Pairing with Enriched Sound Exposure Restores Auditory Processing Degraded by an Antidepressant.

Antidepressants, while effective in treating depression and anxiety disorders, also induce deficits in sensory (particularly auditory) processing, which in turn may exacerbate psychiatric symptoms. How antidepressants cause auditory signature deficits remains largely unknown. Here, we found that fluoxetine-treated adult female rats were significantly less accurate when performing a tone-frequency discrimination task compared with age-matched control rats. Their cortical neurons also responded less selectively to sound frequencies. The degraded behavioral and cortical processing was accompanied by decreased cortical perineuronal nets, particularly those wrapped around parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons. Furthermore, fluoxetine induced critical period-like plasticity in their already mature auditory cortices; therefore, a brief rearing of these drug-treated rats under an enriched acoustic environment renormalized auditory processing degraded by fluoxetine. The altered cortical expression of perineuronal nets was also reversed as a result of enriched sound exposure. These findings suggest that the adverse effects of antidepressants on auditory processing, possibly because of a reduction in intracortical inhibition, can be substantially alleviated by simply pairing drug treatment with passive, enriched sound exposure. They have important implications for understanding the neurobiological basis of antidepressant effects on hearing and for designing novel pharmacological treatment strategies for psychiatric disorders.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Clinical experience suggests that antidepressants adversely affect sensory (particularly auditory) processing, which can exacerbate patients' psychiatric symptoms. Here, we show that the antidepressant fluoxetine reduces cortical inhibition in adult rats, leading to degraded behavioral and cortical spectral processing of sound. Importantly, fluoxetine induces a critical period-like state of plasticity in the mature cortex; therefore, a brief rearing under an enriched acoustic environment is sufficient to reverse the changes in auditory processing caused by the administration of fluoxetine. These results provide a putative neurobiological basis for the effects of antidepressants on hearing and indicate that antidepressant treatment combined with enriched sensory experiences could optimize clinical outcomes.

Enhancing the activity of zearalenone lactone hydrolase toward the more toxic α-zearalanol via a single-point mutation.

Zearalenone (ZEN) and its derivatives are estrogenic mycotoxins known to pose significant health threats to humans and animals. Especially, the derivative α-zearalanol (α-ZAL) is over 10 times more toxic than ZEN. Simultaneous degradation of ZEN and its derivatives, especially α-ZAL, using ZEN lactone hydrolases (ZHDs) is a promising solution to eliminate their potential hazards to food safety. However, most available ZHDs exhibit limited activity toward the more toxic α-ZAL compared to ZEN. Here, we identified a broad-substrate spectrum ZHD, named ZHDAY3, from Exophiala aquamarina CBS 119918, which could not only efficiently degrade ZEN but also exhibited 73% relative activity toward α-ZAL. Through rational design, we obtained the ZHDAY3(N153H) mutant, which exhibited the highest specific activity (253.3 ± 4.3 U/mg) reported so far for degrading α-ZAL. Molecular docking, structural comparative analysis, and kinetic analysis collectively suggested that the shorter distance between the side chain of the catalytic residue His242 and the lactone bond of α-ZAL and the increased binding affinity to the substrate were mainly responsible for the improved catalytic activity of ZHDAY3(N153H) mutant. This mechanism was further validated through additional molecular docking of 18 mutants and experimental verification of six mutants.IMPORTANCEThe mycotoxins zearalenone (ZEN) and its derivatives pose a significant threat to food safety. Here, we present a highly promising ZEN lactone hydrolase (ZHD), ZHDAY3, which is capable of efficiently degrading both ZEN and the more toxic derivative α-ZAL. Next, the ZHDAY3(N153H) mutant obtained by single-point mutation exhibited the highest specific activity for degrading α-ZAL reported thus far. We further elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the enhanced hydrolytic activity of ZHDAY3(N153H) toward α-ZAL. These findings represent the first investigation on the molecular mechanism of ZHDs against α-ZAL and are expected to provide a significant reference for further rational engineering of ZHDs, which will ultimately contribute to addressing the health risks and food safety issues posed by ZEN-like mycotoxins.

Environmental noise degrades hippocampus-related learning and memory.

