Article
Polymer Science
Azusa Togo, Keiko Uechi, Osamu Mizutani, Satoshi Kimura, Tadahisa Iwata
Summary: In this study, high molecular weight nigeran was extracted from mycelium and various nigeran esters were synthesized with different ester chain lengths. These nigeran esters showed unique crystallization behavior with high melting points, regardless of the length of ester groups. The molecular conformation of nigeran remained stable and highly crystalline even after chemical modification with esterification.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xihua Lian, Stephen Chambers, John G. Lewis, Amy Scott-Thomas, Madhav Bhatia
Summary: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening disease mainly caused by Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus. Current diagnostic techniques for IA lack accuracy. Two monoclonal antibodies (1D2 and 4E4) provide a potentially promising diagnostic approach. These antibodies showed strong immunoreactivity against A. fumigatus and A. flavus. The antigens identified may be glycoproteins and the immunoreactivity is strong.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Erandi Liyanage Perera, Daesung Lee
Summary: A new approach for the synthesis of 4-pyrones with broader substrate scope and functional group tolerance is described in this study. The reaction involves the 1,4-addition by piperidine, followed by nitrogen-assisted 6-endo-dig cyclization and hydrolysis. It is found that 1,3-diynones with nonenolizable electron-withdrawing ketones and nonpropargylic H provide high yields. The presence of particular R-2 substituents resulted in the isolation of 1,4-or 1,6-adducts, indicating the strong impact of steric and electronic factors on the 6-endo-dig cyclization.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hye-Jung Ryu, Young-Bo Song, Wonkyun Choi, Sang-Ho Yoo, Byung-Hoo Lee
Summary: This study successfully synthesized new types of α-glucans with α-1,4 and α-1,3 linkages through a dual enzyme reaction. These glucans have novel linkage patterns and high molecular weights, and can be utilized as slowly digestible and prebiotic ingredients in the gastrointestinal tract.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hwaseok Hong, Do Hyoung Kim, Hogyun Seo, Kyoung Heon Kim, Kyung-Jin Kim
Summary: A marine bacterium enzyme VejFCD with dual alpha-1,4-glucosidic and beta-1,4-galactosidic specificities was identified, and its crystal structure revealed the basis for the enzyme's activities. The unique structure of VejFCD suggests potential for more efficient utilization in hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates, providing insights into novel glycoside hydrolase activities in marine microorganisms.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yuya Fukata, Satoshi Kimura, Tadahisa Iwata
Summary: Two series of alpha-1,3-glucan with branched and linear mixed ester side chains were synthesized as biomass-based thermoplastic resins, showing improved flexibility with increased hexanoate substitution. The mixed ester method effectively controlled the physical properties of alpha-1,3-glucan esters, making them promising for transparent and flexible films with high thermal stability for electric devices of designability.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Takayuki Katoh, Hiroaki Suga
Summary: The study demonstrates the feasibility of multiple and consecutive incorporations of alpha-aminoxy/alpha-hydrazino acids with different configurations into peptides during ribosomal translation, including macrocyclic peptide scaffolds.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Jianwei Xie, Muhammad Suleman, Guxin Qian, Ping Lu, Yanguang Wang
Summary: A facile and efficient synthesis of novel 2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolin-4-yl)-1,3-diarylpropane-1,3-diones via the Sc(OTf)3-promoted reaction is reported. The reaction involves C-H bond insertion, generation of triflic acid by-product, formation of diazonium intermediate, and intermolecular nucleophilic substitution step.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lijia Liu, Feng Wang, Chunyu Zhang, Heng Liu, Guangfeng Wu, Xuequan Zhang
Summary: A series of high thermal stability alpha-diimine nickel and cobalt complexes were revealed in this study, suitable for high-temperature polymerization of 1,3-butadiene. Increasing temperature can enhance the yield but decrease the molecular weight and cis-1,4- content of the resultant polymers.
MOLECULAR CATALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Juraj Kona, Sergej Sestak, Iain B. H. Wilson, Monika Polakova
Summary: The development of effective inhibitors of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II (GMII) with minimal off-target effects is a complex task due to the complicated structural and chemical properties of their active sites. This study reveals that the binding mechanism of inhibitors to alpha-mannosidases is dependent on the inhibitor structure and can be used to design new selective inhibitors of GMII.
