Asif Shahriar

Background: Monkeypox virus (MPV), an endemic pathogen in Africa, shares clinical similarities with smallpox. Recent reports indicate a concerning increase in the number of MPV cases detected outside its endemic region, highlighting the emergence of a multi-country outbreak. Given the importance of the cell surface-binding protein E8L in facilitating viral attachment to host cells, this study aimed to identify potential small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) capable of silencing E8L and thereby serving as a basis for therapeutic development. Results: siRNAs have emerged as promising candidates for genetic therapies and antiviral and antibacterial treatments. In this investigation, we employed computational assays, including GC content analysis, binding free energy assessment, folding properties evaluation, melting temperature determination, and siRNA efficacy prediction. Our comprehensive analysis identified five siRNAs with high potential for effectively silencing the cell surface-binding protein of the monkeypox virus. Among these siRNAs, molecular docking revealed that “S8” (Guide-UUAUGGAUCCAAUCACUUGAU, Passenger-CAAGUGAUUGGAUCCAUAAUC) demonstrated the strongest affinity with the human argonaute-2 protein. Conclusions: The siRNA “S8” represents a promising therapeutic target for developing treatments against monkeypox virus infection by specifically silencing the cell surface-binding protein E8L. Our research lays the foundation for future endeavors in genome-level therapies. It can potentially create chemically produced RNA molecules as effective antiviral drugs targeting Monkeypox virus infection. These findings contribute to advancing therapeutic strategies and offer new avenues for combating the spread of MPV, particularly in regions affected by the multi-country outbreak.

Objective: To study the antibacterial and phytochemical activities of bioactive elements in the leaves of Annona reticulata Linn, a historically used Bangladeshi medicinal plant. Methods: Shade‐dried and crushed plant leaves were soaked with various solvents to obtain samples for different chemical analyses. All extracts were selected for antimicrobial, physicochemical, and Pharmacological investigations. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using disc diffusion assay, and broth microdilution methods determined potentiation of the activities of the antibiotic antibacterial activity of the plant extracts was investigated using either gram‐positive or gram‐negative pathogenic wild‐type bacteria. Results: From the initial phytochemical and pharmacological studies, it was clear that all extracts, methanol, chloroform, and ethyl acetate, of the leaves of A. reticulata, were proven to process potent bioactive constituents. While differential antimicrobial properties were found to be possessed by all extracts, methanolic extract was the most potent one against all tested microorganisms. It also has potentiated the activities of antibiotics in E. coli. Conclusion: Bioactive constituents in the plant extracts were shown to possess phytochemical and antimicrobial activities. More investigation is needed to segregate the chemical components responsible for the respective phytochemical and antimicrobial activities.

Background: Flavonols are phytoconstituents of biological and medicinal importance. In addition to functioning as antioxidants, flavonols may play a role in antagonizing diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and viral and bacterial diseases. Quercetin, myricetin, kaempferol, and fisetin are the major dietary flavonols. Quercetin is a potent scavenger of free radicals, providing protection from free radical damage and oxidation-associated diseases.Main body of the An extensive literature review of specific databases (e.g., Pubmed, google scholar, science direct) were conducted using the keywords “flavonol,” “quercetin,” “antidiabetic,” “antiviral,” “anticancer,” and “myricetin.” Some studies concluded that quercetin is a promising antioxidant agent while kaempferol could be effective against human gastric cancer. In addition, kaempferol prevents apoptosis of pancreatic beta-cells via boosting the function and survival rate of the beta-cells, leading to increased insulin secretion. Flavonols also show potential as alternatives to conventional antibiotics, restricting viral infection by antagonizing the envelope proteins to block viral entry.Short conclusion: There is substantial scientific evidence that high consumption of flavonols is associated with reduced risk of cancer and coronary diseases, free radical damage alleviation, tumor growth prevention, and insulin secretion improvement, among other diverse health benefits. Nevertheless, more studies are required to determine the appropriate dietary concentration, dose, and type of flavonol for a particular condition to prevent any adverse side effects.

