Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Dingze Mang, Sona Rani Roy, Qizheng Zhang, Xunwu Hu, Ye Zhang
Summary: This study developed HS-instructed self-assembling peptides to inhibit cancer cell migration by hindering the binding of HSPG with HBEGF, leading to the suppression of FAK and ERK activation. This approach shows promise as a synthetic therapeutic strategy for targeted cancer migration inhibition.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dongmei Liu, Muriel Mari, Xia Li, Fulvio Reggiori, Susan Ferro-Novick, Peter Novick
Summary: This study discovered a process called ER-phagy, which selectively delivers fragments of the endoplasmic reticulum to the lysosome or vacuole in response to starvation or the accumulation of misfolded proteins. The loss of specific genes and proteins blocks the association between the autophagy receptor and the assembly scaffold protein, and a membrane contact site module is also found to be involved in ER-phagy.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Hang Su, Yu Mei, Shuangxue Luo, Haixia Wu, Yan He, Yasunaga Shiraishi, Pingping Hu, Richard A. Cohen, Xiaoyong Tong
Summary: The substitution of SERCA2 C674 thiol accelerates the development of atherosclerosis by inducing ER stress and inflammation. This study highlights the importance of SERCA2 C674 redox state in the context of atherosclerosis and proposes a novel therapeutic strategy to combat atherosclerosis.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Neha Kaushik, Nagendra Kumar Kaushik, Eun Ha Choi, June Hyun Kim
Summary: Research on targeting cancer metabolism is focused on blocking metabolic pathways in cancer cells to potentially treat various types of cancer. In lung cancer cells, inhibiting the key enzyme G6PD in the PPP pathway with 6-AN induces antiproliferative activity and apoptosis. Further studies will be conducted to validate these findings for potential therapeutic applications.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shujian Zhang, Xuewei Li, Tiezheng Yuan, Xiangyu Guo, Can Jin, Zhengyong Jin, Jinliang Li
Summary: Glutamine has a protective effect on hyperoxic lung injury in neonatal rats, reducing inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis and improving lung function.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Stefanie K. Wculek, Ignacio Heras-Murillo, Annalaura Mastrangelo, Diego Mananes, Miguel Galan, Veronica Miguel, Andrea Curtabbi, Coral Barbas, Navdeep S. Chandel, Jose Antonio Enriquez, Santiago Lamas, David Sancho
Summary: This study identifies oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) as the most important process in distinguishing tissue macrophage populations in different organs. Impairing OXPHOS has differential effects on tissue macrophages, leading to reduced alveolar macrophages and selectively depleting pro-inflammatory white adipose tissue macrophages. OXPHOS is critical for maintaining tissue macrophages with high lipid-handling activity, making it a potential therapeutic target.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Weimin Yu, Siqi Li, Haixia Wu, Pingping Hu, Lili Chen, Chunyu Zeng, Xiaoyong Tong
Summary: The study showed that inhibiting sEH can alleviate atherosclerosis caused by endothelial Nox4 dysfunction, potentially through suppression of ER stress. Endothelial Nox4 dysfunction can lead to inflammation, and inhibiting sEH and ER stress is beneficial for alleviating atherosclerosis.
FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hitomi Nakao, Akira Seko, Yukishige Ito, Masafumi Sakono
Summary: This study found that the endoplasmic reticulum protein ERp29 may act as a bridge linking the lectin chaperones calnexin and calreticulin, forming complexes such as CNX-CRT. This not only facilitates the binding of CNX and CRT, but also reveals a new function of ERp29.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jing Zhang, Xinru Yu, Chaojun Zhang, Qiong Zhang, Ying Sun, Heqin Zhu, Canming Tang
Summary: The study showed that pectin lyase can enhance cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt and induce cell apoptosis of the V. dahliae strain Vd080. Pectin lyase affects various cellular processes in the Vd080 strain, leading to ER stress and ultimately cell apoptosis. These findings suggest that pectin lyase could be a potential biocontrol agent for managing Verticillium wilt in cotton.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Huan Wang, Yiming Wang, Jiongyuan Li, Ziyi He, Sarah A. Boswell, Mirra Chung, Fuping You, Sen Han
Summary: By studying the effects of eight different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with varying levels of cardiotoxicity on human cardiomyocytes, potential molecular mechanisms in modulating cardiotoxicity were uncovered, with ER stress-induced inflammation identified as a promising therapeutic target to mitigate certain TKI-induced cardiotoxicity.
