It has been extensively reported that chewing of smokeless tobacco (SLT) can lead to cancers of oral cavity. In present study, the relationship between arsenic (As) exposure via chewing/inhaling different SLT products in oral cancer patients have or/not consumed SLT products was studied. The As in different types of SLT products (gutkha, mainpuri, and snuff) and biological (scalp hair and blood) samples of different types of oral cancer patients and controls were analyzed. Both controls and oral cancer patients have same age group (ranged 30-60 years), socio-economic status, localities, and dietary habits. The concentrations of As in SLT products and biological samples were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometer after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The validity and accuracy of the methodology were checked by certified reference materials. The resulted data of present study indicates that the concentration of As was significantly higher in scalp hair and blood samples of oral cancer patients than those of controls (p<0.001). It was also observed that the values of As were two- to threefolds higher in biological samples of controls subjects, consuming SLT products as compared to those have none of these habits (p>0.01). The intake of As via consuming different SLT may have synergistic effects, in addition to other risk factors associated with oral cancer.
Interleukin 17 F is a member of IL-17 cytokine family with a 50% structural homology to IL-17A and plays a significant role either alone or in combination with IL-17A towards inflammation in Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A growing number of drugs targeting IL-17 pathway are being tested against population specific disease markers. The major objective of this research was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of Anakinra (an IL-1 R1 inhibitor) and Ustekinumab (an IL-12 and IL-23 inhibitor) by targeting IL17F. The three dimensional structures of IL17F was taken from PDB while structures of drugs were taken from PubChem database. Docking was performed using MOE and Schrodinger ligand docking software and binding energies, including s-score using London-dG fitness function and glide score using glide internal energy function, between drug and targets were compared. Furthermore, Protein-Drug complex were subjected to 150 ns Molecular Dynamics (MD) Simulations using Schrodinger's Desmond Module. Docking and MD simulation results suggest anakinra as a more potent IL17F inhibitor and forming a more structurally stable complex.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.