Use of cottonseed as protein source for food application and monogastric animals are restricted d... more Use of cottonseed as protein source for food application and monogastric animals are restricted due to the presence of polyphenolic toxic content known as gossypol. Reduction of gossypol and improving crude protein content in cottonseed flour may increase its utility for feed and food industries. The present study aims to analyze the influence of three individual methods viz., sprouting method, enzymatic method and solvents method on free and total gossypol content, crude protein content, oil content and flour yield. Enzymatic treatments were performed using culture candida tropicalis, saccharomyces cerevisiae and combinations of both whereas for solvent treatments four different solvents namely acetone, ethanol, methanol and iso-propanol with their four different levels (70-100%) were applied. Results of this study revealed that 70% aqueous acetone showed maximum free gossypol reduction (97%), crude protein content (65.6%), oil content 31.3 % and 57% flour yield was observed. Howev...
The effect of carbon dioxide in blocking the sporophytic self-incompatibility system in Brassica ... more The effect of carbon dioxide in blocking the sporophytic self-incompatibility system in Brassica campestris occurs within the first 2h of pollination at the pollen-stigma interface. Percentage germination of self pollen on the stigma was found to be similar in air and in the presence of 5% CO2. The CO2 effect therefore must occur after pollen germination, modifying the interaction between pollen tubes and stigma cells. Lectin binding studies showed the presence of fucosyl but not galactosyl residues on the stigma surface. Gel electrophoresis of plant extracts showed that stigma esterase activity is marked in comparison to other plant tissue. This activity is shown histochemically to be localized on the stigma cell surface and in the nucleus. Carbonic anhydrase has been detected on the stigma surface by two different histochemical methods and its possible relationship to the CO2 effect is discussed.
Five hundred patients with urticaria were evaluated for physical factors. While 415 (83%) patient... more Five hundred patients with urticaria were evaluated for physical factors. While 415 (83%) patients associated one or more physical factors in their history, only 37% were found to be suffering- from physical urticaria following tests. These included symptomatic dermographism (16.38%), cholinergic urticaria (10.84%), cold urticaria (8.43%). solar urticaria (0.72%), pressure urticaria (0-48%) and delayed cold urticaria (0.48%). The study stresses the, importance of doing physical challenge tests in all patients since historical iuivicions were not always confirmed on subsequ6nt tests. Moreover, some patients of cold chofinergic urticaria were not aware of the precipitating factors and did not provide any clue in the history.
Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Endometrial cancer is the m... more Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer affecting the female genital tract; this disease also stands as the fourth most frequent cancer affecting occidental women. Endometrial cancer is generally well manageable; however, the high metastatic potential of endometrial tumors represents one of the major hurdles in the treatment of this disease. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been considered for a long time as a central mechanism by which cancer cells acquire invasive abilities necessary for metastasis formation. Multiple regulatory networks dictate this complex process; however TGF-β has been shown to be one of the most important inductor of EMT in cancer cells. Still, the process by which TGF-β induces this transition has yet to be fully understood. Our study demonstrates that TGF-β upregulates the expression of Par-4, a tumor suppressor protein concomitantly with the onset of EMT. Four uterine cell lines (Hec-1-a, KLE, HeLa, HIESC), one ovarian cell line (SKOV-3) and one breast cell line (MCF7) were used in this study. We first investigated the effect of exogenous TGF-β treatment on these cell lines to determine its effect on Par-4 expression. We've observed that TGF-β increased Par-4 levels in every cell lines. Preliminary analysis determined that this regulation was made through both Smad4 and p65, which was confirmed by the use of siRNA. We've also demonstrated that this regulation was made at the transcriptional level by RT-qPCR. We then sought to confirm the effect of TGF-β on our cell lines and its effect on EMT induction. Our experiments demonstrated that TGF-β