Temperature-dependent hydration behavior of aqueous lysine: an approach towards protein binding through dielectric spectroscopy

Present work reports interaction between water and amino acid lysine for understanding the physicochemical properties that will be useful in the structure formation of protein. The dielectric relaxation of aqueous lysine was systematically investigated over a temperature range spanning from 298.15 K to 278.15 K, encompassing frequencies ranging from 10 MHz to 30 GHz, and across a concentration range of 0.152 M to 0.610 M. Within this study, aqueous lysine revealed the presence of two distinct relaxation modes. The low-frequency relaxation process (l-process) is primarily associated with the relaxation of lysine molecules, whereas the high-frequency relaxation process (h-process) is attributed to water molecules interacting with lysine. Several key dielectric parameters, including static dielectric constant (εj), relaxation time (τj), dipole moment (μj), correlation factor (gj), and the number of water molecules rotationally bonded by solute molecules (Zib), were meticulously determined. These parameters were interpreted in terms of molecular interactions, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobicity, and Lys-Lys binding. Additionally, various thermodynamic parameters such as molar enthalpy (ΔHj), molar entropy (ΔSj), and molar free energy (ΔFj) were calculated to provide further insights into the system's characteristics and behavior.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Water dynamics on the structural properties of some NSAID's with leucine in the picosecond region using time domain spectroscopy

Concentration-dependent dielectric response for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Aceclofenac (ACF) and Diclofenac (DCF) in the aqueous leucine solution have been reported at different concentrations and temperatures (298.15 K to 283.15 K). The time domain reflectometry technique in the frequency region of 1 GHz to 30 GHz was used for the present study. Complex permittivity (ε*), static dielectric constant (ε), dielectric relaxation time (τ), dipole moment (μ) and Kirkwood correlation factor (g) have been calculated and discussed in terms of the molecular interaction of water and the used drugs. To give more insights into the structural dynamics of drug-induced amino acids, the study includes molar enthalpy of activation (ΔH), entropy of activation (ΔS), and free energy of activation (ΔF). The overall study concludes that the drug (DCF) having a potent inhibitor of cyclooxygenase found a higher static dielectric constant (ε0) than that of the drug (ACF) having more carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) in the chain, which is more efficient in controlling pain.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Clinical Profile of SARS-CoV-2-Infected Neonates

Background

There are conflicting data on the mother-to-child transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and few studies have described the clinical course of neonates infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Objectives

This study investigates the mother-to-child transmission rate and clinical profile of SARS-CoV-2-infected newborns.

Methods

Data on 304 newborns of 301 mothers with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were prospectively collected and analyzed. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) determined the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the placenta, umbilical cord stump, and nasopharyngeal swabs collected within 24h of birth. Clinical and laboratory data of SARS-CoV-2-infected newborns was entered in a structured proforma.

Results

A total of 20 neonates (6.5%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2, of which 12 were positive only in the nasopharyngeal swab, four cases had the umbilical stump positive, three were positive in the placenta, and one case was positive in all the three specimens collected. Six of the 20 SARS-CoV-2-positive neonates developed severe symptoms. The SARS-CoV-2-positive symptomatic neonates required a more extended stay in hospital compared to their non-symptomatic infected counterparts.

Conclusions

A proportion of the babies born to SARS-CoV2-infected mothers tested positive and some of these newborns had severe symptoms.

Pharmaceutical Preparation of Arka Lavan and Assessment for Its Analytical Study

Background: Arka is commonly found plant in India. It is mostly used for religious purpose in India. In Ayurved, it has in used for various medical preparation. One of such preparation is Arka Lavan. Aim: Pharmaceutico-analytical study of Arka lavan& evaluation for Antimicrobial study Materials: The raw materials Arka patra will be collected from the medicinal plant garden, of Mahatma Gandhi Ayurved College , Hospital & research centre, Salod ( H), wardha. The arka patra will  be authenticated by Dravyaguna department. The another raw material is Saindhava Lavan will be procured from Dattatraya Ayurved Rasashala and will be authenticated by Rasashastra & Bhaishajya kalpana Department Arka lavan will be prepared as per the reference.The prepared Arka lavan will be analyzed. Observation and Results: The Arka patra lavan will be assessed for organoleptic, physicochemical and TLC parameters  Conclusion: The pharmaceutical & analytical study of Arka lava will provide the standard parameters.

