Niranjali S Devaraj

University of Madras | UMadras · Department of Biochemistry

Oxidative stress occurs as a result of increased reactive oxygen species, which in turn leads to significant damage to the DNA, oxidation of fatty acids and amino acids, and inactivation of certain enzymes and cofactors. Oxidative stress has been implicated in several diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes...

Foam cells are specialized types of cells which predominate the necrotic core of atherosclerotic plaque. Recently, autophagy‐mediated cholesterol efflux from foam cells has been proposed as a beneficial therapy for atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to delineate the underlying molecular mechanism of oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC) an...

OBJECTIVES Over the past three decades, numerous studies have focused on the biological activities of oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs) in the prevention of many diseases such as neurodegeneration, atherosclerosis, tumorigenesis, and microbial infections. OPC has redox-active metabolites which could modulate the intracellular redox equilibrium to...

Due to the idiopathic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and ulcerative colitis, there is an increased risk of colorectal cancer in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Chemoprevention remains vital and much interest has been focused on targetable inflammatory proteins associated with IBD. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) induced colitis...

The molecular mechanisms involved in ER stress-induced post myocardial injury remain elusive. In this study, we have investigated the molecular mechanism of ER stress-mediated myocyte death in Isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial infarction and its inhibition by a potent anti oxidant and anti-apoptotic bioflavonoid, Vitexin. ISO mediated apoptosi...

Lung cancer is the most frequent malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide; it is the second most common cancer, comprising 1.69 million deaths worldwide per year. Among these, 85% of lung cancers are non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Metastasis is common in NSCLC patients and are responsible for most deaths. Kang-Ai 1...

Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is a major pathophysiological process during post myocardial infarction (MI). The activation, differentiation and proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts regulate the expression of ECM proteins. The signalling by Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-4), an extra cellular ligand of the TGF-β family, ha...

ABSTRACT RNA-binding motif protein 5 (RBM5), also known as LUCA-15/H37, is a gene which maps to human chromosome 3p21.3, a critical region which is deleted in a large number of human cancers in which majority were lung cancers and which is predicted to contain one or more tumor suppressor genes (TSGs). RBM5 is a tumor suppressor gene, most frequen...

Quercetin is a bioactive compound with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer properties. This study exemplifies the differential cytotoxic activity of Quercetin on two human colonic cancer cell lines, HT29 and HCT15. IC50 of Quercetin for HT29 and HCT15 cells were 42.5 μM and 77.4 μM, respectively. Activation of caspase-3, increased level o...

Shigella dysenteriae (S.dysenteriae) the causative agent of bacillary dysentery invades the human colonic epithelium resulting in severe intestinal inflammatory response and epithelial destruction. However, the mechanism by which S.dysenteriae infection regulates proinflammatory cytokines during intestinal inflammation is still obscure. In this stu...

“NC3Rs ARRIVE guidelines checklist. (PDF)

Redox mediated cancer therapeutics are of immense interest in the recent decade due to their anticancer activity. Piperine is the principal alkaloid of black and long pepper. Although its anticancer activity has been reported in number of cancers , the precise molecular mechanism of action remains to be unravelled. Hence, in this study, for the fir...

Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) is commonly used in traditional folk medicine. The essential oil extracted from Cymbopogon citratus has been reported as a potential anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. This study has been designed to explore the protective effect of Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass) against modified LDL (OxLDL and H2O2 LDL)...

Lung cancer is responsible for 1.6 million deaths. Approximately 80%-85% of lung cancers are of the non-small-cell variety, which includes squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large-cell carcinoma. Knowing the stage of cancer progression is a requisite for determining which management approach-surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and/or imm...

Background: Rotavirus is one of the significant causes of severe diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age, worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the G and P genotypes of rotavirus seasonal variation and to monitor if there was any emerging genotype or unusual strain circulating among children with diarrho...

Cancer is the major cause of human mortality in the world and lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Chemotherapeutic drugs are still considered as the most important treatments for cancer, however, they trigger enormous adverse effects. Ongoing research on natural medicinal sources is receiving shows greater atten...

Cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) is comprised of matrix proteins – where cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts, leukocytes, and cardiac vascular cells reside. Accumulation of Oxidized LDL (OxLDL) in the cardiac cells, an etiology for atherosclerotic lesion development via ECM remodeling, facilitates biomechanical signals in response to pathophysiologica...

Intervertebral disc being an avascular tissue, the extracellular matrix protein play a major role in its structural stability. The pathophysiology underlying the process of Disc Herniation is still not clear but genetic factors play a vital role in the early occurrence of the disease. The study was initiated to determine the association of Collagen...

Intervertebral disc being an avascular tissue, the gap junction protein connexin play an important role in nutrient and extracellular matrix protein play a major role in its structural stability. The pathophysiology underlying the process of Disc Herniation is still not clear but genetic factors play a vital role in the early occurrence of the dise...

