[Reflections on the safety regulation of commercialization of synthetic biology products].

With the rapid development of synthetic biology, lots of synthetic biology technology achievements in various application fields have been commercialized, generating broad market prospects. The commercialization of products employing synthetic biology technology (hereinafter referred as synthetic biology products) has brought benefits to human beings, but it has also produced potential safety risks. At present, relevant laws and standards for regulation of biotechnology or genetically modified organisms have been adopted to regulate the safety risks of commercialization of synthetic biology products (CSBP). However, due to the complexity and uncertainty of synthetic biology, the safety risks of CSBP cannot be comprehensively regulated by these laws and standards. Therefore, it is of great significance to formulate specific supervision and management measures for regulating the safety risks of CSBP. This paper summarized the situation of CSBP in the fields of food, medical care, agriculture, environment, energy and materials, analyzed the safety risks existing in the CSBP, and sorted out current supervision situation of its safety risks in European countries, United States, as well as in China. We further proposed suggestions on the safety supervision and management measures on the safety risks of CSBP, including classified examination and approval, classified identification of products, and strict screening and approval of market entities before entering the market, and strengthening safety supervision and emergency treatment as well as accident responsibility investigation after entering the market. This whole-process safety regulation might provide support for the safety of CSBP and promote the healthy and long-term development of synthetic biology industry.

Disruption of Mitophagy Flux through the PARL-PINK1 Pathway by CHCHD10 Mutations or CHCHD10 Depletion.

Coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain-containing 10 (CHCHD10) is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein which is primarily mutated in the spectrum of familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Endogenous CHCHD10 levels decline in the brains of ALS-FTD patients, and the CHCHD10S59L mutation in Drosophila induces dominant toxicity together with PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1), a protein critical for the induction of mitophagy. However, whether and how CHCHD10 variants regulate mitophagy flux in the mammalian brain is unknown. Here, we demonstrate through in vivo and in vitro models, as well as human FTD brain tissue, that ALS/FTD-linked CHCHD10 mutations (R15L and S59L) impair mitophagy flux and mitochondrial Parkin recruitment, whereas wild-type CHCHD10 (CHCHD10WT) normally enhances these measures. Specifically, we show that CHCHD10R15L and CHCHD10S59L mutations reduce PINK1 levels by increasing PARL activity, whereas CHCHD10WT produces the opposite results through its stronger interaction with PARL, suppressing its activity. Importantly, we also demonstrate that FTD brains with TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) pathology demonstrate disruption of the PARL-PINK1 pathway and that experimentally impairing mitophagy promotes TDP-43 aggregation. Thus, we provide herein new insights into the regulation of mitophagy and TDP-43 aggregation in the mammalian brain through the CHCHD10-PARL-PINK1 pathway.

Enantiomeric filtration separation of supramolecular framework membranes.

A two-dimensional supramolecular framework with a tetragonal structure is constructed via host-guest interaction of a pillar[5]arene grafted polyanion with a modified porphyrin. The membrane of the framework with a chiral counterion exhibits enantiomeric selectivity during the filtration of racemic molecules with amino groups, demonstrating broadened potential in chiral separations.

Constructing chiral polyoxometalate assemblies via supramolecular approaches.

Polyoxometalates (POMs), as a typical class of discrete metal oxide clusters that are known in inorganic and structural chemistry since long, have displayed more and more interesting applications over recent years. However, in comparison to the chemical synthesis, the photochemical, electrochemical, and magnetic properties, the structural asymmetry, and relative characteristic investigations arising therefrom are far behind even if they are very important for functional materials, especially in solution systems. One of the main reasons is that it is hard to control and maintain a stable chiral state of POMs to carry out further corresponding performances. Aiming to overcome these disadvantages, the main concerns of this review are to discuss the generation of the chirality for discrete metal oxide clusters, chirality transfer via a supramolecular approach, chirality amplification in self-assemblies, and the related functional properties such as photochromism, catalysis, and bioactivities in solutions. Considering that some previous reviews dealt with chiral structures and packing architectures in the crystalline solids of POMs, this article only concentrates on the induced chirality and material properties in solution systems, which have been more active recently but no review article has been involved in this interesting area.