Structure-based methoxyflavone derivatives with potent inhibitory activity against various influenza neuraminidases

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma     

Regulation of GSK3β/Nrf2 signaling pathway modulated erastin-induced ferroptosis in breast cancer

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Ferroptosis is a newly discovered form of regulated cell death and characterized by an iron-dependent accumulation of lethal lipid reactive oxygen species...     

松墨天牛漆酶基因MaLac1的克隆、原核表达及表达谱分析

【目的】本研究旨在克隆并鉴定松墨天牛Monochamus alternatus内源漆酶基因MaLac1,分析其在松墨天牛不同发育阶段的表达水平,为进一步明确MaLac1功能提供依据。【方法】基于松墨天牛肠道转录组测序数据,通过RACE克隆松墨天牛MaLac1基因的全长cDNA序列,并对其进行生物信息学分析;将该基因与pET-32a载体链接构建表达载体pET-MaLac1,导入大肠杆菌Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3)使其表达;使用qPCR检测MaLac1基因在松墨天牛不同发育阶段(低龄幼虫、老熟幼虫、蛹、雌成虫和雄成虫)肠道中的表达差异。【结果】克隆获得松墨天牛MaLac1的cDNA全长序列(GenBank登录号:KY073340)。MaLac1开放阅读框全长2 067 bp,编码一个含688个氨基酸的蛋白质,预测分子量为78.34 kD,等电点为5.30。SignalP 4.1 Server预测MaLac1在N端包含一个15个氨基酸的信号肽。序列比对分析表明,MaLac1具有典型的昆虫漆酶基因特征,与赤拟谷盗Tribolium castaneum漆酶基因的氨基酸序列一致性达93%。SDS-PAGE检测发现IPTG诱导表达了一条大约78 kD的特异蛋白条带,与推测大小一致。qPCR结果显示,MaLac1在不同发育阶段的松墨天牛肠道中均有表达,其中,在雌成虫肠道中表达量最高,在雄成虫肠道中的次之,在幼虫肠道中的最低。【结论】MaLac1在松墨天牛成虫中表达量显著高于其在幼虫中的,这一结果可能与幼虫和成虫的取食习性差异相关。MaLac1在松墨天牛体内的功能还有待进一步研究。     

Variable Spontaneous Mutation and Loss of Heterozygosity among Heterozygous Genomes in Yeast

Mutation and recombination are the primary sources of genetic variation. To better understand the evolution of genetic variation, it is crucial to comprehensively investigate the processes involving mutation accumulation and recombination. In this study, we performed mutation accumulation experiments on four heterozygous diploid yeast species in the Saccharomycodaceae family to determine spontaneous mutation rates, mutation spectra, and losses of heterozygosity (LOH). We observed substantial variation in mutation rates and mutation spectra. We also observed high LOH rates (1.65–11.07×10⁻⁶ events per heterozygous site per cell division). Biases in spontaneous mutation and LOH together with selection ultimately shape the variable genome-wide nucleotide landscape in yeast species.     

An in situ collagen-HA hydrogel system promotes survival and preserves the proangiogenic secretion of hiPSC-derived vascular smooth muscle cells

Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived vascular smooth muscle cells (hiPSC-VSMCs) with proangiogenic properties have huge therapeutic potential. While hiPSC-VSMCs have already been utilized for wound healing using a biomimetic collagen scaffold, an in situ forming hydrogel mimicking the native environment of skin offers the promise of hiPSC-VSMC mediated repair and regeneration. Herein, the impact of a collagen type-I-hyaluronic acid (HA) in situ hydrogel cross-linked using a polyethylene glycol-based cross-linker on hiPSC-VSMCs viability and proangiogenic paracrine secretion was investigated. Our study demonstrated increases in cell viability, maintenance of phenotype and proangiogenic growth factor secretion, and proangiogenic activity in response to the conditioned medium. The optimally cross-linked and functionalized collagen type-I/HA hydrogel system developed in this study shows promise as an in situ hiPSC-VSMC carrier system for wound regeneration.     

