Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Takumi Yokosawa, Keisuke Wakasugi
Summary: The study shows that Trp-deficient condition is critical for Trp uptake, not only in cells with added TrpRS protein but also in TrpRS-overexpressing cells. Tryptophanyl-AMP production by TrpRS is essential for high-affinity Trp uptake.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Young Ha Ahn, Se-Chan Oh, Shengtao Zhou, Tae-Don Kim
Summary: Tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (WRS) is an essential enzyme in translation and has potential pharmacological implications in diseases. Despite being primarily viewed as a Trp-producing enzyme, studies are emerging on WRS as a potential therapeutic target for drug development.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elise D. Ficaretta, Chester J. J. Wrobel, Soumya J. S. Roy, Sarah B. Erickson, James S. Italia, Abhishek Chatterjee
Summary: We developed a robust and user-friendly E. coli expression system for incorporating unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins. This system benefits from the use of engineered strains and vectors, allowing efficient UAA incorporation.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mauro Commisso, Stefano Negri, Elisa Gecchele, Emanuela Fazion, Cecilia Pontoriero, Linda Avesani, Flavia Guzzo
Summary: Tryptamine and serotonin are important substances with diverse biological functions in various kingdoms of life. In tomato, the serotonin pathway plays a crucial role in multiple biological processes, with SlTDC genes being responsible for tryptamine accumulation in fruits, SlTDC2 gene causing serotonin accumulation in aerial vegetative organs, and SlTDC3 working with SlT5H to convert tryptamine into serotonin in the roots and fruits.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Qian Wang, Guiwang Zhu, Zhenming Liu
Summary: With the advancement of biophysical technology, SPR has become a crucial tool in the early drug discovery phase, offering advantages such as label-free detection and robust screening platforms. By optimizing experimental conditions, a reliable high-throughput screening system for TrpRS was successfully established, providing a scientific basis for SPR analysis of other drug targets.
ANALYTICAL BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jin-Tao Wang, Jing-Bo Zhou, Xue-Ling Mao, Li Zhou, Meirong Chen, Wenhua Zhang, En-Duo Wang, Xiao-Long Zhou
Summary: This study reveals the crucial role of t(6)A modification in tRNA(Ile) aminoacylation and codon decoding, as well as the commonality and diversity in substrate recognition by eukaryotic KEOPS.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Nastaran Najimi, Hamid Zahednasab, Mohammad Farahmand, Ali Fouladvand, Gholam Reza Talei, Behnaz Bouzari, Sayyad Khanizadeh, Sajad Karampoor
Summary: This study investigates the complex interplay between WRS, inflammatory markers, Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4), and clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. The results show that COVID-19 patients have elevated levels of WRS, IL-6, CRP, and TLR-4 expression compared to healthy individuals, with the severe group showing significantly higher levels than the moderate group. Additionally, fluctuations in CRP, IL-6, and WRS levels over time are observed in severe patients but not in moderate patients. This pioneering research provides valuable insights into the correlation between WRS, inflammatory markers, and disease severity in COVID-19 patients.
MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Xiaomin Hu, Yuanyuan Shi, Bingya Jiang, Jie Fu, Xingxing Li, Shufen Li, Guizhi Sun, Weicong Ren, Xinxin Hu, Xuefu You, Zhiyong Liu, Xingli Han, Tianyu Zhang, Bin Hong, Linzhuan Wu
Summary: A new congener of chuangxinmycin, 3-methylchuangxinmycin, was identified and its structure was determined. The vitamin B12-dependent radical SAM enzyme CxnA/A1 was found to be responsible for the methylation of 3-demethylchuangxinmycin in the biosynthesis of chuangxinmycin, indicating its potential for iterative methylation for the production of 3-methylchuangxinmycin. In vitro assays showed significant activities of chuangxinmycin and its derivatives against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, suggesting their potential for antituberculosis drug development.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Songya Zhang, Yunliang Chen, Jing Zhu, Qiujie Lu, Max J. Cryle, Youming Zhang, Fu Yan
Summary: Streptomyces bacteria are widely distributed in terrestrial and marine environments and are a rich source of active natural products due to their metabolic diversity. This review highlights the importance of nonribosomal lipopeptides as important natural products with diverse biological activities that play crucial roles in the lifestyle of Streptomyces. Recent advances in the biosynthesis of lipopeptide antibiotics produced by Streptomyces have greatly contributed to our understanding of their structures, properties, biosynthetic mechanisms, chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis, and biological functions. The use of genome mining techniques has led to the discovery of many novel lipopeptides, further demonstrating their potential for future development in modern medicine.
