Evaluation of Aloe Vera Gel Combined with Cinnamon Oil with Antibacterial Activity for Wound Healing Application.

Treatment of chronic wounds has been shifted to traditional approaches due to surge in antibiotic resistance. Wounds that fail to heal satisfactorily may result in the amputation of the organ. In this research work, cinnamon oil (CO) and aloe vera (AV) that have been traditionally used as antibacterial agents are combined in a unique gel (COVA) and its antibacterial activity has been evaluated through in vitro and in vivo studies. Antibacterial activity was measured through disk diffusion and agar dilution method against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. To check antibacterial and wound healing activity, diabetic excision wound healing rat model was used. Wound closure, wound contraction, tissue hydroxyproline content, antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) level were monitored. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of CO + AV for bacterium P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were 100 and 200 µg/ml, respectively. After 14 days, the wounds covered with COVA therapy reached to nearly full wound closure (79% wound contraction) compared to control. The collagen content and level of TAC increased significantly (P < 0.05) in treated groups; therefore, 25% fast healing was observed in wounds treated with CO and AV gel combined. Reduced levels of tissue MDA were observed in all treated groups and specially wound covered with COVA (0.43 mM/mg in control vs 0.25 mM/mg in COVA). Histopathological examination also supported the outcomes. Significantly elevated increase in the level of hydroxyproline was found in rats of COVA treatment group (37.1 ± 0.44). Combination of CO and AV can be potentially used to prevent infection in wound; as these herbal agents not only inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria but also accelerate tissue repair.

An In Silico Deep Learning Approach to Multi-Epitope Vaccine Design: A Hepatitis E Virus Case Study.

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) is a major cause of acute and chronic hepatitis. The severity of HEV infection increases manyfold in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. Despite the extensive research on HEV in the last few decades, there is no widely available vaccine yet. In the current study, immunoinformatic analyses were applied to predict a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against HEV. From the ORF2 region, 41 conserved and immunogenic epitopes were prioritized. These epitopes were further analyzed for their probable antigenic and non-allergenic combinations with several linkers. The stability of the vaccine construct was confirmed by molecular dynamic simulations. The vaccine construct is potentially antigenic and docking analysis revealed stable interactions with TLR3. These results suggest that the proposed vaccine can efficiently stimulate both cellular and humoral immune responses. However, further studies are needed to determine the immunogenicity of the vaccine construct.

Doxorubicin Loaded Gold Nanoparticles Mitigate Liver Fibrosis and Inflammatory Cytokines Gene Expression in Rat.

BACKGROUND: Gold nanoparticles have the potential to be used as a carrier in drug delivery system due to their small size, large surface area and short circulation time in blood. OBJECTIVE: This study aims that doxorubicin conjugation with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) may reduce its toxicity as well as improve therapeutic efficacy. METHODS: Five groups of Albino rats were used; 1: healthy control, 2: Injured, 3: injured and treated with Dox, 4: Injured and treated with AuNPs, 5: Injured and treated with AuNPs: Dox. At the end of the experiment, blood and liver tissues were processed for biochemical and histopathological analysis. The expression of collagen, HO-1, IL-6 and TNF-α genes involved in liver fibrosis was observed through real-time PCR. RESULTS: At the end of the experiment, it was observed that the body weights of DOX treated rats decreased by 0.72%, however, AuNPs and Au: DOX treated rats were 15.3% and 29.13% respectively. The percentage of liver protection determined through alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels in DOX, AuNPs and AuNPs: DOX treated groups were 39.21%, 79.26%, 98.17% and 47.77%, 84.17%, 97.92% respectively. That represents better recovering liver in Dox-AuNPs treated rats compared to others. Histopathological and gene expression studies further support the findings. The mRNA expression levels of inflammatory and oxidative stress related genes HO-1, IL-6 and TNF-α were upregulated in the injured group but downregulated in the treated group. CONCLUSION: As depicted through biochemical, histopathological and gene expression studies, Au: DOX conjugate group seems to be protective against liver fibrosis.

The Role of miRNAs, circRNAs and Their Interactions in Development and Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Insilico Approach.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a type of malignant tumor. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs and their differential expression patterns are observed in HCC-induced by alcoholism, HBV and HCV infections. By acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA), circRNA regulates the miRNA function, indirectly controlling the gene expression and leading to HCC progression. In the present study, data mining was performed to screen out all miRNAs and circRNA involved in alcohol, HBV or HCV-induced HCC with statistically significant (≤0.05%) expression levels reported in various studies. Further, the interaction of miRNAs and circRNA was also investigated to explore their role in HCC due to various causative agents. Together, these study data provide a deeper understanding of the circRNA-miRNA regulatory mechanisms in HCC. These screened circRNA, miRNA and their interactions can be used as prognostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for the treatment of HCC.

In Vivo Evaluation of Inorganic Nanoparticle Complexes against CCL4 Induced Hepatotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: Combination of different chemotherapy drugs and nanoparticles as a carrier has shown promising delivery system in cancer treatment. Doxorubicin is considered a potent anticancer drug. However, its off-target activities and possible side effects make its use limited. Recently, in the field of nanomedicine, different nanoconjugates have been developed as a unique platform for the delivery of therapeutic drugs. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the best possible combination for efficient delivery of DOX with combination of gold, silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles to target site against carbon tetrachloride induced rat hepatotoxicity. METHODOLOGY: Effect of different conjugates administrated for 14 consecutive days was evaluated. RESULTS: In comparison to DOX, Au:DOX, ZnoO:DOX and Ag:DOX showed less sign of liver fibrosis as evaluated by serum enzymes and histopathological analysis. However, among all the conjugates, Ag: DOX conjugate showed the most significant results. The serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase values were (111.2 ± 38.21, 323.2 ± 46.88 and 303.6 ± 73.80 respectively) very close to control group (72.2 ± 19.41, 368 ± 59.78 and 259.4 ± 61.54 respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that Ag: DOX may exhibit hepato-protective activity against CCl4 induced liver damage.