A novel sustainable photo/chemical magnetic nanomaterial effectively mitigates the allergenicity of phospholipase A2.

Reducing the allergenicity of edible insects is crucial for the comprehensive utilization of insect resources. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) exists in various edible insects and mammalian tissues, which can cause serious allergic reactions. Herein, we constructed a magnetic nanocomposite with photo/chemical synergistic capability to mitigate the allergenicity of PLA2. The formation of prepared nanocomposite was systematically confirmed using various techniques. The nanocomposite exhibited uniform diameters, abundant functional groups, excellent magnetic capabilities. An effective photo/chemical method was established to reduce the allergenicity of PLA2 in vitro. The feasibility of the method was demonstrated through circular dichroism, fluorescence spectrum and IgE-binding analysis. The allergenicity and IgE-binding effect of PLA2 were significantly reduced due to conformational changes after nanomaterial treatment. These results demonstrate the sensitivity and effectiveness a strategy for reducing PLA2 allergenicity, providing a basis for development of nanomaterials to reduce the risk of novel food allergies in response to edible insect products.

Nomogram combining pre-operative clinical characteristics and spectral CT parameters for predicting the WHO/ISUP pathological grading in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To develop a novel clinical-spectral-computed tomography (CT) nomogram incorporating clinical characteristics and spectral CT parameters for the preoperative prediction of the WHO/ISUP pathological grade in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). METHODS: Seventy-three ccRCC patients who underwent spectral CT were included in this retrospective analysis from December 2020 to June 2023. The subjects were pathologically divided into low- and high-grade groups (WHO/ISUP 1/2, n = 52 and WHO/ISUP 3/4, n = 21, respectively). Information on clinical characteristics, conventional CT imaging features, and spectral CT parameters was collected. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to create a nomogram combing clinical data and image data for preoperatively predicting the pathological grade of ccRCC, and the area under the curve (AUC) was utilized to assess the predictive performance of the model. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that age, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and the slope of the spectrum curve in the cortex phase (CP-K) were independent predictors for predicting high-grade ccRCC. The clinical-spectral-CT model exhibited high evaluation efficacy, with an AUC of 0.933 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.878-0.998; sensitivity: 0.810; specificity: 0.923). The calibration curve revealed that the predicted probability of the clinical-spectral-CT nomogram could better fit the actual probability, with high calibration. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the model had a good fitness (χ2 = 5.574, p = 0.695). CONCLUSION: The clinical-spectral-CT nomogram has the potential to predict WHO/ISUP grading of ccRCC preoperatively.

Identification of allergens and allergen hydrolysates by proteomics and metabolomics: A comparative study of natural and enzymolytic bee pollen.

Bee pollen as a plant-derived food is consumed as nutritional/functional supplements by humans. But it might confer foodborne allergenicity in susceptible populations, limiting its extensive application. In this study, five potential allergens including profilin, cystatin, prolamin, expansin, and alcohol dehydrogenase in bee pollen derived from Brassica campestris (BP-Bc), were identified through mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis. Moreover, different types of enzymes (cellulases, pectases, and papains) serve biological roles in pollen wall breaking and expansion, but also promote allergen release and degradation. Proteomic analysis showed that profilin, cystatin, and alcohol dehydrogenase were significantly reduced in BP-Bc following joint treatment with three enzymes. Metabolomic characterization of potential enzymatic hydrolysates of these significantly-decreased allergens was performed, which showed nine major oligopeptides and six amino acids at significantly higher levels in the enzyme-treated BP-Bc. These findings clarified the culprit responsible for bee pollen allergy and the mechanism of enzymatic desensitization for its further development.

Cell changes and differential proteomic analysis during biodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a brominated flame retardant widely used in the world which, being an emerging persistent organic pollutant, poses a great potential hazard to both human health and the ecological environment. Microbial biodegradation has been considered as an effective and environment-friendly technique to remediate BDE-209. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative bacterium capable of degrading BDE-209, was isolated from PBDEs-contaminated soil. To promote microbial biodegradation of BDE-209 and gain further insight into its mechanism, cell changes and differential proteomic analysis of P. aeruginosa during biodegradation were studied. The results showed that high cell surface hydrophobicity of P. aeruginosa make the bacteria absorb BDE-209 more easily. The increase in cell membrane permeability was caused by the P. aeruginosa responding to BDE-209 stress. IR spectra showed that hydroxyl, amide and CH2 groups in the P. aeruginosa cell surface were involved in the interactions between BDE-209 with P. aeruginosa. The apoptotic-like cell changes and cell surface morphology changes were observed by flow cytometry (FCM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. Differentially expressed protein was analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and 40 protein spots were identified to be different after 5 days biodegradation.

Effect of copper ion and soil humic acid on biodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a good environmental microorganism capable of degrading decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209). This paper studied the effect of Cu2+ and humic acid (HA) extracted from e-waste contaminated soils on biodegradation of BDE-209 by P. aeruginosa. The adsorption isotherms of Cu2+ on HA, the crude enzyme activity, cell surface morphology, and biodegradation pathway were also investigated. The results showed that BDE-209 biodegradation by P. aeruginosa was inhibited at Cu2+ concentrations above 5 mg L-1 , but exhibited the best effect at the condition of 40 mg L-1 Cu2+  + 3 g L-1 HA. At the condition of 40 mg L-1 Cu2+  + 3 g L-1 HA, 97.35 ± 2.33% of the initial BDE-209 was degraded after 5 days, debromination efficiency was 72.14 ± 1.89%, crude enzyme activity reached the maximum of 0.519 ± 0.022U g-1 protein, cell surface of P. aeruginosa was smooth with normal short-rod shapes, and biodegradation pathway mainly include debromination, hydroxylation, and cleavage of the diphenyl ether bond. It was suggested that soil HA could eliminate the toxic effect of high Cu2+ concentrations and biodegradation of BDE-209 was improved by synergistic effect of HA and Cu2+ .

Biodegradation of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) by Crude Enzyme Extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The biodegradation effect and mechanism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by crude enzyme extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. The results demonstrated that crude enzyme extract exhibited obviously higher degradation efficiency and shorter biodegradation time than Pseudomonas aeruginosa itself. Under the optimum conditions of pH 9.0, 35 °C and protein content of 2000 mg/L, 92.77% of the initial BDE-209 (20 mg/L) was degraded after 5 h. A BDE-209 biodegradation pathway was proposed on the basis of the biodegradation products identified by GC-MS analysis. The biodegradation mechanism showed that crude enzyme extract degraded BDE-209 into lower brominated PBDEs and OH-PBDEs through debromination and hydroxylation of the aromatic rings.