Source: https://www.amrita.edu/faculty/sanjaypal
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 19:58:43+00:00

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We are screening different potential probiotic microbes from popular and affordable fermented food and beverages, which bind to denatured collagen (gelatine) and fibronectin. The goal is to design better probiotics, peptides drugs which will compete against the host -pathogen interaction at cell surface and also to design bacteriophages which will compete/kill the enteric pathogens (Sanitation Biotechnology).
An innovative green technology for treating municipal and industrial wastewater entering rivers and streams. IC-IMPACTS, Canada & DBT, Govt of India.
Characterization of the fibronectin isoforms and its fragments. Funded by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Matrix Binding microbes and bacteriophages to counter infection. Funded by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
Post-doctoral Fellowship, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas, USA with Prof. Bjorn Steffensen (2006-2010) and Prof. Goutam Ghosh Choudhury (2010).
Post-doctoral Fellowship, University of Guelph, Canada (2005) with Prof Praveen K. Saxena.
Research Fellowship at Borstel Research Centre, GERMANY with Professor Dr. Ulrich Zähringer (2001).
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) -Research Associate (2003).
State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) conducted by West Bengal College Service Commission for Lectureship. (1996).
CSIR – National Eligibility Test (NET) for Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lectureship in Indian Universities (1996).
Fellowship from IIT, Kharagpur (1997-98) and CSIR (1998-2004), Govt. of India for graduate (MTech & PhD) studies.
Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) (1995). Percentile: 97.77 (All India rank: 58).
A. Vijayakumar, Ajith Madhavan, Chinchu Bose, Nanjan Pandurangan, Sindhu Shetty K, Archana Palillamvedu, Megha Prasad, Dr. Sanjay Pal, and Dr. Bipin G. Nair, “Potent Chitin Synthase Inhibitors from Plants”, Current Bioactive Compounds, vol. 14, 2018.
Major autolysin (Atl) of Staphylococcus aureusis a cell surface associated peptidoglycan hydrolase with amidase and glucosaminidase domains. Atl enzymes (amidase and glucosaminidase) are known to participate in biofilm formation and also can bind with host matrices. Earlier studies demonstrated the binding of Atlwithfibronectin, thrombospondin 1, vitronectin and heat shock cognate protein Hsc70. Here, we have shown, Atl mediates attachment of S.aureus to heparin and gelatine as well. The atl mutant strain demonstrated around 2.5 fold decreased adherence with fibronectin, gelatin and heparin coated microtiter plates. The microscopic studies confirmed the reduced binding of atl mutant with them compared to its parental wild type and complemented mutant strains. Amidase and glucosaminidase were expressed as N-terminal histidine tagged proteins from Escherichia coli, purified and refolded. We found refolded amidase bind with fibronectin, gelatin and heparin; whereas refolded glucosaminidase binds with only fibronectin and heparin but not gelatin. These results reemphasize Atl as one of the crucial proteins from Staphylococcus that facilitate their binding with multiple host cellular components during colonization and infection.
Platelet-derived growth factor BB and its receptor (PDGFRβ) play a pivotal role in the development of renal glomerular mesangial cells. Their roles in increased mesangial cell proliferation during mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis have long been noted, but the operating logic of signaling mechanisms regulating these changes remains poorly understood. We examined the role of a recently identified MAPK, Erk5, in this process. PDGF increased the activating phosphorylation of Erk5 and tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins in a time-dependent manner. A pharmacologic inhibitor of Erk5, XMD8-92, abrogated PDGF-induced DNA synthesis and mesangial cell proliferation. Similarly, expression of dominant negative Erk5 or siRNAs against Erk5 blocked PDGF-stimulated DNA synthesis and proliferation. Inhibition of Erk5 attenuated expression of cyclin D1 mRNA and protein, resulting in suppression of CDK4-mediated phosphorylation of the tumor suppressor protein pRb. Expression of cyclin D1 or CDK4 prevented the dominant negative Erk5- or siErk5-mediated inhibition of DNA synthesis and mesangial cell proliferation induced by PDGF. We have previously shown that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) contributes to PDGF-induced proliferation of mesangial cells. Inhibition of PI3-kinase blocked PDGF-induced phosphorylation of Erk5. Since PI3-kinase acts through Akt, we determined the role of Erk5 on Akt phosphorylation. XMD8-92, dominant negative Erk5, and siErk5 inhibited phosphorylation of Akt by PDGF. Interestingly, we found inhibition of PDGF-induced Erk5 phosphorylation by a pharmacological inhibitor of Akt kinase and kinase dead Akt in mesangial cells. Thus our data unfold the presence of a positive feedback microcircuit between Erk5 and Akt downstream of PI3-kinase nodal point for PDGF-induced mesangial cell proliferation.
