Dual-mode CRISPRa/i for genome-scale metabolic rewiring in Escherichia coli.

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats)-mediated transcriptional regulation is a powerful and programmable approach for controlling gene expression. While CRISPR-based gene repression is well established in bacteria, simultaneous activation and repression remain challenging due to the limited availability of effective bacterial activation domains. Here, we provide an efficient dual-mode CRISPR activation and interference (CRISPRa/i) system that integrates an evolved protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)-flexible dxCas9 with an engineered Escherichia coli cAMP receptor protein (CRP).

Bisphenol A enhanced cell migration through Kv3.4 in MCF7 cells.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) that has been implicated in cancer development. However, the specific mechanisms of EDCs, including BPA, remain unclear. Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels have been closely related to cancer.

Fecal Microbiome and Urine Metabolome Profiling of Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a prevalent metabolic disorder with serious health consequences, necessitating both enhanced diagnostic methodologies and comprehensive elucidation of its pathophysiological mechanisms. We compared fecal microbiome and urine metabolome profiles in type 2 diabetes patients versus healthy controls to evaluate their respective diagnostic potential. Using a cohort of 94 subjects (48 diabetics, 46 controls), this study employed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing for fecal microbiome analysis and GC-MS for urinary metabolomics.

Development of a Convenient and Quantitative Method for Evaluating Photosensitizing Activity Using Thiazolyl Blue Formazan Dye.

Photosensitizers cause oxidative damages in various biological systems under light. In this study, the method for analyzing photosensitizing activity of various dietary and medicinal sources was developed using 1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan (thiazolyl blue formazan; MTT-F) as a probe. Significant and quantitative decolorization of MTT-F was observed in the presence of photosensitizers used in this study under light but not under dark conditions.

Kv3.4 regulates cell migration and invasion through TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in A549 cells.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process by which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal characteristics. This process induces cell migration and invasion, which are closely related to cancer metastasis and malignancy. EMT consists of various intermediate states that express both epithelial and mesenchymal traits, called partial EMT.

Interfering with Color Response by Porphyrin-Related Compounds in the MTT Tetrazolium-Based Colorimetric Assay.

Porphyrin compounds are widely distributed in various natural products and biological systems. In this study, effects of porphyrin-related compounds including zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), protoporphyrin IX (PPIX), cyanocobalamin (CBL), hemin, and zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPC) were analyzed on color response of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) tetrazolium-based assay, a commonly-used method for analyzing cell viability. Color responses of MTT formazan formed in cells treated with ZnPP, PPIX, or ZnPC were significantly reduced even at submicromolar concentrations without affecting cell viability, whereas hemin and CBL did not.

Schisandrin C improves leaky gut conditions in intestinal cell monolayer, organoid, and nematode models by increasing tight junction protein expression.

Background: Leaky gut symptoms and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are associated with damaged intestinal mucosa, intestinal permeability dysfunction by epithelial cell cytoskeleton contraction, disrupted intercellular tight junction (TJ) protein expression, and abnormal immune responses and are intractable diseases.

Purpose: We evaluated the effects of schisandrin C, a dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan from Schisandra chinensis, on intestinal inflammation and permeability dysfunction in gut mimetic systems: cultured intestinal cells, intestinal organoids, and a Caenorhabditis elegans model.

Methods: Schisandrin C was selected from 9 lignan compounds from S.

Raman Thermometry Nanopipettes in Cancer Photothermal Therapy.

Raman thermometry based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering has been developed using nanopipettes in cancer cell photothermal therapy (PTT). Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are robustly epoxied on glass pipettes with a high surface coverage of ∼95% and less than 10 nm-wide nanogaps for intracellular thermometry and photothermal cancer therapy. The temperature changes could be estimated from the N≡C band shifts of 4-fluorophenyl isocyanide (FPNC)-adsorbed AuNRs on the Raman thermometry nanopipette (RTN) surfaces.

Tropolone-Bearing Sesquiterpenes from : Structures, Photochemistry and Bioactivity.

The tropolone-bearing sesquiterpenes juniperone A () and norjuniperone A () were isolated from the folk medicinal plant , and their structures were determined by a combination of spectroscopic and crystallographic methods. Photojuniperones A1 () and A2 (), bearing bicyclo[3,2,0]heptadienones derived from tropolone, were photochemically produced and structurally identified by spectroscopic methods. Predicted by the machine learning-based assay, significantly inhibited the action of tyrosinase.

Antipostmenopausal effects of and fruit combination in estrogen-deficient rats.

Background: Climacterium is a series of physical and mental symptoms occurring in women and men due to decreased levels of sex hormones. Women lose the ability to become pregnant due to decreased ovarian estrogen production; the initial symptom being hot flushes. In addition, urogenital atrophy, sexual dysfunction, mood changes, and osteoporosis occur.

Hypoxia Suppresses Cysteine Deprivation-induced Cell Death ATF4 Regulation in MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells.

