1.A Novel Scorpion Toxin LmKTx13 Inhibits the Voltage-gated Potassium Channel Kv1.3
Jia-Xin QIN ; Xiao-Qing LUO ; Min-Juan LU ; Jun-Xian JU ; Qing ZHOU ; Wen-Xing WANG ; Zhong-Hua LIU ; Min-Zhi CHEN ; Xi ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(10):1392-1401
Kv1.3,a voltage-gated potassium channel,is highly expressed in T lymphocytes,the nervous system,and vascular smooth muscle cells.It plays a critical role in membrane excitability and electrical signal transduction,serving as an important target for studying T-cell function and providing a promising direction for developing therapeutics against autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.Therefore,the de-velopment of specific inhibitors of Kv1.3 channel has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy for these disorders.In this study,we isolated and purified a novel Kv1.3-inhibitory peptide toxin,LmKTx13,from the venom of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chroma-tography(RP-HPLC).LmKTx13 consists of 38 amino acid residues,including six cysteines that form three disulfide bonds.Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed that LmKTx13 potently inhibited Kv1.3 with an IC50 of 7.92±3.0 nmol/L.Selectivity analysis showed that 2 μmol/L LmKTx13 also in-hibited Kv1.2 and Kv1.7,but exhibited no significant effects on other potassium channel subtypes or voltage-gated sodium channels.Further investigation into the mechanism demonstrated that LmKTx13 acts as a pore-blocking inhibitor of Kv1.3.By analyzing the effects of LmKTx13 on Kv1.3 channel gating ki-netics and performing sequence alignment of the pore regions of Kv1.3 and Kv1.5,we constructed site-directed mutants and identified the pore region of Kv1.3 as the critical binding site for LmKTx13.Key residues involved in the interaction included T425,G427,and H451.In summary,we discovered a no-vel pore-blocking Kv1.3 inhibitor,LmKTx13,from L.mucronatus venom,which exhibits high affinity and selectivity for Kv1.3.These findings highlight its potential as a potential lead molecule for developing Kv1.3-targeted therapeutics.
2.DUSP26 inhibits proliferation,migration,and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells by suppressing the TGF-β1/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway
Fengheng LUO ; Min WU ; Shan ZHOU ; Yanan XIAO ; Zhiqiang ZHAN
Chinese Journal of Cancer Biotherapy 2025;32(7):738-745
Objective:To investigate the role and molecular mechanism of dual-specificity phosphatase 26(DUSP26)in the proliferation,migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD)A549 cells.Methods:The expression profile of DUSP26 was retrieved from the GEPIA2 tumor database,and its differential expression in LUAD tissues and normal human lung tissues were analyzed.Twelve pairs of LUAD tissue and paracancerous tissue surgically resected at Pingxiang People's Hospital between October 2022 and October 2023 were collected.The difference in DUSP26 expression between LUAD tissues and paracancerous tissues was analyzed using immunohistochemical(IHC)staining and Western blotting(WB).Additionally,the expression of DUSP26 in four LUAD cells(A549,SK-LU-1,Calu-3,H1299)and two normal bronchial epithelial cells(BEAS-2B,HBEC)was detected using WB method.A549 cells stably overexpressing DUSP26(DUSP26-OE)or corresponding negative control(DUSP26-OENC)were constructed via lentiviral transfection.The effects of DUSP26 overexpression on cell proliferation,migration and invasion were detected using colony formation,scratch assay,and Transwell chamber assay,respectively.The expression levels of TGF-β1/SMAD2/3 pathway-and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)-related proteins were detected using WB method,and the expression levels of Ki-67 and cyclin D1 in cells were detected by immunofluorescence staining.Rescue experiments were conducted by adding 5 ng/mL recombinant TGF-β1.A nude mouse xenograft model was established using A549 cells to observe the effect of DUSP26 overexpression on the in vivo growth of transplanted tumors.The expression levels of TGF-β1/SMAD2/3 pathway-and EMT-related proteins in transplanted tumor tissues were assessed using WB method,and the expression levels of Ki-67 and cyclin D1 in transplanted tumor tissues were detected using immunofluorescence staining.Results:DUSP26 expression was downregulated in both LUAD tissues and cells(P<0.05,P<0.01,P<0.001 or P<0.000 1).Compared with the DUSP26-OENC group,the DUSP26-OE group showed significantly reduced proliferation,migration and invasion of A549 cells(P<0.01 or P<0.001).Furthermore,the protein levels of TGF-β1,p-SMAD2/3,vimentin,N-cadherin,snail,Ki-67,and cyclin D1 were