Shanmugaboopathi Dhiva

Ovarian cancer is associated with high mortality largely due to late clinical detection, recurrent disease, and profound metabolic adaptations that support tumor survival. A major metabolic feature of ovarian tumors is a shift toward aerobic glycolysis. Recent evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs contribute to this process by regulating epigenetic enzymes and metabolic pathways. The lncRNA RBM5-AS1 has been linked to activation of the acetyltransferase GCN5, resulting in functional suppression of PGC-1α, a key regulator of oxidative metabolism. Intermittent fasting has emerged as a metabolic strategy capable of disrupting tumor-specific metabolic dependencies; however, it’s in vivo impact on the RBM5-AS1/GCN5/PGC-1α axis remains unclear. A VCH-induced ovarian cancer model in Wistar rats was employed to examine the effects of intermittent fasting alone or combined with pharmacological inhibition of GCN5 using MB-3. Tumor-bearing animals demonstrated severe physiological impairment, increased tumor burden, altered hematological and hepatic indices, hyperglycaemia, and heightened glycolytic activity, accompanied by elevated RBM5-AS1, GCN5, PDKs, GLUTs, and LDH expression, along with reduced PGC-1α and PDH levels. Intermittent fasting partially reversed these alterations by downregulating the RBM5-AS1/GCN5 axis and restoring oxidative metabolic signaling. Notably, fasting combined with MB-3 produced the most pronounced effects, resulting in substantial tumor regression, normalization of metabolic and biochemical parameters, recovery of ovarian tissue architecture, and effective suppression of glycolytic reprogramming. Collectively, these findings identify Targeting the RBM5-AS1/GCN5/PGC-1α axis through combined metabolic and epigenetic intervention effectively restrains ovarian tumor progression and represents a promising low-toxicity therapeutic strategy.

Biological macromolecules like polysaccharides/proteins/glycoproteins have been widely used in the field of tissue engineering due to their ability to mimic the extracellular matrix of tissue. In addition to this, these macromolecules are found to have higher biocompatibility and no/lesser toxicity when compared to synthetic polymers. In recent years, scaffolds made up of proteins, polysaccharides, or glycoproteins have been highly used due to their tensile strength, biodegradability, and flexibility. This review is about the fabrication methods and applications of scaffolds made using various biological macromolecules, including polysaccharides like chitosan, agarose, cellulose, and dextran and proteins like soy proteins, zein proteins, etc. Biopolymer-based nanocomposite production and its application and limitations are also discussed in this review. This review also emphasizes the importance of using natural polymers rather than synthetic ones for developing scaffolds, as natural polymers have unique properties, like high biocompatibility, biodegradability, accessibility, stability, absence of toxicity, and low cost.

Metal nanoparticles, such as gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, etc., have many benefits and have been in use for a very long time. Nevertheless, a number of concerns have been raised about the environmental impact and the possibility of exposure to various living systems at the moment. Thus, in this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized by using plant gum from Bauhinia purpurea and characterization was done using UV—Visible Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X—ray Diffraction, etc. To determine the accumulation and toxic effects caused by the nanoparticles, Eudrilus eugeniae, Danio rerio, and their embryos were exposed to the synthesized silver nanoparticles and evaluated using microscopic observation, histology, and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP—OES).

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are storage granules found in bacteria that are essentially hydroxy fatty acid polyesters. PHA molecules appear in variety of structures, and amongst all types of PHAs, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is used in versatile fields as it is a biodegradable, biocompatible, and ecologically safe thermoplastic. The unique physicochemical characteristics of these PHAs have made them applicable in nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications. In this review, the optimization, extraction, and characterization of PHAs are described. Their production and application in nanotechnology are also portrayed in this review, and the precise and various production methods of PHA-based nanoparticles, such as emulsion solvent diffusion, nanoprecipitation, and dialysis are discussed. The characterization techniques such as UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM, Zeta Potential, and XRD are also elaborated.