Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder associated with higher risk of having cardiovascular disease. Platelets play a promising role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications in diabetes. Since last several decades, garlic and its bioactive components are extensively studied in diabetes and its complications. Our aim was to explore the antiplatelet property of allyl methyl sulfide (AMS) focusing on ameliorating platelet activation in diabetes. Method. We used streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic rats as model for type 1 diabetes. We have evaluated the effect of allyl methyl sulfide on platelet activation by administrating AMS to diabetic rats for 10 weeks. Flow cytometry-based analysis was used to evaluate the platelet activation, platelet aggregation, platelet macrophage interaction, and endogenous ROS generation in the platelets obtained from control, diabetes, and AMS- and aspirin-treated diabetic rats. Results. AMS treatment for 10 weeks effectively reduced the blood glucose levels in diabetic rats. Three weeks of AMS (50 mg/kg/day) treatment did not reduce the activation of platelets but a significant ( ) decrease was observed after 10 weeks of treatment. Oral administration of AMS significantly ( ) reduced the baseline and also reduced ADP-induced aggregation of platelets after 3 and 10 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, 10 weeks of AMS treatment in diabetic rats attenuated the endogenous ROS content ( ) of platelets and platelet macrophage interactions. The inhibition of platelet activation in diabetic rats after AMS treatment was comparable with aspirin treatment (30 mg/kg/day). Conclusion. We observed an inhibitory effect of allyl methyl sulfide on platelet aggregation, platelet activation, platelet macrophage interaction, and increased ROS levels in type 1 diabetes. Our data suggests that AMS can be useful to control cardiovascular complication in diabetes via inhibition of platelet activation.

The B Cell Lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family proteins are central regulators of apoptosis, and their dysregulation is frequently associated with cancer progression and resistance to therapy. While small molecules like venetoclax have shown promise, nucleic acid-based therapeutics targeting BCL-2 remain underexplored. Here, we report a novel in vitro evolution strategy to generate trans-acting RNA-cleaving DNAzymes targeting natural BCL-2 mRNA without requiring covalent substrate-linking. Using a 50-base region of BCL-2 mRNA as a selection target, we evolved several DNAzymes, that demonstrate significant RNA cleavage activity. These DNAzymes downregulated BCL-2 expression, induced apoptosis, and reduced cell viability in HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cells. In vivo, our novel DNAzymes significantly suppressed tumor growth in a syngeneic mouse breast cancer model, with efficacy comparable to 5-Fluorouracil. This study presents a proof-of-concept for a novel strategy to evolve functional DNAzymes against native mRNA sequences and highlights their potential as gene-silencing tools in cancer therapy.

Sumoylation is a post-translational modification that can regulate different physiological functions. Increased sumoylation, specifically conjugation of SUMO2/3 (small ubiquitin-like modifier 2/3), is detrimental to vascular health. However, the molecular mechanism mediating this effect is poorly understood. We used cell-based assays and mass spectrometry to show that p66Shc is a direct target of SUMO2 and that SUMO2 regulates p66Shc function via lysine-81 modification. To determine the effects of SUMO2-p66ShcK81 on vascular function, we generated Shc1 ^K81R mice and crossbred them toLdlr ^-/- mice to induce hyperlipidemia. Next, to determine p66ShcK81-SUMO2ylation-induced changes in endothelial cell signaling, we performed mass spectrometry followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Our data reveal that p66Shc mediates the effects of SUMO2 on endothelial cells. Mass spectrometry identified that SUMO2 modified lysine-81 in the unique collagen homology-2 domain of p66Shc. SUMO2ylation of p66Shc increased phosphorylation at serine-36, causing it to translocate to the mitochondria, a step critical for the oxidative function of p66Shc. Notably, sumoylation-deficient p66Shc (p66ShcK81R) was resistant to SUMO2-induced p66ShcS36 phosphorylation and mitochondrial translocation. Shc1 ^K81R mice were resistant to endothelial dysfunction induced by SUMO2ylation and hyperlipidemia. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed multiple signaling pathways regulated by p66ShcK81-SUMO2ylation in endothelial cells, highlighting JAK-STAT as a major pathway affected by SUMO2-p66ShcK81. Collectively, our work reveals SUMO2-p66Shc signaling as a fundamental regulator of vascular endothelial function. We discovered that p66ShcK81 is an upstream modification regulating p66Shc signaling and mediates hyperlipidemia-induced endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress.