@article {46119, title = {Mechanistic insights into enzymatic catalysis by trehalase from the insect gut endosymbiont Enterobacter cloacae}, journal = {FEBS Journal}, volume = {286}, year = {2019}, month = {MAY}, pages = {1700-1716}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Energy metabolism in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella is facilitated by trehalase, an enzyme which assists in trehalose hydrolysis, from the predominant gut bacterium Enterobacter cloacae. We report the biochemical and structural characterization of recombinant trehalase from E. cloacae (Px_EclTre). Px_EclTre showed K-M of 1.47 (+/- 0.05) mm, k(cat) of 6254.72 min(-1) and V-max 0.2 (+/- 0.002) mm center dot min(-1) at 55 degrees C and acidic pH. Crystal structures of Px_EclTre were determined in the ligand-free form and bound to the inhibitor Validoxylamine A. The crystal structure of the ligand-free form, unavailable until now for any other bacterial trehalases, enabled us to delineate the conformational changes accompanying ligand binding in trehalases. Multiple salt bridges were identified that potentially facilitated closure of a hood over the substrate-binding site. A cluster of five tryptophans lined the -1 substrate-binding subsite, interacted with crucial active site residues and contributed to both trehalase activity and stability. The importance of these residues in enzyme activity was further validated by mutagenesis studies. Many of these identified residues form part of signature motifs and other conserved sequences in trehalases. The structure analysis thus led to the assignment of the functional role to these conserved residues. This information can be further explored for the design of effective inhibitors against trehalases.

}, keywords = {Enterobacter cloacae, Plutella xylostella, structural analysis, trehalase, validoxylamine A}, issn = {1742-464X}, doi = {10.1111/febs.14760}, author = {Adhav, Anmol and Harne, Shrikant and Bhide, Amey and Giri, Ashok and Gayathri, Pananghat and Joshi, Rakesh} } @article {46442, title = {Semirational design and engineering of grapevine glucosyltransferases for enhanced activity and modified product selectivity}, journal = {Glycobiology}, volume = {29}, year = {2019}, month = {NOV}, pages = {765-775}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the transfer of a diversity of sugars to several acceptor molecules and often exhibit distinct substrate specificity. Modulation of glycosyltransferases for increased catalytic activity and altered substrate or product specificity are the key manipulations for the biotechnological use of glycosyltransferases in various biosynthetic processes. Here, we have engineered the binding pocket of three previously characterized Vitis vinifera glycosyltransferases, UGT88F12, UGT72B27 and UGT92G6, by structure-guided in silico mutagenesis to facilitate the interactions of active site residues with flavonol glucosides and thus modify substrate specificity and activity. Site-directed mutagenesis at selected sites, followed with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based activity assays, exhibited that mutant UGTs were altered in product selectivity and activity as compared to the wild-type enzymes. Mutant UGTs produced larger amounts of flavonol di-monosaccharide glucosides, which imply that the mutations led to structural changes that increased the volume of the binding pocket to accommodate a larger substrate and to release larger products at ease. Mutants showed increased activity and modified product specificity. Thus, structure-based systematic mutations of the amino acid residues in the binding pocket can be explored for the generation of engineered UGTs for diverse biotechnological applications.

}, keywords = {flavonol, Glycosyltransferase, in silico analysis, Mutagenesis, selectivity}, issn = {0959-6658}, doi = {10.1093/glycob/cwz056}, author = {Joshi, Rakesh and Trinkl, Johanna and Haugeneder, Annika and Haertl, Katja and Franz-Oberdorf, Katrin and Giri, Ashok and Hoffmann, Thomas and Schwab, Wilfried} } @article {47390, title = {Insights from a pan India Sero-epidemiological survey (Phenome-India Cohort) for SARS-CoV2}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {10}, year = {2021}, month = {APR }, pages = {e66537}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

