Tau destabilization in a familial deletion mutant K280 accelerates its fibrillization and enhances the seeding effect.

Tauopathies cover a range of neurodegenerative diseases in which natively unfolded tau protein aggregates and spreads in the brain during disease progression. To gain insights into the mechanism of tau structure and spreading, here, we examined the biochemical and cellular properties of human full-length wild-type and familial mutant tau, ΔK280, with a deletion at lysine 280. Our results showed that both wild-type and mutant tau are predominantly monomeric by analytical ultracentrifugation.

Evidence Supporting Enrichment of Dissolved Air Gases near Hydrophobic Macromolecules in Aqueous Solutions.

In the present study, we deposited buffer solutions containing hydrophobic (GA) fibrils onto highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and imaged the surfaces through atomic force microscopy (AFM). Within 3 h of applying ambient (nondegassed) buffers, we observed the formation of two-dimensional stripe-like domains on the HOPG surfaces surrounding the (GA) fibrils. However, these stripe domains did not form under degassed buffers.

Transgenic tomato strategies targeting whitefly eggs from apoplastic or ovary-directed proteins.

Background: Transgenic plants expressing proteins that target the eggs of the ubiquitous plant pest Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) could be an effective insecticide strategy. Two approaches for protein delivery are assessed using the mCherry reporter gene in transgenic tomato plants, while accommodating autofluorescence in both the plant, phloem-feeding whitefly and pedicle-attached eggs.

Results: Both transgenic strategies were segregated to homozygous genotype using digital PCR.

Pesticides enhance maternal care in the wolf spider by inhibiting HSD3B, an enzyme for progesterone synthesis.

Natural enemies are essential for the integrated pest management (IPM) strategy in insect pest control. However, chemical pesticides remain the primary method for insect pest control, diminishing natural enemies and causing environmental contamination. The wolf spider (Pardosa pseudoannulata), a major enemy in agro-ecosystem, exhibits maternal care (MC) behaviors such as eggsac-carrying and pulli-carrying, which are crucial for population growth.

Enabling biocontained plant virus transmission studies through establishment of an axenic whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) colony on plant tissue culture.

Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) and the diseases they transmit are a major detriment to crop yields and a significant contributor to world hunger. The highly evolved interactions of host plant, phloem-feeding insect vector with endosymbionts and persistently transmitted virus represent a tremendous challenge for interdisciplinary study. Presented here is the establishment of a colony of axenic whiteflies on tissue-cultured plants.

Recurrent rhabdomyolysis caused by palmitoyltransferase II (CPT-2) deficiency but complete normal acylcarnitine profile: A patient presentation and review of the literature.

Recurrent rhabdomyolysis, marked by skeletal muscle breakdown, can stem from various causes, including genetic disorders. We detail a patient of a 22-year-old male with carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT-2) deficiency manifesting recurrent rhabdomyolysis despite normal acylcarnitine profiles. Whole-genome sequencing identified two gene variants: c.

Glyphosate-based herbicides reduced overwintering population and reproduction of agrobiont spiders.

Spiders are important in ecosystem and serve as predators in the biological control of pest insects in agroecosystem, where they encounter various harsh challenges including pesticides and low temperature in winter. Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are widely and frequently applied to diminish weeds, exposing spiders a disturbed habitat, especially to overwintering spiders. We conducted a study combining field surveys and lab assays, to assess the effects of a GBH on the overwintering of the agrobiont wolf spider, Pardosa pseudoannulata.

Sublethal Imidacloprid Administration to Honey Bee Workers is More Lethal to the Queen Larvae.

Imidacloprid and other neonicotinoid insecticides severely impact the performance and survival of honey bees and other pollinators. In the present study, we focused on the gene expression profile of newly emerged Apis mellifera queen bees after sublethal imidacloprid treatment during the larval stage. Royal jelly containing 1 ppb imidacloprid was provided to larvae for 3 consecutive days (2-4 days postemergence).

Cycling and persistence of iron-bound organic carbon in subseafloor sediments.

Reactive iron (Fe) serves as an important sink of organic carbon (OC) in marine surface sediments, which preserves approximately 20% of total OC (TOC) as reactive iron-bound OC (Fe-OC). However, the fate of Fe-OC in subseafloor sediments and its availability to microorganisms, remain undetermined. Here, we reconstructed continuous Fe-OC records in two sediment cores of the northern South China Sea encompassing the suboxic to methanic biogeochemical zones and reaching a maximum age of ~100 kyr.

Lipid safety of tenofovir alafenamide during 96-week treatment in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis B patients.

Background: This study was aimed at investigating the dynamics of lipids and the effect of TAF on the lipid profile of patients including fatty liver disease in CHB patients.

