Propelling sustainable energy: Multi-omics analysis of pennycress FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 knockout for biofuel production.

The aviation industry's growing interest in renewable jet fuel has encouraged the exploration of alternative oilseed crops. Replacing traditional fossil fuels with a sustainable, domestically sourced crop can substantially reduce carbon emissions, thus mitigating global climate instability. Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.

Biofabrication and biomanufacturing in Ireland and the UK.

As we navigate the transition from the Fourth to the Fifth Industrial Revolution, the emerging fields of biomanufacturing and biofabrication are transforming life sciences and healthcare. These sectors are benefiting from a synergy of synthetic and engineering biology, sustainable manufacturing, and integrated design principles. Advanced techniques such as 3D bioprinting, tissue engineering, directed assembly, and self-assembly are instrumental in creating biomimetic scaffolds, tissues, organoids, medical devices, and biohybrid systems.

Major facilitator family transporters specifically enhance caffeyl alcohol uptake during C-lignin biosynthesis.

The mode of transport of lignin monomers to the sites of polymerization in the apoplast remains controversial. C-Lignin is a recently discovered form of lignin found in some seed coats that is composed exclusively of units derived from caffeyl alcohol. RNA-seq and proteome analyses identified a number of transporters co-expressed with C-lignin deposition in the seed coat of Cleome hassleriana.

Investigating the role of elastin and extracellular matrix damage in cardiovascular calcification.

Although calcification in the cardiovascular system is highly studied, the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. Current proposed mechanisms focus on cellular processes leading to, or controlling the unwanted mineralization in soft tissues. However, extracellular components such as collagen and elastin fundamentally regulate the mechanical properties of heart tissues.

Macrophages and the microbiome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

COPD is a heterogeneous disease of the lungs characterised by restricted airflow. Chronic inflammation and recurrent bacterial infections are known to be important driving factors in exacerbations of this disease. Despite a marked increase in the number of alveolar macrophages present in the lungs of COPD patients, there is evidence of reduced clearance of pathogenic bacteria, leading to recurrent infection, exacerbation and subsequent lung function decline.

PROTAC-mediated FTO protein degradation effectively alleviates diet-induced obesity and hepatic steatosis.

Demethylation of N-Methyladenosine (m6A) by fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) occurs in the development of obesity and fatty liver disease. In this study, we synthesized FTO-degradation targeted chimera (FTO-DT), which exhibited excellent lipid-lowering activity at low concentration. At a concentration of 0.

The Potential of Human Wharton's Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cells Secretome Based Topical Gel for Therapeutic Application.

Background: Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) might be worsened by neuropathy and vascular issues. This condition can cause 14.3% fatality, stressing the need for effective wound healing therapy.

Identifying Alzheimer's disease-associated genes using PhenoGeneRanker.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurogenerative disease that affects millions worldwide with no effective treatment. Several studies have been conducted to decipher to genomic underpinnings of AD. Due to its complex nature, many genes have been found to be associated with AD.

REST-dependent glioma progression occurs independently of the repression of the long non-coding RNA HAR1A.

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), HAR1A is emerging as a putative tumour suppressor. In non-neoplastic brain cells, REST suppresses HAR1A expression. In gliomas REST acts as an oncogene and is a potential therapeutic target.

Metabolites and Metabolic Functional Changes-Potential Markers for Endothelial Cell Senescence.

Accumulation of senescent endothelial cells (ECs) in vasculature represents a key step in the development of vascular aging and ensuing age-related diseases. Given that removal of senescent ECs may prevent disease and improve health and wellbeing, the discovery of novel biomarkers that effectively identify senescent cells is of particular importance. As crucial elements for biological pathways and reliable bioindicators of cellular processes, metabolites demand attention in this context.

Aflatoxin Exposure-Caused Male Reproductive Toxicity: Molecular Mechanisms, Detoxification, and Future Directions.

Widespread endocrine disorders and infertility caused by environmental and food pollutants have drawn considerable global attention. Aflatoxins (AFTs), a prominent class of mycotoxins, are recognized as one of the key contributors to environmental and food contamination. Aflatoxin B (AFB) is the most potent and toxic pollutant among them and is known to cause multiple toxic effects, including neuro-, nephro-, hepato-, immune-, and genotoxicity.

Deciphering the Role of ASPM in Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Multicohort Study.

Background: Assembly factor for spindle microtubules (ASPM) has gained significant attention in cancer research due to its association with tumor growth and progression. Through the analysis of large-scale genomic datasets, ASPM has been identified as the top upregulated gene in breast cancer (BC), characterized by high proliferation. This multicohort study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of ASPM mRNA and protein expression in BC.