To understand the spread of SARS-CoV2, in August and September 2020, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (India) conducted a serosurvey across its constituent laboratories and centers across India. Of 10,427 volunteers, 1058 (10.14\%) tested positive for SARS-CoV2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-NC) antibodies, 95\% of which had surrogate neutralization activity. Three-fourth of these recalled no symptoms. Repeat serology tests at 3 (n = 607) and 6 (n = 175) months showed stable anti-NC antibodies but declining neutralization activity. Local seropositivity was higher in densely populated cities and was inversely correlated with a 30-day change in regional test positivity rates (TPRs). Regional seropositivity above 10\% was associated with declining TPR. Personal factors associated with higher odds of seropositivity were high-exposure work (odds ratio, 95\% confidence interval, p value: 2.23, 1.92-2.59, \<0.0001), use of public transport (1.79, 1.43-2.24, \<0.0001), not smoking (1.52, 1.16-1.99, 0.0257), non-vegetarian diet (1.67, 1.41-1.99, \<0.0001), and B blood group (1.36, 1.15-1.61, 0.001).

}, issn = {2050-084X}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.66537}, author = {Naushin, Salwa and Sardana, Viren and Ujjainiya, Rajat and Bhatheja, Nitin and Kutum, Rintu and Bhaskar, Akash Kumar and Pradhan, Shalini and Prakash, Satyartha and Khan, Raju and Rawat, Birendra Singh and Tallapaka, Karthik Bharadwaj and Anumalla, Mahesh and Chandak, Giriraj Ratan and Lahiri, Amit and Kar, Susanta and Mulay, Shrikant Ramesh and Mugale, Madhav Nilakanth and Srivastava, Mrigank and Khan, Shaziya and Srivastava, Anjali and Tomar, Bhawana and Veerapandian, Murugan and Venkatachalam, Ganesh and Vijayakumar, Selvamani Raja and Agarwal, Ajay and Gupta, Dinesh and Halami, Prakash M. and Peddha, Muthukumar Serva and Sundaram, Gopinath M. and Veeranna, Ravindra P. and Pal, Anirban and Agarwal, Vinay Kumar and Maurya, Anil Ku and Singh, Ranvijay Kumar and Raman, Ashok Kumar and Anandasadagopan, Suresh Kumar and Karuppanan, Parimala and Venkatesan, Subramanian and Sardana, Harish Kumar and Kothari, Anamika and Jain, Rishabh and Thakur, Anupama and Parihar, Devendra Singh and Saifi, Anas and Kaur, Jasleen and Kumar, Virendra and Mishra, Avinash and Gogeri, Iranna and Rayasam, Geethavani and Singh, Praveen and Chakraborty, Rahul and Chaturvedi, Gaura and Karunakar, Pinreddy and Yadav, Rohit and Singhmar, Sunanda and Singh, Dayanidhi and Sarkar, Sharmistha and Bhattacharya, Purbasha and Acharya, Sundaram and Singh, Vandana and Verma, Shweta and Soni, Drishti and Seth, Surabhi and Vashisht, Sakshi and Thakran, Sarita and Fatima, Firdaus and Singh, Akash Pratap and Sharma, Akanksha and Sharma, Babita and Subramanian, Manikandan and Padwad, Yogendra S. and Hallan, Vipin and Patial, Vikram and Singh, Damanpreet and Tripude, Narendra Vijay and Chakrabarti, Partha and Maity, Sujay Krishna and Ganguly, Dipyaman and Sarkar, Jit and Ramakrishna, Sistla and Kumar, Balthu Narender and Kumar, Kiran A. and Gandhi, Sumit G. and Jamwal, Piyush Singh and Chouhan, Rekha and Jamwal, Vijay Lakshmi and Kapoor, Nitika and Ghosh, Debashish and Thakkar, Ghanshyam and Subudhi, Umakanta and Sen, Pradip and Chaudhury, Saumya Ray and Kumar, Rashmi