The displacement study of 99m Tc-DTPA-Human serum albumin binding in presence of furosemide and metformin by using equilibrium dialysis and molecular docking

The ^99m Tc-DTPA (Technetium^99m diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid), is a radiopharmaceutical used in renal scintigraphy. The human serum albumin (HSA) binding site(s) for the ^99m Tc-DTPA have never been characterized. This study will cover in vitro the binding rates of ^99m Tc-DTPA on HSA and the ^99m Tc-DTPA competition interactions with two drugs having known human serum albumin binding sites. Furosemide (FUR) and metformin (MET) were added to ^99m Tc-DTPA solution (weight ratios 1/1 vol:vol) followed by the quantification of ^99m Tc-DTPA binding rates to HSA (40 g/L) using equilibrium dialysis and the qualification of this binding using Molecular Modeling methods. The ^99m Tc-DTPA binding rates to human serum albumin increased with the highest concentration. Both drugs FUR and MET displaced ^99m Tc-DTPA binding. ^99m Tc-DTPA could bind to human serum albumin in many locations in site I and I-II, but strongly bound to site I through hydrogen bonds.

Curcumin-Synthetic Analogs Library Screening by Docking and Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Studies for AXL Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition in Cancers

AXL is an important drug target for cancers. Two-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (2D-QSAR) tests were performed to elucidate a relationship between molecular structures and the activity of a series of 400 curcumin derivatives subjected to AXL kinase by ATP competition in the catalytic site. The partial least square regression method implanted in molecular operating environment software was applied to develop QSAR models, which were further validated for statistical significance by internal and external validation. The best model has proven to be statistically robust with a good predictive correlation of R ²  = 0.996 and a significant cross-validation correlation coefficient of q ²  = 0.707. Docking analysis reveled that three curcumin derivatives have the best affinity for AXL and formed a hydrogen bond with the important amino acid residues in the binding pocket. As treated in this article, the docking studies and 2D-QSAR approach will pave the way for the development of new drugs while highlighting curcumin and its derivatives.

Gastric Adenocarcinoma in a Moroccan Population: First Report on Survival Data

BACKGROUND

Although its incidence has decreased over the last 20 years, gastric adenocarcinoma remains frequent (1,033,701 new cases worldwide per year, Globocan 2018). Its prognosis is still poor, with overall survival rates of 10 to 25% despite improvement in surgical and perioperative treatment. In Morocco, we do not have data on survival and predictors of mortality in our population, the present study aims to describe the epidemiological and clinicopathological features of gastric adenocarcinoma and the survival rate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed data files of 265 patients with histological diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma between January 2007 and June 2017. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan Meier method and prognostic factors in multivariate analysis (Cox model).

RESULTS

The mean age of our population was 54.48 ±15.53 with a sex ratio M/F of 1.76. Clinical symptomatology dominated by epigastralgia episodes in two-thirds of the cases and deterioration of the general state in most cases (61.7%). Proximal localization accounted for 17.4%. According to histological classification, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was the most common histological type (51.7%). Metastatic or locally advanced tumors accounted for 92% of cases. Only 11% of patients received curative resection. The 5-year survival was 6%. Multivariate analysis revealed three prognostic factors: vascular invasion, advanced stage and differentiation.

DISCUSSION

The high mortality of gastric adenocarcinoma in our Moroccan series is probably explained by the late stage at diagnosis. Symptoms are nonspecific and endoscopy is usually performed for advanced symptoms such as anemia, bleeding or weight loss. The main identified prognostic factors in gastric adenocarcinoma are tumor subtype (Linitic forms), stage at diagnosis, vascular and lymph nodes invasion and general performance status which correlates to available data in the literature. Besides, the age distribution of GC in our series showed that the proportion of affected young adult is high (30.6%) compared to data from developed countries varying between 6 and 15%. This age distribution can be explained by the Westernization of diet, the increase of obesity in our population and more exposure to alcohol and tobacco.

CONCLUSION

Overall cancer survival in our population does not exceed 7%, a rate that remains low compared to studies published in the occidental literature. Recommendations have to be elaborated to make a strategy for screening and early diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma to improve the survival rate.

Syneresis investigations of lacto-fermented sodium caseinate in a mixed model system

BACKGROUND

The textural characteristics of fermented dairy products are important quality parameters that play a major role in their stability and consumer's acceptance. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sodium caseinate, starch, lactose and lactic acid bacteria as ferment on the syneresis in a mixed model system, and to evaluate their impact on the acid gel formation throughout pH and zeta potential monitoring. Accordingly, a protocol was designed to perform an experimental design by using a mixture of the selected factors.

