Biosciences and Biotechnology

A major challenge in the application of mesenchymal stem cells in cartilage reconstruction is that whether the cells are able to differentiate into fully mature chondrocytes before grafting. The aim of this study was to isolate mouse dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) and differentiate them into chondrocytes. For this investigation, morphological, molecular, and biochemical analyses for differentiated cells were used. To induce the chondrocyte differentiation, DPSC were cultured in chondrogenic medium (Zen-Bio, Inc.). Based on morphological analyses using toluidine blue staining, proteoglycan products appear in DPSC after 21 days of chondrocyte induction. Biochemical analyses in differentiated group showed that alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly increased at day 14 as compared to control (P < 0.05). Cell viability analyses during the differentiation to chondrocytes also showed that these cells were viable during differentiation. However, after the 14th day of differentiat...

Lentinula edodes or better known as Shiitake mushroom contains β-1,3;1,6-glucan as part of the cell wall components and studies have shown that it has the ability to enhance the immune system and work as anticancer. The aim of this study is to create potential strain of L. edodes with the high content of β-1,3;1,6-glucan, which has the potential for biotechnological purposes. L. edodes spores were irradiated with gamma ray (Ɣ-rays) and incubated, which formed monokaryon mycelium (MM). Compatible mating of mutated monokaryon formed mutant line dikaryon mycelium (MLDM) that were selected for genotypic and phenotypic comparison with the wild-type line dikaryon mycelium (WLDM). The concentration of β-1,3;1,6-glucan were measured using a commercial β-Glucan Megazyme Assay Kit (Yeast & Mushroom). Three MLDM, (A37, A26, and C07) 38.8, 36.0 and 34.5 %w/w of 100 mg respectively, significantly produced higher amount of β-1,3;1,6-glucan in comparison with WLDM (20.2 %w/w of 100 mg).

Xanthorrhizol (XNT), is a bioactive compound found in Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. This study aimed to determine the potential targets of the XNT via computational target fishing method. This compound obeyed Lipinski’s and Veber’s rules where it has a molecular weight (MW) of 218.37 gmol-1, TPSA of 20.23, rotatable bonds (RBN) of 4, hydrogen acceptor and donor ability is 1 respectively. Besides, it also has half-life (HL) values 3.5 h, drug-likeness (DL) value of 0.07, oral bioavailability (OB) of 32.10, and blood–brain barrier permeability (BBB) value of 1.64 indicating its potential as therapeutic drug. Further, 20 potential targets were screened out through PharmMapper and DRAR-CPI servers. Co-expression results derived from GeneMANIA revealed that these targets made connection with a total of 40 genes and have 744 different links. Four genes which were RXRA, RBP4, HSD11B1 and AKR1C1 showed remarkable co-expression and predominantly involved in steroid metabolic process. Furthermor...

Xanthone is an organic compound mostly found in mangosteen pericarp and widely known for its anti-proliferating effect on cancer cells. In this study, we evaluated the effects of xanthone crude extract (XCE) and α-mangostin (α-MG) on normoxic and hypoxic human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells and their toxicity towards zebrafish embryos. XCE was isolated using a mixture of acetone and water (80:20) and verified via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Both XCE and α-MG showed higher anti-proliferation effects on normoxic HepG2 cells compared to the control drug, 5-fluorouracil (IC50 = 50.23 ± 1.38, 8.39 ± 0.14, and 143.75 ± 15.31 μg/mL, respectively). In hypoxic conditions, HepG2 cells were two times less sensitive towards XCE compared to normoxic HepG2 cells (IC50 = 109.38 ± 1.80 μg/mL) and three times less sensitive when treated with >500 μg/mL 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). A similar trend was seen with the α-MG treatment on hypoxic HepG2 cells (IC50 = 10.11 ± 0.05 μg/...

The Marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmorata Bleeker) is usually found in freshwater bodies. Due to its high commercial value and demand, it is farmed in cages and pond systems. Marble goby fish are preferred to be freshly killed and processed upon request in Asian restaurants. Currently, there are some challenges faced by fishermen who wish to transport live fish to restaurants or markets due to the traditional method of using water tanks as carriers. These water tanks are usually very heavy and bulky, increasing transportation costs. Furthermore, coping with the survivability of fish post-transportation has proven to be a challenge. This study was aimed at investigating the semi-dry method for fish transport and acclimatization of fish after transport in different tank sizes. In the semi-dry, where fish were covered using a towel transportation method where the survival rate at ~92%. For the acclimation experimental group, stream water was found to be the most appropriate type of water ...

Kombucha tea has been claimed to have several health benefits. Many factors influence the properties of kombucha tea produced. This study focused on the effects of starter cultures (kombucha liquid broth (KLB) and cellulosic pellicle (KCP)) and sweetener (white sugar (S), honey (H) and jaggery (J)) used in the production of kombucha tea. The results showed that all kombucha teas prepared using KLB had a lower pH and a higher concentration of acetic acid during fermentation. The ethanol content for samples prepared using KLB increased (0.7 ± 0.26 mg/L to 1.73 ± 0.58 mg/L) during the fermentation period, compared to KCP which was the maximum after 72 h fermentation, and continued to decrease (2.97 ± 1.24 mg/L to 0.90 ± 0.44 mg/L). Although not too much differences in pH and ethanol content were observed when different sweetener sources were used, they did have significant differences in antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity. Samples prepared using jaggery had the lowest an...

Previous study has shown the antimicrobial activities of mucus protein extracted from Anabastestudineus. In this study, we are interested in characterizing the anticancer activity of the A.testudineus antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The mucus was extracted, fractioned, and subjected to antibacterial activity testing to confirm the fish's AMPs production. The cytotoxic activity of each fraction was also identified. Fraction 2 (F2), which shows toxicity against MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 were sent for peptide sequencing to identify the bioactive peptide. The two peptides were then synthetically produced and subjected to cytotoxic assay to prove their efficacy against cancer cell lines. The IC50 for AtMP1 against MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 were 8.25 ± 0.14 μg/ml and 9.35 ± 0.25 μg/ml respectively, while for AtMP2 it is 5.89 ± 0.14 μg/ml and 6.97 ± 0.24 μg/ml respectively. AtMP1 and AtMP2 treatment for 48 h induced breast cancer cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by upregulating the p53, which lead t...

Anabas testudineus is a sturdy freshwater fish that can live in a polluted environment due to the epidermal mucus (EM) that protects the fish from pathogens or germs. This study explored the functional properties of the EM as a potential antimicrobial and anticancer agent. Inactive Pseudomonas aeruginosa was introduced into fish tanks to stimulate the production of EM. This stimulus significantly increased EM production by more than 100% after 10 days of stimulation, indicating that EM production was influenced by environmental biotic stress. In vitro antibacterial activity tests showed that EM has significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (12 ± 0.23 mm) and P. aeruginosa (10 ± 0.13 mm) at the tested concentration of 1000 μg/mL. Further characterisation against cells showed that EM has a cytotoxic effect against human breast cancer (MCF7) and human melanoma (A375.S2) producing an IC50 value of 4.97 ± 0.25 and 6.27 ± 0.17 mg/mL, respectively. In contrast, no cytotox...

Background Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) is the most common subtype of glaucoma caused by defects in the cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) gene. It is developing among infants in more than 80% of cases who exhibit impairments in the anterior chamber angle and the trabecular meshwork. Thus, a comprehensive in silico approach was performed to evaluate the effect of high-risk deleterious missense variations in the CYP1B1 gene. Material and methods All the information for CYP1B1 missense variants was retrieved from the dbSNP database. Seven different tools, namely: SIFT, PolyPhen-2, PROVEAN, SNAP2, PANTHER, PhD-SNP, and Predict-SNP, were used for functional annotation, and two packages, which were I-Mutant 2.0 and MUpro, were used to predict the effect of the variants on protein stability. A phylogenetic conservation analysis using deleterious variants was performed by the ConSurf server. The 3D structures of the wild-type and mutants were generated using the I-TASSER tool, and a 50 ns m...

Stevia rebaudiana Betoni (SR) or the candy leaf herbal plant is widely consumed as a non-caloric natural sweetener in substitute of table sugar. The perennial plant is native to South America and is cultivated across the globe. Over the years, there has been an increasing scientific interest in Stevia leaves, which naturally inherent phytochemicals of potent pharmacological properties. Amongst the various pharmacological activities previously evident through in vitro or in vivo studies includes blood sugar regulators, antibacterial, and antiviral properties. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), or adult-onset diabetes, is a chronic condition characterized as non-effective insulin production by the pancreas. As a result, blood sugar rises and leads to fatality under an extremely high blood sugar condition. In this study, a library of SR leaf phytochemicals was screened using a comprehensive computational approach for the identification of potential anti-T2DM drug compounds. The in silico...

Fish is a potential source of various forms of bioactive compounds. It can be used as a source of specific proteins, especially in medicine. Recently, studies related to the use of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from fish are being carried out to find an alternative cure for cancer. To achieve this objective, the AMP used must meet a condition where it possesses the ability to target tumor cells without affecting the normal cell. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review and classify the recent AMPs isolated from fish and their therapeutic activities, focusing on their anticancer and antimicrobial activities. A systematic review of studies published in English between 2017 and 2020 was conducted in PubMed NCBI, Biomed Central, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases using keywords and inclusion and exclusion criteria. A systematic review conducted has identified 38 potential AMPs isolated from fish that have been reported to have antimicrobials activity. Of all of thes...

A previous study has shown that synthetic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from Anabas testudineus (ATMP1) could in-vitro inhibit the progression of breast cancer cell lines. In this study, we are interested in studying altered versions of previous synthetic AMPs to gain some insight into the peptides functions. The AMPs were altered and subjected to bioinformatics prediction using four databases (ADP3, CAMP-R3, AMPfun, and ANTICP) to select the highest anticancer activity. The bioinformatics in silico analysis led to the selection of two AMPs, which are ATMP5 (THPPTTTTTTTTTTTYTAAPATTT) and ATMP6 (THPPTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAPARTT). The in silico analysis predicted that ATMP5 and ATMP6 have anticancer activity and lead to cell death. The ATMP5 and ATMP6 were submitted to deep learning databases (ToxIBTL and ToxinPred2) to predict the toxicity of the peptides and to (AllerTOP & AllergenFP) check the allergenicity. The results of databases indicated that AMPs are non-toxic to normal human...