Publications by authors named "Fu Xian"

Breast cancer (BC) is a common malignant tumor in women and requires a comprehensive understanding of its pathogenesis for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) metabolism-driven inflammation is a causative factor in cancer development. However, the function of PUFAs' metabolism in BC remains largely unknown.

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In the era of synthetic biology, design, construction, and utilization of synthetic chromosomes with unique features provide a strategy to study complex cellular processes such as aging. Herein, we successfully construct the 884 Kb synXIII of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to investigate replicative aging using these synthetic strains. We verify that up-regulation of a rRNA-related transcriptional factor, RRN9, positively influence replicative lifespan.

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Article Synopsis
  • A high-sucrose diet (HSD) leads to gut barrier dysfunction, including colon inflammation and tight junction damage, as observed in a mouse model over 16 weeks.
  • Metabolomic analysis revealed increased soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) levels and decreased 5(6)-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (5(6)-EET) in the colon, suggesting sEH as a therapeutic target for HSD-related injuries.
  • Treatment with an sEH inhibitor or genetic knockout of the sEH gene reduced intestinal injuries, while 5(6)-EET showed anti-inflammatory effects and improved tight junctions, unlike its product 5,6-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (5
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The molecular mechanisms underlying the paradoxical effects of aneuploidy are still not completely understood. In this issue, Rojas et al. systematically analyzed the associated costs of aneuploidy and the molecular drivers involved, which revealed that aneuploidy stress is primarily driven by the cumulative effects of genes per chromosome.

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  • Golden Gate Assembly (GGA) is an efficient technique for combining multiple DNA fragments, useful for creating complex genetic constructs in metabolic engineering.
  • The article details how GGA can be specifically applied to develop and optimize the biosynthesis pathway of lycopene through the assembly of various transcriptional units.
  • Additionally, the text discusses methods for characterizing and enhancing the production of lycopene in a synthetic yeast environment.
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Microbial production of monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) provides a sustainable and eco-friendly means to obtain compounds with high pharmaceutical values. However, efficient biosynthesis of MIAs in heterologous microorganisms is hindered due to low supply of key precursors such as geraniol and its derivative 8-hydroxygeraniol catalyzed by geraniol 8-hydroxylase (G8H). In this study, we developed a facile evolution platform to screen strains with improved yield of geraniol by using the SCRaMbLE system embedded in the Sc2.

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Substantial improvements in DNA sequencing and synthesis technologies and increased understanding of genome biology have empowered the development of synthetic genomics. The ability to design and construct engineered living cells boosted up by synthetic chromosomes provides opportunities to tackle enormous current and future challenges faced by humanity and the planet. Here we review the progresses, considerations, challenges, and future direction of the "design-build-test-learn" cycle used in synthetic genomics.

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Solute carrier (SLC) transport proteins play a crucial role in maintaining cellular nutrient and metabolite homeostasis and are implicated in various human diseases, making them potential targets for therapeutic interventions. However, the study of SLCs has been limited due to the lack of suitable tools, particularly cell-based substrate uptake assays, necessary for understanding their biological functions and for drug discovery purposes. In this study, a cell-based uptake assay was developed using a stable isotope-labeled compound as the substrate for SLCs, with detection facilitated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

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A candidate gene TaSP1 related to spike shape was cloned, and the gene-specific marker was developed to efficiently track the superior haplotype in common wheat. Spike shape, an important factor that affects wheat grain yield, is mainly defined by spike length (SPL), spikelet number (SPN), and compactness. Zhoumai32 mutant 1160 (ZM1160), a mutant obtained from ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) treatment of hexaploid wheat variety Zhoumai32, was used to identify and clone the candidate gene that conditioned the spike shape.

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Fatty acids (FAs) are essential molecules in all organisms and are involved in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. Pentafluorobenzyl bromide (PFBBr) is commonly used for FA derivatization for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) quantification by chemical ionization (CI). While CI is the conventional ionization mode for PFBBr derivatization, the electron ionization (EI) source has also demonstrated efficacy in achieving satisfactory analytical performance for the analysis of PFB esters.

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Purpose: Vitexin can cooperate with hyperbaric oxygen to sensitize the radiotherapy of glioma by inhibiting the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α. However, whether vitexin has a direct radiosensitization and how it affects the HIF-1α expression remain unclear. This study investigated these issues.

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Background And Aims: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes low quality of life and alarming morbidity and mortality. The crucial to retard CKD progression is to diagnose early for timely treatment. IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a typical CKD and the most common glomerulonephritis.

