Novel mutations in CYBB Gene Cause X-linked chronic Granulomatous Disease in Pakistani patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) is a primary immunodeficiency that causes susceptibility to recurrent fungal and bacterial infections. The CYBB gene encodes gp91phox component of the Phagocytic Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase and specifically, X-linked CGD is caused by mutations in the CYBB gene, located on the X chromosome. The aim of the study was to characterize functional and genetic mutations in X-linked CGD. METHODS: Functional analysis was conducted on the whole blood of seventeen male individuals who were suspected to have X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Flow cytometry was employed to assess the capacity of NADPH oxidase, measuring both H2O2 production and gp91phox protein expression in neutrophils. Additionally, DNA Sanger sequencing was performed for genetic analysis. The pathogenicity of novel mutations was assessed by pathogenicity prediction tools. RESULT: Among the seventeen patients evaluated, five patients (P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5) displayed impaired H2O2 production by their neutrophils upon stimulation with Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), accompanied by abnormal gp91phox expression. DNA sequencing of the CYBB gene identified specific mutations in each patient. In P1 and P2 (previously reported cases), a hemizygous missense mutation, c.925G > A/p.E309K was identified. In P3 and P4 (novel cases), hemizygous nonsense mutations, c.216T > A/p.C72X were found. Lastly, in P5 (also a novel case), a hemizygous missense mutation, c.732T > G/p.C244W was detected. These mutations reside in exons 9,3 and 7 of the CYBB gene, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The current study contributes to the understanding of the clinical and genetic spectrum associated with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). It highlights the significance of early diagnosis in CGD and emphasizes the importance of lifelong prophylaxis to prevent severe infections.

Development of biodegradable thin films for efficient, specific and controlled delivery of capecitabine.

Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Capecitabine (CP) shows severe side effects because of early metabolism in stomach that affects the normal cells and organs, particularly liver and stomach. In this scope, we report the biocompatible, nontoxic polymeric thin films loaded with anti-cancer drug, CP for target specific, sublingual delivery of CP. Chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were used as biodegradable polymers alongwith glutaraldehyde (GLA) cross linker. CP-loaded thin films (TFCP1-TFCP5) were fabricated by solvent casting method. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of CP and polymers (CS and PVA) with GLA which binds through hydrogen bonding, and compatibility of drug with different excipients. Thermogravemetric analysis showed that the thin films are highly stable while differential scanning calorimeter thermograms confirmed the complete miscibility/entrapment of CP within PVA/CS thin film matrix. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the molecular ineractions between CP and polymer matrix. High degree of swelling index of thin films at pH 7.4 was observed in comparison to pH 5.5. CP release studies in acetate (pH 5.5) and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) showed that the thin films swell and result in drug diffusion faster in phosphate buffer through diffusion governed by Higuchi's model. Cytotoxicity results displayed that CPTFs killed MCF-7 and T47D (human breast adenocarcinoma) cells more effectively as compared to CP alone. The results of adhesion assay also showed that the PVA and CS both are safe and biocompatible. TFCP1 and TFCP3 thin films efficiently induced the apoptosis as compared to CP alone. The improved ability of TFCP1 and TFCP3 to induce cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells reflects the potential of these thin films for targeted drug delivery. The CPTFs were stable for 4 months at 4 °C/60% ± 2%RH and 25 °C/70% ± 2%RH. In conclusion, the thin film formulations showed target specific controlled and burst release properties and thus could prove to be effective for human breast cancer treatment.

Co-expression of anti-miR319g and miRStv_11 lead to enhanced steviol glycosides content in Stevia rebaudiana.

BACKGROUND: miRNAs are major regulators of gene expression and have proven their role in understanding the genetic regulation of biosynthetic pathways. Stevioside and rebaudioside-A, the two most abundant and sweetest compounds found in leaf extract of Stevia rebaudiana, have been used for many years in treatment of diabetes. It has been found that the crude extract is more potent than the purified extract. Stevioside, being accumulated in higher concentration, imparts licorice like aftertaste. Thus, in order to make the sweetener more potent and palatable, there is a need to increase the intrinsic concentration of steviol glycosides and to alter the ratio of rebaudioside-A to stevioside. Doing so would significantly increase the quality of the sweeteners, and the potential to be used on a wider scale. To do so, in previous report, miRNAs associated with genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway were identified in S. rebaudiana. In continuation to that in this study, the two miRNAs (miR319g and miRStv_11) targeting key genes of steviol glycosides biosynthetic pathway were modulated and their impact was evaluated on steviol glycosides contents. RESULTS: The over-expression results showed that miRStv_11 induced, while miR319g had repressive action on its target genes. The knock-down constructs for miR319g and miRStv_11 were then prepared and it was demonstrated that the expression of anti-miR319g produced inhibitory effect on its target miRNA, resulting in enhanced expression of its target genes. On the other hand, anti-miRStv_11 resulted in down-regulation of miRStv_11 and its target gene. Further miRStv_11 and anti-miR319gwere co-expressed which resulted in significant increase in stevioside (24.5%) and rebaudioside-A (51%) contents. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the role of miR319g and miRStv_11 was successfully validated in steviol gycosides biosynthetic pathway gene regulation and their effect on steviol gycosides contents. In this study, we found the positively correlated miRNA-mRNA interaction network in plants, where miRStv_11 enhanced the expression of KAH gene. miRNAs knock-down was also successfully achieved using antisense precursors. Overall, this study thus reveals more complex nature and fundamental importance of miRNAs in biosynthetic pathway related gene networks and hence, these miRNAs can be successfully employed to enhance the ratio of rebaudioside-A to stevioside, thus enhancing the sweetening indices of this plant and making it more palatable.