1.Engineered Bacteriophages for The Treatment of Multidrug-resistant Bacterial Infections
Yu-Ying CHEN ; Chun-Mei HUANG ; Jin-Zhi PAN ; De-Liang LIU ; Yang ZHOU ; Gui-Qin DAI ; Peng-Fei ZHAO ; Hong-Zhou LU ; Ming-Bin ZHENG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2026;53(6):1581-1596
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections have emerged as a serious challenge of global public health crisis. The overuse and misuse of conventional antibiotics have dramatically accelerated the emergence, evolution and worldwide spread of drug-resistant bacterial strains, necessitating urgent exploration of novel antibacterial strategies. Bacteriophages serve as natural bacterial predators offering distinct advantages including high host specificity, autonomous self-replication capabilities and cost-effective large-scale production. However, wild-type phages present significant clinical limitations due to their narrow host ranges, susceptibility to rapid immune clearance and poor penetration of bacterial biofilms, which severely restrict their therapeutic applications. The convergence of synthetic biology, nanotechnology and advanced gene editing technologies has accelerated the development of engineered bacteriophage platforms, providing programmable, scalable and clinically translatable pathways to overcome these inherent biological constraints. Here, we systematically delineate four fundamental strategies for engineered bacteriophage development. Chemical modification utilizes reactive functional groups such as amino, carboxyl and thiol moieties on capsid proteins through esterification, amidation or click chemistry reactions to achieve precise drug conjugation and surface functionalization. In vivo editing encompasses ultraviolet or chemical mutagenesis for random mutation induction, homologous recombination for targeted genetic alterations, recombineering methodologies including electroporation-mediated bacteriophage recombination engineering, and CRISPR-Cas systems for precise genome editing to enable exact genetic reconstruction and host range reprogramming. In vitro synthesis leverages genome engineering platforms where intact phage genomes are transferred into yeast or host bacteria to facilitate highly efficient homologous recombination, enabling large DNA fragment assembly and cross-gene host range expansion without bacterial toxicity constraints. Directed evolution combines artificial selection through mutation library screening with rational design approaches involving chimeric receptor binding protein construction or site-specific mutagenesis, effectively balancing the discovery of unknown adaptive pathways with targeted host specificity modification. Moreover, we comprehensively discuss therapeutic applications across diverse clinical scenarios. Engineered bacteriophage effectively disrupt bacterial biofilms through sophisticated functionalized delivery platforms including nanozyme-conjugated phages, phage-liposome nanoconjugates and bio-responsive hydrogels, demonstrating significantly enhanced bactericidal efficiency compared to unmodified free phages. These bioengineered vectors attenuate bacterial virulence and resensitize pathogens to antibiotics by delivering CRISPR-Cas systems or base editors to disrupt critical virulence factors such as pili, capsule synthesis machineries and quorum sensing systems, or by inactivating antibiotic resistance determinants including beta-lactamase genes. As an intelligent nanomedicine delivery platform, engineered bacteriophage enable precise pathogen elimination an through photocatalytic reactive oxygen species generation, immunomodulatory interventions, or controlled release of antibacterial drugs. Furthermore, oral administration of engineered bacteriophage facilitates microbiota modulation, which selectively eliminate intestinal pathogens while preserve beneficial commensal microbiota, thereby restoring microbial community balance and preventing complications associated with dysbiosis. Finally, we critically analyze persistent challenges including host strain matching complexity, evolution of bacterial resistance mechanisms, pharmacokinetic optimization requirements, optimal administration route selection, large-scale production quality control standards and clinical dosing determination protocols. Through multidisciplinary integration of synthetic biology, infectious disease medicine and immunology, future translational medicine studies of bacteriophage should establish comprehensive technical platforms encompassing rapid phage screening, intelligent rational design, rigorous in vivo evaluation and standardized clinical validation processes, ultimately advancing engineered bacteriophage from laboratory innovations to clinically approved therapeutics for effectively combating MDR bacterial infections.
2.The Impacts of Climate Change on the Environment and Human Health in China: A Call for more Ambitious Action.
