Phase 1 study of safety and preliminary efficacy of intranasal transplantation of human neural stem cells (ANGE-S003) in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Intranasal transplantation of ANGE-S003 human neural stem cells showed therapeutic effects and were safe in preclinical models of Parkinson's disease (PD). We investigated the safety and tolerability of this treatment in patients with PD and whether these effects would be apparent in a clinical trial. METHODS: This was a 12-month, single-centre, open-label, dose-escalation phase 1 study of 18 patients with advanced PD assigned to four-time intranasal transplantation of 1 of 3 doses: 1.5 million, 5 million or 15 million of ANGE-S003 human neural stem cells to evaluate their safety and efficacy. RESULTS: 7 patients experienced a total of 14 adverse events in the 12 months of follow-up after treatment. There were no serious adverse events related to ANGE-S003. Safety testing disclosed no safety concerns. Brain MRI revealed no mass formation. In 16 patients who had 12-month Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) data, significant improvement of MDS-UPDRS total score was observed at all time points (p<0.001), starting with month 3 and sustained till month 12. The most substantial improvement was seen at month 6 with a mean reduction of 19.9 points (95% CI, 9.6 to 30.3; p<0.001). There was no association between improvement in clinical outcome measures and cell dose levels. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with ANGE-S003 is feasible, generally safe and well tolerated, associated with functional improvement in clinical outcomes with peak efficacy achieved at month 6. Intranasal transplantation of neural stem cells represents a new avenue for the treatment of PD, and a larger, longer-term, randomised, controlled phase 2 trial is warranted for further investigation.

Iron nanoparticles surface decorated MXene via molten salts etching as selenium host for ultrafast sodium ion storage.

Sodium-selenium (Na-Se) batteries have gained attention due to their high energy density and power density, resulting from the liquid-liquid reaction at the interface in the dimethoxyethane electrolyte. Nevertheless, the pronounced shuttle effect of polyselenides causes low coulomb efficiency and inadequate cycling stability for Na-Se batteries. Herein, the iron nanoparticles surface modified accordion-like Ti3C2Tx MXene (MXene/Fe) synthesized via the molten salt etching is utilized as the host of Se species for high-performance Na-Se battery cathode. Benefiting from the layered structure and chemical adsorption of accordion-like MXene, the shuttle effect of the cathode is effectively inhibited. Simultaneously, electrochemical kinetics is boosted due to the catalytic effect of Fe nanoparticles, which facilitate the transformation of polyselenide from long-chain to short-chain, contributing to pseudocapacitive capacity. Consequently, the Se-based cathode delivers a steady capacity of 575.0 mA h g-1 at 0.2 A/g, and even a high capacity of 500 mAh/g at 50 A/g based on the mass of Se@MXene/Fe electrode, indicating the ultrafast Na+ ion storage. Most notably, this structure demonstrated remarkable long-term cycling stability for 5000 cycles with a high capacity retention of 97.4 %. The electrochemical energy storage mechanism is further revealed by in situ Raman. Herein, the confinement-catalysis structure shines light on inhibiting shuttling and facilitating ultrafast ion storage.

Interfacial Bonding Induced Charge Transfer in Two-Dimensional Amorphous MoO3-x/Graphdiyne Oxide Non-Van der Waals Heterostructures for Dominant SERS Enhancement.

Two-dimensional semiconductor-based nanomaterials have shown to be an effective substrate for Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. However, the enhancement factor (EF) tends to be relatively weak compared to that of noble metals and does not allow for trace detection of molecules. In this work, we report the successful preparation of two-dimensional (2D) amorphous non-van der Waals heterostructures MoO3-x/GDYO nanomaterials using supercritical CO2. Due to the synergistic effect of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and the charge transfer effect, it exhibits excellent SERS performance in the detection of methylene blue (MB) molecules, with a detection limit as low as 10-14 M while the enhancement factor (EF) can reach an impressive 2.55×1011. More importantly, the chemical bond bridging at the MoO3-x/GDYO heterostructures interface can accelerate the electron transfer between the interfaces, and the large number of defective surface structures on the heterostructures surface facilitates the chemisorption of MB molecules. And the charge recombination lifetime can be proved by a ~1.7-fold increase during their interfacial electron-transfer process for MoO3-x/GDYO@MB mixture, achieving highly sensitive SERS detection.

Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent MR Imaging of Lower Extremities in Peripheral Artery Disease and Its Correlation With Walking Performance.

BACKGROUND: A noninvasive and reliable approach to quantitatively measure muscle perfusion of lower extremity is needed to aid the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). PURPOSE: To verify the reproductivity of using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) imaging to evaluate perfusion in lower extremities, and explore its correlation with walking performance in patients with PAD. STUDY TYPE: Prospective observational study. SUBJECTS: Seventeen patients with lower extremity PAD (mean age: 67 ± 6 years, 15 males) and eight older adults (controls). FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: Dynamic multi-echo gradient echo T2* weighted imaging at 3T. ASSESSMENT: Perfusion was analyzed in regions of interest according to muscle groups. Perfusion parameters were measured, such as minimum ischemia value (MIV), time to peak (TTP), and gradient during reactive hyperemia (Grad) by two independent users. Walking performance experiments including short physical performance battery (SPPB) and 6-minute walk were tested in patients. STATISTICAL TESTS: BOLD parameters were compared using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Relations between parameters and walking performance were assessed by Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Good to perfect agreement was demonstrated for all perfusion parameters of interuser reproducibility, and the interscan reproducibility of MIV, TTP, and Grad was good. The TTP of the patients was longer than that of the controls (87.85 ± 38.85 s vs. 36.54 ± 7.27 s), while the Grad of patients was smaller (0.16 ± 0.12 msec/s vs. 0.24 ± 0.11 msec/s). Among PAD patients, the MIV was significantly lower in the low SPPB subgroup (score 6-8) than in the high SPPB group (score 9-12), and the TTP was negatively correlated with 6-minute walk distance (ρ = -0.549). DATA CONCLUSION: BOLD imaging method had overall good reproducibility for the perfusion assessment of calf muscles. The perfusion parameters were different between PAD patients and controls, and were correlated with lower extremity function. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Probing enzymatic properties of N-glycosyltransferase isoforms from Mannheimia haemolytica.

N-Glycosyltransferase (NGT) is an inverting glycosyltransferase for an unusual pathway of N-linked protein glycosylation and glycosylates polypeptides in the consensus sequon (N-(X≠P)-T/S) with hexose monosaccharides. Here, we expressed and characterized a novel N-glycosyltransferase from Mannheimia haemolytica (named MhNGT). RP-HPLC and Mass Spectrometry were used to assay and quantify glycopeptide formation by MhNGT and determine its substrate specificities. MhNGT could utilize a variety of nucleotide-activated sugar donors, including UDP-Glc, UDP-Gal and UDP-Xyl, to glycosylate the tested peptides DANYTK, GGNWTT and PAVGNCSSALR with higher efficiency than ApNGT which was comprehensive studied. The optimum temperature of MhNGT was about 30 °C and the optimum pH was 7.5-8.0 in PBS-NaOH buffer. MhNGT exhibited a different position-specific residue preference of substrate peptides from the NGT of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (ApNGT). The effective glycosylation of common short peptides by MhNGT demonstrated the enzyme's potential to alter therapeutically significant mammalian N-glycoproteins.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived ZnO, N Dually Doped Nanocages as an Efficient Host for Stable Li Metal Anodes.

The drastic volume expansion and dendrite growth of lithium metal anodes give rise to poor electrochemical reversibility. Herein, ZnO, N dually doped nanocages (c-ZNCC) were synthesized as the host for lithium metal anodes using the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). The synthesis is based on a two-step core@shell evolution mechanism, which could guide lithium deposition rapidly and offer a fast lithium-ion diffusion during the cycling process. Benefiting from the unique design, the as-obtained c-ZNCC can render a record short lithium infusion as low as 1.5 s, a stable lithium stripping/plating capability as long as 3000 h, and a voltage hysteresis of 95 mV when cycling at 10 mA cm-2 to 10 mA h cm-2. A low Tafel slope of 3.45 mA cm-2 demonstrates the efficient charge transfer of c-ZNCC-Li, and the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique measurement shows high diffusion coefficient of c-ZNCC-Li during the charging process. In addition, the LNMO||c-ZNCC-Li cell exhibits a capacity retention as high as 93.7% at 1 C after 200 cycles. This work creates a new design for deriving nanocages with dual lithiophilic spots using a metal-organic framework and carbon cloth for favorable Li metal anodes.