and Gupta, Pawan and Tuli, Amit and Sharma, Deepak and Ringe, Rajesh P. and Amarnarayan, D. and Kulkarni, Mahesh and Shanmugam, Dhansekaran and Dharne, Mahesh S. and Dastager, Sayed G. and Joshi, Rakesh and Patil, Amita P. and Mahajan, Sachin N. and Khan, Abujunaid Habib and Wagh, Vasudev and Yadav, Rakesh Kumar and Khilari, Ajinkya and Bhadange, Mayuri and Chaurasiya, Arvindkumar H. and Kulsange, Shabda E. and Khairnar, Krishna and Paranjape, Shilpa and Kalita, Jatin and Sastry, Narahari G. and Phukan, Tridip and Manna, Prasenjit and Romi, Wahengbam and Bharali, Pankaj and Ozah, Dibyajyoti and Sahu, Ravi Kumar and Babu, Elapavalooru Vssk and Sukumaran, Rajeev and Nair, Aiswarya R. and Valappil, Prajeesh Kooloth and Puthiyamadam, Anoop and Velayudhanpillai, Adarsh and Chodankar, Kalpana and Damare, Samir and Madhavi, Yennapu and Aggarwal, Ved Varun and Dahiya, Sumit and Agrawal, Anurag and Dash, Debasis and Sengupta, Shantanu} } @article {48236, title = {Machine learning-based approach to determine infection status in recipients of BBV152 (Covaxin) whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for serological surveys}, journal = {Computers in Biology and Medicine}, volume = {146}, year = {2022}, month = {JUL}, pages = {105419}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Data science has been an invaluable part of the COVID-19 pandemic response with multiple applications, ranging from tracking viral evolution to understanding the vaccine effectiveness. Asymptomatic breakthrough infections have been a major problem in assessing vaccine effectiveness in populations globally. Serological discrimination of vaccine response from infection has so far been limited to Spike protein vaccines since whole virion vaccines generate antibodies against all the viral proteins. Here, we show how a statistical and machine learning (ML) based approach can be used to discriminate between SARS-CoV-2 infection and immune response to an inactivated whole virion vaccine (BBV152, Covaxin). For this, we assessed serial data on antibodies against Spike and Nucleocapsid antigens, along with age, sex, number of doses taken, and days since last dose, for 1823 Covaxin recipients. An ensemble ML model, incorporating a consensus clustering approach alongside the support vector machine model, was built on 1063 samples where reliable qualifying data existed, and then applied to the entire dataset. Of 1448 self-reported negative subjects, our ensemble ML model classified 724 to be infected. For method validation, we determined the relative ability of a random subset of samples to neutralize Delta versus wild-type strain using a surrogate neutralization assay. We worked on the premise that antibodies generated by a whole virion vaccine would neutralize wild type more efficiently than delta strain. In 100 of 156 samples, where ML prediction differed from self-reported uninfected status, neutralization against Delta strain was more effective, indicating infection. We found 71.8\% subjects predicted to be infected during the surge, which is concordant with the percentage of sequences classified as Delta (75.6\%-80.2\%) over the same period. Our approach will help in real-world vaccine effectiveness assessments where whole virion vaccines are commonly used.

