Biological Reactions Research Articles

Health Resort Treatment Mitigates Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Long COVID Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Among the neuropsychiatric symptoms of long COVID, the following may be listed: sleep disturbances, headaches, anxiety, depression, dizziness, numbness, memory loss, and concentration difficulties. Various therapies have been implemented to mitigate these symptoms; however, health resort treatments that utilize a wide range of modalities stimulating multidirectional biological reactions may also be effective. The aim of this study was to assess the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms in long COVID patients who qualified for health resort treatment, evaluate the effectiveness of health resort treatment in this group of patients, and evaluate the effect of balneological factors in the treatment course. A retrospective analysis of the medical records of 120 people with long COVID (69 women and 51 men) aged 42-79 who underwent health resort treatment in 2021 was performed. People were eligible for treatment at a lowland health resort based on a valid referral from a doctor. The treatment included balneological therapies, physical medicine modalities, exercise programs, health education, and psychological support. Patients assessed the severity of persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms on a 0-10 point scale before and after treatment. After the treatment, the greatest improvement was noted in sleep disorders (2.47 ± 2.23 points vs. 0.86 ± 1.25 points, p < 0.00001) and dizziness (1.39 ± 1.94 points vs. 0.34 ± 0.76 points, p < 0.00001). The lowest improvement was observed in memory disorders (2.68 ± 2.5 points vs. 1 ± 1.4 points, p < 0.00001). Patients with long COVID who qualified for health resort treatment reported mild neuropsychiatric symptoms. Health resort treatment mitigates neuropsychiatric symptoms, as it is a complex approach. Treatment that includes balneological factors improves symptoms to a greater extent. This method of treatment should be integrated into the standard treatment for long COVID.

Ionic Strength-Induced Compartmentalization for Nanogel-in-Microgel Colloids.

Compartmentalization is crucial for control over complex biological cascade reactions. In microgels, the formation of discrete compartments allows for simultaneous uptake and orthogonal release of physicochemically distinct drugs, among others. However, many state-of-the-art approaches yielding compartmentalized microgels require the use of specific, though not always biocompatible, components and temperatures well above the physiological range, which may damage possible biological cargo. Therefore, a novel technique to fabricate compartmentalized microgels by exploiting ionic strength-induced precipitation as a mechanism for compartmentalization is developed. For this, a droplet-based microfluidic approach in which preformed nanogels are incorporated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)- or poly(acrylamide)-based microgels is employed. Allowing contact between the nanogel-monomer mixture and a salt solution only at the cross junction inhibits premature precipitation of the nanogels and aggregates form on the chip. It is demonstrated that this method is applicable to a variety of nanogel species in both stimuli-responsive and non-stimuli-responsive microgel networks. For temperature-responsive nanogel compartments in non-responsive microgels, anisotropic shape change is investigated by adjusting temperature or salt concentration or changing the solvent. Lastly, an exemplary uptake and release experiment demonstrates highly selective drug absorption, paving the way for more advanced biomimetic polymer structures.

An implantable glucose enzymatic biofuel cell integrated with flexible gold-coated carbon foam and carbon thread bioelectrodes grafted inside a living rat

The advent of long-term implants has increased the urgent need for self-powered biomedical devices. Utilize enzymes to expedite the process of biofuel oxidation. These systems frequently make use of glucose oxidase. A possible solution involves glucose biofuel cells powered by the glucose found in physiological fluids. Biocompatible substances like carbon electrode designs help to transport electrons from the biological reactions to the external circuit as efficiently as possible while maximizing surface area. Despite advances in implantable electrodes, developing miniaturized and flexible electrodes remains challenging. In this work, a metal-coated flexible carbon thread and foam bioelectrode are fabricated and successfully implanted inside a living and freely moving rat. These electrodes are prepared using gold nanostructures as electron enhancers, a negatively charged conducting polymer, a biocompatible redox mediator, and enzymes as biocatalysts. The carbon foam-based enzymatic biofuel cell produces in vitro and in vivo settings, generates a power density of 165 µW/cm2 and 285 µW/cm2, and the carbon thread-based fuel cell produces a power density of 98 µW/cm2 and 180 µW/cm2 in vitro and in vivo environments, respectively. This work paves the way for the possible use of inexpensive electrodes for subdermal implantable microsystems.

