Molecules of natural origin often possess useful biological activities. For instance, the natural peptide Tilapia Piscidin 4 (TP4) exhibits potent antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens. In this study, we explored the potential application of TP4 as a food preservative, asking whether it can prevent spoilage due to microbial contamination. A preliminary in silico analysis indicated that TP4 should interact strongly with fungal cell membrane components. Hence, we tested the activity of TP4 toward Candida albicans within fruit juice and found that the addition of TP4 could abolish fungal growth. We further determined that the peptide acts via a membranolytic mechanism and displays concentration-dependent killing efficiency. In addition, we showed that TP4 inhibited growth of Rhizopus oryzae in whole fruit (tomato) samples. Based on these findings, we conclude that TP4 should be further evaluated as a potentially safe and green solution to prevent food spoilage.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139874 | DOI Listing |
Mater Horiz
January 2025
School of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Patterning soft materials with cell adhesion motifs can be used to emulate the structures found in natural tissues. While patterning in tissue is driven by cellular assembly, patterning soft materials in the laboratory most often involves light-mediated chemical reactions to spatially control the presentation of cell binding sites. Here we present hydrogels that are formed with two responsive crosslinkers-an anthracene-maleimide adduct and a disulfide linkage-thereby allowing simultaneous or sequential patterning using force and UV light.
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January 2025
Centre for Cellular Biology and Signalling, Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh (ZJU-UoE) Institute, Haining, China.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in numerous diseases and the aging process. The integrated stress response (ISR) serves as a critical adaptation mechanism to a variety of stresses, including those originating from mitochondria. By utilizing mass spectrometry-based cellular thermal shift assay (MS-CETSA), we uncovered that phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1 (PEBP1), also known as Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP), is thermally stabilized by stresses which induce mitochondrial ISR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Hypertens (Greenwich)
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome is a severe complication of preeclampsia (PE), with a higher incidence rate in people living at high altitudes, such as Tibet area. Maternal HELLP syndrome is associated with an elevated neonatal mortality rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predicting factors for neonatal outcomes with maternal HELLP syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Oncogenomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
Adjuvants are non-specific immune enhancers commonly used to improve the responsiveness and persistence of the immune system toward antigens. However, due to the undefined chemical structure, toxicity, non-biodegradability, and lack of design technology in many existing adjuvants, it remains difficult to achieve substantive breakthroughs in the adjuvant research field. Here, a novel adjuvant development strategy based on stapling peptides is reported to overcome this challenge.
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January 2025
Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Junior Research Group Synthetic Microbiology, Jena, Germany.
Mycofactocin is a redox cofactor essential for the alcohol metabolism of mycobacteria. While the biosynthesis of mycofactocin is well established, the gene , which encodes an oxidoreductase of the glucose-methanol-choline superfamily, remained functionally uncharacterized. Here, we show that MftG enzymes are almost exclusively found in genomes containing mycofactocin biosynthetic genes and are present in 75% of organisms harboring these genes.
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