The constituents in the Plumbago zeylanica (Pz) roots are credited with various therapeutic potentials in Indian traditional medicine. However, very little is known about the antioxidant effects of various extracts (hexane, dichloromethane and methanol) of Pz. This study was designed to investigate the antioxidant activities of these Pz extracts. T...

Metabolic syndrome-induced cardiac hypertrophy is a global concern leading to an increase in the morbidity and mortality of patients, with the signalling mechanism associated with them still unclear. The present study attempts to understand the metabolic syndrome-associated cardiac hypertrophy through an in vitro model using external stimuli well k...

Twist is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor family normally expressed during embryonic development and apparently activated in variety of tumours. Overexpression of twist is correlated with uncontrolled cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion and metastasis. Twist expression is associated with oestrogen receptor (ER); however, the...

Quercetin is a dietary flavonoid which exerts anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of quercetin in two breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), which differed in hormone receptor. IC50 value (37μM) of quercetin showed significant cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells,...

Background Bael (Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr.) has been widely used in indigenous systems of Indian medicine to exploit its medicinal properties including astringent, antidiarrheal, antidysenteric, demulcent, antipyretic, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory and anti cancer activities. The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidative and antiulcer effect...

Objective: It is well established that plants have always been useful source as anticancer compounds. This study was attempted to investigate the in vitro anti-cancer potential of methonolic extract of Cassia nigricans on breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines. Methods: The methanol extract of C. nigricans was screened for its anti-proliferative effect aga...

Monocyte to macrophage differentiation is a key event in the progression of atherosclerosis. An understanding on the fundamental molecular mechanisms and the identification of regulatory mechanisms behind this differentiation may aid in the identification of new therapeutic strategies. Inhibition of this phenomenon will form first line of defense i...

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), a specialized stromal cytotype have a great impact on the biological behaviors of liver diseases. Despite this fact, the underlying mechanism that regulates HSC still remains poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to understand the role of TRPC6 signaling in regulating the molecular mechanism of HSCs in r...

This paper proposes a method for denoising and enhancement in vitro images using various filters. It deals with enhancing the contrast of suspicious areas in the image and also involves the removal of background noise from the image. Lipoproteins (LDL+VLDL) were isolated, oxidized in vitro and used to differentiate monocyte into macrophage. Images...

Mucosal epithelial cells in the intestine act as the first line of host defense against pathogens by increasing mucin production for clearance. Despite this fact, the underlying molecular mechanisms by which Shigella dysenteriae transduce mucin gene expression remain poorly defined. The goal of this study was to determine the role of Bone morphogen...

Notch1 signaling plays a key role in normal developmental processes and in cancer. The association between Notch activation and development of cancer has been well documented. Notch activation and outcome of the disease depend upon the cross talk with other regulatory pathways including Nuclear Factor kappa B (NFκB) pathway. In this study, we have...

Chemoprevention plays pivotal role in the prevention of human cancers. Morin, a bioflavonoid, has been known for its chemopreventive activities against various cancers and also in recent years, numerous investigations have shown that flavonol containing compounds induce apoptosis in various types of cancers in experimentally induced animal models....

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common inflammatory bowel disease which on prolongation causes colorectal cancer (CRC) making UC as the highest risk factor for CRC development. Despite the use of Aegle marmelos in folk medicine, few studies have reported its colonic healing activity. We exploited the use of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in inducing col...

Background: Osteopontin (Eta, secreted sialoprotein 1, opn) is secreted from different cell types including cancer cells. Three splice variant forms namely osteopontin-a, osteopontin-b and osteopontin-c have been identified. The main astonishing feature is that osteopontin-c is found to be elevated in almost all types of cancer cells. This was the...

Osteopontin (Eta, secreted sialoprotein 1, opn) is secreted from different cell types including cancer cells. Three splice variant forms namely osteopontin-a, osteopontin-b and osteopontin-c have been identified. The main astonishing feature is that osteopontin-c is found to be elevated in almost all types of cancer cells. This was the vital point...

Objective: Rubia cordifolia (RC) is an important medicinal plant which is used for treatment of various ailments in ayurvedic system of medicine. However its cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in abrogation of liver tumor metastasis has not been proved experimentally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-metastatic effect o...

Gastric cancer is the second most fatal common form of cancer. The crosstalk among signalling pathways that results in the acceleration of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a pivotal role in the molecular mechanism of gastric carcinogenesis. To understand the role of caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the expression pattern was studied in human gas...

The role increased free radical production associated with mitochondrial dysfunction is well established in the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus. A male Wistar rat model was utilized in which diabetes was induced by alloxan at a dose of 140 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally for 8 weeks. In alloxan induced diabetes on the activities of Krebs...