RESULTS

A significant decrease of syneresis was detected in all mixtures at 8% of sodium caseinate, ranging between a minimum of 1.8% and a maximum of 20.6% compared to the mixtures at 3% of sodium caseinate in which the syneresis decrease had ranged between a minimum of 22.2% and a maximum of 47.8%. The addition of starch had a significant impact on the acidification profile and on the syneresis of the fermented mixed model. Moreover, the monitoring of pH and zeta potential during the lacto-fermentation process has also led to a better understanding of the acid gelation and the syneresis variations.

CONCLUSION

Syneresis varies very closely with sodium caseinate concentration, starch concentration and also with their association, regardless of the concentrations of lactose and ferment. In fact syneresis could be reduced to an optimum level if a sodium caseinate-starch mixed system is employed: Less syneresis gels could be obtained at a sodium caseinate concentration above 5% if starch is used above 1%.

Re-positioning of known drugs for Pim-1 kinase target using molecular docking analysis

The Concept of reusing existing drugs for new targets is gaining momentum in recent years because of cost-effectiveness as safety and toxicology data are already available. Therefore, it is of interest to re-profile known drugs against the Pim-1 kinase target using molecular docking analysis. Results show that known drugs such as nilotinib, vemurafenib, Idelalisib, and other small kinases inhibitors have high binding ability with Pim-1 kinase for consideration as potential inhibitors.

A review on PIM kinases in tumors

The Proviral Integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus (PIM) kinases is serine/threonine kinases that promote growth and survival in multiple cell types, implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Over expression of Pim-1 experimentally leads to tumor formation in mice, whereas there is no observable phenotype concerning the complete knockout of the protein. When it is over expressed it may lead to cancer development by three major ways; by inhibiting apoptosis, by promoting cell proliferation and also through promoting genomic instability. Expression in normal tissues is nearly undetectable. Recent improvements in the development of novel inhibitors of PIMs have been reviewed. Significant progress in the design of PIMs inhibitors, in which it displays selectivity versus other kinases, has been achieved within the last years. However, the development of isoform-selective PIM inhibitors is still an open task. As Pim-1 possesses oncogenic functions and is over expressed in various kinds of cancer diseases, its inhibition provides a new option in cancer therapy. A PubMed literature search was performed to review the currently available data on Pim-1 expression, regulation, and targets; its implication in different types of cancer and its impact on prognosis is described. Consequently, designing new inhibitors of PIMs is now a very active area of research in academic and industrial laboratories.

Epidemiology of viral hepatitis in the Maghreb

INTRODUCTION

Viral hepatitis represents a serious public health problem in the world especially in the Maghreb where the prevalence of the 5 viruses A, B, C, D, and E remains high and varies from one Maghreb country to another, there is few published studies on these infections in our Maghreb countries.

METHOD OF STUDY

Our work is a review of the literature about prevalence, the most common mode of transmission, and the most exposed population for these viruses in the Maghreb countries through published studies between 2011 and 2017.

RESULT

It has been found that the Maghreb countries are endemic for the five viruses with variable prevalence from one country to another, with sometimes heterogeneous data in the same country. For hepatitis B, Mauritania is the Maghreb country most affected by this infection unlike the rest of the Maghreb countries which are moderately endemic for this virus, the lowest prevalence of VHB was noted in Morocco, the genotype the most common is the D for the majority of Maghreb countries, and the precore mutant profile is also the most common. For hepatitis C the prevalence of infection does not vary much from one Maghreb country to another, but it remains slightly higher in Mauritania. The population most exposed to the virus C in the five countries is hemodialysis patients. The most common genotype in all Maghreb countries is genotype 1 except for Libya, where genotype 4 remains the most common probably related to its borders with Egypt. For hepatitis D, Mauritania is the only Maghreb country with a high endemicity for the virus. Tunisia has the lowest prevalence for hepatitis A and E compared to the rest of the Maghreb countries, all of which are endemic for these two viruses with fecal-oral transmission.

CONCLUSION

The management of these viral hepatitis is costly for the health economy and to reduce their prevalence, prevention measures must be followed like vaccination and improving hygiene conditions.