Peginterferon Lambda-1a for treatment of outpatients with uncomplicated COVID-19: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Type III interferons have been touted as promising therapeutics in outpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial (NCT04331899) in 120 outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 to determine whether a single, 180 mcg subcutaneous dose of Peginterferon Lambda-1a (Lambda) within 72 hours of diagnosis could shorten the duration of viral shedding (primary endpoint) or symptoms (secondary endpoint). In both the 60 patients receiving Lambda and 60 receiving placebo, the median time to cessation of viral shedding was 7 days (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56 to 1.19). Symptoms resolved in 8 and 9 days in Lambda and placebo, respectively, and symptom duration did not differ significantly between groups (HR 0.94; 95% CI 0.64 to 1.39). Both Lambda and placebo were well-tolerated, though liver transaminase elevations were more common in the Lambda vs. placebo arm (15/60 vs 5/60; p = 0.027). In this study, a single dose of subcutaneous Peginterferon Lambda-1a neither shortened the duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding nor improved symptoms in outpatients with uncomplicated COVID-19.

Abstract 568: Recurrent drug sensitivity patterns in myelodysplastic syndrome patients are recapitulated by ex vivo drug response profiling

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a collection of clonal diseases of dysfunctional hematopoietic stem cells, characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, cytopenias, and dysplasia. Limited conventional treatment options exist for these patients, with hypomethylating agents remaining the standard of care for higher-risk MDS patients. Drug sensitivity and resistance testing on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) samples should provide important functional information to guide actionable target and biomarker discovery. We provide proof-of-concept data by profiling the effects of 50 common oncology drugs on 14 myelodysplastic (MDS) samples from both treatment-naïve and refractory cases. Ex vivo high-throughput functional screening was performed on lysed peripheral blood and/or bone marrow aspirate patient samples. This set of samples was analyzed 72 hours post incubation and blasts were quantified by flow cytometry. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering was performed to determine similar responses between patient samples, and produced two distinct groups with differing sensitivity to tested drugs. We defined these groups as “sensitive” and “resistant” clusters based on the prevailing drug sensitivity patterns these groups displayed, the latter being strongly enriched for HMA refractory samples. Ex vivo testing recapitulated known patient drug sensitivity patterns, with 12/14 samples from known HMA refractory vs. sensitive patients showing similar ex vivo phenotypes. Interestingly, sensitive and resistant clusters strongly correlated with known features associated with therapy resistance and poor prognosis in MDS patients, including number of somatic driver mutations (average 2.38 vs. 4.5, P <0.05), absence vs. presence of RUNX1 or ASXL1 mutations (P 0.015 and 0.0256, respectively), and HMA sensitive vs. refractory status (P <0.05). Interestingly, percent bone marrow blasts, cytogenetic risk groups and other somatic mutations had no effect on sensitivity patterns. Furthermore, while the resistant cluster showed increased resistance to most drugs, some drugs seemed to have increased activity in this cluster, including calcitriol and poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib. This unique platform, applied to predict ex vivo therapeutic response of MDS patient samples to various classes of drugs, recapitulates known clinical and molecular predictors of therapeutic response, and possible new therapeutic targets. These data suggest the possible utility of using this methodology to aid decision making for therapeutic selection in the management of MDS patients.

Citation Format: Alexey Aleshin, Bruno C. Medeiros, Savita Kamble, Diane Heiser, Marianne Santaguida, Sacha Prashad, Peter L. Greenberg. Recurrent drug sensitivity patterns in myelodysplastic syndrome patients are recapitulated by ex vivo drug response profiling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 568.

Progressive systemic sclerosis in childhood: a report of three cases

Systemic sclerosis is unusual in childhood. We describe three children who presented with diffuse hidebound skin associated with gastrointestinal and pulmonary abnormalities. Cardiac and renal dysfunctions, which are often encountered in these patients, were notably absent in our cases.