Shi Lu TONG ; Yu WANG ; Yong Long LU ; Cun de XIAO ; Qi Yong LIU ; Qi ZHAO ; Cun Rui HUANG ; Jia Yu XU ; Ning KANG ; Tong ZHU ; Dahe QIN ; Ying XU ; Buda SU ; Xiao Ming SHI
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(2):127-143
As global greenhouse gases continue rising, the urgency of more ambitious action is clearer than ever before. China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and one of the countries affected most by climate change. The evidence about the impacts of climate change on the environment and human health may encourage China to take more decisive action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts. This article aimed to review the evidence of environmental damages and health risks posed by climate change and to provide a new science-based perspective for the delivery of sustainable development goals. Over recent decades, China has experienced a strong warming pattern with a growing frequency of extreme weather events, and the impacts of climate change on China's environment and human health have been consistently observed, with increasing O 3 air pollution, decreases in water resources and availability, land degradation, and increased risks for both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Therefore, China's climate policy should target the key factors driving climate change and scale up strategic measures to curb carbon emissions and adapt to inevitable increasing climate impacts. It provides new insights for not only China but also other countries, particularly developing and emerging economies, to ensure climate and environmental sustainability whilst pursuing economic growth.
Climate Change
;
China
;
Humans
;
Greenhouse Gases
;
Air Pollution
;
Sustainable Development
;
Environment
3.Molecular Characterization of New Recombinant Human Adenoviruses Detected in Children with Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Beijing, China, 2022-2023.
Yi Nan GUO ; Ri DE ; Fang Ming WANG ; Zhen Zhi HAN ; Li Ying LIU ; Yu SUN ; Yao YAO ; Xiao Lin MA ; Shuang LIU ; Chunmei ZHU ; Dong QU ; Lin Qing ZHAO
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(9):1071-1081
OBJECTIVE:
Recombination events are common and serve as the primary driving force of diverse human adenovirus (HAdV), particularly in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs). Therefore, continual monitoring of these events is essential for effective viral surveillance and control.
METHODS:
Respiratory specimens were collected from children with ARIs between January 2022 and December 2023. The penton base, hexon, and fiber genes were amplified from HAdV-positive specimens and sequenced to determine the virus type. In cases with inconsistent typing results, genes were cloned into the pGEM-T vector to detect recombination events. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was performed to characterize the recombinant HAdV genomes.
RESULTS:
Among 6,771 specimens, 277 (4.09%, 277/6,771) were positvie for HAdV, of which 157 (56.68%, 157/277) were successfully typed, with HAdV-B3 being the dominant type (91.08%, 143/157), and 14 (5.05%, 14/277) exhibited inconsistent typing results, six of which belonged to species B. The penton base genes of these six specimens were classified as HAdV-B7, whereas their hexon and fiber genes were classified as HAdV-B3, resulting in a recombinant genotype designated P7H3F3, which closely resembled HAdV-B114. Additionally, a partial gene encoding L1 52/55 kD was identified, which originated from HAdV-B16.
CONCLUSION
A novel recombinant, P7H3F3, was identified, containing sequences derived from HAdV-B3 and HAdV-B7, which is similar to HAdV-B114, along with additional sequences from HAdV-B16.
Humans
;
Adenoviruses, Human/isolation & purification*
;
Respiratory Tract Infections/epidemiology*
;
Child, Preschool
;
Child
;
Recombination, Genetic
;
Male
;
Beijing/epidemiology*
;
Infant
;
Female
;
Phylogeny
;
Adenovirus Infections, Human/epidemiology*
;
Acute Disease
;
Genome, Viral
4.Progress on Wastewater-based Epidemiology in China: Implementation Challenges and Opportunities in Public Health.
Qiu da ZHENG ; Xia Lu LIN ; Ying Sheng HE ; Zhe WANG ; Peng DU ; Xi Qing LI ; Yuan REN ; De Gao WANG ; Lu Hong WEN ; Ze Yang ZHAO ; Jianfa GAO ; Phong K THAI
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(11):1354-1358
Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a transformative surveillance tool for estimating substance consumption and monitoring disease prevalence, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It enables the population-level monitoring of illicit drug use, pathogen prevalence, and environmental pollutant exposure. In this perspective, we summarize the key challenges specific to the Chinese context: (1) Sampling inconsistencies, necessitating standardized 24-hour composite protocols with high-frequency autosamplers (≤ 15 min/event) to improve the representativeness of samples; (2) Biomarker validation, requiring rigorous assessment of excretion profiles and in-sewer stability; (3) Analytical method disparities, demanding inter-laboratory proficiency testing and the development of automated pretreatment instruments; (4) Catchment population dynamics, reducing estimation uncertainties through mobile phone data, flow-based models, or hydrochemical parameters; and (5) Ethical and data management concerns, including privacy risks for small communities, mitigated through data de-identification and tiered reporting platforms. To address these challenges, we propose an integrated framework that features adaptive sampling networks, multi-scale wastewater sample banks, biomarker databases with multidimensional metadata, and intelligent data dashboards. In summary, wastewater-based epidemiology offers unparalleled scalability for equitable health surveillance and can improve the health of the entire population by providing timely and objective information to guide the development of targeted policies.
