Improvement of branched-chain amino acid production by isolated high-producing protease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NY130 on isolated soy/whey proteins and their muscle cell protection.

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are vital components of human and animal nutrition that contribute to the building blocks of proteins. In this study, 170 protease-producing strains were isolated and screened from soy-fermented foods. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NY130 was obtained from Cheonggukjang with high production of BCAAs. Optimal production of protease from B. amyloliquefaciens NY130 (protease NY130) was achieved at 42 °C and pH 6.0 for 21 h. It was purified and determined as 27- and 40 kDa. Protease NY130 showed maximum activity at pH 9.0 and 45 °C with Km value of 10.95 mg for ISP and 1.69 mg for WPI. Protease-treated ISP and WPI showed increased sweetness and saltiness via electronic tongue analysis and enhanced the protective effect against oxidative stress in C2C12 myocytes by increasing p-mTOR/mTOR protein expression to 160%. This work possesses potential in producing BCAAs by using protease for utilization in food.

Emerging drug delivery systems with traditional routes - A roadmap to chronic inflammatory diseases.

Inflammation is prevalent and inevitable in daily life but can generally be accommodated by the immune systems. However, incapable self-healing and persistent inflammation can progress to chronic inflammation, leading to prevalent or fatal chronic diseases. This review comprehensively covers the topic of emerging drug delivery systems (DDSs) for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs). First, we introduce the basic biology of the chronic inflammatory process and provide an overview of the main CIDs of the major organs. Next, up-to-date information on various DDSs and the associated strategies for ensuring targeted delivery and stimuli-responsiveness applied to CIDs are discussed extensively. The implementation of traditional routes of drug administration to maximize their therapeutic effects against CIDs is then summarized. Finally, perspectives on future DDSs against CIDs are presented.

Self-assembled hemin-conjugated heparin with dual-enzymatic cascade reaction activities for acute kidney injury.

Nanozymes have prominent catalytic activities with high stability as a substitute for unstable and expensive natural enzymes. However, most nanozymes are metal/inorganic nanomaterials, facing difficulty in clinical translation due to their unproven biosafety and limited biodegradability issues. Hemin, an organometallic porphyrin, was newly found to possess superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic activity along with previously known catalase (CAT) mimetic activity. However, hemin has poor bioavailability due to its low water solubility. Therefore, a highly biocompatible and biodegradable organic-based nanozyme system with SOD/CAT mimetic cascade reaction activity was developed by conjugating hemin to heparin (HepH) or chitosan (CS-H). Between them, Hep-H formed a smaller (<50 nm) and more stable self-assembled nanostructure and even possessed much higher and more stable SOD and CAT activities as well as the cascade reaction activity compared to CS-H and free hemin. Hep-H also showed a better cell protection effect against reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared to CS-H and hemin in vitro. Furthermore, Hep-H was selectively delivered to the injured kidney upon intravenous administration at the analysis time point (24 h) and exhibited excellent therapeutic effects on an acute kidney injury model by efficiently removing ROS, reducing inflammation, and minimizing structural and functional damage to the kidney.