Publications by authors named "Xuming Deng"

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common metabolic disease of the liver that can progress to hepatitis, cirrhosis, and even cancer in extreme cases. In this study, we investigated the effect of Melatonin (Mel) on lipid accumulation and explored the molecular mechanism behind it. Mel treatment reduced lipid accumulation and enhanced autophagy in oleic acid (OA) + palmitic acid (PA)-induced cells.

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, a food- and water-borne pathogen, triggers food poisoning and enteric infections. The effectiveness of antibiotics against infections is decreasing due to bacterial resistance. Developing novel antimicrobial agents is crucial and urgent.

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Alcohol, one of the most widely popular and consumed beverages worldwide, often leads to acute alcoholic liver injury (AALI) when excessively consumed within a short timeframe. It can further induce alcoholic hepatitis, posing a serious risk to human health and public health safety. Pyroptosis, a typical mode of programmed cell death, is closely associated with the body's inflammatory response and plays a central role in AALI.

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Salmonellosis represents a global epidemic, and the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Salmonella and its sustained transmission worldwide constitutes a significant public health concern. Flagellum-mediated motility serves as a crucial virulence trait of Salmonella that guides the pathogen toward the epithelial surface, enhancing gut colonization. Artemisia argyit essential oil, a traditional herb extract, demonstrates efficacy in treating inflammation-related symptoms and diseases; however, its effects on flagellum assembly and expression mechanisms in anti-Salmonella activity remain inadequately explored.

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infection (CDI) is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea that seriously threatens public health. The disruption of normal gut microbiota by the use of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents enables to proliferate in the colon. The emergence and prevalence of hypervirulent strains result in increased morbidity, mortality, and high recurrence rates of CDI, thus creating a pressing need for novel therapeutics.

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The increasing antibiotic resistance and widespread pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has resulted in severe infections in both human and animals, necessitating the urgent development of novel therapeutic agents. Targeting virulence factors has emerged as a promising approach to combat infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.

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Pullorum disease, caused by Salmonella pullorum (S. pullorum), is a highly contagious illness affecting the poultry industry. Emerging evidence suggests that Artemisia argyit essential oil can influence the composition of gut microbes in the host, thereby promoting overall health.

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Lactoferrin (LF) is an important component of dairy products. Studies have shown that LF has a protective effect against liver injury, but the mechanism of action remains incompletely understood. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a key component of bacterial endotoxins, can lead to liver injury when exposure is excessive.

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The rise of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) strains has emerged as an increasing threat to global public health. The development of antibiotic adjuvants presents an economical and promising approach to address this crisis. Through a high-throughput screen of the FDA-approved compound library, we identified tavaborole (AN2690) as a broad-spectrum β-lactamase inhibitor.

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Background: Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) is an important zoonotic pathogen. The diseases such as necrotic enteritis (NE), enterotoxemia, gas gangrene and food poisoning caused by its infection seriously threaten the lives of both humans and animals.

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Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium, ST) is a food-borne pathogen that can be transmitted from animals to humans and causes symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. While antibiotics are commonly used to treat clinical infections, the increase in drug resistance has limited their effectiveness.

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To date, the abuse of antibiotics and a gradual decline in novel antibiotic discovery enlarge the threat of drug-resistant bacterial infections, especially methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Herein, inspired by the unique structures and antibacterial activities of 2-quinolones, a class of novel 2-quinolones with substituted pyridines was synthesized. Notably, compound , the derivative with a methylpyridine fragment, showed potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activities, especially for MRSA strains (MIC = 0.

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Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) poses an alarming threat in clinical settings and global public health owing to its high pathogenicity, epidemic success and rapid development of drug resistance, especially the emergence of carbapenem-resistant lineages (CR-hvKP). With the decline of the "last resort" antibiotic class and the decreasing efficacy of first-line antibiotics, innovative alternative therapeutics are urgently needed. Capsule, an essential virulence determinant, is a major cause of the enhanced pathogenicity of hvKP and thus represents an attractive drug target to prevent the devastating clinical outcomes caused by hvKP infection.

