Biology Beyond Boundaries: Mitochondrial Insights, Computational Breakthroughs, and Clinical Transformations: International Conference Hosted by Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India, January 29-31, 2024.

The Department of Biotechnology at Savitribai Phule Pune University organized an International Conference on Biology Beyond Boundaries: Mitochondrial Insights, Computational Breakthroughs, and Clinical Transformations. The symposium provided a highly interactive platform for sharing scientific ideas, cultural enrichment, and collaborations between scientists working across multidisciplinary areas including cell death and mitochondrial biology, computational approaches, and translational research to combat various human diseases. More than 250 delegates including international scientists, junior investigators, and students joined this exciting event. Several sessions were dedicated for junior investigators and graduate students to highlight scientific excellence as well as to gather scientific feedback in advancing their ongoing research. Although promising progress has been made in infectious diseases in India, noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, cardiac, and neurodegenerative diseases are increasing, leading to higher funding in these areas of research. The success of this meeting has provided a platform for future scientific conferences, which will foster collaborations between multidisciplinary areas of biological sciences to prevent and treat various human diseases in India, as well as further showcase the progress in Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology throughout India.

Long non-coding RNA mediated drug resistance in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women and a leading cause of mortality. As per the GLOBCAN report of 2021, breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer which until recently was the most commonly diagnosed cancer. Despite significant efforts to improve early detection and therapeutic efficacy of breast cancer, the frequent emergence of drug resistance remains the predominant basis for the poor prognosis of cancer patients harboring various malignancies. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) are known to affect a variety of components of genome function, including epigenetics, gene transcription, splicing, translation, as well as many central biological processes like cell cycle progression, cell differentiation, development, and pluripotency. LncRNAs are dysregulated in various malignancies and interact with a multitude of RNAs and proteins to impact drug resistance. LncRNAs regulate chemoresistance in cancer by employing an assortment of molecular mechanisms including multidrug efflux, suppression of apoptosis, DNA damage response, epigenetic alterations, as well as functioning as competitive endogenous RNA. When combined with other regulatory mechanisms, these pathways form a complex orchestration of signaling that ultimately lead to chemoresistance. The current review delves into the role of lncRNAs in inducing drug resistance to conventional therapeutic anti-cancer drugs used for the treatment of breast cancer. We propose that lncRNAs that provoke drug resistance could be used to develop new targeted and tailored therapeutics providing a novel approach to introduce promising personalized treatment modalities to overcome chemoresistance in breast cancer patients. Hence, lncRNAs that drive anticancer drug resistance can be potentially explored as biomarkers of disease prognosis and may provide unique opportunities to circumvent chemoresistance in breast cancer patients.

Targeting AKT2 in MDA-MB-231 Cells by Pyrazole Hybrids: Structural, Biological and Molecular Docking Studies.

Pyrazolic hybrids appended with naphthalene, p-chlorobenzene, o-phenol and toluene have been synthesized using Claisen Schmidt condensation reaction of 1-benzyl-3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde. All compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. Compound (E)-3-(1-benzyl-3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one crystallizes in monoclinic crystal system with C2/c space group. These synthesized compounds were tested for cytotoxic activity and among these compounds 4b and 5a shows prominent cytotoxic activity against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values 47.72 µM and 24.25 µM, respectively. Distinguishing morphological changes were noticed in MDA-MB-231 cells treated with pyrazole hybrids contributing to apoptosis action. To get more insight into cytotoxic activity, in silico molecular docking of these compounds were performed and the results suggested that (E)-3-(1-benzyl-3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-1-(p-tolyl)prop-2-en-1-one and 1-(1'-benzyl-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-3',5'-dimethyl-3,4-dihydro-1'H,2H-[3,4'-bipyrazol]-2-yl)ethan-1-one binds to the prominent domain of Akt2 indicating their potential ability as Akt2 inhibitor. Moreover, from in silico ADME studies clearly demonstrated that these compounds may be regarded as a drug candidate for sub-lingual absorption based on log p values (2.157-4.924). These compounds also show promising antitubercular activity. The overall results suggest that pyrazolic hybrids with substitution at less sterically hindered positions have appealing potent cytotoxic activity and antituberculosis activity due to which they may act as multidrug candidate.

