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

Department of Bio-Medical Sciences

The novel coronavirus disease 2019, a pandemic of global concern, caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has severely revealed the need for public monitoring and efficient screening techniques. Despite the various advancements made in the medical and research field, containment of this virus has proven to be difficult on several levels. As such, it is a necessary requirement to identify possible hotspots in the early stages of any disease. Based on previous studies carried out on coronaviruses, there is a high likelihood that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 may also survive in wastewater. Hence, we propose the use of nanofiber filters as a wastewater pretreatment routine and upgradation of existing wastewater evaluation and treatment systems to serve as a beneficial surveillance tool. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

World University root node

School of Bio Sciences and Technology

Vellore Campus

Fulltext

Current Opinion in Environmental Science and Health

Novel wastewater surveillance strategy for early detection of coronavirus disease 2019 hotspots

Research on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) remains intense due to its evolving impact on metabolism, reproduction and cardiovascular function. Changes in metabolic pathways can also significantly impact renal function including the development of Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), one of the most highly investigated renal diseases. In FSGS, scarring of the glomerulus vascular tuft damages the kidneys. Onset of FSGS may either be congenital or due to other disorders that affect the metabolism and normal kidney function. Both PCOS and FSGS appear to be associated with Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) signalling. Over-expression of TGF-β may be due to the activation of the thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) gene, which increases the probability of developing renal disorders. Higher androgen levels in PCOS may also cause podocyte damage thus directly impacting development of FSGS. This article reviews the role of TGF-β's in PCOS and FSGS and explores the inter-relationship between these two disorders. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Clinica Chimica Acta

Role of TGF-β signalling in PCOS associated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Ocular cells like, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialized pigmented monolayer of post-mitotic cells, which is located in the posterior segment of the eye between neuro sensory retina and vascular choroid. It functions as a selective barrier and nourishes retinal visual cells. As a result of high-level oxygen consumption of retinal cells, RPE cells are vulnerable to chronic oxidative stress and an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from mitochondria. These oxidative stress and ROS generation in retinal cells lead to RPE degeneration. Various sources including mtDNA damage could be an important factor of oxidative stress in RPE. Gene therapy and mitochondrial transfer studies are emerging fields in ocular disease research. For retinal degenerative diseases stem cell-based transplantation methods are developed from basic research to preclinical and clinical trials. Translational research contributions of gene and cell therapy would be a new strategy to prevent, treat and cure various ocular diseases. This review focuses on the effect of oxidative stress in ocular cell degeneration and recent translational researches on retinal degenerative diseases to cure blindness.

Genes & Diseases

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial transfer: A new dimension towards ocular diseases

Our study investigates the effect of magnetosome mediated oral Insulin delivery on diabetic induced rat models. The study involves the development of Magnetosome-Insulin (MI) conjugates by direct and indirect (by means of PEG) coupling method and further characterized by microscopic and spectroscopic analysis. The in vivo oral delivery of magnetosome-Insulin conjugate against streptozotocin-induced rat models and its efficiency was investigated. The impact of MI showed a remarkable change in the reduction of FBG levels up to 65% than the standard (Insulin). Similarly, the serum parameters: triglycerides (43.81%), AST&amp;ALT (39.4 and 57.2%), total cholesterol (43.8%) showed significant changes compared to the diabetic control. The histological results of MI treated rats were found similar to control rats. Thus, these significantly notable results on diabetic rats depicts that magnetosomes can be employed as a potential approach and a very promising alternative for the parenteral route of Insulin delivery. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine

Magnetosome mediated oral Insulin delivery and its possible use in diabetes management

In the present study, red algae Portieria hornemannii was scrutinized for the productive synthesis of silver nanoparticles. These biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized by visible color change and ultraviolet visible spectrophotometry that indicated the formation of nanoparticles at the absorbance of 418 nm. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction analysis was further carried out to study the functional groups and crystalline nature of the substance. Scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy exposed the shape of the silver nanoparticles, which was found to be spherical. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the presence of the metal silver. Stability of nanoparticles was analyzed using Zeta potential. The synthesized nanoparticles were found to be active against the fish pathogens Vibrio harveyii, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio anguillarum. The highest activity was found against the pathogens V. harveyii and V. parahaemolyticus. We have established an environmental friendly synthesis of Silver nanoparticles which can be used as an alternative to commercially available antibiotics in the treatment of fish diseases.