}, keywords = {BBV152, Covaxin, COVID-19, Ensemble methods, Infection, machine learning, SARS-CoV-2}, issn = {0010-4825}, doi = {10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105419}, author = {Singh, Prateek and Ujjainiya, Rajat and Prakash, Satyartha and Naushin, Salwa and Sardana, Viren and Bhatheja, Nitin and Singh, Ajay Pratap and Barman, Joydeb and Kumar, Kartik and Gayali, Saurabh and Khan, Raju and Rawat, Birendra Singh and Tallapaka, Karthik Bharadwaj and Anumalla, Mahesh and Lahiri, Amit and Kar, Susanta and Bhosale, Vivek and Srivastava, Mrigank and Mugale, Madhav Nilakanth and Pandey, C. P. and Khan, Shaziya and Katiyar, Shivani and Raj, Desh and Ishteyaque, Sharmeen and Khanka, Sonu and Rani, Ankita and Promila and Sharma, Jyotsna and Seth, Anuradha and Dutta, Mukul and Saurabh, Nishant and Veerapandian, Murugan and Venkatachalam, Ganesh and Bansal, Deepak and Gupta, Dinesh and Halami, Prakash M. and Peddha, Muthukumar Serva and Veeranna, Ravindra P. and Pal, Anirban and Singh, Ranvijay Kumar and Anandasadagopan, Suresh Kumar and Karuppanan, Parimala and Rahman, Syed Nasar and Selvakumar, Gopika and Venkatesan, Subramanian and Karmakar, Malay Kumar and Sardana, Harish Kumar and Kothari, Anamika and Parihar, Devendra Singh and Thakur, Anupma and Saifi, Anas and Gupta, Naman and Singh, Yogita and Reddu, Ritu and Gautam, Rizul and Mishra, Anuj and Mishra, Avinash and Gogeri, Iranna and Rayasam, Geethavani and Padwad, Yogendra and Patial, Vikram and Hallan, Vipin and Singh, Damanpreet and Tirpude, Narendra and Chakrabarti, Partha and Maity, Sujay Krishna and Ganguly, Dipyaman and Sistla, Ramakrishna and Balthu, Narender Kumar and Kumar, Kiran A. and Ranjith, Siva and Kumar, B. Vijay and Jamwal, Piyush Singh and Wali, Anshu and Ahmed, Sajad and Chouhan, Rekha and Gandhi, Sumit G. and Sharma, Nancy and Rai, Garima and Irshad, Faisal and Jamwal, Vijay Lakshmi and Paddar, Masroor Ahmad and Khan, Sameer Ullah and Malik, Fayaz and Ghosh, Debashish and Thakkar, Ghanshyam and Barik, S. K. and Tripathi, Prabhanshu and Satija, Yatendra Kumar and Mohanty, Sneha and Khan, Md Tauseef and Subudhi, Umakanta and Sen, Pradip and Kumar, Rashmi and Bhardwaj, Anshu and Gupta, Pawan and Sharma, Deepak and Tuli, Amit and Chaudhuri, Saumya Ray and Krishnamurthi, Srinivasan and Prakash, L. and Rao, V. Ch and Singh, B. N. and Chaurasiya, Arvindkumar and Chaurasiya, Meera and Bhadange, Mayuri and Likhitkar, Bhagyashree and Mohite, Sharada and Patil, Yogita and Kulkarni, Mahesh and Joshi, Rakesh and Pandya, Vaibhav and Mahajan, Sachin and Patil, Amita and Samson, Rachel and Vare, Tejas and Dharne, Mahesh and Giri, Ashok and Mahajan, Sachin and Paranjape, Shilpa and Sastry, G. Narahari and Kalita, Jatin and Phukan, Tridip and Manna, Prasenjit and Romi, Wahengbam and Bharali, Pankaj and Ozah, Dibyajyoti and Sahu, RaviKumar and Dutta, Prachurjya and Singh, Moirangthem Goutam and Gogoi, Gayatri and Tapadar, Yasmin Begam and Babu, Elapavalooru V. S. S. K. and Sukumaran, Rajeev K. and Nair, Aishwarya R. and Puthiyamadam, Anoop and Valappil, Prajeesh Kooloth and Prasannakumari, Adrash Velayudhan Pillai and Chodankar, Kalpana and Damare, Samir and Agrawal, Ved Varun and Chaudhary, Kumardeep and Agrawal, Anurag and Sengupta, Shantanu and Dash, Debasis} } @article {47118, title = {Molecular elucidation of pancreatic elastase inhibition by baicalein}, journal = {Journal of Biomolecular Structure \& Dynamics}, volume = {40}, year = {2022}, month = {JUL}, pages = {5759-5768}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

