Volume 14, Issue 1

Vaccination through the upper respiratory tract is a promising strategy, and particulate antigens, such as antigens associated with nanoparticles, triggered a stronger immune response than the sole antigens. Cationic maltodextrin-based nanoparticles loaded with phosphatidylglycerol (NPPG) are efficient for intranasal vaccination but non-specific to trigger immune cells. Here we focused on phosphatidylserine (PS) receptors, specifically expressed by immune cells including macrophages, to improve nanoparticle targeting through an efferocytosis-like mechanism. Consequently, the lipids associated with NPPG have been substituted by PS to generate cationic maltodextrin-based nanoparticles with dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylserine (NPPS). Both NPPS and NPPG exhibited similar physical characteristics and intracellular distribution in THP-1 macrophages. NPPS cell entry was faster and higher (two times more) than NPPG. Surprisingly, competition of PS receptors with phospho-L-serine did not alter NPPS cell entry and annexin V did not preferentially interact with NPPS. Although the protein association is similar, NPPS delivered more proteins than NPPG in cells. On the contrary, the proportion of mobile nanoparticles (50%), the movement speed of nanoparticles (3 µm/5 min), and protein degradation kinetics in THP-1 were not affected by lipid substitution. Together, the results indicate that NPPS enter cells and deliver protein better than NPPG, suggesting that modification of the lipids of cationic maltodextrin-based nanoparticles may be a useful strategy to enhance nanoparticle efficacy for mucosal vaccination.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an RNA virus belonging to the coronavirus family responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It primarily affects the pulmonary system, which is the target of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), for which many new compounds have been developed. In this study, phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors are being investigated. The inhibition of PDE4 enzyme produces anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator effects in the lung by inducing an increase in cAMP concentrations. Piclamilast and rolipram are known selective inhibitors of PDE4, which are unfortunately endowed with common side effects, such as nausea and emesis. The selective inhibition of the phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) subtype may represent an intriguing technique for combating this highly contagious disease with fewer side effects. In this article, molecular docking studies for the selective inhibition of the PDE4B enzyme have been carried out on 21 in-house compounds. The compounds were docked into the pocket of the PDE4B catalytic site, and in most cases, they were almost completely superimposed onto piclamilast. Then, in order to enlarge our study, drug-likeness prediction studies were performed on the compounds under study.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder described by compromised insulin synthesis or resistance to insulin inside the human body. Diabetes is a persistent metabolic condition defined by elevated amounts of glucose in the bloodstream, resulting in a range of potential consequences. The main purpose of this study was to find out how biosynthesized copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) affect the blood sugar levels of diabetic albino rats induced by streptozotocin (STZ). In the current study, CuONPs were successfully biosynthesized using Saccharomyes cervisiae using an eco-friendly method. Characterization results revealed that biosynthesized CuONPs appeared at 376 nm with a spherical shape with sizes ranging from 4 to 47.8 nm. Furthermore, results illustrated that administration of 0.5 and 5 mg/kg CuONP in diabetic rats showed a significant decrease in blood glucose levels accompanied by elevated insulin levels when compared to the diabetic control group; however, administration of 0.5 mg/kg is the best choice for diabetic management. Furthermore, it was found that the group treated with CuONPs exhibited a noteworthy elevation in the HDL-C level, along with a depletion in triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and VLDL-cholesterol levels compared to the diabetic control group. This study found that administration of CuONPs reduced hyperglycemia and improved pancreatic function as well as dyslipidemia in diabetic rats exposed to STZ, suggesting their potential as a promising therapeutic agent for diabetes treatment.

The current millennium brought up a revolutionary paradigm shift in molecular biology: many operative proteins, rather than being quasi-rigid polypeptide chains folded into unique configurations – as believed throughout most of the past century – are now known to be intrinsically disordered, dynamic, pleomorphic, and multifunctional structures with stochastic behaviors. Yet, part of this knowledge, including suggestions about possible mechanisms and plenty of evidence for the same, became available by the 1950s and 1960s to remain then nearly forgotten for over 40 years. Here, we review the main steps toward the classic notions about protein structures, as well as the neglected precedents of present views, discuss possible explanations for such long oblivion, and offer a sketch of the current panorama in this field.

10 B isotopes have been almost exclusively used in the neutron-capture radiation therapy (NCT) of cancer for decades. We have identified two other nuclides suitable for radiotherapy, which have ca. ten times larger cross section of absorption for neutrons and emit heavy charged particles. This would provide several key advantages for potential NCT, such as the possibility to use a lower nuclide concentration in the target tissues or a lower neutron irradiation flux. By detecting the characteristic γ radiation from the spontaneous decay of the radionuclides, one can image their biodistribution. These advantages could open up new possibilities for NCT applications as a safer and more efficient cancer therapy.

