Deficiency of hepatokine orosomucoid1 aggravates NAFLD progression in mice.

Orosomucoid (ORM) is an important hepatokine that regulates metabolism. Previous report showed that isoform ORM2 but not ORM1 could downregulate lipogenic genes and ameliorate hepatic steatosis in obese mice, thereby categorizing ORM2 as a promising candidate for therapeutic intervention in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, our previous studies found that mice lacking ORM1 gradually developed an obese phenotype with severe hepatic steatosis at the age of 24 weeks.

Surface charge engineering of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase improves enzymatic activity and biodiesel synthesis.

Objectives: This study was aimed at engineering charged residues on the surface of Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) to obtain TLL variant with elevated performance for industrial applications.

Results: Site-directed mutagenesis of eight charged amino acids on the TLL surface were conducted and substitutions on the negatively charged residues D111, D158, D165, and E239 were identified with elevated specific activities and biodiesel yields. Synergistic effect was not discovered in the double mutants, D111E/D165E and D165E/E239R, when compared with the corresponding single mutants.