China/epidemiology*
;
Humans
;
Wastewater/analysis*
;
COVID-19/epidemiology*
;
Public Health
;
Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring
;
SARS-CoV-2
5.Performance assessment of computed tomographic angiography fractional flow reserve using deep learning: SMART trial summary.
Wei ZHANG ; You-Bing YIN ; Zhi-Qiang WANG ; Ying-Xin ZHAO ; Dong-Mei SHI ; Yong-He GUO ; Zhi-Ming ZHOU ; Zhi-Jian WANG ; Shi-Wei YANG ; De-An JIA ; Li-Xia YANG ; Yu-Jie ZHOU
Journal of Geriatric Cardiology 2025;22(9):793-801
BACKGROUND:
Non-invasive computed tomography angiography (CTA)-based fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) could become a gatekeeper to invasive coronary angiography. Deep learning (DL)-based CT-FFR has shown promise when compared to invasive FFR. To evaluate the performance of a DL-based CT-FFR technique, DeepVessel FFR (DVFFR).
METHODS:
This retrospective study was designed for iScheMia Assessment based on a Retrospective, single-center Trial of CT-FFR (SMART). Patients suspected of stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and undergoing both CTA and invasive FFR examinations were consecutively selected from the Beijing Anzhen Hospital between January 1, 2016 to December 30, 2018. FFR obtained during invasive coronary angiography was used as the reference standard. DVFFR was calculated blindly using a DL-based CT-FFR approach that utilized the complete tree structure of the coronary arteries.
RESULTS:
Three hundred and thirty nine patients (60.5 ±10.0 years and 209 men) and 414 vessels with direct invasive FFR were included in the analysis. At per-vessel level, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of DVFFR were 94.7%, 88.6%, 90.8%, 82.7%, and 96.7%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was 0.95 for DVFFR and 0.56 for CTA-based assessment with a significant difference (P < 0.0001). At patient level, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV of DVFFR were 93.8%, 88.0%, 90.3%, 83.0%, and 95.8%, respectively. The computation for DVFFR was fast with the average time of 22.5 ± 1.9 s.
CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate that DVFFR was able to evaluate lesion hemodynamic significance accurately and effectively with improved diagnostic performance over CTA alone. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a critical disease in which coronary artery luminal narrowing may result in myocardial ischemia. Early and effective assessment of myocardial ischemia is essential for optimal treatment planning so as to improve the quality of life and reduce medical costs.
6.Analysis of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 1247 cases of infectious diseases of the central nervous system
Jia-Hua ZHAO ; Yu-Ying CEN ; Xiao-Jiao XU ; Fei YANG ; Xing-Wen ZHANG ; Zhao DONG ; Ruo-Zhuo LIU ; De-Hui HUANG ; Rong-Tai CUI ; Xiang-Qing WANG ; Cheng-Lin TIAN ; Xu-Sheng HUANG ; Sheng-Yuan YU ; Jia-Tang ZHANG
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2024;49(1):43-49
Objective To summarize the epidemiological and clinical features of infectious diseases of the central nervous system(CNS)by a single-center analysis.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 1247 cases of CNS infectious diseases diagnosed and treated in the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from 2001 to 2020.Results The data for this group of CNS infectious diseases by disease type in descending order of number of cases were viruses 743(59.6%),Mycobacterium tuberculosis 249(20.0%),other bacteria 150(12.0%),fungi 68(5.5%),parasites 18(1.4%),Treponema pallidum 18(1.4%)and rickettsia 1(0.1%).The number of cases increased by 177 cases(33.1%)in the latter 10 years compared to the previous 10 years(P<0.05).No significant difference in seasonal distribution pattern of data between disease types(P>0.05).Male to female ratio is 1.87︰1,mostly under 60 years of age.Viruses are more likely to infect students,most often at university/college level and above,farmers are overrepresented among bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis,and more infections of Treponema pallidum in workers.CNS infectious diseases are characterized by fever,headache and signs of meningeal irritation,with the adductor nerve being the more commonly involved cranial nerve.Matagenomic next-generation sequencing improves clinical diagnostic capabilities.The median hospital days for CNS infectious diseases are 18.00(11.00,27.00)and median hospital costs are ¥29,500(¥16,000,¥59,200).The mortality rate from CNS infectious diseases is 1.6%.Conclusions The incidence of CNS infectious diseases is increasing last ten years,with complex clinical presentation,severe symptoms and poor prognosis.Early and accurate diagnosis and standardized clinical treatment can significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality rate and ease the burden of disease.
