Machine Learning Reveals Signatures of Promiscuous Microbial Amidases for Micropollutant Biotransformations.

Organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and food additives, are widespread in the environment, causing potentially toxic effects. Human waste is a direct source of micropollutants, with the majority of pharmaceuticals being excreted through urine. Urine contains its own microbiota with the potential to catalyze micropollutant biotransformations.

Lactate dehydrogenase B noncanonically promotes ferroptosis defense in KRAS-driven lung cancer.

Ferroptosis is an oxidative, non-apoptotic cell death frequently inactivated in cancer, but the underlying mechanisms in oncogene-specific tumors remain poorly understood. Here, we discover that lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) B, but not the closely related LDHA, subunits of active LDH with a known function in glycolysis, noncanonically promotes ferroptosis defense in KRAS-driven lung cancer. Using murine models and human-derived tumor cell lines, we show that LDHB silencing impairs glutathione (GSH) levels and sensitizes cancer cells to blockade of either GSH biosynthesis or utilization by unleashing KRAS-specific, ferroptosis-catalyzed metabolic synthetic lethality, culminating in increased glutamine metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mitoROS).

Inhibition of LDHB suppresses the metastatic potential of lung cancer by reducing mitochondrial GSH catabolism.

Metastasis, the leading cause of cancer death, is closely linked to lactate metabolism. Our study aimed to investigate the role of lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB), which mainly catalyzes the conversion of lactate to pyruvate, in the metastatic potential of lung cancer. We found that LDHB silencing reduced the invasion and migration ability of lung cancer cells in vitro.

Impact of Illness Perception in Overweight and Obesity on Bio-Functional Age and Eating/Movement Behavior-A Follow-Up Study.

Background: Despite the widespread prevalence of obesity and its potential adverse impacts on health, the majority of interventions aimed at weight loss stay ineffective. This study aimed to assess illness perception in people with overweight/obesity and its impact on bio-functional age (BFA) and cognitive patterns governing eating and movement behavior.

Methods: A total of 40 subjects from the original overweight/obesity subcohort of the Bern Cohort Study 2014 (BeCS14) were included and assessed for a follow-up from 2019-11-29 to 2020-07-14.

Assessing the metastatic potential of circulating tumor cells using an organ-on-chip model.

Metastatic lung cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with its intricate metastatic cascade posing significant challenges to researchers and clinicians. Despite substantial progress in understanding this cascade, many aspects remain elusive. Microfluidic-based vasculature-on-chip models have emerged as powerful tools in cancer research, enabling the simulation of specific stages of tumor progression.