The neural mechanisms underlying the impacts of noise on nonauditory function, particularly learning and memory, remain largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that rats exposed postnatally (between postnatal days 9 and 56) to structured noise delivered at a sound pressure level of ∼65 dB displayed significantly degraded hippocampus-related learning and memory abilities. Noise exposure also suppressed the induction of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). In parallel, the total or phosphorylated levels of certain LTP-related key signaling molecules in the synapses of the hippocampus were down-regulated. However, no significant changes in stress-related processes were found for the noise-exposed rats. These results in a rodent model indicate that even moderate-level noise with little effect on stress status can substantially impair hippocampus-related learning and memory by altering the plasticity of synaptic transmission. They support the importance of more thoroughly defining the unappreciated hazards of moderately loud noise in modern human environments.

Alterations of nasal microbiome in eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to microbes may be important in the development of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Dysbiosis of the nasal microbiome is considered to be related to CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The link between the nasal microbiota and eosinophilic CRSwNP (eCRSwNP) has rarely been studied. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to rigorously characterize nasal dysbiosis in a cohort of patients with eCRSwNP and compare the nasal microbiomes of these patients with those of healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of 34 patients with eCRSwNP, 10 patients without CRSwNP, and 44 HCs by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. An independent cohort of 14 patients with eCRSwNP, 9 patients without CRSwNP, and 11 HCs was used to validate the results. RESULTS: Compared with the nasal microbiome of healthy controls, the nasal microbiome of patients with eCRSwNP was characterized by higher α-diversity (Shannon and Chao1 index) and a distinct composition of microbes. Notably, the distinct differences in microbial composition between patients with eCRSwNP and HCs were significantly correlated with eCRSwNP disease status. Furthermore, in a diagnostic model generated by using these differences, a combination of 15 genera could be used to distinguish patients with eCRSwNP from HCs, with an area under the curve of approximately 0.8 in both the exploration and validation cohorts. CONCLUSION: Our study establishes the compositional alterations in the nasal microbiome in eCRSwNP and suggests the potential for using the nasal microbiota as a noninvasive predictive classifier for the diagnosis of eCRSwNP.

The Effect of Solvents on the Crystal Morphology of Isosorbide Mononitrate and Its Molecular Mechanisms.

In this work, the modified attachment energy model was used to predict the crystal morphology of isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN) in the dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) solvent system and dichloromethane-n-hexane (CH2Cl2-C6H14) mixed solvent system. The solvent effect can significantly affect the crystal morphology, which can profoundly impact both the drug's physicochemical properties and the subsequent technological treatment process. In addition, the interactions between solvent molecules and crystal faces were investigated using molecular dynamics simulation, and radial distribution function (RDF) analysis was performed to determine the types of interactions. The structural parameter S was introduced to characterize the roughness of each crystal surface; the change in the CH2Cl2 diffusion coefficient before and after the addition of C6H14 was analyzed using mean square displacement (MSD). The calculation results of the modified attachment energy from the two solvent systems revealed that C6H14 could accelerate crystal growth, while the crystal morphology was not greatly affected, which is of some significance as a guide for the industrial crystallization process.

1,3,6-Trigalloylglucose: A Novel Potent Anti-Helicobacter pylori Adhesion Agent Derived from Aqueous Extracts of Terminalia chebula Retz.

1,3,6-Trigalloylglucose is a natural compound that can be extracted from the aqueous extracts of ripe fruit of Terminalia chebula Retz, commonly known as "Haritaki". The potential anti-Helicobacter pylori (HP) activity of this compound has not been extensively studied or confirmed in scientific research. This compound was isolated using a semi-preparative liquid chromatography (LC) system and identified through Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-MS/MS (UPLC-MS/MS) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Its role was evaluated using Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assay, scanning electron microscope (SEM), inhibiting kinetics curves, urea fast test, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, Western blot, and Griess Reagent System. Results showed that this compound effectively inhibits the growth of HP strain ATCC 700392, damages the HP structure, and suppresses the Cytotoxin-associated gene A (Cag A) protein, a crucial factor in HP infection. Importantly, it exhibits selective antimicrobial activity without impacting normal epithelial cells GES-1. In vitro studies have revealed that 1,3,6-Trigalloylglucose acts as an anti-adhesive agent, disrupting the adhesion of HP to host cells, a critical step in HP infection. These findings underscore the potential of 1,3,6-Trigalloylglucose as a targeted therapeutic agent against HP infections.

The accelerated organ senescence and proteotoxicity in thyrotoxicosis mice.

