Transition metal-free formal hydro/deuteromethylthiolation of unactivated alkenes.

Methylthioether is involved in the methylthiotransfer process in organisms, and therefore its functionality is of paramount importance to living organisms. Several methods for the installation of the methylthio group in small molecules have been reported previously; however, procedures starting from unactivated alkenes are rare. Herein, we report a formal hydro/deuteromethylthiolation of alkenes by using dimethyl(methylthio)sulfonium trifluoromethanesulfonate as the stimulator and sodium borohydride/deuteride as the hydrogen/deuterium source. The process represents a mild, transition metal-free and methanethiol-free route towards the synthesis of methylthioethers from unactivated alkenes.

Metabolomic analysis to unravel the composition and dynamic variations of anthocyanins in bayberry-soaked wine during the maceration process.

In this work, we employed a global untargeted metabolomics technique to explore the intricate composition of anthocyanin constituents in bayberry wine and elucidate their alteration during the maceration process. Our analysis uncovered 20 distinct forms of anthocyanins in bayberry wine, including cyanidin-type, delphinidin-type, peonidin-type, malvidin-type, and other-type. 'Dongkui' (DK) bayberry wine was characterized by a predominance of glycoside forms of cyanidin-type and delphinidin-type anthocyanins, while 'Shuijing' (SJ) bayberry wine mainly contained other-type anthocyanins. Additionally, differential anthocyanins analyses conducted across various maceration periods demonstrated the different fate of the components in the wine, with a conspicuous decline in most glycosidic form anthocyanins. Moreover, correlation analysis revealed that the red hue of bayberry wine was primarily associated with cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-rhamnoside, delphinidin-3-O-arabinoside, and delphinidin-3-O-galactoside. This research contributes to our understanding of the anthocyanin composition and the dynamic variations in bayberry wine, opening avenues for further exploration and optimization of production techniques in the future.

Small-molecule MHC-II inducers promote immune detection and anti-cancer immunity via editing cancer metabolism.

Lack of MHC-II is emerging as a causal factor in cancer immune evasion, and the development of small-molecule MHC-II inducers is an unmet clinical need. Here, we identified three MHC-II inducers, including pristane and its two superior derivatives, that potently induce MHC-II expression in breast cancer cells and effectively inhibit the development of breast cancer. Our data suggest that MHC-II is central in promoting the immune detection of cancer to increase the tumor infiltration of T cells and enhance anti-cancer immunity. By discovering the malonyl/acetyltransferase (MAT) domain in fatty acid synthase (FASN) as the direct binding target of MHC-II inducers, we demonstrate that evasion of immune detection and cancer metabolic reprogramming are directly linked by fatty acid-mediated MHC-II silencing. Collectively, we identified three MHC-II inducers and illustrated that lack of MHC-II caused by hyper-activated fatty acid synthesis to limit immune detection is a potentially widespread mechanism underlying the development of cancer.

Simultaneous separation and determination of six arsenic species in Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushrooms: Method development and applications.

A method for simultaneously separating six arsenic (As) species was established by ultrasound-assisted extraction-anion exchange chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Six As species could be well separated within 15 min when 0.3 M acetic acid and 25 mM NH4H2PO4 were used as the extraction solvent and mobile phase, respectively. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection and recovery of As species and the relative standard deviation were in the ranges of 0.31-0.59 µg/L, 94.30-102.75%, and 1.63-3.72%, respectively. Furthermore, the established method was successfully applied to fresh Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushrooms and processed products. The inorganic As contents of all samples ranged from 0.204 to 0.500 mg/kg, half of samples (>0.400 mg/kg) were close to the maximum contaminant level allowed by the Chinese (0.5 mg/kg). The health risk index estimation results indicated that no particular risk of As exposure to Chinese consumers existed in L. edodes.