Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yilin Wan, Lian-Hua Fu, Chunying Li, Jing Lin, Peng Huang
Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising treatment modality due to its high spatiotemporal selectivity, minimal invasiveness, and low systemic toxicity, however, the hypoxic nature of many solid tumors limits its therapeutic effect. Efforts have been made to increase tumor oxygen content and alleviate tumor hypoxia through various strategies developed in the past decade, including delivering exogenous oxygen, generating oxygen in situ, reducing tumor cellular oxygen consumption, regulating the tumor microenvironment, and inhibiting the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 signaling pathway.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Pingping Hou, Y. Alan Wang
Summary: Aberrant activation of KRAS signaling is common in cancer, and efforts have been made to develop drugs targeting KRAS directly or its downstream effectors. However, cancer's genetic and biological plasticity results in various resistance mechanisms, limiting the clinical benefit of targeted interventions. Understanding these mechanisms can guide combination therapy strategies.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoyong Cao, Pu Tian
Summary: Molecular modeling is widely used in various subjects and has made significant progress in development of theories. The most important advancements in this field are various implementations of principles such as divide and conquer, and caching intermediate results. Deep learning has been utilized to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of this research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Lucia M. Malone, Nils Birkholz, Peter C. Fineran
Summary: The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to renewed interest in phages for infection prevention. However, phage therapy faces challenges from bacterial defense mechanisms, particularly the CRISPR-Cas systems. Understanding phages' evasion strategies is crucial for successful phage therapy applications.
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zoltan Maroti, Endre Neparaczki, Oszkar Schutz, Kitti Maar, Gergely I. B. Varga, Bence Kovacs, Tibor Kalmar, Emil Nyerki, Istvan Nagy, Dora Latinovics, Balazs Tihanyi, Antonia Marcsik, Gyorgy Palfi, Zsolt Bernert, Zsolt Gallina, Ciprian Horvath, Sandor Varga, Laszlo Kolto, Istvan Rasko, Peter L. Nagy, Csilla Balogh, Albert Zink, Frank Maixner, Anders Gotherstrom, Robert George, Csaba Szalontai, Gergely Szenthe, Erwin Gall, Attila P. Kiss, Bence Gulyas, Bernadett Ny Kovacsoczy, Szilard Sandor Gal, Peter Tomka, Tibor Torok
Summary: The Huns, Avars, and conquering Hungarians were nomadic tribal confederations that migrated to the Carpathian Basin. They likely originated from Asia, with the Huns and Avars coming from Mongolia and the conquering Hungarians being a mixture of Mansis, early Sarmatians, and late Xiongnus. The majority of individuals in each period were local residents with native European ancestry.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yi Pan, Longcai Liu, Xiaozhou Mou, Yu Cai
Summary: Cancer is a major disease with complex pathological processes that greatly affect human welfare. Hypoxia, caused by an imbalance between oxygen supply and consumption, is a natural characteristic of most solid tumors and a significant obstacle for cancer therapy. Various strategies have been developed to exploit tumor hypoxia, including alleviating hypoxia and utilizing it for targeted delivery and diagnostic imaging. Nanomedicine strategies have shown promising progress in both conquering and utilizing hypoxia to combat cancer, and the development of emerging nanomaterials holds potential for future clinical translation.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alison Abbott
Summary: Researchers are exploring drug combinations, vaccines, and gene therapy as the next generation of treatments for this condition.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ya-Tang Yang, Tsung-Yi Ho
Summary: Digital microfluidics, utilizing electrical signals for droplet manipulation, aims to address the tyranny of numbers in fluidic manipulation. This article discusses the technology's prospects, current challenges, and necessary improvements for creating a low-power, programmable system that would attract interest from both professional and non-professional communities.
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Parasitology
Geraldine Buitrago, Margaret M. Harnett, William Harnett
Summary: Despite new treatment strategies, rheumatic disorders still have unmet clinical needs. Interestingly, there is a global inverse relationship between parasitic helminth infection and the incidence of these conditions. Parasitic worms can modulate inflammatory responses and may be used to generate novel therapies for rheumatic diseases.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Elohim Bello-Bello, Damar Lopez-Arredondo, Thelma Y. Rico-Chambron, Luis Herrera-Estrella
Summary: Global agriculture and food security are facing significant challenges due to climate change and land degradation, particularly regarding human-induced soil compaction and its negative impacts on soil fertility, root system development, and crop yield. To address this challenging scenario, it is necessary to develop compaction-resilient crops with enhanced root system penetrability through approaches such as root-targeted genetic engineering and genomics-assisted breeding. These approaches have the potential to enhance crop resilience to climate change and marginal soils, as well as promote CO2 sequestration and storage in deeper soil strata.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Cheng Zhang, Xiaoming Hu, Long Jin, Lisheng Lin, Hongxin Lin, Zhen Yang, Wei Huang
Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been widely used in the clinical therapy of various tumors due to its high targeting, minimally invasive, and low toxicity side effects. However, the tumor microenvironment (TME) presents hypoxia, which can hinder the efficacy of oxygen-consuming PDT. Researchers have been developing advanced nanoplatforms and strategies to enhance the therapeutic effect of PDT in tumor treatment by increasing oxygen content in TME and decreasing oxygen consumption during PDT.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Virology
Chung-Pei Lee, Mei-Ru Chen
Summary: The nuclear envelope of eukaryotic cells plays a crucial role in maintaining the structural integrity of the nucleus and supporting various cellular processes. Viral proteins from Epstein-Barr virus, such as BGLF4 kinase and the nuclear egress complex BFRF1/BFRF2, have been found to regulate and modulate the nuclear envelope structure in different ways. This review highlights the impact of viral lytic gene expression on nuclear envelope structure and its related cellular processes.
