Exploring potential protein-protein interactions driving unusual fatty acid synthesis in pomegranate.

Many plant-derived unusual fatty acids (UFAs) possess valuable chemical properties and have potential applications in the food, feed, and oleochemical industries. Despite significant interest, the mechanisms by which plants synthesize and accumulate these structurally distinct fatty acids remain only partially understood. While enzyme substrate specificities involved in UFA-containing storage lipid assembly have been well characterized in many prior studies, the biochemical roles of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in coordinating UFA biosynthesis have received less attention.

UBD-mediated glycolytic reprogramming promotes M2 macrophage polarization in ovarian cancer immune evasion.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, with immunotherapy resistance (ITR) being a major challenge. Glycolytic metabolic reprogramming has been shown to play a crucial role in the tumor immune microenvironment and immune evasion, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the role of Ubiquitin D (UBD) in OC immunotherapy, particularly its regulation of macrophage polarization through glycolytic metabolism.

Engineering for the Production of Punicic Acid-Rich Yeast Biomass.

Punicic acid (PuA), an unusual conjugated linolenic acid found in pomegranate, offers diverse health benefits and has potential applications in the food industry. Due to the limited availability of PuA from natural plant sources, there is growing interest in producing it through microbial fermentation. In this study, the yeast , which is classified as "generally recognized as safe", was engineered to produce PuA using a results-driven approach.

Engineering Rhodosporidium toruloides for sustainable production of value-added punicic acid from glucose and wood residues.

Rhodosporidium toruloides has emerged as a prominent candidate for producing single-cell oil from cost-effective feedstocks. In this study, the capability of R. toruloides to produce punicic acid (PuA), a representative plant unusual fatty acid, was investigated.

Biotechnological advances in the production of unusual fatty acids in transgenic plants and recombinant microorganisms.

Certain plants and microorganisms can produce high amounts of unusual fatty acids (UFAs) such as hydroxy, conjugated, cyclic, and very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which have distinct physicochemical properties and significant applications in the food, feed, and oleochemical industries. Since many natural sources of UFAs are not ideal for large-scale agricultural production or fermentation, it is attractive to produce them through synthetic biology. Although several UFAs have been commercially or pre-commercially produced in transgenic plants and microorganisms, their contents in transgenic hosts are generally much lower than in natural sources.

From synapse to sensation: the role of circTulp4.

Recent work by Giusti and colleagues showed that circTulp4 modulates excitatory synaptic strength. Knocking down circTulp4 disrupts the excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance in mice and leads to hypersensitivity toward aversive stimuli. These observations update our appreciation of the functions of circular (circ)RNA in the nervous system and their potential implication in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Both epilepsy and anti-seizure medications affect bone metabolism in children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.

Objective: Bone metabolism can be influenced by a range of factors. We selected children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS) and lifestyles similar to those of healthy children to control for the confounding factors that may influence bone metabolism. We aimed to identify the specific effects of epilepsy and/or anti-seizure medications (ASMs) on bone metabolism.

Alu-minating the Mechanisms Underlying Primate Cortex Evolution.

The higher-order cognitive functions observed in primates correlate with the evolutionary enhancement of cortical volume and folding, which in turn are driven by the primate-specific expansion of cellular diversity in the developing cortex. Underlying these changes is the diversification of molecular features including the creation of human and/or primate-specific genes, the activation of specific molecular pathways, and the interplay of diverse layers of gene regulation. We review and discuss evidence for connections between Alu elements and primate brain evolution, the evolutionary milestones of which are known to coincide along primate lineages.

Current progress in lipid-based biofuels: Feedstocks and production technologies.

The expanding use of fossil fuels has caused concern in terms of both energy security and environmental issues. Therefore, attempts have been made worldwide to promote the development of renewable energy sources, among which biofuel is especially attractive. Compared to other biofuels, lipid-derived biofuels have a higher energy density and better compatibility with existing infrastructure, and their performance can be readily improved by adjusting the chemical composition of lipid feedstocks.

The Influence of Telemedicine and Compassionate Care on the Quality of Life and Mental Health of Patients with Epilepsy in Northeastern China During the COVID-19 Crisis.

Purpose: To understand the influence of telemedicine and compassionate care on the quality of life and mental health of patients with epilepsy (PWE) in northeastern China during the COVID-19 crisis.

Patients And Methods: Physicians in the epilepsy department conducted a questionnaire survey on PWE on February 2020. The Quality Of Life In Epilepsy-31 (QOLIE-31), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used.

Improving the Production of Punicic Acid in Baker's Yeast by Engineering Genes in Acyl Channeling Processes and Adjusting Precursor Supply.