The mechanism of aging has always been the focus of research, because aging is related to disease susceptibility and seriously affects people's quality of life. The diseases also accelerate the aging process, especially the pathological changes of substantive organs, such as cardiac hypertrophy, severely shortened lifespan. So, lesions in organs are both a consequence and a cause of aging. However, the disease in a given organ is not in isolation but is a systemic problem. Our previous study found that thyrotoxicosis mice model has aging characteristics including immunosenescence, lipotoxicity, malnutrition. But all these characteristics will lead to organ senescence, therefore, this study continued to study the aging changes of important organs such as heart, liver, and kidney in thyrotoxicosis mice using tandem mass tags (TMT) proteomics method. The results showed that the excess thyroxine led to cardiac hypertrophy. In the liver, the ability to synthesize functional proteins, detoxify, and metabolism were declined. The effect on the kidney was the decreased ability of detoxify and metabolism. The main finding of the present study was that the acceleration of organ senescence by excess thyroxine was due to proteotoxicity. The shared cause of proteotoxicity in the three organs included the intensify of oxidative phosphorylation, the redundancy production of ribosomes, and the lack of splicing and ubiquitin proteasome system function. Totally, proteotoxicity was another parallel between thyrotoxicosis and aging in addition to lipotoxicity. Our research provided a convenient and appropriate animal model for exploring aging mechanism and antiaging drugs.

FOXN4 affects myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury through HIF-1α/MMP2-mediated ferroptosis of cardiomyocytes.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is an important factor leading to myocardial injury and necrosis, and can induce ischemic heart disease. Forkhead box protein N4 (FOXN4) belongs to the gene family of Fork head domain (Fox) transcription factors and plays an important role in heart formation and function. However, whether FOXN4 is involved in MIRI progression is unknown. In this study, we investigated the clinicopathological significance and potential mechanisms of FOXN4 in MIRI. The expressions of FOXN4 and MMP2 were measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and cell viability was detected by examining EdU incorporation into DNA. The signaling pathway related proteins FOXN4, MMP2, HIF-1α, apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax, and ferroptosis-related proteins TFR1 and IREB2 were detected by western blot, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), Fe2+, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and glutathione were detected by commercially available kits, and the cardiac histopathology after MIRI was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. We found that knockdown of FOXN4 alleviated oxidative stress, inhibited ROS production, and inhibited ferroptosis in MIR-injured tissues and cardiomyocytes. In addition, knockdown of FOXN4 inhibited myocardial injury, improved myocardial cell viability, restored myocardial function, and alleviated MIRI. We interrogated the mechanism and found that FOXN4 can enhance its binding to HIF-1α, up-regulate the expression of MMP2, and mediate ferroptosis to regulate the functional activity of cardiomyocytes to affect the progression of MIRI. This study provides new insights into the role of FOXN4 in MIRI progression and suggests that FOXN4 may represent a potential therapeutic target in MIRI progression by regulating the active function of cardiomyocytes through HIF-1α/MMP2-mediated ferroptosis.

Improving the specific activity and stability of alkaline pectinase PEL3 through SpyTag/SpyCatcher cyclization.

OBJECTIVES: PEL3, an alkaline pectinase, exhibited the highest activity among documented alkaline pectate lyases reported in our early study. Unfortunately, undesired thermal stability hampering its industrial application. The purpose of this study is to enhance the performance of wild-type PEL3 (W-PEL3) based on SpyTag/SpyCatcher-mediated cyclization. RESULTS: The cyclized PEL3 (C-PEL3) was observed to fold correctly and generate a spatial conformation in a head-to-tail manner in E. coli. C-PEL3 exhibited comparable optimum pH and temperature to those of W-PEL3. Moreover, the catalytic activity of C-PEL3 increased by 23% compared to W-PEL3, and the kcat/Km of C-PEL3 was 1.5-fold greater than that of the W-PEL3. Importantly, C-PEL3 showed improved stability compared to W-PEL3. Firstly, C-PEL3 displayed a 65% increase in residual activity after treatment at 55 °C for 30 min. Secondly, C-PEL3 was prone to resist heat-induced protein aggregation. Thirdly, C-PEL3 exhibited metal ion stability. Circular dichroism analysis revealed that C-PEL3 was more capable of maintaining its secondary structures than W-PEL3 upon heat treatment. CONCLUSIONS: C-PEL3, the initial example of a circular pectinase through SpyTag/SpyCatcher cyclization, exhibits superior performance and represents a highly encouraging contender for industrial utilization.

