{"title":"Chemical and biological dynamics of natural pterins.","authors":"Yuki Doi","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag094","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag094","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pteridine compounds are heterocyclic compounds that contribute to various processes in living organisms. Pterin is a representative derivative, and its analogs are widely used in biological systems. The two imine bonds within the pteridine ring confer electron donor-acceptor properties, and the oxidized form exhibits fluorescence because of its π-conjugated system. Owing to these structural and electronic features, pterins perform a variety of physiological functions, including serving as cofactors, pigments, and signaling molecules. To date, studies ofin the dynamics of pterins have been conducted independently from chemical and biochemical perspectives; thus, the resulting knowledge has not been sufficiently systematized. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of naturally occurring pterins by systematically integrating existing chemical and biochemical data.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1135-1146"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148326484","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":"Effect of Aronia melanocarpa extracts on allergic responses in mast cells.","authors":"Ganbayar Ganbold, Anuu Zorig, Mika Suzuki, Shiman Qiu, Terigele Khereid, Mikako Takasugi, Hirofumi Arai","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag086","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag086","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Type I allergies, such as hay fever, are triggered when allergens cross-link IgE bound to the high-affinity IgE receptor on mast cells, leading to Ca2+ influx and the release of chemical mediators. Because conventional antiallergic drugs may cause adverse effects, natural food-derived bioactive compounds have attracted attention as safer alternatives for alleviating allergic symptoms. In this study, the antiallergic effects of Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) fruit extract and its chromatographic fractions were evaluated using cultured mast cell lines. The 80% methanol-eluted fraction, rich in antioxidative polyphenols, significantly inhibited the release of histamine, β-hexosaminidase, and leukotriene B4 from stimulated cells. This effect was associated with reduced Ca2+ influx and decreased phosphorylation of spleen tyrosine kinase in the cell signaling pathway. Quercetin, identified as a major polyphenol in the active fraction, also suppressed chemical mediator release, suggesting that A. melanocarpa fruit may alleviate type I allergic responses by modulating mast cell activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1197-1208"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148519777","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":"Influence of melanocortin-4 receptor (mc4r) genome editing on taste and odor components of red sea bream Pagrus major.","authors":"Hisako Fujiwara, Qiqi Wang, Tomoya Yoshino, Kasumi Kawanishi, Akane Matsumoto, Ayumi Furuta, Ryota Mabuchi, Youhei Washio, Keitaro Kato, Masato Kinoshita, Shota Tanimoto","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag080","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To investigate the influence of genome editing on the taste and odor of fish meat, we conducted a comparative analysis of taste components, odor components, and lipid oxidation index in the dorsal muscle of mc4r-deficient red sea bream compared to the unedited control. In terms of taste components, only some free amino acids were significantly different in the mc4r-deficient group compared with the unedited control group. Differences were also noted in nonprotein nitrogen, equivalent umami concentration, and some taste-active value between the mc4r-deficient and unedited control groups. Regarding odor components, some volatile organic compounds were significantly different in the mc4r-deficient group. However, no differences were observed in other taste and odor components or the lipid oxidation index between these groups. These findings suggest that the effect of mc4r deficiency on taste and odor-related components and lipid oxidation in red sea bream muscle is minor.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1187-1196"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148204086","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":"TORC1 inactivation induces a noncanonical, separase-independent cohesin degradation.","authors":"Chihiro Yamada, Honoka Goto, Ayana Futaguchi, Kohana Maeshima, Maho Morikawa, Kozo Tanaka, Takashi Ushimaru","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag087","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag087","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) integrates nutrient signals with cell growth. While its inactivation is known to trigger mitotic slippage via APC/C-Cdh1-dependent securin degradation and separase activation, the molecular basis of cohesion loss during nutrient stress has remained incompletely defined. In budding yeast, we show that TORC1 inactivation elicits a noncanonical, proteasome-dependent degradation of cohesin that is independent of securin and separase. Separase was itself destabilized upon TORC1 inactivation, yet Scc1 degradation persisted even in a separase-resistant mutant. Cohesin degradation proceeds when APC/C is impaired, indicating involvement of an atypical ubiquitin ligase. These results reveal a second, aberrant route to sister chromatid dissociation upon TORC1 inactivation, operating in parallel with the previously reported APC/C-Cdh1 pathway, via the unconventional degradation of mitotic key factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1158-1164"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148337561","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":"Disease-specific gut microbial signatures generate model-derived cancer probability scores through targeted fecal qPCR profiling.","authors":"Tadashi Fujii, Eizaburo Ohno, Naoko Nakano, Kazunori Nakaoka, Hideaki Takahashi, Kohei Funasaka, Yohei Doi, Yoshiki Hirooka, Takumi Tochio","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag090","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag090","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The gut microbiome is a potential source of noninvasive cancer biomarkers. We evaluated six fecal microbial markers and developed targeted quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based logistic models for colorectal cancer (CRC) and pancreatic cancer (PC). Using LASSO with the 1-standard-error rule, four markers were selected for CRC (afb, nan, fsr, and 5ar) and three for PC (but, fsr, and saa). In postselection leave-one-out cross-validation of fixed model structures, the CRC and PC models yielded area under the curve (AUCs) of 0.824 and 0.780, respectively. Fixed-model application yielded AUCs of 0.716 for colorectal adenoma and 0.540 for the pancreatic high-risk group. In an exploratory early PC versus high-risk comparison, the fecal qPCR score yielded an AUC of 0.739, compared with 0.543 for CA19-9, although the difference was not statistically significant. Overall, the disease-specific model performance and fixed-model behavior across clinically related groups support further evaluation of model-derived cancer probability scores as exploratory cancer-assessment tools.