Application of Light-Responsive Nanomaterials in Bone Tissue Engineering.

The application of light-responsive nanomaterials (LRNs) in bone tissue engineering shows broad prospects, especially in promoting bone healing and regeneration. With a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of bone defects and healing disorders, LRNs are receiving increasing attention due to their non-invasive, controllable, and efficient properties. These materials can regulate cellular biological reactions and promote bone cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation by absorbing specific wavelengths of light and converting them into physical and chemical signals. In addition, the unique surface morphology and biocompatibility of LRNs enable them to effectively load drugs in bone tissue engineering, achieve precise release, and optimize the bone regeneration process. Through photothermal and photodynamic therapy, these materials also possess antibacterial properties and can play an important role in the repair of infectious bone defects. Although LRNs have shown significant advantages in bone tissue regeneration, a series of challenges still need to be overcome to achieve their widespread and effective clinical applications. This article summarizes the basic principles, classification, and potential applications of LRNs in bone tissue regeneration, aiming to provide reference for future research and clinical applications.

Predicting hydrogen atom transfer energy barriers using Gaussian process regression.

Predicting reaction barriers for arbitrary configurations based on only a limited set of density functional theory (DFT) calculations would render the design of catalysts or the simulation of reactions within complex materials highly efficient. We here propose Gaussian process regression (GPR) as a method of choice if DFT calculations are limited to hundreds or thousands of barrier calculations. For the case of hydrogen atom transfer in proteins, an important reaction in chemistry and biology, we obtain a mean absolute error of 3.23 kcal mol-1 for the range of barriers in the data set using SOAP descriptors and similar values using the marginalized graph kernel. Thus, the two GPR models can robustly estimate reaction barriers within the large chemical and conformational space of proteins. Their predictive power is comparable to a graph neural network-based model, and GPR even outcompetes the latter in the low data regime. We propose GPR as a valuable tool for an approximate but data-efficient model of chemical reactivity in a complex and highly variable environment.

Moringa oleifera L. Nanosuspension Extract Administration Affects Heat Shock Protein-10 and -70 under Orthodontics Mechanical Force In Vivo.

The mechanical stimulation known as orthodontic mechanical force (OMF) causes biological reactions in orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70) needs pro-inflammatory cytokines to trigger bone resorption in OTM; nevertheless, heat shock protein-10 (HSP-10), a "Alarmin" cytokine, should control these pro-inflammatory cytokines to get the best alveolar bone remodeling (ABR). Moringa oleifera L. nanosuspension extract (MONE) has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and ABR-stimulating properties. The aim of the study was to examine in vivo HSP-10 and HSP-70 expressions under OMF following MONE application in Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus). A total of 36 Wistar rats (R. norvegicus) were split up into eight groups: one for treatment (OMF + MONE) and one for control (OMF + MONE administration for days 1, 7, 14, and 21). By employing nickel-titanium coil springs and using 10 g of light force per millimeter to implant the orthodontic device, the OMF was completed. According to the day of observation, all of the samples were sacrificed. To perform an immunohistochemistry investigation, the premaxilla of the sample was isolated. Tukey's Honest Significant Different (HSD) test (p < 0.05) was performed after an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) analysis of the data. In both the OMF and MONE groups, HSP-70 peaked on day 14 and began to fall on day 21. HSP-10 peaked on day 21, but along with MONE, it also began to progressively decline on days 14 and 21, with significant differences (p < 0.05). According to immunohistochemistry evidence, postadministration of MONE markedly elevated HSP-10 but lowered HSP-70 expression in the alveolar bone of Wistar rats under OMF.

Systemic T‐cell and local macrophage interactions mediate granule size‐dependent biological hydroxyapatite foreign body reaction

Systemic T‐cell and local macrophage interactions mediate granule size‐dependent biological hydroxyapatite foreign body reaction

Specific recognition mechanism of an antibody to sulfated tyrosine and its potential use in biological research.

