Search PubMedSearch

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “AlkB Enzymes”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

93 recordsLinked to original sources

Epitranscriptomic erasers in bivalves: Evolutionary divergence and species-specific transcriptional plasticity of the ALKBH family under acute thermal stress.

The AlkB homolog (ALKBH) family of Fe(II)/α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases mediates nucleic acid demethylation, thereby governing RNA metabolism and genomic stability. Despite their pivotal roles in epitranscriptomic regulation across vertebrates, the evolutionary dynamics and functional significance of ALKBH proteins in bivalve mollusks remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a comprehensive phylogenomic analysis of 210 ALKBH genes identified across 35 bivalve species. Our analyses reveal a distinct evolutionary trajectory characterized by the lineage-specific loss of ALKBH4 and the restricted distribution of ALKBH5 to the Mytilidae family, contrasting sharply with vertebrate repertoires. Using the noble scallop (Chlamys nobilis) and Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) as model systems, we demonstrate that ALKBH genes exhibit conserved spatiotemporal expression patterns, with pronounced enrichment in gonadal tissues and during metamorphic transitions, implicating these enzymes in gametogenesis and larval development. Furthermore, comparative thermal stress experiments reveal divergent transcriptional plasticity: the subtropical scallop C. nobilis mounts rapid, transient induction of ALKBH1/2/6 under heat shock, whereas the eurythermal oyster C. gigas maintains sustained ALKBH3 expression, potentially underpinning its superior thermal tolerance. Conversely, cold stress elicits bimodal regulation in C. nobilis, with ALKBH1/2 upregulation contrasting with ALKBH6/7/8 suppression. These findings illuminate the functional diversification of bivalve ALKBH genes and their potential utility as molecular biomarkers for assessing developmental competence and thermal resilience in shellfish aquaculture.

Animals

Recovery of polysaccharides from marc and pomace through sequential extractions assisted by ultrasound, enzymes and acid maceration.

This study evaluated the pilot-scale recovery of polysaccharides from Vitis vinifera pomace/marc using sequential extraction strategies combining high-power ultrasound (UAE), enzymes (EAE), and acid maceration (AAE). Laboratory-scale trials identified optimal conditions for enzyme dosage and liquid/solid ratio (L/S). Pilot-scale trials demonstrated that the extraction sequence and the processing byproducts influenced extraction efficiency, total soluble polysaccharide in the extract (TSP), and polysaccharide composition. Post-maceration at pH 3.2, with/without the maximum enzyme dose after UAE in a L/S of 1.3/1, improved structural polysaccharide extraction from Viura pomace, while Tempranillo marc showed better recovery of pectic families and TSP with UAE + EAE. Separating grape pomace extract (UAE) from the post-maceration stage at pH 3.2 produced two extracts: E1, with higher yield (19.9%), enriched in structural polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, and E2, enriched in high and medium molecular weight pectic polysaccharides (58.03%), a low degree of esterification (17.1%) and more complex rhamnogalacturan structures.

Polysaccharides

Engineered MXene-based nanozyme platform: NIR-II photothermal and dual enzyme-mimetic potentiated chemodynamic synergy for precision tumor eradication.

The antioxidant defense barrier in the tumor microenvironment, particularly glutathione (GSH), considerably restricts the therapeutic efficacy of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Moreover, CDT generally exhibits relatively mild therapeutic efficacy owing to its intrinsic reaction kinetics, making it difficult to achieve complete tumor eradication within a short time. To address these issues, we construct a functionalized nanotherapeutic platform, Nb2CTx@Ru-PEG2000-FA (NCRPF), for tumor photothermal ablation and enhanced CDT resulting from GSH depletion. NCRPF possesses three key advantages: 1. Efficient near-infrared II photothermal conversion (η = 42.08%), raising the tumor temperature above 45 °C within 90 s for rapid ablation; 2. Dual peroxidase-like and glutathione peroxidase-like activities, simultaneously depleting GSH and generating a burst of ·OH to eliminate residual tumors; 3. Targeted tumor accumulation with 2.9-fold higher efficiency than passive diffusion. Both in vitro and in vivo results confirm that this combined strategy achieves complete tumor eradication with favorable biosafety. Collectively, the NCRPF nanotherapeutic system provides a powerful new paradigm with high translational potential for the complete eradication of breast cancer.

