Camptothecin effectively treats obesity in mice through GDF15 induction

Elevated circulating levels of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) have been shown to reduce food intake and lower body weight through activation of hindbrain receptor glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) receptor alpha-like (GFRAL) in rodents and nonhuman primates, thus endogenous induction of this peptide holds promise for obesity treatment. Here, through in silico drug-screening methods, we found that small molecule Camptothecin (CPT), a previously identified drug with potential antitumor activity, is a GDF15 inducer. Oral CPT administration increases circulating GDF15 levels in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and genetic ob/ob mice, with elevated Gdf15 expression predominantly in the liver through activation of integrated stress response. In line with GDF15’s anorectic effect, CPT suppresses food intake, thereby reducing body weight, blood glucose, and hepatic fat content in obese mice. Conversely, CPT loses these beneficial effects when Gdf15 is inhibited by a neutralizing antibody or AAV8-mediated liver-specific knockdown. Similarly, CPT failed to reduce food intake and body weight in GDF15’s specific receptor GFRAL-deficient mice despite high levels of GDF15. Together, these results indicate that CPT is a promising anti-obesity agent through activation of GDF15-GFRAL pathway.

Elevated circulating levels of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) have been shown to reduce food intake and lower body weight in rodents and nonhuman primates. This study reveals that the small molecule Camptothecin induces endogenous GDF15, suppressing food intake and reducing body weight in obese mice, suggesting a promising candidate for anti-obesity treatment.     

松萝内生酿酒酵母菌株耐酸生理特性与分子机制探究

【目的】对我国西藏地区来源的不同酵母菌株进行有机酸发酵性能测试,此外,对具有良好产酸性能的分离自松萝内部的酿酒酵母菌株Saccharomy cescerevisiae 2-2进行耐酸性能分析,并探究其耐酸较强的分子机制。【方法】比较不同糖浓度培养基液体发酵培养过程中pH的变化,并比较低pH胁迫条件下菌株的生长,检测酿酒酵母菌株的产酸潜力和耐酸特性;对菌株2-2和模式酵母菌株S288C进行比较基因组分析,并利用实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction,RT-qPCR)分析关键基因的转录,探究菌株2-2耐酸分子机制。【结果】松萝内生酿酒酵母2-2在所有检测的菌株中产酸潜力较大,耐酸性能较好。在菌株2-2中与胁迫耐受性相关的基因PDR15、PDR12和SUR1在低pH胁迫条件下存在显著的上调或下调,但这些基因转录变化趋势与菌株S288C相反。【结论】松萝内生酿酒酵母2-2是一株产酸耐酸性能较好的菌株,对其独特的调节机制进行深入分析,有希望选育性能更好的产酸酵母菌株。     

放线菌来源的羊毛硫肽研究进展

羊毛硫肽(lanthipeptide)是一类由核糖体合成并经翻译后修饰的含羊毛硫氨酸或β-甲基羊毛硫氨酸的多肽。近年来,放线菌来源的羊毛硫肽因其突出的抗菌活性和罕见的生物活性而备受关注。本文重点对放线菌来源的不同类型的羊毛硫肽的结构特征及其特性进行了综述,讨论了生物或化学方法修饰天然羊毛硫肽和基因组挖掘发现结构新颖的羊毛硫肽在开发符合实际应用需求的放线菌来源的羊毛硫肽中的应用,并对放线菌来源的羊毛硫肽的应用潜力进行了总结和展望。     

Recreating the natural evolutionary trend in key microdomains provides an effective strategy for engineering of a thermomicrobial N-demethylase

