Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jia Liu, Wei Ha, Eshbakova Komila Alibekovna, Rui Ma, Yan-Ping Shi
Summary: Abnormal expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is related to Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, a platform of ruptured organosilica nanocapsules (RONs) immobilized AChE coupled with an MnO2-OPD colorimetric assay was developed to monitor AChE activity and screen AChE inhibitors. The results showed that beta-cyclocostunolide from Inula macrophylla exhibited the best AChE inhibitory activity.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jordan L. Pederick, John B. Bruning
Summary: The study introduces an optimized microassay method for detecting ATPase activity, which is simple, fast, and has micromolar sensitivity. It is not affected by high acidity and is suitable for samples containing a certain concentration of ATP. The simplicity of the method makes it ideal for medium to high throughput experimental applications.
ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Limeng Cai, Yuqi Wang, Ying Yang, Hao Wu
Summary: This study demonstrates a convenient, fast, and low-cost assay for quantifying glycolysis rate in small amount of cells. The assay showed good sensitivity and stability and could be applied in cancerous and immunological research.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Juliette Hall, Kate M. Bourne, Steven Vernino, Viktor Hamrefors, Isabella Kharraziha, Jan Nilsson, Robert S. Sheldon, Artur Fedorowski, Satish R. Raj
Summary: This study compared concentrations of autoantibodies to cardiovascular G protein-coupled receptors between patients with POTS and healthy controls, and found no significant differences. These findings suggest that these tests are not useful for establishing the role of autoimmunity in POTS.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Linxia Liu, Jinlong Li, Yuanming Gai, Zhizhong Tian, Yanyan Wang, Tenghe Wang, Pi Liu, Qianqian Yuan, Hongwu Ma, Sang Yup Lee, Dawei Zhang
Summary: Vitamin B6 is a vital nutrient widely used in medicine, food, animal feed, and cosmetics industries. Researchers have developed an engineered strain of Escherichia coli to produce vitamin B6 more efficiently and affordably. By optimizing the metabolic pathway and enzyme efficiency, the final strain achieved a high productivity of 1.4 g/L of vitamin B6 through fed-batch fermentation. These strategies are valuable for developing microbial strains for producing vitamins and other bioproducts with low metabolic fluxes.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Akiko Yoshihara, Keiko Kobayashi, Noriko Nagata, Sho Fujii, Hajime Wada, Koichi Kobayashi
Summary: Dark-germinated angiosperm seedlings develop chloroplast precursors called etioplasts. Anionic lipids PG and SQDG play important roles in etioplast development and chlorophyll precursor synthesis, with PG required for lattice structure formation and SQDG functioning as an auxiliary role.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qiyue Zhang, Nikabou Batigma Boundjou, Lijun Jia, Xinliang Wang, Ling Zhou, Helga Peisker, Qing Li, Liang Guo, Peter Dormann, Dianqiu Lyu, Yonghong Zhou
Summary: A mitochondrion-specific CDS, called CDS6, was identified and found to be crucial for the biosynthesis of phosphoglycerolipids in mitochondria, which are critical for mitochondrial structure, triacylglycerol degradation, energy production, and seedling development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ethan B. Oliver, Joshua D. Friesen, Jacob A. Walker, Steven J. Peters, Christopher S. Weitzel, Jon A. Friesen
Summary: In this study, a novel [P-31]-NMR spectroscopy-based assay was used to quantitatively measure phosphate formation and evaluate the activity of inorganic pyrophosphatase. The results showed that inorganic pyrophosphatase from Sulfolobus islandicus preferentially utilized Mg2+ as a divalent cation and was inhibited by sodium fluoride.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yuli Wang, Wenyue Hu, Zixin Deng, Xinyi He
Summary: In this study, a chromogenic reaction between MAP and ferric chloride was reported, leading to the discovery of a new colored compound. This compound was used to screen phosphatases, and PhoN and YcdX phosphatases were identified in the bacterial cell lysate. The activity of these phosphatases was validated through in vitro assays.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lina A. Dahabiyeh, Muhammad Mujammami, Reem H. AlMalki, Tawfiq Arafat, Hicham Benabdelkamel, Assim A. Alfadda, Anas M. Abdel Rahman