LINC00632 relates to milder Th1/Th2 imbalance, attenuated nasal symptoms, and better response to therapy in allergic rhinitis patients.

OBJECTIVE: Long intergenic noncoding RNA 00632 (LINC00632) regulates nasal inflammation and CD4+ T cell differentiation into T helper (Th) 2 cells in allergic rhinitis (AR). This study aimed to explore the relationship between LINC00632 and Th1/Th2 balance, and the clinical value of LINC00632 in AR patients. METHODS: In total, 120 AR patients, 20 non-atopic obstructive snoring patients as disease controls (DCs), and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Their LINC00632 expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were detected by RT-qPCR. RESULTS: LINC00632 expression was declined in AR patients compared with DCs and HCs (both P ˂ 0.001). Moreover, LINC00632 could distinguish AR patients from DCs with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.795 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.701-0.889), and from HCs with an AUC of 0.895 (95%CI: 0.831-0.960). LINC00632 was positively related to Th1 cells (P = 0.037) and Th1/Th2 axis (P ˂ 0.001) in AR patients. In addition, LINC00632 was inversely associated with Th2 cells (P ˂ 0.001) and interleukin (IL)-4 (P = 0.010) in AR patients. Besides, LINC00632 was negatively related to rhinorrhea score (P = 0.019), itching score (P = 0.008), sneezing score (P = 0.004), and total nasal symptom score (TNSS) (P ˂ 0.001), but no correlation between LINC00632 and congestion score was observed (P = 0.093). During treatment, LINC00632 was elevated, while TNSS score was reduced (both P ˂ 0.001). Furthermore, LINC00632 increment was associated with the reduction of TNSS score during the therapy (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: LINC00632 relates to milder Th1/Th2 imbalance, attenuated nasal symptoms, and better response during 4-week therapy in AR patients.

Astragalus (Astragalus mongholicus) Improves Ventricular Remodeling via ESR1 Downregulation RhoA/ROCK Pathway.

Astragalus (Astragalus mongholicus) alleviates myocardial remodeling caused by hypertension. However, the detailed molecular mechanism is unclear. This study aims to investigate the effect of Astragalus on ventricular remodeling in ovariectomized spontaneous hypertensive rats (OVX-SHR).Female SHR/NCrl rats were subjected to bilateral ovariectomy to establish the OVX-SHR model and treated with Astragalus extract by gavage. The hemodynamics and cardiac function parameters were measured. HE and Masson staining were used to detect the pathological structure of myocardial remodeling and observe the hyperplasia of myocardial collagen fibers. The immunohistochemistry tested the level of α-SMA. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, IκB, p65, Cleaved-Caspase3, RhoA, and ROCK1/2 were detected using Western blot. The method of qRT-PCR measured the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and MMP-9).Hemodynamic and cardiac function parameters were significantly improved after a high dose of Astragalus extract and Valsartan treatment. The myocardial integrity of the model group was significantly reduced, arranged loosely, and disordered, while the expression of α-SMA was increased. However, Astragalus extract and Valsartan treatments significantly reduced the pathological damage and α-SMA. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, TGF-ß, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in the model group were increased but decreased after Astragalus extract treatment. Adding an ESR1 inhibitor attenuated the improvement effect of Astragalus extract on myocardial remodeling and restored the expression of RhoA and ROCK1/2.Astragalus extract attenuates the cardiac damage in OVX-SHR by downregulating the RhoA/ROCK pathway through ESR1.

Using UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS and HPLC-CAD to Identify Impurities in Cycloastragenol, Which Is a Pre-Clinical Candidate for COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent disease that has become the third leading cause of death worldwide. Cycloastragenol (CAG), which is the genuine sapogenin of the main active triterpene saponins in Astragali radix, is a bioavailable pre-clinical candidate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and it was investigated in our previous study. In order to progress medical research, it was first efficiently produced on a 2.5-kg scale via Smith degradation from astragaloside IV (AS-IV). Simultaneously, since the impurity profiling of a drug is critical for performing CMC documentation in pre-clinical development, a study on impurities was carried out. As these structures do not contain chromophores and possess weak UV absorption characteristics, HPLC-CAD and UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS were employed to carry out the quality control of the impurities. Then, column chromatography (CC), preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC), and crystallization led to the identification of 15 impurities from CAG API. Among these impurities, compounds 1, 4, 9, 10, 14, and 15 were elucidated via spectroscopic analysis, and 2-3, 5-8, and 11-13 were putatively identified. Interestingly, the new compounds 9 and 14 were rare 10, 19-secocycloartane triterpenoids that displayed certain anti-inflammatory activities against LPS-induced lymphocyte cells and CSE-induced MLE-12 cells. Additionally, a plausible structural transformation pathway of the degradation compounds from CAG or AS IV was proposed. The information obtained will provide a material basis to carry out the quality control and clinical safety assurance of API and related prescriptions. Reasonable guidance will also be provided regarding the compounds with weak UV absorption characteristics.