An innovative approach to enhance the selectivity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors comprises targeting these inhibitors to catalytically required substrate binding sites (exosites) that are located outside the catalytic cleft. In MMP-2, positioning of collagen substrate molecules occurs via a unique fibronectin-like domain (CBD) that contains three distinct modular collagen binding sites. To characterize the contributions of these exosites to gelatinolysis by MMP-2, seven MMP-2 variants were generated with single, or concurrent double and triple alanine substitutions in the three fibronectin type II modules of the CBD. Circular dichroism spectroscopy verified that recombinant MMP-2 wild-type (WT) and variants had the same fold. Moreover, the MMP-2 WT and variants had the same activity on a short FRET peptide substrate that is hydrolyzed independently of CBD binding. Among single-point variants, substitution in the module 3 binding site had greatest impact on the affinity of MMP-2 for gelatin. Simultaneous substitutions in two or three CBD modules further reduced gelatin binding. The rates of gelatinolysis of MMP-2 variants were reduced by 20–40% following single-point substitutions, by 60–75% after double-point modifications, and by > 90% for triple-point variants. Intriguingly, the three CBD modules contributed differentially to cleavage of dissociated α-1(I) and α-2(I) collagen chains. Importantly, kinetic analyses (kcat/Km) revealed that catalysis of a triple-helical FRET peptide substrate by MMP-2 relied primarily on the module 3 binding site. Thus, we have identified three collagen binding site residues that are essential for gelatinolysis and constitute promising targets for selective inhibition of MMP-2.
Cellular activation of latent matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2) requires formation of a cell membrane-associated activation complex that involves specific binding between the hemopexin domain of proMMP-2 (PEX) and the C-terminal domain of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-2 (C-TIMP-2). In this study, we tested the feasibility of inhibiting activation of proMMP-2 by exogenous inhibitors, which block the binding between PEX and TIMP-2. The recombinant C-TIMP-2 and synthetic peptides from C-TIMP-2 were used as inhibitors for proMMP-2 activation. Recombinant C-TIMP-2 bound specifically to both the catalytically inactive MMP-2(E404A) and the C-terminal domain of MMP-2 (PEX) in a concentration dependent manner with apparent K(d) of 3.9×10(-7)M and 1.7×10(-7)M, respectively. Moreover, C-TIMP-2 competed the binding between MMP-2(E404A) and full-length TIMP-2. Finally, activity assays showed that addition of C-TIMP-2 to HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells inhibited proMMP-2 activation in a concentration-dependent manner. We then designed a synthetic peptide, P175L, consisting of 20 residues from the PEX-binding tail region of C-TIMP-2. P175L bound PEX and inhibited cell membrane-mediated activation of proMMP-2 in a concentration dependent manner. Deletion of the last 9 tail residues of C-TIMP-2 in P175L abrogated the inhibitory activities of the peptide showing that these residues were essential for function. Overall, these experiments have demonstrated that proMMP-2 activation can be inhibited by exogenous inhibitors which points to a potential strategy for MMP-2 specific inhibition.
X. ZHU, Xu, X., Chen, Z., Mikhailova, M., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and Steffensen, B., “Fibronectin and Collagen Glycation Alter MMP Expression in Periodontal Fibroblasts”, J Dent Res, vol. 89, no. A, p. #1458, 2010.
