Applied Biological Chemistry最新文献

This study examined the potential of enzyme-modified and fermented pea protein (EFPP) to mitigate muscle atrophy by assessing the changes of muscle atrophy-related factors and mitochondrial biogenesis markers in C2C12 cells treated with dexamethasone (DEX). C2C12 cells treated with 40–80 µg/mL EFPP showed significant increases in myotube length and upregulated expression of muscle differentiation markers MyoD1 and Myogenin. Moreover, EFPP improved mitochondrial biogenesis, as indicated by elevated gene and protein levels of Sirt1, AMPK, and PGC1α in the DEX-induced muscle atrophy cells. EFPP also significantly downregulated gene expression of FoxO3a, Atrogin-1, and MuRF-1. Two bioactive peptides, IQRPVKEL and IENPVKEL, derived from EFPP, further demonstrated protective effects by upregulating mitochondrial biogenesis markers while reducing muscle atrophy factors. These findings suggest that EFPP can prevent muscle degradation and promote muscle differentiation, offering potential therapeutic benefits for muscle health.

Soil salinity is a significant environmental challenge that negatively affects crop yield. Growth-promoting bacteria (GPB), such as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens H-2-5, offer a promising biological approach to enhance plant tolerance under saline conditions. This study investigates the beneficial role of B. amyloliquefaciens H-2-5, in combination with the clay mineral illite, in alleviating salt stress in Panicum miliaceum. Under 150 mM NaCl stress, the combined treatment significantly improved plant growth, increasing shoot and root lengths by 44.3% and 40.9%, respectively, compared to untreated stressed plants. The treatment enhanced relative water content (RWC) (18.8%) and chlorophyll concentration (36.3%), indicating improved water status and photosynthetic capacity. Moreover, elevated levels of flavonoids (57.1%) and polyphenols (27.3%) reflected the stimulation of antioxidant responses, while reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD) and DPPH activities suggested lowered oxidative damage. Elemental analysis revealed reduced sodium uptake (35.7%) and increased potassium accumulation (20.6%), resulting in a more favorable Na⁺/K⁺ ratio. These findings highlight the significant contribution of B. amyloliquefaciens H-2-5 as a GPB that not only promotes plant growth but also strengthens physiological and biochemical mechanisms against salt-induced stress, supporting its potential as a sustainable tool for improving crop resilience in saline environments.

Essential oils are emerging as promising candidates in cancer therapeutics due to their various biological properties. This study investigates the anti-cancer effects of edible essential oils—Bergamot, Rose-geranium, Ginger, Turmeric, Myrrh, and Frankincense—on colorectal cancer cell lines, focusing on their impact on cell viability, molecular pathways, and anti-oxidant potential. Cell viability assays demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth, with rose-geranium essential oil showing the lowest IC50 values among those tested (0.37 µL/mL in HCT116 cells, 0.54 µL/mL in LoVo cells and 0.39 µL/mL in SW480 cells). Anti-oxidant activity showed that Ginger and Myrrh essential oils had the lowest EC50 values and highest Vitamin C Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity. Protein expression analysis revealed a significant decrease in oncogenic EpCAM protein and an increase in tumor suppressor proteins (p53 and NAG-1), with the most pronounced effects observed for rose-geranium oils. Geraniol, a primary component of rose-geranium essential oil, was further examined for its anti-cancer properties. Geraniol inhibited cell viability and spheroid formation in a dose-dependent manner, with significant effects on molecular markers such as NAG-1 and EpCAM expression. Antioxidant assays revealed that geraniol exhibited activity comparable to vitamin C. Furthermore, geraniol effectively enhanced NRF2-mediated antioxidant pathways, demonstrating comparable efficacy to the established NRF2 activator, quercetin. The transcript expression and promoter analyses demonstrated that geraniol regulates NAG-1 transcription. Finally, the in silico analysis indicates that geraniol’s anti-cancer effects may be mediated by the modulation of transcription factors involved in NAG-1 transcriptional regulation. These findings highlight the potential of edible essential oils, particularly rose-geranium and its active component geraniol, as promising therapeutic agents for colorectal cancer.

Agricultural practices are the largest anthropogenic source of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas contributing to global climate change. Applying symbiotic microbial inoculants capable of complete denitrification offers a promising strategy to mitigate N₂O emissions from agricultural fields. This study reports the strain-level diversity and geographical distribution of soybean symbiont bacteria Bradyrhizobium species carrying the nosZ gene, which encodes nitrous oxide reductase. Of 227 indigenous Bradyrhizobium isolates from soybean root nodules across South Korea, 162 were found to possess the nosZ gene, indicating their potential for N₂O reduction. The majority of the most prevalent species, Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens, harbor the nosZ gene, contributing to the overall high frequency of nosZ-positive genotypes nationwide. In contrast, no evidence of the nosZ gene was detected in the second most abundant species, Bradyrhizobium elkanii, which was predominantly isolated from the southwestern regions, raising the possibility of elevated N₂O emissions in these areas. The presence of the nosZ gene varies substantially even within the same species, highlighting the importance of understanding strain-level genetic and functional diversity to develop Bradyrhizobium inoculants optimized for both nitrogen fixation and denitrification.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), a key staple crop, contributes over 20% of the daily caloric intake for more than 3.5 billion people worldwide. The continuous growth of the global population necessitates a steady increase in rice production, promoting advancement in agricultural cultivation systems to achieve both sustainability and productivity. Effective water and nitrogen (N) fertilizer management are crucial for optimizing rice productivity and ensuring environmental sustainability. This study investigates the interactive effects of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation and different nitrogen sources under contrasting soil conditions, focusing on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), nitrogen metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism. Our findings showed that soil type significantly influenced NUE and N metabolism depending on nitrogen fertilizers more than water management under ALN. However, under AHN, both nitrogen fertilizers and water management affected NUE and nitrogen metabolism. In acidic, low-nutrient soils (ALN), AWD decreased nitrogen uptake efficiency and downregulated the nitrogen transport and assimilation-related genes. Conversely, in alkaline, high-nutrient soils (AHN), AWD enhanced nitrogen uptake and assimilation, leading to increased upregulation of nitrogen transporter and assimilation genes. Additionally, AWD altered carbohydrate metabolism, increasing or decreasing carbohydrates accumulation by soil chemical and nutrient conditions. This study provides valuable insights into improving rice productivity by optimizing nitrogen use efficiency and promoting sustainability under various soil and water conditions.