[Anti-infectious pneumonia target discovery and molecular mechanism study of Jingfang Granules].

This study aimed to identify the direct pharmacological targets of Jingfang Granules in treating infectious pneumonia via "target fishing" strategy. Moreover, the molecular mechanism of Jingfang Granules in treating infectious pneumonia was also investigated based on target-related pharmacological signaling pathways. First, the Jingfang Granules extract-bound magnetic nanoparticles were prepared, which were incubated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced mouse pneumonia tissue lysates. The captured proteins were analyzed by high-resolution mass spectrometry(HRMS), and the target groups with specific binding to the Jingfang Granules extract were screened out. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analysis was used to identify the target protein-associated signaling pathways. On this basis, the LPS-induced mouse model of infectious pneumonia was established. The possible biological functions of target proteins were verified by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and immunohistochemical assay. A total of 186 Jingfang Granules-specific binding proteins were identified from lung tissues. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the target protein-associated signaling pathways mainly included Salmonella infection, vascular and pulmonary epithelial adherens junction, ribosomal viral replication, viral endocytosis, and fatty acid degradation. The target functions of Jingfang Granules were related to pulmonary inflammation and immunity, pulmonary energy metabolism, pulmonary microcirculation, and viral infection. Based on the in vivo inflammation model, Jingfang Granules significantly improved the alveolar structure of the LPS-induced mouse model of infectious pneumonia and down-regulated the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and interleukin-6(IL-6). Meanwhile, Jingfang Gra-nules significantly up-regulated the expressions of key proteins of mitochondrial function COX Ⅳ and ATP, microcirculation-related proteins CD31 and Occludin, and proteins associated with viral infection DDX21 and DDX3. These results suggest that Jingfang Gra-nules can inhibit lung inflammation, improve lung energy metabolism and pulmonary microcirculation, resist virus infection, thus playing a protective role in the lung. This study systematically explains the molecular mechanism of Jingfang Granules in the treatment of respiratory inflammation from the perspective of target-signaling pathway-pharmacological efficacy, thereby providing key information for clinical rational use of Jingfang Granules and expanding potential pharmacological application.

[Anti-depression targets and mechanism study of Kaixin San].

This study identified the anti-depression targets of Kaixin San(KXS) in the brain tissue with "target fishing" strategy, and explored the target-associated pharmacological signaling pathways to reveal the anti-depression molecular mechanism of KXS. The Balb/c mouse model of depression was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) and the anti-depression effect of KXS was evaluated by forced swimming test and sucrose preference test. KXS active components were bonded to the benzophenone-modified magnetic nanoparticles by photocrosslinking reaction for capturing target proteins from cortex, thalamus and hippocampus of depressive mice. The target proteins were identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS). The enrichment analysis on signaling pathways was performed by Cytoscape. The potential biological functions of targets were verified by immunohistochemistry and Western blot assay. The results showed that KXS significantly improved the behavioral indexes. There were 64, 91, and 44 potential targets of KXS identified in cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus, respectively, according to the target identification experiment. The functions of these targets were mainly associated with vasopressin-regulated water reabsorption, salmonella infection, thyroid hormone synthesis, and other signaling pathways. Besides, the results of immunohistochemistry and Western blot showed that KXS up-regulated the expressions of argipressine(AVP) in the cortex, heat shock protein 60(HSP60), cytochrome C oxidase 4(COX4), and thyrotropin-releasing hormone(TRH) in the thalamus, and down-regulated the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) p65 in the thalamus. Therefore, KXS may exert anti-depression effect through regulating vasopressin signaling pathway in the cortex and inflammation, energy metabolism, and thyroid hormone signaling pathways in the thalamus, and the effect of KXS on hippocampus is not significant.

[Neuroprotective effect of ginsenoside Re on drosophila model of Parkinson's disease].