The serine protease, elastase exists in various forms and plays diverse roles in the human body. Pharmacological inhibition of elastase has been investigated for its therapeutic role in managing conditions such as diabetes, pneumonia and arthritis. Sivelestat, a synthetic molecule, is the only elastase inhibitor to have been approved by any major drug regulatory authority (PMDA, in this case) - but still has failed to attain widespread clinical usage owing to its high price, cumbersome administration and obscure long-term safety profile. In order to find a relatively better-suited alternative, screening was conducted using plant flavonoids, which yielded baicalein, a molecule that showed robust inhibition against Pancreatic Elastase inhibition (IC50: 3.53 mu M). Other than having a considerably lower IC(50)than sivelestat, baicalein is also cheaper, safer and easier to administer. While MicroScale Thermophoresis validated baicalein-elastase interaction, enzyme-kinetic studies, molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation revealed the mode of inhibition to be non-competitive. Baicalein exhibited binding to a distinct allosteric site on the enzyme. The current study demonstrates the elastase inhibition properties of baicalein in an in-vitro and in-silico environment.

}, keywords = {Baicalein, elastase, Enzyme inhibition, molecular interaction, sivelestat}, issn = {0739-1102}, doi = {10.1080/07391102.2021.1873189}, author = {Ghosh, Debajeet and Bansode, Sneha and Joshi, Rakesh and Kolte, Baban and Gacche, Rajesh} } @article {48319, title = {Comprehensive molecular and clinical investigation of approved Anti-HCV drugs repurposing against SARS-CoV-2 infection: a glaring gap between benchside and bedside medicine}, journal = {Vaccines}, volume = {11}, year = {2023}, month = {MAR}, pages = {515}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

The limited availability of effective treatment against SARS-CoV-2 infection is a major challenge in managing COVID-19. This scenario has augmented the need for repurposing anti-virals for COVID-19 mitigation. In this report, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential of anti-HCV drugs such as daclatasvir (DCV) or ledipasvir (LDP) in combination with sofosbuvir (SOF) was evaluated. The binding mode and higher affinity of these molecules with RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 were apparent by computational analysis. In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity depicted that SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP combination has IC50 of 1.8 and 2.0 mu M, respectively, comparable to remdesivir, an approved drug for COVID-19. Furthermore, the clinical trial was conducted in 183 mild COVID-19 patients for 14 days to check the efficacy and safety of SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP compared to standard of care (SOC) in a parallel-group, hybrid, individually randomized, controlled clinical study. The primary outcomes of the study suggested no significant difference in negativity after 3, 7 and 14 days in both treatments. None of the patients displayed any worsening in the disease severity, and no mortality was observed in the study. Although, the post hoc exploratory analysis indicated significant normalization of the pulse rate showed in SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP treatment vs. SOC. The current study highlights the limitations of bench side models in predicting the clinical efficacy of drugs that are planned for repurposing.

}, keywords = {antiviral, COVID-19, daclatasvir, ledipasvir, SARS-CoV-2, sofosbuvir}, doi = {10.3390/vaccines11030515}, author = {Bansode, Sneha and Singh, Pawan Kumar and Tellis, Meenakshi and Chugh, Anita and Deshmukh, Narendra and Gupta, Mahesh and Verma, Savita and Giri, Ashok and Kulkarni, Mahesh and Joshi, Rakesh and Chaudhary, Dhruva} } @article {48323, title = {Histidinal-based potent antimalarial agents}, journal = {ChemMedChem}, volume = {18}, year = {2023}, month = {MAY }, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Herein we report the synthesis and evaluation of peptide-histidinal conjugated drug scaffolds, which have the potential to target the hemoglobin-degrading proteases falcipain-2/3 from the human malaria parasite. Scaffolds with various substitutions were tested for antimalarial activity, and compounds 8 g, 8 h, and 15 exhibited EC50 values of similar to 0.018 mu M, similar to 0.069 mu M, and similar to 0.02 mu M, respectively. Structure-based docking studies on falcipain-2/3 proteases (PDB:2GHU and PDB:3BWK) revealed that compounds 8 g, 8 h, and 15 interact strongly with binding sites of falcipain-2/3 in a substrate-like manner. In silico ADME studies revealed that the molecules of interest showed no or minimal violations of drug-likeness parameters. Further, phenotypic assays revealed that compound 8 g and its biotinylated version inhibit hemoglobin degradation in the parasite food vacuole. The identification of falcipain-2/3 targeting potent inhibitors of the malaria parasite can serve as a starting point for the development of lead compounds as future antimalarial drug candidates.