With the increasing demand for large-area antimicrobial textiles, particularly following the pandemic, it is crucial to develop cost-effective and facile textile coating methods. This study aimed to develop antimicrobial textiles using a polymeric composite applied through simple solution-coating methods, such as dipping and roll-to-roll processes. By incorporating a citric acid solubilizer and Cu(II) electrophiles, the antimicrobial effectiveness of chitosan-coated textiles was enhanced due to the synergistic effect of their inherent antimicrobial properties via the formation of crosslinked complexes. The chitosan–citrate–copper polymeric composites exhibited scalability for roll-to-roll PET coatings and over 99.9% antibacterial efficiency against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The roll-to-roll PET coating also showed significant effectiveness against Influenza A, reducing it by 99.895%. This facile antimicrobial coating process, which avoids chemical modification and prolonged immersion, offers advantages for the mass production of antimicrobial textiles in related industries.

Alpinia officinarum, commonly referred to as lesser galangal, is a medicinal plant traditionally used in East Asian practices owing to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to isolate p-acetoxycinnamyl alcohol from A. officinarum and evaluate its effect on melanogenesis-related enzyme expression. p-Acetoxycinnamyl alcohol was successfully isolated and structurally characterized from A. officinarum using NMR spectroscopy. The compound’s skin-whitening potential was investigated through a combination of molecular docking simulations and in vitro assays using B16F10 melanoma cells. The results demonstrated that p-acetoxycinnamyl alcohol showed potent binding affinity and inhibited the expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein (TRP)-1, and TRP-2 in melanocytes as shown by molecular docking simulations and in vitro assays. These findings indicate that p-acetoxycinnamyl alcohol has potential as a natural skin-whitening compound that controls melanogenic enzyme expression and functionality. The therapeutic potential of A. officinarum in functional cosmeceuticals and dermatological therapies emphasizes its pharmacognostical importance.

Samsoeum (SSE) is a traditional herbal prescription used to cure early signs of a cold such as headache, cough, runny nose, and fever. The safety and efficacy of SSE can be guaranteed with the use of its quality control biomarkers. Although chemical quality control is performed to ensure consistent efficacy of SSE, it has limitations in evaluating the efficacy of complex natural products. To find biological assays that could complement the biological quality control of SSE, we conducted a study of the literature. In this review, we collected and identified 17 articles that investigated the efficacy of SSE, including clinical, in vivo, and in vitro studies. As a result, most studies evaluated anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy efficacies. One clinical study has reported efficacy of SSE for chronic bronchitis. In basic studies, 7 in vivo studies and 4 in vitro studies were mainly related to chronic diseases, including inflammation, allergy, cancer, and obesity. Optimal in vitro and in vivo efficacy evaluation techniques that can assess consistent clinical effects should be chosen for future qualitative evaluation studies of herbal prescriptions (herbal medicines).

Background

Chronic kidney disease causes endothelial cell dysfunction associated with uremia, which triggers a high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, prolonged exposure of the vascular endothelium to uremic toxins could provoke endothelial damage in patients with end-stage renal disease. Resveratrol (RSV), a dietary polyphenol compound, has been reported to possess health benefits due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. However, the role of RSV on uremic serum (US)-induced endothelial cell injury is still unclear.

Methods

HUVECs were stimulated by the US to mimic the inflammatory damage model in vitro. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected using CCK-8 and flow cytometry. IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α were evaluated using ELISA. ROS and SOD levels were detected using special assay kits. Kruppel-Like Factor 2 (KLF2), Fused-in-Sarcoma (FUS), and F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 protein (FBXW7) levels were determined using western blot. KLF2 mRNA level was examined using RT-qPCR. After ENCORI, HitPredict, and BioGRID software prediction, the interaction between KLF2 and FUS or FBXW7 was identified using RIP and Co-Immunoprecipitation (IP) assays.

Results

RSV could relieve US-triggered HUVEC viability inhibition, apoptosis, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress promotion. KLF2 knockdown partly attenuated the repression of RSV on US-induced HUVEC injury. Mechanistically, FUS bound with KLF2 to improve the stability of KLF2 mRNA. KLF2 interacted with FBXW7. RSV hindered US-caused HUVEC injury by regulating FUS/KLF2/FBXW7 pathway.

Conclusion

RSV exposure could mitigate US-evoked HUVEC dysfunction by activating the FUS/KLF2/FBXW7 pathway, providing a better understanding of the role of RSV in the anti-inflammatory therapeutics for uremia treatment.