Most of the approximately 90,000 cases of Breast Cancer (BC) documented annually in Pakistan are not diagnosed properly because of lack of suitable markers. We performed serum proteome expression profiling of BC and benign breast disease (BBD) patients with the aim to identify biomarkers that can be helpful for diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Sera of patients were analyzed by one-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Differentially expressed proteins were subjected to identification through LC-MS/MS analysis. In majority of the BC cases some acute phase proteins (APP) and some complement system components (C3 and C8) containing fractions were up-regulated with the exception of transthyretin (TTR) which was predominantly (68.75%) down-regulated (n = 33/48) in the sera of these patients. Varying expression patterns were observed in BBD patients and healthy controls. These differentially expressed proteins have the potential to serve as diagnostic biomarkers for BC as well as benign breast diseases.

The present study deals with isolation, identification and characterization of some indigenous heavy metal resistant bacteria isolated from rhizosphere of Tagetes minuta, growing in soil adjoining automobile workshops to investigate their bioaccumulation capacity for three selected metals Cr(VI), Ni(II) and Cd(II). The plant was selected due to its natural abundance in the climate of Kashmir and also in the area of study. On the basis of morphological, biochemical, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the isolates were identified as B. cereus BDBC01, B. cereus AVP12 and B. cereus NC7401. At maximum studied concentration of metal ions (250 mgl-1), in above sequence, the strains accumulated 118.2, 121.87 and 90 mg/g Cr (VI), 135, 127.5 and 146.25 mg/g Ni (II) and 120, 129.37, 135 mg/g Cd(II). Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied and found suitable to describe biosorption of selected metals by the isolated strains.

Fungi, important for growth of plants in arid lands, are expected to be involved in novel biochemical activities during fungal–plant interactions. We isolated 150 fungi associated with rhizosphere and root endosphere of two perennial grasses,Cymbopogon jwarancusaandPanicum antidotale, from Cholistan desert. The isolates were screened for their impact on plant growth and development usingArabidopsis thaliana (Col-0)as a model system. A root-endophytic fungus CJAN1179 fromC. jwarancusashowed the highest plant growth-promoting effects. The most remarkable was enhanced number of lateral roots (3.1-fold). CJAN1179 produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) particularly in the presence of tryptophan. ITS sequence and phylogenetic analysis characterisation suggested the fungus to be a new species withinSordariomycetidae.CJAN1179 appears to promote plant growth by secreting IAA using tryptophan as a precursor. This fungus can be further explored for its suitability to promote growth of commercially important crops, particularly in arid regions.

A series of various novel 4-arylthiophene-2-carbaldehyde compounds were synthesized in moderate to excellent yields via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling with different arylboronic pinacol esters/acids. The synthesized products were screened for their antibacterial, haemolytic, antiurease, and nitric oxide (NO) scavenging capabilities and interestingly, almost all products turned out to have good activities. 3-(5-Formyl-thiophene-3-yl)-5-(trifloromethyl)benzonitrile (2d) revealed excellent antibacterial activity, showing an IC₅₀ value of 29.7 µg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, compared to the standard drug streptomycin with an IC₅₀ value 35.2 µg/mL and was also found to be the best NO scavenger, with an IC₅₀ value of 45.6 µg/mL. Moreover, 4-(3-chloro-4-fluoro-phenyl)thiophene-2-carbaldehyde (2i) exhibited a superior haemolytic action and an outstanding urease inhibition, showing an IC₅₀ value of 27.1 µg/mL.

Mycorrhizas in the Perennial Grasses of Cholistan Desert, Pakistan

Introduction Breast cancer is known as a leading cause of cancer-related death among women all over the world. Biomarkers facilitate diagnosis at the earliest possible stage and better prognosis of the disease. Hence, may help to improve the overall survival rate among breast cancer patients. To find a better diagnostic/prognostic marker we evaluated human tissue kallikrein 7 (hK7) as biomarker of breast cancer. hK7 is a secreted serine protease having chymotrypsin like activity. Serum hK7 is known to have aberrant expression in ovarian and prostate cancer but has not been yet studied in breast cancer. However, the expression level of KLK7 mRNA in breast cancer tissues has been indicated as a better prognostic marker for the unfavorable prognosis of breast carcinoma. Materials and methods In this study a time-resolved immunofluorometric indirect back titration ELISA (bt-ELISA) was employed for the quantification of hK7 in serum of breast cancer patients (n = 47), benign breast disease patients (n = 13) alongwith the gender and age group specific controls (n = 99). Results hK7 was significantly down-regulated in the sera of female breast cancer patients (p < 0.0001; Mean 0.704 ± 0.533 μg/L) and benign breast disease patients (p = 0.0008; Mean 0.651 ± 0.584) as compared to normal controls (Mean 1.665 ± 1.174 μg/L). Conclusions Down regulation of hK7 suggests the possible role of this protein in natural course of breast cancer and benign breast diseases. Study should be extended on large-scale to confirm the potential of hK7 as biomarker of breast cancer.