Summary: This study used mass spectrometry-based lipid profiling to investigate the changes in lipid metabolism in the serum of healthy individuals after taking a single dose of metformin. The results showed significant alterations in lipid species involved in arachidonic acid metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and glycerophospholipid metabolism. These findings provide insights into the pleiotropic effects of metformin in various diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Kalpana M. Merchant, Tanya Simuni, Janel Fedler, Chelsea Caspell-Garcia, Michael Brumm, Kelly N. H. Nudelman, Elizabeth Tengstrandt, Frank Hsieh, Roy N. Alcalay, Christopher Coffey, Lana Chahine, Tatiana Foroud, Andrew Singleton, Daniel Weintraub, Samantha Hutten, Todd Sherer, Brit Mollenhauer, Andrew Siderowf, Caroline Tanner, Ken Marek
Summary: We quantified concentrations of three isoforms of BMP in different cohorts of Parkinson's disease patients and found that LRRK2 and GBA1 gene mutations were associated with elevated BMP levels. However, BMP is not a prognostic or disease progression biomarker.
NPJ PARKINSONS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hudson K. Takano, Zoltan L. Benko, Moriah M. Zielinski, Adel Hamza, Christopher A. Kalnmals, Joshua J. Roth, Karla Bravo-Altamirano, Thomas Siddall, Norbert Satchivi, Jeffrey B. Church, Dilpreet S. Riar
Summary: Herbicides are effective tools for managing weeds and ensuring food production. Corteva Agriscience R&D has discovered new diphenyl-ether compounds with excellent postemergent efficacy on important weed species and corn safety. Through research in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and computational modeling, the primary mode of action for these compounds was elucidated as targeting the acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme. These compounds have a unique biochemical profile and show excellent herbicidal activity and corn selectivity, making them a significant development in the search for novel, safe, and sustainable weed control solutions.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alex H. Y. Chan, Terence C. S. Ho, Rimsha Irfan, Rawia A. A. Hamid, Emma S. Rudge, Amjid Iqbal, Alex Turner, Anna K. H. Hirsch, Finian J. Leeper
Summary: Thiamine diphosphate (ThDP), the bioactive form of vitamin B1, is crucial for cellular metabolism. ThDP-dependent enzymes rely on ThDP as a coenzyme for catalytic activity, but differ in substrate preferences. Thiamine/ThDP analogues have been used to study these enzymes, but questions about ligand design strategy and selectivity remain. This study compares derivatives of these analogues with different aromatic rings as inhibitors, and explores the impact of introducing a C2-substituent.
BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Samy M. Shaban, Sae Byeok Jo, Eslam Hafez, Jeong Ho Cho, Dong-Hwan Kim
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in ALP assays and immunoassay strategies. It discusses the different techniques and their comparison, offering a convenient route for developing more advanced ALP sensors.
COORDINATION CHEMISTRY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Qin Luo, Mengjian Tian, Fang Luo, Min Zhao, Cuiying Lin, Bin Qiu, Jian Wang, Zhenyu Lin
Summary: In this study, a novel multicolor sensor for trypsin detection has been developed based on the regulation of peroxidase activity of BSA-Au NCs. By hydrolyzing BSA ligands on the surface of BSA-Au NCs, trypsin exposes more catalytic active sites of BSA-Au NCs, enhancing their peroxidase activity, resulting in the generation of more TMB+. Under acidic conditions, TMB+ effectively etches Au NBPs, changing their aspect ratio and causing a blue shift in the UV-vis spectra.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li Zhang, Deqiang Yao, Ying Xia, Fu Zhou, Qing Zhang, Qian Wang, An Qin, Jie Zhao, Dianfan Li, Yan Li, Lu Zhou, Yu Cao
Summary: The study on human AQP7 reveals its role in regulating glycerol metabolism in various tissues and identifies a substrate binding pocket and Ar/R filter in its structure, which drive glycerol flux by controlling residue displacement in glycerol pathway.
