Biomedical subjects

Lang Qin

Publications and source records attributed to Lang Qin.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Infectious Clone Development of Zucchini Green Mottle Mosaic Virus Infecting Medicinal Plant Trichosanthes kirilowii and Establishment of a Serological Assay System.

Trichosanthes kirilowii has long been cultivated for application in traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, we identified two isolates of zucchini green mottle mosaic virus (ZGMMV; species Tobamovirus cucurbitae) from T. kirilowii plants. We determined the complete genome sequences of the ZGMMV isolates named ZGMMV-GL-1 and ZGMMV-GL-2. Each ZGMMV genome was 6,517 nucleotides in length, with only a single nucleotide variation detected between two sequences. Sequence analysis revealed that the ZGMMV isolates from this study shared 88.07 to 91.62% nucleotide identity with five other ZGMMV isolates deposited in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ZGMMV isolates can be clustered into two distinct groups; our two isolates shared the highest sequence similarity with the ZGMMV isolate from Nanning (GenBank accession number MF066176) and clustered within Group II. The coat protein (CP) gene was cloned from ZGMMV-infected T. kirilowii samples, and the CPZGMMV was expressed using the pET28(a) vector. Specific polyclonal antiserum CPZGMMV was generated by immunizing rabbits with the purified protein, and its sensitivity was determined to be satisfactory. Leveraging the high accuracy and sensitivity of the CPZGMMV antiserum, we developed a rapid, precise, and scalable diagnostic method for ZGMMV. We then constructed the full-length cDNA clones (ZGMMV-GL-1 and ZGMMV-GL-2). Additionally, the ZGMMV cDNA infectious clones from T. kirilowii were also able to infect Nicotiana benthamiana and Cucumis sativus systemically, inducing rough-textured and curled leaves in N. benthamiana and mosaic symptoms in C. sativus and T. kirilowii. In this study, we produced an antiserum against the ZGMMV CP and developed a sensitive, rapid, and reliable diagnostic assay, which lays a technical foundation for the detection and monitoring of ZGMMV. Therefore, the establishment of the ZGMMV infectious clone facilitates further research on viral protein functions, plant-pathogen interactions, and the formulation of effective ZGMMV management strategies.

Nicotiana benthamiana↗

PubMed2026

11-O-galloylbergenin alleviates LPS-stimulated inflammation in RAW 264.7 macrophages by targeting Grb2, RhoA, and Cdc42 in the RAS signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanism of 11-O-galloylbergenin in macrophages. METHODS: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages were treated with 11-O-galloylbergenin. Cytotoxicity was assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and cytokine secretion was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay. Data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based proteomics, Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, western blotting, and molecular docking were also performed. RESULTS: 11-O-Galloylbergenin (≤50 μg/mL) was non-cytotoxic and significantly suppressed tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion. Proteomics analysis identified 209 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) that showed opposite expression trends before and after 11-O-galloylbergenin treatment. Seven of these DEPs were enriched in the RAS pathway: RhoA, Cdc42, Grb2, RalB, Calm3, Gnb2, and Pla2g4a. Western blotting confirmed that 11-O-galloylbergenin downregulated RhoA, Cdc42, and Grb2 expression. Molecular docking revealed good binding affinity of 11-O-galloylbergenin to RhoA, Cdc42, and Grb2. CONCLUSION: 11-O-Galloylbergenin alleviates LPS-stimulated inflammation in RAW 264.7 macrophages by inhibiting the RAS signaling pathway.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Discovery and Engineering of a Rat Endogenous Retrovirus Reverse Transcriptase for Efficient Prime Editing.

CRISPR-based prime editors (PEs) install precise edits into genomic DNA without generating double-strand breaks. Their editing efficiency is highly dependent on reverse transcriptases (RTs), but efficient RT candidates remain limited. Here, we identified 19 novel active RTs by screening 558 candidates. Among them, RERV-RT, derived from Rattus norvegicus, exhibited the highest activity. Through structure-guided engineering and deep mutational scanning, we developed an optimized variant, enRERV-RT, which outperforms conventional M-MLV-RT-based PE systems by 1.20-fold in mammalian and plant cells, and by 1.88-fold at hard-to-edit loci, while enabling precise multiplex editing of functionally relevant genes. Additionally, we developed a high-throughput platform, TRAP-seq-PE, to systematically evaluate prime editor performance. Across diverse mutation types, we found that PE systems based on enRERV-RT exhibited higher editing efficiencies than those based on M-MLV-RT. Collectively, our work establishes a versatile, high-efficiency PE system, thereby facilitating advances in clinical gene therapy and precise crop breeding.

Animals↗