7.Nanomaterial-based Therapeutics for Biofilm-generated Bacterial Infections
Zhuo-Jun HE ; Yu-Ying CHEN ; Yang ZHOU ; Gui-Qin DAI ; De-Liang LIU ; Meng-De LIU ; Jian-Hui GAO ; Ze CHEN ; Jia-Yu DENG ; Guang-Yan LIANG ; Li WEI ; Peng-Fei ZHAO ; Hong-Zhou LU ; Ming-Bin ZHENG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(7):1604-1617
Bacterial biofilms gave rise to persistent infections and multi-organ failure, thereby posing a serious threat to human health. Biofilms were formed by cross-linking of hydrophobic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), such as proteins, polysaccharides, and eDNA, which were synthesized by bacteria themselves after adhesion and colonization on biological surfaces. They had the characteristics of dense structure, high adhesiveness and low drug permeability, and had been found in many human organs or tissues, such as the brain, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and skeleton. By releasing pro-inflammatory bacterial metabolites including endotoxins, exotoxins and interleukin, biofilms stimulated the body’s immune system to secrete inflammatory factors. These factors triggered local inflammation and chronic infections. Those were the key reason for the failure of traditional clinical drug therapy for infectious diseases.In order to cope with the increasingly severe drug-resistant infections, it was urgent to develop new therapeutic strategies for bacterial-biofilm eradication and anti-bacterial infections. Based on the nanoscale structure and biocompatible activity, nanobiomaterials had the advantages of specific targeting, intelligent delivery, high drug loading and low toxicity, which could realize efficient intervention and precise treatment of drug-resistant bacterial biofilms. This paper highlighted multiple strategies of biofilms eradication based on nanobiomaterials. For example, nanobiomaterials combined with EPS degrading enzymes could be used for targeted hydrolysis of bacterial biofilms, and effectively increased the drug enrichment within biofilms. By loading quorum sensing inhibitors, nanotechnology was also an effective strategy for eradicating bacterial biofilms and recovering the infectious symptoms. Nanobiomaterials could intervene the bacterial metabolism and break the bacterial survival homeostasis by blocking the uptake of nutrients. Moreover, energy-driven micro-nano robotics had shown excellent performance in active delivery and biofilm eradication. Micro-nano robots could penetrate physiological barriers by exogenous or endogenous driving modes such as by biological or chemical methods, ultrasound, and magnetic field, and deliver drugs to the infection sites accurately. Achieving this using conventional drugs was difficult. Overall, the paper described the biological properties and drug-resistant molecular mechanisms of bacterial biofilms, and highlighted therapeutic strategies from different perspectives by nanobiomaterials, such as dispersing bacterial mature biofilms, blocking quorum sensing, inhibiting bacterial metabolism, and energy driving penetration. In addition, we presented the key challenges still faced by nanobiomaterials in combating bacterial biofilm infections. Firstly, the dense structure of EPS caused biofilms spatial heterogeneity and metabolic heterogeneity, which created exacting requirements for the design, construction and preparation process of nanobiomaterials. Secondly, biofilm disruption carried the risk of spread and infection the pathogenic bacteria, which might lead to other infections. Finally, we emphasized the role of nanobiomaterials in the development trends and translational prospects in biofilm treatment.
8.Aberrant outputs of cerebellar nuclei and targeted rescue of social deficits in an autism mouse model.
