Compositional characteristics of the gut microbiome in patients with uremia.

During acute or chronic uremia, the cumulative harmful effects of uremic toxins result in numerous health problems and, ultimately, mortality. Previous research has identified that uremic retention solutes originate from the gut microbiome, indicating that uremia may be closely associated with gut microbiome dysbiosis. To deepen our understanding of the compositional characteristics of the gut microbiome in patients with uremia and thereby promote precision medicine in the treatment of uremia, we conducted a study of the compositional characteristics of the gut microbiome in 20 patients with uremia.

Enzymatic Characterization of the Isocitrate Dehydrogenase with Dual Coenzyme Specificity from the Marine Bacterium .

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) can be divided into NAD-dependent and NADP-dependent types based on the coenzyme specificity. It is worth noting that some IDHs exhibit dual coenzyme specificity characteristics. Herein, a dual coenzyme-dependent IDH from (UmIDH) was expressed, purified, and identified in detail for the first time.

From a dimer to a monomer: Construction of a chimeric monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenase.

Many isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs) are dimeric enzymes whose catalytic sites are located at the intersubunit interface, whereas monomeric IDHs form catalytic sites with single polypeptide chains. It was proposed that monomeric IDHs were evolved from dimeric ones by partial gene duplication and fusion, but the evolutionary process had not been reproduced in laboratory. To construct a chimeric monomeric IDH from homo-dimeric one, it is necessary to reconstitute an active center by a duplicated region; to properly link the duplicated region to the rest part; and to optimize the newly formed protein surface.

A broad-spectrum virus- and host-targeting peptide against respiratory viruses including influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2.

The 2019 novel respiratory virus (SARS-CoV-2) causes COVID-19 with rapid global socioeconomic disruptions and disease burden to healthcare. The COVID-19 and previous emerging virus outbreaks highlight the urgent need for broad-spectrum antivirals. Here, we show that a defensin-like peptide P9R exhibited potent antiviral activity against pH-dependent viruses that require endosomal acidification for virus infection, including the enveloped pandemic A(H1N1)pdm09 virus, avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV), and the non-enveloped rhinovirus.

Characterization of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides (NAD and NADP) binding sites of the monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenases from Campylobacter species.

Monomeric isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs) have once been proposed to be exclusively NADP-specific. Intriguingly, we recently have reported an NAD-specific monomeric IDH from Campylobacter sp. FOBRC14 (CaIDH).

Heteroexpression and biochemical characterization of a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

Yarrowia lipolytica, a nonpathogenic, nonconventional, aerobic and dimorphic yeast, is considered an oleaginous microorganism due to its excellent ability to accumulate large amounts of lipids. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is one of two key enzymes involved in the lipid accumulation in this fungi, which catalyzes the oxidative dehydrogenation of glucose-6-phosphate to 6-phosphoglucono-δ-lactone with the reduction of NADP to NADPH. In this study, the full-length gene of G6PD from Y.