Bioactive compounds from Morchella esculenta as potential inhibitors of RNA-binding protein La in ovarian cancer: a molecular modeling and quantum mechanics approach

La protein is significantly expressed in various malignant tumors, including ovarian cancer (OC), which is related to the poor response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Thus, inhibiting La protein could control the expression of the potential downstream genes involved in promoting proliferation and chemotherapy resistance to OC, which could serve as a therapeutic intervention. Through a molecular docking approach, 12 compounds from Morchella esculenta were screened against the crystal structure of La protein and four hit compounds were identified, including beta-carotene, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gamma-tocopherol, and alpha-tocopherol, with a binding affinity of - 10.7, - 8.1, - 7.9, and - 7.6 kcal/mol, respectively, higher than pyridine-2-carboxylate (control), with a binding affinity of - 5.2 kcal/mol. To explore the interaction of the hit compounds with the target receptor, they were selected for a molecular dynamic simulation and post-simulation analysis for 100 ns. The result showed promising reliability of the ligands due to a stable interaction with the La protein crystal structure. Furthermore, the drug-likeness and physicochemical chemical properties of the compounds were investigated using ADMET study and density functional theory analysis, respectively, and the result shows that the hit compounds could serve as a promising starting for the development of novel LA protein inhibitors for OC therapeutics. Finally, this study compared HOMO and LUMO values from global hybrids with long-range corrected DFAs, and the result from the two followed the same qualitative pattern while calculating HOMO values; however, MO62X/cc-pVTZ could better predict LUMO values when considering a global hybrid.

The molecular basis of color vision in colorful fish: four long wave-sensitive (LWS) opsins in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are defined by amino acid substitutions at key functional sites

BACKGROUND

Comparisons of functionally important changes at the molecular level in model systems have identified key adaptations driving isolation and speciation. In cichlids, for example, long wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsins appear to play a role in mate choice and male color variation within and among species. To test the hypothesis that the evolution of elaborate coloration in male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) is also associated with opsin gene diversity, we sequenced long wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsin genes in six species of the family Poeciliidae.

RESULTS

Sequences of four LWS opsin genes were amplified from the guppy genome and from mRNA isolated from adult guppy eyes. Variation in expression was quantified using qPCR. Three of the four genes encode opsins predicted to be most sensitive to different wavelengths of light because they vary at key amino acid positions. This family of LWS opsin genes was produced by a diversity of duplication events. One, an intronless gene, was produced prior to the divergence of families Fundulidae and Poeciliidae. Between-gene PCR and DNA sequencing show that two of the guppy LWS opsins are linked in an inverted orientation. This inverted tandem duplication event occurred near the base of the poeciliid tree in the common ancestor of Poecilia and Xiphophorus. The fourth sequence has been uncovered only in the genus Poecilia. In the guppies surveyed here, this sequence is a hybrid, with the 5' end most similar to one of the tandem duplicates and the 3' end identical to the other.

CONCLUSION

Enhanced wavelength discrimination, a possible consequence of opsin gene duplication and divergence, might have been an evolutionary prerequisite for color-based sexual selection and have led to the extraordinary coloration now observed in male guppies and in many other poeciliids.

[Climate variability and number of deaths attributable to malaria in the Niakhar area, Senegal, from 1984 to 1996]

There are a number of reasons why climate, in certain physical and social environments, could have an impact on the epidemiology of malaria. Events, such as floods or drought, are related to the number of malaria cases and deaths, both seasonally and interannually. At a smaller scale, this study analyses the relation between climate variability and the variability in the number of deaths attributable to malaria in Niakhar, Senegal. The Niakhar area has a population of 30,000 and has been under demographic surveillance system since 1984. The rainfall in this region is highly seasonal, with a rainfall maximum in August and almost no rain between October/November and May/June. In addition to this seasonal cycle, rainfall also varies greatly from year to year (interannual variation). Over the 13 years, there were 661 deaths attributed to malaria with a marked interannual variability (range from 23 to 100, with a median of 43). There was also a strong seasonality in mortality, with nearly all deaths (89.1%) occurring between August and December. The number of deaths peaks in October, two months after the rainfall peak. Standardised monthly values were calculated for each climatic series (rainfall, relative humidity, temperature) as well as standardised five-month and monthly values of the number of deaths attributed to malaria between August and December. Correlation coefficients were calculated between these standardised values. The correlation between the variability in August rainfall and the variability in the number of deaths attributed to malaria between August and December was positive and statistically significant (r = +0.61, p = 0.02). In addition, highly significant cross-correlations were found between monthly rainfall series and monthly mortality series at one- and two-month lag (r = + 0.43, p = 0.0004 for one-month lag; r = + 0.26, p = 0.03 for two-month lag). This correlation is somewhat lower than the correlation of August rainfall alone with August to December mortality, but the result adds confidence to the signal given the increased degrees of freedom in the analysis. Similar, but slightly weaker, results were found when precipitation data were replaced with surface humidity data. Results with temperature were less clear; while temperature could in some circumstances have a direct impact on malaria, in this case here it is possible that the weak negative correlation between malaria deaths and temperature arises mainly because precipitation is physically connected to both the indices, correlating positively with malaria and negatively with temperature. The availability of a continuous demographic and medical survey since 1984 in a region of highly variable rainfall has created a rare opportunity to analyse with some confidence a climate versus malaria relationship. The findings are consistent with our understanding of the proposed link between rainfall and conditions for the reproduction of the malaria vector, leading to a lag time (here of one to two months) between anomalies of rainfall and deaths attributable to malaria. These results may have practical implications in Sub-Saharan regions marked by a great seasonal and interannual variability in rainfall by providing a simple tool to forecast the impact of climate variability on malaria mortality.