Global initiative for congenital toxoplasmosis: an observational and international comparative clinical analysis

Globally, congenital toxoplasmosis remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and outbreaks of infection with T. gondii represent a significant, emerging public health burden, especially in the developing world. This parasite is a threat to public health. Disease often is not recognized and is inadequately managed. Herein, we analyze the status of congenital toxoplasmosis in Morocco, Colombia, the United States, and France. We identify the unique challenges faced by each nation in the implementation of optimal approaches to congenital toxoplasmosis as a public health problem. We suggest that developed and developing countries use a multipronged approach, modeling their public health management protocols after those in France. We conclude that education, screening, appropriate treatment, and the development of novel modalities will be required to intervene successfully in caring for individuals with this infection. Gestational screening has been demonstrated to be cost-effective, morbidity-sparing, and life-saving. Recognition of the value and promise of public health interventions to prevent human suffering from this emerging infection will facilitate better patient and societal outcomes.

Effect of CYP2C9, VKORC1, CYP4F2, and GGCX gene variants and patient characteristics on acenocoumarol maintenance dose: Proposal for a dosing algorithm for Moroccan patients

We investigated the impact of non-genetics factors, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VKORC1, CYP2C9, CYP4F2, and GGCX on acenocoumarol dosage in Moroccan adult's patients, in order to develop an algorithm to predict acenocoumarol dose for Moroccan patients. Our study consisted of 217 Moroccan patients taking a maintenance dose of acenocoumarol for various indications. The patients were genotyped for VKORC1 -1639 G>A, VKORC1 1173 C>T, CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3, CYP4F2 1347 G>A and GGCX 12970 C>G SNPs. The statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software. The age and SNPs in VKORC1 and CYP2C9 were significantly associated with the weekly acenocoumarol dose requirement (p = 0.023, p = 0.0001 and p = 0.001 respectively). There was no association found between the weekly acenocoumarol dose and the CYP4F2 or GGCX variants (p-value > 0.05). Non-parametric analysis confirmed the accumulate effect of variant alleles at VKORC1 -1639 G>A, VKORC1 1173 C>T and CYP2C9 SNPs on the acenocoumarol dose requirement. With 90.24% less dose required for one patient carrying homozygote variant at VKORC1 -1173 (TT) and CYP2C9 *x/*x haplotype. The multiple linear regression analysis showed that mutation in VKORC1 -1639, VKORC1 1173 SNPs, or in CYP2C9 haplotype reduces the mean acenocoumarol weekly dose to 25.4%, 23.4% and 6.2%, respectively. The R2 for multiple regression analysis final model was found to be 35.9%. In this work we were able to establish the factors influencing interindividual sensitivity to the anticoagulant therapy that can help physicians to predict optimal dose requirement for long term therapy.

Stroke and syphilis: A retrospective study of 53 patients

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, biological and radiological characteristics of patients with syphilitic vasculitis, and to assess the outcome after treatment.

METHODOLOGY

A retrospective review was carried out based on the records of patients with ischemic stroke, and reactive CSF TPHA and VDRL results. None of these patients showed symptoms of any other diseases or had received high doses of penicillin.

RESULTS

A total of 53 patients with stroke met the diagnostic criteria for syphilitic arteritis. Their average age was 41±12 years. Nine patients had a history of genital ulcer (17%), and the median duration of illness after presenting a chancre was 8 [range: 1-14] years. A prodromal syndrome was seen in 27 patients (50.9%) and included changes in mental status in 14 patients (26.4%), seizures in 10 cases (18.9%), headache in eight (15.1%) and memory loss in seven (13.2%). Neurological events included focal motor deficits in 29 cases (54.7%), ataxia in 11 (20.8%) and movement disorders in 15 (28.3%). HIV serology was performed in 31 patients and proved negative in every case. Disease evolution was generally favorable: 12 patients (22.6%) were autonomous at the time of hospital discharge; 29 (54.7%) had partially recovered; and only seven (13.2%) still had signs of severe sequelae.

CONCLUSION

A diagnosis of syphilitic stroke should be suspected in young patients as a manifestation of syphilis, and tests for neurosyphilis should be routine in neurology departments to make a prompt diagnosis, thereby preventing psychological sequelae.

Intensive care unit-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii infections in a Moroccan teaching hospital: epidemiology, risk factors and outcome

Introduction

The objective of this study was to examine the epidemiology, risk factors and outcome associated with Acinetobacter baumannii infections in the intensive care units (ICUs) in a Moroccan teaching hospital.

Methods

This is a matched case-control study conducted as a joint collaboration between the clinical Bacteriology department and the two ICUs of Mohammed V Military Teaching Hospital from January 2015 to July 2016.