Progress, evolving therapeutic/diagnostic approaches, and challenges in the management of hepatitis C virus infections.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are emerging as one of the foremost challenges in healthcare owing to its chronicity and the virus's quasispecies nature. Worldwide, over 170 million people are chronically infected with HCV, with an annual mortality of over 500,000 people across the world. The emerging pathophysiological evidence links HCV infections to a risk of developing liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite the great strides that have been made towards understanding the pathophysiology of disease progression, the tailored treatments of HCV infection remain to be established. The present review provides an update of the literature pertaining to evolving therapeutic approaches and prophylactic measures for the effective management of HCV infections. An extensive discussion of established and experimental immune prophylactic measures also sheds light on current developments in the design of vaccination strategies against HCV infection. We have also attempted to address the application of nanotechnology in formulating effective therapeutic interventions against HCV. Pointing out the limitations of the existing diagnostic methods and therapeutic approaches against HCV might inspire the design and development of novel, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective diagnostic technologies as well as novel therapeutic and immune prophylactic interventions for the effective management of HCV.

Microwave prompted solvent-free synthesis of new series of heterocyclic tagged 7-arylidene indanone hybrids and their computational, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity study.

In this study, we report the expeditious synthesis of ten new antifungal and antioxidant agents containing heterocyclic linked 7-arylidene indanone moiety. The solvent-free microwave technique, ample substrate scope, superfast synthesis, and very simple operation are noteworthy features of this protocol. Antifungal activities of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated against four fungal strains namely Rhizophus oryzae, Mucor mucido, Aspergillus niger, and Candida albicans. Most of the compounds were shown strong inhibition of the investigated fungal agents. In vitro, antioxidant potential against DPPH and OH radicals affirmed that the synthesized compounds are good to excellent radicals scavenging agents. The cytotoxicity data of the synthesized compounds towards HL-60 cells uncovered that the synthesized compounds display very low to negligible cytotoxicity. The structural and quantum chemical parameters of the synthesized compounds were explored by employing density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP functional using 6-311G(d,p) basis set. The compound 3a is discussed in detail for the theoretical and experimental correlation. Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) at CAM-B3LYP functional with 6-311G(d,p) basis set was used for the electronic absorption study in the gas phase and indichloromethane and benzene solvents. The UV-Visible absorption peaks and fundamental vibrational wavenumbers were computed and a good agreement between observed and theoretical results has been achieved. From the DFT and antifungal activity correlation, it has been found that the 7-heteroarylidene indanones with more stabilized LUMO energy levels display good antifungal potential.

Modeling and simulation study to identify threonine synthase as possible drug target in Leishmania major.

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that demand immediate attention to the identification of new drug targets and effective drug candidates. The present study demonstrates the possibility of using threonine synthase (TS) as a putative drug target in leishmaniasis disease management. We report the construction of an effective homology model of the enzyme that appears to be structurally as well as functionally well conserved. The 200 nanosecond molecular dynamics data on TS with and without pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) shed light on mechanistic details of PLP-induced conformational changes. Moreover, we address some important structural and dynamic interactions in the PLP binding region of TS that are in good agreement with previously speculated crystallographic estimations. Additionally, after screening more than 44,000 compounds, we propose 10 putative inhibitor candidates for TS based on virtual screening data and refined Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born Surface Area calculations. We expect that structural and functional dynamics data disclosed in this study will help initiate experimental endeavors toward establishing TS as an effective antileishmanial drug target.

Redundant angiogenic signaling and tumor drug resistance.

