New Horizons in Life Sciences

Vitamin D (25(OH)D3 and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) is avital enzyme for immune defense. It plays role in calcium uptake, bone metabolism, mineral homeostasis, modulation of the innate and adaptive immune systems and the regulation of cell proliferation, among other functions. Vitamin D deficiency (serum level below 30-40ng/mL) can lead to cancers, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune conditions, and infections. Its antiproliferative, antifibrotic, immunomodulatory, anti-estrogenic are being recognized. Vitamin D is likely to be a signaling molecule, like estrogen. In fact, both VDR and estrogen receptors share the same protein domains i.e. ZnF (a zinc finger domain) and HOLI (ligand binding domain of hormone receptors). Also, like a CYP enzyme member aromatase, is responsible for conversion of androgen into estrogen, other CYP enzymes are responsible for generating the active form of vitamin D. Vitamin D is more than a vitamin. Its a hormone with anabolic switch properties. Its level

Mushroom polysaccharides have shown antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and antilipemic to immunomodulatory properties. The ß-glucan, a component of fungal cell wall, has proven its therapeutic relevance. The variants of ß-glucans include pleuran from Pleurotus , lentinan from Lentinus , schizophyllan from Schizophyllum , grifolan from Grifola etc. Some ß-glucans are bound to proteins, as proteoglycan, such as PSK or krestin from Trametes versicolor . Beta-glucans interact with receptors of macrophages, and dendritic cells. These glucans bind to the membrane pattern recognition receptors, TLRs and dectin-1, inducing innate immune activity. On attachment to the ß-glucan, dectin-1 is phosphorylated by tyrosine kinases, and induces an intracellular signaling cascade. The recognition of the glucan by the macrophage triggers proinflammatory cytokine production such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a) and various interleukins (ILs). So, the pharmacological

The state of enzymes in the human body determines the normal physiology or pathology, so all the six classes of enzymes are crucial.  Proteases, the hydrolases are one of the six classes of enzymes in the human body. The proteases are several types based on the nucleophilic amino acid or the metal cofactor used Cathepsins are proteases with serine, cysteine, or aspartic acid residues as the nucleophiles. These enzymes are critical for digestion, coagulation, immune response, adipogenesis, hormone secretion, peptide synthesis, among scores of other functions. But, in inflammatory state of the body, cathepsin precursors undergo perpetual proteolytic processing and maturation within lysosomes. These constant switching on drive cathepsins to play devastating roles. They degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as collagen and elastin, mediating parasite infection, autoimmune diseases, tumor metastasis, cardiovascular issues, and neural degeneration, among others.   Dysregulated cat

The crude oils are viscous hydrocarbons. During transportation through waterways,  sometimes oil spill occurs, which cause environmental disasters. Among others, Exxon Valdez in Alaska (1989), Deepwater Horizon/BP well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico (2010) are major oil-spill-related eco-disasters of the past decades. The viscous oil forming a gooey film on the water surface choke aquatic life, to death and ruin the ecological balance in the affected areas. The chemical and mechanical ways of oil spill remediation is effective, but has its own issues. So, lately biosurfactant-producing bacteria and fungi are being explored. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic compounds capable of reducing interfacial tension, dispersing the oil particles, and degrading into non-toxic debris. Among the microbes, only Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Candida have shown much promise.  Of all the candidates, rhamnolipid, sophorolipid and surfactin have been characterized well. Biosurfactants are the same compounds use