Clinical translational research and application prospects of mesenchymal stem cells in periodontal tissue regeneration / 中华口腔医学杂志

Periodontitis is an oral infectious disease that occurs in the tooth supporting tissues, which damages the soft and hard tissues of the periodontium and eventually results in tooth mobility and loss. Traditional clinical treatment can effectively control the periodontal infection and inflammation. However, as the therapeutic effect depending on the local condition of periodontal defect and the systemic factors of patients, it's hard to achieve satisfactory and stable periodontal tissue regeneration for damaged periodontal tissues. Recently, as a promising therapeutic strategy in periodontal regeneration, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) play an important role in modern regenerative medicine. Combined with the clinical translational researches of MSC in periodontal tissue engineering and the research results of our group in the past decade, it is summarized and explained the mechanism of MSC promoting periodontal regeneration, the preclinical and the clinical transformation researches as well as the future application prospects of MSC in periodontal regeneration therapy in this paper.

Correlation between drug-induced liver injury in rats caused by Xianling Gubao oral preparation and extraction process / 中国中药杂志

In light of the liver injury risk associated with the oral administration of Xianlin Gubao oral preparation, this study compared the differences in liver injury induced by two different extraction processes in rats and explored the correlation between hepatotoxicity and extraction process from the perspective of the differences in the content of the relevant components. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley(SD) rats were randomly divided into a normal group, tablet extract groups of different doses, and capsule extract groups of different doses, with 6 rats in each group. Each group received continuous oral administration for 4 weeks. The assessment of liver injury caused by different extracts was conducted by examining rat body weight, liver function blood biochemical indicators, liver coefficient, and liver pathological changes. In addition, a high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) method was established to simultaneously determine the content of icariin, baohuoside I, and bakuchiol in the extracts to compare the differences in the content of these three components under the two extraction processes. The results showed that both extracts caused liver injury in rats. Compared with the normal group, the tablet extract groups, at the studied dose, led to slow growth in body weight, a significant increase in triglyceride levels(P<0.05), a significant decrease in liver-to-brain ratio(P<0.05), and the appearance of hepatic steatosis. The capsule extract groups, at the studied dose, resulted in slow growth in body weight, a significant increase in aspartate aminotransferase levels(P<0.05), a significant decrease in body weight, liver weight, and liver-to-brain ratio(P<0.05), and the presence of hepatic steatosis and inflammatory cell infiltration. In comparison, the capsule extraction process had a higher risk of liver injury. Furthermore, based on the completion of the liquid chromatography method, the content of icariin and baohuoside Ⅰ in the capsule extract groups was 0.83 and 0.81 times that in the tablet extract groups, respectively, while the bakuchiol content in the capsule extract group was 29.80 times that in the tablet extract groups, suggesting that the higher risk of liver injury associated with the capsule extraction process may be due to its higher bakuchiol content. In summary, the differences in rat liver injury caused by the two extracts are closely related to the extraction process. This should be taken into consideration in the formulation production and clinical application.

Effect of eccentricity of optical treatment zone on retinal defocus after wearing orthokeratology lens / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To observe the effect of eccentricity of the optical treatment zone on retinal defocus after wearing orthokeratology lens for 12mo.METHODS: In this case-control study, a total of 120 myopic patients(120 eyes)who completed the fitting in our hospital from March 2021 to September 2021 and insisted on wearing orthokeratology lenses for 12mo were selected. According to the eccentricity after wearing lenses for 12mo, they were divided into the low eccentricity group(&#x003C;0.5mm, 58 cases, 58 eyes)and the moderate and high eccentricity group(≥0.5mm, 62 cases, 62 eyes). The optical treatment zone diameter(OTZD), eccentricity, axial length(AL), pupil diameter(PD)and refraction difference value(RDV)were evaluated after 12mo of wearing orthokeratology lenses, and the correlation between RDV and eccentricity was analyzed.RESULTS: After wearing orthokeratology lenses for 12mo, AL growth and RDV at 30°～40° and 40°～53° from the fovea were significantly lower in the moderate and high eccentricity group than in the low eccentricity group(all P&#x003C;0.05). In all patients, RDV at 40°～53° from the fovea was positively correlated with AL growth and OTZD(rs=0.544, 0.333, both P&#x003C;0.01), and negatively correlated with eccentricity(rs=-0.224, P=0.014).CONCLUSION: Peripheral retinal defocus is related to eccentricity and OTZD after wearing orthokeratology lenses. The greater eccentricity and the smaller OTZD within a certain range can induce more peripheral retinal myopic defocus, leading to a better control of AL growth.