Article
Neurosciences
James P. Mackay, Amy I. Smith-Dijak, Ellen T. Koch, Peng Zhang, Evan Fung, Wissam B. Nassrallah, Caodu Buren, Mandi Schmidt, Michael R. Hayden, Lynn A. Raymond
Summary: Miniature neurotransmission is increased in the Huntington disease (HD) model, associated with abnormal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium handling. These abnormalities influence neurotransmission indirectly, without direct ER calcium release into the cytoplasm. However, in cortical cultures and brain slices, there are no significant differences in calcium release between the HD-model neurons and wild-type cells.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Hang Huang, Ping Li, Xueting Ye, Fangyi Zhang, Qi Lin, Keming Wu, Wei Chen
Summary: This study found that combination treatment of isoalantolactone (IATL) and cisplatin showed significantly enhanced growth inhibition and apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells, potentially through excessive accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the JNK signaling pathway. In vivo, the combined treatment also exhibited the strongest anti-tumor effects compared to single agents, suggesting that IATL and cisplatin combination therapy may be more effective for treating prostate cancer.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Makoto Kawamoto, Shiro Kohi, Toshiya Abe, Mohamad Dbouk, Anne Macgregor-Das, Chiho Koi, Ki-Byung Song, Michael Borges, Ryo Sugimine, Daniel Laheru, Ralph H. Hruban, Nicholas Roberts, Alison P. Klein, Michael Goggins
Summary: Rare variants in CPB1 and CPA1 that induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are associated with increased odds of developing pancreatic cancer. Meta-analysis showed strong associations for both CPA1 and CPB1 ER-stress inducing variants with pancreatic cancer risk.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ginevra Passeri, Joshua Northcote-Smith, Kogularamanan Suntharalingam
Summary: The major cause of cancer related deaths worldwide is tumor relapse and metastasis, which are heavily influenced by the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Recent research has shown that the encapsulation of a metal-based agent in polymeric nanoparticles enhances the uptake and potency of CSCs, suggesting its potential for further translation in cancer treatment.
Article
Cell Biology
Rui Yan, Kun Chen, Bowen Wang, Ke Xu
Summary: A highly elongated tubular ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (t-ERGIC) that selectively expedites the ER-to-Golgi transport for soluble cargoes of the receptor SURF4 has been discovered. The t-ERGIC has a distinctive elongated and thinned shape, and is marked by the small GTPases Rabl A/B instead of the canonical ERGIC marker ERGIC-53. It accelerates the trafficking of SURF4-bound cargoes with its large surface-to-volume ratio, high intracellular traveling speeds, and ER-Golgi recycling capabilities.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jie Zhan, Yuhan Wang, Shaodan Ma, Qin Qin, Ling Wang, Yanbin Cai, Zhimou Yang
Summary: Organelles are responsible for the storage and transport of substances in living systems. Researchers have developed a biomimetic delivery strategy inspired by natural cargo delivery by organelles, which can improve the efficiency of cancer therapy.
BIOACTIVE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Sifan Ai, Hui Li, Hao Zheng, Jinming Liu, Jie Gao, Jianfeng Liu, Quan Chen, Zhimou Yang
Summary: Cell spheroids have great potential in cell biology research, tissue engineering, and drug screening. We have developed biotinylated peptides that can self-assemble into supramolecular hydrogels for 3D cell culture. These hydrogels have reversible shear-thinning and recovery behavior, making them suitable for live-cell embedding and spheroid harvesting. The mechanical properties of the hydrogels can be easily adjusted for different types of cell spheroids.