Post-translational modification of proteins is a crucial biological reaction that regulates protein functions by altering molecular properties. The specific detection of such modifications in proteins has made significant contributions to molecular biology research and holds potential for future drug development applications. In HIV research, for example, tyrosine sulfation at the N-terminus of C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) is considered to significantly enhance HIV infection efficiency. However, antibodies specific to sulfated CCR5 still need to be developed. In this study, we successfully generated an antibody that specifically recognized the sulfated N-terminal peptide of CCR5 through rabbit immunization and panning via phage display using a CCR5 N-terminal peptide containing sulfate modification. We used various physicochemical methods in combination with molecular dynamics simulation to screen for residues that could be involved in recognition of the sulfated peptide by this antibody. We also confirmed that this antibody recognized the sulfated full-length CCR5 on the cell surface, which suggested it should be useful as a research tool that could lead to the development of novel therapeutics. Although the antibody binding did not inhibit HIV infection, it could be also described as sulfation site-specific binding, beyond sulfation-specific binding.

Functional and comparative analysis of the FeII/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases without using any substrate.

Non-haem iron (FeII) and 2-oxoglutarate(2OG)-dependent dioxygenases catalyse various biological reactions. These enzymes couple the oxidative decarboxylation of 2OG to the hydroxylation of the substrates. While some of these enzymes are reported to have multiple substrates, the substrate remains unknown for many of the enzymes. However, in the absence of the substrate, these enzymes catalyse oxidative decarboxylation of 2OG and generate succinate. We have determined succinate level to monitor this uncoupled reaction and compared the uncoupled 2OG turnover of different FeII/2OG-dependent dioxygenases. The uncoupled succinate production was used to verify the NiII-mediated inhibition and functionality of human dioxygenase ALKBH6.

Involvement of copper in cell death and cancer.

Copper (cu) is an essential micronutrient required for numerous metabolic processes. It plays a crucial role in cellular respiration by participating in the electron transport chain and facilitating numerous biological reactions. Various diseases, including cancer, demonstrate localized elevation of copper levels and/or alterations in the overall distribution of copper. Modulating local or systemic copper levels as a novel therapeutic approach for treating and ameliorating diseases has emerged as a prominent trend in disease management, particularly in the realm of cancer therapy, which is currently under investigation. The objective of this review is to offer a thorough examination of copper metabolism in both physiological and pathological contexts. Specifically, it delves into how copper ions can effectively target and stimulate tumor cell death via the process known as cuproptosis in cancer patients. Furthermore, this review explores the utilization of three categories of anticancer medications (copper ion carriers, copper complexes, and copper chelating agents) pertaining to copper metabolism within the realm of cancer therapy, elucidating on the distinct mechanisms through which they exert their effects.

Ultrasmall High-Entropy-Alloy Nanozyme Catalyzed In Vivo ROS and NO Scavenging for Anti-Inflammatory Therapy.

High-entropy alloy (HEA) nanoparticles possess finely tunable and multifunctional catalytic activity due to their extremely diverse adsorption sites. Their unique properties enable HEA nanoparticles to mimic the complex interactions of the redox homeostasis system, which is composed of cascade and multiple enzymatic reactions. The application of HEAs in mimicking complex enzymatic systems remains relatively unexplored, despite the importance of regulating biological redox reactions. Here, it is reported that ultra-small (<10 nm in a diameter) HEA nanozymes consisting of five platinum-group metals with tunable morphologies from planar to dendritic structures are synthesized. The synthesized HEA nanozymes exhibited higher peroxidase-like activity compared to monometallic platinum-group nanoparticles. Additionally, HEA nanoparticles effectively mimicked RONS-regulation metabolism in cascade reactions involving superoxide dismutase and catalase, as well as in multiple reactions including HORAC and NO scavenging. As a result, the HEA nanozyme exhibited superior anti-inflammatory efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. The findings underscore the effectiveness of the high-entropy alloy structure in restoring in vivo enzymatic systems through intrinsic activity enhancements and cascade reaction mechanisms.

