Separation and Purification of Antioxidant Peptides from Enzymatically Prepared Scorpion (Buthus martensii Karsch) Protein Hydrolysates

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - The purpose of this study was to separate and purify antioxidant peptides from the scorpion (Buthus martensii Karsch) protein...     

过敏性鼻炎患者血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平的变化及其与病情严重程度的关系研究

目的:探究过敏性鼻炎患者血清白介素-8(IL-8)、白介素-22(IL-22)及肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)水平的变化及其与病情严重程度的关系。方法:选择2018年2月至2019年6月期间我院诊治的99例过敏性鼻炎患者作为鼻炎组,选择同期进行健康体检的99例健康志愿者作为健康组。采用酶联免疫吸附法检测血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平,按照世界卫生组织对过敏性鼻炎的分度标准将鼻炎组进一步分为轻度组、中度组和重度组,比较不同病情严重程度患者过敏性鼻炎评分量表(SFAR)评分、视觉模拟量表(VAS)评分以及血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平,采用Pearson相关性分析血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平与SFAR评分和VAS评分的相关性。结果:与健康组相比,鼻炎组的血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平均明显升高(P0.05)。与轻度组相比,中度组和重度组的SFAR评分、VAS评分以及血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平明显升高,且中度组明显高于轻度组(P0.05)。血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平与SFAR评分和VAS评分均呈正相关(P0.05)。结论:血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平升高与过敏性鼻炎的发生密切相关,并且随患者病情加剧而上调。同时,血清IL-8、IL-22及TNF-α水平与SFAR评分和VAS评分均呈正相关性,在临床诊断过敏性鼻炎的严重程度上具有一定应用价值。     

Could urinary ACE2 protein level help identify individuals susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and complication?

Science China Life Sciences -     

From signaling to function: how strigolactones regulate plant development

Science China Life Sciences -     

Artificially designed routes for the conversion of starch to value-added mannosyl compounds through coupling in vitro and in vivo metabolic engineering strategies

Starch/cellulose has become the major feedstock for manufacturing biofuels and biochemicals because of their abundance and sustainability. In this study, we presented an artificially designed “starch-mannose-fermentation” biotransformation process through coupling the advantages of in vivo and in vitro metabolic engineering strategies together. Starch was initially converted into mannose via an in vitro metabolic engineering biosystem, and then mannose was fermented by engineered microorganisms for biomanufacturing valuable mannosyl compounds. The in vitro metabolic engineering biosystem based on phosphorylation/dephosphorylation reactions was thermodynamically favorable and the conversion rate reached 81%. The mannose production using whole-cell biocatalysts reached 75.4 g/L in a 30-L reactor, indicating the potential industrial application. Furthermore, the produced mannose in the reactor was directly served as feedstock for the fermentation process to bottom-up produced 19.2 g/L mannosyl-oligosaccharides (MOS) and 7.2 g/L mannosylglycerate (MG) using recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum strains. Notably, such a mannose fermentation process facilitated the synthesis of MOS, which has not been achieved under glucose fermentation and improved MG production by 2.6-fold than that using the same C-mole of glucose. This approach also allowed access to produce other kinds of mannosyl derivatives from starch.     

Crumbs proteins stabilize the cone mosaics of photoreceptors and improve vision in zebrafish

Although the unique organization of vertebrate cone mosaics was first described long ago,both their underlying molecular basis and physiological significance are largely unknown.Here,we demonstrate that Crumbs proteins,the key regulators of epithelial apical polarity,establish the planar cellular polarity of photoreceptors in zebrafish.Via heterophilic Crb2a-Crb2b interactions,the apicobasal polarity protein Crb2b restricts the asymmetric planar distribution of Crb2a in photoreceptors.The planar polarized Crumbs proteins thus balance intercellular adhesions and tension between photoreceptors,thereby stabilizing the geometric organization of cone mosaics.Notably,loss of Crb2b in zebrafish induces a nearsightedness-like phenotype in zebrafish accompanied by an elongated eye axis and impairs zebrafish visual perception for predation.These data reveal a detailed mechanism for cone mosaic homeostasis via previously undiscovered apical-planar polarity coordination and propose a pathogenic mechanism for nearsightedness.     

The catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation in oil-contaminated soil

Rhizoremediation is a potential technique for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) remediation; however, the catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation remain unclear. To address these issues, stable-isotope-probing coupled with metagenomics and molecular ecological network analyses were first used to investigate the phenanthrene rhizoremediation by three different prairie grasses in this study. All rhizospheres exhibited a significant increase in phenanthrene removal and markedly modified the diversity of phenanthrene degraders by increasing their populations and interactions with other microbes. Of all the active phenanthrene degraders, Marinobacter and Enterobacteriaceae dominated in the bare and switchgrass rhizosphere respectively; Achromobacter was markedly enriched in ryegrass and tall fescue rhizospheres. Metagenomes of ¹³C-DNA illustrated several complete pathways of phenanthrene degradation for each rhizosphere, which clearly explained their unique rhizoremediation mechanisms. Additionally, propanoate and inositol phosphate of carbohydrates were identified as the dominant factors that drove PAH rhizoremediation by strengthening the ecological networks of soil microbial communities. This was verified by the results of rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric treatments supplemented with these two substances, further confirming their key roles in PAH removal and in situ PAH rhizoremediation. Our study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of in situ rhizoremediation at PAH-contaminated sites.