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Topic Review
Phytochemical and Potential Properties of Seaweeds
Seaweeds have been employed as source of highly bioactive secondary metabolites that could act as key medicinal components. Seaweeds have many uses: they are consumed as fodder, and have been used in medicines, cosmetics, energy, fertilizers, and industrial agar and alginate biosynthesis. The beneficial effects of seaweed are mostly due to the presence of minerals, vitamins, phenols, polysaccharides, and sterols, as well as several other bioactive compounds. These compounds seem to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic activities.
  • 2.2K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
TGF-β Signaling in Tumor Microenvironment
Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling triggers diverse biological actions in inflammatory diseases. In tissue fibrosis, it acts as a key pathogenic regulator for promoting immunoregulation via controlling the activation, proliferation, and apoptosis of immunocytes. In cancer, it plays a critical role in tumor microenvironment (TME) for accelerating invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and immunosuppression. Increasing evidence suggest a pleiotropic nature of TGF-β signaling as a critical pathway for generating fibrotic TME, which contains numerous cancer-associated fibroblasts, extracellular matrix proteins, and remodeling enzymes. Better understanding the underlying mechanisms may uncover novel therapeutic targets for cancer.
  • 2.2K
  • 28 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Targeting CDK4/6 for Anticancer Therapy
Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) are key regulators of the cell cycle and are deemed as critical therapeutic targets of multiple cancers. Various approaches have been applied to silence CDK4/6 at different levels, i.e., CRISPR to knock out at the DNA level, siRNA to inhibit translation, and drugs that target the protein of interest. Here we summarize the current status in this field, highlighting the mechanisms of small molecular inhibitors treatment and drug resistance.
  • 2.2K
  • 12 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Properties of Claudin-2
Claudin-2 is a member of the claudin family of epithelial tight junction proteins expressed mostly in the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. Its role as a cation-selective and water permeable paracellular channel is well studied. In addition, newly emerging strong evidence also shows that it can modulate proliferation, migration, and cell fate determination. These effects appear to be due to its interactions with cytosolic adapters, that connect it to key signaling pathways. A multitude of new data document dysregulated claudin-2 expression in many pathologies including cancer, inflammation, and fibrosis. Thus, changes in claudin-2 expression may contribute to the generation, maintenance, and/or progression of diseases through both permeability-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Based on this, efforts are underway to develop therapies targeting claudin-2 with the hope of benefiting patients with a variety of disease. 
  • 2.2K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
PARP Inhibitor-Induced Synthetic Lethality
The advanced development of synthetic lethality has opened the doors for specific anti-cancer medications of personalized medicine and efficient therapies against cancers. One of the most popular approaches being investigated is targeting DNA repair pathways as the implementation of the poly-ADP ribose polymerase 1 (PARP) inhibitor (PARPi) into individual or combinational therapeutic schemes. Such treatment has been effectively employed against homologous recombination-defective solid tumors as well as hematopoietic malignancies. In the most common aspect of precision medicine, PARPi triggers synthetic lethality in cancer cells harboring BRCA1/2 mutations/deficiencies. 
  • 2.2K
  • 05 Dec 2022
Topic Review
 m6A RNA Methylation Mechanism
Epitranscriptomic modifications can affect every aspect of RNA biology, including stability, transport, splicing, and translation, participate in global intracellular mRNA metabolism, and regulate gene expression and a variety of biological processes. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) as the most prevalent modification contributes to normal embryonic brain development and memory formation. 
  • 2.2K
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
The Plant Response to Mechanical Stress
Mechanical stimuli, together with the corresponding plant perception mechanisms and the finely tuned thigmomorphogenetic response, has been of scientific and practical interest since the mid-17th century. As an emerging field, there are many challenges in the research of mechanical stress. Indeed, studies on different plant species (annual/perennial) and plant organs (stem/root) using different approaches (field, wet lab, and in silico/computational) have delivered insufficient findings that frequently impede the practical application of the acquired knowledge. 
  • 2.2K
  • 21 Feb 2023
Topic Review
DNA Damage Response and COVID-19
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and characterized by an extremely variable disease course, ranging from asymptomatic cases to severe illness. Our cells develop DNA lesions on a daily basis. These lesions can inhibit basic cellular processes, such as genome replication and transcription, and if they are not repaired properly, they could result in mutations or genome aberrations, thereby posing a threat to the cell or even to the viability of a particular organism.