A Comprehensive Review on Immunoregulatory Effects of Phytochemicals.

An efficient immune system in the host body plays a crucial role in the preservation of normal biological and immune reactions and processes, as well as the intrinsic environment. This is because the immune system is responsible for fighting off foreign invaders. A healthy immune system strengthens the body's defense against infections, illnesses, and other unwelcome pathogens, thereby reducing the risk of allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases. Innate immune cells and acquired immune system components interact in a corrective fashion to produce optimal immune responses. In recent years, researchers have begun to focus on the immune system as a potential primary target of toxicity from chemical, pharmacological, and environmental exposure. Sex, age, stress, malnutrition, alcohol, genetic variability, lifestyles, environmental pollutants, and chemotherapy are just a few of the many elements that might modify the host's immunological responses. The production, amplification, attenuation, or suppression of immunological responses are all examples of immunomodulation. There are a wide variety of synthetic and traditional treatments available, and many of them cause major side effects and develop pathogenic resistance very quickly. Natural substances called phytochemicals play a crucial role in regulating the body's immune system. Risk factors for immune response changes are discussed, as is the immunomodulatory action of phytochemicals like glycosides, alkaloids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, sterols, and steroids.

Comprehensive insight into recent algal enzymes production and purification advances: Toward effective commercial applications: A review.

Algal enzymes are essential catalysts in numerous biological reactions and industrial processes owing to their adaptability and potency. The marketing of algal enzymes has recently risen due to various reasons, including the cost-efficient manner of their cultivation in photobioreactors, the eco-friendly production of high biomass contents, sources of novel enzymes that used in many sectors (biofuel and bioremediation applications), sustainability, and more renewability. Oxidoreductases and hydrolytic enzymes are among the important applied algal enzymes in industrial applications, with annually growing demand. These algal enzymes have opened up new avenues for significant health advantages in reducing and treating oxidative stress, cardiovascular illness, tumors, microbial infections, and viral outbreaks. Despite their promising uses, commercial applications of algal enzymes face many difficulties, such as stability, toxicity, and lower data availability on specific and adequate catalytic mechanisms. Therefore, this review focuses on the algal enzyme types, their uses and advantages over other microbial enzymes, downstream and upstream processing, their commercial and marketing, and their challenges. With the constant development of novel enzymes and their uses, enzyme technology provides exciting options for several industrial sectors.

Molecular principles of the assembly and construction of a carboxysome shell.

Intracellular compartmentalization enhances biological reactions, crucial for cellular function and survival. An example is the carboxysome, a bacterial microcompartment for CO2 fixation. The carboxysome uses a polyhedral protein shell made of hexamers, pentamers, and trimers to encapsulate Rubisco, increasing CO2 levels near Rubisco to enhance carboxylation. Despite their role in the global carbon cycle, the molecular mechanisms behind carboxysome shell assembly remain unclear. Here, we present a structural characterization of α-carboxysome shells generated from recombinant systems, which contain all shell proteins and the scaffolding protein CsoS2. Atomic-resolution cryo-electron microscopy of the shell assemblies, with a maximal size of 54 nm, unveil diverse assembly interfaces between shell proteins, detailed interactions of CsoS2 with shell proteins to drive shell assembly, and the formation of heterohexamers and heteropentamers by different shell protein paralogs, facilitating the assembly of larger empty shells. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into the construction principles of α-carboxysome shells and the role of CsoS2 in governing α-carboxysome assembly and functionality.

