11-Jul-2022: Connecting the dots between virus infection and progress of brain cancer
Scientists have found that cancer-causing virus Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) can infect the neuronal cells and drive various changes in biomolecules such as fatty acids, carbohydrates, and protein components, leading to diseases of the central nervous system as well as brain cancer.
EBV virus has been found to be widely present in the human population. It usually does not cause any harm, but the virus gets reactivated inside the body in some unusual conditions like immunological stress or immunocompetence. This may further lead to various complications like a type of blood cancer called Burkitt’s lymphoma, stomach cancer, multiple sclerosis, and so on. Earlier studies provided links of EBV involvement in various neurodegenerative diseases. However, how this virus can affect the cells of brain and manipulate them is still unexplored.
A research team from IIT Indore utilized the Raman micro spectroscopy technique, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under FIST scheme to explore the possible impacts of a cancer-causing virus on brain cells. The technique based on Raman Effect is a simple, cost-effective tool to find sensitive chemical changes in biological samples.
The study, published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience, showed that there could be timely and gradual changes in various biomolecules in the neuronal cells under viral influence. Additionally, these changes were distinct when compared to the changes observed in other supportive brain cells (that is, astrocyte and microglia).
The team consists of a group leader from Infection Bioengineering group at IIT Indore, Dr. Hem Chandra Jha, along with his students Omkar Indari, Shweta Jakhmola, and Meenakshi Kandpal in collaboration with the group leader of Material and Device Laboratory (Department of Physics), Professor Rajesh Kumar and team including Dr. Devesh K. Pathak and Ms. Manushree Tanwar found that some common biomolecular changes were observed at times in these cells. They observed that the lipid, cholesterol, proline, and glucose molecules increased in the cells under viral influence. These biomolecular entities could ultimately play pivotal roles in the viral usurpation of cells. Further, the study also provided insights into whether these biomolecular changes can be correlated to virus-associated impacts and linked to neurological complications.
“The research work aids in the understanding of EBV-mediated biomolecular changes in the various compartments of the central nervous system leading to better understanding of nervous system diseases,” said Dr. Hem Chandra Jha.
Professor Rajesh Kumar pointed out that the study is also helpful in establishing the advantages of Raman microspectroscopy, a cost-effective and non-invasive technique, in carrying out studies on virus-associated cellular complications in clinical settings. It could provide an upper hand in analysing clinical samples in comparison to other techniques, which require advanced setups for studying the virus-associated changes in cells, tissues, and organs.
14-Jun-2021: Cancer causing virus affects the glial cells in central nervous system: Study by DST supported FIST facility
Indian Scientists have recently found that the cancer-causing virus Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) affects the glial cells or the non-neural cells in the central nervous system and alters molecules like phospho-inositols (PIP); a type of lipid, glycerol, and cholesterol, when the virus infects the brain cells.
This could pave the path towards understanding the probable role of the virus in neurodegenerative pathologies, especially given the fact that the virus has been detected in brain tissue of the patients suffering from neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson and multiple Sclerosis.
The EBV can cause cancers like nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a type of head and neck cancer), B-cell (a type of white blood cells) cancer, stomach cancer, Burkett’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, post-transplant lymphoid disorders, and so on. More than 95% of the adult population is positive for EBV. However, the infection is mostly asymptomatic, and very little is known about the factors which trigger the development of such disease. It was the detection of the virus in patients with neurodegenerative diseases that triggered the search for the mechanism of propagation of the virus.
Scientists’ teams from the Departments of Physics (led by Dr. Rajesh Kumar) and Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering (Dr. Hem Chandra Jha) at IIT Indore along with their collaborator, Dr. Fouzia Siraj, at National Institute of Pathology (ICMR), New Delhi, used Raman Spectroscopy System supported by “Fund For Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST)” scheme of Department of Science and Technology to trace the propagation mechanism of the virus. Research scholars Ms. Deeksha Tiwari, Ms. Shweta Jakhmola, and Mr. Devesh Pathak also contributed to this study published recently in the journal ‘ACS Omega’.
The phenomenon of Raman Scattering, first discovered by Indian Nobel laureate (awarded by Bharat Ratna) Sir C. V. Raman, provides information on the structure of any material based on the vibrations produced in them. Similarly, the light falling on the virus generates vibrations in the biomolecules, depending on the make of the virus. Using RS, the light that is scattered by the virus can be captured and analyzed to understand its structure and behaviour. Interestingly, every virus has a different biomolecular composition and thus generates a unique Raman Spectrum that serves as a fingerprint to its identity.
Dr. Jha's and Dr. Kumar’s team have elucidated the infection pattern of EBV in the brain cells showing that the virus is also capable of infecting the glial cells (astrocytes and microglia) in the brain. This study noticed a differential pattern of infection progression in different glial cells. Dr. Jha said, “We found that the virus may take different time intervals to establish and spread infection in various types of glial cells of the brain.” Apart from the timeline of infection progression, their team also tried to reveal the biomolecules involved at each step of the virus infection and relate it to various neurological manifestations.
Dr. Rajesh added, “Our study showed that molecules like phospho-inositols (PIP), a type of lipid, glycerol, and cholesterol, are predominantly altered during EBV infection in the brain cells.”
