In Silico Characterization of Growth Differentiation Factors as Inhibitors of TNF-Alpha and IL-6 in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease Rheumatoid Arthritis

Phytochemical characterization and anti-arthritic potential of Croton bonplandianus leaves extract: In-vivo and in-silico approach

Croton bonplandianus, a natural source traditionally used for treating various illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis, was evaluated in this study. The effects of ethanolic extracts (CBEE) and aqueous fractions (CBAF) of C. bonplandianus leaves on arthritis-induced inflammation were studied using an albino rat model of inflammation induced by Freund's complete adjuvant. Eight test groups (n = 5 per group) and one vehicle control were used to evaluate the antiarthritic effects of different doses of CBEE and CBAF (125 mg.kg-1, 250 mg.kg-1, and 500 mg.kg-1) on days 5, 10, 15, and 20 compared to arthritic and vehicle controls. Arthritis severity was assessed using macroscopic arthritis grading, histological analysis, body weights, and paw thickness. CBEE and CBAF were found to reduce the prevalence of arthritis, increase body weight, and decrease paw inflammation compared to the vehicle control group by the 23rd day. In addition, they showed no effect on biochemical parameters, but a significant difference (p < 0.05) in hematological parameters compared to the arthritic control group. The study identified Hentriacontane compound as a potential contributor to the anti-inflammatory effect of C. bonplandianus, as it showed the lowest dock score for IL-1β and IL-6. Palmitoylethanol amide was identified as a potential contributor to the anti-inflammatory effect of TNF-α. Gene expression of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α was down-regulated significantly (p < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner in all treatment groups compared to the arthritic control group. In conclusion, this study validated the anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory properties of CBEE and CBAF in a time and dose-dependent manner.

Exploring the Potential of Plant Bioactive Compounds against Male Infertility: An In Silico and In Vivo Study

Infertility is a well-recognized multifactorial problem affecting the majority of people who struggle with infertility issues. In recent times, among infertility cases, the male factor has acquired importance, and now it contributes to approximately half of the infertility cases because of different abnormalities. In the current study, we used natural phytochemicals as potential drug-lead compounds to target different receptor proteins that are involved in the onset of male infertility. A set of 210 plant phytochemicals were docked counter to active site residues of sex hormone-binding globulin, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17, and DNase I as receptor proteins. On the basis of binding scores and molecular dynamics simulation, the phytochemicals tricin, quercetin, malvidin, rhamnetin, isorhamnetin, gallic acid, kaempferol, esculin, robinetin, and okanin were found to be the potential drug candidates to treat male infertility. Molecular dynamics simulation showed tricin as a strong inhibitor of all selected receptor proteins because the ligand-protein complexes remained stabilized during the entire simulation time of 100 ns. Further, an in vivo study was designed to evaluate the effect of tricin in male rats with nicotine-induced infertility. It was explored that a high dose of tricin significantly reduced the levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, triglyceride, and low-density lipoprotein and raised the level of high-density lipoprotein in intoxicated male rats. A high dose of tricin also increased the reproductive hormones (i.e., testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prolactin) and reduced the level of DHEA-SO4. The phytochemical (tricin, 10 mg/kg body weight) also showed significant improvement in the histo-architecture after nicotine intoxication in rats. From the current study, it is concluded that the phytochemical tricin could serve as a potential drug candidate to cure male infertility.

Growth differentiation factor 11: A new hope for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases

Growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily that has garnered significant attention due to its anti-cardiac aging properties. Many studies have revealed that GDF11 plays an indispensable role in the onset of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Consequently, it has emerged as a potential target and novel therapeutic agent for CVD treatment. However, currently, no literature reviews comprehensively summarize the research on GDF11 in the context of CVDs. Therefore, herein, we comprehensively described GDF11's structure, function, and signaling in various tissues. Furthermore, we focused on the latest findings concerning its involvement in CVD development and its potential for clinical translation as a CVD treatment. We aim to provide a theoretical basis for the prospects and future research directions of the GDF11 application regarding CVDs.

Identification of Plant Peptides as Novel Inhibitors of Orthohepevirus A (HEV) Capsid Protein by Virtual Screening

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the notable causative agent of acute and chronic hepatic, renal, pancreatic, neurological, and hematopoietic blood cell infections with high risk in immunocompromised patients. Hepatic failure is mostly documented among adults, pregnant women, and patients with preexisting liver disease. HEV is a positive sense RNA virus of 7.2 kb genome size with typically three open reading frames (ORFs) which play essential roles in viral replication, genome assembly, and transcription. The mutational substitution in the viral RNA genome makes more it difficult to understand the actual relationship in the host–virus association. ORFs of HEV encode different structural and non-structural proteins and one of them is the capsid protein which is coded by ORF2. The capsid protein mediates the encapsulation of the viral genome as well as being involved in virion assembly. In the current study, the ligand-based docking approach was employed to inhibit the active amino acids of the viral capsid protein. Depending upon S-score, ADMET profiling, and drug scanning, the top ten tetrapeptides were selected as potential drug candidates with no toxicity counter to HEV receptor protein. The S-score or docking score is a mathematical function which predicts the binding affinities of docked complexes. The binding affinity of the predicted drug–target complexes helps in the selectivity of the desired compound as a potential drug. The best two selected peptides (i.e., TDGH with S-score of −8.5 and EGDE with S-score of −8.0) interacted with the active site amino acids of the capsid protein (i.e., Arg399, Gln420, and Asp444). The molecular dynamics simulations of RMSD trajectories of TDGH–capsid protein and EDGE–capsid protein have revealed that both docked complexes were structurally stable. The study revealed that these tetrapeptides would serve as strong potential inhibitors and a starting point for the development of new drug molecules against the HEV capsid protein. In future, in vivo studies are needed to explore selected peptides as potential drug candidates.