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor proteins (TRAFs) are trimeric proteins that play a fundamental role in signaling, acting as intermediaries between the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors and the proteins that transmit the downstream signal. The monomeric subunits of all the TRAF family members share a common tridimensional structure: a C-terminal globular domain and a long coiled-coil tail characterizing the N-terminal section. In this study, the dependence of the TRAF2 dynamics on the length of its tail was analyzed in silico . In particular, we used the available crystallographic structure of a C-terminal fragment of TRAF2 (168 out of 501 a.a.), TRAF2-C, and that of a longer construct, addressed as TRAF2-plus, that we have re-constructed using the AlphaFold2 code. The results indicate that the longer N-terminal tail of TRAF2-plus has a strong influence on the dynamics of the globular regions in the protein C-terminal head. In fact, the quaternary interactions among the TRAF2-C subunits change asymmetrically in time, while the movements of TRAF2-plus monomers are rather limited and more ordered than those of the shorter construct. Such findings shed a new light on the dynamics of TRAF subunits and on the protein mechanism in vivo , since TRAF monomer–trimer equilibrium is crucial for several reasons (receptor recognition, membrane binding, hetero-oligomerization).

Investigating biological mechanisms in ever greater detail requires continuous advances in microscopy techniques and setups. Total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy is a well-established technique for visualizing processes on the cell membrane. TIRF allows studies down to the single molecule level, mainly in single-colour applications. Instead, multicolour setups are still limited. Here, we describe our strategies for implementing a multi-channel TIRF microscopy system capable of simultaneous two-channel excitation and detection, starting from a single-colour commercial setup. First, we report some applications at high molecule density and then focus on the challenges we faced for achieving the single molecule level simultaneously in different channels, showing that rigorous optimizations on the setup are needed to increase its sensitivity up to this point, from camera setting to background minimization. We also discuss our strategies regarding crucial points of fluorescent labelling for this type of experiment: labelling strategy, kind of probe, efficiency, and orthogonality of the reaction, all of which are aspects that can influence the achievable results. This work may provide useful guidelines for setting up advanced single-molecule multi-channel TIRF experiments to obtain insights into interaction mechanisms on the cell membrane of living cells.

The study of the interaction between lipid membranes and amyloidogenic peptides is a turning point for understanding the processes involving the cytotoxicity of peptides involved in neurodegenerative diseases. In this work, we perform an experimental study of model membrane–lysozyme interaction to understand how the formation of amyloid fibrils can be affected by the presence of polar and zwitterionic phospholipid molecules (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [POPC] and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol [POPG]). The study was conducted above and below the critical micellar concentration (CMC) using dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–Vis spectrophotometry, and the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). Our results show that the presence of phospholipids appears to be a factor favoring the formation of amyloid aggregates. Spectrophotometric and DLS data revealed that the quantity of β {\rm{\beta }} -structure increases in the presence of POPG and POPC at different concentrations. The presence of POPG and POPC increases the speed of the nucleation process, without altering the overall structures of the fibrillar final products.

Amphid wing “C” (AWC) neurons are among the most important and studied neurons of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In this work, we unify the existing electrical and intracellular calcium dynamics descriptions to obtain a biophysically accurate model of olfactory transduction in AWC ON neurons. We study the membrane voltage and the intracellular calcium dynamics at different exposure times and odorant concentrations to grasp a complete picture of AWC ON functioning. Moreover, we investigate the complex cascade of biochemical processes that allow AWC activation upon odor removal. We analyze the behavior of the different components of the models and, by suppressing them selectively, we extrapolate their contribution to the overall neuron response and study the resilience of the dynamical system. Our results are all in agreement with the available experimental data. Therefore, we provide an accurate mathematical and biophysical model for studying olfactory signal processing in C. elegans.

Human endo-lysosomes possess a class of proteins called TPC channels on their membrane, which are essential for proper cell functioning. This protein family can be functionally studied by expressing them in plant vacuoles. Inhibition of hTPC activity by naringenin, one of the main flavonoids present in the human diet, has the potential to be beneficial in severe human diseases such as solid tumor development, melanoma, and viral infections. We attempted to identify the molecular basis of the interaction between hTPC2 and naringenin, using ensemble docking on molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories, but the specific binding site remains elusive, posing a challenge that could potentially be addressed in the future by increased computational power in MD and the combined use of microscopy techniques such as cryo-EM.