Viral diseases, including avian influenza (AI) and Newcastle disease (ND), are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in poultry, resulting in significant economic losses. Despite the availability of commercial vaccines for the major viral diseases of poultry, these diseases continue to pose a significant risk to global food security. There are multiple factors for this: vaccine costs may be prohibitive, cold chain storage for attenuated live-virus vaccines may not be achievable, and commercial vaccines may protect poorly against local emerging strains. The development of transient gene expression systems in plants provides a versatile and robust tool to generate a high yield of recombinant proteins with superior speed while managing to achieve cost-efficient production. Plant-derived vaccines offer good stability and safety these include both subunit and virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines. VLPs offer potential benefits compared to currently available traditional vaccines, including significant reductions in virus shedding and the ability to differentiate between infected and vaccinated birds (DIVA). This review discusses the current state of plant-based vaccines for prevention of the AI and ND in poultry, challenges in their development, and potential for expanding their use in low- and middle-income countries.

Ficus septica Burm. F. Leaves Ethanolic Extract Induces Apoptosis in 7,12-Dimethylbenz[A]Nthracene-Induced Rat Liver Cancer Quatitavely

Significance: Immunoglobulin heavy chain checkpoint (IgHCC) is a critical step during early B cell development. The role of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgHC) at this step is well established. However, with the expanding knowledge of RNA in regulating central biological processes, there could be a noncoding contribution of IgHC mRNA ( IgHR ) in controlling the IgHCC. Here, we generated a novel mouse model that enabled us to determine a potential role of IgHR in the IgHCC, independent of IgHC signaling. Our data indicate that IgHR has no role in IgHCC and the latter is predominantly controlled by IgHC, as proposed earlier. Furthermore, this study highlights the sensitivity of progenitor B cells to low amounts of IgHC.

Clonorchiasis is a parasitic infection caused by food borne trematode, Clonorchis sinensis that is mainly prevalent in Asian countries, including South Korea, China, northern Vietnam, Japan, as well as far-eastern Russia, in which over 35 million people are the casualties. Clonorchiasis is characterized by the development of hepatic fibrosis. Upon chronic liver injury following the C. sinensis infection, hepatic fibrosis develops into cholangiocarcinoma with a concomitant genetic and epigenetic mutations. Cholangiocarcinoma represents important clinical manifestation of C. sinensis infection and causes high rate of morbidity. TGF- β/Smad signalling is known to initiate hepatic fibrosis following the hepatic injury. However, little is known about the role of TGF- β/Smad signalling during C. sinensis induced hepatic injury and the underlying contribution of TGF- β/Smad signalling in the development of cholangicarcinoma. The expression dynamic of TGF-β/Smad signalling and their role in the development of hepatic fibrosis in C. sinensis infected BALB/c mice have been investigated. Concomitantly but irrespective to C. sinensis infection, the role of hepatic epithelial TGF-β during hepatic fibrosis and the development of cholangiocarcinoma arising from hepatic epithelial cells have also been dissected. Both findings will be reviewed in this paper. Thereby, the link between TGF-β/Smad signalling, hepatic fibrosis during C sinensis infection, and cholangiocarcinoma could be drawn clearly.Keywords: Clonorchis sinensis, TGF-β/Smad signalling, Hepatic fibrosis, Cholangiocarcinoma

The growing demand for pharmaceuticals has driven a shift towards developing medicinal products through bioprospecting by utilising sustainable sources. This involves exploring the potential of beneficial bacteria, such as Actinobacteria, known for producing diverse secondary metabolites with medicinal applications. In a previous study, 422 Actinobacteria were successfully isolated from Lombok, Bali, and Enggano Islands in Indonesia, and subjected to various bioactivity tests. Notably, Isolate DHE 6-7 from Enggano Island showed promising potential as a drug candidate. This study aimed to evaluate anticancer activity of DHE 6-7 isolates in T47D breast cancer cell lines and pinpoint the key metabolite contributing to its anticancer activity. The secondary metabolites from the DHE 6-7 culture were extracted using ethyl acetate by liquid-liquid extraction and its bioactive compound was analysed using thin layer chromatography. Subsequently, the extract underwent cytotoxic and antiproliferative assays in T47D cells. While Actinomycin-D was previously identified as a major bioactive compound in methanolic extract of DHE 6-7 isolate, this study confirmed that ethyl acetate extraction was able to retain the Actinomycin-D content from DHE 6-7 isolate. Interestingly however, the ethyl acetate extract of DHE 6-7 (EAE of DHE 6-7) showed superior cytotoxic activity in T47D cells compared to actinomycin-D alone. This may suggest the contribution of additional secondary metabolites in the EAE of DHE 6-7 to its anticancer activity. Notably, the combination of the EAE of DHE 6-7 isolate and 5-FU (5-fluorouracil) exhibited a synergistic effect, indicating the potential use of these compound(s) as a co-chemotherapeutic agent.