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J Biol Chem 2021 Apr 5:100625. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Biology, The Graduate Center and The City College of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA. Electronic address:

Class switch recombination (CSR) is the process by which B cells switch production from IgM/IgD to other immunoglobulin isotypes, enabling them to mount an effective immune response against pathogens. Timely resolution of CSR prevents damage due to an uncontrolled and prolonged immune response. While many positive regulators of CSR have been described, negative regulators of CSR are relatively unknown. Read More

ACS Omega 2021 Mar 16;6(12):8403-8417. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Laboratory of Organic Reactivity, Discovery & Synthesis (LORDS), Research Center for Natural & Applied Sciences, University of Santo Tomas, España Blvd., 1015 Manila, Philippines.

Inhibition of the major cyclic adenosine monophosphate-metabolizing enzyme PDE4 has shown potential for the discovery of drugs for cancer, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. As a springboard to explore new anti-cancer and anti-Alzheimer's chemical prototypes from rare Annonaceae species, the present study evaluated anti-PDE4B along with antiproliferative and anti-cholinesterase activities of the extracts of the Philippine endemic species using assays and framed the resulting biological significance through computational binding and reactivity-based experiments. Thus, the PDE4 B2B-inhibiting dichloromethane sub-extract (UaD) of elicited antiproliferative activity against chronic myelogenous leukemia (K-562) and cytostatic effects against human cervical cancer (HeLa). Read More

Free Radic Biol Med 2021 Apr 1. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 210046 Nanjing, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangsu Province of Cancer Prevention and Treatment of Chinese Medicine, 210023 Nanjing, China; International Medical College, Zhejiang Shuren University, 310022 Hangzhou, China. Electronic address:

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia, featured with exuberant inflammatory cytokine production, extensive oxidative stress and tissue injury. The Keap1/Nrf2 system is the major apparatus essential for host defense against oxidative and electrophilic stresses of both exogenous and endogenous origins, representing a logical target for host-directed strategy to treat severe inflammatory diseases including MRSA-induced pneumonia. In an effort to search therapeutics for bacterial pneumonia, we identify rosmarinic acid (RA) as a covalent modifier of Keap1 and hence an activator of Nrf2. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Mar 26;18(7). Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UCL, London WC1E 6BT, UK.

Controlling bovine tuberculosis (bTB) disease in cattle farms in England is seen as a challenge for farmers, animal health, environment and policy-makers. The difficulty in diagnosis and controlling bTB comes from a variety of factors: the lack of an accurate diagnostic test which is higher in specificity than the currently available skin test; isolation periods for purchased cattle; and the density of active badgers, especially in high-risk areas. In this paper, to enable the complex evaluation of bTB disease, a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) is designed with the help of domain experts and available historical data. Read More

Cells 2021 Mar 12;10(3). Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037, USA.

BTB domain and CNC homology 1 (BACH1) is a transcription factor that is highly expressed in tumors including breast and lung, relative to their non-tumor tissues. BACH1 is known to regulate multiple physiological processes including heme homeostasis, oxidative stress response, senescence, cell cycle, and mitosis. In a tumor, BACH1 promotes invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, and the expression of BACH1 presents a poor outcome for cancer patients including breast and lung cancer patients. Read More