A Novel Chitin-Based Purification System Using GAL1 Fusion Tags: Enhancing Recombinant Protein Production While Retaining Biological Activity.

Efficient and economical purification methods are crucial for the commercial production of recombinant proteins with biomedical applications. In this study, we developed an affinity chromatography system that leverages the polysaccharide-binding properties of galectin-1 (GAL1) as a protein tag. The known GAL1-binding material, chitin, was used as the purification matrix.

HBV Recurrence Detected by HBV-Related Serum Markers and Immune Escape Mutations in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Following Liver Transplantation.

The posttransplantation recurrence rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is underestimated and linked with unfavorable outcomes. We investigated HBV recurrence by serum assays in patients with CHB following liver transplantation. We enrolled patients with CHB who underwent liver transplantation between March 2001 and July 2021 to participate in cross-sectional testing for HBV-related serum markers, including biochemical analysis for HBsAg and hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) and real-time RT-PCR/PCR for HBV RNA and HBV DNA, in 2022.

The Roles of Molecular Concavities in the Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Giant Tetrahedra for CO Uptake.

Giant tetrahedral molecules have sparked significant interest in the past decade due to their unique and diverse supramolecular nanostructures. The longer and bulkier peripheral substituents create deep molecular concavities and thus contribute to the different self-assembly behaviors compared to the conventional small tetrahedral molecules. In this study, a molecular giant tetrahedra, TetraNDI, was synthesized to investigate the important roles of the molecular concavities in the self-assembly mechanism.

A Transient π-π or Cation-π Interaction between Degron and Degrader Dual Residues: A Key Step for the Substrate Recognition and Discrimination in the Processive Degradation of SulA by ClpYQ (HslUV) Protease in .

The ATP-dependent ClpYQ protease constitutes ClpY ATPase/unfoldase and ClpQ peptidase. The Tyr residue within the central pore-I site of ClpY-hexamer is important for unfolding and translocating substrates into the catalytic site of ClpQ. We have identified the degron site (GFIMRP) of SulA, a cell-division inhibitor recognized by ClpYQ and that the Phe residue in degron site is necessary for SulA native folded structure.

SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, rather than spike protein, triggers a cytokine storm originating from lung epithelial cells in patients with COVID-19.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may initiate cytokine cascades and correlate the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with their serum cytokine profiles.

Methods: Recombinant baculoviruses displaying SARS-CoV-2 spike or nucleocapsid protein were constructed and transfected into A549 cells and THP-1-derived macrophages, to determine which protein initiate cytokine release. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titers and cytokine profiles of patients with COVID-19 were determined, and the results were associated with their clinical characteristics, such as development of pneumonia or length of hospital stay.

Enzymatic Characterization of a Novel HSL Family IV Esterase EstD04 from sp. D01 in Mealworm Gut Microbiota.

sp. D01, capable of growing in tributyrin medium, was isolated from the gut microbiota of yellow mealworm. By using in silico analyses, we discovered a hypothesized esterase encoding gene in the D01 bacterium, and its encoded protein, EstD04, was classified as a bacterial hormone-sensitive lipase (bHSL) of the type IV lipase family.

Establishment of a Pseudovirus Platform for Neuraminidase Inhibiting Antibody Analysis.

Neuraminidase (NA)-based immunity to influenza can be useful for protecting against novel antigenic variants. To develop safe and effective tools to assess NA-based immunity, we generated a baculovirus-based pseudotyped virus, N1-Bac, that expresses the full-length NA of the influenza A/California/07/2009 (H1N1)pdm09 strain. We evaluated the level of NA-inhibiting (NI) antibodies in the paired blood sera of influenza patients by means of an enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA) using the influenza virus or N1-Bac.

Dual bio-degradative pathways of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate by a novel bacterium Burkholderia sp. SP4.

Burkholderia sp. SP4, isolated from agricultural soils, has a high capability of degrading di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP). It degrades up to 99% of DEHP (300 mg l) in minimal salt (MS) media within 48 h without adding additionally auxiliary carbon source.

Antigenic Characterization of Neuraminidase of Influenza A/H7N9 Viruses Isolated in Different Years.

Influenza outbreaks caused by A/H7N9 viruses have occurred since 2013. After 2016, A/H7N9 influenza viruses underwent evolutionary changes. In this study, we examined the antigenic properties of influenza neuraminidase (NA) of A/H7N9 viruses as part of a live influenza vaccine (LAIV).

Carbohydrate metabolism is a determinant for the host specificity of baculovirus infections.

Baculoviruses Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) have highly similar genome sequences but exhibit no overlap in their host range. After baculovirus infects nonpermissive larvae (e.g.

An Integrated Platform for Serological Detection and Vaccination of COVID-19.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an ongoing pandemic. Detection and vaccination are essential for disease control, but they are distinct and complex operations that require significant improvements. Here, we developed an integrated detection and vaccination system to greatly simplify these efforts.

Corrigendum: Development of a Scrub Typhus Diagnostic Platform Incorporating Cell-Surface Display Technology.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.

Real-time monitoring of deformed wing virus-infected bee foraging behavior following histone deacetylase inhibitor treatment.

Impairment in the learning/memory behavior of bees is responsible for the massive disappearance of bee populations and its consequent agricultural economic losses. Such impairment might be because of o both pesticide exposure and pathogen infection, with a key contributor deformed wing virus (DWV). The present study found that sodium butyrate (NaB) significantly increased survival and reversed the learning/memory impairment of DWV-infected bees.

