{"title":"Marine bacterium Cobetia sp. strain GM produces fucose-rich extracellular polymeric substance.","authors":"Joe Watanabe, Kenjiro Sugiyama, Katsuhiko Fujii","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf025","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Several extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by bacteria have beneficial applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries as gelling agents, stabilizers, thickeners, and bioactive ingredients. Most commercialized EPS are derived from soil bacteria, but studies on EPS produced by marine bacteria are scarce. We isolated a marine bacterium Cobetia sp. strain GM, which produces viscous EPS (glycoprotein). Viscosity measurement showed that the EPS of strain GM (GM-EPS) was comparable to commercialized bacterial EPS. Among the tested Cobetia strains, GM-EPS and Cobetia crustatorum EPS were significantly more viscous than other known Cobetia spp. The major constituents of GM-EPS polysaccharide were fucose, glucose, and galactose, which was distinct from exopolysaccharide of known Cobetia spp. This is the first report of a Cobetia sp. strain that produces fucose-rich EPS. GM-EPS protein was rich in hydrophobic and uncharged nonpolar amino acids. GM-EPS exhibited strong emulsion-stabilizing activity that was 1.5 times higher than xanthan.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1050-1061"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143571634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Suppressive Effect of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 on Olfactory Receptor Signal Transduction.","authors":"Sakura Moriyama, Shuji Hinuma, Shun'ichi Kuroda","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/bbb/zbaf093","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We investigated the effect of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) on ligand-stimulated olfactory receptor (OR) activation (intracellular cAMP elevation). The co-expression of TRPV1 with OR51E1 in HEK293T cells suppressed the activation of OR51E1 stimulated with isovaleric acid. This suppression was further potentiated by capsaicin stimulation. On the other hand, capsaicin suppressed the ligand-induced cAMP production in HEK293T cells expressing OR51E1 without co-transfection of the TRPV1 expression plasmid. Treatment with siRNA for TRPV1 offset this capsaicin's effect on ligand-induced OR51E1 activation, suggesting the involvement of endogenously expressed TRPV1 in this suppression. Additionally, TRPV1-dependent suppression of OR51E1 activation was abolished by Ca2+ depletion in the extracellular fluid. A calcium ionophore (A23187) exhibited effects like TRPV1 on the OR response. Furthermore, the suppressive effect of A23187 was inhibited by a G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) inhibitor CCG21022. Our results indicate that TRPV1 suppresses OR activation via Ca²⁺ influx, followed by GRK activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144526450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Agrose matrix stiffness mediated neuroprotective effects against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HT22 spheroids.","authors":"Guang-Zhen Jin","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/bbb/zbaf094","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Addressing neurodegenerative diseases continues to pose significant challenges in neurology. However, the emergence of stem cell research and cell transplantation has brought new hope to this area. Consequently, developing effective cell transplantation methods has become a critical focus of research. In this study, we created HT22 spheroids using agarose hydrogel matrices with two different stiffness levels and subjected them to oxidative stress with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). We examined the effect of matrix stiffness on the antioxidant capacity of spheroids by analyzing cell viability, catalase (CAT) levels, and cell survival signaling molecules. Our findings revealed that spheroids cultured in a stiffer agarose hydrogel matrix demonstrated enhanced neuroprotective effects under oxidative stress conditions. These results highlight the importance of matrix stiffness in optimizing the antioxidant properties of spheroids. Future production processes should consider this parameter to enhance the therapeutic potential of spheroid-based cell transplantation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144526446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wataru Saburi, Hirohiko Muto-Fukiya, Nongluck Jaito, Koji Kato, Jian Yu, Min Yao, Haruhide Mori