Interactions of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) with native and denatured forms of several types of collagen are mediated by the collagen binding domain (CBD). CBD positions substrates relative to the catalytic site and is essential for their cleavage. Our previous studies identified a CBD binding site on the α1(I) collagen chain. The corresponding synthetic collagen peptide P713 bound CBD with high affinity and was used in this study to identify specific collagen binding residues by NMR analysis of 15N-labeled CBD complexed with P713. Results obtained showed that P713 caused chemical shift perturbations of several surface-exposed CBD backbone amide resonances in a concentration-dependent manner. The 10 residues that underwent the largest chemical shift perturbations (R252 in module 1, R296, F297, Y302, E321, Y323, and Y329 in module 2, and R368, W374, and Y381 in module 3) were investigated by site-specific substitution with alanine. The structural integrity of the CBD variants was also analyzed by one-dimensional 1H NMR. Surface plasmon resonance and microwell protein binding assays of control and CBD variants showed that residues in all three CBD modules contributed to collagen binding. Single-residue substitutions altered the affinity for peptide P713, as well as native and denatured type I collagen, with the greatest effects observed for residues in modules 2 and 3. Additional alanine substitutions involving residues in two or three modules simultaneously further reduced the level of binding of CBD to native and denatured type I collagen and demonstrated that all three modules contribute to substrate binding. These results have localized and confirmed the key collagen binding site residues in the three fibronectin type II-like modules of MMP-2.
D. S, S, D., A, M., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and S, D., “Optimization of sucrose and dissolved oxygen level for somatic embryo production of Santalum album in airlift bioreactor”, Prensa Aromatica, vol. 14, pp. 12-13, 1998.
A. P. Veedu, R. N. Reshma, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, Dr. Sanjay Pal, and A. Madhavan, “Activity of probiotic strains against enteric pathogens”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017) , Punjab,India. , 2018.
D. Tharuvana, A. Sundaresh, V. J. Sreelakshmi, A. Das, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, Dr. Sanjay Pal, and Madhavan, A., “Sand and charcoal as matrices for immobilization of phages for wastewater treatment”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017) , Punjab, India. , 2018.
S. Subhash, A. B. Kuruvelil, P. V. Aswathi, K. Deepasree, C. D. Navyamol, Das N. P. V., P. Prasad, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Screening of nematicidal activities of biocontrol fungi Aspergillus niger and Penicillium oxalicum using C. elegans as model”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017) , Punjab, India. , 2018.
V. Prakash, H. Sreetha, K. H. Poornima, K. N. Lakshmimol, R. Regma, H. Fathima, T. V. Vishnu, S. Venu, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Antagonistic effects of bacteriocins from Lactobacillus spp. against enteric pathogens”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017), Punjab, India ., 2018.
M. Sreejith, A. P. Reghu, K. Anandakrishnan, P. J. Gopika, G. Kuriakose, M. J. Reshma, K. Vishnu, A. Madhavan, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Screening potential antimicrobial compounds by resazurin dye based viability assay”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017), Punjab, India, 2018.
Pradeesh Babu, S. J. Poornendu, Amrita Salim, Madhavan, A., Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Resazurin based redox dye as an indicator for monitoring wastewater biological activity”, in Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017), Punjab, India, 2018.
V. Amrutha., Prasad Megha, A. Lekshmija, R Anjana, S. Aleena, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, Madhavan, A., and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Effect of compost derived lytic agents against enteric bacteria in sewage”, in InnovativeStrategies for Sustainable Water Management (ISSWM-2017), Punjab, India. , 2018.
Around 30 percent of the operating costs of conventional centralized wastewater treatment is required for energy to operate the machines for pump and aeration. Comparatively, constructed wetlands involving photosynthetic plants and other organisms have a lower energy requirement. The aim of the present work is to select aquatic plants which have high efficiency of removing infection in wastewater. Four plants were chosen from locally available plants growing in wastewater. They were put in raw wastewater from toilets for 24 h and were tested for their survival and growth measured by chlorophyll content. Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) and Duckweed were found to be best compared to Azolla and Hydrilla. The efficiency of removal of enteric infections was done by culturing the treated wastewater on Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar media, a selective and differential medium for enteric gram negative bacteria. The best performing plants were Brahmi and Hydrilla which reduced the load by 67-70%. But Hydrilla did not grow as well compared to Brahmi as evident from the chlorophyll content. Hence Brahmi and Duckweed can be considered as most effective for removal of infection in wastewater among the four tested plants and potentially may save energy and synthetic chemicals otherwise required for conventional treatment systems. Brahmi, famous for its high value medicinal compounds against neuronal problems, may be used for extraction of the compounds. The remaining biomass can be used as feedstock in anaerobic digester for methane/ethanol generation to be used as biofuel.