Animals

Comparative profiling of microbial community structure, enzyme potential, metabolic features, and volatile composition in craft and Jiafan Huangjiu processes.

Craft Huangjiu and Jiafan Huangjiu represent two distinct industrial Huangjiu product outcomes with contrasting volatile profiles. This study compared craft Huangjiu (L70) and Jiafan Huangjiu (L79) to characterize their physicochemical, microbial, gene-level functional, metabolic, and volatile features. Because L70 involved mid-fermentation addition of finished Huangjiu, this comparison was not intended to isolate the sole effect of fermentation interruption versus continued fermentation. L79 showed more extensive carbon and nitrogen utilization, with lower residual substrates and higher ethanol and acetic acid contents than L70, whereas L70 retained a less complete fermentation state. At the volatile level, GC-MS and volatile metabolomics consistently showed an ester-enriched profile in L79 and a more alcohol-dominant profile in L70. FlavorDB-based putative annotation and threshold-based OAV analysis further indicated distinct database-assigned descriptor distributions and potential odor-active compounds, with more OAV > 1 ester-related compounds in L79. Metagenomic analysis showed that L70 was dominated by Lactobacillus acetotolerans, whereas L79 contained higher relative abundances of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus flavus, and Fructilactobacillus fructivorans. Metagenomic functional annotation showed higher representation of hydrolysis-related CAZy genes and ester-related enzyme annotations in L79. KEGG-based pathway mapping further indicated greater gene-level potential for ethanol-, acetate-, and acetyl-CoA-related metabolism in L79. Accordingly, the L70 profile should be interpreted as the integrated final-product outcome of process intervention, exogenous input, and subsequent fermentation. The findings provide a comparative basis for future flavor regulation and process optimization in Huangjiu and other fermented alcoholic beverages.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Targeting SIRT6: the design and therapeutic implications of activators and inhibitors.

Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is an NAD+-dependent deacylase that maintains genomic stability, regulates metabolism, and influences aging, making it an attractive but challenging therapeutic target. Pharmacological modulation of SIRT6 holds promise for cancer and metabolic disorders, yet its context-dependent functions demand precise intervention strategies. Potent, selective, and drug-like chemical probes are therefore essential to dissect SIRT6 biology and to validate its therapeutic potential. This review critically evaluates recent medicinal chemistry advances in SIRT6 modulation. We focus on structure-guided design strategies and structure-activity relationships (SAR) that have transformed initial hits into optimized leads for both activators and inhibitors, highlighting the remaining challenges in achieving isoform selectivity and drug-like properties.

Sirtuins

Bioprospecting microbial genomes to expand the biocatalytic toolbox of rubber oxygenases.

A set of rubber oxygenases was discovered through phylogenetic analysis and AI-based structural modeling of complexes of the putative enzymes with a substrate mimicking cis-1,4-polyisoprene. Sixteen candidate proteins were selected from thermophilic microorganisms, all sequence-related to the Latex clearing protein from Streptomyces sp. K30 (LcpK30). Sequence truncation and solubility tags were then evaluated to enhance protein expression, with the SUMO tag proving to be the most effective. Including LcpK30, nine heme-containing oxygenases were successfully expressed in E. coli NEB 10-beta cells, purified (35-157 mg L-1 yield) and characterized. Steady-state kinetics revealed significant rubber latex-degrading properties for six of them, with the truncated SUMO-fused LcpK30 (SUMO-LcpK30T) showing activity in agreement with literature. Notably, the catalytic efficiencies of all the expressed homologs lay within one order of magnitude and the oxygenase from Thermomonospora echinospora was found to be particularly promising in terms of activity, especially at high latex concentrations (more than 1% w/v). The analysis of reaction mixtures by both HPLC and HPLC-MS confirmed the oxidation of cis-1,4-polyisoprene to form the expected isoprenoid oligomers (n = 2-12), whose distribution was consistent with the usual endo-type cleavage pattern in all but one case. This bioprospecting effort afforded a platform of new rubber-degrading enzymes with diverse efficiencies and product profiles, capable of adapting to targeted applications.

