Proteins In Gastrointestinal Tract Research Articles

Investigating the binding affinity, molecular dynamics, and ADMET properties of curcumin-IONPs as a mucoadhesive bioavailable oral treatment for iron deficiency anemia

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a common health issue, and researchers are interested in overcoming it. Nanotechnology green synthesis is one of the recent approaches to making efficient drugs. In this study, we modeled curcumin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (cur-IONPs) to study their predicted toxicity and drug-likeness properties, then to investigate mucoadhesive behavior by docking cur-IONPs with two main mucin proteins in gastrointestinal tract (GIT) mucosa (muc 5AC and muc 2). Furthermore, the stability of cur-IONPs/protein complexes was assessed by molecular dynamics. Our in-silico studies results showed that cur-IONPs were predicted to be potential candidates to treat IDA due to its mucoadhesive properties, which could enhance the bioavailability, time residency, and iron absorbance through GIT, in addition to its high safety profile with high drug-likeness properties and oral bioavailability. Finally, molecular dynamic simulation studies revealed stable complexes supporting strength docking studies. Our results focus on the high importance of in-silico drug design studies; however, they need to be supported with in vitro and in vivo studies to reveal the efficacy, toxicity, and bioavailability of cur-IONPs.

Ecofriendly Green Synthesis and Characterisation of Silver Nanoparticles of Hyoscyamus Niger Seeds and Evaluation of its Anthelmintic Activity

Introduction: Nanotechnology is the design, characterisation and production of molecules or structures at nanometer scale. Metallic nanoparticles have been known for their therapeutic applications for thousands of years. Hyoscyamus niger is a traditional plant used as analgesic, sedative, anthelmintic, antitumour and febrifuge. Objective: An eco-friendly approach was made for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueos seed extract of Hyoscyamus niger (H.n-AgNPs) and checked for possible anthelmintic activity. Method: Preparation of silver nanoparticles in 1 mM aqueous silver nitrate from Hyoscyamus niger seed. The color shift from yellow to brownish red provided visible evidence of nanoparticle production. UV visible, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) examinations all validated it further. We tested the in vitro anthelmintic activity of various doses of H.n-AgNPs on Indian earthworms.. Results: The size of the H.n-AgNPs synthesized ranged between 8nm to183 nm. Synthesized NPs showed potential anthelmintic activity at 100µg/mlwith paralysis time and death time of 15 min and 34 min respectively where Albendazole was used as standard drug. The phytoconstituents like tannins and phenolic compounds may be responsible for precipitation of proteins or can attach with free proteins in gastrointestinal tract or glycoprotein on parasite cuticle and cause cell death. Conclusion: The H.n-AgNPs synthesized have potential anthelmintic activity which was concentration dependent. Further research will be done to design a new anthelmintic drug using H.n-AgNPs.

In vivo leucine oxidation in the gastrointestinal tract of lambs infected with nematode parasite Trichostrongylus colubriformis

One major consequence of the presence of the nematode parasites in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of ruminants appears to be an elevated flow of endogenous N component from the small intestine, leading to adverse changes in host productivity (MacRae, 1993). However, many of these aspects have remained speculative because of a lack of appropriate methodology to quantify the influence of parasites on GIT protein metabolism. In the present study oxidation of leucine sequestrated from arterial blood and digesta-derived leucine during “first pass” metabolism in the GIT of lambs subjected to subclinical T. colubriformis infection were quantified directly, using trans-organ catheterisation procedures coupled with stable isotope tracer kinetics.

Gastrointestinal tract protein synthesis and mRNA levels for proteolytic systems in adult fasted rats.

We studied protein turnover in the gastrointestinal tract of adult fasted rats, since the mechanisms responsible for protein wasting in these tissues are poorly understood. Protein mass of stomach, small intestine, and colon decreased by 14-29 and 21-49% after 1 and 5 days of fasting, respectively. The fractional rate of in vivo protein synthesis (ks) was approximately 34% lower in the stomach after 1 and 5 days of fasting due to decreased capacity for protein synthesis (Cs). In small intestine and colon, ks was not different after 1 day, but was approximately 26% lower on day 5, mainly because of a reduction in Cs. Thus protein wasting in the stomach is primarily mediated by decreased protein synthesis but not in small intestine and colon during short-term fasting. To determine which proteolytic systems may be activated in the gut, we measured mRNA levels for critical components of the lysosomal (cathepsins B and D), Ca(2+)-activated (m-calpain), and ubiquitin-dependent (ubiquitin, 14-kDa ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2, and C8, and C9 proteasome subunits) proteolytic pathways. mRNA levels for most of these components increased during fasting, suggesting that a coordinated activation of multiple proteolytic systems contributed to intestinal protein wasting.

Energetics of Protein Synthesis in Mice with a Major Gene for Growth

The effect of the level of food intake on protein synthesis rate in carcass, liver, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and heart, kidneys and lungs (HKL) was determined in male mice with a major gene for rapid postweaning gain (line Ch) and normal controls (line CH) at 31 d of age. In both lines of mice, food restriction lowered carcass, HKL and liver absolute protein synthesis rates (ASRs) while GIT protein ASR was not affected by food intake. As a result, whole-body protein ASR increased with increasing food intake. It was estimated that heat production from protein synthesis (HrpsE) was responsible for 8.3 and 10.8% of the maintenance energy requirement of CH and Ch mice, respectively. It was also calculated that HrpsE represents 19.4 and 18.3% of the heat increment of growth of CH and Ch mice, respectively. Energetic efficiencies of protein deposition in CH and Ch mice were 58.6 and 66.7%, respectively.

Protein synthesis and growth in the gastrointestinal tract of the young preruminant lamb.

1. In Expt 1, fractional synthesis rates (FSR) of tissue protein were measured along the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of six 1-week-old, milk-fed lambs by using a large amount of L-[3,4(n)-3H]valine. 2. In Expt 2, eighteen lambs were used to determine the fractional growth rate (FGR) of gastrointestinal tissue protein. 3. FSRMinimum (Min) and FSRMaximum (Max) were calculated assuming plasma or tissue homogenate free valine specific radioactivity was representative of the valine precursor pool for protein synthesis. There were no significant differences between FSRMin and FSRMax in any gastrointestinal tissue of lambs used in Expt 1 (P greater than 0.05). FSR gradually and significantly (P less than 0.05) increased from the oesophagus (FSRMax 26.5%/d), reticulo-rumen (30.1%/d), omasum (41.0%/d) and abomasum (56.1%/d) to small intestine (87.5%/d), and then declined significantly (P less than 0.05) towards the caecum (45.2%/d) and the colon (38.4%/d). No significant differences were observed between FSR in the duodenum, jejunum or ileum (P greater than 0.05). 4. FGR ranged from 2.6%/d in the oesophagus to 8.7%/d in the omasum. The ratio, FGR:FSR, which reflected the efficiency of protein deposition, was at a maximum in the stomachs and caecum and at a minimum in the small intestine. 5. The relative contribution of the oesophagus, stomachs, small intestine and large intestine to GIT protein synthesis was 1, 13, 76 and 10% respectively. The GIT accounted for approximately 11.5% of whole-body protein synthesis.