Page 87 - Annual report 2021-22
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Annual Report 2021-22 |






               Sagarika Biswas

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               Sagarika Biswas works towards developing molecular markers of joint diseases.

               It has been long speculated that plant miRNAs may be transferred to primary consumers along the
               food chain.  However, it is not entirely clear if these plant derived miRNAs could be acquired in intact
               form and could influence the target genes in the animal. Since the miRNA machinery is comparable, it
               is interesting to speculate that plant derived miRNAs could affect animal species through this route.
               It may even be useful and commercially relevant besides being fundamentally important. Detection
               of a miRNA from the turmeric plant (C. longa miRNA; clo-mir-14) in human sera and synovial tissues
               of RA and comparing its abundance in host was proposed. Screening of proteins affected by in vitro
               transfection of clo-mir-14 in RA primary cells would also shed light on its functional role. Clo-mir-14
               was detected in arthritis patients' serum/plasma and confirmed using RT-PCR. Stability of miRNA over
               cooking  temperature  which  is  crucial  for  cross  kingdom  regulation  from  food  source  was  also
               established.  The  results  indicated  that  the  plant  miRNA  is  stable  enough  to  evade  cooking
               temperature.  Primary  cell  line  has  been  developed  from  the  patients  biopsy  synovium  and  upon
               induction of clo-mir-14 there is significant decrease in the level of RA specific cytokines such as TNF
               alpha and IL-1beta in primary synovial cells.
               Rheumatoid  Arthritis  (RA)  is  a  chronic,  autoimmune  and  progressive  inflammatory  joint  disease.
               Currently rheumatoid factor (RF), Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), anti-citrullinated protein
               antibodies (ACPA), C-reactive protein (CRP) are used for clinical diagnosis of RA. But the specificity and
               sensitivity are lacking in these markers. A combined metabolome and proteome profiling to develop
               a predictive biomarker set for rheumatoid arthritis assessment is being generated in the laboratory of
               Sagarika  Biswas.  This  will  serve  to  enhance  our  understanding  of  the  metabolomic  profile  in  the
               biofluids  (plasma,  synovial  fluid  and synovium)  in  the  context  of  Rheumatoid  arthritis  along  with
               differential proteome profile. The aim is to understand the altered metabolites and their functional
               implication  in  RA-Fibroblast  like  Synoviocytes  and  elucidate  their  association  in  pathogenesis.
               Validation of identified metabolites and proteins in the cohort of RA patients to identify biomarker
               signature and therapeutic targets will also be taken up.
               High throughput analytical techniques were used in Sagarika’s lab to explore the vital modifications at
               cellular level. They collected blood samples from an RA patient (n=35) and healthy (n=10) from AIIMS,
               New Delhi. Metabolomic analysis of RA (n=6) and healthy (n=6) were carried out using  HPLC/LCMS
               followed  by  UPLC-HRMS  technique.  Pathway  prediction  analysis  of  all  altered  metabolites  were
               carried out. Significant metabolites fell under the sphingolipid and glycerophospholipid metabolism
               pathway.  Pooled  RA  and  healthy  samples  were  subjected  to  SWATH-MS  Acquisition  Using  High-
               Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Total 296 proteins, amongst which 197 proteins were differentially
               regulated; 67 were upregulated and 129 were downregulated. Among them 29 were upregulated and
               34 were downregulated.

               Towards  understanding  differences  in  the  patterns  of  osteoarthritis  in  the  Indian  and  western
               population, impact on symptoms, treatment options and their outcome were studied. Blood/synovial
               fluid (SF)/synovium samples from 87 TKR/UKR Osteo Arthritis (OA) patients from AIIMS New Delhi and
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