}, keywords = {artemisinin, chloroquine, digestive vacuole, docking, falcipains, falciparum, P}, issn = {1860-7179}, doi = {10.1002/cmdc.202200709}, author = {Meena, Chhuttan L. and Hingamire, Tejashri and Gupta, Tanya and Deshmukh, Bhagyashree and Karmodiya, Krishanpal and Joshi, Rakesh and Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran and Sanjayan, Gangadhar J.} } @article {49242, title = {Trehalase inhibition in Helicoverpa armigera activates machinery for alternate energy acquisition}, journal = {JOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCES}, volume = {49}, year = {2024}, month = {JUL }, pages = {74}, type = {Journal Article}, keywords = {Energy metabolism, glucose, Metabolomics, Transcriptomics, trehalase, validamycin A}, issn = {0250-5991}, doi = {10.1007/s12038-024-00453-8}, author = {Tellis, Meenakshi and Mohite, Sharada and Joshi, Rakesh} } @article {50047, title = {Integrative transcriptomics and metabolomics reveal distinct metabolic reprogramming in luminal and triple-negative breast cancer cells}, journal = {Molecular Omics}, volume = {22}, year = {2026}, month = {JAN}, pages = {aaiaf003}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Breast cancer subtypes exhibit significant molecular and metabolic heterogeneity, influencing their aggressiveness and therapeutic responses. Among them, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly aggressive and often resistant to conventional therapies. To investigate the metabolic programming of this aggressiveness, we conducted an integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis comparing the MCF-7 (luminal A, ER+/PR+) and MDA-MB-231 (TNBC) breast cancer cell lines. Transcriptome analysis of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 revealed the differential expression of genes involved in key metabolic pathways. Metabolomics data, further corroborated by transcriptomics, suggest pathway enrichment in beta-alanine, histidine, glutathione, nucleotide metabolism, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. MDA-MB-231 cells displayed a metabolically aggressive phenotype with enhanced oxidative phosphorylation, redox adaptation, and nucleotide turnover. In contrast, MCF-7 cells showed a more regulated amino acid and redox metabolism profile. The integration of transcriptomic and metabolite profiles highlighted potential metabolic vulnerabilities in TNBC, offering insights into subtype-specific differences at the molecular level.

}, doi = {10.1093/momics/aaiaf003}, author = {Ranawade, Preeti and Sonwane, Babasaheb and Bose, Ganesh and Jadhav, Revati and Joshi, Rakesh and Mittal, Smriti} } @article {50043, title = {Novel prodrug-inspired eugenol derivatives with enhanced bioavailability, anti-diabetic and anti-glycation efficacies}, journal = {Journal of Molecular Structure}, volume = {1357}, year = {2026}, month = {APR}, pages = {145175}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

In this study, we present the design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel eugenol analogs aimed to overcome its limited bioavailability due to insolubility in aqueous media. Thus, we re-engineered eugenol using prodruginspired structural modifications to improve pharmacokinetic properties. First, we structurally modified eugenol and synthesized its natural amino acid conjugates as esters and carbamates. These were prepared in NBoc protected, free amine, and HCl salt forms. These modifications are expected to improve the polarity and solubility of eugenol congeners in biological systems. They can also release the parent eugenol through enzymatic hydrolysis, enhancing its therapeutic potential. Next, we comprehensively screened for these derivatives through in silico studies followed by in vitro and in vivo assays. These include DPPH radical scavenging (IC50 range: 37.7 to 103.7 mu M), inhibition of (i) alpha-amylase (IC50 23.1 to 67.3 mu M), (ii) alpha-glucosidase (IC50 43.6 to 50.4 mu M), (iii) glycation (IC50 31.9 to 110.3 mu M) along with pharmacokinetic profiling and toxicity assessments. These experiments collectively demonstrated improved activity of eugenol analogs for several important parameters. Specifically, six analogs-epoxy eugenol (39), hydroxy eugenol (43), aspartate eugenol (26), isoleucinate eugenol (24), glutamate eugenol (37), and glutamate-salt eugenol (27) exhibited superior bioavailability, absorption, and distribution over to the parent compound eugenol. These analogs were found to be non-toxic and safe for oral administration. Overall, the study establishes a mechanistic and rational framework for modifying eugenol to overcome its inherent biopharmaceutical limitations, positioning them as promising candidates for treating diabetes and glycation-related conditions.