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1273-1282"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148276153","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":"Secondary metabolites associated with exosome-like nanovesicles from green tea (Camellia sinensis) infusion and the origin of these nanovesicles.","authors":"Manami Monobe, Kaori Ema, Hideki Horie","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag083","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag083","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that plant-derived vesicles, i.e. exosome-like nanovesicles (ENs), have biological activities. We investigated the ingredients in green tea \"Sencha\" infusion-derived exosome-like nanovesicle (TIEN) fractions and found that gallic acid-type polyphenolics were detected disproportionately in these fractions. Furthermore, it is thought that plant-derived ENs arise mainly from vacuoles, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus, etc. However, our findings suggest that TIENs may originate from chloroplasts.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1254-1264"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148210105","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":"Physicochemical and functional properties of albumin fractions from barley and rye seed protein isolate.","authors":"Kazumi Ninomiya, Miho Otsuka, Norikazu Ogino, Yutaka Aoyama, Yusuke Yamaguchi, Hitomi Kumagai, Hitoshi Kumagai, Yusuke Inoue","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag089","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag089","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Barley and rye are major cereals worldwide and contain proteinaceous α-amylase inhibitors for biological defence against insects. Inhibiting mammalian α-amylase could potentially be a promising functional food characteristic for suppressing postprandial blood glucose levels. This study examined in vitro mammalian α-amylase inhibitory effects and the physicochemical and functional properties of barley and rye albumins, including thermal stability, solubility, emulsifying, and foaming properties, to evaluate their potential applications in various foods. Both barley and rye albumins inhibited mammalian α-amylase and maintained their activity even after heating. High solubility was observed at pH 3.0-6.0, which was maintained after heating at 80 °C for 20 min. Furthermore, barley and rye albumins exhibited high emulsifying and foaming properties at pH 3.0-6.0. These findings suggest that barley and rye albumins are promising materials for suppressing postprandial blood glucose elevation and can be used in various functional foods.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1218-1227"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148276165","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":"Mechanisms underlying glucose-induced increase in β-glucosidase activity in Bacillus subtilis strains 168 and Miyagino and sugar-independent activation by soybean broth medium.","authors":"Shyuichiro Inagaki","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag088","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag088","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigated the mechanisms of glucose-induced β-glucosidase (Bgl) activation in Bacillus subtilis strains 168 and Miyagino. Distinct Bgl-related genes were upregulated by glucose in the two strains. These increases were suppressed in the ΔpfkA and ΔfbaA mutants, but not Δpyk mutant, suggesting the involvement of upper glycolytic flux changes. Additionally, we found that soybean broth medium may contain nonsugar Bgl-activating factors.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1283-1286"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148263384","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":"Anti-inflammatory effect of Curcuma zedoaria ethanol extract on high-fat diet-induced obesity in mice.","authors":"Kazuaki Yamasaki, Isoko Kuriyama","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag093","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag093","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Curcuma zedoaria may serve as a promising material for preventing and/or improving lifestyle-related diseases, considering its known in vitro adiponectin-elevating effects. Here, we aimed to determine the effects of a C. zedoaria ethanol extract (CZE) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in C57BL/6 N mice, to elucidate its effects on lifestyle-related diseases. CZE treatment with an HFD (HFD-CZE) reduced liver weight, subcutaneous fat, mesenteric fat, and hepatic lipid accumulation, along with alleviating the levels of plasma triglyceride, total-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase relative to those in the HFD group. Decreased messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expressions of Tnfa and Il6 and increased mRNA expression of adiponectin were observed in epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) of the HFD-CZE group. CZE also reduced hepatic Tnfa and Fabp4 mRNA expressions. Thus, C. zedoaria may ameliorate obesity-induced whole-body inflammation, potentially aiding in preventing and improving obesity and subsequent lifestyle-related diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1209-1217"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148306970","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":"β-catenin does not co-activate vitamin D receptor-mediated transcription in osteoblastic and nonosteoblastic cells.","authors":"Tram Thi-Ngoc Nguyen, Yoshiaki Kanemoto, Takahiro Sawada, Jingyun Zhang, Tomohiro Kurokawa, Shigeaki Kato","doi":"10.1093/bbb/zbag084","DOIUrl":"10.1093/bbb/zbag084","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vitamin D (VD) and Wnt signaling both play important roles in bone metabolism and are targeted in osteoporosis therapy. Combination treatment with VD derivatives and antisclerostin antibodies that activate Wnt signaling improves clinical outcomes, although the molecular basis of this cooperative effect remains unclear. Because β-catenin functions as a transcriptional co-regulator in canonical Wnt signaling, we examined whether β-catenin modulates vitamin D receptor (VDR)-mediated transcription. Reporter assays were performed in Saos-2 osteoblastic cells using VD response element and TCF/LEF-responsive reporters. Activation of Wnt signaling by CHIR99021 or expression of constitutively active β-catenin did not enhance VDR transcriptional activity but modestly suppressed VD-induced transcription. Similar results were obtained in HCT116 and COS-1 cells. These findings indicate that VDR and Wnt/β-catenin signalings are not cross-talked at the transcriptional level.</p>","PeriodicalId":9175,"journal":{"name":"Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry","volume":" ","pages":"1182-1186"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148210138","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}