1.Mucosal acidification increases hydrogen sulfide release through up-regulating gene and protein expressions of cystathionine gamma-lyase in the rat gastric mucosa.
Mard SA1, Veisi A2, Ahangarpour A2, Gharib-Naseri MK2. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2016 Feb;19(2):172-7.
OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate the effects of mucosal acidification on mRNA expression and protein synthesis of cystathionine gamma lyase (CSE), cystathionine beta synthase (CBS), and mucosal release of H2S in gastric mucosa in rats.
2.DFT and experimental study on the mechanism of elemental mercury capture in the presence of HCl on α-Fe2O3 (001).
Liu T, Xue L, Guo X, Huang Y, Zheng C. Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Apr 15. [Epub ahead of print]
To investigate the mechanism of Hg0 adsorption on α-Fe2O3 (001) surface in the presence of HCl, which was considered to be beneficial for Hg0 removal, theoretical calculations based on density functional theory as well as corresponding experiments were carried out. HCl adsorption was firstly performed on α-Fe2O3(001) surface, and the Hg0 adsorption on HCl-adsorbed α-Fe2O3(001) surface was subsequently researched, demonstrating that HCl dissociates on the surface of α-Fe2O3, improving the Hg0 adsorption reactivity. With further chlorination of α-Fe2O3(001) surface, the FeCl3 could be achieved and the adsorption energy of Hg0 on FeCl3 surface reaches -104.2 kJ/mol, belonging to strong chemisorption. Meanwhile, a group of designed experiments, including the Hg0 adsorption on HCl pre-adsorbed α-Fe2O3 as well as the co-adsorption of both gaseous components, were respectively performed to explore the pathways of Hg0 transformation. Combining computational and experimental results together, the Eley-Rideal mechanism with HCl pre-adsorption can be determined.
3.New antiviral targets for innovative treatment concepts for hepatitis B virus and hepatitis delta virus.
Durantel D1, Zoulim F2. J Hepatol. 2016 Apr;64(1 Suppl):S117-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2016.02.016.
Current therapies of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remain limited to pegylated-interferon-alpha (PegIFN-α) or any of the five approved nucleos(t)ide analogues (NUC) treatments. While viral suppression can be achieved in the majority of patients with the high-barrier-to-resistance new-generation of NUC, i.e. entecavir and tenofovir, HBsAg loss is achieved by PegIFN-α and/or NUC in only 10% of patients, after a 5-year follow-up. Attempts to improve the response by administering two different NUC or a combination of NUC and PegIFN-α have not provided a dramatic increase in the rate of functional cure. Because of this and the need of long-term NUC administration, there is a renewed interest regarding the understanding of various steps of the HBV replication cycle, as well as specific virus-host cell interactions, in order to define new targets and develop new antiviral drugs. This includes a direct inhibition of viral replication with entry inhibitors, drugs targeting cccDNA, siRNA targeting viral transcripts, capsid assembly modulators, and approaches targeting the secretion of viral envelope proteins.
4.Design and Evaluation of Proniosomes As A Carrier for Ocular Delivery of Lomefloxacin HCl.
Khalil RM1, Abdelbary GA2, Basha M1, Awad GE3, El-Hashemy HA1. J Liposome Res. 2016 Apr 15:1-42. [Epub ahead of print]
The current investigation aims to develop and evaluate novel ocular proniosomal gels of Lomefloxacin HCl (LXN); in order to improve its ocular bioavailability for the management of bacterial conjunctivitis. Proniosomes were prepared using different types of nonionic surfactants solely and as mixtures with Span 60. The formed gels were characterized for entrapment efficiency, vesicle size and in vitro drug release. Only Span 60 was able to form stable LXN proniosomal gel when used individually while the other surfactants formed gels only in combination with Span 60 at different ratios. The optimum proniosomal gel; P-LXN 7 (Span60:Tween60, 9:1) appeared as spherical shaped vesicles having high entrapment efficiency (>80%), appropriate vesicle size (187 nm) as well as controlled drug release over 12h. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the amorphous nature of LXN within the vesicles. Stability study did not show any significant changes in entrapment efficiency or vesicle size after storage for 3 months at 4°C.