Oxygenases

Fasting-refeeding regimes induce compensatory growth and muscle transcriptomic remodeling in juvenile Qihe gibel carp (Carassius gibelio var. Qihe).

Compensatory growth, an important adaptive response in fish, holds considerable potential for improving feeding efficiency in aquaculture. To identify an optimal fasting-refeeding strategy for juvenile Qihe gibel carp (Carassius gibelio var. Qihe) and to clarify the mechanisms underlying the compensatory growth, we divided two-month-old fish into four groups, namely S0 group (continuous feeding for 28 days), S2 group (4 cycles of 2-day fasting followed by 5-day refeeding), S4 group (fasting for 4 days followed by refeeding for 24 days), and S8 group (fasting for 8 days followed by refeeding for 20 days), then growth performance, muscle tissue morphology, biochemical responses, and muscle transcriptomic profiles under different feeding regimes were investigated. After a 28-day aquaculture experiment, fish in the S4 group exhibited significantly greater body length and weight than those in the S0, S2, and S8 groups, indicating over-compensatory growth. Histological analysis further showed that muscle growth in the S4 group was mainly associated with myofiber hyperplasia. Different feeding regimes also induced distinct changes in hepatic antioxidant and metabolic enzyme activities, as well as intestinal digestive enzyme activities. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the forkhead box O (FoxO) signaling pathway was significantly enriched during compensatory growth. Key genes, including serum/glucocorticoid regulated kinase 1 (sgk1) and insulin receptor substrate 1 (irs1), were predicted to play important roles in this process. Overall, these results indicate that fasting for 4 days followed by refeeding for 24 days (the S4 regime) is the optimal strategy for inducing compensatory growth in juvenile Qihe gibel carp. This study provides new insights into the morphological, physiological, and molecular basis of compensatory growth and offers a scientific foundation for developing efficient and sustainable feeding strategies for this species.

Animals

Vitamin D Supplementation Modulates Base Excision Repair (BER) Machinery in Systemic Sclerosis: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic, autoimmune, fibrotic disorder involving immune dysregulation, vascular abnormalities and progressive fibrosis. Although oxidative stress and defective DNA repair have been implicated in its pathogenesis, the impact of vitamin D on DNA repair pathways remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the expression of DNA repair enzymes in SSc, explore their relationship with vitamin D status and assess the effects of vitamin D supplementation on the transcriptional expression of these enzymes. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 52 female patients with SSc and 31 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). Gene expression levels of base excision repair (BER) enzymes (APE1 and OGG1) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) enzymes (XPA and XPC) were analyzed. Serum vitamin D levels were measured and correlated with disease activity scores. In a prospective arm of the study, patients received six months of vitamin D supplementation and their DNA repair capacity was evaluated pre- and post-intervention. Baseline expression of APE1 and OGG1 was significantly lower in SSc patients than in HCs, whereas expression of the NER genes remained unchanged, indicating selective impairment of the BER pathway. Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in SSc and inversely correlated with disease severity. Supplementation significantly increased serum vitamin D levels and up-regulated APE1 and OGG1 expression; while NER genes remained unaffected. These findings are consistent with evidence of elevated oxidative DNA lesions in SSc and support a mechanistic link between BER activity and the repair of oxidative DNA damage. SSc patients exhibit reduced transcription of BER-specific enzymes associated with vitamin D deficiency andrestoration of vitamin D levels partially rescues BER enzyme expression. These findingshighlight a potentially modifiable axis linking micronutrient status, genomic stability and disease activity and provide a rationale for investigating vitamin D optimization as an adjunctive strategy to enhance DNA repair and potentially attenuate inflammatory and fibrotic processes in SSc.