This study aims to explore the neuroprotective mechanism of ginsenoside Re(GS-Re) on drosophila model of Parkinson's disease(PD) induced by rotenone(Rot). To be specific, Rot was used to induce PD in drosophilas. Then the drosophilas were grouped and respectively treated(GS-Re: 0.1, 0.4, 1.6 mmol·L~(-1); L-dopa: 80 µmol·L~(-1)). Life span and crawling ability of drosophilas were determined. The brain antioxidant activity [content of catalase(CAT), malondialdehyde(MDA), reactive oxygen species(ROS), superoxide dismutase(SOD)], dopamine(DA) content, and mitochondrial function [content of adenosine triphosphate(ATP), NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit B8(NDUFB8) Ⅰ activity, succinate dehydrogenase complex, subunit B(SDHB) Ⅱ activity] were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The number of DA neurons in the brains of drosophilas was measured with the immunofluorescence method. The levels of NDUFB8 Ⅰ, SDHB Ⅱ, cytochrome C(Cyt C), nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2(Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1(HO-1), B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 2(Bcl-2)/Bcl-2-assaciated X protein(Bax), and cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 in the brain were detected by Western blot. The results showed that model group [475 µmol·L~(-1) Rot(IC_(50))] demonstrated significantly low survival rate, obvious dyskinesia, small number of neurons and low DA content in the brain, high ROS level and MDA content, low content of SOD and CAT, significantly low ATP content, NDUFB8 Ⅰ activity, and SDHB Ⅱ activity, significantly low expression of NDUFB8 Ⅰ, SDHB Ⅱ, and Bcl-2/Bax, large amount of Cyt C released from mitochondria to cytoplasm, low nuclear transfer of Nrf2, and significantly high expression of cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3 compared with the control group. GS-Re(0.1, 0.4, and 1.6 mmol·L~(-1)) significantly improved the survival rate of PD drosophilas, alleviated the dyskinesia, increased DA content, reduced the loss of DA neurons, ROS level, and MDA content in brain, improved content of SOD and CAT and antioxidant activity in brain, maintained mitochondrial homeostasis(significantly increased ATP content and activity of NDUFB8 Ⅰ and SDHB Ⅱ, significantly up-regulated expression of NDUFB8 Ⅰ, SDHB Ⅱ, and Bcl-2/Bax), significantly reduced the expression of Cyt C, increased the nuclear transfer of Nrf2, and down-regulated the expression of cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3. In conclusion, GS-Re can significantly relieve the Rot-induced cerebral neurotoxicity in drosophilas. The mechanism may be that GS-Re activates Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway by maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis, improves antioxidant capacity of brain neurons, then inhibits mitochondria-mediated caspase-3 signaling pathway, and the apoptosis of neuronal cells, thereby exerting the neuroprotective effect.

Two-Dimensional Protein Nanoarray as a Carrier of Sensing Elements for Gold-Based Immunosensing Systems.

Homogeneous and high-density immobilization of proteins on gold-based sensing surface without the loss of protein activity is of great significance for high-performance immunosensing but remains challenging. To realize more sensitive immunosensing, an improved method for protein immobilization on the gold surface is urgently required. Here, we propose a biological and mild approach by combining a genetically encoded SpyTag-SpyCatcher interaction system with a redesigned S-layer of bacteria. This method allows proteins of interest to be covalently linked with the S-layer in a biological manner and arranged orderly in a two-dimensional nanoarray on the gold surface. The activity of African swine fever virus proteins was significantly preserved after immobilization. In addition, our S-layer-based immobilization method exhibited an eightfold increase in detection sensitivity compared with the conventional chemical cross-linking for protein immobilization during serological tests. Together, our S-layer-based immobilization method provides an innovative approach for building a quality gold-based biosensing interface and should greatly contribute to the high-sensitivity sensing for a deeper understanding of pathogen infection and host immunity.

Approaches to Configuration Determinations of Flexible Marine Natural Products: Advances and Prospects.