ORGANIC & BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jorge Samuel Leon Magdaleno, Ravneet K. Grewal, Jose L. Medina-Franco, Romina Oliva, Abdul Rajjak Shaikh, Luigi Cavallo, Mohit Chawla
Summary: Sialyl Lewis X (sLe(x)) antigen, upregulated by fucosyltransferase 6 (FUT6), plays a crucial role in promoting metastasis in human colorectal, lung, prostate, and oral cancers. However, the lack of experimental structures for FUT6 hinders the development of its inhibitors. In this study, we employed in silico techniques to identify potential FUT6 inhibitors and found three natural compounds with comparable binding affinity to experimentally tested inhibitors. Molecular dynamics simulations further indicated the stability of these compounds, suggesting their potential as natural alternatives for FUT6 inhibition.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Qi Xia, Xiang Li, Xi Fu, Yaxuan Zhou, Yanqing Peng, Jiayi Wang, Gonghua Song
Summary: A novel three-component reaction catalyzed by CuO in water has been developed, allowing the synthesis of a wide range of products containing 1,3/1,4-diketones. This method offers advantages such as the use of readily available starting materials, wide substrate scopes, excellent yields, gram-scale synthesis, and mild reaction conditions.
JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jae-Wan Jung, Jun-Hye Shin, Won-Kyung Lee, Hilal Begum, Chan-Hong Min, Mi-Hwa Jang, Han-Bin Oh, Moon-Sik Yang, Seong-Ryong Kim
Summary: The N-glycosylation pathway is highly conserved in eukaryotes as a post-translational mechanism, but the process for complex N-glycan modification differs between mammals and plants. Knocking out plant-specific N-glycan genes in rice using CRISPR/Cas9 technology revealed that double knockout of OsXylT and OsFucT was not sufficient to humanize N-glycan structure in rice.
PLANT CELL REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Won Young Jang, Mi Jung Kwon, Ki Yun Kim, Young Ho Kim
Summary: The GH117A alpha-neoagarobiose hydrolase from Cellvibrio sp. KY-GH-1 was found to specifically hydrolyze NA2 into L-AHG and D-galactose, making it a key component in agar-degrading enzyme machinery. Its optimal enzymatic temperature and pH were determined, and the enzyme exhibited stability under certain conditions. The addition of specific compounds further enhanced the enzyme activity, allowing for efficient production of L-AHG from NA2.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Beibei Wang, Heng Liu, Tao Tang, Xuequan Zhang
Summary: Highly cis-1,4 selective polymerization of 1,3-butadiene using specific cobalt complexes has been achieved with high thermal stability and yield. The molecular weight distribution of the resulting polymers is narrow and can be finely tuned by adjusting polymerization parameters. Additionally, the successful copolymerization with a polar monomer significantly improves the surface properties of the polymer.
Article
Oncology
Natsuki Nakagawa, Yoshiko Hashii, Hisako Kayama, Ryu Okumura, Hiroko Nakajima, Hikaru Minagawa, Soyoko Morimoto, Fumihiro Fujiki, Jun Nakata, Toshiro Shirakawa, Takane Katayama, Kiyoshi Takeda, Akihiro Tsuboi, Keiichi Ozono
Summary: Orally administered genetically engineered Bifidobacterium longum expressing WT1 protein showed antitumor activity by inducing WT1-specific immune responses and activating dendritic cells. This oral vaccine platform could potentially be a novel approach for cancer immunotherapy.
CANCER IMMUNOLOGY IMMUNOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Miriam N. Ojima, Lin Jiang, Aleksandr A. Arzamasov, Keisuke Yoshida, Toshitaka Odamaki, Jinzhong Xiao, Aruto Nakajima, Motomitsu Kitaoka, Junko Hirose, Tadasu Urashima, Toshihiko Katoh, Aina Gotoh, Douwe van Sinderen, Dmitry A. Rodionov, Andrei L. Osterman, Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Takane Katayama
Summary: This study applied assembly theory to investigate the formation of bifidobacterial communities in the infant gut. The results showed that arrival order and sugar consumption phenotypes significantly affected community formation. Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis dominated through inhibitory priority effects, while Bifidobacterium breve benefited from facilitative priority effects and utilized a specific degradant to dominate. This study highlights the importance of initial community assembly and its impact on the maturation trajectory of the infant gut microbiota.