Elucidating structure of pectin in ramie fiber to customize enzyme cocktail for high-efficiency enzymatic degumming.

Pectin is one of the main components of bast fiber including ramie fiber, and must be removed before use. Enzymatic degumming is the preferred process as it is an environment-friendly, simple and controllable process for ramie degumming. However, an important problem limiting wide application of this process is the high cost due to the low efficiency of enzymatic degumming. In this study, pectin samples were extracted from raw ramie fiber and degummed ramie fiber, respectively, and their structures were characterized and compared to allow tailoring of an enzyme cocktail for degrading the pectin. It was elucidated that pectin from ramie fiber is composed of low esterified homogalacturonan (HG) and low branched rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I), and the ratio of HG/RG-I is 1.72:1. Based on the pectin structure, potential enzymes to be used for enzymatic degumming of ramie fiber were proposed and an enzyme cocktail was customized. Degumming experiments confirmed that the customized enzyme cocktail can effectively remove pectin from ramie fiber. To our knowledge, this is the first time the structural characteristics of pectin in ramie fiber have been clarified, and it also provides an example of tailoring a specific enzyme system to achieve high-efficiency degumming for biomass containing pectin.

Effect of Fu's subcutaneous needling for cancer pain management: protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Pain is a common symptom in patients with cancer, and pain management is crucial for these patients. Fu's subcutaneous needling (FSN) is a modern acupuncture therapy based on basic medicine commonly used in patients with pain. However, evidence of its effectiveness in treating cancer pain has not been systematically proven. Therefore, this pragmatic randomised controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of FSN for cancer pain management. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Overall, 120 eligible patients will be recruited and randomly assigned into two groups using block randomisation. Both groups will be administered analgesic drugs according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. The treatment group will receive FSN therapy one time a day for 6 days. Additionally, we will assess analgesic consumption as the primary outcome and the Numerical Rating Scale, outbreak pain, symptom assessment and adverse events as secondary outcomes to evaluate the effect and safety of FSN in treating cancer pain. The incidence of adverse events will be monitored to assess the safety of FSN. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (approval No: K(2021)096). The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and trial participants will be informed via email and/or phone calls. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR2200056348.

A practical application of front-face synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy to rapid, simultaneous and non-destructive determination of piperine and multiple adulterants in ground black and white pepper (Piper nigrum L.).

Based on the distinct fluorescence of piperine and tryptophan, and their different profiles in pepper and several possible adulterants, front-face synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (FFSFS) was applied for the fast and non-invasive authentication of ground black pepper adulterated with papaya seed powder and buckwheat flour, and ground white pepper adulterated with whole wheat and maize flours. For either single adulterant or dual adulterants in the range of 10-40% w/w, prediction models were constructed based on the combination of unfolded total synchronous fluorescence spectra and partial least square (PLS) regression, and were validated by both five-fold cross-validation and external validation. The built PLS2 models produced suitable results, with most of the determination coefficients of prediction (Rp2) greater than 0.8, the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) < 5% and residual predictive deviation (RPD) greater than 2. The limits of detection (LODs) were 11.1, 5.5, 10.6 and 12.0% for papaya seed powder, buckwheat, whole wheat and maize flours, respectively. Most relative prediction errors for simulated blind samples were within ± 30%. Besides, piperine in ground black and white pepper was also determined with acceptable PLS results.