Results

Among 964 patients hospitalized in the ICUs, 81 (8.4%) developed A. baumannii infections. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the following independent risk factors for ICU-acquired A. baumannii infections: ICU stay ≥14 days (odds ratio (OR)=6.4), prior use of central venous catheters (OR=18), prior use of mechanical ventilation (OR=9.5), duration of invasive procedures ≥7 days (OR=7.8), previous exposure to imipenem (OR=9.1), previous exposure to amikacin (OR=5.2), previous exposure to antibiotic polytherapy (OR=11.8) and previous exposure to corticotherapy (OR=5). On the other hand, the admission for post-operative care was identified as a protective factor. The crude mortality in patients with A. baumannii infection was 74.1%. Multivariate analysis showed that septic shock (OR=19.2) and older age (≥65 years) (OR=4.9) were significantly associated to mortality risk in patients with A. baumannii infection.

Conclusion

Our results show that shortening the ICU stay, rational use of medical devices and optimizing antimicrobial therapy could reduce the incidence of these infections. Elderly patients and those with septic shock have a poor prognosis. These findings highlight the need for focusing on the high-risk patients to prevent these infections and improve clinical outcome.

Clonal diversity and detection of carbapenem resistance encoding genes among multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates recovered from patients and environment in two intensive care units in a Moroccan hospital

Background

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has recently been defined by the World Health Organization as a critical pathogen. The aim of this study was to compare clonal diversity and carbapenemase-encoding genes of A. baumannii isolates collected from colonized or infected patients and hospital environment in two intensive care units (ICUs) in Morocco.

Methods

The patient and environmental sampling was carried out in the medical and surgical ICUs of Mohammed V Military teaching hospital from March to August 2015. All A. baumannii isolates recovered from clinical and environmental samples, were identified using routine microbiological techniques and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using disc diffusion method. The carbapenemase-encoding genes were screened for by PCR. Clonal relatedness was analyzed by digestion of the DNA with low frequency restriction enzymes and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the multi locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed on two selected isolates from two major pulsotypes.

Results

A total of 83 multidrug-resistant A. baumannii isolates were collected: 47 clinical isolates and 36 environmental isolates. All isolates were positive for the bla_OXA51-like and bla_OXA23-like genes. The coexistence of bla_NDM-1/bla_OXA-23-like and bla_{OXA 24-like}/bla_OXA-23-like were detected in 27 (32.5%) and 2 (2.4%) of A. baumannii isolates, respectively. The environmental samples and the fecally-colonized patients were significantly identified (p < 0.05) as the most common sites of isolation of NDM-1-harboring isolates. PFGE grouped all isolates into 9 distinct clusters with two major groups (0007 and 0008) containing up to 59% of the isolates. The pulsotype 0008 corresponds to sequence type (ST) 195 while pulsotype 0007 corresponds to ST 1089.The genetic similarity between the clinical and environmental isolates was observed in 80/83 = 96.4% of all isolates, belonging to 7 pulsotypes.

Conclusion

This study shows that the clonal spread of environmental A. baumannii isolates is related to that of clinical isolates recovered from colonized or infected patients, being both associated with a high prevalence of the bla_OXA23-like and bla_NDM-1genes. These findings emphasize the need for prioritizing the bio-cleaning of the hospital environment to control and prevent the dissemination of A. baumannii clonal lineages.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13756-017-0262-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Docking analysis of verteporfin with YAP WW domain

The YAP oncogene is a known cancer target. Therefore, it is of interest to understand the molecular docking interaction of verteporfin (a derivative of benzo-porphyrin) with the WW domain of YAP (clinically used for photo-dynamic therapy in macular degeneration) as a potential WW domain-ligand modulator by inhibition. A homology protein SWISS MODEL of the human YAP protein was constructed to dock (using AutoDock vina) with the PubChem verteporfin structure for interaction analysis. The docking result shows the possibilities of verteporfin interaction with the oncogenic transcription cofactor YAP having WW1 and WW2 domains. Thus, the ability of verteporfin to bind with the YAP WW domain having modulator activity is implied in this analysis.

Antioxidants status in type 2 diabetic patients in Morocco

BACKGROUND/AIM

Type 2 diabetes is a heterogeneous and multifactorial metabolic disorder with some relationship to oxidative stress (OS). Since no studies were conducted in the Moroccan population, this clinical investigation aimed at evaluating the antioxidants status in Moroccan patients with type 2 diabetes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Blood samples of 60 type 2 diabetic patients and 40 healthy controls subjects were analyzed for determination of glycemia, hemoglobin, CRP, glycated hemoglobin, lipid parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA), vitamins E and C, copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se).