Humans

Diversification of yeast proteins as an approach for the development of sustainable food systems.

Despite growing trend in sustainable protein sources, yeast proteins have mainly been explored as a source of bioactive peptides using a monospecies and general protein approach. The contribution of highly abundant protein fractions in the yeast proteome to peptide formation remains insufficiently investigated, limiting a comprehensive understanding of yeast proteins as optimized peptide sources. The current review presents a systematic analysis of yeast proteins as emerging protein sources and evaluates the suitability of high-abundance proteins as bioactive peptide precursors by in silico techniques. Moreover, brewery by-product and single-cell yeast protein approaches are compared in terms of composition and techno-functionality whereas peptide formation mechanisms (in situ and ex situ) and regulatory aspects for food applications are also addressed. Cytoplasmic metabolic proteins, particularly glycolytic enzymes (GAPDH), are identified as highly abundant fractions of the yeast proteome. Proteins associated with cell and organelle membranes also contribute substantially based on cellular localization. These findings imply that such proteins may act as key precursors of yeast-derived bioactive peptides. In silico hydrolysis with Alcalase suggests a tendency toward the generation of short-chain peptides (3-11/14 aa), which may support biological activity. Moreover, peptide profiles appear to vary across yeast species, highlighting the role of species diversity in peptide generation. While single-cell yeast protein allows more controlled production than brewery by-products, nucleic acid content in both may limit applications. Overall, yeast proteins appear to be metabolically adaptable and species-diverse sources for various biological peptides.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Peptide molecular lock-engineered nanobodies enable an oriented dual-modal immunoassay for reliable detection of Cronobacter sakazakii.

Conventional nanobody ELISAs for trace Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula suffer from random orientation and low signal output. We developed an oriented dual-modal immunoassay that combines site-specific biotinylation via a C-terminal AviTag and a peptide molecular lock, enabling controlled surface orientation while preserving nanobody structural integrity. This strategy was further integrated with phage-displayed nanobodies for multivalent amplification and both fluorescent and colorimetric readouts. The assay exhibited a broad linear range of 103-106 CFU/mL, with limits of detection (LODs) of 6.70 × 102 CFU/mL for fluorescence and 1.55 × 103 CFU/mL for colorimetry, showing improved sensitivity compared with the conventional passive adsorption-based Nb-ELISA evaluated in this study. XGBoost-based multimodal fusion improved quantitative accuracy, and SHAP analysis elucidated modality contributions. In spiked powdered infant formula samples, recoveries ranged from 92.1% to 118% with coefficients of variation below 5.98%, confirming acceptable matrix tolerance and analytical reliability.

Cronobacter sakazakii

Dual signal-enhanced immunochromatographic test strip based on Au@PtNPs: From sensitive detection of thiamethoxam to multiplex pesticide screening in vegetables.

Immunochromatographic test strip (ICTS) is a rapid analytical technique widely used in environmental and food detection owing to its merits of simple operation and short analysis time. Herein, three-dimensional nanoflower-structured gold‑platinum nanoparticles (Au@PtNPs) were synthesized via a seed-growth method. Compared with conventional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), Au@PtNPs exhibited stronger signal intensity, excellent catalytic performance, and efficient antibody binding efficiency. Colorimetric Au@PtNPs-ICTS and catalytic colorimetric Au@PtNPs-ICTS were developed for the sensitive detection of thiamethoxam (THI) in vegetables. The limits of detection (LODs) for colorimetric Au@PtNPs-ICTS and catalytic colorimetric Au@PtNPs-ICTS quantitative analysis were 0.18 ng/mL and 0.093 ng/mL, respectively, representing approximately 3-fold and 6-fold improvement compared to AuNPs-ICTS (0.56 ng/mL). Furthermore, highly sensitive detection of multiple pesticide residues (chlorpyrifos, acetamiprid, and imidacloprid) was achieved by replacing the corresponding target antigens and antibodies, which further verified the universality of this immunochromatographic strategy.

