New Delhi Feb 18 PTI Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology IIT Delhi have designed and demonstrated a new strategy for developing potential drug molecules for treating various diseases According to the research team they utilised tools of Organic Chemistry and Biophysics to design molecules that target protein interface Drugs are mostly organic molecules that interact with molecules present in the human body The molecules in the body are bigger in size and are typically called macromolecules These molecules are either proteins or nucleic acids Presently computer-aided rational drug discovery is utilised to find target molecule for a particular protein target Still this takes a considerable amount of time said V Haridas Professor at IIT Delhis Chemistry Department The researchers have come up with a chemical strategy based on the macromolecular mimicry Molecules have shapes just like objects Designing and synthesizing molecules with diverse shapes is an art in itself Mimicking copying the macromolecular interface by uniquely shaped small molecules is an approach adopted by the research group he added They developed a universal privileged scaffold approach for the design of a variety of inhibitors The universal scaffold could be converted to specific inhibitor for a given Protein-Protein Interaction PPI which makes the drug design approach relatively easier We used this strategy to design drug molecules which could be useful for treatment of Japanese Encephalitis Virus JEV the main cause for viral encephalitis in Southeast Asian countries and protein aggregation diseases such as Alzheimers We have also patented the JEV inhibitor drug molecule said Haridas PTI GJS SMN

New Delhi Nov 22 PTI Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Mandi have discovered an important biomolecular mechanism for the formation of protein clusters and aggregates that are often seen in Alzheimers diseaseAn inter-institutional team comprising researchers from the IIT Mandi University of Cambridge UK and the University of South Florida USA studied the aggregation pattern of a signal peptide of the APP proteinThe findings of the research team have been recently published in the journal Cell Reports Physical ScienceThe researchers have shown that signal peptide of the amyloid precursor protein APP can co-aggregate with Amyloid beta peptide A42 This A42 known for the pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease a most common form of dementia that slowly destroys memory and other important mental functionsAccording to the team while proteins are essential for virtually every process within the cell their disturbed functions due to aggregation or misfolding can result in harmful effectsThere are more than 50 diseases that are associated with protein aggregation and misfolding Alzheimers disease for example is linked with the deposition of misfolded peptides called amyloid 42 A42 in the spaces between nerve cells A42 is a peptide derived from full-length protein amyloid precursor protein APPIn Amyloid precursor protein so far only A region was known to form toxic aggregates Here we discovered that signal peptide of amyloid precursor protein not only forms cell-killing aggregates but also enhances the aggregation of A42 peptide under in-vitro conditions said Rajanish Giri associate professor School of Basic Sciences IIT MandiSignal peptides are short peptide units present at the N-terminus of the proteins which play a role in protein targeting They act as a postal address for the proteins inside the cell Usually as the protein reaches to its destination the signal peptides are cut off from the proteins and often degraded by the cellular machineryCan they affect other cellular processes It is possible that they could combine with other peptides to form mis-folded aggregates like A42 that deposit outside of cells and cause diseases he saidGiri said this study will help in future research that could provide relation of other signal peptides to disease pathogenesis PTI GJS IJT

According to Dr Narayan the most common neurological problems among Covid survivors are general weakness fatigue and astheniaMedical professionals are concerned about the neurological manifestations of Covid which can range from mild fatigue to a life-threatening strokeIn the past few months I have evolved from a simple neurologist to a Covid neurologistAccording to Dr Narayan the most common neurological problems among Covid survivors are general weakness fatigue and astheniaDr Narayan stressed on Covid hygiene which is social distancing wearing masks and using a sanitiser