Reversal of Multidrug Resistance in Mouse Lymphoma Cells by Extracts and Flavonoids from Pistacia integerrima

Rauf, Abdur,Uddin, Ghias,Raza, Muslim,Ahmad, Bashir,Jehan, Noor,Siddiqui, Bina S,Molnar, Joseph,Csonka, Akos,Szabo, Diana Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.1

Phytochemical investigation of Pistacia integerrima has highlighted isolation of two known compounds naringenin (1) and dihydrokaempferol (2). A crude extract and these isolated compounds were here evaluated for their effects on reversion of multidrug resistance (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein is a target for chemotherapeutic drugs from cancer cells. In the present study rhodamine-123 exclusion screening test on human mdr1 gene transfected mouse gene transfected L5178 and L5178Y mouse T-cell lymphoma cells showed excellent MDR reversing effects in a dose dependent manner. In-silico molecular docking investigations demonstrated a common binding site for Rhodamine123, and compounds naringenin and dihydrokaempferol. Our results showed that the relative docking energies estimated by docking softwares were in satisfactory correlation with the experimental activities. Preliminary interaction profile of P-gp docked complexes were also analysed in order to understand the nature of binding modes of these compounds. Our computational investigation suggested that the compounds interactions with the hydrophobic pocket of P-gp are mainly related to the inhibitory activity. Moreover this study s a platform for the discovery of novel natural compounds from herbal origin, as inhibitor molecules against the P-glycoprotein for the treatment of cancer.

Nest preference and ecology of cavity-nesting bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in Punjab, Pakistan

Rauf Abdur,Saeed Shafqat,Ali Mudssar,Tahir Muhammad Hammad Nadeem 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.2

Among bees, 85 % are solitary species, most of them are ground-nester and some are cavity-nesting and construct their nests in pre-existing cavities. This work was conducted to evaluate the substrate preference and nest ar chitecture (acceptance, occupation percentage, seasonality and parasitism) of cavity-nesting bees in different substrates. Trap nests offered comprised five different materials (drilled cavities in wood, bamboo, cardboard tubes, plastic soda straws, and mud blocks). These were installed in four districts for two years. The nesting cavities of five different diameters (6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 mm) were provided in each nesting material with an average length of 180 ± 9.92 mm. In all the materials, 5400 nesting cavities were offered, out of which 628 were colonized by bees from two families (Megachilidae and Apidae) and six species (Megachile cephalotes, M. lanata, M. bicolor, Xylocopa basalis, X. fenestrata and Ceratina smaragdula), including one parasitic bee (Euaspis carbo naria). The bee species differed significantly in occupying five nesting materials. The most preferred diameters were 8 mm and 10 mm, with 52.20% and 29.45% of colonization, respectively. Nesting was done throughout the year except in winter. This study will serve as a baseline for future studies and conservation programs of cavitynesting bees in Pakistan.

Power Devolution and Economic Stability: Evidence from Pakistan

Abdur RAUF,Hidayat Ullah KHAN,Ghulam Yahya KHAN 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.5

The current study analyzed the impacts of fiscal decentralization (FD) on the economic stability of Pakistan. This study used time series data from 1981 to 2017. The collected data was first passed through the unit root analysis. ARDL estimation techniques were employed to scrutinize the data where long-run associations were tested through Wald F-statistics. The long-run estimates were extracted by applying Ordinary Least Square, and error correction mechanisms were employed to find the speed of adjustment for disequilibria between the long and the short run. Wald F-statistics confirmed the existence of long-run cointegration. Long-run elasticities suggested that fiscal decentralization because of limited institutional capabilities of provincial governments failed in bringing stability in the economy of Pakistan. Similarly, transparency issues and misspecification of projects hinder the outcome of investment to stabilize the economy. High service payments on debt cut the amount that can be used for skills improvements and destabilize the economy. High Population growth puts pressure on infrastructure and reduces production capacity, ultimately destabilizing the economy by increasing unemployment and inflation. Based on these findings, the government is suggested to improve the institutional capacity of lower governments for the desired outcome of power devolution.

Reversal of Multidrug Resistance and Computational Studies of Pistagremic Acid Isolated from Pistacia integerrima

Rauf, Abdur,Uddin, Ghias,Raza, Muslim,Ahmad, Aftab,Jehan, Noor,Ahmad, Bashir,Nisar, Muhammad,Molnar, Joseph,Csonka, Akos,Szabo, Diana,Khan, Ajmal,Farooq, Umar,Noor, Mah Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.4

Pistagremic acid (PA) is a bioactive triterpenoid isolated from various parts of Pistacia integerrima plants. The aim of this research was to investigate PA for reversion of multidrug resistant (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein using rhodamine-123 exclusion study on a multidrug resistant human ABCB1 (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B, member 1) gene-transfected mouse T-lymphoma cell line in vitro. Results were similar to those with verapamil as a positive control. Docking studies of PA and standard Rhodamine123 were carried out against a P-gp crystal structure which showed satisfactory results. Actually, PA cannot bind exactly where co-crystallized ligand of P-gp is already present. However, the docking study predicted that if a compound gives a lesser score then it may have some potency. The docking scores of PA and Rhodamine were similar. Therefore, we can conclude that there are certain important chemical features of PA which are responsible for the inhibiting potency of P-gp.

