HLA-G, a nonclassical class-Ib gene is mainly expressed on extravillous trophoblasts at the fetal-maternal interface. HLA-G molecule is considered to play an important role in maternal immune suppression during pregnancy. The 14 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs66554220) in exon eight of the HLA-G gene influences HLA-G mRNA stability and isoform splicing patterns. In this study, 202 recurrent miscarriage (RM) women with two or more than two consecutive miscarriages, their 202 partners and 204 fertile control women with at least one live birth and no miscarriages were analyzed for 14 bp insertion/deletion polymorphism. Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels were also determined and compared between randomly selected 111 RM women and 111 control women using QAYEE-Bio ELISA kits. Student's t test and χ test were used to depict the statistical differences. The results showed no significant differences for 14 bp allele and genotype frequencies between the study groups. However, our study showed a significant difference (P = .0107) for sHLA-G levels in RM women and control women. Furthermore, a significant difference (P = .0135) for sHLA-G levels in relation to +/-14 bp heterozygous genotype was seen between the two groups. The 14 bp allele sharing between the partners did not show any significant association with the number of miscarriages in RM couples. The association of 14 bp polymorphism and recurrent miscarriages was not significant in our study.

Aims: This study aimed at isolating endophytic fungi from Citrus limon (L.) possessing antioxidative and genoprotective potential. Methods and Results: Endophytic fungi were screened for antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl,1-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging assay and maximum activity (79Á70%) was exhibited by culture MP1 identified to be Penicillium oxalicum on the basis of morphological and molecular characteristics. The ethyl acetate extract of MP1 was subjected to silica column chromatography followed by LH 20 column chromatography for purification of active metabolites. The partially purified active fraction of P. oxalicum MP1 possessed good antioxidant activity as detected using various assays. It also exhibited a strong DNA damage protection potential on pUC19 plasmid DNA treated with Fenton reagent. On exposure to active fraction of MP1 significant reduction (P < 0Á05) in nuclear deformities (like nuclear buds, micronuclei, nuclear ridges and binucleated cells) was observed in human lymphocytes pretreated with a toxic concentration of H 2 O 2 . In vivo genoprotectivity studies were conducted in fresh water fish Channa punctatus pretreated with a damaging compound 4-nonyl phenol. The active fraction of P. oxalicum MP1 caused a reduction of 94Á7 and 66Á60% in micronuclei and aberrant cell formation, respectively. A significant reduction (P < 0Á05) in tail length and tail DNA parameters was also observed in comet assay. Conclusion: The endophytic P. oxalicum isolated in this study has the potential to produce metabolites possessing antioxidant and genoprotective activities.Significance and Impact of the Study: The isolated culture can be exploited in the field of therapeutics by virtue of its in vitro and in vivo genoprotective potential.involved in the aetiology of major health related disorders (Pham-Huy et al. 2008). Excessive ROS induction can stimulate oxidative damage in biomolecules (lipid, proteins and DNA) and promote a number of chronic diseases like diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, ageing and other degenerative disorders (Uttara et al. 2009;Ahmad et al. 2017). It has been estimated that out of 57 million deaths occurring worldwide, 36 million were due to major health related non communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc. and this is expected to increase to 44

Background Oxidative stress is responsible for the onset of several chronic and degenerative diseases. Exogenous supply of antioxidants is reported to neutralize the effects of oxidative stress. Several synthetic antioxidants suffer from various side effects which necessitates the exploration of antioxidant compounds from natural sources. Endophytic fungi residing in the plants are gaining the attention of researchers as a source of novel antioxidants. Majority of the research conducted so far on endophytic fungi has been restricted to the members of phylum ascomycota. Basidiomycota, inspite of their immense bioactive potential remain relatively unexploited. This study aimed to assess the ameliorative effects of an endophytic Schizophyllum commune (basidiomycetous fungus) against oxidative stress associated altered antioxidant levels, genotoxicity and cellular damage to different organs in bisphenol A exposed fresh water fish Channa punctatus. Results Good antioxidant and genoprotective potential was exhibited by S. commune extract in in vitro studies conducted using different antioxidant, DNA damage protection, and cytokinesis blocked micronuclei assays. In vivo studies were performed in fresh water fish Channa punctatus exposed to bisphenol A. A significant decrease in the considered parameters for DNA damage (% micronuclei and comet assay) were recorded in fish treated with S. commune extract on comparison with untreated bisphenol A exposed group. The S. commune extract treated fish also exhibited an increase in the level of antioxidant enzymes viz. catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase as well as histoprotective effect on various organs. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 3-n-propyl-2,4-pentanedione, n-heptadecanol-1, trans-geranylgeraniol, 3-ethyl-2-pentadecanone, 1-heneicosanol and squalene as some of the compounds in S. commune extract. Conclusion The study highlights the significance of an endophytic basidiomycetous fungus S. commune as a source of antioxidant compounds with possible therapeutic potential.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of renal failure globally including chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Using comprehensive linkage disequilibrium mapping, we genotyped five polymorphisms from engulfment and cell motility 1 (ELMO1) gene (rs741301, rs7799004, rs1882080, rs11769038 and rs1345365) to evaluate its association with DN. BMI was observed to be low in DN cases as compared to the control groups, which is the result of haemodialysis and high doses of medication. Physical inactivity, lipid profile, urea and creatinine were observed to be the confounding factors correlated with DN. This study comprehensively evaluated ELMO1 in DN patients, T2D without Nephropathy and healthy controls from North Indian population and revealed significant association with DN. Haplotypes G-G-C-C and G-A-T-T provided ~2-fold risk towards DN development. In conclusion, the present study suggests the significant role of ELMO1 gene polymorphisms in the pathophysiology of DN in North-Indian population.

Background:About 15%–20% of couples get affected by recurrent miscarriages (RM) and chromosomal abnormality in one partner affects 3%–6% of RM couples.Aims:The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of cytogenetic anomalies in couples with RM.Settings and Design:A case–control study was undertaken, in which 243 couples who had experienced 2 or >2 miscarriages were investigated for chromosomal abnormalities and compared with 208 healthy, age-matched control couples who had at least one healthy live born and no history of miscarriages.Material and Methods:Peripheral blood (PB) lymphocytes were cultured using PB-Max Karyotyping medium (GIBCO) for chromosomal analysis and 20 metaphases were analyzed for each individual.Statistical Analysis:Student's t-test was used for statistical evaluation and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all instances.Results:The current study revealed 3.1% RM cases showing structural chromosomal aberrations, of which balanced translocations and Robertsonian translocations constituted 66.7% and 26.7% cases, respectively, while inversions constituted 6.7% abnormal RM cases. Polymorphic variations were observed in 1.9% RM patients and 1.2% controls as well. However, the number of abortions were significantly more (P = 0.027) in male carriers of balanced translocations as compared to female carriers in the RM group. There was no significant difference for age (P = 0.539) between RM women and control women.Conclusions:Although similar studies exist in literature, our study is the first of its kind from our region that has compared the chromosomal anomalies between the RM group and the control group. We observed 3.1% of balanced translocations and an increased number (though nonsignificant) of polymorphic variations and satellite associations in the RM group as compared to the control group.