Article
Microbiology
Hebang Yao, Hongmin Cai, Tingting Li, Bingjie Zhou, Wenming Qin, Dimitri Lavillette, Dianfan Li
Summary: A high-affinity synthetic nanobody, SR31, was identified and characterized as a fusion partner to improve the potency of RBM antibodies. Crystallographic studies showed that SR31 binds to RBD at a conserved and 'greasy' site, increasing the affinity and neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus when fused to other neutralizing nanobodies.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yitian Luo, Guoyue Wan, Xiang Zhang, Xuan Zhou, Qiuwen Wang, Jialin Fan, Hongmin Cai, Liya Ma, Hailong Wu, Qianhui Qu, Yao Cong, Yun Zhao, Dianfan Li
Summary: The study reconstituted Patched (Ptc1) into lipid nanodiscs and found that Ptc1 can form dimers under different membrane curvatures, providing a plausible framework for Ptc1 clustering in highly curved caveolae.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samir Olatunji, Katherine Bowen, Chia-Ying Huang, Dietmar Weichert, Warispreet Singh, Irina G. Tikhonova, Eoin M. Scanlan, Vincent Olieric, Martin Caffrey
Summary: Lipoproteins in bacterial cells serve diverse functions, with some being essential for survival and others eliciting responses from the host's innate immune system. The lipoprotein intramolecular transacylase Lit in Bacillus cereus can produce a less immunogenic lipoprotein variant, potentially aiding bacteria in establishing a foothold in the host by stealth. The crystal structure and mechanism of action of Lit provide insight into its catalytic mechanism and potential as a target for new antibiotics.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tingting Li, Hongmin Cai, Hebang Yao, Bingjie Zhou, Ning Zhang, Martje Fentener van Vlissingen, Thijs Kuiken, Wenyu Han, Corine H. GeurtsvanKessel, Yuhuan Gong, Yapei Zhao, Quan Shen, Wenming Qin, Xiao-Xu Tian, Chao Peng, Yanling Lai, Yanxing Wang, Cedric A. J. Hutter, Shu-Ming Kuo, Juan Bao, Caixuan Liu, Yifan Wang, Audrey S. Richard, Herve Raoul, Jiaming Lan, Markus A. Seeger, Yao Cong, Barry Rockx, Gary Wong, Yuhai Bi, Dimitri Lavillette, Dianfan Li
Summary: This study presented a synthetic nanobody with high affinity and neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 RBD, demonstrating the potential for therapeutic development. Various forms of improved potency have been generated through structure-based design, biparatopic construction, and divalent engineering, paving the way for targeted medical interventions during outbreaks.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yitian Luo, Guoyue Wan, Xuan Zhou, Qiuwen Wang, Yunbin Zhang, Juan Bao, Yao Cong, Yun Zhao, Dianfan Li
Summary: In this study, the researchers focus on the water bear's Disp protein and found that its structure is similar to the evolutionarily conserved Hh signaling pathway, but with a different conformation, suggesting different functional snapshots.