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Verruca vulgaris, caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), can profoundly impact an individual's quality of life and necessitate therapeutic intervention. The challenges associated with treating verruca vulgaris are particularly noteworthy when they manifest as the Koebner phenomenon (KP). In this report, we present two cases of verruca vulgaris that developed KP following cryotherapy.

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Aneuploidy compromises genomic stability, often leading to embryo inviability, and is frequently associated with tumorigenesis and aging. Different aneuploid chromosome stoichiometries lead to distinct transcriptomic and phenotypic changes, making it helpful to study aneuploidy in tightly controlled genetic backgrounds. By deploying the engineered SCRaMbLE (synthetic chromosome rearrangement and modification by loxP-mediated evolution) system to the newly synthesized megabase Sc2.

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Article Synopsis
  • Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 35 genetic loci related to leprosy, but their combined effect only partially explains the disease risk, with unknown causal variants and genes.
  • A new GWAS analyzing over 10,000 participants found 3 new and 15 previously reported risk loci, increasing the explained genetic heritability of leprosy from 23% to 38.5%.
  • Fine-mapping analysis revealed 19 causal variants and 14 genes, primarily linked to immune regulatory elements, highlighting the importance of immune-related pathways in leprosy development.
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Aims: Deoxynivalenol (DON), namely vomitoxin, is one of the most prevalent fungal toxins in cereal crops worldwide. However, the underlying toxic mechanisms of DON remain largely unknown.

Main Methods: DON exposure-caused changes in the murine plasma metabolome and gut microbiome were investigated by an LC-MS/MS-based nontargeted metabolomics approach and sequencing of 16S rRNA in fecal samples, respectively.

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Synthetic auxotrophy in which cell viability depends on the presence of an unnatural amino acid (unAA) provides a powerful strategy to restrict unwanted propagation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in open environments and potentially prevent industrial espionage. Here, we describe a generic approach for robust biocontainment of budding yeast dependent on unAA. By understanding escape mechanisms, we specifically optimize our strategies by introducing designed "immunity" to the generation of amber-suppressor tRNAs and developing the transcriptional- and translational-based biocontainment switch.

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High levels of YAP1 and ferroptosis activation in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) can inhibit CRPC progression and improve its sensitivity toward chemotherapeutics drugs. However, whether YAP1 regulates ferroptosis in CRPC cells and the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The protein levels of YAP1, SLC1A5, and GLS1 in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer (PCa) that did not progress to CRPC, and CRPC tissue samples were evaluated using western blotting.

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Induction of hypothermia during hibernation/torpor enables certain mammals to survive under extreme environmental conditions. However, pharmacological induction of hypothermia in most mammals remains a huge challenge. Here we show that a natural product P57 promptly induces hypothermia and decreases energy expenditure in mice.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aims to analyze the development context and research trends of the glymphatic system (GS) from 2012 to 2022 using bibliometric methods.
  • - A total of 412 articles were reviewed, showcasing contributions from 39 countries, with the USA leading GS research, while the University of Rochester and the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism were the most productive in publications.
  • - Key findings highlight the importance of terms like "glymphatic system" and "cerebrospinal fluid," and the results suggest that this analysis could foster collaboration among researchers and map future research directions in the field.
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This paper addresses the issue of artificial visual inspection being overly reliant on subjective experience and the difficulty for the human eye to accurately identify dense and non-significant defects. To solve this problem, we have implemented an automatic object detection algorithm based on an improved version of YOLOv5.First, we use the K-means++ clustering algorithm to automatically calculate the Anchor of the model to reduce the effect of the close location of the initial clustering centers on the clustering of the sample data.

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Exploring the potential lead compounds for Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains one of the challenging tasks. Here, we report that the plant extract conophylline (CNP) impeded amyloidogenesis by preferentially inhibiting BACE1 translation via the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) and rescued cognitive decline in an animal model of APP/PS1 mice. ADP-ribosylation factor-like protein 6-interacting protein 1 (ARL6IP1) was then found to mediate the effect of CNP on BACE1 translation, amyloidogenesis, glial activation, and cognitive function.

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  • Juxtaglomerular cell tumor (JGCT) is a rare kidney tumor that can cause high blood pressure and other symptoms, especially in pregnant women.
  • In a case, a 28-year-old pregnant woman had very high blood pressure and was misdiagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension, leading to the termination of her pregnancy.
  • After surgery to remove the tumor, her blood pressure and other health issues improved, and she later became pregnant again without any problems.
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