promotes EMT as suggested by the upregulation of multiple EMT markers. Transfections using Par-4 expression plasmids induced similar changes, indicating the involvement of Par-4 in TGF-β mediated EMT induction. We then proceeded to assess the effect of Par-4 knockdown concurrent with exogenous TGF-β stimulation. This experiment revealed that Par-4 knockdown reduced the ability of TGF-β to induce Snail expression, further demonstrating the importance of Par-4 in the process of TGF-β mediated EMT. To conclude the study, we sought to understand the effect of XIAP in this process. Our experiments uncovered that XIAP regulates full length Par-4 levels through the inhibition of its caspase-mediated cleavage. Furthermore, the inhibition of XIAP by siRNAs, and thus of Par-4 cleavage, resulted in the reduction of Par-4 EMT inducing capabilities. In conclusion, our study proposes a novel function of Par-4 as an inductor of EMT in multiple cell lines. Citation Format: Francois Fabi, Parvesh Chaudhry, Mohan Singh, Eric Asselin. Par-4 mediates EMT in response to TGF-β stimulation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1140. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1140
Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1996
We have studied the expression of recombinant forms of Group 1 allergens from rye-grass and Bermu... more We have studied the expression of recombinant forms of Group 1 allergens from rye-grass and Bermuda grass pollens. Recombinant Lol p 1 expressed in bacteria bound serum IgE from allergic patients. Based on analysis of fragments of the Lol p 1 cDNA clone, the major IgE-reactive epitope has been mapped to the C-terminus. However, although SDS-denatured natural Cyn d 1 (from Bermuda grass) bound IgE, the full or partial recombinant proteins expressed in bacteria did not bind IgE. We have since expressed Cyn d 1 in the yeast Pichia pastoris and restored IgE binding. cDNA clones encoding two isoforms of Lol p 5, Lol p 5A and Lol p 5B, have been expressed in bacteria and resulting polypeptides show IgE-binding. Random fragments of these clones have been generated and when expressed as partial recombinant proteins in bacteria, allowed us to identify the major IgE-binding epitopes. The allergenic epitopes were localised towards the C-terminal half of the molecule. Although both isoforms sha...
International journal of clinical pharmacology, therapy, and toxicology, 1993
The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of prescription drugs administered for common ... more The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of prescription drugs administered for common disorders during the post partum period. This is a prospective survey of disorders and drug use in 1) immediate postpartum mothers (n = 200) admitted to the maternity wards, 2) in post-natal hospital follow-up clinic (n = 200) and in 3) the rural home based community (n = 100). A pretested questionnaire was filled in by medical officers after interviewing the mothers. The mean age of the mothers was 25 years and a literacy rate of 50% above the 10th grade. Over 80% of the women were multigravida in the entire sample; 45% underwent Caesarean Section in a hospital; 97.6% had a normal delivery in the community. In the hospital settings 4.1% infants had jaundice and 1% had congenital anomalies. In the community setting, diarrhoea and pneumonia was seen in 2.6% of the infants. Apart from the use of nutritional supplements, such as iron, calcium, multivitamins etc., most commonly prescribed dr...
Epigenetics has been recognised to play vital roles in many plant developmental processes, includ... more Epigenetics has been recognised to play vital roles in many plant developmental processes, including floral initiation through the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The histone modifying proteins that mediate these modifications involve the SET domain-containing histone methyltransferases, JmjC domain-containing demethylase, acetylases and deacetylases. In addition, RNA interference (RNAi)-associated genes are also involved in epigenetic regulation via RNA-directed DNA methylation and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Soybean, a major crop legume, requires a short day to induce flowering. How histone modifications regulate the plant response to external cues that initiate flowering is still largely unknown. Here, we used RNA-seq to address the dynamics of transcripts that are potentially involved in the epigenetic programming and RNAi mediated gene silencing during the floral initiation of soybean. Soybean is a paleopolyploid that has been subjected to at least two rounds...