Fusing multiplex heterogeneous networks using graph attention-aware fusion networks.

Graph Neural Networks (GNN) emerged as a deep learning framework to generate node and graph embeddings for downstream machine learning tasks. Popular GNN-based architectures operate on networks of single node and edge type. However, a large number of real-world networks include multiple types of nodes and edges.

Packaging "vegetable oils": Insights into plant lipid droplet proteins.

Plant neutral lipids, also known as "vegetable oils", are synthesized within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane and packaged into subcellular compartments called lipid droplets (LDs) for stable storage in the cytoplasm. The biogenesis, modulation, and degradation of cytoplasmic LDs in plant cells are orchestrated by a variety of proteins localized to the ER, LDs, and peroxisomes. Recent studies of these LD-related proteins have greatly advanced our understanding of LDs not only as steady oil depots in seeds but also as dynamic cell organelles involved in numerous physiological processes in different tissues and developmental stages of plants.

Functional interleukin-4 releasing microparticles impact THP-1 differentiated macrophage phenotype.

Introduction: Macrophage cell therapies offer potential treatment in inflammatory diseases due to their ability to mobilize and stimulate their environment. However, successful treatment requires a pro-regenerative macrophage phenotype to be retained . Polymeric microparticles may provide a potential route to direct and sustain macrophage phenotype.

An in vivo and in silico probing of the protective potential of betaine against sodium fluoride-induced neurotoxicity.

Excessive fluoride exposure beyond the tolerable limit may adversely impacts brain functionality. Betaine (BET), a trimethyl glycine, possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic functions, although the underlying mechanisms of the role of BET on fluoride-induced neurotoxicity remain unelucidated. To assess the mechanism involved in the neuro-restorative role of BET on behavioural, neurochemical, and histological changes, we employed a rat model of sodium fluoride (NaF) exposure.

Discovery, Biosynthesis, Total Synthesis, and Biological Activities of Solanapyrones: [4 + 2] Cycloaddition-Derived Polyketides of Fungal Origin.

Solanapyrones are metabolites bearing a 3,4-dehydrodecalin moiety isolated from cultures of different fungi that are associated with plant diseases. Research on solanapyrones resulted in the first report of a Diels-Alderase enzyme implicated in natural product biosynthesis related to the formation of the 3,4-dehydrodecalin core. In addition, several total syntheses of solanapyrones have been reported, which are also connected with the formation of the characteristic cycloaddition-derived 3,4-dehydrodecalin moiety.

Biocooperative Regenerative Materials by Harnessing Blood-Clotting and Peptide Self-Assembly.

The immune system has evolved to heal small ruptures and fractures with remarkable efficacy through regulation of the regenerative hematoma (RH); a rich and dynamic environment that coordinates numerous molecular and cellular processes to achieve complete repair. Here, a biocooperative approach that harnesses endogenous molecules and natural healing to engineer personalized regenerative materials is presented. Peptide amphiphiles (PAs) are co-assembled with blood components during coagulation to engineer a living material that exhibits key compositional and structural properties of the RH.

Cell cycle traverse rate predicts long-term outcomes in a multi-institutional cohort of patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Ki67 index (KI) and mitotic index (MI) are proliferation markers with established prognostic value in breast carcinomas. While KI is evaluated immunohistochemically and reported as a percentage, MI is determined visually and reflects total mitotic cells in 10 high-power fields. Our objective was to integrate KI and MI into a novel metric; the cell cycle traverse rate (CCTR).

Hydroxyacid Oxidase 1, a Glutamine Metabolism-Associated Protein, Predicts Poor Patient Outcome in Luminal Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer (BC), which remains the most prevalent malignancy among women, is characterised by significant heterogeneity across its molecular subtypes. Oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) (luminal) BC represents approximately 75% of cases, and despite advancements in treatment there remains around a 40% recurrence rate. Cellular uptake of glutamine is conducted by solute carriers (SLCs), which are significantly associated with outcome in luminal BC.

Bioinformatic and experimental data pertaining to the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in ovarian cancer.

The Nod-Like Receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays a role in regulating inflammatory signaling and is a well-established contributor to pyroptotic cell death. It has been investigated extensively in cancer but there remains limited evidence of its role within ovarian cancer (OC). Bioinformatic investigation of gene expression data has highlighted that higher expression of NLRP3 and genes associated with the NLRP3 complex appear to be positively correlated with OC and may also have prognostic significance.