Comprehensive survey of target prediction web servers for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is characterized by multi-components, multiple targets, and complex mechanisms of action and therefore has significant advantages in treating diseases. However, the clinical application of TCM prescriptions is limited due to the difficulty in elucidating the effective substances and the lack of current scientific evidence on the mechanisms of action. In recent years, the development of network pharmacology based on drug systems research has provided a new approach for understanding the complex systems represented by TCM.

Efficient Biosynthesis of Odd-Chain Fatty Acids Regulating the Supply and Consumption of Propionyl-CoA in sp.

Odd chain fatty acids (OCFAs) are high-value-added compounds with great application in the field of food and medicine. As an oleaginous microorganism, sp. has the potential to produce OCFAs efficiently.

Powerful Microbial Base-Editing Toolbox: From Optimization Strategies to Versatile Applications.

Base editors (BE) based on CRISPR systems are practical gene-editing tools which continue to drive frontier advances of life sciences. BEs are able to efficiently induce point mutations at target sites without double-stranded DNA cleavage. Hence, they are widely employed in the fields of microbial genome engineering.

Application of Adaptive Laboratory Evolution in Lipid and Terpenoid Production in Yeast and Microalgae.

Due to the complexity of metabolic and regulatory networks in microorganisms, it is difficult to obtain robust phenotypes through artificial rational design and genetic perturbation. Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) engineering plays an important role in the construction of stable microbial cell factories by simulating the natural evolution process and rapidly obtaining strains with stable traits through screening. This review summarizes the application of ALE technology in microbial breeding, describes the commonly used methods for ALE, and highlights the important applications of ALE technology in the production of lipids and terpenoids in yeast and microalgae.

Economical downstream processing of microbial polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important nutrients for humans and animals. Microorganisms, such as yeast, filamentous fungi, and microalgae, have successfully been modified to produce PUFAs. Apart from strain improvement and fermentation optimization, efficient and cost-effective downstream processing will determine whether production can advance from the laboratory to the factory.

Strategies for efficient production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli: alleviating the host burden and enhancing protein activity.

Escherichia coli, one of the most efficient expression hosts for recombinant proteins (RPs), is widely used in chemical, medical, food and other industries. However, conventional expression strains are unable to effectively express proteins with complex structures or toxicity. The key to solving this problem is to alleviate the host burden associated with protein overproduction and to enhance the ability to accurately fold and modify RPs at high expression levels.

Antibacterial Activity Prediction Model of Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Combined Data-Driven Approach and Machine Learning Algorithm: Constructed and Validated.

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), as a unique natural medicine resource, were used to prevent and treat bacterial diseases in China with a long history. To provide a prediction model of screening antibacterial TCMs for the design and discovery of novel antibacterial agents, the literature about antibacterial TCMs in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science database was retrieved. The data were extracted and standardized.

Down-regulated aquaporin 5 inhibits proliferation and migration of human epithelial ovarian cancer 3AO cells.

Background: Recent studies suggested that aquaporins 5 (AQP5) was associated with many kinds of cancers and regulated many processes of various kinds of cancer cells. Our previous studies also demonstrated that AQP5 was highly expressed in epithelial ovarian cancer and contributed to the progress of ovarian cancer.

Methods: Lentivirus for knocking-down the expression of AQP5 was prepared and verified by qPCR and Western blotting.

[Angiogenesis related gene expression profiles of human endometrial endothelial cells isolated from tissue of endometrial cancer].

Objective: To identify and verify the different genes expression pattern between human endometrial endothelial cells (HEEC) isolated from endometrial cancer and normal endometrium.

Methods: Endothelial cells were isolated from 5 patients with endometrial cancer (endometrial cancer group 1) and 5 patients with normal endometria tissue (control group 1) admitted from June to November 2007 in Shandong Cancer Hospital. Global expression patterns of endothelial cells were examined using oligonucleotide microarrays.

[Isolation, purification and characterization of endothelial cells from endometrial cancer and normal endometrial tissue].

Objective: To immunopurify human endometrial endothelial cells (HEEC) from fresh surgical specimens of endometrial cancers and normal endometrial tissues, and investigate their biological characteristics.

Methods: Endothelial cells of endometrial cancers and normal endometrial tissues were isolated using anti-CD31 conjugated magnetic microbeads. The isolated endothelial cells were cultured in vitro and their origins were identified.

Localisation and expression of aquaporin subtypes in epithelial ovarian tumours.

To characterise AQP subtype localisation and expression in epithelial ovarian tumours, immunohistochemistry was used to assess the localisation and expression of AQP1-9 in 30 benign tumour cases, 30 borderline tumour cases, 50 malignant tumour cases and 20 normal ovarian tissue cases. Multiple AQP subtypes were expressed in epithelial ovarian tumours, with each AQP subtype displaying a different pattern of localisation and expression. AQP1 was mainly expressed in the microvascular endothelium, and AQP 2-9 were mainly expressed in tumour cells.