Study of the microstructure of brain white matter in medial temporal lobe epilepsy based on diffusion tensor imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the white matter (WM) asymmetry in left and right medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) with and without hippocampal sclerosis (HS+, HS-) and assess the correlation of preoperative asymmetry and the dynamics of WM fibers with surgical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Preoperative MRI scans were collected from 58 mTLE patients (40 HS+, 18 HS-); 15 (11 HS+, 4 HS-) then underwent postoperative MRI scans. DTI parameters, including the fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusion coefficient (MD), axial diffusion coefficient (AD), and radial diffusion coefficient (RD), were extracted from 20 paired WM tracts by PANDA based on the JHU WM tractography atlas. The bilateral cerebral parameters and the pre- to postoperative changes in the DTI parameters of specific fiber tracts were compared. The asymmetry indexes (AIs) of paired fibers were also analyzed. RESULTS: There were fewer asymmetrical WM fibers in HS- patients than in HS+ patients. The pattern of WM asymmetry differed between left and right mTLE patients. Differences in the FA AI of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) were found in left HS+ patients with different surgical outcomes. All mTLE patients exhibited decreases in FA and increases in MD and RD in specific ipsilateral WM fibers. In International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) grade 1 patients, the MD values in the ipsilateral CGH increased over time, whereas the RD values in the ipsilateral ILF and the AD values in the ipsilateral ILF and UNC decreased. In ILAE grade 2-5 patients, the FA values in the ipsilateral cingulate gyrus part of the cingulum (CGC) increased over time. CONCLUSION: The WM tract asymmetry was more extensive in HS+ patients than in HS- patients. The preoperative WM fiber AIs in left HS+ patients may be useful for surgical prognosis. Additionally, pre- to postoperative changes in WM fibers may help predict surgical outcomes.

Rapid, simultaneous and non-destructive determination of multiple adulterants in Panax notoginseng powder by front-face total synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy.

The authentication of traditional herbal medicines in powder form is of great significance, as they are always of high values but vulnerable to adulteration. Based on the distinct fluorescence of protein tryptophan, phenolic acids and flavonoids, front-face synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (FFSFS) was applied for the fast and non-invasive authentication of Panax notoginseng powder (PP) adulterated with the powder of rhizoma curcumae (CP), maize flour (MF) and whole wheat flour (WF). For either single or multiple adulterants in the range of 5-40% w/w, prediction models were built based on the combination of unfolded total synchronous fluorescence spectra and partial least square (PLS) regression, and were validated by both five-fold cross-validation and external validation. The constructed PLS2 models simultaneously predicted the contents of multiple adulterants in PP and gave suitable results, with most of the determination coefficients of prediction (Rp2) >0.9, the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) no >4% and residual predictive deviation (RPD) >2. The limits of detections (LODs) were 12.0, 9.1 and 7.6% for CP, MF and WF, respectively. All the relative prediction errors for simulated blind samples were between -22% and + 23%. FFSFS offers a novel alternative to the authentication of powdered herbal plants.

Knowledge Mapping of Acupuncture for Fibromyalgia from 1990 to 2022: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic disease with no specific laboratory markers and is insensitive to hormonal drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs commonly used to treat rheumatism. Guidelines recommend that non-pharmacological therapy should be the first-line treatment for fibromyalgia. Since the publication of the first diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia in 1990, studies on acupuncture for fibromyalgia have been reported periodically. This study aims to explore the intellectual landscape of acupuncture for fibromyalgia since 1990, and to identify research trends and fronts in this field. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection Database was searched for publications on acupuncture for fibromyalgia from 1990 to 2022. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the annual publication, countries, institutions, authors and cited authors, journals and cited journals, references and keywords. Results: A total of 280 publications were retrieved, and the number of publications showed an overall upward trend. The United States was the most productive country. China Medical University was the institution with the most publications. Lin Yi-wen was the most prolific author, while Wolfe was the most cited author. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine was the journal in which most of the research was published, while Pain was the most cited journal. An article by Wolfe (1990) had the most citations, but an article by Crofford (2001) had the highest centrality. The four most frequently used keywords in the included articles were mechanism, spinal cord, activation and sensitivity. Conclusion: Acupuncture can effectively relieve pain in patients with fibromyalgia and improve accompanying symptoms such as anxiety and depression. However, the design of clinical trials still needs to be optimized to better verify the efficacy of acupuncture on various clinical symptoms of fibromyalgia. Exploring the central analgesic mechanism of acupuncture on fibromyalgia is also the focus research direction now and future.

Synthesis of globotriose-modified peptides for the preparation of a colorimetric biosensor to detect Shiga toxins.

