Objective To investigate the nitrogenous chemical constituents of Weiceng .Methods Weiceng extract was subjected to various column chromatography and spectroscopic methods were used for the elucidation of compounds .Results Seventeen compounds were isolated and identified as cyclo-(Leu-Tyr)(1), cyclo-(Phe-Tyr) (2), cyclo-(Pro-Gly) (3), L-Pyroglutamic acid methyl ester (4), uracil (5), thymine (6), N-acetylphenylalanine (7), tyrosine (8), phenylala-nine (9), phenylalanine methyl ester (10), N-methyl leucine (11), isoleucine (12), valine (13), leucine (14), glutamic acid (15), glycine (16) and aspartic acid (17).Conclusion All the seventeen compounds are isolated from Weiceng for the first time .Before this study , cyclopeptides 1-3 have never been isolated from soy bean or its products .

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cell combined vaccines loaded with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates for treatment of lung cancer in mice. Methods: Bone marrow cells were induced by the recombinant mouse fms-like tyrosine kinase receptor 3 ligand (rmFlt3-L) in vitro, myeloid dendritic cells (mDC) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) were separated by magnetic beads. The mDC, pDC, and mDC∶pDC=1∶1 were stimulated with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates, respectively. The effects of each group on stimulating of lymphocyte proliferation and inducing of T cell to kill tumor cells in vitro were compared. The alternations of the immunophenotypes of CD80, CD86, CD40 and major histocompatibility complex Ⅱ (MHC-Ⅱ) were detected by flow cytometry. The secretion of cytokines including interlukin-12 (IL-12), interlukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The lymphocyte proliferation in mice stimulated with mDC+ pDC group loaded with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates was 10.80±0.66, significantly higher than 8.63±0.65 of mDC group and 7.10±0.46 pDC group under the same culture conditions, respectively (P<0.05). When the ratio of effector cells: target cells (E∶T) was 10∶1, the killing rate of the mDC+ pDC group loaded with heat-treated tumor cell lysate was 31.68%±2.93%, significantly higher than 17.44%±0.97% of mDC group and 10.29%±1.33% of pDC group, respectively (P<0.05). When the ratio of E∶T was 20∶1, the killing rate of the mDC+ pDC group loaded with heat-treated tumor cell lysate was 54.77%±3.28%, significantly higher than 35.25%±1.51% of mDC group and 15.52%±0.73% of pDC group, respectively (P<0.05). When the ratio of E∶T was 40∶1, the killing rate of the mDC+ pDC group loaded with heat-treated tumor cell lysate was 73.01%±0.91%, significantly higher than 51.36%±0.58% of mDC group and 22.65%±1.28% of pDC group, respectively (P<0.05). With the rate of E∶T increased, the killing rate also increased. The mean fluorescence intensities of surface molecules including CD80, CD86, CD40 and MHC-Ⅱ of mDC: pDC=1 group pulsed with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates were higher than those of mDC group and pDC group. The IL-6 cytokine concentrations of mDC+ pDC group, mDC group and pDC group loaded with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates were (586.67±52.52) pg/ml, (323.33±67.14) pg/ml and (166.67±16.07) pg/ml, respectively. The concentrations of IL-12 in each group were (2 568.75±119.24) pg/ml, (2 156.25±120.55) pg/ml and (672.92±31.46) pg/ml, respectively. The concentrations of TNF-α in each group were (789.33±48.08) pg/ml, (584.89±116.49) pg/ml and (291.56±40.73) pg/ml, respectively. The concentrations of IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α secreted by mDC+ pDC group were much higher than those of mDC group and pDC group under the same culture conditions (P<0.05). Conclusions The mDCs and pDCs combined vaccines pulsed with heat-treated Lewis lung cancer cell lysates have synergistic effects on inducing of T lymphocyte proliferation and killing tumor cells in vitro. This synergistic anti-tumor effect is related with up-regulation of co-stimulatory molecules and increased secretion of cytokines.

BACKGROUND:Dapagliflozin,an inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2,can delay the progression of atherosclerosis by regulating glucose metabolism,inhibiting inflammation and improving endothelial cell function. OBJECTIVE:To study the effect of dapagliflozin on cell pyroptosis and endothelial dysfunction induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein. METHODS:Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were divided into a control group(no intervention),a model group(treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein for 24 hours),and a dapagliflozin group(treated with oxidized low-density lipoprotein + dapagliflozin for 24 hours).Endothelial cell proliferation activity was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay.The levels of intercellular adhesion molecule 1,vascular cell adhesion molecule 1,and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in cell supernatant were detected using ELISA.Nitric oxide level in the cells was detected by nitrate reductase assay.The pyroptosis rate and characteristics of endothelial cells were detected by Hoechst 33342/PI fluorescence co-staining and lactate dehydrogenase release assay.The protein expression levels of NLRP3,caspase-1,GSDMD,interleukin-1β,and interleukin-18 were detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Oxidized low-density lipoprotein could cause pyroptosis and dysfunction of endothelial cells.(2)Compared with the control group,the level of nitric oxide and cell activity were decreased(P<0.05),while lactate dehydrogenase,intercellular adhesion molecule 1,vascular cell adhesion molecule 1,and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels were significantly increased in the model group(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,cell activity and nitric oxide levels significantly increased(P<0.05),but lactate dehydrogenase,intercellular adhesion molecule 1,vascular cell adhesion molecule 1,and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels were significantly diminished in the dapagliflozin group(P<0.05).(3)Compared with the model group,cell pyroptosis rate and the protein expression of pyroptosis factor NLRP3,caspase-1,GSDMD,interleukin-18 and interleukin-1β significantly reduced in the dapagliflozin group(P<0.05).(4)The results indicate that dapagliflozin inhibits oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced endothelial pyroptosis and ameliorates endothelial cell dysfunction.

