Remil L. Galay
Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences
College of Veterinary Medicine
UP Los Baños
Induction of Intracellular Ferritin Expression in Embryo-derived Ixodes Scapularis Cell Line (ISE6), Scientific Reports, 8 (1): 16566, 2018. https://doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34860-3
Ticks are obligate blood-sucking parasites of humans and animals that also transmit various diseases. Due to their feeding habit, ticks are exposed to large amount of iron. Iron is an essential trace mineral, but it is toxic in large amounts. Hence, iron metabolism is crucial in tick survival. Ferritin and iron-regulatory protein (IRP) are among the molecules involved in iron metabolism. This study investigated the induction of ferritin protein expression in tick embryo-derived cell line ISE6 after exposure to different concentrations of iron in the form of ferrous sulfate. Western blotting and immunofluorescent visualization showed that ferritin protein was expressed in increasing level after exposure of the cells to increasing concentration of ferrous sulfate. Silencing of ferritin gene was also performed which resulted to high intracellular iron concentration and lead to increased cell mortality. Altogether, the results of this study show that tick iron metabolism may be studied by this in vitro model and might be useful in further elucidation of this physiological aspect towards designing a new control strategy.
Significance:
This work adds knowledge on elucidation of iron metabolism in ticks, which is useful in designing new tick control strategies. This work also shows a potential model for study of iron metabolism.
Link to the article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-34860-3
Impact factor: (2018/2019) 4.011
Maria Elisa B. Gerona1, Maribel L. Dionisio-Sese2
1Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Tacloban College (UP Visayas)
2Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences (UP Los Baños)
Physiological Responses of Contrasting Rice Genotypes to Salt Stress at Reproductive Stage,
Rice Science, 26 (4): 207-219, 2019
Rice plants tolerate salinity differently at different stages of their growth. This is what a team of five scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, University of the Philippines Visayas and International Rice Research Institute found out.
Salinity is an environmental condition that causes a major stress to rice growth. It significantly reduces harvest and productivity in areas where saltiness in the rice paddies exist throughout or at various periods of rice cultivation. Different varieties of rice plants react to salinity differently. Those that can normally survive saline environments are classified as salt-tolerant while those that are negatively affected by saline environments are considered rice-sensitive. However, it has not been clearly established previously that salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive rice varieties react differently to salinity at different stages of their growth.
In greenhouse experiments under salt stress, the research team evaluated rice varieties IR686, Sadri, Rc222, CSR28, IR670 and Pokkali which have contrasting tolerance to salinity in their growth environment. They evaluated the physiological changes in their leaves and developing panicles. Salt-tolerant Pokkali and IR670 manifested, among others, lower reduction of pollen viability than the salt-sensitive genotypes during the flowering stage. Sadri, which is moderately salt-tolerant at seedling stage, was found to be quite salt-sensitive during the flowering stage.
These findings will be useful in breeding rice varieties that can be variously salt-tolerant at seedling and reproductive stages for cultivation in areas where salinity may be present throughout or at different periods of rice growth.
Significance:
The results of this research work contribute to a clearer understanding of rice plants’ salt sensitivity at various stages of growth, particularly at reproductive stage. These research findings will be useful in breeding rice varieties that can be variously salt-tolerant at seedling and reproductive stages for cultivation in rice areas where salinity may be present throughout or at different periods of rice growth.
Link to the article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1672630819300435
Impact factor: (2018/2019) 2.370
Charisse T. Reyes
Faculty of Education
UP Open University
Enhanced Bioactivity and Efficient Delivery of Quercetin Through Nanoliposomal Encapsulation Using Rice Bran Phospholipids, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 99(4):1980-1989, 2018
Schematic representation of the encapsulation process
Photo taken during encapsulation process
Plants, since time immemorial, have been a source of bio-active molecules, such as phenolic compounds, for various applications such as in health and wellness, disease, food and feeds, drugs, and medicine. Previous researches have shown the efficacies of plant derived compounds in various applications but have limited due to low bioavailability and solubility in an aqueous environment, such as in the case of quercetin, a ubiquitous and active dietary flavonoid. Encapsulation is a technique that enables the entrapment of bioactive molecules into nanovesicles/nanoliposomes of minute size (larger than a few molecules) and has been proven, in recent researches, to efficiently delivery, not just drugs, but also enzymes, vitamins, phenolic compounds, polyphenolic substances, carotenoids and essential oils for various applications in the nutraceutical, cosmetic, food and feed, and medical industry, to name a few.
This study, to the best of our knowledge, is a first report on the use of rice-bran extracted phospholipids as an effective and suitable nanoliposomal encapsulation and delivery system for quercetin, a model dietary and bioactive anti-oxidant molecule. Nanoliposomal encapsulation favored the protection of quercetin during intestinal absorption over digestive degradation as shown by the release pattern observed using an oral delivery model. Furthermore, nanoliposomal encapsulation enhanced the solubility, free-radical-scavenging, and anti-angiogenic (known as a first initiation step in cancer proliferation) activities of quercetin,
Significance:
Plant derived bio-active molecules, such as phenolic compounds, have been widely studied for various applications such as in health and wellness, disease, food and feeds, drugs, and medicine. Although these groups of compounds have been proven to be effective, potencies have been limited due to low bioavailability and solubility in an aqueous environment, such as in the case of quercetin, a ubiquitous dietary flavonoid. Encapsulation techniques have been utilized in recent researches for efficient delivery, not just of drugs, but also enzymes, vitamins, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals. including simple phenolics, polyphenolic substances, carotenoids, essential oils, and other bioactive plant extracts, with a wide range of polarities. One of the most promising encapsulation techniques to solve such problems without compromising the biological activity of quercetin is through nanoliposomal encapsulation.
Liposomes are vesicles having closed continuous bilayered structures (made mainly of lipid or phospholipid molecules). Water-soluble compounds are incorporated into liposomes through an aqueous core compartment while lipid-soluble and amphiphilic compounds are entrapped in phospholipid bilayers surrounding the aqueous core. Numerous studies previously conducted utilize egg yolk phospholipids.
This study, to the best of our knowledge, is a first report on the use of rice-bran phospholipids as an effective and suitable nanoliposomal encapsulation and delivery system for quercetin, a model bioactive anti-oxidant molecule. Nanoliposomal encapsulation favored intestinal absorption over the digestive degradation of quercetin as suggested by the release pattern observed using an oral delivery model. Furthermore, nanoliposomal encapsulation enhanced the radical-scavenging and anti-angiogenic activities of quercetin.
Link to the article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jsfa.9396
Impact factor: (2018/2019) 2.422
