Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Puranam Usha Sarma

Taruna Madan

Shweta Saxena

Yogendra Singh

Preetida Jagdish Bhetariya

Taruna Madan Gupta

Anupam Varma

Lakshna Mahajan

Uday Kishore

Savneet Kaur

Steffen Thiel

Three important species ofandare known to contribute to the pathogenicity of allergic and invasive diseases in humans. They are also known to be plant pathogens. Several important ESTs/genes ofspecies are now identified and characterized. Efforts are still needed to explore 30% genes ofspecies for their valuable products which need to be explored. Polyketide biosynthetic pathway inspecies produce important secondary metabolites like polyketide toxins such as Aflatoxins, drugs such as Lovastatins and several other important pharmaceutically important polyketide compounds etc. With the availability ofgenome sequences it is possible today to characterize the structure and function of important genes ofspecies. Based on the gene sequence information on PKS enzymes in medically and agriculturally importantspecies such asandsequences of diagnostic use are identified and a multiplex PCR assay is developed using clinical and agricultural samples.

Diagnostic assays for the detection and identification of aspergilli

The present invention provides the use of formulation with surfactant protein-D (SP-D) in the modulation of activity of human eosinophils derived from hypereosinophilic patients to an increased activation state and increased apoptosis. Accordingly the utility of the invention can be extended in human subjects in resolution of eosinophilic inflammations in related diseases and disorders like neuromuscular and respiratory diseases with eosinophilia other than airway-hyperresponsiveness, allergy and asthma, hypereosinophilic leukemias, hypereosinophilc syndromes (rare hematological diseases), skin diseases like eosinophilia-Myalgia syndrome, eosinophilic fascitis, capillary leak syndromes (IL-2), Churg-Strauss syndrome, toxic oil syndrome, parasitosis, etc., where a large number of stimulated eosinophils accumulate and release a series of growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, bioactive lipid mediators, toxic oxygen metabolites.

Human lung surfactant protein, SP-D, modulates eosinophil activation and survival and enhances phagocytosis of apoptotic bosinophils

The invention provides a method for predicting the susceptibility of an individual to pulmonary tuberculosis, the method comprising amplifying genomic DNA of pulmonary tuberculosis patients and normal control individuals using oligonuecleotide primers, sequencing the amplified PCR product and identifying the sequence variation computationally by comparing it with the already existing sequence of human SP-A2 gene.

Method of detection of SP-A2 gene variants

Allele specific primers and probes suitable for detecting allelic variants of human SP-A2 gene for applications such as molecular diagnosis, prediction of an individual's susceptibility, and/or the genetic analysis of SP-A2 gene in a population.

Method of detection of SP-A2 gene variants useful for prediction of predisposition to aspergillosis

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Delhi, India

Puranam Usha Sarma