FRONTIERS IN MOLECULAR BIOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tingting Li, Bingjie Zhou, Yaning Li, Suqiong Huang, Zhipu Luo, Yuanze Zhou, Yanling Lai, Anupriya Gautam, Salome Bourgeau, Shurui Wang, Juan Bao, Jingquan Tan, Dimitri Lavillette, Dianfan Li
Summary: This study reports a nanobody (DL4) with high affinity to SARS-CoV-2 and the ability to block the virus from binding to human cells. The crystal structure analysis also led to the design of a mutant with higher potency. This research adds to the diversity of neutralizing nanobodies against SARS-CoV-2 and has implications for protein engineering.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yidan Xu, Guowen Jia, Tingting Li, Zixuan Zhou, Yitian Luo, Yulin Chao, Juan Bao, Zhaoming Su, Qianhui Qu, Dianfan Li
Summary: This study reports the cryo-EM structure of human GPI-T, revealing an equimolar heteropentameric assembly. Structure-based mutagenesis suggests a legumain-like mechanism for the recognition and cleavage of proprotein substrates, and an endogenous GPI in the structure defines a composite cavity for the lipid substrate. This structure provides important information for understanding the mechanism of GPI-AP biosynthesis.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Tingting Li, Bingjie Zhou, Zhipu Luo, Yanling Lai, Suqiong Huang, Yuanze Zhou, Yaning Li, Anupriya Gautam, Salome Bourgeau, Shurui Wang, Juan Bao, Jingquan Tan, Dimitri Lavillette, Dianfan Li
Summary: This study reports the isolation of a single-chain antibody (nanobody) DL28 from RBD-immunized alpaca, which tightly binds to RBD and shows broad-spectrum neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. DL28 blocks ACE2-binding through a conformation competition mechanism.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhisen Yang, Jing Xia, Jingjing Hong, Chenxi Zhang, Hong Wei, Wei Ying, Chunqiao Sun, Lianghanxiao Sun, Yanbo Mao, Yongxiang Gao, Shutang Tan, Jiri Friml, Dianfan Li, Xin Liu, Linfeng Sun
Summary: This study reports different conformational structures of Arabidopsis thaliana PIN1, revealing the substrate recognition and transport mechanisms of PIN proteins. These findings are of great significance for understanding the directional auxin transport process in plant development.
Article
Crystallography
Zhipu Luo, Weijie Gu, Yichao Wang, Yannan Tang, Dianfan Li
Summary: Selenourea was tested as a soaking reagent for single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD) phasing of crystals grown in lipid cubic phase (LCP). It was found that selenourea binds with low specificity to accessible extramembrane protein, allowing successful structure determination of membrane proteins. This study demonstrates that selenourea is a promising and generally useful reagent for heavy-atom soaking of membrane protein crystals grown in LCP.
Letter
Virology
Xun Wang, Xing He, Shujun Jiang, Zhangfan Fu, Shuai Jiang, Xiaoyu Zhao, Chaoyue Zhao, Yaning Li, Dianfan Li, Wenhong Zhang, Jingwen Ai, Yanliang Zhang, Chenqi Xu, Pengfei Wang
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Lu Meng, Jialu Zha, Bingjie Zhou, Long Cao, Congli Jiang, Yuanfei Zhu, Teng Li, Lu Lu, Junqi Zhang, Heng Yang, Jian Feng, Zhifeng Gu, Hong Tang, Lubin Jiang, Dianfan Li, Dimitri Lavillette, Xiaoming Zhang
Summary: A monoclonal antibody (Ab08) isolated from a convalescent patient effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and shows therapeutic potential in infected mice.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yidan Xu, Tingting Li, Zixuan Zhou, Jingjing Hong, Yulin Chao, Zhini Zhu, Ying Zhang, Qianhui Qu, Dianfan Li
Summary: This study reveals the structural features underlying the broad specificity of GPI-T and a fidelity mechanism that involves the synergistic binding of substrate regions with individually weak specificity.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bowei Yang, Hebang Yao, Dianfan Li, Zhenfeng Liu
Summary: Phosphatidylglycerol phosphate synthase (PgsA) plays a crucial role in pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and mutations in PgsA are associated with resistance to daptomycin. The crystal structures of S. aureus PgsA reveal detailed insights into the catalytic process and provide a structural framework for the development of antimicrobial agents.
CURRENT RESEARCH IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2021)