Miliary tuberculosis in an immune-competent Bangladeshi man-A case report.

Miliary tuberculosis is a disseminated and active form of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It frequently affects immunocompromised patients. However, immune-competent hosts are reported rarely. Herein, we reported a case of miliary tuberculosis of a 40-year-old immune-competent Bangladeshi man presented with pyrexia of unknown origin.

Molecular modeling, molecular dynamics simulation, and essential dynamics analysis of grancalcin: An upregulated biomarker in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice.

The experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse model is the most commonly used animal model, and it best represents multiple sclerosis. Grancalcin (GCA) was discovered to be upregulated in EAE mice. GCA comprises 220 amino acids that have been assigned the UniprotKB ID Q8VC88. It is a calcium-binding protein that helps neutrophils adhere to fibronectin and the formation of focal adhesions. However, the protein data bank does not contain the crystal structure of mouse GCA. The current study aims to analyze the structural and physicochemical properties of GCA. Mouse GCA showed a high percentage identity (87%) with the crystal structure of des (1-52) grancalcin with bound calcium (chain A) from Homo sapiens identified by its PDB id 1k94_A. Using the SWISS-MODEL server, we used 1k94_A as a template protein to model the mouse GCA protein. Compared to the template structure 1K94, three potential binding sites for calcium-binding have been proposed, ranging from 13 to 20, 80 to 91, and 109 to 120 amino acids. On an i5 personal computer with 8GB of RAM, GROMACS 2020.1 was utilized to run a 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. RMSD, Rg, and RMSF analysis of an MD simulation trajectory indicate a stable and compact state throughout the simulation period of modeled proteins. We found that GCA is primarily alpha helical (Class 1), with eight alpha helices. The essential dynamics analysis captures PCA and SASA, culminating in the biological motions that correspond to the last 1000 frames. These findings will aid the development of potential inhibitors as well as the determination of binding pockets and residues for drug-like molecules.

Natural Product-Based Potential Therapeutic Interventions of Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a disease-refractive lung condition with an increased rate of mortality. The potential factors causing PF include viral infections, radiation exposure, and toxic airborne chemicals. Idiopathic PF (IPF) is related to pneumonia affecting the elderly and is characterized by recurring scar formation in the lungs. An impaired wound healing process, defined by the dysregulated aggregation of extracellular matrix components, triggers fibrotic scar formation in the lungs. The potential pathogenesis includes oxidative stress, altered cell signaling, inflammation, etc. Nintedanib and pirfenidone have been approved with a conditional endorsement for the management of IPF. In addition, natural product-based treatment strategies have shown promising results in treating PF. In this study, we reviewed the recently published literature and discussed the potential uses of natural products, classified into three types-isolated active compounds, crude extracts of plants, and traditional medicine, consisting of mixtures of different plant products-in treating PF. These natural products are promising in the treatment of PF via inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial mesenchymal transition, as well as affecting TGF-ß-mediated cell signaling, etc. Based on the current review, we have revealed the signaling mechanisms of PF pathogenesis and the potential opportunities offered by natural product-based medicine in treating PF.

Potential Role of CCN Proteins in Breast Cancer: Therapeutic Advances and Perspectives.

CCNs are a specific type of matricellular protein, which are essential signaling molecules, and play multiple roles in multicellular eukaryotes. This family of proteins consists of six separate members, which exist only in vertebrates. The architecture of CCN proteins is multi-modular comprising four distinct modules. CCN Proteins achieve their primary functional activities by binding with several integrin7 receptors. The CCN family has been linked to cell adhesion, chemotaxis and migration, mitogenesis, cell survival, angiogenesis, differentiation, tumorigenesis, chondrogenesis, and wound healing, among other biological interactions. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and CCN regulated breast cancer stands at the top. A favorable or unfavorable association between various CCNs has been reported in patients with breast carcinomas. The pro-tumorigenic CCN1, CCN2, CCN3, and CCN4 may lead to human breast cancer, although the anti-tumorigenic actions of CCN5 and CCN6 are also present. Several studies have been conducted on CCN proteins and cancer in recent years. CCN1 and CCN3 have been shown to exhibit a dual nature of tumor inhibition and tumor suppression to some extent in quiet recent time. Pharmacological advances in treating breast cancer by targeting CCN proteins are also reported. In our study, we intend to provide an overview of these research works while keeping breast cancer in focus. This information may facilitate early diagnosis, early prognosis and the development of new therapeutic strategies.

An Insight into Pathophysiological Features and Therapeutic Advances on Ependymoma.

Glial cells comprise the non-sensory parts of the central nervous system as well as the peripheral nervous system. Glial cells, also known as neuroglia, constitute a significant portion of the mammalian nervous system and can be viewed simply as a matrix of neural cells. Despite being the "Nervenkitt" or "glue of the nerves", they aptly serve multiple roles, including neuron repair, myelin sheath formation, and cerebrospinal fluid circulation. Ependymal cells are one of four kinds of glial cells that exert distinct functions. Tumorigenesis of a glial cell is termed a glioma, and in the case of an ependymal cell, it is called an ependymoma. Among the various gliomas, an ependymoma in children is one of the more challenging brain tumors to cure. Children are afflicted more severely by ependymal tumors than adults. It has appeared from several surveys that ependymoma comprises approximately six to ten percent of all tumors in children. Presently, the surgical removal of the tumor is considered a standard treatment for ependymomas. It has been conspicuously evident that a combination of irradiation therapy and surgery is much more efficacious in treating ependymomas. The main purpose of this review is to present the importance of both a deep understanding and ongoing research into histopathological features and prognoses of ependymomas to ensure that effective diagnostic methods and treatments can be developed.