Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing protein structure prediction, providing unprecedented opportunities for drug design. To assess the potential impact on ligand discovery, we compared virtual screens using protein structures generated by the AlphaFold machine learning method and traditional homology modeling. More than 16 million compounds were docked to models of the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1), a G protein-coupled receptor of unknown structure and target for treating neuropsychiatric disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRechargeable aqueous zinc batteries are promising in next-generation sustainable energy storage. However, the low zinc (Zn) metal anode reversibility and utilization in aqueous electrolytes due to Zn corrosion and poor Zn deposition kinetics significantly hinder the development of Zn-ion batteries. Here, a dual salt/dual solvent electrolyte composed of Zn(BF)/Zn(Ac) in water/TEGDME (tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether) solvents to achieve reversible Zn anode at an ultrahigh depth of discharge (DOD) is developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoconfinement of cations in layered oxide cathode is an important approach to realize advanced zinc ion storage performance. However, thus far, the conventional hydrothermal/solvothermal route for this nanoconfinement has been restricted to its uncontrollable phase structure and the difficulty on the multiple cation co-confinement simultaneously. Herein, this work reports a general, supramolecular self-assembly of ultrathin VO nanosheets using various unitary cations including Na, K, Mg, Ca, Zn, Al, NH , and multiple cations (NH + Na, NH + Na + Ca, NH + Na + Ca +Mg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe influence of ultrasonic treatment (100-500 W, 30 min) on the molecular structures and emulsifying properties of Zanthoxylum seed protein (ZSP) was explored for the first time in this work. Research results indicated that the all ultrasonic treatments at different power levels decreased the particle size but increased the surface charge of ZSP. In addition, the ultrasonic treatments induced the structural unfolding of the ZAP, as indicated by the increase in α-helix, ultraviolet-visible absorbance, surface hydrophobicity and the amount of surface free sulfhydryl groups, as well as the decrease in β-sheet and intrinsic fluorescence intensity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to microencapsulate probiotic bacteria ( 11073) using whey-protein-isolate (WPI)-octenyl-succinic-anhydride-starch (OSA-starch)-complex coacervates and to investigate the effects on probiotic bacterial viability during spray drying, simulated gastrointestinal digestion, thermal treatment and long-term storage. The optimum mixing ratio and pH for the preparation of WPI-OSA-starch-complex coacervates were determined to be 2:1 and 4.0, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies have shown that split-ring resonators (SRRs) can be utilized to achieve finely tuned nearest-neighbor coupling strengths in various one-dimensional hopping models. In our study, we present a systematic investigation of resonator coupling, providing a comprehensive quantitative description of the interaction between SRRs and complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) for any orientation combination. Our method includes an estimation of the coupling strength through a linear combination of periodic functions based on two orientation angles, with a sinusoidal expansion of up to the 3rd order, allowing for efficient and streamlined microwave structure design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common infections among women of reproductive age and accounts for 15-50% of infections globally. The role played by folate in the pathogenesis and progression of BV is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between serum folate, red blood cell (RBC) folate, and BV in American women.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA multi-gas sensing system was developed based on the detection principle of the non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) method, which used a broad-spectra light source, a tunable Fabry-Pérot (FP) filter detector, and a flexible low-loss infrared waveguide as an absorption cell. CH, CH, and CO gases were detected by the system. The concentration of CO could be detected directly, and the concentrations of CH and CH were detected using a PCA-BP neural network algorithm because of the interference of CH and CH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFα-Synuclein (α-syn) is a key molecule linked to Parkinson's disease pathology. Physiologically, the monomeric α-syn in the presynaptic termini is involved in regulation of neurotransmission, but the pathophysiology of extracellular monomeric α-syn is still unknown. Utilizing both in vivo and in vitro approaches, we investigated how extracellular α-syn impact presynaptic structure and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe reported an aptamer-based sandwich-type biosensor to detect the platelet derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) by chemiluminescence (CL). Employing magnetic beads as a peculiar immobilizing carriers, a sandwich-type biosensor for detection of PDGF-BB had developed. Firstly, Anti-PDGF-BB was immobilized on the surface of magnetic beads to serve as capture antibody.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo measure two tumor biomarkers, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a dual-carrier CL sensor with restriction enzyme digestion (Exo I) and aptamer technology utilizing gold nanoparticles (hydroxylamine amplification) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as the CL signal enhancement in the sensing strategy was formed. These nanoparticles and nano-enzyme were precisely detected and tagged to the appropriate position attributable to the particular recognition of biotin and streptavidin. In this sensing strategy, target markers were further enriched and recognized sensitively by CL following enrichment, and matching strong chemical signals were collected under luminol catalysis, allowing for marker identification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKetamine produces a rapid antidepressant response in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but the underlying mechanisms appear multifaceted. One hypothesis, proposes that by antagonizing NMDA receptors on GABAergic interneurons, ketamine disinhibits afferens to glutamatergic principal neurons and increases extracellular glutamate levels. However, ketamine seems also to reduce rapid glutamate release at some synapses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
August 2021
Many diseases are polygenic and can only be treated efficiently with drugs that modulate multiple targets. However, rational design of compounds with multi-target profiles is rarely pursued because it is considered too difficult, in particular if the drug must enter the central nervous system. Here, a structure-based strategy to identify dual-target ligands of G-protein-coupled receptors is presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and treated with the dopamine precursor, 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine (L-DOPA). Prolonged L-DOPA treatment is however associated with waning efficacy and the induction of L-DOPA induced dyskinesia (LID). GPR88 is an orphan G-protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) expressed in dopaminoceptive striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and their afferent corticostriatal glutamatergic neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCo-release of multiple neurotransmitters from secretory vesicles is common in neurons and neuroendocrine cells. However, whether and how the transmitters co-released from a single vesicle are differentially regulated remains unknown. In matrix-containing dense-core vesicles (DCVs) in chromaffin cells, there are two modes of catecholamine (CA) release from a single DCV: quantal and sub-quantal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRiluzole is a potent neuroprotective agent which primarily inhibits excitatory neurotransmission interfering with presynaptic release, uptake and postsynaptic actions of glutamate by mechanisms that are not well understood. Riluzole and related prodrugs with improved blood brain barrier penetrance, are shown to be effective for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ataxias, epilepsy and mood disorders. Our study was undertaken to decipher molecular and subcellular mechanisms of riluzole's antiglutamatergic effect, particularly focusing on presynaptic active zone structure and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The characterization of microchimerism (MC) by gene amplification has been limited by few allogeneic markers, ascertainment bias, and assay analytic performance. To address this, a panel of 12 MC assays based on insertion-deletion (InDel) polymorphisms had been optimized.
Study Design And Methods: The InDel assays were validated with comprehensive in vitro spiking studies at the stochastic limit of detection.
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