The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in the immunomodulatory and protumorigenic microenviron-ment of colorectal cancer(CRC).However,the effect of ginsenoside Rk3(Rk3)on CRC and gut microbiota remains unclear.Therefore,the purpose of this study is to explore the potential effect of Rk3 on CRC from the perspective of gut microbiota and immune regulation.Our results reveal that treatment with Rk3 significantly suppresses the formation of colon tumors,repairs intestinal barrier damage,and regulates the gut microbiota imbalance caused by CRC,including enrichment of probiotics such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Barnesiella intestinihominis,and clearance of pathogenic Desulfovibrio.Subsequent metabolomics data demonstrate that Rk3 can modulate the metabolism of amino acids and bile acids,particularly by upregulating glutamine,which has the potential to regulate the immune response.Furthermore,we elucidate the regulatory effects of Rk3 on chemokines and inflammatory factors associated with group 3 innate lymphoid cells(ILC3s)and T helper 17(Th17)signaling pathways,which inhibits the hyperactivation of the Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(JAK-STAT3)signaling pathway.These results indicate that Rk3 modulates gut microbiota,regulates ILC3s immune response,and inhibits the JAK-STAT3 signaling pathway to suppress the development of colon tumors.More importantly,the results of fecal microbiota transplantation suggest that the inhibitory effect of Rk3 on colon tumors and its regulation of ILC3 immune responses are mediated by the gut microbiota.In summary,these findings emphasize that Rk3 can be utilized as a regulator of the gut microbiota for the prevention and treatment of CRC.

Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide.Ginsenoside Rk3,an important and rare saponin in heat-treated ginseng,is generated from Rg1 and has a smaller mo-lecular weight.However,the anti-HCC efficacy and mechanisms of ginsenoside Rk3 have not yet been characterized.Here,we investigated the mechanism by which ginsenoside Rk3,a tetracyclic triterpenoid rare ginsenoside,inhibits the growth of HCC.We first explored the possible potential targets of Rk3 through network pharmacology.Both in vitro(HepG2 and HCC-LM3 cells)and in vivo(primary liver cancer mice and HCC-LM3 subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice)studies revealed that Rk3 significantly inhibits the proliferation of HCC.Meanwhile,Rk3 blocked the cell cycle in HCC at the G1 phase and induced autophagy and apoptosis in HCC.Further proteomics and siRNA experiments showed that Rk3 regulates the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(AKT)pathway to inhibit HCC growth,which was validated by molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance.In conclusion,we report the discovery that ginsenoside Rk3 binds to PI3K/AKT and promotes autophagy and apoptosis in HCC.Our data strongly support the translation of ginsenoside Rk3 into novel PI3K/AKT-targeting ther-apeutics for HCC treatment with low toxic side effects.

OBJECTIVE In this study,the effects of live Lactobacillus murinus(L.m)and heat-killed L.muri-nus(H-k L.m)on DA neuronal damage in rats and the underlying mechanisms were investigated.METHODS Male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:vehicle group,L.m/H-k L.m(1×109 cfu)group,6-OHDH group,6-OHDH + L.m/H-k L.m(1×107 cfu)group,and 6-OHDH + L.m/H-k L.m(1×109 cfu)group.Wild-type and NLRP3 knockout mice were divided into three groups:sham(vehicle),6-OHDH,and 6-OHDH + H-k L.m(1×109 cfu).The model was established after five weeks of pre-administration.Motor ability of experimental mice was assessed by rotarod,mine,and stepping experiments;the expression of dopaminergic neuron markers—tyro-sine hydroxylase(TH),microglial cell markers—ionized calnexin 1(IBA-1),and NOD-like receptor family protein 3(NLRP3)in the substantia nigra was detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence experi-ments.The expression changes of TH,IBA-1,NLRP3,apoptosis-associated microparticle protein(ASC),cas-pase 1,and inflammatory factors such as interleukin-1β(IL-1β),IL-18,and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were detected by immunoblotting experiments.RESULTS H-k L.m ameliorated 6-OHDH-induced motor dysfunctions and loss of substantia nigra DA neurons,while no protec-tion was shown in live L.m treatment.At the same time,H-k L.m reduced the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in microglia and the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors,thus inhibiting the development of neuroinflammation.Fur-thermore,H-k L.m failed to display its original neuropro-tective properties in NLRP3 inflammasome knockout mice.CONCLUSION H-k L.m conferred neuroprotec-tion against DA neuronal loss via the inhibition of microglial NLRP3 inflammasome activation,these findings provide a promising potential for future applications of L.m,and also beneficial strategy for PD treatment.

To investigate whether rare ginsenosides could alleviate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, bleomycin (BLM)-induced IPF group, rare ginsenoside Rk1 group, rare ginsenoside Rk3 group, rare ginsenoside Rh4 group and rare ginsenoside Rg5 group.All mice except those in the control group were given bleomycin injection.The IPF model was established by BLM for 28 days.The treatment group was given ginsenoside intragastrically at the same time.After the experiment, the lung tissues of mice were collected and the pathological changes of the mice lungs were observed.The content of hydroxyproline (HYP) in mouse lung tissue was measured.The expression of IPF-related genes in mouse lung tissues was detected.In in vitro experiments, Medical Research Council cell strain-5 (MRC-5) was used to induce IPF cell model using transforming growth factor-β1 (10 ng/mL).The effects of four saponins on the expression of IPF-related genes were analyzed by MTT assay, HYP content determination and RT-qPCR.All four rare ginsenosides could effectively alleviate the pathological process such as alveolar structure destruction caused by IPF, reduce the content of HYP, and down-regulate the expression of IPF-related genes, indicating that rare ginsenosides can effectively alleviate IPF.

