Lysine (Lys) residues in proteins undergo a wide range of reversible post-translational modifications (PTMs), which can regulate enzyme activities, chromatin structure, protein-protein interactions, ...protein stability, and cellular localization. Here we discuss the “writers,” “erasers,” and “readers” of some of the common protein Lys PTMs and summarize examples of their major biological impacts. We also review chemical biology approaches, from small-molecule probes to protein chemistry technologies, that have helped to delineate Lys PTM functions and show promise for a diverse set of biomedical applications.
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Zhipeng Wang and Philip Cole review major types of chemical modifications of the amino acid lysine in proteins and how they are added and removed. They also discuss a number of chemical approaches and how they have been applied to clarify the roles of lysine modifications in biology and medicine.
•Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological changes after encountering challenging events. PTG can buffer the negative effects caused by distress and depression.•The prevalence of ...moderate-to-high PTG in people who experienced suffering traumatic events was 52.58%.•People whose age was younger than 60 had shorter time since trauma had specific professional exposure and suffered from direct trauma reported high rate of moderate-to-high PTG.
Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological changes after encountering challenging events. The main purpose of this meta-analysis was to summarize the prevalence of moderate-to-high PTG in people who experienced traumatic events and to understand what social-demographic and trauma characteristics distinguish those who show a high rate of PTG from those of low level.
Six electronic databases were searched. Loney's appraisal criteria were used to evaluate the quality of studies. Freeman-Turkey double arcsine transformation method was used to calculate the combined prevalence. Age, time since event, type of trauma and trauma form were analyzed as subgroup factors. According to the source of the trauma, the type of trauma was divided into three different categories: disease, accident and specific profession. Specific profession refers to firefighters, veterans, intensive care staff, etc. The complex working environment, irregular lifestyle, various unpredictable factors, as well as the frequently adverse stimuli from others contribute to great physical and mental pressure.
Twenty-six articles were deemed as qualified for this systematic review and meta-analysis. The level of PTG across studies ranged from 10% to 77.3%, and heterogeneity tests showed high heterogeneity (I2 = 92.3%, 95%CI = 90.1%-94.0%, p < 0.01). Random effect model was chosen to calculate the combined prevalence and the prevalence was 52.58% (95%CI = 48.66%-56.48%). People whose age was younger than 60,had shorter time since trauma,worked in a specific profession and suffered from direct trauma reported high rate of moderate-to-high PTG.
Because the included studies haven't provided adequate PTG-related information, these factors could not be used to performed subgroup analyses. In addition, some studies were excluded due to the different standard may lead to deviation of the combined prevalence.
Nearly half of the investigated individuals reported moderate-to-high PTG after experiencing a traumatic event. Future research needs to further study the determinants of PTG to provide relevant interventions for the victims of trauma.
Curcumin exerts a suppressive effect in tumor growth by acting as a modulator of multiple molecular targets. Circular RNA hsa_circ_0007580 (circ-PRKCA) accelerates the tumorigenesis of non-small cell ...lung cancer (NSCLC). However, whether curcumin can regulate circ-PRKCA to inhibit NSCLC progression is unclear.
Cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion were analyzed using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), plate clone, flow cytometry, or transwell assay. Expression of circ-PRKCA, microRNA (miR)-384, and ITGB1 mRNA (integrin subunit beta 1) mRNA were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Curcumin repressed NSCLC growth through regulating circ-PRKCA expression was validated by xenograft assay. The targeting relationship between circ-PRKCA or ITGB1 and miR-384 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The level of ITGB1 protein was measured by western blotting.
Circ-PRKCA and ITGB1 expression were elevated in NSCLC tissues and cells, but miR-384 had an opposing tendency. After curcumin treatment, the expression tendency of circ-PRKCA, miR-384, and ITGB1 in NSCLC cells was overturned. Furthermore, curcumin impeded viability, colony formation, migration, invasion, and accelerated apoptosis of NSCLC cells, but these impacts were partially reversed by circ-PRKCA elevation, miR-384 downregulation, or ITGB1 overexpression. Also, the inhibitory effect of curcumin on xenograft tumor was further enhanced after circ-PRKCA knockdown. Notably, circ-PRKCA regulated ITGB1 expression through sponging miR-384 in curcumin-treated NSCLC cells.