significantly reduced(P<0.01,P<0.001 or P<0.000 1),while E-cadherin level was increased in the DUSP26-OE group(P<0.000 1).The addition of 5 ng/mL TGF-β1 recombinant protein partially reversed the effects of DUSP26 overexpression in vitro experiments.The nude mice A549 cell xenograft model was successfully constructed.The growth rate of transplanted tumors was significantly slower in the DUSP26-OE group,with reduced volume and mass(all P<0.001).The protein levels of TGF-β1,p-SMAD2/3,vimentin,N-cadherin,snail,Ki-67,and cyclin D1 in the transplanted tumor tissues were all reduced(P<0.01 or P<0.001),while E-cadherin level was increased(P<0.000 1).Conclusion:DUSP26 is downregulated in both LUAD tissues and cells.Upregulation of DUSP26 suppresses the proliferation,migration and invasion of A549 cells by inhibiting the TGF-β1/SMAD2/3 signaling pathway.
3.Efficacy and safety of different preparations of amphotericin B in the treatment of AIDS complicated with talaromycosis
Qiqi XIAO ; Min YU ; Jianrong LUO ; Yonggang CHEN
Chinese Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy 2025;25(3):259-264
Objective To compare the anti fungal efficacy and safety of amphotericin B cholesteryl sulfate complex(amphotericin B colloidal dispersion,ABCD)and amphotericin B for injection(amphotericin B deoxycholate,AmB-D)in the treatment of AIDS complicated with talaromycosis(TSM).Methods A total of 80 patients who were diagnosed with AIDS and complicated with TSM from December 2021 to January 2024 in Department of Infection,Kunming Third People's Hospital were included in the study.The patients were randomized to receive ABCD(n=40)via intravenous infusion or AmB-D(control,n=40)via Ⅳ infusion protected from light.The overall treatment efficacy rate,CD4+T lymphocyte count,routine blood tests,liver and kidney function tests,K+concentration,and the incidence of adverse drug reactions(ADR)during study were compared between the two treatment groups.Results The overall efficacy rate was 87.5%(35/40)in ABCD group and 80.0%(32/40)in the control(AmB-D)group(P>0.05).WBC,hemoglobin,and platelet count were significantly higher after treatment compared with pretreatment levels(P<0.05)in both groups.The CD4+T lymphocyte count was higher after treatment compared with pretreatment levels in both groups.And the CD4+T lymphocyte count in ABCD group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).The levels of total bilirubin,aspartate aminotransferase,alanine aminotransferase,blood urea nitrogen,and serum creatinine increased after treatment in both groups.Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine increased significantly in control group compared with ABCD group(P<0.05).After treatment,serum K+concentration decreased significantly in control group compared with the pretreatment level and compared with ABCD group(P<0.05).The incidence of adverse events in ABCD group was significantly lower than that in the control group.The time to renal injury was delayed significantly(P<0.05).Conclusions In the treatment of AIDS complicated with TSM,the efficacy of ABCD was comparable to AmB-D.The incidence of hepatic impairment did not show significant difference between ABCD and AmB-D.However,ABCD is associated with less renal impairment,lower incidence of adverse events,and better safety,which is valuable for clinical use.
4.Signac.UIO:An Interactive R-Shiny Platform for Single-cell ATAC-seq Data Analysis and Visualization
Yu-Yan LUO ; Xiao-Min LUO ; Jie-Ru HUANG ; Si-Wen XU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(11):1579-1589
Single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing(scATAC-seq)is a power-ful technique for studying cellular heterogeneity and gene regulatory networks,widely applied in epigenet-ic research.However,the complexity of data analysis workflows and high programming requirements have limited its broader adoption among non-programmer researchers.To address this issue,we developed Sig-nac.UIO,a modular and visual scATAC-seq analysis platform based on the R Shiny framework,integra-ting mainstream tools such as Signac and Seurat.The platform includes ten key modules covering quality control,cell filtering,dimensionality reduction,clustering,differential analysis,cell annotation,path-way enrichment,motif analysis,and transcription factor footprinting.Through a graphical user interface,users can perform full analyses and obtain interactive visualization results.The platform's stability and u-tility have been validated using a public PBMC dataset and it is currently deployed online(https://xula-bgdpu.org.cn/Signac.UIO),providing an efficient and user-friendly tool for single-cell epigenomics re-search.
