Advancements in Life Sciences (E-Journal, University of the Punjab)
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Emergence of SARS-CoV-2: Insight into Genomics to Possible Therapeutics
Get PDFRising of a new virus from city of Wuhan, responsible for 2019 global pandemic which is caused by SARS-CoV-2 marked as a great threat for populations. The member (CoV-2) from vast family of Covid virus with single- stranded RNA spread to over 216 countries and millions of individuals died worldwide. Regardless of all strict standard operating procedures, special care and therapies, SARS-CoV-2 mutating its genomic structure and leading to global shutdowns. While different therapeutic approaches face problems due to the complexity in pathogenicity mechanism of CoV-2 and its variants. Mechanism of action, genome analysis, transmission, development of broad-spectrum antiviral medications and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been reported which are essential for future directions to control this pandemic. Here, in this review, these domains were discussed to highlight the genome structure pathophysiology, immune response, multiple diagnostic methods, and possible treatment strategies. This review deliberates the methodologies for creating practical vaccinations and treatment cocktails to manage this outbreak.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Genetics; EpidemiologyEditorial Note: You are viewing latest version of this article having language corrections
Deciphering the Potential Therapeutic Intervention Points of 2019-nCoV: A Pharmacological Perspective
Get PDFThe emerging and re-emergence of viral outbreaks in the history of mankind has always pose severe global intimidation to public health and economy. The debilitating effects of 2019-nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) outbreak has swiftly spread worldwide due to its highly contagious nature with severe risk of respiratory tract infections and higher mortality rate, necessitating the urgent need for the production of effective vaccine and potential therapeutic agents. The active evolution of SARS-CoV-2 strain in different population and environment strive immense challenge against anti-viral therapeutic development based on viral pathogenicity. The potential FDA drugs are evaluated based on their known safety and efficacy with exceptional pharmacokinetic profiles for the treatment of nCoV-2019. Existing knowledge related to MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV epidemic has provided a better understanding to explore purposeful therapeutics strategies against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To limited extend, the ongoing promising and hopeful treatments includes convalescent plasma therapy, remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, ACE inhibitors, TMPRSS2 inhibitors, hydroxychloroquine, interferon, ribavirin, tocilizumab, and corticosteroids however clinical efficacy of some of them need to be validated in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). The global struggle to make a protected and successful Coronavirus immunization is finally proving to be fruitful. Although challenges such as strain variation resistant, possible side effects, adequate supply of vaccines to all countries and limited availability of second dose still diverting the option of possible efficacious therapeutics strategies to work alongside with vaccine development with improved efficacy and safety profile. This review is focused on the potential advancement in therapeutic approaches with possible repurposing of the available drugs and explores the current status of available vaccines with hope that these strategies found to be cogent in controlling SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.Keywords: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Remdesivir; Therapeutics; Plasma therapy; Hydroxychloroquine; Anti-viral; Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; Type II transmembrane serine protease
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Correlation between Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated with Lipocaline and Megalin in Type 2 Diabetic patients
Get PDFBackground: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder defined via elevated blood glucose caused by insufficiency of insulin-sensitive tissues to respond to insulin or defective insulin production by pancreatic β-cells due to environmental and genetic factors. Megalin is a glycoprotein that is mostly found in the proximal tubular cells, major role is to reabsorb albumin and other proteins that the glomerulus has filtered in the proximal tubules.Methods: The purpose of research measure the concentration of megalin and Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) in type 2 patients, in the period from December 2022 to March 2023 at the Baghdad Teaching Hospital120 participants aged(30-60) years, the measured concentration of Megalin, NGAL, and fasting blood glucose in serum and whole blood estimated for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C).Results: The result indicates blood glucose concentration in patients with T2DM (344.975±63.68mg/dl) was significantly higher than control(106.62±12.59mg/dl), HbA1C (13.40±10.35%) in T2DM patients was significantly higher than control (4.310±0.336%), Megalin levels revealed for T2DM patients (220.70±42.47pg/ml) significantly higher than control (120.42±29.33pg/ml), NGAL(447.68±62.76pg/ml) in T2DM patients higher than control(264.93±51.79 pg/ml).Conclusion: According to the results NGAL and Megalin levels were significantly higher in T2DM patients as compared to controls play a role in diabetes pathogenesis and as biomarkers for the early identification of diabetic nephropathy.Keywords: Type 2 diabetes; Megalin; Neutrophil Gelatinase; Associated LipocalinEditorial Expression of Concern20 June 2025: Following publication of this paper, the internal audit (consequent to concerns on quality raised by Web of Science) notified Advancements in Life Sciences about insufficient peer review. By this Editorial Expression of Concern, we alert the scientific community of this incidence as we asses if the reported scientific findings are reliable.Editorial Note26 June 2025: Post-publication review of this paper by a member of the editorial board has highlighted significant limitations related to the rationale of the methodology, p-value formatting, and language usage. The authors have been requested to make post-publication corrections. Nonetheless, readers are advised to interpret and use the findings with due consideration of the above comments. The Editorial Expression of Concern will be revoked upon completion of the necessary corrections by the authors.Retraction Note24 Sept 2025: The Editor-in-Chief has retracted this article due to the above mentioned scientific deficiencies revealed by an internal audit.The authors do not agree to this retraction
Molecular Identification of Streptococcus and Lactococcus Species in Local and Imported Mozzarella Cheese in Baghdad City
Get PDFBackground: The present work investigated the diversity of Streptococcus and related species isolated from local and imported mozzarella soft cheese in Baghdad City from October 2022 to January 2023. The study aimed to examine the molecular characterization of 16Sr RNA gene in some streptococcus species isolates from mozzarella soft cheese in Baghdad cityMethods: From 50 samples, 8 isolates in all were found and identified based on the VITEK, molecular, and sequencing of the 16SrRNA gene. The eight isolates represented Lactococcus cremoris. Streptococcus alactolyticus, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Streptococcus thoraltensis. The isolates were subjected to conventional PCR and electrophoresis to detect the 16SrRNA gene using specific primers , Streptococcal genes were used in the neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis that determined these sequences were derived from Streptococcal genes.Results: DNA sequencing evaluation Significant alignments (96-99% identities) to the Streptococci isolates found in BLAST-NCBI Gene-bank were discovered after sequencing the bacterial DNA products generated by PCR. The results revealed that 8/50 amplified the 16SrRNA gene, which has a molecular weight of about 1250 bp. the gene distribution was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05).Conclusion: This study successfully identified several species of Streptococcus and Lactococcus from mozzarella cheese samples using molecular methods. The findings reveal a mix of expected dairy-associated bacteria (L. cremoris) and species that can be opportunistic pathogens (S. sanguinis, S. alactolyticus). While not all identified isolates are pathogenic, the presence of opportunistic species highlights the need for consistent quality control and hygiene in cheese production to minimize any potential risk to consumers.Keywords: Streptococcus species; Gene sequencing; Mozzarella cheese Editorial Note: You are viewing the latest version of this article having language and data presentation corrections
Characteristics of Patients with Breast Cancer Attending the Breast Cancer Center in Sudan
Get PDFBackground: Breast cancer is one of major health problems worldwide with increasing prevalence and accounts for comprising 16 percent of all female cancers. Objective of this study is investigated about the characteristics of patients with breast cancer attending the breast cancer center in Sudan to understand reasons for late diagnosis.Methods: Cross sectional descriptive study conducted; 200 women attending at the oncology center of the capital city participated.Results: Breast cancer was more prevalent among the age group of (31-40) with percentage of (39%), the reproductive characteristics of them indicated that (30%) did not have children, while 29% had more than two children, (46.5%) had menarche at age of (<11 year), (67.5%) were at Pre-menopause status, while (32.5%) were at post-menopause (48%) of earned income between (0-1000SDG) per month, reflecting the low-socio-economic status of them, as they did not have enough income for proper diagnosis and treatment, while the service is not free, concerning body weight, (31%) was overweight (25 -29.9 Kg/ m²), while (4.5%) of them had morbid obesity(≥ 40 Kg/m²).The results also showed that(71%) took vitamin as a supplement.Conclusion: The study concluded that the cost of service and lack of awareness hindered early detection among low socio-economic status patients. Keywords: Prevalence; Risk factors; Breast cancer Recommendations: early detection of the breast cancer must be provided for free at all hospitals and oncology centers because this is helping to diagnose breast cancer in its early stages and assist in discovering hidden cases in the country, health education programs should be conducted to improve awareness towards importance of early detection