Investigation of Plant Antimicrobial Peptides against Selected Pathogenic Bacterial Species Using a Peptide-Protein Docking Approach

Antimicrobial resistance is the key threat to global health due to high morbidity and mortality. The alteration of bacterial proteins, enzymatic degradation, and change of membrane permeability towards antimicrobial agents are the key mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance. Based on the current condition, there is an urgent clinical need to develop new drugs to treat these bacterial infections. In the current study, the binding patterns of selected antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with different multidrug-resistant bacterial strains have been analyzed. Among ten selected AMPs in this study, napin and snakin-1 exhibited the best scores and binding patterns. Napin exhibited strong interactions with penicillin-binding protein 1a of Acinetobacter baumannii (with a binding score of -158.7 kcal/mol and ten hydrogen bonds), with glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (with a binding score of -107.8 kcal/mol and twelve hydrogen bonds), and with streptomycin 3^″-adenylyltransferase protein of Salmonella enterica (with a binding score of -84.2 kcal/mol and four hydrogen bonds). Similarly, snakin-1 showed strong interactions with oxygen-insensitive NADPH nitroreductase of Helicobacter pylori (with a binding score of -105.0 kcal/mol and thirteen hydrogen bonds) and with penicillin-binding protein 2a of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (with a binding score of -103.8 kcal/mol and twenty-three hydrogen bonds). The docking results were further validated by molecular dynamics simulations. The results of this computational approach support the evidence of efficiency of these AMPs as potent inhibitors of these specific proteins of bacterial strains. However, further validations are required to fully evaluate the potential of selected AMPs as drug candidates against these resistant bacterial strains.

Identification of Peptides as Novel Inhibitors to Target IFN-γ, IL-3, and TNF-α in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Autoimmune disorder is a chronic immune imbalance which is developed through a series of pathways. The defect in B cells, T cells, and lack of self-tolerance has been greatly associated with the onset of many types of autoimmune complications including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. The SLE is an autoimmune disease with a common type of lupus that causes tissue and organ damage due to the wide spread of inflammation. In the current study, twenty anti-inflammatory peptides derived from plant and animal sources were docked as ligands or peptides counter to proinflammatory cytokines. Interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 3 (IL-3), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were targeted in this study as these are involved in the pathogenesis of SLE in many clinical studies. Two docking approaches (i.e., protein-ligand docking and peptide-protein docking) were employed in this study using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software and HADDOCK web server, respectively. Amongst docked twenty peptides, the peptide DEDTQAMMPFR with S-score of -11.3018 and HADDOCK score of -10.3 ± 2.5 kcal/mol showed the best binding interactions and energy validation with active amino acids of IFN-γ protein in both docking approaches. Depending upon these results, this peptide could be used as a potential drug candidate to target IFN-γ, IL-3, and TNF-α proteins to control inflammatory events. Other peptides (i.e., QEPQESQQ and FRDEHKK) also revealed good binding affinity with IFN-γ with S-scores of -10.98 and -10.55, respectively. Similarly, the peptides KHDRGDEF, FRDEHKK, and QEPQESQQ showed best binding interactions with IL-3 with S-scores of -8.81, -8.64, and -8.17, respectively.

Structural and Functional Annotation of Napin-Like Protein from Momordica charantia to Explore its Medicinal Importance

Seed storage proteins not just provide essential nutritional ingredients for growth of seedlings but also have their potential role in defense mechanisms of plants. Napin is a seed storage protein and belongs to 2S albumin family. Napin and napin-like protein have many biological defensive activities including antifungal, antimicrobial, trypsin inhibitor, and also act as antagonist of calmodulin. Napin protein possesses various isoforms with different biological activities. In this study, the protein sequence of napin from Momordica charantia was retrieved from GenPept database for characterization. A complete annotation of napin including its physicochemical properties was done. Three dimensional (3D) modeling and interactions of napin-like protein with other proteins were also predicted using various bioinformatics tools. A phylogram of napin-like protein from M. charantia with its homologs was also reconstructed to reveal its evolutionary relationships with napins and other 2S albumin proteins from various plants. The study has revealed the structural characterization, biological interactions, and evolutionary background which will play crucial role in exploring the medicinal and biological potentials of napin-like protein from M. charantia as well as worth of napin and napin-like protein has been disclosed.