A genome-wide approach to the systematic and comprehensive analysis of LIM gene family in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)

Md. Abdur Rauf Sarkar,Salim Sarkar,Md Shohel Ul Islam,Fatema Tuz Zohra,Shaikh Mizanur Rahman Korea Genome Organization 2023 Genomics & informatics Vol.21 No.3

The LIM domain-containing proteins are dominantly found in plants and play a significant role in various biological processes such as gene transcription as well as actin cytoskeletal organization. Nevertheless, genome-wide identification as well as functional analysis of the LIM gene family have not yet been reported in the economically important plant sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Therefore, we conducted an in silico identification and characterization of LIM genes in S. bicolor genome using integrated bioinformatics approaches. Based on phylogenetic tree analysis and conserved domain, we identified five LIM genes in S. bicolor (SbLIM) genome corresponding to Arabidopsis LIM (AtLIM) genes. The conserved domain, motif as well as gene structure analyses of the SbLIM gene family showed the similarity within the SbLIM and AtLIM members. The gene ontology (GO) enrichment study revealed that the candidate LIM genes are directly involved in cytoskeletal organization and various other important biological as well as molecular pathways. Some important families of regulating transcription factors such as ERF, MYB, WRKY, NAC, bZIP, C2H2, Dof, and G2-like were detected by analyzing their interaction network with identified SbLIM genes. The cis-acting regulatory elements related to predicted SbLIM genes were identified as responsive to light, hormones, stress, and other functions. The present study will provide valuable useful information about LIM genes in sorghum which would pave the way for the future study of functional pathways of candidate SbLIM genes as well as their regulatory factors in wet-lab experiments.

Isolation and Structure Elucidation, Molecular Docking Studies of Screlotiumol from Soil Borne Fungi Screlotium rolfsii and their Reversal of Multidrug Resistance in Mouse Lymphoma Cells

Ahmad, Bashir,Rizwan, Muhammad,Rauf, Abdur,Raza, Muslim,Azam, Sadiq,Bashir, Shumaila,Molnar, Joseph,Csonka, Akos,Szabo, Diana Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.4

A new compound namely (13-(3,3-dihydroxypropyl)-1,6-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-1H-isochromen-8(5H)-one (1) was isolated from an ethyl acetate extract of the borne fungi Screlotium rolfsii. Its chemical structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. Screlotiumol 1 were evaluated for their effects on the reversion of multidrug resistant (MDR) mediated by P-glycoprotein (P-gp) of the soil borne fungi. The multidrug resistant P-glycoprotein is a target for chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer cells. In the present study rhodamine-123 exclusion screening test on human mdr1 gene transfected mouse gene transfected L5178 and L5178Y mouse T-cell lymphoma which showed excellent MDR reversing effect in a dose dependent manner against mouse T-lymphoma cell line. Moreover, molecular docking studies of compound-1 also showed better results as compared with the standard. Therefore the preliminary results obtained from this study suggest that screlotiumol 1 could be used as a potential agent for the treatment of cancer.

Do Women's Attitudes Matter in Acceptance of Islamic Microfinance? Evidence from Malaysia

Md Amirul ISLAM,Muhammad Salah Uddin,Seethaletchumy THAMBIAH,Elsadig Musa Ahmed,Md Abdur Rauf 대외경제정책연구원 2023 East Asian Economic Review Vol.27 No.1

The study aims to investigate the factors pursuing the women entrepreneurs to accept Islamic microfinance (IMF) in urban and rural areas of Malaysia. For this purpose, the study applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Innovation and Diffusion Theory to explain Islamic microfinance adoption. Using the structural equation model (SEM) with primary data collected from 384-woman entrepreneurs in Malaysia, the current study uses a 5-point Likert scale. On the basis of theory and collected data, the seven hypotheses are developed. All hypotheses are validated by both directly and indirectly, as well as through a mediating factor. Among the factors, knowledge about IMF and subjective norms significantly influence the acceptance of IMF. On the other hand, the perceived complexity does not show any substantial relationship to the acceptance of IMF. This outcome will be helpful in supporting policymakers, academics, and future studies and must take into account the supported factors. Therefore, the study contributes to develop an innovative framework, to create self-employment for women entrepreneurs.