Background: Luciferase is a well-known oxidative enzyme that produces bioluminescence. The Pseudomonas meliae is a plant pathogen that causes wood rot on nectarine and peach and possesses a luciferase-like monooxygenase. After activation, it produces bioluminescence, and the pathogen’s bioluminescence is a visual indicator of diseased plants. Methods: The present study aims to model and characterize the luciferase-like monooxygenase protein in P. meliae for its similarity to well-established luciferase. In this study, the luciferase-like monooxygenase from P. meliae infects chinaberry plants has been modeled first and then studied by comparing it with existing known luciferase. Also, the similarities between uncharacterized luciferase from P. meliae and template from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans were analyzed to find the novelty of P. meliae . Results: The results suggest that the absence of bioluminescence in P. meliae could be due to the evolutionary mutation in positions 138 and 311. The active site remains identical except for two amino acids; P. meliae Tyr138 instead of His138 and Leu311 instead of His311. Therefore, the P. meliae will have a potential future application, and mutation of the residues 138 and 311 can be restored luciferase light-emitting ability. Conclusions: This study will help further improve, activate, and repurpose the luciferase from P. meliae as a reporter for gene expression.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by uropathogens has put global public health at its utmost risk, especially in developing countries where people are unaware of personal hygiene and proper medication. In general, the infection frequently occurs in the urethra, bladder, and kidney, as reported by the physician. Moreover, many UTI patients whose acquired disorder from the hospital or health-care center has been addressed previously have been referred to as catheter-associated UTI (CAUTI). Meanwhile, the bacterial biofilm triggering UTI is another critical issue, mostly by catheter insertion. In most cases, the biofilm inhibits the action of antibiotics against the UTI-causing bacteria. Therefore, new therapeutic tools should be implemented to eliminate the widespread multidrug resistance (MDR) UTI-causing bacteria. Based on the facts, the present review emphasized the current status of CAUTI, its causative agent, clinical manifestation, and treatment complications. This review also delineated a model of phage therapy as a new therapeutic means against bacterial biofilm-originated UTI. The model illustrated the entire mechanism of destroying the extracellular plyometric substances of UTI-causing bacteria with several enzymatic actions produced by phage particles. This review will provide a complete outline of CAUTI for the general reader and create a positive vibe for the researchers to sort out alternative remedies against the CAUTI-causing MDR microbial agents.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, and the situation worsens daily, associated with acute increases in case fatality rates. The main protease (M^pro) enzyme produced by SARS-CoV-2 was recently demonstrated to be responsible for not only viral reproduction but also impeding host immune responses. The element selenium (Se) plays a vital role in immune functions, both directly and indirectly. Thus, we hypothesised that Se-containing heterocyclic compounds might curb the activity of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro. We performed a molecular docking analysis and found that several of the selected selenocompounds showed potential binding affinities for SARS-CoV-2 M^pro, especially ethaselen (49), which exhibited a docking score of −6.7 kcal/mol compared with the −6.5 kcal/mol score for GC376 (positive control). Drug-likeness calculations suggested that these compounds are biologically active and possess the characteristics of ideal drug candidates. Based on the binding affinity and drug-likeness results, we selected the 16 most effective selenocompounds as potential anti-COVID-19 drug candidates. We also validated the structural integrity and stability of the drug candidate through molecular dynamics simulation. Using further in vitro and in vivo experiments, we believe that the targeted compound identified in this study (ethaselen) could pave the way for the development of prospective drugs to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections and trigger specific host immune responses.

Burns are traumatic injuries that can occur in the home or workplace. It is a type of injury to flesh or skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, or radiation. The aims of this study to identified drug resistance traits of microorganisms, which is lead to wound infection after burn injury and causes hematological imbalanced of blood cells that are lead to the immune response against these pathogenic strains. The patient was burned by flame and seriously injured, with 24% tissue damaged. The whole blood was collected for complete blood count and peripheral blood film to analyze the components and morphological shape of blood cells. In addition, the wound samples were collected from wound infected sites to isolation and identification of microbial contamination as well as the study of antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance traits of microbes which are intensively involved in wound infection along with skin tissue damage. Among the complication period, the patient was seriously infected by pathogenic bacteria with viable bacterial count with log 10⁷ colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL. The predominant pathogens were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Staphylococcus spp. Most of the pathogens were found as drug-resistant, notably against second- and third-line antibiotics. The serious complication of microbial infection during the wound healing period was lead to increase white blood cells range along with terribly lower than the normal range of hemoglobin at 6.8 g/dl. Furthermore, the abnormal morphology of red blood cells was noted as an iron deficiency complication of the patient. Bacterial infection of the postburn patient is alarming for quick treatment. Most of the pathogens are rarely sensitive against most commercial antibiotics. Hence, bacterial colonization is the main threat for the burn-injured patient, which prohibits the immune response against in vivo infection.

A pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the number of newly reported cases continues to increase. More than 19.7 million cases have been reported globally and about 728,000 have died as of this writing (10 August 2020). Recently, it has been confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M^pro) enzyme is responsible not only for viral reproduction but also impedes host immune responses. The M^pro provides a highly favorable pharmacological target for the discovery and design of inhibitors. Currently, no specific therapies are available, and investigations into the treatment of COVID-19 are lacking. Therefore, herein, we analyzed the bioactive phytocompounds isolated by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) from Tinospora crispa as potential COVID-19 M^pro inhibitors, using molecular docking study. Our analyses unveiled that the top nine hits might serve as potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 lead molecules, with three of them exerting biological activity and warranting further optimization and drug development to combat COVID-19.

Aims: Matured nourishment like yogurt and cheese are great wellsprings of probiotic living beings. The present study was carried out for isolation, identification and antibiotic profiling of some important bacteria in, local fermented milk-products sold in the market of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methodology: Twenty types of yogurt and fifteen types of cheese samples were collected from two different local market. De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe agar (MRS agar) and Streptococcus thermophilus agar (ST agar) were used for the isolation of probiotic micro-organisms from these different fermented dairy products. Characterization of lactic acid bacteria belonging to the species of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus was done by using morphological feature, Gram staining, biochemical tests (catalase test, some carbohydrate fermentation tests, alpha haemolysis test, starch hydrolysis test, bile salt tolerance test). The antibiotic profiling was performed by utilizing twelve distinct antibiotics: amikacin (10 μg), amoxicillin (15 μg), azithromycin (30 μg), bacitracin (30 μg), chloramphenicol (30 μg), ciprofloxacin (10 μg), erythromycin (30 μg), gentamicin (30 μg), kanamycin (30 μg), penicillin g (30 μg), tetracycline (15 μg), vancomycin (15 μg) to identified the multi-drug resistance of probiotic micro-organisms. Results: The outcomes demonstrated that specific bacterial species (L. acidophilus, L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus) were utilized in the production of yogurt and cheese samples, that may have unnecessary antibiotic resistances which can be a risk if they transfer antibiotic resistance genes to pathogenic microbes. Notably, L. bulgaricus was effectively susceptible against bacitracin and penicillin g. Conclusion: Yogurt and cheese are one kind of probiotic source, made up by using probiotic starter cultures (Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus thermophilus) which were identified in this study. Most of the probiotic micro-organisms were resistant against these widely accepted commercial antibiotics. These resistant lactic acid bacteria may transfer their resistance genes to pathogenic microorganisms. It can be a significant cause of concern for human and animal health.