2011 International Conference on Recent Trends in Information Technology (ICRTIT), 2011
The constant improvement of both hardware and software related to mobile computing is enhancing t... more The constant improvement of both hardware and software related to mobile computing is enhancing the capabilities of mobile devices. The present day mobile phones can run rich stand alone applications as well as distributed client-server applications that access information via a web gateway. This changed environment brings new opportunities as well as constraints for mobile application developers. A move towards
Homozygote plants for the (S) self-incompatibility gene have been produced in Brassica campestris... more Homozygote plants for the (S) self-incompatibility gene have been produced in Brassica campestris L. var. ‘T 15’. Stigmas from plants designated S1S1, S2S2 and S4S4 were extracted and their protein separated on an isoelectric focusing mini-gel. Differences were observed between proteins from stigmas of the three S-homozygous groups: S-genotype specific proteins were determined for S1S1 and S2S2 stigmas that were
A comparative study of various stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions in polymers has bee... more A comparative study of various stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions in polymers has been made by comparing the computed stopping power values with the corresponding experimental values. The energy loss of different heavy ions (3<=;Z1<=;29) in the energy domain of ˜0.19-3.14 MeV/n has been studied in six different polymers mostly used as particle track detectors viz: Mylar
Seven new male-sterile mutants (ms7-ms13) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype columbia) ... more Seven new male-sterile mutants (ms7-ms13) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype columbia) are described that show a postmeiotic defect of microspore development. In ms9 mutants, microspores recently released from the tetrad appear irregular in shape and are often without exines. The earliest evidence of abnormality in ms12 mutants is degeneration of microspores that lack normal exine sculpturing, suggesting that the MS12 product is important in the formation of pollen exine. Teratomes (abnormally enlarged microsporocytes) are also occasionally present and each has a poorly developed exine. In ms7 mutant plants, the tapetal cytoplasm disintegrates at the late vacuolate microspore stage, apparently causing the degeneration of microspores and pollen grains. With ms8 mutants, the exine of the microspores appears similar to that of the wild type. However, intine development appears impaired and pollen grains rupture prior to maturity. In ms11 mutants, the first detectable abnormality appears at the mid to late vacuolate stage. The absence of fluorescence in the microspores and tapetal cells after staining with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and the occasional presence of teratomes indicate degradation of DNA. Viable pollen from ms10 mutant plants is dehisced from anthers but appears to have surface abnormalities affecting interaction with the stigma. Pollen only germinates in high-humidity conditions or during in-vitro germination experiments. Mutant plants also have bright-green stems, suggesting that ms10 belongs to the eceriferum (cer) class of mutants. However, ms10 and cer6 are non-allelic. The ms13 mutant has a similar phenotype to ms10, suggesting is also an eceriferum mutation. Each of these seven mutants had a greater number of flowers than congenic male-fertile plants. The non-allelic nature of these mutants and their different developmental end-points indicate that seven different genes important for the later stages of pollen development have been identified.
Use of cottonseed as protein source for food application and monogastric animals are restricted d... more Use of cottonseed as protein source for food application and monogastric animals are restricted due to the presence of polyphenolic toxic content known as gossypol. Reduction of gossypol and improving crude protein content in cottonseed flour may increase its utility for feed and food industries. The present study aims to analyze the influence of three individual methods viz., sprouting method, enzymatic method and solvents method on free and total gossypol content, crude protein content, oil content and flour yield. Enzymatic treatments were performed using culture candida tropicalis, saccharomyces cerevisiae and combinations of both whereas for solvent treatments four different solvents namely acetone, ethanol, methanol and iso-propanol with their four different levels (70-100%) were applied. Results of this study revealed that 70% aqueous acetone showed maximum free gossypol reduction (97%), crude protein content (65.6%), oil content 31.3 % and 57% flour yield was observed. Howev...
The effect of carbon dioxide in blocking the sporophytic self-incompatibility system in Brassica ... more The effect of carbon dioxide in blocking the sporophytic self-incompatibility system in Brassica campestris occurs within the first 2h of pollination at the pollen-stigma interface. Percentage germination of self pollen on the stigma was found to be similar in air and in the presence of 5% CO2. The CO2 effect therefore must occur after pollen germination, modifying the interaction between pollen tubes and stigma cells. Lectin binding studies showed the presence of fucosyl but not galactosyl residues on the stigma surface. Gel electrophoresis of plant extracts showed that stigma esterase activity is marked in comparison to other plant tissue. This activity is shown histochemically to be localized on the stigma cell surface and in the nucleus. Carbonic anhydrase has been detected on the stigma surface by two different histochemical methods and its possible relationship to the CO2 effect is discussed.
Five hundred patients with urticaria were evaluated for physical factors. While 415 (83%) patient... more Five hundred patients with urticaria were evaluated for physical factors. While 415 (83%) patients associated one or more physical factors in their history, only 37% were found to be suffering- from physical urticaria following tests. These included symptomatic dermographism (16.38%), cholinergic urticaria (10.84%), cold urticaria (8.43%). solar urticaria (0.72%), pressure urticaria (0-48%) and delayed cold urticaria (0.48%). The study stresses the, importance of doing physical challenge tests in all patients since historical iuivicions were not always confirmed on subsequ6nt tests. Moreover, some patients of cold chofinergic urticaria were not aware of the precipitating factors and did not provide any clue in the history.
Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Endometrial cancer is the m... more Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer affecting the female genital tract; this disease also stands as the fourth most frequent cancer affecting occidental women. Endometrial cancer is generally well manageable; however, the high metastatic potential of endometrial tumors represents one of the major hurdles in the treatment of this disease. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been considered for a long time as a central mechanism by which cancer cells acquire invasive abilities necessary for metastasis formation. Multiple regulatory networks dictate this complex process; however TGF-β has been shown to be one of the most important inductor of EMT in cancer cells. Still, the process by which TGF-β induces this transition has yet to be fully understood. Our study demonstrates that TGF-β upregulates the expression of Par-4, a tumor suppressor protein concomitantly with the onset of EMT. Four uterine cell lines (Hec-1-a, KLE, HeLa, HIESC), one ovarian cell line (SKOV-3) and one breast cell line (MCF7) were used in this study. We first investigated the effect of exogenous TGF-β treatment on these cell lines to determine its effect on Par-4 expression. We've observed that TGF-β increased Par-4 levels in every cell lines. Preliminary analysis determined that this regulation was made through both Smad4 and p65, which was confirmed by the use of siRNA. We've also demonstrated that this regulation was made at the transcriptional level by RT-qPCR. We then sought to confirm the effect of TGF-β on our cell lines and its effect on EMT induction. Our experiments demonstrated that TGF-β promotes EMT as suggested by the upregulation of multiple EMT markers. Transfections using Par-4 expression plasmids induced similar changes, indicating the involvement of Par-4 in TGF-β mediated EMT induction. We then proceeded to assess the effect of Par-4 knockdown concurrent with exogenous TGF-β stimulation. This experiment revealed that Par-4 knockdown reduced the ability of TGF-β to induce Snail expression, further demonstrating the importance of Par-4 in the process of TGF-β mediated EMT. To conclude the study, we sought to understand the effect of XIAP in this process. Our experiments uncovered that XIAP regulates full length Par-4 levels through the inhibition of its caspase-mediated cleavage. Furthermore, the inhibition of XIAP by siRNAs, and thus of Par-4 cleavage, resulted in the reduction of Par-4 EMT inducing capabilities. In conclusion, our study proposes a novel function of Par-4 as an inductor of EMT in multiple cell lines. Citation Format: Francois Fabi, Parvesh Chaudhry, Mohan Singh, Eric Asselin. Par-4 mediates EMT in response to TGF-β stimulation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1140. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1140
Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1996
We have studied the expression of recombinant forms of Group 1 allergens from rye-grass and Bermu... more We have studied the expression of recombinant forms of Group 1 allergens from rye-grass and Bermuda grass pollens. Recombinant Lol p 1 expressed in bacteria bound serum IgE from allergic patients. Based on analysis of fragments of the Lol p 1 cDNA clone, the major IgE-reactive epitope has been mapped to the C-terminus. However, although SDS-denatured natural Cyn d 1 (from Bermuda grass) bound IgE, the full or partial recombinant proteins expressed in bacteria did not bind IgE. We have since expressed Cyn d 1 in the yeast Pichia pastoris and restored IgE binding. cDNA clones encoding two isoforms of Lol p 5, Lol p 5A and Lol p 5B, have been expressed in bacteria and resulting polypeptides show IgE-binding. Random fragments of these clones have been generated and when expressed as partial recombinant proteins in bacteria, allowed us to identify the major IgE-binding epitopes. The allergenic epitopes were localised towards the C-terminal half of the molecule. Although both isoforms sha...
International journal of clinical pharmacology, therapy, and toxicology, 1993
The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of prescription drugs administered for common ... more The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of prescription drugs administered for common disorders during the post partum period. This is a prospective survey of disorders and drug use in 1) immediate postpartum mothers (n = 200) admitted to the maternity wards, 2) in post-natal hospital follow-up clinic (n = 200) and in 3) the rural home based community (n = 100). A pretested questionnaire was filled in by medical officers after interviewing the mothers. The mean age of the mothers was 25 years and a literacy rate of 50% above the 10th grade. Over 80% of the women were multigravida in the entire sample; 45% underwent Caesarean Section in a hospital; 97.6% had a normal delivery in the community. In the hospital settings 4.1% infants had jaundice and 1% had congenital anomalies. In the community setting, diarrhoea and pneumonia was seen in 2.6% of the infants. Apart from the use of nutritional supplements, such as iron, calcium, multivitamins etc., most commonly prescribed dr...