NATURAL PRODUCT REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andrey G. Moiseenok, Nina P. Kanunnikova
Summary: This study examines the processes and importance of pantothenic acid (Pan) in the biosynthesis and hydrolysis of Coenzyme A (CoA). The key roles of pantothenate kinase (PANK) and CoA synthetase (CoASY) in the formation of CoA are discussed, as well as their effects on neuronal protection and neurotransmission. The study also explores the biochemical mechanisms and potential treatments for neurodegenerative syndromes caused by PANK and CoASY defects. The findings emphasize the importance of Pan deficiency in the central nervous system and the potential use of Pan derivatives as therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases.
BIOCHEMISTRY-MOSCOW
(2023)
Letter
Clinical Neurology
P. F. Hoilund-Carlsen, A. Alavi, G. Perry, J. R. Barrio
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NEURORADIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
George Perry
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2023)
Biographical-Item
Neurosciences
George Perry
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Rajeev K. Singla, Ronita De, Thomas Efferth, Bruno Mezzetti, Md Sahab Uddin, Sanusi, Fidele Ntie-Kang, Dongdong Wang, Fabien Schultz, Kiran R. Kharat, Hari Prasad Devkota, Maurizio Battino, Daniel Sur, Ronan Lordan, Sourav S. Patnaik, Christos Tsagkaris, Chandragiri Siva Sai, Surya Kant Tripathi, Mihnea-Alexandru Gaman, Mosa E. O. Ahmed, Elena Gonzalez-Burgos, Smith B. Babiaka, Shravan Kumar Paswan, Joy Ifunanya Odimegwu, Faizan Akram, Jesus Simal-Gandara, Magali S. Urquiza, Aleksei Tikhonov, Himel Mondal, Shailja Singla, Sara Di Lonardo, Eoghan J. Mulholland, Merisa Cenanovic, Abdulkadir Yusif Maigoro, Francesca Giampieri, Soojin Lee, Nikolay T. Tzvetkov, Anna Maria Louka, Pritt Verma, Hitesh Chopra, Scarlett Perez Olea, Johra Khan, Jose M. Alvarez Suarez, Xiaonan Zheng, Michal Tomczyk, Manoj Kumar Sabnani, Christhian Delfino Villanueva Medina, Garba M. Khalid, Hemanth Kumar Boyina, Milen Georgiev, Claudiu T. Supuran, Eduardo Sobarzo-Sanchez, Tai-Ping Fan, Valeria Pittala, Antoni Sureda, Nady Braidy, Gian Luigi Russo, Rosa Anna Vacca, Maciej Banach, Gerard Lizard, Amira Zarrouk, Sonia Hammami, Ilkay Erdogan Orhan, Bharat B. Aggarwal, George Perry, Mark J. S. Miller, Michael Heinrich, Anupam Bishayee, Anake Kijjoa, Nicolas Arkells, David Bredt, Michael Wink, Bernd L. Fiebich, Gangarapu Kiran, Andy Wai Kan Yeung, Girish Kumar Gupta, Antonello Santini, Massimo Lucarini, Alessandra Durazzo, Amr El-Demerdash, Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, Alejandro Cifuentes, Eliana B. Souto, Muhammad Asim Masoom Zubair, Pravin Badhe, Javier Echeverria, Jaroslaw Olav Horbanczuk, Olaf K. Horbanczuk, Helen Sheridan, Sadeeq Muhammad Sheshe, Anna Maria Witkowska, Ibrahim M. Abu-Reidah, Muhammad Riaz, Hammad Ullah, Akolade R. Oladipupo, Victor Lopez, Neeraj Kumar Sethiya, Bhupal Govinda Shrestha, Palaniyandi Ravanan, Subash Chandra Gupta, Qushmua E. Alzahrani, Preethidan Dama Sreedhar, Jianbo Xiao, Mohammad Amin Moosavi, Parasuraman Aiya Subramani, Amit Kumar Singh, Ananda Kumar Chettupalli, Jayanta Kumar Patra, Gopal Singh, Tomasz M. Karpinski, Fuad Al-Rimawi, Rambod Abiri, Atallah F. Ahmed, Davide Barreca, Sharad Vats, Said Amrani, Carmela Fimognari, Andrei Mocan, Lucian Hritcu, Prabhakar Semwal, Md Shiblur Rahaman, Mila Emerald, Akinleye Stephen Akinrinde, Abhilasha Singh, Ashima Joshi, Tanuj Joshi, Shafaat Yar Khan, Gareeballah Osman Adam Balla, Aiping Lu, Sandeep Ramchandra Pai, Imen Ghzaiel, Niyazi Acar, Nour Eddine Es-Safi, Gokhan Zengin, Azazahemad A. Kureshi, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Bikash Baral, Neeraj Rani, Philippe Jeandet, Monica Gulati, Bhupinder Kapoor, Yugal Kishore Mohanta, Zahra Emam-Djomeh, Raphael Onuku, Jennifer R. Depew, Omar M. Atrooz, Bey Hing Goh, Jose Carlos Andrade, Bikramjit Konwar, V. J. Shine, Joao Miguel Lousa Dias Ferreira, Jamil Ahmad, Vivek K. Chaturvedi, Krystyna Skalicka-Wozniak, Rohit Sharma, Rupesh K. Gautam, Sebastian Granica, Salvatore Parisi, Rishabh Kumar, Atanas G. Atanasov, Bairong Shen