Thiamethoxam

Assay-dependent variability in peptide biomarker quantification: experimental evidence from renalase in chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Renalase is a promising biomarker for kidney disease, but published levels vary widely between studies. We hypothesised that variability in commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) kits and matrix effects (serum vs plasma) drive these inconsistencies. METHODS: Paired serum and plasma samples from 56 participants (28 chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 2-5, 28 healthy controls) were tested using three commercial renalase ELISAs (BTLAB, Cloud-Clone, EIAab). We assessed intra-assay precision, inter-assay agreement (Spearman's rank correlation and Bland-Altman analysis on log10-transformed values), matrix effects, and associations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Diagnostic performance was evaluated by Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: Inter-assay renalase concentrations differed markedly (up to orders of magnitude), with weak inter-assay correlations (r&#x2009;&#x2264;&#x2009;0.25). Bland-Altman analyses revealed large, systematic biases between kits. Only the BTLAB assay showed consistent serum/plasma agreement, a significant correlation with eGFR (&#x3c1;&#x2009;&#x2248;&#x2009;0.32-0.42, p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.05), and moderate discriminatory performance for CKD in serum (AUC = 0.70) and plasma (AUC = 0.68). Cloud-Clone and EIAab produced divergent results and strong matrix-dependent biases. CONCLUSIONS: Observed variability among commercial ELISA platforms may compromise comparability between studies. Harmonisation, standardised reference materials, and cross-validation are necessary before renalase assays can be used reliably in clinical practice.

Humans

Assessing the Frequency of VEXAS-Related Canonical UBA1 Mutations in Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patients.

OBJECTIVES: Somatic mutations in the UBA1 gene cause VEXAS syndrome, which presents with inflammatory and hematological symptoms. Case studies show a strong overlap between VEXAS and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Recognizing VEXAS is important for differential diagnosis in patients with both inflammation and MDS, as accurate identification guides treatment. The study focuses on determining how often canonical UBA1 mutations linked to VEXAS occur in MDS patients. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with MDS were enrolled in the study, and genomic DNA was isolated from bone marrow FFPE samples. Molecular analysis was performed using a specifically designed ARMS-PCR approach. Additionally, protein-protein interaction (PPI) studies combined with bioinformatic analyses were carried out to explore potential links between UBA1 and pyroptosis. RESULTS: Among the 149 MDS patients analyzed, none exhibited high-Variant Allele Frequency (VAF) the canonical UBA1 point mutations linked to VEXAS syndrome. PPI analysis revealed a possible association between UBA1 and the NLRP3 inflammasome component. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding the sample size and using targeted NGS or ddPCR would improve mutation detection sensitivity and could reveal UBA1 canonical and non-canonical variants and more accurately estimate the frequency of VEXAS-related mutations in the MDS population.

Humans

In silico identification of DNMT1 inhibitors from the PlantCyc database through computational approach to assess the anti-cancer potential of nutraceutical compounds in breast cancer.

Breast cancer accounts for a disproportionate share of global cancer-related deaths, with 670,000 fatalities and 2.3 million new diagnoses recorded in women during 2022 alone. Existing treatment modalities carry considerable toxicity burdens, and resistance to available agents remains an unresolved clinical problem. DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), the enzyme chiefly responsible for maintaining genome-wide methylation patterns during DNA replication, has been mapped out as a high-value target in breast cancer because its dysregulation silences tumour suppressor genes through promoter hypermethylation. The present work involves hierarchical in silico workflow to screen 4549 plant-derived compounds from the PlantCyc database (v16.0.3) against the human DNMT1 catalytic domain (PDB ID: 4WXX). Ten top-scoring compounds were taken forward for molecular docking via AutoDock Vina; Quercetin and Kaempferol both recorded the highest binding affinities at -9.5&#x202f;kcal/mol, Wogonin (-9.3&#x202f;kcal/mol) and Xanthohumol (-8.1&#x202f;kcal/mol) also emerged as strong binders. Pharmacokinetic evaluation using ADMET-AI confirmed that all 10 compounds met Lipinski's rule of five, with human intestinal absorption values at or above 0.98. Wogonin and Xanthohumol were selected for a 100 ns all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in GROMACS due to their well-rounded ADMET profiles and limited existing data on their specific interactions with DNMT1 in breast cancer. Across all measured trajectory metrics, backbone RMSD, residue fluctuation, radius of gyration, solvent-accessible surface area, and intermolecular hydrogen bond count, Wogonin formed a more stable, compact complex. These findings suggest that Wogonin and Xanthohumol are non-toxic nutraceutical candidates suitable for DNMT1 targeted epigenetic therapy, with computational foundation strong enough to facilitate future in vitro and in vivo validation work.

