Publications by authors named "QianQian Zhuang"

Gegensan (GGS) has been reported for the treatment of alcoholic liver disease (ALD), but its therapeutic mechanism is still unclear. This paper aims to determine the therapeutic mechanism and targets of action of GGS on alcoholic liver disease utilizing network pharmacology and bioinformatics. The active ingredients in GGS were screened in the literature and databases, and common targets of ALD were then obtained from public databases to construct the network diagram of traditional Chinese medicine-active ingredient targets.

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L-Threonine is an important feed additive with the third largest market size among the amino acids produced by microbial fermentation. The GRAS (generally regarded as safe) industrial workhorse Corynebacterium glutamicum is an attractive chassis for L-threonine production. However, the present L-threonine production in C.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been proven to have a potential curative effect on COVID-19. This study preliminarily analyzed the existing TCM prescription's key components and action mechanisms for preventing and treating COVID-19 using bioinformatic and experimental methods.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers used stable transfected cell lines and patient-derived neurons to test nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as a potential treatment, finding that NADH improved mitochondrial functions and reduced cell death in affected neurons.
  • The study concluded that NADH enhances AIF dimerization and mitochondrial function, showing similar restorative effects to gene correction, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic agent for ANSD.
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Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) is a hearing impairment caused by dysfunction of inner hair cells, ribbon synapses, spiral ganglion neurons and/or the auditory nerve itself. Approximately 1/7000 newborns have abnormal auditory nerve function, accounting for 10%-14% of cases of permanent hearing loss in children. Although we previously identified the AIFM1 c.

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prominent cause of sudden cardiac death in young people. Due to heterogeneity in clinical manifestations, conventional HCM drugs have limitations for mitochondrial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Discovering more effective compounds would be of substantial benefit for further elucidating the pathogenic mechanisms of HCM and treating patients with this condition.

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Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) represents a variety of sensorineural deafness conditions characterized by abnormal inner hair cells and/or auditory nerve function, but with the preservation of outer hair cell function. ANSD represents up to 15% of individuals with hearing impairments. Through mutation screening, bioinformatic analysis and expression studies, we have previously identified several apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) mitochondria-associated 1 () variants in ANSD families and in some other sporadic cases.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of amyloid β peptides (Aβ) and impaired glucose metabolism in the brain. Osteocalcin (OCN), an osteoblast-derived protein, has been shown to modulate brain functions but whether it has any effect on AD is undetermined. In this study, daily intraperitoneal injection of OCN for 4 weeks ameliorated the anxiety-like behaviors and cognitive dysfunctions in the APP/PS1 transgenic AD mice model, as shown in the increased entries into the central area in open field test, the increased time and entries into open arms in elevated plus maze test, the increased time spent in the light chamber in light-dark transition test, as well as the reduced escape latency and the increased preference for target quadrant in Morris water maze test.

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Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a multifactor-driven malignant tumor with rapid progression, which causes the difficulty to substantially improve the prognosis of HCC. Limited understanding of the mechanisms in HCC impedes the development of efficacious therapies. Despite Krüpple-Like factors (KLFs) were reported to be participated in HCC pathogenesis, the function of KLF14 in HCC remains largely unexplored.

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Neurofibromatosis type 2 is an autosomal dominant multiple neoplasia syndrome and is usually caused by mutations in the neurofibromin 2 () gene, which encodes a tumor suppressor and initiates the Hippo pathway. However, the mechanism by which NF2 functions in the Hippo pathway isn't fully understood. Here we identified a c.

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Sustained inflammatory responses delay wound repair in diabetic skin. The stimulator of interferon genes (STING) plays a vital role in the innate immune responses. However, its function in diabetic skin wound repair, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

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46,XY disorders/differences of sex development (46,XY DSD) are congenital conditions that result from abnormal gonadal development (gonadal dysgenesis) or abnormalities in androgen synthesis or action. During early embryonic development, several genes are involved in regulating the initiation and maintenance of testicular or ovarian-specific pathways. Recent reports have shown that genes mediate the development of the 46,XY DSD, which present as complete or partial gonadal dysgenesis.

