@inbook {9067, title = {The Diagnostic Success Story: C-CAMP COVID-19 Innovations Deployment Accelerator (C-CIDA)}, booktitle = {At War with the Single Strand: How Indian Science Fought the COVID-19 Pandemic}, year = {2025}, pages = {53{\textendash}56}, publisher = {Springer Nature Singapore}, organization = {Springer Nature Singapore}, address = {Singapore}, abstract = {

Novel coronavirus COVID-19 emerged as one of the gravest public healthcare challenges in recent history. Even before the first lockdown started, we at C-CAMP had already felt the need to identify and work with such indigenously developed and indigenously produced COVID-19 innovations for rapid deployment. One of the first such innovations we fast-tracked in early March was a rapid diagnostics kit that has since received regulatory nods and was deployed in the field. As the virus marched on with no sign of reprieve, we recognized the importance of being more organized and focused in our efforts. Through the last decade or so of India{\textquoteright}s biotech boom, India{\textquoteright}s bio start-ups have been putting forward Made-in-India globally competitive solutions. Now was the time to capitalize on these technologies and align them with unmet needs for rapid deployment at an unprecedented scale.

}, isbn = {978-981-96-8122-8}, doi = {10.1007/978-981-96-8122-8_5}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-8122-8_5}, author = {Saiyed, Taslimarif and Chandavarkar, Nandita and Chakraborty, Debarshini and Janardan, Neelanjana and Alam, Mohammad Atif and Patel, Paresh and Gupta, Preksha and Bhardwaj, Vishal and Wala, Bhavisha and Joshi, Niranjan and Mukherjee, Titash and Vuppala, Kiran and Kiran, Amritanjali and Das, Deboleena Raha and Jain, Neeraj and Kumar, Manoj and Chandran, Subhashini and Rao, Madhusudhana and Joshi, Madhav and Kakkar, Abhishek and Khirani, Sekhar}, editor = {Swarup, Renu and Padmanaban, Govindarajan and Arora, Narendra Kumar} } @article {8708, title = {Multiplexed fluorescence and scatter detection with single cell resolution using on-chip fiber optics for droplet microfluidic applications [Discovery to Innovation Accelerator, C-CAMP]}, journal = {Microsyst Nanoeng}, volume = {10}, year = {2024}, month = {2024}, pages = {35}, abstract = {

Droplet microfluidics has emerged as a critical component of several high-throughput single-cell analysis techniques in biomedical research and diagnostics. Despite significant progress in the development of individual assays, multiparametric optical sensing of droplets and their encapsulated contents has been challenging. The current approaches, most commonly involving microscopy-based high-speed imaging of droplets, are technically complex and require expensive instrumentation, limiting their widespread adoption. To address these limitations, we developed the OptiDrop platform; this platform is a novel optofluidic setup that leverages the principles of flow cytometry. Our platform enables on-chip detection of the scatter and multiple fluorescence signals from the microfluidic droplets and their contents using optical fibers. The highly customizable on-chip optical fiber-based signal detection system enables simplified, miniaturized, low-cost, multiparametric sensing of optical signals with high sensitivity and single-cell resolution within each droplet. To demonstrate the ability of the OptiDrop platform, we conducted a differential expression analysis of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) protein in response to IFN stimulation. Our results showed the platform{\textquoteright}s ability to sensitively detect cell surface biomarkers using fluorescently labeled antibodies. Thus, the OptiDrop platform combines the versatility of flow cytometry with the power of droplet microfluidics to provide wide-ranging, scalable optical sensing solutions for research and diagnostics.