Curcumin inhibited NSCLC growth through downregulating circ-PRKCA, which regulated ITGB1 expression by adsorbing miR-384. This study provided a new mechanism to understand how curcumin inhibited the progression of NSCLC.
An analytical model is established to study the influence of lattice distortion and fraction of Hf on the yield strength of the BCC TiNbTaZrHfx multi-component high entropy alloys (HEAs). Meanwhile, ...the mechanism of solid solution strengthening caused by lattice distortion is also discussed in the HEA. The distorted unit cell is introduced to indicate the lattice distortion effects induced by the differences of the atomic size and shear modulus by doping other elements in Ti-based metal. The results show that the calculated values of the alloying yield strength considering the path of least resistance are obtained with regard to various grain sizes for the equiatomic TiNbTaZrHf HEA, which is well in line with the experimental results. Furthermore, it is predicted that the alloying yield strength is the largest value in the case of the same grain size for the Hf atomic fraction of 0.122. The meaningful modeling could provide a theoretical method to investigate the yield strength and alloying design of other BCC HEAs in the future.
With the advent of carbon nanotechnology, which initiated significant research efforts more than two decades ago, novel materials for energy harvesting and storage have emerged at an amazing pace. ...Nevertheless, some fundamental applications are still dominated by traditional materials, and it is especially evident in the case of catalysis, and environmental‐related electrochemical reactions, where precious metals such as Pt and Ir are widely used. Several strategies are being explored for achieving competitive and feasible metal‐free carbon nanomaterials, among which doping and defect engineering approaches within nanocarbons are recurrent and promising. Here, the most recent efforts regarding the control of doping and defects in carbon nanostructures for catalysis, and in particular for energy‐related applications, are addressed. Finally, an overview of alternative proposals that can make a difference when enabling carbon nanomaterials as efficient and emerging catalysts is presented.
Doping and defect‐engineering of nanocarbons represent an attractive alternative for metal‐free carbon‐based catalysts, as well as functionalization and their thermal treatment. A considerable amount of research has been conducted for a thorough understanding of the underlying mechanisms of carbon‐based catalysis, which will allow precise control and use of such nanocarbon catalysts.
•Active and passive immunotherapy are used to treat neurodegenerative diseases.•α-Syn contributes to various pathological states in PD and α-syn pathology.•Most species of α-syn are targeted by ...specific antibodies in immunotherapy.
Many neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by progressive loss of neurons and abnormal protein accumulation, including amyloid (A)β and tau in Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy bodies and α-synuclein (α-syn) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent evidence suggests that adaptive immunity plays an important role in PD, and that anti-α-syn antibodies can be used as therapy in neurodegenerative diseases; monoclonal antibodies were shown to inhibit α-syn propagation and aggregation in PD models and patients. In this review, we summarize the different pathological states of α-syn, including gene mutations, truncation, phosphorylation, and the high molecular weight form, and describe the specific antibodies that recognize the α-syn monomer or oligomer, some of which have been tested in clinic trials. We also discuss future research directions and potential targets in PD therapy.
Piezocatalysis, converting mechanical vibration into chemical energy, has emerged as a promising candidate for water‐splitting technology. However, the efficiency of the hydrogen production is quite ...limited. We herein report well‐defined 10 nm BaTiO3 nanoparticles (NPs) characterized by a large electro‐mechanical coefficient which induces a high piezoelectric effect. Atomic‐resolution high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF‐STEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) suggests that piezoelectric BaTiO3 NPs display a coexistence of multiple phases with low energy barriers and polarization anisotropy which results in a high electro‐mechanical coefficient. Landau free energy modeling also confirms that the greatly reduced polarization anisotropy facilitates polarization rotation. Employing the high piezoelectric properties of BaTiO3 NPs, we demonstrate an overall water‐splitting process with the highest hydrogen production efficiency hitherto reported, with a H2 production rate of 655 μmol g−1 h−1, which could rival excellent photocatalysis system. This study highlights the potential of piezoelectric catalysis for overall water splitting.
The oscillatory polarization state of a nano‐ferroelectric with the coexistence of three ferroelectric phases (T+O+R) leads to an imbalanced charge state on the sample surface and creates an alternating cascade of a space charge release and attraction under ultrasonic vibration, thus generating hydrogen and oxygen via direct water decomposition.