  • 2.2K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Plant Synthetic Promoters Structure and Function
A promoter is the region of genomic DNA located upstream of a gene that initiates the process of transcription under specific cellular conditions. Structurally, it is modular in nature and comprises a core promoter that includes a TATA box and a CAAT box, as well as proximal and distal regions.
  • 2.2K
  • 28 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Ribonucleotides in DNA
RNA is frequently found into DNA. Single embedded ribonucleotides are mainly introduced by DNA polymerases. Longer stretches of RNA can also anneal to DNA, forming RNA:DNA hybrids, as occurs for R-loops. Even if R-loops are the most studied hybrid structures, the world of RNA:DNA hybrids is much wider. Polyribonucleotide chains are indeed synthesized to allow Okazaki fragments priming in the process of DNA replication, and double-strand breaks repair and may also result from the direct incorporation of several consecutive ribonucleotides by DNA polymerases. We discuss about all the possible sources of single and multiple ribonucleotides in DNA, focusing on situations where the aberrant processing of RNA:DNA hybrids may result in potentially harmful stretches of consecutive ribonucleotides embedded into the genome, whose existence is also supported by their presence into the DNA of organelles.
  • 2.2K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Pullulan-Degrading Enzymes
Starch and pullulan degrading enzymes are essential industrial biocatalysts. Pullulan-degrading enzymes are grouped into pullulanases (types I and type II) and pullulan hydrolase (types I, II and III).
  • 2.2K
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Aldose Reductase
Aldose reductase (AR) is a member of the reduced nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent aldo-keto reductase superfamily. It is also the rate-limiting enzyme of the polyol pathway, catalyzing the conversion of glucose to sorbitol, which is subsequently converted to fructose by sorbitol dehydrogenase. AR is highly expressed by Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The excess glucose flux through AR of the polyol pathway under hyperglycemic conditions has been suggested to play a critical role in the development and progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
  • 2.2K
  • 09 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Synthesis of Ilamycins/Rufomycins and Cyclomarins
Ilamycins/rufomycins and cyclomarins are marine cycloheptapeptides containing unusual amino acids. Produced by Streptomyces sp., these compounds show potent activity against a range of mycobacteria, including multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The cyclomarins are also very potent inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum. Biosynthetically the cyclopeptides are obtained via a heptamodular nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) that directly incorporates some of the nonproteinogenic amino acids. A wide range of derivatives can be obtained by fermentation, while bioengineering also allows the mutasynthesis of derivatives, especially cyclomarins. Other derivatives are accessible by semisynthesis or total synthesis, reported for both natural product classes.
  • 2.2K
  • 03 Sep 2021
Topic Review
FGCaMP7 Genetically Encoded Calcium Indicator
Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) have become a widespread tool for the visualization of neuronal activity. As compared to popular GCaMP GECIs, the FGCaMP indicator benefits from calmodulin from the Aspergillus niger fungus, which prevent its interaction with the intracellular environment. However, FGCaMP exhibits a two-phase fluorescence behavior with the variation of calcium ion concentration, has moderate sensitivity in neurons (as compared to the GCaMP6s indicator), and has not been fully characterized in vitro and in vivo. To address these limitations, we developed an enhanced version of FGCaMP, called FGCaMP7. FGCaMP7 preserves the ratiometric phenotype of FGCaMP, with a 3.1-fold larger ratiometric dynamic range in vitro. FGCaMP7 demonstrates 2.7- and 8.7-fold greater photostability compared to mEGFP and mTagBFP2 fluorescent proteins in vitro, respectively. The ratiometric response of FGCaMP7 is 1.6- and 1.4-fold higher, compared to the intensiometric response of GCaMP6s, in non-stimulated and stimulated neuronal cultures, respectively. We reveal the inertness of FGCaMP7 to the intracellular environment of HeLa cells using its truncated version with a deleted M13-like peptide; in contrast to the similarly truncated variant of GCaMP6s. We characterize the crystal structure of the parental FGCaMP indicator. Finally, we test the in vivo performance of FGCaMP7 in mouse brain using a two-photon microscope and an NVista miniscope; and in zebrafish using two-color ratiometric confocal imaging.
