Objective: This work was undertaken with the aim of isolating and screening fungal soil isolates with fibrinolytic activity.Methods: Soil sample near slaughter house was collected and screened for fibrinolytic activity by using fibrin-agar. Enzyme production was optimized under various parameters like pH, temperature, substrate concentration and purified partially by ammonium sulphate precipitation. The stability of the partially purified enzyme was analyzed under the influence of a wide range of pH, temperature, and substrate concentrations.Results: Among the seven isolates screened, Aspergillus carbonarius S-CSR-0007 exhibited largest clear zone and was selected for further studies. Among the various substrates tested casein was found to support the highest caseinolytic activity of 816 U/ml and fibrinolytic activity of 510 U/ml. The culture supernatant of A. carbonarius S-CSR-0007 was fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by dialysis, and maximum activity was obtained in the fraction with 80% ammonium sulfate, with an enzyme activity of 1200 U/ml using tyrosine as standard. The partially purified fibrinolytic enzyme showed optimal activity at 45 °C and pH 7.0. The enzyme was stable up to a temperature of 50 °C and pH 8.0, and the optimum substrate concentration was 4%. Conclusion:The crude enzyme showed high blood clot lysis activity, which may be a good candidate in the pharmaceutical industry. However, more studies need to be carried out to establish its clinical use.

L-Glutaminase, an amidohydrolase enzyme has been a choice of interest in the treatment of lymphoblastic leukemia. This study investigates the production and optimization of extracellular glutaminase enzyme using several agro-industrial residues by Aspergillus flavus KUGF009 using SSF (solid state fermentation). Effect of process variables namely substrates, incubation period, temperature, moisture content, initial pH, supplementary carbon and nitrogen sources and metal ions on the production of L-glutaminase was studied and accordingly, optimum conditions were determined. A. flavus KUGF009 was cultured in tea dust to produce L-glutaminase. The organism produced high levels of glutaminase under optimized culture conditions on the 5th day of incubation at an optimum pH 4.0, temperature 30°C and moisture content 50% by SSF. Enhanced production occurred on the addition of dextrose, yeast extract and MgSO 4 as nutritional factors.

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Background: HCV infection is very common in multi-transfused β-thalassemia patients who need regular blood transfusions. Aim: The study was conducted to determine the epidemiology of HCV in multi-transfused β-thalassemia patients in West Bengal, India. Methods: Over a span of six years, blood samples were collected from HCV sero-reactive β-thalassemia patients and processed for viral RNA isolation followed by nested RT-PCR for qualitative viremia detection. The HCV genotype was determined by amplifying the partial HCV core gene by nested RT-PCR followed by DNA sequencing and NCBI genotyping tools. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies were performed with MEGA-X and BEAST software, respectively. Results: Out of 917 multi-transfused HCV sero-reactive β-thalassemia patients, 598 (65.21%) were HCV RNA positive while 250 (41.80%) had spontaneously cleared the virus. A significant percentage of male patients from rural areas (p = 0.042) and economically backward class (p = 0.002) were at higher risk of HCV infection. Female thalassemia patients and individuals belonging to ages 11–15 years had higher chances of spontaneous clearance. The most prevalent circulatory HCV genotype was 3a (78.26%) followed by 1b (12.04%). Phylogeographic analyses revealed that the 3a strains share genomic similarities with strains from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, whereas the 1b strains share similarities with strains from Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, and China. Uncommon HCV subtypes 3g and 3i were also detected. Conclusion: The high prevalence of HCV infection among β-thalassemia patients of West Bengal, India indicates NAT-based assays should be implemented for HCV screening in donor blood to eliminate HCV by 2030.

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