The reversal effect of albiflorin on multidrug resistance of human ovarian cancer and its mechanism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study the reversal effect of albiflorin(AL)on multidrug resistance of human ovarian cancer and the potential mechanism. Methods The drug resistance reversal effect of AL on SKOV3/DDP cells was detected by CCK-8 kit,and the effect of AL on P-glycoprotein(P-gp)function was detected by flow cytometry. The effects of AL on MYC,WWP1 and ABCB1 in SKOV3/DDP cells were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. The MYC-knockdown SKOV3/DDP cell line was constructed by RNA interference technology,and its drug resistance,P-gp function and related gene and protein expression changes were investigated. Results AL had a drug resistance reversal effect on SKOV3/DDP cells and a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on P-gp function. The inhibitory effects of AL 25,50 and 100 μmol·L-1 on ABCB1/P-gp,MYC and WWP1 were gradually enhanced. The inhibitory effect of MYCi975,a MYC inhibitor,on ABCB1/P-gp,MYC and WWP1 was stronger than or equivalent to that of AL 100 μmol·L-1 group. After knockdown of MYC in SKOV3/DDP cells,cell drug resistance,P-gp function,and related gene and protein expression were inhibited. Conclusions The drug resistance reversal effect of AL on SKOV3/DDP cells may be related to the inhibition of P-gp function and the expression of ABCB1/P-gp,MYC and WWP1,which provides an experiment base for the development of AL as a drug resistance reversal agent for the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer.

Functional characterization of CYP81C16 involved in the tanshinone biosynthetic pathway in Salvia miltiorrhiza / 中国天然药物

Danshen, the dried roots and rhizomes of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (S. miltiorrhiza), is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tanshinones, the bioactive compounds from Danshen, exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, suggesting their potential for future therapeutic applications. Tanshinone biosynthesis is a complex process involving at least six P450 enzymes that have been identified and characterized, most of which belong to the CYP76 and CYP71 families. In this study, CYP81C16, a member of the CYP71 clan, was identified in S. miltiorrhiza. An in vitro assay revealed that it could catalyze the hydroxylation of four para-quinone-type tanshinones, namely neocryptotanshinone, deoxyneocryptotanshinone, and danshenxinkuns A and B. SmCYP81C16 emerged as a potential broad-spectrum oxidase targeting the C-18 position of para-quinone-type tanshinones with an impressive relative conversion rate exceeding 90%. Kinetic evaluations andin vivo assays underscored its highest affinity towards neocryptotanshinone among the tested substrates. The overexpression of SmCYP81C16 promoted the accumulation of (iso)tanshinone in hairy root lines. The characterization of SmCYP81C16 in this study accentuates its potential as a pivotal tool in the biotechnological production of tanshinones, either through microbial or plant metabolic engineering.

Difference in liver injury induced by dictamnine between males and females: based on untargeted metabolomics / 中国中药杂志

In recent years, reports of adverse reactions related to traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) have been on the rise, especially some traditionally considered "non-toxic" TCM(such as Dictamni Cortex). This has aroused the concern of scholars. This study aims to explore the metabolomic mechanism underlying the difference in liver injury induced by dictamnine between males and females through the experiment on 4-week-old mice. The results showed that the serum biochemical indexes of liver function and organ coefficients were significantly increased by dictamnine(P<0.05), and hepatic alveolar steatosis was mainly observed in female mice. However, no histopathological changes were observed in the male mice. Furthermore, a total of 48 differential metabolites(such as tryptophan, corticosterone, and indole) related to the difference in liver injury between males and females were screened out by untargeted metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis. According to the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve, 14 metabolites were highly correlated with the difference. Finally, pathway enrichment analysis indicated that disorders of metabolic pathways, such as tryptophan metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and ferroptosis(linoleic acid metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism), may be the potential mechanism of the difference. Liver injury induced by dictamnine is significantly different between males and females, which may be caused by the disorders of tryptophan metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and ferroptosis pathways.