{"title":"Biochemical and structural analysis of the mechanism for the catalysis and specificity of cellobiose 2-epimerase from Rhodothermus marinus.","authors":"Wataru Saburi, Hirohiko Muto-Fukiya, Nongluck Jaito, Koji Kato, Jian Yu, Min Yao, Haruhide Mori","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf042","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cellobiose 2-epimerase (CE) catalyzes C-2 epimerization of reducing end d-glucose/d-mannose residue of β-(1→4)-disaccharides, and also slightly catalyzes aldose-ketose conversion. In this study, we investigated the structure-function relationship of Rhodothermus marinus CE (RmCEs). In 2H2O, 2H replaced the 2-H of the reducing end sugar residue, suggesting a proton abstraction-addition mechanism via the cis-enediolate intermediate. The structure of the RmCE-mannobiitol complex showed that His259 was suitable for abstracting 2-H from d-mannose residue, whereas His390 was suitable for the d-glucose residue. H259A and H390A mutations abolished activity for Galβ1-4Man and Galβ1-4Glc formation from Galβ1-4Fru, respectively, and these mutants catalyzed both epimerization and isomerization to Galβ1-4Glc and Galβ1-4Man, respectively. Ala substitution of the residues interacting with the 2-O of the reducing end sugar residue significantly reduced the velocity for epimerization, but not for isomerization. Trp385, stacked onto the non-reducing-end sugar residues of disaccharides, was shown to be important for disaccharide specificity.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"973-984"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of the bread containing resistant starch from wheat (Triticum aestivum) on the improvement in bowel movements: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.","authors":"Yosuke Kikuchi, Yuto Otomo, Kazuki Toyota, Satoshi Noma, Shukuko Ebihara","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf044","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to evaluate the gut-regulating effects of wheat-derived resistant starch. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study was conducted with 46 healthy Japanese adults. They were divided into 2 groups, consuming 3.26 g/day of wheat-derived resistant starch and a control food for 4 weeks each, separated by a 4-week washout period. There were no significant differences observed in the primary endpoint of defecation frequency. However, subgroup analysis showed significant improvements in bowel movements for participants who felt a strong sensation of incomplete evacuation. No gut-regulating effects were noted in other subgroups and secondary endpoints. The intake of 3.26 g/day of resistant starch was safe with no overall efficacy observed. Increased stool frequency was observed in participants with less frequent bowel movements and a strong feeling of incomplete evacuation, but no effects were confirmed in other subgroup analyses. No significant changes were observed at secondary endpoints (UMIN ID: UMIN000052543).</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1015-1023"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143742308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discovery of a monomeric flavin-containing opine dehydrogenase from bacteria.","authors":"Seiya Watanabe, Kentaroh Yoshiwara, Mizue Date, Yasunori Watanabe","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/bbb/zbaf096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Opines, such as nopaline and octopine, are specifically produced in the crown gall by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and specifically catabolized by opine dehydrogenase (OpnDH) from them. Known OpnDH consists of α-, β-, and γ-subunits, which contain FAD, FMN, and two iron-sulfur clusters as cofactors. We herein identified a novel type of FAD-containing OpnDH from Aureimonas altamirensis (AaOdhB3), consisting of a single polypeptide and only ∼22% sequence identity with the β-subunit of the heteromeric enzyme. AaOdhB3, a monomeric structure, exhibited strict specificity towards nopaline. A crystallographic analysis revealed that the overall structure and binding mode of FAD were similar to those of D-amino acid oxidase superfamily members. A site-directed mutagenic analysis and structural comparisons with other members of this protein family indicated the significance of Arg312 (and Arg247) for the substrate recognition, and fructosyl-amino acid oxidase, related to santhopine metabolism from A. tumefaciens, was phylogenetically and physiologically close to OdhB3.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144526448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mst Julia Sultana, Takuto Kurakawa, Miyu Nishikawa, Shinichi Ikushiro
{"title":"Regio-specific synthesis of flavonoid glucuronides using plant UDP-glucuronosyltransferase expressed in yeast.","authors":"Mst Julia Sultana, Takuto Kurakawa, Miyu Nishikawa, Shinichi Ikushiro","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf049","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf049","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Glucuronidation is a well-established biotransformation process that modifies the physiological and pharmacological properties of small molecules, making it a valuable tool for enhancing the chemical diversity of natural compounds in drug development. However, the chemical synthesis of glucuronides is often complex, time-consuming, and environmentally unsustainable. To overcome these challenges, plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT)-mediated glucuronidation, using transformed yeast, offers a selective and efficient alternative for producing flavonoid glucuronides. This study aimed to conjugate quercetin with glucuronic acid by stably co-transforming Saccharomyces cerevisiae with plant UGTs (UGT78A11 and UGT88D7) and rat UDP-glucose-6-dehydrogenease. The UGT78A11 and UGT88D7 selectively conjugated quercetin at specific positions, producing quercetin-3-O-glucuronide and quercetin-7-O-glucuronide, respectively. The whole-cell biotransformation platform effectively leverages the regio-selectivity of UGT78A11 and UGT88D7 to convert polyhydroxy secondary metabolites into monoglucuronides with promising yields, thereby enhancing the availability and physiological potential of these glucuronides.