Phylogeny and Comparative Analysis for the Plastid Genomes of Five (Liliaceae).

Species of (Liliaceae) are of great horticultural importance and are distributed across Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The Tien Shan Mountain is one of the primary diversity centres of , but the molecular studies of species from this location are lacking. In our study, we assembled four plastid genomes from the Tien Shan Mountains, , , , and , combined with the plastid genome of to compare against other Liliaceae plastid genomes.

Comparative analysis of complete plastid genomes from Franchet and its closely related species and screening of -specific primers.

  Franchet is a lily species found on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is pink with deep red spots, has a high ornamental value, and is used in hybrid breeding of horticultural lily varieties. We have insufficient knowledge of the genetic resources of and its phylogenetic relationships with related species.

Cryo-EM structure of S-Trimer, a subunit vaccine candidate for COVID-19.

Within a year after its emergence, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 100 million people worldwide with a death toll over 2 million. Vaccination remains the best hope to ultimately put this pandemic to an end. Here, using Trimer-Tag technology, we produced both wild-type (WT) and furin site mutant (MT) S-Trimers for COVID-19 vaccine studies.

S-Trimer, a COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate, induces protective immunity in nonhuman primates.

SARS-CoV-2 is the underlying cause for the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most enveloped RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2 uses a homotrimeric surface antigen to gain entry into host cells. Here we describe S-Trimer, a native-like trimeric subunit vaccine candidate for COVID-19 based on Trimer-Tag technology.

Insights into phylogeny, age and evolution of Allium (Amaryllidaceae) based on the whole plastome sequences.

Background And Aims: The genus Allium L., one of the largest monocotyledonous genera and one that includes many economically important crops with nutritional and medicinal value, has been the focus of classification or phylogeny studies for centuries. Recent studies suggested that the genus can be divided into 15 subgenera and 72 sections, which were further classified into three evolutionary lineages.

Author Correction: Improvement of Pharmacokinetic Profile of TRAIL via Trimer-Tag Enhances its Antitumor Activity in vivo.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Improvement of Pharmacokinetic Profile of TRAIL via Trimer-Tag Enhances its Antitumor Activity in vivo.

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL/Apo2L) has long been considered a tantalizing target for cancer therapy because it mediates activation of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway in a tumor-specific manner by binding to and trimerizing its functional receptors DR4 or DR5. Despite initial promise, both recombinant human TRAIL (native TRAIL) and dimeric DR4/DR5 agonist monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) failed in multiple human clinical trials. Here we show that in-frame fusion of human C-propeptide of α1(I) collagen (Trimer-Tag) to the C-terminus of mature human TRAIL leads to a disulfide bond-linked homotrimer which can be expressed at high levels as a secreted protein from CHO cells.

Cationic Polystyrene Resolves Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Obesity, and Metabolic Disorders by Promoting Eubiosis of Gut Microbiota and Decreasing Endotoxemia.

A pandemic of metabolic diseases, consisting of type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and obesity, has imposed critical challenges for societies worldwide, prompting investigation of underlying mechanisms and exploration of low-cost and effective treatment. In this report, we demonstrate that metabolic disorders in mice generated by feeding with a high-fat diet without dietary vitamin D can be prevented by oral administration of polycationic amine resin. Oral administration of cholestyramine, but not the control uncharged polystyrene, was able to sequester negatively charged bacterial endotoxin in the gut, leading to ) reduced plasma endotoxin levels, ) resolved systemic inflammation and hepatic steatohepatitis, and ) improved insulin sensitivity.

Cathepsin H-Mediated Degradation of HDAC4 for Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression in Hepatic Stellate Cells: Implications of Epigenetic Suppression of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Fibrosis through Stabilization of Class IIa Histone Deacetylases.

In three-dimensional extracellular matrix, mesenchymal cells including hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) gain the ability to express matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) on injury signals. In contrast, in myofibroblastic HSCs in fibrotic liver, many MMP genes are silenced into an epigenetically nonpermissive state. The mechanism by which the three-dimensional extracellular matrix confers the MMP genes into an epigenetically permissive state has not been well characterized.

Vitamin D Signaling through Induction of Paneth Cell Defensins Maintains Gut Microbiota and Improves Metabolic Disorders and Hepatic Steatosis in Animal Models.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), characterized as obesity, insulin resistance, and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD), is associated with vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency in epidemiological studies, while the underlying mechanism is poorly addressed. On the other hand, disorder of gut microbiota, namely dysbiosis, is known to cause MetS and NAFLD. It is also known that systemic inflammation blocks insulin signaling pathways, leading to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, which are the driving force for hepatic steatosis.