  • 2.2K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Anti-Cancer Quinone
Natural quinones are secondary metabolites of plant and are categorized as benzoquinone, naphthoquinone, phenanthrenequinone, and anthraquinone according to their aromatic carbon skeleton [3]. Quinones are highly electrophilic molecules that accept one- or two-electrons from flavoenzymes and iron-sulfur proteins to form semiquinone or hydroquinone. They exert cytotoxic effects through alkylating proteins or DNA and affect the redox cycle with their semiquinone radicals to generate reactive oxygen species.
  • 2.2K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Von Willebrand Factor
The von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a plasma protein that mediates platelet adhesion and leukocyte recruitment to vascular injury sites and carries coagulation factor VIII, a building block of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation. A steep rise in shear rates, which may occur at sites of arterial stenosis and injury, is crucial for unfolding and activation of vWF. The hemostatic activity of vWF is counterbalanced by ADAMTS-13, a vWF-cleaving protease. The presence of ultra-large multimers of vWF in the bloodstream is associated with spontaneous thrombosis, whereas its deficiency leads to bleeding.
  • 2.2K
  • 12 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Health Benefits of Phenolic Compounds from Pigmented Corn
Pigmented corn is a gramineae food of great biological, cultural and nutritional importance for many Latin American countries, with more than 250 breeds on the American continent. It confers a large number of health benefits due to its diverse and abundant bioactive compounds. Phenolic compounds, among which are anthocyanins are some of the most studied and representative compounds in these grasses, with a wide range of health properties, mainly the reduction of pro-oxidant molecules.
  • 2.2K
  • 13 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Carnitine Acyl-carnitine Carrier
The SLC25A20 transporter, also known as carnitine acyl-carnitine carrier (CAC), catalyzes the transport of short, medium and long carbon chain acyl-carnitines across the mitochondrial inner membrane in exchange for carnitine. The 30-year story of the protein responsible for this function started with its purification from rat liver mitochondria. 
  • 2.2K
  • 07 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Colorectal Cancer Cells
The majority of deaths related to colorectal cancer (CRC) are associated with the metastatic process. Alternative therapeutic strategies, such as traditional folk remedies, deserve attention for their potential ability to attenuate the invasiveness of CRC cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the biological activity of brown Cuban propolis (CP) and its main component nemorosone (NEM) and to describe the molecular mechanism(s) by which they inhibit proliferation and metastatic potential of 2 CRC cell lines. CP and NEM significantly decreased cell viability and inhibited clonogenic capacity of CRC cells in a dose and time-dependent manner, by arresting the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase and inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, CP and NEM downregulated BCL2 gene expression and upregulated the expression of the proapoptotic genes TP53 and BAX, with a consequent activation of caspase 3/7. They also attenuated cell migration and invasion by inhibiting MMP9 activity, increasing E-cadherin and decreasing β-catenin and vimentin expression, proteins involved in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). NEM, besides displaying antiproliferative activity on CRC cells, is able to decrease their metastatic potential by modulating EMT-related molecules. These findings provide new insights about the antitumoral properties of CP, due to NEM content.  
  • 2.2K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Miracle Berry
Miracle berry (MB) (Synsepalum dulcificum) is an indigenous fruit whose small, ellipsoid, and bright red berries have been described to transform a sour taste into a sweet one. MB is rich in terpenoids, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids, which are responsible for their described antioxidant activities. Moreover, MB has been reported to ameliorate insulin resistance and inhibit cancer cell proliferation and malignant transformation in vitro. Herein, we briefly summarize the current knowledge of MB to provide a scientific basis for its potential use as a supplement in the management of chronic diseases related to altered metabolism, including obesity and insulin resistance, which are well-known risk factors in cancer. First, we introduce cancer as a metabolic disease, highlighting the impact of systemic metabolic alterations, such as obesity and insulin resistance, in cancer initiation and progression. Next, as oxidative stress is closely associated with metabolic stress, we also evaluate the effect of phytochemicals in managing oxidative stress and its relationship with cancer. Finally, we summarize the main biological activities described for MB-derived extracts with a special focus on the ability of miraculin to transform a sour taste into a sweet one through its interaction with the sweet taste receptors. The identification of sweet taste receptors at the gastrointestinal level, with effects on the secretion of enterohormones, may provide an additional tool for managing chronic diseases, including cancer.
  • 2.2K
  • 21 Feb 2021
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