Artificial intelligence combined with affinity chromatography discover that 7-Epitaxol promotes autophagy in NSCLC cells by interacting with EGFR: Discovery of novel EGFR antagonist based on DL and CMC.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) are widely regarded as the most promising strategy to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While the existing development model cannot meet the requirements.

Methods: Here, we developed a drug prediction and screening platform based on state-of-the-art deep learning (DL) algorithms and cell membrane chromatography (CMC).

Plant prenyltransferases: Diversity, catalytic activities, mechanisms, and application in heterologous production of prenylated natural products.

Plant prenyltransferases (PTs) are pivotal enzymes in the biosynthetic pathways of prenylated natural products (PNPs) that catalyze the transfer of isoprenyl units (C) to specific receptor molecules, including aromatic compounds and terpene precursors. Recent advancements in plant genomics and synthetic biology have significantly accelerated research on PTs in natural product synthesis, positioning them as a focal point for scientific investigation. Although there are existing reviews on the functions and classification of PTs, the functional diversity of plant PTs remains inadequately understood.

Spatial microfluidic holographic integrated platform for label-free and high-dimensional analysis of cancer heterogeneity.

The combination of quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) with imaging flow cytometry (IFC) enables label-free and multi-parameter single-cell analysis. Here, we present a simple yet powerful QPM-IFC platform, the spatial microfluidic holographic integrated (SMHI) platform, which uniquely integrates spatial hydrodynamic focusing microfluidics with digital holographic microscopy (DHM) to achieve high-fidelity single-cell QPM reconstruction without digital refocusing in 0.34 seconds, accounting for only 4.

Covalent/Metal-Organic Skeleton Composites for Solid-Phase Extraction of Ultraviolet Absorbers in Environmental Samples.

In this study, novel covalent/metal-organic skeleton composites (TpBD@MIL-68; 2,4,6-triformylphloroglucinol (Tp) and benzidine (BD)) were combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and used to develop a method for detecting ultraviolet absorbers, including 4-(4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)benzene-1,3-diol (Appolo-116), 3-benzenediol, 4-[4,6-bis(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl]-1 (DBDT), 2,4,6-triphenyl-s-triazine (TPTZ), 2,4,6-trip-tolyl-1.3.5-triazine, 2-(4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-5-((hexyl)oxy)phenol (UV-1577), and 2-(4,6-bis-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-5-(octyloxy)-phenol (UV-1164) is present in greenhouse films and soils.

[Construction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell factory for efficient biosynthesis of ferruginol].

Diterpenoid ferruginol is a key intermediate in biosynthesis of active ingredients such as tanshinone and carnosic acid.However, the traditional process of obtaining ferruginol from plants is often cumbersome and inefficient. In recent years, the increasingly developing gene editing technology has been gradually applied to the heterologous production of natural products, but the production of ferruginol in microbe is still very low, which has become an obstacle to the efficient biosynthesis of downstream chemicals, such as tanshinone.

Telomere-to-telomere gap-free genome assembly provides genetic insight into the triterpenoid saponins biosynthesis in .

has been widely used in Asia as a medicinal herb and food because of its anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties. has important clinical value because of the active triterpenoid saponins in its roots. However, the biosynthetic pathway of triterpenoid saponins in remains unclear, and the related genes remain unknown.

Iterative Optimization Yields Stapled Peptides with Superior Pharmacokinetics and Potency for Renal Fibrosis Treatment.

Renal fibrosis, resulting from myofibroblast-mediated excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, lacks effective treatments. Novel peptide DR3penA developed by our group showed therapeutic potential for fibrotic diseases; however, its application was hindered by poor stability and bioavailability. To address this unmet need, we implemented stepwise optimization of DR3penA.

Salinicoccus bachuensis sp. nov., a novel halophilic bacterium, isolated from rhizosphere soil surrounding Tamarix chinensis Lour. plants in Bachu County, Xinjiang, China.

The strain Bachu38 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Tamarix chinensis Lour. plants in Bachu County, Xinjiang, China. This strain exhibited growth under a wide range of conditions, with temperature tolerance from 8 to 45°C (optimal at 28°C), pH adaptability between 7.