Department of Integrative Biology

Microbial Pathogenesis

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using red algae Portieria hornemannii and its antibacterial activity against fish pathogens

Microwave synthetic methodologies were proposed for the preparation of positional isomeric dihydro-triazolo-pyrimido-acridines, 3 a-j and 9 a-h via friedlander synthesis using response surface methodology (RSM). The advantages of these methodologies over conventional methods are it provides good yields with short reaction times. Free radical scavenging and antifungal studies were performed for compounds 3 a-j and 9 a-h. The results of antioxidant assay revealed that compounds 3 c, 3 d and 9 b exhibited excellent property whereas compounds 3 a and 9 a showed significant antifungal property against Aspergillus flavus (A.flavus) and Aspergillus niger (A. niger). © 2020 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Department of Chemistry

School of Advanced Sciences

ChemistrySelect

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Positional Isomeric Dihydro-triazolo-pyrimido-acridines and Biological studies

Rice (Oryza sativa L) is a widely consumed cereal in India. Rice plants are susceptible to leaf blight disease caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The infection leads to yield loss and premature crop death. Genomic characterization of pathogenic strains isolated from infected plants grown in different geographical locations can help to devise molecular level control strategies. In this study, infected leaves were collected from rice plants grown in an agricultural field of Vellore district. The yellow mucoid colonies, observed upon incubation of infected leaves in Luria Bertani (LB) and nutrient broth yeast extract (NBY) medium, were isolated and characterised by biochemical tests and Gram staining. In vitro pathogenicity test relating to exopolysaccharide (EPS) production was carried out for six of the Gram negative rod isolates, which also tested positive for 3% KOH, citrate and catalase tests. Isolate IL8 had the highest EPS level of 2275 ± 0.3 µg/ml and it was characterised by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy for related functional groups. This isolate was then used for in vivo pathogenicity test on Ponni variety rice plants wherein progression of severe leaf blight disease was noted upon infection. Disease severity was measured in terms of diseased leaf area and disease scoring index was recorded. IL8 was characterised by 16S rRNA sequencing and confirmed as Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The sequence was submitted to NCBI GenBank and an accession number of VITXO MK547277.1 was obtained. © 2020 National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR). All rights reserved.

Indian Journal of Biotechnology

Molecular characterisation of a Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae isolated from an infected rice (Oryza sativa L) plant in Vellore district, India

Chronic diabetes extensively complicates the glucose metabolism to onset and progress the complication. Concurrently, several contemporary medicines, especially organo-metallic formulations, are emerging to treat hyperglycemia. The current study aims to emphasize the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) potential for glucose metabolism regulation in Streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out to detect the mRNA expression of Glucose transporters 2 (GLUT2), Glucokinase (GK) and Glucose 6 Phosphatase (G-6-Pase). The study shows remarkable results such as the prognostic effect of GNPs in reinforcing the repression of enzyme complex G-6-Pase about 13.3-fold when compared to diabetes control. Also, molecular docking studies showed significant inhibition of G-6-Pase by the terpenoid ligands with alpha and beta amyrin from leaf extract of Couroupita guianensis. Thus the study explored the novel mechanism of G-6-Pase downregulated by GNPs intervention that majorly contributes to the regulation of circulatory glucose homeostasis during diabetes. © 2020 The Author(s)

Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences

Down-regulation of hepatic G-6-Pase expression in hyperglycemic rats: Intervention with biogenic gold nanoconjugate

Actinobacteria refers to a group of Gram-positive bacteria with higher G + C DNA base content than other groups of bacteria. They belong to one of the largest bacterial genera called Actinomycetes and are known for their enormous ability to adapt to any environment (including the less explored biota such as deep sea or oceans, hydrothermal vents, etc.). It is a well-established fact that the group actinobacteria is pharmacologically very important and is highly efficient in producing secondary metabolites (such as pigments, antibiotics, toxins, alkaloids, etc.). These species have been further screened for many important and novel secondary metabolites that show a range of biological activities including anti-angiogenesis, antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimalaria, anti-parasitic, antioxidant, antitumour, antiviral, etc., to name a few. The secondary metabolites extracted from actinobacteria of the marine milieu have received extensive consideration due to their structural diversity and exceptional biological activities. Some of the actinomycetes genera such as Actinomadura, Actinoplanes, Microbispora, Micromonospora, Nocardia, Pseudonocardia and Sinomonas are known as rare species, which needs to be exploited for its applications in the field of pharmaceuticals (drug discovery). In the current chapter, an assessment is being done on the research conducted with the marine actinobacteria and the secondary metabolites produced by them of pharmaceutical importance. These secondary bioactive substances possess discrete chemical assemblies which may help in the catalysis or synthesis of new drugs. It is believed that the actinobacteria can provide promising and favourable productivity of commercially important bioactive compound with therapeutic value. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020.

Advances in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Recent Progress and Future Applications

Natural products from actinobacteria for drug discovery

Probiotic yeast strains viz. Yarrowia lipolytica VIT-MN01, Kluyveromyces lactis VIT-MN02, Lipomyces starkeyi VIT-MN03, Saccharomycopsis fibuligera VIT-MN04 and Brettanomyces custersianus VIT-MN05 were investigated as producer of killer toxin. Among the five yeasts, three strains showed more killer toxin production. The maximum killer activity (12 aU/mg) against sensitive strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae was obtained at pH-3 with 0.5{\%} NaCl at 25°C by using response surface methodology. The purified killer toxin K2 and K3 showed the highest killer activity against foodborne pathogens viz. Bacillus cereus, E. coli, Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp. and Candida tropicalis. The purity of the killer toxin was confirmed by HPLC analysis. The molecular mass of killer toxin was 22 kDa (K2), 18 kDa (K3) and 14 kDa (K4). The results of the present study suggest that killer toxins produced by probiotic yeast strains can be used as an antimicrobial agent to control the microbial contamination in the food industry.