Structural and biochemical investigation into stable FGF2 mutants with novel mutation sites and hydrophobic replacements for surface-exposed cysteines.

Fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) is an attractive biomaterial for pharmaceuticals and functional cosmetics. To improve the thermo-stability of FGF2, we designed two mutants harboring four-point mutations: FGF2-M1 (D28E/C78L/C96I/S137P) and FGF2-M2 (D28E/C78I/C96I/S137P) through bioinformatics, molecular thermodynamics, and molecular modeling. The D28E mutation reduced fragmentation of the FGF2 wild type during preparation, and the substitution of a whale-specific amino acid, S137P, enhanced the thermal stability of FGF2.

N-benzyl-N-methyldecan-1-amine and its derivative mitigate 2,4- dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitis and collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis.

As our previous study revealed that -benzyl--methyldecan-1-amine (BMDA), a new molecule originated from , exhibits anti-neoplastic activities, we herein explored other functions of the compound and its derivative [decyl-(4-methoxy-benzyl)-methyl-amine; DMMA] including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. Pretreatment of THP-1 cells with BMDA or DMMA inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β production, and blocked c-jun terminal kinase (JNK), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), MAPKAP kinase (MK)2 and NF-κΒ inflammatory signaling during LPS stimulation. Rectal treatment with BMDA or DMMA reduced the severity of colitis in 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (DNBS)-treated rat.

Types of co-occurring patterns of mental health among the disaster victims in South Korea.

This study examined co-occurring patterns of mental health among disaster victims using latent profile analysis and assessed the difference between sociodemographic factors and protective factors that affect group classification. The data of 2300 disaster victims from 2019 (4th wave) NDMI (National Disaster Management Research Institute) for Long-term Survey on the Change of Life of Disaster Victims were analyzed. The latent profile analysis revealed that three profiles; High comorbid symptom (HCS) (6.

Heating-mediated purification of active FGF21 and structure-based design of its variant with enhanced potency.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) has pharmaceutical potential against obesity-related metabolic disorders, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Since thermal stability is a desirable factor for therapeutic proteins, we investigated the thermal behavior of human FGF21. FGF21 remained soluble after heating; thus, we examined its temperature-induced structural changes using circular dichroism (CD).

Expression and purification of intracrine human FGF 11 and study of its FGFR-dependent biological activity.

Fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11) is one of intracrine FGFs (iFGFs), which function within cells. Unlike canonical FGFs, FGF11 remains intracellularly and plays biological roles in FGF receptor (FGFR)-independent manner. Here, we established an expression system of recombinant FGF11 proteins in E.

The Analyses of Cetacean Virus-Responsive Genes Reveal Evolutionary Marks in Mucosal Immunity-Associated Genes.

Viruses are the most common and abundant organisms in the marine environment. To better understand how cetaceans have adapted to this virus-rich environment, we compared cetacean virus-responsive genes to those from terrestrial mammals. We identified virus-responsive gene sequences in seven species of cetaceans, which we compared with orthologous sequences in seven terrestrial mammals.

α-Poly-L-lysine functions as an adipogenic inducer in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

α-Poly-L-lysine (PLL) has been used for various purposes such as cell attachment, immunization, and molecular delivery, and is known to be cytotoxic to several cell lines. Here, we studied the effect of PLL on the adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 cells and investigated the underlying mechanism. Differentiation media containing PLL with a molecular weight (MW) greater than 4 kDa enhanced lipid droplet formation and increased adipogenic marker levels, indicating an increase in adipocyte differentiation.

FGF11 influences 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation by modulating the expression of PPARγ regulators.

Fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11) is a member of the intracellular fibroblast growth factor superfamily. Here, we identified FGF11 as a novel mediator of adipogenesis. During 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation, the expression of FGF11 decreased at the mitotic clonal expansion stage and increased at the terminal differentiation stage.

MD001, a Novel Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor α/γ Agonist, Improves Glucose and Lipid Metabolism.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α/γ dual agonists have been developed to treat metabolic diseases; however, most of them exhibit side effects such as body weight gain and oedema. Therefore, we developed a novel PPARα/γ dual agonist that modulates glucose and lipid metabolism without adverse effects. We synthesised novel compounds composed of coumarine and chalcone, determined their crystal structures, and then examined their binding affinity toward PPARα/γ.

iMGEins: detecting novel mobile genetic elements inserted in individual genomes.

Background: Recent advances in sequencing technology have allowed us to investigate personal genomes to find structural variations, which have been studied extensively to identify their association with the physiology of diseases such as cancer. In particular, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are one of the major constituents of the human genomes, and cause genome instability by insertion, mutation, and rearrangement.

Result: We have developed a new program, iMGEins, to identify such novel MGEs by using sequencing reads of individual genomes, and to explore the breakpoints with the supporting reads and MGEs detected.

Optimizing T4 DNA polymerase conditions enhances the efficiency of one-step sequence- and ligation-independent cloning.

Previously, we developed a one-step sequence- and ligation-independent cloning (SLIC) method that is simple, fast, and cost-effective. However, although one-step SLIC generally works well, its cloning efficiency is occasionally poor, potentially due to formation of stable secondary structures within the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) region generated by T4 DNA polymerase during the 2.5 min treatment at room temperature.

Analysis of the FGF gene family provides insights into aquatic adaptation in cetaceans.

