Influenza A virus is one of the most important health risks that lead to significant respiratory infections. Continuous antigenic changes and lack of promising vaccines are the reasons for the unsuccessful treatment of influenza. Statins are pleiotropic drugs that have recently served as anti-influenza agents due to their anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, the effect of simvastatin on influenza A-infected cells was investigated. Based on the MTT cytotoxicity test, hemagglutination (HA) assay and qPCR it was found that simvastatin maintained cell viability and decreased the viral load significantly as compared to virus-inoculated cells. The expression of important pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interferon-γ), which was quantified using ELISA showed that simvastatin decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines to an average of 2-fold. Furthermore, the modulation of actin filament polymerization was determined using rhodamine staining. Endocytosis and autophagy processes were examined by detecting Rab and RhoA GTPase protein prenylation and LC3 lipidation using western blotting. The results showed that inhibiting GTPase and LC3 membrane localization using simvastatin inhibits influenza replication. Findings of this study provide evidence that modulation of RhoA, Rabs and LC3 may be the underlying mechanisms for the inhibitory effects of simvastatin as an anti-influenza compound.

This paper describes the nutritional requirements for the improvement of growth and sporulation of several strains of Monascus purpureus on solid state cultivation. The findings revealed that glucose enhanced growth of all M. purpureus strains tested but inhibited the sporulation rate. On the other hand, sucrose induced sporulation but inhibited production of cell mass. A combination of glucose and sucrose greatly enhanced sporulation and cell mass production of M. purpureus. Although growth and sporulation rate were related to the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C/N ratio), the types and concentrations of carbon and nitrogen sources also greatly influenced the growth kinetics. Among the media tested, Hiroi-PDA medium was the most preferred medium for all M. purpureus strains tested for the enhancement of radial growth rate, sporulation, and cell production. Hence, Hiroi-PDA could be suggested as the generic basal medium for the cultivation of M. purpureus. However, individual medium optimization is required for significant enhancement in growth and sporulation of each strain of M. purpureus.

Coconut oil is a rich source of beneficial medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) particularly lauric acid. In this study, the oil was modified into a value-added product using direct modification of substrate through fermentation (DIMOSFER) method. A coconut-based and coconut-oil-added solid-state cultivation using a Malaysian lipolytic Geotrichum candidum was used to convert the coconut oil into MCFAs-rich oil. Chemical characteristics of the modified coconut oils (MCOs) considering total medium chain glyceride esters were compared to those of the normal coconut oil using ELSD-RP-HPLC. Optimum amount of coconut oil hydrolysis was achieved at 29% moisture content and 10.14% oil content after 9 days of incubation, where the quantitative amounts of the modified coconut oil and MCFA were 0.330 mL/g of solid media (76.5% bioconversion) and 0.175 mL/g of solid media (53% of the MCO), respectively. MCOs demonstrated improved antibacterial activity mostly due to the presence of free lauric acid. The highest MCFAs-rich coconut oil revealed as much as 90% and 80% antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively. The results of the study showed that DIMOSFER by a local lipolytic G. candidum can be used to produce MCFAs as natural, effective, and safe antimicrobial agent. The produced MCOs and MCFAs could be further applied in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Abstract:The current study investigated the anticancer properties of gold nanoparticles (SG-stabilized AuNPs) synthesized using water extracts of the brown seaweed Sargassum glaucescens (SG). SG-stabilized AuNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The SG-stabilized AuNPs were stable and small at 3.65˘1.69 nm in size. The in vitro anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs was determined on cervical (HeLa), liver (HepG2), breast (MDA-MB-231) and leukemia (CEM-ss) cell lines using fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, caspase activity determination, and MTT assays. After 72 h treatment, SG-stabilized AuNPs was shown to be significant (p < 0.05) cytotoxic to the cancer cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The IC 50 values of SG-stabilized AuNPs on the HeLa, HepG2, CEM-ss, MDA-MB-231 cell lines were 4.75˘1.23, 7.14˘1.45, 10.32˘1.5, and 11.82˘0.9 µg/mL, respectively. On the other hand, SG-stabilized AuNPs showed no cytotoxic effect towards the normal human mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A). SG-stabilized AuNPs significantly (p < 0.05) arrest HeLa cell cycle at G2/M phase and significantly (p < 0.05) activated caspases-3 and -9 activities. The anticancer effect of SG-stabilized AuNPs is via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. The study showed that SG-stabilized AuNPs is a good candidate to be developed into a chemotherapeutic compound for the treatment of cancers especially cervical cancer.