Fermentative production of amino acids is one of the pillars of the fermentation industry in China. Recently, with the fast development of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology technologies, the metabolic engineering for production of amino acids has been flourishing. Conventional forward metabolic engineering, reversed metabolic engineering based on omics data and in silico simulation, and evolutionary metabolic engineering mimicking the natural evolution, have shown increasingly promising applications. A series of highly efficient and robust amino acids-producing strains have been developed and applied in the industrial production of amino acids. The increasingly fierce market competition has put forward new requirements for strain breeding and selection, such as developing high value-added amino acids, dynamic regulation of cellular metabolism, and adapting to the requirements of new process. This review summarizes the advances and prospects in metabolic engineering for the production of amino acids.
Amino Acids ; China ; Corynebacterium glutamicum/genetics* ; Metabolic Engineering ; Synthetic Biology

BACKGROUND: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a massive impact on public health, resulting in sudden dietary and behavioral habit changes. Frontline epidemic prevention workers play a pivotal role against COVID-19. They must face high-risk infection conditions, insufficient anti-epidemic material supplies, mental pressure, and so on. COVID-19 seriously affects their dietary and behavioral habits, and poor habits make them more susceptible to COVID-19. However, their baseline dietary and behavioral habits before COVID-19 and their willingness to change these habits after the outbreak of COVID-19 remain unclear for these workers in China. This study aimed to explore the baseline dietary and behavioral habits of frontline workers and their willingness to change these habits after the outbreak of the epidemic; in addition, susceptible subgroups were identified by stratified analyses as targets of protective measures to keep them from being infected with COVID-19. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using a sample of 22,459 valid individuals living in China, including 9402 frontline epidemic prevention workers. RESULTS: Before COVID-19, 23.9% of the frontline epidemic prevention workers reported a high-salt diet, 46.9% of them reported a high frequency of fried foods intake, and 50.9% of them smoked cigarettes. After the outbreak of COVID-19, 34.6% of them expressed a willingness to reduce salt intake, and 43.7% of them wanted to reduce the frequency of pickled vegetables intake. A total of 37.9% of them expressed a willingness to decrease or quit smoking, and 44.5% of them wanted to increase sleep duration. Significant differences in the baseline dietary and behavioral habits and the willingness to change their habits were observed between frontline epidemic prevention workers and other participants. Among the frontline epidemic prevention workers with poor dietary and behavioral habits before COVID-19, frontline epidemic prevention experience was a promoting factor for adopting worse dietary and behavioral habits, including those in the high-salt intake subgroup (OR, 2.824; 95% CI, 2.341-3.405) and the 11-20 cigarettes/day subgroup (OR, 2.067; 95% CI, 1.359-3.143). CONCLUSIONS The dietary and behavioral habits of frontline epidemic prevention workers were worse than that those of other participants before COVID-19. They had a greater willingness to adopt healthy dietary and behavioral habits after experiencing the outbreak of COVID-19. However, frontline epidemic prevention workers with poor dietary and behavioral habits before COVID-19 continued in engage in these poor habits. Dietary and behavioral intervention policies should be drafted to protect their health, especially frontline epidemic prevention workers with poor habits at baseline.
Adult ; COVID-19/psychology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet/standards* ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Personnel/psychology* ; Humans ; Male ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Herein, we define the role of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) by examining the expression of key regulators of ferroptosis in mice with DCM and a new ex vivo DCM model. Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), an important pathogenic factor of DCM, were found to induce ferroptosis in engineered cardiac tissues (ECTs), as reflected through increased levels of Ptgs2 and lipid peroxides and decreased ferritin and SLC7A11 levels. Typical morphological changes of ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes were observed using transmission electron microscopy. Inhibition of ferroptosis with ferrostatin-1 and deferoxamine prevented AGE-induced ECT remodeling and dysfunction. Ferroptosis was also evidenced in the heart of type 2 diabetic mice with DCM. Inhibition of ferroptosis by liproxstatin-1 prevented the development of diastolic dysfunction at 3 months after the onset of diabetes. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) activated by sulforaphane inhibited cardiac cell ferroptosis in both AGE-treated ECTs and hearts of DCM mice by upregulating ferritin and SLC7A11 levels. The protective effect of sulforaphane on ferroptosis was AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent. These findings suggest that ferroptosis plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of DCM; sulforaphane prevents ferroptosis and associated pathogenesis via AMPK-mediated NRF2 activation. This suggests a feasible therapeutic approach with sulforaphane to clinically prevent ferroptosis and DCM.