Globotriose (Gal-α1, 4-Gal-ß1, 4-Glc) is involved in binding with Shiga toxins (Stxs) produced by Shigella dysenteriae and certain pathogenic Escherichia coli strains which could cause severe gastroenteritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Thus, this trisaccharide group and its derivatives provide potentials in the development of carbohydrate-based diagnostic and therapeutic reagents against bacterial infection. Instead of the tedious chemical synthesis of globotriose or its glycoconjugates, we reported a multi-step (step-wise) enzymatic synthesis system containing glucosyltransferase (ApNGT, E.C. 4.3.3.5), ß-1, 4-galactosyltransferase (LgtB, E.C. 2.4.1.22) and α-1, 4-galactosyltransferase (LgtC, E.C. 2.4.1.44) to produce globotriose-containing glycopeptides. In addition, based on the specific binding between Stxs and globotriose, a cost-efficient, convenient, ultra-sensitive and specific colorimetric biosensor was further constructed to detect Stxs using glycoconjugated Au@Fe-TFPA-COP (globotriose@Au@Fe-TFPA-COP) as a nanoenzyme catalyst. We estimate that this method conveniently applied in the detection of Stx-producing bacteria and associated infectious diseases.

Chemoenzymatic Labeling Pathogens Containing Terminal N-Acetylneuraminic Acid-α(2-3)-Galactose Glycans.

The N-acetylneuraminic acid-α(2-3)-galactose epitope is often located at the nonreducing terminal ends of glycans on the envelopes of many pathogens, and it is believed that this structure mimics a host's oligosaccharide so as to circumvent and/or counteract the host's immune responses. A chemoenzymatic method for the rapid and sensitive detection of N-acetylneuraminic acid-α(2-3)-galactose has been built, so we planned to examine whether the chemoenzymatic method could be applied on the detection of N-acetylneuraminic acid-α(2-3)-galactose on pathogens. Our results revealed that the chemoenzymatic method was rapid and sensitive for labeling live or dead Gram-positive Streptococcus agalactiae A909 and Gram-negative Campylobacter jejuni MK104 with N-acetylneuraminic acid-α(2-3)-galactose. This study suggested that the chemoenzymatic method was a new strategy for labeling pathogens and had potential for the diagnosis of or therapeutics for pathogenic infection.

Pimarane, abietane, and labdane diterpenoids from Euphorbia pekinensis Rupr. and their anti-tumor activities.

Chemical investigation of the roots of Euphorbia pekinensis Rupr. led to the isolation of five undescribed labdane diterpenoids "(4S, 5S, 9R, 10S, 13R)-18-O-galloyl-labda-8(17), 14(15)-dien-13-ol; (4S, 5S, 9R, 10S, 13R)-13-hydroxy-labda-8(17), 14(15)-dien-18-one; (4S, 5S, 9R, 10S, 13R)-18-O-acetyl-labda-8(17), 14(15)-dien-13-ol; (4S, 5S, 9R, 10S)-labda-8(17), 13(16), 14(15)-trien-18-ol; (5R, 6R, 9R, 10S, 13R)-labda-8(17), 14(15)-dien-6,13-diol", two undescribed pimarane diterpenoids "(2R, 5S, 9R, 10S, 12R, 13R)-2,12-dihydroxy-isopimara-7,15-dien-3-one; (5S, 9R, 10S, 12R, 13R)-2, 12-dihydroxy-isopimara-1, 7, 15-trien-3-one)", together with nine known diterpenoids, including three pimarane-type "(3ß,11α,13α)-3,11-dihydroxypimara-7,15-diene-2,12-dione; (11R, 12S)-2,11,12-trihydroxy-ent-isopimara-1,7,15-trien-3-one; isopimara-7,15-dien-3ß-ol)", five abietane-type "helioscopinolide A-C; helioscopinolide E; helioscopinolide I″, and one lathyrane-type "jolkinol B". The structures of these compounds were elucidated by analysis of HRESIMS, 1D NMR, 2D NMR, and X-ray diffraction. These sixteen compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activity in vitro against three human cancer cell lines, U-937, LOVO, and K-562. Jolkinol B exhibited IC50 of 3.60 µM and 8.44 µM against U-937 and LOVO cell lines, (4S, 5S, 9R, 10S, 13R)-18-O-galloyl-labda-8(17), 14(15)-dien-13-ol displayed IC50 of 5.92 µM against U-937 cell lines, isopimara-7,15-dien-3ß-ol showed IC50 of 0.87 µM against K-562 cell lines.

