed significant increased expression of cytochrome-c and caspases-3, while decreased levels of GABA B1 R, and PKA protein expression upon ethanol, PTZ and ethanol plus PTZ exposure in primary neuronal cells cultured from PTZ-induced seizure model as compare to non-PTZ treated maternal group. Apoptotic neurodegeneration was further confirmed with Fluoro-Jade B and propidium iodide staining, where neurons were scattered and shrunken, with markedly condensed nuclei in PTZ treated group compared with control. This study for the first time indicate that PTZ-induced seizures triggered activation of caspases-3 to induce widespread apoptotic neuronal death and decreased GABA B1 R expression in hippocampal neurons, providing a possible mechanistic link between maternal epilepsy induced neurodegeneration alteration of GABA B1 R and PKA expression level during prenatal brain development. This revealed new aspects of PTZ and ethanol's modulation on GABA B1 R, learning and memory. Further, explain the possibility that children delivered by epileptic mothers may have higher risk of developmental disturbances and malformations.