Summary: The development of digital technologies and open innovation approaches has enabled the creation of virtual organizations and enterprises. The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) is an open innovation platform that brings together individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research. This study presents an overview of INPST activities and showcases the use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool, demonstrated through the 2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kang-Li Hsieh, German Plascencia-Villa, Ko-Hon Lin, George Perry, Xiaoqian Jiang, Yejin Kim
Summary: To overcome the challenges in Alzheimer's disease drug development, researchers developed a multi-task deep learning pipeline that learns biological interactions and AD risk genes to identify repurposable drug candidates based on multi-level evidence. Mechanistic validation in neuronal cells confirmed several biologically efficacious drug combinations for reducing oxidative stress and maintaining neuronal viability and morphology. This pipeline highlights the importance of harmonizing heterogeneous and complementary data/knowledge for drug development of complex diseases.
Review
Biology
Mark Obrenovich, Sandeep Kumar Singh, Yi Li, George Perry, Bushra Siddiqui, Waqas Haq, V. Prakash Reddy
Summary: Complementary alternative medicine approaches are becoming more prominent in the treatment of diseases alongside standard medicine. Shifting focus to plant-based nutrients and using bugs as drugs represents a new paradigm for intervention and management of age-related diseases.
Editorial Material
Neurosciences
Craig S. Atwood, George Perry
Summary: The approval of aducanumab and lecanemab by the FDA has sparked debate over their safety and efficacy. This article discusses the important physiological functions of amyloid-beta as a barrier protein, including its sealant and anti-pathogenic activities that help maintain vascular integrity and prevent encephalitis and meningitis. Approving drugs that undermine these functions may increase the risk of hemorrhage, edema, and other negative outcomes, which should be clearly communicated to patients.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Parnian Shobeiri, Sanam Alilou, Mehran Jaberinezhad, Farshad Zare, Nastaran Karimi, Saba Maleki, Antonio L. Teixeira, George Perry, Nima Rezaei
Summary: This systematic review evaluated the accuracy of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in identifying Alzheimer's disease (AD) through meta-analysis. The results showed that lncRNAs had high accuracy in identifying AD and could be considered a promising diagnostic biomarker for the disease.
Article
Neurosciences
Wenzhang Wang, Fanpeng Zhao, Yubing Lu, Sandra L. Siedlak, Hisashi Fujioka, Hao Feng, George Perry, Xiongwei Zhu
Summary: Loss of synapses is the most significant pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that leads to cognitive deficits. This study examined synaptic deficits in AD patients and found that mitochondrial dysfunction in both pre- and post-synaptic compartments contribute to synaptic deficits in AD. These findings provide further evidence of the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in AD pathology.