5.A Novel Scorpion Toxin LmKTx13 Inhibits the Voltage-gated Potassium Channel Kv1.3
Jia-Xin QIN ; Xiao-Qing LUO ; Min-Juan LU ; Jun-Xian JU ; Qing ZHOU ; Wen-Xing WANG ; Zhong-Hua LIU ; Min-Zhi CHEN ; Xi ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(10):1392-1401
Kv1.3,a voltage-gated potassium channel,is highly expressed in T lymphocytes,the nervous system,and vascular smooth muscle cells.It plays a critical role in membrane excitability and electrical signal transduction,serving as an important target for studying T-cell function and providing a promising direction for developing therapeutics against autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.Therefore,the de-velopment of specific inhibitors of Kv1.3 channel has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy for these disorders.In this study,we isolated and purified a novel Kv1.3-inhibitory peptide toxin,LmKTx13,from the venom of the scorpion Lychas mucronatus using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chroma-tography(RP-HPLC).LmKTx13 consists of 38 amino acid residues,including six cysteines that form three disulfide bonds.Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed that LmKTx13 potently inhibited Kv1.3 with an IC50 of 7.92±3.0 nmol/L.Selectivity analysis showed that 2 μmol/L LmKTx13 also in-hibited Kv1.2 and Kv1.7,but exhibited no significant effects on other potassium channel subtypes or voltage-gated sodium channels.Further investigation into the mechanism demonstrated that LmKTx13 acts as a pore-blocking inhibitor of Kv1.3.By analyzing the effects of LmKTx13 on Kv1.3 channel gating ki-netics and performing sequence alignment of the pore regions of Kv1.3 and Kv1.5,we constructed site-directed mutants and identified the pore region of Kv1.3 as the critical binding site for LmKTx13.Key residues involved in the interaction included T425,G427,and H451.In summary,we discovered a no-vel pore-blocking Kv1.3 inhibitor,LmKTx13,from L.mucronatus venom,which exhibits high affinity and selectivity for Kv1.3.These findings highlight its potential as a potential lead molecule for developing Kv1.3-targeted therapeutics.
6.Expert Consensus on the Ethical Requirements for Generative AI-Assisted Academic Writing
You-Quan BU ; Yong-Fu CAO ; Zeng-Yi CHANG ; Hong-Yu CHEN ; Xiao-Wei CHEN ; Yuan-Yuan CHEN ; Zhu-Cheng CHEN ; Rui DENG ; Jie DING ; Zhong-Kai FAN ; Guo-Quan GAO ; Xu GAO ; Lan HU ; Xiao-Qing HU ; Hong-Ti JIA ; Ying KONG ; En-Min LI ; Ling LI ; Yu-Hua LI ; Jun-Rong LIU ; Zhi-Qiang LIU ; Ya-Ping LUO ; Xue-Mei LV ; Yan-Xi PEI ; Xiao-Zhong PENG ; Qi-Qun TANG ; You WAN ; Yong WANG ; Ming-Xu WANG ; Xian WANG ; Guang-Kuan XIE ; Jun XIE ; Xiao-Hua YAN ; Mei YIN ; Zhong-Shan YU ; Chun-Yan ZHOU ; Rui-Fang ZHU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(6):826-832
With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence(GAI)technologies,their widespread application in academic research and writing is continuously expanding the boundaries of sci-entific inquiry.However,this trend has also raised a series of ethical and regulatory challenges,inclu-ding issues related to authorship,content authenticity,citation accuracy,and accountability.In light of the growing involvement of AI in generating academic content,establishing an open,controllable,and trustworthy ethical governance framework has become a key task for safeguarding research integrity and maintaining trust within the academic community.This expert consensus outlines ethical requirements across key stages of AI-assisted academic writing-including topic selection,data management,citation practices,and authorship attribution.It aims to clarify the boundaries and ethical obligations surrounding AI use in academic writing,ensuring that technological tools enhance efficiency without compromising in-tegrity.The goal is to provide guidance and institutional support for building a responsible and sustainable research ecosystem.