Punicic acid (PuA) is a high-value edible conjugated fatty acid with strong bioactivities and has important potential applications in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, feeding, and oleochemical industries. Since the production of PuA is severely limited by the fact that its natural source (pomegranate seed oil) is not readily available on a large scale, there is considerable interest in understanding the biosynthesis and accumulation of this plant-based unusual fatty acid in transgenic microorganisms to support the rational design of biotechnological approaches for PuA production via fermentation. Here, we tested the effectiveness of genetic engineering and precursor supply in PuA production in the model yeast strain .

Evolutionary and biochemical characterization of a Chromochloris zofingiensis MBOAT with wax synthase and diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity.

Wax synthase (WS) catalyzes the last step in wax ester biosynthesis in green plants. Two unrelated sub-families of WS, including the bifunctional acyltransferase and plant-like WS have been reported, but the latter is largely uncharacterized in microalgae. Here, we functionally characterized a putative plant-like WS (CzWS1) from the emerging model green microalga Chromochloris zofingiensis.

A randomized trial in the investigation of anxiety and depression in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Background: In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. A small proportion of patients infected with COVID-19 go on to develop pneumonia. We speculated that COVID-19 may be likely to result in psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Change in the active component of processed Tetradium ruticarpum extracts leads to improvement in efficacy and toxicity attenuation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The dried and nearly ripe fruits of Tetradium ruticarpum (A. Juss.) T.

A Novel PRRT2 Variant in Chinese Patients Suffering from Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia with Infantile Convulsion.

PRRT2 mutations are the major causative agent of paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia with infantile convulsion (PKD/IC). The study is aimed at screening PRRT2 gene mutations in patients who suffered from PKD/IC in Chinese population. Thirteen Chinese patients with PKD/IC were screened randomly for coding exons of the PRRT2 gene mutation along with 50 ethnically coordinated control people.

The Role of Triacylglycerol in Plant Stress Response.

Vegetable oil is mainly composed of triacylglycerol (TAG), a storage lipid that serves as a major commodity for food and industrial purposes, as well as an alternative biofuel source. While TAG is typically not produced at significant levels in vegetative tissues, emerging evidence suggests that its accumulation in such tissues may provide one mechanism by which plants cope with abiotic stress. Different types of abiotic stress induce lipid remodeling through the action of specific lipases, which results in various alterations in membrane lipid composition.

Multilayered control of exon acquisition permits the emergence of novel forms of regulatory control.

Background: The long introns of mammals are pools of evolutionary potential due to the multiplicity of sequences that permit the acquisition of novel exons. However, the permissibility of genes to this type of acquisition and its influence on the evolution of cell regulation is poorly understood.

Results: Here, we observe that human genes are highly permissive to the inclusion of novel exonic regions permitting the emergence of novel regulatory features.

Employing metabolic engineered lipolytic microbial platform for 1-alkene one-step conversion.

1-Alkenes are traditionally used as basic chemicals with great importance. Biosynthetic 1-alkenes also have the potential to serve as biofuels. In this study, we engineered a Pseudomonas lipolytic microbial platform for 1-alkene production using hydrophobic substrate as sole carbon source.

The influence of fatty acid supply and aldehyde reductase deletion on cyanobacteria alkane generating pathway in Escherichia coli.

Cyanobacteria alkane synthetic pathway has been heterologously constructed in many microbial hosts. It is by far the most studied and reliable alkane generating pathway. Aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (i.

Multilayered Control of Alternative Splicing Regulatory Networks by Transcription Factors.

Networks of coordinated alternative splicing (AS) events play critical roles in development and disease. However, a comprehensive knowledge of the factors that regulate these networks is lacking. We describe a high-throughput system for systematically linking trans-acting factors to endogenous RNA regulatory events.

CACNA1I is not associated with childhood absence epilepsy in the Chinese Han population.

This study investigated whether the T-type calcium channel gene CACNA1I causes susceptibility in the Chinese Han population to childhood absence epilepsy, a form of idiopathic generalized seizure disorder. For this investigation, we searched for mutations in the 35 exons and exon-intron boundaries of the CACNA1I gene in 50 Han Chinese patients with childhood absence epilepsy. Seventeen single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in the 35 exons.

New variants in the CACNA1H gene identified in childhood absence epilepsy.

Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is a common form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy with polygenic inheritance. In our previous studies, relatively high frequent variants in the T-type calcium channel gene, CACNA1H, were identified in the Chinese Han population, most of which are located in exons 6-12. The goal of this study was to identify additional variants in this region of the CACNA1H gene.