Engineering cellular dephosphorylation boosts (+)-borneol production in yeast.

(+)-Borneol, the main component of "Natural Borneol" in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, is a high-end spice and precious medicine. Plant extraction cannot meet the increasing demand for (+)-borneol, while microbial biosynthesis offers a sustainable supply route. However, its production was extremely low compared with other monoterpenes, even with extensively optimizing the mevalonate pathway.

A New Phosphorylated Protein Analysis Strategy based on Trypsin Encapsulated in Metal-Organic Frameworks with High Efficiency and a Simplified Workflow.

Phosphoproteomics research is crucial for clinical diagnosis. However, due to the self-hydrolysis of natural proteases and the complex typical pretreatment protocol, the traditional bottom-up method is not enough to achieve rapid analysis of phosphorylated proteins. In this work, we encapsulate trypsin (Try) in the ZIF-L(Co) to develop a new strategy that simplifies the phosphorylated protein analysis process and achieves rapid analysis.

Amino Acid-Regulated Biomimic Fe-MOF Nanozyme with Enhanced Activity and Specificity for Colorimetric Sensing of Uranyl Ions in Seawater.

Nanozymes are attracting widespread attention as effective alternatives to overcome the limitations of natural enzymes. However, their catalytic performance is unsatisfactory due to the low catalytic activity and specificity. In this work, an efficient metal-organic framework (MOF) nanozyme mimicking the active centers of natural enzymes has been developed and its catalysis mechanism has been thoroughly investigated.

Purity determination of digitoxin by two-signal suppression-internal standard correction-high-performance liquid chromatography-quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance.

In the biomedical and chemical fields, purity assessment of compounds is a critical step in ensuring product quality and safety. In this study, a method for purity quantification was proposed as two-signal suppression-internal standard correction-high-performance liquid chromatography-quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (TSS-ISC-HPLC-qNMR). The two-signal suppression effectively suppresses the interference of solvent signals in the NMR spectra, and the internal standard correction eliminates the influence of many variables during sample preparation and analysis.

Bioinspired Cu/Zn-ZIF nanozyme with excellent laccase-like activity for selective colorimetric detection of phenolic pollutants.

The ingenious design of active sites in mimetic enzymes is crucial for developing enzyme-like functional materials with high activity and selectivity. Inspired by the N-ligand-rich copper centers of natural laccase, a novel laccase-like nanozyme was developed by loading copper ions into zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (Cu/Zn-ZIF). Benefiting from the precise mimicry of the catalytic center and the high dispersion of catalytic sites which were supported by the MOF backbone, Cu/Zn-ZIF manifested superior laccase-like activity.

Functional identification of the diterpene synthases exploring the landscape of diterpene structural diversity in Isodon.

The genus Isodon is recognized as a primary source for the production of ent-kaurane-type diterpenes and previous studies predominantly focused on ent-kaurene and miltiradiene as the most extensively investigated diterpenes in Isodon. The diversity of diterpene synthases within this genus has recently been acknowledged, while such studies have been largely restricted to single species. In this study, we systematically mined and functionally validated diterpene synthases from three Isodon species using transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses.

Advances and mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine and its active ingredients against antibiotic-resistant infections.

In clinical practice, antibiotics have historically been utilized for the treatment of pathogenic bacteria. However, the gradual emergence of antibiotic resistance among bacterial strains has posed a significant challenge to this approach. In 2022, , a Gram-negative bacterium renowned for its widespread pathogenicity and high virulence, emerged as the predominant pathogenic bacterium in China.

Simultaneous Enrichment and Ultrasensitive Detection of Angiotensin I, II, and III and Aldosterone in Human Plasma Based on Magnetic Covalent Organic Frameworks and LC-MS/MS.

Angiotensin I, II, and III (Ang I, II, and III) and aldosterone (Aldo) play an important role in primary aldosteronism (PA) screening according to the study of the blood pressure regulation mechanism. However, Ang I, Ang II, Ang III, and Aldo are present in human plasma at low concentrations and have different polarities, which make it rather challenging for current detection methods to simultaneously detect four analytes in complex blood samples. In this study, a new magnetic covalent organic framework (COF) was synthesized for the enrichment of Ang I, II, and III and Aldo in human plasma, and a new method for the simultaneous detection of four analytes was developed based on the magnetic COF and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Transcriptome Analysis of and Functional Validation of CYP80s Involved in Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloid Biosynthesis.