A. Madhavan, K. Shetty, S., G. Anjana, A. Das, A.S. Athira, H. Hari, K. S. Lekshmi, S. Babu, Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Pneumatophore inspired biomimetic approach to design an energy neutral aerator for application in composting”, in Technical Program Committee of the “2017 IEEE International ( Biennial) Conference on Technological Advancements in Power and Energy”, TAP Energy-2017. , 2017.
A. Madhavan, Prasad Megha, S. Girish, Shetty, S., Dr. Bipin G. Nair, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Caulobacter crescentus as a novel exoelectricigen in a dual chambered Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC)”, in Technical Program Committee of the “2017 IEEE International( Biennial) Conference on Technological Advancements in Power and Energy”, TAP Energy-2017. , 2017.
In the present study bioelectricity generation from waste water was evaluated in a double chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC). Waste water and potassium permanganate solution (0.3%) was loaded in the anodic and the cathodic chamber respectively. The performance of MFC was studied with two different electrodes (aluminum and carbon as anodes and copper as cathode). Current and voltage measurements were carried out using Keithley source meter (2420) and multimeter respectively. The Voltammetric analysis was done to study the anodic oxidation rate. The resistance of the system was found to be low (0.466 Ω for the aluminum anode and 0.673 Ω carbon anode) which were deduced from the power density curves. The system showed a COD removal of 77% over a period of a week ofk operation.
A. L, K, A., S, A., MU, C., S, N., Dr. Sudarslal S., and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Isolation and characterization of host binding proteins from Bacillus clausii using mass spectrometry”, in Proceedings of International Conference on Biotechnology for Innovative Applications (Amrita BioQuest 2013), 2013.
R. M. Nair, Nambiar, S. S., TV, V., L, V. Prabhu, Menon, D., Gandhi, B. Balan, P, C., Dr. Nandita Mishra, and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Characterization of Fibronectin Isoforms and Fragments”, in Proceedings of International Conference on Biotechnology for Innovative Applications (Amrita BioQuest 2013), 2013.
Dr. Nandita Mishra, Suresh, A., S, A., P.V, A., .P, P., O.J, S., P, C., and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Studies on Probiotic Strains from Fermented Foods & Beverages in Kerala”, in Proceedings of International Conference on Biotechnology for Innovative Applications (Amrita BioQuest 2013), 2013.
D. S, S, D., Dr. Sanjay Pal, A, M., S, S., NR, P., S, D., and S, D., “A novel process for rapid mass propagation of the aromatic plant Sandal (Santalum album) in liquid media and bioreactor”, in World Congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants for Human Welfare, Nov.10-15, ICMAP-ISHS-SAIPA, Mendoza, Republica Argentina, 1997.
C. P., P., B., N., M., V., A., C., N., G., V., S., S., A., M., B.G., N., N., M., and Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Transformation, expression and activity analysis of recombinant Staphylococcus autolysin in Bacillus”, The 39th All India Cell Biology Conference on “Cellular Organization and Dynamics", Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, . Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, 2015.
Salim Amrita, Ugesh, k.p., Chandni, P., Sreerangini, M. R., Bipin, N., Ajith, M., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and Sreetha, H., “Isolation and characterization of bacteriophage treatment of domestic wastewater”, Proceeding of the 56th International Annual Conference of The Association of Microbiologist of India . JNU, New Delhi, 2015.
Vijayakumar Amrutha, Chinchu, B., Nanjan Pandurangan, Dr. Sanjay Pal, G. Bipin, N., Ajith, M., and Salim Amrita, “Potent chitin Synthase inhibitors from Plant sources”, Proceeding of National seminar on Recent advances in medicinal plant research. Bharat mata college , 2015.