Recombinant collagen, as an alternative to natural collagen, has the potential to be widely used in biomaterials, biomedicine, etc. Diverse recombinant collagens and their variants can be industrially produced in a variety of expression systems, which lays a foundation for exploring and expanding the clinical application of recombinant collagens. We reviewed different expression systems for recombinant collagens, such as prokaryotic expression systems, yeast expression systems, as well as plant, insect, mammal, and human cell expression systems, and introduced the advantages, potential applications, and limitations of recombinant collagen. In particularly, we focused on the current progress in the recombinant collagen production, including recombinant expression system construction and hydroxylation strategies of recombinant collagen, and summarized the current biomedical applications of recombinant collagen.
Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; Collagen/biosynthesis* ; Humans ; Hydroxylation ; Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis*

Panax ginseng is a traditional Chinese medicine with significant pharmaceutical effects and wide application. Through orientational modification and transformation of ginsenoside glycosyl, rare ginsenosides with high antitumor activities can be generated. Traditional chemical methods cannot be applied in clinic. because of extremely complex preparation technologies and very high cost Transformations using microorganisms and their enzymatic systems provide the most feasible methods for solving the main problems. At present, the key problems in enzymatic synthesis of ginsenosides include low specific enzyme activities, identity of enzymes involved in the enzymatic synthesis, and their catalytic mechanisms, as well as nonsystematic studies on structural bioinformatics; specificity of enzymatic hydrolysis for saponin glycosyl has been rarely studied. Many reviews have been reported on glycosidase molecular recognition, immobilization, and biotransformation in ionic liquids (ILs), whereas ginsenoside transformation and application have not been systematically studied. To evaluate theoretical and applied studies on ginsenoside-oriented biotransformation, by reviewing the latest developments in related fields and evaluating the widely applied biocatalytic strategy, this review aims to evaluate the ginsenoside-oriented transformation method with improved product specificity, increased biocatalytic efficiency, and industrial application prospect based on the designed transformations of enzyme and solvent engineering of ILs. Therefore, useful theoretical and experimental evidence can be obtained for the development of ginsenoside anticancer drugs, large-scale preparation, and clinical applications in cancer therapy.
Biocatalysis ; Ginsenosides ; Glycoside Hydrolases ; Panax ; Saponins

To improve collagen production by recombinant Pichia pastoris, we applied Placket-Burman and Box-Behnken design to optimize the fermentation medium. Through Placket-Burman design, three variables in the medium (concentration of yeast extract, peptone and glycerol) were selected for having significant effect on cell dry weight. Through Box-Behnken design regression coefficients analysis, a secondary degree polynomial equation was established, and the optimum levels of the three variables were yeast extract 1.13%, peptone 1.61% and glycerol 0.86%. During the growth period, an average cell dry weight of 4.41 g/L was obtained after 12 h fermentation, increased by 26%. Through high density fermentation, the production of recombinant human collagen (Ⅲ) was up to 4.71 g/L in 22 L fermentor. The recombinant human collagen (Ⅲ) exhibited good results to repair acetic acid induced gastric ulcer in rats.

In order to improve tensile property of vascular scaffold, we blended silk fibroin with novel human-like collagen with the mass ratio of 9:1, 7:3 and 5:5 (W/W), and then fabricated blood vessel tubular graft by freeze-drying process. We studied microstructure, mechanical properties, elements composites, degradability and biocompatibility of vascular scaffolds. These results showed that tubular scaffold with mass ratio 7:3 exhibited interconnected porous structure with pore size at (60 +/- 5) microm and porosity of 85%; achieved the desirable mechanical property (strain of 50% +/- 5% and stress of 332 +/- 16 kPa); had relatively slow degradation rate; could enhance cell adhesion and proliferation and had superior biocompatibility.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Blood Vessels ; physiology ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Fibroins ; chemistry ; Humans ; Materials Testing ; Porosity ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

Human-like collagen (HLC) was cross-linked with hyaluronic acid by genipin in different ratio. The concentrations of hyaluronic acid in the mixture were 0, 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1%. The blood vessel tubular grafts were then fabricated by freeze-drying. Microstructure, element composite, mechanical properties, cytotoxicity grade, and biocompatibility of different vascular scaffold groups were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), tensile test, burst pressure experiment, cytotoxicity experiment, endothelial cells planted in blood vessel scaffolds and hypodermic embedding of mice. The results showed that HLC-HA (0.05%) tubular scaffold exhibited interconnected well-distributed and porous structure and porosity of 94.38%; achieved the desirable mechanical property with stress of (1000.8 +/- 7.9) kPa and burst pressure of (1058.6 +/- 8.2) kPa, hypocytotoxicity, favourable cytocompatibility, hisocompatibility and disposition of degradation.
Adhesives ; chemistry ; Animals ; Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Biomimetic Materials ; chemistry ; Blood Vessels ; drug effects ; physiology ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; chemistry ; Iridoid Glycosides ; Iridoids ; chemistry ; Materials Testing ; Mice ; Tissue Engineering ; instrumentation ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds

Strains from the cellulose-containing environment were collected. Primary screening(by filter-paper Hutchison solid culture medium and sodium carboxymethylcellulose solid culture medium) and reelection(by filter-paper inorganic salt culture medium and sodium carboxymethylcellulosc Congo red coltnre medium) indicated that five strains obtained were best suited for high performance cellulose degradation. Determination of sodium carboxymethylcellulose activity(CMCA) and filter paper activity(FPA) was accomplished for each of the five. The strongest of the five in CMCA and FPA was applied to the production of cellulose bioethanol by separate hydrolysis and fermentation(SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation(SSF) respectively.