Humans

Integrated phytochemical and bioactivity profiling of Xanthium strumarium fruits from Korea and China: Implications for origin-specific quality specification.

BACKGROUND: Geographic origin influences the phytochemical composition and biological activities of medicinal plant resources. Xanthium strumarium L. (XS) fruit is widely used in East Asian traditional medicine. However, current pharmacopeial standards primarily recognize Chinese-derived material, despite the availability and traditional use of XS in Korea. To address this gap and support origin-informed quality specification, we compared fruits from Korea (XS-K) and China (XS-C) using chloroplast genome sequencing, targeted phytochemical profiling (high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for selected phenolics and gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) for fatty acids and phytosterols, and multivariate chemometric analysis. RESULTS: Chloroplast genome analysis revealed high overall similarity but localized divergence around the rpoC2 locus and a greater mutation burden in XS-C, supporting origin-associated genomic differentiation. Phytochemical profiling revealed distinct origin-dependent metabolic signatures. XS-K showed higher levels of phytosterols, chlorogenic acid, 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (4,5-DCQ), and xanthatin was detected only in XS-K, whereas XS-C exhibited greater abundance of total fatty acids, particularly oleic acid. Unsupervised clustering and log2 fold-change ranking confirmed clear compositional separation, and variable importance in projection (VIP) analysis identified chlorogenic acid, &#x3b2;-sitosterol, oleic acid, 4,5-DCQ, and xanthatin as major discriminators between origins. Bioactivity assays demonstrated that XS-K exerted stronger antioxidant effects in ABTS, DPPH and FRAP assays, stronger skin-related enzyme inhibition, and greater antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, consistent with its enriched phenolic and sterol profile. CONCLUSION: Together, chloroplast sequence variation, targeted metabolite quantification, and screening bioassays consistently distinguished XS-K from XS-C. These findings support the use of candidate markers for the origin-based authentication and quality control of XS fruit-derived ingredients. &#xa9; 2026 The Author(s). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Fruit

Impact of estimated total blood volume on NT-proBNP response to angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibition in acute heart failure: Insights from the PREMIER study.

BACKGROUND: Sacubitril/valsartan (Sac/Val) reduces N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels in acute heart failure (AHF), particularly in patients with reduced ejection fraction. However, whether estimated total blood volume (TBV), calculated using anthropometric equations, is associated with heterogeneity in biomarker response remains uncertain. METHODS: This post hoc exploratory sub-analysis of the PREMIER randomized trial evaluated whether baseline estimated TBV was associated with heterogeneity in NT-proBNP reduction after Sac/Val compared with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) therapy. Estimated TBV was calculated using validated anthropometric equations and dichotomized at the median (4.05 L). Patients were further stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF <40% vs &#x2265;40%). The primary endpoint was the proportional change in NT-proBNP from baseline to Week 8. RESULTS: Among 376 patients, 372 with baseline estimated TBV data were analyzed. In the high TBV group, Sac/Val was associated with greater NT-proBNP reduction than ACEI/ARB (-56% vs -32%; ratio of change, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.84; P = .001), whereas no significant difference was observed in the low TBV group (P for heterogeneity = 0.063). In patients with LVEF <40%, Sac/Val was associated with greater NT-proBNP reduction in both TBV groups. In patients with LVEF &#x2265;40%, Sac/Val was associated with greater NT-proBNP reduction in the high TBV group, whereas the point estimate in the low TBV group numerically favored ACEI/ARB. CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory post hoc analysis, higher estimated TBV was associated with greater NT-proBNP reduction after Sac/Val, particularly among patients with LVEF &#x2265;40%. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require external validation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05164653; Japan Registry of Clinical Trials, jRCTs021210046.