Reprogramming of sugar transport pathways in Escherichia coli using a permeabilized SecY protein-translocation channel

In the initial step of sugar metabolism, sugar-specific transporters play a decisive role in the passage of sugars through plasma membranes into cytoplasm. The SecY complex (SecYEG) in bacteria forms a membrane channel responsible for protein translocation. The present work shows that permeabilized SecY channels can be used as nonspecific sugar transporters in Escherichia coli. SecY with the plug domain deleted allowed the passage of glucose, fructose, mannose, xylose, and arabinose, and, with additional pore-ring mutations, facilitated lactose transport, indicating that sugar passage via permeabilized SecY was independent of sugar stereospecificity. The engineered E. coli showed rapid growth on a wide spectrum of monosaccharides and benefited from the elimination of transport saturation, improvement in sugar tolerance, reduction in competitive inhibition, and prevention of carbon catabolite repression, which are usually encountered with native sugar uptake systems. The SecY channel is widespread in prokaryotes, so other bacteria may also be engineered to utilize this system for sugar uptake. The SecY channel thus provides a unique sugar passageway for future development of robust cell factories for biotechnological applications.     

Highly efficient production of diverse rare ginsenosides using combinatorial biotechnology

The rare ginsenosides are recognized as the functionalized molecules after the oral administration of Panax ginseng and its products. The sources of rare ginsenosides are extremely limited because of low ginsenoside contents in wild plants, hindering their application in functional foods and drugs. We developed an effective combinatorial biotechnology approach including tissue culture, immobilization, and hydrolyzation methods. Rh2 and nine other rare ginsenosides were produced by methyl jasmonate-induced culture of adventitious roots in a 10 L bioreactor associated with enzymatic hydrolysis using six β-glycosidases and their combination with yields ranging from 5.54 to 32.66 mg L⁻¹. The yield of Rh2 was furthermore increased by 7% by using immobilized BglPm and Bgp1 in optimized pH and temperature conditions, with the highest yield reaching 51.17 mg L⁻¹ (17.06% of protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides mixture). Our combinatorial biotechnology method provides a highly efficient approach to acquiring diverse rare ginsenosides, replacing direct extraction from Panax plants, and can also be used to supplement yeast cell factories.     

Pak2 inhibition promotes resveratrol-mediated glioblastoma A172 cell apoptosis via modulating the AMPK-YAP signaling pathway

As a polyphenolic compound, resveratrol (Res) is widely present in a variety of plants. Previous studies have shown that Res can inhibit various tumors. However, its role in c remains largely unexplored. In the present study, we first demonstrated that Res inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis of glioblastoma A172 cell. Further experiments showed that Res induced mitochondrial dysfunction and activated the activity of caspase-9. Functional studies have found that Res treatment is associated with an increase in the expression of Pak2. Interestingly, inhibition of Pak2 could further augment the proapoptotic effect of Res. Mechanistically, Pak2 inhibition induced reactive oxygen species overproduction, mitochondria-JNK pathway activation, and AMPK-YAP axis suppression. However, overexpression of YAP could abolish the anticancer effects of Res and Pak2 inhibition, suggesting a necessary role played by the AMPK-YAP pathway in regulating cancer-suppressive actions of Res and Pak2 inhibition. Altogether, our results indicated that Res in combination with Pak2 inhibition could further enhance the anticancer property of Res and this effect is mediated via the AMPK-YAP pathway.     

DJ-1 regulates tyrosine hydroxylase expression through CaMKKβ/CaMKIV/CREB1 pathway in vitro and in vivo

Lack of dopamine production and neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are considered as the major characteristics of Parkinson's disease, a prevalent movement disorder worldwide. DJ-1 mutation leading to loss of its protein functions is a genetic factor of PD. In this study, our results illustrated that DJ-1 can directly interact with Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKKβ) and modifies the cAMP-responsive element binding protein 1 (CREB1) activity, thus regulates tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression. In Dj-1 knockout mouse substantia nigra, the levels of TH and the phosphorylation of CREB1 Ser133 are significantly decreased. Moreover, Dj-1 deficiency suppresses the phosphorylation of CaMKIV (Thr196/200) and CREB1 (Ser133), subsequently inhibits TH expression in vitro. Furthermore, Knockdown of Creb1 abolishes the effects of DJ-1 on TH regulation. Our data reveal a novel pathway in which DJ-1 regulates CaMKKβ/CaMKIV/CREB1 activities to facilitate TH expression.