Presence and Antibiotic Resistance of MDR Salmonella Isolates Recovered from Zea mays L. Farms Located near the Poultry Farms in Faisalabad-Pakistan
Get PDFBackground: Salmonella is the major food-borne pathogen associated with food products and causative agent of salmonellosis. Discharge of untreated wastes and leakage of poultry drainage in irrigation water might be the significant source of contamination in fields. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Salmonella in the rhizosphere and phyllo sphere of Zea mays L farm, following irrigation with ditch water contaminated with poultry drainage.Methods: Total 6 maize farms in and around Faisalabad (Pakistan) were selected nearby the poultry farm area. Irrigated water, rhizosphere and leaves were analyzed for presence of Salmonella. A total of 160 samples were collected from different farms. Samples were cultivated on SS agar media and incubated at 37oC.Results: Out of 160 samples, 39 showed positive growth for bacterial contamination. 18 samples were confirmed as Salmonella by morphological and biochemical characteristics. Our results indicated the presence of Salmonella isolates from irrigated water (n=10), from rhizosphere (n=5), from phyllo sphere (n=1) and from roots (n=2). Antibiotics susceptibility pattern of Salmonella isolates against routinely used antibiotics had indicated that 71% isolates were resistant to Tetracycline and Amikacin, and 65% resistance to Chloramphenicol. All the isolates were sensitive to Levofloxacin, Tobramycin, Cefepime, Gentamycin, Cefoxitin and Sulfamethoxale. All isolates were intermediate resistant to cefuroxime and ampicillin.Conclusion: From obtained result it is confirmed that Salmonella spp. have been found in irrigation water mixed with poultry drainage and could be a source of Salmonella contamination to the crops located near the poultry farms.Keywords: Rhizosphere; Zea mays L., Ditch water; Phyllo-sphere; Irrigation water
Identification of phytochemicals as potential inhibitors against E6 protein of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus 16(HPV 16) via In-Silico Structure-Based Virtual Screening Approach
Get PDFBackground: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a potentially fatal infection and the most common cause of cancer related feminine mortality around the world, thus requiring the design of anticancer drugs. The E6 oncoprotein is one of the most investigated therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. E6 oncoprotein plays a major role in tumor progression and cell immortalization. The E6 protein leads to the degradation of tumor suppressor protein P53 via interacting with E6 binding protein E6AP. Therefore, inhibiting the E6 protein can be a potential target for HPV.Methods: In this study we performed virtual screening of 2296 phytochemicals library from MPD3 database against E6 protein. Results: Three compounds were picked out as potential inhibitors. These compounds were selected considering their binding energy and hydrogen bond interactions. To further verify the stability of the docked complexes 100ns molecular dynamics simulations were carried out.Conclusion: Keeping in view the numerous analyses, we suggest that three potential compounds could prove relevancy regarding the anti-HPV therapeutic advancements.Keywords: Human Papillomavirus; Anticancer Drugs; E6 Oncoprotein; Phytochemicals; Virtual Screening; Molecular Dynamics SimulationsEditorial Note: You are viewing the latest version of this article having language and data presentation corrections
Comparative Antibacterial Analysis of Four Different Medicinal Plants Against Human Skin Flora