The effect of iron complexes−nitrilotriacetate in the bio−oxidation of sulphide minerals: Toxic metal(loid)s release and surface microstructure

Mineral exploitation and processing lead to the production of a large amount of stibnite−containing waste, which are the main sources of toxic metal(loid)s pollution in soil and water ecosystems. Bio−oxidation constitutes an essential driving force for pollution formation. However, the release of Sb in the association of stibnite and arsenopyrite in the presence of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) is still unclear. In this study, stibnite, stibnite−arsenopyrite and stibnite−arsenopyrite−NTA were designed to study the release characteristics of antimony (Sb). And the microstructure of elements in the reaction microinterface was analyzed by high−precision spectral characterization such as synchrotron radiation X−ray diffraction (SRXRD) and X−ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the cell density of the microbial community in the three groups did not change much in the early stage, and began to rise and gradually stabilized in the middle and late stage of the reaction, indicating that the biological reaction basically stopped. Arsenopyrite promotes the release of antimony from stibnite, and the addition of NTA further enhanced the release of Sb and arsenic (As), increasing 17,292 and 43,130 mg/kg. However, the concentration of Fe decreased but progressively increased due to the NTA added. Meanwhile, the existence of NTA decreased leachate pH from 2.25 to 1.45 and increased Eh from 273 mV to 323 mV. The presence of NTA reduced the FeAsS in the microinterface of minerals to 30.6 %. Meanwhile, Fe2(SO4)3 and FeAsO4·2H2O decreased to 3.8 % and 0.5 %, Sb2O5 and As(Ⅲ)−O increased to 22.4 % and 21.9 %. The abovementioned facts indicated that the complexation of NTA with Fe (Ⅲ) inhibits the formation of passivates such as jarosite and scorodite, thus promoting the bio−oxidation of arsenopyrite and stibnite. The new insight of stibnite bio−oxidation contributed to the understanding of sulfide oxidation mechanism and helped to put forward the control measures of pollution source in mining area.

Similarity between oxygen evolution in photosystem II and oxygen reduction in cytochrome c oxidase via proton coupled electron transfers. A unified view of the oxygenic life from four electron oxidation–reduction reactions

Basic concepts and theoretical foundations of broken symmetry (BS) and post BS methods for strongly correlated electron systems (SCES) such as electron-transfer (ET) diradical, multi-center polyradicals with spin frustration are described systematically to elucidate structures, bonding and reactivity of the high-valent transition metal oxo bonds in metalloenzymes: photosystem II (PSII) and cytochrome c oxidase (CcO). BS hybrid DFT (HDFT) and DLPNO coupled-cluster (CC) SD(T0) computations are performed to elucidate electronic and spin states of CaMn4Ox cluster in the key step for oxygen evolution, namely S4 [S3 with Mn(IV) = O + Tyr161-O radical] state of PSII and PM [Fe(IV) = O + HO-Cu(II) + Tyr161-O radical] step for oxygen reduction in CcO. The cycle of water oxidation catalyzed by the CaMn4Ox cluster in PSII and the cycle of oxygen reduction catalyzed by the CuA-Fea-Fea3-CuB cluster in CcO are examined on the theoretical grounds, elucidating similar concerted and/or stepwise proton transfer coupled electron transfer (PT-ET) processes for the four-electron oxidation in PSII and four-electron reduction in CcO. Interplay between theory and experiments have revealed that three electrons in the metal sites and one electron in tyrosine radical site are characteristic for PT-ET in these biological redox reaction systems, indicating no necessity of harmful Mn(V) = O and Fe(V) = O bonds with strong oxyl-radical character. Implications of the computational results are discussed in relation to design of artificial systems consisted of earth abundant transition metals for water oxidation.Graphical abstract

Regulation of Milk Fat Synthesis: Key Genes and Microbial Functions.

Milk is rich in a variety of essential nutrients, including fats, proteins, and trace elements that are important for human health. In particular, milk fat has an alleviating effect on diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Fatty acids, the basic units of milk fat, play an important role in many biological reactions in the body, including the involvement of glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids in the formation of cell membranes. However, milk fat synthesis is a complex biological process involving multiple organs and tissues, and how to improve milk fat of dairy cows has been a hot research issue in the industry. There exists a close relationship between milk fat synthesis, genes, and microbial functions, as a result of the organic integration between the different tissues of the cow's organism and the external environment. This review paper aims (1) to highlight the synthesis and regulation of milk fat by the first and second genomes (gastrointestinal microbial genome) and (2) to discuss the effects of ruminal microorganisms and host metabolites on milk fat synthesis. Through exploring the interactions between the first and second genomes, and discovering the relationship between microbial and host metabolite in the milk fat synthesis pathway, it may become a new direction for future research on the mechanism of milk fat synthesis in dairy cows.

