Four new compounds with cytotoxic and neuroprotective activity from Notopterygium incisum

Phytochemical research on an extract of Notopterygium incisum yielded twenty-four compounds (1–24), including four new compounds 7, 10, 13 and 17. The structures of new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration of 5 were assigned via Mosher's method. In addition, compounds 2, 9, 19 and 24 were analyzed by single crystal X-ray analysis for the first time. The new compound 7 exhibited remarkable cytotoxic activity against the human pancreatic cancer cell lines PANC-1, CAPAN-2, CFPAC-1, and SW1990 with IC₅₀ values of 6.25 ± 0.54, 7.74 ± 1.12, 6.68 ± 1.11, and 5.35 ± 0.33 μM, respectively. The primary mechanistic study indicated that 7 caused cell death probably due to induced defects in the mitotic process. Moreover, compounds 2 and 7-9 effectively protected against H₂O₂-induced neurotoxicity in the SH-SY5Y cells, and 1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 16 and 19 exhibited strong DPPH scavenging ability.     

New satiety hormone nesfatin-1 protects gastric mucosa against stress-induced injury: Mechanistic roles of prostaglandins,nitric oxide,sensory nerves and vanilloid receptors

Nesfatin-1 belongs to a family of anorexigenic peptides, which are responsible for satiety and are identified in the neurons and endocrine cells within the gut. These peptides have been implicated in the control of food intake; however, very little is known concerning its contribution to gastric secretion and gastric mucosal integrity. In this study the effects of nesfatin-1 on gastric secretion and gastric lesions induced in rats by 3.5 h of water immersion and restraint stress (WRS) were determined. Exogenous nesfatin-1 (5–40 μg/kg i.p.) significantly decreased gastric acid secretion and attenuated gastric lesions induced by WRS, and this was accompanied by a significant rise in plasma NUCB2/nefatin-1 levels, the gastric mucosal blood flow (GBF), luminal NO concentration, generation of PGE₂ in the gastric mucosa, an overexpression of mRNA for NUBC2 and cNOS, as well as a suppression of iNOS and proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β and TNF-α mRNAs. Nesfatin-1-induced protection was attenuated by suppression of COX-1 and COX-2 activity, the inhibition of NOS with L-NNA, the deactivation of afferent nerves with neurotoxic doses of capsaicin, and the pretreatment with capsazepine to inhibit vanilloid VR1 receptors. This study shows for the first time that nesfatin-1 exerts a potent protective action in the stomach of rats exposed to WRS and these effects depend upon decrease in gastric secretion, hyperemia mediated by COX-PG and NOS-NO systems, the activation of vagal and sensory nerves and vanilloid receptors.     

鲍曼不动杆菌携带前噬菌体的生物信息学分析

[目的] 预测并分析82株全基因组测序的鲍曼不动杆菌前噬菌体的携带情况，鉴定前噬菌体编码的抗生素耐药基因和毒力因子。[方法] 利用PHASTER （Phage Search Tool Enhanced Release）软件预测鲍曼不动杆菌携带的前噬菌体，采用CARD （The Comprehensive Antibiotic Research Database）和VFDB （Virulence Factors Database）在线分析软件预测前噬菌体编码的抗生素耐药基因和毒力因子。[结果] 预测到472条鲍曼不动杆菌前噬菌体，其中完整型前噬菌体201条，疑似型前噬菌体91条，缺陷型前噬菌体180条。平均每株鲍曼不动杆菌基因组中可携带至少2条完整型前噬菌体。每株鲍曼不动杆菌所携带的全部前噬菌体占其基因组比例约为4%-6%。29条前噬菌体携带77个耐药基因，耐药表型共有14种，分别来自15个不同的家族，涵盖6种抗生素耐药的作用机制。132条前噬菌体编码毒力基因，归类为38种毒力基因和34种毒力因子。不同类型的前噬菌体普遍携带1-2种毒力因子，少数前噬菌体携带3种及以上毒力因子。分析毒力因子可能的宿主来源构成比发现，除鲍曼不动杆菌外，脑膜炎奈瑟菌、痢疾志贺氏菌、嗜肺军团菌及其亚种等也有较高的结构比例，是可能的宿主来源。[结论] 鲍曼不动杆菌普遍携带前噬菌体，但前噬菌体基因在鲍曼不动杆菌基因组中所占比例不高。部分前噬菌体携带抗生素耐药基因，以氨基糖苷类、磺胺类及β-内酰胺类耐药为主。约30%的前噬菌体携带毒力基因。前噬菌体可能在鲍曼不动杆菌抗生素耐药性的获得、传播及致病性演变中发挥重要作用。     

CAND1 exchange factor promotes Keap1 integration into cullin 3-RING ubiquitin ligase during adipogenesis

Adipogenesis is governed by a plethora of regulatory proteins which are most commonly controlled by the ubiquitin proteasome system. Here, we show that the differentiation of LiSa-2 preadipocytes is associated with an increase of cullin-associated and neddylation-dissociated 1 (CAND1), COP9 signalosome (CSN), neddylated cullin 3 (Cul3) and the BTB protein Keap1. Silencing of CAND1 leads to a decrease and reduced integration of Keap1 into Cul3-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRL3) and to a retardation of adipogenesis. Transient transfection of LiSa-2 cells with CAND1 targeting miRNA148a also reduces Keap1 and slowed down adipogenesis of LiSa-2 cells. These results demonstrate for the first time that CAND1 acts as a BTB-protein exchange factor for CRL3 complexes. The specific increase of neddylated Cul3 might be explained by the recruitment of Cul3 or CRL3 in a membrane-bound location during adipogenesis. Together, the results show that during adipogenesis in LiSa-2 cells a CAND1-dependent remodeling and activation/neddylation of CRL3 complexes take place.     