The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) has successfully operated for more than three years since its launch in October 2011. Fifteen ...of the 22 VIIRS spectral bands are in the reflective solar spectral region, covering wavelengths from 0.41 to 2.3 μm. Similar to its heritage sensor, i.e., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Terra and Aqua spacecraft, the measurements of these spectral bands are routinely calibrated on orbit by a solar diffuser (SD) and an SD stability monitor (SDSM) system. In addition, lunar observations are regularly scheduled and implemented, allowing the reflective solar band (RSB) calibration stability to be independently monitored. This paper provides an overview of VIIRS RSB on-orbit calibration activities and methodologies, with a focus on the approaches and strategies developed for the lunar calibration. Results derived from VIIRS lunar observations are used to assess its RSB on-orbit performance and to compare with that derived from the SD measurements. Also discussed in this paper are issues identified since launch through comparisons of VIIRS SD and lunar calibration, remaining challenges, and future improvements. Specifically, potential impacts due to degradation caused by the telescope mirror coating contamination on both SD and lunar calibration are assessed. As demonstrated in this paper, VIIRS lunar calibration activities have been successfully planned and executed, in support of its RSB on-orbit calibration. Overall, the long-term response trending derived from lunar calibrations has been consistent with that derived from SD observations. In addition to small features in SD measurements, noticeable seasonal variations, on the order of 1%, between the lunar measurements and the model have been identified. These variations are likely due to the effect of different lunar viewing angles on the lunar irradiance reference model. Future improvements to the sensor's lunar response trending could be achieved with an improved lunar irradiance model.
Using amber suppression in coordination with a mutant pyrrolysyl‐tRNA synthetase‐tRNAPyl pair, azidonorleucine is genetically encoded in E. coli. Its genetic incorporation followed by traceless ...Staudinger ligation with a phosphinothioester allows the convenient synthesis of a protein with a site‐specifically installed lysine acylation. By simply changing the phosphinothioester identity, any lysine acylation type could be introduced. Using this approach, we demonstrated that both lysine acetylation and lysine succinylation can be installed selectively in ubiquitin and synthesized histone H3 with succinylation at its K4 position (H3K4su). Using an H3K4su‐H4 tetramer as a substrate, we further confirmed that Sirt5 is an active histone desuccinylase. Lysine succinylation is a recently identified post‐translational modification. The reported technique makes it possible to explicate regulatory functions of this modification in proteins.
Azidonorleucine, an azide‐containing amino acid, is genetically encoded and incorporated into model proteins. This incorporation followed by traceless Staudinger ligation potentiates the synthesis of proteins with a myriad of site‐specific lysine acylations.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a widespread, common type of cancer in Asian countries, and the need for biomarker-matched molecularly targeted therapy for HCC has been increasingly recognized. ...However, the effective treatment for HCC is unclear. Therefore, identifying additional hub genes and pathways as novel prognostic biomarkers for HCC is necessary. In this study, the expression profiles of GSE121248, GSE45267 and GSE84402 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), including 132 HCC and 90 noncancerous liver tissues. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HCC and noncancerous samples were identified by GEO2 R and Venn diagrams. In total, 109 DEGs were identified in these datasets, including 24 upregulated genes and 85 downregulated genes. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) preliminary analyses of the DEGs were performed using DAVID. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of the DEGs was constructed with the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) and visualized in Cytoscape. Module analysis of the PPI network was performed using MCODE to get hub genes. Moreover, the influence of the hub genes on overall survival was determined with Kaplan–Meier plotter. All hub genes were analyzed by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and KEGG. Overall, the hub genes DTL, CDK1, CCNB1, RACGAP1, ECT2, NEK2, BUB1B, PBK, TOP2A, ASPM, HMMR, RRM2, CDKN3, PRC1, and ANLN were upregulated in HCC, and the survival rate was lower for HCC with increased expression of these hub genes. CCNB1, CDK1, and RRM2 were enriched in the p53 signaling pathway, and CCNB1, CDK1, and BUB1B were enriched in the cell cycle. In brief, we screened 15 hub genes and pathways to identify potential prognostic markers for HCC treatment. However, the specific occurrence and development of HCC with expression of the hub genes should be verified in vivo and in vitro.
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