N-demethylases have been reported to remove the methyl groups on primary or secondary amines, which could further affect the properties and functions of biomacromolecules or chemical compounds; however, the substrate scope and the robustness of N-demethylases have not been systematically investigated. Here we report the recreation of natural evolution in key microdomains of the Thermomicrobium roseum sarcosine oxidase (TrSOX), an N-demethylase with marked stability (melting temperature over 100 °C) and enantioselectivity, for enhanced substrate scope and catalytic efficiency on -C-N- bonds. We obtained the structure of TrSOX by crystallization and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the initial framework. The natural evolution in the nonconserved residues of key microdomains—including the catalytic loop, coenzyme pocket, substrate pocket, and entrance site—was then identified using ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR), and the substitutions that accrued during natural evolution were recreated by site-directed mutagenesis. The single and double substitution variants catalyzed the N-demethylation of N-methyl-L-amino acids up to 1800- and 6000-fold faster than the wild type, respectively. Additionally, these single substitution variants catalyzed the terminal N-demethylation of non-amino-acid compounds and the oxidation of the main chain -C-N- bond to a -C=N- bond in the nitrogen-containing heterocycle. Notably, these variants retained the enantioselectivity and stability of the initial framework. We conclude that the variants of TrSOX are of great potential use in N-methyl enantiomer resolution, main-chain Schiff base synthesis, and alkaloid modification or degradation.     

Safety and immunogenicity of a new glycoengineered vaccine against Acinetobacter baumannii in mice

Acinetobacter baumannii poses a serious threat to human health, mainly because of its widespread distribution and severe drug resistance. However, no licensed vaccines exist for this pathogen. In this study, we created a conjugate vaccine against A. baumannii by introducing an O-linked glycosylation system into the host strain. After demonstrating the ability of the vaccine to elicit Th1 and Th2 immune responses and observing its good safety in mouse a model, the strong in vitro bactericidal activity and prophylactic effects of the conjugate vaccine against infection were further demonstrated by evaluating post-infection tissue bacterial loads, observing suppressed serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. Additionally, the broad protection from the vaccine was further proved via lethal challenge with A. baumannii. Overall, these results indicated that the conjugate vaccine could elicit an efficient immune response and provide good protection against A. baumannii infection in murine sepsis models. Thus, the conjugate vaccine can be considered as a promising candidate vaccine for preventing A. baumannii infection.     

Receptome profiling identifies KREMEN1 and ASGR1 as alternative functional receptors of SARS-CoV-2

Host cellular receptors play key roles in the determination of virus tropism and pathogenesis.However,little is known about SARS-CoV-2 host receptors with the e...     

Requirements for human‐induced pluripotent stem cells

‘Requirements for Human‐Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells’ is the first set of guidelines on human‐induced pluripotent stem cells in China, jointly drafted and agreed upon by experts from the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research. This standard specifies the technical requirements, test methods, and instructions for use, labeling, packaging, storage, transportation, and waste handling for human‐induced pluripotent stem cells, which apply to the production and quality control of human‐induced pluripotent stem cells. It was released by the Chinese Society for Cell Biology on 9 January 2021 and came into effect on 9 April 2021. We hope that the publication of these guidelines will promote institutional establishment, acceptance, and execution of proper protocols and accelerate the international standardization of human‐induced pluripotent stem cells for applications.     

恩诺沙星在罗氏沼虾体内的药物代谢动力学

应用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC)研究了恩诺沙星在罗氏沼虾(Macrobrachiumrosenbergii)体内的药物代谢动力学。实验结果表明,恩诺沙星在血淋巴、肝胰腺、肌肉中的平均回收率分别为86.54%±2.39%、85.43%±2.75%、95.01%±1.99%,其代谢产物环丙沙星在血淋巴、肝胰腺、肌肉中的平均回收率分别为94.34%±8.30%、75.17%±5.42%、80.42%±1.67%;恩诺沙星及其代谢产物环丙沙星在三种组织中的平均日内精密度分别为3.39%±0.53%和3.92%±1.24%,而日间精密度分别为5.11%±1.73%和5.28%±2.10%。恩诺沙星、环丙沙星的最低检测限分别为0.02μg/ml和0.01μg/ml。罗氏沼虾以10mg/kg虾体重剂量单次肌肉注射给药后,血液中药物浓度即刻达到峰值,并迅速向组织中分布。实验数据经MCPKP药动学软件分析,恩诺沙星在血淋巴中的主要药物代谢动力学参数为:t1/2α为0.581h、t1/2β为69.315h、Vd/F为7.230L/kg、CL/F为0.035L/h.kg、K12为0.01/h、K21为0.005/h、AUC为291.898μg/ml.h、Tmax为0.083h、Cmax为6.293μg/ml;恩诺沙星在肝胰腺、肌肉组织中主要药动学参数:t1/2α为1.941h、0.000h;t1/2β为70.732h、59.456h;AUC为308.07μg/ml.h、217.039μg/ml.h。三种组织中均能检测到恩诺沙星的活性代谢产物环丙沙星,但含量均处于较低水平,药物浓度-时间数据经MCPKP药动学软件处理后,不能用开放性一室模型或二室模型拟合。     

Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the Steppe Ribbon Racer(Psammophis lineolatus): The First Representative from the Snake Family Psammophiidae and its Phylogenetic Implications

Comparisons of vertebrate mitochondrial genomes(mitogenomes) may yield significant insights into the evolution of organisms and genomes. However,no complete mitogenome from the snake family Psammophiidae has been reported. In this study, we sequenced and annotated the complete mitogenome of Psammophis lineolatus, representing the first mitogenome of Psammophiidae. The total length is 17 166 bp,consisting of 13 protein-coding genes(PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs(tRNAs), two ribosomal RNAs(12 S rRNA and16 S rRNA), and duplicate control regions(CRs). This gene arrangement belongs to the Type Ⅲ pattern,which is a widely shared gene order in Alethinophidian snakes. All tRNAs exhibit cloverleaf structures with the exception of tRNA-SerAGY and tRNA-Pro, which lack a dihydrouridine(DHU) arm/stem and TΨC loop,respectively. The 13 PCGs include five start codons(ATG,GTG, ATA, ATT, and ATC), two complete stop codons(TAA and AGG), and two incomplete stop codon(T--and TA-). In addition, the Ka/Ks ratios indicate that all PCGs had undergone a strong purifying selection.Four types of CR domains rearrangement occurred among eight species of Elapoidea. The phylogenetic reconstructions with both Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods support the placement of Psammophiidae in the Elapoidea superfamily,with Homalopsidae being the sister taxon to Elapoidea and Colubroidea. However, the sister taxon of Psammophiidae is unclear due to the availability of Elapoidea mitogenomes being limited to the family Elapidae. More mitogenomes from different taxonomic groups in Elapoidea are needed to better understand the phylogenetic relationships within Elapoidea.     

LncRNA H19 Drives Proliferation of Cardiac Fibroblasts and Collagen Production via Suppression of the miR-29a-3p/miR-29b-3p-VEGFA/TGF-β Axis

The aim of this study was to investigating whether lncRNA H19 promotes myocardial fibrosis by suppressing the miR-29a-3p/miR-29b-3p-VEGFA/TGF-β axis. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and healthy volunteers were included in the study, and their biochemical parameters were collected. In addition, pcDNA3.1-H19, si-H19, and miR-29a/b-3p mimic/inhibitor were transfected into cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), and proliferation of CFs was detected by MTT assay. Expression of H19 and miR-29a/b-3p were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, collagen II, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and elastin were measured by western blot analysis. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was carried out to detect the sponging relationship between H19 and miR-29a/b-3p in CFs. Compared with healthy volunteers, the level of plasma H19 was significantly elevated in patients with AF, while miR-29a-3p and miR-29b-3p were markedly depressed (P < 0.05). Serum expression of lncRNA H19 was negatively correlated with the expression of miR-29a-3p and miR-29b-3p among patients with AF (r_s = –0.337, r_s = –0.236). Moreover, up-regulation of H19 expression and down-regulation of miR-29a/b-3p expression facilitated proliferation and synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM)-related proteins. SB431542 and si-VEGFA are able to reverse the promotion of miR-29a/b-3p on proliferation of CFs and ECM-related protein synthesis. The findings of the present study suggest that H19 promoted CF proliferation and collagen synthesis by suppressing the miR-29a-3p/miR-29b-3p-VEGFA/TGF-β axis, and provide support for a potential new direction for the treatment of AF.