Current protein & peptide science最新文献

Aquaculture is currently the fastest-growing food supply industry worldwide. Disease control has always been a core concern in the sector of aquaculture. In recent years, the frequency of aquaculture disease outbreaks has increased dramatically due to the continuously increased antibiotic resistance of pathogens. Therefore, it is imperative to find effective antibiotic alternatives for disease control in aquaculture. Bactericidal permeability increasing/lipopolysaccharide binding proteins (BPI/LBPs) are endogenous peptides ubiquitously expressed in aquatic animals that exhibit antimicrobial effects similar to antibiotics. This review presents an overview of current research on BPI/LBPs derived from aquatic animals, the predicted antimicrobial mechanisms of aquatic BPI/LBPs, and the application potential and prospects of aquatic BPI/LBPs as an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) resource. To sum up, the systematic research on aquatic BPI/LBPs may not only enrich AMP resources but also provide new clues for the development of eco-friendly disease control strategies in aquaculture.

With its high potential, mRNA nanomedicine has become one of the transformative frontiers of modern therapeutic strategies for treating and preventing a wide array of diseases. This review article covers recent developments in mRNA nanomedicine and its prospects in terms of innovations in drug delivery systems, stability improvements, and targeted therapeutic applications. The versatility of mRNA means that almost any protein can potentially be encoded into it, making it a powerhouse for vaccines, gene editing, and protein replacement therapies. Recent breakthroughs in nanoparticle technology have significantly enhanced mRNA molecules' delivery efficiency and stability, surmounting previous barriers concerning rapid degradation and immune system activation. It has been developed Innovations such as LNPs, polymer-based carriers, and hybrid nanocarriers have been central to the success of targeted delivery and the sustained release of mRNA. This review further underlines the potential of mRNA nanomedicine for oncological, infectious, and genetic diseases by highlighting ongoing clinical trials, emerging therapeutic paradigms, and future directions that lay much emphasis on delivery platform optimization, mRNA stability, and broadening the scope of mRNA nanomedicine therapy. With the power of emerging technologies and solving present challenges, mRNA nanomedicine has a vast potential to revolutionize the future landscape of personalized medicine and targeted therapies.

Background: Baicalein (BN), a potent flavonoid derived from scutellaria scutellaria, exhibits an array of noteworthy attributes, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antipyretic properties. Furthermore, its potential in treating osteoporosis has been highlighted. Nonetheless, the exact modes of action responsible for its therapeutic effects remain obscure. Hence, this study aims to elucidate the improvement effect of BN on OVX rats and explore its potential mechanism of action in treating osteoporosis through a comprehensive strategy that integrates network pharmacology and rigorous animal experiments.

Methods: The potential protein targets and OP disease targets in BN are analyzed using the protein database. The protein interaction diagram is constructed by Cytoscape3.7.2 software, and binding energy is used to evaluate the binding activity between BN and core targets, and some key genes are verified by protein experiments.

Results: Topology analysis and prediction reveal that osteoporosis (OP) is associated with more than ten core target proteins. Notably, NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), Androgen Receptor (AR), Estrogen Receptor beta (ESR1), and Cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2) emerge as pivotal proteins in the treatment of osteoporosis with BN. The biological process underlying BN treatment of osteoporosis primarily involves the regulation of sex hormone levels, autophagy, inflammatory response, and reactive oxygen metabolism. Moreover, the signaling pathways involved are predominantly the PI3K-Akt pathway, AMPK pathway, and estrogen signaling pathway. Subsequent animal experiments corroborate these findings by demonstrating that BN significantly enhances the expression levels of SIRT1, AR, and ESR1 in tissues, while concurrently reducing the protein expression of PTGS2. This multifaceted approach ultimately achieves the desired therapeutic outcome of osteoporosis treatment.

Conclusion: In summary, this study has validated the therapeutic effect of BN on OP and analyzed multiple potential therapeutic targets of BN for osteoporosis, which provides new ideas for further clinical treatment and experimental research of BN.

Rotator cuff injury is a disease in which the muscle and tendon that constitute the rotator cuff are torn causing shoulder pain and limited function. Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic metabolic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass, destruction of bone microstructure, decreased bone strength, and increased bone fragility. Both are common musculoskeletal diseases that occur in middle-aged and elderly people, and their prevalence gradually increases with age. Clinically, rotator cuff injury and OP comorbidity are very common, especially in terms of bone metabolism. In recent years, plant natural products have gradually become a research hotspot. Icariin (ICA) is one of the naturally present active ingredients derived from the Berberaceae herb Epimedium. It has various pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti- tumor properties, and is involved in the regulation of bone metabolism, which can play multiple therapeutic effects through a variety of proteins, receptors, and signaling pathways. Therefore, ICA, as a potential natural drug, is being gradually applied in the treatment of rotator cuff injury combined with OP, which has achieved great clinical efficacy. This study mainly discusses the pharmacological action and action mechanism of ICA in order to explore the potential of ICA to prevent and treat rotator cuff injury combined with OP and provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent clinical application of ICA.

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) is a broad condition characterized by lipid accumulation in the liver tissue, which can progress to fibrosis and cirrhosis if left untreated. Traditionally, liver biopsy is the gold standard for evaluating fibrosis. However, non-invasive biomarkers of liver fibrosis are developed to assess the fibrosis without the risk of biopsy complications. Novel serum biomarkers have emerged as a promising tool for non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in MAFLD patients. Several studies have shown that elevated levels of Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) are associated with increased liver fibrosis severity in MAFLD patients. This suggests that M2BPGi could serve as a reliable marker for identifying individuals at higher risk of disease progression. Furthermore, the use of M2BPGi offers a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy, which is invasive and prone to sampling errors. Overall, the usage of M2BPGi in assessing liver fibrosis in MAFLD holds great promise for improving risk stratification and monitoring disease progression in affected individuals. Further research is needed to validate its utility in clinical practice and establish standardized protocols for its implementation.