Cetacean body structure and physiology exhibit dramatic adaptations to their aquatic environment. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of essential factors that regulate animal development and physiology; however, their role in cetacean evolution is not clearly understood. Here, we sequenced the fin whale genome and analysed FGFs from 8 cetaceans.

FGF11 induced by hypoxia interacts with HIF-1α and enhances its stability.

Fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11) is an intracellular FGF. Although induction of FGF11 by hypoxia has been observed in several cell types, the molecular function of FGF11 is not clearly understood yet. Here, we investigated the role of FGF11 under hypoxia.

Light-induced negative differential resistance in graphene/Si-quantum-dot tunneling diodes.

One of the interesing tunneling phenomena is negative differential resistance (NDR), the basic principle of resonant-tunneling diodes. NDR has been utilized in various semiconductor devices such as frequency multipliers, oscillators, relfection amplifiers, logic switches, and memories. The NDR in graphene has been also reported theoretically as well as experimentally, but should be further studied to fully understand its mechanism, useful for practical device applications.

F-box only protein 9 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase of PPARγ.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a critical regulator of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, adipocyte differentiation and inflammatory response. Post-translational modification of PPARγ and its degradation involve several pathways, including the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Here, we identified F-box only protein 9 (FBXO9) as an E3 ubiquitin ligase of PPARγ.

Hypoxia-induced fibroblast growth factor 11 stimulates capillary-like endothelial tube formation.

Low oxygen or hypoxia can be observed in the central region of solid tumors. Hypoxia is a strong stimulus for new blood vessel formation or angiogenesis, which is essential for tumor growth and progression. Fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11) is an intracellular non-secretory FGF whose function has not yet been fully characterized.

Graphene/Si-quantum-dot heterojunction diodes showing high photosensitivity compatible with quantum confinement effect.

Graphene/Si quantum dot (QD) heterojunction diodes are reported for the first time. The photoresponse, very sensitive to variations in the size of the QDs as well as in the doping concentration of graphene and consistent with the quantum-confinement effect, is remarkably enhanced in the near-ultraviolet range compared to commercially available bulk-Si photodetectors. The photoresponse proves to be dominated by the carriertunneling mechanism.

Near-ultraviolet-sensitive graphene/porous silicon photodetectors.

Porous silicon (PSi) is recognized as an attractive building block for photonic devices because of its novel properties including high ratio of surface to volume and high light absorption. We first report near-ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive graphene/PSi photodetectors (PDs) fabricated by utilizing graphene and PSi as a carrier collector and a photoexcitation layer, respectively. Thanks to high light absorption and enlarged energy-band gap of PSi, the responsivity (Ri) and quantum efficiency (QE) of the PDs are markedly enhanced in the near-UV range.

High-performance graphene-quantum-dot photodetectors.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have received much attention due to their novel phenomena of charge transport and light absorption/emission. The optical transitions are known to be available up to ~6 eV in GQDs, especially useful for ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs). Thus, the demonstration of photodetection gain with GQDs would be the basis for a plenty of applications not only as a single-function device in detecting optical signals but also a key component in the optoelectronic integrated circuits.

Enhancement of the effectiveness of graphene as a transparent conductive electrode by AgNO₃ doping.

Single-layer graphene sheets have been synthesized by using chemical vapor deposition, and subsequently doped with AgNO₃ at various doping concentrations (n(D)) from 5 to 50 mM. Atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy images reveal the formation of ∼10-100 nm Ag particles on the graphene surface after doping. The type of n doping is confirmed by analyzing the n(D)-dependent behaviors of Raman scattering and the work function of the doped graphene films.

Herpesvirus-associated ubiquitin-specific protease (HAUSP) modulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) stability through its deubiquitinating activity.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a central regulator of adipogenesis and modulates glucose and lipid metabolism. In this study, herpesvirus-associated ubiquitin-specific protease (HAUSP) was isolated as a binding partner of PPARγ. Both endogenous and exogenous PPARγ associated with HAUSP in co-immunoprecipitation analysis.

F-box only protein 9 is required for adipocyte differentiation.

The objective of this study is to investigate whether F-box only protein 9 (FBXO9), an ubiquitination E3 ligase, has a functional role in adipocyte differentiation. Expression of FBXO9 was compared between obese mice and control lean mice using real-time PCR. Also, expression pattern of FBXO9 was monitored during 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation.

Effects of Sulfonylureas on Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Activity and on Glucose Uptake by Thiazolidinediones.

Background: Sulfonylurea primarily stimulates insulin secretion by binding to its receptor on the pancreatic β-cells. Recent studies have suggested that sulfonylureas induce insulin sensitivity through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), one of the nuclear receptors. In this study, we investigated the effects of sulfonylurea on PPARγ transcriptional activity and on the glucose uptake via PPARγ.

Activation of PPARgamma negatively regulates O-GlcNAcylation of Sp1.

O-GlcNAcylation is a kind of post-translational modification and many nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins are O-GlcNAcylated. In this study, we demonstrated that thiazolidinediones (TZDs), which are used as insulin sensitizer, specifically inhibited the O-GlcNAcylation of Sp1 but did not affect the O-GlcNAcylation of the total proteins in cell culture systems and mouse models. This effect was mediated by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) activation and probably by synthesis of a specific protein induced by PPARgamma activation.