Epigenetics has been recognised to play vital roles in many plant developmental processes, includ... more Epigenetics has been recognised to play vital roles in many plant developmental processes, including floral initiation through the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The histone modifying proteins that mediate these modifications involve the SET domain-containing histone methyltransferases, JmjC domain-containing demethylase, acetylases and deacetylases. In addition, RNA interference (RNAi)-associated genes are also involved in epigenetic regulation via RNA-directed DNA methylation and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Soybean, a major crop legume, requires a short day to induce flowering. How histone modifications regulate the plant response to external cues that initiate flowering is still largely unknown. Here, we used RNA-seq to address the dynamics of transcripts that are potentially involved in the epigenetic programming and RNAi mediated gene silencing during the floral initiation of soybean. Soybean is a paleopolyploid that has been subjected to at least two rounds...
2011 International Conference on Recent Trends in Information Technology (ICRTIT), 2011
The constant improvement of both hardware and software related to mobile computing is enhancing t... more The constant improvement of both hardware and software related to mobile computing is enhancing the capabilities of mobile devices. The present day mobile phones can run rich stand alone applications as well as distributed client-server applications that access information via a web gateway. This changed environment brings new opportunities as well as constraints for mobile application developers. A move towards
Homozygote plants for the (S) self-incompatibility gene have been produced in Brassica campestris... more Homozygote plants for the (S) self-incompatibility gene have been produced in Brassica campestris L. var. ‘T 15’. Stigmas from plants designated S1S1, S2S2 and S4S4 were extracted and their protein separated on an isoelectric focusing mini-gel. Differences were observed between proteins from stigmas of the three S-homozygous groups: S-genotype specific proteins were determined for S1S1 and S2S2 stigmas that were
A comparative study of various stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions in polymers has bee... more A comparative study of various stopping power tables and codes for heavy ions in polymers has been made by comparing the computed stopping power values with the corresponding experimental values. The energy loss of different heavy ions (3<=;Z1<=;29) in the energy domain of ˜0.19-3.14 MeV/n has been studied in six different polymers mostly used as particle track detectors viz: Mylar
Seven new male-sterile mutants (ms7-ms13) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype columbia) ... more Seven new male-sterile mutants (ms7-ms13) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype columbia) are described that show a postmeiotic defect of microspore development. In ms9 mutants, microspores recently released from the tetrad appear irregular in shape and are often without exines. The earliest evidence of abnormality in ms12 mutants is degeneration of microspores that lack normal exine sculpturing, suggesting that the MS12 product is important in the formation of pollen exine. Teratomes (abnormally enlarged microsporocytes) are also occasionally present and each has a poorly developed exine. In ms7 mutant plants, the tapetal cytoplasm disintegrates at the late vacuolate microspore stage, apparently causing the degeneration of microspores and pollen grains. With ms8 mutants, the exine of the microspores appears similar to that of the wild type. However, intine development appears impaired and pollen grains rupture prior to maturity. In ms11 mutants, the first detectable abnormality appears at the mid to late vacuolate stage. The absence of fluorescence in the microspores and tapetal cells after staining with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and the occasional presence of teratomes indicate degradation of DNA. Viable pollen from ms10 mutant plants is dehisced from anthers but appears to have surface abnormalities affecting interaction with the stigma. Pollen only germinates in high-humidity conditions or during in-vitro germination experiments. Mutant plants also have bright-green stems, suggesting that ms10 belongs to the eceriferum (cer) class of mutants. However, ms10 and cer6 are non-allelic. The ms13 mutant has a similar phenotype to ms10, suggesting is also an eceriferum mutation. Each of these seven mutants had a greater number of flowers than congenic male-fertile plants. The non-allelic nature of these mutants and their different developmental end-points indicate that seven different genes important for the later stages of pollen development have been identified.
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Papers by Mohan Singh