Article
Cell Biology
Kyosuke Yakabe, Seiichiro Higashi, Masahiro Akiyama, Hiroshi Mori, Takumi Murakami, Atsushi Toyoda, Yuta Sugiyama, Shigenobu Kishino, Kenji Okano, Akiyoshi Hirayama, Aina Gotoh, Shunyi Li, Takeshi Mori, Takane Katayama, Jun Ogawa, Shinji Fukuda, Koji Hase, Yun-Gi Kim
Summary: A soy protein diet increases the mortality rate of antibiotic-treated, C. difficile-infected mice and enhances the levels of amino acids and abundance of Lactobacillus genus in the intestines. The fermentation of soy protein by Ligilactobacillus murinus generates amino acids that promote the growth of C. difficile, and this process involves the anchored cell wall proteinase PrtP. Thus, the interaction between dietary protein and the gut microbiota is a critical factor affecting host susceptibility to CDI, suggesting that dietary protein sources play an important role in controlling the disease.
Article
Microbiology
Aleksandr A. Arzamasov, Aruto Nakajima, Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Miriam N. Ojima, Takane Katayama, Dmitry A. Rodionov, Andrei L. Osterman
Summary: This study describes the NagR-mediated transcriptional regulation of WI and LNnT utilization in Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis. The elucidated regulatory network appears optimally adapted to simultaneous utilization of multiple HMOs, providing a rationale to add HMO mixtures (rather than individual components) to infant formulas. The study also provides insights into the evolutionary trajectories of complex regulatory networks controlling carbohydrate metabolism in bifidobacteria.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Yuta Sugiyama, Yumiko Mori, Misaki Nara, Yusuke Kotani, Emiko Nagai, Hiroki Kawada, Mayu Kitamura, Rika Hirano, Hiromi Shimokawa, Akira Nakagawa, Hiromichi Minami, Aina Gotoh, Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Noriho Iida, Takashi Koyanagi, Takane Katayama, Shigefumi Okamoto, Shin Kurihara
Summary: Gut microbiota can produce aromatic amines, which are different from dietary sources. The production of these aromatic amines is related to the activity of aadc in gut bacteria and may have an impact on diseases such as osteoporosis and irritable bowel syndrome. Human AADC inhibitors can inhibit the production of aromatic amines in gut bacteria.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Junki Miyamoto, Hidenori Shimizu, Keiko Hisa, Chiaki Matsuzaki, Shinsuke Inuki, Yuna Ando, Akari Nishida, Ayano Izumi, Mayu Yamano, Chihiro Ushiroda, Junichiro Irie, Takane Katayama, Hiroaki Ohno, Hiroshi Itoh, Kenji Yamamoto, Ikuo Kimura
Summary: Fermented foods have health benefits due to probiotic bacteria or microproducts produced by bacterial fermentation. Prebiotics associated with L. mesenteroides-produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) show significant metabolic benefits. EPS-derived gut microbial short-chain fatty acids improve glucose metabolism and energy homeostasis, and alter gut microbial composition.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Motomitsu Kitaoka
Summary: We developed a Microsoft Excel file called Enzyme Kinetics_Calculator, which contains macro programs that can automatically calculate kinetic parameters and their standard errors for typical enzymatic reactions. The file also includes functionalities to generate [S]-v plots and 1/[S]-1/v plots with theoretical lines. Enzyme Kinetics_Calculator is available as a supplementary file on the J. Appl. Glycosci. website.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED GLYCOSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Qilin Gao, Bingbing Ma, Qianwen Wang, Hao Zhang, Shinya Fushinobu, Jian Yang, Susu Lin, Keke Sun, Bing-Nan Han, Lian-Hua Xu
Summary: In this study, the conversion efficiency of TES and ASD by CYP154C2 was efficiently enhanced with high regio- and stereoselectivity through crystal structure analysis and structure-guided rational design. These results provide an effective strategy and theoretical basis for the 2 alpha-hydroxylation of steroids, and the structure-guided rational design of P450s should facilitate P450 applications in the biosynthesis of steroid drugs.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Xin Huang, Yue Sun, Suhong Li, Motomitsu Kitaoka, Tuoping Li