Development of a Scrub Typhus Diagnostic Platform Incorporating Cell-Surface Display Technology.

Scrub typhus (ST), also known as tsutsugamushi disease and caused by rickettsia , is an underestimated fatal epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in a million human infections each year. ST is easily misdiagnosed as clinical diagnosis is based on non-specific skin eschar and flu-like symptoms. Thus, the lack of accurate, convenient, and low-cost detection methods for ST poses a global health threat.

Identification and Quantification of Anti-Gp.Mur Antibodies in Human Serum Using an Insect-Cell-Based System.

Gp.Mur is a clinically relevant antigen of the MNS blood group system that is highly prevalent in several Asian populations. Its corresponding antibody, anti-Gp.

PEDV Infection Generates Conformation-Specific Antibodies That Can Be Effectively Detected by a Cell-Based ELISA.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a coronavirus that causes serious and highly contagious enteric disease in swine worldwide. In this study, we constructed a recombinant baculovirus (S-Bac) expressing full-length spike protein of the virulent epidemic genotype 2b (G2b) PEDV strain for serological studies of infected pigs. We found that most spike-specific antibodies produced upon PEDV infection in pigs are conformation-specific and they could be detected on S-Bac-infected insect cells by immunofluorescent assay, but they were insensitive to Western blot analysis, the typical method for antiserum analysis.

MicroRNAs from Snellenius manilae bracovirus regulate innate and cellular immune responses of its host Spodoptera litura.

To avoid inducing immune and physiological responses in insect hosts, parasitoid wasps have developed several mechanisms to inhibit them during parasitism, including the production of venom, specialized wasp cells, and symbioses with polydnaviruses (PDVs). These mechanisms alter the host physiology to give the wasp offspring a greater chance of survival. However, the molecular mechanisms for most of these alterations remain unclear.

Roles of double-loop (130~159 aa and 175~209 aa) in ClpY(HslU)-I domain for SulA substrate degradation by ClpYQ(HslUV) protease in Escherichia coli.

An Escherichia coli ATP-dependent two-component protease, ClpYQ(HslUV), targets the SulA molecule, an SOS induced protein. ClpY recognizes, unfolds and translocates the substrates into the proteolytic site of ClpQ for degradation. ClpY is divided into three domains N, I and C.

Snellenius manilae bracovirus suppresses the host immune system by regulating extracellular adenosine levels in Spodoptera litura.

Sufficient energy supply to the host immune system is important for resisting pathogens. Therefore, during pathogen infection, the host metabolism is reassigned from storage, growth, and development to the immune system. Previous studies in Drosophila melanogaster have demonstrated that systemic metabolic switching upon an immune challenge is activated by extracellular adenosine signaling, modulating carbohydrate mobilization and redistributing energy to the hemocytes.

Generation of Stable Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin through Structure-Guided Recombination.

Hemagglutinin (HA) is the major surface antigen of influenza virus and the most promising influenza vaccine immunogen. In 2013, the devastating H7N9 influenza virus was identified in China, which induced high mortality. The HA of this virus (H7) is relatively unstable, making it challenging to produce an effective vaccine.

Baculovirus as Versatile Vectors for Protein Display and Biotechnological Applications.

The baculovirus-insect cell system has long been deployed for a variety of applications including for use as biopesticides, for recombinant protein production, transient transgene expression, tissue therapy, and for vaccine production. Apart from the advantage of large-scale heterologous protein production with appropriate eukaryotic post-translational modification, foreign proteins can also be displayed on the viral envelope. This surface-display technology preserves the native multimeric structure of the protein, thereby expanding the clinical and pharmaceutical utility of the baculovirus system.

Baculovirus IE2 Interacts with Viral DNA through Daxx To Generate an Organized Nuclear Body Structure for Gene Activation in Vero Cells.

Upon virus infection of a cell, the uncoated DNA is usually blocked by the host intrinsic immune system inside the nucleus. Although it is crucial for the virus to counteract the host intrinsic immune system and access its genome, little is known about how viruses can knock down host restriction and identify their blocked genomes for later viral gene activation and replication. We found that upon baculovirus transduction into Vero E6 cells, the invading viral DNA is trapped by the cellular death domain-associated protein (Daxx) and histone H3.

Escherichia coli Proteome Microarrays Identified the Substrates of ClpYQ Protease.

Proteolysis is a vital mechanism to regulate the cellular proteome in all kingdoms of life, and ATP-dependent proteases play a crucial role within this process. In Escherichia coli, ClpYQ is one of the primary ATP-dependent proteases. In addition to function with removals of abnormal peptides in the cells, ClpYQ degrades regulatory proteins if necessary and thus let cells adjust to various environmental conditions.

Exploring the Mechanism Responsible for Cellulase Thermostability by Structure-Guided Recombination.

Cellulases from Bacillus and Geobacillus bacteria are potentially useful in the biofuel and animal feed industries. One of the unique characteristics of these enzymes is that they are usually quite thermostable. We previously identified a cellulase, GsCelA, from thermophilic Geobacillus sp.

The degradation of RcsA by ClpYQ(HslUV) protease in Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, RcsA, a positive activator for transcription of cps (capsular polysaccharide synthesis) genes, is degraded by the Lon protease. In lon mutant, the accumulation of RcsA leads to overexpression of capsular polysaccharide. In a previous study, overproduction of ClpYQ(HslUV) protease represses the expression of cpsB∷lacZ, but there has been no direct observation demonstrating that ClpYQ degrades RcsA.