Background: Ganoderma spp. are a great source of bioactive molecules. The production and recovery of bioactive molecules vary according to strain, growth substrate, and extraction solution. Variations in protease and their inhibitors in basidiomata from a commercial strain (G. lingzhi) and an Amazonian isolate (Ganoderma sp.) cultivated in Amazonian lignocellulosic wastes and extracted with different solutions are plausible and were investigated in our study.

Methods: Basidiomata from cultivation in substrates based on açaí seed, guaruba-cedro sawdust and three lots of marupá sawdust were submitted to extraction in water, Tris-HCl, and sodium phosphate. Protein content, proteases, and protease inhibitors were estimated through different assays. The samples were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR).

Results: Tris-HCl provided higher protein extraction from Ganoderma sp. and higher caseinolytic, gelatinolytic, and fibrinolytic activity for G. lingzhi cultivated in açaí. Water extracts of Ganoderma sp., in general, exhibited higher trypsin and papain inhibitor activities compared to G. lingzhi. Extracts in Tris-HCl and sodium phosphate showed more intense protein bands in SDSPAGE, highlighting bands of molecular weights around 100, 50, and 30 kDa. FTIR spectra showed patterns for proteins in all extracts, with variation in transmittance according to substrate and extractor.

Conclusion: Water extract from Amazonian Ganoderma sp. cultivated in marupá wastes are promising as a source of protease inhibitors, while the Tris-HCL extract of G. lingzhi from açaí cultivation stands out as a source of proteases with fibrinolytic, caseinolytic, and gelatinolytic activities.

The biotechnology field has witnessed rapid advancements, leading to the development of numerous proteins and peptides (PPs) for disease management. The production and isolation of bioactive milk peptides (BAPs) involve enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, followed by purification through various techniques such as ultrafiltration and chromatography. The nutraceutical potential of bioactive milk peptides has gained significant attention in nutritional research, as these peptides may regulate blood sugar levels, mitigate oxidative stress, improve cardiovascular health, gut health, bone health, and immune responses, and exhibit anticancer properties. However, to enhance BAP bioavailability, the encapsulation method can be used to offer protection against protease degradation and controlled release. This article provides insights into the composition, types, production, isolation, bioavailability, and health benefits of BAPs.

In the past few decades, impressive progress achieved in technology development and improvement has accelerated the application of peptides as diagnostic biomarkers for various diseases. We outline the advantages of peptides as good diagnostic targets, since they serve as molecular surrogates of enzyme activities, much more specific biomarkers than proteins, and also play vital roles in many biological processes. On the basis of an extensive literature survey, peptide markers with high specificity and sensitivity that are currently applied in clinical tests, as well as recently identified, are summarized for the following four major categories of diseases: neurodegenerative disease, heart failure, infectious disease, and cancer. In addition, we summarize a few prevalent techniques used in peptide biomarker discovery and analysis, such as immunoassays, nanopore-based and nanoparticle-based peptide detection, and also MS-based peptide analysis techniques, and their pros and cons. Currently, there are plenty of analytical technologies available to achieve fast, sensitive and reliable peptide analyses, benefiting from the developments of hardware and instrumentation, as well as data analysis software and databases. Thus, with peptides emerging as sensitive, specific and reliable biomarkers for early detection of diseases, therapeutic monitoring, clinical treatment decisions and disease prognosis, the medical need for peptide biomarkers will increase strongly in the future.

Background: Gastric cancer has become one of the major diseases threatening human health. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of an anticancer bioactive peptide (ACBP) combined with oxaliplatin (OXA) on MKN-45, SGC7901, and NCI-N87 differentiated human gastric cancer cells and GES-1 immortalized human gastric mucosal epithelial cells. The therapeutic effect and action mechanism of short-term intermittent ACBP combined with OXA on nude mice with human gastric cancer were also investigated.

Methods: The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of these agents in these cells were measured by an MTT assay, and cell morphological changes were observed by H&E staining. The expression of Lin28, miR-107, miR-609, and Let-7 in these four cell lines was determined by q-PCR after drug treatment. Lin28 protein expression in these four cell lines treated with these drugs was measured by western blotting. Furthermore, activity and quality of life were observed daily in all tumor-bearing nude mice, and the expression of Lin28 in tumor tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR.

Results: The results showed that ACBP inhibited the proliferation of MKN-45, SGC7901, and NCI-N87 gastric cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner and weakly suppressed the proliferation of GES-1 cells. Moreover, its inhibitory effect on proliferation was stronger in poorly differentiated gastric cancer cells. ACBP, OXA, and the combination upregulated Lin28 gene expression in MKN-45 cells and downregulated it in SGC7901 and GES-1 cells. ACBP and the combination therapy downregulated Let-7 expression in MKN-45 cells and upregulated Let-7 expression in SGC7901 cells. The combination of ACBP with OXA demonstrated significant anticancer sensitization. Moreover, it also significantly improved the quality of life of tumor-bearing nude mice and reduced the toxic side effects of chemotherapeutic drugs on nude mice.

Conclusion: ACBP alone and in combination with oxaliplatin influenced the expression of tumor stem cell marker gene Lin28 and regulated the expression of microRNAs specifically regulated by Lin28. In addition, the anticancer effects and attenuated sensitization effects of ACBP may be related to the Lin28/miRNA-107 signaling pathway, acting by inhibiting the proliferation of cancerous stem cells. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for exploring the antitumor mechanism of ACBP alone and combined with chemotherapeutic drugs.