{"title":"Recent developments in probing the levels and flux of selected organellar cations as well as organellar mechanosensitivity","authors":"Taufiq Rahman , Sandip Patel","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102600","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102600","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrochemical gradients exist not only across the plasma membrane (PM) but also across membranes of organelles. Various endomembrane-localised ion channels and transporters have been identified, the activity of which is critical for organellar (and also cellular) ionic homeostasis that underpins diverse cellular processes. Aberrant organellar ion flux underlies several diseases, identifying organellar channels and transporters as potential drug targets. Therefore, the need for probing the functions of these proteins in situ cannot be overemphasised. The acidic interior of a few organelles as well as the dynamic nature of most organelles historically presented challenges for reliable estimation of luminal ionic concentrations. But there have been significant methodological and technical advancements by now, allowing measurement of levels of specific ions within these organelles as well as their flux across endomembranes with increasing precision. Evidence also continues to amass reporting mechanosensitivity of the endomembranes and its physiological significance. Here we highlight some recent developments in tools and techniques for measuring the levels and movement of some selected organellar cations as well as organellar mechanosensitivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Article 102600"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143900426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Divya Bhargava , Aniqa Chowdhury , Danielle H. Dube
{"title":"Chemical tools to study and modulate glycan-mediated host-bacteria interactions","authors":"Divya Bhargava , Aniqa Chowdhury , Danielle H. Dube","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102603","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102603","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Glycans cover the surfaces of all cells, where they are poised to mediate a two-way discourse between bacteria and host cells. In some instances, glycan-mediated interactions foster a symbiotic state, and in others, they tip the balance toward disease. Chemical biology approaches have begun to reveal the roles of glycans in host-bacteria interactions and provide novel pathways to modulate these interactions. Here, we highlight recent advances in the development and application of chemical biology tools to delineate the roles of glycans in bacterial adhesion, bacterial evasion of the host immune system, host recognition of bacterial cells, and endogenous mechanisms to maintain symbiosis. Further, we present glycan-based strategies to disrupt host-pathogen interactions and to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Article 102603"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemical synthesis and biological functions of carbohydrates","authors":"You Yang, Biao Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102617","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102617","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Article 102617"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Creating and understanding new-to-nature chemistry","authors":"Sonja Billerbeck, Virginia W. Cornish","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102621","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102621","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Article 102621"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144656264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advances in chemical proteomics for protein profiling and targeted degradation","authors":"Peng-Kai Liu , Zicong Wang , Lingjun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102605","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102605","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chemical proteomics has emerged as a powerful approach to decipher protein function, interactions, and targeted degradation pathways in complex biological systems. Recent advances in chemical labeling strategies, including activity-based protein profiling (ABPP), proximity labeling (PL), and proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), have facilitated a deeper understanding of protein function and interaction networks. First, ABPP employs covalent probes to selectively label active enzymes, uncovering functional proteomics and drug–target interactions. Innovations such as PhosID-ABPP and streamlined cysteine ABPP have improved site-specific quantification and throughput, enabling proteome-wide analysis of enzyme activity and small-molecule interactions. Second, PL enables the characterization of transient protein–protein interactions using enzymatic or chemically triggered approaches. Advances including TurboID and TransitID enhanced the spatiotemporal resolution of PL. Third, PROTACs expand the scope of targeted protein degradation by leveraging the ubiquitin–proteasome system. Collectively, we highlight recent advancements in integrating mass spectrometry (MS) with these methodologies in the field of chemical proteomics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"87 ","pages":"Article 102605"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advances in de novo designed metallopeptides as tailored enzyme mimics","authors":"Salvatore La Gatta, Vincent L. Pecoraro","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102586","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102586","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Advances in <em>de novo</em> design of metallopeptides have paved the way for customized metalloenzyme mimics with impressive catalytic capabilities. Over the last few years, incorporation of transition metals into simplified peptide scaffolds has allowed for catalytic efficiencies similar to or greater than those found in natural metalloenzymes. Artificial <em>de novo</em> peptide scaffolds highlight how precise modifications to metal coordination environments can improve scaffold stability and catalytic efficiency for a wide range of applications towards redox, non redox, synthetic, and energy conversion chemistry. These insights deepen our understanding of enzyme evolution and set a solid foundation for new directions in biocatalysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 102586"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143673039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemical strategies for targeting lipid pathways in bacterial pathogens","authors":"Alyssa M. Carter , Emily C. Woods , Matthew Bogyo","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102596","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102596","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microbial pathogens continue to plague human health and develop resistance to our current frontline treatments. Over the last few decades, there has been limited development of antibiotics with new mechanisms of action, highlighting our need to identify processes that can be targeted by next generation therapeutics. Recent advancements in our understanding of the roles that lipids play in key bacterial processes suggest that these biomolecules are a potentially valuable site for disruption by therapeutic agents. Specifically, the success of a pathogen depends on its ability to make fatty acids <em>de novo</em> or scavenge lipids from its host. This review focuses on recent advances using chemical biology tools for defining and disrupting lipid pathways in bacteria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 102596"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143850137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Noncytotoxic catalytic enzyme functional mimics including cyanide poisoning antidotes","authors":"Sigridur G. Suman","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102584","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102584","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Functional mimics of enzymes have a long history with bioinorganic chemists. Early motivation for creating these mimics was strongly based on the study of the enzyme reaction mechanisms. In more recent times, interest in functional mimics has expanded to catalytic metallodrugs, where the mimics are deliberately designed for specific catalytic reactions intended for therapeutic purposes. <em>In vivo,</em> noncytotoxic catalysis targets reactions designed to activate prodrugs. Natural or <em>de novo</em> proteins were developed for artificial enzyme catalysis of Diels–Alder reactions, or as artificial oxygenase mimics. Novel sulfur-rich catalytic superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics were discovered as antioxidants. Detoxification of elevated levels of cyanide where the natural rhodanese enzyme becomes inefficient in turnover rates and bioavailability is particularly attractive for sulfur-rich molybdenum clusters. This brief overview includes metal catalysts performing abiotic reactions <em>in vivo</em> disguised by attachment to cell surfaces, as artificial enzymes, and interesting new sulfur-rich complexes performing SOD reactions or neutralizing cyanide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 102584"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143609929","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opportunities in exploring chemical biology tools for better strategies against Candida albicans","authors":"Lanxin Li, Yuan Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cbpa.2025.102595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing global prevalence of drug-resistant fungal infections and the scarcity of effective clinical antifungal drugs necessitate an urgent need for new treatments and strategies. In the quest for novel antifungal and anti-virulence compounds and alternative drug targets in fungi, we recognize the significant value of chemical biology tools in guiding these endeavors. Focusing on <em>Candida albicans</em>, the major fungal pathogen in humans, this review explores recent antifungal research efforts that utilize chemical biology tools—such as chemical probes and toolkits—that offer valuable biological insights into the cellular processes of <em>C. albicans</em>. In addition, we discuss the wealth of compounds in the host gut microbiota that naturally influence <em>C. albicans</em> invasive growth in the gut habitat, presenting promising yet underexplored opportunities for developing novel antifungal and anti-virulence strategies. Chemical biology tools are uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of gut microbiota-derived molecules and metabolites in combating <em>C. albicans</em> infections.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":291,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Chemical Biology","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 102595"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143769109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}