Methods: The data of TC, LDL-c, HDL-c, TG, and TC/HDL ratio were collected at baseline, 24 weeks, 48 weeks, 72 weeks, and 96 weeks. CHB patients with fatty liver at baseline were further analyzed in a subgroup.

The impact of affiliation naming proximity on the retrieval efficiency of Chinese universities-affiliated retractions in the Retraction Watch Database.

The Retraction Watch Database (RWDB) is widely used to retrieve retraction data. However, its lack of affiliation normalization hinders the retrieval efficiency of retraction data for specific research-performing organizations. A query for a university name in the RWDB may yield retraction data entries for other universities with similar names, giving rise to the issue of affiliation naming proximity.

Sulfated disaccharide protects membrane and DNA damages from arginine-rich dipeptide repeats in ALS.

Hexanucleotide repeat expansion in () is the most prevalent mutation among amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. The patients carry over ~30 to hundreds or thousands of repeats translated to dipeptide repeats (DPRs) where poly-glycine-arginine (GR) and poly-proline-arginine (PR) are most toxic. The structure-function relationship is still unknown.

m-Aminophenylacetylene induces maternal care in a predatory spider.

Maternal care is critically important for the survival of offspring in various animals. Spiders in the family Lycosidae are known for their hunting ability and maternal care behaviors. Predation on newly hatched spiderlings (pulli) by mother spiders decreases when they come into contact, and they carry the pulli on their dorsal surface.

Detection of Femtomolar Amyloid-β Peptides for Early-Stage Identification of Alzheimer's Amyloid-β Aggregation with Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles.

Progressive amyloid-β (Aβ) fibrillar aggregates have long been considered as the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Biocompatible and stable cysteine-Aβ peptide-conjugated gold nanoparticles (Cys-Aβ@AuNP) are demonstrated as suitable materials for detecting subfemtomolar Aβ peptides in human plasma. Incubation with Aβ peptides causes the Cys-Aβ@AuNP to aggregate and changes its absorption spectra.

Amyloid Modifier SERF1a Accelerates Alzheimer's Amyloid-β Fibrillization and Exacerbates the Cytotoxicity.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating, progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the elderly in the world. The pathological hallmark senile plaques are mainly composed of amyloid-β (Aβ), in which the main isoforms are Aβ40 and Aβ42. Aβ is prone to aggregate and ultimately forms amyloid fibrils in the brains of AD patients.

Polymyxin B-targeted liposomal photosensitizer cures MDR A. baumannii burn infections and accelerates wound healing via M/M macrophage polarization.

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii infections pose a significant challenge in burn wound management, necessitating the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. In this work, we introduced a novel polymyxin B (PMB)-targeted liposomal photosensitizer, HMME@Lipo-PMB, for precise and potent antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) against burn infections induced by MDR A. baumanni.

Sequential rearrangement and stereochemical reorganization to design an antimicrobial peptide with enhanced stability.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural molecules that function within the innate immune system to counteract pathogenic invasion and minimize the detrimental consequences of infection. However, utilizing these molecules for medical applications has been challenging. In this study, we selected a model AMP with poor stability, Tilapia Piscidin 4 (TP4), and modified its sequence and chirality (TP4-γ) to improve its potential for clinical application.

Optimization of sequence and chiral content enhances therapeutic potential of tilapia piscidin peptides.

Because antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) often exhibit broad-spectrum bactericidal potency, we sought to develop peptide-based antimicrobials for potential clinical use against drug-resistant pathogens. To accomplish this goal, we first optimized the amino acid sequence of a broad-spectrum AMP known as Tilapia Piscidin 4 (TP4). Then, we used the optimized sequence to create a pair of heterochiral variants (TP4-α and TP4-β) with different percentages of D-enantiomers, as poly-L peptides often exhibit poor pharmacokinetic profiles.

Respiratory Microbiome Profiles Associated With Distinct Inflammatory Phenotype and Clinical Indexes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Introduction/objective: Respiratory microbiome studies have fostered our understanding of the various phenotypes and endotypes of heterogeneous chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to identify microbiome-driven clusters that reflect the clinical features and dominant microbiota of COPD.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 32 patients with stable COPD between December 2019 and December 2020 from the outpatient clinic of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital.

Structure, dynamics, and stability of the smallest and most complex 7 protein knot.

Proteins can spontaneously tie a variety of intricate topological knots through twisting and threading of the polypeptide chains. Recently developed artificial intelligence algorithms have predicted several new classes of topological knotted proteins, but the predictions remain to be authenticated experimentally. Here, we showed by X-ray crystallography and solution-state NMR spectroscopy that Q9PR55, an 89-residue protein from Ureaplasma urealyticum, possesses a novel 7 knotted topology that is accurately predicted by AlphaFold 2, except for the flexible N terminus.