M. Zhu

Bacillus velezensis HBXN2020 alleviates Salmonella Typhimurium infection in mice by improving intestinal barrier integrity and reducing inflammation

This study shows that Bacillus velezensis HBXN2020 reduces Salmonella Typhimurium infection in mice by enhancing intestinal barrier function and decreasing inflammation.

Conformational Ensembles Reveal the Origins of Serine Protease Catalysis

Ensemble-function analyses provide a quantitative model for serine protease catalysis, reveal previously unknown conformational features that contribute to their catalysis, and identify a structural motif that underlie these features and has evolved in >100 different enzymes from 32 protein folds.

Disconnection Between Microvascular Damage and Neurodegeneration in Early Diabetic Retinopathy

This study identifies early microvascular damage in diabetic retinas before clinical DR diagnosis and finds no spatial correlation between capillary dropout and neural cell loss in the inner nuclear layer.

Hexose transporters CsHT3/16 involved in post-phloem transport and affected cucumber fruit development

The paper identifies CsHT3/16 as key hexose transporters in cucumber fruit development, showing their role in sugar homeostasis and fruit size regulation through expression patterns and mutant analysis.

Liver cancer initiation is dependent on metabolic zonation but decoupled from premalignant clonal expansion

This study shows that liver cancer initiation depends on metabolic zonation but is not linked to premalignant clonal expansion.

Vaginal Lactobacillus fatty acid response mechanisms reveal a novel strategy for bacterial vaginosis treatment

This study identifies oleic acid as a compound that inhibits L. iners and promotes L. crispatus growth, offering a potential new treatment strategy for bacterial vaginosis.

Tissue stiffness mapping by light sheet elastography

This paper introduces light sheet elastography to map tissue stiffness in embryos, enabling noninvasive, high-resolution analysis of mechanical changes during development.

Lithocholic acid phenocopies rejuvenating and life-extending effects of calorie restriction

This study identifies lithocholic acid as a metabolite that mimics calorie restriction's anti-aging effects in multiple species through AMPK activation.

A precise IDMS-based method for absolute quantification of phytohemagglutinin, a major antinutritional component in common bean

This paper introduces an IDMS-based LC-MS/MS method for precise quantification of phytohemagglutinin in common beans, showing high linearity, sensitivity, recovery, and repeatability.

Application of slow-controlled release fertilizer coordinates the carbon flow in carbon-nitrogen metabolism to effect rice quality

This study evaluates five slow-controlled release fertilizers on rice quality over two years, finding that BBF improves yield and grain quality by optimizing carbon-nitrogen metabolism.

Untangling the Role of Pathobionts from Bacteroides Species in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

This study shows that Bacteroides fragilis from UC patients promotes colitis in genetically susceptible mice, suggesting a role for pathobionts in IBD.

Architecture and activation of human muscle phosphorylase kinase

The paper presents high-resolution cryo-EM structures of human muscle phosphorylase kinase, revealing its architecture and activation mechanism through conformational changes and allosteric regulation.

XBB.1.5 Spike Protein COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Broadly Neutralizing and Cellular Immune Responses Against EG.5.1 and Emerging XBB Variants

This study shows that a monovalent XBB.1.5 spike protein vaccine induces broader neutralizing antibodies and stronger cellular immunity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants compared to bivalent vaccines.

AMPK targets PDZD8 to trigger carbon source shift to glutamine

This paper identifies AMPK's role in shifting carbon utilization from glucose to glutamine via PDZD8 phosphorylation, enhancing glutaminolysis and extending lifespan in C. elegans and mice.

A KDELR-mediated ER retrieval system guides the signaling pathways of UPR and AMPK to maintain cellular homeostasis

This study shows that the KDELR/Erd2-mediated ER retrieval system regulates UPR and AMPK signaling to maintain cellular homeostasis by affecting mitochondrial respiration and ROS levels.

DNA Structure Design Is Improved Using an Artificially Expanded Alphabet of Base Pairs Including Loop and Mismatch Thermodynamic Parameters

This paper improves DNA structure design by introducing a new base pair alphabet with P-Z pairs and thermodynamic parameters, enhancing design accuracy and reducing off-target folding.

Positive selection of somatically mutated clones identifies adaptive pathways in metabolic liver disease

The paper identifies adaptive pathways in metabolic liver disease by selecting somatically mutated clones in mice and humans, finding mutations that ameliorate lipotoxicity and promote clonal expansion.

A cataract-causing Y204X mutation of CRYβB1 promotes C-terminal degradation and higher-order oligomerization

This study identifies a cataract-causing mutation in CRYβB1 that leads to C-terminal truncation, increased proteolysis, and higher-order oligomerization, contributing to lens opacity.

A method for rapid nanobody screening with no bias of the library diversity

This paper introduces a method for rapid nanobody screening that preserves library diversity without subcloning or amplification bias, producing functional nanobodies against DR5 and Pfu DNA polymerase.

Shift of the insoluble content of the proteome in aging mouse brain

This study identifies age-related changes in the insoluble proteome of mouse brains, showing a shift in protein characteristics associated with proteostasis decline.

Resilient CD8+ T cells maintain a high cytotoxic capacity by balancing ROS via ME1 upregulation

This paper identifies CX3CR1+ CD8+ T cells with low mitochondrial membrane potential as functionally resilient, showing high cytotoxicity and reduced ROS through ME1 upregulation, which enhances their anti-tumor activity.

Patterning of phase-separated condensates by Dnd1 controls cell fate

The paper investigates how Dnd1 organizes nanos3 RNA within zebrafish germ granules and shows its role in maintaining germ cell totipotency.

Gene inversion triggered origination of brackish archaeal heterotrophs in the aftermath of the Cryogenian Snowball Earth

The paper traces the evolutionary origin of brackish archaea, showing gene rearrangements enabled their adaptation to coastal environments after the Cryogenian Snowball Earth.

The small cell lung cancer neuroendocrine transdifferentiation explorer

This study curates genes associated with NE transdifferentiation in SCLC and compares transcriptomic changes across multiple datasets to create a web tool for exploring NE transdifferentiation in SCLC and NBL.

Epinephrine inhibits PI3K alpha via the Hippo kinases.

The paper identifies Hippo kinases as inhibitors of PI3K alpha, showing epinephrine activates these kinases to suppress insulin signaling and glucose metabolism.

KDM4A promotes the progression of neuroendocrine prostate cancer

This study identifies KDM4A as a key driver of neuroendocrine prostate cancer progression and shows that targeting KDM4A inhibits tumor growth in preclinical models.

In situ architecture and membrane fusion of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

The paper reports the in situ structure of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant virions and captures membrane fusion snapshots, revealing unique architectural features and fusion mechanisms.

NVX-CoV2373 vaccination induces functional SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses

This study shows NVX-CoV2373 vaccine induces CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, with CD4+ T cells correlating with neutralizing antibody titers.

A Cambrian soft-bodied conical animal illustrates the origins of lophophorate phyla

The paper describes a Cambrian fossil with features of multiple lophophorate phyla, suggesting an intermediate evolutionary position between Phoronida and Brachiopoda.

Roles of the second-shell amino acid R266 in other members of the MLE subgroup of the enolase superfamily

This study examines how the R266 residue affects NSAR and OSBS activities in multiple NSAR/OSBS subfamily members, showing that its impact varies due to sequence context and epistasis.