Systematic identification of chemical forms of key terpene synthase in Cinnamomum camphora / 中国中药杂志

Cinnamomum camphora is an important economic tree species in China. According to the type and content of main components in the volatile oil of leaf, C. camphora were divided into five chemotypes, including borneol-type, camphor-type, linalool-type, cineole-type, and nerolidol-type. Terpene synthase(TPS) is the key enzyme for the formation of these compounds. Although several key enzyme genes have been identified, the biosynthetic pathway of(+)-borneol, which has the most economic value, has not been reported. In this study, nine terpenoid synthase genes CcTPS1-CcTPS9 were cloned through transcriptome analysis of four chemical-type leaves. After the recombinant protein was induced by Escherichia coli, geranyl pyrophosphate(GPP) and farnesyl pyrophosphate(FPP) were used as substrates for enzymatic reaction, respectively. Both CcTPS1 and CcTPS9 could catalyze GPP to produce bornyl pyrophosphate, which could be hydrolyzed by phosphohydrolase to obtain(+)-borneol, and the product of(+)-borneol accounted for 0.4% and 89.3%, respectively. Both CcTPS3 and CcTPS6 could catalyze GPP to generate a single product linalool, and CcTPS6 could also react with FPP to generate nerolidol. CcTPS8 reacted with GPP to produce 1,8-cineol(30.71%). Nine terpene synthases produced 9 monoterpene and 6 sesquiterpenes. The study has identified the key enzyme genes responsible for borneol biosynthesis in C. camphora for the first time, laying a foundation for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of chemical type formation and cultivating new varieties of borneol with high yield by using bioengineering technology.

Modification of C20 oxidase in tanshinone biosynthesis pathway / 中国中药杂志

Tanshinones are one of the main effective components of Salvia miltiorrhiza, which play important roles in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Microbial heterogony production of tanshinones can provide a large number of raw materials for the production of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) preparations containing S. miltiorrhiza, reduce the extraction cost, and relieve the pressure of clinical medication. The biosynthetic pathway of tanshinones contains multiple P450 enzymes, and the catalytic element with high efficiency is the basis of microbial production of tanshinones. In this study, the protein modification of CYP76AK1, a key P450-C20 hydroxylase in tanshinone pathway, was researched. The protein modeling methods SWISS-MODEL, Robetta, and AlphaFold2 were used, and the protein model was analyzed to obtain the reliable protein structure. The semi-rational design of mutant protein was carried out by molecular docking and homologous alignment. The key amino acid sites affecting the oxidation activity of CYP76AK1 were identified by molecular docking. The function of the obtained mutations was studied with yeast expression system, and the CYP76AK1 mutations with continuous oxidation function to 11-hydroxysugiol were obtained. Four key amino acid sites that affected the oxidation acti-vity were analyzed, and the reliability of three protein modeling methods was analyzed according to the mutation results. The effective protein modification sites of CYP76AK1 were reported for the first time in this study, which provides a catalytic element for different oxidation activities at C20 site for the study of the synthetic biology of tanshinones and lays a foundation for the analysis of the conti-nuous oxidation mechanism of P450-C20 modification.

Advances in research methods for biosynthetic pathway analysis of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)are the foundation for the efficiency of TCM and the key to the formation of Dao-di herbs. It is of great significance to study the biosynthesis and regulation mechanisms of these active ingredients for analyzing the formation mechanism of Daodi herbs and providing components for the production of active ingredients in TCM by synthetic biology. With the advancements in omics technology, molecular biology, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, etc., the analysis of biosynthetic pathways for active ingredients in TCM is rapidly progressing. New methods and technologies have promoted the analysis of the synthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM and have also made this area a hot topic in molecular pharmacognosy. Many researchers have made significant progress in analyzing the biosynthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM such as Panax ginseng, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Tripterygium wilfordii. This paper systematically reviewed current research me-thods for analyzing the biosynthetic functional genes of active ingredients in TCM, elaborated the mining of gene elements based on multiomics technology and the verification of gene functions in plants in vitro and in vivo with candidate genes as objects. Additionally, the paper summarized new technologies and methods that have emerged in recent years, such as high-throughput screening, molecular probes, genome-wide association studies, cell-free systems, and computer simulation screening to provide a comprehensive reference for the analysis of the biosynthetic pathways of active ingredients in TCM.