}, issn = {2055-7434}, doi = {10.1038/s41378-024-00665-w}, author = {Gupta, Preksha and Mohan, Ambili and Mishra, Apurv and Nair, Atindra and Chowdhury, Neeladri and Balekai, Dhanush and Rai, Kavyashree and Prabhakar, Anil and Saiyed, Taslimarif} } @article {986, title = {Enhancement of the gut barrier integrity by a microbial metabolite through the Nrf2 pathway [Discovery to Innovation Accelerator]}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {10}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jan 09}, pages = {89}, abstract = {

The importance of gut microbiota in human health and pathophysiology is undisputable. Despite the abundance of metagenomics data, the functional dynamics of gut microbiota in human health and disease remain elusive. Urolithin A (UroA), a major microbial metabolite derived from polyphenolics of berries and pomegranate fruits displays anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-ageing activities. Here, we show that UroA and its potent synthetic analogue (UAS03) significantly enhance gut barrier function and inhibit unwarranted inflammation. We demonstrate that UroA and UAS03 exert their barrier functions through activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)- nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent pathways to upregulate epithelial tight junction proteins. Importantly, treatment with these compounds attenuated colitis in pre-clinical models by remedying barrier dysfunction in addition to anti-inflammatory activities. Cumulatively, the results highlight how microbial metabolites provide two-pronged beneficial activities at gut epithelium by enhancing barrier functions and reducing inflammation to protect from colonic diseases.

}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-07859-7}, author = {Singh, Rajbir and Chandrashekharappa, Sandeep and Bodduluri, Sobha R and Baby, Becca V and Hegde, Bindu and Kotla, Niranjan G and Hiwale, Ankita A and Saiyed, Taslimarif and Patel, Paresh and Vijay-Kumar, Matam and Langille, Morgan G I and Douglas, Gavin M and Cheng, Xi and Rouchka, Eric C and Waigel, Sabine J and Dryden, Gerald W and Alatassi, Houda and Zhang, Huang-Ge and Haribabu, Bodduluri and Vemula, Praveen K and Jala, Venkatakrishna R} } @article {1202, title = {Small molecule modulator of aggrephagy regulates neuroinflammation to curb pathogenesis of neurodegeneration [Discovery to Innovation Accelerator (INT)].}, journal = {EBioMedicine}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Nov 11}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Plethora of efforts fails to yield a single drug to reverse the pathogenesis of Parkinson{\textquoteright}s disease (PD) and related α-synucleopathies.

METHODS: Using chemical biology, we identified a small molecule inhibitor of c-abl kinase, PD180970 that could potentially clear the toxic protein aggregates. Genetic, molecular, cell biological and immunological assays were performed to understand the mechanism of action. In vivo preclinical disease model of PD was used to assess its neuroprotection efficacy.

FINDINGS: In this report, we show the ability of a small molecule inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, PD180970, to induce autophagy (cell lines and mice midbrain) in an mTOR-independent manner and ameliorate the α-synuclein mediated toxicity. PD180970 also exerts anti-neuroinflammatory potential by inhibiting the release of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 (interleukin-6) and MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) through reduction of TLR-4 (toll like receptor-4) mediated NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) activation. In vivo studies show that PD180970 is neuroprotective by degrading the toxic protein oligomers through induction of autophagy and subsiding the microglial activation.

INTERPRETATION: These protective mechanisms ensure the negation of Parkinson{\textquoteright}s disease related motor impairments. FUND: This work was supported by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship (500159-Z-09-Z), DST-SERB grant (EMR/2015/001946), DBT (BT/INF/22/SP27679/2018) and JNCASR intramural funds to RM, and SERB, DST (SR/SO/HS/0121/2012) to PAA, and DST-SERB (SB/YS/LS-215/2013) to JPC and BIRAC funding to ETA C-CAMP.

}, issn = {2352-3964}, doi = {10.1016/j.ebiom.2019.10.036}, author = {Sn, Suresh and Pandurangi, Janhavi and Murumalla, Ravi and Dj, Vidyadhara and Garimella, Lakshmi and Acharya, Achyuth and Rai, Shashank and Paul, Abhik and Yarreiphang, Haorei and Pillai, Malini S and Giridharan, Mridhula and Clement, James P and Alladi, Phalguni Anand and Saiyed, Taslimarif and Manjithaya, Ravi} }