Oxidant increase has been suggested to play a critical role in the progression and pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications, including the loss of skeletal muscle. However, the exact molecular mechanism responsible for the loss of skeletal muscle mass during diabetes is unclear. Since oxidative stress and muscle mitochondrial dysfunction are...

In this study, 5-Flurouracil (5-FU) induced toxic effects were evaluated after treating with morin with respect to biochemical and morphological evaluation of erythrocyte with reference to clinical blood parameters, membrane associated damages, lipid peroxidation, ATPases and antioxidant enzymes in in vitro erythrocyte after scheduled treatment wit...

Rubia cordifolia Linn, which belongs to the Rubiaceae family, is a well-known herb used in Ayurvedic medicine. In the present study, we investigated the influence of a methanolic extract (RC) on the induction of apoptosis in HEp-2 (human laryngeal carcinoma) cell line, as evidenced by cytotoxicity, morphological changes and modification in the leve...

In this study we evaluated the effects of morin on the mitochondrial functions with reference to mitochondrial citric acid cycle enzymes, respiratory chain complex enzymes, membrane bound ATPases and protein-bound carbohydrates in mammary tissues of 7,12-dimethyl benz(a)-anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinoma of Sprague-Dawley rats. Adult fema...

Chemoprevention offers a novel approach to control the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC), which is a fatal cause of malignancies in both Western and Asia countries. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) functions as a cell transition factor by regulating the biosynthesis of polyamines, which, allied with aberrant crypt foci (ACF) proliferation, cause ea...

In general, oxidative stress resulting from an imbalance between prooxidant and antioxidant systems plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cancer. Morin (3,5,7,2',4'-pentahydroxyflavone), a member of the flavanol group, has been shown to possess chemopreventive potential against hepatocellular and colon cancer in experimental animals. Given...

This study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of the alcoholic extract of the berries of Crataegus oxyacantha (AEC), a medicinal herb, on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction (MI) in a rat model. Three groups of Wistar albino rats, each comprising six animals, were selected for this study. Group I rats...

An understanding of the signaling mechanism(s) that regulate the differential expression of gastric mucin MUC5AC in colonic epithelial cells would contribute significantly to investigations of its role in colonic mucosa infected with the bacterial pathogen Shigella dysenteriae. Here we show that S. dysenteriae-Sinduced expression of interleukin-1β...

Rubia cordifolia Linn. (Rubiaceae) is a medicinal plant used in the ayurvedic system of medicine. It is also known as Indian Madder or Manjistha and is traditionally used as an antiinflammatory, antiseptic, and galactopurifier, but its anticancer propertis are yet not known. The ameliorative effect of the Rubia cordifolia methanol extract on N-nitr...

Background: The entire gastrointestinal tract is protected by a mucous layer, which contains complex glycoproteins called mucins. MUC2 is one such mucin that protects the colonic mucosa from invading microbes. The initial interaction between microbes and mucins is an important step for microbial pathogenesis. Hence, it was of interest to investiga...

Breast carcinoma is the most common malignant tumor and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Â In India, recently it gains first spot in cancer incidence over uterus cancer. Â The objective of the present study was to acquire information about the extent and spread of breast carcinoma by grading and staging tumor on the available data. Â The...

In the present study, potential anticancer effect of eugenol on inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells was investigated. Induction of cell death by eugenol was evaluated following MTT assay and monitoring lactate dehydrogenase released into the culture medium for cell viability and cytotoxicit...

Breast cancer is a global public health problem as it is the third most common cancer leading to the death of women worldwide. The aim of the study was to find out anti-oxidant status of breast cancer patients in Tamilnadu. This study has been conducted on breast cancer patients admitted to Government Cancer Hospital, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu. Fifty...

INTRODUCTION By far the most important disease of the breast is carcinoma, which usually present as palpable lump. Other lesions which produce palpable lumpy lesions are only of importance because they raise the suspicion of carcinoma, thus requiring investigation [1] .

Mesoporous nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (nHAp) rods of size 40-75 nm long and 25 nm wide (resembling bone mineral) were synthesized under microwave irradiation without using any surfactants or modifiers. The surface area and average pore size of the nHAp were found to be 32 m(2) g(-1) and 4 nm, respectively. Rifampicin (RIF) and ciprofloxacin (CP...

Infection with Helicobacter pylori CagA-positive strains is associated with gastric adenocarcinoma. CagA H. pylori activates the β-catenin signal by translocation into nucleus which promotes carcinogenesis. Deregulated accumulation of nuclear β-catenin enhances transcription of β-catenin target genes including CD44 and promotes malignant transforma...

