The potential of Atorvastatin for chronic lung diseases therapy.

Atorvastatin (ATO) is of the statin class and is used as an orally administered lipid-lowering drug. ATO is a reversible synthetic competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase thus leading to a reduction in cholesterol synthesis. It has recently been demonstrated that ATO has different pharmacological actions, which are unrelated to its lipid-lowering effects and has the ability to treat chronic airway diseases. This paper reviews the potential of ATO as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-proliferative agent after oral or inhaled administration. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using ATO under conditions associated with those found in the airways. This treatment could potentially be used to support the formulating of ATO as an inhaler for the treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.

A novel identification approach for discovery of 5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A antagonists: combination of 2D/3D similarity screening, molecular docking and molecular dynamics.

5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A antagonists are potential targets for treatment of various cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disorders. In this study, we have developed and performed a unique screening pipeline for filtering ZINC database compounds on the basis of similarities to known antagonists to determine novel small molecule antagonists of 5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A. The screening pipeline is based on 2D similarity, 3D dissimilarity and a combination of 2D/3D similarity. The shortlisted compounds were docked to a 5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A homology-based model, and complexes with low binding energies (287 complexes) were selected for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in a lipid bilayer. The MD simulations of the shortlisted compounds in complex with 5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A confirmed the stability of the complexes and revealed novel interaction insights. The receptor residues S239, N343, S242, S159, Y370 and D155 predominantly participate in hydrogen bonding. π-π stacking is observed in F339, F340, F234, W151 and W336, whereas hydrophobic interactions are observed amongst V156, F339, F234, V362, V366, F340, V235, I152 and W151. The known and potential antagonists shortlisted by us have similar overlapping molecular interaction patterns. The 287 potential 5-HydroxyTriptamine 2A antagonists may be experimentally verified.

Genetic variation in wild and hatchery populations of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) revealed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers.

Sustainable improvement and conservation of any genetic resource depend on the assessment of its intra- and inter-population genetic variation. In order to estimate genetic variation in both wild and hatchery populations of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed. Analyses of 51 polymorphic loci amplified from genomic DNA by three decamer random primers revealed different degrees of genetic variation in two wild (Bhairab and Rupsha rivers) and hatchery-derived gher (Gher-1 and Gher-2) populations. The proportion of polymorphic loci was found to be higher in wild populations (0.90 and 0.65 for the Bhairab and Rupsha populations, respectively) than the hatchery-derived gher populations (0.29 and 0.16 for Gher-1 and Gher-2, respectively). Likewise, the river populations contained higher levels of gene diversity (0.221 and 0.179 for Bhairab and Rupsha populations, respectively) than the gher populations (0.114 and 0.045 for Gher-1 and Gher-2, respectively). These results suggest reduction of genetic variation and heterozygosity in the hatchery-derived gher populations. Inter-population similarity indices and pairwise genetic distance values showed that variation between the wild or between the gher populations were lower than those between the wild and hatchery populations. On average, 14 loci exhibited significant deviation from homogeneity in wild vs hatchery population pairs, whereas 2 and 3 loci showed heterogeneity in Gher-1 vs Gher-2 and Bhairab vs Rupsha population pairs, respectively. A genetic distance-based UPGMA dendrogram segregated river populations from the gher populations. Our study, therefore, revealed substantial levels of genetic variation between wild and hatchery populations of M. rosenbergii.