The study, based on spatial and temporal changes in Raman signal, was helpful in advancing the application of Raman Scattering as a technique for rapid and non-invasive detection of virus infection in clinical settings. Since all the techniques available for viral load detection in the brain by far include invasive methods, RS can be a sigh of relief for patients undergoing brain biopsies for diagnostic purposes. Furthermore, it can be helpful in determining the stage of infection based on biomolecular markers and thus aid in early diagnosis.
8-May-2022: Centre pushes for increased exports of tissue culture plants
In order to boost exports of tissue culture plants, Centre, through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), conducted a webinar on “Export Promotion of Tissue Culture Plants such as Foliage, Live Plants, Cut Flowers, and Planting Material” with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) accredited tissue culture laboratories spread across India.
The top ten countries importing tissue culture plants from India are the Netherlands, USA, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia and Nepal. In 2020-2021, India’s exports of tissue culture plants stood at US$17.17 million, with the Netherlands accounting for around 50% of the shipments.
APEDA officials informed participants about the latest demand trends for tissue culture plants in these countries and how the apex export promotion body could help Indian exporters/ tissue culture laboratories in accessing these markets. As this was the first interaction programme with these laboratories, APEDA explained about its function, mandate and other financial assistance extended to export oriented plant tissue culture laboratories to improve efficiency, quality of plants, and how the latter could meet the Phyto-sanitary norms of the importing countries and enhance their competence in the international market. In order to expand the range of tissue culture plants grown in India, APEDA has asked the exporters to provide a list of germplasms for particular plants/crops which can be imported from producing countries.
The exporters, in turn, also suggested that APEDA organize an international exhibition in India to showcase the various kinds of flora such as tissue cultured plants, forest plants, potted plants, ornamental and landscaping planting material available in India. They have also suggested that APEDA take the lead in sending a trade delegation abroad to identify new markets for tissue culture plants from India and finalize deals with importers.
Tissue culture plant laboratories highlighted the issues and challenges faced by them in tissue cultured planting material production and its exports. Exporters drew the attention of APEDA officials to issues such as increasing power costs, low efficiency levels of the skilled workforce in the laboratories, contamination issues in the laboratories, cost of transportation of micro-propagated planting material, lack of harmonization in the HS code of Indian planting material with other nations and objections raised by the forest and quarantine departments which were posing challenges in the export of live planting material.
The tissue culture experts suggested that APEDA take up these issues with the concerned departments. APEDA has assured round-the-clock service to tissue culture plant laboratories so as to address all hardships faced by them.
APEDA is running a Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to help laboratories upgrade themselves so as to produce export quality tissue culture planting material. It also facilitates exports of tissue culture planting material to diversified countries through market development, market analysis and promotion and exhibition of tissue culture plants at international exhibitions and by participating in buyer-seller meets at different international forums.
India is bestowed with knowledge, biotech experts with vast tissue culture experience as well as with a low-cost labour force to help produce export-oriented quality planting material. All these factors make India a potential global supplier of an extended and diversified range of quality flora to the international market and, in turn, earn foreign exchange.
29-Apr-2022: Chronic larval crowding in fruit flies steers evolution towards larger and faster hatching eggs
Scientists have found that populations of insects that experience chronic larval crowding all evolve to give rise to larger and faster hatching eggs, even though they vary in other adaptations.
Till around 2003 it was believed that fruit flies adapted to larval crowding evolved greater competitive ability, invariably through the evolution of a combination of higher larval feeding rate and greater pre-adult tolerance to toxic levels of metabolic waste products like ammonia and urea.
In a paradigm shift of this understanding, previous studies by researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Advanced Centre for Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), over the last 15 years revealed that the kind of traits that evolved depended not just on overall larval density, but rather on the specific combination of food amount and egg number at which chronic crowding was experienced.
Now, in a recent study published in the Journal of Genetics, this group of researchers has shown that one particular adaptation-- larger and faster hatching eggs—is common for all fruit fly populations exposed to crowding, irrespective of their exposure to different combinations of food amount and egg number.
The team, which is a world leader in understanding the evolution and ecology of competitive ability in fruit flies, showed that three separate sets of fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) populations, which experienced chronic larval crowding in slightly different ecological contexts, and had consequently evolved differing adaptations to crowding, nevertheless shared a common evolved adaptation. They all produced larger and faster hatching eggs than their common ancestral control populations.
For this study, the scientists used unique populations developed by the researchers through selection in the laboratory --- populations that are not available anywhere else in the world.
Hypothesizing that one way of getting an advantage in competition for scarce larval food could be to hatch from eggs earlier than others and start feeding, S Venkatachalam, S Das, A Deep, and A Joshi investigated whether such a ‘head-start’ mechanism had evolved in any of their crowding adapted populations, in addition to other adaptations that they had observed. They found that all of them had evolved larger and faster hatching eggs, even though they differed in other adaptations to crowding. This suggests that the head-start attained by larvae due to hatching quickly, and at a larger size, is adaptive under a variety of crowded conditions, unlike several other traits.
The study is part of a series of studies on the same populations that has led to a paradigm shift in the understanding of density-dependent selection and adaptation to crowding in fruit flies.