Flexible marine natural products (MNPs), such as eribulin and bryostatin, play an important role in the development of modern marine drugs. However, due to the multiple chiral centers and geometrical uncertainty of flexible systems, configuration determinations of flexible MNPs face great challenges, which, in turn, have led to obstacles in druggability research. To resolve this issue, the comprehensive use of multiple methods is necessary. Additionally, configuration assignment methods, such as X-ray single-crystal diffraction (crystalline derivatives, crystallization chaperones, and crystalline sponges), NMR-based methods (JBCA and Mosher's method), circular dichroism-based methods (ECCD and ICD), quantum computational chemistry-based methods (NMR calculations, ECD calculations, and VCD calculations), and chemical transformation-based methods should be summarized. This paper reviews the basic principles, characteristics, and applicability of the methods mentioned above as well as application examples to broaden the research and applications of these methods and to provide a reference for the configuration determinations of flexible MNPs.

Initial experiences of transapical beating-heart mitral valve repair with a novel artificial chordal implantation device.

BACKGROUND: Severe mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with progressive heart failure and impairment of survival. Degenerative MR accounts for most MV repair surgeries. Conventional mitral valve repair surgery requires cardiopulmonary bypass and is associated with significant morbidity and risks. Transapical beating-heart mitral valve repair by artificial chordae implantation with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) guidance has the potential to significantly reduce surgical morbidity. We report the first-in-human experience of degenerative MR repair using a novel artificial chordae implantation device (MitralstitchTM system). METHODS: Ten patients with severe MR underwent transapical artificial chordae implantation using MitralstitchTM system. The procedure was performed through a small left thoracotomy under general anesthesia and TEE guidance. Patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography and other assessments during the follow-up. RESULTS: All 10 patients with an average age of 63.7 ± 9.6 years successfully received transapical artificial chordae implantation. Their MR reduced from severe to none or trace in five patients, mild in five patients before discharge. Five patients received one artificial chordal implantation, four patients received two, and one patient received three and edge-to-edge repair by locking two of them. The safety and efficacy endpoint were achieved in all patients at 1-month follow-up. At 1-year follow-up, six patients had mild MR, three patients had moderate MR, one patient had recurrence of severe MR and underwent surgical repair. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this first-in-human study show safety and feasibility of transapical mitral valve repair using MitralStitch system. Patient selection and technical refinement are crucial to improve the outcomes.

SEC61G identified as a prognostic biomarker of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: It is of obvious interest to identify clinical prognosis-related oncogenes in HNSCC (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma). METHODS: Based on the available datasets within the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) and the GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) databases, the potential mechanism of action of the SEC61G (SEC61 translocon subunit gamma) gene in HNSCC tumorigenesis was explored by several bioinformatics approaches. RESULTS: There was a higher expression level of SEC61G in primary HNSCC tumor tissues than in normal tissues. Moreover, highly expressed SEC61G was statistically associated with the poor survival prognosis of HNSCC patients. When HPV (human papilloma virus) was considered, we also observed a relatively lower proportion of "arm-level gain" and "high amplification" types of CNA (copy-number alteration) in the HNSCC-HPV (+) group than in the HNSCC-HPV (-) group. Additionally, we identified SEC61G CAN-correlated genes, such as CCT6A (chaperonin-containing TCP1 subunit 6A) and HUS1 (HUS1 checkpoint clamp component), and found a correlation between SEC61G copy-number segments and prognosis related to overall and progression-free survival intervals of HNSCC patients. Moreover, the molecular regulation mechanisms of the spliceosome, ribosome, proteasome degradation, cell adhesion, and immune infiltration of B and CD8+ T cells may contribute to the involvement of SEC61G in the pathogenesis of HNSCC. CONCLUSIONS: The SEC61G gene was identified for the first time as a prognostic biomarker of HNSCC. The detailed underlying mechanism merits further research.

Simultaneously improving the specific activity and thermostability of α-amylase BLA by rational design.

Higher activity and alkaline α-amylases are desired for textile desizing and detergent additive. Here, rational design was used to improve the specific activity and thermostability of the α-amylase BLA from Bacillus licheniformis. Seventeen mutants of BLA were designed based on sequence consensus analysis and folding free energy calculation, and characterized by measuring their respective activity and thermostability at pH 8.5. Among them, mutant Q360C exhibited nearly threefold improved activity than that of wild-type and retained a higher residual activity (75% vs 59% for wild-type) after preincubation at 70 â„ƒ for 30 min. The modeled structures and molecular dynamics simulations analysis demonstrated that the enhanced hydrophobic interaction near residue 360 and reduced disturbance to the conformation of catalytic residues are the possible reasons for the improved thermostability and activity of Q360C. The results suggest that 360th of BLA may act as a hotspot for engineering other enzymes in the GH13 superfamily.