RESUMO
A freshwater green microalgal strain was isolated and the lectin was identified in it by a strong hemagglutination activity (HA) assay. Characterization of the algal strain was found to be Chlorella sorokiniana (MW769776). A single step affinity chromatographic technique was developed to purify Chlorella sorokiniana lectin (CSL) using guar gum as the affinity matrix. The precipitate showed a single active peak with a titer value of 1024 HU, with a concentration of 1111 U, and a purification fold of 9. The purified protein exhibited a single band in SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight of 16 kDa. Analysis by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS) of tryptic-digested purified lectin showed that it was a monomeric protein. A multiple sequence alignment analysis revealed that the peptide sequences of CSL exhibited similarity with the H-type lectin domain of Micractinium conductrix. The structure of CSL was studied by FTIR and homology modeling methods, indicating the presence of α-helix as well as ß-sheet in its secondary structure. Whereas the 3D structure exhibited the similarity with the core protein of light-harvesting reaction center complex of photosystem I. The significance of this study suggests that the characteristics of CSL are consistent with its identification as a hemagglutinin, a type of novel lectin, which suggests its candidature for various biological purposes.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
RESUMO
Rabies, a zoonotic viral encephalitis, continues to be a serious public health problem in India and several other countries in Asia and Africa. Survival is rarely reported in rabies, which is considered to be almost universally fatal. We report the clinical and radiological findings of eight patients with laboratory-confirmed rabies who survived the illness. With the exception of one patient who recovered with mild sequelae, all survivors had poor functional outcomes. The reported survival from rabies in recent years may reflect an increased awareness of the disease and greater access to better critical care facilities in rabies-endemic countries. Nonetheless, there is an urgent need to focus on preventive strategies to reduce the burden of this dreadful disease in rabies-endemic countries.