Angiogenesis research in the past two decades has contributed significantly towards understanding the molecular pathophysiology of cancer progression and inspired target-oriented research and pharma industry for the development of novel anti-angiogenic agents. Currently, over eleven drugs targeting angiogenesis have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of various malignancies. Of the registered anti-angiogenic clinical trials until the end of 2017 (ClinicalTrials.gov), over 47% were completed, 10% were terminated, 3% withdrawn, over 0.5% were suspended and only 4 trials have culminated in FDA approval for marketing. On the one hand, the clinical benefits of anti-angiogenic drugs prompted the development of novel anti-angiogenic agents. On the other hand, however, a plethora of recent studies demonstrated the emergence of tumor drug resistance towards currently used anti-angiogenic therapeutics. Series of preclinical and clinical studies have highlighted the enigma of drug resistance with functional bypass pathways, and identified compensatory or alternative angiogenic mechanisms assuring tumor growth in the midst of an anti-angiogenic stress environment. In the present review the classical literature of such redundant angiogenic pathways in concert with the key angiogenic factors and specialized cells involved in anti-angiogenic escape mechanisms is described. A strategic discourse regarding increasing tumor drug resistance and future modalities for anti-angiogenic therapy is also discussed in view of recent advances.

Role of dietary flavonoids in amelioration of sugar induced cataractogenesis.

Sugar induced cataractogenesis and visual impairment is more prominent ophthalmic problem in humans suffering from diabetes. Flavonoids have been identified as one of the therapeutically important class of phytochemicals possessing myriad of biological activities. Analyzing the anti-cataract effects of flavonoids from natural sources is an important aspect owing to their bioavailability in variety of dietary sources. In the present study a panel of ten dietary flavonoids like 3, 6-dihydroxy flavone, 3, 7-dihydroxy flavone, chrysin, 3-hydroxy-7-methoxy flavone, apigenin, genistein, baicalein, galangin, Biochanin-A, and diosmin were evaluated for their anti-cataract effects in sugar induced lens model studies. Series of parameters like role of flavonoids in glycation induced lens opacity, protein aggregation measurements, carbonyl group formation: a biochemical marker of glycation reaction, non-tryptophan fluorescence: a marker of formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and assessment of (experimental and in silico) aldose reductase inhibition: a key enzyme of polyol pathway involved in cataractogenesis. The results of the study clearly demonstrated the impressive anti-cataract activity of chrysin followed by significant activity by apigenin, baicalein and genistein. The results of the present study may find applications in formulation of functional foods and neutraceuticals for the management of diabetic cataract.

Effect of monohydroxylated flavonoids on glycation-induced lens opacity and protein aggregation.

Glycation-induced cataractogenesis and visual impairment is a major ophthalmic concern of altered sugar homeostasis in humans as well as animals. Searching antiglycating agents from natural sources is widely acknowledged as it can be made bioavailable through diet. The present study was designed to understand the positional suitability of hydroxylation in the flavonoid scaffold for maneuvering it as an anticataract agent. Six naturally occurring monohydroxylated flavonoids rataining hydroxylation at 3, 5, 6, 7, 2' and 4' carbon position were evaluated for their effect on glycation induced lens opacity, protein aggregation, carbonyl group formation and nontryptophan fluorescence. The selected flavonoids also evaluated for their aldose reductase inhibition: a key enzyme implicated in cataractogenesis. The results of this study clearly demonstrated the stereo-specificity of hydroxyl substitution and focused the significance of 7-hydroxy substitution as a lead scaffold. Overall, the test flavonoids demonstrated considerable anti-cataract activities in context with studied parameters.

Inhibition of Helicobacter pylori and Its Associate Urease by Labdane Diterpenoids Isolated from Andrographis paniculata.

The present study was carried out to evaluate anti-Helicobacter pylori and its associated urease activity of labdane diterpenoids isolated from Andrographis paniculata. A molecular docking analysis was performed by using ArgusLab 4.0.1 software. The results obtained indicate that compound A possesses strong inhibition to H. pylori, 28 ± 2.98 (minimum inhibitory concentration, 9 µg/mL), and its urease, 85.54 ± 2.62% (IC50 , 20.2 µg/mL). Compounds B, C, and D also showed moderate inhibition to H. pylori and its urease. The obtained results were in agreement with the molecular docking analysis of compounds. The phytochemicals under investigation were found to be promising antibacterial agents. Moreover, the isolated compounds can be considered as a resource for searching novel anti-H. pylori agents possessing urease inhibition.

Evaluation of Curcumin Capped Copper Nanoparticles as Possible Inhibitors of Human Breast Cancer Cells and Angiogenesis: a Comparative Study with Native Curcumin.

