Application of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) in Environmental Biosystems.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline materials that are formed by self-assembling organic linkers and metal ions with large specific areas and pore volumes. Their chemical tunability, structural diversity, and tailor-ability make them adaptive to decorate many substrate materials, such as biomass-derived carbon materials, and competitive in many environmental biosystems, such as biofuel cells, bioelectrocatalysts, microbial metal reduction, and fermentation systems. In this review, we surmised the recent progress of MOFs and MOF-derived materials and their applications in environmental biosystems.

Proteasome malfunction activates macroautophagy in the heart.

Protein quality control (PQC) senses and repairs misfolded/unfolded proteins and, if the repair fails, degrades the terminally misfolded polypeptides through an intricate collaboration between molecular chaperones and targeted proteolysis. Proteolysis of damaged proteins is performed primarily by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Macroautophagy (commonly known as autophagy) may also play a role in PQC-associated proteolysis, especially when UPS function becomes inadequate.

Autophagy and p62 in cardiac proteinopathy.

Rationale: Recent studies suggest an important role of autophagy in protection against αB-crystallin-based (CryAB(R120G)) desmin-related cardiomyopathies (DRC), but this has not been demonstrated in a different model of cardiac proteinopathy. Mechanisms underlying the response of cardiomyocytes to proteotoxic stress remain incompletely understood.

Objective: Our first objective was to determine whether and how the autophagic activity is changed in a mouse model of desminopathy.

Doxycycline attenuates protein aggregation in cardiomyocytes and improves survival of a mouse model of cardiac proteinopathy.

Objectives: The goal of this pre-clinical study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of doxycycline (Doxy) for desmin-related cardiomyopathy (DRC) and to elucidate the potential mechanisms involved.

Background: DRC, exemplifying cardiac proteinopathy, is characterized by intrasarcoplasmic protein aggregation and cardiac insufficiency. No effective treatment for DRC is available presently.

Interplay between the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy in proteinopathies.

Proteinopathies are a family of human disease caused by toxic aggregation-prone proteins and featured by the presence of protein aggregates in the affected cells. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy are two major intracellular protein degradation pathways. The UPS mediates the targeted degradation of most normal proteins after performing their normal functions as well as the removal of abnormal, soluble proteins.

[Cloning of ureI gene from Helicobacter pylori and its expression in E. coli].

Objective: To clone the urea membrane channel gene (ureI) from Helicobacter pylori (Hp) for its expression in E. coli, and evaluate the expression conditions and immunological features of the fusion protein.

Methods: ureI gene cloned by PCR from Hp was inserted into the plasmid pET32a (+) to construct the recombinant plasmid pET32a/ureI, followed by identification by BglII and HindIII digestion and sequencing.