A Potential Multitarget Insect Growth Regulator Candidate: Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity of Novel Acetamido Derivatives Containing Hexacyclic Pyrazole Carboxamides.

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are important green insecticides that disrupt normal growth and development in insects to reduce the harm caused by pests to crops. The ecdysone receptor (EcR) and three chitinases OfChtI, OfChtII, and OfChi-h are closely associated with the molting stage of insects. Thus, they are considered promising targets for the development of novel insecticides such as IGRs. Our previous work identified a dual-target compound 6j, which could act simultaneously on both EcR and OfChtI. In the present study, 6j was first found to have inhibitory activities against OfChtII and OfChi-h, too. Subsequently, taking 6j as a lead compound, 19 novel acetamido derivatives were rationally designed and synthesized by introducing an acetamido moiety into the amide bridge based on the flexibility of the binding cavities of 6j with EcR and three chitinases. Then, their insecticidal activities against Plutella xylostella (P. xylostella), Ostrinia furnacalis (O. furnacalis), and Spodoptera frugiperda (S. frugiperda) were carried out. The bioassay results revealed that most of these acetamido derivatives possessed moderate to good larvicidal activities against three lepidopteran pests. Especially, compound I-17 displayed excellent insecticidal activities against P. xylostella (LC50, 93.32 mg/L), O. furnacalis (LC50, 114.79 mg/L), and S. frugiperda (86.1% mortality at 500 mg/L), significantly better than that of 6j. In addition, further protein validation and molecular docking demonstrated that I-17 could act simultaneously on EcR (17.7% binding activity at 8 mg/L), OfChtI (69.2% inhibitory rate at 50 µM), OfChtII (71.5% inhibitory rate at 50 µM), and OfChi-h (73.9% inhibitory rate at 50 µM), indicating that I-17 is a potential lead candidate for novel multitarget IGRs. This work provides a promising starting point for the development of novel types of IGRs as pest management agents.

SBFI26 induces triple-negative breast cancer cells ferroptosis via lipid peroxidation.

SBFI26, an inhibitor of FABP5, has been shown to suppress the proliferation and metastasis of tumour cells. However, the underlying mechanism by which SBFI26 induces ferroptosis in breast cancer cells remains largely unknown. Three breast cancer cell lines were treated with SBFI26 and CCK-8 assessed cytotoxicity. Transcriptome was performed on the Illumina platform and verified by qPCR. Western blot evaluated protein levels. Malondialdehyde (MDA), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), Fe, glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were measured. SBFI26 induced cell death time- and dose-dependent, with a more significant inhibitory effect on MDA-MB-231 cells. Fer-1, GSH and Vitamin C attenuated the effects but not erastin. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that SBFI26 treatment significantly enriched differentially expressed genes related to ferroptosis. Furthermore, SBFI26 increased intracellular MDA, iron ion, and GSSG levels while decreasing T-SOD, total glutathione (T-GSH), and GSH levels.SBFI26 dose-dependently up-regulates the expression of HMOX1 and ALOX12 at both gene and protein levels, promoting ferroptosis. Similarly, it significantly increases the expression of SAT1, ALOX5, ALOX15, ALOXE3 and CHAC1 that, promoting ferroptosis while downregulating the NFE2L2 gene and protein that inhibit ferroptosis. SBFI26 leads to cellular accumulation of fatty acids, which triggers excess ferrous ions and subsequent lipid peroxidation for inducing ferroptosis.

Male vitellogenin regulates gametogenesis through a testis-enriched big protein in Chrysopa pallens.

In insects, vitellogenin (Vg) is generally viewed as a female-specific protein. Its primary function is to supply nutrition to developing embryos. Here, we reported Vg from the male adults of a natural predator, Chrysopa pallens. The male Vg was depleted by RNAi. Mating with Vg-deficient male downregulated female Vg expression, suppressed ovarian development and decreased reproductive output. Whole-organism transcriptome analysis after male Vg knockdown showed no differential expression of the known spermatogenesis-related regulators and seminal fluid protein genes, but a sharp downregulation of an unknown gene, which encodes a testis-enriched big protein (Vcsoo). Separate knockdown of male Vg and Vcsoo disturbed the assembly of spermatid cytoplasmic organelles in males and suppressed the expansion of ovary germarium in mated females. These results demonstrated that C. pallens male Vg signals through the downstream Vcsoo and regulates male and female reproduction.