Predicting Thermodynamic Properties of PBXTHs with New Quantum Topological Indexes

Novel group quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) models on the thermodynamic properties of PBXTHs were presented, by the multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis method. Four thermodynamic properties were studied: the entropy (S^θ), the standard enthalpy of formation (Δ_fH^θ), the standard Gibbs energy of formation (Δ_fG^θ), and the relative standard Gibbs energy of formation (Δ_RG^θ). The results by the formula indicate that the calculated and predicted data in this study are in good agreement with those in literature and the deviation is within the experimental errors. To validate the estimation reliability for internal samples and the predictive ability for other samples, leave-one-out (LOO) cross validation (CV) and external validation were performed, and the results show that the models are satisfactory.     

Effects of body compositions on the associations between ferritin and diabetes parameters among Japanese community dwellers

BackgroundFerritin is associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus. Moreover, the ferritin levels differ across the body compositions. Although there were studies reporting the association of ferritin and diabetes, the alteration in ferritin-diabetes association by body composition differences is rarely explained. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify the effects of body compositions on the association between ferritin and diabetes parameters among the Japanese population.MethodsThis study analyzed the data of a cross-sectional study with 1065 subjects aged over 19 years in the Iwaki area, Japan. Independent variables were ferritin and body compositions, while dependent variables were blood sugar, HbA1c, and diabetes mellitus. Correlations between serum ferritin and blood sugar and HbA1c were analyzed using Spearman’s Rank Correlation. Multivariate linear or logistic regressions were used to investigate the effects of body compositions (body fat percentage, muscle mass, or visceral fat level) on the ferritin-diabetes associations by adjusting the confounders.ResultsThere were significant positive correlations between ferritin and blood sugar in both sexes (p < 0.05), while a significant correlation between ferritin and HbA1c was found only in females (p < 0.001). Higher ferritin was significantly associated with an increase in blood sugar in individuals with normal body fat percentage (lowest vs. highest quartile group, coefficient=5.07, 95 % confidence intervals [CI]: 1.48–8.65), normal visceral fat level (lowest vs. highest quartile group, coefficient=4.84, 95 % CI: 1.74–7.94), and very high muscle mass (lowest vs. highest quartile group, coefficient=14.14, 95 % CI: 5.00–23.29).ConclusionsBy our study findings, individuals’ body composition notably influenced the associations of serum ferritin and diabetes parameters, and the association was attenuated in obese individuals.     

Predicting sRNAs and Their Targets in Bacteria

Bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) are an emerging class of regulatory RNAs of about 40-500 nucleotides in length and, by binding to their target mRNAs or proteins, get involved in many biological processes such as sensing environmental changes and regulating gene expression. Thus, identification of bacterial sRNAs and their targets has become an important part of sRNA biology. Current strategies for discovery of sRNAs and their targets usually involve bioinformatics prediction followed by experimental validation, emphasizing a key role for bioinformatics prediction. Here, therefore, we provided an overview on prediction methods, focusing on the merits and limitations of each class of models. Finally, we will present our thinking on developing related bioinformatics models in future.     

Pyroptosis,a target for cancer treatment?

Pyroptosis is a newly discovered form of programmed cell death mediated by the gasdermin protein, that is accompanied by inflammation and immune response. A growing body of evidence suggests that pyroptosis is closely related to cancer, and it is becoming a new cancer research topic. Studies have suggested that different cancer cells activate pyroptosis in different ways and that the effects of pyroptosis vary in different cancer backgrounds. In this article, we briefly introduce the definition, characteristics, and activation pathways of pyroptosis. Then we review the complex effects of pyroptosis on cancer development, which generally include inhibition of cancer cell viability, impacts on the invasion and migration of cancer cells, improvement of antitumor immunity, and enhancement of chemotherapy sensitivity. We also discuss drugs and compounds that can induce pyroptosis, as well as the interaction between pyroptosis and apoptosis. Elucidating the mechanisms of the complex effects of pyroptosis is likely to pave the way for therapeutic approaches for cancer in the future.

     

PCAF and SIRT1 modulate βTrCP1 protein stability in an acetylation-dependent manner

正Ubiquitination plays critical roles in regulating various physiological events,such as protein degradation,activation,secretion,sorting and trafficking (Dang et al.,2021).The ubiquitination process involves three major steps,catalyzed by ubiquitin-activating enzymes (E1s),ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s),and ubiquitin ligases (E3s),respectively (Scheffner et al.,1995).