1.Databases, knowledge bases, and large models for biomanufacturing.
Zhitao MAO ; Xiaoping LIAO ; Hongwu MA
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(3):901-916
Biomanufacturing is an advanced manufacturing method that integrates biology, chemistry, and engineering. It utilizes renewable biomass and biological organisms as production media to scale up the production of target products through fermentation. Compared with petrochemical routes, biomanufacturing offers significant advantages in reducing CO2 emissions, lowering energy consumption, and cutting costs. With the development of systems biology and synthetic biology and the accumulation of bioinformatics data, the integration of information technologies such as artificial intelligence, large models, and high-performance computing with biotechnology is propelling biomanufacturing into a data-driven era. This paper reviews the latest research progress on databases, knowledge bases, and large language models for biomanufacturing. It explores the development directions, challenges, and emerging technical methods in this field, aiming to provide guidance and inspiration for scientific research in related areas.
Biotechnology/methods*
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Knowledge Bases
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Synthetic Biology
;
Databases, Factual
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Artificial Intelligence
;
Systems Biology
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Computational Biology
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Fermentation
2.Intelligent mining, engineering, and de novo design of proteins.
Cui LIU ; Zhenkun SHI ; Hongwu MA ; Xiaoping LIAO
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2025;41(3):993-1010
Natural components serve the survival instincts of cells that are obtained through long-term evolution, while they often fail to meet the demands of engineered cells for efficiently performing biological functions in special industrial environments. Enzymes, as biological catalysts, play a key role in biosynthetic pathways, significantly enhancing the rate and selectivity of biochemical reactions. However, the catalytic efficiency, stability, substrate specificity, and tolerance of natural enzymes often fall short of industrial production requirements. Therefore, exploring and modifying enzymes to suit specific biomanufacturing processes has become crucial. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has played an increasingly important role in the discovery, evaluation, engineering, and de novo design of proteins. AI can accelerate the discovery and optimization of proteins by analyzing large amounts of bioinformatics data and predicting protein functions and characteristics by machine learning and deep learning algorithms. Moreover, AI can assist researchers in designing new protein structures by simulating and predicting their performance under different conditions, providing guidance for protein design. This paper reviews the latest research advances in protein discovery, evaluation, engineering, and de novo design for biomanufacturing and explores the hot topics, challenges, and emerging technical methods in this field, aiming to provide guidance and inspiration for researchers in related fields.
Protein Engineering/methods*
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Artificial Intelligence
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Proteins/genetics*
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Computational Biology
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Machine Learning
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Data Mining
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Algorithms
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Deep Learning
3.Thoughts on Ethical Collaborative Review and Management of Multi-center Clinical Research
Hongwu LIAO ; Haihong ZHANG ; Jie LI
Chinese Medical Ethics 2024;35(5):513-517
For multi-center clinical research, how to ensure the quality of ethical review and improve the efficiency of ethical review through cooperation among centers is an important direction for clinical research management departments and research parties to explore. By combing and analyzing the existing pattern of multi-center ethical review at home and abroad, combining the current situation of the ethical review and management development in China, taking cancer clinical research as the breakthrough point, it was advocated to establish a cooperative review led by professional institute in domestic, on the basis of extensive and in-depth training exchanges and effective communication on the same platform, collaborative review, ensure quality and efficiency, so as to promote and implement the "mutual recognition" of ethical review. Then, this paper further put forward the concept of "whole-process linkage" in the ethical management process of multi-center clinical research, and pointed out that all research parties should clarify their responsibilities, enhance their awareness and ability, and jointly and comprehensively implement the protection of subjects among clinical researchers.
4.Quick guideline for diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus Omicron variant infection
Guang CHEN ; Tao CHEN ; Sainan SHU ; Xiaojing WANG ; Ke MA ; Di WU ; Hongwu WANG ; Yan LIU ; Wei GUO ; Meifang HAN ; Jianxin SONG ; Tonglin LIU ; Shusheng LI ; Jianping ZHAO ; Yuancheng HUANG ; Yong XIONG ; Zuojiong GONG ; Qiaoxia TONG ; Jiazhi LIAO ; Feng FANG ; Xiaoping LUO ; Qin NING
Chinese Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases 2023;16(1):26-32
Novel coronavirus Omicron variant infection can cause severe illness and even death in certain populations. Omicron variant infection may lead to systemic inflammatory response, coagulation disorder, multi-organ dysfunction and other pathophysiological changes, which are different from other Novel coronavirus variants to a certain extent, so therapeutic strategies should not be the same. The National Medical Center for Major Public Health Events invited experts in fields of infectious diseases, respiratory medicine, intensive care, pediatrics and fever clinic to develop this quick guideline based on the current best evidence and extensive clinical practices. This quick guideline aims to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of novel coronavirus Omicron infection, and to improve the disease management abilities of clinicians.
