Evaluation of the role of hepatic Gstm4 in diet-induced obesity and dyslipidemia.

Obesity and its related diseases continue to rise worldwide, necessitating further investigation to develop new therapeutic strategies. The dysregulation of redox homeostasis is tightly associated with metabolic diseases. Glutathione, an antioxidant, acts as a cofactor for antioxidant and detoxification enzymes such as glutathione S-transferases (GSTs)-a superfamily including Gstm4.

Target Discovery of Dhilirane-Type Meroterpenoids by Biosynthesis Guidance and Tailoring Enzyme Catalysis.

Dhilirane-type meroterpenoids (DMs) featuring a 6/6/6/5/5 ring system represent a rare group of fungal meroterpenoids. To date, merely 11 DMs have been isolated or derived, leaving their chemical diversity predominantly unexplored. Herein, we leverage an understanding of biosynthesis to develop a workflow for discovery of DMs by genome mining, metabolite analysis, and tailoring enzyme catalysis.

Three-dimensional structural alignment based discovery and molecular basis of AtoB, catalyzing linear tetracyclic formation.

Enzymes from the nuclear transport factor 2-like (NTF2-like) superfamily represent a rare group of biocatalysts with diverse catalytic functions facilitating intriguing skeleton formations. However, most proteins of this family remain enigmatic and await further elucidation. In this study, a combination of protein structural alignment with clustering analysis uncovers a new aldolase, AtoB, belonging to the NTF2-like superfamily.

Hippocampal subfield morphology from first episodes of bipolar disorder type II and major depressive disorder in a drug naïve Chinese cohort.

Introduction: Symptoms during the onset of major depressive disorder [MDD] and bipolar disorder type II [BD-II] are similar. The difference of hippocampus subregion could be a biological marker to distinguish MDD from BD-II.

Methods: We recruited 61 drug-naïve patients with a first-episode MDD and BD-II episode and 30 healthy controls (HC) to participate in a magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] study.

Mining the Biosynthetic Landscape of Lactic Acid Bacteria Unearths a New Family of RiPPs Assembled by a Novel Type of ThiF-like Adenylyltransferases.

Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are chemically diverse natural products of ribosomal origin. These peptides, which frequently act as signals or antimicrobials, are biosynthesized by conserved enzymatic machinery, making genome mining a powerful strategy for unearthing previously uncharacterized members of their class. Herein, we investigate the untapped biosynthetic potential of Lactobacillales (i.

Blockage of TMEM189 induces G2/M arrest and inhibits the growth of breast tumors.

Cancer is the major cause of premature death in humans worldwide, demanding more efficient therapeutics. Aberrant cell proliferation resulting from the loss of cell cycle regulation is the major hallmark of cancer, so targeting cell cycle is a promising strategy to combat cancer. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the dysregulation of cell cycle of cancer cells remains poorly understood.

Regulatory T cells as a therapeutic target in acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), mainly triggered by vascular occlusion or thrombosis, is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality among all cardiovascular diseases. The devastating consequences of AMI are further aggravated by the intricate cellular processes involved in inflammation. In the past two decades, many studies have reported that regulatory T cells (Tregs), as the main immunoregulatory cells, play a crucial role in AMI progression.

Artificially sweetened beverages consumption and risk of obesity-related cancers: a wide-angled Mendelian randomization study.

Background: The impact of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) consumption on obesity-related cancers (ORCs) risk remains controversial. To address this challenging issue, this study employed wide-angle mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to explore the genetic causality between ASB consumption and the risk of ORCs, thereby effectively minimizing the impact of external confounders.

Methods: We conducted a suite of analyses encompassing univariable, multivariable, and two-step MR to evaluate causal associations between ASB consumption (samples = 85,852) and risk of ORCs (total samples = 2,974,770) using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Fatty liver disease protective MTARC1 p.A165T variant reduces the protein stability of MTARC1.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of liver disease worldwide. MTARC1, encoded by the MTARC1 gene, is a mitochondrial outer membrane-anchored enzyme. Interestingly, the MTARC1 p.

Biosynthesis of Epipyrone A Reveals a Highly Specific Membrane-Bound Fungal -Glycosyltransferase for Pyrone Galactosylation.

Epipyrone A is a unique -galactosylated 4-hydroxy-2-pyrone derivative with an antifungal potential from the fungus . We elucidated its biosynthesis via heterologous expression and characterized an unprecedented membrane-bound pyrone -glycosyltransferase biochemically. Molecular docking and mutagenesis experiments suggested a possible mechanism for the heterocyclic -glycosylation and the importance of a transmembrane helix for its catalysis.

Preparation of bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane-derived nucleoside analogues.

Nucleoside analogues are prevalent in drug design and call for more diversified structures. Bicyclo[1.1.

Pyrazolone derivatives as potent and selective small-molecule SIRT5 inhibitors.

Sirtiun 5 (SIRT5) is a NAD-dependent protein lysine deacylase. It is emerging as a promising target for the development of drugs to treat cancer and metabolism-related diseases. In this study, we screened 5000 compounds and identified a hit compound 14 bearing a pyrazolone functional group as a novel SIRT5-selective inhibitor.

Effects of climate change and human activities on gross primary productivity in the Heihe River Basin, China.

