Impact of viral and bacterial infections in coronary artery disease patients

Atherosclerosis is becoming an alarming disease for the existence of healthy human beings in the 21 st century.There are a growing number of agents, either modernized life style generated, competitive work culture related or infection with some bacterial or viral agents,documented every year. These infectious agents do not have proper diagnostics or detection availability in many poor and developing countries. Hence, as active medical researchers, we summarize some aspects of infectious agents and their related mechanisms in this review which may be beneficial for new beginners in this field and update awareness in the field of cardiovascular biology.

Anti-cancer effects of sitagliptin,vildagliptin,and exendin-4 on triple-negative breast cancer cells via mitochondrial modulation

Triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)cell line MDA-MB-231 is known for Warburg metabolism and defects in mitochondria.On the other hand,dipeptidyl peptidase-IV(DPP-IV)inhibitors such as sitagliptin and vildagliptin and GLP-1 agonist exendin-4 are known to improve mitochondrial functions as well as biogenesis,but no study has evaluated the influence of these drugs on mitochondrial biogenesis on metastatic breast cancer cell line.We have recently reported anticancer effects of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside on MDA-MB-231 cells via activation of AMP-dependent kinase(AMPK),which activates the downstream transcription factors PGC-1α,PGC-1β,or FOXO1 for mitochondrial biogenesis;above-mentioned incretin-based therapies are also known to activate AMPK.This study evaluated the effects of sitagliptin,vildagliptin,and exendin-4 on MDA-MB-231 cells and the underlying changes in mitochondrial biogenesis,were examined.Treatment with sitagliptin(100μM),vildagliptin(100μM),and exendin-4(10 nM)for 72 h to MDA-MB-231 cells led to a decrease in viability indicated by MTT assay,cell migration by scratch,and transwell migration assays,accompanied with marginal reduction in cell numbers along with the apoptotic appearance,the rate of apoptosis,and decreased lactate content in conditioned medium.These changes in the cancer phenotype were accompanied by an increase in the mitochondrial DNA to nuclear DNA ratio,increased MitoTracker green and red staining,and increased expression of transcription factors PGC-1α,NRF-1,NRF-2,TFAM,and HO-1.Pre-treatment of cells with these incretin-based drugs followed by 48 h treatment with 1μM doxorubicin increased doxorubicin sensitivity as observed by a decrease in viability by MTT assay.Thus,sitagliptin,vildagliptin,and exendin-4 exert their beneficial effects on TNBC cells via an increase in mitochondrial biogenesis that helps to switch Warburg metabolism into anti-Warburg effect.Therapeutic response was in the order of:sitagliptin>vildagliptin>exendin-4.

Helicobacter pylori isolated from gastric juice have higher pathogenic potential than biopsy isolates

Persistent gastritis induced by Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)is the strongest known risk factor for gastric cancer(GC).H.pylori is prevalent in about 50%world's population,while it causes cancer in less than 2%of exposed individuals.1 Our studies found that H.pylori infection can induce oncogenic properties in AGS cells by deregulating multiple factors associated with the cell cycle,apoptosis,and other important events associated with cancer progression.

Herpesviral interplay with peroxisome:An underexplored viral niche

Herpesviruses are smart pathogens that can infect and have lifelong persistence inside the host.Many human herpes-viruses have been shown to affect human health in immu-nologically challenged conditions.Mostly the herpesviruses involved in such cases and widely researched are herpes simplex virus(HSV),human cytomegalovirus(HCMV),Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus(KSHV),and Epstein-Barr virus(EBV).All these herpesviruses share similar virion struc-tures and life cycles.

Insights into Plasmodium and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection driven neurological manifestations

In malaria-endemic regions,people often get exposed to various pathogens simultaneously,generating coinfection scenarios.In such scenarios,overlapping symptoms pose serious diagnostic challenges.The delayed diagnosis may lead to an increase in disease severity and catastrophic events.Recent coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has affected various areas globally,including malaria-endemic regions.The Plasmodium and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection and its effect on health are yet unexplored.We present a case report of a previously healthy,middle-aged individual from the malaria-endemic area who suffered SARS-CoV-2 and Plasmodium falciparum co-infection.The patient developed severe disease indications in a short time period.The patient showed neurological symptoms,altered hematological as well as liver-test parameters,and subsequent death in a narrow time span.We hereby discuss the various aspects of this case regarding treatment and hematological parameters.Further,we have put forward perspectives related to the mechanism behind severity and neurological symptoms in this fatal parasite-virus co-infection case.In malaria-endemic regions,due to overlapping symptoms,suspected COVID-19 patients should also be monitored for diagnosis of malaria without any delay.The SARS-CoV-2 and Plasmodium co-infection could increase the disease severity in a short time span.In treatment,dexamethasone may not help in severe cases having malaria as well as COVID-19 positive status and needs further exploration.