B. Steffensen, Mikhailova, M., Xu, X., Robichaud, T. K., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and Fields, G. S., “Molecular targets for selective inhibitors of MMP-2.”, J. Dent. Res., vol. 92. SAGE, p. 2861, 2013.
Dr. Nandita Mishra, Dr. Sanjay Pal, Nair, R. R., Krishna, A., Ajith, A., V, A., KS, D., Nedungadi, D., and P, C., “Expression and refolding of recombinant staphylococcal amidases in E. coli”, Proceedings of International Conference on Biotechnology for Innovative Applications (Amrita BioQuest 2013). Elsevier Publications, p. 106, 2013.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, “Characterization of the Probiotic attributes of a Gelatin binding Lactobacillus from local curd”, XXXV Cell biology conference, 16-18 Dec. NISER, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, 2011.
M. M, X, X., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and B, S., “Collagen Binding Site Residues are Key to MMP-2 Enzymatic Activities”, 28th Annual Dental Science Symposium, UTHSCSA and Cancer Development and Progression Program Retreat, San Antonio. 2010.
S. B, Dr. Sanjay Pal, Z, C., X, X., M, M., H, Y., and Y, W., “Proteolytic processing of fibronectin by MMP-2 produces fragments with distinct biological properties”, Gordon Research Conference on Proteases and Inhibitors. Il Ciocco, Italy, 2010.
M. M, X, X., Z, C., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and B, S., “Identical amino acids on MMP-2 position different types of collagen for cleavage”, The 27th Annual Dental Science Symposium, UTHSCSA and The Cancer Development and Progression Program Retreat, San Antonio. 2009.
X. X, M, M., U, I., Z, C., A, Y., Dr. Sanjay Pal, AP, H., and B, S., “Mapping and Functional Confirmation of the Collagen Binding Sites of MMP-2”, Gordon Research Conference on Matrix Metalloproteinases. Les Diablerets, Switzerland, 2009.
X. X, S, B., Z, C., Dr. Sanjay Pal, M, M., and B, S., “Inhibition of proMMP-2 activation by carboxyl-terminal domain of TIMP-2 in vitro”, The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting Special Poster Session. Washington, DC, 2008.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, Z, C., X, X., M, M., Y, W., and B, S., “Cleavage of fibronectin by MMP-2 generates fragments with distinct biological activities”, The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting Special Poster Session. Washington, DC, 2008.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, Z, C., X, X., M, M., RJ, K., and B, S., “Enhanced strategy for separating human plasma fibronectin from MMPs by affinity chromatography”, The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting Special Poster Session. Washington, DC, 2007.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, S, D., A, M., and S, D., “Characterization Of Spent Media During Somatic Embryogenesis Of Sandalwood In Suspension Culture: Exploring Value Addition”, IUPAC International Conference on biodiversity and natural products: Chemistry and Medical Applications, Jan. 26-31. New Delhi, India, 2004.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, S, D., and S, D., “Purification and characterization of arabinogalactan protein (AGP) during somatic embryogenesis in sandalwood (Santalum album L.)”, XXV All India Cell Biology Conference, Nov 1-3. IISc, Bangalore, India., 2001.
Dr. Sanjay Pal, Dey, S., and Das, S., “Herbal skin nourishing gel”, 2000.
S. Das, Das, S., .Mujib, A., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and .Dey, S., “Influence of carbon and pH on rapid mass propagation of Santalum album through somatic embryogenesis: Biotechnology application in agroforestry”, in Sandal and Its Products, AICAR, Canberra, Australia, 1998, pp. 66-68.
A. .Mujib, Das, S., Das, S., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and .Dey, S., “Biotechnological Routes of Mass Propagation of Santalum album”, in Role of biotechnology in medicinal and aromatic plants - I. A Khan (ed.) , vol. I, Ukaaz Publication, Hyderabad, India, 1998, pp. 83-94.
S. Das, .Mujib, A., Das, S., Dr. Sanjay Pal, and .Dey, S., “Biotechnology of medicinal plants: Recent advances and potential”, in Role of biotechnology in medicinal and aromatic plants, vol. 2, Ukaaz Publication, Hyderabad, India, 1998, pp. 126-139.

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