Background: Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the bacterium responsible for gonorrhoea, one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) globally. In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 82.4 million new cases of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections. Current treatments rely on antibiotics, but the emergence of multi drug resistance (MDR) strains poses a significant threat to public health. This research aims to use computational modeling of cyclotides as antimicrobial agents targeting the Neisseria gonorrhoeae PorB Porin protein to inhibit its pathogenicity.Methodology: The PorB Porin protein was retrieved from the Protein Data Bank (PDB ID: 4AUI), cleaned, and visualized using Discovery Visual Studio. Physicochemical properties were predicted using ProtParam. Cyclotides were obtained from the CyBase database, with 3D models generated and refined via the Swiss Model for docking studies. HDOCK was used for molecular docking. Toxicity and allergenicity predictions were performed with ToxinPred and AlgPred. A heatmap of the peptide was created using Protein-Sol. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted for 100,000 picoseconds using Desmond from Schrödinger LLC, while binding energy was analyzed using MMGBSA. Immune response simulations were done with C-ImmSim 10.1, and peptide simulation in water was performed via WebGro.Results: The protein’s GRAVY value is −0.539, indicating moderate hydrophilicity, and its isoelectric point is 9.14, suggesting a fundamental nature. Globa D had the highest docking score (−270.04 kcal/mol) and was deemed non-toxic and non-allergenic. MD simulations showed stable protein-ligand interactions, and MMGBSA revealed a low binding energy of −36.737 kcal/mol. Immune simulations indicated an effective immune response and peptide simulations demonstrated Globa D’s stability in water, making it a potential candidate for pharmaceutical applications.Conclusion: Globa D proved the best drug candidate against Neisseria gonorrhoeae by inhibiting PorB Porin protein chain A. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are recommended to validate these findings and explore clinical applications.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major problem in developing countries due to either insufficient use or over-use of antibiotics. Current study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L (P1) and Juniperus excelsa (P2) against six clinically multidrug-resistant bacterial species. Leaves of experimental plants were collected from local areas of Lahore. Different formulations of both plants were prepared using methanol, ethanol, water, n-hexane, deep-eutectic methanol, deep-eutectic ethanol, and deep-eutectic water designated as F1-F7 respectively. Highest zone of inhibition (38) mm was seen by F5 of P1 against P. aeruginosa followed by F1, F6, F2, F7 and F3 (35, 34, 32, 30 and 28 mm) respectively. Likewise, the ZI was also higher (24 mm) by F5 of P2 against P. aeruginosa and the lowest ZI (15 mm) by same plant was seen by F3. There was no clear inhibition of growth by F4 against all bacterial species. The second higher ZI was also seen by F5 (35) mm against S. aureus followed by F1, F6, F2, F7 and F3 (32, 31, 29, 28 and 25) mm. Furthermore, ZI was also higher by F5 of P1 and P2 (31 and 17 mm) against E. coli followed by F1, F6, F2, F7 and F3 for P1 (29, 28, 26, 25 and 22 mm). Growth inhibition of all the formulations (F1, F6, F2, F7 and F3) by P2 was in same pattern against E. coli. F5 showed higher ZI against A. baumannii for both P1 and P2 (29 and 14) mm and (24 and 10 mm) against K. pneumonia. Therefore di-eutectic methanolic extracts of both plant had greater potential to control the bacterial growth so could be used for antibacterial applications against any of the five bacterial strains.

Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare type of Hodgkin lymphoma. This retrospective study aims to find most efficient chemotherapy that gives high rates of Progression Free Survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). In this study confirmed patients of NLPHL identified from different hospitals from 2011 to 2023. Clinical characteristics were collected from these patients to confirm NLPHL diagnosis. Eighty confirmed NLPHL patients were identified, and their median follow-up was 36 months. The median age of the participants was 35 years with minimum age of 2 years while maximum participant's age of 70 years in which 26.1% were females while 73.8% were males. It was observed that surgery was the first line treatment given to 18.8% patients before chemotherapy and to 81.3% patients chemotherapy was the first line treatment. Patients' chemotherapy treatments shows that 57.5% patients received ABVD, 16.3% patients with BEACOPP, while 8.8% patients received CHOP, 17.5% patients were given Rituximab-based or other treatments. According to Ann-Arbor stage*, 16.3% of the patients were of stage I, 36.3% of stage II, 27.5% of stage III and 20.0% of stage IV. Relapse was observed in 35% of the patients after chemotherapy treatment. In this study, the divergent characteristics of NLPHL treatments showed a comparatively good long-term prognosis. Mostly patients showed a good response to first line treatment. In this study, ABVD showed the best chemotherapy treatment with excellent outcomes. The overall survival demonstrated excellent initial survival rates within 5 years.

The rise in antibiotic resistance in pathogens has led to an exponential rise in infectious diseases. It has alarmed the need for new antibiotics with precise actions against pathogens and ability to target multi directionally to encounter disease causing agents. Cationic peptides are also known as natural antibiotics and play a fundamental role in recruiting and promoting agents of innate as well as adaptive immune systems. These are produced constitutively as well as under the influence of biotic and abiotic stresses. In the current study, Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) was induced to express cationic proteins/ peptides under salt stress. Proteins up to molecular mass of 10 kDa were isolated and fractionated by cation exchange chromatography followed by antibacterial assays. The results showed that tomato plants could tolerate salt stress of 200 mM, where 100 mM of stress provoked more antibacterial peptides/ proteins. Strong cation exchange fractionation separated enormous positively charged peptides which showed high percentage of antibacterial activity. The prolific antimicrobial peptides authenticate the tomato plant as a promising candidate for pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and drug discovery.