Synthesis of metal nanoparticles for improving therapeutic index and drug delivery is coming up as an attractive strategy in the mainstream of cancer therapeutic research. In the present study, curcumin-capped copper nanoparticles (CU-NPs) were evaluated as possible inhibitors of in vivo angiogenesis, pro-angiogenic cytokines involved in promoting tumor angiogenesis along with inhibition of cell proliferation and migration of breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The antiangiogenic potential was assessed using in vivo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) model. 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-based cytotoxicity assay was used to assess the effect of CU-NPs against proliferation of breast cancer cell line. The wound healing migration assay was used to evaluate the effects of CU-NPs on the migration ability of breast cancer cell line. Native curcumin (CU) was used as a reference compound for comparison purpose. The result of the present investigation indicates that CU-NPs could not demonstrate impressive antiangiogenic or anticancer activities significantly as compared to native CU. The possible mechanisms of experimental outcomes are discussed in the light of the methods of nanoparticle synthesis in concert with the current state of the art literature.

Angiogenic factors as potential drug target: efficacy and limitations of anti-angiogenic therapy.

Formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) has been demonstrated to be a basic prerequisite for sustainable growth and proliferation of tumor. Several growth factors, cytokines, small peptides and enzymes support tumor growth either independently or in synergy. Decoding the crucial mechanisms of angiogenesis in physiological and pathological state has remained a subject of intense interest during the past three decades. Currently, the most widely preferred approach for arresting tumor angiogenesis is the blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway; however, the clinical usage of this modality is still limited by several factors such as adverse effects, toxicity, acquired drug resistance, and non-availability of valid biomarkers. Nevertheless, angiogenesis, being a normal physiological process imposes limitations in maneuvering it as therapeutic target for tumor angiogenesis. The present review offers an updated relevant literature describing the role of well-characterized angiogenic factors, such as VEGF, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), placenta growth factor (PLGF), hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) and angiopoetins (ANGs) in regulating tumor angiogenesis. We have also attempted to discuss tumor angiogenesis with a perspective of 'an attractive target with emerging challenges', along with the limitations and present status of anti-angiogenic therapy in the current state-of-the-art.

Effective epitope identification employing phylogenetic, mutational variability, sequence entropy, and correlated mutation analysis targeting NS5B protein of hepatitis C virus: from bioinformatics to therapeutics.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is considered as a foremost cause affecting numerous human liver-related disorders. An effective immuno-prophylactic measure (like stable vaccine) is still unavailable for HCV. We perform an in silico analysis of nonstructural protein 5B (NS5B) based CD4 and CD8 epitopes that might be implicated in improvement of treatment strategies for efficient vaccine development programs against HCV. Here, we report on effective utilization of knowledge obtained from multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis for investigation and evaluation of candidate epitopes that have enormous potential to be used in formulating proficient vaccine, embracing multiple strains prevalent among major geographical locations. Mutational variability data discussed herein focus on discriminating the region under active evolutionary pressure from those having lower mutational potential in existing experimentally verified epitopes, thus, providing a concrete framework for designing an effective peptide-based vaccine against HCV. Additionally, we measured entropy distribution in NS5B residues and pinpoint the positions in epitopes that are more susceptible to mutations and, thus, account for virus strategy to evade the host immune system. Findings from this study are expected to add more details on the sequence and structural aspects of NS5B protein, ultimately facilitating our understanding about the pathophysiology of HCV and assisting advance studies on the function of NS5B antigen on the epitope level. We also report on the mutational crosstalk between functionally important coevolving residues, using correlated mutation analysis, and identify networks of coupled mutations that represent pathways of allosteric communication inside and among NS5B thumb, finger, and palm domains.

Synthesis and Evaluation of New 4-Chloro-2-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-5-(aliphatic/cyclic saturated amino)pyridazin-3(2H)-one Derivatives as Anticancer, Antiangiogenic, and Antioxidant Agents.

