Unsaturated Fatty Acid Synthesis Is Associated with Worse Survival and Is Differentially Regulated by and Tumor Suppressor microRNAs in Neuroblastoma.

amplification () and disruption of tumor suppressor microRNA (TSmiR) function are key drivers of poor outcomes in neuroblastoma (NB). While MYCN and TSmiRs regulate glucose metabolism, their role in de novo fatty acid synthesis (FAS) and unsaturated FAS (UFAS) remains poorly understood. Here, we show that FAS and UFAS (U/FAS) genes , , , , and are upregulated in high-risk (HR) NB and that their expression is associated with lower overall survival.

Photoelectrochemical Enhancement of Graphene@WS Nanosheets for Water Splitting Reaction.

Tungsten disulfide nanosheets were successfully prepared by one-step chemical vapor deposition using tungsten oxide and thiourea in an inert gas environment. The size of the obtained nanosheets was subsequently reduced down to below 20 nm in width and 150 nm in length using high-energy ball milling, followed by 0.5 and 1 wt% graphene loading.

Characterisation of four hotdog-fold thioesterases for their implementation in a novel organic acid production system.

With increasing interest in the diverse properties of organic acids and their application in synthetic pathways, developing biological tools for producing known and novel organic acids would be very valuable. In such a system, organic acids may be activated as coenzyme A (CoA) esters, then modified by CoA-dependent enzymes, followed by CoA liberation by a broad-acting thioesterase. This study has focused on the identification of suitable thioesterases (TE) for utilisation in such a pathway.

Metagenomic ene-reductases for the bioreduction of sterically challenging enones.

Ene-reductases (ERs) of the Old Yellow Enzyme family catalyse asymmetric reduction of activated alkenes providing chiral products. They have become an important method in the synthetic chemists' toolbox offering a sustainable alternative to metal-catalysed asymmetric reduction. Development of new biocatalytic alkene reduction routes, however needs easy access to novel biocatalysts.

Aminopolyols from Carbohydrates: Amination of Sugars and Sugar-Derived Tetrahydrofurans with Transaminases.

Carbohydrates are the major component of biomass and have unique potential as a sustainable source of building blocks for chemicals, materials, and biofuels because of their low cost, ready availability, and stereochemical diversity. With a view to upgrading carbohydrates to access valuable nitrogen-containing sugar-like compounds such as aminopolyols, biocatalytic aminations using transaminase enzymes (TAms) have been investigated as a sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic strategies. Demonstrated here is the reaction of TAms with sugar-derived tetrahydrofuran (THF) aldehydes, obtained from the regioselective dehydration of biomass-derived sugars, to provide access to cyclic aminodiols in high yields.