As the primary source of carbon dioxide fixation, vegetation is critical to the carbon sink process. In this paper, the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and the Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) were simulated using the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model and the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), respectively, and then the Potential Gross Primary Productivity (PGPP) and the GPP affected by human activities (AGPP) were simulated by combining Potential Net Primary Productivity (PNPP), and then the impact of climate change and human activities on GPP was assessed in the Heihe River Basin (HRB). The results showed that the GPP of grassland and Bare or Sparse Vegetation (BSV) exhibited a fluctuation rise, with increases of 0.

Photodissolution of submillimeter-sized microplastics and its dependences on temperature and light composition.

Photodissolution has the potential to efficiently remove microplastics from the surface ocean. Here, we examined the effects of temperature and incident sunlight composition on the photodissolution of submillimeter-sized microplastics of polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) in seawater. The photoproduction of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chromophoric dissolved organic matter, and dissolved nitrogen (TPU only) was observed to increase exponentially within 7 days of full-spectrum irradiation.

A comprehensive drought monitoring method integrating multi-source data.

Droughts are the most expensive natural disasters on the planet. As a result of climate change and human activities, the incidence and impact of drought have grown in China. Timely and effective monitoring of drought is crucial for water resource management, drought mitigation, and national food security.

Significantly Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance Achieved in CuGaTe through Dual-Element Permutations at Cation Sites.

CuGaTe has become a widely studied mid-temperature thermoelectric material due to the advantages of large element abundance, proper band gap, and intrinsically high Seebeck coefficient. However, the intrinsically high lattice thermal conductivity and low room-temperature electrical conductivity result in a merely moderate thermoelectric performance for pristine CuGaTe. In this work, we found that Cu deficiency can significantly reduce the activation energy of Cu vacancies from ∼0.

ThpacC Acts as a Positive Regulator of Homodimericin A Biosynthesis and Antifungal Activities of 3.9236.

The Pal/Rim pathway and its key transcription factor PacC play important roles in fungal adaptation to ambient pH regarding growth, secondary metabolism, and virulence. However, the effect of PacC on the secondary metabolism of the important biocontrol fungus remains elusive. To answer this question, deletion (KO-) and overexpression (OE-) mutants of 3.

Neutrophil: A New Player in Metastatic Cancers.

The interaction between cancer cells and immune cells is important for the cancer development. However, much attention has been given to T cells and macrophages. Being the most abundant leukocytes in the blood, the functions of neutrophils in cancer have been underdetermined.

Controllable atomic scale patterning of freestanding monolayer graphene at elevated temperature.

We show that by operating a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) with a 0.1 nm 300 kV electron beam, one can sculpt free-standing monolayer graphene with close-to-atomic precision at 600 °C. The same electron beam that is used for destructive sculpting can be used to image the sculpted monolayer graphene nondestructively.

TEM study of locally coated nanopore fabricated by ion-beam-induced deposition in a thin membrane.

We studied the formation of locally coated sub-10-nm nanopores fabricated by ion-beam milling and ion-beam-induced deposition (IBID) in a thin silicon nitride membrane. Two typical precursor gases representing conductive ((CH(3))(3)Pt(CpCH(3)), CPC for short) and insulating (tetra ethyl oxysilane, TEOS for short) material deposition are used. Three-dimensional electron tomography, EDX and EELS analysis are used to measure the changes in chemical composition and shape of the pores after their formation and at various stages of pore shrinkage.

Control of shape and material composition of solid-state nanopores.

Solid-state nanopores fabricated by a high-intensity electron beam in ceramic membranes can be fine-tuned on three-dimensional geometry and composition by choice of materials and beam sculpting conditions. For similar beam conditions, 8 nm diameter nanopores fabricated in membranes containing SiO(2) show large depletion areas (70 nm in radius) with small sidewall angles (55 degrees ), whereas those made in SiN membranes show small depletion areas (40 nm) with larger sidewall angles (75 degrees ). Three-dimensional electron tomograms of nanopores fabricated in a SiO(2)/SiN/SiO(2) membrane show a biconical shape with symmetric top and bottom and indicate a mixing of SiN and SiO(2) layers up to 30 nm from the edge of nanopore, with Si-rich particles throughout the membrane.

Cross-section transmission electron microscopy characterization of the near-surface structure of medical Nitinol superelastic tubing.

The application of Nitinol in a wide variety of medical implants is progressively increasing because of its unique mechanical properties, durability and biocompatibility. However, as Nitinol consists of about 50 at.% of toxic Ni, certain applications are still hindered by the concern of free Ni release in the surrounding tissue.

Experimental observation of nonlinear ionic transport at the nanometer scale.

Nanometer-sized electrodes are used to probe the transport of ions in liquid by monitoring heterogeneous electrochemical reactions. We observe pronounced nonlinearities of ion flux versus concentration when transport is localized within a region smaller than 10 nm. We show that these observations cannot be explained using conventional continuum, mean-field descriptions of ionic transport.

Fabrication and characterization of nanopore-based electrodes with radii down to 2 nm.

We report on the fabrication and characterization of gold nanoelectrodes with carefully controlled nanometer dimensions in a matrix of insulating silicon nitride. A focused electron beam was employed to drill nanopores in a thin silicon nitride membrane. The size and shape of the nanopores were studied with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron-energy-loss two-dimensional maps.