Biology subjects

Maiti, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Maiti, B..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A first-in-class multimodal organomercury compound demonstrates preferential blast reduction with hematopoietic and immune restoration in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute leukemia treatment requires effective blast reduction while improving hematopoietic and immune health. As reported previously, we developed a structurally distinct organomercury derivative of curcumin, -Mercurin, having improved aqueous solubility and intravenous applicability. Here we comprehensively evaluated therapeutic efficacy, pharmacological response, systemic toxicity, blood Hg pharmacokinetics (PK), Hg biodistribution and elimination profile for -Mercurin in a N-nitroso-N-ethylurea (ENU)-induced autochthonous Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) rat model, comparing with clinical standard cytarabine. Results showed recovery in body-weight, along with longer time-to-humane-endpoint from 13 to 39 days. Treatment successfully reduced immature blast count, while promoting erythroid, myeloid, and megakaryocytic compartments and improving immune mediators across peripheral blood, bone marrow, thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes. Histopathology showed reduced leukemic infiltration with preservation of major organ architecture, while cytarabine produced evident myelosuppression, neurotoxicity, and cardiotoxicity. PK study showed blood Hg reached Tmax at 15 min, followed by urinary and fecal elimination with residual retention in kidney tissue and no detectable Hg in brain. Collectively, -Mercurin demonstrated a promising multimodal therapeutic index, combining cytoreductive activity with improvement in hematopoietic and immune health, along with favorable safety profile for future ALL therapy.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

SEASONAL PM2.5 DIFFERENTIALLY REGULATES JAK2/STAT3 SIGNALING IN RURAL AND URBAN COHORTS

Ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) is a major environmental carcinogen linked to lung cancer, yet its molecular insights on asymptomatic non-smokers remains unclear. This study examined the effect of seasonal fluctuations of PM2.5 on oxidative stress and pro-oncogenic signaling in rural (RU) and urban (UR) cohorts from West Bengal, India. Environmental monitoring revealed higher PM2.5 and associated benzo[]pyrene in UR, during winter, induced oxidative stress (elevated ROS, 8-OHdG), reduced antioxidants (SOD, catalase, GPx), and promoted airway inflammation. Transcriptomic and bioinformatic analyses identified activation of IL-6/EGFR-driven JAK2/STAT3 signaling and its crosstalk with Ras/Raf/MAPK, leading to increased expression of downstream effectors (BCL-2, MCL-1, c-MYC, cyclin D1) and repression of tumor suppressors (BAX, p21). Notably, downregulation of JAK/STAT inhibitors PIAS2 and SOCS2 suggested persistent activation of oncogenic signaling. Linear mixed-effects models linked winter PM2.5 surges to oxidative stress, inflammation, and altered JAK2/STAT3 signaling, while regression models showed stronger responses in UR. Risk modeling predicted significantly higher lung cancer mortality in UR, underscoring the role of seasonal PM2.5 surges in JAK2/STAT3-driven carcinogenic susceptibility and the urgent need for targeted interventions.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

SARS-COV-2 Spike Protein Fragment eases Amyloidogenesis of α-Synuclein

Parkinsons Disease is accompanied by presence of amyloids in the brain formed of -synuclein chains. Correlation between COVID-19 and the onset of Parkinsons disease let to the idea that amyloidogenic segments in SARS-COV-2 proteins can induce aggregation of -synuclein. Using molecular dynamic simulations, we show that the fragment FKNIDGYFKI of the spike protein, which is unique for SARS-COV-2, shifts preferentially the ensemble of -synuclein monomer towards rod-like fibril seeding conformations, and at the same time stabilizes differentially this polymorph over the competing twister-like structure. Our results are compared with earlier work relying on a different protein fragment that is not specific for SARS-COV-2.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2023

Human Amylin in the Presence of SARS-COV-2 Protein Fragments

Covid-19 can lead to the onset of type-II diabetes which is associated with aggregation of islet amyloid polypeptides, also called amylin. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate how the equilibrium, between amylin monomers in its functional form and fibrils associated with diabetes, is altered in presence of SARS-COV-2 protein fragments. For this purpose, we study the interaction between the fragment SFYVYSRVK of the Envelope protein or the fragment FKNIDGYFKI of the Spike protein with the monomer and two amylin fibril models. Our results are compared with earlier work studying such interactions for two different proteins.

biophysics↗