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Hosta ventricosa is a robust ornamental perennial plant that can tolerate low temperatures, and which is widely used in urban landscaping design in Northeast China. However, the mechanism of cold-stress tolerance in this species is unclear. A combination of transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis was used to explore the mechanism of low-temperature tolerance in H.

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Blueberry (Vaccinium ssp.) is a perennial shrub belonging to the family Ericaceae, which is highly tolerant of acid soils and heavy metal pollution. In the present study, blueberry was subjected to cadmium (Cd) stress in simulated pot culture.

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Malonyl-CoA is an important building block for microbial synthesis of numerous pharmaceutically interesting or fatty acid-derived compounds including polyketides, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and fatty acids. However, the tightly regulated intracellular malonyl-CoA availability often impedes overall product formation. Here, in order to unleash this tightly cellular behavior, we present evolution: dual dynamic regulations-based approaches to write artificial robust and dynamic function into intricate cellular background.

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Lead-free double perovskite has attracted widespread attention due to its good stability and non-toxicity. In this work, Cs2AgxNa1-xInCl6 quantum dots were synthesized via a thermal injection method using non-toxic precursors. Based on the wide spectrum of self-bound excitons, the quantum dots achieved white light emission.

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Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with no absolute cure. The evidence of the involvement of gut microbiota in PD pathogenesis suggests the need to identify certain molecule(s) derived from the gut microbiota, which has the potential to manage PD. Osteocalcin (OCN), an osteoblast-secreted protein, has been shown to modulate brain function.

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Article Synopsis
  • Organelles in cells use specific molecules, like long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), to manage crucial biological processes, but their roles in maintaining balance and disease are not fully understood.
  • The study uncovers that lncRNAs are widely distributed in organelles like mitochondria, lysosomes, and the endoplasmic reticulum, identifying lncRNA GAS5 in mitochondria as a key player in tumor suppression and cellular energy balance.
  • GAS5 impacts the tricarboxylic acid cycle by affecting enzyme interactions, correlates negatively with metabolic enzyme levels in tumors, and may improve survival rates in breast cancer patients, suggesting lncRNAs could be targeted for therapeutic purposes.
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A grand challenge of biological chemical production is the competition between synthetic circuits and host genes for limited cellular resources. Quorum sensing (QS)-based dynamic pathway regulations provide a pathway-independent way to rebalance metabolic flux over the course of the fermentation. Most cases, however, these pathway-independent strategies only have capacity for a single QS circuit functional in one cell.

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Background: Prominin-like is a homolog of mammalian CD133, which is recognized as a biomarker for stem cells. The interacting proteins of CD133 and their biological functions remain elusive.

Results: In this study, we using yeast two-hybrid assays, GST pull-down assay and co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) methods found that Prominin-like interacts with ND20, a subunit of mitochondrial respiratory complex I.

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Background: Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs) containing various chain length monomers from C6 to C14 have more applications besides sustainable and environmental-friendly biomaterials owing to their superior physical and mechanical properties. We engineered a reversed fatty acid β-oxidation pathway in Escherichia coli that can synthesize mcl-PHA directly from glucose and achieved high yield. However, there were only even-chain monomers in the biosynthetic polymers.

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The level of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) decreases in Parkinson's disease (PD), and its reduction has been reported to be involved in many age-associated neurodegenerative pathologies. Thus, we investigated whether NAD replenishment is beneficial in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced mouse model of PD. Preinjection with NAD in the striatum ameliorated motor deficits and dopaminergic neuronal damage in the substantia nigra and striatum of a mouse model of PD.

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Article Synopsis
  • * There are significant challenges in creating effective cell models for studying mitochondrial diseases, hindering drug discovery and understanding therapeutic mechanisms.
  • * The text reviews various patient-specific cell types, including lymphoblastoid and iPSC-derived cells, emphasizing their roles and advancements in drug screening for mitochondrial disorders.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects about 1 in 500 people and is a major cause of sudden heart-related deaths in young individuals, with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations being significant contributors, including a specific mutation (m.2336T>C) found in a Chinese family.
  • - Research created mitochondrial cell lines (cybrids) using cells with the m.2336T>C mutation and showed that this mutation destabilizes 16S rRNA and its binding proteins, which in turn disrupts mitochondrial function.
  • - The m.2336T>C mutation leads to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), decreased ATP production, and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in poorer cell health and
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