Advances on the microbial synthesis of plant-derived diterpenoids / 生物工程学报

Natural plant-derived diterpenoids are a class of compounds with diverse structures and functions. These compounds are widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food additives industries because of their pharmacological properties such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. In recent years, with the gradual discovery of functional genes in the biosynthetic pathway of plant-derived diterpenoids and the development of synthetic biotechnology, great efforts have been made to construct a variety of diterpenoid microbial cell factories through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, resulting in gram-level production of many compounds. This article summarizes the construction of plant-derived diterpenoid microbial cell factories through synthetic biotechnology, followed by introducing the metabolic engineering strategies applied to improve plant-derived diterpenoids production, with the aim to provide a reference for the construction of high-yield plant-derived diterpenoid microbial cell factories and the industrial production of diterpenoids.

Domestic and international research status and trend of adolescent myopia: A bibliometrics based analysis / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To explore the current research progress, hot spots and future development trends of myopia in children and adolescents at home and abroad, thus providing references for the further research on the field.METHODS: Using China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)and Web of Science(WOS)as data sources, the literature on myopia in children and adolescents from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2022 was collected. Visual analyses were conducted based on the quantity of the published articles, authors, publishing institutions, journals as well as keyword co-occurrence, clustering, timeline graph and emergence by using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace.RESULT: The number of publications on myopia research has increased steadily both articles in Chinese and English. Xian-Gui He and Saw, Seang-Mei have published the most papers, and the Chinese Journal of School Health and Investigative Ophthalmology &#x0026; Visual Science published the most related articles. Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment Center, and Sun Yat-sen University are the institutions with the most publications in the area. Clinical observation is the main focus of research both domestically and internationally, with orthokeratology, outdoor activities, axial length, prevalence, and influencing factors attracting much attention.CONCLUSION: Current research on myopia in children and adolescents focuses on the epidemiology, intervention measures, and biological parameters of the condition. Future research on myopia epidemiology is likely to become a major focus of research in this area.

Shugan Jieyu capsule improve sleep and emotional disorder in coronavirus disease 2019 convalescence patients: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the Shugan Jieyu capsule on improving sleep and emotional disorder during Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescence. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and recruit 200 COVID-19 convalescence patients and then divide the subjects into two groups respectively: the experimental group ( 100) and the control group ( 100). Patients in the control group were given doses as a placebo, while those in the experimental group were given Shugan Jieyu capsule. The investigators mainly observed the differences between the two groups before and after treatment in terms of the rate of reduction and the rate of efficiency in Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17) total scores from baseline, and recorded the scores of Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale at 2 week, the 4 week and the 6 week respectively after treatment, and compared the differences between the groups. And the occurrence of adverse events was recorded. RESULTS: After 6-week treatment, there were statistically significant differences in the rate of reduction as well as efficiency in HAMD-17 scores, HAMA Total Scores, PHQ-15 Score, ISI Score from baseline in the experimental group and control group (< 0.05). There were 4 adverse events in the experimental group and 1 in the control group. CONCLUSION: Shugan Jieyu capsule could significantly improve sleep and emotional disorder in patients during COVID-19 convalescence.

Comparative study of umbilical venous blood flow between congenital heart disease and normal fetus / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To investigate the differences of umbilical vein diameter(D), time average peak velocity(TAmax) and blood flow between congenital heart disease and normal fetus.Methods:The umbilical vein diameter and time average peak velocity of 69 fetuses with congenital heart disease (disease group) from 22 to 27 weeks were prospectively studied in Maternal-Fetal Medical Center in Fetal Heart Disease of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from May 2021 to September 2021. Q 1 (umbilical venous blood flow) was calculated according to the formular [Q=0.5TAmax·π·(D/2) 2)], and Q 2 (Q 2=Q 1/weight) was calculated according to the fetal weight. At the same time, 111 normal fetuses with matched gestational age were selected as control group. The differences of fetal umbilical vein D, TAmax, Q 1 and Q 2 between the two groups were analyzed. Results:The inner diameter of umbilical vein D, TAmax, Q 1 and Q 2 in the congenital heart disease group were lower than those in the control group(all P<0.05). In the control group, the inner diameter of umbilical vein D, TAmax and Q 1 increased with the increase of gestational age and showed a positive linear correlation( r=0.608, 0.320, 0.626; all P≤0.001), while there was no obvious linear correlation between Q 2 and gestational age( r=0.189, P=0.047). Conclusions:The decrease of umbilical vein D, TAmax, Q 1 and Q 2 in the fetus with congenital heart disease indicates the decrease of effective blood flow in placenta-fetus circulation, which indirectly reflects the decrease of placental function in the fetus with congenital heart disease.