7.A preliminary study on the consonant articulation of patients with submucous cleft palate
Heng YIN ; Yiting TSAI ; Boyu CHANG ; Lokman CHEUNG ; Min WU ; Xiao LUO ; Bing SHI
Journal of Audiology and Speech Pathology 2025;33(2):130-133
Objective To study the consonant articulation performance and speech intelligibility of patients with submucous cleft palate(SMCP)and to provide a reference for clinical speech evaluation and subsequent speech rehabilitation.Methods A total of 333 preoperative SMCP patients aged 4.5 years and older participated in this study.The accuracy,type of error,and error rates were assessed across participant genders and their varying levels of velopharyngeal closure function.Results Among the 333 patients,196 had complete velopharyngeal closure,while 137 had incomplete closure.A total of 145 patients(43.54%)demonstrated normal articulation of all conso-nants,while 188 patients(56.46%)displayed various degrees of articulation disorders.Compensatory articulation behaviors were observed in 66 patients(19.82%).No significant differences in articulation errors were found be-tween male and female patients.The accuracy ranking for consonants was from high to low as follows:nasal sounds,lateral sounds,fricatives,plosives,and affricates.Substitution was the most common error type with an incidence of 35.93%,followed by omission at 34.62%and compensatory errors at 25.51%.The average accuracy rates for plosives,fricatives,affricates,lateral/nasal sounds were 73.27%,78.20%,69.29%,and 93.39%,re-spectively.Substitution was the most common error for plosives and fricatives,while omission was most frequent for affricates.Compensatory errors occurred most often with affricates,and no compensatory errors were found in nasal or lateral sounds.Conclusion Substitution,omission,and compensatory errors are the most common articula-tion errors in SMCP patients,occurring across plosives,fricatives,and affricates.The severity of articulation disor-ders is related to velopharyngeal closure function but is independent of gender.
8.A preliminary study on the consonant articulation of patients with submucous cleft palate
Heng YIN ; Yiting TSAI ; Boyu CHANG ; Lokman CHEUNG ; Min WU ; Xiao LUO ; Bing SHI
Journal of Audiology and Speech Pathology 2025;33(2):130-133
Objective To study the consonant articulation performance and speech intelligibility of patients with submucous cleft palate(SMCP)and to provide a reference for clinical speech evaluation and subsequent speech rehabilitation.Methods A total of 333 preoperative SMCP patients aged 4.5 years and older participated in this study.The accuracy,type of error,and error rates were assessed across participant genders and their varying levels of velopharyngeal closure function.Results Among the 333 patients,196 had complete velopharyngeal closure,while 137 had incomplete closure.A total of 145 patients(43.54%)demonstrated normal articulation of all conso-nants,while 188 patients(56.46%)displayed various degrees of articulation disorders.Compensatory articulation behaviors were observed in 66 patients(19.82%).No significant differences in articulation errors were found be-tween male and female patients.The accuracy ranking for consonants was from high to low as follows:nasal sounds,lateral sounds,fricatives,plosives,and affricates.Substitution was the most common error type with an incidence of 35.93%,followed by omission at 34.62%and compensatory errors at 25.51%.The average accuracy rates for plosives,fricatives,affricates,lateral/nasal sounds were 73.27%,78.20%,69.29%,and 93.39%,re-spectively.Substitution was the most common error for plosives and fricatives,while omission was most frequent for affricates.Compensatory errors occurred most often with affricates,and no compensatory errors were found in nasal or lateral sounds.Conclusion Substitution,omission,and compensatory errors are the most common articula-tion errors in SMCP patients,occurring across plosives,fricatives,and affricates.The severity of articulation disor-ders is related to velopharyngeal closure function but is independent of gender.