The medicinal plant is rich in aporphine alkaloids, a type of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA), with aporphine being the representative and most abundant compound, but our understanding of the biosynthesis of BIAs in this plant has been relatively limited. Previous research reported the genome of and preliminarily identified the norcoclaurine synthase (NCS), which is involved in the early stages of the BIA biosynthetic pathways. However, the key genes promoting the formation of the aporphine skeleton have not yet been reported.

Chitosan functionalized two-dimensional covalent organic framework nanosheets with high hydrophilicity for efficient glycopeptide enrichment.

Glycopeptides are an important biomarker, which play a crucial role in various biological processes. Due to their low abundance and the presence of interfering macromolecular proteins, enrichment of glycopeptides is necessary before testing. However, most materials for enriching glycopeptides have high site resistance, relatively low surface area, and limited recognition sites.

Sex and Age Differences in Glucocorticoid Signaling After an Aversive Experience in Mice.

Background: glucocorticoids may play an important role in the formation of fear memory, which is relevant to the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In our previous study, we showed the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) forms a protein complex with FKBP51, which prevents translocation of GR into the nucleus to affect gene expression; this complex is elevated in PTSD patients and by fear-conditioned learning in mice, and disrupting this complex blocks the storage and retrieval of fear-conditioned memories. The timing of release of glucocorticoid relative to the formation of a traumatic memory could be important in this process, and remains poorly understood.

Are the Sleep-Wake Cycle and Sleep Duration Ethnically Determined? A Comparison of Tibetan and Japanese Children's Sleep.

Background: Several environmental factors affect sleep. We investigated the sleep and sleep-related habits of preschool children living in Tibet and conducted an international comparison with those in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study using the Chinese version of the Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Preschoolers (JSQ-P-C) and compared the results with previous data on Japanese children.

A Large-field droplets for high-throughput Escherichia coli identification within one field of view.

Droplet microfluidic chips have emerged as an efficient platform for single-cell analysis due to their high sensitivity, efficiency, and throughput, showing significant potential in pathogen detection. However, current droplet microfluidic chips encounter challenges in large-scale droplet quantification and precise imaging, rendering them unsuitable for the high-throughput pathogen detection required for a large number of samples. To address these issues, this study developed a high-precision fluorescence imaging system utilizing a confocal reflective fluorescence approach, which is an advanced microscopy technique that combines confocal microscopy and reflected fluorescence imaging.

Boosted photoinduced charge separation in FeNiS@CdZnS Step-scheme heterojunction for photothermal assisted photocatalytic water splitting into hydrogen.

Rational design of photocatalysts with photothermal effect to maximize light utilization is pivotal in achieving superior photocatalytic efficiency. In this work, by coating CdZnS (CZS) nanorods on hollow FeNiS (FNS) microspheres with photothermal effect, a novel FeNiS@CdZnS (FNS@CZS) Step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction photocatalyst was constructed for efficient photothermal-assisted hydrogen (H) evolution via simultaneously employing light and thermal energy. The hollow structure of FNS microsphere not only provides abundant reactive sites but also serves as a supportive substrate for CZS nanorods, effectively inhibiting their agglomeration.

The Effects of High Altitude on Children's Sleep: A Community-Based Study on Preschoolers in the Tibetan Plateau.

Su, Ping, Masako Taniike, Yuko Ohno, and Ikuko Mohri. The effects of high altitude on children's sleep: a community-based study on preschoolers in the Tibetan Plateau. 26:187-194, 2025.

Gut microbiota-derived 3-indoleacetic acid confers a protection against sepsis-associated encephalopathy through microglial aryl hydrocarbon receptors.

Background: The gut microbiota significantly contributes to the pathogenesis of central nervous system disorders. Among the bioactive molecules produced by the gut microbiota, 3-indoleacetic acid (IAA) has been shown to attenuate oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. This experiment aimed to determine the impacts of IAA on sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) and the underlying mechanisms.