Humans

Protein isolation markedly enhances in vitro digestibility, nutritional quality, and bioactivity of fungal mycelial proteins.

Fungal mycelial proteins are promising sustainable protein sources, yet their nutritional utilization is often limited by structural constraints. This study systematically evaluated the effects of protein isolation on the proteomic composition, gastrointestinal digestion behavior, amino acid utilization, and bioactivity of Pleurotus citrinopileatus mycelial proteins. Quantitative proteomics identified 3591 proteins, of which 3374 were shared between mycelial flour (PCMF) and protein isolate (PCMPI), indicating that PCMPI primarily represents the soluble proteome fraction. In vitro digestion revealed that PCMPI exhibited significantly higher digestibility (93.98%) than PCMF (42.98%) (p&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05), reaching levels comparable to whey protein isolate. Enhanced enzymatic accessibility in PCMPI promoted rapid peptide generation during the gastric phase and efficient amino acid release during the intestinal phase, resulting in higher peptide (634.76&#xa0;mg/g) and free amino acid levels (341.69&#xa0;mg/g) at the digestion endpoint. Consequently, PCMPI achieved a balanced amino acid profile with a PDCAAS of 1.0. Moreover, its digestion products exhibited stronger antioxidant activity (IC&#x2085;&#x2080;&#xa0;=&#xa0;8.36&#xa0;mg/mL) and ACE inhibitory activity (IC&#x2085;&#x2080;&#xa0;=&#xa0;15.65&#xa0;mg/mL) compared with PCMF. Mechanistically, protein isolation disrupted the cell wall matrix, shifting digestion from a structure-limited to an accessibility-driven regime. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that protein isolation markedly enhances the digestibility, nutritional quality, and functional potential of mycelial proteins, supporting their application as high-value sustainable protein ingredients.

Digestion

Systematic modular engineering of genome-integrated Escherichia coli MG1655 for high-level 2'-fucosyllactose production.

2'-Fucosyllactose (2'-FL), the most abundant human milk oligosaccharide (HMO), has attracted considerable interest for its prebiotic and immunomodulatory functions, with broad applications in infant nutrition. In this study, we report the development of a high-yield, genome-integrated 2'-FL-producing strain based on Escherichia coli MG1655 through systematic modular optimization. Starting from a single-copy BKHT strain (MGC06), we first optimized the copy number of the &#x3b1;-1,2-fucosyltransferase (&#x3b1;-1,2-FT) gene BKHT. Subsequently, the GDP-L-fucose supply was enhanced through coordinated genomic integration of the gene clusters cpsG-cpsB and gmd-fcl, while the multidrug efflux transporter gene mdfA was integrated to improve product export and strain robustness. BKHT copy number was then re-evaluated in the optimized background, with four copies yielding the highest production. The final engineered strain, harboring all genetic modifications stably integrated into the chromosome, produced 17.18 g/L 2'-FL in shake-flask culture. In fed-batch fermentation using a 5-L bioreactor, this strain achieved a titer of 154.12 g/L after 60&#x202f;h, with a productivity of 2.57 g/L/h. Notably, throughout the entire fermentation process, no antibiotics or inducers were supplemented, underscoring the genetic stability and regulatory compliance of this plasmid-free system. To our knowledge, this represents the highest 2'-FL titer reported to date, positioning our engineered strain as a promising candidate for commercial 2'-FL production.

Escherichia coli