9.Signac.UIO:An Interactive R-Shiny Platform for Single-cell ATAC-seq Data Analysis and Visualization
Yu-Yan LUO ; Xiao-Min LUO ; Jie-Ru HUANG ; Si-Wen XU
Chinese Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2025;41(11):1579-1589
Single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing(scATAC-seq)is a power-ful technique for studying cellular heterogeneity and gene regulatory networks,widely applied in epigenet-ic research.However,the complexity of data analysis workflows and high programming requirements have limited its broader adoption among non-programmer researchers.To address this issue,we developed Sig-nac.UIO,a modular and visual scATAC-seq analysis platform based on the R Shiny framework,integra-ting mainstream tools such as Signac and Seurat.The platform includes ten key modules covering quality control,cell filtering,dimensionality reduction,clustering,differential analysis,cell annotation,path-way enrichment,motif analysis,and transcription factor footprinting.Through a graphical user interface,users can perform full analyses and obtain interactive visualization results.The platform's stability and u-tility have been validated using a public PBMC dataset and it is currently deployed online(https://xula-bgdpu.org.cn/Signac.UIO),providing an efficient and user-friendly tool for single-cell epigenomics re-search.
10.Rapid Identification of Different Parts of Nardostachys jatamansi Based on HS-SPME-GC-MS and Ultra-fast Gas Phase Electronic Nose
Tao WANG ; Xiaoqin ZHAO ; Yang WEN ; Momeimei QU ; Min LI ; Jing WEI ; Xiaoming BAO ; Ying LI ; Yuan LIU ; Xiao LUO ; Wenbing LI
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2025;31(2):182-191
ObjectiveTo establish a model that can quickly identify the aroma components in different parts of Nardostachys jatamansi, so as to provide a quality control basis for the market circulation and clinical use of N. jatamansi. MethodsHeadspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(HS-SPME-GC-MS) combined with Smart aroma database and National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) database were used to characterize the aroma components in different parts of N. jatamansi, and the aroma components were quantified according to relative response factor(RRF) and three internal standards, and the markers of aroma differences in different parts of N. jatamansi were identified by orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) and cluster thermal analysis based on variable importance in the projection(VIP) value >1 and P<0.01. The odor data of different parts of N. jatamansi were collected by Heracles Ⅱ Neo ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose, and the correlation between compound types of aroma components collected by the ultra-fast gas phase electronic nose and the detection results of HS-SPME-GC-MS was investigated by drawing odor fingerprints and odor response radargrams. Chromatographic peak information with distinguishing ability≥0.700 and peak area≥200 was selected as sensor data, and the rapid identification model of different parts of N. jatamansi was established by principal component analysis(PCA), discriminant factor alysis(DFA), soft independent modeling of class analogies(SIMCA) and statistical quality control analysis(SQCA). ResultsThe HS-SPME-GC-MS results showed that there were 28 common components in the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi, of which 22 could be quantified and 12 significantly different components were screened out. Among these 12 components, the contents of five components(ethyl isovalerate, 2-pentylfuran, benzyl alcohol, nonanal and glacial acetic acid,) in the aboveground part of N. jatamansi were significantly higher than those in the underground part(P<0.01), the contents of β-ionone, patchouli alcohol, α-caryophyllene, linalyl butyrate, valencene, 1,8-cineole and p-cymene in the underground part of N. jatamansi were significantly higher than those in the aboveground part(P<0.01). Heracles Ⅱ Neo electronic nose results showed that the PCA discrimination index of the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi was 82, and the contribution rates of the principal component factors were 99.94% and 99.89% when 2 and 3 principal components were extracted, respectively. The contribution rate of the discriminant factor 1 of the DFA model constructed on the basis of PCA was 100%, the validation score of the SIMCA model for discrimination of the two parts was 99, and SQCA could clearly distinguish different parts of N. jatamansi. ConclusionHS-SPME-GC-MS can clarify the differential markers of underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi. The four analytical models provided by Heracles Ⅱ Neo electronic nose(PCA, DFA, SIMCA and SQCA) can realize the rapid identification of different parts of N. jatamansi. Combining the two results, it is speculated that terpenes and carboxylic acids may be the main factors contributing to the difference in aroma between the underground and aboveground parts of N. jatamansi.

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