Background/aim: Cancer cells are frequently exposed to microenvironmental stresses, including amino acid deprivation and hypoxia, which are often targeted for cancer therapy. Here, we examined the effect of hypoxia in cysteine-deprived breast cancer cells and the mechanism to counteract the hypoxia effect.

Materials And Methods: Cell death was determined by annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide staining.

Protective effect of Lactobacillus casei HY2782 against particulate matter toxicity in human intestinal CCD-18Co cells and Caenorhabditis elegans.

Objectives: To investigate the preventive effect of Lactobacillus casei HY2782 on toxicity induced by particulate matter (PM, inhalable particles less than 10 μm in diameter) in human intestinal CCD-18Co cells and a model animal Caenorhabditis elegans.

Results: L. casei HY2782 treatment prevented PM-induced intestinal cell death via cellular reactive oxygen species production and membrane disruption attenuation.

Induction of HSP27 and HSP70 by constitutive overexpression of Redd1 confers resistance of lung cancer cells to ionizing radiation.

Redd1 is a stress response protein that functions as a repressor of mTORC1, a central regulator of protein translation, resulting in the inhibition of cell growth and metabolism. However, paradoxically, high Redd1 expression favors cancer progression and generates resistance to cancer therapy. Herein, we revealed that constitutive overexpression of Redd1 induced HSP27 and HSP70 expression in lung cancer cells.

Light-dependent suppression of COP1 multimeric complex formation is determined by the blue-light receptor FKF1 in Arabidopsis.

CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (COP1), a multifunctional E3 ligase protein with many target proteins, is involved in diverse developmental processes throughout the plant's lifecycle, including seed germination, the regulation of circadian rhythms, photomorphogenesis, and the control of flowering time. To function, COP1 must form multimeric complexes with SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA1 (SPA1), i.e.

Higher Serum Calcium Levels Are Associated with Preclinical Peripheral Arterial Disease among the Apparently Healthy Individuals.

Background: Epidemiological studies suggest that serum calcium levels correlate with cardiovascular events. An ankle-brachial index (ABI) between 0.9 and 1.

Photoperiod sensing system for timing of flowering in plants.

CONSTANS (CO) induces the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) in the photoperiodic pathway, and thereby regulates the seasonal timing of flowering. CO expression is induced and CO protein is stabilized by FLAVIN-BINDING KELCH REPEAT F-BOX PROTEIN 1 (FKF1) in the late afternoon, while CO is degraded by CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) during the night. These regulatory cascades were thought to act independently.

The F-box protein FKF1 inhibits dimerization of COP1 in the control of photoperiodic flowering.

In Arabidopsis thaliana, CONSTANS (CO) plays an essential role in the regulation of photoperiodic flowering under long-day conditions. CO protein is stable only in the afternoon of long days, when it induces the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), which promotes flowering. The blue-light photoreceptor FLAVIN-BINDING, KELCH REPEAT, F-BOX1 (FKF1) interacts with CO and stabilizes it by an unknown mechanism.

Antimicrobial peptide isolated from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens K14 revitalizes its use in combinatorial drug therapy.

The present study was performed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of an antimicrobial peptide (CSpK14) and the synergies thereof with β-lactams against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) and Enterococci (VRE). Our strain was isolated from fermented food (kimchi), which is 99.79 % homologous with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp.

Onychomatricoma: A Rare Tumor of Nail Matrix.

Onychomatricoma is a rare tumor of the nail matrix. Until now, few cases of onychomatricoma have been reported in the literature. Immunohistochemically, CD10, a marker of the onychodermis, is expressed in the stroma of the onychomatricoma.

Anti-inflammatory function of 4-tert-butylphenyl salicylate through down-regulation of the NF-kappa B pathway.

The salicylic acid derivative 4-tert-butylphenyl salicylate (4-TBPS) possesses anti-inflammatory activity. We demonstrated this and elucidated the mechanisms involved by using the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Raw 264.7 mouse macrophage model.

Biochemical and Thermodynamic Characterization of a Novel, Low Molecular Weight Xylanase from Bacillus Methylotrophicus CSB40 Isolated from Traditional Korean Food.

A low molecular weight xylanase from Bacillus strain CSB40, isolated from traditional Korean food and produced in beechwood xylan, was biochemically and thermodynamically characterized. It was purified 8.12-fold with a 15.

A novel thiol-reductase activity of Arabidopsis YUC6 confers drought tolerance independently of auxin biosynthesis.

YUCCA (YUC) proteins constitute a family of flavin monooxygenases (FMOs), with an important role in auxin (IAA) biosynthesis. Here we report that Arabidopsis plants overexpressing YUC6 display enhanced IAA-related phenotypes and exhibit improved drought stress tolerance, low rate of water loss and controlled ROS accumulation under drought and oxidative stresses. Co-overexpression of an IAA-conjugating enzyme reduces IAA levels but drought stress tolerance is unaffected, indicating that the stress-related phenotype is not based on IAA overproduction.