Xin-Yu CAI ; Xin-Tai WANG ; Jing-Wen GUO ; Fang-Xiao XU ; Kuang-Yi MA ; Zhao-Xiang WANG ; Yue ZHAO ; Wei XIE ; Martijn SCHONEWILLE ; Chris DE ZEEUW ; Wei CHEN ; Ying SHEN
Protein & Cell 2024;15(12):872-888
The cerebellum is heavily connected with other brain regions, sub-serving not only motor but also nonmotor functions. Genetic mutations leading to cerebellar dysfunction are associated with mental diseases, but cerebellar outputs have not been systematically studied in this context. Here, we present three dimensional distributions of 50,168 target neurons of cerebellar nuclei (CN) from wild-type mice and Nlgn3R451C mutant mice, a mouse model for autism. Our results derived from 36 target nuclei show that the projections from CN to thalamus, midbrain and brainstem are differentially affected by Nlgn3R451C mutation. Importantly, Nlgn3R451C mutation altered the innervation power of CN→zona incerta (ZI) pathway, and chemogenetic inhibition of a neuronal subpopulation in the ZI that receives inputs from the CN rescues social defects in Nlgn3R451C mice. Our study highlights potential role of cerebellar outputs in the pathogenesis of autism and provides potential new therapeutic strategy for this disease.
Animals
;
Mice
;
Disease Models, Animal
;
Cerebellar Nuclei
;
Autistic Disorder/pathology*
;
Neurons/metabolism*
;
Mutation
;
Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism*
;
Male
;
Membrane Proteins
;
Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal
9.Screening of natural drug molecules against Fusarium oxysporum of ginseng root rot based on machine learning
Gui-ping ZHAO ; Ruo-qi YANG ; Jie LI ; Ying-ying CHEN ; Da-de YU ; Xi-wen LI
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2023;58(6):1713-1721
italic>Fusarium oxysporum widely exists in farmland soil and is one of the main pathogenic fungi of root rot, which seriously affects the growth and development of plants and often causes serious losses of cash crops. In order to screen out natural compounds that inhibit the activity of
10.Overview of systematic reviews of Chinese herbal injections for sepsis.
Ying GAO ; Xiao-Kun YANG ; Zhao-Chen JI ; De-Hui PENG ; Xin-Yi XU ; Yi-Fan WU ; Kai LI ; Jun-Hua ZHANG ; Lu-Jia CAO
China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica 2023;48(7):1962-1975
In this study, an overview of systematic reviews/Meta-analysis(SR/MA) of Chinese herbal injections for sepsis was performed to provide references for clinical practice and promote the quality improvement of clinical evidence. Eight Chinese and English databases such as CNKI, Medline, and EMbase were electronically searched for SR/MA of Chinese herbal injections for sepsis from database inception to June 2022. AMSTAR 2, PRISMA 2020, and GRADE system, combined with Recommendations for Clinical Evidence Grading on Traditional Chinese Medicine Based on Evidence Body, were applied to evaluate the methodological quality, reporting quality, and evidence quality of the included articles. Twenty-seven articles of SR/MA were included, containing four Chinese herbal injections(Xuebijing Injection, Shenfu Injection, Shenmai Injection, and Shengmai Injection). AMSTAR 2 checklist showed that the methodological quality of the SR/MA ranged from moderate to very low. Item 2(prior study design) was the critical item with poor scores, and the non-critical items with poor scores were items 3(explain the selection of the study designs), items 10(report on the sources of funding), and items 16(conflicts of interest stated). In terms of PRISMA 2020, items in eight topics with complete reporting of missing>50%, including search strategy, certainty assessment, results of syntheses, certainty of evidence, registration and protocol, support, competing interests, availability of data, code and other materials. The included SR/MA involved 30 outcome indicators. Evidence quality of mortality, APACHE Ⅱ, and safety, the top three outcome indicators, was evaluated, and all of them were graded as the medium level. The lack of random allocation sequence, allocation concealment mechanism, blinding, and trial sample size was the main reason for the reduction of the evidence level. The available evidence shows that Chinese herbal injections can serve as an effective and safe adjunctive treatment for sepsis, which can reduce mortality, inhibit inflammation, improve coagulation function, and regulate immune function, tissue perfusion, and oxygenation in patients with sepsis. However, the quality of SR/MA was suboptimal, and more high-quality SR/MA is needed to provide evidence to support the efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal injections in the treatment of sepsis.
Humans
;
Injections
;
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
;
Research Design
;
Sepsis/drug therapy*

Result Analysis
Print
Save
E-mail