Altered cerebral perfusion and microstructure in advanced Parkinson's disease and their associations with clinical features.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the whole cerebral perfusion and microstructure alteration patterns in Parkinson's disease (PD) and the associations of these patterns with clinical features. METHODS: Forty-one subjects [20 PD patients and 21 healthy controls (HCs)] underwent arterial spin labeling (ASL), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and 3D T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) MRI. The cerebral blood flow (CBF) of the whole brain and the fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD) and mean diffusivity (MD) of subcortical and cerebellar regions were measured and compared between groups. Pearson's correlation was calculated between MRI measurements and clinical features [Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), UPDRS III, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and olfactory test scores]. RESULTS: Compared to HCs, PD patients showed lower CBF in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes but higher CBF in bilateral hippocampi, red nuclei, right substantia nigra, thalamus and most cerebellar regions. The MD in the right thalamus and several regions in the cerebellum increased in PD compared to HCs. In PD patients, the total UPDRS, UPDRS III, MoCA, MMSE and olfactory test scores were related to FA or CBF in cerebellum. (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Hypoperfusion in cortical regions, together with hyperperfusion in subcortical and cerebellar regions may be the characteristic perfusion pattern in advanced PD patients. The microstructures of the right thalamus and cerebellum were changed in PD patients. The cognitive, motor and olfactory performance of PD patients is closely related to the perfusion and microstructure of the brain, especially the cerebellum.

Production of microhomogeneous glycopeptide by a mutated NGT according FuncLib with unique sugar as substrate.

N-glycosylation is one of the most important post-translational modifications of proteins. Cytoplasmic soluble N-glycosyltransferase (NGT) exists in bacteria, which is able to transfer different monosaccharide from sugar nucleotide to the NXS/T(X ≠ Pro) consensus sequence in a polypeptide. At present, the NGT enzymes reported could transfer a variety of different sugars to protein, which will lead to the heterogeneity of the sugar chain and the complexity and instability of the structure and function of glycopeptides. According to the FuncLib algorithm, we obtained mutant ApNGT-P1 from ApNGT (the NGT from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae) with increased substrate specificity. Compared with the wild-type ApNGT, mutant ApNGT-P1 could only utilize UDP-Glc as sugar donors. The optimum temperature of ApNGT-P1 was about 40 °C and the optimum pH was 7.5-8.0 in PBS buffer. ApNGT-P1 exhibited better tolerance for K+, Mn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, but was strongly inhibited by Na+, Cu2+ and Zn2+. The mutant can be applied to the efficient production of glycosylated peptides or proteins with uniform glucose at their glycosylation sites. Besides, this work provided a feasible pathway for further studies on the improving donor substrates selectivity of NGTs.

Identification microbial glycans substructure associate with disease and species.

The microbial glycans mediate many significant biological acts, such as pathogen survival, host-microbe interactions, and immune evasion. The systematic study of microbial glycans structure remains challenging because of its high complexity and variability. In this study, we screened all the microbial glycans structures in the CSDB (Carbohydrate Structure Database), disassembled them into substructures, and calculated all the substructures' numbers. The results showed that a large number of glycan substructures are shared among different microorganisms. Further analysis showed that the glycan substructures appeared in specific bacterial groups may be related to the species and pathogenicity of microorganisms. Broadly, these findings provided an alternative approach or clue to discover the hidden information and the biological functions of glycans. The results can be used to detect broad-scope pathogen or prepare broad-spectrum vaccines.

An anti-biofilm material: polysaccharides prevent the precipitation reaction of silver ions and chloride ions and lead to the synthesis of nano silver chloride.

The formation of biofilm is one of the causes of bacterial pathogenicity and drug resistance. Recent studies have reported a variety of anti-biofilm materials and achieved good results. However, it is still very important to develop some materials with wider application scenarios or higher biofilm resistance. In this study, a new method to rapidly synthesize nano silver chloride with anti-biofilm activity is proposed. It is a generalizable method in which bacterial extracellular polysaccharides are used to adsorb silver ions, thereby inhibiting the formation of white large-size silver chloride precipitates, and then ultraviolet light is used to induce the synthesis of small-sized nano silver chloride. A variety of polysaccharides can be utilized in the synthesis of nano silver chloride particles. The generated complex was characterized by XRD, UV-vis, EDX, FTIR and TEM methods. Further, the novel complex was found to show highly effective anti-biofilm and bactericidal activity within the biosafety concentration. In view of the high stability of nano sliver chloride, we propose that the novel nano material has the potential as a long-term antibacterial material.