Get PDFBackground: As we are facing continuously increasing antibiotic resistance, increased infections, diseases and pandemics, the researching community is turning to find the solutions from nature and plants play a vital role in this scenario. Pakistan due to its unique geography and a variety of climatic zones harbors a huge floral diversity.Methods: In this study extracts of four plants of Pakistan namely Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Moringa oleifera and Eucalyptus camaldulensis prepared by Aqueous. Ethanol and Methanol extract preparation methods were examined for their phytochemical content by employing various reagents and methods like foam test for saponins, xanthoprotein test for proteins, Braemar’s test for tannins etc. Antibacterial activity against stored human skin flora samples was performed using the agar well diffusion assay and statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA one-way analysis on Microsoft Excel 2010.Result: Each plant extract exhibited antibacterial activity and statistical analysis performed for extracts of each plant showed p value for A. indica as 0.36 (P > 0.05), for C. longa as 0.09 (P > 0.05), for M. oleifera as 0.67 (P > 0.05) and for E. camaldulensis as 0.02 (P < 0.05), which indicates significant antibacterial activity of E. camaldulensis depending on the size of zones of inhibition produced by it. Conclusion: All the extracts prepared from selected plants showed some degree of antibacterial activity against the human skin flora that can also act as opportunistic pathogen. This supports the use of traditionally used plants and herbs for fighting present day soaring health related issues as antimicrobial resistance. Study also suggests further investigations for estimating exact concentrations of extracts to be used that work efficiently in relevant cases and molecular mechanism of action of these extracts.Keywords: Skin Flora; Antibiotic Resistant; Plant Extract; Antibacterial Activity, Medicinal plantsEditorial Note: This article has post-publication language corrections
Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Activity of Linseeds Against Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Line
Get PDFBackground: Flaxseeds (Linum usitatissimum L.) are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants that may have anticancer properties. Methods: The anticancer activity of the hydro-methanolic extract of linseeds (Linum usitatissimum L.) on the Rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cell line had been evaluated through determination of phytochemical content, anti-oxidative potential by the free. radical-scavenging capability of 2, 2, diphenyl_1_picrylhydrazyl (D.P.P.H) and cytotoxic effects which were carried out by utilizing MTT assay.Results: Phytochemical analysis recorded various phytochemical compounds, with antioxidant activity of hydro-methanolic extract of linseeds. Furthermore, linseeds hydro-methanolic extract has a significant cytotoxic influence on the RD cell line in a concentration range of 0.001–0.8 mg/mL by MTT assay with an IC50 value of 0.07 mg/mL.Conclusion: From the performed assays, the hydro-methanolic extract of linseeds shows greater activity on the RD cell line which ensured the possibility of applying linseeds as anticancer that due to the anti-oxidative potential of its phytochemical compounds.Keywords: Linseeds; Cytotoxicity; MTT Assay; Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell LineEditorial Expression of Concern20 June 2025: Following publication of this paper, the internal audit (consequent to concerns on quality raised by Web of Science) notified Advancements in Life Sciences about quality of figures. By this Editorial Expression of Concern, we alert the scientific community as we address this.Editorial Note24 June 2025: Readers may please see figure 3 with higher DPI given at the end of References section in the PDF version. Expression of concern is hereby revoked.This article has been updated with language corrections as well.
Role of Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors in Renal Colic Pain Reduction and Improvement: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials
Get PDFRenal colic is an irritating condition that develops after obstruction of the ureter. Selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors are types of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have beneficial role in treatment various diseases. Hence, this systematic review summarizes the current knowledge about the role of selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors as painkiller in renal colic pain management. The present systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statements. Until September 2022, PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched using the relevant keywords including “Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors”, “Parecoxib”, “Celecoxib”, “Rofecoxib”, “Renal Colic Pain” and “Ureteral Colic Pain”. Of 64 identified records through database searching, 6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were selected for this systematic review. The sample size in RCTs were between 53 and 338. The range of subject’s age was from 18 to 69. Overall, the evidence of this review revealed that the selective COX-2 inhibitors particularly celecoxib and parecoxib could alleviate renal colic pain in most of the studies through decreasing relevant pain score. Overall, selective COX-2 inhibitors seem to be effective in alleviating renal colic pain. However, further high quality assessments are required for demonstrating therapeutic role of selective COX-2 inhibitors against renal colic pain. Keywords: Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Non-Steroidal; Renal Colic; Pain Management