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Neohesperidosides are disaccharides that are present in some flavonoids and impart a bitter taste, which can significantly affect the commercial value of citrus fruits. In this study, we identified three flavonoid-7- O - di -glucosyltransferase (dGlcT) genes closely related to 1,2-rhamnosyltransferase (1,2RhaT) in citrus genomes. However, only 1,2RhaT was directly linked to the accumulation of neohesperidoside, as demonstrated by association analysis of 50 accessions and co-segregation analysis of an F1 population derived from Citrus reticulata × Poncirus trifoliata. In transgenic tobacco BY2 cells, over-expression of CitdGlcT s resulted in flavonoid-7- O -glucosides being catalysed into bitterless flavonoid-7- O - di -glucosides, whereas over-expression of Cit1,2RhaT converted the same substrate into bitter-tasting flavonoid-7- O -neohesperidoside. Unlike 1,2RhaT, during citrus fruit development the dGlcT s showed an opposite expression pattern to CHS and CHI, two genes encoding rate-limiting enzymes of flavonoid biosynthesis. An uncoupled availability of dGlcTs and substrates might result in trace accumulation of flavonoid-7- O - di -glucosides in the fruit of C. maxima (pummelo). Past human selection of the deletion and functional mutation of 1,2RhaT has led step-by-step to the evolution of the flavor-related metabolic network in citrus. Our research provides the basis for potentially improving the taste in citrus fruit through manipulation of the network by knocking-out 1,2RhaT or by enhancing the expression of dGlcT using genetic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We analyzed peer-review comments for a sample of retracted papers to check its effectiveness. • In our sample, only 8.1% of peer reviews suggested rejection. • Peer review was less effective in identifying retraction reasons related to plagiarism. • Reviewer seniority and expertise matching level helped identify problems leading to retractions. • Implications are provided to improve the peer-review process and increase its effectiveness. Retractions are necessary to remove flawed research from citable literature but cannot offset the negative impact those publications have on science advances and public trust. The editorial peer-review process is intended to prevent flawed research from being published. However, there is limited empirical evidence of its effectiveness in identifying issues that lead to retractions. This study analyzed the peer-review comments (provided by Clarivate Analytics) for a sample of retracted publications (provided by Retraction Watch) to investigate how the peer-review process effectively detects the areas where the retraction causes lie and whether reviewer characteristics are related to the effectiveness. We found that a small proportion of peer reviews suggested rejections during the peer review stage, while about half suggested acceptance or minor revision for those later retracted papers. The peer-review process was more effective in identifying retraction causes related to data, methods, and results than those related to text plagiarism and references. Additionally, factors such as reviewer seniority and the level of match between reviewers' expertise and the submission were significant in determining the possibility of peer reviews identifying suspicious areas in submissions. We discussed potential insights from these findings and called for collective efforts to prevent retractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin are commonly used in patients with clinically unresectable or recurrent esophageal cancer (ESCA). However, patients often develop resistance to cisplatin, which in turn leads to a poor prognosis. Studies have shown that FAM111B may be involved in the development of tumors as an oncogene or tumor suppressor gene. However, the pathological role and corresponding mechanism of FAM111B in ESCA are still unclear. Methods: The GEPIA web tool, ENCORI Pan-Cancer Analysis Platform and UALCAN-TCGA database were used to study the expression of FAM111B in ESCA. CCK-8, angiogenesis, Transwell and xenograft assays were applied to explore the biological function of FAM111B in ESCA. Western blot, RT-qPCR, and RNA-seq analyses were applied to study the FAM111B/GSDMA axis in the progression of ESCA cells. CCK-8 and xenograft assays were used to study the role of the FAM111B/GSDMA axis in determining the sensitivity of ESCA to cisplatin. Results: Our results demonstrated that FAM111B is highly expressed in ESCA tissues compared to normal tissues. We showed that FAM111B promotes the progression of ESCC cells by binding to GSDMA and that the trypsin protease domain is essential for the activity of FAM111B. Furthermore, we showed that the FAM111B/GSDMA axis regulates cisplatin sensitivity in ESCA. Conclusions: Overall, we identified a novel FAM111B/GSDMA axis regulating ESCA tumorigenesis and chemosensitivity, at least in ESCC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on chemical composition, antimicrobial, antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory properties of the essential oil from leaves of Rubus pungens var. oldhamii (REO). The major component of the REO is sesquiterpenes (36.04%), which consists of 1,5-Cyclooctadiene,3-(1-me thylallyl)-(8CI)(17.66%), 5,6-Diethenyl-1-methylcyclohexene (12%), (+) – γ-Elemene (10.48%) and β-Caryophyllene (8.39%).The REO is shown to be moderately active against Staphylococcusaureus,Aspergillusniger and Penicilliumglaucum, and has weak antioxidant activity in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Furthermore, tyrosinase inhibition was investigated against monophenolase (L-tyrosine). IC50 values of REO and arbutin were found 0.923 and 0.657 mg/mL, respectively. The REO exerted potential antityrosinase activity. Our test results indicated that the REO was rich in sesquiterpenes, and also exhibited good antityrosinase activity, and moderate antimicrobial activity against pathogenic micro-organisms. The REO can be used as a natural source of promising antimicrobial and tyrosinase inhibiting agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel synthetic antibody (Allo-SyAb) with allosteric effects was constructed. • Allo-SyAb keeps silent state in physical conditions to avoid off-targeted activation. • Allo-SyAb turns to active state in tumor site to enhance phagocytosis of tumor cells. • Allo-SyAb achieves robust antitumor efficacy to improve cancer immunotherapy. Synthetic antibody mimics with the targeting and effector functions of natural antibodies hold great potential for cancer immunotherapy. However, current synthetic antibody mimics lack the ability of allostery as natural antibodies which is the structural basis for antibodies to achieve powerful therapeutic efficiency. Here, the mixed-shell polymeric micelle was used to construct a novel allosteric synthetic antibody (Allo-SyAb) that is capable of spatiotemporally activating in response to tumor microenvironment for cancer immunotherapy. Allo-SyAb presents a "silent" state in the blood circulation to avoid non-targeted activation which significantly prolongs blood circulation and enhances tumor accumulation. Once Allo-SyAb reaches the tumor microenvironment, it undergoes a pH-responsive reversible allosteric effect and rapidly switches to the "activated" state to effectively promote antigen-presenting cells (APCs) mediated antitumor immune activation. We believe the system of allosteric synthetic antibody presents an efficient strategy for improved cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]