Clinical application of the full-stack smart pelvic floor ultrasound to acquire and measure the minimal levator hiatus plane / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of Full-stack Smart Pelvic Floor Ultrasound (FSPFU) software in the acquisition and measurement of the minimal levator hiatus (LH).Methods:Transperineal pelvic floor ultrasonography was performed in 119 women of 6-month postpartum from Nov.2020 to Jan.2021 of Shenzhen Second People′s Hospital. Mid-sagittal plane of pelvic floor was set as the initial plane, and the three-dimensional volume data was acquired. The dataset was stored in the machine. The offline volume data was manually adjusted to obtain the minimal LH images and measured by four physicians (two junior physicians as the D1 group and two senior physicians as the D2 group). For comparison, the results were also obtained using the fully automated method—the FSPFU software by a junior physician (the D3 group). The obtained parameters of minimal LH included area, circumference, anterioposterior diameter, transverse diameter, left and right levator-urethral gap distance. Analysis time was recorded for each group. The contours of minimal LH were outlined by three groups and the overlapping rate was calculated. The quality of the resulted images was evaluated and scored by another two senior physicians(A and B) independently.Results:The D3 group had a significant shorter analysis time compared with the other two groups, and the D1 group took a longer time than the D2 group, regardless of the cystocele severity (D1: 82.97 s, D2: 62.51 s, D3: 2.71 s, all P<0.05). The intergroup agreements and correlations of the minimum LH area were good (all ICC>0.85, rs>0.70, P<0.001) and the outlined contours were largely overlapped (>92%). There was no significant difference in image quality among the three groups(all P>0.05). Conclusions:FSPFU software can automatically obtain and measure the minimum LH in an efficient and accurate way, which can improve the effectiveness of the present pelvic floor examination. FSPFU software can be an useful tool in the diagnosis of pelvic floor dysfunctional diseases.