Pyridazinones are widely recognized as versatile scaffolds with a wide spectrum of biological activities. In the present work, a series of new 4-chloro-2-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-5-(aliphatic/cyclic saturated amino)pyridazin-3(2H)-one derivatives 4a-i were synthesized and characterized by spectral techniques. The inhibitory effects of the synthesized compounds 4a-i on the viability of three human cancer cell lines, HEP3BPN 11 (liver), MDA 453 (breast), and HL 60 (leukemia), were assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay. Among the compounds 4a-i screened, 4g and 4i exhibited inhibitory activity very close to the standard methotrexate; therefore, these lead compounds were further tested for their potential to inhibit the proangiogenic cytokines involved in tumor progression. Compound 4g was found to be a potent antiangiogenic agent against TNFα, VEGF, FGFb, and TGFß, whereas 4i showed potent antiangiogenic activity against TNFα, VEGF, FGFb, and leptin. All the compounds 4a-i were screened for their antioxidant activities using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazine (DPPH), OH, and superoxide anion radicals. Compound 4f showed better OH radical scavenging activity than the standard ascorbic acid.

Development of novel pyrazolone derivatives as inhibitors of aldose reductase: an eco-friendly one-pot synthesis, experimental screening and in silico analysis.

Aldose reductase is the key enzyme of polypol pathway leading to accumulation of sorbitol. Sorbitol does not diffuse across the cell membranes easily and therefore accumulates within the cell, causing osmotic damage which leads to retinopathy (cataractogenesis), neuropathy and other diabetic complications. Currently, aldose reductase inhibitors like epalrestat, ranirestat and fidarestat are used for the amelioration of diabetic complications. However, such drugs are effective in patients having good glycemic control and less severe diabetic complications. In present study we have designed novel pyrazolone derivative and performed eco-friendly synthesis approach and tested the synthesized compounds as potential inhibitors of aldose reductase activity. Additional in silico analysis in current study indicates presence of highly conserved chemical environment in active site of goat lens aldose reductase. The reported data is expected to be useful for developing novel pyrazolone derivatives as lead compounds in the management of diabetic complications.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of asymmetric indole curcumin analogs as potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents.

Abstract A series of asymmetric indole curcumin analogs were synthesized and evaluated as possible inhibiters of pro-inflammatory enzymes such as COX-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines as TNF-α and IL-6, trypsin and ß-glucuronidase. They were also tested for antioxidant activities. The results showed that compounds 5e and 5h were found to be the most potent inhibitors of COX-2 (83.33%, 82.50%) and ß-glucuronidase (67.80%, 64.12%). All the synthesized compounds exhibited promising activity against IL-6 in a range of 71-100% at 10 µM concentration. Compounds 5f, 5h, 5e, 5c and 5d showed significant inhibition against TNF-α (28-51%) and IL-6 (87-98%) with low toxicity (45-51%) against CCK-8 cells. With few exceptions, all other compounds were found to be good to excellent inhibitors of IL-6 and moderate inhibitors of TNF-α; however, the toxicity profiles of these compounds need to be ameliorated in further optimization studies. Amongst the tested compounds, 5c, 5b, 5j and 5g were found to possess excellent reducing activity and 5b, 5c and 5h were moderate DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazine) radical scavengers.

Reverse vaccinology approach for identification of epitopes from E1 protein as peptide vaccine against HCV: A proof of concept.

The development of effective vaccines against Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) remains a global health priority and challenge. In this study, we employed an integrative approach combining computational epitope prediction with experimental validation to identify immunogenic peptides targeting the E1 glycoprotein of HCV. In the present report, computational data from various epitope prediction algorithms such as IEDB and SYFPEITHI, followed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and immuno-informatics analysis is presented. Through computational screening, we identified potential epitope candidates, with QVRNSSGLY (P3) and QLFTFSPRH (P7) emerging as promising candidates. MD simulations revealed stable interactions between these epitopes and MHC molecule, further validated by free energy estimations using MMPBSA method. Immuno-informatics analysis supported these findings, showing high binding potential and immunogenicity scores for the selected peptides. Subsequent synthesis and characterization of epitope peptides confirmed their structural integrity and purity required for conducting immune activation assays. Experimental immunological assays carried out in this study involved epitope peptide induced activation of CD8 + and CD4 + T cells from healthy human subjects and HCV- recovered patients. Data from experimental validation revealed significant cytokine release upon exposure to epitope peptides, particularly TNF-a, IL-6, and GM-CSF, indicative of robust immune responses. Notably, peptides P3 and P7 exhibited the most pronounced cytokine induction profiles, underscoring their potential as vaccine candidates. Further investigations addressing the mechanism of action of these epitope peptides under preclinical and clinical settings may help in developing effective vaccine against HCV.