SCIENCE CHINA-MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qiuxia Han, Sifan Ai, Quan Hong, Chuyue Zhang, Yanqi Song, Xiaochen Wang, Xu Wang, Shaoyuan Cui, Zongjin Li, Hanyu Zhu, Zhimou Yang, Xiangmei Chen, Guangyan Cai
Summary: A novel Biotin-(D)FYIGSRGD hydrogel was developed by conjugating YIGSR and RGD peptides, which prolonged the survival of MSCs and enhanced their anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects on kidney injury.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Keda Chen, Xiaoxin Wu, Qingjing Wang, Ying Wang, Haiyan Zhang, Shuai Zhao, Chaonan Li, Zhiwen Hu, Zhimou Yang, Lanjuan Li
Summary: Repeated waves of H7N9 influenza virus have caused severe influenza in humans since 2013, with a high mortality rate. To prevent possible pandemics, the development of highly effective vaccines against H7N9 is crucial. In this study, a simple method using a peptide hydrogel adjuvant was reported to prepare the H7N9 vaccine, which showed better preventive effects against H7N9 infection compared to traditional adjuvant vaccines. The study also revealed higher antibody responses and variations in cytokine expression as potential mechanisms for the increased protective effects of the hydrogel adjuvant vaccine.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yinghao Ding, Debin Zheng, Limin Xie, Xiangyang Zhang, Zhenghao Zhang, Ling Wang, Zhi-Wen Hu, Zhimou Yang
Summary: An enzyme-instructed peptide self-assembly (EISA) strategy is used to selectively modify cancer cell membranes, and different phosphorylation patterns in phosphopeptides targeting EGFR can impact their self-assembly abilities and binding affinity for EGFR. The phosphorylated peptide pY1 shows the highest capability for preorganization and the fastest dephosphorylation in the presence of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), making it the most effective at constructing stable peptide assemblies on cancer cell membranes. Additionally, peptide-protein and peptide-peptide co-assembly strategies are employed to apply antigens to cancer cell membranes, offering a potential technique for cancer immunotherapy.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Hongwei Wu, Yuna Shang, Wei Sun, Xinyi Ouyang, Wenyan Zhou, Jieji Lu, Shuhui Yang, Wei Wei, Xudong Yao, Xiaozhao Wang, Xianzhu Zhang, Yishan Chen, Qiulin He, Zhimou Yang, Hongwei Ouyang
Summary: This study developed a strategy to enhance integration of the gap region following mosaicplasty by applying BSN-GelMA hydrogel. The results showed that BSN-GelMA achieved seamless osteochondral healing in the gap region, with improved cartilage repair scores, glycosaminoglycan content, subchondral bone volume, and collagen II expression. This study provides a powerful approach to improve gap integration after autologous mosaicplasty and offers a promising bioactive material for cell-free tissue regeneration.
BIOACTIVE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Weidong Wu, Shuaijun Jia, Hailiang Xu, Ziheng Gao, Zhiyuan Wang, Botao Lu, Yixiang Ai, Youjun Liu, Renfeng Liu, Tong Yang, Rongjin Luo, Chunping Hu, Lingbo Kong, Dageng Huang, Liang Yan, Zhimou Yang, Lei Zhu, Dingjun Hao
Summary: A strategy of using PDGF-MP hydrogel microspheres instead of bulk hydrogels can enhance the efficiency of PDGF-MP in activating its receptor, thus improving the therapeutic ability of neural stem cells (NSCs) in treating spinal cord injuries (SCI). In vitro experiments showed that PDGF-MP hydrogel microspheres maintained the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of NSCs in the presence of myelin extracts. In vivo experiments demonstrated that PDGF-MP hydrogel microspheres inhibited inflammatory cell infiltration and cell apoptosis, and promoted axonal regeneration, synapse formation, and angiogenesis in SCI rats.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Limin Xie, Yinghao Ding, Xiangyang Zhang, Zhenghao Zhang, Sheng Zeng, Ling Wang, Zhimou Yang, Qian Liu, Zhi-Wen Hu
Summary: The researchers constructed a multifunctional drug-loaded peptide nanomedicine (Comp. 4) for ICD-based cancer therapy. Comp. 4 interferes with mitochondrial functions, targets the cell membrane and mitochondria, and forms peptide assemblies in the presence of ALP. Comp. 4 induces mitochondrial oxidative stress, provokes robust ICD responses, and successfully inhibits colon cancer growth by eliciting a systemic ICD-based antitumor immunity.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yumiao Chen, Wei Li, Zhongqiu Wang, Yingying Yu, Jie Li, Yinghao Ding, Zhiwen Hu, Qian Liu, Zhimou Yang, Jie Gao