Species Differences of Bakuchiol-induced Liver Injury in Mice Based on Transcriptomics / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the differences in response to bakuchiol-induced hepatotoxicity between Institute of Cancer Research （ICR） mice and Kunming （KM） mice. MethodThe objective manifestations of bakuchiol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice were confirmed by acute and subacute toxicity animal experiments， and enrichment pathways of differential genes between normal ICR mice and KM mice were compared by transcriptomics. The real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （real-time qPCR） assay was used to verify the mRNA expression of key genes in the related pathways to confirm the species differences of bakuchiol-induced liver injury. ResultIn the subacute toxicity experiment， compared with the normal mice， the ICR mice showed increased serum content of alkaline phosphatase （ALP）， and 5′-nucleotidase （5′-NT）， without significant difference， and no manifest change was observed in KM mice. Pathological results showed that hepatocyte hypertrophy was the main pathological feature in ICR mice and hepatocyte steatosis in KM mice. In the acute toxicity experiment， KM mice showed erect hair， mental malaise， and near-death 3 days after administration. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase （ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase （AST） in KM mice （400 mg·kg-1） significantly increased（P<0.01）， and the activity of total reactive oxygen species （SOD） in liver significantly decreased（P<0.01）compared with those in normal mice， while the serum content of 5′-NT and cholinesterase （CHE） in ICR mice （400 mg·kg-1） were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. The liver/brain ratio in ICR mice increased by 20.34% and that in KM mice increased by 29.14% （P<0.01）. The main pathological manifestation of the liver in ICR mice was hepatocyte hypertrophy， while those in KM mice were focal inflammation， hepatocyte hypertrophy， and hepatocyte steatosis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG）and Reactome pathway enrichment analyses showed that the differential gene expression between ICR mice and KM mice was mainly involved in oxidative phosphorylation， bile secretion， bile acid and bile salts synthesis， and metabolism pathway. CYP7A1 was up-regulated in all groups with drug intervention （P<0.01） and MRP2 was reduced in all groups with drug intervention of KM mice （P<0.01） and elevated in all groups with drug intervention of ICR mice （P<0.01） compared with those in the normal group. The expression of BSEP was lowered in ICR mice with acute liver injury （400 mg·kg-1） （P<0.05）. SHP1 was highly expressed in KM mice with acute liver injury （400 mg·kg-1）. The expression of FXR was diminished in ICR mice with subacute liver injury （200 mg·kg-1） （P<0.01）. SOD1， CAT， and NFR2 significantly decreased in KM mice with acute liver injury （400 mg·kg-1）， and CAT dwindled in KM mice with subacute liver injury （200 mg·kg-1） （P<0.01）. GSTA1 and GPX1 significantly increased in KM mice with acute liver injury （400 mg·kg-1） （P<0.01） and SOD1， CAT， NRF2， and GSTA1 significantly increased in ICR mice with subacute liver injury （200 mg·kg-1） （P<0.01）. CAT and NRF2 significantly increased in ICR mice with acute liver injury （400 mg·kg-1） （P<0.01）. ConclusionWith the increase in the dosage of bakuchiol， the liver injury induced by oxidative stress in KM mice was gradually aggravated， and ICR mice showed stronger antioxidant capacity. The comparison of responses to bakuchiol-induced hepatotoxicity between ICR mice and KM mice reveals that ICR mice are more suitable for the investigation of the mechanisms related to bile secretion and bile acid metabolism in the research on bakuchiol-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. KM mice are more prone to liver injury caused by oxidative stress.

COVID-ONE-humoral immune: The One-stop Database for COVID-19-specific Antibody Responses and Clinical Parameters

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, varies with regard to symptoms and mortality rates among populations. Humoral immunity plays critical roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection and recovery from COVID-19. However, differences in immune responses and clinical features among COVID-19 patients remain largely unknown. Here, we report a database for COVID-19-specific IgG/IgM immune responses and clinical parameters (COVID-ONE humoral immune). COVID-ONE humoral immunity is based on a dataset that contains the IgG/IgM responses to 21 of 28 known SARS-CoV-2 proteins and 197 spike protein peptides against 2,360 COVID-19 samples collected from 783 patients. In addition, 96 clinical parameters for the 2,360 samples and information for the 783 patients are integrated into the database. Furthermore, COVID-ONE humoral immune provides a dashboard for defining samples and a one-click analysis pipeline for a single group or paired groups. A set of samples of interest is easily defined by adjusting the scale bars of a variety of parameters. After the "START" button is clicked, one can readily obtain a comprehensive analysis report for further interpretation. COVID-ONE-humoral immune is freely available at www.COVID-ONE.cn.

COVID-ONE-humoral immune: The One-stop Database for COVID-19-specific Antibody Responses and Clinical Parameters

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by SARS-CoV-2, varies with regard to symptoms and mortality rates among populations. Humoral immunity plays critical roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection and recovery from COVID-19. However, differences in immune responses and clinical features among COVID-19 patients remain largely unknown. Here, we report a database for COVID-19-specific IgG/IgM immune responses and clinical parameters (COVID-ONE humoral immune). COVID-ONE humoral immunity is based on a dataset that contains the IgG/IgM responses to 21 of 28 known SARS-CoV-2 proteins and 197 spike protein peptides against 2,360 COVID-19 samples collected from 783 patients. In addition, 96 clinical parameters for the 2,360 samples and information for the 783 patients are integrated into the database. Furthermore, COVID-ONE humoral immune provides a dashboard for defining samples and a one-click analysis pipeline for a single group or paired groups. A set of samples of interest is easily defined by adjusting the scale bars of a variety of parameters. After the "START" button is clicked, one can readily obtain a comprehensive analysis report for further interpretation. COVID-ONE-humoral immune is freely available at www.COVID-ONE.cn.