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Given the ever-evolving landscape of antimicrobial resistance, the emergence of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) has introduced a formidable challenge to global public health. In previous research, we identified the Compound Zndm19 as an NDM-1 inhibitor and reported Zndm19 derivatives, which exhibited moderate antibacterial activity when combined with meropenem (MEM). This moderate activity may have been due to the inability of Zndm19 to efficiently penetrate the bacterial outer membrane or its susceptibility to hydrolysis, which prevented it from exerting strong enzyme inhibition in synergy with bacterial cells.

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The extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) is a significant zoonotic bacterial pathogen that can cause severe infections and potentially cross-transmit between different hosts. The treatment of clinical bacterial infections is challenging because of the increasingly severe problem of drug resistance. The development of new strategies for managing bacterial infections is essential.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Propyl gallate (PG) is a food additive that could potentially help combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), though it hasn't been documented for this use until now.
  • - The study demonstrated PG's effective inhibition of the Tet(X4) enzyme, which is linked to AMR, and found it works well in synergy with the antibiotic tigecycline against E. coli.
  • - Combining PG with tigecycline improved survival rates and reduced bacterial load in infected animal models, suggesting PG could be an important tool for enhancing the effectiveness of existing antibiotics against resistant bacteria.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study focuses on Scutellarein (Scu), a new and effective inhibitor of the polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1) enzyme found in Acinetobacter baumannii, a type of bacteria known for its pathogenicity and persistence.
  • - Scu showed significant effects on bacterial behavior, such as reduced motility and biofilm formation, and improved survival rates in Galleria mellonella larvae and mice with pneumonia.
  • - The research suggests that Scu interferes with A. baumannii by directly targeting PPK1, potentially offering a new treatment avenue to combat this harmful bacterium.
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The intracellular bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila utilizes the Dot/Icm system to translocate over 330 effectors into the host cytosol. These virulence factors modify a variety of cell processes, including pathways involved in cell death and survival, to promote bacterial proliferation. Here, we show that the effector LegK3 is a eukaryotic-like Ser/Thr kinase that functions to suppress host apoptosis.

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Aniba rosaeodora essential oil (RO) has been traditionally used in natural medicine as a substitute for antibiotics due to its notable antidepressant and antibacterial properties. Salmonella, a prevalent pathogen in foodborne illnesses, presents a major challenge to current antibiotic treatments. However, the antibacterial efficacy and mechanisms of action of RO against Salmonella spp.

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The successful evolution of KPC-2 in bacteria has limited the clinical practice of carbapenems. This dilemma deteriorated the prognosis of associated infections and hence attracted increasing attention from researchers to explore alternative therapeutic options. Here, the enzyme inhibition assay was first performed to screen for a potent KPC-2 inhibitor.

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Capsaicin (CAP), the active ingredient in hot chilli peppers, has anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotection effects. Acute alcoholic liver injury (AALI) is liver damage caused by acute alcohol abuse, which can lead to severe liver lesions and even be life-threatening. Pyroptosis is inflammation-related programmed cell death characterized by membrane rupture and plays a key role in AALI.

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a notorious bacterium with high drug resistance and easy recurrence after surgery, has posed significant clinical treatment challenges. In the current scarcity of new antibiotics, the identification of adjuvants to existing antibiotics is a promising approach to combat infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. The in vitro synergy test, which included a MIC assay, time-kill curve, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and live/dead bacteria staining assay, revealed that laurocapram, a widely used chemical transdermal enhancer, could potentiate the antibacterial activity of cephalosporins against MRSA.

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The bioactivity of tea polysaccharides (TPs) has been widely reported, but studies to date have focused on green tea. Some human health investigations have implied that black tea may possess potential antidiabetic effects, but less is known about their potential role and related antidiabetic mechanism. The present study was, therefore, conducted to investigate the chemical properties and antidiabetic activity of TPs from black tea.

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3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) is a chloropropyl alcohol contaminant mainly from the thermal processing of food and could affect kidneys. Pyroptosis is programmed cell death mediated by inflammasomes and gasdermins, and excessive cellular pyroptosis and inflammation can lead to tissue injury. In the present study, we found that 3-MCPD increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in vitro and in vivo, increased the protein expression of NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), N-terminal domain of GSDMD (GSDMD-N), and cleaved caspase-1 and promoted the release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-18 (IL-18), which induced renal cell pyroptosis and inflammation.

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