Insights into the regulatory mechanisms and application prospects of the transcription factor Cra.

Cra (catabolite repressor/activator) is a global transcription factor (TF) that plays a pleiotropic role in controlling the transcription of several genes involved in carbon utilization and energy metabolism. Multiple studies have investigated the regulatory mechanism of Cra and its rational use for metabolic regulation, but due to the complexity of its regulation, there remain challenges in the efficient use of Cra. Here, the structure, mechanism of action, and regulatory function of Cra in carbon and nitrogen flow are reviewed.

A case of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus.

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is an extremely rare esophageal malignancy that is often misdiagnosed or overlooked due to its atypical symptoms. We report a case of a 75-year-old male patient who presented with progressive dysphagia. Endoscopic examination revealed a black mass located 25 cm from the incisors.

Ficolin-A induces macrophage polarization to a novel pro-inflammatory phenotype distinct from classical M1.

Background: Macrophages are key inflammatory immune cells that orchestrate the initiation and progression of autoimmune diseases. The characters of macrophage in diseases are determined by its phenotype in response to the local microenvironment. Ficolins have been confirmed as crucial contributors to autoimmune diseases, with Ficolin-2 being particularly elevated in patients with autoimmune diseases.

LLDT-8 ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by mediating macrophage functions in the priming stage.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease in the central nervous system caused by T cell activation mediated by peripheral macrophages, resulting in severe neurological deficits and disability. Due to the currently limited and expensive treatments for MS, we here introduce an economic Chinese medicine extract, (5R)-5-Hydroxytriptolide (LLDT-8), which shows low toxicity and high immunosuppressive activity. We used the widely accepted mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), to examine the immunosuppressive effect of LLDT-8 in vivo.

MYPT1 Mice Function as a Novel Spontaneous Age- and Hypertension-Dependent Animal Model of CSVD.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is the most common progressive vascular disease that causes vascular dementia. Aging and hypertension are major contributors to CSVD, but the pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear, mainly due to the lack of an ideal animal model. Our previous study revealed that vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC)-specific myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) knockout (MYPT1) leads to constant hypertension, prompting us to explore whether hypertensive MYPT1 mice can be considered a novel CSVD animal model.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging-based radiomics for the prediction of progression-free survival in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

To establish a multidimensional nomogram model for predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and risk stratification in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This retrospective cross-sectional study included 156 patients with advanced NPC who underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). Radiomic features were extracted from the efflux rate constant ( ) and extracellular extravascular volume ( ) mapping derived from DCE-MRI.

[Accumulation and Transport Characteristics of Cd, Pb, Zn, and As in Different Maize Varieties].

The enrichment and translocation characteristics of Cd, Pb, Zn, and As by various parts of maize plants were investigated using field experiments in 22 maize varieties simultaneously under uncontaminated, low, middle, and serious heavy metal Cd, Pb, Zn, and As complex-contaminated farmland soil conditions. The relationship between the uptake of Cd, Pb, Zn, and As by maize plants and the morphological content of heavy metals in the soil was also discussed through principal component analysis and correlation analysis of the concentrations of eight heavy metals, including Cd, Hg, As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn. The results showed that:① the distribution pattern of Cd and Zn contents in different parts of the maize plant was as follows:upper stalk>lower stalk>root>seed, the distribution pattern of Pb was As follows:root>lower stalk>upper stalk>seed, and the As distribution pattern was:root>upper stalk>lower stalk>seed.

Umbilical cord blood: A promising source for allogeneic CAR-T cells.

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy is an effective treatment for relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R ALL). However, autologous CAR-T cells derived from patients with B-ALL often show poor amplification ability, exhaustion, and anergy. To overcome these limitations, allogeneic CAR-T cells may be used as effective substitutes; however, which source would be the best substitute is unclear.

The Advances and Challenges in Enzymatic -glycosylation of Flavonoids in Plants.

Flavonoid glycosides play determinant roles in plants and have considerable potential for applications in medicine and biotechnology. Glycosyltransferases transfer a sugar moiety from uridine diphosphateactivated sugar molecules to an acceptor flavonoid via C-O and C-C linkages. Compared with O-glycosyl flavonoids, C-glycosyl flavonoids are more stable, resistant to glycosidase or acid hydrolysis, exhibit better pharmacological properties, and have received more attention.

[Synergistic Repair Effect of Calcite-Based Passivator and Low-Accumulation Maize].

In this study, a field experiment of soil passivation and low accumulation-crops was carried out for typical northern alkaline cadmium and lead compound-polluted farmland soil. Calcite was used as the main passivation material, and a small amount of slaked lime, zeolite powder, and biochar were combined to form a group passivation agent. The effects of passivators on soil physicochemical properties, bioavailability of the heavy metals Cd and Pb, and the yield and plant (stalk and seed) content of heavy metals Cd and Pb in low-accumulation maize were investigated under different grouping conditions of calcite+slaked lime (CL), calcite+zeolite (CZ), calcite+biochar (CB), and calcite+slaked lime+zeolite+biochar (CLZB).

[Cadmium Accumulation Characteristics of Different Heat Varieties Under Cadmium Stress].

In order to provide technical support for the safe utilization of heavy metal-polluted farmland, we screened wheat varieties with a low accumulation of Cd in grain via a pot experiment. For this purpose, we respectively investigated the enrichment and transport characteristics of Cd in various plant parts of 119 wheat varieties under the conditions of 1.5 mg·kg (low content) and 4.