Content changes of triterpene saponins in crude and sweated Dipsacus asper:an iTRAQ-based analysis / 中国中药杂志

The present study aimed to explore the mechanism of the sweating of Dipsacus asper on content changes of triterpene sa-ponins by detecting the total triterpene saponins and the index component asperosaponin Ⅵ in the crude and sweated D. asper, and analyzing the differentially expressed proteins by isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification(iTRAQ) combined with LC-MS/MS. After sweating, the content of total triterpene saponins decreased manifestly, while that of asperosaponin Ⅵ increased significantly. As revealed by the iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS analysis, 140 proteins with significant differential expression were figured out, with 50 up-regulated and 90 down-regulated. GO analysis indicated a variety of hydrolases, oxido-reductases, and transferases in the differential proteins. The results of activity test on two differentially expressed oxido-reductases were consistent with those of the iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS analysis. As demonstrated by the analysis of enzymes related to the triterpene saponin biosynthesis pathway, two enzymes(from CYP450 and UGT families, respectively, which are involved in the structural modification of triterpene saponins) were significantly down-regulated after sweating. The findings suggested that sweating of D. asper presumedly regulated triterpene saponins by affecting the expression of downstream CYP450 s and UGTs in the biosynthesis pathway of triterpene saponins of D. asper.

Cloning and expression analysis of delta-12 fatty acid desaturase gene in Coix lacryma-jobi L / 药学学报

In this study, the fatty acid desaturase gene FAD2 was cloned from Coix lacryma-jobi L. and its molecular structure and function were studied. The results showed that the full-length cDNA sequence of FAD2 gene was 936 bp encoding 311 amino acid residues. Bioinformatics prediction results showed that the protein encoded by the FAD2 gene was an alkaline hydrophilic unstable protein with a molecular weight of 34.87 kDa. It contained three transmembrane helix domain, and did not contain the signal peptide splicing site, and was most likely to be located in plasmid membrane. Compared with other similar genes in plants, it has only a histidine conserved site, His Box Ⅲ histidine site (HXXHH), suggesting its activity may be reduced. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that FAD2 was closely related to monocotyledonous plants, especially Maize and Oryza sativa japonica Group, but farther from dicotyledonous plants. Therefore, it was inferred that FAD2 might have similar functions with similar genes in Maize and Oryza sativa japonica Group. In addition, the expression of FAD2 gene could be detected in Coix lacryma-jobi L. with high oil content, but not in low oil content of Coix lacryma-jobi L. In order to clarify the function of FAD2, the gene was heterologously expressed in sporomyces cerevisiae. The results showed that the protein encoded by FAD2 gene did not catalyze the formation of C18∶1 unsaturated fatty acid into C18∶2 unsaturated fatty acid. Therefore, it was speculated that the deletion of histidinine conserved site of FAD2 gene might lead to the decrease of protein activity or even inactivation. This study provides reference value for further understanding the molecular structure characteristics of fatty acid desaturase. At the same time, it laid a foundation for elucidating the biosynthetic pathway of Coix lacryma-jobi L.

Methyl jasmonate stimulates the synthesis and accumulation of asperosaponin VI in the roots of Dipsacus asper / 药学学报

We investigated the effect of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on the content of asperosaponin VI and the expression of genes involved in its synthesis. Dipsacus aspero seedlings were treated with MeJA at different concentrations of 50, 100, 150, 200 and 300 μmol·L-1, and leaves and roots were sampled following treatment for 1, 3 and 5 days. The content of asperosaponin VI and superoxide anion in the roots, malondialdehyde (MDA) content in leaves and superoxide dismutase were determined. The results show that 150 μmol·L-1 MeJA significantly increased the accumulation of asperosaponin VI in roots. The content of asperosaponin VI was greatest after treatment for 3 days, and was 2.16 times higher than the control. After MeJA treatment, SOD activity decreased and MDA content increased in leaves. Moreover, superoxide anion content in roots increased. The expression of squalene epoxidase (DaSE1) and geranyl diphosphate synthase (DaGPS), key enzymes in the synthesis of asperosaponin VI, were up-regulated compared with the control group. These results indicate that an optimal concentration of 150 μmol·L-1 MeJA increases the accumulation of asperosaponin VI by up-regulating the expression of key enzymes involved in the synthesis of asperosaponin VI, which facilitates resistance to adversity stress stimulated by MeJA.