ACTA NEUROPATHOLOGICA COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Information Science & Library Science
Mahsa Keshavarz-Fathi, Niloufar Yazdanpanah, Sajad Kolahchi, Heliya Ziaei, Gary L. Darmstadt, Tommaso Dorigo, Filip Dochy, Lisa Levin, Visith Thongboonkerd, Shuji Ogino, Wei-Hsin Chen, Matjaz Perc, Mark S. Tremblay, Bolajoko O. Olusanya, Idupulapati M. Rao, Nikos Hatziargyriou, Maziar Moradi-Lakeh, Federico Bella, Laszlo Rosivall, Amir H. Gandomi, Armin Sorooshian, Manoj Gupta, Ciprian Gal, Andres M. Lozano, Connie Weaver, Michael Tanzer, Alessandro Poggi, Sadaf G. Sepanlou, Ralf Weiskirchen, Anet Rezek Jambrak, Pedro J. Torres, Esra Capanoglu, Francisco J. Barba, Chua Kian Jon Ernest, Mariano Sigman, Stefano Pluchino, Gevork B. Gharehpetian, Seyed-Mohammad Fereshtehnejad, Muh-Hwa Yang, Sabu Thomas, Wenju Cai, Elisabetta Comini, Neil J. Scolding, Paul S. Myles, Juan J. Nieto, George Perry, Constantine Sedikides, Nima Rezaeia
Summary: Scientometrics and bibliometrics are subfields of library and information science that study the quantity and quality of research outputs. The h-index is the most well-known scientometric index, but it relies on the count of highly cited publications. To address this limitation, we developed a new index called the Universal Research Index (UR-Index) that considers the impact of every single publication. We incorporated additional variables such as publication type, leading role, co-author count, and source metrics into the UR-Index. However, we recognize that unconscious biases in these variables may disadvantage research from specific groups, and encourage efforts to improve equitable scholarly impact in science and academia.
JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Harald Hampel, Yan Hu, John Hardy, Kaj Blennow, Christopher Chen, George Perry, Seung Hyun Kim, Victor L. Villemagne, Paul Aisen, Michele Vendruscolo, Takeshi Iwatsubo, Colin L. Masters, Min Cho, Lars Lannfelt, Jeffrey L. Cummings, Andrea Vergallo
Summary: This summary reviews the evidence supporting the role of the amyloid-b (Ab) pathway in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and emphasizes the importance of targeting this pathway in early stages of the disease. Understanding and targeting the A beta pathway can lead to better therapeutic outcomes and management of AD.
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Book Review
Neurosciences
George Perry
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
German Plascencia-Villa, George Perry
Summary: Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder characterized by memory and thinking impairment, with various pathological features such as abnormal protein aggregates, synaptic dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress, often overlooked or considered a consequence of dementia, plays a crucial role in AD progression and neuronal death. Recognizing oxidative stress as a key factor in AD has led to the development of alternative therapeutic interventions and preventive strategies for this devastating neurodegenerative disease.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Poul F. Hoilund-Carlsen, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim, Tommaso Costa, Kasper P. Kepp, Rudolph J. Castellani, George Perry, Abass Alavi, Jorge R. Barrio
Summary: In June 2021, the FDA accelerated approved aducanumab and in January 2023 also lecanemab, based on perceived drug-induced removal of cerebral amyloid-beta as assessed by amyloid-PET and, in the case of lecanemab, limited clinical efficacy assumption. Approval for donanemab is pending further data. However, published trial data indicate minimal and uncertain clinical benefits, similar to conventional medication. Additionally, amyloid-PET signal decrease may reflect increased cell damage instead of amyloid removal, as supported by increased amyloid-related imaging abnormalities and brain volume loss in treated patients compared to placebo. We also question the current AD diagnostic criteria based on amyloid-PET imaging biomarkers and recommend future anti-AD therapy trials to incorporate (1) diagnosis based on cognitive decline and decreased cerebral metabolism assessed by FDA-approved FDG-PET, (2) therapy efficacy determined by cognitive ability, cerebral metabolism by FDG-PET, and brain volumes by MRI, and (3) neuropathologic examination of all deaths occurring in these trials.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
German Plascencia-Villa, George Perry
Summary: The deterioration of brain cells in neurodegenerative diseases is accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction. Current therapies for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease mainly focus on maintaining neurotransmitters and managing symptoms, with limited effectiveness in stopping or reversing the disease. This article discusses alternative molecular targets for treating neurodegeneration, such as regulating calcium ion transport, protein modification, glucose metabolism, antioxidants, metal chelators, vitamin supplementation, and mitochondrial transference. Some of these targeted therapies have shown promise in preclinical and animal studies, and are expected to have positive outcomes in clinical trials.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)