[~1H-qNMR quantification of total ginsenosides in Shenmai Injection].

A content determination method based on ~1H-qNMR was developed for the determination of total ginsenosides in Shenmai Injection. The parameters were optimized with CD_3OD as the solvent, dimethyl terephthalate as the internal standard, the peak at δ 8.11 as the internal standard peak, and the peaks at δ 1.

[Fingerprint of Shenmai Injection based on ~1H-NMR technique].

Shenmai Injection is a Chinese medicinal injection prepared from Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra and Ophiopogonis Radix, which is widely used in clinical practice for the treatment and adjuvant therapy of cardiovascular diseases with significant pharmacological effects. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(~1H-NMR) has the advantages of simple and nondestructive sample pretreatment, fast analysis, abundant chemical information, quantification and no need to follow the standard curve. It is widely used in the analysis and research of complex mixtures of traditional Chinese medicine, clinical blood and urine samples.

[Quality evaluation of ginsenoside reference substances based on qNMR spectroscopy].

The present study established a quality evaluation method for ginsenoside reference substances based on quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance(qNMR) spectroscopy. ~1H-NMR spectra were collected on Bruker Avance Ⅲ 500 MHz NMR spectrometer equipped with a 5 mm BBO probe. The acquire parameters were set up as follows: pulse sequence of 30°, D_1=20 s, probe temperature= 303 K, and the scan number = 32.

[Quantitative NMR spectroscopy and its application in quality control of Chinese medicinal injection].

Chinese medicinal injection, made of active components extracted from Chinese medicine or Chinese medicinal compound, is a novel dosage form of Chinese patent medicine in China and is pivotal in the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) industry. The quality control standard of Chinese medicinal injection determines its safety and efficacy. The quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance(qNMR) spectroscopy is a non-targeted, non-invasive, and non-destructive technique with high reproducibility, short measurement time, convenient sample preparation, a broad range of linearity, and no requirement on the reference substance of tested components, which is advantageous as compared with traditional chromatographic methods, and it can provide information about the molecular composition of the tested samples.

Visible light-induced alkylpyridylation of styrenes a reductive radical three-component coupling.

A visible light-induced and metal-free strategy for the intermolecular three-compoment alkylpyridylation of styrenes is reported. Hantzsch ester was found to be key to initiate the overall reductive radical coupling reaction. This radical process realized difunctionalization of styrenes, selectively yielding alkylated pyridines in good to excellent yields with a wide tolerance of functional groups, mild reaction conditions and simple operation.

The draft genome of the specialist flea beetle Altica viridicyanea (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Background: Altica (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a highly diverse and taxonomically challenging flea beetle genus that has been used to address questions related to host plant specialization, reproductive isolation, and ecological speciation. To further evolutionary studies in this interesting group, here we present a draft genome of a representative specialist, Altica viridicyanea, the first Alticinae genome reported thus far.

Results: The genome is 864.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for symptomatic venous thromboembolism in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A multicenter retrospective study.

Background: High incidence of asymptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been observed in severe COVID-19 patients, but the characteristics of symptomatic VTE in general COVID-19 patients have not been described.

Objectives: To comprehensively explore the prevalence and reliable risk prediction for VTE in COVID-19 patients.

Methods/results: This retrospective study enrolled all COVID-19 patients with a subsequent VTE in 16 centers in China from January 1 to March 31, 2020.

Gut bacterial communities and their contribution to performance of specialist Altica flea beetles.

Host plant shifts are a common mode of speciation in herbivorous insects. Although insects can evolve adaptations to successfully incorporate a new host plant, it is becoming increasingly recognized that the gut bacterial community may play a significant role in allowing insects to detoxify novel plant chemical defenses. Here, we examined differences in gut bacterial communities between Altica flea beetle species that feed on phylogenetically unrelated host plants in sympatry.

Enzymatic -Glycosylation of Etoposide Aglycone by Exploration of the Substrate Promiscuity for Glycosyltransferases.

The 4--β-d-glucopyranoside of DMEP ((-)-4'-desmethylepipodophyllotoxin) (GDMEP), a natural product from , is the direct precursor to the topoisomerase inhibitor etoposide, used in dozens of chemotherapy regimens for various malignancies. The biosynthesis pathway for DMEP has been completed, while the enzyme for biosynthesizing GDMEP is still unclear. Here, we report the enzymatic -glycosylation of DMEP with 53% conversion by exploring the substrate promiscuity and entrances of glycosyltransferases.

Increasing the distance between two monomers of topoisomerase IIβ under the action of antitumor agent 4β-sulfur-(benzimidazole) 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin.

Topoisomerases II (Top2s) are a group of essential enzymes involved in replication, transcription, chromosome condensation, and segregation via altering DNA topology. The mechanism of the Top2s poisons such as etoposide (VP-16) was reported as stabilizing the Top2-DNA complex and engendering permanent DNA breakage. As the structurally similar compound of VP-16, a novel 4β-sulfur-substituted 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin (DMEP) derivative (compound C-Bi) with superior antitumor activity was developed in our previous study.

FGL2 prothrombinase contributes to the early stage of coronary microvascular obstruction through a fibrin-dependent pathway.

Background: Membrane-associated fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2 prothrombinase, pFGL2) is abundantly expressed in activated microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) and plays a crucial role in microthrombus formation in microcirculatory vasculature. It has been widely reported that coronary microvascular obstruction (CMVO) contributes to adverse outcomes following myocardial ischemia/reperfusion. However, the role of pFGL2 in CMVO is poorly understood.