5.Comparison of Biological Characteristics of Human Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Extremely Preterm and Term Infants
Peng HUANG ; Xiaofei QIN ; Chuiqin FAN ; Manna WANG ; Fuyi CHEN ; Maochuan LIAO ; Huifeng ZHONG ; Hongwu WANG ; Lian MA
Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine 2023;20(5):725-737
BACKGROUND:
Despite the progress in perinatal-neonatal medicine, complications of extremely preterm infants continue to constitute the major adverse outcomes in neonatal intensive care unit. Human umbilical cord Wharton’s Jellyderived mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs) may offer new hope for the treatment of intractable neonatal disorders. This study will explore the functional differences of HUMSCs between extremely preterm and term infants.
METHODS:
UMSCs from 5 extremely preterm infants(weeks of gestation: 22+5 w,24+4 w,25+3 w,26 w,28 w) and 2 term infants(39 w,39+2 w) were isolated, and mesenchymal markers, pluripotent genes, proliferation rate were analyzed.HUVECs were injured by treated with LPS and repaired by co-cultured with HUMSCs of different gestational ages.
RESULTS:
All HUMSCs showed fibroblast-like adherence to plastic and positively expressed surface marker of CD105,CD73 and CD90, but did not expressed CD45,CD34,CD14,CD79a and HLA-DR; HUMSCs in extremely preterm exhibited significant increase in proliferation as evidenced by CCK8, pluripotency markers OCT-4 tested by RT-PCR also showed increase. Above all, in LPS induced co-cultured inflame systerm, HUMSCs in extremely preterm were more capable to promote wound healing and tube formation in HUVEC cultures, they promoted TGFb1 expression and inhibited IL6 expression.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that HUMSCs from extremely preterm infants may be more suitable as candidates in cell therapy for the preterm infants.
6.Recent progress in ergothioneine biosynthesis: a review.
Qi LIU ; Yufeng MAO ; Xiaoping LIAO ; Jiahao LUO ; Hongwu MA ; Wenxia JIANG
Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2022;38(4):1408-1420
Ergothioneine is a multifunctional physiological cytoprotector, with broad application in foods, beverage, medicine, cosmetics and so on. Biosynthesis is an increasingly favored method in the production of ergothioneine. This paper summarizes the new progress in the identification of key pathways, the mining of key enzymes, and the development of natural edible mushroom species and high-yield engineering strains for ergothioneine biosynthesis in recent years. Through this review, we aim to reveal the molecular mechanism of ergothioneine biosynthesis and then employ the methods of fermentation engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology to greatly increase the yield of ergothioneine.
Antioxidants
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Ergothioneine/metabolism*
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Fermentation
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Metabolic Engineering
7.Expert consensus on diagnosis and treatment of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
Guang CHEN ; Tao CHEN ; Sainan SHU ; Ke MA ; Xiaojing WANG ; Di WU ; Hongwu WANG ; Meifang HAN ; Xiaojuan JIA ; Mingyuan LIU ; Xiaolei LIU ; Yuanyuan LI ; Xianfeng ZHANG ; Jiazhi LIAO ; Feng FANG ; Xiaoping LUO ; Qin NING
Chinese Journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases 2022;15(4):253-263
Since 2010, the incidence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) has been increased. Owing the progress in diagnosis and treatment, the overall mortality of SFTS in China has decreased, while the mortality in critical SFTS patients is still high. In order to provide guidance and working procedures for clinicians to diagnose and treat critical SFTS, the National Medical Center for Major Public Health Events invited experts to discuss and formulate this consensus based on their experience and up-to-date knowledge on SFTS.
