Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

World University root node

Department of Integrative Biology

School of Bio Sciences and Technology

Vellore Campus

Phytochemicals as Lead Compounds for New Drug Discovery

Phytochemicals as emerging therapeutic agents for alopecia treatment

VIT Unitversity

Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

Properties and Applications of Single Cell Protein from Microorganisms

Archives of Dermatological Research

Androgen modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in androgenetic alopecia

Induction of Cancer in Zebra Fish Using Simple Carcinogen

Modeling and Docking Study of GABA-AT Protein in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis-A Computational Approach

Background: Reported literature on invasive group A streptococcal isolates in India is very scanty. This study was undertaken to determine the molecular heterogeneity of such isolates as seen in a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: Thirty two blood culture isolates and 18 from other sterile body fluids were characterized by emm gene sequencing and multilocus sequence typing. Results: Forty two emm types were identified including 25 from 32 blood isolates and 17 from 18 other body fluid isolates. Types 110, 74, 63, 85, 102, 105, 124 and st854.1 were common to both groups and accounted for 40% of the isolates. Two types namely, stKNB6 and stKNB9 were newly identified types. MLST identified forty eight sequence types (MLST - ST) of which 31 were from 32 blood isolates and 17 from 18 body fluid isolates; thirty three of them were hitherto unrecognized at the time of identification. Two blood isolates of emm 85 had the same MLST - ST 484 while three blood isolates of emm 110 had three different STs namely, ST 493, 494 and 497. Two types, ST 493 and ST497 had single locus variation while ST 497 had a double locus variation. Conclusions: Our study shows that subtle allelic variations in the house keeping genes results in the development of new strains in a given emm type and contribute significantly to the existing high diversity of strains circulating in the community. © 2018 Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology |.

Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering

School of Mechanical Engineering

Fulltext

Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology

Genetic diversity and allelic variation in south Indian isolates of Group A streptococci causing invasive disease

Despite having made rapid progress in this field of HIV vaccination research in the past few years, a treatment for the deadly HIV-AIDS is still the dream of many. Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]being the sole cause for this disease, is a rapidly mutating virus which targets the T lymphocyte cells and thereby brings down the hosts immune system. There are specific antibodies synthesized in vivo that are transiently effective against the virus but, as the disease progresses the helper cells are destroyed by the virus with which the antibody secretion also halts. Several studies are carried out that aims at curing the disease. Recombinant vaccines are the focus at present where viral vectors with HIV antigens are used to trigger the immune response in the host and provide immunity from HIV. The vaccine research is making some strong progress recently mainly due to the success of the RV144 trial. The various clinical trials that were carried out lackedefficacy like AIDSVAX trials, Step trials, and Phambili, while a few were stopped midway like HVTN 505. HVTN100 trial which is currently being carried out in South Africa is the next phase of the famous RV-144 trial and is expected to procure better results than RV144. With a lot of money being spent on the best brains of the decade, a cure for HIV is a certain in the future. © 2016, International Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. All rights reserved.

International Journal of Pharmacy and Technology

HIV vaccinetrials and future prospects

Some of the variety of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus dysgalactiae ssp. equisimilis (SDSE) M proteins act as collagen-binding adhesins that facilitate acute infection. Moreover, their potential to trigger collagen autoimmunity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever and attributed to a collagen-binding motif called PARF (peptide associated with rheumatic fever). For the first time we determine the rate of clinical isolates with collagen-binding M proteins that use a PARF motif (A/T/E)XYLXX(L/F)N in a defined geographic region, Vellore in South India. In this region both, incidence of streptococcal infections and prevalence of acute rheumatic fever are high. M proteins with PARF motif conferred collagen-binding activity to 3.9% of 153 S. pyogenes and 10.6% of 255 SDSE clinical isolates from Vellore. The PARF motif occurred in three S. pyogenes and 22 SDSE M protein types. In one of the S. pyogenes and five of the SDSE M proteins that contained the motif, collagen-binding was impaired, due to influences of other parts of the M protein molecule. The accumulated data on the collagen binding activity of certain M protein types allowed a reanalysis of published worldwide emm-typing data with the aim to estimate the rates of isolates that bind collagen via PARF. The results indicate that M proteins, which bind collagen via a PARF motif, are epidemiologically relevant in human infections, not only in Vellore. It is imperative to include the most relevant collagen-binding M types in vaccines. But when designing M protein based vaccines it should be considered that collagen binding motifs within the vaccine antigen remain potential risk factors. © 2012 Reißmann et al.

PLoS ONE

Region specific and worldwide distribution of collagen-binding M proteins with PARF motifs among human pathogenic streptococcal isolates

Vellore, a region in southern India, has a high incidence of severe human infections with β-hemolytic group C and G streptococci (GCGS). To determine the causative species in these infections, we conducted 16S rRNA gene sequencing: Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (81%) and S. anginosus (19%) were the causative organisms in the 2-year study period (2006-2007). We used PCR to detect the virulence-related emm gene; results showed that it was restricted to S. dysgalactieae subsp. equisimilis isolates of 99.2% tested positive. Due to a novel marker, S. anginosus and S. constellatus can be quickly and accurately distinguished from other members of the genus. The notable contribution of the anginosus group to human infections suggests that this group of obligate pathogens deserves more attention in healthcare and research.

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Contribution ofStreptococcus anginosusto Infections Caused by Groups C and G Streptococci, Southern India

To evaluate the use of antibody detection kits in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in an endemic area, serum samples from cases (sputum smear positive for AFB) and controls (healthy young adults) were collected and tested using five different kits. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated using smear positivity as gold standard. Sensitivity of tests varied from 46% to 68% and the specificity from 68% to 100%. None of the kits evaluated can be used as a single screening test for tuberculosis. However kits with good specificity may be used in conjunction with conventional methods for diagnosis.

Indian journal of pathology & microbiology

Evaluation of serological tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.