Cancer metastases: Tailoring the targets.

Metastasis is an intricate and formidable pathophysiological process encompassing the dissemination of cancer cells from the primary tumour body to distant organs. It stands as a profound and devastating phenomenon that constitutes the primary driver of cancer-related mortality. Despite great strides of advancements in cancer research and treatment, tailored anti-metastasis therapies are either lacking or have shown limited success, necessitating a deeper understanding of the intrinsic elements driving cancer invasiveness. This comprehensive review presents a contemporary elucidation of pivotal facets within the realm of cancer metastasis, commencing with the intricate processes of homing and invasion. The process of angiogenesis, which supports tumour growth and metastasis, is addressed, along with the pre-metastatic niche, wherein the primary tumour prepares for a favorable microenvironment at distant sites for subsequent metastatic colonization. The landscape of metastasis-related genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, involvement of metastasis genes and metastasis suppressor genes, and microRNAs (miRNA) are also discussed. Furthermore, immune modulators' impact on metastasis and their potential as therapeutic targets are addressed. The interplay between cancer cells and the immune system, including immune evasion mechanisms employed by metastatic cells, is discussed, highlighting the importance of targeting immune modulation in arresting metastatic progression. Finally, this review presents promising treatment opportunities derived from the insights gained into the mechanisms of metastasis. Identifying novel therapeutic targets and developing innovative strategies to disrupt the metastatic cascade holds excellent potential for improving patient outcomes and ultimately reducing cancer-related mortality.

Apigenin and its combination with Vorinostat induces apoptotic-mediated cell death in TNBC by modulating the epigenetic and apoptotic regulators and related miRNAs.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a metastatic disease and a formidable treatment challenge as it does not respond to existing therapies. Epigenetic regulators play a crucial role in the progression and metastasis by modulating the expression of anti-apoptotic, pro-apoptotic markers and related miRNAs in TNBC cells. We have investigated the anti-TNBC potential of dietary flavonoid 'Apigenin' and its combination with Vorinostat on MDA-MB-231 cells. At Apigenin generated ROS, inhibited cell migration, arrested the cell cycle at subG0/G1 phases, and induced apoptotic-mediated cell death. Apigenin reduced the expression of the class-I HDACs at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels. In the immunoblotting study, Apigenin has upregulated pro-apoptotic markers and downregulated anti-apoptotic proteins. Apigenin inhibited the enzymatic activity of HDAC/DNMT and increased HAT activity. Apigenin has manifested its effect on miRNA expression by upregulating the tumor-suppressor miR-200b and downregulation oncomiR-21. Combination study reduced the growth of TNBC cells synergistically by modulating the expression of epigenetic and apoptotic regulators. Molecular docking and MD simulations explored the mechanism of catalytic inhibition of HDAC1 and HDAC3 and supported the in-vitro studies. The overall studies demonstrated an anti-TNBC potential of Apigenin and may help to design an effective strategy to treat metastatic phenotype of TNBC.

Design, synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of novel pyrazole integrated benzophenones.

A series of novel pyrazole integrated benzophenones (9a-j) have been designed, synthesized from 1-methyl-5-(2,4,6-trimethoxy-phenyl)-1H-pyrazole 6. The structures of the regioisomers 6 and 7 were determined by 2D (1)H-(1)H COSY, (1)H-(13)C HSQC and (1)H-(13)C HMBC experiments. The newly synthesized compounds (9a-j) were evaluated for in vivo anti-inflammatory activity by carrageenan paw edema in rats and in vitro COX-1/COX-2 inhibition and antioxidant potential. Among the synthesized compounds, compounds 9b, 9d and 9f, were found to be active anti-inflammatory agents in addition to having potent antioxidant activity.