Editorial Material
Hematology
Kristen M. Sanfilippo
Summary: The study demonstrated an association between plasma complement factor 5 (C5) levels and future risk of VTE.
Editorial Material
Hematology
Nermi L. Parrow, Robert E. Fleming
Summary: In this study, Nyffenegger et al provide evidence that pharmacologic iron restriction improves disease parameters in a mouse model of sickle cell disease (SCD). They used an orally administered inhibitor of the cellular iron exporter ferroportin to restrict iron absorption. This approach resulted in hematologic improvements in the mouse model.
Review
Microbiology
Cheng Zhen, Hui Lu, Yuanying Jiang
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive summary of novel promising target proteins and their inhibitors for treating invasive fungal infections, which include inositol phosphoramide synthases, glycosylphosphatidylinositol biosynthesis, Sec14, fungal heat shock protein 90, and dihydrolactate dehydrogenase.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Elisabet Bjanes, Victor Nizet
Summary: The complement system is a crucial defense mechanism in immune responses against various pathogens, playing multiple roles beyond direct membrane lysis. While Gram-positive bacteria possess inherent resistance to complement-mediated killing, complement can still flag and destroy these bacteria through alternative mechanisms, demonstrating its versatility in the immune defense.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Johanna Richter, Mercedes M. Monteleone, Amanda J. Cork, Timothy C. Barnett, Victor Nizet, Stephan Brouwer, Kate Schroder, Mark J. Walker
Summary: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes various infectious diseases in humans, with IL-1 beta signaling playing a key role in disease progression. Streptolysins, particularly streptolysin O (SLO) and streptolysin S, are identified as major drivers of IL-1 beta release during GAS infection, suggesting them as potential therapeutic targets for inflammation intervention.
IMMUNOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Nina J. Gao, Ervin Rodas Lima, Victor Nizet
Summary: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a major human pathogen causing millions of infections annually, which can be identified by testing against the group A carbohydrate (GAC) that makes up a significant portion of its cell wall. Recent discoveries in the genetic locus encoding GAC biosynthesis have provided insights into vaccine design.
INFECTION AND IMMUNITY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Henrique Machado, Yara Seif, George Sakoulas, Connor A. Olson, Ying Hefner, Amitesh Anand, Ying Z. Jones, Richard Szubin, Bernhard O. Palsson, Victor Nizet, Adam M. Feist
Summary: Henrique Machado and colleagues describe mutational mechanisms associated with MRSA vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus using adaptive laboratory evolution experiments focused on tolerance. Their results reveal environment-dependent mutational strategies to vancomycin tolerization and the impact of mutations in regulatory genes, providing insight into the development of antibiotic resistance under multiple conditions.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Aisling R. Caffrey, Haley J. Appaneal, Kerry L. LaPlante, Vrishali V. Lopes, Erlinda R. Ulloa, Victor Nizet, George Sakoulas
Summary: This study demonstrates that the use of P2Y12 inhibitor clopidogrel can reduce in-hospital mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Nitasha D. Menon, Samuel Penziner, Elizabeth T. Montano, Raymond Zurich, David T. Pride, Bipin G. Nair, Geetha B. Kumar, Victor Nizet
Summary: Bacteriophage therapy is an alternative treatment to antibiotics for multidrug-resistant pathogens. This study found that phage therapy can lead to the emergence of phage-resistant mutants with pyomelanin pigmentation, but these mutants are less virulent due to large genomic deletions and retain susceptibility to the antibiotic colistin. This suggests that they do not pose a contraindication to using anti-pseudomonal phage therapy.
ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Yujiro Hirose, Piotr Kolesinski, Masanobu Hiraoka, Satoshi Uchiyama, Raymond H. Zurich, Monika Kumaraswamy, Elisabet Bjanes, Partho Ghosh, Shigetada Kawabata, Victor Nizet
Summary: This study shows that the M87 protein of Streptococcus pyogenes strain emm87 acts as a virulence factor by modulating the interaction between the bacteria and innate immune cells, contributing to bacterial resistance and the release of mature IL-1 beta.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Piotr Kolesinski, Kuei-Chen Wang, Yujiro Hirose, Victor Nizet, Partho Ghosh
Summary: This study revealed the specific binding mechanism between the Streptococcus pyogenes M protein and the human antimicrobial peptide LL-37, providing important insights into the drug resistance of streptococcus.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sydney P. Thomas, Erce Denizer, Simone Zuffa, Brookie M. Best, Lars Bode, Christina D. Chambers, Pieter C. Dorrestein, George Y. Liu, Jeremiah D. Momper, Victor Nizet, Shirley M. Tsunoda, Adriana H. Tremoulet
Summary: Antibiotics are crucial for perinatal care, but they can harm the host gut microbiota. Current studies mainly focus on the effects of antibiotics on infants directly or through maternal use, with limited knowledge about the risks of antibiotics in human milk to infants.
Article
Microbiology
Ericka Anderson, Bipin Nair, Victor Nizet, Geetha Kumar
Summary: The complexity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis and its global impact on healthcare requires understanding of the underlying forces and implementation of innovative solutions. Future therapeutic interventions should focus on host-pathogen interactions to enhance the innate immune system and reduce pathogen virulence. Interrupting pathogen survival strategies and using clonotyping assays to identify 'super clones' can guide targeted antibiotic regimens. Innovative alternatives to traditional antibiotics, such as bacteriophage therapy and repurposing drugs, are being successfully used to combat AMR. Policy changes, including shorter durations of antibiotic treatment and increased surveillance measures, can enhance patient safety and global prevention and control programs.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
E. Mauricio Barajas-Mora, Lindsay Lee, Hanbin Lu, J. Andres Valderrama, Elisabet Bjanes, Victor Nizet, Ann J. J. Feeney, Ming Hu, Cornelis Murre
Summary: Researchers have identified a specific enhancer, E34, within the Igk locus, which is crucial for chromatin remodeling and repositioning, and promotes the rearrangement of Igkv7-33 V-kappa-J(kappa) genes necessary for the production of anti-phosphorylcholine-specific antibodies. Mice lacking E34 are more susceptible to Streptococcus pneumoniae infections.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Elisabet Bjanes, Jiarong Zhou, Tariq Qayum, Nishta Krishnan, Raymond H. Zurich, Nitasha D. Menon, Alexandria Hoffman, Ronnie H. Fang, Liangfang Zhang, Victor Nizet
Summary: This study reports a vaccine platform that combines gold nanoparticles coated with immunogenic Acinetobacter baumannii outer membrane vesicles (Ab-OMVs). It induces high levels of IgG antibodies in rabbits, enhances neutrophil killing of A. baumannii, and provides passive protection against sepsis in mice. Active immunization with the Ab-NP vaccine in mice protects against sepsis and pneumonia, activates B cells and dendritic cells, improves neutrophil responses, and mitigates cytokine storm.
ADVANCED NANOBIOMED RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lucy Catteau, Yvan Diaz Iglesias, Hannah Tsunemoto, Joseph Pogliano, Francoise Van Bambeke, Victor Nizet, George Sakoulas
Summary: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) endocarditis, which does not respond to conventional therapy, can be effectively treated with the combination of nafcillin and daptomycin. In vitro studies have shown that nafcillin enhances the killing of MRSE by daptomycin, both in planktonic cells and biofilms. Nafcillin also sensitizes MRSE to killing by human neutrophils and cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37. Clinical studies are needed to determine the optimal timing for the use of these regimens to improve clinical outcomes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tirthankar Mohanty, Christofer A. Q. Karlsson, Yashuan Chao, Erik Malmstrom, Eleni Bratanis, Andrietta Grentzmann, Martina Morch, Victor Nizet, Lars Malmstrom, Adam Linder, Oonagh Shannon, Johan Malmstrom
Summary: This study used pharmacoproteomics to evaluate the time-dependent treatment effects of meropenem and methylprednisolone on a murine Escherichia coli sepsis model. Three distinct proteome response patterns were identified, which depended on the underlying proteotype for each organ. The findings provide insights for guiding treatment timing, dosage, and potential combination therapies.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Sarah R. Rudd, Leticia Silva Miranda, Hannah R. Curtis, Yves Bigot, Mercedes Diaz-Mendoza, Robert Hice, Victor Nizet, Hyun-Woo Park, Gregor Blaha, Brian A. Federici, Dennis K. Bideshi
Summary: This paper introduces three important commercial bacterial insecticides derived from different subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), including their sources and uses. It also explores the unique features of Bt subspecies israelensis, such as the structure of the parasporal body (PB) and the multilaminar fibrous matrix (MFM), as well as the functions and structural similarities of two proteins, Bt152 and Bt075. Additionally, a novel molecular process for targeting Cry and Cyt proteins has been identified.