Summary: This study introduces a novel cancer immunotherapy tool, Supra-BiCE, that enhances the binding of immune cells to tumor cells by transforming nanoribbons into nanofibrils, leading to the accumulation and activation of immune cells within tumor regions.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiangyang Zhang, Yinghao Ding, Zhenghao Zhang, Yiping Ma, Xuan Sun, Ling Wang, Zhimou Yang, Zhi-Wen Hu
Summary: Manipulating cancer cell death through precise control of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a promising strategy for treating malignant tumors. However, generating active ROS with spatial precision and regulating their biological outcomes is challenging. In this study, we successfully generated short-lived and lipid-reactive hydroxyl radicals ((OH)-O-·) adjacent to cancer cell membranes, leading to lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis. By using a phosphorylated self-assembling precursor, we selectively produced membrane-bound nanofibers and enriched ferrocene moieties on cancer cell membranes, resulting in the conversion of tumoral H2O2 to active (OH)-O-· through Fenton-like reactions. Our strategy effectively prevented tumor progression with good cellular selectivity and acceptable biocompatibility through intratumoral administration.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhuhong Zhang, Shengjun Peng, Tengyan Xu, Jia Liu, Laien Zhao, Hui Xu, Wen Zhang, Yuanying Zhu, Zhimou Yang
Summary: In this study, a self-assembling peptide GFFYE was designed and synthesized to transform rhein, a hydrophobic compound, into a sustained-release therapeutic agent. Rhein-based nanofibers were constructed for the treatment of retinal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR) injury, and they showed significant improvement in oxidative stress and inflammation. Moreover, the nanofibers promoted the transition of macrophages from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory type.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhongyan Wang, Yuna Shang, Hongjing Luo, Cuihong Yang, Zhimou Yang, Chunhua Ren, Jianfeng Liu
Summary: This study presents a novel strategy of achieving higher hierarchical structures through cooperative self-assembly of hydrophobic tripeptides with reverse sequences, showing a low-to-high hierarchical structure transformation. The cooperation between different sequences also allows different morphological transitions, promoting a more compact molecular arrangement by creating more hydrogen bond interactions and in-register π-π stacking in the anti-parallel β-sheet conformation. This work provides a handy approach for controlled hierarchical assembly and the development of various functional bionanomaterials.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiangyang Zhang, Junxia Wang, Ying Zhang, Zhimou Yang, Jie Gao, Zhen Gu
Summary: Living organisms fabricate biomacromolecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins through self-assembly, and understanding this process has led to exploration in synthesizing biomaterials within living organisms. In recent decades, these in vivo synthesized biomaterials have been extensively applied in cell-fate manipulation, disease theranostics, bioanalysis, cellular surface engineering, and tissue regeneration.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Yiming Zhang, Zhiwen Hu, Xinxin Li, Yinghao Ding, Zhenghao Zhang, Xiangyang Zhang, Wenting Zheng, Zhimou Yang
Summary: The amino acid sequence of the peptide determines the adjuvant potency of Gel-gffy. The position and number of aromatic amino acids play a crucial role in the immunostimulatory activity of Gel-gffy. These findings provide valuable insights into designing peptide hydrogels as vaccine adjuvants.
BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Xinxin Li, Youzhi Wang, Yiming Zhang, Zhimou Yang, Jie Gao, Yang Shi
Summary: Enzyme-instructed self-assembly (EISA) strategy has important advantages in the preparation of supramolecular self-assembly materials for biomedical applications, facilitating the self-assembly and hydrogelation of hydrophobic and bioactive peptides. By designing phosphorylated precursors, supramolecular hydrogels can be formed through dephosphorylation by alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Furthermore, EISA can also occur on the surface of cells that overexpress ALP.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY B
(2022)