RESULTS

CRP and triglycerides were higher in the diabetic group while high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly lower compared to the control group. Plasma MDA, Cu concentrations, and Cu/Zn ratio were found to be higher in diabetic patients compared to healthy subjects, while vitamin E, Zn, and Se concentrations were lower compared to the control group. No significant difference was found in vitamin C levels between the two groups. Plasma HbA1c was positively correlated to MDA levels.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that antioxidant status is impaired in diabetics compared to healthy controls.

Single-Molecule Sequencing (PacBio) of the Staphylococcus capitis NRCS-A Clone Reveals the Basis of Multidrug Resistance and Adaptation to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Environment

The multi-resistant Staphylococcus capitis clone NRCS-A has recently been described as a major pathogen causing nosocomial, late-onset sepsis (LOS) in preterm neonates worldwide. NRCS-A representatives exhibit an atypical antibiotic resistance profile. Here, the complete closed genome (chromosomal and plasmid sequences) of NRCS-A prototype strain CR01 and the draft genomes of three other clinical NRCS-A strains from Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom are annotated and compared to available non-NRCS-A S. capitis genomes. Our goal was to delineate the uniqueness of the NRCS-A clone with respect to antibiotic resistance, virulence factors and mobile genetic elements. We identified 6 antimicrobial resistance genes, all carried by mobile genetic elements. Previously described virulence genes present in the NRCS-A genomes are shared with the six non-NRCS-A S. capitis genomes. Overall, 63 genes are specific to the NRCS-A lineage, including 28 genes located in the methicillin-resistance cassette SCCmec. Among the 35 remaining genes, 25 are of unknown function, and 9 correspond to an additional type I restriction modification system (n = 3), a cytosine methylation operon (n = 2), and a cluster of genes related to the biosynthesis of teichoic acids (n = 4). Interestingly, a tenth gene corresponds to a resistance determinant for nisin (nsr gene), a bacteriocin secreted by potential NRCS-A strain niche competitors in the gut microbiota. The genomic characteristics presented here emphasize the contribution of mobile genetic elements to the emergence of multidrug resistance in the S. capitis NRCS-A clone. No NRCS-A-specific known virulence determinant was detected, which does not support a role for virulence as a driving force of NRCS-A emergence in NICUs worldwide. However, the presence of a nisin resistance determinant on the NRCS-A chromosome, but not in other S. capitis strains and most coagulase-negative representatives, might confer a competitive advantage to NRCS-A strains during the early steps of gut colonization in neonates. This suggests that the striking adaptation of NRCS-A to the NICU environment might be related to its specific antimicrobial resistance and also to a possible enhanced ability to challenge competing bacteria in its ecological niche.

Structure-activity relationships study of mTOR kinase inhibition using QSAR and structure-based drug design approaches

The discovery of clinically relevant inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) for anticancer therapy has proved to be a challenging task. The quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) approach is a very useful and widespread technique for ligand-based drug design, which can be used to identify novel and potent mTOR inhibitors. In this study, we performed two-dimensional QSAR tests, and molecular docking validation tests of a series of mTOR ATP-competitive inhibitors to elucidate their structural properties associated with their activity. The QSAR tests were performed using partial least square method with a correlation coefficient of r²=0.799 and a cross-validation of q²=0.714. The chemical library screening was done by associating ligand-based to structure-based approach using the three-dimensional structure of mTOR developed by homology modeling. We were able to select 22 compounds from two databases as inhibitors of the mTOR kinase active site. We believe that the method and applications highlighted in this study will help future efforts toward the design of selective ATP-competitive inhibitors.

Microarray Integrated Analysis of a Gene Network for the CD36 Myocardial Phenotype

CD36 is a multifunctional membrane-type receptor glycoprotein that reacts with oxidized low-density lipoprotein and long-chain fatty acid (LCFA). However, much remains to be understood about the molecular mechanism of the cardio-myopathy observed in CD36-KO mice. In this study, we identify different genes pathways involved in response to CD36 cardio-myopathy phenotype by identifying the differences among biological processes, molecular pathways and networks of interactions that emerge from knocking CD3 and using different bioinformatics tools such as STRING, GeneMANIA and Cytoscape. We were able list all the CD36-regulated genes, their related function and their specific networks. Data analysis showed that CD36-regulated genes differentially expressed are involved in biological processes such as FA metabolism, angiogenesis/apoptosis and cell structure. These results provide the first look at mechanisms involved in CD36 deficiency and development of cardio-myopathy and the opportunity to identify new therapeutic targets.