Efficiency Limits of Energy Conversion by Light-Driven Redox Chains.

The conversion of absorbed sunlight to spatially separated electron-hole pairs is a crucial outcome of natural photosynthesis. Many organisms achieve near-unit quantum yields of charge separation (one electron-hole pair per incident photon) by dissipating as heat more than half of the light energy that is deposited in the primary donor. Might alternative choices have been made by Nature that would sacrifice quantum yield in favor of producing higher energy electron/hole pairs? Here, we use a multisite electron hopping model to address the kinetic and thermodynamic compromises that can be made in electron transfer chains, with the aim of understanding Nature's choices and opportunities in bioinspired energy-converting systems. We find that if the electron-transfer coordinates are even weakly coupled to a high-frequency vibrational mode, substantial energy dissipation is necessary to achieve the maximum possible energy storage in an electron-transfer chain. Since high-frequency vibronic coupling is common in physiological redox cofactors, we posit that biological reaction centers have recruited a strategy to convert light energy into redox potential with the near-optimum energy efficiency that is possible in an electron-transfer chain. Our simulations also find that charge separation in electron-transfer chains is subject to a minimum intercofactor separation distance, beneath which energy-dissipating charge recombination is unavoidable. We find that high quantum yield and low energy dissipation can thus be realized simultaneously for multistep electron transfer if recombination pathways are uncoupled from high-frequency vibrations and if the cofactors are held at small-to-intermediate distances apart (ca. 3 to 8 Å edge-to-edge). Our analysis informs the design of bioinspired light-harvesting structures that may exceed 60% energy efficiency, as opposed to the ∼30% efficiency achieved in natural photosynthesis.

Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Potential of Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon (ta-C) Coatings on CoCrMo Alloy for Articulating Implant Surfaces.

Premature implant failure, a critical concern in biomedical applications, is often attributed to poor biocompatibility and vulnerability to bacterial colonization. These issues are addressed by creating an endoprosthetic material with natural biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. In this invitro study, the relaxed and unrelaxed tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings were examined, both fabricated by the improved patented Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technology. The chemical composition, surface roughness, hardness, topography, and wettability were analyzed. The ta-C surfaces were incubated by MM6 cells, E. coli and S. capitis bacteria for 24 h. PCR assessed the inflammatory response in MM6 cells, while fluorescence microscopy quantified adhering bacteria, and scanning electron microscopy examined local adhesion behavior. The results demonstrate comparable carbon phase composition, wettability properties, and hardness for both relaxed and unrelaxed ta-C. However, relaxed ta-C coating exhibited significantly fewer defects in terms of both quantity and quality, along with an antibacterial effect against E. coli. This suggests that the relaxed ta-C coating could contribute to the development of an endoprosthesis, preventing adverse biological reactions and implant-related infections, thus improving the longevity of the prosthesis.

Exploring interactive effects of environmental and microbial factors on food waste anaerobic digestion performance: Interpretable machine learning models

Biogas yield in anaerobic digestion (AD) involves continuous and complex biological reactions. The traditional linear models failed to quantitatively assess the interactive effects of these factors on AD performance. To further explore the internal relationship between target variables and AD performance, this study developed four machine learning models to predict biogas yield and consider the interaction among various factors. Results indicated that the highest prediction accuracy of AD performance was achieved by adding bacterial genera dataset with environmental factors. Random forest model exhibited the highest accuracy, with the testing coefficient of determination equal to 0.9879. Among two types of input features, the bacterial genera accounted for 89.9 % of the impact on biogas yield, followed by environmental factors. The results revealed Keratinibaculum and Acetomicrobium as critical bacteria. The volatile fatty acid controlled below 2000 mg/L and the improved stirring system in AD process were recommended to achieve maximum biogas yield.