Summary: To enhance the thermal stability of Lacto-N-biose (LNB), it was encapsulated within OVA-CMC microparticles. With a mass ratio of OVA:CMC:LNB as 1.5:1:1, the microparticles exhibited a particle size of 623 +/- 4 nm, encapsulation efficiency of 83 +/- 1.38%, and loading efficiency of 45 +/- 0.92%. Characterization techniques such as SEM, FT-IR, and XRD confirmed the spherical and uniform distribution of the OVA-CMC-LNB microparticles. Hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions were identified as the main forces responsible for the microparticles' assembly. Thermal analysis revealed that the microparticles remained structurally stable at 240 degrees C, greatly improving the thermal stability of LNB. In vitro digestion experiments demonstrated a release rate of LNB from the microparticles of 95 +/- 1.31%. These findings provide a theoretical and technological framework for enhancing the thermal stability of LNB delivery systems.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hiromi Takada, Toshihiko Katoh, Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Toshitaka Odamaki, Takane Katayama
Summary: Intestinal mucous layers play a crucial role in mediating the symbiotic and dysbiotic interactions between hosts and microbes. This study focuses on the mucin O-glycan degrading ability of gut microbes, specifically Bifidobacterium bifidum, and reveals the important roles of two 11-N-acetylglucosaminidases belonging to the GH20 and GH84 families in mucin O-glycan degradation. Substrate specificity analysis and O-glycomic analysis demonstrate the specific functions of BbhI and BbhIV in breaking down different types of mucin core structures. Additionally, the study uncovers the interdependence of BbhI and BbhIV in efficient hydrolysis of mucin core structures.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Toshihiko Katoh, Chihaya Yamada, Michael D. Wallace, Ayako Yoshida, Aina Gotoh, Moe Arai, Takako Maeshibu, Toma Kashima, Arno Hagenbeek, Miriam N. Ojima, Hiromi Takada, Mikiyasu Sakanaka, Hidenori Shimizu, Keita Nishiyama, Hisashi Ashida, Junko Hirose, Maria Suarez-Diez, Makoto Nishiyama, Ikuo Kimura, Keith A. Stubbs, Shinya Fushinobu, Takane Katayama
Summary: The BbhII enzyme from Bifidobacterium bifidum is involved in the breakdown of mucin O-glycans, modulating host-microbiota symbiosis and dysbiosis.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hidehiko Kumagai, Takane Katayama, Takashi Koyanagi, Hideyuki Suzuki
Summary: This article discusses a simple enzymatic synthesis method using bacterial L-tyrosine phenol-lyase (Tpl) for the production of L-DOPA, a treatment for Parkinson's disease. The research covers screening of bacterial strains, culture conditions, properties and reaction mechanism of the enzyme, as well as the reaction conditions for L-DOPA production. Additionally, the article explores molecular breeding of Tpl-over-producing strains through mutations in the DNA binding protein TyrR.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE JAPAN ACADEMY SERIES B-PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Akira Sen, Tatsuki Nishimura, Shin Yoshimoto, Keisuke Yoshida, Aina Gotoh, Toshihiko Katoh, Yasuko Yoneda, Toyoyuki Hashimoto, Jin-Zhong Xiao, Takane Katayama, Toshitaka Odamaki
Summary: Examining the influence of host cells on the metabolism of probiotics is crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of probiotics in vivo. However, there is limited research on the interaction between probiotics and host cells, such as intestinal epithelial cells. In this study, a comprehensive metabolome analysis was conducted on a co-culture of Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS)-derived small intestinal-like cells, revealing increased levels of amino acid metabolites and gene expression related to ILA synthesis in B. breve MCC1274 cells. The presence of purines produced by intestinal epithelial cells enhanced ILA production, suggesting a synergistic interaction between probiotics and IECs as the molecular basis of host-probiotic interaction in vivo.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Junichi Mano, Hirotoshi Sushida, Tsuyoshi Tanaka, Ken Naito, Hiroshi Ono, Masakazu Ike, Ken Tokuyasu, Motomitsu Kitaoka
Summary: By extensively screening microbial strains, we discovered that the BS15 strain efficiently produces PEFAs with high titer. The strain was able to produce high concentrations of PEFA and dry cells in batch fermentation. Additionally, the genome sequence of the BS15 strain was analyzed and a high-quality reference genome was generated.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)