}, keywords = {Amino acid conjugates, Antidiabetic activity, Bioavailability enhancement, Drug design and synthesis, Eugenol analogs, In silico and in vitro studies}, issn = {0022-2860}, doi = {10.1016/j.molstruc.2025.145175}, author = {Kataria, Priyanka and Vairale, Shiva and Mote, Chandrashekhar and Joshi, Kaustubh and Joshi, Rakesh and Kulkarni, Mahesh J. and Giri, Ashok P. and Kontham, Ravindar and Agawane, Sachin B.} } @article {50037, title = {Phenylpropanoid-specific glycosyltransferases from mango and their potential role in defense}, journal = {Plant Physiology and Biochemistry}, volume = {232}, year = {2026}, month = {MAR}, pages = {111137}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Alphonso mango (Mangifera indica cv. Alphonso) is a cornerstone of India{\textquoteright}s fruit industry due to its distinct aroma and shelf-life characteristics. The uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs) play a crucial role in stabilising aroma and defense-related specialised metabolites in fruits. The present study explores the potential role of UGTs during mango ripening and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides infection. Gene expression analysis indicated that UGTs showed dynamic expression in skin and pulp during ripening. Phylogenetic analysis revealed substrate-driven divergence of UGTs, with MiUGT92A14 and MiUGT95B15 forming distinct clades associated with flavonoid glycosylation. Recombinant UGTs showed a higher preference for UDP-glucose, which is corroborated by the high accumulation of UDP-glucose during ripening. Furthermore, it was observed that MiUGT92A14 prefers phenolic acids as substrates, while MiGT95B15 shows flavonoid specificity. Spore germination assays demonstrated that both aglycones and their glycosylated derivatives suppressed early fungal morphogenesis, supporting a role for UGT-mediated glycosylation in maintaining defense-related metabolites in a bioactive yet non-toxic form during fruit ripening. Additionally, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides inhibition assays demonstrated that glycosylated products of selected UGTs exhibited equal or enhanced antifungal activity compared with their aglycone forms, indicating that glycosylation promotes the safe accumulation of antifungal compounds by reducing aglycone toxicity to the plant. These findings suggest that glycosylation of specific metabolites is a key for ripening process and to potentiate defence against fungal pathogen.

}, keywords = {Anthracnose, defense, Flavonoid, Glycoconjugates, Uridine diphosphate-dependent glycosyl-transferase}, issn = {0981-9428}, doi = {10.1016/j.plaphy.2026.111137}, author = {Vare, Tejas and Joshi, Rakesh and Liao, Jieren and Hoffmann, Thomas and Schwab, Wilfried and Giri, Ashok} } @article {49941, title = {Repurposed ciprofloxacin derivatives as potent autophagic-type anticancer agents}, journal = {Bioorganic \& Medicinal Chemistry Letters}, volume = {130}, year = {2026}, month = {JAN }, pages = {130432}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Drug repurposing - also known as drug repositioning is a proven strategy for identifying new therapeutic uses for existing and pre-approved drugs with considerable success in recent years. Herein, we report the discovery of a novel class of ciprofloxacin-amino acid conjugates that are dynamically potent against different cancer cell lines. Some of the molecules reported herein displayed a strong anti-proliferative effect on MCF-7 (IC50: 6 mu M). The most active anti-proliferative molecule of this series 7a suppressed the proliferation of HCT116, A549, and MDAMB-231 cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we established that the treatment with 7a leads to DNA damage-mediated autophagic cell death in cancer cells. Our findings suggest that appropriate derivatization of the ciprofloxacin drug can yield promising anti-cancer compounds in easy synthetic operations.

}, keywords = {Anticancer drugs, Autophagic cell death, ciprofloxacin}, issn = {0960-894X}, doi = {10.1016/j.bmcl.2025.130432}, author = {Gone, Nilu Vijay and Sharma, Tanisha and Joshi, Rakesh and Upreti, Akshita and Santra, Manas and Sanjayan, Gangadhar J.} }