Tibetan tea reduces obesity brought on by a high-fat diet and modulates gut flora in mice.

It has been shown that Tibetan tea (TT) inhibits obesity and controls lipid metabolism. The fundamental processes by which TT prevents obesity are yet entirely unknown. Consequently, this research aimed to ascertain if TT may prevent obesity by modifying the gut flora. Our research demonstrated that TT prevented mice from gaining weight and accumulating fat due to the high-fat diet (HFD), decreased levels of blood total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and raised levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Adipogenesis-related genes such as acetyl-Coenzyme A carboxylase 1 (ACC1, LOC107476), fatty acid synthase (Fas, LOC14104), sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c, LOC20787), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα, LOC12606), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1, LOC20249), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ, LOC19016) had their expression downregulated by lowering the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio and controlling the number of certain gut bacteria. TT also alleviated HFD-induced abnormalities of the gut microbiota. The Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae NK4A136_group, Alistipes, and Odoribacter families were identified as the major beneficial gut microorganisms using Spearman's correlation analysis. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) demonstrated that TT's anti-obesity and gut microbiota-modulating benefits might be transmitted to mice on an HFD, demonstrating that one of TT's targets for preventing obesity is the gut microbiota. TT also increased the amount of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the feces, including acetic, propionic, and butyric acids. These results indicate the possible development of TT as a prebiotic to combat obesity and associated disorders. These results suggest that TT may act as a prebiotic against obesity and its associated diseases.

Morphology of the male reproductive system and sperm ultrastructure of the green lacewing, Chrysopa pallens (Rambur, 1838) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae).

BACKGROUND: Chrysopa pallens is one of the most beneficial and effective natural predators, and is famous for its extensive distribution, wide prey spectrum, and excellent reproductive performance. This study examined the anatomy and fine structure of the C. pallens reproductive system and spermatogenesis. RESULTS: The male reproductive system of C. pallens comprises a pair of testes, a vas deferens, seminal vesicles, accessory glands, and short ejaculatory ducts. The testes were already mature on the day of emergence, but the accessory glands did not mature until 5 days post-emergence. In early spermatids, the flagellum had an axoneme on one side of the two mitochondrial derivatives. The nucleus was surrounded by parallel crystalline and paracrystalline materials. The spermatid envelope extends towards the paracrystalline material in a tail-shaped wing. In mature spermatids, the axoneme is located between the two accessory bodies and mitochondrial derivative sets. The parallel-crystalline and paracrystalline materials disappeared. In the testes, the wall of seminal cysts consists of a layer of epithelium, a muscular-connective sheath, and several vesicles of different sizes. The mature seminal cysts contained 128 spermatozoa. The accessory gland is composed of six parts: ventral papilla-like protuberance, anterior glandular lobe, lateral glandular lobe, seminal cyst, posterior kidney-shaped lobe, and posterior papilla-like protuberance. Muscle fibers and secretory granules are extensive. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides information on the reproductive system of C. pallens and offers a resource for taxonomy and reproductive biology.

In Vitro Binding Effects of the Ecdysone Receptor-Binding Domain and PonA in Plutella xylostella.

Both insect ecdysone receptors and ultraspiracle belong to the nuclear receptor family. They form a nanoscale self-assembling complex with ecdysteroids in cells, transit into the nucleus, bind with genes to initiate transcription, and perform specific biological functions to regulate the molting, metamorphosis, and growth processes of insects. Therefore, this complex is an important target for the development of eco-friendly insecticides. The diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) is a devastating pest of cruciferous vegetable crops, wreaking havoc worldwide and causing severe economic losses, and this pest has developed resistance to most chemical insecticides. In this study, highly pure EcR and USP functional domains were obtained by constructing a prokaryotic expression system for the diamondback moth EcR and USP functional domain genes, and the differences between EcR and USP binding domain monomers and dimers were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy and zeta potential. Radioisotope experiments further confirmed that the binding affinity of PonA to the EcR/USP dimer was enhanced approximately 20-fold compared with the binding affinity to the PxGST-EcR monomer. The differences between PonA and tebufenozide in binding with EcR/USP were examined. Molecular simulations showed that the hydrogen bonding network formed by Glu307 and Arg382 on the EcR/USP dimer was a key factor in the affinity enhancement. This study provides a rapid and sensitive method for screening ecdysone agonists for ecdysone receptor studies in vitro.

Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide reduces obesity in high-fat diet-fed mice by modulation of gut microbiota.

Obesity is a metabolic disease associated with gut microbiota and low-grade chronic inflammation. Tremella fuciformis is a medicinal and edible fungus; polysaccharide (TP) is the main active component, which has a variety of biological activities, such as hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic. However, the anti-obesity effects and potential mechanisms of TP have never been reported. This study was conducted to elucidate the inhibitory effect of TP on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice. Mice were split into five groups: normal chow diet (NCD) group, NCD_TP_H group, HFD group, HFD_TP_L group and HFD_TP_H group. Our study showed that TP inhibited high-fat diet-induced weight gain and fat accumulation in mice and reduced blood glucose, hyperlipidemia and inflammation. TP also improved gut microbiota disorders by reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and modulating the relative abundance of specific gut microbiota. We also found that the anti-obesity and gut microbiota-modulating effects of TP could be transferred to HFD-fed mice via faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), confirming that the gut microbiota was one of the targets of TP for obesity inhibition. Further studies showed that TP increased the production of short-chain fatty acids and the secretion of intestinal hormones. Our studies showed that TP inhibited obesity by modulating inflammation and the microbe-gut-brain axis, providing a rationale for developing TP to treat obesity and its complications.

Two insulin receptors coordinate oogenesis and oviposition via two pathways in the green lacewing, Chrysopa pallens.

Insulin signalling in insects, as in mammals, regulates various physiological functions, such as reproduction. However, the molecular mechanism by which insulin signals orchestrate ovarian stem cell proliferation, vitellogenesis, and oviposition remains elusive. Here, we investigate the functions of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-serine/threonine kinase (Akt) pathway, GTPase Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and their downstream messengers in a natural predator, Chrysopa pallens, by the RNAi method. When C. pallens vitellogenin gene 1 (CpVg1) expression was knocked down, the follicle maturation was arrested and total fecundity was reduced. Silencing C. pallens insulin receptor 1 (CpInR1) suppressed Vg transcription and reduced egg mass and hatching rate. Depletion of C. pallens insulin receptor 2 (CpInR2) transcripts lowered Vg transcript level, hampered ovarian development and decreased reproductive output. Knockdown of C. pallens Akt (CpAkt) and C. pallens extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (Cperk) caused phenotypes similar to those caused by knockdown of CpInR2. Disruption of C. pallens transcription factor forkhead box O (CpFoxO) expression caused no significant effects on ovarian development, but sharply impaired total fecundity. Interference with the expression of C. pallens target of rapamycin (CpTor) gene and C. pallens cAMP-response element binding protein (CpCreb) gene led to a down-regulation of Vg transcription, blocking of ovariole growth, and decrease in egg quality. These results suggested the two CpInRs orchestrate oogenesis and oviposition via two signalling pathways to guarantee natural reproduction in the green lacewing, C. pallens.

Evolutionary alkaline transition in human cytochrome c.

Conformational transitions in cytochrome c (cyt c) are being realized to be responsible for its multi-functions. Among a number of conformational transitions in cyt c, the alkaline transition has attracted much attention. The cDNA of human cyt c is cloned by RT-PCR and a high-effective expression system for human cyt c has been developed in this study. The equilibrium and kinetics of the alkaline transition of human cyt c have been systematically investigated for the first time, and compared with those of yeast and horse cyt c from an evolutionary perspective. The pK(a) value for the alkaline transition of human cyt c is apparently higher than that of yeast and horse. Kinetic studies suggest that it is increasingly difficult for the alkaline transition of cyt c from yeast, horse and human. Molecular modeling of human cyt c shows that the omega loop where the lysine residue is located apparently further away from heme in human cyt c than in yeast iso-1 and horse heart cyt c. These results regarding alkaline conformational transition provide valuable information for understanding the molecular basis for the biological multi-functions of cyt c.