A series of fluorescein-based N-glycosylamines was synthesized from the corresponding fluorescein amine and a partially protected d-glucose. The physiochemical investigation of these compounds by spectral and morphological studies reveals their gelation potential. The exclusive localization of fluorescence in the cytoplasm through cell imaging stud...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a highly aggressive form of solid tumor, has been increasing in South East Asia. The lack of effective therapy necessitates the introduction of novel chemopreventive strategies to counter the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Recently, we reported that dimethoxy flavone (DMF), a methyla...

Plumbagin, a quinonoid found in the plants of the Plumbaginaceae, possesses medicinal properties. In this study we investigated the anti-proliferative and apoptotic activity of plumbagin by using two human colonic cancer cell lines, HT29 and HCT15. IC50 of Plumbagin for HCT15 and HT29 cells (22.5 µM and 62.5 µM, respectively) were significantly dif...

Esophageal cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian males and is mostly associated with tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a member of Type I tyrosine kinases. Its activation causes the docking of various proteins in its cytosolic tail. In the present study we have analyzed the expression...

Flavonoids possess strong anti-oxidant and cancer chemopreventive activities. Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) occurs naturally in many plants, honey, and propolis. In vitro, chrysin acts as a general anti-oxidant, causes cell cycle arrest and promotes cell death. However, the mechanism by which chrysin inhibits cancer cell growth and the subcellular...

Lectins are a class of ubiquitous proteins/glycoproteins that are abundantly found in nature. Lectins have unique carbohydrate binding property and hence have been exploited as drugs against various infectious diseases. We have isolated one such novel lectin from the fruit pulp of Aegle marmelos. The isolated lectin was partially characterised and...

Recently, we reported a neuroprotective effect for Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) ethanolic extract in middle cerebral artery occlusion-(MCAO) induced stroke in rats. The present study sheds more light on the extract's mechanism of neuroprotection, especially its immunomodulatory effect. After 15 days of treatment with Hawthorn extract [100 mg/kg,...

Plumbago zeylanica, a traditional Indian herb is being used for the therapy of rheumatism and has been approved for anti-tumor activity. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the biological action are not very well understood. In this study, the anti-invasive activities of P. zeylanica methanolic extract (PME) and pure compound 3β-hydroxylu...

Dietary cholesterol plays an important role in the development of atherogenesis and cardiovascular diseases. We explored the prospective effect of grape seed proanthocyanidins in controlling hypercholesterolemia induced oxidative injury and apoptosis in atherogenic animals. Four groups of male Wistar rats (250-300 g) were used for the study. Group...

Shigella dysenteriae continues to be a major health problem, which leads to death, due to diarrhoea and dysentery, predominantly in children below the age of 5. Bacterial invasion of the colonic epithelium leads to severe inflammation together with bacterial dissemination generates abscesses and ulcerations. Periplasmic copper, zinc super oxide dis...

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of Crataegus oxycantha (COC) extract in preventing ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in an in vivo rat model of acute myocardial infarction induced by a 30-minute regional ischemia followed by 72 hours of reperfusion. The COC extract [100 mg/(kg body weight)] was administe...

The modifying effect of chemically modified chrysin on formation of preneoplastic foci induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN) was investigated in male rats. Male Wistar rats were administered three intraperitoneal injections of DEN (200 mg/kg bodyweight) interspersed by 2 weeks with or without an oral dose of dimethoxy flavone (DMF 100 mg/kg bodywe...

Vibrio shiloi is the first and well-documented bacterium which causes coral bleaching, particularly, during summer, when seawater temperature is between 26 and 31 degrees C. Coral bleaching is the disruption of the symbiotic association between coral hosts and their photosynthetic microalgae zooxanthellae. This is either due to lowered resistance i...

Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress is closely linked to toxic responses in cells. The tricothecene mycotoxin, Deoxynivalenol (DON), primarily affects cells of the immune system and the GI tract. DON's cytotoxicity is closely linked to intracellular ROS, and it exerts its toxic effect by a mechanism known as ribotoxic stress response...

The aim of the study was to investigate the cardioprotective effect and mechanism of Crataegus oxycantha (COC) extract, a well-known natural antioxidant-based cardiotonic, against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies showed that COC extract was capable of scavenging superoxide, hydroxyl, and peroxyl radicals, i...

Emergence of multidrug resistant bacterial strains urged the investigation for alternative medicines. The present study was designed to evaluate the mode of action of the crude methanolic extract of Hemidesmus indicus root against Salmonella typhimurium both in vivo and in vitro. Pounded root was soaked in methanol for 7 days in room temperature wi...

Here we investigated the in vivo effect of morin (500ppm in diet) in fostering apoptosis in diethylnitrosamine (DEN) (200mg/kg bodyweight) mediated experimental hepatocellular carcinogenesis model. We analyzed the expression of cytosolic protein Akt and their important apoptotic downstream targets like caspase-9, Bcl-2, Bax, GSK-3betain vivo, by im...