8.Thoughts on Ethical Collaborative Review and Management of Multi-center Clinical Research
Hongwu LIAO ; Haihong ZHANG ; Jie LI
Chinese Medical Ethics 2022;35(5):513-517
For multi-center clinical research, how to ensure the quality of ethical review and improve the efficiency of ethical review through cooperation among centers is an important direction for clinical research management departments and research parties to explore. By combing and analyzing the existing pattern of multi-center ethical review at home and abroad, combining the current situation of the ethical review and management development in China, taking cancer clinical research as the breakthrough point, it was advocated to establish a cooperative review led by professional institute in domestic, on the basis of extensive and in-depth training exchanges and effective communication on the same platform, collaborative review, ensure quality and efficiency, so as to promote and implement the "mutual recognition" of ethical review. Then, this paper further put forward the concept of "whole-process linkage" in the ethical management process of multi-center clinical research, and pointed out that all research parties should clarify their responsibilities, enhance their awareness and ability, and jointly and comprehensively implement the protection of subjects among clinical researchers.
9.A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study of altered brain function of benign epilepsy in children with central-temporal spikes
Zhanqi HU ; Hongwu ZENG ; Jianxiang LIAO ; Tong MO ; Li CHEN ; Lingyu KONG ; Dongxia MO ; Feiqiu WEN
Chinese Journal of Applied Clinical Pediatrics 2020;35(4):285-288
Objective:To analyze the brain functional fluctuation of benign epilepsy in children with central-temporal spikes(BECTS) by using ReHo algorithm based on the resting-state brain functional imaging, and to explore the connection of the brain function and changes of the connection pattern, so as to find the damage of the cognitive function of BECTS children in the early stage.Method:s Perspectiveness and simple random selection of 20 BECTS children and 20 healthy control children admitted to Shenzhen Children′s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2017 were conducted for basic information collection and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) testing in a resting-state.Result:s Significantly lower ReHo value appeared in the default mode network (DMN) area, and the precuneus (voxel=422, t=-5.085 6), cuneus (voxel=85, t=-4.240 3), angular gyrus (voxel=191, t=-4.681 2), cingulate cortex (voxel=313, t=-5.238 2), anterior central gyrus (voxel=12, t=-3.482 7), and supplementary motor area (voxel=1 356, t-6.596 2). The significantly increased ReHo was found in the bilateral cerebellum (voxel=71, t=5.658 2), right superior temporal gyrus (voxel=24, t= 5.184 0), operculum insulae (voxel=337, t=6.814 9), left parietal lobe (voxel=12, t=4.378 7), and inferior parietal lobule (voxel=11, t=3.433 7). Conclusions:Significant impairment of DMN, Wernicke and angular gyrus functions in BECTS children may be one of the mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction.Enhanced sensorimotor area and cortical brain functions near the operculum insulae and central sulcus lead to seizures with typical clinical symptoms.fMRI has a high specificity and sensitivity for evaluating the brain function of children with BECTS, and it can detect the impairment of cognitive function in children with this type of epilepsy at an early stage.
10.Discussion of the site visit strategy of Institutional Review Board
Hongwu LIAO ; Chunyi HAO ; Lei ZHANG ; Ting LU ; Shunlian ZHOU ; Jie LI
Chinese Journal of Medical Science Research Management 2019;32(4):246-249
Objective To discuss appropriate strategies of site visits in ethical committees ,to enhance the supervision of clinical trials effectively ,and standardize the implementation of clinical research .Methods In consideration of the lack of de-tailed normative description of site visit in ethical guidelines and relevant articles ,as well as the varying degrees of implementa-tion and understanding of site visits among different ethical committees .This article discussed the procedures ,contents and considerations of site visit based on the analysis of numerous site visits cases conducted .Results Site visit is one of the crucial procedures to more comprehensive ,in-depth and truly understanding of the implementation of clinical trials .It is helpful to help sponsors/investigators enhance awareness and compliance with the good clinical practice .It also helps to correct problems time-ly during the implementation process to assure the standardized implementation of follow-up studies ,and finally ,effectively protect the rights and interests and safety of subjects .Conclusions Standardized and efficient site visit strategy of the ethical committee is one of the important regulatory strategies in the implementation of clinical trials and is an effective supplement to the regular review of ethical materials .

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