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"954-964"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143771291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Combination of the microalga Pavlova sp. OPMS 30543 with diclofenac attenuates hyperalgesia in adjuvant-induced arthritis mice.","authors":"Wataru Nemoto, Kotaro Yamada, Ruka Kobayashi, Tomohiro Hoshi, Ken Nakahara, Akihiko Kanamoto, Osamu Nakagawasai, Koichi Tan-No","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf047","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Marine microalgae, such as Pavlova spp, are known to produce bioactive compounds and have been extensively studied as natural resources with anti-inflammatory properties. Among several Pavlova spp, OPMS 30543 (Pav) has recently been found to contain a high fucoxanthin content. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of Pav treatment on hyperalgesia using a mouse model of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA), which was established by injecting complete Freund's adjuvant. Pav alone did not suppress the hyperalgesia observed in AIA mice. However, combined with low-dose diclofenac (DFC; 0.1 mg/kg) resulted in marked analgesia. In AIA mice, the activation of excitatory neurons was observed in the spinal cord; however, this activation was suppressed by the combination of Pav and DFC. These findings suggest that Pav enhances the analgesic effect of DFC in a mouse arthritis-associated hyperalgesia, and may aid in the development of improved strategies for inflammatory pain management.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"965-972"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143787837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Downsizing effect on direct electron transfer-type bioelectrocatalysis by d-fructose dehydrogenase with structural insight.","authors":"Yohei Suzuki, Yuki Kitazumi, Osamu Shirai, Keisei Sowa","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf043","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Membrane-bound heterotrimeric d-fructose dehydrogenase (FDH) from Gluconobacter japonicus exhibits distinct direct electron transfer (DET)-type bioelectrocatalytic activity. FDH contains 3 heme c moieties (heme 1c, 2c, and 3c), and the two downsized variants lacking heme 1c moiety (Δ1c FDH) or heme 1c and 2c moieties (Δ1c2c FDH) were constructed in our previous research. Recently, we elucidated the entire structure of FDH, enabling a structural perspective in mechanistic discussions. In this study, we quantitatively analyzed the downsizing effect of Δ1c- and Δ1c2c-deletion on DET-type bioelectrocatalysis. Non-catalytic redox signals of adsorbed enzymes were successfully obtained, providing a basis for independently evaluating kinetic parameters from DET-type catalytic waves. Analytical results revealed that the downsizing enhanced the electron transfer rate constant by 7-fold and 4-fold for Δ1c FDH and Δ1c2c FDH, respectively. Furthermore, the acceleration factors were discussed using structural predictions of the variants.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"925-933"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143717942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hiroki Tanaka, Mayu Kikuchi, Kenji Kano, Eiji Sakuradani, Jun Ogawa, Kouichi Kuroda, Michiki Takeuchi
{"title":"Intracellular electron donor stripping to identify electron donors of indigo reduction.","authors":"Hiroki Tanaka, Mayu Kikuchi, Kenji Kano, Eiji Sakuradani, Jun Ogawa, Kouichi Kuroda, Michiki Takeuchi","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf054","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbaf054","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The identification of the electron donor of a reduction reaction is one of the most important points for revealing the reaction mechanism and the enzyme involved. In some cases, it is difficult to identify the electron donor because microbial cells have sufficient quantities of electron donors in the cells. In this study, we found that potassium hexacyanoferrate (Ⅲ) is a good stripping chemical compound of intracellular electron donors. Ethanol and glucose clearly enhanced the indigo-reducing activity of the microbial cells after stripping. This supports our previous proposal that acetaldehyde is an electron donor for the reduction of methyl viologen as a representative of indigo. We constructed the stripping of intracellular electron donors for the first time as a useful technique for identifying the electron donor of a reduction reaction when microorganisms have sufficient electron donors in their cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1070-1074"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143954504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}